JP4930186B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus such as a printer apparatus, and more particularly to a printing apparatus having a long apparatus life.

  Many consumables such as a photoreceptor, a transfer belt, a developer, and recording paper are used in a printing apparatus such as a printer apparatus. From the standpoint of environmental resource protection, printing apparatuses are also required to use the above-mentioned consumables effectively and extend the life of the printing apparatus itself while extending the life of the consumables.

  For example, as an example above, a conventional electrophotographic printing apparatus is provided with a toner save mode in order to reduce toner consumption, and in trial printing or the like, printing with low toner density is performed to reduce toner consumption. ing.

The invention of Patent Document 1 accepts the print job stored in the spooler by changing the execution order so that the print job instructed from the same client computer as the print job being executed is continuously executed. It is an invention that efficiently collects and executes print jobs and reduces the work of sorting printed materials.
JP 2003-288188 A

However, when the toner save mode is executed, the printing density is low, and for example, sufficient trial printing effects cannot be obtained in trial printing of color printing. Further, in order to extend the life of the photosensitive member (drum), the transfer belt, the fixing device, the main body device, etc., it is necessary to extend the life of the entire device or consumables.
Therefore, the present invention provides a printing apparatus that realizes a long life mode in which an improvement operation is performed for extending the life of the printing apparatus or the entire consumables.

The above object is achieved according to the present invention, a reception buffer for storing print information, a first determination means for the transfer belt to determine whether the time to reach a service life is left sufficient, the transfer belt printing standby A second determination unit that determines whether or not the transfer belt is in a position; and if the first determination unit determines that there is not enough time left until the transfer belt reaches the end of its life, the print information is input. Even if held in the reception buffer , printing processing is not performed immediately , and after waiting for the print information to be held in the reception buffer exceeding a predetermined amount, the transfer belt is moved according to the determination of the second determination means. This can be achieved by providing a printing apparatus characterized by including a print control unit that performs a print preparation process that performs displacement to a position where color printing or monochrome printing is possible, and performs the printing process.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the control means can be achieved by providing a printing apparatus that performs a printing process when the number of print jobs held in the reception buffer exceeds a predetermined number .

  According to the means for solving the above problems, the printing process can be performed with the minimum operation time of the printing apparatus, the waste of consumables is eliminated, the waste of power is saved, the parts having a lifetime are used efficiently, Life can be extended.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal configuration of a secondary transfer image forming apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer apparatus) in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The printer apparatus 1 shown in the figure is an electrophotographic secondary transfer tandem type color image forming apparatus, which includes four image forming units 2, an intermediate transfer belt unit 3, a paper feeding unit 4, and double-sided printing. It is composed of a transport unit 5.

The four image forming units 2 have a configuration in which four image forming units 6 (6M, 6C, 6Y, 6K) are arranged side by side in a multistage manner from right to left in FIG.
Of the four image forming units 6, the three upstream image forming units 6M, 6C, and 6Y are magenta (M), cyan (C), and yellow, which are subtractive three primary colors, respectively. A mono-color image is formed with the (Y) color toner, and the image forming unit 6K forms a monochrome image with the black (K) toner mainly used for dark portions of characters and images.

  Each of the image forming units 6 has the same configuration except for the color of the toner stored in the toner container. Accordingly, the configuration of the black (K) image forming unit 6K will be described below as an example.

  The image forming unit 6 includes a photosensitive drum 7 at the bottom. The peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 7 is made of, for example, an organic photoconductive material. A cleaner 8, a charging roller 9, an optical head 11, and a developing roller 13 of the developing device 12 are disposed around the periphery of the photosensitive drum 7.

  The developing device 12 puts one of magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y), and black (K) toners in the upper toner container as indicated by M, C, Y, and K in the drawing. The intermediate portion is provided with a toner replenishing mechanism for the lower portion, the lower portion is provided with the above-described developing roller 13 at the side opening, the toner stirring member inside, the toner supply roller for supplying toner to the developing roller 13, and the developing A doctor blade or the like for regulating the toner layer on the roller 13 to a constant layer thickness is provided.

  The intermediate transfer belt unit 3 has an endless transfer belt 14 extending in a flat loop shape from substantially the left and right sides of the figure at the approximate center of the main unit, and the transfer belt 14 is stretched over the transfer belt 14. A driving roller 15 and a driven roller 16 are provided to circulate and move the belt 14 counterclockwise in the drawing.

