JP2018063323A - Developer supply device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stabilize an amount of supply of developer per time irrespective of an amount of remaining developer.SOLUTION: A toner supply device 10 comprises: a toner container 6 that stores toner inside; a conveying member 21 that is provided inside the toner container 6 and rotates every time when it receives a toner supply request to perform toner supply operation to a developing unit 14; a memory 25 that is attached to the toner container 6 and stores use information in association with accumulated supply operation every time when the supply operation is performed from when the toner container 6 is started to be used; and a control part 8 that is electrically connected to the memory 25 upon attachment of the toner container 6 to an attachment part 7 and controls the supply operation. The control part 8 reads the use information stored in the memory 25 by the start of every supply operation performed in response to the supply request, grasps an amount of toner remaining in the toner container 6 on the basis of the use information, and performs control to increase a rotation speed of the conveying member 21 in the supply operation as the amount of remaining toner is smaller.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

  The present invention relates to a developer replenishing device that replenishes developer to a developing device, and an image forming apparatus including the developer replenishing device.

  An electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a developer replenishing device that replenishes a developer from a developing container such as a toner container containing a developer such as toner to a developing device. The developer replenishing device replenishes the developer with the developer so that the developer always holds a sufficient amount of developer and can perform a good development process.

  For example, a toner cartridge (developer container) of an image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is detachably attached to an apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus, and supplies developing toner to a developing device provided in the apparatus main body. The toner cartridge includes a toner tank in which toner is filled, and a toner state sensor that detects a toner state including at least one of temperature, humidity, remaining amount, and electric resistance of the toner filled in the toner tank. And a communication / control unit that transmits the toner state detected by the toner state sensor to an information transmitting / receiving unit provided in the apparatus main body.

JP 2003-270920 A

  In the conventional developer replenishing device, when the remaining amount of developer in the developer container decreases, the amount of replenishment per hour for the developing unit decreases, and the time until the required amount of toner is replenished to the developing unit is reduced. To increase. Therefore, the development processing by the developing device is delayed and the printing time in the image forming apparatus is increased. As a result, a burden is imposed on the user who performs operations such as printing and copying.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to stabilize the replenishment amount per hour of the developer regardless of the remaining amount of the developer in the developer container.

  The developer replenishing device of the present invention contains a developer therein, a developer container mounted on the apparatus main body, and a developer container that is provided in the developer container and rotates whenever a predetermined replenishment request is received. A transport member for performing the developer replenishment operation, and a memory which is attached to the developer container and stores usage information associated with the replenishment operation accumulated every time the replenishment operation is performed from the start of use of the developer container. And a control unit that is electrically connected to the memory when the developer container is mounted on the apparatus body and controls the developer replenishment operation, and the control unit includes the predetermined replenishment At the start of each replenishment operation performed in response to each request, the usage information stored in the memory is read, and the remaining amount of the developer in the developer container is determined based on the read usage information. Grasp , The smaller the amount of remaining developer, and controls so as to increase the rotational speed of the conveying member in the dispensing operation.

  By adopting such a configuration, in the developer container, the rotation speed of the conveying member is increased according to the decrease in the remaining amount of the developer. It becomes possible to always stabilize the replenishment amount.

  The memory stores, as the usage information, the total number of rotations of the transport member from the start of use of the developer container, and the control unit controls the rotation speed of the transport member when the developer is controlled. The remaining amount of the developer in the developer container is calculated based on the total number of rotations of the transport member from the start of container use, and the degree of use of the developer container is determined when the replenishment operation is terminated. And detecting the number of rotations of the conveying member, and adding the detected number of rotations to the previous total number of rotations to calculate the current total number of rotations, thereby updating the total number of rotations stored in the memory Good.

  By adopting such a configuration, the remaining amount of developer in the developer container is calculated based on the total number of rotations of the conveying member from the start of use, so the reproducibility of the remaining amount of developer is improved. can do.

  The control unit may display the remaining amount of the developer in the developer container obtained based on the usage information read from the memory on a display.

