JP2005326509A - Cartridge for forming image and image forming apparatus equipped therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cartridge for forming images capable of information communication in a stable non-contact system even when a developer such as toner is deposited, and to provide an image forming apparatus equipped with it. <P>SOLUTION: A developer supply 72 as the cartridge for forming the images is composed of an antenna 183 formed to wind a metal film 182 on a substrate layer 181 several times in the form of a loop, and an IC chip 184 fixed on the substrate 181. In addition, the antenna 183 and the IC chip 184 are electrically connected to cover them with a protection layer 185. Specially, the protection layer 185 is composed of a non-plastic resin without containing a plasticizer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming cartridge such as a toner cartridge, a developing cartridge, and a process cartridge that can be detached from a main body of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and a printer, and an image forming apparatus including the cartridge. The present invention relates to an image forming cartridge capable of reading and writing (management information) to and from the image forming apparatus main body by non-contact communication and the image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a printer forms a latent image by selectively exposing a photosensitive drum, which is a uniformly charged image carrier, and this latent image is visualized with toner as a developer. At the same time, the toner image is transferred to a recording medium to record an image.

  In such an image forming apparatus, every time the toner runs out, the toner must be replenished, and this toner replenishment operation is not only troublesome but sometimes involves dirt. In addition, maintenance of each member can be performed only by a professional service person, and is often inconvenient for the user.

  Therefore, by making the process cartridge in which the developing device and the like are integrated into the apparatus main body detachable from the apparatus main body, when the toner runs out or the parts such as the developing roller reach the end of their life, the user can use the cartridge. Has been put into practical use that can be replaced and that facilitates maintenance.

  In addition, in the color image forming apparatus, a rotary switching type (rotary type) color developing device including four developing cartridges each containing developing portions of four colors of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow has been put into practical use. Each developing cartridge is configured to be detachable from the apparatus main body.

  Further, in such a cartridge type image forming apparatus, since the user must replace the cartridge himself, there is a means for notifying the user when the toner is consumed or when a component such as the developing roller has reached the end of its life. Necessary.

  In view of this, a method has been proposed in which nonvolatile storage means such as an EEPROM is provided in the apparatus main body as a means for detecting the component life and toner consumption, and the usage amount of the cartridge is accumulated and stored. For example, when a photosensitive drum is exposed by laser light or the like, an image forming apparatus is known that includes means for adding and storing information on exposure time, and thus information corresponding to the remaining amount of toner.

  However, when a rotary cartridge such as that described above is employed, a handle for attaching / detaching the cartridge is provided so that the user can easily attach / detach the cartridge, and a space for the user's hand is secured. It is necessary to do. In particular, in a color image forming apparatus, since there are four color developing cartridges, there is a problem that the cost increases and the apparatus main body becomes large.

  Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an inexpensive and small-sized image forming apparatus even if it is a rotary cartridge system. FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus A described in Patent Document 1. 11A to 11C show a non-contact IC memory (non-contact IC tag) (FIG. 11A) provided in the image forming apparatus A and a developing cartridge 4 including the non-contact IC memory (FIG. 11A). It is a perspective view of (b) and (c).

  In the image forming apparatus A, the developing cartridge 4 integrally including a plurality of developing means for developing the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1 is configured to be detachable from the image forming apparatus main body A. The developing cartridge 4 includes four developer accommodating portions 4BK, 4C, 4M, and 4Y that respectively accommodate toners of four colors (black, cyan, magenta, and yellow) that constitute developing means. As a result, since only one developing cartridge 4 that integrally constitutes the plurality of developing means is attached and detached without separately attaching and detaching the plurality of developing means from the image forming apparatus main body A, attachment / detachment of a handle or the like for attachment / detachment is possible. The working space for attaching and detaching members and the like can be reduced, and an inexpensive and small-sized image forming apparatus is realized.

  Further, the developing cartridge 4 includes a non-contact IC memory 20 (FIG. 11A) as a non-contact type storage element, an outer peripheral surface of the developing cartridge 4 (FIG. 11B), and an end surface of the developing cartridge 4 ( The surface on the rotation center 4a side; FIG. 11 (c)) is attached.

  Accordingly, the developing units for all four colors sequentially face the photosensitive drum 1 during image formation, so that in the image forming apparatus A, the antenna portions of the non-contact IC memory 20 and the non-contact type reader / writer device 30 during yellow toner development. The required information can be stored in the non-contact IC memory 20 of the developing cartridge 4 by facing the 30a. For example, it is possible to read the amount of toner used up to now and the number of prints from the memory, add the amount of toner used this time, etc., and newly store them in the memory.

  Accordingly, since the cartridge itself has the non-contact IC memory 20 for storing the usage status of the developing cartridge 4, the usage status of the developing cartridge 4 can be accurately transmitted to the image forming apparatus main body A. Even when a plurality of developing cartridges are used for one apparatus main body, the accurate status of each developing cartridge can be provided to the user.

As described above, in this image forming apparatus A, when the toner in the cartridge is completely replaced with a new cartridge and the old cartridge is inserted into another apparatus main body, it is stored in the storage means of the original apparatus main body. Since the stored information is not reflected in the main body of the device in which the old cartridge is inserted, the information when the toner is consumed or the parts such as the developing roller have reached the end of their life cannot be properly notified to the user. In order to cope with the problem, a process cartridge capable of accurately notifying the user of information such as the life of the cartridge and an image forming apparatus capable of mounting the process cartridge are realized.
JP 2002-49206 (Released on February 15, 2002)

  However, when the image forming apparatus includes a non-contact IC memory as in Patent Document 1, the non-contact IC memory may be contaminated with toner. That is, the surface of the non-contact IC memory may be covered with the toner that is an insulating resin. As a result, there arises a problem that the contactless communication between the image forming apparatus main body and the contactless IC memory is hindered.

