JP2010026276A - Image forming apparatus, and method of determining state of waste toner collecting container thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus enabling an operator to perform exact processing for a waste toner collecting container (hereinafter simply referred to as container) just by monitoring rotation of an encoder without adding a dedicated sensor, and to provide a method of determining a state of the container thereof. <P>SOLUTION: In a mechanism where a rotary shaft of a waste toner carrying-in screw incorporated in the container is coupled with an encoder on an apparatus part side when the container is attached to an attaching part, the encoder does not rotate if the container is not attached to the attaching part, and the encoder rotates normally if the new empty container is attached to the attaching part. In the mechanism, when the container is nearly full of waste toner, a notice that the container should be exchanged is given, on the basis of a delay of the rotation of the encoder, when the delay of the rotation of the encoder is detected after detecting that the container is attached to the attaching part by confirmation in an early stage of operation, and when the stop of the rotation of the encoder is detected, an instruction that the container should be exchanged because it is full of the waste toner is given if the notice has been already given, and a warning that a connection state of the container should be confirmed is given if the notice has not been given yet. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a waste toner collection container used for electrophotographic image formation and collecting waste toner remaining without being transferred to an image forming member, and a state determination method for the waste toner collection container.

  In recent years, image forming apparatuses such as electrophotographic copying machines and printers using toner are rapidly spreading. An image forming apparatus using such toner inevitably generates waste toner. For this reason, a waste toner collection container for collecting the waste toner is detachably provided at an appropriate place in the main body apparatus. It is common.

  Normally, when the waste toner collecting container is filled with waste toner, it is necessary to replace it with an empty new one. Therefore, as a method for detecting whether or not the waste toner collection container is attached and for detecting whether or not the waste toner collection container is full of waste toner, there is a method of measuring the rotation state of the encoder linked to the attached waste toner collection container with a sensor. It has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In this method, when the waste toner collection container is attached to the attachment portion, the rotation shaft of the waste toner carrying screw incorporated in the waste toner collection container is engaged with the encoder on the attachment portion side, and the waste toner collection container is attached to the attachment portion. The encoder does not rotate when it is not installed, the encoder rotates normally when a new empty waste toner collection container is installed in the installation section, and the waste toner collection container is almost full of waste toner. In this case, the state of the waste toner collecting container is determined by detecting that the rotation of the waste toner carrying screw becomes sluggish due to the load of waste toner, that is, the rotation of the encoder is delayed.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-257813 (FIGS. 3 and 4)

  By the way, when the amount of waste toner collected in the waste toner collection container is almost full, the resistance to the conveyance screw increases and the conveyance screw rotation becomes dull, that is, the rotation of the encoder is delayed, but the waste toner is continuously collected. The load further increases, and when the limit value is exceeded, the rotation of the conveying screw finally stops.

  For this reason, it is not possible to distinguish between when the waste toner collection container is not installed and when the waste toner collection container is full, and there remains a problem that the operator cannot be notified of accurate information on the state of the waste toner collection container. It was.

  In order to solve this problem, a dedicated sensor that individually detects whether the waste toner collection container is installed and whether it is full beyond the limit is required, which increases the device manufacturing cost. It becomes a factor.

  In addition, since the above detection method utilizes the fact that the rotation of the encoder is delayed and becomes unstable due to a load due to waste toner, in some cases, the waste toner may be affected by vibration or other shock even in a nearly full state. In some cases, the accumulation state of the waste toner is averaged in the collection container, and it is determined that the rotation of the encoder is not a delay, so that fullness is not detected.

  Thereafter, if it takes time until the delay occurs and the judgment of fullness may be delayed, not only the accurate state cannot be notified, but also waste toner may spill outside and stain the inside of the machine.

  In addition, since the waste toner collection container can be attached and detached, even if the waste toner collection container is correctly installed in the initial state, the drive unit is connected with the apparatus main body for some reason while it is driven. In rare cases, the waste toner collection container is disconnected. In this case, the rotation of the encoder is stopped, so that a correct determination cannot be made.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that allows an operator to perform accurate processing on a waste toner collecting container by simply monitoring the rotation of an encoder without adding a dedicated sensor in view of the above-described conventional situation. And a method for determining the state of the waste toner collecting container.