  By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to inform the user of the remaining amount of developer in the developer container.

  The control unit may execute a step of controlling the rotation speed of the transport member in the replenishing operation to be slowed down when reading of the usage information from the memory results in an error.

  By adopting such a configuration, in the case of usage information reading errors, it is impossible to grasp the exact remaining amount of developer, so the transport member is driven at a low speed to handle any remaining amount It is possible to increase the safety by avoiding excessive supply of the developer.

  The developer supply device of the present invention includes the developer supply device described above.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to stabilize the replenishment amount per hour of the developer regardless of the remaining amount of the developer in the developer container.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a state where a toner container is removed from the color printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a toner container in a color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a toner container in the color printer according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a toner container in a color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an IC substrate in a toner container of a color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a toner container mounting portion in the color printer according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a toner container is mounted on a mounting unit in a color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a toner replenishing device in a color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a toner supply operation in the color printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a graph illustrating an example of a relationship between a toner replenishment amount and a driving time of a toner container in a color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  First, an overall configuration of a color printer 1 (image forming apparatus) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience of explanation, the left side in FIG. 1 is the front side of the color printer 1.

  The color printer 1 includes a substantially box-shaped printer main body 2, and a paper feed cassette for storing paper is provided below the printer main body 2. An openable / closable cover 3 is provided on the upper surface of the printer body 2, and a paper discharge tray 4 is formed on the surface of the cover 3. The rear portion of the discharge tray 4, that is, the rear portion of the cover 3 in the closed state is inclined downward toward the rear, and the cover 3 has a pivot shaft extending in the left-right direction at the rear end. Opens and closes by rotating around. An operation display unit 5 having operation keys and a display such as an LCD is provided at the front end of the cover 3.

  A mounting portion 7 to which a toner container 6 (developer container) is mounted is provided inside the upper portion of the printer main body 2, and the mounting portion 7 is exposed by opening the cover 3 as shown in FIG. Thus, the toner container 6 can be attached and detached. The printer main body 2 includes a control unit 8 that can control toner replenishment from the toner container 6 to the developing unit 14 described below. The toner container 6, the mounting unit 7, and the control unit 8 constitute a toner supply device 10 (developer supply device) that supplies toner to the developing device 14, and the mounting unit 7 is the main body of the toner supply device 10. .

  The color printer 1 includes four toner containers 6 for each toner (developer) color (for example, four colors of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black). The printer main body 2 has four mounting portions 7 for each of the four toner containers 6. The toner container 6 and the mounting unit 7 will be described later.

  At the center of the printer main body 2, an annular intermediate transfer belt 11 that rotates in a predetermined direction is installed between a plurality of rollers arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction. Below the intermediate transfer belt 11, four image forming units 12 are provided for each toner color. The four image forming units 12 are arranged in the order of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 11. Corresponding to each of the four image forming units 12, the four toner containers 6 and the four mounting units 7 are arranged. A secondary transfer portion is provided at the rear end of the intermediate transfer belt 11, and the secondary transfer portion includes a part on the rear end side of the intermediate transfer belt 11 and a secondary transfer roller.

  Each image forming unit 12 includes a rotatable photosensitive drum 13, in other words, four photosensitive drums 13 are arranged for each toner color along the lower side of the intermediate transfer belt 11. Each image forming unit 12 includes a developing device 14 around the photosensitive drum 13. In other words, each of the four developing devices 14 includes four photosensitive drums 13 in the rotational direction of the intermediate transfer belt 11. Arranged upstream. Each toner container 6 and each mounting portion 7 are arranged above each developing device 14 corresponding to each color.

  A paper transport path 15 is provided at the rear of the printer main body 2 from below to above. A paper feed unit is provided near the paper feed cassette at the upstream end of the transport path 15. The secondary transfer portion is provided in the middle portion of the transport path 15. A fixing device is provided downstream of the conveyance path 15. A paper discharge unit 16 is provided in the vicinity of the paper discharge tray 4 at the downstream end of the transport path 15. In the upper part of the printer main body 2, a paper discharge port of the paper discharge unit 16 is provided on a wall surface extending upward from the rear end of the paper discharge tray 4.

