JP3014718B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, and a printer, and more particularly, to at least a part of an image bearing unit, an image forming unit, and a transfer unit. Is related to an image forming apparatus constituted by replaceable members.

(Prior art)

For example, in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, every time a part of an image forming unit such as a photosensitive drum, an exposure scanning system charger and a developing unit is replaced, an exposure amount, a charge amount, a developing bias value, and the like are changed. It is necessary to adjust the image forming conditions individually or mutually, and the adjustment work is very troublesome. Also, this adjustment is not always performed properly,
As a result, image quality may be degraded.

In order to solve such a drawback, for example,
An image forming apparatus as described in JP-A-58-132758 (conventional example 1) has been proposed.

That is, the present invention provides a process kit (for example, at least one of a charger, a developing device, a transfer device, and a cleaning device or a part thereof and a photosensitive drum, An image forming apparatus has been proposed in which a storage element such as a ROM is provided for setting an optimum image forming condition on the apparatus main body side according to the characteristics of an image forming member.

By adopting such a configuration, even if the process kit is exchanged, the appropriate image forming conditions of each unit related to the process kit are automatically adjusted, and the above-mentioned conventional disadvantage can be solved. did it.

An image recording apparatus as described in JP-A-2-16578 (Prior art 2) has been proposed. In this apparatus, a bar code indicating various information necessary for controlling the part is attached to a replacement part of the apparatus. When this part is newly set in the apparatus, the bar code is read by a bar code reader, and the control value or the initial setting value of the apparatus is adjusted based on the data.

There is also known an image forming apparatus having a structure in which a developing device having a black developer and a developing device having a color developer can be selectively mounted on a main body. In this type of image forming apparatus,
Since the optimal image forming conditions such as the developing bias vary depending on the developer used, the image forming conditions for each developing device that can be mounted are stored in the storage unit in the apparatus main body, and the image is formed according to the mounted developing device. The formation conditions are being switched.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

Incidentally, the inventions of the above-mentioned conventional examples 1 and 2 are systems in which a setting instruction of an appropriate image forming condition is unilaterally transmitted from a process kit or a replacement part to the image forming apparatus main body. Therefore, there is almost no signal exchange with the image forming apparatus main body, and it is not possible to select an image mode desired by the user (for example, a solid image emphasis mode, a photographic image emphasis mode, a line image emphasis mode, a color image emphasis mode, etc.).

In order to provide such a favorite image mode, for example, in the prior art 1, even in one A process kit, for example, an A process kit for a solid image emphasis mode, an A process kit for a photographic image emphasis mode, a line image emphasis mode A process kit for color image emphasis mode A
As in the case of a process kit, it is necessary to prepare process units having different storage contents for each mode in one process kit. As a result, the number of process units to be prepared becomes enormous for the entire image forming apparatus, which not only complicates the management at the time of replacement but also increases the cost.

Also, an A process kit for a solid image emphasis mode,
If the B process kit for the line image emphasis mode is mistakenly set in one image forming apparatus, there are various problems such that a desired image cannot be obtained or an image is not formed.

In the second conventional example, the replacement parts are simply provided with a barcode, and the information suitable for each actual replacement part is stored in the control unit in the apparatus. Storing all pieces of information suitable for each replacement part having slightly different characteristics in one device is limited in capacity and impractical or results in high cost.

Also, in the present invention and the prior art 1, no consideration is given to the detection of the life of the replacement part itself, and the life of the replacement part must be detected using other means.

In addition, since the image forming conditions for the developing unit that are not actually mounted are stored in the storage unit in the apparatus main body, there is a problem that the storage unit is increased in size and cost is increased. This problem becomes more serious as the amount of information to be stored becomes enormous with the multifunctionality of image forming apparatuses such as automatic paper selection, continuous page copying, and image synthesis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art and to provide an image forming apparatus excellent in functionality and reliability.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus including an image bearing unit such as a photosensitive drum or a photosensitive belt provided in a main body of the image forming apparatus, and a plurality of image bearing units provided around the image bearing unit. Image forming means such as a charging device and a developing device for forming a desired image on the surface; transfer means for transferring a visible image formed on the image carrying means by the image forming means onto transfer paper; The present invention is directed to an image forming apparatus including a main body control unit for controlling at least a part of the operation of the image forming unit and the transfer unit.

