JP4563783B2 - Image forming apparatus and waste toner bottle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a waste toner bottle, and more particularly to a waste toner bottle for collecting waste toner obtained by collecting untransferred toner remaining on an image carrier after image formation, and the waste toner bottle. An image forming apparatus comprising: a waste toner amount detection unit that detects a near-end state in which toner is almost full; and a quantity control unit that controls the waste toner amount detection unit to form a predetermined number of images after the near-end state is detected. About.

  In image forming apparatuses, with the improvement in image quality of electrophotographic printers, copiers, or composite machines of these, it is desired to mount small-diameter toner or polymerized toner. From the standpoint of extending the life of the image forming system and exchangability, the mainstream is one that has a separate toner bottle and waste toner bottle and is equipped with a detachable process cartridge.

  The waste toner bottle for collecting after cleaning the residual toner from the photoconductor is inconvenient in actual use if the waste toner becomes full and the printing operation cannot be performed immediately. In many cases, the near-end state is detected by the control, and even after the near-end state is detected, the predetermined number of sheets is controlled to be printed.

  The following technologies are related to the image forming apparatus for measuring the amount of waste toner. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-260260 provides control means for comparing the number of copies that can be made until the copy process is prohibited after the waste toner is detected, and the designated number of copies input from the operation unit. There is a document that outputs a waste toner full signal when it exceeds, displays it on the operation unit, and puts it in a copy prohibited state.

  Patent Document 2 calculates the number of copies that can be made until a copy-prohibited state is detected after full detection based on a subtraction value that differs depending on each copy mode and recording paper size that is performed after full detection, and displays this. Is described.

  Patent Document 3 includes a conveyance screw that conveys waste toner to a collection container, a photointerrupter that detects additional fluctuations when the collection screw is full and when the collection screw is full, and the collection container is just before full. Is displayed on the display panel and has a control means for stopping the apparatus.

  In Patent Document 4, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that uses toner and has a means for collecting the collected toner in a container, when the toner cartridge is replaced, the number of sheets that can be copied by the previous cartridge; The document describes that the amount of toner collected by copying per sheet is calculated from the number of jammings, and the number of copies for displaying a toner full warning is set based on the result.

  In Patent Document 5, after the waste toner full detection means detects the waste toner full, the accumulated amount of waste toner is calculated according to the image printing density or the printing mode, and thereby the remaining space of the cleaning container is accurately obtained. It has been described that can recognize the state of and can fully use the remaining space

  Patent Document 6 discloses an image forming apparatus in which a photosensitive drum, a toner container, and a waste toner collecting container are integrated, and a removable process cartridge having a nonvolatile memory and a process cartridge that can be recycled by toner refilling. The non-volatile memory has, as a waste toner overflow counter, a storage area that can call and store waste toner amount data corresponding to the total number of printed sheets before and after the start of a series of printing processes. An image forming apparatus is described in which the life of the process cartridge can be calculated based on the quantity data, and the display unit can display the calculated life of the process cartridge.

JP-A-3-288168 JP-A-4-338993 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 04-107276 JP-A-9-90753 JP 2000-112304 A JP 2002-287484 A

  However, in order to simplify the machine body and waste toner bottles and reduce costs, if the waste toner bottle does not have a new product detection mechanism, the waste toner bottle that has been detected near-end is hit or shaken, or the waste toner is moved to one side. If it is reused, full detection is released.

  In such a case, the printer is ready for printing after reuse, but since nearly full waste toner is already contained, near-end detection works again earlier than usual, but the amount of waste toner that can be recovered after near-end Can not afford. If the reuse of the waste toner bottle after such near-end detection is repeated many times, it will eventually exceed the limit of the waste toner bottle collection amount, and the waste toner may overflow from the bottle and contaminate the machine. There are concerns about the impact on the entire machine, such as the waste toner transport mechanism and the drive system.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 9, during the printing operation (SB1), when the waste toner bottle collects the waste toner to the near-end detection unit, the waste toner near-end is detected (SB2). At this time, a message prompting the replacement of the waste toner bottle is displayed on the operation panel or the like (SB3). Then, a predetermined number of sheets can be printed. If the waste toner bottle is not exchanged within the predetermined number of sheets, the printing operation is stopped when a predetermined number of sheets are passed from the waste toner near end (SB4, SB5).

  However, if the nearly full waste toner bottle detected near-end is shaken or tilted so that there is no waste toner in the full detection unit, the full detection is canceled and the waste toner bottle can be reused. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, a new waste toner bottle is used (SC1), and a waste toner bottle replacement display is made (SC3) in a state where near end is detected (SC2). A display of waste toner bottle replacement is displayed (SC4). At this time, when the nearly full waste toner bottle is shaken and installed again (SC5), the next near-end detection (SC6) is nearly full, so the near-end detection is performed again at an earlier stage than usual ( SC6) can pass N sheets after detecting the near end, and this control is performed continuously (SC7, SC8, SC9...).

