Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and medium

Abstract

The invention provides an image forming apparatus, an image forming method and a medium, which are used for solving the problem that the service life of a printer cannot be properly maintained in the prior art. An image forming apparatus includes: a plurality of photoreceptors; the driving device is used for driving the photoreceptors to rotate; an exposure device for forming an electrostatic latent image by exposing an image among the plurality of photoreceptors; the plurality of developing devices are used for developing the plurality of latent images formed on the plurality of photoreceptors through toners of different colors, so that the plurality of photoreceptors carry toner portraits; an intermediate transfer body which is in contact with the plurality of image forming assemblies at the same time and is used for transferring toner portraits; and the controller is configured to determine a target photoreceptor which does not execute exposure according to the to-be-processed image forming operation, and the target photoreceptor is made to rotate at a second speed lower than the preset first speed through the driving device. The technical effect of preventing the expected life of the image forming device from being reduced can be achieved.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of imaging technology, and in particular to an image forming device, an image forming method and a medium. [Background technology]

[0002] Color laser printers usually have multiple imaging components, for example, there may be four color photosensitive drums: C (Cyan), M (Magenta), Y (Yellow), and K (Black). When performing color imaging, multiple photosensitive bodies are sequentially charged, exposed, developed, and transferred. The charging process refers to the uniform distribution of charges on the surface of the photosensitive body by the charging roller; exposure refers to the exposure of the surface of the photosensitive body by the laser beam emitted by the LSU (Laser Scanning Unit) to form an electrostatic latent image; development refers to the electrostatic adsorption of the toner (e.g., charged toner) in the developer box to the location of the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive body to form a toner image; transfer refers to the transfer of the toner image attached to the photosensitive body to the intermediate transfer body by contact or non-contact, and then the toner image is transferred to the paper through the intermediate transfer body.

[0003] In an existing transfer technology, the intermediate transfer body can be a belt-shaped structure (also called a transfer belt), and the printer is a "tandem" color printer, that is, multiple photoreceptors are in contact with the transfer belt at the same time. Some tandem color printers are additionally provided with a separation mechanism, which can control the contact or separation of each photoreceptor with the transfer belt. For example, when a certain printing job only needs to use black to form an image, the separation mechanism controls the K color photoreceptor to contact with the transfer belt, and controls the C, M, and Y color photoreceptors to separate from the transfer belt. However, this separation mechanism requires additional costs and places higher requirements on control accuracy. Therefore, other tandem color printers are not provided with a separation mechanism, and at this time, the C, M, Y, and K color photoreceptors are always in contact with the transfer belt.

[0004] In an existing high-voltage control technology, the printer generates the high voltage required for the charging, developing, and transfer processes through a high-voltage control circuit board. In order to avoid cost increase, multiple photosensitive body assemblies can be connected in series, so that the high-voltage control circuit board only needs to output one signal in one imaging step, and the signal will be provided to all photosensitive body assemblies without the need for individual control for each photosensitive body assembly.

[0005] However, when the above-mentioned transfer technology without a separation mechanism and the high-voltage control technology in which multiple photosensitive components are connected in series are used at the same time, the following problems will arise: since there is no separation mechanism, the C, M, Y, and K photosensitive bodies will always be in contact with the transfer belt, and only the K color needs to be used when performing black and white printing. Therefore, how to control the C, M, and Y motors when performing black and white printing needs further consideration. If the C, M, and Y motors are stopped, physical wear will occur between the stopped photoreceptor and the normally operating transfer belt, thereby reducing the actual service life of the photoreceptor assembly. Even if the motor stops rotating, since multiple photoreceptor assemblies are connected in series, high voltage will be provided to the charging rollers and developing rollers of C, M, and Y colors when the high voltage is provided to the K photoreceptor assembly, resulting in long-term inconsistent potential on the surface of the photoreceptor and causing electrical loss. If the C, M, and Y motors are rotated normally in the same way as color printing, the expected service life of the photoreceptor assembly will be reduced. This is because some printers calculate the expected service life of the photoreceptor based on the number of rotations of the photoreceptor. This means that even if the photoreceptor does not actually participate in steps such as exposure and development, it will be considered that the life is reduced in the program calculation because the motor actually rotates. When the expected life is exhausted, the printer will issue a prompt message suggesting that the user replace the imaging assembly to avoid potential image quality degradation. In the above situation, if the expected life of the photoreceptor is not accurately calculated, the photoreceptor may be replaced before its actual service life is reached, causing losses to the user.

