JP2017156668A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a toner container used as a toner container for toner disposal once from being used as a toner container for toner replenishment and prevent the toner container in which replenished toner remains from being used as the toner container for toner disposal.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 1 includes toner containers 21 and 23 which have a memory 57, a disposal side detection part 49 which detects the amount of toner in the toner containers 21 and 23 attached to a disposal side attachment part, a display part 25 which displays a notification for urging that the toner containers 21 and 23 should be attached to a replenishment side attachment part, when the amount of toner is a threshold or more, a disposal side communication part 48 which writes used information on the memory 57, when the amount of toner is less than the threshold, and a control part 55 which stops an image forming operation, when the toner containers 21 and 23 in which the used information is written on the memory 57 are attached to the replenishment side attachment part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus including a toner container that stores replenishment toner or waste toner.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a toner container for supplying replenishment toner (for example, toner supplied from a developing unit to an image carrier when an image forming operation is performed), and waste toner (for example, And a toner container for toner disposal that stores toner collected from the image carrier after the image forming operation is completed. A toner container for toner replenishment may be used as a toner container for toner disposal after the replenished toner is emptied (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-261968 A

  In such a case, when a toner container once used as a toner container for toner disposal is erroneously used as a toner container for toner replenishment, an image forming operation is performed using the waste toner, There is a risk of malfunction or failure of the image forming apparatus.

  In the above case, if the toner container in which the replenishment toner remains is used as a toner container for toner disposal, the replenishment toner cannot be used up sufficiently and the use efficiency of the replenishment toner is reduced. There is a fear.

  Therefore, in consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention prevents a toner container once used as a toner container for toner disposal from being used as a toner container for toner replenishment, and a toner in which replenished toner remains inside. It is intended to prevent the container from being used as a toner container for toner disposal.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a non-volatile memory, a toner container for storing replenished toner or waste toner, and a toner replenishing port for supplying replenished toner from the toner container, and the toner container is detachable A replenishment side mounting portion that is mounted on the toner container, a toner disposal port that discharges waste toner to the toner container, and the waste side mounting portion on which the toner container is detachably mounted; A waste-side detection unit that detects the amount of toner in the toner container, and when the toner amount detected by the waste-side detection unit is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the toner container is attached to the replenishment side attachment unit. A display unit for displaying a notification for prompting the user, a discard side communication unit for writing used information in the memory when the toner amount detected by the discard side detection unit is less than a threshold, and the memory When said toner container used information is written to Lee mounted on the supply-side attachment portion, characterized in that it comprises a control unit for stopping the image forming operation, a.

  As described above, when the amount of toner detected by the discard side detection unit is less than the threshold, the discard side communication unit writes used information to the memory, and the toner container in which the used information is written is replenished. When mounted on the side mounting unit, the control unit stops the image forming operation. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent a toner container once used as a toner container for toner disposal from being used as a toner container for toner replenishment.

  In addition, as described above, when the toner amount detected by the discard side detection unit is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the display unit displays a notification that prompts the user to mount the toner container on the supply side mounting unit. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the toner container in which the replenishment toner remains inside from being used as a toner container for toner disposal. Therefore, the replenishment toner can be used up sufficiently, and the use efficiency of the replenishment toner can be improved.

  The image forming apparatus includes: a replenishment side detection unit that detects that the replenishment toner in the toner container attached to the replenishment side attachment unit is empty; and the replenishment side detection unit is a replenishment toner in the toner container. And a replenishment side communication unit that writes empty information to the memory when it is detected that the toner container has the empty information written in the memory. The used information may be written in the memory when the toner amount is mounted on the discard side mounting unit and the toner amount detected by the discard side detection unit is less than a threshold value.

  By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the replenishment toner remains in the toner container based on the detection results of both the discard side detection unit and the replenishment side detection unit. .

  The discard side communication unit is mounted when the toner container in which empty information is written in the memory is mounted on the discard side mounting unit, and the toner amount detected by the discard side detection unit is equal to or greater than a threshold value. Empty information may be erased from the memory.

  By adopting such a configuration, when the replenishment detection unit erroneously detects that the replenishment toner in the toner container is empty even though the replenishment toner remains in the toner container, the empty information Can be erased. As a result, the replenishment toner can be used up more reliably, and the use efficiency of the replenishment toner can be further increased.

  The display unit displays a notification that prompts the user to mount the toner container on the replenishment side mounting unit when the toner container on which empty information is not written in the memory is mounted on the disposal side mounting unit. May be.