  The transfer belt 14 transfers the toner image directly onto the belt surface (primary transfer) and conveys the toner image to the transfer position to the paper for further transfer (secondary transfer). The whole is an intermediate transfer belt unit.

  The intermediate transfer belt unit 3 includes a belt position control mechanism 17 in the loop of the flat loop-shaped transfer belt 14. The belt position control mechanism 17 includes a primary transfer roller 18 made of a conductive foam sponge that presses against the lower peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 7 via the transfer belt 14.

  The belt position control mechanism 17 supports the three primary transfer rollers 18 corresponding to the three image forming units 6M, 6C, and 6Y of magenta (M), cyan (C), and yellow (Y) in a bowl shape. A single primary transfer roller 18 corresponding to the black (K) image forming unit 6K is rotated and moved at a rotational movement period different from the period of the three primary transfer rollers 18 around the axis. The transfer belt 14 is moved away from the photosensitive drum 7, and the full color mode (all four primary transfer rollers 18 are in contact with the transfer belt 14) and the monochrome mode (only the primary transfer roller 18 corresponding to the image forming unit 6K) And a non-transfer mode (all four primary transfer rollers 18 are separated from the transfer belt 14). The actual separation process will be described in detail in the second embodiment.

  In the intermediate transfer belt unit 3, a belt cleaner unit is disposed further upstream of the image forming unit 6M on the uppermost stream side in the belt movement direction on the upper surface, and is flat and thin so as to be almost along the entire lower surface. A waste toner collecting container 19 is detachably disposed.

  The paper feed unit 4 includes two paper feed cassettes 21 arranged in two upper and lower stages, and in the vicinity of the paper feed opening (right side in the figure) of the two paper feed cassettes 21, respectively, A feeding roller 23, a separating roller 24, and a standby conveying roller pair 25 are disposed. In the paper conveyance direction (vertical upward direction in the figure) of the standby conveyance roller pair 25, a secondary transfer roller 26 that is in pressure contact with the driven roller 16 via the transfer belt 14 is disposed, and the secondary transfer portion to the paper is arranged. Forming.

  A belt-type heat fixing device 27 is disposed downstream (upward in the drawing) of the secondary transfer unit, and a sheet after fixing is fed from the belt-type heat fixing device 27 further downstream of the belt-type heat fixing device 27. An unloading roller pair 28 for unloading and a discharge roller pair 31 for discharging the unloaded paper to a discharge tray 29 formed on the upper surface of the apparatus are disposed.

  The duplex printing conveyance unit 5 includes a start return path 32a that branches from the intermediate conveyance path between the carry-out roller pair 28 and the discharge roller pair 31 to the right lateral direction in the drawing, and then an intermediate return path 32b that bends downward. A terminal return path 32c that bends in the left lateral direction opposite to the above and eventually reverses the return sheet, and four return roller pairs 33a, 33b, 33c, and 33d disposed in the middle of these return paths. ing. The exit of the end return path 32 c communicates with a conveyance path to the pair of standby conveyance rollers 25 corresponding to the sheet feeding cassette 21 below the sheet feeding unit 4.

  In this example, a cleaning unit 35 and a take-in roller 36 are disposed on the upper surface of the intermediate transfer belt unit 3. The cleaning unit 35 comes into contact with the upper surface of the transfer belt 14 to scrape and remove the waste toner, and the take-in roller 36 takes over the waste toner removed by the cleaning unit 35, and a temporary storage unit of the belt cleaner unit (not shown). The accumulated waste toner is conveyed to the upper part in the dropping cylinder by a conveying screw and sent to the waste toner collecting container 19 through the dropping cylinder.

  Further, in order to bring the cleaning unit 35 into pressure contact with the transfer belt 14 with an appropriate pressure, a pressure roller 37 is provided on the intermediate transfer belt unit 3 side to press the transfer belt 14 toward the cleaning unit 35 from below. Yes.

  As described above, the printer apparatus 1 of the present example employs a system in which the toner image is transferred via the intermediate transfer belt 14 to the sheet that is vertically conveyed to the secondary transfer portion by the standby conveyance roller pair 25. For this reason, at the time of maintenance processing for recovering from a problem such as a paper jam occurring in the paper conveyance path, the configuration can be dealt with by simply opening the right side of the figure.

