JP2021005011A - Consumable item management system and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To propose a method in which: one image forming apparatus can perform both color and monochromatic printing, and has a mode for making only the monochromatic printing executable when color toners are depleted and a failure related to the color printing occurs (hereinafter referred to as a color degeneration mode), and even when the image forming apparatus is used temporarily and steadily while not in the color degeneration mode in a mixed manner, the accuracy is not reduced in calculating the number of days left for a plurality of consumable items.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus has image forming means that forms a multicolor or monochromatic image on a recording material by using a plurality of consumable items, calculation means that calculates the usage of the consumable items, and learning means that learns the transition of the usage calculated by the calculation means. The learning means stores a temporary usage during the color degeneration mode and a steady usage not during the color degeneration mode in use histories separate from each other, and performs calculation of the number of days left by switching these usages.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a consumables management system and an image forming apparatus.

In recent years, a maintenance system for managing consumables of an image forming apparatus may be constructed. This maintenance system has a configuration in which an image forming apparatus and a maintenance server are connected by a network such as the Internet. When the image forming apparatus determines that it is almost time to replace the consumables, the image forming apparatus notifies the maintenance server of a delivery request signal for the consumables. In response to this, the maintenance server delivers consumables to the workplace or the like where the image forming apparatus is installed. This allows the user to obtain new consumables. At the same time, it is common practice to improve usability by notifying the user that the operation panel of the image forming apparatus is about to be replaced.

Consumables in an image forming apparatus are consumables that are consumed by being used for deliverables such as toner, and consumable parts that operate to generate deliverables such as photoconductors (hereinafter collectively referred to as consumables). Called consumables). In particular, if the toner used for the deliverable is lost while the user is using the image forming apparatus, the deliverable expected by the user cannot be created. Therefore, it is necessary to deliver it before it runs out.

In response to the above request, the remaining amount of toner is calculated from the user's consumables usage history, the remaining number of days that the toner bottle can be used (hereinafter referred to as the number of remaining days) is predicted, and the number of remaining days falls below the predetermined number of days. A technique for notifying a delivery request signal has been proposed (Patent Document 1).

Depending on the remaining days prediction means and the maintenance system, it is possible to deliver the toner at an appropriate time even when the toner consumption rate differs for each user or the toner consumption rate fluctuates.

JP-A-2017-37596

In an image forming apparatus capable of both color and monochrome printing, a mode in which only monochrome printing can be executed when color toner is exhausted or a failure related to color printing occurs (hereinafter referred to as a color degradation mode) is provided. I have something to prepare. In the color degradation mode, color printing cannot be executed, so the color toner is not consumed temporarily. In addition, the user who originally wants to execute color printing may execute monochrome printing instead, and there are many monochrome toners temporarily. May be exhausted. If such a temporary usage is mixed with a regular usage that is not in the color degradation mode and accumulated in the usage history, the number of remaining days in the color degradation mode and after the color degradation mode is released is calculated. There is a problem that the accuracy drops.

In this way, as a result of the reduced accuracy of the remaining days calculation, the timing of notifying the delivery request signal is shifted, and when the delivered consumables reach the user, the remaining consumables are still sufficient "early delivery". On the contrary, there is a possibility that "delayed delivery" may occur in which consumables are exhausted before they reach the user. Excessive "early delivery" has the risk that the delivered consumables will be left unattended at the user's site and the consumables will deteriorate, or that the consumables will be lost before the actual replacement. On the other hand, in the case of "delayed delivery", the image forming apparatus becomes unusable due to the depletion of consumables, and the production of the user is stopped.

In order to solve the above problems, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is
An image forming means (image forming unit 110) for forming a multicolored or monochromatic image on a recording material using a plurality of consumables, and
The first mode, which does not limit multicolor image formation,
A second mode that limits multicolor image formation,
A calculation means for calculating the amount of consumables used, and
A learning means for learning the transition of the usage amount calculated by the calculation means, and
A prediction means for predicting the remaining usage period of the consumable from the transition learned by the learning means, and
A control means that controls the device based on the remaining usage period predicted by the prediction means, and
Have,
The learning means is characterized in that it learns the transition separately when it is operating in the first mode and when it is operating in the second mode.

According to the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the temporary usage in the color degeneracy mode and the stationary usage not in the color degeneracy mode are accumulated in separate usage histories, and these are switched. By performing the remaining days calculation, the accuracy of the remaining days calculation does not decrease. As a result, the delivery request signal can be issued at an accurate timing, and "early delivery" and "late delivery" are prevented.

