JP2018136416A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve stable image formation even when a non-conforming toner container is used, by preventing charging failure of toner, and thereby preventing failure of an image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: a control part 100; a toner container 17 that is removably attached to an apparatus body and stores a toner being a consumable for an image forming part 12; a developing device that supplies the toner supplied from the toner container 17 to a photoreceptor drum and forms a toner image on the photoreceptor drum; and a conforming item determination part 103 that determines whether the toner container 17 attached to the apparatus body is a conforming item. When the toner container 17 is determined by the conforming item determination part 103 not to be a conforming item, the control part 100 controls the operation of the image forming part 12 to reduce the speed of supplying toner from the toner container 17 to the developing device to a predetermined speed slower than that in a normal mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to operation control when a nonconforming product toner container is mounted.

  A general image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum as an image carrier, a charging device that charges the photosensitive drum, and a surface of the charged photosensitive drum that is irradiated with laser light based on a document. An exposure device that forms a latent image of a document on the surface of the photosensitive drum, a developing device that visualizes the latent image with toner, and a transfer that transfers the toner image formed by the visualization to recording paper A roller, a fixing device that fixes the transferred toner image on the recording paper, and a cleaning device that removes the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum.

  Incidentally, in recent years, the use of non-conforming product toner containers has increased. Some non-conforming products have different performance from the conforming products, and therefore, if a non-conforming product toner container is used, the performance of the image forming apparatus may not be sufficiently exhibited.

  In Patent Document 1 below, a toner container attached by a wireless tag attached to the toner container and an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) wireless communication part attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus is a conforming product. If it is determined that it is a non-conforming product, it describes a technology that displays a warning message to the user that a non-conforming toner container is installed on the display panel. Proposals have been made to encourage users to use containers.

JP 2011-028017 A

  When the difference between the charging performance of toner (supplemented toner) supplied from the toner container to the developing device and the charging performance of toner already stored in the developing device increases, image smear due to fogging (so-called supply fogging) Will occur. In particular, when high-density printing is performed, or when the toner container is replaced after the toner in the toner container is empty (Replace state) (at the time of Replace replacement), a large amount of toner is quickly stored in the developing device. Since toner is supplied, supply fog is likely to occur.

  For example, compatible toners are designed to increase the charge start-up property, and are designed to prevent the charge amount of the replenishment toner from being insufficient, or to suppress charge fluctuations due to environmental dependence and stress. Or prevent it. As a result, the difference in charging performance between the replenishment toner and the toner in the developing device does not increase, and replenishment fogging is prevented. A conforming product is one that satisfies the conditions of use and fully exhibits the performance of the image forming apparatus. For example, it is a genuine product or a regular product.

  On the other hand, some non-conforming toners differ in performance from conforming toners and have unstable charging properties. For this reason, if a non-conforming toner container is used, the difference in charging performance between the replenishment toner and the toner in the developing device tends to increase, and development occurs when high-density printing is performed or when Replacing is performed. Since toners having greatly different charging performance are mixed in the apparatus, toner with insufficient charge amount or reversely charged toner may be generated, which may cause image defects due to replenishment fogging.

  Further, when toner with poor charging is generated, toner scattering occurs in the vicinity of the developing device, causing further image smearing. Further, unlike compatible toners, non-conforming toners often have low fluidity (mixability), so that the replenishment toner is difficult to dissolve and difficult to mix with the toner in the developing device. Therefore, replenishment fogging due to poor mixing is also likely to occur. Further, even if the toner container is returned to a compatible product, it does not return to a normal state and may cause a failure of the image forming apparatus.

  Patent Document 1 described above describes a technique for displaying a warning message that informs the user that a non-conforming toner container is mounted on the display panel, but the user ignores the warning message and does not conform. If the product toner container is continuously used, an image defect occurs due to a toner charging defect.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and even when a non-conforming toner container is used, by preventing toner charging failure, stable image formation is achieved, and the image forming apparatus fails. It aims to be able to prevent.

