JP6540624B2 - Image forming apparatus and image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming system.

  The image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 changes the lower limit value of the toner concentration in accordance with the accumulated time of the toner replenishment operation from the toner container to the developing device. Then, the image forming apparatus detects the empty state of the toner container based on the lower limit value of the toner concentration and the detection result of the toner concentration, and outputs a warning that the toner container should be replaced.

JP 2005-181597 A

  However, in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, there may be a case where it is not possible to output information regarding the replacement of the toner container at an accurate timing. For example, if it takes a long time to order the toner container after the toner container has been ordered, it is necessary to order the toner container early. However, information to prepare the toner container can not be output early. Also, for example, when a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to the network, when one image forming apparatus becomes unprintable, the other image forming apparatuses become unprintable due to lack of toner. You need to avoid that. However, information to prepare a toner container of another image forming apparatus can not be output early.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming system that can output information regarding replacement of a toner container at an accurate timing.

  An image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a consumption calculation unit, a determination unit, an information output unit, and a threshold value determination unit. The consumption calculation unit calculates the actual consumption which is the consumption of the toner in the first period. The determination unit determines whether the toner remaining amount is equal to or less than a remaining amount threshold. The information output unit outputs information indicating that the toner remaining amount is small when the determination unit determines that the toner remaining amount is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold. The threshold determination unit determines the remaining amount threshold based on the actual consumption amount and the arrival waiting period of the toner container. The waiting time for arrival indicates the time required from when the toner container is ordered to when the toner container arrives.

  An image forming system according to a second aspect of the present invention is an image forming system in which a server apparatus and a plurality of image forming apparatuses communicate via a network. The server device includes a detection unit and a threshold designation unit. The detection unit detects an unprintable image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses. When the detection unit detects the non-printable image forming apparatus, the threshold designation unit detects the remaining amount of toner of the image forming apparatus excluding the non-printable image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses. Instruct to increase the threshold. The remaining amount threshold indicates a threshold that determines whether the remaining amount of toner is small in each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses.

  An image forming apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus included in a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to a network. The image forming apparatus includes a determination unit, an information output unit, and a threshold change unit. The determination unit determines whether the toner remaining amount is equal to or less than a remaining amount threshold. The information output unit outputs information indicating that the toner remaining amount is small when the determination unit determines that the toner remaining amount is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold. The threshold changing unit increases the remaining amount threshold when another image forming apparatus that can not print is detected among the plurality of image forming apparatuses.

  According to the image forming apparatus and the image forming system of the present invention, it is possible to output the information regarding the replacement of the toner container at an accurate timing.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a control unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart showing threshold value determination processing of a control unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 5 is a graph showing changes in the toner remaining amount of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a remaining amount threshold of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing determination processing of a control unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing determination processing of a control unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a figure showing composition of an image formation system concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of a control unit of a server apparatus and a control unit of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment. (A)-(c) is a figure which shows the residual amount threshold value of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the control part of the server apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings (FIGS. 1 to 11). In the drawings, the same or corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference characters and description thereof will not be repeated.

<Common configuration>
First, an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a view showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in the embodiment of the present invention, the image forming apparatus 1 is a color copying machine. The image forming apparatus 1 is an apparatus for forming an image on a sheet P (recording medium). Specifically, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a housing 10, a sheet feeding unit 12, a conveyance unit L, a toner supply unit 13, an image forming unit 14, a fixing unit 17, a discharging unit 18, and a control unit 16.

  The sheet feeding unit 12 supplies the sheet P to the conveyance unit L. The conveyance unit L conveys the sheet P to the discharge unit 18 via the transfer unit 15 and the fixing unit 17.

  The toner supply unit 13 supplies toner to the image forming unit 14. The toner supply unit 13 includes a toner container 131y, a toner container 131c, a toner container 131m, and a toner container 131k. The toner container 131y contains yellow toner. The toner container 131 c contains cyan toner. The toner container 131m contains magenta toner. The toner container 131k contains black toner. In the following description, the toner container 131y to the toner container 131k may be collectively referred to as the toner container 131 for convenience.

  The image forming unit 14 forms an image on the sheet P. Specifically, the image forming unit 14 includes an image forming unit 14y, an image forming unit 14c, an image forming unit 14m, an image forming unit 14k, and a transfer unit 15. The image forming unit 14 corresponds to an “image forming unit”. Toner of yellow color is supplied to the image forming unit 14y from the toner container 131y. The cyan toner is supplied from the toner container 131 c to the image forming unit 14 c. Toner of magenta color is supplied from the toner container 131m to the image forming unit 14m. Black toner is supplied from the toner container 131k to the image forming unit 14k.

  The image forming unit 14y, the image forming unit 14c, the image forming unit 14m, and the image forming unit 14k respectively have a toner remaining amount detecting sensor 141y, a toner remaining amount detecting sensor 141c, a toner remaining amount detecting sensor 141m, and a toner remaining amount detecting. A sensor 141k is provided. The toner remaining amount detection sensor 141y detects the toner remaining amount of the toner container 131y. Hereinafter, the remaining amount of toner is referred to as “toner remaining amount”. Similarly, the toner remaining amount detection sensor 141c, the toner remaining amount detection sensor 141m, and the toner remaining amount detection sensor 141k respectively detect the toner remaining amount of the toner container 131c, the toner container 131m, and the toner container 131k. The toner remaining amount detection sensor 141y detects the toner remaining amount Qy of the toner container 131y, for example, based on the load of a motor (not shown) for stirring the toner in the toner container 131y. Similarly, the toner remaining amount detection sensor 141c, the toner remaining amount detection sensor 141m, and the toner remaining amount detection sensor 141k respectively detect the toner remaining amount Qc, the toner remaining amount Qm, and the toner remaining amount Qk. The toner remaining amount Qy to toner remaining amount Qk may be collectively referred to as the toner remaining amount Q for convenience. Further, the toner remaining amount detecting sensor 141 y to the toner remaining amount detecting sensor 141 k may be collectively referred to as the toner remaining amount detecting sensor 141 for convenience.

  The transfer unit 15 includes an intermediate transfer belt 154. The image forming unit 14 y to the image forming unit 14 k transfer the toner image to the intermediate transfer belt 154, respectively. A plurality of toner images are superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 154 to form an image on the intermediate transfer belt 154. The transfer unit 15 transfers the image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 154 onto the sheet P. As a result, an image is formed on the sheet P.

  The fixing unit 17 heats and presses the sheet P, and fixes the toner image formed on the sheet P to the sheet P. The discharge unit 18 discharges the sheet P to the outside of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The control unit 16 includes a processor 16A and a storage unit 16B, and controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The processor 16A includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU). The storage unit 16B includes, for example, a semiconductor memory, and may include an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). The storage unit 16B stores a control program. The processor 16A reads out and executes the control program from the storage unit 16B, and controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 1.

