JP2006044811A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device facilitated in selective use of a transfer material to be formed with an image control developing agent image and a transfer material to be formed with a normal image forming output image, and facilitated in selective use when both the transfer materials are discharged onto the same paper discharging unit, and capable of realizing effect similar with effect of job off-set by a paper discharging unit mechanism at low costs by improving a paper feeding unit. <P>SOLUTION: In the image forming device for transferring the image control developing agent image onto the transfer material 1 with a transferring means 6 and for fixing the image onto the transfer material 1 with a fixing means 13, a plurality of paper feeding units 2 and 3 are provided, and the transfer material 1, on which the image control developing agent image is to be fixed, can be fed from the paper feeding unit 3 separate from the paper feeding unit for the transfer material 1, on which the developing agent image formed by normal image formation is to be fixed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer and a copying machine, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus in which a developer image for image control for image control is formed and having a plurality of paper feeding units.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a color image forming apparatus employing an electrophotographic method, an ink jet method, or the like such as a color printer or a color copying machine is required to improve the output image quality.

  In particular, the density gradation and the stability of each color have a great influence on the judgment of whether the image quality is good or bad.

  However, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, if there is a change in each part of the apparatus due to environmental changes or long-term use, the density of the obtained image will change. In particular, in the case of a color image forming apparatus, there is a possibility that the color balance may be lost even by a slight change in density, so it is necessary to always maintain a constant gradation-density characteristic.

  Therefore, the developer (toner) of each color to be used has gradation correction means such as several kinds of exposure amounts and development biases according to absolute humidity, a development bias, and a lookup table (LUT). Based on the absolute humidity measured by the sensor, the process conditions at that time and the optimum value for gradation correction are selected (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In addition, the surface of the image carrier, which is a medium for carrying an image control developer image (patch) with toner of each color so that a constant gradation-density characteristic can be obtained even if each part of the apparatus fluctuates. The density of the unfixed patch, here the density, is detected by the density detection means (density sensor), and the density control is performed by feeding back the process conditions such as exposure amount and development bias based on the detection result. Is performed so as to obtain a stable image (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  However, when the image quality to be controlled is related to the color of the image, for example, when controlling the color balance of multiple colors used for color image formation, such as the density and chromaticity, or color shift, the above density sensor is used. As in the case of density control, in the control to detect the state of an unfixed toner image formed on the surface of the image carrier and before being transferred to the transfer material, the color of the image by the subsequent transfer and fixing to the transfer material is performed. Since the balance is not detected, the transfer efficiency in transferring the toner image onto the transfer material, and the change in color balance due to heating and pressurization due to fixing cannot be dealt with.

  Therefore, in the color image forming apparatus, an image quality detecting means for detecting the image quality of the toner image on the transfer material after transfer and fixing is installed, and the image quality is detected after fixing the patch to the transfer material, and the exposure amount, process condition, look An image forming apparatus that performs image control on a final output image fed back to a process condition such as an uptable (LUT) and fixed on a transfer material is considered.

  For example, as the image quality, a density or chromaticity detection means (color sensor) for detecting the density of a single color toner image or the chromaticity of a full color image is installed, and the gradation of a single color or mixed color as shown in FIG. A patch pattern 44 for density or chromaticity control formed by arranging a plurality of different patches 44 a is formed on the transfer material 1, and the density or chromaticity detected by the color sensor 42 (FIG. 3) There has been considered an image forming apparatus that controls density or chromaticity (density chromaticity) in a final output image that is fed back to a process condition such as a look-up table (LUT) and fixed on a transfer material.

  The color sensor 42 for performing such density chromaticity control has a configuration as shown in FIG. 3 and irradiates the patch 44 with the light emitted from the light emitting element 53, receives the reflected light by the light receiving element 54, and receives the reflected light by the reflected light. In the configuration for detecting the density chromaticity of the patch, the toner images of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) are identified (identification of CMYK), and the density chromaticity value is detected. Therefore, for example, a light source that emits red (R), green (G), and blue (B) is used as the light emitting element 53, or a light source that emits white (W) is used as the light emitting element 53. It is configured by forming three types of filters having different spectral transmittances such as red (R), green (G), and blue (B) on the top.

  CMYK can be identified and density can be detected from three different outputs obtained by this, for example, RGB output. Further, chromaticity can be detected by performing a mathematical process on the RGB output by linear conversion or the like and converting the RGB output by a look-up table (LUT).

  By the way, the above-described density chromaticity control is performed by the user's manual operation when the user desires to perform the control, or is printed when an environmental change or the like is detected, or after the density or chromaticity control is executed. This is automatically performed at a predetermined timing such as the number of sheets.

  When the density or chromaticity control is performed during the printing operation, the color image forming apparatus temporarily interrupts the printing operation that has been performed so far, performs the density chromaticity control, and then performs the printing operation again. Return to.

  However, in a conventional color image forming apparatus that performs density chromaticity control, there is no particular distinction between a paper feeding unit at the time of printing and a paper feeding unit at the time of density chromaticity control. The basic configuration is that the transfer material (paper) on which the patch pattern for the degree control is formed is fed from the same paper feeding unit.

