Image Forming Apparatus Paper Weight Shift Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses face challenges in accurately aligning sheets of paper with varying weights and stiffness, leading to scratches on fixing rollers and reduced alignment accuracy in post-processing devices, especially when handling flexible or thick papers.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus equipped with an information acquiring portion to gather sheet information such as paper weight and size, and a control portion that adjusts the reference position shift based on this data to prevent scratches and maintain alignment accuracy, including shifting the reference position orthogonally to the transporting direction based on paper weight, size, and transporting speed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the sheets of paper are intentionally shifted to change their passed positions, then scratches on fixing rollers are prevented, but alignment accuracy in post-processing devices deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating the shift amount based on paper characteristics. Different papers receive different shift amounts - flexible papers get smaller shifts while rigid papers get larger shifts. This localized adjustment prevents scratches on fixing rollers for each paper type while maintaining alignment accuracy in post-processing devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of shift amount dynamically based on paper characteristics such as flexibility and rigidity. By adjusting this parameter according to paper type, the system prevents fixing roller scratches while maintaining alignment accuracy. The control unit modifies the shift parameter to optimize both roller protection and alignment precision.
2Reliability
If a fixed shift amount is applied to all sheets of paper, then fixing roller wear is reduced, but alignment accuracy for flexible papers deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by applying different shift amounts to different paper types. Flexible papers receive smaller shift amounts while rigid papers receive larger shift amounts. This differentiated approach protects fixing rollers from scratches while maintaining alignment accuracy for flexible papers that would otherwise be misaligned by a fixed shift amount.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies dynamics by making the shift amount variable rather than fixed. The control unit dynamically adjusts the shift amount based on detected paper characteristics. This dynamic adjustment ensures that flexible papers receive appropriate smaller shifts maintaining alignment accuracy, while rigid papers receive larger shifts for roller protection.
3Reliability
If the reference position is shifted for every sheet of paper, then fixing roller scratches are prevented, but post-processing alignment accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by shifting the reference position differently based on paper characteristics. Flexible papers have their reference position shifted by smaller amounts while rigid papers have larger shifts. This localized reference position adjustment prevents fixing roller scratches while maintaining alignment accuracy for post-processing of flexible papers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of reference position shift amount based on paper flexibility and rigidity. By dynamically modifying this parameter, the system prevents fixing roller scratches through reference position shifts while ensuring that flexible papers maintain alignment accuracy for post-processing operations.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus acquires sheet information indicating paper weight or the like of a transported sheet of paper. The apparatus also has a control portion and shifts a reference position which has been previously set to a direction orthogonal to a transporting direction of the sheet of paper based on the paper weight or the like of the transported sheet of paper. A deviation sensor detects a deviation of the sheet of paper with regard to the shifted reference position along the direction orthogonal to the transporting direction of the sheet of paper. A sheet shift portion shifts the sheet of paper to the shifted reference position based on the deviation detected by the deviation sensor.