JP2007221996A - Auxiliary electricity supply system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an auxiliary electricity supply system adapted to enhance electricity savings effect by a simple configuration, as well as, to utilize an auxiliary power supply apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: Discriminating means 85 of an auxiliary electricity supply device 81 discriminates control information, such as supplier of auxiliary electricity and starting of supply and stoppage out of the content of status information forwarded from image forming devices 1a, 1b, and forwards them to controlling means 86. A control means 86 controls, to which one of image forming devices 1a, 1b electrcity is to be supplied from an auxiliary power supply apparatus 24 and its timing, according to the control information forwarded. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an auxiliary power supply system that supplies electric power to an electrical device such as a fixing device that fixes a toner image transferred onto a recording medium, and more particularly to efficient power saving.

  An image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer forms an image on a recording medium such as plain paper or OHP. This image forming apparatus employs an electrophotographic system in view of high speed image formation, image quality, cost, and the like. The electrophotographic method is a method in which a toner image is formed on a recording medium, and the formed toner image is fixed on the recording medium with heat and pressure. The heat roller method is currently the most widely used fixing method from the standpoint of safety. Has been. In the heat roller system, a heat roller heated by a heat generating member such as a halogen heater and a pressure roller disposed opposite to the heat roller are pressed to form a mutual pressure contact portion called a nip portion, and a toner image is formed in the nip portion. This is a method of heating through a recording medium to which is transferred.

  In recent years, environmental problems have become important and image forming apparatuses such as copiers and printers have been saving energy. In considering the energy saving of this image forming apparatus, what cannot be ignored is the power saving of the fixing device for fixing the toner to the recording medium. In order to reduce the power consumption of the fixing device during standby of the image forming apparatus, the temperature of the heating roller is maintained at a constant temperature slightly lower than the fixing temperature during standby, so that the temperature can be immediately raised to a usable temperature during use. The temperature of the fixing roller is not waited for. In this case, extra energy is consumed by supplying a certain amount of power even when the fixing device is not used. It is said that the energy consumption during standby increases from about 70% to 80% of the energy consumption of the device.

  It is hoped that this standby energy consumption will be reduced to save more power. In Japan, the Energy Conservation Law has been revised and strengthened. In the United States, energy-saving programs such as Energy Star and Zero Energy Star Mode (ZESM) Has been enacted, and there has been a demand for zero power supply when not in use. However, if energy consumption is reduced to zero during standby, the heating roller mainly uses a metal roller such as iron or aluminum and has a large heat capacity, so it takes several minutes to 10 minutes to raise the temperature to a usable temperature of about 180 ° C. A long heating time such as several minutes is required, and the convenience for the user is deteriorated. For this reason, a configuration for quickly raising the temperature of the heating roller is necessary for realizing an energy-saving copying machine. For example, in the ZESM, 10 seconds or less is required for restarting.

  In order to shorten the heating time of the heating roller, it is preferable to increase the input energy per unit time, that is, the rated power. In fact, many high-speed machines with a high printing speed support a power supply voltage of 200V. However, in a general office in Japan, the commercial power supply is 100V15A, and it is not a general solution because it requires special work related to the power supply at the installation site to support 200V. In addition, a product that uses two 100V15A systems to increase the total input power has been put into practical use, but it cannot be installed unless there are two outlets nearby. For this reason, even if an attempt is made to raise the temperature of the heating roller in a short time, the actual upper limit of the input energy cannot be increased.

  In addition, as a fixing device that realizes a short temperature increase, for example, a heating roller is configured by winding a film made of a heat resistant resin around a plate-shaped ceramic heater having a small heat capacity, and the rise time is shortened, It has been put into practical use at low speed machines of 30 sheets / minute or less. However, in the future, it will be necessary to increase the thickness of the heat-resistant resin film to prevent breakage in order to support higher speed machines. When the heat-resistant resin film is made thicker, the resin has a lower thermal conductivity than the metal, so the heat-resistant resin film is heated with a ceramic heater before the recording medium enters the nip between the heating roller and the pressure roller. There is a need. For this reason, the area of the plate-like portion of the ceramic heater is increased, and a high power source is required, which cannot be realized in a high-speed machine.

In order to improve this, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, a heating element of a different system from the heating element of the heating roller is provided below the pressure roller, and a heating element of a different system from the heating element of the heating roller is provided during standby. Is supplying power. Further, as shown in Patent Document 2, a voltage lower by a certain level is supplied to the heating roller when the fixing device is in a standby state to delay the temperature of the fixing device from falling, or Patent Document 3 As shown, the secondary battery, which is an auxiliary power supply, is charged during standby of the fixing device, and when the fixing device is started up, power is supplied from the main power supply device and the secondary battery or primary battery to shorten the startup time. And so on. Furthermore, as shown in Patent Document 4, an auxiliary power source using a large-capacitance capacitor is used in addition to the main power source, the connection between the main power source and the heating unit is cut off during standby, and the main power source and the auxiliary power source are connected. When the auxiliary power source is charged and the heating unit is started up from the standby state, power is supplied from the main power source and the auxiliary power source to the heating unit so that the temperature of the heating unit is raised to a predetermined temperature in a short time.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-232839 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-10913 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-282821 JP 2000-315567 A

  However, as shown in Patent Document 1, power is supplied to a heating element in a system different from the heating element of the heating roller during standby, or as shown in Patent Document 2, a voltage that is lower by a certain level when the standby state is entered. Is not sufficient power saving. Further, the limitation of the maximum power supply of the commercial power source cannot be solved for the rise, and the rise time cannot be shortened.

  Further, the fixing device shown in Patent Document 3 supplies power from the main power supply device and the secondary battery or the primary battery at the time of start-up, but generally a CADNICA battery or a lead storage battery is used as the secondary power supply, This secondary battery has the property that its capacity deteriorates and decreases when it is repeatedly charged and discharged, and the life is shorter as it is discharged at a higher current. Even for CADNICA batteries, which are generally considered to have a long life with a large current, the number of charge / discharge cycles is about 500 to 1000 times. If 20 cycles of charge / discharge are repeated per day, the battery life will be reached in about one month. As a result, it cannot be used for a long period of time, and it takes time and effort to replace the battery. In addition, since it takes several hours to fully charge a large capacity, it cannot be used for applications in which charging and discharging are repeated many times a day, and it has been difficult to realize practically. Furthermore, lead acid batteries are not preferred for office equipment, such as using liquid sulfuric acid.

  A halogen heater usually used for heating the fixing roller has a short life when a large current is applied. Therefore, the maximum current is about 10 to 12 A, and it is difficult to increase the maximum current. Therefore, in order to obtain a large amount of power with a heating device using a halogen heater as a heating element, it is necessary to use a large voltage power source as a power supply source. As shown in Patent Document 4, an auxiliary power source using a large-capacitance capacitor is used in addition to the main power source, the auxiliary power source is charged during standby, and the heating unit is started up from the standby state from the main power source and auxiliary power source. When supplying power to the heating unit, a large-capacity capacitor used as an auxiliary power source has a low voltage per cell of about several volts in order to prevent the solution inside the cell from being electrolyzed. A little over 1 volt, and even an organic system is about a few volts. For this reason, in order to heat a halogen heater as a heating element, it is necessary to connect dozens to dozens of cells in series and use them as a high-voltage power supply unit. In a configuration where a large number of cells are connected in series to obtain high voltage and high power, for example, even if only a few cells have sufficient energy to raise the temperature of the heating element, to increase the voltage However, it is necessary to increase the number of cells, and it is necessary to use a large amount of extra cells that are currently costly, so that there is a problem that the volume of the power source is large and the cost is high.

  The present invention provides an auxiliary power supply system that improves such disadvantages and effectively uses an auxiliary power source with a simple configuration to enhance the power saving effect and reduce the volume of the auxiliary power source to reduce the installation space and reduce the cost. It is the purpose.

