JP6911533B2 - Anomaly detection device, image forming device and abnormality detection method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting anomalies related to a fluid powder in a container, an image forming apparatus, and a method thereof.

An electrophotographic system that develops an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoconductor drum and transfers the developed image to paper as an image forming apparatus for printers, facsimiles, copiers, composite machines, etc. An image forming apparatus is used. In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, when developing, the developer is supplied from a container that is a source of the developer. At this time, the image forming apparatus can detect the remaining amount of the developer in the container and display the remaining amount.

An image forming apparatus having a sub-hopper in which a stirring member is fixed to a rotating shaft and a diaphragm affected by toner as a developing agent is fixed to the inner side surface in order to detect the remaining amount of the developing agent in the container is known. (See, for example, Patent Document 1). In this image forming apparatus, the stirring member repels the diaphragm by rotating the rotating shaft, the displacement of the flicked diaphragm is detected by the magnetic flux sensor, and the vibration retention rate when the stirring member flicks the diaphragm is the threshold value. The remaining amount of toner is detected depending on whether or not it exceeds.

However, in the image forming apparatus having the above configuration, the amount of toner supplied from the toner bottle to the sub hopper varies, the amount of toner in the sub hopper becomes excessive, and the fluidity of the toner deteriorates, so that the stirring member repels the diaphragm. However, the toner may hinder the vibration and the remaining amount of toner may not be detected. In this case, the image forming apparatus could not detect not only the remaining amount of toner but also abnormalities such as an excessive amount of toner and deterioration of toner fluidity.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method capable of detecting an abnormality related to a fluid powder in a container.

In view of the above problems, the present invention is an abnormality detection device for detecting an abnormality related to a fluid powder in a container.
A vibrating part that is placed inside the container and can vibrate while receiving resistance from the powder inside the container.
A vibration detector that detects the vibration of the vibrating unit, and a vibration detector
A vibration applying part that comes into contact with the vibrating part and vibrates the vibrating part,
A time measuring unit that measures the vibration time from the start to the end of the vibration of the vibrating unit,
An abnormality detection device including a control unit for determining the presence or absence of an abnormality related to powder in a container based on a detection result by the vibration detection unit and a vibration time measured by the time measurement unit is provided.

According to the present invention, it is possible to detect an abnormality related to a fluid powder in a container.

The figure which showed an example of the hardware composition of the image forming apparatus. The figure which showed the structural example of the toner supply mechanism of a developing apparatus. The figure which showed the structural example of the sub hopper which constitutes a toner supply mechanism, and the vibrating part arranged in the sub hopper. The figure which showed the structural example of the vibration detection part and control part which make up a toner supply mechanism. The figure explaining the method of determining the presence or absence of the conventional toner remaining amount. The figure explaining the method of detecting that the vibrating part was hit. The figure explaining the operation of the vibrating part and the vibrating part when the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner in a sub hopper can be detected normally. The figure explaining the operation of the vibrating part and the vibrating part when it is not possible to detect the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner in a sub hopper. The figure explaining one method of detecting the abnormality of the toner remaining amount and the fluidity when it is not possible to detect the presence or absence of the toner remaining amount in the sub hopper. A flowchart showing an example of a process for detecting an abnormality in the remaining amount of toner and fluidity. The figure explaining another method to detect the abnormality of the toner remaining amount and the fluidity when the presence or absence of the toner remaining amount in a sub hopper cannot be detected.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus may be any apparatus as long as it can form an image, and is, for example, a multifunction device having a plurality of functions such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile, a printing function, a copying function, and a fax transmission / reception function. Can be mentioned. The image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus that employs an electrophotographic method.

The image forming apparatus 100 includes a paper feed tray 101, a paper feed roller 102, and a resist roller 103. The paper feed tray 101 accommodates one or more sheets of paper 104 as a recording medium for recording an image. The paper feed roller 102 separates the paper 104 stored in the paper feed tray 101 one by one and feeds the paper 104. The resist roller 103 pauses the paper 104 that has been fed, and feeds the paper 104 toward the transfer position of the image according to the timing of image formation.

The image forming apparatus 100 includes a conveying belt 105 that conveys the paper 104, an image forming unit, a driving roller 107 that drives the conveying belt 105, and a driven roller 108 that is driven by the movement of the conveying belt 105. The image forming unit includes a photoconductor drum, a charger, an optical writing device, a developing device, a photoconductor cleaner, and a static eliminator. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the image forming unit supplies toner as a powder having fluidity of four colors (black, cyan, magenta, and yellow) to form an image. It is said to be called a tandem type in which 106Y are lined up in a row. The "K" added to the code indicates black, the "C" indicates cyan, the "M" indicates magenta, and the "Y" indicates yellow. Indicates that it may be.

The outer peripheral surfaces of the photoconductor drums 109K, 109C, 109M, and 109Y are uniformly charged by the chargers 110K, 110C, 110C, and 110Y, and then the light from the light source corresponding to the image of each color of the optical writing device 111. Is written by. In the example shown in FIG. 1, light corresponding to a yellow image, a magenta image, a cyan image, and a black image is irradiated from the upstream side in the transport direction of the paper 104, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface thereof.

