JP2006133358A - Image forming apparatus and image quality adjusting method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus for forming an appropriate image at all times, and to provide an image quality adjusting method for the image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: When components replacement is carried out, a flag shows 1 by the interrupt processing. When the components replacement is carried out, the image quality adjustment (image quality adjustment for monochromatic image) is performed for an image forming unit for color K (204, 210 and 218). Also when the image forming units 50 are made in a usable state, with reference to all the colors Y, M and C after the components replacement, the image quality adjustment is performed with reference to the image forming units for the colors K, Y, M and C (222), when the image forming units are not made in a usable state with reference to all the colors Y, M and C, even though the components replacement has been carried out, the apparatus is at standby (214 to 218), until the image forming units 50 for all the colors Y, M and C go into a usable state, and when the image forming units for all the colors Y, M and C go to usable state, the image quality adjustments for all the colors K, Y, M and C are performed immediately. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image quality adjusting method for the image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus for forming a full-color image and adjusting the image quality, and an image quality adjusting method for the image forming apparatus.

  An image forming apparatus that forms a full-color image generally forms a full-color image by superimposing cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) images. Such an image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit for each color in order to form each color image. However, if a malfunction such as a failure or a toner shortage occurs in each image forming unit, the image quality is greatly affected.

  Thus, various techniques for dealing with problems such as failures occurring in the image forming apparatus and shortages of toner have been proposed (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, a technique for accurately detecting the failure state or life of the charger or the static eliminator is proposed. In the technique described in Patent Document 2, the hardware state is left in a log with time information. Therefore, it is proposed to judge abnormality or failure by comparing with the hardware state at the normal time, and the technique described in Patent Document 3 accurately displays that the preparatory operation is in progress and interrupts the preparatory operation. It has been proposed to prevent failure due to

  On the other hand, the image forming unit provided for each color performs an image quality adjusting operation in order to suppress variation in density among image forming units that form images of the respective colors. Note that as the image quality adjustment operation, for example, adjustment of charging voltage, toner amount and the like is performed for each image forming unit.

  Whether or not the image quality adjustment operation is performed is determined by whether or not each operation such as toner replacement, photosensitive drum replacement, door opening / closing, etc. has been performed, or when the power is turned on or finally the image quality adjustment operation is performed. It is performed by determining whether or not a predetermined time or more has passed. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, it is determined in step 300 whether or not the power-on process is in progress. If the determination is affirmative, in step 302 it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous image quality adjustment. If the determination is affirmative, image quality adjustment is performed at step 308. On the other hand, if the determination in step 300 is negative or the determination in step 302 is negative, it is determined whether or not component replacement is detected in step 304. If the determination is affirmative, image quality adjustment is performed in step 308. To implement. If the determination in step 304 is negative, it is determined in step 306 whether there is a request for a diagnostic operation. If the determination is positive, image quality adjustment is performed in step 308 and the determination is negative. If so, the process ends. Note that this processing is performed by the control device of the image forming apparatus at predetermined intervals.

  By the way, in the case of a full-color image forming apparatus, since a black-and-white image is formed more frequently than a color image, a K-color image can be used even when one or more of the YMC colors cannot be used. There is a configuration in which a monochrome image can be formed by operating only the forming unit. In the image forming apparatus configured as described above, there is a problem of how to perform the image quality adjustment operation when an image of one or more of the YMC colors cannot be formed.

  As an implementation method of the image quality adjustment operation, for example, two operation methods are conceivable. As a first operation method, a method in which no image quality adjustment operation is performed when one or more of the YMC colors cannot be formed can be considered.

As a second operation method, it is determined whether or not image formation of any one or more of the YMC colors is impossible when performing the image quality adjustment operation, and image formation of any one or more of the YMC colors is performed. If this is not possible, it is conceivable that the image quality adjustment operation is performed only for the K color that allows the image forming operation. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, processing in which steps 310 to 316 are added instead of step 308 in FIG. 6 is performed. In step 310, it is determined whether or not all YMC color image forming units can be used. If the determination is affirmative, in step 312, image quality adjustment is performed for all image forming units. If the determination in step 312 is negative, it is determined in step 314 whether or not the K-color image forming unit can be used. If the determination is positive, in step 316 the K-color image forming unit is determined. The image quality adjustment using only the image is performed, and if the determination in step 314 is negative, the processing is ended as it is. Note that this processing is also performed by the control device of the image forming apparatus at predetermined intervals as in the above processing.
JP 2000-242136 A JP 2002-283683 A JP 2004-013064 A

  However, in the first operation method described above, although simple, the image forming operation is continued without adjusting the image quality for the K color, so that the image quality is greatly adversely affected.

