JP2021047288A - Image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

To detect the residual quantity of toners at low cost.SOLUTION: Output means is provided so as not to be in contact with a storage container mounted on a mounting part. The output means outputs signals which vary in accordance with the amount of toners of the storage container mounted on the mounting part. Detection means acquires an output result of the output means each time a motor rotates, and detects a residual amount of toners of a storage container mounted on the mounting part based on a plurality of output results.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for detecting the remaining amount of toner in a storage container mounted on an image forming apparatus.

Since the electrophotographic image forming apparatus uses toner to form an image, it becomes impossible to form an image when the toner is exhausted. Therefore, if the user can be prompted to replace the toner bottle before the remaining amount of toner becomes zero, the time when the user cannot form an image will be reduced. Patent Document 1 proposes to detect the remaining amount of toner by using a pressure sensor.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-171071

In Patent Document 1, a pressure sensor is attached to a stirring member that rotates inside the toner bottle. Therefore, a rotary contact or a wireless communication circuit is required for supplying power to the pressure sensor and transmitting / receiving a detection signal of the pressure sensor. As the rotary contacts wear out, poor contact can occur. In addition, the mechanism of the toner bottle becomes complicated. Adopting a wireless communication circuit may cause an increase in cost. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to detect the remaining amount of toner at low cost.

The present invention is, for example,
An image forming means for forming an image using toner, and
A mounting part on which a storage container for storing replenishing toner is mounted, and
With the motor
A control means for rotating the motor in order to supply the toner for replenishment from the storage container mounted on the mounting portion to the image forming means, and a control means for rotating the motor.
An output means that is provided in non-contact with the storage container mounted on the mounting portion and outputs a signal that varies depending on the amount of toner in the storage container mounted on the mounting portion.
Each time the control means rotates the motor, the output result of the output means is acquired, and the detection means for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the storage container mounted on the mounting portion based on the plurality of output results. Provided is an image forming apparatus characterized by having.

According to the present invention, it is possible to detect the remaining amount of toner at low cost.

The figure explaining the image forming apparatus The figure explaining the development unit Diagram illustrating the controller The figure explaining the swing of toner The figure explaining the capacitance sensor The figure explaining the rotation phase, the drive signal and the detection waveform of a toner bottle. The figure explaining the rotation phase, the drive signal and the detection waveform of a toner bottle. Diagram illustrating clustering Diagram illustrating clustering A diagram illustrating a waveform table and a probability table The figure explaining the function of a CPU Flowchart explaining the method of estimating the remaining amount of toner Diagram explaining the probability of cluster appearance and matching results Diagram explaining the display screen Diagram explaining how to learn the probability table

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiment, not all of the plurality of features are essential to the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Further, in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar configurations are given the same reference numbers, and duplicate description is omitted.

● Image forming apparatus As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 is an electrophotographic full-color printer. However, the present invention is also applicable to monochrome printers. Since yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toners are used here, four image forming portions are provided. Since the configuration of each image forming unit is common, the numbers constituting the reference reference numerals are also common. The abcd character added to the end of the reference code is added to distinguish the four image forming portions.

The charger 3 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 2. The exposure device 5 forms an electrostatic latent image by irradiating the photosensitive drum 2 with light corresponding to the input image. The developer 8 develops an electrostatic latent image using the toner supplied from the developing unit 7 to form a toner image. The developer 8 functions as an image forming means for forming an image using toner. The primary transfer device 6 transfers the toner image to the intermediate transfer belt 9. The intermediate transfer belt 9 is stretched on the drive roller 10, the driven roller 11, and the opposing roller 21, and is driven by the drive roller 10 to rotate. The drum cleaner 4 cleans the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 2.

The bypass tray 13 and the paper feed cassette 17 are storages for accommodating the sheet S. The feeding rollers 14 and 15 feed the sheet S from the manual feed tray 13 to the resist roller 16. The feeding rollers 18 and 19 feed the sheet S from the paper feed cassette 17 to the resist roller 16 via the transport roller 20. The resist roller 16 matches the timing at which the toner image conveyed by the intermediate transfer belt 9 arrives at the secondary transfer portion with the timing at which the sheet S arrives at the secondary transfer portion. The secondary transfer roller 22 transfers the toner image conveyed by the intermediate transfer belt 9 to the sheet S. The belt cleaner 12 cleans the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 9. The fuser 23 fixes the toner image on the sheet S by applying heat and pressure to the sheet S and the toner image. The sheet S is discharged to the discharge tray 26 by the discharge rollers 24 and 25.