The developing devices 112K, 112C, 112M, 112Y supply toner of each color to visualize the electrostatic latent image formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the photoconductor drums 109K, 109C, 109M, 109Y. By this visualization, a black image is formed on the photoconductor drum 109K, a cyan image is formed on the photoconductor drum 109C, a magenta image is formed on the photoconductor drum 109M, and a yellow image is formed on the photoconductor drum 109Y. ..

The photoconductor cleaners 113K, 113C, 113M, and 113Y transfer the images of each color formed on the photoconductor drums 109K, 109C, 109M, and 109Y onto the transport belt 105, and then remove the toner remaining on the outer peripheral surface. After removing the residual toner, the static eliminator removes the charged photoconductor drums 109K, 109C, 109M, 109Y. The image forming apparatus 100 waits for the next image forming after static elimination of the photoconductor drum 109.

The image forming apparatus 100 further includes transferers 114K, 114C, 114M, 114Y, a belt cleaner 115, and a fixing device 116. The transfer devices 114K, 114C, 114M, and 114Y are arranged at positions facing the photoconductor drums 109K, 109C, 109M, and 109Y, respectively, via the transfer belt 105.

A yellow image, a magenta image, a cyan image, and a black image are transferred onto the transport belt 105 in the order of the photoconductor drums 109Y, 109M, 109C, and 109K by the transfer devices 114Y, 114M, 114C, and 114K. At this time, the yellow image is first transferred onto the transport belt 105, the magenta image is transferred by superimposing on the yellow image, the cyan image is transferred on the transfer belt 105, and then the cyan image is superimposed on the yellow image and black. The image is transferred. In this way, a full-color intermediate transfer image is formed on the transport belt 105.

The transport belt 105 is moved in a certain direction by the drive roller 107, and the formed intermediate transfer image is conveyed along the transport path at the position where the paper 104 comes into contact with the transport path or the position closest to the position. Is transferred to. The transfer timing is adjusted by the resist roller 103. An image is formed on the paper 104 by transfer and sent to the fixing device 116.

The fixer 116 applies heat and pressure to fix the image formed on the paper 104. The paper 104 on which the image is fixed is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus 100. The belt cleaner 115 removes the toner remaining after the intermediate transfer image is transferred from the transport belt 105 to the paper 104. Therefore, the belt cleaner 115 is arranged on the downstream side of the transfer position. The belt cleaner 115 can be, for example, a cleaning blade as a developer removing portion that is pressed against the transport belt 105 and scrapes off the toner adhering to the surface of the transport belt 105.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a toner supply mechanism of a developing device. The developing apparatus includes a toner supply mechanism that supplies toner of each color to each of the developers 112K, 112C, 112M, and 112Y. That is, although the developing apparatus includes four toner supply mechanisms, since all of them have the same configuration, only one toner supply mechanism will be described.

The toner supply mechanism includes a toner bottle 120, a toner bottle supply path 121, a sub hopper 122, a sub hopper supply path 123, and a developer 112. The toner bottle 120 stores toner and supplies toner to the sub hopper 122 via the toner bottle supply path 121. The sub hopper 122 is a container that temporarily holds toner, and supplies toner to the developing device 112 according to the remaining amount of toner in the developing device 112. When supplying toner, the sub hopper 122 supplies toner to the developing device 112 via the sub hopper supply path 123.

When the toner is exhausted in the toner bottle 120, the toner is not supplied to the sub hopper 122. The sub hopper 122 is provided with a device for detecting the remaining amount of toner, and when the device detects that the remaining amount of toner in the sub hopper 122 is low, it notifies the user that it is time to replace the toner bottle 120. do. Examples of the notification method include a method of displaying the notification on the operation panel of the image forming apparatus 100 and a method of notifying by lighting a lamp, a sound, or the like.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a sub hopper constituting the toner supply mechanism and a vibrating portion arranged in the sub hopper. The sub hopper 122 includes a rotating shaft 130 and a stirring member 131 attached to the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 130 as a configuration for stirring the toner stored inside. The stirring member 131 is, for example, a stirring blade, which rotates around the rotating shaft 130 as the rotating shaft 130 rotates, and agitates the internal toner. The rotating shaft 130 is rotated in a certain direction by a driving unit such as a motor.

A diaphragm 132 as a vibrating portion is attached to the inside of the side wall of the housing of the sub hopper 122. One end of the diaphragm 132 in the longitudinal direction is fixed to the inside of the housing of the sub hopper 122 by a fixing portion 133, and the other end is vibrable in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. A weight 134 having a substantially triangular prism shape is attached to the other end of the diaphragm 132. The weight 134 comes into contact with the stirring member 131 that rotates around the rotating shaft 130, moves the tapered portion of the substantially triangular prism with rotation, and is pushed toward the housing in the direction opposite to the direction in which the rotating shaft 130 is located. Is done. As a result, the diaphragm 132 is in a bent state. When the stirring member 131 is separated from the weight 134, the diaphragm 132 tries to return to the original state without bending, so that the rotating shaft 130 is repelled in a certain direction.

