JPS60235174A - Toner check and display controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect the emptiness of a toner box securely and to monitor toner supplementation by deciding the normalcy of the toner supplementation on the basis of the operation time of a toner supply motor. CONSTITUTION:The detection output of a toner concentration sensor 10 is supplied to a comparator 12 and compared with a signal from a reference value setter 11. The comparison output actuates a timer 17 and inputted to an AND circuit 18 together with a time-out output. Therefore, the circuit 18 supplies its AND output to a display controller 19 when the toner supply motor 15 rotates for longer than a scheduled time. Consequently, a toner check display device 20 is turned on to attract operator's attention, and a switch 16 is opened with the AND output to stop the motor 15 forcibly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Application) The present invention relates to a 1 to 1 check display control device. Replenishment is not carried out properly,
1 - Detects that a nurse check is necessary, and displays 11 - 'Nerve check' 1199 Display system 1 (related to the 11 device).

(Prior art) Electronic photocopying 7) 'Machine odor - (41, well-known', sea urchin,
111! As the image agent, a mixture of Carrier A7 and Hener 1 is used. :fl), 1・- in the developer
No, because of the elapse of the operating time of electrophotographic copying 1-)
1. I-) decreases by 1-, so it is appropriate', r 11. 'I
In general, it is necessary to replenish l-boo into the toner. 1 For this purpose, one side of the current printer is equipped with a toner box for storing l-no, 13J: toner. The supply 1 meter is set up, while the development (1 meter in the developer) is
-Nur content rate-Sui1W), 1~J-ill! σ
In order to measure η, I~Luna is set up for the first time.

In the above-mentioned 12-in-1 henna process, (1) detecting the mass and weight of the developer, and (2) detecting the toner content ratio in the developer. , (3) a device that detects the light transmittance of the developer, (4) a device that detects the photoelectric q/1 characteristic f1 of the target section placed at a specific position on the photoconductor, and There is.

An example of the above (/l) type] Henner moisture sensor is
J shown in Figure 2. On the photoreceptor 31, target areas 1 to 33 are prepared at predetermined locations, and a target 1-ner image 331- with a density corresponding to, for example, 11 Fi of a document is formed here.

The toner moisture sensor 10 is composed of a light emitting element 101 (D (light emitting diode)) and a photoelectric conversion element 10R such as a photocell.

When the amount of toner in the developer is more than the specified amount, the target 1 to toner image 33T (7) 1 degree is large, and therefore the light reflectance at that portion is less than the predetermined value. Because of the error, the light emitting element came out from 10m and turned out]...I~Luna~
33T and enters the photoelectric conversion element 10R is suppressed to a certain predetermined value or less.

As the amount of 1 to leet d in the developer decreases, 1. f-)
'(to z target/I Henner (Ton 33T's residence is small, so in this part) The amount of light input to the probe 10R gradually increases, and the output of the photoelectric conversion element increases.

Detect the tree 16 in the developer as follows-1-
In addition, the above 1~ner box 1゜) No supply to 11
- Tana is well known to those skilled in the art;
As shown in Figure 1, the illustration and explanation of its specific configuration will be omitted.
10(7) Output 1; L, 'E f/) let It
'11ft wo setting it 3K ft'Price fixer 1
1 signal is compared in the ratio amplifier 12.

:-ner) When the output of the driver 10 is smaller than 1'11ff, the comparator 12 produces an output, and the toner supply motor 15 to drive.

As a result, the toner in the toner box falls into the developing machine and is replenished.

However, in this case, if there is no toner stored in the toner box 1--in other words, if the toner box is empty, the toner supply motor 15 will run idly. b 1., r will not be used.

In the case of 4i, the amount of toner in the developer gradually decreases -6'8o, so the copy density gradually decreases,
Eventually, a defective copy will be produced. A similar phenomenon also occurs when the amount of toner replenishment becomes insufficient for some reason.

In order to prevent this situation, a toner empty detection device has been installed between 1 and 2 toner boxes to detect the amount of toner stored. At this time, a "toner replenishment" display is displayed to notify the user of the necessity t11 of toner replenishment to the toner bottle 61.

[Toner empty detection device] [Toner empty detection device] It is known that the toner empty detection device is set (for example, the special toner empty detector)
036), but in any case, the toner check display system 911 device blue is separately provided, and I/'CP,) is <r
Therefore, the IM construction is ↑11 and <rsu,] 1 of the strike height.
1; There are some disadvantages.

Not only that, but the 1 Henner empty detection equipment malfunctioned! There is a drawback that it is difficult to trust ('I is not enough) because it may cause stiffness or incomplete production.

(Purpose) The present invention has been developed to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and the first is that it is possible to reliably detect that the i-ner box is empty; It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner check display control device that can reliably monitor whether a toner replenishment operation is performed accurately.

(Summary) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention measures the time during which the toner supply motor 15 is continuously operating, and when the time exceeds a set value, 1 to 1 empty the toner box. The present invention is characterized in that it is configured to generate a ``toner check'' display or a ``toner replenishment, check-1'' display when it is determined that the toner replenishment operation has not been performed correctly.

In the present invention, when the toner supply motor 15 operates, 1 to
If toner replenishment is done correctly, 1 in the developer
~ Na Ichifuchi degree becomes large, toner? This was done by focusing on the fact that the output of J-10 is restored, the output of the comparator 12 disappears, and the toner supply motor 15 is stopped. When the toner is continuously operated for more than an hour, it is determined that toner replenishment is abnormal.

