JP6926560B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

Conventionally, as an image forming apparatus or the like having a function of estimating the cause of an abnormal image, for example, those described in the following patent documents are known.

First, in Patent Document 1, a sample image is output as an image that is not output by normal image processing, and the sample image is read by an image input device to determine whether or not an abnormal image is generated. An image forming apparatus that finds a sign that an abnormal image occurs before an abnormality occurs and takes measures at an early stage is disclosed. Further, Patent Document 1 indicates that, as the abnormality, the fixing roller and the pressure roller of the fixing device are deformed, and the photosensitive drum has a large amount of water.
Further, Patent Document 2 describes a state determining means for calculating a deviation amount of image data with respect to a normal state and determining whether or not it is an abnormal state based on the deviation amount, and an abnormality for identifying an abnormal portion from the state of an image forming apparatus. When the location identification means and the state determination means determine that the abnormality is present, the image processing means that performs image processing for the abnormality according to the output of the abnormality location identification means and the state determination means determine that the abnormality is present. Discloses an image forming apparatus including a serviceman call output means for outputting a serviceman call signal.

Further, Patent Document 3 describes an image input means, an image forming means for forming an output image on a recording medium based on the input image data, an discharging means for discharging the recording medium on which the image is recorded, and a discharging means. An image reading means that outputs a scanned image obtained by reading the recorded recording medium, an abnormality detecting image generating means that outputs an abnormality detecting image data in which an abnormal image is likely to occur due to a charging unit of the image forming means, and an abnormality thereof. It has a comparison means that compares the output data from the image reading means that reads the recording medium on which the output image is formed based on the detection image data and the input abnormality detection image data, and outputs the determination result. An image forming apparatus having a determination means capable of detecting the presence or absence of an abnormality in a charging unit based on a determination result of the comparison means is disclosed.
Further, in Patent Document 4, a plurality of latent image carriers are provided, and a step of transferring an image from each latent image carrier to a transfer body and a failure of an optical sensor and an image forming apparatus directed to the transfer body occur. In an image forming apparatus equipped with a failure detecting means for making a prediction, when the occurrence of color streaks is predicted, a transfer bias for the transfer body is applied to each of the latent image carriers, and the transfer body is subjected to the failure detection means. An image forming apparatus having a mode for detecting the surface state of the above is disclosed. Further, Patent Document 4 also shows that the image forming apparatus can identify an image forming portion of a color in which a sign of image defect such as a color streak is occurring.

Further, Patent Document 5 describes an image processing apparatus having an image forming means for forming an image, and an acquisition means for acquiring a feature amount from a result of reading a chart formed by the image forming means, and an acquisition means for acquiring the feature amount. It has a determination means for determining whether or not the image formed by the image forming means contains defects according to the formed feature amount, and a notification means for notifying information about the result determined by the determination means, and the acquisition thereof. An image processing apparatus is disclosed that has a deciding means for determining whether or not to add an image generated from a result of reading a chart to the information to be notified by the notification means according to the feature amount acquired by the means.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-1333081 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-334269 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-170549 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-292973 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-46595

The present invention provides an image forming apparatus capable of identifying a defective or deteriorated article from a plurality of articles involved in an image forming step.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention (A1) is
Equipped with multiple articles used in the process of forming an image
At least one of the plurality of articles is movably arranged at a non-regular position different from the regular position in the axial direction intersecting the traveling direction of the process.
The operation of forming the confirmation image under the same conditions in the case where at least one of the movablely arranged articles is moved to the non-regular position and the case where the article is arranged in the regular position, respectively. a control means for executing,
At least one of the movablely arranged articles is configured to move between the regular position and the non-regular position during the operation of forming the confirmation image.
The control means is configured to perform an operation of forming the confirmation image while moving at least one article of the moving article between the regular position and the non-regular position . Is.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention (A2), in the image forming apparatus of the invention A1, the plurality of movable articles are set to positions where the non-regular positions are different from each other, and the control means. Is configured to execute the operation of forming the confirmation image in a state where two or more articles out of the plurality of articles are moved to the non-regular positions different from each other.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention (A3), in the image forming apparatus of the invention A 1, said control means, a plurality of articles said moving, different in between a position of the non-normal to the position of the normal It is configured to perform the operation of forming the confirmation image while moving at a time or speed .

