JPH03257476A - Electrophotographic recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To adjust a cleaning member which is deformed before cleaning ability becomes equal to or under specified one by comparing the set value of the number of printed sheets corresponding to the deformation amount of the cleaning member with the value of the number of printed sheets and driving and rotating a heating roller in a normal or reverse rotation direction. CONSTITUTION:A comparison means 16 compares the value of the number of printed sheets after incrementing by one by a printed sheets counting means 14 with the content of a printed sheets number set value storing means 15 and outputs the compared result to the means 14 and a driving control means 17. When the compared result shows that they are not equal, the means 17 controls to drive and rotate the heating roller in the normal rotation direction, and when they are equal, it controls to drive and rotate the heating roller in the reverse rotation direction before a printing action. Therefore, when the value of the number of printed sheets attains the set value of the number of printed sheets corresponding to the deformation amount of the felt surface of a fuser pat, the heating roller is reversly rotated so as to adjust the deformation of the felt surface. The deformation of the felt surface is adjusted before the cleaning ability becomes equal to or under the specified one.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an electrophotographic recording device, and particularly to a drive control device.

(Prior Art) Generally, in an electrophotographic recording device, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of a rotating photoreceptor using a print head, and then toner is applied to it using a developing device to make it visible. After the toner image is transferred to the incoming printing paper, it is heated and fixed in the fixing section. This will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of a portion of an electrophotographic recording apparatus according to the prior art, and the image processing member, which is a known technology, is omitted. The printing paper 3 is fed in the direction of arrow A by a paper feeding mechanism (not shown). A transfer device 2 is provided opposite the photoreceptor 1 with the paper feeding surface as a reference. The fixing unit that fixes the toner image transferred to the printing paper 3 includes a heat roller 9 and a parallax roller 1 that are rotatably supported in parallel with each other.
It consists of θ. The photoreceptor 1 and the heat roller 9 are rotated in the direction of arrow B, which is a forward rotational direction, by a drive motor (described later) and a gear train (not shown). The backup row 210 is in pressure contact with the heat roller 9, and is rotated in the direction of arrow C by the heat roller 9.

Further, a heater 5 is provided on the upper cover 8 as a cleaning member for removing toner 4 and paper powder adhering to the roller surface of the heat roller 9. The heat sink 5 has a felt 7 impregnated with silicone oil fixed to a case 6, and is arranged so that the case 6 can be inserted into and removed from the upper cover 8. The felt 7 is in contact with the roller surface of the heat roller 9 over almost the entire width of the heat roller 9 in the rotation axis direction.

Among them, a drive motor of a paper feeding mechanism (not shown) that feeds the printing paper 3 in the direction of arrow A, and a driving motor 1 that rotationally drives the photoreceptor 1 and heat roller 9 are controlled by a drive control means (not shown). ing. Now, when you press the print switch (not shown),
The drive motors rotate, the photoreceptor 1 and the heat roller 9 rotate in the direction of arrow B, and the printing paper 3 is fed in the direction of arrow A.

When the photoreceptor 1 starts rotating, a negatively charged toner image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 1 by the image control member. On the other hand, the printing paper 3 fed in the direction of arrow A adjusts the printing timing to the photoreceptor 1 on the way, and then returns to the direction of arrow A.
The paper is fed in the direction of the paper and is irradiated with a positive charge from the transfer device 2 from the back side of the paper surface at the transfer position. As a result, a negatively charged toner image adheres to the front side of the paper. The adhered toner image is heated and fixed on the printing paper 3 at the pressure contact portion between the heat roller 9 and the parallax roller 10.

(Problem to be solved by the invention@) In conventional electrophotographic recording devices, the heat roller is rotated only in one direction, so that the user A in contact with the heat roller surface? There is a problem in that the felt surface of the pad deforms due to friction with the heat roller surface so as to be pushed down in the tangential direction of the heat roller surface as shown in FIG. 8, thereby reducing the cleaning ability.

An object of the present invention is to correct the deformed felt surface by reversing the heat roller before the deformation of the felt surface progresses and the cleaning ability becomes below a predetermined level.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the electrophotographic recording device of the present invention stores the number of printed sheets before pressing the print switch as a first forward/reverse rotation determining means. When you press the printed sheet value storage means and the print switch, input the above printed sheet value,
A printed sheet number counting means that adds +1 and outputs the result to the printed sheet number storage means; and a printed sheet number setting value storage means that stores a printed sheet number setting value corresponding to the amount of deformation of the cleaning member in contact with the heat roller surface. Then, input and compare the number of printed sheets calculated by +1 force n and the set value of the number of printed sheets, and determine whether or not to turn on the contents of the printed sheet number storage means and whether or not to rotate the heat roller in the forward direction. and comparison means for outputting the determination result.

