JP6679272B2 - Image forming apparatus and management system - Google Patents

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile apparatus using an electrophotographic method, and a management system for the image forming apparatus.

  In a conventional image forming apparatus, media type information set by a user is used, a thickness sensor is provided in the image forming apparatus (for example, refer to Patent Document 1), and rigidity detection is performed in the image forming apparatus (for example, see Patent Document 1). , Patent Document 2) and the like to obtain the characteristics of the medium. The acquired characteristics of the media are used to determine the image forming conditions, and it is possible to form an image of a predetermined quality on various media.

  The electrophotographic image forming apparatus is equipped with consumable items such as a toner supply container, or members such as a photosensitive drum, a developing device, a fixing device, and a transfer device. Among these members, each member having a shorter life than the guaranteed operation time (hereinafter referred to as life) of the image forming apparatus main body is unitized. When these units reach the end of their life, they are replaced with new units. In order to accurately notify the life of the replaceable unit, it is necessary to accurately estimate the degree of deterioration of the performance of each unit (hereinafter referred to as the degree of deterioration). As a method of accurately estimating the degree of deterioration of the unit, the calculation result is multiplied by a weighting coefficient according to the difference in mode (for example, distinguishing between plain paper and OHT) and the number of media continuously conveyed. A method has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 3). Further, there has been proposed a method of improving the estimation accuracy of the degree of deterioration according to the surface smoothness of the medium detected by the image forming apparatus and the basis weight of the medium input by the user (for example, see Patent Document 4). .

  In recent years, centralized management of image forming apparatuses such as multi-function printers (hereinafter referred to as MFPs), which are document output environments in offices, has been performed. In addition, a managed print service (hereinafter, referred to as MPS) for optimally arranging the image forming apparatus has begun to be provided. In the MPS environment, the “administrative user” who provides the service may manage the media including the media in some cases, so that the characteristics of the media to be used are easier to understand than the general printing environment. Further, the management user can manage and set the media used for each paper feed tray of each image forming apparatus, and the accuracy of estimating the deterioration degree of the replacement unit can be improved.

JP, 2000-284549, A JP 2012-226138 A JP 2000-131978 A JP, 2014-178344, A

  However, a general user who actually uses the image forming apparatus may change the medium to be used. As described above, when the medium set by the management user and the medium actually used are different, the estimation accuracy of the deterioration degree of the replacement unit by the image forming apparatus may decrease. In particular, when a medium is used that has a greater effect on deterioration of the replacement unit than expected, an image or an apparatus may be affected before the life of the replacement unit is notified.

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to accurately estimate the degree of deterioration of the performance of the transporting unit according to the medium even when the medium is changed.

  In order to solve the problems described above, the present invention has the following configurations.

(1) A placement unit on which a recording material is placed, a transport unit that transports the recording material fed from the loading unit, and a deterioration degree of the transport unit is acquired based on a characteristic value of the recording material. And a degree of deterioration of the conveying means based on the characteristic value of the recording material before the change when the recording material of the placing unit is changed to a recording material of a different brand. And the degree of deterioration of the conveying means based on the changed characteristic value of the recording material, the degree of deterioration of the conveying means is acquired and included in the rigidity of the recording material placed on the placing part and the recording material. An image forming apparatus, characterized in that the deterioration degree of the conveying means is acquired based on the blending amount of the filler .
(2) A placement unit on which the recording material is placed, a transport unit that transports the recording material fed from the placement unit, and a deterioration degree of the transport unit is acquired based on a characteristic value of the recording material. And a degree of deterioration of the conveying means based on the characteristic value of the recording material before the change when the recording material of the placing unit is changed to a recording material of a different brand. And a degree of deterioration of the conveying unit based on the changed characteristic value of the recording material, the degree of deterioration of the conveying unit is acquired, and the plurality of placing units are provided, and the obtaining unit includes a plurality of the preceding units. An image forming apparatus, characterized in that the degree of deterioration of the conveying means is obtained for each brand of recording material placed on a unit, and the degree of deterioration of the conveying means is added up to obtain the degree of deterioration of the conveying means.
( 3 ) A management system comprising a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a management apparatus connected to the plurality of image forming apparatuses via a network line, wherein the plurality of image forming apparatuses each have a recording material mounted thereon. A plurality of placing parts to be placed, a carrying means for carrying the recording material fed from the placing part, an obtaining means for obtaining a deterioration degree of the carrying means based on a characteristic value of the recording material, And the management device collectively sets the characteristic values of the recording material placed on each of the plurality of mounting units of the plurality of image forming apparatuses to each of the plurality of mounting units. When the recording material of the above-mentioned placing portion is changed to a recording material of a different brand, the acquisition means has a setting means capable of setting, and the conveyance based on the characteristic value of the recording material before the change. Based on the deterioration degree of the means and the characteristic value of the recording material after the change, And a degree of deterioration of the transmission means to obtain the degree of deterioration of said conveying means, the degree of deterioration of the conveyance means based on the amount of filler contained in the stiffness and the recording material of the recording material placed on the placement section A management system characterized by acquiring .
(4) A management system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a management apparatus connected to the plurality of image forming apparatuses via a network line, wherein each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses has a recording material mounted thereon. A plurality of placing parts to be placed, a carrying means for carrying the recording material fed from the placing part, an obtaining means for obtaining a deterioration degree of the carrying means based on a characteristic value of the recording material, And the management device collectively sets the characteristic values of the recording material placed on each of the plurality of mounting units of the plurality of image forming apparatuses to each of the plurality of mounting units. When the recording material of the above-mentioned placing portion is changed to a recording material of a different brand, the acquisition means has a setting means capable of setting, and the conveyance based on the characteristic value of the recording material before the change. Based on the degree of deterioration of the recording medium and the characteristic value of the recording material after the change, The deterioration degree of the conveying means is acquired from the deterioration degree of the means, and a plurality of the above-mentioned placing portions are provided, and the obtaining means is configured to convey the recording material for each brand of the recording material placed on the plurality of the above-mentioned placing portions. A management system, characterized in that the deterioration degree of the transportation means is obtained and the deterioration degrees of the respective brands are added together to obtain the deterioration degree of the transportation means.

  According to the present invention, even when the medium is changed, it is possible to accurately estimate the degree of deterioration of the performance of the transport unit according to the medium.

Schematic cross-sectional views of the image forming apparatuses of Examples 1 to 3. Schematic configuration diagram of the fixing unit of Examples 1 to 3, an explanatory diagram of a correction coefficient matrix A graph showing the correlation between the predicted value and the actual measured value of the wear amount of Example 1. The figure which shows the distance measuring sensor and surface smoothness / thickness sensor of Example 2. The figure which shows the management system of Example 3, and the figure which shows a management screen.

  Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings by embodiments. The operation time guaranteed for the image forming apparatus main body and each unit is hereinafter referred to as a life, and the degree of deterioration of the performance of each unit is hereinafter referred to as a degree of deterioration.

  In the first embodiment, an image forming apparatus will be described which calculates the life of a rotary conveying unit that constitutes the image forming apparatus based on a characteristic value corresponding to a medium (recording material) registered for each paper feed cassette or manual feed tray. In such an image forming apparatus, even when a medium different from the media registered for each paper feed cassette or manual feed tray is used, the life of the rotary conveyance means is determined after determining the different medium. A configuration for performing calculation will be described. The stiffness of the medium is the degree of resistance to folding and bending of the paper, and is also called the stiffness of the paper or the stiffness of the paper.

[Image forming apparatus]
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the image forming apparatus of this embodiment. In this embodiment, a color image forming apparatus that uses an intermediate transfer belt is used as an example of the image forming apparatus, but an image forming apparatus having another configuration may be used. The image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment is a 4-drum full-color printer. The image forming unit includes photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K as image carriers provided in yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) color stations. It should be noted that Y, M, C, and K representing colors are omitted hereafter unless necessary. Further, the image forming unit includes a charging roller 2 as a charging unit, a scanner unit 11, a developing device 8 as a developing unit, a toner container 7 as a toner replenishing unit, a drum cleaner 16, an intermediate transfer belt 24 as a rotating member, and a toner container 7. The next transfer roller 25 is provided. Further, the image forming unit drives the intermediate transfer belt 24 and at the same time, drives the drive roller 26 that functions as a roller opposite to the secondary transfer roller 25, the tension roller 13, the auxiliary roller 23, the primary transfer roller 4, and the fixing unit as the fixing unit. The unit 21 is provided. Further, the image forming unit includes a control calculation unit 10 that is a calculation unit that controls and operates these units. The photosensitive drum 1 is configured by applying an organic photoconductive layer on the outer circumference of an aluminum cylinder, and is rotated by transmitting the driving force of a drive motor (not shown). The drive motor rotates the photosensitive drum 1 in the arrow direction (clockwise direction) in the figure in accordance with the image forming operation.

  When the control calculation unit 10 receives the image signal, the medium P is sent out into the image forming apparatus by the pickup roller 14 and the sheet feeding rollers 17 and 18 from the sheet feeding cassette 15A which is the placing unit on which the medium P is placed. . The medium P is once sandwiched by a roller-shaped synchronous rotating member, that is, a pair of registration rollers 19a and 19b, for synchronizing the image forming operation described later and the conveyance of the medium P, and stops and stands by. The image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment includes sheet feeding cassettes 15A and 15D provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus and a manual feed tray 15D, and sheet feeding cassettes 15B and 15C that are optionally attached as a mounting unit. .

  On the other hand, the control calculation unit 10 causes the scanner unit 11 to form an electrostatic latent image according to the received image signal on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 charged to a constant potential by the charging roller 2. The developing device 8 is a means for visualizing the electrostatic latent image, and develops YMCK colors for each station. The developing device 8 is provided with a developing roller 5, and a developing voltage for visualizing the electrostatic latent image is applied. In this way, the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is developed by the developing device 8 as a monochromatic toner image.

  The intermediate transfer belt 24 is in contact with the photosensitive drum 1, and rotates in the arrow direction (counterclockwise direction) in the figure in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 1 during color image formation. The developed single-color toner image is sequentially superimposed and transferred by the primary transfer voltage applied to the primary transfer roller 4, and becomes a multicolor toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 24. Here, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 without being transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 24 is collected by the drum cleaner 16 that is installed in contact with the photosensitive drum 1. The drum cleaner 16 has a cleaner blade 161 and a toner recovery container 162.

  The multicolor toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 24 is conveyed to a secondary transfer nip portion formed by the intermediate transfer belt 24 and the secondary transfer roller 25. In synchronism with the timing when the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 24 is conveyed to the secondary transfer nip portion, the conveyance of the medium P held by the registration roller pair 19a and 19b in a standby state is restarted. The medium P is conveyed to the secondary transfer nip portion by the pair of registration rollers 19a and 19b in synchronism with the conveyance of the multicolor toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 24. A multicolor toner image is collectively transferred to the medium P conveyed to the secondary transfer nip portion by the secondary transfer voltage applied to the secondary transfer roller 25. The fixing unit 21 is roughly classified into a pressure roller 21a that has an elastic layer and rotates, and a heater that is a heating unit that heats the fixing nip portion N by forming a fixing nip portion N in pressure contact with the pressure roller 21a. The heating rotator 21b is formed.

[Fixer]
FIG. 2A shows a schematic configuration diagram of the fixing unit 21. The heat-resistant cylindrical heating film 211 that constitutes the heating rotator 21b is loosely attached to the outer periphery of the support holder 212 that holds the heating film 211 in a cylindrical shape and the metal fixing stay 213 that holds the support holder 212. It is fitted. A plate-shaped heat generating element 214 is held in the longitudinal direction of the support holder 212, and the plate-shaped heat generating element 214 is pressed by a pressure roller (not shown) via the heating film 211 with the pressure roller 21a and the pressing force F to fix the nip. It forms part N. The heating film 211 sandwiched between the pressure roller 21 a and the plate-shaped heating element 214 is driven to rotate around the support holder 212 and the fixing stay 213 with respect to the pressure roller 21 a. A sensor 215, which is a temperature detecting means, is brought into contact with the inner surface of the heating film 211, the inner surface temperature of the heating film 211 is detected, and the temperature of the heating film 211 is determined by the control calculation unit 10 based on the detected temperature. It is controlled to be a value. The heating film 211 of this example has a film 211B having a base material of a stainless steel material having a thickness of 35 μm. On this film 211B, an elastic layer 211R made of silicone rubber having thermal conductivity and having a thickness of 300 μm and a releasable layer 211S made of PFA material and having a thickness of 25 μm are sequentially formed.

  The medium P holding the multicolor toner images is conveyed by the pressure roller 21a, and heat and pressure are applied at the fixing nip portion N to fix the toner on the surface. Returning to FIG. 1, the medium P after the fixing of the toner image is discharged to the paper discharge tray 30 by the discharge rollers 20a and 20b, and the image forming operation is completed. The belt cleaner 28 cleans the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 24 after the transfer onto the medium P by the cleaner blade 281, and the toner collected here is stored in the cleaner container 282.