● Toner Replenishment Mechanism As shown in FIG. 2, the developing unit 7 has a toner bottle 31 that is detachably mounted on the mounting portion of the image forming apparatus 1. The toner bottle 31 is a storage container containing toner for replenishment. The toner bottle 31 of the present embodiment is mounted on the mounting portion and rotates in a predetermined direction (arrow direction) to discharge toner from the discharge port of the toner bottle 31. A spiral guide groove 36 is formed on the outer surface of the toner bottle 31. A guide groove 36 forms a convex portion on the inner surface of the toner bottle 31, and the convex portion conveys the toner in the toner bottle 31 to the discharge port while stirring the toner. The toner bottle 31 supplies toner to the buffer unit 30. The buffer unit 30 temporarily accumulates toner. The buffer unit 30 has a transport screw 33. By rotating the transfer screw 33, the toner accumulated in the buffer unit 30 is replenished to the container of the developing device 8. A capacitance sensor 32 for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the buffer unit 30 may be arranged.

The developer 8 contains toner, which is a one-component developer. The developing sleeve 35 carries the toner and attaches the toner to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 2. The developing device 8 may be provided with an inductance sensor 34 that detects the amount of toner in the developing device 8.
● Controller As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 300 drives the bottle motor 302 through the drive circuit 301. As a result, the bottle motor 302 is a drive source for rotating the toner bottle 31 mounted on the mounting portion. The controller 300 drives the screw motor 304 through the drive circuit 303. The screw motor 304 is a drive source for rotating the transport screw 33. The controller 300 detects the amount of toner in the developing device 8 by the inductance sensor 34. When the amount of toner in the developing device 8 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the controller 300 drives the screw motor 304 to rotate the transport screw 33. As a result, toner is supplied from the buffer unit 30 to the developing device 8.

The controller 300 detects the amount of toner in the buffer unit 30 by the capacitance sensor 32. When the amount of toner in the buffer unit 30 becomes equal to or less than the target amount, the controller 300 drives the bottle motor 302 to rotate the toner bottle 31. By rotating the toner bottle 31, toner is replenished from the toner bottle 31 to the buffer unit 30.

The capacitance sensor 305 is a sensor used to estimate the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 31. The operation unit 310 has an input device and a display device. The controller 300 receives a user's instruction through the input device of the operation unit 310. The controller 300 displays the estimation result of the remaining amount of toner on the display device of the operation unit 310.

● Positional relationship between the toner bottle 31 and the capacitance sensor 305 FIG. 4 includes three drawings. The figure in the center is a view explaining the side surface of the toner bottle 31 and the capacitance sensor 305. The figure on the left is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of the toner bottle 31. The figure on the right is a view of the toner bottle 31 seen from the replenishment port 401 toward the bottom surface 402 of the toner bottle 31. The toner surface T1 shows the surface of the toner T stored in the toner bottle 31. The bidirectional arrows given to the toner surface T1 indicate that the toner surface T1 is swung by the rotation of the toner T.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the capacitance sensor 305. The capacitance sensor 305 has a holding member 500, a positive electrode 501, and a negative electrode 502. The holding member 500 holds the positive electrode 501 and the negative electrode 502. The capacitance changes according to the permittivity between the two electrodes (positive electrode 501 and negative electrode 502). The amount of charge charged to the capacitor formed by the two electrodes is determined according to the capacitance. That is, the potential difference according to the amount of toner in the vicinity of the capacitance sensor 305 becomes the sensor output value. The capacitance sensor 305 functions as an output means for outputting a signal that fluctuates according to the amount of toner in the toner bottle 31 mounted on the mounting portion.

6 (A) and 6 (B) show the rotation of the toner bottle 31, the transition of the drive signal S1 and the waveform S2 of the detection signal. The drive signal S1 is a drive signal output to the drive circuit 301 and the bottle motor 302. The waveform S2 is a waveform composed of a series of detection signals output by the capacitance sensor 305. The toner bottle 31 is empty. Times i to time v shown in FIG. 6A indicate that the toner bottle 31 rotates half a turn (first half). Times vi to time x shown in FIG. 6B indicate that the toner bottle 31 makes another half rotation (second half).

