Image forming device and method and storage medium

Abstract

The invention discloses an image forming device and method, electronic equipment and a storage medium, and relates to the technical field of image forming. The device at least comprises a control unit which is used for starting each powder supply motor based on the first signal when the accumulated printing page number reaches a preset page number threshold value and the light point number accumulated value reaches a light point number accumulated threshold value. According to the image forming device, the problem of background smudginess of a printed image after the two-component developer has carbon powder and carrier charged balance damage can be effectively inhibited, and the user experience is effectively improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of image forming technology, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus, method, electronic device, and storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] In existing technologies, image forming apparatuses typically use a two-component developer consisting of toner and carrier to complete image printing. After performing image printing operations with low toner coverage for an extended period, the toner and carrier in the two-component developer can reach a state of charge equilibrium. However, when the image forming apparatus performs image printing operations with a certain amount of high toner coverage, the charge equilibrium between the toner and carrier in the two-component developer is disrupted. If image printing continues under these conditions, it can lead to background contamination in the printed image. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, method and storage medium, which at least solves the technical problems mentioned in the background art.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus is provided, comprising:

[0005] At least one imaging unit, the at least one imaging unit being used to form a developer image;

[0006] A toner supply unit includes at least one toner cartridge for storing toner, at least one toner supply motor, and at least two toner supply screws. The toner supply motor is energized with the corresponding two toner supply screws. The toner supply screws supply toner from the toner cartridge to each of the imaging units. When the toner supply motor rotates in the forward direction, it drives one of its toner supply screws to deliver toner from one of its toner cartridges to one of its imaging units. When the toner supply motor rotates in the reverse direction, it drives the other toner supply screw to deliver toner from another toner cartridge to another imaging unit.

[0007] A concentration detection sensor is used to detect the ratio of toner to carrier in each of the imaging units and output a first signal;

[0008] The control unit is used to start each of the toner supply motors based on the first signal when the cumulative number of printed pages reaches a preset page threshold and the cumulative number of light spots reaches the cumulative number of light spots threshold.

[0009] In some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to independently determine whether the rotation direction of each powder supply motor is consistent with the previous rotation direction when each of the powder supply motors drives the corresponding toner supply screw to supply toner from the corresponding toner cartridge to each of the imaging units, and if the rotation directions are inconsistent, then the transmission compensation time is increased when the powder supply motor drives the toner supply screw to perform the supply.

[0010] In some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to ensure that when the determination result is that the rotation direction is consistent, the toner supply motor drives the toner supply screw to perform the supply without increasing the transmission compensation time.

[0011] In some embodiments, the at least one powder supply motor includes:

[0012] A first toner supply motor is configured to drive a first toner supply screw to supply toner of a first color from the at least one toner cartridge to one of the imaging units when rotating in the forward direction, and to drive a second toner supply screw to supply toner of a second color from the at least one toner cartridge to another of the imaging units when rotating in the reverse direction.

[0013] A second toner supply motor is configured to drive a third toner supply screw to supply a third color of toner from the at least one toner cartridge to one of the imaging units when rotating in the forward direction, and to drive a fourth toner supply screw to supply a fourth color of toner from the at least one toner cartridge to one of the imaging units when rotating in the reverse direction.

[0014] In some implementations, the step of further determining whether the cumulative number of light spots has reached the cumulative number of light spots threshold after the cumulative number of printed pages reaches a preset page number threshold, and if so, activating each of the toner supply motors based on the first signal, includes:

[0015] The control unit generates a second signal to characterize the toner supply based on the first signal, and generates a third signal to control the drive of each of the toner supply motors based on the second signal.

[0016] In some implementations, the control unit determines whether the current page has been printed and accumulates the number of printed pages based on the scanning end signal of the image forming apparatus, and then determines whether the accumulated number of printed pages has reached a preset page number threshold.

[0017] According to a second aspect of the invention, the method is applied to an image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus comprising at least one imaging unit for forming a developer image; a toner supply unit comprising at least one toner cartridge for storing toner, at least one toner supply motor, and at least two toner supply screws, the toner supply motor being induced to drive the corresponding two toner supply screws, the toner supply screws being used to supply toner from the toner cartridge to each of the imaging units, wherein when the toner supply motor rotates in the forward direction, it drives one of its toner supply screws to deliver toner from one of its toner cartridges to one of its imaging units, and when the toner supply motor rotates in the reverse direction, it drives the other toner supply screw to deliver toner from another toner cartridge to another imaging unit; a concentration detection sensor for detecting the ratio of toner to carrier in each of the imaging units and outputting a first signal, characterized in that the method comprises:

[0018] When the cumulative number of printed pages reaches the preset page threshold and the cumulative number of light spots reaches the cumulative number of light spots threshold, each of the toner supply motors is activated based on the first signal.

[0019] In some implementations, the step of activating each of the toner supply motors based on the first signal when the cumulative number of printed pages reaches a preset page count threshold and the cumulative number of light spots reaches a cumulative number of light spots threshold includes:

[0020] A second signal is generated based on the first signal to characterize the toner supply, and a third signal is generated based on the second signal to control the drive of each of the toner supply motors.

[0021] In some implementations, the step of activating each of the toner supply motors based on the first signal when the cumulative number of printed pages reaches a preset page count threshold and the cumulative number of light spots reaches a cumulative number of light spots threshold includes:

[0022] The current page is printed based on the scanning end signal of the image forming device, and after accumulating the number of printed pages, it is determined whether the accumulated number of printed pages has reached a preset page number threshold.

[0023] If so, determine whether the cumulative number of light spots has reached the preset cumulative number of light spots threshold;

[0024] If so, a second signal is generated based on the first signal to characterize the toner supply amount, and a third signal is generated based on the second signal to control the driving of each of the toner supply motors, and each of the toner supply motors is started based on the third signal.

[0025] According to a third aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions for causing a processor to execute and implement the image forming method of any of the second aspects.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the image forming apparatus, method and storage medium provided by the present invention determine whether a high toner coverage printing operation occurs by detecting the cumulative value of the number of light spots on a fixed number of pages, and control the execution of toner replenishment operation when it occurs. This allows the two-component developer to automatically restore the charge balance when the charge balance between toner and carrier is disrupted, which can effectively suppress the problem of background smudges in the printed image after the charge balance between toner and carrier is disrupted in the two-component developer, and effectively improve the user experience. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a first cross-sectional view of a toner supply unit, a toner cartridge unit, and a developer cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 3 This is a second cross-sectional view of a toner supply unit, a toner cartridge unit, and a developing cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of a developing cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 This is a structural diagram of the toner supply unit transmission box and the toner supply unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional view of the toner supply unit transmission box according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 7 This is a cross-sectional view of a toner supply unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 8 This is a first-view structural diagram of the powder feeding screw and the powder feeding screw gear according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 9 This is a second-view structural diagram of the powder feeding screw and the powder feeding screw gear according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 11This is the theoretical rotation value of the powder feeding screw in a forward rotation according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 12 This is the theoretical rotation value for the reverse rotation of the powder feeding screw according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 13 This is the theoretical rotation value of the powder feeding screw after it rotates forward and then reverses according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 14 This refers to the actual rotation value of the powder feeding screw after it rotates forward and then reverses in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 15 This is the rotation value for compensation when the powder feeding screw rotates forward and then reverses in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 16 This is a control timing diagram of a powder supply motor according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the disruption of the charged balance of the developer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 18 This is a flowchart of an image forming method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 19 This is a control flowchart of the powder supply motor in an image forming method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 20 This is a control flowchart of the powder supply motor during or outside the imaging period according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] Figure 21 This is a flowchart illustrating a toner supply motor delaying toner supply by one page according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0048] Figure 22 This is a flowchart illustrating the fault diagnosis process of a concentration detection sensor according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0049] Figure 23 This is a flowchart illustrating the fault diagnosis of a concentration detection sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0050] Figure 24 This is a control flowchart of the toner supply motor in the toner supply mode according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0051] Figure 25 This is a detailed flowchart of the control of the toner supply motor in the automatic toner supply mode according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0052] Figure 26This is a detailed flowchart of the control of the powder supply motor in the independent powder supply mode according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] Figure 27 This is a control flowchart of a powder supply motor according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0054] Figure 28 This is a flowchart illustrating the process of obtaining toner coverage according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0055] Figure 29 This is a flowchart illustrating the high carbon powder coverage determination process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0056] Figure 30 This is a flowchart illustrating the process of increasing or decreasing the driving time of the powder supply motor according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0057] Figure 31 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0058] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0059] This invention provides an image forming apparatus, including but not limited to printers, copiers, fax machines, scanners, and multifunction printers that integrate printing, copying, faxing, and scanning functions, the function of which is to print images or text on an imaging medium. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit A and a paper feeding section B disposed below the image forming unit A. The paper feeding section B includes a paper tray 22 that holds a printing medium S, so as to supply the printing medium S in the paper tray 22 to the image forming unit A. The image forming unit A transfers and fixes a developer image formed using yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) to the printing medium S supplied by the paper feeding section B.

[0060] The image forming unit A includes an intermediate transfer belt 25 arranged generally in a horizontal direction, which is wound around a pair of transfer belt drive rollers 23 and 24 and driven by a motor (not shown) to move around in the direction indicated by arrow X.

[0061] The image forming unit A includes imaging units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K disposed below the intermediate transfer belt 25. The imaging units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K are distributed along the circumferential movement direction of the intermediate transfer belt 25 so as to form a developer image using toners of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K).

[0062] Image forming unit A includes toner cartridge units 17Y, 17M, 17C, and 17K, which are detachably mounted above and sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 25 and are located above the imaging units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K respectively. The toner cartridge units 17Y, 17M, 17C, and 17K contain yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) toner. The toner contained in the toner cartridge units 17Y, 17M, 17C, and 17K is supplied to the imaging units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K through toner supply assemblies 19Y, 19M, 19C, and 19K.

[0063] Imaging units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K respectively include photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K located below the intermediate transfer belt 25 and opposite to the intermediate transfer belt 25 and capable of rotation. Photosensitive layers are provided on the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K, and they are each capable of rotating in the direction indicated by arrow Z.

[0064] Imaging units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K each include cleaning components 16Y, 16M, 16C, and 16K that sweep away residual toner from the surfaces of photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K, and charging rollers 12Y, 12M, 12C, and 12K that uniformly apply a specified electrical potential to the photosensitive layer of the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K.

[0065] The laser scanning unit 28 at the bottom of the image forming unit A irradiates the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K, which are charged by the charging rollers 12Y, 12M, 12C, and 12K, with lasers LY, LM, LC, and LK.

[0066] Imaging units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K each include detachable developing cartridges 14Y, 14M, 14C, and 14K. The developing cartridges 14Y, 14M, 14C, and 14K utilize two-component developing agents consisting of toners of different colors (Y, M, C, and K) and a magnetic carrier to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive layer of the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K.

[0067] Image forming unit A includes primary transfer rollers 27Y, 27M, 27C, and 27K above imaging units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K. The primary transfer rollers 27Y, 27M, 27C, and 27K are subjected to a transfer bias voltage, which creates an electric field between them and the corresponding photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K. The developer images formed on the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 25 in one step by the electric fields created between the primary transfer rollers 27Y, 27M, 27C, and 27K and the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K.

[0068] Image forming unit A includes a secondary transfer roller 26. A transfer bias voltage is applied to the secondary transfer roller 26. By applying the transfer bias voltage, an electric field is formed between the secondary transfer roller 26 and the intermediate transfer belt 25. When the printing medium S is transported from the paper tray 22 along the printing medium transport path 21 between the secondary transfer roller 26 and the intermediate transfer belt 25, the developer image transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 25 is subjected to the electric field formed between the secondary transfer roller 26 and the intermediate transfer belt 25 and is transferred onto the printing medium S twice.