  An image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a transport unit that transports a recording sheet, an image forming unit that forms an image on the recording sheet, and a detachable attachment to the apparatus main body. Controls the operations of a toner container that contains toner to be used, a conforming product determination unit that determines whether the toner container mounted on the apparatus main body is a conforming product, the transport unit, and the image forming unit. A control unit, and the image forming unit rotates about a rotation axis, and carries an image carrier carrying a toner image on a surface thereof, and supplies toner supplied from the toner container to the image carrier. A developing device that forms a toner image on the image carrier, and the control unit determines that the toner container attached to the apparatus main body is not a compatible product by the compatible product determination unit. The toner in the normal mode in which the operation of the image forming unit is controlled so that the toner replenishing speed from the toner container to the developing device and the conveying unit and the image forming unit perform image formation at a predetermined standard speed. The speed is reduced to a predetermined speed lower than the replenishment speed.

  According to the present invention, when a non-conforming product toner container is mounted on the apparatus main body, the toner replenishment speed is reduced to a speed lower than that in the normal mode, so that it is necessary for stirring the toner in the developing apparatus. Time can be secured. Therefore, there is a part where the ratio of newly replenished toner (non-conforming product toner) from the non-conforming product toner container becomes too high compared to the toner already contained in the developing device (conforming product toner). Can be prevented. As a result, it is possible to prevent image failure and toner scattering due to toner charging failure, realize stable image formation, and prevent failure of the image forming apparatus.

1 is a schematic side sectional view showing a structure of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side cross-sectional view showing an enlargement of a developing device and a toner container constituting the image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram schematically illustrating a main internal configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the display screen displayed on a display part. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing operations performed by a control unit in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. (A)-(C) are the figures which showed an example of the display screen displayed on a display part. (A) and (B) are graphs showing experimental results obtained by performing the printing operation a plurality of times using the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment and examining the fog density.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view showing the structure of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic side sectional view of the developing device and the toner container that constitute the image forming apparatus.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is, for example, a printer, and includes an apparatus main body 11 that includes a paper feeding unit 14, an image forming unit 12, a toner container 17, a fixing unit 13, a discharge tray 151, and a manual feed tray 161. . The image forming apparatus 1 also includes a transport unit 19 that transports the recording paper P from the paper feed unit 14 to the discharge tray 151 via the image forming unit 12 and the fixing unit 13.

  The conveyance unit 19 includes a conveyance path 191 connecting the paper feeding unit 14 and the discharge tray 151, a reverse conveyance path 1911, a plurality of conveyance roller pairs 192 provided at appropriate positions of the conveyance path 191 and the reverse conveyance path 1911, and a resist A roller pair 193, a transport drum 194, and a discharge roller pair 195 are provided.

  The paper feed unit 14 is provided at the bottom of the apparatus main body 11, and includes a paper feed cassette 141 that stores a plurality of recording papers P, and a first pickup for taking out the recording papers P stored in the paper feed cassette 141 one by one. A roller 142 and a pair of paper feed rollers 143 that send the recording paper P taken out by the first pickup roller 142 to the transport path 191 are provided.

  The recording paper P fed by the paper feed roller pair 143 is sent out to the transport path 191 via the transport drum 194. The recording paper P sent out to the conveyance path 191 is supplied to the image forming unit 12 by the registration roller pair 193.

  The image forming unit 12 is provided above the paper feed cassette 141, and includes a photosensitive drum 121, a charging device 122, an exposure device 123, a developing device 124, a transfer unit 120, a cleaning device 60, and a charge removal device 51. With.

  The photosensitive drum 121 is an image carrier and is configured to be rotatable about a rotation axis, and carries a toner image on the surface. The charging device 122 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 121. The exposure device 123 forms a latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 121 by irradiating laser light L based on image data transmitted from an external device (for example, a personal computer).

  The developing device 124 supplies toner to a latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 121 to form a toner image. A toner supply port 1242 is formed in the developing housing 1241. Stores toner supplied from the toner container 17. Further, the developing device 124 regulates the thickness of the developing roller 1243 that conveys the toner to the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 121 in the developing housing 1241 and the thickness of the toner carried on the developing roller 1243, A toner blade 1246 for forming a toner layer, spiral feeders 1247 and 1248 for agitating and conveying the toner, and a toner sensor 1249 for detecting the amount of toner in the developing housing 1241 provided on the wall surface near the toner supply port 1242. And comprising.

  The developing roller 1243 includes a magnet roller 1244 having a magnetic pole and a developing sleeve 1245 externally mounted on the magnet roller 1244, and the developing sleeve 1245 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in the drawing around the rotation axis. It is like that.

