JP2009282257A - Image forming apparatus and image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the interruption of printing caused by an image adjustment action to be set during printing as much as possible. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes: a number-of-sheets setting section for setting a prescribed number of sheets which is the timing for making an image adjusting action; a storing sections for storing an accumulated printed number of sheets which is executed by printing job actions up to a prior time; a storage update section 1 for updating storage of the printed number of sheets by adding the printed number of sheets included in a present printing job; a storage update section 2 for updating storage of the printing possible number of sheets by adding the printing possible number of sheets in a residual amount detection section to the storing section; and a comparison section for comparing the difference in the number of sheets between a value of the number-of-sheets setting section and a value of the storage update section 2. In this case, a determining section is provided for postponing most of the image adjusting action when the result in the comparison section is the specified number of sheets or less. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, and a so-called multi-function machine having these various functions, such as an electrophotographic system and an electrostatic recording system, and in particular, image adjustment of the image forming apparatus It relates to the timing of the operation.

  As an image forming device that prints out the results of various image processing performed on image data obtained by external reception or document reading, it has basic functions such as printer function, scanner function, facsimile function, and copy function. First, so-called MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals) having various functions using network communication are widely used.

  The image forming apparatus periodically performs an image adjustment operation (also referred to as process control or process control) because the image quality changes depending on the use environment such as temperature and humidity and the difference in the printed document.

  For example, when the main image adjustment operation is performed while the fixing temperature is rising such as when the power is turned on, the user can immediately perform the printing operation if the apparatus main body is in a usable state (ready state). However, if there is a problem in the middle of printing, it will take time to respond, and if the image adjustment operation is started after that, it will take more time for the image adjustment operation. It will give a lot of waiting time until the end.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228688 discloses an image forming apparatus that can determine the optimum image forming mode when resuming after interruption according to the cause of the interruption of paper feeding and increase the productivity of print processing. That is, the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1 includes a transfer body that can hold and hold a plurality of sheets of paper, and includes a first image forming mode that performs image transfer onto a sheet by a plurality of rotations of the transfer body, and a transfer body. And a second image forming mode in which image formation is transferred to the paper in one rotation. When at least one of the sucked sheets needs to be transferred in the first image forming mode, the transfer body is rotated by the number of rotations corresponding to the first image forming mode. Do. When the feeding to the transfer body is interrupted in the multi-sheet suction mode, the first imaging mode after the restart is determined to be the most efficient imaging mode according to the cause of the interruption of the feeding. To do.
JP 2001-281196 A

  Generally, an image forming apparatus performs an image quality adjustment operation when a predetermined number of recording media (printing paper) are printed. If the recording medium (printing paper) runs out during printing, the paper will be replenished at that stage, but there may be an image adjustment operation before several sheets are printed. Then, since the adjustment time is as long as 20 to 60 seconds, the user has to wait further from the replenishment of the paper, and dissatisfied.

  In Patent Document 1, an efficient work mode is selected after printing is interrupted, but the timing itself of the image quality adjustment operation itself is not improved, only the work mode after the image quality adjustment operation is improved. The waiting time is not improved.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the conventional image forming apparatus, and the purpose of the present invention is even when a periodic image adjustment operation is performed during a print job. It is to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming method that do not perform an image adjustment operation at that time, and perform the operation later, thereby not giving the user a waiting time.

In order to solve the above problem, the present invention is an image forming apparatus that performs an image adjustment operation every time an image adjustment set number of images is formed on a recording medium.
A recording medium containing unit for containing a recording medium, a remaining amount detecting unit for detecting the remaining number of recording media contained in the recording medium containing unit, and a recording medium based on image data included in an input print job An image forming unit that performs image formation, a print number accumulation unit that accumulates the number of prints of a recording medium on which an image is formed after the previous image operation adjustment, and a control unit that controls the image formation operation and the image adjustment operation. ,
The control unit adds the number of prints included in the input print job to the cumulative number of prints to calculate a print job cumulative number, and compares the print job cumulative number with the image adjustment set number An absolute value of a difference between the remaining cumulative number of sheets and the image adjustment set number is calculated by adding the remaining number of sheets detected by the calculating means and the remaining amount detector to the cumulative number of printed sheets. When the cumulative number of print jobs is equal to or less than the image adjustment set number based on the result of the first comparison arithmetic means, the second comparison calculation means for comparing If it is larger than the set number, if the difference between the accumulated remaining number and the image adjustment set number is smaller than a predetermined number as a result of the second comparison calculation means, the image adjustment operation is postponed until after the end of the current print job. And an image adjustment operation control means for performing a print operation after performing an image adjustment operation if the absolute value of the difference between the remaining number of remaining sheets and the image adjustment set number is a predetermined number or more. .

