JP4097591B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, or a facsimile machine, which includes a developing unit that develops a latent image on a latent image carrier and a toner storage unit that supplies toner stored therein to the developing unit. Is.

  Conventionally, a one-component development method and a two-component development method are known as a method for developing a latent image carried on a latent image carrier such as a photoconductor into a toner image. The one-component development method is a method for developing a latent image using a one-component developer containing toner as a main component. On the other hand, the two-component development method is a method for developing a latent image using a two-component developer containing toner and a magnetic carrier.

  In either method, the amount of toner stock is limited, so that it is necessary to set new toner in the image forming apparatus main body as necessary. As a method for setting new toner, there is known a method in which a toner-enclosed developing device is replaced with a time when the toner runs out as a lifetime. There is also known a method of replenishing the image forming apparatus main body with new toner as it is or together with the toner container. From the viewpoint of running cost, the latter method is more advantageous.

  As an image forming apparatus in which new toner is set in the image forming apparatus main body by the latter method, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known. A toner storage unit (hopper) that stores toner to be supplied to the developing device, a toner remaining amount calculating unit that calculates a toner remaining amount inside the toner storage unit, and a display unit that displays the calculated toner remaining amount. An image forming apparatus. The toner remaining amount calculating means calculates the remaining amount of toner in the toner storing section based on the number of rotations of a motor that is a driving source of the movable member disposed in the toner storing section, and displays it on the display means. The user can determine the necessity of toner setting for the main body of the image forming apparatus based on the display, and can set new toner in the toner reservoir as necessary. However, in order to avoid a situation where the user is frequently forced to perform toner setting work, it is necessary to use a large toner reservoir that can stock a large amount of toner. In addition, when setting the toner, the trouble of transferring a large amount of toner from the storage bag or the like to the toner storage portion is required, so that the toner setting operation takes a long time.

  Further, in this image forming apparatus, as the movable member in the toner reservoir is deteriorated by toner fixation or wear, the amount of toner discharged from the toner reservoir per one rotation of the motor is gradually increased over a long period. It will decrease. This decrease causes a problem that the detection accuracy of the remaining amount of toner deteriorates with time.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 2 includes an image forming apparatus having a toner container configured to be detachable from the image forming apparatus main body, and supplying a toner to a developing device by moving a movable member disposed therein. Is disclosed. In such a configuration, since the toner set for the image forming apparatus main body only needs to be replaced, the toner setting operation can be performed in a short time even if a large toner container is used. In addition, when the toner container is replaced, the movable member inside thereof is also replaced. Therefore, when the remaining amount of toner in the toner container is detected based on the number of rotations of the motor that is the drive source of the movable member, the detection accuracy of the remaining amount of toner due to the deterioration of the movable member over time. It is possible to avoid the worsening. However, since the toner container having a complicated configuration in which the internal movable member is moved in response to the driving force from the outside is replaced, there is a problem that the cost increases.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a small toner storage unit, a toner container configured to be detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and a toner supply device that supplies toner therein to the toner storage unit. An image forming apparatus is disclosed. The toner container of this image forming apparatus has a spiral protrusion on the inner peripheral surface of a main body formed in a bottle shape, and the toner in the bottle is moved to the bottle opening by the spiral movement of the spiral protrusion accompanying the rotation of the entire bottle. Can be moved toward. The toner replenishing device rotates the bottle-shaped toner container to discharge the toner in the bottle from the toner container and replenish it to a small toner reservoir. The replenished toner is temporarily stored in a small toner storage unit, and then is gradually supplied into the developing device in accordance with the movement of the movable member provided in the toner storage unit. Even in such a configuration, since the toner setting for the image forming apparatus main body is only a toner container, the toner setting operation can be performed in a short time. In addition, a toner container having a simple configuration in which a spiral protrusion is provided inside the bottle body is used. For this reason, it is possible to avoid an increase in cost due to replacement of a complicated configuration in which the internal movable member is moved by driving from the outside.

JP 2000-3116 JP 7-199621 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-319705

  However, in this image forming apparatus, qualitative detection of whether or not the toner remaining in the detachable toner container is near-end rather than quantitative detection that allows the user to sequentially grasp the reduction amount. I was only going there. For this reason, it is difficult for the user to properly grasp the purchase timing of a new toner container. Further, even if the remaining amount of toner in the toner container is detected based on the number of rotations of the motor that drives the movable member in the toner reservoir, the movable member is deteriorated as in the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1. As a result, the detection accuracy deteriorates with time.

The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of realizing any of the items (1) to (4) listed below. It is.
(1) The toner setting operation for the image forming apparatus main body is performed in a short time.
(2) To avoid an increase in cost due to replacement of a toner container having a complicated structure in which an internal movable member is moved in response to an external driving force.
(3) Quantitatively detecting the remaining amount of toner in the toner container.
(4) A situation in which the detection accuracy of the remaining amount of toner in the toner container is deteriorated with time due to deterioration of the movable member that supplies toner into the developing device is avoided.

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a latent image carrier that carries a latent image, a developing device that develops the latent image on the latent image carrier, and a supply for the developing device. A toner storage unit that stores toner, a toner detection unit that detects toner in the toner storage unit, a toner supply device that supplies toner to the toner storage unit, and after the toner supply device starts to be driven , And a replenishment drive control unit that controls to stop driving of the toner replenishing device based on the detection of toner by the detecting unit, and the toner replenishing device is configured to be detachable from the support. In an image forming apparatus in which a container is rotated while being supported by the support, and the toner in the toner container is discharged toward the container opening while being moved toward the container opening to replenish the toner reservoir. , Serial and rotation number counting means for counting the number of rotations of the motor is a toner container or its drive source, and a toner remaining amount calculation means for calculating the amount of toner remaining in the toner container on the basis of the number of rotations provided As the number of rotations, the number of rotations of the toner container per drive from the start to the stop of driving of the toner supply device is calculated, and the remaining amount of toner is calculated based on the calculation result. As described above, the toner remaining amount calculating means is configured .
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a latent image carrier that carries a latent image, a developer that develops the latent image on the latent image carrier, and a toner reservoir that stores toner to be supplied to the developer. A toner detecting unit for detecting toner in the toner storing unit, a toner supplying device for supplying toner to the toner storing unit, and driving of the toner supplying device , and then the toner detecting unit detects toner. And a replenishment drive control means for performing control to stop driving of the toner replenishing device based on the fact that the toner replenishing device is configured to be detachable from the support. In the image forming apparatus, the toner container is rotated while being supported, and the toner in the toner container is moved toward the container opening and discharged from the container opening to replenish the toner reservoir. Times And rotation time measuring means for measuring the time, the on the basis of the rotation time is provided a toner remaining amount calculation means for calculating the amount of toner remaining in the toner container Rutotomoni, driving start of the toner supply device as the rotation time The toner remaining amount calculating means is configured to calculate the rotation time of the toner container per drive from the start to the stop and calculate the remaining amount of toner based on the calculation result. It is a feature .
Also, the invention of claim 3, the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, provided the pixel counting means for counting the number of pixels of the image formed on the latent image bearing member, the rotation number or rotation time When a change exceeding a predetermined threshold value occurs, the remaining toner amount is changed so that the calculation of the remaining toner amount is temporarily switched from the number based on the number of rotations or the rotation time to the number based on the number of pixels. The present invention is characterized in that the calculation means is configured.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect , wherein a transfer unit that transfers an image developed on the latent image carrier to a transfer member, and the latent image carrier and the transfer unit. A number-of-feeds counting unit that counts the number of feeds that are sent between them, and the remaining amount of toner is calculated based on the number of feeds in addition to the number of pixels. The present invention is characterized in that the calculation means is configured.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect , a supply drive time, which is a drive time of a movable member provided in the toner reservoir, is measured so as to supply toner to the developing device. Supply drive time measuring means is provided, and when the rotation number or rotation time exceeds a predetermined threshold, the remaining toner is calculated from the number of rotations or rotation time to the supply drive time. The toner remaining amount calculating means is configured to temporarily switch to the basis based on the above.

