JP2011166427A - Management system for image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a management system for an image forming apparatus, which announces abnormality together with a fault emergency degree indicating a situation worsening speed when the abnormality is predicted. <P>SOLUTION: A management device to be used in the management system for the image forming apparatus performs processing as follows. The featured variable of the image forming apparatus is calculated on the basis of situation information, so as to store the tendency result of the featured value. A predictive result is identified by discrimination on the basis of the tendency result. A former predictive detection result for preperformed predictive detection is compared with a latter predictive detection result. When the former predictive detection result exists, the emergency degree is calculated, and then, latter predictive date data in the applying image forming apparatus is deleted to announce the emergency degree. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus management system, and more particularly to a system related to failure prediction based on a failure sign phenomenon in an image forming apparatus.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a printing machine, for example, in the case of using an electrophotographic system, a static image corresponding to an original or image information is applied to a photosensitive member used as a latent image carrier. It is known that an electrostatic latent image is formed, and the electrostatic latent image is subjected to visible image processing with toner supplied from a developing device, and then the image transferred to a recording sheet or the like is fixed to produce a copy output. .

By the way, if an abnormality of the apparatus such as a failure occurs in the image forming apparatus, the apparatus cannot be used until the parts are replaced or cleaned depending on the contents, which may inconvenience the user.
In particular, since an electrophotographic image forming apparatus has a relatively complicated configuration and a large number of parts, it is likely that an abnormality will occur suddenly unless various parts are regularly maintained. .

  As a technique for avoiding such a situation, a method for predicting the occurrence of an abnormality from the status information of the image forming apparatus and improving the efficiency of service work has been proposed.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, the image forming apparatus and the management apparatus are connected via a network, and the first determination for determining whether or not the status information of the image forming apparatus collected in the management apparatus is less than or equal to each reference value. The determination result for the various state data of the means and the first determination means is added with the weight set for each state data, and a majority decision is made to determine the presence or absence of an abnormality sign as a whole of the several types of state data A configuration relating to an abnormality prediction determination system for an image forming apparatus provided with a second determination unit is disclosed.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which the first and second determining means in Patent Document 1 are provided in the image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus alone performs determination based on its own abnormality.

  The abnormality prediction determining means disclosed in the above patent document cannot obtain information about the speed of state deterioration. In other words, it was not possible to distinguish between the case where the state suddenly deteriorated from the normal state and the precursor state entered and the state gradually deteriorated and the precursor state entered.

  Therefore, the maintenance staff could not decide whether to go to the customer immediately or that it was OK even after several days, and could not be used for the maintenance plan.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a management system for an image forming apparatus that, when an abnormality is predicted, notifies a failure urgency indicating the speed of state deterioration.

In order to achieve this object, the present invention has the following configuration.
(1) The image forming apparatus and the management apparatus are connected via a network,
The image forming apparatus includes:
Status information detection means for detecting the status of the image forming apparatus;
A status information recording means for recording the status information; and a status information transmitting means for transmitting the status information recorded in the status information recording means to the management device,
The management device
Status information receiving means for receiving status information transmitted from the status information transmitting means of the image forming apparatus;
Among the signs of an abnormal state of the image forming apparatus appearing in the status information, the abnormal sign detection means for detecting the first sign of an abnormal sign that appears at the beginning of the sign period;
Late abnormal sign detection means for detecting a sign that appears in the latter part of the sign period out of the sign of an abnormal state of the image forming apparatus that appears in the state information;
Early period date and time value recording means for recording the date and time detected by the previous period sign detection means linked to the machine number;
A failure urgency calculating means for calculating a failure urgency from the date and time detected by the previous-stage predictor date and the latter-stage predictor detection means;
A failure urgency notification means for notifying the failure urgency;
The management device calculates the feature amount of the image forming apparatus based on the state information, accumulates the trend result of the feature amount, discriminates from the trend result, calculates the predictor result, and the sign detection has been performed previously Compared with the previous sign detection result against the previous sign detection result, if there is a previous sign detection, calculate the urgency and then delete the later sign date and time data from the corresponding image forming device And a management system for the image forming apparatus.
(2) The image forming apparatus and the management apparatus are connected via a network.
The image forming apparatus includes:
Status information detection means for detecting the status of the image forming apparatus;
Status information recording means for recording status information;
A status information transmitting means for transmitting the status information recorded in the status information recording means to the management device;
The management device
Status information receiving means for receiving status information transmitted from the status information transmitting means of the image forming apparatus;
Among the signs of an abnormal state of the image forming apparatus appearing in the status information, the abnormal sign detection means for detecting the first sign of an abnormal sign that appears at the beginning of the sign period;
Late abnormal sign detection means for detecting a sign that appears in the latter part of the sign period out of the sign of an abnormal state of the image forming apparatus that appears in the state information;
Early period predictor counter value recording means for recording the counter detected by the previous period predictor detecting means linked to the machine number;
A failure urgency calculating means for calculating a failure urgency from a counter value at the time of detection of the previous sign and a counter value detected by the latter sign detection means;
An image forming apparatus management system comprising failure urgency notification means for notifying failure urgency.
(3) In the image forming apparatus management system according to (1) or (2),
A management system for an image forming apparatus, comprising: a previous-stage sign detection notification means for notifying that a previous-stage sign detection means has detected.
(4) In the image forming apparatus management system according to one of (1) to (3),
The image forming apparatus includes notification receiving means for receiving a notification from the management system,
An image forming apparatus management system comprising notification content display means for displaying notification content.

  According to the present invention, the previous-stage sign detection result is compared with the later-stage sign detection result, and if there is a previous-stage sign detection, the urgent level is calculated and then the later-stage sign date / time data in the corresponding image forming apparatus is calculated. Since the urgency is notified by deleting, when an abnormality is predicted, it can be notified together with the failure urgency indicating the speed of state deterioration. This eliminates the fact that the maintenance staff cannot determine whether the customer should immediately go to the customer site or that it is okay even after a few days, and can be used for the maintenance plan.

It is a block diagram for demonstrating the outline | summary of the management system by this invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an outline of the mechanism of a color copying machine having the composite function shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing an intermediate transfer belt used in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2 and mechanical elements around the intermediate transfer belt. FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical view showing a configuration common to four sets of image forming units shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4A is a perspective view showing an optical sensor that detects the toner density on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt shown in FIG. 3. (B) is a plan view showing a test pattern of a toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt. (A) is a block diagram which shows the structure of an optical sensor, and shows the aspect which detects the stain | pollution | contamination of a belt surface. (B) is a graph showing the relationship between the current value of the LED in the photosensor that projects light onto the intermediate transfer belt and the level of the light detection signal of the regular reflection PD. (A) is a block diagram showing the configuration of the optical sensor, and shows a mode of detecting the density of the toner image of the test pattern transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 10. (B) is a graph showing the relationship between the density of the toner image and the level of the light detection signal of the irregular reflection PD in the optical sensor. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an outline of an image processing system of the copying machine shown in FIG. 2. 9 is a flowchart showing an outline of toner image density adjustment by engine control used in the image processing system shown in FIG. 8. 6 is a graph showing a relationship (characteristic line) between a development potential at the time of forming a test pattern toner image transferred onto an intermediate transfer belt and a toner density detected by an optical sensor. (A) is a graph showing a characteristic line (solid line) measured when the surface of the belt 10 is not particularly dirty and a fluctuation range of the characteristic line, and (b) is a characteristic when the surface of the intermediate transfer belt is slightly dirty. Show the line. 6 is a graph showing color characteristic lines when the surface of an intermediate transfer belt is soiled. It is a block diagram which shows the outline | summary of the mechanism of the management apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a state data transmission operation to the management apparatus of the color copying machine shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the abnormality sign determination which the management apparatus shown in FIG. 1 implements. 3 is a flowchart showing an outline of generation of target data (feature amount) of light emission intensity adjustment value R, color development bias correction value Q, and color exposure amount correction value P of a color sensor in a color copying machine. It is a graph which shows the outline | summary of a change of the developing bias adjustment value Q (Y) of each color toner density adjustment, Q (M), Q (C), and Q (Bk). It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the data processing common to abnormality sign discrimination | determination 1-n shown in FIG. 10 is a chart showing an example of a weight value given to an abnormal tendency of target data in calculation of a reference value b and an abnormal sign determination index value F used for determining an abnormal trend of the target data in the abnormal sign determination. 6 is a graph showing fluctuations in the development bias adjustment value Q of each color image of the color copying machine and a sign discrimination index value F calculated by an abnormal sign discriminator generated based on these fluctuations. It is a graph which shows the change of the sign discrimination | determination index value F of five color copying machines. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the abnormality sign determination 1 shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a copier management system including a multi-function copier 601 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. A copier 601 that is an image forming apparatus and copiers 602 to 605 having functions equivalent to the copier 601 are connected by a LAN 600 and connected to a management apparatus 630 outside the LAN via the Internet 620 that is a network. Each copying machine receives status data indicating the status of the copying machine to the management device 630 at a specific timing (the integrated value of the number of prints has increased by a predetermined value or more and immediately after the operating voltage is turned on or when the printing operation is finished). Send.

The management device 630 has an abnormality sign determination system (PAD in FIG. 15) including a feature extraction unit, a first determination unit, and a second determination unit in addition to a database for storing state data, and a plurality of copy machines to be managed For each of these, abnormal sign determination is executed. Program of abnormality sign determination PAD (FIG. 15) (feature amount extraction means that is target data generation means and abnormality sign determination device including first determination means and second determination means), and reference data of abnormality sign determination device The management apparatus 630 has a sign determination reference data table (FIG. 19) as a group. The determination result that there is an abnormality sign in the abnormality sign determination system is displayed on the display 640 of the management apparatus 630 together with the identification information (ID) of the corresponding copying machine. The operator of the management apparatus 630 informs the service center in the area in charge of the copying machine that has been determined that there is a sign of abnormality, and orders parts if necessary. If the predicted abnormality can be dealt with by the user, the administrator of the copier is informed of it and asked to deal with it. The user can open and confirm the copying machine operation manual or the electronic manual built in the operation board 500 to deal with it.
A personal computer PCa operated by an operator is connected to the management device 630. The operator uses the personal computer PCa to newly generate an abnormal sign discriminator (FIG. 18) and a sign determination reference data table (FIG. 19) based on the status data of each copying machine in the database of the management device 630. A management apparatus that can correct the error, adds a new abnormality sign discriminator and a sign determination reference data table to the management apparatus 630, and deletes an existing abnormality sign discriminator and sign determination reference data table of the management apparatus 630. The abnormality sign determination system 630 (PAD in FIG. 15) can be updated.