  In FIG. 1, the toner remaining amount detection sensor 141 detects the toner remaining amount Q of the toner container 131 based on the load of the motor for stirring the toner in the toner container 131, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the toner remaining amount detection sensor 141 may optically detect the toner remaining amount Q remaining in the toner container 131. For example, instead of the toner remaining amount detection sensor 141, the control unit 16 may calculate the toner consumption based on the number of dots of the image and detect the toner remaining amount Q from the toner consumption. Further, for example, instead of the toner remaining amount detecting sensor 141, the control unit 16 detects the toner remaining amount Q in the toner container 131 based on the integrated value of the rotation time (or the number of rotations) of the motor supplying the toner. It may be in the form of

First Embodiment
Next, an image forming apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control unit 16 of the image forming apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 16 includes a remaining amount acquisition unit 161, a consumption calculation unit 162, a threshold determination unit 163, a determination unit 164, and an information output unit 165. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the processor 16A of the control unit 16 reads out the control program from the storage unit 16B and executes it, and the remaining amount acquisition unit 161, the consumption calculation unit 162, and the threshold value determination unit It functions as the determination unit 164 and the information output unit 165.

  The storage unit 16B stores a waiting for arrival period PWy, a waiting for arrival period PWc, a waiting for arrival period PWm, and a waiting for arrival period PWk. The arrival waiting period PWy indicates a period required for ordering the toner container 131y and for the toner container 131y to arrive. Similarly, the arrival waiting time period PWc, the arrival waiting time period PWm, and the arrival waiting time period PWk indicate the time required for ordering the toner container 131c, the toner container 131m, and the toner container 131k after they are ordered. Waiting period for arrival PWy to waiting period for arrival PWk may be collectively referred to as waiting period for arrival PW for convenience.

  The remaining amount acquisition unit 161 acquires the toner remaining amount Qy from the toner remaining amount detection sensor 141y. Similarly, from the remaining toner amount detection sensor 141c, the remaining toner amount detection sensor 141m, and the remaining toner amount detection sensor 141k, the remaining amount acquisition unit 161 respectively determines the remaining toner amount Qc, the remaining toner amount Qm, and the remaining toner amount Qk. To get The remaining amount acquisition unit 161 writes information indicating the toner remaining amount Qy in the storage unit 16B in association with date and time information when the toner remaining amount Qy is acquired. Similarly, the remaining amount acquisition unit 161 determines the information indicating the remaining toner amount Qc, the information indicating the remaining toner amount Qm, and the information indicating the remaining toner amount Qk as the remaining toner amount Qc, the remaining toner amount Qm, and the toner, respectively. The remaining amount Qk is written in the storage unit 16B in association with the acquired date and time information.

  The consumption calculation unit 162 calculates the actual consumption QRy, the actual consumption QRc, the actual consumption QRm, and the actual consumption QRk. The actual consumption amount QRy is the consumption amount of the yellow toner in the first period PD1. Similarly, the actual consumption QRc, the actual consumption QRm, and the actual consumption QRk are consumptions of the cyan toner, the magenta toner, and the black toner in the first period PD1. The actual consumption amount QRy to the actual consumption amount QRk may be collectively referred to as the actual consumption amount QR for convenience. The first period PD1 is a unit period, for example, one day.

  The threshold determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold SQy, the remaining amount threshold SQc, the remaining amount threshold SQm, and the remaining amount threshold SQk. Specifically, the threshold value determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold value SQy based on the actual consumption amount QRy and the arrival waiting period PWy of the toner container 131y. The threshold determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold SQc based on the actual consumption amount QRc and the arrival waiting period PWc of the toner container 131c. The threshold determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold SQm based on the actual consumption amount QRm and the arrival waiting period PWm of the toner container 131m. The threshold determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold SQk based on the actual consumption amount QRk and the arrival waiting period PWk of the toner container 131k. The remaining amount threshold SQy to the remaining amount threshold SQk may be collectively referred to as the remaining amount threshold SQ for convenience. The remaining amount threshold SQ is a threshold for determining whether the toner remaining amount Q is small.

  Determination unit 164 determines whether toner remaining amount Qy is equal to or less than remaining amount threshold SQy. Determination unit 164 determines whether toner remaining amount Qc is equal to or less than remaining amount threshold SQc. Determination unit 164 determines whether toner remaining amount Qm is equal to or less than remaining amount threshold SQm. Determination unit 164 determines whether toner remaining amount Qk is equal to or less than remaining amount threshold SQk.

  If the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount Qy is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQy, the information output unit 165 outputs information indicating that the toner remaining amount Qy is small. If the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount Qc is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQc, the information output unit 165 outputs information indicating that the toner remaining amount Qc is small. If the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount Qm is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQm, the information output unit 165 outputs information indicating that the toner remaining amount Qm is small. If the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount Qk is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQk, the information output unit 165 outputs information indicating that the toner remaining amount Qk is small.

  As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the threshold determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold SQ based on the actual consumption amount QR and the arrival waiting period PW of the toner container 131. Then, when the toner remaining amount Q is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQ, the information output unit 165 outputs information that the toner remaining amount Q is small. Since the actual consumption amount QR and the arrival waiting period PW are reflected in the remaining amount threshold SQ, the information output unit 165 uses the toner container 131 according to the actual consumption amount QR and the length of the arrival waiting period PW. It is possible to output information on the exchange of the data at the correct timing. Therefore, the user can order the toner container 131 at an appropriate timing.

  For example, the information output unit 165 can quickly output information indicating that the remaining toner amount Q is small when the waiting time for arrival PW is long. Further, for example, when the waiting time for arrival PW is long and the actual consumption amount QR is small, or when the waiting time for arrival period PW is short and the actual consumption amount QR is large, the information indicating that the toner remaining amount Q is small is too early. Output without

  In the first embodiment, the information output unit 165 outputs information indicating that the toner remaining amount Q is small as the information related to the replacement of the toner container 131, but the present invention is not limited to this. The information relating to the replacement of the toner container 131 may be, for example, information for preparing the toner container 131 or both information for preparing the toner container 131 and information indicating that the toner remaining amount Q is small.