  By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to more reliably prevent the toner container in which the replenishment toner remains inside from being used as a toner container for toner disposal.

  The display unit displays a notification prompting the user to remove the toner container from the supply side mounting unit when the toner container in which used information is written in the memory is mounted on the supply side mounting unit. Also good.

  By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to more reliably prevent a toner container once used as a toner container for toner disposal from being used as a toner container for toner replenishment.

  The control unit may determine that the waste toner in the toner container is full when the amount of toner detected by the discard side detection unit is equal to or greater than another threshold value greater than the threshold value.

  By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to use the waste side detection unit used for determining whether used information is written or not for determining whether the waste toner in the toner container is full or not. It becomes.

  According to the present invention, a toner container once used as a toner container for toner disposal is prevented from being used as a toner container for toner replenishment, and a toner container in which replenished toner remains is used for toner disposal. It is possible to prevent the toner container from being used.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outline of a configuration of a multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a replenishment toner bottle and a replenishment side mounting portion in the multifunction machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a waste toner bottle and a waste-side mounting portion in the multifunction machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a control system for a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of toner supply control in the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a first example of toner disposal control in the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a second example of toner disposal control in the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, an MFP 1 (image forming apparatus) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Arrows Fr, Rr, L, R, U, Lo attached to the respective drawings respectively indicate the front side, the rear side, the left side, the right side, the upper side, and the lower side of the multifunction machine 1.

  First, an outline of the configuration of the multifunction machine 1 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 1 includes a box-shaped multifunction machine body 2 (apparatus body). An image reading device 3 for reading a document image is provided at the upper end portion of the multifunction machine main body 2. A paper discharge tray 4 is provided on the lower side of the image reading device 3 in the upper part of the multifunction machine main body 2.

  An intermediate transfer belt 5 is accommodated in a substantially central portion of the multifunction machine body 2. A cleaning mechanism 6 is provided on the left end side of the intermediate transfer belt 5.

  Four image forming portions 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y are accommodated below the intermediate transfer belt 5 in a substantially central portion of the multifunction device main body 2. The four image forming units 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y correspond to black, cyan, magenta, and yellow toners, respectively. Each of the image forming units 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y includes a photosensitive drum 8 (image carrier), a charger 9, a developing device 10, a primary transfer roller 11, and a cleaning device 12. The intermediate transfer belt 5 is sandwiched between the primary transfer roller 11 and the photosensitive drum 8, and a primary transfer nip N <b> 1 is formed between the intermediate transfer belt 5 and the photosensitive drum 8.

  An exposure device 13 is accommodated below the four image forming units 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y in the lower portion of the multifunction device main body 2. A sheet feeding cassette 14 is accommodated below the exposure device 13 at the lower end of the multifunction machine main body 2. The paper feed cassette 14 stores paper S (recording medium).

  A conveyance path 15 for the paper S is provided on the right side of the multifunction machine main body 2. A paper feed unit 16 is provided at the lower end (upstream end) of the transport path 15. A secondary transfer roller 17 is provided in the midstream portion of the transport path 15. A secondary transfer nip N <b> 2 is formed between the secondary transfer roller 17 and the intermediate transfer belt 5. A fixing device 18 is provided in the upper part (downstream part) of the transport path 15. A paper discharge unit 19 is provided at the upper end (downstream end) of the transport path 15.

  Four replenishing toner bottles 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y (toner containers) are accommodated in the upper part of the multifunction machine main body 2 below the paper discharge tray 4. Each of the replenishment toner bottles 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y contains black, cyan, magenta, and yellow replenishment toners, respectively. Each of the replenishing toner bottles 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y is detachably mounted on the replenishing side mounting portions 22K, 22C, 22M, and 22Y. A waste toner bottle 23 (toner container) is accommodated in the left end portion of the MFP main body 2. The waste toner bottle 23 contains waste toner. The waste toner bottle 23 is detachably attached to the waste side attachment portion 24.

  A display unit 25 is provided on the front side of the image reading device 3 at the upper end of the multifunction machine main body 2. The display unit 25 includes, for example, various operation buttons and an operation panel.

  Next, the operation of the multifunction machine 1 having such a configuration will be described.

  When the MFP 1 is instructed to start printing, an image forming operation is performed as follows. First, the charger 9 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 8. Next, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 8 by light from the exposure device 13 (see arrow P in FIG. 1). Next, the developing device 10 supplies the replenishment toner replenished from the replenishment toner bottles 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y to the photoconductive drum 8, so that the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductive drum 8 is formed. The toner image is developed and carried on the photosensitive drum 8. This toner image is primarily transferred onto the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 5 at the primary transfer nip N1. The operation as described above is performed in each of the image forming units 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y, so that a full-color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 5. Note that the waste toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 8 after the image forming operation is completed is collected by the cleaning device 12.

