Segmented Heating Roller for Uniform Fusing Temperature
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fusing devices with heating rollers face issues in maintaining uniform temperature across different paper sizes, leading to degraded fusing performance, potential damage to printing media, and equipment, due to the fixed width of heating elements not matching the paper width, resulting in temperature inconsistencies and fusing errors.
Innovation Solution
A heating roller with a resistive heating layer and multiple electrodes spaced along its axis, allowing independent control of heat distribution based on paper size, where electrodes are arranged to correspond to different paper widths, enabling voltage adjustment to maintain consistent temperature across the heating layer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a fixed width heating element is used, then the device structure is simple, but the temperature distribution becomes non-uniform when paper width changes
Solution Approach 1:
The heating element is divided into multiple independent heating zones along the paper width direction, with each zone controllable by separate electrodes. This segmentation allows the heating element to adapt to different paper widths by activating only the necessary zones, maintaining temperature uniformity without increasing overall structural complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The heating element transitions from a static fixed-width design to a dynamic adjustable-width design where the active heating region can be changed based on paper size. By controlling which electrodes are activated, the system dynamically adapts the heating element's effective width to match the paper width, preventing temperature inconsistencies
2Adaptability or versatility
If the heating element width is increased to cover all paper sizes, then all paper sizes can be processed, but energy is wasted on unused heating regions
Solution Approach 1:
The heating element is segmented into multiple independently controllable zones. For each paper size, only the necessary segments are activated, avoiding energy waste on unused regions while maintaining the ability to process all paper sizes through selective zone activation
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the heating element have different operational states based on local requirements. The heating zones corresponding to the actual paper width are active with appropriate power, while zones outside the paper width remain inactive, providing energy efficiency tailored to each local region's actual need
3Device complexity
If a single electrode is used for heating control, then the device structure is simple, but temperature control precision is insufficient for different paper sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The single electrode is segmented into multiple electrodes positioned at different locations along the paper width. Each electrode can be independently controlled to provide precise temperature regulation for different paper sizes by activating specific electrode combinations, achieving fine-grained temperature control without excessive complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the electrical control parameters by selecting different electrode combinations based on paper size. By varying which electrodes are activated and their respective power levels, the system achieves precise temperature control for different paper widths while maintaining a relatively simple overall electrode structure
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
This solution ensures stable temperature control and improved fusing performance across various paper sizes, preventing damage to the device and media, and reducing fusing errors by dynamically adjusting heat distribution based on paper width, thus enhancing the reliability and efficiency of the fusing process.
Implementation Method 1
a resistive heating layer to provide resistance-heating by electrical conduction
Data Source
AI summary
A heating roller including a resistive heating layer and a fusing device including the heating roller. By separately disposing a plurality of electrodes in an axis direction of the heating roller, and by independently controlling each electrode, the heating roller may correspond to various papers having different sizes. Accordingly, the temperature of the heating roller may be stably controlled.