In these image forming apparatuses, since the toner set for the image forming apparatus main body only needs to be replaced, the toner setting operation can be performed in a short time even when a large toner container is used.
Further, the toner container is not a complicated structure in which an internal movable member is moved by receiving an external driving force, but a toner container having a simple structure such as the above-described toner bottle having no movable member is used. Therefore, it is possible to avoid an increase in cost due to replacement of a complicated configuration.
Further, by calculating the remaining amount of toner in the toner container based on the number of rotations or the rotation time of the toner container, the remaining amount of toner can be quantitatively detected.
In addition, since the remaining amount of toner is not calculated based on the movement of the movable member that gradually deteriorates with long-term use without being periodically replaced, the remaining amount of toner is reduced as the movable member deteriorates. A situation in which the detection accuracy is deteriorated with time can be avoided.
As a result of these, it is possible to realize any of the items (1) to (4) described above.

A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electrophotographic printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer) that is an image forming apparatus will be described below.
First, the basic configuration of this printer will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a printer according to the present embodiment. In the figure, a drum-shaped photoconductor 1 as a latent image carrier for carrying a latent image is driven to rotate clockwise in the drawing at a predetermined linear velocity by a driving means (not shown). Then, after the surface is uniformly charged by the charger 2, the optical writing device 3 performs optical scanning based on the image information to carry an electrostatic latent image on the surface. This image information is sent from a personal computer or the like (not shown).

  The electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor 1 is developed into a toner image by a developing device 4 using a two-component developer containing toner and a magnetic carrier, and then transferred as a transfer body at a transfer nip described later. Electrostatic transfer on paper.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged configuration diagram showing the photosensitive member 1 and the developing device 4. In the figure, a hopper unit 5 serving as a toner storage unit is connected to the developing device 4 disposed on the side of the photosensitive member 1. The hopper unit 5 includes a toner conveying screw 51, a gear-like toner supply roller 52 as a movable member, a toner supply amount regulating plate 53, a toner detection sensor 54, and the like. The toner (not shown) in the hopper 5 is transported in the screw axis direction by a toner transport screw 51 disposed in parallel with the photosensitive member 1, and on a toner supply roller 52 disposed at the lower right in the drawing of the screw. It is dropped little by little. The dropped toner is supplied to the developing unit 4 after its thickness on the roller is regulated by the toner supply amount regulating plate 53 while rotating around the surface of the toner supply roller 52.

  The developing device 4 includes a developing roll 41, a stirring paddle 42, a stirring roller 43, a regulating blade 44, a conveying screw 45, a toner concentration sensor (hereinafter referred to as a T sensor) 46, and the like. Further, it also has a separator 47 disposed on the right side of the developing roll 41 in the drawing. In the developing device 4, a two-component developer containing a toner and a magnetic carrier (not shown) is accommodated.

  The toner supplied from the hopper unit 5 into the developing device 4 falls on the stirring roller 43 that is rotationally driven by a driving means (not shown). The agitating roller 43 sends the falling toner toward the agitating paddle 42 on the left side in the figure while mixing and agitating the toner with a two-component developer (hereinafter simply referred to as a developer). At this time, the newly supplied toner is triboelectrically charged by rubbing against the magnetic carrier, the stirring roller 43, and the like.

  The agitation paddle 42 is driven to rotate clockwise in the figure by a driving means (not shown), and conveys the developer sent from the agitation roller 43 toward the developing roll 41. The developer transported in this manner is pumped up on the surface of the developing sleeve 41a on which the developing roll 41 rotates.

  The developing roll 41 has a developing sleeve 41a composed of a non-magnetic pipe that is rotationally driven by a driving means (not shown), and a magnet roller 41b fixed in the sleeve so as not to rotate with the developing sleeve 41a. The developer sent from the stirring paddle 42 is carried on the surface of the developing sleeve 41a by the magnetic force generated by the magnet roller 41b and pumped up. A layer thickness of the developer thus pumped up is regulated by a regulating blade 44 disposed so as to maintain a predetermined gap with the developing roll 41 while rotating around the developing sleeve 41a. Then, along with the rotation of the developing sleeve 41a, the developing roll 41 and the photosensitive member 1 are conveyed to a developing area facing each other.

  A developing bias is applied to the developing sleeve 41a by a power source (not shown). By this application, in the developing region, a developing potential for electrostatically moving the toner from the sleeve side to the photosensitive member 1 acts between the developing sleeve 41a and the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member 1. Further, a non-developing potential for electrostatically moving the toner from the photosensitive member 1 side to the sleeve side acts between the developing sleeve 41 a and the non-image portion (non-latent image portion) of the photosensitive member 1. Therefore, the toner in the developer conveyed to the developing area adheres only to the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 1 and develops the electrostatic latent image into a toner image. The developer that has passed through the developing area as the developing sleeve 41 a rotates is collected in the developing device 4.

  As described above, the thickness of the developer pumped up to the developing sleeve 41 a of the developing roll 41 is regulated by the regulating blade 44. Due to this regulation, the developer that is prevented from being accompanied with the developing sleeve 41 a stays upstream of the regulating blade 44 in the sleeve rotation direction. When the developer is pushed by the subsequent developer that rotates around the sleeve, it overflows on the separator 47 disposed on the right side of the developing roll 41 in the drawing. The overflowed developer moves along the inclination of the upper surface of the separator 47 and is guided toward the conveying screw 45.

