JP2000293027A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make toner replenishment maintenance of an image forming device facilitated and the device main body prevented form being damaged. SOLUTION: This image forming device is, letting the toner cartridge 151 attached on a first position of the device main body, and letting the toner cartridge shifted on the second position permissible to pack the toner, with use of a driving motor 107. Then, this device makes the toner falling by imparting vibration on the toner cartridge 151, and availing the loss of synchronism of a driving motor 107.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and the like, and a toner cartridge of a developing device which is detachably mounted on the image forming apparatus main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus of this kind, it is an important issue to easily perform maintenance for replenishing toner, which is a consumable part of a developing device. Conventionally, a place for filling toner into a toner hopper, which is a storage unit of a developing device,
After the toner cartridge is mounted on the toner hopper with its toner discharge port facing down, the seal member attached to the toner discharge port is peeled off, and the toner is moved into the toner hopper by gravity. I had to remove the cartridge.

[0003]

As described above, in the method of moving the toner into the toner hopper by gravity,
It often happens that the toner is partially hardened and hard to drop. In such a case, the maintenance person shakes the toner cartridge by hand to drop the toner into the toner hopper, but in such a method, the maintenance person's hand is troublesome.
In some cases, depending on the toner cartridge,
There is a possibility that the toner hopper side mounting portion is destroyed.
For this reason, there has been a demand for a technique capable of performing the operation of filling the toner from the toner cartridge mechanically on the apparatus main body side without requiring a maintenance person to take care of the operation.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, a vibration applying means utilizing the vibration of a driving motor is used to oscillate a toner cartridge detachably mounted on an apparatus main body from the apparatus main body side. And the toner in the toner cartridge is filled into the apparatus main body, thereby facilitating toner replenishment maintenance and preventing the toner cartridge mounting portion from being destroyed.

[0005] Vibration applying means by a drive motor includes:
The drive motor itself vibrates directly, for example, a method using an ultrasonic motor that generates ultrasonic vibration by a piezoelectric element, or a cam connected to the drive motor is caused to abut on an object such as a toner cartridge to vibrate. Although various methods such as a method can be adopted, the vibration imparting method using the step-out of the drive motor already installed in the apparatus body is more effective because there is no need to install a new drive motor. It can be a vibration applying means.

For example, in order to facilitate toner replenishment from the toner cartridge at the time of toner replenishment, or to prevent the shutter of the toner hopper from being opened carelessly, the toner cartridge is moved from the first position of the apparatus body to the first position. In the image forming apparatus which moves the toner cartridge from the first position to the second position in the image forming apparatus which moves the toner cartridge from the first position to the second position,
It is preferable to use a drive motor such as a C synchronous motor.

Here, the step-out of the drive motor means that the positional relationship between the small blades of the stator and the small blades of the rotor facing each other deviates from the correct positions, and is, for example, a phenomenon that occurs when an overload is input.

As an example of a driving motor, a stepping motor for moving a slide portion, on which a toner cartridge is mounted, from a first position to a second position of the apparatus main body, is on an extension line from the first position to the second position. When a stopper portion is provided and the slide portion is further moved from the second position, since the slide portion hits the stopper portion and does not move, the stepping motor loses synchronism and the slide portion vibrates. Will vibrate.

In addition to the vibration imparting means provided by the provision of the stopper portion, a method of repeating the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the stepping motor may be considered. However, in such a method, when the stepping motor loses synchronism, the position shift occurs. The toner may accumulate and grow, causing toner to spill out of the toner hopper and contaminate the device.In addition, excessive vibration may cause an extra moment to be applied to the bottle-type toner cartridge, causing the device to break down, etc. Because there is
A vibration applying means provided with a stopper is more preferable.

In order to cause the drive motor to cause step-out vibration, either a method in which the excitation current of the drive motor is made smaller than a normal drive excitation current or a method in which the number of input pulses per unit time of the drive motor is increased. Can also be adopted,
Further, it is preferable to control the oscillation cycle of the toner cartridge so as not to coincide with its natural frequency. In any case, it is to provide an appropriate vibration force so that the toner cartridge does not fall down during the vibration.