At least a part of the image bearing unit, the image forming unit, and the transfer unit, for example, the developing unit is made of a replaceable member with respect to the image forming apparatus main body, and the replaceable member is provided with a storage unit such as a RAM. Mode selection that allows selection of an arbitrary image mode from among a plurality of image modes such as a tone-oriented image mode (solid development-oriented mode), a photographic image-oriented mode, and a line-oriented image mode (fine line-oriented mode) Means for storing image forming conditions suitable for the mode in the storage means based on a mode signal from the mode selecting means, and setting the control conditions of the control means based on the stored conditions. It is a feature.

[Action]

According to the present invention, as described above, at least a part of the image bearing unit, the image forming unit, and the transfer unit includes a replaceable member, and the replaceable member includes a storage unit.
For example, there is provided a mode selection unit capable of selecting an arbitrary image mode from among a plurality of image modes such as a gradation-oriented image mode, a photographic image-oriented mode, and a line-oriented image mode.

And storing image forming conditions suitable for the mode in the storage unit based on the mode signal from the mode selection unit,
Control conditions such as an image forming process are set according to the stored conditions.

Accordingly, information can be given between the exchange unit (parts) and the image forming apparatus main body, and a desired image mode can be selected from the image forming apparatus main body side, so that an image suitable for the user's preference can be formed. At the same time, the functionality as an image forming apparatus can be improved.

〔Example〕

 Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the entire image forming apparatus, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a developing device used in the image forming apparatus, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of a developer scraping body used in the developing device, FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining a control system between a device main body side and a replacement unit side, and FIG. 5 is a magnet in the developing device. FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the number of rotations of the roller and the ID image density, FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of the display / operation input unit,
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the solid emphasis image mode.

First, a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, 1 is a contact glass, 2 is a light source,
3 is a mirror, 4 is a photosensitive drum, 5 is a charging charger,
6 is a developing unit, 7 is a registration roller, 8 is a separation charger, 9 is a cleaning unit, 10 is a conveying roller, 11 is a fixing unit, 12 is a copy receiving unit, 13 is a paper feeding cassette, 14 is a paper feeding roller, and 15 is a transfer. It is paper.

As shown in the figure, the photosensitive drum 4 rotates in the direction of the arrow, and its surface is charged by a charger 5. After that, the optical system 16 (consisting of light source 2, mirror 3, etc.)
The latent image is formed by exposure to light, and is visualized by the toner in the developing unit 6. The transfer paper 15 is supplied from the cassette 13 at the timing of the copying process, the toner image is transferred to the transfer paper 15, and the fixing unit 11 fixes the image.

After transferring the image in this manner, the photosensitive drum 4 continues to rotate, and the cleaning unit 9 removes the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 4.

In the above configuration, the photosensitive drum 4 and the optical system 1
6, developing section 6, cleaning section 9 and fixing section 11
The device main body 17 is replaceable. In this embodiment, the case of replacing the developing unit 6 will be described for simplicity of description. However, the control of the image condition setting corresponding to the arbitrarily selected image mode as described below is performed by using another replacement unit ( It is also possible to implement the same for the (parts).

2 and 3 are views for explaining the configuration of the developing unit 6. FIG. A developing sleeve 19 as a developer carrier is provided in the developing casing 18, and a part of the developing sleeve 19 is exposed toward the photosensitive drum 4 from an opening provided in the developing casing 18. ing. The developing sleeve 19 is driven to rotate in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by an arrow, and a developing area is formed in a portion facing the photosensitive drum 4.

