JP6835443B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that detects the ambient temperature of the apparatus and prints based on the detected ambient temperature.

In the conventional device, the temperature sensor is placed in a cover provided with a slit for inflowing air, and the cover is placed at a position outside the device in the air flow of air sucked into the device from the intake port by the blower. It is attached via a heat insulating material to detect the ambient temperature of the device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-48005 (paragraph 0031-0034, FIG. 4)

However, a conventional temperature sensor is used in a device in which an intake port, an exhaust port, and a blower are provided, and the air taken into the device from the intake port by the blower is discharged to the outside from the exhaust port together with the heat generated inside the device by printing. When placed near the intake port, hot air is not discharged from the intake port to the outside of the device while the blower is operating, but when the blower is stopped, the hot air leaking from the intake port is near the temperature sensor. There is a problem that it may reach and the accurate ambient temperature may not be detected when the device is restarted.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a means for stably detecting the ambient temperature of an apparatus.

In the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, the image forming apparatus accommodates a housing provided with a vent for venting hot air generated by the printing operation to the outside and a temperature sensor for detecting the ambient temperature, and is combined with the outside air. A duct having an upper flow path port and a lower flow path port which are arranged side by side with a partition wall in the temperature sensor storage room and have an opening for ventilation of the air flow path. And, the duct is arranged in the housing above the vent and at a position closer to the vent than the temperature sensor storage chamber.

As a result, the present invention has the effect of being able to stably detect the ambient outside air temperature regardless of the operating state of the device.

Explanatory drawing which shows the schematic structure of the printer of an Example Explanatory drawing which shows the front appearance of the printer of an Example Explanatory drawing of the printing unit of the embodiment as viewed from the right side Perspective view which shows the support part of the operation display part of an Example Block diagram showing the control system of the printer of the embodiment Flowchart showing the printing process of the embodiment Explanatory drawing which shows the air flow during the cooling operation of an Example Explanatory drawing which shows the air flow at the time of stopping the cooling operation of an Example Explanatory drawing showing the air flow seen from the front when the cooling operation of an Example is stopped

Hereinafter, examples of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Hereinafter, the printer of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.
The printer 1 as the image forming apparatus of this embodiment is an electrophotographic printer that prints a color image by a secondary transfer method, and has the configurations shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The printer 1 is composed of a medium supply unit 3 for accommodating the roll paper 2 as a printing medium and a printing unit 4 arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction of the roll paper 2, and is supplied from the medium supply unit 3. A color image or the like is printed on the roll paper 2 by the printing unit 4.
A roll paper 2 rotatably supported by a frame 3a of the medium supply unit 3 is mounted on the side of the medium supply unit 3 on the opposite side of the printing unit 4, and is along the transport direction of the transport path 5 of the roll paper 2. A paper feed transport unit 8 having a supply roller 6, a transport roller 7, and the like is arranged.

Further, a guide roller 9 for correcting curl, which is a curl of the roll paper 2, is arranged between the roll paper 2 and the supply roller 6.

An image forming unit 12 having a plurality of developing units 11 is arranged in the upper part of the printing unit 4, and a medium transport having a plurality of transport rollers 7 is provided below the image forming unit 12 along the transport direction of the transport path 5. A transfer unit 13, a transfer unit 14, a fixing unit 15, and a discharge roller 16 are arranged, and a transfer belt 18 as an intermediate transfer body is hung between the image forming unit 12 and the transport path 5.
The image forming unit 12 has a plurality of developing units 11 filled with toner of a set color as a developing agent, and a toner image as a developing agent image formed by each developing unit 11 is transferred to a transfer belt 18. Primary transfer onto the outer surface.

The transfer belt 18 conveys the toner image primary transferred onto the surface of the image forming unit 12 to the transfer unit 14.
The transfer unit 14 is configured by arranging the secondary transfer roller 14a and the backup roller 14b so as to face each other with the roll paper 2 and the transfer belt 18 on the transport path 5 interposed therebetween, and is formed by the voltage applied to the transfer unit 14. The toner image conveyed by the transfer belt 18 is secondarily transferred onto the roll paper 2.

The fixing portion 15 as a heat source is housed in one case 19 together with the discharge roller 16, and the toner image transferred to the roll paper 2 by the transfer portion 14 is transferred by the heat roller 15a and the fixing roller 15b for pressing the toner image. Pressurize and melt to fix on roll paper 2.
The discharge roller 16 is arranged at the most downstream portion of the transport path 5, and discharges the printed roll paper 2 to the outside of the printing unit 4.