  The auxiliary power supply system of the present invention is an electric power supply system having at least one electric device to which electric power is supplied from the main power supply device and an electric power supply device for supplying electric power from the auxiliary power supply device to at least one electric device. The electrical device has output means for outputting status information of the electrical device, and the power supply device determines control information of the auxiliary power supply device based on the status information output from the electrical device. And determining means for controlling the power supply from the auxiliary power supply device based on the control information determined by the determining means.

  The status information includes power supply information indicating a state of power supply from the auxiliary power supply device to the electric device.

  Further, the status information includes priority information indicating a power demand level of the electric device.

  The electrical apparatus further includes a heating device including a main heating element that supplies electric power from the main power supply device and an auxiliary heating element that supplies electric power from the auxiliary power supply device. The status information includes temperature information of the heating device.

  Further, the heating device is provided in a fixing device for fixing the image transferred to the recording medium to the recording medium.

  According to the present invention, the auxiliary power supply device can be effectively used by supplying power from the main power supply device to the electrical equipment and also supplying power from the auxiliary power supply device.

  Also, auxiliary power is supplied to electrical devices that require auxiliary power by controlling the supply destination and supply timing for supplying auxiliary power based on status information indicating information on the individual state and operating state of each electrical device. Therefore, it is possible to supply power appropriately according to the situation of the electrical equipment, and the auxiliary power supply device can be used effectively. In addition, the status information includes priority, and by supplying auxiliary power according to the priority, convenience of the user of the electric device can be achieved.

  In addition, the electrical equipment has a heating device including a main heating element that supplies power from the main power supply device and an auxiliary heating element that supplies power from the auxiliary power supply device, and includes temperature information of the heating device in the status information. By controlling the power supply timing from the auxiliary power supply device, the auxiliary power supply device can be used effectively.

  Furthermore, by providing the heating device in a fixing device that fixes the image transferred to the recording medium to the recording medium, the temperature of the fixing device can be rapidly increased, and the temperature raising time can be greatly shortened.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus 1 is provided on the downstream side of a photosensitive member 2, a charging device 3 provided along the photosensitive member 2, and a charging device 3 in the rotation direction of the photosensitive member 2. And a developing device that is a part of the writing device and is provided on the downstream side of the mirror 5 that makes the laser beam 4 incident on the surface of the photosensitive member 2 and the optical writing unit that the laser beam 4 enters, and has a developing roller 6a. The apparatus 6 includes a transfer device 7 provided on the downstream side of the developing device 6, a cleaning device 8 provided on the downstream side of the transfer device 7 and having a cleaning blade 8 a, a paper feeding device 9, and a fixing device 10. The paper feeding device 9 has a paper feeding tray 11, a paper feeding roller 12, a recording paper conveyance path 13 and a registration roller pair 14, and conveys the recording paper stored in the paper feeding tray 11 to the transfer device 7.

  When an image is formed by the image forming apparatus 1, the surface of the rotating photoreceptor 2 is uniformly charged by the charging device 3, and the laser beam 4 emitted from the writing device according to the image information is output by the mirror 5. The light is incident on the surface of the photoreceptor 2 that is reflected and charged, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image to be formed is formed. The electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 2 is developed by the developing device 6 to form a toner image. On the other hand, the recording sheet fed from the sheet feeding tray 11 by the sheet feeding roller 12 passes through the recording sheet conveyance path 13 and is temporarily stopped at the position of the registration roller 14. Then, at the same timing when the toner image formed on the photoconductor 2 reaches the transfer device 7, the recording paper is sent from the registration roller pair 14, and the toner image formed on the photoconductor 2 is transferred to the recording paper by the transfer device 7. . The recording paper onto which the toner image has been transferred by the transfer device 7 is sent to the fixing device 10 where the toner of the toner image transferred onto the recording paper is heated and melted to fix the toner image on the recording paper. Further, the toner remaining on the photosensitive member 2 without being transferred to the recording paper is removed by the cleaning device 8.

  As shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 2, the heating device 21 of the fixing device 10 that fixes the toner image transferred onto the recording paper is charged with a heating unit 22, a main power supply device 23, an auxiliary power supply device 24, a main switch 25, and a charging device. Device 26 and switching unit 27. As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, the heating unit 22 is provided to face the pressure roller 15 and heats the toner image 17 transferred to the recording paper 16 sent to the nip portion with the pressure roller 15. It has a main heating element 22 a that melts and generates heat by the electric power supplied from the main power supply device 23, and an auxiliary heating element 22 b that generates heat by the electric power supplied from the auxiliary power supply device 24. In this way, the heating unit 22 has two systems of the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating element 22b, and power is supplied to the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating element 22b from the main power supply device 23 and the auxiliary power supply device 24 of different systems. The circuit configuration of the heating device 21 can be simplified to reduce the cost. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when power is supplied from the main power supply device 23 and the auxiliary power supply device 24 having a capacitor with the heating unit 22 as one system, the power supplied from the main power supply device 23 to the heating unit 22 is A / It is necessary to perform A / D conversion by the D conversion unit 28, which complicates the circuit configuration and increases the cost. Furthermore, although the power supply is reduced due to the conversion efficiency of the A / D converter 28, it is possible to prevent such disadvantages from occurring.

The main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating element 22b of the heating unit 22 include, for example, a ceramic substrate 29 made of Al ₂ O ₃ and a resistive material such as silver-palladium, as shown in a top view of FIG. It is formed of a ceramic heater composed of a resistor 30 that forms a pattern by printing and is fired and generates heat when energized, and is formed such that the resistance value R2 of the auxiliary heating element 22b is smaller than the resistance value R1 of the main heating element 22a. ing. Thus, by forming the main heating element 2a and the auxiliary heating element 2b with ceramic heaters, the resistance value can be reduced, and a large current of several tens A can be passed even at a low voltage. Further, by providing the main heating element 2a and the auxiliary heating element 2b on the same ceramic substrate 29, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the size can be reduced. FIG. 5 shows the case where the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating element 22b are arranged to have the same length. You may change suitably. Further, the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating element 22b may be provided on different ceramic substrates 29a and 29b as shown in the sectional view of FIG.

  In order to prevent the toner image 17 transferred to the recording paper 16 from adhering to the heating unit 22, the heating unit 22 includes a cylindrical film 31 that slides and rotates around the heating unit 22. The cylindrical film 31 uses a heat-resistant resin such as polyimide as a base, and a release layer for improving the release property from the recording paper 16 is preferably formed on the surface. Further, the surface of the heating unit 22 that slides with the cylindrical film 31 of the ceramic substrate 29 maintains a smooth surface and improves sliding with the cylindrical film 31, so that a material having good thermal conductivity, such as aluminum, is used. It is good to provide the sliding member 32 formed by (1). As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, the pressure roller 15 provided to face the heating unit 22 is an elastic layer for securing a contact width with the heating unit 22 on a metal core 15a. 15b, and a predetermined contact width with the heating unit 22 is secured by the biasing means.

  The main power supply device 23 is connected to a commercial power supply AC100V, and has functions such as voltage adjustment according to the heating unit 22 and rectification of alternating current to direct current. The auxiliary power supply 24 has a large capacity capacitor that can be charged and discharged. The capacitor of the auxiliary power supply 24 has a capacitance of about 2000 F, such as an electric double layer capacitor developed by Nippon Chemi-Con Co., Ltd., and is charged to a sufficient capacity by supplying power for several seconds to several tens of seconds. Or a capacitor of about 80 F called “Hypercapacitor” of NEC Corporation. The auxiliary power supply 24 using this electric double layer capacitor or the like is configured to supply low voltage and high current power, and the capacity and number of capacitors are determined according to the electric energy supplied to the auxiliary heating element 22b. Yes. For example, when the auxiliary heating element 22a made of a ceramic heater is configured so that a large current of about 40 A can flow at maximum, a power of 600 W is supplied to the auxiliary heating element 22a by using a 1300 F, 2.5 V capacitor in the auxiliary power supply 24. Then, the number of capacitors used for the auxiliary power supply device 24 is six.

  The main switch 25 turns on / off the power supplied from the main power supply device 23 to the main heating element 22a. The charger 26 charges the capacitor of the auxiliary power supply device 24 with electric power supplied from the main power supply device 23. The switching unit 27 switches charging of the auxiliary power supply 24 and power supply from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the auxiliary heating element 22b. The main switch 25 and the switching unit 27 are controlled by a control unit 32 that manages the operation of the entire image forming apparatus 1.