  The series of image forming operations described above are controlled by the control calculation unit 10. The control calculation unit 10 is connected to a control panel 35 or a host computer (not shown) that functions as an input unit for a user to input information and an output unit for outputting information to the user. The control calculation unit 10 controls the image forming apparatus according to a command input from the control panel 35, a host computer, or the like. The control calculation unit 10 also serves as a notification unit for notifying the user of the state of the image forming apparatus and each unit by displaying an alert sound and a message, and also as a calculating unit for calculating the life of the rotary conveyance unit of the image forming apparatus described later. Function. Furthermore, the control calculation unit 10 also functions as a storage unit that stores various parameters required for calculation for calculating the life of the rotary conveyance unit. A distance measuring sensor 40 and a surface smoothness / thickness sensor 60 are arranged along the conveyance path along which the medium P is conveyed. Details of the distance measuring sensor 40 and the surface smoothness / thickness sensor 60 will be described in the second embodiment.

[Life calculation method]
In this embodiment, a method of predicting the degree of deterioration of the fixing unit 21 and calculating the life of the fixing unit 21 based on the calculated value will be described. Regarding the life of the fixing unit 21 of the present embodiment, an image defect due to wear of the release layer 211S of the heating film 211 is a factor that determines the degree of progress of the deterioration degree. In the image forming apparatus used in this embodiment, the control calculation unit 10 sets the standard value of the wear amount of the releasable layer 211S due to the conveyance of the medium P to 0.84 × 10 ⁻⁴ μm per page. The amount of wear is accumulated and held every time the medium P is conveyed.

Further, in the environment where the image forming apparatus is actually used, the accuracy of the prediction calculation is improved when the wear amount per unit rotation speed of the heating film 211 is used as a reference rather than the wear amount per unit page. There is also. In view of this, in the present embodiment, the actually measured number of revolutions of the heating film 211 is also measured, and the standard value of the amount of wear per revolution is set to 0.17 × 10 ⁻⁵ μm, and the amount of wear is calculated, accumulated, and held. I decided to. Then, a life calculation is performed which indicates, as a percentage, how close the accumulated wear amount is to the predetermined life value of the fixing unit 21. As described above, the initial value of the thickness of the release layer 211S used in this example is 25 μm. However, when the releasable layer 211S is worn down and the thickness becomes extremely thin, minute cracks are generated in the releasable layer 211S, the effect of releasability is not sufficiently exerted, and the image quality is deteriorated. There is a risk of doing it. Therefore, in this embodiment, the life value of the accumulated wear amount of the releasable layer 211S is set to 23 μm, and the life is calculated by the following equation (1).

In the formula (1), the remaining life of the fixing unit 21 (hereinafter referred to as remaining life) is obtained. Here, the life value refers to an integrated value of the wear amount of the releasable layer 211S, and in this embodiment, when the integrated value of the wear amount of the releasable layer 211S is 23 μm, the fixing unit 21 has a service life. Shall be reached. In other words, the life of the fixing unit 21 is defined when the thickness of the releasable layer 211S becomes 2 μm (= 25 μm-23 μm). When the integrated value of the amount of wear of the releasable layer 211S reaches 23 μm, it is time to replace the fixing unit 21.
Remaining life (%) = (1- (cumulative wear amount (μm) / 23)) × 100 Formula (1)
The calculation result of the remaining life (%) of the equation (1) is displayed on the control panel 35 to notify the user.

  By the way, it is known that the amount of wear of the releasable layer 211S varies depending on the type of medium to be conveyed. As a result of the study by the present inventors, it was found that the wear amount of the releasable layer 211S can be accurately predicted by considering the rigidity of the medium P and the blending amount of the filler contained in the medium. That is, the higher the rigidity of the medium P and the larger the amount of the filler contained in the medium, the larger the amount of wear per unit page. In the case of general copy paper, the main component of the filler contained in the medium is calcium carbonate, but the medium also contains silica, titanium oxide, talc, clay and the like. Therefore, in this embodiment, when predicting the degree of deterioration of the rotary transport means, the rigidity of the medium and the blending amount of the filler contained in the medium are used as parameters.

  In this example, the blending amount of the filler is determined by using "paper, paperboard and pulp-ash content test method-525 ° C combustion method" described in JIS P8251. In addition to this method, for example, a quantitative analysis method using fluorescent X-rays is used to calculate the blending amount of each of the above-mentioned fillers for each component, and the sum of them is used as the blending amount, or attention is paid to a specific component. You may use it as a compounding quantity.

  The Clark stiffness tester method described in JIS P8143 is used as the method for measuring the stiffness of the media in this study. Here, as another method having a correlation with the Clark stiffness, for example, JAPAN TAPPI No. 40 Gurley method, Taber stiffness tester method of JIS P8125, or simple method of TAPPI UM409. It is considered that the correlation similar to the wear amount of the releasable layer 211S can be obtained even if the measurement is performed by using another method having a correlation with the Clark stiffness.

As the predicted calculation value of the degree of deterioration, the amount of wear of the release layer 211S in the heating film 211 is calculated, and is corrected according to the rigidity of the medium held in the control calculation unit 10 and the blending amount of the filler. That is, in the control calculation unit 10, the standard value of the wear amount of the releasable layer 211S due to the conveyance of the medium P is 0.84 × 10 ⁻⁴ μm per page, and the standard value of 0. 17 × 10 ⁻⁵ μm. Then, the amount of wear of the releasable layer 211S is integrated and held every time one medium P is conveyed and every one rotation of the heating film.

The image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment includes sheet feeding cassettes 15A and 15D provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus, and sheet feeding cassettes 15B and 15C optionally installed in addition to the manual feed tray 15D. The paper feed cassettes 15 </ b> A to 15 </ b> C and the manual feed tray 15 </ b> D (hereinafter, also referred to as the paper feed cassette 15 </ b> A and the like) are associated with the rigidity corresponding to the medium and the blending amount of the filler. The control calculation unit 10 obtains a correction coefficient P (S) of 0.5 to 1.6 from the matrix shown in FIG. 2B according to the stiffness corresponding to the medium and the blending amount of the filler, and one page The wear amount per unit is multiplied by the standard value (0.84 × 10 ⁻⁴ μm) described above, and is integrated for each page.

  Here, in FIG. 2B, the horizontal axis shows the Clark stiffness, the vertical axis shows the blending amount (%) of the filler, and the predetermined Clark stiffness and the correction coefficient P (S) for the predetermined blending amount of the filler are shown. The correction coefficient P (S) is in the range of 0.5 to 1.6. The smaller the stiffness is, the smaller the correction coefficient P (S) is set, and the smaller the blending amount of the filler is, the smaller the correction coefficient P (S) is set. For example, when the Clark stiffness input from the menu screen is 120 or more and less than 125 and the compounding amount of the filler is 14 or more and less than 15, the correction coefficient P (S) is 0.9.