Further, the present invention is an image forming method for performing an image adjustment operation every time an image adjustment set number of images is formed on a recording medium,
The number of prints included in the input print job is added to the cumulative number of prints obtained by accumulating the number of prints on the recording medium on which the image is formed after the previous image operation adjustment, and the print job cumulative number is calculated. A first comparison calculation step for comparing the cumulative number of sheets with the set number of image adjustments, and calculating the remaining number of remaining sheets by adding the remaining number of sheets remaining in the recording medium accommodating portion for accommodating the recording medium to the accumulated number of printed sheets. Then, a second comparison calculation step for comparing the absolute value of the difference between the remaining number of accumulated sheets and the set number of image adjustments with a predetermined number of sheets, and the accumulated number of print jobs is determined as a result of the first comparison calculation step. If the number is less than the set number, printing continues, and if the accumulated number of print jobs is larger than the set number of image adjustments, the remaining number of remaining sheets and the image adjustment setting are determined according to the result of the second comparison calculation step. If the difference in number is smaller than the predetermined number, the image adjustment operation is postponed, and if the absolute value of the difference between the remaining amount of accumulated sheets and the image adjustment set number is greater than or equal to the predetermined number, printing is performed after the image adjustment operation is performed. An image adjustment operation control step for performing the operation;
It is characterized by having.

  By adopting such a configuration, the image adjustment operation is not performed during printing, so that it is possible to cope with urgent printing without causing the user to wait. Since the image adjustment operation is performed after the end of the current print job, the image adjustment operation is performed when there is no print job, and the above problem can be solved.

Further, the present invention is an image forming apparatus that performs an image adjustment operation every time an image is formed on a recording medium by a set number of image adjustments.
A recording medium containing unit for containing a recording medium, a remaining amount detecting unit for detecting the remaining number of recording media contained in the recording medium containing unit, and a recording medium based on image data included in an input print job An image forming unit that forms an image, a print number accumulating unit that accumulates the number of prints of a recording medium on which an image is formed after the previous image operation adjustment, and a control unit that controls the image forming operation and the image adjustment operation. ,
The control unit adds the number of prints included in the input print job to the cumulative number of prints to calculate a print job cumulative number, and compares the print job cumulative number with the image adjustment set number An absolute value of a difference between the remaining cumulative number of sheets and the image adjustment set number is calculated by adding the remaining number of sheets detected by the calculating means and the remaining amount detector to the cumulative number of printed sheets. When the cumulative number of print jobs is equal to or less than the image adjustment set number based on the result of the first comparison arithmetic means, the second comparison calculation means for comparing If it is larger than the set number, if the difference between the accumulated remaining sheet number and the image adjustment set number is smaller than the predetermined number as a result of the second comparison calculation means, a part of the image adjustment operation is performed and the current print job is finished. Image adjustment operation control to postpone the remaining image adjustment operations until later, and to perform the print operation after performing the image adjustment operation if the absolute value of the difference between the cumulative remaining number of sheets and the set number of image adjustments is equal to or greater than a predetermined number And means.

Further, the present invention is an image forming method for performing an image adjustment operation every time an image adjustment set number of images is formed on a recording medium,
The number of prints included in the input print job is added to the cumulative number of prints obtained by accumulating the number of prints on the recording medium on which the image is formed after the previous image operation adjustment, and the print job cumulative number is calculated. A first comparison calculation step for comparing the cumulative number of sheets with the set number of image adjustments, and calculating the remaining number of remaining sheets by adding the remaining number of sheets remaining in the recording medium accommodating portion for accommodating the recording medium to the accumulated number of printed sheets. Then, a second comparison calculation step for comparing the absolute value of the difference between the remaining number of accumulated sheets and the set number of image adjustments with a predetermined number of sheets, and the accumulated number of print jobs is determined as a result of the first comparison calculation step. If the number is less than the set number, printing continues, and if the accumulated number of print jobs is larger than the set number of image adjustments, the remaining number of remaining sheets and the image adjustment setting are determined according to the result of the second comparison calculation step. If the difference in number is smaller than the predetermined number, the image adjustment operation is partially performed, the remaining image adjustment operations are postponed, and the absolute value of the difference between the remaining amount of accumulated images and the image adjustment set number is greater than or equal to the predetermined number If so, the image adjustment operation control step of performing the print operation after performing the image adjustment operation is characterized.

