JP2008185679A - Image forming apparatus and image forming apparatus control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of securely finishing an operation on a nonvolatile storage element even if a power supply stops due to power failure or user's manipulation, and to provide a control method for the image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes a polygon mirror motor 145 for rotating a polygon mirror; the nonvolatile storage element 331; and a control circuit 300 for writing on the nonvolatile storage element 331. When the control circuit 300 starts writing on the nonvolatile storage element 331, control is exerted so as to turn on the polygon mirror 145. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, and a multi-function machine that form a latent image on a photosensitive member by laser scanning and develop the latent image to obtain an image. It relates to a control method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, facsimile machines, and multi-function machines are known in which a latent image is formed on a photosensitive member by laser scanning and an image is obtained by developing the latent image. ing. On the other hand, the toner cartridge used in such an image forming apparatus is provided with a non-volatile storage element, and the remaining amount of toner, the cumulative use time of the toner cartridge, the developing roller rotation time, the user use status in the non-volatile storage element. Information such as information is written. During writing of such a nonvolatile memory element, the power is turned off due to a power failure or user operation, writing to the nonvolatile memory element becomes incomplete, and a problem occurs when the image forming apparatus is restarted. was there.

In order to deal with such a problem, for example, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-54097), when the AC power supply voltage decreases, the operation of the engine unit EG and the driving DC-DC converter 103 serving as the power supply thereof is disclosed. To stop current consumption. A configuration is described in which the controller DC-DC converter 106 continues to supply power to the engine controller 1 using the electric charge stored in the smoothing capacitor 102 and the capacitor 105 connected via the backflow prevention diode 104. ing.
JP 2003-54097 A

  According to the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, in an image forming apparatus that operates using an AC voltage as a power source, even when the input voltage is reduced, the power source voltage to the control unit is maintained for a certain period and the control unit However, it is inevitable that the circuit configuration and control become complicated.

  Conventionally, when power is turned off due to a power failure or user operation while information is being stored in the nonvolatile storage means, a means that can detect this, for example, a “writing flag” is nonvolatile before the information storage starts. There was also a method to take measures by software processing such as re-writing after detecting an unexpected power failure by storing it in the sex memory means, but this method makes the processing complicated by software As a result, there is a problem that it takes man-hours such as operation check.

  In addition, there is a conceivable method of configuring the circuit so that the voltage does not drop for a time enough to complete the writing process even if the power supply capacitor of the image forming apparatus is enlarged and there is an unexpected power interruption. According to the method, the large-capacity capacitor has problems such as high cost and difficulty in guaranteeing the life due to aging.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a polygon mirror motor that rotationally drives a polygon mirror, a nonvolatile memory element, and a control circuit that performs writing to the nonvolatile memory element, The image forming apparatus is characterized in that when the control circuit starts writing to the nonvolatile memory element, the polygon mirror motor is controlled to be turned on.

  In the image forming apparatus, the non-volatile storage element is provided in a toner cartridge.

  In the image forming apparatus, information related to consumption of consumables is stored in the nonvolatile memory element.

  In the image forming apparatus, the nonvolatile storage element stores information related to the operation status of the apparatus.

  The present invention also provides a method for controlling an image forming apparatus having a polygon mirror motor that rotationally drives a polygon mirror, a nonvolatile memory element, and a control circuit that performs writing to the nonvolatile memory element, When the control circuit starts writing to the nonvolatile memory element, the polygon mirror motor is controlled to be turned on.

  According to the image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus control method of the present invention as described above, without complicating the circuit configuration, without requiring complicated software processing, and without using a large-capacitance capacitor, Even when the power is turned off due to a power failure or a user operation, the operation to the nonvolatile memory element can be surely completed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus taking a tandem type as an example according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 100 includes a housing 103, a paper discharge tray 105 formed on an upper portion of the housing 103, and a door body 107 provided on the front surface of the housing so as to be openable and closable. An image forming unit 111, a blower fan 113, a transfer belt unit 115, and a paper feed unit 117 are provided, and a paper transport unit 19 is provided in the door body 107.

  The image forming unit 111 includes four toner cartridges 121 in which four developing devices that store different color toners can be set. The four toner cartridges 121 are for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black developing devices, and are denoted by reference numerals 121Y, 121M, 121C, and 121K in the drawing. In each of the toner cartridges 121Y, 121M, 121C, and 121K, a photosensitive member 123, a corona charging unit 125 provided around the photosensitive member 123, and a developing device 110 are provided.