Inside the developing sleeve 19, a developing magnet roller 20 in which a plurality of different magnetic poles are alternately arranged is arranged.
Due to the magnetic force generated by the magnet roller 20, a magnetic brush 21 made of a magnetic carrier and toner is raised on the surface of the developing sleeve 19. By the rotation of the developing magnet roller 20 and the developing sleeve 19,
The developer brush of the magnetic brush 21 is moved counterclockwise while performing a magnetic spin motion.

The area opposite to the developing area, that is, the developing sleeve 19
A developer scraping body 22 is provided on the rear side of the developer. As shown in FIG. 3, the developer scraping body 22 has a scraper 23 for removing the developer remaining on the developing sleeve 19 after the development, and the scraper 23 removes the developer from the developing sleeve 19. A developer replenishing member 24 that mixes and agitates the peeled developer with the new toner and pumps it up to the developing sleeve 19 again, and a developer replenishing member 24 that replenishes and adheres the developer replenished onto the developing sleeve 19. A regulating blade 25 for regulating the amount is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, a toner hopper 26 storing new toner is provided at the rear end of the developing casing 18. An agitator 27 for stirring the internal toner is provided in the toner hopper 26, and a toner supply roller 28 is provided at an outlet of the toner hopper 26. A doctor blade 29 for regulating the height of the developer spike on the magnetic brush 21 is arranged so as to form a constant gap with respect to the surface of the developing sleeve 19. On the upstream side of this doctor blade 29,
As a result, a so-called agent pool of the surplus developer scraped off is formed.

In the developing unit configured as described above, first, the toner in the toner hopper 26 is supplied to the toner supply roller 28 by the rotation of the agitator 27, and the toner supply roller 28
, A new amount of new toner is supplied into the developing casing 18. The replenishment toner is mixed and stirred with the residual developer after development by the developer scraping body 22 and the surplus developer scraped off by the doctor blade 29, as described later, and then the developing sleeve 19 The magnetic brush 21 is formed by being pumped up and raised.

The magnetic brush 21 formed in this way is transported toward the developing area. At this time, the developer brush of the magnetic brush 21 is rotated by the developing magnet roller 20 so that the developing sleeve 19 is rotated.
The spinning motion is performed on the upper portion, and thereby, it is moved while being stirred and charged. The end of the developer brush in the magnetic brush 21 is scraped off by the regulating blade 25 and the doctor blade 29 of the developer scraping body 22, and the amount of the developer is regulated. The developer brush of the magnetic brush 21 conveyed into the developing area contacts the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 to perform development.

After the development is completed, the developer on the developing sleeve 19 is removed by the scraper 23 of the developing scraper 22.
Peeled from 19. The peeled developer is pumped up to the developing sleeve 19 while being sufficiently mixed and stirred with the newly supplied toner by the rotation of the developer supply member 24.

The developing unit is provided with a storage unit (microcomputer) 30 in which copy process conditions are stored in advance as shown in FIG. The process conditions include:
For example, for a user who attaches importance to a solid image, a process condition for emphasizing the solid image (for example, how much the number of rotations of the developing magnet roller 20 is increased as described later) is stored. By doing so, it is possible to obtain an image that matches the user's preference (in the above case, the desire to emphasize the solid image). This will be described later in detail.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining a control system between the apparatus main body side and a replaceable unit (or component) side. As shown in the figure, the replaceable unit (the developing unit in this embodiment) is connected to the I / O port 4 of the image forming apparatus.
1a, 41b. On the exchange unit side,
It has a CPU 42, a ROM 43, a RAM 44, an NVRAM 45, etc., and exchanges signals with each other via a bus 46.

On the other hand, the main body has a CPU 47 for controlling units or parts other than the exchange unit (or parts),
It has a ROM 48, a RAM 49 and the like for storing such information.
Information input from the unit side is processed by the CPU 47 and controls the related drivers 50, 51 and the like. In addition, the display and operation of the operation input unit 52 are performed in the same manner.