  Here, a part of the image adjustment operation is high density image adjustment.

  With such a configuration, since a part of the image adjustment operation is performed, rough image adjustment can be performed in less than 10 seconds at the time of supplying the recording medium to the recording medium accommodating portion. Image shift can be eliminated. Part of the image adjustment operation is high-density image adjustment, so that the solid image density can be ensured at a certain level or more.

  Further, the present invention is a color image forming apparatus having a plurality of image forming units.

  The color image forming apparatus is more effective because the image adjustment operation takes time because there are many image forming units.

  As described above, according to the present invention, since the image quality adjustment operation is not executed in the middle of the print job, it is not necessary to wait for the user during printing of the image forming apparatus near the recording medium supply operation. It becomes like this.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification and drawings, components having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

(First embodiment)
First, the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of a first embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus 100 converts a multicolor or monochromatic image as a visible image on a predetermined sheet (recording paper) based on image data included in an input command such as image data transmitted from the outside via a communication network or the like. To form. As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes an exposure unit E, a photosensitive drum 101 (101a to 101d) corresponding to an image carrier on which a latent image is formed by the exposure unit E, and development. Device 102 (102a to 102d), charging roller 103 (103a to 103d), cleaning unit 104 (104a to 104d), intermediate transfer belt 11, primary transfer roller 13 (13a to 13d), secondary transfer roller 14 and fixing device 15 , Paper transport paths P1, P2, and P3, a paper feed cassette 16, a manual paper feed tray 17, a paper discharge tray 18, and the like. The paper feed cassette 16 is a recording medium storage unit that stores paper as a recording medium, and includes a remaining amount detection sensor 160a that detects the remaining amount of paper.

  The image data of the color image handled in the image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is image data corresponding to the four hues of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). Is used to form a visible image in the image forming section 55 (55a to 55d). This corresponds to a color image using each color. Accordingly, the developing device 102 (102a to 102d), the photosensitive drum 101 (101a to 101d), the charging roller 103 (103a to 103d), and the cleaning unit 104 (104a to 104d) generate four types of latent images corresponding to the respective colors. Four each are provided to form.

  Each of the image forming units 55a to 55d has the same configuration. For example, the black image forming unit 55a includes a photosensitive drum 101a, a developing device 102a, a charging roller 103a, a transfer roller 13a, a cleaning unit 104a, and the like. The The image forming units 55 a to 55 d are arranged in a line in the moving direction (sub-scanning direction) of the intermediate transfer belt 11. The symbols a to d correspond to a for black, b for cyan, c for magenta, and d for yellow, and the above-mentioned means distinguished by these symbols constitute four image stations. Has been. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a temperature / humidity detection sensor 153 for detecting the atmospheric temperature and humidity in the image forming apparatus 100 is provided below these image forming units 55a to 55d. Note that the temperature / humidity detection sensor 153 may be provided at other locations in the apparatus as long as the ambient temperature and humidity in the apparatus can be detected.

  In the present embodiment, these image forming units 55a to 55d send subsequent commands such as a print job from an external terminal even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the operation of the image forming units 55a to 55d ended. When not received, the image forming units 55a to 55d have a function of switching from the standby mode in which the image can be immediately formed to the image adjustment to the power saving mode in which the power supply to a part of the image forming units 55a to 55d is stopped. . Further, when a subsequent command is received during the image adjustment period, the image forming units 55a to 55d are returned from the image adjustment to the standby mode. A detailed description of the operation of switching / returning to the image adjustment of the image forming units 55a to 55d in the present embodiment will be described later.

  An exposure unit E, which is an exposure apparatus of the present embodiment, includes a semiconductor laser, a polygon mirror 4, a first reflection mirror 7, a second reflection mirror 8, and the like (not shown), and includes black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. Each of the photosensitive drums 101a to 101d is irradiated with a light beam such as a laser beam modulated by the image data of each hue. On each of the photosensitive drums 101a to 101d, electrostatic latent images are formed based on image data of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow hues. In the present embodiment, the exposure unit E is a method using a laser scanning unit (LSU) provided with a laser irradiation unit and a reflection mirror, but the light emitting elements are arranged in an array, for example, EL or LED writing. A method using a head may be used.