  Further, in the second operation method described above, it is possible to continue the black-and-white image formation satisfactorily. However, when the state in which one or more of the YMC colors cannot be formed for a while has been restored for a while, it is recovered. Further, until the above process is performed after a certain period of time has elapsed, image formation is performed without adjusting the image quality adjustment for the YMC color, which is not a preferable operation method. In order to shorten the time when the image quality adjustment is not adjusted, it is possible to shorten the interval at which the processing of the second method (the flowchart in FIG. 7) is performed. However, it takes time to replace the toner and the photosensitive drum. In addition to frequent detection, image formation is still performed without image quality adjustment.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described facts, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus and an image quality adjusting method for the image forming apparatus that can always form an appropriate image.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 includes a color image forming unit for forming a color image, a black and white image forming unit for forming a black and white image, and an image quality adjustment for color image for adjusting the image quality of the color image. Image forming means for adjusting the image quality of a monochrome image, detecting means for detecting whether or not the color image forming unit can form an image, and each image forming unit including the color image forming unit and the monochrome image forming unit. Detection means for detecting replacement of component parts of the unit, and storage means for storing replacement information indicating that replacement of the replacement parts has been performed when the detection means detects replacement of the component parts; B / W image quality adjustment control that controls the B / W image quality adjustment unit to adjust the image quality when the exchange information is stored in the storage unit And the storage unit stores the exchange information regarding the color image forming unit, and controls the color image quality adjusting unit when the detecting unit detects that the color image forming unit can form an image. The image information is controlled to be adjusted and the exchange information regarding the color image forming unit is stored in the storage unit, but when the detection unit detects that the color image forming unit cannot form an image, Wait until the image forming possibility of the color image forming unit is detected by the detecting means, and control the image quality adjusting means for the color image when the image forming possibility of the color image forming unit is detected by the detecting means. And color image quality adjustment control means for performing image quality adjustment.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the color image forming unit forms a color image, and the monochrome image forming unit forms a monochrome image.

  The color image quality adjusting means adjusts the image quality of the color image, and the monochrome image quality adjusting means adjusts the image quality of the monochrome image. In each image quality adjustment, for example, the image density formed by each image forming unit is adjusted to a predetermined density.

  The detecting means detects whether or not the color image forming unit can form an image. For example, whether or not an image can be formed by the color image forming unit is detected by detecting a failure, lack of toner, or the like.

  The detection unit detects replacement of components of the image forming unit including the color image forming unit and the monochrome image forming unit. For example, it is possible to detect replacement of a component by providing a sensor for detecting attachment / detachment of various components in the image forming apparatus.

  The storage means stores replacement information indicating that the detection means has detected the replacement of the components of the image forming unit.

  In the monochrome image image quality adjustment control means, when the replacement information is stored in the storage means, that is, when the components of the image forming unit are exchanged, the monochrome image quality adjustment means is controlled to perform the image quality adjustment. Is called. Therefore, since the image quality adjustment of the black and white image is performed as soon as the components of the image forming unit are replaced, an appropriate image can be formed without image formation without adjusting the image quality.

  In the color image quality adjustment control means, replacement information relating to the color image forming unit is stored in the storage means, that is, the components of the color image forming unit are replaced, and the detection means detects that the color image forming unit can form an image. In such a case, the color image quality adjusting means is controlled to adjust the image quality. Further, replacement information relating to the color image forming unit is stored in the storage means, that is, when the color image forming unit component is replaced, but the detection means detects that the color image forming unit cannot form an image. The image forming unit waits until the image forming possibility of the image forming unit is detected by the detecting means, and when the image forming possibility of the color image forming unit is detected by the detecting means, the color image quality adjusting means is controlled to adjust the image quality. Is called.

  That is, the image quality adjustment is performed immediately after the color image forming unit is ready to form an image and the color image forming unit can form an image. Therefore, the image formation is not performed without adjusting the image quality. An appropriate image can be formed.

  In other words, even when some of the image forming units of the image forming apparatus cannot form an image, it is possible to perform black and white image formation while performing necessary image quality adjustment, and at the time of restoration of the color image forming unit. Since image quality adjustment is performed promptly, it is possible to prevent image formation without image quality adjustment. Therefore, both black-and-white images and color images are not formed without image quality adjustment, so that appropriate images can always be formed.

