JP2011215598A - Image forming apparatus and method for preventing erroneous loading of process cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus and a process cartridge mismounting prevention method which prevent mismounting of a toner cartridge and reduce the manufacturing cost.
Process cartridges 3 to 6 to which memory means having a function of storing information of process (toner) cartridges 3 to 6 for image forming apparatuses and a function of communicating with main body side communication means are attached are mounted on the main body. Then, when the memory means is accessed by the main body side communication means, the memory means to be accessed is identified by the information stored in the main body side memory 19, and the power supply to the main body side mounting means can be exclusively turned on / off. Power is supplied only to the main body side mounting means to which the memory means to be accessed by the control circuit 18 is to be mounted.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus equipped with a detachable process cartridge and a process cartridge mismounting prevention method.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a color printer, the component parts related to the image formation of four colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) are each used as a process cartridge, and each is a main body. What is configured to be detachable has been put to practical use. Note that the process cartridge may refer to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus having a configuration in which an image forming unit and a toner supply unit are integrated. In this application, for example, a toner supply unit Including only cartridges (also referred to as “toner cartridges”).

  A full-color image is formed by sequentially superimposing four color toner images of K, Y, M, and C on an intermediate transfer belt, etc. Process control for color misregistration accuracy and density, etc., has a process cartridge for each color as the main body The control specifications are determined on the assumption that the arrangement when mounted on is fixed.

  Therefore, it is necessary to mount the process cartridge in a mounting portion (hereinafter referred to as “station”) determined for each color in the apparatus main body.

However, when the process cartridge is replaced, there is a possibility that the process cartridge is erroneously attached to a station of a different color or the process cartridge of the same color is attached to a plurality of main bodies.
For this reason, a method for preventing the mounting of process cartridges of different colors by changing the structure of the station for each color has been proposed.
As a conventional example employing this method, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-250375) can be cited.

  Patent Document 1 is a process cartridge that is detachably attached to an image forming apparatus main body, and includes an identification information tag that stores information for identifying each cartridge, and a key that mechanically engages with the apparatus main body. An identification key that can identify whether or not the cartridge can be mounted is provided by the (projecting portion or recessed portion). The identification information tag and the identification key are mounted on the process cartridge, for example, in the form of an integrated component in which the identification information tag is provided in the identification key.

  In the invention described in Patent Document 1, since the identification information tag and the identification key are provided in the process cartridge in the form of one component, the shape and structure of the cartridge itself can be made common, and the cartridge, the identification information tag, By changing the position of providing these components with respect to the combination method and cartridge, it is possible to cope with various applications and to greatly reduce the manufacturing cost.

  However, as in Patent Document 1, hard keys such as various protrusions and recesses are provided on the surface of a normal cartridge so that each process cartridge can be mounted only at a predetermined position. If a system that prevents only cartridges with hard keys of different shapes from being mounted on the main body of the apparatus and prevents cartridges with hard keys of different shapes from being mounted, the process cartridges supplied to machines of this type are Therefore, it is necessary to manufacture a product having a different configuration, and a process cartridge manufacturing line, a mold, and the like must be provided for each color, resulting in a high manufacturing cost.

Further, as described in Patent Document 1, some process cartridges are provided with a wireless communication unit and a nonvolatile memory (ID chip) so that the remaining amount of toner, serial number, manufacturer, etc. can be stored and held. It has become. In addition to the wireless communication unit, communication means using a standard such as I ² C is adopted for communication between the main device side main control IC and the ID chip.
When these communication means are used, the four-color ID chips are arranged in parallel as a circuit. At this time, the control IC on the main body side cannot identify the station where the process cartridge is mounted. Therefore, as described above, Patent Document 1 prevents erroneous mounting by the identification key method.