  In the printer apparatus 1 configured as described above, the transfer belt 14 has a life and is replaced with a new one. The life of the transfer belt 14 is measured by, for example, a belt life counter that counts up according to an image forming operation. When the transfer belt 14 reaches a predetermined value, it is replaced with a new one. The counter is reset when the belt is replaced. In addition to the life counter, a method of measuring the rotation amount of a support shaft (not shown) of the transfer belt 14 can be used.

  Further, the photosensitive drum 7 also has a lifetime, and is replaced with a new one when the lifetime is reached. The life of the photosensitive drum 7 is also replaced with a new one when, for example, the image forming operation is counted by a drum counter and reaches a predetermined value. In addition to the counter, a method of measuring the rotation amount of a drum shaft (not shown) with an encoder can be used.

  The remaining amount of toner stored in the developing device 12 (toner container) is also important in carrying out the long life mode. For example, the amount of toner remaining in the toner container is detected by a sensor. For example, the remaining amount of toner is measured by using a reflection type or transmission type photosensor, or by identifying the rotation state of the toner stirring mechanism.

  Further, the belt-type heat fixing device 27 is kept in a preheated state during non-printing and is controlled to be heated during printing processing.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a control circuit that performs the above control. Print data output from a personal computer (PC) as a host device is supplied to the control unit 38 of the printer apparatus 1. The control unit 38 includes a microcomputer 38a, a memory 38b, and a video control circuit 38c. Print data supplied from a personal computer (PC) is expanded in the memory 38b according to the control of the microcomputer 38a, and further the video is controlled according to the control of the video control circuit 38c. It is output to the engine unit 39.

  In addition, a print start instruction is output from the microcomputer 38a to the video engine unit 39, and on / off control of power supply to the fixing heater installed in the belt-type heat fixing device 27 is performed. Further, the microcomputer 38a also performs measurement control of a belt life counter that measures the life of the transfer belt 14 and a drum counter that measures the life of the photosensitive drum 7.

In the above configuration, the processing operation of this example will be described below.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the processing of this example. In the figure, first, initialization processing of the printer apparatus 1 is performed (step (hereinafter referred to as S) 1). For example, the initial setting process of each unit of the video engine unit 39 is performed under the control of the microcomputer 38a.

  Next, it is determined whether the print data is transmitted from the personal computer (PC) and is held in, for example, a reception buffer in the memory 38b (S2). Here, if the print data is not held, input of the print data is waited (S2 is NO).

  Thereafter, when the print data is input (YES in S2), it is determined whether the consumable environment is sufficient (S3). For example, the remaining amount of toner detected by the sensor is sufficient, the life of the transfer belt 14 measured by the belt life counter is sufficient, or the life of the photosensitive drum 7 measured by the drum counter is sufficient. Etc. If the consumable environment is sufficient (S3 is YES), the normal mode printing process is performed (S4). That is, the printing process is immediately executed.

  On the other hand, if the consumable environment is not sufficient (S3 is NO), that is, if the consumable environment is below a predetermined condition, then the process condition is judged (S5). The printer is in a sleep state, preheating, idling, the drive motor for transporting the recording paper is rotating, the printing process, etc. Make a decision.

  That is, it is determined whether or not the printer apparatus 1 can be shifted to the print processing state without performing any switching operation immediately. Then, if it is possible to immediately shift to the print processing state (S5 is YES), the normal mode print processing is performed (S4). On the other hand, when it is not possible to immediately shift to the printing process (S5 is NO), the mode shifts to the long life mode (S6).

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining processing in the long life mode. First, it is determined whether the print data held in the reception buffer has exceeded a predetermined number of pages (S6-1). For example, when a threshold value (n pages) is set in the reception buffer in advance, and the number of pages (buffer page number) of the print data held in the reception buffer exceeds n pages (S6-1 is YES), print preparation processing Is executed (S6-2). In this case, when the number of print jobs (the number of buffer jobs) held in the reception buffer exceeds m (number), the print preparation process may be executed.

  In this print preparation process, for example, the sleep state is canceled if the above-described process condition is sleep, and if the pre-heating is being performed, the belt-type heat fixing device 27 is heated (warmed up), and the belt is set at the print position. Therefore, preparation for switching the position of the transfer belt 14 is performed. Thereafter, when the printing preparation process is completed, the printing process is started (S7).