It is sectional drawing of the image forming apparatus of an intermediate transfer type. It is sectional drawing of the toner supply part. It is a block diagram of the image forming apparatus in Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the control flow of the CPU in Example 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the calculation method of the toner use amount in Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the usage of the user in Example 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the feature amount extraction method in Example 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the remaining days prediction method in Example 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the method of notifying the maintenance server 307 of the delivery request signal in Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the operation panel 171 and the consumables management screen in Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the transition of the remaining amount of the toner bottle in Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the simulation result of the prior art. It is a figure which shows the simulation result of Example 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the feature amount extraction method in Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the correction example of the past use amount list in Example 2 of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the operation of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

Examples of the image forming apparatus include a plurality of methods such as an electrophotographic method, an offset printing method, and an inkjet method. The image forming apparatus 101 shown in FIG. 1 is a color image forming apparatus using the electrophotographic method.

The image forming apparatus 101 is a cross-sectional view of a so-called intermediate transfer tandem type image forming apparatus in which image forming portions of four colors are arranged side by side on an intermediate transfer belt 1, and has been mainstream in recent years because of its excellent cardboard handling capability and productivity. It has become. The toner image formed by the image forming unit 110 is transferred to the recording material S which is conveyed by the paper conveying unit 150 via the intermediate transfer belt unit 102, so that an image is formed on the recording material S. The toner bottles 140Y, 140M, 140C, and 140K are configured to be removable from the image forming apparatus 101. Yellow toner is contained in the toner bottle 140Y, magenta toner is contained in the toner bottle 140M, cyan toner is contained in the toner bottle 140C, and black toner is contained in the toner bottle 140K. Then, by attaching to the bottle mount provided in the image forming apparatus, the replenishment port shutter provided in the replenishment port of the toner bottle is released. Hereinafter, image formation on the recording material S will be described.

<Transfer process of recording material>
The recording material S is stored in a form of being loaded on the lift-up device 152 in the recording material storage unit 151, and is fed by the paper feed roller 153 at the image formation timing. Of course, other paper feeding methods may be used. The recording material S sent out by the paper feed roller 153 passes through the paper feed transfer path 154 and is conveyed to the resist roller 155. After performing skew correction and timing correction on the resist roller 155, the recording material S is sent to the secondary transfer unit. The secondary transfer portion is a transfer nip portion formed by a secondary transfer inner drive roller 2 which is a first secondary transfer member and a secondary transfer outer roller 156 which is a second secondary transfer member. Then, the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 1 is transferred onto the recording material S by applying a predetermined pressing force and an electrostatic load bias.

<Image image formation process>
The image forming process up to the secondary transfer unit, which is executed at the same timing as the transfer process of the recording material S to the secondary transfer unit described above, will be described.

In this embodiment, it has image forming portions 110Y and 110M and 110C and 110K that form an image with toners of each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (BK). The image forming apparatus 101 can perform monochrome (monochromatic) image formation using the image forming unit 110K and color (multicolor) image forming using the image forming units 110Y, 110M, 110C, 110K. Since the image forming unit 110Y, the image forming unit 110M, the image forming unit 110C, and the image forming unit 110K have the same configuration except that the toner colors are different, the image forming unit 110Y will be described as a representative.

The image forming unit 110Y, which is a toner image forming means, is formed from a photoconductor 111 which is an image carrier, a charger 112 which charges the photoconductor 111, an exposure unit 113, a developing device 114, a primary transfer roller 115, and a photoconductor cleaner 116. It is composed. The surface of the photoconductor 111 that rotates in the direction of the arrow m in the figure is uniformly charged by the charger 112. From the scanner unit 117 including the laser and the polygon mirror correction system lens, laser light modulated according to the image pixel information transmitted from the image processing unit 301 (not shown in FIG. 1) is output. Then, the laser beam is reflected by the folded mirror to expose the photoconductor 111 charged by the exposure unit 113, whereby an electrostatic latent image is formed. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 111 is developed by the toner electrostatically charged by the developing device 114, and the toner image is formed on the photoconductor. After that, a predetermined pressing force and an electrostatic load bias are applied by the primary transfer roller 115, so that the yellow toner image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 1 which is a belt member. After that, the transfer residual toner remaining on the photoconductor 111 is recovered by the photoconductor cleaner 116 to prepare for the next image formation again.

