JP5162943B2 - Power storage unit and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention, charging and discharging power storage unit, and with a charge reservoir, a copier, a printer, a facsimile, or their functional image forming apparatus related to the composite.

In recent years, all electrification of various devices is now becoming the mainstream of the times and is becoming more and more advanced. For this reason, the amount of power used is increasing.
On the other hand, a commercial power supply in a general office in Japan generally uses a 100V, 15A AC line. When an electronic device that receives power supply from the commercial power source of 100V, 15A uses a large amount of power instantaneously, a flicker problem occurs. In the worst case, the breaker is cut off due to overcurrent, and other equipment such as OA equipment is seriously damaged.

Conventionally, in order to solve such a problem, there has been a power supply device that includes an auxiliary power source and does not exceed the maximum supply power of the AC line, and leveles the power used.
In addition, an auxiliary power supply is provided to prevent the temperature drop of the fixing unit during continuous sheet feeding of the image forming device or to shorten the startup time of the fixing device, shortening the time after energy saving and reducing power consumption during standby. An image forming apparatus has also been proposed.

However, it is required that the power storage energy of the auxiliary power source described above be large.
Accordingly, there is a strong demand for ensuring the ease of processing for the user in the event of an abnormality such as a failure of the device, or ensuring the ease of processing during the operation of the device regeneration, device destruction, or maintenance. If a large amount of electrical energy is left in the device, it requires great care and skill during disassembly and repair.
In order to solve such problems and problems, the following patent documents 1 and 2 are disclosed in the prior art relating to the auxiliary power supply device and the image forming apparatus.
JP 2004-303436 A JP 2004-303435 A

In Patent Document 1 described above, when the auxiliary power supply device is removed from the main body, the power transfer between the electric double layer capacitor and other elements is interrupted, so that the maintenance of the auxiliary power supply is performed. It is stated that care must be taken in processing.
Further, in Patent Document 2, when the user gives an instruction to shift to the device use prohibition mode, or when the user enters the use prohibition mode at a regular timing in accordance with the maintenance cycle, etc., the auxiliary power supply device is stored. It is disclosed that power needs to be discharged.

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1 described above, when the auxiliary power supply device is removed from the main body, the electric power is stored in the electric double layer capacitor. Extreme care and skill are required when repairing or regenerating, discarding, sorting materials, etc., the auxiliary power supply in which this electric power is stored. In addition, when an electronic device fails, the electronic device itself cannot be used in many cases. In addition, electronic devices that have been discarded often do not work.

In the invention described in Patent Document 2 described above, the power stored in the supplementary power source cannot be discharged when the device itself does not operate due to a failure of the operation unit, a failure of the control unit, or the like.
In addition, the air double layer capacitor has a low permissible charging voltage, and therefore its life is shortened when used up to the standard value limit. In particular, when the battery is fully charged and used at a high temperature and high humidity, the service life is further shortened. In such a case, it is more economical to replace only the power storage unit than to replace the power storage device itself.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art described above, its main place of interest does not require attention to processing power storage unit, to provide an 及 beauty image forming apparatus It is in.

To solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention, a power storage unit that can be connected to the apparatus main body, and the accumulated power storage element conductive load, resistor and connected in series to the power storage element are connected in series to said resistor, said light emitting element storage element emits light to flow output by the current, is connected in series with the resistor and the light-emitting element, the closed state when the electric storage unit is removed from the apparatus main body And an opening / closing means.

According to the present invention, the power storage unit is provided with self-discharge means for discharging, and when the self-discharge means is discharged, it is provided with opening / closing means that is closed and when the discharge is not performed, By using this opening / closing means to discharge, the ease of processing of the power storage unit can be improved.
In addition, by attaching and removing the power storage unit to the power storage device and the image forming apparatus, it is possible to improve the workability when replacing the power storage unit, the ease of work, and the ease of processing at the time of disposal, etc. it can.

One embodiment of the power storage unit according to the present invention is a chargeable / dischargeable power storage unit, has self-discharge means for discharging the power storage unit, and is closed when discharging the self-discharge means, It is characterized by comprising an opening / closing means that is opened when discharging is not performed (corresponding drawings: FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, including a switch that is manually discharged).

The purpose is that attention is not required for processing of the power storage unit.
According to the above configuration, the self-discharge circuit in the power storage unit and the switch that opens and closes the self-discharge circuit are provided, and the power storage unit discharges the power stored in the power storage unit using the open / close switch. Can be facilitated.

In another embodiment of the power storage unit according to the present invention, the power storage unit can be attached to and detached from a device having a charging function for charging the power storage unit. When the power storage unit is removed, the opening / closing means is closed. (Corresponding drawings: FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6).

The purpose is to improve the ease of processing at the time of removal, replacement, destruction, etc. from the main body having the function of charging the power storage unit.
According to the above configuration, a self-discharge circuit and a switch for opening and closing the self-discharge circuit are provided in the power storage unit, and when the power storage unit is removed from the main body, the open / close switch is closed. As a result, the stored power is discharged, so that it is possible to improve the ease of processing when the storage unit is removed, replaced, or discarded.

