JP2002214984A - Image forming device and method for detecting residual amount of waste toner therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent soiling by toner from occurring because of the overflow of waste toner by using an easy and inexpensive mechanism without using a waste toner fullness sensor. SOLUTION: An engine control part 117 is equipped with a printed sheet number counting means for counting the number of printed sheets from starting the use of a process cartridge 111, and a waste toner residual amount detection means for detecting the state of waste toner residual amount of a waste toner recovery container 108 from the number of printed sheets counted by the printed sheet number counting means and displaying the state detected thereby on a display part 114. The number of printed sheets counted by the printed sheet number counting means, the state of the waste toner residual amount detected by the waste toner residual amount detection means, the state of toner residual amount detected by a toner residual amount detection means and the rotating time of a photoreceptor drum counted by a drum rotating time counting means are stored in the non-volatile memory 103 of the engine control part 117.

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 an electrophotographic copying machine or a printing machine, and more particularly to a detachable process in which a photosensitive drum, a toner container and a waste toner collecting container are integrated. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a cartridge. And a waste toner remaining amount detection method.

[Prior art]

When printing is continuously performed using an image forming apparatus having a process cartridge in which a photosensitive drum, a toner container, and a waste toner collecting container are integrated, a toner end occurs before the waste toner collecting container becomes full. Alternatively, the life of the photosensitive drum is detected, and the process cartridge is replaced.

[0003] However, some users print with an image having a low image density. In this case, since the amount of consumed toner is small, it takes longer than usual to reach the toner end. On the other hand, the amount of toner collected in the waste toner collecting container is almost the same as that in the normal state. As a result, if you continue to print images with low image density,
Since the toner overflows from the waste toner collection container before the toner end, excess toner stains the photoconductor drum,
Thereafter, a problem occurs that the printed image is stained with the toner.

In the image forming apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-15339, a non-volatile memory (EEPROM) is mounted on the process cartridge itself, and the full body of the waste toner collecting container of the process cartridge is detected on the main body of the apparatus. A waste toner full sensor is provided, and the nonvolatile memory stores in advance the drum threshold value, the permitted number of sheets after the collection toner is full, and the collection toner enable threshold value, and sequentially indicates the drum usage time and the number of prints after the collection toner is full. In addition to storing / updating, the comparison of the number of permitted toners after the collection of toner is full and the comparison of the drum usage time and the drum life threshold value realize the prevention of waste toner overflow.

However, a non-volatile memory is provided for each process cartridge, and a waste toner full sensor is provided in the main body of the apparatus. Storing and updating each time sequentially increases costs and complicates data processing because data must be frequently exchanged between the apparatus body and the process cartridge.

[0006] Conventionally, in order to inform a user of the replacement time of a process cartridge, the number of prints using the process cartridge or the rotation time of the photosensitive drum is stored in a non-volatile memory of the process cartridge. Information is also managed.

[0007] Further, in recent years, with increasing awareness of global environmental problems, once a process cartridge that has completely consumed toner is re-used by refilling the toner, the process cartridge is effectively used. It has also been done.

However, since the number of times of writing in the nonvolatile memory is finite, writing is performed every time printing is performed and every time the rotation time of the photosensitive drum is updated. Of life. Furthermore, regarding the process cartridge in which the toner has been refilled, the non-volatile memory may have reached the end of its writing life, and the reliability of the life information of the process cartridge stored in the process cartridge may be impaired.

In the image forming apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-39717, the number of times of writing to the nonvolatile memory of the process cartridge is counted, and when the number of times of writing exceeds the number of lifetimes, the lifetime of the nonvolatile memory is displayed. And that the reliability of the life information of the process cartridge can be ensured. However, each time the life information of the process cartridge is updated, the process cartridge is written to the non-volatile memory of the process cartridge, which has a limited number of times of writing. There is also a possibility that the process cartridge cannot be reused due to the replacement.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of a first group of the present invention is to use a waste toner full sensor without using a waste toner full sensor.
An object of the present invention is to prevent toner contamination due to waste toner overflow by using a simple and inexpensive mechanism.

In the first group, in addition to such an object (hereinafter, referred to as an object), the following is also an object (object). By detecting the toner end, troubles caused by using the process cartridge beyond its life are avoided.

By detecting the life of the photosensitive drum, troubles caused by use exceeding the life of the process cartridge are avoided.

[0013] Even though the waste toner full state is detected, the waste toner full state is erased by turning the power OFF and ON, so that it may take a long time to detect the waste toner full state again. In order to avoid this, a waste toner full detection that can be reliably detected at a desired time is realized.

Even if the toner end is detected, the toner end is erased when the power is turned off and on, so that it may take a long time to detect the toner end again. To avoid this, toner end detection that can be reliably detected in a desired time is realized.

[0015] Even when the life of the photosensitive drum is detected, information that has reached the end of the life of the photosensitive drum is not erased by turning off and on the power.

[0016] The second group of the present invention has the following object.
In addition to the above-mentioned object, when a process cartridge is provided with a nonvolatile memory, it is an object of the present invention to make the nonvolatile memory and the process cartridge usable as long as possible by reducing the number of times of writing.

