JP2004200149A - Heating device, thermally fixing device, image forming device, auxiliary power supply loaded apparatus, power cooperating system between apparatuses, and power cooperating system between image forming devices - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heating device capable of reducing non-uniformity of the temperature of a heating member since stable power can be supplied to an auxiliary heating part even when a quantity of electricity stored in an auxiliary power supply is insufficient, capable of preventing a current exceeding the limit of a commercial power supply from flowing, capable of taking out sufficient power, and capable of more uniformly controlling the surface temperature of the heating member, a heat stabilizing device and an image forming device. <P>SOLUTION: This heating device has a stored electricity detecting means 2 to detect the quantity of electricity stored in the auxiliary power supply 5, and a control device to switch to a main power mode to supply power to at least two or more heating parts among a main heating member 6a and two or more auxiliary heating members 6b, 6c by the power of a main power supply 4 only, when it is determined that a prescribed quantity of power is not stored in the auxiliary power supply 5 according to information for the quantity of electricity stored from the stored electricity detecting means 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a heating device, a heat fixing device, an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile, etc., a device equipped with an auxiliary power supply, a power coordination system between devices, and a power coordination system between image forming devices.

First, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and a demand for energy saving will be described.
2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile has a process of forming an image on a recording member such as plain paper or OHP paper. Various image recording methods have been realized, and among them, the electrophotographic method is widely used in image forming apparatuses because of its high speed, image quality, cost, and the like.

  The electrophotographic method includes a process of forming an unfixed toner image on a recording member such as plain paper or OHP paper, and a fixing process of fixing the unfixed toner image to the recording member by heat and pressure. As a fixing device for performing a fixing process, a heat roller type fixing device as a heat fixing device is most often employed at present from the viewpoints of high speed, safety and the like.

  A heat roller type fixing device presses a fixing roller heated by a heat-generating member such as a halogen heater and a pressure roller arranged opposite to the fixing roller to form a mutual press contact portion called a nip portion. In this method, a sheet as a recording member is passed between the fixing roller and the pressure roller to heat the sheet.

The fixing roller mainly uses a metal roller made of a metal such as iron or aluminum, and has a large heat capacity. For this reason, the fixing roller has a disadvantage that a long rise time of several minutes to several tens of minutes is required to raise the temperature to about 180 ° C., which is the usable temperature.
Therefore, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, even when the user does not perform image formation, power is supplied to the fixing roller, and the surface temperature of the fixing roller is maintained at a preheating temperature slightly lower than the usable temperature. As a result, the fixing roller can immediately rise to the usable temperature, so that the user does not have to wait for the temperature of the fixing roller to rise.

  However, in this image forming apparatus, unnecessary power is not directly required for image formation even during standby when not in use, so to speak, extra power is consumed in the fixing device. In addition, there is a research result that the energy consumption during standby is about 70 to 80% of the energy consumption of the image forming apparatus.

In recent years, energy conservation regulations have been enacted in various countries due to the increasing awareness of environmental protection. In Japan, the Energy Conservation Law has been revised and strengthened, and energy conservation programs such as Energy Star and ZESM (Zero Energy Star Mode) have been enacted in the United States.
In the image forming apparatus, when saving power in order to comply with these regulations and programs, reducing energy consumption during standby will have a large energy saving effect. For this reason, it is desirable that the image forming apparatus reduce the power supply to the fixing device to zero when the image forming apparatus is not in standby.

  However, if the fixing device has the conventional configuration and the power during standby is set to zero, it takes several minutes to heat up the fixing roller when restarting, and the waiting time is long and the usability of the user deteriorates. I will. For this reason, a configuration for quickly raising the temperature of the fixing roller is required to realize an energy-saving image forming apparatus. For example, in the above-mentioned ZESM, a restart of 10 seconds or less is required.

Next, the power of the power supply in the fixing device will be described.
In order to shorten the heating time of the fixing roller, it is preferable to increase the input energy per unit time, that is, the rated power. Actually, some image forming apparatuses (high-speed machines) having a high image forming speed are compatible with a power supply voltage of 200 V. However, in general offices in Japan, the power supply is generally 100V15A and the upper limit is 1500W, and the countermeasure for setting the power supply voltage to 200V requires special work on the power supply-related part of the installation location. This is not a good solution.

Further, an image forming apparatus that raises the total input power by using two systems of 100 V and 15 A power supplies has been put into practical use, but it cannot be installed unless there are two outlets nearby.
For this reason, the upper limit of the input energy cannot be increased even if the fixing roller is heated in a short time.

Next, the auxiliary power supply and the large capacity capacitor will be described.
A configuration has been proposed for an image forming apparatus that solves the above-described problem using an auxiliary power supply in order to achieve energy saving by increasing the maximum supply power. As a chargeable auxiliary power supply, a lead storage battery and a CADNICA battery are typical.

  However, a secondary battery has the property that it deteriorates and its capacity decreases when charging and discharging are repeated, and its life becomes shorter as it is discharged with a larger current. Even in the case of CADNICA batteries, which are generally regarded as having a long life at a large current, the number of repetitions of charge / discharge is about 500 to 1000 times, and if the charge / discharge is repeated 20 times a day, the life is about one month. Will be lost. In this case, replacement of the battery is troublesome, and the running cost such as the cost of the battery is very high. In addition, since it takes several hours to fully charge a large-capacity battery, the battery cannot be used for repeated charging and discharging many times a day, making it practically difficult to use.

Since a secondary battery cannot use a practical auxiliary power supply, Patent Literature 1 proposes a technique using a large-capacity capacitor (capacitor) such as an electric double-layer capacitor as an auxiliary power supply. Large capacitors have the following advantageous characteristics.
1) The number of repetitions of charge / discharge is tens of thousands or more and is almost unlimited, and there is almost no deterioration in charging characteristics and regular maintenance is unnecessary.
2) The charging time can be set to several seconds to several tens of seconds, whereas the charging time of a battery as a secondary battery requires several hours. Further, in the electric double layer capacitor, a large current of several tens to several hundreds of amps can flow, so that power can be supplied in a short time.

As described above, when the large-capacity capacitor is used as the auxiliary power supply, it is possible to supply the fixing device with power exceeding the limit of the power of the commercial power supply in a short period of time from several seconds to several tens of seconds. Therefore, it is possible to realize a fixing device having a short rise time with high reliability and durability.
Patent Literature 2 discloses a heating device that can obtain high power at a low voltage by connecting a halogen heater in parallel with a large-capacity capacitor.
.

Next, the reduction of the heat capacity of the heating member will be described.
As a fixing method specialized for short-time startup, there is a SURF fixing method. This is a configuration in which a heat-resistant resin film is wound around a plate-shaped ceramic heater. Since the heat capacity of the ceramic heater is reduced, the startup time can be shortened, and it is mainly used in low-speed machines. ing.

  However, in this SURF fixing method, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the film to prevent breakage in order to cope with a high-speed machine in the future. As a problem at this time, if the temperature of the film is not raised before the film enters the nip, the heat conductivity of the resin is lower than that of metal and the heat will not be sufficiently transmitted to the paper in the nip, so the resin It is necessary to heat the film from the upstream part before entering. For this reason, the area of the plate-shaped portion of the heater becomes large, and a high power supply is required in order to raise the temperature more rapidly.

  In recent years, even in the heat roller system, the startup time is shortened by using a thin roller made of iron or aluminum having a thickness of 1.0 mm or less as a fixing roller. The method of reducing the heat capacity of the heating member is very useful for shortening the start-up time. However, when a technology for reducing heat capacity is introduced into a high-speed machine, a "temperature drop" problem occurs.

  "Temperature drop" means that in a high-speed machine in which the number of sheets per minute exceeds 60 sheets, if continuous paper passing such as thick paper is performed immediately after startup, a large amount of heat from the heating member is taken from the recording member Therefore, there is a problem that the surface temperature of the heating member having a small heat capacity immediately drops to a required fixing temperature or lower, and a fixing defect occurs.

  In order to solve this problem, high-speed machines that have adopted the technology of reducing heat capacity perform “CPM down”, which lowers the paper passing speed than the plain paper passing speed during continuous passing of thick paper etc. As a result, the occurrence of defective fixing is avoided.

  Patent Document 3 discloses an image forming apparatus connected to a peripheral device, wherein the power supply of the peripheral device is configured to be used as an auxiliary power supply of the image forming device. Is described. This image forming apparatus supplies the power of the power supply of the peripheral device to the image forming apparatus as an auxiliary power supply when power shortage is likely to occur. The image forming apparatus can operate stably, and the power supply can be reduced in size and cost. It is possible.

JP 2000-315567 A JP-A-2002-184554 JP-A-11-17863

In developing a heating device (fixing device) using the above-mentioned large-capacity capacitor, the following problems have been clarified to further improve the performance.
In the heating device (fixing device), in order to use the electric power held by the large-capacity capacitor in a startup time of several seconds to several tens of seconds, a configuration for extracting large electric power is necessary. Since power = voltage × current, high power can be obtained by increasing the voltage or the current.

  The maximum current of the halogen heater used as a heating member for heating the fixing roller is about 10 to 12 A, and it is difficult to increase the maximum current further. This is because when the current of the halogen heater is increased, the life of the halogen heater is shortened. Therefore, in order to obtain high power with a heating device using a halogen heater as a heating member, it is necessary to adopt a configuration using a high-voltage power supply as a power supply source.

  However, a large capacity capacitor originally has a characteristic that the voltage per cell is as low as several volts. This is to prevent the solution in the cell from being electrolyzed, and the voltage per cell is about 1 volt in an aqueous system and about several volts in an organic system. Therefore, in order to heat the fixing roller by using a conventionally used halogen heater as a heat generating member, it is necessary to connect dozens to tens of cells in series and use them as a high-voltage power supply unit.

  However, with a large-capacity capacitor configured to obtain high voltage and high power by connecting many cells in series, even if only a few cells have sufficient energy to raise the temperature of the fixing roller, In order to increase the voltage, it was necessary to increase the number of cells. In other words, it was necessary to use an extra capacity capacitor cell. However, at present, the cost of capacitors is high, and the energy density is low and the volume is large, so it is essential to reduce the number of capacitor cells.

That is, in the configuration using the halogen heater as the heat-generating member, it is necessary to use an extra cell in terms of energy in order to increase the voltage, so that there is a problem that the volume of the power supply is large and the cost is high.
Also in the heating device described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to increase the voltage of the large-capacity capacitor, so it is necessary to provide a capacitor cell with extra energy, and there is a problem that the volume of the power supply is large and the cost is high.

  In order to solve this problem, Patent Document 2 proposes a technique of obtaining high power at a low voltage by connecting a halogen heater in parallel to a large-capacity capacitor. This is to take advantage of the feature that a large current can flow through a large-capacity capacitor, and to take out large power at a low voltage in a short time by setting the resistance of a halogen heater low.

The above prior art has a configuration in which, when an auxiliary power supply such as a large-capacity capacitor is used, a halogen heater for the auxiliary power supply is connected to the auxiliary power supply in addition to the halogen heater connected to the main power supply.
However, in a fixing device having a configuration in which a plurality of halogen heaters are provided in the fixing roller, when a thin fixing roller having a small heat capacity is used as the fixing roller, when one halogen heater is turned on, the glass member of the other halogen heater is turned on. There is a problem in that heat radiation is hindered by the influence of, and temperature unevenness occurs on the surface of the fixing roller.

If there is an excessively high temperature portion on the surface of the fixing roller, there is a possibility that hot offset in which the melted toner adheres to that portion.
Further, the problem of uneven surface temperature of the fixing roller becomes a very serious problem when sufficient power is not charged in an auxiliary power supply such as a large-capacity capacitor.

  A halogen heater connected to an auxiliary power supply that is not sufficiently charged cannot generate a sufficient amount of heat due to a shortage of supplied electric power, and the temperature difference between the halogen heater and the halogen heater connected to the main power supply is very small. And there is a possibility of causing a phenomenon such as defective fixing due to offset or breakage of the fixing roller.

  Therefore, the temperature unevenness peculiar to the thin fixing roller is reduced, and the fixing roller is caused by a difference in the amount of heat generated between the auxiliary heating member and the main heating member connected to the main power supply when the necessary power is not stored in the auxiliary power supply. It is necessary to take measures to prevent the temperature gap from widening and excessive local temperature rise.

  Therefore, a control device that detects the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply and switches the power supply source to the heating member connected to the auxiliary power supply from the auxiliary power supply to the main power supply when predetermined power is not stored in the auxiliary power supply It is considered that by providing a heating device provided with the above, stable power can be supplied to the auxiliary heating member regardless of the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply, and temperature unevenness of the heating member can be reduced.

  However, when the power supply source for the heating members connected in parallel to the auxiliary power supply is switched from the auxiliary power supply to the main power supply, if all the heating members in the heating device are simply connected in parallel to the main power supply, commercial A current exceeding the power supply limit of 15A flows.

  In addition, the purpose is to eliminate the temporal temperature unevenness of the heating roller due to the large electric power. The connection of the cell of the large-capacity capacitor, which is the auxiliary power supply, is changed at the time of discharging, so that the large-capacity capacitor is supplied to the auxiliary power heater. There has been proposed a technique for controlling the power to be applied to reduce the temperature unevenness of the heating roller. However, in this technique, when the temperature of the heating roller rises to a predetermined temperature, the cells of the capacitors are connected in parallel to limit the electric power supplied from the large-capacity capacitor to the heater for the auxiliary power supply. However, it is not possible to eliminate the temperature unevenness that occurs in the circumferential direction of the heating roller when the heaters for the main power supply and the heaters for the auxiliary power supply have different heating values.

  By mounting a fixing device using the auxiliary power supply, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that is energy-saving and has a very short startup time. Further, in order to promote the temperature rise of the heating device for a short time, there are a method of increasing the input power of the heating device and a method of reducing the heat capacity of the heating device. For this reason, it is considered that the use of a thin fixing roller having a small heat capacity in the above-described heating device enables the temperature to be raised in a shorter time.

