JPS63244072A - Developer recognizing device of image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To permit knowing of the color of the developer in a developing device mounted to an electrophotographic copying device before the start of copying by providing a resistor having the resistance value which varies with the color of the powder developer housed in the developing device. CONSTITUTION:At least the two developing devices 11 are prepd. in a body 10 of an image forming device such as electrophotographic copying device. The resistor 11 having the resistance value which varies with the color of the powder developer housed in the developing device is mounted into each developing device 11. The voltage value at the voltage dividing point of a voltage dividing circuit varied by the resistance value of the resistor 11 is detected by a detecting means. The display signal corresponding to the voltage value at the detected voltage dividing point is commanded by a control means 14 to a display part 15 and the color of the powder developer in the developing device 11 is displayed in the display part 15 according to the display signal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying apparatus, and relates to, for example, an improvement of a developer identification device of an image forming apparatus.

(Prior Art) Generally, an image forming apparatus that forms an image on an original image;
For example, in electronic copying machines, two types have been developed: one type that copies by moving the exposure point, and the other type that moves the original image relative to the exposure point as the device becomes smaller, that is, a type that copies by moving the original platen. has been done.

When copying is performed using such an electronic copying apparatus, for example, a copying apparatus with a movable document table, a copy start key is pressed after placing the document at the paper setting position on the document placement section of the document table. Then, an image of the document is formed as an electrostatic latent image on a photoreceptor drum, which is an image carrier, by a scanning section in the main body, and is then visualized by a developing device using a powder developer. . At the same time, paper is taken in from a paper feed tray provided outside the main body, and the visualized image is transferred onto the paper by a transfer device or the like. After the paper is fixed by the fixing device, it is discharged to a paper discharge tray provided outside the main body. Further, after the image has been transferred, residual images on the photoreceptor drum are removed by a cleaning device, a static eliminator, or the like.

Incidentally, in such an electronic copying apparatus with a movable document table, replaceable parts such as a developing device and a cleaning device are removable from the main body as a cartridge. For example, in the developing device, a plurality of types of powder developers of different colors are prepared in advance and stored in separate developing devices. If a developing device containing a powder developer of a desired color is attached to the main body and used, a single copying device can make copies of a plurality of colors.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in such an electronic copying apparatus, if a user who makes copies attaches the developing device to the main body, the powder contained in the developing device If you can see the color of the developer, but it was not installed by the user,
The color of the developer could not be determined until after copying.

This is because the color of the developer currently attached to the main body is not identified. For this reason, if the user making copies does not have a developing device installed, he or she may make unnecessary copies to check the color of the developer, which results in unnecessary use of developer and paper. there were.

This invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible for a user who is making a copy to know which color the powder developer attached to an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine is. A developing device for an image forming device that does not make unnecessary copies to confirm the color of the developer and does not use developer or paper unnecessarily even if the device itself is not equipped with a developing device. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a drug identification device.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) That is, the present invention is a system that is installed in at least two replaceable developing devices prepared in advance, and that the powder contained in the developing devices is A resistor having a resistance value that differs depending on the color of the developer; a voltage dividing circuit that is varied according to the resistance value of the resistor; a detection means for detecting a voltage value at a voltage dividing point of the voltage dividing circuit; a control means for commanding a display signal according to the voltage value of the voltage dividing point detected by the detection means; and a control means for displaying the color of the powder developer in response to the display signal commanded by the control means. It is characterized by comprising a display section.

(Function) To explain the function of the present invention, for example, at least two replaceable developing devices are prepared in the main body of an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying device. These at least two developing devices are equipped with resistors having different resistance values depending on the color of the powder developer housed inside these developing devices.

Then, the voltage value at the voltage dividing point of the voltage dividing circuit, which is varied by the resistance value of the resistor □, is detected by the detection means, and a display signal corresponding to the voltage value at the voltage dividing point detected by the detection means is sent. is commanded to the display section by the control means.

The display section displays the color of the powder developer in the developing device in response to the display signal.