[0069] Image forming unit A includes a fixing device 30, which includes a heating element 31 and a pressure roller 32 that cooperate with each other. The heating element 31 can be composed of either a heating roller and a halogen lamp or a heating ceramic plate and a fixing film. A heating lamp 33 is provided at the axial center of the heating element 31 to heat the heating roller 31. In addition, heating can also be achieved by heating the ceramic plate. The unfixed developer image on the printing medium S is fixed by heating and pressure as it passes through the fixing roller gap formed by the heating element 31 and the pressure roller 32. After the developer image is fixed, the printing medium S is discharged onto the paper tray 23 via the paper discharge roller 24.

[0070] The image forming unit A also includes a control unit 41 that controls the imaging units 10Y, 10M, 10C, 10K, the fixing unit 30, the paper feeding unit B, etc., and a control unit 42 that processes image data input from the operation panel and image data input from external terminal devices via a network such as LAN.

[0071] like Figure 2As shown, the image forming unit A also includes toner supply unit drive boxes 19A and 19B. The toner supply unit drive boxes 19A and 19B, along with toner supply components 19Y, 19M, 19C, 19K, and toner cartridge units 17Y, 17M, 17C, and 17K, together constitute the toner supply unit 19. The toner supply unit drive box 19A is used to drive the toner supply components 19Y and 19M and the toner cartridge units 17Y and 17M. The toner supply unit drive box 19B is used to drive the toner supply components 19C and 19K and the toner cartridge units 17C and 17K. Furthermore, the toner supply components 19Y, 19M, 19C, 19K, and 19Y, 19M, 19M, 19C, 19K... During the driving process, 19M, 19C, and 19K rotate in only one direction. During the driving process, toner cartridge units 17Y and 17M supply the toner they contain to toner supply components 19Y and 19M. During the driving process, toner cartridge units 17C and 17K supply the toner they contain to toner supply components 19C and 19K. During the driving process, toner supply components 19Y, 19M, 19C, and 19K supply the toner supplied in toner cartridge units 17Y, 17M, 17C, and 17K to developer cartridges 14Y, 14M, 14C, and 14K.

[0072] like Figure 3 and Figures 7-9 As shown, the toner cartridge unit 17Y has a stirring frame 17Y1. The toner supply unit transmission box 19A drives the stirring frame 17Y1 to rotate, stirring the toner stored in the toner cartridge unit 17Y itself, and supplying the stirred toner to the toner supply assembly 19Y. The toner supply assembly 19Y includes a housing 19Y1, a toner feed screw (i.e., toner supply screw) 19Y2, a toner feed screw gear 19Y3, and a connecting pipe 19Y4. The toner feed screw 19Y2 is rotatably installed inside the housing 19Y1, the toner feed screw gear 19Y3 is installed at the end of the toner feed screw 19Y2, and the connecting pipe 19Y4 connects the housing 19Y1 and the developing cartridge 14Y. The toner supply unit transmission box 19Y1... A, through the toner supply assembly 19Y, drives the toner screw 19Y2 to rotate via the toner supply screw gear 19Y3, supplying toner from the toner cartridge unit 17Y to the developing cartridge 14Y. The structures of the other toner cartridge units 17M, 17C, and 17K are the same as those of the toner cartridge unit 17Y. The other toner supply assemblies 19M, 19C, and 19K are the same as those of the toner supply assembly 19Y. The process by which the toner cartridge units 17M, 17C, and 17K supply toner to the developing cartridges 14M, 14C, and 14K through the toner supply assemblies 19M, 19C, and 19K can be referred to as the process by which the toner cartridge unit 17Y supplies toner to the developing cartridge 14Y through the toner supply assembly 19Y, and therefore will not be described again here.

[0073] like Figure 4As shown, the developing cartridges 14Y, 14M, 14C, and 14K have the same structure. The specific structure of developing cartridge 14Y will be described below. The structures of the other developing cartridges 14M, 14C, and 14K can be referenced from developing cartridge 14Y. Developing cartridge 14Y includes a magnetic roller (not shown), a concentration sensor 14Y1, a powder feeding screw 14Y2, a powder mixing screw 14Y3, and developer 14Y4 (a mixture of toner and carrier). The powder mixing screw 14Y3 stirs the developer 14Y4 within developing cartridge 14Y and supplies the stirred developer 14Y4 to the powder feeding screw 14Y2, allowing the powder feeding screw 14Y2 to deliver the developer... 14Y4 is supplied to a developing sleeve (not shown) located on the outer circumference of the magnetic roller and rotatable around it. The concentration detection sensor 14Y1 is used to detect the ratio of developer 14Y4 in the developing cartridge 14Y (i.e., the ratio of toner to carrier) and output a first signal. The output voltage corresponding to the first signal is inversely proportional to the toner concentration. That is, the larger the output voltage value, the lower the toner concentration, and vice versa. Correspondingly, the concentration detection sensors of developing cartridges 14M, 14C, and 14K will also detect the ratio of developer in developing cartridges 14M, 14C, and 14K and output a first signal.

[0074] like Figure 5 and Figure 6As shown, the toner supply unit drive box 19A includes a first toner supply motor (not shown), which supplies toner of a first color when rotating forward (i.e., in the forward direction, the same below) and supplies toner of a second color when rotating in reverse (i.e., in the opposite direction, the same below). The first color toner can be yellow (Y), and the corresponding second color toner is magenta (M). Of course, the first color toner can be replaced by magenta (M) in addition to yellow (Y), and the corresponding second color toner can be replaced by yellow (Y). The toner supply unit drive box 19B includes a second toner supply motor (not shown), which supplies toner of a third color when rotating forward and supplies toner of a fourth color when rotating in reverse. The third color toner can be cyan (C), and the corresponding fourth color toner is black (K). Of course, the third color toner can be replaced by black (K) in addition to cyan (C), and the corresponding fourth color toner can be replaced by cyan (C). The toner supply unit drive boxes 19A and 19B have the same structure. The specific structure of toner supply unit drive box 19A will be described below. The structure of toner supply unit drive box 19B can be referenced from that of toner supply unit drive box 19A. For example, toner supply unit drive box 19A includes a first toner supply motor (not shown), a first toner supply motor gear 19A1, a first one-way clutch 19A2, a first driven gear 19A3, a first toner feeding screw (first toner supply screw) drive gear 19A4, a first stirring frame drive gear 19A5, and a second driven gear. The system includes a wheel 19A6, a second one-way clutch 19A7, a third driven gear 19A8, a second powder feeding screw (second toner supply screw) drive gear 19A9, and a second mixing frame drive gear 19A10; a first powder supply motor gear 19A1 is mounted on the shaft of the first powder supply motor, and is driven by the first powder supply motor to rotate forward or in reverse. A first one-way clutch 19A2 engages with the first powder supply motor gear 19A1, and is driven by the first powder supply motor gear 19A1 and only allows movement in the positive direction (e.g.,...). Figure 6(In the clockwise direction shown), the first driven gear 19A3 meshes with and is driven by the first one-way clutch 19A2. The first driven gear 19A3 meshes with and drives the first powder-feeding screw drive gear 19A4, causing the first powder-feeding screw drive gear 19A4 to rotate. The first powder-feeding screw drive gear 19A4 is connected to the powder-feeding screw gear 19Y3 to drive the powder-feeding screw 19Y2 to rotate. The first driven gear 19A3 is connected to the first stirring frame drive gear 1... 9A5 engages and drives the first stirring frame drive gear 19A5 to rotate. The first stirring frame drive gear 19A5 is mounted on the stirring frame 17Y1 and drives the stirring frame 17Y1. The second driven gear 19A6 engages with the first powder supply motor gear 19A1 and is driven by the first powder supply motor gear 19A1. The second one-way clutch 19A7 engages with the second driven gear 19A6. The second one-way clutch 19A7 is driven by the second driven gear 19A6 and only allows movement in the positive direction (e.g., ...). Figure 6 (In the clockwise direction shown), the third driven gear 19A8 meshes with the second one-way clutch 19A7 and is driven by the second one-way clutch 19A7. The third driven gear 19A8 meshes with the second powder feeding screw drive gear 19A9 and drives the second powder feeding screw drive gear 19A9 to rotate. The second powder feeding screw drive gear 19A9 is connected to the powder feeding screw gear of the toner supply assembly 19M to drive the powder feeding screw to rotate. The third driven gear 19A8 meshes with the second stirring frame drive gear 19A10 and drives the second stirring frame drive gear 19A10 to rotate. The second stirring frame drive gear 19A10 is mounted on the stirring frame of the powder cylinder unit 17M and drives the stirring frame.

[0075] When the first powder supply motor rotates in the forward direction, the first powder supply motor gear 19A1 rotates in the forward direction, the first one-way clutch 19A2 does not rotate, and none of the gears subsequently meshed with it rotate. At this time, the second driven gear 19A6 rotates in the reverse direction, the second one-way clutch 19A7 rotates in the forward direction, and the third driven gear 19A8 rotates in the reverse direction, driving the second powder feeding screw drive gear 19A9 to rotate in the forward direction and the second stirring frame drive gear 19A10 to rotate in the forward direction. When the second powder feeding screw drive gear 19A9 rotates in the forward direction, the powder feeding screw gear 19Y3 rotates in the reverse direction, and the powder feeding screw 19Y2 follows suit, causing the toner supply assembly 19Y to perform the toner supply action. When the first powder supply motor rotates in the reverse direction, the first powder supply motor gear 19A1 rotates in the reverse direction, the second one-way clutch 19A7 does not rotate, and none of the gears subsequently meshed with it rotate.

[0076] The first one-way clutch 19A2 rotates in the forward direction, and the first driven gear 19A3 rotates in the reverse direction, driving the first powder-feeding screw drive gear 19A4 and the first stirring frame drive gear 19A5 to rotate in the forward direction. When the first powder-feeding screw drive gear 19A4 rotates in the forward direction, the powder-feeding screw gear of the toner supply assembly 19M rotates in the reverse direction, and the powder-feeding screw of the toner supply assembly 19M follows suit, thus performing the toner supply action. Correspondingly, when the second toner supply motor rotates in the forward direction, the toner supply assembly 19C performs the toner supply action; when the second toner supply motor rotates in the reverse direction, the toner supply assembly 19K performs the toner supply action.

[0077] The first toner supply motor is driven by the corresponding first toner supply screw and second toner supply screw. The first toner supply screw and the second toner supply screw are used to supply toner from the toner cartridge to the imaging unit. When the first toner supply motor runs in the forward direction, it drives the first toner supply screw to deliver toner from one toner cartridge to one imaging unit (e.g., imaging unit 10Y corresponding to color Y). When the first toner supply motor runs in the reverse direction, it drives the second toner supply screw to deliver toner from another toner cartridge to another imaging unit (imaging unit 10M corresponding to color M).

[0078] The second toner supply motor is connected to the corresponding third toner supply screw (not shown) and fourth toner supply screw (not shown). The third and fourth toner supply screws are used to supply toner from the toner cartridge to the imaging unit. When the second toner supply motor runs in the forward direction, it drives the third toner supply screw to deliver toner from one of its toner cartridges to one of its imaging units (e.g., imaging unit 10C corresponding to color C). When the second toner motor runs in the reverse direction, it drives the fourth toner supply screw to deliver toner from another toner cartridge to another imaging unit (imaging unit 10K corresponding to color K).

[0079] The principle of the second powder supply motor is similar to that of the first powder supply motor, and will not be elaborated here.

