JPH08137237A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an image forming device which can report the exact time for replenishing a toner to users. CONSTITUTION: An antenna electrode plate 19 is placed between the toner vessel and the developing sleeve 15 to judge the existence of toner by utilizing the change in electrostatic capacity which depends on the amount of toner present between the developing sleeve 15 and the antenna electrode 19. In addition, by storing a relational equation between the toner capacity W and the output voltage V obtained by detecting the residual toner: W=f(V) in advance, the device displays the number of recordable sheets on the operation panel which number is given by an equation: N'=(w-We)/[(Wi-f(v)/N]= (f(ν)-We)/(Wi-f(ν))}N from the average toner consumption per sheet at the time of outputting N sheets of recording material, (Wi-w)/N=(Wi-f(ν))/N, where the initial toner capacity is Wi; the toner capacity after outputting N sheets of recording material is w; the amount of toner at the time when no existence of toner is judged is We; and the output voltage obtained by detecting the residual amount of toner is w.

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 such as a facsimile machine having an electrophotographic process, a copying machine and a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional facsimile machine having an electrophotographic process, as shown in FIG.
Is provided, and the information of the document is read by the document reading means A ′. First, the original 103 set on the original table 101 is conveyed by the preliminary conveying rollers 104a and the preliminary conveying pressing plate 104b, further separated by the separating roller 105a and the separating piece 105b, and then conveyed by the conveying roller pair 106a, 106b. After the document 103 is brought into close contact with the document reading sensor 108c by the pressing portion 108b and the weight shaft 108a to read information, the document 103 is discharged to the document discharge tray 110 by the pair of conveying rollers 109a and 109b.

The image read in this manner is processed by the control means provided on the control boards 142 and 143 and transmitted through the telephone line.

On the other hand, when image information is transmitted through a telephone line, the received image information is sent to the control board 1 as described above.
The image is processed by the control means on 42 and 143, and is visualized by the following image forming process.

First, in the image forming means B ', the surface of the photosensitive drum 111, which is a latent image carrier, is uniformly charged by the charging roller 112, and the surface is exposed by the optical means C'based on the image information. . As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 111, and the toner 113 as the developer of the image forming means B ′ is transferred to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 111 by the developing sleeve 115 which is a developer carrier. Then, a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 111.

Next, the recording sheets 131 in the cassette 140, which is arranged in the lower portion of the apparatus and in which the recording sheets 131 of a general size as a recording material are stacked and accommodated, are separated one by one by the feeding roller 130, and the toner image is formed. It is fed to the pressure contact portion between the photosensitive drum 111 and the transfer roller 125 on which the mark is formed.

Then, the toner 11 on the photosensitive drum 111
3 is transferred onto the recording sheet 131 by the transfer roller 125, and the recording sheet 131 is conveyed to the fixing unit D ′. In the fixing unit D ′, the toner 113 transferred onto the recording sheet 131 is fixed to the fixing roller 126 and the pressure roller 127.
The recording sheet 131 is nipped and conveyed by heat, and is fixed on the recording sheet 131 by heat and pressure.
Paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 129 by a and 128b.

As described above, in this apparatus, the toner 113 in the image forming means B'is necessary in order to visualize the received image, and when the remaining amount of the toner 113 becomes small, , A warning is displayed to prompt the filling of new toner.

To detect the remaining amount of toner, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 7, an antenna electrode which is an electrode member is provided in the image forming means B ', and the electrostatic capacitance between the developing sleeve and the antenna electrode is detected by a detection circuit. In addition to the above, a detection circuit for detecting the electrostatic capacity in the absence of toner as a reference capacity is provided, and the output values output from both the detection circuits are compared. When it is determined that there is no toner, a toner-less lamp is lit on the operation panel E ′ to display the toner-less state to the user.

As a method of detecting the remaining amount of the toner 113, in addition to the above-mentioned method, a transparent window is provided in the external portion of the image forming means B ', a light emitting section and a light receiving section are provided in the main body of the apparatus, and a light emitting section is provided. In some cases, it is performed by detecting that the light emitted from the light receiving unit has received light at a level higher than a certain level.

