JP3113263B2 - Current detection circuit - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a current detection device for detecting a current flowing through a photoconductor of an electrostatic latent image type image forming apparatus.

[Conventional technology]

Image forming apparatuses that form images on plain paper using electrostatic latent image technology, such as copiers, digital copiers, laser beam printers, LED (light emitting diode) printers, LCDA (liquid crystal array) printers, and other OA equipment are widely used. in use.

These image forming apparatuses include a charger for uniformly charging the surface of the photoreceptor before exposure, a DC-biased developing unit for converting an electrostatic latent image formed by exposure to a visible toner image, and a toner image for the toner image. Charger for transferring various types of high voltage, such as a transfer charger for transferring the toner image onto paper (plain paper), a separation charger for separating the paper on which the toner image has been transferred from the photoreceptor, and a plurality of high voltage power supplies. From the specified conditions such as required characteristics and image density,
A high voltage is supplied according to a value set according to ambient conditions such as temperature.

In order for these constant voltage or constant current positive / negative DC voltage or DC biased AC high voltage to be properly supplied to each high voltage unit according to the set value, the output voltage of each high voltage power supply or the current flowing to the photoreceptor therefrom is determined. Detect
The output of each high-voltage power supply is controlled according to the detected value.

To directly detect the charging voltage of the photoreceptor, a capacitor is connected in series between the photoreceptor and the ground and the capacitance ratio between the photoreceptor and the capacitor, as shown in JP-B-46-25480. There has been a first proposal for detecting a voltage generated between both ends of a capacitor in accordance with the above and turning off the high voltage power supply when the detected voltage reaches a certain value.

However, the first proposal has no problem when, for example, the respective steps of charging, exposure, development, and transfer are performed independently and individually on the entire surface of the photosensitive member, but high speed is required as in the present case. However, it is difficult to carry out the processes in a case where the respective steps are performed on the drum or belt-shaped photosensitive member while overlapping each other with a certain timing.

Further, as disclosed in JP-A-57-40364, a current flowing through the photoreceptor and a discharge voltage are detected by corona discharge, and constant current control is always performed in accordance with the detected current value. There has been a second proposal for detecting and preventing an abnormal voltage that occurs at the time of use by a discharge voltage.

However, this second proposal is effective for a constant-current DC high-voltage power supply, but, similarly to the first proposal, can detect an AC high voltage whose polarity is inverted, particularly a DC biased AC voltage. Can not.

In such a case, for example, as shown in JP-A-54-18746, the DC component and the AC component of the current flowing through the photoconductor by corona discharge are detected, and the DC bias voltage and the AC high voltage are detected, respectively. A third proposal for controlling the output voltage of
As disclosed in JP-A-64-321448, any high-voltage power supply can be controlled by separately detecting a positive DC component, a negative DC component, and an AC component of the current flowing through the photoconductor. There was a fourth proposal that could be made.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, the corona discharge current does not provide high-frequency ripple of several tens of KHz or more.
As shown in the figure and described later, high-frequency ripple having a level equal to or exceeding each detected value is included.

For example, the separation charger removes the charge on the paper charged during transfer by AC corona discharge, but a slight negative charge remains due to the difference in positive and negative discharge characteristics. No charge remains.

Therefore, the AC component and the high-frequency ripple component are considerably larger than the DC component to be detected, and the third and fourth proposals can detect the current, particularly the DC component with high accuracy. It was difficult.

Furthermore, the fourth proposal is superior in terms of high-voltage power supply control if each component can be detected with high accuracy.
There is a problem that three D converters are required, resulting in high cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a current detection circuit for accurately detecting each component of a current flowing through a photoreceptor by corona discharge, that is, an AC component, a positive / negative DC component, and particularly a minute DC component. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a high-voltage power supply that can be controlled accurately.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention detects an electric current flowing through a photoreceptor by AC or DC corona discharge, and controls an output of a high-voltage power supply for corona discharge in accordance with the detected value. Current detection circuit used in the image forming apparatus of the system, between the photoreceptor and the ground, or a current detection resistor connected in series between the ground and the high-voltage power supply,
The high-frequency ripple is generated from the voltage signal including the high-frequency ripple generated at both ends in proportion to the current flowing through the current detecting resistor and considerably higher than the direct-current component to be detected and the high-frequency ripple of several tens KHz or more due to the characteristics of corona discharge. And a first low-pass filter that outputs the DC component and the AC component.
Amplifying means for amplifying a high-voltage signal including a DC component and an AC component output by removing high-frequency ripples by a low-pass filter, and a voltage signal amplified by the amplifying device,
AC component detecting means for detecting an AC component, and a second low-pass which has a cut-off frequency lower than that of the first low-pass filter and cuts off the AC component from the voltage signal amplified by the amplifying means and outputs only the DC component. A filter, an absolute value detecting means for detecting an absolute value of the DC component passed through the second low-pass filter, and a polarity discriminating means for discriminating positive and negative polarities of the DC component passed through the second low-pass filter. Things.

