JP2011158895A - Image forming apparatus and color material controlling method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus that would not be disadvantageous with respect to a user, who concurrently uses a recommended color material and a generic color material. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes a control unit which detects, when a cartridge accommodating a color material is to be replaced, whether the newly attached cartridge accommodates a recommended color material or accommodates a generic color material. If the color material of the new cartridge is different from the color material of the toner cartridge before replacing, the control unit temporarily stops initiating a supply of the color material from the new cartridge; and initiates the supply of the color material from the new cartridge, on the condition that the color material supplied from the cartridge before the replace do not remain inside the apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

   Embodiments described herein relate generally to an image forming apparatus and a color material management method.

  The toner cartridge of the image forming apparatus is a consumable part. When the toner runs out, it needs to be replaced with a new toner cartridge. This toner cartridge includes a cartridge provided by the image forming apparatus manufacturer (recommended product) and a toner cartridge provided by a company other than the image forming apparatus manufacturer (general product).

  The recommended toner and the general toner are not exactly the same, and the print quality and the like differ between the recommended product and the general product. Therefore, in order to keep the recommended product and the general product at the same print quality, it is preferable to perform different controls such as changing the cleaning frequency.

  JP 2005-115054 A

  Immediately after the replacement of the toner cartridge, the toner in the toner cartridge before replacement remains in the developing unit and in the toner transport path. That is, when the toner cartridge is replaced from the recommended product to the general product and from the general product to the recommended product, the recommended toner and the general toner may be mixed in the image forming apparatus. There is.

  As described above, when the recommended toner and the general toner are mixed, appropriate processing cannot always be performed, and the print quality is deteriorated.

  For this reason, the embodiment of the present invention prevents the recommended product toner and the general product toner from being mixed in the developing device, and causes a disadvantage for the user who uses both the recommended product toner cartridge and the general product toner cartridge. An object of the present invention is to provide a non-image forming apparatus.

  An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a mounting unit for a cartridge that stores a color material, and whether the cartridge mounted to the mounting unit is a first cartridge that stores a first color material. A storage unit for storing current cartridge information as to whether the second cartridge contains a second color material different from the material, and when the current cartridge mounted on the mounting unit is replaced with a new cartridge, The current cartridge information is read from the storage unit, and a new cartridge is determined based on the current cartridge information read from the storage unit. If the new cartridge is different from the current cartridge, the color material supplied from the current cartridge The supply of color material from a new cartridge is temporarily stopped while the color material supplied from the cartridge is Characterized by comprising a control unit for performing an instruction to start the supply of the coloring material from the new cartridge to be determined not to remain in 置内.

1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a processing unit of an image forming apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. 6 is a flowchart when a toner cartridge is mounted in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 9 is a flowchart when a toner cartridge is attached to the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an image forming apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes an image reading unit 4 that captures a document as image data, and an image forming unit 2 that outputs the image data as a visible image. The image forming unit 2 includes an image forming unit, a fixing device, and the like described later including an image carrier such as a drum-shaped photoconductor. The image forming apparatus 1 further includes a paper supply unit 3 that can supply an arbitrary size paper P used as an image recording medium to the image forming unit 2.

  The image reading unit 4 includes a transparent document placing table 8, a carriage 9, an exposure lamp 10, a reflecting mirror 11, an imaging lens 12 that converges reflected light, and a CCD (Charge Coupled) that converts image information from the reflected light into an analog signal. Device) 13 is provided.

  The yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) image forming units constituting the image forming unit 2 have the same configuration and perform the same operation. The image forming unit 15K will be described as an example.

  The image forming unit 15K includes a laser unit 17K that forms an electrostatic latent image on a drum-shaped photoconductor 16K as an image carrier, a charging device 18K, a developing device 19K, and a cleaner 22K that are sequentially arranged around the photoconductor 16K. And a static elimination lamp 23K.