  The black and white image image quality adjustment control means, when the replacement information is stored in the storage means and the detection means detects that the color image forming unit cannot form an image, as in the second aspect of the invention. Further, the image quality adjustment may be performed by controlling the image quality adjustment means for monochrome images. That is, when the components of the image forming unit are replaced and the color image forming unit cannot form an image, the image quality adjusting unit for black and white images is controlled to perform image quality adjustment. Therefore, since the image quality adjustment is performed immediately after the components of the image forming unit are replaced, an appropriate image can be formed without image formation without image quality adjustment. In addition, although color image formation is impossible, since image quality adjustment of a monochrome image is performed in this way, image formation with a monochrome image can be continued.

  Further, as in the invention described in claim 3, the detection means further detects whether or not the black and white image forming unit can form an image, and the black and white image quality adjustment control means detects the image formation of the black and white image forming unit by the detection means. When the possibility is detected, the image quality adjustment may be performed by controlling the image quality adjustment unit for monochrome images.

  5. The image quality adjusting method for an image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a color image forming unit for forming a color image, a black and white image forming unit for forming a black and white image, and a color image quality adjusting means for adjusting the image quality of the color image. Each image forming unit including: black and white image quality adjusting means for adjusting the image quality of the black and white image; detecting means for detecting whether or not the color image forming unit can form an image; and the color image forming unit and the black and white image forming unit Detection means for detecting replacement of the component parts, and storage means for storing replacement information indicating that replacement of the replacement parts has been performed when the detection means detects replacement of the component parts. An image quality adjustment method for an image forming apparatus including: controlling the monochrome image quality adjustment means when the exchange information is stored in the storage means A black and white image quality adjustment step for performing image quality adjustment, and the exchange information regarding the color image forming unit is stored in the storage unit, and the detection unit detects that the color image forming unit can form an image. The color image quality adjustment unit is controlled to perform image quality adjustment, and the exchange information regarding the color image formation unit is stored in the storage unit, but the image of the color image formation unit is stored by the detection unit. When it is detected that image formation is not possible, the apparatus waits until the detection unit detects that the color image formation unit can form an image, and when the detection unit detects that the color image formation unit can form an image. The color image quality adjustment step for adjusting the image quality by controlling the color image quality adjustment means. It is characterized in that it comprises, when.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the color image forming unit forms a color image, and the monochrome image forming unit forms a monochrome image.

  The color image quality adjusting means adjusts the image quality of the color image, and the monochrome image quality adjusting means adjusts the image quality of the monochrome image. In each image quality adjustment, for example, the image density formed by each image forming unit is adjusted to a predetermined density.

  The detecting means detects whether or not the color image forming unit can form an image. For example, whether or not an image can be formed by the color image forming unit is detected by detecting a failure, lack of toner, or the like.

  The detection unit detects replacement of components of the image forming unit including the color image forming unit and the monochrome image forming unit. For example, it is possible to detect replacement of a component by providing a sensor for detecting attachment / detachment of various components in the image forming apparatus.

  The storage means stores replacement information indicating that the detection means has detected the replacement of the components of the image forming unit.

  In the image quality adjustment step for black and white images, the image quality adjustment is performed by controlling the image quality adjustment unit for black and white images when the replacement information is stored in the storage unit, that is, when the components of the image forming unit are replaced. Therefore, since the image quality adjustment of the black and white image is performed as soon as the components of the image forming unit are replaced, an appropriate image can be formed without image formation without adjusting the image quality.

  In the color image quality adjustment step, replacement information relating to the color image forming unit is stored in the storage means, that is, the components of the color image forming unit are replaced, and the image forming capability of the color image forming unit is detected by the detecting means. In such a case, the image quality adjustment means for color image is controlled to adjust the image quality. Further, replacement information relating to the color image forming unit is stored in the storage means, that is, when the color image forming unit component is replaced, but the detection means detects that the color image forming unit cannot form an image. The image forming unit waits until the image forming possibility is detected by the detecting means, and when the image forming possibility of the color image forming unit is detected by the detecting means, the color image quality adjusting means is controlled to adjust the image quality. .

  That is, it waits until image formation by the color image forming unit is possible, and image quality adjustment is performed as soon as the color image forming unit is capable of image formation, so image formation is not performed without image quality adjustment. An appropriate image can be formed.

  In other words, even when some of the image forming units of the image forming apparatus cannot form an image, it is possible to perform black and white image formation while performing necessary image quality adjustment, and at the time of restoration of the color image forming unit. Since image quality adjustment is performed promptly, it is possible to prevent image formation without image quality adjustment. Therefore, both black-and-white images and color images are not formed without image quality adjustment, so that appropriate images can always be formed.