In the second group, in addition to such purpose (hereinafter, referred to as purpose), the following is also referred to as purpose (purpose). A simple and inexpensive mechanism is used to prevent damage to the image forming apparatus main body due to the use of a photosensitive drum whose life has expired.

The reliability of the life information of the process cartridge is ensured by notifying the life of the non-volatile memory of the process cartridge by using a simple and inexpensive mechanism.

[0019]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In order to achieve the above object, in an image forming apparatus having a detachable process cartridge in which at least a photosensitive drum, a toner container, and a waste toner collecting container are integrated, the number of printed sheets from the start of use of the process cartridge is reduced. And a waste toner remaining amount detecting means for detecting a waste toner remaining amount state of the waste toner collecting container from the printed number counted by the counting means and displaying the state. I do.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, there is provided a toner remaining amount detecting means for detecting a remaining amount of toner in the toner container and displaying the detected state.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a drum rotation time counting means for counting the rotation time of the photosensitive drum, and detecting and displaying the life of the photosensitive drum from the counted time. And a photosensitive drum life detecting means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the number of printed sheets counted by the number-of-printed-sheets counting unit and the remaining amount of waste toner detected by the waste toner remaining amount detecting unit are stored in the apparatus main body. Is stored in a non-volatile memory.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the number of printed sheets counted by the number-of-printed-sheets counting means,
Waste toner remaining state detected by the waste toner remaining amount detecting means,
The state of remaining toner detected by the remaining toner detecting means is stored in a non-volatile memory of the apparatus main body.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the number of printed sheets counted by the number-of-printed-sheets counting means,
Waste toner remaining state detected by the waste toner remaining amount detecting means,
The rotation time of the photosensitive drum counted by the drum rotation time counting means is stored in a non-volatile memory of the apparatus main body.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having a detachable process cartridge in which at least a photosensitive drum, a toner container and a waste toner collecting container are integrated. The number of printed sheets from the start of use of the process cartridge is counted by the printed sheet counting means, and the remaining amount of waste toner in the waste toner collecting container is detected from the counted number of printed sheets to display the state. The method is characterized by:

Next, in order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus having a detachable process cartridge in which at least a photosensitive drum, a toner container and a waste toner collecting container are integrated. In the device,
Means for counting the number of printed sheets from the start of use of the process cartridge, and a waste toner remaining means for detecting the state of remaining waste toner in the waste toner collecting container from the number of printed sheets and displaying the state. An amount detection unit, a non-volatile memory mounted on the process cartridge and storing the number of prints counted by the number-of-prints counting unit by changing the address according to the number of recycles of the process cartridge, and a nonvolatile memory storing the number of prints. Cartridge life detecting means for detecting and notifying the life of the process cartridge.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, there is provided a drum rotation time counting means for counting the rotation time of the photosensitive drum, and the nonvolatile memory is counted by the drum rotation time counting means. The stored drum rotation time is stored by changing the address according to the number of recycles of the process cartridge, and the cartridge life detecting means detects and notifies the life of the process cartridge from the stored drum rotation time. .

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in order to attain the above object, the present invention further comprises a write frequency counting means for counting the number of times of writing to the nonvolatile memory every time the life information of the process cartridge is updated. The number of times of writing counted by the number-of-times counting means is stored by changing the address according to the number of times of recycle of the process cartridge, and the cartridge life detecting means detects and notifies the life of the process cartridge from the stored number of times of writing. It is characterized by.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having a detachable process cartridge in which at least a photosensitive drum, a toner container, and a waste toner collecting container are integrated. The number of printed sheets from the start of use of the process cartridge is counted by the printed sheet counting means, and the counted number of printed sheets is stored in a non-volatile memory by changing the address according to the number of recycles of the process cartridge, and the stored number of printed sheets is stored. From the number of printed sheets counted by the number-of-printed-sheets counting means, detects the remaining amount of waste toner in the waste toner collecting container, and displays the state. The method is characterized by:

[0030]

Next, an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the image forming apparatus according to the present invention with the main body door opened and the lateral cover removed. The apparatus main body 10 is provided with a main body door 11 on the front side so as to be openable and closable in a vertical direction, and a side cover 12 is removably mounted on a side surface using mounting screws 13. An engine control board 14 is provided in the horizontal cover 12. On the other hand, a non-volatile memory connection terminal 15 is attached to the main body door 11,
The connectors 17 and 18 are connected to connect to the engine control unit board 14 via the harness 16.

A process cartridge 111 is housed in the main body door 11. The process cartridge 111
As shown in FIG. 2, a charging device 21 having a photosensitive drum 107 around which the surface of the photosensitive drum 107 is uniformly charged, a toner attached to the photosensitive drum 107, and a photosensitive device by a writing device A developing device 22 for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 107;
Cleaning device 2 for removing the toner remaining on 07
3 and the like.

The developing device 22 is provided with a toner container 106. Then, the agitator 2 is driven by driving the main motor.
4 to agitate the toner in the toner container 106. The cleaning device 23 includes a waste toner collecting container 10.
8 is provided. Then, the photosensitive drum 10 is placed in the waste toner collecting container 108 by the cleaning blade 25.
7. Recover the transfer residual toner removed from above.

