Fusing system of image forming apparatus and method for controlling thereof

Abstract

A fusing system and a fusing control method of an image forming apparatus includes a sensor which senses whether a skew of a paper is generated, wherein the skew refers to the paper being obliquely fed along a paper feeding path, a fusing unit which fuses a developer transferred on the paper, and a controller, if it is sensed that the skew is generated, which controls fusing operations of the fusing unit not to performed. The heater lamp is controlled depending on whether a paper skew is generated while the paper is fed so that power and toner waste can be reduced for a paper that loses the value of printing result.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a view schematically illustrating a fusing system of a conventional image forming apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a view schematically illustrating a structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view schematically illustrating a fusing system of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining operations of a fusing system of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 3.

Claims

1. A fusing system of an image forming apparatus, the fusing system comprising: a sensor which senses whether a skew of a paper is generated, wherein the skew refers to the paper being obliquely fed along a paper feeding path;a fusing unit which fuses a developer transferred onto the paper; anda controller, wherein the controller turns off fusing operations of the fusing unit if the sensor senses that the skew is generated.

2. The fusing system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a heater lamp which is provided in a fusing roller of the fusing unit to heat the fusing roller, wherein the controller turns off the heater lamp, and accordingly, turns off the fusing operations of the fusing unit, if the sensor senses that the skew is generated.

3. The fusing system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a laser scanning unit (LSU) which emits a laser beam onto a photosensitive medium to form an electro-static latent image, wherein the controller prevents the LSU from forming the electro-static latent image on a surface of the photosensitive medium, if the sensor senses that the skew is generated.

4. The fusing system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a transfer unit which transfers an image developed by the developer onto the paper; anda detector which detects a voltage of the transfer unit, determines whether the detected voltage of the transfer unit falls within a predetermined reference voltage range of the transfer unit, and transmits a detection result signal according to a determination result to the controller, wherein the controller turns off the heater lamp, and accordingly, turns off the fusing operations of the fusing unit, if the detection result signal received from the detector indicates that the voltage of the transfer unit does not fall within the predetermined reference voltage range.

5. The fusing system as claimed in claim 4, wherein if the voltage of the transfer unit does not fall within the predetermined reference voltage range of the transfer unit, the detector determines that the voltage of the transfer unit is abnormal, and if the voltage of the transfer unit does fall within the predetermined reference voltage range of the transfer unit, the detector determines that the voltage of the transfer unit is normal, and transmits the detection result signal including the determination result to the controller.

6. The fusing system as claimed in claim 4, further comprising: a fusing unit sensor which calculates a fusing time required to pass the paper from an entrance side to an exit side of the fusing unit and transmits the calculated fusing time to the controller, wherein, if the detection result signal received from the detector indicates that the voltage of the transfer unit falls within the predetermined reference voltage range, the controller compares a predetermined reference fusing time with a fusing time received from the fusing unit sensor, and if the fusing time received from the fusing unit sensor is greater than the reference fusing time, the controller transmits a message or a warning to a user indicating that a temperature of the fusing unit needs to be checked.

7. The fusing system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the reference fusing time refers to a time required to pass the paper from the entrance side to the exit side of the fusing unit, and is pre-set depending on product models of the image forming apparatus.

8. The fusing system as claimed in claim 4, wherein if the detection result signal received from the detector indicates that the detected voltage falls within the predetermined reference voltage range, the controller turns off the heater lamp, and accordingly, turns off the fusing operations of the fusing unit.

9. The fusing system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a fusing unit sensor which calculates a fusing time required to pass the paper from an entrance side to an exit side of the fusing unit, and transmits the calculated fusing time to the controller wherein the controller compares a predetermined reference fusing time with the calculated fusing time, and if the calculated fusing time is greater than the reference fusing time, the controller transmits a message or a warning to a user indicating that a temperature of the fusing unit needs to be checked.

10. A fusing control method of an image forming apparatus, the fusing control method comprising: sensing whether a skew of a paper is generated, wherein the skew refers to the paper being obliquely fed along a paper feeding path; andturning off fusing operations of a fusing unit, which fuses a developer transferred on the paper, if the skew is sensed.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising turning off a heater lamp, which is provided in a fusing roller of the fusing unit to heat the fusing roller, and accordingly, turning off fusing operations of the fusing unit, if the skew is sensed.