  The transfer belt unit 115 is stretched between a driving roller 127 that is rotationally driven by a driving source (not shown), a driven roller 129 provided obliquely above the driving roller 127, and a tension roller 131. An intermediate transfer belt 133 that is driven to circulate in the counterclockwise direction X and a cleaning unit 134 that contacts the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 133 are provided. The driven roller 129, the tension roller 131, and the intermediate transfer belt 133 are arranged side by side so as to incline with respect to the drive roller 127. Thus, when the intermediate transfer belt 133 is driven, the belt conveyance direction X is downward. The belt surface 135 is positioned on the lower side, and the belt surface 137 whose transport direction is upward is positioned on the upper side.

  The photoconductor 123 is pressed against the belt surface 135 along the arched line and is driven to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow in the drawing. By adjusting the position of the tension roller 31, the tension of the intermediate transfer belt 33, the curvature of the arch, and the like can be controlled.

The drive roller 127 also serves as a backup roller for the secondary transfer roller 139. On the peripheral surface of the drive roller 127, for example, a rubber layer having a thickness of about 3 mm and a volume resistivity of 10 ⁵ Ω · cm or less is formed. The secondary transfer roller is grounded through a metal shaft. A conductive path of the secondary transfer bias supplied via 139 is configured. In addition, the diameter of the driving roller 127 is smaller than the diameters of the driven roller 129 and the tension roller 131, so that the recording paper after the secondary transfer can be easily separated by the elastic force of the recording paper itself. The driven roller 129 also functions as a backup roller for the cleaning unit 134.

  The cleaning unit 134 is provided on the belt surface 135 side facing downward in the conveyance direction, and a cleaning blade 141 that removes toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 133 after the secondary transfer, and a toner conveyance path that conveys the collected toner. 142. The cleaning blade 141 is in contact with a portion where the intermediate transfer belt 133 is wound around the driven roller 129. Further, the primary transfer member 143 contacts the back surface of the intermediate transfer belt 133 at a position facing the photoconductor 123 of each toner cartridge 121Y, 121M, 121C, and 121K, and a transfer bias is applied to the primary transfer member 143. It has become so.

  The exposure unit 109 is provided in a space obliquely below the image forming unit 111, and a blower fan 113 is provided obliquely above the exposure unit 109. A paper feed unit 117 is provided below the exposure unit 109. In the exposure unit 109, scanner means 149 comprising a polygon mirror motor 145 and a polygon mirror 147 is vertically arranged on the bottom. In addition, a single f-θ lens 151 and a reflection mirror 153 are provided in the optical path B, and a plurality of foldings are made above the reflecting mirror 153 so that the scanning light paths of the respective colors are folded back in parallel with the photoconductor 123. A mirror 155 is provided.

  In the exposure unit 109, an image signal corresponding to each color is emitted from the polygon mirror 147 with a laser beam modulated and formed based on a common data clock frequency, and passes through the f-θ lens 151, the reflection mirror 153, and the folding mirror 155. The toner cartridges 121Y, 121M, 121C, and 121K are irradiated with the photosensitive members 123 to form latent images. The optical path length from the polygon mirror 147 of the exposure unit 109 to the photosensitive member 123 for each image forming unit 111 is configured to be substantially the same, so that the scanning width of the light beam scanned in each optical path is also substantially the same. It is the same, and no special configuration is required for forming the image signal. Accordingly, the laser light source can be modulated and formed based on a common data clock frequency in spite of being modulated in accordance with images of different colors by different image signals. Color misregistration caused by a relative difference in the scanning direction can be prevented, and a simple and inexpensive color image forming apparatus can be configured.

  The blower fan 113 functions as a cooling unit, guides air in the direction of the arrow, and performs a function of releasing heat from the exposure unit 109 and other heating units. As a result, the temperature rise of the polygon mirror motor 145 can be suppressed, the deterioration of image quality can be prevented, and the life of the polygon mirror motor 145 can be extended.