The process cartridge 111 includes:
The nonvolatile memory 103 is incorporated. And the main body door 11
When the process cartridge 111 is closed, the non-volatile memory connection terminal 26 of the process cartridge 111 is fitted to the non-volatile memory connection terminal 15 of the apparatus main body 10.
Is electrically connected to the CPU of the apparatus main body 10. Thus, the nonvolatile memory 103 can be accessed, and the waste toner overflow counter and the like stored in the nonvolatile memory 103 can be read and rewritten.

Next, an image forming apparatus according to a first group of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 shows a control block of an engine unit for controlling a mechanical operation of the image forming apparatus. Engine control unit 117 on the device body side
ROM 101, RAM 102, nonvolatile memory 103 such as EEPROM, CPU 104, input / output control device 1
05 is included.

The ROM 101 stores a control program for the engine of the image forming apparatus. RAM1
02 is a volatile memory used when the control program is operating. A non-volatile memory 103 such as an EEPROM stores data such as registration adjustment values that cannot be lost when the power is turned off. In this embodiment, the nonvolatile memory 103 stores the number of prints of the number-of-prints counter after the process cartridge replacement, information on the amount of waste toner, information on the amount of toner remaining, and data on the drum rotation counter.

The toner container 106, the photosensitive drum 107, and the waste toner collecting container 108 are provided integrally with a process cartridge 111 that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body, and constitute a part of the image forming unit 112.

On the other hand, the toner end sensor 109 and the new cartridge sensor 110 are connected to the image forming section 1 on the apparatus main assembly side.
12 are provided. The toner end sensor 109 is
By generating an electric signal by a magnetic method or the like, the toner container 1
06 is measured. The new cartridge sensor 110 detects whether or not the process cartridge 111 is new. If the installed process cartridge 111 is unused, it outputs a signal indicating that the process cartridge 111 is new. Invalidate using the engine control unit 117.

Immediately after the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on, the engine control unit 117 reads a control program stored in the ROM 101, and reads the control program from the CPU 104 to the RAM 102.
An instruction is issued to each unit such as the nonvolatile memory (EEPROM) 103. Mechanical parts of image forming apparatus and CPU
The input and output of the information of 104 is performed via the input / output control device 105.

The controller 116 determines the number of prints
A command from the operation unit 113 for performing various settings such as setting of a paper feed stage or a print request command from the personal computer (PC) 115 is received and sent to the engine control unit 117 side, and image formation is performed according to the command. Further, the controller 116 causes the display unit 114 to display a state of the image forming apparatus such as a remaining toner state and a waste toner remaining state.

FIG. 4 shows a main routine of the operation of the image forming apparatus of FIG. Step 2 from power on start
At 01, the main routine is started, and at step 202, the module is initialized. In this initialization, data is read from the nonvolatile memory 103, and the power supply
By reading out the number of prints of the print number counter, the remaining amount of waste toner, the remaining amount of toner, and the drum rotation time of the photosensitive drum rotation time counter stored in the nonvolatile memory 103 at the time of FF, the waste toner at the time of power OFF is read out. Remaining state and remaining toner state are reproduced. After the initialization, if the image forming apparatus is normal, warm-up control of the image forming apparatus is performed, and preparations are made for performing image formation at any time.

Next, the routine proceeds to step 210, where control for detecting a new cartridge is performed. In the new cartridge control, when it is detected that the process cartridge 111 is new, the non-volatile memory 103 such as a print number counter is initialized, and the mounted process cartridge 1 is initialized.
Initialization of the detection of the residual amount of waste toner, the detection of the remaining amount of toner, and the detection of the life of the photosensitive drum with respect to 11 is performed. The flowchart of the new cartridge control will be described with reference to FIG.

Thereafter, the routine proceeds to step 203, where the control for detecting the residual amount of waste toner is performed. In the detection of the amount of waste toner, the state of the amount of waste toner is determined from the number of printed sheets counter from the start of use of the cartridge. When the waste toner full state is detected, the display unit 114 displays the waste toner full state, and does not accept any subsequent print requests. The flowchart of the waste toner remaining amount detection control will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, the routine proceeds to step 204, where the remaining toner amount detection control is performed. In the remaining toner detection, the remaining toner state is determined from an electrical signal from the toner end sensor. When toner end is detected by the toner end sensor, the display unit 114 displays that toner end is detected, and does not accept any subsequent print requests. The flowchart of the toner remaining amount detection control will be described later with reference to FIG.

Thereafter, the routine proceeds to step 205, where control for detecting the life of the photosensitive drum is performed. The life of the photosensitive drum is detected using the photosensitive drum usage time counter. When the life of the photoconductor drum is detected, the display unit 114 displays that the life of the photoconductor drum has expired, and does not accept any subsequent print requests. The flowchart of the photosensitive drum life detection control will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, the process proceeds to step 206, where image generation control is performed, and image generation is performed in response to a print request from the operation unit 113, the PC 115, or the like. Then, the process proceeds to step 207. Here, in order to monitor and control the waste toner remaining amount detection, the toner remaining amount detection, the photoconductor drum life detection, and the image generation control at a fixed cycle such as an order of 10 msec, the process is not shifted to step 208 until the fixed cycle is reached.