  As described above, there is room for improvement in the conventional technology for preventing erroneous mounting, including the case where proper mounting to a station determined for each color is not performed, so that cost performance is improved over the conventional technology. Is an issue.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to prevent erroneous mounting of a toner cartridge including a case where proper mounting to a station determined for each color is not performed. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and a process cartridge mismounting prevention method that can reduce manufacturing costs.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a plurality of body side mounting means to which a process cartridge to which a memory means having a function of storing process cartridge information and a function of communicating with the body side is mounted is mounted. A main body side communication means capable of reading / writing data from / to the memory means, identification information for identifying the memory means, and a position where the process cartridge is mounted according to the identification information of the memory means. Main body side storage means for storing, circuit means capable of exclusively turning on and off the power supply to the main body side mounting means, and control means for controlling the circuit means with reference to information on the main body side storage means. In the image forming apparatus in which the memory unit is supplied with power from the main body side via the main body side mounting unit, the control unit includes the book When accessing the memory means by the side communication means, the memory means to be accessed is identified by the information in the main body storage means, and only the main body mounting means to which the memory means to be accessed by the circuit means should be attached is powered on. It is characterized by supplying.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the control means sequentially accesses the memory means by the main body side communication means, and at that time, accesses by the information of the main body side storage means. By identifying the memory means and supplying power only to the mounting means to which the memory means to be accessed by the circuit means is to be attached, the communicable memory means is a predetermined position of the body side mounting means. A process cartridge mounting position checking operation for determining that the cartridge is correctly mounted is executed.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means attaches the memory means attached to the K color process cartridge at a predetermined position as a result of the process cartridge attachment position confirmation operation. If it is, monochrome printing is permitted regardless of the connection position of the color process cartridge.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the control means supplies power only to any one of the main body side mounting means by the circuit means, and the information is stored in the main body side storage means. The memory means is identified, the communication to the memory means is sequentially tried, and the mounting process cartridge specifying operation is performed to determine that the memory means that can communicate is mounted on the main body side mounting means. To do.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when the process cartridge to which the memory means having the function of storing the process cartridge information for the image forming apparatus and the function of communicating with the main body side communication means is attached is mounted on the main body. Memory that is accessed by circuit means capable of exclusively turning on and off the power supply to the main body side mounting means when the memory means is accessed by the side communication means and the memory means to be accessed is identified by information in the main body side storage means The power supply is supplied only to the main body side mounting means to which the means is to be mounted.

  According to the present invention, each ID chip is assigned an address (slave address) for identifying the color. The power supply of each ID chip can be turned OFF / ON independently, and only the ID chip is supplied when accessing the ID chip. When an ID chip of a different color is attached to a certain station, the slave address transmitted from the main body side control IC and the slave address of the attached ID chip are different, so the ID chip does not respond and a communication error occurs. For this reason, it becomes possible to detect that process cartridges of different colors are mounted on a certain main body side mounting means. As a result, the shape of the process cartridge is common to each color, so that erroneous mounting can be prevented and the component manufacturing cost can be reduced.

1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a color printer as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the outline of the operation | movement flow of the color printer shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another outline of the operation flow of the color printer shown in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the other half of the other outline of the operation | movement flow of the color printer shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a second half of the operation flow illustrated in FIG. 4. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another outline of the operation flow of the color printer shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a second half of the operation flow illustrated in FIG. 6. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another outline of the operation flow of the color printer shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a second half of the operation flow illustrated in FIG. 8.

<Overview>
Each ID chip is assigned an address (slave address) for identifying the color.
Each ID chip is supplied with power from the main body side via a station.
The power supply to each ID chip can be turned OFF / ON independently on the main body side.
The main body side control IC stores the slave address of the ID chip to be attached to each station.
When accessing an ID chip, power is supplied only to the ID chip.
When an ID chip of a different color is attached to a certain station, the slave address transmitted from the main body side control IC and the slave address of the attached ID chip are different, so the ID chip does not respond and a communication error occurs. At this time, ID chips mounted on other stations do not operate because they are not supplied with power.
If the correct color ID chip is attached to the station, the chip responds and communication is normally established.

<Configuration>
The configuration of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a color printer as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
The image forming apparatus includes a main body device 1 and connectors 11 to 14.
The main unit 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2 as a main control IC (Integrated Circuit), a memory 19 under the control of the CPU 2, and a power supply circuit configured with transistors 15 to 18 as control elements. The CPU ² has an I ² C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) module.
ID chips 7 to 10 are respectively attached to the toner cartridges 3 to 6 that are detachable from the main body device 1. Each ID (IDentification) chip holds information such as the color of the process cartridge to be attached. The CPU 2 and each ID chip are connected via connectors 11-14. Each ID chip receives power from the main body and communicates with the CPU ² using the I ² C standard.