  The transport screw 45 stirs and transports the developer guided by the separator 47 in the axial direction (depth direction in the figure). As a result, so-called lateral agitation of the developer is performed in the developing device 4. In contrast to this lateral stirring, the stirring roll 43 and the stirring paddle 42 perform so-called vertical stirring in which the developer is stirred while being conveyed in the rotational circumferential direction. The developer transported by the transport screw 45 falls on the stirring roller 43 while being laterally stirred, and then passes through the vertical stirring path by the stirring roller 43 and the stirring paddle 42. A part of the toner overflows from the developing sleeve 41 a onto the separator 47 and is guided toward the conveying screw 45. In this way, a vertical circulation path for the developer is formed in the developing device 4.

  A T sensor 46 is fixed to the bottom surface of the casing below the stirring roller 43, and a signal corresponding to the magnetic permeability of the developer stirred and conveyed by the stirring roller 43 is output to a control unit (not shown). Since the toner concentration of the developer shows a good remission relationship with the magnetic permeability of the developer, the T sensor 46 detects the toner concentration by detecting the magnetic permeability.

  The control unit is configured to perform toner density control as follows. That is, the toner supply roller 52 in the hopper 5 is rotated as necessary so that the output signal from the T sensor 46 approaches a predetermined target value, and the toner is fed from the hopper 5 into the developing device 4. It is the control to supply. As a result, the toner density of the developer in the developing device 4 is maintained within a predetermined range. However, since the magnetic permeability of the developer fluctuates due to environmental changes such as humidity in addition to the toner concentration, the control unit appropriately corrects the target value. Specifically, a reference toner image is formed on the photosensitive member 1 at a predetermined timing, and the target value is corrected based on the toner adhesion amount per unit area. The toner adhesion amount per unit area with respect to the reference toner image is grasped by, for example, an output voltage value from a reflection type photosensor that detects the light reflectance of the reference toner image.

  In FIG. 1 described above, below the photosensitive member 1, a transfer unit having a transfer roller 6 and the like is disposed. In addition to the illustrated transfer roller 6, the transfer unit includes a drive unit that rotationally drives the transfer roller 6 and a power source (not illustrated) that applies a transfer bias to the transfer roller 6. While the transfer roller 6 is in contact with the photoreceptor 1 with a predetermined pressure to form a transfer nip, the surface of the transfer roller 6 is moved counterclockwise in the drawing so that the surface of the transfer roller 6 moves in the same direction as the surface of the photoreceptor 1. Driven by rotation. In the transfer nip, a transfer electric field is formed by the influence of the transfer bias described above.

  Below the transfer means in the figure, two paper feed cassettes 7 for storing a plurality of transfer sheets P as transfer bodies in a bundle of transfer sheets are arranged so as to overlap each other in the vertical direction. These paper feed cassettes 7 rotate the paper feed roller 71 pressed against the uppermost transfer paper P at a predetermined timing, and send the transfer paper P to the paper feed conveyance path. The fed transfer paper P passes through a plurality of conveying roller pairs 8 and is then sandwiched between the rollers of the registration roller pair 9 and stopped.

  The registration roller pair 9 sends out the sandwiched transfer paper P toward the transfer nip at a timing at which it can be superimposed on the toner image formed on the photoreceptor 1. As a result, the toner image on the photosensitive member 1 and the transfer paper P sent out by the registration roller pair 9 are brought into close contact with each other at the transfer nip. Then, it is electrostatically transferred onto the transfer paper P due to the influence of the transfer electric field and nip pressure (transfer pressure) described above.

  On the left side of the transfer roller 6 in the figure, there is disposed a paper conveyance unit 10 for endlessly moving an endless paper conveyance belt 10a stretched around two rollers counterclockwise in the figure. Further, a fixing device 11 and a paper discharge roller pair 12 are sequentially disposed on the left side of the paper transport unit 10.

  The transfer paper P on which the toner image is electrostatically transferred at the transfer nip is sent onto the paper transport belt 10a of the paper transport unit 10 as the photoconductor 1 and the transfer roller 6 rotate, and then the fixing device 11. Is passed on.

  The fixing device 11 has a heat source such as a halogen lamp inside and forms a fixing nip by a fixing roller pair 11a that rotates at a constant speed while being in contact with each other. Each of the fixing rollers 11a is controlled to turn on / off the power supply to the heat source based on a detection result by a surface temperature sensor (not shown), so that the surface temperature is maintained at a predetermined value (for example, 165 to 185 [° C.]). Is done. The transfer paper P delivered to the fixing device 11 is sandwiched between the fixing nips and subjected to heat treatment and pressure treatment, whereby the toner image is fixed on the surface thereof. Then, the toner is discharged from the fixing device 11 through the pair of paper discharge rollers 12.

  The transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 1 without being electrostatically transferred onto the transfer paper P at the transfer nip is removed from the photoconductor 1 by the photoconductor cleaner 13. The surface of the photoreceptor 1 cleaned in this manner is discharged by a discharging means (not shown) and then uniformly charged by the charger 2 described above. The toner transferred from the photosensitive member 1 to the paper transport belt 10 a at the transfer nip is removed from the paper transport belt 10 a by the belt cleaning device 10 b of the paper transport unit 10. The photoreceptor cleaner 13 has a zinc stearate coating unit that coats the surface of the photoreceptor 1 with zinc stearate powder obtained by scratching a zinc stearate rod. By applying zinc stearate powder to the surface of the photoreceptor 1 after cleaning, the surface friction coefficient of the photoreceptor 1 can be reduced and transferability can be improved. The transfer residual toner removed from the photoreceptor 1 by the photoreceptor cleaner 13 and the toner removed from the paper transport belt 10a by the belt cleaning device 10b are returned to the developing unit 4 or the hopper unit 5 for recycling. .

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing one end portions of the developing device 4 and the hopper portion 5. A receiving port 55 for receiving toner replenished from a toner bottle (not shown) is provided on the upper wall in the vicinity of one end portion of the hopper portion 5 disposed above the developing device 4. The toner replenished into the hopper unit 5 from the receiving port 55 is detected by a toner detection sensor 54 as a toner detection unit fixed to the side surface of the hopper unit 5. As the toner detection sensor 54, for example, a sensor that detects the presence or absence of toner by utilizing the fact that the vibration of the detection surface vibrated by the piezoelectric vibrator is hindered by the adhesion of the toner can be used. A reflective photosensor or the like may be used.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing one end portion of the toner replenishing device 13 of the printer together with one end portion of the hopper portion 5. In the figure, a toner replenishing device 13 includes a support 131 for detachably supporting the toner bottle 14, a driving gear 132 for rotating the toner bottle 14, and a replenishing motor for transmitting a rotational driving force thereto (see FIG. 5 described later). 133). Then, the toner bottle 14 is laid sideways and orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the hopper 5 so that the end of the toner bottle 14 is positioned directly above the receiving port 55 of the hopper 5 above the hopper 5. It is supported in a posture that extends in the direction to do.

