JP7192351B2 - Image forming apparatus and image forming method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and an image forming method.

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus is known that includes a developing section that develops an electrostatic latent image using a developer containing toner and carrier. In this type of image forming apparatus, when the remaining amount of toner in the developing section is less than a predetermined first threshold value, a forced replenishment process of restricting the execution of the print job and replenishing the developing section with toner is performed. (See Patent Document 1, for example). In the forced replenishment process, toner is replenished to the developing section until the remaining amount of toner in the developing section exceeds a second threshold larger than the first threshold, and the toner concentration in the developer becomes uniform. , the developer in the developing section is agitated.

JP 2016-114709 A

By the way, during execution of the forced replenishment process, the amount of toner remaining in the developing unit may exceed the amount of toner consumed by the waiting print job. In this case, a user who has input an execution instruction for a waiting print job cannot execute the print job until the forced replenishment process is completed, even though the print job can be executed in the image forming apparatus. You will have to wait.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming method capable of shortening the waiting time of a user whose execution of a print job is restricted due to forced replenishment of toner.

An image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a developing section, a supply processing section, and a stop processing section. The development unit develops the electrostatic latent image using a developer containing toner and carrier. The replenishment processing section restricts the execution of the print job when the remaining amount of toner in the developing section is less than a predetermined first threshold, and the remaining amount of toner in the developing section is less than the first threshold. Forced replenishment processing is executed to replenish toner to the developing unit until the second large threshold value is exceeded. The stop processing section stops the forced replenishment process and performs the waiting printing job when the waiting print job becomes executable using the toner in the developing section during execution of the forced replenishment process. Job can be executed.

An image forming method according to another aspect of the present invention is executed in an image forming apparatus having a developing section that develops an electrostatic latent image using a developer containing toner and carrier, and the remaining amount of toner in the developing section is determined in advance. When the amount is less than a predetermined first threshold, execution of the print job is restricted, and toner is replenished to the developing section until the remaining amount of toner in the developing section exceeds a second threshold larger than the first threshold. executing a forced replenishment process; and stopping the forced replenishment process and waiting when the waiting print job becomes executable using the toner in the developing unit during the execution of the forced replenishment process. and being able to execute the print job of.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize an image forming apparatus and an image forming method capable of shortening the waiting time of a user whose execution of a print job is restricted due to forced replenishment of toner.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the peripheral configuration of the intermediate transfer belt in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming unit in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the developing section in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of replenishment control processing executed by the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiment is an example that embodies the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[Image forming system 100]
The image forming system 100 includes an image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the invention and a plurality of portable terminals 60. FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 and the mobile terminal 60 are connected via a communication network 70 so as to be able to communicate with each other. For example, the communication network 70 is the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network).

The image forming apparatus 10 can execute a print job for forming an image based on image data. For example, the image forming apparatus 10 is a multifunction device having multiple functions such as a print function, a scan function, a facsimile function, and a copy function. Note that the image forming apparatus 10 may be a printer device, a facsimile device, or a copier.

The mobile terminal 60 is a smartphone or a tablet terminal possessed by a user of an information processing apparatus (not shown) capable of transmitting the print job to the image forming apparatus 10 . Note that the mobile terminal 60 may be a mobile phone, a PDA, a notebook computer, or the like.

[Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 10]
Next, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. Here, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 10. As shown in FIG.

For convenience of explanation, the vertical direction in the installation state (the state shown in FIG. 2) in which the image forming apparatus 10 can be used is defined as the up-down direction D1. A front-rear direction D2 is defined with the left side of the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 2 as the front side. Further, the horizontal direction D3 is defined with reference to the front of the image forming apparatus 10 in the installed state.

As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 10 includes an ADF (automatic document feeder) 1, an image reading section 2, an image forming section 3, a paper feeding section 4, a control section 5, an operation display section 6, a communication section 7, and , and a storage unit 8 .

The ADF 1 includes a document set section, a plurality of transport rollers, a document presser, a paper discharge section, and the like, and transports the document read by the image reading section 2 .

The image reading unit 2 includes a document platen, a light source, a plurality of mirrors, an optical lens, a CCD, and the like, and is capable of reading image data from a document.

