JP2012014110A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device and an image forming method allowing reduction of noise or power consumption and cost-increasing waste, extention of allowable heat-resistance limit of toner, improvement of yield in toner production, realization of low cost and reduction of environmental load.SOLUTION: An image forming device comprises a latent image carrier, developing means for developing a latent image formed on the latent image carrier with toner, a toner bottle for containing toner to be supplied to the developing means, an ID chip which is disposed integrally on the toner bottle and stores information of toner contained in the toner bottle, and two or more cooling fans for cooling inside the image forming device. The information of toner stored by the ID chip includes heat resistance-property information of toner. Operation or non-operation of each of the two or more cooling fans is changed based on the heat resistance-property information.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a laser printer, and an image forming method. More specifically, the quality level of toner used for image formation is stored in advance in an ID chip of a toner bottle, and the information is generated according to the information. The present invention relates to a technique for controlling an image forming apparatus.

  Toner widely used as a developer of an image forming apparatus varies in heat resistance for each production lot due to manufacturing variations. Therefore, in general, an inspection process is provided as part of the toner manufacturing process, a heat resistance test is performed for each lot of toner to be produced, and toner whose heat resistance is within a predetermined standard range is shipped as acceptable. The toner that has become outside is discarded as NG (failed). As a standard for heat resistance, generally, a condition in which the temperature rises to the limit in the use conditions of the image forming apparatus is assumed, and a range in which there is no problem at that temperature is defined as the standard.

  Therefore, if a mechanism that does not easily raise the temperature is provided on the image forming apparatus side, the toner that must be discarded can be reduced, so that the yield can be improved. However, it is necessary to increase the rotation speed of the cooling fan, increase the number of cooling fans, or increase the rotation time of the cooling fan in order to install a mechanism that does not easily increase the temperature on the image forming apparatus side. However, since there are disadvantages such as an increase in noise, an increase in cost, and an increase in power consumption, there is a limit to the response on the image forming apparatus side. For this reason, the image forming apparatus is often designed so that noise, cost, and power consumption are advantageous under general use conditions, and toner that cannot be used under the conditions is discarded.

  However, since the heat resistance of the toner has manufacturing variations as described above, there is a toner with higher heat resistance and a low toner even within the heat resistance range where there is no problem, so heat resistance is high and cooling is not necessary so much. Since the operation is performed under a fan condition that maintains a certain cooling efficiency for the toner, waste is generated in terms of noise, cost, and power consumption. Therefore, as in the present invention described later, the heat resistance information of the toner in the toner bottle is written in the ID chip integrated with the toner bottle, and the information is read by the image forming apparatus and reflected in the control conditions. If possible, waste can be reduced.

  By the way, several techniques for writing and using information in an ID chip integrated with a toner bottle have been disclosed. For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-287579) discloses a remaining amount of toner, a toner. A technique is disclosed in which the type, lot number, destination, and main unit contract form (annual toner use contract, bottle single unit sales contract, etc.) are recorded on an ID chip and the information is used. However, since it is not a system for recording information relating to the physical properties of the toner, it cannot be reflected in the control conditions, and there is a problem that the technology remains at a level that improves convenience.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-107113 discloses a technique for determining whether a toner is a genuine product or a non-genuine product from information on an ID chip and reflecting it in control conditions. Since it is only controlled by judging whether it is a genuine product or a non-genuine product, there is a problem that there is no improvement effect from the viewpoint of heat resistance.

  Further, Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-010883) discloses a technique for reading whether or not toner has been replaced and reflecting it in fixing conditions and transfer conditions accordingly. The technique according to Patent Document 3 is superior to other conventional techniques in that the toner information is reflected in the fixing conditions and transfer conditions for image formation. Since there is only information on whether or not it has been, there is a problem that advanced conditions cannot be set, and no improvement effect can be obtained from the viewpoint of heat resistance.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems in the prior art, and can reduce noise, power consumption, waste of cost, expand the range of heat resistance of usable toner, and improve yield in toner production. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming method capable of realizing cost reduction and environmental load reduction.

  In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus and an image forming method according to the present invention specifically have technical features described in (1) to (7) below.

(1): a latent image carrier, developing means for developing a latent image formed on the latent image carrier with toner, a toner bottle containing toner to be supplied to the developing means, and a toner bottle And an ID chip that stores information on the toner contained in the toner bottle, and two or more cooling fans that cool the interior of the image forming apparatus, and the toner that is stored in the ID chip The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the information includes the heat resistance information of the toner, and the operation or non-operation of each of the two or more cooling fans changes based on the heat resistance information.

Toner widely used as a developer of an image forming apparatus varies in heat resistance for each production lot due to manufacturing variations. In general, assuming that the temperature rises to the limit among the usage conditions of the image forming apparatus, toner having heat resistance in a range where no malfunction occurs at that temperature is produced. Therefore, the toner whose heat resistance exceeds the upper limit must be discarded, which causes problems in terms of cost reduction and environmental load reduction. However, in order to install a mechanism that does not easily raise the temperature on the image forming apparatus side, it is necessary to increase the rotation speed of the cooling fan or increase the rotation time of the cooling fan, but this increases noise and increases power consumption. Therefore, there is a limit to the response on the image forming apparatus side. Therefore, on the image forming apparatus side, in general use conditions, noise, cost, and power consumption are designed under advantageous conditions, and toner that cannot be used under such conditions is often discarded. However, since the heat resistance of the toner has manufacturing variations as described above, there is a toner with higher heat resistance and a low toner even within the heat resistance range where there is no problem, so heat resistance is high and cooling is not necessary so much. Since the operation is performed under a fan condition that maintains a certain cooling efficiency for the toner, waste is generated in terms of noise, cost, and power consumption.
Therefore, with the configuration of (1) above, the heat resistance of the toner to be used is stored as information in an ID chip that is integrated with the toner bottle, and the information is read by the image forming apparatus, so that the heat resistance of the toner is met. By changing the operating location (operation / non-operation) of the cooling fan, the waste of noise and power consumption is reduced, the heat resistance range of usable toner is expanded, the yield in toner production is improved, and the cost is reduced. Environmental load can be reduced.

