JP2007080089A - Information processing apparatus, control method thereof, computer program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide technologies for which any high-grade arithmetic environment is not required, for accurately computing the spatial distribution of a physical quantity on the surface of a mobile in the situation where that distribution changes together with the move of the mobile. <P>SOLUTION: The present invention provides an information processing apparatus for computing the distribution of a physical quantity on the surface of a mobile. The information processing apparatus comprises at least: a first updating means for calculating the position of a nodal point based on the moving direction and moving speed of the mobile and updating the nodal point at the position; a correction means for correcting, when the distance between the nodal point and a reference position corresponding to the nodal point becomes longer than a predetermined length after updating due to the first updating means, the positions of a plurality of nodal points just for the integer multiple distance of a reference interval reversely to the moving direction so that the distance becomes shorter than or equal to the predetermined length; and a second updating means for updating a physical quantity corresponding to the corrected nodal points at the positions of the non-corrected nodal points using the physical quantity corresponding to the nodal point of which the position is corrected for each of the corrected nodal points. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for calculating a field based on a spatial distribution of physical quantities, and more particularly, to a technique for calculating a field in a situation where a physical quantity on the surface of a moving body moves as the moving body moves.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, devices that use the physical distribution of physical quantities are known. For example, in an image forming apparatus using electrophotographic technology such as a copying machine or a printer, a charge is applied uniformly on the surface of a photosensitive member, which is a dielectric, and then a latent image device such as a laser is used. An electrostatic image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor. Then, toner is applied to the photoreceptor on which the electrostatic image is formed. The applied toner is guided to an electric field caused by the electrostatic image to form a visible image on the surface of the photoreceptor. As described above, the image forming apparatus using the electrophotographic technique forms an image using the property of the electric field.

  When designing an apparatus using field properties, such as an image forming apparatus using electrophotographic technology, it is important to accurately calculate a spatial distribution of physical quantities and a field calculation based on the distribution.

  In recent years, in the design and development of various devices using field properties such as electric fields (electric fields) and magnetic fields (magnetic fields), it is common to use numerical analysis to calculate fields and reproduce physical phenomena based on fields. It has become. Since the electromagnetic field is expressed by the Maxwell equation, a phenomenon based on the properties of the field can be reproduced by analyzing the Maxwell equation using a numerical analysis method. Based on the phenomenon thus obtained, design parameters are evaluated and optimized. As a numerical analysis method, a finite element method, a finite difference method, a boundary element method, or the like is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  For example, when an electrostatic field is obtained by using a finite element method, a technique for calculating a potential of a node formed by dividing an analysis region is generally used. As a specific example, an example of an analysis region in a two-dimensional cross section having a dielectric and air will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a view exemplarily showing an analysis region in a two-dimensional cross section having a dielectric and air.

  In FIG. 7, the analysis region includes an air region 411a and a dielectric region 411b. The analysis region is divided into regions by rectangular (quadrangle) elements. Each vertex 412a to 412i of each rectangular (quadrangle) element is called a node. 412a to 412c are nodes on the surface of the dielectric, and when there is a charge on the surface of the dielectric, the electrostatic field can be calculated in consideration of the surface charge by defining the amount of charge at the position of the surface node. .

  Note that, for example, in an image forming apparatus using electrophotographic technology, the field may change due to the movement of the moving body, as in the case where the charge on the surface of the photosensitive body moves as the photoconductor rotates. is there. The calculation of the field in such a situation and the analysis of the physical phenomenon based on the property of the field can be performed by interpolating the analysis result by the finite element method in the conventional configuration or by using the Delaunay method. The element division model was remade.

For example, when the surface charge moves with the rotation of the photoreceptor, the surface node charge value after the movement is generally applied by interpolation using the charge amount on the front and back surface nodes and the movement distance of the photoreceptor. It has been. Examples of the interpolation method include a Lagrange interpolation method and a spline interpolation method.
JP-A-8-137831

  However, in the conventional configuration, in a situation where the physical quantity on the surface of the moving body moves with the movement of the moving body, the numerical error of the physical quantity spatial distribution has accumulated over time. For this reason, the field calculation with high accuracy could not be performed depending on the conventional configuration.

