JP2019148713A - Remaining powder amount detector, image forming device, and remaining powder amount detection method - Google Patents

Abstract

To detect a remaining powder amount in a container with high accuracy.SOLUTION: Provided is an image forming device for doing development by powder such as a developer on the basis of the drawing information outputted for image formation and executing image formation output, wherein, in order to detect the remaining amount of the powder, the distribution of the powder in an internal space of a powder accommodation unit where the powder is accommodated, a change value indicating a position change of the powder accommodation unit is detected, the presence of abnormality in a path arranged at one end of the powder accommodation unit and through which the powder is supplied to the outside of the powder accommodation unit is detected on the basis of the change value detected while the powder is moving to the vicinity of the change value detection unit, and the remaining amount is detected on the basis of the change value in a state of the powder having been moved to the vicinity of the change value detection unit that detects the change value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder remaining amount detecting device, an image forming apparatus, and a powder remaining amount detecting method.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, powder such as toner is supplied to a developing device that develops an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive member by rotating a container filled with powder. Then, the remaining amount of the powder in the container is detected and the detection result is notified to the user, thereby prompting the user to replace the container with a sufficient amount of powder.

  In order to detect the remaining amount of powder in the container, there is a technique for detecting the weight of the entire container after supplying the powder and calculating the remaining amount of powder in the container based on the detected weight ( For example, see Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, the amount of displacement of an elastic body such as a spring that supports a container is measured with a variable resistor or a photosensor, and the remaining amount of powder is detected based on the measured amount of displacement.

  In Patent Document 1, since the powder is supplied to the developing device by rotating the container, the distribution mode of the powder in the container changes. In such a case, in the technique of Patent Document 1, the relationship between the amount of displacement of the elastic body and the remaining amount of the powder in the container is not constant due to the change in the distribution mode of the powder. The remaining amount of can not be detected accurately.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object thereof is to accurately detect the remaining amount of powder in a container.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a powder moving unit that changes a distribution of the powder in an internal space of the powder storing unit in which the powder is stored, and the powder moving unit are driven. And a change value detection unit that detects a change value indicating a change in position of the powder container, and one end of the powder container, and supplies the powder to the outside of the powder container An abnormality detection unit that detects the presence or absence of an abnormality in the route to be performed based on the change value, and a powder remaining amount that detects the remaining amount of the powder stored in the powder storage unit based on the change value A detecting unit, wherein the driving unit drives the powder moving unit to move the powder in the vicinity of the change value detecting unit, and the abnormality detecting unit is in the vicinity of the change value detecting unit. On the basis of the change value detected while the powder is moving. The presence or absence of abnormality is detected, and the powder remaining amount detection unit detects the remaining amount based on the change value in a state where the powder is moved in the vicinity of the change value detection unit. .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately detect the remaining amount of powder in the container.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a toner bottle according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a toner bottle according to an embodiment of the invention. 1 is a hardware block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a function for detecting the remaining amount of toner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a function for detecting the remaining amount of toner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a toner distribution mode according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a toner distribution mode according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a toner distribution mode according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an error when detecting the remaining amount of toner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a relationship between a strain sensor output and a toner bottle rotation time according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for detecting the remaining amount of toner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an error when detecting the remaining amount of toner according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for detecting the remaining amount of toner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another configuration of the toner bottle according to the embodiment of the invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, in an image forming apparatus that executes image formation output by an electrophotographic method, toner that is a powder developer is supplied to a developing unit that develops an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoreceptor. A powder remaining amount detection method for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle will be described. In the present exemplary embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 will be described by taking a monochrome machine as an example. However, the present invention is based on C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (key plate) toners. The present invention can be similarly applied to an image forming apparatus that performs color printing using the.

  1 and 2 are diagrams illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a paper feed table 105, a print engine 106 that is an image forming unit, a scanner unit 102 that reads a document, and a display panel 104. The paper feed table 105 stores a print medium P such as paper or an OHP film. The print medium P is fed by the calling roller 62 and then conveyed to the print engine 106.

  The print engine 106 includes an image carrier, a photoreceptor 10 as a latent image carrier, a writing device 47, a charging device 11, a developing device 12, a transfer device 13, a cleaning device 14, and a fixing device 22. Function as. The charging device 11 uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductor 10 that is rotationally driven. The writing device 47 irradiates the photoconductor 10 with a laser beam to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 10.

  The developing device 12 causes the toner to adhere to the surface of the photoconductor 10 by the developing roller 81 and visualizes the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductor 10. The transfer device 13 includes a transfer belt 17, and the transfer belt 17 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the photoconductor 10 at the transfer position B.

  The print medium P that has passed through the registration roller 21 is sent to the transfer position B. The toner image on the photoconductor 10 is transferred to the print medium P sent to the transfer position B by the transfer device 13, and the toner image is carried on the surface of the print medium P. The cleaning device 14 removes the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 10 after transfer, and removes the residual potential on the photoconductor 10 by the charge eliminating lamp 9.