Therefore, the stirring member 131 functions as a stirring unit for stirring the toner and also as a vibration applying unit for vibrating the diaphragm 132 by flipping the weight 134. Here, the weight 134 has been described as having a substantially triangular prism shape, but this is an example, and any other shape may be used as long as the same effect can be obtained. Further, if the diaphragm 132 vibrates appropriately and the vibration can be detected, the weight 134 may not be provided.

A magnetic flux sensor as a vibration detection unit for detecting the vibration of the diaphragm 132 is attached to the outside of the side wall of the housing of the sub hopper 122 so as to face the diaphragm 132. The magnetic flux sensor measures the magnetic flux passing through the space with the opposing diaphragm 132, and outputs a signal having a frequency corresponding to the measured magnetic flux. The frequency changes according to the vibration of the diaphragm 132, and the vibration changes according to the remaining amount of toner. From this, the remaining amount of toner in the sub hopper 122 can be detected by measuring the magnetic flux with the magnetic flux sensor and detecting the vibration of the diaphragm 132.

Since the magnetic flux sensor detects the vibration of the diaphragm 132 by measuring the magnetic flux, the diaphragm 132 is made of a metal or the like that affects the magnetic flux. Here, an example in which a magnetic flux sensor is used as the vibration detection unit has been described, but if vibration can be detected, a device other than the magnetic flux sensor can also be adopted.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the rotating shaft 130 arranged in the sub hopper 122 and the screw that conveys the toner to the developing device 112 are configured to be driven by the same motor and rotate at the same time.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a vibration detection unit and a control unit constituting the toner supply mechanism. The vibration detection unit is the magnetic flux sensor 135, and the control unit is the controller 136. The magnetic flux sensor 135 measures the magnetic flux in the space to be detected, that is, the magnetic permeability in the space between the facing diaphragm 132, and outputs a signal (square wave) having a frequency corresponding to the measured magnetic permeability. Permeability is the ratio of the magnitude of the magnetic flux density to the strength of the magnetic field.

The controller 136 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 140 and an ASIC (Application).
Specific Integrated Circuit) 141, timer 142, crystal oscillator circuit 143, input / output control ASIC 144 are included.

The CPU 140 is a calculation means that performs a calculation by executing a program stored in a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), and controls the operation of the entire controller 136. ASIC 141 includes CPU 140 and RAM (Random).
It functions as a connection interface between the system bus to which Access Memory) etc. is connected and other devices.

The crystal oscillator circuit 143 oscillates a reference clock for operating each device in the controller 136. The timer 142 generates an interrupt signal every time the count value of the reference clock input from the crystal oscillator circuit 143 reaches a predetermined value, and outputs the generated interrupt signal to the CPU 140. Further, the timer 142 functions as a time measuring unit, and can measure the vibration time from the start to the end of the vibration of the diaphragm 132. The CPU 140 receives an interrupt signal from the timer 142 and outputs a read signal for acquiring a signal having a frequency output by the magnetic flux sensor 135.

The input / output control ASIC 144 acquires a frequency signal output by the magnetic flux sensor 135 and converts it into information that can be processed in the controller 136. Therefore, the input / output control ASIC 144 includes a magnetic permeability counter 145, a read signal acquisition unit 146, and a count value output unit 147.

The magnetic permeability counter 145 increments the value by 1 according to the frequency signal (square wave) output by the magnetic flux sensor 135. That is, when one square wave is detected, the value is incremented. The magnetic permeability counter 145 functions as a target signal counter that counts the number of signals of the target signal for which the frequency is to be calculated.

In the case of the full-color image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the magnetic flux sensor 135 is provided for each sub-hopper 122 connected to each developing device 112 because it includes four developing devices 112 for each color of CMYK. Along with this, a magnetic permeability counter 145 is also provided for each sub hopper 122.

The read signal acquisition unit 146 acquires the read signal, which is an instruction to acquire the count value of the magnetic permeability counter 145, from the CPU 140 via the ASIC 141. When the read signal acquisition unit 146 acquires the read signal from the CPU 140, the read signal acquisition unit 146 inputs a signal for outputting the count value to the count value output unit 147. The count value output unit 147 receives the input of the signal from the read signal acquisition unit 146, acquires the count value of the magnetic permeability counter 145, and outputs the count value.

Access from the CPU 140 to the input / output control ASIC 144 can be performed, for example, via a register. Therefore, the CPU 140 can write a value to a predetermined register included in the input / output control ASIC 144 and acquire the value stored in the predetermined register as a count value. At this time, the input / output control ASIC 144 can refer to the value written in the predetermined register, determine that it is a read signal, acquire the count value, and store it in the predetermined register.

