JP2003091218A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve reliability in detecting the life of a cartridge. SOLUTION: This image forming device is equipped with a pixel number counter for counting the number of pixels of image information, and the cartridge where at least a photoreceptor drum and a toner container are integrated and which has a non-volatile memory for recording the number of pixels counted by the pixel number counter and which can be recycled. The device has a means 4 for controlling the detection of the life of the cartridge according to a plurality of life detection items whose kinds are different, and cartridge life detection means 38, 39, 40 and 41 controlled by the control means 4 classified by the life detection items. At such a time, the number of recycling times of the cartridge is counted for every detection means. When the number of recycling times is within a specified number, the operation of the cartridge is controlled based on the detected result by the life detection means or the detected result is displayed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has a pixel number counter for image information, a cartridge in which at least a photosensitive drum and a toner container are integrated, and a nonvolatile memory for recording the number of pixels by the pixel number counter. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a recyclable cartridge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, it is known that there is an image forming apparatus which detects a toner remaining amount such as a toner near end and a toner end by using a toner sensor and a pixel counter for counting the number of written pixels. There is. Kohei
The invention described in Japanese Patent No. 8-166712 displays the cumulative number of prints from the toner replenishment time, the remaining toner amount from the toner usage rate of one transfer paper value, the number of remaining copies, the toner replenishment replacement time, and the toner replenishment time. I am trying to encourage you. 2. Description of the Related Art Recently, in image forming apparatuses, a cartridge in which a photosensitive drum, a toner container, and a waste toner container are integrated and which has a nonvolatile memory for storing the history of the cartridge is used. This cartridge can be recycled by refilling the toner, and the recycling time is determined based on the life detection item such as the remaining amount of toner.

[0003]

However, as the number of times of recycling increases, the conventional method of determining the recycling time from one life detection item is not reliable, and even if one life detection item is normal, other There is a situation in which the use of the image forming apparatus is hindered because the item is not normal. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to detect the life of a cartridge in sequence according to a plurality of life detection items and improve the reliability of the life detection of the cartridge. Further, it is to control the cartridge based on the result and display the status.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a pixel number counter used for image formation, at least a photosensitive drum and a toner container are integrated, and a non-volatile memory for recording the number of pixels by the pixel number counter. In a image forming apparatus including a recyclable cartridge having a cartridge, a means for controlling a life detecting operation of the cartridge according to a plurality of life detecting items of different types, and a life detecting of the cartridge controlled by the control means for each life detecting item And an image forming apparatus.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the means for detecting the life of the cartridge detects the life of the cartridge every time the cartridge is recycled. is there.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the means for detecting the life of the cartridge is a toner end sensor for detecting the presence / absence of toner in the toner container, and at the start of use of the cartridge. The image forming apparatus includes a counter for the number of printed sheets, a counter for the rotation time of the photosensitive drum, and a counter for summing up the number of times of writing to the cartridge.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, when the toner end sensor detects the presence of toner, the toner consumption per pixel is corrected by the toner capacity and the toner save rate. The image forming apparatus is characterized by displaying the remaining toner amount calculated based on the amount and the number of pixels counted by the pixel number counter.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, when the toner end sensor detects the presence of toner, it is based on the toner capacity and the toner consumption amount corrected by the size of the printing paper. The image forming apparatus is characterized by displaying the calculated remaining toner amount.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect of the invention, when the number of printed sheets counter from the start of use of the cartridge reaches a count value of the number of printed sheets corrected by the print sheet size, the cartridge number is changed. An image forming apparatus characterized by controlling operation.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or third aspect, the non-volatile memory stores the address by changing the address according to the number of recycling times of the life detecting means of the cartridge. Is.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, ROM1
Is a non-volatile memory that stores a control program for the engine unit of the image forming apparatus, and RAM 2 is a volatile memory that is used when the control program is operating.
The CPU 4 controls the engine section by this control program.

Next, the toner container 6, the photosensitive drum 7, the waste toner collecting container 8 and the non-volatile memory 9 are provided in the process cartridge 11. The non-volatile memory 9 of the process cartridge stores information unique to the process cartridge, such as the number of recycles, new product information, waste toner overflow counter, and photosensitive drum rotation time.

