JP2017203866A - Image forming apparatus and replacement part - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus that can accurately determine if a correct type of cartridge is attached thereto, and a cartridge.SOLUTION: A toner cartridge 316 includes at least a replacement part-side substrate 6 and a light emitting part 66. The light emitting part 66 is provided in an inner layer of the replacement part-side substrate 6 and emits light toward the outside of the replacement part-side substrate 6 through a lateral wall 67. A body part of an image forming apparatus 10 includes at least a body-side substrate 7, a light receiving part 76, and a control unit 74. The light receiving part 76 is provided in an inner layer of the body-side substrate 7 and receives the light emitted by the light emitting part 66 through a lateral wall 77. The control unit 74 performs control according to the type of the toner cartridge 316 at least on the basis of the light received by the light receiving part 76.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a replacement part that can be attached to and detached from a main body of the image forming apparatus.

  In general, the image forming apparatus includes a replaceable replacement part that can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus, such as a toner cartridge, a photoreceptor unit, a fixing unit, and an ink cartridge. When replacement parts such as those described above are replaced, if a replacement part of a different type from the correct replacement part is mistakenly installed, the image quality will deteriorate or the image forming apparatus will operate normally. Or the image forming apparatus may break down.

  Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, for example, whether or not a toner cartridge having a different color is erroneously mounted is read by reading information on the replacement part from the information storage unit provided in the replacement part. An image forming apparatus capable of discriminating is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-20219 A

  However, in the image forming apparatus, the information stored in the information storage unit can be read due to a failure of the information storage unit or a wiring failure for reading information on the replacement part from the information storage unit. There is a risk of disappearing. This makes it impossible to determine whether the correct type of replacement part is mounted.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and a replacement part that can determine whether or not a correct type of replacement part is mounted even when an information storage unit or a wiring is faulty.

  An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a main body portion and a replacement part that is detachable from the main body portion. The replacement part includes a replacement part side substrate, an information storage unit, a replacement part side contact terminal, and a light emitting unit. The replacement component side substrate is a substrate having at least a part of the side wall having translucency. The information storage unit is provided on the replacement component side substrate, and stores replacement component information to be transmitted to the main body unit. The replacement component side contact terminal is a contact terminal provided on the replacement component side substrate, for transmitting the replacement component information to the main body. The light emitting unit is provided in an inner layer of the replacement component side substrate, and emits light toward the outside of the replacement component side substrate through a side wall of the replacement component side substrate. The main body portion includes a main body side substrate, a main body side contact terminal, a light receiving portion, and a control portion. The main body side substrate is a substrate in which at least a part of the side wall has translucency. The main body side contact terminal is provided on the main body side substrate, and contacts the replacement part side contact terminal when the replacement part is mounted on the main body part. The light receiving portion is provided in an inner layer of the main body side substrate, and receives light emitted from the light emitting portion through the side wall of the main body side substrate when the replacement part is mounted on the main body portion. The control unit performs control according to the type of the replacement part based on the replacement part information received through the main body side contact terminal and the light received by the light receiving unit.

  A replacement part according to another aspect of the present invention is a replacement part that can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and includes a replacement part side substrate, an information storage part, a replacement part side contact terminal, and a light emitting part. And comprising. The replacement component side substrate is a substrate having at least a part of the side wall having translucency. The information storage unit is provided on the replacement component side substrate, and stores replacement component information to be transmitted to the main body unit. The replacement component side contact terminal is provided on the replacement component side substrate, and is a contact terminal for transmitting the replacement component information to the main body. The light emitting unit is provided in an inner layer of the replacement component side substrate, and emits light toward the outside of the replacement component side substrate through a side wall of the replacement component side substrate.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus and a replacement part capable of determining whether or not a correct type of replacement part is mounted even when an information storage unit or a wiring is faulty.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing a toner cartridge in the middle of being mounted on the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view showing a toner cartridge mounted on the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the replacement component side substrate and the main body side substrate in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the replacement component side substrate and the main body side substrate in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the replacement component side substrate and the main body side substrate in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of replacement part determination processing executed by the control unit in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings for understanding of the present invention. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[Schematic Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 10]
First, the configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The image forming apparatus 10 is a multifunction machine having a print function for forming an image based on image data, and a plurality of functions such as a scan function, a facsimile function, and a copy function. The present invention is also applicable to image forming apparatuses such as printers, facsimile machines, and copiers.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 includes an ADF 1, an image reading unit 2, an image forming unit 3, a paper feeding unit 4, and an operation display unit 5.

