JP2007281707A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly judge replacement timing of consumable articles of an image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The number of pages is calculated in the case of forming an image on the basis of inputted image data. Subsequently, each remaining amount of the consumable articles is calculated so as to calculate the number of pages, onto which an image can be formed while maintaining constant quality, on the basis of each remaining amount of the consumable articles. When the number of the pages in the case of forming the image on the basis of the inputted image data exceeds the number of the pages onto which the image can be formed while maintaining constant quality, information is outputted showing that a part of image formation can not be completed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

Conventionally, in color printing of newspapers, it takes time and labor to prepare a printing plate and screen-print the printing plate to create a printing plate. Therefore, in recent years, there has been a movement to replace this small amount of printing with an electrophotographic printer.
When printing newspapers with a printer, continuous paper that is normally pinless (without pin holes for paper conveyance) is used. In general, an electrophotographic high-speed color printer performs multiplex printing by arranging four image forming engines corresponding to yellow, magenta, cyan, and black in tandem. In the case of newspapers, front and back printing is required, so in general, two printers for the front (front) side and the back side are used in series.

  In such a configuration, the transport distance from paper feed to paper discharge becomes very long, and during that time, continuous paper is transported through contact with a large number of transport rollers and photosensitive drums. For this reason, the behavior of continuous paper in the initial stage of conveyance tends to become unstable, and there arises a problem that the transfer position deviates from a predetermined position when images are transferred by each image forming engine. In order to avoid this problem, so-called “running” is performed in which only the conveyance is performed without image formation until the behavior of the continuous paper is stabilized. The amount of run-up varies depending on the device used, but it may take about 200 meters. The paper spent on the run is discarded. This run-up is required every time a web (one roll of continuous paper) is loaded into the paper feeding device, but is also necessary when the printer is stopped for some reason and the operation of the printer is resumed.

The most common cause of printer stoppage is the life of consumables. The consumables include not only toner but also printer parts. For example, since each component (developing device, charging device, etc.) constituting the image forming engine has a lifetime due to deterioration, these components are also regarded as consumables. Here, “lifetime” refers to the amount of consumables that can be used for image formation with a certain quality.
As described above, when two printers having four image forming engines are connected in series, the entire apparatus includes a large number of consumables, and the printer is frequently stopped due to the life of the consumables. Become. When the printer stops, it is necessary to avoid running the printer as much as possible because a continuous paper run is required each time and a large amount of waste paper is generated.

Techniques have been proposed for notifying the replacement timing of consumables that constitute a printer. In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, warning information indicating that the remaining amount of consumables has reached a predetermined value is received, and the lifetime of the consumables is predicted based on the usage amount of the consumables per unit time. It is urged to replace the consumables by the expected life date.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-228761

However, even if the lifetime of consumables is predicted using the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is not known whether the user has a sufficient lifetime for the amount of jobs that the user is actually trying to execute.
The present invention has been made under the above-described background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique that can appropriately determine the replacement time of consumables of an image forming apparatus.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an image input unit that inputs image data, an image output unit that forms an image on the surface of a recording medium based on the image data input by the image input unit, and the image Input page number calculation means for calculating the number of pages when forming an image based on image data input by the input means, consumables, and the consumables capable of forming an image with a certain quality by the image output means Storage means for storing the initial value of the remaining amount in association with each other, usage amount calculating means for calculating the usage amount after the consumable is replaced, and the initial value of the remaining amount stored in the storage means Based on the remaining amount calculated by the remaining amount calculating unit, the remaining amount calculating unit that calculates the remaining amount of the consumable by subtracting the used amount calculated by the used amount calculating unit from the image The formable page number calculating means for calculating the number of pages that can be formed with a certain quality by the force means, and the page number calculated by the input page number calculating means is calculated by the formable page number calculating means. When the number of pages is equal to or less than the number of pages, the image output unit is instructed to form an image, while the number of pages calculated by the input page number calculation unit is the number of pages calculated by the formable page number calculation unit. In the case of exceeding, a first output unit that outputs information indicating that a part of the image formation based on the image data cannot be completed is provided.
According to the above image forming apparatus, first, the number of pages when an image is formed is calculated based on the input image data. Subsequently, the remaining amount of consumables is calculated, and the number of pages on which image formation is possible with a constant quality is calculated based on the remaining amount of consumables. If the number of pages when forming an image based on the input image data exceeds the number of pages where image formation is possible while maintaining a certain quality, this means that part of the image formation cannot be completed. Information is output.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately determine the replacement time of consumables for the image forming apparatus.

