JPH09269706A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device capable of reducing the power consumption as a whole by consuming only necessary power when a power source switch is turned off. SOLUTION: A hot line 62 and a neutral line 63 are branched halfway, and the power source switch 66 is provided at this branched part, then a power supply path is changed by the change-over operation of the switch 66. The make contacts 65a and 65b of a timer 65 are respectively connected to the hot line 62 and the neutral line 63 succeeding to the brached part in series. Therefore, when the switch 66 is turned off, the power is supplied to an optical dew condensation heater 51, an electrification drum heater 52 and a dehumidification heater 53, and the on-time and the off-time of the supply are optionally set by the timer 65. Therefore, the respective heaters 51 to 53 consume only the necessary power.

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 an electrophotographic copying machine, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus provided with a heating source for preventing dew condensation and dehumidifying.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, when there is a temperature difference between the temperature of the mechanical parts of each part and the temperature of the operating environment, the mechanical parts are dewed especially in the early morning in cold weather. Causes the following problems. That is, when dew condensation occurs on the lens or mirror of the optical system, no image is captured. Further, when the charging system or the photoconductor drum is condensed, an image may not be captured, the image may be blurred or thinned, and a paper jam (jam) may occur. Further, if the paper feeding system is condensed, paper jam occurs.

In order to prevent various problems caused by such dew condensation, conventionally, a heater for warming each mechanical part is arranged in each part, and the heater is operated at night when the image forming apparatus is not used. ing. In general, the wattage (capacity) of this heater is determined so as to reach an appropriate temperature after temperature saturation. Therefore, the heater is not energized and remains energized, and when the power switch of the image forming apparatus is off, that is, at night, the heater always consumes power, which is uneconomical. is there.

Therefore, in order to eliminate such inconvenience, a device as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-51361 is known. According to the invention, a timer means for turning on a power source so that the image forming mode is automatically set at a preset time, and a dew condensation preventing or dehumidifying device provided in the image forming apparatus. Heat source for
Activate the heat source before the time when the power is turned on,
The image forming apparatus includes a control unit that deactivates the heat source when the preset time comes after a predetermined time.

[0005]

However, in this conventional device, the heat source (heater) is generated when the power switch is off.
However, since the control means always consumes some power regardless of the operation of the heat source, there is an adverse effect that the power consumption cannot be reduced as a whole.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of consuming only necessary power when the power switch is off and reducing the power consumption as a whole.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having an image forming unit for forming and outputting an image and a heating source for keeping a predetermined portion of the image forming unit warm. The load of the image forming unit is connected to the power supply line, the power supply line is branched, the heating source is connected to the branched power supply line, and the load of the image forming unit and the load are connected to the branching unit of the power supply line. The above-mentioned object is achieved by providing a power switch for switching the supply of electric power to the heating source and interposing a contact of a timer for controlling energization of the heating source in the power line after the branch.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the heating source is a dehumidifying heater for sheet feeding, a dew condensation preventing heater for an optical system, a dew condensation preventing heater for a photoconductor, and a heat insulation for a charging roller. The above-mentioned object is achieved by any one of the heater for the transfer roller and the heater of the transfer roller, or a combination thereof. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the contact of the timer is provided on both the hot line and the neutral line of the power supply line after the branching. Achieve the purpose. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect, the power supply terminal of the timer is connected to the power supply line on the power supply side of the power switch. To achieve the above-mentioned object.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, the time when the timer closes the contact is set by the image forming section. The purpose is achieved by setting the time to any time before the scheduled time to be used. According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, the fourth aspect, or the fifth aspect, the time when the timer opens the contact is the image forming section. The above-mentioned object is achieved by setting the scheduled time when is used or any time after the scheduled time has elapsed. Claim 7
According to the invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the timer is configured to open the contact, close the contact, or close the contact. The above-mentioned object is achieved by the fact that the opening and closing time can be set arbitrarily.