  Further, the paper S taken out from the paper feed cassette 14 by the paper feed unit 16 is transported downstream in the transport path 15 and enters the secondary transfer nip N2. The full-color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 5 is secondarily transferred onto the paper S at the secondary transfer nip N2. The waste toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 5 after the end of the secondary transfer is collected by the cleaning mechanism 6.

  The sheet S on which the toner image is secondarily transferred is further conveyed downstream along the conveyance path 15 and enters the fixing device 18. In the fixing device 18, the toner image is fixed on the paper S. The paper S on which the toner image is fixed is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 4 by the paper discharge unit 19.

  Next, the replenishing toner bottles 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y will be further described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the outer diameter of the replenishment toner bottle 21K (replenishment toner bottle that accommodates black replenishment toner) is the same as that of the replenishment toner bottles 21C, 21M, and 21Y (replenishment toner bottle that accommodates color replenishment toner). It is larger than the outer diameter. In other respects, the configuration of the replenishment toner bottles 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y is the same. Therefore, only the replenishment toner bottle 21K will be described below, and the replenishment toner bottles 21C, 21M, and 21Y will be described. Omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the refill toner bottle 21 </ b> K includes a container main body 31, a casing 32 provided on the rear end side of the container main body 31, a drive gear 33 provided on the front side of the casing 32, and a casing 32. And a communication tag 35 provided on the upper end side of the housing 32.

  The container body 31 of the replenishment toner bottle 21K has a cylindrical shape that is long in the front-rear direction. The container main body 31 contains black supply toner. A spiral conveyance rib 37 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the container body 31. An opening 38 is provided at the rear end of the container body 31.

  The housing 32 of the replenishing toner bottle 21K has a bottomed cylindrical shape with the rear end portion closed. The front portion of the housing 32 is fitted to the outer periphery of the rear end portion of the container main body 31. As a result, the opening 38 of the container body 31 is covered by the housing 32, and the container body 31 is rotatably supported by the housing 32. A communication port 40 is provided on the lower surface of the housing 32.

  The drive gear 33 of the replenishment toner bottle 21K has a cylindrical shape. The drive gear 33 is fixed to the outer periphery of the rear part of the container body 31 and is provided so as to be rotatable integrally with the container body 31.

  The shutter 34 of the replenishment toner bottle 21 </ b> K is supported by the housing 32. The shutter 34 is moved back and forth between a position where the communication port 40 of the housing 32 is opened (see the solid line in FIG. 2) and a position where the communication port 40 of the housing 32 is closed (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2). It is provided to be movable along the direction.

  The communication tag 35 of the replenishment toner bottle 21K is fixed to the upper surface of the housing 32. The communication tag 35 has, for example, an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) function.

  Next, the replenishment side mounting portions 22K, 22C, 22M, and 22Y will be further described.

  Since the configurations of the replenishment side mounting portions 22K, 22C, 22M, and 22Y are the same, only the replenishment side mounting portion 22K (replenishment side mounting portion to which the replenishment toner bottle 21K is detachably mounted) will be described below. The description of the supply side mounting portions 22C, 22M, 22Y (replenishment side mounting portions to which the supply toner bottles 21C, 21M, 21Y are detachably mounted) will be omitted. An arrow X in FIG. 2 indicates the mounting direction of the replenishment toner bottle 21K to the replenishment side mounting portion 22K (in this embodiment, the direction from the front side to the rear side).

  As shown in FIG. 2, a supply pipe 43 is provided along the vertical direction at the rear lower end of the supply side mounting portion 22K. A toner supply port 44 is provided at the upper end of the supply tube 43. The lower end portion of the supply pipe 43 communicates with the internal space of the developing device 10 of the image forming unit 7K.

  A supply side communication board 45 (supply side communication part) is attached to the rear upper end of the supply side mounting part 22K. The supply side communication board 45 has, for example, an RFID function. The replenishment-side communication board 45 faces the communication tag 35 of the replenishment toner bottle 21K with an interval, and has a function of performing wireless communication with the communication tag 35 of the replenishment toner bottle 21K.