[0080] The control unit 42 is communicatively connected to each concentration detection sensor. The control unit 42 generates a second signal characterizing the toner supply of each development cartridge 14Y, 14M, 14C, and 14K based on the first signal obtained from the corresponding detection developing cartridges 14Y, 14M, 14C, and 14K. It also generates a third signal to control the toner supply motor drive based on the second signal. Specifically, for example... Figure 10The control unit 42 includes a toner supply calculator 421 (such as an MCU), a toner supply motor controller 422, and a storage module 423. The toner supply calculator 421 generates a second signal representing the toner supply based on a first signal and sends the second signal to the toner supply motor controller 422. The toner supply motor controller 422 calculates the rotation time and rotation direction of the toner supply motor based on the second signal and generates a third signal to control the drive of the toner supply motor. Since the amount of toner supplied when the toner supply motor rotates forward or backward once is fixed, the number of rotations of the toner supply motor can be calculated based on the toner supply amount and the amount of toner supplied when the toner supply motor rotates forward or backward once. The time for the toner supply motor to rotate forward or backward once can be calculated based on the rotation speed of the toner supply motor. In other words, the number of rotations of the toner supply motor can be controlled by controlling the toner supply motor each time it rotates. The toner supply motor is controlled by the time and the corresponding number of forward or reverse rotations. The direction of rotation of the toner supply motor (i.e., forward or reverse) can be determined by the second signal corresponding to which of the developing cartridges 14Y, 14M, 14C, and 14K needs to supply toner. When developing cartridge 14Y needs to supply toner, the toner supply motor controller 422 controls the first toner supply motor to rotate forward and generates the fourth signal. When developing cartridge 14M needs to supply toner, the toner supply motor controller 422 controls the first toner supply motor to rotate in reverse and generates the fifth signal. When developing cartridge 14C needs to supply toner, the toner supply motor controller 422 controls the second toner supply motor to rotate forward and generates the fourth signal. When developing cartridge 14K needs to supply toner, the toner supply motor controller 422 controls the second toner supply motor to rotate in reverse and generates the fifth signal.

[0081] When the toner supply motor in an image forming apparatus reverses after rotating forward (or reverses and then rotates forward again), the rotation angle of the toner feeding screw driven by the toner supply motor does not reach the designed angle. This is because when the toner supply motor rotates forward / reverse and then reverses again, there are meshing gaps between the various transmission parts of the mechanical system. For example, ... Figure 11 As shown, when the toner supply screw 19Y2 is not rotating, its position is L0. When the toner supply screw 19Y2 rotates clockwise (i.e., the first clockwise rotation), its theoretical position is L1. Figure 12 As shown, when the powder feeding screw 19Y2 is not rotating, its position is L0. When the powder feeding screw 19Y2 rotates in the opposite direction (counterclockwise), its theoretical position is L2. Figure 13As shown, when the powder feeding screw 19Y2 is not rotating, its theoretical stopping position is L0. When the powder feeding screw 19Y2 first rotates in the forward direction, its theoretical stopping position is L3. Then, when it rotates in the reverse direction, its theoretical stopping position is L4. However, due to the aforementioned issue, the actual stopping position of the powder feeding screw 19Y2 differs from its theoretical stopping position, such as... Figure 14 As shown, when the powder feeding screw 19Y2 is not rotating, its position is L0. When the powder feeding screw 19Y2 first rotates in the forward direction, its actual stopping area is L5. Then, when it rotates in the reverse direction, its actual stopping area is L6. Figure 13 The L4 position shown and Figure 14 As shown in region L6, the actual angle of the toner screw 19Y2 reversal is significantly smaller than the theoretical angle, meaning that the amount of toner dispensed by the toner screw 19Y2 is reduced, resulting in a decrease in toner supply. The insufficient toner supply to the image forming device caused by the substandard rotation angle of the toner screw will lead to a serious problem of light color in the printed image. Solving this problem mechanically would greatly increase the manufacturing cost of the printer.

[0082] To address the aforementioned issues, the control unit 42 adds a transmission compensation time when driving the toner supply screw via the toner supply motor. Specifically, when each toner supply motor drives the corresponding toner supply screw to deliver toner from the corresponding toner cartridge to the imaging unit in either the forward or reverse direction, the control unit 42 independently determines whether the rotation direction of each toner supply motor is consistent with its previous rotation direction. If the rotation directions are inconsistent, the control unit 42 adds a transmission compensation time when driving the toner supply screw via the toner supply motor. Furthermore, the control unit 42 is also configured to, upon receiving a request to instruct each toner supply motor to start, determine which color of toner among the first, second, third, and fourth colors needs to be supplied. Specifically, it first determines whether the first toner supply motor (corresponding to the first or second color toner) or the second toner supply motor (corresponding to the third or fourth color toner) needs to be started. Then, it determines whether the first or second toner supply motor is rotating forward or backward. If the first (or second) toner supply motor is rotating forward, it is determined that the first (or third) color toner needs to be supplied; if the first (or second) toner supply motor is rotating backward, it is determined that the second (or third) color toner needs to be supplied. Toner (or fourth color toner); when it is determined that toner of the first color needs to be supplied, it is determined whether the first toner supply motor was rotated in the forward direction during the last start to drive the first toner supply screw to supply toner of the first color from at least one toner cartridge to the imaging unit. If it is determined that the first toner supply screw was rotated in the forward direction to drive the first toner supply screw to supply toner of the first color from at least one toner cartridge to the imaging unit, then starting the first toner supply motor to rotate in the forward direction to drive the first toner supply screw to supply toner of the first color from at least one toner cartridge to the imaging unit this time will not increase the transmission compensation time. If not, the transmission compensation time will be increased. The request used to indicate the start of each toner supply motor is the request to indicate the start of the first toner supply motor.Specifically, the toner supply calculator 421 determines whether a fourth signal was generated when the toner supply motor controller 422 last controlled the first toner supply motor. If the fourth signal was generated, it indicates that the first toner supply motor rotated forward to supply the first color toner last time, and the rotation time of the first toner supply motor will not be increased when it starts rotating forward to supply the first color toner this time. If not, it indicates that the toner supply motor controller 422 generated a fifth signal when it last controlled the first toner supply motor, and the first toner supply motor rotated backward to supply the second color toner last time. The toner supply calculator 421 then retrieves the information from the storage module 423. The first compensation signal (i.e., the first compensation signal is pre-stored in the storage module 423, and the first compensation signal can be generated by the toner supply calculator 421) increases the rotation time of the first toner supply motor when it starts to rotate forward to supply the first color toner (i.e., the toner supply calculator 421 controls the toner supply motor controller 422 to increase the forward rotation time of the first toner supply motor through the first compensation signal, and the increased forward rotation time is the first preset time, denoted as TMR_FET_Y), and clears the fifth signal and the first compensation signal. The request used to indicate the start of the toner supply motor is the request to indicate the start of the first toner supply motor.

[0083] Furthermore, the control unit 42 is also configured to, when determining that a second color toner needs to be supplied, if it determines that the first toner supply motor previously rotated in the opposite direction to drive the second toner supply screw to supply the second color toner from at least one toner cartridge to the imaging unit, then starting the first toner supply motor to rotate in the opposite direction to drive the second toner supply screw to supply the second color toner from at least one toner cartridge to the imaging unit this time will not increase the transmission compensation time; otherwise, it will increase the transmission compensation time. That is, when the control unit 42 determines that a first color toner is not needed, it means that a second color toner needs to be supplied this time. By determining whether the toner supply motor controller 422 generated a fifth signal when it last controlled the first toner supply motor, if the toner supply motor controller 422 generated a fifth signal, it means that the first toner supply motor previously reversed to supply the second color toner, and starting the first toner supply motor to reverse to supply the second color toner this time will not increase the transmission compensation time. If the rotation time of the first toner supply motor is not increased during toner supply, it indicates that the fourth signal was generated when the toner supply motor controller 422 last controlled the first toner supply motor. The first toner supply motor was started in the forward direction to supply toner of the first color last time. The toner supply calculator 421 calls the second compensation signal from the storage module 423 (that is, the second compensation signal is pre-stored in the storage module 423, and the second compensation signal can be generated by the toner supply calculator 421). When the first toner supply motor is started in reverse to supply toner of the second color this time, the rotation time of the first toner supply motor is increased (that is, the toner supply calculator 421 controls the toner supply motor controller 422 to increase the reverse time of the first toner supply motor through the second compensation signal. The increased reverse time is the second preset time, denoted as TMR_FET_M). The fourth signal and the second compensation signal are cleared. The request used to indicate the start of the toner supply motor is the request to indicate the start of the first toner supply motor.

[0084] Furthermore, when it is determined that a third color toner needs to be supplied, it is determined whether the second toner supply motor rotated in the forward direction during its previous startup to drive the third toner supply screw to supply the third color toner from at least one toner cartridge to the imaging unit. If it is determined that the third toner supply screw rotated in the forward direction to supply the third color toner from at least one toner cartridge to the imaging unit, then starting the second toner supply motor to rotate in the forward direction to drive the third toner supply screw to supply the third color toner from at least one toner cartridge to the imaging unit this time will not increase the transmission compensation time. If not, the transmission compensation time will be increased. The request used to indicate the startup of each toner supply motor is a request to indicate the startup of the second toner supply motor. Specifically, by determining whether the toner supply motor controller 422 generated a fourth signal during its last control of the second toner supply motor, if the controller 422 did, it indicates that the second toner supply motor rotated forward to supply the third color toner during its last start. Therefore, starting the second toner supply motor to rotate forward this time to supply the third color toner will not increase the motor's rotation time. If not, it indicates that the controller 422 generated a fifth signal during its last control of the second toner supply motor, meaning the second toner supply motor rotated in reverse to supply the fourth color toner during its last start. The toner supply calculator 421 then retrieves the fourth signal from the storage module 423. A compensation signal (i.e., the first compensation signal is pre-stored in the storage module 423, and the first compensation signal can be generated by the toner supply calculator 421) is generated. When the second toner supply motor is started to rotate forward to supply toner of the third color, the rotation time of the second toner supply motor is increased (i.e., the toner supply calculator 421 controls the toner supply motor controller 422 to increase the forward rotation time of the second toner supply motor through the first compensation signal, and the increased forward rotation time is the third preset time, denoted as TMR_FET_C). The fifth signal and the first compensation signal are cleared. The request used to indicate the start of the toner supply motor is the request to indicate the start of the second toner supply motor.

[0085] Furthermore, when it is determined that a fourth color of toner needs to be supplied, if it is determined that the second toner supply motor rotated in the reverse direction during its previous start to drive the fourth toner supply screw to supply the fourth color of toner from at least one toner cartridge to the imaging unit, then starting the second toner supply motor in the reverse direction this time to drive the fourth toner supply screw to supply the fourth color of toner from at least one toner cartridge to the imaging unit will not increase the transmission compensation time. If not, then the transmission compensation time will be increased. That is, when the control unit 42 determines that a third color of toner does not need to be supplied, it means that a fourth color of toner needs to be supplied this time. By judging whether a fifth signal was generated when the toner supply motor controller 422 controlled the second toner supply motor last time, if the toner supply motor controller 422 generated a fifth signal, it means that the second toner supply motor reversed its direction during its previous start to supply the fourth color of toner, and starting the second toner supply motor in the reverse direction this time to supply the fourth color of toner will not increase the transmission compensation time. If the rotation time of the second toner supply motor is not specified, it indicates that the fourth signal was generated when the toner supply motor controller 422 last controlled the second toner supply motor. The second toner supply motor was started in the forward direction to supply the third color toner. The toner supply calculator 421 retrieved the second compensation signal from the storage module 423 (i.e., the second compensation signal was pre-stored in the storage module 423, and the second compensation signal can be generated by the toner supply calculator 421). When the second toner supply motor is started in reverse to supply the fourth color toner, the rotation time of the second toner supply motor is increased (i.e., the toner supply calculator 421 controls the toner supply motor controller 422 to increase the reverse time of the second toner supply motor through the second compensation signal. The increased reverse time is the fourth preset time, denoted as TMR_FET_K). The fourth signal and the second compensation signal are cleared. The request to indicate the start of the toner supply motor is the request to indicate the start of the second toner supply motor.