  FIG. 2 shows an outline of the mechanism of the copying machine 601. The copying machine 601 includes an image forming unit including a printer 100 and a paper feeding unit 200, a scanner 300, and an ADF (automatic document feeder) 400. The scanner 300 is attached on the printer 100, and the ADF 400 is attached on the scanner 300. The scanner 300 reads image information of a document placed on the contact glass 32 with a reading sensor (CCD in this embodiment) 36, and reads the read image information using an IPP (Image Processing Processor) of the engine control 510 (FIG. 8); In the following, it is simply sent as IPP. The engine control 510 controls the four drum-shaped photoreceptors 40 (K, Y, and K) by controlling lasers and LEDs (not shown) disposed in the exposure device 21 of the printer 100 based on image information received from the scanner 300. M, C: Laser writing light L (FIG. 4) is irradiated toward FIG. 3). By this irradiation, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 40 (K, Y, M, C), and this latent image is developed into a toner image via a predetermined development process. Note that the subscripts K, Y, M, and C added after the reference numerals indicate specifications for black, yellow, magenta, and cyan.

  The printer 100 includes an exposure device 21 as an exposure unit, a primary transfer roller 62 (K, Y, M, and C) as a transfer unit, a secondary transfer device 22, a fixing device 25, a paper discharge device, and a toner (not shown). A supply device, a toner disposal device, and the like are also provided. The paper feeding unit 200 includes an automatic paper feeding unit disposed below the printer 100 and a manual feeding unit disposed on a side surface of the printer 100. The automatic paper feed unit separates the three paper feed cassettes 44 arranged in multiple stages in the paper bank 43, the paper feed roller 42 that feeds transfer paper as a recording medium from the paper feed cassette, and the fed transfer paper. A separation roller 45 and the like are sent to the paper feed path 46. Further, it also includes a transport roller 47 that transports the transfer paper to the paper feed path 48 of the printer 100.

  On the other hand, the manual feed section includes a manual feed tray 51 and a separation roller 52 that separates the transfer paper on the manual feed tray 51 one by one toward the manual feed path 53.

  A registration roller pair 49 is disposed near the end of the paper feed path 48 of the printer 100. The registration roller pair 49 is formed between the intermediate transfer belt 10 serving as an intermediate transfer body and the secondary transfer device 22 at a predetermined timing after receiving the transfer paper sent from the paper feed cassette 44 or the manual feed tray 51. To the secondary transfer nip.

  In this copying machine, an operator sets a document on the document table 30 of the ADF 400 when copying a color image. Alternatively, after the ADF 400 is opened and a document is set on the contact glass 32 of the scanner 300, the ADF 400 is closed and the document is pressed. Then, a start switch (not shown) is pressed. Then, when a document is set on the ADF 400, the scanner 300 starts driving immediately after the document is conveyed on the contact glass 32 and then when the document is set on the contact glass 32. Then, the first carriage 33 and the second carriage 34 travel, and the light emitted from the light source of the first carriage 33 is reflected by the document surface and then travels toward the second carriage 34. Further, after being reflected by the mirror of the second carriage 34, it reaches the reading sensor 36 via the imaging lens 35 and is read as image information.

  When the image information is read in this way, the printer 100 rotates the other two support rollers while rotating one of the support rollers 14, 15, and 16 with a drive motor (not shown). Then, the intermediate transfer belt 10 that is an intermediate transfer member stretched around these rollers is moved endlessly. Further, laser writing as described above and a development process described later are performed. Then, while rotating the photoreceptors 40 (K, Y, M, C), black, yellow, magenta, and cyan monochrome images are formed on them. These are electrostatically transferred in four colors at the primary transfer nips for K, Y, M, and C where the photosensitive member 40 (K, Y, M, and C) and the intermediate transfer belt 10 come into contact with each other, and are four colors. A superimposed toner image is obtained. A toner image is formed on the photoreceptor 40 (K, Y, M, C).

  On the other hand, the paper feed unit 200 operates one of the three paper feed rollers to feed transfer paper of a size corresponding to the image information, and feeds the transfer paper to the paper feed path 48 of the printer 100. Lead to. The transfer sheet, which is a sheet of paper that has entered the paper feed path 48, is sandwiched between the registration roller pair 49 and temporarily stops. Then, the intermediate transfer belt 10 and the secondary transfer roller 23 of the secondary transfer device 22 are matched in time. To the secondary transfer nip which is a contact portion. Then, in the secondary transfer nip, the four-color superimposed toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 10 and the transfer paper are brought into close contact in synchronization. Then, the four-color superimposed toner image is secondarily transferred onto the transfer paper due to the influence of the transfer electric field formed at the nip, the nip pressure, etc., and becomes a full color image combined with the white color of the paper.

  The transfer paper that has passed through the secondary transfer nip is fed into the fixing device 25 by the endless movement of the transport belt 24 of the secondary transfer device 22. Then, after the full color image is fixed by the action of the pressure applied by the pressure roller 27 of the fixing device 25 and the heating by the heating belt, the paper is discharged onto the discharge tray 57 provided on the side surface of the printer 100 via the discharge roller 56. To be discharged.

  FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view around the transfer belt 10 of the printer 100. The printer 100 includes a belt unit, four process units 18 (K, Y, M, and C) that form toner images of respective colors, a secondary transfer device 22, a belt cleaning device 17, a fixing device 25, and the like.

  The belt unit moves the intermediate transfer belt 10 stretched around a plurality of rollers endlessly while contacting the photoreceptor 40 (K, Y, M, C). In the primary transfer nip for K, Y, M, and C where the photoreceptor 40 (K, Y, M, and C) and the intermediate transfer belt 10 are in contact, the primary transfer roller 62 (K, Y, M, and C). ), The intermediate transfer belt 10 is pressed from the back side toward the photoconductor 40 (K, Y, M, C). A primary transfer bias is applied to the primary transfer rollers 62 (K, Y, M, and C) by a power source (not shown). Thus, the primary transfer nip for the K, Y, M, and C primary transfer that electrostatically moves the toner image on the photoreceptor 40 (K, Y, M, and C) toward the intermediate transfer belt 10. An electric field is formed. Between each primary transfer roller 62 (K, Y, M, C), a conductive roller 74 (K, Y, M, C) that contacts the back surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 is disposed. These conductive rollers 74 are adjacent to each other via the intermediate resistance base layer 11 on the back side of the intermediate transfer belt 10, with the primary transfer bias applied to the primary transfer rollers 62 (K, Y, M, C). It prevents it from flowing into the process unit.

  The process unit (18K, Y, M, C) supports the photosensitive member (40K, Y, M, C) and several other devices as a single unit on a common support. It can be attached to and detached from 100. Taking the process unit 18 (K) for black as an example, this is a developing unit 61 as developing means for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 40K into a black toner image in addition to the photoreceptor 40K. (K). In addition, a photoreceptor cleaning device 63 (K) that cleans transfer residual toner adhering to the surface of the photoreceptor 40 (K) after passing through the primary transfer nip is also provided. In addition, a static elimination device (not shown) that neutralizes the surface of the photoreceptor 40 (K) after cleaning, a charging device that is a charging means (not shown) that uniformly charges the surface of the photoreceptor 40 (K) after static elimination, and the like are also provided. Yes. The process units 18 (Y, M, C) for other colors have almost the same configuration except that the color of the toner to be handled is different. This copying machine has a so-called tandem type configuration in which these four process units 18 (K, Y, M, C) are arranged so as to face the intermediate transfer belt 10 along the endless movement direction. ing.

  FIG. 4 shows an enlarged unit configuration common to the four process units 18 (K, Y, M, C). That is, each of the four process units 18 (K, Y, M, C) has the configuration shown in FIG. As shown in the drawing, the process unit 18 includes a charging device 60 as a charging unit, a developing device 61 as a developing unit, a primary transfer roller 62 as a primary transfer unit, and a photoconductor cleaning around a photoconductor 40. The apparatus 63, the static elimination apparatus 64, etc. are provided. As the photosensitive member 40, a drum-shaped member is used in which a photosensitive organic layer is applied to a base tube made of aluminum or the like to form a photosensitive layer. However, an endless belt may be used. Further, as the charging device 60, a charging device that rotates a charging roller 60 to which a charging bias is applied while contacting the photoreceptor 40 is used. A scorotron charger or the like that performs a non-contact charging process on the photoreceptor 40 may be used.

  The developing device 61 develops a latent image using a two-component developer containing a magnetic carrier and a nonmagnetic toner. An agitating unit 66 that conveys the two-component developer accommodated in the inside while agitating and supplies the developer sleeve 65 to the developing sleeve 65, and development that transfers toner of the two-component developer attached to the developing sleeve 65 to the photoreceptor 40. Part 67.

  The stirring unit 66 is provided at a position lower than the developing unit 67, and is provided on the bottom surface of the two screws 68 arranged in parallel to each other, the partition plate 69 provided between the screws, and the developing case 70. A toner density sensor 71 and the like are included.

  The developing unit 67 includes a developing sleeve 65 that faces the photoreceptor 40 through the opening of the developing case 70, a magnet roller 72 that is non-rotatably provided inside the developing sleeve 65, a doctor blade 73 that approaches the developing sleeve 65, and the like. ing. The distance at the closest portion between the doctor blade 73 and the developing sleeve 65 is set to about 500 [μm]. The developing sleeve 65 has a non-magnetic rotatable cylindrical shape. Further, the magnet roller 72 which is prevented from being rotated with the developing sleeve 65 has, for example, five magnetic poles N1, S1, N2, S2 and S3 in the rotation direction of the developing sleeve 65 from the position of the doctor blade 73. ing. Each of these magnetic poles applies a magnetic force to the two-component developer on the sleeve at a predetermined position in the rotational direction. As a result, the two-component developer sent from the stirring unit 66 is attracted and carried on the surface of the developing sleeve 65, and a magnetic brush is formed along the magnetic field lines on the sleeve surface.

