A modified tonality and its application to objective evaluation of laser printers noise

Noise in a laser printer is affected by many components, such as spring force, spring constant, and friction coefficient. Objective evaluation of pick up noise is difficult because of background noises, such as operating sound. In particular, pick up noise generated between the friction pad and paper in the process of printing has become an essential aspect of quality evaluation. However, the existing criteria for evaluating pick-up noise have solely relied on subjective human judgments; therefore, there is a need to objectify these criteria. In this paper, the noise index for determining the existence of pick-up noise is established using a modified tonality at just noticeable sound level limit. The study has investigated factors that cause pick-up noise and suggests the substitution of printer components that determine spring constants, spring force, and the quality of friction pads. The proposed noise index is successfully applied to classifying the pick-up noise and mitigating the noise through the optimized design combination of laser printer components.