[0086] After compensating for the rotation time of the powder supply motor by the control unit 42, such as Figure 15 As shown, when the powder feeding screw 19Y2 is not rotating, its dwell position is L0. When the powder feeding screw 19Y2 first rotates in the forward direction, its actual dwell area is L7. Then, when it rotates in the reverse direction for compensation, its actual dwell area is L8. At this time, the compensated actual dwell area L8 of the powder feeding screw 19Y2 is similar to... Figure 14 Compared to the unsupplemented powder feeding screw 19Y2 actual residence area L6 shown, it is closer to... Figure 13The theoretical stopping position L4 of the toner supply screw 19Y2 shown can be effectively controlled by this control scheme. It can also solve the problem of light-colored images caused by the toner supply screw's rotation angle not meeting the standard. Furthermore, by independently judging whether the rotation direction of each toner supply motor is consistent with the previous rotation direction of that motor, if the rotation direction is inconsistent, the transmission compensation time is increased when the toner supply motor drives the toner supply screw to perform the supply. By increasing the transmission compensation time, the rotation angle of the toner supply screw reaches the preset angle first to eliminate the meshing gap. This makes the rotation distance (number of revolutions / angle) of the screw driven by the toner supply motor when executing the supply command more accurate, thus avoiding the problem of light-colored images caused by the toner supply screw's rotation angle not meeting the standard.

[0087] In an alternative embodiment, the control unit 42 is further configured to control each toner supply motor to rotate alternately in the forward and reverse directions during or outside the imaging period of the image forming apparatus to drive the corresponding toner supply screw to supply toner of different colors.

[0088] In this embodiment, the toner supply motor includes a first toner supply motor and a second toner supply motor. The first toner supply motor is used to drive a first toner supply screw to supply toner of a first color from at least one toner cartridge to one imaging unit when rotating in the forward direction, and to drive a second toner supply screw to supply toner of a second color from at least one toner cartridge to another imaging unit when rotating in the reverse direction. The second toner supply motor is used to drive a third toner supply screw to supply toner of a third color from at least one toner cartridge to one imaging unit when rotating in the forward direction, and to drive a fourth toner supply screw to supply toner of a fourth color from at least one toner cartridge to another imaging unit when rotating in the reverse direction. The specific control methods of the first and second toner supply motors have been described in detail in the above-described image forming apparatus, and will not be repeated here.

[0089] During imaging: If toner of the first color and the second color needs to be supplied, the first toner supply motor rotates alternately (i.e., forward and reverse rotation alternates). If toner of the third color and the fourth color needs to be supplied, the second toner supply motor rotates alternately (i.e., forward and reverse rotation alternates). The control timing for the first and second toner supply motors is as follows: Figure 16As shown, the first toner supply motor rotates forward for a certain time (TMR-T) to supply toner of the first color. After the predetermined time, the first toner supply motor stops rotating forward. After stopping for a period of time (TMS-T / 2-TMR-T), the first toner supply motor restarts and rotates in the reverse direction for a certain time (TMR-T) to supply toner of the second color. After the predetermined time, the first toner supply motor stops rotating in the reverse direction. After stopping for a period of time, the first toner supply motor restarts and rotates forward for a certain time to continue supplying toner of the first color. This process is repeated continuously to achieve the alternating supply of toner of the first and second colors until the imaging process is completed. The process involves the second toner supply motor rotating forward for a predetermined time (TMR-T) to supply toner for the third color. After reaching the predetermined time, the second toner supply motor stops rotating forward. After stopping for a predetermined time (TMS-T / 2-TMR-T), the second toner supply motor restarts and rotates in the reverse direction for a predetermined time (TMR-T) to supply toner for the fourth color. After reaching the predetermined time, the second toner supply motor stops rotating in the reverse direction. After stopping for a predetermined time, the second toner supply motor restarts and rotates forward for a predetermined time to continue supplying toner for the third color. This process is repeated continuously to achieve the alternating supply of toner for the third and fourth colors until the imaging process ends.

[0090] It should be noted that the first and second powder supply motors can switch between forward and reverse rotation without pausing. That is, the first and second powder supply motors can immediately reverse after completing forward rotation, and immediately start forward rotation after completing reverse rotation.

[0091] During non-imaging periods: If it is necessary to supply toner of the first color and the second color, the first toner supply motor rotates alternately (i.e., rotating forward and reverse alternately). If it is necessary to supply toner of the third color and the fourth color, the second toner supply motor rotates alternately (i.e., rotating forward and reverse alternately). The only difference between the alternating rotation method of the first and second toner supply motors and the alternating rotation method during imaging is the rotation time and the number of rotations (i.e., the duration of forward or reverse rotation may be different, and the number of forward or reverse rotations may be different). For other details, please refer to the alternating rotation method during imaging as described above, so it will not be repeated here.

[0092] Both the toner supply motor and the non-imaging period involve forward rotation followed by reverse rotation to supply toner. However, the factors affecting the rotation time / number of rotations of the toner supply motor differ between the two periods. Controlling the rotation of the toner supply motor (stepper motor) is generally achieved by controlling the driving time and the number of driving cycles of the toner supply motor within a single cycle: During the imaging period, the rotation time / number of rotations of the toner supply motor (or whether to supply toner) is determined by the amount of toner consumed by the light spot (i.e., image coverage) and the output voltage value of the TC Sensor (concentration detection sensor); During the non-imaging period, the rotation time / number of rotations of the toner supply motor (or whether to supply toner) is determined solely by the output voltage of the TC Sensor; If the output voltage value of the TC Sensor is high (i.e., low toner concentration) during the interval between printing one page, toner needs to be supplied. If the toner supply amount is insufficient during the interval, the printing of the next page needs to be paused, and toner supply continues until sufficient toner is available before printing resumes (regardless of coverage). By controlling at least one toner supply motor to alternately rotate forward and reverse during or outside the imaging period of the image forming apparatus to supply toner of different colors, the continuity of toner supply can be ensured, and the toner supply during imaging and outside the imaging period can be guaranteed.

[0093] In an optional implementation, the control unit 42 is further configured to control the calculation of a third signal driven by each toner supply motor after printing at least one page (the next page or the page after that, etc.) after the current page has been printed, based on at least one of the first signal or the amount of toner consumed.

[0094] In this embodiment, the control unit 42 is further configured to determine whether printing of the current page is complete based on the scanning start signal and the scanning end signal of the laser scanning unit, acquire at least one of the first signal and the toner consumption during the scanning start signal and scanning end signal process, and calculate the toner consumption required for printing at least one page after printing the current page based on at least one of the first signal and the toner consumption.

[0095] In this embodiment, the control unit 42 is further configured to calculate and generate a third signal for controlling the drive of at least one toner supply motor based on the toner consumption required for printing at least one page after the current page is printed, and control the drive of at least one toner supply motor to supply toner based on the third signal.

[0096] In this embodiment, the control unit 42 is also used to calculate the amount of toner required for printing the next page based on the amount of toner consumed during the printing of the previous page and the correction coefficient generated based on the first signal, and to calculate the third signal based on the amount of toner supplied.

[0097] In this embodiment, the control unit 42 is also used to infer the current toner-carrier ratio based on the first signal and to calculate and generate at least one third signal for driving the toner supply motor based on the toner-carrier ratio.

[0098] In this embodiment, by collecting at least one piece of information—either the output voltage of the density detection sensor or the toner consumption of the light spot—during the printing of the current page, the amount of toner required for the next page is estimated. This estimated toner quantity is then used to calculate a third signal during the printing of subsequent pages, such as the next page or the page after that, to control the toner supply motor drive. Specifically, after receiving the VDIERO_TOD signal (i.e., the LSU's page synchronization signal, which is the start signal for a page scan and the scan start signal of the laser scanning unit), the control unit 42 invokes the toner supply control logic to control the toner supply motor. The control process of the toner supply motor can be referred to the above embodiment, so it will not be repeated here. Simultaneously, TC is collected. The sensor outputs voltage until it receives the CDIERO_DONE signal (the signal indicating the end of a page scan, the end signal of the laser scanning unit). Based on the difference in voltage values ​​between the VDIERO_TOD and CDIERO_DONE signals, the toner consumption for the current page can be calculated, thus estimating the toner required for the next page and supplying the corresponding amount of toner for subsequent pages. Furthermore, the number of light spots collected during the duration between the VDIERO_TOD and CDIERO_DONE signals can be used to estimate toner coverage. This toner coverage can also be used to calculate the toner consumption for the current page, further estimating the toner required for the next page and supplying the corresponding amount of toner for subsequent pages.

[0099] The following is a detailed description of how the toner supply is calculated for each page of the print job:

[0100] The image forming apparatus receives the print job;

[0101] The printing of the first page begins. The laser scanning unit (LSU) emits a laser, and the control unit 42 accumulates the number of lasers emitted by the LSU (the number of light spots). The concentration detection sensor of the developing cartridge outputs a corresponding first signal based on the toner-carrier ratio. The control unit 42 collects the first signal output by the concentration detection sensor and calculates the voltage value based on the first signal. The control unit 42 looks up the number of light spots in a table to obtain the toner consumption for this page. The control unit 42 looks up the output voltage signal in a table to obtain the correction factor. The control unit 42 calculates the toner supply for the next page: toner supply = toner consumption * correction factor 1. The printing of the first page ends.

[0102] The printing of the second page begins; the control unit 42 calculates the rotation time and number of times the toner supply motor is started based on the toner supply quantity, and drives the toner supply unit to supply toner to the developing cartridge accordingly; after the toner supply action is completed, the control unit 42 records the consumption amount to the chip in the toner cartridge unit (consumption amount = toner supply quantity), and the printing of the second page ends;

[0103] The printing of the third page begins; the laser scanning unit (LSU) emits a laser, and the control unit 42 accumulates the number of lasers emitted by the laser scanning unit (the number of light spots); the concentration detection sensor of the developing cartridge outputs a corresponding first signal according to the toner-carrier ratio, the control unit 42 collects the first signal output by the concentration detection sensor, and calculates the voltage value based on the first signal; the control unit 42 looks up a table based on the number of light spots to obtain the toner consumption for this page; the control unit looks up a table based on the output voltage signal to obtain the correction factor; the control unit 42 calculates the toner supply for the next page, toner supply = toner consumption * correction factor 1, and the printing of the second page ends;

[0104] Printing of page 4 assignment begins...

[0105] In this embodiment, the toner supply amount of the toner supply motor during the next page printing is calculated based on the toner consumption of the previous page printing plus a correction factor, rather than directly based on the first signal representing the toner-to-carrier ratio output by the concentration detection sensor. In this embodiment, if the toner consumption of the previous page printing was low, the toner supply amount will be low even if the toner-to-carrier ratio in the current imaging unit is low. This embodiment directly determines the toner supply motor drive parameters based on the toner consumption estimated from the previous printing task. If the toner consumption of the previous printing task was high, the drive rate of the toner supply motor is increased accordingly; if the toner consumption of the previous printing task was low, the drive rate of the toner supply motor is decreased accordingly. There is no direct correlation with the remaining toner amount. The drive rate is the ratio of the toner supply unit's drive time to unit time or the toner supply unit's drive speed.

[0106] In addition, the toner supply can be controlled directly based on the first signal output by the concentration detection sensor. That is, when the voltage value corresponding to the first signal is high, it means that the current ratio of toner to carrier is low and the drive rate of the toner supply motor needs to be increased to supply more toner.

[0107] In this embodiment, the toner supply can be calculated directly based on the amount of toner consumed by the optical spot or based on the first signal output by the concentration detection sensor. In other embodiments, the toner supply can also be calculated based on both the amount of toner consumed by the optical spot and the first signal output by the concentration detection sensor. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0108] In an optional embodiment, the control unit 42 is further configured to determine whether the voltage value corresponding to the first signal is within a first preset range during the non-imaging period of the image forming apparatus, and if not, to determine that the concentration detection sensor has malfunctioned.