  In the image forming process of the color printer 1, each color image is formed by each image forming unit 12. At this time, in each image forming unit 12, first, each photosensitive drum 13 is charged by a charger. Thereafter, each photosensitive drum 13 is exposed by an exposure device based on image data input from an external computer (not shown) or the like, whereby an electrostatic latent image is formed on each photosensitive drum 13. The electrostatic latent image on each photoconductor drum 13 is developed into a toner image of each color by each developer 14. The toner image on each photosensitive drum 13 is primarily transferred onto the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 by a primary transfer roller. By sequentially repeating the above operation, the four image forming units 12 form a full-color toner image (hereinafter referred to as a color toner image) on the intermediate transfer belt 11.

  In the image forming process of the color printer 1, the color toner image is supplied to the secondary transfer unit by the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 11. In the secondary transfer unit, a sheet conveyed on the conveyance path 15 in synchronization with the color toner image is supplied, and the color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 11 is secondarily transferred to the sheet. Further, in the color printer 1, the color toner image on the paper is fixed by the fixing device, and the paper after the color toner image is fixed is discharged from the paper discharge unit 16 to the paper discharge tray 4. The residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 11 is cleaned and collected by a cleaning device.

  Next, the toner container 6 that stores therein toner to be supplied to the developing device 14 will be described. For example, the toner container 6 that stores black toner is formed to have a larger capacity than the yellow, magenta, and cyan toner containers 6, and the yellow, magenta, and cyan toner containers 6 have the same capacity. May be formed. Since the four toner containers 6 are configured in substantially the same manner, only one toner container 6 will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the toner container 6 includes a container main body 20 that contains toner therein, a transport member 21 that supplies toner in the container main body 20 to the developing device 14, and agitates the toner in the container main body 20. 4 and FIG. 5 and the like, and further includes an IC substrate 23 for storing usage information relating to the toner replenishment operation using the toner container 6.

  The container body 20 is formed in a substantially box shape that is long in the left-right direction, and includes, for example, a housing part 20a whose upper surface is open and a lid part 20b that covers the opening of the housing part 20a. A toner supply port 20c is formed on the bottom surface of the container 20a, and a shutter (not shown) for opening and closing the toner supply port 20c is provided. By opening the shutter, the toner in the container body 20 can be supplied to the developing device 14 through the toner supply port 20c.

  The transport member 21 is a transport screw including a transport shaft 21a that is long in the left-right direction and a spiral transport blade 21b formed on the outer peripheral surface of the transport shaft 21a. The transport member 21 is rotatably disposed in the lower portion of the container body 20. . A connected portion 24 is fixed to the left end of the transport shaft 21 a on the left side of the container body 20, and the connected portion 24 has a shape that can be connected to a connecting portion 28 of the mounting portion 7 described below. By transmitting the rotational driving force to the connected portion 24, the conveying member 21 rotates, and the toner is conveyed to the toner supply port 20 c by the rotating conveying blade 21 b and replenished to the developing device 14. In addition, the toner replenishment amount to the developing device 14 can be adjusted by controlling the rotational driving force to control the rotation speed of the conveying member 21.

  The stirring member 22 includes a stirring shaft 22a that is long in the left-right direction and a stirring blade 22b that is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the stirring shaft 22a. The stirring member 22 is rotatably disposed at a substantially central portion of the container body 20. The left end of the agitation shaft 22a is connected to the conveyance shaft 21a of the conveyance member 21 via a gear (not shown). When the conveyance member 21 is rotated by receiving a rotational driving force, the rotational driving force is transmitted via the gear. As a result, the stirring member 22 is rotated. As the stirring member 22 rotates, the toner stored in the container body 20 is stirred.