  The photosensitive drum 101 is a substantially cylindrical image carrier disposed above the exposure unit E, and is controlled to rotate in a predetermined direction by a driving unit and a control unit (not shown). The photosensitive drum 101 is configured by forming a photoconductive layer on a base material. For example, a metal drum made of aluminum or the like is used as a base material, and a photoconductive layer such as amorphous silicon (a-Si), selenium (Se), or an organic photo semiconductor (OPC) is formed in a thin film on the outer peripheral surface thereof. ing. Note that the configuration of the photosensitive drum 101 is not particularly limited to the above-described configuration.

  The charging roller 103 is a contact-type charger that uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 to a predetermined potential. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a contact-type roller-type charging roller 103 is used as a charger, but instead of the charging roller 103, a charger-type or brush-type charger is used instead. May be.

  The developing device 102 supplies toner to the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed, and develops the electrostatic latent image into a toner image. Each of the developing devices 102a to 102d contains toner of each hue of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, and an electrostatic latent image of each hue formed on each of the photosensitive drums 101a to 101d is black, The toner images are visualized as cyan, magenta, and yellow toner images.

  The cleaning unit 104 removes and collects toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 after development and image transfer with a lubricant or the like.

  The intermediate transfer belt 11 disposed above the photosensitive drum 101 is stretched between the driving roller 11a and the driven roller 11b to form a loop-shaped movement path. The outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 faces the photosensitive drum 101d, the photosensitive drum 101c, the photosensitive drum 101b, and the photosensitive drum 101a in this order. Primary transfer rollers 13a to 13d are arranged at positions facing the respective photosensitive drums 101a to 101d with the intermediate transfer belt 11 interposed therebetween. Each of the positions where the intermediate transfer belt 11 faces the photosensitive drums 101a to 101d is a primary transfer position. The intermediate transfer belt 11 is formed endlessly with a film having a thickness of about 100 to 150 μm.

  The primary transfer rollers 13a to 13d have constant voltage control of a primary transfer bias opposite to the charging polarity of the toner in order to transfer the toner images carried on the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 101a to 101d onto the intermediate transfer belt 11. Applied. As a result, the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photosensitive drum 101 (101a to 101d) are sequentially superimposed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11, and a full-color toner image is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11. It is formed.

  However, when image data of only a part of the hues of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black is input, a part of the four photosensitive drums 101a to 101d corresponding to the hue of the input image data. Only the photosensitive member 101 forms an electrostatic latent image and a toner image. For example, when forming a monochrome image, an electrostatic latent image and a toner image are formed only on the photosensitive drum 101a corresponding to the black hue, and only the black toner image is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11. Transcribed.

  Each of the primary transfer rollers 13a to 13d is configured by covering the surface of a shaft made of a metal (for example, stainless steel) having a diameter of 8 to 10 mm with a conductive elastic material (for example, EPDM, urethane foam, or the like). A high voltage is uniformly applied to the intermediate transfer belt 11 by a conductive elastic material. In this embodiment, the primary transfer rollers 13a to 13d are used as the transfer electrodes, but a brush or the like can also be used.

  At each primary transfer position, the toner image transferred onto the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 is conveyed to a secondary transfer position that is a position facing the secondary transfer roller 14 by the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 11. The secondary transfer roller 14 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 whose inner peripheral surface is in contact with the peripheral surface of the driving roller 11a at a predetermined nip pressure during image formation. In order to constantly obtain the nip pressure, either the secondary transfer roller 14 or the intermediate transfer belt drive roller 11a is made of a hard material such as metal, and the other is a soft material such as an elastic roller (elastic rubber roller or Foamed resin roller, etc.).

  When the paper fed from the paper feed cassette 16 or the manual paper feed tray 17 passes between the secondary transfer roller 14 and the intermediate transfer belt 11, the toner transfer polarity (−) Is applied with a high voltage of reverse polarity (+). As described above, the electrostatic latent images on the respective photoconductive drums 101 (101a to 101d) are visualized with toners corresponding to the respective hues to become toner images, and these toner images are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 11. Are stacked. Thereafter, the stacked toner images are moved to a contact position between the conveyed paper and the intermediate transfer belt 11 by the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 11, and are transferred by the secondary transfer roller 14 disposed at this position. A toner image is transferred from the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 onto the sheet.

  The toner adhering to the intermediate transfer belt 11 due to the contact between the intermediate transfer belt 11 and the photosensitive drum 101 and the toner image remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 11 are not transferred when the toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 11 to the sheet. The toner that has been used becomes a cause of toner color mixing in the next step, and is therefore removed and collected by the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 12. The intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 12 includes a cleaning blade as a cleaning member that contacts the intermediate transfer belt 11. The portion of the intermediate transfer belt 11 in contact with the cleaning blade is supported from the back side by an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 11b.

