JPH03261962A - Copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute proper maintenance by calculating the total number of copied sheets of a unit, comparing it with a set value which is set based on durability and exchanging the unit when the total number of copied sheets is equal to or exceeds the set value. CONSTITUTION:A control means Q1 calculates the total number of copied sheets of the unit 14 and compares it with the set value. The total number of copied sheets is transmitted to a sheet number storage means Q6 installed in the unit 14 so as to store the number of copied sheets concerning the unit 14. When the total number of copied sheets of the unit 14 is equal to or exceeds the set value, the exchange of the unit 14 is displayed. The means Q6 installed in the component unit of a copying machine receives the number of copied sheets which is transmitted from the control means Q1 and stores the number of copied sheets concerning the unit 14. Thus, the exchange time of the unit is easily administered.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a copying machine.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as a maintenance method for maintaining the normal function of a copying machine, a standard replacement period has been established for each unit using the number of copies as an index, since durability varies depending on each unit.

Then, replace each unit by referring to the total number of copies counter installed in the copying machine, or install an electronic counter to count each unit, or install a counter in each unit. Maintenance was performed on the equipment.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, a general conventional copying machine in which a control system for counting the number of copies and a storage section for storing the number of copies are both located outside the unit and on the copying machine main body side has the following drawbacks.

That is, a storage section that stores the number of copies and a control section that controls the number of copies are located on the main body of the copying machine, and this control section has a function of sequence control of the copying machine, and has a complicated circuit configuration. ing. Therefore, for example, when a driver that drives a load becomes defective, a common repair method is to replace the control system. In this case, since the storage section that stores the number of copies is also replaced at the same time, there is a drawback that the number of copies of the unit cannot be grasped.

Furthermore, since there is no part on the unit side to store the number of copies, checking the number of copies for each unit is troublesome, and managing the replacement period for each unit is complicated and difficult.

Further, in the case of a model equipped with a counter on the unit side, there is a drawback that the number of copies cannot be accurately counted. In other words, for example, the drum unit is configured to count the number of rotations of the drum, so one
When obtaining one copy and when obtaining two copies, the ratio of drum rotational speeds is not 1:2. This is because the preparatory rotation of the drum for copying is also counted as drum rotation. Also.

In order to solve this problem, a control system for accurately counting the number of copies is required on the unit side, which has the disadvantage of being expensive.

This invention has been accomplished by solving the problems of the prior art described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a copying machine that can store the cumulative number of copies per unit and easily manage the unit replacement period. It is.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a copying machine that automatically stops the copying operation when a scheduled number of copies is reached, which is set based on the durability of each unit.

[Means for Solving the Problems] Therefore, the copying machine according to the present invention includes a copy number storage means provided in a component unit of the copying machine and having a memory element for storing the number of copies related to the unit; and control means for accumulating the number of copies related to the unit separately provided and comparing it with a set value, and transmitting and storing the cumulative number of copies to the number storage means, the copying machine comprising: - The above object is achieved by a configuration characterized in that a unit replacement message is displayed when the cumulative number of copies related to the unit is equal to or greater than a set value.

Furthermore, in addition to the above structure, the control means stops the copying operation of the copying machine when the total number of copies related to the unit is equal to or greater than a second set value,
Furthermore, in addition to the above configuration, the control means has a function of detecting whether the number of copies stored in the number storage means is correct or incorrect, thereby achieving the above object.

(Operation) With the above configuration, the control means calculates the total number of copies of the unit and compares it with a set value.

Further, the total number of copies is transmitted to a number storage means provided in the unit, and the number of copies related to the unit is stored.

Then, when the cumulative number of copies of the unit is greater than or equal to the set value, a unit replacement message is displayed.

In addition, the number of sheets storage means provided in the component unit of the copying machine is
Upon receiving the number of copies transmitted from the control means, the number of copies related to the unit is stored.

Furthermore, by adding a function to the storage control means, it is possible to automatically stop the copying operation of the copying machine when the cumulative number of copies of the unit is equal to or greater than a second set value, and the number of copies stored in the number storage means can be automatically stopped. It is possible to detect the correctness or wrongness of.

In this way, it is possible to store the total number of copies for each unit, and it is possible to easily manage the replacement timing of each unit with a different standard usable period. Furthermore, even when the control means installed in the main body of the copying machine is replaced, the memory of the number of copies to be made in each unit is maintained.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of a copying machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a copying machine according to an embodiment.

In the figure, 1 is the main body of the copying machine, 2 is a document pressure plate, and 3 is a document crow.

The drive system is divided into a main drive system that drives a paper feed section, a conveyance section, a photoreceptor, and a fixing section, and an optical drive system that drives an optical system. An AC synchronous motor 4 is used as the main drive source, and a stepping motor 5, which is a pulse motor, is used as the optical drive source.