In this way, the control calculation unit 10 obtains the integrated wear amount W (μm) from the following equation (2).
Integrated wear amount W (μm) = Σ (standard value × P (S)) Formula (2)
The correction coefficient P (S) becomes smaller as the rigidity of the medium is lower and the blending amount of the filler is smaller, and conversely becomes larger as the rigidity is high and the blending amount of the filler is large. It should be noted that the integrated wear amount may be calculated using at least one of the number of pages integration method and the number of rotations integration method, or both may be used.

  The control calculation unit 10 of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment internally stores a list of media brands commonly used by users as shown in Table 1 and media stiffness and filler content of each brand. Have The control calculation unit 10 refers to the stiffness and the blending amount of the filler according to the medium used by the user, obtains the correction coefficient P (S) from the matrix of FIG. 2B, and corrects the integrated wear amount W. Is possible.

ここで、表１は、一列目にメディアの銘柄（Ａ〜Ｖ）、二列目に各メディアの坪量（ｇ／ｍ^２）、三列目に各メディアの厚み（ｍｍ）、四列目にベック式測定法により測定した各メディアのベック平滑度（ｓｅｃ）を、それぞれ示す。また、表１は、五列目にクラークこわさ試験機法により測定した各メディアのクラーク剛度（ｍＮ）、六列目は各メディアの填料の配合量（％）を、それぞれ示す。例えば、メディアＤは、坪量が７６．５１ｇ／ｍ^２、厚みが０．１０５ｍｍ、ベック平滑度が２２．２８（ｓｅｃ）、クラーク剛度が９２．３５ｍＮ、填料の配合量が２４．１８％である。

Here, in Table 1, the media brand (A to V) is in the first column, the basis weight (g / m ² ) of each medium in the second column, the thickness (mm) of each medium in the third column, and the fourth column. Shows the Beck smoothness (sec) of each medium measured by the Beck method. Further, Table 1 shows the Clark stiffness (mN) of each medium measured by the Clark stiffness tester method in the fifth column, and the sixth column shows the blending amount (%) of the filler in each medium. For example, the media D has a basis weight of 76.51 g / m ² , a thickness of 0.105 mm, a Beck smoothness of 22.28 (sec), a Clark stiffness of 92.35 mN, and a filler content of 24.18%. is there.

[Abrasion amount prediction calculation result and actual measurement value]
FIG. 3 shows the result of the prediction calculation of the wear amount based on the number of pages. In FIG. 3, the horizontal axis shows the predicted value of wear amount (10 ⁻⁴ μm / Page), and the vertical axis shows the measured value of wear amount (10 ⁻⁴ μm / Page). The correlation coefficient R ^{2 at} this time is 0.92. In addition, a high correlation coefficient can be similarly obtained for the result of the prediction calculation based on the rotation speed of the release layer 211S. As described above, the wear amount of the releasable layer 211S can be accurately predicted by any of the page number and rotation number integration methods.

The amount of wear due to the media conveyed from each of the paper feed cassettes 15A and the like is individually calculated as Wa, Wb, Wc, and Wd according to the above-described formula (2). Here, the subscripts a to d correspond to the subscripts A to D of the sheet feeding cassette 15A and the like. Then, the cumulative wear amount W can be obtained from the following equation (3). In this way, the control calculation unit 10 obtains the integrated wear amount for each of the paper feed cassettes 15A and the like, and adds up the wear amounts for each of the paper feed cassettes 15A and the like to calculate the integrated wear amount of the release layer 211S.
W = Wa + Wb + Wc + Wd Formula (3)

(When changed to the media listed in Table 1)
On the other hand, it may be assumed that the user changes to a medium different from the medium registered in the sheet feeding cassette 15A or the like. Even in these cases, the feature of the present embodiment is that the amount of wear can be accurately estimated. Hereinafter, a case where the medium from the paper feed cassette 15A is conveyed will be described as an example. The control calculation unit 10 may, for example, based on the fact that the paper feed cassettes 15 </ b> A to 15 </ b> C are inserted or removed, or based on the detection result of a sensor or the like (not shown) that detects the presence or absence of media on the manual feed tray 15 </ b> D. Judge that the media has changed.

  When the user uses the media listed in Table 1, it is possible to select the brand of the media used by the user from the list via the menu screen displayed on the control panel 35. The control panel 35 functions as a display unit and a selection unit. This makes it possible to connect the media brand on the list in Table 1 to the paper feed cassette 15A and the like. The control calculation unit 10 as the specifying unit determines that the medium has been changed based on the information input from the control panel 35, in other words, according to the selection result, and specifies the changed medium. As a result, the media brands listed in Table 1 maintain accurate life calculation.

For example, a case will be described in which, in the paper feed cassette 15A, the first registered medium, in other words, the medium before the change is changed to another medium described in the list of Table 1. In this case, the control calculation unit 10 determines the cumulative wear amount Wa_1 when the first registered medium is transported and the cumulative wear amount Wa_2 when the changed medium is transported. The control calculation unit 10 obtains the integrated wear amount Wa due to the medium conveyed from the paper feed cassette 15A from the sum of the integrated wear amount Wa_1 and the integrated wear amount Wa_2. That is, the control calculation unit 10 obtains the cumulative wear amount Wa of the paper feed cassette 15A from the following equation (4).
Wa = Wa_1 + Wa_2 Formula (4)

(When changed to a medium not listed in Table 1)
On the other hand, there may be a case where the user changes to a medium not listed in Table 1. When a medium not listed in Table 1 is used, in this embodiment, "other medium" is selected via the menu screen displayed on the control panel 35. When “other media” is selected on the menu screen of the control panel 35, the control calculation unit 10 calculates the integrated wear amount W according to the equation (2) using the temporary correction coefficient P (Sx). Here, the cumulative wear amount calculated using the temporary correction coefficient P (Sx) during the period in which the "other medium" is used is Wa_x or the like.

