JP2009175629A - Image forming apparatus, image forming method, image forming system, program and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely suppress a situation that scattered toner is discharged to the outside of an image processor. <P>SOLUTION: A printer 1 performs printing on paper with toner. A scattered toner sensor 565 and a control part 11 detect a toner discharge suitable state that is a state suitable for a condition that the scattered toner is discharged to the outside, and a printing control part 13 calculates a printing rate when printing data are printed by a printing means. When the toner discharge suitable state is detected, the control part 11 determines whether the printing rate is equal to or above a prescribed value, and allows a communication part 15 to output demand information to demand that printing is to be performed by another image forming apparatus when the printing rate is equal to or above the prescribed value. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that performs printing with toner, an image forming method, an image forming system, a program, and a recording medium.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, printing is performed using toner. Specifically, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to an image to be printed is formed on a photosensitive member by an exposure device, the electrostatic latent image is developed with toner supplied from a developing device, and the toner image formed by the development is transferred. The toner image on the paper is fixed on the paper by the fixing device.

  Since toner is handled in the image forming apparatus as described above, toner scattering is likely to occur inside the apparatus, and the toner scattered inside the apparatus is likely to be discharged outside the apparatus as the air is exhausted from inside the apparatus.

Therefore, conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1, for example, a scattering prevention filter for capturing the scattered toner is provided in order to prevent the scattered toner in the apparatus from being discharged outside the apparatus.
JP 2000-047483 A (released on February 18, 2000)

  However, the configuration in which the scattered toner is captured simply by providing a filter as in the conventional case cannot sufficiently suppress the situation where the scattered toner generated in the apparatus is discharged to the outside of the apparatus. For example, if the above-mentioned filter has a lifetime and the image forming apparatus is used with the filter reaching the end of its lifetime, the scattered toner in the machine is not sufficiently captured and diffuses outside the machine. .

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, an image forming system, a program, and a recording medium that can reliably suppress the situation where scattered toner is discharged outside the image processing apparatus. .

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured to satisfy a condition in which scattered toner is discharged outside the apparatus in an image forming apparatus including a printing unit that prints on a sheet with toner based on print data. Communicates with an external device, a toner discharge conformity state detection unit that detects a toner discharge conformity state that is a conforming state, a print rate calculation unit that calculates a print rate when the print data is printed by the printing unit, and When the toner discharge conformity state is detected by the communication means and the toner discharge conformity state detection unit, it is determined whether the print rate calculated by the print rate calculation unit is a predetermined value or more, and the print A control unit for outputting request information from the communication means to request that the print data is printed in another image forming apparatus when the rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. It is set to.

  Further, the image forming method of the image forming apparatus of the present invention is a method in which the printing unit uses the toner based on the print data to print on the paper, and the scattered toner is discharged outside the apparatus. A toner discharge compatibility state detection step for detecting a toner discharge compatibility state that is in a state that matches a predetermined condition, and when the toner discharge compatibility state is detected by the toner discharge compatibility state detection step, the print data is stored in the printing means. A printing rate calculation step for calculating a printing rate when printing is performed, and whether or not the printing rate calculated in the printing rate calculation step is a predetermined value or more, and the printing rate is a predetermined value or more And a step of outputting request information for requesting that the print data be printed by another image forming apparatus.

  According to the above-described configuration, when the image forming apparatus detects a toner discharge compatible state, that is, a state where there is a possibility of toner scattering outside the apparatus, the print rate of the image data to be printed is determined, and the print rate is predetermined. If the value is greater than or equal to the value, the print data is requested to be printed by another image forming apparatus. Here, the case where the printing rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is a case where printing is performed while consuming a relatively large amount of toner. Accordingly, in this case, since a large amount of toner is consumed, toner scattering is likely to occur, and the possibility of toner scattering outside the apparatus increases.

  Therefore, when a toner discharge conformity state is detected and the print rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, if it is requested that print data is printed in another image forming apparatus, the image processing apparatus The toner can be prevented from scattering from the outside of the machine.

  In addition, since it is determined whether or not it is necessary to perform printing in another image forming apparatus in consideration of the printing rate of print data, it is compared with the case where the necessity is determined based only on the toner discharge compatibility state. Thus, the number of print data transfers can be minimized, and unnecessary operations can be suppressed.

  In the above-described image forming apparatus, the control unit acquires toner discharge suitable state presence / absence information indicating presence / absence of the toner discharge compatible state in another image forming apparatus through communication with the other image forming apparatus by the communication unit. At the same time, this information may be referred to and another image forming apparatus that prints the print data may be designated in the request information.

  According to the above configuration, another image forming apparatus that requests printing of print data is determined with reference to the toner discharge compatible state presence / absence information indicating the presence / absence of the toner discharge compatible state. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress toner scattering outside the apparatus in another image forming apparatus that prints print data.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is a toner discharge conforming state that is a state that conforms to a condition for discharging scattered toner outside the apparatus in an image forming apparatus having a printing unit that prints on paper with toner based on print data. A toner discharge conformity state detection unit for detecting a print rate, a print rate calculation unit for calculating a print rate when the print data is printed by the printing unit, a communication unit for communicating with an external device, and other units by the communication unit The first process of acquiring the toner discharge compatibility state presence / absence information indicating the presence / absence of the toner discharge compatibility state in another image forming apparatus through communication with the image forming apparatus, the toner discharge compatibility state detection unit by the toner discharge compatibility state detection unit Is detected, the second processing for determining whether or not the printing rate calculated by the printing rate calculation unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the result of the second processing, the printing rate A third process for determining the presence / absence of another image forming apparatus that is not in a toner discharge compatible state by referring to the toner discharge compatible state presence / absence information when the value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; A fourth process and a third process for causing the communication means to output request information for requesting that the print data be printed in the image forming apparatus when there is an image forming apparatus that is not in conformity; As a result, when there is no image forming apparatus that does not conform to toner discharge, the printing unit prints the print data, and the printing speed is higher than when the toner discharge conformity is not detected in this printing operation. And a control unit that performs a fifth process for controlling the printing unit so as to decrease.

  According to the above configuration, the image forming apparatus acquires toner discharge conformity state presence / absence information indicating the presence / absence of the toner discharge conformity state in the other image forming apparatuses (first process). Then, when the apparatus is in a state suitable for toner discharge, it is determined whether or not the print rate of the print data is equal to or higher than a predetermined value (second processing). The presence / absence of another image forming apparatus that is not in the toner discharge compatible state is determined with reference to the compatibility state presence / absence information (third process), and when there is an image forming apparatus that is not in the toner discharge compatible state, the image forming apparatus The print data is requested to be printed at (fourth processing). On the other hand, if there is no image forming apparatus that is not in the toner discharge compatible state, the print data is printed by the own apparatus. In this case, the printing operation is in a state where the printing speed is lower than that in the case where the toner discharge conformity state is not detected.

  Thus, the device is in a state suitable for toner discharge (a state where there is a possibility of toner scattering), and the print rate of the print data is a predetermined value or more and consumes a relatively large amount of toner. When there is no other image forming apparatus that is not compatible with toner discharge, it is unavoidable that even if the printing data is printed on the own apparatus, the toner to the outside of the machine by the printing operation with reduced printing speed Scattering can be suppressed.