[0109] In this embodiment, such as Figure 10 and Figure 23 As shown, during the printer preheating process (i.e., imaging unit preheating and stirring), the control unit 42 detects the output voltage of the concentration detection sensor, adjusts the control voltage of the concentration detection sensor, and then detects the output voltage of the concentration detection sensor again to determine whether the concentration detection sensor is faulty. Specifically, during the imaging unit preheating and stirring, the control unit 42 calls the concentration detection sensor fault diagnosis logic. The control unit 42 reads and calculates the current voltage output by the concentration detection sensor and determines whether the current voltage is outside the first preset range (the first preset range is stored in the storage module 423). If not, it returns to the developer cartridge control logic; if so, it saves the control voltage of the concentration detection sensor for the current color toner and determines whether the current voltage is greater than the lower threshold (i.e., the lower limit of the first preset range). If so, it increases the control voltage of the concentration detection sensor and reads the output of the concentration detection sensor according to the timing sequence. The waveform of the concentration sensor is read and the current voltage value is recalculated. It is determined whether the current voltage is outside the first preset range. If not, the control voltage of the concentration sensor is restored and the controller returns to the developing cartridge control logic. If yes, the printer stops immediately and outputs the first fault warning (i.e., fault warning 1). In addition, during the process of determining whether the current voltage is greater than the lower limit of the threshold (i.e., the lower limit of the first preset range), if the determination result is no, the control voltage of the concentration sensor is reduced. The waveform output by the concentration sensor is read in sequence and the current voltage value is recalculated. It is determined whether the current voltage is outside the first preset range. If not, the control voltage of the concentration sensor is restored and the controller returns to the developing cartridge control logic. If yes, the printer stops immediately and outputs the first fault warning (i.e., fault warning 1). The controller determines whether the developing cartridge is in an abnormal state by using the existing output value of the concentration sensor and outputs a fault warning in a timely manner without incurring additional costs.

[0110] In one optional implementation, after at least one powder supply motor has rotated a preset number of times, the control unit 42 is further used to determine whether the voltage value corresponding to the first signal is within a second preset range. If so, the imaging operation is resumed.

[0111] In this embodiment, the control unit 42 is also used to stop the execution of the imaging operation and report an error when it is determined that the voltage value corresponding to the first signal is not within the second preset range.

[0112] In this embodiment, the control unit 42 is further configured to determine whether the voltage value corresponding to the first signal is within a second preset range after determining that at least one powder supply motor has rotated to a preset number of times, and if the voltage value corresponding to the first signal is detected to be within a third preset range during the imaging operation, to pause the execution of the imaging operation and drive at least one powder supply motor to a preset number of times.

[0113] In this embodiment, the control unit 42 is also used to acquire a first signal once for each page printed during the imaging operation, and drive at least one toner supply motor to supply toner according to a preset number of times when multiple acquired first signals are greater than a second preset range.

[0114] In this embodiment, the control unit 42 is also used to determine whether to drive the corresponding toner supply motor to supply toner based on the first signal output by the concentration detection sensor in the developing cartridge of the imaging unit of different colors.

[0115] In this embodiment, the developer cartridge preheating control logic enters the automatic toner supply mode, and the control unit 42 enters and exits the automatic toner supply mode according to a predetermined high-voltage timing sequence. During the imaging process, if the need to execute the automatic toner supply mode is detected, the automatic toner supply mode is immediately entered according to the predetermined high-voltage timing sequence after the image forming device has completed the received print jobs (e.g., when printing 100 prints, if the automatic toner supply mode is detected for the 50th print, and the print engine has already received the print jobs for the 51st, 52nd, and 53rd prints, then the automatic toner supply mode is started after the 53rd print is printed, and the remaining prints continue to be printed after the toner supply is completed). The system calls the target voltage (i.e., the first signal) calculation logic to obtain the target voltage value (output value of the concentration detection sensor), which is pre-stored in the image forming device and used to determine the toner supply based on the number of light spots. It then enters the automatic toner replenishment mode (i.e., automatic toner supply mode), reads and saves the first read TC_LEVEL (i.e., the voltage value corresponding to the first signal) and compares it with the target voltage TC_TARGET_V. If TC_LEVEL - TC_TARGET_V > TC_LL3_V (TC_LL3_V is the condition for determining whether toner supply is needed in automatic toner supply mode; if it is greater than this value, toner supply is required), then toner supply is needed. When automatic toner replenishment is required, calculate TC_DATEL_DLGF (the difference between the currently detected TC_LEVEL and the target TC_LEVEL in automatic toner supply mode, used to find the number of toner replenishments), then look up the table to obtain the number of toner replenishments SUPPLY_TIME_R, ensuring that the difference between the first and second TC_LEVEL read after toner replenishment is ≥ TC_LL4_V (i.e., the second preset range, stored in storage module 423; TC_LL4_V is the judgment condition that triggers the toner replenishment FE error in automatic toner supply mode; FE is the error code). Finally, directly... When TC_LEVEL - TC_TARGET_V > TC_LL3_V, the mixing time for the automatic toner supply mode to end is reached. This resets the toner supply amount calculated based on the number of light spots, which is used to determine the number of times the toner supply motor has started (DA_M) and the cumulative number of light spots calculated during the previous page printing (DOT_R). Finally, the printer returns to the ready state of the overall process of the developer cartridge preheating control. If there is paper inside the printer and the judgment result of TC_LL4 (the judgment condition that triggers the toner supply FE error in automatic toner supply mode) is NO, the paper inside the printer will be ejected, and the error will be reported to the error interface TCS6 (i.e., fault reminder 2).

[0116] In this embodiment, after at least one toner supply motor rotates a preset number of times, the control unit 42 is also used to determine whether the voltage value corresponding to the first signal is within a second preset range. If yes, the imaging operation is resumed; otherwise, an error is reported. It is also used for toner supply motor control during non-imaging stages (color correction call), the developer cartridge preheating process, and the imaging process. During the non-imaging stage, if the toner supply motor supplies toner multiple times and the output voltage of the concentration detection sensor is not within the threshold range (i.e., the second preset range, which is stored in the storage module 423) multiple times, an error is reported and the independent toner supply mode is exited. During the developer cartridge preheating process, the output voltage value of the concentration detection sensor is detected multiple times. If the output voltage value exceeds the threshold range once or multiple times, the system enters independent toner supply mode. During imaging, the output voltage value of the density sensor is checked after each page is printed. If the voltage value is consistently higher than the threshold range, the system enters independent toner supply mode. In independent toner supply mode, the output voltage value of the density sensor is checked first. If the output voltage value is within or below the threshold range, the system exits independent toner supply mode. If the output voltage value is higher than the threshold range, the toner supply motor is activated to supply a predetermined amount of toner to the developing cartridge of the color with insufficient toner. If the output voltage value of the density sensor is consistently lower than the threshold range, it is determined that no toner is being supplied to the developing cartridge. The system exits the independent toner supply mode and reports an error. Specifically, during the developer box preheating control logic / imaging toner supply control logic / color correction call process, the TC_TARGET acquisition logic is called to obtain the target voltages of the four colors (i.e., the target voltages of the density detection sensors in the four color developer boxes). The TCR_SENSOR output voltage (i.e., the current output voltage of the density detection sensors in the four color developer boxes) is read sequentially and the current output voltage is calculated. The current output voltage is compared with the target voltage (i.e., current output voltage - coefficient > target voltage). If they are (i.e., current output voltage - coefficient > target voltage), then the corresponding color developer box is marked as needing toner supply, and a judgment is made. If the maximum number of marking attempts has been reached, it indicates that the toner cartridge unit can no longer supply toner, the toner replenishment level is reset to zero, the cumulative number of pages without toner is reset to zero, the image forming device stops abruptly, and a fault warning is issued for the toner cartridge unit of the marked color (i.e., control unit 42 outputs fault reminder 2). If the current output voltage minus coefficient does not meet the target voltage requirement, or the maximum number of marking attempts has not been reached, it is determined whether none of the four colors have been marked. If so, the toner cartridge unit is stirred for the set time, the toner replenishment level and the cumulative number of pages without toner are reset to zero, and the process returns to the developer cartridge preheating control logic or prints. If not, the toner supply motor corresponding to the marked color rotates at a fixed rotation time to supply toner for the marked color.

[0117] It's important to note that the output voltage of the density sensor corresponds to the toner concentration in the developer cartridge. A higher output voltage indicates a lower toner concentration. Therefore, the toner concentration can be determined based on the voltage output of the density sensor, allowing for proper toner supply. The marked number of times indicates the number of toner feeds. The toner cartridge unit has a limited toner capacity; for example, if it can supply toner 100 times, it will stop feeding after 100 feeds. If the marked number of feeds reaches its limit, toner supply will cease, printing will be impossible, and the panel will indicate that the toner cartridge unit is low on toner and requires restarting the image forming unit or replacing the toner cartridge unit. If none of the four colors are marked, it means that none of the four toner cartridge units are receiving toner. In this case, the toner cartridge units are agitated, the developer assembly is idle, and the developer distribution is adjusted. Independent toner supply is used to compensate for toner consumption exceeding supply; it is based on the relationship between the density sensor output voltage and the target voltage. The toner supply time and frequency are set according to the actual situation. For example, the preset toner supply time is 100ms, repeated 5 times. With the existing concentration detection sensor and toner supply motor, the error detection method can be used to detect when the toner in the toner cartridge unit is consumed. Without adding extra costs, toner can be supplied in a timely and appropriate manner.

[0118] In an optional embodiment, the control unit 42 is further configured to start sampling of the first signal output by the concentration detection sensor according to the operation start signal of the image forming apparatus, and stop sampling of the first signal output by the concentration detection sensor according to the operation end signal of the image forming apparatus, and calculate the potential level of the first signal according to the sampling result; the control unit 42 is further configured to perform third signal calculation for each powder supply motor according to the operation start signal of the image forming apparatus, and start each powder supply motor.

[0119] In this embodiment, the control unit 42 is further configured to start the toner supply motor during imaging based on a signal characterizing the start of the imaging operation; the control unit is also configured to start the toner supply motor for toner supply during non-imaging periods based on the closing of a control signal of a clutch controlling the movement of a primary transfer roller. In this embodiment, the control unit 42 is also configured to control the sampling of the first signal to be turned on or off based on a signal indicating that the image density control sensor has started and stopped calibration.

[0120] In this embodiment, the toner supply motor includes a first toner supply motor and a second toner supply motor. The first toner supply motor is used to drive a first toner supply screw to supply toner of a first color from at least one toner cartridge to one imaging unit when rotating in the forward direction, and to drive a second toner supply screw to supply toner of a second color from at least one toner cartridge to another imaging unit when rotating in the reverse direction. The second toner supply motor is used to drive a third toner supply screw to supply toner of a third color from at least one toner cartridge to one imaging unit when rotating in the forward direction, and to drive a fourth toner supply screw to supply toner of a fourth color from at least one toner cartridge to another imaging unit when rotating in the reverse direction. The specific control methods of the first and second toner supply motors have been described in detail in the above-described image forming apparatus, and will not be repeated here.

[0121] The starting criteria for the powder supply motor differ during imaging and non-imaging processes. Furthermore, the starting of the powder supply motor is related to the starting of the IDC (Image Density Control) sensor calibration. The IDC sensor, located on the intermediate transfer belt, detects the density / positional shift of the test image formed on the intermediate transfer belt for color correction. The specific relationship is as follows:

[0122] During imaging: The toner supply motor only begins supplying toner after the TOD / LSU video signal is activated. The TOD signal is a virtual signal, similar to the LSU video signal. LSU (Laser Scanning Unit)

[0123] During non-imaging periods: The toner supply motor only starts supplying toner after the TR1 Clutch signal is turned off. The TR1 Clutch signal is a control signal for a clutch that controls the movement of the four primary transfer rollers. This clutch is located on the outside of the middle transfer belt.

