Toner supplement control device operative concurrent with image forming apparatus active status
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorsYozo Matsuura, Toshiyuki Nakama
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A toner supplement control device incorporated in an image forming apparatus for executing the supplement of a fresh toner to a developing unit only when a particular document image process mode is under way. The particular process mode is any one of a document image receive mode, a document image record mode, a document image copy mode, a supervisory report record mode, etc. In the event of initialization of the apparatus, during ordinary recording operation, and when a cleaner and toner magazine (CTM) is to be replaced, whether or not a fresh toner is present in the CTM is determined on the basis of the condition of a fresh toner existing in a developing unit.
Claims11
A device incorporated in an image forming apparatus for controlling supplement of a toner from supplementing means to a toner hopper included in a developing unit, said device comprising:
- a toner near end sensor associated with the toner hopper for generating a toner near end signal on sensing a near end condition of the toner in the toner hopper;
- and
- control means responsive to the toner near end signal for controlling the toner supplementing means such that the toner supplementing means is operated to feed the toner to the toner hopper only while said image forming apparatus is operating in a particular mode for processing a document image.
An image forming apparatus for supplying a fresh toner to a developing unit from a cleaner and toner magazine CTM which is a combination of a first magazine storing the fresh toner and a second magazine for collecting a used toner from a surface of a photoconductive element, said apparatus comprising:
- a toner sensor for determining whether or not a toner is present in the developing unit;
- decision means for determining whether or not a toner is present in the CTM on a basis of supplement of the fresh toner from said CTM and an output of said toner sensor;
- and
- control means for supplementing, when the developing unit has run out of toner during a record mode operation of said apparatus, the fresh toner from the CTM to said developing unit for a predetermined period of time, and when a recording operation ends while the supplement of the toner is under way, interrupting said supplement, memorizing a remaining time of said supplement, and resuming, at a beginning of a next recording operation, said supplement by setting said remaining time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.