KR20050055201A - Apparatus and method for controlling fixing temperature of image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

The fixing temperature control apparatus and method thereof of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention always include the target temperature regardless of the number of prints when the image forming apparatus is turned on, when the time counted by counting the number of prints and the counted time is less than or equal to the set reference time If the counted time has passed the set reference time, the counted time has passed the set reference time, and the counted print count is less than the set reference print count. In the following, the fixing temperature of the fixing unit is maintained as it is, and when the counted number of printed sheets is equal to or more than the set reference printing number, the fixing temperature of the fixing unit is lowered by a predetermined temperature. Therefore, by controlling the usage time and the cumulative number of prints simultaneously, the quality of image formation at the time of printing can be improved by maximizing the fixing efficiency than the method of controlling only by the time and the method of controlling only the cumulative number of prints. It is possible to minimize the consumption of calories.

Description

Fusing temperature control device of an image forming apparatus and its method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING FIXING TEMPERATURE OF IMAGE FORMING DEVICE}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for controlling a fixing temperature of an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to efficiently control the fixing temperature of a fixing apparatus in accordance with a counted value by counting the power ON time and the number of print accumulations of the image forming apparatus. The present invention relates to a fixing temperature control apparatus for an image forming apparatus and a method thereof to maximize the fixing efficiency of the image forming apparatus.

In general, electrophotographic development is widely employed in image forming apparatuses such as copiers, laser beam printers (LBPs), plain paper fax machines, and the like. The process according to the electrophotographic development method is made of a charging, exposure, development, transfer, fixing process and the like as known.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of an engine mechanism of an image forming apparatus employing a general electrophotographic developing system, and showing a case of employing a contact charging system.

As shown in FIG. 1, the contact charging method is a charging method widely used to minimize ozone generation due to charging. The surface of the photosensitive drum has a constant surface potential on the photosensitive drum by contacting the conductive roller or brush used as the contact charger with the photosensitive drum. To form. In particular, Figure 1 shows an example of using a conductive roller of the contact charging method.

As shown in FIG. 1, the photosensitive drum 10 is rotated in an arrow direction by an engine driving motor (not shown), which is a main motor of the engine unit, corresponding to the progress of each process of the electrophotographic processor as described above.

First, in the charging process, the photosensitive drum 10 as the photosensitive member is charged by the charging roller 12 as the contact charger, thereby forming a uniform charge on the photosensitive drum. At this time, the charging roller 12 has a negative potential by the negative charging voltage (VCH).

The photosensitive drum 10 is charged by contact with the charging roller 12 to have a negative surface potential. At this time, the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 10 is typically about -800V. Further, in the above state, the feed rollers 30 and 32 transfer the recording paper fed from the paper cassette not shown to the main body developing part.

Secondly, in the exposure process, the electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum by exposing the charged photosensitive drum 10 as described above in correspondence to the original or image data. In this case, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 10 by exposing only a portion corresponding to an image area to be printed using an exposure apparatus (LSU) 14. In the unexposed part, the surface potential formed by electrification is maintained as it is, and the exposed part is changed in potential to form an electrostatic latent image having a potential difference between the non-exposed part and the exposed part.

Third, the developing process is to convert the developer into a visible image by attaching the developer to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 10. That is, the developing roller 16 is generally applied with a developing bias voltage VD of about -450 V to have a negative potential, and the developer is attached to the developing roller 16. The amount of the developer attached to the developing roller 16 is controlled by a non-illustrated doctor blade, and applied to the developing roller in a fixed amount. Thereafter, the developer of the negative potential moved to the developing region is developed by attaching a part of the negative potential developer to the exposed region on the photosensitive drum 10 by the potential difference.

Fourth, the transfer process is a process in which a developer adhered on the photosensitive drum 10 is transferred to a recording paper by the transfer roller 18. The transfer roller 18 is usually supplied with a transfer voltage VT of about +800 to + 1500 V to fix the developer on the photosensitive drum 10 toward the recording paper to be conveyed.