  The magnetic brush is regulated to an appropriate layer thickness when passing through the position facing the doctor blade 73 as the developing sleeve 65 rotates, and then conveyed to the developing area facing the photoreceptor 40. Then, due to the potential difference between the developing bias applied to the developing sleeve 65 and the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 40, it is transferred onto the electrostatic latent image and contributes to development. Further, as the developing sleeve 65 rotates, the developing sleeve 65 returns to the developing portion 67 again, and after being separated from the sleeve surface due to the influence of the repulsive magnetic field between the magnetic poles of the magnet roller 72, the developing sleeve 65 is returned to the stirring portion 66. In the stirring unit 66, an appropriate amount of toner is supplied to the two-component developer based on the detection result by the toner density sensor 71. The developing device 61 may employ a one-component developer that does not include a magnetic carrier, instead of the one that uses a two-component developer.

  As the photoconductor cleaning device 63, a system in which a cleaning blade 75 made of polyurethane rubber is pressed against the photoconductor 40 is used, but another system may be used. In order to improve the cleaning property, in this example, a cleaning device 63 having a contact conductive fur brush 76 whose outer peripheral surface is in contact with the photoreceptor 40 is rotatable in the direction of the arrow in the figure. A metal electric field roller 77 for applying a bias to the fur brush 76 is provided so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and the tip of the scraper 78 is pressed against the electric field roller 77. The toner removed from the electric field roller 77 by the scraper 78 falls on the collection screw 79 and is collected.

  The photoconductor cleaning device 63 having such a configuration removes residual toner on the photoconductor 40 with a fur brush 76 that rotates counterclockwise with respect to the photoconductor 40. The toner adhering to the fur brush 76 is removed by the electric field roller 77 to which a bias that rotates in contact with the fur brush 76 in the counter direction is applied. The toner adhering to the electric field roller 77 is cleaned by the scraper 78. The toner recovered by the photoconductor cleaning device 63 is brought to one side of the photoconductor cleaning device 63 by the recovery screw 79 and returned to the developing device 61 by the toner recycling device 80 for reuse. The static eliminator 64 includes a static elimination lamp or the like, and removes the surface potential of the photoreceptor 40 by irradiating light. The surface of the photoreceptor 40 thus neutralized is uniformly charged by the charging device 60 and then subjected to optical writing processing.

  Referring to FIG. 3 again, a secondary transfer device 22 is provided below the belt unit in the drawing. In the secondary transfer device 22, a secondary transfer belt 24 is stretched between two rollers 23 and moved endlessly. One of the two rollers 23 is a secondary transfer roller to which a secondary transfer bias is applied by a power source (not shown), and the intermediate transfer belt 10 and the secondary transfer belt 24 are between the roller 16 of the belt unit. Is sandwiched. Thus, a secondary transfer nip is formed in which both belts move in the same direction at the contact portion while contacting.

  On the transfer paper fed from the registration roller pair 49 to the secondary transfer nip, the four-color superimposed toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 10 is secondarily transferred collectively under the influence of the secondary transfer electric field and the nip pressure, so that full color is obtained. An image is formed. The transfer sheet that has passed through the secondary transfer nip is separated from the intermediate transfer belt 10 and is conveyed to the fixing device 25 along with the endless movement of the belt while being held on the surface of the secondary transfer belt 24. Instead of the secondary transfer roller, secondary transfer may be performed by a transfer charger or the like.

  The surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 that has passed through the secondary transfer nip approaches a support position by the support roller 15. Here, the intermediate transfer belt 10 is sandwiched between a belt cleaning device 17 that contacts the front surface (loop outer surface) and a support roller 15 that contacts the back surface.

  Then, after the transfer residual toner adhering to the front surface is removed by the belt cleaning device 17, it sequentially enters the primary transfer nip for K, Y, M, and C, and the next four-color toner The images are superimposed.

  The belt cleaning device 17 has two fur brushes 90 and 91. By rotating a plurality of raised brushes in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 10 in a counter direction with respect to the flocking direction, the transfer residual toner on the belt is mechanically scraped off. In addition, a cleaning bias is applied by a power source (not shown) to electrostatically attract and recover the scraped transfer residual toner.

  With respect to the fur brushes 90 and 91, the metal rollers 92 and 93 are rotating in the forward or reverse direction while being in contact with each other. Among these metal rollers 92 and 93, a negative polarity voltage is applied to the metal roller 92 located on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 10 by the power source 94. Further, a positive polarity voltage is applied to the metal roller 93 located on the downstream side by the power source 95. The tips of the blades 96 and 97 are in contact with the metal rollers 92 and 93, respectively. In such a configuration, the upstream fur brush 90 first cleans the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 with the endless movement of the intermediate transfer belt 10 in the direction of the arrow in the drawing. At this time, for example, when −400 [V] is applied to the fur brush 90 while −700 [V] is applied to the metal roller 92, first, the positive polarity toner on the intermediate transfer belt 10 is moved to the fur brush 90 side. Electrostatic transfer to The toner transferred to the fur brush side is further transferred from the fur brush 90 to the metal roller 92 due to a potential difference, and is scraped off by the blade 96.

  As described above, the toner on the intermediate transfer belt 10 is removed by the fur brush 90, but a lot of toner still remains on the intermediate transfer belt 10. These toners are negatively charged by a negative polarity bias applied to the fur brush 90. This is considered to be charged by charge injection or discharge. Next, by using the fur brush 91 on the downstream side to apply a positive polarity bias and perform cleaning, the toner can be removed. The removed toner is transferred from the fur brush 91 to the metal roller 93 due to a potential difference and scraped off by the blade 97. The toner scraped off by the blades 96 and 97 is collected in a tank (not shown).

  Most of the toner is removed from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 after being cleaned by the fur brush 91, but a little toner is still left. The toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 10 is charged with a positive polarity by a positive polarity bias applied to the fur brush 91 as described above. Then, it is transferred to the photoconductors 40K, Y, M, and C by the transfer electric field applied at the primary transfer position, and is collected by the photoconductor cleaning device 63.

  In general, the registration roller pair 49 is often used while being grounded, but it is also possible to apply a bias for removing paper dust from the transfer paper fed to the registration roller pair 49.

  Under the secondary transfer device 22 and the fixing device 25, a transfer paper reversing device 28 (see FIG. 2) is provided so as to extend in parallel with the tandem portion 20 described above. As a result, the transfer paper that has undergone the image fixing process on one side is switched by the switching claw to the transfer paper path to the transfer paper reversing device side, where it is reversed and enters the transfer nip for secondary transfer again. Then, after the secondary transfer process and the fixing process of the image are performed on the other side, the sheet is discharged onto a discharge tray.

  The optical sensors 81 and 82 are opposed to the intermediate transfer belt 10 at the portion of the support roller 14. These optical sensors 81 and 82 are opposed to both end portions of the belt 10 as shown in FIG. When toner image density detection and toner image density adjustment are performed, test marks (test pattern images) of five levels (C, M, Y, Bk) of each color (C, M, Y, Bk) are sequentially formed on both end portions of the transfer belt 10. These densities (toner amounts) are detected by the optical sensors 81 and 82. FIG. 5B shows cyan (C) test patterns 83C1 and 83C2 and magenta (M) test patterns 83M1 and 83M2 formed on the intermediate transfer belt 10. FIG.

  FIG. 6A shows the structure of the optical sensor 81. The optical sensor 81 includes an LED (light emitting diode) that projects light obliquely toward the belt 10, a regular reflection PD (photodiode) that receives regular reflection light from the belt 10, and a diffuse reflection PD that receives irregular reflection light from the belt 10. There is.

  The structure of the optical sensor 82 is the same as that of 81. The intermediate transfer belt 10 is usually made of a material having extremely high smoothness in order to avoid toner sticking. For example, a belt material having a glossy surface such as PVDF or polyimide.

  In the toner image density adjustment, the light emission intensity adjustment is performed to adjust the energization current value of the LEDs of the photosensors 81 and 82 so that the reflected light amount of the intermediate transfer belt 10 becomes the reference value (target received light amount in FIG. 6B). (Adjustment value R) and development bias correction (adjustment value Q) and exposure correction (adjustment value P) for matching the development potential vs. toner image density characteristic line to the reference characteristic line are performed. The developing potential is the difference between the photoreceptor surface potential and the developing roller potential. The light emission intensity adjustment is performed by using the light reception signal of the regular reflection PD in the optical sensor, and the light reception amount of the optical sensor due to individual differences in LED light emission efficiency, fluctuations in received light due to temperature fluctuations and temporal fluctuations, and contamination of the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 Is adjusted to adjust the received light amount of the optical sensors 81 and 82 to the target received light amount shown in FIG.

  In toner density adjustment including development bias correction (adjustment value Q) and exposure correction (adjustment value P), a test pattern (toner image: for example, (a) in FIG. 5 is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 10 for each color. ) 83C1 etc.) and their concentrations are detected by the optical sensors 81 and 82.

  FIG. 7A shows a state in which the toner image of one mark of the test pattern passes directly under the optical sensor 81. When the toner image of the test pattern comes to the opposing position, the detection signal of the irregular reflection PD of the optical sensor 81 that mainly receives irregular reflection light of the toner image is subjected to irregular reflection light reception data by A / D conversion by the CPU 517 (FIG. 8). The irregular reflection light reception data from the LUT (Look Up Table) for converting the reflection PD output into the toner density, which is created based on the characteristics of the toner density versus the irregular reflection PD output shown in FIG. Is converted into toner density data corresponding to. That is, the irregular reflection light reception data is converted into toner density data.

  Since each color toner contains a colorant of each color, a near-infrared or infrared light source having a wavelength of about 840 nm that is not significantly affected by the colorant is used as the LED light source of the optical sensors 81 and 82. . However, a toner colored with low-cost carbon black is generally used as the black toner, and exhibits a strong light absorption even in the infrared region. Therefore, as shown in FIG. Sensitivity to is reduced.