(2): a latent image carrier, developing means for developing a latent image formed on the latent image carrier with toner, a toner bottle containing toner to be supplied to the developing means, and a toner bottle And an ID chip that stores information on the toner contained in the toner bottle, and a cooling fan that cools the inside of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes the heat resistance information of the toner, and the rotation speed of the cooling fan changes based on the heat resistance information.

Toner widely used as a developer of an image forming apparatus varies in heat resistance for each production lot due to manufacturing variations. In general, assuming that the temperature rises to the limit among the usage conditions of the image forming apparatus, toner having heat resistance in a range where no malfunction occurs at that temperature is produced. Therefore, the toner whose heat resistance exceeds the upper limit must be discarded, which causes problems in terms of cost reduction and environmental load reduction. However, it is necessary to increase the rotation speed of the cooling fan, increase the number of cooling fans, or increase the rotation time of the cooling fan in order to install a mechanism that does not easily increase the temperature on the image forming apparatus side. However, since there are disadvantages such as an increase in noise, an increase in cost, and an increase in power consumption, there is a limit to the response on the image forming apparatus side. Therefore, on the image forming apparatus side, in general use conditions, noise, cost, and power consumption are designed under advantageous conditions, and toner that cannot be used under such conditions is often discarded. However, since the heat resistance of the toner has manufacturing variations as described above, there is a toner with higher heat resistance and a low toner even within the heat resistance range where there is no problem, so heat resistance is high and cooling is not necessary so much. Since the operation is performed under a fan condition that maintains a certain cooling efficiency for the toner, waste is generated in terms of noise, cost, and power consumption.
Therefore, with the configuration of (2) above, the heat resistance of the toner to be used is stored as information in an ID chip that is integrated with the toner bottle, and the information is read by the image forming apparatus so that the heat resistance of the toner is met. Change the rotation speed of the cooling fan to reduce waste of noise and power consumption, expand the range of heat resistance of the usable toner, improve the yield in toner production, reduce cost and reduce environmental impact be able to.

(3): a latent image carrier, developing means for developing the latent image formed on the latent image carrier with toner, a toner bottle containing toner to be replenished to the developing means, and the toner bottle And an ID chip that stores information on the toner contained in the toner bottle, and a cooling fan that cools the inside of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes the heat resistance information of the toner, and the rotation time of the cooling fan changes based on the heat resistance information.

Toner widely used as a developer of an image forming apparatus varies in heat resistance for each production lot due to manufacturing variations. In general, assuming that the temperature rises to the limit among the usage conditions of the image forming apparatus, toner having heat resistance in a range where no malfunction occurs at that temperature is produced. Therefore, the toner whose heat resistance exceeds the upper limit must be discarded, which causes problems in terms of cost reduction and environmental load reduction. However, it is necessary to increase the rotation speed of the cooling fan, increase the number of cooling fans, or increase the rotation time of the cooling fan in order to install a mechanism that does not easily increase the temperature on the image forming apparatus side. However, since there are disadvantages such as an increase in noise, an increase in cost, and an increase in power consumption, there is a limit to the response on the image forming apparatus side. Therefore, on the image forming apparatus side, in general use conditions, noise, cost, and power consumption are designed under advantageous conditions, and toner that cannot be used under such conditions is often discarded. However, since the heat resistance of the toner has manufacturing variations as described above, there is a toner with higher heat resistance and a low toner even within the heat resistance range where there is no problem, so heat resistance is high and cooling is not necessary so much. Since the operation is performed under a fan condition that maintains a certain cooling efficiency for the toner, waste is generated in terms of noise, cost, and power consumption.
Therefore, with the configuration of (3) above, the heat resistance of the toner to be used is stored as information in an ID chip provided integrally with the toner bottle, and the information is read by the image forming apparatus, so that the heat resistance of the toner is met. By changing the rotation time of the cooling fan to reduce noise and power consumption, expand the range of heat resistance of toner that can be used, improve the yield in toner production, reduce costs and reduce environmental impact be able to.

(4): a latent image carrier, developing means for developing the latent image formed on the latent image carrier with toner, a toner bottle containing toner to be replenished to the developing means, and the toner bottle And an ID chip that stores information on the toner contained in the toner bottle, and a cooling fan that cools the inside of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes the heat resistance information of the toner, and the continuous printing operation limit time of the image forming apparatus changes based on the heat resistance information.

Toner widely used as a developer of an image forming apparatus varies in heat resistance for each production lot due to manufacturing variations. In general, assuming that the temperature rises to the limit among the usage conditions of the image forming apparatus, toner having heat resistance in a range where no malfunction occurs at that temperature is produced. Therefore, the toner whose heat resistance exceeds the upper limit must be discarded, which causes problems in terms of cost reduction and environmental load reduction. Therefore, when assuming conditions that the temperature rises to the limit, assuming severe conditions that are not possible in practice, the heat resistance required for the toner becomes high and the yield decreases. End up. One of the conditions where the temperature rises to the limit is that the printing operation is repeated continuously. If the printing operation continues without stopping, the temperature inside the image forming apparatus will continue to rise, but it will never stop. Therefore, it can be said that there is almost no actual use condition in which continuous printing continues. However, since a problem occurs if there is a use condition that continuous printing should continue, it is necessary to assume the use condition, and it is necessary to consider it when determining the heat resistance limit of the toner. However, assuming the use conditions that can be said to be rare has a demerit that deteriorates the toner yield, so if continuous printing continues, the printing operation is temporarily interrupted when the continuous printing continues for a predetermined time and the cooling fan is used. It is better to have a cooling control. However, this continuous printing time limit needs to be set according to the worst toner within the range of variation in heat resistance, so in fact, even with toner with more heat resistance, the limit of continuous printing time will come sooner. In other words, it can be said that there is a waste in usability.
Therefore, with the configuration (4) above, the heat resistance of the toner to be used is stored as information in an ID chip that is integrated with the toner bottle, and the information is read by the image forming apparatus so that the image forming apparatus can perform continuous printing. By changing the operation limit time, it prevents the continuous printing time limit from occurring early and prevents wasteful waiting time, expands the range of toner heat resistance that can be used, improves the yield in toner production, and lowers Cost reduction and environmental load reduction can be realized.