  The fixing device 22 includes a heating roller 30 and a pressure roller 32 and applies heat and pressure to the print medium P on which the toner image is carried to fix the toner image on the print medium P. Thereafter, the print medium P is discharged onto the discharge tray 107 by the discharge roller 35 and stacked there.

  On the other hand, when images are formed on both sides of the print medium P, the print medium P is conveyed to the reversing path 43 by the discharge branch claw 34. Thereafter, by rotating the transport roller 66 in the reverse direction, the print medium P is transported to the registration roller 21 via the re-transport path 44. Then, as described above, the toner image is also transferred to the surface of the print medium P where the toner image is not carried.

  In the image forming apparatus 1, the photoconductor 10, the charging device 11, the developing device 12, and the cleaning device 14 are integrally configured as a process cartridge 80 as shown in FIG. The developing device 12 includes a developing roller 81, a doctor blade 6 for controlling the thickness of a developer layer containing toner, and screws 82 and 83 for stirring and conveying the developer. The cleaning device 14 includes a cleaning blade 8. The neutralizing lamp 9 removes the residual potential on the photoconductor 10 after cleaning the surface of the photoconductor with the cleaning blade 8.

  The process cartridge 80 can be removed from the opening 80 a by sliding the process cartridge 80 toward the front side of the apparatus according to a rail 91 passed in the front-rear direction of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The image forming apparatus 1 also includes a toner bottle 201 filled with toner to be supplied to the process cartridge 80. The toner bottle 201 can be removed from the image forming apparatus 1 by being drawn out from the opening 20a, and can be replaced by inserting a replacement toner bottle filled with toner from the opening 20a.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the configuration of the toner bottle 201 which is a powder container according to the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the toner bottle 201 includes a protrusion 211 and a supply port 212. The protrusion 211 is provided in a spiral shape in the longitudinal direction of the toner bottle 201. The protruding direction of the protruding portion 211 is the inner wall surface of the toner bottle 201, that is, the side filled with toner. That is, the protrusion 211 is formed by protruding the inner wall surface of the toner bottle 201 in a spiral shape in the longitudinal direction. The outer wall surface of the toner bottle 201 corresponding to the position where the protrusion 211 is formed is recessed inward in accordance with the shape of the protrusion 211.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a gear 203 is formed on the outer periphery of one end side in the longitudinal direction of the toner bottle 201. When the toner bottle 201 is attached to the toner supply unit 202, the drive motor 250 provided in the toner supply unit 202 and the toner bottle 201 are combined. In this state, when the bottle drive unit 121 is driven, the drive motor 250 rotates, and the toner bottle 201 rotates about the longitudinal axis according to the rotation of the drive motor 250.

  When the toner bottle 201 is rotated, the toner is stirred by the protrusion 211 and moves inside the toner bottle 201 along the protrusion 211. As already described, since the protrusion 211 is formed in a spiral shape in the longitudinal direction of the toner bottle 201, the toner also moves spirally inside the toner bottle 201.

  Therefore, the protruding portion 211 functions as a powder moving portion that moves the toner so that the toner distribution changes in the internal space of the toner bottle 201. The following description will be made assuming that the rotation direction of the toner bottle 201 in which the toner moves toward the supply port 212 is the supply direction and the rotation direction of the toner bottle 201 in which the toner moves away from the supply port 212 is the reverse direction.

  The toner that has moved in the supply direction in the toner bottle 201 is sent to the developing device 12 by a transport screw 225 in a transport nozzle 222 provided so as to pass through the interior of the supply port 212. In this way, toner is supplied from the toner bottle 201 to the developing device 12.

  The strain sensor 204 is provided at a support portion that supports the toner bottle 201 at one end in the longitudinal direction of the toner bottle 201 facing the supply port 212. In this embodiment, the weight of the toner bottle 201 is measured based on the output value of the strain sensor 204, and the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 is detected based on the measured weight of the toner bottle 201.

  The strain sensor 204 may be configured by arranging a resistor such as a piezo element in a bridge circuit on a bottle support 205 made of a diaphragm. The strain sensor 204 having such a configuration changes the resistance value by applying a stress to the piezo element due to the change in the position of the bottle support 205, and detects the midpoint potential fluctuation in the bridge circuit to detect the inside of the toner bottle 201. It is possible to detect a change in weight.

  Next, a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, an image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 52, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 53, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 54, The I / F 55 is connected via the bus 58. Also, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 56 and an operation unit 57 are connected to the I / F 55.

  The CPU 51 is a calculation unit and controls the operation of the entire image forming apparatus 1. The RAM 52 is a volatile storage medium capable of reading and writing information at high speed, and is used as a work area when the CPU 51 processes information. The ROM 53 is a read-only nonvolatile storage medium and stores a program such as firmware. The HDD 54 is a non-volatile storage medium that can read and write information, and stores an OS (Operating System), various control programs, application programs, and the like.