The image forming apparatus of the present invention (A 4), in any one of the image forming apparatus A 3 from the invention A1, the position of the non-canonical, distance between the position of the normal is, of the article The axial position is set to be longer than the maximum corrected movement length of the article to be automatically corrected and within the length that does not interfere with the operation of forming the confirmation image. It is a thing.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention (A 5), in any one of the image forming apparatus A 4 from the invention A1, the control means check obtained in each image forming operation in the position and the non-normal position of the normal It is configured to record the result of the image for use on a recording medium and output it.
The image forming apparatus of the present invention (A 6), in the image forming apparatus of the invention A 5, said control means, as the recording medium, the confirmation image of each recording medium when the overlapped two recording medium It is configured to use a recording medium having transparent physical properties.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention (A 7), in any one of the image forming apparatus A 6 from the invention A1, a reading means for reading the check image formed by the operation performed by the control unit, A detection means for detecting whether or not an abnormal image portion deviated in the axial direction by a distance corresponding to the movement amount of the moving article is present in the information of the confirmation image read by the reading means. wherein the control means, during the operation, is intended to operate the reading means and the detection means.
The image forming apparatus of the present invention (A 8), in the image forming apparatus of the invention A 7, the reading means is configured to read the confirmation image recorded on the recording medium.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention (A 9), in any one of the image forming apparatus A 8 from the invention A1, the article being the movably arranged, one that is arranged to move manually or automatically be.
The image forming apparatus of the present invention (A1 0), in any one of the image forming apparatus A 9 from the invention A1, the article includes a photoreceptor, a contact charging member, a corona discharger, a line-type exposure device, a developing device, It includes a primary transfer member, a photoconductor cleaning member, an intermediate transfer body, a belt support roll, a secondary transfer member, an intermediate transfer body cleaning member, a fixing member, a recording medium guide member, and a unit structure having at least one of them. ..

According to the image forming apparatus of the invention A1, it is possible to identify a defective or deteriorated article from a plurality of articles involved in the process of forming an image. Further, in this image forming apparatus, as compared with the case where the control means does not perform the operation of forming the confirmation image while moving at least one of the moving articles between the regular position and the non-regular position. It is possible to easily identify a defective or deteriorated article.

In the image forming apparatus of the invention A2, as compared with the case where the control means does not execute the operation of forming the confirmation image in the state where two or more articles out of the plurality of articles are moved to different non-regular positions. , It is possible to efficiently identify a defective or deteriorated article by one image forming operation of forming a confirmation image.

The image forming apparatus of the invention A3, performs the operations that control means for forming a check image by moving different times or at speeds from one another between a normal position and a non-normal position a plurality of articles to be moved Compared with the case where the confirmation image is not formed, the defective or deteriorated article can be easily and efficiently identified by one image forming operation for forming the confirmation image.

The image forming apparatus of the invention A 4, the position of the non-regular, hinder the operation of separation distance and form a confirmation image becomes longer dimension than the maximum correction movement length of the article between the normal position Compared with the case where the dimensions are not set to be within a certain length, it is possible to stably identify a defective or deteriorated article.

The image forming apparatus of the invention A 5, as compared with the case of not outputting the results of the confirmation image obtained at each image forming operation in the position and the non-normal position of the normal recording on a recording medium, fault or degraded It is possible to easily identify an article by visual comparison work.
The image forming apparatus of the invention A 6, as compared with the case where the confirmation image of each recording medium when the overlapped two recording medium as a recording medium does not use the recording medium having a physical property that can be transparent, failure or deterioration It is possible to easily and efficiently perform a visual comparison work when identifying a product.