<Embodiment>
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
<Configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 for the front (front) surface and the image forming apparatus 100 for the back surface are connected in cascade via a reversing device 300. Note that the configurations of the image forming apparatus 1 and the image forming apparatus 100 are the same.
The web 200 is loaded with a web of continuous paper 10 that is pinless (having no pin holes for conveyance), and the continuous paper 10 is supplied to the image forming apparatus 1. The image forming apparatus 1 forms an image on the front surface (the lower surface in FIG. 1) of the continuous paper 10.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 4 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 44, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 45, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 46, and a communication interface (hereinafter, communication I / F) 47, The CPU 44 controls each part of the image forming apparatus 1 by executing an OS (Operating System) program stored in the ROM 45. The communication I / F 47 is connected to a communication line, and mediates communication between the image forming apparatus 1 and an external computer device.

The storage unit 5 is a nonvolatile memory such as a hard disk device. The storage unit 5 stores a program describing an image forming procedure.
The instruction input unit 41 includes a keyboard 40 and a touch panel 39, and a user can input an instruction to the image forming apparatus 1. The keyboard 40 includes start, stop, and reset keys and a numeric keypad. The touch panel 39 includes a liquid crystal panel that displays an image representing a menu and a sensor that identifies an area touched by the user on the liquid crystal panel. Further, the touch panel 39 can display information regarding the state of the image forming apparatus 1. The instruction input by the instruction input unit 41 is sent to the CPU 44, and the CPU 44 controls the image forming apparatus 1 according to the sent instruction.

The image output unit 6 includes image forming engines 7Y, 7M, 7C, and 7K as main components.
The image forming engines 7Y, 7M, 7C, and 7K form toner images of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), respectively. Since the configuration of each image forming engine is common, only the image forming engine 7Y will be described here.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the image forming engine 7Y. The image forming engine 7Y includes a charging device 21Y, an exposure device 19Y, a developing device 22Y, a transfer device 25Y, a cleaner blade 24Y, a cleaner brush 26Y, and the like around the photosensitive drum 20Y.

The charging device 21Y charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 20Y that is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow to a predetermined potential.
The exposure device 19Y is a ROS (Raster Output Scanner) that irradiates the photosensitive drum 20Y with an exposure beam LB. The exposure device 19Y receives the image data and generates an exposure beam LB based on the image data. The surface of the photosensitive drum 20Y charged to a predetermined potential is deflected and scanned with the exposure beam LB. On the surface of the photoreceptor drum 20Y, the potential of the portion irradiated with the exposure beam LB is reduced to a predetermined level. In this way, an electrostatic latent image based on the raster image data is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 20Y.

The developing device 22Y is a device that visualizes the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 20Y. The toner tank 23Y contains yellow toner, and a predetermined amount of toner is supplied to the developing device 22Y. The developing device 22Y supplies the toner to the surface of the photosensitive drum 20Y and adheres it to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image.
The toner image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 20Y is transferred to the surface of the continuous paper 10 by the action of an electric field generated by a voltage applied to the transfer device 25Y.
The cleaner blade 24Y is a plate-like member, and removes toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 20Y by pressing one side of the cleaner blade 24Y against the photosensitive drum 20Y.
The cleaner brush 26Y is a conductive brush and removes the electric charge remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 20Y.

  The above is the configuration of the image forming engine 7Y. In the image forming engines 7M, 7C, and 7K, toner images corresponding to the respective colors are formed and transferred onto the surface of the continuous paper 10 in an overlapping manner. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to distinguish the image forming engines 7Y, 7M, 7C, and 7K, they are simply referred to as the image forming engine 7. Similarly, for other components, the Y, M, C, and K notations are omitted when it is not necessary to distinguish between Y, M, C, and K.

Returning to FIG. The continuous paper 10 onto which the toner image has been transferred is guided to the fixing device 11. The fixing device 11 has a built-in xenon lamp that emits flash light, and the toner image is heated by the flash light to fix the toner image on the surface of the continuous paper 10. The continuous paper 10 on which the toner image has been fixed is discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 and conveyed into the reversing apparatus 300.
The reversing device 300 includes a plurality of rollers along the conveyance path of the continuous paper 10, and the rollers are provided by gradually changing the direction of the shaft toward the downstream of the conveyance path. When the continuous paper 10 is stretched and conveyed on these rollers, the front and back of the continuous paper 10 are reversed.