  The toner bottle 14 serving as a toner container that stores toner therein has a bottle-shaped bottle main body 141, a cap 142 fixed to the head of the bottle, and the like. A spiral protrusion 143 extending in the bottle axial direction is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the bottle main body 141. A gear part 144 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cap part 142. The support 131 of the toner replenishing device 13 supports the toner bottle 14 so that the drive gear 132 is engaged with the gear portion 144. When the above-described replenishing motor is driven by a control unit (not shown), the rotational driving force is transmitted to the gear unit 144 of the cap unit 142 via the drive gear 132. As a result, the toner bottle 14 is rotated counterclockwise in the drawing, and the toner inside the bottle moves toward the cap portion 142 along with the spiral movement of the spiral protrusion 143. Then, a part thereof is discharged from a discharge port 145 which is a container opening provided on the end surface of the cap part 142, and is supplied into the hopper part 5 through the receiving port 55 of the hopper part 5.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged configuration diagram showing one end portion of the toner bottle 14 together with the hopper portion 5. In the figure, toner (not shown) replenished from the toner bottle 14 into the hopper 5 falls onto the above-described toner conveying screw 51 provided beside the toner detection sensor 54. Then, the toner is gradually dropped toward the toner supply roller 52 while being conveyed in the screw axis direction.

  The control unit is configured to drive the replenishment motor 133 based on the detection result of the toner detection sensor 54 and to perform toner replenishment control for replenishing toner from the toner bottle 14 into the hopper unit 5. . Specifically, when toner is supplied from the hopper unit 5 into the developing device 4 by the toner density control described above and the amount of toner in the hopper unit 5 decreases, the toner detection sensor 54 detects the toner. Disappear. When the toner is no longer detected by the toner detection sensor 54, the control unit rotates the replenishment motor 133 until the toner is detected.

  The amount of toner discharged from the bottle per rotation of the toner bottle 14 varies greatly depending on the remaining amount of toner in the bottle. This change is caused by the change in the toner upper surface level in the bottle according to the remaining amount of toner. Specifically, as described above, the toner bottle 14 is attached to the toner replenishing device while lying on its side. When the toner is almost fully accommodated while lying down sideways, the upper surface level of the internal toner is vertically above the discharge port (145 in FIG. 4), and the discharge port is covered with toner. I'll do it. Since the toner is discharged from the entire area of the discharge port with the rotation, the toner discharge amount per one rotation becomes large. On the other hand, when the remaining amount of toner inside is small, the upper surface level of the toner is vertically lower than the discharge port, and the discharge port is not covered with toner. Then, since the toner is discharged only from the lower part of the discharge port with the rotation, the toner discharge amount per one rotation becomes very small. In order to obtain the same amount of toner discharge as when full, the toner bottle 14 must be rotated several to several tens of times.

  Since the toner discharge amount becomes unstable in this way, the toner bottle 14 is not suitable as a toner replenishing means for replenishing the developer 4 with toner in order to recover the toner density of the developer. In view of this, the printer receives the toner discharged from the toner bottle 14 in the hopper unit 5 and temporarily stores it, and supplies the toner into the developing device 4 from there. As described above, the toner supply to the hopper unit 5 is started when the toner around the toner conveying screw 51 is no longer detected by the toner detection sensor 54. A toner supply roller 52 that supplies toner from inside the hopper 5 to the developing device 4 is disposed below the toner conveying screw 51 in the vertical direction. As a result, the toner is always buried in the toner unless a sudden abnormality occurs, and the toner supply amount per one rotation is very stable. As described above, the toner supply is gradually supplied to the developing device 4 by driving the toner supply roller 52 in which the toner supply amount is very stable, whereby accurate toner density control is performed.

  If the toner bottle 14 in which the toner still remains is replaced with a new one, the toner inside the toner bottle will be discarded wastefully, which is uneconomical. Also, if the user informs the user that the toner in the toner bottle 14 has become empty without any prior notice, it will not be possible to give the user a sufficient period for preparing a new toner bottle 14. Therefore, it is desirable to quantitatively detect the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 14 by some method and notify the user.

  As a method of detecting the remaining amount of toner, a method of calculating the accumulated toner supply amount from the hopper 5 to the developing device 4 based on the driving time of the toner supply roller 52 and determining the remaining amount of toner based on the calculation result. Can be considered. However, the toner supply roller 52 fixed in the hopper unit 5 is not designed to be periodically replaced. For this reason, when the toner is fixed or worn with long-term use, the toner supply amount per one rotation is changed with time. For this reason, if the remaining amount of toner is detected based on the drive time of the toner supply roller 52, the detection accuracy of the remaining amount of toner will deteriorate over time.

  Next, a characteristic configuration of the printer will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a part of the electric circuit of the printer. In this printer, a toner detection sensor 54, a replenishment motor 133, a bottle rotation detection sensor 201, an operation display unit 202, a registration sensor 203, a toner supply roller drive motor 204, and the like are connected to a control unit 200 that controls the entire printer. Yes.

  The control unit 200 includes a CPU 200a that performs various arithmetic processes, a RAM 200b that is a temporary storage unit, and a ROM 200c that is a storage unit that does not perform data rewriting by the user. And the drive of various apparatuses is controlled based on the various control programs memorize | stored in ROM200c, or various calculations are implemented based on the data sent from various sensors. Further, the data obtained by the calculation is stored in the RAM 200b.

  The bottle rotation detection sensor 201 detects the rotation of the toner bottle (14), and outputs a rotation detection signal to the control unit 200 every 1/4 rotation. As such a bottle detection sensor 201, an encoder etc. can be used. What detects a fine rotation such as every 1/6 rotation instead of every 1/4 rotation, or a device that detects a rough rotation such as every rotation may be used.

  The operation display unit 202 includes an operation unit (not shown) and a display unit (not shown). And the signal input into the operation part by the user's operation is sent to the control part 200, or data is displayed on the display part based on the control signal sent from the control part 200. As the operation display unit 202, a touch panel can be used. Further, it may have a numeric keypad as an operation unit and a liquid crystal panel as a display unit.

  The registration sensor 203 detects the transfer paper that has passed between the rollers of the registration roller pair (9), and outputs a paper detection signal to the control unit 200. Based on the paper detection signal, the control unit 200 can count the number of prints, which is the number of transfer sheets fed into the transfer nip between the photoconductor (1) and the transfer unit. In such a configuration, the combination of the registration sensor 203 and the control unit 200 functions as a feeding number counting unit that counts the number of transfer members fed between the latent image carrier and the transfer unit.

