RECORDING MATERIAL DISCRIMINATION DEVICE, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND METHOD THEREFOR

• US 20070120945A1
• Filed: 11/02/2006
• Published: 05/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Umeda, Kengo, Okada, Tomoyuki, Aoki, Masaru, Akita, Masanori, Kokubo, Yoshitaka
• Granted Patent: US 7,505,703 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/224
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5029 by measuring the copy material characteristics, e.g. weight, thickness
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5062 by measuring the characteristics of an image on the copy material
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6591 characterised by the recording material, e.g. plastic material, OHP, ceramics, tiles, textiles details transferring the toner pattern onto particular materials G03G15/1625
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6594 characterised by the format or the thickness, e.g. endless forms
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00447 Plural types handled
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00751 of sheet type, e.g. OHP

Abstract

The invention is objected to perform fixing in an optimum fixing condition even with various kinds of recording materials or the like while improving usability by discriminating the kinds of recording materials. An image reading sensor 123 includes a reflective LED 301, a transmissive LED 303 disposed on the opposite side relative to a recording material 304 for detecting the transmitted amount of light, a CMOS area sensor 211, and an imaging lens 1113. The light from the reflective LED 301 as a light source is applied toward the surface of the recording material 304, and the reflected light from the recording material 304 is collected via the lens 303 and an image is formed on the CMOS area sensor 211. The LED 301 is disposed so as to apply LED light to the surface of the recording material 304 diagonally at a predetermined angle.

Claims

1-54. -54. (canceled)

55. An image forming apparatus including an image forming part for forming an image onto a recording material, the image forming apparatus comprising:

a first irradiating portion for irradiating a recording material with predetermined light so as to obtain reflected light reflected from a surface of the recording material;

a second irradiating portion for irradiating the recording material with predetermined light so as to obtain transmitted light transmitted through said recording material;

a reading device for reading the reflected light or the transmitted light from the recording material so as to read an image in an area which has predetermined number of pixels; and

a discrimination portion for determining a kind of the recording material based on an image in the area according to the reflected light and an image in the area according to the transmitted light.

56. The image forming apparatus according to claim 55, wherein the discrimination portion determines the kind of the recording medium based on data which digitized the image in the area.

57. The image forming apparatus according to claim 55, wherein the discrimination portion determines a kind of the recording material based on smoothness of the recording material according to a concentration difference of the pixels in the image and basic weights of the recording material according to an amount of light of the pixel in the image.

58. The image forming apparatus according to claim 55, wherein the image forming part includes a latent image carrier for carrying a latent image, a developing part for developing said latent image, a transfer part for transferring a developer image onto said recording material, and a fixing device for fixing said developer image on said recording material, which has been transferred by said transfer part, and

the apparatus further comprises a controller for setting a transfer condition of the transfer part or a fixing condition of the fixing device based on the kind of the recording material.

59. The image forming apparatus according to claim 55, wherein said reading device is a CMOS area sensor or a CCD sensor.

60. An image forming apparatus including an image forming part for forming an image onto a recording material, the image forming apparatus comprising:

a first irradiating portion for irradiating a recording material with predetermined light so as to obtain reflected light reflected from a surface of the recording material;

a second irradiating portion for irradiating the recording material with predetermined light so as to obtain transmitted light transmitted through the recording material;

a reading device for reading the reflected light or the transmitted light from the recording material so as to read an image in an area which has predetermined number of pixels; and

a controller for setting an image forming condition of the image forming part based on an image in the area according to the reflected light and an image in the area according to the transmitted light.

61. The image forming apparatus according to claim 60, wherein said image forming apparatus including a latent image carrier for carrying a latent image, a developing part for developing said latent image, a transfer part for transferring a developer image onto a recording material, and a fixing device for fixing said developer image on the recording material, which has been transferred by said transfer part, and

a transfer condition of the transfer part or a fixing condition of the fixing device is based on an image in the area according to the reflected light and an image in the area according to the transmitted light.

62. The image forming apparatus according to claim 60, wherein said reading device is a CMOS area sensor or a CCD sensor.