Image Forming Apparatus Edge Glossiness Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image forming apparatuses face issues with maintaining glossiness in output images, particularly at the edge portions of patterns with specific spatial frequencies, leading to potential noise and increased toner consumption due to insufficient toner transfer and waste.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus employs exposure amount control to increase toner adherence at edge portions by adjusting the electric potential differences between image and non-image areas, ensuring that the exposure amount on edge portions is higher than non-edge portions and that the electric potential at edge-surrounding portions is lower than other non-image areas, reducing the restraining force on toner and minimizing waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If exposure amount is increased on edge portions to improve toner adherence and prevent glossiness decrease, then glossiness is improved, but toner consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different exposure amounts to different regions of the photoreceptor surface. Specifically, edge portions receive higher exposure amounts than non-edge portions, creating local variations in electric potential that improve toner adherence at edges without uniformly increasing toner consumption across the entire surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the photoreceptor surface into edge portions and non-edge portions, and further segments non-image areas into edge-surrounding portions and other portions. This segmentation allows differential exposure control to address toner transfer issues at edges while minimizing overall toner waste.
2Manufacturing precision
If exposure amount is increased on edge portions to improve toner transfer, then toner adherence is improved, but electric potential difference control becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit implements local exposure amount control by applying different exposure amounts to edge portions versus non-edge portions, and to edge-surrounding portions versus other non-image portions. This local differentiation manages electric potential differences to improve toner transfer efficiency while maintaining controllable complexity through region-based rules.
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 prevents glossiness decreases while reducing toner waste by ensuring nearly all toner is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt, enhancing image quality and controlling toner consumption.
Implementation Method 1
an optical scanning device configured to emit a light beam to expose the surface of the photoreceptor charged by the charger to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor
Implementation Method 2
a charger configured to charge a specified electric potential on a surface of the photoreceptor
Implementation Method 3
a developing device configured to develop the electrostatic latent image formed by the optical scanning device to form a toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor
Implementation Method 4
a fixing device configured to apply heat and pressure to the sheet fed from the transfer member to fix the toner image on the sheet
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus including: a photoreceptor; a charger configured to charge a photoreceptor surface; an optical scanning device configured to expose the photoreceptor surface to form an electrostatic latent image thereon; a developing device configured to develop the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image thereon; a transfer member configured to transfer the toner image to a sheet; a fixing device configured to fix the toner image thereon; and a control unit configured to carry out exposure amount control for formation of an image having a pattern with a spatial frequency from 0.1 c/mm to 3.0 c/mm so that after the exposure, there will be an electric potential difference V1 between an edge portion and a non-edge portion of the pattern and so that there will be an electric potential difference V2 larger than V1 between an edge-surrounding portion and the other portions of a non-image area.