The image forming apparatus of the invention A 7, abnormal image portion axially offset Some information confirmation image reading means for reading the confirmation image formed by operations performed and their that read by the control means It is possible to accurately identify a defective or deteriorated article as compared with the case where the detection means for detecting the presence or absence of the image is not provided.
The image forming apparatus of the invention A 8, as compared with the case where the reading unit is not configured to read the confirmation image recorded on the recording medium, a particular failure or degradation to that article, the confirmation image It can be performed accurately including the articles arranged after the step of recording on the recording medium.

The image forming apparatus of the invention A 9 can be optionally performed movement of the article manually, also can be efficiently forming operation performed to check for image movement of the article automatically.
The image forming apparatus of the invention A1 0, it is possible to identify a plurality of members or devices or a failure or member has deteriorated or device or unit structure among the unit structures as article listed above.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 and the like. It is explanatory drawing which enlarges and shows the image-forming part (one image-making device and peripheral part) in the image forming apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the plurality of articles used in the process of forming an image in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1, and the articles which are arranged movable. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of the article to be arranged movable, and the moved state. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a part of the control system in the image forming apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the result example of the confirmation image recorded on the recording paper output by confirmation operation A and B. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of the article which is movably arranged in the image forming apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2, and the moved state. It is explanatory drawing which shows the result example of the confirmation image recorded on the recording paper output by confirmation operation A and D. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of the article which is movably arranged in the image forming apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3, and the moved state. It is explanatory drawing which shows the result example of the confirmation image recorded on the recording paper output by confirmation operation A and E. It is explanatory drawing which shows the result example of the confirmation image recorded on the recording paper output by confirmation operation A and F. It is explanatory drawing which shows the result example of the confirmation image recorded on the recording paper output by confirmation operation A and H. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other structural example of the article which arranges in a movable manner. It is a figure which shows the example of the image defect and the example of the failure or deterioration in a plurality of articles arranged movable.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter, simply referred to as “embodiments”) will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Embodiment 1]
1 to 3 show the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1, FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the image forming apparatus in the image forming apparatus 1, and FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a part of the control system in the image forming apparatus 1. ..

<Overall configuration of image forming apparatus>
The image forming apparatus 1 adopts an electrophotographic method and finally forms an image composed of toner on a recording paper 9 which is an example of a recording medium based on image information consisting of characters, photographs, figures and the like. be.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 has a housing 10 having a box-like appearance as a whole, and a toner composed of toner as a developer is inside the housing 10. An image-forming unit 2 that forms an image, an intermediate transfer unit 3 that holds the toner image formed by the image-forming unit 2 by primary transfer and then transports the toner image to a secondary transfer position for secondary transfer to recording paper 9, and intermediate transfer. A paper feeding unit 4 for accommodating and supplying the recording paper 9 to be supplied to the secondary transfer position of the unit 3, and a fixing unit 5 and the like for fixing the toner image secondarily transferred by the intermediate transfer unit 3 to the recording paper 9 are arranged. It is composed of.
In the housing 10, for example, a support structure portion and an exterior portion are formed using materials such as a support member and an exterior material, and a recording paper 9 having an image formed on the upper surface portion thereof is ejected and accommodated. A storage surface portion 12 is provided. The alternate long and short dash line shown in FIG. 1 is the main transport path of the recording paper 9 inside the housing 10.

Further, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an operation display device 14 having an input unit 14a for inputting instructions and conditions related to the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 and a display unit 14b for displaying various information such as operating conditions and states. A central control unit 6 and the like that collectively control the operation of the entire image forming apparatus 1 (each of the above-mentioned apparatus and the like) are also arranged.
Further, as will be described later, the image forming apparatus 1 has a function of performing an operation for identifying a defective or deteriorated article from a plurality of articles used in the process of forming an image.

