JP2010020083A - Image forming apparatus, image quality adjusting method of image forming apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a silent image forming apparatus by executing an image adjusting processing in consideration of the ambient surrounding of the apparatus in the image adjusting processing that is periodically executed by the image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus, including a plurality of printing modes of a normal mode, which is used when a recording medium with a normal thickness is printed and a cardboard mode which is used, when a thick recording medium is printed and whose printing speed is slower than that of the normal mode, includes an environment detecting sensor 160 which detects an environment where the image forming apparatus is installed and a control section 110 performing control for switching the printing mode when image quality is automatically adjusted, based on the output value of the environment detecting sensor 160, when the image forming apparatus has an image quality adjustment period. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a plurality of printing modes, a normal mode used when printing a recording medium having a normal thickness and a thick paper mode having a printing speed slower than the normal mode used when printing a recording medium having a thick recording medium. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having the same.

  In a conventional electrophotographic image forming apparatus, an electrostatic latent image is formed by exposing signal light based on image information to a charged surface of a photosensitive member, and toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent image. An image is formed by forming an image and transferring and fixing the toner image onto a recording medium.

  For fixing the toner image to the recording medium, for example, a fixing device including a fixing roller and a pressure roller that is in pressure contact with the fixing roller is used, and the recording medium is provided at a pressure contact portion between the fixing roller and the pressure roller. Is introduced, and the toner image is fixed on the recording medium by heating and pressurizing the recording medium.

  There is a high user demand for higher print image quality, and usually some kind of image quality adjustment (generally called process control or process control) is performed to always obtain a certain level of print image quality.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus main body can cope with printing paper that is a recording medium up to those having a rough surface such as a coarse fiber or coated paper, and as a result, the apparatus main body includes a recording medium. Depending on the type, the process speed condition and the fixing condition are changed. Specifically, in the thick paper mode, the amount of fixing heat is insufficient, so the printing speed is slower than in the normal mode.

Patent Document 1 describes an image forming apparatus that performs control so that a process control operation is performed after a predetermined time has elapsed since the end of the image forming operation.
JP 2006-220959 A

  Image quality adjustment is an excellent technique for always obtaining a beautiful printed image. However, if the apparatus suddenly enters the adjustment operation, the noise and the like will surprise the surrounding users. When the user is operating near the apparatus, such as a copying operation, it is not so much annoyance, but the sound generated when the photoconductor or the developing apparatus suddenly rotates in an unpopular state becomes harsh. Therefore, even if the device is installed in a corner of the office, an annoying sound is generated in a quiet office environment.

  In Patent Document 1, process control is simply performed periodically. However, since noise generation in a quiet office is not considered, the problem is not solved.

  In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to perform a silent image forming apparatus by executing an image adjusting process that considers the surrounding environment of the apparatus in an image adjusting process that is periodically executed by the image forming apparatus. Etc. is to provide.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a plurality of normal modes used when printing a recording medium having a normal thickness and a thick paper mode having a printing speed slower than the normal mode used when printing a recording medium having a thick recording medium. An image forming apparatus having a print mode, an environment detection sensor unit that detects an environment in which the image forming apparatus is installed, and the environment detection sensor unit when the image forming apparatus is in an image quality adjustment period And a control unit that performs control to switch the print mode when image quality adjustment is automatically performed based on the output value.

  In this configuration, since the printing speed in the image forming apparatus is switched based on the output value of the environment detection sensor unit, an adjustment operation in consideration of the surrounding environment can be performed, and no discomfort is given to the user.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, when the output value of the environment detection sensor unit is smaller than a first threshold value, the control unit switches a print mode when performing image quality adjustment to a cardboard mode. .

  In this configuration, since the image quality adjustment operation with relatively low noise is possible as an environment determined from the first threshold, for example, image quality adjustment that matches the office environment can be performed without causing discomfort to the user. Can maintain the silence.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, when the output value of the environment detection sensor unit is smaller than a second threshold value that is equal to or less than the first threshold value, the control unit sets the print mode when performing image quality adjustment to the normal mode. It is characterized by switching.

  In this configuration, the environment determined from the second threshold corresponds to, for example, the night when there are few people in the office, and since it is not necessary to pay attention to the silent adjustment, the image quality adjustment operation can be completed in a short time. Deterioration associated with the rotation of the agent can be suppressed.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the control unit may change a threshold value of the environment detection sensor used when switching the image quality adjustment speed.