  Specifically, in the image forming apparatus A, when the developing cartridge 4 is attached / detached, the toner adhering to the cartridge support member slides, so that the toner adheres to the non-contact IC memory 20 or the developing cartridge 4 itself supplies toner. There is a possibility that toner adheres to the non-contact IC memory 20 due to toner fine particles floating in the mouth or the image forming apparatus, and the surface of the non-contact IC memory 20 may be contaminated by the toner. In particular, when the non-contact IC memory 20 is provided inside the developing cartridge 4 such as a configuration in which the toner agitating member or toner conveying member of the developing cartridge 4 and the non-contact IC memory 20 are integrated, the non-contact IC There is a high possibility that the memory 20 is contaminated with toner.

  As shown in FIG. 11A, the non-contact IC memory 20 is formed in a plate shape by a flexible circuit board 23 which is a thin circuit board on which a memory IC chip 21 is mounted and an antenna pattern 22 is formed. The memory IC chip 21 and the antenna pattern 22 are coated with a protective layer (resin sheet) made of a resin containing a plasticizer (not shown). For example, in this protective layer, a thermoplastic such as polyvinyl chloride containing di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (hereinafter “DOP”), dinormaldecyl phthalate (hereinafter “n-DDP”) or the like as a plasticizer. Resin is used.

  On the other hand, the toner stored in the developer storage units 4BK, 4C, 4M, and 4Y uses a wide variety of resins such as styrene resin as the binder resin for the toner.

  Therefore, when the non-contact IC memory 20 is contaminated with toner, the protective layer made of a resin containing a plasticizer is contaminated with toner. That is, the resin containing the plasticizer comes into contact with the binder resin of the toner.

  However, the affinity between the plasticizer (DOP, n-DPP, etc.) contained in the protective layer and the toner binder resin (styrene resin, etc.) is high. For this reason, the transferability of the toner binder resin to the protective layer is also increased, and the styrene resin is fused to the polyvinyl chloride. As a result, in some cases, a toner layer (toner film) is formed on the surface of the non-contact IC memory 20, that is, on the protective layer.

  In this way, when the protective layer of the non-contact IC memory 20 is covered with the toner that is an insulating resin, the non-contact type reader / writer device that reads / writes information in the non-contact IC memory 20 to / from the image forming apparatus A. 30 and the contactless IC memory 20 are disturbed.

  In particular, in the case of magnetic toner containing a magnetic substance, the antenna pattern 22 of the non-contact IC memory 20 is magnetically sealed by the magnetic substance. As a result, electromagnetic induction of the non-contact IC memory 20 is hindered and power supply cannot be performed, or communication waves transmitted from the non-contact IC memory 20 are hindered.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming cartridge capable of information communication in a stable non-contact manner even when a developer such as toner adheres thereto. An image forming apparatus is provided.

  In order to solve the above problems, an image forming cartridge according to the present invention includes an image forming apparatus body and a non-contact communication element capable of communicating information (transmitting and receiving data) in a non-contact manner. The surface of the non-contact communication element is covered with a plasticizer-free resin.

  The surface of a conventional non-contact communication element has been coated with a resin containing a plasticizer. However, if a plasticizer is included, when a developer such as toner adheres, the resin contained in the developer and the plasticizer are fused, and communication between the non-contact communication element and the image forming apparatus main body is established. It was unstable.

  According to said structure, the surface of a non-contact communication element is coat | covered with plasticizer non-containing resin (resin which does not contain a plasticizer). Thereby, even if a developer such as toner that is an insulating resin adheres to the surface of the non-contact communication element, the resin (for example, a binder for toner) contained in the developer does not fuse. Further, the adhered resin layer or film is not formed on the surface of the non-contact communication element. Accordingly, the adhered resin does not hinder the non-contact communication between the non-contact communication element and the image forming apparatus, and thus stable and good non-contact communication is possible. As a result, it is possible to accurately read / write information of the non-contact communication element.

  The image forming cartridge is used in an apparatus for forming an image such as a copying machine, and indicates, for example, a developing cartridge, a toner cartridge, or a process cartridge.

  In the image forming cartridge according to the present invention, the plasticizer-free resin is preferably a thermoplastic resin. In the image forming cartridge according to the present invention, the plasticizer-free resin is composed of at least one resin selected from the group consisting of polyamide resin, polyimide resin, polyethylene terephthalate resin, and polycarbonate resin, or a mixture of two or more. A mixed resin is preferred.

  Thereby, since plasticity can be given to the non-contact communication element, it becomes possible to form the image forming cartridge into a shape. For example, the non-contact communication element can be attached to any curved surface of the image forming cartridge or a place where the plane intersects with an angle.

  The image forming cartridge according to the present invention is characterized in that the non-contact communication element is provided inside the image forming cartridge.

  In some cases, the image forming cartridge is filled with a developer (toner or the like), for example. For this reason, there is a high possibility that the non-contact communication element is contaminated by the developer.