  Next, the operation of the control unit 16 of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the “threshold value determination process” of the control unit 16. The “threshold determination process” is a process of determining the remaining amount threshold SQ. In FIG. 3, for convenience, the process of determining the remaining amount threshold SQy will be described. Since the remaining amount threshold SQc, the remaining amount threshold SQm, and the remaining amount threshold SQk are also determined in the same processing as the remaining amount threshold SQy, the description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 3, first, in step S101, the remaining amount acquisition unit 161 acquires the remaining toner amount QAy from the remaining toner amount detection sensor 141y.
Next, in step S103, the consumption calculation unit 162 reads, from the storage unit 16B, the remaining toner amount QBy of the second period PD2 before the execution time of step S101. The second period PD2 is a period ending at the execution time of step S101, and is longer than the first period PD1.
Then, in step S105, the consumption calculation unit 162 calculates the actual consumption QRy using the following equation (1). The difference (QBy-QAy) between the toner remaining amount QBy and the toner remaining amount QAy indicates a cumulative value of the consumed amount of toner in the second period PD2.
QRy = (QBy-QAy) x PD1 / PD2 (1)

Next, in step S107, the threshold value determination unit 163 reads out the arrival waiting period PWy from the storage unit 16B.
Then, in step S109, the threshold determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold SQy using the following equation (2), and the process ends.
SQy = PWy × Qry (2)

  Next, the toner remaining amount QAy and the toner remaining amount QBy will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a graph G1 showing the change of the toner remaining amount Qy. The horizontal axis indicates time T, and the vertical axis indicates the toner remaining amount Qy. The time point TA indicates a time point (calculation time point) at which the consumption calculation unit 162 calculates the actual consumption amount QRy. The time point TA corresponds to, for example, the execution time point of step S101 in FIG. The time point TB indicates a time point before the second period PD2 from the time point TA. A period between the time point TB and the time point TA indicates a second period PD2. The second period PD2 is, for example, 3 days.

  The toner remaining amount QAy indicates the toner remaining amount Qy at time point TA. The toner remaining amount QBy indicates the toner remaining amount Qy at the time point TB. As shown in the graph G1, the toner remaining amount Qy decreases with the passage of time T. Further, when the toner container 131y is attached to the image forming apparatus 1, the toner remaining amount Qy at TS is 100%. The period from time point TS to time point TA is, for example, 10 days.

  As described above with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, the consumption calculation unit 162 calculates the actual consumption QR based on the cumulative value of the toner consumption in the second period PD2. Specifically, based on the cumulative value of the toner consumption amount for three days near the calculation time point TA within the ten days from the time point TS when the toner container 131 is attached to the image forming apparatus 1 to the calculation time point TA, the actual consumption amount Calculate QR. Therefore, since the tendency of the consumption amount of toner close to the calculation time point TA is reflected in the actual consumption amount QR, the actual consumption amount QR can be accurately calculated.

  In the first embodiment, the second period PD2 is 3 days, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The second period PD2 may be longer than the first period PD1. The second period PD2 may be, for example, 2 days or 5 days.

  In the first embodiment, the consumption calculation unit 162 calculates the actual consumption QR based on the total value of the toner consumption in the second period PD2, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the consumption amount calculation unit 162 may calculate the actual consumption amount QR based on the cumulative value of the toner consumption amount from the time TS when the toner container 131 is mounted. For example, in the above equation (1), the second period PD2 is replaced with the period from time TS to time TA. In particular, for example, when the consumption of toner changes irregularly, it is preferable to calculate the actual consumption QR using the consumption of the toner for a long period of time. Therefore, when the actual consumption amount QR is calculated based on the cumulative value of the toner consumption amount from the time TS when the toner container 131 is mounted, the actual consumption amount QR can be accurately calculated.

  Next, the remaining amount threshold SQy will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the remaining amount threshold SQy. As shown in FIG. 5, in the first example, the waiting time for arrival PWy is 2 days, and the actual consumption amount QRy is 4 (% / day). Therefore, the threshold value determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold value SQy to be 8% using the above equation (2). Further, in the second example, the arrival waiting period PWy is 3 days, and the actual consumption amount QRy is 2 (% / day). Therefore, the threshold value determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold value SQy to be 6% using the equation (2). Furthermore, in the third example, the arrival waiting period PWy is 4 days, and the actual consumption amount QRy is 5 (% / day). Therefore, the threshold determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold SQy to be 20% using the equation (2).

  As described above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, the threshold determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold SQ based on the product of the actual consumption amount QR and the arrival waiting period PW. Specifically, the threshold value determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold value SQ as a product of the actual consumption amount QR and the arrival waiting period PW. Since the remaining amount threshold SQ is determined as the product of the actual consumption amount QR and the arrival waiting period PW, the remaining amount threshold SQ can be easily determined.

  In the first embodiment, the threshold determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold SQ to be the product of the actual consumption amount QR and the arrival waiting period PW, but is not limited to this. For example, the threshold determination unit 163 may determine the remaining amount threshold SQ to be a first predetermined multiple (for example, 1.2) of the product of the actual consumption amount QR and the arrival waiting period PW. The first predetermined number is greater than one. In this aspect, since the remaining amount threshold SQ increases as the first predetermined number increases, information indicating that the toner remaining amount Q is small is output earlier. Therefore, even when the arrival of the toner container 131 is delayed, there is a time margin until the toner remaining amount Q disappears.

  Also, for example, the threshold determination unit 163 determines the remaining threshold SQ to be the product of the sum of the actual consumption amount QR plus the second predetermined positive number and the sum of the waiting period for arrival PW plus the third predetermined positive number. It may be in the form of In this aspect, since the remaining amount threshold SQ increases as the second predetermined number and the third predetermined number increase, information indicating that the toner remaining amount Q is small is output earlier. Therefore, the amount of consumed toner after the information indicating that the amount of remaining toner Q is small is larger than the actual consumption QR and the arrival of the toner container 131 is delayed until the amount of remaining toner Q is exhausted. Have time to spare. The second predetermined number is preferably determined based on the fluctuation amount of the consumed amount of toner, and the third predetermined number is preferably determined based on the fluctuation period of the arrival waiting period PW. In this aspect, since the fluctuation amount of the consumption amount of toner and the fluctuation period of the waiting time for receiving arrival PW are reflected on the remaining amount threshold SQ, it is possible to output information indicating that the remaining amount Q of toner is small at more accurate timing.

  Next, the operation of the control unit 16 of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 6 and 7. 6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the “determination process” of the control unit 16. The “determination process” is a process of determining whether the toner remaining amount Q is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQ.

As shown in FIG. 6, first, in step S201, the remaining amount acquisition unit 161 acquires the remaining toner amount Qy from the remaining toner amount detection sensor 141y. Similarly, the remaining amount acquisition unit 161 uses the remaining toner amount detection sensor 141c, the remaining toner amount detection sensor 141m, and the remaining toner amount detection sensor 141k to determine the remaining toner amount Qc, the remaining toner amount Qm, and the remaining toner amount Qk, respectively. get.
Next, in step S203, the determination unit 164 determines whether the toner remaining amount Qy is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQy.
If the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount Qy is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQy (YES in step S203), the process proceeds to step S205 in FIG. If the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount Qy is not equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQy (NO in step S203), the process proceeds to step S209.