(Example) The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a developer identification device of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, in which a resistor 111 included in a replaceable developing device 11 containing powder developer of a predetermined color and a predetermined fixed resistor are shown. The devices 12 are connected in series, and their connection point is designated as P. Further, the resistor 111 side connected in series is grounded, and a predetermined voltage is applied from the fixed resistor 12 side. Then, the voltage value at the connection point P between the resistors is read by the detection means 13, and the control means 14 controls the developing device 1 according to this value.
A command signal is outputted to display the color of the powder developer in No. 1 on the display section 15.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of an electronic copying device with a moving document table to which the developer identification device for an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the electronic copying device shown in FIG. 3. be.

In this electronic copying device, the main body 10 has a loading section 20 that can freely move back and forth in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure, with originals placed a on its top surface, and various operation keys etc. arranged on the front surface of the top surface. An operation panel 30 is arranged. Further, a main switch 31 as a power switch is provided on the right side of the main body 10. Furthermore, a paper feed tray 32 for feeding paper is provided on the right side of the main body 10, and a paper ejection tray 3 is provided on the left side.
3 and arrow B are centered around the support shafts 34 and 35, respectively.
It is rotatably mounted in the and C directions.

The operation panel 30 includes a display section 3011 that displays various keys to be described later; a density down key 302 and a density up key 303 for adjusting the density of the developer when copying; and a density up key 303 to select and set the desired number of copies. a step-down key 304 and a step-up key 305, a clear/stop key 306 for clearing information displayed on the display section 301, a copy start key 307 for starting copying according to a predetermined copying process, and a developing key 307, which will be described later. Developer display section 308 that displays the color of powder developer in the device
are provided for each. That is, normal copying work can be performed using the operation panel 30.

A document table 21 made of transparent glass on which the document is placed is set at the lower part of the placing section 20 on which the document is placed to be copied. The document table 21 is held on a support 22, and an open/close cover 23 that can be opened and closed on the document table 21 is also attached to the support 22. Furthermore, a cushion 24 made of an elastic material such as a sponge sheet is attached to the inside of the opening/closing cover 23 in order to press the document against the document table 21, and the lower surface, that is, the surface facing the document, is white. There is. Further, on a part of the surface of the document table 21, a scale 25 indicating a setting position such as the center position of the document to be placed and the size of the document, a guide (not shown), etc. are pasted, and the bottom surface of the document table 21 is scale 25
A white tape 2B in the form of a white sticker is pasted at a position facing the developer to prevent unnecessary developer consumption.

On the other hand, an exposure lamp 36 such as a fluorescent lamp is built-in as a light source in the upper and substantially central portion of the main body IO, and illuminates the document placed on the document table 21 through a filter 37 that cuts ultraviolet rays. A converging light transmitting member 38 is provided below the illuminating point, and a freely rotatable member having a negative charging ability is provided below the converging light transmitting member 38 as an image carrier for forming an image on the document. photosensitive drums 39 are respectively set. The photoreceptor drum 39 rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and is surrounded by a charging device 40 as a charging means, a transfer separation device 41 consisting of a developing device IL transfer charger and a separation device, and a cleaning device. 42 etc. are arranged in sequence.

The developing device 11 is constructed as shown in FIG. 2, and is detachably attached to the main body 10 as a cartridge. That is, it has an accommodating section 112 for accommodating a powder developer of a predetermined color having a positive charging ability therein, and has an opening formed in the lower side surface to form a substantially sealed shape.

A conveying member 113 that rotates in the direction of arrow E in the figure and feeds the powder developer toward the opening is provided in the storage section. In the vicinity of the opening, there is a developing roller 114 that is rotatable and has a metal surface and that rotates in the direction of the arrow F in the figure, and a developing roller 114 that is rotatable in the direction of the arrow C and has a sponge surface that is in sliding contact with the developing roller 114. A developer recovery roller 115 made of an elastic material such as the like is provided.

Furthermore, a coated blade 11 made of polyester or the like
B is fixed to the main body so as to be in pressure contact with the developing roller 114 while maintaining a predetermined gap. In order to prevent developer clogging in the vicinity of the developing roller 114, a partition plate 117 is fixed to the main body. Further, a leakage prevention plate 118 is attached to the lower part of the opening to prevent backflow and scattering of the developer.

Further, although not shown in the figure, a resistor 111 whose resistance value differs depending on the color of the developer contained in the storage portion 112 is attached to the developing device 11.

