JP2005024718A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent supply electric power for a rise operation of a fixing device from coming short. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus is equipped with the fixing device 3 for heating and fixing the toner image formed on a recording material and a main power source unit 20 capable of supplying the electric power to the fixing device 3. The apparatus is provided with an auxiliary power source section 21 and a part (an auxiliary power source unit 22) of the electric energy thereof is used exclusively for a specific application (the rise operation of the fixing device). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including an auxiliary power supply unit.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The electrophotographic system employed in image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, and facsimiles is a method in which a toner image is formed on a recording medium, and the formed toner image is fixed to the recording medium with heat and pressure by a fixing device. The fixing method in the fixing device is most preferably a belt fixing method or a heat roller method.
[0003]
In the belt fixing method, a heating roller heated by a heat generating member such as a halogen heater, a fixing belt provided with a fixing roller therein, and a pressure roller that is also heated by the heat generating member and disposed opposite to the fixing roller are pressed. In this method, a nip portion is formed, and a recording medium on which a toner image is transferred is passed through the nip portion and heated and fixed. The heat roller system has only a fixing roller and a pressure roller, and the fixing principle is the same as that of belt fixing.
[0004]
In recent years, environmental issues have been regarded as important, and image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers have been saving energy. In considering the energy saving of this image forming apparatus, what cannot be ignored is the power consumption in the fixing apparatus during standby. It is desired to reduce power consumption during standby and to further reduce power consumption, and there has been a demand for zero power supply when not in use. However, if the standby power consumption is reduced to zero, a fixing roller or pressure roller having a large heat capacity needs several minutes to reach a usable temperature (rise time). In order to shorten the rise time, it is necessary to increase the rated power. However, the commercial power supply for a general office in Japan is limited to 100V15A.
[0005]
Therefore, a method has been proposed in which a power storage device is provided as an auxiliary power supply device, rotational energy such as a motor used in a printing operation is charged to the power storage device by a power generation device, and power is supplementarily supplied to the heat generating member at the start-up operation. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). As a result, a large amount of power is supplied during the rising operation.
[0006]
In addition, the power of such a power storage device is supplied to the heat generating member during standby to heat the fixing roller, the pressure roller, and the like to prevent the temperature from decreasing.
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 11-119592 A
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, there is a limit to the amount of power charged in the power storage device, so if the standby time is long, the power of the auxiliary power supply device will be consumed, and the auxiliary power cannot be supplied at startup. There is.
[0009]
In addition, since the motor drive force in the printing operation is charged as the power generation energy, the power storage device is charged. Therefore, repeated intermittent printing operations on a small number of recording papers may reduce the power generation efficiency, and the auxiliary power supply device can be efficiently used. There is also a problem that it cannot be charged. As a result, there is a problem that it is impossible to supply necessary power during the rising operation.
[0010]
An object of the present invention is to prevent a shortage of power supplied to a specific operation of the fixing device.
[0011]
An object of the present invention is to prevent a shortage of power supplied to the rising operation of the fixing device.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An image forming apparatus comprising: a fixing device that heats and fixes a toner image formed on a recording material by an electrophotographic method; and a main power supply device that can supply power to the fixing device. In the above, an auxiliary power supply unit for storing electric power is provided, and a part of the electric power amount of the auxiliary power supply unit is dedicated to a specific application.
[0013]
Therefore, even if the power stored in the auxiliary power supply unit is used for a purpose other than a specific application (for example, the startup operation of the fixing device), a part of the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply part is secured for the specific application. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a shortage of power supplied to a specific application.
[0014]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the auxiliary power unit includes a plurality of auxiliary power units, and the connection between the auxiliary power unit and the power supply target unit of the fixing device, and A switch means for releasing connection, wherein at least one of the auxiliary power supply devices is connected by the switch means only to the power supply target unit used for the specific application in a specific application. The amount of power of the auxiliary power supply is dedicated to a specific application.
[0015]
Therefore, since at least one of the plurality of auxiliary power supply devices is not used for any other purpose than the specific purpose, it is possible to prevent a shortage of power supplied to the specific purpose.
[0016]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the switch means for connecting and disconnecting the auxiliary power supply unit and the power supply target unit of the fixing device, and the power amount of the auxiliary power supply unit And when the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply unit is less than or equal to a predetermined amount, connect the power supply target unit used for purposes other than a specific application and the auxiliary power supply unit. By not performing this, a part of the power amount of the auxiliary power supply unit is dedicated to a specific application.
