JP2005084308A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the deviation of toner consumption of every color of a color image forming apparatus provided with a stitching device using toner as an adhesive. <P>SOLUTION: In the multicolor image forming apparatus provided with the stitching device for bonding a paper by again heating a stitching pattern formed on an image, the stitching pattern is formed by the following processes; (1) color used in the stitching pattern is changed every page, (2) the color of forming the stitching pattern is selected in accordance with the accumulation of a pixel count of exposure, (3) the remaining amount of toner of each color is compared with each other and the stitching pattern is formed by using a large amount of remaining toner, (4) the stitching pattern is not formed by using a small amount of toner and (5) the number of pages capable of being printed from the consumption rate and the remaining amount of each color toner is speculated every color and the colors of forming the stitching pattern are selected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a binding device.

  FIG. 12 shows a conventional image forming apparatus with a binding device.

  In FIG. 12, 118 is an image forming apparatus, and 60 is a binding apparatus.

  First, the image forming apparatus will be described.

  In FIG. 12, 101 is a photosensitive drum, 102 is a charging roller, 103 is an exposure device, 104 is a developing roller, 105 is a toner container, 106 is a developing device, 107 is a cleaner, 108 is a transfer roller, and 109 is a paper feed tray. 110 is a transfer material, 111 is a paper feed roller, 112 and 113 are conveyance guides, 114 is a fixing device, 115 is a fixing roller, 116 is a pressure roller, and 117 is a fixing entrance guide.

  In image formation, a photosensitive drum 101 having a photosensitive layer formed on an aluminum cylinder is uniformly charged by a charging roller 102 to which a bias is applied.

  Next, exposure is performed by the exposure device 103 to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 101.

  The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 101 is visualized by the developing device 106.

  The developing device 106 includes a toner container 105 containing toner and a developing drum 104.

  The toner on the toner container 105 is charged by rubbing against the developing roller 104 and is carried to a portion facing the photosensitive drum 101.

  A bias is applied to the developing roller 104, and the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 101 is visualized by the action of the bias.

  The paper 110 on the paper feed tray 109 is conveyed by the paper feed roller 111 according to the image on the photosensitive drum 101.

  The paper is conveyed along the conveyance guide 112 to the contact portion between the photosensitive drum 101 and the transfer roller 108.

  The transfer roller 108 and the photosensitive drum 101 rotate while pinching the paper 110 and convey the paper 110.

  A bias having a polarity opposite to the charging of the toner is applied to the transfer roller 108, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 101 is transferred onto the paper 110.

  The paper 110 on which the toner image is placed is conveyed to the fixing device 114 along the conveyance guide 113.

  The fixing device 114 is provided with a heated fixing roller 115 and a pressure roller 116 in pressure contact therewith.

  The fixing entrance guide 117 is a guide member for guiding the paper 110 to the contact nip between the fixing roller 115 and the pressure roller 116.

  The paper on which the toner image is placed is sandwiched between the fixing roller 115 and the pressure roller 116 and is conveyed by the rotation of both rollers.

  At this time, the toner image on the paper 110 is melted by the heat of the fixing roller 115 and pressed against the paper surface by the pressure of the pressure roller 116 to be fixed.

  Next, the binding device 60 will be described.

  For binding, after printing the binding pattern provided on the paper surface, reheat it with a heater provided in the binding device to soften the toner, and simultaneously adhere the binding paper, then cool the toner image naturally and attach the stacked paper Do that.

  Reference numeral 60 shown in FIG. 12 denotes a binding device.

  Reference numerals 61 and 64 denote stack trays, 62 and 63 denote conveyance rollers, 65 and 66 denote heaters, 67 and 68 denote paper discharge rollers, and 69 denotes a paper discharge tray.

  The paper 110 fixed by the fixing device 114 is discharged onto the stack trays 61 and 64.

  When the designated number of sheets is accumulated on the stack trays 61 and 64, the heater 66 is lowered onto the paper surface and sandwiched together with the heater 65, and the second and subsequent paper binding patterns from the top are heated and pressed.

  Thereafter, the heater 66 moves away from the paper surface.

  Thereafter, the conveyance rollers 63 and 68 are lowered onto the paper surface and are rotated to discharge the bound paper onto the paper discharge tray 69.