  The spiral feeders 1247 and 1248 are driven to rotate, stir the toner in the developing housing 1241 and transport it toward the developing roller 1243, and supply the toner to the peripheral surface of the developing roller 1243. The toner supplied to the circumferential surface of the developing roller 1243 is carried on the circumferential surface of the developing roller 1243 by the magnetic force of the magnet roller 1244 and is conveyed in the rotation direction by the rotation of the developing roller 1243 (developing sleeve 1245).

  The transfer unit 120 includes a conveyance belt 125 that conveys the recording paper P, a driving roller 125A, a driven roller 125B, and a transfer roller 126. The conveyor belt 125 is stretched between the driving roller 125 </ b> A and the driven roller 125 </ b> B, is driven by the driving roller 125 </ b> A while being in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 121, and runs endlessly in synchronization with the photosensitive drum 121. To do. Further, a transfer roller 126 is provided at a position where the toner image is transferred from the surface of the photosensitive drum 121 to the recording paper P, with the conveyance belt 125 interposed therebetween, and a transfer nip portion N1 is formed between the photosensitive drum 121 and the transfer roller 126. ing.

  The cleaning device 60 includes a cleaning roller 61 and a cleaning blade 62. The cleaning roller 61 and the cleaning blade 62 are in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 121 to remove toner and deposits remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 121 and clean the surface of the photosensitive drum 121.

  The static eliminator 51 is for removing charges remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 121, and irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 121 with static elimination light after the image formation by the image forming unit 12.

  The toner container 17 is detachably attached to the apparatus main body 11, stores toner that is a consumable part of the image forming unit 12, and supplies the toner to the developing device 124. A toner discharge port 172 is formed in the toner container 17, and the toner container 17 is attached to the apparatus main body 11 so that the toner discharge port 172 is positioned above the toner supply port 1242 of the developing device 124. The toner container 17 includes a spiral rod 173, and the toner contained in the toner container 17 is transported to the toner discharge port 172 by the rotation of the spiral rod 173, and the toner is supplied to the developing device 124 from the toner discharge port 172. Is done. The spiral rod 173 is an example of a toner transport unit in the claims.

  The fixing unit 13 fixes the toner image on the recording paper P by thermocompression bonding, and includes a heating roller 131 incorporating a heat lamp 132 as a heat source, and a pressure roller 133. The heating roller 131 and the pressure roller 133 make a pair, and when the recording paper P is nipped and conveyed through the fixing nip portion N2 by the heating roller 131 and the pressure roller 133, an unfixed toner image is transferred to the heat lamp 132. It is melted by heat and fixed on the recording paper P by the pressure of the heating roller 131 and the pressure roller 133.

  The recording sheet P that has been subjected to the fixing process is conveyed upward through a conveyance path 191, and is discharged to a discharge tray 151 provided on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 11 via a discharge roller pair 195.

  The manual feed tray 161 is provided in front of the apparatus main body 11 and is used for placing the recording paper P. The recording paper P placed on the manual feed tray 161 is taken out one by one by the second pickup roller 162, and the recording paper P taken out by the second pickup roller 162 is sent out to the transport path 191.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the main internal configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, an image forming unit 12, an image memory 32, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 92, a fixing unit 13, a paper feeding unit 14, a transport unit 19, an RFID communication unit 21, a toner container 17, an operation The unit 47, the attachment / detachment sensor 22, the toner sensor 1249, the supply motor driving unit 24, and the toner supply motor 25 are configured. The same components as those of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  The image memory 32 is an area for temporarily storing image data transmitted from an external device (for example, a personal computer) or temporarily storing image data to be printed by the image forming unit 12. It is. The HDD 92 is a large-capacity storage device that stores image data and the like.

  The RFID communication unit 21 communicates with an RF tag 171 attached to a toner container 17 that is configured to be detachable from the apparatus main body 11. The RF tag 171 includes a memory that stores product information and the like of the toner container 17, and the RFID communication unit 21 receives the signal transmitted from the RF tag 171 to acquire product information and the like of the toner container 17.

  The operation unit 47 receives an instruction such as an image forming operation execution instruction from the operator for various operations and processes that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 1. The operation unit 47 includes a display unit 473 that displays operation guidance to the operator. The display unit 473 is a touch panel, and the operator can operate the image forming apparatus 1 by touching buttons and keys displayed on the screen.