[0011]

However, when the conventional facsimile apparatus determines that there is no toner, it does not perform the image forming operation unless toner is replenished. There was a problem that I could not get quickly.

Further, the user does not know how many sheets can be received until it is determined that there is no toner, and at the same time, does not know the time of toner replenishment, which causes a problem of poor usability.

In particular, when there is no spare toner, the operating rate of the apparatus is lowered and the apparatus cannot be effectively used.

An object of the first invention of the present application is to provide an image forming apparatus which can solve the above-mentioned problems and can inform the user of the toner supply timing accurately.

The second object of the present invention is to:
In particular, when it is applied to a facsimile apparatus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of accurately notifying a user of a toner replenishment time and quickly obtaining information.

[0016]

According to the first invention of the present application, the above object is to expose the surface of a charged latent image carrier on the basis of image information to form an electrostatic latent image, An image forming apparatus for developing the electrostatic latent image as a developer image with a developer of a developer carrying member, transferring the developer image to a recording material, fixing the toner image, and discharging the image. The electrode member facing each other, a detection unit that determines the presence or absence of the developer based on a change in capacitance between the electrode member and the developer carrier depending on the presence or absence of the developer, and information about the absence of the developer by the detection unit are displayed. In an image forming apparatus having display means for displaying, a counting means for counting the cumulative number of recording materials is provided, and the relationship between the detection signal based on the change in the electrostatic capacity and the residual developer amount at that time is used as a function in advance. Memorized, per recording material when printing N recording materials Calculating the average developer consumption from an initial developer amount and the residual amount of developer when the calculated from the function number,
The difference between the residual developer amount and the developer amount when it is determined that there is no developer is divided by the above-mentioned average developer consumption amount to predict the number of output sheets of recording material until it is determined that there is no developer. However, it is achieved by providing the control means set to display on the display means.

According to a second invention of the present application, in the above-mentioned first object, the image forming apparatus receives image information through a telephone line and forms an image based on the image information. This is achieved by the fact that it is a facsimile machine, and when it is determined that there is no developer, it is set so that image formation is not performed until the developer is replenished.

[0018]

According to the first invention of the present application, the presence or absence of the development amount is determined by the detecting means at any time. The data of the residual developer amount obtained from the detection signal and the data of the initial developer amount are used. The average developer consumption amount per recording material is calculated by obtaining the difference and dividing the difference by the cumulative number of recording materials up to that point. Then, by dividing the difference between the residual developer amount and the developer amount when it is determined that there is no developer by this average developer consumption amount, it is possible to output the recording material until it is determined that there is no developer. The number of sheets is predicted and displayed on the display means. Therefore, the user replenishes the developer based on this display, whereby a smooth image forming operation is performed.

According to the second invention of the present application,
The image forming apparatus is a facsimile apparatus and forms an image based on image information received through a telephone line. However, when it is determined that there is no developer, the image is not formed until the developer is replenished. Therefore, the image output on the recording material is always good. Moreover, as described above, the number of recordable sheets of the recording material until it is determined that there is no developer is displayed on the display unit, so that the user can appropriately supply the developer in advance to perform the image forming operation. Information is always available quickly without interruption.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 are a sectional view and an overall perspective view showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a facsimile apparatus, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an image forming portion, and FIG. 4 is a toner remaining amount detecting circuit and receiving. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the number detection circuit, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the toner capacity and the toner remaining detection force voltage.

First, the overall structure of this apparatus will be described. In FIG. 1, A is a document reading unit, which reads information written on a document, converts it into an electric signal, and transmits it to a predetermined recording system. An image forming unit B forms an electrostatic latent image in accordance with an image signal and transfers and records an image with toner on a recording sheet as a recording material. C
Is an optical means, and in this embodiment, the control board 4
Laser light is turned on / off in accordance with the image signal processed by the control means on Nos. 2 and 43, and is radiated onto the photosensitive drum 11, which is the latent image carrier of the image forming means B, to form an electrostatic latent image. It is a thing. D is a fixing unit that fixes the toner transferred onto the recording sheet by the image forming unit B by heat and pressure. Reference numeral E is an operation panel provided with the number of recorded sheets, recording density, a transmission switch and the like. F is a recording sheet conveying means, which conveys the recording sheet accommodated in the cassette or the recording sheet supplied from the manual feed tray portion to the image forming means B and discharges the sheet after recording.

