JPH047186A - Initial apparatus of memory element - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the quality of a memory element wherein data is set by making it possible through initial control when the set data is written into the memory element to check whether the memory element stores the data correctly or the set data is correctly written into the memory element. CONSTITUTION:When a storage apparatus 9 is connected to a connector 6 and a start switch 5 is turned ON, a liquid display device 3 displays that the initial operation is started. According to the initial control, first, an initial address of a memory element 8 is designated. Then, a predetermined data is written into the designated address. The written data is read out and compared with a predetermined data before being written into the address. Writing and comparison of the predetermined data are conducted until the designated address becomes a final address. Accordingly, it is checked whether the memory element 8 normally writes the data. Thereafter, the read data is read out and compared with the data of the number of sheets to control the lifetime of a photoreceptor before the data is written into the element, so that it is checked whether the number of sheets is correctly written into the memory element 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an initial device of a memory element for counting and storing the life of a photoreceptor used in an electrophotographic apparatus such as a non-impact printer.

[Prior Art] For example, a non-impact printer such as a laser printer charges a photoconductor, irradiates the photoconductor with a laser beam to record image information as an electrostatic latent image, and injects toner into the electrostatic latent image. After forming a toner image by adhering to the paper, the toner image is transferred to a supplied paper and fixed, thereby printing. Note that after the transfer is completed, the photoreceptor is charged again after being neutralized and cleaned of residual toner.

The photoreceptor used in such non-impact printers has a limited lifespan, and the photoreceptor must be replaced after, for example, 10,000 to 20,000 sheets have been printed.

For this reason, it is necessary to manage the life of the photoreceptor. For example, 20,000 sheets are set in advance as setting data in a nonvolatile memory element, and each time printing is performed, the memory content of the memory element is counted down until the memory content reaches zero. When this happens, a display or the like informs the user of the lifespan of the photoreceptor and prompts the user to replace it.

[Problem to be solved by invention C] Conventionally, it has been left to the element manufacturer to determine whether or not a memory element used for life management of such a photoreceptor is normal. Even when data for life management of the photoreceptor is written, it is not possible to confirm whether the memory element performs a correct storage operation or whether the written data is actually written correctly.

Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to check whether or not the memory element performs a correct storage operation and to check whether or not the setting data has been written correctly through initial control when writing setting data to the memory element. It is an object of the present invention to provide an initial device for a memory element that can improve the quality of a memory element in which a memory element is set.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a device body including at least a microprocessor constituting a control unit body, a display device, and a connector, and a memory element in which predetermined setting data is written.
It consists of a storage device that is detachable from the connector of the main body of the device, and the microprocessor writes predetermined data to the memory element of the attached storage device, reads the written data, and compares it with the predetermined data before writing. a first checking means for checking whether or not the memory element performs a data write operation normally; a writing means for writing setting data into the memory element; and a third reading means for reading out the setting data written by the writing means and comparing the setting data with the setting data before writing to check whether the setting data has been correctly written to the memory element. The present invention is equipped with two checking means and a display control means for causing an abnormality display to be displayed on a display when an abnormality is confirmed by each checking means.

[Operation] In the present invention having such a configuration, by attaching the storage device to the connector of the main body of the device, the microprocessor first writes predetermined data to the storage element of the storage device, and reads and writes the written data. It is compared with the previous predetermined data to check whether the memory element normally performs the data write operation. If an abnormality is confirmed here, an abnormality display will be displayed on the display to notify you.

When it is confirmed that the write operation of the memory element is performed normally, the microprocessor subsequently writes the setting data that should be stored into the memory element.

The written setting data is then read out and compared with the setting data before writing to check whether the setting data has been correctly written to the storage element. If an abnormality is confirmed here, an abnormality display will be displayed on the display to notify you.

In this way, if no abnormality is confirmed in each check, it means that the setting data has been correctly written to the memory element.

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

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes the main body of the device, and this main body 1 includes a microprocessor 2, a liquid crystal display 3, and a two-color light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as LED) 4, which constitute the main body of the control section.
, a start switch 5 and a connector 6 are provided. The microprocessor 2, liquid crystal display 3, and LED 4
, the start switch 5, and the connector 6 are connected with wiring 7.

The connector 6 is detachably provided with a memory device 9 having a memory element 8, for example, for managing the life of the photoreceptor.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration when the storage device 9 is attached to the connector 6 of the device main body 1. In this state, when the power is turned on and the start switch 5 is turned on, the microprocessor The program is set to perform the control shown in FIG.