[0006] It can be seen that when performing black and white printing, no matter the C, M, and Y photosensitive bodies rotate normally or stop rotating, the service life of the photosensitive bodies cannot be properly maintained. [Summary of the invention]

[0007] In order to solve the problem that the prior art fails to properly maintain the service life of a printer, an embodiment of the present invention provides an image forming device, an image forming method and a medium.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming device, comprising: a plurality of photosensitive bodies; a driving device for driving the plurality of photosensitive bodies to rotate; an exposure device for forming an electrostatic latent image by exposing the plurality of photosensitive bodies to an image; a plurality of developing devices for developing the plurality of latent images formed on the plurality of photosensitive bodies with colorants of different colors so that the plurality of photosensitive bodies carry colorant images; an intermediate transfer body, which is in contact with the plurality of imaging components at the same time and is used to transfer the colorant images; and a controller, which is configured to determine a target photosensitive body that is not to be exposed according to an image forming job to be processed, and to rotate the target photosensitive body at a second speed lower than a preset first speed through the driving device.

[0009] Optionally, the controller is further configured to: when the image forming job is a black-and-white job, determine that the target photosensitive bodies that are not to be exposed are the C photosensitive body, the M photosensitive body, and the Y photosensitive body.

[0010] Optionally, the image forming device also includes: a high-voltage control unit for generating a high-voltage signal, which is simultaneously provided to the multiple photosensitive bodies; the controller is also configured to, when the high-voltage signal is stabilized at an operating voltage, cause the target photosensitive body to rotate at a second speed lower than a preset first speed through the driving device.

[0011] Optionally, the image forming apparatus further includes: a life calculation unit configured to determine expected lifespans based on the rotation distances of the plurality of photosensitive bodies.

[0012] Optionally, the image forming device further includes: a cleaning unit for performing cleaning after the imaging of the image forming job to be processed is completed; the controller is also configured to, when the cleaning is completed, rotate the target photosensitive body at a second speed lower than a preset first speed through the driving device.

[0013] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming method, comprising: determining a target photoreceptor not to be exposed according to a to-be-processed image forming job; and rotating the target photoreceptor at a second speed lower than a preset first speed.

[0014] Alternatively, when the image forming job is a black-and-white job, the target photoreceptors determined not to be exposed are the C photoreceptor, the M photoreceptor, and the Y photoreceptor.

[0015] Optionally, causing the target photosensitive body to rotate at a second speed lower than a preset first speed includes: when the high voltage signal is stabilized at an operating voltage, causing the target photosensitive body to rotate at the second speed lower than the preset first speed by a driving device.

[0016] Optionally, causing the target photosensitive body to rotate at a second speed lower than a preset first speed includes: performing cleaning after the imaging of the image forming job to be processed is completed; when the cleaning is completed, causing the target photosensitive body to rotate at a second speed lower than the preset first speed through a driving device.

[0017] According to a third aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, the computer-readable storage medium comprising a stored program, wherein when the program is executed, the device where the computer-readable storage medium is located is controlled to execute the method described in the second aspect of the present invention.

[0018] The embodiment of the present invention can determine a target photosensitive body that does not perform exposure, and by driving the target photosensitive body to rotate at a second speed lower than a preset first speed, a technical effect of preventing the expected life of the image forming device from being reduced can be achieved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0020] Figure 1 The present invention is a structural diagram of a color laser printer;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the principle of high voltage control;

[0022] Figure 3 A driving control schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 A method flow chart of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an image forming device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Specific implementation method]

[0025] In order to better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] It should be clear that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 1The structure diagram of a color laser printer is shown. 100 is a laser scanning unit (LSU) or an exposure device, 101-104 are K, C, M, and Y developing boxes respectively, 111-114 are K, C, M, and Y photosensitive bodies respectively, 171-174 are developing rollers corresponding to each photosensitive body, 181-184 are charging rollers corresponding to each photosensitive body respectively, 121-124 are primary transfer rollers corresponding to each photosensitive body, and 130 is a transfer belt, also called an intermediate transfer body. Among them, the K photosensitive body 111, the K developing box 101, the K developing roller 171, and the K charging roller 181 are called K imaging components; similarly, the C imaging component, the M imaging component, and the Y imaging component are also composed of photosensitive bodies, charging rollers, developing rollers, and developing boxes of corresponding colors.

