JP2018025602A - Image forming apparatus and cooling control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus that reduces emission of odor from a fan without causing a reduction in productivity.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 10 comprises: image forming parts Pa to Pd that form unfixed toner images on a recording medium; a fixing unit 21 that fixes by heat the unfixed toner images on the recording medium formed by the image forming parts Pa to Pd; a paper ejection fan 40 that blows air to the recording medium on which the toner images are fixed by the fixing unit 21 and ejected to the outside of the apparatus to cool the recording medium; and a human sensor 60 that detects a person approaching within a predetermined distance of the body. The image forming apparatus 10 reduces the amount of air blown from the paper ejection fan 40 while the human sensor 60 detects a person.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to cooling control in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, or a multifunction peripheral.

  As the image forming apparatus continuously operates, the internal temperature (in-machine temperature) of the main body increases. The components that cause the temperature rise include a toner conveying portion that easily generates frictional heat, a rubbing portion between the photosensitive drum and the intermediate transfer belt, a power source, a motor, and a fixing device. As the temperature inside the apparatus rises, the temperature of the recording medium such as paper that contacts these components also rises. Therefore, when the recording medium is discharged out of the apparatus and stacked on the paper discharge tray, the toner on the surface may not adhere to the heat and may adhere to the next discharged recording medium.

  In order to prevent the recording media from adhering to each other on the paper discharge tray due to heat, an image forming apparatus having a cooling mechanism for cooling the recording media stacked on the paper discharge tray has been proposed. The cooling mechanism is, for example, a fan that blows air to the paper discharge tray. The cooling effect is improved by increasing the number of fans. However, increasing the number of fans increases the size of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatuses disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are configured to efficiently cool by detecting the temperature in the vicinity of a component that causes a temperature rise in the machine and controlling the operation of the fan according to the detection result. Disclose. These image forming apparatuses efficiently cool to reduce the number of fans and prevent the apparatus from becoming large. The image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 3 includes a human sensor that detects a person in the vicinity within a predetermined distance from the apparatus. When the person is detected, the image forming apparatus recovers from the sleep state and performs image formation such as a temperature rise of the fixing device. A configuration for starting preparation is disclosed. In this image forming apparatus, when a predetermined time elapses after heating of the fixing device is started, the fan in the device is operated, and when no person is detected within the predetermined time, heating of the fixing device is stopped and the fan is stopped. .

JP 2003-5614 A JP-A-11-272147 JP-A-9-251259

  In an image forming apparatus in which the distance between the fixing device and the paper discharge port is relatively short, in a configuration in which the recording medium stacked on the paper discharge tray is cooled by a fan, the fan is disposed in the vicinity of the fixing device. In this case, the odor generated when the toner melts is discharged out of the apparatus by the fan. This odor is uncomfortable for the user. If the amount of air blown by the fan is reduced in order to suppress odor discharge, the recording medium loaded on the paper discharge tray is not sufficiently cooled, and the temperature of the recording medium rises. Although it is possible to suppress an increase in the temperature of the recording medium with an interval between image forming processes, in this case, productivity is lowered. Therefore, there is a demand for an image forming apparatus that suppresses odor emission by a fan without causing a decrease in productivity.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes an image forming unit that forms an unfixed toner image on a recording medium, and a fixing unit that fixes the unfixed toner image formed on the recording medium by the image forming unit by heat. A cooling unit that cools the recording medium by blowing the recording medium on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing unit and discharged to the outside of the apparatus, and a human feeling unit that detects a person within a predetermined distance from the main body. And control means for suppressing the cooling capacity of the cooling means when the human means detects the person.

  According to the present invention, by suppressing the cooling capacity of the cooling unit when a person is within a predetermined distance, the odor discharged by the cooling unit blowing is suppressed without reducing the productivity. be able to.

1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus. Explanatory drawing of a controller. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a change in temperature of a recording medium and an operation of a paper discharge fan. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a change in temperature of a recording medium and an operation of a paper discharge fan. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a change in temperature of a recording medium and an operation of a paper discharge fan. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a recording medium cooling control process by a paper discharge fan.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(overall structure)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus 10 includes image forming units Pa to Pd that perform image formation corresponding to each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). Each of the image forming units Pa to Pd has the same configuration. Hereinafter, when distinguishing components for each color, “ad” is appended to the reference numeral, and when not distinguished, “ad” is not appended to the reference numeral. “A” corresponds to yellow, “b” corresponds to magenta, “c” corresponds to cyan, and “d” corresponds to black. For example, a yellow image forming unit is described as “image forming unit Pa”, and “image forming unit P” is described when not distinguished.