In addition to the above-described configuration, another embodiment of the power storage unit according to the present invention includes a self-discharge unit including a resistor connected in series to the power storage unit and a light-emitting element connected in series to the resistor and capable of confirming a discharge state. (Corresponding drawings: FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7, FIG. 10). Thereby, it can be confirmed whether it was discharged.

The purpose is to make it possible to determine the state of stored power (discharge).
According to the above configuration, by using a light emitting diode (LED) connected in series with a resistor as a discharging means, the brightness of the LED varies depending on the state of discharge, so the state of the remaining power stored can be understood, The storage unit can be removed from the main body, and the confirmation of processing at the time of regeneration, disposal, etc. can be improved.

Another embodiment of the electricity storage unit according to the present invention is characterized in that an electricity storage unit in which electric double layer capacitors are connected in series is used.

The purpose is to provide a power storage unit capable of rapid charging and rapid discharge, and to improve workability when replacing the power storage unit, work efficiency, and ease of processing when discarding.
According to the above configuration, it is possible to improve the workability when replacing the power storage unit, the efficiency of work, and the ease of processing when discarding.

Another embodiment of the electric storage unit according to the present invention is characterized in that an electric double layer capacitor is connected in series, and the electric storage unit is provided with a circuit for equalizing the charging voltage of the electric double layer capacitor. Drawing: FIG. 6).

The purpose is to improve the workability at the time of exchanging the power storage unit, the work efficiency, the ease of processing at the time of discarding, etc. as a highly versatile power storage unit.
According to the above configuration, it is possible to improve the ease of replacement and processing of the power storage unit.

Another embodiment of the electricity storage unit according to the present invention is characterized by providing means for self-discharging from a plurality of serially connected portions of the electric double layer capacitor (corresponding drawing: FIG. 5, shortening the self-discharge time) Can do).

The purpose is to shorten the discharge time so that the power storage unit can be replaced quickly, and to improve work efficiency and ease of processing at the time of disposal.
According to the above configuration, it is possible to improve work efficiency and ease of processing at the time of discard.

Another embodiment of the power storage unit according to the present invention is characterized by comprising means for prohibiting self-discharge of the power storage unit in addition to the above configuration (corresponding drawing: FIG. 3, self-discharge such as temporary removal) Use when you don't want to let them go.)

The purpose is to stop self-discharge when no discharge is required.
According to the said structure, before removing an electrical storage unit from a main body, a self discharge can be stopped by the switch which stops a self discharge, and the discharge when it is not necessary to discharge can be prohibited.

One embodiment of a power storage device according to the present invention is characterized in that it can be attached to and detached from an electronic device and includes any one of the power storage units described above and a charging unit that charges the power storage unit. Drawing: FIGS. 2, 5, and 6).

The purpose is to enable charging and replacement of the power storage unit, and to improve the ease of work and the ease of processing at the time of disposal.
According to the above configuration, charging is possible, the storage unit can be replaced, and the ease of work and the ease of processing at the time of discarding can be improved.

Another embodiment of the power storage unit according to the present invention is characterized in that, in addition to the above configuration, the opening / closing means is in an open state when the power storage unit is attached to the main body (corresponding drawings: FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 5, FIG. 6) .

The purpose is to enable charging when the power storage unit is attached to the main body.
According to the said structure, when this electrical storage unit is assembled | attached to a main body, by setting it as the structure by which an opening-and-closing switch is open | released, since the self discharge of stored electric power is stopped, charge becomes possible.

An embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus including any one of the above-described power storage units, a charging unit for charging, and a unit for discharging the stored power of the power storage unit. (Corresponding drawings: FIGS. 9 and 10).

The object is to provide an image forming apparatus with improved workability at the time of replacement of a power storage unit, repair, maintenance, regeneration, destruction, etc. of the image forming apparatus.
According to the above configuration, the power storage unit can be discharged, and the ease of work processing can be improved when the power storage unit is replaced, the image forming apparatus is repaired, maintained, regenerated, discarded, or the like.

An embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus provided with the power storage device in an image forming apparatus main body (corresponding drawing: FIG. 9).

The object is to provide an image forming apparatus with improved workability at the time of replacement of a power storage unit, repair, maintenance, regeneration, destruction, etc. of the image forming apparatus.
According to the above configuration, the power storage unit can be discharged, and the ease of work can be improved when the power storage unit is replaced, the image forming apparatus is repaired, maintained, regenerated, or discarded.

In addition to the above configuration, another embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a fixing device that pressurizes and heats the medium on which the toner image is formed to fix the toner image, and stores the power of the power storage device. Is used as power for the heating unit of the fixing device (corresponding drawing: FIG. 9).