  Next, the waste toner bottle 23 will be further described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the waste toner bottle 23 is obtained by reversing the top and bottom of the replenishment toner bottle 21K. Since the shape of the waste toner bottle 23 is the same as that of the replenishment toner bottle 21K, the same reference numerals as those of the replenishment toner bottle 21K are attached to the respective parts of the waste toner bottle 23 in FIG. The description of the configuration is omitted.

  Next, the disposal side mounting portion 24 will be further described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a waste toner bottle 23 is detachably attached to the waste side mounting portion 24. 3 indicates the mounting direction of the waste toner bottle 23 to the discard side mounting portion 24 (in this embodiment, the direction from the front side to the rear side).

  A disposal pipe 46 is provided on the rear upper end portion of the disposal side mounting section 24 along the vertical direction. A toner disposal port 47 is provided at the lower end of the disposal tube 46. The upper end portion of the waste pipe 46 communicates with the cleaning mechanism 6 and the cleaning devices 12 of the image forming portions 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y via a waste duct (not shown).

  A disposal side communication board 48 (a disposal side communication unit) is attached to the rear lower end portion of the disposal side mounting unit 24. The discard side communication board 48 has, for example, an RFID function. The disposal-side communication board 48 is opposed to the communication tag 35 of the waste toner bottle 23 with an interval, and has a function of performing wireless communication with the communication tag 35 of the waste toner bottle 23.

  A weight sensor 49 (discarding side detection unit) is fixed to the lower end of the discarding side mounting unit 24. The weight sensor 49 has a function of detecting the toner weight (toner amount) in the waste toner bottle 23 attached to the waste side attachment unit 24.

  Next, the control system of the multifunction machine 1 will be further described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the multifunction device 1 is provided with a control unit 55. The control unit 55 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls the operation of each unit of the multifunction machine 1.

  The control unit 55 is connected to a drive source 56 configured by a motor or the like. The drive source 56 is connected to the drive gears 33 of the replenishment toner bottles 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y and the waste toner bottle 23, and is configured to rotate the drive gear 33 based on a signal from the control unit 55. ing.

  The control unit 55 is connected to the supply side communication board 45. As described above, the replenishment-side communication board 45 faces the communication tags 35 of the replenishment toner bottles 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y with an interval therebetween, and the communication of the replenishment toner bottles 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y. It has a function of performing wireless communication with the tag 35. Specifically, the replenishment side communication board 45 writes various information in the non-volatile memory 57 provided in the communication tag 35 of each replenishment toner bottle 21K, 21C, 21M, 21Y, or stores various information from this memory 57. A function of reading (reader / writer function for the memory 57) is provided.

  The control unit 55 is connected to the discard side communication board 48. As described above, the waste-side communication board 48 faces the communication tag 35 of the waste toner bottle 23 with a space therebetween, and has a function of performing wireless communication with the communication tag 35 of the waste toner bottle 23. ing. Specifically, the disposal-side communication board 48 has a function (memory 57 for writing various information to the nonvolatile memory 57 provided in the communication tag 35 of the waste toner bottle 23 and reading various information from the memory 57. Reader / writer function).

  The control unit 55 is connected to a remaining amount sensor 58 (replenishment side detection unit) provided in the developing device 10, and when the remaining amount sensor 58 detects the remaining amount of replenishment toner in the developing device 10, the detection result Is input to the control unit 55.

  The control unit 55 is connected to the weight sensor 49, and is configured such that when the weight sensor 49 detects the toner weight in the waste toner bottle 23, the detection result is input to the control unit 55.

  The control unit 55 is connected to the image forming units 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y, and is configured such that the image forming units 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y execute an image forming operation based on a signal from the control unit 55. Has been.

  The control unit 55 is connected to the display unit 25, and is configured such that the display unit 25 displays various notifications based on signals from the control unit 55.

  The control unit 55 is connected to the storage unit 60. The storage unit 60 stores a reference value St of the remaining amount of replenishment toner in the developing device 10. The storage unit 60 stores a threshold value T1 and a threshold value T2 (T2> T1) of the toner weight in the waste toner bottle 23.

  Next, in the multi-function device 1 configured as described above, an operation of supplying black supply toner contained in the supply toner bottle 21K to the developing device 10 of the image forming unit 7K (hereinafter referred to as “toner supply operation”). ).