(5): a first input means that allows the user to input the first input time t _E1 at or after the required operating time t _N of the cooling fan, and the image forming apparatus uses the first input time t _E1 and a first power saving mode conversion means to turn off the power if not, above, characterized in that the necessary operating time t _N is changed based on the heat resistance information (1) to (4) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

By providing an energy saving mode in which the power is automatically turned off when the image forming apparatus is not used for a predetermined time, it is possible to suppress power consumption without consuming unnecessary standby power. The predetermined time for switching to the energy saving mode is preferably set by the user because the optimum value varies depending on the user who uses the image forming apparatus. However, if it is possible to set the predetermined time for shifting to the energy saving mode to 0 seconds, the cooling operation will not be performed after the printing operation is completed and the power is turned off and the fan operation is stopped. The temperature of the toner increases greatly, and toner having poor heat resistance may cause aggregation or sticking. In general, the minimum value of the predetermined time to enter the energy-saving mode is set in anticipation of the time to operate the cooling fan to a temperature at which aggregation or fixation does not occur even with toner with a limit of poor heat resistance of the toner. In this case, if the toner has good heat resistance, the minimum value of the predetermined time can be further shortened, but the minimum value is set to be longer, so the performance is inferior in terms of usability. However, if the heat resistance standards are tightened and usability is given priority, the yield of toner production will deteriorate, leading to increased costs and an increased environmental burden.
Therefore, with the configuration (5) above, the heat resistance of the toner to be used is stored as information in an ID chip that is integrated with the toner bottle, and the information is read by the image forming apparatus, so that the heat resistance of the toner can be met. By changing the minimum time (necessary operating time t _N ) until switching to the first energy saving mode, the time to shift to the first energy saving mode can be set as short as possible, and the heat resistance of usable toner It is possible to widen the range of properties, improve the yield in toner production, reduce costs, and reduce environmental impact.

(6): a second input unit that allows the user to input the second input time t _E2 within an arbitrary range, and a second energy saving mode transition unit that turns off the power other than the cooling fan. , T _E2 ≧ t _N , the first energy saving mode transition means turns off the power when the image forming apparatus is not used for the second input time t _E2 , and when t _E2 <t _N , The second energy saving mode transition means turns off the power other than the cooling fan when the image forming apparatus is not used for the second input time _tE2 , and the first energy saving mode transition means the image forming apparatus according to (5), characterized in that forming apparatus turns off the power when the required operating time t _N is not used.

In the image forming apparatus described in (5) above, when the time that the user wants to set is shorter than the minimum time (necessary operating time t _N ) until switching to the first energy saving mode, the user makes a compromise. It must be a problem in terms of usability. Therefore, with the configuration of (6) above, the second input time t _E2 can be set freely by the user, and the second input time set by the user is greater than the required operating time t _N until switching to the first energy saving mode. If t _E2 is short, the OFF the functions other than the cooling fan switched to the second saving mode, wherein the cooling fan only operates only required operating time t _N until switched to the first power saving mode, after the operation By providing the control for switching to the first energy saving mode, it is possible to achieve both the energy saving effect required by the user and a predetermined time until switching to the first energy saving mode determined according to the heat resistance of the toner.

(7): An image forming method characterized by being used in the image forming apparatus described in any one of (1) to (6) above.

  The configuration (7) provides the same effects as the image forming apparatus described in any one of (1) to (6).

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce noise, power consumption, waste of cost, expand the range of heat resistance of usable toner, improve yield in toner production, and realize cost reduction and environmental load reduction. An image forming apparatus and an image forming method can be provided.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration in an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is an enlarged schematic view showing a configuration of a process unit 100 in an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an aspect of a toner cartridge in an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating another aspect of the toner cartridge in the embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between heat resistance data and a heat resistance rank. It is a figure which shows an example of the predetermined value of the heat resistance evaluation method in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the heat resistance rank of a toner, and operation | movement of a cooling fan. Example 1 FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a heat resistance rank of toner and a toner replenishment amount. It is the graph which compared the noise in Example 1, and the noise in a prior art example. It is the graph which compared the power consumption in Example 1 and the power consumption in a prior art example. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the heat resistance rank of a toner, and the rotational speed of a cooling fan. (Example 2) It is the graph which compared the noise in Example 1, and the noise in Example 2. FIG. It is the graph which compared the power consumption in Example 1 and the power consumption in Example 2. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a heat resistance rank of toner and a rotation time of a cooling fan. (Example 3) It is the graph which compared the power consumption in Example 1 and the power consumption in Example 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the heat resistant rank of toner, and the continuous printing limit time. Example 4 It is a diagram showing a relationship between heat resistance rank and the minimum value of the first time switch to energy saving mode of the toner (the required operating time t _N). (Example 5) 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of power ON / OFF control in an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG.

