JPH06208263A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the image forming device which stops printing and automatically discharges recording paper when a door opens during printing. CONSTITUTION:This image forming device has an attachable and detachable developer cartridge 6, a cartridge sensor 16 which detects the presence or absence of mounting of this developer cartridge 6, the door which opens at the time of attaching and detaching the developer cartridge 6 and an electrical control section which controls the power source supplied to a paper transporting unit, etc., in correspondence to the opening or closing state of the door and the presence or absence of the mounting of the developer cartridge 6. The image forming device is so constituted as to to stop the printing operation and to simultaneously make automatic paper discharge operation by detecting the mounting of the developer cartridge 6 by a cartridge sensor 16 when the opening of the door is detected by a door sensor 15 during printing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus suitable for an electrophotographic printer or the like having an electrophotographic image forming means (developing device cartridge) which can be detached in a door open state. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the structure of a conventional electrophotographic printer of the above type.

That is, in FIG. 6, 1 is a photosensitive drum which is an electrostatic latent image carrier, 2 is a semiconductor laser as a light source,
Reference numeral 3 is a rotary polygon mirror, and 4 is a laser beam for scanning the photosensitive drum 1 by the rotary polygon mirror 3.

Reference numeral 5 is a charging roller for uniformly charging the photosensitive drum 1, and 6 is a developing device cartridge for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 with toner. Reference numeral 7 is a transfer roller that transfers the developed toner image onto a predetermined sheet S, and 8 is a fixing roller that fuses the toner transferred onto the sheet S.

Reference numeral 9 is a cassette paper feed roller for feeding the paper S from the cassette capable of identifying the paper size to the transport path.
Is a manual paper feed roller that feeds the paper S into the conveyance path from the manual paper feed port whose paper size cannot be identified.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a registration roller that abuts the leading end of the fed sheet to correct skewing and synchronizes image writing on the photosensitive drum 1 and sheet conveyance. Reference numeral 12 is a registration sensor for detecting the leading edge of the paper and measuring the length of the fed paper in the transport direction, 13 is a discharge roller for carrying out the paper after fixing, and 14 is the presence or absence of the paper after fixing. A discharge sensor for detecting. Reference numeral 15 is a door sensor for detecting opening and closing of a door (not shown) provided in the apparatus for attaching and detaching the developing device cartridge.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a control system for controlling the above mechanical section.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 201 denotes a printer controller which develops image code data from an external device such as a host computer into bit data necessary for printing by the printer, reads internal information of the printer by communication or the like, and displays it. is there.

Reference numeral 202 denotes an engine control unit that controls the operation of each unit of the printer engine according to instructions from the printer controller 201 and outputs printer internal information to the printer controller 201.

Reference numeral 203 denotes a paper conveyance control unit that controls the driving and stopping of motors, rollers and the like for paper conveyance in accordance with instructions from the engine control unit 202. Reference numeral 204 denotes a high-voltage control unit that controls output of high voltages for charging, development, and transfer according to instructions from the engine control unit 202. Reference numeral 205 denotes the engine control unit 2 for driving / stopping the scanner motor and blinking the laser
This is an optical system control unit that is operated based on the instruction 02.

Reference numeral 206 denotes a sensor input unit for transmitting information on the registration sensor 12 and the paper discharge sensor 14 to the engine control unit 202. A fixing device temperature control unit 207 adjusts the temperature of the fixing device (fixing roller 8) to the temperature designated by the engine control unit 202.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the hardware of the mechanism having the above block configuration. In FIG. 8, 101
Is a power outlet plug, 102 is a power supply unit that supplies power to each part of the device, and 103 is a primary system 24V line made by the power supply unit 102 for driving the device.

Reference numeral 104 denotes an electrical equipment control unit for controlling the secondary system 24V according to the open / closed state of the door detected by the door sensor 15, and 105 denotes the electrical equipment control unit 104.
It is the 24V line of the next system. Reference numeral 106 denotes a control unit such as a sheet conveyance control unit, a high voltage control unit, and an optical system control unit to which the secondary system power is supplied, and 107 denotes a control unit such as an optional unit to which the primary system power is supplied. .