The purpose is to stop self-discharge when no discharge is required and to discharge when discharge is required.
According to the above configuration, before temporarily removing the power storage unit from the main body, the self-discharge is stopped by a switch that stops the self-discharge, maintenance of the image forming apparatus, replacement of the power storage unit, regeneration of the image forming apparatus, or When it is necessary to discharge the power stored in the power storage unit for the purpose of separating the materials of the equipment and the unit, it can be discharged.

Another embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that, in addition to the above configuration, the power storage device is an auxiliary power source of the image forming apparatus main body (corresponding drawing: FIG. 7).

The purpose is to stop self-discharge when no discharge is required and to discharge when discharge is required.
According to the above configuration, before temporarily removing the power storage unit from the main body, the self-discharge is stopped by a switch that stops the self-discharge, maintenance of the image forming apparatus, replacement of the power storage unit, regeneration of the image forming apparatus, or When it is necessary to discharge the power stored in the power storage unit for the purpose of separating the materials of the equipment and the unit, it can be discharged.

In addition to the above configuration, another embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a fixing device that pressurizes and heats a medium on which a toner image is formed to fix the toner image, and stores the storage unit. The electric power is used as the electric power of the heating unit of the fixing device (corresponding drawing: FIG. 9).

The purpose is to stop self-discharge when no discharge is required and to discharge when discharge is required.
According to the above configuration, before removing the power storage unit from the main body, the self-discharge is stopped by a switch that stops the self-discharge, maintenance of the image forming apparatus, replacement of the power storage unit, regeneration of the image forming apparatus, or equipment, When it is necessary to discharge the electric power stored in the power storage unit, for example, for material separation of the unit, it can be discharged.

Another embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that, in addition to the above-described configuration, the power stored in the power storage unit is used as auxiliary power for the image forming apparatus (corresponding drawing: FIG. 7).

The purpose is to stop self-discharge when no discharge is required and to discharge when discharge is required.
According to the above configuration, before temporarily removing the power storage unit from the main body, the self-discharge is stopped by a switch that stops the self-discharge, maintenance of the image forming apparatus, replacement of the power storage unit, regeneration of the image forming apparatus, or When it is necessary to discharge the power stored in the power storage unit for the purpose of separating the materials of the equipment and the unit, it can be discharged.

Another embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that, in addition to the above-described configuration, the image forming apparatus includes an opening / closing means that is closed when discharging the self-discharging means and is open when discharging is not performed. (Corresponding drawing: FIG. 7).

The purpose is to ensure the ease of processing by discharging in advance.
According to the above configuration, workability can be improved by discharging in advance at the time of replacement of the power storage unit, repair, maintenance, regeneration, destruction, etc. of the image forming apparatus.

Another embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that, in addition to the above configuration, an opening / closing means is provided inside the image forming apparatus main body (corresponding drawing: FIG. 7).

The purpose is to prevent general users from operating.
According to the above configuration, by providing the switch inside the device, only a person who needs work such as maintenance, regeneration, and disposal can be used, and discharge other than when necessary can be prevented.

  The above-described embodiment shows an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. is there.

Next, examples according to the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a circuit for discharging power stored in an electricity storage unit according to the present invention by an on / off switch 2 as an opening / closing means.
The power storage unit of this embodiment uses a capacitor bank 1 in which electric double layer capacitors are connected in series. The capacitor bank 1 is connected in series with a fixing heater 6 of a fixing unit of an image forming apparatus, which will be described later, a relay 7, and a field effect transistor FET8.

  The power stored in the capacitor bank 1 is supplied by controlling the relay 7 and the FET 8 by the control unit 9 of the image forming apparatus. The capacitor bank 1 is charged by a charging circuit 5 with constant current charging, constant power charging, and constant voltage charging. Since the fixing heater requires a large electric power and requires a high voltage, DC45V to 90V is generally used. This voltage is a high voltage, but it is not preferable because it spontaneously discharges when it is removed for replacement of the power storage unit, repair of the image forming apparatus, maintenance, regeneration, separation or discarding.

Next, a discharge operation for discharging the stored power will be described.
The discharge circuit 4 includes a resistor 4a and an LED 4b. The resistor 4a, the LED 4b, and the open / close switch 2 are connected to the capacitor bank 1 in series. When the open / close switch 2 is closed (the power storage unit is removed from the main body), the stored power stored in the capacitor bank 1 is discharged through the resistor 4a, the LED 4b, and the open / close switch 2. Is done.
This discharge current flows through the resistor 4a on the LED 4b, and an indication that discharge is in progress is displayed.
The brightness of this LED gradually darkens as the power storage of the power storage unit decreases. The resistor 4a is preset to a resistance value at which the LED 4b is extinguished when the stored power in the capacitor bank 1 is discharged and becomes equal to or less than a certain stored power.
In order to shorten the discharge time, the LED 4b may not be used and only the discharge resistor 4a may be used to reduce the resistance value. The operation of the open / close switch 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b).

