JP2001175144A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device which allows dissolving such a problem found in the conventional device that the time required for movement of a photoreceptor by a constant distance and the time from the activation of a polygon to the attainment thereof to a prescribed stationary rotational state are not constant, therefore, the image forming starting time is delayed in the conventional image forming device where the time for preparatory control before the image forming is set longer, thereby, the efficiency of the image forming is lowered and, in particular, the time until the first picture is formed is prolonged. SOLUTION: This image forming device is constituted in such a manner that the movement distance of the photoreceptor and the rotational speed of the polygon are detected and the image forming process is started in accordance with the detected signal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to control of an image forming apparatus for forming an image by an electrophotographic system, and more particularly, to various operations from a standby state for waiting for an image forming command to an image forming and finishing. Regarding the control of the stage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, prior to the start of image formation, preparation control such as moving a photoconductor over a predetermined distance and making the surface state of the photoconductor uniform is performed. In addition, when the image formation is completed and the image forming apparatus is stopped, it is necessary to perform a termination control for stopping the driving of the photoconductor, the stopping of the charging unit, the stopping of the developing unit, and the like in a predetermined order. There is. Further, in an image forming apparatus that performs exposure using laser light, control of starting and stopping a rotary polygon mirror that deflects laser light for scanning exposure is added to the above-described preparation control and end control.

In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which exposure is performed by laser light, when an image is formed,
The preparation control, the image formation control, and the end control are always performed in a predetermined sequence.

[0004]

In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that performs exposure by laser light, in the preparation control, control is performed to activate the rotating polygon mirror and reach a predetermined steady rotation speed. After that, the photoconductor is activated, and the process shifts to image forming control when the photoconductor moves a predetermined distance from the activation. Further, as another method, the rotating polygon mirror and the photoconductor are started at the same time or before and after, and both are driven in parallel, the rotation speed of the rotating polygon mirror reaches a predetermined value, and the Is shifted to the image forming control at the stage when has moved a predetermined distance.

The time required for the rotating polygon mirror and the photosensitive member to reach the predetermined rotational speed and the moving distance from the start varies depending on the state of the rotating polygon mirror and the photosensitive member. For example, when an image forming command is received while the rotating polygon mirror is still rotating, and the rotating polygon mirror is activated, the rotating polygon mirror receives an activation signal from the rotating state, and a short period of time is received. The rotation speed reaches the predetermined rotation speed within a period of time, but if the image forming command is received in a state where the rotary polygon mirror is stopped, the time required to reach the predetermined rotation speed becomes longer.

As described above, since the time required for the preparation control is not constant, conventionally, the maximum time required for the preparation control is determined in advance as the preparation time, and after the preparation time, the process shifts to the image forming control. Control was performed.

For this purpose, an image forming command is received from an external device such as a personal computer, the image forming apparatus is started by the image forming command of the control means, and the time until an image is formed and the image is obtained, that is, FPOT (First printout time) is prolonged, resulting in poor image forming efficiency.

In addition, the FPOT becomes longer in relation to the ending control for ending the image formation and stopping the image forming apparatus, so that there is a problem that the image forming efficiency cannot be improved.

That is, since the end control and the preparation control are executed in a predetermined sequence for each image forming job,
Once the image forming apparatus shifts to the end control, it is necessary to complete the end control and further to complete the preparation control in order to enter the next image forming step. In order to start the image forming job, the time required for the end control plus the time required for the preparation control is required. For this reason, the efficiency of continuous image formation decreases.
In order to solve the problem of reduction in image forming efficiency in such continuous image formation, it has been proposed to provide a standby control for receiving an image forming command as a stage before shifting to the end control. It is necessary to set a standby time, that is, a time for receiving an image forming command, which is complicated in operation, and because of this complicated operation,
There may be a case where the setting of the standby time is not always properly performed. If the standby period is too long, unnecessary operation time of the image forming apparatus increases and energy consumption increases, or the standby time is too short and the process shifts to the end control in a short time. There were problems such as being insufficient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problem of lowering the image forming efficiency, and to improve the image forming efficiency of an image forming apparatus.

[0011]

The above objects of the present invention are attained by the following inventions.

