JPH01284876A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accomplish the long life of a polygon motor, to reduce the variation of rotating speed and burden on a power source and to simplify an operation by incorporating a timer in a control part and stopping the rotation of the polygon motor in the waiting time zone of a recording device. CONSTITUTION:The time zone when the polygon motor 17 should be stopped while a laser printer 10 is waiting is set in a timer 19. When it is judged that the time zone is set, the polygon motor 17 is stopped only in the waiting time zone. Since the timer 19 acts with a battery, it is not stopped even if the power source of the printer is turned off and the time zone set once is effective until it is reset. If the polygon motor 17 is not rotated at the time of starting a printing action, the motor 17 is made to rotate. Then, laser light is reflected by a polygon mirror 17a to irradiate a photosensitive body 4 and perform scanning, thereby performing printing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an electrophotographic device and a recording device such as a laser printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine equipped with a polygon motor, and more particularly relates to Concerning polygon motor control.

[Conventional technology]

Recording devices such as laser printers are not always used by operators, and there are periods of downtime in use, so the power to the device should be turned on until the next time the operator uses it.
The device remains in a standby state. Conventionally, there have been methods of stopping the built-in polygon motor during such standby, and methods of continuing to rotate the polygon motor as it is during standby.

However, although the former method of stopping the polygon motor has the advantage of extending the life of the motor, it has problems with fluctuations in rotational speed each time it is used and a burden on the power supply due to large current consumption when starting the motor. becomes.

On the other hand, the method of rotating the polygon motor while the customer is waiting is more advantageous than the former method in terms of fluctuations in rotational speed and the burden on the power supply, but air bearings are used to extend the life of the polygon motor. There is a problem that an increase in cost cannot be avoided due to the need to employ other methods.

〔the purpose〕

Therefore, the present invention incorporates a timer in the control unit to stop the rotation of the polygon motor during a predetermined time period when the recording device is on standby, thereby eliminating the need for an increase in cost.
The purpose of this invention is to extend the life of the polygon motor, reduce fluctuations in rotational speed and load on the power supply, and simplify operations by the operator.

〔composition〕

Therefore, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a photoreceptor that constitutes an electrophotographic apparatus, and a polygon motor that irradiates light onto the photoreceptor under the control of a command signal from a control section, and is always powered on. In a recording device placed in an ON state, a timer can be set by an input means so as to stop the rotation of the polygon motor during a predetermined time period during which the recording device is on standby. be.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. 1 to 3 are diagrams showing an embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention.

First, the overall configuration of a laser printer will be described as an example of the above-mentioned recording apparatus. FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing the internal structure of this laser printer. As shown in the figure, the recording paper 2 fed from the paper feeder 1 in the direction of the arrow,
The image is timed by a pair of registration rollers 3 and conveyed to a latent image carrier consisting of a drum-shaped photoreceptor 4 .

The photoreceptor 4 is rotationally driven in a counterclockwise direction, the surface of which is charged by the charging charger 5, and irradiated with laser light from the laser optical system 6, whereby the photoreceptor 4
An electrostatic latent image is formed thereon.

This latent image is made visible by toner when passing through the developing device 7, and this visible image is transferred by the transfer charger 8 to the recording paper 2 conveyed to the photoreceptor 4, and the visible image is transferred onto the transferred recording paper 2. The visible image is fixed by the fixing device 9. Then, the recording paper 2 that has exited the fixing device 9 is transported to a discharge section 1 in the direction of arrow B.
1.

On the other hand, the photoreceptor 4 after the visible image is transferred to the cleaning device 1
2, residual toner is removed.

The toner removed from the photoreceptor 4 is transferred to a toner collection tank 1.
3, and will be stored here. Further, below the laser printer main body 10, there are provided a controller 14 for converting print data from a host computer into a video signal, and a printer control section 15 for performing sequence control of this laser printer.

Next, we will explain about FIG. 2 which shows an overview of polygon motor control provided in this laser printer.As shown in the figure, the controller 14 of the laser printer main body 10 is connected to a host computer 21.
The controller 14, which exchanges signals with the printer 1, is connected to the printer control section 15 and the operation panel 16, respectively. This operation panel 16 is for an operator to operate the laser printer, and is equipped with a display section such as an LCD (liquid crystal display) and an LED (light emitting diode), and key switches such as a numeric keypad.
Communication control is performed using a serial interface (I/F) or the like.

