Image forming apparatus and warming up method
AssigneeMurata Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorTakahiro Sasai
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A warm-up completion temperature (temp 2) of an electro-photographic type printer is set to be lower than a stand-by temperature (temp 3). When a temperature detector detects that a temperature of a fuser reaches the warm-up completion temperature, then a controller ends the warm-up operation. The warm-up time between the turning on of power and the completion of the machine's warm-up operation is thus reduced. An amount of power required for the warm-up operation is also reduced.
Claims18
An electro-photographic type image forming apparatus comprising:
- a fuser;
- a heating unit that heats the fuser;
- a temperature detection unit that detects the temperature of the fuser;
- and
- a control unit that stops performing a warm-up operation when the temperature of the fuser reaches a warm-up completion temperature (Temp 2) that is lower than a stand-by temperature;
- wherein Temp 2 satisfies the relationship
- Temp 5−a*T≦Temp 2≦Temp 5,
- where Temp 5 is a fusing temperature, a is a heating capability of the heating unit, and T is a time interval between issuance of a print command and a moment when a front end of a recording sheet reaches the fuser.
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- a photosensitive drum;
- an exposure unit that forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum;
- a developer that forms a toner image by applying toner to the electrostatic latent image;
- a transfer unit that transfers the toner image to a recording sheet;
- a fuser that fuses the transferred toner image to the recording sheet;
- a heater that heats the fuser;
- a temperature detection unit that detects the temperature of the fuser;
- and
- a control unit that controls the heating unit based on the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit wherein the control unit terminates a warm-up operation when the temperature of the fuser reaches a warm-up completion temperature (Temp 2) that is lower than a stand-by temperature;
- wherein Temp 2 satisfies the relationship
- Temp 5−a*T≦Temp 2≦Temp 5,
- where Temp 5 is a fusing temperature, a is a heating capability of the heating unit, and T is a time interval between issuance of a print command and a moment when a front end of a recording sheet reaches the fuser.
A warm-up method in an image forming apparatus comprising the steps:
- (A) starting a warm-up operation upon energization of the image forming apparatus;
- (B) activating a heating unit that heats a fuser, and starting rotation of a motor that rotates a photosensitive body;
- (C) detecting the temperature of the fuser;
- (D) determining whether or not the detected temperature of the fuser has reached a warm-up completion temperature (Temp 2) that is lower than a stand-by temperature;
- and
- (E) stopping rotation of the motor and ending the warm-up operation when it is determined at step (D) that the temperature of the fuser has reached the warm-up completion temperature;
- wherein Temp 2 satisfies a relationship
- Temp 5−a*T≦Temp 2≦Temp 5,
- where Temp 5 is a fusing temperature, a is a heating capability of the heating unit, and T is a time interval between issuance of a print command and a moment when a front end of a recording sheet reaches the fuser.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.