JP2004045861A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve detecting precision by optimizing detection of toner residual amount. <P>SOLUTION: Detecting or computational parameters of the residual amount of toner are stored in a nonvolatile memory installed on a cartridge rather than in a main body F/W. The main body F/W detects the residual amount of the toner based on the control condition of the memory in the cartridge. Having established the above constitution, residual amount detection is conducted employing optimum residual detection parameters for various cartridges even though the characteristics of toner and toner capacities are varied. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic apparatus and an electrostatic recording apparatus having a consumable such as a toner cartridge or a replacement part such as an apparatus for performing replacement based on life.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a tandem type image forming apparatus.
[0003]
The tandem type image forming apparatus includes a plurality of black (Bk), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) image forming units.
[0004]
In the image forming section, reference numeral 18 denotes a photosensitive drum (image carrier) made of an organic photosensitive member or an amorphous silicon photosensitive member. The photosensitive drum 18 is rotated by a charging device 16 such as a charging roller at a predetermined polarity and potential. Is subjected to a uniform charging process.
[0005]
The scanner unit 11 outputs a laser beam 13 modulated according to an image signal of target image information from an image signal generating unit such as an image reading device (not shown), and outputs the laser beam 13 via an optical lens system (not shown). By scanning and exposing the photosensitive drum 18 with the deflection mirror, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum surface.
[0006]
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the scanner unit 11 of the image forming unit. The operation of the scanner unit will be described based on the drawings. 31 is a semiconductor laser, 32 is a collimeter lens, 33 is a cylindrical lens, 34 is a polygon mirror, 35 is a scanner motor, 36 is a spherical lens, 37 is an Fθ lens, 38 is a deflection mirror, and 39 is a horizontal synchronization signal detector. . The semiconductor laser 31 emits light by a laser drive signal modulated based on an image signal, and the laser light is shaped into a beam shape by a collimator lens 32 and a cylindrical lens 33. The polygon mirror 34 is rotated by the scanner motor 35 that rotates steadily, and the laser beam reflected by the polygon mirror surface is scanned in a fan shape. Further, the laser beam is shaped by an optical lens group such as a spherical lens 36, an Fθ lens 37, and a deflecting mirror 38, and scans the photosensitive drum surface at a constant speed. The horizontal synchronizing signal detector generally detects a laser beam scanned and constituted by a photodiode and an amplifier, and generates a synchronizing signal in the main scanning direction.
[0007]
FIG. 2 is further described. A developing unit 14 stores a developer (toner) therein, and generally has a toner conveying mechanism for charging and conveying the toner. The photosensitive drum 18 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed is visualized as an image by selectively adhering toner according to the electrostatic state of the surface by contacting or approaching the developing roller 17. Reference numeral 22 denotes a cassette for storing a transfer material 29. The transfer material fed from the cassette 22 by a feed roller is transported between the photosensitive drum 18 and the transfer air 19 in the image forming unit by a transport belt 20 that holds and transports the transfer material. At this time, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 18 developed in the above-described developing process is transferred to the transfer material 29 by the transfer device 19. By sequentially passing through the four-color image forming units, the four-color developers are transferred in a multiplex manner. The residual toner on the photosensitive drum 18 that has not been transferred in the transfer process is removed and collected by a cleaning device 15 such as a cleaning blade. 23 is a fixing device. The fixing device 23 is generally constituted by a plurality of opposed rollers, and has a heating unit such as a heater inside or outside the rollers. Further, the fixing device 23 is provided with a temperature detector near the roller, and is monitored by a CPU or the like to control a heating amount of a heater so as to be controlled to a predetermined temperature. The transfer material 29 to which the toner has been transferred in the above-described transfer process is heated and pressed by the fixing device 23 and is fused and fixed. Thereafter, the fixed transfer material 29 is conveyed through the paper discharge mechanism, discharged from the image forming apparatus, and printing is completed.
[0008]
In such an image forming apparatus, conventionally, the developing unit 14 for storing the toner is an exchange unit that needs to be exchanged due to the consumption of the toner. Such a replacement unit is replaced by a user by detecting the remaining amount of toner and notifying the user of the replacement time. It is more desirable to notify the user of the remaining amount of toner than to notify that the toner has run out, rather than to report that the toner has run out, so that the user can prepare the replacement unit. Ideally, if the consumption of consumables is constantly reported, the user can accurately grasp not only the time of replacement but also the usage of consumables. This is information for determining whether or not the product is sufficiently new. Thus, it is desirable that the use state of the replacement unit can be accurately grasped.