  When the binding is not performed, the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 69 as it is without staying on the stack trays 61 and 64.

  FIG. 13 is an example of an image when binding is performed.

  In FIG. 13, reference numeral 70 denotes a printed paper, 71 denotes an image pattern such as characters, and 72 denotes an image pattern for binding.

A technique is known in which, after a toner image is formed on a paper surface, the paper surface is heated and pressed in a superposed state, and the paper is bound by adhesion (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-7-223387 (Section 5-8, Fig. 1)

  However, the conventional binding device has no particular problem in a single-color image forming apparatus, but in a multi-color image forming apparatus, there is a problem that only a specific toner used for a binding image is quickly lost.

  In particular, in an image forming apparatus that forms an image such as a color photograph, a normal image cannot be formed if even one color of toner is used up. Therefore, toner replenishment must be performed frequently.

  In the case of a cartridge system in which a drum, a charging roller, a developing device, and a cleaner are integrated, the number of cartridge replacements increases.

  In addition, in the case of an image forming apparatus that replaces all the color drums, charging rollers, developing units, and cleaners as a single unit, the toner of one color is used up, and the toner of other colors remains sufficiently. It must be exchanged.

  This problem becomes more prominent when printing at a low printing rate is repeated.

  The reason is that as the printing rate decreases, the ratio of the binding image pattern to the printing rate increases.

  An object of the present invention is to reduce toner consumption of an image forming apparatus having a mechanism for printing a binding image pattern on a sheet and binding a plurality of sheets in an image forming apparatus having a plurality of developing devices. In other words, it is possible to prevent bias by printing an image pattern for binding.

1. In order to achieve the above object, the first invention according to the present invention provides:
An image forming apparatus having a multi-color developing device is characterized in that the colors of toners for forming a binding image pattern are sequentially switched.

  In the configuration described above, changing the color forming the binding pattern acts to prevent uneven consumption of toner with the formation of the binding pattern.

2. In order to achieve the above object, the second invention according to the present invention provides:
An image forming apparatus having a multi-color developing device and performing different exposures again to form an image in each developing device, and forming a binding pattern with a color with a small exposure amount And

  In the above configuration, forming a binding pattern with a color with a small exposure amount acts to prevent uneven toner consumption.

3. In order to achieve the above object, the third invention according to the present invention provides:
It has multiple color developing devices, and each developing device is provided with a means for detecting the toner amount. Based on the information of the toner amount detecting means, a binding pattern is formed in a color with a large amount of toner remaining. It is characterized by performing.

  In the above configuration, forming a binding pattern with a color having a large amount of remaining toner acts to prevent uneven toner consumption.

4). In order to achieve the above object, a fourth invention according to the present invention provides:
An image forming apparatus having a plurality of color developing devices, and each developing device is provided with a means for detecting that the toner amount is low, and the remaining amount of toner is low based on information of the toner amount detecting means A binding pattern is formed using a material other than toner.

  In the above configuration, printing a binding image using a toner other than a toner with a small amount of toner acts to reduce a toner consumption rate per page of a toner with a small amount of toner.

5). In order to achieve the above object, a fifth invention according to the present invention provides:
In an image forming apparatus having a multi-color developing device, a means for detecting the toner amount of each developing device and a storage device for storing the remaining amount of each color toner and the number of printed pages are provided. It is characterized in that the color of the binding pattern is selected based on the remaining amount information.

  In the above configuration, selecting the binding pattern forming color based on the information on the number of printed pages and the remaining amount of toner acts to prevent uneven toner consumption.

1. As explained above, according to the first invention of the present invention,
By sequentially switching the toner colors used for the binding image, there is an effect that the toner consumption imbalance due to the binding pattern can be eliminated and the number of toner replenishment or cartridge replacement can be reduced.

2. According to the second invention of the present invention,
The image forming apparatus that performs exposure corresponding to a plurality of developing devices forms a binding image with toner with less exposure color, thereby reducing the difference in the amount of toner to be used and replenishing toner or replacing the cartridge. There is an effect that the number of times can be reduced.