Then, in step S209, the determination unit 164 determines whether the toner remaining amount Qc is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQc.
When determination unit 164 determines that toner remaining amount Qc is equal to or less than remaining amount threshold SQc (YES in step S209), the process proceeds to step S211 in FIG. If the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount Qc is not equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQc (NO in step S209), the process proceeds to step S215.

Then, in step S215, the determination unit 164 determines whether the toner remaining amount Qm is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQm.
When determination unit 164 determines that toner remaining amount Qm is equal to or less than remaining amount threshold SQm (YES in step S215), the process proceeds to step S217 in FIG. If the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount Qm is not equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQm (NO in step S215), the process proceeds to step S221.

Then, in step S221, the determination unit 164 determines whether the toner remaining amount Qk is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQk.
If determination unit 164 determines that toner remaining amount Qk is equal to or less than remaining amount threshold SQk (YES in step S221), the process proceeds to step S223. If the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount Qk is not equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQk (NO in step S221), the process ends.

If YES in step S203, the information output unit 165 outputs information that the amount of remaining toner Qy is small in step S205 shown in FIG. For example, the information output unit 165 displays on the display unit of the image forming apparatus 1 the message "Yellow toner is low. Please order a yellow toner container."
Next, in step S207, the threshold determination unit 163 increases the remaining amount threshold SQc, the remaining amount threshold SQm, and the remaining amount threshold SQk. Then, the process ends.

If YES in step S209, the information output unit 165 outputs information that the amount of remaining toner Qc is small in step S211 shown in FIG. For example, the information output unit 165 displays on the display unit of the image forming apparatus 1 as "the cyan toner is low. Please order a cyan toner container."
Next, in step S213, the threshold determination unit 163 increases the remaining amount threshold SQy, the remaining amount threshold SQm, and the remaining amount threshold SQk. Then, the process ends.

If YES in step S215, the information output unit 165 outputs information indicating that the toner remaining amount Qm is small in step S217 shown in FIG. For example, the information output unit 165 displays on the display unit of the image forming apparatus 1 as “Magenta toner is low. Please order a magenta toner container”.
Next, in step S219, the threshold determination unit 163 increases the remaining amount threshold SQy, the remaining amount threshold SQc, and the remaining amount threshold SQk. Then, the process ends.

In the case of YES at step S221, as shown at step S223, the information output unit 165 outputs information indicating that the toner remaining amount Qk is small. For example, the information output unit 165 displays on the display unit of the image forming apparatus 1 as "The amount of black toner is low. Please order a black toner container."
Next, in step S225, the threshold determination unit 163 increases the remaining amount threshold SQy, the remaining amount threshold SQc, and the remaining amount threshold SQm. Then, the process ends.

  As described above with reference to FIGS. 2, 6, and 7, it is assumed that the toner remaining amount Qy of one color (for example, yellow) of the four color toners is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQy. When the determination unit 164 makes a determination, the information output unit 165 outputs information that the toner remaining amount Qy is small. Further, as described with reference to FIG. 2, the threshold determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold SQy as the product of the actual consumption amount QRy and the arrival waiting period PWy. Since the actual consumption amount QRy and the arrival waiting period PWy are reflected in the remaining amount threshold SQy, the information output unit 165 selects the toner container 131y according to the actual consumption amount QRy and the length of the arrival waiting period PWy. It is possible to output information on the exchange of the data at the correct timing.

  Further, with regard to the cyan toner remaining amount Qc, the magenta toner remaining amount Qm, and the black toner remaining amount Qk, similarly to the yellow toner remaining amount Qy, the toner remaining amount Qc and the toner remaining amount Qm. Or outputs information indicating that the toner remaining amount Qk is small. Therefore, information indicating that the toner remaining amount Qc, the toner remaining amount Qm, and the toner remaining amount Qk are small can be output at appropriate timing. Therefore, information on the replacement of the toner container 131y, the toner container 131m, and the toner container 131k can be output at appropriate timing.

  As a result, since it is possible to output information on the replacement of the toner container 131 for each of the toner containers 131y to 131k, it is possible to order each of the toner containers 131y to 131k at an appropriate timing.

  Furthermore, when the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount Qy of one color (for example, yellow color) is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQy, the threshold setting unit 163 performs the following process. That is, the threshold value determination unit 163 increases the remaining amount threshold SQc, the remaining amount threshold SQm, and the remaining amount threshold SQk of the other colors different from yellow among the four color toners. For example, the remaining amount threshold SQc, the remaining amount threshold SQm, and the remaining amount threshold SQk are respectively increased by an increase amount ΔSQc, an increase amount ΔSQm, and an increase amount ΔSQk.

  Therefore, when the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount Qy is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQy, for example, the difference between the cyan toner remaining amount Qc and the remaining amount threshold SQc is equal to or less than the increase amount ΔSQc. The determination unit 164 determines as follows. That is, after the remaining amount threshold SQc is increased, the determination unit 164 determines that the cyan toner remaining amount Qc is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQc. Therefore, the information output unit 165 outputs information that the toner remaining amount Qc is small.

  Therefore, when the difference between the toner remaining amount Q and the remaining amount threshold SQ is equal to or less than the increase amount ΔSQ among other colors different from yellow, the information output unit 165 indicates that the toner remaining amount Q is small. Output Therefore, immediately after ordering the yellow toner container 131y, it is possible to suppress the situation where the toner container 131 of another color different from yellow is ordered. In addition, the frequency with which the user places an order for the toner container 131 can be reduced.

Further, when the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount Qy of one color (for example, yellow color) is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQy, the threshold setting unit 163 performs, for example, the following processing. That is, the threshold determination unit 163 increases the remaining amount threshold SQc, the remaining amount threshold SQm, and the remaining amount threshold SQk of the other colors different from yellow among the four color toners as follows. The threshold determination unit 163 multiplies the product of the actual consumption amount QRc and the arrival waiting period PWc by the coefficient C larger than zero to determine the increase amount ΔSQc. Similarly, the threshold determination unit 163 determines the increase amount ΔSQm and the increase amount ΔSQk. Specifically, the threshold value determination unit 163 determines the increase amounts ΔSQc, ΔSQm, and ΔSQk using the following equations (3) to (5).
ΔSQc = PWc × QRc × C (3)
ΔSQm = PWm × QRm × C (4)
ΔSQk = PWk × QRk × C (5)

  The threshold value determination unit 163 determines the increase amounts ΔSQc, ΔSQm, and ΔSQk using the above equations (3) to (5), so by setting the coefficient C to an appropriate value, the increase amounts ΔSQc, ΔSQm, and ΔSQk are appropriate. It can be set to any value. Further, the threshold value determination unit 163 can easily determine the increase amounts ΔSQc, ΔSQm, and ΔSQk.

