JP4250512B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a method for controlling the image forming apparatus. More specifically, the present invention includes a storage unit that stores information and a mechanism portion that is driven for image formation. Communication control in an image forming apparatus configured to read and update stored information.

  Image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and laser printers using an electrophotographic system are widely used nowadays, and many types of image forming apparatuses are conventionally known.

  A typical configuration example of such an image forming apparatus will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a paper cassette 102 for storing paper as a storage medium, a photosensitive drum 101 as a latent image carrier, a cartridge 108, an optical unit 109, a fixing unit 103 as a fixing device, and the like. have.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a paper feed motor (not shown) that feeds and conveys a recording medium, a photosensitive drum drive motor (not shown) that drives a photosensitive drum and a transfer roller, and a fixing unit 103. A fixing drive motor (not shown) for driving the fixing roller, and a double-sided reversing motor (not shown) capable of switching back to carry out the paper discharge port of the paper discharge unit and the double-sided conveyance unit are provided.

  The optical unit 109 is configured to form a latent image by exposing and scanning the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 with a laser beam. The latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 is visualized as a toner image by toner as a developer by a developing device (not shown) provided in the cartridge 108. The cartridge 108 is unitized with a non-volatile memory 111 as storage means for storing predetermined information, and is configured to be detachable from the main body.

  The toner image on the photosensitive drum 101 is transferred onto a recording medium fed from the paper cassette 102, and the recording medium is heated and pressed at a predetermined temperature by a fixing roller of the fixing unit 103 so that the toner image is recorded on the recording medium. To be established.

  The transfer operation and the fixing operation are performed under optimum transfer and fixing conditions by measuring and controlling the current flowing through the transfer roller and the fixing roller.

  The photosensitive drum and the fixing device are consumables that deteriorate as the image forming apparatus is used, and need to be replaced when the lifetimes of the photosensitive drum and the fixing device are reached. For this reason, a unit that is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus is generally used so that the user can easily replace it. For example, the above-described cartridge, a developing unit in which the photosensitive drum and the developing device are unitized, and a fixing unit in which the fixing device is unitized.

  In addition, a non-volatile memory or the like is provided in such a cartridge or unit to store information such as usage history, and the CPU, which is a control means of the apparatus main body, reads out the contents of the memory, so that the lifetime and replacement period Is also notified to the user.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between a main body including a photosensitive drum and a non-volatile memory, a removable cartridge, and the apparatus main body. In the figure, the cartridge 201 includes a non-volatile memory 202, a developing device 204, a photosensitive drum This is a so-called process cartridge having a drum 205 and a transfer roller 206.

  When the cartridge 201 is attached to the apparatus main body, the contact of the communication interface 203 of the main body and the contact in the cartridge 201 come into contact with each other, so that the CPU 200 can communicate with the nonvolatile memory 202 through the communication interface 203. In this state, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses that the CPU 200 detects the state of the process cartridge 201 from information stored in the non-volatile memory 202 and performs control so that optimum printing conditions are obtained based on the state. ing.

  The illustrated cartridge 201 includes a developing device 204 and a transfer roller 206. In the cartridge having such a configuration, the developing device 204 and the transfer roller 206 can be brought into contact with and separated from the photosensitive drum 205. Some have a mechanism (hereinafter also referred to as a contact / separation mechanism).

  By controlling such a contact / separation mechanism, during periods when the drum, developing device, transfer roller, etc. are not used for image formation, they are separated to avoid unnecessary rotation of the drum and roller, thereby reducing the service life. Techniques such as lengthening the length are well known. For example, in a conventional image forming apparatus, a contact / separation operation is performed during image formation in order to avoid unnecessary rotation of the developing device 204 and the transfer roller 206 as much as possible. Furthermore, during image formation, the CPU 200 communicates with the nonvolatile memory 202 in order to read information from the nonvolatile memory 202 and update information.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 09-120198

  However, as described above, communication is performed between a removable cartridge including a mechanism portion driven for image formation and a storage unit (memory) provided in the unit and a control unit (CPU) of the apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus configured as described above has the following problems.