  According to the above configuration, the surface of the non-contact communication element is coated with the plasticizer-free resin, so that it is directly in contact with the resin contained in the developer like the inside of the image forming cartridge. Even if the non-contact communication element is arranged, the developer (for example, a binder for toner) and the plasticizer-free resin are not fused. For this reason, stable and good non-contact communication is possible. As a result, it is possible to accurately read / write information of the non-contact communication element.

  In the image forming cartridge according to the present invention, the developer filled in any of the image forming cartridges is polyester resin, styrene resin, styrene-acrylic copolymer resin, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer resin, styrene- It contains at least one resin selected from the group of maleic anhydride copolymer resins, acrylic resins, polyvinyl chloride resins, polyvinyl acetate resins, polyolefin resins, polyurethane resins, urethane-modified polyester resins, and epoxy resins. It is a feature. Each of these resins is a resin that is easily fused with a plasticizer (high affinity).

  According to said structure, since the surface of a non-contact communication element is coat | covered with the plasticizer non-containing resin, even if it contacts the resin which is easy to fuse with the above plasticizer (high affinity), There is no fusion. Therefore, stable and good non-contact communication is possible.

  In the image forming cartridge according to the present invention, the plasticizer-free resin preferably has a thickness of 50 to 250 μm. Thereby, since the moldability of the non-contact communication element can be improved, it is possible to mold the image forming cartridge.

  In the image forming cartridge according to the present invention, the non-contact communication element communicates at least one information of the type, the number of operations, the number of copying, and the number of defects of the image forming cartridge, and the information is accumulated. It is characterized in that it informs the replacement timing of the image forming cartridge based on the result.

  According to the above configuration, the non-contact communication element communicates various types of information such as the type, the number of operations, the number of copying, and the number of defects of the image forming cartridge, and based on the result of accumulating the information, It becomes possible to exchange the forming cartridge by non-contact communication.

  In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes any one of the image forming cartridges and a communication unit that performs information communication with the image forming cartridge in a non-contact manner. It is a feature.

  According to the above configuration, since the above-described image forming cartridge is provided, stable and good non-contact communication can be performed by the image forming cartridge and the communication unit. As a result, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that can accurately read and write information of the non-contact communication element.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that information is communicated with each other when an interval between the communication unit and the non-contact communication element of the image forming cartridge is 70 mm or less.

  Thereby, it is possible to prevent interference with surrounding cartridges.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of the image forming cartridges. As a result, it is possible to perform replacement of the plurality of image forming cartridges provided in the image forming apparatus with good and stable non-contact communication.

  As described above, the image forming cartridge according to the present invention is characterized in that the surface of the non-contact communication element is covered with a plasticizer-free resin. Therefore, the resin adhering to the surface of the non-contact communication element does not hinder the non-contact communication between the non-contact communication element and the image forming apparatus, so that stable and good non-contact communication is possible. As a result, it is possible to accurately read and write information of the non-contact communication element.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that the present invention is not limited to this.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment is a general image forming apparatus 70 that visualizes an electrostatic latent image using toner. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a copying machine as the image forming apparatus 70.

  First, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 70 will be described.

  The image forming apparatus 70 includes a printer unit 71 and a paper feeding unit 73 disposed below the printer unit 71.

  In the approximate center of the printer unit 71, an electrophotographic process unit centered on the photosensitive drum 202 is disposed. That is, the electrophotographic process unit includes a developer supply unit 72, a charging unit 203, an optical scanning unit 204, a developing unit 200, a fixing unit 205, and a transfer unit, which are configured around the photosensitive drum 202. 208 and a cleaning unit 209 are arranged.

  The developer supply unit (image forming cartridge) 72 supplies a developer such as toner to the developing unit 200. As will be described later, the developer supply unit 72 is designed to be detachable from the image forming apparatus 70.

The charging unit 203 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 202 uniformly. The optical scanning unit 204 scans an optical image on the uniformly charged photosensitive drum 202 and writes an electrostatic latent image. The developing unit 200 visualizes the electrostatic latent image written by the optical scanning unit 204 with a developer. The fixing unit 205 heats and pressurizes the toner image on the paper supplied from the transfer unit 73 to fix the toner image on the paper.
The transfer unit 208 transfers an image recorded and reproduced on the photosensitive drum 202 onto a recording medium.

  The cleaning unit 209 removes the developer remaining on the photosensitive drum 202 so that a new image can be recorded on the photosensitive drum 202. The residual developer removed by the cleaning unit 209 is collected in the developer supply unit 72 of the development unit 200 and recycled. Further, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the one provided with the process of recycling the residual developer as described above, and includes an image forming apparatus that collects and discards the developer.

  The printer unit 71 includes a non-contact type reader / writer device (not shown) for non-contact communication with a non-contact communication IC tag 143 provided in the developer supply unit 72 described later.

  Next, the paper feed unit 73 will be described. The paper feed unit 3 includes a plurality of paper feed trays 201. As a result, the paper feed unit 3 can accommodate a variety of sheets as a recording medium, for example, by size.

  In the image forming apparatus 70, the capacity of sheets that can be accommodated in the sheet feeding trays 201, 201,... And sheets of different sizes can be accommodated.

  In the image forming apparatus 70, one tray is selected from these sheet feeding trays 201, 201. The paper is separated one by one from the selected tray, and the paper stored in one of the paper feed trays 201, 201... Passes through the conveyance path of the paper feed unit 73 toward the printer unit 71. Are transported. Then, the paper is supplied between the photosensitive drum 202 and the transfer unit 208, and the image recorded and reproduced on the photosensitive drum 202 is transferred to the supplied paper. The sheet on which the image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 205. In the fixing unit 208, the toner image is fixed on the paper and is discharged from the paper discharge tray 206.