Next, the image forming apparatus and the image forming method according to the present invention will be described in more detail.
Although the embodiments described below are preferred embodiments of the present invention, various technically preferable limitations are attached thereto, but the scope of the present invention is intended to limit the present invention in the following description. Unless otherwise described, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

An embodiment of an electrophotographic printer will be described below as an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
First, a basic configuration of the printer according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a printer according to the present embodiment. The printer shown in FIG. 1 includes four process units 100Y, 100M, 100C, and 100K for yellow, cyan, magenta, and black (hereinafter referred to as Y, M, C, and K) as process units serving as toner image forming units. ing. These use Y, M, C, and K toners of different colors as image forming substances for forming an image, but the other configurations are the same. Taking a process unit 100 for generating a Y toner image as an example, as shown in FIG. 2, this is a photosensitive unit (right side of a region surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. 2) 101 and a developing unit (in FIG. 2). The left side of the region surrounded by the dotted line in FIG. The photosensitive unit 101 and the developing unit 102 are detachably attached to the printer main body.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the process unit 100 as image forming means.
The photoreceptor unit 101 includes a drum-shaped photoreceptor 1 serving as a latent image carrier, a drum cleaning device (cleaning blade) 2 serving as a latent image carrier cleaning unit that removes and collects transfer residual toner and the like attached to the photoreceptor 1, and a photosensitive member. Lubricant application brush 3 and lubricant (zinc stearate) 4 for setting the surface friction coefficient of the body drum 1 to a predetermined value, a lubricant application blade 5 for uniformly applying the lubricant 4 on the photosensitive drum 1, and a photoreceptor A charging roller 6 for uniformly charging the drum 1 is provided. The charging roller 6 applies a charging bias obtained by superimposing a DC voltage on an AC voltage from a charging bias applying unit (not shown) to the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 that is rotated in a clockwise direction (arrow direction) in FIG. 2 by a driving unit (not shown). To charge uniformly. Subsequently, exposure scanning is performed by a laser beam L emitted from an exposure unit (not shown) corresponding to the image signal to form an electrostatic latent image. The charging roller 6 is provided with a charging roller cleaner 7 in contact therewith, and the adhered foreign matter is cleaned.

  The developing unit 102 has a first developer accommodating portion in which the first conveying screw 8 is disposed and a second developer accommodating portion in which the second conveying screw 9 is disposed. A toner concentration sensor 10 composed of a magnetic permeability sensor is installed on the lower surface of the unit 8, and the mixing ratio of carrier particles and toner, which are magnetic materials, is calculated from the magnetic permeability so as to obtain a predetermined toner concentration. The toner is replenished as necessary from the toner replenishing device. The first conveying screw 8 is rotationally driven by a driving means (not shown), and conveys the developer in the first developer accommodating portion from the back side to the near side in the direction orthogonal to the drawing, It enters the second developer accommodating portion through a communication port (not shown) provided in the partition wall between the developer accommodating portion and the developer accommodating portion. The second conveying screw 9 in the second developer accommodating portion is rotationally driven by a driving means (not shown), thereby conveying the developer from the front side to the back side in the drawing. Above the second conveying screw, a developing sleeve 11 is arranged in a posture parallel to the second conveying screw 9, and the developing sleeve 11 as a developer carrying member is driven to rotate counterclockwise (arrow direction) in FIG. Is done. The developing sleeve 11 is made of a non-magnetic material (aluminum) pipe, and the surface is roughened by sandblasting. A magnet (not shown) is disposed inside the developing sleeve 11, and a part of the developer conveyed by the second conveying screw 9 is pumped up to the surface of the developing sleeve 11 by the magnetic force generated by the magnet. Then, after the layer thickness is regulated by a doctor blade 12 arranged so as to maintain a predetermined gap with the developing sleeve 11, the layer thickness is regulated and conveyed to a developing region facing the photoreceptor 1, from a developing bias applying means (not shown). A developing bias applied to the developing sleeve 11 causes toner to adhere to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor 1 to form a toner image. The developer that has consumed toner by development is returned to the second conveying screw 9 as the developing sleeve 11 rotates. And if it conveys to the back end in FIG. 2, it will return in a 1st accommodating part through the communication port which is not shown in figure.

  The result of detecting the magnetic permeability of the developer by the toner concentration sensor 10 is sent as a voltage signal to a control unit (not shown). Since the magnetic permeability of the developer shows a correlation with the toner concentration of the developer, the toner concentration sensor outputs a voltage having a value corresponding to the toner concentration. The control unit is provided with information storage means such as a RAM, in which Vref, which is a target value of the output voltage from the toner density sensor, is stored, and the output voltage value from the toner density sensor is compared with Vref. Then, a toner amount corresponding to the comparison result is supplied from a toner supply device (not shown) from the back side in the drawing of the first developer accommodating portion in the developing unit, and the toner concentration in the developer is maintained at a desired value. In addition, the replenished toner amount is recorded and accumulated in an information storage means such as a RAM each time it is replenished, and cumulative toner replenishment is obtained by reading from the ID chip information described later that the toner bottle is empty and replaced with a new toner bottle. Reset the amount. This control by the toner density sensor and the toner supply device is performed for each color of YMCK.

  An exposure unit 103 is disposed below the process unit 100 in FIG. The exposure unit 103 serving as a latent image writing unit irradiates the surface of the photoreceptor 1 of each process unit 100 with laser light based on the image information. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoreceptor 1. The exposure unit 103 scans laser light emitted from a laser diode, which is a light source, by a polygon mirror that is rotationally driven by a motor, and irradiates the photosensitive member through a plurality of optical lenses and mirrors. Instead of such a configuration, exposure means using an LED array may be employed.