The image forming section 3 can form a color or monochrome image by electrophotography based on the image data read by the image reading section 2 . The image forming section 3 can also form an image based on image data input from the information processing device. Note that the image forming section 3 may be configured to be capable of forming only a monochrome image.

The paper feed unit 4 includes a paper feed cassette and a plurality of transport rollers, and supplies sheets to the image forming unit 3 . The image forming section 3 forms an image based on the image data on the sheet supplied from the paper feeding section 4 .

The control unit 5 includes control devices such as a CPU 5A, a ROM 5B, and a RAM 5C. The CPU 5A is a processor that executes various arithmetic processes. The ROM 5B is a non-volatile storage device in which information such as control programs for causing the CPU 5A to execute various processes is stored in advance. RAM5C is a volatile storage device. The RAM 5C is used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU 5A. In the control unit 5, various control programs pre-stored in the ROM 5B are executed by the CPU 5A. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 10 is centrally controlled by the controller 5 . Note that the control unit 5 may be configured by an electronic circuit such as an integrated circuit (ASIC), and is a control unit provided separately from the main control unit that controls the image forming apparatus 10 in an integrated manner. may

The operation display unit 6 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display for displaying various information according to control instructions from the control unit 5, and operation keys or a touch panel for inputting various information to the control unit 5 according to user operations. It has an operation part such as

The communication unit 7 can perform wired or wireless data communication with an external communication device including the mobile terminal 60 via the communication network 70 .

The storage unit 8 is a nonvolatile storage device. For example, the storage unit 8 is a storage device such as flash memory, non-volatile memory such as EEPROM (registered trademark), SSD (Solid State Drive), and HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

In the image forming apparatus 10, device identification information for each of the information processing devices is stored in the storage unit 8 in advance. For example, the device identification information is an IP address or MAC address.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 10 , the terminal identification information of each mobile terminal 60 is stored in advance in the storage unit 8 . Specifically, the terminal identification information is stored in the storage unit 8 in association with the device identification information of the information processing device used by the user who owns the mobile terminal 60 identified by the terminal identification information. there is For example, the terminal identification information is IP address or MAC address.

[Configuration of Image Forming Unit 3]
Next, the configuration of the image forming section 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. Here, FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the four image forming units 11, the intermediate transfer belt 13, and the secondary transfer roller 14. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming section 3 includes four image forming units 11, two optical scanning devices 12, an intermediate transfer belt 13, a secondary transfer roller 14, a fixing device 15, a paper discharge tray 16, and 4 A toner container 17 is provided.

The four image forming units 11 are arranged side by side along the front-rear direction D2 of the image forming apparatus 10 . The four image forming units 11 correspond to the colors Y (yellow), C (cyan), M (magenta), and K (black) in order from the front side of the image forming apparatus 10 . The four image forming units 11 are capable of forming toner images of corresponding colors.

As shown in FIG. 3 , each image forming unit 11 includes a photosensitive drum 21 , charging roller 22 , developing section 23 , primary transfer roller 24 and drum cleaning section 25 . It should be noted that the four image forming units 11 each have a common configuration except for the color of the toner accommodated in the developing section 23 .

The photoreceptor drum 21 carries a toner image. The charging roller 22 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 . The developing unit 23 develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 21 using developer containing toner. Specifically, the developer is a two-component developer containing a magnetic carrier and a non-magnetic toner. The primary transfer roller 24 transfers the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 by the developing unit 23 onto the intermediate transfer belt 13 . The drum cleaning section 25 removes toner adhering to the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 .

The two optical scanning devices 12 are arranged side by side along the front-rear direction D2 of the image forming apparatus 10 . Of the two optical scanning devices 12, the optical scanning device 12 on the front side of the image forming apparatus 10 is used for forming images corresponding to the photosensitive drum 21 of the image forming unit 11 corresponding to Y (yellow) and C (cyan). An electrostatic latent image is formed on each of the photosensitive drums 21 of the unit 11 . Of the two optical scanning devices 12, the optical scanning device 12 on the rear side of the image forming apparatus 10 is used for forming images corresponding to the photosensitive drum 21 of the image forming unit 11 corresponding to M (magenta) and K (black). An electrostatic latent image is formed on each of the photosensitive drums 21 of the unit 11 .