  The black and white image image quality adjustment step is performed when the replacement information is stored in the storage unit and the detection unit detects that the color image forming unit cannot form an image. The image quality adjustment may be performed by controlling the image quality adjusting means for black and white images. That is, when the components of the image forming unit are exchanged and the color image forming unit cannot form an image, the image quality adjustment is performed by controlling the image quality adjusting unit for monochrome images. Therefore, since the image quality adjustment of the black and white image is performed as soon as the components of the image forming unit are replaced, an appropriate image can be formed without image formation without image quality adjustment. In addition, although color image formation is impossible, since image quality adjustment of a monochrome image is performed in this way, image formation with a monochrome image can be continued.

  Further, as in the invention described in claim 6, the detecting means further detects whether or not an image can be formed by the black and white image forming unit, and the black and white image quality adjusting step can form an image on the black and white image forming unit by the detecting means. When the image quality is detected, the image quality adjustment may be performed by controlling the image quality adjustment means for black and white images.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when the components of the monochrome image forming unit are replaced, the image quality of the monochrome image is adjusted, and the components of the color image forming unit are replaced so that the color image forming unit can form an image. By adjusting the image quality of the color image after waiting until it becomes possible, it is possible to execute black and white image formation while performing the necessary image quality adjustment, and to quickly adjust the image quality when the color image forming unit is restored Therefore, it is possible to prevent the image formation without adjusting the image quality, and it is possible to always form an appropriate image.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is entirely covered with a housing 11. Further, a predetermined speed in the direction of arrow H along the longitudinal direction of the endless belt-shaped intermediate transfer belt 14 that is stretched around a plurality of winding rollers 12 and conveyed in the direction of arrow E by driving a motor (not shown). A plurality of photosensitive drums 16 (hereinafter referred to as “photosensitive members”) 16 as image bearing members that rotate in the above are disposed.

  Since the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment uses a color image as a target image, the photoconductor 16Y corresponding to four colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). , 16M, 16C, and 16K are provided. Hereinafter, similarly, the members provided for each color are indicated by adding alphabets (Y / M / C / K) indicating the respective colors at the end of the reference numerals, but will be described without particularly distinguishing the colors. In this case, the explanation will be made by omitting the alphabet at the end of the code.

  Around each photoconductor 16, a charger 18 for uniformly charging the surface of the photoconductor 16 is disposed. Further, a light beam based on a desired image is applied to each photosensitive member 16 while being scanned in the axial direction of the photosensitive member 16 uniformly charged by the charger 18 while being electrostatically applied to the photosensitive member 16. An exposure device 20 for forming a latent image is disposed.

  In addition, an electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 16 is arranged around the photoconductor 16 in a predetermined color (yellow / magenta / magenta) on the downstream side of the light beam irradiation position along the rotation direction of the photoconductor 16. A developing unit 22 that develops a toner image by developing with cyan / black toner, a first transfer unit 24 that transfers the toner image on the photoconductor 16 to the intermediate transfer belt 14, and remains on the photoconductor 16 after transfer. A cleaner (not shown) that removes the toner that is being removed, and a static elimination lamp (not shown) that neutralizes the photoreceptor 16 are arranged in this order.

  The toner images of different colors formed on the respective photoreceptors 16 are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 14 so as to overlap each other on the belt surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14. As a result, a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 14. In this embodiment, the toner image in which the four color toner images are transferred in a superimposed manner is referred to as a final toner image.

  A second transfer unit 26 including two rollers 26 </ b> A and 26 </ b> B facing each other is disposed downstream of the photosensitive member 16 in the conveyance direction of the intermediate transfer belt 14. The final toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 14 is sent between the rollers 26A and 26B, taken out from a paper tray (not shown), and similarly to the paper 28 conveyed between the rollers 26A and 26B. Transcribed.

  The paper 28 onto which the final toner image has been transferred is conveyed to a fixing device 30 including a pressure roller 30A and a heating roller 30B, and subjected to a fixing process. As a result, the final toner image is fixed, and a desired image (color image) is formed on the paper 28. The paper 28 on which the image is formed is discharged out of the apparatus.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a surface potential detection sensor 32 that measures the surface potential of the photoconductor 16 around the photoconductor 16 and between the light beam irradiation position by the optical scanning device 20 and the developing unit 22. It is arranged.

  Further, an image density for detecting the density of the final toner image transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt along the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 14 on the downstream side in the transport direction of the intermediate transfer belt 14 with respect to the photoreceptor 16. A detection sensor 36 is provided (see FIG. 2). Further, a fixed image detection sensor 38 is disposed downstream of the fixing device 30 in the conveyance direction of the paper 28. Since the fixed image detection sensor 38 detects the density of the image (fixed image) fixed on the paper 28, a more accurate density can be detected.

