JP2021091551A - Image formation system, and image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

To early grasp replacement time of a paper feeding roller, and grasp and improve use environment of the paper feeding roller.SOLUTION: An image formation device has storage means for storing a recording material, paper feeding means for feeding a recording material stored in the storage means, detection means for detecting the recording material fed by the paper feeding means, and measurement means for measuring time from a predetermined timing to detection of the recording material by the detection means. An information processing device has reception means for receiving time data measured by the measurement means from the image formation device, classification means for classifying a plurality of time data received by the reception means into a first group and a second group according to a length of time, selection means for selecting the group for predicting a life of the paper feeding means from a first group and a second group classified by the classification means, and prediction means for predicting the life of the paper feeding means using the time data included in the group selected by the selection means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

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

An image forming device such as a copying machine or a printer includes a loading unit for loading a recording material (sheet) and a paper feeding mechanism for transporting the sheet loaded on the loading unit. In this paper feeding mechanism, a paper feeding roller is used, and the loaded sheets are generally sent out one by one by the rotation of the paper feeding roller. Since the transport performance of the paper feed roller deteriorates due to surface wear and deterioration due to repeated paper transport and adhesion of paper dust, the paper feed roller is treated as a consumable item and is replaced by a user or a service person. Therefore, the time from the start of rotation of the paper feed roller to the arrival of the sheet at the sensor provided downstream of the transport path (hereinafter, paper feed time) is measured, and the occurrence rate of the paper feed delay (hereinafter, paper feed delay) is measured. Has been proposed as a method of notifying that the paper feed roller needs to be replaced when the value exceeds a predetermined threshold value (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-100181

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, the state of the paper feed roller cannot be grasped until the occurrence rate of the paper feed delay exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Therefore, it is difficult to grasp the replacement time of the paper feed roller at an early stage, or to improve the usage environment of the paper feed roller before the replacement time is reached.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for predicting the life of a paper feeding means based on the usage status of the paper feeding means.

In order to achieve the above object, the image forming system according to one aspect of the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
An image forming system having an information processing device and an image forming device.
The image forming apparatus
A storage means for storing recording materials and
A paper feeding means for feeding the recording material housed in the accommodating means, and a paper feeding means.
A detection means for detecting the recording material fed by the paper feeding means, and
It has a measuring means for measuring the time from a predetermined timing until the detecting means detects the recording material.
The information processing device
A receiving means for receiving time data measured by the measuring means from the image forming apparatus, and a receiving means.
A classification means for classifying a plurality of the time data received by the receiving means into a first group and a second group according to the length of time.
A selection means for selecting a group for predicting the life of the paper feed means from the first group and the second group classified by the classification means, and
It is characterized by having a predicting means for predicting the life of the paper feeding means by using the time data included in the group selected by the selecting means.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that the replacement time of the paper feeding means can be grasped at an early stage by predicting the life of the paper feeding means based on the usage status of the paper feeding means.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the attached drawings, the same or similar configurations are designated by the same reference numbers.

The accompanying drawings are included in the specification and are used to form a part thereof, show an embodiment of the present invention, and explain the principle of the present invention together with the description thereof.
FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment, which employs an intermediate transfer belt and includes a plurality of image forming portions in parallel. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a paper feeding operation in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the transition of the paper feed time when the paper feed operation of the recording material S is repeated by the transport mechanism as shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment and a configuration of an image forming system including the image forming apparatus. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating the functions of the engine control unit and the life control unit according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the paper feed number and the paper feed time in Embodiment 1. FIG. The graph which shows the profile of the paper feed time in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of obtaining a life of a paper feed roller in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. The graph which shows the set of the paper feed time in Embodiment 2. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating the functions of the engine control unit and the life control unit according to the second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of obtaining a life of a paper feed roller in the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. The graph which shows an example of the set of the actual paper feed time data in Embodiment 3. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating the functions of the engine control unit and the life control unit according to the third embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of obtaining a life of a paper feed roller in the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment, in which an intermediate transfer belt is adopted and a plurality of image forming portions are formed in parallel. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of detecting the remaining amount of the recording material S in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the fourth embodiment and a configuration of an image forming system including the image forming apparatus. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating the functions of the engine control unit and the life control unit according to the fourth embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the transition of the paper feed time when the paper feed operation is repeated in the image forming apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 4, and the paper feed time is replenished every time the recording material S loaded in a paper cassette is exhausted. .. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the tip position of the recording material according to the amount of the recording material in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. The graph which shows an example of the paper feed time data in Embodiment 4. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of obtaining a life of a paper feed roller in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the notification by the character string, the judgment standard of reliability, the judgment standard of a tendency change, and an example of the correction table of the paper feed time data according to the amount of recording material.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention 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 attached drawings, the same or similar configurations are designated by the same reference numbers, and duplicate description is omitted. In the following embodiment, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus will be described as an example.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, which employs an intermediate transfer belt and has a plurality of image forming portions in parallel.

The image forming apparatus 100 is a tandem type color laser beam printer, and forms a color image by superimposing four color toners of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). Can be printed). In FIG. 1, the configuration of the image forming unit corresponding to each color is shown by adding subscripts Y, M, C, and K to the reference numbers. In the following description, in the description of the members that do not need to distinguish between yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, the subscripts Y, M, C, and K of the symbols will be omitted for convenience of description.