(Operation)

The current detection circuit configured as described above is composed of a DC component and an AC component in which the first low-pass filter blocks high-frequency ripple and spike noise included in the voltage signal generated across the current detection resistor, and passes through the first low-pass filter. The AC component detecting means separates and detects only the AC component from the voltage signal, and the second low-pass filter cuts off the AC component and passes only the DC component.

Since the absolute value detecting means detects the absolute value from the voltage signal of only the DC component and the polarity determining means determines the positive or negative polarity, the detected or determined components do not interfere with each other, and the detection accuracy is improved. Good.

Also, since the amplifying means is provided after the first low-pass filter, there is no intermodulation distortion due to high-frequency ripple,
The voltage signal can be set to a level suitable for each subsequent process.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described specifically based on examples.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main part of a high voltage system of a copying machine using an electrostatic latent image system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Around the photosensitive drum 1 whose surface is covered with a semiconductor and rotates clockwise, a charging charger 2, an optical system
3, a developing drum 4, a pre-transfer charge removing lamp 5, a transfer charger 6, a separation charger 7, a cleaner 8, and a charge removing lamp 9 of a developing unit not shown.

Also, a transporter 15 for transporting the paper between the photoconductor drum 1 and the transfer charger 6 and the separation charger slightly away from the photoconductor drum 1 and fixing the image (toner image) transferred on the paper. A fixing unit 18 including a heated fixing roller 18a and a pressure roller 18b is provided.

The photosensitive drum 1 is grounded via a current detection circuit 10,
The current detection circuit 10 determines or detects the polarity and absolute value of the DC component and the AC component from the current flowing therethrough, and inputs the signal to the input port PA0 of the controller 11 and the A / D converter input terminal AN.
Output to 0 and AN1 respectively.

Charging charger 2 consisting of scorotron charger
-4 KV from C (Charge) power supply 12
A DC voltage of ~ -8 KV is applied to generate a corona discharge to uniformly charge the surface of the photoreceptor drum 1, but the discharge is performed according to a voltage applied from a G (grid) power supply 13 connected to the grid 2b. The amount is controlled, and the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 1 is maintained at a predetermined value.

A DC bias voltage (around -600 V) set in accordance with the ambient conditions such as image density and temperature specified by an operator via an operation panel (not shown) from a B (bias) power supply 14 is applied to the developing drum 4. Although applied, little current flows.

Transfer charger 6 consisting of corotron charger
(Discharge wire) has a T (transfer; transfer) power supply
A DC high voltage of -4 KV to -8 KV from 16 is applied, and a corona discharge is performed from the back of the paper conveyed by the conveyor 15 to transfer the positively charged toner onto the paper.

Similarly, a separation charger 7 composed of a corotron charger is supplied with an AC voltage of 4 KV to 8 KV, which is positively biased by DC (about several hundred volts) from a D (departure; separation) power supply 17, and discharges corona from the back of the paper. By removing the charge of the sheet charged by the transfer, the sheet is separated from the photosensitive drum 1 by its own weight.

Each of these high-voltage power supplies, namely C power supply 12, G power supply 13, B power supply
14, T power supply 16 and D power supply 17 are connected to the controller 11, respectively, and output a high voltage according to each trigger signal CGT, BT, TDT output at a timing from the controller 11, and also output from the controller 11 Pulse width modulated pulse signals GP, BP, TP, DAP, D
Each output is determined according to the DP.

However, since the discharge amount of the C power supply 12 is regulated by the output voltage of the G power supply 13, it is sufficient that the C power supply 12 outputs a DC voltage of a predetermined constant voltage, and only the trigger signal CGT is input.

For the two pulse signals DAP and DDP input to the D power supply 17, target values of an AC voltage and a DC bias voltage are set, respectively.

The trigger signals CGT and TDT simultaneously trigger the C power supply 12, the G power supply 13, the T power supply 16, and the D power supply 17, respectively.

The functions of the other pulse signals GP, BP, TP and the trigger signal BT are clear, and thus the description is omitted.

The photosensitive drum 1 is first uniformly charged by the charging charger 2 so that the surface potential becomes a predetermined (negative) value, and then the image of the original image formed on the surface by the optical system 3 is formed. Upon exposure, an electrostatic latent image is formed.

The electrostatic latent image is converted into a visible toner image by positively charged toner supplied from the developing drum 4.

Next, the photosensitive drum 1 is irradiated with the pre-transfer static elimination lamp 5, the surface potential thereof is weakened, and the toner image is easily transferred, and is conveyed by the conveyor 15 at a speed synchronized with the rotation speed. The transferred paper comes into contact, and the transfer charger 6 triggered by the contact of the paper starts corona discharge to negatively charge the paper, so that the positively charged toner is transferred onto the paper.