Then, the process shifts to step 208, and if the power switch is turned off, the process shifts to step 209 to end this main routine. Power switch is O
If the value remains N, the process returns to step 210, and the new cartridge detection control, the waste toner remaining amount detection control, the remaining toner amount detection control, the photosensitive drum life detection control, and the image generation control are sequentially performed again.

FIG. 5 shows the flow of a subroutine for controlling a new cartridge. First, in step 301, a module for controlling a new cartridge is started. In step 302, when a new cartridge is detected by the new cartridge detection sensor, the process proceeds to step 303. On the other hand, when no new cartridge is detected, no operation is performed.
Then, the module for controlling the new cartridge is terminated. In step 303, data in the nonvolatile memory 103 is initialized. That is, the number of printed sheets counter =
0, waste toner remaining state = not full, toner remaining state = full, photosensitive drum rotation time counter = 0, and stored in nonvolatile memory 103.

In the next step 304, the cartridge new signal provided in the process cartridge 111 is invalidated so that the currently mounted process cartridge 111 is not new. And
In step 305, if the printing operation is prohibited due to the fullness of the waste toner, the toner end, or the life of the photosensitive drum, the prohibition of the printing operation is released, and the printable state is restored. Then, the process proceeds to step 306, where the new cartridge control is ended.

FIG. 6 shows the flow of a subroutine for waste toner remaining amount detection control. First, in step 401, a module for waste toner remaining amount detection control is started. Then, the process proceeds to step 402, and if printing has been performed between the time when the waste toner remaining amount detection control module was called last time and the time when the waste toner remaining amount detection control module was called this time, in step 403, the printing was performed. The non-volatile memory 103 is updated by counting up the number of printed sheets counter from the start of use of the process cartridge by the number of sheets. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 404. If printing has not been performed between the time the module was called last time and the time the module was called this time, the process proceeds to step 404 without doing anything.

In step 404, if the number of printed sheets counter from the start of use of the process cartridge exceeds the threshold value of waste toner full, in step 405 the waste toner remaining state is determined to be full of waste toner.
3 is updated to indicate that the waste toner is full.
Is displayed, and the printing operation is prohibited, so that subsequent printing requests are not accepted.

If the number-of-printed-sheets counter from the start of use of the process cartridge does not exceed the threshold value of waste toner full and exceeds the threshold value of waste toner near full, in step 406 the waste toner remaining amount state is changed to waste toner near. The non-volatile memory 103 is updated to be full, and the display unit 114 displays that the waste toner near is full.

If the threshold values of the waste toner full state and the waste toner near full state are not exceeded, the non-volatile memory is updated in step 407 by setting the waste toner remaining state to the waste toner non-full state.
Nothing is displayed on the display unit 114. Here, it is assumed that the waste toner full threshold is larger than the waste toner near full threshold. Further, the threshold value of the waste toner full and the threshold value of the waste toner near full can be changed on the display unit 114 for the target of Serbinman. Then, in step 408, the module for waste toner remaining amount detection control is terminated.

FIG. 7 shows the flow of a subroutine of toner remaining amount detection control. First, in step 501, toner remaining amount detection control is started. Next, in step 502,
When a toner end signal is detected by the toner remaining amount sensor, in step 503, the toner remaining amount state is written to the non-volatile memory as the toner end, and the fact that the toner end has been reached is displayed on the display unit 114. Then, the printing operation is prohibited, and no subsequent printing request is accepted.

In step 502, when a toner near-end signal is detected by the toner remaining amount sensor,
In step 504, the toner remaining amount state is written to the nonvolatile memory 103 as the toner near end, and the fact that the toner is near end is displayed on the display unit 114. If a signal indicating that the toner is full is detected in step 502, the state of the remaining toner is set to be full and written in the nonvolatile memory 103 in step 505, and nothing is displayed on the display unit 114. In step 506, the toner remaining amount detection control is terminated.

FIG. 8 shows the flow of a subroutine of the photosensitive drum life detection control. First, in step 601, a photosensitive drum life detection control module is started. In the next step 602, if the photosensitive drum has been rotated between the time when the photosensitive drum life detection control module was called last time and the time when the photosensitive drum life detection control module was called this time, the process proceeds to step 603, where the module was previously used. Then, the drum rotation time counter is counted up by the amount of time that the module has been rotated until this module is called this time, and the nonvolatile memory 103 is updated.

On the contrary, since this module was called last time,
If the photosensitive drum has not been rotationally moved while this module is called this time, the process goes to step 604 without doing anything.

In step 604, if the drum rotation time counter exceeds the drum life threshold, the end of the life of the drum is displayed on the display unit 114, and the printing operation is prohibited. No further print requests are accepted.

In step 604, when the drum rotation time counter exceeds the threshold value before the end of the life of the drum, the display unit 114 displays that the end of the life of the drum will be reached soon.