  The ADF 1 is an automatic document conveyance device that includes a document setting unit (not shown), a plurality of conveyance rollers, a document pressing unit, and a paper discharge unit, and conveys a document read by the image reading unit 2. The image reading unit 2 includes a document table (not shown), a light source, a plurality of mirrors, an optical lens, and a CCD, and can read image data from the document.

  The image forming unit 3 can execute an image forming process (printing process) for forming a color or monochrome image by electrophotography based on the image data read by the image reading unit 2. The image forming unit 3 can also execute the printing process based on image data input from an information processing apparatus such as an external personal computer.

  The sheet feeding unit 4 supplies sheets to the image forming unit 3. For example, the sheet is a sheet material such as paper, coated paper, postcard, envelope, and OHP sheet.

  The operation display unit 5 is a display unit such as a liquid crystal display that displays various types of information in response to control instructions from an unillustrated general control unit, and an operation that inputs various types of information to the general control unit in response to user operations. An operation unit such as a key or a touch panel is provided.

  Next, the configuration of the image forming unit 3 will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming unit 3 includes a plurality of image forming units 31 to 34, an optical scanning device 35, an intermediate transfer belt 36, a secondary transfer roller 37, and a fixing device 38.

  The image forming unit 31 corresponds to Y (yellow), the image forming unit 32 corresponds to C (cyan), the image forming unit 33 corresponds to M (magenta), and the image forming unit 34 corresponds to K (black). is there.

  The image forming unit 31 includes a photosensitive drum, a charging roller, a developing unit, a primary transfer roller, and a drum cleaning unit. Each of the image forming units 32 to 34 has the same configuration as that of the image forming unit 31.

  The optical scanning device 35 forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum included in each of the image forming units 31 to 34.

  The intermediate transfer belt 36 is an endless belt member to which a toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum included in each of the image forming units 31 to 34 is transferred.

  The secondary transfer roller 37 transfers the toner image attached to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 36 onto the sheet.

  The fixing device 38 melts and fixes the toner image transferred to the sheet by the secondary transfer roller 37 on the sheet.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming unit 3 further includes mounting units 317 to 347. The toner cartridges 316 to 346 are detachably attached to the mounting portions 317 to 347, respectively. That is, the toner cartridges 316 to 346 (an example of replacement parts of the present invention) are detachable from the main body of the image forming unit 3.

  The toner cartridge 316 contains yellow toner supplied to the image forming unit 31. The toner cartridge 326 contains cyan toner supplied to the image forming unit 32. The toner cartridge 336 stores magenta toner supplied to the image forming unit 33. The toner cartridge 346 stores black toner supplied to the image forming unit 34.

  The toner cartridges 316 to 346 have the same configuration other than the color of the toner to be stored. Further, the mounting portions 317 to 347 are different only in the toner cartridges to be mounted, and the configurations thereof are common. Therefore, only the combination of the toner cartridge 316 and the mounting portion 317 will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the replacement component side substrate 6 is provided at a predetermined position of the toner cartridge 316. On the other hand, the main body side substrate 7 is provided at a predetermined position of the mounting portion 317.

  On the replacement component side substrate 6, an information storage unit 64 and a plurality of replacement component side contact terminals 65 are provided. The information storage unit 64 stores replacement part information to be transmitted to the main body unit. The replacement part information is information related to the toner cartridge 316 and includes, for example, identification information of the toner cartridge 316, quality determination information, the color of toner to be stored (here, yellow), and the remaining amount of toner to be stored. The replacement part side contact terminal 65 includes a contact terminal (a replacement part side contact terminal 65B described later) for transmitting the replacement part information to the main body.

  On the main body side substrate 7, a control unit 74, a plurality of main body side contact terminals 75, and the like are provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the main body side contact terminal 75 contacts the replacement part side contact terminal 65 when the toner cartridge 316 is mounted on the mounting portion 317. The control unit 74 includes control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, for example, and performs control according to the type of the toner cartridge based on the replacement part information received through the main body side contact terminal 75. Details of the control will be described later.