(1) At least the moving distance from the activation of the photoconductor reaches a first predetermined value, and the rotation speed of the rotary polygon mirror for deflecting the light beam for scanning the photoconductor reaches a second predetermined value. An image forming apparatus having control means for performing preparation control for performing control to perform control and image forming control for performing control in an image forming step of forming an image on the photosensitive member and transferring the formed image to a transfer-receiving member; A first detecting unit that detects a moving distance of the photoconductor and a second detecting unit that detects a rotation speed of the rotary polygon mirror;
The control means, based on a detection signal of the first detection means and a detection signal of the second detection means, the moving distance of the photoconductor reaches the first predetermined value, and the rotation of the rotating polygon mirror When the rotation speed reaches the second predetermined value, the image forming apparatus performs control to shift from the preparation control to the image forming control.

(2) The control means performs control for shifting from the preparatory control to the image forming control based on a signal indicating that a predetermined time has elapsed since the activation of the photosensitive member. Item).

(3) At least an image forming control in an image forming step of forming an image on a photoreceptor and transferring the formed image to a transfer receiving body, and a rotation for deflecting a light beam for scanning and exposing the photoreceptor In an image forming apparatus having a polygon mirror and control means for performing end control for stopping the photosensitive member, the control means waits for an image formation command when the image formation command is not received after the end of the image formation control. When the image forming command is received during the standby control, the process proceeds to the image forming control, and when the image forming command is not received during the standby control, the process proceeds to the end control. And performing control to change the length of the standby period in accordance with the reception time of an image forming command during the standby period in which the standby control is performed. Location.

(4) At least an image forming control in an image forming step of forming an image on a photosensitive member and transferring the formed image to a transfer-receiving member, and a rotation for deflecting a light beam for scanning and exposing the photosensitive member. In an image forming apparatus having a polygon mirror and control means for performing end control for stopping the photosensitive member, the control means waits for an image formation command when the image formation command is not received after the end of the image formation control. When the image forming command is received during the standby control, the process proceeds to the image forming control, and when the image forming command is not received during the standby control, the process proceeds to the end control. Performing control to change the length of the standby period according to the reception time of the image forming command during the standby period in which the standby control is performed and during the end of the standby control. An image forming apparatus comprising and.

[0016]

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a color image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The color image forming apparatus includes yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C),
A color image is formed by four colors of black (K).

In FIG. 1, a belt-shaped photosensitive member 1 wound around an upper roller 3, a lower roller 5, and a horizontal roller 7 is stretched vertically by an upper roller 3 and a lower roller 5, and is stretched vertically. It is driven to move in the direction. Further, the surface of the belt-shaped photoreceptor 1 moving upward from the bottom of the drawing is
A pressing roller 9 is provided as a guide that presses the photoconductor 1 in the closed space CS direction formed by the above and guides the photoconductor 1 in the closed space CS direction. A cleaning unit 11 that removes toner on the photoconductor 1 is provided above the surface on which the photoconductor 1 moves upward. At the end of the cleaning section 11, a lamp 1 for removing the residual charge of the photoconductor is provided.
20 (hereinafter referred to as PCL), and a collection box 21 for collecting the developer removed by the cleaning unit 11 is provided below the cleaning unit 11 along the belt photoconductor 1.

The illustrated color image forming apparatus forms a color image using four colors, and therefore has four scanning exposure means corresponding to each color. That is, a scanning exposure unit 25 for forming a Y-color latent image on the photoreceptor 1 by a laser beam, a scanning exposure unit 27 for similarly forming a M-color latent image, and a scanning exposure unit for forming a C-color latent image. Means 29 and scanning exposure means 31 for forming a K-color latent image are arranged.

Since the constructions of the scanning exposure units 25, 27, 29 and 31 using the four laser beams are the same, only the scanning exposure unit 25 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and the other scanning exposure units 27, 29 and 31 will be described. Is omitted.