  This is basically because the user controls density chromaticity using the transfer material itself used in the actual image forming operation (print job), thereby suppressing variations in color tone in the actual job and ensuring stable printing. It is a configuration set based on the premise that the user wants to display an image.

  However, the above conventional example has the following problems.

  The patch pattern for density chromaticity control actually determines how much transfer material area is required by the setting at the time of designing the image forming apparatus. For high-precision chromaticity control, for example, In some cases, an area of about one A3 sheet is required.

  In other words, if the transfer material used for the actual job by the user is a B5, A5 size or smaller paper, the same transfer material is used for density chromaticity control. Therefore, it becomes necessary to print a series of patch patterns in one density / chromaticity control separately on a plurality of transfer materials.

  Usually, after these transfer materials are used for density chromaticity control, a patch pattern is printed, and therefore, the transfer materials become unnecessary transfer materials.

  When the number of transfer materials to be used for a job that the user originally wants to print is limited, or when the transfer material itself is expensive, the user hesitates to use them for density chromaticity control. There were many possibilities.

  Therefore, depending on the user, it is not always necessary that the transfer material used for the job is the same as the transfer material used for density chromaticity control, and it is also possible to substitute density chromaticity control with another transfer material. Should be considered.

  At that time, when using a colored transfer material for an actual job, density chromaticity control is performed using the same transfer material, and density chromaticity control is performed using another transfer material. The control effect differs depending on the case.

  That is, the selection of the transfer material used for the control differs depending on the following two methods.

  (1) The user performs chromaticity control using a transfer material that is actually used for a job each time, thereby stabilizing the chromaticity.

  (2) Regardless of what type of transfer material is used for the job, the same type of transfer material is always used for chromaticity control, and the color stability of the image forming apparatus is always maintained with the same reference. Try to do so.

  Since either (1) or (2) is selected depends on the user's intention, it is supposed to be selectable by the user. However, under the situation where the density chromaticity control transfer material and the transfer material used in the actual job are limited to the same paper supply unit, if the size of the transfer material is different, such transfer material It was very difficult to use properly.

  More specifically, in order to prevent chromaticity fluctuations in a large number of print jobs, when density chromaticity control is automatically performed at a certain frequency during the execution of the jobs, it is normal for those print jobs. If the transfer material used for image formation and the transfer material used for density chromaticity control are discharged to the same discharge tray, it is necessary to sort them after the print job.

  At that time, if the transfer material used for normal image formation and the transfer material used for density chromaticity control are different in size, for example, the transfer material used for density chromaticity control is used for normal image formation. When the size is clearly larger than the transfer material, it is easy to understand visually, and the subsequent sorting operation is relatively easy.

  On the other hand, when both are papers of almost the same size, this sorting operation is time-consuming for the user because it is necessary to confirm each sorting operation one by one. In order to improve such a situation, for example, there is a method of using a so-called job offset in the paper discharge unit.

  The job offset is a specified method of discharging a transfer material, and normal discharge is a method of shifting and discharging a transfer material in a direction orthogonal to the paper passing direction. It is.

However, in order to carry out this method, a paper discharge device having a mechanism for enabling it must be mounted, which is a relatively expensive device in terms of cost.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-100578 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-181341

  The object of the present invention is to make it easy to properly use a transfer material for forming a developer image for image control as a test pattern and a transfer material for forming an output image for normal image formation. In addition, when a transfer material for forming an output image for normal image formation and a transfer material for forming an image control developer image are discharged to the same discharge portion, sorting is facilitated. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus which realizes the same effect as the job offset effect by the mechanism of the paper discharge unit by a cheaper means by improving the paper feed unit.

The above object is achieved by the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In summary, the present invention provides an image carrier on which a developer image is formed on a surface, a transfer unit that transfers the developer image to a transfer material, and a fixing unit that fixes the developer image on the transfer material. An image control developer image is formed on the image carrier, and the image control developer image is transferred by the transfer unit. In the image forming apparatus which is transferred to the transfer material and fixed on the transfer material by the fixing unit,
The transfer material having a plurality of the paper supply portions and on which the developer image for image control is fixed is different from the transfer material on which the developer image formed by normal image formation is fixed. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that paper can be fed from the printer.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention can feed a transfer material for forming an image control developer image from a paper feed unit different from a transfer material feed unit for forming a normal image. The transfer material to be formed can be selected in a wide range of types and sizes of the transfer material, and can be selectively used according to the purpose and request of the user.

  Furthermore, by using the above-mentioned properly, the feeding position of the transfer material used in normal image formation and the setting position of the transfer material on which the image controlling developer image is formed are shifted in the width direction and fed. Thus, even when both are discharged to the same discharge unit and both are mixed and stacked, the effect of being easily sorted is obtained.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to the drawings.

Example 1
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an entire color laser beam printer which is an example of a color image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment.