  In the case of a high-speed machine that passes more than 60 sheets per minute, a large amount of heat from the fixing roller is taken from the recording member. As a result, there was a problem that the thin fixing roller could not be used in a high-speed machine because the temperature dropped immediately below the required fixing temperature, but not only when the power of the auxiliary power supply was turned on, but also when the temperature dropped due to paper passing. This problem can be solved by the introduction, so that the start-up time of a high-speed machine can be greatly reduced and energy can be saved.

However, in developing an image forming apparatus using a large-capacity capacitor and a thin fixing roller, the following problems became apparent in further improving the performance.
An image forming apparatus equipped with an auxiliary power supply has a problem that when the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply is insufficient, sufficient power cannot be supplied to the fixing device, and stable operation cannot be performed.

A large-capacity capacitor as an auxiliary power supply mounted on an image forming apparatus requires a charging period of about several minutes after discharging a large amount of power at startup or the like.
As described above, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the charging time of the capacitor itself is about several tens of seconds. However, the charging of the capacitor of the image forming apparatus is performed after the image formation, and is small in view of cost and space saving. This takes place over several minutes at low current using a charger.

When a start-up command is issued to the image forming apparatus again when the charging of the capacitor at the low current is insufficient, the same short-time startup as at the time of full charging of the capacitor cannot be performed.
If the interval from the previous start-up to the next start-up command is short, there is no problem because the residual heat remains in the fixing roller if it is a normal fixing roller, but a thin fixing roller with a small heat capacity was used. In this case, since the amount of heat stored in the fixing roller is very small, the temperature immediately drops to room temperature, and the above-described problem occurs.

Furthermore, in the case of a high-speed machine, if the image formation is performed while the amount of charge stored in the capacitor is insufficient, it is not possible to cope with the temperature drop due to continuous paper passing immediately after the start of the fixing device, and the surface temperature of the fixing roller needs to be fixed. There is a possibility that the temperature drops below the temperature and the fixing cannot be performed.
Further, in the prior art such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, when an auxiliary power supply such as a large-capacity capacitor is used, a halogen heater for the auxiliary power supply is connected in addition to the halogen heater connected to the main power supply. It is.

  According to this conventional technique, a halogen heater connected to an auxiliary power supply that is insufficiently charged cannot generate a sufficient amount of heat because of insufficient supplied power. Due to the temperature difference, the temperature unevenness of the fixing roller becomes extremely large, and there is a possibility that a fixing failure due to offset or a phenomenon such as breakage of the fixing roller may be caused.

  An object of the present invention is to eliminate the need to add a new heat generating member even when an auxiliary power supply is added. In a fixing device having a plurality of heat generating members, the main power supply and the auxiliary power supply are respectively provided. 2. Description of the Related Art A related art has been proposed in which a heating member that supplies power is shared, and power is supplied only by a main power supply even when the amount of stored power in an auxiliary power supply is insufficient, thereby causing all the heating members to generate heat.

However, in this conventional technique, the power that can be taken out is too small, and it is possible to cope with the temperature unevenness of the fixing roller. However, when starting up the fixing device to a predetermined temperature, sufficient power cannot be taken out, and the image forming apparatus Cannot be started for a short time. Further, it cannot cope with a drop in the temperature of the fixing roller in a high-speed machine.
Further, at present, the cost of the capacitor is high, and there is a disadvantage that the cost of the main body of the image forming apparatus is increased by mounting a power storage device using the capacitor.

  The present invention can supply stable electric power to the auxiliary heat generating member even when the storage amount of the auxiliary power supply is insufficient, reduce the temperature unevenness of the heating member, and reduce the current exceeding the limit of the commercial power supply. The heating device, the heat fixing device, and the image forming device, which can prevent the flow of heat, can take out sufficient electric power, and can more uniformly control the surface temperature of the heating member. The purpose is to provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary power-supply-equipped device in which an operation unit operates stably irrespective of the storage amount of the auxiliary power.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an inter-device power emphasis system that can ensure stable operation of devices equipped with an auxiliary power supply in the system and can improve the use efficiency of the auxiliary power supply.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an inter-device power emphasis system that can appropriately transmit power of an auxiliary power supply when an operation unit requires power.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an inter-device power emphasis system that can prevent overdischarge of an auxiliary power supply for transmitting electric power and shortage of stored power.
Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to make the surface temperature of the heating member uniform even when sufficient power is not stored in the auxiliary power supply, to stably heat and melt the toner to record a good quality toner image. It is an object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary power supply-equipped device and an inter-device power emphasis system that can be fixed to a member.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an inter-device power emphasizing system that can shorten the start-up time of an image forming apparatus having no auxiliary power supply and can reduce the cost by improving the utilization efficiency of the auxiliary power supply. To provide.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary power supply-equipped device capable of shortening the charging time of the auxiliary power supply and extending the life of the auxiliary power supply.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of receiving power transmission from another image forming apparatus at the time of start-up or power shortage.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a power coordination system between image forming apparatuses, which can shorten the start-up time of the image forming apparatuses in the system and guarantee stable operation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and a power coordination system between image forming apparatuses that can search in the system for another optimal image forming apparatus for transmitting power to the image forming apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a power coordination system between image forming apparatuses that can transmit and receive information between an image forming apparatus and a power-on control apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a power coordination system between image forming apparatuses that can appropriately transmit power of another image forming apparatus when power is required for the image forming apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a power coordination system between image forming apparatuses that can supply power exceeding the limit of a commercial power supply when the image forming apparatuses are started up.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can operate with an autonomous power source other than a commercial power supply.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 includes a main power supply capable of constantly supplying power, an auxiliary power supply capable of being charged by power from the main power supply, and a power supply from the main power supply. A heating device that has a main heat generating member that generates heat and a heating member that has at least two or more auxiliary heat generating members that generate heat by electric power from the auxiliary power source, and connects the auxiliary heat generating member to the auxiliary power source in parallel A power storage amount detecting means for detecting the power storage amount of the auxiliary power supply; and an electric power of only the main power supply when a predetermined power amount is not stored in the auxiliary power supply based on the power storage amount information from the power storage amount detecting means. And a controller for switching to a main power mode for supplying power to at least two or more of the main heat generating member and the two or more auxiliary heat generating members.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the heating device according to claim 1, further comprising: a heating member switching unit that switches a heating member that supplies power from the main power source in the main power mode. In the main power mode, the main heat generating member and the auxiliary heat generating member are connected in parallel to the main power source, and the at least two or more heat generating members generate heat intermittently.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the heating device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a temperature detection unit configured to detect a surface temperature of the heating member, wherein the control device includes a normal power supply from the main power supply and the auxiliary power supply. When the temperature of the heating member rises due to the supply and the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means rises above a predetermined temperature, the mode is switched to the main power mode.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the heating device according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined temperature is set to be lower than a first predetermined temperature required for the heating member to heat the object to be heated. The second predetermined temperature.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the heating device according to the third or fourth aspect, a temperature sensor that outputs temperature information to the temperature detecting unit is mounted at a position where the amount of heat received per unit area of the heating member surface is the largest. Things.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the heating device according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, the power supply to the heating member until the heating member rises to a predetermined temperature is performed by the main power supply and the main power supply. It has means for holding information on whether it is normal power supply by the auxiliary power supply or power supply in the main power mode, and the control device transmits the information to the heating member switching means by the information in the main power mode. The heating member is switched.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the heating device according to any one of the third to sixth aspects, the time in which each of the heat generating members generates heat is controlled in accordance with a temperature detected by the temperature detecting means in the main power mode. It has a device to perform.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the heating device according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the heating member generates heat as the amount of heat given per unit area of the heating member in the main power mode increases. Is shortened.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the heating device according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the auxiliary heating member is a resistance heating element.

  A tenth aspect of the present invention is the heating device according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, wherein the auxiliary power supply is an electrochemical capacitor.

  The invention according to claim 11 is provided with the heating device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the thermal fixing device of the eleventh aspect, a thin fixing roller is provided as the heating member.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided image forming means for forming an unfixed image on a recording member in accordance with image information, and fixing the unfixed image formed on the recording member by the image forming means to the recording member. And a fixing device, wherein the fixing device is a thermal fixing device according to claim 11 or 12.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an auxiliary power supply comprising: a main power supply capable of constantly supplying power; an auxiliary power supply capable of storing power from the main power supply; and an operation unit that operates using power from the auxiliary power supply. In a power-supply-equipped device, a charge / discharge control device that includes a unit that detects an operation of the operation unit and a storage amount detection unit that detects a storage amount of the auxiliary power supply, and controls charging and discharging of power of the auxiliary power supply. An auxiliary power transmitting means for transmitting the power of the auxiliary power supply of the auxiliary power supply-equipped device to another device, and an auxiliary power receiving means for receiving power supply from the auxiliary power supply included in the second auxiliary power supply-equipped device. Things.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of devices including the auxiliary power supply-equipped device according to the fourteenth aspect, an operation unit operated by power from the auxiliary power supply, and an electric device including an operation detection unit detecting operation of the operation unit. And a device, wherein the plurality of devices are connected to the auxiliary power transmission means, and wherein the auxiliary power transmission means transmits power of an auxiliary power supply included in the auxiliary power supply device to the plurality of devices. And an auxiliary power input control device having auxiliary power switching means for transmitting power to the operation unit of the power supply device.

  The invention according to claim 16 is the inter-device power coordination system according to claim 15, wherein the plurality of devices and the auxiliary power input control device are configured to transmit information between the plurality of devices and the auxiliary power input control device. Are connected by information transmission means for transmitting and receiving the information.

  The invention according to claim 17 is the device according to claim 14, wherein each of the devices includes a communication unit for connecting to at least one of a computer, a telephone line, and a network.

  The invention according to claim 18 is the inter-device power coordination system according to claim 15 or 16, wherein each of the plurality of devices includes a communication unit for connecting to at least one of a computer, a telephone line, and a network. Is what it is.

  The invention according to claim 19 is the inter-equipment power coordination system according to claim 16 or 18, wherein the auxiliary power input control device uses the information transmission unit to output information from the charge / discharge control device or the operation detection unit. The detected operation information of the operation section is acquired, and the auxiliary power switching means is switched based on the acquired information.

  According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the inter-device power coordination system according to the sixteenth, eighteenth, or nineteenth aspect, the auxiliary power input control device transmits the auxiliary power supply device from the charge / discharge control device by the information transmitting means. The power storage amount information of the auxiliary power source is obtained, and the auxiliary power switching unit is switched based on the power storage amount information.

  According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, in the device equipped with an auxiliary power supply according to claim 14 or 17, the device equipped with an auxiliary power supply is an image forming apparatus.

  According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the inter-device power coordination system according to any one of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and eighteenth aspects, the auxiliary power supply-equipped device is an image forming apparatus.

  The invention according to claim 23 is the device equipped with an auxiliary power supply according to claim 21, wherein the operation unit provided in the device equipped with an auxiliary power supply includes a main heat generating member that generates heat by electric power from the main power supply, and the auxiliary power supply. And a heating member having the main heat generating member and the auxiliary heat generating member.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, in the inter-device power coordination system according to the twenty-second aspect, the operation unit included in the auxiliary power supply-equipped device includes: a main heat generating member that generates heat by electric power from the main power source; An auxiliary heating member that generates heat by electric power from the
The fixing device includes the main heating member and a heating member having the auxiliary heating member.

  According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in the inter-device power coordination system according to any one of the fifteenth, sixteenth, eighteenth, twenty-second, and twenty-fourth, at least one of the plurality of devices is an image forming apparatus. It is.

  The invention according to claim 26 is the device according to claim 14, wherein the auxiliary power supply is an electrochemical capacitor.

  According to a twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, in the inter-device power coordination system according to the fifteenth aspect, the auxiliary power supply control device is provided in one of the auxiliary power supply-equipped devices.

  The invention according to claim 28 is a power transmitting unit for transmitting power to another image forming apparatus, a power receiving unit for receiving power supply from another image forming apparatus, and a control for controlling power transmission to the other image forming apparatus. And a power transmission control device having means.

  The invention according to claim 29 is an inter-device power coordination system including a plurality of the image forming apparatuses according to claim 28, and the plurality of image forming apparatuses connected by the power transmission control device. The image forming apparatus further includes a power-on control device having a power switching unit for transmitting power of the image forming apparatus to another image forming apparatus different from the image forming apparatus.

  The invention according to claim 30 is the power coordination system between image forming apparatuses according to claim 29, wherein the plurality of image forming apparatuses and the power-on control apparatus are replaced by the plurality of image forming apparatuses and the power-on control apparatus. They are connected by information transmission means for transmitting and receiving information between them.

  The invention according to claim 31 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 28, wherein each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses includes a communication unit for connecting to at least one of a computer, a telephone line, and a network. is there.

  The invention according to claim 32 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 29 or 30, wherein each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses includes a communication unit for connecting to at least one of a computer, a telephone line, and a network. Things.

  According to a thirty-third aspect of the present invention, in the power cooperation system between image forming apparatuses according to the thirty-second aspect, the power-on control device obtains operation information of the image forming device by the information transmitting means, and based on the obtained information. To switch the power switching means.

  According to a thirty-fourth aspect, in the power cooperation system between image forming apparatuses according to any one of the twenty-ninth, thirty, thirty-second, and thirty-third aspects, the image forming apparatus forms an unfixed image according to image information. And a fixing device for fixing the unfixed image, wherein the image forming device uses the power for the fixing device when receiving power supply from the other image forming device. .

  According to a thirty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the twenty-eighth aspect, the image forming apparatus operates by electric power from a fuel cell.

  According to a thirty-sixth aspect, in the power cooperation system between image forming apparatuses according to the thirty-ninth aspect, the power-on control device is provided in one of the image forming devices.

  Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, even when the storage amount of the auxiliary power supply is insufficient, it is possible to supply stable power to the auxiliary heat generating member, reduce the temperature unevenness of the heating member, and reduce the limit of the commercial power supply. An excess current can be prevented from flowing, sufficient power can be taken out, and the surface temperature of the heating member can be controlled more uniformly.

According to the present invention, the operation section operates stably irrespective of the charged amount of the auxiliary power supply.
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while the stable operation | movement of the auxiliary power supply installation apparatus in a system can be ensured, the utilization efficiency of an auxiliary power supply can be improved.
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when an operation part needs electric power, the electric power of an auxiliary power supply can be transmitted appropriately.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the overdischarge of the auxiliary power supply which transmits electric power, and insufficient storage amount can be prevented.
According to the present invention, even when sufficient power is not stored in the auxiliary power supply, the surface temperature of the heating member can be made uniform, and the toner can be stably heated and melted to form a good quality toner image on the recording member. Can be established.