The laser light from the laser light source corresponding to the Y color is a polygon 3 which is a rotary polygon mirror for deflecting a laser beam.
The light is reflected and scanned by the movement of the rotation surface of 7Y, and is scanned and exposed through the fθ lens 39Y and the cylindrical lens 41Y to the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive member 1. By this scanning exposure, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive surface of the photoconductor 1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, a detachable image forming cartridge 35 is mounted on the color image forming apparatus, and an electrostatic latent image of each color formed on the photosensitive member 1 is installed in the cartridge 35. Are provided. That is, a developing unit 42 for developing the latent image formed by the scanning exposure unit 25, a developing unit 43 for developing the latent image formed by the scanning exposure unit 27, and a developing unit 45 corresponding to the scanning exposure unit 29, Developing device 4 corresponding to scanning exposure means 31
7 are provided. Since these configurations are the same, only the developing device 42 for Y color will be described.

Reference numerals 51 and 52 denote screws for stirring and transporting the Y-color developer transported from a developer reservoir (not shown). Reference numeral 53 denotes a supply roller for supplying the developer to the developing sleeve 55. The developing sleeve 55 carries a developer, reversely develops the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 1, and forms a toner image on the photoconductor 1. Further, in the image forming cartridge 35, there are provided band electrodes for applying charges to the photosensitive member 1 corresponding to the developing units 42, 43, 45, and 47 of the respective colors. That is, a band electrode 61 for Y color, a band electrode 63 for M color, a band electrode 65 for C color, and a band electrode 67 for K color. The agitation screws, supply rollers, and developing sleeves of the developing devices 43, 45, and 47 are the same as those in the developing device 42, and therefore, the symbols are omitted.

On the other hand, the paper feeding unit 81 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a paper feeding cassette 83 in which recording paper 70 is stored. The recording paper 70 in the paper feed cassette 83 is carried out by a transport roller 85, is nipped and transported by a transport roller pair 87 and a timing roller 88, and is fed to a transfer separation unit. A transfer pole 93 for transferring the toner image on the photoconductor 1 to the recording paper 70 by corona discharge and a photoconductor 1 by AC discharge
And a separation pole 95 for separating the recording paper 70 from the recording paper 70.

In the fixing device 100, heat and pressure are applied to the recording paper 70 on which the toner image has been transferred by sandwiching a roller pair 101 composed of a heat roller and a pressure roller to fuse the toner to the recording paper 70. Thereafter, the sheet is conveyed to the sheet discharge tray 111 by the conveying roller 110.

A color image is formed by the following process by the image forming apparatus configured as described above.

Prior to exposure, light is first irradiated from the PCL 120 to remove the residual charge on the photoconductor, and then the photoconductor 1 is charged by the band electrode 61 and is electrostatically applied to the photoconductor 1 by the scanning exposure unit 25. A latent image is formed. Then, a Y color toner image is formed on the photoconductor 1 by the Y color toner carried on the developing sleeve 55 of the developing section 42. Then, the same operation is performed for the remaining colors M, C, and K, and toner images of the respective colors Y, M, C, and K are formed on the photoreceptor 1.

On the other hand, a recording sheet 70 as a transfer object is conveyed from a sheet feeding section 81 to a transfer section 91 by a conveying roller 85 and a conveying roller pair 87. Fed recording paper 70
Is supplied to the transfer / separation unit by a timing roller 88 in synchronism with the toner image on the photoconductor 1, charged by the transfer pole 93 of the transfer / separation unit, and the toner image on the photoconductor 1 is transferred to the recording paper 70. You. Further, the recording paper 70 is separated from the photoreceptor 1 by the charge eliminating action of the separation pole 95.

In the present embodiment, the recording paper 70 is used as the transfer object. However, as the transfer object to which the toner image is transferred from the photoreceptor 1, a transparent film or the like is used in addition to the recording paper 70. It is also possible to use them, and it is also possible to use an intermediate transfer member. In the image forming process using the intermediate transfer member, the toner image transferred from the photoreceptor to the intermediate transfer member is further transferred from the intermediate transfer member to a recording paper or the like to form an image.

Next, the recording paper 70 is heated and pressed by the fixing device 100, the toner is fused to the recording paper 70, and is discharged onto the discharge tray 111 by the pair of conveying rollers 110. Also,
The residual toner on the photoconductor 1 after the transfer is removed by the blade 17 of the cleaning unit 11 and stored in the collection box 21.