  The document to be copied is placed on the document table 8 or set on a known automatic document feeder 30 arranged on the table 8. When a copy button (not shown) is pressed, the carriage 9 and the exposure lamp 10 provided on the carriage 9 are provided on the document on the table 8 or the document sent to the exposure device on the table 8 by the document feeder 30. Light is applied from below the document table 8 by the exposure means. Reflected light from the document is guided by the reflecting mirror 11, converged by the imaging lens 12, and the reflected light image is projected onto the CCD 13. The light from the exposure lamp 10 scans the document surface in synchronization with the movement of the carriage 9 (from left to right in FIG. 1). This scanning light is taken into the CCD 13 as image information, outputted as an analog signal, and then converted into a digital signal. Thereafter, the digitized image information is subjected to image processing as necessary, and then transmitted as image data to the laser unit 17K. The image information converted into the digital signal may be temporarily stored in a recording device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

  When image formation is started in the image forming unit 2, the charging device 18K supplies electric charges to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating photoconductor 16K, and charges the outer surface of the photoconductor 16K to a uniform potential. Next, the laser unit 17K irradiates a laser beam modulated by the image data transmitted from the CCD 13 toward the outer surface of the photosensitive member 16K. This laser beam is scanned along the rotation axis of the drum-shaped photoconductor, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to image data is formed and held on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating photoconductor 16K. Further, a developer of a color material such as toner is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 16K by the developing device 19K, and the electrostatic latent image is converted into a toner image, that is, a developed image.

  The developing device 19K includes a developing roller 24K that is rotatably provided. When the developing roller 24K is disposed so as to face the photoconductor 16K and rotates, toner is supplied to the photoconductor 16K. When a toner image is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 16K, the toner image is electrostatically transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 14 by the primary transfer roller 20K, which is a transfer member that contacts the photoreceptor 16K via the intermediate transfer belt 14. Is transferred to.

  Further, the toner on the photoconductor 16K that has not been transferred is removed by the cleaner 22K located downstream of the primary transfer roller 20K in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 16K, and further, the residual toner on the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 16K. The electric charge is removed by the static elimination lamp 23K. In the case of forming a color image, the above operation is similarly performed in the image forming units 15Y, 15M, and 15C.

  The toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 14 is electrostatically transferred onto the paper transported from the paper supply unit 3 through the transport path by the secondary transfer roller 25. Thereafter, the paper P on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 26, and the toner image transferred onto the paper is fixed on the paper by the fixing device 26. The paper on which the toner image has been fixed and the image formation has been completed is discharged onto a paper tray 28 serving as a discharge unit by a transport roller 27.

  The above is the outline of the operation for forming an image on a sheet as a recording medium.

  Next, a control system of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system of the image forming apparatus 1 in the present embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes an operation panel (display) 101, an image forming unit 102, a control unit 104, a storage unit 106, and the like.

  The operation panel 101 is a user interface including, for example, a touch panel to which an operation instruction from a user is input. The operation panel 101 includes a hard key such as a numeric keypad and a touch key such as a display device with a built-in touch panel. By these, an operation instruction is input from a user. In addition, a PC (Personal Computer) can be connected to the image forming apparatus 1 as an external terminal via a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet, and the user can create a document on the image forming apparatus 1 on the PC. Feed printing is possible. Further, a message from the image forming apparatus 1 can be received or a message can be returned to the image forming apparatus 1.

  The image forming unit 102 includes a mounting unit that mounts a cartridge containing a color material such as toner, and the toner cartridge 201 is mounted in the mounting unit. For example, an IC chip 202 is mounted on a recommended product cartridge (first cartridge) containing recommended toner provided by a manufacturer of an image forming apparatus. The IC chip 202 stores information for identifying a recommended product as a recording member. The general product cartridge (second cartridge) containing general toner provided by a company other than the image forming apparatus manufacturer does not have the IC chip 202 mounted thereon, or has an IC chip mounted thereon but on the IC chip 202. The identification information of the recommended product may not be stored.

  The control unit 104 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 111, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 112. The CPU 110 is a processor that controls the entire control unit 104. The RAM 111 is a memory that temporarily stores work data and stores reference data. The ROM 112 is a nonvolatile memory, and stores a control program and control data for controlling the image forming apparatus 1. The CPU 110 implements various processes and various functions by operating based on a control program stored in the ROM 112. In addition, although CPU110 was used as a processor, the kind of processor is not restricted to this.