  The sheet on which the toner image is transferred as a visible image is guided to a fixing device 15 including a heating roller 15a and a pressure roller 15b, and passes between the heating roller 15a and the pressure roller 15b to be heated and pressed. Receive. The fixing device 15 includes a temperature detection sensor 152 that detects the temperature of the fixing device 15 including the heating roller 15a, and performs fixing at an optimal fixing temperature. Thus, the toner image that becomes a visible image is firmly fixed on the surface of the paper. The paper on which the toner image is fixed is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 18 by the paper discharge roller 18a.

  In the image forming apparatus 100, a substantially vertical direction for feeding the paper stored in the paper cassette 16 to the paper discharge tray 18 between the secondary transfer roller 14 and the intermediate transfer belt 11 and via the fixing device 15. A paper transport path P1 is provided. In the paper transport path P1, a pickup roller 16a that feeds the paper in the paper cassette 16 one by one into the paper transport path P1, a transport roller r10 that transports the fed paper upward, and the transported paper is predetermined. A registration roller 19 that guides between the secondary transfer roller 14 and the intermediate transfer belt 11 at the timing and a paper discharge roller 18 a that discharges the paper to the paper discharge tray 18 are disposed.

  Further, inside the image forming apparatus 100, a paper conveyance path P2 in which a pickup roller 17a and a conveyance roller r10 are arranged is formed between the manual paper feed tray 17 and the registration roller 19. Further, a paper transport path P3 is formed between the paper discharge roller 18a and the upstream side of the registration roller 19 in the paper transport path P1.

  The paper discharge roller 18a is rotatable in both forward and reverse directions. When the single-sided image is formed to form an image on one side of the paper and the second-side image is formed during double-sided image formation to form an image on both sides of the paper, Driven in the rolling direction, the paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 18. On the other hand, when the first side image is formed in the double-sided image formation, the discharge roller 18a is driven in the normal rotation direction until the rear end of the paper passes through the fixing device 15, and then reversely rotated with the rear end of the paper sandwiched. Driven in the direction, the sheet is guided into the sheet conveyance path P3. As a result, the sheet on which the image is formed on only one side during the double-sided image formation is guided to the sheet conveyance path P1 with the front and back sides and the front and rear ends reversed.

  The registration roller 19 is connected to the secondary transfer roller 14 at a timing when the sheet fed from the sheet cassette 16 or the manual feed tray 17 or conveyed via the sheet conveying path P3 is synchronized with the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 11. Guided to the intermediate transfer belt 11. Therefore, the registration roller 19 stops rotating when the operation of the photosensitive drum 101 and the intermediate transfer belt 11 is started, and the sheet fed or conveyed prior to the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 11 is registered at the front end. The movement in the paper transport path P1 is stopped in a state where it is in contact with the roller 19. Thereafter, the registration roller 19 rotates at a timing at which the front end portion of the sheet and the front end portion of the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 11 face each other at a position where the secondary transfer roller 14 and the intermediate transfer belt 11 are in pressure contact with each other. To start.

  Note that in all of the image forming units 55a to 55d, the primary transfer rollers 13a to 13d press the intermediate transfer belt 11 against all of the photosensitive drums 101a to 101d when full-color images are formed. On the other hand, at the time of monochrome image formation in which image formation is performed only in the image forming unit 55a, only the primary transfer roller 13a presses the intermediate transfer belt 11 against the photosensitive drum 101a.

  Next, a control system of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electric control unit of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a storage unit 70 and includes a ROM 51 and a RAM 52. A control unit for each component included in the image forming apparatus 100 according to a program stored in advance in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 51 for image reading processing, image processing, image forming processing, recording medium (paper) conveyance processing, and the like. The central processing unit (CPU) 50 to be executed executes processing using temporary storage means such as a RAM (Random access Memory) 52. The storage unit 70 may use storage means such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) instead of the ROM 51 and the RAM 52.

  In the image forming apparatus 100, document image information transmitted from each terminal device connected to a communication network (not shown) is input to the image processing unit 54 via the communication processing unit 53.

  The image processing unit 54 processes the document image information stored in the storage unit such as the RAM 52 into a print image suitable for printing (image formation on paper) by the above program. Further, in the present embodiment, the image processing unit 54 includes an image quality adjustment unit 54a serving as an image quality adjustment unit that adjusts a change in image quality of an output image such as a change in print image quality density or a change in color tone. .

