Print Scan Feedback for Cartridge Status and Quality Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Image forming apparatuses often produce printouts with deteriorated quality due to various causes, and existing systems lack effective methods to assess and adjust print settings based on cartridge status and remaining toner or ink levels.
Innovation Solution
The image forming apparatus scans a printout to obtain dithered data, compares it with dithered data from print data, and adjusts print settings or informs the user about cartridge status based on the quality and remaining toner or ink levels, using a scanning module and threshold values to ensure print quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the image forming apparatus continues printing without monitoring cartridge status, then productivity is maintained, but print quality deteriorates due to insufficient toner or ink
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs scan operations on printed pages to detect print quality, compares the scanned image with the original print data, and uses this feedback to determine cartridge status. When quality deterioration is detected, the system notifies the user about toner or ink insufficiency, enabling timely cartridge replacement to maintain reliable print quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system proactively monitors print quality through scan operations before complete toner or ink exhaustion occurs. By detecting quality deterioration early and notifying users in advance, the system enables preliminary cartridge replacement actions that prevent complete printing interruption and maintain continuous productivity.
2Measurement precision
If the apparatus performs frequent scan operations to monitor print quality, then measurement precision of cartridge status improves, but use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs scan operations periodically or at specific intervals rather than continuously. The controller executes scan operations to obtain current page images at designated times, compares these with reference data, and determines cartridge status based on quality changes over time. This periodic monitoring approach achieves sufficient measurement precision while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous scanning.
3Reliability
If the apparatus implements comprehensive print quality monitoring through scanning, then reliability of quality assessment improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the existing scanner component, already present in the image forming apparatus, for dual purposes: its original scanning function and the additional quality monitoring function. By making the scanner multi-functional, the system achieves reliable print quality assessment without adding separate dedicated monitoring hardware, thereby avoiding increased device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses its own internal scanner to monitor its own print quality output. The image forming apparatus performs self-diagnosis by scanning its printed pages and comparing results with expected quality standards, enabling reliable quality assessment without requiring external monitoring equipment or increased system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An example image forming apparatus includes a print module, a scanning module, a processor, and a memory to store at least one instruction executable by the processor. The processor is to execute the at least one instructions to obtain remaining amount information about the remaining amount of the toner or ink, control the print module to output a first printout using print data, control the scanning module to obtain a printout image by scanning the first printout, identify a quality of the first printout based on the output image and the print data, and obtain cartridge status information based on the identified quality of the first output and the remaining amount information.