  First, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the waste toner collection container is attached to the attachment portion, the rotation shaft of the waste toner carrying screw incorporated in the waste toner collection container is connected to the encoder on the device portion side. When the waste toner collection container is not attached to the attachment portion, the encoder does not rotate, and when a new empty waste toner collection container is attached to the attachment portion. When the encoder rotates normally and the waste toner collecting container is almost full of waste toner, the encoder detects that the rotation is delayed by the waste toner load that is nearly full, and An image forming apparatus for determining a state of a toner collection container, wherein after detecting that the waste toner collection container is attached to the attachment unit in the initial operation check, the rotation delay of the encoder is detected. When the detection is detected, the notification means for giving a notification indicating that the waste toner collection container is about to be replaced, and when the advance notification is already detected when the rotation stop of the encoder is detected, Instructions / warnings that indicate the meaning of “replacement when the collection container is full”, and warning notifications that mean “confirmation of connection status of waste toner recovery container” if the above notice is not given And means.

  The advance notice unit is configured to maintain the advance notice even when normal rotation of the encoder is detected after the advance notice has been performed, for example.

In addition, the image forming apparatus is configured to further include an operation stop unit that stops the operation of the apparatus when the instruction / warning notification unit performs the instruction notification or the warning notification, for example.
Next, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a waste toner collecting container state determining method, wherein when the waste toner collecting container is mounted on the mounting portion, the rotation shaft of the waste toner carrying screw incorporated in the waste toner collecting container In an image forming apparatus having a mechanism connected to an encoder, when the waste toner collection container is not attached to the mounting portion, the encoder does not rotate, and a new empty waste toner collection container is attached to the attachment portion. When mounted, the encoder rotates normally, and when the waste toner collection container is nearly full of waste toner, the encoder is delayed by the load of waste toner that is nearly full. A waste toner recovery container state determination method for detecting and determining the state of the waste toner recovery container, and detecting whether the waste toner recovery container is attached to the attachment part in the initial operation check. In step (b), when a rotation delay of the encoder is detected, a notification step for giving a notification indicating that the waste toner collection container is about to be replaced, and when the rotation stop of the encoder is detected, the notification is already performed. If it is not, the instruction notification that means “replacement when the waste toner collection container is full” is sent, and if the above notice is not given, the content that means “confirmation of the connection status of the waste toner collection container” is sent. An instruction / warning notification process for performing warning notification is included.

  The notice notification step is configured to maintain the notice notification even when normal rotation of the encoder is detected after the notice notification, for example.

  The waste toner collecting container state determination method may further include, for example, a step of stopping the operation of the apparatus when the instruction notification or the warning notification is performed in the instruction / warning notification step. .

  According to the present invention, an image forming apparatus capable of performing an accurate process on a waste toner collection container and an operator of the waste toner collection container by simply monitoring the rotation of the encoder without adding a dedicated sensor. It is possible to provide a state determination method.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal configuration of a color image forming apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer) that forms an image using a non-magnetic one-component toner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  A printer 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an electrophotographic secondary transfer tandem color image forming apparatus, and includes an image forming unit 2, an intermediate transfer belt unit 3, a paper feeding unit 4, and a duplex printing conveyance unit 5. It consists of

  The image forming unit 2 has a configuration in which four image forming units 6 (6M, 6C, 6Y, and 6K) are arranged in a multistage manner from right to left in FIG.

  Of the four image forming units 6, three image forming units 6M, 6C and 6Y on the upstream side (the right side in the figure) are magenta (M), cyan (C) and yellow (subtractive three primary colors, respectively). A mono-color image is formed with the color toner of Y), and the image forming unit 6K forms a monochrome image with black (K) toner mainly used for dark portions of characters and images.

  Each of the image forming units 6 has the same configuration except for the color of the toner stored in the toner container (toner cartridge). Accordingly, the configuration of the black (K) image forming unit 6K will be described below as an example.

  The image forming unit 6 includes a photosensitive drum 7 at the bottom. The peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 7 is made of, for example, an organic photoconductive material. A cleaner 8, a charging roller 9, an optical writing head 11, and a developing roller 13 of the developing device 12 are arranged around the periphery of the photosensitive drum 7.