  Then, since the waste toner bottle is already almost full in printing after the first near-end detection, if the waste toner bottle is reset many times in this way, N sheets are passed every time after the near-end detection, There is a possibility of exceeding the limit of the amount of waste toner bottles collected.

  In this way, when trying to collect waste toner beyond the limit of the waste toner bottle collection amount, waste toner overflows from the waste toner bottle inlet and stains the inside and outside of the machine. In the worst case, the waste toner transport path and drive system Damage to the machine body such as damage to the machine may occur.

  The present invention performs appropriate control to prevent waste toner overflow and machine damage due to reuse of the waste toner bottle after detection of the waste toner near end, and the user can replace the waste toner bottle at an appropriate time. The purpose is to strongly encourage

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a waste toner bottle that stores waste toner that is a collection of untransferred toner remaining on an image carrier after image formation, and a near-end state in which the waste toner is almost full in the waste toner bottle. An image forming apparatus comprising: a waste toner amount detection unit that detects; and a quantity control unit that permits image formation of a first predetermined quantity after the waste toner amount detection unit detects a near-end state. If a near-end state is detected again when an image is formed within the specified quantity less than the quantity that can be formed from the start of using a new waste toner bottle until it becomes full after replacing the waste toner bottle , an image forming apparatus that reduces from the previous SL first predetermined number of image forming quantity after detecting the near end state.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the quantity control means displays a replacement of a waste toner bottle when detecting a near-end state.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the quantity control means does not permit the subsequent image formation when the near-end detection is performed a predetermined number of times.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the counting means for counting the number of formed images and the waste toner bottle replacement detecting means for detecting that the waste toner bottle has been replaced. And the quantity control means detects a near-end state based on the count value of the counting means after receiving the detection signal from the waste toner bottle replacement detection means and the number of exchanges since the replacement of the new waste toner bottle. The number of images that can be formed later is determined.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the quantity control means has a predetermined value for the quantity of image formation between detection of the waste toner bottle replacement detection means and generation of a near-end state signal. When it is above, it is determined that the waste toner bottle is replaced with a new one.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the quantity control means sets the number of sheets that can be imaged after detecting the near-end state of the waste toner bottle to the actual number of sheets to be passed It is characterized by that.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the control means determines the number of images that can be formed after the near-end detection of the waste toner bottle, and the image to be formed according to the image area ratio. It is characterized by a value converted to a specified number.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first to seventh aspects, the waste toner amount detection means optically detects the amount of waste toner in the waste toner bottle.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the eighth aspect, the waste toner amount detection device is configured integrally with a waste toner bottle.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to ninth aspects is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the tenth aspect, a color image is formed by including a plurality of image forming units.

  The invention of claim 12 comprises a waste toner detection member, an opening formed at a near-end state detection position so that the waste toner detection member can be projected and retracted, and a film member covering the opening from the inside. This waste toner bottle is used in the image forming apparatus.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention has an effect that appropriate control can be performed to prevent overflow of waste toner and damage to the machine due to reuse of the waste toner bottle after detection of waste toner near-end.

  Embodiments as the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a color image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a process cartridge according to the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the process cartridge according to the embodiment. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a process cartridge and a waste toner bottle according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a near-end detection mechanism of the waste toner bottle according to the embodiment. FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing the near end detection, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing control after waste toner near-end of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment.

  First, a process for obtaining a color image will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the color image forming apparatus, which is an image forming apparatus, includes process cartridges 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d, which are image stations, and each image station has an image carrier ( Photoconductor drums) 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d. Around the photosensitive drums 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d, dedicated charging means (electrically resistant rollers) 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d, developing units 16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d, cleaning units, 14a, 14b, and 14c are provided. , 14d. The toner bottle 2 is a container for replenishing toner, and is filled with yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (BK) toners from the left in the figure, and from here through a conveyance path (not shown). The developing units 16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d for each color are replenished by a predetermined replenishment amount.

  When the leading edge of the transfer paper 8 is fed by the paper feed roller 7 and reaches the registration roller 6, it is detected by a sensor (not shown), and the transfer paper 8 is transferred to the secondary transfer roller 5 by the registration roller 6 while taking a timing with this detection signal. It is conveyed to the nip of the intermediate transfer belt 1. The photosensitive drums 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d, which are uniformly charged in advance by the charging rollers 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d, are exposed and scanned with laser light by the writing unit 9, and the photosensitive drums 10a, 10b, and 10c are scanned. , 10d, an electrostatic latent image is created. Each electrostatic latent image is developed by each color developing unit 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, whereby yellow, cyan, magenta, and black toner images are formed on the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 10a, 10b, 10c.