3. According to the third aspect of the present invention, by forming a binding pattern with toner having a large amount of toner based on the information on the amount of toner detected by the means for detecting the amount of toner, This has the effect of reducing the bias and reducing the number of times of toner replenishment or cartridge replacement.

4). According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the toner remaining amount detecting means that operates when the toner in the developing device becomes a predetermined amount or less is provided. By not printing, the toner consumption due to the binding pattern when the remaining amount of toner is reduced can be eliminated, and the number of toner replenishment or cartridge replacement can be reduced.

5). According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, selecting the color toner that forms the binding pattern from the information on the number of printed sheets and the remaining amount of toner reduces the difference between printable sheets and replenishes toner or cartridges. There is an effect that the number of exchanges can be reduced.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.

  1, 11, 21, and 31 are photosensitive drums, 2, 12, 22, and 32 are charging rollers, 3, 13, 23, and 33 are exposure devices, 4, 14, 24, and 34 are developing devices, 5, 15, 25, 35 are developing rollers, 6, 16, 26, 36 are developing blades, 7, 17, 27, 37 are toner containers, 8, 18, 28, 38 are cleaners, 9, 19, 29, 39. Are cleaning blades, 10, 20, 30, and 40 are waste toner containers.

  The exposure apparatus 3 performs exposure to form a yellow latent image, the exposure apparatus 13 displays a magenta latent image, the exposure apparatus 23 generates a cyan latent image, and the exposure apparatus 33 generates a black latent image. Exposure for forming is performed.

  The developing device 4 develops the latent image on the photoreceptor with yellow toner (developer), the developing device 14 uses magenta toner, the developing device 24 uses cyan toner, and the developing device 34 uses black toner. Develop with toner.

  Reference numeral 41 is an intermediate transfer belt, 42 and 43 are rollers for driving the intermediate transfer belt 41, and 44, 45, 46 and 47 are primary transfer rollers.

  Reference numeral 48 denotes a paper feed tray, 49 denotes paper as a transfer material, 50 denotes a paper feed roller, 51 denotes a conveyance guide, 52 denotes a secondary transfer roller, 53 denotes a fixing entrance guide, and 54 denotes an intermediate transfer belt cleaner.

  55 denotes a fixing device, 56 denotes a fixing roller, and 57 denotes a pressure roller.

  Reference numeral 60 denotes a binding device.

  Reference numerals 61 and 64 denote stack trays, 62 and 63 denote conveyance rollers, 65 and 66 denote heaters, 67 and 68 denote paper discharge rollers, and 69 denotes a paper discharge tray.

  74 is a controller for controlling the optical system, motor, high-voltage power supply, paper conveyance, heater, etc. in the apparatus, 75 is an image developing apparatus that develops an image signal input to the apparatus into an on / off signal of the exposure apparatus, and 76 is an image. An arithmetic unit such as a computer that outputs a signal to the image forming apparatus.

  Reference numeral 77 denotes the entire image forming apparatus. An electrical component 78 includes a high-voltage power source for image formation and a power source for converting a commercial power source into a DC low voltage for driving apparatus components such as a motor.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus will be described.

  The photosensitive drum 1 has a photosensitive layer provided on an aluminum cylinder.

  On the photosensitive drum 1, the charging roller 2 abuts and rotates along with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 1.

  The surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged by rotating the photosensitive drum 1 and applying a bias to the charging roller 2.

  Exposure is performed by the exposure apparatus 3.

  The exposure is performed by driving the scanning laser light on / off.

  In the exposure apparatus 3, the laser is turned on and off in accordance with the yellow image signal.

  The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1 is visualized by the developing device 4.

  The toner container 7 contains yellow toner, and the toner adheres to the developing roller 5.

  The developing roller 5 rubs against the developing blade 6 by rotating.

  The toner on the developing roller 5 is frictionally charged when the developing roller 5 and the developing blade 6 are rubbed.

  A bias is applied to the developing roller 5, and the toner is transferred by the potential difference between the voltage of the developing roller 5 and the latent image on the photosensitive drum 1, and the latent image is visualized.

  A bias having a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the toner is applied to the primary transfer roller 44 to transfer the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 to the intermediate transfer belt 41.

  The exposure device 13 performs magenta image exposure, and the developing unit 14 performs magenta development. The primary transfer roller 45 transfers a magenta toner image.