  The paper feed unit 117 includes a paper feed cartridge 157 on which the recording media P are stacked, and a pickup roller 159 that feeds the recording media P from the paper feed cartridge 157 one by one. The paper transport unit 119 includes a gate roller pair 161 that defines the timing of feeding the recording medium P to the secondary transfer unit, a secondary transfer roller 139 that is pressed against the drive roller 127 and the intermediate transfer belt 133, and a fixing unit 163. A pair of paper discharge rollers 165 and a conveyance path 167 for double-sided printing.

  The fixing unit 163 includes a rotatable fixing roller pair 169 including a heating element such as a halogen heater in at least one side, and at least one roller of the fixing roller pair 169 is pressed and biased to the other side so as to be secondary to the sheet material. The secondary image transferred to the recording medium is fixed to the recording medium at a predetermined temperature at the nip portion formed by the fixing roller pair 169. The pressing means presses the transferred secondary image against the recording medium P. Is done.

  The developing device 110 is of a type that circulates and uses toner, and is set in each toner cartridge 121Y, 121M, 121C, and 121K. The construction of these developing devices is basically the same.

  Next, a rotary type image forming apparatus will be described. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus taking a rotary type as an example according to an embodiment of the present invention. The photoconductor 223 has a cylindrical conductive substrate and a photosensitive layer formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof, is rotatable about a central axis, and rotates clockwise as indicated by an arrow. The charging unit 225 charges the photoconductor 223, and the exposure unit 209 irradiates the charged photoconductor 223 with a beam from a built-in laser light source to form a latent image by static electricity. Beam irradiation of the exposure unit 209 is controlled by a drive signal modulated based on image information input from a host computer (not shown) or the like. Although a specific configuration in the exposure unit 209 is not shown, a polygon mirror and a polygon mirror motor are also provided in the exposure unit 209.

  The developing device 210 includes mounting portions 214K to 214Y to which a black toner cartridge 221B, a magenta toner cartridge 221M, a cyan toner cartridge 221C, and a yellow toner cartridge 221Y that store toner as developer are detachably mounted. The developing rotary is rotatable with respect to 213. The developing device 210 is rotated to bring the necessary toner cartridges 221B to 221Y close to the photoconductor 223, and the developer is supplied to the photoconductor 223 on which the latent image is formed, whereby the latent image is developed into an image by the developer. The

  The primary transfer unit 226 transfers the toner image formed on the photoconductor 223 to the intermediate transfer belt 233. The intermediate transfer belt 233 is an endless belt in which, for example, an aluminum vapor deposition layer is formed on the surface of a PET film and a semiconductive paint is formed on the surface thereof, and is driven to rotate at the same peripheral speed as the photoconductor 223. A print medium such as paper supplied from the paper supply cartridge 257 is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit 239 and the fixing unit 263 through the paper supply roller 294. Then, the secondary transfer unit 239 transfers the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 233 to the print medium supplied from the paper feed cartridge 257, and the fixing unit 263 transfers the toner image transferred onto the print medium to the medium. To form a permanent image, and the print medium is discharged out of the printer 2.

  The cleaning unit 234 is provided between the primary transfer unit 226 and the charging unit 235, and has a cleaning blade 235 that comes into contact with the surface of the photoconductor 223, and development that remains on the photoconductor 223 after the primary transfer. The material (toner) is removed by the cleaning blade 235.

  The operation unit (operation means) is a part for the user to operate the image forming apparatus 200, and includes an operation display panel 271 and operation buttons. A device such as a touch panel is provided on the operation display panel 271, and the user touches the operation display panel 271 directly while referring to a UI (user interface) displayed on the operation display panel 271. The second operation can be performed. In the operation unit, various setting actions such as setting of printing conditions in the image forming apparatus 200 are possible.

  Next, a non-volatile storage element provided in a toner cartridge attached to the image forming apparatus will be described. Each toner cartridge stores developer color information, remaining amount information, and the like so that the controller of the image forming apparatus can recognize the state of the toner cartridge attached to the developing device. A memory element is provided.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the vicinity of the developing device of the image forming apparatus taking the tandem type according to the embodiment of the present invention as an example, and FIG. 4 is a rotary type according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating the vicinity of a developing device of an image forming apparatus taking as an example.

  In FIG. 3, 311Y to 311K denote nonvolatile memories, and 312Y to 312K denote nonvolatile memory reader / writers. In FIG. 4, reference numerals 321Y to 321K denote nonvolatile memories, and 322 denotes a nonvolatile memory reader / writer.

