JPH1165398A - Photoreceptor maintenance and exchange mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect whether a new photoreceptor is attached or not and the peeling action of a photoreceptor protection film and the ejecting action thereof from an electronic recorder are normally executed or not by providing the protection film with a part to be detected by a protection film detector arranged on the inside of the electronic recorder. SOLUTION: When the new photoreceptor 1 is attached to the recorder and a belt is driven to be fed, the leading edge of the protection film floating up from the surface of the photoreceptor 1 at the part of a belt guide roller (b4) is picked up by a protection film guide 13 positioned on a downstream side in the belt feeding direction of the roller (b4) so as to be guided to a press- contact part being a normal paper carrying path between a transfer roller 10 and a fixing roller 11. At this time, the part to be detected formed at the leading edge part of the protection film is detected by the protection film detector 14 arranged near the guide 13. Then, it is detected that the peeling action of the protection film from the photoreceptor 1 is started and the ejecting action thereof from the recorder is started.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism, and more particularly to a photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism for an electrophotographic recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A photosensitive member of a conventional electrophotographic recording apparatus is supported by a mechanical support such as a drum or a belt.
In a general printing operation of this conventional electrophotographic recording apparatus,
First, any charge remaining on the photoreceptor from the previous operation is erased by exposure to the erase lamp. Next, the photoreceptor is uniformly and uniformly charged by a corona or a charge roll. By irradiating the surface of the photoreceptor that creates a latent image with laser light or LED light,
The surface state is changed to a charge distribution corresponding to the image to be formed. The toner is attracted to the photoreceptor according to the charge distribution on the photoreceptor, forming a development. Then, the toner is transferred to a recording medium to be printed, such as paper or film, directly or through an intermediate medium.

[0003]

In such an electrophotographic recording apparatus, the photoreceptor is mechanically and mechanically repetitive as the image is formed.
Subject to electrical or thermal stress. It is necessary to periodically replace the drum or belt on which the photoreceptor is formed due to a change with time or the deterioration accompanying the image formation described above. The photoreceptor, which is a replacement part, is an important part that greatly affects the quality during the image forming process. During storage and replacement, the photoreceptor is particularly damaged by dust, and is mainly exposed to sunlight or indoor lighting. It is necessary to take sufficient measures against light degradation due to light.

For such a purpose, there is a method in which the surface of the photoreceptor is covered with a protective film, the protective film is peeled off after replacement with a recording apparatus main body. Furthermore, in order to facilitate maintenance and replacement, that is, to enable ordinary users to perform the maintenance and replacement, it is desirable that the protective film be automatically peeled and discharged by the operation of the recording apparatus main body.

[0005] As such a conventional example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-44
No. 299, there is no photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism realized only by this conventional example, and since the detector for the peeling and discharging of the protective film is not provided, the peeling and discharging operation of the protective film is completed normally. It is not possible to detect whether it has been done. Further, even when a used photoconductor having a deteriorated life is used, it is difficult to detect whether the photoconductor is new.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a photoconductor for maintenance and replacement.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism for an electrophotographic recording apparatus which can detect whether a new photoconductor is mounted, and whether the peeling of the photoconductor protection film and the discharging operation from the recording apparatus have been performed normally.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a photoreceptor maintenance / replacement mechanism, comprising: a photoreceptor having a drum or a belt as a support used in an electrophotographic recording apparatus; A protective film having a dustproof and light-shielding property adhered with a peelable strength without impairing the characteristics of the protective film, and provided at the leading end or the leading end and the trailing end of the protective film inside the electrophotographic recording apparatus. And a detected part detected by the provided protective film detector.

Further, the photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism of the present invention is characterized in that the protective film detector comprising an optical detector such as a transmissive detector or a reflected light detector and an optical detector such as a translucent unit or a reflective unit. And a detected part comprising a target detected part.

Further, the photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism of the present invention includes:
The protection film detector including a magnetic detector and the detected part including a magnetic detected part are provided.

Further, the photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism of the present invention includes:
The detection section is provided on a lead tape that is bonded to the protective film bonding end with an adhesive force having a strength sufficiently higher than a peelable strength and has a higher bending rigidity than the protective film.

Further, the photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism of the present invention includes:
A printing sheet counting unit existing inside the electrophotographic recording apparatus is initialized by a detection signal of the protection film detector.

Further, the photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism of the present invention includes:
The electrophotographic recording apparatus has a maintenance / replacement request notification function including light emission, sound generation, character display, or information transmission via a network or a combination thereof, and the counting unit counts the photoconductor. When the end of the life is reached, a notification urging maintenance replacement of the photoconductor is notified.

Further, the photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism of the present invention includes:
The electrophotographic recording apparatus has a maintenance / replacement completion notification function including light emission, sound generation, character display, or information transmission via a network, or a combination of these means. It is characterized by notifying whether maintenance replacement of the photoconductor has been completed normally or abnormally stopped.

