Gain scheduling approach for fuser control to reduce inter-cycle time
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsFaming Li, Eric Scott Hamby, Yongsoon Eun
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fusing apparatus includes a fuser roll and a pressure roll which define a nip therebetween. An internal heat source is disposed within a interior of the fuser roll. An external heat source is disposed adjacent the fuser roll for heating an outer surface of the fuser roll. One or both of the internal heat source and the external heat source is controlled during a print job such that the thermal gradient across the fuser roll is adjusted. As a result, a temperature overshoot which generally occurs after the print job is finished can be reduced. The influence of subsequent jobs on the fuser roll surface temperature can also be accommodated.
Claims28
A fusing apparatus comprising:
- a fuser roll and a pressure roll which define a nip therebetween for receiving print media with an image to be fused thereon;
- an internal heat source disposed in an interior of the fuser roll;
- an external heat source disposed exterior to the fuser roll for heating an outer surface of the fuser roll;
- at least one of the internal heat source and the external heat source being controlled during a print job to adjust a thermal gradient between the interior of the fuser roll and the outer surface of the fuser roll during a print job.
In a fuser assembly comprising a fuser roll and a pressure roll, a method of controlling a temperature of the fuser roll comprising:
- during a print job, heating a fuser roll outer surface contemporaneously with an external heat source disposed exterior to the fuser roll and an internal heat source disposed in an interior of the fuser roll;
- and
- after a start of the print job, controlling at least one of the heat supplied by the external heat source and the heat supplied by the internal heat source so as to decrease a thermal gradient from the interior of the fuser roll to the fuser roll outer surface and thereby reduce a temperature rise which otherwise occurs when the print job ends.
A method comprising:
- providing a fuser roll with an internal heat source disposed in an interior of the fuser roll and an external heat source which heats an outer surface of the fuser roll;
- and
- during a print job, adjusting the power supplied to at least one of the internal heat source and the external heat source to adjust a thermal gradient between the interior and the outer surface of the fuser roll.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.