When “other media” is selected, the control calculation unit 10 stores the accumulated wear amount Wa_x and the like for each of the sheet feeding cassettes 15A and the like separately from the accumulated wear amount Wa_1 and the like before the medium is changed. Keep it. Here, when each data of the rigidity of the medium and the compounding amount of the filler is provided by the maker of the image forming apparatus or the maker of the medium corresponding to the brand of the medium designated as “other medium”, Can be responded to. That is, regarding the "other media" that were not originally registered in the list of Table 1, new information can be added and registered in the list of Table 1 via the control panel 35 or the like and registered. Then, when “other media” is newly registered in the list of Table 1, the control calculation unit 10 obtains the correction coefficient P (Snew) according to the newly registered media. That is, the control panel 35 functions as a registration unit. Then, the control calculator 10 can again calculate the life of the paper feed cassette 15A in accordance with the following equation (5). The same applies to the paper feed cassette 15B and the like.
Integrated wear amount Wa = Wa_1 + Wa_x × P (Snew) / P (Sx) Formula (5)

  In this embodiment, when the “other medium” is selected, the provisional correction coefficient P (Sx) is, for example, 1.6, which is the largest value that the correction coefficient P (S) can take. To use. It can be said that, among the media that can be used in the image forming apparatus, the characteristic value of the medium in which the amount of wear of the release layer 211S is the largest is used as the temporary characteristic value. When the brand of the medium used by the user is not on the list of Table 1 and the medium that causes the largest amount of wear of the release layer 211S is used, the information is registered in the list of Table 1. This is done in consideration of the case where it is used without being used. As a result, even if the "other medium" is not registered in the list of Table 1 and is continuously used, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of the influence on the image and the device.

  In this embodiment, the data of media not listed in Table 1 is assumed to be promptly input by the user. This is because such an operation mode can be relatively easily performed in the MPS environment in which the management user described above exists.

  On the other hand, if information is continuously used without being registered in the list, the following may occur. For example, even if the medium used is a medium that is advantageous for the abrasion of the releasable layer 211S, that is, even when the releasable layer 211S is not actually worn so much, the image forming apparatus is It may be determined that the fixing unit 21 has reached the end of its life. Such a case is likely to occur particularly when the maximum value that the correction coefficient P (S) can take is used as the temporary correction coefficient P (Sx). Therefore, it is assumed that the fixing unit 21 reaches the end of its life without information being registered in the list, and even in that case, the difference between the actual wear amount of the releasable layer 211S and the predicted wear amount is small. Thus, it may be configured as follows. That is, the temporary correction coefficient P (Sx) corresponding to "other media" is determined in consideration of print modes (print speed) such as "plain paper", "thin paper", and "thick paper" set by the user. You may do so. In general, since the stiffness increases as the thickness of the paper increases, for example, the value that the provisional correction coefficient P (Sx) can take is 1.0 to 1.6 in the “thick paper” mode and 0. It may be 8 to 1.3, and may be 0.5 to 1.0 in the "thin paper" mode.

  Since the information about the stiffness of the medium and the blending amount of the filler described above may not be usually known to general users, in the present embodiment, the input of these information is performed from the menu screen accessible by the management user. There is. The management user may also register the brand of the medium that is normally used in the paper feed cassette 15A or the like. When entrusting general users other than the management user to input these values, the media characteristic values may be directly input to the menu screen. Further, in this embodiment, the wear amount integrating method has been described by taking the medium conveyed from the sheet feeding cassette 15A as an example, but the same is applied to the medium conveyed from another sheet feeding cassette 15B and the like. .

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when the medium is changed, it is possible to accurately estimate the degree of deterioration of the performance of the transport unit according to the medium.

  Some users change the medium to be used relatively frequently. For such a user, the task of inputting and registering the brand of the medium every time the medium is changed has a problem from the viewpoint of usability. Further, depending on the user, even if the medium is changed, there is a possibility that the information of the medium is not input in order to register new information in the list of Table 1. In the second embodiment, the image forming apparatus is configured to include a stiffness sensor, a surface smoothness sensor, and a thickness sensor as a detection unit that detects the characteristics of the medium. The control calculation unit 10 as a discriminating unit is configured to discriminate the medium based on the information detected by these detecting units. On the other hand, in general, it is difficult to measure the blending amount of the filler of the medium with the sensor included in the image forming apparatus. Therefore, in this embodiment, the brand of the medium is determined based on the detection results of the stiffness sensor, the surface smoothness sensor, and the thickness sensor. This is a configuration for predicting and acquiring the blending amount of the filler.

  The image forming apparatus of the present embodiment has a media brand list as shown in Table 1 as in the first embodiment, and not only the rigidity and the blending amount of the filler as the characteristic values of the media but also the surface smoothness and Media thicknesses are listed. Then, as described above, the control calculation unit 10 can acquire information about the stiffness, surface smoothness, and thickness of the medium by each sensor.

[Distance sensor]
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a distance measuring sensor 40 for measuring the amount of deflection of the medium P due to its own weight is arranged between the paper feed rollers 17 and 18 as a detection means for detecting the rigidity. are doing. Then, based on the deflection amount of the media P determined by the distance measurement sensor 40, the rigidity of the medium is calculated using the principle of the TAPPI UM409 measuring method.

  FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a main part in the vicinity of the distance measuring sensor 40. As shown in FIG. 4A, when the recording material P is fed from the paper feed cassette 15A and the leading end of the medium P passes through the nip portion of the paper feed roller 17, the recording material P is fed more than the nip portion of the paper feed roller 17. The tip of P bends downward due to its own weight. The difference between the distance from the distance measuring sensor 40, which is a known value, to the height of the nip portion of the sheet feeding roller 17 shown by the one-dot chain line and the distance from the distance measuring sensor 40 to the recording material P shown by the two-dot chain line The amount of deflection is S. The control calculation unit 10 obtains the rigidity of the medium P based on the self-weight deflection amount S obtained from the distance measuring sensor 40.

[Surface smoothness / thickness sensor]
FIG. 4B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a surface smoothness / thickness sensor 60 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a sensor 60) in which the surface smoothness sensor and the thickness sensor are integrally configured. The sensor 60 includes an LED 621 that is a first light irradiation unit, an LED 622 that is a second light irradiation unit, a CMOS area sensor 63A that is an imaging unit, and an imaging lens 64A that is an imaging unit. Furthermore, the sensor 60 includes a filtering unit 65A and a calculation unit 61 that form a filtering unit. Light from the LED 621 as a light source is blue light having a maximum wavelength near 460 nm, and is emitted toward the surface of the medium P.

  The blue LED 621 is arranged so as to emit light at an angle of 45 degrees from the paper surface of the medium P, and causes the surface of the medium P to generate reflected light having a shadow corresponding to the unevenness. This reflected light is condensed via the imaging lens 64A, and the wavelength component that has passed through the filtering unit 65A forms an image on the CMOS area sensor 63A as a reflected light image. The CMOS area sensor 63A outputs a voltage signal to the arithmetic unit 61 as an electric signal that changes according to the amount of reflected light for each imaged area. When the voltage signal is input from the CMOS area sensor 63A, the calculation unit 61 performs analog-digital (hereinafter referred to as A-D) conversion of the voltage signal and controls the converted digital signal of 256 gradations. Output to.

