Image forming apparatus

• US 20060290951A1
• Filed: 02/09/2006
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Yamasaki, Naoya, Shishikura, Shunichiro, Aratake, Masayuki, Tsukada, Shigeru
• Granted Patent: US 7,536,116 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.4
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0121 for developing
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0152 onto which the monocolour toner images are superposed before common transfer from the recording member
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0173 plural rotations of recording member to produce multicoloured copy, e.g. rotating set of developing units G03G15/0163 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/55 Self-diagnostics; Malfunction or lifetime display
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/553 Monitoring or warning means for exhaustion or lifetime end of consumables, e.g. indication of insufficient copy sheet quantity for a job
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/0177 Rotating set of developing units

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a rotary unit that has a rotary shaft, and a plurality of development devices each of which has a constituent unit, the development devices provided around the rotary shaft; and a plurality of state detection units that detects at least one of states of the development devices and states of the constituent unit; wherein the rotary unit is rotated so that the development devices sequentially pass a development position facing a photosensitive member; wherein when any of the development devices is located at the development position, the development device makes an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member visible; and wherein each of the state detection units detects at least one of the development devices and the states of the constituent unit during a single stop of rotation of the rotary unit.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

a rotary unit that includes a rotary shaft, and a plurality of development devices each of which includes a constituent unit, the development devices provided around the rotary shaft; and

a plurality of state detection units that detects at least one of states of the development devices and states of the constituent unit;

wherein the rotary unit is rotated so that the development devices sequentially pass a development position facing a photosensitive member;

wherein when any of the development devices is located at the development position, the development device makes an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member visible; and

wherein each of the state detection units detects at least one of the states of the development devices and the states of the constituent unit during a single stop of rotation of the rotary unit.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the single stop of rotation of the rotary unit occurs when one of the development devices is located at the development position.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the rotary unit makes a single stop of rotation when the one of the development devices is located at the development position.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, during the single stop of rotation, each of the state detection units detects at least one of the corresponding state of the development devices and the corresponding state of the constituent unit.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the rotary unit makes a single stop of rotation when the one of the development devices is located at the development position;

and

wherein, during the single stop of rotation, each of the state detection units detects at least one of the corresponding state of the development devices and the corresponding state of the constituent unit.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the plurality of state detection units respectively perform the state detection at different timings during the single stop of rotation.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an information writing unit that writes information pertaining to at least one of states of the development devices and states of the constituent unit into a memory which each of the development devices has;

wherein each of the state detection units perform the state detection, and the information writing unit writes the information respectively during the single stop of rotation of the rotary unit.