  The IC board 23 is a circuit board on which a memory 25 (see FIG. 9) and four contact electrodes 26 electrically connected to the memory 25 are mounted. The IC substrate 23 is disposed at the upper left end outside the container body 20 with the surface on which the contact electrode 26 is provided facing left, and is engaged by, for example, a locking claw 20d formed at the upper left end outside the container body 20. Stopped. That is, the memory 25 is attached to the toner container 6.

  The memory 25 is constituted by a chip memory, a flash memory, or the like that can read and write stored information, and stores usage information related to a toner replenishment operation using the toner container 6. The usage information is information with which the remaining amount of toner in the container main body 20 of the toner container 6 can be grasped (estimated), can be detected from the toner container 6, and the toner is replenished from the start of use of the toner container 6. Accumulated (updated) each time an operation is performed. For example, the usage information may be the total number of rotations of the conveying member 21 accumulated from the start of use of the toner container 6 to the previous toner replenishment operation, and the new toner container 6 that has not yet undergone toner replenishment operation. In some cases, the total speed is zero. Alternatively, the usage information may be the total driving time of the conveying member 21 from the start of use of the toner container 6 or the remaining amount of toner in the container body 20 itself.

  The four contact electrodes 26 include, for example, a ground electrode, a signal electrode, and a power supply electrode, and are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG. The four contact electrodes 26 are in contact with and electrically connected to the four contact terminals 29 of the mounting portion 7 described below, and are electrically connected to the control unit 8 via the contact terminals 29, whereby an IC substrate is obtained. The controller 8 can read and write information stored in the memory 25. That is, the memory 25 is electrically connected to the control unit 8 when the toner container 6 is mounted on the mounting unit 7.

  Next, the mounting part 7 will be described. The four mounting portions 7 are formed in accordance with the shapes of the four toner containers 6, respectively. In addition, since the four mounting parts 7 are comprised in substantially the same way, below, the one mounting part 7 is demonstrated.

  The mounting part 7 includes a connecting part 28 and four contact terminals 29 as shown in FIGS.

  The connecting portion 28 is disposed on the left inner wall of the printer main body 2 and is connected to a driving portion 30 such as a motor (see FIG. 9). The connecting portion 28 is connected to the connected portion 24 of the conveying member 21 of the toner container 6 when the toner container 6 is attached to the attaching portion 7. When receiving the rotational driving force from the driving unit 30, the connecting portion 28 transmits this rotational driving force to the connected connected portion 24.

  The four contact terminals 29 are communication units that communicatively connect the IC substrate 23 (memory 25) of the mounted toner container 6 and the control unit 8, and are electrically connected to the control unit 8. The four contact terminals 29 are formed of, for example, an elastically deformable leaf spring-like conductive material, and are arranged so as to protrude rightward from a recess 2 a provided on the left inner wall of the printer body 2. The four contact terminals 29 are pressed to the left while contacting the four contact electrodes 26 of the IC substrate 23 of the toner container 6 as shown in FIG. 8 when the toner container 6 is mounted on the mounting portion 7. Into the recess 2a. Since the four contact terminals 29 pressed to the left side generate a biasing force to the right side, the contact with the four contact electrodes 26 is stabilized.

  Next, the developing device 14 will be described. The four developing units 14 store toner of each color and supply the toner to the four photosensitive drums 13 respectively. Since the four developing units 14 are configured in substantially the same manner, only one developing unit 14 will be described below.

  The developing device 14 includes a housing 32 that stores toner (see FIG. 1). The housing 32 has a supply port (not shown) that receives toner supply from the toner container 6 on the right side (or left side). The supply port of the housing 32 and the toner supply port 20c of the container body 20 of the toner container 6 are connected by a supply path (not shown) such as a pipe extending in the vertical direction, for example. In the housing 32, for example, a developing roller that supplies toner to the photosensitive drum 13, a magnet roller that supplies toner to the developing roller, a stirring roller and a transport roller for stirring and transporting the toner are provided. . Further, the developing device 14 includes a toner amount sensor 33 that detects the amount of toner in the housing 32.