  The non-volatile memories 311Y to 311K are attached to the toner cartridges 121K to 121Y, respectively. Information such as status information is stored. As a non-volatile memory for storing such information, any type of non-contact type non-volatile memory can be used. The non-volatile memories 321Y to 321K are provided in the toner cartridges 221K to 221Y, and similarly, the remaining amount of toner, the number of fixed sheets, the developing roller rotation time, the number of rotations of the photosensitive member, the total operation time of the image forming apparatus main body, and the user usage status Information such as information is stored.

  Information such as “toner remaining amount” and “toner cartridge cumulative usage time” is defined as information relating to consumption of consumables. In addition, information such as “fixed number of sheets”, “developing roller rotation time”, “photoconductor rotation number”, “image forming apparatus main body total operating time”, and “user usage status information” are information related to the operating status of the apparatus. Define.

  In the tandem type image forming apparatus, non-volatile memory reader / writers 312Y to 312K are arranged so as to correspond to the non-volatile memories 311Y to 311K as shown in the figure, and read / write to the non-volatile memories 311Y to 311K is performed. Can be done.

  In a rotary type image forming apparatus, a non-volatile memory reader / writer 322 is provided at a position as shown. In the rotary type, when the toner cartridge developed on the photoconductor 223 rotates and comes to the position shown in the figure, the nonvolatile memory provided in the cartridge and the nonvolatile memory reader / writer 322 communicate with each other. Then, reading / writing of the nonvolatile memory is performed.

  The read / write timings of the non-volatile memories 311Y to 311K and 321Y to 321K include immediately after the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on or immediately before and after the replacement / mounting of the toner cartridge. Examples of the read / write timing during the image process include after the latent image is formed on the photoconductor, after the development process, and after the fixing process.

  When the power of the image forming apparatus main body is turned off due to a power failure or user operation at a timing when predetermined information is written to the nonvolatile memories 311Y to 311K and 321Y to 321K, the writing to the nonvolatile memory is not completed. Sometimes. As a countermeasure for this, in the present invention, the inertial force of the polygon mirror is used.

  Next, a polygon mirror and a polygon mirror motor in the scanner unit of the image forming apparatus will be described. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the polygon mirror and polygon mirror motor of the scanner means. Optical scanning using the polygon mirror 147 is performed by rotating a polygon mirror 147 having a plurality of reflecting surfaces 148 formed by precision processing on a material such as aluminum or glass on the outer periphery by a polygon mirror motor 145, and a laser diode (not shown). This is performed by scanning the light beam from the light source. The rotational speed of the polygon mirror 147 by the polygon mirror motor 145 is several thousand rpm. In the present invention, the rotational energy of the polygon mirror 147 is used as a power failure countermeasure when writing to the nonvolatile memory.

  Next, a circuit used for reading from and writing to the nonvolatile memory of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a part of the circuit configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 shows the internal block configuration of the control circuit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

  6 and 7, 300 is a control circuit, 301 is a control main circuit, 303 is a constant voltage circuit, 331 is a nonvolatile memory element, V is a power source, SW is a switch, D1 to D3 are diodes, and M is a polygon mirror. Motors 145 and R1 indicate resistances, respectively. The control circuit 300 has terminals a to d, receives power from the terminals a and b, outputs a control signal for the polygon mirror motor 145 from the terminal c, and stores nonvolatile data from the terminal d. A read / write signal or the like of the element 331 is output. Note that the nonvolatile memory reader / writers 312Y to 312K and 322 described above are included in the control circuit 300. The nonvolatile memory element 331 in the circuit diagram corresponds to the nonvolatile memories 311Y to 311K and 321Y to 321K.

  A control main circuit 301 represents an internal circuit of the control circuit 300 excluding the power input terminal. The e terminal is a circuit for detecting that the input from the power source V is cut off, and the f terminal is a terminal for supplying power to the control main circuit 301.

  In a normal operation in which power is supplied from the power source V to the control circuit 300, the e terminal is in a high state, but the power source V is lost due to a power failure or the switch SW is opened by a user operation. For example, the e terminal is in a low state. The e terminal detects that the input from the power source V has been cut off by detecting High and Low. Such a detection result is used for the control described later in the control circuit 300.