  The replenishing motor driving unit 24 controls the driving of the toner replenishing motor 25 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 100 described later of the control unit 10. The toner replenishing motor 25 is a driving source that supplies a rotational driving force to the spiral rod 173 (see FIG. 2). The replenishment motor drive unit 24 and the toner replenishment motor 25 are provided in the image forming unit 12.

  The toner sensor 1249 constantly detects the amount of toner in the developing housing 1241. For example, the toner sensor 1249 transmits a toner replenishment signal to the control unit 10 when the amount of toner falls below a predetermined amount.

  The control unit 10 includes a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a dedicated hardware circuit. The processor is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a micro processing unit (MPU). The control unit 10 includes a control unit 100, an operation receiving unit 101, and a conforming product determination unit 103.

  The control unit 10 functions as the control unit 100, the operation receiving unit 101, and the conforming product determination unit 103 by the operation of the processor according to the control program stored in the HDD 92. However, the control unit 100 and the like can be configured by a hardware circuit regardless of the operation of the control unit 10 according to the control program. The same applies to each embodiment unless otherwise specified.

  The control unit 100 governs overall operation control of the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 100 includes an image forming unit 12, an image memory 32, an HDD 92, a fixing unit 13, a paper feeding unit 14, a transport unit 19, an RFID communication unit 21, an operation unit 47, a detachable sensor 22, a toner sensor 1249, and a replenishment motor drive. It is connected to the unit 24 and performs drive control of these units.

  The conforming product determination unit 103 determines whether the toner container 17 attached to the apparatus main body 11 of the image forming apparatus 1 is a conforming product. When the toner container 17 is mounted on the apparatus main body 11, the conforming product determination unit 103 includes the toner container 17 included in the product information of the toner container 17 by the RFID communication unit 21 communicating with the RF tag 171. When the information indicating that is a compatible product is obtained, it is determined that the attached toner container 17 is a compatible product. In addition, the conforming product determination unit 103 determines whether the RFID container 21 cannot communicate with the RF tag 171 when the toner container 17 is attached to the apparatus main body 11 or the toner container 17 is a conforming product. If the information indicating this is not obtained, it is determined that the mounted toner container 17 is a non-conforming product.

  For example, when the control unit 100 receives a toner supply signal transmitted from the toner sensor 1249, the control unit 100 controls the drive of the supply motor driving unit 24 and drives the toner supply motor 25 to rotate the spiral rod 173. Thus, the toner is supplied from the toner container 17 to the developing device 124. In the normal mode, the control unit 100 controls the driving of the replenishment motor drive unit 24 so that the toner replenishment speed V becomes a predetermined speed VN. The normal mode is a mode in which the control unit 100 causes the transport unit 19 and the image forming unit 12 to form an image at the predetermined standard speed.

  On the other hand, when the nonconforming product toner container 17 is mounted on the apparatus main body 11, the control unit 100 sets the toner replenishing speed V to a predetermined speed (for example, lower than the toner replenishing speed in the normal mode). The speed of the replenishing motor drive unit 24 is controlled so that the toner replenishing speed V becomes the predetermined speed.

  Note that when the toner container 17 that is a nonconforming product is mounted on the apparatus main body 11, when the toner is supplied from the toner container 17 to the developing device 124, the control unit 100 causes the toner agitation speed (toner circulation) in the developing housing 1241 to be supplied. With respect to (speed), the same speed as in the normal mode is maintained, and only the toner supply speed V is adjusted. That is, the rotational speeds of the spiral feeders 1247 and 1248 are not different from the normal mode.

  As a method for adjusting the toner replenishment speed V, for example, there are a method for adjusting the rotation speed of the toner replenishment motor 25 and a method for adjusting the toner replenishment duty (on time per unit time in the toner replenishment motor 25). .

  The operation receiving unit 101 receives an operation input from the user via the operation unit 47. The operation receiving unit 101 includes an instruction receiving unit 102 that receives an instruction to cancel the decrease in the toner supply speed V from the user. For example, the instruction receiving unit 102 displays a display screen D1 on the display unit 473 as illustrated in FIG. 4 and receives the instruction from the user via a touch panel arranged on the display screen of the display unit 473. The display screen D1 includes a message M1 indicating that the toner replenishment speed V is being reduced, and a selection button B1 marked “Release”, and the instruction receiving unit 102 selects the selection button B1 via the touch panel. Is operated, an instruction to cancel the decrease in the toner supply speed V is received from the user.