The toner cartridge to be subjected to the vibration is a concept including both a toner container and a toner bottle capable of replenishing the toner in the toner hopper. Compatible models, date of manufacture,
A barcode that records information about itself, such as the number of uses,
Devices that hold recording media such as magnetic media and non-volatile memory and read and / or write information between the apparatus main body and these recording media have appeared. The cartridge can also be subjected to vibration.

However, in a toner cartridge provided with such a recording medium, in a system in which an electrode or magnetism is used to make contact with the apparatus main body, if vibration is applied to the toner cartridge, the electrode or the magnetic head may be bent or damaged. May cause poor contact. Therefore, when vibration is applied to a toner cartridge provided with such a recording medium, a configuration in which information can be read and / or written by a non-contact method between the apparatus main body and the recording medium is optimal. When recycling is considered, it is more suitable to use a non-volatile storage element having a function of storing and updating information than a method of peeling off a bar code or the like and attaching a new bar code at the time of recycling.

As the nonvolatile memory element in this case, any of a ferroelectric memory, an EEPROM, and a flash memory can be adopted. Among them, high-speed rewriting is possible, low power consumption and more than one trillion times It is preferable to use a ferroelectric memory capable of rewriting data.

The transmission and reception of information in a non-contact manner can be carried out by either optical communication or electromagnetic induction. However, the electromagnetic induction is more advantageous in an environment where toner is used and also in terms of cost. It is advantageous. Similarly, if power is supplied to the nonvolatile storage element using electromagnetic induction, it is advantageous in that a power supply such as a battery is not required on the nonvolatile storage element side. In this case, a transmission / reception circuit and a rectification circuit that enable power supply and transmission / reception by electromagnetic induction may be provided in the control unit and the nonvolatile storage element, respectively.

When vibration is applied to a toner cartridge having a nonvolatile storage element as described above, if a non-contact type nonvolatile storage element is used, reading and writing of information from and to a control unit on the apparatus main body side is excellent. Can be done. In particular, the control unit on the main body side uses the information read from the nonvolatile storage element to determine whether the toner cartridge has been used,
Alternatively, it is possible to accurately grasp information such as whether or not the toner is compatible,
Thereafter, there is an advantage that it can be easily determined whether or not to apply vibration. Further, on the toner cartridge side, the written information can be effectively utilized at the time of recycling.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present embodiment is an example, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus. The overall configuration of an electrophotographic process used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and the like includes charging, exposure, development, transfer, and cleaning. -Processes such as cleaning, fixing, and static elimination.

The photosensitive drum 1 is provided so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow S1. The surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is
Is charged uniformly to a predetermined charge amount by a corona charger (not shown) or a contact roller charger (not shown) having a high-voltage power supply 21, and a predetermined electrostatic latent image potential is formed by the exposure unit 3. It carries an electrostatic latent image.

The photosensitive drum 1 includes a conductive substrate made of metal or resin, an undercoat layer formed on the surface thereof, and a photosensitive layer formed thereon. The photosensitive layer is
A relatively thin carrier generating layer (C) formed on the undercoat layer
GL) and a relatively thin carrier transfer layer (CTL) mainly composed of polycarbonate formed in the outermost layer. Carriers are generated in the carrier generating layer by the exposure, and the charges on the photosensitive drum 1 are canceled by the carriers to form the electrostatic latent image potential.

The electrostatic latent image carried on the photosensitive drum 1 is
As the drum 1 rotates, it is transported to a developing area 42 that comes into contact with the developer carrier 41. The developer carrier 41 that rotates in the direction of the arrow S3 opposite to the direction S1,
It is pressed against the photosensitive drum 1. And Developer 1
The toner carried on the developer carrier 41 in the developing tank 4 in which the developer 41 is incorporated moves and adheres according to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1, whereby the electrostatic latent image is visualized and developed. . A predetermined bias voltage is applied to the developer carrier 41 from a connected power supply (not shown).