[0014]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, which is a configuration diagram of a photoconductor maintenance / replacement mechanism according to a first embodiment of the present invention and having a photoconductor with a belt as a support, in a print recording operation state, Reference numeral 1 is wound around a belt guide roller a3, a belt guide roller b4, and a belt guide roller c5. The belt guide roller a3 applies tension necessary for driving the photosensitive member 1 to feed. The photoreceptor 1 is driven and driven by a belt guide roller a3. First, all the charges remaining on the photoreceptor 1 from the previous operation are erased by exposure of the erase unit 6.

Next, the photoreceptor 1 is uniformly and uniformly charged by the charge unit 7. By irradiating the surface of the photoreceptor 1 for creating a latent image with laser light or LED light in the exposure unit 8, the surface state is changed to a charge distribution corresponding to an image to be formed. In the developing unit 9, the toner corresponds to the charge distribution of the photoconductor 1.
To form a development. The toner development formed on the photoreceptor 1 is transferred onto a transfer roller 10 which is an intermediate medium, and further passes through a fixing roller 11 pressed against the transfer roller 10, for example, a recording medium 12 such as paper or film. And at the same time, is fixed by the heat and pressure given by the fixing roller 11.

The transfer roller 10 and the fixing roller 11 have a mechanism for pressing and separating the belt guide roller b4. Similarly, the developing unit 9 also has a pressure contact / separation mechanism for the photoconductor 1, and the belt guide roller c5 has a biasing / releasing mechanism for belt tension.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, which is a detailed view of the photoreceptor belt and the protective film, in conjunction with FIG. 1, a replacement procedure when the photoreceptor 1 is worn will be described.

The photoreceptor 1 is covered with a protective film 2 having a dustproof and light-shielding property in which the surface of the photoreceptor 1 is adhered with such strength that it can be peeled off without deteriorating its characteristics (see FIG. 1). 2 (c)). A mechanism for pressing and separating the transfer roller 10 and the fixing roller 11 with respect to the belt guide roller b4, a mechanism for pressing and separating the developing unit 9 with respect to the photoconductor 1, and a mechanism for urging and releasing the belt tension of the belt guide roller c5. As a result, all contact with the photoconductor 1 is released, and the worn photoconductor 1 is removed from the recording apparatus.

Next, a new photosensitive member 1 is mounted on the recording apparatus in the reverse procedure to the above-mentioned one, and the above-described print recording operation state is set. However, only the developing unit 9 is separated from the photoconductor 1. When the belt feeding drive is performed by the belt guide roller a3 in this state, when the protection film 2 approaches the belt guide roller a3, the belt guide roller b4, or the belt guide roller c5, the bending rigidity of the protection film 2 causes the protection film 2 to rotate. The roller is lifted from the surface of the photoconductor 1 by an amount corresponding to the winding angle with respect to the roller. After passing through these roller portions, the photoconductor 1 becomes substantially flat along the photoconductor 1 (FIGS. 2A and 2C).

Thus, the belt guide roller b4
Protective film 2 raised from the surface of photoreceptor 1
The top end of the transfer roller 1 is picked up by a protective film guide 14 located downstream of the belt guide roller b4 in the belt feeding direction, and the transfer roller 1
It is guided to a pressure contact portion between the fixing roller 11 and the fixing roller 11. At this time, the detection target 15a provided at the tip of the protection film 2
(FIG. 2B) is detected by the protective film detector 14 provided in the vicinity of the protective film guide 13 to detect that the peeling of the protective film 2 from the photoconductor 1 and the discharge from the recording device have started. .

As described above, there is a pressure contact force between the transfer roller 10 and the fixing roller 11, and the protective film 2 that has entered here is discharged out of the recording apparatus. When the detected portion 15b (FIG. 2B) provided at the rear end of the protective film 2 is detected by the protective film detector 14, the protective film 2 is separated from the photoconductor 1 and discharged from the recording device. Is completed. Thereafter, the developing unit 9 is brought into contact with the photoreceptor 1 to return to the print recording operation state.

The above-described protective film detector 14 and the detected parts 15a and 15b of the protective film 2 may be of an optical type or a magnetic type.

In general, there is a case where it is desired to use the protective film 2 as thin as possible while having required performances, that is, dustproof and light-shielding properties, from the viewpoint of manufacturing. In such a case, a lead tape which is thicker than the protective film 2 and which has sufficient bending rigidity to float on the above-mentioned belt guide roller portion is added to the leading end and / or the trailing end of the protective film 2. It is also possible. At this time, the detected parts 15a and 15b may be formed on the protective film 2 or may be formed on a lead tape.