As described above, the Y image formed by the scanning exposure means 25, 27, 29, 31 corresponding to each color,
The control unit controls the M image, the C image, and the K image so that they match on the photoconductor 1.

FIG. 2 shows an electrical configuration of the color image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The control means E1 composed of a computer includes a band electrode E2 (61, 6 in FIG. 1).
3, 65, 67), scanning exposure means E3 (corresponding to 25, 27, 29, 31 in FIG. 1), developing unit E4 (corresponding to 42, 43, 45, 47 in FIG. 1), transfer pole E
5, a separation pole E6 (corresponding to 95 in FIG. 1), a fixing device E7 (corresponding to 100 in FIG. 1), a PCLE8 (corresponding to 120 in FIG. 1), and a cleaning unit E9 (corresponding to 120 in FIG. 1). 17), the photoconductor drive motor E10, the polygon drive motor E11, the paper feed motor E12, etc. are controlled to detect the rotation of the fixing temperature sensor E13, the photoconductor drive motor E10, and the rotation of the polygon drive motor E11. Control is performed based on information from a sensor E15 or the like as second detecting means for detecting the speed. The band electrode E2, the scanning exposure unit E3, and the developing unit E4 are provided separately for Y, M, C, and K, and are controlled at different timings for Y, M, C, and K, respectively. The control of the developing device E4 includes the control of the developing bias, as described later. The sensor E14 as a first detecting means detects a pulse from an encoder provided on the rotation shaft of the photoconductor driving motor E10. Then, the rotation amount of the photoconductor drive motor E10 is detected from the detection signal of the sensor E14, and the movement amount of the photoconductor 1 is detected. The control means E1 detects that the photosensitive member 1 has moved the first predetermined amount based on the detected rotation amount of the photosensitive member drive motor E10. Thus, the control means E1
And the sensor E14 constitute a first detecting means. A sensor E15 as a second detecting means detects that the polygon drive motor E11 has reached a predetermined constant speed by a phase lock signal from a PLL circuit of the polygon drive motor E11 which is controlled at a constant speed by PLL control.

The control means E1 communicates with an external device such as a personal computer through the I / O port E16, receives an image forming command,
The job execution status in the image forming apparatus is transmitted.

In the embodiment of the present invention, tasks at each stage are determined, and a program for controlling each of these tasks is made into a routine, and a management control program R1 for managing each of these routines performs overall control.

The task at each stage consists of five routines as shown in FIG. A warm-up routine R2 as a start-up control performed when the power is turned on or a door is opened / closed; a start routine R3 as a preparatory control which is started by operating an image forming command or an image forming start button from an external device such as a personal computer; A repeat routine R4 as image forming control for executing formation, a print command waiting routine R5 as waiting control for waiting for a print command,
There are five end routines R6 as end control, and each routine is executed by the management control program R1 integrally controlling these routines. The control unit E1 performs an image forming operation by totally controlling each routine by the management control program R1. In the embodiment of the present invention, the print command waiting routine R is performed before the end routine R6 for processing the print end.
5, a print command is accepted, and the waiting period in the print command waiting routine can be extended according to the number of received print commands, and the length of the waiting period can be increased by using an efficient routine according to the number of received prints. It is fundamental to shorten. Hereinafter, the routine of each task will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the power is turned on, the warm-up routine R2 is started by a command from the management control program R1.
The photoreceptor 1 is activated by turning on 10 and then 2
02, light is emitted from the PCLE 8 to remove the residual charge of the photoreceptor 1 (hereinafter, referred to as PCL on / off).
If the recording paper 70 remains, it is discharged at 203 and the fixing device 100 is controlled to a temperature at which fixing can be performed. Then, at 204, the joint of the photoconductor 1 is stopped at the home position. Next, the PCLE 8 is turned off at 205, and a message of R2 end is sent to the management control program R1 at 206, and the process ends.
Note that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the discharge of the PCL 202 and the temperature adjustment of the PCL 203 are actually executed in parallel.
For this reason, the discharge of the recording paper and the PCL on are processed at a higher speed than in the past. Further, the temperature of the fixing device E7 is controlled to an appropriate temperature in a short time.