  Next, the developer supply unit 72 (image forming cartridge) which is a characteristic part of the image forming apparatus 70 will be described. The developer supply unit 72 can be pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus 70. As a result, the user can easily replace the developer supply unit 72.

  6 and 7 are perspective views of the developer supply unit 72. FIGS. 8A and 8B are front views of the developer supply unit 72 of FIG. 7 as viewed from the A direction or the B direction, respectively. FIG. As shown in these drawings, the developer supply unit 72 includes a toner bottle 720, a holder upper unit 721, a holder lower unit 722, and a recovery toner box 723. The substantially cylindrical toner bottle 720 contains toner. The toner bottle 720 is held by the toner upper unit 721 and the toner lower unit 722. Further, a toner collection box 723 for collecting used toner is provided at one end of the toner bottle 720. The non-contact communication IC tag 143 can prevent adhesion of toner by the toner upper unit 721.

  The developer supply unit 72 is an image forming cartridge capable of communicating information with the main body of the image forming apparatus 70 in a non-contact manner, that is, capable of transmitting and receiving data in a non-contact manner.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a non-contact communication IC tag (non-contact communication element) 143 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is mounted on the toner bottle 720 of the developer supply unit 72 as a management element. . FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the non-contact communication IC tag 143, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the non-contact communication IC tag 143.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the non-contact communication IC tag 143 includes an antenna 183 formed by winding a metal thin film 182 in a loop shape around a substrate layer 181 and an IC fixed on the substrate layer 181. And chip 184. The antenna 183 and the IC chip 184 are electrically connected, and these are covered with a protective layer 185. As described above, the non-contact communication IC tag 143 is arranged in the center and includes the IC chip (semiconductor element) 184 and the communication antenna 183.

  The greatest feature of the non-contact communication IC tag 143 is that the protective layer 185 does not contain a plasticizer such as DOP or n-DDP. That is, the protective layer 185 is made of a plasticizer-free resin.

  Here, the non-contact communication IC tag 143 is installed in the developer supply unit 72 mounted in the image forming apparatus 70. As described above, the developer supply unit 72 is detachable from the image forming apparatus 70. When the developer supply unit 70 is attached or detached, the toner adheres to the non-contact IC tag 143 or the toner attached to the developer supply unit 72 itself near the installation position of the non-contact communication IC tag 143 or floats in the image forming apparatus 70. The toner to be adhered to the non-contact communication IC tag 143 causes the surface of the non-contact communication IC tag 143, that is, the protective layer 185 to be contaminated by the toner.

  Conventionally, the protective layer 185 has been formed from a resin (polyvinyl chloride resin or the like) containing a plasticizer such as DOP or n-DDP. Therefore, when the protective layer 185 is contaminated with the toner, the resin containing the plasticizer that forms the protective layer 185 comes into contact with the binder resin (such as styrene resin) of the toner.

  However, the affinity between the plasticizer contained in the protective layer 185 and the binder resin of the toner is high. Therefore, the transfer property of the toner binder resin to the protective layer 185 is also improved. For example, the styrene resin constituting the toner binder resin constitutes the protective layer 185 via the plasticizer contained in the protective layer 185. Fused to polyvinyl chloride. As a result, in some cases, a toner layer (toner film) was formed on the protective layer 185.

  As described above, when the protective layer 185 of the non-contact communication IC tag 143 is covered with the toner that is an insulating resin, the non-contact type reader / reader that reads / writes the information of the non-contact IC tag 143 to the image forming apparatus 70. Communication between the writer device and the non-contact communication IC tag 143 is hindered.

  In particular, in the case of magnetic toner containing a magnetic material, the magnetic material causes the antenna 183 of the non-contact communication IC tag 143 to be magnetically sealed. As a result, electromagnetic induction of the non-contact communication IC tag 143 is hindered, and power supply cannot be performed, or communication waves transmitted from the non-contact communication IC tag 143 are hindered.

  Thus, when the protective layer 185 contains a plasticizer, communication between the non-contact communication IC tag 143 and the non-contact type reader / writer device on the image forming apparatus 70 main body side becomes unstable.

  Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 70 of the present invention, the protective layer 185 of the non-contact communication IC tag 143 is made of, for example, a plasticizer-free resin that does not contain a plasticizer such as DOP or n-DDP. More specifically, the protective layer 185 is a mixed resin composed of at least one resin or a mixture of two or more selected from the group of polyamide-based resins, polyimide-based resins, polyethylene terephthalate-based resins, and polycarbonate-based resins. It is composed of a thermoplastic resin. In other words, it can be said that the protective layer 185 is made of a resin having low affinity (or no affinity at all) with a developer such as toner.

  Next, the degree of affinity between the protective layer 185 using a plasticizer-free resin and the binder resin for toner was tested. Here, polyvinyl chloride is used as the protective layer 185, and a styrene-acrylic copolymer resin is used as the binder resin for the toner. That is, this test is a polyvinyl chloride migration resistance test for testing the migration property of a toner binder to polyvinyl chloride.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the test procedure is as follows. First, as the protective layer 185 of the non-contact communication IC tag 143, (1) 50 mm square polyamide resin, polyimide resin, polyethylene terephthalate resin, and polycarbonate Prepare two sheets (one set) each using a resin sheet and (2) a sheet of 50 mm square polyvinyl chloride containing 5% DOP (plasticizer) as a comparison.