  The image information for printing subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 54 is input to the image forming unit 55. An image forming unit 55, a sheet conveying unit 56 for detecting and controlling various types of sheets in the sheet conveying paths P1 to P3, a discharge processing unit 57 for detecting and controlling various types of sheets in the fixing device 15 and the discharge roller 18a, In conjunction with the drive control unit 60 that controls each drive unit.

  The sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying unit 56 is a printing step in which image information is printed in the image forming unit 55, and then a fixing step that is performed by the fixing device 15 on the printed sheet. After that, the paper is discharged to a paper discharge tray 18 serving as a paper discharge portion. In the present embodiment, the fixing device 15 includes a heater 151 for adjusting the temperature of the surface of the heating roller 15a and the like, and a temperature detection sensor 152 for detecting the temperature of the fixing device 15 including the heating roller 15a. The CPU 50 controls the fixing temperature. Further, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a recording medium storage unit (paper feed cassette) 16 such as a paper cassette and a remaining amount detection sensor 160a that detects the remaining amount of the recording medium (paper) stored therein.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a paper transport driving unit 62 that is a driving actuator such as the paper transport unit 56, the image forming unit 55, the fixing device 15, and the paper discharge processing unit 57 according to the set operating conditions, and print processing. The operation of the drive unit 63, the fixing drive unit 64, the paper discharge drive unit 65, and the cleaner unit drive unit 66, that is, the operation synchronized with the instruction of the CPU 50 based on the program stored in the ROM 51 is performed by the control of the drive control unit 60. It is like that.

  The paper conveyance drive unit 62 is a motor for driving the paper conveyance unit 56, specifically, the pickup rollers 16a and 17a and the registration rollers 19 on the above-described paper conveyance paths P1 and P2. The print processing drive unit 63 is a drive motor for the photosensitive drum 101. The fixing driving unit 64 is a driving motor for the heating roller 15 a and the pressure roller 15 b of the fixing device 15. The paper discharge drive unit 65 is a drive motor such as a paper discharge roller 18a. The cleaner unit driving unit 66 is a driving motor such as a brush roller provided in the cleaner unit 104. The drive motors of these drive units can be appropriately configured through a power transmission mechanism using the same or different motors as drive sources.

  The CPU 50 includes a first comparison calculation unit 71, a second comparison calculation unit 72, an image adjustment operation control unit 73, an image formation control unit 74, and the like. The image formation control means 74 performs each part in image formation. The image adjustment operation control means 73 performs process control based on the comparison results of the first and second comparison calculation means 71 and 72. Here, the operation data and comparison results calculated by the first and second comparison operation means are temporarily stored in the RAM 52 of the storage unit 70, and the image adjustment operation means 73 reads out and controls them.

  Next, an image adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the image adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  First, when the CPU 50 receives a print command via the communication processing unit 53 (step S1), the first comparison calculation means 71 checks the number of prints in the current print job (step S2). Thereafter, the second comparison calculation means 72 confirms the remaining number of sheets using the remaining sheet sensor 160 of the recording medium housing unit 16 (step S3).

  Next, the first comparison calculation means 71 is obtained by adding the number of prints of the current print job to the cumulative number of prints from the previous image adjustment operation counted by the cumulative number counter 59, that is, the value of the cumulative number of print jobs. A comparison is made with the value of the image adjustment set number, which is the set number of process controls (step S4). If the value of the print job cumulative number is smaller than the image adjustment set number, printing is started as it is (step S6-2), printing is continued and printing is finished (step S8-2), and the printing is finished. It becomes.

  If the accumulated number of print jobs is larger than the image adjustment set number (Yes in step S4), the process proceeds to step S5, where the comparison calculation means 72 displays the remaining number of sheets detected by the remaining amount detecting unit. The remaining number of accumulated sheets is calculated in addition to the number of sheets, and the absolute value of the difference between the remaining number of accumulated sheets and the image adjustment set number is compared with a predetermined number. If the absolute value of the difference is smaller than the predetermined number X (Yes in step S5), the image adjustment operation control unit 73 postpones the process control, and the image formation control unit 74 starts printing (step S6). Thereafter, the sheet runs out during printing, so the sheet is replenished (step S7). Thereafter, the number of prints is reached and the printing is finished (step S8). Then, the image adjustment operation control means 73 performs the original process control (step S9) and ends.