At the end of the warm-up routine R2, the system is in an idling state in which an image can be formed at any time. The idling state is a state in which warm-up is completed, and is a state in which a start routine R3 can be started when a print command (image forming command) is issued.

When an image forming command is received from an external device such as a personal computer, an image forming command is issued from the management control program R1, and as shown in FIG. 5, a start routine R3 as preparation control for forming a state necessary for image forming. Starts,
At 301, a message indicating whether the print image is a color image or a monochrome image is received from the management control program R1, and at 302, the photoconductor 1 is activated. Subsequently, in steps 303 and 304, the developing devices E of the respective colors are used.
Then, the DC bias voltage of No. 4 is turned on, and PCLE8 is turned on. 305 based on the message of 301
To determine whether it is color or black and white. If it is black and white, turn on the K band electrode E2 at 306. If it is color, turn on the Y band electrode E at 307.
Turn on 2. Next, at 308, the polygon drive motor E1
Turning on 1 activates the polygon 37 of each color.

Next, monitoring is performed at 309 to monitor whether the photosensitive member 1 has moved a distance of a first predetermined value from the start and whether the rotation speed of the polygon 37 has reached a second predetermined value. In order to erase the residual charge on the photoconductor 1 by the PCL 120 before image formation, it is necessary to circulate the photoconductor 1 once and irradiate the entire surface with the PCL 120. Also, the polygon 37 must have reached a certain rotation speed during image formation. Step 309 is to achieve such an object, and the determination in step 309 is made based on the signal from the sensor E14 and the signal from the sensor E15. These sensors E14, E15
When the photoconductor 1 moves a predetermined distance on the basis of the above signal and it is detected that the rotation speed of the polygon 37 has reached a predetermined value, the process moves to 310, and a message at the end of the routine R3 is sent to the management control program R1. Finish sending. Then, the process shifts to a repeat routine R4 for executing the next print by the management control program R1.

In the above example, the start routine R3 is terminated by detecting that the photosensitive member 1 has moved a predetermined distance and that the polygon 37 has reached a predetermined rotational speed. Regarding 1, the control may be such that the start routine R <b> 3 is ended after a predetermined time has elapsed after the activation of the photoconductor 1, instead of directly detecting the moving distance. That is, since the photosensitive member 1 reaches a predetermined speed in a relatively short time and the rising time to reach the predetermined speed is almost constant, the moving distance of the photosensitive member 1 is detected by measuring the time. Because it can be.

Since a repeat routine R4 as image formation control, which is a control in an image forming process for forming an image on a recording sheet, is executed for each image formation (print), this routine R4 is repeatedly used. That is, charging, exposure, development, transfer, and the like for forming an image are repeated by the number of prints. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, first, a message such as color mode, paper size, OHP paper or the like necessary for image formation is received from the management control program R1 at 401. In the next step 402, it is determined whether or not the previous mode is to be changed. This is to compare whether the previous mode was color or black and white and the current mode. For example, if the previous time was color and this time also color, there would be no change. In this way, if there is no change, the process proceeds to the recording paper mode 407, but if there is a change, the process proceeds to 403 after the end of the previous repeat task, and the process proceeds to 404 to determine whether the formed image is color or monochrome. If black and white, the Y band electrode E2 is turned off at 405, the K band electrode E2 is turned on, and the process proceeds to the recording paper mode of 407. If it is color, the Y band electrode E2 is turned on at 406 and the K band is turned on. Is turned off. And 40
At 7, it is determined whether OHP paper or normal paper is used as the recording paper. In the case of OHP paper, the moving speed of the photosensitive member 1 is reduced to 1/6 times speed in 408, and in the case of normal paper, the photosensitive member 1 is driven at 1 × speed (normal) at 409. At 410, the leading and trailing edge positions of the image are calculated, and at 411, the trailing edge position is transmitted to the management control program R1, and at 412, the leading edge position of the image waits for reaching the Y color writing position. Calculates the paper size in the sub-scanning direction. Then, at 414, the M, C, and K band electrodes E2 and Y, M, C, and K
The timing of turning on and off each of the developing device E4 and the transfer pole E5 of each color is set. At 415, the respective devices perform on / off operations according to the set time. If the transfer pole E5 is turned off, this routine R4 is terminated. Therefore, it is determined at 416 whether or not the transfer pole E5 is turned off. If the transfer pole E5 is not turned off, the routine returns to 415; And the end of the repeat routine R4.