  When the toner supply operation is performed, the drive gear 33 of the supply toner bottle 21K is rotated by the drive source 56. When the drive gear 33 rotates in this way, the container body 31 of the replenishment toner bottle 21K rotates integrally with the drive gear 33. Accordingly, as indicated by a dotted arrow A in FIG. 2, the black replenishment toner accommodated in the container main body 31 is conveyed from the front side to the rear side by the conveyance rib 37 of the container main body 31, and the replenishment toner bottle 21K. It is introduced into the internal space of the housing 32. The black supply toner introduced into the internal space of the housing 32 is supplied from the communication port 40 of the housing 32 to the toner supply port 44 of the supply tube 43 as indicated by a dotted arrow B in FIG. After passing through 43, the developing device 10 of the image forming unit 7K is supplied from the lower end of the supply tube 43.

  Note that the color replenishment toners stored in the replenishment toner bottles 21C, 21M, and 21Y are also replenished to the developing devices 10 of the image forming units 7C, 7M, and 7Y by the toner replenishment operation as described above.

  Next, in the multi-function device 1 configured as described above, an operation of collecting waste toner from the intermediate transfer belt 5 and the photosensitive drums 8 of the image forming units 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y into the waste toner bottle 23 (hereinafter referred to as “removal toner”). , Referred to as “toner discarding operation”).

  When the toner discarding operation is executed, the waste toner is collected from the intermediate transfer belt 5 by the cleaning mechanism 6 and the waste toner is collected from the photosensitive drum 8 by the cleaning devices 12 of the image forming units 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y. The waste toner collected by the cleaning mechanism 6 and the cleaning device 12 in this way is conveyed to a waste pipe 46 via a waste duct (not shown) as shown by a dotted arrow C in FIG. The toner is discharged from the toner disposal port 47 of the tube 46 to the communication port 40 of the housing 32 of the waste toner bottle 23 and introduced into the internal space of the housing 32.

  Further, when the toner discarding operation is performed, the drive gear 56 of the waste toner bottle 23 is rotated by the drive source 56, thereby rotating the container body 31 of the waste toner bottle 23 together with the drive gear 33. Along with this, the waste toner introduced into the internal space of the housing 32 of the waste toner bottle 23 is moved back by the transport rib 37 of the container main body 31 of the waste toner bottle 23 as indicated by a dotted arrow D in FIG. It is conveyed from the side to the front side and accommodated in the internal space of the container body 31.

  By the way, the multifunction machine 1 of the present embodiment is configured to use the replenishment toner bottle 21K as the waste toner bottle 23 after the black replenishment toner accommodated in the replenishment toner bottle 21K becomes empty. . Hereinafter, control when a toner container is used as the replenishing toner bottle 21K (hereinafter referred to as “toner replenishment control”) and control when a toner container is used as the waste toner bottle 23 (hereinafter referred to as “toner disposal control”). Will be described.

  First, an embodiment of toner replenishment control will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, the simple description of “developing device 10” refers to the developing device 10 of the image forming unit 7K.

  When the replenishment toner bottle 21K is attached to the replenishment side attachment unit 22K, the control unit 55 causes the replenishment side communication substrate 45 to read information in the memory 57 of the communication tag 35 of the replenishment toner bottle 21K (step S101). .

  Next, the control unit 55 determines whether the information read by the replenishment side communication board 45 includes used information (see step S207 for toner disposal control described later) (step S102).

  When step S102 is YES, there is a possibility that the toner container once used as the waste toner bottle 23 is erroneously attached to the replenishment side attaching portion 22K. Therefore, the control unit 55 stops the image forming operation by the image forming unit 7K (step S103), and causes the display unit 25 to display a removal promotion notification that prompts the user to remove the supply toner bottle 21K from the supply side mounting unit 22K (step S103). S104). This removal promotion notification includes, for example, a message such as “Remove the used replenishment toner bottle from the replenishment side mounting portion and mount a new replenishment toner bottle on the replenishment side mounting portion”. When step S104 ends, the toner replenishment control ends.

  On the other hand, when step S102 is NO, the control unit 55 determines that the toner container can be used as the replenishing toner bottle 21K, and causes the image forming unit 7K to perform an image forming operation (step S105).

  Next, the control unit 55 causes the remaining amount sensor 58 to detect the remaining amount (hereinafter referred to as “toner remaining amount”) of the replenishment toner in the developing device 10 (step S106), and is detected by the remaining amount sensor 58. It is determined whether or not the remaining amount of toner is less than the reference value St stored in the storage unit 60 (step S107).

  If NO in step S107, the remaining amount of toner in the developing device 10 is sufficient, so the process returns to step S105 and the control unit 55 causes the image forming unit 7K to perform an image forming operation.

  On the other hand, when step S107 is YES, since the remaining amount of toner in the developing device 10 is insufficient, the above-described toner supply operation is executed (step S108).

