JPH03226767A - Control system for image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the machine-down caused by the lack of consumables stored by the user of an image forming device from occurring by providing an inventory control means for the consumables and informing the shortage of the residual stock of the consumables to the user. CONSTITUTION:The inventory control means 301 which judges whether the residual stock of the consumables stored by the user who uses the image forming device is fewer than a prescribed stock or not is provided so that the shortage of the residual stock of the consumables can be informed to the user. That means, the means 301 judges whether the residual stock of the consumables stored by the user who uses the image forming device is fewer than the prescribed stock or not and informs the shortage of the residual stock of the consumables to the user. Thus, the machine-down caused by the lack of the consumables stored by the user of the image forming device is prevented from occurring.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus management system that connects an image forming apparatus and a management apparatus via a communication line.

(Prior Art) In general, image forming devices such as copiers, facsimile machines, and optical printers that form hard copy images using an electrophotographic process leave behind consumables such as paper and toner loaded inside the device. It has a sensor that detects the amount of consumables left, and when the consumables are running low, a message is displayed to prompt the user to replenish the supplies.

This allows the user to load the consumables stored as a supply inventory at a suitable location outside the device into the device. can be maintained in an imageable state.

Now, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-142559, for example, in order to centrally manage a plurality of copying machines, communication lines have been established between each copying machine and a management device (host device). Management systems connected via are known.

A copying machine constituting such a management system has means for storing data corresponding to management items, and is configured to transmit data to the host in accordance with commands from the host.

Conventional management items were mainly for understanding the operating status of the copying machine, such as the number of copies made by each user and the size of paper used.

In other words, conventional management systems do not allow users who own multiple copying machines, such as government offices or companies, to
It is built horizontally for the purpose of easily compiling data for rational operation of each copying machine, for example, paying the maintenance cost to the beneficiary and equalizing usage among each user. .

Incidentally, in recent years, in order to improve after-sales service for image forming apparatuses, a host has been installed at the service center of the image forming apparatus seller (manufacturer side), and this host and each user side (customer side) Construction of a service management system that connects each of the multiple image forming apparatuses installed in ) online is underway.

In this specification, after-sales service refers to maintenance, which is an activity to keep the image forming device in a normal operating state (condition), and supply of consumables such as paper and toner to users and use of the device. Refers to the overall customer service provided by the seller to the user, including activities for the operational convenience of the user such as explanation of methods.

[Problem B to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, the user can know whether the amount of consumables inside the image forming apparatus is insufficient. However, in the past, users sometimes overlooked the lack of remaining stock of consumables. That is, when attempting to replenish the image forming apparatus with consumables, the user may find that the consumables are in short supply.

When a user notices that there is a shortage in inventory, they contact the service station to request the supply of consumables, but at this time, the supply of consumables is delayed until all the consumables remaining in the image forming apparatus are used up. The period until
There is a problem in that the image forming apparatus becomes unusable (machine down).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to prevent a machine from going down due to a shortage of consumables stored by a user of an image forming apparatus.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus management system in which an image forming apparatus and a management apparatus are connected via a communication line. The present invention is characterized in that it includes an inventory management means for determining whether the amount is less than a predetermined amount, and is capable of notifying the user of the insufficient amount of the consumables.

[For production]

The inventory management means determines whether the remaining amount of consumables kept by a user of the image forming apparatus is less than a predetermined amount.

A notification is sent to the user that the amount of the consumable item is insufficient.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a front sectional view showing the main parts of the copying machine 1. As shown in FIG.

In the figure, the photosensitive drum 5 is arranged to be rotatable at a constant circumferential speed V in the direction of the arrow Ma, and a heater 5a and a temperature sensor 51 for heating the photosensitive drum 5 are provided inside the drum. There is.

On/off control Il of the heater 5a is performed based on the output signal of the temperature sensor 51, and as a result, the photoreceptor drum 5
temperature is kept constant.

