Image forming device

Abstract

To provide an image formation device that does not issue a warning sound when a user opens a cover for necessary operation to solve such the problem that, when a user opens a cover of an image formation device to replace a consumable item, a warning sound is issued which provides the user with a feeling of discomfort.SOLUTION: When information such as a life / residual quantity of a consumable item is referred and the life / residual quantity is equal to or less than a predetermined numerical value (replacement needed), a warning sound is controlled not to be issued when a user opens a cover of an image formation device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for controlling noise generated when a user opens a cover of an apparatus to replace consumables, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus, such as a printer or copier, that has user-replaceable consumables. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventional image forming devices are equipped with a speaker and an LED lamp on the operation unit, and when the device detects a state in which it cannot operate, it notifies the user by turning on the LED lamp or sounding an alarm from the speaker. Examples of states in which the device cannot operate include a paper jam, running out of toner or paper, or the cover of the device being open.

[0003] As described above, the purpose of the warning sound is to inform the user that the device is in an inoperable state, so if the warning sound is sounded when the user intentionally opens the cover to replace a consumable, for example, the user will feel uncomfortable. Therefore, as in Patent Document 1, there is a method of reducing the volume of the warning sound only if the user is operating the operation unit when the device detects that it is in an inoperable state (Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-99632 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, for example, in the case of an image forming device having a drum unit that can be replaced by the user, replacement work will be performed at any timing when the drum unit is nearing the end of its life. In the method of Patent Document 1, the warning sound is reduced only when the user is operating the operation unit, but in the case of bottle replacement at any timing, the user is not necessarily touching the operation unit, and there is a possibility that the warning sound will be sounded when the cover of the device is opened. When the user opens the cover of the device to replace the bottle unit, it is required to ensure that the warning sound is not sounded, or that the sound is not unpleasant.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming device that enables a user to replace consumables without feeling uncomfortable by controlling the device so that a warning sound is not emitted or a different sound is emitted when the user opens the device cover to replace consumables. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that, in an image forming device, when replacing a consumable item that is set to be replaced by the user, a judgment means (S604) is provided for judging whether or not the user has opened the cover of the device to replace the consumable item, and when the front cover of the device is opened to replace the consumable item, the sound emitted from the operating unit is changed to a sound different from the normal sound, and when replacement of the consumable item is not required, the normal sound is emitted. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, when a user opens the cover of the device to replace a consumable item, the warning sound is not emitted or a different sound is emitted, thereby enabling the user to perform the replacement work without feeling uncomfortable. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. [Diagram 2]1 is a hardware block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is an external view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention; [Figure 4] 13 is an explanatory diagram of a warning sound that is generated when the cover is opened for replacing consumables according to the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 5] 5A to 5C are explanatory diagrams of examples of displays on an operation unit according to the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart showing an operation flow when replacing a consumable item according to the present invention. [Figure 7] 4 is a flow chart showing a sound setting process flow when replacing a photosensitive drum according to the present invention. [Figure 8] 4 is a flow chart showing a sound setting process flow when replacing a toner bottle according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS EXAMPLES

[0010] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0011] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of an image forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a printer engine 201 and an operation unit 280.

[0012] An operation unit 208 includes a touch panel, hard keys, etc., and receives operations from the user. It also includes an LED and a speaker for notifying the user of the device status.

[0013] The printer engine 201 has built-in mechanisms for constituting the engine section and an engine control section for controlling each printing process (e.g., paper feeding process, etc.) performed by each mechanism. The mechanisms for constituting the engine section include an electrostatic latent image forming mechanism 202 for forming an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive drum 205 by scanning with a laser beam, a transfer processing mechanism 203 for visualizing the electrostatic latent image, multiply transferring the visualized image to an intermediate transfer body 252, and further transferring the multiply transferred color image to a sheet P, and a fixing processing mechanism 204 for fixing the toner image transferred to the sheet P.