  The constant voltage circuit 303 is a circuit that converts the electromotive force generated by the polygon mirror motor 145 to a constant voltage and supplies it to the control circuit 300. When the power supply V is lost due to a power failure or the switch SW is opened by a user operation while the polygon mirror 147 is rotating, the polygon mirror 147 attempts to maintain its rotation by inertial force. This rotation is transmitted to the polygon mirror motor 145, and the polygon mirror motor 145 generates an electromotive force. The present invention writes the minimum necessary information to the nonvolatile memory element 331 by using the electromotive force generated by the polygon mirror motor 145.

  Next, the operation of the circuit configured as described above will be described. 8 and 9 are diagrams illustrating power supply to the control circuit at the time of writing to the nonvolatile memory element. In the present invention, the electromotive force generated by the polygon mirror motor 145 is used to complete the writing to the nonvolatile memory element 331 even when the power source V is lost due to a power failure or the switch SW is opened by a user operation. . Therefore, when the control circuit 300 starts a write operation to the nonvolatile memory element 331, the control is performed so that the polygon mirror motor 145 is always turned on.

  FIG. 8 shows a state of power supply at the time of writing to the normal nonvolatile memory element 331. As shown by an arrow in the normal time, the power source V is connected to the a terminal of the control circuit 300 and the diode D1. Electric power is supplied to the polygon mirror motor 145. At this time, a motor control signal for the polygon mirror motor 145ON is issued from the c terminal of the control circuit 300, and the polygon mirror motor 145 is rotated regardless of whether an exposure process is required in the exposure unit.

  FIG. 9 shows power supply to the control circuit 300 when writing to the nonvolatile memory element 331, for example, when the switch SW is turned off by a user operation. In such a case, the polygon mirror 147 tries to maintain its rotation by the inertial force, so that the polygon mirror motor 145 generates an electromotive force. That is, as indicated by an arrow in the figure, power is supplied to the b terminal of the control circuit 300 via the constant voltage circuit 303 → the diode D2.

  Next, control at the time of writing to the nonvolatile memory element 331 of the control circuit 300 will be described. 10 and 11 are flowcharts showing a write operation to the nonvolatile memory element by the control circuit.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, when the storage operation to the nonvolatile memory element 331 is started in step S100, the control circuit 300 issues a control signal for turning on the polygon mirror motor 145 in the subsequent step S101. Next, in step S102, it is determined whether or not the nonvolatile memory element 331 is ready for writing. If it is determined as No in step S102, step S102 is looped. If it is determined Yes, the process proceeds to step S103. In step S103, the process proceeds to the flowchart of the subroutine for the write operation to the nonvolatile memory element 331. In step S104, the polygon mirror motor 145 is turned off (however, it is not turned off when necessary in the exposure process control), the process proceeds to step S105, and the storage operation process is terminated.

  Next, a subroutine for the write operation to the nonvolatile memory element 331 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the concept of “items” in a subroutine will be described. An “item” is defined as a unit of information stored in the nonvolatile memory element 331. That is, the non-volatile storage element 331 includes “toner remaining amount”, “toner cartridge cumulative usage time”, “fixed number of sheets”, “developing roller rotation time”, “photoconductor rotation frequency”, and “image forming apparatus main body total operation time”. Information such as “user usage status information” is stored, and each piece of information is referred to as one item. Each of these items is usually information in units of 8 bits to 32 bits. The bit length of an item depends on the item.

  A problem in the writing operation of the nonvolatile memory element 331 at the time of unexpected disappearance such as a power failure is that writing of these one item (in units of 8 bits to 32 bits) is not completed. Therefore, the subroutine for the write operation to the nonvolatile memory element 331 is to determine whether the power is turned off for each item.

  In step S200, when the subroutine of the writing operation of the nonvolatile memory element 331 is started, the process proceeds to step S201, and writing for one item is performed on the nonvolatile memory element 331 in step S201. Next, in step S <b> 202, it is determined whether writing has been completed for all items that need to be written to the nonvolatile memory element 331. If the determination in step S202 is yes, the process proceeds to step S204, and the subroutine of the writing operation is exited. If the determination in step S202 is no, the process proceeds to step S203. In step S203, it is determined whether or not the power has been turned off with reference to the information on the e terminal. If the determination in step S203 is Yes, that is, if the power is down, the process proceeds to step S204 to exit the write operation subroutine to stop the write operation. If the determination in step S203 is no, the process proceeds to step S201 to write the next item.