  Here, the printing operation involves, for example, a rotating operation of the photosensitive member, a rotating operation of the developing roller, or a paper transporting operation. When the printing speed decreases, the speed of these operations decreases. That is, the rotation speed and movement speed of the means to which the toner is attached are reduced. Therefore, toner scattering inside the image forming apparatus is suppressed, and as a result, the discharge of scattered toner outside the apparatus can be suppressed.

  In addition, since it is determined whether or not it is necessary to perform printing in another image forming apparatus in consideration of the printing rate of print data, it is compared with the case where the necessity is determined based only on the toner discharge compatibility state. Thus, the number of print data transfers can be minimized, and unnecessary operations can be suppressed.

  In the above-described image forming apparatus, the toner discharge conformity state detection unit includes a scattered toner sensor that is provided at an exhaust port to the outside of the apparatus and detects scattered toner, and whether or not scattered toner is present based on a detection result of the scattered toner sensor. And a determination unit that determines that the toner discharge conformity state is satisfied based on the determination result that the scattered toner is present.

  According to the above configuration, the presence / absence of toner discharged outside the image processing apparatus can be directly detected by the scattered toner sensor. As a result, accurate control can be performed in the toner out-of-machine discharge suppression operation.

  In the above-described image forming apparatus, the toner discharge compatibility state detection unit includes an exhaust filter that is provided at an exhaust port to the outside of the apparatus and captures scattered toner, and a filter life detection that detects a state where the exhaust filter has reached the end of its life. And a determination unit that determines the toner discharge conformity state based on a state in which the exhaust filter has been detected to have reached the end of its life by the filter life detection unit.

  According to the above configuration, the toner discharge conforming state is determined based on the state where the filter life detecting unit detects that the exhaust filter has reached the end of its life. That is, when the exhaust filter reaches the end of its service life, the scattered toner capturing function is reduced, and the amount of scattered toner discharged outside the apparatus is increased.

  Further, the exhaust filter reaches the end of its service life can be a state in which the cumulative rotation time of the exhaust fan provided at the exhaust port to the outside of the apparatus or the cumulative operation time of the image forming apparatus has reached a predetermined time. . Therefore, in this case, the scattered toner sensor is unnecessary, and the number of parts can be reduced. Note that the exhaust mechanism provided with the exhaust filter also has a function of cooling the inside of the apparatus, and in this case, reducing the printing speed is also effective in terms of suppressing the amount of heat generation.

  An image forming system according to the present invention includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a management apparatus connected to the image forming apparatuses via a network. The image forming apparatus is based on print data. Printing means for printing on paper with toner, a control unit for controlling the printing operation by the printing means, and toner discharge for detecting a toner discharge conformity state that is suitable for a condition for discharging scattered toner outside the apparatus A matching state detection unit, and the management device includes a printing rate calculation unit that calculates a printing rate when printing data is printed by the printing unit, and a control unit, and the control unit of the management device includes: Communication with the plurality of image forming apparatuses via a network indicates presence / absence of a toner discharge conformity state indicating whether or not the toner discharge conformity state exists in the plurality of image forming apparatuses. When receiving the first process for acquiring information, the print data to be printed, and the designation device information for designating the image forming apparatus that prints the print data, the toner discharge conformity state presence / absence information is referred to, The second process for determining whether or not the designated image forming apparatus designated by the designated apparatus information is in the toner discharge conformity state. As a result of the second process, if the designated image forming apparatus is not in the toner discharge conformity state, the print data When the designated image forming apparatus is in the toner discharge compatible state as a result of the third process and the second process for instructing to perform printing by transferring to the designated image forming apparatus, the print rate calculating unit Fourth processing for determining whether or not the calculated printing rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. As a result of the fourth processing, if the printing rate is less than a predetermined value, the print data is formed as the designated image. Switch to device As a result of the fifth process and the fourth process instructing to perform printing, if the printing rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the toner discharge compatible state presence / absence information is referred to and the toner discharge compatible state is not determined. A sixth process for instructing another image processing apparatus to transfer the print data and perform printing is performed.

  According to the above configuration, the control unit of the management apparatus communicates with a plurality of image forming apparatuses via the network, and acquires toner discharge conformity state presence / absence information indicating presence / absence of toner discharge conformity states in these image forming apparatuses ( First process).

  When the print data to be printed and the designated device information for designating the image forming device for printing the print data are received, the designation designated by the designated device information with reference to the toner discharge conformity status information It is determined whether or not the image forming apparatus is in a toner discharge compatible state (second process). Next, if the designated image forming apparatus is not in the toner discharge conformity state, the print data is transferred to the designated image forming apparatus to instruct printing (third process). On the other hand, when the designated image forming apparatus is in the toner discharge compatible state, it is determined whether or not the printing rate calculated by the printing rate calculation unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (fourth process). If the result of this determination is that the printing rate is less than a predetermined value, the print data is transferred to the designated image forming apparatus and printing is instructed (fifth process). On the other hand, as a result of the determination, if the printing rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the print data is transferred to another image processing apparatus that is not in the toner discharge compatible state with reference to the toner discharge compatible state presence / absence information for printing. (Sixth processing).

  As described above, when the designated image forming apparatus is in a toner discharge compatible state (a state where there is a possibility of toner scattering) and the printing rate of the print data is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, printing is performed by the designated image forming apparatus. Without performing this, by requesting printing to another image processing apparatus that is not compatible with toner discharge, it is possible to prevent toner scattering outside the apparatus in the designated image processing apparatus.

  In addition, since it is determined whether or not it is necessary to perform printing in another image forming apparatus in consideration of the printing rate of print data, it is compared with the case where the necessity is determined based only on the toner discharge compatibility state. Thus, the number of print data transfers can be minimized, and unnecessary operations can be suppressed.

  In the image forming system described above, the control unit of the management apparatus is a case where the print ratio is equal to or higher than a predetermined value as a result of the fourth process, and there is no other image processing apparatus that is not in a toner discharge compatible state. In addition, a first instruction is given to transfer the print data to the designated image forming apparatus to perform printing so that the printing speed is lower than the case where the toner discharge conformity state is not detected in the printing operation of the printing means. 7 may be performed.

  According to the configuration described above, the control unit of the management apparatus has a case where the printing rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined value as a result of the fourth process, and there is no other image processing apparatus that is not in a toner discharge compatible state. In addition, a first instruction is given to transfer the print data to the designated image forming apparatus to perform printing so that the printing speed is lower than the case where the toner discharge conformity state is not detected in the printing operation of the printing means. 7 may be performed.

  According to the above configuration, the designated image forming apparatus is in a toner discharge compatible state (a state where toner scattering is possible), the print rate of the print data is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and is not in another toner discharge compatible state. In the case where there is no processing device, even if printing is unavoidably performed by the designated image processing device, toner scattering to the outside of the machine can be suppressed by a printing operation with a reduced printing speed.

  In the image forming system, the plurality of image processing devices belong to any one of a plurality of groups, and the control unit of the management device includes the other image processing device in the sixth process. May be selected from among image processing apparatuses belonging to the same group as the designated image processing apparatus.