  Next, the control unit 55 causes the remaining amount sensor 58 to detect the remaining amount of toner in the developing device 10 again (step S109), and the remaining amount of toner detected by the remaining amount sensor 58 is stored in the storage unit 60. It is determined again whether it is less than the value St (step S110).

  When step S110 is NO, toner is supplied from the supply toner bottle 21K to the developing device 10 by the toner supply operation, and therefore the control unit 55 determines that the supply toner bottle 21K is not empty. To do. Therefore, returning to step S105, the control unit 55 causes the image forming unit 7K to execute an image forming operation.

  On the other hand, when step S110 is YES, the toner is not supplied from the supply toner bottle 21K to the developing device 10 even if the toner supply operation is performed. Judge that it is in a state. Therefore, the control unit 55 stops the image forming operation by the image forming unit 7K (step S111), and causes the supply side communication board 45 to write empty information to the memory 57 of the communication tag 35 of the supply toner bottle 21K (step S111). Step S112). Next, the control unit 55 causes the display unit 25 to display an empty state notification for notifying that the replenishment toner bottle 21K has become empty (step S113). An example of this empty state notification is “The replenishment toner in the replenishment toner bottle is empty. Remove the replenishment toner bottle from the replenishment side mounting part and install a new replenishment toner bottle in the replenishment side mounting part.” Is displayed. When step S113 ends, the toner replenishment control ends.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, it is determined based on the remaining amount of toner detected by the remaining amount sensor 58 whether or not the replenishment toner in the replenishment toner bottle 21K has become empty. In other words, in this embodiment, the remaining amount sensor 58 detects whether or not the replenishment toner in the replenishment toner bottle 21K has become empty.

  Next, a first embodiment of toner disposal control will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the user attaches the waste toner bottle 23 to the waste side mounting unit 24, first, the control unit 55 causes the waste side communication substrate 48 to read information in the memory 57 of the communication tag 35 of the waste toner bottle 23, and The weight sensor 49 is caused to detect the toner weight in the waste toner bottle 23 (step S201).

  When step S201 ends, the control unit 55 determines whether or not empty information is included in the information read by the discard side communication board 48 (step S202).

  When step S202 is NO, there is a possibility that the replenishment toner bottle 21K in which the replenishment toner is not emptied is erroneously attached to the disposal side attachment unit 24. Accordingly, the control unit 55 stops the image forming operation by the image forming unit 7K (step S203), and replenishment is made to prompt the user to attach the replenishment toner bottle 21K erroneously attached to the disposal side attachment unit 24 to the supply side attachment unit 22K. The side attachment notification is displayed on the display unit 25 (step S204). The replenishment side attachment notification may be, for example, “There is a possibility that a replenishment toner bottle with replenishment toner remaining attached to the disposal side attachment part. Please put it on. " When step S204 ends, the toner disposal control ends.

  On the other hand, when step S202 is YES, the control unit 55 determines whether or not the toner weight detected by the weight sensor 49 is less than the threshold value T1 stored in the storage unit 60 (step S205).

  When step S205 is NO, the supply toner bottle 21K in which the supply toner remains is erroneously detected by the remaining amount sensor 58 as the supply toner bottle 21K in which the supply toner is emptied, and then the supply side communication board. 45, there is a possibility that empty information has been written in the memory 57 of the communication tag 35 of the replenishment toner bottle 21K. Therefore, the control unit 55 causes the discard side communication board 48 to delete the empty information from the memory 57 (step S206), stops the image forming operation by the image forming unit 7K (step S203), and displays the above-mentioned supply side attachment notification. The data is displayed on the unit 25 (step S204). When step S204 ends, the toner disposal control ends.

  On the other hand, if step S205 is YES, the control unit 55 determines that the toner container can be used as the waste toner bottle 23, and writes used information to the memory 57 of the communication tag 35 of the waste toner bottle 23. Is executed by the discard side communication board 48 (step S207), and the image forming operation is executed by the image forming unit 7K (step S208).

  Next, the control unit 55 causes the weight sensor 49 to detect the toner weight in the waste toner bottle 23 again (step S209), and the threshold T2 (T2) in which the toner weight detected by the weight sensor 49 is stored in the storage unit 60. > T1) It is determined whether or not it is greater than or equal to (step S210). When step S210 is NO, the control unit 55 determines that the waste toner in the waste toner bottle 23 is not full, and returns to step S208 to cause the image forming unit 7K to perform an image forming operation.