The configuration of each part of this facsimile will be described below. First, the document reading means A is provided with a document placing table 1 on the upper surface of the apparatus, and the document placing table 1 is stacked on the placing table 1 with the document surface facing down, and the lowermost layer among the documents 3 guided by the side guides 2. The original 3 of the
a and a pressure contact member 4b that is in pressure contact with the pre-a conveyance roller 5a, and the separation roller 5a and pressure contact member 5b that is in pressure contact with the separation roller 5a.
Are separated and conveyed one by one. The separated and conveyed original 3 is conveyed by a conveying roller 6a and a pinch roller 6b which is pressed against the conveying roller 6a by a spring 7, and the original surface is pressed by a pressing portion 8b made of a white polyester film pressed downward by a weight shaft 8a. By being pressed by the reading sensor 8c, light is emitted from a light emitting portion such as an LED inside the reading sensor 8c, and the reflected light from the surface of the original is imaged on a photoelectric conversion element (not shown) such as CCD, so that the original is read. Is configured to convert the image information of the to an electrical signal.

In this embodiment, the reading sensor 8c is a contact type reading sensor. The document 3 whose image has been read by the reading sensor 8c is discharged to the document discharge tray 10 by the paper discharge roller 9a and the pinch roller 9b pressed by the spring 7.

Next, the image forming means B and the optical means C will be described. In this embodiment, it is configured as a laser beam printer. The structure will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the drum surface is uniformly charged by a charger 12 arranged around a photosensitive drum 11 rotating in the direction of arrow b, and an image signal image-processed by a control unit is obtained. Accordingly, the light from the laser oscillator C2 that oscillates the laser beam of the optical means C shown in FIG. 1 is reflected by the polygon mirror C1 and is exposed on the rotating photosensitive drum 11 by the imaging lens to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 11 is arranged on the photosensitive drum 11, and the latent image is formed by a developing sleeve 15 as a developer carrier having a toner 13 as a constant developer on the surface thereof. The toner is transferred to the area to form a visible image.

To supply the toner 13 to the developing sleeve 15, as shown in FIG. 3, the toner stirring plate 14 rotates in the same direction as the photosensitive drum 11 in synchronism with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 11, and the toner is stored in the toner container. The toner 13 thus formed is conveyed to the developing sleeve 15 side. Then, when the toner 13 is supplied to the developing sleeve 15, the developing blade 1 pressed against the developing sleeve 15
8, the toner layer on the surface of the developing sleeve is made uniform. Further, an antenna electrode plate 19 as an electrode member is arranged near the developing sleeve 15 so that the electrostatic capacitance between the developing sleeve 15 and the antenna electrode plate can be detected.

Then, the toner image visualized on the photosensitive drum 11 is transferred and recorded on the recording sheet 31 conveyed between the photosensitive drum 11 and the transfer roller 25 pressed against the photosensitive drum 11, as shown in FIG. . Further, the photosensitive drum 11 after the toner transfer is scraped off the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 11 by the cleaning member 22 shown in FIG. 3, the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is cleaned, and the scraped toner is a waste toner container. It is supposed to be stored in 21.

The image forming means B is integrated with the photosensitive drum 11, the charging device 12, the developing sleeve 15, the cleaning member 18, the toner container 13 and the like as shown in FIG. ing.

Next, the fixing means D will be described. Heat and pressure are applied to the toner image transferred onto the recording sheet 31 by the transfer roller 25 by a fixing roller 26 having a heater and a pressure roller 27 in pressure contact with the fixing roller 26. Then, the recording sheet 31 is fixed on the recording sheet 31, and the leading edge and the trailing edge of the recording sheet 31 are detected by a discharge detection sensor (not shown) and the curl is removed by the pair of discharge rollers 28a and 28b. The paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 29.