Further, a beam reflector 43 is disposed on the left side of the exposure lamp 36, and a slit 44 is formed near the base of this reflector 43.
A static elimination filter 45 is attached to the upper surface of the . Then, the light irradiated from the exposure lamp 36 passes through the static elimination filter 45 and the slit 44 to the charging device 4 for charging.
0 and the photosensitive drum 39 through the gap 46 of the cleaning device 42.
It is designed to be irradiated onto the top as static neutralizing light.

The base of the main body 10 of the copying apparatus is as follows.

On the right side of the photosensitive drum 39, a paper feed roller 47 having an elastic circumferential surface is installed near the tip of the top surface of the paper feed tray 32, which is an extension of the paper feed tray 32 attached to the outside of the main body IO. Adjacent to this paper feed roller 47, a separation roller 48 and a separation plate 49 are further provided.
A pair of paper guide plates 51 are respectively set adjacent to paper guide plates 8 via paper detection switches 50 . The paper detection switch 50 is associated with the display section 301 on the operation panel 30, and detects the number of sheets of paper passing through. A pair of registration rollers 52 and a pre-transfer guide plate 53 are provided from the paper guide plate 52 toward the photosensitive drum 39, respectively.

On the other hand, on the left side of the photosensitive drum 39, the space between the photosensitive drum 39 and the paper discharge tray 33 attached to the outside of the main body IO is as follows. That is, the feed roller 54, the paper conveyance plate 55, and the heat roller 561
A fixing device 56 including a press roller 562 and the like, and a paper discharge switch 57 for detecting paper jams are provided. Further, the upper left side of the main body 10 is provided with heat from the fixing device and the exposure lamp 36, and a charging device 4 for charging.
An exhaust fan 58 for dispersing ozone generated by corona discharge such as zero to the outside of the electronic copying apparatus main body 10, and an ozone filter 59 for neutralizing ozone odor are provided.

Furthermore, an opening/closing shaft 60 is set below the exhaust fan 5B at a height approximately at the center of the main body IO. This opening/closing shaft 60 becomes the center when opening/closing the upper part of the main body 10 during maintenance or the like. By rotating the upper part of the main body IO about the opening/closing shaft 60, the paper conveyance path (paper guide plate 51, pre-transfer guide plate 53, paper conveyance plate 55)
etc.), it is constructed so that it can be opened and closed freely (also called a clamshell structure). Thereby, the main body 10 can be made into a unit and divided into an upper unit, a bottom unit, and a base unit.

Next, the operation of the electronic copying apparatus configured as described above will be explained.

First, the main switch 31 is turned on and the machine waits until it becomes ready for copying. At this time, the voltage value at the connection point P is read by the detection means 13, for example, an A/D converter, and here the fixed resistor 12 in the main body IO is assumed to be 10Ω. On the other hand, the value of the resistor 111 of the developing device 11 varies depending on the color of the developer stored in the storage section 112.
For example, black is 10Ω, red is 20Ω, and blue is 30Ω.
Let it be Ω.

Then, a predetermined voltage, for example, 5V is applied, and the
/D converter 13 reads the voltage at connection point P. In this case, if the resistance value is 10Ω, the voltage at the connection point P is 2
．． If it is 50V and 20Ω, it is 3.33V, similarly 3
At 0Ω, tLif is 3.75V. In this way, the control means 14 displays the color of the developer corresponding to the voltage value of the connection point P on the developer display section 308. In other words, if the voltage value at the connection point P is 2.50V, an indication that the developing device 11 containing black developer is installed is displayed.
Similarly, if it is 3.33V, red developer is displayed, and 3
．． If the voltage is 75V, a blue developer is displayed on the developer display section 308.

When the state is ready for copying, the document is placed on the document table 21 in alignment with the scale 25 and the like, and the opening/closing cover 23 is closed. Then, the display section 30 on the operation panel 30
1, set the desired density using the density down key 302 and density up key 303, and set the number of copies using the step down key 304 and step up key 305. When these settings are completed, the copy start key 307 is pressed.