Replacement unit (or parts) side storage device (ROM43, R
AM44, NVRAM45) store in advance various kinds of information for utilizing the copy process conditions, various detections, and changes in the cpm of the replacement unit (or part). Based on this stored information, the replacement unit (or part)
The CPU 42 issues an instruction to the CPU 477 on the main unit, and the CPU
The operation of each driver 50, 51 is controlled by 47. The storage devices (ROM 48, RAM 49) of the main body do not store the copy process conditions, various detections, information for changing the cpm, and the like, and receive information from the replacement unit (or parts). For the first time, commands (controls) are issued.

When a solid emphasis mode is selected by a key (not shown) in the operation input unit 52 shown in FIG. 4, a signal indicating solid emphasis is output.
This signal is input to the CPU 47, and the signal is sent to the CPU 42 via the I / O ports 41a and 41b, and the storage unit (the ROM 43, the RAM 44, or the NVR
AM45) stores a solid emphasis mode selection signal.

When the mode signal indicating that the emphasis is on solid is stored in the ROM 43, the replacement unit (or component) is permanently used as the replacement unit (or component) dedicated to emphasis on solid. The mode signal indicating solid emphasis is RA
When the data is stored in the M44, the solid emphasis mode is automatically deleted when the power is turned off. If the signal mode indicating solid emphasis is stored in the NVRAM 45 (P-ROM is also possible), the user operates a predetermined key on the operation panel to release the solid emphasis mode, and the (For example, a photograph-oriented mode, a thin-line-oriented mode, etc.) can be set.

The signal sent to the CPU 42 is subjected to a predetermined arithmetic processing, and then a control signal is sent to the driver 50 (or the driver 51) to change the number of rotations of the developing magnet roller 20 (see FIG. 2) of the developing unit. (E.g., the photograph emphasis mode and the thin line emphasis mode), the toner supply amount is increased, and a solid emphasis image is obtained.

Fig. 5 shows the number of rotations of the magnet roller in the developing section and the ID.
FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram illustrating a relationship with an image density. As is apparent from this figure, when the ID image density is high as in the solid emphasis mode, a desired image can be obtained by increasing the number of rotations of the magnet roller accordingly. As described above, the relationship between each mode (ID image density) and the number of rotations of the magnet roller is measured in advance, and the characteristics thereof are stored.

Since recent image forming apparatuses tend to be multifunctional, a considerable load is imposed on the storage device on the main body side, and the addition of other functions and the like requires an enormous amount of storage. It is getting very difficult from that. Therefore, by distributing the information to be stored as in the present invention, it is sufficient to store only the information necessary for the control of the main body, and the program design has more latitude.

In this embodiment, the case where the conditions in the developing unit are changed by setting the developing unit in the specific mode has been described.
It is also possible to set such that the process conditions of each unit (or component) of the image forming apparatus main body, such as charging conditions, exposure conditions, and fixing conditions, change. By doing so, a storage device in which copy process conditions are set corresponding to various modes such as a line-oriented image, a photo-oriented mode image, and a gradation-oriented image is created, and an image that matches the user's preference is created. Obtainable.

Further, by providing the replaceable unit (or part) with the storage means and the control means, not only the user can provide the image as described above, but also the life detection, the function detection, and the toner end of the replacement unit (or part). It is possible to have a wide variety of detection means, such as detection, color detection, and compatibility prevention detection.

 Further, control for changing cpm is also possible.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the display / operation input unit 52 according to this embodiment.

In the figure, 71 is a binding margin adjustment key, 72 is a centering key, 73 is a scaling key, 74 is a sorter key, 75 is a double-sided key, 76 is a continuous page key, 76 is an erase key, and 78 is a paper designation. Zooming key, 79 is zooming down key, 80 is zooming up key, 81 is guidance display section, 82 is various display panel section, 83 is reduction key, 84 is expansion key, 85 is 1x key,
86 is a paper selection key, 87 is a paper automatic selection key, 88 is a DTM selection key, 89 is a density adjustment key, 91 is an automatic density key, 92 is a guidance key, 93 is an enter key, 94 is a numeric keypad, 95 is a program key, 96 is a timer key, 79 is an interrupt key, 89 is a start key, 99 is a mode clear / preheat key.