[0009]
However, a replacement unit such as a consumable has a different unit configuration from the image forming apparatus main body. For example, when a developing unit 14 used in another image forming apparatus is mounted on another image forming apparatus, the developing unit 14 It is difficult to determine how much has been used. Therefore, a nonvolatile memory is mounted on the exchange unit, and the amount of use of the exchange unit is cumulatively recorded in the nonvolatile memory, so that the information of the exchange unit can be read out even between different image forming apparatuses, so that the state of the exchange unit can be obtained. Can be correctly grasped, and the user can be notified accurately.
[0010]
In such a system, there is a technology that is realized by mounting a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM in the replacement unit and connecting the replacement unit to the image forming apparatus main body with a connector when the replacement unit is mounted. When a non-volatile memory is mounted on the replacement unit, a drawer connector with a fitting member that can be easily inserted and removed when attaching and detaching is often used instead of a general harness connector at the connection portion. The fitting portion is formed with a guide member for absorbing a displacement caused by a tolerance between the exchange unit and the main unit when the exchange unit is attached / detached, so that the cost is higher than that of a general harness connector.
[0011]
In addition, since the drawer connector has a non-volatile memory mounted system of a contact type, contact failure may occur due to, for example, toner dust inside the main unit or dust entering from outside, and there is a problem in the reliability of the connector contact. There are restrictions such as that the contact needs to be constituted by a sliding contact that is self-cleaned at the time of insertion and removal.
[0012]
From such a viewpoint, a memory system capable of non-contact communication has recently been devised. This system is composed of a transmission circuit and a reception circuit, and is a system that superimposes data on a carrier wave generally called a carrier from the transmission circuit, supplies power to a nonvolatile memory by the carrier, and transmits and receives data. The transmitting circuit is configured by an antenna, and the antenna is also configured on the non-volatile memory side. The transmitting antenna of the main unit is driven by the above-mentioned carrier, and the antenna of the memory unit on the side of the exchange unit, which is in non-contact, is electromagnetically induced by electromagnetic waves to supply power to the memory unit. In this system, the problem of the reliability of the connector contacts, which is a drawback of the contact type nonvolatile memory mounting system, is avoided.
[0013]
As described above, the usability is improved by recording the toner remaining amount detection information in the non-volatile memory mounted on the replacement unit.
[0014]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Conventionally, detection control of the replacement unit for detecting the remaining amount of toner is performed by software of the main body of the image forming apparatus. However, the software is also the same toner remaining amount detection control is performed at any exchange unit for a fixed to the image forming apparatus. At this time, for example, when there are replacement units having different toner capacities, a plurality of detection controls must be implemented in software of the image forming apparatus main body in accordance with the different replacement units. That is, the toner capacity cannot be changed after the product of the image forming apparatus is released, and even if the replacement unit is improved during the production, the characteristic of the remaining amount detection must not be changed.
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, parameters necessary for detection control of the replacement unit for detecting the remaining amount of toner are stored in a nonvolatile memory mounted on the replacement unit, and software of the image forming apparatus main body stores information in the nonvolatile memory of the replacement unit. To control the detection of the remaining amount of toner.
[0016]
That is, the replacement unit itself has the optimum setting to be detected. This makes it possible to perform optimal toner remaining amount detection control for each of the replacement units, and the software of the image forming apparatus main body also performs control for distinguishing the replacement units when detecting a plurality of replacement units. Is unnecessary, and it is not necessary to have a plurality of detection tables, so that the ROM can be saved.
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, a detailed embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described. In the present embodiment, since there are a plurality of units having the same function, the instruction numbers are indicated by adding a, b, c, and d. Since the printing operation of the image forming apparatus is the same as that of the conventional example, a detailed description is omitted.
[0018]
FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment. Reference numeral 14 denotes a developing unit described in the conventional example, and constitutes one unit together with the developing roller 17. The developing device 14 is a replacement unit and is a unit that is replaced when the internal toner is consumed. A memory unit 101 is mounted on a front upper surface of this unit. The image forming apparatus main body includes a communication unit 103, and an antenna unit 102 is disposed at a position facing the memory unit 101.