  The developing device 12 puts one of magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y), and black (K) toners in the upper toner container as indicated by M, C, Y, and K in the drawing. An intermediate portion is provided with a toner replenishing mechanism for the lower portion.

  In addition, the developing roller 13 is provided in the lower portion of the developing device 12 at the side opening, and includes a toner stirring member, a toner supply roller for supplying toner to the developing roller 13, and a toner layer on the developing roller 13 as a fixed layer. It has a doctor blade that regulates the thickness.

  The intermediate transfer belt unit 3 has an endless transfer belt 14 extending in a flat loop shape from substantially the left and right sides of the figure at the approximate center of the main unit, and the transfer belt 14 is stretched over the transfer belt 14. A driving roller 15 and a driven roller 16 are provided to circulate and move the belt 14 counterclockwise in the drawing.

  The transfer belt 14 transfers the toner image directly onto the belt surface (primary transfer) and conveys the toner image to the transfer position to the paper for further transfer (secondary transfer). The whole is called an intermediate transfer belt unit.

  The intermediate transfer belt unit 3 includes a belt position control mechanism 17 in the loop of the flat loop-shaped transfer belt 14. The belt position control mechanism 17 includes a primary transfer roller 18 made of a conductive foam sponge that presses against the lower peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 7 via the transfer belt 14.

  The belt position control mechanism 17 has three primary transfer rollers 18 corresponding to the three image forming units 6M, 6C, and 6Y of magenta (M), cyan (C), and yellow (Y) as vertical support shafts. Rotate to the center with the same period.

  Then, the belt position control mechanism 17 rotates and moves one primary transfer roller 18 corresponding to the black (K) image forming unit 6K at a rotational movement cycle different from the cycle of the three primary transfer rollers 18. The belt 14 is moved away from the photosensitive drum 7.

  That is, the belt position control mechanism 17 moves the position of the transfer belt 14 of the intermediate transfer belt unit 3 to full color mode (all four primary transfer rollers 18 are in contact with the transfer belt 14), monochrome mode (to the image forming unit 6K). Only the corresponding primary transfer roller 18 is in contact with the transfer belt 14) and all non-transfer modes (all four primary transfer rollers 18 are separated from the transfer belt 14).

  In the intermediate transfer belt unit 3, a belt cleaner unit is disposed further upstream of the uppermost image forming unit 6M on the upstream side in the belt movement direction, and is flat and thin so as to be substantially along the entire lower surface. The waste toner collection container 19 is detachably disposed.

  The paper feed unit 4 includes two paper feed cassettes 21 arranged in two upper and lower stages, and in the vicinity of the paper feed opening (right side in the figure) of the two paper feed cassettes 21, respectively, A feeding roller 23, a separating roller 24, and a standby conveying roller pair 25 are disposed.

  In the paper conveyance direction (vertical upward direction in the figure) of the standby conveyance roller pair 25, a secondary transfer roller 26 that is in pressure contact with the driven roller 16 via the transfer belt 14 is disposed, and the secondary transfer portion to the paper is arranged. Forming.

  A belt-type heat fixing device 27 is disposed downstream (upward in the drawing) of the secondary transfer portion, and the sheet after fixing is fixed to the belt-type heat fixing device 27 further downstream of the belt-type heat fixing device 27. A pair of carry-out rollers 28 for carrying out the paper and a pair of paper discharge rollers 31 for discharging the carried paper to a paper discharge tray 29 formed on the upper surface of the apparatus are disposed.

  The duplex printing conveyance unit 5 includes a start return path 32a that branches from the intermediate conveyance path between the carry-out roller pair 28 and the discharge roller pair 31 to the right lateral direction in the drawing, and then an intermediate return path 32b that bends downward. A terminal return path 32c that bends in the left lateral direction opposite to the above and eventually reverses the return sheet, and four return roller pairs 33a, 33b, 33c, and 33d arranged in the middle of these return paths are provided. ing.

  The exit of the end return path 32 c communicates with a conveyance path to the pair of standby conveyance rollers 25 corresponding to the sheet feeding cassette 21 below the sheet feeding unit 4.

  In this example, a cleaning unit 35 and a take-in roller 36 are disposed on the upper surface of the intermediate transfer belt unit 3.