  Below the exposure unit 103, a first paper feed cassette 104 and a second paper feed cassette 105 are disposed so as to overlap in the vertical direction. Each of the paper feed cassettes 104 and 105 contains a recording paper as a recording medium. The uppermost recording paper includes a first paper feeding roller (not shown) and a second paper feeding roller (not shown). Are in contact with each other. When a paper feed roller (not shown) is driven to rotate counterclockwise at a predetermined timing by a driving means (not shown), the recording paper extends in the vertical direction on the right side of the cassettes 104 and 105 in FIG. The sheet is discharged through the sheet feeding means 106 and 107 toward the disposed sheet feeding path. A plurality of conveyance roller pairs 108 are disposed in the paper feed path, and the recording paper sent to the paper feed path is conveyed upward by these conveyance roller pairs 108.

  A registration roller pair 109 is disposed in the paper feed path. When the recording paper is sent from the transport roller 108 immediately before the registration roller pair 109, the recording paper is temporarily stopped. Then, the registration roller 109 is driven at a predetermined timing in accordance with the timing at which the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 110 reaches the secondary transfer nip, and the recording paper is sent out toward the secondary transfer nip.

Above each process unit 100 in FIG. 1, a transfer unit 111 is disposed that endlessly moves counterclockwise in FIG. 1 while stretching an intermediate transfer belt 110 that is a surface endless moving body. In addition to the intermediate transfer belt 110, the transfer unit 111 serving as a transfer unit includes a belt cleaning unit 112, a primary transfer roller 113 disposed at a position where the photosensitive drums 1 of the respective colors face each other, and an intermediate transfer belt 110 that receives external driving. And a belt tension roller 115 and the like. The driving roller 114 also serves as a counter roller for the secondary transfer roller 116.
While being stretched by these rollers, it is endlessly moved counterclockwise in FIG.

  The primary transfer roller 113 is in contact with the photosensitive drum 1 with the intermediate transfer belt 110 interposed therebetween to form a primary transfer nip. The toner image on the photosensitive member 1 is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 110 by applying a transfer bias having a polarity opposite to that of the toner image formed on the photosensitive member 1 to the primary transfer roller 113. The toner images of the respective colors formed by the image forming units of the respective colors are sequentially primary transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 110, and a color image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 110.

The secondary transfer roller 116 is disposed outside the intermediate transfer belt 110 at a position facing the secondary transfer counter roller, which is the driving roller 114, with the belt 110 interposed therebetween. A secondary transfer nip is formed by contact with a predetermined load.
The color image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 110 is moved to the secondary transfer nip by the rotational drive of the intermediate transfer belt 110, and at the same time, the recording paper is fed from the registration roller 109 in synchronization with the entry of the toner image into the secondary transfer nip. Enter the secondary transfer nip.
The toner image is secondarily transferred onto the recording sheet by a secondary transfer electric field and a nip pressure formed between the secondary transfer roller 116 and the secondary transfer counter roller 114. The electric field for secondary transfer is formed by applying a transfer bias having the same polarity as the toner to the secondary transfer counter roller 114 and grounding the secondary transfer roller 116.

On the intermediate transfer belt 110 after passing through the secondary transfer nip, a small amount of toner that has not been transferred to the recording paper remains and adheres. This is cleaned by the belt cleaning unit 112. Note that the belt cleaning unit 112 has a cleaning blade in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 110, thereby scraping and removing the transfer residual toner on the belt 110.
The transfer residual toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 110 is accommodated in a waste toner bottle 117 and discarded.

  A fixing unit is disposed above the secondary transfer nip. The fixing unit includes a fixing roller 118 including an electromagnetic induction heat generating layer, a pressure roller 119 that is brought into contact with the fixing roller 118 with a predetermined pressure to form a predetermined nip width, a temperature sensor (not shown), and the like. On the left side of the fixing roller 118 in FIG. 1, an IH coil unit 120 that is an electromagnetic induction means for generating heat in the electromagnetic induction heating layer in the fixing roller 118 is provided. The fixing roller 118 is heated by electromagnetic induction by the IH coil unit 120. Each roller is rotated by a pressure roller 119 clockwise and a fixing roller 118 counterclockwise by a driving source (not shown).

The recording paper that has passed through the secondary transfer nip is separated from the intermediate transfer belt 110 and then fed into the fixing unit while being guided by the fixing entrance guide 121. In the process of being conveyed from the lower side to the upper side in FIG. 1 while being sandwiched between the fixing nips of the fixing unit, the toner image is fixed on the recording paper by being heated by the fixing roller 118 and simultaneously being pressurized by the fixing nip. It is done.
The recording sheet subjected to the fixing process in this manner is discharged out of the apparatus via a sheet passing path 122 via a pair of discharge rollers (not shown) and stacked on the upper surface of the printer main body. Alternatively, when further double-sided printing (back side printing) is performed, it is sent to the double-sided path 123 and again waits for the conveyance timing at the upstream portion of the registration roller pair 109.

Above the transfer unit, toner bottles 124 for each color that contain Y, M, C, and K toners are disposed. The toner of each color stored in the toner bottle 124 is appropriately supplied to the developing unit 102 of the process unit 100 of each color. These toner bottles 124 can be detached from the printer main body, and when the remaining amount of toner in the bottle 124 is exhausted, the toner bottle 124 can be replaced. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, an ID chip 124a is provided at the tip of the toner bottle 124, and the remaining amount of toner, toner type, lot number, destination, and main unit contract form (annual toner use contract, bottle individual sales contract) And the heat resistance information of the toner lot to be included. The toner bottle 124 can be provided with the ID chip 124a without any problem even if it is in a bag shape as shown in FIG. 4, and the shape is not limited. When the toner bottle 124 is connected to the printer main body, the information of the ID chip 124a is stored in the information storage means such as the RAM described above.
The heat resistance information of the toner lot among the information stored in the ID chip 124a will be described in detail. The heat resistance information is the heat resistance level for each toner lot measured in the inspection process in the toner manufacturing process. Measured and leveled by the method described in.