The continuous paper 10 whose front and back are reversed by the reversing device 300 is guided into the image forming apparatus 100, and an image is formed on the back surface of the continuous paper 10 by the same operation as the image forming apparatus 1.
The continuous paper 10 on which image formation has been performed by the image forming apparatus 100 is conveyed to a post-processing apparatus (not shown). The post-processing device is, for example, a device that cuts and stacks continuous paper on which newspaper images are formed so that one sheet has two pages on each side.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a consumables table. The consumables table is stored in the storage unit 5.
As shown in the figure, in the consumables table, the types of consumables provided in the image forming apparatus 1 and the initial value of the remaining amount are stored in association with each other. Here, the “remaining amount” does not represent the amount until the consumable becomes completely unusable, but represents the amount that can be formed by the image output unit 6 while maintaining a certain quality. The “initial value of the remaining amount” is the remaining amount at the time when the consumable is replaced or replenished. For example, the initial value of the remaining amount of the charging device 21 is set to 10,000 hours as the driving time of the photosensitive drum 20. If the charging device 21 is used beyond this time, image formation is possible, but it means that the quality of the formed image cannot be kept constant.

  Furthermore, the consumables table shows the amount of use (limit use amount) of the consumables from when the remaining amount of the consumables reaches zero until the trouble related to the consumables occurs. It is written in association with the type and content of the failure. Examples of “failure” are shown below. For example, in the example of the cleaner blade 24 in FIG. 3, the cleaner blade 24 continues to be used even when the remaining amount becomes zero, and the usage amount of the cleaner blade 24 when the remaining amount becomes zero is the photosensitive drum. When the driving time of 20 reaches 500 hours, the cleaner blade 24 is deteriorated, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 20 with which it contacts is damaged. In addition to this, various troubles may occur, for example, the inside of the apparatus may be soiled by the outflow of the developer due to the deterioration of the developing apparatus 22. The present invention performs the processing described later in order to prevent various troubles that occur when the consumable item continues to be used beyond the limit usage amount.

<Operation>
Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. When the image forming apparatus 1 is powered on, the CPU 44 reads out and executes the OS program described in the ROM 45 and the program stored in the storage unit 5. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an operation flow of the image forming apparatus 1. In the following description, the main subject of operation is the CPU 44.
First, in step A01, image data and the number of output copies are input to the image forming apparatus 1. The CPU 44 receives this image data and stores it in the storage unit 5. Here, it is assumed that the image data is data representing an image of four pages, and “1000” is input as the number of output copies.

In step A02, the CPU 44 calculates the number of pages (hereinafter referred to as “input page number”) when an image is formed based on the input image data and the number of output copies. In this example, the number of input pages is 4000 pages (= 4 pages × 1000 copies).
In step A03, the CPU 44 calculates a cumulative usage amount after each consumable is replaced or replenished. The CPU 44 constantly monitors whether or not each consumable is being used, and accumulates the usage amount. Here, there are cases where the amount to be accumulated is the amount of use of the consumable item itself and the amount of use of other consumable items and parts. For example, for the exposure device 19, the drive time of the exposure device 19 itself is integrated (the former example). On the other hand, for the charging device 21, the driving time of the photosensitive drum 20 is integrated, and this is used as the usage amount of the charging device 21 (the latter example).

In step A03, the CPU 44 calculates the remaining amount of each consumable. Specifically, for each consumable, the remaining amount is obtained by subtracting the usage amount from the initial value of the remaining amount written in the consumable table.
In step A03, the CPU 44 determines the number of image pages that can be formed by the image output unit 6 while maintaining a certain quality (hereinafter, “number of pages that can be formed”) based on the remaining amount of each consumable. Calculate for each type. Specifically, it is calculated as follows. In the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, information such as the size of the continuous paper 10 and the size of one image page is stored in the storage unit 5 in advance. Based on these pieces of information, the CPU 44 calculates the usage amount (unit usage amount) of each consumable item per page of the image and divides the remaining amount by this unit usage amount, thereby obtaining the remaining amount of each consumable item. Calculate how many pages worth of usage. This calculation result is the number of pages that can be formed. In this example, it is assumed that the remaining amount of the cleaner blade 24 is 3000 pages, and the remaining amount of the other consumables exceeds 4000 pages.

  In step A04, the CPU 44 compares the number of input pages calculated in step A02 with the number of formable pages calculated in step A03 for each consumable. If the number of pages that can be formed for all consumables is greater than or equal to the number of input pages, the process proceeds to step A07. On the other hand, if there is a consumable whose number of pages that can be formed is less than the number of input pages, the process proceeds to step A05 and a message is output. This message is a message indicating that a part of image formation cannot be completed, and this message is displayed on the touch panel 39. In this example, the number of pages that can be formed (3000 pages) calculated from the remaining amount of the cleaner blade 24 is less than the number of input pages (4000 pages). Therefore, a message indicating that a part of image formation cannot be completed, for example, a message “There is a possibility that printing of this number of copies may not be completed. Do you want to start printing?” Is displayed on the touch panel 39.