  The image forming unit P includes a photosensitive drum 11 that is an image carrier on which a toner image is formed. The photosensitive drum 11 is rotated at a constant speed in the direction of arrow A by a driving mechanism (not shown). Around the photosensitive drum 11, a charging roller 12, a developing device 14, and a drum cleaner 15 are provided. The charging roller 12 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 11. The exposure device 13 exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 uniformly charged by the charging roller 12 using a laser beam modulated based on image data. As a result, an electrostatic latent image based on the image data is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11.

  The developing device 14 develops the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 11 using a developer having toner and a carrier. The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 11 is visualized as a toner image. The developing device 14a forms a yellow toner image. The developing device 14b forms a magenta toner image. The developing device 14c forms a cyan toner image. The developing device 14d forms a black toner image.

  Above the image forming portion P, an intermediate transfer belt 16 is provided as an intermediate transfer body onto which the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 11 is transferred. A primary transfer roller 17 is provided at a position facing the photosensitive drum 11 with the intermediate transfer belt 16 interposed therebetween. The toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 16 by the primary transfer roller 17. The intermediate transfer belt 16 rotates at a constant speed in the direction of arrow B. The toner images on the respective photosensitive drums 11 a to 11 d are sequentially transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 16 so that a full-color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 16. Residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 11 without being transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 16 is removed by the drum cleaner 15. The photosensitive drum 11 whose surface is cleaned by the drum cleaner 15 is prepared for the next image forming process. The drum cleaner 15 discharges the removed residual toner to the collected toner box 30 as collected toner.

  The toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 16 is transferred to a recording medium such as paper by a secondary transfer roller 19 constituting a transfer portion. At this point, the toner image has only been transferred to the recording medium and is not yet fixed. The recording medium is stored in a paper feed tray and is conveyed one by one from the paper feed tray to the secondary transfer roller 19 by a paper feed roller 20. The recording medium on which the toner image is transferred by the secondary transfer roller 19 is conveyed to the fixing device 21. The unfixed toner image on the recording medium is fixed on the recording medium by being heated and pressurized by the fixing device 21. The recording medium on which the toner image is fixed is discharged from the fixing device 21 to the paper discharge tray 22.

  A belt cleaner 18 is disposed around the intermediate transfer belt 16. The belt cleaner 18 removes residual toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 16 after transfer to the recording medium by the secondary transfer roller 19. The belt cleaner 18 discharges the removed residual toner to the collected toner box 30 as collected toner.

  The recording medium immediately after being discharged to the discharge tray 22 has residual heat heated by the fixing device 21. When the number of recording media discharged to the paper discharge tray 22 increases by continuously performing the image forming process, the recording media are stacked and placed, so that the heat of the recording media is difficult to escape. The heat of the recording medium melts the toner on the recording medium. As the toner melts, the overlapping recording media adhere to each other. In order to release the heat of the recording medium discharged to the paper discharge tray 22, the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes a paper discharge fan 40. The paper discharge fan 40 is a cooling mechanism that actively cools the recording medium by sending air to the recording medium discharged to the paper discharge tray 22. The paper discharge fan 40 according to the present embodiment does not blow an airflow for always preventing adhesion of the recording medium due to melting of the toner, and has an airflow that can slow the temperature rise of the recording medium. For this reason, when image forming processing is performed continuously for a long time, the recording medium reaches a temperature at which adhesion to another recording medium is a concern. In this case, the image forming apparatus 10 ensures the cooling time by increasing the execution interval of the image forming process. Specifically, the conveyance interval of the recording medium is increased.

  The image forming apparatus 10 includes a human sensor 60 that detects a person within a predetermined distance from the main body of the image forming apparatus 10. The human sensor 60 is configured by an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or the like, but is not limited thereto. The image forming apparatus 10 is configured to actively switch the power mode from the normal power mode to the sleep mode (power saving mode) with less power consumption from the viewpoint of energy saving. The image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment performs a return from the sleep mode by detecting a person with the human sensor 60. In the image forming apparatus 10, when the human sensor 60 detects a person, the power mode returns from the sleep mode to the normal power mode, and the image forming processing preparation operation such as the remaining heat of the fixing device 21 is started. Usability is improved by such a human sensor 60. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an external temperature sensor 61 that detects the ambient temperature outside the main body of the image forming apparatus 10 and an internal temperature sensor 62 that detects the temperature inside the main body.

