Image Carrier Contamination Prevention in Image Forming Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
In image forming apparatuses, prolonged pressure contact between an image carrier and an elastic body can lead to contamination of the image carrier due to bleed substances, resulting in reduced transferability and image quality issues, such as white spots on the formed image.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus with a toner remover in contact with the image carrier to remove remaining toner, featuring a processor that forms an image pattern on the pressure contact area, adjusts driving time based on density differences, and drives the image carrier before forming an image on a recording medium to prevent contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the image carrier and elastic body are left in pressure contact for a long time when stopped, then the surface of the image carrier is contaminated by bleed substances, but the transferability of the contaminated portion is lowered causing white spots in the formed image
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by forming a toner image on the image carrier before potential contamination occurs, and by using a cleaning blade to remove contaminants in advance before they significantly degrade transferability. The cleaning blade continuously or periodically removes bleed substances from the pressure contact surface, preventing the contamination from reaching a level that causes white spots in the formed image.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a cleaning blade as an intermediary element between the image carrier and the contamination source. The cleaning blade intercepts and removes bleed substances before they can adhere to and contaminate the image carrier surface, thereby protecting the transferability of the image carrier without requiring direct intervention in the pressure contact mechanism.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If toner is arranged to intervene between the photoconductor and intermediate transfer belt at the end of operation, then contamination due to bleed substances is suppressed, but when the number of bleed substances is large, the toner is contaminated and adheres to the photoconductor, lowering image quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the potentially harmful effect of bleed substances into a beneficial cleaning mechanism. By allowing a controlled amount of bleed substances to accumulate and then using the cleaning blade to remove them along with any adhered toner, the system prevents severe contamination while avoiding the problem of toner adhering to the photoconductor. The cleaning blade selectively removes contaminants while preserving the integrity of the image carrier surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the cleaning function from the main image formation process by introducing a separate cleaning blade mechanism. This dedicated cleaning element continuously removes bleed substances and contaminated toner from the image carrier surface, preventing the accumulation of contaminants that would otherwise degrade image quality without interfering with the primary toner transfer function.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the image carrier is driven for a longer time before image formation, then contaminants are removed from the pressure contact area, but the productivity is reduced due to extended preparation time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous useful action by having the cleaning blade operate continuously or periodically during the image carrier's rotation, rather than requiring a separate extended preparation period. The cleaning action occurs concurrently with the normal operation cycles, maintaining the image carrier surface in a clean state without interrupting or significantly delaying the image formation process, thus preserving productivity while effectively removing contaminants.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided an image forming apparatus in which an image carrier and an elastic body may be in pressure contact with each other, and in which a toner remover may be in contact with the image carrier to remove toner remaining on the image carrier. The image forming apparatus may include: a first hardware processor that forms an image pattern in a region including at least a part of a pressure contact part of the image carrier that is in pressure contact with the elastic body when operation of the image carrier is stopped; a second hardware processor that acquires density of the image pattern formed on the image carrier; a third hardware processor that adjusts driving time of the image carrier based on the density of the image pattern; and a fourth hardware processor that drives the image carrier for the driving time.