The intermediate transfer belt 13 is an endless belt member onto which the toner images formed on the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 21 are transferred. The intermediate transfer belt 13 is stretched with a predetermined tension by a drive roller and a stretch roller spaced apart in the front-rear direction D2 of the image forming apparatus 10 . The intermediate transfer belt 13 moves along the front-rear direction D<b>2 of the image forming apparatus 10 when the drive roller is rotationally driven by a driving force supplied from a power source (not shown).

A secondary transfer roller 14 transfers the toner image adhered to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 onto a sheet supplied from the paper feeding unit 4 .

The fixing device 15 melts and fixes the toner image transferred to the sheet by the secondary transfer roller 14 to the sheet.

A sheet on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 15 is discharged to the discharge tray 16 .

The four toner containers 17 are arranged side by side along the front-rear direction D2 of the image forming apparatus 10 . The four toner containers 17 correspond to the colors Y (yellow), C (cyan), M (magenta), and K (black) in order from the front side of the image forming apparatus 10 . Each toner container 17 contains toner of a corresponding color. Further, each toner container 17 supplies the toner contained therein to the developing section 23 of the image forming unit 11 corresponding to the color of the toner. For example, each toner container 17 has a toner discharge port connected to a toner supply path (not shown) leading to the corresponding developing unit 23, and a conveying member for conveying the toner contained therein to the toner discharge port. Each toner container 17 supplies the toner contained therein to the corresponding developing section 23 by driving the conveying member with the driving force supplied from the power source.

[Structure of developing unit 23]
Next, the configuration of the developing section 23 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. Here, FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing the configuration of the image forming unit 11A (see FIG. 3) corresponding to Y (yellow) among the four image forming units 11. As shown in FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. In FIG. 5, the position of the inlet 47 in the developing section 23 is indicated by a dashed line.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the developing section 23 includes a housing 31, a first conveying member 32, a second conveying member 33, a magnet roller 34, a developing roller 35, and a toner sensor .

The housing 31 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape elongated in the left-right direction D3. As shown in FIG. 4, the housing 31 accommodates the first conveying member 32, the second conveying member 33, the magnet roller 34, and the developing roller 35. As shown in FIG. Further, the housing 31 accommodates the developer. The developing section 23 forms a toner image using the developer contained in the housing 31 .

The housing 31 has a first transport path 41 and a second transport path 42 . Specifically, a partition wall 44 extending in the left-right direction D3 is provided on the bottom portion 43 (see FIG. 4) of the housing 31 . A first transport path 41 and a second transport path 42 elongated in the horizontal direction D<b>3 are formed by the bottom portion 43 , the side walls, and the partition wall 44 of the housing 31 .

The first conveying member 32 is provided on the first conveying path 41 . For example, the first conveying member 32 is a screw-shaped member elongated in the left-right direction D3 and having a rotation shaft extending in the left-right direction D3. The first conveying member 32 is rotatably supported by the housing 31 on its rotating shaft. The first conveying member 32 is rotationally driven by the driving force supplied from the power source, thereby conveying the developer in the conveying direction D31 (see FIG. 5) and agitating the developer.

The second conveying member 33 is provided on the second conveying path 42 . For example, like the first conveying member 32, the second conveying member 33 is a screw-shaped member elongated in the left-right direction D3 and having a rotation shaft extending in the left-right direction D3. The second conveying member 33 is rotatably supported by the housing 31 about its rotating shaft. The second conveying member 33 is rotationally driven by the driving force supplied from the power source, thereby conveying the developer in the conveying direction D32 (see FIG. 5) and stirring the developer.

As shown in FIG. 5, a communication path 45 that communicates the first transport path 41 and the second transport path 42 is provided at the downstream end of the partition wall 44 in the transport direction D31. On the other hand, a communication path 46 that communicates the second transport path 42 and the first transport path 41 is provided at the downstream end of the partition wall 44 in the transport direction D32. As a result, the developer contained in the housing 31 is circulated and transported through the first transport path 41 and the second transport path 42 by the first transport member 32 and the second transport member 33 .

