JP3416449B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

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 or a printer, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus in which a photoconductor unit including a photoconductor thereof is detachably provided in an apparatus main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As conventional image forming apparatuses, there are those disclosed in JP-A-59-61854, JP-A-61-147267 and JP-B-1-41987. Although these conventional image forming apparatuses have different names such as a process cartridge, a process unit, or a process kit, they are devices such as a developing device and a cleaning device arranged around the photoconductor, or a charging device. A unit (hereinafter referred to as a process unit) integrally assembled with a photosensitive member is detachably provided in the apparatus main body.

In the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus, the image quality is maintained by replacing the process unit whose life has been exhausted with a new one, and how to maintain the remaining life for that purpose. Or measure
Various proposals have been made regarding how to display, how to judge, how to prompt the user for replacement, and the like.

[0004]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus, since the life of the process unit is set so as to be replaced based on the life of the photoreceptor, it is taken out by the replacement. The photoreceptor of the old process unit is only planned to be disposed of, and there is no idea to recycle and reuse it.

However, when a material having a long life such as amorphous silicon is used for the photoconductor,
Even if the surface is somewhat scratched, it can be reused by continuing to use it by regenerating it. When such a photoconductor is recycled and reused, is it possible to reuse it by regenerating the photoconductor of the unit taken out by replacement? It is necessary to manage whether the body is new or regenerated.

When the image forming apparatus itself guarantees the number of printed sheets to some extent, the counter circuit of the apparatus main body and the main body control board having a memory storing the number of printed sheets until then are electrically destroyed. In the case where the printout has occurred, there is a problem that the calculation for guaranteeing the number of prints cannot be performed.

Therefore, the present invention has an object to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in the case of adopting a method of regenerating and reusing the photoconductor, the photoconductor of the unit taken out by the replacement is not reused. It becomes easy to manage whether it can be used,
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing calculation for guaranteeing the number of printed sheets even if the main body control board is electrically damaged.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention uses a photoconductor unit having a photoconductor and a device acting on the photoconductor and detachably provided in the main body of the device, and the photoconductor. An image forming apparatus comprising: a main body control board having a main body memory for controlling the operation of each device for performing an image forming operation and storing predetermined items; The body unit is provided with at least three attached memories so that the same data stored in them can be used to determine the correct one by majority, and both the body memory and the attached memory can be printed unique to the photoconductor. and number, so as to store the total number of printed sheets from when new of the apparatus main body, the photosensitive member unit
Also, neither the main body control board nor the
Device body stored in both memory and body memory
If the total number of printed sheets from the new
Total from the time of new device body read from the main unit memory
The number of prints can be stored in the memory that was previously stored in the attached memory.
Is configured to be stored in another free area .

According to the image forming apparatus having such a configuration,
In order to store the number of prints peculiar to the photoconductor in the memory attached to the photoconductor unit, by reading the attached memory of the photoconductor unit taken out by replacement, can the photoconductor of the photoconductor unit be reused for regeneration? Can be easily discriminated based on the number of printed sheets.

Even if the control board of the main body is electrically destroyed, the attached memory of the photoconductor unit also stores the total number of printed sheets of the main body of the apparatus since it was new. By newly storing the total number of printed sheets in the main body memory of the new main body control board, it becomes possible to perform calculation for guaranteeing the number of printed sheets regardless of replacement.

Further, in order to store the number of prints peculiar to the photoconductor and the total number of prints of the main body of the apparatus from the new article in the main body memory of the main body control board, the attached memory of the photoconductor unit newly mounted by replacement, It is possible to store the total number of printed sheets of the apparatus main body.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a printer according to a first embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

In the printer 10 shown in FIG. 1, the drum 14 (photoreceptor) whose charging is made uniform by the main charger 11 of the drum unit 15 is thereafter photosensitive-scanned by the optical unit 12 to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing roller 16 while rotating. The developing roller 16 is provided in the developing unit 20, and develops the electrostatic latent image using toner powder supplied from the toner container 18 of the developing unit 20.

By further rotating the drum 14,
The developed toner image is transferred onto a transfer paper that passes between the transfer roller 22 and the transfer roller 22. The transfer paper is stored in a paper feed cassette 24, and is taken out by a paper feed roller 26 of a paper feed unit 28 from the drum 14 and the transfer roller 2.
It is transported between 2 and passes there. Alternatively, the transfer paper is fed from a manual feed tray provided corresponding to the side opening of the apparatus main body and conveyed between the drum 14 and the transfer roller 22.

The transfer paper on which the toner image has been transferred by the drum 14 and the transfer roller 22 is then sent to the fixing unit 30 and passes between the heat roller 32 and the press roller 34, whereby the transferred toner is transferred. The toner powder forming the image is fixed, and the transfer paper is ejected thereafter.

The transfer paper ejection system includes a face-up system in which the print surface is faced up and the transfer paper is directly ejected.
There is a face-down method that discharges the transfer paper inside out (printing side down), and you can freely select either one of the discharge methods.