  On the other hand, the light having the LED 622 as a light source is red light having a maximum wavelength near 640 nm, and is radiated toward the surface of the medium P opposite to the surface radiated by the LED 621. The red LED 622 is arranged so as to emit light from the normal line direction of the paper surface of the medium P, and the light is transmitted with an attenuation amount according to the thickness of the medium P. This transmitted light is also condensed through the imaging lens 64A, the wavelength component transmitted through the filtering unit 65A is imaged as a transmitted light image on the CMOS area sensor 63A, and a voltage signal as an electric signal that changes according to the amount of transmitted light is generated. It is output to the calculation unit 61. Then, with the same action, the arithmetic unit 61 performs A-D conversion on the voltage signal and outputs the converted digital signal of 256 gradations to the control arithmetic unit 10. The light emitted from the red LED 622 transmits the light of the basis weight of the medium P with an attenuation amount according to the basis weight, and thus the sensor 60 may detect the basis weight of the medium P.

  As described above, the sensor 60 according to the present embodiment outputs the information regarding the surface unevenness of the medium P and the information regarding the thickness to the control calculation unit 10. Based on the information detected by the sensor 60, the control calculation unit 10 identifies the medium from Table 1 and calculates the life using the rigidity of the medium and the blending amount of the filler. That is, the control calculation unit 10 also functions as a specifying unit. For example, when the sensor 60 detects that the surface smoothness of the medium P is 22.28 and the thickness is 0.105, the control calculation unit 10 determines the medium P based on the obtained detection result and the information in Table 1. The brand is determined to be the medium D. It should be noted that as the number of detected parameters increases, the accuracy in identifying the medium P improves. Therefore, in this embodiment, for example, the stiffness, surface smoothness, and thickness of the medium P are detected by the distance measuring sensors 40 and 60, and the medium P is specified based on Table 1 using these.

  As described above, the control calculation unit 10 compares the stiffness, surface smoothness, and thickness information of the medium measured in the image forming apparatus with the characteristic values on the brand list of the medium as shown in Table 1 and is actually used. It is possible to specify the media to be used. However, the actually measured characteristic values have variations due to the influence of unevenness of the medium, lot difference, detection variation of the measuring device, and the like. In this embodiment, the information listed in the brand list in Table 1 is an average value of a plurality of measured values. The control calculation unit 10 regards a medium in which all of the three characteristic values of rigidity, surface smoothness, and thickness measured in the image forming apparatus fall within ± 10% of the average value as a used medium.

  In order to further improve the accuracy of specifying the medium, it is desirable to perform the measurement in the image forming apparatus over a plurality of media. In the present embodiment, after detecting that the medium is set in the sheet feeding cassette 15A or the like, the sensor 60 measures for 10 sheets and obtains the average value. Further, it is also possible to obtain the average value and measure the measurement variation to determine whether the 10 measured media are media of the same brand.

  With such a configuration, similarly to the first embodiment, in the state where the media normally used in the sheet feeding cassette 15A and the like are registered, the media used by the method described in the first embodiment is specified. To do. On the other hand, when the media registered in Table 1 is not used, the brand of the media not registered can be determined. When it is determined that the paper has been changed, such as when the paper feed cassette 15A or the like is inserted or removed, the control calculation unit 10 compares the information obtained by the distance measuring sensor 40 and the sensor 60 with the list in Table 1. Specify the media. When the medium is specified, the control calculation unit 10 can obtain the blending amount of the filler corresponding to the medium required for the life calculation from the list in Table 1. The control calculation unit 10 obtains the correction coefficient P (Snew) from the stiffness measured by the distance measuring sensor 40 and the blending amount of the filler of the medium P specified in Table 1 by using the matrix of FIG. 2B. It is possible to perform accurate life calculation.

[Bypass tray]
In the first embodiment, assuming that the MPS environment in which the media to be used is limited, the description is made assuming that there is one type of "other media" for each paper feed cassette 15A and the like. However, when there are a plurality of media used in the paper feed cassette 15A or the like, there is a possibility that these media are not listed in Table 1. In the present embodiment, even in such a situation, if the detection means for detecting the characteristics of the media can distinguish the media to some extent, the usage period is stored for each media, More accurate life calculation can be performed. In particular, when compared with the cassette type paper feed cassettes 15A to 15C, various media tend to be used in the manual feed tray 15D. For this reason, it is desirable to enable the life calculation on the assumption that various types of media are used as in the present embodiment. Further, regarding the specification of the medium, as for the medium conveyed from the manual feed tray 15D, the medium to be used is changed at a high frequency. The configuration is based on each measurement.

The amount of wear caused by the medium conveyed from the manual feed tray 15D will be described. Here, it is assumed that m types of media on the list including the media registered in Table 1 and n types of “other media” are conveyed to the manual feed tray 15D. In that case, the cumulative wear amount Wd due to the medium conveyed from the manual feed tray 15D can be expressed by the following equation (6). In this way, the control calculation unit 10 obtains the integrated wear amount for each brand of media placed on the manual feed tray 15D, adds up the integrated wear amount for each brand, and calculates the integrated wear amount of the release layer 211S. Calculate
Integrated wear amount Wd = ΣWd_i + Σ (Wd_xj × P (Snew_j) / P (Sxj))
(I = 1 to m, j = 1 to n) Formula (6)
With such a configuration, media of the same brand may be stacked with media of other brands sandwiched, that is, a period in which one medium is transported is dispersed. However, it is not necessary to separately obtain the cumulative wear amount W. That is, the amount of information to be stored can be compressed by obtaining the cumulative wear amount for each medium.

  In this embodiment, the CMOS area sensor 63A images reflected light and transmitted light as shown in FIG. 4B to detect information relating to the surface unevenness of the medium and thickness information, respectively. It is used to identify the stock. However, the media characteristic detection means applicable to the present invention is not limited to these, and may have the following configuration, for example. For example, an ultrasonic sensor that recognizes the surface condition, thickness, and basis weight of the medium by irradiating the medium with ultrasonic waves and detecting its reflectance and transmittance, or a combination of sensors of each type, You may use it.

  The method of specifying the medium to be used and the means for obtaining the correction coefficient are not limited to those described above, and the degree of agreement between the measured characteristic value and the characteristic value of the closest medium may be reflected in the correction coefficient. Good. Further, in this embodiment, the media is specified based on the rigidity, thickness and surface smoothness of the media. However, the physical property used to specify the medium is not limited to this, and only the thickness and the surface smoothness of the medium may be used, and the stiffness may be a list of values measured in advance for each medium. In any case, the present embodiment is characterized in that the characteristic value other than the characteristic value obtained by specifying the medium is acquired with reference to the list in Table 1 and the life is calculated. On the other hand, as a result of the measurement, if there is no corresponding medium in the list of Table 1, the life is calculated provisionally using a predetermined value, and after the brand and the characteristic value of the medium are registered in the list, the life is calculated. The configuration for performing the calculation again is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when the medium is changed, it is possible to accurately estimate the degree of deterioration of the performance of the transport unit according to the medium.