That is, when the start switch 5 is turned on with the storage device 9 attached to the connector 6 and the power turned on,
First, a message indicating that the initial operation has started is displayed on the liquid crystal display 3, for example, the characters "Initial". Then, initial control is started.

When this initial control is completed, if an initial error has occurred, the LED 4 is blinked in red. Further, if no initial error has occurred, the LED 4 is turned on in green.

In this state, it waits for the storage device 9 to be disconnected from the connector 6, and when the storage device 9 is disconnected, the display on the liquid crystal display 3 is cleared and the LED 4 is turned off.

Then, when another storage device 9 is attached to the connector 6 and the start switch 5 is turned on, the same control is started again. Also, when the power is turned off, the series of operations ends.

The initial control is performed based on the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, the initial address of the memory element 8 is specified first.

Subsequently, predetermined data rAAHJ is written to the specified address. The written predetermined data is then read out, and the read data is compared with the predetermined data rAAHJ before being written. If the two data match as a result of this comparison, then the designated address is incremented by 1, and predetermined data rAAHJ is written to the designated address that has been incremented by 1. The written predetermined data is then read out, and the read data is compared with the predetermined data rAAHJ before being written. In this way, the specified data "A A HJ" is written and compared until the designated address becomes the final address, and it is checked whether or not the memory element 8 normally writes data (first checking means). If there is a designated address where the read data and the predetermined data rAAHJ before writing do not match, error processing is performed at that point.In this error processing, the liquid crystal display 3 displays, for example, a message "memory element failure". Then, subsequent control is prohibited and this initial control is immediately terminated.

If the comparison results match up to the final address, then the initial address of the storage element 8 is designated again, and another predetermined data r55HJ is written to the designated address this time. The written predetermined data is then read out, and the read data is compared with the predetermined data r55HJ before being written. If the two data match as a result of this comparison, then the designated address is incremented by 1, and predetermined data r55HJ is written to this +1 designated address. The written predetermined data is then read out, and the read data is compared with the predetermined data r55HJ before being written. In this way, writing and comparison are performed in the predetermined address r55HJ until the designated address reaches the final address, and it is checked whether the memory element 8 is performing a normal data writing operation. (First Checking Means) In this check, if there is a specified address where the read data and the predetermined data r55HJ before writing do not match, error processing is performed at that point. In this error processing, the liquid crystal display 3 displays, for example, a message "memory element failure". Then, subsequent control is prohibited and this initial control is immediately terminated.

Also in this case, if the comparison results match up to the final address, the entire area of the storage element 8 is cleared rOJ.

In this state, a storage address for managing the life of the photoreceptor is designated, and a photoreceptor life constant, which is setting data set in advance in the internal memory, such as sheet number data, is written to the designated address. (Writing means) Next, the written data is read out, and the read data is compared with the number data for photoconductor life management before writing, and it is checked whether the number data has been correctly written to the memory element 8. do. (Second Checking Means) If the read data and the number of sheets data before writing do not match, error processing is performed.

In this error processing, a message such as "Initial data cannot be written" is displayed on the liquid crystal display 3.

Further, if the read data and the number data before writing match, this initial control is terminated.

In this embodiment having such a configuration, after the memory element 8 is incorporated as a memory device 9 for managing the life of the photoconductor, the memory device 9 is attached to the connector 6 of the main body 1 of the apparatus.

When the power is turned on in this state and the start switch 5 is turned on, the initial address of the memory element 8 is specified. Next, the specified data rAA is sent to the specified address.
HJ is written. Then, the written predetermined data is read out and compared with the predetermined data before being written. If the two data match as a result of this comparison, then the designated address is incremented by 1, and predetermined data rAAHJ is written to the designated address that has been incremented by 1. The written predetermined data is then read out and compared with the predetermined data before being written. In this way, writing and comparison of the predetermined data "AAHj" are performed until the specified address or the final address is reached, and it is checked whether the memory element 8 normally performs the data writing operation.

In this check, if there is a designated address that does not match the read data and the predetermined data before writing, error processing will be performed at that point and the LCD display 3 will indicate a "memory element failure" message.
message is displayed.

Further control is prohibited and LED 4 flashes in red.

If the comparison results match up to the final address, then the initial address of the storage element 8 is designated again, and another predetermined data r55HJ is written to the designated address this time. Then, the written predetermined data is read out and compared with the predetermined data before being written. If both data match as a result of this comparison, then add 1 to the specified address,
Predetermined data r55HJ is written to this +1 designated address. Then, the written predetermined data is read out and compared with the predetermined data before being written. In this way, the predetermined data r55HJ is used until the specified address becomes the final address.
It is checked whether or not the memory element 8 normally performs the data write operation.