At time i, the toner bottle 31 is stationary. The capacitance sensor 305 faces the guide groove 36 provided on the side surface of the toner bottle 31. The capacitance value of the capacitance sensor 305 is the initial value Q0. When the controller 300 sets the drive signal S1 to Hi, the toner bottle 31 starts rotating.

At time ii, of the side surfaces of the toner bottle 31, the side surface located outside the guide groove 36 approaches the capacitance sensor 305. That is, the capacitance value of the capacitance sensor 305 increases from the initial value Q0.

At time iii, the guide groove 36 moves away from the capacitance sensor 305. On the other hand, the capacitance sensor 305 faces the side surface of the toner bottle 31. Therefore, the capacitance value is Q1 (Q1> Q0). From time iv to time v, the distance between the toner bottle 31 and the capacitance sensor 305 is constant. Therefore, the capacitance value is maintained at Q1.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the distance between the toner bottle 31 and the capacitance sensor 305 is constant between the time vi and the time viii. Therefore, the capacitance value is maintained at Q1. At time ix, the guide groove 36 approaches the capacitance sensor 305. As a result, the capacitance value starts to decrease from Q1. At time x, since the guide groove 36 and the capacitance sensor 305 face each other, the capacitance value becomes Q0.

FIG. 7A shows the first half rotation when the toner bottle 31 contains a small amount of toner. FIG. 7B shows a half rotation in the latter half when a small amount of toner is contained in the toner bottle 31. The same reference numerals are given to the matters already explained, and the description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 7A, at time i, the capacitance sensor 305 faces the guide groove 36. Since the capacitance sensor 305 is separated from the toner surface T1, the capacitance sensor 305 is not easily affected by the toner. Therefore, the capacitance value is Q0.

At time ii, the distance between the side surface of the toner bottle 31 and the capacitance sensor 305 becomes short. Further, the distance between the toner surface T1 and the capacitance sensor 305 is shortened. Therefore, the capacitance value detected for the toner bottle 31 containing a small amount of toner increases sharply as compared with the case where the toner bottle 31 is empty. The alternate long and short dash line S3 indicates the capacitance value detected when the toner bottle 31 is empty.

At time iii, the distance between the toner surface T1 and the capacitance sensor 305 is almost the shortest. Therefore, the capacitance value is Q2 (Q2> Q1).

At time iv, the toner is pulled back vertically downward by gravity, so that the toner surface T1 is lowered. At time v, the drive signal S1 becomes Lo, and the toner bottle 31 comes to rest. Therefore, the toner surface T1 returns to almost horizontal, and the capacitance value becomes Q1.

As shown in FIG. 7B, when the drive signal S1 becomes Hi, the latter half rotation is started. Since the toner surface T1 is separated from the capacitance sensor 305 at time vi, the toner surface T1 hardly contributes to the capacitance value, and the side surface of the toner bottle 31 contributes to the capacitance value. Therefore, the capacitance value is maintained at Q1.

At time vii, the toner surface approaches the capacitance sensor 305, so the toner surface T1 begins to contribute to the capacitance value. Therefore, the capacitance value also increases. At time viii, the toner surface T1 is closest to the capacitance sensor 305, so that the capacitance value is Q2 (Q2> Q1). At time ix, the toner surface T1 gradually decreases, so that the capacitance value also decreases. At time x, the half rotation is completed, and the capacitance sensor 305 faces the guide groove 36, so that the capacitance value becomes Q0.

As can be seen by comparing FIGS. 6 (A), 6 (B), 7 (A) and 7 (B), the waveform S2 formed by a series of capacitance values acquired by the capacitance sensor 305. Depends on the amount of toner contained in the toner bottle 31. Therefore, the inventor performed a measurement experiment of the waveform S2 for a plurality of different toner amounts (0 g, 18 g, 40 g, 62 g, 95 g, 113 g, 680 g).