  The I / F 55 connects and controls the bus 58 and various hardware and networks. The LCD 56 is a visual user interface for the user to check the state of the image forming apparatus 1. The operation unit 57 is a user interface such as a keyboard and a mouse for the user to input information to the image forming apparatus 1.

  In such a hardware configuration, the software control unit is configured by the CPU 51 performing calculations in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 53 or a program loaded into the RAM 52 from a storage medium such as the HDD 54 or an optical disk. A functional block that realizes the functions of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured by a combination of the software control unit configured as described above and hardware.

  Next, the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a controller 100, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 101, a scanner unit 102, a paper discharge tray 103, a display panel 104, a paper feed table 105, and a print engine 106. A paper discharge tray 107 and a network I / F 108.

  The controller 100 also includes a main control unit 110, an engine control unit 120, an image processing unit 130, an operation display control unit 140, and an input / output control unit 150. As shown in FIG. 6, the image forming apparatus 1 is configured as a multifunction machine having a scanner unit 102 and a print engine 106. In FIG. 6, the electrical connection is indicated by solid arrows, and the flow of paper is indicated by broken arrows.

  The display panel 104 is a display unit that visually displays the state of the image forming apparatus 1, and when the user directly operates the image forming apparatus 1 as a touch panel or inputs information to the image forming apparatus 1. It is also the input part. That is, the display panel 104 includes a function for displaying an image for receiving an operation by the user. The display panel 104 is realized by the LCD 56 and the operation unit 57 shown in FIG. Therefore, the display panel 104 functions as an operation display unit.

  The network I / F 108 is an interface for the image forming apparatus 1 to communicate with other devices via the network, and uses an Ethernet (registered trademark) or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface. The network I / F 108 can communicate using the TCP / IP protocol. The network I / F 108 also functions as an interface for executing facsimile transmission when the image forming apparatus 1 functions as a facsimile. For this reason, the network I / F 108 is also connected to a telephone line. The network I / F 108 is realized by the I / F 55 shown in FIG.

  The controller 100 is configured by a combination of software and hardware. Specifically, a program stored in a ROM 53, a nonvolatile memory, and a nonvolatile storage medium such as an HDD 54 or an optical disk is loaded into a volatile memory (hereinafter referred to as a memory) such as a RAM 52, and the CPU 51 executes the program. The controller 100 is configured by a software control unit configured by performing calculations according to the above and hardware such as an integrated circuit. The controller 100 functions as a control unit that controls the entire image forming apparatus 1.

  The main control unit 110 plays a role of controlling each unit included in the controller 100, and gives a command to each unit of the controller 100. The engine control unit 120 serves as a driving unit that controls or drives the print engine 106, the scanner unit 102, and the like. The image processing unit 130 generates drawing information based on image information to be printed out under the control of the main control unit 110. The drawing information is information for drawing an image to be formed in the image forming operation by the print engine 106 as an image forming unit.

  The image processing unit 130 processes image data input from the scanner unit 102 to generate image data. The image data is information stored in the storage area of the image forming apparatus 1 as a result of the scanner operation or transmitted to another information processing terminal or storage device via the network I / F 108.

  The operation display control unit 140 displays information on the display panel 104 or notifies the main control unit 110 of information input via the display panel 104. The input / output control unit 150 inputs information input via the network I / F 108 to the main control unit 110. The main control unit 110 also controls the input / output control unit 150 to access the network I / F 108 and other devices connected to the network via the network.

  The operation display control unit 140 refers to arrangement information, which is information for displaying soft keys on the display panel 104, from the HDD 54 and notifies the main control unit 110 together with information input via the display panel 104.

  When the image forming apparatus 1 operates as a printer, first, the input / output control unit 150 receives a print job via the network I / F 108. The input / output control unit 150 transfers the received print job to the main control unit 110. When the main control unit 110 receives a print job, the main control unit 110 controls the image processing unit 130 to generate drawing information (drawing data) based on document information or image information included in the print job.

  When drawing information is generated by the image processing unit 130, the engine control unit 120 controls the print engine 106 to form an image on the paper conveyed from the paper feed table 105 based on the generated drawing information. Let it run. That is, the image processing unit 130, the engine control unit 120, and the print engine 106 function as an image formation output unit. A document on which image formation has been performed by the print engine 106 is discharged to a discharge tray 107.

  When the image forming apparatus 1 operates as a scanner, the operation display control unit 140 or input / output control is performed according to a user operation on the display panel 104 or a scan execution instruction input from another terminal via the network I / F 108. The unit 150 transfers the scan execution signal to the main control unit 110. The main control unit 110 controls the engine control unit 120 based on the received scan execution signal.

  The engine control unit 120 drives the ADF 101 and conveys the document to be imaged set on the ADF 101 to the scanner unit 102. In addition, the engine control unit 120 drives the scanner unit 102 and images a document conveyed from the ADF 101. If no original is set on the ADF 101 and the original is set directly on the scanner unit 102, the scanner unit 102 images the set original according to the control of the engine control unit 120. That is, the scanner unit 102 operates as an imaging unit, and the engine control unit 120 functions as a reading control unit.