[0017]
Therefore, even if the power stored in the auxiliary power supply unit is used for applications other than a specific application (for example, the start-up operation of the fixing device), if the power amount of the auxiliary power supply unit falls below the specified amount, Since the power supply to the application is cut off and a specified amount of power is secured for the specific application, it is possible to prevent the supply power to the specific application from being insufficient.
[0018]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, a plurality of the auxiliary power supplies are arranged in an order based on a power source for acquiring power to charge the plurality of auxiliary power supply apparatuses and a set priority. Charging means for connecting the power source to the apparatus to perform charging.
[0019]
Therefore, by setting a higher priority for charging the auxiliary power supply that stores power for important applications, power is preferentially charged from the auxiliary power supply and supplied to important applications with higher priority. Is prevented from running out.
[0020]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the priority is set to be highest for the auxiliary power supply device used only for the specific application.
[0021]
Therefore, the auxiliary power supply device provided exclusively for a specific application (for example, the rising operation of the fixing device) is charged first. This prevents a shortage of power supplied to the rising operation of the fixing device.
[0022]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth or fifth aspect, the power source is a commercial power source by the main power source device, and a power generator that is connected to a rotating body of the image forming device and generates power. And switching means for switching the power source for charging the auxiliary power supply device to the power generation device or the power generation device.
[0023]
Therefore, it is possible to switch the power source to a commercial power source even under use conditions where the power generation device does not sufficiently generate power using the rotational energy of the rotating body of the image forming apparatus. It is possible to prevent the power supply for a specific application (for example, the start-up operation of the fixing device) from being insufficient.
[0024]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second, fourth, fifth or sixth aspect, the auxiliary power supply device has an electrochemical capacitor configuration.
[0025]
Therefore, the electrochemical capacitor has a longer life compared to the battery, and therefore the running cost can be reduced compared to the battery.
[0026]
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or third aspect, the auxiliary power supply unit has an electrochemical capacitor configuration.
[0027]
Therefore, the electrochemical capacitor has a longer life compared to the battery, and therefore the running cost can be reduced compared to the battery.
[0028]
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first, second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect, the specific application includes a rising operation of the fixing device.
[0029]
Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the supply power for the rising operation of the fixing device from being insufficient.
[0030]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.
[0031]
As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 1 includes an image forming unit 2 that performs a printing operation by an electrophotographic method and forms a toner image on a sheet of recording material, a fixing device 3 that fixes a toner image on the sheet, The power supply unit 4 includes a control unit 5 that drives and controls these units. Since the configuration of the image forming unit 2 is the same as that conventionally known, detailed description is omitted, and the fixing device 3, the power supply unit 4, and the control unit 5 will be mainly described.
[0032]
The control unit 5 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 6, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 7 for storing fixed data such as a computer program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 8, and the like. Is controlled.
[0033]
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the fixing device 3 and the power supply unit 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the fixing device 3 is a fixing device 16 of a fixing belt 16 type, and includes a fixing roller 11, a pressure roller 12, a separation claw 13, a heating roller 14, a tension roller 15, a fixing belt 16 and electric power. It is comprised by the heaters 17-19 etc. which are supply objects. The fixing belt 16 is stretched between the fixing roller 11 and the heating roller 14, and a tension roller 15 is pressed from the outside of the belt loop to apply a predetermined tension to the fixing belt 16. The pressure roller 12 is disposed so as to face the fixing roller 11 and is pressed against the fixing roller 11 with a predetermined pressure with a fixing belt 16 sandwiched by a pressing means (not shown). The heaters 17 to 19 are, for example, halogen heaters, and are incorporated in the fixing roller 11, the pressure roller 12, and the heating roller 14, respectively. In the present embodiment, the member to be heated is heated using a halogen heater as the heaters 17 to 19, but induction is performed as described in JP-A-2001-242732 and JP-A-2001-13805. The member to be heated may be heated using a heating method.
[0034]
In the fixing device 3 of the present embodiment, the fixing roller 11 is rotated in the clockwise direction in the drawing by a driving mechanism (not shown), so that the fixing belt 16 is also rotated in the same direction. The pressure roller 12 is driven to rotate by the fixing roller 11 and rotates counterclockwise in the figure. A sheet (not shown) is unfixed toner on the sheet due to heat and pressure when passing from the right to the left in the drawing through the fixing nip where the fixing roller 11 and the pressure roller 12 are pressed against each other with the fixing belt 16 interposed therebetween. The image is fixed on the paper.