First, in a room maintained at a temperature of 23 ° C. and a humidity of 55%, a predetermined amount (predetermined value 1) of toner is placed in a 30 ml container, and the lid is closed. The container is set in a general tapping machine, and a predetermined (predetermined value 2) tapping is performed. Thereafter, it is left in a constant temperature layer at a predetermined temperature (predetermined value 3) for a predetermined time (predetermined value 4). Then, the container is taken out from the thermostatic layer, allowed to stand at room temperature for a predetermined time (predetermined value 5), and cooled.
Next, level the heat resistance tester (manufactured by Nikka Engineering Co., Ltd.) that can drop the measuring needle vertically onto the gantry and the container on the gantry using the attached level and adjustment screws, and remove the container lid. Place it on the base of the heat resistance tester. Then, the height of the gantry is adjusted so that the measuring needle of the heat resistance tester is in contact with the uppermost surface of the toner in the container. The dial gauge graduation at that time is read to obtain the measured value (a). Then, the clamp of the measuring needle is pushed, and the needle is freely dropped into the toner. The dial gauge scale at that time (still after free fall) is read to obtain the measured value (b). The difference between the measured values (b) and (a) is taken as the penetration.
While holding the measuring needle and pressing the metal fitting, wipe off the toner adhering to the lifting needle with a waste cloth. The above series of operations is repeated a predetermined number of times (predetermined value 6) on the same sample, and the average value is used as heat resistance data. The heat resistance is ranked according to the heat resistance data as shown in FIG. The predetermined values 1 to 6 are not limited, but are set to the values shown in FIG. 6 in the present invention. Further, the above is an example of a toner heat resistance evaluation method, and the evaluation method is not limited.

  Further, in addition to the first fixing cooling fan 125, the second fixing cooling fan 126, and the cleaning means cooling fan 127 shown in FIG. 1, the printer main body includes a process unit cooling fan K, process (not shown) on the back side of the printer main body. A unit cooling fan M, a process unit cooling fan C, and a process unit cooling fan Y are provided, and corresponding units are cooled according to control described later. The position and number of the fans are not limited, and there are other writing fans and exhaust fans, but they are omitted.

  Further, an adhesion amount sensor 128 for detecting the adhesion amount of the test pattern toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 110 is provided to detect whether a desired toner adhesion amount is obtained, and to a control unit (not shown). I have feedback. In addition, various conventionally known image forming apparatuses can be used as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired.

  As an embodiment of the present invention, an image forming apparatus based on Ricoh Imagio MPC4500 is used. The printing speed of this apparatus is 35 sheets / minute (A4Y), and the process speed is 205 mm / s. In addition, the Example shown below is one Embodiment of this invention, The timing of a process control and the control method are not limited.

Example 1
In the first embodiment, the cooling fan that operates after the end of the printing operation and the cooling fan that does not operate are controlled based on FIG. This is because the heat resistance rank of the toner and the operation cooling fan position after the printing is finished (working cooling fan / non-working cooling fan) are changed respectively, and the present inventor performs a continuous printing test, and the toner is agglomerated or melted. This control is determined depending on whether an abnormal image or sticking occurs. The details of the continuous printing test are as follows: A4 My Paper (manufactured by NBS Ricoh) under an environment of temperature 32 ° C and humidity 54%. The test repeats 20 sets with a stop time of 1120 seconds, and 3 tests are performed at a test interval of 24 hours. Further, when the toner is switched from a toner having a poor heat resistance rank (worst is rank E) to a good (best is rank A) toner, the heat resistance rank having the contents shown in FIG. recognize. The control of FIG. 8 is also determined by the present inventor through the above-described continuous printing test. Thus, in this embodiment, since the fan to be operated is determined according to the heat resistance of the toner, the abnormal images and fixing due to the aggregation and melting of the toner in a high temperature state are not generated, and FIG. 9 and FIG. As shown, useless noise and power consumption can be eliminated. In FIGS. 9 and 10, even if the toner has the worst heat resistance rank, in order to prevent abnormal images or fixing due to toner aggregation or melting in a high temperature state, Rank D toner in FIG. FIG. 6 is a result of comparison between standby noise and power consumption in the conventional example in which the control is fixed in this control and the present example in which the toner of rank A is used. Not only can wasteful noise and power consumption be reduced, but in the conventional example, if the fan control of the printer main body is always rank E control, the toner of rank E is discarded because it is judged that the usability is not good in terms of noise and power consumption. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since fan control is performed according to the toner rank, it can be determined that the toner of rank E sufficiently satisfies the usability, so that the toner of rank E can be used, and the yield of toner production is increased. Can also be improved.

(Example 2)
In the second embodiment, the speed of the cooling fan that operates after the end of the printing operation is controlled based on FIG. 11 with the maximum speed being 100%. This is a control determined by whether or not an abnormal image or fixing due to toner aggregation or melting has occurred by performing continuous printing tests by changing the heat resistance rank of the toner and the cooling fan speed. The details of the continuous printing test are as follows: A4 My Paper (manufactured by NBS Ricoh) under an environment of temperature 32 ° C and humidity 54%. The test repeats 20 sets with a pause time of 120 seconds, and 3 tests are performed at a test interval of 24 hours. Further, when the toner is switched from a toner having a poor heat resistance rank (worst is rank E) to a good (best is rank A) toner, the heat resistance rank having the contents shown in FIG. recognize. The control of FIG. 8 is also determined by the present inventor through the above-described continuous printing test. Thus, in this embodiment, the cooling fan speed to be operated is determined according to the heat resistance of the toner, so that abnormal images and sticking due to toner aggregation and melting in a high temperature state are not generated, and FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, useless noise and power consumption can be eliminated. FIGS. 12 and 13 show the results of comparison between Example 1 and Example 2 in the case where Rank A toner is used. In the second embodiment, not only whether the fan is operated as in the first embodiment, but also the fan operating speed is controlled. Therefore, noise and power consumption can be further reduced as compared with the first embodiment.