The magnetic flux sensor 135 shown in FIG. 4 is attached to the outer surface of the housing of each sub-hopper 122, but the controller 136 may be mounted on the same substrate as the magnetic flux sensor 135 as a circuit including the CPU 140, or the magnetic flux. It may be provided separately from the sensor 135.

The CPU 140 detects the vibration state of the diaphragm 132 based on the count value acquired from the input / output control ASIC 144. Further, the CPU 140 determines whether or not there is a remaining amount of toner in the sub hopper 122 based on the detected vibration state. The counter value acquired from the input / output control ASIC 144 can be used as frequency-related information indicating the frequency of the frequency signal that is the output of the magnetic flux sensor 135 that changes according to the vibration of the diaphragm 132.

Here, a conventional method of detecting the remaining amount of toner will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 counts the change in frequency when the stirring member 131 in the sub hopper 122 shown in FIG. 3 comes into contact with the weight 134 provided on the diaphragm 132 due to the rotation of the rotating shaft 130 and can be played normally. It is a figure which showed the waveform converted into a value. The frequency is output from the magnetic flux sensor 135 as a signal, and the count value is a value obtained by counting the number of signals of the signal output by the magnetic permeability counter 145.

In the waveform shown in FIG. 5, when the vibration persistence rate ζ calculated by the following equation 1 exceeds the threshold value α for determining the presence / absence of the remaining amount of toner, it is determined that there is no remaining amount of toner. This is because when the remaining amount of toner in the sub hopper 122 becomes small, the resistance due to the toner becomes small, the vibration of the diaphragm 132 is not hindered, and the vibration sustainability ζ becomes high. On the other hand, when the vibration persistence rate ζ is equal to or less than the threshold value α, it is determined that there is a remaining amount of toner.

In the above equation 1, P ₁ is the minimum value of the count value, and P ₂ is the extreme value of the counter value first obtained after the time when _{P 1 is acquired.} That is, if P ₁ is the first extremum, then P ₂ is the second extremum. Therefore, P ₅ and P ₆ are the 5th and 6th extrema. Note that P ₂ and P ₆ indicate the maximum value, and P ₅ indicates the minimum value.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, a method for detecting that the stirring member 131 has bounced the diaphragm 132 will be described. Whether or not the stirring member 131 has repelled the diaphragm 132 can be determined by whether or not the amplitude (P _x −P ₁ ) of the waveform of the counter value exceeds a preset threshold value.

Specifically, first, in the period of natural vibration in which the diaphragm 132 vibrates without applying a force, the minimum value of the counter value is acquired as a _{P 1 candidate.} Next, the counter value at the time that goes back a certain time from the time when the P ₁ candidate is obtained is acquired as _{P x.} Then, it is determined whether or not the difference between _{P x} and P _{1 candidate exceeds the threshold value.} If the difference exceeds the threshold, the P ₁ candidate is determined as _{P 1.} In this case, since _{the difference between P x} and the determined P ₁ exceeds the threshold value, it can be determined that the stirring member 131 has bounced the diaphragm 132.

The above-mentioned fixed time and threshold are set within a range in which the increase value of the output of the magnetic flux sensor 135 due to the rotation of the motor and the fluctuation of the output of the magnetic flux sensor 135 due to the vibration are not erroneously detected in consideration of the vibration characteristics of the diaphragm 132. It is desirable to do.

When the remaining amount of toner is within a certain range or less, it is possible to detect that the diaphragm 132 has been flipped and determine the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner according to the above-mentioned conventional method. Further, even when the flow characteristics of the toner are close to the flow characteristics of the toner when it is new, it is possible to detect that the diaphragm 132 has been flipped and determine the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner according to the above-mentioned conventional method. can.

However, when the remaining amount of toner is excessive or the fluidity of the toner is deteriorated, in the above-mentioned conventional method, it is detected that the diaphragm 132 is flipped and the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner is determined. I can't. Here, the excess toner remaining amount means a state in which the remaining amount of toner in the sub hopper 122 becomes larger than the expected amount due to some factor, and the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner cannot be detected. Further, the deterioration of the fluidity of the toner means a state in which adhesiveness or cohesiveness appears due to some factor such as the environment.

In the case of excessive toner remaining amount and deterioration of toner fluidity, the vibration of the diaphragm 132 is greatly hindered, so that the output amplitude of the magnetic flux sensor 135 is small and it is possible to detect that the diaphragm 132 has been flipped. Can not. Therefore, the process of detecting the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner is not performed, and the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner cannot be detected.

Excessive toner remaining amount and deterioration of toner fluidity indicate that some abnormality has occurred. Therefore, if these abnormalities can be detected, measures are taken to eliminate the abnormalities. The device can be restored. Therefore, a method for detecting an abnormality such as an excessive amount of toner remaining or deterioration of toner fluidity will be described below.