[0028] Charging process: The charging rollers 181-184 charge the surfaces of the photosensitive bodies 111-114.

[0029] Exposure process: The laser scanning unit 100 performs laser scanning on the areas corresponding to the image to be printed on the photosensitive bodies 111-114, so that the charge distribution of the scanned area changes and forms a latent image. For black and white printing jobs, the laser scanning unit 100 performs exposure only on the K photosensitive body 111. For color printing jobs, the laser scanning unit 100 determines which photosensitive bodies to perform exposure on according to the C, M, Y, and K required for the printing job.

[0030] Development process: The developer boxes 101-104 contain charged toner (such as carbon powder) inside, and the toner adheres to the latent image position of the photosensitive body under the action of the electrostatic field of the developing rollers 171-174 to form a toner image.

[0031] Primary transfer process: The toner image is transferred from the photosensitive bodies 111 to 114 to the transfer belt 130 under the action of the electrostatic field of the primary transfer rollers 121 to 124 .

[0032] Secondary transfer process: The toner image on the transfer belt 130 is transferred from the transfer belt 130 to the paper.

[0033] Figure 2 The schematic diagram of the high voltage control circuit is shown. The controller 210 outputs a PWM signal to the high voltage control unit 220, and the high voltage control unit 220 generates different high voltages, such as charging high voltage (for providing to the charging rollers 181-184), developing high voltage (for providing to the developing rollers 171-174) or primary transfer high voltage (for providing to the primary transfer rollers 121-124), secondary transfer high voltage, etc., and then the high voltage control unit 220 outputs the high voltage to the K, C, M, and Y imaging components through an interface.

[0034] from Figure 2It can be seen that since the K imaging component 231, the C imaging component 232, the M imaging component 233, and the Y imaging component 234 are in a series relationship, even if only the K imaging component is required to work during black and white printing, the charging high voltage, the developing high voltage, the transfer high voltage, etc. output by the high voltage control unit 220 will also be provided to the C, M, and Y imaging components. Therefore, if the C photoreceptor 112, the M photoreceptor 113, and the Y photoreceptor 114 stop rotating during black and white printing, on the one hand, physical wear will occur between the photoreceptor and the transfer belt 130, and on the other hand, electrical loss may occur due to the long-term inconsistency of the potential on the surface of the photoreceptor. If the C, M, and Y photoreceptors are running at a normal speed, the expected life of the C, M, and Y photoreceptors will be reduced because the expected life is calculated according to the rotation distance.

[0035] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an image forming device, comprising: a plurality of photosensitive bodies 111-114; a driving device 240 for driving the plurality of photosensitive bodies to rotate; an exposure device 100 for forming an electrostatic latent image by exposing the plurality of photosensitive bodies to an image; a plurality of developing devices 101-104, 171-174 for developing the plurality of latent images formed on the plurality of photosensitive bodies with toners of different colors so that the plurality of photosensitive bodies carry toner images; an intermediate transfer body 130, which is in contact with the plurality of imaging components at the same time and is used to transfer the toner images; and a controller 210, which is configured to determine a target photosensitive body that is not to be exposed according to the image forming job to be processed, and to rotate the target photosensitive body at a second speed lower than the preset first speed through the driving device. The first speed may be a normal printing speed, and the second speed may be a preset slower printing speed.