FIG. 8A shows clusters 0 and 1 obtained by clustering from the waveform S2 observed when the amount of toner contained in the toner bottle 31 is 0 g. FIG. 8B shows clusters 2 and 3 obtained by clustering from the waveform S2 observed when the amount of toner contained in the toner bottle 31 is 18 g. FIG. 8C shows clusters 4, 5 and 14 obtained by clustering from the waveform S2 observed when the amount of toner contained in the toner bottle 31 is 40 g. FIG. 8D shows clusters 6 and 7 obtained by clustering from the waveform S2 observed when the amount of toner contained in the toner bottle 31 was 62 g. FIG. 8E shows clusters 8 and 9 obtained by clustering from the waveform S2 observed when the amount of toner contained in the toner bottle 31 was 95 g. FIG. 8F shows clusters 10 and 11 obtained by clustering from the waveform S2 observed when the amount of toner contained in the toner bottle 31 was 113 g. FIG. 8 (G) shows clusters 12, 13 and 15 obtained by clustering from the waveform S2 observed when the amount of toner contained in the toner bottle 31 was 680 g. Here, the measurement is performed a plurality of times by rotating the toner bottle 31 by half a turn. The controller 300 executes sampling a plurality of times in a predetermined measurement period from the start of rotation of the toner bottle 31 to the completion of half rotation. The measurement period may be shorter than the entire period from the start of rotation to the completion of half rotation. The measurement period may include a period from time ii to time iv and a period from time vi to time ix. Here, the measurement is started after a predetermined time from the start of rotation of the toner bottle 31, and sampling is executed a plurality of times (example: 200 times). The controller 300 specifies the maximum value Qmax and the minimum value Qmin in all the sample values obtained by the plurality of measurements, and obtains the difference ΔQ between the maximum value and the minimum value. The maximum value Qmax and the minimum value Qmin may be the maximum value Qmax and the minimum value Qmin in a plurality of sample values obtained in one measurement (half rotation). Further, the controller 300 obtains the difference ΔQi between the sample value Qi and the minimum value Qmin for each sample value Qi. The controller 300 normalizes the sample value Qi by dividing the difference ΔQi by the difference ΔQ. The controller 300 obtains the similarity for each waveform formed by the normalized sample values, and classifies the similar waveforms (clustering). In FIGS. 8A to 8G, a plurality of classified waveforms are superimposed and displayed. Here, for convenience, a set of similar waveforms is referred to as clusters 0 to cluster 15.

FIG. 9 shows the average value of the waveform for each cluster. FIG. 10A shows a waveform table formed from the mean values at 200 sample points of the mean values of the waveforms shown in FIG. 9 for each cluster. FIG. 10B shows the probability (appearance probability) that clusters 0 to 15 appear for each of the seven types of toner amounts. This is the probability distribution obtained in experiments and the like. The waveform table and the appearance probability are created at the time of shipment from the factory of the image forming apparatus 1 and stored in the ROM area (example: flash memory) of the controller 300.

● Method of estimating the remaining amount of toner FIG. 11 shows a CPU 1100 and a memory 1150 mounted on the controller 300. The CPU 1100 realizes various functions by executing a control program stored in the memory 1150. FIG. 12 shows a process executed by the CPU 1100 according to the control program.

In S1201, the CPU 1100 (measurement control unit 1101) starts driving the bottle motor 302 through the drive circuit 301. The drive circuit 301 starts the bottle motor 302 by setting the drive signal S1 to Hi. The bottle motor 302 rotates the toner bottle 31.

In S1202, the CPU 1100 (measurement control unit 1101) acquires the waveform for each half rotation of the toner bottle 31 by sampling the detection result of the capacitance sensor 305. In S1203, the CPU 1100 (normalization unit 1102) normalizes the acquired waveform. The normalization unit 1102 may perform normalization after performing noise removal on the waveform for half a rotation. The noise removal process is, for example, a moving average process.

In S1204, the CPU 1100 (clustering unit 1103) determines a cluster from the waveform. For example, the clustering unit 1103 compares the acquired waveform (measured waveform) with the reference waveform stored in the waveform table 1151 stored in the memory 1150, and the cluster having the closest reference waveform (cluster number). To identify. This may be called pattern matching. The waveform table 1151 shown in FIG. 10 (A) has a reference waveform for each of the 16 clusters. The reference waveform has 200 waveform values. The clustering unit 1103 obtains the calculation result by applying the least squares method to, for example, the waveform value of the measured waveform and the waveform value of the reference waveform for 200 sample points. As a result, the clustering unit 1103 acquires the cluster number having the reference waveform closest to the measured waveform from the waveform table 1151. In S1205, the CPU 1100 (counter 1104) adds 1 to the count value of the identified cluster.