  Next, on the 143 resin sheet of one non-contact communication IC tag of each set of resin sheets, a toner whose binder resin for toner is a styrene-acrylic copolymer resin is placed on the antenna of the non-contact communication IC tag 143. About 10 g of toner is uniformly placed so as to cover the part and the IC element part, and further, a resin sheet of the other non-contact communication IC tag is placed thereon, and the toner is sandwiched between the resin sheets. Furthermore, a weight of 400 g was put thereon so that the toner did not protrude from each non-contact communication IC tag (resin sheet). In that state, it was placed in a high temperature bath set at 40 ° C. and left for 120 hours.

  As a result, the non-contact communication IC tag 143 using a polyamide resin, a polyimide resin, a polyethylene terephthalate resin, and a polycarbonate resin sheet as the protective layer 185 does not cause toner fusion, and is attached to the developer supply unit 72. Even when inserted into the forming apparatus 70, no communication error occurred. On the other hand, when the protective layer 185 contains DOP, both the two polyvinyl chloride resin sheets were severely fused with toner, and a toner film was formed. Further, the non-contact communication IC tag 143 with the toner film formed is attached to the developer supply unit 72 and inserted into the image forming apparatus 70, resulting in a communication error (unreadable state of the image forming apparatus 70). .

  The resin used as the protective layer 185 is not particularly limited as long as it is a thermoplastic resin that does not contain a plasticizer, such as a polyamide resin, a polyimide resin, a polyethylene terephthalate resin, and a polycarbonate resin. . Here, the polyamide resin is Novamid manufactured by Mitsubishi Engineering Plastics Co., Ltd., the polyimide resin is a polyimide coverlay film manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc., the polyethylene terephthalate resin sheet is manufactured by Teijin Chemicals Ltd., and the polycarbonate resin sheet is Sekisui Resin Co., Ltd. Lexan sheet FR88 and polyvinyl chloride sheet were manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., respectively.

  As described above, since the protective layer 185 of the non-contact communication IC tag 143 does not contain a plasticizer, even if toner that is an insulating resin adheres to the protective layer 185, the binder resin of the toner is applied to the protective layer. Does not fuse. Further, a toner layer (toner film) is not formed on the surface of the protective layer 185 (on the protective layer 185). For this reason, the toner layer does not interfere with the non-contact communication between the non-contact IC tag 143 and the non-contact type reader / writer device on the main body of the image forming apparatus 70, so that stable and good non-contact communication is possible. Become. Therefore, reading / writing of information of the non-contact communication IC tag 143 can be performed accurately.

  Further, by forming the protective layer 185 from a plasticizer-free resin, it is not necessary to select a toner binder resin in consideration of the affinity between the plasticizer and the toner binder resin. That is, it is possible to use any kind of toner binder resin in the developer supply unit 72. For example, as a binder resin for toner, polyester resin, styrene resin, styrene-acrylic copolymer resin, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer resin, styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer resin, acrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, poly It is possible to use at least one resin selected from the group consisting of vinyl acetate resin, polyolefin resin, polyurethane resin, urethane-modified polyester resin, and epoxy resin, or two or more kinds of mixed resins.

  In addition, the thickness of the plasticizer-free resin of the protective layer 185 is preferably 50 μm or more and 250 μm or less. Thereby, the moldability of the non-contact communication IC tag 143 can be improved. In addition, if the thickness of the plasticizer-free resin is smaller than 50 μm, the mechanical strength is insufficient with respect to rubbing wear and the like, and the confidentiality with respect to humidity is insufficient. Further, the rigidity becomes more than necessary, and the flexibility is insufficient, and there is a possibility that adhesion failure may occur when the non-contact communication IC tag 143 is bonded and fixed to the toner bottle.

  The distance between the non-contact communication IC tag 143 (IC chip 184) and the non-contact type reader / writer device 174 is preferably 70 mm or less as long as it does not contact each other. Thereby, it is possible to prevent interference with surrounding cartridges. If this distance exceeds 70 mm, there is a risk of interference with IC tags such as cartridges in the vicinity.

  In the above description, the non-contact communication IC tag 143 in the image forming apparatus 70 is configured to be provided in the developer supply unit 72. However, a plurality of non-contact communication IC tags 143 may be provided in the image forming apparatus 70. For example, the non-contact communication IC tag 143 may be provided in other cartridge units such as the developing unit 200, the charging unit 203, and the transfer unit 208. That is, each unit including the non-contact communication IC tag 143 becomes an image forming cartridge. As a result, various information (for example, type, number of operations, number of copies, number of defects) of each unit is managed, and by accumulating the information, it becomes possible to notify the replacement time of each unit.

  Next, a non-contact communication system in the image forming apparatus 70 including a plurality of non-contact communication IC tags will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. 4 is a block diagram showing the entire contactless communication system, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the contactless communication system of FIG. 4 in more detail. That is, these drawings show a more detailed configuration of the non-contact communication IC tag 143 and a non-contact type reader / writer that is fixed to the image forming apparatus 70 main body and communicates with the non-contact communication IC tag 143 in a non-contact manner. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a device 174. FIG. The non-contact type reader / writer device is not detachable from the image forming apparatus 70 like the non-contact communication IC tag 143, and is fixed to the main body of the image forming apparatus 70. .