The image forming unit 2 is composed of four image forming devices 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20K that individually form four color toner images of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). Has been done.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the image forming apparatus 20 (Y, M, C, K) includes a photosensitive drum 21 that is rotationally driven in a required direction, and each of the photosensitive drums 21 is provided. A charging device 22, an exposure device 23, a developing device 24, a primary transfer device 25, a drum cleaning device 26, a static eliminator 27, and the like are arranged at their respective fixed positions around the above. In FIG. 1, all the symbols (21 to 26) indicating the main devices and the like constituting the image forming apparatus 20 are attached to the image forming unit 20Y, but are omitted from the other image forming units 20M, 20C and 20K. And only some codes are attached.

Of these, the photosensitive drum 21 is, for example, a drum-shaped photosensitive member in which an image-forming surface having a photodielectric layer (photosensitive layer) made of a photosensitive material is formed on the peripheral surface of a cylindrical or columnar conductive base material to be grounded. Is. The photosensitive drum 21 is provided so as to receive power from a rotational drive device (not shown) and rotationally drive in the direction indicated by the arrow A.
The charging device 22 is, for example, a contact-type charging device provided with a contact member such as a charging roll 221 that is arranged in a state of being driven to rotate in contact with the image forming surface of the photosensitive drum 21 and to which a required charging current is supplied. Is.

The exposure apparatus 23 is, for example, a non-scanning type (line type) exposure apparatus configured by using a light emitting diode and optical components. In the exposure device 23, image information input from the outside through a communication means, a reading device, or the like and image information stored in an internal storage unit are subjected to necessary processing by the image processing unit (reference numeral 15 in FIG. 5). Later, it is input as an image signal decomposed into each color component (Y, M, C, K). The exposure apparatus 23 performs exposure according to the input image signal.
The developing device 24 is, for example, a developing device 24 (Y, M, C, K) that uses a two-component developer containing toner of any one of the four colors (Y, M, C, K) and a magnetic carrier. Is. Further, the developing apparatus 24 (Y, M, C, K) is used, for example, to charge the toner to a negative polarity to perform reverse development. Further, the developing apparatus 24 (Y, M, C, K) rotates the developing roll 241 so as to hold the two-component developer housed in the housing by magnetic force and convey it to the developing region facing the photosensitive drum 21. Etc. are provided. A developing current in which an alternating current component is superimposed on a direct current component, for example, is supplied to the developing roll 241 with the photosensitive drum 21.

The primary transfer device 25 is arranged so as to be in contact with the image forming surface portion to be the primary transfer position of the photosensitive drum 21 (via the intermediate transfer belt 31 described later) and to rotate in a driven manner, and is required to perform the primary transfer. It is a contact type transfer device provided with a contact member such as a primary transfer roll 251 to which an electric current is supplied.
The drum cleaning device 26 is arranged so as to come into contact with at least the image-forming surface portion of the photosensitive drum 21 after the primary transfer at the cleaning work opening of the housing 26a, and removes unnecessary substances such as residual toner on the image-forming surface. It is provided with an elastic plate to be scraped off, a cleaning member 26b such as a rotating brush, and the like.

The intermediate transfer unit 3 is arranged at a position on the upper side of the image forming unit 2.
Further, the intermediate transfer unit 3 is arranged so as to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow B while passing through the primary transfer positions facing the primary transfer device 25 of the photosensitive drum 21 in the image forming device 20 (Y, M, C, K). The intermediate transfer belt 31 is provided.

The intermediate transfer belt 31 is formed into an endless belt having a required thickness and an electric resistance value using a material obtained by dispersing a resistance adjusting agent such as carbon on a base material such as a polyimide resin or a polyamide resin. be.
Further, the intermediate transfer belt 31 is rotatably supported by being hung on a plurality of support rolls 32a to 32e. The support roll 32a serves as a drive roll and a secondary transfer backup roll, the support roll 32b serves as a cleaning backup roll, and the support roll 32c applies tension to the intermediate transfer belt 31 and corrects the meandering of the intermediate transfer belt 31. As a straightening (steering) roll, the support rolls 32d and 32e are respectively configured as a surface roll that holds the intermediate transfer belt 31 so as to form a primary transfer surface.