Around the photosensitive drum 5, there are a charger 6, an inter-image eraser IO5, a developing device N7,
A transfer charger 28, a separation charger 29, a cleaning device 9, and a main eraser 8 are provided. The electrification charger 6 is a scorotron type charger having a mesh-like grind 63.

Further, a surface electrometer (■0 sensor) 90 for measuring the surface potential (■0) of the photoreceptor drum 5 is provided between the exposure position A light emitting element f9a and a light receiving element 1 are connected to the device 9 in order to measure the density of the reference toner image.
A reflective photosensor (AIDC sensor) 19 consisting of 9b is provided.

The surface of the photosensitive drum 5 is uniformly charged by passing through the charging charger 6, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 5 is charged uniformly by the optical system 2 at the exposure position X2.
0. The surface charge of the photoreceptor drum 5 is partially removed by exposure, and a latent image corresponding to the original image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 5. Surface charges in areas other than the latent image are erased by an inter-image eraser 10.

The optical system 20 includes an exposure lamp 21 that irradiates the document placed on the document platen glass 11, and an exposure unit that emits reflected light B from the document plate! It is composed of mirrors 22a-d for guiding the light to X2 and a projection lens 23, and an AE sensor 25 is provided near the projection lens 23 to detect the amount of light reflected from the document tray.

During exposure scanning on a document, the exposure lamp 21 and mirror 22a move in the direction of arrow Mb at a speed of V/m (m is the copying magnification), and the mirrors 22b and 22c move at a speed of V/2.
It is said that it is possible to move in m.

The latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 5 is transferred to the developing bag W7.
It is developed and visualized as a toner image.

The developing device 7 uses a developer made of a mixture of a magnetic carrier and an insulating toner, and uses a well-known magnetic brush method to attach the toner to the latent image (the IT load existing area, that is, the non-exposed area) passing through the development position x3. Perform so-called regular development. Inside the developing tank 70, a developing sleeve 71 containing a magnetic roller 72, a height regulating plate 73, a packet roller 74, and a screw roller 75 are provided. Below the screw roller 75, a toner concentration sensor (ATD) is provided.
C sensor) 80 is arranged.

When the packet roller 74 rotates in the direction of the arrow Mc, the developer is attracted to the outer peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 71 by the magnetic force of the magnetic roller 72, and is conveyed to the development value WLX3 based on the rotation of the developing sleeve 71 in the direction of the arrow Md. be done. The toner concentration sensor 80 is for measuring the weight ratio T/C [wt%] of toner to the entire developer from the magnetic permeability of the developer.

A toner tank 76 is provided at the top of the developer tank 70, and a toner supply roller 77 is provided at the bottom of the toner tank 76. When the toner replenishment roller 77 is rotationally driven by the replenishment motor 78, the screw roller 75 is removed from the toner tank 76.
Hetner is replenished. The supplied toner is stirred and mixed with the developer already present in the developing tank 70 by the rotation of the screw roller 75 and sent to the packet roller 74 . Frictional charging occurs due to the stirring and mixing, and the magnetic carrier and toner are charged with opposite polarities. The negative polarity toner is transferred to the photosensitive drum 5 at the development position X3.
It adheres to the surface of the photoreceptor drum 50 by electrostatic adsorption with the surface charge. At this time, a developing bias VB of a predetermined voltage is applied to the developing sleeve 71 in order to prevent toner from adhering to the surface of the photosensitive drum 5 due to residual charges (charges remaining in the exposed portion).

On the other hand, the paper P is fed out one by one by the paper feed roller 31 from the removable paper feed cassette 95, is conveyed by the timing roller 30 while keeping the timing with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 5, and is transferred to the transfer charger 28 at the transfer position X4. The toner image is transferred onto the paper P. The paper P on which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photoreceptor drum 5 by a separation charger 29, and transferred to a fixing device 15 by a conveyor belt 14.
After the toner image is fixed, it is discharged to the outside of the copying machine.