In the case of FIG. 1, the image forming unit 110 described above has four sets of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (Bk). Therefore, the magenta toner image formed by the image forming unit 110M is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 1 with respect to the yellow toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 1. Further, the cyan toner image formed by the image forming unit 110C is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 1 with respect to the formed magenta toner image. Further, the black toner image formed by the image forming unit 110K is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 1 with respect to the cyan toner image. By superimposing and forming toner images of different colors on the intermediate transfer belt 1 in this way, a full-color image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 1.

Although the number of colors in this embodiment was four, the number of colors is not limited to four, and the order of the colors is not limited to this.

Next, the intermediate transfer belt unit 102 including the intermediate transfer belt 1 will be described.

The intermediate transfer belt 1 includes a secondary transfer inner drive roller 2 that also serves as a drive member and a secondary transfer inner member, a tension roller 3 that applies a predetermined tension to the intermediate transfer belt 1, and a secondary transfer pre-roller 4 that is a tension member. It is stretched by. The intermediate transfer belt 1 is a belt member that is conveyed and driven in the direction of the arrow V in the drawing. The secondary transfer pre-roller 4 is arranged on the upstream side of the secondary transfer internal drive roller 2 and the tension roller 3 is arranged on the downstream side of the secondary transfer internal drive roller 2 with respect to the transport direction V of the intermediate transfer belt 1. .. A primary transfer roller 115 is arranged between the tension roller 3 and the secondary transfer pre-roller 4. No drive is given to the tension roller 3 and the secondary transfer pre-roller 4, and the tension roller 3 and the secondary transfer pre-roller 4 rotate in accordance with the transfer of the intermediate transfer belt 1.

The tension roller 3 is movably held in the direction of arrow T in the figure (parallel to the plane formed by the intermediate transfer belt 1 stretched between the tension roller 3 and the secondary transfer pre-roller 4). It is urged by the illustrated urging means. As a result, tension is applied to the intermediate transfer belt 1. The outer peripheral portion of the secondary transfer inner drive roller 2 so that the secondary transfer inner drive roller 2 can convey the intermediate transfer belt 1 by frictional force in a state where the intermediate transfer belt 1 is tensioned by the tension roller 3. Is made of conductive EPDM. The initial frictional resistance μ of the outer peripheral surface of the secondary transfer inner drive roller 2 is set to about 1.0 to 1.5. Further, an intermediate transfer cleaner 50 for removing the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 1 is fixedly attached to the tension roller 3 on the opposite side of the tension roller 3 with the intermediate transfer belt 1 interposed therebetween.

The intermediate transfer belt 1 is an endless belt made of polyimide and having a circumference of 792 mm, a width of 346 mm, and a thickness of 60 μm. The material of the intermediate transfer material is not limited to this, but in addition to the above, a material formed of polycarbonate, PVDF, ETFE, PTFE or the like can be preferably used.
The image forming process of each color processed in parallel by the image forming units 110Y, 110M, 110C, 110K described above is performed at the timing of superimposing on the toner image of the upstream color primary transferred on the intermediate transfer belt 1. As a result, a full-color toner image is finally formed on the intermediate transfer belt 1 and transferred to the secondary transfer portion. The number of rollers on which the intermediate transfer belt 1 is stretched is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. Further, the material of the secondary transfer inner drive roller 2 and the initial frictional resistance of the outer peripheral surface are not limited to the above configurations.

<Process after secondary transcription>
The full-color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 1 in the secondary transfer unit is secondarily transferred onto the recording material S by the transfer process and the image forming process of the recording material S described above. After that, the recording material S is transported to the fixing device 158 by the pre-fixing transport unit 157. The fixing device 158 has various configurations and methods, but in FIG. 1, a toner image is applied on the recording material S by applying a predetermined pressing force and heat amount in the fixing nip formed by the facing fixing roller 159 and the pressing roller 160. Is melted and fixed. Here, the fixing roller 159 is provided with a heater as a heat source inside, and the pressurizing roller is urged toward the fixing roller 159. The recording material S that has passed through the fixing device 158 and is conveyed to the output reversing roller 161 is discharged as it is on the output tray 162, or if double-sided image formation is required, it is guided by the branching device 163 and is conveyed to the double-sided transfer device. The route is selected to be transported to 164.

When double-sided image formation is required, the recording material S is transferred to the double-sided transfer device 164 by performing a switchback operation with the paper ejection reversing roller 161 to replace the front and rear ends. After that, at the same timing as the recording material of the succeeding job conveyed from the paper feed roller 153, the paper feed path 165 merges with the paper feed transfer path 154 and is similarly sent to the secondary transfer unit. The image forming process on the back surface (second surface) is the same as that on the front surface (first surface) described above, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

<Toner replenishment from toner bottle>
The toner replenishment operation from the toner bottle as a consumable item will be described with reference to FIG.