As the paper feeding method, feeding from the cassette 6 or feeding from the manual feed section 7 can be selected. When paper is fed from the cassette 6, the status is managed by a switch that detects the presence or absence of the cassette 6, a switch group 8 that detects the size of the cassette, and a switch 9 that detects the presence or absence of paper in the cassette.
The state is managed by a switch 10 that detects the state of the guide of the manual feed section 7.

The photoreceptor 11 rotates clockwise toward the drawing. - The potential charged on the photoreceptor 11 by the charger 12 is
The developing unit 1 is exposed to light at an exposure position which will be explained later.
3, and the image is transferred by the transfer unit section 14 onto a transfer sheet fed from the cassette 6 of the paper feed section or the manual feed section 7.

After the transfer, residual toner is removed from the photoreceptor 11 by a cleaning unit 15, residual potential is removed by a pre-exposure lamp 16, and image formation is performed again, thus repeating the process.

The transfer paper on which the image has been transferred rides on the conveyor belt of the conveyor unit 17 and is sent to the fixing unit 18. The fixing unit 18 has a thermistor 19 which is a temperature detection element on the surface.
The roller 21 includes a heat roller 20 on which a heat roller 20 is arranged, and a roller 21 whose surface that is pressed against the heat roller 20 has elasticity.

The heat roller 20 uses a halogen lamp (not shown) as a heat source.
This halogen lamp is built in in the axial direction of the heat roller 20.

The surface temperature of the heat roller 20 is detected by the thermistor 19, and the halogen lamp is controlled so that the heat roller 20 reaches a predetermined temperature.

The transfer paper that has passed through the fixing unit 18 is discharged from the fixing unit 18 by a paper discharge roller 22.

It is stored on the paper discharge tray 23.

Further, the paper feed sensor 24 is a sensor that detects whether the transfer paper passes through the fixing unit 18 normally.

The driving mechanism of the optical drive system is the pulse motor 5 as described above. An original (not shown) is held by an original glass 3 and an original pressure plate 2, and is exposed to a lamp 25. which is an exposure lamp system. First mirror 26. Second mirror 27. The third mirror 28 is scanned and moved from the left end in FIG. 1 to the right by the pulse motor 5, and the original image is transferred to the first mirror 26. 2nd mirror 27° 3rd
Mirror 28. Zoom lens 29. 4th mirror 30, 5th mirror
Mirror 31. The photoreceptor 11 is exposed to the original through the sixth mirror 32 .

The developing unit 13 incorporated in the copying machine main body 1. Transfer unit 14. Cleaning unit 15
．． The constituent units of the copying machine, such as the Il feed unit 17 and the 51F unit 18, include sheet number storage means (not shown) having a storage element for storing the number of copies related to each unit.
is equipped with. Further, in a part of the copying machine main body 1 separate from each unit, the cumulative number of copies of the unit is calculated and compared with a set value set based on the durable number of copies of the unit. Further, a control means (not shown) is provided for transmitting the number of copies to the number storage means of the unit and storing the number of copies.

The storage element of the sheet number storage means is an E ROM (electronic memory) that can electrically read and write data, and serially communicate the data with a microcomputer that is a control means.
trically erasable read-on
lymemory).

However, it does not need to be an EEROM, as long as it can store the total number of copies made by the unit; for example, it may be a combination of a ROM and a backup battery.

Next, the operations of the control means and number of sheets storage means will be explained.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the control system of the copying machine.

Ql is a microcomputer that performs sequence control of the copying machine, and constitutes the control means. Q2 is the drive circuit of Stella Pink Motor 5, Q3 is the main drive source A
C synchronous motor 4 drive circuit, Q4. Q5 is the paper feed roller 33 of the cassette 6 and the conveyance roller 3 to the copying unit section 14.
In the drive circuit 4, Q6 is a memory element arranged in the unit section, and constitutes the number-of-sheets storage means. A thermistor 19 detects the surface temperature of the heat roller 20 of the fixing unit 18.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are a flowchart showing the control of the control means and its subroutine.

First, when the main switch (not shown) of the copying machine is turned on, the control system shown in FIG. 2 operates to heat the fixing unit 18, which is a condition for the copying machine to be able to copy. . A weight display is performed until the aforementioned heat roller 20 reaches a predetermined temperature (step 101 in Fig. 3).
゜102). When the fixing unit heat roller 20 reaches a predetermined temperature at which copying is possible, a display indicating that copying is possible is performed (step 103). Thereafter, copying conditions such as the number of copies are set and input into the memory element RAM (A) of the control means Q1 (not shown). When copy start is input (
Step 104) Start copying, drive the main synchronous motor (Step 105), turn on the high voltage power supply (Step 10)
6) and sequentially execute the copy sequence. When the copying sequence advances from the sheet feeding timing (step 107) to the subroutine of step 108, the flow of the subroutine shown in FIG. 4 is executed.