  The exposure device 23 performs cyan image exposure, and the developing unit 24 performs cyan development. The primary transfer roller 46 transfers a cyan toner image.

  The exposure device 33 performs black image exposure, and the developing unit 34 performs black development. The primary transfer roller 47 transfers a black toner image.

  The intermediate transfer belt 41 is stretched around drive rollers 42 and 43 and is driven to rotate.

  By sequentially transferring, four color toner images are placed.

  The paper 49 on the paper feed tray 48 is fed into the apparatus by the paper feed roller 50 in accordance with the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 41.

  The paper 49 is conveyed through a conveyance guide 51 to a secondary transfer nip formed by the driving roller 43, the intermediate transfer belt 41, and the secondary transfer roller 52.

  A bias having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied to the secondary transfer roller 52, and the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 41 is transferred onto the paper 49.

  The toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 41 without being transferred is collected by the intermediate transfer belt cleaner 54.

  The paper 49 on which the toner image is placed is conveyed to the fixing device 55 through the fixing entrance guide 53.

  The fixing roller 56 is heated from the inside by a heater (not shown).

  The pressure roller 57 is in pressure contact with the fixing roller 56 and rotates following the fixing roller 56.

  The paper 49 on which the unfixed toner image is placed passes through a nip formed by the fixing roller 56 and the pressure roller 57 to fix the toner image on the paper surface.

  Since the photosensitive drum, the charging roller, and the cleaner are deteriorated with use, it is necessary to replace them after use to some extent.

  Further, since the toner is consumed together with printing, it is necessary to supply the toner.

  In the conventional image forming apparatus, in addition to the replenishment type image forming apparatus that separately replaces and supplies them, the photosensitive drum, the charging roller, the cleaner, and the developing device are integrated as a cartridge 73 as shown in FIG. There is a cartridge system to replace at once.

  The cartridge is replaced when the photosensitive drum, the charging roller, and the cleaner are used up or when the toner runs out.

  The cartridge may be configured for each single color, or may be configured as an integrated cartridge including photosensitive drums, charging rollers, developing units, and cleaners for all colors.

  Next, the binding operation will be described.

  FIG. 13 is an example of an image when binding is performed.

  In FIG. 13, reference numeral 70 denotes a printed paper, 71 denotes an image pattern such as characters, and 72 denotes an image pattern for binding.

  Binding is performed by reheating the binding pattern 72 after printing, softening the toner, naturally cooling again, and attaching the stacked paper.

  Binding is performed by the binding device 60 shown in FIG.

  The paper fixed by the fixing device 55 is discharged onto the stack trays 61 and 64.

  When the designated number of sheets is accumulated on the stack trays 61 and 64, the heater 66 is lowered onto the paper surface and sandwiched together with the heater 65, and the second and subsequent paper binding patterns from the top are heated and pressed.

  Thereafter, the heater 66 moves away from the paper surface.

  Thereafter, the conveyance rollers 63 and 68 are lowered onto the paper surface and are rotated to discharge the bound paper onto the paper discharge tray 69.

  When the binding is not performed, the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 69 as it is without staying on the stack trays 61 and 64.

  Next, a process for outputting an image from an image signal will be described.

  In image formation, first, image information is sent from a computing device 76 such as a computer connected to the image forming apparatus. The image information is converted into an image signal for driving an exposure apparatus that can be drawn by the image development device 75.

  When printing a color image, the image developing device 75 receives color image information.

  Based on the information, an image signal for driving the four-color exposure apparatus is formed.

  The controller 74 controls driving of the motor and high-voltage power supply in the image forming apparatus, and also controls exposure of the exposure apparatuses 3, 13, 23, and 33 corresponding to the respective colors.

  In the case of binding, a pattern for binding is printed in addition to the image signal sent from the computer 76.

  When printing a binding pattern, when the image expansion device 75 receives binding effective request information from a computing device 76 such as a computer, the image expansion device 75 adds an image signal for binding to the controller 74 and outputs an image to the controller 74. Send a signal. Based on the signal, the controller 74 drives the exposure device to print a bound image.

  In this embodiment, the binding image pattern is performed by sequentially switching the colors.