In step A06, the CPU 44 determines whether or not to perform image formation. Specifically, it is determined whether or not an instruction for image formation is input to the instruction input unit 41. If image formation is executed here, the image formation is stopped halfway. However, if the user wishes to execute image formation because the image formation may be stopped halfway, the user inputs an image formation instruction (start). Key press). If this instruction is input, the process proceeds to step A07.
In step A07, the CPU 44 gives an instruction to the image output unit 6 to perform image formation. Thereby, the image output unit 6 starts image formation.

In step A08, the CPU 44 determines whether or not the remaining amount of each of the consumables is zero at regular time intervals. When the remaining amount of any consumable becomes zero, the process proceeds to step A09.
In step A09, the CPU 44 causes the touch panel 39 to display a message indicating that the image output unit 6 stops image formation and prompts the user to replace or replenish the consumables. For example, the message “Please replace the cleaner blade” is displayed.

  In step A10, the CPU 44 determines whether or not to perform image formation. Specifically, it is determined whether or not an instruction for image formation is input to the instruction input unit 41. If image formation is executed here, the quality of the formed image cannot be kept constant because the remaining amount of the consumables becomes zero. When the user wants to continue image formation because the image quality may be lowered, the user inputs an image formation instruction (press the start key). When this instruction is input, the process proceeds to step A11. On the other hand, when exchanging or replenishing consumables, the user presses a stop key to stop image formation.

  In step A <b> 11, the CPU 44 gives an instruction for image formation to the image output unit 6. As a result, image formation of the portion subsequent to that performed by the image output unit 6 in step A07 is started. Here, the CPU 44 gives an instruction to the image output unit 6 to form a predetermined image (warning image) in a margin portion around the image based on the image data. For example, a red circle image is formed in the margin. What this image means is described in advance in an operation manual of the image forming apparatus 1 or the like. As a result, the user can be informed that the page is an image formed after the remaining amount of consumables becomes zero.

Note that different warning images may be formed according to the usage amount from the time when the remaining amount of consumables becomes zero. For example, for the cleaner blade 24, the number of warning image circles may be increased by one for every 100 hours of driving time of the photosensitive drum.
Further, the warning image may be made different depending on the type of consumables whose remaining amount is zero. For example, a red circle is used for the cleaner blade 24, and a blue triangle is used for the cleaner brush 26.
In addition, a character string representing the amount of use from the time when the remaining amount of consumables becomes zero or an image of a character string representing the type of consumables whose remaining amount has become zero may be formed in the margin. .

  In step A12, the CPU 44 calculates the consumption amount (excess usage amount) of the consumable after the remaining amount becomes zero. In step A13, the CPU 44 determines whether or not the excess usage amount calculated in step A12 has reached the limit usage amount of the consumable item written in the consumable item table. Steps A12 and A13 are repeated at regular time intervals. When the excess usage amount calculated in step A12 reaches the limit usage amount of the consumable item written in the consumable item table, the process proceeds to step A14 and image formation is stopped.

In step A15, the CPU 44 determines whether or not the consumable item has been replaced or replenished. For example, an electrical contact is provided at the attachment portion of the cleaner blade 24 to the image forming engine 7, and the connection at this contact is detected when the CPU 44 issues a signal. The determination in step A15 is repeated at regular time intervals, and does not proceed to the next step unless the consumable item is used.
If it is determined that the consumable has been replaced, the process proceeds to step A16, and the job following that performed in step A11 is executed. When all jobs are completed, the process ends.

The operation of the image forming apparatus 1 is as described above.
According to the present invention, when the number of pages that can be formed is smaller than the number of input pages, the user can be notified that a part of the job cannot be completed. If the user determines that the job can be stopped halfway, image formation can be executed. If the remaining amount of consumables becomes zero during the job, the user can be prompted to replace the consumables. If the user wishes to continue the job as much as possible because the image formation quality may be lowered, the job can be continued. When the excess usage of the consumables reaches the limit usage, the job is stopped and the job is not resumed until the consumables are replaced. Can be prevented.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately determine the replacement time of consumables for the image forming apparatus.

