JP2977462B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine having an electrophotographic process and an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional facsimile apparatus having an electrophotographic process, as shown in FIG.
The document reading means A 'reads information of a document. First, the document 103 set on the document table 101 is transported by the preliminary transport roller 104a and the preliminary transport pressing plate 104b, further separated by the separation roller 105a and the separation piece 105b, and then transported by the transport roller pairs 106a and 106b. After the original 103 is brought into close contact with the original reading sensor 108c by the pressing portion 108b and the weight shaft 108a to read information, the original is discharged to the original discharge tray 110 by the pair of conveying rollers 109a and 109b.

The image read in this way is processed by control means provided on the control boards 142 and 143 and transmitted through a telephone line.

On the other hand, when image information is transmitted through a telephone line, the received image information is transmitted to the control board 1.
The image is processed by the control means 42 and 143 and is visualized by the following image forming process.

First, in the image forming means B ', the surface of the photosensitive drum 111 serving as a latent image carrier is uniformly charged by the charging roller 112, and this surface is exposed by the optical means C' based on the image information. . Thereby, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 111, and the toner 113 as a developer of the image forming means B ′ is transferred to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 111 by a developing sleeve 115 as a developer carrier. Then, a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 111.

Next, the recording sheets 131 in a cassette 140 disposed at the lower portion of the apparatus and containing stacked recording sheets 131 of a general-purpose size as recording materials are separated one by one by a feeding roller 130, and the toner image is separated. Is fed to the pressure contact portion between the photosensitive drum 111 on which is formed and the transfer roller 125.

The toner 11 on the photosensitive drum 111
3 is transferred onto the recording sheet 131 by the transfer roller 125, and the recording sheet 131 is transported to the fixing means D '. In the fixing unit D ′, the toner 113 transferred onto the recording sheet 131 is fixed to the fixing roller 126 and the pressing roller 127.
And is fixed on the recording sheet 131 by heat and pressure.
The paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 129 by a and 128b.

As described above, this apparatus requires the toner 113 in the image forming means B 'to visualize the received image, and when the remaining amount of the toner 113 becomes small, , A warning is displayed to prompt the user to fill the toner.

Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 9, an antenna electrode serving as an electrode member is provided in the image forming means B 'and the capacitance between the developing sleeve and the antenna electrode is detected by a detection circuit as shown in FIG. And a detection circuit for detecting the capacitance when there is no toner as a reference capacitance, and comparing the output values output by the two detection circuits. If it is determined that there is no toner, a lamp indicating that there is no toner is lit on the operation panel E ′, and the user is notified that there is no toner. As a method of detecting the remaining amount of the toner 113, in addition to the above-described method, a transparent window is provided in the external part of the image forming unit B ', a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit are provided in the apparatus main body, and the light emitting unit emits light. In some cases, the detection is performed by detecting that the received light has received light of a certain level or more in the light receiving unit.

Further, the above-described apparatus detects not only the presence or absence of toner but also a recording sheet. A sheet presence sensor (not shown) is provided in the apparatus main body. A sheet-less lamp is lit on panel E 'to indicate to the user that there is no sheet.

[0011]

However, the above-described conventional facsimile apparatus determines that there is no toner or sheet, and unless a new toner supply or sheet supply is performed,
In some cases, a received image cannot be taken out, and information cannot be received quickly.

[0012] In addition, it is sometimes difficult for the user to understand the remaining amount of toner and the remaining amount of sheets, and the user may need to check the state of the apparatus many times.
Usability sometimes worsened.

In particular, when there is no spare toner or sheet, the operation rate of the apparatus may decrease, and the apparatus may not be used effectively.

Further, in the conventional facsimile apparatus, it may not be possible to confirm the number of recording sheets output at the time of reception, which may be inconvenient.

An object of a first aspect of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile apparatus capable of solving the above-mentioned problems and accurately informing a user of the number of remaining days of toner and the number of days of remaining sheets. To provide.

[0016] The object of the second invention according to the present application is as follows.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile apparatus capable of confirming the number of recording material sheets output at the time of reception.