After development, the toner adhered to the photosensitive drum 1 is transported to a predetermined transfer area. A transfer material P such as paper is supplied to the transfer area by a paper supply unit, and comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 1 in synchronization with the toner image.

The transfer means 5 provided in the transfer area includes a charger type (shown) and a contact roller type (not shown) provided with a high-voltage power supply 51, and the polarity (toner and toner) on the side where the toner 10 is transferred. Voltage 54 of the opposite polarity)
Is applied. As a result, the toner 10 moves to the transfer material P, and the toner image is transferred.

The transfer material P and the photosensitive drum 1 are electrostatically in close contact with each other by the charge given by the transfer charger.
Must be separated from the photosensitive drum 1 in order to guide the toner to the fixing means 8. The peeling means 19 includes a charger type (shown) having a high-voltage power supply 91, a method based on the curvature of the photosensitive drum 1, and a peeling claw (not shown). When an AC voltage 94 is applied to the transfer material P by the charger-type peeling means 19 to lower the potential of the transfer material P to the same potential as the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 1, there is a gap between the transfer material P and the photosensitive drum 1. The suction force does not work, and the transfer material P is separated from the photosensitive drum 1 by its own weight.

After the transfer material P is separated from the photosensitive drum 1, the toner on the transfer material P is fixed by fixing means 8. For example, it is fixed by heat melting. Then, the paper is discharged outside the apparatus.

After the transfer, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is cleaned.
After the cleaning by the cleaning means 6, the charge remaining on the surface is removed by the charge removing means 7, and the charge is electrically initialized. The charge removing means 7 includes a light charge removing lamp and a contact charge removing device.

By repeating these operations, the toner in the toner hopper 101 serving as the storage unit is consumed,
Eventually, the toner runs out. Run out of stored toner
Before that, it is necessary to replenish new toner, which is generally performed by mounting a toner cartridge and filling the toner hopper 101 which is a storage part of the toner in the developing device from the toner cartridge. . The reason why the toner cartridge 151 is used is to simplify the handling of the apparatus main body and maintenance personnel by preventing the scattering of the toner.

In the toner hopper 101, a toner conveying screw 111 and a toner supply roller 121 for supplying toner in the hopper to the developing tank 4 are provided. The developing tank 4 is provided with an agitator 131 for stirring the toner.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the toner cartridge 151 is moved to the toner hopper 10 at the first position 105 in the initial state.
1 and the slide portion 181 is attached to the toner receiving port 102 of the toner hopper 101.
To the second position 106 above the stopper 1
91 shows a state in which the contact is made.

As shown in FIG. 2, a ferroelectric memory element 161 which is a non-volatile storage element storing toner-specific data is fixed to a toner cartridge 151, and the main body of the image forming apparatus, that is, the toner hopper A primary coil 171 and a rectifying circuit (not shown) are provided as an antenna unit of the transmitting / receiving circuit on the side, and a secondary coil 182 and a rectifying circuit (not shown) serving as an antenna unit of the transmitting / receiving circuit are provided on the ferroelectric memory element 161 on the cartridge side. ), The ferroelectric memory element 161 of the toner cartridge 151 and the primary coil 17 of the toner hopper 101 by electromagnetic induction.
1, the main body of the image forming apparatus transmits and receives information in a non-contact manner, and supplies power to the memory element 161 of the toner cartridge 151 from the main body of the image forming apparatus through the coil 171 of the toner hopper part in a non-contact manner by electromagnetic induction. Like that.

FIG. 3 is a control block diagram relating to the toner supply operation. The control unit 201 of the apparatus main body includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM, and a RAM. The controller 201 reads various sensors and switches, information from the cartridge side, and performs arithmetic processing on the toner supply operation. Memory device 161, stepping motor 107, image forming section of apparatus main body, and display means 2
03 and the warning means 204 are controlled to execute predetermined operations.