  By the way, there is known an image forming apparatus capable of determining whether or not a toner cartridge having a different color is erroneously mounted by reading information on the replacement part from an information storage unit provided in the replacement part. It has been. However, in such an image forming apparatus, the information stored in the information storage unit is read due to a failure of the information storage unit or a failure of a wiring for reading information on the replacement part from the information storage unit. There is a risk that it will not be possible to put out. This makes it impossible to determine whether the correct type of replacement part is mounted.

  On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the replacement part side substrate 6 and the main body side substrate 7 are configured as described below, whereby an information storage unit 64 or wiring (for example, described later). Even when the communication terminal 75B or the like is faulty, it is possible to determine whether or not a correct type of replacement part is mounted.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the replacement component side substrate 6 and the main body side substrate 7 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

  A plurality of replacement component side contact terminals 65 are provided on the first main surface 61 of the replacement component side substrate 6. An information storage unit 64 is provided on the second main surface 62 of the replacement component side substrate 6. The information storage unit 64 and the plurality of replacement component side contact terminals 65 are electrically connected through a through hole 68 formed in the replacement component side substrate 6.

  The plurality of replacement component side contact terminals 65 include a power supply terminal 65A, two communication terminals 65B, and a ground terminal 65C. The information storage unit 64 is supplied with power from the main body unit through the power supply terminal 65 </ b> A and the through hole 68.

  A light emitting unit 66 is provided on the inner layer 63 of the replacement component side substrate 6. The light emitting unit 66 is electrically connected to the middle part of the through hole 68 connecting the information storage unit 64 and the replacement part side contact terminal 65 through an inner layer wiring 69. Electric power is supplied from the main body through the terminal 65A and the middle part of the through hole 68. The light emitting unit 66 emits invisible light by the electric power supplied from the main body unit.

  The replacement component side substrate 6 is a glass epoxy substrate. That is, the inner layer 63 (including the side wall 67) of the replacement component side substrate 6 is translucent and has translucency. Therefore, the invisible light emitted from the light emitting unit 66 is irradiated toward the outside of the replacement component side substrate 6 through the side wall 67 of the replacement component side substrate 6.

  A control unit 74 and a plurality of main body side contact terminals 75 are provided on the first main surface 71 of the main body side substrate 7. Nothing is particularly provided on the second main surface 72 of the main body side substrate 7. The control unit 74 and the plurality of main body side contact terminals 75 are electrically connected through a wiring formed on the first main surface 71.

  The plurality of main body side contact terminals 75 include a power supply terminal 75A, two communication terminals 75B, and a ground terminal 75C.

  A light receiving portion 76 is provided on the inner layer 73 of the main body side substrate 7. The light receiving unit 76 is electrically connected to the control unit 74 through the inner layer wiring 78.

  The main body side substrate 7 is also a glass epoxy substrate like the replacement component side substrate 6. That is, the inner layer 73 (including the side wall 77) of the main body side substrate 7 is translucent and has translucency. When the toner cartridge 316 is mounted on the mounting portion 317, the replacement component side substrate 6 and the main body side substrate 7 are located on the same plane, and the light emitting portion 66 and the light receiving portion 76 are in a positional relationship facing each other. Therefore, the invisible light emitted from the light emitting unit 66 is applied to the light receiving unit 76 through the side wall 67 of the replacement component side substrate 6 and the side wall 77 of the main body side substrate 7. That is, the light receiving unit 76 can receive light emitted from the light emitting unit 66 through the side wall 77 of the main body side substrate 7 when the toner cartridge 316 is mounted on the mounting unit 317. Then, an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 76 is supplied to the control unit 74 through the inner layer wiring 78.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 74 can acquire the replacement part information stored in the information storage unit 64 through the communication terminal 65B and the communication terminal 75B. In addition, an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 76 is supplied from the light receiving unit 76 to the control unit 74. Accordingly, the control unit 74 can perform control according to the type of the toner cartridge based on the replacement part information received through the main body side contact terminal 75 and the light received by the light receiving unit 76.

  In the present embodiment, the amount of light emitted from the light emitting unit 66 differs for each toner cartridge 316, 326, 336, and 346. Therefore, the control unit 74 determines whether or not the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 76 is a specified value based on the electrical signal supplied from the light receiving unit 76 (that is, the amount of light received when the correct type of toner cartridge 316 is mounted). It is possible to determine whether or not the correct type of toner cartridge 316 is mounted.