(Example) Below, the drawings will be described in detail.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

In addition, in the same figure, n8, which is the same as in FIG.

In Figure 3, 1 Henner 1811 residence l? 1. j゛1
The detection output of 0 is fed to the comparator 12, where! K Q
The signal is compared with the signal from the I-1 iri setter 11, and the output of the comparator 12 drives the 1-ner supply motor 15, just as in the case of FIG.

The timer 17 is activated by the output of the comparator 12, and outputs a timer output (IgF) after a scheduled time.

The output of the time alarm 1 is the output of the comparator 12.
(supplied to +t818).し１こノ）ζ・
)(, AND circuit 18 inputs the above 1 to
! ) is continuously rotating for a predetermined time period, a logic 9-product output is generated to energize the display controller 19.

Display] Toner check indicator 20
lights up to alert the operator of the electrophotographic copying machine to replenish toner in the toner box or turn off the toner replenishment system.

At the same time, the switch 1G is opened by the output of the AND circuit 18, and the toner supply motor 15 is forcibly stopped.

On the other hand, when the 1~ner supply system is normal, as is clear from the above explanation, the comparator 1
The output of 2 disappears. The output of the comparator 12 is inverted by an inverter 22 and supplied to one shot 1 to multiple 24.

Therefore, in response to the extinction of the output of the comparator 12, the one-shots 1 to 24 generate one pulse, thereby resetting the timer 17.

Therefore, when the toner supply system is normal, the timer 10-timer 17 does not output the time-already h output, and the AND circuit 18 also does not output the output. Because of this, the I/NADIEK indicator 20 lights up.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart 11-1- showing the operation when the present invention is implemented by a microcomputer or the like, and this will be explained one step later.

Step S1...1 ~ Output of 1 degree 1 level 10 -
- Read 1 henna 1 degree.

Step S2 . . . 1 - Determine whether or not the ner degree is equal to or greater than a predetermined degree. If it is less than the predetermined 1ff-+, its ζ1
, the processing ends until . Also, if the value is less than a predetermined value (1-), proceed to step S3.

Step S3...1 It is determined whether the hener supply motor 15 is being driven. If it is not driven, the process proceeds to step S/I, and if it is, the process proceeds to step S5.

Step S4...Starts the doubu supply [- timer 15 and also starts the timer 17 at the same time. After that, the process returns to step S1.

Step S5: It is determined whether the count value of the timer 17 exceeds a set value. If the set value is not exceeded, the processes from step S1 to step S3 are repeated. If the count value of timer 17 exceeds the set value,
Proceed to step S6.

Step S6...1 ~ Stop the toner supply motor 15 1
4 Ru.

Step S7 . . . "Display" - The roller 19 is driven and the toner check indicator 20 is turned on.

Note that in the above, the toner supply means is the toner supply motor 1.
Although the present invention is not limited to this, when the amount of 1 to 3 toner in the visual agent falls below the specified value, in response, 1 to 1 is sent from the toner box to the developing machine. It will be obvious that any substance that can replenish the energy can be used.

(Effects) As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, the following effects are achieved.

ml hener supplementation is done normally (7), 1
Since the determination is made based on the continuous operation time of the toner supply motor 15, there is no need to provide a special lunar detection means in the toner box.

(2) It is possible to monitor not only the 1~ner empty state but also other failures and abnormalities in the hner replenishment system.

(3) Since there are four cases in which the 1 to 4 toner supply motors 15 continue to operate for an abnormally long time, abnormal heating can be prevented even if the I toner supply motor 15 is made smaller. ] A reduction in stress can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional henna supply system, Fig. 2 is a schematic side view showing an example of a temperature sensor, and Fig. 3 is a schematic side view showing an example of a temperature sensor. Block diagram of one embodiment of
The figure is a flowchart showing the processing procedure when the present invention is implemented by a microcomputer or the like. 13- 10... Toner density sensor iJ-, 11... Reference value setter, 12... Comparator, 13... Driver, 15...
...Toner supply motor, 17...Timer, 19...
Display controller, 20... Toner check indicator,
24...One shot 1 Multi-agent patent attorney 10 Michito Hiramoto and 1 other person 14-

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) 1 Henner Fuchigawa I'! Next, set the basic value of Tonneau Fuchi 1rr (value setting device and
Compare the 1 to no depth detected by the opening angle 4) with the value set by the I semi-value setting device in the above setting,
a comparator whose tree density is smaller than tl'=(ir+J:S1), and a toner supply means whose pulse is Φ1j by the output of the comparator;
The driving duration of the 1-no-supply hand rQ is controlled by h1,
11, an AND circuit which operates the logical product of the output of the comparator and the output of the timer; 11 devices characterized by being equipped with a display device that displays = J force. (2) The scope of the above-mentioned claim, characterized in that the above-mentioned density sensor measures the density of a target toner image of target particles 1 to 1 set at a predetermined position on a photoreceptor. The toner display control device described in item 1. (3) Claim 1, characterized in that the toner moisture sensor measures the 1-day ratio or 1-day ratio in the toner box. 1--button display control device. (4) The toner check display control device according to any one of Patent Nos. 1, 4, and 3, wherein the toner supplying means is a 1 hener supply motor.