  FIG. 8 shows the system configuration of the electrical system of the multifunction copying machine 601 shown in FIG. The electrical system communicates with the outside using a system controller 501 that performs overall control of the image forming apparatus, an operation board 500 of the image forming apparatus connected to the controller 501, an HDD 503 that stores image data, and an analog line. Communication control device interface board 504, LAN interface board 505, FAX control unit 506, IEEE1394 board, wireless LAN board, USB board, etc. 507 connected to a general-purpose PIC bus, and engine control 510 connected to the controller by PCI bus The I / O control board 513 for controlling the I / O of the image forming apparatus connected to the engine control 510 and the scanner board (SBU: Sensor Board Unit) 511 for reading a copy original (image). , And an LDB (laser diode board) 512 that projects (light-writes) image light represented by the image data onto the photosensitive drum. The communication control device interface board 504 immediately notifies an external remote diagnosis device when a failure occurs in the device, and allows a serviceman to recognize the contents and situation of the abnormal part and repair it immediately. . In addition, it is also used for sending out the usage status of the device.

  A scanner 300 that optically reads an original scans the original with an original illumination light source, and forms an original image on the CCD 36. The original image, that is, the reflected light of light irradiation on the original is photoelectrically converted by the CCD 36 to generate R, G, B image signals. The CCD 36 is a three-line color CCD, generates EVENch (even pixel channel) / ODDch (odd pixel channel) R, G, and B image signals and supplies them to an analog ASIC (Application Specific IC) of the SBU (sensor board unit). input. The SBU 511 includes an analog ASIC and a circuit for generating drive timings for the CCD and analog ASIC. The output of the CCD 36 is sampled and held by a sample and hold circuit inside the analog ASIC, then A / D converted, converted into R, G and B image data, shading corrected, and output I / F (interface) At 520, the data is sent to the image data processor IPP via the image data bus.

  IPP is a programmable arithmetic processing means that performs image processing, separation generation (determination of whether an image is a character area or a photographic area: image area separation), background removal, scanner gamma conversion, filter, color correction, scaling, and image processing. , Perform printer gamma conversion and gradation processing. The image data transferred from the SBU 511 to the IPP is corrected for signal degradation (signal degradation of the scanner system) accompanying quantization into an optical system and a digital signal by the IPP, and is written in the frame memory 521.

  The system controller 501 includes a ROM that controls the CPU and the system controller board, a RAM that is a working memory used by the CPU, a lithium battery, an NV-RAM that includes a RAM backup and a clock, and a system controller board. The system bus control, frame memory control, FIFO, and other ASICs for controlling the CPU periphery and their interface circuits are mounted.

  A system controller 501 has functions of a plurality of applications such as a scanner application, a facsimile application, a printer application, and a copy application, and controls the entire system. The input of the operation board 500 is decoded, and the setting of the system and the contents of the state are displayed on the display unit of the operation board 500. Many units are connected to the PCI bus, and image data and control commands are transferred in a time division manner by the image data bus / control command bus.

  The communication control device interface board 504 is a communication interface board between the communication control device and the controller 501. Communication with the controller 501 is connected by full-duplex asynchronous serial communication. The communication control device 522 is multi-drop connected according to the RS-485 interface standard. Communication with the remote management device 630 is performed via the communication controller device interface board 504.

  The LAN interface board 505 is a communication interface board between the in-house LAN and the controller 501 connected to the in-house LAN 600 (FIG. 1), and is equipped with a PHY chip. The LAN interface board 505 and the controller 501 are connected by standard communication interfaces of a PHY chip I / F and an I2C bus I / F. Communication with an external device is performed via the LAN interface board 505.

  The HDD 503 is used as an application database that stores system application programs and device activation information of printers and image forming process devices, and an image database that stores image data of read and written images, that is, image data and document data. . Both the physical interface and the electrical interface are connected to the controller through an interface conforming to ATA / ATAPI-4.

  The operation board 500 is equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, LCD, and ASIC (LCDC) for controlling key input. In the ROM, a control program for the operation board 500 that controls input reading and display output of the operation board 500 is written. The RAM is a working memory used by the CPU. Through communication with the system controller 501, the panel is operated to perform input for the user to input system settings, and display and input control for displaying the setting contents and status of the system to the user.

Write signals of black (Bk), yellow (Y), cyan (C), and magenta (M) output from the work memory of the system controller 501 are Bk, Y, M, and LDB (Laser Diode control Board). It is input to a C LD (Laser Diode) writing circuit.
The LD write circuit performs LD current control (modulation control) and outputs the result to each LD.

  The engine control 510 is a process controller that mainly controls image formation for image formation, and includes a CPU, an IPP that performs image processing, a ROM that contains programs necessary to control copying and printout, and control of the CPU. Necessary RAM and NV-RAM are installed. The NV-RAM is equipped with an SRAM and a memory that detects power-off and stores it in the EEPROM. In addition, an I / O ASIC that also has a serial interface that sends and receives signals to and from other CPUs that perform control is a nearby I / O (counter, fan, solenoid, motor, etc.) on which an engine control board is mounted. ASIC for controlling the). The I / O control board 513 and the engine control board 510 are connected via a synchronous serial interface.

  The I / O control board 513 is equipped with a sub CPU 517, and includes a temperature sensor, a potential sensor, a photoconductor density sensor (P sensor) as a toner amount sensor, and optical sensors 81 and 82 as toner density sensors, and The image forming apparatus performs I / O control including reading of detection signals of various other sensors, analog control, jam detection referring to detection signals of the paper sensor, and paper conveyance control. The interface circuit 515 is an interface circuit with various sensors and actuators (motors, clutches, solenoids). The aforementioned optical sensors 81 and 82 are included in various sensors 516.

  The power supply unit PSU 514 is a unit that supplies power to control the image forming apparatus. When the main SW is turned on (closed), commercial power is supplied. The commercial AC is supplied from the commercial power source to the AC control circuit 540, and the AC control output controlled so as to be rectified and smoothed by the AC control circuit 540 is used to allow the power supply unit PSU 514 to generate a DC voltage necessary for each control board. Supply. The CPU of each control unit operates using a constant voltage generated by the power supply unit PSU.

  The copying machine includes data acquisition means for acquiring various information related to the state of the components and phenomena occurring inside. This data acquisition means includes an engine control 510, an I / O control 513, various sensors 516, an operation board 500 and the like shown in FIG. The engine control 510 is a control unit that controls the entire hardware of the copier, a ROM that is a data storage unit that stores a control program, a RAM that is a data storage unit that stores calculation data, control parameters, and the like, and a calculation unit A CPU or the like.

In this copying machine, the data acquisition means including the engine control 510, the I / O control 513, the various sensors 516, the operation board 500, and the like detect various states at a predetermined timing, and state evaluation data based on the detected data. The engine control 510 adjusts control parameters for various operations of the copying machine, and determines or detects a failure. These detection data, evaluation data, and control parameter values are stored in the NV-RAM of the engine control 510 as state data. In this specification, the state data is one of a value of a control parameter that affects the image forming characteristics, detection data by the state sensor, and evaluation data generated based on the detection data. That is, the state data includes detection data, evaluation data, and control parameter values.
-Explanation regarding acquired data-
Examples of various data acquired by the data acquisition unit of the copying machine include the status data, input data, and image reading data. Hereinafter, these data will be described in detail.
(A) Detection data
The detection data is a state value detected to determine the driving state, various characteristics of the recording medium, developer characteristics, photoreceptor characteristics, various process states of electrophotography, environmental conditions, various characteristics of the recorded matter, and the like. The outline of the detection data is as follows.
(A-1) Drive system data / Rotation speed of the photosensitive drum is detected by an encoder, the current value of the drive motor is read, and the temperature of the drive motor is read.
Similarly, the drive state of a cylindrical or belt-like rotating part such as a fixing roller, a paper transport roller, or a drive roller is detected.
-Detect sound generated by driving with a microphone installed inside or outside the device.
(A-2) Paper transport status-The position of the leading or trailing edge of the transported paper is read by a transmission or reflection type optical sensor or contact type sensor to detect that a paper jam has occurred. Reads deviations in the passage timing of the leading and trailing edges of the paper and fluctuations in the direction perpendicular to the feeding direction.
Similarly, the paper moving speed is obtained based on the detection timing between a plurality of sensors.
The slip between the paper supply roller and the paper during paper supply is obtained by comparing the measured value of the rotation speed of the roller with the amount of movement of the paper.
(A-3) Various characteristics of a recording medium such as paper This data greatly affects the image quality and stability of sheet conveyance. There are the following methods for acquiring the paper type data.
-The thickness of the paper should be equal to the amount of movement of the member pushed up when the paper is sandwiched between two rollers and the relative positional displacement of the rollers is detected by an optical sensor or the paper enters. Find by detecting.
-The surface roughness of the paper is such that a guide or the like is brought into contact with the surface of the paper before transfer, and vibrations or sliding noises caused by the contact are detected.
-For the gloss of paper, a light beam with a specified opening angle is incident at a specified incident angle, and a light beam with a specified opening angle reflected in the specular reflection direction is measured by a sensor.
The paper rigidity is obtained by detecting the amount of deformation (curvature) of the pressed paper.
-Judgment whether or not it is recycled paper is performed by irradiating the paper with ultraviolet rays and detecting its transmittance.
The determination as to whether or not it is a backing paper is performed by irradiating light from a linear light source such as an LED array and detecting the light reflected from the transfer surface with a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD.
Whether or not the sheet is for OHP is determined by irradiating the paper with light and detecting regular reflection light having a different angle from the transmitted light.
-The amount of water contained in the paper is determined by measuring the Kyushu of infrared or microwave light.
-The amount of curl is detected by an optical sensor, contact sensor, etc.
-The electrical resistance of the paper is measured directly by contacting a pair of electrodes (such as paper feed rollers) with the recording paper, or by measuring the surface potential of the photoconductor or intermediate transfer body after paper transfer, and recording from that value. Estimate the resistance of the paper.
(A-4) Developer characteristics The characteristics of the developer (toner and carrier) in the apparatus influence the basic function of the electrophotographic process. Therefore, it becomes an important factor for the operation and output of the system. Obtaining developer information is extremely important. Examples of the developer characteristics include the following items.
-For toner, list charge amount and distribution, fluidity, cohesion, bulk density, electrical resistance, amount of external additive, consumption or remaining amount, fluidity, toner concentration (mixing ratio of toner and carrier) Can do.
-As for carriers, magnetic properties, coat film thickness, spent amount, etc. can be mentioned.