  If the absolute value of the difference between the remaining number of remaining sheets and the image adjustment set number is larger than the predetermined number X (No in step S5), the image adjustment operation control means 73 first performs process control (step S9-2). Thereafter, the image formation control means 74 starts printing (step S6-3). Printing continues, printing ends (step S8-3) and ends.

  This flow will be supplementarily described with reference to time charts shown in FIGS.

  In the situation where the next process control time is exceeded when the current print job is executed, first, in the prior art of FIG. 4, the process control is executed when the number of process controls is reached (double arrow). symbol). Therefore, the print job is interrupted, and the user cannot do anything during that time and waits. Accordingly, the image adjustment is performed with a predetermined cumulative number of printed sheets regardless of the remaining amount of paper in the recording medium housing unit 16.

  On the other hand, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5, the execution time of the process control is postponed depending on the state of the remaining amount of paper in the recording medium accommodation unit 16. That is, if the paper supply execution time and the process control execution time do not change so much, specifically, if the difference in the number of sheets is about 20 to 30, the current print job is completed after the paper supply. At that point, it is intended to perform the original process control.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The image forming apparatus of the present embodiment and a block diagram showing an outline of the electrical configuration are the same as those of the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the image adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

Steps S1 to S5, S6-2, S8-2, S9-2, S6-2, and S8-3 are the same as those in FIG.
If the absolute value of the difference between the remaining remaining cumulative number obtained by the second comparison calculation means 72 and the image adjustment set number is smaller than the predetermined number X (Yes in step S5), the image adjustment operation control means 73 first performs process control. The image formation control means 74 starts printing (step S6). Thereafter, the sheet runs out during printing, so the sheet is replenished (step S7). At the same time, simple process control is performed (step S10). Thereafter, the number of prints is reached and the printing is finished (step S8). Then, the original process control is performed (step S9), and the process ends.

  This flow will be supplementarily described with reference to the time chart shown in FIG.

  Depending on the status of the remaining amount of paper in the recording medium storage unit 16, paper is replenished before and after the execution time of the process control. In about 10 seconds, simple process control, for example, high density image density is performed. Only the process control related to the process, and postponing the process control at the halftone level, which requires time. That is, final process control is performed when the current print job is completed.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to the example which concerns. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

  For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the present invention has been described with reference to an electrophotographic digital full-color copying machine as an image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to an electrophotographic system / digital system. The present invention can be similarly applied to other image forming methods such as an inkjet method, an analog method, a single color or a non-full color limited color, a printer, a facsimile, and the like.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of an electrical configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart explaining the image adjustment operation | movement of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. 6 is a time chart for explaining an image adjustment operation of a conventional image forming apparatus. 3 is a time chart illustrating an image adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart explaining the image adjustment operation | movement of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a time chart explaining the image adjustment operation | movement of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

15 Fixing device 15a Heating roller 15b Pressure roller 16 Recording medium container 24a Developer carrier (developing roller)
50 Control unit (CPU)
54a Image quality adjusting means (image quality adjusting unit)
55 Image forming unit 55a Bias voltage applying means (voltage applying unit)
58 Number-of-print-printing confirmation section 71 First comparison calculation means 72 Second comparison calculation means 73 Image adjustment operation control means 74 Image formation control means 100 Image forming apparatus 160 Paper remaining amount detection sensor

Claims (6)