  On the other hand, when step S210 is YES, the control unit 55 determines that the waste toner in the waste toner bottle 23 is full, stops the image forming operation by the image forming unit 7K (step S211), and discards it. A full notification for notifying that the toner bottle 23 is full is displayed on the display unit 25 (step S212). The full notification includes, for example, a display such as “The waste toner bottle is full. Remove the waste toner bottle from the waste-side mounting portion and attach a new waste toner bottle to the waste-side mounting portion”. . When step S212 ends, the toner disposal control ends.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, when the toner weight detected by the weight sensor 49 is less than the threshold value T1, the discard side communication board 48 stores the used information in the memory 57 of the communication tag 35 of the waste toner bottle 23. When the replenishment toner bottle 21K in which the used information is written in the memory 57 is attached to the replenishment side attachment unit 22K (see step S207), the control unit 55 stops the image forming operation (step S103). reference). By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the toner container once used as the waste toner bottle 23 from being used as the replenishment toner bottle 21K.

  Further, as described above, when the toner weight detected by the weight sensor 49 is equal to or greater than the threshold value T1, the display unit 25 displays a notification that prompts the user to attach the replenishment toner bottle 21K to the replenishment side attachment unit 22K. (See step S204). By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the replenishment toner bottle 21K in which the replenishment toner remains inside from being used as the waste toner bottle 23. Therefore, the replenishment toner can be used up sufficiently, and the use efficiency of the replenishment toner can be improved.

  Further, the discard side communication board 48 has the discard toner bottle 23 in which empty information is written in the memory 57 of the communication tag 35 is mounted on the discard side mounting unit 24, and the toner weight detected by the weight sensor 49 is the threshold value T1. If it is less, the used information is written in the memory 57 of the communication tag 35 of the waste toner bottle 23 (see step S207). By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not replenishment toner remains based on the detection results of both the weight sensor 49 and the remaining amount sensor 58.

  Further, the discard side communication board 48 has the discard toner bottle 23 in which empty information is written in the memory 57 of the communication tag 35 is mounted on the discard side mounting unit 24, and the toner weight detected by the weight sensor 49 is the threshold value T1. In the case above, the empty information is erased from the memory 57 of the communication tag 35 of the waste toner bottle 23 (see step S206). By adopting such a configuration, the remaining amount sensor 58 erroneously detects that the replenishment toner in the replenishment toner bottle 21K is empty even though the replenishment toner remains in the replenishment toner bottle 21K. In addition, the empty information can be erased. As a result, the replenishment toner can be used up more reliably, and the use efficiency of the replenishment toner can be further increased.

  The display unit 25 also attaches the replenishment toner bottle 21K to the replenishment side attachment unit 22K when the replenishment toner bottle 21K in which empty information is not written in the memory 57 of the communication tag 35 is attached to the disposal side attachment unit 24. A notification that prompts the user to do so is displayed (see step S204). By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to more reliably prevent the replenishment toner bottle 21K in which the replenishment toner remains inside from being used as the waste toner bottle 23.

  The display unit 25 also removes the replenishment toner bottle 21K from the replenishment side mounting unit 22K when the replenishment toner bottle 21K in which used information is written in the memory 57 of the communication tag 35 is mounted on the replenishment side mounting unit 22K. A notification that prompts the user is displayed (see step S104). By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to more reliably prevent the toner container once used as the waste toner bottle 23 from being used as the replenishment toner bottle 21K.

  Further, the control unit 55 determines that the waste toner in the waste toner bottle 23 is full when the toner weight detected by the weight sensor 49 is equal to or larger than the threshold T2 larger than the threshold T1 (step S210). reference). By adopting such a configuration, the weight sensor 49 used for determining whether to write used information can be used in combination for determining whether the waste toner in the waste toner bottle 23 is full. It becomes possible.

  By the way, in the first embodiment of the toner disposal control described above, as shown in FIG. 6, when the reading of information in the memory 57 (step S201) is completed, empty information is unconditionally included in the read information. (Step S202). When such a control method is employed, the toner container into which the waste toner is introduced by the weight W (threshold value T1 ≦ W <threshold value T2) is removed from the discard side mounting unit 24 and remounted on the discard side mounting unit 24. In addition, it is determined that the toner weight is less than the threshold value T1 (step S205), and the image forming operation is stopped (step S203). As a result, there is a possibility that the above toner container cannot be continuously used as the waste toner bottle 23 although the waste toner is not full.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment of the toner disposal control, as shown in FIG. 7, when the reading of information in the memory 57 (step S201) is completed, both the empty information and the used information are included in the read information. The process proceeds to the determination (step S201 ′), and if this step S201 ′ is NO, the process proceeds to the determination (step S202) whether or not the read information includes empty information. If YES in step S201 ′, the process proceeds to toner weight detection (step S209). The second embodiment of toner disposal control is the same as the first embodiment of toner disposal control except that step S201 ′ is added.