  An example is shown in FIG.

  Reference numeral 70 shown in FIG. 14 is paper, and is a diagram schematically stacked obliquely so that an image pattern for binding can be seen. An example in which six sheets are stacked in order of the first sheet, the second sheet, and the third sheet from the bottom is shown.

  Reference numeral 71 denotes an image pattern as information such as characters, figures, and photographs.

  Reference numerals 94 to 97 denote image patterns for binding. 94 is yellow, 95 is magenta, 96 is cyan, and 97 is black.

  In this embodiment, the binding pattern is switched in the order of yellow → magenta → cyan → black.

  Therefore, a yellow binding pattern 94 is formed on the first sheet from the bottom. By reheating the binding pattern, the first and second sheets are bonded.

  In the binding pattern 94, the formatter 75 forms a binding pattern image signal in response to a binding instruction from the external computer 76. The controller 74 transmits a light emission signal to the exposure device 3 based on the signal, and the exposure device 3 performs exposure. The developing device 4 performs development and is formed with yellow toner.

  The binding pattern 95 to be printed on the second sheet is printed with magenta toner from the developing device 14.

  The third binding pattern 96 is printed with cyan toner from the developing device 24, and the fourth binding pattern 97 is printed with black toner from the developing device 34. The fifth binding pattern is formed again with yellow toner.

  When drawing of the binding image is completed in yellow, magenta, and cyan without completing a cycle, the next color after drawing may be the first color after drawing.

  For example, the formation of the binding pattern in FIG. 14 is completed in magenta. However, when binding is performed next, a cyan binding pattern is formed on the first sheet, and the colors may be changed sequentially.

  As described above, by sequentially printing the binding image pattern while changing the color, it is possible to prevent only a specific color toner from being reduced due to the formation of the binding pattern.

  As a result, the number of toner replenishments can be reduced and the number of maintenance of the apparatus can be reduced.

  In the case of a cartridge system in which the process units around the photosensitive drum are combined, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that reduces the number of replacements of the cartridge and suppresses the running cost.

  FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, 79 represents an exposure amount counter and memory for each color, and 80 represents an image forming apparatus.

  This embodiment describes an image forming apparatus that performs image exposure on a photosensitive drum with a scanning laser beam or an LED array, counts the amount of light emitted from these exposure apparatuses, and has a memory for storing the accumulation. To do.

  When the exposure apparatus is a laser scanner that uses scanning laser light, the exposure amount is the accumulated time of laser lighting.

  When the exposure apparatus is an LED array, the total amount of accumulated lighting times of individual LEDs is the exposure amount.

  The exposure apparatus of the image forming apparatus of this embodiment is a laser scanner that scans with laser light.

  By accumulating the laser light emission time, the amount of toner consumption is estimated, and the computer is notified of the toner replenishment timing as a guide.

  The light emission time is accumulated for all the exposure apparatuses 3, 13, 23, and 33.

  The image pattern for binding determines which color toner is formed based on the exposure amount information.

  Specifically, the binding pattern is printed using the toner of the image forming unit that emits the least amount of light among the four color toners.

  For example, when an image is formed with black, yellow, and magenta, the exposure amount of cyan is small.

  When a closed image is printed on this page, a binding image is printed with cyan toner.

  When printing a binding image on the next page (second page), the accumulated exposure amounts of the first and second pages are compared, and the binding image is printed with a color having the smallest exposure amount. .

  The accumulated exposure amount includes the exposure amount of the binding image for the first page.

  On the other hand, in consideration of the case where printing with a single color continues, priority may be given to the order of colors forming the binding pattern.

  For example, if priorities are set in the order of yellow → magenta → cyan → black, the following operation is performed for black only printing.

  When characters are printed with black toner, the amount of exposure only for black increases. On this page, the exposure amounts of the yellow, magenta, and cyan exposure devices are similarly zero. However, since priority is given to the colors used for the binding image pattern, yellow toner is used for the binding image on this page.

  When the next page is also printed in black, the cumulative exposure amount is black, and the next is yellow.

  Magenta and cyan are both zero.

  Magenta toner is used for the binding image on this page.

  By assigning priorities to the binding patterns in this way, it is possible to cope with the case of performing monochrome printing.