  This color laser beam printer has an image forming section for each color, and each image forming section forms an electrostatic latent image on an image carrier for each color by exposure based on desired image data. The electrostatic latent image is developed to form a visible image, and then a developer image (toner image) that is a color visible image is transferred and fixed from each image forming unit to a transfer material that is a recording medium. As a transfer means for transferring the image to the transfer material, the image is transferred from the image carrier to the intermediate transfer member for primary transfer, and then transferred to the transfer material from the intermediate transfer member for batch transfer (secondary transfer) of each color. The transfer means is a transfer means. As a transfer unit, there is a direct transfer type configuration in which an image is transferred from an image carrier of each color directly onto a transfer material.

  The image forming units (stations) are arranged in parallel by the number of development colors, and for each station, the photosensitive drum 5 (5Y, 5M, 5C, 5K), which is an image carrier, and the charger 7 (7Y, 7M, 7C, 7K). ), Laser scanner 10 (10Y, 10M, 10C, 10K), developing device 8 (8Y, 8M, 8C, 8K), toner cartridge 11 (11Y, 11M, 11C, 11K), intermediate transfer belt 12, primary transfer roller 6 (6Y, 6M, 6C, 6K), a secondary transfer roller 9, a paper feeding / conveying unit, and an image forming unit such as a fixing unit 13 as a fixing unit.

  When a normal image forming operation (print job) is started, the photosensitive drum 5 (5Y, 5M, 5C, 5K) is rotated counterclockwise by a drive motor (not shown) at each station. Each photosensitive drum 5 is configured by applying an organic optical conductive layer to the outer periphery of an aluminum cylinder.

  Then, during the rotation process of the photosensitive drum 5, the surface thereof is charged by the charging sleeve 71 (71Y, 71M, 71C, 71K) in the charger 7 (7Y, 7M, 7C, 7K) disposed around the photosensitive drum 5. ) Is uniformly primary charged.

  After that, the surface of the photosensitive drum 5 (5Y, 5M, 5C, 5K) is a laser scanner 10 (10Y, 10M,...) That is a latent image forming unit disposed on the downstream side of the drum 5 rotation direction charger 7. 10C, 10K) are selectively exposed based on the image data input by a predetermined method, and electrostatic latent images are sequentially formed.

  A developing device 8 (8Y, 8M, 8C, 8K) is installed downstream of the exposure position by the laser scanner 10 in the drum 5 rotation direction, and a developing sleeve 81 (81Y, 81M, 81C, 81K) to which a developing bias is applied. ) Is opposed to the surface of the drum 5, the developer (toner) inside is conveyed to the surface of the drum 5, and the electrostatic latent image is developed and visualized to form a developer image (toner image).

  The intermediate transfer belt 12, which is an intermediate transfer member constituting the transfer means, is an endless belt stretched by a driving roller 18a and driven rollers 18b, 18c, and is attached to the photosensitive drum 5 (5Y, 5M, 5C, 5K). The toner image is rotated in the clockwise direction while abutting, and the toner images are successively transferred onto the surface of the belt 5 by the primary transfer roller 6 (6Y, 6M, 6C, 6K), and are primarily transferred to form a color toner image.

  On the other hand, a transfer material 1 is accommodated in a paper feed cassette 2 or a paper feed tray 3 as a paper feed unit, and the transfer material 1 is composed of a paper feed roller 4 and a plurality of transport rollers 24. 25, and reaches the position of the pre-registration sensor 19. The transfer material 1 is further conveyed by a certain amount, reaches the registration roller 23, forms a loop, and waits.

  The transfer material 1 that has been waiting is transported again, and the secondary transfer roller 9 comes into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 12 to nipping and transporting the transfer material 1, so that the multi-transferred color is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 12. The visible image (toner image) is secondarily transferred to the transfer material 1 at once.

  The toner image transferred onto the transfer material 1 is conveyed to a fixing device 13 as fixing means. The fixing device 13 includes a fixing roller 14 that heats the toner and a pressure roller 15 that presses the transfer material 1 against the fixing roller 14, and fixes the transfer material 1 while being conveyed. The fixing roller 14 and the pressure roller 15 are formed in a hollow shape, and have heaters 16 and 17 incorporated therein, respectively, and fix the toner image by applying heat and pressure to the transfer material 1.

  After the toner is fixed, the transfer material 1 is conveyed to the FU tray 27 when the surface on which the toner image is formed is discharged face up, and to the FD tray 28 when the surface is discharged face down. The flapper 26 is switched so as to be discharged to one of the trays, and the image forming operation is completed.

  The intermediate transfer belt 12 is provided with a cleaner container 21. The intermediate transfer belt 12 is cleaned by a built-in cleaning blade 21a, and toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 12 without being secondarily transferred is stored as waste toner. .

  The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 5 (5Y, 5M, 5C, 5K) is removed by a cleaning unit (not shown) provided around the photosensitive drum 5.

  The toner on the photosensitive drum 5 and the intermediate transfer belt 12 is removed by the cleaning unit and the cleaner container 21 to prepare for the next image formation.

  A normal image formation for forming a desired image is performed by the above-described image forming process. As an image control of an image formed by the image forming process, a developer for image control is used as a test pattern separately from the normal image. An operation is performed in which an image (patch) is formed, the image quality of the patch is detected by the image quality detection means, and the image forming conditions are changed based on the detected image quality.