According to the present invention, the start-up time of an image forming apparatus having no auxiliary power supply can be shortened, and the cost can be reduced by improving the utilization efficiency of the auxiliary power supply.
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the charging time of an auxiliary power supply can be shortened and the auxiliary power supply can be extended in life.

According to the present invention, it is possible to receive power transmission from another image forming apparatus at the time of startup or power shortage.
According to the present invention, the start-up time of the image forming apparatus in the system can be reduced, and stable operation can be guaranteed.
According to the present invention, it is possible to search in the system for another optimal image forming apparatus that transmits power to the image forming apparatus.

According to the present invention, information can be transmitted and received between the image forming apparatus and the power-on control device.
According to the present invention, when power is required for an image forming apparatus, power of another image forming apparatus can be appropriately transmitted.

According to the present invention, it is possible to supply electric power exceeding the limit of the commercial power supply when starting up the image forming apparatus.
According to the present invention, operation can be performed by an autonomous power source that is not a commercial power supply.

FIG. 10 shows an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 10, reference numeral 41 denotes a drum-shaped photosensitive member which is an example of a rotating image carrier, and the photosensitive member 41 is driven to rotate by a driving unit (not shown). Around the photoreceptor 41, in the order of rotation in the direction indicated by the arrow, a charging device 42 composed of a charging roller, a mirror 43 constituting a part of the exposure device, a developing device 44 having a developing roller 44a, and a recording member A transfer device 48 for transferring the developed image to the transfer paper P, a cleaning unit 46 provided with a blade 46a that slides on the peripheral surface of the photoconductor 41, and the like are arranged. The surface of the photoconductor 41 is scanned with exposure light Lb via a mirror 43 by an exposure means (not shown) between the charging device 42 and the developing roller 44a. The position on the photoconductor 41 where the exposure light Lb is irradiated is referred to as an exposure unit 150.

  The transfer device 48 faces the lower surface of the photoconductor 41. A portion of the photoconductor 41 facing the transfer device 48 is a transfer portion 47, and a transfer device 48 is provided facing the transfer portion 47. A pair of registration rollers 49 is provided at a position upstream of the transfer unit 47 in the transfer paper transport direction. The transfer paper P stored in a paper feed tray (not shown) is sent out toward the registration rollers 49 by a paper feed roller 110 and guided by a transport guide (not shown). The heat fixing device 20 is disposed at a position downstream of the transfer unit 47 in the transfer paper transport direction.

  In this image forming apparatus, image formation is performed as follows. The photoreceptor 41 is rotated by a driving unit (not shown) and starts to rotate. During this rotation, the photoreceptor 41 is uniformly charged by the charging device 42 in the dark, and the exposure light Lb is emitted by the exposing unit (not shown) via the mirror 43. By irradiating and scanning the exposure unit 150, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image to be created is formed. The electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 41 moves to the developing device 44 by the rotation of the photoreceptor 41, where it is visualized by toner to form a toner image.

  On the other hand, the feeding of the transfer paper P on the paper feed tray by the paper feed roller 110 is started, and the transfer paper P is temporarily stopped at the position of the pair of registration rollers 49 via the transport path shown by the broken line in the drawing, and It waits for a sending timing that matches the upper toner image in the transfer unit 47. When the timing comes, the transfer paper P stopped at the registration roller 49 is sent out by the registration roller 49 and is conveyed to the transfer unit 47. The toner image on the photoreceptor 41 and the transfer paper P coincide with each other in the transfer section 47, and the toner image on the photoreceptor 41 is transferred onto the transfer paper P by the electric field generated by the transfer device.

In this way, the toner image is transferred at the image forming portion around the photoreceptor 41, and the transfer paper P carrying the toner image is sent out to the heat fixing device 20. The toner image on the transfer sheet P is fixed to the transfer sheet P while passing through the heat fixing device 20, and is discharged to a discharge unit (not shown).
Further, the residual toner remaining on the photoconductor 41 without being transferred by the transfer unit 47 reaches the cleaning device 46 with the rotation of the photoconductor 41, and is cleaned while passing through the cleaning device 46 to prepare for the next image formation. Can be

Next, the configuration of the heat fixing device 20 will be described.
1 to 3 show a heat fixing device 20 for heating a transfer sheet P as a recording member which is a sheet-like heated member to fix a toner image on the transfer sheet P, and FIG. 1 shows a control device 10 that is being used. 1 to 4, reference numeral 4 denotes a main power supply. In the present embodiment, the main power supply 4 that can supply power steadily is a power source that supplies power from a commercial power supply, and can supply power by being connected to an outlet.

  Reference numeral 5 denotes an electric double layer capacitor as an auxiliary power supply, which can be charged by the charger 14 from the main power supply 4 by switching switches 8a, 8b, 8c as switching means. The switches 8a and 8b switch the main power supply 4 to one of the main heating member 6a and the auxiliary heating members 6b and 6c and the charger 14, and the switch 8c connects or disconnects the charger 14 and the auxiliary power supply 5. Or

  Reference numerals 3a, 3b, and 3c denote switches serving as power mode switching means for controlling power supply from the main power supply 4 and the auxiliary power supply 5, and reference numeral 7 denotes a switch serving as heating member switching means. The switch 3a switches the auxiliary heating members 6b and 6c to either the main power supply 4 side or the auxiliary power supply 5 side, and the switches 3b and 3c connect or disconnect the auxiliary heating members 6b and 6c to or from the auxiliary power supply 5. I do. The switch 7 selectively connects the main power supply 4 to one of the main heat generating member 6a and the auxiliary heat generating members 6b, 6c.

  Reference numeral 21 denotes a heating member. The heating member 21 has a main heat generating member 6a and auxiliary heat generating members 6b and 6c therein, and forms a heating device. In the present embodiment, a thin fixing roller is used for the heating member 21. The thin fixing roller 21 has an iron core having a thickness of 0.7 mm and a Teflon (registered trademark) layer having a thickness of 0.02 mm as a release layer outside the core, and has a diameter of 40 mm. Since the heat capacity of the thin fixing roller 21 is very small, the temperature can be raised for a short time.

  Reference numeral 22 denotes a pressing member that applies pressure to the object to be heated P. As the pressing member 22, for example, a pressing roller is used. The heated object P is heated by being given heat from the heating member 21 by passing through a nip portion formed by the heating member 21 and the pressing member 22. The thermocouple 12 as a temperature sensor is installed at a position on the surface of the heating member 21 where the amount of heat received per unit area from the heating member 21 is the largest. In the present embodiment, since the main heat generating member 6a is the heat generating member having the largest power consumption, the thermocouple 12 is installed at a position close to the main heat generating member 6a.

  FIG. 1 shows a state where the main heating member 6a receives power supply from the main power supply 4 and the auxiliary heating members 6b and 6c receive power supply from the auxiliary power supply 5 (hereinafter, referred to as a normal mode). , 6b, and 6c receive power only from the main power supply 4 (hereinafter, referred to as main power mode).

In the present embodiment, the heating member 6 (main heating member 6a and auxiliary heating members 6b, 6c) is a halogen heater, and three heating members 6a, 6b, 6c are installed in the heating member 21, but the low-voltage auxiliary Since the purpose is to connect auxiliary heating members in parallel to assist the heating operation of the heating member 21 by the power supply 5, the number of auxiliary heating members is not limited to two and may be four or more.
Further, since the voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 5 serving as an auxiliary power supply decreases as the electric power is discharged, a resistance heating element that reliably generates heat even when the input voltage decreases may be used for the auxiliary heating members 6b and 6c. .

  The control device 10 shown in FIG. 4 includes a charged amount detecting means 2 for detecting the charged amount of the auxiliary power supply 5 also shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and a heating member 21 provided on the surface of the heating member 21 shown in FIG. A temperature sensor 11 for detecting an output of a thermocouple 12 as a temperature sensor for detecting a surface temperature of the battery; and a CPU 9 having a built-in ROM and RAM. The switches 3a, 3b, and 3c as power mode switching means, the switches 7 as heating member switching means, and the switches 8a, 8b, and 8c as switching means are controlled based on input information from the CPU. In this configuration, since the auxiliary power supply 5 is an electric double layer capacitor, the charged amount detection means 2 is a voltage monitor.

  Here, in order to facilitate the description of the present embodiment, a conventional fixing device using electric power from an auxiliary power supply shown in FIG. 9 will be described. The fixing device includes a main power supply 4 and an auxiliary power supply 5 similar to the present embodiment, a heating member 21 having a main heat generating member 6a and auxiliary heat generating members 6b and 6c, and a pressing member 22. The power from both the auxiliary power supply 5 and the auxiliary power supply 5 is simultaneously converted into heat by the main heating member 6a and the auxiliary heating members 6b and 6c and supplied to the heating member 21, thereby heating a large amount of power exceeding the power supplied by the main power supply 4. It can be supplied to the member 21.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the temperature rise time of the fixing roller 21 as a heating member after the power is turned on is shorter when the main power supply 4 and the auxiliary power supply 5 are used simultaneously than when only the main power supply 4 is used. Can be.
Therefore, when a large amount of electric power is required when the temperature of the heating member 21 is raised to a predetermined temperature due to a low temperature or the like, the electric power of the auxiliary power supply 5 together with the main power supply 4 is simultaneously converted into heat and the heating member 21 is heated. By supplying more total power to the heating member 21 than when only the main power supply 4 is used, the temperature of the heating member 21 can be increased in a short time.

Further, since the auxiliary heat generating members 6b and 6c are connected in parallel to the auxiliary power source 5, the voltage of the auxiliary power source 5 is low and the power of each of the auxiliary heat generating members 6b and 6c is small but a large amount of power can be taken out in total. Can be.
As described above, in order to promote energy saving, it is very important to raise the temperature of the fixing device in a short period of time. The conventional fixing device shown in FIG. 9 is very useful.

Further, in order to promote the temperature rise of the fixing device (heating device) for a short time, there are a method of increasing the power input to the heating device and a method of reducing the heat capacity of the heating device. Therefore, it is considered that the use of a thin fixing roller as the heating member 21 in the above-described conventional fixing device reduces the heat capacity, thereby enabling a shorter temperature rise.
However, since the heat capacity of the thin fixing roller is very small, there is a disadvantage that the surface temperature of the thin fixing roller tends to be uneven.

  The conventional fixing device shown in FIG. 9 has a configuration in which three or more heat generating members are used, and the heat generating members 6a, 6b, and 6c are arranged in the heating member 21 as shown in FIG. In the case of a configuration in which three or more halogen heaters are inserted in the thin fixing roller 21 as a heating member, when the halogen heater is turned on, radiation is hindered by the influence of the glass member of another halogen heater, and fixing as a heating member is performed. The temperature unevenness of the roller surface becomes larger.

  In the conventional fixing device shown in FIG. 9, one halogen heater of 1200 W which generates heat by electric power from a commercial power supply and one halogen heater which generates heat by electric power from an electric double layer capacitor are provided in a thin fixing roller 21 used in this embodiment. Two 600W halogen heaters were arranged, and the surface temperature of the thin fixing roller was raised from 23 ° C to a preset fixing temperature of 180 ° C.

  In the conventional fixing device shown in FIG. 9, the temperature of the thin fixing roller rises in 17 seconds, whereas the rise time in the case of raising the temperature of the thin fixing roller by only one normal 1200 W halogen heater takes 27 seconds. Completed. However, when the surface temperature distribution of the thin fixing roller was measured, the result was that a temperature difference of about 40 ° C. occurred where the difference in the surface temperature of the thin fixing roller was the largest.

  FIG. 7 shows the change over time of the surface temperature at the position A and the position B where the amount of heat received per unit area from the heat generating members 6a, 6b, 6c in the thin fixing roller 21 at the time of startup is the largest. The determination as to whether or not the surface temperature of the thin fixing roller was raised to a predetermined temperature was made based on the average C of the surface temperature of the thin fixing roller. Although the temperature rise time of the thin fixing roller is as short as 17 seconds, the temperature at the position A has reached 200 ° C. upon completion of the start-up, and when the toner on the transfer paper P is fixed on the transfer paper P, There was a portion where hot offset occurred on the surface of the thin fixing roller near A.

  If the auxiliary power supply 5 is not charged with sufficient power, the halogen heater connected to the auxiliary power supply 5 cannot generate sufficient heat because the power supplied from the auxiliary power supply 5 is insufficient. In addition, the temperature difference from the halogen heater connected to the main power supply 4 becomes very large, which may cause a fixing defect such as offset or a phenomenon such as breakage of the fixing roller 21.

In the present embodiment, the temperature unevenness of the heating member 21 is reduced irrespective of the amount of charge stored in the auxiliary power supply 5, and a further short time temperature increase is achieved by using a thin fixing roller for the heating member 21.
In the present embodiment, the power from both the main power supply 4 and the auxiliary power supply 5 can be simultaneously converted into heat and supplied to the heating member 21. As shown in FIG. 1, since the auxiliary heat generating members 6b and 6c are connected in parallel to the auxiliary power source 5, the voltage of the auxiliary power source 5 is low and the total power of the auxiliary heat generating members 6b and 6c is small even if the power is small. Large power can be taken out. Accordingly, the temperature of the heating member 21 can be raised to a predetermined temperature in a short time.

Further, the CPU 9 switches the switches 3a and 3a as power mode switching means based on information from the power storage amount detecting means 2 connected to the auxiliary power supply 5 and information from the temperature detecting means 11 for detecting the temperature of the heating member 21. 3b, the power supply to the heating member 21 is switched to the normal mode or the main power mode, and the power mode for the heating member 21 until the heating member 21 rises to a predetermined temperature is the normal mode, Information on whether the mode is the main power mode is held. Since the main power supply 4 is a commercial power supply, stable power can be supplied to all the heat generating members even when power supply is required for a long time.
Even when the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply 5 is insufficient due to the above configuration of the present embodiment, the unevenness in temperature of the heating member 21 is reduced by supplying stable power to all the heating members 6a, 6b, 6c in the main power mode. can do.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, in the normal mode, a power of 600 W is taken out from the voltage of 70 V of the auxiliary power supply 5 to the auxiliary heating members 6b and 6c, and 1200 W is taken out from the commercial power supply to the main heating member 6a. The main heating member 6a and the auxiliary heating members 6b and 6c have a resistance of about 8Ω. As a result, 2400 W of power, which exceeds the upper limit of the power supplied from the commercial power supply, can be used for raising the temperature of the heating member 21.

