JP2009192992A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus achieving reduction in stress on a user due to unexpected replacement of toner etc., and achieving reduction in downtime of the image forming apparatus due to toner used up. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes: a detachable toner bottle; a hopper having greater toner capacity than that of the toner bottle and used for receiving toner from the toner bottle; a remaining quantity determining section for determining a quantity of toner remaining in the hopper; a display means for providing a display (307) for urging a user to replace the toner bottle or to prepare for the replacement; a number calculating section for calculating a required number of toner bottles; and a control means for performing control such that if the remaining quantity determining section determines that the quantity of toner remaining in the hopper is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the number calculating section calculates a required number of toner bottles, and the display means displays information based on the calculation result. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a hopper (toner container) for storing toner, and particularly to replacement and preparation of a toner bottle (toner supply container) that supplies toner to the hopper.

The user's desire for an image forming apparatus for the light printing market is to continue operation without stopping the apparatus even when the user goes out for lunch or the like. Specifically, it is a desire to realize a use situation in which the operation continues for about 2 hours in unattended operation. In order to meet this demand, it is necessary to store a large amount of toner in the image forming apparatus.
As a configuration for storing a large amount of toner, Patent Document 1 proposes a configuration for storing a plurality of toner bottles (toner supply containers) in an image forming apparatus.
However, the configuration in which the plurality of toner bottles are stored in the image forming apparatus requires parts such as a motor for stirring and discharging the toner in each toner bottle, and the number of parts increases. And may cause an increase in cost.
As a means for solving this cause, a configuration in which a hopper portion (toner accommodating portion) for storing toner is enlarged can be considered. Since this configuration requires fewer parts than the configuration storing a plurality of toner bottles, it is simple and can reduce costs.
JP-A-8-137227

  However, when the hopper is enlarged, only the size of the hopper increases from a certain capacity, and the toner capacity of the hopper becomes larger than the capacity of one toner bottle. This is because the size of the toner bottle is limited considering that a human carries the toner bottle. In such a conventional toner bottle replacement method, when supplying toner to a hopper having a larger capacity than the toner bottle, a single toner bottle is replaced based on the remaining amount of toner in the hopper. I can not cope.

  For example, assuming that the amount of toner remaining in the hopper in the image forming apparatus is low, even if the user replaces one toner bottle, the user can immediately replace it with the next toner bottle. In that case, the user will perform an unexpected toner replacement. In addition, if the user replaces one toner bottle and leaves the image forming apparatus for a long period of time, the toner capacity of the toner is actually limited to one toner bottle in the hopper. There is a problem that the image forming apparatus can be operated only by the amount.

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and provides an image forming apparatus capable of reducing a user's load such as unexpected toner replacement and reducing downtime of the image forming apparatus without toner. It is an object to do.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, the image forming apparatus is configured as described in (1) and (2) below.

(1) a removable toner supply container for containing toner;
A toner container that has a larger amount of toner than the toner supply container and receives toner from the toner supply container;
A detection unit for detecting a remaining amount of toner in the toner storage unit;
Display means for prompting replacement or preparation of the toner supply container;
A determination unit that determines how many toner supply containers need to be prepared;
Based on the detection result of the detection unit, the determination unit determines how many toner supply containers need to be prepared, and controls the display unit to display based on the determination result of the determination unit. Control means;
An image forming apparatus.

(2) a detachable toner supply container for containing toner;
A toner container that has a larger amount of toner than the toner supply container and receives toner from the toner supply container;
A detection unit for detecting a remaining amount of toner in the toner storage unit;
Display means for prompting replacement or preparation of the toner supply container;
When it is determined that the remaining amount of toner is below the first threshold based on the detection result of the detection unit, the display means displays that the toner supply container needs to be replaced, and the remaining amount of toner further increases. Control means for controlling the display means to display that it is necessary to prepare an additional toner replenishing container when the second threshold value is exceeded;
An image forming apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to display that the replacement or preparation of the toner bottle is urged while preventing an increase in the size and cost of the image forming apparatus main body due to an increase in the number of parts. As a result, it is possible to reduce the load on the user such as unexpected toner replacement and to reduce the downtime of the image forming apparatus due to the absence of toner.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing an internal configuration of an “image forming apparatus” according to the first embodiment.
In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 100 includes a scanner unit 101 that reads image information of a document, an image forming unit 102 that forms an image on a sheet based on image information read by the scanner unit 101, and a sheet image forming unit 102. And a sheet deck 103 to be supplied to the vehicle.