  Next, an example of the processing operation performed by the control unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. First, as an initial setting, the control unit 100 sets a flag F1 indicating whether or not the toner container 17 mounted on the apparatus main body 11 is a conforming product to 0 (0: conforming product, 1: nonconforming product). (S1). This is because a compatible toner container 17 is mounted on the apparatus main body 11 at the time of product shipment.

  Subsequently, as an initial setting, the control unit 100 sets the toner supply speed V to the normal mode speed VN (S2), and a flag F2 indicating whether the toner supply speed V is set to the normal mode speed VN. Is set to 0 (0: set to the speed VN of the normal mode, 1: not set to the speed VN of the normal mode) (S3).

  Subsequently, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the toner container 17 has been replaced based on information obtained from the attachment / detachment sensor 22 (S4). When the control unit 100 determines that the toner container 17 has been replaced (YES in S4), the conforming product determination unit 103 is attached to the apparatus main body 11 based on information obtained from the RFID communication unit 21. It is determined whether the toner container 17 is a non-conforming product (S5).

  When the conforming product determination unit 103 determines that the toner container 17 attached to the apparatus main body 11 is a nonconforming product (YES in S5), the control unit 100 sets the flag F1 to 1 (S6), The toner replenishment speed V is set to 1/4 of the normal mode speed VN (S7), and the flag F2 is set to 1 (S8). Thereafter, the control unit 100 displays a display screen D2 as shown in FIG. 6A on the display unit 473 (S9). Thereafter, the process returns to S4.

  A predetermined message M2 is formed on the display screen D2, indicating that the toner replenishing speed V has been reduced, and the reason why the toner replenishing speed V has been reduced (for example, to protect the image forming apparatus 1). Is written.

  On the other hand, when the conforming product determination unit 103 determines that the toner container 17 attached to the apparatus main body 11 is not a nonconforming product (a conforming product) (NO in S5), the control unit 100 sets the flag F1 to 0. (S10), the toner supply speed V is set to the normal mode speed VN (S11), and the flag F2 is set to 0 (S12). Thereafter, the control unit 100 displays a display screen D3 as shown in FIG. 6B on the display unit 473 (S13). Thereafter, the process returns to S4.

  A predetermined message M3 is formed on the display screen D3, indicating that the toner replenishment speed V has been returned to the normal mode speed VN and the reason for the return (because a compatible toner container 17 has been mounted. ) Is written.

  In S4, when it is determined that the toner container 17 has not been replaced (NO in S4), the control unit 100 determines whether or not the flag F1 is 1 (S14).

  When the control unit 100 determines that the flag F1 is 1 (YES in S14), the toner container 17 attached to the apparatus main body 11 is a non-conforming product, so whether or not the flag F2 is 1 is determined. Judgment is made (S15).

  When the control unit 100 determines that the flag F2 is 1 (YES in S15), the toner supply speed V is set to the normal mode in response to the fact that the toner container 17 that is a non-conforming product is attached to the apparatus main body 11. Therefore, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the instruction receiving unit 102 has received an instruction from the user to cancel the decrease in the toner replenishment speed V (S16). .

  When the control unit 100 determines that the instruction receiving unit 102 has received an instruction from the user to cancel the decrease in the toner supply speed V (YES in S16), the control unit 100 sets the toner supply speed V to the normal mode speed VN (S17). The flag F2 is set to 0 (S18), and the counter C for counting the number of printed sheets is reset to 0 (S19). Thereafter, the process proceeds to S20.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 100 determines that the instruction receiving unit 102 has not received an instruction from the user to cancel the decrease in the toner supply speed V (NO in S16), the process directly returns to S4.

  In S15, when the control unit 100 determines that the flag F2 is not 1 (0) (NO in S15), the process proceeds to S20. This is because the toner replenishing speed V is set to the normal mode speed VN although the nonconforming toner container 17 is mounted on the apparatus main body 11.

  In S20, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the recording paper P on which the image is formed is discharged to the discharge tray 151 by controlling the operation of the image forming unit 12 and the like (S20). When the control unit 100 determines that the recording paper P is discharged to the discharge tray 151 (YES in S20), the control unit 100 adds 1 to the counter C (S21), and the counter C is set to a predetermined number of sheets CA (for example, 500). It is determined whether or not the number is greater than or equal to (sheet) (S22).