FIG. 3 is a structural view showing a photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a photoconductor having a drum as a support is provided, and FIG. It is a detailed view of a protective film. The photoconductor 1 is formed on a drum, and the drum has sufficient rigidity against a contact pressure received from the developing unit 9, the transfer roller 10, and the like. The photoconductor 1 is driven to rotate at a constant speed by an external drive unit. First, all charges remaining on the photoconductor 1 from the previous operation on the photoconductor 1 are erased by exposure of the erase unit 6. Subsequent operations are the same as those of the photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism having the photoconductor with the belt as a support of the above-described first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, in the electrophotographic recording apparatus according to the present invention, at the start of the operation, a printing operation is carried out in the recording apparatus as to whether or not the life of the photosensitive member is remaining as part of the initialization operation. Confirmation is made based on the information of the number counting section (step 51). If the life of the photosensitive member has been reached by this confirmation, the maintenance / replacement request notification function including any means of light emission, sound generation, character display, or information transmission via a network inside the recording device or a combination thereof is used. Then, a notification urging maintenance replacement of the photoconductor is notified (step 52).

When the photosensitive member is replaced according to this notification (step 53), whether the maintenance replacement of the photosensitive member is completed normally based on the detection signal of the protective film detector (step 5).
5) or abnormal stop (Step 57) is notified by any means of light emission, sound generation, character display, or information transmission via a network inside the recording device, or a maintenance / replacement completion notification function including a combination thereof. .

After the maintenance and replacement of the photosensitive member are completed normally through these procedures (step 55), the count of the number-of-printed-sheets counting section in the recording apparatus is initialized (step 56).

If the life of the photosensitive member is remaining by the initialization operation, or if the photosensitive member is replaced by maintenance according to the above procedure, the recording apparatus is in a state of waiting for a print request (step 58). Here, when there is a print request, a printing operation is performed (step 59), and the number of printed sheets is counted in a printed sheet counting section inside the recording apparatus (step 60).

During the printing operation, whether or not the life of the photoreceptor is remaining is checked by the information of the printed sheet counting section, and when the life is reached, a notification prompting maintenance replacement is performed, and the same series of operations as described above are performed. The operation is performed.

[0032]

As described above, the photoreceptor maintenance / replacement mechanism of the present invention can detect whether or not the peeling of the protective film from the photoreceptor and the discharging operation from the recording apparatus have been completed normally. Based on this detection result, it is possible to notify whether or not the peeling and discharging operation of the protective film is normally completed.

Further, there is an effect that it is possible to detect that the replaced photosensitive member is a new one having a protective film.

Further, the total number of printed pages can be counted by the replaced photosensitive member, and there is an effect that it is possible to notify the maintenance replacement time of the photosensitive member based on the counted information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment using a photoreceptor belt of a photoreceptor maintenance and replacement mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a photoreceptor belt and a protective film.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment using a photoconductor drum of the photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of a photosensitive drum and a protective film.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photoconductor 2 Protective film 3 Belt guide roller a 4 Belt guide roller b 5 Belt guide roller c 6 Erase unit 7 Charge unit 8 Exposure unit 9 Developing unit 10 Transfer roller 11 Fixing roller 12 Recording medium 13 Protective film guide 14 Protective film detection Container 15a Detected part (front end) 15b Detected part (rear end)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A photoreceptor having a drum or a belt as a support used in an electrophotographic recording apparatus, and is adhered to the entire surface of the photoreceptor with a peelable strength without impairing the characteristics of the photoreceptor. A protective film having a dustproof and light-shielding property, and a detected part which is detected by a protective film detector provided inside the electrophotographic recording apparatus at the front end or the front end and the rear end of the protection film. A photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism, comprising: 2. The protective film detector comprising an optical detector such as a transmissive detector or a reflected light detector, and the detected part comprising an optically detected part such as a light transmitting part or a reflecting part. The photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising: the protection film detector including a magnetic detector; and the detection target including a magnetic detection target. 4. The cover formed on a lead tape which is adhered to the protective film adhesive end with an adhesive force having a strength sufficiently higher than a peelable strength and has a higher bending rigidity than the protective film. 4. The photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a detection unit. 5. The photoconductor maintenance exchange according to claim 1, wherein a print number counting unit existing inside the electrophotographic recording apparatus is initialized by a detection signal of the protective film detector. mechanism. 6. The maintenance / replacement request notification function, which includes any one of light emission, sound generation, character display, and information transmission via a network, or a combination thereof, in the electrophotographic recording apparatus. 6. The photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism according to claim 5, wherein when the count reaches the life of the photoconductor, a notification urging maintenance and replacement of the photoconductor is notified. 7. The protection film detection device according to claim 1, further comprising a maintenance / replacement completion notification function including any one of light emission, sound generation, character display, and information transmission via a network or a combination thereof. 7. The photoconductor maintenance and replacement mechanism according to claim 5, wherein whether the maintenance or replacement of the photoconductor is normally completed or abnormally stopped is notified by a detection signal of the photoconductor.