  The toner supply roller drive motor 204 is a drive source for the toner supply roller (52) for supplying toner from the hopper (5) into the developing device (4). The toner supply roller drive motor 204 is driven and controlled by the control unit 200, whereby toner is supplied from the hopper (5) into the developing device (4), and the toner concentration of the developer in the developing device (4). Is adjusted.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of toner replenishment control performed by the control unit 200. In this toner replenishment control, the control unit (200) first waits for the progress of the control flow until no toner detection signal is received from the toner detection sensor (54) (step 1: hereinafter, step is denoted as S). ). When the toner detection signal is not received (N in S1), the replenishment motor 133 is started to be driven (S2), and the rotation number counting process is started (S3). With this driving start, toner supply from the toner bottle (14) to the hopper section (5) is started. The rotation number counting process of S3 is a process of counting the rotation number of the toner bottle (14) based on the rotation detection signal from the bottle rotation detection sensor (102). More specifically, the number of rotations C1 of the toner bottle (14) from the start to the stop of the driving of the toner supply device (13) is calculated.

  When starting the rotation number counting process, the control unit (200) next determines whether or not the toner detection signal from the toner detection sensor (54) is received (S4). If it is not received (N in S4), the control flow is looped to S4. When receiving (Y in S4), the driving of the replenishing motor (133) is stopped (S5). Further, after the rotation number counting process is completed (S6), the control flow is returned to S1.

  In such toner replenishment control, when the toner detection sensor (54) does not detect the toner in the hopper (5), the toner from the toner bottle (14) until the hopper (5) is detected again. ) Is replenished with toner. Further, the control unit (200) functions as a replenishment drive control unit that controls the drive of the toner replenishing device (13) and a drive number counting unit that counts the number of times of driving. The combination of the control unit (200) and the bottle rotation detection sensor (201) functions as a rotation number counting means for counting the number of rotations of the toner bottle (14) as a toner container.

  The number of rotations C1 of the toner bottle (14) counted by the rotation number counting process described above and the amount of toner discharged from the toner bottle (14) show a certain degree of correlation. Therefore, the control unit (200) calculates the remaining toner amount M1 in the toner bottle (14) based on the number of rotations C1, and notifies the user.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of toner remaining amount notification control for notifying the toner remaining amount M1. In this toner remaining amount notification control, the control unit (200) first calculates a cumulative toner discharge amount M2 from the toner bottle (14) based on the number of rotations C1 (S1). As a method for performing such calculation, for example, the number of rotations C1 is multiplied by a predetermined coefficient to calculate the toner discharge amount per one previous replenishment operation, and the calculation result is added to the cumulative toner discharge amount M2 so far. The method of adding is mentioned. Further, for example, the cumulative number of rotations C2 of the toner bottle (14) is added with the number of rotations C1 for the previous replenishment operation, and the cumulative number of rotations C2 after the addition is multiplied by a predetermined coefficient to accumulate the cumulative toner discharge amount M2. The method of obtaining

  The control unit (200) calculates the remaining toner amount M1 by subtracting the accumulated toner discharge amount M2 thus determined from the initial amount M3 (S2), and then displays the calculation result on the operation display unit (202). This is notified to the user (S3). The control unit (200) that performs the toner remaining amount notification control as described above functions as a toner remaining amount calculating unit that calculates the toner remaining amount M1 in the toner bottle (14) that is a toner container based on the number of rotations C1. is doing.

  A strict correlation is established between the number of rotations C1 of the toner bottle (14) and the number of rotations of the replenishing motor (133). Therefore, the toner remaining amount M1 may be calculated by detecting the latter instead of the former. As a method of detecting the number of rotations of the replenishment motor (133), a method using an encoder that detects the rotation of the drive shaft of the replenishment motor (133) can be used. Further, when a stepping motor is used as the replenishing motor (133), the number of rotations can be detected based on the number of step pulses for rotating the stepping motor. In this example, as a method of notifying the user of the toner remaining amount M1, the operation display unit (202) serving as a display unit is used. However, a method of notifying by sound or an indicator may be used.

Next, a printer according to an example in which a more characteristic configuration is added to the printer according to the above embodiment will be described.
As described above, the number of rotations C1 of the toner bottle (14) and the amount of toner discharged from the toner bottle (14) show a certain degree of correlation, but the correlation coefficient is not very good. This is for the reason explained below. That is, the toner discharge amount per one rotation of the toner bottle varies greatly according to the remaining amount of toner M1 in the toner bottle. For this reason, the toner discharge amount and the cumulative toner discharge amount M2 from the toner bottle (14) cannot be accurately obtained by simply multiplying the rotation number C1 and the cumulative rotation number C2 of the toner bottle (14) by a predetermined coefficient. . Accordingly, the remaining toner amount M1 cannot be accurately obtained.

  Further, as a method for detecting the remaining amount of toner M1, the cumulative toner discharge from the bottle is performed by multiplying the number of times of toner replenishment operation (number of times of driving) from the toner bottle (14) into the hopper section (5) by a predetermined coefficient. A method of calculating the amount M2 is also conceivable. However, the amount of toner replenished from the toner bottle (14) into the hopper (5) by one toner replenishment operation is very unstable. This is for the reason explained below. That is, in a state where the toner bottle (14) is filled with toner, a large amount of toner is discharged from the toner bottle (14) at once. Then, even if the toner replenishment operation (bottle rotation operation) is stopped at the moment when the replenished toner is detected by the toner detection sensor (54), the upper surface level of the toner in the hopper portion (5) remains at the toner detection sensor (54). ) Will be a much higher level. On the other hand, when the remaining amount of toner M1 in the bottle is relatively small, the toner is gradually discharged from the toner bottle (14). When the toner supply operation is stopped at the moment when the supplied toner is detected by the toner detection sensor (54), the upper surface level of the toner in the hopper (5) is almost the same level as the toner detection sensor (54). become. Thus, the amount of toner replenished into the hopper (5) by performing the toner replenishment operation once changes greatly depending on the remaining amount of toner M1. Since there is such a change, the toner accumulated discharge amount M2 from the toner bottle (14) cannot be accurately obtained simply by multiplying the number of toner replenishment operations by a predetermined coefficient.

  On the other hand, the present inventors have found that the following phenomenon occurs in the toner remaining amount notification control described above. That is, there is a good correlation between the amount of toner discharged from the toner bottle (14) per drive of the toner replenishing device (13) and the number of rotations C1 or the rotation time of the toner bottle (14) per drive. It is a phenomenon that the relationship is established. Specifically, as described above, the amount of toner replenished to the hopper unit (5) per one drive varies greatly depending on the remaining amount of toner M1, but the number of rotations C1 or one rotation per one drive. It shows a good correlation with time. For example, when the remaining amount of toner M1 is the initial value M3, a large amount of toner is discharged from the bottle at a stroke of only 1.5 revolutions of the bottle, and the toner replenishment amount becomes 3 g. Thereafter, as the remaining amount of toner M1 gradually decreases, the number of rotations C1 per drive increases gradually from 1.5 rotations, and the toner replenishment amount gradually decreases from 3 g. And so on.