  In this configuration, conditions that make the user feel uncomfortable vary depending on the usage status of the image forming apparatus, the environment of the office, and the like.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the environment detection sensor is a sound level meter or an illuminance meter.

  In this configuration, only a simple measuring instrument is provided, and no discomfort due to sound is given to the user.

  Also, the image quality adjustment method of the image forming apparatus of the present invention has a printing speed higher than that of the normal mode used when printing a recording medium having a normal thickness and the normal mode used when printing a recording medium having a thick recording medium. An image quality adjustment method for an image forming apparatus having an environment detection sensor unit that has a plurality of printing modes including a slow cardboard mode and detects an environment in which the image forming apparatus is installed. In this case, control is performed to switch the print mode for automatically adjusting the image quality based on the output value of the environment detection sensor unit.

  The program of the present invention includes a normal mode used when printing a recording medium having a normal thickness and a thick paper mode having a printing speed slower than the normal mode used when printing a recording medium having a thick recording medium. The image forming apparatus has an image quality adjustment period, and includes an environment detection sensor unit that detects an environment in which the image forming apparatus is installed. In this case, a control step of controlling to switch a print mode when automatically adjusting the image quality is realized based on an output value of the environment detection sensor unit.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention compares the noise generated by suddenly entering the image quality adjustment operation in a general office environment without surprise the user or causing discomfort. A quiet office environment can be maintained.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings for understanding of the present invention. In addition, the following embodiment is an example which actualized this invention, Comprising: It is not the thing of the character which limits the technical scope of this invention.

Embodiment
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 to which the present invention is applied. The image forming apparatus 100 is a printer that outputs image data input from the outside as a hard copy, and includes an apparatus for reading an image of a document, that is, a scanner (image reading apparatus), at the top of the printer. It also becomes a copier with a copy function.

  The image forming apparatus 100 includes an image forming unit including a sheet feeding unit 1 that stocks and supplies a sheet as a recording medium on which an image with toner is finally formed, a developing unit 11 that transfers and forms a toner image on the sheet, and the like. 2 and a fixing device 3 for fusing, fusing and fixing the toner image transferred to the paper.

  The paper feed unit 1 includes a paper feed tray 4 disposed at the bottom of the image forming apparatus 100, a paper feed roller 5 for sequentially feeding a large number of papers filled in the paper feed tray 4, and paper to be fed A separating member 6 or the like that restricts the lower part of the sheet and enables one sheet to be fed is provided. The paper fed by the paper feeding unit 1 is sent to the transfer position of the image forming unit 2 via a guide or the like. In the middle of being fed to the transfer position, a paper environment detection sensor 7 is provided to detect paper feeding.

  When the paper environment detection sensor 7 detects the leading edge of the paper, the detection signal is processed as a signal for starting an image forming operation in the image forming unit 2. This is a control process for matching the leading end of the toner image formed by the image forming unit 2 with the leading end of the paper, and drive control of the paper feed roller 5 and the like is executed in accordance with the timing.

  The image forming unit 2 is provided with a drum-shaped photoconductor 8 which is an image carrier for forming and carrying a toner image. The photoreceptor 8 is generally configured by coating a photoconductive layer on the surface of a conductive cylindrical drum. The photoconductor 8 may be formed not only in a drum shape but also in an endless belt shape.

  In the image forming unit 2, a charger 9, an exposure device 10, a developing device 11, a transfer device 12, a cleaning device 13, and the like are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 8. The charger 9 uniformly charges the surface of the photoreceptor 8. The exposure apparatus 10 emits a light image beam corresponding to the image data. The developing device 11 develops the electrostatic latent image formed by the irradiation of the light image with a toner as a visible image. The transfer device 12 includes an intermediate transfer roller 41, an intermediate transfer belt 42, a transfer roller 43, an intermediate transfer belt drive roller 44, and a belt cleaning device 45. The transfer device 12 transfers the formed toner image to the paper side. The cleaning device 13 cleans the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 8 after the transfer.

  A portion where the transfer roller 43 and the intermediate transfer belt drive roller 44 are pressed against each other is a transfer position, and a sheet fed from the sheet feeding unit 1 is fed under timing control.

  The exposure apparatus 10 irradiates the laser beam 20 at the exposure position of the photoconductor 8 by controlling the lighting and driving of the semiconductor laser in accordance with image data input from the other external apparatus to the image forming apparatus 100. For this purpose, the exposure apparatus 10 includes a light emitting unit 14, a scanning mirror 15, and reflecting mirrors 17 and 18 that control driving of the semiconductor laser in accordance with image data.