  In the first embodiment, the threshold value determination unit 163 determines the increase amounts ΔSQc, ΔSQm, and ΔSQk using the equations (3) to (5), but the present invention is not limited to this. The threshold value determination unit 163 may determine the increase amounts ΔSQc, ΔSQm, and ΔSQk by another method. For example, the increase amounts ΔSQc, ΔSQm, and ΔSQk may be determined to predetermined values (for example, 5%). In this embodiment, it is not necessary to calculate the increase amounts ΔSQc, ΔSQm and ΔSQk, so the process of the threshold value determination unit 163 can be simplified.

Further, for example, the threshold value determination unit 163 uses the following equations (3A) to (5A) instead of the above equations (3) to (5), and the remaining amount threshold SQc, the remaining amount threshold SQm, and the remaining amount The amount threshold SQk may be determined.
SQc = PWc × QRc × CA (3A)
SQm = PWm × QRm × CA (4A)
SQk = PWk × QRk × CA (5A)
However, the coefficient CA is larger than one. In this embodiment, since the remaining amount threshold SQc, the remaining amount threshold SQm, and the remaining amount threshold SQk are calculated by the multiplication shown by the above equations (3A) to (5A), the process of the threshold value determination unit 163 can be simplified.

  In the first embodiment, the threshold value determination unit 163 determines the remaining amount threshold value SQy using the equation (2), but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if there is a spare toner container 131, the toner container 131 can be replaced without ordering the toner container 131. Therefore, when there is a spare toner container 131, the threshold determination unit 163 may determine the remaining amount threshold SQ to a small value (for example, 1%). In this embodiment, when there is a spare toner container 131, information on the replacement of the toner container 131 is output when the remaining amount of toner is almost exhausted. In addition, it is possible to prevent the information relating to the replacement of the toner container 131 from being output earlier than necessary. Therefore, the information on the replacement of the toner container 131 can be output at an accurate timing.

Second Embodiment
Next, an image forming system 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the image forming system 200. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the image forming system 200 includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses 1A, an image forming apparatus 1B, an image forming apparatus 1C, and a server apparatus 2. The image forming system 200 is different from the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment in that a plurality of image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C communicate with the server apparatus 2.

  Image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C each have the same configuration as image forming apparatus 1 described with reference to FIG. However, the functions of the control unit 16 of the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C are different from the functions of the control unit 16 of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The server apparatus 2 communicates with the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C via the network. The network includes a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), and a wireless LAN. Further, the server device 2 includes a control unit 21. The control unit 21 includes a processor 21A and a storage unit 21B, and controls the operation of the server device 2. The processor 21A includes, for example, a CPU. The storage unit 21B may include, for example, a semiconductor memory, and may include an HDD. The storage unit 21B stores a control program. The processor 21A reads out and executes the control program from the storage unit 21B, and controls the operation of the server device 2.

  Next, configurations of the control unit 21 of the server apparatus 2 and the control unit 16 of the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control unit 21 and the control unit 16.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 21 includes a detection unit 211 and a threshold designation unit 212. Specifically, the processor 21A of the control unit 21 reads out and executes the control program from the storage unit 21B, and functions as the detection unit 211 and the threshold designation unit 212.

  Further, the control unit 16 includes a threshold value changing unit 166, a determination unit 167, and an information output unit 168. Specifically, the processor 16A of the control unit 16 reads out and executes the control program from the storage unit 16B, and functions as the threshold change unit 166, the determination unit 167, and the information output unit 168.

  The detection unit 211 detects an unprintable image forming device 1α among the image forming devices 1A to 1C. Specifically, based on the information received from the information output unit 168 of the image forming apparatus 1A to the image forming apparatus 1C, the detecting unit 211 detects the image forming apparatus 1α which can not be printed. The “non-printable” is a state in which printing can not be performed, and indicates, for example, a state in which recovery takes time, such as failure or toner empty. The toner empty indicates a state in which there is no toner in the toner container 131 of at least one of the toner containers 131 y to 131 k of the four colors. The image forming apparatus 1α is an image forming apparatus which can not print out of the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C.

  The threshold designation unit 212 performs the following processing when the detection unit 211 detects the non-printable image forming apparatus 1α. More specifically, threshold instructing unit 212 sets remaining amount threshold SQy, remaining amount threshold SQc, remaining amount threshold SQm, and remaining amount threshold SQc of image forming device 1β excluding image forming device 1α which can not be printed among image forming devices 1A to 1C. It instructs to increase the remaining amount threshold SQk. The image forming apparatus 1β is an image forming apparatus excluding the image forming apparatus 1α among the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C. For example, when the non-printable image forming apparatus 1α is the image forming apparatus 1A, the image forming apparatus 1β is the image forming apparatus 1B and the image forming apparatus 1C.

  The threshold changing unit 166 changes the remaining amount threshold SQy, the remaining amount threshold SQc, the remaining amount threshold SQm, and the remaining amount threshold SQk based on the instruction from the threshold instructing unit 212.

  The determination unit 167 acquires the toner remaining amount Qy from the toner remaining amount detection sensor 141y. Similarly, the determination unit 167 obtains the toner remaining amount Qc, the toner remaining amount Qm, and the toner remaining amount Qk from the toner remaining amount detecting sensor 141c, the toner remaining amount detecting sensor 141m, and the toner remaining amount detecting sensor 141k, respectively. Do. Further, the determination unit 167 determines whether the toner remaining amount Qy is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQy. Similarly, determination unit 167 determines whether toner remaining amount Qc, toner remaining amount Qm, and toner remaining amount Qk are equal to or less than remaining amount threshold SQc, remaining amount threshold SQm, and remaining amount threshold SQk, respectively. Do.

  The information output unit 168 performs the following process when the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount Qy is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQy. That is, the information output unit 168 outputs information that the toner remaining amount Qy is small. Similarly, the information output unit 168 has the remaining amount threshold SQc, the remaining amount threshold SQm, and the remaining amount threshold SQk corresponding to at least one of the toner remaining amount Qc, the toner remaining amount Qm, and the toner remaining amount Qk. When the determination unit 164 determines that the above process is performed, the following process is performed. That is, the information output unit 168 outputs information indicating that the remaining toner amount Qc determined to be equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQc is small. Further, the information output unit 168 outputs information indicating that the toner remaining amount Qm determined to be equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQm is small, and the toner remaining amount Qk determined to be equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQk is small. Output information to that effect.

  Further, the information output unit 168 indicates that printing is not possible when the image forming apparatus 1A (or one of the image forming apparatus 1B and the image forming apparatus 1C) in which the information output unit 168 is arranged is not printable. The above information is transmitted to the detection unit 211 of the server device 2. As a result, the detection unit 211 detects that the image forming apparatus 1A (or one of the image forming apparatus 1B and the image forming apparatus 1C) can not print.