  The toner amount sensor 33 includes, for example, a T / C (toner / carrier) sensor that detects the toner amount in a two-component developer including toner and carrier. The toner amount sensor 33 detects whether or not the toner amount in the housing 32 is a predetermined threshold, for example, whether the toner amount is sufficient for the developing process by the developing device 14 and does not require replenishment. . The toner amount sensor 33 is electrically connected to the control unit 8 and notifies the control unit 8 of a toner replenishment request when the toner amount in the housing 32 is less than a predetermined threshold. The toner amount sensor 33 notifies the control unit 8 of a toner replenishment stop request when the toner amount in the housing 32 of the developing device 14 exceeds a predetermined threshold after notification of the toner replenishment request.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the toner replenishing device 10 (developer replenishing device) in a state where the toner container 6 is mounted on the mounting portion 7 in the color printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The toner replenishing device 10 includes the control unit 8 as described above. The control unit 8 includes a CPU and the like, and is connected to a storage unit 35 including a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The control unit 8 is connected to the operation display unit 5, the contact terminals 29 and the drive unit 30 of the mounting unit 7, the toner amount sensor 33 of the developing device 14, the rotation speed detection unit 36, and the toner supply control unit 37.

  The storage unit 35 stores programs and data for realizing the toner supply operation of the toner supply device 10 and other various functions, and the control unit 8 executes arithmetic processing according to each program stored in the storage unit 35. The respective units connected to the control unit 8 are controlled. Although the rotation speed detection unit 36 and the toner replenishment control unit 37 are illustrated separately from the storage unit 35 in FIG. 9, the rotation number detection unit 36 and the toner supply control unit 37 are configured by programs stored in the storage unit 35 and executed by the control unit 8. Good.

  In addition, the storage unit 35 controls the rotation speed of the conveyance member 21 of the toner container 6 by the control unit 8, so that the storage unit 35 should be set according to the remaining amount of toner in the container body 20 of the toner container 6. Stores the value of rotation speed. For example, the storage unit 35 stores the remaining amount of toner in the container body 20 and the rotation speed of the conveying member 21 in association with each other, and stores a lower rotation speed value as the remaining amount of toner increases. On the other hand, the smaller the remaining amount of toner, the faster the rotational speed value is stored. Alternatively, the storage unit 35 correlates the total number of rotations of the conveying member 21 from the start of use of the toner container 6, which is information capable of grasping the remaining amount of toner in the container body 20, and the rotation speed of the conveying member 21. In addition, the lower rotational speed value is stored as the total rotational speed of the conveying member 21 is smaller, while the higher rotational speed value is stored as the total rotational speed of the conveying member 21 is larger. . Alternatively, the storage unit 35 stores the total driving time of the conveying member 21 from the start of use of the toner container 6, which is information capable of grasping the remaining amount of toner, and the rotation speed of the conveying member 21 in association with each other. Also good.

  Further, in the toner replenishing device 10, as described above, each contact terminal 29 of the mounting portion 7 is connected to each contact electrode 26 of the IC substrate 23 of the toner container 6, and the driving portion 30 is connected to the connecting portion 28 of the mounting portion 7. To the conveying member 21 (connected portion 24) of the toner container 6.

  The rotation speed detection unit 36 detects the rotation speed of the conveying member 21 of the toner container 6 as the usage level of the toner container 6 used in the toner supply period from the start to the end of the predetermined toner supply operation. For example, the rotation speed detection unit 36 detects a voltage applied to the driving unit 30 to rotate the conveyance member 21 of the toner container 6 and calculates and detects the rotation number of the conveyance member 21 based on the detection result. To do.

  The toner supply control unit 37 has various functions for controlling toner supply to the developing device 14 by the toner supply device 10. The toner replenishment control unit 37 has, for example, an information reading function, and is stored in the memory 25 of the IC substrate 23 via each contact terminal 29 of the mounting unit 7 and each contact electrode 26 of the IC substrate 23 of the toner container 6. The used information (total number of rotations of the conveying member 21) is read.