  In the image forming apparatus 1 configured as described above, the operation of the heating device 21 of the fixing device 10 when an image is formed by the image forming apparatus 1 and in the standby state will be described with reference to the time chart of FIG.

  When the auxiliary power supply 24 composed of an electric double layer capacitor or the like of the heating device 21 is not sufficiently charged, for example, when the power of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on in the morning and the heating unit 22 of the fixing device 10 is heated, the control is performed. The unit 32 turns on the main switch 25 of the heating device 21 and supplies power only from the main power supply device 23 to the main heating element 22a to heat the heating unit 22. When the temperature of the heating unit 22 rises to a predetermined temperature, the control unit 32 starts an image forming operation. When this image forming operation is finished and the image forming apparatus 1 is in a standby state, the control unit 32 turns off the main switch 25 to operate the switching unit 27 to connect the auxiliary power supply 24 to the charger 26, and the main power supply The power is supplied from the power supply 23 to the auxiliary power supply 24 via the charger 26 and charged. When a general nickel-cadmium battery is used as a secondary battery as the auxiliary power supply when charging the auxiliary power supply 24, the auxiliary power supply 24 has a time of several hours even if rapid charging is performed. Unlike a secondary battery, the capacitor has no chemical reaction and can be charged quickly for several minutes. Therefore, when the image forming apparatus 1 is in the standby state, the power consumption can be made almost zero.

  Next, when heating of the heating unit 22 is started in order to start up from the standby state and start an image forming operation, the control unit 32 turns on the main switch 25 of the heating device 21 to turn on the main heating element from the main power supply device 23. The power is supplied to 22a, and the switching unit 27 is operated to connect the auxiliary power supply 24 to the auxiliary heating element 22b. The power is supplied from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the auxiliary heating element 22b, and the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating element The heating part 22 is heated by 22b, and it heats up. When the image forming apparatus 1 thus stands up from the standby state, power is supplied from the main power supply 23 to the main heating element 22a and power is supplied from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the auxiliary heating element 22b. A larger amount of electric power can be supplied to the heating unit 22 than when electric power is supplied by only 23. Further, by using the ceramic heater 30 capable of flowing a large current to the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating element 22b, more electric power can be supplied, and the heating unit can be heated to a predetermined temperature in a short time. Can do.

  For example, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 8, using a conventional fixing device 10a having a halogen heater 34 inside an aluminum fixing roller 33 having a diameter of 30 mm and a thickness of 1 mm, a predetermined temperature of about 180 ° C. is used. The amount of heat required to raise the temperature is about 12000 joules (J). Since the halogen heater 34 used for the fixing roller 33 can supply about 1200 W with a voltage of 100 V, as shown in a temperature rise characteristic diagram (A) of FIG. The roller 33 can be heated to 180 ° C. When an auxiliary halogen heater is provided on the fixing roller 33 in addition to the halogen heater 34 and a current is supplied to the auxiliary halogen heater from an auxiliary power supply using a 1300 F, 2.5 V capacitor, the auxiliary halogen heater has a maximum current. Therefore, when the voltage of the auxiliary power supply is set to 50V, 12 A, that is, 600 W of power can be taken out. For this reason, 600 W of power can be supplied from the auxiliary power supply to the auxiliary halogen heater simultaneously with the power of 1200 W supplied to the halogen heater 34, and a total of 1800 W of power can be supplied to the fixing roller 33, which is about 10 seconds. The heating time of the fixing roller 33 can be shortened to about 6 seconds as shown in FIG.

  However, in order to use a 2.5V capacitor with a voltage of 50V in the auxiliary power supply, it is necessary to connect about 20 capacitors in series. At this time, the energy held by the auxiliary power supply device is about 80000 J. However, the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of the fixing roller 33 is only 1/6 of that, and energy for connecting three capacitors in series is sufficient. Further, when the power is taken out at a rate of 600 W / 10 seconds with a 2.5 V capacitor set to a voltage of 50 V, the remaining power amount is as shown in FIG. When power is supplied from the auxiliary power supply for 10 seconds to increase the temperature of the fixing roller 33 in 30 seconds, only about 6000 J of power is taken out from the auxiliary power supply. This is less than about 8% of the energy held by the auxiliary power supply. In such a configuration in which a large voltage is used for the auxiliary power supply device, an extra capacitor is required only by increasing the voltage, and it is difficult to take out the stored electric energy in a short time when the temperature is raised.

  On the other hand, if a ceramic heater capable of supplying a maximum current of about 40 A is used for the auxiliary heating element 22b and 600 W is taken out as the initial power from the auxiliary power supply 24 using a 1300 F, 2.5 V capacitor, The voltage of the power supply device 24 is 15 V, and electric energy of about 6000 J can be supplied for 10 seconds. At this time, there are six 1300F, 2.5V capacitors. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10B, the remaining power amount of the capacitor of the auxiliary power supply 24 is effectively used by being reduced as compared with the case where the voltage of the 2.5V capacitor is set to 50V. Since the auxiliary power unit 24 using six 1300F, 2.5V capacitors has an electric energy of about 24000 J, about 6000 J of electric energy that can be used when the temperature is raised is about the electric energy that the auxiliary power unit 24 has. The utilization efficiency can be increased to about three times. For example, by supplying 600 W or 800 W of power from the auxiliary power supply 24, the 1200 W limit, which is the upper limit of the conventional power supply, can be set to 1800 W to 2000 W, and the time for raising the temperature from the standby state to the predetermined temperature Can be shortened. In addition, the number of capacitors used for the auxiliary power supply device 24 can be greatly reduced, the volume of the auxiliary power supply device 24 can be reduced, and the cost of the auxiliary power supply device 24 can be reduced.

  Therefore, when starting from the standby state, the main power supply device 23 supplies 1200 W of power at, for example, 100V to the main heating element 22a, and the auxiliary power supply device 24 supplies power of, for example, 800W at 20V to the auxiliary heating element 22b for heating. The part 22 is heated. That is, when a voltage as high as 100 V, for example, can be supplied as in the main power supply device 23, the current is made relatively small so that the conductor connecting the main heating element 22a from the main power supply device 23 is made relatively thin. When the voltage is increased, the number of capacitors used in the auxiliary power supply 24 increases and the auxiliary power supply 24 increases in size. Therefore, the voltage of the auxiliary power supply 24 is lowered to supply a large current.

  When the electric power is supplied to the heating unit 22 and reaches a predetermined temperature in this way, the control unit 32 operates the switching unit 27 to cut off the electric power supplied from the auxiliary power supply device 24 to the auxiliary heating element 22b. Then, the heating unit 22 is maintained at a predetermined temperature with the electric power supplied from the main power supply device 23 to the main heating element 22a. As shown in FIG. 3, the recording paper 16 to which the toner image 17 is transferred is conveyed between the heating unit 22 and the pressure roller 15 maintained at the predetermined temperature, and the toner image 17 is heated and melted by the heating unit 22. Then, it is fixed on the recording paper 16. When the toner image 17 transferred to the recording paper 16 by the heating unit 22 is fixed, the cylindrical film 31 is provided on the portion of the heating unit 22 that comes into contact with the toner image 17, thereby preventing the toner from adhering. Can do. When the fixing of the toner image 17 to the recording paper 16 is repeated a predetermined number of times to complete the image forming operation and the image forming apparatus 1 is in a standby state, the control unit 32 turns off the main switch 25 and operates the switching unit 27 to assist. The power supply device 24 is connected to the charger 26, and power is supplied from the main power supply device 23 to the auxiliary power supply device 24 via the charger 26 to be charged. Thereafter, the above operation is repeated each time an image forming operation is performed.