  In the image capturing operation, an image sensor such as a contact image sensor (CIS) or a charge-coupled device (CCD) included in the scanner unit 102 optically scans the document, and image information generated based on the optical information is generated. Is done. The engine control unit 120 transfers the imaging information generated by the scanner unit 102 to the image processing unit 130. The image processing unit 130 generates image information based on the imaging information received from the engine control unit 120 according to the control of the main control unit 110.

  Image information generated by the image processing unit 130 is acquired by the main control unit 110, and the main control unit 110 stores the image information in a storage medium attached to the image forming apparatus 1 such as the HDD 54. That is, the scanner unit 102, the engine control unit 120, and the image processing unit 130 work together to function as an image input unit. The image information generated by the image processing unit 130 is stored in the HDD 54 or the like as it is according to a user instruction, or is transmitted to an external device via the input / output control unit 150 and the network I / F 108.

  Further, when the image forming apparatus 1 operates as a copying machine, the image processing unit 130 generates drawing information based on the imaging information received by the engine control unit 120 from the scanner unit 102 or the image information generated by the image processing unit 130. To do. Based on the drawing information, the engine control unit 120 drives the print engine 106 as in the case of the printer operation. In addition, when the information formats of drawing information and imaging information are the same, it is also possible to use imaging information as drawing information as it is.

  In such a configuration, the image forming apparatus 1 detects the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 based on the output value of the strain sensor 204. Next, in the present embodiment, a function of detecting the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram illustrating a function of detecting the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the main control unit 110 and the engine control unit 120 cooperate to detect the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the main control unit 110 includes a time measurement unit 111, a rotation control unit 112, and a toner remaining amount detection unit 113. The engine control unit 120 includes a bottle driving unit 121. The time measuring unit 111 measures an elapsed time from a predetermined timing according to the operation status of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The rotation control unit 112 transmits command information for operating the driving motor 250 to the bottle driving unit 121. The bottle driving unit 121 rotates the toner bottle 201 by driving the driving motor 250. The toner remaining amount detecting unit 113 is a powder remaining amount detecting unit that detects the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 based on information regarding the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 input to the main control unit 110.

  Hereinafter, an internal configuration of the toner remaining amount detection unit 113 will be described with reference to FIG. The toner remaining amount detecting unit 113 includes a distortion value detecting unit 1131, a toner remaining amount predicting unit 1132, a toner remaining amount calculating unit 1133, and an abnormality detecting unit 1134.

  When the position of the bottle support 205 that supports the toner bottle 201 changes in the vertical direction according to the weight of the toner bottle 201, that is, in the direction indicated by the arrow V in FIG. The output value (hereinafter referred to as “strain value”) is detected. Therefore, the strain value detection unit 1131 functions as a change value detection unit that detects a strain value that is a change value indicating a change in the position of the toner bottle 201.

  The toner remaining amount predicting unit 1132 functions as a powder remaining amount predicting unit that calculates a predicted value of the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 based on the number of pixels of the drawing information output by the image forming apparatus 1. The toner remaining amount calculation unit 1133 has a data table indicating the relationship between the strain value and the remaining amount of toner, or a mathematical expression representing the relationship between the strain value and the remaining amount of toner, and the toner in the toner bottle 201 based on the strain value. Calculate the remaining amount.

  The abnormality detection unit 1134 detects an abnormality in a path through which the toner passes while the toner is supplied from the toner bottle 201 to the developing device 12 based on a change in the distortion value when the toner moves due to the rotation driving of the toner bottle 201. Detect whether it has occurred. That is, the abnormality detection unit 1134 determines whether toner is clogged from the supply port 212 to the developing device 12 by the conveyance nozzle 222 and the conveyance screw 225 based on a change in the distortion value when the toner moves. Detect.

  In such a configuration, in this embodiment, the toner remaining amount is detected after the toner distribution in the toner bottle 201 is controlled by rotating the toner bottle 201. 9 to 11 are diagrams illustrating toner distribution modes in the toner bottle 201 according to the present embodiment. 9 to 11, the toner in the toner bottle 201 is indicated by a shaded area.

  In the toner bottle 201 shown in FIG. 9, the toner is concentrated around the strain sensor 204. In the toner bottle 201 shown in FIG. 10, toner is concentrated around the supply port 212. In the toner bottle 201 shown in FIG. 11, the toner is concentrated and distributed near the center in the longitudinal direction of the toner bottle 201.

  The toner in the toner bottle 201 passes through the supply port 212 and is supplied to the developing device 12. Therefore, in the toner bottle 201 immediately after the toner is supplied from the toner bottle 201 to the process cartridge 80, the toner is concentrated near the supply port 212 as shown in FIG. This is because the toner is moved in the direction of the supply port 212 along the protrusion 211 when the toner bottle 201 is driven to rotate.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining an error in detecting the remaining amount of toner based on the distortion values in the respective toner distributions shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. In FIG. 12, the output characteristic of the strain sensor 204 in the toner distribution of FIG. 9 is indicated by a curve A, and the output characteristic of the strain sensor 204 in the toner distribution of FIG.