  The scanner unit 101 includes a platen glass 202 on which an original such as a book document such as a book, cardboard, or curl paper, or a sheet-like document is placed, and an openable / closable document pressure plate 203 that presses the document placed on the platen glass 202. Is provided. Further, the scanning system light source 201 that scans the original by irradiating the original with light while the lower part of the platen glass 202 is driven in the direction of arrow a, the mirror 204 that reflects the reflected light from the original, A lens 205 that collects light is provided. Further, the reflected light collected by the lens 205 is received and the photoelectric conversion element 206 that outputs image information to an image processing unit 208 described later, and the image information output by the photoelectric conversion element 206 is processed to form an image forming unit. And an image processing unit 208 that outputs the data to 102.

  The image forming apparatus 100 includes a sheet cassette 1 that accommodates a sheet for forming an image. The sheet cassette 1 includes a feeding unit U1 and a feeding unit U2. The upper feeding unit U1 is detachably attached to the image forming unit 102, and the lower feeding unit U2 is detachably attached to the sheet deck 103.

  The feeding unit U1 and the feeding unit U2 include two sheet cassettes, a lower cassette 1a and an upper cassette 1b, a pickup roller 3 for feeding out the sheets stored in the lower cassette 1a and the upper cassette 1b, and a pickup roller 3, respectively. The feed roller 4 and the retard roller 5 are configured to separate the fed sheet, and the conveyance rollers 104 and 105 are configured to convey the sheet separated by the feed roller 4 and the retard roller 5 to the registration roller 106.

  The image forming apparatus 100 is also provided outside the image forming apparatus 100 and includes a manual feed tray 10 on which sheets are stacked, and a manual feed roller 11 that conveys the sheets stacked on the manual feed tray 10 to the registration rollers 106. Is provided.

  The image forming unit 102 emits a laser beam based on the image information output from the image processing unit 208, and an image for irradiating the laser beam emitted from the laser scanner 111 toward a photosensitive drum 112 described later. And a writing optical system 113. Further, a photosensitive drum 112 on which a latent image corresponding to the laser beam irradiated by the image writing optical system 113 is formed, and a developer 114 that generates a toner image with toner on the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 112. With. Further, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 112 is transferred to the registration roller 106 that conveys the sheet to the photosensitive drum 112 in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 112 and the first surface of the sheet conveyed by the registration roller 106. A transfer charger 115.

  The image forming unit 102 also transfers a sheet on which the toner image has been transferred by the transfer charger 115 to a fixing device 118, which will be described later, and heats and pressurizes the sheet on which the toner image is transferred to the sheet. A fixing device 118 for fixing the toner image is provided. Further, a discharge roller 119 for discharging the sheet on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 118 to the outside of the image forming apparatus 100 and a sorter 120 for stacking the sheet discharged by the discharge roller 119 are provided. Furthermore, a sheet double-sided tray 121 is provided for temporarily placing sheets when images are formed on both sides of the sheet.

  When images are formed on both sides of the sheet, the sheet on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 118 is held between the discharge rollers 119, and the discharge rollers 119 are reversed when the trailing edge of the sheet passes the branch point 207. Thus, the sheet is placed on the sheet double-sided tray 121. Next, the sheet placed on the sheet duplex tray 121 is conveyed to the photosensitive drum 112 by the conveying rollers 104 and 105 and the registration roller 106, and an image is formed on the second surface of the sheet in the same manner as the first surface. It is discharged and loaded on the sorter 120.

  The image forming apparatus 100 functions as a copying machine when image information output from the image processing unit 208 is input to the laser scanner 111, and when image information output from an external computer is input to the laser scanner 111. Functions as a printer. Further, the image forming apparatus 100 functions as a facsimile apparatus by receiving image information from another facsimile apparatus and transmitting the image information output from the image processing unit 208 to the other facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of the developing device 114 in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the developing device 114 transports the removable toner bottle 130 (toner supply container) that stores toner, the developing unit 150, and the toner stored in the toner bottle 130 to the developing unit 150. And a hopper 133 (toner storage unit) having a larger amount of toner than the toner bottle.

  The hopper 133 includes a hopper upper residual amount detection sensor 134 and a hopper lower residual amount detection sensor 135 (corresponding to a detection unit in the claims) that detect the remaining amount of toner inside the hopper 133. Further, a hopper conveying screw 139 that conveys toner from the hopper 133 to the developing unit 150 by rotating is provided.

  The developing unit 150 includes a developing unit remaining amount detection sensor 136 that detects the presence or absence of toner in the developing unit 150.

  The developing device 114 also includes a bottle motor 131 that is connected to the toner bottle 130 and rotationally drives the toner bottle 130, and a hopper motor 132 that rotationally drives the hopper conveying screw 139.