If it is determined in step 604 that the drum rotation time counter does not exceed the drum life threshold value or the threshold value before the end of the drum life, step 607.
In the above, nothing is displayed on the display unit 114 in the sense that it takes time before the life of the drum is reached. Here, it is assumed that the threshold value of the drum life is larger than the threshold value before the end of the drum life. Further, the threshold value of the drum life and the threshold value before the end of the drum life can be changed on the display unit 114 for the serviceman.

Next, an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 9 shows a control block of an engine unit for controlling a mechanical operation of the image forming apparatus.

In this case, the nonvolatile memory 103 is mounted on the process cartridge 111 side. The non-volatile memory 103 stores information unique to the process cartridge, such as the number of times the process cartridge 111 is recycled, new product information, the count value of the waste toner overflow counter, and the photosensitive drum rotation time.

FIG. 10 is an example of a memory map arrangement of the nonvolatile memory 103 of the process cartridge 111. B
01 is the number of recycling. First, when a new state is detected, the number of times of recycling becomes zero. When the toner in the process cartridge 111 has been used up once, when the toner collection company puts the toner into the process cartridge 111 and puts it in the recycling state, the number of times of recycling is counted up by one. Process cartridge 1
The allowable number of refilling of the toner of No. 11 is determined in advance as the maximum number of recycles, and the value is temporarily set to N. The number of recycling can be counted up to N,
After that, it cannot be recycled.

B11 is new product information. When manufacturing the process cartridge, the new information is set to a new state, and when the new state is detected when the process cartridge is attached to the image forming apparatus main body, the new state is invalidated, and each value stored in the nonvolatile memory 103 of the process cartridge 111 is changed. Initialize.

B02 to B04 are waste toner overflow counter groups. The write address is changed according to the number of recycling. When the number of recycles is 0, B
The waste toner overflow counter (0) of 02 is counted up. When the number of recycles is 1, the waste toner overflow counter (1) of B04 is counted up every time printing is performed. When the number of recycling is the maximum number of recycling N,
The waste toner overflow counter (N) in B04 is counted up. If the number of recycles is N + 1 or more, the number of recycles exceeds the permissible range, and if the process cartridge is used, the image forming apparatus main body may be damaged. Therefore, it is not necessary to write the waste toner overflow counter. Therefore, it is not necessary to secure an area for the waste toner overflow counter when the number of recycles is N + 1 or more.

As described above, separating the waste toner overflow counter according to the number of times of recycling can prevent concentration of writing to a specific address, and can delay the life of the nonvolatile memory 103 by that much. Further, since the maximum number of recycles is determined in advance, it is sufficient to secure N + 1 waste toner overflow counter areas from 0 to N in the non-volatile memory 103 of the process cartridge 111. Estimation of the area of the toner counter can be easily calculated, and can be used as a determination material for determining the required capacity of the nonvolatile memory 103.

B05 to B07 are photosensitive drum rotation time groups. As in the case of the waste toner overflow counter described above, the address to be written is changed according to the number of recycling times, and when the number of recycling times is i, the photosensitive drum rotation time (i) is counted up. As in the case of the waste toner overflow counter described above, dividing the photosensitive drum rotation time according to the number of times of recycling can prevent concentration of writing to a specific address, and the nonvolatile memory 10
3 can be delayed. In addition, since the maximum number of times of recycling is determined, it becomes a determination material for determining the required capacity of the nonvolatile memory 103.

B08 to B10 are a group of write counters. As in the case of the waste toner overflow counter described above, the address to be written is changed according to the number of recycles, and when the number of recycles is i, the write number counter (i) is counted up. As in the case of the waste toner overflow counter described above, dividing the photosensitive drum rotation time according to the number of times of recycling can prevent concentration of writing to a specific address, and the nonvolatile memory 10
3 can be delayed. In addition, since the maximum number of times of recycling is determined, it becomes a determination material for determining the required capacity of the nonvolatile memory 103.

FIG. 11 shows a main routine of the operation of the image forming apparatus of FIG. Step C01 from power-on start
To start the main routine, and initialize the module in the next step C02. In the initialization, when the process cartridge 111 is mounted, data is read from the nonvolatile memory 103 of the process cartridge 111.
The counter reads out the number of recycles, new product information, waste toner overflow counter, and photosensitive drum rotation time counter stored in 03. Even if the process cartridge 111 is not inserted at the initial stage, the nonvolatile memory 103 of the process cartridge 111 is read out when the process cartridge 111 is inserted.

After the initialization, if the image forming apparatus is normal, warm-up control of the image forming apparatus is performed, and preparations are made for performing image formation at any time.

Next, the routine proceeds to step C10, in which a new cartridge detection control is performed. In the cartridge new cartridge control, when it is detected that the process cartridge 111 is new, the non-volatile memory 103 such as a print counter is initialized, whereby the number of recycles for the mounted process cartridge 111, the waste toner overflow counter, and the photosensitive member are performed. Initializes the drum rotation time / write counter. The flowchart of the new cartridge control will be described with reference to FIG.

