Image forming apparatus

Abstract

This design aims to prevent hot-swapping of the imaging unit while ensuring that data writes and reads to the unit memory of the imaging unit are performed appropriately. [Solution] In addition to the outer cover 21, this image forming apparatus is equipped with an inner cover 22 that is manually opened after the outer cover 21 is opened when the imaging unit 11 is replaced, and which takes a predetermined amount of time before it can be manually opened. The controller 5 performs data communication with the unit memory 11a of the imaging unit 11. When the cover opening / closing sensor 3 detects that the outer cover 21 has been opened, and the controller 5 is in the middle of data communication with the unit memory 11a, the controller 5 completes the data communication and cuts off the power supply to the imaging unit 11 before the predetermined time has elapsed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] An image forming apparatus includes a drum cartridge having a photosensitive drum and a drum memory (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this image forming apparatus, the drum cartridge is replaceable, and in order to suppress a defect of the drum memory caused by the insertion and removal of a live wire of the drum cartridge, when the cover is open and communication with the drum memory is being performed, immediately, the communication with the drum memory is stopped and the power supply to the drum cartridge is stopped.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the above-described image forming apparatus, when the cover is open and communication with the drum memory is being performed, the communication with the drum memory is interrupted. Therefore, there is a possibility that data to be written to the drum memory may not be completely written, and there is a possibility that data to be read from the drum memory may not be completely read.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to obtain an image forming apparatus that suppresses the insertion and removal of a live wire of an image forming unit and appropriately performs data writing and data reading to and from the unit memory of the image forming unit.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises a replaceable imaging unit, an outer cover that is opened when the imaging unit is replaced, an inner cover that is manually opened after the outer cover is opened when the imaging unit is replaced, and takes a predetermined amount of time before being manually opened, a cover opening / closing sensor that detects the open / closed state of the outer cover, and a controller. The imaging unit is equipped with a non-volatile unit memory. The controller (a) performs data communication with the unit memory, and (b) if the cover opening / closing sensor detects that the outer cover is open and data communication with the unit memory is in progress, the controller completes the data communication and cuts off the power supply to the imaging unit before the predetermined time has elapsed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, an image forming apparatus is obtained in which data writing and data reading to the unit memory of the image forming unit are performed appropriately while suppressing hot insertion and removal of the image forming unit.

[0008] The above or other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become even more apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the outer cover 21 in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the inner cover 22 in Figure 1. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in Figures 1 to 3. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the figures.

[0011] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus shown in Figure 1 is an image forming apparatus such as a multifunction printer. The image forming apparatus shown in Figure 1 comprises a printing device 1, an operation panel 2, a cover opening / closing sensor 3, a power supply circuit 4, and a controller 5.

[0012] Printing device 1 transports a print sheet from a paper feed cassette and prints an image based on an image data onto the print sheet using an electrophotographic method. Specifically, printing device 1 includes a photosensitive drum, an exposure device that exposes the photosensitive drum to form an electrostatic latent image, a developing device that deposits toner onto the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image, and a fuser that fixes the toner image transferred to the print sheet.

[0013] The photoreceptor drum and developing unit are each housed in a replaceable image forming unit 11. For example, in the case of a CMYK four-color color image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus has eight image forming units 11 for the photoreceptor drum and developing unit. In other words, here, the image forming unit 11 is either a drum unit equipped with a photoreceptor drum or a developing unit equipped with a developing unit. Each image forming unit 11 is equipped with a non-volatile unit memory 11a, which stores, for example, the drive distance to indicate when the image forming unit 11 should be replaced, and image forming characteristic data of the image forming unit 11.

[0014] Furthermore, the control panel 2 includes a display device 2a, such as an LCD display, which displays various screens to the user, and an input device 2b, such as a touch panel or hard keys, which detects user operations.

[0015] The cover opening / closing sensor 3 is a sensor that detects the open / closed state of the outer cover 21, which will be described later.

[0016] The power supply circuit 4 is a circuit that turns the power supply to the imaging unit 11 on and off according to a control signal from the controller 5. Here, the power supply circuit 4 includes a transistor Tr as a switching element connected to the power supply Vcc and a voltage divider circuit using resistors R1 and R2. When the control signal from the controller 5 is low level, the transistor Tr is turned on and power is supplied to the imaging unit 11 via the transistor Tr. When the control signal from the controller 5 is high level, the transistor Tr is turned off and the power supply to the imaging unit 11 is cut off.

[0017] Furthermore, when the controller 5 receives a job request for various jobs, it executes the job specified by that job request. For example, when the controller 5 receives a job request for a print job, it appropriately performs data processing (such as raster processing) and image processing (such as screen processing) on ​​the image data specified by the job request to generate image data for printing, and then uses the printing device 1 to execute the print job based on the generated image data.

[0018] Controller 5 includes an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), and a computer that executes a predetermined program. It uses the ASIC, computer, and other components to perform various processes.

[0019] Furthermore, the controller 5 performs data communication with the unit memory 11a (i.e., reading and writing data as described above). This data communication is, for example, wired data communication and is performed via a connector that is physically connected when the imaging unit 11 is installed.