The process cartridge 5 has a toner container 6, a photoconductor drum 1 as an image carrier, a charging roller 2, a developing roller 3, a drum cleaning blade 4, and a waste toner container 7, respectively. A laser unit 8 is arranged below the process cartridge 5, and the laser unit 8 performs exposure based on an image signal on the photoconductor drum 1. The surface of the photoconductor drum 1 is charged to a predetermined negative electrode potential by applying a predetermined negative electrode voltage to the charging roller 2, and then an electrostatic latent image corresponding to each color is generated by the laser unit 8. Is formed. This electrostatic latent image is reverse-developed by applying a predetermined negative electrode voltage to the developing roller 3, and Y, M, C, and K toner images are formed on the photoconductor drum 1, respectively. The toner used in the first embodiment is negatively charged.

The intermediate transfer body unit includes an intermediate transfer body 11, a drive roller 12, a tension roller 13, and an opposing roller 15. Further, a primary transfer roller 10 is arranged inside the intermediate transfer body 11 facing the photoconductor drum 1, and a transfer voltage is applied to the primary transfer roller 10 by a voltage applying means (not shown). The toner image formed on the photoconductor drum 1 is formed on the intermediate transfer body 11 by rotating each photoconductor drum and the intermediate transfer body 11 in the direction of the arrow and further applying a positive voltage to the primary transfer roller 10. Primary transfer to. The toner images on the photoconductor drum 1 are primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer body 11 in the order of Y, M, C, and K, and are conveyed to the secondary transfer roller 14 in a state where the toner images of the four colors are overlapped.

The paper feed mechanism 20 includes a paper feed roller 22 that feeds the recording material S from the paper cassette 21 that loads and accommodates the sheet-shaped recording material S, and a transport roller 23 that conveys the paper feed recording material S. It also has a separation roller 24 that separates and conveys the recording material S one by one. Then, the recording material S conveyed from the paper feeding mechanism 20 is conveyed to the secondary transfer roller 14 by the resist roller pair 25. A positive voltage is applied to the secondary transfer roller 14 in order to transfer the toner image from the intermediate transfer body 11 to the recording material S. As a result, the toner image on the intermediate transfer body 11 is secondarily transferred to the conveyed recording material S. The recording material S to which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 30, heated and pressurized by the fixing film 31 of the fixing device 30 and the pressure roller 32, and the toner image is fixed on the surface of the recording material S. Toner. The recording material S on which the image is fixed is discharged by the paper ejection roller pair 33.

At this time, the image forming apparatus uses the transport path sensor 27 to determine whether or not a transport abnormality such as early arrival or delay of the recording material or jam has occurred. When it is determined that a transport abnormality has occurred, a display for notifying that a transport abnormality has occurred is displayed on a display unit (not shown). In addition, if necessary, a method for eliminating the transport abnormality is displayed.

Next, the paper feeding mechanism 20 according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a paper feeding operation in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the paper feeding mechanism at the timing of feeding the recording material S1 located at the highest position housed in the paper feed cassette 21. The recording material S1 in the paper cassette 21 is positioned by the rear end regulation plate 26 in the paper cassette 21, and the tip end when the recording material S1 is fed is at the position indicated by Ps. When the paper feeding operation is started, the paper feeding roller 22 and the conveying roller 23 rotate, respectively, and the recording material S1 moves to the right in FIG. 2 (A) due to friction between the paper feeding roller 22 and the recording material S1. Start moving in the paper feed direction). After that, the recording material S1 reaches the separation nip Pn formed by the transfer roller 23 and the separation roller 24.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 2B, a frictional force is also generated between the recording materials S1 and S2, and the recording material S2 may also move. This separation nip Pn separates the recording material S2 when two or more recording materials S1 and S2 are conveyed to the separation nip Pn by the rotation of the paper feed roller 22, and sends only one recording material S1 downstream. It has a function. A torque limiter (not shown) is connected to the separation roller 24, and torque as a resistance force is applied in a direction opposite to the transport direction of the recording material S1. This torque is set so that the separation roller 24 rotates in accordance with the transport roller 23 when there is only one recording material S in the separation nip Pn, and stops when two recording materials S enter the separation nip Pn. .. Therefore, the recording materials can be conveyed downstream one by one by the separation nip Pn.

After that, when the paper feed roller 22 and the transfer roller 23 continue to rotate, the recording material S1 passes through the resist roller pair 25, and the tip of the recording material S1 is detected by the transfer path sensor 27 as shown in FIG. 2C. Reach the position Pr. The time from the start of this paper feeding operation until the recording material S1 reaches the transport path sensor 27 is the paper feeding time.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a transition of the paper feed time when the paper feed operation of the recording material S is repeated by the transport mechanism as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the paper feeding operation of the recording material S is repeated, the paper feeding time tends to be long as a whole. This is because the paper feed roller 22 is worn by repeating the paper feed operation of the recording material, and the frictional force between the paper feed roller 22 and the recording material is reduced. Further, as described above, when the paper feed is started from the separation nip Pn, the paper feed time is short, and when the paper feed is started from the position of the tip Ps of the recording material in the paper feed cassette 21, the paper feed time is long.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment and a configuration of an image forming system including the image forming apparatus 100. This system includes a host computer 400, an image forming apparatus 100, and a server (information processing apparatus) 410. The host computer 400 has a main body unit 401 that instructs the image forming apparatus 100 to print via a network, and an operation display unit 402 that accepts the user's operation and displays the image to the user. Here, the operation display unit 402 included in the host computer 400 includes a display, a keyboard, a pointing device, and the like having a touch panel function (not shown).