Further, the intermediate transfer unit 3 remains on the secondary transfer device 35 that secondarily transfers the toner image transferred on the intermediate transfer belt 31 to the recording paper 9 and the outer peripheral surface that serves as the image holding surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31. It is configured to include a belt cleaning device 36 or the like for removing and cleaning unnecessary substances such as toner that adheres to the surface.

The secondary transfer device 35 has, for example, a contact member such as a secondary transfer roll 351 arranged so as to come into contact with an image holding surface portion supported by the secondary transfer backup roll 32a of the intermediate transfer belt 31 and rotate in a driven manner. A equipped contact type transfer device is adopted. Further, the secondary transfer device 35 supplies a required secondary transfer current to one of the secondary transfer roll 351 and the secondary transfer backup roll 32a, and the other is grounded. In the intermediate transfer unit 3, the portion where the intermediate transfer belt 31 and the secondary transfer roll 351 of the secondary transfer device 35 are in contact is the secondary transfer position.
The belt cleaning device 36 is arranged so as to come into contact with at least the image holding surface portion of the intermediate transfer belt 31 after the secondary transfer at the cleaning work opening of the housing 36a, and does not require residual toner or the like on the image holding surface. It is equipped with an elastic plate for scraping and cleaning objects, a cleaning member 36b such as a rotating brush, and the like.

The paper feeding unit 4 is arranged at a position on the lower side of the image forming unit 2.
Further, the paper feed unit 4 is attached to the housing 10 so as to be retractable, and is accommodated in a state in which recording papers 9 of a desired size, type, etc. are stacked on the loading plate 42, and an accommodating body 41 thereof. It is configured to include at least a delivery device 43 that sends out the recording sheets 9 one by one from the accommodating body 41 toward the paper feed transfer path. The number of the housing 41 and the sending device 43 is increased or decreased as necessary.
The recording paper 9 can be applied as long as it is a recording medium that can be transported by a transport path in the housing 10 and can transfer and fix a toner image. For example, a recording cut to a predetermined size can be applied. Including paper (plain paper, coated paper, etc.), thick paper such as postcards, and special media such as envelopes, transparent or translucent sheets can also be used.

The fixing portion 5 is arranged at a position on the upper side of the intermediate transfer portion 3.
Further, the fixing portion 5 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow inside the housing 51 in which the introduction port and the discharge port of the recording paper 9 are formed, and the surface temperature is maintained at a predetermined temperature by a heating means. Pressurization consisting of a rotating body 52 for heating, which is in the form of a roll or a belt to be heated, and a rotating body 52, which is in the form of a roll or a belt, which is brought into contact with a predetermined pressure in a state substantially along the width direction of the rotating body 52 for heating and is driven to rotate. It is configured by installing at least a rotating body 53.
Further, the fixing unit 5 is configured as a fixing processing unit in which the contact portion between the heating rotating body 52 and the pressing rotating body 53 is fixed (heated and pressurized) by introducing the recording paper 9 for holding the toner image. Has been done.

Further, the image forming apparatus 1 has a supply transport path Rt1 connecting the paper feed section 4 and the intermediate transfer section 3 as a main paper transport path inside the housing 10, and a secondary transfer position of the intermediate transfer section 3. A relay transport path Rt2 that connects the fixing section 5 and the paper ejection port 11 of the housing 10 is provided with a relay transport path Rt2 that connects the fixing section 5 and the paper ejection port 11 of the housing 10.

The supply transport path Rt1 is a transport path for transporting and supplying the recording paper 9 fed from the paper feed unit 4 to the secondary transfer position of the intermediate transfer unit 3, and is not shown as a plurality of paper transfer roll pairs 45a, 45b and the like. It is composed of a plurality of paper guide members and the like. The relay transfer path Rt2 is a transfer path for transporting the recording paper 9 after the secondary transfer to the fixing portion 5, and is composed of, for example, a paper guide member 46. The discharge transport path Rt3 is a transport path for transporting the recording paper 9 on which the image is formed after fixing to the discharge accommodating surface portion 12, and is composed of a discharge roll pair 47 and a paper guide member (not shown).