The housing 31 has a carry-in port 47 . Specifically, the carry-in port 47 is provided above a predetermined carry-in position P<b>1 (see FIG. 5 ) in the first transport path 41 . For example, the carry-in position P1 is a position near the upstream end of the first transport path 41 in the transport direction D31. The carry-in port 47 is connected to the toner supply path, and is used for carrying the toner supplied from the toner container 17 into the housing 31 .

The magnet roller 34 scoops up the developer from the second conveying path 42 and supplies the toner contained in the scooped-up developer to the developing roller 35 .

The developing roller 35 uses toner supplied from the magnet roller 34 to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 .

The toner sensor 36 can detect the remaining amount of toner in the developing section 23 . For example, the toner sensor 36 is a magnetic permeability sensor including an LC oscillation circuit that outputs an electric signal corresponding to the magnetic permeability of the developer contained in the housing 31 . For example, the toner sensor 36 detects the magnetic permeability of the developer at a detection position P2 (see FIG. 5) downstream of the carry-in position P1 in the first transport path 41 in the transport direction D31. As shown in FIG. 4, the toner sensor 36 is provided on the outer surface side of the bottom portion 43 . Note that the toner sensor 36 may be a piezoelectric sensor or the like capable of detecting the pressure on the inner surface of the bottom portion 43 .

In the image forming apparatus 10, the image forming section 3 is used to execute the print job. Further, in the image forming apparatus 10, during the execution of the print job, based on the electric signal output from the toner sensor 36 provided in the developing unit 23 driven by the print job, the remaining amount of toner in the developing unit 23 is detected. is monitored. When the remaining amount of toner in the developing section 23 becomes less than a predetermined third threshold value, the development is continued until the remaining amount of toner in the developing section 23 exceeds a fourth threshold value, which is larger than the third threshold value. Normal replenishment processing for replenishing toner to the portion 23 is executed.

In the normal replenishment process, toner is supplied from the toner container 17 corresponding to the developing section 23 to be replenished to the developing section 23 at a predetermined first supply speed. Note that the toner supply speed here means the amount of toner supplied per unit time. For example, in the normal replenishment process, the conveying member of the toner container 17 corresponding to the developing section 23 to be replenished is continuously driven at a first speed corresponding to the first supply speed. Note that the normal replenishment process is executed in parallel with the print job.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 10, when the remaining amount of toner in the developing unit 23 is less than the first threshold, which is smaller than the third threshold, the execution of the print job is restricted and the toner in the developing unit 23 is reduced. Forced replenishment processing is executed to replenish toner to the developing unit 23 until the remaining amount exceeds a second threshold value that is larger than the first threshold value. The second threshold may be larger or smaller than the third threshold.

In the forced replenishment process, the toner is supplied from the toner container 17 corresponding to the developing section 23 whose remaining amount of toner is less than the first threshold value to the developing section 23 at a second supply speed faster than the first supply speed. be done. For example, in the forced replenishment process, the conveying member of the toner container 17 corresponding to the developing unit 23 to be replenished corresponds to the second supply speed and is supplied at a second speed faster than the first speed. Continuously driven.

Further, execution of the print job is prohibited during execution of the forced replenishment process. Specifically, if the print job is being executed when the forced replenishment process is started, the execution of the print job is stopped. Further, when the print job is input during execution of the forced replenishment process, execution of the print job is put on hold until the forced replenishment process is completed.

In the forced replenishment process, the developer in the developing section 23 is agitated during the replenishment of the toner to the developing section 23 to be replenished and until a predetermined agitation time elapses from the end of the replenishment. Specifically, in the forced replenishment process, the first conveying member 32 and the second conveying member 33 of the developing section 23 to be replenished are driven to agitate the developer in the developing section 23 . The stirring time is set longer as the second supply speed is faster. Further, the stirring time is set shorter as the driving speed of the first conveying member 32 and the second conveying member 33 in the forced replenishment process increases. Note that the stirring time may be zero.

By the way, during execution of the forced replenishment process, the remaining amount of toner in the developing unit 23 may exceed the amount of toner consumed by the waiting print job. Here, in a conventional image forming apparatus, a user who has input an execution instruction for a waiting print job can execute the print job in the image forming apparatus. The execution of the print job was kept waiting until the job was completed.