Subsequently, the negatively charged paper is discharged by the corona discharge of the DC positive bias and the AC high voltage of the separation charger 7 triggered at the same time, so that the paper on which the toner image is transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 1 by its own weight. After the toner image is conveyed to the fixing unit 18 and the toner image is fixed by the heat of the fixing roller 18a and the pressure of the pressure roller 18b, the toner image is discharged onto a discharge tray (not shown).

The toner slightly remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 is collected by the cleaner 8, and the remaining charge is completely discharged by irradiation of the discharge lamp 9, and then enters a cycle in which charging by the charging charger 1 is started again.

3 to 7 are circuit diagrams showing one example of each high-voltage power supply. In each case, the output is detected and compared with a fixed value or a set target value, and the drive is performed by a PWM pulse whose pulse width is modulated. It is configured by a high frequency switching type converter (or inverter) that uses DC 24V as a power source, converts the voltage into DC high voltage (or AC high voltage) according to a trigger signal, and outputs the converted high voltage.

Transistors that are those high-frequency switching elements
A series circuit or diode consisting of a resistor and a capacitor connected in parallel between the emitter and collector of Q30, Q40, Q50, Q60, Q70 to Q72 is applied to a snubber circuit or transistor that absorbs surge voltage generated by switching. This diode bypasses the reverse voltage.

The C power supply 12 shown in FIG. 3 is a negative constant current DC high voltage power supply provided with an overvoltage prevention means, forms a series circuit with the primary winding of the transformer 31, is connected to the power supply 24V, and is connected to the power supply 24V. Transistor Q driven by output PWM pulse
30 turns on and off the current flowing through the primary winding of the transformer 31, and the high-voltage power induced in the secondary winding is a diode D3.
The voltage is further boosted and output by a voltage doubler rectifying and smoothing circuit composed of 0, D31 and capacitors C30, C31.

The resistor R30 is for overcurrent prevention, the voltage divider composed of the resistors R31 and R32 is for voltage detection, the parallel circuit of the resistor R33 and the capacitor C32 is for current detection, and the voltage detection signal and the current detection signal are each a driving IC30. To the analog input terminals-and +.

The driving IC 30 receives a trigger signal CGT input to the input terminal T.
While “H” is “H”, a PWM pulse whose pulse width has been modulated so that the high voltage output maintains a constant current value in response to the current detection signal input to the input terminal + is output to the base of the transistor Q30.

Further, when the output voltage rises abnormally for some reason, the output is detected by a voltage detection signal input to the input terminal (-) and the output is reduced, thereby preventing an accident such as arc discharge.

Since the target value setting signal is not input to the C power supply 12, the input terminal P is connected to the ground.

The G power supply 13 shown in FIG. 4 is a negative constant-voltage DC high-voltage power supply having an overcurrent prevention means whose output voltage is controlled by a target value setting signal GP.

The transistor Q40, the transformer 41, and the double voltage integer smoothing circuit are the same as those of the C power supply 12 (FIG. 3), and thus the description is omitted.

A resistor R40 is a bleeder resistor provided to reduce the output impedance of the G power supply 13 because the G power supply 13 is a constant voltage power supply.
The voltage divider composed of the resistors R41 and R42 is for voltage detection, the resistor R43 is for current detection, and both detection signals are for driving as well as the C power supply 12.
Input to the analog input terminals-and + of IC40.

The driving IC 40 receives the trigger signal CGT input to the input terminal T.
Is turned on and off simultaneously with the driving IC 30 of the C power supply 12,
A target value obtained by smoothing a target value setting signal GP input to the input terminal P is compared with a voltage detection signal input to the input terminal −, and a PWM signal is output to obtain an output voltage corresponding to the target value.
A pulse is output to the base of transistor Q40.

Further, when the output current shows an abnormal value for some reason, the error is detected and detected by the current detection signal input to the input terminal + to prevent an accident.

The B power supply 14 shown in FIG. 5 is a negative constant voltage DC high voltage power supply whose output voltage is controlled by the target value setting signal BP.

The B power supply 14 is triggered by a trigger signal BT as compared with the G power supply 13 (FIG. 4), and has an output voltage of about one digit lower, so that the output from the half-wave rectifying / smoothing circuit including the diode D50 and the capacitor C50 is output. And the fact that the output current hardly flows, current detection is impossible, and the difference is that the input terminal + of the driving IC 50 is connected to the ground.
Others are the same, and the description is omitted.

The T power supply 16 shown in FIG. 6 is a negative constant current DC power supply provided with an overvoltage prevention means whose output current is set by a target value setting signal TP.