(Example 3)
In the third embodiment, the rotation time of the cooling fan that operates after the end of the printing operation is controlled based on FIG. This is a control determined by whether or not an abnormal image or fixing due to toner agglomeration or melting has occurred by performing a continuous printing test by changing the heat resistance rank of the toner and the rotation time of the cooling fan. The details of the continuous printing test are as follows: A4 My Paper (manufactured by NBS Ricoh) under an environment of temperature 32 ° C and humidity 54%. The test repeats 20 sets with a pause time of 120 seconds, and 3 tests are performed at a test interval of 24 hours. Further, when the toner is switched from a toner having a poor heat resistance rank (worst is rank E) to a good (best is rank A) toner, the heat resistance rank having the contents shown in FIG. recognize. The control of FIG. 8 is also determined by the present inventor through the above-described continuous printing test.

  Thus, in this embodiment, the rotation time of the cooling fan to be operated is determined in accordance with the heat resistance of the toner, so that the printing operation can be performed without causing abnormal images or sticking due to toner aggregation or melting in a high temperature state. Since the cooling fan is stopped step by step after 30 seconds and 60 seconds from the end, the noise after 30 seconds and 60 seconds is greatly reduced compared to the conventional example, Example 1, and Example 2. In addition, as shown in FIG. 15, the power consumption can be reduced as compared with the first embodiment. FIG. 15 shows a result of comparing the power consumption amounts of Example 1 and Example 3 in the above-described continuous printing test in the case where the toner of rank A is used.

Example 4
In the fourth embodiment, the limit time for performing the continuous printing operation is controlled according to FIG. This is a control determined by whether the present inventors conducted continuous printing tests while changing the heat resistance rank of the toner, and an abnormal image or fixing due to toner aggregation or melting occurred. The details of the continuous printing test are contents in which continuous double-sided printing is performed at an image area ratio of 5% for each color using A4 My Paper (manufactured by NBS Ricoh) in an environment of a temperature of 32 ° C. and a humidity of 54%. Further, when the toner is switched from a toner having a poor heat resistance rank (worst is rank E) to a good (best is rank A) toner, the heat resistance rank having the contents shown in FIG. recognize. The control of FIG. 8 is also determined by the present inventor through the continuous printing test. As a result, in this embodiment, the continuous printing limit time is determined according to the heat resistance of the toner. Therefore, in the conventional example, the continuous printing limit time is too short at 1.5 hours, and two hours or more are necessary. Judging from the market results, the toner of rank E was discarded, whereas in Example 4, the continuous printing limit time is determined according to the toner rank, so continuous printing is continued for 1.5 hours or more. Since it can be judged that it is extremely rare that the condition that the worst E rank toner is used among the five ranks is extremely rare, it becomes possible to use the rank E toner. In addition, the yield of toner production can be improved. Moreover, even for a very small number of customers (users) who continue to perform continuous printing, the continuous printing limit time is determined according to the heat resistance of the toner and printing is interrupted. However, it can cope with the cooling by the cooling fan (no abnormal image or fixing due to toner aggregation or melting).

(Example 5)
In the fifth embodiment, there is provided first energy saving mode transition means for automatically turning off the power after a predetermined time has elapsed during standby after the end of the printing operation. As the time for switching to the first energy saving mode, the user can freely set the first input time t _E1 at any time by the first input means.
The time t _E1 for switching to the first energy saving mode is set longer and some users want to improve convenience, while some users want to set it shorter and want to reduce power consumption. Depending on the heat resistance of the toner, the cooling time by the cooling fan is short, and there is a possibility of causing abnormal images and fixing due to toner aggregation and melting.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the minimum value (required operating time t _N ) that can be set for the time for switching to the first energy saving mode is controlled according to FIG. 17 according to the heat resistance rank of the toner, and the first input The first input time t _E1 that can be set by the means is equal to or longer than the required operating time t _N. This is a control that the present inventor conducted a test to vary the heat resistance rank of the toner and the energy saving mode switching time after the continuous printing test, and determined whether abnormal images or fixing due to toner aggregation or melting occurred. is there.

  The details of the continuous printing test are as follows: A4 My Paper (manufactured by NBS Ricoh) is used in an environment of temperature 32 ° C. and humidity 54%, and continuous double-sided printing is performed with an image area ratio of 5% for each color. is there. Further, when the toner is switched from a toner having a poor heat resistance rank (worst is rank E) to a good (best is rank A) toner, the heat resistance rank having the contents shown in FIG. recognize. The control of FIG. 8 is also determined by the present inventor through the continuous printing test.

Thus, in this embodiment, the minimum value (required operating time t _N ) that can be set for the time for switching to the first energy saving mode is determined according to the heat resistance of the toner. The minimum value of 20 minutes was too long for 20 minutes, and it was determined from the market results that the toner of rank E was discarded. In this embodiment, the time for switching to the energy saving mode is set. It can be judged that it is rare that the case where the toner is desired to be within 10 minutes and the case where the worst E rank toner is used among the five ranks are used, so that the toner of rank E can be used. In addition, the yield of toner production can be improved.