In the embodiment of the present invention, even after the end of the repeat routine R4, the photosensitive member 1 and the polygon 37 continue to rotate, and a print command standby routine R5 as a standby control which is a control in a standby state of waiting for an image forming instruction. Move on.
If an image forming command, that is, a print command, does not come within this standby period, the process proceeds to an end routine R6 as end control for stopping each part of the image forming apparatus in the operating state and shifting the image forming apparatus to the idling state. The photoconductor 1 stops, and the image forming apparatus stops. However, if a print command is issued during the standby period, the process returns to the repeat routine R4 without repeating the end routine R6 and without passing through the start routine R3, and repeats image formation. The standby period is controlled to be extended according to the number of print commands that have been image-read and the time when the print commands are received. Therefore, if many print commands are received during this period, the repeat routine R4 is repeated as much and image formation becomes possible. Such a print command waiting routine R5 will be described with reference to FIGS. The time T from the start of the print command waiting routine R5 is an initially set waiting period for receiving a print command. The time t1 from the start of the routine R5 to the arrival of the first print command is measured. Similarly, if the second to i-th print commands are received, the time t2 to t is reached.
i is measured individually (corresponding to 505 in FIG. 8)
However, in the example of FIG. 9, since the i-th print command has passed the period T, actual printing by the i-th print command is not executed.

In the flowchart 501, the number of times the time until the print command arrives has been counted, that is, the number of print commands received from the past to this point. The number is, for example, 20 times. If it is set, judge whether it has reached 20 times, if not,
At 502, the standby period is set to the time T, and the process proceeds to 505. When the waiting period is reached, the average time ta is calculated from the 20 (times) data individually measured at 503, t1, t2,. The standby period is set to the time Ta based on the calculation result ta, and the period is extended from T to Ta. Alternatively, the period is shortened. At 504, the number of times of measurement is reset to 0, at 505, the respective time measurements of t1, t2,... Ti are started, and at 506, it is determined whether a print command has been received. If the command has not been received, the process proceeds to step 507, where it is determined whether the print command is in the waiting period. If it is during the standby period, the process returns to 506. If it is not during the standby period, the process proceeds to the end routine R6. If a print command is received at 506, the number of measurements, that is, the number of print commands received so far, is counted and stored at 508, and then at 509, the measurement time (print command reception time), t1, t2,... ti are individually stored. In step 506, it is determined whether a print command waiting period is in progress. If not, the process proceeds to an end routine R6.
If during the period, the process returns to the repeat routine R4 to execute image formation. The storage of the number of print commands at 508 and the time measurement at 509 are stored until reset at 504. Therefore, this memory is configured so that the memory is not erased even if the power of the image forming apparatus is once turned off, but is used when the image forming apparatus is turned on again and operated again.

In the end routine R6 shown in FIG. 10, information indicating whether the image (print) formed last in the repeat routine R4 is color or black and white is received from the management control program R1 at 601.
The color and K band electrodes E2 are both turned off. 60 in 603
Whether the color or black and white is determined based on the information received in step 1; In this state,
In 02, the band electrode E2 of Y color is turned off, and the band electrodes E2 of M, C, and K are turned off in routine R4. But 6
In 04, the DC bias of each color is not turned off until the Y-color charged portion of the photoreceptor passes through the developing units E4 of Y, M, C, and K in order to prevent the carrier from adhering. In the case of black and white, the process proceeds to 605, and similarly waits without turning off the DC bias of each color until the K-colored portion of the photoreceptor passes through the K-color developing unit E4. Then, at step 606, the DC of each color
The bias is turned off, and the photosensitive member is rotated at 607 to wait until the joint reaches the home position. And 60
At 8 the PCLE 8 is turned off, at 609 the photoreceptor and the polygon are stopped, at 610 the transfer charge is turned off again just in case,
A notification to the effect that the end routine R6 has been completed is transmitted to the management control program R1 at 611, and a series of image forming steps is completed.