  The toner replenishment control unit 37 has a drive control function and grasps the remaining amount of toner in the container body 20 of the toner container 6 based on the usage information read from the memory 25 of the IC substrate 23. Then, the remaining amount of toner is calculated based on the total number of rotations of the conveying member 21. The smaller the total number of rotations of the conveying member 21, the shorter the usage time from the start of use of the toner container 6, so that a relatively large amount of remaining toner is calculated. Further, as the total number of rotations of the conveying member 21 is increased, the usage time from the start of use of the toner container 6 is longer, so that a relatively small remaining amount of toner is calculated. Further, the toner replenishment control unit 37 acquires the value of the rotation speed of the conveyance member 21 to be set from the storage unit 35 based on the remaining amount of toner, and is driven to rotate the conveyance member 21 at the acquired rotation speed. The unit 30 is controlled. When the storage unit 35 stores the total number of rotations and the rotation speed of the conveying member 21 in association with each other, the toner replenishment control unit 37 does not calculate the remaining amount of toner from the memory 25. Based on the read total number of rotations of the conveying member 21, the value of the rotation speed of the conveying member 21 to be set is acquired from the storage unit 35.

  Further, the toner replenishment control unit 37 displays the calculated remaining amount of toner on a display device such as an LCD of the operation display unit 5, for example, displays the remaining amount of toner on the status page of the operation display unit 5, Tell the user.

  Further, the toner replenishment control unit 37 has an information update function, and each time a toner replenishment operation is performed, the toner replenishment control unit 37 determines the usage degree of the toner container 6 used between the start and end of one toner replenishment operation. Based on this, the usage information stored in the memory 25 is updated. For example, the toner replenishment control unit 37 adds the rotation number of the conveyance member 21 detected by the rotation number detection unit 36 to the previous total rotation number of the conveyance member 21 read from the memory 25 to obtain the current total rotation number. calculate. Then, the toner replenishment control unit 37 stores the conveyance stored in the memory 25 through the contact terminals 29 of the mounting unit 7 and the contact electrodes 26 of the IC substrate 23 of the toner container 6 according to the calculated total number of rotations. The total number of rotations of the member 21 is updated.

  Next, the toner supply operation by the toner supply device 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In the toner replenishing device 10, when the control unit 8 receives a toner replenishment request from the toner amount sensor 33 (step S1), the toner replenishment control unit 37 starts a toner replenishing operation.

  First, the toner replenishment control unit 37 executes an information reading function at the start of the toner replenishing operation, and reads the total number of rotations of the transport member 21 as usage information from the memory 25 of the IC substrate 23 of the toner container 6 (step S2). ).

  Next, when the toner replenishment control unit 37 executes the drive control function and can read the total number of rotations of the transport member 21 from the memory 25 (step S2: YES), the total of the transport members 21 that have been read are totaled. Based on the number of rotations, the remaining amount of toner in the container body 20 of the toner container 6 is calculated, and the value of the rotation speed of the conveying member 21 to be set is calculated from the storage unit 35 based on the calculated remaining amount of toner. Obtain (step S3).

  Then, the toner replenishment control unit 37 operates and controls the drive unit 30 to rotate the transport member 21 at the acquired rotation speed (step S4), and replenishes toner from the toner container 6 to the developing device 14. Note that the lower the toner remaining amount, the faster the rotation speed of the conveying member 21 is set. Further, while the conveying member 21 is rotated from the start to the end of the toner replenishing operation, the rotation number detecting unit 36 detects the rotation number of the conveying member 21.

  After that, when the toner amount in the housing 32 of the developing device 14 exceeds a predetermined threshold by this toner replenishing operation and the control unit 8 receives a toner replenishment stop request from the toner amount sensor 33 (step S5: YES). The toner replenishment control unit 37 ends the toner replenishing operation by stopping the operation of the driving unit 30 and stopping the rotation of the conveying member 21 (step S6).