[0035]
The power supply unit 4 constitutes an auxiliary power supply unit 21 in addition to the main power supply device 20 which is a power source for supplying power to each unit of the image forming apparatus 1, and first and second auxiliary units provided exclusively for the fixing device 3. Power supply devices 22 and 23, a power generation device 24 that is a power source, and a switching device 25 that is switching means and switching means are provided.
[0036]
The main power supply device 20 is supplied with commercial power from an outlet or the like where the image forming apparatus 1 is installed. The first and second auxiliary power supply devices 22 and 23 have the same basic configuration and both have an electrochemical capacitor (not shown). As the electrochemical capacitor, for example, an electric double layer capacitor or a redox capacitor can be used. One or more electrochemical capacitors may be used. As will be described in detail later, the power of the first auxiliary power supply 22 is supplied to the heater 19 of the heating roller at the beginning of the start-up operation and fixing operation of the fixing device 3 (printing operation in the whole image forming apparatus 1) as a specific application. Only supplied. That is, the first auxiliary power supply 22 is a dedicated auxiliary power supply for supplying the heater 19 of the heating roller at the initial stage of the start-up operation and the printing operation of the fixing device 3. The electric power of the second auxiliary power supply 23 is supplied to the heater 17 of the fixing roller 11 during standby.
[0037]
The power generation device 24 is an arbitrary rotating body of the image forming apparatus 1 that is rotationally driven by a motor driving force (not shown), such as a photosensitive drum or an intermediate transfer belt (not shown) included in the fixing roller 11 and the image forming unit 2. It is connected to the drive shaft. In the present embodiment, the power generation device 24 is connected to a drive shaft (not shown) of the fixing roller 11 (in the drawing, mechanical connection is schematically shown by a broken line). Note that the number of power generation devices 24 connected to the rotating body of the image forming apparatus 1 is not necessarily one, and a plurality of power generation devices 24 may be provided.
[0038]
The switching device 25 switches the power supplied from the main power supply device 20 and the first and second auxiliary power supply devices 22 and 23 to the heater 17 of the fixing roller 11 and the heater 19 of the heating roller 14. The power supplied from the power generation device 24 to the first and second auxiliary power supply devices 22 and 23 is also switched. Although not shown in the present embodiment, power from the main power supply device 20 is supplied to the heater 18 built in the pressure roller 12 (power supply is cut off during standby).
[0039]
In the switching device 25, the main power supply device 20, the first and second auxiliary power supply devices 22, 23, the heater 17 of the fixing roller 11, the heater 19 of the heating roller 14, and the power generation device 24 are connected via switches S1 to S6. A connection part 26 is provided. This connection part 26 is a structure by which the connection part 26a and the connection part 26b are connected by switch S7. The main power supply device 20 and the heater 19 of the heating roller 14 are connected to one connecting portion 26a by switches S1 and S4. The first and second auxiliary power supply devices 22 and 23, the heater 17 of the fixing roller 11, and the power generation device 24 are The switches S2, S3, S5, and S6 are connected to the other connection portion 26b. In the drawing, the on / off state of each of the switches S1 to S7 is shown as mechanical switch means to make it easy to visually understand. However, the switching device 25 may have an electronic configuration such as an IC. Is possible.
[0040]
Next, the control of the switching device 25 performed by the CPU 6 according to the computer program and the operation thereof will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0041]
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the fixing device 3 and the power supply unit 4 in the state at the start of the printing operation and at the initial stage of the printing operation. As shown in FIG. 3, the switches S1, S2, S4, and S7 are closed and the switches S3, S5, and S6 are opened during the start-up operation from the standby state and at the beginning of the printing operation. Thereby, electric power is supplied from both the main power supply device 20 and the first auxiliary power supply device 22 to the heater 19 of the heating roller 14. When starting up from the standby state or starting the printing operation, it is necessary to raise the temperature of the heating roller 14 in a short time and quickly raise the temperature of the fixing belt 16 to the set temperature. In the case of the present embodiment, at the time of start-up and at the start of the printing operation, in addition to the normal power by the main power supply device 20, by supplying the power stored in the first auxiliary power supply device 22 to the heater 19, The temperature of the fixing belt 16 can be raised rapidly. Further, it is possible to prevent an initial drop in the temperature of the fixing belt 16 due to the passage of the sheet at the beginning of the printing operation.
[0042]
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the fixing device 3 and the power supply unit 4 during a normal printing operation. As shown in FIG. 4, during a normal printing operation after the initial stage, the switches S1, S4, S5, and S7 are closed and the switches S2, S3, and S6 are opened, and the heater 17 and the heating roller of the fixing roller 11 are opened. Power is supplied from the main power supply device 20 to the 14 heaters 19.