  For example, in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic technique, consider the calculation of a field in a situation where the charge on the surface of the photoconductor moves as the photoconductor rotates. In this case, a configuration is conceivable in which the value of the surface node charge after movement is interpolated based on the charge amount on the front and rear surface nodes and the movement distance of the photosensitive member. However, in this configuration, numerical errors regarding the spatial distribution of the surface charge are accumulated over time due to numerical errors caused by interpolation. In particular, when the charge amount varies greatly depending on the position, such as a rectangular spatial distribution, the calculation accuracy of the spatial potential distribution deteriorates with time.

  For example, consider the situation in FIG. 7 where the dielectric region 411b moves relative to the air region 411a. In such a situation, as the dielectric region 411b moves, the rectangle whose vertex is a node is crushed and elongated. As a result, errors due to numerical analysis accumulate.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram exemplifying a time change of the surface physical quantity (charge) distribution obtained by the conventional configuration. In FIG. 8, the vertical axis represents the surface charge amount, and the horizontal axis represents the movement distance of the moving body surface in the moving direction. Reference numerals 801 (a), 802 (b), and 803 (c) indicate distributions of electric charges obtained as calculation results at time t0 (second), time t0 + Δt (second), and time t0 + 2Δt (second), respectively. However, in reality, as shown in FIG. 6, a result that the curve 801 should move to the right is obtained as time passes (or moves). Thus, the accuracy of the physical quantity distribution calculated by the conventional configuration is poor.

  Further, in the configuration in which the element division model near the surface is recreated using the Deloni method or the like, a large calculation load is required for recreating the element division model, and the calculation takes time.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and is a technique for accurately calculating the distribution in a situation where the spatial distribution of physical quantities on the surface of the moving body changes as the moving body moves. The purpose is to provide a technology that does not require a complex computing environment.

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises the following arrangement. That is,
An information processing apparatus for calculating a physical quantity distribution on a surface of a moving object,
A plurality of nodes arranged at a reference interval according to the shape of the surface of the moving body, a reference position and a predetermined physical quantity respectively corresponding to the plurality of nodes, and a moving direction and a moving speed of the moving body are stored. Storage means for
Calculating a position of the plurality of nodes at a predetermined timing based on the moving direction and the moving speed, and updating the nodes stored in the storage means with the positions;
When the distance between the node and the reference position corresponding to the node is greater than a predetermined length after the update by the first update, the storage unit stores the distance so that the distance is equal to or less than the predetermined length. Correction means for correcting the stored positions of the plurality of nodes by a distance that is an integral multiple of the reference interval in the direction opposite to the movement direction;
For each of the corrected nodes, the predetermined physical quantity corresponding to the node after the correction at the position before the correction of the node is updated with the predetermined physical quantity corresponding to the node whose position has been corrected. Second updating means.

  According to the present invention, in a situation in which the spatial distribution of physical quantities on the surface of a moving body changes as the moving body moves, a technique for accurately calculating the distribution and providing a technique that does not require an advanced computing environment is provided. be able to.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the constituent elements described in this embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them.

<< First Embodiment >>
In the present embodiment, a case where a potential distribution in a two-dimensional cross section having a dielectric that is a moving body and air is calculated by a finite element method will be described as an example. Further, it is assumed that the analysis region is divided into elements so that the distances between adjacent nodes on the surface of the moving body are all the same (the distance between the nodes is referred to as a reference interval). Such a premise is set for convenience of explanation, and is not limited to this.

(Functional configuration)
First, the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that each functional configuration described below is realized by a computer program (processing program), but the present invention is not limited to this.

  FIG. 1A shows an example of a schematic overall configuration of a processing program that calculates a field when a physical quantity on the surface of a moving body has a physical quantity and the physical quantity on the moving body moves with the moving body, for example. It is.

  In the figure, reference numeral 100 denotes a control unit that controls the entire processing of the program.

  The initial condition setting unit 111 sets calculation conditions such as an analysis region, information on elements and nodes constituting the region division, movement information such as the moving speed of the moving object, boundary conditions, and time step (unit time).