12. The method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising preventing an LSU, which emits a laser beam on a photosensitive medium to form an electrostatic latent image, from forming an electrostatic latent image on a surface of the photosensitive medium if the skew is sensed.

13. The method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising: detecting a voltage of the transfer unit, which transfers an image developed by the developer onto the paper;determining whether the detected voltage of the transfer unit falls within a predetermined reference voltage range of the transfer unit; andoutputting a detection result signal according to a determination result, wherein the heater lamp is turned off, and accordingly, the fusing operations of the fusing unit are turned off, if the detection result signal indicates that the voltage is abnormal.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising: determining that the voltage of the transfer unit is abnormal if the voltage of the transfer unit does not fall within the predetermined reference voltage range of the transfer unit; anddetermining that the voltage of the transfer unit is normal if the voltage of the transfer unit does not fall within the predetermined reference voltage range of the transfer unit.

15. The method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising: calculating a fusing time required to pass the paper from an entrance side to an exit side of the fusing unit, wherein, if the detection result signal indicates that the detected voltage falls within the predetermined reference range, comparing a predetermined reference fusing time with the calculated fusing time, and if the calculated fusing time is greater than the predetermined reference fusing time, transmitting a message or warning to a user indicating that a temperature of the fusing unit needs to be checked.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the reference fusing time refers to a time required to pass the paper from the entrance side to the exit side of the fusing unit, and is pre-set depending on product models of the image forming apparatus.

17. The method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising the operation of turning off the heater lamp which heats the fusing roller, and accordingly, turning off the fusing operations of the fusing unit, if the detection result signal indicates that the detected voltage is abnormal.

18. The method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising: calculating a fusing time required to pass the paper from an entrance side to an exit side of the fusing unit;transmitting the calculated fusing time; andcomparing the calculated fusing time with a predetermined reference fusing time, wherein, if the calculated fusing time is greater than the reference fusing time, a controller transmits a message or a warning LED to a user indicating that a temperature of the fusing unit needs to be checked.

19. An image forming apparatus comprising: a fusing unit which fuses developer transferred onto a recording medium using a heating source which is powered from a power supply; anda controller which adjusts power supplied to the heating source in order to prevent developer and power from being used on the recording medium when the recording medium is obliquely fed onto the paper feeding path.

20. The image forming apparatus of claim 19, wherein the heating source is a halogen lamp which emits heat by alternating current electricity.

21. The image forming apparatus of claim 20, further comprising a sensor which senses whether a skew of a paper is generated, wherein the skew refers to the paper being obliquely fed along a paper feeding path.

22. The image forming apparatus of claim 21, further comprising: a transfer unit which transfers an image developed by the developer onto the paper; anda detector which detects a voltage of the transfer unit and determines whether the detected voltage of the transfer unit falls within a predetermined reference voltage range of the transfer unit, wherein the controller turns off the heater lamp if a detection result signal received from the detector indicates that the detected voltage does not fall within the predetermined reference voltage range.

23. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 22, further comprising: a fusing unit sensor which calculates a fusing time required to pass the paper from an entrance side to an exit side of the fusing unit and transmits the calculated fusing time to the controller, wherein, if the detection result signal received from the detector indicates that the voltage of the transfer unit falls within the predetermined reference voltage range, the controller compares a predetermined reference fusing time with the fusing time received from the fusing unit sensor, and if the fusing time received from the fusing unit sensor is greater than the reference fusing time, the controller transmits a message or a warning LED to a user indicating that a temperature of the fusing unit needs to be checked.

24. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 23, wherein the reference fusing time refers to a time required to pass the paper from the entrance side to the exit side of the fusing unit, and is pre-set depending on product models of the image forming apparatus.

25. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 24, wherein if the detection result signal received from the detector indicates that the voltage falls within the predetermined reference voltage range, the controller turns off the heater lamp, and accordingly, turns off the fusing operations of the fusing unit.

26. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 25, wherein the controller compares a number of papers sensed by the fusing unit sensor with a number of papers requested by a user, and if the number of papers sensed by the fusing unit sensor matches the number of papers requested by a user, the controller completes printing work.