  With the configuration described above, it is possible to print a binding image with a small amount of toner, and to reduce the number of toner replenishments or cartridge replacements.

  A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.

  The same reference numerals as above indicate the same members.

  Reference numerals 83, 84, 85 and 86 shown in FIG. 3 denote remaining amount detection circuits (hereinafter referred to as remaining detection circuits) for detecting the amount of toner in the developing machine.

  The remaining detection circuit 83 detects the remaining amount of yellow toner in the developing device 4.

  The remaining detection circuit 84 detects the remaining amount of magenta toner contained in the developing device 14.

  The remaining detection circuit 85 detects the remaining amount of cyan toner in the developing device 24.

  The remaining detection circuit 86 detects the amount of black toner remaining in the developing device 34.

  The residual detection circuits 83, 84, 85, 86 transmit the toner amount in each developing device to the controller 74 as an electrical signal.

  A method of detecting the remaining amount is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a yellow developing device.

  In the figure, 80 is an antenna plate, 81 is a power supply plate, 82 is a developing bias power source, and 83 is a residual detection circuit.

  The antenna plate 80 and the power supply plate 81 are made of stainless steel and have a length in the horizontal direction of the paper of 50 mm and a length in the depth direction of 200 mm.

  The antenna plate 80 and the power supply plate 81 are attached at a distance of 40 mm in parallel with the toner container 7 interposed therebetween.

  The capacitance between the antenna plate 80 and the electrode plate 81 is 0.2 pF when the developing device is empty, and 1.6 pF when 200 g of toner is in the developing device.

  FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the toner amount in the developing machine and the electrostatic capacity between the antenna plate 80 and the electrode plate 81.

  The electrostatic capacity of the antenna plate 80 and the electrode plate 81 increases as the amount of toner increases.

  This is because the relative dielectric constant of the toner is about 3.0, which is larger than that of air, and the electrostatic capacity between the antenna plate 80 and the electrode plate 81 changes depending on the amount of toner.

  A bias is supplied to the electrode plate 81 from a developing bias power source 82.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the developing bias power supply 82 is a bias in which a direct current of −500 V and a rectangular wave alternating current of 2000 Hz and Vpp 1600 V are superimposed.

  By applying an alternating voltage to the electrode plate 81, a voltage having a differential waveform of the alternating voltage is generated on the antenna plate 80. When the voltage is confirmed at the position of the wiring A in FIG. 4, a waveform as shown in FIG. 7 can be observed.

  The peak value of the waveform increases as the capacitance between the antenna plate 80 and the electrode plate 81 increases.

  By smoothing this with the residual detection circuit 83, a voltage corresponding to the amount of toner in the developing device 4 can be transmitted to the controller 74.

  In the configuration of this embodiment, the amount of toner in the developing device 4 and the output to the controller 74 at the wiring B portion are as shown in FIG.

  When the toner amount is small, the signal voltage from the residual detection circuit 83 is small, and when the toner amount is large, the signal voltage is large.

  The controller 74 can detect the toner amount by the output voltage of the residual detection circuit 83.

  In this embodiment, the signal voltages of the residual detection circuits 83, 84, 85, and 86 are compared, and a binding image is formed with the toner having the most remaining amount.

  Thereby, the unevenness of the toner consumption due to the printing of the binding pattern can be eliminated, and the number of toner replenishment or cartridge replacement can be reduced.

  FIG. 9 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

  The same reference numerals as above indicate the same members.

  Reference numerals 88, 89, 90 and 91 shown in FIG. 9 denote piezoelectric elements.

  The piezoelectric element is an element that changes the pressure change on the surface into an electric signal, and identifies the presence or absence of toner on the mounting portion.

  In the configuration of this embodiment, it is detected that the amount of toner in the developing machine is low.

  When the toner in the developing machine runs low, a warning is sent to the computer or a warning lamp (not shown) attached outside the apparatus is turned on to prompt the user to replenish the toner.

  In this embodiment, the binding image pattern is formed in the order of yellow → magenta → cyan → black.

  However, when the piezoelectric element detects that the remaining amount of toner is low, the binding pattern is not formed with the toner.

