Image forming apparatus and method of switching collected developer route in image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9442429-B2
Application number	US-201514810909-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 28, 2015
Priority date	Aug 7, 2014
Publication date	Sep 13, 2016
Grant date	Sep 13, 2016

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer; a developing device; a transfer device; a waste-developer container; a developer collecting device including a collected-developer conveyor, a waste channel, a reuse channel, and a channel switching member to switch a route between the waste channel and the reuse channel; a switching determiner to determine whether to dispose or reuse collected developer; an operating condition data collector to collect and store operating condition data used as a degradation speed index of developer in the developing device; a determination type selector to select, according to the degradation speed index, one of a first determination type based on an operating amount and a second determination type based on developer replacement data indicating an amount of developer replaced with supplied developer in the developing device; and a switching controller to control the channel switching member according to determination made by the switching determiner.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image bearer to bear a latent image;
a developing device to develop the latent image with developer;
a transfer device to transfer a developed image from the image bearer onto a recording medium;
a waste-developer container to contain developer to be disposed;
a developer collecting device to collect developer from the image bearer, the developer collecting device including:
a collected-developer conveyor to transport collected developer collected from the image bearer in the developer collecting device,
a waste channel leading to the waste-developer container,
a reuse channel through which the collected developer for reuse is transported, and
a channel switching member to switch a collected developer route between the waste channel and the reuse channel;

a switching determiner to determine whether to dispose or reuse the collected developer;
an operating condition data collector to collect and store operating condition data used as a degradation speed index of developer in the developing device;
a determination type selector to select, according to the degradation speed index collected by the operating condition data collector, a determination type used in determination of whether to dispose or reuse the collected developer from:
a first determination type based on an operating amount of the image forming apparatus, and
a second determination type based on developer replacement data indicating an amount of developer replaced with supplied developer in the developing device; and

a switching controller to control the channel switching member according to determination made by the switching determiner, wherein the determination type selector is configured to select the first determination type when the degradation speed index indicates that the degradation speed is equal to or relatively higher than a threshold, and wherein the determination type selector is configured to select the second determination type when the degradation speed index indicates that the degradation speed is relatively lower than the threshold.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the operating amount is represented by one of:
a number of recording media onto which developed images are transferred; and
a driving amount of a driven component disposed in a developer conveyance passage starting from the image bearer and extending in the developer collecting device,
wherein the operating amount is measured respectively in a state in which the collected developer route is switched to the reuse channel and a state in which the collected developer route is switched to the waste channel.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the developer replacement data includes at least one of a driving amount of a driven component of the developing device, a driving amount of the collected-developer conveyor, a pattern of an image to be output, an image area of the developed image, an amount of developer supplied from the developing device to the image bearer, an amount of developer transferred onto the recording medium, a transfer rate of the developed image transferred from the image bearer onto the recording medium, an amount of unused developer supplied to the developing device, a duration of supply of unused developer to the developing device, an amount of developer disposed in the waste-developer container, and sheet type data indicating a property of the recording medium, and
the degradation speed index includes at least one of temperature inside the image forming apparatus, ambient temperature, humidity inside the image forming apparatus, ambient humidity, a number of recording media onto which developed images are transferred; a driving amount of a driven component of the developing device, a driving amount of the image bearer, a rate of duplex printing, a length of unused time of the image forming apparatus from a previous operation, and the sheet type data.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in the first determination type, the switching determiner determines to switch the collected developer route from the reuse channel to the waste channel when the operating amount during reuse of the collected developer reaches a first operating amount threshold and switch the collected developer route from the waste channel to the reuse channel when the operating amount during disposal of the collected developer reaches a second operating amount threshold, and
the switching determiner adjusts, according to the developer replacement data, the first operating amount threshold and the second operating amount threshold.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in the first determination type, the switching determiner determines to switch the collected developer route from the reuse channel to the waste channel when the operating amount during reuse of the collected developer reaches a first operating amount threshold and switch the collected developer route from the waste channel to the reuse channel when the operating amount during disposal of the collected developer reaches a second operating amount threshold, and
the switching determiner adjusts, according to the degradation speed index, the first operating amount threshold and the second operating amount threshold.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the operating condition data collector stores a history of the degradation speed index, and
the determination type selector selects either the first determination type or the second determination type according to the history of the degradation speed index.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the determination type selector selects either the first determination type or the second determination type upon an occurrence of an event to change the degradation speed index.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the event to change the degradation speed index includes at least one of a start of image output, an end of image output, an adjustment operation, and a predetermined length of unused time of the image forming apparatus.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an ambient temperature and humidity sensor to detect ambient temperature and ambient humidity,
wherein the degradation speed index includes the ambient temperature and the ambient humidity detected by the ambient temperature and humidity sensor.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a waste developer sensor to detect an amount of developer disposed in the waste-developer container,
wherein the developer replacement data includes at least one of an image area of the developed image, a driving amount of a driven component of the developing device, a driving amount of the image bearer, and the amount of developer disposed in the waste-developer container, detected by the waste developer sensor.

11. A method of switching a collected developer route in an image forming apparatus, the method comprising:
collecting developer from an image bearer;
selecting, according to a degradation speed index indicating a degradation speed of developer in a developing device, a determination type used in determination of whether to dispose or reuse collected developer collected from the image bearer from:
a first determination type based on an operating amount of the image forming apparatus, and
a second determination type based on developer replacement data indicating an amount of developer replaced with supplied developer in the developing device;

determining whether to dispose

Assignees

• Ueda Tetsuto
• Tamura Hiroomi
• Saitoh Kazuya
• Sekiguchi Sho
• Suzuki Hirokatsu
• Kojima Takeshi
• Iwasaki Takuma
• Urayama Taichi
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ueda Tetsuto
• Tamura Hiroomi
• Saitoh Kazuya
• Sekiguchi Sho
• Suzuki Hirokatsu
• Kojima Takeshi
• Iwasaki Takuma
• Urayama Taichi

Classifications

• G03G2221/1621

  re-use of cleaned toner · CPC title

• G03G15/095 Primary

  Removing excess solid developer {, e.g. fog preventing} · CPC title

• G03G21/105 Primary

  Arrangements for conveying toner waste · CPC title

• G03G21/12

  Toner waste containers · CPC title

• G03G2221/1624

  transporting cleaned toner into separate vessels, e.g. photoreceptors, external containers · CPC title