The image forming apparatus 100 includes a video controller 430, an operation display unit 431, and a printer engine 420. The operation display unit 431 included in the image forming apparatus 100 includes an operation panel and operation buttons (not shown). The video controller 430 transmits the print data and the print instruction transmitted from the host computer 400 to the printer engine 420. The printer engine 420 has an engine control unit 421 including a CPU 422, a ROM 423, and a RAM 424, a system bus 425, and an IO port 426. The CPU 422 expands the program and various data stored in the ROM 423 into the RAM 424, and executes the program by using the RAM 424 as a work area. The components described above are accessible to IO port 426 via a bidirectionally accessible system bus 425. A transport path sensor 27, a paper feed motor 90, and a paper feed solenoid 91 are connected to the IO port 426. The CPU 422 controls these devices via the IO port 426. The device connected to the IO port 426 is not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment.

The server 410 has a life control unit 411 including an arithmetic unit 412 and a storage device 413, and is connected to the image forming device 100 by a bidirectionally accessible network. The arithmetic unit 412 executes a program stored in the storage device 413 and reads / writes various data. The arithmetic unit 412 may be directly assigned to the CPU, GPU, storage device 413, RAM, HDD, SSD, or the like, or a virtual environment such as a virtual machine may be assigned. The life control unit 411 can transmit and receive information to and from the engine control unit 421 via the video controller 430.

Next, the functions of the engine control unit 421 and the life control unit 411 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The function of the engine control unit 421 is realized by executing the program expanded in the RAM 424 by the CPU 422. Further, the function of the life control unit 411 is realized by the arithmetic unit 412 of the server 410 executing the program stored in the storage device 413. The engine control unit 421 has a function related to paper feed control and a function related to measurement of the paper feed time, and the life control unit 411 has a function related to predicting the life of the paper feed mechanism. Each will be described in turn.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating the functions of the engine control unit 421 and the life control unit 411 according to the first embodiment.

The engine control unit 421 has a paper feed unit 501 and a drive unit 502 as functions related to paper feed control. When the printer engine 420 receives a print instruction, the paper feed unit 501 instructs the drive unit 502 to perform a paper feed operation. The drive unit 502 rotates the transfer roller 23 and the separation roller 24 by rotationally driving the paper feed motor 90 in accordance with the instructions of the paper feed unit 501. Further, by driving the paper feed solenoid 91 at the timing of the start of paper feed, the paper feed roller 22 is rotated once. By this operation, the recording materials S pushed up in the paper feed cassette 21 are separately fed one by one and transported to the transport path sensor 27.

Next, it has a measuring unit 503 and a detecting unit 504 as functions related to the measurement of the paper feed time. The measuring unit 503 measures the time from the timing when the paper feeding unit 501 instructs the paper feeding operation to the time when the tip of the recording material S reaches the transport path sensor 27. This measurement is performed every time one sheet of the recording material S is fed, and the measured time is stored in the RAM 424 as paper feed time data. The measuring unit 503 uses, for example, a timer built in the CPU 422 as a measuring means for measuring the time. The paper feed time data stored in the RAM 424 is also stored in the storage device 413 of the life control unit 411 via the video controller 430. The detection unit 504 detects that the tip of the recording material S has reached the transport path sensor 27 based on the input signal from the transport path sensor 27.

The life control unit 411 has a life calculation unit 510 as a function related to predicting the life of the paper feed mechanism. The life calculation unit 510 includes a classification unit 511, a selection unit 512, and a prediction unit 513. The classification unit 511 classifies a set of paper feed time data stored in the storage device 413 into a plurality of subsets based on a predetermined standard. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the data set is classified into a delay side data set and an early arrival side data set.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the number of sheets to be fed and the feeding time according to the first embodiment.

In the first embodiment, the paper feed time of 1250 ms or more is defined as the delay side data, and the paper feed time of less than 1250 ms is defined as the early arrival side data.

The selection unit 512 selects a subset to be used for calculating the life of the paper feed mechanism from the subsets classified by the classification unit 511. In the first embodiment, the delay side data set is selected. Then, the prediction unit 513 predicts the paper feed time profile PF representing the transition of the paper feed time according to the number of paper sheets, based on the subset selected by the selection unit 512. Generally, as the paper feed roller wears, the paper feed time becomes longer, so that the life of the paper feed roller can be predicted from the change in the paper feed time.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing a paper feed time profile according to the first embodiment.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the top 10% of the data is extracted from the delay side data set and applied to the linear regression model to acquire the paper feed time profile PF. The paper feed time profile PF in the first embodiment predicts the paper feed time when paper feed is started from Ps, where x is the number of paper sheets, t is the paper feed time, α is the inclination, and β is the intercept. Then, it is represented by a linear function as shown in Eq. (1).

PF: t = αx + β ... Equation (1)
In this equation (1), α and β are parameters determined by applying them to the linear regression model, and in FIG. 6, α = 70/300000 and β = 1380. By using this paper feed time profile PF, it is possible to predict the transition of the paper feed time according to the number of paper sheets.

The life calculation unit 510 uses the equation (2) based on the maximum paper feed time Ts when the paper feed is started from Ps and the paper feed time t acquired by the paper feed time profile PF. Acquire the life L. After that, the video controller 430 is notified of the acquired life L of the paper feed roller.

L (%) = (1-t / Ts) × 100 ... Equation (2)
In the first embodiment, the unit of the paper feed time t is ms, the unit of the number of paper sheets x is the sheet, and the unit of the life L of the paper feed roller is%. Further, in the first embodiment, Ts = 1500 ms, and the maximum time during which the paper can be conveyed when the paper feeding is started from Ps is predetermined.

Next, the operations of the engine control unit 421 and the life control unit 411 in the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process of obtaining the life of the paper feed roller 22 in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. The process shown in this flowchart is realized by executing the program expanded in the RAM 424 by the CPU 422 and collaborating with the life control unit 411.