  Therefore, the control unit (200) of the printer according to the present embodiment stores a toner discharge amount data table in the ROM (200c) as data storage means. This toner discharge amount data table is a data table that associates the number of rotations C1 (the number of rotations of the bottle per one drive) investigated by a prior experiment with the amount of toner discharged from the bottle.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of toner remaining amount notification control performed by the control unit (200) of the printer. In this toner remaining amount notification control, the control unit (200) first specifies the toner discharge amount M4 corresponding to the rotation number C1 obtained by the toner supply control from the toner discharge amount data table (S1). . Then, after adding the toner discharge amount M4 to the cumulative toner discharge amount M2 so far (S2), the addition result is subtracted from the initial amount M3 to calculate the remaining toner amount M1 (S3). Next, the calculation result is displayed on the operation display unit (202) to notify the user (S4).

  In the printer having such a configuration, the toner remaining amount M1 is calculated more than when the toner remaining amount M1 is calculated based on the toner discharge amount obtained by multiplying the rotation count C1 and the toner replenishing device (13) by the predetermined coefficient. The remaining amount M1 can be accurately obtained.

  Although the example in which the number of rotations C1 per driving of the toner replenishing device (13) is counted as the number of rotations of the toner bottle (14) has been described, the cumulative number of rotations C2 may be counted. In this case, the control unit (200) also functions as a cumulative drive number counting means for calculating the cumulative drive number C3 of the toner replenishing device (13), and the drive obtained by dividing the cumulative rotation number C2 by the cumulative drive number C3. The average number of rotations C4 of the bottle per time is calculated. Then, the toner discharge amount corresponding to the average rotation number C4 is specified from the toner discharge amount data table, and the specified result may be added to the cumulative toner discharge amount M2. However, this toner discharge amount data table must be a data table showing the relationship between the average number of rotations C4 obtained by a previous experiment and the toner discharge amount.

  Further, in the case of a printer according to the second embodiment to be described later, if the toner discharge amount data table is constructed as follows, the toner remaining amount M1 can be accurately obtained as in the case of the printer. That is, instead of the number of rotations C1, the relationship between the bottle rotation time t1 per one drive of the toner replenishing device (13) and the toner discharge amount M4 is examined by a preliminary experiment, and based on the result. Construct a toner discharge amount data table. Then, from this toner discharge amount data table, the toner discharge amount M4 corresponding to the timing result of the rotation time t1 per drive may be specified, and the specified result may be added to the cumulative toner discharge amount M2.

Next, printers of specific examples in which a more characteristic configuration is added to the printer of the above embodiment will be described.
[Specific Example 1]
The toner bottle (14) is attached to and detached from the printer body at an arbitrary timing desired by the user. The quantitative calculation result of the remaining toner amount M1 is displayed on the operation display unit (202) in real time. In such a configuration, the toner bottle (14) in use is removed from the printer main body and then attached again for the purpose of urging the toner to be discharged from the bottle when the toner remaining amount M1 decreases. May be done by the user. When the toner is removed, the toner in the toner bottle (14) is shifted toward the cap part (142) or the bottom, and the toner discharge amount M4 per driving is temporarily changed to the remaining amount of toner M1 or The rotation number C1 may not be met. When the toner spreads over almost the entire area in the bottle length direction as the bottle rotates, the toner discharge amount per one drive is restored to a value corresponding to the remaining amount of toner and the number of rotations C1. Due to the detection error of the toner discharge amount M4 in the meantime, an error occurs in the toner remaining amount M1.

  Therefore, in this printer, the control unit (200) is also functioned as pixel number coefficient means for counting the number of output pixels C5 in the image based on image information sent from an external personal computer or the like. When a change exceeding the predetermined threshold value occurs in the rotation number C1 (when the difference in the rotation number C1 exceeds the predetermined threshold value between the two driving operations), the calculation of the remaining amount of toner M1 is performed. It is temporarily switched from the one based on C1 to the one based on the number of output pixels C5. When a change exceeding the predetermined threshold value occurs in the number of rotations C1, there is a high possibility that the user has performed the detachment operation of the toner bottle (14). The detection accuracy of the toner remaining amount M1 is generally higher in the remaining amount detection based on the output pixel number C5 than in the remaining amount detection based on the number of rotations C1.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of toner remaining amount notification control performed by the control unit (200) of the printer. As a premise for carrying out this toner remaining amount notification control, the control unit (200) first obtains the previous toner remaining amount notification control in the rotation number counting process (S3 in FIG. 7) in the toner replenishment control described above. The new number of rotations C1a, which is the number of rotations C1, is updated as the old number of rotations C1b. In the rotation number counting process, the number of rotations C1 of the bottle per newly acquired drive is counted as the new number of rotations C1a.

  Further, as a premise for carrying out the toner remaining amount notification control shown in FIG. 10, the control unit (200) counts the number of output pixels C5 and the number of printed sheets C6 as follows. That is, all the images formed between the time when the driving of the toner replenishing device (13) is stopped and started, that is, between the end of the toner replenishing operation and the start of the next toner replenishing operation. The number of output pixels C5 is accumulated and counted. In the meantime, the number of all transfer sheets detected by the registration sensor 203 is accumulated and counted to obtain the number of prints C6 that is the number of feeds.

  In the toner remaining amount notification control in FIG. 10, first, after the old rotation number C1b stored in the RAM (200b) is divided by the new rotation number C1a and the rotation number change rate R is calculated (S1), the calculation is performed. It is determined whether the result exceeds a predetermined threshold (S2). If the predetermined threshold is not exceeded (N in S2), the flow from S3 to S6 is performed. If the predetermined threshold is exceeded (Y in S2), the flow of S7 to S11 is performed, and then the flow of S5 and S6 is performed. The flow from S3 to S6 is the same as the flow from S1 to S4 in FIG.