<Modification>
The present invention is not limited to the form described above, and can be implemented in various forms. For example, the embodiment described above can be modified as follows.
In the case of an image forming apparatus using continuous paper or cut paper provided with pin holes, the problem of deviation in the transfer position of the toner image is less likely to occur than in the case of pinless continuous paper, so the run-up is unnecessary in many cases. . However, since it may be necessary to perform test printing for the purpose of stabilizing the color after toner replenishment, the present invention is also suitable for an image forming apparatus that uses continuous paper or cut paper provided with pin holes. is there.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example of a tandem engine type image forming apparatus that forms a color image on pinless continuous paper has been described, but the present invention is also suitable for other image forming apparatuses. For example, even in an image forming apparatus having only one image forming engine, the behavior of continuous paper at the beginning of conveyance is unstable when using pinless continuous paper, and high accuracy is required when forming images on both sides. A run-up is required. Therefore, the present invention is also suitable for an image forming apparatus having only one image forming engine.

  In the above embodiment, an example of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is also applicable to an image forming apparatus other than an electrophotographic system, such as an ink jet system or a thermal transfer system.

It is a figure which shows the structure of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing the structure of the image formation engine 7Y. It is a figure which shows a consumables table. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation flow of the image forming apparatus 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus, 100 ... Image forming apparatus, 200 ... Paper feeding apparatus, 300 ... Inversion apparatus, 10 ... Continuous paper, 4 ... Control part, 44 ... CPU, 45 ... ROM, 46 ... RAM, 47 ... Communication interface, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 ... Memory | storage part, 41 ... Instruction input part, 40 ... Keyboard, 39 ... Touch panel, 6 ... Image output part, 7Y, 7M, 7C, 7K ... Image formation engine, 20Y ... Photosensitive drum, 21Y ... Charging device, 19Y ... Exposure device, 22Y ... developing device, 25Y ... transfer device, 24Y ... cleaner blade, 26Y ... cleaner brush, 23Y ... toner tank, 11 ... fixing device.

Claims (10)

Image input means for inputting image data;
Image output means for forming an image on the surface of the recording medium based on the image data input by the image input means;
Input page number calculating means for calculating the number of pages when forming an image based on the image data input by the image input means;
Storage means for associating and storing consumables and an initial value of the remaining amount of the consumables that can form an image while maintaining a certain quality by the image output means;
Usage calculation means for calculating usage after the consumables are replaced;
A remaining amount calculating unit that calculates a remaining amount of the consumable by subtracting a used amount calculated by the used amount calculating unit from an initial value of the remaining amount stored in the storage unit;
Based on the remaining amount calculated by the remaining amount calculating unit, the formable page number calculating unit that calculates the number of pages that can be image-formed with a certain quality by the image output unit;
When the number of pages calculated by the input page number calculating unit is equal to or less than the number of pages calculated by the formable page number calculating unit, the image output unit is instructed to form an image, while the input page When the number of pages calculated by the number calculating unit exceeds the number of pages calculated by the formable page number calculating unit, information indicating that part of the image formation based on the image data cannot be completed. An image forming apparatus comprising: a first output means for outputting.   The first output means represents prompting replacement of the consumable when the number of pages calculated by the page number calculation means is larger than the number of pages calculated by the formable page number calculation means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein information is output. A first instruction input unit that inputs an instruction to perform image formation on the image output unit when the information is output by the first output unit;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image output unit performs image formation based on the image data when the instruction is input by the first instruction input unit. First stop means for stopping image formation by the image output means when the remaining amount of the consumables becomes zero;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: a second output unit that outputs information indicating that the remaining amount of the consumables has become zero. A second instruction input unit that inputs an instruction to continue image formation by the image output unit when the information is output by the second output unit;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image output unit performs image formation based on the image data when the instruction is input by the second instruction input unit. Excess usage amount storage for storing the consumption amount of the consumable item from the time when the remaining amount of the consumable item becomes zero until a failure related to the consumable item occurs in association with the consumable item and the content of the failure Means,
When the instruction is input by the second instruction input means, the usage amount of the consumable item from the time when the remaining amount of the consumable item becomes zero is calculated, and the usage amount is stored in the excess usage amount storage. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: a second stop unit that stops image formation by the image output unit when the usage amount stored in the unit is reached.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a warning image output unit that forms a predetermined image on the surface of the recording medium when the instruction is input by the second instruction input unit.   The image according to claim 7, wherein the warning image output unit changes an image to be formed in accordance with a consumption amount of the consumable item from a time point when the remaining amount of the consumable item becomes zero. Forming equipment.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the warning image output unit changes an image to be formed according to a consumable item whose remaining amount becomes zero. A determination unit that determines whether or not a consumable whose remaining amount has become zero is replaced when image formation is stopped by the second stop unit;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: a permission unit that permits image formation by the image output unit when the determination unit determines that the consumable has been replaced.

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