This process is started when the printer engine 420 receives the print instruction. First, in S801, the CPU 422 starts the paper feeding operation by the paper feeding unit 501 and the driving unit 502 to start the transfer of the recording material S. Next, the process proceeds to S802, and the CPU 422 increments x (variable provided in the RAM 424) for counting the number of sheets to be fed. Next, the process proceeds to S803, and the CPU 422 measures the paper feed time by the measuring unit 503 and the detecting unit 504. That is, based on the input signal from the transport path sensor 27, the time when the tip of the recording material S reaches the transport path sensor 27 is obtained, and the time when the paper feed operation is started is subtracted from that time to obtain the paper feed time data. To get. The CPU 422 transmits the acquired paper feed time data to the life control unit 411. Then, the process proceeds to S804, and the arithmetic unit 412 stores the received paper feed time data in the storage device 413.

Next, the process proceeds to S805, and the arithmetic unit 412 functions as the life calculation unit 510, determines whether or not the set of paper feed time data saved in S804 exceeds the predetermined amount, and if it does not exceed the predetermined amount, proceeds to S811. If it is more than the fixed amount, the process proceeds to S806, and the arithmetic unit 412 functions as the classification unit 511, and classifies the set of the paper feed time data stored in the RAM 424 into the delay side data set and the early arrival side data set. Then, the process proceeds to S807, and the arithmetic unit 412 functions as a selection unit 512, and selects a set of paper feed time data used for predicting the life of the paper feed roller as described above with reference to FIG. The predetermined amount in the first embodiment is data for 500 sheets to be fed, and the set of paper feed time data to be selected is the delay side data set.

Then, the process proceeds to S808, and the arithmetic unit 412 functions as the prediction unit 513 to acquire the paper feed time profile PF. For example, for the set of paper feed time data shown in FIG. 6, the following equation (3) is an equation showing the acquired paper feed time profile PF. Here, x indicates the number of sheets to be fed.

PF: t = x (70/300000) + 1380 ... Equation (3)
Next, the process proceeds to S809, and the arithmetic unit 412 functions as a life calculation unit 510, and the life of the paper feed roller is based on the paper feed time profile PF and the maximum paper feed time Ts = 1500 ms when paper feed is started from the position Ps. Get L. In the first embodiment, the paper feed time t obtained by using the formula (3) and the life L of the paper feed roller are obtained by using the following formula (4).

L = (1-t / 1500) × 100 ... Equation (4)
For example, since the paper feed time t when the number of paper sheets x = 300,000 is t = 1450, the life L of the paper feed roller is L = 3.33%.

Next, the process proceeds to S810, and the arithmetic unit 412 notifies the video controller 430 of the life L of the paper feed roller acquired in S809. The life L of the paper feed roller is notified to the host computer 400 and a printer management tool (not shown) as necessary by the determination of the video controller 430. Finally, in S811, the CPU 422 determines whether or not there is a print instruction on the next page, and if there is a print instruction on the next page, it returns to the start of the paper feeding operation of S801 again, and if not, ends this process.

Although the first embodiment shows the case where there is only one paper feeding mechanism, it can also be applied to a configuration in which a plurality of paper feeding mechanisms exist. When there are a plurality of paper feed mechanisms, the operations of the engine control unit 421 and the life control unit 411 are performed independently for each paper feed mechanism, and as a result, the life L of the paper feed roller is independent for each paper feed mechanism. Is acquired.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, by accurately predicting the life of the paper feed roller, it is possible to grasp the replacement time of the paper feed roller at an early stage. In addition, since it is possible to grasp the progress of the life of the paper feed roller before the paper feed roller replacement time is reached, the usage status such as changing the type of recording material before the paper feed roller replacement time is reached. It will be possible to improve the situation.

The present invention is not limited to the first embodiment. For example, the printer engine 420 may be configured to have the function of the life control unit 411 of the server 410. Further, as the classification method of the set of paper feed time data by the classification unit 511, a clustering method such as a Gaussian mixture model or a K-means method may be used. Further, the prediction unit 513 may acquire the paper feed time profile PF by using a fitting method based on a neural network, a high-order polynomial approximation, or the like.

Further, in the first embodiment, the unit of the life of the paper feed roller 22 is%, but it may be expressed in the unit of the number of paper sheets. Further, as the notification of the life L of the paper feed roller, for example, as shown in FIG. 23 (A), a character string corresponding to the value of the life L of the paper feed roller may be notified. FIG. 23A shows an example of a character string to be notified corresponding to the life L of the paper feed roller.

[Embodiment 2]
In the second embodiment, when the selection unit 512 selects a subset to be used for acquiring the life of the paper feed mechanism from the subsets classified by the classification unit 511, an example in which the selection unit 512 selects a subset with high data reliability. It will be explained in. Since the hardware configuration, system configuration, and the like of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, only the parts different from the first embodiment will be described in the second embodiment.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the selection unit 512 selects the delay side data set from the subsets classified by the classification unit 511. However, it may not always be appropriate to select the delay side data set depending on the characteristics of the recording material and the configuration of the paper cassette. For example, suppose that as a result of classification by the classification unit 511, a subset as shown in FIG. 9 is obtained.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing a set of paper feed times according to the second embodiment.

In the example of FIG. 9, the delay side data set having a paper feed time of 1250 ms or more has a large variance, and if the profile PF of the paper feed time is predicted using this delay side data set, an error may become large. A data set with such a large variance can be regarded as a data set with low reliability. On the other hand, the early arrival side data set having a paper feed time of less than 1250 ms has a smaller variance than the delayed side data set, and can be regarded as a highly reliable data set.