  The cleaning unit 35 comes into contact with the upper surface of the transfer belt 14 and scrapes and removes the waste toner. The take-in roller 36 takes over the waste toner removed by the cleaning unit 35 and is not shown in the drawing, and is temporarily stored in the belt cleaner unit. The accumulated waste toner is conveyed to the upper part in the dropping cylinder by a conveying screw and sent to the waste toner collecting container 19 through the dropping cylinder. The waste toner collecting container 19 has the same configuration as that shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the prior art.

  Further, in order to bring the cleaning unit 35 into pressure contact with the transfer belt 14 with an appropriate pressure, a pressure roller 37 is provided on the intermediate transfer belt unit 3 side to press the transfer belt 14 toward the cleaning unit 35 from below. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 does not directly transfer a toner image onto a conventional sheet, but an intermediate transfer belt on a sheet that is vertically conveyed to a secondary transfer unit by a standby conveyance roller pair 25. 14 is a method of transferring a toner image through the image forming apparatus 14.

  Therefore, it is possible to cope with a maintenance process for recovering from a problem such as a paper jam occurring in the paper transport path by simply opening the right side of FIG.

  In addition, since troubles such as paper jam do not occur in the arrangement section of the kits, the operation for attaching and detaching consumables such as the kits concentrated on the left side of FIG. 1 may be a small space that can be replaced in the longitudinal direction. It is configured as follows.

  Thereby, the dimension between kits is reduced as much as possible, and size reduction of the whole apparatus main body is achieved. Further, the optical writing head itself is also miniaturized and is configured closer to the photosensitive drum.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an internal circuit configuration in the printer 1 having the above-described configuration. As shown in the figure, the circuit includes an interface (I / F) 40, a printer controller 41, an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable ROM) 42, a ROM (read only memory) 43, an operation panel 44, and a head controller 45. ing.

  The printer controller unit 41 includes a temperature / humidity sensor 46 disposed at an appropriate position inside the main body device 1 and waste toner disposed in a mounting portion formed on the main body device 1 side of the waste toner collection container 19. A sensor 47 is connected.

  The waste toner sensor 47 is composed of a light reflection type or light transmission type optical sensor, and detects the rotation of an encoder that engages with a rotation shaft of a waste toner carry-in screw built in the waste toner collection container 19 in the mounting portion. The detection pulse signal is output to the printer controller 41.

  The waste toner carry-in screw, that is, the encoder, does not rotate when the waste toner collection container 19 is not attached to the attachment part, and rotates normally when an empty new waste toner collection container 19 is attached to the attachment part. As the waste toner in the waste toner collection container 19 is almost full, the rotation is decelerated due to the load of the waste toner, and the rotation is stopped when the waste toner in the waste toner collection container 19 is full.

  Although not shown in FIG. 1, a high voltage unit 48 including a high voltage power source is connected. The high-voltage unit 48 includes a plus or minus high-voltage power source that supplies a predetermined bias voltage to the charging roller 9, the developing roller 13, the primary transfer roller 18, the secondary transfer roller 26, and the like.

  Further, the four optical writing heads 11 shown in FIG. 1 are connected to the other head controller unit 45.

  The interface (I / F) 40 inputs print data sent from a host device (not shown), outputs image data in the print data to the head controller unit 45, and sends commands in the print data to the printer controller unit. 41 is output.

  The EEPROM 42 stores the temperature and humidity in the apparatus, an encoder rotation pulse (to be described later), a warning flag, a waste toner recovery amount after warning, and the like. The ROM 43 stores a print program and a control program.

  Although not particularly shown, the head controller unit 45 includes a frame memory composed of four areas corresponding to yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). The head controller unit 45 creates bitmap data of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) based on image data input from the interface (I / F) 40.

  The yellow (Y) bitmap data is stored in the yellow (Y) storage area of the frame memory, and the magenta (M) bitmap data is stored in the magenta (M) storage area of the frame memory. The bitmap data C) is stored in the cyan (C) storage area of the frame memory, and the black (K) bitmap data is stored in the black (K) storage area of the frame memory.