[0019]
Next, referring to FIG. 10, reference numeral 200 denotes an operation panel of the image forming apparatus, 201 denotes a key switch on the operation panel, and 203 denotes a developing device replacement door that is opened when the developing device as a replacement unit is replaced. When communicating with the memory unit 101, the state of the developing unit replacement door 203 is monitored, and if the door is open, a communication error may occur at the time of attachment / detachment. It is a target.
[0020]
The details of the communication unit 103 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
[0021]
105 is a communication IC. 101a, 101b, 101c and 101d are memory units each having a built-in non-volatile memory attached to the developing device 14 which is a replacement unit. Reference numerals 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102d denote antenna units for transmitting and receiving, and are constituted by inductors. 104a, 104b, 104c and 104d are amplification circuits in the transmission circuit. An analog switch 106 switches a transmission signal, and an analog switch 107 switches a reception signal. 108 is a receiving circuit.
[0022]
The communication IC 105 has a function of communicating with the memory unit 101 based on information specified by a CPU or a logic IC (not shown). The communication IC 105 superimposes the address and data of the memory unit specified by the CPU or the logic IC on a carrier for supplying power to the memory unit 101, and generates a transmission signal. The transmission signal is connected to the transmission circuit by the analog switch 106. The analog switch 106 is constituted by an FET, and uses a multiplexer-type general-purpose IC having a built-in decoder function.
[0023]
The transmission signal switched by the analog switch 106 is amplified by the amplification circuit 104 into a transmission signal. Here, the amplifier circuit 104 will be described with reference to FIG. The input signal is coupled to the base of a biased transistor coupled to a capacitor. This transistor is desirably used for high frequency amplification having good frequency characteristics. The transistor drives an inductor connected to the collector by an input signal and amplifies the signal to a large amplitude. The signal thus amplified is output as an amplitude signal via the coupling capacitor in the output stage. Returning to FIG. The amplified transmission signal drives the antenna unit 102 composed of an inductor to generate an electromagnetic wave, thereby supplying power to the memory unit 101 and transmitting superimposed data. The memory unit returns a reception signal based on the transmission data. The received signal is received by the antenna unit 102 and received by the receiving circuit via the analog switch 107. FIG. 6 shows an example of the receiving circuit. The level of the received signal is compared and detected by a comparator. The received data is taken out of the received signal by the communication IC and can be read out by a CPU or a logic IC (not shown). Such a system realizes a system that can read and write the nonvolatile memory of the exchange unit in a non-contact manner.
[0024]
Next, detection of the remaining amount of toner in the developing device 14 will be described with reference to FIG. The developing device 14 is driven to rotate with the toner stirring plate 304 together with the developing roller 17 by a gear or the like of the image forming apparatus main body. At this time, in the image forming apparatus main body, an LED 301 and a light receiving element 302 are arranged at opposing positions on a stirring portion of the toner container where the toner stirring plate 304 rotates. The developing device 14 is provided with a window made of a transparent resin (not shown) in front of the LED 301 and the light receiving element 302 so that light can be transmitted therethrough. The toner agitating plate 304 has a function of stirring the toner by moving the toner in the developing device 14 when the toner agitating plate 304 is driven to rotate at a constant cycle, and of changing the light transmission time according to the remaining amount of the toner. is there.
[0025]
The detection will be described with reference to FIG. In the detection of the remaining amount of toner, light is transmitted or blocked in a cycle by the toner stirring plate. At this time, the transmitted light is detected as shown in FIG. By comparing this detection signal with a predetermined threshold value, it is possible to obtain a signal whose duty changes depending on the toner amount.