On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, as described below, it is possible to shorten the waiting time of the user whose execution of the print job is restricted due to forced replenishment of toner. .

Specifically, the ROM 5B of the control section 5 stores in advance a replenishment control program for causing the CPU 5A to execute replenishment control processing (see the flowchart of FIG. 6), which will be described later. The replenishment control program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD, DVD, or flash memory, and may be read from the recording medium and installed in the storage section 8 .

The control unit 5 includes a replenishment processing unit 51, a stop processing unit 52, and a restart processing unit 53, as shown in FIG. Specifically, the CPU 5A of the control section 5 executes the supply control program stored in the ROM 5B. Thereby, the control unit 5 functions as a supply processing unit 51 , a stop processing unit 52 , and a restart processing unit 53 .

The replenishment processing unit 51 executes the forced replenishment processing when the amount of toner remaining in the developing unit 23 is less than the first threshold value.

Specifically, the replenishment processing unit 51 monitors the remaining amount of toner in the developing unit 23 having the toner sensor 36 based on the electrical signal output from each toner sensor 36 . Then, the replenishment processing section 51 executes the forced replenishment process when the toner remaining amount in any of the developing sections 23 becomes less than the first threshold value.

The stop processing unit 52 stops the forced supply process and executes the waiting print job when a predetermined stop condition is satisfied during execution of the forced supply process.

For example, the stop condition is to satisfy both the following first and second conditions.

That is, the first condition is that the waiting print job can be executed using the toner in the developing unit 23 to be replenished.

For example, the stop processing unit 52 determines that the first condition is satisfied when the amount of toner replenished by the forced replenishment process is greater than or equal to the amount of toner consumed by the waiting print job. Here, the amount of toner consumed for each print color by the waiting print job can be calculated based on the image data printed by the print job.

Note that the stop processing unit 52 may determine that the first condition is satisfied when the remaining amount of toner in the developing unit 23 to be replenished is greater than or equal to the amount of toner consumed by the waiting print job. In addition, the stop processing unit 52 is operated when the amount obtained by multiplying the remaining amount of toner in the developing unit 23 to be replenished by a predetermined ratio is greater than or equal to the amount of toner consumed by the waiting print job. , it may be determined that the first condition is satisfied. Further, when the amount of toner replenished by the forced replenishment process is greater than or equal to the amount of toner consumed by the print job on standby, the stop processing unit 52 sets the print rate of the print job to a predetermined allowable value. It may be determined that the first condition is satisfied in the following cases.

Here, when there are a plurality of waiting print jobs, the stop processing unit 52 determines whether or not the first condition is satisfied, for example, based on the toner consumption amount of the print job whose execution order is the earliest. do. In this case, when the stop processing unit 52 determines that the stop condition is satisfied, it executes only the print job with the earliest execution order. Note that, when there are a plurality of waiting print jobs, the stop processing unit 52 may determine whether or not the first condition is satisfied based on the toner consumption amounts of the plurality of print jobs. In this case, the stop processing unit 52 sequentially executes the plurality of print jobs when determining that the stop condition is satisfied.

Also, the second condition is that the user who has input the execution instruction of the waiting print job is within a predetermined range from the image forming apparatus 10 . For example, the range is 10 meters from the imaging device 10 . In addition, the said range may be defined arbitrarily.

For example, when an instruction to execute the waiting print job is input from the information processing device, the stop processing unit 52 performs the following based on the device identification information and the terminal identification information stored in the storage unit 8 The portable terminal 60 corresponding to the information processing device is specified. Then, when the specified portable terminal 60 exists within the range, the stop processing unit 52 determines that the user who has input the instruction to execute the waiting print job is within the range from the image forming apparatus 10. do. For example, the stop processing unit 52 uses terminal location information indicating the current location of the mobile terminal 60 acquired from the mobile terminal 60 and apparatus location information indicating the installation location of the image forming apparatus 10 registered in the image forming apparatus 10 in advance. , it is determined whether or not the mobile terminal 60 exists within the range. Note that the stop processing unit 52 determines whether the mobile terminal 60 exists within the range based on whether wireless communication with the mobile terminal 60 according to Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be executed. You can judge whether In this case, the range is the communicable range of wireless communication according to Bluetooth.