When the copy start key 307 is pressed, the placement unit 20 starts reciprocating in the direction of arrow A. Then, in synchronization with the driving of the placement section 20, scanning light is irradiated from the exposure lamp 3G onto the original via the filter 37 and the original table 21. Then, the scanning light is irradiated onto the photoconductor drum 39, which has been uniformly negatively charged by the charging device 40 in advance, through the focusing light transmission body 38, and based on the irradiated scanning light, , an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoreceptor drum 39.

On the other hand, in the developing device 11, the developer of a desired color contained in the storage portion 112 is conveyed onto the circumferential surface of the developing roller 114 by a conveying member 113 or the like that moves in the direction of arrow E. Here, the developer on the circumferential surface of the developing roller 114 rotating in the direction of arrow F is pressed by the tip of the coating blade 11G, so that it is formed into a layer of a predetermined thickness and is triboelectrically charged. . The developer charged on the circumferential surface of the developing roller 114 is then conveyed toward the photosensitive drum 39.

In this way, the charged developer comes to a position opposite to the electrostatic latent image formed on the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 39, which rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Then, the developer layered to a desired thickness on the developing roller 114 is transferred to the photosensitive drum 39 and the bias voltage applied by a power supply device (not shown).
Due to the potential difference between the latent image voltage and the latent image voltage, the toner particles fly onto the photoreceptor drum 39 one after another, and development is performed. Further, the developer that has not been used for development is collected back into the storage section 112 by a developer collection roller 115.

Further, at the same time as copying starts, paper is taken in from the paper feed tray 32 by the paper feed roller 47, passes through the paper guide plate 51, the pre-transfer guide plate 53, etc., and is transferred and peeled off in synchronization with the drive of the photoreceptor drum 39. It is sent to the device 41. Here, when the transfer separation device 41 discharges a negative corona, the paper is negatively charged and attracted to the photosensitive drum 39, and an image is formed. The image formed on the photoreceptor drum 39 is transferred onto a sheet of paper by a transfer and peeling device 41, and the sheet is peeled off from the photoreceptor drum 39 by removing the negative charge. After being peeled off in this manner, the paper is conveyed to a fixing device 56 via a feed roller 54 and a paper conveyance plate 55, and the image is fixed thereon. The paper with the image fixed thereon is discharged to the paper discharge tray 33 via the paper discharge switch 57.

On the other hand, on the photosensitive drum 39 after the image has been transferred to the paper,
Developer remains attached to the negatively charged parts,
The cleaning device 42 cleans the developer. Furthermore, the photoreceptor drum 39 is irradiated with the residual charge from the exposure lamp 3B and is irradiated from the gap 46 via the reflector 43, the charge removal filter 45, etc. to remove residual charges, and returns to the initial state.

In this way, the replaceable developing device is equipped with different resistors depending on the color of the developer stored in the storage section of the developing device, and the developing device is operated by detecting the voltage value that changes depending on the resistance value. Since the color of the developer is displayed on the display unit, the color of the developer in the developing device attached to the electronic copying apparatus can be known before copying starts.

In the same embodiment, an electronic copying device with a movable document table was described, but the invention is not limited to this, and as long as the developing device is removable, for example, an electronic copying device with a fixed document placement section can be used. It is also applicable to a mold image forming apparatus, etc.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible for the user making a copy to check the color of the powder developer attached to an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying apparatus by checking the developing device. To provide a developer identification device for an image forming apparatus that does not make unnecessary copies to confirm the color of the developer and does not use developer or paper unnecessarily even when the developer is not installed. can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a developer identification device of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the developing device of the apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are images of images according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an electronic copying apparatus of a moving document table type to which a developer identification device of a forming apparatus is applied. IO...Main body, 11...Developing device, 12...Fixed resistor, 13...Detection means, 14...Control means,
15...Display section, 111...Resistor, 112...
Containment department.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A resistor that is attached to each of at least two replaceable developing devices prepared in advance and that has a resistance value that differs depending on the color of powder developer stored in the developing device; , a voltage dividing circuit that is varied by the resistance value of this resistor, a detection means for detecting a voltage value at a voltage dividing point of this voltage dividing circuit, and a voltage value at the voltage dividing point detected by this sensing means. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control means for commanding a corresponding display signal; and a display section for displaying a color of the powder developer in response to the display signal commanded by the control means. Developer identification device.