[0026]
A method for detecting the remaining amount will be described with reference to FIG. The memory unit 101 mounted on the developing device 14 stores a detection parameter of the remaining amount of toner. This parameter is used by the CPU 303 for reading and sampling and calculating the remaining amount. As shown in FIG. 1, the light of the LED 301 is detected by the light receiving element 302, and when the light is detected, a low-level signal can be obtained. The CPU 303 samples the light detection signal and calculates the duty. Further, the remaining amount of toner in the developing device 14 is calculated from the duty. Details of the detection will be described with reference to FIG. Since the detection signal is inverted and taken in by the input section of the CPU 303, the signal is internally processed as shown in FIG. The CPU 303 reads threshold information from the memory unit of the developing device 14. For example, if the detection is performed at the threshold value 1 in FIG. 11, the output 1 can be obtained. Similarly, output 2 can be obtained with threshold 2 and output 3 can be obtained with threshold 3. In any case, the threshold value is determined by information stored in the developing device 14 in the present invention. In the present embodiment, the memory unit has a 4-bit threshold value setting. The software of the image forming apparatus can detect 16 threshold voltages based on the read 4-bit value. According to this method, the control parameters can be changed according to the conditions of the developing device 14 even if the software of the image forming apparatus is the same.
[0027]
Next, the remaining amount detection will be described with reference to FIG. The developing device 14 has a plurality of toner capacities. At this time, if the remaining amount is detected based on the same transmission time, a detection error of the toner capacity difference generally occurs. In order to avoid this, it is necessary to have a method for separately distinguishing the developing devices 14. Even when the memory unit 101 is mounted on the developing device 14, it often has determination information for distinguishing the toner capacity. In this case, the software of the image forming apparatus performs control in accordance with a predetermined identification definition. That is, if the predetermined bit in the memory unit is 1, the type is determined such as 8000 cartridges, and if the predetermined bit is 0, the type is 10,000 cartridges, and control is possible by selecting the table in FIG. However, in this case, the identification method must be determined, and if the developing device 14 having a different toner capacity is manufactured after the product is released, it is inconvenient to detect the remaining amount of toner. Therefore, in the present invention, the slope and intercept of the graph from which the detection table can be calculated are stored in the memory unit 101 of the developing device 14. In this way, the software of the image forming apparatus does not need to define the identification method, and the capacity of the developing device 14 can be changed even after the image forming apparatus is released. Furthermore, even in the case where the characteristics of the toner are changed due to the improvement of the toner and the inclination or intercept of the graph of the remaining toner amount is changed, it is assumed that the detection accuracy is not changed in the related art. Although the stir plate could not be improved, according to this method, optimal detection control is performed for each of the developing devices 14 having different capacities and characteristics.
[0028]
As a specific setting, when actual detection is performed under the conditions of FIG. 12, the function is a function of the transmission time and the usage rate as shown in FIG.
[0029]
In other words, for a cartridge with a capacity of 8000 sheets,
Transmission time duty (%) = usage rate (%)
Where slope 1 and intercept 0
For a cartridge with a capacity of 10,000 sheets,
Duty of transmission time (%) = 100/80 × use rate (%) − 25
In this case, the inclination 100/80 and the intercept -25 may be stored.
[0030]
From these information, the CPU 303 can calculate the usage rate from the transmission time, and the cartridge can store its own detection coefficient in the non-volatile memory and change the control condition of the image forming apparatus main body. Even if the developing devices 14 having different capacities are used, the respective toner remaining amount can be detected optimally.
[0031]
(Embodiment 2)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described. A detailed description of the same parts as in the first embodiment will be omitted.
[0032]
FIG. 9 shows an image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.
[0033]
The non-volatile memory unit 101 of the exchange unit described in the first embodiment can also be realized by a normal EEPROM as shown in FIG. The CPU and the memory unit 101 mounted on the developing device 14 are connected by a drawer connector or the like provided so as to fit into the developing device 14 and a detachable portion of the image forming apparatus main body. It is also possible to use a method in which electrical contacts are formed and connected between the replacement unit and the image forming apparatus main body without using the drawer connector. As described above, the same toner remaining amount detection control can be performed even in a contact-type nonvolatile memory system mounted on an exchange unit which has been conventionally implemented.
[0034]
The details of the control are the same as in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0035]
(Embodiment 3)
Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described. A detailed description of the same parts as in the first embodiment will be omitted.
[0036]
As a third embodiment, a method of directly storing parameters used for control conditions as information to be stored in the nonvolatile memory unit 101 of the exchange unit described in the first and second embodiments is simple, but in practice, A method of compressing data is often used. That is, for example, even when the setting value is set to 8 bits and the setting value is from 0 to 255, the number of bits is often reduced when the resolution is reduced or when the discontinuous value is sufficient. Naturally, in this case, the image forming apparatus main body performs a predetermined multiplication on the information in the nonvolatile memory unit and treats the information as a control set value.
