Image Forming System Page Order Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In image forming systems, advance feeding techniques can lead to page order deviations during temporary suspension and resumption of the printing process, resulting in erroneous page orders and reduced productivity due to longer conveying intervals between sheets.
Innovation Solution
An image forming system with a control unit that synchronizes the feeding timing of recording media from multiple feeding apparatuses, allowing pre-feed to continue only for media already fed, ensuring that sheets are supplied in the correct order upon resumption, thus maintaining page continuity and productivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If advance feeding is performed without regard to page order to shorten conveying interval, then productivity is improved, but page order continuity is compromised resulting in erroneous page orders
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-feeding sheets from multiple feeding apparatuses before the actual image forming process. The control unit issues pre-feed commands to advance sheets from different feeding apparatuses (e.g., 1110a, 1110b, 1110c, 1110d) to reduce conveying intervals during the printing process, while maintaining the ability to control feeding timing to preserve page order continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit monitors the feeding status of sheets from multiple feeding apparatuses and dynamically adjusts pre-feed commands based on real-time feedback. When the image forming process is temporarily suspended, the control unit receives status information and determines whether to continue or cancel pre-feeding operations, ensuring that sheets are fed in the correct page order while maintaining high productivity during normal operation.
2Productivity
If sheet feeding is synchronized from the remotest feeding apparatus to maintain equal intervals, then productivity is improved, but conveying time increases due to longer conveyer channel
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit issues pre-feed commands in advance to sheet feeding apparatuses based on their distance from the image forming apparatus. Feeding apparatuses farther away (e.g., 1110d) receive pre-feed commands earlier than those closer (e.g., 1110a), allowing sheets to be advanced through the longer conveyer channels before the actual printing process begins, thus reducing the effective conveying time during production.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the pre-feed timing for each feeding apparatus based on its position in the sequence. The control unit calculates optimal pre-feed timing considering the number of connections and arrangement of sheet feeding apparatuses, issuing commands at different times to ensure all sheets arrive at the image forming apparatus simultaneously, maintaining equal intervals without excessive conveying time.
3Productivity
If pre-feed continues after suspension to maintain productivity, then productivity is maintained, but page order continuity is lost resulting in waste of sheets
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit continuously monitors the state of the image forming process and receives feedback when suspension occurs. Based on this feedback, the control unit dynamically determines whether to continue or cancel pre-feeding operations. When suspension is detected, the control unit cancels pre-feeding to prevent page order deviations and sheet waste, while resuming pre-feeding when the process continues, thus balancing productivity maintenance with page order continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The pre-feed operation transitions dynamically between active and inactive states based on the real-time status of the image forming process. The control unit adjusts the pre-feeding behavior adaptively: active during normal operation to maintain productivity, and inactive during suspension to prevent waste, ensuring optimal system performance under varying conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming system executes image forming with pages kept continuous by controlling supplying of sheets corresponding to pages for which sheets have not fed in consideration of pages for which sheets have already been fed, even if image forming processing is temporally suspended.