  In this way, by charging the auxiliary power supply 24 each time the image forming apparatus 1 enters the standby state, the auxiliary power supply 24 can always maintain a predetermined amount of charge when the image forming operation is started. It is possible to reliably supply electric power from the auxiliary power supply 24 at the time of start-up and to raise the heating unit 22 to a predetermined temperature in a short time. In addition, the capacitor used for the auxiliary power supply 24 has an allowable charge / discharge repetition number of 10,000 or more, and is less deteriorated by repeated charge / discharge, and the allowable charge / discharge repetition number is about 500 to 1000 times. Compared to a nickel-cadmium battery, it can be used stably for a long period of time. Further, unlike lead-acid batteries, there is no need for liquid replacement or replenishment, so that it can be used with little maintenance.

  In the above description, for example, when the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on in the morning and the heating unit 22 of the fixing device 10 is heated, power is supplied only from the main power supply device 23 to the main heating element 22a. Although the case of heating has been described, the charge amount of the capacitor of the auxiliary power supply 24 may not decrease so much when the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on first. Therefore, as shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 11, a charge amount detection unit 35 for detecting the charge amount of the auxiliary power supply device 24 is provided, and when the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on, the main power supply device 23 supplies the main heating element 22a. In addition, power may be supplied from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the auxiliary heating element 22b according to the amount of charge of the auxiliary power supply 24.

  The operation in this case will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. For example, when the power of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on first in the morning (step S <b> 1), the filling amount detection unit 35 detects the filling amount of the capacitor of the auxiliary power supply 24 and sends it to the control unit 32. The control unit 32 determines whether or not the detected filling amount has reached a preset specified value (step S2), and when the filling amount of the auxiliary power supply 24 has reached the specified value, the main power supply device. Power is supplied from 23 to the main heating element 22a and electric power is also supplied from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the auxiliary heating element 22b to raise the temperature of the heating unit 22 (step S3). While the heating unit 22 is being heated, if the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit 36 that detects the temperature of the heating unit 22, for example, a thermistor, a thermocouple, or a radiation thermometer, reaches a predetermined temperature (step S4). ), The control unit 32 cuts off the power supplied from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the auxiliary heating element 22b. Then, the heating unit 22 is kept at a predetermined temperature with the electric power supplied from the main power supply device 23 to the main heating element 22a (step S5). As described above, when the power of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on, if the charge amount of the auxiliary power supply 24 reaches the specified value, power is supplied from the main power supply 23 and the auxiliary power supply 24 to the heating unit 22. As a result, as shown in the temperature rise characteristic diagram of FIG. 13, compared with the case where power is supplied only by the main power supply device 23, the time from the start of heating of the heating unit 22 until reaching the predetermined temperature T is shortened. The heating unit 22 can be heated to a predetermined temperature T in a short time of 10 seconds or less, for example.

  In this state, the control unit 32 starts an image forming operation (step S6). When the image forming operation is completed and the image forming apparatus 1 is in a standby state (steps S7 and S8), the control unit 32 turns off the main switch 25 to operate the switching unit 27 and the auxiliary power supply 24 is connected to the charger 26. Connected, the power is supplied from the main power supply device 23 to the auxiliary power supply device 24 via the charger 26 and charged (step S9). Thereafter, the above operation is repeated every time an image forming operation is performed (steps S10, S3 to S9). If the filling amount of the auxiliary power supply 24 does not reach the specified value when the power of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on, power is supplied only from the main power supply 23 to the main heating element 22a so that the heating unit 22 is turned on. Heat (steps S2, S11, S12).

  Thus, in order to secure 1200 W of power supplied from the main power supply 3 to the main heating element 22a with, for example, a voltage of 100 V and a current of 12 A, and to supply 800 W of power from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the auxiliary heating element 22b, When eight 1300F, 2.5V capacitors are connected in series to the device 24, the resistance value R1 of the main heating element 22a is 8.3Ω, and the resistance value of the auxiliary heating element 22b is 0.5Ω. Therefore, as shown in the top view of FIG. 14, the resistor pattern 30a of the main heating element 22a and the resistance pattern 30b of the auxiliary heating element 22b formed on the ceramic substrate 29 are changed, and the sectional area of the resistance pattern 30b of the auxiliary heating element 22b is changed. The main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating element 22b can be easily configured according to the characteristics of the main power supply device 23 and the auxiliary power supply device 24.

  In the above description, the case where the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating element 22b are formed of ceramic heaters has been described. However, the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating element 22b may be formed of a metal thin film resistor.

  Further, as the auxiliary heating element 22b, instead of a ceramic heater or a metal film resistor, as shown in a circuit diagram of FIG. 15 and a cross-sectional view of FIG. 16, a main heating element 22a comprising a halogen heater 34 inside a fixing roller 33. In addition, a plurality of halogen heaters 34 may be provided in parallel as auxiliary heating elements 22b. Thus, by using the plurality of halogen heaters 34 connected in parallel to the auxiliary heating element 22b, a large current can be passed through the auxiliary heating element 22b.

  Further, as shown in the configuration diagram of the heating unit 22 in FIG. 17, the auxiliary heating element 22 b is configured by a plurality of, for example, halogen heaters 34 a having two heating wires 41 inside the glass tube 40, and the fixing roller 33. It may be provided inside. Even when a plurality of heating wires 41 are used in this way, since there is only one glass tube 40, the heat capacity can be reduced, and the temperature of the glass tube 40 at the time of heating up the heating unit 22 can be increased. The amount of heat required can be reduced and the rise time can be shortened. Further, since the glass tube 40 is shared by the plurality of heating wires 41, the space for installing the auxiliary heating element 22b can be reduced. Therefore, the present invention can also be applied to the small-diameter fixing roller 33 having a small heat capacity.

  Further, the resistance values of the plurality of heating wires 41 provided inside the glass tube 40 are made different so that the light emission distribution in the longitudinal direction of the glass tube 40 of each heating wire 41 is different as shown in FIG. It is good to make it. The heat distribution of the halogen heater is adjusted by how the heating wire 41 is wound. In the region where the resistance is high and the light emission amount is large, the heating wire 41 is coiled to increase the number of turns, and in the region where the light emission amount is large, the inside of the glass tube 40 is increased. The volume of the heating wire 41 becomes larger. When a plurality of heating wires 41 are provided on the glass tube 40, the diameter of the glass tube 40 must be increased in the same region. In order to prevent this, the resistance values, that is, the light emission distributions of the plurality of heating wires 41 are made different in the longitudinal direction of the glass tube 40, and the light emission amounts of the heating wires 41 are formed so as to be staggered. Reduce the diameter of 40. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 17C, by connecting both ends of the plurality of heating wires 41 and providing them inside the glass tube 40, one external connection terminal of the halogen heater 34a having the plurality of heating wires 41 is provided. The terminal configuration can be simplified to facilitate connection with the auxiliary power supply device 24 and the like.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 18, a main resistor 22a comprising a halogen heater 34 is provided inside the fixing roller 33, and a metal thin film 42 that generates heat when the auxiliary heating element 22b is energized, such as stainless steel, is provided on a roller base 43. You may form in the inner surface of. In this case, the roller base 43 may be a metal such as aluminum or iron, or ceramic. When a metal is used as the roller base 43, an insulating material such as a heat-resistant resin or ceramic is provided between the roller base 43 and the metal thin film 42. Provide a layer. By providing the auxiliary heating element 22b on the roller base 43 in this way, the heat of the auxiliary heating element 22b can be directly transmitted to the roller base 43, and the fixing roller 33 can be raised to a predetermined temperature in a short time. .

  In the above description, the case where the fixing device 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 is heated by the heating device 21 has been described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to various heat transfer devices, thermostatic devices, and the like.

  In the above description, the case where the fixing roller 33 is provided with the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating element 22b has been described. However, as shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 19, the pressure roller 15 also includes the main heating element 44a and the auxiliary heating element. As shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 20, the main heating element 44a is supplied with electric power from the main power supply device 23 and heated, and the auxiliary heating element 44b is supplied with electric power from the auxiliary power supply apparatus 24. Anyway. Thus, by providing the heating roller 44a and the auxiliary heating element 44b on the pressure roller 15 and heating them, the fixing device 10 can be heated more efficiently and kept at a predetermined temperature.