  According to the above configuration, when printing data is printed in another image forming apparatus of the designated image processing apparatus, the other image forming apparatus belongs to the same group as the designated image processing apparatus. Is an image forming apparatus disposed in the vicinity. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus is suitable as an image forming apparatus that requests printing.

  In the image processing apparatus of the present invention, when a toner discharge conforming state that is a state conforming to the condition for discharging scattered toner to the outside of the apparatus is detected and the print rate of the print data is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the image forming apparatus In this case, printing is not performed, and printing is requested to another image forming apparatus. Therefore, the situation where the scattered toner is discharged out of the apparatus can be reliably suppressed.

[Embodiment 1]
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 500 includes an image reading unit 530 at the top, an image forming unit 540 at the center, and a paper feeding unit 550 at the bottom. The image forming apparatus 500 includes a document table 531 made of a transparent glass plate at the upper surface position of the image reading unit 530. Further, a document pressing cover 523 for pressing the document against the document table 531 is provided on the document table 531.

  The image reading unit 530 is located below the document table 531, and includes a first scanning unit 532, a second scanning unit 533, an optical lens 526, and a CCD line sensor 504 that is a photoelectric conversion element. The image of the document placed on is scanned and read at a predetermined exposure position.

  The first scanning unit 502 is equipped with a light source lamp unit 501 that irradiates light on a document surface and a first mirror 502 that reflects reflected light from the document in a predetermined direction. The second scanning unit 533 includes a second mirror 525 and a third mirror 524 that guide the reflected light from the original reflected by the first mirror 502 to the CCD line sensor 504. The optical lens 526 forms an image of the reflected light from the original on the light receiving surface of the CCD line sensor 504.

  The image forming unit 540 includes a photosensitive drum (printing unit) 510, and around the photosensitive drum 510, a charger 505, a laser scan unit (hereinafter referred to as LSU) 503, and a developing unit (printing unit) 528. Further, a toner replenishing device 544 and a transfer device 513 are provided, and a fixing unit 541 is further provided.

  The charger 505 charges the photosensitive drum 510 to a predetermined potential. The LSU 503 emits laser light according to the image data output from the document reading unit 530 or the image data transferred from the external device, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 510. Specifically, the LSU 503 includes a semiconductor laser that irradiates a laser beam modulated by image data and a polygon mirror that deflects the laser beam in the main scanning direction by rotation together with a lens group (not shown).

  The developing device 528 includes a developing roller 522 and a stirring roller (stirring member) 529, and supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 510 via the developing roller 522, thereby generating an electrostatic latent image. The toner image is visualized. The agitation roller 529 agitates the developer in the developing device 528. Thereby, the charge amount of the toner increases. The transfer unit 513 transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 510 to a sheet. The toner replenishing device 544 supplies toner to the developing device 528.

  The fixing unit 541 heats and presses the paper on which the toner image is transferred, and fixes the toner image on the paper. The fixing unit 541 includes a pair of rollers including a heating roller 508 and a pressure roller 509. The heating roller 508 includes a heater, and the surface temperature is detected by a temperature sensor. Based on the detection result of the temperature sensor, the surface temperature of the heating roller 508 is controlled. The sheet on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing unit 541 is conveyed by the discharge rollers 506 and 507 and is discharged onto the discharge tray 527.

  The sheet feeding unit 550 includes a manual feed tray 515 mounted on the side surface of the image forming apparatus 500 and sheet feeding trays 542 and 543 arranged vertically inside the image forming apparatus 500. These paper feed trays 542 and 543 store a plurality of sheets stacked. The paper fed from the paper feed trays 542 and 543 is fed to a photoconductor in the image forming unit 540 by a paper transport device (paper transport means) having paper transport rollers 521, 520, 519, 518, 517, 516 and 514. It is conveyed to a transfer position between the drum 510 and the transfer unit 513.

  In addition, an exhaust port 561 for discharging the air inside the image forming apparatus 500 to the outside of the apparatus is formed in the side wall portion of the housing that covers the image forming apparatus 500, and the exhaust is provided inside the image forming apparatus 500. An exhaust pipe 562 connected to the port 561 is provided. In the exhaust pipe 562, an exhaust fan 563, an exhaust filter (toner discharge conformity detection unit) 564, and a scattered toner sensor 565 are provided in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side of the air flow.

  The exhaust fan 563 exhausts the air in the image forming apparatus 500 through the exhaust port 561 and cools the inside of the image forming apparatus 500. The exhaust filter 564 captures scattered toner contained in the exhausted air. The scattered toner sensor 565 detects the scattered toner that passes through the exhaust filter 564 and is discharged outside the apparatus.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of detection of scattered toner in the scattered toner sensor 565 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the scattered toner sensor 565 includes a light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as LED) 571, a lens 572, and an optical sensor 573.

  The LED 571 is provided on the tube wall portion of the exhaust pipe 562 and irradiates light inside the exhaust pipe 562. The lens 572 and the optical sensor 573 are provided at a position where the irradiation light from the LED 571 is not directly received. The lens 572 is provided on the tube wall portion of the exhaust pipe 562 and guides the collected light to the optical sensor 573. In the scattered toner sensor 565, the light emitted from the LED 571 hits the toner passing through the exhaust pipe 562, and when reflected light from the toner is generated, the reflected light enters the optical sensor 573 through the lens 572. Accordingly, the detection signal from the optical sensor 573 can detect the presence or absence of toner passing through the exhaust pipe 562, that is, the presence or absence of toner scattering outside the image forming apparatus 500.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming system includes a plurality of printers 1 to 5, a print server (management apparatus) 6, and a client personal computer (hereinafter simply referred to as a client PC) 7, which are connected to each other via a network 8. The printers 1 to 5 have a function of transmitting / receiving various data, and also have a function of printing received image data or image data read by, for example, an image reading unit (scanner) included in the printer 1 to 5 itself. The printers 1 to 5 are the image forming apparatus 500 shown in FIG. 2 in the present embodiment.

  The print server (management device, external device) 6 stores the print data transmitted to the print server 6 and stores the print data in any of the printers 1 to 5 designated by the client (external device) PC 7. Forward. The print data can be transferred to any of the printers 1 to 5 not designated by the client PC 7 according to various conditions.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the operation units included in the printer 1 and the configuration for controlling the operation units. The configurations of the printers 2 to 5 are the same as the configuration of the printer 1. Here, the configuration of the printers 1 to 5 will be described using the printer 1 as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 includes a control unit (toner discharge conformity state detection unit, determination unit, filter life detection unit) 11, timer clock (toner discharge conformity state detection unit, filter life detection unit) 12, the scattering A toner sensor 565, the exhaust fan 563, a print control unit (print rate calculation unit) 13, a document reading control unit 14, a communication unit (communication means) 15, and a memory 16 are provided.

  The control unit 11 controls the operation of each unit included in the printer 1 and controls the operation of the entire printer 1.

  The timer clock 12 performs various timing operations based on commands from the control unit 11. Specifically, the timer clock 12 measures the cumulative printing operation time after the exhaust filter 564 is attached. In the present embodiment, the accumulated printing operation time is, for example, the accumulated rotation time of the developing roller 522 after the exhaust filter 564 is attached. Note that the cumulative printing operation time is not limited to the cumulative rotation time of the developing roller 522, and may be the cumulative operating time of means other than the developing roller 522 that operates along with the printing operation in the image forming unit 540.