  In FIG. 12, the strain value detected by the strain sensor 204 when the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 is small is shown in a region P1. In the toner distribution of FIG. 9, since the distortion value is detected according to the remaining amount of toner regardless of the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201, the curve A is a linear curve.

  On the other hand, in the toner distribution of FIG. 10, when the remaining amount of toner is small, the output value of the strain sensor 204 that is different from the strain value corresponding to the actual remaining toner amount is detected, so the curve B is a linear curve. Must not. As described above, the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 cannot be accurately detected with the toner distribution state shown in FIG.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when detecting the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201, as shown in FIG. 9, the remaining amount of toner is changed after the toner is moved so that the toner is distributed in the vicinity of the strain sensor 204. Detect. By rotating the toner bottle 201 in the reverse direction, the toner concentrated and distributed in the vicinity of the supply port 212 can be moved in the vicinity of the strain sensor 204.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 13, a change in the strain value when the toner moves due to the rotation driving of the toner bottle 201 will be described. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the strain value output from the strain sensor 204 according to the present embodiment and the rotation time of the toner bottle 201.

  The expected strain value H is a vertical axis (Y axis) representing a strain value calculated based on the remaining amount of toner detected last time and the amount of toner consumption calculated based on the number of pixels of the image formed and output. The rotation time (t) of the toner bottle 201 is plotted on the horizontal axis (X axis). When “t = A”, the toner moves to the strain sensor 204, and the strain value is stabilized.

  The strain sensor expected value range J1 and J2 are an upper limit value and a lower limit value from the strain sensor expected value H determined based on the density of the image formed and output and the operation state of the image forming apparatus 1, respectively. The vertical axis (Y axis) and the rotation time (t) of the toner bottle 201 are plotted as the horizontal axis (X axis).

  The abnormality detection unit 1134 acquires the strain value at timings “t = P2”, “t = P3”, “t = P4”, and “t = P5”. Then, when the acquired strain value does not fall within the range of the strain sensor expected value range J1 to the strain sensor expected value range J2, the abnormality detection unit 1134 is configured to supply toner to the developing device 12 from the toner bottle 201. The occurrence of an abnormality in the path through which the toner passes is detected.

  Next, a flow of processing for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 according to the present embodiment.

  It should be noted that when toner is supplied from the toner bottle 201 to the developing device 12, when a user performs an operation for detecting the remaining amount of toner from the display panel 104 after executing a large amount of image formation output, it is determined in advance. This process is started with an arbitrary period as a trigger.

  First, the abnormality detection unit 1134 obtains information regarding the number of pixels of the image formed and output from the main control unit 110, and based on the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 detected last time and information about the acquired number of images. As shown in FIG. 13, the strain sensor expected value H, the strain sensor expected value range J1, and the strain sensor expected value range J2 are calculated (S1401).

  Next, the rotation control unit 112 transmits command information for driving the drive motor 250 to reversely rotate the toner bottle 201 to the bottle drive unit 121, and the bottle drive unit 121 transmits the drive motor 250 according to the command information. Is driven (S1402).

  The time measuring unit 111 starts measuring the time elapsed from the timing when the driving of the drive motor 250 is started (S1403). The time measuring unit 111 measures the time for which the toner bottle 201 is rotationally driven by driving the drive motor 250 and the toner moves.

  When the toner bottle 201 starts to rotate, the strain value detection unit 1131 acquires the strain value Mn detected by the strain sensor 204 (S1404). The abnormality detection unit 1134 determines whether or not the strain value Mn acquired in S1404 falls within the strain sensor expected value range J1 to the strain sensor expected value range J2 (S1405).

  When the strain value Mn acquired in S1404 falls within the range of the strain sensor expected value range J1 to the strain sensor expected value range J2 (S1405 / Yes), the toner remaining amount detecting unit 113 is N times the strain value detecting unit 1131. It is determined whether or not the strain value Mn has been acquired (S1406). If the strain value Mn has not been acquired N times (S1406 / No), the processing is executed again from S1404.

  When the strain value Mn acquired in S1404 does not fall within the range of the strain sensor expected value range J1 to the strain sensor expected value range J2 (S1405 / No), the abnormality detection unit 1134 receives toner from the toner bottle 201 to the developing device 12. The occurrence of an abnormality in the path through which the toner passes while being supplied is detected (S1407).

  When an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit 1134, the main control unit 110 detects that an abnormality in the path through which the toner passes while the toner is supplied from the toner bottle 201 to the developing device 12. The user is notified (S1408), and the process proceeds to S1409.

  The rotation control unit 112 transmits command information for stopping the drive motor 250 to the bottle drive unit 121 when the measurement time by the time measurement unit 111 has passed the predetermined time t1 (Yes in S1409). The bottle drive unit 121 stops the drive motor 250 according to the command information from the rotation control unit 112 (S1410).