Thereafter, the surface of the photoreceptor drum 5 is cleaned by a cleaning device 9
The remaining toner is removed by the cleaning blade 9a, and the remaining charge is removed by the main eraser 8 in preparation for the next exposure.

The light amount of the main eraser 8 is controlled to be a constant value based on the output of a light amount sensor (not shown).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control circuit 200 of the copying machine 1.

The control circuit 200 is a CPU that performs overall control of the copying machine 1.
U201, a program memory 211 storing a control program, a memory 210 capable of writing and reading various data used for controlling the electrophotographic process and managing the copying machine 1, and a communication interface for communicating with the management device 2 described later. 223, etc.

The CPU 201 includes the above-mentioned AE sensor 25 and ATDC.
Sensor 80, ■0 sensor 90, A] DC sensor 1
Signals from sensors of various parts such as 9 are input. Also, an exposure lamp power source 5 for lighting the exposure lamp 21
0, an 11 source 208 for driving the replenishment motor 78, an output circuit 202 for setting the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 5, and a high voltage power supply 40 for applying the developing bias VB, etc., from the CPU 201. A control signal is applied.

In addition to controlling the electrophotographic process iT1, the CPU 201 controls communication for sending data from the memory 210 to an external device in response to commands from the external device, and controls the operation panel 100.
control.

The communication interface 223 has a built-in modem for data communication using the telephone line 230. The communication interface 223 is arranged as an additional device outside the main body of the copying machine 1, but driving power is supplied from the copying machine 1.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a part of the operation panel 100 of the copying machine 1. FIG.

The operation panel 100 has print keys 101, 1, 2, . . ., 9, respectively, for starting the copying operation.
A numeric keypad group 104 consisting of keys corresponding to the numerical value 0, an interrupt key 102, a clear/stop key 103 for canceling copy condition settings, a message display section 117 consisting of a liquid crystal display, a cursor key 1311, and an EN key.
A TER key 132 and the like are arranged.

The message display section (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "display section") 117 normally displays a selection screen for copy conditions such as the number of copies and copy magnification, and various copy modes such as enlargement/reduction and double-sided copying. Ru.

The cursor key 131 is a key for moving the cursor to the position of a desired option on the screen of the display unit 117.
By pressing the TER key 132, the process corresponding to the option at the cursor position is executed.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a management network system 500.

The management network system 500 is a system in which five copying machines 1a to 1e of the same type installed at the user's premises and the management device 2 of the service station SS are brought online using a telephone line 230. - The IC is installed in a building Bl where an extension network is configured by an automatic switchboard 225a and internal lines 229a-c, and a copying machine 1d.
, le are building B2. It is installed in B3 and connected to telephone line &1230 via automatic exchanges 225b and 225c.

On the other hand, the management device 2 connects to the telephone line 230 via the exchange 226 and internal line 231 in the service station SS.
It is connected to the.

Note that it is also possible to directly connect the copying machines 1a to 1e to the management device 2 without going through the exchanges 225a-c and 226.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the management device 2. As shown in FIG.

The management device 2 includes a host computer 301 that executes various processes according to software, a display 302 for display, a keyboard 303 as an operation input means, a printer 304 for printing, and each copying machine 1a installed at each user. 1e and a modem 305 for communicating via a telephone line 230, and a telephone 306 for communication between the service person and the user. The host computer 301 includes a storage device 30 provided with a user inventory table UST for centrally managing the inventory of consumables (toner and paper P) for users of each copying machine 1a to 1e.
1a is incorporated.

Note that in the following, the user inventory table UST may be simply referred to as "table USTJ."

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of communication in the management network system 500.

Each of the copying machines 1a to 1e stores maintenance data MD at an appropriate time (for example, when the power is turned on or at a predetermined time).
Send.

The maintenance data MD includes a machine number Mn for identifying one of the copying machines 1a to 1e, operation data OD indicating the consumption status of consumables, and status data CD indicating the condition.