Here, the communication according to the I ² C standard will be further described.
The I ² C bus is proposed as a two-wire bidirectional serial bus.
In the I ² C bus, a plurality of devices are connected in a bus configuration by two types of signals “SCL (Serial CLock)” and “SDA (Serial DAta)”, and perform communication between the devices.
There are a master and a slave connected to each device, and each device has a unique address. A master selects a slave by addressing and performs one-to-one communication.
The SCL signal is basically output from the master. The slave performs input / output of the SDA signal in accordance with the SCL signal output from the master. That is, at the time of reception, data is read from the SDA signal according to the SCL clock signal, and at the time of transmission, the data is output as an SDA signal according to the SCL clock signal.

Communication on the I ² C bus starts with a START condition from the master side and ends with a STOP condition.
The unit of data to be transferred is 1 byte (8 bits), and the data is transferred in order from the upper bit. Every time one byte is received, the receiving side returns ACK (0 of 1 bit) to the transmitting side.
The master transmits a slave address and a Read / Write flag immediately after the START condition.
The slave that receives data from the master establishes communication between the master and the slave by returning ACK to the master when the transmitted slave address matches its own slave address.
In transfer (write) from the master to the slave, after the slave returns ACK to the slave address, the master that receives this ACK immediately transfers data to the slave. The slave that receives the transferred data returns an ACK for each byte. When the data has been sent, the master sends a STOP condition to end communication.
On the other hand, in the transfer (reading) from the slave to the master, data is transferred from the slave to the master immediately after the slave returns ACK to the slave address. The master receiving the transferred data returns ACK in response to this, but only when the last transferred byte is received, returns NACK to notify the slave of the end of data transfer.

In this embodiment, the power to each ID chip supplied from the main unit 1 can be turned on and off independently by the transistors 15 to 18 on the main unit side when the CPU 2 communicates with each ID chip. Yes. Further, since the I ² C standard is used, a slave address is assigned to each ID chip. Data on the correspondence between the slave address and the color and data on the correspondence between the slave address and the connector are stored in the memory 19. With the information in the memory 19, the CPU 2 can refer to the slave address of each color process cartridge and a predetermined station to be mounted.

<Operation 1>
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the operation flow of the color printer shown in FIG.
Prior to accessing the K-color ID chip, the CPU 2 turns on the transistor 15 so that power is supplied only to the connector 11 in which the K-color process cartridge is to be mounted (step 1).
The CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the K color ID chip, and records whether or not the communication is successful in the memory 19 (step 2).

  Next, the CPU 2 turns off the transistor 15 and turns on the transistor 16 so that power is supplied only to the connector 12 in which the Y color process cartridge is to be mounted (step 3).

  The CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the Y-color ID chip, and records whether or not the communication is successful in the memory 19 (step 4).

  Next, the CPU 2 turns off the transistor 16 and turns on the transistor 17 so that power is supplied only to the connector 13 in which the M color process cartridge is to be mounted (step 5).

  The CPU 2 attempts to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the M color ID chip, and records whether or not the communication is successful in the memory 19 (step 6).

  Next, the CPU 2 turns off the transistor 17 and turns on the transistor 18 so that power is supplied only to the connector 14 on which the C-color process cartridge is to be mounted (step 7).

  The CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the C color ID chip, and records whether or not the communication is successful in the memory 19 (step 8).

After performing the above operation, in order to determine whether or not a process cartridge of a predetermined color is installed in each station, the communication result of each color previously recorded in the memory 19 is referred to and any one of them is referred to. If the communication has failed, the machine operation is stopped. On the other hand, if all the colors have been successfully communicated, the operation is continued as it is (step 9).
The timing for executing this series of operations is basically performed every time a printing operation is performed, but when there is a possibility that the process cartridge has been replaced, that is, when the main power is turned on, when the cover is closed, and in the energy saving mode. It may be executed only when returning from.

<Operation 2>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of another operation flow in the color printer shown in FIG.
The operation up to step 8 is the same as that described in FIG.
As a result, referring to the communication result of the K color ID chip (step 9), if the K color ID chip cannot communicate, the machine stops operating (step 10).