Further, when an execution instruction for the waiting print job is input through the operation display section 6, the stop processing section 52 unconditionally determines that the user who has input the execution instruction exists within the range from the image forming apparatus 10. Then judge. Image forming apparatus 10 may include a human sensor capable of detecting the presence or absence of a person within a predetermined detection range. In this case, the stop processing unit 52 inputs an execution instruction for the waiting print job when the presence of a person is detected by the human detection sensor when an execution instruction for the waiting print job is input through the operation display unit 6. It may be determined that the user who has performed the operation exists within the range from the image forming apparatus 10 . In this case, said range is said detection range. Further, when an execution instruction for the waiting print job is input through the operation display unit 6, the stop processing unit 52 determines whether the portable terminal 60 corresponding to the logged-in user is within the range when the execution instruction is input. If it exists, it may be determined that the user who has input the execution instruction exists within the range from the image forming apparatus 10 . Here, by storing authentication information used for user authentication and the terminal identification information in association with each other in the storage unit 8, it is possible to specify the portable terminal 60 corresponding to the logged-in user.

For example, the stop processing unit 52 performs agitation processing for agitating the developer in the development unit 23 to be replenished until the agitation time elapses after the forced replenishment processing is stopped. to run. Note that, when the stirring time is zero, the stop processing unit 52 may execute the waiting print job without executing the stirring process. Further, the stop processing unit 52 may shorten the stirring time by an amount corresponding to the difference between the second threshold value and the remaining amount of toner in the developing unit 23 to be replenished when the forced replenishment process is stopped. .

The stop condition may be satisfying only the first condition. The stop condition may satisfy the first condition, or the first condition and the second condition, and also satisfy the following third condition.

For example, the third condition is that the moving speed of the user who has input the execution instruction of the waiting print job exceeds a predetermined reference speed. Here, the moving speed of the user who has input the execution instruction of the waiting print job can be calculated based on the terminal location information obtained at predetermined intervals from the mobile terminal 60 corresponding to the user. .

The restart processing unit 53 restarts the forced replenishment process when the remaining amount of toner in the developing unit 23 to be replenished in the forced replenishment process is equal to or less than the second threshold value after the print job is executed by the stop processing unit 52 . do.

For example, when the remaining amount of toner in the development unit 23 to be replenished in the forced replenishment process after execution of the print job by the stop processing unit 52 is equal to or less than the second threshold value, the restart processing unit 53 is on standby. If the print job does not exist, the forced replenishment process is resumed.

It should be noted that the restart processing unit 53 determines that the remaining amount of toner in the development unit 23 to be replenished in the forced replenishment process after the execution of the print job by the stop processing unit 52 is the above-described number, regardless of the presence or absence of the waiting print job. If it is equal to or less than 2 thresholds, the forced replenishment process may be restarted. Also, the control unit 5 may not include the restart processing unit 53 .

[Configuration of mobile terminal 60]
Next, the configuration of the mobile terminal 60 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the mobile terminal 60 includes a control section 61 , an operation display section 62 , a communication section 63 , a GPS communication section 64 and a storage section 65 .

As with the control unit 5 of the image forming apparatus 10, the control unit 61 includes control devices such as a CPU 61A, a ROM 61B, and a RAM 61C. In the control unit 61, various control programs pre-stored in the ROM 61B are executed by the CPU 61A. As a result, the mobile terminal 60 is controlled by the controller 61 in an integrated manner.

The operation display unit 62 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display for displaying various information according to control instructions from the control unit 61, and operation keys or a touch panel for inputting various information to the control unit 61 according to user operations. It has an operation part such as

The communication unit 63 is a communication interface capable of wireless data communication with an external communication device such as the image forming apparatus 10 connected via the communication network 70 .

The GPS communication unit 64 can receive radio waves transmitted from GPS satellites. The mobile terminal 60 can acquire the terminal location information based on the information contained in the radio waves received by the GPS communication section 64 .