It is usually difficult to detect these data alone in a copying machine. Therefore, it may be detected as a comprehensive characteristic of the developer. The overall characteristics of the developer can be measured by the following procedure, for example.
A test latent image is formed on the photoconductor, developed under predetermined development conditions, and the reflection density (light reflectance) of the formed toner image is measured.
A pair of electrodes is provided in the developing device and the relationship between applied voltage and current is measured (resistance, dielectric constant, etc.).
-Install a coil in the developing device and measure the voltage-current characteristics (inductance). -A level sensor is provided in the developing device to detect the developer capacity. The level sensor includes an optical type and a capacitance type.
(A-5) Photoreceptor Characteristics Photoreceptor characteristics are closely related to the functions of the electrophotographic process, as are the developer characteristics. The photoconductor characteristics data include photoconductor film thickness, surface characteristics (friction coefficient, unevenness), surface potential (before and after each process), surface energy, scattered light, temperature, color, surface position (flare), linear velocity. , Potential decay rate, electrical resistance, capacitance, surface moisture content and the like. Among these, the following data can be detected in the copying machine.
・ Detecting the current flowing from the charging member to the photosensitive member, and simultaneously comparing the change in capacitance with the change in film thickness with the voltage-current characteristics with respect to the voltage applied to the charging member and the preset dielectric thickness of the photosensitive member. Thus, the film thickness is obtained.
-The surface potential and temperature can be determined by a conventionally known sensor.
-The linear velocity is detected by an encoder attached to the photoconductor rotating shaft.
-Scattered light from the surface of the photoreceptor is detected by an optical sensor.
(A-6) Electrophotographic Process State As is well known, toner image formation by electrophotography is performed by uniformly charging a photoreceptor, forming a latent image (image exposure) by laser light, etc., and charged toner (colored particles). Development by transfer, transfer of toner image to transfer material (in the case of color, overlay on the recording medium that is the intermediate transfer body or final transfer material, or over development on the photoreceptor during development), toner on the recording medium This is done in the order of image fixing. Various information at each of these stages greatly affects the output of images and other systems. Obtaining these is important in evaluating the stability of the system.

Specific examples of the electrophotographic process state data acquisition include the following.
The charging potential and the exposure portion potential are detected by a conventionally known surface potential sensor.
The gap between the charging member and the photosensitive member in non-contact charging is detected by measuring the amount of light that has passed through the gap.
・ Electromagnetic waves from electrification are captured by a broadband antenna.
・ Sound generated by charging.
-Exposure intensity.
-Exposure light wavelength.
Examples of the method for acquiring various states of the toner image include the following. The pile height (the height of the toner image) is obtained by measuring the depth from the vertical direction with a displacement sensor and the light shielding length from the horizontal direction with a linear sensor of parallel light.
The toner charge amount is measured by a potential sensor that measures the potential of the electrostatic latent image on the solid part and the potential when the latent image is developed, and the ratio to the adhesion amount converted from the reflection density sensor at the same location. Ask for.
The dot fluctuation or dust is detected by detecting the dot pattern image with an infrared light area sensor on the photosensitive member and with an area sensor having a wavelength corresponding to each color on the intermediate transfer member, and performing appropriate processing.
The offset amount (after fixing) is obtained by reading the corresponding locations on the recording paper and the fixing roller with optical sensors and comparing them.
An optical sensor is installed after the transfer process (on the PD and on the belt), and the transfer remaining amount is determined based on the amount of reflected light from the transfer residual pattern after the transfer of the specific pattern.
-Detect color unevenness during overlay with a full-color sensor that detects the recording paper after fixing.
(A-7) The characteristics, image density, and color of the formed toner image are optically detected. Either reflected light or transmitted light may be used. What is necessary is just to select a light projection wavelength according to a color. In order to obtain density and single color information, it may be on a photoconductor or an intermediate transfer body, but it is necessary on paper to measure a color combination such as color unevenness.
For gradation, the reflection density of the toner image formed on the photosensitive member or the toner image transferred to the transfer member is detected by an optical sensor for each gradation level.
Sharpness is obtained by reading an image in which a line repetition pattern is developed or transferred using a monocular sensor having a small spot diameter or a high-resolution line sensor.
The graininess (roughness) is obtained by reading a halftone image and calculating a noise component by the same method as the sharpness detection.
The registration skew is obtained from the difference between the registration roller ON timing and the detection timing of both sensors by providing optical sensors at both ends in the main scanning direction after registration.
Color misregistration is detected by a monocular small-diameter spot sensor or high-resolution line sensor at the edge portion of the superimposed image on the intermediate transfer member or recording paper.
Banding (density unevenness in the feed direction) measures density unevenness in the sub-scanning direction with a small-diameter spot sensor or high-resolution line sensor on the recording paper, and measures the signal amount of a specific frequency.
Glossiness (unevenness) is provided so that a recording paper on which a uniform image is formed is detected by a regular reflection optical sensor.
・ Fog is a method of reading the image background with an optical sensor that detects a relatively wide area on the photoconductor, intermediate transfer member, or recording paper, or image information for each area of the background with a high-resolution area sensor. And the number of toner particles contained in the image is counted.
(A-8) The physical characteristics of the printed matter of the image forming apparatus, the image flow, the image blur, etc. are obtained by detecting the toner image on the photosensitive member, the intermediate transfer member, or the recording paper by the area sensor. Is determined by image processing.
The toner dust stain is obtained by taking an image on a recording sheet with a high resolution line sensor or an area sensor and calculating the amount of toner scattered around the pattern portion.
The trailing edge blank and the solid cross blank are detected by a high resolution line sensor on the photosensitive member, the intermediate transfer member, or the recording paper.
• Curling, undulation and crease of the recording paper are detected by a displacement sensor. In order to detect a fold, it is effective to install a sensor near the both ends of the recording paper.
-For the dirt and scratches on the edge surface, the area sensor is used to capture and analyze the edge surface when paper discharge has accumulated to some extent by the area sensor installed vertically on the paper discharge tray.
(A-9) For detection of environmental conditions and temperature, a thermocouple system that takes out a thermoelectromotive force generated at a contact point between dissimilar metals or between a metal and a semiconductor as a signal, and the resistivity of the metal or semiconductor varies depending on the temperature. Resistivity change element using this, pyroelectric element that generates a potential on the surface due to bias in the arrangement of charges in the crystal due to the rise in temperature in certain crystals, and magnetic characteristics depending on temperature It is possible to employ a thermomagnetic effect element or the like that detects the change of.
-For humidity detection, there are an optical measurement method for measuring light absorption of H ₂ O or OH group, a humidity sensor for measuring a change in electric resistance value of a material due to adsorption of water vapor, and the like.
・ Various gases are basically detected by measuring changes in the electrical resistance of the oxide semiconductor accompanying gas adsorption. Although there are optical measurement methods and the like for detection of airflow (direction, flow velocity, gas type), an air bridge type flow sensor that can be made smaller in consideration of mounting on a system is particularly useful.
-There are methods for detecting pressure and pressure, such as using a pressure sensitive material and measuring the mechanical displacement of the membrane. A similar method is used for vibration detection.
(B) Control parameter Since the operation of the copying machine is determined by the control unit, it is effective to directly use the input / output parameters of the control unit.
(B-1) Image Forming Parameters Direct parameters output by the control unit through arithmetic processing for image formation include the following examples.
A process condition setting value by the control unit, such as a charging potential, a developing bias value, a fixing temperature setting value, and the like.
-Similarly, setting values for various image processing parameters such as halftone processing and color correction.
Various parameters set by the control unit for the operation of the apparatus, for example, paper conveyance timing, execution time of the preparation mode before image formation, and the like.
(B-2) User operation history / frequency of various operations selected by the user, such as the number of colors, the number of sheets, and an image quality instruction.
The frequency of the paper size selected by the user.
(B-3) Power consumption / Total power consumption or its distribution, change amount (differentiation), cumulative value (integration), etc. for the whole period or for a specific period (one day, one week, one month, etc.).
(B-4) Consumables consumption information-Amount of toner, photoconductor, paper used or distribution, change amount (differentiation), cumulative value of whole period or specific period unit (1 day, 1 week, 1 month, etc.) Integration) etc.
(B-5) Abnormality occurrence information-Frequency of abnormal occurrence (by type) or its distribution, change amount (differentiation), cumulative value (integration) for the whole period or specific period unit (1 day, 1 week, 1 month, etc.) Such.
(B-6) Operation time information (operation time information)
-The operation time of the copying machine is measured by a time measuring means and stored.
(B-7) Number of printing operations (operation frequency information)
-Count up for each printout and store the count value.
(C) Input image information The following information can be acquired from image information sent directly from the host computer as data, or image information obtained after image processing is performed by reading a document image with a scanner.
The cumulative number of colored pixels is obtained by counting image data for each GRB signal for each pixel.
The original image can be separated into characters, halftone dots, photographs, and backgrounds by an image area separation method as described in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 2621879, and the ratios of character portions, halftone portions, and the like can be obtained. Similarly, the ratio of color characters can be obtained.
The toner consumption distribution in the main scanning direction can be obtained by counting the cumulative value of the colored pixels for each area divided in the main scanning direction.
The image size is obtained from the distribution of colored pixels in the image size signal or image data generated by the control unit.
-Character type (size, font) is obtained from character attribute data.