If the K-color ID chip can communicate, the communication result of the color ID chip is referred to (step 11). If the color ID chip cannot communicate, only monochrome printing is permitted (step 11). 12).
If the color ID chip is communicable, the machine performs normal operation (step 13).

<Operation 3>
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the first half of another outline of the operation flow in the color printer shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the second half of the operation flow shown in FIG.
First, the CPU 2 turns on the transistor 15 so that only the connector 11 is supplied with power (step 1).

  The CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the K-color ID chip, and determines whether or not the communication is successful (step 2).

  When the communication is successful, it is determined that the K color process cartridge is attached to the connector 11, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 3).

  If the communication fails, the CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the Y color ID chip, and determines whether the communication is successful (step 4).

  If the communication is successful, it is determined that the Y-color process cartridge is attached to the connector 11, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 5).

  If the communication fails, the CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the M color ID chip and determines whether the communication is successful (step 6).

  If the communication is successful, it is determined that the M color process cartridge is attached to the connector 11, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 7).

  When the communication fails, the CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the C color ID chip, and determines whether the communication is successful (step 8).

If the communication is successful, it is determined that the C-color process cartridge is attached to the connector 11, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 9).
With the above operation, the color of the process cartridge attached to the connector 11 can be specified.

Next, the same operation is performed on the connector 12.
First, the CPU 2 turns off the transistor 15 and turns on the transistor 16 so that only the connector 12 is supplied with power (step 10).

  The CPU 2 attempts to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the K color ID chip, and determines whether or not the communication is successful (step 11).

  If the communication is successful, it is determined that the K process cartridge is attached to the connector 12, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 12).

  If the communication fails, the CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the Y color ID chip, and determines whether the communication is successful (step 13).

  If the communication is successful, it is determined that the Y process cartridge is attached to the connector 12, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 14).

  If the communication fails, the CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the M color ID chip, and determines whether the communication is successful (step 15). If the communication is successful, it is specified that the M color process cartridge is attached to the connector 12, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 16).

  When the communication fails, the CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the C color ID chip, and determines whether the communication is successful (step 17).

If the communication is successful, it is determined that the C-color process cartridge is attached to the connector 12, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 18).
With the above operation, the color of the process cartridge attached to the connector 12 can be specified.

Next, the same operation is performed on the connector 13.
First, the CPU 2 turns off the transistor 16 and turns on the transistor 17 so that only the connector 13 is supplied with power (step 19).

  The CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the K-color ID chip, and determines whether or not the communication is successful (step 20).

  If the communication is successful, it is determined that the K process cartridge is attached to the connector 13, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 21).

  If the communication fails, the CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the Y color ID chip, and determines whether the communication is successful (step 22).

  If the communication is successful, it is determined that the Y-color process cartridge is attached to the connector 13, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 23).

  If the communication fails, the CPU 2 attempts to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the M color ID chip and determines whether the communication is successful (step 24).

  If the communication is successful, it is specified that the M color process cartridge is attached to the connector 13, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 25).

If the communication fails, the CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the C color ID chip and determines whether the communication is successful (step 26). If the communication is successful, it is determined that the C-color process cartridge is attached to the connector 13, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 27).
With the above operation, the color of the process cartridge attached to the connector 13 can be specified.

Next, the same operation is performed on the connector 14.
First, the CPU 2 turns off the transistor 17 and turns on the transistor 18 so that power is supplied only to the connector 14 (step 28).

  The CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the K-color ID chip and determines whether or not the communication is successful (step 29).

  If the communication is successful, it is specified that the K color process cartridge is attached to the connector 14, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 30).

  If the communication fails, the CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the Y-color ID chip, and determines whether the communication is successful (step 31).

  If the communication is successful, it is determined that the Y-color process cartridge is attached to the connector 14, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 32).

  If the communication fails, the CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the M color ID chip and determines whether the communication is successful (step 33).

  If the communication is successful, it is determined that the M color process cartridge is attached to the connector 14, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 34).

  If the communication fails, the CPU 2 tries to access the ID chip by transmitting the slave address of the C color ID chip and determines whether the communication is successful (step 35).

