JP2021148982A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To adjust a printing ratio to be determined in accordance with the quality of toner in a container used in a print job.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: an attachment part to which a container is attached; a printing unit that executes a print job for forming an image based on image data by using a toner stored in the container and printing the image on a sheet; and a control unit that counts the number of printing dots on which the toner is placed on the basis of the image data, determines the number of adjustment dots obtained by multiplying the number of printing dots by a coefficient, and determines the ratio of the number of adjustment dots to the total number of dots in the image data as a printing ratio. When determining the number of adjustment dots, the control unit changes the coefficient in accordance with the quality of toner in the container.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of executing a print job.

Conventionally, an image forming apparatus for calculating the amount of toner consumed in a print job is known. Such an image forming apparatus is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1. The image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1 imposes a printing fee on the user. In Patent Document 1, in order to set the billing amount, the toner consumption of the print job is required.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-221748

In order to set the amount to be charged to the user, the print rate may be obtained based on the image data used in the print job. The higher the printing rate, the higher the billing amount is set. A high printing rate means a large amount of toner consumed. Therefore, the higher the toner consumption, the higher the billing amount.

Here, there are various types of containers. In other words, the toner quality in the container mounted on the image forming apparatus is not always constant. When the toner quality in the container mounted on the image forming apparatus is low, the toner consumption of the print job is higher than that in the case of high quality. This is because when the toner quality is low, the amount of toner scattered is larger than when the toner quality is high.

Therefore, when the toner quality in the container mounted on the image forming apparatus is low, it is preferable to increase the charge amount. That is, it is preferable to adjust the print rate of the print job (the print rate required to set the charge amount) according to the level of the toner quality. However, conventionally, the high and low toner quality is not reflected in the printing rate. Therefore, there may be a disadvantage that the billing amount set based on the printing rate becomes lower or higher than the amount according to the actual toner consumption.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides an image forming apparatus capable of adjusting a required printing rate according to the quality of toner in a container used in a printing job. With the goal.

In order to achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus of the present invention forms an image based on image data by using a mounting portion on which a container is mounted and a toner contained in the container, and prints the image on a sheet. The printing unit that executes the job counts the number of print dots on which toner is applied based on the image data, obtains the number of adjustment dots by multiplying the number of print dots by a coefficient, and calculates the ratio of the number of adjustment dots to the total number of dots in the image data. It is provided with a control unit for obtaining a print rate. When determining the number of adjustment dots, the control unit changes the coefficient according to the toner quality in the container.

In the configuration of the present invention, the required printing rate can be adjusted according to the toner quality in the container used in the printing job.

It is the schematic of the image forming apparatus according to one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure of the container attached to the image forming apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the image forming apparatus according to one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure of the setting screen displayed on the image forming apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the coefficient used in the calculation of the print rate of the print job executed by the image forming apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the coefficient used in the calculation of the print rate of the print job executed by the image forming apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the process performed when the image forming apparatus according to one Embodiment of this invention obtains the print rate of a print job.

<Structure of image forming apparatus>
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment includes a document reading unit 1. The document reading unit 1 optically reads the document. The document reading unit 1 includes a light source and an image sensor. The light source irradiates the document with light. The image sensor receives the reflected light reflected by the document and performs photoelectric conversion.

The image forming apparatus 100 includes a printing unit 2. The print unit 2 executes a print job. Specifically, the printing unit 2 transports the sheet S along the transport path P. In addition, the printing unit 2 forms an image (toner image) using toner. Then, the printing unit 2 prints an image on the sheet S being conveyed. For example, the printing unit 2 prints an image based on the image data obtained by reading the original by the document reading unit 1 on the sheet S.

The printing unit 2 includes a paper feeding unit 21, a conveying unit 22, an image forming unit 23, an intermediate transfer unit 24, and a fixing unit 25.

The paper feed unit 21 includes a pickup roller and a paper feed roller pair. The pickup roller feeds the sheet S housed in the paper feed cassette 201 into the transport path P. The paper feed roller pair transports the sheet S fed into the transport path P along the transport path P together with the pickup roller.