FIG. 7 is a control flowchart of a solid emphasis image. This control flow is as follows.

 S1: The replacement developing section is set (DTM setting).

S2: It is determined whether or not the replacement developing unit is new. If the unit is new, go to S3, if it is old, S4
Proceed to.

S3: A desired image mode (solid image mode in this embodiment) is selected and input.

S4: It is determined whether or not the image mode is the solid emphasis image mode. If the image mode is the solid emphasis image mode, the process proceeds to the previous stage of S6. If the image mode is not the solid emphasis image mode, the process proceeds to another flow.

S5: If the desired image mode is specified in S3, the process conditions (for example, the number of rotations of the magnet roller, the potential of the photosensitive drum, the r characteristic of the photosensitive drum, etc.) corresponding to that mode are set, and the normal image mode is set. Enters a copy cycle.

S6: The number of transfer sheets and the size of the transfer sheet are detected.

S7: Number of passed sheets × transfer sheet size = sheet passing distance n is calculated.

S8: The life of the replacement unit (the developing unit in this embodiment) is set in advance as the total paper feeding distance N,
It is determined in S7 whether or not the current sheet passing distance n has reached the total sheet passing distance N. If n has not reached, the process returns to the previous stage of S6, and if n exceeds N, it is determined that the replacement unit has reached the end of life, and a life signal is output to stop the operation of the image forming apparatus (lifetime monitoring).

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 8 shows control blocks on the apparatus main body side and the exchange unit side. In the case of this embodiment, ROM43, RAM44 and NVRAM4 which are storage devices are provided on the exchange unit (or parts) side.
5 etc. are provided. On the main unit side, a replacement unit (or part) other than the above-mentioned replacement unit (or part)
And a ROM 48, a RAM 49, and the like for storing such information. Information from the exchange unit (or parts) is processed by the CPU 47 to control the drivers 50, 51 and the like related to each other. Display is also performed at the same time. The main unit and the exchange unit (or parts) are connected by a connector (not shown) or the like.

In this embodiment, the replacement unit (or part)
The cost is reduced by omitting the CPU and the like from the side.

(Third Embodiment) In the case of the above-described embodiment, the process condition of the replacement unit (or part), various detections, information for utilizing the change of the cpm, and the like are stored in advance in the storage unit of the replacement unit (or part). Was remembered. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and the exchange unit (or part)
For the storage device on the side, the process condition of the exchange unit, various detections, information for utilizing the change of cpm, and the like are not stored in advance.

Instead, various kinds of information for utilizing the exchange unit (or parts) are stored in advance in a storage device on the apparatus main body side, and the user selects necessary information from the operation panel, and accordingly, the exchange unit is used. (Or parts) usage conditions are determined. The usage conditions determined in this way are automatically stored in the storage device in the exchange unit (or part). At this time, the information may be temporarily stored in the exchange unit (or part), or a means for semi-permanently storing the information may be used.

Process conditions, various detections,
Information to change the cpm is stored separately for various patterns. The user can set the use condition of the exchange unit (or part) by selecting necessary conditions from the information. The exchange unit (or part) can only operate (function) by receiving this information from the device body.

Fourth Embodiment FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 55 is an automatic document feeder, 56
Is a sorter, 57 is a display and operation input unit, 58 is an image forming apparatus main body, 59 is a copy receiving unit, 60 is an automatic double-sided unit, 61 is a cassette, 62 is a tray, and 63 is an exchange unit set in the apparatus main body 58. The unit cover 64 to be covered is an insertion port provided in the unit cover 58.

In this embodiment, the exchange unit does not include a storage device, and information such as copy process conditions is stored in a suitable external storage device (not shown) such as a magnetic card, IC card, or optical card. ). The insertion port 64 is a port for setting the external storage device to a switching unit, and the switching unit and the external storage device are connected to each other by a connector (not shown).