In S1206, the CPU 1100 (measurement control unit 1101) determines whether or not m waveforms have been acquired. If the acquisition of m waveforms is not completed, the CPU 1100 advances the process to S1202. If the acquisition of m waveforms is completed, the CPU 1100 advances the process to S1207. For example, m is set to 12 or the like. Two waveforms are acquired each time the toner bottle 31 makes one rotation. That is, in order to acquire m waveforms, the toner bottle 31 rotates m / 2.

In S1207, the CPU 1100 (probability calculation unit 1105) calculates the appearance probability of each cluster. FIG. 13A shows an example of the number of appearances (count value) and the probability of appearance for each cluster. In this example, cluster 1 appears once, cluster 4 appears four times, cluster 5 appears five times, and cluster 10 appears twice. Therefore, the probability of appearance of cluster 1 is 1/12 = 0.083. The probability of appearance of cluster 4 is 4/12 = 0.333. The probability of appearance of cluster 5 is 5/12 = 0.417. The probability of appearance of cluster 10 is 2/12 = 0.167. The probability of appearance of each of the remaining clusters is 0.

In S1208, the CPU 1100 (estimating unit 1106) specifies the remaining amount of toner based on the appearance probability of each cluster. FIG. 13B shows an example of the estimation result of the remaining amount of toner. The estimation unit 1106 uses a least squares method for the appearance probability of clusters for each toner amount held in the probability table 1152 shown in FIG. 10B and the appearance probability of each cluster obtained from the measurement waveform. Apply. That is, the estimation unit 1106 obtains the sum of squares for the difference between the appearance probability of each cluster for each toner amount held in the probability table 1152 and the appearance probability of each cluster obtained from the measurement waveform. The estimation unit 1106 compares the sum of squares for each amount of toner from 0 g to 680 g, and specifies the amount of toner corresponding to the minimum sum of squares. In FIG. 13B, the minimum sum of squares is 0.249, and the amount of toner corresponding to 0.249 is 40 g. Therefore, the estimated value of the toner amount is specified as 40 g.

The CPU 1100 (display processing unit 1107) may display information indicating the estimated toner amount on the display device of the operation unit 310. FIG. 14 shows an example of display screens 1400a to 1400d displayed on the display device of the operation unit 310. The display screen 1400a has a remaining amount display unit 1401a and a message display unit 1402a. The remaining amount display unit 1401a displays the estimated remaining amount of toner (unit: g). The message display unit 1402a displays a message corresponding to the estimated remaining amount of toner. The memory 1150 stores a message corresponding to each of a plurality of remaining toners. The display processing unit 1107 reads a message corresponding to the estimated remaining amount of toner from the memory 1150 and displays it on the message display unit 1402a. In this example, the message display unit 1402a displays a message prompting the preparation of the toner bottle 31.

The display screen 1400b has a message display unit 1402b. Since the estimated remaining amount of toner is 0 g, the display processing unit 1107 reads the corresponding message from the memory 1150 and displays it on the message display unit 1402b. The message display unit 1402b displays a message prompting the replacement of the toner bottle 31. Even if the toner bottle 31 is emptied, the buffer unit 30 or the developing device 8 still accumulates toner. Therefore, the user can continue to form the image even if the estimated remaining amount of toner is 0 g.

The display screen 1400c has a remaining amount display unit 1401c that displays the remaining amount of toner as a percentage. The estimation unit 1106 obtains the ratio of the remaining amount (unit:%) from the estimated remaining amount of toner (example: 40 g) and the capacity of the toner bottle 31 (example: 800 g), and passes it to the display processing unit 1107. The display processing unit 1107 displays the ratio of the remaining amount passed from the estimation unit 1106 on the remaining amount display unit 1401c.

The display screen 1400d has a graph object 1403 that displays the remaining amount of toner. The shaded area displayed on the graph object 1403 indicates the remaining amount of toner. If the toner bottle 31 is full of toner, the entire graph object 1403 is displayed with diagonal lines.