The optical unit 12, the drum unit 15,
The developing unit 20, the paper feeding unit 28, and the fixing unit 30 are controlled by an engine control board (main body control board) 36 to perform the image forming operation. The engine control board 36 is a main controller board 38. A control operation is performed by receiving a command from a host computer such as a personal computer or a word processor via the. The optical unit 12 also inputs image data from the host computer via the main controller board 38.

The drum unit 15 includes the drum 1
4, a main charger 11, a cleaning device 13, and other devices (not shown) attached to the main body of the apparatus so that they can be removed when necessary. Therefore, when the drum 14 of the drum unit 15 guarantees a predetermined number of prints, for example, up to 500,000 sheets, if the drum 14 is scratched or the like, the drum unit 15 is taken out and the drum 14 is removed.
Can be easily replaced.

FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram of the image forming apparatus. The drum unit 15 is provided with a rewritable accessory memory 17 such as an EEPROM. In the accessory memory 17, as shown in FIG. 4, the number of reproductions N1 of the drum 14 and the number of prints N2 peculiar to the drum 14, The total number of printed sheets N3 from the time the product is new is stored.

The engine control board 36 also includes a rewritable flash RO together with an MPU (microprocessor) used for control operation and a control logic gate array.
M40 (main body memory) is provided. As with the attached memory 17 of the drum unit 15, the flash ROM 40 of the engine control board 36, as shown in FIG. 5, has the number of reproductions N1 of the drum 14, the number of prints N2 peculiar to the drum 14, and the device main body when new. From total print number N
3 is stored.

When the drum unit 15 is replaced with another drum unit 15 for some reason, a new device main body stored in the flash ROM 40 of the engine control board 36 in the attached memory 17 of the newly installed drum unit 15. The total number of prints from the time is written.

When the engine control board 36 is replaced with another engine control board for some reason, the flash ROM of the newly installed engine control board 36 is replaced.
The number of prints peculiar to the drum 14 and the total number of prints from the time of new article of the apparatus main body, which are stored in the attached memory 17 of the drum unit 15, are written in 40.

Next, the printer 1 according to the above embodiment
The operation of 0 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

When the power of the printer 10 is turned on, first, the number N2 of prints peculiar to the drum 14 stored in the attached memory 17 of the drum unit 15 (see FIG. 4) and the drum 14 peculiar to the drum ROM stored in the flash ROM 40 of the engine control board 36. When the number of printed sheets N2 (see FIG. 5) is read and compared, and when the above N2 of the attached memory 17 is "00" and the above N2 of the flash ROM 40 is not "00", it is understood that the drum unit 15 has been replaced with a new one. (YES in step S1).

In this case, the total number of printed sheets N3 stored in the flash ROM 40 since the new device body is new
(See FIG. 5) and read it out to the drum unit 15
Is written to the corresponding area of the attached memory 17 of the flash ROM 40 (step S2), and the N2 of the flash ROM 40 is set to "0".
Reset to 0 ".

After that, each time the printer 10 prints, the number of prints unique to the drum 14 and the total number of prints are incremented by one (step S8), and the counted number of prints of both is counted. Both are stored in the flash ROM 40 and the attached memory 17.

The number of times the drum 14 has been reproduced, N1 stored in the attached memory 17 of the drum unit 15 (see FIG. 4).
If it is not "00", it means that the drum unit 15 has been replaced with a regenerated one (YE in step S3).
S). In this case, step S2 is executed again.

If the engine control board 36 is replaced with a new one due to damage or the like without replacing the drum unit 15 (YES in step S4), the data is stored in the flash ROM 40 of the newly mounted engine control board 36. The total number of printed sheets N3 (Fig.
(See FIG. 4) is “00”, the total number of printed sheets N3 (see FIG. 4) of the apparatus main body stored in the attached memory 17 is read out and written in the flash ROM 40 of the engine control board 36 to obtain the same value. (Step S5).

The drum unit 15 is also the engine control board 3
6 has not been replaced, and the total number of printed sheets N3 of the apparatus main body stored in the attached memory 17 (see FIG. 4),
The total number of printed sheets N stored in the flash ROM 40
3 (NO in step S6), the total print number N3 stored in the flash ROM 40 is stored in an empty area different from the area in which the total print number N3 is stored in the attached memory 17. Is read and written (step S7). Then, when such a situation is repeated many times and there is no extra area vacant in the attached memory 17, the oldest stored contents are sequentially rewritten.

By the way, when the drum unit 15 is to be replaced with another one due to scratches or the like, the attached memory 17 of the drum unit 15 taken out from the apparatus main body stores the number of prints peculiar to the drum 14, so read it out. For example, if it is less than 50,000 sheets, it can be regenerated, and if it is 50,000 sheets or more, the drum 14 can be discarded.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the number of times N1 the drum 14 has been played back is stored in the attached memory 17 so that the drum 14 once played may not be played, or may be played multiple times. You can also

When the drum unit 15 is replaced, the number of prints peculiar to the drum 14 stored in the flash ROM 40 of the engine control board 36 is reset, and counting is started from zero and stored.