In the image image forming process described above, the toner image is formed by consuming the toner contained in the developing apparatus 114. Therefore, the amount of toner in the developing device 114 decreases each time the image forming process is performed. The developing toner amount detection sensor 131 provided in the developing device 114 detects whether or not a certain amount of toner is contained in the developing device, and if the amount of toner in the developing device falls below a certain amount, it is connected to the developing device. The toner contained in the hopper 132 is replenished in the developing device 114. A replenishment screw 133 is provided inside the hopper, and by controlling the amount of rotation of the replenishment screw, it is possible to replenish a constant amount of toner into the developing apparatus 114. Here, when the amount of toner contained in the hopper is less than a predetermined amount, it becomes impossible to supply an accurate amount of toner to the developing device 114 regardless of the rotation amount of the replenishment screw. Therefore, the hopper amount detection sensor 134 provided in the hopper detects whether or not a certain amount of toner is contained in the hopper, and when the amount of toner in the hopper falls below a certain amount, the toner contained in the toner bottle 140 is detected. Is replenished in the hopper. As the developed toner amount detection sensor 131 and the hopper amount detection sensor 134, an inductance sensor for measuring magnetic permeability and a powder level sensor using a piezoelectric vibrator are suitable, but are not limited thereto.

A spiral toner transporting portion is formed inside the toner bottle, and when a toner replenishment instruction is given to the hopper, the toner in the toner bottle is transported toward the replenishment port by rotating the toner bottle. Further, the toner bottle is contracted in accordance with the rotation operation of the toner bottle. As a result, the toner in the toner bottle conveyed to the vicinity of the replenishment port is discharged through the replenishment port by pumping accompanying the contraction operation of the toner bottle, and is replenished to the hopper.

As described above, since the toner consumed by the developing device 114 is finally supplied from the toner bottle, the toner in the toner bottle is exhausted by continuing the image forming process. However, since the toner bottle is configured to be removable from the image forming apparatus, it is possible to continue the image forming process by the image forming apparatus by replacing the toner bottle with a new toner bottle containing toner.

<Operation when replacing the toner bottle>
Even if the toner replenishment operation from the toner bottle 140 to the hopper 132 is continued a predetermined number of times, if the hopper amount detection sensor 134 detects that the amount of toner in the hopper is below a certain amount, the toner in the toner bottle 140 runs out. Judge. Then, a message prompting the user to replace the toner bottle is transmitted to the operation panel 171. However, the image forming process can be continued until the amount of toner detected by the developing toner amount detection sensor 131 falls below a predetermined amount. Even if the amount of toner detected by the developing toner amount detection sensor 131Y, 131M, or 131C is less than the predetermined amount, if the amount of toner detected by the developing toner amount detection sensor 131K exceeds the predetermined amount, a monochrome image is obtained. The forming process is sustainable. Such an operation mode in which color image formation is restricted is called a color degeneracy mode. In addition to the above, for example, when any of the developing devices 114Y, 114M, and 114C fails, the mode shifts to the color degeneracy mode.

When the toner bottle 140 is replaced with a new toner bottle, the toner bottle 140 replenishes the toner to the hopper 132 until the hopper amount detection sensor 134 detects that a certain amount or more of the toner in the hopper is contained. to continue. During this period, if the amount of toner in the developing apparatus is less than a certain amount by the developing toner amount detection sensor 131, the replenishment screw 133 is also controlled. When the hopper amount detection sensor 134 detects that a certain amount of toner in the hopper is stored, the toner supply operation to the hopper 132 is stopped.

<Block diagram>
Next, a block diagram of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The CPU 200 is connected to a ROM 201, a RAM 202, an image processing unit 301, a toner replenishment processing unit 303, a maintenance server 307, an operation panel 171 and a toner bottle memory 304. When a print job is input via a PC or an operation panel 171 (not shown), the CPU 200 issues an instruction to the image processing unit 301 and the toner replenishment processing unit 303 by a program stored in the ROM 201. The image processing unit 301 acquires image pixel information according to the image to be output. Then, a laser emission command is generated according to the image pixel information to control the emission timing of the scanner unit 117. The image pixel information is also used to calculate the amount of toner used.