  The time t1 is a time required for the toner to move to the vicinity of the strain sensor 204, and a data table indicating a value corresponding to the remaining amount of toner is stored in the time measuring unit 111 in advance. In step S <b> 1403, the time measurement unit 111 determines a predetermined time t <b> 1 corresponding to the time for the toner to move in the toner bottle 201 based on the previous value of the remaining toner amount, and performs time measurement.

  When the drive motor 250 stops, the strain value detector 1131 acquires the strain value S1 detected by the strain sensor 204 (S1411). The toner remaining amount calculation unit 1133 calculates the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 based on the distortion value S1 acquired in S1411 (S1412).

  The toner remaining amount calculation unit 1133 has a data table indicating the relationship between the strain value and the toner remaining amount. Therefore, in the processing of S1412, the toner remaining amount calculation unit 1133 extracts the remaining amount of toner corresponding to the distortion value S1 acquired in S1411 from the data table.

  When the remaining toner amount is calculated by the remaining toner calculating unit 1133, the time measuring unit 111 ends the time measurement (S1413), and the main control unit 110 ends this processing. The main control unit 110 displays a screen for notifying the user via the display panel 104 when the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 calculated in S1412 is smaller than a predetermined amount. May be executed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, in order to accurately detect the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201, the strain value is acquired after the toner is moved to the vicinity of the strain sensor 204, and the remaining amount of toner is calculated. . In addition to detecting the remaining amount of toner, an abnormality in the toner supply path from the toner bottle 201 to the developing device 12 is detected.

  In the conventional image forming apparatus, the presence or absence of abnormality in the toner supply path is detected after the remaining amount of toner is detected. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the standby time for using the image forming apparatus 1 when an abnormality occurs can be reduced.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the toner remaining amount in the toner bottle 201 is detected by detecting the strain value after the toner in the toner bottle 201 is concentrated and distributed in the vicinity of the strain sensor 204. . However, as shown in FIG. 15, an error may occur in the strain value detected by the strain sensor 204 depending on the operation state of the image forming apparatus 1.

  Other image forming apparatuses calculate the remaining amount of toner based on the number of pixels of the drawing information. In FIG. 15, the graph indicated by the symbol D is the remaining amount of toner of the image forming apparatus 1 predicted based on the number of pixels of the drawing information, and the graph indicated by the symbol E is predicted based on the number of pixels of the drawing information. The minimum value of the remaining amount of toner in the image forming apparatus 1 and a graph indicated by symbol F are the maximum number of remaining toner in the image forming apparatus 1 predicted based on the number of pixels in the drawing information. It shows the trend of change with increase.

  In the image forming apparatus 1, depending on the printing density and the number of printed sheets, the toner consumption varies even when printing is performed using the same drawing information. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the remaining amount of toner calculated based on the distortion value ranges from the maximum value to the minimum value of the remaining amount of toner predicted based on the number of pixels of the drawing information printed in the image forming apparatus 1. It is determined whether it is within a range (hereinafter referred to as “predicted range”). In this way, it is determined whether or not the strain value detected by the strain sensor 204 is an abnormal value, and the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 is detected with higher accuracy.

  Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 16, the remaining amount of toner calculated based on the distortion value and the predicted range G of the remaining amount of toner determined based on the number of pixels of the drawing information printed in the image forming apparatus 1 are obtained. The flow of processing for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 201 will be described in comparison. In FIG. 16, portions that perform the same processing as in FIG. 14 are given the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted. That is, the processing from S1401 to S1410 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 16 is the same as the processing already described using the same reference numerals in FIG.

  That is, after the toner bottle 201 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction until it corresponds to the predetermined time t1, the drive motor 250 is stopped by the bottle drive unit 121 (S1401 to S1410). Subsequently, the strain value detection unit 1131 acquires the strain value S2 by the strain sensor 204 (S1601).

  The toner remaining amount calculation unit 1133 calculates the remaining amount of toner based on the strain value S2 (S1602). The toner remaining amount detection unit 113 is a toner remaining amount prediction unit 1132, and the remaining amount of toner is predicted based on information such as the number of pixels, the number of printed sheets, and the printing density of the drawing information that has been printed by the image forming apparatus 1. It is determined whether or not the value of the remaining toner amount calculated in S1602 is applicable (S1603).

  When the value of the remaining amount of toner calculated in S1602 is within the prediction range G of the remaining amount of toner determined based on the number of pixels of the drawing information printed and output up to S1601 (S1603 / Yes), the remaining toner amount detection unit 113 replaces the toner remaining amount determined in the toner remaining amount predicting unit 1132 with the value of the toner remaining amount calculated in S1602 (S1611), and detects the replaced value as the toner remaining amount. In this way, the remaining toner amount predicting unit 1132 can predict the remaining toner amount with high accuracy.