  The printer controller unit 41 is a central control unit including a CPU that performs print control and system control of the printer 1 of the present embodiment. Although not particularly illustrated, numerical values such as a time counter, a print number counter, and an actual print dot number counter are provided. A counter, a register, and the like are incorporated, and each part is controlled according to a program stored in the ROM 43.

  The printer controller 41 inputs an operation signal from a key operation unit (not shown) provided on the operation panel 44, and also outputs a display signal to a display unit (not shown).

  The printer controller 41 sends a print command to the head for each of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) based on a command supplied from the interface (I / F) 40. Output to the controller unit 45.

  Based on the print command, the head controller unit 45 supplies yellow (Y) print data to the optical writing head 11 of the image forming unit 6K, and sends magenta (M) print data to the light of the image forming unit 6M. Supply to the writing head 11, supply cyan (C) print data to the optical writing head 11 of the image forming unit 6C, and supply black (K) print data to the optical writing head 11 of the image forming unit 6K. To do. Each color is printed by each image forming unit 6.

  The head controller unit 45 supplies the print data to each optical writing head 11 and notifies the printer controller unit 41 of the actual number of print dots. Based on the actual number of print dots, the amount of waste toner generated on the transfer belt 14 is estimated, and the amount of waste toner collected after the advance notice is calculated.

  As described above, the waste toner carry-in screw of the waste toner collection container 19, that is, the encoder on the mounting portion side of the main body device 1 does not rotate when the waste toner collection container 19 is not attached to the attachment portion. When the waste toner collection container 19 is attached to the attachment portion, it rotates normally. As the waste toner in the attached waste toner collection container 19 becomes almost full, the rotation is decelerated due to the load of the waste toner, and the waste toner collection is completed. The rotation stops when the waste toner in the container 19 is fully filled.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart of processing for determining the state of the waste toner collection container 19 by the printer controller 41 based on the output of the waste toner sensor 47 that detects the rotation of the encoder.

  This process is executed as an interrupt process with a predetermined cycle when power is input. The output signal of the waste toner sensor 47 that detects the rotation of the encoder is simply referred to as “pulse”.

  In the process shown in FIG. 3, first, it is determined whether or not the pulse is stopped (no pulse is generated) (step S01). If a pulse is generated (S01 is No), it is further determined whether or not the pulse is delayed from a normal cycle (step S02).

  If it is not delayed (No in S02), it is determined that the encoder is rotating at a normal speed without decelerating, and then it is determined whether or not a notice is being given (step S06).

  This process is performed when a notice for notifying that the time for replacement of a later-described waste toner collection container 19 with a new one is approaching is displayed on the operation panel when the pulse is delayed from the normal value in the determination of the pulse. This is a process for determining whether or not it has been performed.

  If the notice is not in progress (No in S06), the process is terminated because everything is normal. In this way, if the encoder is rotating at a normal speed and is not being notified, it is determined that a new or relatively new waste toner collecting container 19 is mounted on the mounting portion.

  After the above-mentioned notice, the accumulated state of the waste toner is averaged in the waste toner collection container due to shock such as vibration, and the rotation of the encoder may not be slow enough to be judged as a delay. In preparation for such a case, even if the encoder is rotating at a normal speed, it is determined in step S06 whether or not a notice is being given.

  If it is determined in step S06 that the advance notice is being made (S06 is Yes), the encoder rotation is not slow enough to be determined to be a delay, but the encoder rotation is not performed in the previous processing cycle. It is judged that the delay has occurred, and a notice is given that the time for replacement of the waste toner collection container 19 with a new one is approaching.

  In that case, the display of the notice of “Replacement notice” (replacement notice) on the operation panel is continued as it is (step S04), and the measurement result of the amount of waste toner collected after the notice is stored in the EEPROM 42 (step S05). ), The process is terminated.

  In this way, once the “replacement notice” is issued, the advance notice is continuously issued even if the deceleration of the encoder pulse is not detected during the initial process or printing after returning from the power interruption. be able to.

  In addition, even if the collection amount after the notice has reached the specified value in this way, if the encoder is not decelerated, it will not be considered full and the notice will be displayed continuously. It is assumed that a sufficiently large value is set for the accommodation amount from the deceleration (near full) of the encoder to the stop (exceeding the limit amount).