  A surface calculation point information setting unit (hereinafter referred to as a calculation point setting unit) 112 extracts a surface node as a surface calculation point, a distance between adjacent surface nodes, and an initial point from a reference point (reference position) to a surface node. Set surface calculation point information such as state distance. The reference point is a point defined for each node, and is a point at an intermediate position between the node and the adjacent surface node in the direction opposite to the moving direction. As a distance from the reference point to the surface node in the initial state, ½ of the distance between the adjacent surface nodes is set.

  A space potential distribution calculation unit (hereinafter referred to as a calculation unit) 113 is based on calculation conditions set in the initial condition setting unit 111 and information on surface calculation points set in the calculation point setting unit 112. The potential at the node is calculated by the method. In the present embodiment, for each node set in the analysis region, the amount of charge that the node has is defined.

  The surface calculation point information correction unit (hereinafter referred to as the calculation point information correction unit) 114 is based on the movement information of the moving object set in the initial condition setting unit 111, and the surface node position and the charge amount which is the surface physical quantity. Make corrections. The operation of the calculation point information correction unit 114 will be described in detail later.

  A field display unit (hereinafter referred to as a display unit) 115 displays space potential obtained by calculation. The user can grasp the spatial distribution of the potential by referring to the display on the display unit 115.

  The processing program mainly calculates the potential distribution at each time by repeating the calculation process by the calculation unit 113 and the correction process by the calculation point information correction unit 114.

  Next, a functional configuration of the calculation point information correction unit 114 that is a feature of the configuration according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1B shows a schematic program configuration for explaining an example of processing executed by the calculation point information correction unit 114.

  A movement amount calculation unit (hereinafter referred to as a movement amount calculation unit) 116 calculates the movement amount of the surface node from the moving speed of the moving object and the time step.

A surface calculation point position calculation unit (hereinafter referred to as a calculation point calculation unit) 117 calculates the position of the surface node after movement using the movement amount of the surface node calculated by the movement amount calculation unit 116. Specifically, the position N _i of the surface node i after movement is obtained by the following equation using the coordinates N ⁰ _i of the surface node i one time step before, the moving velocity vector V and the time step Δt.
N _i = N ⁰ _i + VΔt (1)
By this processing, the surface charge amount defined for the surface node is defined by the position of the surface node after the movement, so that the surface charge distribution after the movement can be accurately represented.

  A distance determination unit 118 (hereinafter referred to as a distance determination unit) 118 calculates a distance between a surface node after movement and a reference point corresponding to the node, and the distance between adjacent surface nodes. It is determined whether it is larger than the distance. The distance between the reference point and the moved surface node is obtained by adding the movement distance obtained by the movement amount calculation unit 116 to the distance from the reference point to the surface node one hour before.

  When the distance between the surface node after movement and the reference point corresponding to the node before movement is greater than a predetermined length, the calculation point position correction unit 119 moves the position of the surface calculation point in the direction opposite to the movement direction. By doing so, the division of the analysis area is reconfigured. The amount of movement at this time is the product of the integer value obtained by dividing the distance between the reference point and the moved surface node by the distance between adjacent surface nodes, and the distance between adjacent surface nodes. And The predetermined length can be, for example, the distance between adjacent surface nodes.

Specifically, the coordinates N ′ _i of the corrected surface node i can be obtained by the following equation using the distance ΔL from the reference point to the surface node after movement and the distance H between adjacent surface nodes. .
N ′ _i = N _i −int (ΔL / H) · H · (V / | V |) (2)
Here, int is a function that extracts an integer value obtained by rounding down the decimal part of the value in parentheses. As described above, V is a moving speed vector, and therefore (V / | V |) indicates a unit vector in the moving direction.

  When the distance between the surface node after the movement and the reference point corresponding to the node before the movement is larger than the distance between the adjacent surface nodes, the physical quantity correction unit 120 converts the charge amount defined in the surface node after the movement. From the node of the node to the int (ΔL / H) -th node counted in the moving direction. That is, the charge amount at the int (ΔL / H) -th node is updated with the charge amount defined at the node after movement. For example, when the value of int (ΔL / H) is 1, the charge amount of the surface node adjacent in the moving direction of the moving body is updated with the charge amount defined for the moved node.