On the other hand, a polygon motor 17 and a laser diode 18 are controlled by a command signal from the printer control section 15, and the laser light emitted from the laser diode 18 is transferred to a polygon mirror which is rotated by the polygon motor 17 as shown by the arrow in the figure. The light is reflected by the light beam 17a and irradiated onto the photoreceptor 4 for scanning. This polygon motor 17 is configured to rotate and stop according to commands from the printer control section 15. Further, the printer control unit 15 has a built-in timer 19 that is operated by a battery, and this timer 19 stops the rotation of the polygon motor 17 during a predetermined time period when the laser printer is on standby, and also controls the operation panel 16 (input means). It is configured such that the predetermined time period can be set. That is, the operator can arbitrarily select the time period during which the standby polygon motor 17 is to be stopped using the ten keys on the operation panel 16 and the display section such as the LCD. The data for that time period is sent to operation panel 1 via the serial interface.
6 → controller 14 → printer control unit 15 → timer 1
It is set in two ways.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an overview of the control procedure for the polygon motor 17 according to the present invention. In the same figure, step A is to set the time period in which the polygon motor 17 is to be stopped in the timer 19 while the laser printer is on standby, or to change the time period (step P1) by pressing the key on the operation panel 16. The procedure for setting the time period in the timer 19 by operating a switch (step P2) is shown.

For example, if this laser printer is connected to the host computer 21
If the terminal is to be used with the power turned on all day long, but the frequency of use is low between 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., and printing operations are rarely performed, the operator sets the time period (5:20 p.m. to 8,830 a.m.) in the timer 19 via the operation panel 16.

If the timer is not set, the process moves directly from step P1 to step P3. Step P4 shows the procedure when there is no time period set in the timer 19. That is, in step P3, it is determined whether or not there is a time period set in the timer 19. If there is no time period, the polygon motor 17 continues to rotate even while the printer is on standby.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step P3 that there is a time period set in the timer 19, the process moves to step B. That is, the polygon motor 17 is stopped only during the standby time period from 5:20 pm to 8:30 am.

By the way, this timer 19 is operated by a battery, so it will not stop even if the printer's power is turned off to 0FFt.
Once set, the time zone remains in effect until it is reset.

If there is a set time zone (step P3),
In procedure B, when starting the printing operation (step P5), it is determined whether or not the polygon motor 17 is rotating (step P6), and if it is rotating, it is determined in step P8.
If the polygon motor 17 is not rotating, the polygon motor 17 is rotated (step P7), the polygon mirror 17a reflects the laser light, and the reflected light is irradiated onto the photoreceptor 4 to scan it, thereby performing printing.

Step P8) to determine whether or not this printing has been completed.
If it is not completed, repeat step P8. After completion, time has elapsed, and it is determined whether the current time has reached the time zone set in one timer. Step P9), it has not reached the time zone. In this case, the process returns to step P5, but when this time period is reached, the polygon motor 17 is stopped (step P10) and the process waits until the next step P5. That is, when the printing operation is not started in step P5, the process repeatedly returns to the input side of step P5 and waits.

By the way, in the above explanation, the predetermined time period in which the laser printer is on standby is 5:20 p.m. to 8:30 a.m., but for example, the timer 19 indicates that the predetermined time period is 8:20 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
- 8:29 a.m., the laser printer will be in a standby state for approximately 24 hours, so the polygon motor 17 can always be stopped during this standby period.

In this way, in a laser printer using the polygon motor 17, when the printer is used as a terminal of the host computer 21 and is used with the power turned on all day long, the life of the polygon motor 17 can be extended.

In the above embodiment, a recording device or a laser printer that irradiates the photoreceptor 4 with laser light is used, but a printer other than a laser printer or another recording device other than a printer, such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine, There may be.

〔effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the standby polygon motor can be stopped during times when the recording device is not used frequently, so that the life of the polygon motor can be extended.

In addition, during times when the recording device is frequently used, keeping the polygon motor constantly rotating causes problems such as fluctuations in rotational speed each time it is used, and a burden on the power supply due to large current consumption when starting the motor. Never.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned time period can be arbitrarily set according to the operator's usage, and once set, control is performed automatically thereafter, so that no effort is required for operation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 are diagrams showing one embodiment of a recording device according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing the internal structure of a laser printer, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of polygon motor control. 3 are flowcharts showing the same control. 1...Paper feeding device 2...Recording paper 3...Register roller 4...Photoconductor 5...Charging charger 6...Laser optical system 7...Developing device 8...Transfer charger 9... Fixing device 10... Laser printer main body 11... Discharge section 12... Cleaning blade 13... Toner collection tank 14... Controller 15... Printer control unit 16... Operation panel (Input means) 17... Polygon motor 17a... Polygon mirror 18... Laser diode 19... Timer 21... Host computer A, B... Procedure L... Laser light (light) Patent applicant Rico Co., Ltd. - Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a recording apparatus that includes a photoreceptor constituting an electrophotographic apparatus and a polygon motor that is controlled by a command signal from a control unit and irradiates light onto the photoreceptor, the recording apparatus is always powered on. 1. A recording apparatus, characterized in that a timer can be set by an input means so as to stop the rotation of the polygon motor during a predetermined time period during which the polygon motor is on standby.