As described above, the toner replenishment processing unit 303 determines the operation timings of the replenishment screw 133 and the toner bottle 140 based on the detection results of the developed toner amount detection sensor 131 and the hopper amount detection sensor 134, and drives each of them. Rotate the motor. The toner replenishment processing unit 303 counts the number of times the toner bottle 140 is rotated as the number of times the toner is replenished, and stores it in the RAM 202. The toner bottle 140 is provided with a toner bottle memory 304 as an information storage means, and the CPU 200 is configured to be able to read and rewrite the stored information. The toner bottle memory 304 records information on the remaining amount of toner contained in the toner bottle 140 and information capable of distinguishing whether or not a delivery request signal has been notified to the maintenance server 307. When the toner bottle 140 is not used, the weight information of the toner filled at the time of production is recorded. The CPU 200 calculates a new toner remaining amount by sequentially subtracting the toner usage amount calculated by the method described later from the toner remaining amount information acquired from the toner bottle memory 304, and updates the toner remaining amount information of the toner bottle memory 304. .. The CPU 200 notifies the maintenance server 307 of the delivery request signal at a timing determined by the method described later for the toner bottle.

<Overall flow>
The toner remaining days prediction and the toner delivery request notification in this embodiment will be described.

The overall flow of control of the CPU 200 will be described with reference to FIG.

The CPU 200 carries out the flow of FIG. 4 at a fixed cycle of once per second. First, the CPU 200 calculates the toner usage amount from the toner replenishment information and the image pixel information (S100). Details will be described later with reference to FIG. Next, the CPU 200 acquires the date information, and determines whether or not the date has advanced from the date when the toner usage amount per day was acquired last time (S101). When the date is advanced, the average and standard deviation of the user's toner usage in the past predetermined period are obtained, and the feature amount using the user's image forming apparatus is extracted (S102). A detailed description of the feature amount extraction method will be described later with reference to FIG. 7. In S101, if the date is not advanced, the feature amount extraction is not performed. Next, the number of remaining days is predicted from the feature amount and the remaining amount of toner (S103). A detailed description of the remaining days prediction will be described later with reference to FIG. Next, it is determined whether or not to notify the toner delivery request signal from the relationship between the number of remaining days and the number of days required for delivery of the toner bottle (S104). A detailed description of the notification of the delivery request signal will be described later with reference to FIG.

<Toner usage calculation method>
Here, FIG. 5 shows a method of calculating the amount of toner used by the CPU 200.

When the calculation of the toner usage amount is executed at the time T, the toner remaining amount WT-1 at the time of the previous execution (time T-1) is _first acquired from the toner bottle memory 304 (S200).

Next, the image pixel information P and the toner replenishment number N are acquired from the image processing unit 301 and the toner replenishment processing unit 303, respectively (S201). Here, P and N are values that accumulate with the image output.

Next, the increments ΔP and ΔN of P and N from the time of the previous calculation execution are calculated (S202). In this embodiment, the representative values of the toner usage per pixel of the image and the toner usage per toner replenishment are experimentally obtained in advance, and 0.015 [mg] and 1 per pixel, respectively. 180 [mg] per replenishment. In this embodiment, the average of the toner usage estimation based on the output image and the toner usage estimation based on the supply amount from the toner bottle is used, and the toner usage amount Q in one step of the calculation is Q [mg] = (0.015 × ΔP + 180 × ΔN) / 2
Is calculated (S203).

Next, the amount of toner used per day is calculated. By adding the Q to the cumulative toner usage C _T-1 on the day determined in the previous calculation, determining cumulative toner usage C _T of day at time T time (S204). Further the toner remaining amount _{W T - 1} by subtracting the Q from seeking toner remaining amount _{W T} at time T time point (S205), and updates the toner remaining amount information of the toner bottle memory 304 (S206).

Next, the date information is acquired, compared with the time of the previous calculation execution (S207), and if the date is advanced, it is determined whether or not the mode is shifted to the color degeneracy mode (S208). If not the color reduction mode, the day to confirm the toner usage C _T as a toner usage per day, and stores the day the toner usage C _T in the past usage list A (S209). The past usage list is for storing the history of toner usage per day. If there was color reduction mode, stores the day the toner usage C _T in the past usage list B (S210). Then, update the _{C T} to _C T = 0 (S211), and ends the operation. If it is determined that the date is not progressing at S207 C _T 0 is operation terminates without reset, the day of toner usage C _T at the next and subsequent operations performed are accumulated.

<Feature extraction method>
Here, the feature amount extraction method will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 6A shows a change in the daily toner usage of a certain user, and each point is the daily toner usage of each day, and when 70 days have passed from the start of toner use. belongs to. Further, FIG. 6B shows the daily transition of the remaining amount of toner by subtracting the amount of toner used per day from the initial amount of toner (0 days), and shows the remaining amount of toner after 70 days have passed. Is W.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for extracting the feature amount in this embodiment.