  The print control unit 13 controls a printing operation in the image forming unit 540 and a paper feeding operation in the paper feeding unit 550. The document reading control unit 14 controls a document image reading operation in the image reading unit 530. The communication unit 15 is connected to the network 8 and performs communication between the printer 1 and other devices (printers 2 to 5, print server 6, and client PC 7).

  In the above-described configuration, in the present image forming system, for example, the printer 1 (image forming apparatus 500) performs the toner out-of-machine discharge suppressing operation in order to suppress the situation where the scattered toner is discharged out of the apparatus. In the present embodiment, when the operation to suppress the discharge outside the toner machine is performed, the scattered toner sensor 565 is not necessary in the image forming apparatus 500 (printer 1) shown in FIG. 2, and the number of parts can be reduced.

  FIG. 4A is a flowchart illustrating an example of the toner-exhaust discharge suppression operation based on the life detection of the exhaust filter 564. FIG. 4B is a flowchart showing the operation of the client PC 7 accompanying the operation of suppressing the discharge outside the toner machine of the printer 1 (image forming apparatus 500). In the example of FIGS. 4A and 4B, the printer 1 (image forming apparatus 500) performs print processing on print data (image data) received from the client PC 7. A print process for print data (image data) acquired by the unit 530 may be performed.

  In FIG. 4A, when the print data is transmitted from the client PC 7 in response to a print data print request from the client PC 7, the communication unit 15 starts receiving the print data (S11). The received print data is stored in the memory 16 provided in the printer 1.

  Next, the control unit 11 of the printer 1 determines whether or not the cumulative rotation time of the developing roller 522 has reached a predetermined time based on the measurement result of the timer clock 12, that is, whether or not the exhaust filter 564 has reached the end of its life ( It is determined whether or not the toner discharge conformity state is satisfied (S12). This determination operation is an operation as a determination unit in the control unit 11.

  If the exhaust filter 564 has not reached the end of its life as a result of the above determination, the printer 1 performs a printing process by the operations of the image forming unit 540 and the paper feeding unit 550 controlled by the print control unit 13 (S13). . The print processing in this case is started when print data that can print one page or more is received without waiting for completion of reception of all print data, for example. That is, printing is performed every time predetermined print data is received. When printing of all print data is completed, a message to that effect is transmitted to the client PC 7 that is the print request source.

  On the other hand, if the exhaust filter 564 has reached the end of its life as a result of the determination in S12, after the reception of all print data is completed (S14), the print control unit 13 calculates the print rate from the received all print data. (S15). Then, the print control unit 13 determines whether or not the obtained printing rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (S16).

  Here, the printing rate can be obtained by calculating the number of printing pixels (the number of black pixels) / the total number of pixels. Further, the predetermined value is a value (a value near a critical value) that is predicted to cause toner scattering to the outside of the printer 1 when the printing rate of the print data exceeds the predetermined value. Is set.

  If the print rate is less than the predetermined value as a result of the determination in S16, the printer 1 proceeds to S13 and prints the received print data. On the other hand, if the printing rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, there is a possibility that the toner may be scattered outside the apparatus when printing data is printed. Therefore, the printer 1 refers to transfer destination information indicating a preset transfer destination (S17), and transmits the transfer destination information and a print data transfer request to the client PC 7 (S18). In this case, the print data may be returned as necessary.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the client PC 7 receives a print command for the held print data, the client PC 7 sends the print data to a preset printer among the printers 1 to 5 or an arbitrary one. (S31). In this example, the printer 1 is the transmission destination.

  Next, the client PC 7 checks whether or not there is a print data transfer request from the printer 1 until it receives, for example, information indicating completion of printing of the image data transmitted from the printer 1 (S32). When the print data transfer request and the transfer destination information are received from the printer 1 (S33), the client PC 7 transmits the print data together with the print request to the printer (one of the printers 2 to 5) designated by the transfer destination information. (S34). As a result, the print data is printed in the transfer destination printer. If the exhaust filter 564 has reached the end of its life in the transfer destination printer as well as the printer 1, a transfer request is transmitted from the printer to the client PC 7 together with the transfer destination information, and the same processing is repeated.

  As described above, the printer 1 obtains the printing rate when printing data is printed when the scattering toner sensor 565 has reached the end of its service life, and the printing rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. In this case, that is, when there is a possibility of toner scattering, the printer 1 itself does not perform printing but requests other printers to perform printing. Therefore, toner scattering outside the printer 1 can be suppressed.

  Here, the transfer destination information held by the printers 1 to 5 will be described. As described above, the transfer destination information held by the printers 1 to 5 indicates not only the fixed transfer destination set in advance for the printer, but also the possibility of toner scattering in each printer serving as the transfer destination. It may be appropriately changed depending on the presence or absence.

  For example, a table indicating the status of the scattered toner sensor 565 in another printer may be held on the memory 16 as the transfer destination information. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a toner scattering presence / absence table as the transfer destination information. The toner scattering presence / absence table shown in FIG. 5 indicates the possibility of toner scattering to the outside of the other printer. The possibility of toner scattering is determined by whether or not the toner scattering sensor 565 has reached the end of its life.

  The toner scattering presence / absence table is updated as appropriate, and for this update, the printers 1 to 5 communicate with other printers (transfer destination candidate printers) that can serve as transfer destinations of print data, and the scattered toner provided in the printers. Information on whether the sensor 565 has reached the end of its life is acquired. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a communication operation for creating a toner scattering presence / absence table in the printers 1 to 5.

  In FIG. 6, the printer 1 makes a scatter state transmission request to the print data transfer destination candidate printer (S51). That is, it requests transmission of information as to whether or not the scattered toner sensor 565 has reached the end of its life. This request is made at regular intervals, for example.

  In response to this request, upon receiving scattering status information (information indicating whether or not the scattering toner sensor 565 has reached the end of its life) from the transfer destination candidate printer (S52), the toner scattering presence / absence table is updated based on the information. (S53).

  Therefore, the printer 1 can request printing of print data from a printer that has no possibility of toner scattering by referring to the toner scattering presence / absence table. In other words, the printer 1 can designate an appropriate printer as a print data request destination.

[Embodiment 2]
Another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The printer 1 (image forming apparatus 500) according to the present embodiment uses the scattered toner sensor 565 shown in FIG. 1, and performs a toner external discharge suppression operation based on the detection result of the scattered toner sensor 565.

  Regarding the determination of the presence or absence of toner scattering detection outside the machine by the scattering toner sensor 565 (S62 in FIG. 7), the control unit 11 detects the amount of suspended matter detected by the scattering toner sensor 565 (from inside the machine to outside the machine). When the amount of suspended solids) exceeds a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that there is toner scattering outside the apparatus. This is an operation as a determination unit in the control unit 11. The threshold value may be set as appropriate according to some standard, for example, the usage environment of the printer 1 (image forming apparatus 500), the environmental awareness of the user, or the like.