[0014] The electrostatic latent image forming mechanism 202 has a laser driver that drives a laser beam emitted from a semiconductor laser 208 on and off in a laser scanner unit 207 in response to image data supplied from a controller unit 301 shown in FIG. 2, and the laser beam emitted from the semiconductor laser is deflected in the scanning direction by a rotary polygon mirror 209. The laser beam deflected in the main scanning direction is guided to a photosensitive drum 205 and exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 205 in the main scanning direction. On the other hand, an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 205 by scanning and exposing the photosensitive drum 205 to the laser beam after being charged by a primary charger 211 is visualized into a toner image by toner supplied by a developer 212. The photosensitive drum 205 is equipped with a memory module (not shown). The memory module stores information such as the life of the drum unit calculated from the data obtained by measuring the thickness of the drum film and the timing of replacing the unit.

[0015] In the transfer processing mechanism 203, the toner image visualized on the photosensitive drum 205 is transferred (primary transfer) onto the intermediate transfer body 252 to which a voltage with reverse characteristics to that of the toner image is applied. When forming a color image, each color is sequentially formed on the intermediate transfer body 252 from the Y (yellow) station 220, the M (magenta) station 221, the C (cyan) station 222, and the K (black) station 223, and as a result, a full-color visible image is formed on the intermediate transfer body 252. Next, the sheet P fed from the transfer material storage 210 is conveyed, and the sheet P is pressed against the intermediate transfer body 252 by the transfer roller 251, and at the same time, a bias with reverse characteristics to that of the toner is applied to the transfer roller 251, so that the visible image formed on the intermediate transfer body 252 is transferred (secondary transfer) onto the sheet P conveyed in synchronization with the conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) of the sheet P by the paper feed processing mechanism.

[0016] In the fixing process mechanism 204, the toner transferred onto the sheet P is heated and melted as the sheet P passes through the fixing device 260 after the secondary transfer is completed, and fixed as an image on the sheet P. In the case of double-sided printing, the sheet P passes through the inversion section 270, is switched back and reversed, and is introduced again into the transfer section 240, where the back side image is transferred to the sheet P. Thereafter, the sheet P passes through the fixing device 260 in the same manner as above, whereby the toner image on the sheet P is heated and fixed, and the sheet P is discharged outside the printer, completing the printing process.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

[0018] The image forming apparatus is roughly divided into a controller section 301 and a print section 302. Each controller has a CPU 304, a CPU 315, a ROM 305, a ROM 316, a RAM 306, and a RAM 317. Each CPU reads the main program from the ROM according to the initial program in the ROM and stores it in the RAM. The RAM is used for storing programs and as main memory for working.

[0019] The image generating unit 309 uses print data received from a client PC or the like to generate raster image data that can be printed, and outputs the data for each pixel as RGB data and attribute data indicating the data attributes of each pixel. The image generating unit 309 may be configured to handle image data read by a reading means provided in the color image forming apparatus itself, rather than image data received from a client PC or the like. The reading means referred to here includes, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CIS (Contact Image Sensor). Also, a processing unit that performs a predetermined image processing on the read image data may also be provided. Furthermore, instead of being configured to be provided in the image forming apparatus itself, the image data may be received from an external reading means via an interface (not shown).

[0020] The printer communication control unit 324 selects data to be transmitted from the printer communication I / F unit 313 to the controller communication I / F unit 321 .

[0021] A load control unit 319 controls the driving of motors, fans, sensors, solenoids, etc. for operating the image forming apparatus, and also transmits and receives information stored in memory or the like by each unit.

[0022] The operation control unit 323 performs various controls by accepting user operations from the operation unit 208. The operation unit 208 is provided with a touch panel and hard keys, and accepts operations from the user, and also controls LEDs and speakers to inform the user of the device status.