First, the CPU 200 determines whether or not the mode is shifted to the color degeneracy mode (S300). If the mode is not in the color degeneracy mode, the past usage list A updated in S209 is acquired (S301). In the case of the color degeneracy mode, the past usage list B updated in S210 is acquired (S302). Next, it is determined whether or not the number of data stored in the acquired past usage list is for i days (S303). Here, the reason why it is determined whether or not there is data for the past i days is that the amount of toner used for the past i days is required to predict the number of remaining days, which will be described later. If there is data in the toner usage of past predetermined period (Yes in S303), the toner usage per day, to calculate the standard deviation σ of the averaged U _AVE and past predetermined period in the past predetermined period (S304 ). The predetermined time period i date, when the amount of toner used n days and U _n,

Will be. Then, the calculated _UAVE and σ are stored in the RAM 202 (S305). If there is no data on the amount of toner used in the past predetermined period (No in S303), the process ends without performing the calculation of _UAVE and the standard deviation σ. In this embodiment, the past predetermined period is set to 7 days. This is because, when the experiment was conducted and examined, it was found that the amount of toner used for 7 days was required to accurately predict the number of remaining days. However, this can be changed arbitrarily.

<Method of predicting the number of remaining days>
Here, the method of predicting the number of remaining days will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

In order to predict the number of remaining days, which is the remaining usage period of toner, data on the amount of toner used in the past predetermined period is required.

The CPU 200 determines whether or not there is data on the amount of toner used in the past predetermined period (S401), and if there is data on the amount of toner used in the past predetermined period (Yes in S401), the toner balance calculated in S205 to get the amount _{W T} (S402).

Next, the U _AVE and σ stored in S303 are acquired (S403). Subsequently, the CPU 200 acquires the remaining amount prediction error σ _L and the delayed delivery probability variable r previously stored in the RAM 202 (S404). The remaining amount prediction error σ _L is a prediction error obtained by an experiment, and the late delivery probability variable r is a variable that can arbitrarily set how much late delivery probability is allowed, and the larger r, the higher the late delivery probability. While it becomes smaller, the probability of early delivery increases.

Then, the CPU 200 uses the remaining amount of toner WT _{, UAVE,} σ, the remaining amount prediction error σ _{L, and the} delayed delivery random variable r to obtain the remaining number of days D until the toner runs out (S405). The calculation method of the number of remaining days D will be described later.

Next, when there is no data on the amount of toner used in the past predetermined period (No in S401), the remaining number of days D is set to 999 days. Here, 999 days is a value determined in advance for displaying on the operation panel 171 described later that the number of remaining days is undecided, and there is no problem with other values.

Next, the remaining number of days D obtained in S405 is displayed on the operation panel 171 shown in FIG. 10 (S406). The display is displayed on the consumables management screen for each type of consumables. Here, it is assumed that the toner Bk has no data on the amount of toner used in the past predetermined period and the remaining number of days D is 999 days. In this case, the number of remaining days is not displayed on the operation panel, but "---" is displayed. In this embodiment, the number of remaining days is displayed as "---", but it is only necessary to distinguish it from the correctly obtained number of remaining days, and there is no problem whether it is "learning" or "999 days".

<Remaining days D calculation>
The details of the calculation of the number of remaining days D will be described. In calculating the number of remaining days D, it is assumed that the characteristics of how to use the past predetermined period i days will continue for the next D days.
Toner usage after D days (center value): U _AVE x D
Standard deviation of toner usage after D days: √ (σ ² × D)
Prediction error of remaining amount after D days: σ _L
Delayed random variable: r
Toner remaining amount: W
Then, from FIG. 6 (b)

And when this is solved for D,

Therefore,

As described above, the number of remaining days D can be obtained.

Here, for consumables such as toner bottles that stop the image forming device when they disappear, the setting on the side that avoids the risk of stopping as much as possible by adopting the shortest D _min. I have to. Further, by adjusting the late delivery probability variable r, it is possible to arbitrarily set the probability of preventing late delivery.