Immediately after turning on the power of the image forming apparatus, the control program stored in the ROM 1 is read,
An instruction is issued from the CPU 4 to each unit such as the RAM 2 and the ROM 3. Double-sided device 18, additional paper feeding device 19, additional paper ejection device 20, high voltage device 22, power supply device 23, fixing device 24, main motor 26, fan motor 27, registration clutch 28, conveyance clutch 29 of the image forming apparatus,
Control of each load such as the main body feed clutch 30, the manual feed solenoid 31, the registration sensor 32, the main body feed paper size detection sensor 33, the main body feed paper remaining amount detection sensor 34,
Input control of the discharge sensor 35, the discharge full sensor 36, the manual sheet remaining amount detection sensor 37, the waste toner overflow sensor 38, the toner end sensor 39, the writing number sensor 40, the photosensitive drum rotation sensor 41, etc. This is done via the control unit 5. In addition, double-sided device, additional paper feeding device,
Since the additional paper discharge device and the fixing device are to be additionally installed, they are connected to the image forming unit via the connection connector 40.

The controller 16 accepts commands from the operating unit 13 for making various settings such as the number of prints and the paper feed stage, and also displays the state of the image forming apparatus such as waste toner overflow, photosensitive drum life, and the like. To display. Further, the controller 16 receives image data to be printed from the PC 15 and a print request command, and sends it to the writing / LD control unit via PCI.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the write / LD control unit. In FIG. 2, the image data and the print request command sent from the controller 16 are first sent to the PC.
The print request command sent to the I-bridge 51 is sent to the CPU 4 of the engine control unit via the communication control unit 56.
On the other hand, the image data is sent to the buffer RAM 52.
In the buffer RAM 52, the image data transmission speed is converted from the PCI bridge 51 to the image processing control unit 53. The image processing control unit 53 performs image processing such as binary / multivalue conversion for performing grayscale processing for black and white and scaling processing. The toner save process is also performed by the image processing control unit 53. A pixel counter is also included in the image processing control unit 53, and the pixel counter operates on the image after image conversion. The toner save process will be described later.

In the writing timing control unit 54, the image data converted by the image processing control unit 53 is transferred to the photosensitive drum by using the clock generation unit 60, the LD drive plate 61, the synchronization detection 62, and the polygon motor 63. Generate a latent image of.

The clock generator 60, the driving plate 61,
The synchronization detection 62 and the polygon motor 63 are composed of a clock control unit 58, an LD modulation control unit 59, a synchronization detection unit 55,
It is controlled via the polygon control unit 57.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement example of a memory map of a non-volatile memory provided in the process cartridge. In FIG. 3, B1 is the number of times of recycling. First,
When a new state is detected, the number of recycling times becomes zero. When the toner in the process cartridge is used up once, when the toner collecting company puts the toner in the process cartridge and puts it in a recycling state, the recycling number is incremented by one. The allowable number of times of re-inserting toner in the process cartridge is predetermined as the maximum number of recycles, and the value is set to N. The number of times of recycling can be counted up to N, and the recycling state cannot be performed thereafter.

B11 is new product information. When the process cartridge is manufactured, the new information is set to the 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 then each value stored in the non-volatile memory of the process cartridge is initialized. Let

B12 is a toner capacity. Since the full toner capacity may differ depending on the type of the process cartridge, the full toner capacity is stored in the non-volatile memory of the process cartridge.

B13 to B15 are a pixel counter group. The address to write is changed according to the number of times of recycling. When the number of recycles is 0, the pixel counter (0) B13 is incremented for each print by the amount incremented by the image counter in the image processing control unit 53 during one print. When the number of recycles is 1, the waste toner overflow counter (1) B14 is incremented for each printing. When the number of recycles is the maximum number of recycles N, the pixel counter (N) B15 is incremented. When the number of recycles is N + 1 or more, the number of recycles exceeds the allowable range, and the image forming apparatus main body may be damaged when the process cartridge is used. Therefore, it is not necessary to write the pixel counter. Therefore, it is not necessary to secure the area of the pixel counter when the number of recycles is N + 1 or more.

By thus dividing the pixel counters according to the number of times of recycling, it is possible to prevent concentration of writing to a specific address, and to delay the life of the non-volatile memory accordingly. Also, since the maximum number of recycles is predetermined, it is sufficient to secure N + 1 pixel counter areas from 0 to N in the non-volatile memory of the process cartridge, and the pixel area in the non-volatile memory can be estimated. It can be easily calculated and will be a criterion for determining the required capacity of the non-volatile memory.

