JPS63103268A - Multicolor printing electrophotographic printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically check a mistake in color by changing the printing position of a toner mark by every color and comparing and collating the color designated from a higher device by the output signal due to reading of the toner mark with a color to be printed. CONSTITUTION:A sensor 12 detects the presence/absence of toner marks 11B, 11R, and 11G which are added in fixed positions on a form 10 at intervals of a certain length in the feeding direction and indicate toner colors of a multicolor print. A collating circuit 14 is provided which compares and collates the waveform of the output signal of the sensor 12 with a waveform set in accordance with the print color designated by a higher device 13 to discriminate coincidence between the color designated by the higher device 13 and the toner color used for print. The position of the toner mark printed for each color is determined correspondingly to a developing device to detect whether the toner color printed in the printer side and the print color from the high device coincide with each other or not.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electrophotographic printing device used in an information processing device, and particularly to a printing device capable of multicolor printing.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, this type of electrophotographic printing apparatus has a main charger 2, a light source section 3, and a light source section 3 disposed around a photoreceptor 1, as shown in FIG.
Lens group 4, developing device 5, transfer device 6, paper transport section 7. It consists of a cleaning section 8, a static eliminator 9, and other sections that perform a series of electrophotographic processes. In recent years, due to the development of image processing, graphic processing, etc. and the ease of reading printed data, there has been a strong desire for information processing printing devices that can perform multicolor printing.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In the conventional printing devices mentioned above, there is no need to know the color of the toner to be used (i.e., the color of the printed characters), but in printing devices capable of multicolor printing, it is possible to know the print color you want to print based on instructions from the host device. However, it is necessary to match the color of the toner contained in the developing device, and the disadvantage is that the operator must actually check the color with his or her eyes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a multicolor electrophotographic printing apparatus that automatically determines whether a color specified by a host device matches a color printed on paper.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention relates to a multicolor electrophotographic printing device that performs multicolor printing using multicolor toner in accordance with instructions from a host device, in which multicolor printing is applied at fixed positions on paper at regular intervals along the feeding direction. A sensor detects the presence or absence of a toner mark that displays the toner color, and the waveform of the output signal of this sensor is compared with the waveform set corresponding to the print color specified by the host device, and the specified color is determined from the host device. This is a multi-color printing electrophotographic printing apparatus characterized by having a collation circuit for determining the code between the toner color and the toner color used for printing.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an electrophotographic printing apparatus for multicolor printing. A first charger 2' disposed around the photoconductor 1, a laser light source section 3, a lens group 4 that makes the light from the light source section 3 into an appropriate shape, and a first toner attached to the photoconductor 1. A first developing device 5', a second charger 2' that sets the potential of the photoconductor 1 to the required potential before the second development, and a second toner (
Basically, a second developing device 5' attaches toner (toner having a different tone from the first one), a third charger 2''' sets the potential of the photoreceptor 1 to the required potential before the third development, a third charger 2''' A third developing device 5'' to which the third toner is attached; a transfer device 6 which transfers the toner image on the photoconductor 1 onto the paper 10; and a paper conveyance unit which transports the paper 10 at the same speed as the rotational speed of the photoconductor 1. 7, a cleaning device 8 for cleaning the photoreceptor 1, and a static eliminator 9 perform a series of electrophotographic processes.

Since the developing method of this type of printing device is a two-component developing method,
It is necessary to replenish the consumed toner according to the amount of printing. As shown in FIG. 1, this method involves printing a mark (referred to as a toner mark) on the edge of a sheet of paper 10, and reading its density with a sensor 12 (referred to as a toner mark sensor) placed near the transfer device 6. This method of determining the amount of toner to be replenished is widely used because it allows direct judgment of print density and is highly reliable.

By predetermining the position of the toner mark to be printed for each color in accordance with the developer, it is possible to know whether the toner color printed by the printing device matches the color printed by the host device. can. That is, in FIGS. 1 and 2, by setting the position of the toner mark to be printed for each color in advance according to the developing device, the paper 10 can be printed at regular intervals along the feeding direction (six directions). 1 henna mark that displays the toner color of multicolor printing at the position 1111.
IIR, 11G is attached. In the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, toner marks 11B for black toner and 1-chie marks 11 for red toner are placed on one side of the paper 10 at regular intervals along the feeding direction.
The setting is such that the toner mark IIG of R9 green toner is attached in order.

In FIG. 1, the present invention includes a sensor 12 that detects the presence or absence of toner marks IIn, IIR, and IIG that display the toner colors of multicolor printing that are attached to fixed positions on a paper 10 at regular intervals along the feeding direction; The waveform of the 12 output signals is
A verification circuit 1 that compares and collates a waveform set corresponding to a print color designated by the host device 13 to determine the code between the designated color from the host device 13 and the toner color used for printing.
4.

Now, with the configuration shown in FIG. 4, the first developing device 5' is filled with red toner, the second developing device 5' is filled with green toner, and the third developing device 5' is filled with red toner.
Assume that ″′ contains black toner.

Now, assume that a print command to print black and red is received from the host device 13. At this time, in the printing device, the first developer 5' containing red toner and the third developer 5'' containing black toner operate to mark toner marks IIR, 11,
8 is attached, so this toner mark 11R, 11, 8
The output of the sensor 12 that read the is shown in Figure 3(a).
You should get an output like 6 Therefore, in Figure 3 (
By storing a waveform such as that shown in c) in the verification circuit 14, it is possible to confirm that the signal in FIG. 3(a) matches the verification signal in FIG. 3(c) and that printing is performed in the correct color. I can judge. Now, if the developing units 5' and 5'' are operated, the obtained toner mark output will be as shown in Figure 3(b), and the third
It does not match the verification signal shown in Figure (c), and the printing color is different, so it is possible to stop the printing operation as an alarm. Also, red.

When printing in three colors of green and black, the verification signal also becomes wider,
It is possible to recognize that correct printing is being performed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained below, the present invention changes the printing position of the toner mark for each color, and uses the output signal from reading the mark to compare and match the color specified by the host device with the color printed by the printing device. This has the effect of automatically checking that there are no errors in color.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing toner marks with different printing positions for each color, and FIG.
Figures (a), (b), and (c) are waveform diagrams showing toner mark reading signals, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a multicolor electrophotographic printing device, and Figure 5 is a monochrome electrophotographic printing device. FIG.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a multicolor electrophotographic printing device that performs multicolor printing using multicolor toner according to instructions from a host device,
A sensor detects the presence or absence of toner marks that display toner colors for multicolor printing, which are placed on paper at regular intervals along the feeding direction, and the waveform of the output signal of the sensor is used for printing specified by a host device. A multicolor printing electrophotographic system characterized by having a verification circuit that compares and verifies the waveform set corresponding to the color and determines the code between the designated color from the host device and the toner color used for printing. Printing device.