Heater Power Timing Control for Image Forming Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current image forming apparatuses face challenges in shortening the First Print Out Time (FPOT) while restricting the electric power supplied to heaters, as existing techniques do not effectively manage the power distribution to achieve this goal efficiently.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves an image forming apparatus with a first and second heater connected in parallel, a current sensor, and a controller that strategically supplies AC power to the heaters, calculating and managing the peak currents to ensure they do not exceed a threshold, thereby optimizing the power distribution to reduce FPOT.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by stationary object
If electric power is restricted to be supplied to the heater, then energy consumption is reduced, but the First Print Out Time (FPOT) increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system is divided into multiple heaters (first heater, second heater, third heater) that are controlled independently. The controller selectively activates specific heaters based on detected current levels, allowing energy-restricted operation when possible while maintaining the capability for rapid heating when needed, thus resolving the contradiction between energy consumption and FPOT.
2Productivity
If multiple heaters are supplied with AC power simultaneously, then heating efficiency is improved, but the combined current exceeds the threshold
Solution Approach 1:
The controller dynamically adjusts the operation of multiple heaters based on real-time current detection. When the combined current exceeds the threshold, the controller selectively stops supplying AC power to certain heaters while continuing to supply power to others, maintaining heating efficiency within safe current limits.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates current detection that provides feedback to the controller. Based on the detected current levels, the controller makes real-time decisions about which heaters to activate or deactivate, ensuring that the combined current remains within the threshold while maintaining optimal heating performance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively shortens the FPOT by managing the power distribution to the heaters, ensuring the electric current remains within acceptable limits, thereby improving the printing efficiency while restricting the electric power usage.
Implementation Method 1
begin to supply AC power from an AC power source to the first heater at a start of a first half-cycle of the AC power, thereby causing an alternating current, of which an absolute value is equal to or less than a threshold from the start until an end of the first half-cycle, to flow into the first heater
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a controller configured to begin to supply AC power to a first heater at a start of a first half-cycle of the AC power, begin to supply the AC power to a second heater at a first timing after beginning to supply the AC power to the first heater, in the first half-cycle, when an estimated combined peak current is more than a threshold, begin to supply the AC power to the second heater at a second timing in a second half-cycle next to the first half-cycle, the second timing satisfying that a time period between a start of the second half-cycle and the second timing is equal to a time period between the start of the first half-cycle and a timing from which the estimated combined current is equal to or less than the threshold until the end of the first half-cycle.