More specifically, the control unit 201 controls the stepping motor 107 to
From the first position based on a command signal from a toner filling start key (not shown), a proper mounting signal from the erroneous mounting detection circuit 205, and information read from the ferroelectric memory element 161 on the cartridge side. 2 and outputs a control signal to return from the second position to the first position based on the toner filling completion signal, and receives a removal detection signal of the seal member of the toner cartridge 151 at the second position. A step-out control signal is output so as to give a step-out vibration.

The control unit 201 reads and writes information between the ferroelectric memory element 161 on the cartridge side at the first position and the second position on the apparatus main body. The read information will be described later in the section of the ferroelectric memory element 161. The write information includes a history of operation execution of the toner cartridge. The history information includes the date and time when the cartridge was filled in the main body of the apparatus, the content of the empty cartridge, the name of the main body product to be filled, and the model number. By writing this information into the ferroelectric memory element 161, it can be effectively used as recycling information when the cartridge is collected after use. Pirate products (pirate products, counterfeit products, non-genuine compatible products, etc.)
Can be prevented from being reused.

Further, the control unit 201 can control whether the toner cartridge does not have a non-volatile storage element capable of transmission and reception and cannot read information, or even if the read information determines that the toner cartridge is incompatible,
In accordance with a continuation command signal operated by the user, information is read from the memory 208 held by the user, the image forming section of the apparatus main body is controlled under predetermined image forming conditions, and if it is determined that the toner cartridge is compatible. The apparatus main body is controlled under optimum conditions based on image forming conditions held by the ferroelectric memory element 161.

Here, the predetermined image condition refers to an image forming condition that is lower in level than a normal image forming condition when it is recognized that the product is a nonconforming product (inappropriate toner cartridge). By operating the apparatus main body under these image forming conditions, the copy image quality or the like is lowered below the normal level, and the user can recognize this and prevent the use of pirate products (forgery products).

Specifically, the image forming condition is such that the toner consumption is much larger than the normal reference value. For this purpose, the charging potential is set to be higher than a normal set value, or the light amount as the exposure means is reduced to set the overall brightness of the copy to be darker, thereby increasing the toner consumption. As another example, the fixing temperature control is reduced to a predetermined condition. The fixing control temperature is lowered below a predetermined set value, and the fixing property of the toner to the transfer material is deteriorated.

The optimal image forming conditions refer to normal image forming conditions, and are image quality forming conditions that do not cause a problem without lowering copy quality when operating the apparatus main body.

The control unit 201 further comprises a display unit 203
When it is determined from the information read from the toner cartridge that the toner cartridge has been used, a control signal is output to the warning means 204 to display and warn that the toner cartridge has been used. In response to the erroneous mounting signal, a control signal is output so as to display and warn to that effect, and a control signal is output so as to display and warn when performing various operations.

The determination as to whether or not used has been made is made based on the number of times of recycling from the ferroelectric memory element 161 and the like. In addition, erroneous mounting is performed to determine whether the mounting state when setting the cartridge in the apparatus main body is correct regardless of the non-conforming product or the conforming product. It is determined based on signals from various sensors and switches whether or not the lock is appropriate after the mounting, and the erroneous mounting detection circuit 205 is composed of these various sensors and switches.

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of a stepping motor, and FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram of its excitation sequence. The stepping motor 107 has 16 excitation poles (electromagnets) 107a as stators and a rotor (permanent magnet) at the center.
107b, the roller 107b operates according to the excitation sequence of the excitation pole as shown in FIG.

During step-out vibration, the stepping motor 10
For example, the torque generated by reducing the exciting current of 7 is reduced to obtain an appropriate vibration force, or the number of pulses per unit time, that is, the pulse rate, is increased to reduce the generated torque to obtain an appropriate vibration force. If the bottle type toner cartridge 151 falls down and the toner hopper 101 is broken,
The toner is not stained on the apparatus.

As described above, when the current or the input pulse is changed by the output signal from the motor control circuit 207 during the out-of-step vibration and deviates from the normal sequence, for example, as shown in FIG. When the angle of 360 degrees is divided by the above, there are four excitation poles which are excited by 90 degrees by 90 degrees, and when step out, any one of the three except the one which should be originally located there Will stop at the position. Along with this, the slide portion 181 is also displaced and generates vibration.