Next, the routine proceeds to step C03, where waste toner overflow detection control is performed. In the waste toner overflow detection, the state of waste toner overflow is determined from a waste toner overflow counter from the start of use of the cartridge. When the waste toner full state is detected, the display unit 114 displays the waste toner full state, and does not accept any subsequent print requests. A flowchart of the waste toner remaining amount detection control will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, the routine proceeds to step C04, where photosensitive drum life detection control is performed. The life of the photosensitive drum is detected using the photosensitive drum rotation time. When the life of the photoconductor drum is detected, the display unit 114 displays that the life of the photoconductor drum has expired, and does not accept any subsequent print requests. The flowchart of the photosensitive drum life detection control will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, the routine proceeds to step C05, in which the number of write operations is controlled. The life of the nonvolatile memory 103 of the process cartridge 111 is detected based on the number of times of writing. If the life of the non-volatile memory 103 is detected, the display unit 114 displays that the non-volatile memory 103 has reached the end of its life, and does not accept any subsequent print requests. The flowchart of the number-of-writes control will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, the flow proceeds to step C06, where image generation control is performed, and image generation is performed in response to a print request from the operation unit 113, the PC 115, or the like.

Next, the procedure moves to step C07. here,
In order to monitor and control the waste toner remaining amount detection, the toner remaining amount detection, the photosensitive drum life detection, and the image forming control at a constant cycle such as 10 msec, the process is not shifted to step C08 until the fixed cycle is reached.

Then, the flow shifts to step C08, and if the power switch has been turned off, the flow shifts to step C09, where the main routine ends. If the power switch remains ON, the flow returns to step C10, and the control is again performed in the following order: new cartridge detection control, waste toner overflow detection control, photosensitive drum life detection control, writing count control, and image generation control.

FIG. 12 shows the flow of a subroutine for controlling new cartridges. First, in step D01, a module for controlling a new cartridge is started. Next Step D
In step 02, new information of the non-volatile memory 103 of the process cartridge 111 is read, and if it is detected that the new state is valid, the process proceeds to step D03. If it is detected that the new state is invalid, no action is taken. Then, the process proceeds to step D05, and the module for controlling the new cartridge is completed.

In step D03, the nonvolatile memory 1
03 is initialized. That is, the number of recycles is set to 0, and the waste toner overflow counters [0] to [N],
Non-volatile memory 1 with photoconductor drum rotation time [0] to [N] and writing counters [0] to [N] all set to 0
Write to 03.

In the next step D04, the new cartridge state is invalidated so that the currently mounted process cartridge is not new. Then, the process proceeds to step D05, and the new cartridge control is ended.

FIG. 13 shows the flow of a subroutine for waste toner overflow detection control. First, after starting the module for waste toner overflow detection control in step E01, the process proceeds to step E02. Here, if printing has been performed between the time when the waste toner overflow detection control module was called last time and the time when the waste toner overflow detection control module was called this time, when the number of recycles is N or less in step E03, the process proceeds to step E04. , The waste toner overflow counter [recycle number] is incremented by one. At the same time, the number of writing times counter [the number of recycling times] is also incremented by one, and the number of writing times of the nonvolatile memory 103 is counted.

On the other hand, if the number of recycles exceeds N, the process cartridge 111 has reached the end of its life and the waste toner counter is not counted up. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step E05. If printing has not been performed between the last time this module was called and the current time this module was called, nothing is performed, and step E05 is performed.
Go to 05.

If the waste toner overflow counter [recycle count] exceeds the waste toner full threshold in step E05, a display that the waste toner is full is displayed on the display unit 114 in step E06. The operation is prohibited and the subsequent print requests are not accepted.

At step E05, if the waste toner overflow counter [recycle count] does not exceed the waste toner full threshold and exceeds the waste toner near full threshold,
At step E07, the display unit 114 displays that the waste toner near is full.

If the threshold values of the waste toner full state and the waste toner near full state are not exceeded, the display unit 11 is displayed in step E08.
Nothing is displayed on 3. Here, it is assumed that the waste toner full threshold value is larger than the waste toner near full threshold value. In addition, the threshold value
The threshold value of the waste toner near full can be changed on the display unit 114 for the target of Serbinman. Then, in step E09, the module for waste toner overflow detection control is terminated.

FIG. 14 shows the flow of a subroutine of photosensitive drum life detection control. First, after starting the photosensitive drum life detection control module in step F01, the process proceeds to step F02. Here, if the photosensitive drum has been rotated between the time when the photosensitive drum life detection control module was called last time and the time when the photosensitive drum life detection control module is called this time, the number of recycling times becomes N in step F03.
In the following cases, in step F04, the photosensitive drum rotation time [recycle count] is counted up by the time that the drum has been rotated since the last time this module was called and this time this module was called. At the same time,
The number of write times counter [recycle number] is also incremented by one, and the number of write times of the nonvolatile memory 103 is counted.

On the other hand, if the number of recycles exceeds N, the photosensitive drum rotation time is not counted up because the process cartridge 111 has reached the end of its life. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step F05. If the drum does not rotate between the last time this module is called and this time this module is called, nothing is performed and the process proceeds to step F05.