Fifthly, in the fixing process, the toner on the paper is melted on the recording paper while the transfer of the recording paper passes between the high temperature heat roller 20 and the high pressure pressure roller 22. It is the process of making. Thereafter, the fixing of the fixing sheet is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus, thereby completing copying or printing of one recording sheet. Here, the heat roller 20 includes a heat lamp 21 for converting electrical energy into thermal energy and maximizing fixability of an image to be printed.

A fixing temperature control apparatus for an image forming apparatus according to the related art having such an engine mechanism will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 2.

2 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a fixing temperature control apparatus of the image forming apparatus according to the prior art.

As shown in FIG. 2, the fixing temperature control apparatus of the image forming apparatus is mounted inside the heat roller 20 according to a driving control signal provided to heat the heat roller 20 to a predetermined temperature. And a counting time provided by the temperature sensor 24 for sensing the temperature of the heat roller 20 and the source on-time of the image forming apparatus to reach the set time. The engine controller 50 controls the heat lamp 21 to control the current temperature detected by the temperature sensing unit 24 to a set temperature. In addition, although not shown in the figure, it may include a fan (FAN) for controlling the temperature of the fuser in accordance with the heating of the heat lamp 21.

An operation of the fixing temperature control device of the image forming apparatus according to the related art having such a configuration will be briefly described.

First, when the power-on signal of the image forming apparatus is input, the engine controller 50 counts the time and compares it with the set time.

If the counted time reaches the set time, the engine controller 50 controls the heat lamp 21 to gradually change the current temperature of the fixing unit provided from the temperature sensing unit 24 to the set temperature.

As another method, after the power-on of the image forming apparatus, the engine controller 50 generates a hit when the cumulative number of printed sheets is printed more than the set number of sheets compared to the set number of sheets printed by counting the number of sheets to be printed. By controlling the lamp 21 to lower the fixing temperature of the fixing unit by a predetermined temperature to control the fixing of the paper during printing.

As a result, the method for controlling the fixing temperature of the image forming apparatus according to the prior art maintains the fixing temperature at all times in order to satisfy the fixing property, and maintains the fixing temperature after the continuous operation in which fixing property is determined in consideration of the in-flight temperature. Should be lowered. In order to lower the fixing temperature in this way, it is possible to calculate the source temperature of the image forming apparatus from the beginning and lower the temperature by a predetermined temperature, or after printing a certain number of sheets, lower the fixing temperature by a predetermined temperature to perform image fixing when printing the paper. Will be done.

This is because the user's characteristics are not grasped in lowering the fixing temperature, so when a predetermined time or a certain number of sheets are separately implemented, an area in which fixability cannot be satisfied may occur.

In addition, when the fixing temperature is controlled by time, when the user prints after a certain time without printing one sheet after the power-on of the image forming apparatus, the fixing ability becomes low. In addition, in the case of printing after a certain number of sheets, there is a problem in that fixability is reduced when printing the paper of the image forming apparatus when a time elapses after a predetermined time after the user prints all the sheets at the moment of power-on.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems according to the prior art, an object of the present invention, the fixing unit according to the counting time and the number of prints counted by counting the source time and the number of prints of the image forming apparatus A method of controlling a fixing temperature of an image forming apparatus and a device for controlling the fixing temperature of the sheet to maximize the fixing efficiency in forming an image of a paper.

According to one aspect of the fixing temperature control apparatus of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object, in the fixing temperature control apparatus of the image forming apparatus having a heat source (for example, a heat lamp), the image forming apparatus When the power is turned on, the time and the number of prints are counted, and when the counted time reaches the set reference time and the counted print number exceeds the set reference print number, the heat source is controlled to set the fixing temperature of the fixing unit. It may include a control unit for controlling.

The controller may set the set time and the number of prints to at least one step, respectively, and sequentially control the fixing temperature to at least one step according to the counted time and the number of prints at each set step.

On the other hand, when the power of the image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the fixing temperature control method of the image forming apparatus having a heat source according to the present invention, counting the number of times and the number of prints; And controlling the heat source to control the fixing temperature of the fixing unit to the set reference temperature when the counted time passes the set time and the counted print number exceeds the set reference print number.