  The operation of the image forming apparatus 10 configured as described above is controlled by the built-in controller 23. The controller 23 returns the power mode of the image forming apparatus 10 from the sleep mode to the normal power mode when the human sensor 60 detects a person. The controller 23 adjusts control parameters during the image forming process according to the detection results of the outside temperature sensor 61 and the inside temperature sensor 62. Further, the controller 23 of this embodiment controls the operation of the paper discharge fan 40.

(controller)
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the controller 23. The controller 23 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 100, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 101, and a RAM (Random).
Access Memory) 102. The CPU 100 controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 by reading a computer program from the ROM 101 and executing it using the RAM 102 as a work area. The controller 23 includes an image forming unit Pa to Pd, an operation unit 104 as a user interface, a primary transfer output unit 105, a secondary transfer output unit 106, an exposure unit 13, a human sensor 60, an external temperature sensor 61, and an internal temperature sensor. 62 and the paper discharge fan 40.

  The controller 23 receives an image forming process start request from the operation unit 104 and controls each unit of the image forming apparatus 10 to execute the image forming process. During the image forming process, the controller 23 controls the operations of the image forming units Pa to Pd, the primary transfer output unit 105, the secondary transfer output unit 106, and the exposure unit 13. The operations of the image forming units Pa to Pd and the exposure device 13 are as described above. The primary transfer output unit 105 controls the operation of the primary transfer rollers 17 a to 17 d to transfer the toner image from the photosensitive drums 11 a to 11 d to the intermediate transfer belt 16. The secondary transfer output unit 106 controls the operation of the secondary transfer roller 19 to transfer the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt 16 to the recording medium. The controller 23 calculates the amount of developer (toner amount) that adheres to the recording medium during the image forming process. The amount of toner that adheres is calculated based on image data that modulates laser light emitted from the exposure device 13, for example. The controller 23 calculates the total amount of toner attached to each recording medium when performing image forming processing on a plurality of recording media continuously.

  The controller 23 acquires the detection results of the human sensor 60, the outside temperature sensor 61, and the inside temperature sensor 62. The controller 23 constantly monitors the detection results of these sensors. The controller 23 controls the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 based on the detection results of the human sensor 60, the outside temperature sensor 61, and the inside temperature sensor 62, and cools the recording medium discharged onto the paper discharge tray 22. To do.

(Type of operation)
When the conventional fan control method is employed, the image forming apparatus 10 configured as described above operates the paper discharge fan 40 with a uniform cooling capacity from the start to the end of the image forming process. By operating the paper discharge fan 40, as described above, the recording medium on the paper discharge tray 22 can be prevented from adhering due to melting of the toner. However, the paper discharge fan 40 is disposed in the vicinity of the fixing device 21 and blows the air immediately after melting the toner in the vicinity of the fixing device 21 to the recording medium. Therefore, the cooling air is generated when the toner is melted. Odor is included. This odor is unpleasant for the user.

  In the present embodiment, the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 is controlled based on the detection result of the human sensor 60. The controller 23 determines that there is no person in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus 10 when the human sensor 60 does not detect the person. In this case, the controller 23 continues the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 with the normal cooling capacity. The controller 23 determines that there is a person in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus 10 when the human sensor 60 detects the person. In this case, the controller 23 suppresses the cooling capacity of the paper discharge fan 40 more than usual and suppresses odor discharge.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the temperature change of the recording medium and the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 when the human sensor 60 detects a user approaching the image forming apparatus 10 during the continuous image forming process. When the image forming process is started (printing), the controller 23 operates the paper discharge fan 40 at normal full speed. When the human sensor 60 detects a person, the controller 23 suppresses the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 (t1, t3). In this embodiment, the controller 23 halves the driving power of the paper discharge fan 40. As a result, the rotation speed of the paper discharge fan 40 is reduced to half of the normal speed, the amount of blown air is reduced, and the cooling capacity is suppressed. Note that the suppression of the operation of the discharge fan 40 is not limited to half of the rotation speed as long as the amount of blown air is suppressed and the smell of the melted toner is sufficiently suppressed as compared with the operation in the state where no person is detected. . Further, the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 may be completely stopped in order to enhance the effect of suppressing odor. When the human sensor 60 no longer detects a person, the controller 23 releases the suppression of the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 (t2, t4). When the image forming process is completed (stopped), the controller 23 stops the operation of the paper discharge fan 40.