Next, the recording sheet conveying means F for conveying the recording sheet 31 to the photosensitive drum 11 and the transfer roller 25 in pressure contact with the photosensitive drum 11 will be described. In this embodiment, a cassette 40 for accommodating the recording sheets 31 is detachably attached to the lower part of the main body of the apparatus, and the recording sheet 31 made of a cassette sheet is installed in the cassette 40.
Can be stacked and accommodated. As shown in FIG. 2, the lower cassette 40 is supported by a feeder frame 41 which is separate from the main body of the apparatus, and the front feeder frame 41 is configured to be detachable from the main body. Further, a manual feed port is formed on the right side surface of the apparatus main body, and a manual feed tray 36a is attached to this manual feed port.
A recording sheet 31 having a predetermined size can be stacked and accommodated in the sheet 6.

The recording sheet accommodated in the cassette 40 arranged in the lower part of the main body is fed by the half-moon-shaped sheet feeding roller 30 as shown in the arrow, and the uppermost one sheet is fed to the registration roller pair 37a, 37b. Hit the tip of the sheet,
After skew correction, the registration roller pairs 37a, 3a are synchronized with the image signals processed by the control boards 42, 43.
7b rotates, and the recording sheet 31 is conveyed to the photosensitive drum 11 and the transfer roller 25 pressed against the photosensitive drum 11 as described above.
Further, the recording sheet 31 housed in the cassette 40 housed in the feeder frame 41 different from the main body is one sheet of the uppermost layer when the half-moon-shaped sheet feeding roller 30 makes one rotation as shown by an arrow. The pair of feeding rollers 32a are fed,
The recording sheet 32 is gripped by 32b, the leading edge of the recording sheet is abutted against the registration roller pair 37a, 37b like the recording sheet 31 at the lower part of the main body, and then is conveyed to the transfer roller 25 pressed against the photosensitive drum in synchronization with the image signal. . On the other hand, from the manual feed port, the recording sheets stacked on the manual feed tray 36a are fed from the control means on the control boards 42 and 43 by a feed instruction, and the middle plate 36b below the feed roller 34 is rotated about the rotation center portion 36c. It is pushed up by a pressing spring 36d and conveyed by being pressed by the front sheet feeding roller 34, and is separated by the separating unit 35.
As a result, the uppermost one sheet is fed, and similarly to the above, the leading end of the recording sheet is abutted against the pair of registration rollers 37a and 37b, and is conveyed.

Next, the method of detecting the remaining amount of toner according to the present embodiment will be described. As described above, the recording means B includes the photosensitive drum, the charger, the developing device, the cleaning member, and the cleaning member as shown in FIG.
The toner container is integrated, and the toner stored in the toner container is supplied to the developing sleeve 1 by the toner stirring plate 14.
Toner 5 is supplied. Toner container containing toner stirring plate 14 and developing sleeve 15
And an antenna electrode plate 19 is disposed between the antenna electrode 19 and the developing sleeve 15, and the electrostatic capacitance change depending on the amount of toner between the developing sleeve 15 and the antenna electrode 19 is used. A detection circuit that detects the induced current change as a voltage change and a circuit that detects the electrostatic capacitance between the developing sleeve 15 and the antenna electrode plate 19 when there is no toner as a reference capacitance are provided. The remaining toner amount is detected by comparing the output voltages that have been output, and the relationship between the toner capacity and the toner remaining detection force voltage detected by the previous detection circuit is shown in FIG.
When the remaining toner detection force voltage decreases, the toner capacity gradually decreases. When the remaining toner detection force voltage becomes Ve, it is determined that there is no toner. When there is no toner, the operation panel E is displayed. The toner-free lamp is turned on and the toner-free display is displayed to the user.

Further, from FIG. 5, the relation between the toner capacity W and the toner remaining detection force voltage V is W = f (V). Here, assuming that the initial toner capacity is Wi, the toner capacity after the output of the number N of recording materials is ω, and the toner residual detection voltage is υ, the average toner consumption per sheet when the number N of the recording materials is output is The quantity [unit: g] is ω = f (υ)

[0033]

(1) (Wi-ω) / N = (Wi-f (υ)) / N

When N ′ sheets can be recorded with the remaining toner capacity ω,

[0035]