In view of such a situation, in the second embodiment, the life calculation unit 510 has a reliability determination unit 1001. The reliability determination unit 1001 determines the reliability of each of the subsets classified by the classification unit 511 according to a predetermined determination criterion for determining the reliability. The selection unit 512 selects a subset determined to be highly reliable by the reliability determination unit 1001.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram illustrating the functions of the engine control unit 421 and the life control unit 411 according to the second embodiment. The parts common to FIG. 5 of the above-described first embodiment are indicated by the same reference numbers. The difference from FIG. 5 is that the life calculation unit 510 has a reliability determination unit 1001. Again, the printer engine 420 may have the function of the life control unit 411 of the server 410.

The reliability determination criteria in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 23 (B). FIG. 23B shows the result of determining the reliability of the subset as shown in FIG. In the second embodiment, a subset having a variance of less than 1000 (predetermined value) and a number of data of 1000 (predetermined number) or more is determined to be highly reliable.

The operation of the engine control unit 421 and the life control unit 411 in the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining the life of the paper feed roller 22 in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment. The process shown in this flowchart is realized by executing the program expanded in the RAM 424 by the CPU 422 and collaborating with the life control unit 411. In FIG. 11, the same processing as in FIG. 8 is assigned the same reference number, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In S806, the arithmetic unit 412 functions as the classification unit 511, classifies a subset of the set of paper feed time data, and then proceeds to S1101. In S1101, the arithmetic unit 412 functions as the reliability determination unit 1001 and determines the reliability of the set of paper feed time data for all the subsets. Specifically, it is determined which of the delay side data and the early arrival side data has higher reliability according to the reliability determination criteria as shown in FIG. 23B described above. Then, the process proceeds to S1102, and the arithmetic unit 412 determines whether or not a highly reliable subset exists. If a highly reliable subset exists, the process proceeds to S807, and the arithmetic unit 412 functions as a selection unit 512, and has a lifetime. Select the paper feed time data set used for acquisition. On the other hand, when the arithmetic unit 412 determines in S1102 that a highly reliable subset does not exist, the arithmetic unit 412 proceeds to S811 without acquiring the life of the paper feed roller.

In the second embodiment, the paper feed time profile PF acquired by the prediction unit 513 in S808 predicts the paper feed time when the paper feed is started from Pn in FIG. Therefore, the life calculation unit 510 uses the following equation (5) in S809 based on the maximum paper feed time Tn when the paper feed is started from the position Pn and the paper feed time t acquired by the paper feed time profile PF. And obtain the life L of the paper feed roller.

L = (1-t / Tn) × 100 ... Equation (5)
In the second embodiment, the unit of the paper feed time t is ms, the unit of the number of paper sheets x is the sheet, and the unit of the life L of the paper feed roller is%. Further, Tn = 1300 ms, and the maximum time during which the paper can be conveyed when the paper feeding is started from Pn is predetermined.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, since the life of the paper feed roller is predicted based on the subset with high reliability of the data, the life of the paper feed roller can be predicted more accurately. As a result, it is possible to grasp the replacement time of the paper feed roller at an early stage, and it is possible to grasp the progress of the life of the paper feed roller before the paper feed roller replacement time is reached. It will be possible to improve the usage situation such as changing it.

The present invention is not limited to the second embodiment. For example, the reliability criterion may be changed depending on factors such as the type of recording material and the environmental temperature and humidity.

[Embodiment 3]
In the third embodiment, before the classification unit 511 of the life calculation unit 510 classifies the set of paper feed time data into a plurality of subsets based on a predetermined criterion, it is determined whether or not there is a tendency change in the set of paper feed time data. judge. Then, if there is a tendency change, it is classified into a plurality of subsets based on the set of paper feed time data after the tendency change. Since the hardware configuration, system configuration, and the like of the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, only the parts different from the first embodiment will be described in the third embodiment. In the first embodiment described above, the classification unit 511 classifies the set of paper feed time data stored in the RAM 424 by the measurement unit 503 into a plurality of subsets based on a predetermined standard. However, as shown in FIG. 12, the tendency of the paper feed time may change due to factors such as replacement of the paper feed roller and change of the recording material used.

FIG. 12 is a graph showing an example of a set of actual paper feed time data according to the third embodiment.

In FIG. 12, since the paper feed roller is replaced when the number of paper feed sheets is 86517, the paper feed time data tends to be different before and after this replacement. Therefore, if the life of the paper feed mechanism is predicted based on a data set in which the paper feed time data showing different tendencies are mixed, the accuracy of the predicted life may be lowered. Therefore, in the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the life calculation unit 510 has a tendency change determination unit 1301. The tendency change determination unit 1301 determines the tendency change of the set of paper feed time data measured by the measurement unit 503 and stored in the RAM 424 according to the determination criteria for determining whether or not there is a tendency change. When the tendency change determination unit 1301 determines that there is a tendency change, the classification unit 511 classifies the paper feed time data into a plurality of subsets based on the set of paper feed time data after the time when the tendency change exists.

FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram illustrating the functions of the engine control unit 421 and the life control unit 411 according to the third embodiment. The parts common to FIG. 5 of the above-described first embodiment are indicated by the same reference numbers. The difference from FIG. 5 is that the life calculation unit 510 has a tendency change determination unit 1301.