  When the value of the remaining amount of toner calculated in S1602 is not within the prediction range G of the remaining amount of toner determined based on the number of pixels of the drawing information printed up to S1601, (S1603 / No), the distortion value detection unit 1131. Detects the strain value S3 by the strain sensor 204 (S1604), and the toner remaining amount calculation unit 1133 calculates the toner remaining amount based on the strain value S3 (S1605).

  When the value of the remaining amount of toner calculated in S1605 is within the predicted range G of the remaining amount of toner determined based on the number of pixels of the drawing information printed up to S1601 (S1606 / Yes), the remaining toner amount detection unit In step S <b> 1611, the remaining toner amount determined in the remaining toner amount prediction unit 1132 is replaced with the remaining toner value calculated in step S <b> 1605, and the replaced value is detected as the remaining toner amount.

  When the value of the remaining amount of toner calculated in S1605 is not within the prediction range G of the remaining amount of toner determined based on the number of pixels of the drawing information printed up to S1601, (S1606 / No), the rotation control unit 112 Then, the toner bottle 201 is controlled to rotate in the supply direction.

  Specifically, the rotation control unit 112 transmits command information to rotate the toner bottle 201 in the supply direction for a predetermined time t2 to the bottle driving unit 121, and the bottle driving unit 121 transmits the toner bottle for the predetermined time t2. The drive motor 250 is driven so that 201 rotates in the reverse direction (S1607).

  For the predetermined time t2, the time for the toner to move in the toner bottle 201 based on the value of the remaining amount of toner calculated in S1605 and the predicted range G of the remaining amount of toner determined based on the number of pixels of the drawing information. The time corresponding to may be used as the time t5.

  When the toner bottle 201 is rotated in the supply direction for a predetermined time t2 and the drive motor 250 is stopped, the strain value detection unit 1131 acquires the strain value S4 by the strain sensor 204 (S1608).

  The toner remaining amount calculation unit 1133 calculates the remaining amount of toner based on the strain value S4 (S1609). When the value of the remaining amount of toner calculated in S1609 is within the prediction range G of the remaining amount of toner determined based on the number of pixels of the drawing information printed and output up to S1601 (S1610 / Yes), the remaining toner amount detection unit In step S <b> 1611, the toner remaining amount determined by the toner remaining amount predicting unit 1132 is corrected with the toner remaining amount calculated in step S <b> 1609, and the remaining toner amount is detected.

  In the process of S1611, the toner remaining amount detecting unit 113 replaces the value of the remaining amount of toner calculated in S1609 with the value of the remaining amount of toner determined in the remaining toner amount predicting unit 1132, and the remaining toner amount correction value. You may save as. Moreover, the structure which performs only the abnormality detection of the strain sensor 204, without performing the process of S1611 may be sufficient.

  When the value of the remaining amount of toner calculated in S1609 is not within the prediction range G of the remaining amount of toner determined based on the number of pixels of the drawing information printed up to S1601, (S1610 / No), the main control unit 110 Then, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the strain sensor 204, and an error notification indicating that an abnormality has occurred is performed (S1612). At this time, the main control unit 110 functions as a sensor abnormality detection unit. Further, the main control unit 110 may perform error notification by displaying a notification screen on the display panel 104.

  When the process of S1611 or S1612 is executed, the time measuring unit 111 ends the time measurement (S1613), and the main control unit 110 ends the present process. When the toner remaining amount predicting unit 1132 has a data table for setting an arbitrary range according to the toner remaining amount, the toner remaining amount predicting range G is set to an arbitrary value depending on the previous toner remaining amount value. The range may be set.

  Further, the remaining toner amount detection unit 113 may use an intermediate value in the prediction range G predicted by the remaining toner amount prediction unit 1132 as the remaining toner amount when the remaining toner amount becomes smaller than a predetermined value. Further, the main control unit 110 may use the value determined by the remaining toner amount predicting unit 1132 as the remaining toner amount after notifying the error in S1612.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is equipped with the powder remaining amount detection device that detects the remaining amount of toner by controlling the distribution of the toner in the toner bottle to be a constant state. Detect the amount. In this way, the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle can be accurately detected, and it is also possible to detect whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the sensor for detecting the remaining amount of toner. It is.

  The toner bottle 201 according to the present embodiment has been described by taking a toner bottle having a protruding portion 211 on the inner wall surface as an example. However, as illustrated in FIG. 17, a screw mechanism 213 is provided inside instead of the protruding portion 211. The present invention can also be applied to the toner bottle 201 having the same.