[0020] Furthermore, the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes an outer cover 21 and an inner cover 22 that are opened when replacing the image forming unit 11. The inner cover 22 is a cover that is manually opened after the outer cover 21 is opened when replacing the image forming unit 11, and it takes a predetermined time to be manually opened. Note that the inner cover 22 cannot be opened when the outer cover 21 is not open.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the outer cover 21 in FIG. 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the outer cover 21 is provided as a part of the housing.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the inner cover 22 in FIG. 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the inner cover 22 is provided inside the housing, presses and fixes the image forming unit 11 (here, all the image forming units 11), and by opening the inner cover 22, the image forming unit 11 becomes physically removable.

[0023] When the controller 5 detects that the outer cover 21 has been opened by the cover open / close sensor 3 and the data communication with the unit memory 11a is in progress, until the above-mentioned predetermined time elapses, it completes the data communication and controls the power circuit 4 to cut off the power supply to the image forming unit 11. That is, until the inner cover 22 is manually opened, the data communication of the unit memory 11a is completed without interruption and the power supply to the image forming unit 11 is cut off, so that live wire insertion / removal is suppressed without loss of data read / written to the unit memory 11a. For example, the controller 5 sets the data amount of this data communication to a data amount that can be completed within the above-mentioned predetermined time. [[ID=S13]]

[0024] Also, in this embodiment, when the controller 5 detects that the outer cover 21 has been opened by the cover open / close sensor 3, it displays a message (warning) on the display device 2a indicating that the outer cover 21 is open and prompting to close the outer cover 21.

[0025] Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus described above will be explained. Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in Figures 1 to 3.

[0026] When the user replaces the imaging unit 11, they first open the outer cover 21.

[0027] In response to this, when the open state of the outer cover 21 is detected (step S1), the controller 5 displays a warning as described above (step S2) and determines whether or not data communication is in progress with the unit memory 11a (step S3).

[0028] If data communication is in progress with the unit memory 11a, the controller 5 will continue data communication with the unit memory 11a within a predetermined time, and when it determines that the data communication is complete (step S4), the power supply circuit 4 will cut off the power supply to the imaging unit 11 (step S5).

[0029] On the other hand, if data communication is not currently taking place with the unit memory 11a, the controller 5 immediately cuts off the power supply to the imaging unit 11 via the power supply circuit 4 (step S5).

[0030] On the other hand, after opening the outer cover 21, the user opens the inner cover 22 after the predetermined time described above, then removes the imaging unit 11 and installs a new imaging unit 11. At this point, since the power supply to the imaging unit 11 is already cut off when the inner cover 22 is opened, hot-swapping is suppressed.

[0031] As described above, according to the above embodiment, in addition to the outer cover 21, the image forming apparatus is equipped with an inner cover 22 that is manually opened after the outer cover 21 is opened when the imaging unit 11 is replaced, and which takes a predetermined amount of time before it can be manually opened. The controller 5 performs data communication with the unit memory 11a of the imaging unit 11. When the cover opening / closing sensor 3 detects that the outer cover 21 has been opened, and the controller 5 is in the middle of data communication with the unit memory 11a, the controller 5 completes the data communication and cuts off the power supply to the imaging unit 11 before the predetermined time has elapsed.

[0032] As a result, manual operation of the inner cover 22 delays the removal of the imaging unit 11, thereby suppressing hot-swapping of the imaging unit 11 while ensuring that data writing and reading of the imaging unit 11 to the unit memory 11a are performed appropriately.

[0033] Furthermore, various changes and modifications to the embodiments described above will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the subject matter and without diminishing the intended advantages. In other words, such changes and modifications are intended to be included in the claims. [Industrial applicability]

[0034] The present invention can be applied, for example, to an image forming apparatus. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 2a Display device 3. Cover opening / closing sensor 5 Controllers 11 Image-making unit 11a Unit Memory 21 Outer cover 22 Inner cover

Claims

1. Interchangeable imaging unit, The outer cover, which is opened when the aforementioned imaging unit is replaced, When the imaging unit is replaced, the outer cover is opened, and then the inner cover is opened manually, and a predetermined amount of time is required before it can be opened manually. A cover opening / closing sensor for detecting the open / closed state of the outer cover, Equipped with a controller, The imaging unit is equipped with a non-volatile unit memory, The controller (a) performs data communication with the unit memory, and (b) if the cover opening / closing sensor detects that the outer cover is in an open state and data communication with the unit memory is in progress, it completes the data communication and shuts off the power supply to the imaging unit before the predetermined time elapses. An image forming apparatus characterized by the following.

2. Furthermore, equipped with a display device, When the controller detects that the outer cover is in an open state by the cover opening / closing sensor, it displays a message on the display device indicating that the outer cover is in an open state and prompting the user to close the outer cover. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the controller sets the amount of data for the data communication to an amount of data that allows the data communication to be completed within the predetermined time.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the image forming unit is a drum unit equipped with a photoreceptor drum, or a developing unit equipped with a developing device for depositing toner onto an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor drum.

Images