Image Forming System Automatic Sheet Ejection Count Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing image forming systems require users to stop processing to remove sheets, leading to inefficiencies and user burden, as they often necessitate inserting extra sheets, limited user control over stopping, and difficulty in accurately stopping at desired intervals.

Innovation Solution

An image forming system that allows users to specify the number of units (sheets/sets/jobs) for temporary stops, with detection and restart capabilities based on user-defined conditions, enabling arbitrary timing for stopping and restarting the image forming process.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the image forming processing is stopped to remove sheets, then paging disorder is prevented, but productivity decreases due to manual intervention

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepaging orderVSAvoidprocessing efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system automatically detects when a predetermined number of sheets have been ejected and autonomously stops the image forming processing without requiring user intervention. The control section monitors sheet ejection count and triggers automatic stopping, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring manual operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Ease of operation

If extra interleaving sheets are inserted to enable temporary stops, then sheet removal is facilitated, but device complexity increases and sheets are wasted

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesheet removal capabilityVSAvoidinterleaving sheet mechanism
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention extracts the essential function of temporary stopping from the mechanical interleaving sheet mechanism and implements it through software control. The control section directly manages the stopping operation based on ejection count, eliminating the need for physical interleaving sheets and their associated complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Ease of operation

If the user must monitor display to find the right time to press the taking-out request switch, then sheet removal is enabled, but ease of operation decreases due to user burden

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesheet removal capabilityVSAvoiduser monitoring time
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system automatically determines when to stop based on the predetermined ejection count without requiring the user to monitor the display or press any switches. The control section autonomously manages the stopping timing, freeing the user from monitoring tasks.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

4Ease of operation

If the processing is stopped per one bundle with interleaving sheet mode, then sheet confirmation is enabled, but adaptability decreases as user cannot stop per arbitrary number of sets/sheets/jobs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesheet confirmation capabilityVSAvoidflexibility in stopping intervals
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system allows flexible adjustment of the predetermined ejection count parameter to accommodate different user needs. The control section can be configured to stop after any specified number of sheets, sets, or jobs are ejected, providing adaptability while maintaining the automatic stopping function.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP2136254B1Image forming system and image forming method
Publication Date: 2013.12.11 KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS TECH INC
  • EP2136254B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2136254B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2136254B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Disclosed an image forming system including: an image forming section to perform an image forming processing to form an image on a sheet to eject the image-formed sheet to an sheet ejection section; a control section to control the image forming processing by the image forming section; a specify section to specify the number of units for stop in a temporary stop mode in which the image forming processing by the image forming section is temporarily stopped, wherein the control section allows the image forming section to stop the image forming processing when the image forming processing by the image forming section reaches the number of units for stop specified with the specify section.