JP2008139712A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus accurately judging a supply ending when there is the possibility of a refilled product. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes a recording agent storage container storing recording agent which can be attached to/detached from an apparatus body. The recording agent storage container includes a storing part storing history of when the recording agent became a prescribed amount or less. The apparatus body includes a recording agent detection part detecting the amount of the recording agent fed from the recording agent storage container to the apparatus body and a control part writing the history to the storing part when the amount of the recording agent became the prescribed amount or less based on an output by the recording agent detection part. The control part feeds the recording agent from the recording agent storage container to the apparatus body before starting recording and the recording agent detection part carries out an initial action of detecting the amount of the recording agent. At the same time, when the storing part stores the history, the initial action is made longer than that when the history is not stored. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that is used for image formation of a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, and the like and that includes a recording agent storage container that stores a recording agent and is detachable from an apparatus main body.

The supply of toner, carrier, developer, etc. in image forming apparatuses such as MFPs, LPs, etc. has recently been supplied with highly compatible supplies by refilling companies. Other than genuine supplies of those who manufacture and sell the image forming apparatus main body A non-genuine supply may be set and used in the printer body. However, because this non-genuine supply is not completely compatible, the detection of the supply end such as toner end may be slightly different from the genuine supply, and the supply end information cannot be detected accurately. Annoying users.
For example, in Patent Document 1, in a recording apparatus that performs printing using toner supplied from a replaceable toner cartridge, a magnetic tape portion is provided in the toner cartridge, and information for determining compatibility of the toner cartridge is previously provided in the magnetic tape portion. The information recorded on the magnetic tape unit should be read by the magnetic tape reader / writer when the toner cartridge is mounted, and the information read by the magnetic tape reader / writer should be recorded on the toner cartridge. A recording apparatus is disclosed in which a determination unit determines whether or not the information is information for determination, and determines compatibility of the toner cartridge based on the determination unit.

JP 2000-347503 A

  However, the development storage container and the process cartridge including the development storage container have various usage situations. Conventional image forming apparatuses have not sufficiently coped with these various usage situations.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the problem is that when there is a possibility that a supply such as a recording agent is a non-genuine supply refill, an image for accurately determining the supply end is provided. A forming apparatus is provided.

The features of the present invention, which is a means for solving the above problems, are listed below.
In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, an image forming apparatus that stores a recording agent and includes a recording agent storage container that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body, and performs recording on the recording medium with the recording agent. A storage unit that stores a history of the amount of the recording agent being equal to or less than a predetermined value, and the apparatus main body includes a recording agent detection unit that detects the amount of the recording agent sent from the recording agent storage container to the apparatus main body, and the recording agent detection Based on the output of the recording unit, a control unit that writes a history of the amount of the recording agent to a predetermined value or less in the storage unit, and the control unit transfers the recording agent from the recording agent storage container to the apparatus main body before starting the recording. The recording agent detection unit performs an initial operation of detecting the amount of the recording agent, and when the storage unit stores the history, compared to a case where the history is not stored, The initial operation is lengthened.
In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the recording agent storage container once at the supply end is returned to the printable state by the initialization operation as determined by the detection means, the return from the supply end state. The recording unit is stored in the recording unit and displayed on the operation panel of the main body of the image forming apparatus.
In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the recording agent storage container is provided in a process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body.

  By causing the image forming apparatus of the present invention to lengthen the initialization processing time, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of abnormal images when using refill toner.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that it is easy for a person skilled in the art to make other embodiments by changing or correcting the present invention within the scope of the claims, and these changes and modifications are included in the scope of the claims. The following description is an example of the best mode of the present invention, and does not limit the scope of the claims.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The printer apparatus as the image forming apparatus includes a control unit CU for performing control operations of the entire apparatus, an engine unit EU for performing image forming operations, and a photoconductor unit and a toner developing unit as consumables. The process cartridge CP includes a toner end sensor that detects the end state of the toner.
In the control unit CU, the control unit 1 is for controlling the operation of the entire image forming apparatus, and the operation display unit 2 is for configuring a user operation unit and a display unit of the image forming apparatus. Yes, the EEPROM 3 of the recording unit is for storing information such as connection conditions such as a host I / F.
The external interface circuit 4 is used to connect a host device (such as a personal computer device) (not shown) that uses the image forming apparatus and exchange various information with the host device. The communication interface circuit 5 This is for connecting to a network (not shown) and exchanging various information with other devices via the network. The engine interface circuit 6 is connected to the engine unit EU and exchanges various information with the engine unit EU.
When the storage unit 3 stores a history, there is a high possibility that it is a refilled recording agent instead of a genuine recording agent. In this case, since the genuine recording material has different characteristics from the refilled recording material, a sufficient amount of the recording material may not be sent to the apparatus main body even if the initial operation is performed for the same time. In this case, there is a possibility that the detection unit may erroneously detect that the recording agent has run out even though the storage container actually has sufficient recording agent. The present invention can prevent such erroneous detection of the detection unit.