  4 and 5, three non-contact communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163 exchange data and power with a non-contact type reader / writer device 174 that is a communication device on the main body side of the image forming apparatus 70 in a non-contact manner. It is supposed to be. Further, three non-contact communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163 are provided in, for example, the developer supply unit 72, the development unit 200, the charging unit 203, and the transfer unit 208, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 70 on the main body side includes a non-contact type reader / writer device 174 that is a reading / writing device on the main body side, and an antenna 175 as a communication device on the main body side. Yes. In the configuration of FIG. 4, non-contact communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163 are mounted on the cartridges on the main body side (for example, the developer supply unit 72, the developing unit 200, the charging unit 203, and the transfer unit 208). .

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the communication device 174 on the device body side includes a control circuit 176 that performs overall control, an interface unit 177 that controls data input and output with the control circuit 201 in the device body, A transmission circuit 178 that converts a transmission signal from a parallel signal to a serial signal, modulates the transmission signal to a predetermined signal for transmission, and transmits the signal to the transmission / reception antenna 175; and a reception signal received by the transmission / reception antenna 175 A receiving circuit 179 that demodulates the signal and converts it from a serial signal to a parallel signal and sends it to the control circuit 176, a power supply circuit 180 that supplies power to these circuits, and a transmission / reception antenna 175. And the control part by the side of an apparatus main body is comprised including both the control circuit 176 of the communication apparatus 174, and the apparatus main body control circuit 201. FIG. Each of the control circuits 176 and 201 is configured by an IC or LSI in which hardware such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM are integrated.

  The control unit on the apparatus main body side reads and processes various sensors and switches, and information from the cartridge side, and performs non-contact communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163 on the cartridge side, and an electrophotographic process section (image forming unit on the apparatus main body). ), A display unit 203, and a warning unit 204, a predetermined operation is executed.

  On the other hand, the non-contact communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163 include a control circuit 211 that performs overall control, a nonvolatile memory 212 such as an EEPROM or a ferroelectric memory that stores data such as a cartridge identification number, and a transmission. A transmission circuit 214 that converts a signal from a parallel signal to a serial signal, modulates the signal into a predetermined signal for transmission, and sends the signal to the transmitting / receiving antenna 213; and a received signal received by the transmitting / receiving antenna 213 A receiving circuit 215 that demodulates and converts a serial signal into a parallel signal and sends it to the control circuit 211, a power supply circuit 216 that rectifies communication radio waves and supplies power, and a transmission / reception antenna 213. .

In particular, if a ferroelectric memory is used as the non-volatile memory 212, the upper limit of the number of rewrites is 10 ¹⁰ to 10 ¹² , and the number of recycles can be remarkably increased compared to the case of using an EEPROM.

  The non-volatile memory 212 includes, for example, image forming conditions such as exposure amount, charge amount, developing bias, cartridge lot, manufacturing date, type, storage period, identification number, number of recycling, upper limit of number of recycling, cartridge Component parts of the cartridge converted according to various management information such as the replacement time of components (converted by the number of recycling), toner lot, date of manufacture, filling amount, type, storage period, number of recycling, upper limit of number of recycling, number of recycling, etc. Information such as the replacement timing of the image forming apparatus and whether the image forming apparatus mounted with the cartridge is operable or not is recorded. The information in the nonvolatile memory 212 is read in a non-contact manner by the antennas 183 of the non-contact communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163 and the antenna 175 on the apparatus main body side.

  As described above, the non-contact communication IC memories 143, 153, and 163 are not equipped with a battery. From the antenna 183 of the non-contact IC memory 143, the non-contact type reader / writer device 174 on the image forming apparatus main body 70 side. Is coupled to an electromagnetic field via a coiled antenna 175 provided for the power supply.

  The non-contact communication IC tag 143 is a card having an IC chip (semiconductor integrated circuit). The non-contact communication IC tag 143 is configured to contact each other's terminals by electromagnetic waves via the antennas provided on the non-contact communication IC tag 143 side and the image forming apparatus 70 main body side (having external terminals). 3) Data is transmitted and received. Since the non-contact communication IC tag 143 includes the antenna 183, the antenna 183 receives radio waves from the non-contact type reader / writer device 174 on the main body side of the image forming apparatus 70 even without an external terminal. Can be converted into electric power. For this reason, the non-contact communication IC tag 143 is normally battery-free with no battery built therein.

  Compared with the contact type, such a non-contact communication IC tag 143 has (1) no deterioration of the IC chip due to wear and dirt on the external terminals; and (2) against wear and dirt on the reader / writer 174 on the main body side. Maintenance is not required; (3) It has the advantage of being less susceptible to environmental influences such as water and dust.

  In the control unit (control circuit 176 and device main body control circuit 201) on the apparatus main body side, for example, the following operations can be executed.

  a) The control unit on the apparatus main body side can exchange individual information to each non-contact communication IC tag 143, 153, 163 side. That is, this control unit transmits a response request signal in order to read information in each nonvolatile memory 211 of each contactless communication IC tag 143, 153, 163, and contactless communication IC tags 143, 153, 163. And a function capable of receiving and decrypting a response signal such as a password from. Further, the control unit can determine the order of communication with each of the non-contact communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163, and can transmit and receive information in order from the first non-contact communication IC tag 143.

  b) The control unit on the apparatus body side reads the cartridge life information converted to the number of recording operations on the paper (transfer material) held by the non-contact communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163, and also the non-contact communication IC When the tags 143, 153 and 163 read the number of times of recording operations on the actual paper (transfer material) and compare them, the cartridge is displayed on the display means 203 and the warning means 204 when it is determined that the cartridge is near the end of its life. It is displayed and warned to replace.