In the above embodiment, the case where the developing unit is replaceable and the rotation speed of the magnet roller in the developing unit is adjusted according to the selected mode has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, there are the following exchange units or parts, and the factor to be adjusted in that case is also described. The factor to be adjusted may be one type, or a plurality of related factors may be adjusted to obtain a more desired image.

(A) When the developing unit is replaced, Adjustment of the rotation speed of the magnetic roller in the developing section.

. Control of photosensitive drum surface potential.

. Adjust the toner supply amount in the developing section.

. Adjusting the threshold value of the density sensor in the developing section.

. Control of developing bias.

. Adjustment of light exposure.

. The degree of matching of the developing unit to the device body.

(B) When replacing the cleaning unit, Adjustment of brush rotation speed.

. Charger voltage control.

. Adjusting blade pressure.

. Control of pre-cleaning voltage.

. The life of the cleaning unit.

. Whether the cleaning unit is compatible.

. The degree of matching of the cleaning unit to the device body.

(C) When the photosensitive drum is replaced, Adjustment of various characteristics of the photosensitive drum.

. The degree of matching of the photoconductor drum to the device body.

. Life of photosensitive drum.

(D) When the fixing unit is replaced, Temperature adjustment corresponding to development conditions such as toner type.

. The life of the fixing unit.

. Degree of matching of the fixing unit to the device body.

(E) When replacing the toner cartridge, Select the type of toner.

. Adjusting the remaining amount of toner.

. Life of toner cartridge.

. The degree of matching of the toner cartridge to the device body.

(Fifth Embodiment) The overall schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus and the control system between the apparatus main body side and the exchange unit side are the same as those in FIG. 1 and FIG. .

Also in this embodiment, the photosensitive drum, the optical system, the developing means, the cleaning section and the fixing section are replaceable with respect to the apparatus main body.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the developing device. A developing sleeve 181 as a developer carrier is provided in the developing casing 180.
A part of 81 is exposed from an opening provided in the developing casing 180 toward the photosensitive drum 182 side. Developing sleeve 1
Numeral 81 denotes a non-magnetic material such as aluminum formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, which is driven to rotate counterclockwise as shown by an arrow, and a developing area is formed in a portion facing the photosensitive drum 182.

Inside the developing sleeve 181 is disposed a developing magnet roller 183 in which a plurality of different magnetic poles are alternately arranged. The magnetic force generated by the magnet roller 183 causes a magnetic brush composed of a magnetic carrier and toner to be raised on the surface of the developing sleeve 181.
The rotation of the developing magnet roller 183 and the developing sleeve 181 causes the developer spike of the magnetic brush to move in a counterclockwise direction while performing magnetic spin motion. Further, in the area between the developing sleeve 181 and the magnet roller 183 and behind the developing area, a magnetic shield plate 184 for dropping the developer remaining on the developing sleeve 181 after development by its own weight is provided. Is provided.

Above the developing sleeve 181, a doctor blade for regulating the height of the developer spike on the magnetic brush
185 are arranged so as to form a constant gap with the surface of the developing sleeve 181. Behind the doctor blade 185, there are provided a conveying screw 186 and a stirring scraper for conveying and stirring the surplus developer scraped off by the doctor blade 185 to the lower portion of the developing casing 180.
A stirring roller 187 is provided below the inside of the developing casing 180.
Is provided.

At the rear end of the developing casing 180, a toner hopper 188 as a toner supply unit and a toner cartridge 189 storing new toner are provided. At the outlet of the toner hopper 188, a toner supply roller 190 for supplying new toner to the developing casing 180 is provided, and an agitator 191 for stirring the internal toner is provided in the toner cartridge 189.
The toner hopper 188 and the toner cartridge 189 are detachable while being regulated by a guide portion 192 formed at the rear of the developing casing 180 integrally.