[0014]

In the above-mentioned conventional device,
If the door is opened / closed during printing, the power supply of the secondary system is shut off, and the recording sheet being fed is jammed. That is, if the door of the apparatus is accidentally opened during printing, the recording paper will be jammed inside the apparatus and printing will not be possible, and it is necessary to perform a predetermined jam process, which is troublesome.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. When the door is opened during printing, the printing can be stopped and the recording paper can be automatically ejected. An object is to provide an image forming apparatus.

[0016]

Therefore, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a detachable developing device cartridge,
A cartridge sensor that detects whether or not the developing device cartridge is mounted, a door that opens when the developing device cartridge is attached and detached, a door sensor that detects opening / closing of the door, and an open / closed state of the door detected by the door sensor and the cartridge sensor detect An image forming apparatus including an electrical control unit that controls power supply to a paper transport unit or the like according to whether or not a developing device cartridge is mounted, wherein the door sensor detects that the door is opened during printing. At the same time, the printing operation is stopped, and at the same time, the cartridge sensor detects that the developing device cartridge is mounted and automatically discharges the paper. Is.

[0017]

With the above construction, when the door is opened during printing, or when the door is opened, the door sensor detects that the door is opened and stops the printing operation under the control of the engine control unit, and at the same time, the cartridge sensor. Detects whether the developing device cartridge is mounted, and when the developing device cartridge is mounted, paper conveyance control is performed according to an instruction from the engine control unit, and an automatic paper discharging operation is performed.

As described above, the recording paper can be prevented from being jammed, the paper can be automatically discharged, and the printing operation can be resumed efficiently.

[0019]

EXAMPLES The image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to examples.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the essential parts showing the mechanism of the first embodiment. The configuration of the present embodiment is characterized in that a cartridge sensor 16 for detecting whether or not the developing device cartridge 6 is attached to the image forming apparatus is provided, and other configurations are the same as those of the conventional image forming apparatus shown in FIG. Since they are in conformity, the same or corresponding parts will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. Since the control system block and the hardware block also conform to the configuration shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 of the conventional example, duplicate description will be omitted, and with reference to both figures, the characteristic configuration of this embodiment will be described below. The operation will be described.

A state in which the door sensor 15 detects that the door provided for detaching the developing device cartridge 6 is opened (hereinafter referred to as a door open state) and a state in which the developing device cartridge 6 is attached and detached are detected by the cartridge sensor 16. 8 has a mechanism for controlling the switch of the electrical equipment control unit 104 shown in FIG. 8 depending on the detected state.
OFF control is performed. It should be noted that the apparatus of this embodiment is an image forming apparatus having a structure in which it is impossible to touch the sheet conveyance control unit and the like in the door open state and there is no safety problem.

The print operation sequence of the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG.

When the door is open during printing (YES in step S1), the image forming apparatus interrupts the image forming operation on the photosensitive drum 1 (S2) and displays that the misprinting state has occurred. (S3). Then, in the automatic paper discharge sequence, it is confirmed that the developing cartridge 6 is mounted, and the paper is automatically discharged (S4, S5). When the paper discharge is completed, a predetermined misprint state occurs (S6, S6).
S7), stand by until the next treatment.

However, when the door is opened and the cartridge is pulled out while the paper is being conveyed due to printing, automatic paper ejection, etc., the jam state is entered (S4, S8). If the door is not opened during printing, the normal print operation is continued (S1, S9), the print end is confirmed, and the operation ends (S10).

As described above, the cartridge sensor 16 for detecting the presence / absence of the developing device cartridge 6 is provided, so that it is automatically confirmed in step S4 that the developing device cartridge 6 is mounted. The automatic paper discharge sequence is started, and the paper can be discharged automatically by avoiding the jam condition in which the recording paper is jammed inside the device, and the next action can be taken quickly and easily to restart the printing operation efficiently. You can

(Second Embodiment) In a conventional image forming apparatus, when a paper jam occurs due to a paper conveyance failure during printing, automatic paper ejection is performed by a jam recovery sequence as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Was there.