The stepping motor 10 for applying the vibration
The vibration cycle by the bottle 7 is a bottle type toner cartridge 15.
The natural frequency is set to 1 so that the toner cartridge 151 does not fall and the toner hopper 101 is broken, and the toner is not stained on the apparatus.

On the other hand, the ferroelectric memory element 161 of the cartridge 151 has a ferroelectric memory (FRAM) 183,
It is a non-contact type IC card incorporating a control circuit 184 having a ROM and a CPU, an LSI combining a transmission / reception circuit 182 having a secondary coil as an antenna, and a rectifier circuit (not shown). It can be used to exchange information. Unlike a conventional card using a magnetic card or a card using a contact, the inside is constituted by a dedicated LSI and a special antenna coil. Since the radio wave energy can be used as a power source from the antenna unit, the card does not require a power source such as a battery, and there is no contact or friction, so that there is no cause of failure and the card can be used semi-permanently. Also, unlike a contact or magnetic card, there is an advantage that there is no fear of forgery or alteration.

FIG. 5 shows the ferroelectric memory 18 of the cartridge.
3 is a memory map, including a manufacturing date, a manufacturing company name, a manufacturing factory name, a model number, an applicable model number, a serial number, a management number, and the like.
And an area in which other information can be recorded is secured.
By using these memory areas, one or more items of the following information are stored. (A) Exposure amount, charge amount (voltage value, current value), developing bias voltage (b) Production lot number, production date, type,
Storage period (expiration date) (c) Number of times cartridges are recycled, upper limit of number of times recycled (d) Replacement time of component parts of cartridge (converted by number of times recycled) (e) Production lot number, production date, Filling amount, type, storage period (expiration date) (f) Whether or not the image forming apparatus equipped with the cartridge can operate.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the toner supply operation. The toner replenishing operation will be described with reference to these drawings. First, the front door of the image forming apparatus is opened, and the toner hopper 101 is pulled out to prepare for toner filling. A slide portion 181 that is moved by the stepping motor 107 is provided above the toner hopper 101, and the toner cartridge 151 is moved to the first position 1 in the initial state.
05, the control unit 20
In step 1, it is determined whether or not the toner cartridge 151 is correctly set based on a signal from the erroneous mounting detection circuit 205. If the toner cartridge is not set correctly, a warning is displayed and warns that the cartridge is incorrectly installed, and prompts the user to reset it.

When the cartridge 151 is correctly set and a toner filling start key (not shown) is pressed, the presence or absence of toner in the toner hopper 101 is detected by a sensor (not shown). The process proceeds to a step of determining whether or not the toner cartridge is compatible with the model. If there is toner in the toner hopper 101, it is determined that toner filling is unnecessary, and the process ends.

Based on the information read from the ferroelectric memory 183, it is determined whether or not the cartridge is suitable (whether or not it is suitable for the model). Display on the information display, then
It is determined whether the toner cartridge 151 has been used.

If the toner cartridge 151 has not been used, the sliding portion 1 is driven by the stepping motor 107.
81 is moved to the stopper portion 191 which is the second position, and the position 152 of the toner receiving port 102 on the toner hopper side is matched with the position 152 of the toner discharging port on the toner cartridge side. When the control unit 201 determines that the toner cartridge has been used, a message to that effect is displayed, and the toner filling is terminated.

If the control unit 201 determines that the cartridge is not a proper cartridge, a message indicating that the cartridge is not a proper cartridge is displayed on the information display unit. Is displayed on the information display unit, and the judgment is requested from the maintenance person. If the judgment is ignored, the slide unit 181 is moved to the second position by the stepping motor 107 in the same manner as described above based on the continuation command.
To the stopper portion 191 where the toner receiving port 102 on the toner hopper side and the position 152 of the toner discharging port on the toner cartridge side are matched. If it is not ignored that the cartridge is inappropriate, the operation ends there.