In the developing unit thus configured, first, the toner in the toner cartridge 189 is supplied to the toner replenishing roller 190 in the hopper 188 by the rotation of the agitator 191. Is supplied into the developing casing 180. The replenishment toner is mixed and stirred with the residual developer after development by the stirring roller 187 and the surplus developer scraped off by the doctor blade 185 as described later, and then mixed with the developing sleeve.
The magnetic brush is formed by being pumped on the 181 and raised.

The magnetic brush formed in this way is transported toward the developing area. At this time, the developer brush of the magnetic brush performs a spinning motion on the developing sleeve 181 by the rotation of the magnet roller 183. It is moved while being stirred and charged. In addition, the end portion of the developer brush in the magnetic brush is scraped off by the doctor blade 185 to regulate the amount of the developer. The developer brush of the magnetic brush conveyed into the developing area contacts the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 182 to perform development.

After the development is completed, the developer on the developing sleeve 181 falls from the developing sleeve 181 in a region facing the magnetic shield plate 184. The dropped developer is sufficiently mixed and agitated with the newly supplied toner dropped from the toner replenishing roller 190 by the rotation of the stirring roller 187, and is stirred again.
It can be pumped to the 181 side.

The toner hopper 188 is provided with a storage means (microcomputer) 193 in which image forming conditions are stored in advance as shown in FIG. The image forming conditions include various kinds of detection information serving as process conditions of the toner supply unit and conditions of operation of the apparatus.

Examples of the above process conditions include the toner supply roller 19
There are a condition for driving 0, a condition relating to the number of rotations of the toner supply roller 190, information for utilizing the change in cpm, and the like.
Examples of the detection information include life detection information of the toner supply unit, remaining toner detection information, toner color information, function detection information, toner end detection information, and toner supply unit compatibility prevention detection information.

Here, as a specific example of the conditions for driving the toner supply roller 190, when black toner is used, a reference pattern having a predetermined density is provided outside the range of placing the original on the lower surface of the contact glass, and development of this reference pattern is performed. The amount of reflected light of the image is detected by the photoelectric element. When the detected value is larger than the reference value for black toner (the amount of reflected light is large), the toner replenishing roller 19 is used.
A photosensor toner density control method in which 0 is driven for a fixed time is adopted. When using color toner,
A quantitative replenishment method is adopted in which the toner replenishing roller 190 is driven for a predetermined time for each predetermined number of copies, provided that the detection value of the photoelectric element is smaller than the reference value for color toner (the amount of reflected light is small).

The storage unit 193 of the toner supply unit having the black toner stores the reference value for the black toner related to the photosensor toner concentration control method and the like. A reference value for color toner (defined for each color of color toner) and the like are stored. By doing so, the image formation is performed under the driving condition of the toner supply roller according to the type of the toner supply unit set in the apparatus main body.

In addition to the image forming conditions of the toner supply unit, image forming conditions such as a charging condition, an exposure condition, and a fixing condition of the apparatus main body may be stored.

The apparatus main body can select various modes such as a solid emphasis mode, a line emphasis mode, a photograph mode, and a gradation emphasis mode using a mode selection key (not shown) on the apparatus input unit.
When the image forming conditions (including not only the image forming conditions of the toner supply unit, but also the image forming conditions such as a charging condition, an exposure condition, and a fixing condition) may be switched according to each mode, the respective modes may be changed. By recording each image forming condition in each toner supply unit, after setting the toner supply unit in the apparatus main body, an image can be formed under the image formation condition corresponding to the mode selected by the mode selection key.

When the apparatus body does not have the mode selection function as described above, a dedicated toner supply unit (for the solid emphasis mode, for the line emphasis mode, By preparing a photo mode, a gradation mode, etc.), an image can be formed under image forming conditions according to a desired mode, depending on which toner supply unit is set in the apparatus main body.

Here, as a specific example of the image forming conditions in the solid emphasis mode, the developing magnet roller 183 is used to emphasize the solid image.
A value larger than that of the other modes is stored as the number of revolutions of. By doing so, it is possible to obtain an image that matches the user's preference (in the above case, a desire to emphasize the solid image).