The storage unit 65 is a non-volatile storage device like the storage unit 8 of the image forming apparatus 10 . An application program corresponding to the image forming apparatus 10 is stored in advance in the storage unit 65 . Control unit 61 can communicate with image forming apparatus 10 and execute processing according to instructions transmitted from image forming apparatus 10 by CPU 61A executing the application program. Specifically, when the image forming apparatus 10 transmits a transmission request for the terminal location information, the control unit 61 acquires the terminal location information using the GPS communication unit 64, and to the image forming apparatus 10 .

[Replenishment control process]
Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 6, the procedure of the image forming method according to the present invention will be described together with an example of the procedure of the replenishment control process executed by the controller 5 in the image forming apparatus 10. FIG. Here, steps S11, S12, .

<Step S11>
First, in step S11, the controller 5 determines whether or not the amount of remaining toner in any of the developing units 23 is less than the first threshold value.

Here, when the controller 5 determines that the remaining amount of toner in any of the developing units 23 has become less than the first threshold value (Yes side of S11), the process proceeds to step S12. If the toner remaining amount in any of the developing units 23 is not less than the first threshold value (No side of S11), the control unit 5 determines that the toner remaining amount in any of the developing units 23 is less than the first threshold value in step S11. Wait for the threshold to fall below.

<Step S12>
At step S12, the controller 5 executes the forced replenishment process. Here, the processing of steps S11 and S12 is executed by the replenishment processing section 51 of the control section 5 .

<Step S13>
At step S13, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the forced replenishment process has ended.

Here, when the controller 5 determines that the forced replenishment process has ended (Yes in S13), the process proceeds to step S11. If the forced replenishment process has not ended (No side of S13), the control unit 5 shifts the process to step S14.

<Step S14>
At step S14, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the stop condition is satisfied.

Here, when the control unit 5 determines that the stop condition is satisfied (Yes side of S14), the process proceeds to step S15. If the stop condition is not satisfied (No side of S14), the control unit 5 shifts the process to step S13.

<Step S15>
At step S15, the controller 5 stops the forced replenishment process.

<Step S16>
In step S16, the control unit 5 executes the stirring process. As a result, variations in the toner density of the developer in the developing section 23 caused by the supply speed of the toner in the forced replenishment process being faster than that in the normal replenishment process are suppressed. Therefore, in the print job executed in step S<b>17 , it is possible to suppress deterioration in print quality due to variations in the toner concentration of the developer in the developing section 23 .

<Step S17>
In step S17, the control unit 5 executes the print job after the stirring process executed in step S16 is completed. Here, the processing from step S13 to step S17 is executed by the stop processing section 52 of the control section 5. FIG.

<Step S18>
In step S18, the control unit 5 determines that, after the print job executed in step S17 is finished, the remaining amount of toner in the developing unit 23, which has been replenished by the forced replenishment process stopped in step S15, reaches the above-mentioned level. 2 It is determined whether or not it is equal to or less than the threshold.

Here, when the control unit 5 determines that the remaining amount of toner in the developing unit 23 to which toner has been replenished in the forced replenishment process is equal to or less than the second threshold value (Yes side of S18), the process proceeds to step S19. migrate. If the remaining amount of toner in the developing section 23 to which toner has been replenished in the forced replenishment process is not equal to or less than the second threshold value (No in S18), the control section 5 shifts the process to step S11.

<Step S19>
In step S<b>19 , the control unit 5 determines whether or not the waiting print job exists.

Here, when the control unit 5 determines that the waiting print job exists (Yes side of S19), the process proceeds to step S11. If the waiting print job does not exist (No side of S19), the control unit 5 shifts the process to step S20.

<Step S20>
At step S20, the controller 5 resumes the forced replenishment process that was stopped at step S15. As a result, toner is resupplied to the developing section 23 that has been replenished with toner in the stopped forced replenishment process. , the remaining amount of toner is suppressed from becoming less than the first threshold value. Here, the processing from step S18 to step S20 is executed by the restart processing section 53 of the control section 5. FIG.

Note that the process of step S16 may be omitted. Also, the process of step S19 may be omitted. Also, the processing from step S18 to step S20 may be omitted.