[0036] Figure 3 The driving schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention is shown. In the black-and-white printing mode, the controller 210 controls the C photoreceptor 112, the M photoreceptor 113, and the Y photoreceptor 114 to reduce the rotation speed through the driving device 240, for example, to 1 / 4 of the normal speed. In the color printing mode, the controller 210 controls the C photoreceptor 112, the M photoreceptor 113, and the Y photoreceptor 114 to rotate at the normal speed through the driving device 240. Figure 3 The embodiment shown reduces the rotation speed of the C, M, and Y photosensitive bodies in the black-and-white printing mode, which can reduce the physical wear between the intermediate transfer body 130 and the C, M, and Y photosensitive bodies in the black-and-white printing mode, and can also avoid the long-term inconsistency of the potential on the surface of the C, M, and Y photosensitive bodies. On the other hand, when calculating the expected life, due to the reduced rotation speed, the present invention can reduce the reduction degree of the expected life compared with the prior art.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the controller is further configured to: when the image forming job is a black and white job, determine the target photoreceptors that are not to be exposed to be the C photoreceptor, the M photoreceptor, and the Y photoreceptor. It can be understood that if the image forming job only includes red and black, the target photoreceptors can be determined to be the C photoreceptor and the Y photoreceptor.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the image forming apparatus further includes a life calculation unit configured to determine the expected life based on the rotation distance of the plurality of photosensitive bodies. The life calculation unit may be provided inside or outside the controller 210. The expected life refers to an estimated value of the life of the photosensitive drum, and since the structure of the photosensitive body is determined, the rotation distance may be calculated by the number of rotations.

[0039] In a possible implementation, the image forming device further includes a high-voltage control unit 220 for generating a high-voltage signal, which is provided to the plurality of photosensitive bodies at the same time. At this time, the controller 210 is also configured to rotate the target photosensitive body at a second speed lower than the preset first speed through a driving device when the high-voltage signal is stabilized at the operating voltage. The above-mentioned embodiment is used to determine the timing when the target photosensitive body starts to rotate. The embodiment of the present invention can avoid the improper reduction of the expected life due to the premature rotation of the photosensitive bodies of C, M, and Y, thereby achieving the technical effect of improving the expected life.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the image forming device may further include a cleaning unit for performing cleaning after the imaging of the image forming job to be processed is completed; the controller 210 is further configured to, after the cleaning is completed, rotate the target photoreceptor at a second speed lower than the preset first speed through the driving device 240. The cleaning of this embodiment refers to adjusting the voltage difference between the charging high voltage and the developing high voltage after the toner image is transferred from the photoreceptor to the transfer belt, so that the photoreceptor continues to rotate for a period of time to remove the residual powder on the surface of the photoreceptor and clean the charging roller at the same time. This embodiment takes into account that the photoreceptor will not only rotate during the imaging period, but also continue to rotate for a period of time in the cleaning stage after the imaging is completed, and this period of time will also reduce the expected life. However, the rotation speed in the cleaning stage does not affect the processing speed of the printing job, nor does it affect the printing quality. Therefore, this embodiment reduces the rotation speed of the target photoreceptor in the cleaning stage, which can avoid the reduction of the expected life without affecting the processing quality and processing efficiency of the printing job.

[0041] The present invention also provides an image forming method, such as Figure 4 As shown, including:

[0042] S410: Determine the target photoreceptor not to be exposed according to the image forming job to be processed. In one implementation, the target photoreceptor not to be exposed can be determined according to the content of the print job. For example, for a black and white print job, the C, M, and Y photoreceptors are the target photoreceptors not to be exposed.

[0043] S420: The target photosensitive body is rotated at a second speed lower than the preset first speed. For example, the first speed may be a normal speed, and the second speed may be 1 / 4 of the normal speed or other reasonable speeds.

[0044] In a possible implementation, causing the target photosensitive body to rotate at a second speed lower than the preset first speed includes: when the high voltage signal is stabilized at the operating voltage, causing the target photosensitive body to rotate at the second speed lower than the preset first speed by a driving device.

[0045] In one possible implementation, causing the target photosensitive body to rotate at a second speed lower than a preset first speed includes: performing cleaning after the imaging of the image forming job to be processed is completed; when the cleaning is completed, causing the multiple photosensitive bodies to rotate at a second speed lower than the preset first speed through a driving device.