That is, the power supply of the secondary system is turned on by opening and closing the door.
FF / ON (S11) is performed, and automatic paper ejection is performed according to the paper condition detected by the paper ejection sensor 14. Further, after a lapse of a predetermined time required for automatic paper ejection, it is determined whether or not the automatic paper ejection is successful by the paper presence / absence states of the paper ejection sensor 14 and the registration sensor 12, and if successful, the initial rotation is performed (S1).
7) I was doing jam recovery.

The second embodiment has the configuration of the first embodiment and is characterized by the following jam recovery operation.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the jam recovery sequence of the second embodiment. If the door is opened / closed (S21 to S23) during a jam, the paper discharge sensor 14 provided on the paper transport path detects the paper presence / absence state (S24) when the door is closed, and if there is no paper, the paper is automatically discharged and the jam is recovered. To do. In addition, the jam recovery is performed by determining whether or not the automatic paper ejection has succeeded when the predetermined automatic paper ejection time has elapsed (S28).

When a jam occurs, the door is opened, the cartridge is attached and detached, and the door is closed (S2
9) Perform jam recovery as usual.

As described above, in step S22, the cartridge sensor 16 for detecting attachment / detachment of the developing device cartridge 6 and the door sensor 15 for detecting opening / closing of the door.
With the information from, it becomes possible to select and execute a more effective jam recovery operation.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the essential portions of the third embodiment. In this embodiment, an optional paper feeding unit 17 that is driven by supplying power from the image forming apparatus is connected. As shown in FIG. 5, the optional paper feeding unit 17 is connected.
It is configured to be able to switch the paper feed port of. Other configurations are the same as the configurations of the second embodiment, and therefore redundant description will be omitted.

The control when the door open occurs during the paper feeding from the optional paper feeding unit 17 is the same as the operation sequence of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and the recovery sequence when the jam occurs. Is configured to perform the same control as the jam recovery sequence of the second embodiment shown in FIG.

With the above configuration and control, even when the optional paper feeding unit 17 is used, it is possible to deal with the occurrence of the jammed state of the recording paper due to the opening and closing of the door during printing in the same manner as in the above embodiment.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By providing the cartridge sensor and controlling the secondary system switch by the attachment / detachment of the developing device cartridge and the open / closed state of the door, even if the door open state during printing is detected, the jam state does not occur unlike the conventional apparatus, Since automatic paper feeding can be performed as a misprint, the printing operation can be resumed efficiently and the operability is improved.

Further, in the conventional apparatus, the initialization rotation control is performed by opening and closing the door, but the same control is performed by the attachment / detachment of the developing device cartridge, so that the safety of the image forming apparatus is not impaired and the photoconductor is not affected. It is possible to achieve long life and low power consumption of consumable items such as drums.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a main part of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a print operation flowchart of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a conventional jam recovery flowchart.

FIG. 4 is a jam recovery flowchart of a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of main parts of a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a main part of a conventional image forming apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a control system of a conventional image forming apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a conventional image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Photosensitive Drum 2 Original Plate 6 Developer Cartridge 7 Transfer Roller 8 Fixing Roller 9 and 10 Cassette Paper Feeding Roller 11 Registration Roller 12 Registration Sensor 13 Ejection Roller 14 Paper Ejection Sensor 15 Door Sensor 16 Cartridge Sensor 17 Optional Paper Feeding Unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A detachable developing device cartridge, a cartridge sensor for detecting whether or not the developing device cartridge is mounted, a door that opens when the developing device cartridge is attached and detached, a door sensor for detecting opening and closing of the door, and the door sensor. An image forming apparatus comprising: an electrical control unit that controls power supply to a paper transport unit or the like in response to the open / closed state of a door detected by the cartridge sensor and the presence / absence of mounting of a developing device cartridge detected by the cartridge sensor, When the door sensor detects that the door is opened during printing, the printing operation is stopped, and at the same time, the cartridge sensor detects that the developing device cartridge is mounted, and automatically discharges the paper. Image forming apparatus.