The T power supply 16 is different from the C power supply 12 (FIG. 3) in that it is triggered by a trigger signal TDT and the target value obtained from a target value setting signal TP input to the input terminal P of the driving IC 60. The difference is that the PWM pulse is output by comparing the current detection signal input to the input terminal + with the current detection signal.

The D power supply 17 shown in FIG. 7 is a power supply that superimposes a constant voltage DC bias set by the target value setting signal DDP on a constant voltage AC high voltage set by the target value setting signal DAP and outputs the resultant.

The AC power supply section of the D power supply 17 includes a driving IC 70, a chopper power supply 71, a square wave oscillator 72, a transformer 73, an AC voltage detection circuit 74, and an AC current detection circuit 75.

The driving IC 70 receives a trigger signal TDT input to the input terminal T.
6 and the T power supply 16 (FIG. 6) at the same time, and while the trigger signal TDT is "H", the target value setting signal DAP input to the input terminal P and the AC voltage detection circuit 74 input to the input terminal +. PW pulse width modulated according to AC voltage detection signal
The M pulse is output to the chopper type power supply 71.

The chopper type power supply 71 is composed of a transistor Q70, a commutation diode D70, a thyroid coil L70, and a capacitor C70.According to a PWM pulse input from the driving IC 70 to the base of the transistor Q70, when the transistor Q70 is on, a 24 V DC power supply is used. Current flows through the smoothing circuit consisting of the C-yoke coil L70 and the capacitor C70 to charge the capacitor C70,
The energy stored in magnetic form in the yoke coil L70 during that time is reconverted to current when the transistor Q70 is turned off, and is transferred to the capacitor C70 via the commutation diode D70.
Charge.

In this manner, the chopper-type power supply 71 outputs DC power charging the capacitor C70 with a voltage corresponding to the pulse width (ie, duty ratio) of the PWM pulse to the center tap of the primary winding of the transformer 73.

Both ends of the primary winding of the transformer 73 having the center tap are connected to the collectors of two transistors Q71 and Q72, each of which is a switching element whose emitter is grounded.
Square waves having mutually opposite phases output from the square wave oscillator 72 of Hz are divided and input.

Accordingly, the transistors Q71 and Q72 are alternately turned on and off every half cycle, and the primary winding of the transformer 73 is applied with 500 Hz alternating power of the voltage regulated by the chopper type power supply 71.

The transformer 73 is provided with two secondary windings 73a and 73b,
When alternating power is applied to the primary winding, the secondary winding
The reference numeral 23a outputs an AC high voltage current of the stepped-up voltage to the load, and the secondary winding 23b outputs an AC voltage to the AC voltage detection circuit 74.

The AC voltage detection circuit 74 includes diodes D71 and D72 and capacitors C71 and C72 forming a voltage doubler rectifying and smoothing circuit.
A positive voltage signal proportional to the output voltage (PP) of the secondary winding 73a is output to the input terminal + of the driving IC 70.

The resistor connected in parallel with the capacitor 72 determines the discharge time constant of the AC voltage detection circuit 74.

One end of the secondary winding 73a is connected to an output terminal D via a safety resistor R73, and the other end is connected to the + side of a DC power supply unit to be described later. Connected to GND.

The AC current detection circuit 75 includes an AC bypass capacitor C73 connected in series to a series circuit including a resistor R70 and a diode D73 and a parallel circuit including a diode D74, and the diodes D73 and D74 have opposite polarities. The resistor R70 acts as a current detecting resistor.

Accordingly, the AC high voltage output from the secondary winding 73a is
Although DC bias is applied at the output voltage of the DC power supply, the AC current bypasses the DC power supply and the capacitor C73.
And the output terminal GND through one of the diodes D73 and D74 according to the polarity.

At that time, the half-wave current flowing through the diode D73 of the alternating current is converted into a negative voltage signal by the resistor R70, and the driving IC 70
Is output to the analog input terminal-of.

Thus, the AC voltage detection circuit 74 and the AC current detection circuit 7
Since the detected values of the voltage and current of the AC output detected by 5 are fed back to the analog terminals + and −, respectively, the driving IC 70 sets the target value set by the target value setting signal DAP input to the input terminal P. The value is compared with the feedback voltage detection value, and the PWM pulse subjected to pulse width modulation according to the difference is output from the transistor Q of the chopper-type power supply 71.
The voltage is output to the output 70 to control the output voltage of the chopper type power supply 71, that is, the voltage of the alternating power applied to the primary winding of the transformer 73.

The AC voltage induced in the secondary winding 73a of the transformer 73 is
Since it is proportional to the voltage applied to the primary winding, the output AC voltage of the D power supply 17 is controlled to a value corresponding to the target value.

Further, the output current is monitored based on the fed back AC current detection value to prevent occurrence of overcurrent.