The criterion for determining the tendency change in the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 23 (C). FIG. 23C shows the result of performing the tendency change determination on the set of paper feed time data as shown in FIG. 12, for example. In the third embodiment, when the average value of the paper feed time data for the last 30 sheets changes by 25 or more in the set of paper feed time data, it is determined that the tendency change has occurred. According to the criterion for determining the tendency change in the third embodiment, it is determined that the tendency change has occurred at the time when the number of sheets to be fed x = 86517.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining the life of the paper feed roller in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment. The process shown in this flowchart is realized by executing the program expanded in the RAM 424 by the CPU 422 and collaborating with the life control unit 411. In FIG. 14, the same processing as in FIG. 8 is assigned the same reference number, and the description thereof will be omitted.

When the arithmetic unit 412 determines in S805 that the set of paper feed time data is equal to or larger than a predetermined amount, the arithmetic unit 412 proceeds to S1401. In S1401, the arithmetic unit 412 functions as the tendency change determination unit 1301 and determines whether or not there is a tendency change in the set of paper feed time data. Specifically, the average value of the paper feed time data for the last 30 sheets is obtained according to the judgment criteria of the tendency change as shown in FIG. 23 (C) above, and when the paper feed time data changes by 25 ms or more, Judge that the tendency has changed.

In S1402, the arithmetic unit 412 determines whether or not there is a tendency change in the set of paper feed time data, and if it is determined that there is a tendency change, the process proceeds to S1403 and the arithmetic unit 412 changes the tendency from the set of paper feed time data. Extract the data after the time when there was. For example, as shown in FIG. 23 (C), when it is determined that there is a tendency change in which the amount of change is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount within a predetermined time (for example, the last 30 minutes), the number of paper feeds in which the tendency has changed The paper feed time data after x = 86517 is extracted. Then, proceeding to S806, the arithmetic unit 412 functions as a classification unit 511, and classifies the extracted set of paper feed time data into a delay side data set and an early arrival side data set. When the arithmetic unit 412 determines in S1402 that there is no change in the tendency, the arithmetic unit 412 proceeds to S806 and executes the same processing as in the first embodiment.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, when the paper feed time data fluctuates greatly due to, for example, replacement of the paper feed roller, the paper feed time data after the fluctuation is adopted to reach the life of the paper feed roller. Can be predicted. As a result, the life of the paper feed roller can be predicted more accurately. As a result, it is possible to grasp the replacement time of the paper feed roller at an early stage, and it is possible to grasp the progress of the life of the paper feed roller before the paper feed roller replacement time is reached. It will be possible to improve the usage situation such as changing it.

The present invention is not limited to the third embodiment. For example, in addition to the configuration of the third embodiment, the tendency change determination shown in the second embodiment may be performed. In addition, a change in the type of recording material, replacement of the paper feed roller, or the like may be separately detected, and a tendency change determination may be performed based on the detection result.

[Embodiment 4]
Next, Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described. In the fourth embodiment, an example will be described in which the paper feed time until the recording material S1 located at the highest position reaches the transport path sensor 27 is corrected according to the amount of the recording material S loaded in the paper feed cassette 21. To do. Since the hardware configuration, system configuration, and the like of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment are basically the same as those of the first embodiment, only the parts different from the first embodiment will be described in the third embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus 100 according to the fourth embodiment, in which an intermediate transfer belt is adopted and a plurality of image forming portions are formed in parallel. In FIG. 15, the parts common to the configuration of FIG. 1 according to the above-described first embodiment are designated by the same reference numbers, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 15, a recording material detection sensor 28 and a paper feed cassette presence / absence detection sensor 29 are added to the configuration of FIG. The recording material detection sensor 28 detects the amount of the recording material S loaded in the paper feed cassette 21. Further, the presence / absence detection sensor 29 of the paper cassette detects whether or not the paper feed cassette 21 accommodating the recording material S is mounted on the image forming apparatus 100.

Next, the remaining amount detection mechanism of the recording material in the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the remaining amount detection operation of the recording material S in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 16A is a cross-sectional view of the paper feed mechanism at the time when the paper feed cassette 21 containing the recording material S is mounted on the image forming apparatus 100. When the paper feed mechanism 20 detects that the paper feed cassette 21 is attached to the image forming apparatus 100 by the presence / absence detection sensor 29 of the paper feed cassette, the paper feed mechanism 20 is the highest in the recording material detection sensor 28 as shown in FIG. 16 (B). A lift-up motor (not shown) is driven to raise the paper cassette bottom plate 19 until the recording material S1 located in is detected. As a result, the recording material S is pushed up by the paper cassette bottom plate 19 about the swing center 40 of the paper cassette bottom plate 19, and is moved to a position where paper can be fed by the paper feed roller 22. At this time, the paper feed mechanism 20 can detect the amount of the recording material S loaded in the paper feed cassette 21 based on the time when the lift-up motor is driven.

Here, the amount of the recording material S is shown in%, and this amount is converted based on the drive time of the lift-up motor which is a predetermined reference. When the amount of the recording material S is large, the recording material detection sensor 28 detects the recording material S1 immediately after driving the lift-up motor, so that it is possible to detect that the amount of the recording material S is large. On the other hand, when the amount of the recording material S is small, the recording material detection sensor 28 detects the recording material S1 after a while after driving the lift-up motor, so that it is possible to detect that the amount of the recording material S is small. it can. Then, the paper feed mechanism 20 reduces the amount of the detected recording material S each time the recording material S is fed from the paper cassette 21 one by one, so that the recording material S always loaded in the paper cassette 21. The amount of can be predicted. In the fourth embodiment, the method of detecting the amount of the recording material S by the driving time of the lift-up motor is described, but the method is not limited to this. For example, if the amount of the recording material S can be detected, the paper is fed. The push-up amount of the cassette bottom plate 19 may be detected by another means such as being detected by another sensor.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the fourth embodiment and a configuration of an image forming system including the image forming apparatus 100. In FIG. 17, the parts common to FIG. 4 according to the above-described first embodiment are designated by the same reference numbers, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the fourth embodiment, a recording material detection sensor 28, a paper feed cassette presence / absence detection sensor 29, and a lift-up motor 92 are added to FIG. In the configuration of the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, a recording material detection sensor 28, a paper feed cassette presence / absence detection sensor 29, and a lift-up motor 92 are connected to the IO port 426 of the printer engine 420. The CPU 422 controls these devices via the IO port 426.

