Light Source Drive Control for Electrophotographic Line Width Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Digital printing machines using the electrophotographic process struggle to clearly reproduce thin lines and small characters due to issues with line width accuracy and reproducibility, leading to defects like blurring and thickening of lines.
Innovation Solution
A light source drive control device and method that generates line-thinned image data, sets a constant ratio between first and second pixel widths, and adjusts exposure intensities to control light emission, ensuring precise reproduction of thin lines and characters by modulating the light source based on line-thinned image data and drive current switching signals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If image processing correction is applied to narrow line width, then line width accuracy is improved, but thin lines become blurred due to excessive thinning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different processing strategies to different regions of the image: characters receive line thinning processing while line drawings receive exposure amount adjustment. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by optimizing each region according to its specific requirements, preventing blurring of thin lines while maintaining line width accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter being adjusted from line width (geometric parameter) to exposure amount (energy parameter). By increasing exposure amount instead of narrowing line width, the patent achieves line width accuracy without causing the blurring that occurs with excessive thinning.
2Manufacturing precision
If exposure amount is increased to improve thin line reproduction, then character reproducibility is improved, but toner adhesion becomes unstable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies exposure amount adjustment only to line drawing regions, not to character regions. This localized application improves thin line reproduction in line drawings while avoiding the toner adhesion instability that would result from increasing exposure across the entire image.
3Manufacturing precision
If line thinning processing is applied to all regions, then line width accuracy is improved, but image quality deteriorates due to loss of detail
Solution Approach 1:
The patent selectively applies line thinning processing only to character regions while applying exposure amount adjustment to line drawing regions. This regional differentiation maintains image quality by preserving detail in line drawings while achieving line width accuracy in characters.
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
The solution effectively improves the reproducibility of thin lines and small characters by maintaining the total exposure energy and reducing toner adhesion instability, resulting in sharper and more stable image formation with reduced blurring and density unevenness.
Implementation Method 1
a light source that emits a laser beam
Implementation Method 2
irradiates the surface to be scanned with the beam emitted from the light source, and scans the surface to be scanned with the beam, thus forming an electrostatic latent image
Implementation Method 3
a polygon mirror that deflects the laser beam emitted from the light source
Implementation Method 4
forming an electrostatic latent image according to the image data on the photoconductor drum
Data Source
AI summary
A light source drive control device includes: an image data generating part that generates line-thinned image data having been subjected to line thinning processing for thinning an edge pixel in image data by a first pixel width; an intensity information generating part that generates intensity information including a first intensity at which a pixel not included in a set second pixel width of an edge in the line-thinned image data is exposed and a second intensity at which a pixel included in the second pixel width is exposed and which is higher than the first intensity; and a light source driving part that drives a light source based on a light source modulation signal generated according to the line-thinned image data and a drive current data switched based on a drive current switching signal generated based on the intensity information.