  As described above with reference to FIG. 9, when the detection unit 211 detects the non-printable image forming apparatus 1α, the threshold designation unit 212 performs the following process. That is, threshold instructing unit 212 instructs to increase remaining amount threshold SQy to remaining amount threshold SQk of image forming apparatus 1β except for image forming apparatus 1α among image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C. Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 1β, the timing when the toner remaining amount Qy to the toner remaining amount Qk become equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQy to the remaining amount threshold SQk is advanced. Therefore, the information on the replacement of the toner container 131 can be output at an accurate timing. That is, since the user orders the toner container 131 of the image forming apparatus 1β earlier than usual, it is possible to reliably avoid the situation where the toner runs out before the toner container 131 of the image forming apparatus 1β arrives.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 10A to 10C, the remaining amount threshold value SQy of the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C will be described. FIG. 10A shows the remaining amount threshold SQy of the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C when all the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C are not printable. FIG. 10B shows the remaining amount threshold SQy of the image forming apparatus 1B and the image forming apparatus 1C when the image forming apparatus 1A can not print. FIG. 10C shows the remaining amount threshold SQy of the image forming apparatus 1A and the image forming apparatus 1B when the image forming apparatus 1C can not print. 10A to 10C, for convenience, the remaining amount threshold SQy will be described, and the descriptions of the remaining remaining amount threshold SQc, the remaining amount threshold SQm, and the remaining amount threshold SQc will be omitted.

  The threshold instructing unit 212 determines the increase amount ΔSQy of the remaining amount threshold SQy based on the actual number of printed sheets Nα of the image forming apparatus 1α which can not print. Specifically, the threshold instructing unit 212 increases the increase amount ΔSQy of the remaining amount threshold SQy as the actual print number Nα of the image forming apparatus 1α which can not print increases. More specifically, threshold instruction unit 212 increases increase amount ΔSQy of remaining amount threshold SQy in proportion to actual number of printed sheets Nα of image forming apparatus 1α which can not print. For example, in the case where the actual print numbers Nα of the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C are, for example, 1.5 thousand sheets / day, 1.0 thousand sheets / day, and 0.5 thousand sheets / day, as shown in FIG. Description will be made with reference to (a) to (c) of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10A, when the image forming apparatus 1A to the image forming apparatus 1C can not print, the remaining amount threshold SQy is as follows. That is, the remaining amount threshold SQy of the image forming device 1A is 10%, the remaining amount threshold SQy of the image forming device 1B is 15%, and the remaining amount threshold SQy of the image forming device 1C is 20%. As shown in FIG. 10B, when the image forming apparatus 1A can not print, the remaining threshold SQy of the image forming apparatus 1B is increased by 15% to 30%, and the remaining threshold SQy of the image forming apparatus 1C is It will increase by 15% to 35%. Further, as shown in FIG. 10C, when the image forming apparatus 1C can not print, the remaining threshold SQy of the image forming apparatus 1A is increased by 5% to 15%, and the remaining threshold of the image forming apparatus 1B. SQy increases 5% to 20%.

  As shown in FIG. 10C, when the image forming apparatus 1C can not print, the increase amount ΔSQy of the remaining amount threshold SQy of the image forming apparatuses 1A and 1B is 5%. On the other hand, since the actual print count Nα of the image forming apparatus 1A is three times the actual print count Nα of the image forming apparatus 1C, when the image forming apparatus 1A becomes unprintable, the remaining image forming apparatuses 1B and 1C remain. The increase amount ΔSQy of the amount threshold SQy is 15% (3 × 5%).

  As described above with reference to FIGS. 10A to 10C, the threshold instructing unit 212 increases the remaining amount threshold SQy as the actual print number Nα of the image forming apparatus 1α that can not print increases. Increase the quantity ΔSQy. Therefore, when the image forming apparatus 1α having a large actual print number Nα becomes unprintable, the increase amount ΔSQy of the remaining amount threshold SQy becomes large. Therefore, when the image forming apparatus 1α having a large actual print number Nα becomes unprintable, in the image forming apparatus 1β, the timing when the toner remaining amount Qy becomes equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold SQy is the image forming device 1α. The actual number of printed sheets Nα can be reflected to accelerate. Therefore, since the user places an order for toner container 131 of image forming apparatus 1 β early, reflecting actual printed number N α of image forming apparatus 1 α, a situation where toner runs out before toner container 131 of image forming apparatus 1 β arrives. Can be avoided properly.

  In the second embodiment, the threshold instructing unit 212 increases the increase amount ΔSQy of the remaining amount threshold SQy in proportion to the actual number of printed sheets Nα of the image forming apparatus 1α which can not print, but the present invention is not limited to this. The threshold designation unit 212 may be configured to increase the increase amount ΔSQy of the remaining amount threshold SQy as the actual print number Nα of the image forming apparatus 1α which can not print increases.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 11, the operation of the control unit 21 of the server device 2 will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control unit 21. In FIG. 11, for convenience, the case of changing the remaining amount threshold SQAy, the remaining amount threshold SQBy, and the remaining amount threshold SQCy will be described. The remaining amount threshold SQAy indicates the remaining amount threshold SQy of the yellow toner of the image forming apparatus 1A. The remaining amount threshold SQBy indicates the remaining amount threshold SQy of the yellow toner of the image forming apparatus 1B. The remaining amount threshold SQCy indicates the remaining amount threshold SQy of the yellow toner of the image forming apparatus 1C.

First, as shown in FIG. 11, in step S301, it is determined whether the detection unit 211 has detected an image forming apparatus 1α that can not be printed.
When it is determined that the image forming apparatus 1α that can not be printed is not detected (NO in step S301), the process is in a standby state. If it is determined that the image forming apparatus 1α which can not be printed is detected (YES in step S301), the process proceeds to step S303.

Then, in step S303, the threshold designation unit 212 uses the information output unit 168 of the actual number of printed copies NA, the actual number of printed copies NB, and the actual number of printed copies NC of the image forming apparatus 1A, the image forming apparatus 1B, and the image forming apparatus 1C. get. The actual printing number NA, the actual printing number NB, and the actual printing number NC are the numbers printed by the image forming apparatus 1A, the image forming apparatus 1B, and the image forming apparatus 1C per unit period (for example, one day) in the past. is there.
Next, in step S305, the threshold designation unit 212 determines whether the image forming apparatus 1A can not print.
If it is determined that image forming apparatus 1A is not printable (NO in step S305), the process proceeds to step S309. If it is determined that image forming apparatus 1A can not print (YES in step S305), the process proceeds to step S307.

Then, in step S307, the threshold designation unit 212 increases the remaining amount threshold SQBy and the remaining amount threshold SQCy using the following equations (6) and (7), respectively, and the process ends.
SQBy ← SQBy + α × NA / (NA + NB + NC) (6)
SQCy SQ SQCy + α × NA / (NA + NB + NC) (7)
For example, the actual printing number NA, the actual printing number NB, and the actual printing number NC are 1.5 thousand sheets / day, 1.0 thousand sheets / day, and 0.5 thousand sheets / day, respectively. The constant α is, for example, 30%. In this case, the remaining amount threshold SQBy and the remaining amount threshold SQCy each increase by 15%.