In this case, if there is a designated address where the read data and the predetermined data before writing do not match, error processing will be performed at that point and the message "Memory element failure J" will be displayed on the liquid crystal display 3. Control is prohibited LED4
flashes in red.

Also in this case, if the comparison results match up to the final address, it is determined that there is no abnormality in the data write operation of the memory element 8, and the entire area is cleared to "0".

Then, a storage address for managing the life of the photoreceptor is designated, and a photoreceptor life constant, which is setting data, ie, sheet number data is written to the designated address.

Subsequently, this written data is read out and compared with the number of sheets data before writing. If the read data does not match the data on the number of sheets before writing, error processing is performed and a message "Initial data cannot be written" is displayed on the liquid crystal display 3.

Further, if the read data matches the sheet number data before writing, it is determined that the sheet number data has been correctly set in the storage element 8, and the LED 4 is lit in green.

In this way, each address of the memory element 8 is designated and predetermined data rAAHJ r55HJ is sequentially written while being read and compared with the data before writing, and when a match is confirmed for all addresses, the data write operation of the memory element 8 is performed. It is determined that there is no abnormality, and if even one address does not match, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the data writing operation of the memory element 8, and the abnormality is notified by a message on the display 3.

If it is determined that there is no abnormality in the data writing operation of the memory element 8, the memory address for managing the life of the photoconductor is specified, and the number of sheets data, which is setting data, is written, and this written data is read out. It is checked whether the sheet count data has been set correctly in the memory element 8 by comparing it with the sheet count data before writing. If it is determined that the sheet count data is not set correctly, a message indicating the abnormality is displayed on the display 3. Inform.

Finally, the LED 4 blinks in red to notify the occurrence of an initial error, and lights up in green to notify that it is normal.

Therefore, it is possible to reliably check whether the storage element 8 performs the storage operation correctly and whether or not the sheet number data has been written correctly, thereby improving the quality of the storage element 8 in which the sheet number data is set.

In the above embodiment, after the storage device is attached to the connector, the start switch is turned on to start the initial control, but the invention is not limited to this, and the start switch may be omitted and the storage device is attached to the connector. Initial control may be automatically started by wearing the device.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the setting data, that is, the number of sheets data, was written to the memory element 8 using the data set in advance in the internal memory, but the invention is not necessarily limited to this, and as shown in FIG. A digital switch 11 may be connected to the microprocessor 2, and setting data may be read from the digital switch 11 and written to the memory element 8. This makes it easy to change the setting data.

Furthermore, after writing the sheet count data into the memory element 8, the storage device 9 is removed from the connector 6 and stored, for example, and when the storage device 9 is then reattached to the connector 6, the sheet count data is read from the memory element 8 by key operation. Alternatively, it can be automatically read out and displayed on the liquid crystal display 3. In this way, the set number of sheets data can be checked at any time.

In the above embodiments, a memory element for managing the life of a photoreceptor was described as a memory element, but it is needless to say that the memory element is not limited to this.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, initial control when writing setting data to the memory element checks whether the memory element performs a correct storage operation and whether the setting data is correctly written. It is possible to provide an initial device for a memory element that can check whether data has been written or not and improve the quality of the memory element in which data is set.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram, FIG. 2 is a block diagram, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing main processing by a microprocessor, and FIG. is a flowchart showing details of initial control in the main processing of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Apparatus main body, 2... Microprocessor, 3... Liquid crystal display, 6... Connector, 8... Memory element, 9... Storage device for photoreceptor life management. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue collection, Section 2, Figure 1, Section 3, Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] A microprocessor constituting at least the main body of the control unit;
The apparatus comprises a device main body provided with a display and a connector, and a memory element in which predetermined setting data is written, the memory device being detachable from the connector of the device main body, and the microprocessor is attached to the device main body. writing predetermined data into the memory element of the storage device, reading out the written data, and comparing it with predetermined data before writing to check whether or not the memory element normally performs a data write operation; 1 checking means; a writing means for writing setting data to the memory element when the first checking means confirms that the write operation of the memory element is normal; and a writing means for writing setting data to the memory element; a second checking means for reading the setting data and comparing it with the setting data before writing to check whether the setting data has been correctly written to the storage element; and when an abnormality is confirmed by each of the checking means. An initial device for a memory element, comprising display control means for causing the display to display an abnormality.