As shown in FIG. 2, on the fixing portion 15 side of the front plate, which is one side plate, of the housing 4a of the printing unit 4 of this embodiment, there are vents for ventilating the inside and the outside of the housing 4a. An intake port 21 formed of a plurality of small holes is provided.
As described above, in this embodiment, one side plate along the transport direction of the roll paper 2 transported from the medium supply unit 3 is used as the front plate of the printer 1. This is because if the operation display unit 24 (described later) is provided on the side plate of the housing 4a on the media supply unit 3 side, the operability of the operation display unit 24 is impaired.

As shown in FIG. 3, an intake fan 21a for sucking outside air is provided inside the housing 4a between the intake port 21 and the case 19 accommodating the fixing portion 15.
Further, the back plate of the housing 4a is provided with an exhaust port 22 which is formed in the same manner as the intake port 21 and is a ventilation port for ventilating the inside and the outside of the housing 4a, and the exhaust port 22 and the case 19 are provided with each other. An exhaust fan 22a for exhausting the air in the housing 4a to the outside is provided between them.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an operation display unit 24 is provided above the intake port 21 on the front plate of the housing 4a, and the operation display unit 24 includes an operation panel 25 and an LCD provided therein. The display screen 25a and the like are provided, and various input screens, various information for the user of the printer 1 and the like are displayed on the display screen 25a, and the user is provided with an input means such as a touch panel provided on the display screen 25a. Accepts input by and selection input.

The operation panel 25 of the operation display unit 24 is attached to the front plate of the housing 4a by the support portion 26 provided on the back surface side (see FIG. 3).
As shown in FIG. 4, the support portion 26 of this embodiment is provided with three partition walls 28 along the vertical direction inside the support frame 27, and the partition walls 28 reinforce the strength of the support portion 26 and also reinforce the strength of the support portion 26. In the support frame 27, four septums 29 including a first septum 29a, a second septum 29b, a third septum 29c, and a fourth septum 29d are formed.

The first compartment 29a is arranged at an outer position outside the circumscribed shape (referred to as the outer edge shape 21b; see the two-dot chain line shown in FIG. 9) of the plurality of small holes constituting the intake port 21, and is located below the circumscribed chamber 29a. Is provided with a separation frame 31 as a temperature sensor storage chamber.
The separation frame 31 faces the back surface of the operation panel 25, the back plate facing the front plate of the housing 4a, one side surface of the support frame 27, the side plate facing the side surface, and the bottom plate of the support frame 27. A box-shaped member formed of an upper plate and a temperature sensor 32 made of a thermistor or the like for detecting the outside air temperature (referred to as ambient temperature) around the printing unit 4 is attached to the back plate. Be done.

As described above, since the temperature sensor 32 of this embodiment is attached to the back plate of the separation frame 31 separated from the front plate of the housing 4a, the heat generated by the temperature sensor 32 coming into direct contact with the heated front plate. It is possible to prevent the temperature detection error from occurring due to the influence.
Further, the side plate and the bottom plate of the support frame 27 in the separation frame 31 are provided with a plurality of slits 33 which are openings for making the temperature sensor 32 easily exposed to the outside air.

Through the slit 33, the inside of the separation frame 31 communicates with the outside air, and the outside air is guided to the vicinity of the temperature sensor 32.

The second partition chamber 29b is a tubular duct partitioned by two partition walls 28, the back plate of the support frame 27, and the back surface of the operation panel 25, and is a side edge portion of the outer edge shape 21b of the intake port 21. It is arranged so as to be juxtaposed in the first septum 29a directly above, and a lower inflow port 35a as a lower flow path port composed of a plurality of slits is formed on the bottom plate of the support frame 27, and is formed on the top plate. Is formed of an upper outlet 35b as an upper flow path port composed of a plurality of slits.

Further, in the back plate of the support frame 27 of the second partition chamber 29b and the front plate of the housing 4a, a communication hole 36 for communicating the inside of the housing 4a of the printing unit 4 and the inside of the second isolation chamber 29b is provided. A cable (not shown) used for communication between the operation display unit 24 and the control unit 41 is inserted into the communication hole 36.

In FIG. 5, the control unit 41 of the printer 1 is provided in the printing unit 4, is connected to a higher-level device 43 such as a personal computer by a communication unit 42, and is based on the print data received from the higher-level device 43. It has a function to control each part of the inside and execute printing processing and the like.