However, when the normal mode circuit is switched to the main power mode and the heating members 21 are all connected in parallel to the commercial power supply, a current that greatly exceeds the upper limit of the commercial power supply of about 36 A, that is, 15 A, flows. I will.
Therefore, when the mode is switched from the normal mode to the main power mode, the CPU 9 controls the switch 7 as the heat generating member switching means, so that the heat generating members 6a and 6b to which power is supplied from the main power supply 4 as shown in FIG. , 6c are switched at regular intervals (the power from the main power supply 4 is sequentially switched and supplied to the heat-generating members 6a, 6b, 6c at regular intervals), whereby the current of the entire circuit exceeds the upper limit 15A of the commercial power supply. Can be prevented. At this time, power of 1200 W is supplied to each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b, 6c.

At this time, since each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b, and 6c sequentially generates heat one by one, the heating member 21 is uniformly heated for each heat generating range of each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b, and 6c. The temperature non-uniformity is reduced without excessive heating of the part.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a program stored in the ROM of the CPU 9 included in the control device 10 according to the present embodiment. 3 shows a control flow of the heat fixing device.

  First, the CPU 9 receives the surface temperature information of the heating member 21 from the temperature detecting means 11, and when the surface temperature of the heating member 21 is equal to or lower than the set temperature T2 lower than the set temperature T1 required to heat the object P to be heated. Make sure there is. In this embodiment, T1 is 180 ° C. and T2 is 160 ° C. When the CPU 9 confirms that the surface temperature of the heating member 21 is equal to or lower than the set temperature T2, the CPU 9 receives the information on the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply device 5 from the stored power amount detection means 2 and sends the predetermined information to the auxiliary power supply device 5. It is determined whether or not the stored power amount is equal to or more than the set power storage amount, and when the auxiliary power device 5 has no power storage amount equal to or more than the predetermined power storage amount, the switches 3a and 3b as power mode switching means are controlled to control the main power. Switch to mode.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the switch 3a switches and connects the auxiliary heating members 6b and 6c to the main power supply 4, and the switches 3b and 3c are turned off. Until the heating member 21 reaches the set temperature T1, the CPU 9 sequentially connects the switch 7 as the heating member switching means to each of the heating members 6a, 6b, and 6c, and sequentially connects the heating members 6a, 6b, and 6c. By causing heat to be generated one by one, the entire area of the heating member 21 is uniformly heated.

  That is, the CPU 9 connects the switch 7 to the main heat-generating member 6a for the set time Sa1, turns on the main heat-generating member 6a and simultaneously turns off the auxiliary heat-generating members 6b and 6c, and then switches the switch 7 for the set time Sb1. 6b to turn on the auxiliary heating member 6b, and at the same time, turn off the main heating member 6a and the auxiliary heating member 6c, and then connect the switch 7 to the auxiliary heating member 6c for the set time Sc1 to turn on the auxiliary heating member 6c. At the same time, the operation of turning off the main heating member 6a and the auxiliary heating member 6b is repeatedly performed.

  At this time, the times Sa1, Sb1 and Sc1 in which the CPU 9 switches and connects the switch 7 to each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b and 6c to heat each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b and 6c are described in the ROM on the CPU 9. The time is determined by the power consumption of each of the heating members 6a, 6b, and 6c or the amount of heat given per unit area of the heating member 21. In the present embodiment, since 1200 W is supplied to each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b, 6c in the main power mode, Sa1, Sb1, and Sc1 are all set to the same time of 2 seconds.

  When the power consumption of each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b, and 6c is different from each other, and the heat generation ranges are different from each other, by setting such that the heat generation member having a larger amount of heat applied per unit area of the heating member 21 has a shorter heat generation time, The entire area of the heating member 21 is uniformly heated to make the surface temperature of the heating member 21 uniform.

  When the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply 5 is equal to or more than a predetermined set amount of power, the CPU 9 controls the switches 3a and 3b as power mode switching means to switch to the normal mode, and raises the temperature of the pressurizing member 21. Let it. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the switch 3a switches and connects the auxiliary heat generating members 6b and 6c to the auxiliary power supply 5, and the switches 3b and 3c are turned on. In the normal mode, the power consumption of the auxiliary heating members 6b and 6c is 600 W, respectively, and the power consumption of the main heating member 6a is 1200 W. Therefore, as described above, the heating members 6a, 6a, Temperature unevenness occurs according to the heat generation range of 6b and 6c.

  Therefore, the CPU 9 receives the temperature information from the temperature detecting means 11 in the normal mode and repeatedly determines whether or not the temperature of the pressurizing member 21 has been raised to the set temperature T2. After that, the switches 3a and 3b are controlled to switch to the main power mode, and the switch 7 is sequentially connected to each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b and 6c to connect the heat generating members 6a, 6b and 6c one by one in order. The surface temperature of the heating member 21 is made uniform by heating the entire area of the heating member 21 uniformly.

  That is, the CPU 9 connects the switch 7 to the main heating member 6a for the set time Sa2, turns on the main heating member 6a and simultaneously turns off the auxiliary heating members 6b and 6c, and then turns the switch 7 on for the set time Sb2. 6b, turning on the auxiliary heat generating member 6b, turning off the main heat generating member 6a and the auxiliary heat generating member 6c at the same time, and then connecting the switch 7 to the auxiliary heat generating member 6c for the set time Sc2 to turn on the auxiliary heat generating member 6c. At the same time, the operation of turning off the main heating member 6a and the auxiliary heating member 6b is repeatedly performed.

  At this time, the CPU 9 switches the switch 7 to each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b, 6c to heat each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b, 6c respectively. In the following case, that is, in accordance with the power consumption of each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b, and 6c in the normal mode, Sa2, Sb2, and Sc2 have a relationship of Sa2 <Sb2 = Sb3. In this embodiment, Sa2 = 1 second, Sb2 = 2 seconds, and Sc2 = 2 seconds.

  The type of the power mode (normal mode or main power mode) for heating the heating member 21 to the set temperature T2 is recorded in the RAM on the CPU 9, and is used when the temperature of the heating member 21 is increased in the normal mode. Then, according to the set times Sa2, Sb2, Sc2 described in the ROM on the CPU 9, the respective heat generating members 6a, 6b, 6c generate heat as described above.

  The CPU 9 does not confirm that the surface temperature of the heating member 21 is equal to or lower than the set temperature T2 (if the surface temperature of the heating member 21 has reached the set temperature T2), it controls the switches 3a and 3b. The mode is switched to the main power mode, and the switch 7 is sequentially connected to each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b, and 6c by the set time Sa1, Sb1, and Sc1 as described above, so that each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b, and 6c is sequentially switched to one. By heating each time, the entire area of the heating member 21 is uniformly heated.

  When the heating member 21 is heated to the set temperature T1 in the main power mode after the heating member 21 is heated to the set temperature T2 in the normal mode according to the above program, the amount of heat received per unit area from the heating member in the heating member 21 is FIG. 8 shows changes over time of the surface temperature at the largest position A and the smallest position B. In the present embodiment, the rise time is about 3 seconds longer than the temperature rise of the heating member 21 when the control device 10 is not used, but the surface temperature of the heating member 21 is controlled uniformly.

  The thermocouple 12 that outputs temperature information on the surface of the heating member 21 for controlling the set temperatures T1 and T2 has a heat amount per unit area from the heating members 6a, 6b, and 6c on the surface of the heating member 21. Since it is installed at the largest position, that is, the position closest to the halogen heater 6a with power consumption of 1200 W, it is possible to prevent the heating member 21 from excessively increasing the temperature. When the temperature of the thin fixing roller 21 is increased to fix the toner on the transfer paper P to the transfer paper P according to the present embodiment, there is no portion where hot offset has occurred on the surface of the thin fixing roller 21 and a good image is obtained. I got it.

  In the present embodiment, the time during which each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b, 6c is heated in the main power mode is controlled according to the power mode used when the temperature is raised to the set temperature T2. Accordingly, the heating member 21 rises in temperature, and the switching interval of each heating member 6a, 6b, 6c is shortened as the surface temperature approaches the set temperature T1, whereby the heating member 21 locally excessively increases in temperature. And the temperature distribution of the heating member 21 can be made more uniform.

  The CPU 9 controls the switches 8a and 8b to switch the main power supply 4 to the charger 14 side to close the switch 8c, for example, in a standby state for charging the auxiliary power supply 5, and to close the switch 8c. Is converted into DC power and applied to the auxiliary power supply 5 to charge the auxiliary power supply 5.

  According to the present embodiment, the heating member 21 is heated by the main heating member 6a connected to the main power supply 4 and the auxiliary heating members 6b and 6c connected in parallel to the auxiliary power supply 5, so that the heating member 21 is short-lived. To raise the temperature to a predetermined temperature. Further, the storage amount detection means 2 for detecting the storage amount of the auxiliary power supply 5, and the main power supply 4 when the predetermined amount of power is not stored in the auxiliary power supply 5 based on the storage amount information from the storage amount detection means 2. And a control device 10 for switching to a main power mode for supplying power to at least two or more of the two or more auxiliary heating members 6b and 6c with the main heating member 6a and the two or more auxiliary heating members 6b and 6c. Even when the amount is insufficient, it is possible to supply a stable power to the auxiliary heating member, reduce the temperature unevenness of the heating member, and prevent a current exceeding the limit of the commercial power supply from flowing. It is possible to take out sufficient electric power, and it is possible to more uniformly control the surface temperature of the heating member.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, there is provided the heating member switching means 7 for switching the heating members 6a, 6b, 6c for supplying power from the main power supply 4 in the main power mode. At times, the main heating member 6a and the auxiliary heating members 6b, 6c are connected in parallel to the main power supply 4, and at least two or more heating members are intermittently heated, so that the surface temperature of the heating members can be made uniform. it can.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the control device 10 includes the temperature detecting means 11 for detecting the surface temperature of the heating member 21, and controls the heating member 21 by the normal power supply in the normal mode from the main power supply 4 and the auxiliary power supply 5. Since the mode is switched to the main power mode when the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means 11 rises to a predetermined temperature or more during the temperature rise, it is possible to prevent an excessive local temperature rise of the heating member and to reduce the surface temperature unevenness of the heating member. be able to.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the predetermined temperature is the second predetermined temperature set lower than the first predetermined temperature required for the heating member 21 to heat the object P to be heated. Regardless of the power supply method, the surface temperature of the heating member can be made uniform.
Further, according to the present embodiment, the temperature sensor 12 that outputs the temperature information to the temperature detecting means 11 is mounted at the position where the amount of heat received per unit area of the surface of the heating member 21 is the largest, so that excessive local Temperature rise can be prevented.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the power supply to the heating member 21 until the heating member 21 rises to the predetermined temperature is the normal power supply by the main power supply 4 and the auxiliary power supply 5 or the power supply in the main power mode. The controller 10 has means (CPU 9) for holding information as to whether or not the power is supplied, and the control device 10 causes the heating member switching means 7 to switch the heating members 6a, 6b, and 6c in the main power mode according to the information. The switching control of the heat generating member for reducing the temperature unevenness of the heating member corresponding to the above can be performed.

Further, according to the present embodiment, since the apparatus (CPU 9) for controlling the time during which each of the heat generating members 6a, 6b, 6c generates heat in accordance with the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means 11 in the main power mode, the excessive heating member Can be prevented, and the surface temperature can be made uniform.
Further, according to the present embodiment, the heating member 21 in the main power mode shortens the heat generation time as the amount of heat given per unit area of the heating member 21 increases, thereby preventing an excessive local temperature rise of the heating member. At the same time, the surface temperature can be made uniform.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, the auxiliary heat generating members 6b and 6c are made of resistive heat generating elements, so that heat can be reliably generated no matter how low the auxiliary power source is.
Further, according to the present embodiment, since the auxiliary power supply 5 is an electric double layer capacitor as an electrochemical capacitor, the charging time of the auxiliary power supply can be reduced and the service life can be prolonged.

Further, according to the present embodiment, by supplying the maximum supply power exceeding the limit of the commercial power supply to the heating device, it is possible to provide a heat fixing device having a short start-up time and to store sufficient power in the auxiliary power supply. Even when not performed, the surface temperature of the heating member can be made uniform.
Further, according to the present embodiment, since a thin fixing roller is provided as the heating member 21, the heat capacity can be reduced, and a heat fixing device having a very short start-up time can be provided.

Further, according to the present embodiment, by supplying the maximum supply power exceeding the limit of the commercial power supply to the heating device, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus having a short startup time. In addition, even when the auxiliary power is not sufficiently charged, the surface temperature of the heating member can be made uniform, so that the toner can be stably heated and melted, and a high-quality toner image is formed on the recording member by fixing. can do.
The present invention can be applied to a heating device using electricity as a main energy source other than the electrophotographic process.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment is an example of an inter-device power coordination system. As shown in FIG. 12, auxiliary power-equipped devices 51 and 52 constituting the inter-device power coordination system are electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, and are operating units 55 and 56 that operate with power from auxiliary power sources 53 and 54. Denotes a fixing unit included in the image forming apparatus.

  FIG. 24 shows a cross section of the image forming apparatus 51 in the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 51 has a high overall height so that the image forming apparatus 51 can be used while being mounted on a floor, and the entirety of the image forming apparatus 51 includes an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion has an automatic document feeder (not shown) provided above the optical document feeder, and an optical unit (not shown) made of optical elements (not shown) provided below the device. It has a unit. The lower portion has a paper feed unit in which a plurality of paper feed trays 80 on which a plurality of sizes of recording members P are respectively placed are stored.