[0124] The timing sequence of IDC calibration signal activation and toner supply motor operation is as follows: IDC calibration is triggered first, followed by triggering the reading of the output voltage value of the TC Sensor (i.e., density detection sensor). This involves starting the sampling of the first signal output by the density detection sensor based on the operation start signal of the image forming apparatus, and calculating the potential level of the first signal based on the sampling result. Then, the toner supply motor is controlled to supply toner. Similarly, when the IDC calibration signal stops, the triggering of reading the output voltage value of the TC Sensor stops (i.e., the sampling of the first signal output by the density detection sensor stops based on the operation end signal of the image forming apparatus). It should be noted that there is no distinction between imaging and non-imaging periods here, because IDC calibration is triggered when the printer is first turned on or when the printer is moved from a low temperature to a high temperature environment.

[0125] In this embodiment, the control unit 42 is also used to perform third signal calculation for each toner supply motor according to the operation start signal of the image forming apparatus, and start each toner supply motor. Specifically, the voltage output by the concentration detection sensor can be compared with a third preset range (the third preset range can be pre-stored in the storage module 423). When the voltage output by the concentration detection sensor is within the third preset range, it is determined that the toner concentration is within the specification and the toner supply motor is started using the specified driving method. Otherwise, it is determined that the toner concentration is outside the specification and the toner supply motor is started using the out-of-specification driving method.

[0126] The rotation method of the powder supply motor is as follows: the rotation of the powder supply motor is controlled in cycles, and the rotation speed of the powder feeding screw is 84.5° / cycle; the number of rotation cycles of the powder supply motor is related to the image coverage; the number of rotation cycles of the powder supply motor - coverage (under the same environment) is 0% to 20% coverage, 0 to 5 cycles, and 50% to 100% coverage, 5 to 20 cycles.

[0127] When the toner concentration is determined to be outside the specification, the rotation mode of the toner supply motor is as follows: the number of rotation cycles is fixed at 5; this control mode only occurs during intermittent printing and when the printer is in a paperless state. At this time, TC LEVEL is at a high feedback potential Vmax = 3.26V ~ Vmin = 2.78V (the normal value is Vmax = 2.06V ~ 1.62V), and this voltage parameter is the second peak and trough of the TCLEVEL waveform; after the toner supply motor enters this control mode, it is accompanied by long-term continuous toner supply and stirring.

[0128] In an optional implementation, the control unit 42 is further configured to activate each of the toner supply motors based on the first signal when the cumulative number of printed pages reaches a preset page count threshold and the cumulative number of light spots reaches a cumulative number of light spots threshold. Further, after the cumulative number of printed pages reaches the preset page count threshold, the control unit 42 may further determine whether the cumulative number of light spots has reached the cumulative number of light spots threshold; if so, it activates each of the toner supply motors based on the first signal. Further, after determining that the current page printing operation has been completed and accumulating one printed page count based on the scan end signal, the control unit 42 determines whether the cumulative number of printed pages has reached the preset page count threshold; if so, it further determines whether the cumulative number of light spots has reached the preset cumulative number of light spots threshold; if so, it generates a second signal representing the toner supply quantity based on the first signal, generates a third signal for controlling the drive of each toner supply motor based on the second signal, and activates each toner supply motor based on the third signal.

[0129] In this embodiment, such as Figure 17As shown, when the developer cartridge 14Y using the two-component development method performs high toner coverage printing, a phenomenon occurs where the toner and carrier of the developer 14Y4 are disrupted due to the large consumption and replenishment of developer 14Y4. At this time, the developer cartridge contains positively charged carrier 14Y4-1, slightly negatively charged toner 14Y4-2, and uncharged toner 14Y4-3. During the disruption of the charge balance between the carrier and toner, due to the large amount of toner replenished, the overall charge of the toner in the developer cartridge 14Y decreases significantly while the weight ratio of carrier to toner remains unchanged. If the developer cartridge 14Y continues to supply two-component developer 14Y4 to the photosensitive drum 11Y to develop the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 11Y, a layer of uncharged or slightly negatively charged toner will adhere to the photosensitive drum, ultimately causing background contamination of the developer image transferred to the printing medium S. Therefore, the control unit 42 needs to determine whether a high toner coverage printing situation occurs, and when a high toner coverage printing situation occurs, the printing operation is paused and the toner supply motor is started to supply toner, so as to discharge toner without charge or with a small amount of negative charge from the developing cartridge 14Y.

[0130] Specifically, when the control unit 42 controls the operation of printing the current page, within the duration of receiving the VDIERO_TOD and CDIERO_DONE signals, the laser scanning unit 28 collects the number of light spots within this duration. When the control unit 42 receives the CDIERO_DONE signal, it acquires the number of light spots and calculates the cumulative number of light spots (DOT_R), that is, it adds the number of light spots printed on the current page to the number of light spots accumulated before printing the current page to obtain a new cumulative number of light spots (DOT_R). To make the judgment of high toner coverage printing more accurate, a high toner coverage judgment logic needs to be executed once after the printing operation of a specified number of pages to determine whether high toner coverage has occurred. The control unit 42 determines whether printing the current page is complete based on the scanning start signal and scanning end signal of the laser scanning unit 28. Therefore, it can determine whether the number of times the scanning end signal appears has reached a preset page number threshold. If the number of times the scanning end signal appears has reached the preset page number threshold, it means that the cumulative number of printed pages has also reached the preset page number threshold. The control unit 42 then further determines whether the cumulative number of light spots has reached the cumulative number of light spots threshold. If both conditions are met, a high toner coverage printing operation is considered to have occurred. Alternatively, the image coverage rate can be calculated directly based on the ratio of the number of times the job end signal appears to the cumulative number of light spots, and the high toner coverage rate judgment is completed based on the calculated image coverage rate. In this embodiment, the appearance of the scanning end signal indicates that the current page printing is complete. The control unit 42 can be set to execute the high toner coverage rate judgment logic once after printing 3 pages. The preset page number threshold can be set to one or more pages based on actual usage, and is not limited here. After the control unit 42 determines that high toner coverage printing has occurred, it pauses the printing operation and generates a second signal to characterize the toner supply based on the first signal, and then generates a third signal to control the drive of each toner supply motor based on the second signal, and starts each toner supply motor based on the third signal. The specific process of generating the second signal to characterize the toner supply based on the first signal, generating the third signal to control the drive of each toner supply motor based on the second signal, and starting each toner supply motor based on the third signal has been described in detail above, and will not be repeated here. After the control unit 42 determines that the toner supply motor operating time has reached the required level, it resumes the printing operation.

[0131] In this embodiment, by executing the high toner coverage printing judgment logic, the toner supply motor can be started in time when the image forming device performs high toner coverage printing. This allows the uncharged toner, toner with a slight negative charge, or toner with a positive charge in the developing cartridge to be discharged from the developing cartridge. This avoids the problem of developer image smudges caused by the disruption of the charge balance between the carrier and the toner in the developer, thus improving the user experience.

[0132] In one alternative embodiment, the control unit 42 is further configured to increase or decrease the drive time of each toner supply motor based on at least one of the following: the length of the paper feed direction of the printing medium, temperature, and humidity.

[0133] In this embodiment, a correlation table (not shown) between three pieces of information—ambient temperature, humidity, and paper feed length (i.e., paper feed length, which is the length of one sheet of paper)—and the maximum toner supply and the maximum rotation time of the toner supply motor can be stored in the storage module 423 in advance.

[0134] When controlling the toner supply motor, the control unit 42 can obtain three pieces of information: ambient temperature, humidity, and paper feed length. These are then input into a pre-stored association table to determine the maximum toner supply or the maximum rotation time of the toner supply motor. This allows for adjustments to the motor's drive time. The longer the paper feed length, the longer the maximum rotation time of the toner supply motor. The number of motor rotations (rotation time) equals the amount of toner needed to be replenished divided by the toner supply amount per motor start. The amount of toner needed to replenish is the amount consumed in the previous page. In some special cases, the amount of toner needed equals the maximum toner supply. Therefore, the maximum rotation time of the toner supply motor is related to the paper feed length; the longer the paper feed length, the greater the maximum toner supply. For example, if the paper being printed is A4, a 2-second rotation time allows for 2 seconds of full-load printing of the toner required for the entire process.

[0135] Furthermore, according to the pre-stored correlation table, when the paper feed length (the length of one sheet of paper) and ambient temperature are the same, the higher the ambient humidity, the greater the maximum allowable toner supply. For example, when the paper feed length is 297mm, the maximum toner supply is 500mg when the relative humidity is less than 50%, and the maximum toner supply motor rotation time is 1800ms. When the relative humidity is greater than 50%, the maximum toner supply is 550mg, and the maximum toner supply motor rotation time is also 1800ms. This is because toner can attract water droplets. When the ambient humidity increases, the number of water droplets carried by the toner increases, leading to greater adhesion between toner particles. Therefore, for the same toner supply time, the toner supply is greater in a high-humidity environment.

[0136] This invention provides an image forming method, which can be applied to the image forming apparatus described above, such as... Figure 18 As shown, it includes:

[0137] S100: When each powder supply motor drives the corresponding toner supply screw to deliver toner from the corresponding powder cylinder to each imaging unit in the forward or reverse direction, it independently judges whether the rotation direction of each powder supply motor is consistent with the previous rotation direction of the powder supply motor. If the rotation direction is inconsistent, the transmission compensation time is increased when the powder supply motor drives the toner supply screw to perform the supply.

[0138] In this embodiment, the toner supply motor includes a first toner supply motor and a second toner supply motor. The first toner supply motor is used to drive a first toner supply screw to supply toner of a first color from at least one toner cartridge to one imaging unit when rotating in the forward direction, and to drive a second toner supply screw to supply toner of a second color from at least one toner cartridge to another imaging unit when rotating in the reverse direction. The second toner supply motor is used to drive a third toner supply screw to supply toner of a third color from at least one toner cartridge to one imaging unit when rotating in the forward direction, and to drive a fourth toner supply screw to supply toner of a fourth color from at least one toner cartridge to another imaging unit when rotating in the reverse direction. Before determining whether the rotation direction of each toner supply motor is consistent with the previous rotation direction of the toner supply motor, it is first determined which color of toner (first color, second color, third color, or fourth color) is being supplied based on the request used to instruct each toner supply motor to start. This includes the following four cases:

[0139] Scenario 1: When it is determined that the first color toner needs to be supplied, it is determined whether the first toner supply motor was rotated in the positive direction during the last start to drive the first toner supply screw to supply the first color toner from at least one toner cartridge to one of its imaging units. If it is determined that the first toner supply screw was rotated in the positive direction to supply the first color toner from at least one toner cartridge to one of its imaging units, then starting the first toner supply motor to rotate in the positive direction to drive the first toner supply screw to supply the first color toner from at least one toner cartridge to one of its imaging units this time will not increase the transmission compensation time.

[0140] Scenario 2: When it is determined that a third color of toner needs to be supplied, it is determined whether the second toner supply motor rotated in the positive direction during the last start to drive the third toner supply screw to supply the third color of toner from at least one toner cartridge to one of its imaging units. If it is determined that the third toner supply screw rotated in the positive direction to drive the third toner supply screw to supply the third color of toner from at least one toner cartridge to one of its imaging units, then starting the second toner supply motor to rotate in the positive direction to drive the third toner supply screw to supply the third color of toner from at least one toner cartridge to one of its imaging units this time will not increase the transmission compensation time.

[0141] Scenario 3: If it is determined that the second color toner needs to be supplied, and it is determined that the first toner supply motor rotated in the opposite direction during the last start to drive the second toner supply screw to supply the second color toner from at least one toner cartridge to another imaging unit, then starting the first toner supply motor in the opposite direction to drive the second toner supply screw to supply the second color toner from at least one toner cartridge to another imaging unit will not increase the transmission compensation time.