  The amount of waste toner collected is measured by measuring the number of printed sheets for each size, converting the result of measurement to the number of sheets of the standard size, and the developing density developed on the transfer belt 14 is an average printing density of 5%. The amount of waste toner generated in this case is calculated based on a known amount.

  If it is determined in step S02 that the rotation of the encoder is slow, that is, the pulse is delayed (S2 Yes), then whether or not the amount of waste toner collected after the notice has reached a specified value is determined. It discriminate | determines (step S03).

  This determination is a process of determining whether or not the waste toner collection amount calculated after the previous notice has reached a collection limit amount (specified value) set in the waste toner collection container 19 in advance.

  If the calculated amount of waste toner collected has not reached the specified value (No in S03), if the pulse delay detection in step S02 is the first detection, the waste toner is displayed on the operation panel in step S04. The display of the notice of “Kankan Yokoku” (replacement notice) that informs the operator that the replacement time of the collection container 19 is near is performed as the first display. In step S05, measurement of the amount of waste toner collected after the notice is started.

  Further, when the pulse delay detection in step S02 is not the first detection, the notice notification notification “Kankan Yokukoku” is displayed on the operation panel as a continuation of the display in step S04. In step S05, the measurement result of the amount of waste toner collected after the notice is stored in the EEPROM 42.

  As described above, when the pulse delay is detected, the notice notification notification “Kankan Yokukoku” continues to be displayed not only in the first detection but also in the second and subsequent detections.

  If it is determined in step S01 that the pulse is stopped (S01 is Yes), it is subsequently determined whether initial processing is being performed when the power is turned on or when the covers are opened and closed (step S01). S07).

  When the initial process is in progress (Yes in S07), the operator determines that the waste toner collection container 19 is not attached to the attachment portion at the time of initialization, and the waste toner collection container 19 is displayed on the display device of the operation panel 44. Is displayed to indicate the confirmation of the connection state, a warning is given to the operator (step S12), the entire apparatus is stopped (step S11), and the process is terminated.

  However, even if the entire device is stopped, the drive of the rotational drive unit and other mechanical operation units is stopped, and the electric circuit such as the display on the operation panel 44 and the detection of events such as input keys is stopped. do not do.

  If it is determined in step S07 that the initial process is not being performed (No in S07), it is in the printing mode. Therefore, it is further determined whether or not a notice is being given (step S08). This process is a process of determining whether or not the notice notification notification “Kankan Yokukoku” performed in the process of step S04 is being displayed.

  When the notice is not in progress (S08 is No), the pulse is stopped when the printing should be normally executed, so that the connection with the mounting portion of the waste toner collecting container 19 is incompletely mounted at the initial stage. Or, it is determined that the rotation is stopped due to the occurrence of a connection failure due to vibration or the like.

  In this case as well, in step S12, the operator is warned with a display of “SOAKAKU KANIN”, which means confirmation of the connection state of the waste toner collection container 19, and in step S11, the entire apparatus is stopped and the process is terminated.

  As described above, when the stop of the rotation of the pulse is detected not only during the initial processing but also during normal printing other than during the initial processing, the confirmation of the connection state of the waste toner collecting container 19 is warned. It is possible to prompt the operator for accurate processing.

  If it is determined in step S08 that the advance notice is in progress (S08 is Yes), it is determined that the encoder has stopped rotating due to the load of the loading screw being exceeded due to the waste toner being full, and the waste toner collection container 19 is A “man pie” warning notification that informs that the toner is full is displayed, prompting the operator to replace the new waste toner collecting container 19 (step S10), and the entire apparatus is stopped in step S11 to perform processing. Exit.

  As described above, when the rotation stoppage is detected during the end of the life (replacement time) of the waste toner collection container 19 including the initial process, the stop is caused by the excess load of the loading screw due to the waste toner collection container 19 being full of waste toner. Judgment is made and full is notified.

  Thereby, it can continue to be used after the occurrence of the advance notice, and even if the collection is continued beyond the specified capacity, further collection can be prevented and the operator can be prompted to perform accurate processing.

