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Image forming apparatus that controls a thermal fixing condition of a fixing portion based on thermal characteristic information of toner

  • US 10,558,143 B2
  • Filed: 05/25/2018
  • Issued: 02/11/2020
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2017
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

  • an apparatus main body;

    a plurality of cartridges configured to contain toners of a plurality of different colors, and configured to be detachably attached to the apparatus main body, each of the plurality of cartridges including a storage element that stores thermal characteristic information specific to the type of the toner contained therein, the toner being classified into one of at least two types of toner including a first type of toner and a second type of toner that are different from each other based on a degree of fixing performance of the toner to the recording material;

    a reading portion configured to read the thermal characteristic information stored in the storage element of each of the plurality of cartridges, and to output the read thermal characteristic information for a combination of the plurality of cartridges;

    a fixing portion configured to perform a fixing operation of thermally fixing a toner image, which is formed by the toners of the plurality of different colors contained in the plurality of cartridges, respectively, onto a recording material; and

    a control portion configured (i) to receive the read thermal characteristic information, output by the reading portion, for the combination of the plurality of cartridges, and (ii) to set a fixing temperature for the fixing operation performed by the fixing portion based on the received thermal characteristic information for the combination of the plurality of cartridges,wherein, if the received thermal characteristic information for the combination of the plurality of cartridges indicates that a toner, of the toners of the plurality of different colors, that is transferred first to the recording material is the first type of toner, the control portion sets the fixing temperature to be a first fixing temperature that is within a first fixing temperature range, and, if the received thermal characteristic information for the combination of the plurality of cartridges indicates that the toner that is transferred first to the recording material is the second type of toner, the control portion sets the fixing temperature to be a second fixing temperature that is within a second fixing temperature range, the second fixing temperature range being different, at least in part, from the first fixing temperature range, and the first fixing temperature range and the second fixing temperature range being set for optimal fixing of the toner that is transferred first to the recording material.

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