FIG. 18 is a functional block diagram illustrating the functions of the engine control unit 421 and the life control unit 411 according to the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 18, the parts common to FIG. 5 according to the above-described first embodiment are designated by the same reference numbers, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Here, as a function of correcting the paper feed time measured by the measuring unit 503, the correction unit 1801 and the recording material remaining amount detecting unit 1802 are provided. The correction unit 1801 is the tip of the recording material S from the timing when the paper feeding unit 501 instructs the paper feeding operation based on the amount of the recording material S loaded in the paper feeding cassette 21 detected by the recording material remaining amount detecting unit 1802. The paper feed time until the paper reaches the transport path sensor 27 is corrected and stored in the RAM (memory) 424. The paper feed time stored in the RAM 424 is also stored in the storage device 413 of the life control unit 411 via the video controller 430. The method of correcting the paper feed time by the correction unit 1801 in the fourth embodiment will be described later. When the recording material remaining amount detection unit 1802 detects that the paper feed cassette 21 is attached to the image forming apparatus 100 by the presence / absence detection sensor 29 of the paper feed cassette, it drives the lift-up motor 92 to drive the recording material detection sensor 28. The recording material S1 located at the highest position is detected, and the amount of the recording material S is detected based on the detection material S1.

Next, the correction control by the correction unit 1801, which is a feature of the fourth embodiment, will be described.

FIG. 19 shows the paper feed time when the image forming apparatus 100 according to the fourth embodiment repeats the paper feed operation and replenishes the recording material S every time the recording material S loaded in the paper feed cassette 21 runs out. It is a figure which shows an example of the transition.

As shown in FIG. 19, the paper feed time increases or decreases as the amount of the recording material S loaded in the paper feed cassette 21 decreases. This is a record when the paper cassette bottom plate 19 is pushed up to a position where paper can be fed according to the distance from the swing center 40 of the paper cassette bottom plate 19 to the tip position of the recording material as shown in FIG. This is because the tip position of the material S changes.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view showing the position of the tip of the recording material according to the amount of the recording material in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the fourth embodiment.

That is, the paper feed time changes because the tip position of the recording material S changes according to the amount of the recording material S loaded in the paper feed cassette 21. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 23D, the correction unit 1801 according to the fourth embodiment corrects the paper feed time according to the remaining amount of the recording material detected by the recording material remaining amount detecting unit 1802.

As the amount of the recording material decreases, the tip position of the recording material changes and the paper feed time becomes shorter. Therefore, the paper feed time t_a measured by the measuring unit 503 and the paper feed time corrected as shown in FIG. 23 (D) are corrected. Based on the quantity Z, the corrected paper feed time t_b is obtained using the following equation (6).

t_b = t_a + Z ... Equation (6)
In the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 23D, the unit of the amount of recording material is%, but the number of recording materials may be used as a unit, and the paper feed time is corrected in hours. It may be used as a unit of distance. Further, although the correction amount for correcting the paper feed time is stored in the table format as shown in FIG. 23 (D), the paper feed time may be corrected by a calculation formula.

Further, in the fourth embodiment, the example in which the paper feed time is always corrected is described, but depending on the type of the recording material, the correction by the correction unit 1801 may be invalidated, that is, the paper feed time may not be corrected. In some cases.

This is because, for example, as shown in FIG. 21, depending on the type of recording material, slippage or the like may occur when the recording material S1 is fed by the paper feed roller 22, and the paper feed time may not be stable. .. FIG. 21 is a graph showing an example of paper feed time data according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining the life of the paper feed roller in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the fourth embodiment. The process shown in this flowchart is realized by executing the program expanded in the RAM 424 by the CPU 422 and collaborating with the life control unit 411. In FIG. 22, the same processing as in FIG. 8 is assigned the same reference number, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In S804, the CPU 422 proceeds to S2201 after storing the measurement results by the measurement unit 503 and the detection unit 504 in the RAM 424. In S2201, the CPU 422 functions as a correction unit 1801 and corrects the paper feed time data based on the amount of the recording material S loaded in the paper feed cassette 21 detected by the recording material remaining amount detection unit 1802. The CPU 422 transmits the corrected paper feed time data to the life control unit 411. The arithmetic unit 412 stores the received correction result in the storage device 413.

Specifically, the paper feed time is corrected according to the amount of the recording material by referring to the paper feed time correction table shown in FIG. 23 (D). Then, in S806 or later, the arithmetic unit 412 functions as the life calculation unit 510, and when predicting the life of the paper feed roller based on the set of paper feed time data, the paper feed roller uses the corrected paper feed time data. The life L is acquired.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, it is possible to accurately predict the life of the paper feed roller by correcting the variation in the paper feed time data based on the amount of the recording material. In addition, the type of recording material can be changed because the paper feed roller replacement time can be grasped at an early stage and the progress of the paper feed roller life can be grasped before the paper feed roller replacement time is reached. It is possible to improve the usage situation such as

The present invention is not limited to the fourth embodiment. For example, although the correction of the paper feed time is performed by the image forming apparatus 100, the paper feed time data may be corrected by notifying the server of the amount of the recording material and the server. Further, in the fourth embodiment, the method of predicting the life of the paper feed roller from the paper feed time profile has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the method of predicting the life of the paper feed roller from the paper feed time. If so, any method may be used.