First, with reference to FIG. 7, a case where the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner in the sub hopper 122 can be normally detected will be described. When the stirring member 131 rotates about the rotation shaft 130, the edge portion of the stirring member 131 comes into contact with the diaphragm 132. When the rotating shaft 130 further rotates, the stirring member 131 moves the diaphragm 132 toward the magnetic flux sensor 135 mounted so as to face each other as shown in FIG. 7. When the rotating shaft 130 further rotates and the stirring member 131 separates from the diaphragm 132, the diaphragm 132 is flipped and the diaphragm 132 vibrates the space between the rotating shaft 130 and the magnetometer 135.

Since the toner having fluidity is housed in the sub hopper 122, the toner acts as a resistance to the vibration of the diaphragm 132 to attenuate the vibration. Therefore, when the diaphragm 132 is repelled by the stirring member 131, it repeatedly approaches and separates from the magnetic flux sensor 135 while shortening its moving distance, and finally stops. Then, the stirring member 131 comes into contact with the stirring member 131 again, and vibrates by flipping the diaphragm 132.

Next, with reference to FIG. 8, a case where the remaining amount of toner in the sub hopper 122 is excessive or the fluidity of the toner is deteriorated and the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner cannot be detected will be described. When the remaining amount of toner is excessive, a large amount of toner is present in the sub hopper 122, and the diaphragm 132 becomes a large resistance, and the moving distance to move toward the magnetic flux sensor 135 mounted opposite to the diaphragm 132 is long. It gets shorter. Further, even if the stirring member 131 repels the diaphragm 132, a large amount of toner acts as a resistance to prevent the diaphragm 132 from vibrating.

From this, while the stirring member 131 is pushing the diaphragm 132, the count value rises above a predetermined value, but after the stirring member 131 is separated from the diaphragm 132, the toner hinders the vibration of the diaphragm 132. It settles down to a constant value below the specified value.

When the fluidity of the toner deteriorates, the stirring member 131 pushes the diaphragm 132, and the time during which the count value is equal to or higher than a predetermined value becomes longer. This is because the stirring member 131 is further deformed as compared with the case where the toner is excessive due to the toner whose fluidity is deteriorated, and it takes a long time to return to the original state without deformation, and the toner whose fluidity is deteriorated is released. This is because it becomes a resistance and pushes the diaphragm 132 little by little.

With reference to FIG. 9, when the remaining amount of toner in the sub hopper 122 is excessive or the fluidity of the toner is deteriorated and the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner cannot be detected, the excessive amount of the remaining amount of toner or the deterioration of the fluidity of the toner is detected. The method of doing this will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a waveform when the remaining amount of toner in the sub hopper 122 is excessive or the toner is deteriorated and the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner cannot be detected. This waveform is a waveform of a count value obtained by sampling the output from the magnetic flux sensor 135 at regular time intervals.

When the count value obtained by sampling exceeds a predetermined value, the point at which the change is to be started beyond the predetermined value is set as the start point t ₁ . In the example shown in FIG. 9, since the change in Q ₄ from Q ₃ exceeds a predetermined value, time at the previous Q ₃ of Q ₄ exceeding a predetermined value is the start point t _1. After that, when the count value becomes a constant value equal to or less than a predetermined value and becomes stable, the first point at which the count value becomes a constant value is set as the end point t ₂ . In the example shown in FIG. 9, Q _n-1 changes to _{Q n} below a predetermined value _{, Q n} becomes a constant value, and is stable, so that _{the time at Q n} is the end point t ₂ . Here, the value is set to a constant value, but a value having a constant width may be used in consideration of variation.

_{Let t a be} the time interval between the start point t ₁ and the end point t ₂ . Further, the threshold value of the time for determining that the fluidity of the toner has deteriorated is β. Then, a constant value within a predetermined value before the start point t _{1 is defined as V 0,} and a constant value within a predetermined value after the end point t _{2 is defined as V 1} .

When the stirring member 131 can normally repel the diaphragm 132, as shown in FIG. 5, _{before the start point t 1 and} before the end point t settles at a constant value below a predetermined value after the vibration ends. _It vibrates by taking a value lower than the lower value (reference value) of the constant values V ₀ and V _{1 after 2.} On the other hand, when the remaining amount of toner is excessive or the fluidity of the toner deteriorates, the diaphragm 132 on the stirring member 131 side is filled with the toner, and the toner acts as a resistance to vibration by the diaphragm 132 to act as a resistance to vibration of the stirring member 131. It cannot vibrate toward, and cannot take a value even lower than the reference value.

Further, when the fluidity of the toner deteriorates, the toner does not easily flow, so that the toner becomes a resistance to vibration by the diaphragm 132, the stirring member 131 is greatly deformed as compared with the normal state, and the diaphragm 132 is deformed for a long time. You will keep pushing. Therefore, the diaphragm 132 moves toward the magnetic flux sensor 135 over a long period of time, and the count value is _{higher than V 0} and V ₁ for a long time.