  In addition, the power supplied to the main heating element 22a provided on the fixing roller 33 and the power supplied to the main heating element 44a provided on the pressure roller 15 are controlled independently by different main switches 25a and 25b, so that the color When forming an image or the like, the toner image 17 transferred to the recording paper 16 can be fixed under optimum conditions, and the image quality of the formed image can be improved. Further, since the voltage applied from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the auxiliary heating element 44b of the pressure roller 15 is the same as the voltage applied to the auxiliary heating element 22b of the fixing roller 33, the auxiliary heating element 44b of the pressure roller 15 is the same voltage. By setting the auxiliary heating elements 22a of the fixing roller 33 to different resistance values, the pressure roller 15 and the fixing roller 33 can be controlled with temperature characteristics suitable for each.

  As described above, when power is supplied from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the auxiliary heating element 22b of the fixing roller 33 and the auxiliary heating element 44b of the pressure roller 15, a common cable from the switching unit 27 to the auxiliary heating element 22b and the auxiliary heating element 44b. When connecting with, a large current flows through this cable, so it is necessary to use a cable according to the current. Accordingly, as shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 21, the switching unit 27 and the auxiliary heating element 22b and the switching unit 27 and the auxiliary heating element 44b are connected with different cables to reduce the current flowing through each cable. Thus, the auxiliary heating element 22b and the auxiliary heating element 44b can be connected to the switch 27 with a cable suitable for the current value. Further, as shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 22, the auxiliary power supply 24 is provided with a plurality of output terminals, and power is supplied from each output terminal to the auxiliary heating element 22b and the auxiliary heating element 44b via the switch 27. May be. In this case, the pressure roller 15 and the fixing roller 33 can be controlled with appropriate temperature characteristics by independently controlling the power supplied to the auxiliary heating element 22b and the auxiliary heating element 44b by the switch 27. .

  In the above description, the case where the fixing roller 33 is provided in the fixing device 10 has been described. However, as shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 23, the fixing roller 10 is wound around the heating roller 46 and the auxiliary roller 47 having the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating element 22b. The fixing belt 48 may be used, and the fixing belt 48 may be heated by the heating roller 46 and the pressure roller 15 may be heated.

  In addition, as shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 24, the heating device 21 is provided with a cooling unit 50 that cools the auxiliary power supply 24 and a temperature detection unit 51 that detects the temperature of the auxiliary power supply 24. The auxiliary power supply 24 may be cooled by the cooling means 50 in accordance with the detected temperature of the auxiliary power supply 24. By cooling the auxiliary electric device 24 with the cooling means 50 in this way, it is possible to prevent the auxiliary power device 24 from becoming high temperature and to deteriorate the durability, and to improve the durability of the auxiliary power device 24. Further, the temperature of the auxiliary power supply 24 is directly detected by the temperature detection unit 51 and the driving of the cooling means 50 is controlled by the control unit 32, thereby preventing the auxiliary power supply 24 from being excessively heated or cooled. Thus, the durability of the electric double layer capacitor and the like of the auxiliary power supply 24 can be improved and the discharge effect can be enhanced.

  As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 25 (a), the cooling means 50 is provided with a fan 50a directly attached to an auxiliary power supply device 24 in which a plurality of storage cells 52 such as electric double layer capacitors are combined, and cooled by external air. The Peltier element and the cooling liquid may be circulated by a pump and cooled. By directly cooling the auxiliary power supply 24 in this way, the auxiliary power supply 24 that supplies a large current to the auxiliary heating element 22b is disposed at a position close to the heating unit 22, and is connected by a short wiring, so that the heat loss of the wiring itself However, the auxiliary power supply 24 can be prevented from excessively rising due to the heat of the heating unit 22, and a large current can be stably supplied from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the auxiliary heating element 22b. it can.

  Further, when the control unit 32 drives the fan 50a to cool the auxiliary power supply device 24, for example, the fan 50a is charged depending on the operation state of whether the auxiliary power supply device 24 is charging or supplying power to the auxiliary heating element 22b. By changing the rotational speed and changing the air volume, the temperature rise of the auxiliary power supply 24 can be more efficiently suppressed. That is, when the auxiliary power supply 24 is being charged, the heat generation of the auxiliary power supply 24 itself is likely to be greater than when the auxiliary power supply 24 is being discharged. Therefore, when the auxiliary power supply 24 is charged, the air volume is increased to increase the cooling efficiency. Further, when the heating unit 22 is being heated, the air volume is increased in order to prevent the auxiliary power supply device 24 from being heated by heat from the heating unit 22. As described above, by controlling the cooling effect of the fan 50a and the like by the control unit 32 in accordance with the operating state of the heating device 21, it is possible to efficiently prevent an excessive temperature increase of the auxiliary power supply device 24 and improve energy efficiency. .

  As the cooling means 50, as shown in FIG. 25 (b), a device that does not require drive control, such as a fin or a heat pipe 50b, may be attached to the auxiliary power supply device 24. By attaching the fins and heat pipes 50b that do not require drive control in this way, power consumption can be reduced even during standby and during operation, and no operation noise is generated, and the quietness of the image forming apparatus 1 is improved. I can.

  Further, as shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 26, the fan 50a that cools the auxiliary power supply 24 is disposed at a position close to the position where the auxiliary power supply 24 of the image forming apparatus 1 is disposed, and the temperature in the image forming apparatus 1 is increased. May be detected and the fan 50a may be driven and controlled according to the detected temperature to keep the temperature in the image forming apparatus 1 within a predetermined range and prevent the auxiliary power supply device 24 from being excessively heated. That is, in the image forming apparatus 1, the internal temperature of the image forming apparatus rises to 70 to 80 ° C. or higher depending on conditions due to heat generated in the fixing device 10 and heat generated from other electric elements. This temperature rise has a great influence on the temperature of the storage cell 52 such as the electric double layer capacitor of the auxiliary power supply 24, and causes the temperature of the auxiliary power supply 24 to rise even after the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 is finished. turn into. Therefore, by detecting the internal temperature of the image forming apparatus 1 and cooling the image forming apparatus 1 so as not to exceed a predetermined temperature even after the end of the image forming operation, an excessive temperature rise of the auxiliary power supply device 24 is prevented and durability is improved. be able to.

  In each of the above descriptions, the case where power is supplied to the main heating element 22a from the main power supply 23 and power is supplied to the auxiliary heating element 22b from the auxiliary power supply 24 that is different from the main power supply 23 has been described. As shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 27, a plurality of, for example, two sets of auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c are provided in the heating section 22 of the cylindrical film 31 and the fixing roller 33 of the apparatus 10, and the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c have auxiliary power supplies. Electric power may be supplied from either the device 24 or the main power supply device 23. In this case, when the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c are connected to the auxiliary power supply device 24 and the main power supply device 23 by the operation mode changeover switch 53 and power is supplied from the auxiliary power supply device 24 to the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c, the auxiliary heat generation device 22b and 22c is supplied. When the bodies 22b and 22c are connected in parallel and power is supplied to the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c from the main power supply device 23, the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c are connected in series. When power is supplied from the auxiliary power supply device 24 to the auxiliary heat generating elements 22b and 22c in this way, the auxiliary heat generating elements 22b and 22c are connected in parallel, so that the low voltage auxiliary power supply 24 is greatly connected to the auxiliary heat generating elements 22b and 22c. A current can be supplied. In addition, when power is supplied from the main power supply 23 to the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c, the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c are connected in series, thereby increasing the resistance value of the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c. , 22c can be reduced.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 27, the main heating element 22a is arranged in a certain range at the center of the cylindrical film 31 and the fixing roller 33 of the fixing device 10, for example, a range corresponding to the A4 size most frequently used in the image forming apparatus 1. Then, auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c are arranged at both ends, respectively. When the fixing device 10 is started up to raise the temperature from a low temperature to a predetermined temperature, or is started up from a standby state, auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c are connected in parallel as shown in FIG. Electric power is supplied from the main power supply device 23 to the main heating element 22a of the unit 22, and electric power is supplied from the auxiliary power supply device 24 to the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c. Thus, a large amount of power can be supplied to the heating unit 22 when the fixing device 10 is started up, and the temperature of the fixing device 10 can be raised to a predetermined temperature in a short time. When the heating unit 22 is heated to a predetermined temperature, as shown in FIG. 27B, the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c are switched to the serial connection, and power is supplied from the main power supply device 23.