The memory 1 attached to the drum unit 15
If a plurality of (at least three) 7 are provided and the same data is stored in a plurality of attached memories 17, even if one attached memory 17 is damaged by an overcurrent during data writing, It is also possible to determine accurate data by the majority vote of the plurality of attached memories 17.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, 50,000 sheets are used as the criterion for determining whether or not the drum 14 can be reproduced, but it goes without saying that other numbers can also be used as the criterion. Further, in the above embodiment, 5
I explained the case of guaranteeing the number of copies of 0,000 sheets.
It goes without saying that it is not necessary to limit the number to 10,000.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, in order to store the number of prints peculiar to the photosensitive member in the auxiliary memory of the photosensitive member unit, by reading the auxiliary memory of the photosensitive member unit taken out by the exchange, It is possible to easily determine whether or not the photoconductor of the photoconductor unit can be reused by recycling, based on the number of printed sheets.

Even if the control board of the main body is electrically destroyed, the attached memory of the photoconductor unit also stores the total number of printed sheets of the main body of the apparatus, so that it can be mounted by replacement. By newly storing the total number of printed sheets in the main body memory of the new main body control board, it becomes possible to perform calculation for guaranteeing the number of printed sheets regardless of replacement.

Further, in order to store the number of prints peculiar to the photoconductor and the total number of prints of the main body of the apparatus from the new article in the main body memory of the main body control board, the attached memory of the photoconductor unit newly mounted by replacement is It is possible to store the total number of printed sheets of the apparatus main body.

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, since the number of times of reproduction can be stored in the attached memory 17, by reading the attached memory 17 of the drum unit 15 newly installed by replacement, the drum 14 of the drum 14 can be read.
It is possible to easily discriminate whether the product is a new product or a remanufactured product, and it is possible to easily discriminate whether the drum 14 of the drum unit 15 taken out by the replacement can be reused by being regenerated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer 10 according to a first embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram of the printer 10 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the printer 10 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing stored contents of an attached memory 17 of the drum unit 15.

FIG. 5 is a flash ROM 40 of the engine control board 36.
It is a figure which shows the memory content of.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 printers 11 Main charger 12 Optical unit 13 Cleaning device 14 drums 15 drum unit 16 Developing roller 17 Attached memory 18 toner container 20 Development unit 22 Transfer roller 24 paper cassettes 26 Paper Feed Roller 28 Paper Feed Unit 30 fixing unit 32 heat roller 34 Press roller 36 Engine control board 38 Main controller board 40 Flash ROM

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-6-35258 (JP, A) JP-A-8-146837 (JP, A) JP-A-7-64451 (JP, A) JP-A-5-210275 (JP , A) JP 8-77321 (JP, A) JP 63-136154 (JP, A) JP 63-143649 (JP, A) JP 5-96818 (JP, A) JP 4-111032 (JP, A) JP-A-3-221973 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 21/00 370-540 G03G 21/02-21/04 G03G 21/16-21/18 G03G 15/00 550

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A photoconductor unit that has a photoconductor and a device that acts on the photoconductor and is detachably provided in the main body of the device; and controlling the operation of each device for performing an image forming operation using the photoconductor. An image forming apparatus including a main body control board having a main body memory for storing predetermined items, wherein the photoconductor is a reproducible one, and the photoconductor unit is provided with at least three attached memories. The same data stored in the memory is stored in the main memory and the attached memory to store the number of prints peculiar to the photoconductor and the total number of prints of the main body of the apparatus from the time of new article. so as to, the photosensitive member unit and any exchange of the main body control board
It is not changed, and both in the attached memory and the main body memory
The total number of printed sheets of the device itself from the time of new
If it is different, the device body read from the body memory
The total number of prints from the time of new product in the attached memory
Store it in an empty area other than the area you remember
An image forming apparatus characterized by the above . 2. When the photoconductor unit is replaced with another photoconductor unit, a new one of the device main body stored in the main body memory is stored in the attached memory of the photoconductor unit newly mounted by the replacement. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the total number of printed sheets is stored. 3. When the main body control board is exchanged for another main body control board, the photoconductor-specific printing stored in the attached memory is stored in the main body memory of the main body control board newly installed by the exchange. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of printed sheets and the total number of printed sheets of the apparatus body from the time of new article are stored. Wherein said the attached memory, the photosensitive body of the image forming apparatus <br/> according to claim 1, characterized in that so as to store the number of plays. 5. stored in the attached memory, the number of plays of the photoreceptor, or / and, on the basis of the photoreceptor-specific printed sheets, the reproduction of whether the photosensitive member was to be determined The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein