JPH0876633A - Fixing control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain a preliminary heating mode system capable of flexibly corresponding to the using condition of an user, and provided with the easier operation convenience and the higher energy saving efficiency. CONSTITUTION: The set temp. of the warm-up time, the copy time and the idling time is severally set together with various kinds of image forming conditions is respectively set from a setting part 1, stored in a nonvolatile RAM 2 by the user, and the temp. control of a fixing part 8 is performed corresponding to the set temp. of the nonvolatile RAM 2. After the completion of the image forming, the waiting time for the next user to come while maintaining the set temp. is set, then the preliminary heating temp. of the plural level severally corresponding to the using condition of the user and the preliminary heating switching time of the plural level severally corresponding to the preliminary heating temp. is inputted and stored in the nonvolatile RAM 2. The preliminary heating mode control sequence after the image forming is performed, corresponding to the set temp. and the set time for switching the temp. of the plural level set in the nonvolatile RAM 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fixing control device in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser printer, and in particular, performs fixing temperature control for energy saving of the fixing device. Regarding the control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an image forming apparatus for forming an image by an electrophotographic method uses a toner for image formation. The toner image formed by the toner is transferred onto a transfer material, and the toner image is transferred by heat fixing. It is well established in the material.

The fixing device is generally composed of a heating fixing roller which is heated by a heat source and rotates, and a pressure-bonding roller. The toner image is transferred by thermo-compression while sandwiching a transfer material having a toner image formed between the fixing roller and the pressure-bonding roller. It will take root in the material. In the roller fixing method, the heating fixing roller is in direct contact with the toner surface or another surface of the transfer material, so that the heat transfer efficiency is good, and the roller fixing method has been widely used as the copying speed increases. However, looking at the power consumption by load, the ratio of such a fixing device to the energy consumption of the entire image forming apparatus is very large as shown in FIG. 5, and the importance of energy saving by the fixing control system is recognized. . As an attempt to save energy in the fixing device, there is adopted a preheating mode shown in FIG. The setting temperature of the fixing roller during warm-up, copying and idling is Tc, and the preheating temperature in the preheating mode is Tr.

[0004]

In the fixing device,
As shown in FIG. 4, the fixing temperature control in the preheating mode is performed at a fixed fixing temperature level (see FIG.
However, if the control is performed even after the image forming process is completed at this set temperature, power loss increases and a problem occurs from the viewpoint of energy saving. Conventionally, for this measure, after the image forming process is completed, a waiting time (tr in FIG. 4) where the next user may come is set, and then a lower fixing set temperature level (Tr in FIG. 4) is set in a preheating mode. Has been adopted. However, in this case, the fixing temperature needs to be restored to the initial set temperature even when it is desired to start the image formation during the preheating in a hurry, and the waiting time must be waited for a specified time (see FIG. 4).
Tw) was required. For this reason, it is often decided whether or not to enter the preheat mode depending on the selection of the user, and the preheat mode is not always prevalent in the actual use state under the present circumstances. This is because the current fixing control device has only two choices as to whether or not to select the preheating mode, and the provided preheating mode does not always meet the user's requirements.

In view of the above problems, the present invention solves the above problems and provides a preheating system capable of flexibly responding to the usage conditions of a user, thereby providing a preheating mode system that is easier to use and has a high energy saving effect. The purpose is to do.

[0006]

The above object is to provide a first temperature control means for controlling the fixing temperature of the fixing portion during the image forming process and a preheating of the fixing portion after a lapse of a predetermined time after completing the image forming process. In a fixing control device having a second temperature control unit for controlling a mode, the second temperature control unit sets a plurality of levels of set temperatures of the fixing unit stored in a memory and a setting at the set temperature. The temperature of the fixing unit is controlled based on the set time for sequentially switching the time C
This is achieved by a fixing control device characterized by having a PU.