  According to the configuration of the present invention as described above, even when the power is turned off due to a power failure or a user operation, one item which is information of the minimum unit by the electromotive force of the polygon mirror motor 145 generated by the inertial force of the polygon mirror 147. Minute information can be written into the nonvolatile memory element 331. The polygon mirror 147 and the polygon mirror motor 145 have a configuration that is always included in an image forming apparatus that forms a latent image using a laser, and the present invention can be easily realized by using this configuration. The circuit configuration for realizing the present invention is relatively simple as shown in FIGS. The operation sequence in the control circuit for realizing the present invention is also relatively simple as shown in FIGS.

  In summary, according to the image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus control method of the present invention, the circuit configuration is not complicated, complicated software processing is not required, and a large-capacitance capacitor is not used. Even when the power is turned off due to a power failure or a user operation, the operation to the nonvolatile memory element can be surely completed.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus taking a tandem type as an example according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus taking a rotary type as an example according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating the vicinity of a developing device of an image forming apparatus taking a tandem type as an example. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a vicinity of a developing device of an image forming apparatus taking a rotary type as an example. It is a perspective view of a polygon mirror and a polygon mirror motor of the scanner means. 1 is a diagram illustrating a part of a circuit configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a control circuit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the power supply to the control circuit at the time of writing to a non-volatile memory element (normal time). It is a figure explaining the power supply to the control circuit at the time of the writing to a non-volatile memory element (at the time of a power failure). It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the write-in operation | movement to the non-volatile memory element by a control circuit. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the write-in operation | movement to the non-volatile memory element by a control circuit.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Image forming apparatus, 103 ... Housing, 105 ... Paper discharge tray, 107 ... Door body, 109 ... Exposure unit, 110 ... Developing apparatus, 111 ... Image forming unit , 113 ... Blower fan, 115 ... Transfer belt unit, 117 ... Paper feed unit, 119 ... Paper transport unit, 121Y, 121M, 121C, 121K ... Toner cartridge, 123 ... Photosensitive 125, corona charging means, 127 ... driving roller, 129 ... driven roller, 131 ... tension roller, 133 ... intermediate transfer belt, 134 ... cleaning means, 139 ... Secondary transfer roller 141... Cleaning blade 145... Polygon mirror motor 147... Polygon mirror 149. Scanner means 151... F-θ lens, 153... Reflection mirror, 155 .. folding mirror, 157... Feed cartridge, 161. ... Discharge roller pair, 167... Double-sided printing conveyance path, 169... Fixing roller pair, 200... Image forming apparatus, 209... Exposure unit, 210. 221M, 221C, 221K ... toner cartridge, 223 ... photoconductor, 225 ... charging unit, 233 ... intermediate transfer belt, 234 ... cleaning unit, 235 ... cleaning blade, 239 ... Secondary transfer unit, 257 ... feed cassette, 263 ... fixing unit, 271 ... operation display panel, 311Y-31 1K: Non-volatile memory, 312Y-312K ... Non-volatile memory reader / writer, 321Y-321K ... Non-volatile memory, 322 ... Non-volatile memory reader / writer, 300 ... Control circuit, 301 ... · Control main circuit, 303 ... Constant voltage circuit, 331 ... Nonvolatile memory element

Claims (5)

When a polygon mirror motor that rotationally drives the polygon mirror, a nonvolatile memory element, and a control circuit that performs writing to the nonvolatile memory element, the control circuit starts writing to the nonvolatile memory element An image forming apparatus that controls the polygon mirror motor to turn on. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nonvolatile memory element is provided in a toner cartridge. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein information related to consumption of consumables is stored in the nonvolatile storage element. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nonvolatile storage element stores information relating to an operating state of the apparatus. A method for controlling an image forming apparatus having a polygon mirror motor that rotationally drives a polygon mirror, a non-volatile memory element, and a control circuit that performs writing to the non-volatile memory element. A control method for an image forming apparatus, wherein the polygon mirror motor is controlled to be turned on when writing to a storage element is started.

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