US 8,078,075 B2Granted

Image forming apparatus and method to clean stained portion of image forming apparatus

AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

InventorYoung-min Kim

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Abstract

An image forming apparatus including a case, a printing medium feeding unit disposed in the case to feed printing media, an image forming unit disposed in the case to form images on a printing medium fed from the printing medium feeding unit using developer and to include at least one portion being stained when the images are formed, and a control portion to control the image forming unit to form the images in a plurality of print modes. The control portion sends a cleaning command to clean the at least one stained portion when the amount of the developer used by the image forming unit reaches a reference amount of the developer or when the number of the printing media supplied by the printing medium feeding unit reaches a reference value of the number of the printing media.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An image forming apparatus, comprising:

a case;
a printing medium feeding unit disposed in the case to feed printing media;
an image forming unit disposed in the case to form images on the printing media fed from the printing medium feeding unit using developer, and including a first portion to be stained and a second portion to be stained different than the first portion, each of the first and second portions becoming stained when the images are formed;
and
a control portion to control the image forming unit to form the images in a plurality of print modes, the control portion to send a first cleaning command to clean the first stained portion when the amount of the developer used by the image forming unit reaches a first reference amount of the developer corresponding to the first stained portion or when the number of the printing media supplied by the printing medium feeding unit reaches a first reference value of the number of the printing media corresponding to the first stained portion, the control portion to send a second cleaning command to clean the second stained portion when the amount of the developer used by the image forming unit reaches a second reference amount of the developer corresponding to the second stained portion or when the number of the printing media supplied by the printing medium feeding unit reaches a second reference value of the number of the printing media corresponding to the second stained portion.

2 more elements

A method to clean at least one stained portion of an image forming apparatus that uses developer to form an image, the method comprising:

determining a first stained portion and a second stained portion different from the first stained portion;
calculating a number of dots of the formed image;
calculating a usage amount of the developer using the number of dots;
determining whether the usage amount of the developer reaches a first reference amount of the developer corresponding to the first stained portion and determining a second reference amount of the developer corresponding to the second stained portion;
sending a first cleaning command to clean the first stained portion when the usage amount of the developer reaches the first reference amount of the developer;
and
sending a second cleaning command to clean the second stained portion when the usage amount of the developer reaches the second reference amount of the developer.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/495,866Filed 1 Jul 2009
Priority: KR 2008-00888139 Sep 2008
Published: US 2010/0061744 A111 Mar 2010
Granted: 13 Dec 2011
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G03G 15/55
Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern: self-diagnostics; Malfunction or lifetime display
G03G 15/50
Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern: machine control of apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern,…
G03G 15/5087
Remote control machines, e.g. by a host: for receiving image data
G03G 2221/0005
Processes not provided for by group G03G2215/00, e.g. cleaning or residual charge elimination: cleaning of residual toner