The set time and the number of prints may be set to at least one step, respectively, and the fixing temperature may be sequentially controlled to at least one or more steps according to the counted time and the number of prints in each set step.

In the step of controlling the fixing temperature to a set reference temperature, when the counted time has passed the set reference time and the counted print number does not exceed the set print number, the counted time is counted without passing the set reference time. When the number of prints does not exceed the set number of prints, when the counted time does not pass the set reference time and the counted number of prints exceeds the set number of prints, the heat source is controlled to maintain the current temperature.

Hereinafter, a fixing temperature control apparatus and a method thereof of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a block diagram showing a fixing temperature control device of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

As shown in Figure 3, the fixing temperature control apparatus according to the present invention, the key input unit 100, the heat generating unit 110, the cumulative number counting unit 120, the temperature sensor 130, the storage unit 140 And a controller 150.

The key input unit 100 provides the controller 150 with a key input signal and various function selection key input signals for turning on the power of the image forming apparatus.

The cumulative number counting unit 120 accumulatively counts the number of printed sheets of paper to be printed when the image forming apparatus is powered on, and provides the counting data to the controller 150.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the temperature detector 130 detects a current temperature of the fixing unit and provides the detected temperature value to the controller 150.

The storage unit 140 stores reference time data and reference print cumulative number data.

When the wave-on signal of the image forming apparatus is input from the key input unit 100, the controller 150 counts the time and compares the counted time with the reference time stored in the storage 140.

As a result of the comparison, when the counted time reaches the set reference time, the cumulative number of print counts provided from the cumulative number counting unit 120 is compared with the reference accumulated cumulative number value set in the storage 140.

As a result of the comparison, when the number of sheets of printing currently counted reaches the set reference number of prints, the heating unit 110 is controlled to adjust the temperature of the fixing unit to the set temperature. Here, the heat generating unit 110 is a heat lamp as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In addition, the control unit 150 controls the temperature of the fixing unit to a predetermined temperature through the above process, and then counts the time and the number of sheets of prints in the same manner, and multiplies the temperature of the fixing unit according to the counted time and the number of prints. It can be controlled.

The operation of the fixing temperature control device of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention having such a configuration will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, when a power-on signal is first input through the key input unit 100, the controller 150 counts time and provides a counting control signal to the cumulative number counting unit 120.

Therefore, the cumulative number counting unit 120 counts the number of sheets of paper printing according to the counting control signal provided from the controller 150 and provides a counting value to the controller 150.

The controller 150 compares the counted current time with the reference time set in the storage 140, and when the counted time reaches the set reference time, the controller 150 checks the current temperature of the mounting unit provided from the temperature sensor 130 to generate heat. The control unit 110, that is, the heat lamp 110 is controlled to lower the temperature of the fixing unit by the set temperature to maintain the temperature of the fixing unit at the set temperature.

As such, after maintaining and controlling the temperature of the fixing unit, if the first method of controlling the temperature of the fixing unit is primarily controlled by controlling the heat generating unit 110 as described above, counting time and the number of prints are counted again. By controlling the heat generating unit 110 again to control the temperature of the fixing unit in the secondary.

This process is at least two steps or more to lower the temperature of the fixing unit to a predetermined temperature step to improve the fixing efficiency of the fixing unit.

The fixing temperature control method according to the present invention corresponding to the operation of the fixing temperature control device of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described step by step with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a fixing temperature control method of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a method of controlling the fixing temperature of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. This chart shows the relationship with temperature.

As shown in Fig. 4, first, when the power supply of the image forming apparatus is turned on (S101), the time and the number of prints are counted (S102).

The counted time t is compared with the set first reference time t 'to determine whether the counted time t has reached the set first reference time t' (S103).

As a result of determination, when the counted time t reaches the set first reference time t ', the counted print number is compared with the set reference number (S104).

As a result of the comparison, when the counted current number of prints is equal to or greater than the set first reference number N, the heat lamp is controlled to control the fixing temperature of the fixing unit to the set temperature T-ΔT (S105). Here, T is a printing target temperature of the image forming apparatus fixing unit, where ΔT may be about 5-10 degrees.