  FIG. 7A is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer 1 (image forming apparatus 500) in the present embodiment. FIG. 7B is a flowchart showing the operation of the client PC 7 corresponding to the operation of the printer 1 shown in FIG. 7A, the operations in S61 and S63 to S68 are the same as the operations in S11 and S13 to S18 in FIG. In FIG. 7B, the operations in S81 to S84 are the same as the operations in S31 to S34 in FIG.

  In FIG. 7A, when the print data is transmitted from the client PC 7 in response to the print data print request, the communication unit 15 of the printer 1 starts receiving the print data (S61). The received print data is stored in the memory 16 provided in the printer 1.

  Next, the control unit 11 of the printer 1 determines the presence / absence of scattered toner (whether or not the toner is suitable for toner discharge) from the detection result of the scattered toner sensor 565 (S62). Go ahead and do the rest. These operations are as described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, and description thereof is omitted here.

  In the configuration of the present embodiment, the printer 1 obtains a print rate when printing data is printed when printing is requested in a situation where it is determined that scattered toner is present from the detection result of the scattered toner sensor 565. When the printing rate exceeds a predetermined value, that is, when there is a possibility of toner scattering, the printer 1 itself does not perform printing, but requests printing to another printer. Therefore, similar to the above-described configuration described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, toner scattering outside the printer 1 can be suppressed. In this embodiment, since the presence or absence of scattered toner is directly detected by the scattered toner sensor 565, it is possible to accurately detect whether or not the scattered toner is discharged outside the apparatus.

[Embodiment 3]
Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the image forming system according to the present embodiment, the print server 6 performs management related to printing of print data requested from the client PC 7 in order to suppress toner scattering from the printer 1 (image forming apparatus 500) to the outside of the apparatus. It has become.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming system in the present embodiment. In FIG. 8, the printers 1 to 5, the print server 6, and the client PC 7 are connected via the network 8 as in the configuration of FIG. 1.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the print server 6 includes a control unit 21, a communication unit 22, and a memory 23.

  The print server 6 is provided with a toner scattering presence / absence table on the memory 23 indicating the possibility of toner scattering in each of the printers 1 to 5 as transfer destination information. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a toner scattering presence / absence table provided in the print server 6.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the toner scattering presence / absence table, the presence / absence of toner scattering to the outside of each printer 1-5 is shown, and the printers 1-5 are grouped. The above group represents, for example, one department of an organization within the company. In the present embodiment, printers (transfer destination candidate printers) that can become transfer destinations in print requests from the client PC 7 are printers belonging to one group, for example, the printers of the group to which the client PC 7 belongs.

  The print server 6 appropriately updates the toner scattering presence / absence table. For this purpose, the print server 6 communicates with each of the printers 1 to 5 and acquires information on whether or not the scattering toner sensor 565 included in the printer has reached the end of its life. Specifically, the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 is executed. As a result, the print server 6 can request printing of print data from a printer that has no possibility of toner scattering with reference to the toner scattering presence / absence table. That is, an appropriate printer can be designated as a print data request destination.

  FIG. 10A is a flowchart showing the operation of the print server 6 in the present embodiment. FIG. 10B is a flowchart showing the operation of the client PC 7 corresponding to the operation of FIG.

  In FIG. 10A, when print data and designated printer information are transmitted from the client PC 7 in response to a print request for print data, the print server 6 receives them (S101). The received data is stored in the memory 23 provided in the print server 6. The designated printer information is information indicating a print destination printer of print data designated by the client PC 7.

  Next, the control unit 21 of the print server 6 refers to the toner scattering presence / absence table shown in FIG. 9 for the printer designated by the designated printer information, and determines the toner scattering presence / absence state (whether toner scattering is possible). Confirm (S102).

  As a result, if the printer designated by the designated printer information is in a state where there is no toner scattering, the print data is transferred to the printer to request printing (S104).

  Thereafter, the print server 6 transmits to the client PC 7 information indicating that printing of the print data is performed by the printer designated by the designated printer information, and ends the processing. A printer that has received a print data print request prints the print data in accordance with the request.

  On the other hand, if the printer designated by the designated printer information is in a state where toner scatters, the control unit 21 calculates and obtains the printing rate from the print data received in S101 (S105). Then, it is determined whether or not the obtained printing rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (S106).

  As a result of the determination in S106, if the printing rate is less than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to S104, where print data is transferred to the printer designated by the designated printer information and printing is requested.

  On the other hand, as a result of the determination in S106, if the printing rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, there is a possibility that the toner may be scattered outside the apparatus when printing data is printed by the printer designated by the designated printer information. . Therefore, the print server 6 refers to the toner scattering presence / absence table (S107) and sets the transfer destination of print data in the toner scattering presence / absence state of the printers in the same group as the printer designated by the designated printer information. Change to a missing printer. Then, the print data is transferred to the changed printer to request printing (S108).

  Thereafter, the print server 6 transmits information indicating that the printer that prints the print data has been changed from the printer designated by the designated printer information, and information indicating the printer to be changed to the client PC 7, and performs processing. finish. A printer that has received a print data print request prints the print data in accordance with the request.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10B, when the client PC 7 receives a print command for the held print data, the client PC 7 sends the print data and designated printer information for designating the print destination printer of the print data to the print server. 6 to request printing (S121).

  As described above, the print server 6 checks the toner scattering presence / absence state of the printer designated by the client PC 7 with reference to the toner scattering presence / absence table, and if the toner scattering presence / absence state of the printer is a state where there is no toner scattering. If so, the printer is requested to print. On the other hand, if the toner scattering presence / absence state of the printer is a state where toner scattering is present, the print request destination of the print data is changed to a printer without toner scattering. Therefore, toner scattering outside the printer can be suppressed.

[Embodiment 4]
Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the image forming system of the present embodiment, for example, in the operation of the print server 6 shown in FIG. 10A, the toner scattering presence / absence state of the printer designated by the designated printer information is a state where toner scattering is present (S103). When the printing rate of the print data is equal to or greater than the predetermined value (S106) and the toner scattering presence / absence table is referred to (S107), the printer is designated by the designated printer information when there is no toner scattering state. The printer prints the print data in a state where the printing speed is lower than the normal speed. Hereinafter, this printing operation is referred to as low-speed printing.

  For this purpose, the printers 1 to 5 have the configuration shown in FIG. For the configuration of the print server 6, refer to FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing each operation unit including each drive unit in the printer 1 (image forming apparatus 500) shown in FIG. 2 and a configuration for controlling these operation units.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the printer 1 includes a control unit 11, a print control unit 13, a document reading control unit 14, a photoreceptor driving motor 602, a developing device driving motor 603, a stirring roller driving clutch 604, a developing roller driving clutch 605, A memory 16, a timer clock 12, a paper conveyance motor (paper conveyance means, printing means) 607, a scattering toner sensor 565, an exhaust fan 563, an LSU (laser scanning unit) 503, a communication unit 15, and an image processing unit 609 are provided.

  The control unit 11 controls the operation of each unit provided in the printer 1. The photosensitive member driving motor 602 rotates the photosensitive drum 510. The developing device drive motor 603 rotationally drives the developing roller 522 and the stirring roller 529 of the developing device 528. The driving force is transmitted to the stirring roller 529 and the developing roller 522 via the stirring roller driving clutch 604 and the developing roller driving clutch 605, respectively. The stirring roller driving clutch 604 switches between a driving force transmission state and a blocking state from the developing device driving motor 603 to the stirring roller 529. The developing roller driving clutch 605 switches between a transmission state and a blocking state of the driving force from the developing device driving motor 603 to the developing roller 522.