  The outputs of the surface potential detection sensor 32, the image density detection sensor 36, and the fixed image detection sensor 38 are used for image quality adjustment (details will be described later) for correcting density unevenness of the image.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system for performing image quality adjustment in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is provided with an image quality adjustment control unit 40 for performing image quality adjustment. The image quality adjustment control unit 40 corresponds to the image quality adjusting unit for monochrome images and the image quality adjusting unit for color images of the present invention.

  The image quality adjustment control unit 40 is connected to the surface potential detection sensor 32, the image density detection sensor 36, and the fixed image detection sensor 38 described above, and performs image quality adjustment using the output of each sensor.

  Specifically, the image quality adjustment control unit 40 controls the image forming unit 50 including the charger 18, the exposure device 20, the developing device 22, the cleaner, and the like based on image data representing a patch having a predetermined density so as to transfer the intermediate transfer belt. A predetermined density patch is formed on the image 14, and the image density detection sensor 36 detects the density of the patch. Then, the density detected by the image density detection sensor 36 is compared with a predetermined density, and the potential of the photoconductor 16 by the charger 18 of the image forming unit 50, the exposure amount of the exposure device 20, based on the comparison result, Image quality adjustment is performed by changing the toner potential or the like of the developing unit 22 and controlling to correct the difference between the predetermined density and the detected density. The image quality adjustment control unit 40 performs image quality adjustment for each image forming unit 50 (50Y, 50M, 50C, 50K).

  The image quality adjustment control unit 40 includes a timer that counts the elapsed time since the previous image quality adjustment, a counter that counts the number of prints output by the image forming apparatus 10, and the like.

  The image quality adjustment control unit 40 also includes a failure detection sensor 46 for detecting toner shortage or failure for each image forming unit 50, and component replacement by detecting the attachment / detachment of components provided in each image forming unit 50. Are connected to a component replacement detection sensor 42 that detects whether or not the operation has been performed, and a door open detection sensor 44 that is provided in the image forming apparatus 10 and that is opened to open or close for component replacement or the like. Yes. The failure detection sensor 46 corresponds to the detection means of the present invention, and the component replacement detection sensor 42 corresponds to the detection means of the present invention.

  Here, processing performed by the image quality adjustment control unit 40 in the image forming apparatus 10 of the present invention configured as described above will be described. The image quality adjustment control unit 40 of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment performs image quality adjustment processing and interrupt processing for the image quality adjustment processing, and the interrupt processing corresponds to storage means of the present invention.

  First, interrupt processing for image quality adjustment processing will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of interrupt processing performed by the image quality adjustment control unit 40 in the image forming apparatus 10 of the present invention. The interrupt processing is performed when, for example, the door opening detection sensor 44 detects that the door has been opened, or when the sensor for detecting component attachment / detachment provided in each image forming unit 50 detects component attachment / detachment. At the time of processing, when a predetermined time elapses, the processing is started by interrupting the image quality adjustment processing.

  In step 100, it is determined whether or not the parts have been replaced in any one of the YMC color image forming units 50. The determination is made based on, for example, the detection result of the component replacement detection sensor 42. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 102. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 104.

  In step 102, the part replacement flag F indicating that any part of the YMC color image forming unit 50 has been replaced is set to 1, and the process proceeds to step 104.

  In step 104, it is determined whether or not the K-color image forming unit 50K has been replaced. As described above, the determination is made based on the detection result of the component replacement detection sensor 42, for example. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 106. If the determination is negative, the interrupt processing is performed. Exit.

  In step 106, the component replacement flag G indicating that the component replacement of the K-color image forming unit 50K has been performed is set to 1, the interrupt processing is terminated, and the processing proceeds to image quality adjustment processing described later.

  Next, image quality adjustment processing performed by the image quality adjustment control unit 40 in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of image quality adjustment processing performed by the image quality adjustment control unit 40 in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that the image quality adjustment processing of the present embodiment is basically performed until the power is turned off after the power is turned on.

  In step 200, it is determined whether or not the component replacement flag F indicating that the component replacement of any one of the YMC color image forming units 50 has been performed is “1”. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 202.

  In step 202, it is determined whether or not the component replacement flag G indicating that the replacement of the K-color image forming unit 50K has been performed is 1. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step 200 to return to the above-described step. The process is repeated. If the determination in step 202 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 204, the image quality adjustment is performed for the K-color image forming unit, and the process proceeds to step 206. That is, the image quality adjustment for the monochrome image is performed.