B02 to B04 are a waste toner overflow counter group. Here, the waste toner overflow counter is a counter for counting the number of printed sheets from the start of using the process cartridge in order to prevent the waste toner overflow. In the counter group, the write address is changed according to the number of times of recycling. When the number of recycles is 0, the waste toner overflow counter (0) B02 is incremented for each printing. When the number of recycles is 1, the waste toner overflow counter (1) B04 is incremented for each printing. When the number of recycles is the maximum number of recycles N, the waste toner overflow counter (N) B07 is incremented. When the number of recycles is N + 1 or more, the number of recycles exceeds the allowable range, and the image forming apparatus main body may be damaged when the process cartridge is used. Therefore, it is not necessary to write the waste toner overflow counter. Therefore, it is not necessary to secure the area of the waste toner overflow counter when the number of recycles is N + 1 or more.

In this way, by dividing the waste toner overflow counter according to the number of times of recycling, it is possible to prevent concentration of writing to a specific address, and the life of the nonvolatile memory can be delayed accordingly. Further, since the maximum number of recycles is predetermined, it is sufficient to secure N + 1 number of waste toner overflow counter areas from 0 to N in the non-volatile memory of the process cartridge.
The estimation of the area of the waste toner counter in the non-volatile memory can be easily calculated, and is a criterion for determining the required capacity of the non-volatile memory.

B21 to B23 are toner remaining groups.
As in the case of the waste toner overflow counter, the address to be written is changed according to the number of recycles, and when the number of recycles is i, the value of the remaining toner amount (i) is updated every time there is a change. As in the case of the waste toner overflow counter, dividing the remaining toner amount according to the number of times of recycling can prevent the concentration of writing to a specific address and delay the life of the nonvolatile memory accordingly.
Further, since the maximum number of times of recycling is determined, it becomes a material for determining the required capacity of the nonvolatile memory.

B05 to B07 are a photosensitive drum rotation time group. Similar to the case of the pixel counter described above, the address to be written is changed for each recycle number, and when the recycle number is i, the photosensitive drum rotation time (i) is incremented. Further, as in the case of the pixel counter, by dividing the photosensitive drum rotation time according to the number of times of recycling, it is possible to prevent concentration of writing to a specific address, and to delay the life of the nonvolatile memory accordingly. Further, since the maximum number of times of recycling is determined, it becomes a material for determining the required capacity of the nonvolatile memory.

B08 to B10 are a write number counter group. As in the case of the pixel counter, the write address is changed for each recycle number, and when the recycle number is i, the write number counter (i) is incremented. Also, as in the case of the pixel counter,
By dividing the rotation time of the photosensitive drum according to the number of times of recycling, it is possible to prevent concentration of writing to a specific address, and to delay the life of the nonvolatile memory accordingly. Further, since the maximum number of times of recycling is determined, it becomes a material for determining the required capacity of the nonvolatile memory.

(Embodiment 1) Next, Embodiment 1 of the present invention
The life detection of the process cartridge of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described. The first embodiment is characterized in that, in order to detect the life of the process cartridge, remaining toner amount control, cartridge new article detection control, waste toner overflow detection control, photosensitive drum life detection control, and write count control are sequentially performed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a main routine of the life detection. When the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on, the main routine S1 starts. In addition, S represents the step of the routine. When the main routine is started, the routine is initialized (S2). In the initialization, when the process cartridge is mounted, the CPU 4 reads the data from the non-volatile memory 9 of the process cartridge, and when the power is off, the number of recycles, new information, and waste toner stored in the non-volatile memory 9 are stored. The overflow counter and the photoconductor drum rotation time counter are read. Even if the process cartridge is not inserted at the initial stage, the nonvolatile memory of the process cartridge is read when it is inserted. After the initialization, if the image forming apparatus is normal, warm-up control of the image forming apparatus is performed to prepare for image formation at any time.

Next, the process proceeds to step S3, and cartridge new article detection control is performed. When it is detected that the process cartridge is new in the cartridge new cartridge control, the nonvolatile memory 9 such as the print number counter is initialized to recycle the mounted process cartridge, the waste toner overflow counter, and the photosensitive drum rotation. Initialize the time and write counter. The cartridge new article control will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, the process proceeds to step S4 to control the remaining toner amount. In the toner remaining amount control, the toner capacity of the process cartridge and the toner remaining amount by the pixel counter are displayed. When toner near end or toner end is detected, the toner near end or toner end detection is displayed on the display unit. The toner remaining amount control will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, in step S5, waste toner overflow detection control is performed. In the waste toner overflow detection control, the waste toner overflow state is determined by the waste toner overflow counter from the start of cartridge use. When the full waste toner is detected, the full waste toner is displayed on the display unit and the subsequent print request is not accepted. Note that the waste toner remaining amount detection control will be described later with reference to FIG.