Next, FIGS. 2A and 2B will be described.
FIG. 2A is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment in which the power storage unit 3 is attached to the charging device 5 by the connector 15, and FIG. 2B shows a state in which the open / close switch shown in FIG. FIG.
A connector male 15a is mounted on the PCB 16 on which the circuit of the charging device is mounted, and a female connector 15b is mounted on the PCB 16 on which the discharge circuit 4 of the power storage unit 3 is mounted.
A power storage unit-side female 15b is inserted into a male 15a of the charging device-side connector 15, and the power storage unit 3 is attached.
The charging device 5 and the power storage unit 3 are combined to form a power storage device 10.

The discharge operation of the stored power has already been described with reference to FIG.
The connection member 2b of the open / close switch 2 in a state where the power storage unit 3 is detached from the charging device 5 is pushed by the spring 2c and connected to the contact 2d. The contact 2d is positioned as shown in FIG.
When the power storage unit 3 is attached to the charging device 5, the switch opening / closing member 2a is pushed by the PCB 16 of the charging device 5, and the connection member 2b attached to the switch opening / closing member 2a is separated from the contact 2d, FIG. It becomes a position of a).
That is, when the power storage unit 3 is removed from the charging device 5, the open / close switch 2 is closed, the power stored in the capacitor bank is discharged, and when the power storage unit 3 is attached to the charging device 5, the discharge stops.

Next, FIG. 3 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which the power storage unit 3 is provided with self-discharge prohibiting means.
In the case of this embodiment, by opening the open / close switch of the self-discharge prohibiting means 18, the self-discharge is prohibited even if the open / close switch 2 is closed. When the power storage unit is temporarily removed or when no discharge is required, the discharge can be prohibited by opening this switch.

Next, FIG. 4 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which a manual switch 11 for self-discharge is provided in the power storage unit.
In this embodiment, the switch 11 may be manually closed when it is desired to discharge, and the switch 11 may be manually opened when it is not desired to discharge.

Next, FIG. 5 will be described.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which two circuits for self-discharge are provided in the power storage unit.
In this embodiment, the discharge circuit 12 is provided in the middle of the electric double layer capacitors (capacitor cells) connected in series.
The discharge circuit 12 shortens the discharge time.

Next, FIG. 6 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which an equalization circuit 1a is connected in parallel to a capacitor cell 1b to form a power storage unit (capacitor unit). In the case of the present embodiment, versatility is enhanced.

FIG. 7 is a view showing an embodiment in which a switch 19 for self-discharge is provided inside the apparatus of the image forming apparatus.
When the open / close switch 19 shown in FIG. 7 is closed, the stored power is discharged via the discharge circuit 4.
In the case of the present embodiment, it is possible to discharge before removing the power storage unit 3.

Next, FIG. 8 will be described.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which the storage power of the power storage unit is switched to be supplied to a load when AC power is insufficient.
In the case of an image forming apparatus in a high-speed field, a large amount of electric power is used for the fixing and heating unit, and if a commonly used 100 V, 15 A rated commercial power supply is used, a shortage may occur. Further, when the main power switch is turned on, it takes a long time to reach a fixing temperature at which the image forming apparatus can be used. The power shortage at this time is used as an auxiliary power source, and the surplus power is supplied to the fixing heating unit. A specific operation will be described with reference to FIG.

  The commercial power supply 20 is supplied to the AC / DC converter 21 and the temperature control circuit 26 of the fixing heating unit 30. The AC / DC converter 21 is a circuit that generates a constant voltage, and its output is supplied to a load 29 via an image forming apparatus control circuit 23, a charge control circuit 22, and a switching circuit 28. The load 29 indicates a power load such as various motors, solenoids, and clutches for performing an image forming operation.

  Based on an instruction from the image forming apparatus control circuit 23, the charging control circuit 22 confirms the charging voltage by the charging voltage detection circuit 25 and charges the power storage unit. The stored power of the charged power storage unit 24 is input to the constant voltage generation circuit 27. The constant voltage generation circuit 27 has a step-up / down converter function that generates a constant voltage (for example, 24 V) even if the voltage of the power storage unit is reduced by discharging.

  The output of the constant voltage generation circuit 27 is input to the switching circuit 28. The temperature control circuit 26 of the fixing heating unit 30 detects the heating unit temperature by a temperature detection element 31 provided in the fixing heating unit 30. When the detected temperature is lower than a preset temperature, the heating unit is supplied with a commercial power source. When more power is supplied and the detected temperature is higher than a preset temperature, the power supply is cut off.

Even if the image forming apparatus control circuit 23 supplies the preset heating power to the fixing heating unit 30 by the temperature control circuit 26 of the fixing heating unit 30, the temperature of the fixing heating unit 30 is more than the preset temperature. When the voltage drops, the changeover switch 28 as a changeover circuit is switched to the power storage unit side, power is supplied to the load, and surplus power is supplied to the fixing heating unit 30.
Normally, 80% duty power is supplied to the fixing heating unit 30, and when the changeover switch 28 is switched to the power storage unit side, 100% duty power is supplied.
With the above operation, it is possible to use even an image forming apparatus that is difficult to use with a commercial power supply of 100V15A.