  This image control is chromaticity control in this embodiment, and forms a developer image (patch) for image control, detects the density chromaticity of the patch by the color sensor 42, and sets the image forming condition based on the detected color chromaticity. It is implemented by changing.

  In this embodiment, a reference image generation circuit (not shown) that generates a reference image signal having a signal level corresponding to a predetermined density is connected to the laser scanner 10 of each image forming unit. A reference image signal is supplied to a pulse width modulation circuit (not shown), and a laser drive pulse having a pulse width corresponding to the predetermined density is generated from a laser drive pulse circuit (not shown). The laser driving pulse is supplied to the laser scanner 10 to emit light for a time corresponding to the pulse width, and the photosensitive drum 5 is scanned. Thus, a patch latent image corresponding to the predetermined density is formed on the photosensitive drum 5, and the patch latent image is developed by each developing device 8 to become a patch. In this embodiment, a patch pattern 44 as shown in FIG. 2 composed of light and mixed tone patches 44a is formed for chromaticity control. Then, in the same process as the normal image formation, this is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 12, transferred to the transfer material 1, fixed by the fixing device 13, and conveyed to a position facing the color sensor 42.

  The color sensor 42 is arranged in the transfer material conveyance path in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 toward the image forming surface of the transfer material 1 downstream from the fixing device 13 in the transfer material conveyance direction. The RGB output value of the color of the formed toner patch after fixing is detected.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the color sensor 42. The color sensor 42 includes a white LED 53 and a charge storage sensor 54 with an RGB on-chip filter. The white LED 53 is incident on the transfer material 1 on which the patch 44 after fixing is formed at an angle of 45 degrees, and the intensity of diffuse reflected light in the 0 degree direction is detected by the charge storage sensor 54 with an RGB on-chip filter. The light receiving portion 54a of the charge storage type sensor 54 with an RGB on-chip filter is an independent pixel for RGB.

  The charge storage sensor 54 with RGB on-chip filter may be a photodiode. In addition, there are some in which several sets of three RGB pixels are arranged. Further, the configuration may be such that the incident angle is 0 degree and the reflection angle is 45 degrees. Furthermore, you may comprise by LED which emits RGB three colors, and a sensor without a filter. The configuration of the color sensor 42 is not limited to this.

  The density chromaticity detected by the color sensor 42 is fed back to process conditions such as the exposure amount, process conditions, and look-up table (LUT) in the image forming process, and is controlled in the final output image fixed on the transfer material. Is done.

  Then, the chromaticity control (calibration) in which the patch 44 is formed, detected by the color sensor 42, and fed back to the process condition is performed when instructed from the outside or when an environmental change is detected, This is automatically performed at a predetermined timing such as the number of sheets printed after execution of chromaticity control.

  In some cases, the timing of chromaticity control (calibration timing) corresponds to the continuous image forming operation (continuous printing operation). When the calibration timing comes during the printing operation, the printing operation is temporarily interrupted, and the detection result of the color sensor 42 incorporated in the image forming apparatus control mechanism (controller) is executed by executing the chromaticity control. In each image forming means related to the control, the calibration table indicating the setting conditions is updated, and then the printing operation is resumed.

  Here, in this embodiment, when chromaticity control is performed during a continuous printing operation, paper feeding different from the paper feeding unit of the transfer material 1 for normal image formation in a print job performed immediately before execution of chromaticity control is performed. The transfer material 1 used for chromaticity control can be fed from the section. That is, the sheet is fed from the sheet feeding cassette 2 and the sheet feeding tray 3 provided in the image forming apparatus in which a transfer material for forming a normal image is not set.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a control unit of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. The image forming apparatus includes a printer driver 101 and an operation panel 102 as input units for inputting desired paper feed conditions related to paper feed of the transfer material 1 such as the type of transfer material 1 and the number of images to be formed from the outside. The user is provided separately or integrally with the image forming apparatus with respect to the setting of the transfer material paper feed unit (paper feed cassette 2, paper feed tray 3), paper discharge unit (FU tray 27, FD tray 28), and the like. It can be set through a program of the image printer driver 101 installed in a PC (not shown) or the operation panel 102 provided in the image forming apparatus. In the present specification, conditions relating to the feeding of the transfer material 1 such as the type of the transfer material 1 on which an image is formed and the feeding method are referred to as a paper feed condition.

  The input information is an engine that develops image information and performs an actual image forming operation (print job) via the controller unit 100 disposed in the image forming apparatus that controls the operation of options. It is sent to the control unit 103 and linked to the image forming operation.

  In other words, the image forming apparatus is provided with a user setting menu for setting paper feed conditions relating to chromaticity control on the operation panel 102 of the apparatus main body or the printer driver 101, and the timing for executing chromaticity control. That is, it is possible to input information on the frequency of execution of control within a job and information on which paper feed unit is used to perform control using a transfer material. These pieces of information are transmitted from the printer driver 101 to the controller 100, and are transferred to the actual image forming process via the engine control unit 103.