Then, the process proceeds to step S6, and the photosensitive drum life detection control is performed. The photoconductor drum rotation time is used to detect the life of the photoconductor drum. When the life of the photoconductor drum is detected, the display unit displays that the photoconductor drum has reached the end of its life, and does not accept print requests thereafter. The photosensitive drum life detection control will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, the process proceeds to step S7, and the write count control is performed. The life of the nonvolatile memory of the process cartridge is detected based on the number of times of writing. When the life of the non-volatile memory is detected, the display unit displays that the non-volatile memory has reached the end of its life, and does not accept print requests thereafter. The write count control will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, in step S8, image generation control is performed, and image generation is performed in response to a print request from the operation unit 13, the PC 15, or the like.

Then, the process proceeds to step S9. 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, do not proceed to step 10 until the constant cycle is reached.

Then, the process proceeds to step S10, and when the power switch is turned off, this main routine is ended. If the power switch is still ON, step S3
Then, the cartridge new article detection control, the waste toner overflow detection control, the photosensitive drum life detection control, the write count control, and the image generation control are sequentially performed again.

Next, each subroutine of cartridge new article detection control, waste toner overflow detection control, photosensitive drum life detection control, and write count control will be described.

First, the cartridge new article detection control routine will be described with reference to the flowchart of cartridge new article detection control in FIG. In FIG. 5, when the cartridge new article detection control routine is started (S21), it is detected whether the new article state is valid (S22). When the new information of the non-volatile memory of the process cartridge is read and it is detected that the new state is valid (S22, YE
S), initialization of nonvolatile data is performed. That is, the number of recycling times is set to 0, the waste toner overflow counters [0] to [N],
Photosensitive drum rotation time [0] to [N], write counter
[0] to [N] and pixel counters [0] to [N] are all set to 0 and written in the nonvolatile memory (S23). Then, the new state of the cartridge is invalidated (S24), and this routine is finished (S25). By invalidating the new cartridge state provided in the process cartridge in this way,
Make sure that the currently installed process cartridge is not new. If it is detected that the new article state is invalid (S22, NO), the cartridge new article control routine is terminated without doing anything.

Next, a routine for controlling the remaining amount of toner will be described. First, the toner save process will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an image pattern of the toner save process, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the toner save process.
Toner save is a process executed when it is desired to save toner, such as when the toner is running low. In FIG. 6, FIG. 6A shows an example of a 25% toner save rate pattern, and FIG. 6B shows an example of a 50% toner save rate pattern. In both figures, 1 square is 1
Dots are represented, white cells represent mask dots, that is, dots that are not output even if there are pixels, and black cells represent non-mask dots, that is, dots that output pixels as they are. In the example of FIG. 6, each column is classified into a mask bit and a non-mask bit, and in the example of the 25% toner save rate pattern, the ratio of the mask bit column to the non-mask bit column is 3: 1. Also, the toner save rate is 50%
In the example of the pattern, the ratio of the mask bit column to the non-mask bit column is 1: 1.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which the toner save processing is performed using the pattern with the toner save rate of 50% shown in FIG. Figure 7
7A is the original image, and FIG. 7B is the image on which toner save processing has been executed. Although the pixels are scattered when the toner save process is performed, when viewed macroscopically, the image looks like a lighter image than the original image. In this way, the toner save process is performed.

As described above, the relationship between the toner save rate and the toner usage rate is such that when the toner save rate is large, for example, when the toner save rate is 100% (all pixels are non-masked dots), the pixels to be printed are The intervals are often tight. Since the width of one pixel of the LD that creates a latent image on the drum is slightly larger than the theoretical width of one pixel, if the intervals of the pixels to be printed are clogged, the adjacent pixels Since the toners overlap each other, the amount of toner consumption becomes larger than that of the isolated pixel. Therefore, when the value of the toner save rate is large, the toner consumption amount per pixel increases. On the contrary, when the toner save rate is small, for example, when the toner save rate is 25%, the pixels to be printed are often sparse. In this case, since the number of adjacent pixels is small, the number of toner overlaps between adjacent pixels is small. Therefore, when the value of the toner save rate is small, the toner consumption amount per pixel is small. As described above, since the consumption amount per pixel changes depending on the toner save rate, the consumption amount per pixel is required when calculating the toner remaining amount. Prepare the quantity.