  c) The control unit on the apparatus body side reads out the cartridge life information converted to the number of recording operations on the paper (transfer material) held by the non-contact communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163 of the cartridge. When the cartridge reaches the end of its life by comparing the actual number of recording operations (transfer materials) held by the communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163, the display means 203 and the warning means 204 indicate the display. A warning is issued and a signal for prohibiting the image forming operation is output to the electrophotographic process section (image forming section).

  d) The control unit on the apparatus body side reads the cartridge information held in the non-contact communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163 of the cartridge, determines whether or not the cartridge is proper, and displays the display means 203 to display the suitability. It comes to control.

  e) The control unit on the apparatus main body side controls the display means 203 and the warning means 204 so as to display / warn that the attachment is incorrect when receiving the erroneous attachment signal from the attachment detection means 205. . The mounting detection means 205 determines whether the mounting state when the cartridge is set in the apparatus main body is correct, whether it is a temporary mounting state, or a complete mounting state regardless of non-conforming products or conforming products. In order to do this, for example, it is determined based on signals from various sensors and switches such as electromagnetic relays whether the mounting direction is correct, the mounting location is appropriate, or whether the mounting is locked after mounting. The detection means 205 is composed of these various sensors and switches.

  f) When the use of the cartridge is started by the image forming operation, the control unit on the apparatus main body side writes “used” information in the non-contact communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163. In addition, the control unit reads out the number of times of recycling held by the non-contact communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163 of the cartridge, determines whether or not the cartridge has been used, and displays that fact when it has been used. The means 203 is controlled.

  g) The control unit on the apparatus main body side does not include the non-contact communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163 that can be transmitted to and received from the cartridge, and when the information cannot be read, or the developer cartridge is determined to be incompatible from the read information Even in this case, according to the continuation command signal operated on the user side, the image forming conditions held by the user are read, and the electrophotographic process unit (image forming unit) of the apparatus main body is controlled under the predetermined image forming conditions. When it is determined that the cartridge is suitable, the electrophotographic process unit (image forming unit) is controlled under optimum conditions according to the image forming conditions held by the non-contact communication IC tags 143, 153, and 163.

  Here, the predetermined image forming condition means an image forming condition that is down-leveled from the normal image forming condition, and means that the copy image quality and the like are lowered from the normal level. This makes it possible for the user to recognize that it is nonconforming and to prevent the use of pirated products (referred to as pirated products, counterfeit products, non-genuine compatible products, etc.).

  Specifically, the image forming condition is such that the toner consumption is much larger than the normal reference value. As a means for this, the charging potential is set higher than the normal set value, or the light quantity as the exposure means is decreased to set the brightness of the entire copy dark, thereby increasing the toner consumption. As another means, the fixing temperature control is lowered to a predetermined condition so that the fixing property of the toner to the transfer material is deteriorated. The optimum image forming conditions are normal image forming conditions and are image quality forming conditions that do not cause a problem without degrading copy quality when the apparatus main body is operated.

  In addition, this invention can also be expressed as follows.

  [1] In an image forming method using toner for visualizing an electrostatic latent image, a toner supply container management element (non-contact communication IC tag) capable of communicating information without contact with the image forming apparatus main body is provided in the toner supply container. The non-contact communication IC tag is composed of a communication antenna unit provided with a magnetic core and a semiconductor storing toner supply container management information, and is composed of DOP (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate) or n-DDP (dinormal decyl phthalate). A toner replenishing container provided with a management element, which is covered and protected by a resin containing no plasticizer such as

  [2] A toner supply container (image forming cartridge) in which the member including the IC tag in [1] has a function of a toner supply operation such as a toner stirring member and a toner transport member.

  [3] The toner replenishing container comprising the management element according to [1] or [2], wherein the resin not containing the plasticizer is a thermoplastic resin.

  [4] Any one of [1] to [3], wherein the resin not containing a plasticizer such as DOP (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate) or n-DDP (dinordecyl phthalate) is a polyamide resin. A toner replenishing container comprising the described management element.

  [5] Any one of [1] to [3], wherein the resin not containing a plasticizer such as DOP (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate) or n-DDP (dinordecyl phthalate) is a polyimide resin. A toner replenishing container comprising the described management element.

  [6] The thermoplastic resin not containing a plasticizer such as DOP (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate) or n-DDP (dinormal decyl phthalate) is a polyethylene terephthalate resin [1] to [3] A toner supply container comprising the management element according to any one of the above.

  [7] The thermoplastic resin not containing a plasticizer such as DOP (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate) or n-DDP (dinormal decyl phthalate) is a polycarbonate resin. A toner supply container comprising the management element according to any one of the above.

  [8] The binder resin of the toner filled in the toner replenishing container provided with the non-contact communication IC tag that is covered and protected by any of the polyamide resin, polyimide resin, polyethylene terephthalate resin, and polycarbonate resin is a polyester resin, Styrene resin, styrene-acrylic copolymer resin, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer resin, acrylic resin, styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer resin, styrene-acrylic-maleic anhydride copolymer resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, poly [1] to [7], which are one kind or two or more kinds of binder resins selected from the group of vinyl acetate resin, polyolefin resin, polyurethane resin, urethane-modified polyester resin, epoxy resin and the like Toner supply container provided with the management element according to any one of

  [9] The management element according to any one of [1] to [8], wherein the polyamide resin, polyimide resin, polyethylene terephthalate resin, and polycarbonate resin have a thickness of 50 to 250 μm. Toner supply container. As described above, the thickness of each resin is set to 50 to 250 μm because the non-contact communication IC tag is composed of an antenna portion and an IC chip and is integrally formed by being covered with a resin sheet. This is to provide bendability that can be attached to curved surfaces or places where planes intersect at an angle.