  The storage unit 106 stores information on current used cartridges, such as whether the currently installed toner cartridge is a recommended product or a general product, and whether the toner cartridge before replacement is a recommended product or a general product. Used cartridge information is stored as current cartridge information.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the control when the toner cartridge is replaced. When the CPU 110 detects that the toner cartridge 201 has been replaced (S10), the CPU 110 reads information on the IC chip 202 mounted on the toner cartridge 201 and determines whether or not the mounted toner cartridge 201 is a recommended product. (S20). If it is determined from the information written in the IC chip 202 that it is a recommended product (YES in S20), the recommended product is stored in the storage unit 106 as the current use cartridge information (S30). This used cartridge information is maintained in the storage unit 106 at least until the next toner cartridge 201 is replaced, and is referred to as current cartridge information before replacement when the toner cartridge 201 is replaced next time.

  Next, the CPU 110 reads the current cartridge information before replacement stored in the storage unit 106 and determines whether or not the toner cartridge 201 before replacement is a recommended product (S40). If it is determined that the toner cartridge 201 before replacement is not a recommended product (NO in S40), toner supply from the replaced toner cartridge 201 is prohibited (S50). Thereafter, the CPU 110 forcibly discharges the toner remaining in the developing unit (S60).

  After the toner is forcibly discharged, it is detected by the toner sensor disposed in the developing unit whether or not the toner is completely discharged from the developing unit (S70). The determination of whether or not the toner has been discharged is not limited to the detection by the toner sensor in the developing device, but may be determined by performing an image forming operation and detecting the toner adhesion amount of the test patch. .

  When CPU 110 determines that the toner discharge from the developing device has been completed (YES in S70), the toner deterioration degree determination mode is set to the standard mode (first mode) (S80). The toner deterioration degree determination mode will be described later. Then, toner supply from the mounted toner cartridge is started (S90).

  Next, the case where it is detected in S20 that the product is not a recommended product (NO in S20) will be described. When it is detected that the product is not a recommended product, the storage unit 106 stores the current product cartridge information as a general product (S35).

  Thereafter, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the user permits printing with a general product (S45). The CPU 110 notifies that the replaced new toner cartridge is a general product, and the user can select (response information) whether or not to permit printing with the general product from the operation panel 101 or the like.

  In S45, when the user does not permit printing with a general product (NO in S45), the CPU 110 prohibits the printing operation (S55). At this time, operations other than the printing operation are not prohibited.

  In S45, when the user permits printing with a general product (YES in S45), the CPU 110 determines whether or not the toner cartridge before replacement is a recommended product from the information stored in the storage unit 106 (S65). ). If it is determined in S65 that the toner cartridge before replacement is a general product (NO in S65), the toner deterioration degree determination mode is set to the general mode (second mode) (S75), and the mounted toner cartridge Then, toner supply is started (S90).

  If it is determined in S65 that the toner cartridge before replacement is a recommended product (YES in S65), the CPU 110 prohibits replenishment from the toner cartridge (S85). At this time, since the recommended toner remains in the developing device, if the general toner is supplied from the replaced general toner cartridge, the recommended toner and the general toner are mixed. At this time, since the toner in the developing device is a recommended toner, the toner is not forcibly discharged and continues to be used until the toner in the developing device runs out. Therefore, the standard mode is maintained as the toner deterioration degree determination mode (S95).

  Thereafter, when the CPU 110 recognizes that all of the toner in the developing device has been used (S105), the toner deterioration degree determination mode is set to the general mode (S75), and toner supply from the attached toner cartridge is started (S90). ).

  Next, the toner deterioration degree determination mode will be described. Generally, the recommended toner contained in the recommended product toner cartridge and the general toner contained in the general product toner cartridge have different physical properties, and it is assumed that the general toner deteriorates faster than the recommended toner. Therefore, it is desirable to change the frequency of toner refresh between the recommended toner and the general toner.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, a toner deterioration degree determination mode is set according to the type of toner in the developing device, and the toner refresh frequency is changed based on the toner deterioration determination mode. As the toner deterioration determination mode, a standard mode is set when recommended toner is used, and a general mode is set when general toner is used.

  The toner refresh execution interval D is set for each toner deterioration degree determination mode. In the standard mode, the toner refresh execution interval D is D1, and in the general mode, the toner refresh execution interval D is D2. At this time, D2 <D1 holds. That is, in the general mode, the toner refresh is performed more frequently than in the standard mode.