According to an eighth aspect of the invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the timer is a daily timer or a weekly timer. Achieve the purpose of. According to a ninth aspect of the invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the timer is detachable or retrofittable, thereby achieving the above object. To achieve. According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, the timer is
The time setting unit can be operated from the outside, and the contents of the display unit can be recognized from the outside, thereby achieving the above object.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration when the present invention is applied to a copying machine. As shown in FIG. 1, this copying machine includes a copying machine main body 1, an automatic paper feeding device 2 for automatically feeding a document, a sorter stapler 3, and a paper feeding table 4. A lamp 11 for illuminating a document is arranged in the copying machine main body 1, and light reflected from the document by the lamp 11 is imaged on the photoconductor drum 14 via a mirror 12, a lens 13, and the like. Photoconductor drum 14
A charging device, a developing device, a transfer device, a static eliminator, a cleaner, and the like are arranged around the area. The transfer device is configured to be supplied with paper from the paper supply unit 15. Further, a fixing device 16 having a fixing heater is arranged on the discharge side of the transfer device. The sorter stapler 3 is provided on the downstream side of the fixing device 16.
It is connected to the.

In the copying machine having such a structure, the original is illuminated by the lamp 11, and an image is formed on the photosensitive drum 14 via the mirror 12, the lens 13 and the like. On the other hand, the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 is uniformly charged by the charger,
The surface of the photoconductor drum 14 is irradiated with light according to the reading of the document as described above, and an electrostatic latent image is formed. Toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image by the developing unit to form a visible image. The toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 is
The image is transferred to the paper supplied from the paper supply unit 15 by the transfer unit. The toner image transferred onto the sheet is fixed by the fixing device 16, and the sheet on which the toner image is fixed is conveyed toward the sorter stapler 3.

In the copying machine shown in FIG. 1, since a heater (heating source) for preventing dew condensation of each component is arranged in the copying machine main body 1, an example of the arrangement of this heater is shown in FIG. Will be described with reference to. As shown in FIG. 2, an optical condensation heater 51, a charging / drum heater 52, and a dehumidifying heater 53 are arranged at predetermined positions in the main body 1 of the copying machine. The optical condensation heater 51 includes the mirror 12 and the lens 1.
3 prevents image defects due to dew condensation. The charging / drum heater 52 aims to prevent jamming due to image defects and paper wrapping by keeping the charging roller and drum constituting the charging device warm and preventing condensation. The dehumidifying heater 53 is used in the paper feeding unit 1.
This prevents the paper (recording paper) set in the paper feed cassette of No. 5 from getting wet and jamming.

Next, a power supply circuit for supplying power to each section of the above-mentioned copying machine will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, this circuit has a power plug 61 that connects to an AC power outlet.
Two power supply lines consisting of a hot line 62 and a neutral line 63 are connected to. Hotline 6
A fuse 64 is interposed in series on the side of the second power plug 61. Hot line 62 and neutral line 6
A timer 65 is connected to the third power plug 61 side.

Hot line 62 and neutral line 6
3 is branched from the middle, and a power switch 66 is provided at this branch. As shown in FIG. 3, the power switch 66 is composed of two changeover switches, and both changeover switches are configured to be interlocked and changeable by a user's operation. By the switching operation of the power switch 66, the supply of electric power to the hot line 62 and the neutral line 63 after branching and the supply of electric power to the other hot line 62 and neutral line 63 after branching are switched. It is designed to be used.

A DC power supply 67 for converting AC to DC and an AC load 68 are connected between the hot line 62 and the neutral line 63 after branching. D
A control circuit 69 for controlling each part is connected to the C power source 67, and a DC load and various sensors are connected to the control circuit 69. A halogen lamp or a fan motor is connected as the AC load 68. Further, a make contact 65 a and a make contact 65 b of the timer 65 are connected in series to the other hot line 62 and the neutral line 63 after branching, respectively. An optical condensation heater 51, a charging / drum heater 52, and a dehumidifying heater 53 are connected between the other hot line 62 and the neutral line 63 after branching.

Next, the operation of the power supply circuit thus constructed will be described. First, when using a copying machine, the power switch 66 is turned on. As a result, the power switch 66 is switched to the side opposite to the position shown in FIG. 3, so that power is supplied to the control circuit 69 and the AC load 68, and the copying machine can be used. Copy machine,
As shown in FIG. 4A, the power switch 66 is used to start the use at 9 am and stop the use at 5 pm.
When the switch is turned off, the power switch 66 enters the state shown in FIG. Therefore, while the power switch 66 is OFF,
By closing the make contacts 65a and 65b of the timer 65, the optical condensation heater 51 and the charging / drum heater 5 are closed.
2, it is possible to supply power to the dehumidifying heater 53 heater.