  When the screw mechanism 213 is attached to the toner supply unit 202, the screw mechanism 213 engages with the drive motor 250 and rotates according to the drive of the drive motor 250. Then, the toner distribution in the toner in the internal space of the toner bottle 201 changes due to the rotational drive of the screw mechanism 213. Therefore, the screw mechanism 213 functions as a powder moving unit that changes the distribution state by moving the toner in the toner bottle 201 without rotating the toner bottle 201.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming device 6 Doctor blade 8 Cleaning blade 9 Static elimination lamp 10 Photoconductor 11 Charging device 12 Developing device 13 Transfer device 14 Cleaning device 17 Transfer belt 20a Opening portion 21 Registration roller 22 Fixing device 30 Heating roller 32 Pressure roller 34 Discharge branch Claw 35 Paper discharge roller 43 Reverse path 44 Re-transport path 47 Writing device 51 CPU
52 RAM
53 ROM
54 HDD
55 I / F
56 LCD
57 Operation section 58 Bus 62 Calling roller 66 Conveying roller 80 Process cartridge 80a Opening 81 Developing roller 82, 83 Screw 91 Rail 100 Controller 102 Scanner unit 103 Paper discharge tray 104 Display panel 105 Paper feed table 106 Print engine 107 Paper discharge tray 108 Network I / F
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 110 Main control part 111 Time measurement part 112 Rotation control part 113 Toner remaining amount detection part 120 Engine control part 121 Bottle drive part 130 Image processing part 140 Operation display control part 150 Input / output control part 201 Toner bottle 202 Toner supply part 203 Gear 204 Strain sensor 205 Bottle support 211 Projection portion 212 Supply port 213 Screw mechanism 250 Drive motor 1131 Strain value detection portion 1132 Toner remaining amount prediction portion 1133 Toner remaining amount calculation portion 1134 Abnormality detection portion

JP 2004-286793 A

Claims (9)

A powder moving part for changing the distribution of the powder in the internal space of the powder containing part containing the powder;
A drive unit for driving the powder moving unit;
A change value detector for detecting a change value indicating a change in position of the powder container;
An abnormality detection unit that is disposed at one end of the powder storage unit and detects the presence or absence of abnormality in a path for supplying the powder to the outside of the powder storage unit based on the change value;
Based on the change value, a powder remaining amount detection unit that detects the remaining amount of the powder stored in the powder storage unit;
Including
The drive unit is
Driving the powder moving unit to move the powder in the vicinity of the change value detecting unit;
The abnormality detection unit
Detecting the presence or absence of an abnormality in the path based on the change value detected while the powder is moving in the vicinity of the change value detection unit;
The powder remaining amount detection unit,
The powder remaining amount detection device, wherein the remaining amount is detected based on the change value in a state where the powder is moved to the vicinity of the change value detection unit. The abnormality detection unit
The presence / absence of an abnormality in the path is detected based on whether or not the change value is within a predetermined range determined based on the amount of the powder stored in the powder storage unit. The powder residual amount detection apparatus according to 1. An image forming apparatus that performs development with a developer that is powder based on drawing information that is output for image formation and executes image formation output,
A powder moving part for changing the distribution of the powder in the internal space of the powder containing part containing the powder;
A drive unit for driving the powder moving unit;
A change value detector for detecting a change value indicating a change in position of the powder container;
An abnormality detection unit that is disposed at one end of the powder storage unit and detects the presence or absence of abnormality in a path for supplying the powder to the outside of the powder storage unit based on the change value;
A powder remaining amount detection unit that detects a remaining amount of the powder stored in the powder storage unit based on the change value;
Including
The drive unit is
Driving the powder moving unit to move the powder in the vicinity of the change value detecting unit;
The abnormality detection unit
Detecting the presence or absence of an abnormality in the path based on the change value detected while the powder is moving in the vicinity of the change value detection unit;
The powder remaining amount detecting unit detects the remaining amount based on the change value in a state where the powder is moved to the vicinity of the change value detecting unit. The abnormality detection unit
A predetermined range is determined based on the number of pixels of the drawing information and the operation status of the image forming apparatus, and the change value detected while the powder is moving to the change value detection unit is the predetermined range. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein presence / absence of abnormality in the path is detected based on whether or not. A remaining powder amount predicting unit that calculates a predicted value of the remaining amount based on the number of pixels of the drawing information and the operation status of the image forming apparatus;
A sensor abnormality detection unit that detects that an abnormality has occurred in the change value detection unit based on a prediction range that is the maximum and minimum ranges of the prediction value and the change value;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, comprising: The powder remaining amount detection unit,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the change value within the prediction range is detected, the remaining value is detected by correcting the prediction value based on the change value. The sensor abnormality detection unit is
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the change value outside the prediction range is detected a predetermined number of times, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the change value detection unit. The abnormality detection unit
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein presence / absence of an abnormality in the path is detected after execution of the image formation output. A powder remaining amount detection method for detecting the remaining amount of powder in an image forming apparatus that performs development with powder such as a developer based on drawing information that is output for image formation and executes image formation output,
Changing the distribution of the powder in the internal space of the powder container in which the powder is stored;
Detecting a change value indicating a change in position of the powder container,
The powder moves to the vicinity of the change value detection unit, which is arranged at one end of the powder storage unit and detects whether there is an abnormality in the path for supplying the powder to the outside of the powder storage unit. Detecting based on the change value detected during
A method for detecting a remaining amount of powder, wherein the remaining amount is detected based on the change value in a state where the powder is moved in the vicinity of a change value detection unit that detects the change value.