In addition, in order to achieve the same purpose, as a second forward/reverse rotation determining means, a fixed printing paper detecting means for detecting the printing paper after heat fixing is provided, and a number of printed sheets before the print switch is pressed is stored. a storage means for recording the number of printed sheets (6); and a printed sheet value counting means for inputting the output of the fixed printed paper detecting means and the printed sheet value, adding +1 and outputting the result to the printed sheet value storage means. , a print number setting value storage means that stores a print number setting value corresponding to the amount of deformation of the cleaning member in contact with the heat roller surface, and inputting and comparing the print number setting value with +1 added. The apparatus further includes comparison means for outputting a determination result as to whether or not the content of the printed sheet value storage means should be set to 0'' and a determination result as to whether or not to rotate the heat roller in the forward direction.

(Function) When the print switch of the electrophotographic recording device configured as described above is pressed, the first forward/reverse rotation determination means compares the number of prints after pressing the print switch with the set number of prints, and determines whether they are equal. For example, the heat roller is driven to rotate in the normal rotation direction via the drive control means, and the printing paper onto which the toner image has been transferred from the photoreceptor is heated and pressed with the backup roller. After comparison, if they are equal, the heat roller is rotated in the opposite rotation direction via the drive control means before the printing operation.

Further, the second forward/reverse rotation determining means presses the print switch to perform a normal printing operation, compares the number of printed sheets after fixing with the set number of printed sheets, and if they are not equal, waits for the next printing operation. , and if they are equal, the heat roller is rotated in the opposite rotation direction via the drive control means.

Therefore, when the number of printed sheets reaches a set value of the number of printed sheets corresponding to the amount of deformation of the felt surface of the user bat, the deformation of the felt surface can be corrected by rotating the heat roller in the opposite direction.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Elements common to each drawing are given the same reference numerals.

First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a drive control device according to a first embodiment. The drive control device 11 includes a forward/reverse rotation determination means 12 and a drive control means 17 which inputs the output of the forward/reverse rotation determination means 12 and controls the rotational drive of the rotation drive means 18 . The forward/reverse rotation determination means 12 includes a printed sheet value storage means 13 , a printed sheet value counting means 14 , and a printed sheet number setting value storage means 15 . The printed quantity storage means 13 initially stores the printed quantity number 1 before the print switch 26 is pressed. When the print switch 26 is pressed, the printed sheet number counting means 14 adds +1 to the contents of the printed sheet number storage means 13 and outputs the added content to the printed sheet number storage means 13. The print number setting value storage means 15 is a Hude A? shown in FIG. A set value for the number of printed sheets corresponding to the amount of deformation of the felt surface of the felt surface of the felt surface is stored. The comparing means 16 compares the printed sheet value after +1 addition of the printed sheet value counting means 14 and the contents of the printed sheet number setting value storage means 15, and outputs the comparison result to the printed sheet value counting means and the drive control means 17. . FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the drive control device of the first embodiment realized using a microcomputer. A central processing unit 20 (hereinafter referred to as CPU 2 o) is connected to a memory 19 and an input/output port 21 .

The input/output port 21 includes a temperature sensor 22 that detects the temperature of the heat roller 9 shown in FIG. A first nozzle motor 24 serving as a rotational drive means for rotationally driving the
and a second pulse motor 25 that drives a paper feeding mechanism (not shown).
and print switch 26 are connected. The memory 19 has a battery backup function, a print control program storage area 19a, and a reverse rotation control program storage area 19b.

It has a print quantity setting value storage area 19C1 and a print quantity value storage area 19d. Each storage area contains a print control program that controls normal printing operations, a reverse rotation control program,
It stores the print number setting value Nn and the print number N.

Next, the operation will be explained according to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of electrophotographic recording according to the first embodiment.

When the power switch is turned on, the CPU 20 shown in FIG. 2 is initialized in step S1. When the power switch is turned on, the heat roller 9 shown in FIG. 7 is energized, a log lamp (not shown) provided inside the heat roller 9 lights up, and the heat roller 9 begins to be heated. When the initialization is completed (10), the CPU 20 performs the control described below in accordance with the print control program which is the main program. In step 7°S2, the temperature sensor 22 shown in FIG. 2 also inputs a signal indicating whether the surface temperature of the heat roller 9 has reached the fixable temperature. When the fixing enable signal is input, step S
3, the print ready lamp 23 is turned on. When the print switch 26 is pressed in step S4, the memory 1 is
Read the printed sheet value N from the printed sheet value storage area 19d of 9, add +1, and read it back to the printed sheet value storage area 19d.
Store in. In step S6, the print number N and the print number set value Nn are read out from the memory 19 and compared.

If the comparison results are not equal, the process advances to step S7. In Stella 7'S, the first step motor 24 and the second step motor 25 rotate in the forward rotation direction to perform a normal printing operation. After printing, the process returns to step fS4. If the comparison is made in step fS6 and they are equal, the process moves to step S8. In step S8, the first pulse motor 24 is reversely rotated by several pulses by a reverse rotation control program which is a subroutine program. In step S, the number N of printed sheets stored in the memory 19 is set to ITO11, and then the process returns to step 7°S to perform the normal printing operation.