As such, when the fixing temperature of the fixing unit is primarily controlled, when the time t1 counted by counting the time and the number of prints again reaches the set second reference time t'1, and the counted printing When the number of sheets reaches the set second reference sheet N1, the fixing temperature of the fixing unit is further lowered by a predetermined temperature. In other words, the fixing temperature is controlled by (T- DELTA T)-DELTA T1. Here, ΔT and ΔT1 may be the same value or may be set to different values.

As a result, in the fixing temperature control method of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, when the counted time is less than or equal to the set reference time t, the target temperature N is always (regardless of the number of prints). 180 degrees), and when the reference time t for which the counted time is set elapses, the number of printed sheets of printed sheets is checked.

That is, when the counted time passes the set reference time t and the counted print number is smaller than the set reference print number, the fixing temperature of the fixing unit is maintained at the target temperature T, and the counted print number is set. If the reference number of prints (N) or more, the fixing temperature of the fixing unit is controlled by T-ΔT.

Through this method, the fixing temperature of the fixing unit can be controlled in multiple stages according to the counting time and the number of prints. In the above embodiment, only the fixing temperature control operation of the second stage is described, but the setting temperature is different from the two stages. Being able to adjust the fixing temperature of the fixing unit through the above or less steps is a part that can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art.

The fixing temperature control apparatus and method of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention as described above, when the image forming apparatus is powered on, when the counted time by counting the time and the number of prints is less than the set reference time, Regardless of whether the target temperature is always maintained and the counted time has passed the set reference time, the number of printed sheets of the printed paper is checked, the counted time passes the set reference time, and the counted print count is set. If it is smaller than the number of prints, the fixing temperature of the fixing unit is maintained at the set target temperature. If the counted number of printing is more than the set reference printing number, the fixing temperature of the fixing unit is lowered by a predetermined temperature. Therefore, by controlling the usage time and the cumulative number of prints at the same time, it is possible to improve the quality of image formation during printing by maximizing the fixing efficiency than the method of simply controlling the time or the cumulative number of copies, and the heat amount of the heat lamp. Minimize consumption.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 shows a schematic engine mechanism configuration of an image forming apparatus employing a contact developing method of a general electrophotographic processor.

2 is a schematic block diagram of a mounting temperature control apparatus for an image forming apparatus according to the prior art;

3 is a block diagram showing a fixing temperature control device of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention;

4 is an operation flowchart of a fixing temperature control method of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a chart showing the relationship between the number of prints, the counting time and the fixing temperature in the fixing temperature control method of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

100: key input unit 110: heat generating unit

120: cumulative number counting unit 130: temperature sensing unit

140: storage unit 15: engine control unit

Claims (5)

In the fixing temperature control apparatus of the image forming apparatus having a heat source, When the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on, the time and the number of prints are counted, and when the counted time reaches the set reference time and the counted print number exceeds the set reference print number, the fixing of the fixing unit is performed by controlling the heat source. A fixing temperature control apparatus for an image forming apparatus, comprising a control unit for controlling a temperature to a set temperature. The method of claim 1, The control unit, A fixing temperature control apparatus of the image forming apparatus which sets the set time and the number of prints to at least one step, respectively, and sequentially controls the fixing temperature to at least one step according to the counted time and the number of prints at each set step. . In the fixing temperature control method of an image forming apparatus having a heat source, Counting time and number of prints when the image forming apparatus is powered on; And controlling the heat source to control the fixing temperature of the fixing unit to the set reference temperature when the counted time has passed the set time and the counted print number exceeds the set reference print number. Control method. The method of claim 3, A fixing temperature control method of an image forming apparatus which sets the set time and the number of prints to at least one step, respectively, and sequentially controls the fixing temperature to at least one step according to the counted time and the number of prints at each set step. . The method of claim 3, In the step of controlling the fixing temperature to a set reference temperature, If the counted time has passed the set reference time and the counted prints have not exceeded the set number of prints, if the counted time has not passed the set reference time and the counted prints have not exceeded the set print number, counting A method of controlling a fixing temperature of an image forming apparatus that maintains a current temperature by controlling a heat source when a set number of prints exceeds a set number of prints without exceeding a set reference time.