  Note that the value of the boundary condition set in advance is substituted for the amount of charge at the surface node on the most upstream side in the movement direction, that is, at the boundary opposite to the movement direction.

The distance correction unit 121 (hereinafter referred to as a distance correction unit) 121 from the reference point has a predetermined distance between the surface node after movement and the reference point corresponding to the node before movement, for example, adjacent to each other. If the distance is greater than the distance between the surface nodes, the distance from the reference point to the moved surface node is corrected. Specifically, the corrected distance ΔL ′ is obtained by the following equation.
ΔL ′ = ΔL−int (ΔL / H) · H (3)
By the processing of the calculation point position correction unit 119 and the distance correction unit 121, the corrected surface charge distribution becomes the same as the distribution obtained by the calculation point calculation unit 117. This is because the movement distance of each node is the same, so the distance between nodes (reference interval) does not change before and after movement, and the correction (movement) of the node position is an integer of the distance between nodes (reference interval). It is because it is twice. In addition, the element division shape including the surface node is maintained in a shape close to the initial state. For this reason, accumulation of errors in numerical analysis can be suppressed.

(Configuration of information processing device)
Next, the configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the information processing apparatus includes a CPU 200, a RAM 201, a display device 202, an input unit 203, an external storage device 204, and a bus 205.

  The configuration of each unit will be described in detail. The CPU 200 is a central processing unit and controls each unit connected to the bus 205.

A RAM 201 is a memory device for temporarily storing various data, and functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like of the CPU 200. In the configuration according to the present embodiment, the RAM 201 has the following data storage unit.
A program storage unit 201a.
Calculation condition data storage unit 201b.
Element division model data storage unit 201c.
A surface calculation point data storage unit 201d.
Calculation point interval data storage unit 201e.
A surface physical quantity data storage unit 201f.
A distance data storage unit 201g from the reference point.
A moving distance data storage unit 201h between 1 hour steps.
Correction coefficient data storage unit 201i.

  In the storage units 201a to 201i, the program shown in FIG. 1, calculation condition data, particle data, member data, surface roughness data, distance data from the reference point P to particles, nearest unevenness number data, accessible Stores characteristic irregularity data, force data acting on particles, and the like.

  The display device 202 includes a display, a printer, and the like, and displays data to be displayed under the control of the CPU 200.

  The input unit 203 includes a keyboard, a mouse (pointing device), and the like, and inputs input data from the outside into the apparatus.

  The external storage device 204 is composed of a hard disk or the like and stores various data.

  Here, the contents of each data will be described. The calculation condition data is a value related to calculation conditions such as time step, calculation real time, and movement information such as moving speed of the moving body. The element division model data includes an analysis region, information on elements and nodes constituting the region division, boundary conditions, and the like. The surface calculation point data includes the number of the surface node that is the surface calculation point, the distance in the initial state from the reference point to the surface node, and the like. The calculation point interval data is a distance between adjacent surface nodes. The surface physical quantity data is a charge amount defined at each surface node. The distance data from the reference point is the distance from the reference point to the surface node after movement. The movement distance data during one time step is the movement distance of the moving body during one time step. The correction coefficient data is the correction coefficient of the position of the surface node and the surface physical quantity, and is an integer value obtained by rounding down the fractional part of the value obtained by dividing the distance from the reference point to the moved surface node by the distance between adjacent surface nodes. It is.

  The information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is realized by, for example, a personal computer (PC), a workstation (WS), a personal digital assistant (PDA), or the like.

  Each functional block shown in FIG. 1 is realized by the CPU 200 of the information processing apparatus described above with reference to FIG. 2 executing a program loaded in the RAM 201 and cooperating with each hardware shown in FIG. The Of course, some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by dedicated hardware.

(Process flow)
Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the flow of processing executed by the calculation point information correction unit 114 using the information processing apparatus will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a preferred example of the processing flow in the calculation point information correction unit 114.

  (1) First, the moving amount calculation unit 116 obtains the product of the moving speed of the moving object and the time step based on the calculation condition data 201b, and obtains the moving distance in one time step. Then, the movement distance is stored in the movement distance data 201h between 1 hour steps (step S301).