  For example, when the detection of the remaining amount of magenta toner is activated, the binding pattern is formed in yellow → cyan → black.

  With the configuration described above, it is possible to prevent the absence of toner from being promoted by the binding pattern formation, and to reduce the number of toner replenishments and cartridge replacements.

  FIG. 10 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

  The same reference numerals as above indicate the same members.

  In the figure, 92 is a controller and 93 is a memory.

  In this embodiment, the controller 92 calculates the average toner consumption amount for each page, and the memory 93 stores the number of printed pages, the toner reduction amount, and the toner consumption rate for each page.

  Note that the memory 93 may store information on toner consumption of each color in a single unit in the main body, or may be stored in an individual memory attached to the cartridge or the developing device.

  The graph shown in FIG. 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the printed page and the toner consumption.

  In this graph, for the sake of explanation, only information relating to yellow and black toner consumption is included.

  In the graph of FIG. 11, the horizontal axis represents the number of printed sheets, and the vertical axis represents the toner amount.

  In the figure, the line segment RY represents the remaining amount of yellow toner and RK represents the remaining amount of black toner.

  Y2 is the remaining amount of toner at the time of printing with yellow toner, xY2 is the number of sheets, and yY2 is the amount of toner.

  Y1 is the remaining amount of toner a predetermined number of sheets before Y2, xY1 is the number of sheets, and yY1 is the amount of toner.

  K2 is the remaining amount of toner when black toner is printed, xK2 is the number of sheets, and yK2 is the amount of toner.

  K1 is the remaining amount of toner before a predetermined number, xK1 is the number of sheets, and yK1 is the amount of toner.

  eY is an estimated value of the printable number of yellow toners, and eK is an estimated value of the printable number of black toners.

  In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the toner for forming the binding pattern is selected every 500 sheets.

  In the operation, the remaining amount of toner is measured, the remaining amount of toner is compared with the remaining amount of toner before 500 sheets of printing, and the number of printable sheets for each toner is calculated from the remaining amount of toner and the toner consumption rate.

  The number of printable sheets is compared, and a binding pattern is formed with toner having the largest number of printable sheets.

  The binding pattern selection at the time of printing 1000 sheets will be described with reference to FIG.

  Y2 at the time of 1000 sheets of yellow toner is Y2 (1000 sheets, 140 g), and Y1 is Y1 (500 sheets, 175 g).

  Assuming from this value, the printable number eY of yellow toner is about 3400.

  On the other hand, when black toner is 1000 sheets, K2 is K2 (1000 sheets, 100 g), and K1 is K1 (500 sheets, 150 g).

  Assuming from this value, the printable number eK of black toner is about 2000 sheets.

  In this way, the number of printable sheets of each color is estimated, and the binding pattern is printed with toner having the largest number of printable sheets.

  When a binding pattern is formed for 500 sheets with the selected toner, the number of usable sheets is calculated again, and it is determined which toner forms the binding pattern on the next 500 sheets.

  In this embodiment, the toner selection for forming the binding pattern every 500 sheets is performed. However, it may be performed as needed when forming the binding pattern.

  Further, in this embodiment, the remaining amount of toner before 500 sheets is used for calculating the consumption rate, but the number of sheets is not specified in the implementation.

  In this embodiment, the number of printable sheets may be calculated based on the integrated value of toner consumption at a predetermined number of sheets.

  In this embodiment, the number of printable sheets is predicted based on the information on the remaining amount of toner, but may be calculated based on the information on the lighting time of the exposure apparatus.

  In this case, the remaining amount of toner at a certain point in time is detected by detecting the remaining amount, or the relationship between the lighting time and the toner consumption amount is previously stored in the controller, and is estimated from the accumulated exposure amount.

  Further, the toner consumption rate may be calculated as an average lighting time per page, and the printable number of sheets for each color toner may be calculated together with the toner remaining amount information.

  Based on the number of printable sheets calculated therefrom, the toner used for forming the binding pattern is selected.

  By doing so, it is possible to prevent uneven toner consumption due to the binding pattern and reduce the number of toner replenishment and cartridge replacement.

  In Examples 1 to 5, the toner amount of the developing device may be the same or different.

  As a configuration for changing the toner amount, the capacity of the toner container is changed.