In the engine unit EU, the engine control unit 8 is for controlling the operation of the engine unit EU, and controls the operation of each part 9 of the engine. Here, each engine unit 9 is an element for forming an image. For example, a charging unit for charging a photosensitive member, an optical writing unit for writing an optical image on the photosensitive member, and a paper feeding unit. A paper feeding / conveying unit, a developing unit for developing toner on the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member, a transfer unit for transferring the toner image onto the paper, a heat fixing unit for fixing the toner image on the paper on the paper, etc. Is included.
The recording unit EEPROM 10 is for storing information such as the serial number of the set supply cartridge, and the controller interface circuit 11 is connected to the control unit CU and transmits various information to and from the control unit CU. It is for communication.
The debugging interface circuit 12 is connected to an external debugging device (for example, a personal computer device) and exchanges various information with the debugging device. In addition, data rewriting of the recording unit EEPROM 10 is performed. Interface function.

In the process cartridge CP, the process cartridge mechanism unit 14 includes a photosensitive member and a toner container which are consumables, and also includes a brand ID, a serial number representing the supply company of the process cartridge CP, and the rotational speed of the photosensitive member. An EEPROM 15 that stores information such as a toner end state is provided. The recording unit EEPROM 15 is accessible by the engine unit EU, and the data is accessed and rewritten / erased under the control of the engine unit EU.
Also, a sensor for detecting the toner end state is built in and can be accessed from the engine unit EU. With the above configuration, the control unit 1 of the control unit CU performs an operation as shown in FIG.

First, at the beginning of processing that may have been replaced, such as when the power is turned on or when the cover is opened, the fixing heater is heated to a predetermined temperature, and the toner related initialization of the cartridge is performed. At this time, first, it is determined whether or not the cartridge serial numbers of the recording unit EEPROM in the engine unit and the recording unit EEPROM in the cartridge are the same. This may be at the time of power-on as another form, not at the time of replacement.
If the cartridge is exchanged while the power is OFF or the cover is open, the serial number is different, so that it can be determined. If it is determined that the cartridge has been replaced, it is determined from the EEPROM information of the replaced cartridge whether the cartridge has already reached the toner end. When a cartridge that has once reached the end of the toner is set again in a different main body, the toner is replenished by a refill supplier instead of a genuine one.

Since there is a possibility that the cartridge is set, the initialization processing time of the cartridge shown in FIG. 3 is lengthened (total 7.76 seconds), and the toner end state is detected during this operation.
On the other hand, even when the toner cartridge is not replaced, even when the recording section EEPROM information of the cartridge is a refill product, the above-described initialization process is lengthened to perform reliable initialization and toner end detection. Refill toner is not completely the same component as genuine toner, but it has been reported that it adheres during stoppage due to differences in oil content and viscosity, which causes problems such as requiring a long toner end detection time. It is processing for
If it is a genuine product, the history of toner end is cleared when it is collected and recycled, so that normal processing is performed without going through this processing. (3.76 seconds)

  If it is detected that there is toner during the initialization process, if the recording section EEPROM information of the cartridge has a history of toner end once, it is determined that toner has been refilled and refilled. By setting information indicating that the cartridge is a refill cartridge in the recording section EEPROM information of the cartridge, it is possible to extend the initialization processing time when the power is turned on again. If it is detected that the cartridge is a refill product, the cartridge is a refill product and it may not be able to print normally or the toner end may not be detected. Product usage notice is displayed.

  In addition, by adopting a configuration that allows selection of whether or not to lengthen the initialization processing time depending on the state of image formation, it is possible to change the initialization processing time for a refill toner having good quality. Yes.

1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a printer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart at the time of the return from a carver open at the time of power activation of the control part of control unit CU. Information on the recording unit in the main unit and information on the recording unit in the cartridge. The timing chart at the time of cartridge initialization processing.

Claims (10)

In an image forming apparatus that stores a recording agent, includes a recording agent storage container that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus body, and performs recording on the recording medium with the recording agent.
Recording agent storage container
A storage unit for storing a history of the amount of the recording agent being equal to or less than a predetermined value;
The device body is
A recording agent detection unit for detecting the amount of the recording agent sent from the recording agent storage container to the apparatus main body;
Based on the output of the recording agent detection unit, a control unit that writes a history of the amount of the recording agent to a predetermined value or less in the storage unit,
The controller is
When the recording agent is sent from the recording agent storage container to the apparatus main body before the recording is started, the recording agent detection unit performs an initial operation of detecting the amount of the recording agent, and the storage unit stores the history The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the initial operation is made longer than when the history is not stored. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The recording agent is toner.
An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The control unit performs the initial operation when the recording agent storage container is replaced. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the recording agent storage container detects that the recording agent is exhausted by a recording agent detection unit and stores it in a storage unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The image forming apparatus determines whether or not the developer storage container has been replaced based on the developer storage container data and the developer storage container data stored in the main body. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 or 5,
When the recording agent storage container becomes a supply end when in use, the recording unit stores the fact that the recording end is a supply end. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6,
Once the recording agent storage container that has reached the supply end is returned to the printable state as determined by the detecting means that the supply is present by the initialization operation, the recording agent storage container is returned from the supply end state. An image processing apparatus that is stored in a recording unit and displayed on an operation panel of a main body of the image forming apparatus The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 7,
An image processing apparatus characterized in that in the case of the recording agent storage container that has once returned from the supply end state, it takes a long time for the initialization operation when the power is turned on again. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6,
An image processing apparatus comprising: selecting whether to extend the initialization time in the case of a recording agent storage container that has once returned from the supply end state or to perform the normal initialization time of a recording agent storage container. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The image processing apparatus, wherein the recording agent storage container is provided in a process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from an image forming apparatus main body.