  When the image forming process for several recording media is performed at intervals, the temperature rise of the storage medium discharged to the paper discharge tray 22 is small, and the recording medium is naturally cooled. For this reason, even if the cooling capability of the paper discharge fan 40 is suppressed when the human sensor 60 detects a person, the toner of the recording medium is prevented from melting and the recording media are bonded to each other. However, in continuous image forming processing for a long time, if the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 is suppressed, the discharged recording medium cannot be cooled in time for the temperature rise. In this case, the recording medium is cooled at intervals of the execution of the image forming process at the expense of productivity. As shown in FIG. 3, when the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 is suppressed, the change in the temperature of the recording medium becomes steep (t1, t3). It occurs earlier than when the operation is not suppressed.

  Therefore, in the case of continuous image forming processing for a long time, priority is given to not lowering productivity over suppressing odor. In this case, the controller 23 does not suppress the cooling capacity of the paper discharge fan 40 and continues normal operation even when the human sensor 60 detects a person. The continuous image forming process for a long time may be a result of several continuous image forming processes being requested without a gap. For this reason, it is impossible to determine a long-time continuous image forming process from a request for starting one image forming process. In this case, the controller 23 determines continuous image forming processing for a long time based on the detection results of the outside temperature sensor 61 and the inside temperature sensor 62.

  FIG. 4 illustrates the temperature change of the recording medium and the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 based on the detection results of the human sensor 60, the external temperature sensor 61, and the internal temperature sensor 62 during a long continuous image forming process. FIG. When the temperature (outside machine temperature) detected by the outside temperature sensor 61 is lower than a threshold temperature A ° C. (for example, 15 ° C.), the recording medium discharged to the paper discharge tray 22 radiates heat toward the threshold temperature A ° C. . When the outside temperature is lower than the threshold temperature A ° C., the heat release becomes faster. Therefore, the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 can be suppressed even during a long continuous image forming process.

  When the outside temperature is higher than the threshold temperature A ° C., there is a possibility that the cooling of the recording medium may not be in time with only the paper discharge fan 40 that suppresses natural heat dissipation and operation. In this case, if the execution interval of the image forming process is long, the cooling efficiency of the recording medium is improved. For this purpose, the controller 23 determines the state of the image forming apparatus 10 based on the temperature (in-machine temperature) detected by the in-machine temperature sensor 62. When the in-machine temperature falls below a threshold temperature B ° C. (for example, 38 ° C.), the controller 23 determines that the image forming apparatus 10 performs image forming processing at a sufficiently long interval. In this case, the controller 23 can suppress the operation of the paper discharge fan 40. When the in-machine temperature exceeds the threshold temperature B ° C., the controller 23 determines that the image forming apparatus 10 is performing continuous image forming processing for a long time. In this case, the controller 23 causes the normal operation to be performed without suppressing the operation of the paper discharge fan 40.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the image forming process is started (printing), the controller 23 operates the paper discharge fan 40 at a normal full speed. When the human sensor 60 detects a person, the controller 23 suppresses the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 (t1, t3). When the image forming process is completed (stopped), the controller 23 stops the operation of the paper discharge fan 40. When the human sensor 60 detects a person during the first image forming process (t1), the detection result (external temperature) of the external temperature sensor 61 exceeds the threshold temperature A ° C., but the internal temperature sensor 62 The detection result (in-machine temperature) does not exceed the threshold temperature B ° C. Therefore, the controller 23 suppresses the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 while the human sensor 60 detects a person (t1 to t2).