Description will be made with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In FIG. 8, when the routine for controlling the remaining amount of toner is started (S
31), by looking at the image output signal from the previous polling to the current polling, it is determined whether or not an image has been written (S32). When the image is not written (S32, NO), the process proceeds to step S35 described later. When an image is written (S32, YE
S) Then, it is determined whether or not the number of recycles is less than or equal to the maximum value N (including N) (S33). If the number of recycles is N or less (S33, YES), the pixel counter [number of recycles] is incremented by the number of write pixels between the last polling and the current polling (S34). At the same time, write counter
The [recycle count] is also incremented by one to count the number of times of writing in the nonvolatile memory (S34), and the process proceeds to step S35. If the number of recycles exceeds N (S33, NO), the process cartridge has reached the end of its recycle life, and the process proceeds to step S35 without counting up the pixel counter. Step S3
In 5, the control is distributed according to the output waveform of the toner end sensor. This toner sensor repeatedly vibrates at several KHz when there is no toner in the toner container, and when there is toner, the vibration of the piezoelectric vibrator stops due to the weight of the toner. I understand. That is, it is determined whether or not the waveform with toner of the toner end sensor is detected (S35). When the waveform with toner is detected (S35, YES), the remaining toner amount is converted as a percentage conversion of the ratio of the remaining toner to the toner capacity when the process cartridge is full (S36). That is, in step S36, remaining toner amount = (toner capacity when the process cartridge is full−toner consumption amount per pixel of the currently set toner save rate × pixel counter [recycle count] × 100 /
As the toner capacity when the process cartridge is full, the ratio of the residual toner to the toner capacity when the process cartridge is full is shown. Here, the toner consumption amount per pixel of the currently set toner save rate is, as described above,
This is because the consumption amount per pixel changes depending on the toner save rate, and the setting of the toner save rate may also change with time. By displaying the percentage-converted toner remaining amount obtained as described above by the user's inquiry request or the like on the display unit, the current state of the toner remaining amount can be grasped at a glance. Also, step S
When the waveform with toner is not detected in S35 (S35, NO), it is determined whether the toner end sensor has detected the toner near-end output waveform (S37). When the output waveform of the toner near end is detected (S37, YES), the toner remaining amount is set as the toner remaining amount expressing the toner near end (for example, 1%), and the detection of the toner near end is displayed on the display unit (S3).
8). If the output waveform at the toner near end is not detected in step S37 (S37, NO),
It is determined that the toner end sensor has detected the toner end output waveform, and the remaining toner amount is set as the remaining toner amount (for example, 0%) expressing the toner end, and the fact that the toner end is detected is displayed on the display unit. Further, in order to prevent damage to the image forming apparatus main body due to printing in the toner end state, the printing operation is not accepted (S3).
9). After the toner remaining amount is determined, the process proceeds to step S40, and the toner remaining amount control ends.

Next, the waste toner overflow detection control routine will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of waste toner overflow detection control. In FIG. 9, when the waste toner overflow detection control routine is started (S51), whether or not printing has been performed between the time when the waste toner overflow detection control routine was called last time and the time when the waste toner overflow detection control routine is called this time. It is determined whether or not (S52). If printing has been performed (S52, YES), the number of recyclings is N or less (N
(Including) is determined (S53). When the number of times of recycling is N or less, the waste toner overflow counter [number of times of recycling] is incremented by 1 (S5
4). At the same time, the write count counter [recycle count] is also incremented by 1 (S54), and the write count of the nonvolatile memory is counted. If the printing has not been performed (S52, NO), the process proceeds to step S45 without doing anything. If the number of recycles exceeds N, the process cartridge has reached the end of its recycle life, and the process proceeds to step S55 without counting up the waste toner counter. In step S55, it is determined whether the waste toner overflow counter [the number of times of recycling] exceeds the threshold value of the waste toner bottle full (S55). When the threshold value is exceeded (S55, YE
S) The display section displays that the waste toner bottle is full, and the print operation is prohibited so that the subsequent print request is not accepted (S56). Further, in step S55, when the threshold value of the waste toner bottle full is not exceeded (S55, NO), it is determined whether or not the waste toner overflow counter exceeds the waste toner bottle near full threshold value ( S57). When the threshold value of the waste toner bottle near full is exceeded (S57, YE
S), display near full of waste toner bottle on display (S
58). If the threshold value of the waste toner bottle near full is not exceeded in step S57 (S57, N
O), since both thresholds are not exceeded, nothing is displayed on the display unit (S59). Then, the waste toner overflow detection control routine is ended (S60). It is assumed that the waste toner bottle full threshold value is larger than the waste toner bottle near full threshold value. Further, the threshold value of the waste toner bottle full and the threshold value of the waste toner bottle near full can be changed on the display unit for the service person.

