Challenges
The popularization of printers, copiers, and printing machines increased the demand for color printing. Image quality has become more important and people have become more concerned about image quality deterioration caused by fixing roller scratches.
Efforts to address challenges
The ultimate solution is to eliminate all contact. By applying our original compact, high-precision, highly responsive thin-film thermistors, we developed and marketed non-contact temperature sensors (NC sensors) that detect radiated infrared rays. The industry’s first thermistor-type non-contact NC sensor realizes non-contact infrared detection by incorporating two thin-film thermistors for detection and compensation. These thermistors are paired with a substrate that absorbs radiated infrared rays with high precision. In addition to offering heat resistance at 150°C, the sensor has a structure that is less susceptible to disturbances. Even if toner or paper dust accumulates, it has little impact on the output. It is now possible to install sensors in the fixing unit of a customer’s machine. The NC sensor series continues to improve and in recent years the sensors have become smaller in line with more space-saving fixing units. These NC sensors enable the use of a combination of contact type and non-contact type sensors, supporting a variety of custoｍdesigns.