  In FIG. 24, reference numeral 71 denotes a drum-shaped photoconductor as an example of an image carrier formed of a rotating body. Around the photoreceptor 71, in the order of rotation in the direction indicated by the arrow, a charging device 72 composed of a charging roller, a mirror 73 constituting a part of an exposure device, a developing device 74 having a developing roller 74a, and a recording member P A transfer device 78 for transferring a developed image to a transfer sheet as a cleaning device, a cleaning unit 76 having a blade 76a slidingly contacting the peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 71, and the like are arranged. Exposure light Lb is scanned on the photoreceptor 71 via a mirror 73 between the charging device 72 and the developing roller 74a. The irradiation position of the exposure light Lb is referred to as an exposure unit 75.

  Reference numeral 78 denotes a transfer device 78 facing the lower surface of the photoconductor 41, and a portion of the photoconductor 71 facing the transfer device 78 is a transfer unit 77. A pair of registration rollers 79 is provided at a position further upstream of the transfer unit 77 in the transfer paper transport direction. The recording member P stored in a selected paper feed tray among the plurality of paper feed trays 80 is sent out by a paper feed roller 81, guided by a transport guide, and transported to a registration roller 79. A fixing device 55 is disposed at a position further downstream of the transfer section 77 in the transfer paper transport direction. An automatic double-sided device 83 is arranged downstream of the fixing device 55.

  In the image forming apparatus 51, image formation is performed as follows. The photoconductor 71 is rotated by a drive unit (not shown) and starts to rotate.During this rotation, the photoconductor 71 is uniformly charged by the charging device 72 in the dark, and the exposure unit 75 irradiates the exposure unit 75 with exposure light Lb by the exposure unit. The scanning forms an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image to be created. This electrostatic latent image is moved to the developing device 74 by the rotation of the photoconductor 71, where it is visualized by toner to form a toner image.

  On the other hand, the feeding of the transfer paper P as a recording member on the paper feed tray 80 by the paper feed roller 81 is started, and once stopped at the position of the pair of registration rollers 79 via the conveyance path shown by the broken line, And waits for the sending timing so that the toner image coincides with the toner image of the transfer unit 77. When this timing comes, the transfer paper P stopped at the registration roller 79 is sent out from the registration roller 79 and is conveyed to the transfer unit 77.

  The toner image on the photoconductor 71 and the transfer paper P coincide with each other in the transfer unit 77, and the toner image on the photoconductor 71 is transferred onto the transfer paper P by the electric field generated by the transfer device 78.

  In this way, the toner image formed by the image forming unit as an image forming system including the photosensitive member 71 and the units 72, 74, 78, and 76 around the photosensitive member and the exposure unit is transferred, and the transfer paper P carrying the toner image is fixed to the fixing device 55. Sent out to. The toner image on the transfer sheet P is fixed on the transfer sheet P while passing through the fixing device 55 and is discharged to the discharge section 84.

Further, the image forming apparatus 51 forms images on both sides of the transfer paper P in the duplex mode. The transfer paper on which the toner image is formed on the front surface in the double-sided mode as described above is conveyed to the automatic double-sided device 83 by a branch claw (not shown), and the front and back are reversed by switchback reversal. The sheet is fed again to the roller 79.
On the other hand, the residual toner remaining on the photoconductor 71 without being transferred by the transfer unit 77 reaches the cleaning device 76 with the rotation of the photoconductor 71, and is cleaned while passing through the cleaning device 76 to form the next image. Prepare.
The image forming apparatus 52 is configured in the same manner as the above-described image forming apparatus 51. However, as shown in FIG. 12, only the image forming apparatus 51 is provided with the auxiliary power supply control device 87.

Next, the configuration and operation of the inter-device power coordination system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings, focusing on the fixing device 55 as an operation unit.
As shown in FIG. 11, the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 equipped with auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54 are connected by an auxiliary power transmitting unit 85 and an information transmitting unit 86. The auxiliary power supply control device 87 provided in the image forming apparatus 51 transmits the power of the auxiliary power supply 53 of the image forming apparatus 51 to the image forming apparatus 52 by the auxiliary power transmitting means 85, or the auxiliary power supply of the image forming apparatus 52. The control of transmitting the power of 54 to the image forming apparatus 51 is performed.

  FIG. 12 shows a circuit configuration of auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54 provided in the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 and fixing devices 55 and 56 which are the above-mentioned operation units. FIG. 13 shows a cross section of the fixing device 55. 12 and 13, reference numerals 88 and 89 denote main power supplies of the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52, respectively. The main power supplies 88 and 89 are power sources for supplying power from a commercial power supply, and can supply power by being connected to an outlet.

  Reference numerals 53 and 54 denote electric double layer capacitors as auxiliary power supplies for the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52, and switches 90, 91, 92 and 93 as switching means of the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52. The auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54 may use electrochemical capacitors. Reference numeral 94 denotes a heating member in the fixing device 55 of the image forming apparatus 51. The heating member 94 has a main heating member 95 and an auxiliary heating member 96. The main heat generating member 95 is connected to a main power supply 88 via a switch 90. When the switch 90 is turned on / off, the power from the main power supply 88 is turned on / off, and the temperature of the heating member 94 is controlled to a set temperature. The auxiliary power supply 53 is connected to the auxiliary heating member 96 when the switch 91 is switched to the auxiliary heating member 96 side, and discharges the auxiliary heating member 96. The charger 97 is connected to the main power supply 88, and when the switch 91 is switched to the side of the charger 97, converts the power from the main power supply 88 into DC and applies it to the auxiliary power supply 53 to charge the auxiliary power supply 53.

  Reference numeral 98 denotes a charge / discharge control device having a charged amount detecting means for detecting the charged amount of the auxiliary power supply 53 and an operation detecting means for detecting the operation of the image forming apparatus 51. The charging and discharging of the auxiliary power supply 53 is controlled with the operation of the forming device 51. The charging / discharging control device 98 switches the switch 91 to the charger 97 immediately after the auxiliary power supply 53 is discharged based on the detection information of the charged amount detection means, and switches the switch 97 to the charger 97 with the power from the main power supply 88. The auxiliary power supply 53 is charged and the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply 53 is constantly monitored by the detection information of the power storage amount detection means. Also at this time, the switch 91 is switched to the charger 97 side to cause the charger 97 to charge the auxiliary power supply 53 with the power from the main power supply 88.

  Reference numeral 99 denotes a heating member in the fixing device 56 of the image forming apparatus 52. The heating member 99 has a main heating member 100 and an auxiliary heating member 101. The main heat generating member 100 is connected to a main power supply 89 via a switch 92. When the switch 92 is turned on / off, power from the main power supply 89 is turned on / off, and the temperature of the heating member 99 is controlled to a set temperature. The auxiliary power supply 54 is connected to the auxiliary heat generating member 101 when the switch 93 is switched to the auxiliary heat generating member 101 side, and discharges to the auxiliary heat generating member 101. The charger 102 is connected to the main power supply 89, and when the switch 93 is switched to the charger 102 side, the power from the main power supply 89 is converted into DC and applied to the auxiliary power supply 54 to charge the auxiliary power supply 54.

  Reference numeral 103 denotes a charge / discharge control device having a charged amount detecting unit for detecting the charged amount of the auxiliary power supply 54, and an operation detecting unit for detecting the operation of the image forming apparatus 52. The charging and discharging of the auxiliary power supply 54 are controlled in accordance with the operation of the forming device 52. The charge / discharge control device 103 switches the switch 93 to the charger 102 side immediately after the auxiliary power supply 54 is discharged based on the detection information of the charged amount detection means, and the charger 102 While the auxiliary power supply 54 is charged, the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply 54 is constantly monitored based on the detection information of the storage amount detection means. Also at this time, the switch 93 is switched to the charger 102 side to cause the charger 102 to charge the auxiliary power supply 54 with the power from the main power supply 89. In the present embodiment, since the auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54 are electric double layer capacitors, the storage amount detection means is a voltage monitor.

  In the present embodiment, the heat generating members 95, 96, 100, and 101 are halogen heaters, and two heat generating members 95, 96, 100, and 101 are provided in each of the heating members 94 and 99. However, the number of the heat generating members is three or more. But it doesn't matter. In addition, since the electric double layer capacitors 53 and 54, which are auxiliary power supplies, decrease in voltage as they are discharged, the auxiliary heat generating members 96 and 101 use resistive heating elements that reliably generate heat even when the input voltage decreases. Is also good. In addition, by using a carbon heater for the auxiliary heat generating members 96 and 101 to allow a larger current to flow than a halogen heater, large power can be taken out even when the auxiliary power sources 96 and 101 are at a low voltage, and the auxiliary power source can be downsized. can do.

  In this embodiment, thin fixing rollers are used for the heating members 94 and 99. Each of the thin fixing rollers 94 and 99 has an aluminum core of 0.7 mm in thickness, and a Teflon (registered trademark) layer of 0.02 mm in thickness as a release layer outside the core, and has a diameter of 40 mm. is there. Since the heat capacity of the thin fixing rollers 94 and 99 is very small, the temperature can be raised for a short time.

  Reference numeral 104 denotes a pressing roller as a pressing member that applies pressure to the transfer paper P as a member to be heated in the fixing device 55. The transfer paper P is heated by being given heat from the heating member 94 by passing through a nip portion formed by the heating member 94 and the pressing member 104. Similarly, the fixing device 56 has a pressure roller as a pressure member for applying pressure to the transfer paper P as a member to be heated, and the transfer paper passes through a nip formed by the heating member 99 and the pressure member. Thus, heat is given from the heating member 99 to be heated.

  FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing the inside of the inter-device power cooperative system constituted by the auxiliary power input control device 87 and the image forming devices 51 and 52. The auxiliary power supply control device 87 transmits the power of the auxiliary power supply 53 included in the image forming apparatus 51 to the auxiliary heating member 101 included in the other image forming apparatus 52, and the power of the auxiliary power supply 54 included in the image forming apparatus 52 to another. The image forming apparatus 51 includes an auxiliary power switching unit 105 for transmitting power to the auxiliary heat generating member 96 included in the image forming apparatus 51, and a CPU 106, and the CPU 106 is connected to the charge / discharge control apparatuses 98 and 103 included in the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 from FIG. The auxiliary power switching means 105 is switched based on the information input via the information transmission means 85 shown.

  It is desirable to use a dedicated signal line as the information transmission means 86 for transmitting information from the charge / discharge control devices 98 and 103. At least one of a computer, a telephone line, and a network and communication for connecting to the network are used. Means may be provided. Although it is desirable to use a dedicated signal line as the information transmitting means 86, a general-purpose network may be used and an interface function for this may be used. For example, Ethernet (registered trademark) such as 10Base-T or 100Base-TX may be used. ) A cable or a network interface card (NIC) for using a device compatible with wireless LAN standard 802.11g is exemplified.

FIG. 16 shows a conventional example of a fixing device using electric power from an auxiliary power supply. In this fixing device, the power from both the main power supply 88 and the auxiliary power supply 53 is supplied to the heat generating members 95 and 96 at the same time, so that a large amount of power exceeding the power supplied by the main power supply 88 can be supplied to the heat generating members 95 and 96. .
For this reason, as shown in FIG. 17, the temperature rise time of the fixing roller as the heating member can be shortened when the main power supply and the auxiliary power supply are used at the same time, rather than when only the main power supply is used.
Therefore, when a large amount of power is required when the temperature of the heating member is raised to a predetermined temperature due to a low temperature or the like, the power of the auxiliary power supply 53 is simultaneously supplied to the heating members 95 and 96 together with the main power supply 88, By supplying more total power to the heat generating member than when only the main power source is used, the temperature of the fixing roller can be increased in a short time.

  As described above, in order to promote energy saving, it is very important to raise the temperature of the fixing device in a short time, and it is necessary to apply power equal to or higher than the rated power of the commercial power supply to the heating of the heat generating member of the fixing device. The fixing device shown in FIG. 16, which enables the fixing device to be heated for a short time, is very useful. Further, in this fixing device, by using a thin fixing roller having a small heat capacity as the heating member, the temperature can be raised in a shorter time.

  In the present embodiment, one 1200W halogen heater that generates heat by electric power from a commercial power supply is provided in the thin fixing rollers 55 and 56, and an auxiliary power supply of a 90V capacitor in which 36 500F, 2.5V capacitor cells are combined. When one halogen heater of 850 W that generates heat by the electric power was disposed, 100 sheets were passed after the surface temperature of the fixing rollers 55 and 56 was increased from 20 ° C. to 180 ° C. As a result, the startup time was as short as 10 seconds. Further, since the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 of the present embodiment are high-speed machines with 75 sheets per minute, the temperature of the fixing rollers 55 and 56 drops due to continuous sheet passing immediately after startup. Even when the temperature drops, the temperatures of the fixing rollers 55 and 56 are maintained to supply the power of the capacitor. However, since it takes about two minutes to charge the discharged capacitor, if the fixing device is started again within two minutes after the image formation, the start-up time becomes longer, and the following problem occurs. Problem has occurred.

  FIG. 18 shows a state in which the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 are started up, and after continuous paper feeding is completed, they are started up again. The start-up time in the state where the first electric double layer capacitors 53 and 54 are charged is 10 seconds, but in the second start-up time, the power of the auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54 is supplied to the heat generating members 96 and 101. Since the fixing rollers 55 and 56 could not be heated, the heating time was 30 seconds, which is almost the same as when the temperature of each of the fixing rollers 55 and 56 was increased by only one normal 1200 W halogen heater. Further, when the surface temperature distributions of the thin fixing rollers 55 and 56 were measured, it was found that a temperature difference of about 40 ° C. occurred where the difference between the surface temperatures of the thin fixing rollers 55 and 56 was the largest.

  FIG. 19 shows the change over time of the surface temperature at the position A and the position B where the amount of heat received by the thin fixing rollers 55, 56 from the heat generating members 95, 96, 100, 101 per unit area at the time of startup is the largest. . Position B is a portion of the thin fixing rollers 55 and 56 where the heat radiation of the main heat generating members 96 and 100 is prevented by the glass members of the heaters of the auxiliary heat generating members 96 and 101 that do not generate heat. When the start-up was completed, the temperature at the position A reached 200 ° C. or higher. When the toner was fixed on the transfer paper by the subsequent paper passing, hot offset occurred on the surfaces of the fixing rollers 55 and 56 near the position A. In addition, the temperature of the fixing rollers 55 and 56 dropped due to continuous paper passing immediately after the startup.