  The bottle motor 131 rotates the toner bottle 130 to drop the toner in the toner bottle 130 onto the hopper 133. The hopper motor 132 rotationally drives the hopper conveying screw 139.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of the operation unit of the image forming apparatus and a block configuration of a control unit that determines display contents on the operation unit.
The upper hopper remaining amount detection sensor 134 and the lower hopper remaining amount detection sensor 135 detect the remaining amount of toner and output a toner detection signal to the toner bottle replacement control unit 308 (control unit).
The toner bottle replacement control unit 308 determines the remaining amount of toner by the remaining amount determination unit 309 (detection unit) based on the toner detection signals sent from the upper hopper remaining amount detection sensor 134 and the lower hopper remaining amount detection sensor 135. Then, according to the determination result, the number calculation unit 310 (determination unit) calculates (determines) the necessary number of toner bottles (corresponding to determination of how many bottles need to be prepared in the claims).
The memory 311 stores display information related to toner supply. When the number calculation unit 310 obtains the number calculation result, the display information related to toner replenishment is read from the memory 311 and display control related to toner bottle replacement is performed on the liquid crystal touch panel display 307 (display unit).

  A hardware operation unit 312 is disposed adjacent to the liquid crystal touch panel display 307. In the hardware operation unit 312, reference numeral 301 denotes a reset key. When the reset key 301 is operated, the copying operation is ended and settings are initialized. Reference numeral 302 denotes a stop key. When the stop key 302 is operated, the copy operation is terminated. Reference numeral 303 denotes a start key. When the start key 303 is operated, a copy operation is started. Reference numeral 304 denotes a numeric keypad, and a numeric value is input by operating the numeric keypad 304. Reference numeral 306 denotes a clear key, and the numeric value is cleared by operating the clear key 306. Reference numeral 305 denotes an ID key. When the ID key 305 is operated, the screen is switched to a password input screen.

The toner bottle replacement control performed in the image forming apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 4a, 4b, 5, 6, 7, and 8. FIG.
4A and 4B are flowcharts of toner bottle replacement control executed in the developing device 114 shown in FIG. The processing of this flow is performed by a CPU (control means) (not shown) in the toner bottle replacement control unit 308.
In FIG. 4a, first, variables are initialized (step 400, hereinafter abbreviated as S400). Here, the variable Z is the number of toner bottles that need to be replaced and prepared, and the variable Y is an integrated value of a video counter (corresponding to image formation information in the claims). The variable A is used as a threshold value of the integrated value of the video counter. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the space between the upper layer portion of the toner in the hopper 133 and the remaining amount detection sensor 134 on the hopper is shown. This is equivalent to the toner capacity that enters, and is set to half the capacity of one toner bottle.

  Next, it is determined whether or not toner is replenished to the hopper 133 in the state of the hopper remaining amount detection sensor 134 (detection unit and first threshold) (S401). When the state of the hopper top remaining amount detection sensor 134 is on, the hopper 133 has sufficient toner, so the toner is not replenished. When the state of the hopper top remaining amount detection sensor 134 is OFF (when the value falls below the first threshold), the bottle motor 131 is driven for a predetermined time (S402), and toner is supplied to the hopper 133.

  Next, in order to determine whether or not the toner bottle 130 is empty, the state of the hopper remaining amount detection sensor 134 is determined again (S403). If the state of the hopper remaining amount detection sensor 134 is on, the toner bottle 130 is regarded as having toner, and the process returns to S401. If the state of the hopper remaining amount detection sensor 134 is OFF, it is determined that the toner bottle 130 is empty (S403).

  In S403, when it is determined that the toner bottle is empty, the variable Z is set to 1 (S404), and the liquid crystal touch panel display 307 is notified of the necessity of replacing one toner bottle 130 from the value of the variable Z. Is displayed (S405). An example of this message is shown in FIG. If the toner bottle 130 is replaced at this time or later, the process returns to S400 (S406).

Hereinafter, a process when the image forming operation is continued without replacing the toner bottle 130 will be described.
It is determined whether or not the toner in the hopper 133 has run out based on the state of the hopper lower remaining amount detection sensor 135 (the detection unit and the second threshold) (S407). If the result of the determination in S407 is that the hopper lower amount detection sensor 135 is on, it is determined that there is toner in the hopper, and the process proceeds to S408.
In S408, the video counter (the sum of all dots present in one output image, corresponding to the image data in the claims) is integrated from the time point when it is determined in S403 that the toner bottle 130 is empty. Then, it is determined whether or not the video counter integrated value Y exceeds the variable A (5000 in this embodiment) (S408).