  (2) Next, the surface calculation point position calculation unit 117 obtains the coordinates of each surface node using equation (1) based on the element division model data 201c and the movement distance data 201h between one time steps. And stored in the element division model data 201c (step S302).

  (3) Next, in the distance determining unit 118 for the distance from the reference point, the distance from the reference point after one hour step is determined based on the distance data 201g from the reference point and the movement distance data 201h between the one time steps. Ask. Then, the obtained distance is stored in the distance data 201g from the reference point (step S303).

  (4) Next, based on the calculation point interval data 201e and the distance data 201g from the reference point, it is determined whether or not it is larger than a predetermined length, for example, a distance between adjacent surface nodes (step S304). . If the distance from the reference point to the moved surface node is not longer than a predetermined length, for example, the distance between adjacent surface nodes (NO in step S304), all the processes are terminated.

  (5) If the distance from the reference point to the moved surface node is greater than a predetermined length, for example, the distance between adjacent surface nodes (YES in step S304), the process proceeds to step S305. In step S305, the surface calculation point position correction unit 119 calculates the distance from the reference point to the moved surface node based on the calculation point interval data 201e and the distance data 201g from the reference point. Find an integer value with the fractional part of the value divided by the distance rounded down. Then, the obtained integer value is stored in the correction coefficient data 201i.

  (6) Next, based on the element division model data 201c, the calculation point interval data 201e, and the correction coefficient data 201i, the surface node is moved in the direction opposite to the movement direction using the equation (2), and the element division model data is obtained. It is stored in 201c (step S306).

  (7) Next, in the surface physical quantity correction unit 120, based on the surface physical quantity data 201f and the correction coefficient data 201i, the charge amount defined for the surface node is delivered to the correction coefficient-th node in the moving direction (step) S307). For example, when the value of the correction coefficient is 1, it is stored in the charge amount of the surface node adjacent in the moving direction of the moving body. In addition, the value of the boundary condition is substituted for the charge amount of the surface node on the most upstream side in the moving direction.

  (8) Next, in the surface physical quantity correction unit 120, after moving from the reference point using Equation (3) based on the calculation point interval data 201 e, the distance data 201 g from the reference point, and the correction coefficient data 201 i The distance to the surface node is corrected (step S308). Then, the process ends.

  As described above, in the configuration of the present embodiment, by moving the position of the surface node along with the movement of the moving body, the distribution of the physical quantity after the movement of the moving body can be handled accurately. In addition, the element division shape including the surface node after the movement of the surface node can maintain a shape close to the initial state, so that accurate calculation can be performed. This will be described in more detail below.

  4 and 5 show specific examples of correction of surface calculation point information by the configuration according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 shows that the distance from the reference point to the surface node is a predetermined length, for example, between adjacent surface nodes. FIG. 5 illustrates a case where the distance is not greater than the distance of FIG.

  4 and 5, reference numerals common to FIG. 7 such as 411a to 411b and 412a to 412i are the same as those in FIG. Further, 412j to 412k in FIG. 5 each represent a surface node.

  FIG. 4A shows analysis data in the vicinity of the surface node in the initial state. Reference numerals 413a to 413c denote reference points, which are at intermediate positions between adjacent surface nodes. Since the intermediate position between the surface nodes adjacent in the direction opposite to the moving direction is defined as the reference point, for example, the reference point of the surface node 412b is 413a and the reference point of the surface node 412c is 413b. In addition, the distance from the reference point to the surface node in the initial state is ½ of the distance between adjacent surface nodes.

  FIG. 4B shows analysis data in the vicinity of the surface node after Δt seconds have elapsed from the initial state. As shown in FIG. 4B, the surface nodes 412a to 412c move in the moving direction by the moving distance. At this time, since the distance from the reference point to the surface node is smaller than the distance between the adjacent surface nodes, the correction process ends (NO in step S304 in FIG. 3). As a result, since the surface charge amount is defined by the surface nodes 412a to 412c after the movement, the surface charge distribution after the movement can be accurately represented.