[0046] See also Figure 5 , is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image forming device provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the image forming device 500 may include: a processor 510, a memory 520, and a communication unit 530. These components communicate through one or more buses. Those skilled in the art can understand that the structure of the image forming device shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the embodiment of the present application, and it can be a bus structure or a star structure, and can also include more or less components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0047] The communication unit 530 is used to establish a communication channel so that the image forming device can communicate with other devices, receive user data sent by other devices or send user data to other devices.

[0048] The processor 510 is the control center of the image forming device. It uses various interfaces and lines to connect various parts of the entire image forming device. It runs or executes software programs, instructions, and / or modules stored in the memory 520, and calls data stored in the memory to perform various functions of the image forming device and / or process data. The processor can be composed of an integrated circuit (IC), for example, it can be composed of a single packaged IC, or it can be composed of a plurality of packaged ICs with the same or different functions. For example, the processor 510 can include only a central processing unit (CPU). In the embodiment of the present application, the CPU can be a single computing core or multiple computing cores.

[0049] The memory 520 is used to store the execution instructions of the processor 510. The memory 520 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic disk or optical disk.

[0050] When the execution instructions in the memory 520 are executed by the processor 510, the image forming apparatus 500 can execute Figure 4 Some or all of the steps in the illustrated embodiments.

[0051] In a specific implementation, the embodiment of the present application further provides a computer storage medium, wherein the computer storage medium may store a program, and when the program is executed, the program may include some or all of the steps in each embodiment of the image combing method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The storage medium may be a disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0052] In a specific implementation, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, wherein the computer program product includes executable instructions, and when the executable instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes part or all of the steps in each embodiment of the image combing method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0053] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the technology in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform. Based on this understanding, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a storage medium such as ROM / RAM, a disk, an optical disk, etc., including several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application or some parts of the embodiments.

[0054] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An image forming device, characterized in that: include: Multiple photoreceptors; A driving device, used for driving the plurality of photosensitive bodies to rotate; an exposure device for forming an electrostatic latent image by imagewise exposing one of the plurality of photosensitive bodies; a plurality of developing devices for developing the plurality of latent images formed on the plurality of photosensitive bodies by using toners of different colors so that the plurality of photosensitive bodies carry toner images; an intermediate transfer body, in contact with the plurality of imaging components simultaneously, for transferring the toner image; The controller is configured to determine a target photosensitive body that is not to be exposed according to the image forming job to be processed, and to rotate the target photosensitive body at a second speed lower than a preset first speed through a driving device.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The controller is further configured to: When the image forming job is a black-and-white job, the target photoreceptors determined not to perform exposure are the C photoreceptor, the M photoreceptor, and the Y photoreceptor.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: Also includes: A high voltage control unit, configured to generate a high voltage signal, wherein the high voltage signal is provided to the plurality of photosensitive bodies simultaneously; The controller is further configured to, when the high voltage signal is stabilized at an operating voltage, cause the target photosensitive body to rotate at a second speed lower than a preset first speed through the driving device.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: Also includes: The life calculation unit is configured to determine the expected life based on the rotation distances of the plurality of photosensitive bodies.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: Also includes: A cleaning unit, used for performing cleaning after the imaging of the image forming job to be processed is completed; The controller is further configured to, after the cleaning is completed, rotate the target photosensitive body at a second speed lower than a preset first speed through the driving device.

6. An image forming method, characterized in that: include: determining a target photoreceptor not to be exposed according to an image forming job to be processed; The target photosensitive body is rotated at a second speed lower than a preset first speed.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that When the image forming job is a black-and-white job, the target photoreceptors determined not to perform exposure are the C photoreceptor, the K photoreceptor, and the Y photoreceptor.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The step of causing the target photosensitive body to rotate at a second speed lower than a preset first speed comprises: When the high voltage signal is stabilized at the working voltage, the target photosensitive body is caused to rotate at a second speed lower than the preset first speed through the driving device.

9. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The step of causing the target photosensitive body to rotate at a second speed lower than a preset first speed comprises: After the image forming operation to be processed is completed, cleaning is performed; After the cleaning is completed, the target photosensitive body is rotated at a second speed lower than the preset first speed by the driving device.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium includes a stored program, wherein when the program is executed, the device where the computer-readable storage medium is located is controlled to execute the method according to any one of claims 6 to 9.

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