By the way, in a company or the like, the usage time of the copying machine is usually a working time or a working hours plus working hours. Therefore, the time when the copier is not used is considered to be mixed, but the start time of use is considered to be almost the work start time. Therefore, in order to enable the copier to operate normally at the work start time (9:00 am) shown in FIG. 4A, the heater 51 is activated at time T1 earlier than the work start time scheduled to be used. , 52, 53
So that it is energized. Therefore, the timer 65 is set so that the make contacts 65a and 65b are arbitrarily closed and the circuit is turned on at the time T1. Also, the timer 65 is off
Then, the opening time of the make contacts 65a and 65b is made to coincide with the scheduled use time of the copying machine, or if the scheduled time varies, it is set to the time T2 after the lapse of the scheduled time. Is desirable.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG.
Since 5b is provided on both the hot line 62 and the neutral line 63 of the power supply line, it is a preferable form from the viewpoint of preventing unnecessary leakage current and safety. Further, the power input (power terminal) of the timer 65 is as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, since the power switch is on the power supply side of the switch 66 and is taken from the circuit in the main body of the copying machine, the timer 65 operates independently and becomes independent of the operation of the main body of the copying machine. Wiring and installation is possible inside the machine body.

Further, the time T1 when the timer 65 is turned on is
As described above, since the time can be set to an arbitrary time before the time when the copying machine will be used, the optical condensation heater 5 can be set depending on the surrounding environment, seasonal differences, machine-specific conditions, and the like.
1, the charging / drum heater 52, the dehumidifying heater 53, and the like can be set more finely according to the respective conditions. Furthermore, since the time T2 when the timer 65 is turned off is the time when the copying machine will be used as described above, or any time after that time, the wattage of the heater and the copying machine It is possible to properly respond to each condition of the temperature listing, and it is possible to absorb variations in the ON time of the copying machine. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, since the on-time T1 of the timer 65, the off-time T2 thereof, or both of them can be arbitrarily set, finer control can be performed, and the wattage of the heater and It is possible to properly respond to each condition of the temperature listing of the copying machine, and it is possible to absorb variations in the ON time of the copying machine.

As the timer 65 shown in FIG. 3 described above, a commercially available one can be used. An example of its use will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG.
It is a figure which shows an example of a daily timer. FIG. 6A
Is a front view showing an example of a weekly timer.
Is a front view of the display unit.

The daily timer 65A shown in FIG. 5 is used by connecting its power supply terminal to the connection position of the timer 65 shown in FIG. Further, the two make contacts are connected to the positions of the make contact 65a and the make contact 65b in FIG. Further, the daily timer 65A can arbitrarily set the opening time and closing time of the make contact. As described above, when the commercially available daily timer 65A is used, it is possible to easily realize the control of the heaters 51 to 53 and also to appropriately turn the heater ON / O.
The FF can be set, so that power consumption can be suppressed as a whole.

The weekly timer 65B shown in FIG.
The power supply terminal 651 is connected to the connection position of the timer 65 in FIG. Further, the two make contacts are connected to the positions of the make contact 65a and the make contact 65b in FIG. Further, the load terminal 652 is connected to the heaters 51 to 53 of FIG.
Connect. The weekly timer 65B can arbitrarily set the open time and the close time of the make contact on a weekly basis while observing the display unit 653, and the setting contents are displayed on the display unit 65B.
3 can be displayed. As described above, when the commercially available weekly timer 65B is used, ON / OFF of the heater can be set on a weekly basis for each day of the week, so that finer control can be performed and power consumption can be suppressed.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the timer 65 and its contact points 65a and 65b shown in FIG. 3 can be removed or retrofitted.
With such a configuration, it is possible to easily add it to a copying machine already installed in a customer or a copying machine for which the function according to the embodiment is not planned to be adopted. It is possible to realize power saving of the installed copying machine. Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the time setting unit or the display unit of the timer 65 can be seen from the exterior of the copying machine. With such a configuration, a user or a service person can easily operate the timer 65 to check or change the setting, and more accurate setting can be performed. In the above description, the case where the present invention is applied to a copying machine has been described. However, in the present invention, the original work is performed when the power is turned on, and the heating source or the like is operated for the purpose of preventing dew condensation during the power-off period, and the heating source or the like can be controlled by a timer. If it is an electric device, it can be applied to other than the copying machine.