  FIG. 5 shows analysis data in the vicinity of the surface node after 2 Δt seconds. FIG. 5A shows the state after step S301. The surface nodes 412a to 412c and 412j are further moved in the moving direction by the moving distance as compared with FIG. At this time, the shape of the quadrilateral element including the surface node is distorted compared to the initial state of FIG. Further, the distance from the reference point to the surface node is determined to be larger than the distance between the adjacent surface nodes, and the value of the correction coefficient int (ΔL / H) is 1.

  FIG. 5B shows the state after the process of step S306, and the result of moving the surface nodes 412a to 412c in the direction opposite to the moving direction by the distance between the adjacent surface nodes based on the equation (2). It shows a state. Since the movement amounts of the surface nodes close to each other are the same, and the position correction in step S306 is an integral multiple of the surface contact interval, the position of the surface node after correction is any of the nodes before correction. Exactly in the same position. For example, the surface node 412b in FIG. 5B is at a position 412a in FIG. 5A before correction.

  FIG. 5C shows the state of the processing in step S307, that is, the state in which the charge amount defined at the surface node is delivered to the adjacent node in the movement direction. For example, the surface charge amount of the surface node 412b is transferred to the surface charge of the surface node 412c. As a result, the value of each surface charge on the surface node is defined at the same position as in FIG. 5A, and the distribution of the physical quantity accompanying the movement of the moving body can be handled accurately.

  As described so far, in the configuration of the present embodiment, the position of the surface node is updated as the moving body moves. If the distance between the updated surface node position and the reference point adjacent in the movement direction exceeds the specified length, the surface node position is corrected, and the physical quantity defined for the corrected surface node Process to update. Thereby, the distribution after the movement of the physical quantity accompanying the movement of the moving body can be handled accurately. In addition, since the element division shape including the surface node after the movement of the surface node can be kept close to the initial state, accumulation of errors in the numerical analysis can be minimized. For this reason, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, calculation with high accuracy can be performed.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a time change of the surface physical quantity (charge) distribution acquired by the configuration according to the present embodiment. As is apparent from a comparison between FIGS. 6 and 8, it can be seen that the spatial distribution shape is preserved even after the moving body is moved.

  Further, in the configuration according to this embodiment, since the movement distance and the distance between the surface nodes can be arbitrarily set, if the conditions for making all the distances between the adjacent mobile body surface nodes the same are satisfied, the element division is performed. It is possible to freely set parameters such as fineness and time step. Further, even when the moving distance in one time step is larger than the distance between the surface nodes, the correction coefficient int (ΔL / H) only becomes larger than 1, and the configuration according to this embodiment can be applied as it is.

  In the above description, the reference point is defined as an intermediate position between adjacent surface nodes in the direction opposite to the moving direction, but may be set at an arbitrary position. Further, in the case of a surface node interval or time step where the correction coefficient int (ΔL / H) is an integer, some processes such as a correction coefficient calculation step (step S305 in FIG. 3) are omitted. Also good. Such a case includes, for example, a case where the distance between adjacent surface nodes is equal to the movement amount of the surface node in one hour step.

  In the above description, the field calculation example in the two-dimensional cross section has been described. However, the calculation of the three-dimensional field can also be applied by creating an element in which the surface of the moving body is equally divided in parallel with the moving direction. is there. Moreover, although the case where the surface shape is a straight line has been described, the present invention can also be applied to a circle or a cylinder.

  In the above description, the electric field calculation has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to the magnetic field calculation. In that case, the amount of magnetization, magnetic flux density, amount of current, etc. are used as the surface physical quantity.

  Next, as one specific application example of the configuration according to the present embodiment, calculation of the potential in the photoreceptor of the electrophotographic apparatus will be described. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a part of an apparatus forming an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system.

  In FIG. 9, 911 is a photosensitive drum, 912 is a developing device, 913 is a transfer member, 914 is a cleaning device, and 915 is a charging member. By applying the configuration according to the present embodiment to the photosensitive drum, the information processing apparatus can predict the potential distribution due to the charge applied from the charging member as the photosensitive drum rotates. The analysis result can be used for designing the developing device configuration.

<< Other Embodiments >>
The exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention can take embodiments as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, or storage medium. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

  The present invention can also be achieved by supplying a program that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment directly or remotely to a system or apparatus, and the computer of the system or apparatus reads and executes the supplied program code. Including the case where it is achieved.