In the case of NO in step S305, in step S309, the threshold designation unit 212 determines whether the image forming apparatus 1B can not print.
If image forming apparatus 1B is not printable (NO in step S309), the process proceeds to step S313. If image forming apparatus 1B can not print (YES in step S309), the process proceeds to step S311.

Then, in step S311, threshold instruction unit 212 increases remaining amount threshold SQAy and remaining amount threshold SQCy using equations (8) and (9), respectively, and the process ends.
SQAy SQ SQAy + α × NB / (NA + NB + NC) (8)
SQCy SQ SQCy + α × NB / (NA + NB + NC) (9)
As in step S307, the actual printing number NA, the actual printing number NB, and the actual printing number NC are respectively 1.5 thousand sheets / day, 1.0 thousand sheets / day and 0.5 thousand sheets / day. The constant α is set to 30%. In this case, the remaining amount threshold SQAy and the remaining amount threshold SQCy each increase by 10%.

In the case of NO at step S309, the threshold designation unit 212 determines that the image forming apparatus 1C can not print, and the process proceeds to step S313. Then, in step S313, threshold instruction unit 212 increases remaining amount threshold SQAy and remaining amount threshold SQBy using equations (10) and (11), respectively, and the process ends.
SQAy SQ SQAy + α × NC / (NA + NB + NC) (10)
SQBy ← SQBy + α × NC / (NA + NB + NC) (11)
As in step S307, the actual printing number NA, the actual printing number NB, and the actual printing number NC are respectively 1.5 thousand sheets / day, 1.0 thousand sheets / day and 0.5 thousand sheets / day. The constant α is set to 30%. In this case, the remaining amount threshold SQAy and the remaining amount threshold SQCy each increase by 5%.

  As described above with reference to FIG. 11, when the image forming apparatus 1A can not print, the threshold designation unit 212 sets the remaining amount threshold SQBy and the remaining amount threshold SQCy respectively to the equation (6). And (7) to increase. In addition, when the image forming apparatus 1B can not print, the threshold designation unit 212 increases the remaining amount threshold SQAy and the remaining amount threshold SQCy using the equations (8) and (9), respectively. Furthermore, when the image forming apparatus 1C can not print, the threshold designation unit 212 increases the remaining amount threshold SQAy and the remaining amount threshold SQBy using the above equations (10) and (11), respectively. Thus, the threshold designation unit 212 can change the appropriate remaining amount threshold SQAy, the remaining amount threshold SQBy, and the remaining amount threshold SQCy with a simple configuration.

  In the second embodiment, the threshold designation unit 212 increases the remaining amount threshold SQAy, the remaining amount threshold SQBy, and the remaining amount threshold SQCy by using the equations (6) to (11), but the present invention It is not limited. For example, the threshold designation unit 212 may change the remaining amount thresholds SQAy, SQBy, and SQCy as follows. That is, the threshold instructing unit 212 sets the second remaining amount threshold SQA2y, the second remaining amount threshold SQB2y, and the second remaining amount threshold SQA1y, the first remaining amount threshold SQB1y, and the first remaining amount threshold SQC1y, respectively. It instructs to change to the remaining amount threshold SQC2y. The second remaining amount threshold SQA2y, the second remaining amount threshold SQB2y, and the second remaining amount threshold SQC2y are larger than the first remaining amount threshold SQA1y, the first remaining amount threshold SQB1y, and the first remaining amount threshold SQC1y, respectively. Then, the second remaining amount threshold SQA2y, the second remaining amount threshold SQB2y, and the second remaining amount threshold SQC2y are determined so that the third period PD3 and the fourth period PD4 described below are substantially the same.

The third period PD3 indicates the following period when the non-printable image forming apparatus 1α is restored. That is, in each of image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C, third period PD3 indicates a period from when toner remaining amount Qy reaches first remaining amount threshold SQ1y to when toner remaining amount Qy becomes zero. . Specifically, in the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C, the third period PD3 indicates the following periods, respectively.
Image forming apparatus 1A: A period from when the toner remaining amount QAy reaches the first remaining amount threshold SQA1y to when the toner remaining amount QAy becomes zero.
Image forming apparatus 1B: A period from when the toner remaining amount QBy reaches the first remaining amount threshold SQB1y to when the toner remaining amount QBy becomes zero.
Image forming apparatus 1C: A period from when the toner remaining amount QCy reaches the first remaining amount threshold SQC1y to when the toner remaining amount QCy becomes zero.
The toner remaining amount QAy indicates the toner remaining amount Qy of the image forming apparatus 1A, the toner remaining amount QBy indicates the toner remaining amount Qy of the image forming apparatus 1B, and the toner remaining amount QCy indicates the toner remaining amount of the image forming apparatus 1C. Indicates Qy.

The fourth period PD4 indicates the following period when the unprintable image forming apparatus 1α is not restored. That is, in each of image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C, fourth period PD4 indicates a period from when toner remaining amount Qy reaches second remaining amount threshold SQ2y to when toner remaining amount Qy becomes zero. . Specifically, the fourth period PD4 indicates the following period in each of the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C.
Image forming apparatus 1A: A period from when the toner remaining amount QAy reaches the second remaining amount threshold SQA2y to when the toner remaining amount QAy becomes zero.
Image forming apparatus 1B: A period from when the toner remaining amount QBy reaches the second remaining amount threshold SQB2y to when the toner remaining amount QBy becomes zero.
Image forming apparatus 1C: A period from when the toner remaining amount QCy reaches the second remaining amount threshold SQC2y to when the toner remaining amount QCy becomes zero.

  The following effects can be obtained in the embodiment in which the second remaining amount threshold SQA2y, the second remaining amount threshold SQB2y, and the second remaining amount threshold SQC2y are determined such that the third period PD3 and the fourth period PD4 are substantially the same. That is, the toner remaining amount Qy becomes zero from the time when the toner remaining amount Qy reaches the remaining amount threshold SQy when the non-printable image forming device 1α is restored and when the non-printable image forming device 1α is not restored. The period until the same. Therefore, regardless of whether the non-printable image forming apparatus 1α is restored or not, a period from when the information output unit 165 outputs the information indicating that the toner remaining amount Qy is small until the toner remaining amount Qy becomes zero is It becomes constant. Therefore, the user can be given a sense of security. As a result, the convenience of the user can be further improved.