  For example, when starting up the fixing device 10, if the auxiliary power supply 24 supplies 1200 W to the auxiliary heating elements 22 b and 22 c at a voltage of 60 V, and the main power supply 23 supplies 600 W to the main heating element 22 a at a voltage of 100 V. The fixing device 10 can be supplied with 1800V power. When the fixing device 10 is heated to a predetermined temperature due to the supply of electric power, when the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c are switched to the serial connection and electric power is supplied from the main power supply device 23, the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c are supplied with about 800 W. Power can be supplied, and 1400 W of power can be supplied to the fixing device 10 within a range not exceeding 15 A, which is the upper limit of the supply power of the commercial power supply.

  Further, for example, the cylindrical film 31 and the thin fixing roller 33 have a very small heat capacity, so that the temperature can be raised in a short time, but on the other hand, the surface temperature is likely to be uneven. When the recording paper 16 having a small size is continuously passed, heat is taken from the range through which the recording paper 16 passes. However, heat is accumulated in the peripheral portion where the recording paper 16 does not pass, and thus abnormal. There is a problem that the life of the fixing device 10 is shortened due to a high temperature. On the other hand, auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c are provided around the cylindrical film 31 and the fixing roller 33, and when the fixing device 10 reaches a predetermined temperature, the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c are connected in series. By flowing a small current from the power supply device 23, the amount of heat applied to the peripheral portion through which the recording paper 16 does not pass is reduced to suppress abnormal temperature rise in the peripheral portion, and the temperature distribution of the fixing device 10 is distributed in an optimum state. Can be made. In addition, the temperature of the peripheral portion of the cylindrical film 31 and the fixing roller 33 is detected, and the current flowing through the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c is controlled based on the detected temperature, so that the temperature distribution of the fixing device 10 is optimized. Can be set.

  In the above description, when power is supplied from the main power supply device 23 to the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c, a case where current is simultaneously supplied to the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c has been described, but as shown in FIG. The circuit for supplying power from the main power supply 23 to the main heating element 22a and the circuit for supplying power from the main power supply 23 to the auxiliary heating elements 22b, 22c are switched by the changeover switch 54, and the changeover switch 54 is switched over time. Thus, by alternately supplying power from the main power supply device 23 to the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c, the current from the main power supply device 23 can be reduced.

  For example, when the fixing device 10 is started up, 600 W of power is supplied from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c at a voltage of 50V, and 1200 W of power is supplied from the main power supply 23 to the main heating element 22a at a voltage of 100V. The fixing device 10 can be supplied with 1800V power. When the fixing device 10 is heated to a predetermined temperature due to the supply of electric power, the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c are switched to the serial connection, and when electric power is supplied from the main power supply 23, the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c are supplied with about 600 W. When power is supplied and power is supplied to the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c from the main power supply 23, the main power supply 23 supplies a current exceeding the upper limit of the supply power of commercial power supply 15A. Will flow. At this time, the changeover switch 54 is switched over time to supply power alternately from the main power supply 23 to the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c, so that the current flowing from the main power supply 23 is supplied to 12A and 6A. The current flowing from the main power supply device 23 can be suppressed to 15 A or less.

  When power is supplied from the main power supply device 23 to the main heating element 22a in this way, the voltage applied to the main heating element 22a is phase-controlled to arbitrarily set the maximum voltage applied to the main heating element 22, By supplying power from the power supply device 23 through a transformer and controlling the voltage applied to the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating elements 22b and 22c, it is possible to suppress consumption of power more than necessary and It is possible to prevent the upper limit current of the power source from being exceeded.

  A fuel cell may be used as the auxiliary power supply 24 instead of an electric double layer capacitor or the like. When the fuel cell is used in this manner, the power generation efficiency is high, the environment is very friendly, and it is not necessary to charge, so that the configuration of the heating device 21 can be simplified.

  In addition, the electric double layer capacitor used as the auxiliary power supply device 24 can be used almost semi-permanently with a charge / discharge repetition number of tens of thousands or more, and can be used substantially semi-permanently and does not require maintenance. Taking advantage of the long life of this electric double layer capacitor, etc., when the life of the image forming apparatus 1 such as a copying machine is over, the electric double layer capacitor etc. is recovered and reused to effectively use the resources and the heating device 21. Cost can be reduced. Further, the electric double layer capacitor or the like accumulates until the charged charge is discharged. Therefore, there is a risk of electric shock when recovering from the heating device 21 in order to reuse the electric double layer capacitor or the like, which may cause a serious accident. When recovering the electric double layer capacitor or the like from the heating device 21 It is necessary to ensure the safety of workers.

  Therefore, as shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 29, the auxiliary power supply 24 using an electric double layer capacitor or the like is replaced with a cartridge 61 that includes the power storage module 60 in which a plurality of power storage cells 52 such as electric double layer capacitors are combined. And is detachable from the heating device 21. The cartridge 61 is formed of an insulating material, and has an external terminal 62 connected to the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the power storage module 60 of the auxiliary power supply device 24 on the insertion side of the heating device 21 as shown in the sectional view of FIG. In addition, the holding portion 63 is provided on the side opposite to the external terminal 62. Further, as shown in the side view of FIG. 29B, a plurality of folding claws 64 that can be folded are provided.

  The external terminal 62 of the cartridge 61 has a different shape depending on specifications such as voltage and capacitance of the power storage module 60 accommodated in the cartridge 61, and the heating device 21 has a shape as shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. The connecting terminal 65 has a shape that can be connected only to the external terminal 62 of the cartridge 61 in which the power storage module 60 having the required specifications is accommodated. As described above, the external terminal 62 of the cartridge 61 and the connection terminal 65 of the heating device 21 have different shapes depending on the specifications of the power storage module 60 accommodated in the cartridge 61 according to the specifications such as the voltage and capacitance. Only the cartridge 61 that accommodates the power storage module 60 suitable for the heating device 21 can be mounted on the heating device 21, preventing erroneous operation of connecting the power storage module 60 with different specifications to the heating device 21, and reliably preventing failure and accidents due to erroneous operation. be able to. Here, if a sticker or the like describing the specifications of the power storage module 60 is attached to the cartridge 61 and the heating device 21, it is possible for the operator to install the cartridge 61 in the heating device 21.

  Further, since the cartridge 61 is detachably attached to the heating device 21, it is possible to easily collect and attach the auxiliary power device 24 having the power storage module 60 and to promote recycling of the auxiliary power device 24. can do. Furthermore, the auxiliary power supply device 24 can be attached later to an image forming apparatus that is not initially equipped with the auxiliary power supply device 24, and the startup time of the image forming apparatus can be shortened.

  The folding claw 64 represents the limit number of times when the auxiliary power supply 24 having the power storage module 60 is reused, and each time the operator reuses the auxiliary power supply 24, the folding claw 64 is connected one by one. When all the folding and claw 64 are removed, the life of the cartridge 61 and the internal power storage module 60 is discarded or processed. By indicating the limit of reuse of the auxiliary power supply device 24 with the folding claws 64, it is possible to prevent accidents and failures associated with the aging of the power storage module 60.

  Further, since the cartridge 61 is formed of an insulating material and completely covers the power storage module 60, when attaching or detaching the cartridge 61, it is possible to avoid the danger of an operator being shocked by the charge charged in the power storage module 60. it can. Further, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 31A, the external terminal 62 provided on the cartridge 61 is covered with a cover 66 formed of an insulating material fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the connection terminal 65 of the heating device 21, As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 31B, the external terminal 62 of the cartridge 61 is covered with a cover 68 having a shutter mechanism 67 that is opened when the cartridge 61 is attached to the heating device 21 and is closed when the cartridge 61 is removed from the heating device 21. By covering the cover, it is possible to prevent an accident in which the external terminal 62 of the cartridge 61 touches an operator or a conductive member and receives an electric shock, and it is possible to prevent the auxiliary power supply device 24 having the power storage module 60 from being damaged. .