(Example 6)
In the sixth embodiment, in addition to the configuration of the fifth embodiment, there is provided a second energy saving mode transition unit that automatically turns off the power other than the cooling fan after a predetermined time has elapsed when waiting after completion of the printing operation. . In addition, as a time for switching to the first energy saving mode, the user can freely set the second input time _tE2 at any time by the second input means.
The time t _E1 for switching to the first energy saving mode is set longer and some users want to improve convenience, while some users want to set it shorter and want to reduce power consumption. Depending on the heat resistance of the toner, the cooling time by the cooling fan is short, and there is a possibility of causing abnormal images and fixing due to toner aggregation and melting.
For this reason, in this embodiment, the minimum value (required operating time t _N ) for switching to the energy saving mode is controlled according to FIG. 17 according to the heat resistance rank of the toner, and can be set by the first input means. The input time t _E1 of ₁ is equal to or longer than the required operating time t _N. This is a control that the present inventor conducted a test to vary the heat resistance rank of the toner and the energy saving mode switching time after the continuous printing test, and determined whether abnormal images or fixing due to toner aggregation or melting occurred. is there.

  The details of the continuous printing test are as follows: A4 My Paper (manufactured by NBS Ricoh) is used in an environment of temperature 32 ° C. and humidity 54%, and continuous double-sided printing is performed with an image area ratio of 5% for each color. is there. Further, when the toner is switched from a toner having a poor heat resistance rank (worst is rank E) to a good (best is rank A) toner, the heat resistance rank having the contents shown in FIG. recognize. The control of FIG. 8 is also determined by the present inventor through the continuous printing test.

Thus, in this embodiment, since the minimum value (required operating time t _N ) for switching to the first energy saving mode is determined according to the heat resistance of the toner, in the conventional example, the minimum value of the energy saving mode switching time is determined. However, in this embodiment, the time for switching to the energy saving mode is within 10 minutes, while it was judged from the market results that the toner is too long in 20 minutes and should be 10 minutes or less. It can be judged that it is rare that the worst E rank toner is used among the five ranks, so that the rank E toner can be used, and toner production Yield can be improved.

In addition, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 18, since the cooling fan can be operated even when the power is turned off, the minimum value of the first energy saving mode switching time (necessary operating time t _N ). Even if the energy saving mode switching time (second input time t _E2 ) set by the user is short (when t _E2 <t _N ), the second energy saving mode switching means switches the second energy saving mode, and the cooling fan Since it is possible to turn off the functions other than the above and operate only the cooling fan, it is possible to achieve both energy saving and cooling. Then, OFF all power upon a lapse of a required operating time t _N, i.e., moves to the first energy saving mode.
When the energy saving mode switching time (second input time t _E2 ) set by the user is equal to or longer than the minimum value (required operating time t _N ) of the first energy saving mode switching time (t _E2 ≧ t _N ) When the second input time _tE2 is reached, all the power supplies are turned off, that is, the first energy saving mode is entered.

  Further, the internal power supply in FIG. 18 is a capacitor in this embodiment, and the power is stored in the capacitor while the power is on.

1 Photosensitive drum 2 Cleaning blade 3 Lubricant application brush 4 Lubricant (zinc stearate)
5 Lubricant Application Blade 6 Charging Roller 7 Charging Roller Cleaner 8 First Conveying Screw 9 Second Conveying Screw 10 Toner Concentration Sensor 11 Developing Sleeve 100 Process Unit 101 Photosensitive Unit 102 Developing Unit

JP 2002-287579 A JP 2005-107113 A JP 2006-010883 A

Claims (7)

A latent image carrier;
Developing means for developing the latent image formed on the latent image carrier with toner;
A toner bottle containing toner to be replenished to the developing means;
An ID chip provided integrally with the toner bottle and storing information on the toner contained in the toner bottle;
Two or more cooling fans for cooling the inside of the image forming apparatus,
The toner information stored in the ID chip includes toner heat resistance information.
An image forming apparatus, wherein operation or non-operation of each of the two or more cooling fans changes based on the heat resistance information. A latent image carrier;
Developing means for developing the latent image formed on the latent image carrier with toner;
A toner bottle containing toner to be replenished to the developing means;
An ID chip provided integrally with the toner bottle and storing information on the toner contained in the toner bottle;
A cooling fan for cooling the inside of the image forming apparatus,
The toner information stored in the ID chip includes toner heat resistance information.
An image forming apparatus, wherein a rotation speed of the cooling fan changes based on the heat resistance information. A latent image carrier;
Developing means for developing the latent image formed on the latent image carrier with toner;
A toner bottle containing toner to be replenished to the developing means;
An ID chip provided integrally with the toner bottle and storing information on the toner contained in the toner bottle;
A cooling fan for cooling the inside of the image forming apparatus,
The toner information stored in the ID chip includes toner heat resistance information.
An image forming apparatus, wherein a rotation time of the cooling fan changes based on the heat resistance information. A latent image carrier;
Developing means for developing the latent image formed on the latent image carrier with toner;
A toner bottle containing toner to be replenished to the developing means;
An ID chip provided integrally with the toner bottle and storing information on the toner contained in the toner bottle;
A cooling fan for cooling the inside of the image forming apparatus,
The toner information stored in the ID chip includes toner heat resistance information.
An image forming apparatus, wherein a continuous printing operation limit time of the image forming apparatus changes based on the heat resistance information. First input means for allowing a first input time t _E1 to be input from a user at a required operating time t _N or more of the cooling fan;
And a first power saving mode conversion means to turn off the power when the image forming apparatus of the first input time t _E1 is not used,
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the necessary operating time t _N is changed based on the heat resistance information. Second input means for allowing the user to input the second input time t _E2 in an arbitrary range;
Second energy saving mode transition means for turning off power other than the cooling fan,
When t _E2 ≧ t _N , the first energy saving mode transition means turns off the power when the image forming apparatus is not used for the second input time t _E2 ,
When t _E2 <t _N , the second energy saving mode transition means turns off the power supply other than the cooling fan when the image forming apparatus is not used for the second input time t _E2 , and the first saving mode transition means, the image forming apparatus according to claim 5, the image forming apparatus is characterized in that the power is turned off if not the required operating time t _N used.   An image forming method for use in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1.