Next, the routine of the photosensitive drum life detection control will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the photosensitive drum life detection control. In FIG. 10, when the photoconductor drum life detection control routine is started (S71), the drum has rotated between the time when the photoconductor drum life detection control routine was called last time and the time when the photoconductor drum life detection control routine is called this time. It is determined whether or not (S72). If it has rotated (S72, YES), it is determined whether the number of recycles is N or less (including N) (S73). When the number of recycles is N or less, the count is incremented by the time the drum has rotated from the time this routine was called last time to the time this routine is called this time. The photosensitive drum rotation time counter [recycle count] is incremented by 1 (S74). At the same time, the write counter [recycle count] is also incremented by 1 (S
74), and counts the number of times of writing to the nonvolatile memory.
When the rotation is not performed (S72, NO),
The process moves to step S75 without doing anything. If the number of recycles exceeds N, the process cartridge has reached the end of its recycle life, and therefore the process proceeds to step S75 without counting up the photosensitive drum rotation time. In step S75, the photosensitive drum rotation time counter
It is determined whether the [recycle count] exceeds the drum life threshold value (S75). When the threshold value is exceeded (S75, YES), the end of life of the photosensitive drum is displayed on the display unit, and the print operation is prohibited so that the subsequent print requests are not accepted. (S
76). In addition, in step S75, when the rotating drum life threshold value is not exceeded (S75,
NO), it is determined whether the photosensitive drum rotation time counter has exceeded the threshold value before the end of the drum life (S7).
7). When the threshold value before the end of the drum life is exceeded (S77, YES), it is displayed on the display unit that the end of the drum life will be reached (S78). Also, step S77
In the case where the threshold value before the end of the drum life is not exceeded (S77, NO), since both threshold values are not exceeded, nothing is displayed on the display section (S79). Then, the photoconductor drum life detection control routine ends (S80). The threshold value of the photosensitive drum life is assumed to be larger than the threshold value before reaching the photosensitive drum life. Also, the threshold of the life of the photosensitive drum,
The threshold value before the life of the photosensitive drum is reached can be changed on the display unit for the service person.

Next, the routine for controlling the number of times of writing will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the write count control. In FIG. 11, when the write count control routine is started (S91), the write count to the nonvolatile memory stored in the nonvolatile memory of the process cartridge is increased.
[N] is read from [0] and the total number of times of writing to the nonvolatile memory is obtained (S92). Here, the sum of the number of times of writing to the non-volatile memory is obtained because the number of times of writing to the non-volatile memory is written by changing the address according to the number of times of recycling. Therefore, if the total is obtained, This is because the total number of times of writing from the process cartridge 0 is obtained. continue,
It is determined whether the total number of times of writing exceeds the threshold value of the number of times of writing (S93). When the threshold is exceeded (S93, YES), the non-volatile memory of the process cartridge reaches the end of its life on the display unit, and the print operation is prohibited so that the subsequent print requests are not accepted. (S94). Then, this routine is finished (S96). In step S93, if the total number of times of writing does not exceed the threshold value of the number of times of writing (NO in S93), it is determined whether or not the threshold value before the number of times of writing is exceeded (S95). If the threshold value is exceeded (S95, YES), it is displayed on the display unit that the non-volatile memory of the cartridge is about to expire (S96), and this routine ends (S9).
8). In step S95, when the total number of times of writing does not exceed the threshold value before reaching the number of times of writing (S95, NO), neither threshold value is exceeded, so nothing is displayed on the display unit ( (S97), this routine ends (S98). It is assumed that the threshold of the number of writings is larger than the threshold before the end of the life of the number of writings. Further, the threshold value of the number of times of writing and the threshold value before the end of the life of the number of times of writing can be changed on the display unit for the target of Serbingman.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention.
The determination of the life detection of the process cartridge of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described. The second embodiment is characterized in that the remaining toner amount control and the waste toner overflow detection control are performed according to the size of the printing paper. Also in the second embodiment, the remaining toner amount control and the waste toner overflow detection control are performed according to the flow chart for determining the life detection of the process cartridge shown in FIG.

For this reason, the toner remaining amount control (S
In 4), the remaining toner amount is displayed by the waste toner overflow counter that counts according to the toner capacity of the process cartridge and the size of the printing paper. Further, similar to the first embodiment, when toner near end and toner end are detected, those detections are displayed on the display unit. The toner remaining amount control will be described later with reference to FIG.