The transport unit 22 includes a plurality of transport roller pairs. The transport unit 22 transports the sheet S fed into the transport path P in the order of the printing position (transfer nip) and the fixing position (fixing nip). The transport unit 22 discharges the printed sheet S to the discharge tray 202.

The image forming unit 23 includes mechanical units 23C, 23M, 23Y and 23K corresponding to each color of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y) and black (K), respectively. The mechanical units 23C, 23M, 23Y and 23K include a photoconductor drum 231 and a charging device 232 and a developing device 233, respectively. Further, the image forming unit 23 includes an exposure device 234. In the print job, toner images of each color are formed on the peripheral surface of the corresponding photoconductor drum 231.

The developing device 233 houses the toner. The developing device 233 supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 231. As a result, a toner image is formed on the peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 231 (an electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image). As described above, in the print job, the toner in the developing device 233 is used. Therefore, it is necessary to replenish the developing device 233 with toner.

Therefore, the image forming apparatus 100 is equipped with containers 200 for four colors, each containing replenishing toners of each color of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K). When it is necessary to replenish the toner to the developing device 233, the toner is replenished from the container 200 to the developing device 233. In FIG. 1, reference numeral C is added in the figure showing the container 200 containing the cyan toner. Reference numeral M is added in the figure showing the container 200 containing the magenta toner. Reference numeral Y is added in the figure showing the container 200 containing the yellow toner. Reference numeral K is added in the figure showing the container 200 containing the black toner.

The image forming apparatus 100 is provided with a mounting portion 10. The mounting portion 10 has a mounting space for the container 200. A branch member (not shown) that supports the mounted container 200 is provided in the mounting space.

The container 200 is removable from the mounting portion 10. When the container 200 is mounted on the mounting portion 10, it is connected to the developing device 233 via the supply pipe 11 (see FIG. 2). A replenishment screw 12 is arranged at one end of the replenishment pipe 11. The blades are spirally wound around the rotating shaft of the replenishment screw 12. By rotating the replenishment screw 12, toner is replenished from the container 200 to the developing device 232.

Here, two containers 200 each containing cyan toner, two containers 200 containing magenta toner, two containers 200 containing yellow toner, and two containers 200 containing black toner are mounted on the mounting portion 10. That is, a total of eight containers 200 are mounted on the image forming apparatus 100.

Two containers 200 containing toners of the same color are connected to the same developing device 3. That is, two containers 200 are connected to each developing device 3. For example, when one of the two containers 200 containing toners of the same color is empty, the other container 200 is used from the next time. By replacing the empty container 200 with a new container in the meantime, the toner does not run out.

The intermediate transfer unit 24 includes an intermediate transfer belt 241, a primary transfer roller 242 and a secondary transfer roller 243. The primary transfer roller 242 sandwiches the intermediate transfer belt 241 with the photoconductor drum 231. The secondary transfer roller 243 forms a transfer nip with the intermediate transfer belt 241. The position of the transfer nip is the printing position. First, the intermediate transfer unit 24 first transfers the toner image formed by the image forming unit 23 to the intermediate transfer belt 241. After that, the intermediate transfer unit 24 secondarily transfers the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 241 to the sheet S passing through the printing position.

The fixing portion 25 includes a fixing roller pair. Each roller of the fixing roller pair forms a fixing nip by pressing against each other. The position of the fixing nip is the fixing position. The fixing portion 25 heats and pressurizes the sheet S passing through the fixing position. As a result, the toner image is fixed on the sheet S.