  [10] The non-contact communication IC tag and the non-contact communication IC tag provided in the image forming apparatus main body, transmitting radio waves to the non-contact communication IC tag and exciting the power to the toner supply container management element by electromagnetic induction, and at the same time The toner provided with the management element according to any one of [1] to [9], wherein the semiconductor element that reads and writes information of the communication IC tag communicates when the gap is 70 mm or less Supply container. As described above, the semiconductor element that reads and writes information of the non-contact communication IC tag communicates when the gap is 70 mm or less in order to improve communication accuracy. In the image forming apparatus, there are many sources of noise or interference with communication of the toner replenishing container management element, such as motors that generate electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields generated around the harness, and electromagnetic waves from a high voltage generation circuit. Therefore, in order to perform accurate information communication, it is necessary to communicate when the gap is 70 mm or less.

  [11] The toner replenishing container comprising the management element according to any one of [1] to [10], wherein the non-contact communication IC tag is provided for each toner replenishing container.

  [12] The non-contact communication IC tag can store the type of toner, the number of operations of the toner supply container, the number of copies of the image forming apparatus, and the malfunction of the toner supply container. A toner replenishing container comprising the management element according to any one of [1] to [11], wherein an accumulation calculation is performed and a signal for notifying the replacement timing of the toner replenishing container is transmitted.

  [13] An image forming apparatus using a toner supply container including the management element according to any one of [1] to [12].

  [14] An image forming method using a toner supply container including the management element according to any one of [1] to [12].

  As described in [1] to [6], a non-contact communication IC can be obtained by covering and protecting with a thermoplastic resin not containing a plasticizer, that is, a polyamide resin, a polyimide resin, a polyethylene terephthalate resin, or a polycarbonate resin. Even if the protective film (resin sheet) of the tag is contaminated with toner, it is not fused and no film is formed. For this reason, it is possible to read and write information of a good non-contact communication IC tag without causing any trouble in communication.

  Furthermore, since it does not contain a plasticizer such as DOP (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate) or n-DDP (dinordecyl phthalate), any binder resin for toner as described in [8] can be used. .

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope shown in the claims. That is, embodiments obtained by combining technical means appropriately changed within the scope of the claims are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  As described above, since the surface of the non-contact communication element is covered with the plasticizer-free resin, the image forming cartridge according to the present invention can be stabilized by applying the cartridge-like member in the image forming apparatus. Thus, good non-contact communication is possible, and information of the non-contact communication element can be read / written accurately.

It is sectional drawing of the non-contact communication IC tag concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the non-contact communication IC tag of FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the whole non-contact communication system using the non-contact communication IC tag of FIG. It is the block diagram which showed the contactless communication system of FIG. 4 in detail. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a developer supply unit provided in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a developer supply unit provided in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 3. FIGS. 8A and 8B are front views of the developer supply unit 72 of FIG. 7 as viewed from the A direction or the B direction, respectively. It is the schematic of the polyvinyl chloride migration-proof test in this embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of the conventional image forming apparatus. 11A is a perspective view of a non-contact IC memory provided in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 10, and FIGS. 11B and 11C are perspective views of a developing cartridge provided with the non-contact IC memory. .

Explanation of symbols

70 Image forming apparatus 72 Developer supply unit (image forming cartridge)
143, 153, 163 Non-contact communication IC tag (non-contact communication element)
185 Protective layer (plasticizer-free resin)
211 Nonvolatile memory (memory element)

Claims (10)

An image forming cartridge including a non-contact communication element capable of communicating information with the image forming apparatus main body in a non-contact manner,
An image forming cartridge, wherein the surface of the non-contact communication element is covered with a plasticizer-free resin.   The image forming cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the plasticizer-free resin is a thermoplastic resin.   2. The plasticizer-free resin is a mixed resin comprising at least one resin or a mixture of two or more selected from the group of polyamide resin, polyimide resin, polyethylene terephthalate resin, and polycarbonate resin. Or the image forming cartridge according to 2;   4. The image forming cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the non-contact communication element is provided inside the image forming cartridge. 5.   The developer filled in the image forming cartridge according to claim 1 is a polyester resin, a styrene resin, a styrene-acrylic copolymer resin, a styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer resin, or a styrene-anhydrous resin. It contains at least one resin selected from the group consisting of maleic acid copolymer resin, acrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyvinyl acetate resin, polyolefin resin, polyurethane resin, urethane-modified polyester resin, and epoxy resin. The image forming cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   The image forming cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the plasticizer-free resin has a thickness of 50 to 250 μm. The non-contact communication element is
It communicates at least one information of the type, the number of operations, the number of copies, and the number of defects of the image forming cartridge, and informs the replacement timing of the image forming cartridge based on the result of accumulating the above information. The image forming cartridge according to claim 1.   An image forming apparatus comprising: the image forming cartridge according to claim 1; and a communication unit that communicates information with the image forming cartridge in a non-contact manner.   9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein information communication is performed with each other when an interval between the communication unit and the non-contact communication element of the image forming cartridge is 70 mm or less. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, comprising a plurality of the image forming cartridges.

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