  Therefore, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by a computer, the program code installed in the computer is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. That is, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

  In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, or the like.

  Examples of the recording medium for supplying the program include the following. Namely, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-) R) and the like are included.

  In addition, the following types of programs may be considered. That is, it is also possible to connect to a homepage on the Internet using a browser of a client device and download a computer program according to the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function from the homepage to a recording medium such as an HD. It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the present invention.

  The following supply forms are also conceivable. That is, first, the program according to the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, and distributed to users. Further, the present invention allows a user who has cleared a predetermined condition to download key information to be decrypted from a homepage via the Internet, execute a program encrypted by using the key information, and install the program on a computer. The structure which concerns on is implement | achieved. Such a supply form is also possible.

  In addition, the following realization modes in which the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program are also assumed. In other words, based on the instructions of the program, the OS running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized by the processing.

  Furthermore, after the program read from the recording medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program of the above-described embodiment is also based on the instructions of the program. Function is realized. That is, the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

It is the block diagram which showed the function structure of the information processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is the block diagram which showed the hardware constitutions of the information processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart showing a suitable example of the flow of a process in a calculation point information correction part. It is the figure which showed the specific example of correction of surface calculation point information. It is the figure which showed the specific example of correction of surface calculation point information. It is the figure which illustrated the time change of the surface physical quantity distribution acquired by the composition concerning this embodiment. It is the figure which showed illustratively the analysis field in the two-dimensional section which has a dielectric and air. It is the figure which illustrated the time change of the surface physical quantity distribution acquired by the conventional composition. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a part of an apparatus that constitutes an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system.

Claims (9)

An information processing apparatus for calculating a physical quantity distribution on a surface of a moving object,
A plurality of nodes arranged at a reference interval according to the shape of the surface of the moving body, a reference position and a predetermined physical quantity respectively corresponding to the plurality of nodes, and a moving direction and a moving speed of the moving body are stored. Storage means for
Calculating a position of the plurality of nodes at a predetermined timing based on the moving direction and the moving speed, and updating the nodes stored in the storage means with the positions;
When the distance between the node and the reference position corresponding to the node is greater than a predetermined length after the update by the first update, the storage unit stores the distance so that the distance is equal to or less than the predetermined length. Correction means for correcting the stored positions of the plurality of nodes by a distance that is an integral multiple of the reference interval in the direction opposite to the movement direction;
For each of the corrected nodes, the predetermined physical quantity corresponding to the node after the correction at the position before the correction of the node is updated with the predetermined physical quantity corresponding to the node whose position has been corrected. And a second updating means.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined length is a length of the reference interval.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined physical quantity is at least one of charge, current, and magnetic flux density.   The physical quantity is formed on the basis of the position of the node and the predetermined physical quantity corresponding to the contact point updated by the first and second updating means or corrected by the correcting means. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising calculation means for calculating a field.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising display means for displaying an image corresponding to the calculated field. The moving body is the carrier in an image forming apparatus that forms a visible image by coating a developer on the surface of the carrier on which a latent image is formed.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the physical quantity is an electric charge. A plurality of nodes arranged at a reference interval in accordance with the shape of the surface of the moving body, a reference position and a predetermined physical quantity respectively corresponding to the plurality of nodes, and a moving direction and a moving speed of the moving body are stored. A control method of an information processing apparatus that includes a storage unit and calculates a physical quantity distribution on the surface of the moving body,
Calculating a position of the plurality of nodes at a predetermined timing based on the moving direction and the moving speed, and updating the nodes stored in the storage unit with the positions;
When the distance between the node and the reference position corresponding to the node is greater than a predetermined length after the update by the first update, the storage unit stores the distance so that the distance is equal to or less than the predetermined length. A correction step of correcting the stored positions of the plurality of nodes by a distance that is an integral multiple of the reference interval in a direction opposite to the movement direction;
For each of the corrected nodes, the predetermined physical quantity corresponding to the node after the correction at the position before the correction of the node is updated with the predetermined physical quantity corresponding to the node whose position has been corrected. And a second updating step. An information processing apparatus control method comprising:   A computer program for causing a computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to claim 1.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program according to claim 8.

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