  Normally, the information in the nonvolatile memory is updated at a predetermined timing during image formation. However, in a process cartridge having a mechanism portion such as a developing device or a transfer roller, the vibration due to the contact and separation operation of the mechanism portion described above is transmitted, and the electrical connection between the memory of the process cartridge and the apparatus main body is lost. There is a case where a stable state occurs and communication between the two is interrupted.

  If the connection is interrupted while the CPU of the device main body is communicating with the memory, not only communication with the non-volatile memory becomes impossible, but also erroneous data is written to the memory, or the memory is destroyed. In some cases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the situation as described above. In an image forming apparatus including a storage unit for storing information and a mechanism portion driven for image formation, the image forming apparatus includes a unit that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. An object of the present invention is to prevent the destruction of the storage means and the data stored therein by controlling the drive timing of the mechanism part in the unit and the communication timing with the storage means.

An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention that achieves the above object is an image in which a cartridge having storage means for storing information, an image carrier, and a member that acts on the image carrier for image formation is detachable. In the forming device,
Control means for controlling a contact / separation operation of the member acting on the image carrier with respect to the image carrier;
Equipped with a communication means for communicating with said storage means for reading and updating of data stored in the storage means,
The control means divides the data to be communicated into a plurality of blocks when communicating with the storage means, and performs control to execute data communication for each of the divided blocks. During data communication with the storage means When receiving an instruction for a contact / separation operation of a member acting on the image carrier, the data communication is temporarily interrupted after communication of the block in communication is completed when the instruction is received, and the member The contact / separation operation is started, and the data communication is controlled to resume after the contact / separation operation ends .

An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention that achieves the above object includes a cartridge having a storage means for storing information, an image carrier, and a member that acts on the image carrier for image formation. In a possible image forming apparatus,
Control means for controlling a contact / separation operation of the member acting on the image carrier with respect to the image carrier;
Communication means for communicating with the storage means in order to read and update data stored in the storage means,
The control means divides the data to be communicated into a plurality of blocks when communicating with the storage means, and performs control to execute data communication for each of the divided blocks. During data communication with the storage means When receiving an instruction for the contact / separation operation of the member acting on the image carrier, the contact / separation operation of the member is started in response to the instruction, and communication is performed when the instruction is received. After the block communication is completed, the data communication is temporarily interrupted, and the data communication is resumed after the contact / separation operation is completed.

  In this way, the electrical connection between the unit and the apparatus main body is likely to be unstable, and communication during driving is restricted, so that the electrical connection is interrupted and communication is interrupted while communicating with the storage means. Thus, it is possible to prevent the storage means and the data stored in the bottom from being destroyed.

  The object of the present application is also achieved by a computer program including a code for causing a computer device to execute the control method of the image forming apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program.

  According to the present invention, the electrical connection between the unit and the apparatus main body is likely to be unstable, and the communication between the drives is restricted. Therefore, the electrical connection is interrupted and the communication is performed while communicating with the storage unit. It is possible to prevent the storage means and data stored in the bottom from being interrupted and being destroyed.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the components described in the following embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them.

(First embodiment)
The basic configuration and operation of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention are the same as those of the conventional example described above with reference to FIGS.

  In the present embodiment, the timing when the control means (CPU) of the apparatus main body communicates with the nonvolatile memory in the cartridge and the timing when the contact / separation mechanism in the cartridge is driven to perform the contact / separation operation. Manage and control so that both timings do not overlap.

  That is, as described in the above-described conventional example, the contact / separation operation is performed by driving the contact / separation mechanism of the developing device 204 and the transfer roller 206 during image formation, but the CPU 200 uses the communication interface 203. Via the non-volatile memory 202. Therefore, in this embodiment, the CPU 200 performs communication with the nonvolatile memory 202 by dividing the communication block into a plurality of communication blocks of a predetermined unit, and performs control so that communication is not performed while the contact / separation operation is performed.

  FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing an example of the timing of communication with the nonvolatile memory and the contact / separation operation in the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, communication blocks between the CPU 200 and the nonvolatile memory 202 are indicated by communication 1, communication 2,... The minimum unit may be set based on a data communication clock generated from the CPU, or may be set based on the number of data to be communicated.

  The CPU 200 confirms whether or not the execution of the contact / separation operation is instructed (execution command is issued) before executing the communication of each block, and the execution of the contact / separation operation is instructed. If not, communication of each block is executed. On the other hand, when the execution of the contact / separation operation is instructed, the communication of the next block is not performed, the power supply to the communication interface 203 is stopped, and the contact / separation operation is executed. Then, after the contact / separation operation is completed, power is supplied to the communication interface 203 and communication of the next block is executed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 3, the execution of the contact / separation operation is instructed while the communication block 3 is being executed (before the start of the communication block 4), and the CPU is contacted / separated at the timing (t31) when the communication block 3 ends. The operation is executed, and power is supplied to the communication interface 203 at the timing (t32) when the contact / separation operation ends, and the communication block 4 is executed.

  FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing another example of the timing of the communication with the nonvolatile memory and the contact / separation operation in the present embodiment. In the example of FIG. 4, the contact / separation operation is already performed at the timing (t41) before the CPU 200 starts communication with the nonvolatile memory 202. In this case, power is supplied to the communication interface 203 at the timing (t42) when the contact / separation operation ends, and communication with the nonvolatile memory 202 is executed from the block 1.

  In order for the CPU to manage whether or not communication with the nonvolatile memory is performed, whether or not the execution of the contact / separation operation is instructed, and whether or not the contact / separation operation is performed, For example, it is conceivable to use a flag indicating each state. In other words, a memory (not shown) in the CPU 200 can be provided with a flag indicating the state of the contact / separation operation and a flag indicating the communication state with the nonvolatile memory, thereby managing each state.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the CPU 200 and the nonvolatile memory 202 communicate with each other while the developing device 204 and the transfer roller 206 of the priority cartridge 201 perform the communication between the CPU 200 and the nonvolatile memory 202. By controlling so as not to perform the communication, the communication between the CPU and the non-volatile memory is reliably performed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent data destruction of the nonvolatile memory and destruction of the nonvolatile memory due to the interruption of communication.

(Second Embodiment)
The second embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below. Note that the configuration and basic control of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, and thus description thereof will be omitted. The following description will focus on characteristic portions of the second embodiment. To do.

  Depending on the configuration of the apparatus, even if the contact / separation operation is started, the vibration that affects the contact between the cartridge and the apparatus main body does not occur immediately. This embodiment pays attention to this point, and enables the contact / separation operation to be executed even during communication.

  FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing an example of the timing of the communication with the nonvolatile memory and the contact / separation operation in the present embodiment. In the example of FIG. 5, the contact / separation operation is started after the timing (t51) when the communication of the third block is started (t51), and the communication of the fourth block is performed after the contact / separation operation is finished (t53). Is called.

  That is, the contact / separation operation is started during the execution of the communication of the third block. However, immediately after the start of the contact / separation operation, vibration that affects the contact between the cartridge and the apparatus main body does not normally occur. Therefore, the communication of the third block is likely to be performed normally.

  With reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6, the communication procedure with the non-volatile memory in this embodiment is demonstrated. When the CPU 200 attempts to start communication with the non-volatile memory 202, it first confirms whether or not the abutment / separation operation of the developing device 204 and the transfer roller 206 is performed by checking the state of the flag. (Step S <b> 101) If it is being performed, the process waits until the operation is completed. Then, one block of communication with the non-volatile memory 202 is started (step S102) and waits until it is finished (step S103).

  It is checked again whether or not the contact / separation operation is performed when the communication of one block is completed (step S104). If the contact / separation operation is not performed, whether or not the communication of the block is successful. Is determined (step S105). If the communication is successful, the communication of the next block is started to continue the communication (step S106), the process returns to step S103, and the subsequent processing is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S105 that communication has failed, an error message is displayed on the control panel or the like to notify the user (step S107).