  When the toner supply operation is finished, the toner supply control unit 37 executes the information update function, and the rotation number detection unit 36 acquires the rotation number of the conveying member 21 from the start to the end of the toner supply operation. Then, the toner replenishment control unit 37 calculates the current total rotation number by adding the acquired rotation number of the conveying member 21 to the previous total rotation number of the conveying member 21 read from the memory 25. Further, the toner replenishment control unit 37 updates the total number of rotations of the conveying member 21 stored in the memory 25 with the total number of rotations of the addition result (step S7). In this way, the toner supply operation is completed (step S8).

  On the other hand, when the reading of the usage information from the memory 25 results in an error (step S2: NO), for example, when the total number of rotations of the transport member 21 cannot be read, the toner amount is determined based on the total number of rotations. Since the remaining amount cannot be grasped, the toner replenishment control unit 37 sets the rotation speed of the conveying member 21 to the minimum rotation speed regardless of the total number of rotations of the conveying member 21 (step S9). Even when the total number of rotations of the conveying member 21 can be read, if the remaining amount of toner calculated based on the total number of rotations is zero, an empty display or the like is displayed on the display of the operation display unit 5. A notification prompting replacement of the toner container 6 may be sent.

  The toner replenishment control unit 37 operates and controls the drive unit 30 to rotate the transport member 21 at the minimum rotation speed (step S10), and replenishes toner from the toner container 6 to the developing device 14. In this case, it is not necessary to detect the rotation speed of the conveying member 21 by the rotation speed detector 36.

  Thereafter, due to this toner replenishment, the toner amount in the housing 32 of the developing device 14 becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, and when the control unit 8 receives a toner replenishment stop request from the toner amount sensor 33 (step S11: YES). The toner replenishment control unit 37 ends the toner replenishment by stopping the operation of the driving unit 30 and stopping the rotation of the conveying member 21 (step S12). In this case, the toner replenishment operation is completed without the toner replenishment control unit 37 executing the information update function (step S8).

  According to the present embodiment, as described above, the toner replenishing device 10 (developer replenishing device) of the color printer 1 (image forming apparatus) includes the toner container 6 (developer container), the conveying member 21, and the memory 25. And a control unit 8. The toner container 6 stores toner (developer) therein and is attached to the attachment portion 7 (apparatus main body). The conveying member 21 is provided in the toner container 6 and rotates every time a predetermined toner replenishment request is received to perform a toner replenishment operation for the developing device 14. The memory 25 is attached to the toner container 6 and stores use information associated with the toner replenishment operation accumulated every time the toner replenishment operation is performed from the start of use of the toner container 6. The control unit 8 is electrically connected to the memory 25 when the toner container 6 is mounted on the mounting unit 7 and controls the toner supply operation. Further, the control unit 8 reads the usage information stored in the memory 25 so far at the start of the toner supply operation performed in response to a predetermined toner supply request, and based on the read usage information, The remaining amount of toner is grasped, and control is performed such that the lower the remaining amount of toner, the faster the rotation speed of the conveying member 21 in the toner replenishment operation.

  With such a configuration, the toner container 6 increases the rotational speed of the conveying member 21 in accordance with the decrease in the remaining amount of toner, so the replenishment amount per hour of the toner is reduced regardless of the remaining amount of toner. It is always possible to stabilize. For example, when the rotation speed of the conveying member 21 is constant without being corrected, the total driving time of the conveying member 21 from the start of use of the toner container 6 increases as shown in FIG. When the remaining amount of toner decreases, the toner replenishment amount per unit time decreases as compared with the case where the remaining amount of toner is large. On the other hand, when the remaining amount of toner is the same, the toner replenishment amount per unit time increases as the rotation speed of the conveying member 21 increases. According to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11B, when the total driving time of the conveying member 21 from the start of use of the toner container 6 increases and the remaining amount of toner decreases, the conveying member 21 rotates. In order to increase the speed by correcting the speed, it is possible to maintain a large amount of toner supply regardless of the total driving time of the conveying member 21, that is, the remaining amount of toner.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the memory 25 stores the total number of rotations of the transport member 21 from the start of use of the toner container 6 as usage information. When controlling the rotation speed of the conveying member 21, the control unit 8 calculates the remaining amount of toner in the toner container 6 based on the total number of rotations of the conveying member 21 from the start of use of the toner container 6. Further, when the toner replenishing operation is finished, the control unit 8 detects the rotation speed of the conveying member 21 as the usage degree of the toner container 6, and adds the detected rotation speed to the previous total rotation speed. The total number of revolutions stored in the memory 25 is updated by calculating the number of revolutions.