  The conventional fixing device shown in FIG. 16 uses a heat generating member 96 that generates heat by electric power from the auxiliary power supply 53, and the heat generating member 96 is arranged in the heating member 94 as shown in FIG. If the auxiliary power supply 53 is not charged with sufficient power, the halogen heater 96 connected to the auxiliary power supply 53 cannot generate sufficient heat because the power supplied from the auxiliary power supply 53 is insufficient. The temperature difference from the halogen heater 95 connected to the main power supply 88 becomes extremely large, which may cause a fixing defect such as offset or a phenomenon such as breakage of the fixing roller 94. Further, even if the temperature of the fixing roller 94 drops due to a large amount of continuous paper passing immediately after the start-up, there is a possibility that a problem such as defective fixing may occur.

  In the present embodiment, even when the storage amount of the auxiliary power supply provided in one of the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 is insufficient, the power of the auxiliary power supply of the other image forming apparatus is transmitted to this auxiliary power supply, so that the auxiliary It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus which can operate stably without causing an operation failure due to power shortage of a power supply, can save energy, and has a very short startup time.

  In the present embodiment, the power from both the main power sources 88 and 89 and the auxiliary power sources 53 and 54 can be simultaneously supplied to the heating members 55, 56, 100, and 101, whereby the temperature can be raised to a predetermined temperature in a short time. it can. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, 850 W of electric power is extracted from the auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54 at a voltage of 90 V of the auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54, and 1200 W is extracted from the commercial power supplies 88 and 89. , 100 have a resistance of about 8Ω and the auxiliary heating members 96, 101 have a resistance of about 9.5Ω. As a result, power of 2050 W, which is higher than the upper limit of the power supplied by the commercial power supplies 88 and 89, can be used for raising the temperature of the heating members 55 and 56.

  Further, based on the information of the charge / discharge control devices 98, 103 connected to the auxiliary power supplies 53, 54, the auxiliary power input control device 87 uses the auxiliary power switching means 105 to reduce the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply 53 of the image forming apparatus 51. If the power is insufficient (not more than the predetermined amount of stored power), the power of the auxiliary power supply 54 of the image forming apparatus 52 is transmitted to the auxiliary heat generating member 96 of the image forming apparatus 51, so that all the heat generating members of the image forming apparatus 51 are transmitted. Stable power can be supplied to the heaters 95 and 96, and the temperature unevenness of the heating member 55 and the temperature drop due to continuous paper passing, which can cause a fixing failure, can be reduced. During the start-up time, the image forming apparatus 51 can start up in a short time as in the case where the storage amount of the auxiliary power supply 53 is sufficient.

  Similarly, the auxiliary power input control device 87 uses the auxiliary power switching means 105 based on information of the charge / discharge control devices 98 and 103 connected to the auxiliary power sources 53 and 54, and stores the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power source 54 of the image forming apparatus 52. If the power is insufficient (not more than the predetermined amount of stored power), the power of the auxiliary power supply 53 of the image forming apparatus 51 is transmitted to the auxiliary heat generating member 101 of the image forming apparatus 52 so that the total heat generation of the image forming apparatus 52 is performed. It is possible to supply stable power to the members 100 and 101, and it is possible to reduce temperature unevenness of the heating member 56 and a drop in temperature due to continuous paper feeding, which cause a fixing failure. During the start-up time, the image forming apparatus 52 can start up in a short time, similarly to the case where the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply 54 is sufficient.

  FIG. 15 shows a program stored in the ROM of the CPU 106 included in the auxiliary power input control device 87 according to the present embodiment, and the CPU 106 issues a command from the charge / discharge control device 98 to discharge the auxiliary power supply 53 of the image forming apparatus 51. This shows inter-device power cooperative control by the auxiliary power input control device 87 upon receipt of the command. The charge / discharge control device 98 determines the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply 53 of the image forming apparatus 51 based on the detection information of the stored power amount detection means (power storage amount detection function) when the auxiliary power supply 53 is discharged due to the operation of the image forming apparatus 51. Confirm. The charge / discharge control device 103 determines the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply 54 of the image forming apparatus 52 based on the detection information of the stored power amount detection means (power storage amount detection function) when the auxiliary power supply 54 is discharged due to the operation of the image forming apparatus 52. Confirm.

  The CPU 106 determines whether or not the auxiliary power supply 53 of the image forming apparatus 51 has a storage amount equal to or larger than the first set power storage amount based on information from the charge / discharge control device 98, and When there is no charge amount equal to or greater than the first set charge amount, the charge / discharge state of the auxiliary power supply 54 of the image forming apparatus 52 and the charge amount information are confirmed based on the information from the charge / discharge control device 103, and image formation is performed. When the auxiliary power supply 54 of the apparatus 52 is not in the discharging state and the auxiliary power supply 54 of the image forming apparatus 52 has stored a storage amount equal to or greater than the second set storage amount, the auxiliary power switching unit 105 is switched to perform image formation. By transmitting the power of the auxiliary power supply 54 of the apparatus 52 to the auxiliary heat generating member 96 of the image forming apparatus 51, the auxiliary heat generating member 96 is heated. In the present embodiment, the first set charge amount is set to 60% of the full charge amount, and the second set charge amount is set to 80% of the full charge amount. This prevents the startup operation from becoming unstable.

  The auxiliary power input control device 87 detects discharge stop information of the auxiliary power supply 53 (information for stopping discharge of the auxiliary power supply 53) output from the charge / discharge control device 98 of the image forming device 51, and The power transmission of the auxiliary power supply 54 is stopped. Thereafter, the auxiliary power supply 54 of the image forming apparatus 52 is charged by the charger 102 with the power from the main power supply 89 under the control of the charge / discharge control device 103 included in the image forming apparatus 52.

  The image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 of the present embodiment control charging and discharging of the auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54 of the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 by charging and discharging control devices 98 and 103 included in the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52, respectively. Alternatively, the charge / discharge and power transmission of all the auxiliary power supplies in the inter-device power coordination system may be controlled by the auxiliary power input control device 87.

  In addition, although it is considered that the situation is not large, when starting up one of the image forming apparatuses again immediately after starting up the plurality of image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 at the same time, or for a long period of time during the Golden Week or the Bon Holiday, etc. When the auxiliary power supply 53, 54 of either of the image forming apparatuses 51, 52 is equal to or more than the above set amount of storage (first set amount of storage, second set amount of storage), for example, when If the amount has not been stored, in the present embodiment, a command `` CPM DOWN '' for reducing the number of recording members for forming an image per minute is output to the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 by the auxiliary power input control device 87. You. As a result, the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 minimize the increase in the startup time. In the meantime, the auxiliary power supply 54 is charged by the charge / discharge control device 103 included in the image forming apparatus 52 in the image forming apparatus 52 in which the auxiliary power supply 54 has the storage amount equal to or less than the second set storage amount, Thereafter, stable operation of the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 is guaranteed.

  As a matter of course, the number of image forming apparatuses connected by the auxiliary power transmitting means 85 may be three or more. When the number of image forming apparatuses is three or more, the auxiliary power supply control device 87 detects the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply of each image forming apparatus, and searches for an image forming apparatus that can transmit power. Since the present embodiment has more image forming apparatuses, a more stable operation of the inter-device power coordination system is guaranteed.

FIG. 20 shows a state when the image forming apparatus 51 is started up in a state where the electric double layer capacitor 53 of the image forming apparatus 51 is not charged in accordance with the above program. By transmitting power from the auxiliary power supply 54 of the image forming apparatus 52, the apparatus operates in the same start-up time as when the auxiliary power supply 53 of the image forming apparatus 51 is charged, and the temperature drops even in continuous paper passing immediately after startup. Does not occur. Further, since the auxiliary heat generating member surely generates heat, there is no temperature difference in the surface temperature of the fixing roller such as a rise in temperature when the control of FIG. 15 is not performed as in the fixing device shown in FIG. Could be obtained.
In the present embodiment, the inter-device power cooperative control is performed when the charge amount of the auxiliary power supply 53 is insufficient at the time of starting the image forming apparatus 51 or during continuous paper feeding. Even when the amount of charge of the auxiliary power supply 54 is insufficient during continuous paper passing, inter-device power cooperative control similar to the inter-device power cooperative control is performed.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 21, 22, and 23. FIG. This embodiment is different from the second embodiment in the following points. In the inter-device power coordination system according to the second embodiment, the same number of auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54 as the number of image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 exist. In the second embodiment, since the auxiliary power supply uses a capacitor, the cost is high and the size is large by that amount, and the price increase is tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yen depending on the configuration. Therefore, there is a problem that the burden is large when introducing a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

  In addition, since the lifetime of the capacitor can be used semi-permanently for the number of times of charge and discharge, the cost per charge and discharge decreases as the number of uses within the same period increases. I want to rise. However, if the number of times of using the image forming apparatus alone is increased in order to increase the use efficiency of the capacitor, the life of the image forming apparatus main body is shortened.

  FIGS. 21 and 22 show an inter-device power coordination system according to the third embodiment. In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 having the auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54 and the image forming apparatus 107 having no auxiliary power supply are connected to the auxiliary power supply control device 87 by the auxiliary power transmitting means 85 and the information transmitting means 86. The connection forms an inter-device power coordination system. Further, unlike the second embodiment, the auxiliary power input control device 87 is installed outside the image forming apparatus 51. The image forming apparatus 107 is different from the image forming apparatus 51 in that the auxiliary power supply 53, the switch 91, the charger 97, and the charge / discharge control device 98 are omitted.

  The image forming apparatus 107 without the auxiliary power supply is provided with an auxiliary heating member 108 capable of transmitting power from the other auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54 via the auxiliary power supply control device 87, and a switch as a switching unit (not shown) from the main power supply 109. And a thin fixing roller 111 serving as a heating member heated by the auxiliary heating member 108 and the main heating member 110. Power from the main power supply 109 to the main heat generating member 110 is controlled by turning on / off a switch (not shown), and the temperature of the heating member 111 is controlled to a set temperature.

  The image forming apparatus 107 receives power transmitted from the auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54 of the other image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 to the auxiliary heat generating member 108 when the temperature of the fixing device 112 rises, and exceeds the power of the main power supply 109 alone. Since the electric power can be applied to the temperature rise of the heating member 111, the startup can be performed in a short time. Further, the image forming apparatus 107 transmits information relating to its own operation to the auxiliary power input control device 87 by the information transmitting means 86, and transmits information to the auxiliary power input control device 87 when power from the auxiliary power supply is required. .

  As a result, the additional cost and space required for a plurality of devices (here, the image forming apparatuses 51, 52, and 107) to raise the temperature in a short period of time is due to the case where three image forming apparatuses equipped with an auxiliary power supply are arranged. Approximately two-thirds, and it is possible to remarkably suppress increases in cost and space. Further, it is possible to improve the number of times the capacitor is used, that is, the usage efficiency, without increasing the number of times the image forming apparatus is operated.

  In the present embodiment, the auxiliary heat generating member 108 that receives power transmission from the auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54 is newly provided in the heating member 111.However, in the image forming apparatus 107, devices other than the fixing device are provided from the auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54. May be transmitted. Normally, the image forming apparatus uses a large amount of electric power in addition to the fixing device at the time of start-up. Therefore, it is impossible to supply all electric power of the main power supply to the fixing device. Therefore, the power from the auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54 is supplied to devices other than the fixing device in the image forming apparatus 107, and all the power of the main power supply 109 is supplied to the fixing device 112, so that a new auxiliary heating member 108 is formed. It is possible to start up in a short time without any components.

  FIG. 23 shows a program stored in the ROM of the CPU 106 included in the auxiliary power input control device 87 according to the third embodiment. This shows inter-device power cooperative control by the auxiliary power input control device 87 when receiving information output.

  First, the auxiliary power input control device 87 receives the output of the heating member temperature increase information of the image forming device 107 from the information transmission unit 86, and controls the charging / discharging state of the image forming devices 51 and 52 equipped with the auxiliary power sources 53 and 54. The charged amount is confirmed based on information from the charge / discharge control devices 98 and 103. The auxiliary power input control device 87 is configured such that any one of the auxiliary power sources 1x of the auxiliary power sources 53 and 54 of the image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 is not in the discharge state, but is stored in the storage amount equal to or more than the third set storage amount. The auxiliary power switching unit 105 is switched to transmit the power of the auxiliary power supply 1x to the auxiliary heat generating member 108 of the image forming apparatus 107.

  In the present embodiment, the third set power storage amount is set to 80% of the full charge amount, which is equal to the second set power storage amount of the second embodiment. The auxiliary power input control device 87 detects the auxiliary power supply 1x discharge stop information (information for stopping the discharge of the auxiliary power supply 1x) output from the charge / discharge control device of the image forming apparatus having the auxiliary power supply 1x, and switches the auxiliary power supply. The means 105 is switched to stop the power transmission of the auxiliary power supply 1x.

  In the present embodiment, an apparatus cooperation system is configured by two image forming apparatuses 51 and 52 equipped with the auxiliary power supplies 53 and 54 and one image forming apparatus 107 not equipped with the auxiliary power supply. If there are not too many image forming apparatuses without an auxiliary power supply for the image forming apparatuses, the present system may be configured by any number of image forming apparatuses. In consideration of a stable system, it is desirable that the number of image forming apparatuses equipped with an auxiliary power supply be twice or more the number of image forming apparatuses equipped with other auxiliary power supplies.

  In the present embodiment, the above configuration enables an image forming apparatus without an auxiliary power supply to start up in a short time in the same manner as an image forming apparatus with an auxiliary power supply. Cost can be greatly reduced.

  In the second and third embodiments, in an image forming apparatus that uses a power from a chargeable auxiliary power supply and has a short heating time, stable operation is ensured regardless of the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply. Can be. Further, it is possible to shorten the startup time of the image forming apparatus having no auxiliary power supply.

  Note that the present invention can be applied to an inter-device power coordination system including devices having an auxiliary power supply and devices having no auxiliary power supply instead of the image forming apparatus.