  The paper transport motor 607 rotationally drives the paper transport rollers 521, 520, 519, 518, 517, 516, 514 and the like of the paper transport device. The image processing unit 609 converts image data acquired from the image reading unit 530 or an external device (not shown) (for example, a personal computer) via the communication unit 15 into print data, and transmits the print data to the LSU 503. In this case, the control unit 11 controls the image processing unit 609 to control the data transfer rate to the LSU 503.

In the printer 1, the following processing is performed under the control of the control unit 11 when performing low-speed printing.
(1) The rotational speed of the developing roller 522 during printing is reduced.
(2) The rotational speed of the photosensitive drum 510 is decreased.
(3) The paper transport speed during printing is reduced in accordance with the reduction in the peripheral speed of the photosensitive drum 510.
(4) The transmission speed of image data to be written to the photosensitive drum 510 with respect to the LSU 503 is decreased in accordance with the decrease in the speed of the photosensitive drum 510.

  In the above configuration, the operation of the image forming system in the present embodiment will be described below. FIG. 12A is a flowchart showing the operation of the print server 6 in the present embodiment. FIG. 12B is a flowchart showing the operation of the client PC 7 corresponding to the operation of FIG.

  In FIG. 12A, when print data and designated printer information are transmitted from the client PC 7 in response to a print request for print data, the print server 6 receives them (S141). The received data is stored in the memory 23 provided in the print server 6.

  Next, the control unit 21 of the print server 6 refers to the toner scattering presence / absence table shown in FIG. 9 for the printer designated by the designated printer information, and determines the toner scattering presence / absence state (whether toner scattering is possible). Confirm (S142).

  As a result, if the printer designated by the designated printer information is in a state where there is no toner scattering, the print data is transferred to the printer to request printing (S144).

  Thereafter, the print server 6 transmits to the client PC 7 information indicating that printing of the print data is performed by the printer designated by the designated printer information, and ends the processing. The printer that has received the print data print request prints the print data in accordance with the request.

  On the other hand, if the printer designated by the designated printer information is in a state where toner scatters in S143, the control unit 21 calculates and obtains the printing rate from the print data received in S141 (S145). Then, it is determined whether or not the obtained printing rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (S146).

  As a result of the determination in S146, if the printing rate is less than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to S144, and print data is transferred to the printer designated by the designated printer information to request printing.

  On the other hand, as a result of the determination in S146, if the printing rate is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the print server 6 refers to the toner scattering presence / absence table (S147), and the printer of the same group as the printer designated by the designated printer information Among these, the presence / absence of a printer that has no toner scattering in the presence / absence of toner scattering is confirmed (S148).

  As a result, if there is a printer that has no toner scattering, the print data transfer destination is changed to that printer. Then, the print data is transferred to the changed printer to request printing (S149).

  Thereafter, the print server 6 transmits information indicating that the printer that prints the print data has been changed from the printer designated by the designated printer information, and information indicating the printer to be changed to the client PC 7, and performs processing. finish. The printer that has received the print data print request prints the print data in accordance with the request.

  On the other hand, as a result of the confirmation in S148, if there is no printer in which toner scattering is not present in the presence / absence of toner scattering, print data is transferred to the printer designated by the designated printer information and printing is requested. At the same time, it instructs to perform low-speed printing (S150).

  Thereafter, the print server 6 transmits to the client PC 7 information indicating that printing of the print data is performed by the printer designated by the designated printer information and information indicating that the printing is performed at low speed printing. Then, the process ends. The printer that has received the print data print request prints the print data in accordance with the instruction.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12B, when the client PC 7 receives a print command for the held print data, the client PC 7 sends the print data and designated printer information for specifying the print destination printer of the print data to the print server. 6 to request printing (S121).

  Next, the operation of the printer (designated printer) designated by the designated printer information will be described. When the designated printer receives a print data print instruction from the print server 6 without instructing low-speed printing, the designated printer performs printing at a normal print speed in accordance with a predetermined specification. On the other hand, when a print instruction for print data by low-speed printing is received, printing is performed at a reduced printing speed. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the designated printer that has received an instruction to perform low-speed printing from the print server 6.

  When the control unit 11 of the designated printer receives a print data print instruction by low-speed printing from the print server 6 (S161), the rotation speed of the developing device drive motor 603 at the time of printing is set at that time (in the case of normal speed). Set to a value lower than (set) (S162). Further, the control unit 11 sets the rotational speed of the photosensitive member driving motor 602 during printing to a value lower than the setting at that time (setting in the case of normal speed) (S163). Further, the control unit 11 sets the rotation speed of the paper transport motor 607 during printing to a value lower than the setting at that time (setting in the case of normal speed) (S164). In addition, the control unit 11 sets the data transmission speed from the image processing unit 609 to the LSU 503 to a value lower than the setting at that time (setting at the normal speed) (S165). Note that the peripheral speed of the photoconductive drum 510 by the photoconductive drive motor 602 and the paper transport speed by the paper transport motor 607 are set to be the same.

  The above-described S162 to S165 are control for each unit by the control unit 11 when the printing speed of the printer 1 is decreased. Thus, by reducing the printing speed, the printer 1 can suppress the scattering of toner inside the apparatus, and as a result, the discharge of the scattered toner outside the apparatus can be suppressed. Further, as described above, the user can be urged to replace the exhaust filter 564 by reducing the printing speed.

  Specifically, by reducing the rotational speed of the developing device drive motor 603 during printing (S162), the rotational speeds of the developing roller 522 and the agitation roller 529 driven by the developing device drive motor 603 are reduced, and the developing device Toner scattering from 528 can be suppressed. In particular, it is possible to suppress a situation where toner is scattered from the developing roller 522 by centrifugal force.

  Further, by reducing the rotational speed of the photosensitive member driving motor 602 during printing (S163), it is possible to suppress the situation where the toner adhering to the surface of the photosensitive drum 510 is scattered by centrifugal force. The effect of suppressing toner scattering by this control is particularly high when printing an image having a high solid image ratio.

  Further, by reducing the rotation speed of the paper transport motor 607 during printing (S164), the toner adhering to each paper transport roller and the scattering of toner from the paper transported by each paper transport roller, that is, fixing. The scattering of the toner adhering to the surface of the paper before passing through the unit 541 can be suppressed.

  The operation of reducing the data transmission speed from the image processing unit 609 to the LSU 503 (S165) is for making the writing speed of the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 510 by the LSU 503 correspond to the printing speed to be reduced. is there.

  Here, the writing speed of the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 510 by the LSU 503 can be reduced by reducing the rotation speed of the polygon motor that drives the polygon mirror to rotate. However, since the rotational speed of the polygon motor is very high, it takes a long time to stabilize after it decreases. Therefore, in this embodiment, the polygon motor rotation speed is kept constant, and the transmission speed of the image data to the LSU 503 is reduced, thereby reducing the writing speed of the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 510 by the LSU 503. ing.