  Next, an example of the procedure of the replacement part determination process executed by the control unit 74 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, steps S1, S2,... Represent processing procedure (step) numbers executed by the control unit 74. The replacement part determination process is executed, for example, at a timing when the toner cartridge is replaced. In addition, the replacement part determination process is executed individually for each of the mounting units 317, 327, 337, and 347.

<Step S1>
First, in step S1, the control unit 74 reads the replacement part information stored in the information storage unit 64 through the communication terminal 65B and the communication terminal 75B.

<Step S2>
In step S2, the control unit 74 determines whether or not the replacement part information has been normally read. If it is determined that the replacement part information has been read normally (S2: Yes), the process proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, if it is determined that the replacement part information could not be read normally (S2: No), the process proceeds to step S4.

<Step S3>
In step S3, the control unit 74 determines whether or not the type of the currently installed toner cartridge is correct based on the replacement part information. For example, in the mounting unit 317 corresponding to yellow toner, when the “color of toner to be accommodated” included in the replacement part information read from the information storage unit 64 is “yellow”, the type of toner cartridge is Judged to be correct. On the other hand, if the “color of toner to be accommodated” included in the replacement part information is other than “yellow”, it is determined that the type of the toner cartridge is not correct.

  If it is determined in step S3 that the type of the currently installed toner cartridge is correct (S3: Yes), the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if it is determined that the type of the currently installed toner cartridge is not correct (S3: No), the process proceeds to step S7.

<Step S4>
In step S <b> 4, the control unit 74 detects the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 76 based on the electrical signal supplied from the light receiving unit 76.

<Step S5>
In step S5, the control unit 74 determines whether or not the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 76 is a specified value (that is, whether or not the amount of received light is the same as when the correct type of toner cartridge 316 is mounted). . In the present embodiment, for each of the mounting portions 317, 327, 337, and 347, a predetermined value that differs depending on the toner color is stored in advance in the ROM or the like.

  If it is determined in step S5 that the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 76 is a specified value (S5: Yes), the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if it is determined that the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 76 is not the specified value (S5: No), the process proceeds to step S7.

<Step S6>
In step S6, the control unit 74 determines that the type of the currently installed toner cartridge is correct, and transmits a use permission signal for permitting use of the currently installed toner cartridge to the overall control unit. Then, the replacement part determination process ends. As a result, the toner is supplied from the currently installed toner cartridge by the overall control unit.

<Step S7>
In step S7, the control unit 74 determines that the type of the currently installed toner cartridge is not correct, and transmits a use prohibition signal for prohibiting the use of the currently installed toner cartridge to the overall control unit. . Then, the replacement part determination process ends. As a result, the overall control unit does not supply toner from the currently installed toner cartridge. Further, for example, notification processing for prompting the user to install a correct type of toner cartridge is performed by the overall control unit.

  A part or all of the replacement part determination process executed by the control unit 74 may be executed by the overall control unit.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the type of the toner cartridge can be determined based on the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 76. Therefore, for example, even when the information storage unit 64, the communication terminal 65B, the communication terminal 75B, etc. are out of order, it is possible to determine whether or not the correct type of replacement part is mounted.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality of replacement component side contact terminals 65 are provided on the first main surface 61 of the replacement component side substrate 6, and information is displayed on the second main surface 62 of the replacement component side substrate 6. A storage unit 64 is provided, and a light emitting unit 66 is provided in the inner layer 63 of the replacement component side substrate 6. Therefore, the size (area) of the replacement component side substrate 6 can be reduced. Further, since the light emitting unit 66 is provided in the inner layer 63 of the replacement component side substrate 6 and is not exposed to the outside, the light emitting unit 66 can be prevented from being damaged due to contact with other objects.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the light emitting unit 66 is electrically connected through the inner layer wiring 69 to the middle part of the through hole 68 that connects the information storage unit 64 and the replacement component side contact terminal 65. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately form a through hole for the light emitting portion 66. Further, it is possible to prevent damage to the inner layer wiring 69 due to contact with other objects.

  In the present embodiment, invisible light is emitted from the light emitting unit 66. Therefore, even if the light emitted from the light emitting unit 66 leaks to the outside of the image forming apparatus 10, the light is not visually recognized by the user, and the user does not make the user uncomfortable with the leaked light. .

