JPH01118868A - Detection device for image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the erroneous detection of a sensor caused by the sticking of stain and a foreign matter by attaching a cleaning member for cleaning the light emitting part and the light receiving part of the sensor on a shutter. CONSTITUTION:The cleaning member 16a for cleaning the light emitting part and the light receiving part at the time of actuating the shutter 4 is attached to the shutter 4 in the detection device of an image forming device in which an optical path 2 between the light emitting part and the light receiving part of the photointerruptor type sensor 1 is made to open and close with the actuation of the shutter 4. When the optical path 2 is made to open and close with the actuation of the shutter 4, the cleaning member 16a cleans the light emitting part and the light receiving part at the same time. Thus, the stain and the foreign matter can be scraped and the optical path 2 can be prevented from being shielded with toner and paper, etc.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a laser printer or a copying machine, and the present invention is applicable to toner end detection, toner collection bottle set detection, toner constant detection, toner cartridge set detection, etc. The present invention relates to a detection device using a photointerrupter type sensor used for.

[Prior Art] For example, a detection device using a conventional photo-interrupter type sensor used for toner end detection in a laser printer uses a light emitting part formed in a photo-interrupter type sensor 1 as shown in FIG. A shutter 4 rotatable about a shaft 3 is provided in the optical path 2 between the light receiving section and the light receiving section.
The lever 5 extending from the proximal end of the shutter 4 is connected to the actuating part 6 installed on the developer side.
By being swung by the operation of the cams 8 and 9, the shutter 4 can block or open the optical path 2 of the photointerrupter type sensor 1, and when the optical path 2 is opened, the photointerrupter type sensor The sensor 1 emits an output, and the CPU 7 detects the toner end based on the output.

To be more specific, the actuating section 6 is, for example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1986-
Similar to those disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 23746 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-216270, the drive cam 8 and the detection cam 9 having almost the same diameter are arranged coaxially, and the drive cam 8 is fixed to the shaft 10. Then, the detection cam 9 is loosely fitted onto the shaft 10. The drive cam 8 has a notch-shaped detection recess 11 on its outer periphery, and has an arc-shaped elongated hole 13 centered on the axis on its flat surface. On the other hand, the detection cam 9 has a plurality of blade members on one main surface thereof, which provide resistance during rotation due to the toner in the developing device, and an outer peripheral portion.

It has a notch-like detection recess 12, and the other main surface has a pin 14 at a position that matches the center radius of the elongated hole 13 of the drive cam 8. Further, the drive cam 8 and the detection cam 9 are arranged so that the drive pin 14 enters the elongated hole 13, so that the detection cam 9 can move freely on the shaft 10 within the angular range defined by the elongated hole 13. Although the shaft 10 rotates, the shaft 10 is maintained in a biased state in the direction of rotation by a spring 15 installed between the two. The lever 5 is pressed against the outer peripheral surfaces of the drive cam 8 and the detection gum 9 by a spring or the like (not shown).

Therefore, when the shaft 10 is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow (counterclockwise in the figure), the drive cam 8 also rotates, but if toner remains in the developing device, the detection cam 9 When the blade member comes into contact with the toner, it receives rotational resistance (rotational load torque) and tries to stay in place, so that the drive pin 14 of the detection cam 9 is attached to the rear end of the elongated hole 13 of the drive cam 8 in the rotational direction. , the drive cam 8 and the detection cam 9 rotate at the same speed while maintaining a twisted positional relationship on the same axis. As a result, the detection recess 11 of the drive cam 8 and the detection recess 1 of the detection cam 9
Since the lever 5 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of either the drive cam 8 or the detection cam 9, the shutter 4 is a photo-interrupter type sensor. The optical path 2 of 1 is always blocked.

On the other hand, when the amount of toner in the developing device decreases, the detection cam 9 detects the drive pin 1 because the blade member no longer receives rotational resistance.
4 is pulled by a spring 15 and comes into contact with the rotational end of the elongated hole 13 of the drive cam 8 . Therefore, since the detection recess 11 of the drive cam 8 and the detection recess 12 of the detection cam 9 coincide, the lever 5 swings around the shaft 3 and falls into the detection recesses 11 and 12. A shutter 4 opens the optical path 2 of the photointerrupter type sensor 1.

However, the inside of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a laser printer is always in an environment that is easily contaminated by toner, paper pieces (powder), etc., so as mentioned above, the shutter 4 is
Even if the optical path 2 of the automatic interrupter type sensor 1 is opened, if toner or pieces of paper adhere to the light emitting section or the light receiving section, the optical path 2 will be blocked and there is a risk of false detection.

[Purpose] Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a detection device for an image forming apparatus that can prevent erroneous detection by a photointerrupter type sensor by preventing dirt and foreign matter from attaching to the light emitting part and the light receiving part. That is.