● Learning (update) the remaining amount of toner
As described above, the probability table 1152 held in the ROM area of the memory 1150 is acquired at the time of shipment from the factory of the image forming apparatus 1. Therefore, if there is a difference between the factory environment of the image forming apparatus 1 and the environment of the user's living room in which the image forming apparatus 1 is installed, the estimation accuracy may decrease. Therefore, the person in charge of maintenance of the image forming apparatus 1 prepares seven types of toner bottles 31 having different toner amounts, attaches them to the image forming apparatus 1 in order, and instructs learning.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a method of learning the remaining amount of toner. When a learning instruction is input from the input device of the operation unit 310, the CPU 1100 (learning unit 1108) executes the following processing.

In S1500, the CPU 1100 (learning unit 1108) accepts the designation of the toner amount to be learned (eg, 0 g, 18 g, 40 g, 62 g, 95 g, 113 g, 680 g) based on the information input through the input device of the operation unit 310. The maintenance person attaches the toner bottle 31 containing a predetermined amount of toner to the image forming apparatus 1, and the input device of the operation unit 310 inputs the predetermined amount. After that, the CPU 1100 executes S1201 to S1207 to obtain the appearance probability of each cluster.

In S1510, the CPU 1100 (learning unit 1108) creates or updates the probability table 1152 in association with the amount of toner input from the input device of the operation unit 310 and the appearance probability of each cluster, and stores the probability table 1152 in the memory 1150. The CPU 1100 repeatedly executes S1500 to S1510 for all seven types of toner bottles 31.

The CPU 1100 (learning unit 1108) may obtain an average value of 200 sample values constituting the acquired cluster for each toner amount, create a waveform table 1151, and store it in the memory 1150. As a result, the waveform table 1151 may be updated.

By the way, in the above description, 16 clusters are prepared. However, the CPU 1100 may add new clusters to the waveform table 1151 and the probability table 1152, respectively. For example, the CPU 1100 may receive additional data about the new cluster from the server computer or read the new cluster from a portable memory card and add it to the waveform table 1151 and probability table 1152. Further, when a toner bottle 31 containing a toner having a remaining amount different from the remaining amount of seven types of toner is attached to the image forming apparatus 1, the CPU 1100 obtains a cluster and its appearance probability for the remaining amount, and waveforms the remaining amount. It may be added to the table 1151 and the probability table 1152.

<Summary>
[Viewpoint 1]
The developing unit 7 functions as an image forming means for forming an image using toner. The toner bottle 31 is an example of a removable storage container for storing replenishing toner. The developing unit 7 has a mounting portion. The storage container is mounted on the mounting portion. The drive circuit 301 and the bottle motor 302 are examples of control means for rotating the storage container. The drive circuit 301 functions as a control means for rotating the motor in order to supply toner for replenishment from the storage container mounted on the mounting portion to the image forming means. The capacitance sensor 305 is an example of output means arranged in a non-contact manner so as to face the side surface of the storage container. The capacitance sensor 305 is provided in non-contact with the storage container mounted on the mounting portion, and functions as an output means for outputting a signal that varies depending on the amount of toner in the storage container mounted on the mounting portion. The CPU 1100 functions as a detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the accommodating container based on a waveform formed by a series of detection values output from the output means while the accommodating container rotates a predetermined rotation (eg, half a rotation). The CPU 1100 functions as a detection means that acquires the output result of the output means each time the control means rotates the motor and detects the remaining amount of toner in the storage container mounted on the mounting portion based on the plurality of output results. As described above, according to the present embodiment, since it is not necessary to provide a sensor inside the toner bottle 31, it is possible to acquire the remaining amount of toner at low cost.

[Viewpoint 2]
The memory 1150, the waveform table 1151, and the probability table 1152 are examples of storage means for storing a plurality of reference waveforms associated with different toner remaining amounts. The CPU 1100 may determine the remaining amount of toner corresponding to the output waveform based on the output waveform output by the output means and the plurality of reference waveforms stored in the storage means. In this way, the remaining amount of toner may be estimated based on the measured waveform and the reference waveform. This makes it possible to obtain the remaining amount of toner at low cost.