Second Embodiment FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a drive control device according to a second embodiment. - The difference from FIG. 1 is that a fixed printing paper detection means 28 for detecting the printing paper after fixation is added to the forward/reverse rotation determination means 27, and the output of the print switch 26 is the same as in the prior art, the drive control means 17. This is the point that is input to . That is, when the printed sheet value counting means 14 inputs the output from the fixed printing paper detection means 28, the printed sheet value storage means 1
After +1 is added to the number of printed sheets number 3, the number is outputted to the printed number storage means 13 again.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the drive control device realized using a microcomputer.

The difference from Fig. 2 is the fixed printing paper detection sensor 29.
This is the point that has been added.

Next, the operation will be explained according to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the electrophotographic recording apparatus according to the second embodiment. The steps from step S1 to step 84 after turning on the power switch are the same as in the first embodiment. In step S5, the CPU 20 controls the first pulse motor 24. The printing operation is performed by rotating the second nozzle motor 25 in the forward rotation direction. When the fixed printing paper detection sensor 29 detects the printing paper after fixing, it sends a detection signal to the CPU 20 . In step S6, the CPU 20 reads the print sheet value N from the print sheet value storage area 19d of the memory 9, and +1
The value is added and stored in the printed sheet value storage area 19d again.

Step 7') In S7, the CPU 20 reads out the print number N and the print number set value Nn from the memory 9 and compares them.

If the comparison results are not equal, the process returns to step fS4 and waits for the next printing operation. If they are equal, Stella fS
Proceed to. At step fS8, the subroutine FLODARAM is reverse rotation! The IJ controller rotates the first four-wheel motor 24 in the reverse direction by several pulses.

In step fS, the number of printed sheets stored in the memory 9 is N.
After setting the value to 0'', the process returns to step S4.

(Effects of the Invention) (13) Since the present invention is configured as described above, it produces the effects described below.

Forward/reverse rotation that compares the print number setting value corresponding to the amount of deformation of the cleaning member with the print number after pressing the print switch, and drives the heat roller to rotate in the forward or reverse rotation direction via the drive control means. By providing the determining means, deformation of the cleaning member on the heat roller surface can be corrected before the cleaning ability becomes less than a predetermined ability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of the drive control device according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the drive control device according to the first embodiment,
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the electrophotographic recording apparatus according to the first embodiment, FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the drive control device according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of the drive control device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the electrophotographic recording apparatus according to the second embodiment, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a part of the electrophotographic recording apparatus according to the prior art, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the electrophotographic recording apparatus according to the second embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing deformation of Rad. (14) 1...Photoreceptor, 2...Transfer device, 3...Printing paper, 5
...Hiuser pad, 9...Heat roller, 1θ・
...Puncture aggregation roller, 13...Print form value storage means, 14...Printed sheet value counting means, 15.Printed sheet number set value storage means, 16.Comparison means, 17.Drive control Means, 19...Memory, 20...CPU, 2
6. Print switch, 28...Fixed printing paper detection means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. By pressing down the print switch, the heat roller is rotated in the forward rotation direction by the drive control means, and the printing paper on which the toner image has been transferred from the photoreceptor is fed between the backup roller and the heat roller. In an electrophotographic recording device that performs cleaning by bringing a cleaning member into contact with the roller surface of a heat roller, the drive control means is provided with a set value for the number of prints corresponding to the amount of deformation of the cleaning member. An electrophotographic recording apparatus comprising a forward/reverse rotation determining means for comparing the number of printed sheets and instructing the heat roller to rotate in a forward or reverse direction. 2. The forward/reverse rotation determining means includes a printed number storage means that stores the number of printed sheets before pressing the print switch, and inputs the number of printed sheets when the print switch is pressed, adds +1, and executes the above printing. A print number calculation means that outputs a print number value to a sheet number storage means, a print number setting value storage means that stores a print number setting value corresponding to the amount of deformation of the cleaning member in contact with the heat roller surface, and a print number that is added by +1. Input and compare the number of copies and the setting value of the number of printed copies, and save the contents of the number of printed quantity storage means “
2. The electrophotographic recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising comparison means for outputting a determination result of whether to rotate the heat roller in the forward direction and a determination result of whether or not to rotate the heat roller in the forward direction. 3. The forward and reverse rotation determination means. The fixed printing paper detection means detects the printing paper after heat fixing, the printed quantity storage means stores the number of printed copies before pressing the print switch, and the output of the fixed printing paper detection means. A printed sheet value counting means inputs the above printed sheet value, adds +1 and outputs the result to the printed sheet value storage means, and stores a printed sheet number setting value corresponding to the amount of deformation of the cleaning member in contact with the heat roller surface. inputting and comparing the printed sheet number setting value storage means with the print sheet number setting value added by +1, and determining whether or not to set the contents of the print sheet number storage means to "0". 2. The electrophotographic recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a comparing means for outputting the result of determining whether or not to rotate the heat roller in the forward direction.