Further, the waste toner overflow detection control (S
In 5), the state of the waste toner overflow is determined by the waste toner overflow counter that counts according to the size of the printing paper. Similar to the first embodiment, when the waste toner full is detected, the display unit displays the waste toner full and does not accept the subsequent print request. The detection of the waste toner overflow will be described later with reference to FIG.

Here, each paper size and paper size multiplier will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the correspondence relationship between the paper size and the paper size multiplier. In the figure, the paper size multiplier is an area ratio based on the A4 size paper area. As is clear from the figure, since the A4 size is the standard, the paper size multiplier is set to 1. A3 is 2 of A4
Since it has double the paper area, the paper size multiplier is 2.
Further, since A5 has a half of the paper area of A4, the paper size multiplier is 0.5. The paper size multiplier is used to calculate the degree to which the waste toner counter is incremented according to the size of the paper to be printed.

Next, a routine for controlling the remaining amount of toner according to the paper size will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart of toner remaining amount control. Step S31 to step S
Since the operation up to 33 is the same as that in FIG. 8, the description relating to FIG. 8 will be referred to and the re-explanation will be omitted. Step S35
At 0, as in FIG. 8, the toner sensor determines whether a waveform with toner is detected (S350). If a waveform with toner is detected (S350, Y
ES), remaining toner amount, remaining toner amount = (toner capacity when the process cartridge is full-A4 toner usage rate per sheet x waste toner overflow counter) x 100 / toner capacity when the process cartridge is full The ratio of the residual toner to the toner capacity is calculated. Where A4
The toner usage rate per sheet is the amount of toner used per A4 1 sheet, and this parameter is calculated by an experiment of toner usage. Then, by displaying the percentage-converted toner remaining amount obtained as described above by the user's inquiry request or the like on the display unit (S360),
You can check the current toner level at a glance. Also,
When the waveform with toner is not detected in S350 (S350, NO), it is determined whether the waveform of toner near end is detected (S370). When the toner end sensor shows the output waveform of toner near end (S370, YES), the process proceeds to step S380, and the toner near end is detected as the toner remaining amount (for example, 1%) expressing the toner near end. This is displayed on the display unit (S380). In addition, S370
In the case where it is not determined that the toner end sensor has detected the near-toner end output waveform (S370, N
O), the process proceeds to step S390, and the remaining toner amount is set as the remaining toner amount (for example, 0%) expressing the toner end,
The fact that the toner end has been detected is displayed on the display unit.
In order to prevent damage to the image forming apparatus main body due to printing in the toner end state, the printing operation is not accepted (S390). After the toner remaining amount is confirmed, the toner remaining amount control ends (S400).

Next, a routine for performing the waste toner overflow detection control according to the paper size will be described. Figure 14
6 is a flowchart of waste toner overflow detection control. In FIG. 14, first, a waste toner overflow detection control routine is started (S510). Then, the process proceeds to step S520, and if printing is performed between the time when the waste toner overflow detection control routine is called last time and the time when the waste toner overflow detection control routine is called this time, the number of recycles is N or less at step S530. In this case, in step S540,
Increase the waste toner overflow counter [recycle count] by the paper size multiplier. As described with reference to FIG. 12, since the sheet size multiplier of A4 is 1, the waste toner overflow counter counts 1 when one sheet of A4 is passed. By the way, since A3 has a paper area twice as large as A4, if one sheet of A3 is passed, the waste toner overflow counter will be 2
Make it count. Since it is considered that A3 consumes about twice as much toner as A4, 2 is counted. in short,
In order to count the waste toner overflow counter based on the A4 size, the waste toner overflow counter is counted for one sheet by the paper size multiplier. At the same time as the count up, the write count counter [recycle count] is also incremented by 1 to count the write count of the nonvolatile memory. If the number of recycles exceeds N, the process cartridge has reached the end of its recycling life, and the waste toner counter is not counted up. Then, the step proceeds to S550. If printing is not performed between the time when this routine is called last time and the time when this routine is called this time, nothing is done and S5 is executed.
Step 50. In step S550,
It is judged whether or not the waste toner overflow counter [recycling frequency] exceeds the threshold value of the waste toner bottle full (S5).
50). When the threshold value is exceeded (S550, YE
S) The display section displays that the waste toner bottle is full, and the print operation is prohibited so that the subsequent print request is not accepted (S560). Also,
In step S550, if the threshold value of the waste toner bottle full is not exceeded (S550, N
O), it is determined whether or not the waste toner overflow counter exceeds a threshold value of the waste toner bottle near full (S570).
When the threshold value of the waste toner bottle near full is exceeded (S5
(70, YES), the waste toner bottle near full is displayed on the display unit (S580). If the threshold value of the waste toner bottle near full is not exceeded in step S570 (NO in S570), both threshold values are not exceeded, and nothing is displayed on the display unit (S590). Then, the waste toner overflow detection control routine is ended (S600). In this case as well, it is assumed that the threshold value of the waste toner bottle full is larger than the threshold value of the waste toner bottle near full. Further, the threshold value of the waste toner bottle full and the threshold value of the waste toner bottle near full can be changed on the display unit for the service person.