[0142] Scenario 4: When it is determined that a fourth color of toner needs to be supplied, if it is determined that the second toner supply motor rotated in the opposite direction during the previous start to drive the fourth toner supply screw to supply the fourth color of toner from at least one toner cartridge to another imaging unit, then starting the second toner supply motor to rotate in the opposite direction this time to drive the fourth toner supply screw to supply the fourth color of toner from at least one toner cartridge to another imaging unit will not increase the transmission compensation time.

[0143] The implementation of the above process has been described in detail in the image forming apparatus described above, so it will not be repeated here.

[0144] S200: If the judgment result is that the rotation direction is consistent, the toner supply motor will not increase the transmission compensation time when driving the toner supply screw to perform the supply.

[0145] In this embodiment, step S200 further includes not increasing the rotation time of each powder supply motor if the determination result is that the rotation directions are consistent; wherein, the above four cases correspond to the following four control methods:

[0146] Control 1 (corresponding to Case 1): When it is determined that the first color toner needs to be supplied, it is determined whether the first toner supply motor rotated in the forward direction during the last start to drive the first toner supply screw to supply the first color toner from at least one toner cartridge to one of its imaging units. If it is determined that the first toner supply screw rotated in the forward direction to drive the first toner supply screw to supply the first color toner from at least one toner cartridge to one of its imaging units, then starting the first toner supply motor to rotate in the forward direction to drive the first toner supply screw to supply the first color toner from at least one toner cartridge to one of its imaging units this time will not increase the transmission compensation time. If not, the transmission compensation time will be increased. The request used to indicate the start of each toner supply motor is the request to indicate the start of the first toner supply motor.

[0147] Control 2 (corresponding to Case 2): When it is determined that a third color toner needs to be supplied, it is determined whether the second toner supply motor rotated in the forward direction during its previous start to drive the third toner supply screw to supply the third color toner from at least one toner cartridge to one of its imaging units. If it is determined that the third toner supply screw rotated in the forward direction to drive the third toner supply screw to supply the third color toner from at least one toner cartridge to one of its imaging units, then starting the second toner supply motor to rotate in the forward direction to drive the third toner supply screw to supply the third color toner from at least one toner cartridge to one of its imaging units this time will not increase the transmission compensation time. If not, the transmission compensation time will be increased. The request used to indicate the start of each toner supply motor is the request to indicate the start of the second toner supply motor.

[0148] Control 3 (corresponding to Case 3): When it is determined that the second color toner needs to be supplied, if it is determined that the first toner supply motor rotated in the opposite direction during the last start to drive the second toner supply screw to supply the second color toner from at least one toner cartridge to another imaging unit, then starting the first toner supply motor to rotate in the opposite direction to drive the second toner supply screw to supply the second color toner from at least one toner cartridge to another imaging unit will not increase the transmission compensation time; otherwise, the transmission compensation time will be increased.

[0149] Control 4 (corresponding to Case 4): When it is determined that the fourth color toner needs to be supplied, if it is determined that the second toner supply motor rotated in the opposite direction during the last start to drive the fourth toner supply screw to supply the fourth color toner from at least one toner cartridge to another imaging unit, then starting the second toner supply motor to rotate in the opposite direction to drive the fourth toner supply screw to supply the fourth color toner from at least one toner cartridge to another imaging unit this time will not increase the transmission compensation time; otherwise, the transmission compensation time will be increased.

[0150] In one alternative implementation, such as Figure 19 As shown, the control method for the powder supply motor in this image forming method includes:

[0151] S1: Received a request to start the powder supply motor, proceed to step S2;

[0152] S2: Determine whether the fourth (second) toner is being supplied; if yes, proceed to step S3, otherwise proceed to step S6.

[0153] S3: Determine whether the second (first) toner supply motor was previously started to supply the fourth (second) toner, i.e., whether the rotation direction of the second (first) toner supply motor is the same as the rotation direction during the previous start; if yes, proceed to step S4, otherwise proceed to step S5.

[0154] S4: Starting the second (first) powder supply motor this time will not increase the rotation time; proceed to step S9.

[0155] S5: This time, the second (first) powder supply motor is started with an additional rotation time of the fourth preset time (second preset time), and then proceeds to step S9;

[0156] S6: Determine whether the second (first) toner supply motor was supplying the third (first) toner during its last start, i.e., whether the rotation direction of the second (first) toner supply motor is the same as the rotation direction during the last start; if yes, proceed to step S7, otherwise proceed to step S8.

[0157] S7: Starting the second (first) powder supply motor this time will not increase the rotation time; proceed to step S9.

[0158] S8: This time, the second (first) powder supply motor is started with an additional rotation time of the third preset time (first preset time), and then proceeds to step S9;

[0159] S9: Waiting for the next powder supply motor to start.

[0160] The implementation methods of each step have been described in detail in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, so they will not be repeated here.

[0161] In one alternative implementation, such as Figure 20 As shown, it also includes step S300: controlling each toner supply motor to rotate alternately in forward and reverse directions during the imaging or non-imaging period of the image forming apparatus to supply toner of different colors.

[0162] The implementation of this method has been described in detail in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, so it will not be repeated here.

[0163] In one alternative implementation, such as Figure 21 As shown, it also includes step S400: calculating the third signal driven by each toner supply motor after printing at least one page after the current page is completed, based on at least one of the first signal or the toner consumption of the light spot.

[0164] By delaying the calculation of the third signal by one page before supplying toner, the timely supply of toner can be guaranteed. This solves the problem that if the toner supply is not timely or the amount supplied is inappropriate, the resulting image quality will be poor and will not meet the user's requirements.

[0165] The implementation of this method has been described in detail in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, so it will not be repeated here.

[0166] In one alternative implementation, such as Figure 22 As shown, it also includes step S500: during the non-imaging period of the image forming apparatus, it is determined whether the voltage value corresponding to the first signal is within a first preset range; if not, it is determined that the concentration detection sensor has malfunctioned.

[0167] Specifically, such as Figure 23 As shown, step S500 includes:

[0168] S501: Imaging unit preheating and stirring invokes concentration detection sensor fault diagnosis logic, proceed to step S502;

[0169] S502: Read and calculate the current voltage output by the concentration detection sensor, and proceed to step S503;

[0170] S503: Determine whether the current voltage is outside the threshold range (first preset range). If not, proceed to step S504; if yes, proceed to step S505.

[0171] S504: Return to developer cartridge control logic;

[0172] S505: Save the control voltage of the current color toner concentration detection sensor and proceed to step S506;

[0173] S506: Determine whether the current voltage is greater than the lower limit of the threshold (i.e., the lower limit of the first preset range). If yes, proceed to step S507; otherwise, proceed to step S512.

[0174] S507: Increase the control voltage of the concentration detection sensor and proceed to step S508;

[0175] S508: Read the waveform output by the concentration detection sensor according to the timing sequence and recalculate the current voltage value, then proceed to step S509;

[0176] S509: Determine whether the current voltage is outside the first preset range. If not, proceed to step S510; if yes, proceed to step S511.

[0177] S510: Restore the control voltage of the concentration detection sensor and proceed to step S504;

[0178] S511: Printer stops suddenly and outputs the first fault alert (i.e., fault alert 1);

[0179] S512: Reduce the control voltage of the concentration detection sensor and proceed to step S513;

[0180] S513: Read the waveform output by the concentration detection sensor according to the timing sequence and recalculate the current voltage value, then proceed to step S514;

[0181] S514: Determine whether the current voltage is outside the first preset range. If not, proceed to step S510; if yes, proceed to step S515.

[0182] S515: Printer stops suddenly and outputs the first fault alert (i.e., fault alert 1).

[0183] In one alternative implementation, such as Figure 24 As shown, it also includes step S600: after each powder supply motor rotates to the preset number of times, it is determined whether the voltage value corresponding to the first signal is within the second preset range. If yes, the imaging operation is resumed; otherwise, an error is reported.

[0184] Specifically, such as Figure 25 As shown, step S600 includes:

[0185] S601: Enter automatic toner supply mode, proceed to step S602;

[0186] S602: Call the target voltage calculation logic and proceed to step S603;

[0187] S603: Read and save the first TC_LEVEL according to the automatic toner supply mode timing, and proceed to step S604;

[0188] S604: Determine whether TC_LEVEL-TC_TARGET_V < TC_LL3_V is true. If not, proceed to step S605. If true, proceed to step S613.

[0189] S605: Calculate the LEVEL difference;

[0190] TC_DATEL_DLGF = TC_LEVEL - TC_TARGET_V, proceed to step S606;

[0191] S606: Look up the table to obtain the number of powder supply times SUPPLY_TIME_R, and proceed to step S607;

[0192] S607: Start the toner supply motor according to the automatic toner supply mode timing sequence, and proceed to step S608;

[0193] S608: Is the execution count two? If not, proceed to step S609; otherwise, proceed to step S613.

[0194] S609: Read and save the second TC_LEVEL according to the automatic toner supply mode timing, and proceed to step S610;

[0195] S610: After entering the toner replenishment mode, check whether the first TC_LEVEL - the second TC_LEVEL ≥ TC_LL4_V is true. If not, proceed to step S611. If true, proceed to step S604.

[0196] S611: DOT_R = 0, DA_M = 0, execution count is cleared to zero, proceed to step S612;

[0197] S612: Errors are reported to the error reporting interface TCS6;

[0198] S613: The stirring time reaches the end of the automatic toner supply mode, proceed to step S614;

[0199] S614: DOT_R = 0, DA_M = 0, execution count is cleared to zero, proceed to step S615;

[0200] S615: Return to the ready state of the overall process of developing chamber preheating control.

[0201] The implementation of this method has been described in detail in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, so it will not be repeated here.

[0202] In addition, such as Figure 26 As shown, step S600 further includes:

[0203] A601: Entering the developer cassette preheating control logic / imaging powder supply control logic / color correction call, proceeding to step A602;

[0204] A602: Call the TC_TARGET logic to obtain the target voltages of the four colors, and proceed to step A603;

[0205] A603: Read the TCR_SENSOR output voltage according to the timing sequence and calculate the current output voltage, then proceed to step A604;

[0206] A604: Compare the current output voltage with the target voltage (i.e., current output voltage - coefficient > target voltage). If yes, proceed to step A605; otherwise, proceed to step A608.

[0207] A605: Mark the corresponding color developer cartridge that needs to be supplied with toner, and determine whether the marking count has reached the upper limit. If the upper limit has been reached, it means that the toner cartridge unit can no longer supply toner, and proceed to step A606. If the upper limit has not been reached, proceed to step A608.

[0208] A606: Reset toner replenishment level to zero, reset cumulative pages without toner supply to zero, proceed to step A607;

[0209] A607: Printer stops suddenly, indicating that the toner cartridge marked with a color is low on toner (i.e., control unit 42 outputs fault reminder 2);

[0210] A608: Determine whether none of the four colors have been marked. If yes, proceed to step A609; otherwise, proceed to step A612.

[0211] A609: The powder drum unit stirs for the set time, then proceed to step A610;

[0212] A610: Reset toner replenishment level and cumulative pages without toner supply to zero, proceed to step A611;

[0213] A611: Return to developer cartridge preheating control logic / print;

[0214] A612: The marked color, the toner supply motor rotates at fixed intervals to supply toner for the marked color, return to step A603.

[0215] The implementation of this method has been described in detail in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, so it will not be repeated here.

[0216] In one alternative implementation, such as Figure 27 As shown, it also includes step S700: according to the operation start signal of the image forming apparatus, start sampling of the first signal output by the concentration detection sensor, and according to the operation end signal of the image forming apparatus, stop sampling of the first signal output by the concentration detection sensor, and calculate the potential level of the first signal according to the sampling result; according to the operation start signal of the image forming apparatus, perform the calculation of the third signal driving each powder supply motor, and start each powder supply motor.