Further, the set temperature composed of the plurality of levels and the set time for switching the temperature can be set in a nonvolatile RAM, and the set value is a nonvolatile R.
The control sequence is stored in the AM and the control sequence is the non-volatile RA.
A fixing controller characterized in that it is performed on the basis of the information of M is a preferred embodiment, and the set temperature configured by the plurality of levels and the set time for temperature switching are stored in a ROM. A fixing control device characterized in that it is possible to select from a plurality of registered patterns that are registered is also a preferred embodiment.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the fixing control device of the present invention are shown in FIGS.
Will be explained. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram by a block chart showing an embodiment of a fixing control device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of fixing temperature control of the fixing control device of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the structure of the fixing control device includes an image forming unit 7 of an image forming apparatus (not shown), a fixing unit 8 which is a fixing device, a CPU (central processing unit) 4 which is a control unit,
A timer IC, which is a clock IC or a clock, which sends general time information to the CPU 4, and an input / output unit (I / O bus) which sends commands of various image forming conditions from the CPU 4 to the image forming unit 7 and the fixing unit 8 in accordance with the clock of the timer 5. 6. Setting unit 1 for inputting various image forming conditions and optionally setting preheating temperature / switching time in the preheating mode, or performing selective setting from registered preheating patterns, image forming apparatus process input from the setting unit 1 It comprises a non-volatile RAM 2 for storing conditions and memory for storing the above-mentioned preheating data, a ROM 3 for image forming process control software, and a ROM 3 for storing registered preheating patterns.

The fixing unit 8 has, for example, a heater 82 inside a fixing roller 81 for heating, and a pressure roller 83 which is an elastic member on the other side. The fixing unit 8 is conveyed to the fixing unit 8 and is not yet fixed. The recording paper P on which the toner image is transferred is fixed to the fixing roller 81.
By applying heat and pressure between the pressure roller 83 and the pressure roller 83, the toner adhering to the recording paper P is melted and the toner is fixed on the recording paper P. Here, 84 is a temperature sensor provided in contact or non-contact with the fixing roller 81. Temperature sensor
According to the temperature detection of 84, the heater 82 is turned on / off to control the temperature of the fixing roller 81.

At the time of installing an image forming apparatus (not shown) or at the time of copying, various image forming conditions such as a developing bias condition, a photosensitive member charging potential condition, a transfer potential condition, etc. are set by a service man or a user from a setting section 1. Is input, and the fixing temperature control condition is also input together with these inputs. As the fixing temperature control condition, when warming up,
The set temperature Tc at the time of copying and at the time of idling is set and stored in the nonvolatile RAM 2, and the temperature of the fixing unit 8 is controlled according to the set temperature Tc in the nonvolatile RAM 2 (first temperature control means). As the second temperature control means, setting control of the fixing temperature control condition in the preheating mode is performed. First,
After the image forming process is completed, the waiting time tr1 at which the next user will come will be set (arbitrarily set) while the set temperature Tc remains unchanged, and then the preheating temperatures Tr1 of a plurality of levels according to the usage situation of the user. , Tr2, ..., Trn values are input and stored in the nonvolatile RAM 2 (values are arbitrarily set), and then preheating temperatures Tr1, Tr2 ,.
A value (arbitrary setting) of the preheating switching times tr2, tr3, ... Trn + 1 of a plurality of levels corresponding to each of n is input and stored in the nonvolatile RAM 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the preheating mode control sequence after completion of the image forming process is performed according to the set temperatures at the plurality of levels set in the non-volatile RAM 2 and the set time values for temperature switching (second set). Temperature control means). When the user deactivates the preheating mode from the setting unit 1 when using the image forming apparatus, after the waiting time tw corresponding to the preheating temperature Trn at that time is taken, the copying state is restored.

For example, conventional Tc: 190 ° C., tr: 120se
In the case of c, Tr: 130 ° C, the waiting time to return to Tc when the preheat was released was 60 seconds, and the energy reduction amount described later in Fig. 3 was 20%, but the usage situation (mainly change in usage frequency) ), Only one waiting time and a certain amount of energy reduction could be taken. With the improvement of the present invention, for example, T
c: 190 ° C, tr1: 60sec, Tr1: 160 ° C, tr2: 3
5sec, Tr2: 130 ° C, tr3: 60sec, Tr3: 100
When set to ℃, tr4: 80sec, the waiting time until copying is possible from the set preheating temperatures Tr1 to Tr3 when releasing preheating is 35sec, 60sec, 80sec, and the energy reduction amount is 10%, respectively. , 20%, 22%, which reduces the waiting time while exhibiting the energy saving effect when the frequency of use by the user is high, and increases the amount of energy reduction when the frequency of use is low. This enabled a preheat mode control system that was optimized.