[0017]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, the above object is achieved by receiving image information through a telephone line and receiving the image information on the surface of a charged latent image carrier. Exposure to form an electrostatic latent image, develop the electrostatic latent image as a developer image with a developer on a developer carrier, transfer the developer image to a recording material, fix the image, and then discharge the image. An apparatus, comprising: an electrode member facing the developer carrier; and a developer presence / absence determining a presence / absence of a developer based on a change in capacitance due to the presence / absence of the developer between the electrode member and the developer carrier. In an image forming apparatus including a detection unit and a display unit for displaying information indicating that there is no developer by the developer presence / absence detection unit, the number of received output sheets of a recording material that has received and output image information for a predetermined time is counted. Counting means and detecting remaining amount of recording material Recording material remaining amount detection means, and stores in advance a relationship between the developer presence / absence detection signal based on the change in the capacitance and the remaining developer amount as a function, and records the recording material 1 when the number of received output sheets is N The average amount of developer consumed per sheet is calculated from the initial developer amount and the remaining developer amount at that time calculated from the function, and the difference between the remaining developer amount and the developer amount when it is determined that there is no developer is calculated. By dividing by the average developer consumption, the remaining number of days of use of the developer is predicted, and the number of received output sheets counted by the counting unit and the number of remaining recording materials detected by the remaining recording material detection unit are used. This is achieved by providing a control unit that is configured to predict the remaining days of use of the recording material and display the remaining days of use of the developer and the recording material on the display unit.

Further, according to the second invention of the present application,
The above object is achieved by the first invention in which the control means is set to display on the display means the received output number of the recording material in receiving the image information for the predetermined time counted by the counting means. .

[0019]

According to the present invention, the presence / absence of the development amount is determined at any time by the developer presence / absence detecting means. The difference between the data of the remaining developer amount obtained from the detection signal and the data of the initial developer amount is determined. The average developer consumption per recording material is calculated by dividing the difference by the received output number of recording materials in a predetermined time. Then, by dividing the difference between the residual developer amount and the developer amount when it is determined that there is no developer by the average developer consumption, the remaining days of the developer are predicted and displayed on the display unit. Let me know.
Therefore, when the user replenishes the developer based on the display, a smooth image forming operation is performed. Further, based on the number of received output sheets and the remaining amount of recording material detected by the remaining recording material detecting means, the remaining number of days of use of the recording material is predicted and displayed on the display means. Therefore, if the user
By replenishing the recording material based on this display, a smooth image forming operation is performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
The counting unit counts the number of received output sheets of the recording material output by reception in a predetermined time and displays the counted value on the display unit, so that the user can determine the number of recording materials actually placed on the discharge tray and the output. By confirming whether the number of recording materials is correct or not, the information is surely obtained.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 are a cross-sectional view and an overall perspective view showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a facsimile machine, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming unit, and FIG. 4 is a circuit for detecting a remaining amount of toner and a sheet. 5 is a block diagram of a circuit for detecting the remaining amount of toner and a circuit for detecting the number of received sheets, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the toner capacity and the remaining toner detection force voltage, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram (perspective view) of the detection of the remaining amount of paper.

First, the overall configuration of this device will be described. In FIG. 1, reference numeral A denotes a document reading unit that reads information written on a document, converts the information into an electric signal, and transmits the signal to a predetermined recording system. Reference numeral B denotes an image forming unit which forms an electrostatic latent image in accordance with an image signal and transfers and records an image with toner on a recording sheet as a recording material. C
Denotes an optical unit, and in this embodiment, the control substrate 4
Laser light is turned on / off in accordance with the image signal processed by the control means on 2, 43, and is irradiated on the photosensitive drum 11 as a latent image carrier of the image forming means B to form an electrostatic latent image. Things. A fixing unit D fixes the toner transferred onto the recording sheet by the image forming unit B by heat and pressure. Reference numeral E denotes an operation panel provided with the number of received data, recording density, transmission switch, and the like. F is a recording sheet conveying unit that conveys the recording sheets stored in the cassette or the recording sheets supplied from the manual tray to the image forming unit B, and discharges the recorded sheets.

Hereinafter, the configuration of each part of the facsimile machine will be described. First, the original reading means A is provided with an original placing table 1 on the upper surface of the apparatus. The original reading means A is stacked on the placing table 1 with the original surface facing down, and the lowermost one of the originals 3 guided by the side guides 2 is provided. Original 3
a and the press-contact member 4b pressed against the same, and the separation roller 5a and the press-contact member 5b pressed against the separation roller 5a.
Are separated and conveyed one by one. The separated and conveyed original 3 is conveyed by a conveying roller 6a and a pinch roller 6b pressed against the spring by a spring 7, and the original surface is pressed by a pressing portion 8b made of a white polyester film pressed downward by a weight shaft 8a. Light is emitted from a light-emitting portion such as an LED inside the reading sensor 8c, pressed by the reading sensor 8c, and reflected light from the document surface is imaged on a photoelectric conversion element (not shown) such as a CCD to form the document. Is converted to an electric signal.

In this embodiment, the reading sensor 8c uses a contact type reading sensor. The original 3 whose image has been read by the reading sensor 8c is configured to be discharged to the original discharge tray 10 by a discharge roller 9a and a pinch roller 9b pressed by a spring 7.