  Furthermore, the threshold designation unit 212 may increase the remaining amount threshold SQ based on the number of image forming apparatuses connected to the server device 2. Specifically, as the number of image forming apparatuses connected to the server apparatus 2 increases, the threshold instructing unit 212 decreases the amount of increase of the remaining capacity threshold SQ. In addition, as the number of image forming apparatuses connected to the server apparatus 2 increases, the fact that one image forming apparatus can not print has less influence on other image forming apparatuses. Therefore, as the number of image forming apparatuses connected to the server apparatus 2 increases, the amount of increase of the remaining amount threshold SQ decreases, so that an appropriate amount of increase can be determined with a simple configuration.

  In addition, the threshold designation unit 212 may determine the remaining amount threshold SQ to be equal to or less than the upper limit (for example, 40%). As the remaining amount threshold value SQ is larger, information on the replacement of the toner container 131 is output earlier. In addition, when the information regarding the replacement of the toner container 131 is output at too early timing, the user may determine that the erroneous information is output. Therefore, since the threshold designation unit 212 determines the upper limit value of the remaining amount threshold SQ to an appropriate value, it is possible to prevent the user from making an erroneous determination.

  Although the second embodiment has described the mode in which one image forming apparatus 1α is not printable, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a form in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses can not print may be used. In this embodiment, the remaining amount threshold SQ of the image forming apparatus which is not printable is determined as follows. That is, first, the remaining amount threshold value SQ when one image forming apparatus can not print is determined in the same manner as in the second embodiment. Then, the amount of increase of the remaining amount threshold SQ when one other image forming apparatus can not print is obtained and added to the remaining amount threshold SQ.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings. However, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, It is possible to implement in a various aspect in the range which does not deviate from the summary (for example, (1)-(4) shown below). In order to facilitate understanding, the drawings schematically show each component as a main component, and the thickness, length, number, etc. of each component illustrated are different from the actual for convenience of drawing creation. There is a case. Further, the shapes, dimensions, and the like of the components shown in the above embodiment are merely examples, and are not particularly limited, and various modifications can be made without departing from the configuration of the present invention.

  (1) As described with reference to FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 is a color copying machine, but the present invention is not limited to this mode. The image forming apparatus may be configured to form an image on the sheet P. For example, the image forming apparatus may be a monochrome copying machine. Also, for example, the image forming apparatus may be a multifunction peripheral.

  (2) As described with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, when the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount of one color is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold, the threshold determining unit 163 Although the toner residual amount threshold value is increased, the present invention is not limited to this form. For example, when the determination unit 164 determines that the toner remaining amount of one color is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold, the information output unit 165 may perform the following processing. That is, it is determined whether or not the difference between the toner residual amount of the other color and the residual amount threshold is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and the toner residual amount is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value. The information output unit 165 may output information indicating that the amount Q is small.

  (3) As described with reference to FIG. 8, the image forming system 200 includes the three image forming apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C, but the present invention is not limited thereto. It is sufficient that the image forming system 200 includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses. For example, two image forming apparatuses may be provided, or four or more image forming apparatuses may be provided.

  (4) As described with reference to FIG. 8, the server apparatus 2 instructs the increase of the remaining amount threshold of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C, but the present invention It is not limited to this form. For example, the image forming apparatus 1A may determine whether the other image forming apparatuses 1B and 1C can not print and may increase the remaining amount threshold. In this case, the server device 2 does not need to be installed, so the configuration can be simplified.

  The present invention is applicable to an image forming apparatus and an image forming system.

1 Image forming apparatus 131 (131y, 131c, 131m, 131k) Toner container 14 (14y, 14c, 14m, 14k) Image forming unit 141 (141y, 141c, 141m, 141k) Toner remaining amount detection sensor 15 Transfer part 154 Intermediate transfer Belt 16 control unit 161 remaining amount acquisition unit 162 consumption amount calculation unit 163 threshold determination unit 164 determination unit 165 information output unit 200 image forming system 1A, 1B, 1C image forming apparatus 131 (131y, 131c, 131m, 131k) toner container 14 (14y, 14c, 14m, 14k) Image forming unit 141 (141y, 141c, 141m, 141k) Toner remaining amount detection sensor 15 Transfer unit 154 Intermediate transfer belt 16 Control unit 166 Threshold change unit 167 Determination unit 168 Information output 2 server apparatus 21 control unit 211 detecting unit 212 threshold setting unit

Claims (5)

An image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium using toners of multiple colors;
A consumption amount calculation unit that calculates an actual consumption amount that is a consumption amount of toner in the first period for each color toner among the plurality of color toners ;
A determination unit that determines whether the remaining toner amount is equal to or less than a remaining amount threshold for each color toner among the plurality of color toners ;
Among the toners of the plurality of colors, when the determination unit determines that the remaining amount of toner of one color is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold, information indicating that the remaining amount of toner of the one color is small is output The information output unit to
The remaining amount threshold value is determined based on the actual consumption amount and the arrival waiting period indicating the time required for placing the toner container after the toner container is ordered for each color toner among the plurality of toners. for example Bei and the threshold value determination unit,
The threshold determination unit
When the determination unit determines that the toner remaining amount of the one color is equal to or less than the remaining amount threshold, the actual consumption amount of the other color different from the one color among the toners of the plurality of colors Multiplying the product of the other colors by the waiting period of the other color by a factor larger than 1 to determine the remaining amount threshold of the other color,
An image forming apparatus , wherein the remaining amount threshold of the toner of the other color is increased .   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the threshold determination unit determines the remaining amount threshold based on a product of the actual consumption amount and the waiting period for arrival.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the consumption calculation unit calculates the actual consumption based on a cumulative value of toner consumption from the time when the toner container is mounted. The consumption calculation unit calculates the actual consumption based on a total value of toner consumption in the second period,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second period ends at a calculation time point of the actual consumption amount and is longer than the first period. An image forming system in which a server apparatus and a plurality of image forming apparatuses communicate via a network.
The server device is
A detection unit that detects an unprintable image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses;
When the detection unit detects the non-printable image forming device, the plurality of remaining amount threshold values indicating the threshold value for determining whether or not the toner remaining amount is small in each of the plurality of image forming devices out of the image forming apparatus, Bei example a threshold setting unit for instructing to increase with the exception of an image forming apparatus of the unprintable,
The threshold designation unit
The remaining amount threshold is greater than the first remaining amount threshold and the second remaining amount is larger than the first remaining amount threshold so that the increase amount of the remaining amount threshold increases as the actual number of printed sheets of the image forming apparatus which can not print increases. Instruct to change to the volume threshold,
Determining the second remaining amount threshold so that the third period and the fourth period are substantially the same;
The third period is a period from when the remaining amount of toner reaches the first remaining amount threshold to when the remaining amount of toner becomes zero when the non-printable image forming apparatus is restored.
The fourth period is a period from when the remaining amount of toner reaches the second remaining amount threshold to when the remaining amount of toner becomes zero, when the image forming apparatus which can not print is not recovered. Formation system.

Images