As described above, the setting of the second temperature control means is performed by the service person or the user at any time, for example, from the operation section 1 which is a setting section having a ten-key pad to the nonvolatile RAM 2
Can be set to, but separately from this, ROM3
It is also possible to selectively set from the registered preheating pattern registered in. As the registered preheating patterns, for example, the preheating patterns shown in Table 1 are stored in the ROM.

[0014]

[Table 1]

The service person or the user can select and set either of the or from the operation unit 1. In the case of an image forming apparatus which is frequently used, in the case of an image forming apparatus which is normally used, In the case of an image forming apparatus that is rarely used, is set according to the usage status. From the perspective of energy conservation, is the best, and is inferior in the order of. Although Tr1, Tr2, and Tr3 have the same temperature in the above, and, respectively, different temperatures may be set.
Further, the pattern does not have to be a three-stage switching of Tr1, Tr2, Tr3, and two-stage switching or four-stage switching may be used.

FIG. 3 shows the energy consumption at the preset temperature (Tc) 190 ° C. of the fixing unit including the warm-up, copy, and idling when the preheat mode is adopted is 1
It is a figure which showed the relationship between the energy reduction rate shown by energy reduction amount = 100-energy reduction rate, and waiting time tw when preheating temperature Trn was made into the parameter when it was set to 00, and when Trn is reduced. The energy saving effect increases with time, but the waiting time tw also increases. When the frequency of use is high, the energy saving effect is small, but the copy state can be restored with a short waiting time. The auto shut-off is a case where the temperature control of fixing is completely stopped.

[0017]

According to the present invention, the user can freely select or set a plurality of levels of preheating temperature and switching time so that the user can flexibly respond to usage conditions, and the preheating temperature can be used as a factor of the frequency of use. By introducing the concept of time and controlling the preheating temperature at multiple levels, a preheating mode with a higher energy saving effect is used when the usage frequency is low, and a copyable status is used when the usage frequency is high. The present invention provides a fixing control device that finely responds to the usage state of the user by shortening the recovery time to prioritize the usability of the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram by a block chart showing an embodiment of a fixing control device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of fixing temperature control of the fixing control device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an energy reduction rate with respect to a preheating temperature in a fixing unit and a recovery time from the preheating temperature by adopting a preheating mode.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional fixing temperature control in a preheating mode.

FIG. 5 is a power consumption diagram of each load of the image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Setting Section 2 Non-volatile RAM 3 ROM 4 CPU 5 Timer 6 I / O Bus 7 Image Forming Section 8 Fixing Section 81 Fixing Roller 82 Heating Heater 83 Pressing Roller 84 Temperature Sensor P Recording Paper Tc Settings for Warm-up, Copy and Idling Temperature Tr1, Tr2, Trn Preheat temperature for multiple levels tr1, tr2, trn + 1 Preheat switching time for multiple levels tw Wait time from preheat setting to copying when preheat is released

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Jun Nakagawa 2970 Ishikawa-cho, Hachioji, Tokyo Konica stock company (72) Inventor Kenichi Matsuo 2970 Ishikawa-cho, Hachioji, Tokyo Konica stock company

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A first temperature control unit for controlling a fixing temperature of a fixing unit during execution of an image forming process, and a second temperature control unit for controlling a preheating mode of the fixing unit after a lapse of a predetermined time after completing the image forming process. In the fixing control device having a temperature control unit, the second temperature control unit is based on set temperatures of a plurality of levels of the fixing unit stored in a memory and set times for sequentially switching set times at the set temperatures. A fixing control device comprising a CPU that controls the temperature of the fixing unit. 2. The set temperature configured by the plurality of levels and the set time for temperature switching can be set in a non-volatile RAM, and the set value is the non-volatile RAM.
2. The fixing control device according to claim 1, wherein the fixing sequence is stored in a control sequence based on information in the nonvolatile RAM. 3. The set temperature for switching the temperature and the set temperature composed of the plurality of levels are stored in a ROM.
The fixing control device according to claim 1, wherein the fixing control device is selectable from a plurality of registered patterns stored therein.