  In step 206, the part replacement flag indicating that the part replacement of the K-color image forming unit 50K has been performed is reset, and the process returns to step 200 to repeat the above-described processing.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step 200 is affirmed, the process proceeds to step 208 to determine whether or not image formation by any of the YMC color image forming units 50 is impossible. The determination is made, for example, by determining whether or not the failure detection sensor 46 provided for each of the YMC color image forming units 50 has detected toner shortage or failure. The process proceeds to 210, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 222.

  In step 210, image quality adjustment is performed for the K-color image forming unit, and the process proceeds to step 212. That is, the image quality adjustment for the monochrome image is performed.

  In step 212, the component replacement flag indicating that the component replacement of the K-color image forming unit 50K has been performed is reset, and the process proceeds to step 214.

  In step 214, it is determined whether or not image formation by the image forming units 50 for all YMC colors is possible. The determination is made based on, for example, the detection result of the failure detection sensor 46 provided for each YMC color image forming unit 50. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 216, and the determination is affirmed. If YES, go to step 222.

  In step 216, it is determined whether or not the component replacement flag G indicating that the component replacement of the K-color image forming unit 50K has been performed is 1. If the determination is negative, the processing returns to step 214 and returns to the above-described step. The process is repeated. If the determination in step 216 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 218, image quality adjustment is performed for the K-color image forming unit, and the process proceeds to step 220. That is, the image quality adjustment for the monochrome image is performed.

  In step 220, the part replacement flag indicating that the part replacement of the K-color image forming unit 50K has been performed is reset, and the process returns to step 214 and the above-described processing is repeated.

  On the other hand, in step 222, image quality adjustment is performed for the image forming units 50 of the KYMC colors. That is, image quality adjustment for color images and black and white is performed.

  In the subsequent step 224, a component replacement flag F indicating that the replacement of one of the YMC color image forming units 50 has been performed and a replacement of the K color image forming unit 50K have been performed. The component replacement flag G is reset, the process returns to step 200, and the above-described processing is repeated.

  That is, when a part replacement (including toner cartridge replacement) of the image forming unit 50 of any of the KYMC colors is performed, a flag is set by interrupt processing (flow chart of FIG. 3) that the part replacement has been performed. It is memorized by becoming 1. In the image quality adjustment process, the above-described processing routine is always started, and when the parts are replaced, the image quality adjustment (image quality adjustment for a monochrome image) is performed on the K-color image forming unit 50K. No image formation is performed in a state in which no image quality adjustment is performed, and an appropriate image can be formed. Also, when the parts are replaced and the image forming unit 50 can be used for all the YMC colors, the image quality adjustment is performed on the KYMC color image forming unit 50 and the parts are replaced. If the image forming units 50 are not usable for all, the process waits until the image forming units 50 for all the YMC colors are usable (steps 214 to 218). When the processing loop is repeated) and the image forming units 50 for all the YMC colors are ready for use, the image quality adjustment is immediately performed for all the KYMC colors, so that the image formation is performed without the image quality adjustment being performed. Therefore, an appropriate image can always be formed.

  Steps 204, 210, and 218 correspond to the monochrome image quality adjustment control means and monochrome image quality adjustment step of the present invention, and steps 214 to 220 include color image quality adjustment control means and color image quality of the present invention. This corresponds to the adjustment step.

  By the way, in the above-described embodiment, parts replacement or the like is performed in the image quality adjustment process shown in FIG. 4. However, if the image forming unit 50 cannot be used for all YMCs, it is not necessary (for example, Even if the image quality adjustment for monochrome images has already been performed in step 204), the image quality adjustment for monochrome images will be performed again in step 210, so steps 210 and 212 may be omitted. Even in this case, even when the image quality adjustment for black and white images is not performed in step 204, the image quality adjustment for black and white images can be performed in step 216. Therefore, image formation is performed without performing image quality adjustment. Therefore, an appropriate image can always be formed.

  Next, a description will be given of a modified image quality adjustment process performed by the image quality adjustment control unit in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the above embodiment. Note that the interrupt process is the same as that in the above embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example of the image quality adjustment process based on the premise that the K-color image forming unit 50K can form an image has been described. However, in a modification, the image quality adjustment process of the above-described embodiment This is an example in which the image formation possibility determination of the K-color image forming unit 50K is further added.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of image quality adjustment processing performed by the image quality adjustment processing unit in the image forming apparatus according to the modification of the embodiment of the present invention. Note that the same processes as those in the above embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals.

