Recording Material Conveyance With Physical-Property Tray Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses fail to maintain stable image quality when switching sheet feed trays due to differences in physical properties of recording materials, such as surface electrical resistance and moisture content, despite similar size and paper type.
Innovation Solution
A recording material conveyance apparatus and method that measures physical properties of recording materials in multiple housing sections and selects a second housing section based on these properties to ensure consistency, using a hardware processor and measurement section to control switching and adjust conveyance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If sheet feed trays are switched based only on size, paper type and weight, then switching simplicity is improved, but image quality stability deteriorates due to differences in physical properties like surface electrical resistance and moisture content
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the switching criteria from basic parameters (size, paper type, weight) to include physical property parameters (surface electrical resistance, moisture content). The control unit measures these physical properties and uses them as additional criteria for determining whether to switch sheet feed trays, thereby maintaining image quality stability while managing complexity through automated measurement and comparison.
2Reliability
If physical property measurement is added to sheet feed tray selection, then image quality stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet feed trays are equipped with self-measuring capabilities through physical property measurement units that automatically measure surface electrical resistance, moisture content, and other physical properties. This eliminates the need for external manual measurement devices and integrates the measurement function directly into the existing tray structure, reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit continuously monitors physical property measurements from multiple sheet feed trays and uses this feedback to make intelligent switching decisions. The system compares measured physical properties against predetermined thresholds and automatically determines whether switching is necessary to maintain image quality, creating a closed-loop control system that manages complexity through automated decision-making.
3Productivity
If continuous image forming is performed after switching, then productivity is improved, but image quality consistency deteriorates when physical properties differ between trays
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary measurement of physical properties (surface electrical resistance, moisture content) for all available sheet feed trays before switching occurs. This advance measurement allows the control unit to pre-determine the optimal switching target that will maintain image quality consistency, ensuring that continuity of operation does not compromise image density uniformity.
Data Source
AI summary
A recording material conveyance apparatus includes a hardware processor and a measurement section. The hardware processor is capable of performing switching control of, in response to, among a plurality of recording material housing sections that house recording materials, a first recording material housing section becoming out of recording material while a recording material fed from the first recording material housing section is being conveyed, selecting a second recording material housing section to cause a recording material housed in the second recording material housing section to be conveyed. In the switching control, the hardware processor selects the second recording material housing section based on a measured physical property value of each of the recording materials of the recording material housing section The measurement section measures the physical property value of each of the recording materials of the recording material housing section. The physical property value corresponds to a physical property.