An image forming apparatus that performs an image adjustment operation every time an image adjustment set number of images is formed on a recording medium,
A recording medium storage unit for storing the recording medium;
A remaining amount detecting unit for detecting the remaining number of recording media stored in the recording medium storing unit;
An image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on image data included in the input print job;
A print number accumulation unit for accumulating the number of prints of a recording medium on which an image is formed after the previous image operation adjustment;
A control unit for controlling the image forming operation and the image adjusting operation;
With
The controller is
A first comparison calculation means for calculating the print job cumulative number by adding the print number included in the input print job to the cumulative print number, and comparing the print job cumulative number with the image adjustment set number;
The remaining number of sheets detected by the remaining amount detecting unit is added to the accumulated number of printed sheets to calculate the remaining number of accumulated sheets, and the absolute value of the difference between the remaining number of accumulated sheets and the image adjustment set number is set as a predetermined number. A second comparison operation means for comparing;
If the cumulative number of print jobs is less than or equal to the image adjustment set number according to the result of the first comparison calculation means, the printing is continued.
If the cumulative number of print jobs is greater than the set number of image adjustments, and if the difference between the cumulative number of remaining sheets and the set number of image adjustments is less than a predetermined number as a result of the second comparison calculation means, the image adjustment operation is The image adjustment operation is postponed until after the end of the print job, and if the absolute value of the difference between the remaining number of remaining sheets and the image adjustment set number is greater than or equal to a predetermined number, the image adjustment is performed after the image adjustment operation is performed. An operation control means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: An image forming apparatus that performs an image adjustment operation every time an image adjustment set number of images is formed on a recording medium,
A recording medium storage unit for storing the recording medium;
A remaining amount detecting unit for detecting the remaining number of recording media stored in the recording medium storing unit;
An image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on image data included in the input print job;
A print number accumulation unit for accumulating the number of prints of a recording medium on which an image is formed after the previous image operation adjustment;
A control unit for controlling the image forming operation and the image adjusting operation;
With
The controller is
A first comparison calculation means for calculating the print job cumulative number by adding the print number included in the input print job to the cumulative print number, and comparing the print job cumulative number with the image adjustment set number;
The remaining number of sheets detected by the remaining amount detecting unit is added to the accumulated number of printed sheets to calculate the remaining number of accumulated sheets, and the absolute value of the difference between the remaining number of accumulated sheets and the image adjustment set number is set as a predetermined number. A second comparison operation means for comparing;
If the cumulative number of print jobs is less than or equal to the image adjustment set number according to the result of the first comparison calculation means, the printing is continued.
If the cumulative number of print jobs is larger than the set number of image adjustments, and if the difference between the cumulative remaining number of sheets and the set number of image adjustments is smaller than a predetermined number as a result of the second comparison calculation means, a part of the image adjustment operation The remaining image adjustment operation is postponed until the end of the current print job, and if the absolute value of the difference between the remaining number of remaining sheets and the image adjustment set number is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, the image adjustment operation is performed. Image adjustment operation control means for causing the printing operation from
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a part of the image adjustment operation is a high density image adjustment.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image forming units. An image forming method for performing an image adjustment operation every time an image adjustment set number of images is formed on a recording medium,
The number of prints included in the input print job is added to the cumulative number of prints obtained by accumulating the number of prints on the recording medium on which the image is formed after the previous image operation adjustment, and the print job cumulative number is calculated. A first comparison calculation step for comparing the cumulative number and the image adjustment set number;
The remaining number of sheets remaining in the recording medium accommodating portion that accommodates the recording medium is added to the accumulated number of printed sheets to calculate the remaining number of accumulated sheets, and the absolute value of the difference between the remaining number of accumulated sheets and the image adjustment set number A second comparison operation step for comparing
If the cumulative number of print jobs is less than or equal to the set number of image adjustments as a result of the first comparison calculation step, printing is continued.
If the cumulative number of print jobs is larger than the set number of image adjustments, and if the difference between the cumulative number of remaining sheets and the set number of image adjustments is smaller than a predetermined number as a result of the second comparison calculation step, the current print job is completed. An image adjustment operation control step that advances the image adjustment operation, and if the absolute value of the difference between the remaining amount of accumulated sheets and the image adjustment set number of sheets is a predetermined number or more, performs an image adjustment operation and then performs a print operation;
An image forming method comprising: An image forming method for performing an image adjustment operation every time an image adjustment set number of images is formed on a recording medium,
The number of prints included in the input print job is added to the cumulative number of prints obtained by accumulating the number of prints on the recording medium on which the image is formed after the previous image operation adjustment, and the print job cumulative number is calculated. A first comparison calculation step for comparing the cumulative number and the image adjustment set number;
The remaining number of sheets remaining in the recording medium accommodating portion that accommodates the recording medium is added to the accumulated number of printed sheets to calculate the remaining number of accumulated sheets, and the absolute value of the difference between the remaining number of accumulated sheets and the image adjustment set number A second comparison operation step for comparing
If the cumulative number of print jobs is less than or equal to the set number of image adjustments as a result of the first comparison calculation step, printing is continued.
If the cumulative number of print jobs is larger than the set number of image adjustments, if the difference between the cumulative remaining number of sheets and the set number of image adjustments is less than a predetermined number as a result of the second comparison calculation step, a part of the image adjustment operation The remaining image adjustment operation is postponed until the end of the current print job, and if the absolute value of the difference between the remaining number of remaining sheets and the image adjustment set number is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, the image adjustment operation is performed. An image adjustment operation control step for causing the printing operation from
An image forming method comprising:

Images