[0023] The replacement of consumables in the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3(A) is an external view of the image forming apparatus 100. Reference numeral 325 denotes a cover of the image forming apparatus, which can be opened and closed as necessary. FIG. 3(B) is an external view of the image forming apparatus when the cover 325 is open. A toner bottle 326 stores toner, and supplies toner to the developing device 212. A memory module (not shown) is mounted in the toner bottle 326, and information such as the remaining amount of toner is stored in the memory module. There is also a small door 327, which can be opened to attach and remove the photosensitive drum 205.

[0024] The display on the operation panel and the warning sound that are emitted when the conventional cover is opened will be explained using Figs. 4 and 5.

[0025] In the case of an apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration, since the door is not opened except for replacing consumables, conventionally, when the door is opened, an alarm sounds and a message is displayed to the user to inform him that the door is open.

[0026] For the photosensitive drum unit, information on the number of days remaining in its life is stored in a memory mounted on the unit. When the number of days remaining in the photosensitive drum's life becomes short, a message indicating that it is nearing the end of its life is displayed on the operation panel (Fig. 5(A)). The user can open the cover of the image forming device at any time to replace the photosensitive drum unit. Conventionally, when the cover is opened for replacement, a warning sound is sounded.

[0027] Regarding toner bottles, if the toner runs out during a printing operation, the image forming device will be unable to print and will display a message on the operation panel along with a warning sound to encourage the user to replace the unit (Fig. 5(B)). To resume printing, the user must open the device cover and perform the replacement work. Conventionally, a warning sound is sounded when the cover is opened for replacement work.

[0028] When replacing consumables such as the photosensitive drum or toner bottle, if a warning sound is generated even though the user intentionally opens the cover, the user feels uncomfortable. Therefore, in the first embodiment, control is performed so that no sound is generated or a sound different from the warning sound is generated only when the cover is opened to replace the consumables. The sound different from the warning sound here is a sound that is less unpleasant to the user than a normal warning sound, such as a sound with a lower sound pressure, a lower noise level, a sound that sounds for a shorter time, or a sound that sounds less frequently than a normal warning sound. The noise level is a sound pressure level weighted by a value specified for each frequency, and represents the volume of the sound that the human ear actually feels. The noise level is calculated using the following formula (1).

[0029]

number

[0030] Also, when sounding a warning sound, the color of the LED on the operation unit 280 may be displayed in a different color from the color when the warning sound is sounded. This makes it possible to continue the work of replacing consumables without causing discomfort to the user. Figure 4(A) shows the conventional control of the warning sound, and Figure 4(B) shows the control of the warning sound of the present invention.

[0031] Next, the operation flow when a user opens the door to replace a consumable part of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

[0032] In step S601, the CPU 315 of the image forming apparatus 100 performs processing for setting sounds related to replacement of the photosensitive drum 205. A detailed flow of the processing will be described later.

[0033] In step S602, the CPU 315 of the image forming apparatus 100 performs a process for setting the sound related to the replacement of the toner bottle. A detailed flow of the process will be described later.

[0034] In S603, the CPU 315 of the image forming apparatus 100 determines whether or not the user has opened the cover 325 of the image forming apparatus 100. If the cover 325 has been opened, the process proceeds to S604. If the cover has not been opened, the process proceeds to S601.

[0035] In S604, CPU 315 of image forming apparatus 100 refers to the sound change flag stored in RAM 317. When the sound change flag is 0 (invalid), it indicates that replacement of the consumable is not required, and when the sound change flag is 1 (valid), it indicates that replacement of the consumable is required. If the sound change flag is 1 (valid), the process proceeds to S606.

[0036] In S605, the CPU 315 of the image forming apparatus 100 issues a normal warning sound from the speaker of the operation unit 280. The LED of the operation unit 280 lights up in the same color as before.

[0037] In S606, CPU 315 of image forming apparatus 100 does not sound an alarm, or sounds a sound different from the alarm from the speaker of operation unit 280. The sound different from the alarm is as described above. Also, LED of operation unit 323 may be displayed in a color different from the conventional color.