  The scanning mirror 15 is rotated at a high speed and a constant speed by a mirror motor. The laser beam 20 emitted from the light emitting unit 14 selectively exposes the surface of the photoreceptor 8 as an optical image corresponding to the image data. As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the irradiated laser beam is formed on the surface of the photoconductor 8 uniformly charged by the charger 9.

  The formed electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 8 is developed as a visible image with toner in the developing device 11 and becomes a toner image (developer image). The toner image is transferred onto the sheet by the action of the transfer roller 43 when the sheet fed from the sheet feeding unit 1 is conveyed to the transfer position. As described above, the sheet is detected by the sheet environment detection sensor 7, and the timing is controlled so that the leading end of the toner image formed on the photoconductor 8 and the leading end of the sheet coincide with each other, thereby driving the intermediate transfer belt. The roller 44 and the transfer roller 43 are conveyed to a transfer position where they are pressed against each other.

  The toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor 8 is intermediately transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 42 by applying a transfer bias from the intermediate transfer roller 41. The intermediately transferred toner image is conveyed to a transfer position where the intermediate transfer belt driving roller 44 and the transfer roller 43 are in pressure contact with each other.

  A part of the toner remains on the intermediate transfer belt 42 after the transfer. This residual toner is removed by the belt cleaning device 45. Accordingly, the intermediate transfer belt 42 can be prepared for the next intermediate transfer.

  After the intermediate transfer, a part of the toner remains on the surface of the photoconductor 8. This residual toner is removed by the cleaning device 13. Thus, the photoconductor 8 can be prepared for the next image formation.

  On the other hand, the transferred paper is peeled off from the photoconductor 8 and sent to the fixing device 3 disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction. The transferred toner image on the paper passes through the fixing device 3 and is conveyed, whereby the toner is dissolved and fixed on the paper surface.

  The sheet passing through the fixing device 3 is then discharged out of the image forming apparatus via discharge rollers 21 and 22 arranged along the discharge path. At that position, a paper discharge tray 23 is provided, and the paper is discharged with the image forming surface down. P1, P2, and P3 indicate the path of the sheet, and are routed through the sheet feeding unit 1, the transfer position, the fixing device 3, and the discharge rollers 21 and 22.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining in detail one configuration of the fixing device 3 in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The fixing device 3 includes a fixing roller (fixing unit) 31 having a heater lamp 33 formed of a halogen lamp as a heating source and a pressure roller 32 formed by pressing the fixing roller 31 with a predetermined pressure. It is configured.

  The fixing roller 31 has a configuration in which a coating layer 31b made of a material having a good releasability from toner is provided on a metal cylindrical core material 31a made of aluminum or carbon steel. The temperature of the surface of the fixing roller 31 is detected by a temperature environment detection sensor 34 such as a thermistor, and the heater lamp 33 is energized and controlled by a temperature control circuit (temperature control means) 152 so that the toner can be fixed. ing.

  In the fixing device 3 having such a configuration, the sheet P, which is a recording medium carrying the unfixed toner image Q, is passed through the pressure contact portion Wn between the fixing roller 31 and the pressure roller 32, whereby the toner image Q is transferred. It is melted on the paper P and fixed including pressure.

  Therefore, in the fixing device 3 having the above-described configuration, when the main power supply of the image forming apparatus 100 is turned on, energization to the heater lamp 33 is started so that the fixing temperature is set to a preset fixing temperature capable of fixing the toner. Start-up control is performed. As the start-up time until the fixing possible temperature is reached, if the image forming apparatus 100 is installed in a normal temperature and normal humidity state, the start-up time is set within a predetermined time range.

  FIG. 3 shows the relationship between printing speed and noise in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the image forming apparatus 100 of the present invention, two types of printing speeds of 225 mm / s and 125 mm / s are used. The printing speed of 225 mm / s is used when printing plain paper in the normal mode. On the other hand, 125 mm / s is used in the thick paper mode when printing thick paper thicker than plain paper. When printing on thick paper, the amount of heat for fixing toner on the paper is likely to be insufficient, so the printing speed is slower than in the normal mode.

  As can be seen, the apparatus noise is 5 dB lower in the cardboard mode than in the normal mode.