  The execution frequency of toner refresh will be described in detail. When executing the toner refresh, the CPU 110 stores the date and time at that time in the storage unit 106. When the next toner refresh is performed, the current date and time is acquired, and the elapsed time T since the previous toner refresh is calculated from the difference from the previous toner refresh date and time stored in the storage unit 106.

  The CPU 110 determines the set toner deterioration level determination mode. When it is determined that the toner deterioration degree determination mode is the standard mode, the elapsed time T is compared with the execution interval D1, and if T ≧ D1, toner refresh is executed. However, if the image forming apparatus 1 is in the middle of printing, toner refresh is executed after printing is completed. It should be noted that the toner may be refreshed by interrupting printing in the middle rather than after printing.

  When the CPU 110 determines that the toner determination mode is the general product mode, the elapsed time T is compared with the execution interval D2, and if T ≧ D2, toner refresh is executed. If the image forming apparatus is in the middle of printing as in the standard mode, toner refresh is executed after the printing is completed.

  In the present exemplary embodiment, the toner refresh execution interval is changed between the standard mode and the general mode. However, it is only necessary that optimal control can be performed for each of the recommended toner and the general toner. For example, in each toner deterioration degree determination mode, the time for one toner refresh may be changed, and the amount of toner discharged at one time may be changed.

  According to the above embodiment, it is determined whether or not the replaced toner cartridge (new cartridge) matches the toner cartridge before replacement (current cartridge) after replacement of the toner cartridge. The toner supply from the toner cartridge is prohibited, and the toner supply is performed after confirming that the toner before replacement is exhausted from the developing unit, so that the toner before replacement and the toner after replacement are prevented from being mixed. it can.

  In practice, it is confirmed by the signal output of the toner sensor that the toner before replacement is exhausted from the developing unit. In this case, even if the output of the sensor becomes zero, for example, a small amount of toner may remain in the apparatus, but it is determined that there is no significant influence on the subsequent print quality.

  Furthermore, since the toner management mode is set for each replaced toner cartridge depending on whether it is a recommended product or a general product, optimal control can be performed when toner having different characteristics is used. In particular, when a new cartridge is a general product and the current cartridge is a recommended product, the general toner from the new cartridge is not supplied until the recommended toner supplied from the current cartridge is consumed. Then, the recommended toner is used effectively.

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts as those of the first embodiment, and only the characteristic parts of the present embodiment will be described.

  In this embodiment, the recommended toner cartridge mounted on the image forming apparatus 1 includes an IC chip as a storage member. The toner may vary in physical properties within an assumed range for each production lot. Therefore, information relating to toner characteristics such as a production lot is stored in advance in the IC chip of the toner cartridge as toner deterioration degree determination data.

  When such toner degradation level determination data is recognized, the toner degradation level determination mode includes the information relating to the characteristics of the toner as described above, even for the same recommended product. A prediction mode (third mode) determined based on the data is adopted. In the prediction mode, if it is a recommended product, more optimal processing can be performed than the standard mode used.

  This embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  Since S210 to S270 correspond to S10 to S70 in the flowchart of FIG. 3 of the first embodiment, and S235 to S285 correspond to S35 to S85 of the flowchart of FIG. 3 of the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted. In S280, the CPU 110 reads the IC chip of the recommended toner cartridge, and determines whether the data for determining the degree of toner deterioration exists. If it is determined in S280 that the toner deterioration degree determination data exists (YES in S280), the toner deterioration degree determination mode is set to the prediction mode (S290).

  If it is determined in S280 that there is no toner deterioration degree determination data (NO in S280), the toner deterioration degree determination mode is set to the standard mode. The standard mode is a mode that optimally manages toners that are uniformly determined with respect to the recommended toner.

  If the replaced toner cartridge is a general product and the toner cartridge before the replacement is a recommended product (YES in S265), the recommended toner and the general toner are not mixed with each other. After the replenishment is stopped (S285), the toner deterioration degree determination mode maintains the currently designated mode in S295.

  By adopting the above embodiment, when the recommended toner cartridge is used, it is possible to perform optimum toner control in consideration of the characteristics of the toner such as the production lot.

