Image forming apparatus and control method for the same

• US 8,676,111 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2011
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Aoi, Yosuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Marini, Matthew G
• Assistant Examiner(s): PRIMO, ALLISTER O
• Application Number:
  US13/073,422
• Publication Number:
  US 20110318078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,086 Days
• Field of Search: 399/364, 399/401, 399/397
• US Class Current: 399/397
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/235 the image receiving member being preconditioned before transferring the second image, e.g. decurled, or the second image being formed with different operating parameters, e.g. a different fixing temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6573 Feeding path after the fixing point and up to the discharge tray or the finisher, e.g. special treatment of copy material to compensate for effects from the fixing
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/0141 the linear arrangement being horizontal

Abstract

An image forming apparatus is provided, which includes a fixing unit, a cooling roller disposed downstream relative to the fixing unit in a sheet feeding direction, an ejection roller disposed downstream relative to the cooling roller in the sheet feeding direction, a driving unit rotating the cooling roller and the ejection roller normally or reversely, and a controller including a determining unit determining whether a detected temperature is higher than a predetermined temperature, the controller switching between a first mode to, after a sheet passes through the cooling roller, control the driving unit to reversely rotate the cooling roller and the ejection roller being rotating normally and a second mode to, in a state where the cooling roller is nipping the sheet, control the driving unit to reversely rotate the cooling roller and the ejection roller being rotating normally, based on the determination of the determining unit.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus configured to print an image on each side of a sheet by switching back the sheet, comprising:

an image forming unit configured to form a developer image on the sheet;

a fixing unit configured to fix the developer image formed on the sheet by the image forming unit;

a cooling roller disposed downstream relative to the fixing unit in a sheet feeding direction along a main sheet conveyance path, the cooling roller being configured to contact the sheet conveyed along the main sheet conveyance path and to cool the sheet on which the developer image is fixed by the fixing unit;

an ejection roller disposed downstream relative to the cooling roller in the sheet feeding direction along the main sheet conveyance path, the ejection roller being configured to eject the sheet onto a catch tray;

a driving unit configured to rotate the cooling roller and the ejection roller normally or reversely;

a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the image forming apparatus; and

a controller comprising a determining unit configured to make a determination as to whether the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is higher than a predetermined temperature, the controller being configured to switch a control mode between a first mode and a second mode based on the determination made by the determining unit as to whether the detected temperature is higher than the predetermined temperature,

wherein, in the first mode, after a trailing end of the sheet has passed the cooling roller, the controller controls the driving unit to reversely rotate the cooling roller and the ejection roller being rotated normally,

wherein in the second mode, in a state where the cooling roller is nipping the sheet, the controller controls the driving unit to reversely rotate the cooling roller and the ejection roller being rotated normally,

wherein, when the cooling roller and the ejection roller rotate reversely, the cooling roller and ejection roller rotate in a first direction and are configured to convey the sheet toward a sheet re-conveyance path, and

wherein, when the cooling roller and the ejection roller rotate normally, the cooling roller and ejection roller rotate in a second direction opposite to the first direction and are configured to convey the sheet toward the catch tray.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a sheet sensor configured to detect the sheet conveyed to a position downstream relative to the fixing unit in the sheet feeding direction; and

a timing setting unit configured to set a time at which the driving unit is to reversely rotate the cooling roller and the ejection roller being rotated normally in each of the first and second modes, based on a detection result of the sheet sensor.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the controller switches the control mode to the first mode when determining that the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is higher than the predetermined temperature.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, when switching the control mode to the second mode, the controller controls the driving unit to reversely rotate the cooling roller and the ejection roller being rotated normally, in a state where the cooling roller is nipping a portion of the sheet close to a trailing end of the sheet in the sheet feeding direction and outside of a printable area.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the cooling roller is wider than a printable area of the sheet in a sheet width direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the cooling roller is wider than the sheet in the sheet width direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the image forming apparatus is configured to guide the sheet from the fixing unit to the cooling roller along the main sheet conveyance path; and

the image forming apparatus is configured to guide, to the image forming unit and along the re-conveyance path, the sheet switched back by the cooling roller in response to the driving unit reversely rotating the cooling roller, the re-conveyance path diverging from a middle of the main sheet conveyance path from the fixing unit to the cooling roller.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the driving unit comprises a stepping motor.

9. A control method for controlling an image forming apparatus configured to print an image on each side of a sheet by switching back the sheet, the method comprising:

detecting a temperature of the image forming apparatus;

determining whether the detected temperature is higher than a predetermined temperature; and

switching a control mode between a first mode and a second mode based on the determination as to whether the detected temperature is higher than the predetermined temperature,

wherein in the first mode, after a trailing end of the sheet has passed through a cooling roller, the cooling roller and an ejection roller being rotated normally are controlled to reversely rotate, wherein the cooling roller is disposed downstream relative to a fixing unit of the image forming apparatus in a sheet feeding direction along a main sheet conveyance path, the cooling roller being configured to contact the sheet conveyed along the main sheet conveyance path and to cool the sheet on which the developer image is fixed by the fixing unit, and

wherein in the second mode, in a state where the cooling roller is nipping the sheet, the cooling roller and the ejection roller being rotated normally are controlled to reversely rotate, wherein the ejection roller is disposed downstream relative to the cooling roller in the sheet feeding direction along the main sheet conveyance path, the ejection roller being configured to eject the sheet onto a catch tray,

wherein, when the cooling roller and the ejection roller rotate reversely, the cooling roller and ejection roller rotate in a first direction and are configured to convey the sheet toward a sheet re-conveyance path, and

wherein, when the cooling roller and the ejection roller rotate normally, the cooling roller and ejection roller rotate in a second direction opposite to the first direction and are configured to convey the sheet toward the catch tray.

10. The control method according to claim 9, further comprising:

detecting that the sheet has been conveyed to a position downstream relative to the fixing unit in the sheet feeding direction; and

setting a time at which the cooling roller and the ejection roller being rotated normally are to be reversely rotated in each of the first and second modes, based on a result of detecting that the sheet has been conveyed to a position downstream relative to the fixing unit.

11. The control method according to claim 9,

wherein the control mode is switched to the first mode when it is determined that the detected temperature is higher than the predetermined temperature.

12. The control method according to claim 9,

wherein, when the control mode is switched to the second mode, the cooling roller and the ejection roller being rotated normally are controlled to reversely rotate, in a state where the cooling roller is nipping a portion of the sheet close to a trailing end of the sheet in the sheet feeding direction and outside of a printable area.

13. The control method according to claim 9,

wherein the cooling roller is wider than a printable area of the sheet in a sheet width direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction.

14. The control method according to claim 13,

wherein the cooling roller is wider than the sheet in the sheet width direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction.

15. The control method according to claim 9,

wherein the image forming apparatus further comprises:

a feeding path configured to guide the sheet from the fixing unit to the cooling roller; and

a reverse path configured to guide, to an image forming unit, the sheet switched back by the cooling roller in response to the cooling roller being controlled to reversely rotate, the reverse path diverging from a middle of the feeding path from the fixing unit to the cooling roller.

16. The control method according to claim 9, wherein switching the control mode includes rotating the cooling roller and the ejection roller normally or reversely by operating a stepping motor.