On the other hand, the DC power supply section of the D power supply 17 is a DC power supply in which a driving IC 76, a switching transistor Q73, a transformer 77, a diode D75, a capacitor C74, a half-wave rectifying and smoothing circuit, and a capacitor C75 (for high frequency bypass) are connected in parallel. It is composed of a resistor R71 for current detection.

The driving IC 76 is turned on / off by a trigger signal TDT input to the input terminal T, like the driving IC 70, and the input terminal P
PW corresponding to the target value setting signal DDP input to the DC input and the DC current value detected by the resistor R71 and input to the analog input terminal-
By outputting the M pulse to the base of the transistor Q73, the DC power induced in the secondary winding of the transformer 77 and half-wave rectified and smoothed by the diode D75 and the capacitor C74 is subjected to constant current control.

The other analog input terminal + of the driving IC 76 is grounded because there is no signal to be input.

The negative side of the DC power output from this DC power supply is an output terminal
The + side is connected to one end of a secondary winding 73a of the transformer 73, and a DC bias is superimposed on a constant voltage AC high voltage generated in the secondary winding 73a.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a portion related to the high-voltage power supply control of the controller 11 shown in FIG.
(Microcomputer) 80 and a timer IC81.

The MPU 80 including a ROM and a RAM (not shown) includes, for example, the polarity and absolute value of the DC component of the current flowing from each high-voltage power supply to the photosensitive drum 1 detected or detected by the current detection circuit 10 (FIG. 2) when the power supply is turned on. Each signal Dp, Ddc, Dac for AC is input port PA0 and A / D converter input terminals AN0, AN1 respectively.
And data corresponding to the target value of the voltage or current of each high-voltage power supply is determined and stored in the RAM so that those signals become optimal values.

During the copying operation, it is impossible to determine data corresponding to each target value because the output from each high-voltage power supply overlaps and flows through the photosensitive drum 1, so that it is not possible to determine data corresponding to each target value. This is executed at the time of initial setting when the power is turned on, or at the time of standby after the number of copies exceeds a certain number.

That is, for example, each of the high-voltage power supplies is independently turned on (while other high-voltage power supplies are turned off) for a certain period of time, and during this time, the current flowing through the photosensitive drum 1 is changed in polarity and absolute value of the DC component and the AC component (P -P), which is determined or detected, and one of them is taken according to the high-voltage power supply, and the target value is changed so that it becomes a required value. Store the data.

At the time of execution, if a target value is set based on the stored data, a current of a correct value flows through the photosensitive drum 1 even if there is a loss current such as a leak due to contamination of each charger.

If the output voltage or current of each high-voltage power supply including such a loss current is out of the allowable range, the charger is cleaned or an error is displayed to stop the accident, thereby preventing an accident.

When the start button on the operation panel (not shown) is pressed to start copying, the MPU 80 sends data stored in the RAM according to the target value of each high-voltage power supply to the bus line (D0 to D0).
Output to timer IC81 via D7).

Timer IC81 consisting of multiple programmable counters
Sets a pulse signal having a duty ratio corresponding to a target value by setting input data to each programmable counter and counting clocks output from a built-in oscillator (not shown) up to the set data.
GP, BP, TP, DAP, and DDP are output from output terminals 3B, 2A, 2B, 1A, and 1B.

These pulse signals GP, BP, TP, DAP, DDP are
After passing through the buffers 82 (as shown in FIG. 2), the signals are output to the G power supply 13, the B power supply 14, the T power supply 16, and the D power supply 17, respectively.

The MPU 80 outputs trigger signals CGT, BT, and TDT from the output ports PF0, PF1, and PF2 at respective timings, and those trigger signals also pass through the buffers of the buffer group 83.
The trigger signal CGT is applied to the C power supply 12 and G power supply 13 and the trigger signal BT
Is input to the B power supply 14, and the trigger signal TDT is input to the T power supply 16 and the D power supply 17, respectively, and controls ON / OFF of each high voltage power supply.

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of a current detection circuit 10 according to the present invention for detecting a current flowing from each high-voltage power supply to a photosensitive drum 1.

The two input terminals on the upper left of FIG. 1 are connected to +5 V of the stabilized DC power supply and the ground, and the two input terminals on the lower left are connected to the photosensitive drum 1 and the frame of the copying machine, respectively.
The four output terminals on the right side of the figure are the polarity Dp and absolute value Ddc of the DC component, the AC component Dac, and the ground GND, respectively, from the top.
And the ground and the frame are at the same potential.

The auxiliary power supply 20 includes an IC 21 (for example, M5291 manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation) for controlling the switching regulator and a resistor R1,
It is composed of a peripheral circuit composed of R2, R3, capacitors C1, C2, C3, a diode D1, and a yoke coil L1, inputs power of + 5V, and supplies stabilized power of -5V to operational amplifiers 22 to 27.
Output as a negative power supply.