  In this embodiment, in these settings, the number of images formed (number of printed sheets) in the print job and the setting of the paper feed unit can be continuously set when inputting and setting from the printer driver 101. When the paper feed unit is set from the print driver 101, the paper feed roller 4 of the set paper feed unit is operated by the drive control of the engine control unit 103.

  More specifically, a normal image print job to be performed by the user is to be performed using the transfer material 1 set in the paper feed cassette 2. At that time, for example, the same image is printed on all, for example, 500 transfer materials 1 set in the cassette 2, and the chromaticity control is executed four times in total for every 100 sheets printed. At this time, the density chromaticity control is executed using the transfer material 1 set in advance in the paper feed tray 3 and designated by the user for chromaticity control.

  In such a case, in this embodiment, the setting of the feeding condition for the transfer material for the normal image for the print job and the setting of the feeding condition for the chromaticity control are specified by the printer driver 101 as the input unit. Is made. As described above, the two paper feeding units 2 and 3 can be selectively used depending on whether the transfer material 1 for normal images is set or the transfer material 1 for chromaticity control is set.

  In this embodiment, the printer driver 101 incorporates a setting menu A for normal image formation and a setting menu B for executing chromaticity control. When executing chromaticity control, the setting menu A is used. After completing the setting, the setting menu B is entered.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow from setting by the setting menu in the printer driver 101 to print job and chromaticity control.

  As shown in this flowchart, in step S1, an eight item setting menu ((A1) page to be printed, (A2) transfer material size / Orientation, (A3) type of transfer material, (A4) selection of single-sided printing or double-sided printing, (A5) number of printed sheets, (A6) image quality (printing quality), (A7) paper feed unit / discharge port to be used, ( From (A8) Presence / absence of execution of chromaticity control), detailed settings regarding the print job to be performed are performed.

  As described above, when printing the same image on 500 sheets, specify one desired page in (A1) and set (A2), (A3), (A4), and (A6) as desired conditions. In (A5), 500 sheets are designated, and in (A7), the paper feed cassette 2 and the FU tray 27 or FD tray 28 are designated.

  In step S2, it is set whether or not to execute chromaticity control in the job (A8) in the setting menu A of the above eight items. If it is to be executed, the process proceeds to step S3.

  In step S3, when the chromaticity setting calibration of (A8) is executed, the process proceeds to the B chromaticity control setting menu, and detailed conditions are set. The chromaticity control menu B is an operation setting related to the transfer material 1 that executes chromaticity control. Here, (B1) the type of chromaticity control transfer material, (B2) the transfer material feeding unit, and (B3) There are six items: waste paper port of transfer material, (B4) transfer material size / orientation, (B5) single-sided printing or double-sided printing, and (B6) control execution frequency (how many sheets are printed).

  Here, as described above, when one of the 100 sheets is used for chromaticity control, (B1), (B4), (B5) are set to desired conditions, and (B2) is set to the paper feed tray 3 (B3) designates the FU tray 27 or the FD tray, and (B6) designates 100 sheets.

  In step S4, a print job is started. Here, when execution of chromaticity control is selected in step S2, chromaticity control is executed between normal image forming steps according to chromaticity control setting menu B in the print job through step S3. The When selecting not to set the chromaticity in step S2, a normal image forming process is executed.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart when the chromaticity control and the sheet feeding unit control are performed during the continuous printing operation in the present embodiment, including the condition setting step shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  Steps S1 and S2: Print job (printing) condition setting according to the print job (printing) setting menu A of the print driver 101 is performed.

  Step S3: Condition setting of the chromaticity control (calibration) menu according to the chromaticity setting menu B by the print driver 101 is performed.

  Step S3a: The setting conditions of steps S1 to S3 are transmitted to the controller 100 of the apparatus main body (print start instruction).

  Step S4: A print job for paper feeding, printing, and output is performed according to the normal image forming process.

  Step S5: The number of formed images is set to (A1) the page to be printed designated by the setting menu A of the print driver 101 in steps S1 and S2, and (A5) the designated number of prints which is the total number of image formed derived from the number of printed sheets. Determine whether it has been reached. When it reaches, the process proceeds to step S10 and the image forming operation is terminated.

  As described above, when the same image is printed on 500 sheets, it is determined whether or not 500 sheets have been reached.

  Step S6: If the designated number of prints has not been reached in step S5, has the number of formed images reached the calibration timing designated in (B6) control execution frequency of the chromaticity menu B of the print driver 101 in step S3? Judge whether.

  As described above, when the chromaticity control is performed once for 100 sheets, it is determined whether or not 100 sheets have been reached. When the number reaches 100, the number of sheets for chromaticity control frequency installed in a control unit (not shown) is set to 0, and the process proceeds to step S7. If the number has not reached 100, the process returns to step S4 to continue the print job.

  Step S7: If it is determined in step S6 that the calibration timing is reached, the transfer material is fed from the paper feed tray 3 which is a calibration transfer material feed unit.

  Step S8: Calibration pattern (patch) formation and chromaticity detection by the color sensor 42 are performed.

  Step S9: Based on the detection result of the color sensor 42, the image forming conditions are controlled. When the image control is completed, the process returns to the print job in step S4, and the subsequent image formation is performed.