The image forming apparatus 100 includes an operation panel 3. The operation panel 3 includes a touch screen. The touch screen displays a screen with software buttons and the like, and accepts touch operations on the display screen from the user. The operation panel 3 is provided with a plurality of hardware buttons. Among the plurality of hardware buttons, there is a start button that accepts a print job execution instruction from the user.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a main control unit 4 and a storage unit 5. The main control unit 4 corresponds to a "control unit". The main control unit 4 includes a CPU, a memory, an ASIC, and the like. The main control unit 4 controls the entire image forming apparatus 100. Further, the main control unit 4 performs image processing on the image data used in the print job. The storage unit 5 includes a storage device such as a ROM, a RAM, and an HDD. The storage unit 5 is connected to the main control unit 4. The main control unit 4 reads data from the storage unit 5 and writes data to the storage unit 5.

Further, the main control unit 4 is connected to the engine control unit 20. The engine control unit 20 includes an engine CPU and an engine memory. The main control unit 4 gives an instruction to the engine control unit 20. The engine control unit 20 controls the print job based on the instruction from the main control unit 4.

A reader / writer RW is connected to the engine control unit 20. The reader / writer RW reads the information from the container memory 201 and writes the information to the container memory 201. The container memory 201 is provided in the container 200 in advance. The container memory 201 stores the identification information of the container 200 and the like in advance. The reader / writer RW transmits the information read from the container memory 201 to the engine control unit 20. Further, the reader / writer RW writes the information received from the engine control unit 20 into the container memory 201.

Here, the engine control unit 20 performs a container determination process for determining whether or not the container 200 newly attached to the image forming apparatus 100 is a genuine product. The container discrimination process is performed when a new container 200 is attached to the image forming apparatus 100 (when the container 200 attached to the image forming apparatus 100 is replaced with another container 200).

When performing the container discrimination process, the engine control unit 20 reads out the identification information stored in the container memory 201 of the new container 200. Then, the engine control unit 20 determines whether or not the new container 200 is a genuine product based on the identification information of the new container 200. In the engine memory of the engine control unit 20, information indicating whether or not each container 200 mounted on the image forming apparatus 100 is a genuine product is stored.

The reader / writer RW may be connected to the main control unit 4. Then, the container discrimination process may be performed by the main control unit 4.

Further, the engine control unit 20 writes the usage history of the container 200 and the like to the container memory. For example, the date and time when the container 200 is installed, the elapsed time since the container 200 is installed (the usage time of the container 200), the number of prints since the container 200 is installed, and the like are written in the container memory 201. The main control unit 4 may write various information to the container memory 201.

When executing the print job, the engine control unit 20 sets which of the two containers 200 containing the toners of the same color is to be used. The setting is made for each toner color. The setting method is not particularly limited. The main control unit 4 may perform the setting process of the container 200 used in the print job.

For example, of the two containers 200 containing toners of the same color, the container 200 having the oldest mounting date and time may be preferentially used. Further, of the two containers 200 accommodating toners of the same color, the container 200 having a small remaining amount of toner may be preferentially used.

Of the two containers 200 that accommodate toner of the same color, the container 200 that is pre-assigned to the group to which the requesting user of the print job belongs (such as a department of a company) may be preferentially used. Further, when one of the two containers 200 containing toners of the same color is a genuine product and the other is a non-genuine product, the genuine product may be preferentially used. Further, the container 200 may be selected by the requesting user of the print job, and the container 200 selected by the requesting user may be preferentially used.

When the engine control unit 20 executes the print job, the engine control unit 20 notifies the main control unit 4 of the used container information indicating the container 200 used in the print job. The used container information includes information indicating the container 200 used in the print job for each toner color. The main control unit 4 recognizes the container 200 used in the print job based on the used container information.

The operation panel 3 is connected to the main control unit 4. The main control unit 4 controls the display operation of the operation panel 3. The main control unit 4 detects an operation performed on the operation panel 3.

Further, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a communication unit 6. The communication unit 6 includes a communication circuit and a communication memory. The communication unit 6 is communicably connected to the external device 1000. The external device 1000 is a personal computer (user terminal), a server, or the like.

The communication unit 6 is connected to the main control unit 4. The main control unit 4 communicates with the external device 1000 by using the communication unit 6. For example, the communication unit 6 receives print data from the external device 1000. The main control unit 4 generates image data to be used in the print job based on the print data.