[Structure] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a detection device for an image forming apparatus in which an optical path between a light emitting part and a light receiving part of a photointerrupter type sensor is opened and closed by operating a shutter. A cleaning member is attached to the shutter for cleaning the light emitting section and the light receiving section when the shutter is operated.

When the optical path of the photointerrupter type sensor is opened and closed by the operation of the shutter, the cleaning member simultaneously cleans the light emitting part and the light receiving part, so dirt and foreign matter are removed, and the optical path is not blocked by toner, pieces of paper, etc.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, which has a configuration similar to the detection device shown in FIG. In this step, a cleaning member 16a having bristles with a length reaching the left and right light emitting parts and the light receiving part is attached on the tip of the shutter 4 located in the optical path 2 of the photointerrupter type sensor 1.

When the lever 5 moves along a part other than the concave portion of the outer peripheral surface of the cams 8 and 9, the shutter 4 blocks the optical path of the photointerrupter type sensor 1, but the lever 5 moves along the cam 8.
, 9, the lever 5 swings about the shaft 3, so the shutter 4 also swings together, and this swing causes the tip of the shutter 4 to open the optical path 2. At this time, the cleaning member 16a attached to the tip of the shutter 4 moves together with the shutter 4 to clean the light emitting part surface and the light receiving part surface of the photointerrupter type sensor 1. This cleaning work is performed periodically each time the lever 5 enters the concave portion of the cams 8 and 9 for each rotation, so even if toner or paper particles adhere to the light emitting or light receiving surface, it can be scraped off. Therefore, the light-emitting part surface and the light-receiving part surface can always be maintained in a clean state.

Therefore, malfunction of the photointerrupter type sensor 1 is prevented, and the CPU 7 can accurately detect the toner end.

Next, FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which cleaning members 16b made of sponge, cloth, etc. are attached to the left and right surfaces of the tip of the shutter 4 instead of the cleaning member 16a having flocked hair. It is something.

Even with such a configuration, the same effects as those of the above embodiment can be achieved.

Furthermore, FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the toner bottle 17 is not provided with the shutter 4 as in the above embodiment.
This is an example of its use in a detection device that detects toner bleed at the inlet of the printer.

That is, a rotating shaft 18 is disposed near the photointerrupter type sensor 1, and a plurality of shutter members 19 for the light emitting part and shutter members 20 for the light receiving part are respectively provided on the rotating shaft 18 to constitute the shutter 4'. A cleaning member 1 is attached to the tip of each of the shutter members 19 and 20 of the shutter 4'.
6a (or 16b) respectively, and
By rotating the cleaning member 16a in conjunction with the printing operation, the cleaning member 16a cleans the light emitting part, the light receiving part, and the toner bottle 1.
Both of the outer surfaces of the entrance portion of No. 7 are cleaned at the same time.

In this case, for example, if each shutter member 19, 20 is made to rotate once in one printing operation, the light emitting part surface and the light receiving part surface are cleaned once after starting the printing operation. Also, at this time, the CPU 7 controls the detection operation so as not to perform toner overflow detection for a certain period of time after the start of the printing operation until the shutter members 19 and 20 pass through the optical path 2, thereby preventing cleaning by the shutter 4'. The operation will not be detected as a toner overflow condition.

In addition, in a similar device, if the shutter 4' is set to rotate at an arbitrary period in conjunction with the printing operation, C.
The PU 7 can also detect when the output of the photo-interrupter type sensor 1 is periodically in an open state as a toner overflow state, and when it is always in a shut off state as a toner overflow state. The flowchart in this case is as shown in FIG.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can be similarly applied to, for example, a detection device for a toner collection bottle set or a detection device for a toner cartridge set. Of course, various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention.

[Effects] As described above, according to the detection device of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, a cleaning member for cleaning the light emitting part and the light receiving part of the photointerrupter type sensor is attached to the shutter that opens and closes the optical path of the photointerrupter type sensor. Therefore, when the shutter is operated, the light emitting part and the light receiving part can be cleaned by the cleaning member, and an excellent effect can be achieved in that erroneous detection by the sensor due to adhesion of dirt or foreign matter can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of the image forming apparatus detection device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is an explanatory diagram of still another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an embodiment that is a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a conventional example. 1.°° photo interrupter type sensor, 2... optical path,
4.4'...Shutter, 16a, 16b...Cleaning member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) In a detection device for an image forming apparatus in which an optical path between a light emitting part and a light receiving part of a photointerrupter type sensor is opened and closed by operating a shutter, the shutter includes:
A detection device for an image forming apparatus, characterized in that a cleaning member is attached for cleaning the light emitting section and the light receiving section when the shutter is activated.