  As a result, the remaining amount of toner in the toner container 6 is calculated based on the total number of rotations of the conveying member 21 from the start of use, so the reproducibility of the remaining amount of toner can be improved.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the control unit 8 displays the remaining amount of toner in the container main body 20 obtained based on the usage information read from the memory 25 on the display of the operation display unit 5.

  Thereby, the user can be notified of the remaining amount of toner in the toner container 6.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, when the reading of the usage information from the memory 25 causes an error, the control unit 8 performs control so as to reduce the rotation speed of the transport member 21 in the toner replenishing operation.

  As a result, in the case of a usage information reading error, the accurate remaining amount of toner cannot be grasped, and therefore the conveying member 21 can be driven at a low speed to cope with any remaining amount of toner. Safety can be enhanced by avoiding excessive replenishment.

  In this embodiment, the case where the configuration of the present invention is applied to the color printer 1 has been described. However, in another different embodiment, the present invention is applied to other image forming apparatuses such as a monochrome printer, a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine. It is also possible to apply this configuration.

1 Color printer (image forming device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Printer main body 3 Cover 5 Operation display part 6 Toner container 7 Mounting part 8 Control part 10 Toner replenishment apparatus 12 Image formation part 13 Photosensitive drum 14 Developer 20 Container main body 21 Conveyance member 22 Stirring member 23 IC substrate 24 Connected part 25 Memory 26 Contact electrode 28 Connection unit 29 Contact terminal 30 Drive unit 32 Housing 33 Toner amount sensor 35 Storage unit 36 Rotation speed detection unit 37 Toner supply control unit

Claims (5)

A developer container that houses the developer and is mounted on the apparatus body;
A conveying member that is provided in the developer container and rotates every time a predetermined replenishment request is received, and performs a replenishment operation of the developer to the developing device;
A memory that is attached to the developer container and stores use information associated with the replenishment operation accumulated every time the replenishment operation is started from the start of use of the developer container;
A control unit that is electrically connected to the memory by mounting the developer container on the apparatus main body, and controls a replenishment operation of the developer;
The controller is
At the start of a replenishment operation performed in response to each of the predetermined replenishment requests, the usage information stored in the memory so far is read, and the developer in the developer container is read based on the read usage information The developer replenishing apparatus is characterized in that the remaining amount of developer is grasped and the rotation speed of the transport member in the replenishing operation is increased as the remaining amount of the developer is smaller. The memory stores the total number of rotations of the transport member from the start of use of the developer container as the usage information,
When the controller controls the rotation speed of the transport member, the remaining amount of the developer in the developer container is based on the total number of rotations of the transport member from the start of use of the developer container. To calculate
At the end of the replenishment operation, the rotation speed of the transport member is detected as the degree of use of the developer container, and the detected total rotation speed is added to the previous total rotation speed to calculate the current total rotation speed. The developer replenishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the total number of revolutions stored in the memory is updated.   3. The development according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the display unit to display a remaining amount of the developer in the developer container obtained based on the usage information read from the memory. Agent replenishment device.   The control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the reading of the usage information from the memory causes an error, the control unit controls the rotation speed of the transport member in the replenishment operation to be slowed down. The developer supply device according to item 1.   An image forming apparatus comprising the developer supply device according to claim 1.

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