[0038] In S607, the CPU 315 of the image forming apparatus 100 determines whether the power of the main body has been turned off. If the power has been turned off, the process ends. If the power has not been turned off, the process proceeds to S601.

[0039] With the above flow, when the user opens the cover to replace a consumable, no noise or a different noise than normal is made, allowing the user to replace the consumable without feeling uncomfortable.

[0040] The flow of the sound setting process when the photosensitive drum 205 is replaced will be described with reference to FIG.

[0041] In S701, the CPU 315 of the image forming apparatus 100 reads information from the memory of the photosensitive drum 205 and checks the life / remaining days of the photosensitive drum 205. If the life / remaining days is less than or equal to a predetermined number of days, the process proceeds to S702. If the life / remaining days is greater than or equal to the predetermined number of days, the process proceeds to S704.

[0042] In step S702, the CPU 315 of the image forming apparatus 100 sets the sound change flag information to 1 (valid) and stores it in the RAM 317.

[0043] In S703, the CPU 315 of the image forming apparatus 100 reads information from the memory of the photosensitive drum 205, refers to the replacement completion flag of the photosensitive drum 205, and transitions to S704 if the flag is valid (replacement completed). If the flag is invalid (not replaced), the process ends.

[0044] In step S704, the CPU 315 of the image forming apparatus 100 sets the sound change flag information to 0 (disabled), and stores the information in the RAM 317.

[0045] This is the end of the photosensitive drum replacement sound setting process flow.

[0046] Next, the flow of the toner bottle replacement sound setting process will be described with reference to FIG.

[0047] In S801, the CPU 315 of the image forming apparatus 100 reads the information in the memory of the toner bottle 326 to check the remaining amount of toner. If there is no toner remaining, the process proceeds to S802. If there is remaining toner, the process proceeds to S803.

[0048] In step S802, the CPU 315 of the image forming apparatus 100 sets the sound change flag information to 1 (valid) and stores the information in the RAM 317.

[0049] In S503, the CPU 315 of the image forming apparatus 100 sets the sound change flag information to 0 (disabled) and stores the information in the RAM 317.

[0050] This ends the flow of the toner bottle replacement sound setting process. [Industrial Applicability]

[0051] The present invention has applicability in devices (printers, copiers, etc.) that have user-replaceable consumables. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 100 Image forming device 201 Printer Engine 202 Electrostatic latent image formation mechanism 203 Transcriptional Processing Mechanism 204 Fixing mechanism 205 Photosensitive drum 207 Laser Scanner Part 208 Semiconductor Laser 209 Rotating polygon mirror 280 Operation section

Claims

1. A cover that is opened and closed to replace consumables necessary for image formation; a detection means for detecting a state in which the consumable needs to be replaced; generating means for generating sound; a control means for controlling the generating means to generate a first warning sound when the cover is opened while the detection means has not detected a state in which the consumables need to be replaced, and to not cause the generating means to generate the first warning sound when the cover is opened while the detection means has detected a state in which the consumables need to be replaced; An image forming apparatus comprising:

2. The image forming apparatus described in Claim 1, characterized in that the control means does not generate sound from the generating means when the cover is opened if the detection means detects that the consumable needs to be replaced.

3. The image forming apparatus described in Claim 1, characterized in that the control means causes the generating means to generate a second warning sound that is less unpleasant than the first warning sound when the cover is opened when the detection means detects that the consumable needs to be replaced.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the control means generates the second warning sound having a lower sound pressure than the first warning sound.

5. The image forming apparatus described in Claim 3, characterized in that the control means generates the second warning sound having a lower noise level than the first warning sound.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the control means generates, as the second warning sound, a warning sound having a shorter duration than the first warning sound.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the consumables include a photosensitive member on which a toner image is formed.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the consumables include a toner bottle containing toner.

Images