  By performing the processing as described above, after the printer device 1 holds more than a predetermined number of pages (n pages) in the reception buffer (or after a predetermined number (m) of print jobs are held in the reception buffer). Since the printing process is executed, it is possible to cause the printer apparatus 1 to perform the printing process with the minimum operation time. For this reason, waste of consumables such as toner can be eliminated.

  Further, since the printing process can be performed with the minimum operation time, waste of power can be saved. Furthermore, a component having a lifetime can be used efficiently. In other words, the long life mode process of this example is controlled so as not to repeat operation and stop frequently, and the switching operation by wasteful energization, wasteful start-up and stop suppresses parts consumption as much as possible. The lifetime of the device 1 can also be extended.

  In the description of the above embodiment, the reception of the subsequent data supplied to the reception buffer is awaited. However, when a predetermined time is further set and the subsequent data is not supplied within the time, the printing process may be started. Good.

  In addition, by setting the threshold value using the operation panel of the printer apparatus 1, it is possible to perform settings suitable for the use environment in which the printer apparatus 1 is installed and the surrounding environment.

  When print data is supplied from a personal computer (PC), for example, when the printer apparatus 1 is completely idle and the transfer belt 14 is not rotated by the long life mode processing of this example, the threshold value n pages. The print processing is performed after the print data is held. On the other hand, if the transfer belt 14 is rotating, the printing process is executed even if the print data held in the reception buffer is slight, when the printing process can be started immediately.

If the printer apparatus 1 is in the sleep state, for example, if only one page of print data is held in the reception buffer, the heater is energized in half and set to the ready state over time. The print processing may be performed after waiting for input to the reception buffer. In this case, the warm-up time may be switched depending on the number of pages of print data held in the reception buffer.
The above control may be performed according to the remaining amount of toner and the life of the transfer belt 14, or may be configured to perform the above processing when a predetermined level is exceeded.
(Embodiment 2)

Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described. In this example as well, the overall view of the printer apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used.
As described above, the four image forming units 2 have a configuration in which four image forming units 6 (6M, 6C, 6Y, 6K) are arranged side by side in a multistage manner from right to left in FIG. The three image forming units 6M, 6C, and 6Y on the upstream side (right side in the figure) of the image forming unit 6 are magenta (M), cyan (C), and yellow (Y), which are the three primary colors of subtractive color mixing. The monochromatic image is formed with the color toner, and the image forming unit 6K forms a monochrome image with the black (K) toner mainly used for characters and dark portions of the image.

Further, a belt position control mechanism 17 is disposed in the loop of the transfer belt 14 described above, and the belt position control mechanism 17 contacts and separates the transfer belt 14 from the photosensitive drum 7.
FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating this example, and particularly shows the configuration of the power supply circuit 40 and the engine control unit 41 related to this example. A commercial power supply 43 is input to the power supply circuit 40 via the main power supply switch 42, and the power supply circuit 40 supplies a load power supply 44 for driving the motor, a power supply 45 for logic control, and a low power supply 46 to the engine control unit 41. .

  The engine control unit 41 includes a CPU 47, a power supply control circuit 48, and a motor drive circuit 49. The CPU 47 switches the position of the transfer belt 14 using the logic control power supply 45. The belt position sensor 50 detects the position of the transfer belt 14 and sends a position detection signal to the CPU 47. The CPU 47 switches and controls the position of the transfer belt 14 as will be described later in accordance with this position detection signal. The belt drive motor 51 moves the transfer belt 14 using the load power source 44 for driving the motor.

  The power supply remote signal 52 is output to the power supply circuit 40 under the control of the power supply control circuit 48, and the power supply circuit 40 performs on / off processing of the load power supply 44 for driving the motor and the power supply 45 for logic control. The low power source 46 is a power source that constantly supplies a small amount of power to the engine control unit 41. Further, the regular power switch 53 is a switch used by the user, and the state of the regular power switch 53 is constantly monitored by the CPU 47.

In the above configuration, the processing operation of this example will be described below.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the processing operation of this example. FIG. 6A shows processing when the power is turned on, and FIG. 6B shows processing when the power is turned off. First, in the process of FIG. 6A, when the power is turned on, the CPU 47 determines the state of the regular power switch 53 (step (hereinafter referred to as ST) 1).