If the photosensitive drum rotation time [recycle count] exceeds the threshold value of the photosensitive drum life in step F05, the display unit 114 displays that the photosensitive drum has reached the end of life in step F06. Further, the printing operation is prohibited, so that subsequent printing requests are not accepted.

In step F05, if the photosensitive drum rotation time [recycle count] does not exceed the photosensitive drum life threshold value and exceeds the threshold value before the photosensitive drum life expires, the process proceeds to step F07. The display unit 114 will display that the drum is about to expire.

On the other hand, when the threshold value of the photosensitive drum life has not exceeded the threshold value before the end of the photosensitive drum life, nothing is displayed on the display unit 113 in step F08. Here, the threshold of the photosensitive drum life is
It is assumed that the value is larger than the threshold value before the end of the photosensitive drum life. Further, the threshold value of the life of the photosensitive drum and the threshold value before the end of the life of the photosensitive drum can be changed on the display unit 114 for the target of Serbinman. Then, in step F09, the module of the photosensitive drum life detection control is terminated.

FIG. 15 shows the flow of a subroutine for controlling the number of times of writing. First, in step G01, the module for controlling the number of times of writing is started. In the next step G02, the non-volatile memory 103 of the process cartridge 111
Is read from [0] to [N], and the total number of times of writing to the nonvolatile memory 103 is calculated. Here, the nonvolatile memory 1
The sum of the number of times of writing to the nonvolatile memory 103 is obtained by changing the address according to the number of times of recycling, and the number of times of writing to the nonvolatile memory 103 is calculated. This is because the total number of times of writing from the cartridge 0 is obtained.

In the next step G03, when the total number of times of writing exceeds the threshold value of the life of the number of times of writing, in step G04, the display unit 114 indicates that the non-volatile memory 103 of the process cartridge 111 has reached the end of its life. Is displayed, and further, the printing operation is prohibited, so that subsequent printing requests are not accepted.

In step G03, if the sum of the number of times of writing obtained does not exceed the threshold value of the lifetime of the number of writings and exceeds the threshold value before the end of the life of the number of writings, the process proceeds to step G05. The display unit 114 displays that the life of the nonvolatile memory 103 is about to expire.

On the other hand, when the threshold value of the lifetime of the number of writing times does not exceed the threshold value before the end of the lifetime of the number of writing times, nothing is displayed on the display unit 113 in step G06. Here, it is assumed that the threshold value of the lifetime of the number of times of writing is a value larger than the threshold value before the end of the life of the number of times of writing. In addition, the threshold value for the lifetime of the number of writing times and the threshold value before the life of the number of writing times is
It is possible to change the value on the display unit 114 for a surviving man. Then, in step G07, the photoconductor drum life detection control module is terminated.

[0095]

The effects of the present invention can be divided into the following claims. (Claim 1) A simple and inexpensive mechanism can be used instead of a waste toner full sensor to prevent waste toner overflow. It is possible to prevent toner contamination.

(Claim 2) The waste toner can be prevented from overflowing by a simple and inexpensive mechanism, and a trouble due to use exceeding the service life of the process cartridge can be avoided by detecting the toner end.

(Claim 3) The overflow of waste toner can be prevented by a simple and inexpensive mechanism, and by detecting the life of the photosensitive drum, trouble caused by use exceeding the life of the process cartridge can be avoided.

(4) The waste toner can be prevented from overflowing by a simple and inexpensive mechanism, and even though the toner end is detected, the full toner is erased by turning off and on the power supply. It is possible to reliably detect the full waste toner in a desired time without requiring a lot of time until the detection is made.

(5) The waste toner can be prevented from overflowing by a simple and inexpensive mechanism, and even though the toner end is detected, the toner end is erased by turning off / on the power supply. It is possible to reliably realize the toner end detection in a desired time without requiring much time until the detection.

(Claim 6) It is possible to prevent waste toner overflow by a simple and inexpensive mechanism, and even if the life of the photosensitive drum is detected, information indicating that the life of the photosensitive drum has reached the end of life when power is turned on / off is detected. Erasure can be avoided, and the life of the photosensitive drum can be reliably detected in a desired time.

(Claim 7) A simple and inexpensive mechanism can be used without using a waste toner full sensor to prevent toner contamination due to waste toner overflow.

(Claim 8) By reducing the number of times of writing in the non-volatile memory of the process cartridge, the non-volatile memory and the process cartridge can be used as long as possible, and overflow of waste toner can be prevented by a simple and inexpensive mechanism.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the number of times of writing in the non-volatile memory of the process cartridge is reduced, so that the non-volatile memory and the process cartridge can be used as long as possible. The destruction of the image forming apparatus main body due to the use of the drum can be prevented.

(Claim 10) The non-volatile memory of the process cartridge can be used as long as possible by saving the number of times of writing to the non-volatile memory of the process cartridge, and the non-volatile memory of the process cartridge can be used by using a simple and inexpensive mechanism. By notifying the life, the reliability of the life information of the process cartridge can be ensured.