Next, a specific method for acquiring various data referred to in this copying machine will be described below.
(1) Temperature data The copying machine includes a temperature sensor that acquires temperature information using a variable resistance element that is simple in principle and structure and that can be miniaturized.
(2) Humidity data
A humidity sensor that can be miniaturized is useful. The basic principle is that when water vapor is adsorbed on moisture-sensitive ceramics, the ionic conduction is increased by the adsorbed water and the electrical resistance of the ceramics is reduced. The material of the moisture-sensitive ceramic is a porous material, and generally, an alumina type, an apatite type, a ZrO2-MgO type, or the like is used.
(3) Vibration data The vibration sensor is basically the same as a sensor that measures atmospheric pressure and pressure, and a silicon-based sensor that can be miniaturized is particularly useful in consideration of mounting in a system. The change in capacitance between the counter electrodes provided to face the vibrator is measured by the movement of the vibrator manufactured on the thin silicon diaphragm. It can also be measured by utilizing the piezoresistance effect of the Si diaphragm itself.
(4) Toner density (4 colors) data in developer The toner density is detected for each color and converted into data. As the toner density sensor, a conventionally known type is used. For example, the toner density is detected by a sensing system that measures a change in the magnetic permeability of the developer in the developing device as described in JP-A-6-289717.
(5) Photoconductor uniform charging potential (for four colors) data The uniform charging potential is detected for each color photoconductor 40 (K, Y, M, C). A known surface potential sensor that detects the surface potential of the object is used.
(6) Data after exposure of photoreceptor (4 colors) data The surface potential of the photoreceptor 40 (K, Y, M, C) after optical writing is detected in the same manner as in (5) above.
(7) Colored area ratio (for four colors) data From the input image information, a colored area ratio is obtained for each color from the ratio of the cumulative value of pixels to be colored and the cumulative value of all pixels, and this is used.
(8) Development toner amount (for four colors) data The reflection type photosensor 81 indicates the density (toner adhesion amount per unit area) of each color toner image developed on the photoreceptor 40 (K, Y, M, C). , 82 based on the received light amount signal.
(9) Inclination of paper leading edge position A pair of optical sensors that detect transfer paper at both ends in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction somewhere in the paper feed path from the paper feed roller 42 of the paper feed unit 200 to the secondary transfer nip. Is installed to detect both ends near the leading edge of the transferred transfer paper. For both light sensors, the time to pass is measured with reference to the time when the drive signal of the paper feed roller is transmitted, and the inclination of the transfer paper with respect to the feed direction is obtained based on the time deviation.
(10) Paper discharge timing data The transfer paper after passing through the pair of discharge rollers (56 in FIG. 1) is detected by an optical sensor. In this case as well, the measurement is performed with reference to the time when the paper feed roller drive signal is transmitted.
(11) Photoconductor total current (for four colors) data The current flowing from the photoconductor 40 (K, Y, M, C) to the ground is detected. Such a current can be detected by providing a current measuring means between the substrate of the photoreceptor and the ground terminal. (12) Photoconductor driving power (for four colors)
Driving power (current × voltage) consumed by the driving source (motor) of the photosensitive member during driving is detected by an ammeter, a voltmeter, or the like.
-Various data acquisition timing-
The various data items (1) to (12) are read by the I / O control 513 in accordance with an instruction from the engine control 510 (CPU of the same, hereinafter the same) at a timing determined for each.
The engine control 510 stores the various data read into the status information database (DB) assigned to the NV-RAM in the engine control 510 with the print number integrated value at that time added, and based on the various data, each part of the copier The state is determined, and if necessary, the control parameter is adjusted corresponding to the state to determine a failure. The state evaluation data generated by the state determination, the adjustment value of the control parameter, and the failure when the failure occurs and its contents are also stored in the state information database (DB).

FIG. 9 shows the contents of the “toner density adjustment” IDA for setting the light emission intensity adjustment value R, the development bias adjustment value Q, and the exposure adjustment value P, which are control parameters. When the process proceeds to “toner density adjustment” IDA, the engine control 510 drives the image forming mechanism (S1 in FIG. 9), digitally converts the light reception signals of the regular reflection PDs of the optical sensors 81 and 82, and this is the reference. The energization current value of the LED in the photosensor is adjusted so as to be a value (target received light amount of FIG. 6B) (S2 in FIG. 9).
As a result, the toner image density can be accurately measured without being affected by variations in the light emitting and receiving elements, changes with time, and changes with time of the surface states (background stains) of the photoreceptor and the transfer belt. The adjustment value (adjustment allowance for a fixed reference current value) is R. The adjustment value R also includes information on the surface state (dirt) of the photoreceptor and the transfer belt.

  Next, a test pattern mark (toner image: 83C1 shown in FIG. 5B, etc.) having a density of five levels for each color is formed on the photosensitive member with the charging and developing bias set to reference values, and is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 10. Transfer is performed (S3 in FIG. 9). Then, the toner density of the test pattern transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 10 is detected (S4 in FIG. 9). Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the slope γ and the intercept x0 of the characteristic line, that is, the linearly approximated development potential / toner adhesion amount straight line, are calculated from the five light receiving signals of one color (S5 in FIG. 9). Development bias adjustment and exposure amount adjustment are performed to correct the intercept x0 to the intercept of the reference characteristic line and correct the slope γ to the slope of the reference characteristic line. The adjustment allowance from each reference value at this time is the development bias correction value Q and the exposure correction value P. These R, Q, and P are accumulated in the NV-RAM in the engine control 510 with the print number integrated value at that time (S6 in FIG. 9).

  In the present embodiment, the developing bias and the exposure light quantity are corrected. Of course, other process control values that contribute to the image density such as the charging potential and the transfer current may be corrected to obtain the same result. These process controls are operated for the purpose of correcting fluctuations in the charge amount of toner within the normal range due to temperature and humidity and fluctuations in the sensitivity of the photoconductor, but they are also measured when there are specific abnormalities or signs of abnormalities. The parameter determined based on the value or the measured value may vary. For example, the cleaner installed for the purpose of collecting the toner remaining without being transferred onto the photoconductor after the transfer and maintaining normal charging exposure is often used with a blade cleaning system that rubs the photoconductor with a urethane rubber blade. However, because of such a configuration, a part of the toner sinks under the blade and passes. The toner that has passed passes through the charged exposure part and is recovered by development, but the charging characteristics are lost due to frictional action by the blade or the shape is changed, so that the toner is not recovered by development and the image is transferred to the transfer body. Regardless of whether it is a part or a non-image part, there are some which adhere non-electrostatically and are transferred as they are. For these reasons, a very small amount of toner particles are adhered to the non-image area, but the image quality is not significantly impaired because of the very small amount.

  When the photosensitive member contact portion of the blade is worn due to long-term rubbing, the scraping force decreases, and the amount of passing toner tends to increase at an accelerated rate. Finally, when a large amount of residual toner passes through the blade at once, the charging device deteriorates the charging ability due to contamination by the toner, the function of the exposure unit also deteriorates due to the attenuation by the toner, and the developing unit also has such a large amount of toner. Can not be recovered, and finally, an extremely unacceptable vertical-shaped abnormal image occurs, which immediately becomes a failure state requiring repair.

By the way, the toner adhesion amount has increased substantially uniformly on the entire image carrier shortly before such a state is reached, but at this point in time, the image is not deteriorated so as to be noticed by the user. , Very rarely noticed. This state is called “light soiling” and is considered to be a sign of a cleaner abnormality (cleaning failure). As shown in FIG. 11B, the presence of such toner has an effect of increasing the measurement result particularly in the low density portion, and causes a slight decrease in the slope γ and a decrease in the intercept X0. FIG. 12 shows the characteristic lines of each color thus obtained.
In general, there is no great difference from the environmental aging range of toner and photoconductor, and it has been extremely difficult and accurate to determine this occurrence from single-color γ or x0 or correction parameters Q and P determined based on this. It is difficult to make a warning alarm, and the conventional apparatus clearly gives an alarm of abnormality or failure when it deviates from normality, and it is difficult to quickly recognize the warning sign at the stage of abnormal warning.

FIG. 13 shows the configuration of the management device 630. When the data collection & distribution device 631 of the management apparatus 630 receives a communication request from any of the copying machines, it instructs the copying machine to send the status data and receives the status data from the copying machine in a batch. .
Then, after reception, it is additionally recorded as a new file in the database addressed to the copying machine in the status database 632. The number of copiers to be communicated is on the order of thousands, and the status data of each copier is thus stored in the status database 632 every moment.

  The inference engine for failure sign determination includes a target data generation unit 633, a target data memory 634, an abnormality sign determination unit 635, a constant database 636, and a display controller 637, and is based on the state data in the state database 632. When the determination is made and it is determined that there is a sign of abnormality, an alarm is displayed on the display 640 in order to notify the operator of the management center where the management apparatus is located.

  Since the failure sign determination is an operation with a relatively small number of steps, it can be implemented in each copying machine. However, by installing it in the management device 630, the target data generation method (for example, the feature amount calculation method) can be improved. When the discriminant constant is improved, the reasoning quality can be surely improved.

  In addition, since the determination is made by the boosting method having a relatively small number of steps, it is possible to sequentially perform the determination at a high speed even for a large amount of logs (accumulated state data). The conventional discrimination method uses the boosting method to solve the problem that the operation becomes very complicated, such as primary status discrimination on the device side due to the problem of execution time and secondary diagnosis when necessary. It was solved by applying.

When an alarm indicating the presence of an abnormal sign is issued from the inference engine for failure sign determination, the operator will contact the copier user to confirm the status and arrange repair parts in order to perform maintenance on the copier. Use a management system.
The service engineer will be arranged by contacting the call receptionist. The service engineer goes to the site of the device, performs replacement work of the target repair parts, and then inputs a work report to the parts management system and keeps a work record.
(Accumulation of status data)
FIG. 14 shows an outline of control of status data transmission by the engine control 510 of the copying machine 601. Immediately after the operation voltage is applied to the engine control 510 and initialization of each part to be controlled is completed, the printing or copying (printing together) is completed, and the next print instruction is waited for. If the increment of the print number integrated value exceeds 1000 sheets since the last transmission of the status data to the management apparatus 630 (S21 to S23), the management apparatus via the controller 501 of the copier 601 At 630, the status data transfer is reported to be accumulated (S24).
In response to this, the data collection & distribution unit 631 of the management apparatus 630 requests the copying machine to transfer the status data, and in response to this, the copying machine controller 501 stores it in the NV-RAM of the engine control 510. The state data accumulated after the completion of the previous transmission of the state data is transmitted to the management apparatus 630. The other copiers send status data to the management device 630 in the same manner. It should be noted that the number of prints does not necessarily match the time when the machine is driven by the motor and the deterioration proceeds, so that a communication request may be sent to the management device 630 every certain motor operation time. The communication data amount may be adjusted by making it possible to set or adjust the communication interval if necessary.
(Abnormal sign detection)
FIG. 15 shows an outline of the abnormality sign determination process executed by the system controller 638 of the management apparatus 630. This is executed for the status data group addressed to the copying machine in the status database 632 when the status data is transmitted from the copying machine. In the present embodiment, 31 types of state data in the state data group are targeted.
When proceeding to the “abnormal sign determination” PAD, the management apparatus 630 calculates the state data R in the 31 types of state data of the copying machine by calculating the feature amount in the target data generation unit 633 of the inference engine for failure sign determination. , Q, and P are extracted in order from the most recent one in total (16 in total) (S31), and feature values are calculated for each state data (for each R, Q, and P) (S32). .