The control unit 41 of this embodiment includes a plurality of transfer control unit 45, image formation control unit 46, transfer control unit 47, fixing control unit 48, operation display control unit 49, temperature detection control unit 51, cooling control unit 52, and the like. Functional means are formed.
Further, the medium supply unit 3 is provided with a paper feed control unit 55 that controls the transport of the roll paper 2 by the paper feed transport unit 8, and the paper feed control unit 55 and the transport control unit 45 of the control unit 41 They are connected so that they can communicate with each other.

The transfer control unit 45 transfers the roll paper 2 by the medium transfer unit 13, the development timing of the toner image by the image forming unit 12, the transfer of the toner image by the transfer belt 18, and the toner image on the transfer belt 18 to the roll paper 2. It has a function of controlling transfer timing of transfer, fixing timing by the fixing unit 15, discharge timing by the discharge roller 16, and the like.

The image formation control unit 46 has a function of distributing print data received from the host device 43 via the communication unit 42 for each development unit 11 to generate development data.
The transfer control unit 47 has a function of controlling the transfer voltage applied to the transfer unit 14.
The fixing control unit 48 has a function of controlling the temperature of the heat roller 15a of the fixing unit 15 to control the fixing operation of the fixing unit 15.

The operation display control unit 49 has a function of displaying display data sent from the control unit 41 on the display screen 25a and notifying the user, a function of receiving selection input by the user, and the like by an input means.
The temperature detection control unit 51 has a function of converting the ambient temperature of the printing unit 4 detected by the temperature sensor 32 into temperature data and sending it to the control unit 41.

The temperature data of the ambient temperature is the set value of the parameter used when each control unit performs the printing operation (for example, the voltage applied to each development unit 11 by the image formation control unit 46 and the transfer voltage set by the transfer control unit 47). It is used for setting the value and the set value of the fixing temperature by the fixing control unit 48).
The cooling control unit 52 has a function of starting or stopping the intake fan 21a and / or the exhaust fan 22a to control the temperature inside the printing unit 4.

Hereinafter, the processing operation of the printing process by the printer 1 of this embodiment will be described according to the steps shown by S in FIG.

S1: When the user turns on the power to the printer 1, the program installed in the printer 1 is automatically started.
When the program is started, the control unit 41 waits in a state of waiting for reception of print data transmitted from the host device 43 by the communication unit 42, and proceeds to step S2 when the print data is received. If the print data is not received, the above-mentioned standby is continued.

S2: The control unit 41 that has received the print data acquires the temperature data of the ambient temperature of the print unit 4 detected by the temperature detection control unit 51 by the temperature sensor 32.

S3: The control unit 41 that has acquired the temperature data of the ambient temperature of the printing unit 4 sets each parameter used in the printing operation such as the transfer voltage, the voltage applied to each developing unit 11, and the fixing temperature, and proceeds to step S4. ..

S4: The control unit 41 that sets each parameter during the printing operation starts the printing operation.
The control unit 41 that has started the printing operation first warms up the fixing unit 15 based on the fixing temperature set in step S3 by the fixing control unit 48, and proceeds to step S5 when the warm-up is completed. ..

S5: The control unit 41 that has finished warming up the fixing unit 15 drives the intake fan 21a and the exhaust fan 22a by the cooling control unit 52 to start the cooling operation.
The reason for performing such a cooling operation is to prevent an excessive temperature rise of the air in the printing unit 4 because the heat roller 15a is heated during the warm-up or fixing operation of the fixing unit 15.

S6: The control unit 41 that has started the cooling operation waits for the end of the printing operation and waits, and when the printing operation is completed, the process proceeds to step S7. If the printing operation is not completed, the above-mentioned standby is continued.

The printing operation at this time is performed as follows.

That is, the control unit 41 sends the print data received from the higher-level device 43 to the image formation control unit 46, and also sends a transfer start command for the roll paper 2 to the transfer control unit 45.

The image formation control unit 46 that has received the print data distributes the received print data to each development unit 11 of the image formation unit 12 to generate development data, and applies the applied voltage set in step S3 to each development unit 11. Toner images of each set color are formed, and the formed toner images are primarily transferred to the transfer belt 18.
Further, the transport control unit 45 that has received the transport start command sends a feed instruction to the paper feed control unit 55 and starts driving each of the transport rollers 7 of the medium transport unit 13.

Upon receiving the feeding instruction, the paper feed control unit 55 drives the supply roller 6, the transport roller 7, and the like of the paper feed transport unit 8 to start transporting the roll paper 2.
The transport control unit 45 transports the roll paper 2 unwound by the paper feed transport unit 8 in the direction of the transfer unit 14 by the medium transport unit 13.