  32, a switch 70 having an operation unit 69 is provided on the surface of the cartridge 61 having the external terminal 62. As shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 33, the power storage module 60 and the external terminal 62 are provided. Is connected via the switch 70 and the cartridge 61 is not attached to the heating device 21, the heating is performed when the switch 70 is turned off and the cartridge 61 is attached to the heating device 21 as shown in FIG. The operation unit 69 may be driven by the connection terminal 65 of the device 21 to turn on the switch 70. Thus, only when the cartridge 61 is attached to the heating device 21, the electrical storage module 60 and the external terminal 62 are electrically connected, so that when the cartridge 61 is attached to or detached from the heating device 21, the operator charges the power storage module 60. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the risk of electric shock from the charged electric charges and to perform the attaching / detaching work safely. Furthermore, since the electrical storage module 60 and the external terminal 62 are electrically connected only when the cartridge 61 is attached to the heating device 21, the electrical storage module 60 is detected by detecting the presence or absence of this electrical conduction by the control unit 32 of the heating device 21. It is possible to reliably detect whether the auxiliary power supply device 24 having it is normally attached to the heating device 21.

  In the above description, the number of times the auxiliary power supply 24 is reused is detected by the folding claws 64 provided in the cartridge 61, and the specifications of the power storage module 60 in the cartridge 61 such as the voltage and capacitance are attached to the cartridge 61. 34, the cartridge 61 is provided with an information holding means 71 such as an IC chip, and the information holding means 71 is manufactured with the manufacturing time, the number of times of reuse, and the voltage, as shown in the sectional view of FIG. In addition, information such as specifications such as capacitance and the like may be recorded, and information recorded in the information holding means 71 may be read by the information recording / reproducing device 72 that is not in contact with the cartridge 61 or the number of reuses may be updated. By providing the information holding means 71 in the cartridge 61 in this way, various information of the power storage module 60 accommodated in the cartridge 61 can be obtained accurately, and the auxiliary power supply device 24 can be properly managed. Further, when the auxiliary power supply 24 is recycled and reused, the information stored in the information holding means 71 can be read to be classified and managed according to different specifications and the number of times of reuse. The time required for sorting and the like can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, by providing the information recording / reproducing device 72 also in the heating device 21, it is possible to confirm whether or not the auxiliary power supply device 24 attached to the heating device 21 is appropriate.

  For example, when an SRAM is used as the information holding means 71, as shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 35, the output terminal 73 of the information holding means 71 is provided in the cartridge 61, and the control section 32 is attached to the mounting portion of the cartridge 61 of the heating device 21. And an input terminal 74 which is in contact with and in conduction with the output terminal 73 of the information holding means 71 is provided. When the cartridge 61 is attached to the heating device 21, the CPU having the control unit 32 reads the specifications such as the number of reuses and the voltage recorded in the information holding means 71. If the read specifications are inappropriate, the auxiliary power supply The power supply from the device 24 is prohibited. For example, as shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 36, when the connection switching unit 75 is provided on the output side of the connection terminal 65 of the heating device 21 and the specifications recorded in the information holding unit 71 are read by the control unit 32, the read specifications are read. For example, the control unit 32 may cut off the electrical connection of the connection switching means 75 when the above is inappropriate. In this way, it is possible to prevent an inappropriate auxiliary power supply device 24 from being attached to the heating device 21 and causing a failure or accident. It is also possible to detect whether or not the cartridge 61 having the auxiliary power supply device 24 has been normally attached to the heating device 21 by the presence or absence of contact between the output terminal 73 of the information holding means 71 and the input terminal 74 connected to the control unit 32. it can.

  In each of the above descriptions, the case where the auxiliary power supply device 24 is provided in the heating device 21 of the fixing device 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 has been described. However, the electric double layer capacitor used for the auxiliary power supply device 24 is very expensive at present. Yes, when using a plurality of image forming apparatuses 1, for example, two copying machines using an electrophotographic system, or using independent copying machines and printers, each image forming apparatus 1 has an electric double layer capacitor or the like. If the auxiliary power supply 24 is attached, resources cannot be used effectively and the cost increases. In addition, since electric double layer capacitors have a semi-permanent charge / discharge life, if the number of uses within the same period increases, the cost per charge / discharge can be reduced. It is desirable to increase the number of uses and use it efficiently. However, if the number of uses of the image forming apparatus 1 is increased in order to increase the number of uses of the electric double layer capacitor of the auxiliary power supply device 24 in one image forming apparatus 1, the life of the image forming apparatus 1 itself is shortened. Therefore, it is desirable to use a plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 and share the auxiliary power supply device 24 having an electric double layer capacitor or the like among the plurality of image forming apparatuses 1. An auxiliary power supply system for sharing the auxiliary power supply 24 having an electric double layer capacitor and the like among the plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 will be described.

  FIG. 37 is a configuration diagram of an auxiliary power supply system. As shown in the figure, the auxiliary power supply system 80 includes an auxiliary power supply device 81 that supplies auxiliary power to, for example, two image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b. The image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b respectively supply a main heating element 22a that supplies power to the fixing device 10 from main power supply apparatuses 23a and 23b connected to an AC power source, and an auxiliary heating element 22b that supplies power from the auxiliary power supply apparatus 81. Have The auxiliary power supply device 81 includes an auxiliary power supply device 24 having an electric double layer capacitor and the like, a charger 26, a switching unit 27, a supply power switching unit 82, and a control device 83. The charger 26 charges the auxiliary power supply device 24 with power supplied from the main power supply device 23c connected to the AC power supply. The switching unit 27 switches the connection between the charger 26 and the supply power switching unit 82 for the auxiliary power supply 24. The supply power switching unit 82 switches whether the auxiliary power output from the auxiliary power supply device 24 is supplied to the image forming apparatus 1a or the image forming apparatus 1b. The control device 83 switches the connection between the switching unit 27 and the supply power switching unit 82 based on information from the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b.

  The operation when auxiliary power is supplied from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b will be described with reference to the time chart of FIG.

  When the image forming apparatus 1a starts up from the standby state and starts supplying power from the main power supply 23a to the main heating element 22a in order to start an image forming operation, the control device 83 of the auxiliary power supply device 81 switches the switching unit 27. Connected to the supply power switching unit 82 side, connecting the supply power switching unit 82 to the image forming apparatus 1a side, and supplying auxiliary power from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the auxiliary heating element 22b of the image forming apparatus 1a. When the fixing device 10 having the main heating element 22a and the auxiliary heating element 22b reaches a predetermined temperature due to the supply of electric power, the control device 83 drives the supply power switching unit 82 from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the image forming apparatus 1a. Shut off the supplied auxiliary power. When the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 1 a is finished and enters a standby state, the control device 83 connects the switching unit 27 to the charger 26 side and charges the auxiliary power supply device 24 with the charger 26. In this state, when the image forming apparatus 1b starts up from the standby state and starts supplying the power from the main power supply 23a to the main heating element 22a to start the image forming operation, the auxiliary power supply 24 is moved to the image forming apparatus 1b side. The auxiliary power is supplied from the auxiliary power supply 24 to the auxiliary heating element 22b of the image forming apparatus 1b.

  Thus, by supplying auxiliary power from the auxiliary power supply device 81 to the two image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b, it is not necessary to provide the auxiliary power supply device 24 in each of the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b, and the auxiliary power supply device 81 is provided. The auxiliary power supply 24 can be effectively used to increase the utilization efficiency and reduce the cost of the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b. Further, since the auxiliary power supply 24 is charged when the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b are in a standby state, the auxiliary power supply 24 can be set to a predetermined charge amount when the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b are started up.