On the other hand, the host computer 301 of the management device 2 performs an automatic diagnosis process to detect the condition of each copying machine 1a to 1e, based on maintenance data MD sent from each copying machine 1a to 1e, as described later. Inventory management processing is executed to prevent consumables from running out of stock at each user's location, and after-sales service data AD including a remote control signal SF and an inventory shortage warning signal SA is transmitted to the corresponding copying machines 1a to 1e. In the following, among the copying machines 1a to 1e, the copying machines in which maintenance data MD and after-sales service data AD are sent and received are referred to as r? ``x-photographer''.

Next, as a specific example, how conditions related to the paper feed roller 31 are detected will be described.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of automatic diagnosis processing.

First, in step #l, data DPFn is selected from state data CD. The data DPFn indicates the time T1 from when the feeding roller 31 starts feeding out the paper P until the leading edge of the paper P reaches the transport roller 30.

The value of the data DPFn indicates that the paper feed roller 31 has progressed in wear.
It increases as the conveyance speed of paper P decreases.

Next, in step #2, based on the data DPFn received in the previous communication and the data DPFn received in the current communication, which are stored in the storage device 301a, the data DPFn is expressed by the following equation (1). Change rate EDP of data DPFn
Find Fn.

Current DPFn (1) In the following step #3, the separation rate Y expressed by the following equation (2) is determined.

In equation (2), the reference value of DPFn is predetermined according to the model of the copying machine l.

In step #4, the separation rate Y does not exceed 0.1 (Y
<0.1). If step #4 is YES, the condition of the copying machine I can be considered to be appropriate, and there is no need to adjust the paper feed.

If the separation ratio Y is 0.1 or more, the process moves to step #5, and it is checked whether the separation ratio Y does not exceed 0.2 (y<0.2).

If YES in step #5, automatic adjustment processing is performed in step #6 to compensate for inconveniences caused by fluctuations in time T1.

In the automatic adjustment process, the paper push-up plate at the bottom of the paper cassette 95 is raised to increase the pressure contact force between the paper feed roller 31 and the paper P, or the reference time for determining a paper feeding error is extended by the time T1. The CPU 201 controls the controls to be set accordingly.
A remote control signal SF is sent to the copying machine l to cause the copying machine to execute the operation. In addition, as an automatic adjustment process, in order to prevent a decrease in the number of copies per minute during continuous copying (multi-copying), it is also possible to execute a process that shortens the counting time of the paper feed interval timer that determines the paper feed cycle. .

If no in step #5, move to step #7;
Check whether the separation ratio Y does not exceed 0.3 (Y<0°3).

If YES in step #7, continue (in step #8, check whether the rate of change EDPFn exceeds 0.3. If the rate of change EDPFn exceeds 0.3,
At present, the degree of wear of the paper feed roller 31 is within the allowable range, but the wear of the paper feed roller 31 is progressing rapidly, and in the near future, paper P may not be fed properly (
This is a state in which it is inevitable to fall into an abnormal state in which paper feeding errors occur frequently, that is, an abnormally imminent state. Therefore, in this case, the process advances to step #9, and after-sales service processing is performed for the purpose of preventing the occurrence of abnormal conditions.

If no in step #7, that is, the separation rate Y is 0
．． If the number exceeds 3, the copying machine 1 is already in an abnormal state, and the after-sales service process of step #9 is immediately executed.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of after-sales service processing.

First, in step #ll, it is checked whether parts need to be replaced.

If YES in step #11, extract the parts to be replaced and instruct the service engineer to replace the parts by outputting a maintenance work target list on the display 302 or printer 304 in step 612L (step #11).
13).

Thereby, the service person can prevent the occurrence of abnormal conditions by preparing necessary repair parts, going to the user's location, and replacing the parts.