Then, when the control unit 41 receives the transfer timing from the transfer control unit 45 when the toner image transferred to the transfer belt 18 reaches the transfer unit 14, the transfer control unit 47 sets the toner image on the transfer unit 14 in step S3. The transferred transfer voltage is applied, and the toner image on the transfer belt 18 is secondarily transferred onto the roll paper 2.

The control unit 41 that has finished transferring the toner image to the roll paper 2 conveys the toner image on the roll paper 2 to the fixing unit 15 by the transfer control unit 45, and transfers the toner image to the roll paper 2 by the fixing control unit 48. The fixed roll paper 2 is discharged to the outside of the printing unit 4 by the discharge roller 16.

In this way, the printing operation by the printer 1 of this embodiment is performed.

S7: The control unit 41 that has finished the printing operation stops driving the intake fan 21a and the exhaust fan 22a to stop the cooling operation.
Then, the control unit 41 ends the current printing process, returns to step S1, and waits in a state of waiting for reception of print data from the host device 43.

As shown in FIG. 7, the air flow around the printing unit 4 during the above-mentioned cooling operation is such that the outside air is sucked into the housing 4a from the intake port 21 by the intake fan 21a and heated by the printing operation. After cooling, the heated air (referred to as hot air) is discharged from the exhaust port 22 to the outside of the housing 4a by the exhaust fan 22a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a part of the hot air heated in each part in the housing 4a rises along the inner surface of the front plate of the housing 4a, and the tubular second through the communication hole 36. It flows into the separated chamber 29b.

The hot air that has flowed into the second compartment 29b has a higher temperature than the outside air and a lower density than the outside air, and therefore rises due to buoyancy. Due to the rise due to the buoyancy of the hot air, an updraft as an air flow path is generated in the second compartment 29b, the hot air flows out from the upper outflow port 35b, and new outside air flows in from the lower inflow port 35a. (Hereinafter, this phenomenon is referred to as the chimney effect).

On the other hand, the hot air generated in the housing 4a does not flow into the inside of the separation frame 31 provided in the lower part of the first partition room 29a arranged side by side in the second partition room 29b via the partition wall 28. The temperature sensor 32 can detect the accurate ambient temperature because it is always filled with the outside air around the printing unit 4.

Since the air flow around the printing unit 4 when the cooling operation is stopped has residual heat such as the heated fixing portion 15, the hot air in the housing 4a rises as shown in FIG. The portion leaks from the intake port 21 and the exhaust port 22 to the outside of the housing 4a.

As shown in FIG. 9, the hot air leaking from the intake port 21 collides with the bottom plate of the support frame 27 of the support portion 26 and is turned to the left and right along the bottom plate, and is left side, that is, the opposite side of the temperature sensor 32. After passing through the left end of the bottom plate of the support frame 27, the hot air converted to rises along the side plate.
On the other hand, the hot air turned to the right side, that is, in the direction of the temperature sensor 32, flows into the second compartment 29b from the lower inflow port 35a provided on the bottom plate of the second compartment 29b, and flows into the second compartment 29b. It rises in the chamber 29b and flows out from the upper outlet 35b.

At this time, since an updraft is generated in the second compartment 29b due to the chimney effect due to the hot air flowing in from the communication hole 36 during the printing operation accompanied by the cooling operation, it tries to pass through the lower inflow port 35a. Since the leaked hot air flows into the second compartment 29b from the lower inflow port 35a together with the outside air, it is prevented from wrapping around to the first compartment 29a where the temperature sensor 32 is arranged.

As a result, even when the cooling operation is stopped, hot air does not flow into the separation frame 31 in the first compartment 29a, and accurate ambient temperature can be continuously detected.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the present embodiment, the lower inflow port 35a and the upper outflow port 35b are provided directly above the intake port 21 of the front plate of the housing 4a of the printing unit 4, and the second tubular chamber 29b is provided. The first compartment 29a arranged side by side in the second compartment 29b is arranged outside the intake port 21, and the temperature sensor 32 is provided inside the lower portion of the first compartment 29a. Since the frame 31 is arranged, the outside air flows in the direction of being sucked into the housing 4a during the cooling operation in which the intake fan 21a and the exhaust fan 22a are driven, so that the temperature sensor 32 in the separation frame 31 filled with the outside air Therefore, the ambient temperature of the printing unit 4 can be accurately detected.