Next, FIG. 9 will be described.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a control circuit configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus provided with a power storage unit according to the present invention.
The power storage device 111 of this embodiment includes a charging circuit 46, a discharging circuit 104, an open / close switch 102, an equalization circuit 170, and a capacitor bank 90.
In the case of the present embodiment, the configuration of the discharge circuit 104, the open / close switch 102, and the capacitor bank 90 can be attached and detached as a power storage unit.
First, the operation of the charging circuit 46 shown in FIG. 9 will be described.
The charging circuit 46 is composed of a means (voltage variable means) 3 for generating an output voltage, an output control means 70 for controlling the output voltage, and a charging voltage detection circuit 160 fed back to the output control means 70. The
The output control means 70 includes a CPU 70a. A PWM generation circuit 70e for constant voltage output, constant current charging and constant power charging, an A / D converter 70c, and a charging current detection circuit 70d connected to the CPU 70a via an internal bus. The serial controller (SIC) 70b has a ROM, a RAM, a termer, an interrupt control circuit, and an input / output port (not shown).

Detailed description will be given below.
The AC input from the AC power supply 47 via the main power switch 110 is connected to the full-wave rectifier circuit 2 via the filter 1 and is full-wave rectified. Ripple components and the like are removed from the full-wave rectified output by the smoothing capacitor C2.
A primary coil 200a of the high-frequency transformer 200 is connected in parallel with the smoothing capacitor C2 on the DC output side of the full-wave rectifier circuit 2, and an FET 8 is connected in series as a switching means to the primary coil 200a. The switching circuit constituted by the FET 8 is switched to the primary coil 200a when the FET 8 is switched (ON / OFF operation) by the PWM signal output from the PWM generation circuit 70e for constant voltage output, constant current charging and constant power charging. Current flows.

This primary side switch current induces a switch voltage in the secondary coil 200b of the transformer 200. If the conduction period of the switching frequency is changed, the output voltage can be controlled.
Diodes D1 and D2 are connected to the secondary coil 200b of the transformer 200 as a rectifier circuit. The switching voltage is rectified by the rectifier circuit, smoothed by the choke coil 50 and the capacitor C1, and converted into a DC output. This DC output is supplied to the capacitor bank 90 through the diode 270.

Next, an operation for charging the capacitor bank 90 will be described.
The capacitor bank 90 of the present embodiment is connected in series with 18 capacitor cells (electric double layer capacitor cells) that become 2.5 V when fully charged. Therefore, when 18 capacitor cells are fully charged, a voltage of 45 V is stored.
The capacitor bank 90 of the power storage unit of the present invention has a cell configuration with a capacity capable of preventing a temperature drop during continuous copying of the target image forming apparatus or a capacity capable of achieving a required fixing start-up time.

First, the operation of the charging voltage detection circuit 160 charged in the capacitor bank 90 will be described.
The inter-terminal voltage of the capacitor bank 90 is detected by a charging voltage detection circuit 160 that forms a voltage dividing circuit with resistors R2 and R3, and the output is generated by PWM for constant voltage output, constant current charging, and constant power charging. The signals are input to the A / D converter 70c of the circuit 70e and the A / D converter 10b of the engine control unit 10. This output voltage is monitored by a PWM generation circuit 70e for constant voltage output, constant current charging and constant power charging, and is controlled by changing the ON duty of the PWM signal.
The constant voltage output, constant current charging and constant power charging PWM generator circuit 70e will be described later.

Next, a method for detecting the charging current of the capacitor bank 90 will be described.
The charge current of the capacitor bank 90 is detected by detecting the current flowing through the resistor R1 connected in series with the capacitor bank 90 as a voltage between terminals, and charging the constant voltage output, constant current charge and constant power charge PWM generator circuit 70e. The current is input to the current detection circuit 70d.
Next, the operation of the equalization circuit 170 that detects the full charge of each capacitor cell, operates the bypass circuit 170a, and equalizes the charging voltage of each capacitor cell will be briefly described.
When the capacitor cell 9a is charged by the voltage varying means 3 and charged to 2.5V, which is fully charged, the equalizing circuit 170a bypasses the charging current. The bypass circuit connected in parallel to the other capacitor cells also performs the same operation, and the charging voltage of each capacitor cell is equalized.

  When the equalization circuit 170 detects the full charge of any capacitor cell and operates the bypass circuit, it outputs a single cell full charge signal 44 to the constant voltage output, constant current and constant power charge PWM generation circuit 70e. . Further, when the equalization circuit 170 detects the full charge of all the capacitor cells and operates all the bypass circuits, the constant voltage output, constant current and constant power charging PWM generation circuit 70e is fully charged. A charge signal 45 is output.