  Next, a voltage is applied to the transfer roller 13, and the toner on each of the photosensitive drums 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d is sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 1. At this time, the image forming operation for each color is executed while shifting the timing from the upstream side toward the downstream side so that the toner image is transferred to the same position on the intermediate transfer belt 1. The image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 1 is conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer roller 5 and secondarily transferred to the transfer paper 8. The transfer paper 8 on which the toner image of each color is transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 4 and thermally fixed, and is discharged by the paper discharge roller 3.

  The residual toner on the photosensitive drums 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d is cleaned by the cleaning units 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d, and the residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 1 is cleaned by the cleaning unit 12. The waste toner is discharged from a waste toner discharge port 19 of a waste toner discharge pipe 18 of the process cartridge 11 into a waste toner bottle 20 provided in the image forming apparatus by a waste toner conveying screw in each cleaning unit 14.

  There is also an image forming apparatus that does not discharge waste toner directly from the process cartridge 11 to the waste toner bottle 20 but transports the waste toner to the waste toner bottle after being discharged to a waste toner transport path in the image forming apparatus. The present invention can also be applied to such an image forming apparatus.

  The waste toner bottle 20 has a mechanism for detecting near-end when a predetermined amount is collected. In the present invention, a rubber portion 22 that is a thin film material is attached to an opening portion 21 that is opened at the near end position of the waste toner bottle 20, and a filler 23 that is a waste toner detection member is attached to the outside thereof. When the waste toner is collected up to the rubber part 22, the rubber part 22 is pushed and the filler 23 moves, and the operation of the filler 23 is detected by a photo interrupter 24 provided in the machine body to detect near-end. Yes. This near-end detection can be performed by a known sensor. For example, a waste resin bottle is provided with a transparent resin window, and when the waste toner reaches this window, the full path can be detected by blocking the optical path of the photo interrupter. it can.

  In this example, a quantity control means is provided to control the number of printed sheets after near-end detection. In this example, the control of the number of printed sheets is realized as part of a control system that controls the entire image forming apparatus. That is, in this example, as shown in FIG. 5, the control system for the number of printed sheets includes a quantity control unit 32, a waste toner amount detection unit 31 connected to an image formation control unit 35 that performs overall control of the image forming apparatus, A waste toner bottle replacement detection means 33 for detecting the replacement of the waste toner bottle and a print counting means 34 for counting the number of printed sheets after the replacement of the waste toner bottle are connected. When the near-end state is detected again at the time of image formation within the specified number after replacing the waste toner bottle, the number that can be formed for the near-end state detection is temporarily reduced from the number that can be formed at the previous near-end state detection. In this example, the control means regulates the number of sheets that can be imaged after detection of the near-end state of the waste toner bottle, and the actual number of passing sheets.

  That is, in this example, the number of the second near-end detections is less than the normal full, and the subsequent operation is determined based on whether or not it is clearly recognized that the waste toner bottle has been reused. For example, when about 40 to 50,000 sheets can be normally printed until the replacement of the waste toner bottle, if the near end is detected again within 1000 sheets after resetting, it is apparent that the waste toner bottle has been reused. In this case, by reducing the number of sheets that can be printed after the near end from the first time, it is possible to prompt the user to replace the waste toner bottle at an early stage and to stop the operation before the waste toner bottle exceeds full.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 7, when a new waste toner bottle is used, normal processing (SA1 to SA8) is performed. Thereafter, when the reuse of the waste toner bottle is repeated not only once but many times (SA11 to SA15), the waste toner bottle is frequently replaced by gradually reducing the number of printable sheets after the near end. be able to.

  In this example, the control system operates as shown in FIG. First, when the waste toner bottle is replaced, the waste toner bottle replacement detection means 33 detects this (S1). Next, the print counting means 34 starts counting the number of printed sheets (S2), and when printing is continued, waste toner accumulates in the waste toner bottle 20, and the waste toner bottle replacement detection means 33 detects near end. The amount control means 32 determines the number of printed sheets. At this time, the amount control means 32 distinguishes between the new replacement of the waste toner bottle and the installation as follows.

  In other words, in this example, the number of the second near-end detections is less than the normal full state, and the subsequent operation is determined by whether or not it is clearly recognized that the waste toner bottle has been reused. For example, when about 40 to 50,000 sheets can be normally printed until the replacement of the waste toner bottle, if the near end is detected again within 1000 sheets after resetting, it is apparent that the waste toner bottle has been reused. Therefore, when the first near-end is detected, 500 sheets can be printed as in the conventional case (SA1 to SA7). At this time, a history clear process (for example, N = 1) is performed.