  When the rotation rate change rate R exceeds a predetermined threshold (Y in S2), the calculation of the remaining toner amount M1 based on the output pixel number C5 is used instead of the calculation of the remaining toner amount M1 based on the rotation number C1. Is implemented. Specifically, first, the toner consumption amount M5 is calculated by multiplying the output pixel number C5 by a predetermined coefficient (S7). This toner consumption amount M5 is the amount of toner consumed from the inside of the developing device (4) toward the photoreceptor (1) from when the driving of the toner replenishing device (13) is stopped to when it is started. When the driving of the toner replenishing device (13) is started, basically, the same toner as the toner consumed while it is stopped is replenished into the hopper (5). However, as described above, the printer returns the toner cleaned from the photoreceptor (1) and the paper transport belt (10a) to the developing device (4) for recycling. In such a configuration, only the toner finally transferred to the transfer paper is consumed. Therefore, the accurate toner consumption cannot be obtained unless the final transfer amount is obtained. This transfer amount is the sum of the image portion transfer amount, which is the toner transfer amount from the image portion of the photoreceptor (1) to the transfer paper, and the non-image portion transfer amount, which is the toner transfer amount from the non-image portion to the transfer paper. become. More specifically, in the image portion of the photoconductor (1), the toner image is transferred from the photoconductor (1) to the transfer paper, but some residual toner appears. The amount excluding the transfer residual toner is the image portion transfer amount. Such an image portion transfer amount can be obtained by setting the coefficient of S7 based on the transfer rate confirmed in advance by experiments. That is, in S7, only the image portion transfer amount is considered as the toner consumption amount M5. On the other hand, the non-image portion transfer amount is caused by a slight amount of toner adhering to the non-image portion of the photosensitive member (1) to cause scumming. Then, it is obtained based on the background toner ratio per unit area of the non-image portion confirmed by a previous experiment and the non-image portion area of the passed transfer paper. Therefore, the control unit (200), based on the output pixel count C5 and the print count C6, the non-image area S of the transfer paper that is passed while the toner replenishing device (13) is stopped. Is calculated (S8). Then, the non-image portion transfer amount is obtained by multiplying the calculation result by the background toner rate (S9), and the toner consumption amount M5 is corrected by adding the non-image portion transfer amount (S10). Next, the toner consumption amount M5 accurately obtained in this way is added to the accumulated toner discharge amount M2 so far (S11), and the addition result is subtracted from the initial amount M3 to calculate the remaining toner amount M1 (S5). ).

[Specific Example 2]
The control unit (200) of the printer according to the second specific example supplies the toner supply roller (52), which is a movable member, during the drive time from when the toner supply device (13) is stopped to when the drive is started. The drive time t2 is measured. That is, it functions as supply drive time measuring means. When the number of rotations C1 changes beyond a predetermined threshold, the calculation of the remaining amount of toner is temporarily switched from one based on the number of rotations C1 to one based on the supply drive time t2. Yes. Similarly to the printer according to the first specific example, in the rotation number counting process (S3 in FIG. 7) in the toner replenishment control, first, the rotation number C1 acquired in the previous toner remaining amount notification control is obtained. The new rotation number C1a is updated as the old rotation number C1b. In the rotation number counting process, the number of rotations C1 of the bottle per newly acquired drive is counted as the new number of rotations C1a.

  When the rotation number C1 changes beyond a predetermined threshold, that is, when there is a high possibility that the bottle is attached and detached, the detection accuracy of the remaining toner amount M1 is determined based on the remaining number of rotations C1. In general, the remaining amount detection based on the supply drive time t2 is higher than the amount detection.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of toner remaining amount notification control performed by the control unit (200) of the printer. In this toner remaining amount notification control, first, the old rotation number C1b stored in the RAM (200b) is divided by the new rotation number C1a to calculate the rotation number change rate R (S1), and then the calculation result. It is determined whether or not a predetermined threshold is exceeded (S2). If the predetermined threshold is not exceeded (N in S2), the flow from S3 to S6 is performed. If the predetermined threshold is exceeded (Y in S2), the flow of S7 to S8 is performed, and then the flow of S5 and S6 is performed. In addition, since the flow of S3-S6 is the same as the flow of S3-S6 in FIG. 10, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  When the rotation frequency change rate R exceeds a predetermined threshold (Y in S2), the calculation of the remaining toner amount M1 based on the supply drive time t2 is performed instead of the calculation of the remaining toner amount M1 based on the rotation frequency C1. Is implemented. Specifically, the toner consumption amount M5 is calculated by multiplying the supply driving time t2 by a predetermined coefficient (S7), and then the calculation result is added to the accumulated toner discharge amount M2 so far (S8). Then, the accumulated toner discharge amount M2 after addition is subtracted from the initial amount M3 to calculate the remaining toner amount M1 (S5).

  Next, a printer according to a second embodiment to which the invention is applied will be described. The basic configuration of the printer is the same as that of the printer according to the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. The main part of the electric circuit in this printer is the same as that shown in FIG.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of toner supply control performed by the control unit 200. In this toner replenishment control, the control unit (200) first waits for the progress of the control flow until no toner detection signal is received from the toner detection sensor (54) (S1). When the toner detection signal is not received (N in S1), the replenishment motor 133 is started to be driven (S2), and the rotation time counting process is started (S3). With this driving start, toner supply from the toner bottle (14) to the hopper section (5) is started. The rotation time counting process in S3 is the time required from the start to the stop of the replenishment motor (133), that is, the rotation time of the toner bottle (14) per drive of the toner replenishing device (13). This is a process for measuring t1.

  When the rotation time measuring process is started, the control unit (200) next determines whether or not the toner detection signal from the toner detection sensor (54) is received (S4). If it is not received (N in S4), the control flow is looped to S4. When receiving (Y in S4), the driving of the replenishing motor (13) is stopped (S5). Further, after stopping the rotation time counting process (S6), the control flow is returned.

  The rotation time t1 of the toner bottle (14) measured by the rotation time counting process described above and the amount of toner discharged from the toner bottle (14) show a certain degree of correlation. Therefore, the control unit (200) calculates the remaining toner amount M1 in the toner bottle (14) based on the rotation time t1, and notifies the user of it.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of toner remaining amount notification control for notifying the toner remaining amount M1. In this toner remaining amount notification control, the control unit (200) first calculates a cumulative toner discharge amount M2 from the toner bottle (14) based on the rotation time t1 (S1). As a method for performing such a calculation, for example, the rotation time t1 is multiplied by a predetermined coefficient to calculate the toner discharge amount per one previous replenishment operation, and the calculation result is added to the cumulative toner discharge amount M2 so far. The method of doing is mentioned. Further, for example, the cumulative rotation time t3 of the toner bottle (14) is added with the rotation time t1 per previous replenishment operation, and the cumulative rotation time t3 after the addition is multiplied by a predetermined coefficient to obtain the cumulative toner discharge amount M2. The method to ask for may be used.

  The control unit (200) calculates the remaining toner amount M1 by subtracting the accumulated toner discharge amount M2 thus determined from the initial amount M3 (S2), and then displays the calculation result on the operation display unit (202). This is notified to the user (S3). The control unit (200) that performs the toner remaining amount notification control as described above functions as a toner remaining amount calculating unit that calculates the toner remaining amount M1 in the toner bottle (14) that is a toner container based on the rotation time t1. is doing.

  So far, a two-component development type printer containing toner and a magnetic carrier has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to a one-component development type image forming apparatus not containing a magnetic carrier.

  As described above, in the printer according to the embodiment, the number of rotations of the toner bottle (14) per driving of the toner replenishing device (13) is calculated as the number of rotations C1, and the remaining amount of toner M1 is calculated based on the calculation result. A control unit (200), which is a toner remaining amount calculation means, is configured to calculate. In such a configuration, for the reason described above, the toner remaining amount M1 is calculated based on the toner discharge amount obtained by multiplying the rotation count C1 and the toner replenishing device (13) by the predetermined coefficient. The remaining toner amount M1 can be accurately obtained.