Next, the image forming means B and the optical means C will be described. In the present embodiment, a laser beam printer is configured. The configuration will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the charging device 12 disposed around the photosensitive drum 11 rotating in the direction of arrow b uniformly charges the drum surface, and the image signal processed by the control unit is processed. The light from the laser oscillator C2 that oscillates the laser beam of the optical means C shown in FIG. 1 is reflected by the polygon mirror C1, and is exposed to the rotating photosensitive drum 11 by an imaging lens to form an electrostatic latent image. Further, the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 11 is arranged on the photosensitive drum 11, and the latent image is formed by a developing sleeve 15 as a developer carrier having a fixed toner 13 on the surface. It is configured to transfer toner to a portion to make a visible image.

When the toner 13 is supplied to the developing sleeve 15, the toner stirring plate 14 rotates in the same direction as the photosensitive drum 11 in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 11, as shown in FIG. The toner 13 is transported to the developing sleeve 15 side. When the toner 13 is supplied to the developing sleeve 15, the developing blade 1 pressed against the developing sleeve 15
8, the toner layer on the surface of the developing sleeve is made uniform. Further, an antenna electrode plate 19 serving as an electrode member is disposed near the developing sleeve 15 so that the capacitance between the developing sleeve 15 and the antenna electrode plate can be detected.

The toner image visualized on the photosensitive drum 11 is transferred and recorded on the recording sheet 31 conveyed between the photosensitive drum 11 and the transfer roller 25 pressed against the photosensitive drum 11 as shown in FIG. . The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 11 after the transfer of the toner is scraped off by the cleaning member 22 shown in FIG. 3, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is cleaned. 21.

The image forming means B is integrated with the photosensitive drum 11, the charger 12, the developing sleeve 15, the cleaning member 18, the toner container 13 and the like as shown in FIG. ing.

Next, the fixing means D will be described. The toner image transferred to the recording sheet 31 by the transfer roller 25 is applied heat and pressure by a fixing roller 26 having a built-in heater and a pressing roller 27 pressed against the fixing roller 26. The recording sheet 31 is then fixed on the recording sheet 31. The recording sheet 31 detects the leading and trailing ends of the recording sheet 31 by a discharge detection sensor (not shown) and removes curl by the discharge roller pairs 28a and 28b. The paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 29.

Next, the recording sheet conveying means F for conveying the recording sheet 31 to the photosensitive drum 11 and the transfer roller 25 pressed against the photosensitive drum 11 will be described. In this embodiment, a cassette 40 for accommodating the recording sheet 31 is detachably attached to a lower portion of the apparatus main body, and the cassette 40 includes a recording sheet 31 made of a cassette sheet.
Can be stacked and accommodated. The lower cassette 40 is supported by a feeder frame 41 different from the apparatus main body as shown in FIG. 2, and the front feeder frame 41 is configured to be detachable from the main body. A manual feed slot is formed on the right side surface of the apparatus main body, and a manual feed tray 36a is attached to the manual feed slot.
6, recording sheets 31 of a predetermined size can be stacked and accommodated.

As shown by the arrow, the recording sheet contained in the cassette 40 disposed at the lower part of the main body is fed by the half-moon-shaped sheet feeding roller 30 as the uppermost sheet, and is recorded on the pair of registration rollers 37a and 37b. Hit the end of the sheet,
After the skew correction, the registration roller pair 37a, 3b is synchronized with the image signal processed by the control boards 42, 43.
7b rotates, and the recording sheet 31 is conveyed to the photosensitive drum 11 and the transfer roller 25 pressed against it as described above.
Further, the recording sheet 31 accommodated in the cassette 40 accommodated in the feeder frame 41 different from the main body is rotated by a half-moon-shaped paper feed roller 30 as shown by an arrow, so that one of the uppermost layers is formed. Fed, and a pair of conveying rollers 32a,
32b, the leading end of the recording sheet abuts against a pair of registration rollers 37a and 37b, like the recording sheet 31 at the bottom of the main body, and is conveyed to the transfer roller 25 pressed against the photosensitive drum in synchronization with an image signal. . On the other hand, the recording sheet stacked on the manual feed tray 36a is fed from the manual feed slot by the feed instruction from the control means on the control boards 42 and 43, and the lower middle plate 36b of the feed roller 34 is rotated about the rotation center portion 36c. It is pushed upward by a pressing spring 36d, and is conveyed by being pressed against the front paper feed roller 34, where
, One of the uppermost layers is fed, and the leading end of the recording sheet is brought into contact with the pair of registration rollers 37a and 37b in the same manner as described above to be conveyed.