  That is, in this embodiment, a normal image forming paper feed unit and an image control paper feed unit are provided separately, and transfer material settings relating to image control are independent of transfer material settings during normal image formation. The system that can be done.

  Conventionally, from the implicit understanding that the transfer material used for chromaticity control is the same as the transfer material used in a normal image print job, it is not possible to select the paper feed unit setting for the transfer material used for chromaticity control, As a default, a configuration in which the sheet feeding unit 2 designated in the setting menu A for normal images is used as it is has been generally used.

  On the other hand, as described so far, the transfer material 1 used for a normal image print job and the transfer material 1 used for chromaticity control may be different from each other independently. By making it possible to specify by the user, the operation can be performed according to the purpose of the chromaticity control by the user and the type of transfer material to be used.

  In this embodiment, the patch is used for chromaticity control in order to perform control in consideration of a change in color due to transfer or fixing. However, the present invention is an image forming apparatus that transfers a patch to a transfer material and fixes the patch. The type of patch, the image forming conditions controlled by the patch, and the image quality are not limited to those controlling the chromaticity as in this embodiment, but other image quality levels such as density and color misregistration. It is also possible to control such conditions. Therefore, the image quality detecting means for detecting the image quality is not limited to the color sensor for detecting the density and chromaticity. Further, the present invention can be applied to a patch formed to update the developer in the developing device, for example, as long as the patch is fixed on the transfer material and discharged.

  Further, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus is not limited to that shown in FIG. 1, and a transfer material on which an image composed of a developer is fixed at the end of the image forming process is obtained, and a plurality of paper feeding units are provided. For example, a direct transfer method, a plurality of image carriers, or an electrostatic recording method may be used, and members constituting the image forming unit may not have the above-described configuration. If the patch is not for controlling color, a single-color image forming apparatus may be used.

  As described above, in this embodiment, in a color image forming apparatus having a plurality of paper feeding units, a transfer material for setting a different paper feeding unit for normal printing and image control, and forming a patch, The transfer material that forms the output image for normal image formation is fed from different paper feed units so that the transfer material used in the actual job and the transfer material for image control are the same or different. You can make your choice freely.

Example 2
In the first embodiment, the print job start is performed under the condition that the chromaticity control execution timing, the type of transfer material used at that time, and the condition setting regarding the paper feeding unit are executed during the print job. What has been done by input from the previous print driver 101 has been described.

  In contrast, in this embodiment, when the color image forming apparatus main body is waiting for a so-called print job instruction other than during the print job and is in a standby state, the chromaticity control is performed at a desired timing. The case of executing will be described.

  Other than the case where chromaticity control is performed during a large number of print jobs, the timing is not necessarily the same as that of a print job. For example, when consumables are replaced or when the operating environment of the image forming apparatus changes In some cases, it is preferable to perform the same chromaticity control when the repair is performed.

  In such a case, it is desirable that the chromaticity control can be performed at a free timing as in a so-called conventionally performed test print mode which is set in the apparatus main body and is generally used.

  Also at that time, it is desirable to be able to instruct from which paper feed unit the transfer material used for chromaticity control is fed.

  The present embodiment corresponds to such a situation. Specifically, the input from the printer driver 101 or the main body of the image forming apparatus is the same as in the first embodiment except when the print job is executed. There are methods for inputting and executing various conditions from the operation panel 102 installed in the system. Again, the chromaticity control can be executed by guiding the chromaticity control condition setting menu B described in the first embodiment from the printer driver 101 or the operation panel 102.

  Specifically, the procedure is as follows.

  After confirming that the image forming apparatus main body is in a standby state, first, the transfer material 1 used for chromaticity control is set on a paper feed tray 3 which is an arbitrary paper feed unit of the apparatus main body.

  In this embodiment, conditions for chromaticity control are input from a menu on the operation panel 102 provided in the apparatus main body. Here, the conditions shown in the chromaticity control condition menu B are sequentially set. Here, the paper feeding unit 3 on which the transfer material 1 used for chromaticity control is set in advance is designated.

  In this way, by instructing the chromaticity control conditions through the operation panel 102, the transfer material 1 on which the designated chromaticity control patch is formed at an arbitrary timing is transferred from the desired paper feeding unit to the image forming apparatus. The chromaticity control can be executed.

  That is, the configuration of the first embodiment can be applied to the case where chromaticity control is performed on a machine separately from a print job.

Example 3
In the first embodiment, when chromaticity control is automatically executed at a certain frequency during execution of a job in order to prevent chromaticity fluctuation in a large number of print jobs, the transfer material used in the print job, The method of using the transfer material used in the chromaticity control has been described.

  However, even if the transfer materials can be properly used as described above, if they are discharged to the same paper discharge unit and both of them are papers of almost the same size, the user will not be able to Sorting work is time-consuming work, such as the need to check one by one. However, if paper is discharged to separate paper discharge units, and if chromaticity control is to be performed during continuous image formation, the transfer material on which the patch has been formed is fixed on the transport path after fixing the patch material at the calibration timing. Switching must be performed while passing through the sensor 42, which requires a long image forming time, requires a paper discharge device suitable for the image forming time, increases costs, makes the configuration complicated, and is difficult.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, a means for solving the above problem by devising the setting position of the transfer material 1 for chromaticity control in the paper feed tray 3 as a paper feed unit will be described.