[0217] By employing at least one of the solutions in the above embodiments, at least one problem mentioned in the background art can be solved without incurring additional costs. The implementation of this method has been described in detail in the above-described image forming apparatus, and therefore will not be repeated here.

[0218] In one optional implementation, the control unit 42, upon reaching a preset page count threshold and a cumulative dot count threshold, activates each toner supply motor to perform toner supply operation based on a first signal. Specifically, as... Figure 28 As shown, it includes:

[0219] S800: Printing process begins: Control unit 42 receives the printing command and executes the printing process;

[0220] S810: The control unit sends the printing information of the current page to the LSU: The control unit 42 sends the printing information of the current page to the laser scanning unit 28 (LSU), thereby realizing the drive control of the laser scanning unit 28 and entering S820.

[0221] S820: LSU emits laser: The laser scanning unit 28 emits a laser to the photosensitive drum according to the printing information, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum (S870);

[0222] S830: The counter of LSU accumulates the number of lasers emitted: The laser scanning unit 28 is equipped with a counter that accumulates the number of lasers emitted by the laser scanning unit 28 in real time;

[0223] S840: Determine whether the LSU has completed the laser emission action for this page. If yes, proceed to S850; otherwise, continue to execute S840: The control unit 42 determines whether the printing of the current page is complete based on the scanning start signal and the scanning end signal of the laser scanning unit 28.

[0224] S850: The control unit reads the laser count information from the LSU counter: After the current page is finished printing, the control unit 42 obtains the laser count accumulated by the counter of the laser scanning unit 28 during the printing of the current page, and executes the high toner coverage printing determination process (S860).

[0225] like Figure 29 As shown, the high toner coverage printing judgment process S860 includes:

[0226] S861: Calculation of cumulative light spot count DOT_R = DOT + DOT_R: The control unit adds the number of lasers emitted by the laser scanning unit 28 during the current page printing process (DOT) accumulated by the counter of the laser scanning unit 28 to the cumulative light spot count (DOT_R) accumulated before the current page printing process to obtain a new cumulative light spot count (DOT_R);

[0227] S862: Number of times the scan end signal appears in the control unit: The control unit 42 accumulates the number of times the scan end signal appears, thereby calculating the number of pages that have been printed to obtain the cumulative number of printed pages;

[0228] S863: Determine whether the cumulative number of printed pages is greater than the preset page threshold. If yes, proceed to S864; otherwise, end the current determination process. Control unit 42 determines whether the cumulative number of printed pages of the currently executed printing operation has reached the preset page threshold, such as 3 pages. If it has, further determine whether a high toner coverage printing operation has occurred; otherwise, end the current determination process.

[0229] S864: Determine whether the cumulative number of light spots is greater than or equal to the cumulative number of light spots threshold. If yes, proceed to S865; otherwise, proceed to S866: Control unit 42 determines whether the cumulative number of light spots is greater than or equal to the cumulative number of light spots threshold. If yes, it is considered that a high toner coverage printing operation has occurred, and toner supply processing is required; otherwise, it is considered that no high toner coverage printing operation has occurred, and the cumulative number of light spots and the number of times the scan end signal occurs are both set to zero, ending this judgment process.

[0230] S865: Control unit executes automatic toner supply mode process: The automatic toner supply mode process has been described in detail above and will not be repeated here.

[0231] S866: Set the cumulative number of light spots to zero and the number of times the scan end signal appears to zero: After determining that there is no high toner coverage printing operation or the automatic toner supply mode process has been executed, the cumulative number of light spots and the number of times the scan end signal appears need to be set to zero so that the high toner coverage printing judgment process can start a new judgment cycle.

[0232] In this embodiment, by executing the high toner coverage printing determination process, toner can be supplied in a timely manner when the image forming device performs high toner coverage printing. This allows uncharged toner, toner with a slight negative charge, or toner with a positive charge to be discharged from the developing cartridge, thereby avoiding the problem of developer image smudges caused by the disruption of the charge balance between the carrier and toner in the developer, which helps to improve the user experience.

[0233] In one alternative implementation, such as Figure 30 As shown, it also includes step S900: increasing or decreasing the drive time of each toner supply motor according to at least one of the following: the length of the paper feed direction of the printing medium, temperature, and humidity.

[0234] The implementation of this method has been described in detail in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, so it will not be repeated here.

[0235] This invention provides an electronic device, such as... Figure 31 As shown, Figure 31 The electronic device shown is merely an example and should not impose any limitation on the functionality and scope of use of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0236] like Figure 31 As shown, the electronic device is presented in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The components of the electronic device may include, but are not limited to: one or more processors 910, memory 930, and communication bus 940 connecting different system components (including memory 930 and processor 910).

[0237] The communication bus 940 represents one or more of several bus architectures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, a graphics acceleration port, a processor, or a local bus using any of the various bus architectures. For example, these architectures include, but are not limited to, the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, the Micro Channel Architecture (MAC) bus, the Enhanced ISA bus, the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.

[0238] Electronic devices typically include a variety of computer-readable media. These media can be any available media that can be accessed by the electronic device, including volatile and non-volatile media, and removable and non-removable media.

[0239] Memory 930 may include computer system readable media in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) and / or cache memory. The electronic device may further include other removable / non-removable, volatile / non-volatile computer system storage media. Although Figure 31 Not shown, a disk drive for reading and writing to a removable non-volatile disk (e.g., a "floppy disk") and an optical disc drive for reading and writing to a removable non-volatile optical disc (e.g., a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital video disc read-only memory (DVD-ROM), or other optical media) may be provided. In these cases, each drive may be connected to the communication bus 940 via one or more data media interfaces. The memory 930 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program modules configured to perform the functions of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0240] A program / utility having a set (at least one) of program modules can be stored in memory 930. Such program modules include, but are not limited to, an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data. Each or some combination of these examples may include an implementation of a network environment. The program modules typically perform the functions and / or methods described in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0241] The electronic device can also communicate with one or more external devices, one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device, or any device that enables the electronic device to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., network interface card, modem, etc.). This communication can be performed through the communication interface 920. Furthermore, the electronic device can also communicate through a network adapter (…). Figure 31 (Not shown) communicates with one or more networks (e.g., Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), and / or public networks, such as the Internet). The aforementioned network adapter can communicate with other modules of the electronic device via the communication bus 940. It should be understood that, although... Figure 31Not shown, other hardware and / or software modules can be used in conjunction with electronic devices, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, disk arrays (Redundant Arrays of Independent Drives; hereinafter referred to as RAID) systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems.

[0242] The processor 910 executes various functional applications and data processing by running programs stored in the memory 930, such as implementing the image forming apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0243] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions that cause the computer to execute the image forming apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0244] The aforementioned computer-readable storage medium may be any combination of one or more computer-readable media. A computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof, but is not limited thereto. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of computer-readable storage media include: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or flash memory, optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof. In this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program that may be used by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0245] Computer-readable signal media may include data signals propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying computer-readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. Computer-readable signal media may also be any computer-readable medium other than computer-readable storage media, capable of sending, propagating, or transmitting programs for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0246] Program code contained on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wire, optical fiber, radio frequency (RF), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0247] The above descriptions are merely some embodiments of the present invention, and the order of the processes presented in the flowcharts is not a unique limitation. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the inventive concept of the present invention, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, characterized in that, include: At least one imaging unit, the at least one imaging unit being used to form a developer image; A toner supply unit includes at least one toner cartridge for storing toner, at least one toner supply motor, and at least two toner supply screws. The toner supply motor is energized with the corresponding two toner supply screws. The toner supply screws supply toner from the toner cartridge to each of the imaging units. When the toner supply motor rotates in the forward direction, it drives one of its toner supply screws to deliver toner from one of its toner cartridges to one of its imaging units. When the toner supply motor rotates in the reverse direction, it drives the other toner supply screw to deliver toner from another toner cartridge to another imaging unit. A concentration detection sensor is used to detect the ratio of toner to carrier in each of the imaging units and output a first signal; The control unit is used to start each of the toner supply motors based on the first signal when the cumulative number of printed pages reaches a preset page threshold and the cumulative number of light spots reaches the cumulative number of light spots threshold.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control unit is also used to independently determine whether the rotation direction of each powder supply motor is consistent with the previous rotation direction of the powder supply motor when each of the powder supply motors drives the corresponding toner supply screw to supply toner from the corresponding toner cylinder to each of the imaging units, and if the rotation directions are inconsistent, the control unit increases the transmission compensation time when the powder supply motor drives the toner supply screw to perform the supply.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The control unit is also configured to ensure that when the determination result is that the rotation direction is consistent, the toner supply motor drives the toner supply screw to perform the supply without increasing the transmission compensation time.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The at least one powder supply motor includes: A first toner supply motor is configured to drive a first toner supply screw to supply toner of a first color from the at least one toner cartridge to one of the imaging units when rotating in the forward direction, and to drive a second toner supply screw to supply toner of a second color from the at least one toner cartridge to another of the imaging units when rotating in the reverse direction. A second toner supply motor is configured to drive a third toner supply screw to supply a third color of toner from the at least one toner cartridge to one of the imaging units when rotating in the forward direction, and to drive a fourth toner supply screw to supply a fourth color of toner from the at least one toner cartridge to one of the imaging units when rotating in the reverse direction.

5. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, When the cumulative number of printed pages reaches a preset page threshold and the cumulative number of light spots reaches a cumulative light spot threshold, each of the toner supply motors is activated based on the first signal, including: The control unit generates a second signal to characterize the toner supply based on the first signal, and generates a third signal to control the drive of each of the toner supply motors based on the second signal.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, The control unit is used to determine that the current page has been printed based on the scanning end signal of the image forming device, and after accumulating the number of printed pages, to determine whether the accumulated number of printed pages has reached a preset page number threshold.

7. An image forming method, the method being applied to an image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus comprising at least one imaging unit for forming a developer image; a toner supply unit comprising at least one toner cartridge for storing toner, at least one toner supply motor, and at least two toner supply screws, the toner supply motor being operatively connected to corresponding two of the toner supply screws, the toner supply screws being used to supply toner from the toner cartridge to each of the imaging units, wherein... When the powder supply motor runs in the positive direction, it drives one of the powder supply screws to deliver the powder in one of the powder cylinders to one of the imaging units. When the powder supply motor runs in the opposite direction, it drives another powder supply screw to deliver the powder in another powder cylinder to another imaging unit. A concentration detection sensor, used to detect the ratio of toner to carrier within each imaging unit and output a first signal, characterized in that the method includes: When the cumulative number of printed pages reaches the preset page threshold and the cumulative number of light spots reaches the cumulative number of light spots threshold, each of the toner supply motors is activated based on the first signal.

8. The image forming method according to claim 7, characterized in that, When the cumulative number of printed pages reaches a preset page threshold and the cumulative number of light dots reaches a cumulative light dot threshold, the toner supply motors are activated based on the first signal, including: A second signal is generated based on the first signal to characterize the toner supply, and a third signal is generated based on the second signal to control the drive of each of the toner supply motors.

9. The image forming method according to claim 7, characterized in that: When the cumulative number of printed pages reaches a preset page threshold and the cumulative number of light dots reaches a cumulative light dot threshold, the toner supply motors are activated based on the first signal, including: The current page is printed based on the scanning end signal of the image forming device, and after accumulating the number of printed pages, it is determined whether the accumulated number of printed pages has reached a preset page number threshold. If so, determine whether the cumulative number of light spots has reached the preset cumulative number of light spots threshold; If so, a second signal is generated based on the first signal to characterize the toner supply amount, and a third signal is generated based on the second signal to control the drive of each of the toner supply motors, and each of the toner supply motors is started based on the third signal.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions that cause a processor to execute the image forming method according to any one of claims 7-9.

Images