  In this embodiment, the temporal distribution (change pattern) of the 16 state values is converted into an index value representing the feature. This conversion process is determined for each data (for each R, Q, and P). The feature amounts include ten types of feature amounts Rv1, Rv2, Q (Y) v, Q (M) v, Q (C) v, Q (Bk) v, P (Y) v, P (shown in FIG. M) v, P (C) v, P (Bk) v are included. “Abnormal sign determination 1” (S34 (described later)) using only these feature amounts as target data is a defective cleaning (black cleaning failure) and / or intermediate of the photoconductor 40 (Bk) for forming a Bk image. It is used for poor cleaning of the transfer belt 10 (including fouling fixing).

FIG. 16 shows only the feature amount calculation of the light emission intensity adjustment value R, the development bias correction value Q, and the exposure amount correction value P extracted. The light intensity adjustment value R1 of the optical sensor 81 is divided equally into 15 sections at equal intervals between the data of both ends of 16 points, that is, the latest data and the oldest data, and the print number integrated value. Data values are calculated by interpolation and extrapolation methods, and a new 16-point data group is generated together with the data at both ends (S511). Next, the average value Rm1 of the new 16-point data, the average value Rsm1 of the data of the first to fourth points from the latest, the average value Rsm2 of the data of the fifth to eighth points, and the average value of the data of the ninth to twelfth points An average value Rsm4 of Rsm3 and the 13th to 16th point data is calculated, and a difference between the calculated values, Rsm1-Rsm2, Rsm2-Rsm3, and Rsm3-Rsm4 are calculated to obtain a maximum value Rsmm1 of these differences (S512). ). Then, the feature amount Rv1 of the light emission intensity adjustment value R is set to
Rv1 = Rk · | Rsmm1 | / | Rm1 |
Is calculated (S513).
Rk is a coefficient (fixed value) for adjusting the range of the calculation value.
The above is the content of the calculation S51 of the feature amount Rv1 of the light emission intensity adjustment value R1 of the optical sensor 81.

  The calculation S52 of the characteristic amount Rv2 of the light emission intensity adjustment value R2 of the optical sensor 82, the development amount adjustment values Q (Y), Q (M), Q (C) and Q (Bk) of the characteristic amounts Q ( Y) Calculation of S53 to S56 of v, Q (M) v, Q (C) v and Q (Bk) v, and exposure amount adjustment values P (Y), P (M), P (for each color toner density adjustment C) and P (Bk) feature values P (Y) v, P (M) v, P (C) v and P (Bk) v are calculated S57 to S60. This is the same as the content of calculation S51.

  The calculated feature amounts are the gradients or speeds of changes in the adjustment values shown in FIG. 17 for the development bias adjustment values Q (Y), Q (M), Q (C), and Q (Bk) for the toner density adjustment of each color. It corresponds to.

Note that such a feature amount is target data for abnormality sign determination.
In addition to the above-described difference value, the feature quantity can be obtained by various calculation formulas such as a regression value of signal change, a standard deviation, a maximum value, and an average value of a plurality of recent data. Many such time-series signal feature extraction methods such as the ARIMA model have been proposed, and an appropriate method may be used.

  We think that the sign of abnormality is captured by the fact that the signal that was stable when it was normal showed unusual and unstable movements in various forms. From this viewpoint, an appropriate feature quantity extraction method may be selected. Further, the index of time passage is not limited to the above-mentioned print number integrated value, and an operating time integrated value, an actual time elapsed value, or the like can be selected. Further, adding the feature amount not including temporal calculation or the state data itself to the target data for the abnormality sign determination does not impair the merit of the present invention. For example, the state detection value itself at that time may be added to the target data. That is, the target data for the abnormality sign determination is either or both of the feature amount and the state data generated based on the state data.

    Reference is again made to FIG. The feature amount generated by the calculation and other generated target data are accumulated in the target data memory 634 (S33). Then, abnormality detection is performed using several or all of the target data in the generated target data group. In this embodiment, one type of detection is performed for the sake of simplicity, but actually, a processing set from S34 to S39 is executed for each type of failure.

FIG. 18 shows a processing form common to the first and second abnormality sign determination.
The early-stage sign detector and the late-stage sign detector differ in the strength of the sign detected at the time of creation, but the detection mechanism is the same, and both have a first discriminating means and a second discriminating means. In each abnormal sign detector, the tendency of each target data calculated this time and addressed to each abnormal sign determination is determined (S71), and the tendency determination result is sent to the trend determination table (inside the apparatus 630). Are stored in one area of the RAM (S72). In this tendency discrimination, stamp discrimination that discriminates only the magnitude of the reference value, which is the first discrimination means, is performed for each target data. In other words, each target data is stored in the constant database 636 in each predictor determination reference data table (FIG. 19) and stored in the constant predictor determination (any one of 1 to n). If there is no abnormal tendency (“0”) if it is less than or equal to the reference value b assigned to the status data type (No .; for example, corresponding to R, Q, P) in the sign determination reference data table addressed to If the value is greater than or equal to value b, there is an abnormal tendency (“1”), and binarization is performed.

Next, a weighted majority calculation of the tendency discrimination result, which is the second discrimination means, is performed (S73).
That is, the weight α addressed to each target data in the predictor determination reference data table (FIG. 19) is given negative polarity (−) when the trend determination result is “1” (abnormal trend exists), and the trend determination result Is positive (+) and is added. Polarity data is expressed as sgn. The added value is used as a predictive index value F. The sign index value F is accumulated in a sign index value table (one area of the RAM inside the device 630) addressed to the abnormality sign determination (S74). When the sign index value F is 0 or less, sign determination information A: “1” indicating the presence of an abnormal sign is generated, and when it exceeds 0, sign determination information A “0” indicating no abnormality sign is generated (75).

FIG. 22 shows the above-described processing mode of the first “abnormal sign determination 1” S34 in the abnormality sign determinations S34 to S37. In “abnormal sign determination 1” S34, each target data (feature value) Rv1, Rv2, Q (Y) v, Q (M) v, Q (C) v and Q (Bk) v, P (Y ) The values of v, P (M) v, P (C) v and P (Bk) v are used as reference values b (Nos. 1 to 10) of the sign determination reference data table addressed to “abnormal sign determination 1”. ) Is binarized so that there is no abnormal tendency (“0”) if it is less than or equal to or greater than the reference value b (“1”) (S81).
The sign determination reference data table used in this case is the same as that shown in FIG. Are the target data (features) Rv1, Rv2, Q (Y) v, Q (M) v, Q (C) v and Q (Bk) v, P (Y) v, P (M) v, P ( C) 1 to 10 addressed to v and P (Bk) v, respectively. Therefore, the reference value b is b1 to b10.

  Next, a weighted majority calculation of the tendency discrimination result, which is the second discrimination means, is performed (S83). That is, the weight α (α1 to α10) addressed to each target data in the sign determination reference data table is given negative polarity (−) when the tendency determination result is “1” (abnormal tendency exists), and the tendency If the determination result is “0” (no abnormal tendency), the positive polarity (+) is given and added. Polarity data is expressed as sgn. The added value is used as a predictive index value Fbc. The sign index value Fbc is accumulated in the sign index value table 1 addressed to the abnormal sign determination 1 (S84). An example of the predictor index value Fbc is shown at the bottom of FIG. 20, and several examples are shown in FIG.

  When the sign index value Fbc is 0 or less, sign determination information A1: “1” indicating the presence of an abnormal sign is generated, and when it exceeds 0, sign determination information A1: “0” indicating no abnormality sign is generated (85).

  Reference is again made to FIG. The 31 types of target data generated in step S32 are divided into groups for determining signs of abnormality such as cleaning failure, image abnormality, transfer paper resist abnormality, toner shortage, hardware abnormality, etc. In the above-mentioned “abnormal sign determination 1” S34, as described above, ten types of target data (features) Rv1, Rv2, Q (Y) v, Q (M) v, Q (C) v and Q (Bk) v, P (Y) v, P (M) v, P (C) v and P (Bk) v (a group for determining a sign of cleaning failure) are used. “Abnormal Sign Determination 2” S35 to “Abnormal Sign Determination n” S37 determines a sign of an image abnormality, a registration abnormality on the transfer paper, a toner shortage, a hardware abnormality, and other abnormalities.

  Reference is again made to FIG. The corresponding previous sign detection date and time is searched from the database in which the previous sign detection date and time is recorded, and it is checked whether the previous sign detection has been detected before (S34). If no previous sign has been detected before, the previous sign detector determines whether there is a previous sign (S35). If there is no previous period sign, the process ends. If there is, the signal date and time and machine number are registered in the previous period date database (S36). If it is found in S34 that there was a previous sign in the past, the late sign detector determines whether there is a late sign (S37). If there is no late sign, the process ends as it is, and if there is, the urgency is calculated (S38), then the data of the corresponding machine number in the previous sign date / time database is deleted (S39), and the urgency is notified (S40). . As the notification means, the information may be output to a display of a PC provided in the management apparatus, or may be notified to a maintenance person by e-mail or the like.