Further, even if the hot air in the housing 4a leaks from the intake port 21 when the cooling operation in which the intake fan 21a and the exhaust fan 22a are stopped is stopped, the printing operation is performed from the ventilation hole 36 provided in the second compartment 29a. Since an updraft has already been generated in the second compartment 29b due to the chimney effect due to the hot air flowing into the inside, the hot air leaking from the intake port 21 enters the second compartment 29b from the lower inflow port 35a. It is possible to prevent the hot air from flowing into the vicinity of the temperature sensor 32 in the separation frame 31 arranged outside the second compartment 29b, and to accurately detect the ambient temperature of the printing unit 4. it can.

As a result, the temperature sensor 32 of this embodiment can stably detect the ambient temperature of the printing unit 4 regardless of the operating status of the printer 1, and can improve the printing quality of the printer 1.
Further, in the present embodiment, the first partition chamber 29a and the tubular second compartment 29b are arranged adjacent to each other in the support portion 26 on the back side of the operation panel 25 of the operation display unit 24, and the first is located. Since the temperature sensor 32 is arranged in the separation frame 31 in the separated room 29a of 1, the size of the printer 1 can be reduced and the appearance of the printer 1 can be simplified.

In the above embodiment, the case where the temperature sensor 32 is provided in the first compartment 29a has been described as an example, but if the present invention is applied when the humidity sensor is provided, it is caused by the hot air leaking from the intake port 21. It is possible to prevent the influence of heat and detect accurate humidity. The same applies when the temperature sensor and the humidity sensor are provided at the same time.

Further, in the above embodiment, the intake port 21 is provided on the front plate of the housing 4a, but the side plate on which the intake port 21 is provided is not limited to the front plate, and is any of the four side plates of the housing 4a. May be good.

Further, in the above embodiment, the back plate is provided on the support frame 27 of the support portion 26 of the operation display unit 24, but the back plate of the support frame 27 is omitted and the support portion 26 is directly attached to the front plate. It may be attached. In this way, the manufacturing cost of the printer 1 can be reduced.

Further, in the above embodiment, the image forming apparatus has been described as being an electrophotographic printer by a secondary transfer method, but the image forming apparatus is not limited to the above, and may be a direct transfer type printer. It may be a printer of any printing method. In short, if the present invention is applied to a printer that sets each parameter and the like used in the printing process based on the ambient temperature and the ambient humidity of the apparatus, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

1 Printer 2 Roll Paper 3 Media Supply Unit 3a Frame 4 Printing Unit 4a Housing 5 Transport Path 6 Supply Roller 7 Transport Roller 8 Paper Feed Transport Unit 9 Guide Roller 11 Development Unit 12 Image Forming Unit 13 Media Transport Unit 14 Transfer Unit 14a 2 Next transfer roller 14b Backup roller 15 Fixing part 15a Heat roller 15b Fixing roller 16 Discharge roller 18 Transfer belt 19 Case 21 Intake port 21a Intake fan 22 Exhaust port 22a Exhaust fan 24 Operation display 25 Operation panel 26 Support 27 Support frame 28 Partition 29 Separation chambers 29a to 29d 1st to 4th compartments 31 Separation frame 32 Temperature sensor 33 Slit 35a Lower inlet 35b Upper outlet 36 Communication hole 41 Control unit 42 Communication unit 43 Upper device 45 Transport control unit 46 Image formation control 47 Transfer control unit 48 Fixing control unit 49 Operation display control unit 51 Temperature detection control unit 52 Cooling control unit 55 Paper feed control unit

Claims (4)

A housing with a vent to ventilate the hot air generated by the printing operation to the outside,
A temperature sensor storage room that houses a temperature sensor that detects the ambient temperature and has an opening for ventilation to the outside air,
The temperature sensor storage chamber is provided with a duct provided with an upper flow path port and a lower flow path port which are arranged side by side via a partition wall and form an air flow path.
An image forming apparatus characterized in that the duct is arranged in the housing above the vent and at a position closer to the vent than the temperature sensor storage chamber. A housing with a vent to ventilate the hot air generated by the printing operation to the outside,
A temperature sensor storage room that houses a temperature sensor that detects the ambient temperature and has an opening for ventilation to the outside air,
A duct provided in parallel with the temperature sensor storage chamber and having an upper flow path port and a lower flow path port forming an air flow path,
With an operation display unit having an operation panel ,
Operation panel of the operation display unit, constitutes a part of the sensor housing chamber and said duct,
An image forming apparatus characterized in that the duct is arranged above the vent and at a position closer to the vent than the temperature sensor storage chamber. In the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.
An image forming apparatus characterized in that the temperature sensor is provided at a position separated from the housing. In the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
An image forming apparatus characterized in that a communication hole for communicating the inside of the duct and the inside of the housing is provided between the duct and the housing.

Images