  When the control unit 100 determines that the counter C is equal to or greater than the predetermined number of sheets CA (that is, the number of printed sheets has reached 500) (YES in S22), the control unit 100 sets the toner replenishment speed V to normal. The mode speed VN is set to 1/4 (S23), and the flag F2 is set to 1 (S24). Thereafter, the control unit 100 displays a display screen D4 as shown in FIG. 6C on the display unit 473 (S25). Thereafter, the process returns to S4.

  A predetermined message M4 is formed on the display screen D4, indicating that the toner supply speed V has been reduced and the reason for reducing the toner supply speed V (for example, to protect the image forming apparatus 1). Is written.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 100 determines that the recording paper P on which the image is formed has not been discharged to the discharge tray 151 (NO in S20), the control unit 100 does not have the counter C equal to or more than the predetermined number of sheets CA. (NO in S22), the process returns to S4.

  According to the first embodiment, when the nonconforming product toner container 17 is attached to the apparatus main body 11, the toner replenishment speed V is reduced to a speed lower than that in the normal mode. It is possible to secure the time required to stir. Accordingly, a portion in which the ratio of newly replenished toner (non-conforming product toner) from the non-conforming product toner container 17 is too high compared to the toner already contained in the developing device 124 (conforming product toner). Can be prevented. Thereby, it is possible to prevent image failure and toner scattering due to toner charging failure, realize stable image formation, and prevent failure of the image forming apparatus 1.

  Further, when the nonconforming product toner container 17 is mounted on the apparatus main body 11, the toner replenishment speed V is decreased, but the toner replenishment speed V can be returned to the normal mode speed VN by the user's intention. Therefore, usability for the user is improved.

  Even if the toner replenishment speed V is returned to the normal mode speed VN by the user's intention, when the number of printed sheets reaches a predetermined number CA, the toner replenishment speed V is reduced again, so that the toner charging failure is caused. The possibility of occurrence can be reduced.

  Further, since the user is informed that the toner replenishment speed V has decreased and the reason thereof, the user is informed that the use of the nonconforming product toner container 17 is not preferable, and the user is notified of the use of the conforming product toner container 17. Can be urged.

  Next, effects of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described based on experimental results. The fog density FD was evaluated by changing the toner replenishing speed V (the rotational speed of the toner replenishing motor 25 and the toner replenishing duty) using a modified machine of the color printer FS-4300DN manufactured by Kyocera Document Solutions as an experimental machine.

  In the experiment, a conforming toner container 17 and a non-conforming toner container 17 were used, and 1000 image patterns each having a printing rate (document density) of 10% were printed at eight different toner replenishing speeds V shown below. Then, the sample image was printed on a recording paper as an evaluation paper, and the fog density FD was measured. The fog density FD corresponds to a value obtained by subtracting the image density of the base paper (evaluation paper before printing) from the image density of the background portion (white background portion) of the evaluation paper after printing.

  With respect to the rotation speed of the toner replenishment motor 25, the above experiment was performed at rotation speeds of 1, 0.5, 0.25, and 0.1 times based on the rotation speed in the normal mode. FIG. 7A shows the experimental results.

  As for the toner replenishment duty, when the duty in the normal mode is set to 20%, the toner replenishment duty is set to 20%, 0.5 times 10%, 0.25 times 5%,. The above experiment was conducted at 1% 2%. FIG. 7B shows the experimental results.

  If the fog density FD is 0.01 or less, it is evaluated as “OK (good)”, and if it is 0.011 or more, it is evaluated as “NG (not good)”. Is used, the fog density FD is 0.005 or less at any toner replenishment speed V, and it can be evaluated as “OK (good)”.

  On the other hand, when the nonconforming product toner container 17 is used, when the rotation speed of the toner replenishing motor 25 is 0.5 times or less of the reference value and the toner replenishing duty is suppressed to 12% or less, the fog density FD. Is 0.01 or less and can be evaluated as “OK (good)”. Therefore, it was found from the experimental results that even when the nonconforming product toner container 17 is used, image defects can be suppressed by setting the toner replenishment speed V low.