Next, calculation of urgency will be described.
The degree of urgency is defined as the period of time from the early-stage predictive state to the late-predictor state.
When the failure state is approaching rapidly, the transition period from the early warning state to the later warning state is shortened. Conversely, when the failure state is slowly approaching, the transition period is longer. Therefore, this transition period is regarded as an urgency level.
Specifically, the date and time when the first-stage sign is detected and the date and time when the second-stage sign is detected are used.
The simplest urgency level may be a difference between two dates. The larger the difference, the lower the urgency level, and the smaller the difference, the higher the urgency level. Or it is good also considering the reciprocal number of the difference of two dates as an urgent degree. In this case, the higher the numerical value, the higher the degree of urgency. Further, instead of notifying the numerical value itself, a numerical standard may be created and the indicators “low”, “medium”, and “high” may be notified as the urgency level.

  In the above example, when a sign is detected by the early and late sign detectors, the urgency level is detected based on the date and time, but a count value obtained by counting the number of output sheets may be used.

  Note that the engine control 510 of the copier 601 has an exception so that a transient change of the target data immediately after the repair is not erroneously determined as an abnormal sign state when there is an initialization input of a repaired element upon completion of repair from the operation board 500. Process. In the exception processing of the present embodiment, the repaired status data of the repaired element is written in the status database (NV-RAM) with the data with correction added.

  When the target data generation unit 633 of the management device 630 extracts the 16-point state data in step S31, if the data with correction is included therein, the target data generation and predictor determination 1 to step 32 regarding the state data are performed. Each of the n trend determinations is not executed, and the trend determination data related to the state data is determined to have no abnormal tendency (“0”).

  Further, when the engine control 510 of the copying machine 601 collects the state data and recognizes the abnormality of the state data, the abnormality is displayed on the display of the operation board 500, and the state data set at that time, the abnormality content (abnormal form) ) And the occurrence of an abnormality are transmitted to the management device 630.

  The data collection & distribution unit 631 of the management apparatus 630 accumulates the received information in a status database addressed to the corresponding copying machine, and displays abnormality and other information in the received information on the display 640. This “abnormality” may not be a sign detection target of the abnormality sign determination PAD, but the reference value and the weight value may be insufficiently adjusted for the abnormality. In order to cope with this, the management device 630 has an update function of the predictive judgment reference table that can individually change each reference value and each weight value of the constant data table in the management device 630 by a modification input operation to the personal computer PCa. An operator who has (program) and has administrator authority can individually adjust each reference value and each weight value in the predictive judgment reference table in the aircraft by using this update function.

  The management device 630 generates a predictor based on the status data collected from the copier group of the same model in the status database 632 by the discriminator generation process that performs interactive cooperation with an operator having management authority. In order to detect (determine) a sign of an abnormality reported by the copying machine without determining whether or not, a failure sign determination (1 to n) that is most easily used for predicting the sign of the abnormality (predictive detection is closely related) The reference value b and weight α used in the trend determination (first determination) and the sign determination (second determination) are generated (corrected) to generate a sign determination reference table including them, and the corresponding sign in the constant database Rewrite the judgment reference table. As a result, the management apparatus 630 then determines a sign of an abnormality that the copier previously notified.

  According to the “abnormal sign determination” PAD described above, the determination process is defined by the reference value b for stamp determination for each target data, the weight sign (sgn) when the reference value is larger than the reference value, and the weight α. There are only three values. In the weighted majority vote, since a large weight value α is given to target data having a large influence and Σsgn × α is calculated, the processing load is very small.

  Next, how the sign determination reference table (FIG. 19) is created will be described. As the predictor determination reference table, two tables for the first-stage sign and the second-stage sign are created for each failure. The sign determination reference table provided in the management device 630 is generally created using a supervised learning algorithm called a boosting method. The boosting method is known, for example, in “Mathematical Science No. 489, MARCH 2004 (Information Geometry for Statistical Pattern Identification)”. In summary, first, state data that is known in advance to be in a normal state and state data that is known to be in an abnormal sign state are prepared. For example, when performing an endurance test of the apparatus, a state data log is taken, and when an abnormal case is encountered, a period when there is a predictive state before the abnormality is estimated and used as the data. The inventors collected and verified abnormal cases while actually collecting more than 10 image forming apparatuses over a period of 3 months.

Next, the creation of the early-stage sign discriminator and the late-stage sign discriminator will be described.
The only difference is the abnormal state data input to the learning algorithm, and all other points follow the method for creating a discriminator described above. First, abnormal state data input as learning data is divided into two. The way to divide is simply to divide the precursor period into the first half and the second half.
The data corresponding to the first half is the first period of the previous period and the second half is the second period. By inputting normal data and abnormal data in the previous sign period to the learning algorithm, a first-term predictor discriminator that detects the previous sign is created, and by inputting normal data and abnormal data in the second sign period into the learning algorithm, A late sign discriminator for detecting a sign is created.

Q (Y), Q (M), Q (C), and Q (K) shown in FIG. 20 are obtained when one of the copiers operating in the market has a Bk color and causes a cleaning failure and is repaired. This is the result of recording the change in the development bias adjustment value Q for each color for three months. Similarly, only state information Q (development bias adjustment value) in which a large number of other state information is recorded and utilized but the change is remarkable will be introduced.
In this way, it is observed that the development bias adjustment values for the Y, M, and C colors fluctuate prior to the Bk color cleaning failure.

Therefore, the target data generation (including feature amount calculation) described above (S32, S51) was performed. Among the generated 31 target data, several types or all j target data targeted for “abnormal sign determination” (one of 1 to n) to be generated are represented by the print number integrated value on the horizontal axis. Express the abnormal sign period by visual observation, give the label of the section corresponding to the abnormal sign period as 1 (abnormal sign period), give the other label as 1 (normal period), and j times by boosting Were repeated, and b1 to bj, sgn1 to sgnj, and α1 to αj were determined. The b1 to bj and α1 to αj were used as the sign determination reference table. An example of the sign determination reference table for j = 31 is shown in FIG. An example of the result of calculating the F value using the sign determination reference table is shown next to Q (K) in FIG. The labeled supervised data includes a weak discriminator (first discriminating means: S71, S81) in which learning is appropriately performed and only the corresponding portion of the predictor changes to a negative F value, and a strong discriminator by weighted majority ( It was confirmed that the second discriminating means: S73 to 75, S83 to 85) were generated. Next, whether or not this discriminator gives an appropriate result to the test data not used for learning is based on the same procedure from the status information of the devices in which the same abnormal cases of 5 units (units 1 to 5) have occurred. FIG. 21 shows the result of the feature amount extraction and post-validation verified.
The discriminator output F value that is calculated using the previously determined b and α changes to minus when an abnormal sign state is present prior to the occurrence of the same abnormal case as intended, and the sign state is well distinguished. I was able to confirm that I was able to do it. The processing up to the point where the failure urgency is calculated is the same as in the first embodiment, and is omitted.

After the failure urgency is calculated, the failure urgency is notified to the corresponding copier.
As a notification means, a protocol such as mail or SOAP is used.
Upon receiving the notification, the copying machine displays the content of the failure and the urgency level on a display provided in the copying machine.
Instead of the display, a touch panel provided for operation may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Intermediate transfer belt 40 Photoconductor 60 Charging device 61 Developing device 62 Primary transfer roller 63 Cleaning device 81, 82 Optical sensor 601 Color copying machine 630 Management device 631 Data collection & distribution device 632 Status database 633 Target data generation unit 634 Target data Memory 635 Abnormal sign determination unit 636 Definition database 637 Display controller 640 Display

JP 2009-37141 A JP 2009-42361 A

Claims (4)

The image forming device and the management device are connected via a network,
The image forming apparatus includes:
Status information detection means for detecting the status of the image forming apparatus;
A status information recording means for recording the status information; and a status information transmitting means for transmitting the status information recorded in the status information recording means to the management device,
The management device
Status information receiving means for receiving status information transmitted from the status information transmitting means of the image forming apparatus;
Among the signs of an abnormal state of the image forming apparatus appearing in the status information, the abnormal sign detection means for detecting the first sign of an abnormal sign that appears at the beginning of the sign period;
Late abnormal sign detection means for detecting a sign that appears in the latter part of the sign period out of the sign of an abnormal state of the image forming apparatus that appears in the state information;
Early period date and time value recording means for recording the date and time detected by the previous period sign detection means linked to the machine number;
A failure urgency calculating means for calculating a failure urgency from the date and time detected by the previous-stage predictor date and the latter-stage predictor detection means;
A failure urgency notification means for notifying the failure urgency;
The management device calculates the feature amount of the image forming apparatus based on the state information, accumulates the trend result of the feature amount, discriminates from the trend result, calculates the predictor result, and the sign detection has been performed previously Compared with the previous sign detection result against the previous sign detection result, if there is a previous sign detection, calculate the urgency and then delete the later sign date and time data from the corresponding image forming device And a management system for the image forming apparatus. The image forming device and the management device are connected via a network,
The image forming apparatus includes:
Status information detection means for detecting the status of the image forming apparatus;
Status information recording means for recording status information;
A status information transmitting means for transmitting the status information recorded in the status information recording means to the management device;
The management device
Status information receiving means for receiving status information transmitted from the status information transmitting means of the image forming apparatus;
Among the signs of an abnormal state of the image forming apparatus appearing in the status information, the abnormal sign detection means for detecting the first sign of an abnormal sign that appears at the beginning of the sign period;
Late abnormal sign detection means for detecting a sign that appears in the latter part of the sign period out of the sign of an abnormal state of the image forming apparatus that appears in the state information;
Early period predictor counter value recording means for recording the counter detected by the previous period predictor detecting means linked to the machine number;
A failure urgency calculating means for calculating a failure urgency from a counter value at the time of detection of the previous sign and a counter value detected by the latter sign detection means;
An image forming apparatus management system comprising failure urgency notification means for notifying failure urgency. In the management system of the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A management system for an image forming apparatus, comprising: a previous-stage sign detection notification means for notifying that a previous-stage sign detection means has detected. The image forming apparatus management system according to claim 1, wherein:
The image forming apparatus includes notification receiving means for receiving a notification from the management system,
A management system for an image forming apparatus, comprising notification content display means for displaying notification content.

Images