Assuming that the output current of the auxiliary power supply 20 is 3 mA, the constants of the respective elements are R1 = 1.5Ω, R2 = 3.3KΩ, R3 = 1KΩ, C1 =
C2 = 100 μF, C3 = 820 pF, L1 = 270 μH.

In FIG. 1, the power supply connections to the operational amplifiers 22 and 24 to 27 are omitted, but all are connected to the positive and negative power supply input terminals with the same capacitors as the capacitors C8 and C9, similarly to the operational amplifier 23. ing.

The current flowing through the photosensitive drum 1 for each high-voltage power supply is input from the drum input terminal, passes through a current detecting resistor R4, and falls to the frame (that is, the ground), and a voltage signal proportional to the current is generated at both ends of the resistor R4. I do.

When the voltage drop due to the resistor R4 becomes about several volts, the surface potential of the photoconductor changes accordingly to affect the image, so that the level of the voltage signal cannot be increased too much. Therefore, in this embodiment, the maximum value of the AC square wave current of the D power supply 17 through which the current flows most is set to ± 400 μA, and R4 is set to 2 KΩ so that the voltage signal level at that time becomes ± 0.8 V.

The voltage signals generated across the resistor R4 are positive and negative 5V
The signal portion exceeding ± 5 V is clipped by the clipping diodes D2 and D3 connected to the power supply, and after the mixed noise is removed by the capacitor C4, the signal is supplied to the LPF 28 which is the first low-pass filter centered on the operational amplifier 22. input.

This LPF 28 is composed of an operational amplifier 22, resistors R5, R6, R7 and a capacitor C5, and the constant of each element is R5 = 7.5KΩ, R6 = 1.
By setting 0KΩ, R7 = 30KΩ, C5 = 0.001μF, it has the characteristics of amplification factor = 4, cutoff frequency = 5.3KHz, and is the first low-pass filter, and also serves as the amplifying means thereafter. .

FIGS. 9 and 10 show the separation charger 7 from the D power source 17.
Of the current flowing through the photosensitive drum 1 due to the corona discharge
FIG. 11 is a waveform diagram showing an example of a voltage signal at the input / output terminal (points A and B) of F28, and FIG. 11 is a theoretical waveform diagram showing the output of the D power supply 17 converted to a current.

As is clear from FIG. 11, the output of the D power supply 17 has a frequency of 500 Hz, a period of 2 ms, and a positive and negative cycle of 1 ms each, and a DC bias of +10 μA superimposed on a rectangular wave AC having an amplitude of ± 400 μA. is there.

The input signal at point A shown in FIG. 9 is slightly asymmetric between positive and negative, and a remarkable high frequency ripple due to the characteristic of the negative corona discharge appears in the negative cycle.

On the other hand, the output signal at the point B shown in FIG. 10 passes through the LPF 28 having a cutoff frequency of 5.3 KHz, so that the spike noise and remarkable high frequency ripple shown in FIG. It shows that it has been amplified.

The output of this LPF 28 is divided into two, one of which (the AC component) passes through the coupling capacitor C10, and is doubled voltage rectified and smoothed by the coupling capacitor C10, the diodes D4 and D5, and the (electrolytic) capacitor C11. The DC voltage signal, which is the PP value of the AC component, is divided by 1/2 by a voltage divider composed of resistors R8 and R9, and the A / D of the MPU 80 of the controller 11 is output as an AC voltage signal Dac. Converter input terminal AN
Output to 1 (Fig. 8).

That is, the voltage doubler rectifying / smoothing circuit including the capacitors C10 and C11 and the diodes D4 and D5 and the voltage divider including the resistors R8 and R9 constitute an AC component detecting unit.

The LPF 29, which is a second low-pass filter centered on the operational amplifier 23, is a Butterworth LPF including the operational amplifier 23, the resistors R10 and R11, and the capacitors C6 and C7. By setting μF and C7 = 0.1 μF, the cutoff frequency is 9.4 Hz.

When the other output of the LPF 28 passes through the LPF 29, the AC component consisting of the fundamental frequency of 500 Hz and its high frequency is almost completely cut off, and only the DC component is input to the operational amplifier 24.

The operational amplifier 24 constitutes an amplifier circuit which is an amplifying means together with a peripheral circuit including the resistors R12, R13 and R14, and its constant is set to R1.
By setting 3 = 10KΩ and R14 = 30KΩ, the input signal is amplified four times and output to the set of the operational amplifier 25 and the operational amplifiers 26 and 27, respectively.

The operational amplifier 25 includes resistors R15, R16, R17 and a diode D6.
A polarity discriminating circuit, which is a polarity discriminating means, is constituted together with the peripheral circuit composed of.