  When the human sensor 60 detects a person during the second image forming process (t3), the detection result (external temperature) of the external temperature sensor 61 exceeds the threshold temperature A ° C, and the internal temperature sensor The detection result 62 (in-machine temperature) does not exceed the threshold temperature B ° C. during human detection. Therefore, the controller 23 suppresses the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 at the same time that the human sensor 60 detects a person. The controller 23 releases the suppression of the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 at the timing when the in-machine temperature exceeds the threshold temperature B ° C., even though the human sensor 60 detects a person (t5). The controller 23 sets the threshold temperature B ° C. to a temperature higher than the threshold temperature A ° C.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the temperature change of the recording medium and the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 based on the detection result of the human sensor 60 during the continuous image forming process and the toner amount of the image formed on the recording medium. Factors that cause the recording media to adhere to each other due to melting of the toner include the amount of toner that adheres to the recording medium during image formation in addition to the temperature. A recording medium on which an image having a large amount of toner is formed has a high heat capacity, and thus heat radiation is difficult to proceed. On the other hand, a recording medium on which an image with a small amount of toner is formed has a low heat capacity, and thus heat radiation tends to proceed. Therefore, when the amount of toner adhering to the recording medium is large, it is necessary to cancel the suppression of the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 according to the temperature inside the apparatus. When the amount of toner adhering to the recording medium is small, it is possible to continue to suppress the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 regardless of the internal temperature.

  Here, the toner amount of the recording medium is not the toner amount for each sheet but the cumulative value (cumulative toner amount) of the toner amount of the recording medium discharged to the discharge tray 22 by executing continuous image forming processing. . The accumulated toner amount affects the heat capacity of the recording medium discharged to the paper discharge tray 22. The controller 23 calculates a cumulative density value obtained by summing the density of each image during image formation as the cumulative toner amount. The cumulative density value is represented by the cumulative value when the density of the single-color maximum density image per sheet is 100%. When the cumulative density value becomes equal to or greater than the threshold density value C% (for example, the cumulative density value of each color density is 20000%), the controller 23 releases the suppression of the operation of the paper discharge fan 40. The accumulated density value is reset when the in-machine temperature falls by a predetermined temperature ΔD ° C. (for example, Δ3 ° C.).

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the image forming process is started (printing), the controller 23 operates the paper discharge fan 40 at a normal full speed. When the human sensor 60 detects a person, the controller 23 suppresses the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 (t3). When the image forming process is completed (stopped), the controller 23 stops the operation of the paper discharge fan 40.

  Since the accumulated density value exceeds the threshold density value C% when the human sensor 60 detects a person during the first image forming process, the controller 23 determines that the human sensor 60 detects the person. Therefore, the suppression of the operation of the discharge fan 40 is not started (t1). When the human sensor 60 detects a person during the second image forming process, the controller 23 suppresses the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 because the accumulated density value does not exceed the threshold density value C% ( t3).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a recording medium cooling control process by the paper discharge fan 40 of the image forming apparatus 10 having such a configuration. Conventionally, the melted toner smell diffuses around the image forming apparatus 10 by the operation of the paper discharge fan 40. In the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment, the presence sensor 60 detects that there is a person in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus 10, and suppresses the operation of the paper discharge fan when there is a person. This prevents the smell of melted toner from making people uncomfortable. When there is no person in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus 10, the image forming apparatus 10 cools the recording medium discharged to the paper discharge tray 22 by the paper discharge fan 40. This maintains productivity while preventing adhesion between the recording media.

  The controller 23 receives an image formation process start request from the operation unit 104 and starts the image formation process. At the start of the image forming process, the controller 23 starts the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 (S10). After starting the operation of the paper discharge fan 40, the controller 23 monitors the detection result of the human sensor 60 (S11). When the human sensor 60 does not detect a person (S11: N), the controller 23 controls the image forming process without suppressing the operation of the paper discharge fan 40.

  When the human sensor 60 detects a person (S11: Y), the controller 23 suppresses the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 (S12). For example, the controller 23 reduces the rotational speed of the paper discharge fan 40. As a result, the cooling effect of the paper discharge fan 40 is reduced, but the influence of the melted toner odor on the periphery of the image forming apparatus 10 is reduced. Thereafter, when the human sensor 60 no longer detects a person (S13: N), the controller 23 releases the suppression of the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 and returns to the normal operation (S14). The fact that the human sensor 60 does not detect a person indicates that there is no person from the periphery of the image forming apparatus 10. For this purpose, the controller 23 releases the suppression of the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 and returns the cooling effect to the normal state.