[0037]
The details of the control are the same as in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0038]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the calculation parameters for detecting the remaining amount of toner are stored not in the software of the image forming apparatus but in the non-volatile memory of the developing unit which is an exchange unit, so that the characteristics of the toner of the developing unit are stored. Also, even when the toner capacity is changed, the remaining amount can be detected using the optimum remaining amount detection parameter for each developing device. In other words, even if the image forming apparatus is already on sale and in production, even if the remaining amount detection characteristic changes due to improvement and improvement of the toner characteristics and capacity of the developer, It can be optimized for itself. This can maintain and improve the accuracy of toner remaining amount detection.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a scanner unit of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a developing unit and a memory unit.
FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an amplifier circuit unit.
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a receiving circuit unit.
FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a communication unit in the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a remaining amount detection unit.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of signal processing of a remaining amount detection unit.
FIG. 12 is a detection characteristic diagram of a remaining amount.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of characteristics of transmission time.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 11 scanner unit 13 laser beam 14 developing device 15 cleaning device 17 developing roller 18 photosensitive drum (image carrier)
Reference Signs List 20 transport belt 22 cassette 23 fixing device 29 transfer material 31 semiconductor laser 32 collimator lens 33 cylindrical lens 34 polygon mirror 35 scanner motor 36 spherical lens 37 Fθ lens 38 deflection mirror 39 horizontal synchronization signal detector 101 memory unit 102 antenna unit 103 communication Unit 104 amplifying circuit 105 communication IC
106 Analog switch 107 Analog switch 108 Receiving circuit 200 Operation panel 201 Key switch 203 Developer exchange door 204 Developer check switch 301 LED
302 light receiving element 303 CPU
304 stir plate

Claims (10)

An exposure system having a light-emitting element and a light-emitting element driving unit, an image carrier that forms an electrostatic latent image by being exposed to light energy of the light-emitting element, and controls the exposure system based on print data to control the exposure system. An image forming section for forming an intended electrostatic latent image on the image carrier, and selectively forming a developer on the electrostatic latent image on the image carrier to form an image; A plurality of transfer units for transferring images to the transfer material, forming a plurality of images simultaneously or sequentially, transferring the plurality of images to the transfer material, and then fixing the developer to the transfer material by heating or pressurizing. In an image forming apparatus that mounts a non-volatile memory on a container of a developer that can be replaced or a unit that can be replaced due to life or consumption, and detects a state of the replaceable unit,
When detecting the state of the replaceable unit, an image forming apparatus changes a state detection method or a detection condition based on information in a nonvolatile memory mounted on the unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The state of the replaceable unit that performs the detection is a state such as a used amount or a remaining amount of the unit or consumable. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection method or the detection condition that is changed in the detection of the state of the replaceable unit is a set value of the detection condition. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the set value of the detection condition is a threshold value at the time of signal detection. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3,
The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the set value of the detection condition is a detection time or a detection count value at the time of signal detection. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3,
The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the set value of the detection condition is the number of detections or the average number of times of signal detection. An exposure system having a light-emitting element and a light-emitting element driving unit, an image carrier that forms an electrostatic latent image by being exposed to light energy of the light-emitting element, and controls the exposure system based on print data to control the exposure system. An image forming section for forming an intended electrostatic latent image on the image carrier, and selectively forming a developer on the electrostatic latent image on the image carrier to form an image; A plurality of transfer units for transferring images to the transfer material, forming a plurality of images simultaneously or sequentially, transferring the plurality of images to the transfer material, and then fixing the developer to the transfer material by heating or pressurizing. In an image forming apparatus that mounts a non-volatile memory on a container of a developer that can be replaced or a unit that can be replaced due to life or consumption, and detects a state of the replaceable unit,
An image forming apparatus, wherein when detecting the state of the replaceable unit, the method of detecting the state is made variable based on information in a nonvolatile memory mounted on the unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7,
The state of the replaceable unit that performs the detection is a state such as a used amount or a remaining amount of the unit or consumable. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the information in the non-volatile memory is a coefficient used for a calculation for detection. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information in the nonvolatile memory is a coefficient of an approximate expression used for calculation of detection.

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