[Viewpoint 3]
The CPU 1100 pattern-matches the waveform output by the output means with the plurality of reference waveforms stored in the storage means, and is output by the output means among the plurality of reference waveforms stored in the storage means. The reference waveform closest to the waveform may be specified. Further, the CPU 1100 may acquire the remaining amount of toner corresponding to the specified reference waveform from the storage means. This makes it possible to obtain the remaining amount of toner at low cost.

[Viewpoint 4]
The CPU 1100 may acquire m waveforms by repeatedly acquiring the output waveforms output from the output means while the storage container makes a half rotation. The CPU 1100 may apply clustering to m waveforms to obtain a plurality of clusters. The CPU 1100 may be configured to estimate the remaining amount of toner in the storage container based on the plurality of clusters. Such clustering may be effective in cases where the measured waveform can be classified into multiple clusters.

[Viewpoint 5]
The memory 1150, the waveform table 1151, and the probability table 1152 are examples of storage means for storing a plurality of reference clusters associated with different toner remaining amounts. The CPU 1100 corresponds to a plurality of output clusters obtained from the waveform output by the output means based on a plurality of output clusters obtained from the waveform output by the output means and a plurality of reference clusters stored in the storage means. The remaining amount of toner to be used may be determined. In cases where clustering is effective, the remaining amount of toner will be estimated accurately.

[Viewpoint 6]
The CPU 1100 may pattern match a plurality of output clusters obtained from the waveform output by the output means and a plurality of reference clusters stored in the storage means. Based on the result of pattern matching, the CPU 1100 may identify the reference cluster closest to the plurality of output clusters obtained from the waveform output by the output means among the plurality of reference clusters stored in the storage means. Good. The CPU 1100 may acquire the remaining amount of toner corresponding to the specified reference cluster from the storage means. As described in the examples, there may be multiple reference clusters for one toner level. In this case, a plurality of clusters are also obtained from the measurement waveform, and the plurality of clusters and the plurality of reference clusters are pattern-matched. As a result, the remaining amount of toner will be estimated more accurately.

[Viewpoint 7]
The storage means (eg, probability table 1152) may store the appearance probabilities of a plurality of reference clusters for each toner remaining amount. The CPU 1100 may calculate the probability of occurrence of each of the plurality of clusters. The CPU 1100 may determine the remaining amount of toner based on the appearance probabilities calculated for each of the plurality of clusters and the appearance probabilities of a plurality of reference clusters for each remaining amount of toner stored in the storage means. By estimating the remaining amount of toner based on the application probability of the cluster in this way, the remaining amount of toner will be estimated more accurately.

[Viewpoints 8 and 9]
The CPU 1100 may obtain the difference between the appearance probabilities calculated for each of the plurality of clusters and the appearance probabilities of a plurality of reference clusters for each of the plurality of toner remaining amounts stored in the storage means. The CPU 1100 may determine the remaining amount of toner that minimizes the difference among the remaining amount of toner. The CPU 1100 may obtain the sum of the squares of the differences for each remaining amount of toner, and may specify the remaining amount of toner in which the sum of the squares of the differences is the smallest among the plurality of remaining toners. As a result, the remaining amount of toner will be estimated accurately.

[Viewpoints 10-12]
The CPU 1100 may function as a normalization means for normalizing the waveform output from the output means. The normalizing means may specify the minimum output value and the maximum output value of the output waveform output from the output means, and normalize the output waveform based on the difference between the minimum output value and the maximum output value. Capacitance sensors are generally humidity sensitive sensors. Therefore, the detection result may be offset or fluctuate depending on the humidity. However, the shape of the waveform does not depend on humidity. Therefore, by using a normalized waveform, the influence of humidity is reduced. The CPU 1100 (normalization unit 1102) may normalize the output result of the output means after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of driving the toner bottle by the bottle motor 302. This is because the detection result from the start of driving to the elapse of a predetermined time tends to include a noise component.

[Viewpoint 13]
The output means may include a non-contact sensor located away from the side of the containment vessel. By adopting such a non-contact sensor, wear of the sensor and wear of the signal contact are less likely to occur in principle, which will be effective for cost reduction.

[Viewpoint 14]
The sensor may be a sensor that detects capacitance. In particular, when the toner is a toner that does not contain a magnetic substance, the capacitance sensor is effective.

[Viewpoint 15]
The sensor may be a sensor that detects magnetism. When a toner containing a magnetic material is adopted, a magnetic sensor such as an inductance sensor may be adopted instead of the capacitance sensor 305.