  For example, it is possible to set the writing speed of the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 510 to 1 / integer by thinning the transmission data line from the image processing unit 609 to the LSU 503 and transmitting it. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, in the printing at the normal speed, the X-line in the main scanning direction is transmitted to the LSU 503 during the unit time A, and the rotational speed of the photosensitive drum 510 is set to 1. In the case of setting to / 2, X / 2 lines are transmitted at regular intervals during the unit time A.

  In the control for reducing the printing speed, the rotation speed of the developing device drive motor 603 is decreased (S162), the rotation speed of the photosensitive member drive motor 602 is decreased (S163), and the rotation speed of the paper transport motor 607 is decreased. Although it is preferable to perform all of (S164) and a decrease in the data transmission speed from the image processing unit 609 to the LSU 503 (S165), among these, a decrease in the rotational speed of the photosensitive member drive motor 602 (S163), a paper transport motor Only the reduction of the rotation speed of S607 (S164) and the reduction of the data transmission speed from the image processing unit 609 to the LSU 503 (S165) may be performed.

  As described above, in the image forming system according to the present embodiment, there is no printer in which the toner scattering state is no toner scattering, and it is unavoidable that printing is performed by a designated printer in which the toner scattering is present. In addition, the designated printer is configured to perform low-speed printing. Therefore, in the printer, the scattering of toner inside the apparatus is suppressed, and as a result, the discharge of the scattered toner outside the apparatus can be suppressed.

  In the present embodiment, the print server 6 instructs the designated printer to perform low-speed printing when there is no printer whose toner scattering state is no toner scattering state. However, the print server 6 instructs only the printing to the designated printer, and the designated printer that has received the printing instruction confirms its own toner scattering presence / absence state. The structure which performs this may be sufficient.

[Embodiment 5]
Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the image forming system of the present embodiment, for example, in the operation of the printer 1 shown in FIG. 4A, the toner scattering presence / absence state of the printer 1 that has received a print request from the client PC 7 is a state where toner scattering is present ( S12), when the print rate of the print data is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (S14), and other printers (transfer destination candidate printers) that can be the transfer destination of the print data are in a state where toner scattering is present. 1 itself performs the low-speed printing.

  In the present embodiment, the printer 1 includes a toner scattering presence / absence table that indicates the presence / absence of toner scattering to the outside of each printer. This toner scattering presence / absence table is, for example, as shown in FIG. This update operation is as described with reference to FIG.

  In the above configuration, the operation of the image forming system in the present embodiment will be described below. FIG. 15A is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer 1 in the present embodiment. FIG. 15B is a flowchart showing the operation of the client PC 7 corresponding to the operation of FIG.

  In FIG. 15A, when the print data is transmitted from the client PC 7 in response to a print request for print data, the communication unit 15 of the printer 1 starts receiving the print data (S181). The received print data is stored in the memory 16 provided in the printer 1.

  Next, the control unit 11 of the printer 1 determines whether or not the toner scattering presence / absence state of the printer 1 is a state where toner scattering is present. Here, based on the measurement result of the timer clock 12, it is determined whether or not the cumulative rotation time of the developing roller 522 has reached a predetermined time, that is, whether or not the exhaust filter 564 has reached the end of its life (S182). The determination may be to determine the presence or absence of scattered toner from the detection result of the scattered toner sensor 565 (S62 in FIG. 7).

  If the result of the determination is that there is no toner scattering (the exhaust filter 564 has not reached the end of its life), the printer 1 is controlled by the print control unit 13 and the image forming unit 540 and the paper feeding unit 550. With this operation, print data is printed at a normal speed (S183).

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in S182 is that there is toner scattering (the exhaust filter 564 has reached the end of its life), after reception of all print data is completed (S184), the print controller 13 A print rate is calculated and obtained from all received print data (S185). Then, the print control unit 13 determines whether or not the obtained printing rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (S186).

  If the printing rate is less than the predetermined value as a result of the determination in S186, the process proceeds to S183, and print data is printed at the normal speed.

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in S186 is that the printing rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the toner scattering presence / absence table is referred to (S187), and the presence / absence of a printer that has no toner scattering in the toner scattering presence / absence state is confirmed ( S188).

  As a result, if there is a printer with no toner scattering, transfer destination information indicating a data transmission destination to the printer and a print data transfer request are transmitted to the client PC 7 (S189).

  On the other hand, as a result of the confirmation in S188, if there is no printer in which toner scattering is not present in the presence / absence of toner scattering, the printer 1 performs printing processing of print data by low-speed printing (S190). . Note that the low-speed printing operation in the printer 1 is as described above with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14.

  As described above, in the image forming system according to the present embodiment, the printer 1 that has received a print request from the client PC 7 is in a state where the toner scatters in the state where the toner scatters. If the printer 1 does not exist, the printer 1 that has received a print request from the client PC 7 performs low-speed printing. Therefore, in the printer, the scattering of toner inside the apparatus is suppressed, and as a result, the discharge of the scattered toner outside the apparatus can be suppressed.

  Finally, each block of the image forming apparatus 500 (printers 1 to 5) and the print server 6 may be configured by hardware logic, or may be realized by software using a CPU as follows.

  That is, the image forming apparatus 500 (printers 1 to 5) and the print server 6 include a CPU (central processing unit) that executes instructions of a control program that realizes each function, a ROM (read only memory) that stores the program, and the above A RAM (random access memory) for expanding the program, a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing the program and various data, and the like are provided. An object of the present invention is to provide program codes (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of control programs for the image forming apparatus 500 (printers 1 to 5) and the print server 6 which are software that realizes the functions described above. The computer-readable recording medium is supplied to the image forming apparatus 500 (printers 1 to 5) and the print server 6, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) reads the program code recorded on the recording medium. It can also be achieved by executing.

  Examples of the recording medium include a tape system such as a magnetic tape and a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. Card system such as IC card, IC card (including memory card) / optical card, or semiconductor memory system such as mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 500 (printers 1 to 5) and the print server 6 may be configured to be connectable to a communication network, and the program code may be supplied via the communication network. The communication network is not particularly limited. For example, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication. A net or the like is available. Also, the transmission medium constituting the communication network is not particularly limited. For example, even in the case of wired such as IEEE 1394, USB, power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL line, etc., infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth ( (Registered trademark), 802.11 wireless, HDR, mobile phone network, satellite line, terrestrial digital network, and the like can also be used. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram showing an image forming system in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus as the printer illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of detection of scattered toner in the scattered toner sensor shown in FIG. 2. 4A is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer shown in FIG. 1 when the detection of the toner scattering presence / absence state is performed based on the filter life detection, and FIG. 4B is the operation of FIG. 4A. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the client PC shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a toner scattering presence / absence table provided in the printer illustrated in FIG. 1. 6 is a flowchart showing a communication operation of the printer for creating a toner scattering presence / absence table shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 7A is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer shown in FIG. 1 when the detection of the toner scattering presence / absence state is performed based on the detection result of the scattering toner sensor, and FIG. 7B is the flowchart of FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the client PC shown in FIG. 1 corresponding to the operation of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image forming system in other embodiment of this invention. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a toner scattering presence / absence table included in the print server illustrated in FIG. 8. 10A is a flowchart showing the operation of the print server shown in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10B is a flowchart showing the operation of the client PC shown in FIG. 8 corresponding to the operation of FIG. 10A. . FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer of an image forming system according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12A is a flowchart showing the operation of the print server of the image forming system in still another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12B shows the operation of the client PC corresponding to the operation of FIG. It is a flowchart. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of low-speed printing in the printer illustrated in FIG. 11. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of thinning out transmission data lines and transmitting to an LSU in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 15A is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer of the image forming system according to still another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 15B is a flowchart showing the operation of the client PC corresponding to the operation of FIG. It is.