In addition, if Service Station SS does not have the necessary parts in stock, or if the parts are stored at Service Station SS,
If the parts are being ordered elsewhere (for example, at a parts manufacturer), a notification (automatic parts ordering) for ordering the parts to the service station SS is made in step #13. In this case, the service person
We will wait for the parts to arrive and then go to the customer's location.

In step #14, it is checked whether each user has a shortage of consumable supplies. That is, the amount of consumables consumed is estimated based on the operation data OD, and it is determined whether the remaining amount of inventory is below the minimum inventory standard amount. The minimum inventory standard amount is determined in advance for each user and consumable item, taking into consideration the user's usage history (average consumption per day and the number of days (hours) required for supplying the consumable item).

The remaining amount of inventory can also be estimated based on the user's usage history and the number of days that have passed since the last supply of consumables.

In step #15, the name of the user who is out of stock and the consumables that are in short supply are extracted.

Next, in step #16, it is checked whether consumables can be supplied. That is, based on the judgment on the service station SS side, it is checked each time whether or not it is permissible to carry out so-called automatic delivery in which consumables are supplied without requesting the user's consent. The availability of automatic delivery is determined in advance by the maintenance contract with each user, and the data showing the result of the agreement is stored in the user inventory table US.
It is stored in T.

If YES in step #16, the serviceman is instructed to supply consumables in step #17. In addition,
If the supply base for consumables is provided separately from the service station SS, a notification requesting the supply base to supply a predetermined amount of consumables (automatic consumables ordering) is sent to the supply base.

If NO in step #16, the process moves to step #18, and an inventory shortage warning signal SA is sent to the copying machine 1. In this case, on the display unit 117 of the copying machine 1,
), for example, a message Z1 informing the user that the stock of A4 size paper P is low.
is displayed.

Figures 9(a) and (b) show the user inventory table UST.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the update process of UST, and FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the contents of the user inventory table UST.

As shown in Figure 10, the user inventory table US
T is the storage area MEI corresponding to each user
, ME2..., each storage area MEI, ME2.
... stores data indicating the inventory amount and minimum inventory standard amount for each consumable item.

In FIG. 9(a), first, in step #21, it is checked whether consumables are being supplied (delivered).

If the delivery has been made, in step #22, the type and quantity of the delivered consumables are entered using the keyboard 303.

In step #23, the input quantity of consumables is added to the inventory quantity before input to calculate the current inventory quantity. For example,
If 20,000 sheets of A4 size paper P are delivered,
If the amount of stock in the A4 stock data is 512 sheets, the amount of stock after addition is 20,512 sheets.

Then, in step #24, the inventory amount (20,512 sheets) determined in step #23 is stored as the latest inventory amount.

In FIG. 9(b), in step #31 the operating data O
D is used to check whether or not an image is being formed.

If image formation has been performed, the type and quantity of the consumables used are extracted (step #32), and the extracted quantity is subtracted from the inventory amount of the consumables read from the user inventory table UST to obtain the current inventory amount. The calculated current inventory amount is stored in the user inventory table UST as the latest inventory information (Step #34).

In the above embodiment, the host computer 301 executes automatic diagnosis processing to detect whether or not the condition of the copying machine I is in an abnormal state based on the status data CD. 1 CPU20
1 may execute automatic diagnosis processing and notify the result of the processing to the host computer 301.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a machine down due to a shortage of consumables stored by a user of an image forming apparatus.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the management network system, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the management device, Fig. 3 is a front sectional view showing the main parts of the copying machine, and Fig. 4 is the n-circuit in the copying machine system. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a part of the operation panel, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of communication in the management network system. 7 to 9 are flowcharts showing the processing in the management network system, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the contents of the user inventory table. l... copying machine (image forming device), 2... management device,
301...Host computer (inventory management means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an image forming device management system that connects an image forming device and a management device via a communication line, it is determined whether the remaining amount of consumables stored by a user of the image forming device is less than a predetermined amount. An image forming apparatus management system comprising: an inventory management means for determining, and capable of notifying a user of a shortage of the consumables.