  In the above embodiment, the condition for determining whether the waste toner collecting container is full is the amount of waste toner collected after the replacement notice, but it may be set by a simple count value of the number of printed sheets. Also, instead of detecting the rotation delay of the encoder, if the waste toner collection amount (calculated value) after replacement of a new waste toner collection container exceeds a certain amount (for example, 70%) or more, it is being notified. Also good.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal configuration of a color image forming apparatus (printer) that forms an image using a nonmagnetic one-component toner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 2 is a diagram illustrating an internal circuit configuration of the printer according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of processing for determining a state of a waste toner collection container by a printer controller based on an output of a waste toner sensor that detects rotation of an encoder in the printer according to the first embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Image forming device (printer)
2 Image forming unit 3 Intermediate transfer belt unit 4 Paper feeding unit 5 Double-sided printing transport unit 6 (6M, 6C, 6Y, 6K) Image forming unit 7 (7m, 7c, 7y, 7k) Photosensitive drum 8 Cleaner 9 Charging roller DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Optical writing head 12 Developing device 13 Developing roller 14 Transfer belt 15 Drive roller 16 Driven roller 17 Belt position control mechanism 18 Primary transfer roller 19 Waste toner collection container 21 Paper feed cassette 22 Paper take-out roller 23 Feeding roller 24 Rolling roller 25 Standby conveying roller pair 26 Secondary transfer roller 27 Belt-type heat fixing device 28 Unloading roller pair 29 Paper discharge tray 31 Paper discharge roller pair 32a Start return path 32b Intermediate return path 32c End return path 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d Return roller pair 35 Cleaning part 36 Pick-up roller 37 Pressing low La

Claims (6)

In the image forming apparatus provided with a mechanism in which when the waste toner collection container is attached to the attachment unit, a rotation shaft of a waste toner carry-in screw built in the waste toner collection container is connected to the encoder on the apparatus unit side, the waste toner collection The encoder does not rotate when the container is not attached to the attachment part, and the encoder rotates normally when a new empty waste toner collection container is attached to the attachment part, and the waste toner collection An image forming apparatus for detecting the state of the waste toner collecting container by detecting that the encoder is delayed by a load of waste toner that is nearly full when the container is nearly full of waste toner. There,
After detecting that the waste toner collection container is mounted on the mounting portion in the initial operation check,
A notifying device for notifying the user that the content means “replacement of waste toner collection container” when detecting the rotation delay of the encoder;
When the notice of the rotation of the encoder is detected, if the notice is already given, an instruction notice that means “replace when the waste toner collecting container is full” is given, and if the notice is not given An instruction / warning notification means for performing a warning notification of the content meaning “confirmation of connection state of waste toner collecting container”;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein after the advance notice is given, the advance notice is maintained even if a normal rotation of the encoder is detected.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an operation stop unit that stops operation of the apparatus when the instruction / warning notification unit performs the instruction notification or the warning notification. In the image forming apparatus provided with a mechanism in which when the waste toner collection container is attached to the attachment unit, a rotation shaft of a waste toner carry-in screw built in the waste toner collection container is connected to the encoder on the apparatus unit side, the waste toner collection The encoder does not rotate when the container is not attached to the attachment part, and the encoder rotates normally when a new empty waste toner collection container is attached to the attachment part, and the waste toner collection When the container is almost full of waste toner, the waste toner collection container determines the state of the waste toner collection container by detecting that the encoder is delayed in rotation due to the load of waste toner becoming full. The state determination method of
After detecting that the waste toner collection container is mounted on the mounting portion in the initial operation check,
A notifying step for notifying the content that means "replacement of waste toner collection container" when a rotation delay of the encoder is detected;
When the notice of the rotation of the encoder is detected, if the notice is already given, an instruction notice that means “replace when the waste toner collecting container is full” is given, and if the notice is not given An instruction / warning notification process for performing a warning notification with the meaning of “confirmation of connection state of waste toner collection container”;
A method for determining the state of a waste toner collection container, comprising:   5. The state of the waste toner collection container according to claim 4, wherein the notice notification step maintains the notice notice even when a normal rotation of the encoder is detected after the notice notice. Judgment method.   5. The waste toner collection container state determination method according to claim 4, further comprising a step of stopping the operation of the apparatus when the instruction notification or the warning notification is performed in the instruction / warning notification step.