  In step 200, it is determined whether or not the component replacement flag F indicating that the component replacement of any one of the YMC color image forming units 50 has been performed is “1”. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 202.

  In step 202, it is determined whether or not the component replacement flag G indicating that the replacement of the K-color image forming unit 50K has been performed is 1. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step 200 to return to the above-described step. The process is repeated. If the determination in step 202 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 203 to determine whether or not image formation by the K-color image forming unit 50K is possible. This determination is made, for example, by determining whether or not the failure detection sensor 46 provided in the K-color image forming unit 50K has detected toner shortage or failure. If the determination is negative, the determination is positive. The process waits until it is done, and proceeds to step 204. If the determination in step 204 is negative, the image forming operation cannot be performed, so that the user may be notified.

  In step 204, image quality adjustment is performed for the K-color image forming unit, and the process proceeds to step 206. That is, the image quality adjustment for the monochrome image is performed.

  In step 206, the part replacement flag indicating that the part replacement of the K-color image forming unit 50K has been performed is reset, and the process returns to step 200 to repeat the above-described processing.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step 200 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 207 to determine whether or not image formation by the K-color image forming unit 50K is possible. This determination is made, for example, by determining whether or not the failure detection sensor 46 provided in the K-color image forming unit 50K has detected toner shortage or failure. If the determination is negative, the determination is positive. It waits until it is done and proceeds to step 208. If the determination in step 207 is negative, the image forming operation cannot be performed, so that the user may be notified.

  In step 208, it is determined whether or not image formation by any of the YMC color image forming units 50 is impossible. The determination is made, for example, by determining whether or not the failure detection sensor 46 provided for each of the YMC color image forming units 50 has detected toner shortage or failure. The process proceeds to 210, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 222.

  In step 210, image quality adjustment is performed for the K-color image forming unit, and the process proceeds to step 212. That is, the image quality adjustment for the monochrome image is performed.

  In step 212, the component replacement flag indicating that the component replacement of the K-color image forming unit 50K has been performed is reset, and the process proceeds to step 214.

  In step 214, it is determined whether or not image formation by the image forming units 50 for all YMC colors is possible. The determination is made based on, for example, the detection result of the failure detection sensor 46 provided for each YMC color image forming unit 50. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 216, and the determination is affirmed. If YES, go to step 222.

  In step 216, it is determined whether or not the component replacement flag G indicating that the component replacement of the K-color image forming unit 50K has been performed is 1. If the determination is negative, the processing returns to step 214 and returns to the above-described step. The process is repeated. If the determination in step 216 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 217 to determine whether or not image formation by the K-color image forming unit 50K is possible. This determination is made, for example, by determining whether or not the failure detection sensor 46 provided in the K-color image forming unit 50K has detected toner shortage or failure. If the determination is negative, the determination is positive. It waits until it is done and moves to step 218. If the determination in step 217 is negative, the image forming operation cannot be performed, and the user may be informed accordingly.

  In step 218, image quality adjustment is performed for the K-color image forming unit, and the process proceeds to step 220. That is, the image quality adjustment for black and white images is performed.

  In step 220, the component replacement flag indicating that the component replacement of the K-color image forming unit 50K has been performed is reset, and the process returns to step 214 and the above-described processing is repeated.

  On the other hand, in step 222, image quality adjustment is performed for the image forming units 50 of the KYMC colors. That is, image quality adjustment for color images and black and white is performed.

  In the subsequent step 224, a component replacement flag F indicating that the replacement of one of the YMC color image forming units 50 has been performed and a replacement of the K color image forming unit 50K have been performed. The component replacement flag G is reset, the process returns to step 200, and the above-described processing is repeated.

  That is, in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, when a part replacement (including toner cartridge replacement) or the like of one of the KYMC color image forming units 50 is performed, it is determined that the part replacement has been performed. When the flag is set to 1 according to the flowchart of FIG. In the image quality adjustment process, the above-described processing routine is always started, and when the parts are replaced, the image quality adjustment (image quality adjustment for a monochrome image) is performed on the K-color image forming unit 50K. No image formation is performed in a state in which no image quality adjustment is performed, and an appropriate image can be formed. Also, when the parts are replaced and the image forming unit 50 can be used for all the YMC colors, the image quality adjustment is performed on the KYMC color image forming unit 50 and the parts are replaced. If the image forming units 50 are not usable for all, the process waits until the image forming units 50 for all the YMC colors are usable (steps 214 to 218). When the processing loop is repeated) and the image forming units 50 for all YMC colors are ready for use, the image quality adjustment is performed immediately for all the KYMC colors. Therefore, an appropriate image can always be formed.