Next, the charging voltage detection of the capacitor bank 90, the detection of the charging current and the operation of the bypass circuit are detected, and constant current charging or constant power charging is performed on the capacitor bank 90. For constant voltage output, constant current charging and constant power charging The operation of the PWM generation circuit 70e will be described.
The constant voltage output, constant current charging and constant power charging PWM generation circuit 70e detects the charging voltage of the capacitor bank 90, the detection of the charging current and the operation of the bypass circuit, and the capacitor bank 90 is charged with constant current or constant power. Or it is a circuit which generates the PWM signal for performing constant voltage charge.

  The constant voltage output, constant current charge and constant power charge PWM generation circuit 70e detects the voltage across the terminals of the capacitor bank 90 based on the output of the charge voltage detection circuit 160, and the voltage across the terminals of the capacitor bank 90 is a preset value. When the voltage is lower, the voltage between the terminals of the resistor R1 connected in series with the capacitor bank is sequentially detected, and a PWM signal corresponding to the voltage between the terminals and used for preset constant current charging is supplied to the FET 8. Output to the gate.

The PWM signal for the constant current charging set in advance may use a table in which the relationship between the voltage across the resistor R1 and the ON duty of the PWM signal is created in advance, and is calculated by calculation. You may do it.
Alternatively, the PWM signal may be controlled so that only a charging current is referred to and a preset charging current is obtained.
Further, when the capacitor bank 90 is not charged, in order to prevent a large inrush current from flowing into the capacitor bank 90, the PWM is set to lower the output voltage at first and gradually increase the output voltage. A signal may be output.

When the voltage between the terminals of the capacitor bank 90 becomes equal to or higher than a preset value, the constant voltage output, constant current charging and constant power charging PWM generation circuit 70e performs charging of the capacitor bank 90 in order to perform constant power charging. The voltage between the terminals of the capacitor bank 90 is sequentially detected, and a PWM signal for performing preset constant power charging is output to the gate of the FET 8 from the detected charging current and charging voltage.
This PWM signal detects the charging current of the capacitor bank and the voltage between terminals of the capacitor bank 90, and calculates the PWM signal to perform preset constant power charging from the detected charging current and charging voltage. And decide.

Next, when the constant voltage output, constant current charge and constant power charge PWM generation circuit 70e detects any single cell full charge signal 44, it converts the PWM signal to the preset constant current charge again to the gate of the FET 8. Output to.
Next, when the constant voltage output, constant current charge and constant power charge PWM generation circuit 70e detects the full charge signal 45 of all the capacitor cells, it performs constant voltage charge for a certain period of time and then stops the charging operation. Output to the gate of FET8.

Next, the engine control unit 10 will be described.
The engine control unit is connected to the CPU 10a by an internal bus, such as a serial controller (SCI) 10d, an input / output port 10c, an A / D converter 10b, an NV-RAM 10e, a ROM, a RAM, a timer, and an interrupt control circuit (INT). It is configured.

In this embodiment, an AC fixing heater 30 as a heating unit of the fixing device and a DC fixing heater 220 as an auxiliary heater are provided. Connected to the A / D port 10b of the CPU 10a are temperature detection circuits 280 and 33 for detecting the surface temperature (fixing temperature) of the fixing roller 210 of the fixing device 1100 shown in FIG. The temperature detection circuit 280 includes a resistor R10 connected in series with the DC heater thermistor 28a, and is a circuit that detects the temperature of the measurement region corresponding to the DC fixing heater 220. The temperature detection circuit 33 includes a resistor R11 connected in series with the AC heater thermistor 33a, and is a circuit that detects the temperature of the measurement region corresponding to the AC fixing heater 30.
The DC fixing heater 220 is used as an auxiliary heater when the temperature drops during start-up and continuous copying.

  In the input / output port 10c, the electric power stored in the capacitor bank 90 is provided in the fixing device according to the temperature detection result of the temperature detection circuit 280, and the relay 101 for supplying electric power to the DC fixing heater 220 and the discharge as an open / close switch. Power is supplied to the AC fixing heater 30 based on the detection results of the circuit (FET) 190 and the temperature detection circuit 33. Inputs such as a load 230 such as a motor, a solenoid, and a clutch necessary for performing an image forming operation, and a sensor 13 and a switch circuit 15 necessary for performing the image forming operation are connected.

The CPU 10a transmits and receives signals via the output control means 70 and the serial controller (SCI) 10d.
Further, the CPU 10a detects the voltage between the terminals of the capacitor bank 90 by the charge voltage detection circuit 160, and determines whether the power of the capacitor bank 90 can be discharged. Further, the CPU 10 a outputs a voltage value supplied from the DC fixing heater 220 or a pattern for starting up the fixing device to the CPU 70 a of the output control means 70.