<Delivery request signal>
Delivery of the replacement toner bottle will be described with reference to FIG. It is determined whether the remaining number of days D obtained in FIG. 8 is equal to or less than the predetermined delivery threshold value (S601), and if it is equal to or less than the delivery threshold value, it is determined that the toner bottle as a consumable item will be used up soon. When the delivery request signal notification flag is not set (S602), the delivery request signal of the replacement toner bottle is transmitted to the operation panel 171 and the delivery request signal is also notified to the maintenance server 307 via the network (S603). .. Then, the delivery request signal notification flag is set and stored in the toner bottle memory 304 (S604). This is to prevent duplicate delivery request signals from being sent. Further, in this embodiment, the threshold value of the number of remaining days is set to 5 days. When the operation panel 171 receives the delivery request signal, as shown in FIG. 10, the operation panel 171 generates a display instruction so as to display the delivery request on the operation panel 171 as an input / output interface between the user and the image forming apparatus.

<Specific example of calculation of remaining days>
Here, FIG. 11, FIG. 12, and FIG. 13 show examples of obtaining a more specific number of remaining days when the mode is temporarily shifted to the color degeneracy mode by using the conventional technique and the present technique, respectively.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a transition of the remaining amount of the monochrome toner used in this example. Since it operates in the color degeneracy mode from the 10th day to the 29th day, the amount used on the 1st day is large, and the toner is used up on the 50th day.

First, a case where the prior art is used will be described.

FIG. 12 is a prediction of the day when the toner runs out at 36 days (remaining amount of toner W = 167.9 g) after starting to use a new toner using the prior art. In FIG. 12, when calculating the average _{UAVE of the} amount used in the past day and the standard deviation σ of the amount used in the past day, the amount of toner used in the color degeneracy mode is included. As a result, the average _UAVE used in the past day as of 36 days is 20.3 g, and the standard deviation σ of the used amount in the past day is 10.9 g. When the remaining amount prediction error σ _L = 2 g and the late delivery random variable r = 2, the remaining days D is

Therefore, it is desired that the toner bottles will run out in the shortest 5 days remaining (41 days after the start of use) and the longest 11 days remaining (47 days after the start of use). Since D _min is below the delivery threshold, a delivery request signal for the replacement toner bottle is transmitted on the 36th day, and the toner bottle arrives by the 41st day. However, as of the 41st day, the remaining amount of toner is still sufficient, and it takes about 9 days to use up, resulting in early delivery.

Next, the case of this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 13A is a prediction of the day when the toner runs out 36 days after the start of using a new toner by using this technique. In FIG. 13 (a), when calculating the average _{UAVE of the} amount used in the past day and the standard deviation σ of the amount used in the past day, from the 10th day to the 29th including the amount of toner used in the color degeneracy mode. The daily usage is not used in the calculation. As a result, the amount the average _{U AVE} past day 36 day point 9.3 g, the standard deviation σ of the amount of past one day is 4.9 g. When the remaining amount prediction error σ _L = 2 g and the late delivery random variable r = 2, the remaining days D is

Therefore, it is desired that the toner bottles will run out in the shortest 13 days (49th day after the start of use) and the longest 23 days (59th day after the start of use). As described above, in this embodiment, the toner bottle delivery request signal is not yet transmitted as of the 36th day.

FIG. 13B is a prediction of the day when the toner runs out at the 41st day (remaining amount of toner W = 99.0 g). Calculate in the same way, and the number of remaining days D is

Therefore, it is desired that the toner bottles will run out in the minimum of 5 days (46 days after the start of use) and the maximum of 14 days (55 days after the start of use). Since D _min is below the delivery threshold, a delivery request signal for the replacement toner bottle is transmitted, and the toner bottle is delivered by the 46th day. As of the 46th day, the remaining amount of toner is low, and the toner bottle arrives at the user when the toner is used up in about 4 days.

In the above example, the toner is used up after the color degeneracy mode is released, but the effect of the present invention is also effective in the case where the toner is used up in the color degeneration mode. In the conventional method, the history of low usage before the transition to the color degeneracy mode and the history of high usage during the color degeneration mode are mixed and stored in the past usage list. Therefore, during the color degeneration mode, the number of remaining days is predicted from the data that is used less than the usage at that time. This can result in delayed deliveries as a result of predicting longer days remaining than expected. On the other hand, in the present invention, since only the history of a large amount of usage in the color degeneracy mode is stored, it is possible to predict the optimum number of remaining days suitable for the usage at that time.

As described above, by using this technology, it is possible to deliver the replacement toner bottle at the optimum timing without causing "early delivery" and "late delivery".

In this embodiment, a prediction example of toner is used, but the present invention is not limited to this, and is applicable to all consumables.

In addition, although the standard deviation is used as the feature quantity in this proposal for explanation, the variance obtained by squared the standard deviation may be used in the calculation (the square root can be avoided by using the variance).