  Here, if the regular power switch 53 is in an on state (YES in ST1), this state is notified to the power circuit 40 via the power control circuit 48, the power remote is turned on, and the motor drive described above is performed from the power circuit 40. Load power supply 44 and logic control power supply 45 are supplied to engine control unit 41 (ST2).

  By this processing, a drive signal is supplied from the motor drive circuit 49 to the belt drive motor 51 (ST3), and the position of the transfer belt 14 is moved to the color printing state or the monochrome printing state (ST4).

  FIG. 7A shows a state in which the transfer belt 14 is moved to the color printing state. FIG. 5B shows a state where the transfer belt 14 is moved to the monochrome printing state. 13A and 13B, 13M represents a magenta developing roll, 13C represents a cyan developing roll, 13Y represents a yellow developing roll, and 13K represents a black developing roll. Further, 18M represents a magenta transfer roll, 18C represents a cyan transfer roll, 18Y represents a yellow transfer roll, and 18K represents a black transfer roll.

Thereafter, the driving of the belt drive motor 51 is stopped (ST5).
Next, when the printing process by the printer apparatus 1 is completed and the printer apparatus 1 is turned off, the state of the regular power switch 53 is first determined (ST6). If the regular power switch 53 is on (ST6 indicates YES), the load power 44 for driving the motor and the power supply 45 for logic control are supplied from the power supply circuit 40 to the engine control unit 41, and the belt drive motor 51 is driven (ST7).

Next, based on the belt position information from the belt position sensor 50, the transfer belt 14 is moved to the retract mode position (ST8). FIG. 7C shows a state where the transfer belt 14 has been moved to the retreat mode position. In this state, neither the developing roll nor the transfer roll holds the transfer belt 14, and no tension is applied to the transfer belt 14. Therefore, the transfer belt 14 is not always tensioned when the printer apparatus 1 is not supplied with power, and the life of the transfer belt 14 can be extended.
Note that the process of moving the transfer belt 14 to the retracted position may be executed in the sleep mode.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the printer device according to the first embodiment. 2 is a diagram illustrating a control circuit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining processing of the first embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining long life mode. FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating a configuration in a second embodiment. (A), (b) is a flowchart explaining the processing operation of Embodiment 2. FIG. (A) shows a state where the transfer belt is moved to the color printing state, (b) shows a state where the transfer belt 14 is moved to the monochrome printing state, and (c) shows a state where the transfer belt is moved to the retracted position. Indicates the state.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer apparatus 2 ... Image formation part 3 ... Intermediate transfer belt unit 4 ... Paper feed part 5 ... Conveyance unit 6, 6M, 6C, 6Y, 6K for double-sided printing Unit 7... Photosensitive drum 8... Cleaner 9... Charging roller 11 .. Optical head 12 .. Developer 13 .. Developing roller 14 .. Transfer belt 15. .. Belt position control mechanism 18. Primary transfer roller 19. Waste toner collection container 21. Paper feed cassette 22. Paper feed roller 23. Feed roller 24. Rolling roller 25. ..Secondary transfer roller 27..belt type heat fixing device 28..conveying roller pair 29..discharge tray 31..conveying roller pair 33a to 33d..returning roller pair 35..cleaning section 36. Low 37..Pressing roller 38..Control unit 38a..Microcomputer 38b..Memory 38c..Video control circuit 39..Video engine 40..Power circuit 41..Engine control unit 42.Main power switch 43.Commercial Power supply 44 .. Load power supply 45 for motor drive .. Power supply 46 for logic control .. Low power supply 47 .. CPU
48..Power supply control circuit 49..Motor drive circuit 50..Belt position sensor 51..Belt drive motor 52..Power remote signal 53..Common power switch

Claims (2)

A receive buffer that holds print information;
First determination means for determining whether sufficient time is left until the transfer belt reaches the end of its life ;
A second determination means for determining whether the transfer belt is in the printing standby position,
If it is determined by the first determination means that there is not enough time left until the transfer belt reaches the end of its life, the printing information is input and held in the reception buffer , but the printing process is not performed immediately . After waiting until the print information exceeds a predetermined amount and held in the reception buffer, a print preparation process for displacing the transfer belt to a position where color printing or monochrome printing is possible according to the determination of the second determination unit. Printing control means for performing printing processing, and
A printing apparatus comprising: The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit performs a printing process when the number of print jobs held in the reception buffer exceeds a predetermined number .