[Viewpoint 16]
As described in connection with FIG. 15, the CPU 1100 (learning unit 1108) functions as a learning means that learns the appearance probability of the reference cluster corresponding to the predetermined remaining amount of toner and stores the learning result in the storage means. May be good. As a result, the estimation accuracy of the remaining amount of toner will be further improved. The CPU 1100 (learning unit 1108) may add a new reference cluster to the storage means.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, claims are attached to make the scope of the invention public.

1: Image forming device, 31: Toner bottle, 302: Bottle motor, 305: Capacitance sensor, 1100: CPU

Claims (16)

An image forming means for forming an image using toner, and
A mounting part on which a storage container for storing replenishing toner is mounted, and
With the motor
A control means for rotating the motor in order to supply the toner for replenishment from the storage container mounted on the mounting portion to the image forming means, and a control means for rotating the motor.
An output means that is provided in non-contact with the storage container mounted on the mounting portion and outputs a signal that varies depending on the amount of toner in the storage container mounted on the mounting portion.
Each time the control means rotates the motor, the output result of the output means is acquired, and the detection means for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the storage container mounted on the mounting portion based on the plurality of output results. An image forming apparatus characterized by having. It also has a storage means that stores a plurality of reference waveforms associated with different toner levels.
The detection means is configured to determine the remaining amount of toner corresponding to the output result based on the output waveform which is the output result of the output means and the plurality of reference waveforms stored in the storage means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The detection means performs pattern matching between the output waveform which is the output result of the output means and the plurality of reference waveforms stored in the storage means, and among the plurality of reference waveforms stored in the storage means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the reference waveform closest to the output waveform is specified, and the remaining amount of toner corresponding to the specified reference waveform is acquired from the storage means. The detection means acquires m output waveforms by repeatedly acquiring output waveforms output from the output means while the storage container makes a half rotation, and applies clustering to the m output waveforms. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of clusters are obtained, and the remaining amount of toner in the storage container is detected based on the plurality of clusters. It also has a storage means that stores multiple reference clusters, each associated with a different toner level.
The detection means is based on the plurality of output clusters obtained from the output waveform and the plurality of reference clusters stored in the storage means, and the toner residue corresponding to the plurality of output clusters obtained from the output waveform. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image forming apparatus is configured to determine the amount. The detection means of the plurality of reference clusters stored in the storage means by pattern-matching the plurality of output clusters obtained from the output waveform with the plurality of reference clusters stored in the storage means. The claim is characterized in that the reference cluster closest to the plurality of output clusters obtained from the output waveform is specified, and the remaining amount of toner corresponding to the specified reference cluster is acquired from the storage means. The image forming apparatus according to 5. The storage means stores the appearance probabilities of a plurality of reference clusters for each remaining amount of toner.
The detection means calculates the appearance probabilities of the plurality of output clusters, and the calculated appearance probabilities of the plurality of output clusters and a plurality of each of the remaining amount of each toner stored in the storage means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the remaining amount of toner is determined based on the appearance probability of the reference cluster. The detection means obtains a difference between the appearance probability calculated for each of the plurality of output clusters and the appearance probability of a plurality of reference clusters for each of the remaining amounts of the plurality of toners stored in the storage means, and obtains the plurality of differences. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the remaining amount of toner having the smallest difference among the remaining amount of toner in the above method is determined. The detection means obtains the sum of the squares of the differences for each remaining amount of each toner, and specifies the remaining amount of the toner having the smallest sum of the squares of the differences among the remaining amounts of the plurality of toners. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a normalizing means for normalizing a waveform output from the output means. The normalization means specifies the minimum output value and the maximum output value of the output waveform output from the output means, and normalizes the output waveform based on the difference between the minimum output value and the maximum output value. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the normalizing means normalizes the output waveform of the output means after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of driving the storage container by the control means. .. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the output means includes a sensor arranged apart from the side surface of the storage container. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the sensor is a sensor that detects a capacitance. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the sensor is a sensor that detects magnetism. The invention according to any one of claims 7 to 9, further comprising a learning means for learning the appearance probability of a reference cluster corresponding to a predetermined remaining amount of toner and storing the learning result in the storage means. Image forming device.

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