<Toner quality>
The main control unit 4 performs a quality discrimination process for discriminating the toner quality in the container 200 newly mounted on the image forming apparatus 100. In the quality determination process, it is determined whether the toner quality is high quality (corresponding to "first quality") or low quality (corresponding to "second quality"). The toner quality may be classified into three or more stages.

The method of quality discrimination processing is not particularly limited. For example, when the container discrimination process is performed, the engine control unit 20 notifies the main control unit 4 of information indicating the result of the determination in the container discrimination process as toner quality information. The main control unit 4 recognizes whether or not the container 200 mounted on the image forming apparatus 100 is a genuine product based on the toner quality information. The main control unit 4 determines that the toner quality in the genuine container 200 is high quality. On the other hand, the main control unit 4 determines that the toner quality in the non-genuine container 200 is low.

The user may accept whether the toner quality in the container 200 mounted on the image forming apparatus 100 is high quality or low quality. For example, when a new container 200 is attached to the image forming apparatus 100, the main control unit 4 causes the operation panel 3 to accept input regarding the toner quality in the new container 200.

When accepting input regarding toner quality, the operation panel 3 displays a setting screen 30 as shown in FIG. On the setting screen 30, the container name (identification name) of the container 200 mounted on the image forming apparatus 100 is displayed. Further, an input field 31 is provided for each container 200. “High” or “low” is displayed in the input field 31. For example, when a touch operation is performed on the input field 31 displayed as "high", the display of the operated input field 31 is switched from "high" to "low". When a touch operation is performed on the input field 31 displayed as "low", the display of the operated input field 31 is switched from "low" to "high".

When the work of mounting the container 200 on the image forming apparatus 100 (container replacement work) is performed, the operator performs an input operation on the setting screen 30. When the toner quality in the new container 200 is high, the operator inputs "high" in the input field 31 corresponding to the new container 200. When the toner quality in the new container 200 is low, the operator inputs "low" in the input field 31 corresponding to the new container 200.

The main control unit 4 determines that the toner quality in the container 200 in which "high" is input in the corresponding input field 31 is high quality. On the other hand, the main control unit 4 determines that the toner quality in the container 200 in which "low" is input in the corresponding input field 31 is low.

<Calculation of printing rate>
The main control unit 4 obtains the print rate of the print job based on the image data used in the print job. The main control unit 4 stores the print rate information indicating the obtained print rate in the storage unit 5. When the print rate information is stored in the storage unit 5, the print rate indicated by the print rate information can be displayed on the operation panel 3. Further, the print rate information can be transmitted to the external device 1000.

The toner consumption of a print job increases as the print rate increases, and decreases as the print rate decreases. Therefore, the amount of toner consumed in the print job can be recognized based on the print rate of the print job.

Here, the user may be charged a usage fee (printing fee) for the image forming apparatus 100. There are various methods for setting the printing fee. For example, the higher the toner consumption of the printing job, the higher the printing fee is set. The toner consumption of a print job increases as the print rate increases. Therefore, when setting an amount of money according to the toner consumption as the printing fee, the higher the printing rate (more toner consumption), the higher the printing fee, and the lower the printing rate (less toner consumption), the more printing is performed. You can lower the charge.

When determining the print rate of a print job, the main control unit 4 first counts the number of dots on which toner is applied based on the image data used in the print job. The number of dots on which toner is placed corresponds to the "number of print dots" and is referred to as the number of print dots in the following description. In a print job that uses image data of a plurality of pages, the number of print dots is counted for each page.

When counting the number of print dots, the main control unit 4 converts the image data into CMYK data and generates binarized data for each color. Then, the main control unit 4 counts the number of print dots for each color.

Further, when counting the number of print dots, the main control unit 4 classifies the image in the image data into an image in the character area and an image in the drawing area. The character area is an area composed of a mass of pixels constituting the character. The drawing area is an area composed of a mass of pixels constituting a drawing (including a photograph). The main control unit 4 recognizes the number of dots in the character area in the image data and the number of dots in the drawing area in the image data as the number of print dots.