  When the human sensor 60 detects a person while suppressing the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 (S13: Y) and the accumulated density value is equal to or greater than the threshold density value C% (S15: Y), the controller 23 continues. It is determined that the image forming process is in progress. In this case, since it is necessary to actively cool the recording medium, the controller 23 releases the suppression of the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 and returns to the normal operation (S14). When the accumulated density value is less than the threshold density value C% (S15: N), the controller 23 controls the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 according to the detection results of the outside temperature sensor 61 and the inside temperature sensor 62.

  When the outside temperature is not less than the threshold temperature A ° C. and the inside temperature is not less than the threshold temperature B ° C. (S16: Y, S17: Y), the controller 23 determines that the cooling effect of the recording medium needs to be improved. In this case, the controller 23 releases the suppression of the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 and returns to the normal operation (S14). When the outside temperature is less than the threshold temperature A ° C, or the outside temperature is the threshold temperature A ° C or more and the inside temperature is less than the threshold temperature B ° C (S16: N, or S16: Y, S17: N), the controller 23 Then, the operation suppression of the paper discharge fan 40 is continued.

  The image forming apparatus 10 configured as described above suppresses the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 that cools the recording medium on the paper discharge tray 22 when a person approaches. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the discharge of odor caused by melting of the toner when a person is in the vicinity. In particular, by stopping the discharge fan 40 when a person is in proximity, the discharge of odor can be completely suppressed. When the person is not in close proximity, the discharge fan 40 performs a normal operation, so that the productivity can be prevented from being lowered as much as possible.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus 10 detects the temperature outside the machine and the temperature inside the machine to predict the temperature of the recording medium, and when the temperature of the recording medium is high, the image forming apparatus 10 discharges it regardless of whether or not a person is near. The operation of the paper fan 40 is continued as usual to suppress a decrease in productivity. The image forming apparatus 10 controls the operation of the paper discharge fan 40 according to the density of the image formed on the recording medium. For example, when continuously forming recording media on which high-density images that make it easy for the recording media to adhere to each other are formed, the image forming apparatus 10 operates the paper discharge fan 40 regardless of whether or not people are close to each other. Is continued as usual to suppress the decrease in productivity.

Claims (9)

Image forming means for forming an unfixed toner image on a recording medium;
Fixing means for fixing the unfixed toner image formed on the recording medium by the image forming means by heat;
Cooling means for cooling the recording medium by blowing air to the recording medium on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing means and discharged outside the apparatus;
Human detection means for detecting a person within a predetermined distance from the main body,
A control unit that suppresses the cooling capacity of the cooling unit when the human detection unit detects the person;
Image forming apparatus. The cooling unit is disposed in the vicinity of the fixing unit, and blows air in the vicinity of the fixing unit to the recording medium.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The control means reduces the amount of air blown by the cooling means to suppress the cooling capacity of the cooling means,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The control means suppresses the cooling capacity of the cooling means by stopping the cooling means,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. A first temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature outside the main body;
The control means cancels the suppression of the cooling capacity of the cooling means when the detection result of the first temperature detection means becomes higher than a first threshold temperature after the human detection means detects the person. And
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. A second temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature inside the main body;
The controller is configured such that after the human sensor detects the person, the detection result of the first temperature detector is higher than a first threshold temperature, and the detection result of the second temperature detector is higher than a second threshold temperature. If higher, the suppression of the cooling capacity of the cooling means is released,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 5. The control means sets the second threshold temperature to a temperature higher than the first threshold temperature,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 6. When the image forming unit continuously forms images on the plurality of recording media, the image forming unit further includes a calculation unit that calculates a total amount of the developer attached to the plurality of recording media,
The control unit cancels the suppression of the cooling capacity of the cooling unit if the total amount of the developer is greater than a predetermined threshold density value after the human detecting unit detects the person.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. Image forming means for forming an unfixed toner image on a recording medium, fixing means for fixing the unfixed toner image formed on the recording medium by the image forming means by heat, and the toner image by the fixing means An image forming apparatus comprising: a cooling unit that blows air to the recording medium that is fixed and discharged outside the apparatus to cool the recording medium; and a human feeling unit that detects a person within a predetermined distance from the main body. A method implemented by
While the human sensing means detects the person, the cooling capacity of the cooling means is suppressed,
Cooling control method.

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