  In the first and second embodiments, the toner is exemplified as the color material. However, the present embodiment can also be applied to an ink jet recording apparatus using ink as a color material, and the same effect can be obtained, and the application is not hindered.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Image forming part 3 Paper supply part 4 Image reading part 101 Operation panel 104 Control part 106 Memory | storage part 110 CPU
111 RAM
112 ROM
201 toner cartridge 202 IC chip

Claims (16)

A mounting part of the cartridge containing the color material,
A current cartridge indicating whether the cartridge mounted in the mounting portion is a first cartridge containing a first color material or a second cartridge containing a second color material different from the first color material. A storage unit for storing information;
When the current cartridge mounted on the mounting unit is replaced with a new cartridge, the current cartridge information is read from the storage unit, and a new cartridge is determined based on the current cartridge information read from the storage unit. When the cartridge is different from the current cartridge, the supply of the color material from the new cartridge is temporarily stopped while the color material supplied from the current cartridge remains in the apparatus, and the color material supplied from the current cartridge is temporarily stopped. A controller that issues an instruction to start the supply of the color material from the new cartridge when it is determined that the toner does not remain in the apparatus;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The first color material is a recommended color material, the second color material is a general color material different from the recommended color material, the new cartridge is the first cartridge, and the current cartridge is the second color material. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the cartridge is a cartridge, the remaining color material currently supplied from the cartridge into the apparatus is forcibly discharged.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a sensor that detects whether or not the discharge of the color material is completed when the color material is forcibly discharged.   When the new cartridge is the first cartridge, the color material is managed in the first mode suitable for the first color material accommodated in the first cartridge, and the new cartridge is the second cartridge. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second color material housed in the second cartridge is managed in a second mode different from the first mode.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first mode and the second mode have different color material refresh intervals.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first mode and the second mode have different times for refreshing the color material once.   The first cartridge has a storage member, stores identification information in the storage member, and the control unit stores the identification information of the storage member when the new cartridge is mounted in the mounting unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if it is recognized, it is determined that the cartridge is the first cartridge, and if the identification information cannot be recognized, it is determined that the cartridge is the second cartridge.   The first cartridge has a storage member, and the storage member stores information on the color material contained in the first cartridge, and the control unit recognizes the color material information. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the color material is managed in a third mode based on the color material information.   A mode in which the color material from the current cartridge is managed without prohibiting the start of the supply of the color material when the new cartridge mounted in the mounting portion is the same as the current cartridge taken out from the mounting portion. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the color material is managed in the same mode. Recognizing that the cartridge containing the color material is currently installed as a cartridge,
Determining whether the current cartridge is a first cartridge containing a first color material or a second cartridge containing a second color material;
This determination result is temporarily stored as current cartridge information,
Read the current cartridge information when the mounted current cartridge is replaced,
Determine based on the current cartridge information read out the new cartridge,
If the new cartridge is different from the current cartridge, the supply of the color material from the new cartridge is temporarily stopped while the color material supplied from the current cartridge remains in the apparatus,
2. A color material management method, comprising: starting supply of a color material from the new cartridge when it is determined that the color material currently supplied from the cartridge does not remain in the apparatus.   The first color material of the first cartridge is a recommended color material, the second color material of the second cartridge is a general color material different from the recommended color material, and the first cartridge is newly added. 11. The color material supplied and remaining by the current cartridge is forcibly discharged if the temporarily stored current cartridge information is the second cartridge when mounted as a new cartridge. Color material management method.   When the new cartridge is the first cartridge, the color material is managed in the first mode suitable for the first color material accommodated in the first cartridge, and the new cartridge is the first cartridge. 11. The color material management method according to claim 10, wherein in the case of two cartridges, the second color material of the second cartridge is managed in a second mode different from the first mode.   13. The color material management method according to claim 12, wherein the first mode and the second mode have different color material refresh intervals.   The first cartridge has a storage member, stores identification information in the storage member, and recognizes the identification information of the storage member when the new cartridge is mounted in the mounting portion. 11. The color material management method according to claim 10, wherein if the identification information is not recognized, it is determined that the cartridge is the second cartridge.   The first cartridge has a storage member, and the storage member stores information on the color material contained in the first cartridge. When the information on the color material is recognized, the color 13. The color material management method according to claim 12, wherein the color material is managed in a third mode based on material information.   When the new cartridge and the current cartridge are the same, the color material is managed in the same mode as the mode in which the color material of the current cartridge is managed without temporarily stopping the supply of the color material. Item 13. A color material management method according to Item 12.

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