Next, the main control unit 4 obtains a value obtained by multiplying the number of print dots by a coefficient as the number of adjustment dots. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the coefficient to be multiplied by the number of print dots is predetermined for each toner color. Further, the coefficient for multiplying the number of print dots includes a coefficient for characters to be multiplied by the number of dots in the character area and a coefficient for drawing to be multiplied by the number of dots in the drawing area. The coefficient information indicating the coefficient (character coefficient and drawing coefficient) corresponding to each toner color is stored in the storage unit 5 in advance.

In FIG. 5, the coefficient for multiplying the number of black print dots is indicated by C1 and C2. The coefficient for multiplying the number of cyan print dots is indicated by C3 and C4. The coefficients to be multiplied by the number of printed dots of magenta are indicated by C5 and C6. The coefficient for multiplying the number of yellow print dots is indicated by C7 and C8. Of the plurality of coefficients shown in FIG. 5, the coefficients C1, C3, C5 and C7 are the coefficients to be multiplied by the number of dots in the character area, and the coefficients C2, C4, C6 and C8 are the coefficients to be multiplied by the number of dots in the drawing area. be.

Here, when printing an image in the character area, a large amount of toner is used in order to emphasize the edges (increase the density). Therefore, the character coefficient (C1, C3, C5 and C7) of each color is set to a value larger than the drawing coefficient (C2, C4, C6 and C8) of the corresponding color.

The main control unit 4 obtains the number of adjustment dots for each color based on the following equation (1). Cc is a coefficient for characters, and N1 is the number of dots in the character area. Further, Cd is a coefficient for drawing, and N2 is the number of dots in the drawing area.
Number of adjustment dots = Cc x N1 + Cd x N2 ... (1)

Next, the main control unit 4 obtains the ratio of the number of adjusted dots to the total number of dots in the image data (the total number of dots in one page) as the print rate of the print job. In the case of a print job using image data of a plurality of pages, the main control unit 4 obtains the number of adjustment dots for each page and the print rate for each page. Then, in the case of a print job using image data of a plurality of pages, the main control unit 4 obtains a value obtained by averaging the print rates of the plurality of pages as the print rate of the print job. For example, in a print job in which the number of printed sheets is a plurality of sheets, the higher the printing rate and the larger the number of printed sheets, the higher the printing fee.

<Change of coefficient>
When the quality of toner used in a print job is low, the amount of toner scattered during job execution is larger than when the quality is high. As a result, even if the images printed by the print job are the same, the toner consumption of the print job is higher when the quality of the toner used is low than when it is high.

Therefore, the main control unit 4 recognizes the container 200 used in the print job for each toner color. Further, the main control unit 4 recognizes the toner quality in each container 200 used in the print job. Then, when obtaining the print rate of the print job, the main control unit 4 changes the coefficient to be multiplied by the number of print dots of each color according to the toner quality in each container 200 used in the print job.

The main control unit 4 receives notification of used container information from the engine control unit 20. Further, the main control unit 4 receives notification of toner quality information from the engine control unit 20. As a result, each container 200 used in the print job can be made to be recognized by the main control unit 4. In addition, the main control unit 4 can be made to recognize the toner quality in each container 200 used in the print job.

Here, the coefficient for multiplying the number of print dots includes a high quality coefficient and a low quality coefficient. In other words, the character coefficient and the drawing coefficient are classified into a high quality coefficient and a low quality coefficient, respectively. The low quality character coefficient for each color is set to a value larger than the high quality character coefficient for the same color. Further, the low-quality drawing coefficient of each color is set to a value larger than the high-quality drawing coefficient of the same color. The high quality coefficient corresponds to the "first coefficient", and the low quality coefficient corresponds to the "second coefficient".

The coefficients C1 to C8 shown in FIG. 5 are classified as shown in FIG. 6, respectively. Specifically, the black character coefficient C1 is classified into a high-quality character coefficient C11 and a low-quality character coefficient C21 larger than the coefficient C11. The drawing coefficient C2 is classified into a high quality drawing coefficient C12 and a low quality drawing coefficient C22 larger than the coefficient C12.