  In addition, in step S104, when the contact / separation operation is performed at the time when the communication of one block is completed, it is determined whether the communication of the block is successful (step S108). In this case, the process waits until the contact / separation operation ends (step S109), and then starts communication of the next block (step S110). If communication has failed in step S108, the process waits until the contact / separation operation ends (step S111), and then restarts communication from the failed block (step S112). After one block of communication in steps S110 and S112, the process returns to step S103 to perform the subsequent processing.

  In step S112, when the communication of the failed block is resumed, a recovery process may be performed to ensure consistency with the nonvolatile memory 202, and then the communication may be resumed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the CPU 200 and the nonvolatile memory 202 perform communication of a new block while the developing device 204 of the cartridge 201 and the transfer roller 206 are performing contact and separation operations. By controlling so that the time required for communication between the CPU and the nonvolatile memory does not increase more than necessary, data destruction of the nonvolatile memory and destruction of the nonvolatile memory can be prevented.

(Third embodiment)
The third embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below. Note that the configuration and basic control of the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment are the same as those of the first and second embodiments, and thus description thereof will be omitted. The characteristic portions of the third embodiment will be described below. The explanation is centered.

  In the present embodiment, when the contact / separation operation is performed during communication of the next block after the communication of each block is completed, the contact / separation operation is performed without performing communication of the block, Control is performed so that communication is resumed after the contact / separation operation is completed. That is, in the first embodiment, during the execution of communication, the contact / separation operation is executed after the communication of the block is completed. However, in this embodiment, the execution of the contact / separation operation is instructed, and If it can be executed during the communication of the block, the contact / separation operation is preferentially executed.

  FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing an example of the timing of communication with the nonvolatile memory and the contact / separation operation in the present embodiment. In the example of FIG. 7, the execution of the contact / separation operation is instructed after the timing (t71) when the communication of the second block is finished, and this is indicated by A until the timing (t73) when the communication of the third block is finished. The time indicated by B until the timing (t72) when the contact / separation operation is started is shorter than the time. For this reason, the contact / separation operation is executed without starting the communication of the third block, and the communication of the third block is performed after the contact / separation operation ends (t74).

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the developing device 204 of the cartridge 201 and the transfer roller 206 preferentially execute the contact / separation operation, while the CPU 200 and the nonvolatile memory 202 are being executed during the contact / separation operation. By controlling so as not to perform communication, data destruction of the nonvolatile memory and destruction of the nonvolatile memory can be more reliably prevented without increasing the time of the image forming operation.

(Other embodiments)
In each of the above-described embodiments, since the connection between the contact of the communication interface 203 and the nonvolatile memory 202 becomes unstable while the developing device 204 and the transfer roller 206 perform the contact / separation operation, the CPU Is controlled so as not to communicate with the non-volatile memory 202 (or communication of a new block), but the contact between the communication interface 203 and the non-volatile memory 202 is unstable as in the contact / separation operation. (The contact portion may be separated), the CPU 200 is connected to the nonvolatile memory 202 with respect to the timing when the speed of the image carrier 205 and the developing device 204 changes, the timing when the rotation direction changes, and the like. Communication may be controlled similarly.

  That is, when the image carrier 205 and the developing device 204 are started and stopped, or when the speed is switched to half speed, and when the rotation direction during image formation is defined as “forward rotation”, You may control not to perform communication with CPU and the non-volatile memory 202 at the timing switched to "reverse rotation" operation | movement.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention has been described with respect to communication with information storage means (nonvolatile memory) provided in the cartridge. However, the present invention is provided in other units, for example, a fixing unit. The present invention can also be applied to communication with information storage means (nonvolatile memory).

  The present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices including an apparatus corresponding to the image forming apparatus described above, or may be applied to an apparatus (image forming apparatus) including one apparatus. .

  Further, although the electrophotographic image forming apparatus has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention may be applied to an image forming apparatus such as an ink jet recording system other than the electrophotographic system.