  Next, the control of the auxiliary power supply operation by the control device 83 of the auxiliary power supply device 81 based on information from the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

  The control device 83 of the auxiliary power supply device 81 includes an input unit 84 that receives information from the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b using a dedicated signal line or a general-purpose network, and a determination unit 85 that determines the content of the received information. And a control unit 86 for charging the auxiliary power supply 24 and controlling auxiliary power output from the auxiliary power supply 24. As shown in FIG. 1, each of the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b includes a photosensitive member 2, a charging device 3, a writing device, an image forming unit 90 such as a developing device 6, a transfer device 7, and the like, a main heating element 22a, and an auxiliary heating element. The fixing device 10 having the body 22b and the like, an operation state detection unit 91 that detects various operation states, and an output unit 92 that transmits the detected operation state to the auxiliary power supply device 81 are provided.

  When the power of the image forming apparatus 1a is turned on, the operation state detection unit 91a performs various device states such as the temperature of the fixing device 10a, the remaining amount of the recording paper 16, and the availability of printing, the remaining power amount of the auxiliary power supply 24, and the like. The priority of the image forming apparatus 1a is detected as status information and sent to the output unit 92a as status information. The output unit 92a transmits the sent status information to the input unit 84 of the auxiliary power supply device 81. The operation state detection unit 91b of the image forming apparatus 1b also detects the status information and transmits it to the input unit 84 of the auxiliary power supply apparatus 81 through the output unit 92b. The input unit 84 of the auxiliary power supply device 81 sends the received status information of the image forming apparatuses 1 a and 1 b to the determination unit 85. The discriminating means 85 discriminates the supply information of the auxiliary power and the control information such as supply start and stop from the contents of the status information sent and sends it to the control means 86. The control means 86 controls which of the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b is supplied with the auxiliary power and the supply timing based on the sent control information.

  In this way, by controlling the supply destination and supply timing for supplying auxiliary power based on the information on the individual states and operation states of the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b, image formation that does not require auxiliary power because the temperature is sufficiently high. By supplying auxiliary power to the image forming apparatus 1 that requires auxiliary power without supplying auxiliary power to the apparatus 1 or the image forming apparatus 1 in which there is no remaining amount of recording paper 16 and image formation is not possible. Appropriate power supply according to the situation of each image forming apparatus 1a, 1b can be performed, and the auxiliary power supply 24 can be used effectively. Further, by including priority in the status information, for example, when auxiliary power is supplied to the image forming apparatus 1b, when the supply of auxiliary power is requested from the image forming apparatus 1a with high priority, the image forming apparatus It is also possible to stop the supply of auxiliary power to 1b and supply auxiliary power to the image forming apparatus 1a.

  Further, since the auxiliary power supply device 81 is provided independently of the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b, it can be easily connected when another image forming apparatus is added. In addition, many management items can be managed in a lump when safely operating the amount of power stored in the auxiliary power supply 24 and the time change during discharge.

  In the above description, the auxiliary power supply device 81 is provided separately from the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b. However, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 40, the auxiliary power supply device 81 is provided in the image forming apparatus 1a, for example. The auxiliary power may be supplied from the image forming apparatus 1a to the other image forming apparatus 1b. By providing the auxiliary power supply device 81 in the image forming apparatus 1a in this way, it is not necessary to provide a space for installing the auxiliary power supply device 81, and the auxiliary power supply 24 is located near the fixing device 10a of the image forming apparatus 1a. The loss due to the wiring resistance of the auxiliary power supplied to the auxiliary heating element 22b can be reduced.

  In the above description, the auxiliary power supply 24 is charged from the main power supply 23 through the charger 26. However, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. The device 24 may be charged.

  Further, in the above description, the case where auxiliary power is supplied from the auxiliary power supply device 81 to the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b has been described. However, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. Auxiliary power can be supplied from the auxiliary power supply device 81 to the various electric devices 100a and 100b such as an apparatus and an air conditioner in the same manner.

1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. It is a circuit diagram which shows the structure of a heating apparatus. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a fixing device. FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional fixing roller heating device. It is a top view which shows the structure of a heating part. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of another fixing device. 6 is a time chart showing the operation of the heating device of the fixing device. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a third fixing device. It is a temperature rise characteristic view of the fixing roller. It is a change characteristic figure of the remaining electric energy of the capacitor of an auxiliary power supply. It is a circuit diagram which shows the structure of a 2nd heating apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the fixing device. It is a comparison figure of the temperature rise characteristic of a fixing device. It is a top view which shows the other structure of a heating apparatus. It is a circuit diagram which shows the structure of a 3rd heating apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the fixing roller which has the auxiliary heat generating body of a halogen heater. It is a block diagram of the auxiliary heating element of the halogen heater provided in the fixing roller. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the fixing roller which has an auxiliary heat generating body of a metal thin film. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a fourth fixing device. FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram illustrating a heating device of a fourth fixing device. FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram illustrating a second heating device of a fourth fixing device. FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram illustrating a third heating device of a fourth fixing device. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a fifth fixing device. It is a circuit diagram which shows the structure of the heating apparatus which has a cooling means. It is a block diagram of the auxiliary power supply device which has a cooling means. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus having a cooling unit. It is a circuit diagram which shows the structure of the heating apparatus which supplies electric power from an auxiliary power supply device and a main heat generating body to an auxiliary heat generating body. It is a circuit diagram which shows the other structure of the heating apparatus which supplies electric power from an auxiliary power supply device and a main heat generating body to an auxiliary heat generating body. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the cartridge which accommodated the auxiliary power supply device. It is a circuit diagram which shows the structure of the heating apparatus which has the auxiliary power supply device accommodated in the cartridge. It is sectional drawing which shows protection of the external terminal of a cartridge. It is sectional drawing of the cartridge which has a switch which interrupts the connection of an auxiliary power supply device and an external terminal. It is a circuit diagram which shows the operation state of a switch. It is sectional drawing of the cartridge which has an information holding means. It is a block diagram which shows the connection of the control part of an information holding means and a heating apparatus. It is a circuit diagram which shows the structure of the heating apparatus which has a connection switching means. It is a block diagram of an auxiliary power supply system. 6 is a time chart illustrating an operation when auxiliary power is supplied from an auxiliary power supply to two image forming apparatuses. It is a block diagram which shows the control function of auxiliary power supply operation | movement. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an auxiliary power supply system in which an auxiliary power supply device is provided in one image forming apparatus. It is a circuit diagram which shows the structure of another auxiliary power supply system. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the auxiliary power supply system which supplies auxiliary power to an electric equipment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1; Image forming apparatus, 2; Photoconductor, 3; Charging apparatus, 5; Mirror, 6; Developing apparatus,
7; transfer device, 8; cleaning device, 9; paper feeding device, 10; fixing device,
15; pressure roller, 16; recording paper, 21; heating device, 22; heating unit,
22a; main heating element, 22b; auxiliary heating element, 23; main power supply,
24; auxiliary power supply, 25; main switch, 26; charger, 27; switching unit,
31; Cylindrical film, 44a; Main heating element, 44b; Auxiliary heating element,
50; Cooling means; 51; Temperature detector; 61; Cartridge;
80; auxiliary power supply system; 91; auxiliary power supply device;
82; Supply power switching unit; 83; Control device.

Claims (6)

At least one electric device supplied with power from the main power supply;
A power supply device that supplies power from an auxiliary power supply to at least one electrical device;
A power supply system comprising:
The electrical device has output means for outputting status information of the electrical device,
The power supply device, based on the status information output from the electrical equipment, a determination unit for determining control information of the auxiliary power device,
Control means for controlling power supply from the auxiliary power supply device based on the control information determined by the determination means;
An auxiliary power supply system comprising:   The auxiliary power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the status information includes power supply information indicating a state of power supply from the auxiliary power supply device to the electric device.   The auxiliary power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the status information includes priority information indicating a power requirement level of the electric device.   The electric device further includes a heating device including a main heating element that supplies electric power from the main power supply device and an auxiliary heating element that supplies electric power from the auxiliary power supply device. The auxiliary power supply system according to any one of the above.   The auxiliary power supply system according to claim 4, wherein the status information includes temperature information of the heating device.   6. The auxiliary power supply system according to claim 4, wherein the heating device is provided in a fixing device that fixes the image transferred to the recording medium to the recording medium.

Images