Suction Fan Control for Flattening Curled Recording Sheets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses face challenges in effectively flattening curled recording sheets, particularly those with moisture adsorption or thin and fragile materials, as conventional sheet-pressing rollers often fail to sufficiently flatten these sheets, leading to wrinkles and potential paper jams during high-speed printing.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus with a conveyor belt system that includes a suction part with adjustable negative-pressure generating parts and sheet-pressing rollers, where the suction strength is controlled to have higher suction at the ends than the center, allowing the curled sheet to be effectively flattened and conveyed without generating wrinkles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional sheet-pressing rollers are used to flatten curled recording sheets, then the sheet-pressing rollers can press the recording sheet onto the conveyor belt, but they cannot sufficiently flatten large curls generated by moisture adsorption or thin fragile sheets, thereby generating wrinkles
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies different suction strengths to different regions of the recording sheet. Specifically, the suction strength at both end portions of the suction part in the main scanning direction is made higher than the suction strength at the central portion. This local differentiation allows the end portions to be strongly held while the central portion, which is more prone to curling, receives appropriate suction to flatten large curls without generating wrinkles.
2Reliability
If uniform suction strength is applied across the entire suction part, then the recording sheet can be conveyed stably, but large curls on thin fragile sheets cannot be sufficiently flattened
Solution Approach 1:
The invention implements non-uniform suction strength distribution across the suction part. The suction strength at end portions is higher than at the central portion, allowing the system to simultaneously achieve stable conveyance (through appropriate suction at ends) and effective flattening of large curls (through differentiated suction at central portions).
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
The controlled suction distribution effectively flattens curled recording sheets, preventing wrinkles and ensuring stable conveyance, even for thin and fragile sheets, thereby enhancing the reliability of the printing process.
Implementation Method 1
a suction part; a conveyor belt that conveys a recording sheet suctioned by the suction part
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of sheet-pressing rollers that is arranged at intervals in a main scanning direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the recording sheet by the conveyor belt, the sheet-pressing rollers pressing the recording sheet onto the conveyor belt
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a suction fan unit, a conveyor belt, a plurality of sheet-pressing rollers, and a control unit. The conveyor belt conveys a recording sheet suctioned by the suction fan unit, to a printer part. The sheet-pressing rollers are arranged at intervals in a main scanning direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the recording sheet by the conveyor belt, and press the recording sheet onto the conveyor belt before the recording sheet is conveyed to the printer part. When a type of the recording sheet is a type meeting a predetermined condition, the control unit controls a suction strength of a suction fan unit such that a suction strength at both end portions of the suction part in the main scanning direction is higher than a suction strength at a central portion of the suction part in the main scanning direction.