After the slide portion 181 has moved to the stopper portion 191 at the second position, the ferroelectric memory element 161 on the cartridge side and the control unit 2 on the apparatus main body side are again returned.
01 transmits and receives information, and determines whether or not the cartridge is an appropriate cartridge. If it is appropriate, after reading information unique to the toner from the memory area of the ferroelectric memory element 161 on the cartridge side, the image forming conditions are optimally set based on the information. If the cartridge is inappropriate, information specific to the toner, such as the charge amount and the fluidity, is unknown, so the predetermined image forming conditions held by the main body are set.

When the setting of the image forming conditions is completed, a message "Please remove the seal member of the toner cartridge." Is displayed on the information display section of the image forming apparatus, and the maintenance staff seals the toner discharge port of the toner cartridge. When the removal of the member (not shown) is detected by a sensor (not shown) such as a reflection-type light receiving / emitting sensor, the process proceeds to a toner filling step, and the control unit 201 sends a predetermined operation signal to the motor drive circuit 207. Is output to drive the stepping motor 107.

As a result, the stepping motor 107 starts to move, but since the slide portion 181 is stopped by the stopper portion 191, the stepping motor 107 loses synchronism, and the slide portion 181 on which the toner cartridge 151 rides vibrates. Due to this vibration, the toner falls into the toner hopper 101.

During the application of the vibration, the exciting current of the stepping motor 107 is reduced to reduce the generated torque to obtain an appropriate vibration force, or the number of pulses per unit time, that is, the pulse rate is increased. The generated torque is reduced to an appropriate vibration force so that the toner hopper 101 is not broken due to, for example, the bottle-shaped toner cartridge 151 falling, and the toner is not stained on the apparatus.

When the completion of the filling of the toner is detected by a sensor (not shown) such as a reflection type light receiving / emitting sensor, the slide portion 181 is moved to the first position 10 in the initial state.
Returning to 5, the completion of the toner filling is displayed on the information display section of the image forming apparatus to notify the maintenance person,
Empty toner cartridge 1 for maintenance personnel
51 is removed, and the door of the image forming apparatus main body is closed. Thereafter, image quality adjustment such as process control is performed in the image forming apparatus main body, thereby enabling image formation.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the stepping motor 1 is used when the toner is filled by the toner cartridge.
Since the vibration is mechanically applied from the main body side by using step-out of 07, the maintenance person does not have to shake the toner by hand to drop the toner, thereby simplifying the maintenance and destroying the toner supply unit. Can be prevented. Further, in the present embodiment, a non-contact type memory capable of reading and writing information by electromagnetic induction is used as the non-volatile memory on the toner cartridge side. Can also be prevented.

In the above embodiment, the stepping motor has been described in detail as an example of the drive motor. However, various types of motors such as a pulse motor (timing motor) and an AC synchronous motor which cause step-out vibrations due to overload can be used. Implementation with a motor is also possible. Also, a stepping motor that moves the toner cartridge from the first position to the second position of the main body has been exemplified as a drive motor that causes step-out vibration. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a seal member of the toner cartridge may be used. When a seal take-up motor for peeling is provided, vibration may be applied by utilizing the step-out of the take-up motor. In this case, as in the above embodiment, the toner can be automatically filled without the maintenance staff removing the seal member before applying the toner vibration.

As described above, when the toner can be automatically filled without the intervention of the maintenance staff, the control unit appropriately sets the conditions for applying the vibration to the toner cartridge based on the information read from the toner cartridge. Can be. For example, if it is determined from the information read from the toner cartridge that the used cartridge is used, it is possible to control not to apply the vibration other than to display and warn that it is “used”. Also, if a non-compliant model or a device that does not hold a recording medium and cannot read information is set, it is determined to be non-conforming,
It is also possible to control so that the vibration is applied only based on the continuation command.

[0058]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the filling of the toner from the toner cartridge into the image forming apparatus main body is performed by the vibration imparting means such as the step-out vibration of the driving motor. With this configuration, the toner can be automatically filled, so that the maintenance staff does not put extra burden such as shaking the cartridge by hand to fill the toner, and the maintenance staff can be careful. There is no need to worry about destroying the device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of an electrophotographic process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the relationship between the cartridge and the apparatus main body.

FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram for controlling the cartridge and the apparatus main body.

4A is a configuration diagram of a stepping motor, and FIG.
Shows the excitation sequence

FIG. 5 is a memory map of a ferroelectric memory.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control routine of the cartridge before applying vibration.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a vibration application control routine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 Toner hopper 107 Stepping motor 151 Toner cartridge 161 Ferroelectric memory 171 Primary coil on device main body 181 Slide unit 191 Stopper unit 201 Control unit 205 Erroneous mounting detection circuit 207 Motor drive circuit

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H027 DD02 DE02 EA06 EC06 ED10 EE04 GA30 GA47 2H071 BA03 BA14 BA27 BA29 CA05 DA08 2H077 AA02 AA05 AA14 AA34 AC02 AC04 AD06 BA01 DA16 DA35 DA63 DA86 DB10 GA04

Claims (20)

[Claims] And a vibration applying means for applying vibration to the toner cartridge from the apparatus main body so as to fill the toner in the toner cartridge detachably mounted on the apparatus main body with the toner main body, and controlling the vibration applying means. An image forming apparatus, wherein the vibration applying means uses vibration generated by a drive motor. 2. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vibration applying means utilizes step-out vibration of a drive motor. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive motor moves the toner cartridge from a first position at which the toner cartridge is mounted to the apparatus main body to a second position at which toner is filled. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a stopper for stopping the toner cartridge is provided on an extension of the movement to the position. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control unit causes the drive motor to step out by reducing an exciting current of said drive motor. 5. An image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control unit increases the number of input pulses per unit time of said drive motor to cause said drive motor to step out. 6. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control section controls said vibration applying means so that the vibration cycle of said toner cartridge does not coincide with its natural frequency. . 7. The control unit transmits and receives information in a non-contact state to and from a non-volatile storage element having a function of storing and updating information provided in the toner cartridge. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said control unit performs transmission and reception with said nonvolatile storage element by electromagnetic induction. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said control unit supplies power to said nonvolatile memory element by electromagnetic induction. 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured not to apply the vibration to the toner cartridge when it is determined from the information read from the nonvolatile storage element that the toner cartridge has been used before the application of the vibration of the toner cartridge. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the control unit writes history information of a predetermined operation of the apparatus main body to the nonvolatile storage element. 12. The control unit according to claim 7, wherein the control unit executes an operation of reading and writing information from and to the nonvolatile memory element at the first position and / or the second position. Or the image forming apparatus according to 11. 13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the apparatus main body under predetermined image forming conditions held by the apparatus main body when the control unit determines that the toner cartridge is incompatible from information read from the nonvolatile storage element. Claims 7, 8,
13. The image forming apparatus according to 9, 10, 11 or 12. 14. When the control unit determines that the toner cartridge is suitable from the information read from the nonvolatile storage element, the control unit performs an optimal condition on the apparatus main body based on image forming conditions held by the nonvolatile storage element. 14. The method of claim 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, or 13.
The image forming apparatus as described in the above. 15. The control section controls the vibration applying means based on a continuation command when the toner cartridge mounted on the apparatus main body does not hold a nonvolatile storage element and its information cannot be read. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 16. An image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said control section operates said apparatus main body under predetermined image forming conditions held by said apparatus main body. 17. The non-volatile storage device according to claim 1, having a function of storing and updating information, and capable of transmitting and receiving the information in a non-contact state with the image forming apparatus main body. A toner cartridge with an element. 18. The toner cartridge according to claim 17, wherein said nonvolatile storage element is rewritable with new information during recycling. 19. The toner cartridge according to claim 17, wherein said nonvolatile storage element includes a ferroelectric memory, an EEPROM, or a flash memory. 20. The non-volatile storage element is provided with a transmission / reception circuit and a rectification circuit which enable power supply and transmission / reception by electromagnetic induction to / from the apparatus main body.
Or a toner cartridge according to claim 19;