  When the user sets a number of characteristic values of the media P for each image forming apparatus, usability may deteriorate. Further, as described above, the data of the stiffness of the medium P and the blending amount of the filler are known by the management user of the image forming apparatus, and may not be known by the general user. In this case, these parameters will be set by the management user. However, when the management user manages the plurality of image forming apparatuses and the medium P, the setting of the same media characteristic is repeated many times for each image forming apparatus. If such work can be collectively set, the work efficiency of the management user can be improved. Therefore, in the third embodiment, the registration of the brand of the medium P and the characteristic value of the medium P in the list (Table 1) is input from the host device via the network line.

  FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a connection state between the plurality of image forming apparatuses 100A to 100C and the host device 50 of this embodiment. The image forming apparatuses 100A to 100C are all connected to the network line 70 via the network connecting device 55. The host device 50 has a control unit 50a that is a setting unit. The host device 50 can register the characteristic value of the medium P for each paper feed cassette 15A of the image forming apparatuses 100A to 100C via the network line 70 by the control unit 50a. In the image forming apparatus 100A to the image forming apparatus 100C, the network connection device 55 is connected to the control calculation unit 10, and the characteristic value of the medium P input via the network line 70 also functions as a storage unit. Held at 10. The configurations and operations of the image forming apparatus 100A to the image forming apparatus 100C are the same as the configurations described in the first and second embodiments, and the same configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The host device 50 is connected from the image forming apparatus 100A to the same network line 70 as the image forming apparatus 100C, and can collectively manage the settings of the image forming apparatus 100C from the image forming apparatus 100A and monitor the operating status. It is possible. When transmitting information such as the characteristic value of the medium P from the host device 50, for example, a management screen as shown in FIG. 5B is used to select an image forming apparatus as a transmission destination.

  FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a management screen 351 displayed on the host device 50. In the management screen 351, a tray setting input 352 and a setting transmission printer selection 353 can be input as a “paper parameter management setting menu”. In the tray setting input 352, it is possible to register the characteristic values of the media such as the rigidity and the blending amount of the filler for the media P set in the trays 1 to 4 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 15A and the like. Further, in the setting transmission printer selection 353, information on the installation location of the image forming apparatus 100A to the image forming apparatus 100C is displayed. In the setting transmission printer selection 353, it is possible to set a check box to which image forming apparatus the characteristic value data of the medium P registered by the tray setting input 352 is transmitted.

  For example, in the setting transmission printer selection 353 of FIG. 5B, the image forming apparatus 1 corresponding to the image forming apparatus 100A and the image forming apparatus 2 corresponding to the image forming apparatus 100B are checked. Therefore, the characteristic values of the same medium P set by the tray setting input 352 are registered for the respective trays 1 to 4 of the image forming apparatus 1 and the image forming apparatus 2. Therefore, the host device 50 functions as a setting unit. The control unit 50a of the host device 50 transmits these pieces of information to the control operation unit 10 of the corresponding image forming apparatuses 100A to 100C by pressing the OK button 354 after the user inputs these data. To do. As a result, the host device 50 can collectively manage the image forming apparatuses 100A to 100C. In this embodiment, as the characteristic value of the medium P, the data of the stiffness and the blending amount of the filler are registered, but the characteristic value of the medium P may be registered.

  As the individual identification information of the image forming apparatus, an IP address registered in advance for the image forming apparatus is used, and the host device 50 can identify the individual image forming apparatus by a known method. In this way, the host device 50 collectively transmits the characteristic values of the medium P to the plurality of image forming apparatuses selected from the management screen 351 for each of the sheet feeding cassettes 15A and the like.

  As described above, the control calculation unit 10 of each image forming apparatus can accurately calculate the life of the fixing unit 21 by using the characteristic value of the medium P registered via the network line 70. Further, the result of the life calculation performed by each image forming apparatus is transmitted to the host device 50 via the network line 70. As a result, the host device 50 can hold the life calculation result of the fixing unit 21 of each image forming apparatus as one piece of maintenance management information, so that the management load on the management user can be reduced.

  As described above, by configuring the management system of the image forming apparatus, the data of the characteristic value of the medium is registered in one operation with respect to the plurality of image forming apparatuses managed by the management user including the medium to be used. It becomes possible to do. As a result, the work load of the management user can be greatly reduced.

  As described above, in each of the embodiments described so far, the heating film 211 is used as a target for performing the prediction calculation of the deterioration degree, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, in addition to the heating film 211, the fixing unit 21. You may apply to the pressure roller 21a which is a component which comprises. Further, only the predicted calculation value of the wear amount of the heating film 211 was used for the life calculation of the fixing unit 21, but the life calculation is performed by comprehensively considering the deterioration degree of the other components forming the fixing unit 21 described above. May be performed. In addition to the fixing unit 21, the present invention can be applied to, for example, the secondary transfer roller 25, the paper feed rollers 17 and 18, and the like as a general conveying unit that comes into contact with the surface of the medium P and contributes to the conveyance of the medium P. is there.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when the medium is changed, it is possible to accurately estimate the degree of deterioration of the performance of the transport unit according to the medium.

10 Control Calculation Units 15A, 15B, 15C Paper Feed Cassette 15D Manual Feed Tray 21 Fixing Unit

Claims (21)