[0043]
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the fixing device 3 and the power supply unit 4 in a state where the temperature of the fixing device 3 is stable in the printing operation. As shown in FIG. 5, after the printing operation is started, when the surface temperature of the fixing belt 16 and the fixing roller 11 or the pressure roller 12 of the fixing device 3 is stabilized, the switches S1, S3, S4, S5 and S7 are opened. S2 and S6 are closed. Specifically, this switching is performed when a predetermined time elapses after the start of the printing operation, or is performed by detecting the temperature of the fixing belt 16 or the fixing roller 11 using a temperature sensor (not shown) and judging the temperature stability. Anyway. As a result, the power generated by the power generation device 24 by the rotation of the fixing roller 11 and the drive shaft (not shown) of the fixing roller 11 is supplied to the first auxiliary power supply device 22, and the electrochemical capacitor in the first auxiliary power supply device 22. To charge.
[0044]
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the fixing device 3 and the power supply unit 4 in another state in which the temperature of the fixing device 3 is stabilized in the printing operation. When the first auxiliary power supply 22 is charged, as shown in FIG. 6, the switches S1, S2, S4, S5, S7 are opened, the switches S3, S6 are closed, and the electric power in the second auxiliary power supply 23 is Transition to chemical capacitor charging.
[0045]
Thus, in the present embodiment, the priority of charging is set higher for the first auxiliary power supply device 22 than for the second auxiliary power supply device 23. The first auxiliary power supply 22 is preferentially charged over the second auxiliary power supply 23 by using the power of the first auxiliary power supply 22 as auxiliary power during the start-up operation of the fixing device 3 and the initial printing operation. Therefore, as will be described later, this is because the power is more important than the power of the second auxiliary power supply device 23 used as standby auxiliary power. Here, a function of a charging unit that performs charging by connecting a power source to a plurality of auxiliary power supply devices in an order based on the set priority is realized.
[0046]
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the fixing device 3 and the power supply unit 4 during standby. At the time of standby, as shown in FIG. 7, the switches S1, S2, S4, S6 and S7 are opened, and the switches S3 and S5 are closed. As a result, power supply from the main power supply device 20 is cut off, and power is supplied from the second auxiliary power supply device 23 to the heater 17 of the fixing roller 11. For this reason, the fixing roller 11 having a larger heat capacity than the fixing belt 16 can be preheated, and it is possible to quickly start fixing at the start of printing. In this standby time, power is not supplied from the main power supply device 20 connected to the commercial power supply, so that energy saving in the standby time is realized.
[0047]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the power of the first auxiliary power supply 22 is only supplied to the heater 19 of the heating roller 14 at the start-up operation of the fixing device 3 and the initial stage of the printing operation. The power of the apparatus 22 is ensured only for supply to the heater 19 of the heating roller 14 at the start-up operation of the fixing device 3 and at the initial stage of the printing operation.
[0048]
Next, since the power generation device 24 uses the motor driving force as a power generation source, the power generation efficiency may deteriorate when the intermittent printing operation is repeated on a small number of sheets. Therefore, in such a case, the power source for charging the electrochemical capacitor is switched from the power generation device 24 to the main power supply device 20 to charge the electrochemical capacitors of the first and second auxiliary power supply devices 22 and 23. Here, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a state of charging from the main power supply device 20 to the first auxiliary power supply device 22, and FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a state of charging from the main power supply device 20 to the second auxiliary power supply device 23. . When charging the first auxiliary power supply device 22 from the main power supply device 20, as shown in FIG. 8, the switches S1, S2, S7 are closed and the switches S3, S4, S5, S6 are opened. When charging the second auxiliary power supply device 23 from the main power supply device 20, as shown in FIG. 9, the switches S1, S3, S7 are closed and the switches S2, S4, S5, S6 are opened.
[0049]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the power stored in the first auxiliary power supply device 22 is added to the power from the main power supply device 20 and supplied to the heater 19 at the beginning of the start-up operation and printing operation of the fixing device 3. By doing so, the fixing start-up operation time can be shortened.
[0050]
In addition, since the electric power stored in the first auxiliary power supply 22 is reserved exclusively for supply power for the rising operation and the initial printing operation of the fixing device 3 as a specific application, the rising operation and the initial printing operation of the fixing device 3 are secured. Insufficient power supply to the is prevented.