That is, the constants of the resistors R15 and R16 are R15 = 100Ω, R16 = 100
By setting to KΩ, a simple shunt circuit is formed, and a DC voltage signal amplified by (4 × 4 =) 16 times from the level of the point A output from the operational amplifier 24 is supplied to the − terminal of the operational amplifier 25. By inputting, if the input level exceeds ± 5 mV, saturated outputs of -5 V and +5 V are obtained, respectively.

If the output is negative, it is blocked by the diode D6, and the output side of the diode D6 is grounded by the resistor R17. Therefore, this polarity discriminating circuit has a resolution of 5 mV. Then, the voltage signal Dp of “L” (0 V) is output (to the input port PA0 of the MPU 80 of the controller 11).

The operational amplifiers 26 and 27 are composed of resistors R18, R19, R20 and diodes.
Together with the peripheral circuit composed of D7 and D8, an absolute value output circuit as an absolute value detecting means is constituted, and the constants of the resistors R18 to R20 are all
It is set to 10KΩ.

An input signal from the operational amplifier 24 (here, referred to as “original signal”) is supplied to the operational amplifier 26 via resistors R18 and R19, respectively.
And the + terminal of the operational amplifier 27,
The output of the operational amplifier 26 is connected to the operational amplifier via the diode D8.
The output of the operational amplifier 27 is connected to the + terminal of the operational amplifier 27 via the resistor R20 and the negative terminal of the operational amplifier 26, respectively, to form a loop.

Further, since the output of the operational amplifier 27 is directly fed back to the minus terminal, the input is output as it is with the amplification factor of the operational amplifier 27 = 1.

When the original signal is positive, the-terminal of the operational amplifier 26 is also positive via the resistor R18, and the output becomes negative.
The signal is cut off by D8, and the original signal is
And output as it is as a voltage signal Ddc.

When the original signal is negative, it is also input to the + terminal of the operational amplifier 27 via the resistor R19, but is input to the operational amplifier 26 via the resistor R18.
The positive output is input to the + terminal of the operational amplifier 27 via the diode D8, and the output impedance of the operational amplifier 26 is much lower than R19, so the original signal input via the resistor R19 has no effect. do not do.

Accordingly, the output of the operational amplifier 27 also becomes positive, and the output is fed back to the minus terminal of the operational amplifier 26 via the resistor R20. Since R20 = R19, the amplification factor of this loop circuit is -1. .

That is, the absolute value output circuit always outputs the absolute value of the voltage signal Ddc (to the input port AN0 of the MPU 80 of the controller 11) regardless of whether the voltage signal input from the operational amplifier 24 is positive or negative.

Summarizing the above, the current detection circuit 10 shown in FIG.
The current flowing through the photosensitive drum 1 is detected, and the polarity of the DC component is converted into a digital binary signal by the input port PA0 of the MPU 80.
Then, the absolute value of the DC component and the AC component (PP value) are output to the two A / D converter input terminals AN0 and AN1 of the MPU 80 as positive analog voltage signals.

Needless to say, the diodes D6, D7, and D8 each function as ideal diodes because they are provided in the feedback loop.

Hereinafter, a signal level in each section of the current detection circuit 10 will be described.

The C power supply 12 does not need to set a target value, and the B power supply 14 hardly allows current to flow, and the bias voltage is set mainly according to the specified concentration conditions, the number of continuous uses, and the ambient temperature. Therefore, these two may be excluded.

The G power supply 13 and the T power supply 16 are KV-class negative high voltage power supplies,
Thus, the variable range of the current flowing through the photosensitive drum 1 is 0 to -100 [mu] A.

The DC biased AC high voltage of the D power supply 17 which is a problem is, in the example shown in FIG.
DC bias is +10 for A (PP value 800μA)
Since it is μA, it is only about 1/100.

As already mentioned, the voltage of the detection signal cannot be large and R4
= 2 KΩ, the detection voltage obtained with a DC current of −100 μA is −0.2 V, the detection voltage obtained with an AC current of ± 400 μA is ± 0.8 V, and the detection voltage obtained with a DC bias current of +10 μA is +0.02 V.

The level of each voltage signal obtained by DC current -100μA, AC current ± 400μA, DC bias current + 10μA is L
Assuming that D, LA, and LB, the level at the input stage of LPF28 is LD =
Since −0.2V, LA = ± 0.8V, LB = + 0.02V, the output stage of LPF28 is amplified four times and LD = −0.8V, L
A = ± 3.2V, LB = + 0.08V.

The AC component is double-rectified and LA = 6.4V between the terminals of the capacitor C11.
, The level of the voltage signal Dac is LA = + 3.2V
It is.