In the conventional method described above, when the remaining amount of toner is excessive or the fluidity of the toner is deteriorated, the displacement amount due to the vibration of the diaphragm 132 is small, so that the change in the count value is smaller than the threshold value α and the stirring member 131 vibrates. It was considered that the board 132 was not played, and the abnormality could not be detected.

However, when the remaining amount of toner is excessive or the fluidity of the toner is deteriorated, since it has the above-mentioned characteristics, it is possible to detect the abnormality by determining whether or not the following conditions are satisfied. It will be possible.

The conditions for detecting an excessive amount of toner as an abnormality are as follows: (1) The vibration plate 132 does not become smaller than the reference value by the time _{the vibration of the diaphragm 132 ends and the value becomes V 1 below a predetermined value.} 2) is that the t _a <beta is established between the time until the vibration of the diaphragm 132 is completed t _a toner of time determines that fluidity is deteriorated threshold beta.

The conditions for detecting the deterioration of toner fluidity as an abnormality are as follows: (1) The vibration plate 132 does not become smaller than the reference value by the time _{the vibration of the diaphragm 132 ends and the value becomes V 1 below a predetermined value.} (2) is to t _a ≧ beta is established between the time until the vibration of the diaphragm 132 is completed t _a toner of time determines that fluidity is deteriorated threshold beta.

The determination of whether or not the above conditions are satisfied can be executed by the CPU 140 using the count value stored in the ASIC 141 in the controller 136 shown in FIG.

The waveform shown in FIG. 9 may be obtained not only when the remaining amount of toner is excessive or the fluidity of the toner is deteriorated, but also when noise such as static electricity is generated. However, if noise is generated, it is sufficiently small values of t _a as compared with the case where the toner remaining amount has deteriorated fluidity of excess or toner. Therefore, provided the threshold time, when the value of t _a is the threshold value or less, it is determined that the noise, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection due to noise.

A first embodiment of a method for detecting an abnormality when the remaining amount of toner is excessive or the fluidity of toner is deteriorated will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The process of detecting the abnormality starts from step 1000, and in step 1005, it is determined whether or not the toner concentration measured by the toner concentration sensor attached to the developing device 112 is low. If the toner concentration is low, an appropriate amount of toner has not been discharged and may remain in the sub hopper 122, resulting in an excessive amount of toner remaining, and the fluidity of the toner deteriorates, which is appropriate. This is because the amount of toner may not be discharged. Whether or not the toner concentration is low can be determined by setting a threshold value for the toner concentration and checking whether or not the toner concentration is equal to or less than the threshold value. If it is thin, the process proceeds to step 1010, and if it is not thin, the process proceeds to step 1045 to end this process.

In step 1010, the toner replenishment motor as the powder replenishment unit is rotated to replenish the toner in the sub hopper 122 to the developer 112. By this operation, the stirring member 131 in the sub hopper 122 repels the diaphragm 132, so that the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner is detected based on the output from the magnetic flux sensor 135. The controller 136 can operate the toner replenishment motor by instructing the toner replenishment motor.

In step 1015, by determining whether or not the above conditions are satisfied, it is determined whether or not an excess amount of toner remains or an abnormality in deterioration of toner fluidity is detected. If no abnormality is detected, the process proceeds to step 1020, and if an abnormality is detected, the process proceeds to step 1030.

In step 1020, if there is no remaining amount of toner detected in step 1010, the process proceeds to step 1025, and if there is, the process returns to step 1005. In step 1025, since there is no remaining toner, the toner bottle motor is rotated to replenish the sub hopper 122 with toner. After replenishment, the process returns to step 1005. The controller 136 can operate the toner bottle motor by instructing the toner bottle motor.

In step 1030, it is determined whether or not the number of times the abnormality is detected exceeds a preset predetermined number of times. If it does not exceed the number, the number of times is incremented by 1 in step 1035, and the process returns to step 1005. On the other hand, if it exceeds, the process proceeds to step 1040 to notify the user of the abnormality. Then, in step 1045, this process ends.

As a method of notifying an abnormality, for example, the image forming apparatus is displayed on an operation unit such as an operation panel to notify the user, or when the image forming apparatus is connected to a network, maintenance is performed via the network. You can notify the service center. Therefore, the operation panel and the like function as a notification unit. When the service center receives the notification, the serviceman can take measures such as replacing the sub hopper 122 to eliminate the abnormality.

In FIG. 10, the toner is replenished in step 1025, but the toner bottle 120 may run out of toner and the toner may not be replenished. Therefore, when the absence of the remaining amount of toner is continuously detected a preset number of times, it is possible to determine that the toner bottle 120 has run out of toner and give a notification prompting the replacement of the toner bottle 120.

By including the process for detecting the abnormality described above, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner and detect the excess amount of the remaining amount of toner or the abnormality of deterioration of the fluidity of the toner. If the remaining amount of toner is less than a certain amount, it is judged that there is no remaining amount of toner. It is possible to detect an abnormality as such. Therefore, there are three types of toner remaining amount, depending on the amount of toner remaining, a region without toner remaining, a region with toner remaining, and a region for detecting an abnormality. The region for detecting an abnormality is generated due to variations in the amount of toner replenished from the toner bottle 120 to the sub hopper 122, a narrow range for determining that there is a remaining amount of toner, and the like.

