Image Forming Apparatus Overloading Detection via Driving Amount Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses face inaccuracies in determining recording material overloading due to variations in the degree of deformation of elastic members and sensor installation positions, leading to potential sheet jamming issues.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus includes a housing unit with an intermediate plate, a lift-up unit, detection units, and a control unit that acquires and corrects a driving amount threshold by calculating a differential amount, allowing for accurate determination of overloading by adjusting the threshold based on actual driving amounts and cumulative driving amounts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a fixed threshold time is used to determine overloading, then the determination process is simple, but the accuracy is reduced due to variations between apparatuses
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calibration by measuring the lift-up time when the intermediate plate is empty and storing this as a reference value. This preliminary action establishes a baseline that accounts for apparatus-specific variations, enabling accurate overloading determination without requiring complex real-time adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by comparing the actual lift-up time with the reference lift-up time. When the intermediate plate is attached, the system measures the new lift-up time and calculates the difference, using this feedback to determine whether overloading has occurred. This feedback mechanism dynamically adapts to each apparatus's characteristics.
2Reliability
If the intermediate plate is lifted up repeatedly to detect recording material, then the detection accuracy is improved, but the operation time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs the lift-up operation twice: first to detect the presence of recording material, and second to verify the detection result. This partial repetition ensures reliable detection by confirming the intermediate plate's position and the recording material's presence, reducing false negatives while minimizing unnecessary full calibration cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary detection by lifting the intermediate plate once to check for recording material presence. Only when the detection result is uncertain or negative does it perform the second lift-up for verification. This preliminary action approach reduces unnecessary repeated operations while maintaining detection reliability.
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 solution enhances the accuracy of overloading determination, reducing the occurrence of sheet jamming by accounting for variations between apparatuses and improving the reliability of the overloading detection process.
Implementation Method 1
a lift-up unit that lifts up the intermediate plate along a vertical direction with driving force supplied from a driving source
Implementation Method 2
a degree of deformation of an elastic member, such as wire, that constitutes a lift-up mechanism varies between the apparatuses
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a housing unit that includes an intermediate plate, a lift-up unit, a first detection unit, a second detection unit, a feeding unit, a control unit, a first acquisition unit that acquires a first driving amount, a storage unit that stores a threshold, a determination unit that determines that a recording material is overloaded on the intermediate plate when the first driving amount is smaller than the threshold, a second acquisition unit that acquires a second driving amount, a correction unit that obtains a differential amount by subtracting a predetermined driving amount from the second driving amount acquired by the second acquisition unit, and corrects, on a basis of the differential amount, the threshold stored in the storage unit or the first driving amount acquired by the first acquisition unit.