As described above, in the image forming apparatus 10, when the stop condition is satisfied during execution of the forced replenishment process, the forced replenishment process is stopped and the waiting print job is executed. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the waiting time of the user whose execution of the print job is restricted due to the forced replenishment of toner.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 10, the second condition is included in the stop condition. As a result, even when the user does not urgently need the printed material, it is possible to prevent the forced replenishment process from being stopped and the execution of the standby print process being given priority.

1 ADF
2 image reading unit 3 image forming unit 4 paper feeding unit 5 control unit 6 operation display unit 7 communication unit 8 storage unit 10 image forming device 11 image forming unit 12 optical scanning device 13 intermediate transfer belt 14 secondary transfer roller 15 fixing device 16 Discharge tray 17 Toner container 21 Photoreceptor drum 22 Charging roller 23 Development unit 24 Primary transfer roller 25 Drum cleaning unit 51 Supply processing unit 52 Stop processing unit 53 Restart processing unit 60 Mobile terminal 70 Communication network 100 Image forming system

Claims (7)

a developing unit that develops the electrostatic latent image using a developer containing toner and carrier;
When the remaining amount of toner in the developing section is less than a predetermined first threshold, execution of the print job is restricted so that the remaining amount of toner in the developing section exceeds a second threshold that is larger than the first threshold. a replenishment processing unit for executing forced replenishment processing for replenishing toner to the developing unit up to
When the waiting print job becomes executable using the toner in the developing unit during execution of the forced replenishment process, the forced replenishment process is stopped so that the waiting print job can be stopped. a processing unit;
a restart processing unit that restarts the forced replenishment process when the toner remaining amount in the developing unit is equal to or less than the second threshold after the print job is executed by the stop processing unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising: the stop processing unit determines that the print job can be executed when the amount of toner replenished by the forced replenishment process is equal to or greater than the toner consumption amount of the print job;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. When the amount of toner replenished by the forced replenishment process is greater than or equal to the amount of toner consumed by the print job, and the print rate of the print job is equal to or less than a predetermined allowable value, determining that the print job is executable;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. In the forced replenishment process, execution of the print job is restricted and toner is replenished to the developing section until the remaining amount of toner in the developing section exceeds the second threshold value. A process of agitating the developer in the developing unit until a predetermined agitating time elapses after the completion of replenishment,
The stop processing unit executes an agitation process of agitating the developer in the development unit until the agitation time elapses after the forced replenishment process is stopped, and then executes the waiting print job.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . In the case where the waiting print job becomes executable using the toner in the developing unit during the execution of the forced replenishment process, the stop processing unit performs stopping the forced replenishment process and executing the waiting print job when the apparatus is within a predetermined range from the own apparatus;
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . An image forming method performed by an image forming apparatus having a developing unit that develops an electrostatic latent image using a developer containing toner and carrier,
When the remaining amount of toner in the developing section is less than a predetermined first threshold, execution of the print job is restricted so that the remaining amount of toner in the developing section exceeds a second threshold that is larger than the first threshold. executing forced replenishment processing for replenishing toner to the developing unit until
When the waiting print job becomes executable using the toner in the developing unit during execution of the forced replenishment process, the forced replenishment process can be stopped and the waiting print job can be executed. When,
resuming the forced replenishment process when the remaining amount of toner in the developing unit is equal to or less than the second threshold after execution of the print job;
An imaging method comprising: a developing unit that develops the electrostatic latent image using a developer containing toner and carrier;
When the remaining amount of toner in the developing section is less than a predetermined first threshold, execution of the print job is restricted so that the remaining amount of toner in the developing section exceeds a second threshold that is larger than the first threshold. a replenishment processing unit for executing forced replenishment processing for replenishing toner to the developing unit up to
When the waiting print job becomes executable using the toner in the developing unit during execution of the forced replenishment process, the forced replenishment process is stopped so that the waiting print job can be stopped. a processing unit;
with
In the forced replenishment process, execution of the print job is restricted and toner is replenished to the developing section until the remaining amount of toner in the developing section exceeds the second threshold value. A process of agitating the developer in the developing unit until a predetermined agitating time elapses after the completion of replenishment,
The stop processing unit executes an agitation process of agitating the developer in the development unit until the agitation time elapses after the forced replenishment process is stopped, and then executes the waiting print job.

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