Explanation of symbols

1-5 Printer (image forming device)
6 Print server (management device, external device)
7 Client PC (external device)
8 Network 11 control unit (toner discharge conformity detection unit, determination unit, filter life detection unit)
12 Timer clock (toner discharge conformity detection unit, filter life detection unit)
13 Print control unit (print rate calculation unit)
14 Document Reading Control Unit 15 Communication Unit (Communication Means)
16 Memory 21 Control unit (print rate calculation unit, control unit)
22 Communication unit 23 Memory 500 Image forming apparatus 503 Laser scan unit 510 Photosensitive drum (printing means)
522 Developing roller 528 Developing device (printing means)
529 Stirring roller 562 Exhaust pipe 563 Exhaust fan 564 Exhaust filter (toner discharge conformity detection unit)
565 Scatter toner sensor 601 Control unit 602 Photoconductor drive motor 603 Developer drive motor 604 Stirring roller drive clutch 605 Development roller drive clutch 607 Paper transport motor (paper transport means, printing means)
608 Communication unit 609 Image processing unit

Claims (11)

In an image forming apparatus including a printing unit that prints on a sheet with toner based on print data,
A toner discharge conformity state detection unit for detecting a toner discharge conformity state that is in a state conforming to a condition for discharging scattered toner outside the apparatus;
A print rate calculation unit for calculating a print rate when the print data is printed by the printing unit;
A communication means for communicating with an external device;
When the toner discharge compatibility state detection unit detects the toner discharge compatibility state, it is determined whether the printing rate calculated by the printing rate calculation unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and the printing rate is a predetermined value. In this case, the image forming apparatus includes: a control unit that outputs request information indicating that the print data is to be printed by another image forming apparatus from the communication unit. apparatus.   The control unit acquires toner discharge conformity state presence / absence information indicating presence / absence of the toner discharge conformity state in another image forming apparatus through communication with the other image forming apparatus by the communication unit, and refers to this information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein another image forming apparatus that prints the print data is specified in the request information. In an image forming apparatus including a printing unit that prints on a sheet with toner based on print data,
A toner discharge conformity state detection unit for detecting a toner discharge conformity state that is in a state conforming to a condition for discharging scattered toner outside the apparatus;
A print rate calculation unit for calculating a print rate when the print data is printed by the printing unit;
A communication means for communicating with an external device;
A first process of acquiring toner discharge compatibility state presence / absence information indicating presence / absence of the toner discharge compatibility state in another image forming apparatus by communication with the other image forming apparatus by the communication unit; When the toner discharge conformity state is detected by the second processing, the second processing for determining whether or not the printing rate calculated by the printing rate calculation unit is a predetermined value or more, the result of the second processing, the printing A third process for determining the presence / absence of another image forming apparatus that is not in a toner discharge compatible state by referring to the toner discharge compatible state presence / absence information when the rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; A fourth process for outputting, from the communication means, request information for requesting that printing of the print data be performed in the image forming apparatus when there is an image forming apparatus that is not in a toner discharge compatible state; As a result of the process 3, when there is no image forming apparatus that is not in the toner discharge compatible state, the printing unit prints the print data, and the toner discharge compatible state is not detected in this printing operation. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that performs a fifth process for controlling the printing unit so as to reduce a printing speed.   The toner discharge conformity state detection unit is provided at an exhaust port to the outside of the apparatus to detect the scattered toner, and determines the presence or absence of the scattered toner based on the detection result of the scattered toner sensor. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a determination unit that determines the toner discharge conformity state based on a determination result of presence.   The toner discharge conformity state detection unit includes an exhaust filter provided at an exhaust port to the outside of the apparatus for capturing scattered toner, a filter life detection unit for detecting a state in which the exhaust filter has reached the end of life, and the filter life detection 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a determination unit that determines that the toner discharge conforming state is detected when the exhaust gas filter detects that the exhaust filter has reached the end of its life. The image forming apparatus described. In an image forming system comprising a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a management apparatus connected to these image forming apparatuses via a network,
The image forming apparatus includes:
Printing means for printing on paper with toner based on print data;
A control unit for controlling a printing operation by the printing unit;
A toner discharge conformity state detection unit that detects a toner discharge conformity state that is in a state that conforms to a condition for discharging scattered toner outside the apparatus,
The management device includes a printing rate calculation unit that calculates a printing rate when printing data is printed by the printing unit, and a control unit,
The control unit of the management device
A first process of acquiring toner discharge conformity state presence / absence information indicating presence / absence of the toner discharge conformity state in the plurality of image forming apparatuses by communication with the plurality of image forming apparatuses via the network;
When print data to be printed and designated device information for designating an image forming device that prints the print data are received,
A second process for determining whether or not the designated image forming apparatus specified by the designated device information is in a toner discharge compatible state with reference to the toner discharge compatible state presence / absence information;
As a result of the second process, when the designated image forming apparatus is not in a toner discharge compatible state, a third process for instructing printing by transferring the print data to the designated image forming apparatus;
As a result of the second process, when the designated image forming apparatus is in the toner discharge conformity state, a fourth process for determining whether or not the printing rate calculated by the printing rate calculation unit is a predetermined value or more. ,
As a result of the fourth process, when the printing rate is less than a predetermined value, a fifth process for instructing to perform printing by transferring the print data to the designated image forming apparatus,
As a result of the fourth processing, when the printing rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the print data is transferred to another image processing apparatus that is not in the toner discharge compatible state with reference to the toner discharge compatible state presence / absence information for printing. An image forming system that performs a sixth process instructing to perform the process.   The control unit of the management apparatus prints the printing unit when the print rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value as a result of the fourth process and there is no other image processing apparatus that is not in a toner discharge compatible state. Performing a seventh process for instructing the designated image forming apparatus to perform printing by transferring the print data so that the printing speed is lower than that in the case where the toner discharge conformity state is not detected in the operation; The image forming system according to claim 6. The plurality of image processing devices belong to one of a plurality of groups,
The control unit of the management device selects the other image processing device from image processing devices belonging to the same group as the designated image processing device in the sixth processing. The image forming system described. In an image forming method of an image forming apparatus that performs printing on paper using toner based on print data by a printing unit,
A toner discharge conformity state detection step for detecting a toner discharge conformity state that is in a state conforming to a condition for discharging scattered toner outside the apparatus;
A print rate calculating step of calculating a print rate when the print data is printed by the printing means when a toner discharge compatible state is detected by the toner discharge compatible state detecting step;
It is determined whether or not the printing rate calculated in the printing rate calculation step is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. When the printing rate is higher than or equal to a predetermined value, the print data is printed by another image forming apparatus. An image forming method for an image forming apparatus, comprising: a step of outputting request information indicating that the request is made.   A program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the program of Claim 10.

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