In the first embodiment of the method for detecting an abnormality described so far, the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner and the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner between the area where the remaining amount of toner is present and the area where an abnormality such as an excessive amount of the remaining amount of toner is detected are determined. There is an area where anomalies cannot be detected. For example, it cannot be said that the remaining amount of toner is excessive, but it is a region of the remaining amount of toner that exceeds a certain range for determining that there is a remaining amount of toner. When the remaining amount of toner is within this area, the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner cannot be detected, and no abnormality can be detected.

Therefore, a method of detecting this region as an abnormality will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of the method of detecting an abnormality. In FIG. 11, the waveform shown by the broken line is the waveform when the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner can be detected, and the waveform shown by the solid line is the waveform when the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner cannot be detected.

Similar to the example shown in FIG. 9, the starting point Q ₃ ', and Q _3, the time at that time t _1', and t _1, the end point Q _n ', and Q _n, the time at that time t ₂ ', and t _2, the time interval between the start and end points t _a' and, t _a. The vibration plate 132 is vibrated, the first count value of the peak position away from the magnetic flux sensor 135 (minimum value) 'and P _1, P _1' P ₁ a counter value at the time going back a predetermined time from the time of P _{1 Let} P x'and P _x . Also in the example shown in FIG. 11, similarly to the example shown in FIG. 9, the start point t ₁ ', t ₁ a constant value within a previous predetermined value and V _0, the end point t _2', t ₂ after a predetermined value _{Let V 1} be a constant value within.

When the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner cannot be detected, the amount of remaining toner is large and the diaphragm 132 is difficult to move as compared with the case where the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner can be detected. As a result, the diaphragm 132 is pressed for a long time. continue. For this reason, t _a is 'becomes larger than _{that, t a> t a' t} a relationship is established.

Here, the time interval in which the case where the remaining amount of toner is excessive or the fluidity of the toner is deteriorated is regarded as abnormal is defined as the threshold value γ. The area between the area with remaining toner and the area for detecting abnormalities such as excessive toner remaining is defined to detect the presence or absence of remaining toner or the area where abnormalities cannot be detected as the area for detecting abnormalities. γ is larger than t _a ', it is necessary to t _a smaller value. Therefore, t _a '<γ relationship <t _a is established.

In view of the above relationship, by adding the following conditions, it is not possible to detect the presence / absence or abnormality of the remaining amount of toner between the area where the remaining amount of toner is present and the area where an abnormality such as an excessive amount of remaining amount of toner is detected. The area can be detected as an area for detecting an abnormality.

Condition is that t _a> gamma is established between times t _a and the threshold gamma to the first point is smaller Q _n than the smaller value from the starting point Q ₃ of V ₀ and V ₁ to be added ..

The determination of whether or not the above-mentioned additional condition is satisfied can be executed by the CPU 140 using the count value stored in the ASIC 141 in the controller 136 shown in FIG.

Unlike the example shown in FIG. 9, a peak that is the minimum value of the counter value appears. Therefore, assuming that the threshold value for detecting that the diaphragm 132 has been hit is _{δ, when P x} -P ₁ > δ, the toner It is possible to determine whether or not there is a remaining amount. Therefore, it is desirable to judge whether or not the above additional conditions are satisfied only when _{P x} -P ₁ ≤ δ, which cannot make that judgment.

The method of detecting an abnormality when the remaining amount of toner is excessive or the fluidity of the toner is deteriorated in the second embodiment is determined in determining whether the remaining amount of toner is excessive or the fluidity of the toner is deteriorated. It only involves determining if the above added conditions are met. Since the entire process is the same as that shown in FIG. 10, the description thereof will be omitted here.

As described above, it is possible to detect an abnormality such as an excessive amount of toner remaining or deterioration of toner fluidity in a region where the presence or absence of the remaining toner cannot be detected. Further, when an abnormality is detected, the toner supply can be stopped, so that it is possible to prevent the toner from scattering into the apparatus due to the toner overflowing from the sub hopper 122.

By stopping the device when the specified number of times is exceeded, downtime of the device can be eliminated if the abnormality is resolved by replenishing the toner during that period. Further, since the cause of the abnormality is clarified, the serviceman can immediately restore the device by exchanging parts or the like, and the downtime of the device can be reduced. Further, since false detection due to the influence of noise can be prevented, the load on the CPU for performing control can be reduced.

In addition, when normal, only the process of detecting the presence or absence of the remaining amount of toner is performed, and only when it is not detected that the diaphragm 132 has been flipped, the process of detecting an abnormality is executed, so that unnecessary abnormality detection processing is performed during normal operation. It can be deleted to reduce the load on the CPU.