  For example, the yellow toner container is enlarged, and in the case of Example 1, the number of times of printing of the yellow binding pattern is set to be larger than that of the other colors.

  In the second embodiment, the binding pattern is formed based on the exposure amount. However, the number of times may be weighted by the initial amount of toner. For example, when the amount of yellow toner is twice that of the other colors, it is sufficient to set the binding pattern formation with yellow toner to be twice that of other colors if the exposure amount is the same.

  In the third to fifth embodiments, since the toner amount is actually measured, even when the sizes of the toner containers are uneven, it can be dealt with.

  By doing so, it is possible to reduce the number of toner replacements due to toner consumption imbalance due to the binding pattern.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of toner remaining amount detection in the third embodiment. The figure explaining the relationship between the toner amount in the developing machine and the electrostatic capacity Diagram showing development bias waveform Diagram showing remaining amount detection circuit waveform Diagram showing the relationship between the remaining amount of toner and the remaining detection power The figure explaining the structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 4th Example of this invention. The figure explaining the structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 5th Example of this invention. Explanatory diagram when predicting the number of usable sheets from the number of printed sheets and the remaining amount of toner Configuration of conventional image forming apparatus Illustration of image pattern The figure explaining the order of a binding pattern Diagram explaining the cartridge

Explanation of symbols

60 Binding device 65, 66 Heater 72, 94, 95, 96, 97 Binding pattern 3, 13, 23, 33 Exposure device 4, 14, 24, 34 Developing device

Claims (5)

An image forming apparatus that visualizes a latent image formed on an image carrier with toner, transfers the toner image onto a transfer material, and then fixes the toner image on the transfer material by heating the transfer material and the toner. Thus, a plurality of developing devices for visualizing the latent image with the toner image are provided, and the toner image formed on the transfer material after the image formation is heated again, thereby bonding the plurality of superimposed transfer materials. In an image forming apparatus having a binding device for performing
An image forming apparatus characterized by sequentially switching a developing device for developing a binding toner image formed on a transfer material. The image bearing member is charged and exposed to form an electrostatic latent image. The latent image is visualized with toner, transferred onto a transfer material, and the transfer material and the toner are heated. An image forming apparatus for fixing on a transfer material, comprising a plurality of developing devices for developing a latent image with a toner image, wherein exposure is an image forming device corresponding to the developing device, and In an image forming apparatus having a binding device that adheres a plurality of stacked transfer materials by reheating the toner image formed on the transfer material after image formation.
An image forming apparatus, wherein a developing device that forms an image pattern for binding is selected based on exposure amount information of the exposure device. An image forming apparatus that visualizes a latent image formed on an image carrier with toner, transfers the toner image onto a transfer material, and then fixes the toner image on the transfer material by heating the transfer material and the toner. A plurality of developing devices for visualizing the latent image with a toner image, the developing device being an image forming device provided with means for detecting the amount of toner in the developing device, and In an image forming apparatus having a binding device that adheres a plurality of stacked transfer materials by reheating the toner image formed on the transfer material after image formation.
An image forming apparatus, wherein a developing device that forms a binding pattern is selected based on information of a toner amount detection unit provided in the developing device. An image forming apparatus that visualizes a latent image formed on an image carrier with toner, transfers the toner image onto a transfer material, and then fixes the toner image on the transfer material by heating the transfer material and the toner. The image forming apparatus includes a plurality of developing devices for developing the latent image with a toner image, and the developing device includes a detecting unit that operates when the amount of toner in the developing device decreases. An image forming apparatus having a binding device that adheres a plurality of superimposed transfer materials by reheating a toner image formed on the transfer material after image formation.
An image forming apparatus, wherein a binding pattern is formed by means other than a developing device having a reduced toner amount. An image forming apparatus comprising a plurality of colors of developing devices that visualize the latent image formed on the image carrier with toner, and a storage device that stores the remaining amount of toner and printing history, and In an image forming apparatus having a binding device that adheres a plurality of transfer materials by re-heating the toner image formed on the transfer material,
An image forming apparatus, wherein a developing device for forming a binding pattern is selected based on information on a remaining amount of toner stored in a storage device and information on a print history.

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