Next, the AC heater control circuit 43 will be described.
When the main power is turned on and during a normal copy operation, power is supplied to the AC fixing heater 30 to perform the copy operation. When the temperature detection circuit 33 detects a temperature lower than the preset temperature, the CPU 10a sends a signal for turning on the triac (registered trademark) to the phototriac (registered trademark) drive circuit 35 from the port 4 of the input / output port 10c. Output. Electric power is supplied to the fixing heater 30. When the temperature detection circuit 33 detects a temperature equal to or higher than a preset temperature, a signal for turning off the triac (registered trademark) is output from the port 4 of the input / output port 10 c to the phototriac (registered trademark) drive circuit 35. The power supply to the AC fixing heater 30 is stopped.

Next, an operation for supplying power to the DC fixing heater 220 will be described.
When the main power is turned on, the CPU 10a checks the charging voltage of the charging voltage detection circuit 160 and then supplies the stored power of the capacitor bank 90 to the DC fixing heater 220 from the port 1 of the input / output port 10c. A signal for turning on the FET 190 is output, and a signal for turning on the relay 101 is output from the port 2. The power stored in the capacitor bank 90 is supplied to the DC fixing heater 220.

  Alternatively, when the temperature of the fixing heating unit decreases during continuous copying and reaches a temperature at which an unfixed image is generated, after confirming the all-cell full charge signal from the output control means 70 or the charging voltage of the charging voltage detection circuit 160, In order to supply the power stored in the capacitor bank 90 to the DC fixing heater 220, a signal for closing the relay 101 is output from the port 2 of the input / output port 10c, and a signal for turning on the FET 190 is output from the port 1 of the input / output port 10c. Output. The power stored in the capacitor bank 90 is supplied to the DC fixing heater 220.

  The CPU 10a detects the temperature of the fixing heating unit by the temperature detection circuit 280. When the CPU 10a detects a temperature higher than a preset temperature, the CPU 10a uses the port 2 of the input / output port 10c to stop the power discharge of the capacitor bank 90. Then, a signal for opening the relay 101 is output, and a signal for turning off the FET 190 is output from the port 1 of the input / output port 10c.

Next, the opening / closing switch 102 provided in the image forming apparatus will be described.
If you want to discharge the power stored in the power storage unit in advance for maintenance of the image forming device, replacement of the power storage unit, regeneration of the image forming device, or separation of equipment and unit materials, etc. When the open / close switch 10 is turned on, the stored power in the capacitor bank is discharged.

Next, the control circuit 8 that controls the entire image forming apparatus will be described. The control circuit 8 is a CPU 8a for controlling the entire image forming apparatus, a serial controller (SCI) 8b connected to the CPU 8a via an internal bus, a ROM, a RAM, a work memory for image development used by a printer, and image data of a written image. Is composed of a frame memory for temporarily storing, an ASIC equipped with a function for controlling the CPU periphery, an interface circuit thereof, and the like.
In the CPU 8a, a user operates the panel to input system settings. An input and a setting content state of the system are displayed to the user. 10 are connected via a serial controller (SCI).

Next, FIG. 11 will be described.
FIG. 11 is a longitudinal side view showing a schematic configuration of a fixing device 1100 used in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 11, the fixing device 1100 includes a fixing roller 210 that is a fixing member, a pressure roller 2300 that is a pressure member, and a pressure unit that presses the pressure roller 2300 against the fixing roller 210 with a constant pressure. (Not shown). The fixing roller 210 and the pressure roller 2300 are rotationally driven by a drive mechanism (not shown).
The fixing device 1100 is provided with two AC heaters 30 and DC fixing heaters 220, and surface temperature detection thermistors 28 a and 33 a of the fixing roller 210.
These fixing heaters 30 and 220 are disposed inside the fixing roller 210, and heat the fixing roller 210 from the inside to supply heat to the fixing roller 210.

  The surface temperature detection thermistors 28a and 33a are in contact with the surface of the fixing roller 210, and detect the surface temperature (fixing temperature) of the fixing roller 210. The thermistor 33 a is disposed in a measurement region corresponding to the AC fixing heater, and the surface temperature detection thermistor 28 a is disposed in a measurement region corresponding to the DC fixing heater 220.

  The AC fixing heater 30 and the DC fixing heater 220 are heaters that are turned on to heat the fixing roller 210 when the temperature of the fixing roller 210 has not reached the target temperature. The DC fixing heater 220 stores the power storage unit when the main power of the image forming apparatus is turned on or when the image forming apparatus is started up from the off mode for energy saving until copying is possible, that is, when the fixing apparatus 1100 is warmed up. An auxiliary heater is used to start up the fixing device using electric power.

  In such a fixing device 1100, the sheet carrying the toner image is heated and pressed by the fixing roller 210 and the pressure roller 2300 when passing through the nip portion between the fixing roller 210 and the pressure roller 2300. As a result, the toner image is fixed on the sheet.

Next, FIG. 12 will be described.
FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram in which an equalization circuit is connected to the power storage unit (capacitor unit) of FIGS.
In the case of the capacitor unit shown in FIG. 6, since the equalization circuit is included, all of FIG. 12 is included.