A placement part on which the recording material is placed,
Conveying means that conveys the recording material fed from the placing section,
An acquisition unit that acquires the degree of deterioration of the transport unit based on the characteristic value of the recording material;
Equipped with
When the recording material of the above-mentioned placing portion is changed to a recording material of a different brand, the acquisition means, the deterioration degree of the conveying means based on the characteristic value of the recording material before the change, and the recording material after the change. From the degree of deterioration of the conveying means based on the characteristic value, obtain the degree of deterioration of the conveying means, based on the stiffness of the recording material placed on the placement section and the blending amount of the filler contained in the recording material. An image forming apparatus, characterized in that the degree of deterioration of a conveying unit is acquired . Equipped with a plurality of the above-mentioned placement unit,
The acquisition unit obtains a deterioration degree of the transport unit for each brand of the recording material placed on the plurality of placement units, adds up the deterioration degree of each brand, and acquires the deterioration degree of the transport unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises: A placement part on which the recording material is placed,
Conveying means that conveys the recording material fed from the placing section,
An acquisition unit that acquires the degree of deterioration of the transport unit based on the characteristic value of the recording material;
Equipped with
When the recording material of the above-mentioned placing portion is changed to a recording material of a different brand, the acquisition means, the deterioration degree of the conveying means based on the characteristic value of the recording material before the change, and the recording material after the change. From the degree of deterioration of the conveying means based on the characteristic value, obtain the degree of deterioration of the conveying means,
Equipped with a plurality of the above-mentioned placement unit,
The acquisition unit obtains the degree of deterioration of the transport unit for each brand of the recording material placed on the plurality of placement units, adds up the degree of deterioration of each brand, and obtains the degree of deterioration of the transport unit. An image forming apparatus comprising: Said acquisition means, according to claim 3, characterized in that to obtain the degree of deterioration of the conveyance means based on the amount of filler contained in the stiffness and the recording material of the recording material placed on the placement section Image forming device. A storage unit that stores the brand of the recording material and the characteristic value of the recording material in association with each other,
Display part,
A selection means for displaying a list of brands of recording materials stored in the storage means on the display unit and selecting the changed recording material from the list;
Specifying means for specifying the brand of the recording material after the change according to the selection result by the selecting means,
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1, 2, and 4, further comprising: A storage unit that stores the brand of the recording material and the characteristic value of the recording material in association with each other,
A detection means for detecting the characteristic value of the recording material being conveyed,
Based on the characteristic value of the recording material detected by the detection means, and the characteristic value of the recording material stored in the storage means, specifying means for specifying the brand of the recording material after the change,
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1, 2, and 4, further comprising: It said sensing means, means for detecting the rigidity of the recording material, means for detecting the surface smoothness of the recording material, and among the means for detecting the thickness of the recording material, according to claim 6, characterized in that at least one The image forming apparatus according to item 1. When the brand of the recording material specified by the specifying means is stored in the storage means, the acquisition means acquires the changed characteristic value of the recording material from the storage means and acquires the acquired recording material. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7 , wherein the degree of deterioration of the transport unit is acquired using the characteristic value of. When the brand of the recording material specified by the specifying means is not stored in the storage means, the acquiring means has the highest degree of deterioration of the conveying means among the recording materials usable in the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7 , wherein the degree of deterioration of the conveying unit is acquired by using a characteristic value of the recording material that becomes large as a temporary characteristic value. The recording means is provided with registration means for registering the brand of the recording material not stored in the storage means and the characteristic value of the recording material not stored in the storage means,
When the brand of the recording material specified by the specifying unit is registered in the storage unit by the registration unit, the acquisition unit is based on the temporary characteristic value and the characteristic value registered by the registration unit. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the deterioration degree of the conveying unit is acquired again. The acquisition unit is configured such that at least one of the amount of wear per sheet when the recording material is conveyed by the conveyance unit and the amount of abrasion per rotation when the recording material is conveyed by the conveyance unit, the rigidity and The wear amount obtained by multiplying by a coefficient according to the blending amount of the filler is calculated as the degree of deterioration, and the wear amount is calculated according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 4 to 10. Image forming device. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the acquisition unit sets the coefficient to a smaller value as the rigidity is smaller and the blending amount of the filler is smaller. The filler comprises at least one of calcium carbonate, silica, titanium oxide, talc, and clay, and the filler according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 4 to 12 . Image forming apparatus. The conveying unit is a fixing unit that fixes the toner image formed on the recording material to the recording material,
The fixing unit includes a heating film and a pressure roller, and conveys a recording material while sandwiching the recording material in a fixing nip portion formed by the heating film and the pressure roller. Item 14. The image forming apparatus according to any one of items 13 . A management system comprising a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a management apparatus connected to the plurality of image forming apparatuses via a network line,
Each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses,
A plurality of mounting portions on which the recording material is mounted,
Conveying means that conveys the recording material fed from the placing section,
An acquisition unit that acquires the degree of deterioration of the transport unit based on the characteristic value of the recording material;
Have
The management device is
Setting means capable of collectively setting the characteristic value of the recording material placed on each of the plurality of mounting portions of the plurality of image forming apparatuses to each of the plurality of mounting portions. Have,
When the recording material of the above-mentioned placing portion is changed to a recording material of a different brand, the acquisition means, the deterioration degree of the conveying means based on the characteristic value of the recording material before the change, and the recording material after the change. From the degree of deterioration of the conveying means based on the characteristic value, obtain the degree of deterioration of the conveying means, based on the stiffness of the recording material placed on the placement section and the blending amount of the filler contained in the recording material. A management system characterized by acquiring the degree of deterioration of a conveyance means . A management system comprising a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a management apparatus connected to the plurality of image forming apparatuses via a network line,
Each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses,
A plurality of mounting portions on which the recording material is mounted,
Conveying means that conveys the recording material fed from the placing section,
An acquisition unit that acquires the degree of deterioration of the transport unit based on the characteristic value of the recording material;
Have
The management device is
Setting means capable of collectively setting the characteristic value of the recording material placed on each of the plurality of mounting portions of the plurality of image forming apparatuses to each of the plurality of mounting portions. Have,
When the recording material of the above-mentioned placing portion is changed to a recording material of a different brand, the acquisition means, the deterioration degree of the conveying means based on the characteristic value of the recording material before the change, and the recording material after the change. From the degree of deterioration of the conveying means based on the characteristic value, obtain the degree of deterioration of the conveying means,
Equipped with a plurality of the above-mentioned placement unit,
The acquisition unit obtains a deterioration degree of the transport unit for each brand of the recording material placed on the plurality of placement units, adds up the deterioration degree of each brand, and acquires the deterioration degree of the transport unit. A management system characterized by: Said acquisition means, according to claim 16, characterized in that to obtain the degree of deterioration of the conveyance means based on the amount of filler contained in the stiffness and the recording material of the recording material placed on the placement section Management system. The acquisition unit is configured such that at least one of the amount of wear per sheet when the recording material is conveyed by the conveyance unit and the amount of abrasion per rotation when the recording material is conveyed by the conveyance unit, the rigidity and The management system according to claim 15 or 17 , wherein an amount of wear obtained by multiplying by a coefficient according to the blending amount of the filler is calculated as the degree of deterioration. The management system according to claim 18 , wherein the acquisition unit sets the coefficient to a smaller value as the rigidity is smaller and as the blending amount of the filler is smaller. The filler and the management system of claim 15, claims 17 to any one of claims 19 to calcium carbonate, silica, titanium oxide, talc, characterized in that it comprises at least one clay. The conveying unit is a fixing unit that fixes the toner image formed on the recording material to the recording material,
The fixing unit includes a heating film and the pressure roller, wherein claim 15, characterized in that the conveyed while sandwiching the recording material in the fixing nip formed by the pressure roller and the heating film Item 21. The management system according to any one of items 20 .

Images