In Example 1, the number of remaining days in the color degeneracy mode was predicted only from the history of the amount used in the color degeneracy mode. Therefore, immediately after the transition to the color degeneracy mode, the usage data for the past i days is not yet accumulated in the past usage list, and the remaining days cannot be predicted immediately. As a result, delayed delivery of toner bottles may occur.

In this embodiment, the number of remaining days of the monochrome toner immediately after the transition to the color degeneracy mode is predicted from the history of the usage amount of the monochrome toner and the color toner before the transition to the color degradation mode. The basic configuration (FIGS. 1 to 5, 8 to 10) is the same as that of the first embodiment, and only the feature amount extraction method (FIG. 7 in the first embodiment and FIG. 14 described later in the present embodiment) is different.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for extracting the feature amount in this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for extracting the feature amount in this embodiment.

First, the CPU 200 determines whether or not the mode is shifted to the color degeneracy mode (S700). Subsequent processing when the color degeneracy mode is not set is the same as in Example 1 (S301, S303 to 305 in FIG. 7). In the case of the color degeneracy mode, the past usage list B updated in S210 is acquired (S705).

Next, it is determined whether or not the number of data stored in the acquired past usage list B is for i days (S706). If there is toner usage data for the past predetermined period (Yes in S706), the process proceeds to S703, _UAVE and σ are calculated and stored based on the data stored in the past usage list B, and the process ends. .. When there is no data for a predetermined period (No in S706), it is determined whether or not the number of data stored in the past usage list A is for i days (S707). When there is data for a predetermined period (Yes in S707), the past usage list A is corrected to generate the past usage list B (S708). A detailed description of the correction method will be described later with reference to FIG. After that, the process proceeds to S703, _UAVE and σ are calculated and stored based on the data stored in the past usage list B, and the process is terminated. If there is no data for a predetermined period (No in S707), the operation of _UAVE and σ ends without being performed.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a correction example of the above-mentioned past usage list.

It is assumed that the past usage list A immediately before shifting to the color degeneration mode is the data as shown in FIG. 15 (a). The unit of the table is grams. For example, the amount of toner used on the first day is 5.9 g for Y, 6.7 g for M, 6.8 g for C, 9.9 g for K, and 5 for Y on the second day. It shows a history of 0.0 g. The data of the past usage list B generated by correcting the past usage list A is shown in FIG. 15 (b). First, after shifting to the color degeneracy mode, the amount of toner used in Y, M, and C is all replaced with zero in order to reproduce that the color toner is not consumed. Further, the amount of toner used for K is calculated by integrating the amount of toner used for Y, M, C, and K before the transition to the color degeneracy mode. In this embodiment, the amount of K toner used after the transition to the color degeneracy mode is calculated as the weighted sum of the amounts of Y, M, C, and K toner used before the transition to the color degeneracy mode.

Color degenerate mode transition before Y, M, C, K toner usage each _{U aY, U aM, U aC} , U aK, when the amount of toner K after the color degenerate mode transition, and _{U bK,
U bK = αU aK + β (} U aY + U aM + U aK)
It is represented by. Here, α and β are appropriate constants and may be determined from data on how the device is used in the market. In this example, as an example, α = 0.9 and β = 0.2.
In this way, by using this technology, the number of remaining days can be predicted immediately even when the accumulation of past usage data is insufficient immediately after the transition to the color degeneracy mode. This can reduce the possibility of delayed delivery of the toner bottle.

101 image forming apparatus, 110 image forming unit,
140Y, M, C, K Toner Bottle, 171 Operation Panel,
301 Image processing unit, 303 Toner replenishment processing unit,
304 Toner Bottle Memory, 307 Maintenance Server

Claims (2)

An image forming means for forming a multicolored or monochromatic image on a recording material using a plurality of consumables,
The first mode, which does not limit multicolor image formation,
A second mode that limits multicolor image formation,
A calculation means for calculating the amount of consumables used, and
A learning means for learning the transition of the usage amount calculated by the calculation means, and
A prediction means for predicting the remaining usage period of the consumable from the transition learned by the learning means, and
A control means that controls the device based on the remaining usage period predicted by the prediction means, and
Have,
An image forming apparatus, characterized in that the learning means separately learns transitions when operating in the first mode and when operating in the second mode. When the predicting means cannot predict the remaining usage period only from the transition learned by the learning means while operating in the second mode, the first method is performed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the remaining usage period is predicted by also using the transition learned by the learning means while operating in one mode.