  In the present embodiment, the light receiving unit 76 is electrically connected to the control unit 74 through the inner layer wiring 78. Therefore, damage to the inner layer wiring 78 due to contact with other objects can be prevented.

  In the present embodiment, the type of toner cartridge is determined based on the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 76, but the present invention is not limited to this. As long as the characteristics (for example, light quantity, frequency, wavelength, blinking period, etc.) of the light emitted from the light emitting section 66 differ depending on the type of toner cartridge, the toner cartridge is based on the characteristics of the light received by the light receiving section 76. Can be discriminated.

  Further, the type of the toner cartridge may be determined depending on whether light is received by the light receiving unit 76 regardless of the amount of received light. For example, when light is received by the light receiving unit 76, it is determined that the toner cartridge corresponds to the current image forming apparatus 10, and when light is not received by the light receiving unit 76, the current image forming apparatus 10. It may be determined that the toner cartridge is for an older model.

  In this embodiment, the type of the toner cartridge is determined, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to any replacement part that can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus, such as a photoreceptor unit, a fixing unit, and an ink cartridge.

6 Replacement component side substrate 7 Body side substrate 10 Image forming device 61 First main surface 62 Second main surface 63 Inner layer 64 Information storage unit 65 Replacement component side contact terminal 65A Power supply terminal 65B Communication terminal 65C Ground terminal 66 Light emitting unit 67 Side wall 68 Through-hole 69 Inner layer wiring 71 First main surface 72 Second main surface 73 Inner layer 74 Control unit 75 Main body side contact terminal 75A Power supply terminal 75B Communication terminal 75C Ground terminal 76 Light receiving unit 77 Side wall 78 Inner layer wirings 317 to 347 Mounting unit 316 ~ 346 Toner cartridge

Claims (9)

An image forming apparatus comprising: a main body part; and a replacement part detachable from the main body part,
The replacement part is:
A replacement component side substrate having at least a part of the side wall having translucency;
An information storage unit that is provided on the replacement component side substrate and stores replacement component information to be transmitted to the main body;
Provided on the replacement component side substrate, a replacement component side contact terminal for transmitting the replacement component information to the main body,
A light emitting part that is provided in an inner layer of the replacement component side substrate and emits light toward the outside of the replacement component side substrate through a side wall of the replacement component side substrate;
Including
The main body is
A body-side substrate having at least a part of the side wall having translucency;
A main body side contact terminal that is provided on the main body side substrate and contacts the replacement part side contact terminal when the replacement part is mounted on the main body;
A light receiving portion that is provided in an inner layer of the main body side substrate and receives light emitted from the light emitting portion through a side wall of the main body side substrate when the replacement part is mounted on the main body portion;
A control unit that performs control according to the type of the replacement part, based on the replacement part information received through the main body side contact terminal and the light received by the light receiving unit;
including,
Image forming apparatus. The replacement part side contact terminal is provided on the first main surface of the replacement part side substrate,
The information storage unit is provided on the second main surface of the replacement component side substrate,
The information storage unit and the replacement component side contact terminal are electrically connected through a through hole formed in the replacement component side substrate,
The information storage unit is supplied with electric power from the main body through the replacement part side contact terminal and the through hole,
The light emitting part is electrically connected to the middle part of the through hole,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein electric power is supplied to the light emitting unit from the main body through the replacement part side contact terminal and a midway part of the through hole.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit emits invisible light.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the replacement component side substrate and the main body side substrate are substrates whose inner layers are translucent.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the replacement component side substrate and the main body side substrate are glass epoxy substrates.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein characteristics of light emitted from the light emitting unit are different depending on a type of the replacement part.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an amount of light emitted from the light emitting unit is different depending on a type of the replacement part.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the replacement part side substrate and the main body side substrate are positioned on the same plane when the replacement part is mounted on the main body. A replacement part that can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus,
A replacement component side substrate having at least a part of the side wall having translucency;
An information storage unit that is provided on the replacement component side substrate and stores replacement component information to be transmitted to the main body;
Provided on the replacement component side substrate, a replacement component side contact terminal for transmitting the replacement component information to the main body,
A light emitting part that is provided in an inner layer of the replacement component side substrate and emits light toward the outside of the replacement component side substrate through a side wall of the replacement component side substrate;
With replacement parts.

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