There are 18 capacitor cells, and each cascade cell is connected to a bypass circuit and 18 in series.
C1 to C18 are electric double layer capacitors connected in series to store electric power.
The bypass circuit 1 is connected in parallel between the terminals of the capacitor C1.
The bypass circuit 1 includes a shunt regulator X1, resistors R1 to R6, a transistor Q1, and a diode D1.

The terminal voltage of the capacitor cell C1 is detected by the voltage dividing circuit including the resistors R1 and R2 and the shunt regulator X1.
When the divided voltage of the voltage dividing circuit including the resistors R1 and R2 is input to the control terminal of the shunt regulator X1, and the terminal voltage of the capacitor C1 is charged to a predetermined voltage, the shunt regulator X1 is turned on.
When the shunt regulator X1 is turned on, a base current flows through the resistor R4 to the transistor Q1, and the transistor Q1 is turned on. When the transistor Q1 is turned on, the charging current of the capacitor C1 is bypassed I2 with a current determined by the resistor R6.

When the transistor Q1 is turned on, the transistor Q2 is also turned on, and current flows through the resistors R8 and R9 to the light emitting diodes of the photocouplers TLP1 and TPL2.
Since the Bank Full terminal is connected in series with other bypass circuits, all capacitors are charged to a predetermined voltage, and all bypass circuits are operated, so that they are output as full charge signals.

  With this signal, the PWM signal output of the PWM generation circuit 70e for constant voltage output and constant current charging and constant power charging in FIG. 13 is stopped.

The Cell Full terminals of the bypass circuit are connected in parallel, and when the capacitor connected to one of the bypass circuits is charged to a predetermined voltage and the bypass circuit operates, it is output as a cell full charge signal.
The cell full charge signal is input to the constant voltage output PWM generation circuit 70e for constant voltage output and constant current charge and constant power charge in FIG. 13, and the PWM generation circuit 70e for constant voltage output, constant current charge and constant power charge is A predetermined constant current charging operation is performed by this signal.
Since the bypass circuits 2 to 18 are the same as the bypass circuit 1, the description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a power storage unit, a power storage device, and an image forming apparatus with improved ease of processing by providing means for self-discharge of stored power in the power storage unit. .

It is a figure which shows one Example of the circuit which discharges the electrical storage power of the electrical storage unit (capacitor unit) based on this invention by the opening / closing switch as an opening / closing means. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an overall view of a power storage device according to the present invention, and is an explanatory view of an embodiment in which a power storage unit (capacitor unit) is attached to a charging device, and shows an open state of an open / close switch. It is a figure which shows the Example which provided the self-discharge prohibiting means in the electrical storage unit. It is a figure which shows the Example which self-discharges the electrical storage power of an electrical storage unit with a manual switch. It is a figure which shows the Example of the electrical storage unit which has multiple discharge circuits. It is a figure which shows the Example of the electrical storage apparatus provided in the electrical storage unit (capacitor unit) to the equalization circuit. It is a figure which shows the Example which provided the self-discharge circuit in the image forming apparatus side. It is a figure which shows the Example which switches and supplies the load of the electrical storage unit of an electrical storage unit to AC when AC power is insufficient. It is a figure which shows the Example of the control circuit block diagram of the image forming apparatus provided with the electrical storage unit which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the Example which attached the electrical storage unit to the image forming apparatus main body. 2 is a longitudinal side view illustrating a schematic configuration of a fixing device 11. FIG. It is a figure which shows the Example of the electrical storage unit which connected the bypass circuit to the capacitor bank.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Capacitor bank 1b Capacitor cell 2 Push button type opening / closing switch 2a Push button 2b Connection member 2c Spring 2d Contact 3 Power storage unit (capacitor unit)
4 Discharge circuit 4a Resistance 4b LED
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Charging apparatus 6 Fixing heater 9 Image forming apparatus control part 10 Power storage apparatus 15 Connector 16 PCB (printed wiring board on which circuit components are mounted)

Claims (6)

A power storage unit connectable to the device body,
And accumulation power storage device electrodeposition load,
A resistor connected in series to the storage element;
A light emitting element that is connected in series to the resistor and emits light when a current output from the power storage element flows ;
Opening / closing means connected in series to the resistor and the light emitting element , and to be closed when the power storage unit is removed from the device body;
A power storage unit comprising:   The power storage unit according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing means is in an open state when attached to the apparatus main body.   3. The power storage unit includes self-discharge prohibiting means that is in an open state based on a user's instruction to prohibit self-discharge in series with the resistor, the light emitting element, and the opening / closing means. The electricity storage unit described in 1.   4. The power storage unit according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the resistors and the light emitting elements are provided in series with the power storage element. 5.   An image forming apparatus comprising the power storage unit according to claim 1.   6. A fixing device that fixes and fixes the toner image by pressurizing and heating a medium on which a toner image is formed, and uses the stored power of the power storage element as the power of the fixing device. The image forming apparatus described in 1.

Images