  The image forming apparatus 10 according to the above embodiment has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an image forming apparatus having another configuration may be applied.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system for performing image quality adjustment in the image type apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of interrupt processing performed by an image quality adjustment control unit in the image forming apparatus of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of image quality adjustment processing performed by an image quality adjustment control unit in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of image quality adjustment processing of a modification performed by an image quality adjustment processing unit in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of image quality adjustment execution determination processing in a conventional image forming apparatus. In a conventional image forming apparatus, when performing image quality adjustment operation, it is determined whether or not image formation of any one or more of YMC colors cannot be performed, and image formation of any one or more of YMC colors cannot be performed. In this case, it is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a process for performing an image quality adjustment operation only for K colors capable of an image forming operation.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 18 Charger 20 Exposure apparatus 22 Developer 40 Image quality adjustment control part 42 Parts replacement detection sensor 44 Door open detection sensor 46 Failure detection sensor 50 Image formation unit

Claims (6)

A color image forming unit for forming a color image;
A black and white image forming unit for forming a black and white image;
A color image quality adjusting means for adjusting a color image quality;
Monochrome image quality adjustment means for adjusting the image quality of the monochrome image;
Detecting means for detecting whether image formation by the color image forming unit is possible;
Detecting means for detecting replacement of components of each image forming unit including the color image forming unit and the monochrome image forming unit;
Storage means for storing replacement information indicating that replacement of the replacement part has been performed when replacement of the component is detected by the detection means;
Monochrome image quality adjustment control means for controlling the monochrome image quality adjustment means to adjust image quality when the exchange information is stored in the storage means;
The exchange information relating to the color image forming unit is stored in the storage means, and when the image forming possibility of the color image forming unit is detected by the detecting means, the color image quality adjusting means is controlled to adjust the image quality. The exchange information regarding the color image forming unit is stored in the storage unit, but the color image is detected when the detection unit detects that the color image forming unit cannot form an image. Wait until the image forming possibility of the forming unit is detected by the detecting means, and when the image forming possibility of the color image forming unit is detected by the detecting means, the color image quality adjusting means is controlled to control the image quality. A color image quality adjustment control means for performing adjustment;
An image forming apparatus including:   The black and white image quality adjusting means controls the black and white image quality adjusting means when the exchange information is stored in the storage means and the detection means detects that the color image forming unit cannot form an image. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein image quality adjustment is performed.   The detection means further detects whether or not the black and white image forming unit can form an image. When the black and white image quality adjustment control means detects that the black and white image forming unit can form an image, the black and white image forming unit detects the black and white image forming unit. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein image quality adjustment is performed by controlling image quality adjustment means. Color image forming unit for forming a color image, monochrome image forming unit for forming a monochrome image, color image quality adjusting means for adjusting the image quality of a color image, and monochrome image quality adjusting means for adjusting the image quality of a monochrome image Detecting means for detecting whether or not the color image forming unit can form an image; detecting means for detecting replacement of components of each image forming unit including the color image forming unit and the monochrome image forming unit; and the detecting means A storage means for storing replacement information indicating that replacement of the replacement part is performed when replacement of the component part is detected by the image quality adjustment method of the image forming apparatus,
A monochrome image quality adjustment step of controlling the monochrome image quality adjustment means to perform image quality adjustment when the exchange information is stored in the storage means;
The exchange information relating to the color image forming unit is stored in the storage means, and when the image forming possibility of the color image forming unit is detected by the detecting means, the color image quality adjusting means is controlled to adjust the image quality. The exchange information regarding the color image forming unit is stored in the storage unit, but the color image is detected when the detection unit detects that the color image forming unit cannot form an image. Wait until the image forming possibility of the forming unit is detected by the detecting means, and when the image forming possibility of the color image forming unit is detected by the detecting means, the color image quality adjusting means is controlled to control the image quality. A color image quality adjustment step for adjustment,
An image quality adjustment method for an image forming apparatus, comprising:   The monochrome image quality adjustment step controls the monochrome image quality adjustment unit when the exchange information is stored in the storage unit and the detection unit detects that the color image forming unit cannot form an image. 5. The image quality adjustment method for an image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image quality adjustment is performed.   The detection means further detects whether or not an image can be formed by the monochrome image forming unit, and the monochrome image quality adjusting step detects the monochrome image when the detection means detects that the monochrome image forming unit can form an image. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image quality adjustment is performed by controlling the image quality adjusting means.

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