  In this test, a digital sound level meter OS-556 (manufactured by Testo Co., Ltd.) was used as a sound level meter, and measurement was performed at a point 1 m from the installation surface 1 m around the image forming apparatus.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. A ROM 120, a RAM 130, an image quality adjustment unit 140 (image quality adjustment unit), an input / output circuit 150, and an environment detection sensor 160 are connected to the control unit 110 via a bus.

  The control unit 110 is a functional unit that controls the image forming operation of the entire image forming apparatus 100. The control unit 110 implements various functions by reading and executing a program stored in the ROM 120. That is, the control unit 110 sequentially performs control for image forming operation by sequentially reading the programs stored in the ROM 120.

  In accordance with the ROM 120, data necessary for control and data for sequentially storing conditions for image formation are stored in the RAM 130. The role of the RAM 130 includes a storage area that constitutes a timer for performing image quality adjustment operations in this embodiment, a working area that stores input from the environment detection sensor, an area that stores image formation conditions, the number of output sheets, and the like. The progress of the image forming operation can be stored.

  The control unit 110 receives a signal from a sound level meter or an illuminance meter provided in the image forming apparatus 100, and stores the contents in a necessary area of the RAM 130 as necessary. Perform the adjustment operation. The temperature control circuit 152 starts energization to the heater lamp 33 by receiving an instruction of the fixing temperature from the control unit 110, and performs a process of raising the temperature of the fixing roller 31 to a fixable temperature. That is, the warm-up process is executed.

  When the surface temperature of the fixing roller 31 is input to the control unit 110 via the temperature environment detection sensor 34, the state is notified to the temperature control circuit 152 via the input / output circuit 150. In this case, a temperature detection signal from the temperature environment detection sensor 34 may be input to the temperature control circuit 39 so that the temperature control circuit 152 directly controls the temperature. Therefore, the temperature control circuit 152 can include a slave CPU and can control the control unit 110 as a master CPU.

  The RAM 130 stores a threshold table 132. The threshold value table 132 is a table that stores threshold values for comparison with the output value of the environment detection sensor 160. In the present embodiment, two noise levels are stored as shown in FIG. By using the first threshold (for example, “53 (db)”) and the second threshold (for example, “48 (dB)”), the control unit 110 determines the environment of the image forming apparatus 100. It will be.

  The temperature control circuit 152 controls the energization of the heater lamp 33 and is controlled to maintain the surface of the fixing roller 31 at a set temperature at which fixing can be performed according to the temperature detection state of the temperature environment detection sensor 34.

  A motor control circuit (drive member control means) 154 is provided for the temperature control circuit 152 to perform rotational drive control of the photoreceptor 8 and the fixing roller 31 of the fixing device 3 corresponding to the printing speed. The motor control circuit 154 switches the rotational drive (rotational speed) of the photoconductor 8 and the like according to an instruction from the control unit 110 when necessary according to the image quality adjustment operation.

  The motor control circuit 154 receives a control command from the control unit 110, for example, a drive start command, and controls the image forming process factor to rotate. The rotation speed at this time is set to a speed related to the sound and illuminance of the surrounding environment. That is, when the output value of the environment detection sensor is greater than a predetermined value (threshold value), image quality adjustment is performed at a slow speed when transporting thick paper.

  The image quality adjustment unit 140 is a part that adjusts the image quality of a print image, and performs an image quality adjustment operation when the image forming apparatus 100 is turned on, warmed up, or when a predetermined number of sheets are printed.

  The environment detection sensor 160 is disposed, for example, near the back surface of the image forming apparatus 100. Here, by changing the threshold value of the environment detection sensor 160 according to the usage status of the user's device, it is possible to perform image quality adjustment that matches the actual usage status of the office or the like.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the image quality adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, when an image quality adjustment operation signal is received from the apparatus main body memory (step S10), the surrounding environment is detected, and whether or not the detected value of the environment detection sensor 160 is smaller than the first threshold, specifically, the noise level is (Step S12). At that time, if the noise level is equal to or higher than the first threshold value stored in the threshold value table 132, it is considered that many people are working in the surroundings and there is no problem even if making a loud noise. Is set to the normal mode (Step S12; No → Step S14).

  When it is determined that the detection value of the environment detection sensor 160 is smaller than the first threshold (step S12; Yes), it is next determined whether or not the detection value of the environment detection sensor is smaller than the second threshold (step S16). . Therefore, if it is larger than the second threshold value, it is considered that the office is in a moderately quiet environment. Therefore, the speed of the thick paper mode is set instead of making a loud sound (Step S16; No → Step S18). On the other hand, if it is smaller than the second threshold (step S16; Yes), it is considered that the office is extremely quiet or unattended, so the speed is set to the normal mode (step S20).

