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http://rechargermag.com/Articles/2000/04/01/How-It-Works-The-PCR.a...
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Figure 1
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In older laser printer models, a tungsten or tungsten alloy wire placed close to the OPC is used to initially charge the OPC. A high voltage of more than 5,000 volts is applied to the wire, also known as a corona wire. This high voltage causes the surrounding air, which is an electrical insulator, to break down and become ionized, which then allows electrons to move to the surface of the OPC (see Fig. 3). The electrons create an overall negative charge on the OPC, and the printing process continues with the laser beam discharging areas of the OPC to form the latent image.
This charging system had its drawbacks. The tungsten wire requires a costly power supply to handle the high voltage. The high voltage also produced a considerable amount of ozone, which is a pollutant and an irritant. If a small amount of airborne toner lands on the corona wire, it blocks the charging process at that point and lowers the voltage on the surface of the OPC. Like a discharged area, the low voltage attracts toner to the OPC, which results in unwanted print defects. The next generation of charging devices employed hard rubber PCRs. These charging devices are composed of a metal shaft, a conductive rubber layer and a thinner, less conductive outer coating (see Fig. 4).
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PCRs can sufficiently charge the surface of the OPC with much lower applied voltages (in Canon/HP printers, the OPCs are charged by the PCR to a voltage of about -650 volts). Because of this, very little ozone is produced. The PCR does cause air to break down and allow electrons to move to the surface of the OPC to charge it, but it does this, not where it makes physical contact with the OPC surface, but in a very small area referred to as the nip. The nip area is the small pie-shaped wedge formed where the round PCR presses against the round OPC (see Fig. 5). Charging takes place in this narrow air gap, which is only between five and 20 microns wide. The smaller the space, the less voltage it takes to cause the air to transport electrons to the OPC. The greater the distance between the charging device and the OPC, the higher the voltage necessary to transport electrons, as is the case with the corona wire structure.
However, unless a fairly high voltage is used, DC voltage alone will create a very uneven distribution on the OPC surface. PCRs in IBM machines use much higher DC voltages to charge the OPC than Canon engine PCRs, which begin charging the OPC at about -700 applied voltage. Canon discovered that applying an AC voltage with the DC voltage will create very uniform charging. The AC voltage must be about twice (peak to peak) the DC voltage. Typical voltages applied in these machines are about -700 volts DC and about 1600 volts AC (peak to peak). PCRs do not charge the OPC where the two components make physical contact. This means there is a noncharging space between the leading edge nip and the trailing edge nip. Charging takes place in both nips (see Fig. 6). The pulsing AC voltage facilitates uniform charging on its peaks. As the AC voltage cycles, the pulsing charge on the OPC creates a charge banding surface. To achieve overall charging uniformity, these bands must overlap. In order to create more uniform charging, the frequency of the AC voltage must be increased. The frequency of the AC voltage is the number of cycles per second that the AC voltage completes.
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Charging becomes more uniform as the AC frequency increases because the charging bands overlap and occur more often. Higher frequency does not come without its own problems, however. As the AC frequency increases, it can create a physical resonance, or vibration, in the PCR, which can be amplified by the metal OPC tube. This means that higher AC frequencies can result in an annoying hum, or high pitched sound emanating from the OPC. As the speed of the printers increases, the AC frequency must also increase to keep the charging bands overlapping and uniform. This means that the faster the printer, the greater the likelihood of squealing or humming. Aftermarket OPC manufacturers dealt with this phenomenon by inserting a sound-dampening rubber plug in their OPCs. Canon addressed the issue and increased PCR charging efficiency in faster printers by developing the foam PCR. The soft foam PCR presses against the OPC to create longer, narrower nip shapes than with the hard PCR. This makes charging easier and it widens the charging bands. The soft foam also does not create squealing or hum from the AC voltage. This allowed Canon to use higher AC frequencies in the faster printers to keep the charging uniform without creating noise. The foam PCRs have the added benefit of being virtually bump free. Hard rubber PCRs usually develop small bumps in the manufacturing process. These bumps can cause small areas of non-uniform charging. If you take a close look at the hard rubber PCRs in the NX, you will see small bumps on the surface. Bumps greater than 50 microns are significant, less than 50 microns are not significant. New OEM cartridges commonly sport PCRs with bumps less than 50 microns. The foam PCRs also do not contribute as much to OPC wear as the older hard rubber designs. The electric properties of the foam PCRs do not degrade as the hard rubber designs tend to do. The four points of improvement for foam PCRs over hard rubber PCRs are: more uniform charging due to the nip shape. no squealing or hum due to the resonance from the AC voltage. less wear on the OPC due to the softer materials. cleaner, bump-free surface for more uniform charging. Canon has several patents for the foam PCRs. A thorough explanation of the design can be found in
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Canon patent #5,390,007 issued Feb. 14, 1995. This patent describes how the foam PCR is made even softer by creating holes in the foam parallel to the metal shaft. The foam cell size is important. The smaller the cell size, the more uniform the charging. Canon claims that cell size below 50 microns is optimal. Larger cell sizes probably create areas of charging that do not overlap.
When voltage is applied to the PCR, it will attract some toner and paper dust. If a film of electrically insulating debris forms on the PCR, it will not charge the OPC (see Fig 8). This can result in an increase in background levels. Background is unwanted toner transferring to the white areas of the print. This can become quite noticeable and objectionable to the end user.
Figure 8
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Canon claims, in several patents, that OPC powder lubricants like Kynar should not be used in cartridges with PCRs due to the tendency for these powders to create an insulating film on the PCR. Some of the OPC powders available to remanufacturers have a greater affinity to create this problem. The function of the cartridge can be so seriously diminished that remanufacturers believed their OPC wiper blades were failing or that their PCRs were defective.
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