So far, the present invention has been described with the above-described embodiments as an abnormality detection device and an abnormality detection method. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified within the range conceivable by those skilled in the art, such as other embodiments, additions, changes, and deletions. .. Further, any aspect is included in the scope of the present invention as long as the action / effect of the present invention is exhibited.

100 ... Image forming apparatus 101 ... Feed tray 102 ... Paper feed roller 103 ... Resist roller 104 ... Paper 105 ... Conveying belt 106K, 106C, 106M, 106Y ... Image forming unit 107 ... Drive roller 108 ... Driven roller 109K, 109C, 109M , 109Y ... Photoreceptor drum 110K, 110C, 110M, 110Y ... Charger 111 ... Optical writing device 112, 112K, 112C, 112M, 112Y ... Developer 113K, 113C, 113M, 113Y ... Photoreceptor cleaner 114K, 114C, 114M, 114Y ... Transferr 115 ... Belt cleaner 116 ... Fixer 120 ... Toner bottle 121 ... Toner bottle supply path 122 ... Sub hopper 123 ... Sub hopper supply path 130 ... Rotating shaft 131 ... Stirring member 132 ... Vibration plate 133 ... Fixed part 134 ... Weight 135 ... Toner sensor 136 ... Controller 140 ... CPU
141 ... ASIC
142 ... Timer 143 ... Crystal oscillator circuit 144 ... Input / output control ASIC
145 ... Permeability counter 146 ... Read signal acquisition unit 147 ... Count value output unit

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-85290

Claims (8)

An abnormality detection device that detects abnormalities related to the remaining amount or fluidity of fluid powder in a container.
A vibrating portion that is disposed in the container and can vibrate while receiving resistance from the powder in the container.
A vibration detection unit that detects the vibration of the vibration unit,
A vibration applying portion that abuts on the vibrating portion and vibrates the vibrating portion,
A time measuring unit that measures the vibration time from the start to the end of the vibration of the vibrating unit,
And a detection result of the vibration detection unit, based on said vibration time measured by the time measuring unit, viewed contains a control section for determining whether the remaining amount or abnormality relating to the fluidity of the powder in the container ,
The vibration detection unit is arranged outside the container so as to face the vibration unit via the side wall of the container, and the vibration of the vibration unit that vibrates toward the vibration detection unit is combined with the vibration unit. It is detected as a magnetic flux passing through the space between them, and a signal with a frequency corresponding to the magnetic flux is output.
The control unit is based on the vibration time and the time from the start of vibration of the vibration unit to the time when the value of the frequency-related information related to the frequency of the signal output from the vibration detection unit becomes smaller than the reference value. , An abnormality detecting device for determining whether or not the remaining amount of the powder is excessive or whether or not the fluidity of the powder is deteriorated as the abnormality. Wherein, when it is determined that the there is an abnormality, so as to control stopping the supply of the powder of the powder supply part that supplies the powder from the container, according to claim 1 Anomaly detector. When the number of times that the control unit determines that the abnormality is within the specified number of times, the powder replenishment unit that replenishes the powder from the container executes the replenishment of the powder, and whether or not the abnormality is resolved. The abnormality detection device according to claim 1, wherein the abnormality is determined. The abnormality detection device according to claim 3 , further comprising a notification unit for notifying the abnormality when the control unit determines that the abnormality is not resolved beyond the specified number of times. Any of claims 2 to 4 , wherein the time measuring unit and the control unit measure the vibration time and determine the presence or absence of the abnormality only while the powder replenishing unit is operating to replenish the powder. The abnormality detection device according to item 1. The abnormality detection device according to claim 1 , wherein the time measurement unit and the control unit measure the vibration time and determine the presence or absence of the abnormality only when the vibration detection unit does not detect the vibration. An image forming apparatus provided with the abnormality detecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a fluid powder is supplied from a container to form an image. An anomaly detection method for detecting anomalies related to the remaining amount or fluidity of fluid powder in a container.
A step of detecting the vibration of the vibrating part capable of vibrating while receiving the resistance of the powder in the container by the vibration detecting part arranged in the container.
A step of vibrating the vibrating portion by a vibrating portion that comes into contact with the vibrating portion,
The step of measuring the vibration time from the start to the end of the vibration of the vibrating part by the time measuring unit, and
A step of determining whether or not there is an abnormality in the remaining amount or fluidity of the powder in the container based on the detection result by the vibration detection unit and the vibration time measured by the time measurement unit is included.
The vibration detection unit is arranged outside the container so as to face the vibration unit via the side wall of the container, and the vibration of the vibration unit that vibrates toward the vibration detection unit is combined with the vibration unit. It is detected as a magnetic flux passing through the space between them, and a signal with a frequency corresponding to the magnetic flux is output.
The determination step is the vibration time and the time from the start of vibration of the vibration unit to the time when the value of the frequency-related information related to the frequency of the signal output from the vibration detection unit becomes smaller than the reference value. Based on this, as the abnormality, an abnormality detection method for determining whether or not the remaining amount of the powder is excessive or whether or not the fluidity of the powder is deteriorated.

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