  Thereafter, an image quality adjustment operation is executed (step S22), and the image forming apparatus 100 is stopped and terminated (step S24).

  Finally, the description of the above-described embodiment is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. For example, instead of the environment detection sensor 160 detecting noise, the same control can be performed using an illuminometer.

  In the above-described embodiment, the threshold value table 132 has been described as having two threshold values stored. However, in addition to the noise level described in the embodiment, for example, Temperature using a thermometer) may be used, or finer control may be performed using a third threshold value, a fourth threshold value, or the like.

  In the above-described embodiment, the first threshold value and the second threshold value stored in the threshold value table 132 have been described as being stored in advance. However, it is possible that a user, a serviceman, or the like can be changed. Of course. By changing the threshold value, conditions that make the user feel uncomfortable differ depending on the use state of the image forming apparatus, the office environment, and the like, and therefore, it is possible to cope with setting a threshold value that matches the site.

  Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. 1 is a diagram illustrating one configuration of a fixing device in an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the printing speed and the noise in the image forming apparatus in this embodiment. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a data structure of the threshold value table in this embodiment. 5 is a flowchart of a control operation of the image forming apparatus in the present embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image forming apparatus 1 Paper feed part 2 Image forming part 3 Fixing apparatus 4 Paper feed tray 5 Paper feed roller 6 Separating member 7 Paper environment detection sensor 8 Photoconductor 9 Charger 10 Exposure device 11 Developing device 12 Transfer device 13 Cleaning device 14 Light emitting unit 15 Scanning mirror 17, 18 Reflection mirror 20 Laser beam 21, 22 Discharge roller 23 Discharge tray 23 Fixing roller 31a Core material 31b Cover layer 32 Pressure roller 33 Heater lamp 34 Temperature environment detection sensor 41 Intermediate roller 42 Intermediate transfer belt 43 Transfer Roller 44 Intermediate Transfer Belt Work Drive Roller 45 Belt Cleaning Device 110 Control Unit 120 ROM
130 RAM
132 Threshold Table 140 Image Quality Adjustment Unit 150 Input / Output Circuit 152 Temperature Control Circuit 154 Motor Control Circuit 160 Environment Detection Sensor

Claims (7)

Image forming apparatus having a plurality of printing modes, a normal mode used when printing a recording medium having a normal thickness and a thick paper mode having a printing speed slower than the normal mode used when printing a recording medium having a thick recording medium In
An environment detection sensor unit for detecting an environment in which the image forming apparatus is installed;
A control unit that performs control to switch a print mode when performing image quality adjustment automatically based on an output value of the environment detection sensor unit when the image forming apparatus has reached an image quality adjustment time;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the output value of the environment detection sensor unit is smaller than a first threshold, the control unit switches a print mode for image quality adjustment to a cardboard mode.   3. The control unit according to claim 2, wherein when the output value of the environment detection sensor unit is smaller than a second threshold value that is equal to or less than a first threshold value, the control unit switches the print mode for image quality adjustment to a normal mode. The image forming apparatus described.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit can change a threshold value of the environment detection sensor used when switching an image quality adjustment speed.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the environment detection sensor is a sound level meter or an illuminance meter. It has multiple print modes, a normal mode used when printing a recording medium with a normal thickness, and a thick paper mode with a slower printing speed than the normal mode used when printing a recording medium with a thick recording medium. In an image quality adjustment method for an image forming apparatus including an environment detection sensor unit that detects an environment in which the forming apparatus is installed,
An image quality of the image forming apparatus, wherein when the image forming apparatus reaches an image quality adjustment time, control is performed to switch a print mode when performing image quality adjustment automatically based on an output value of the environment detection sensor unit. Adjustment method. It has multiple print modes, a normal mode used when printing a recording medium with a normal thickness, and a thick paper mode with a slower printing speed than the normal mode used when printing a recording medium with a thick recording medium. In a program for functioning image quality adjustment of an image forming apparatus including an environment detection sensor unit that detects an environment in which the forming apparatus is installed,
A program for realizing a control step of performing control to switch a print mode when performing image quality adjustment automatically based on an output value of the environment detection sensor unit when the image forming apparatus has reached an image quality adjustment time.

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