(11) By reducing the number of times of writing in the nonvolatile memory of the process cartridge, the nonvolatile memory and the process cartridge can be used as long as possible, and overflow of waste toner can be prevented by a simple and inexpensive mechanism.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention in which a main body door is opened and a lateral cover is removed.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a process cartridge used in the apparatus main body.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a main routine of the operation of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of a subroutine for controlling new cartridges.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a subroutine of waste toner remaining amount detection control.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of a subroutine of toner remaining amount detection control.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a subroutine of a rotation drum life detection control.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a layout example of a memory map of a non-volatile memory of the process cartridge in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a main routine of the operation of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of a subroutine for new cartridge control.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a subroutine of waste toner overflow detection control.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a subroutine of photoconductor drum life detection control.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a subroutine of writing number control.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Device Main Unit 101 ROM 102 RAM 103 Non-Volatile Memory 104 CPU 105 Input / Output Control Device 106 Toner Container 107 Photoconductor Drum 108 Waste Toner Collection Container 109 Toner End Sensor 110 New Cartridge Sensor 111 Process Cartridge 112 Image Forming Unit 113 Operating Unit 114 Display Unit 115 Personal computer (PC) 116 Controller 117 Engine control unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 2H027 DA39 DA45 DE07 GA47 GA50 GB03 GB05 HB02 HB12 HB14 HB15 HB17 2H034 CA04 CA06 2H071 BA04 BA13 BA20 BA33 DA08 DA13 DA15 DA32 2H077 AA01 AA33 DA15 DA32 DA52 DA78 DB01 DB10 DB18

Claims (11)

[Claims] In an image forming apparatus having a detachable process cartridge in which at least a photosensitive drum, a toner container, and a waste toner collecting container are integrated, the number of printed sheets from the start of use of the process cartridge is counted. And a waste toner remaining amount detecting means for detecting a waste toner remaining amount state of the waste toner collecting container based on the counted number of printed sheets and displaying the state. Image forming device. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a toner remaining amount detecting unit that detects a remaining amount of the toner in the toner container and displays the state. 3. A photosensitive drum life counting means for counting the rotation time of the photosensitive drum, and a photosensitive drum life detecting means for detecting and displaying the life of the photosensitive drum from the counted time. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of printed sheets counted by said printed sheet counting means and the remaining amount of waste toner detected by said waste toner remaining amount detecting means are stored in a non-volatile memory of the apparatus body. Item 2. The image forming apparatus according to Item 1. 5. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the number of printed sheets counted by said number-of-printed-sheets counting means, the state of remaining waste toner detected by said remaining amount of waste toner detecting means, and the remaining amount of toner detected by said remaining toner amount detecting means are determined. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image is stored in a non-volatile memory of the apparatus main body. 6. The number of printed sheets counted by said printed sheet counting means, the state of waste toner remaining detected by said waste toner remaining amount detecting means, and the rotation of the photosensitive drum counted by said drum rotation time counting means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the time is stored in a non-volatile memory of the apparatus main body. 7. An image forming apparatus having a detachable process cartridge in which at least a photosensitive drum, a toner container, and a waste toner collecting container are integrated, wherein the number of printed sheets from the start of use of the process cartridge is determined by the number of printed sheets. A waste toner remaining amount detecting method which counts by a counting means, detects a remaining toner remaining amount state of the waste toner collecting container from the counted number of printed sheets, and displays the state. 8. An image forming apparatus having a detachable process cartridge in which at least a photosensitive drum, a toner container and a waste toner collecting container are integrated, counts the number of printed sheets from the start of use of the process cartridge. A number-of-printed-sheets counting means, a waste toner remaining amount detecting means for detecting a waste toner remaining amount state of the waste toner collecting container from the number of printed sheets counted and displaying the state, and mounted on the process cartridge; A non-volatile memory that stores the number of prints counted by the number-of-prints counting means by changing the address for each process cartridge recycle count, and detects and notifies the life of the process cartridge from the stored number of prints. An image forming apparatus comprising: a cartridge life detecting unit. 9. A non-volatile memory, comprising: drum rotation time counting means for counting the rotation time of the photosensitive drum, wherein the non-volatile memory counts the drum rotation time counted by the drum rotation time counting means as the number of times the process cartridge is recycled. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the address is separately stored and stored, and the cartridge life detecting means detects and notifies the life of the process cartridge from the stored drum rotation time. 10. A writing frequency counting means for counting the number of times of writing to the non-volatile memory every time the life information of the process cartridge is updated. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein an address is changed and stored according to the number of times of recycle of the cartridge, and the cartridge life detecting means detects and notifies the life of the process cartridge from the stored number of times of writing. . 11. An image forming apparatus having a detachable process cartridge in which at least a photosensitive drum, a toner container, and a waste toner collecting container are integrated, wherein the number of printed sheets from the start of use of the process cartridge is determined by the number of printed sheets. The number of printed sheets is counted by a counting means, and the counted number of printed sheets is stored in a non-volatile memory by changing an address according to the number of times of recycle of the process cartridge, and the life of the process cartridge is detected and notified from the stored number of printed sheets. And a waste toner remaining amount detecting method for detecting a remaining toner remaining amount state of the waste toner collecting container from the number of printed sheets counted by the printed number counting means and displaying the state.