  Both empty information and used information are written in the toner container into which the waste toner has been introduced even once. Therefore, in the second embodiment of the toner disposal control, the toner container into which the waste toner is introduced by the weight W (threshold value T1 ≦ W <threshold value T2) is removed from the disposal side mounting section 24 and is re-applied to the disposal side mounting section 24. If it is mounted, the determination (step S201 ′) whether or not both the empty information and the used information are included in the read information is YES. As a result, regardless of whether or not the toner weight is less than the threshold value T1 (step S205), it is possible to cause the image forming unit 7K to execute an image forming operation (step S208). The waste toner bottle 23 can be continuously used. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the toner container cannot be continuously used as the waste toner bottle 23 even though the waste toner is not full.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the communication boards 45 and 48 perform wireless communication with the communication tags 35 of the toner bottles 21 and 23 has been described. On the other hand, in another different embodiment, each communication board 45 and 48 may perform contact communication with the communication tag 35 of each toner bottle 21 and 23.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the remaining amount sensor 58 provided in the developing device 10 is used as the supply side detection unit has been described. On the other hand, in other different embodiments, a remaining amount sensor provided in the replenishment side mounting unit 21 may be used as the replenishment side detection unit.

  Although not particularly described in the present embodiment, the discard side communication board 48 may be used for writing and reading used information and for other purposes. For example, in another different embodiment, the waste communication board 48 may be used to write and read full information regarding the waste toner in the waste toner bottle 23 becoming full.

  In this embodiment, the case where the configuration of the present invention is applied to the multifunction device 1 has been described. However, in another different embodiment, the configuration of the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus other than the multifunction device 1 such as a printer, a copier, and a facsimile. It is also possible to apply.

1 MFP (image forming device)
21 Refill toner bottle (toner container)
22 Supply side mounting part 23 Waste toner bottle (toner container)
24 Disposal side mounting unit 25 Display unit 44 Toner supply port 45 Supply side communication board (Supply side communication unit)
47 Toner waste port 48 Waste communication board (Disposal communication part)
49 Weight sensor (discard side detector)
55 Control unit 57 Memory 58 Remaining amount sensor (replenishment side detection unit)

Claims (6)

A toner container having a non-volatile memory and containing replenishment toner or waste toner;
A replenishing side mounting portion having a toner replenishing port through which the replenishing toner is supplied from the toner container, wherein the toner container is detachably mounted;
A waste-side mounting portion that has a toner disposal port for discharging waste toner to the toner container, and the toner container is detachably mounted;
A waste side detection unit for detecting the amount of toner in the toner container mounted on the waste side mounting unit;
A display unit that displays a notification that prompts the user to mount the toner container on the replenishment side mounting unit when the toner amount detected by the disposal side detection unit is equal to or greater than a threshold;
A discarding communication unit that writes used information to the memory when the toner amount detected by the discarding side detection unit is less than a threshold;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that stops an image forming operation when the toner container in which used information is written in the memory is mounted on the supply side mounting unit. A replenishment side detection unit for detecting that the replenishment toner in the toner container mounted on the replenishment side mounting unit is empty;
A replenishment side communication unit that writes empty information to the memory when the replenishment side detection unit detects that the replenishment toner in the toner container is empty;
The discard side communication unit is mounted when the toner container in which empty information is written in the memory is mounted on the discard side mounting unit, and the toner amount detected by the discard side detection unit is less than a threshold value, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein used information is written in the memory.   The discard side communication unit is mounted when the toner container in which empty information is written in the memory is mounted on the discard side mounting unit, and the toner amount detected by the discard side detection unit is equal to or greater than a threshold value. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein empty information is erased from the memory.   The display unit displays a notification prompting the user to mount the toner container in the replenishment side mounting unit when the toner container in which empty information is not written in the memory is mounted in the disposal side mounting unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.   The display unit displays a notification prompting the user to remove the toner container from the supply side mounting unit when the toner container in which used information is written in the memory is mounted on the supply side mounting unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.   The control unit determines that the waste toner in the toner container is full when the amount of toner detected by the discard side detection unit is equal to or greater than another threshold value greater than the threshold value. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

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