  By the way, even if the toner container 17 is replaced from a nonconforming product to a conforming product, immediately after that, the toner in the developing device 124 remains a nonconforming product, and the toner in the developing device 124 gradually becomes a nonconforming product. The toner is replaced with a compatible toner. The period until it is completely replaced depends on the size of the developing device 124, but the developing device 124 that handles a general magnetic component requires about 20000 to 30000 printing.

  Therefore, as another embodiment, the control unit 100 determines that the toner container 17 mounted on the apparatus main body 11 has been replaced from a non-conforming product to a conforming product based on the determination result by the conforming product determination unit 103. In this case, the toner replenishing speed V is returned to the normal mode speed VN by a predetermined speed by taking a predetermined time.

  The predetermined time includes, for example, about 20000 to 30000 sheets where the toner of the developing device 124 is replaced. Further, when the same number of sheets can be printed with the toner contained in one toner container 17 (for example, when 25,000 sheets can be printed), the usage period of one toner container 17 is set to It may be set at a predetermined time.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. In the above embodiment, a printer is used as an embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. However, this is only an example. For example, a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function are used. Other image forming apparatuses such as a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions as described above, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine may be used.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the structure and process which were shown by the said embodiment using FIG. 1 thru | or FIG. 7 are only one Embodiment of this invention, and are not the meaning which limits this invention to the said structure and process.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 11 Apparatus main body 12 Image forming part 14 Paper supply part 17 Toner container 19 Conveyance part 25 Toner replenishment motor 100 Control part 102 Instruction reception part 103 Conformity determination part 121 Photosensitive drum 124 Developing apparatus 172 Toner discharge port 173 Spiral Rod 473 Display unit 1242 Toner supply port 1243 Developing roller 1245 Developing sleeve

Claims (6)

A transport unit for transporting recording paper;
An image forming unit for forming an image on the recording paper;
A toner container which is detachable from the apparatus main body and contains toner used for image formation by the image forming unit;
A conforming product determination unit that determines whether or not the toner container mounted on the apparatus main body is a conforming product;
A control unit that controls operations of the transport unit and the image forming unit,
The image forming unit rotates about a rotation axis and has an image carrier that carries a toner image on the surface;
A developing device that supplies toner supplied from the toner container to the image carrier and forms a toner image on the image carrier;
The control unit controls the operation of the image forming unit to transfer the toner container from the toner container to the developing device when the compatible product determination unit determines that the toner container attached to the apparatus main body is not a compatible product. The image forming apparatus reduces the toner replenishing speed to a predetermined speed lower than a toner replenishing speed in a normal mode in which the conveying unit and the image forming unit perform image formation at a predetermined standard speed. The toner container includes a toner discharge port provided in the toner container disposed above a toner supply port provided in the developing device, and a toner transport unit that transports toner to the toner discharge port. Prepared,
The image forming unit includes a toner replenishing motor that is a drive source of the toner conveying unit, and a replenishing motor driving unit that drives the toner replenishing motor,
2. The image according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the operation of the toner replenishing motor to reduce the rotation speed of the toner replenishing motor, thereby reducing the toner replenishing speed to the predetermined speed. Forming equipment. The toner container includes a toner discharge port provided in the toner container disposed above a toner supply port provided in the developing device, and a toner transport unit that transports toner to the toner discharge port. Prepared,
The image forming unit includes a toner replenishing motor that is a drive source of the toner conveying unit, and a replenishing motor driving unit that drives the toner replenishing motor,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the operation of the toner replenishing motor to reduce the toner replenishing duty, thereby reducing the toner replenishing speed to the predetermined speed. With a display,
The control unit receives a predetermined message when the toner replenishment speed is decreased in response to the determination that the toner container mounted on the apparatus main body is not a compatible product by the compatible product determining unit. It is displayed on the display unit,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined message states that the toner supply speed has been reduced. An instruction receiving unit that receives an instruction to cancel the decrease in the toner replenishment speed from a user;
When the instruction receiving unit receives an instruction from a user to cancel the decrease after the toner container mounted on the apparatus main body is determined not to be a compatible product by the compatible product determining unit, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the toner supply speed is returned to the toner supply speed in the normal mode.   In accordance with an instruction from the user, the control unit returns the toner supply speed to the state in the normal mode, and after forming a predetermined number of images, sets the toner supply speed to the predetermined speed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image forming apparatus is lowered again.