## EQU2 ## N '= (ω-We) / [(Wi-f (υ)) /
N] = {(f (υ) -We) / (Wi-f (υ))} N

It can be predicted that Here, the detection of the number N of output sheets of recording material is performed by the discharge detection sensor that detects the leading edge and the trailing edge of the recording sheet after the toner image is fixed on the recording sheet as described above. . Then, the remaining recordable number is calculated by the CPU according to the above equation based on the toner capacity (toner remaining detection force voltage) after the recording output number N and the recording material output number N, and the remaining recording is performed on the operation panel E. The number of possible sheets can be displayed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the image forming section B is of the integral cartridge type as described above, and the detecting means (not shown) for detecting the attachment of the cartridge to the main body and the photosensitive member. Since the sensitivity of the drum varies, there is a sensitivity detection unit for the photosensitive drum.When the photosensitive drum is detached during use, the sensitivity of the photosensitive drum of the cartridge and the above-mentioned toner residual detection force voltage are detected before and after the detachment, and the same value is detected. Whether or not a cartridge is installed can be determined by the CPU, and if another cartridge is installed,
The initial toner capacity W (toner remaining detection force value) and the number N of recording material output sheets are adapted to be initialized.

In the present embodiment, the remaining recordable number is displayed by displaying it on the liquid crystal section on the operation panel at all times or by displaying a cover on the liquid crystal section by operating the keys on the operation panel. Any display means can be used as long as it is a means for displaying a notice to the user even if the lamp on the operation panel is turned on and off.

[0039]

As described above, the first aspect of the present application
According to the invention, the relationship between the detection signal of the detection means for determining the presence or absence of the developer and the residual developer amount is stored in advance as a function, and the average developer per one recording material when outputting N recording materials. The consumption amount is calculated from the initial developer amount and the residual developer amount at that time calculated from the function, and the difference between the residual developer amount and the developer amount when it is determined that no developer is present is calculated as the average developer consumption. By dividing by the amount, the number of recordable sheets until it is determined that there is no developer is predicted and displayed on the above display means, so that the operability for the user and the operation rate of the device are improved, and the usability of the user is improved. A good image forming apparatus can be provided.

According to the second invention of the present application,
In the first aspect of the invention, when image information is received through a telephone line, an image is formed based on the image information, and it is determined that there is no developer, the image is not formed until the developer is replenished. By applying it to the facsimile machine set as above, it is possible to always obtain a good facsimile image, and it is possible to replenish the developer properly, and to obtain information quickly without interruption of operation. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view when applied to a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view when applied to a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a toner remaining amount detecting circuit and a received number detecting circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship between a toner capacity and a toner remaining detection force voltage according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a conventional image forming apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional toner remaining amount detection circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Photosensitive Drum (Latent Image Carrier) 13 Toner (Developer) 15 Developing Sleeve (Developer Carrier) 19 Antenna Electrode (Electrode Member) 31 Recording Sheet (Recording Material) E Operation Panel (Display Means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A surface of a charged latent image carrier is exposed on the basis of image information to form an electrostatic latent image, and the electrostatic latent image is developed as a developer image by the developer of the developer carrier. An image forming apparatus for transferring the developer image to a recording material, fixing the toner image, and discharging the image; and an electrode member facing the developer carrier and a developer between the electrode member and the developer carrier. The cumulative number of recording materials is counted in an image forming apparatus including a detection unit that determines the presence or absence of a developer based on a change in electrostatic capacity depending on the presence or absence, and a display unit that displays information about the absence of the developer by the detection unit. The recording material 1 is provided with a counting means for storing the relationship between the detection signal based on the change in the electrostatic capacity and the residual developer amount at that time as a function in advance, and outputs the recording material N sheets.
The average developer consumption amount per sheet is calculated from the initial developer amount and the residual developer amount at that time calculated from the function, and the difference between the residual developer amount and the developer amount when it is determined that there is no developer is calculated. ,
By dividing by the average developer consumption amount, the control unit is set so as to predict the number of recording materials available until it is determined that there is no developer, and display it on the display unit. Image forming apparatus. 2. The image forming apparatus is a facsimile apparatus which receives image information through a telephone line and forms an image based on the image information. When it is determined that there is no developer, the developer is replenished. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is set so as not to perform image forming until it is told.