  Thereafter, the waste toner bottle is shaken in the same manner as described above and reused. In other cases, since the number of printing is less than 1000 sheets, it is determined that the waste toner is reused, and 1 is added to N. Depending on the value, when N = 2, a waste toner bottle replacement instruction is issued after printing 100 sheets. Similarly, if N = 3, a waste toner bottle replacement instruction is issued after printing 50 sheets, and if N = 4, a waste toner bottle replacement instruction is output without printing.

  In this embodiment, the number of sheets that can be printed after the near end is 500 when N = 1, 100 when N = 2, and 50 when N = 3. Further, the number of sheets for determining whether the waste toner bottle has been correctly replaced with a new one after the near end is set to 1000 sheets.

  In this example, this number is the same as when the area ratio of the actually printed image is A4 size and the image area ratio is 5%, and when the ratio of monochrome: full color is 1: 1. The value is converted to the number of sheets. Note that the number of times of determination and the permitted number of prints vary depending on the model depending on the image forming mechanism, the transfer rate, the capacity of the waste toner bottle, and the like.

  In the present invention, in contrast to the case where the waste toner bottle is reused after the near end, the control is performed to gradually reduce the number of printable sheets after the near end. This can urge the user to replace the waste toner bottle.

  In the present invention, the number of sheets that can be printed after near-end can be counted as the number of sheets to be suppressed within the amount of waste toner that can be collected by conversion in pixels. In this case, it is possible to prevent the waste toner bottle after the near end from exceeding full.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a color image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a process cartridge according to an embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the process cartridge which concerns on an Example. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a process cartridge and a waste toner bottle according to an embodiment. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating an example of a near-end detection mechanism for a waste toner bottle according to an embodiment. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a normal time, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating control of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating control after waste toner near-end of a conventional image forming apparatus. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a problem when a waste toner bottle is reused in the control of the conventional example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Intermediate transfer belt 2 Toner bottle 3 Paper discharge roller 4 Fixing unit 5 Secondary transfer roller 6 Registration roller 7 Paper feed roller 8 Transfer paper 9 Writing unit 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d Photosensitive drum (image carrying pair)
11a, 11b, 11c, 11d Process cartridge 12 Intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 13 Transfer rollers 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d Cleaning units 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d Charging rollers (charging means)
16a, 16b, 16c, 16d Development unit 18 Waste toner discharge pipe 19 Waste toner discharge port 20 Waste toner bottle 21 Opening portion 22 Rubber portion 23 Waste toner near-end detection filler 24 Near-end detection photo interrupter 25 Waste toner 31 Waste toner amount detection means 32 Quantity control means 33 Waste toner bottle replacement detection means 34 Print counting means 35 Image formation control means

Claims (12)

A waste toner bottle for storing waste toner that is a collection of untransferred toner remaining on the image carrier after image formation;
Waste toner amount detection means for detecting a near-end state in which the waste toner is almost full in the waste toner bottle;
A quantity control means for permitting image formation of a first predetermined quantity after the waste toner amount detection means detects a near-end state;
In an image forming apparatus comprising:
After the waste toner bottle is replaced, the quantity control unit detects the near-end state again at the time of image formation within a prescribed quantity less than the quantity that can be imaged from the start of using a new waste toner bottle until it becomes full. the case, the image forming apparatus characterized by decreased from the previous SL first predetermined number of image forming quantity after detecting the near end state.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the quantity control unit displays replacement of a waste toner bottle when detecting a near-end state. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the quantity control unit does not permit subsequent image formation when the near-end detection is performed a predetermined number of times. A counting unit that counts the number of images formed; and a waste toner bottle replacement detection unit that detects that the waste toner bottle has been replaced; and the quantity control unit detects a detection signal from the waste toner bottle replacement detection unit. 4. The number of images that can be formed after the near-end state is detected is determined based on a count value of the counting unit after receiving the image and the number of replacements after replacement of a new waste toner bottle. Image forming apparatus. The quantity control means determines that the waste toner bottle has been replaced with a new one when the image forming quantity between detection of the waste toner bottle replacement detection means and generation of the near-end state signal is a predetermined value or more. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the quantity control unit sets the number of sheets on which image formation is possible after detecting the near-end state of the waste toner bottle as an actual number of sheets to be passed. 6. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the number of images that can be formed after near-end detection of the waste toner bottle is a value obtained by converting the number of images to be formed into a specified number of sheets according to an image area ratio. Image forming apparatus. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner amount detecting means optically detects the amount of waste toner in the waste toner bottle. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the waste toner amount detection device is configured integrally with a waste toner bottle. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, comprising a plurality of image forming units and performing color image formation. 12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a waste toner detection member; an opening that is opened at a near-end state detection position so that the waste toner detection member can be projected and retracted; and a film member that covers the opening from the inside. Waste toner bottle characterized by that.