As described above, the detection of the moving distance of the photosensitive member and the detection of the rotation speed of the polygon reduce the time of the start routine, and provide a print command waiting period that can be changed before reaching the end routine. By changing the command waiting period according to the image forming command receiving time, an efficient waiting time is always set. as a result,
As a whole, high image forming efficiency and ease of use are achieved.

In the control shown in FIG. 8, control is performed to set the waiting period from the average of the time of the print command received in the print command waiting routine R5. In addition, the print command received in the end routine R6 can be included in the calculation for setting the waiting period. In this case, the print command received in the end routine R6 may be used only for the calculation of the waiting period, and the image may not be formed in accordance with the print command received in the end routine R6. The image formation according to the print command received in R6 is performed in the end routine R6.
And after the execution of the start routine R3.

[0046]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the time required for the rotating polygon mirror to reach a steady rotation at a predetermined rotation speed greatly changes depending on the state at the time of starting. Detecting the speed and the moving distance of the photoconductor,
Since the image forming step is started, the image forming step can be started at the earliest time, and the image forming efficiency is improved. In particular, the time for forming the first single image is reduced.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the control for starting the image forming process is simplified. According to the third or fourth aspect of the present invention, after one image forming job is completed, the start time of execution of the next image forming job is greatly reduced, and the image forming efficiency is improved when performing continuous image forming. Significantly improved. In addition, energy consumption during standby is suppressed. In addition, since the standby period is automatically set according to the frequency and time at which the image forming instruction is received, an appropriate standby time is always set, and high image forming efficiency is always maintained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a color image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the color image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a control program in the color image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a warm-up routine in the color image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a start routine in the color image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a repeat routine in the color image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a repeat routine in the color image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a print command waiting routine in the color image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating control of a standby period.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an end routine in the color image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 photoconductor R2 warm-up routine R3 start routine R4 repeat routine R5 print command waiting routine R6 end routine T waiting period

Claims (4)

[Claims] At least a moving distance from activation of a photoconductor reaches a first predetermined value, and a rotation speed of a rotary polygon mirror for deflecting a light beam scanning the photoconductor reaches a second predetermined value. An image forming apparatus having control means for performing preparation control for performing control and image forming control for performing control in an image forming step of forming an image on the photoconductor and transferring the formed image to a transfer-receiving body; A first detection unit for detecting a moving distance of the photoconductor and a second detection unit for detecting a rotation speed of the rotary polygon mirror; and the control unit includes a detection signal of the first detection unit and a second detection signal. When the moving distance of the photoreceptor reaches the first predetermined value and the rotation speed of the rotary polygon mirror reaches the second predetermined value, based on the detection signal of the means,
An image forming apparatus performing control for shifting from the preparation control to the image forming control. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control for shifting from the preparation control to the image forming control based on a signal indicating that a predetermined time has elapsed after the photoconductor has been activated. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 3. An image is formed on at least a photoreceptor,
A control unit for performing image forming control in an image forming step of transferring a formed image to a transfer target, a rotating polygon mirror for deflecting a light beam for scanning and exposing the photoconductor, and end control for stopping the photoconductor. In the image forming apparatus having the above, when the control unit does not receive the image forming command after the end of the image forming control, the control unit shifts to standby control for waiting for the image forming command, and when the image forming command is received during the standby control, If the image forming command is not received during the standby control while the process proceeds to the image forming control, control for shifting to the end control is performed, and an image forming command receiving time during a standby period during which the standby control is performed is performed. An image forming apparatus that performs control to change the length of the waiting period according to 4. An image is formed on at least a photoreceptor,
A control unit for performing image forming control in an image forming step of transferring a formed image to a transfer target, a rotating polygon mirror for deflecting a light beam for scanning and exposing the photoconductor, and end control for stopping the photoconductor. In the image forming apparatus having the above, when the control unit does not receive the image forming command after the end of the image forming control, the control unit shifts to standby control for waiting for the image forming command, and when the image forming command is received during the standby control, On the other hand, when the image forming control is not received during the standby control, the control is shifted to the end control, and during the standby control, the standby control is performed and during the standby. An image forming apparatus that performs control to change the length of the waiting period in accordance with the time for receiving an image forming command in the image forming apparatus.