According to the first and second embodiments, the remaining amount of toner, the new cartridge detection control, the waste toner overflow detection control, the photoconductor drum life detection control, and the write count control are performed for each recycling, to thereby shorten the life of the process cartridge. Is detected, and if the result indicates that continuous use is possible, nothing is displayed.When the life is about to expire, it will be displayed, or when the life is reached, the printing operation will be prohibited. When the image forming apparatus is heavily used, it can be used without anxiety.

[0054]

The effects corresponding to the inventions of claims 1, 2 and 3: The life of the cartridge is detected sequentially according to a plurality of items of different types and each time the item is recycled, and the operation of the cartridge is controlled by the result. Alternatively, since the life status is displayed, the reliability of the life detection of the cartridge can be improved. Effects corresponding to the inventions of claims 4, 5 and 6: The remaining amount of toner can be detected finely. Therefore, the recycling time can be determined more accurately. Therefore, the life of the cartridge can be extended to near the limit of use. Effect corresponding to the invention of claim 7: The area of each detecting means in the nonvolatile memory can be easily calculated, and the required capacity of the nonvolatile memory can be easily determined.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of a writing / LD control unit of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a memory arrangement example of a nonvolatile memory of a process cartridge used in the image forming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of cartridge life detection of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

5 is a flow chart of cartridge new article detection control of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image pattern of toner save processing in the image forming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a toner save process in the image forming apparatus of FIG.

8 is a flowchart of toner remaining amount control of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

9 is a flow chart of waste toner overflow detection control of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

10 is a flow chart of a photosensitive drum life detection control of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of cartridge write count control of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between a paper size and a paper size multiplier.

13 is a flowchart of toner remaining amount control of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

14 is a flowchart of waste toner overflow detection control of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... ROM, 2 ... RAM, 4 ... CPU, 5 ... Input / output control device, 11 ... Process cartridge, 13 ... Operating unit, 1
4 ... Display unit, 16 ... Controller, 38 ... Waste toner overflow sensor, 39 ... Toner end sensor, 40 ... Writing frequency sensor, 41 ... Photoconductor drum rotation sensor

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2H027 DA15 DA38 DA41 DA44 DA45                       DB01 DC10 DD02 DD09 DE01                       DE07 DE09 EC06 EC09 EE07                       EE08 GB01 HA02 HA03 HA12                       HB02 HB12 HB13 HB14 HB15                       HB17                 2H071 BA03 BA33 DA08 DA15 DA32                 2H077 AA01 BA09 DA16 DA22 DA32                       DA51 DA78 DA80 DA82 DB10                       DB14 GA04

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image comprising a pixel number counter used for image formation, and a recyclable cartridge having at least a photosensitive drum and a toner container and having a non-volatile memory for recording the number of pixels by the pixel number counter. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a means for controlling a life detecting operation of a cartridge according to a plurality of life detecting items of different types, and a cartridge life detecting means controlled by the control means for each life detecting item. Forming equipment. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the means for detecting the life of the cartridge detects the life of the cartridge every time the cartridge is recycled. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for detecting the life of the cartridge is a toner end sensor for detecting the presence / absence of toner in a toner container,
And a counter for the number of printed sheets from the start of using the cartridge,
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photosensitive drum rotation time counter; and a total number of writings to a cartridge. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3,
When the toner end sensor detects the presence of toner, the toner remaining amount calculated based on the toner capacity, the toner consumption amount per pixel corrected by the toner save rate, and the pixel number counted by the pixel number counter. An image forming apparatus, which displays. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the toner end sensor displays the remaining toner amount calculated based on the toner capacity and the toner consumption amount corrected by the size of the printing paper when detecting the presence of toner. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the print number counter from the start of using the cartridge controls the operation of the cartridge when the count value of the print number corrected by the print paper size is reached. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nonvolatile memory stores an address by changing an address according to the number of times of recycling of a cartridge life detecting unit.