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, as described above, at least a part of the image bearing unit, the image forming unit, and the transfer unit includes a replaceable member, and the replaceable member includes a storage unit.
For example, a tone-oriented image mode, a photographic image-oriented mode,
There is provided a mode selection means for selecting an arbitrary image mode from a plurality of image modes such as a line-oriented image mode.

And storing image forming conditions suitable for the mode in the storage unit based on the mode signal from the mode selection unit,
According to the stored conditions, control conditions such as a copy process are set.

Accordingly, information can be given between the exchange unit (or part) and the image forming apparatus main body, and a desired image mode can be selected from the image forming apparatus main body side, so that an image suitable for the user's preference can be formed. In addition, the functionality as an image forming apparatus can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, since the storage means for storing the image forming conditions is provided in the toner supply means detachable from the developing means, the image formation conditions for each developer supply means are stored in the storage means provided in the developer supply means. Can be memorized. Therefore, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of setting image forming conditions for each developer to be used without increasing the size of a storage unit in the apparatus main body.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an entire image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a developing unit used in the image forming apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining a control system between an apparatus main body side and a replacement unit side, and FIG. 5 is a rotation of a magnet roller in a developing section. FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of the display / operation input unit, FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a solid emphasis image mode, and FIG. 8 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the number and the ID image density. FIG. 9 is a block diagram for explaining a control system between the apparatus main body side and the exchange unit side in the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 shows a developing unit in which the toner supply unit according to the fifth embodiment is set. FIG. 4 photoreceptor drum, 5 charging charger, 6 developing unit, 9 cleaning unit, 11 fixing unit, 15 transfer paper, 16 optical system, 17 device body, 20 … Developing magnet roller, 30… storage unit, 42… CPU, 43… ROM, 44… RAM, 45… NVRAM, 47… CPU, 48… ROM, 49… RAM, 50… Driver, 51: Driver, 52: Display and operation input unit, 58: Image forming apparatus body, 64: Insertion slot for external storage device.

Continued on the front page (31) Priority claim number Japanese Patent Application No. 1-2232844 (32) Priority date September 11, 1999 (September 11, 1989) (33) Countries claiming priority Japan (JP) (31) Priority claim number Japanese Patent Application No. 1-266279 (32) Priority date October 16, 2001 (Oct. 16, 1989) (33) Priority claim country Japan (JP) (31) Priority claim number 1-266280 (32) Priority date October 16, 1999 (Oct. 16, 1989) (33) Priority claiming country Japan (JP) (31) Priority claim number Japanese Patent Application No. 2-64363 (32) Priority Date March 16, 1990 (March 16, 1990) (33) Priority country Japan (JP) (72) Inventor Takashi Ishijima 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company, Limited (72) Inventor Makoto Shino 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Hidetoshi Yano 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company Limited ( 56) References JP-A-61-282855 (JP, A) JP-A-63-212956 (JP, A) 58-132758 (JP, A) JP-A-62-75667 (JP, A) JP-A-63-51341 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 15/00 303 G03G 15/00 550 G03G 15/36 G03G 21/00 370-540 G03G 21/02-21/04 G03G 21/14-21/20

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An image forming means provided in a main body of an image forming apparatus, an image forming means arranged around the image carrying means and forming a desired image on a surface of the image carrying means, Transfer means for transferring a visible image formed on the image carrier means by transfer means onto transfer paper; and image forming means comprising: a main body control means for controlling at least a part of the image forming means and the transfer means. In the apparatus, at least a part of the image bearing unit, the image forming unit, and the transfer unit includes a member that can be exchanged with respect to the image forming apparatus main body, and the exchangeable member includes a storage unit. A mode selection means for selecting an arbitrary image mode from the modes is provided, and an image suitable for the mode is stored in the storage means based on a mode selection signal from the mode selection means. An image forming apparatus configured to store image forming conditions and to set control conditions of the control unit based on the stored conditions. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said developer supply means further comprises a control means in said toner supply means for issuing a command to said apparatus main body control means based on said image forming information. Image forming apparatus.