Next, a method of detecting the remaining amount of toner according to the present embodiment will be described. As described above, the recording means B is provided with a photosensitive drum, a charging device, a developing device, a cleaning member, as shown in FIG.
The toner container is integrated, and the toner contained in the toner container is applied to the developing sleeve 1 by the toner stirring plate 14.
5 is supplied with toner. Toner container containing toner stirring plate 14 and developing sleeve 15
An antenna electrode plate 19 is disposed between the antenna electrode 19 and the developing sleeve 15 and the antenna electrode 19 by utilizing a change in capacitance due to the amount of toner existing between the antenna electrode 19 and the developing electrode as shown in FIG. A detection circuit for detecting the induced current change as a voltage change is provided, and a circuit for detecting the capacitance between the developing sleeve 15 and the antenna electrode plate 19 when there is no toner as a reference capacitance is provided. The remaining toner amount is detected by comparing the outputted output voltages. The relationship between the toner capacity and the remaining toner detection force voltage detected by the pre-detection circuit is shown in FIG.
The toner capacity gradually decreases as the residual toner detection voltage decreases, and it is determined that there is no toner when the residual toner detection voltage reaches Ve. Illuminates the toner-less lamp to indicate to the user that there is no toner.

Further, from FIG. 5, the relation between the toner capacity W and the remaining toner detection power voltage V is obtained by a relational expression of W = f (V). Here, assuming that the initial toner capacity is Wi, the toner capacity after outputting N received sheets is ω, and the remaining toner detection power voltage is υ, the average toner consumption per sheet when outputting the received N sheets [unit: g] is obtained from ω = f (υ).

[0034]

(Wi-ω) / N = (Wi-f (υ)) / N

Assuming that N ′ sheets can be recorded with the remaining toner capacity ω,

[0036]

N ′ = (ω−We) / [(Wi-f (υ)) /
N] = {(f (υ) -We) / (Wi-f (υ))} N

It can be predicted that Here, the detection of the number N of received sheets is performed by a discharge detection sensor that detects the leading edge and the trailing edge of the recording sheet after the toner image is fixed on the recording sheet as described above. The CPU calculates the remaining recordable number of sheets and the number of sheets received in a predetermined time by the CPU according to the above equation based on the received number of sheets N and the toner capacity (toner remaining detection force voltage) after the received number of sheets N. , The remaining days of toner use can be displayed.

Further, in this embodiment, the image forming section B is of an integral cartridge type as described above, and a detecting means (not shown) for detecting that the cartridge is mounted on the main body, and a photosensitive element. Due to the variation in the sensitivity of the drum, there is a means for detecting the sensitivity of the photosensitive drum.If the photosensitive drum is attached or detached during use, the sensitivity of the photosensitive drum of the cartridge and the above-mentioned remaining toner detection voltage are detected before and after attachment and detachment, and Whether or not a cartridge has been mounted can be determined by the CPU, and if another cartridge is mounted,
The initial toner capacity W (remaining toner detection force value) and the number N of recording output sheets are initialized.

Next, detection of the remaining amount of recording sheets will be described with reference to FIGS. An intermediate plate 39 for stacking recording sheets is mounted on the cassette 40 by fitting a boss 40a of the cassette 40 with a notch 39a of the intermediate plate 39. It is rotatable around. At the other end of the boss portion 40a of the cassette 40, a pressing spring 33 for pressing the recording sheets stacked on and stored in the middle plate 39 and the paper feed roller is disposed between the lower portion of the middle plate 39 and the cassette 40. Have been.

A side plate 4 is provided on the side surface in the width direction of the recording sheet.
6 and 47 are disposed on the side plate 47, and side pressure plates 47 a and 47 b for urging the end surface of the recording sheet toward the side plate 46.
Is provided. Further, the side plates 46 and 47 are movable in accordance with various recording sheets. Further, a rear end regulating plate 38 is provided at the rear end of the recording sheet, and can be moved in accordance with various recording papers like the side plate.

A sheet remaining amount detecting lever 49 is provided on a side surface of the cassette 40, and a rotation center 49 a of the sheet remaining amount detecting lever 49 is supported by the cassette 40. A groove 40b is provided in the cassette 40, and a sheet remaining amount plate 50 is accommodated in the groove 40b, and can be moved in the direction of an arrow as shown in FIG.

The sheet remaining amount plate 50 is connected to the connecting portion 49b of the sheet remaining amount detecting lever 49 and the sheet remaining amount plate 50b.
The other end 49 c of the sheet paper remaining amount detection lever 49 is
9, the middle plate 39 rotates in the direction of the arrow about the rotation center 39a, so that the remaining sheet plate 50 moves in the direction of the arrow along the groove 40b of the cassette 40. It has become.