According to the second embodiment and the third embodiment, by sharing the power of the auxiliary power supply of a plurality of devices equipped with an auxiliary power supply, when the storage amount of the auxiliary power supply is insufficient than a predetermined amount, The operation unit can operate stably irrespective of the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply by receiving power transmission from another auxiliary power supply-equipped device.
According to the second embodiment and the third embodiment, it is possible to guarantee the stable operation of the auxiliary power supply-equipped device in the system and to transmit the power of the auxiliary power supply to the electric device having no auxiliary power supply. it can.

According to the second and third embodiments, a plurality of devices (devices such as an image forming apparatus) and the auxiliary power-on control device are used to exchange information between the plurality of devices and the auxiliary power-on control device. By connecting with the information transmission / reception means for transmission / reception, it is possible to search in the system for an optimal auxiliary power supply for transmitting the auxiliary power to the device.
According to the second and third embodiments, each of the plurality of devices is provided with communication means for connecting to at least one of a computer, a telephone line, and a network, so that the plurality of devices can be connected to the plurality of devices. There is no need to wire dedicated signal lines for transmitting and receiving information between the power-on control devices.

According to the second embodiment and the third embodiment, the operation unit acquires the operation information of the operation unit detected by the operation detection unit, and switches the auxiliary power switching unit based on the acquired information. When power is required, the power of the auxiliary power supply can be transmitted immediately, and erroneous power transmission can be prevented.
According to the second and third embodiments, the storage amount information of the auxiliary power supply of the device equipped with the auxiliary power supply is acquired from the charge / discharge control device, and the auxiliary power switching unit is switched based on the storage amount information. As a result, it is possible to prevent overdischarge of the auxiliary power supply for transmitting electric power and shortage of the amount of stored power, and it is possible to guarantee stable operation of each device equipped with the auxiliary power supply.

According to the second and third embodiments, by supplying the maximum power supply exceeding the limit of the commercial power supply to the image forming apparatus, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus with a short startup time.
According to the second and third embodiments, the toner is stably heated and melted by making the surface temperature of the heating member uniform even when sufficient power is not stored in the auxiliary power supply. As a result, a high-quality toner image can be formed on the recording paper by fixing it.

According to the third embodiment, the startup time can be shortened by transmitting the power of the auxiliary power supply to the image forming apparatus having no auxiliary power supply. Further, the cost can be reduced by improving the utilization efficiency of the auxiliary power supply.
According to the second embodiment and the third embodiment, by using an electrochemical capacitor as the auxiliary power supply, the charging time of the auxiliary power supply can be shortened and the service life can be prolonged.

  According to the second embodiment, since the auxiliary power supply control device is provided in one of the auxiliary power supply devices, the power of the main power supply of the auxiliary power supply device can be supplied to the auxiliary power supply control device. There is no need to newly connect the power-on control device to a commercial power supply or the like.

  Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The image forming apparatuses 113 and 114 constituting the power cooperation system between image forming apparatuses according to this embodiment are of an electrophotographic type. As shown in FIGS. 25 and 26, the power from the image forming apparatus 113 is supplied to the image forming apparatus 114. The electric power from the image forming apparatus 114 is supplied to the fixing device 116 included in the image forming apparatus 113. The image forming apparatuses 113 and 114 are configured in the same manner as the image forming apparatus 107, and the image forming apparatus 113 has an auxiliary power input control device 117 mounted thereon.

  In the inter-device power coordination system of the present embodiment, the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114 are connected to a power transmission control device 118 and an information transmission unit 119. The power input control device 117 controls the power transmission control device 118 to transmit the power from the image forming device 113 to the image forming device 114 or to transmit the power from the image forming device 114 to the image forming device 113.

  FIG. 26 shows a circuit configuration of the fixing devices 115 and 116 provided in the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114. In FIG. 26, reference numerals 120 and 121 denote main power supplies of the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114. The main power supplies 120 and 121 are power sources that supply power from a commercial power supply, and can supply power by being connected to an outlet. Reference numerals 122 and 123 denote heating members in the fixing devices 115 and 116 of the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114. The heating members 122 and 123 have main heating members 124 and 125 and auxiliary heating members 126 and 127. The main heat generating members 124 and 125 are connected to main power sources 120 and 121 via switches 128 and 129, respectively, and when the switches 128 and 129 are switched, power from the main power sources 120 and 121 to the main heat generating members 124 and 125 is turned on. / The temperature of the heating members 122 and 123 is controlled to the set temperature. The auxiliary heating member 126 generates heat when supplied with power from the image forming apparatus 114, and the auxiliary heating member 127 generates heat when supplied with power from the image forming apparatus 113.

In the present embodiment, the heat generating members 124 to 127 are halogen heaters, and two heat generating members are installed in the heating members 122 and 123. However, the number of the heat generating members may be three or more.
The power transmission control devices 118a and 118b monitor the operation states of the image forming devices 113 and 114, respectively, and transmit and receive information to and from the power supply control device 117 via the information transmission unit 119. The operation states of the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114 monitored by the power transmission control apparatuses 118a and 118b are as follows. Start-up state: A state in which the fixing devices 115 and 116 are heated from normal temperature to a feasible fixing temperature which is a first set temperature. Operating state: After the start-up is completed, the temperatures of the fixing devices 115 and 116 are set to a first set temperature. Image forming state: a state in which an image is actually formed standby state: the temperature of the fixing devices 115 and 116 is maintained at the second set temperature after image formation has not been performed for a certain period of time. Sleep state: Power is not supplied to the fixing devices 115 and 116. Thick continuous paper passing state: A state in which ten or more thick paper sheets are passed. In this embodiment, the first set temperature is 180 ° C., and the second set temperature is The temperature is 60 ° C. Further, in the present embodiment, the power transmission and reception between the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114 is controlled by exchanging the information of the operation state between the power transmission control apparatuses 118a and 118b and the power input control apparatus 117. Power transmission and reception between the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114 may be controlled based on other information of the image forming apparatus.

  The information transmission means 119 may include at least one of a computer, a telephone line, and a network and a communication means for connecting to the computer, the telephone line, and the network. Although it is desirable to use a dedicated signal line as the information transmission means 119, a general-purpose network may be used and an interface function for this may be used. For example, Ethernet (registered) such as 10Base-T or 100Base-TX may be used. (Trademark) cable and a network interface card (NIC) for using a device compatible with wireless LAN standard 802.11g.

  In the present embodiment, a fixing roller is used for the heating members 122 and 123. Each of the fixing rollers 122 and 123 has a 5.0 mm-thick aluminum core, and a 0.02 mm-thick Teflon (registered trademark) layer as a release layer provided outside the core, and has a diameter of 50 mm. is there. The fixing devices 115 and 116 are configured as shown in FIG. 13 similarly to the fixing device 55, and include a pressing member that applies pressure to the transfer paper P as a member to be heated. The transfer paper P is heated by being given heat from the heating members 122 and 123 by passing through the nip portions formed by the heating members 122 and 123 and the pressing members of the fixing devices 115 and 116, respectively.

  FIG. 27 is a conceptual diagram showing the inside of the power coordination system between the image forming apparatuses constituted by the power supply control device 117 and the image forming devices 113 and 114. The power supply control device 117 includes a power switching unit 132 that transmits power from one main power supply 120 or 121 of each of the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114 to an auxiliary heating member 126 or 127 included in the other of the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114. , A CPU 133, and the CPU 133 is a power switching unit based on information input from the power transmission control devices 118a, 118b of the image forming apparatuses 113, 114 via the information transmission unit 119 shown in FIG. 132 is switched.

  An image forming apparatus, which is a configuration of a conventional image forming apparatus, in which one 1200 W halogen heater is disposed in a fixing roller used in the present embodiment, was started up, and 100 thick paper sheets were passed. In this embodiment, after the surface temperatures of the fixing rollers 122 and 123 are increased from 20 ° C. to the first set temperature of 180 ° C., the fixing rollers 122 and 123 are idled for 40 seconds to make the surface temperatures of the fixing rollers 122 and 123 uniform. The startup time was 300 seconds.

  In addition, since the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114 of the present embodiment are high-speed machines capable of passing 60 sheets per minute, the temperature of the fixing rollers 122 and 123 drops when continuous thick paper is passed immediately after startup. . The image forming apparatuses 113 and 114 incorporate a command “CPM DOWN” for reducing the number of recording members for forming an image per minute in order to prevent a fixing failure, and immediately after the temperature drop occurs, the “CPM DOWN” control is performed. Occurred and the number of sheets passed down to 30 sheets per minute.

The present embodiment provides an image forming apparatus having a very short startup time by transmitting the other power of the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114 to one of the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114.
In this embodiment, the fixing device 115 can simultaneously supply power from both the main power supply 120 of the image forming apparatus 113 and the main power supply 121 of the other image forming apparatus 114 to the heating member 122, and Can simultaneously supply power from both the main power supply 121 of the image forming apparatus 114 and the main power supply 120 of the other image forming apparatus 113 to the heating member 123, so that the fixing devices 115 and 116 To raise the temperature.

  The present embodiment has a configuration in which 400 W of electric power is taken out from the commercial power supply 100 V of the image forming apparatus 114, 1200 W of electric power is taken out of the commercial power supply of the image forming apparatus 113, and used for raising the temperature of the heating member 122. , 125 have a resistance of about 8Ω, and the auxiliary heating members 126, 127 have a resistance of about 25Ω. This allows 1600 W of power, which exceeds the upper limit of the power supplied by the commercial power supply, to be used for raising the temperature of the heating member 122.

  Similarly, power of 1200 W is taken out from the commercial power supply 100 V of the image forming apparatus 114, and 400 W of power is taken out of the commercial power supply of the image forming apparatus 113 and used to raise the temperature of the heating member 123. Electric power of 1600 W exceeding the upper limit can be used for raising the temperature of the heating member 123.

  Also, when there is a concern that a temperature drop may occur, for example, when continuous feeding of thick paper is performed in one of the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114, or when the environmental temperature is low, the other of the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114 may be used. Is transmitted to one of the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114, the CPM down control is not generated as much as possible, and a stable paper passing speed is ensured.

  In the present embodiment, one of the powers of the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114 is supplied to the auxiliary heat generating member of the other fixing device of the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114, but the power of the image forming apparatus 113 and the power of the image forming apparatus 114 are different. May be put into one of the main heat generating members 124 and 125 in a superimposed manner. This eliminates the need to add an auxiliary heat generating member to the image forming apparatus, which leads to a reduction in size and cost of the apparatus. Further, by supplying the power of the image forming apparatus 114 to a device other than the fixing device 115 in the image forming device 113, the power of the image forming device 113 may be entirely used for the fixing device 115.

  FIGS. 28 and 29 are flowcharts illustrating programs stored in the ROM of the CPU 133 included in the power input control device 117 according to the present embodiment. This shows power coordination control between devices (image forming apparatuses) by the power-on control device 117 when information indicating transition to the startup state or the thick paper continuous paper passing state is received.

  In the program shown in FIG. 28, the power-on control device 117 checks the operation state of the image forming device 114 based on information from the image forming device 114 when starting up the image forming device 113, and determines whether the image forming device 114 is in a standby state or When in the sleep state, the power switching unit 132 transmits the power from the main power supply 121 of the image forming apparatus 114 to the auxiliary heating member 126 of the image forming apparatus 113, and the heating member 122 uses the power of the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114. Raise the temperature. The power-on control device 117 detects the start-up completion information output from the power transmission control device 118a of the image forming apparatus 123, and stops the power transmission from the main power supply 121 of the image forming apparatus 114.

  When the image forming apparatus 113 is not in the standby state or the sleep state when the image forming apparatus 113 starts up, the power supply control device 117 uses the power switching unit 132 to switch the image forming apparatus 114 from the main power supply 121 of the image forming apparatus 114. Power transmission to the auxiliary heating member 126 of 113 is stopped. Therefore, the power of the image forming apparatus 113 is supplied only to the main heat generating member 124, and the image forming apparatus 113 shifts to the operating state after the start-up is completed.

  In the program shown in FIG. 29, the power-on control device 117 checks the operation state of the image forming device 114 based on information from the image forming device 114 when the image forming device 113 continuously feeds the thick paper, and the image forming device 114 In the state or the sleep state, the power switching unit 132 transmits power from the main power supply 121 of the image forming apparatus 114 to the auxiliary heating member 126 of the image forming apparatus 113. The power input control device 117 detects the thick paper passing completion information output from the power transmission control device 118a of the image forming device 113, and stops the power transmission from the main power supply 121 of the image forming device 114 when the thick paper passing is completed. I do.

  When the image forming apparatus 114 is not in the standby state or the sleep state, the power supply control unit 117 controls the power switching unit 132 to transmit power from the main power supply 121 of the image forming apparatus 114 to the auxiliary heating member 126 of the image forming apparatus 113. Stop. Therefore, the fixing device 115 operates only with the power from the main power supply 120 of the image forming apparatus 113, but the power-on control device 117 immediately stops the operation for one minute when there is a possibility that a fixing defect may occur such as continuous feeding of thick paper. A command “CPM DOWN” for reducing the number of recording members for forming an image is output to the image forming apparatus 113 to prevent a fixing failure.

The power supply control device 117 controls power transmission from the main power supply 121 of the image forming apparatus 114 to the auxiliary heat generating member 126 of the image forming apparatus 113 as described above. Power transmission to the member 126 is similarly controlled.
The power transmission of the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114 according to the present embodiment is controlled by the power transmission control apparatuses 118a and 118b included in the image forming apparatuses 113 and 114, respectively. The transmission of all power may be controlled by the power input control device 117.

FIG. 30 shows a state when the image forming apparatus 113 is started up according to the above program. The startup time of the image forming apparatus 113 was reduced to 220 seconds by the power transmission of the image forming apparatus 114. Further, the temperature drop did not occur even in the continuous paper passing of the thick paper immediately after the startup, and the paper passing speed similar to that of the normal paper was obtained.
As a matter of course, the number of image forming apparatuses connected by the power transmission control device 118 may be three or more.

  When there are three or more image forming apparatuses constituting the power coordination system between devices (image forming apparatuses), the power-on control device 117 detects the operation state of each image forming apparatus based on information from each image forming apparatus. To search for an image forming apparatus that can transmit power. By having more image forming apparatuses of the present embodiment, a more stable operation of the inter-device (image forming apparatus) power coordination system is guaranteed.