  In the printer according to the first specific example, the control unit (200) functions as a pixel number counting unit that counts the number of output pixels C5 in the image formed on the photosensitive member (1) as the latent image carrier, and the number of rotations. When a change exceeding a predetermined threshold value occurs in C1, the control unit (200) is set so that the calculation of the remaining toner amount M1 is temporarily switched from one based on the number of rotations C1 to one based on the number of output pixels. It is composed. In such a configuration, it is possible to suppress deterioration in detection accuracy of the remaining amount of toner M1 due to the toner in the bottle being unevenly distributed on the cap portion side or the bottom side by attaching / detaching the toner bottle (14) in use.

  Further, in the printer according to the first specific example, the transfer unit that transfers the toner image developed on the photosensitive member (1) onto a transfer sheet that is a transfer member, and is sent between the photosensitive member (1) and the transfer unit. The number of printing sheets C6 as the number of feeding sheets, which is the number of transfer sheets, is provided with feeding number counting means. The control unit (200) is configured to calculate the remaining toner amount M1 based on the number of printed pixels C6 in addition to the number of output pixels C5. In such a configuration, the toner consumption amount M5 can be obtained by calculating the toner transfer amount from the photosensitive member (1) to the transfer paper in consideration of the non-image portion transfer amount in addition to the image portion transfer amount. . As a result, the remaining amount of toner M1 can be detected more accurately than when the output pixel number C5 alone is used.

  Further, in the printer according to the second specific example, the supply drive time measuring unit that measures the supply drive time t2 that is the drive time of the toner supply roller (52) that is a movable member provided in the hopper portion (5) that is a toner reservoir. The control unit (200) is functioning. Then, when a change exceeding the predetermined threshold value occurs in the number of rotations C1, control is performed so that the calculation of the remaining toner amount M1 is temporarily switched from one based on the number of rotations C1 to one based on the supply drive time t2. Part (200). Even in such a configuration, it is possible to suppress deterioration in detection accuracy of the toner remaining amount M1 due to the toner in the bottle being unevenly distributed on the cap portion side or the bottom side due to the attachment / detachment of the toner bottle (14) in use.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a printer according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged configuration diagram illustrating a photoconductor and a developing device of the printer. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing one end portion of a developing device and a hopper portion of the printer. The perspective view which shows the one end part of the toner replenishing apparatus of the printer to the one end part of the hopper part. FIG. 3 is an enlarged configuration diagram showing one end portion of the toner bottle of the printer together with the hopper portion. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a part of an electric circuit of the printer. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of toner supply control performed by a control unit of the printer. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of toner remaining amount notification control performed by the control unit. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of toner remaining amount notification control performed by the control unit of the printer according to the embodiment. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of toner remaining amount notification control performed by a control unit of a printer according to a specific example 1; 9 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of toner remaining amount notification control performed by a control unit of a printer according to a specific example 2. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of toner supply control performed by a control unit of a printer according to a second embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of toner remaining amount notification control performed by the control unit.

Explanation of symbols

1 Photoconductor (latent image carrier)
4 Developer 5 Hopper (toner storage)
6 Transfer roller (part of transfer means)
13 Toner supply device 14 Toner bottle (toner container)
131 Support 133 Supply motor 145 Discharge port (container opening)
200 controller (replenishment drive control means, part of rotation number counting means, toner remaining amount calculation means, rotation time measurement means, pixel number counting means, part of feeding number counting means, supply drive time measurement means)
201 Bottle rotation detection sensor (part of rotation number counting means)
203 Registration sensor (part of the number of feeding counter)

Claims (5)

A latent image carrier that carries a latent image, a developing device for developing a latent image on the latent image bearing member, a toner storage unit for storing a toner to be supplied to the developing device, the toner in the toner storage A toner detecting means for detecting toner, a toner replenishing device for replenishing toner in the toner storage section, and the toner replenishing based on the detection of toner by the toner detecting means after the driving of the toner replenishing device is started. Replenishment drive control means for performing control to stop the driving of the apparatus, and the toner replenishing device rotates while supporting the toner container detachably attached to the support by the support, In the image forming apparatus for discharging the toner in the toner container toward the container opening and discharging the toner from the container opening and replenishing the toner reservoir,
A rotation number counting unit that counts the number of rotations of the toner container or a motor that is a driving source thereof; and a toner remaining amount calculation unit that calculates a toner remaining amount in the toner container based on the rotation number. As the number of rotations, the number of rotations of the toner container per drive from the start to the stop of driving of the toner supply device is calculated, and the remaining amount of toner is calculated based on the calculation result. As described above, an image forming apparatus comprising the toner remaining amount calculating means . A latent image carrier that carries a latent image, a developing device for developing a latent image on the latent image bearing member, a toner storage unit for storing a toner to be supplied to the developing device, the toner in the toner storage A toner detecting means for detecting toner, a toner replenishing device for replenishing toner in the toner storage section, and the toner replenishing based on the detection of toner by the toner detecting means after the driving of the toner replenishing device is started. Replenishment drive control means for performing control to stop the driving of the apparatus, and the toner replenishing device rotates while supporting the toner container detachably attached to the support by the support, In the image forming apparatus for discharging the toner in the toner container toward the container opening and discharging the toner from the container opening and replenishing the toner reservoir,
Said a rotation time measuring means for measuring the rotation time of the toner container, provided a toner remaining amount calculation means for calculating the amount of toner remaining in the toner container on the basis of the rotation time Rutotomoni, the toner as the rotation time The toner remaining amount calculating means calculates the rotation time of the toner container per driving from the start to the stop of the replenishing device and calculates the remaining amount of toner based on the calculation result. an image forming apparatus characterized by being configured to. The image forming apparatus 請 Motomeko 1 or 2,
A pixel number counting means for counting the number of pixels of the image formed on the latent image carrier is provided, and when the number of rotations or rotation time exceeds a predetermined threshold, the remaining amount of toner is calculated. An image forming apparatus, wherein the toner remaining amount calculating means is configured to temporarily switch from the number based on the number of rotations or the rotation time to the number based on the number of pixels. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 .
Transfer unit for transferring the image developed on the latent image carrier to a transfer member, and the number of feeds that is the number of transfer members sent between the latent image carrier and the transfer unit An image forming apparatus comprising: a toner remaining amount calculating unit configured to calculate the remaining amount of toner based on the number of feeding in addition to the number of pixels. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 ,
Supply driving time measuring means for measuring a supply driving time, which is a driving time of a movable member provided in the toner reservoir, is provided so as to supply toner to the developing device, and the number of rotations or the rotation time exceeds a predetermined threshold. The remaining toner amount calculating means is configured to temporarily switch the calculation of the remaining toner amount from the number based on the number of rotations or the rotation time to the value based on the supply driving time when a change occurs. An image forming apparatus.

Images