The positive or negative DC component passes through LPF29 and then
Since the signal is further amplified four times by the amplifier circuit centered at 4, the level of the output stage of the operational amplifier 24 is LD = + 3.2V, LB =
+ 0.32V.

Since the power supply voltage of the controller 11 is 5 V and the digital output of the A / D converter built in the MPU 80 is composed of 8 bits, the resolution per bit is 5/256.
= 0.0195V / b, which is 256/5 = 51.2b / V per unit voltage.

Therefore, the digitization level of each signal is LD = LA = 16
4 bits, LB = 16 bits, and the MPU 80 outputs the target value setting signals (from LD) GP, TP, (from LA) DAP, (from LB) DD
The accuracy required to determine P is obtained.

If not amplified, the level (and digitization level) of each voltage signal is LD = 0.2V (10 bits), LA =
0.8V (41 bits) and LB = 0.02V (1 bit), which is not practical.

However, if the voltage between the terminals of the current detection resistor R4 is inadvertently amplified without care, for example, the level of each signal will be mixed with high-frequency ripple mixed in and will be amplified. Signal (especially a low-level signal such as the DC bias of the D power supply) degrades the S / N ratio and outputs a signal that does not know what is being detected, or sets the allowable level to each operational amplifier including the LPF at the subsequent stage. Problems such as the input of an excessive signal may occur.

In the embodiment, first, the high-frequency component of 5.3 KHz or more is attenuated by the LPF 28 and amplified after completely removing the high-frequency ripple, so that there is no intermodulation distortion, and the fundamental frequency is 500H.
The AC component of z can be amplified almost without damaging the original waveform.

The amplification factor of the LPF 28 = 4 is not limited to this value. In this case, it is sufficient that the output of the AC having the highest level falls within the allowable input level of the A / D converter and the LPF 29 with an appropriate margin.

For the same reason, the DC component is also amplified after the AC component is cut off by the LPF 29, and the amplification factor is set based on the negative DC component having a large level.

Conventionally, positive and negative DC components were detected as peak values while including the AC component, and the sum of the absolute values was used as the AC component and the difference was used as the DC component voltage signal. Even if the signal is not a problem, the difference in the DC component cannot avoid the deterioration of the relative accuracy.

In this embodiment, the AC component is separated from the DC component and then rectified and smoothed and taken out, and since the DC component takes its absolute value after the AC component is cut off, it does not interfere with each other, and the relative accuracy is degraded. Does not occur.

In addition, A / D
It is easy to connect to a converter, and only two A / D converters are required.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, the current detection circuit according to the present invention accurately detects each component of the current flowing through the photoconductor due to corona discharge, that is, the AC component, the positive and negative DC components, and particularly the minute DC component, and detects each high-voltage power supply. Enables precise control.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main part of a high voltage system of the copying machine, and FIGS. FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the high-voltage power supply control system, FIGS. 9 and 10 are waveform diagrams showing an example of the detected voltage signal, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram illustrating an example of an output of a power supply. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Photoreceptor drum, 10 ... Current detection circuit 11 ... Controller, 12 ... C power supply 13 ... G power supply, 14 ... B power supply 16 ... T power supply, 17 ... D power supply 22-27 ... Operational amplifier 28: LPF (first low-pass filter) 29: LPF (second low-pass filter) R4: Current detection resistor

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-1-321448 (JP, A) JP-A-58-127367 (JP, A) JP-A-58-16565 (JP, U) JP-A-2-162 6266 (JP, U) Actually open 58-92677 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01R 19/00-19/32 G03G 15/00-15/36

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An electrostatic latent image type image forming apparatus for detecting a current flowing through a photoreceptor by an AC or DC corona discharge and controlling an output of a high voltage power supply for the corona discharge in accordance with the detected value. In the current detection circuit used, a current detection resistor connected in series between the photoconductor and the ground or between the ground and the high voltage power supply, and the current detection resistor is proportional to the current flowing through the current detection resistor. The high frequency ripple generated at both ends is cut off from a voltage signal including a high frequency ripple of several tens KHz or more due to the characteristic of corona discharge and an AC component considerably larger than the DC component to be detected, and the DC component and the AC component are output. A first low-pass filter, and an amplifying unit that amplifies a high-voltage signal including a DC component and an AC component output by removing the high-frequency ripple by the first low-pass filter. An AC component detecting unit that detects an AC component from the voltage signal amplified by the amplifying unit; and an AC component from the voltage signal amplified by the amplifying unit, the AC component detecting unit having a cutoff frequency lower than that of the first low-pass filter. A second low-pass filter that cuts off and outputs only a DC component; an absolute value detection unit that detects an absolute value of the DC component that has passed through the second low-pass filter; and a DC component that has passed through the second low-pass filter. A current detection circuit comprising: a polarity discriminating means for discriminating between positive and negative polarities.