A remaining sheet detecting sensor 51 fixed to the apparatus main body is provided at a position opposite to the protrusion 50a of the remaining sheet plate 50, and the slit of the sensor 51 is connected to the protrusion 50a of the remaining sheet plate 50. It moves according to the movement of the middle plate 39, that is, the remaining amount of sheets. Thus, the CPU calculates the remaining amount of the sheet from the voltage value of the output voltage of the sensor based on the positional relationship between the slit portion of the sensor 51 and the protrusion 50a, and detects the remaining amount of the sheet stored in the cassette 40. I can do it.

The remaining use days of the sheets stored in the cassette 40 can be displayed on the operation panel E in advance based on the number of sheets received during a predetermined time.

When it is desired to know the number of sheets received during a predetermined time, the number of sheets received during a predetermined time can be calculated by the CPU according to the setting. It can be displayed on the operation panel E.

In this embodiment, the method of displaying the number of days of remaining toner, the number of days of remaining use of the recording sheet, and the number of sheets received during a predetermined period of time can be displayed on the operation panel at all times. Even if it is displayed by the above key operation, any display means may be used as long as it is a means for displaying a notice to the user in advance.

[0047]

As described above, the first embodiment according to the present application is described.
According to the invention, the relationship between the detection signal of the developer presence / absence detection means for determining the presence / absence of the developer and the remaining developer amount is stored as a function in advance, and the number N of received output sheets of recording material counted by the counting means is stored. The average amount of developer consumed per recording material at the time is calculated from the initial developer amount and the remaining developer amount at that time calculated from the function, and the remaining developer amount and the developer when it is determined that there is no developer. By dividing the difference with the amount by the average developer consumption, the remaining number of days of use of the developer is predicted, and further, the received output number and the remaining number of recording materials detected by the recording material remaining amount detection unit, Since the remaining days of the recording material are predicted and the remaining days are displayed on the display means, the operability for the user and the operation rate of the apparatus are improved, and the image of a user-friendly facsimile machine or the like is improved. Provide forming equipment Kill.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
In the first aspect of the present invention, the number of received output sheets for a predetermined time counted by the counting means is displayed on the display means. Therefore, the number of recording materials actually placed on the discharge tray and the number of output recording materials are displayed. It was possible to confirm the correctness and correctness, and it was possible to obtain reliable information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view when applied to a facsimile apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view when applied to a facsimile apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming unit according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a circuit for detecting the remaining amount of toner and a circuit for detecting the number of received sheets according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a toner capacity and a toner remaining detection force voltage according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram (top view) of sheet remaining amount detection in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram (perspective view) of sheet remaining amount detection in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional image forming apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a conventional toner remaining amount detection circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 11 photosensitive drum (latent image carrier) 13 toner (developer) 15 developing sleeve (developer carrier) 19 antenna electrode (electrode member) 31 recording sheet (recording material) 49 sheet remaining amount detection lever (recording material remaining amount detection) Means) 50 sheet remaining plate (recording material remaining amount detecting means) 51 sensor (recording material remaining amount detecting means) E operation panel (displaying means)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G03G 15/08 G03G 21/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An image processing apparatus receives image information via a telephone line, and forms an electrostatic latent image by exposing the surface of the charged latent image carrier based on the received image information. An image forming apparatus that develops a developer image with a developer of a body, transfers the developer image to a recording material, fixes the image, and discharges the image. A developer presence / absence detecting means for determining the presence / absence of the developer based on a change in capacitance due to the presence / absence of the developer between the member and the developer carrying member; and a display for displaying information on the absence of the developer by the developer presence / absence detection means. Means for counting the number of received and output recording materials that have received and output image information at a predetermined time, and recording material remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of recording material. A developer based on the change in capacitance The relationship between the presence / absence detection signal and the remaining developer amount at that time is stored in advance as a function, and the average developer consumption per recording material when the number of received output sheets is N is calculated from the initial developer amount and the function. The remaining developer amount is calculated from the remaining developer amount, and the difference between the remaining developer amount and the developer amount when it is determined that there is no developer is divided by the average developer consumption amount, so that the number of days of remaining use of the developer is calculated. The remaining number of days of use of the recording material is predicted from the received output number counted by the counting means and the number of remaining recording materials detected by the remaining amount of recording material detection means, and the developer and the recording material are displayed on the display means. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit configured to display the remaining number of days of use. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means is set to display on said display means the received output number of recording materials in receiving image information for a predetermined time counted by said counting means. apparatus.