The cyan character coefficient C3 is classified into a high quality character coefficient C13 and a low quality character coefficient C23 larger than the coefficient C13. The drawing coefficient C4 is classified into a high quality drawing coefficient C14 and a low quality drawing coefficient C24 larger than the coefficient C14.

The magenta character coefficient C5 is classified into a high quality character coefficient C15 and a low quality character coefficient C25 larger than the coefficient C15. The drawing coefficient C6 is classified into a high quality drawing coefficient C16 and a low quality drawing coefficient C26 larger than the coefficient C16.

The yellow character coefficient C7 is classified into a high quality character coefficient C17 and a low quality character coefficient C27 larger than the coefficient C17. The drawing coefficient C8 is classified into a high quality drawing coefficient C18 and a low quality drawing coefficient C28 larger than the coefficient C18.

When determining the print rate of a print job, the main control unit 4 recognizes the container 200 used in the print job for each toner color, recognizes the toner quality in the recognized container 200, and recognizes the recognized toner. The coefficient to be multiplied by the print rate is changed according to the quality.

Hereinafter, the flow of processing performed by the main control unit 4 when obtaining the print rate of the print job will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7. The flow shown in FIG. 7 starts when the main control unit 4 acquires the image data used in the print job. That is, when the print job is executed, the flow shown in FIG. 7 starts. After the print job is completed, the flow shown in FIG. 7 may start.

In step S1, the main control unit 4 recognizes the container 200 used in the print job for each toner color based on the used container information. Hereinafter, the container 200 used in the current print job will be referred to as a target container 200, and will be distinguished from the container 200 not used in the current print job. In step S2, the main control unit 4 recognizes the toner quality in the target container 200 for each color based on the toner quality information.

In step S3, the main control unit 4 counts the number of print dots for each color based on the image data used in the print job. At this time, the main control unit 4 separately counts the number of dots in the character area in the image data and the number of dots in the drawing area in the image data. When a plurality of pages of image data are used in a print job, the number of print dots for each page is counted for each color.

In step S4, the main control unit 4 sets a coefficient to be multiplied by the number of print dots for each color based on the coefficient information stored in advance in the storage unit 5. The main control unit 4 sets a coefficient for each toner color based on the toner quality in the target container 200. Then, in step S5, the main control unit 4 obtains the number of adjustment dots for each toner color. In other words, the main control unit 4 obtains a value obtained by multiplying the number of print dots of each toner color by a coefficient corresponding to the corresponding toner quality as the number of adjustment dots.

Here, the number of adjustment dots when the coefficient information shown in FIG. 6 is used will be described.

Regarding the number of black adjustment dots, if the black toner is of high quality, the coefficient C11 is substituted for Cc in the above formula (1), and the coefficient C12 is substituted for Cd. On the other hand, if the black toner is of low quality, the coefficient C21 is substituted for Cc in the above formula (1), and the coefficient C22 is substituted for Cd. In either case, the number of dots in the character area corresponding to black is substituted for N1 in the above equation (1), and the number of dots in the drawing area corresponding to black is substituted for N2.

Regarding the number of cyan adjustment dots, if the cyan toner is of high quality, the coefficient C13 is substituted for Cc in the above formula (1), and the coefficient C14 is substituted for Cd. On the other hand, if the cyan toner is of low quality, the coefficient C23 is substituted for Cc in the above formula (1), and the coefficient C24 is substituted for Cd. In either case, the number of dots in the character area corresponding to cyan is substituted for N1 in the above equation (1), and the number of dots in the drawing area corresponding to cyan is substituted for N2.