[0051]
In addition, when charging the first and second auxiliary power supply devices 22 and 23, the first auxiliary power supply device 22 is preferentially charged. Therefore, the start-up operation and the initial printing operation of the fixing device 3 which are important applications are used. Insufficient power supply to the is prevented.
[0052]
In addition, the first and second auxiliary power supply devices 22 and 23 are charged from the commercial power supply by the main power supply device 20 even under use conditions where the power generation device 24 does not sufficiently generate power using the rotational energy of the rotating body of the image forming apparatus 1. Thus, the first and second auxiliary power supply devices 22 and 23 can be charged sufficiently, so that the supply power for the start-up operation and the initial printing operation of the fixing device 3 is prevented from being insufficient.
[0053]
In addition, the electrochemical capacitors of the first and second auxiliary power supply devices 22 and 23 have a longer life compared to the battery, so that the running cost can be reduced compared to the battery.
[0054]
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated examples, the present invention is not limited to this, and the configurations of the fixing device 3 and the image forming apparatus 1 can be changed as appropriate. For example, an appropriate configuration such as a method for supporting the fixing belt 16 in the fixing device 3 or a structure including a pressure belt can be adopted. Further, the fixing device 3 is not limited to the belt fixing method described in the present embodiment, and may be a heat roller method. In this case, for example, the auxiliary power supply unit 21 may ensure the supply power for a specific use among the uses of the heater built in the heating roller and the pressure roller disposed opposite to each other. Also, the number of heaters 17 to 19 is arbitrary. Further, the number of power generation devices 24 may be one or more.
[0055]
Next, as another embodiment, when the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply unit 21 is equal to or less than a specified amount, power may not be supplied except for a specific application (rise operation of the fixing device 3). Good. In this case, the first and second auxiliary power supply units 22 and 23 are not dedicated to the heaters 17 and 19, respectively, and the first and second auxiliary power supply units 22 and 23 supply power to both the heaters 17 and 19. To do. And the electric energy measuring device (not shown) as a measurement means which measures the electrical storage amount of the auxiliary power supply part 21 is provided, and the electrical storage amount of the auxiliary power supply part 21 is always monitored by this electric power measurement device.
[0056]
When the amount of power of the auxiliary power supply unit 21 is larger than the specified amount, the auxiliary power supply unit 21 supplies power for each application from the auxiliary power supply unit 21 (for example, the standby heater 17 and the startup heater 19). To supply power. When the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply unit 21 is less than the specified amount, power is not supplied except for the heater 19 in the startup operation of the fixing device 3. For example, when power is supplied to the heater 17 during standby, and the power amount of the auxiliary power source 21 is less than a specified amount, the switching device 25 is driven to turn the heater 17 and the auxiliary power source 21 Disconnect the power to stop the power supply. As a result, a prescribed amount of power among the amount of power of the auxiliary power supply unit 21 is ensured for the start-up of the fixing device 3, thereby preventing the supply power for the start-up of the fixing device 3 from being insufficient.
[0057]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, an image includes a fixing device that heats and fixes a toner image formed on a recording material by an electrophotographic method, and a main power supply device that can supply power to the fixing device. The forming apparatus includes an auxiliary power supply unit that stores electric power, and a part of the electric power amount of the auxiliary power supply unit is dedicated to a specific application, whereby the electric power stored in the auxiliary power supply unit is used for a specific application (for example, Even if it is used for applications other than the fixing device start-up operation), a part of the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply is reserved for the specific application, so that the power supplied to the specific application is insufficient. Can be prevented.
[0058]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the auxiliary power supply unit includes a plurality of auxiliary power supply units, and the auxiliary power supply unit and a power supply target unit of the fixing device. A switch means for connecting and disconnecting is provided, and at least one of the auxiliary power supply devices is connected by the switch means only to the power supply target unit used for the specific application in a specific application. Therefore, by dedicating the amount of power of the auxiliary power supply device to a specific application, at least one of the plurality of auxiliary power supply apparatuses is not used for any other purpose than the specific application. Insufficient power supply can be prevented.
[0059]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the switch means for connecting and disconnecting the auxiliary power supply unit and the power supply target unit of the fixing device, and the auxiliary power supply unit Measuring means for measuring the amount of power, and when the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply unit is less than or equal to a specified amount, the power supply target unit used for purposes other than a specific application and the auxiliary power supply unit By not connecting, a part of the power amount of the auxiliary power supply unit is dedicated to a specific application, so that the electric power stored in the auxiliary power supply unit is used for a specific application (for example, a rising operation of the fixing device). Even if it is used for other applications, if the power amount of the auxiliary power supply unit falls below the specified amount, the power supply to that application is cut off and the specified amount of power is reserved for the specific application. Power supply for specific applications But it is possible to prevent a shortage.
