Image forming apparatus capable of duplex printing
AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
InventorJung-yun Won
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A duplex-printable image forming apparatus which is capable of increasing a speed of duplex printing. The image forming apparatus includes: a developing unit which forms a visible image, which is formed of a developer, on a printing medium; a fixing unit which fixes the visible image formed on the printing medium onto the printing medium; a discharging roller unit which can be regularly/reversely rotated such that the printing medium passed through the fixing unit is conveyed to the developing unit along a duplex printing path or is discharged out of the apparatus; and an intermediate conveying unit which is interposed between the fixing unit and the discharging roller unit and selectively holds the printing medium.
Claims12
An image forming apparatus, comprising:
- a developing unit to form a visible image, which is formed with a developer, on a printing medium;
- a fixing unit to fix the visible image formed on the printing medium onto the printing medium;
- a first discharging roller and a second discharging roller to rotate such that the printing medium passed through the fixing unit is conveyed to the developing unit along a duplex printing path when the first discharging roller and the second discharging roller rotate reversely, the first discharging roller and the second discharging roller performing a printing medium discharge operation to discharge the printing medium from the image forming apparatus when the first discharging roller and the second discharging roller rotate forwardly;
- and
- an intermediate conveying unit interposed between the fixing unit and the first discharging roller and the second discharging roller at a jointing point of a simplex printing path and the duplex printing path, to selectively hold the printing medium, including a first conveying roller and a second conveying roller, at least one of the first and the second conveying roller being urged in a direction closer with respect to the other of the first and the second conveying rollers, and before or when in a duplex printing mode, at least a portion of a first printing medium overlaps at least a portion of a second printing medium therebetween, being moved in a direction far away with respect to the other of the first and the second conveying rollers to prevent a lam of at least one of the first printing medium and the second printing medium,
- wherein only one of the first and the second conveying rollers is driven to have a same rotation direction of one of the first discharging roller and the second discharging roller and the other conveying roller is rotatably driven when the first and second conveying rollers are engaged.
An image forming apparatus, comprising:
- a first discharging roller and a second discharging roller to regularly rotate such that a printing medium passed through a fixing unit is conveyed to a developing unit along a duplex printing path when the first and second discharging rollers rotate reversely, the first and second discharging rollers performing a printing medium discharge operation to discharge the printing medium from the image forming apparatus when the first and second discharging rollers rotate forwardly;
- and
- an intermediate conveying unit interposed between the fixing unit and the first and second discharging rollers at a jointing point of a simplex printing path and the duplex printing path, to selectively hold the printing medium, including a first conveying roller and a second conveying roller, at least one of the first conveying roller and the second conveying roller being urged in a direction closer with respect to the other of the first and the second conveying rollers, and before or when in a duplex printing mode, at least a portion of a first printing medium overlaps at least a portion of a second printing medium therebetween, being moved in a direction far away with respect to the other of the first and the second conveying rollers to prevent a jam of at least one of the first printing medium and the second printing medium,
- wherein only one of the first and the second conveying rollers is driven to have a same rotation direction of one of the first discharging roller and the second discharging roller and the other conveying roller is rotatably driven when the first and second conveying rollers are engaged.
A method of improving printing efficiency in an image forming apparatus including a fixing unit, first and second discharging rollers and an intermediate conveying unit, between the fixing unit and the first and second discharging rollers at a jointing point of a simplex printing path and a duplex printing path, including a first conveying roller and a second conveying roller, comprising:
- regularly rotating the first and the second discharging rollers to discharge printing medium;
- and
- selectively holding the printing medium at an overlapping point of a first sheet of the printing medium and a second sheet of the printing medium with the intermediate conveying unit,
- wherein only one of the first and the second conveying rollers is driven to have a same rotation direction of one of the first discharging roller and the second discharging roller and the other conveying roller is rotatably driven when the first and second conveying rollers are engaged,
- wherein at least one of the first and the second conveying roller is urged in a direction closer with respect to the other of the first and the second conveying rollers, and before or when in a duplex printing mode, at least a portion of a first printing medium overlaps at least a portion of a second printing medium therebetween, moved in a direction far away with respect to the other of the first and the second conveying rollers to prevent a jam of at least one of the first printing medium in the second printing medium.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.