  In the present invention, a software program (in this embodiment, a program corresponding to the timing charts and flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 to 7) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment is directly or remotely supplied to the system or apparatus. However, this includes a case where the system or apparatus computer also achieves by reading and executing the supplied program code. In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, the form does not need to be a program.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. That is, the claims of the present invention include the computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

  In this case, the program may be in any form as long as it has a program function, such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to the OS.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R).

  As another program supply method, a client computer browser is used to connect to an Internet homepage, and the computer program of the present invention itself or a compressed file including an automatic installation function is downloaded from the homepage to a recording medium such as a hard disk. Can also be supplied. It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the scope of the present invention.

  In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and key information for decryption is downloaded from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer.

  In addition to the functions of the above-described embodiments being realized by the computer executing the read program, the OS running on the computer based on the instruction of the program is a part of the actual processing. Alternatively, the functions of the above-described embodiment can be realized by performing all of them and performing the processing.

  Furthermore, after the program read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board or The CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a typical configuration of an image forming apparatus. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between a main body including a photosensitive drum and a nonvolatile memory, a removable cartridge, and an apparatus main body. FIG. It is a timing chart which shows an example of the timing of communication with the non-volatile memory in 1st Embodiment, and contact / separation operation | movement. It is a timing chart which shows another example of the timing of communication with the non-volatile memory in 1st Embodiment, and contact / separation operation | movement. It is a timing chart which shows an example of the timing of communication with the non-volatile memory in 2nd Embodiment, and contact / separation operation | movement. It is a flowchart which shows the communication procedure with the non-volatile memory in 2nd Embodiment. It is a timing chart which shows an example of the timing of communication with the non-volatile memory in 3rd Embodiment, and contact / separation operation | movement.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image forming apparatus 101 Photosensitive drum 102 Paper feed cassette 103 Fixing unit 108 Process cartridge 110 Transfer roller 111 Non-volatile memory 200 CPU
201 Process cartridge 202 Non-volatile memory 203 Communication interface 204 Developer 205 Photosensitive drum 206 Transfer roller

Claims (5)

In an image forming apparatus in which a cartridge having storage means for storing information, an image carrier, and a member acting on the image carrier for image formation is detachable,
Control means for controlling a contact / separation operation of the member acting on the image carrier with respect to the image carrier;
Equipped with a communication means for communicating with said storage means for reading and updating of data stored in the storage means,
The control means divides the data to be communicated into a plurality of blocks when communicating with the storage means, and performs control to execute data communication for each of the divided blocks. During data communication with the storage means When receiving an instruction for a contact / separation operation of a member acting on the image carrier, the data communication is temporarily interrupted after communication of the block in communication is completed when the instruction is received, and the member The image forming apparatus is configured to start the contact / separation operation and to resume data communication after the contact / separation operation ends . In an image forming apparatus in which a cartridge having storage means for storing information, an image carrier, and a member acting on the image carrier for image formation is detachable,
  Control means for controlling a contact / separation operation of the member acting on the image carrier with respect to the image carrier;
  Communication means for communicating with the storage means in order to read and update data stored in the storage means,
  The control means divides the data to be communicated into a plurality of blocks when communicating with the storage means, and performs control to execute data communication for each of the divided blocks. During data communication with the storage means When receiving an instruction for the contact / separation operation of the member acting on the image carrier, the contact / separation operation of the member is started in response to the instruction, and communication is performed when the instruction is received. An image forming apparatus, wherein data communication is temporarily interrupted after block communication is completed, and the data communication is resumed after the contact / separation operation is completed. Wherein when the data communication block in communication when receiving the instruction has not been performed correctly, in claim 2, wherein the controller controls to perform communication of the block again The image forming apparatus described. The storage means of the cartridge and the apparatus main body each have a terminal, and when the cartridge is mounted on the apparatus main body, both terminals come into contact with each other and are electrically connected. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is a non-volatile memory that stores information relating to a history of the image forming apparatus.

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