Print Media Detection Sensor Cleaning by Fan Airflow
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Contamination of the print medium detection sensor due to heat from the fixer leads to erroneous operations in image forming apparatuses, causing the apparatus to incorrectly detect the presence or absence of print media.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a fan adjacent to the print medium detection sensor to remove foreign bodies such as toner powder, dew condensation, and other contaminants by actively cooling the sensor surface, combined with a processor-controlled detection circuit to monitor and correct abnormal voltage readings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the fixer heats the print medium to fix toner, then the toner is successfully fixed, but foreign bodies such as toner powder and dew condensation contaminate the print medium detection sensor
Solution Approach 1:
A fan is introduced as an intermediary device to remove foreign bodies from the sensor surface. The fan creates airflow that actively clears toner powder and dew condensation from the print medium detection sensor, preventing contamination while maintaining the heating function of the fixer
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful foreign bodies (toner powder and dew condensation) are extracted from the sensor surface through the fan's airflow. This separates the contamination removal function from the toner fixing function, allowing both to operate effectively without interfering with each other
2Productivity
If the print medium detection sensor is contaminated with foreign bodies, then the sensor output voltage becomes abnormal, but the apparatus continues to operate with erroneous detection
Solution Approach 1:
The detection circuit continuously monitors the sensor output voltage and provides feedback to the control circuit. When abnormal voltage indicating contamination is detected, the control circuit activates the fan to remove foreign bodies, creating a closed-loop feedback system that maintains detection accuracy while allowing continuous operation
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-diagnosis and self-correction through the detection circuit that automatically identifies sensor contamination through voltage monitoring and triggers the fan to clean the sensor, eliminating the need for manual intervention or system shutdown
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
Prevents erroneous operations by maintaining the sensor's functionality, ensuring accurate detection of print media presence and preventing unnecessary job interruptions.
Implementation Method 1
a fan to remove foreign bodies of a surface of the print medium detection sensor
Implementation Method 2
dew condensation, and other contaminants
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus including a fixer, a print medium detection sensor adjacent to the fixer and to detect movement of a print medium, a fan adjacent to the fixer and to the print medium sensor, and a processor to control the image forming apparatus to heat the fixer for an image forming job, and based on a voltage value of an output signal of the print medium detection sensor not being in a predetermined range, to drive the fan to remove a foreign body on a surface of the print medium detection sensor so that the voltage value of the output signal of the print medium detection sensor is in the predetermined range.