  In order to improve the situation in which it takes time to sort the transfer materials discharged by the same paper discharge unit, as described above, the so-called job offset described in the conventional example is used in the paper discharge unit. There is a way to use. This is a relatively general method of discharging a transfer material in a specified direction, in which normal transfer is a method of shifting the transfer material in a direction orthogonal to the paper passing direction. . However, in order to carry out this method, a paper discharge device having a mechanism for enabling it must be mounted, which is a relatively expensive device in terms of cost.

  Therefore, in order to realize this function and effect by countermeasures on the paper feeding unit side, the transfer material 1 used for chromaticity control is fed from a paper feeding unit 3 different from the transfer material 1 used in the actual print job. At the same time, in the paper feeding unit 3 on which the transfer material for patch formation is set, the set position in the direction orthogonal to the paper passing direction of the transfer material used in the print job in the image forming apparatus is set as the normal image. One solution is to shift in advance with respect to the transfer material set position.

  In the present embodiment, as described in the first embodiment, the transfer material 1a used for a print job for normal image formation and the transfer material 1b used for chromaticity control can be set in different paper feeding units. The print pattern on which the latter transfer material 1 is actually transferred is, as shown in FIG. 2, a series of patch patterns 44 arranged in the paper passing direction having a width sufficient for reading by the color sensor 42. is there. It is assumed that the transfer material 1a for normal image formation and the transfer material 1b for chromaticity control are discharged from the FU tray 27 as the same discharge unit.

  Therefore, if it is an essential condition that the arrangement of the patch pattern 44 in the direction intersecting with the sheet passing direction and the arrangement of the color sensor 42 for reading them match, the transfer material 1b is removed from the normal set position. Even if the paper is shifted somewhat, there is no problem if a paper passing area in the image forming apparatus is secured.

  In this embodiment, the transfer material 1 for chromaticity control is disposed on the paper feed tray 3 as shown in the top view of FIG. FIG. 7 shows a case where the right end surface of the transfer material 1 as viewed from the sheet passing direction in the image forming apparatus main body M is used as a set reference for the transfer material 1.

  In the paper feed tray 3, the transfer material 1 is set so that the width direction of the transfer material 1 is sandwiched between the reference guide 50 and the regulation guide 51 that are arranged at substantially the same interval as the width of the transfer material. The positions of the reference guide 50 and the regulation guide 51 of the transfer material set here are arranged at positions 50 a and 51 a where the position of the transfer material 1 becomes the transfer material set reference position P 1 at the center of the tray 3.

  When a normal job is performed using the tray 3 or when the chromaticity control transfer material 1 is set particularly when the job offset effect is not desired in the paper discharge unit, the transfer material set reference P1 is used. The transfer material 1 is fed from a position indicated by a broken line in FIG.

  The transfer material setting reference P1 at this time is basically the other paper feed unit, and in the case of FIG. The position is the same in the direction orthogonal to the paper direction.

  Here, as in the first embodiment, the normal image transfer material 1a is set in the paper feed cassette 2 different from that for chromaticity control, and normal continuous printing is executed in which the chromaticity control is executed in the meantime. When a job is executed and when a job offset effect is desired in the FU tray 27 as a paper discharge unit, the transfer material 1b for chromaticity control is disposed at the transfer material set position P2 as follows. At this time, the transfer material 1a for normal images and the transfer material 1b for chromaticity control were made to have the same size.

  The transfer material set position P2 is a position shifted from the transfer material set position P1 by X with respect to the image forming apparatus M in the width direction of the transfer material 1, that is, the direction crossing the sheet passing direction. The guide 51 is similarly shifted to positions 50b and 51b shifted by X from the positions 50a and 51a. In this state, by setting the transfer material 1b for chromaticity control, a job for executing chromaticity control is executed during a normal continuous print job, and these are mixed in the same paper discharge tray 27. Even if the sheets are stacked, the so-called job offset effect described above can be obtained, and the user can easily sort both after image formation.

  Here, the reference guide 50 is normally used in a semi-fixed state at the same position, while the regulation guide 51 is always slidable, and slides in accordance with the size of the transfer material 1 to be used as a reference. In combination with the guide 50, the width direction of the transfer material 1 is regulated.

  That is, basically, the positional accuracy of the image formed on the transfer material 1 in the width direction of the transfer material 1 is the position of the reference guide 50, the positional accuracy of image forming system components in the apparatus main body, and the tray 3 This is due to the regulation force of the regulation guide 51 that regulates play in the width direction of the transfer material 1.

  As described above, when the chromaticity control is performed during the normal print job to discharge the paper from the same paper discharge unit and to obtain the job offset effect, as described above, two transfer material sets are used. This can be implemented by selecting a setting method according to the reference position.

  That is, the paper feed tray 3 has two mounting holes for the reference guide 50 that match the two positions P1 and P2, and the user sets the mounting position with respect to the reference guide 50 by snap fit or the like. It is configured to be attached so that it can be changed.