[0060]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, a plurality of the power sources that acquire power to charge the plurality of auxiliary power supply units, and the plurality of the order in the order based on the set priority. And charging means for connecting the power source to the auxiliary power supply device to charge the auxiliary power supply device. Since charging is performed preferentially from the device, it is possible to prevent a shortage of power supplied to important applications with high priority.
[0061]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the priority is set to a specific value because the auxiliary power supply device used only for the specific application is set to the highest level. Since the auxiliary power supply provided exclusively for the application (for example, the rising operation of the fixing device) is charged first, it is possible to prevent the supply power for the rising operation of the fixing device from being insufficient.
[0062]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth or fifth aspect, the power source is a power generation unit connected to a commercial power source of the main power unit and a rotating body of the image forming apparatus to generate power. And a switching means for switching the power source for charging the auxiliary power supply device to the power generation device or the power generation device, so that the power generation device can generate power by the rotational energy of the rotating body of the image forming apparatus. Even under inadequate use conditions, the power source can be switched to a commercial power supply, which allows sufficient storage in the auxiliary power supply so that it can be supplied to a specific application (rising operation of the fixing device) Insufficient power can be prevented.
[0063]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second, fourth, fifth, or sixth aspect, the auxiliary power supply device has an electrochemical capacitor configuration. Since the lifetime is long, the running cost can be lowered compared to the battery.
[0064]
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or third aspect, since the auxiliary power supply unit has an electrochemical capacitor configuration, the electrochemical capacitor has a longer life than a battery. The running cost can be reduced compared to the battery.
[0065]
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first, second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect, the specific application includes a rising operation of the fixing device. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a shortage of power supplied to the rising operation of the fixing device.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a fixing device and a power supply unit.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fixing device and a power supply unit in a state at a start-up operation and at an initial stage of a printing operation.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fixing device and a power supply unit during a normal printing operation.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fixing device and a power supply unit in a state where the temperature of the fixing device is stable in a printing operation.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fixing device and a power supply unit in another state in which the temperature of the fixing device is stabilized in a printing operation.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fixing device and a power supply unit during standby.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which charging is performed from the main power supply device to the first auxiliary power supply device.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which charging is performed from the main power supply device to the second auxiliary power supply device.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Image forming device
3 Fixing device
17 Heater (object for power supply)
19 Heater (Power supply target)
20 Main power supply (power source)
21 Auxiliary power supply
22 First auxiliary power supply (auxiliary power supply)
23 Second auxiliary power supply (auxiliary power supply)
24 Power generator (power source)
25 Switching device (switch means, switching means)

Claims (9)

In an image forming apparatus comprising: a fixing device that heats and fixes a toner image formed on a recording material by an electrophotographic method; and a main power supply device that can supply power to the fixing device.
An auxiliary power supply unit that stores electric power is provided,
An image forming apparatus characterized in that a part of the power amount of the auxiliary power supply unit is dedicated to a specific application. The auxiliary power supply unit has a plurality of auxiliary power supply devices,
Switch means for connecting and disconnecting the auxiliary power supply device and the power supply target portion of the fixing device;
When at least one of the auxiliary power supply devices is connected to the power supply target unit used for the specific application by the switch means at the time of the specific application, the power amount of the auxiliary power supply device is reduced. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is dedicated to a specific application. Switch means for connecting and disconnecting the auxiliary power supply unit and the power supply target unit of the fixing device;
Measuring means for measuring the amount of power of the auxiliary power supply unit,
When the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply unit is less than or equal to a specified amount, the connection of the power supply target unit used for purposes other than a specific application and the auxiliary power supply unit is not performed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a part of the electric energy is dedicated to a specific application. A power source for acquiring power for charging the plurality of auxiliary power devices;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a charging unit configured to perform charging by connecting the power source to a plurality of the auxiliary power supply devices in an order based on a set priority. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the priority is set to be highest for the auxiliary power supply device used only for the specific application. The power source is a commercial power supply by the main power supply device and a power generation device that is connected to a rotating body of the image forming apparatus and generates power.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a switching unit that switches the power source for charging the auxiliary power device to the commercial power source or the power generation device. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the auxiliary power supply device has an electrochemical capacitor configuration. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary power supply unit has an electrochemical capacitor configuration. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific application includes a rising operation of the fixing device.

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