  As a result of the determination in S408, when it is detected that the integrated value Y of the video counter does not exceed the variable A, the integrated value of the video counter is updated and the image forming operation is continued (S412), and the process returns to S406. As a result of the determination in S408, when it is detected that the integrated value Y of the video counter exceeds the predetermined value A (corresponding to the case where it is determined that the remaining amount of toner in the claims is equal to or less than the predetermined value), replacement is necessary. The number Z of toner bottles is incremented (S409).

Next, in S410, the integrated value Y of the video counter is cleared to 0, and the value of the variable A is changed to α. Here, α is the capacity of one toner bottle. It is determined that the replacement of the second toner bottle needs to be replaced when the toner amount in the toner bottle reaches a certain amount (in this embodiment, half the toner bottle capacity). However, after the third one, the toner (α-A) remaining in the second toner bottle and the variable A are added, that is, the toner amount corresponding to one toner bottle needs to be replaced. It is for judging. Then, a message 701 is displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel display 307 informing the necessity of preparing the toner bottle 130 and Z bottles from the value of the variable Z (S411). An example of this message is shown in FIG.
If the result of the determination in S407 is that the hopper lower amount detection sensor 135 is off, it is determined that the toner in the hopper has run out, and a constant MAX is substituted for the number Z of toner bottles that need to be replaced (S413). Here, the constant MAX is the maximum number of toner bottles that can enter the hopper 133. In this embodiment, MAX is set to 2. Then, a message 801 informing the necessity of replacing the toner bottle 130 and Z bottles from the value of the variable Z is displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel display 307 (S414), the image forming operation is prohibited (S415), and this process is terminated. To do. An example of this message is shown in FIG.

  In this embodiment, the integrated value of the video counter is used as the remaining amount determination unit for determining the remaining amount of toner. However, the driving time of the bottle motor 131, the remaining amount detection sensor 135 under the hopper, or a combination thereof is also possible. Not what you want.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to display that the replacement or preparation of the toner bottle is urged while preventing an increase in the size and cost of the image forming apparatus main body due to an increase in the number of parts. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce user stress such as unexpected toner replacement, and to reduce downtime of the image forming apparatus due to the absence of toner.

  An “image forming apparatus” that is Embodiment 2 will be described.

The configuration of the present embodiment is basically the same as the configuration of the first embodiment. In the description of the present embodiment, the description of the first embodiment is used for the same parts as the configuration of the first embodiment, and only different portions are used. Will be explained.
In this embodiment, the amount of toner entering between the upper hopper remaining amount detection sensor 134 and the lower hopper remaining amount detection sensor 135 of FIG. 2 is less than two toner bottles.

  The appearance of the operation unit of the image forming apparatus and the block configuration of the control unit that determines the display content on the operation unit are basically the same as those in FIG. The difference is that there is no number calculation unit. Therefore, when the display information related to toner supply is read from the memory 311, it is read according to the message display step (S 904, S 909, S 912) in the flow of FIG.

The toner bottle replacement control will be described with reference to FIGS. 9a, 9b, 10, 11, and 12. FIG.
In FIG. 9a, first, variables are initialized (S900). Here, the variable Y is the integrated value of the video counter, and the variable A is used as a threshold value of the integrated value of the video counter. Also in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the variable A corresponds to the toner capacity that enters the space between the upper layer portion of the toner in the hopper 133 and the remaining amount detection sensor 134 on the hopper, and is half of one toner bottle. The capacity is set.

  Next, whether or not toner is replenished to the hopper 133 is determined based on the state of the hopper remaining amount detection sensor 134 (S901). When the state of the hopper remaining amount detection sensor 134 is on, the hopper 133 does not supply toner because there is sufficient toner. When the state of the hopper remaining amount detection sensor 134 is OFF, the bottle motor 131 is driven for a predetermined time (S902), and toner is supplied to the hopper 133.

  Next, in order to determine whether or not the toner bottle 130 is empty, the state of the hopper remaining amount detection sensor 134 is determined again (S903). If the state of the hopper remaining amount detection sensor 134 is on, the toner bottle 130 is regarded as having toner, and the process returns to S901. If the state of the hopper remaining amount detection sensor 134 is off, it is determined that the toner bottle 130 is empty (S903, corresponding to a case where the first threshold value in the claims is exceeded).

  When it is determined in S903 that the toner bottle is empty, a message 1001 notifying the replacement of the toner bottle 130 is displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel display 307 (S904). An example of this message is shown in FIG. If the toner bottle 130 is replaced at this time or later, the process returns to S900 (S905).