If the communication is successful, it is determined that the C-color process cartridge is attached to the connector 14, and the result is recorded in the memory 19 (step 36).
With the above operation, the color of the process cartridge attached to the connector 14 can be specified.

  Perform a series of operations to identify the process cartridge installed in each connector only when there is a possibility that the process cartridge has been replaced, i.e., when the main power is turned on, when the cover is closed, or when returning from the energy saving mode. Also good.

<Operation 4>
6 is a diagram showing the first half of the outline of another operation flow in the color printer shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the second half of the operation flow shown in FIG.
The operations up to step 36 are the same as those described with reference to FIGS.
As a result of the operation up to step 36, the mounting connector positions of all the process cartridges are referred to (step 37). If any of the process cartridges is not mounted on the predetermined connector, the machine stops operating (step 38). ).

  If all the process cartridges are attached to the predetermined connectors, the machine performs normal operation (step 39).

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the first half of the outline of another operation flow in the color printer shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the second half of the operation flow shown in FIG.
The operations up to step 36 are the same as those described with reference to FIGS.
As a result of the operation up to step 36, the mounting connector position of the K color process cartridge is referred to (step 37), and if the K color process cartridge is not mounted on the predetermined connector, the machine stops operating (step 38). .

  If the K color process cartridge is mounted on the predetermined connector, the mounting position of the color process cartridge is referred to (step 39). If the color process cartridge is not mounted on the predetermined connector, the monochrome process cartridge is Only printing is permitted (step 40).

  If the color process cartridge is attached to the predetermined connector, the machine performs a normal operation (step 41).

  The above-described embodiment shows an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. is there.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body apparatus, 2 ... CPU, 3 ... K toner cartridge, 4 ... Y toner cartridge, 5 ... M toner cartridge, 6 ... C toner cartridge, 7 ... ID Chip (K), 8 ... ID chip (Y), 9 ... ID chip (M), 10 ... ID chip (C), 11-14 ... connector, 15-18 ... transistor 19 ... Memory.

JP 2005-250375 A

Claims (5)

A plurality of body side mounting means to which a process cartridge to which a memory means having a function of storing information of the process cartridge and a function of communicating with the body side is mounted is mounted;
Main body side communication means capable of reading and writing data by communication with the memory means;
Main body side storage means for storing the identification information for identifying the memory means and the position where the process cartridge is mounted according to the identification information of the memory means;
Circuit means capable of exclusively turning on and off the power supply to the body side mounting means;
Control means for controlling the circuit means with reference to information in the main body side storage means, and the memory means is an image forming apparatus to which power is supplied from the main body side via the main body side mounting means.
The control means, when accessing the memory means by the main body side communication means, identifies the memory means to be accessed by information in the main body side storage means, and the memory means to be accessed by the circuit means should be mounted An image forming apparatus, wherein power is supplied only to a main body side mounting means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The control means sequentially accesses the memory means by the main body side communication means, identifies the memory means to be accessed by the information of the main body side storage means at that time, and the memory means to be accessed by the circuit means is mounted. By supplying power only to the mounting means, the memory means that can communicate among the memory means executes a process cartridge mounting position confirmation operation for determining that the memory means that can communicate is correctly mounted at a predetermined position of the main body side mounting means. An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
When the memory means attached to the K color process cartridge is mounted at a predetermined position as a result of the process cartridge mounting position confirmation operation, the control means performs monochrome printing regardless of the connection position of the color process cartridge. An image forming apparatus characterized in that execution is permitted. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The control means supplies power only to one of the main body side mounting means by the circuit means, identifies the memory means by the information of the main body side storage means, and sequentially tries communication to the memory means, An image forming apparatus comprising: an attaching process cartridge specifying operation for determining that a memory means that is capable of being attached to the main body side attaching means.   When a process cartridge to which a memory means having a function of storing process cartridge information for an image forming apparatus and a function of communicating with a main body side communication means is attached to the main body, the main body side communication means causes the memory means to When accessing, the memory means to be accessed is identified by the memory means to be accessed by the information of the main body side storage means, and the memory means to be accessed by the circuit means capable of exclusively turning on and off the power supply to the main body side mounting means A method for preventing erroneous mounting of a process cartridge, wherein power is supplied only to the side mounting means.

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