IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING METHOD

• US 20110274451A1
• Filed: 03/08/2011
• Published: 11/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kawaguchi, Hiroshi
• Application Number:
  US13/042,593
• Publication Number:
  US 20110274451A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 399/38
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0121 for developing
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0189 primary transfer to an intermediate transfer belt G03G15/0184 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0863 provided with identifying means or means for storing process- or use parameters, e.g. an electronic memory
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/1675 with means for controlling the bias applied in the transfer nip
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/2039 with means for controlling the fixing temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/0132 vertical medium transport path at the secondary transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/0697 being an electronically readable memory

Abstract

According to one embodiment, an image forming apparatus includes: plural image forming units including developing devices configured to respectively form images of plural colors; plural toner cartridges in which respective toner of the plural colors is stored respectively and each of the plural toner cartridges configured to supply the respective toner to the developing device respectively; first memories provided respectively incidental to the plural toner cartridges and each of the first memories in which correspondence data between parameter value affecting printing condition and printing condition calculated on the basis of characteristic of the respective toner of the plural colors is stored in advance; a detecting mechanism configured to detect the parameter value; and an arithmetic control mechanism configured to calculate each of printing conditions in the respective toner of plural colors from the correspondence data on the basis of the parameter value and calculate control condition for the image of the plural colors formed to be superimposed one on top of another on the basis of the printing condition.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

plural image forming units including developing devices configured to respectively form images of plural colors;

plural toner cartridges in which respective toner of the plural colors is stored respectively and each of the plural toner cartridges configured to supply the respective toner to the developing device respectively;

first memories provided respectively incidental to the plural toner cartridges and each of the first memories in which correspondence data between parameter value affecting printing condition and printing condition calculated on the basis of characteristic of the respective toner of the plural colors is stored in advance;

a detecting mechanism configured to detect the parameter value; and

an arithmetic control mechanism configured to calculate each of printing conditions in the respective toner of plural colors from the correspondence data on the basis of the parameter value and calculate control condition for the image of the plural colors formed to be superimposed one on top of another on the basis of the printing condition.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first memories are attached to the plural toner cartridges or an integral unit including the toner cartridges.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transmitting and receiving unit configured to connect the arithmetic control mechanism and the first memories by wire or wirelessly.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second memory configured to store the detected parameter value and the calculated printing conditions.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transfer member onto which the images of the plural colors respectively formed in the plural image forming units are transferred to be superimposed one on top of another.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a fixing device configured to fix an image transferred onto a transfer medium from the transfer member.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the parameter value is at least one of humidity and temperature.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting mechanism is at least one of a hygrometer and a thermometer.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing conditions and the control conditions are at least one of a secondary transfer voltage and fixing temperature.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the correspondence data is selected on the basis of at least one of electric resistance, a charging amount, an average particle diameter, particle size distribution, and a thermal characteristic of the toner and a thermal characteristic of resin forming the toner.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the arithmetic control mechanism averages the printing conditions to calculate the control condition.

12. An image forming method comprising:

supplying respective toner of plural colors to developing devices corresponding to the toner, correspondence data between parameter value affecting printing condition and the printing condition of the respective toner of the plural colors is stored in advance;

sequentially forming images of the plural colors with the respective toner of the plural colors;

detecting the parameter values;

calculating the printing condition in the respective toner of the plural colors on the basis of the detected parameter value respectively; and

calculating control condition for the image of the plural colors formed to be superimposed one on top of another, on the basis of the printing condition.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the parameter values are at least one of humidity and temperature.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the printing conditions and the control condition is at least one of a secondary transfer voltage and fixing temperature.

15. The method according to claim 12, further comprising secondarily transferring the images of the plural colors onto a transfer medium on the basis of the control condition.

16. The method according to claim 12, further comprising fixing the image of the plural colors on a transfer medium on the basis of the control condition.

17. The method according to claim 12, wherein the correspondence data is selected on the basis of at least one of electric resistance, a charging amount, an average particle diameter, particle size distribution, and a thermal characteristic of the toner and a thermal characteristic of resin forming the toner.

18. The method according to claim 12, wherein a printing mode is selected by a user.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the selected printing mode is a color mode.

20. The method according to claim 12, further comprising calculating the control condition by averaging the printing conditions.