  Such a method is relatively generally performed as a means for changing the guide position in accordance with the size of the transfer material 1 of the paper cassette 3, and therefore details regarding a specific method are omitted.

  In any of the above cases, if the offset amount of the transfer material 1 is X as shown in FIG. 7, it is usually easy to visually discriminate if it is set to about 15 mm <X <50 mm. .

  Actually, the transfer material 802 used for chromaticity control in the transfer material bundle 801a and 801b used for a normal print job with the shift amount and Xmm in this way is on the FU tray 27 which is the same paper discharge tray. 8, as shown in FIG. 8, the transfer material 1b is a transfer material 1b on which a patch for controlling chromaticity is formed between the bundles 801a and 801b of the transfer material 1a on which a normal image is printed. The material 802 jumps out in the direction shifted by X, so that the user can easily visually identify the presence of the chromaticity control transfer material 1b in the transfer material 1a on which the normal image is printed, Each transfer material can be easily sorted.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to adjust the setting position of the transfer material in the width direction in the paper feeding unit for setting the transfer material for chromaticity adjustment. The sheet feeding set position adjusting means for obtaining the job offset effect is provided, and an adjustment margin of several millimeters is provided for adjusting the printing accuracy.

  In addition, with respect to the specific means for changing the set position of the transfer material used for the chromaticity control, the following methods are further exemplified, and it can be said that any of these methods can achieve the intended effect of the present invention. Not too long.

  (1) A sheet feeding unit for setting a transfer material used for chromaticity control is fixed in advance as a sheet feeding unit dedicated to chromaticity control, and a transfer material set reference position, for example, the center in the transfer material width direction or one of the end faces Is shifted from that of the paper feed unit used in other normal print jobs.

  (2) In the paper feed unit that can set the transfer material used for chromaticity control, shift the transfer material set position to be set during normal printing and the transfer material width direction (direction perpendicular to the paper passing direction) from there. The job offset setting position can be manually switched by the positional relationship of the tray itself with the image forming apparatus, or the position of the transfer material guide by the linkage of a lever and a cam. It is possible to select whether to feed paper at the position.

  (3) A configuration in which the setting position switching means of (2) can be automatically switched using the power of a motor or the like in the apparatus.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is a front view showing an example of a developer image for image control according to the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the image quality detection means which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the image control mechanism which concerns on this invention. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of setting image forming conditions according to the present invention. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an image forming operation according to the present invention. It is an upper view which shows an example of the state of the paper feed part which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the loading state of the transfer material in the paper discharge part which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Transfer material 2 Paper feed cassette (paper feed unit)
3 Paper feed tray (paper feed unit)
5 Photosensitive drum (image carrier)
12 Intermediate transfer belt (transfer means)
13 Fixing device (fixing means)
27 FU tray (paper output)
28 FD tray (paper output unit)
42 Color sensor (image quality detection means)
44 Patch (Developer image for image control)
100 Controller unit 101 Printer driver (input unit)
102 Operation panel (input section)
103 Engine control unit

Claims (9)

An image carrier on which a developer image is formed, a transfer means for transferring the developer image to a transfer material, a fixing means for fixing the developer image on the transfer material, and a transfer material in the image forming apparatus An image control developer image is formed on the image carrier, and the image control developer image is transferred to the transfer material by the transfer means, In the image forming apparatus fixed on the transfer material by a fixing unit,
The transfer material having a plurality of the paper supply portions and on which the developer image for image control is fixed is different from the transfer material on which the developer image formed by normal image formation is fixed. An image forming apparatus characterized in that paper can be fed from.   According to the result of detecting the image quality of the developer image for image control fixed on the transfer material by the image quality detection means for detecting the image quality of the developer image fixed on the transfer material, 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein image forming conditions are controlled.   The image quality detection means is a detection means for detecting the chromaticity or density of the developer image fixed on a transfer material as the image quality, and detects the density or chromaticity of the image control developer image, 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming conditions for chromaticity control are controlled based on the detection result.   An input unit for inputting a sheet feeding condition of the image control developer image, and the input unit can set the sheet feeding unit of the transfer material on which the image control developer image is formed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, 2, or 3.   The input unit can also input a normal image feed condition, and can input whether or not the image control is executed during normal image formation from the input unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the sheet feeding unit of the transfer material on which the agent image is formed and the frequency at which the image control is performed can be set.   In the paper feeding unit to which the transfer material on which the image controlling developer image is formed is fed, the transfer material set position is shifted from the standard set position of the other paper feeding units. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus can be set.   In the paper feeding unit to which the transfer material on which the image controlling developer image is formed is fed, the shift amount is set to 15 mm with respect to the standard set position of the other paper feeding unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image forming apparatus can be set to 50 mm or less.   The set position of the transfer material is set to a set position shifted from the same standard set position as the set position of the other paper feed unit to the image forming apparatus main body in a direction perpendicular to the transfer material feeding direction. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image forming apparatus can be adjusted or switched.   The apparatus main body has means for automatically selecting the sheet feeding portion of the transfer material on which the preset image controlling developer image is formed when the preset image control timing is reached. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

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