Image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9310714-B2
Application number	US-201514742596-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 17, 2015
Priority date	Jun 19, 2014
Publication date	Apr 12, 2016
Grant date	Apr 12, 2016

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a driving device, a transfer body, a toner detector, an error notification device, and a controller. The toner detector detects, at a preparation running and while the driving device drives a latent image bearer, one of a toner adhesion amount at a background portion of the latent image bearer and a toner adhesion amount at a background corresponding region of a transfer body. The error notification device notifies a user of an error with the toner adhesion being equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. The driving device stops only a developer bearer after driving both the latent image bearer and the developer bearer at the preparation running, but before a trailing edge of a detection target region of one of the background portion of the latent image bearer and the background corresponding region advances to an opposite position to the toner detector.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image forming apparatus, comprising:
a latent image bearer to bear a latent image on a surface thereof;
a latent image forming device to form the latent image on the surface of the latent image bearer;
a developing device including a developer bearer, to develop the latent image with toner carried on the developer bearer;
a driving device to drive the latent image bearer and the developer bearer together and individually;
a transfer body onto which toner on the surface of the latent image bearer is transferred;
a toner detector to detect a toner adhesion amount of toner adhered to one of the surface of the latent image bearer and a surface of the transfer body;
an error notification device to notify a user of occurrence of error; and
a controller to control the toner detector to detect, at a preparation running and while the driving device drives the latent image bearer, one of a toner adhesion amount at a background portion of the latent image bearer and a toner adhesion amount at a background corresponding region of the transfer body in a toner adhesion amount detection, and to control the error notification device to notify the user of occurrence of abnormality in an error notification in a case in which the toner adhesion amount detected in the toner adhesion amount detection is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value,
the controller controlling the driving device to stop only the developer bearer after driving both the latent image bearer and the developer bearer at the preparation running, but before a trailing edge of a detection target region of one of the background portion of the latent image bearer and the background corresponding region of the transfer body, at which the toner adhesion amount is detected, advances to an opposite position to the toner detector.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein at the preparation running before the trailing edge of the detection target region advances to the opposite position to the toner detector, the controller controls the driving device to stop the developer bearer.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a plurality of combinations of the latent image bearer and the developing device; and
a transfer device to transfer toner on a plurality of latent image bearers onto the surface of the transfer body while the transfer body travels,
wherein the driving device drives the plurality of latent image bearers in the plurality of combinations of the latent image bearer and the developing device, and the toner detector detects the toner adhesion amount at a plurality of detection target regions of the transfer body corresponding to background portions of the plurality of latent image bearers,
wherein in the error notification the controller controls the error notification device to notify the user of occurrence of error in a case in which the toner adhesion amount of one of the plurality of detection target regions of the transfer body is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein at the preparation running after the plurality of combinations of the latent image bearer and the developing device is driven, but before the surface of the plurality of latent image bearers travels by a same distance as an interval between the plurality of latent image bearers, the controller controls the driving device to stop driving the developer bearers.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein after the toner detector detects the toner adhesion amount at all the plurality of the detection target regions of the transfer body in the toner adhesion amount detection, the controller controls the error notification device to notify the user of occurrence of error in the error notification as needed.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein in a case in which the toner adhesion amount at all the plurality of the detection target regions of the transfer body is equal to or less than the threshold value in the toner adhesion amount detection, the controller controls the driving device to start driving the developer bearers again in all the plurality of the combinations of the latent image bearer and the developing device.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein in a case in which the toner adhesion amount at one of the plurality of the detection target regions of the transfer body is greater than or equal to the threshold value in the toner adhesion amount detection, the controller controls the driving device to stop driving the transfer body and the latent image bearers in all the plurality of the combinations of the latent image bearer and the developing device.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein in a case in which the toner adhesion amount at one of the plurality of the detection target regions of the transfer body is equal to or greater than the threshold value in the toner adhesion amount detection, the controller controls the error notification device to notify the user of occurrence of error in the combination of the latent image bearer and the developing device with the toner adhesion amount greater than or equal to the threshold value in the error notification.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein in a case in which the toner adhesion amount at all predetermined combinations of the plurality of the detection target regions of the transfer body is greater than or equal to the threshold value in the toner adhesion amount detection, the controller controls the error notification device to notify the user of an error in a power output and a power distribution corresponding to the predetermined combination of the plurality of the detection target regions.

Assignees

• Ozaki Naoyuki
• Kidera Ryota
• Sugiyama Hiroyuki
• Mase Ryusuke
• Yamada Tatsumi
• Takahashi Tomoko
• Shakuto Masahiko
• Takagi Yasunobu
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ozaki Naoyuki
• Kidera Ryota
• Sugiyama Hiroyuki
• Mase Ryusuke
• Yamada Tatsumi
• Takahashi Tomoko
• Shakuto Masahiko
• Takagi Yasunobu

Classifications

• G03G15/0831 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G03G15/6564

  with correct timing of sheet feeding · CPC title

• G03G15/55

  Self-diagnostics; Malfunction or lifetime display · CPC title

• G03G15/0856 Primary

  Detection or control means for the developer level · CPC title

• G03G15/5041 Primary

  Detecting a toner image, e.g. density, toner coverage, using a test patch (G03G15/553 takes precedence) · CPC title