Hereinafter, a process when the image forming operation is continued without replacing the toner bottle 130 will be described.
Whether or not the toner in the hopper 133 has run out is determined based on the state of the hopper bottom remaining amount detection sensor 135 (S906). If the result of the determination in S906 is that the hopper lower amount detection sensor 135 is on, it is determined that there is toner in the hopper, and the flow proceeds to S907.
In S907, the video counter (the sum of all the dots present in one output image) is integrated from the time when it is determined in S903 that the toner bottle 130 is empty. Then, it is determined whether or not Y as the video counter integrated value exceeds the variable A (5000 in the present embodiment) (S907).

  As a result of the determination in S907, when it is detected that the integrated value Y of the video counter does not exceed the variable A, the integrated value of the video counter is updated and the image forming operation is continued (S910), and the process returns to S905. As a result of the determination in S907, when it is detected that the integrated value Y of the video counter exceeds the predetermined value A (corresponding to a case where the integrated value Y falls below the second threshold value in the claims), the liquid crystal touch panel display 307 displays A message is displayed informing that replacement of 130 and preparation of the next additional toner bottle 130 are necessary 1101 (S909). An example of this message is shown in FIG.

  As a result of the determination in S906, when the hopper lower amount detection sensor 135 is off (corresponding to a case where the third threshold value is exceeded in the claims), it is determined that the toner in the hopper has run out. Then, a message 1201 is displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel display 307 informing that the toner has run out, the replacement of the toner bottle 130 and the need for the next toner bottle 130 (S912), and the image forming operation is prohibited (S913). ), This process is terminated. An example of this message is shown in FIG.

  In the second embodiment, the integrated value of the video counter is used as the remaining amount determination unit for determining the remaining amount of toner. However, the driving time of the bottle motor 131, the remaining amount detection sensor 135 for the hopper and the hopper conveying screw 139, Combinations of these are possible and are not limiting.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the same effect as that of Embodiment 1 can be obtained.

1 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing an internal configuration of an image forming apparatus that is Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the structure of the hopper in Example 1, and its periphery FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an overview of an operation unit and a configuration of a control unit that determines display contents on the operation unit in the first embodiment. Flowchart 1 showing the process of the first embodiment Flowchart 2 showing processing of the first embodiment The figure which shows the determination method of the variable A utilized for the threshold value of the integrated value of a video counter. The figure which shows the example of a message in Example 1 The figure which shows the example of a message in Example 1. The figure which shows the example of a message in Example 1 Flowchart 1 showing processing of embodiment 2 Flowchart 2 showing processing of the second embodiment The figure which shows the example of a message in Example 2. The figure which shows the example of a message in Example 2. The figure which shows the example of a message in Example 2.

Explanation of symbols

130 Toner bottle 133 Hopper 134 Upper hopper remaining amount detection sensor 135 Lower hopper remaining amount detection sensor 308 Toner bottle replacement control unit 309 Remaining amount determination unit 310 Number calculation unit

Claims (7)

A detachable toner supply container for containing toner;
A toner container that has a larger amount of toner than the toner supply container and receives toner from the toner supply container;
A detection unit for detecting a remaining amount of toner in the toner storage unit;
Display means for prompting replacement or preparation of the toner supply container;
A determination unit that determines how many toner supply containers need to be prepared;
Based on the detection result of the detection unit, the determination unit determines how many toner supply containers need to be prepared, and controls the display unit to display based on the determination result of the determination unit. Control means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: A detachable toner supply container for containing toner;
A toner container that has a larger amount of toner than the toner supply container and receives toner from the toner supply container;
A detection unit for detecting a remaining amount of toner in the toner storage unit;
Display means for prompting replacement or preparation of the toner supply container;
When it is determined that the remaining amount of toner is below the first threshold based on the detection result of the detection unit, the display means displays that the toner supply container needs to be replaced, and the remaining amount of toner further increases. Control means for controlling the display means to display that it is necessary to prepare an additional toner replenishing container when the second threshold value is exceeded;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.
The control unit stops an image forming operation when the remaining amount of toner detected by the detecting unit further falls below a third threshold value. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The toner storage unit includes a sensor unit that detects a height level of stored toner, and the detection unit detects a remaining amount of toner based on a signal from the sensor unit and image formation information. An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The image forming apparatus, wherein the detection unit detects a remaining amount of toner based on image formation information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein:
The image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming information is a video count calculated based on image data. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein:
The image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming information is a driving time of a motor for driving a toner supply container.

Images