(Other embodiments)
In the above-described first to fourth embodiments, the paper feeding mechanism 20 has a paper feeding roller 22, a transport roller 23, and a separation roller 24. However, it is not limited to this. For example, one paper feed roller having a size larger than that of the paper feed roller 22 is provided, and the first position on the surface of the paper feed roller comes into contact with the recording material S housed in the paper feed cassette 21, and the paper feed roller surface The second position may form a separation roller 24 and a separation nip portion. That is, according to this configuration, the transport roller 23 becomes unnecessary.

Further, in the above-described first to fourth embodiments, the paper feed roller 22 starts counting the paper feed time from the timing when the paper feed roller 22 starts paper feed of the recording material S, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a new sensor may be arranged at a position different from the transport path sensor 27, and the counting of the paper feed time may be started from the timing when the recording material S is detected by the new sensor. Alternatively, the paper feed time may be counted from the timing when the recording material S is detected by the transport path sensor 27, and the paper feed time may be counted when the recording material S is detected by the new sensor.

The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by the processing to be performed. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

The present 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 present invention. Therefore, in order to make the scope of the present invention public, the following claims are attached.

27 ... Transport path sensor, 28 ... Recording material detection sensor, 29 ... Paper cassette presence / absence detection sensor, 90 ... Transport motor, 100 ... Image forming device, 411 ... Life control unit, 420 ... Printer engine, 421 ... Engine control unit 422 ... CPU, 423 ... ROM, 424 ... RAM, 510 ... Life calculation unit, 511 ... Classification unit, 512 ... Selection unit, 513 ... Prediction unit, 100 ... Reliability determination unit, 1301 ... Trend change determination unit, 1801 ... Correction unit, 1802 ... Recording material remaining amount detection unit

Claims (14)

An image forming system having an information processing device and an image forming device.
The image forming apparatus
A storage means for storing recording materials and
A paper feeding means for feeding the recording material housed in the accommodating means, and a paper feeding means.
A detection means for detecting the recording material fed by the paper feeding means, and
It has a measuring means for measuring the time from a predetermined timing until the detecting means detects the recording material.
The information processing device
A receiving means for receiving time data measured by the measuring means from the image forming apparatus, and a receiving means.
A classification means for classifying a plurality of the time data received by the receiving means into a first group and a second group according to the length of time.
A selection means for selecting a group for predicting the life of the paper feed means from the first group and the second group classified by the classification means, and
An image forming system comprising: a predicting means for predicting the life of the paper feeding means by using the time data included in the group selected by the selecting means. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the selection means selects the first group whose time data is larger than that of the second group. The prediction means according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the prediction means predicts the life of the paper feeding means by using a linear regression model for the time data included in the group selected by the selection means. Image formation system. The information processing device further
It has a reliability determining means for determining the reliability of each of the first group and the second group classified by the classification means.
The image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the selection means selects a group determined to have high reliability by the reliability determination means. The reliability determining means is a set of each of the first group and the second group based on the variance of each of the first group and the second group classified by the classification means and the number of time data. The image forming system according to claim 4, wherein the reliability of the image is determined. The image forming according to claim 5, wherein the reliability determining means determines that the reliability is high when the variance is smaller than the predetermined value and the number of the time data is larger than the predetermined number. system. The information processing device further
It has a tendency change determining means for determining a tendency change of a plurality of the time data received by the receiving means.
The classification means 1 to claim 1, wherein the time data after the time when the tendency change determination means determines that there is a tendency change of the time data is classified into the first group and the second group. The image forming system according to any one of 6. The tendency change determining means considers that there is a tendency change when the amount of change in the average value of the time data within a predetermined time is larger than a predetermined value in the plurality of time data received by the receiving means. The image forming system according to claim 7, wherein the determination is made. The image forming apparatus further
A detection means for detecting the amount of recording material contained in the storage means, and
The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a correction means for correcting the time data measured by the measuring means according to the amount of the recording material detected by the detecting means. Image formation system. The detection means
An ascending means for raising the recording material contained in the accommodating means,
It has a recording material detecting means for detecting the recording material raised by the ascending means.
The feature is that the amount of the recording material contained in the accommodating means is detected based on the time from the start of the ascending of the recording material by the ascending means until the recording material detecting means detects the recording material. The image forming system according to claim 9. The paper feeding means includes a feeding member for feeding the recording material housed in the storage means, a transport member for transporting the recording material fed by the feeding member, and the transport member. The image forming system according to claim 1, further comprising a separating member for forming a separation nip portion and separating a plurality of recording materials into one sheet. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the measuring means measures the time from the start timing of feeding the recording material by the paper feeding means until the detecting means detects the recording material. The image forming apparatus has a display means for displaying information, and has a display means.
The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the display means displays information indicating the progress of the life of the paper feeding means according to the progress of the life of the paper feeding means by the predicting means. It is an image forming device
A storage means for storing recording materials and
A paper feeding means for feeding the recording material housed in the accommodating means, and a paper feeding means.
A detection means for detecting the recording material fed by the paper feeding means, and
A measuring means for measuring the time from a predetermined timing until the detecting means detects the recording material, and a measuring means.
A classification means for classifying a plurality of time data measured by the measuring means into a first group and a second group according to the length of time.
A selection means for selecting a group for predicting the life of the paper feed means from the first group and the second group classified by the classification means, and
Using the time data included in the group selected by the selection means, the prediction means for predicting the life of the paper feed means and the prediction means.
An image forming apparatus characterized by having.

Images