[0025]

According to the invention of claim 1, when the power switch is turned off, the heating source can consume only the necessary electric power, so that it is possible to prevent the harmful effects caused by the dew condensation, and as a whole, compared with the conventional case. Power consumption can be reduced. In the invention of claim 2, the heating source is any one of a dehumidifying heater for feeding a sheet, a dew condensation preventing heater for an optical system, a dew condensation preventing heater for a photoconductor, a heat retaining heater for a charging roller, and a heater for a transfer roller.
Alternatively, since these are combined, it is possible to prevent the harmful effects caused by dew condensation and to reduce the power consumption as compared with the conventional case. In the invention according to claim 3, since the contact of the timer is provided on both the hot line and the neutral line of the power supply line, it is possible to eliminate unnecessary leakage current, and
The safety can be improved by completely blocking both lines.

In the invention according to claim 4, since the timer is connected to the power supply line on the power supply side of the power switch and provided in the aircraft, the timer can operate independently. Therefore, regardless of the operation of the device, installation and wiring can be performed in the machine. In the invention according to claim 5, the time when the timer closes the contact is an arbitrary time before the time when the image forming unit is scheduled to be used. Therefore, the surrounding environment, the difference in season, the image forming unit It can be set more finely according to the condition of each heater, etc., according to the unique conditions. In the invention according to claim 6, the time when the timer opens the contact is set to the scheduled time when the image forming unit is used, or an arbitrary time after the scheduled time has elapsed. It is possible to more accurately respond to the conditions such as the capacity and the temperature rise of the machine, and it is also possible to absorb the variation in the ON time of the image forming unit.

In the invention described in claim 7, since the timer is set so that the time when the contact is opened, the time when the contact is closed, or the time when the contact is opened and closed can be arbitrarily set, the heater capacity, In addition to being able to more appropriately respond to conditions such as machine temperature rise, it is possible to absorb variations in the ON time of the image forming unit. In the invention according to claim 8, since the timer is a daily timer or a weekly timer, it is possible to more appropriately set ON / OFF of the heater and reduce power consumption. In the invention according to claim 9, the timer is detachable or retrofittable, so that the timer can be retrofitted to a device already installed in a customer or a device that the function according to the embodiment is not planned to employ. Therefore, it is possible to easily realize the power saving of the already installed device. In the invention according to claim 10, since the time setting section of the timer can be operated from the outside and the contents of the display section can be recognized from the outside, the timer can be easily operated from the outside,
The setting can be confirmed and changed, and more accurate setting is possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a copying machine to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an arrangement example of heaters arranged inside the copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a power supply circuit that supplies power to each unit of the copying machine.

FIG. 4 is a time chart explaining the operation of the power supply circuit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a daily timer.

FIG. 6A is a front view of a weekly timer, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a front view showing a display unit of the timer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Copying Machine Main Body 2 Automatic Paper Feeding Device 3 Sorter Stapler 4 Paper Feeding Table 51 Optical Condensation Heater 52 Charging / Drum Heater 53 Dehumidifying Heater 61 Power Plug 62 Hot Line 63 Neutral Line 64 Fuse 65 Timer 65a, 65b Timer Make Contact 65A Daily Timer 65B Weekly timer 66 Power switch 67 DC power supply 68 AC load 69 Control circuit

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An image forming unit for forming and outputting an image,
In an image forming apparatus having a heating source that keeps a predetermined portion of the image forming unit warm, the load of the image forming unit is connected to a power source line, the power source line is branched, and the heating source is connected to the branched power source line. A power switch for switching the supply of power to the load of the image forming unit and the heating source is provided at the branch portion of the power supply line, and the heating source is energized to the power supply line after the branching. An image forming apparatus characterized by interposing a contact of a timer to be controlled. 2. The heating source is any one of a paper feed dehumidification heater, an optical system dew condensation prevention heater, a photoconductor dew condensation prevention heater, a charging roller heat retention heater, and a transfer roller heater.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is one or a combination thereof. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact of the timer is provided on both the hot line and the neutral line of the power supply line after the branch. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power supply terminal of the timer is connected to the power supply line on the power supply side of the power switch. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the time at which the timer closes the contact is any time before the time at which the image forming unit is scheduled to be used. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 or claim 4. 6. The time when the contact opens by the timer is a scheduled time when the image forming unit is used, or an arbitrary time after the scheduled time has elapsed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, claim 3, claim 4, or claim 5. 7. The timer according to claim 1, wherein a time at which the contact is opened, a time at which the contact is closed, or a time at which the contact is opened and closed can be arbitrarily set.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the timer is a daily timer or a weekly timer. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the timer is removable or can be attached later. 10. The timer according to claim 1, wherein a time setting section of the timer can be operated from the outside, and the contents of the display section can be recognized from the outside. The image forming apparatus according to item.