  Further, in this embodiment, the image forming apparatus is operated by electric power from a commercial power supply, but the electric power source of the commercial power supply is from a centralized power generation such as thermal power, hydraulic power, and nuclear power. Since the image forming apparatus is a product that handles company / personal information, it is important to ensure its security and supply power stably. The image forming apparatus can respond to a backup power supply such as a UPS power supply in an emergency or an emergency, but it cannot be said that security and stable power supply are surely secured.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus itself has an autonomous power source by using power from a power generating element such as a fuel cell instead of power from a commercial power source, and thus the security is improved. Secure and stable power supply are guaranteed. In addition, the fuel cell has a clean and high energy efficiency as compared with a commercial power supply in which a power source generates power using fossil fuel and supplies the power, so that an extremely environmentally friendly image forming apparatus is provided. can do.

In the fourth embodiment, the start-up time of the image forming apparatus can be reduced. Further, it is possible to prevent the operation of the image forming apparatus from becoming unstable due to continuous feeding of thick paper.
According to the fourth embodiment, since a plurality of image forming apparatuses share power, when the image forming apparatus starts up or when power is insufficient, power is transmitted from another image forming apparatus and commercialized. The power exceeding the power supply limit can be supplied, and the power can be started up for a short time and the operation can be stabilized.

According to the fourth embodiment, the start-up time of the image forming apparatus in the system can be reduced, and stable operation can be guaranteed.
According to the fourth embodiment, the image forming apparatus and the power-on control device are connected by the information transmitting means for transmitting and receiving information between the image forming apparatus and the power-on control device, so that the power is supplied to the image forming apparatus. The most suitable image forming apparatus that transmits power can be searched in the system.

According to the fourth embodiment, each of the image forming apparatuses includes a communication unit for connecting to at least one of a computer, a telephone line, and a network. There is no need to wire a dedicated signal line for transmitting and receiving information.
According to the fourth embodiment, the operation information of the image forming apparatus is acquired, and the power switching unit is switched based on the acquired information. The power of the forming apparatus can be transmitted, and erroneous power transmission can be prevented.

  According to the fourth embodiment, the image forming apparatus has an apparatus for forming an unfixed image according to image information, and a fixing device for fixing the formed unfixed image to a recording member. When one of the image forming apparatuses receives power supply from another image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus that receives the power supply uses the power supplied from the other image forming apparatus for the fixing device, thereby starting up. Electric power exceeding the limit of the commercial power supply can be supplied to the fixing device at the time of raising, and the temperature can be raised for a short time.

  According to the fourth embodiment, by configuring the image forming apparatus to operate by the electric power from the fuel cell, the image forming apparatus can be operated by the autonomous power source which is not the commercial power supply, and the security of the image forming apparatus can be ensured. Stable power supply can be ensured. In addition, the fuel cell has a clean and high energy efficiency as compared with a commercial power supply in which a power source generates power using fossil fuel and supplies the power, so that an extremely environmentally friendly image forming apparatus is provided. can do.

  According to the fourth embodiment, since the power supply control device is provided in one of the image forming devices, the power of the image forming device can be supplied to the power supply control device. There is no need to connect to etc.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a normal mode of the heat fixing device according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a main power mode of the heat fixing device. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the heat fixing device. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control device of the thermal fixing device. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating startup characteristics of a conventional heat fixing device. 4 is a flowchart showing a program stored in a ROM of the control device. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a startup characteristic of the heat fixing device in the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a change over time of the surface temperature at a position A and a position B where the amount of heat received per unit area of the heating member of the thermal fixing device in the embodiment is the largest. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional heat fixing device. It is sectional drawing which shows the whole said embodiment. It is a front view showing a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of an auxiliary power supply and a fixing device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a fixing device according to the second embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram showing the inside of the auxiliary power input control device and the inter-device power coordination system in the second embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the program memorize | stored in ROM of CPU which the auxiliary power supply control apparatus in 2nd Embodiment has. FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram illustrating a conventional example of a fixing device. FIG. 3 is a characteristic diagram illustrating a temperature rise characteristic of a fixing roller of the fixing device. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the image forming apparatus is started up in the second embodiment, and is restarted after continuous paper feeding is completed. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a change over time of the surface temperature at a position A and a position B where the amount of heat received by the thin fixing roller per unit area from the heat generating member is the largest when the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment is started. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state when the image forming apparatus is started up in a state where the electric double layer capacitor of the image forming apparatus is not charged in the second embodiment. It is a schematic diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention. It is a circuit diagram showing the same third embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the program memorize | stored in ROM of CPU which the auxiliary power supply control apparatus in 3rd Embodiment has. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment. It is a front view showing a 4th embodiment of the present invention. It is a circuit diagram showing the fourth embodiment. It is a key map showing the inside of a power supply control device and a system of a 4th embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the program memorize | stored in ROM of CPU which the power supply control apparatus in the 4th embodiment has. 15 is a flowchart illustrating another program stored in the ROM of the CPU included in the power-on control device according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a state when the image forming apparatus according to the fourth embodiment is started.

Explanation of reference numerals

2 Power storage amount detection means
3a, 3b, 3c switch 4 main power supply 5 auxiliary power supply
6a Main heating element
6b, 6c auxiliary heating member 7 switch
8a, 8b, 8c switch 9 CPU
11 Temperature detection means
14 Charger
21 Heating member
22 Pressure member
24 thermocouple
51, 52 Image forming device
53, 54 Auxiliary power supply
55, 56 Fixing device
85 Auxiliary power transmission means
86 Means of information transmission
87 Auxiliary power input control device
88, 89 Main power supply
90, 91, 92, 93 switches
94, 99 Heating member
95, 100 Main heating elements
96, 101 Auxiliary heating member
97, 102 charger
98, 103 Charge / discharge control device
104 Pressure roller
107 Image forming device
108 Auxiliary heating member
109 Main power supply
110 Main heating element
111 Heating member
112 Thin fixing roller
113, 114 Image forming device
115, 116 Fixing device
117 Auxiliary power input control device
118, 118a, 118b Power transmission control device
119 Means of Information Transmission
120, 121 Main power supply
122, 123 Heating member
124, 125 Main heating member
126, 127 Auxiliary heating member
128, 129 switches

Claims (36)

  A main power supply that can constantly supply power, an auxiliary power supply that can be charged with power from the main power supply, a main heat generating member that generates heat with power from the main power supply, and heat generation with power from the auxiliary power supply A heating member having at least two or more auxiliary heat generating members, wherein the auxiliary heat generating member is connected in parallel to the auxiliary power source, and the amount of stored power of the auxiliary power source is detected. And, when a predetermined amount of power is not stored in the auxiliary power supply according to the storage amount information from the storage amount detection unit, the main heating member and the two or more auxiliary heating members are powered only by the main power supply. A controller for switching to a main power mode for supplying power to at least two or more of the heat generating members.   2. The heating device according to claim 1, further comprising: a heating member switching unit that switches a heating member that supplies power from the main power source in the main power mode, wherein the heating member switching unit is configured to switch the main heating member in the main power mode. And a heating device, wherein an auxiliary heating member is connected in parallel to the main power source, and the at least two or more heating members are intermittently heated.   3. The heating device according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature detection unit configured to detect a surface temperature of the heating member, wherein the control device raises the temperature of the heating member by a normal power supply from the main power supply and the auxiliary power supply. A heating device that switches to the main power mode when the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means rises above a predetermined temperature.   The heating device according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined temperature is a second predetermined temperature set lower than a first predetermined temperature required for the heating member to heat the object to be heated. Characterized heating device.   5. The heating device according to claim 3, wherein a temperature sensor that outputs temperature information to the temperature detection unit is mounted at a position where the amount of heat received per unit area of the surface of the heating member is largest.   In the heating device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, power supply to the heating member until the heating member rises to a predetermined temperature is a normal power supply by the main power supply and the auxiliary power supply. Or means for holding information as to whether the power is supplied in the main power mode, and the control device causes the heat generating member switching means to switch the heat generating member based on the information in the main power mode. Characterized heating device.   The heating device according to any one of claims 3 to 6, further comprising: a device that controls a time during which each of the heat generating members generates heat in accordance with a temperature detected by the temperature detecting unit in the main power mode. Heating equipment.   The heating device according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the heat-generating member is configured to shorten a heat-generating time as the amount of heat applied per unit area of the heating member in the main power mode is larger. Heating equipment.   9. The heating device according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary heating member is a resistance heating element.   The heating device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the auxiliary power supply is an electrochemical capacitor.   A heat fixing device comprising the heating device according to claim 1.   12. The heat fixing device according to claim 11, further comprising a thin fixing roller as the heating member.   An image forming unit that forms an unfixed image on the recording member in accordance with the image information; and a fixing device that fixes the unfixed image formed on the recording member by the image forming unit to the recording member. An image forming apparatus, wherein the apparatus is the heat fixing apparatus according to claim 11. A main power supply capable of constantly supplying power, an auxiliary power supply capable of storing power from the main power supply, and an auxiliary power supply-equipped device including an operation unit that operates by power from the auxiliary power supply.
Means for detecting the operation of the operation unit, and a charge / discharge control device that includes a storage amount detection unit that detects a storage amount of the auxiliary power supply, and controls charging and discharging of power of the auxiliary power supply,
Auxiliary power transmission means for transmitting the power of the auxiliary power supply of the auxiliary power supply-equipped device to another device,
Auxiliary power receiving means for receiving power from an auxiliary power supply provided in the second auxiliary power supply-equipped device. A device equipped with an auxiliary power supply according to claim 14,
A plurality of devices including an operation unit that operates with power from the auxiliary power supply and an electric device including an operation detection unit that detects an operation of the operation unit, and the plurality of devices are connected to the auxiliary power transmission unit. An inter-device power coordination system,
The apparatus further comprising: an auxiliary power input control device having an auxiliary power switching unit configured to transmit the power of the auxiliary power of the device equipped with the auxiliary power to the operating units of the plurality of devices. Power coordination system.   16. The inter-device power coordination system according to claim 15, wherein the plurality of devices and the auxiliary power-on control device are connected by information transmission means for transmitting and receiving information between the plurality of devices and the auxiliary power-on control device. An inter-device power coordination system characterized by:   15. The device with an auxiliary power supply according to claim 14, wherein each of the devices includes communication means for connecting to at least one of a computer, a telephone line, and a network.   17. The inter-device power coordination system according to claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of devices includes a communication unit for connecting to at least one of a computer, a telephone line, and a network. Power coordination system.   19. The inter-device power coordination system according to claim 16, wherein the auxiliary power supply control device is configured to output information from the charge / discharge control device by the information transmission unit or operation information of the operation unit detected by the operation detection unit. , And switching the auxiliary power switching means based on the acquired information.   20. The inter-equipment power coordination system according to claim 16, 18 or 19, wherein the auxiliary power input control device uses the information transmission means to transmit the storage amount information of the auxiliary power supply of the auxiliary power supply device from the charge / discharge control device. An inter-device power coordination system that acquires and switches the auxiliary power switching means based on the storage amount information.   18. The device with an auxiliary power supply according to claim 14, wherein the device with an auxiliary power supply is an image forming apparatus.   21. The inter-device power coordination system according to claim 15, wherein the device equipped with an auxiliary power supply is an image forming apparatus. The auxiliary power supply-equipped device according to claim 21, wherein the operation unit included in the auxiliary power supply-equipped device includes:
A main heating member that generates heat by electric power from the main power supply,
An auxiliary heating member that generates heat by electric power from the auxiliary power supply;
An auxiliary power supply-equipped device, which is a fixing device including the main heating member and a heating member having the auxiliary heating member. The inter-device power coordination system according to claim 22, wherein the operation unit included in the auxiliary power supply-equipped device includes:
A main heating member that generates heat by electric power from the main power supply,
An auxiliary heating member that generates heat by electric power from the auxiliary power supply;
An inter-device power coordination system comprising a fixing device including the main heating member and a heating member having the auxiliary heating member.   25. The inter-device power coordination system according to claim 15, wherein at least one of the plurality of devices is an image forming apparatus. system.   15. The auxiliary power supply mounting device according to claim 14, wherein the auxiliary power supply is an electrochemical capacitor.   16. The inter-device power coordination system according to claim 15, wherein the auxiliary power input control device is provided in one of the devices equipped with the auxiliary power supply. Power transmission means for transmitting power to another image forming apparatus,
Power receiving means for receiving power supply from another image forming apparatus,
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a power transmission control device having control means for controlling power transmission to the another image forming device. 29. An inter-device power coordination system comprising a plurality of image forming apparatuses according to claim 28, wherein the plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected by the power transmission control device.
An inter-image-forming-apparatus power supply, comprising: a power-on control device having a power switching unit configured to transmit power of the image forming apparatus to another image forming apparatus different from the image forming apparatus by the power transmitting unit. Cooperative system.   30. In the power cooperation system between image forming apparatuses according to claim 29, information transmission for transmitting and receiving information between the plurality of image forming apparatuses and the power-on control apparatus between the plurality of image forming apparatuses and the power-on control apparatus. A power coordination system between image forming apparatuses, wherein the power coordination system is connected by means.   29. The image forming apparatus according to claim 28, wherein each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses includes communication means for connecting to at least one of a computer, a telephone line, and a network.   31. The image forming apparatus according to claim 29, wherein each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses includes communication means for connecting to at least one of a computer, a telephone line, and a network. Power coordination system.   33. The power coordination system between image forming apparatuses according to claim 32, wherein the power supply control unit acquires operation information of the image forming apparatus by the information transmission unit, and switches the power switching unit based on the acquired information. A power coordination system between image forming apparatuses.   34. The power coordination system between image forming apparatuses according to claim 29, wherein the image forming apparatus forms an unfixed image according to image information, and the unfixed image. Wherein the image forming apparatus uses the electric power for the fixing apparatus when receiving power supply from the other image forming apparatus. system.   29. The image forming apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the image forming apparatus operates by electric power from a fuel cell. 30. The power coordination system between image forming apparatuses according to claim 29, wherein the power supply control device is provided in one of the image forming apparatuses.

Images