Regarding the number of magenta adjustment dots, if the magenta toner is of high quality, the coefficient C15 is substituted for Cc in the above equation (1), and the coefficient C16 is substituted for Cd. On the other hand, if the magenta toner is of low quality, the coefficient C25 is substituted for Cc in the above formula (1), and the coefficient C26 is substituted for Cd. In either case, the number of dots in the character area corresponding to magenta is substituted for N1 in the above equation (1), and the number of dots in the drawing area corresponding to magenta is substituted for N2.

Regarding the number of yellow adjustment dots, if the yellow toner is of high quality, the coefficient C17 is substituted for Cc in the above formula (1), and the coefficient C18 is substituted for Cd. On the other hand, if the yellow toner is of low quality, the coefficient C27 is substituted for Cc in the above formula (1), and the coefficient C28 is substituted for Cd. In either case, the number of dots in the character area corresponding to yellow is substituted for N1 in the above equation (1), and the number of dots in the drawing area corresponding to yellow is substituted for N2.

Returning to FIG. 7, in step S6, the main control unit 4 obtains the ratio of the number of adjusted dots to the total number of dots in the image data (the total number of dots in one page) as the print rate of the print job. In the case of a print job using image data of a plurality of pages, the main control unit 4 obtains the number of adjustment dots for each page and the print rate for each page. Then, in the case of a print job using image data of a plurality of pages, the main control unit 4 obtains a value obtained by averaging the print rates of the plurality of pages as the print rate of the print job.

The main control unit 5 stores the print rate information indicating the print rate of each color in the storage unit 5. Various types of information are associated with the print rate information. For example, each information indicating the execution date and time of the print job, the number of prints of the print job, and the requesting user of the print job (including the affiliation of the requesting user) is associated with the print rate information.

As described above, the image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment uses the mounting portion 10 having a space for mounting the container 200 and the toner contained in the container 200 to produce a toner image (image) based on image data. The printing unit 2 that executes a print job that forms and transfers (prints) the toner image to the sheet S, counts the number of print dots on which the toner is placed based on the image data, and multiplies the number of print dots by a coefficient to adjust the number of dots. Is provided, and a main control unit 4 (control unit) is provided, which obtains the ratio of the number of adjusted dots to the total number of dots in the image data (the total number of dots in one page) as the print rate of the print job. When determining the print rate of a print job, the main control unit 4 recognizes the toner quality in the container 200 and changes the coefficient to be multiplied by the number of print dots according to the toner quality in the container 200.

In the configuration of the present embodiment, the ratio of the number of adjusted dots to the total number of dots of the image data is obtained as the print rate of the print job. The number of adjustment dots is obtained by multiplying the number of print dots by a coefficient. The coefficient to be multiplied by the number of print dots changes according to the toner quality in the container 200. As a result, the print rate can be adjusted according to the toner quality in the container used in the print job.

Further, in the present embodiment, when determining the number of adjustment dots, the main control unit 4 reduces the coefficient for multiplying the number of print dots as the toner quality in the container 200 is higher, and the lower the toner quality in the container 200, the lower the toner quality. Increase the coefficient to be multiplied by the number of print dots. Specifically, the main control unit 4 multiplies the number of print dots by a high quality coefficient (first coefficient) when the container 200 contains high quality (first quality) toner, while the container 200 When low quality (second quality) toner is stored in, the number of print dots is multiplied by the low quality coefficient (second coefficient). In this configuration, even if the images to be printed in the print job are the same, when the toner used in the print job is of low quality, the required print rate is higher than in the case of high quality. As a result, when the billing amount (printing fee charged to the user) is set based on the print rate of the print job, the billing amount set based on the print rate becomes lower or higher than the amount according to the actual toner consumption. It is possible to suppress the printing.