First, in the subroutine, data written in the EFROM of the sheet number storage means Q4 installed in the unit is read out (step 201), and the read data is added as an increment to the storage of the number of sheets to be copied in the RAM (A) (step 201).
Step 202). In step 203, it is determined whether the added data has reached a predetermined first target number.
If the value has been reached, a message indicating that the unit should be replaced is displayed (step 204). Next, it is determined whether the second target number of sheets has been reached (step 205). If it has been reached, a copy stop flag (Flag) is set (step 20).
6). Then, in step 207, the RAM (
Transfer the cumulative value stored in A) to Q4. In order to detect whether the element Q4 that stores the number of copies operates normally and correctly stores the number of copies, the memory data of Q4 is read out in step 208, and the data stored in the element Q4 is read out in step 209.
It is compared with the value of (A), and if it is not operating normally, an abnormality is displayed (step 210).

After completing the subroutine, the program returns to the sequence shown in the flowchart of FIG. Execute paper feeding in step 109,
The optical system is driven (steps 110 to 114), the document is scanned, and it is determined in step 115 whether or not copying has been completed, and when copying is to be continued, step 107 is performed.
If it is finished, it is determined in step 116 whether or not the copy stop flag is set, and if it is set, copying is stopped, and if it is not set, step 104
, and waits for copying to restart.

Please note that the above explanation is for convenience and is based on 1 unit equipped with 1 unit.
Although the control flow related to the sheet number storage means has been illustrated and explained,
A plurality of sheet number storage means installed in a plurality of units can be similarly controlled by a plurality of subroutines.

Furthermore, the unit replacement display in step 204 may be performed by using acoustic means such as a buzzer instead of or in combination with the visual display. Furthermore, steps 205, 206, and 116 may be omitted to leave the stopping of copying to the operator's responsibility, and control may be simplified by omitting the function check based on record comparison in steps 208, 209, and 210.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the control means:
Calculates the cumulative number of copies of the unit and compares it with the set value set based on the durability of the unit. If the cumulative number of copies of the unit exceeds the set value, the unit will be replaced. Appropriate maintenance can be carried out despite the service life.

In addition, since the cumulative number of copies is transmitted to and stored in the number storage means installed in the unit, the cumulative number of copies related to the unit can be reliably stored, even if the control device is replaced, etc. It maintains a memory of the cumulative number of copies each time.

Furthermore, by adding a function to the control means, it is possible to automatically stop the copying operation of the copying machine when the total number of copies of the unit is equal to or greater than a second set value.

Furthermore, by adding a control program, it is possible to easily detect whether the number of copies stored in the number of copies storage means is correct or incorrect, thereby ensuring even greater security.

In this way, it is possible to reliably store the cumulative number of copies for each unit, and it is possible to easily and reliably manage and maintain the replacement timing of each unit having different durability.

Furthermore, when the scheduled number of copies is reached based on the durability of each unit, the copying operation will automatically stop, preventing the unit from being used with degraded functionality or causing malfunctions or failures during use. An object of the present invention is to provide a copying machine that can prevent such problems from occurring.

It should be noted that, rather than installing and storing an independent copy number measuring means for each unit, the present invention, in which calculation and control is performed by a control means, has a cheaper configuration and can achieve the purpose.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control system block diagram of the embodiment, FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a subroutine of the flowchart. Ql is a microcomputer constituting the control means, Q6
1 is a memory element constituting a sheet number storage means; 1 is a copying machine body;
6 is a transfer paper cassette, 7 is a transfer paper manual feed section, 11 is a photoreceptor, 13 is a developing unit, 14 is a transfer unit, 1
5 is a cleaning unit, 17 is a transport unit, 18
is a fixing unit.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A number storage means provided in a component unit of a copying machine and having a storage element for storing the number of copies related to the unit, and a set value that is obtained by summing up the number of copies related to the unit provided separately from the unit. and a control means for transmitting and storing the cumulative number of copies to the number storage means, and when the cumulative number of copies related to the unit is equal to or greater than a set value, the unit is replaced. A copying machine characterized by displaying. (2) The control means is configured such that the cumulative number of copies related to the unit is the second
2. The copying machine according to claim 1, wherein the copying operation of the copying machine is stopped when the set value is exceeded. (3) The copying machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means has a function of detecting whether the number of copies stored in the number storage means is correct or incorrect.