Further, in the present embodiment, two containers 200 containing toners of the same color can be attached to the image forming apparatus 100. Here, of the toner qualities in the two containers 200 containing toners of the same color, one may be of high quality and the other may be of low quality. Therefore, the main control unit 4 recognizes the toner quality in the container 200 for each container 200. Then, when determining the number of adjustment dots, the main control unit 4 recognizes the container 200 used in the print job among the two containers 200 containing toner of the same color, and corresponds to the toner quality in the recognized container 200. Multiply the coefficient by the number of print dots. That is, if the toner quality in the container 200 used in the print job is high, the main control unit 4 multiplies the number of print dots by a high quality coefficient to obtain the toner quality in the container 200 used in the print job. If is of low quality, multiply the number of print dots by the low quality coefficient. In this configuration, two containers 200 containing toners of the same color are mounted on the image forming apparatus 100, and even if the toner qualities in the two containers 200 are different from each other, they are in the container used in the print job. The printing rate can be adjusted according to the toner quality of.

Further, in the present embodiment, a color print job can be executed. When the print job is a color print job, the main control unit 4 recognizes the toner quality in the container 200 for each color. Further, the main control unit 4 counts the number of print dots of each color. Then, the main control unit 4 changes the coefficient to be multiplied by the number of print dots of each color according to the toner quality of the corresponding color. As a result, when the execution job is a color print job, the print rate of each color can be adjusted according to the corresponding toner quality.

Further, in the present embodiment, when obtaining the print rate of the print job, the main control unit 4 counts the number of dots in the character area in the image data and the number of dots in the drawing area in the image data as the number of print dots. , The number of dots in the character area is multiplied by the character coefficient, and the number of dots in the drawing area is multiplied by the drawing coefficient. When forming the toner image corresponding to the character area, the process of emphasizing the edge is performed, but when forming the toner image corresponding to the drawing area, the process is not performed. Therefore, it is preferable to make the coefficients different between the character area and the drawing area.

The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered as exemplary in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown by the scope of claims rather than the description of the above embodiment, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims.

2 Printing unit 4 Main control unit (control unit)
10 Mounting part 100 Image forming device 200 Container

Claims (6)

The mounting part where the container is mounted and
A printing unit that forms an image based on image data using the toner contained in the container and executes a printing job to print the image on a sheet.
The number of print dots on which toner is applied is counted based on the image data, the number of adjustment dots obtained by multiplying the number of print dots by a coefficient is obtained, and the ratio of the number of adjustment dots to the total number of dots in the image data is obtained as the print rate. With a control unit
An image forming apparatus, characterized in that, when determining the number of adjustment dots, the control unit changes the coefficient according to the quality of toner in the container. When determining the number of adjustment dots, the control unit reduces the coefficient to be multiplied by the number of print dots as the toner quality in the container is higher, and the control unit determines the number of print dots as the toner quality in the container is lower. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coefficient to be multiplied is increased. The coefficient is classified into a first coefficient and a second coefficient larger than the first coefficient.
When determining the number of adjustment dots, the control unit multiplies the number of print dots by the first coefficient when the container contains the toner of the first quality, while the control unit multiplies the container by the first quality. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the number of print dots is multiplied by the second coefficient when a toner of a second quality having a low second quality is contained. A plurality of the containers for accommodating toner of the same color are mounted on the mounting portion.
The control unit recognizes the toner quality in the container for each container, and recognizes the toner quality in the container for each container.
When determining the number of adjustment dots, the control unit recognizes the container used in the printing job among the plurality of containers containing toner of the same color, and the control unit recognizes the container according to the recognized toner quality in the container. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the coefficient is multiplied by the number of printed dots. When the color printing job is executed as the printing job, the printing unit prints the image formed by using the toners of a plurality of colors on the sheet.
When the print job is the color print job, the control unit
Recognize the toner quality in the container for each color and
Count the number of print dots for each color and
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the coefficient to be multiplied by the number of print dots of each color is changed according to the toner quality of the corresponding color. The coefficient includes a coefficient for characters and a coefficient for drawing that is smaller than the coefficient for characters.
The control unit counts the number of dots in the character area in the image data and the number of dots in the drawing area in the image data as the number of print dots, respectively.
The claim is characterized in that when the number of adjustment dots is obtained, the control unit multiplies the number of dots in the character area by the coefficient for characters and multiplies the number of dots in the drawing area by the coefficient for drawing. The image forming apparatus according to any one of 1 to 5.

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