<Basic image formation operation>
In this image forming apparatus 1, the basic image forming operation described below is performed. Here, an operation in the case of forming a full-color image composed by combining toner images of four colors (Y, M, C, K) will be described as an example.

First, when the central control unit 6 receives a request command for an image forming operation from the outside or the like, the image forming apparatus 1 is used in the four image forming apparatus 20 (Y, M, C, K) constituting the image forming unit 2. Each photosensitive drum 21 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow A, and the charging roll 221 of each charging device 22 receives a charging current while being driven by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 21 to generate a contact discharge. As a result, the image-forming surface of each photosensitive drum 21 is charged to a required polarity (for example, negative polarity) and potential.
Subsequently, each exposure apparatus 23 exposes the image-forming surface of each photosensitive drum 21 after charging according to the image signals decomposed into each color component (Y, M, C, K). As a result, an electrostatic latent image of each color component having a predetermined potential is formed on the image forming surface of each photosensitive drum 21.

Subsequently, each developing device 24 (Y, M, C, K) supplies toner of a color (Y, M, C, K) charged to a predetermined polarity (minus polarity) from the developing roll 241. The developing electric field formed between the developing roll 241 and the photosensitive drum 21 by receiving the supply of the developing current electrostatically adheres to the electrostatic latent image portion of each color component on the image forming surface of the photosensitive drum 21. .. As a result, toner images of the corresponding colors of the four colors (Y, M, C, K) are individually formed on the image forming surface of each photosensitive drum 21.

Subsequently, at the primary transfer position of each image forming device 20 (Y, M, C, K), the primary transfer roll 251 of each primary transfer device 25 is driven to rotate by the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 31 and the like to generate the primary transfer current. Upon receiving the supply, a primary transfer electric field is formed between the photosensitive drum 21 and the photosensitive drum 21. As a result, each primary transfer device 25 primary transfers the toner image on each photosensitive drum 21 in order (in the order of Y, M, C, K) with respect to the image holding surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31 in the intermediate transfer unit 3. Let me. Further, the drum cleaning device 26 keeps the cleaning member 26b in contact with the image forming surface of the photosensitive drum 21 to clean the image forming surface of each photosensitive drum 21 after the primary transfer or the like. Further, the static eliminator 27 removes static electricity from the image forming surface of each photosensitive drum 21 after the primary transfer or the like to prepare for the next image forming operation on each photosensitive drum 21.

Next, in the intermediate transfer unit 3, the intermediate transfer belt 31 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow B in accordance with the rotation timing of the photosensitive drum 21 in the image forming unit 2. As a result, the unfixed toner image that has been primarily transferred and held on the image holding surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31 is conveyed to the secondary transfer position facing the secondary transfer device 35. On the other hand, in the paper feed unit 4, the delivery device 43 sends the required recording paper 9 from the accommodating body 41 to the supply transfer path Rt1, and then moves to the secondary transfer position of the intermediate transfer unit 3 via the supply transfer path Rt1. Supply to send.
After that, at the secondary transfer position of the intermediate transfer unit 3, the secondary transfer roll 351 or the secondary transfer backup roll 32a of the secondary transfer device 35 receives the supply of the secondary transfer current and performs intermediate transfer with the secondary transfer roll 351. A secondary transfer electric field is formed between the belt and the belt 31. As a result, the secondary transfer device 35 secondary transfers the four-color toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 31 to one side of the recording paper 9. Further, the belt cleaning device 36 keeps the cleaning member 36b such as an elastic plate in contact with the image holding surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31, thereby cleaning the image holding surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31 after the secondary transfer or the like. ..

Next, the recording paper 9 on which the unfixed toner image is secondarily transferred is transferred so as to be sent to the fixing portion 5 via the relay transfer path Rt2 after being peeled off from the intermediate transfer belt 31. In the fixing section 5, the recording paper 9 is introduced into a fixing processing section which is a contact portion between the heating rotating body 52 and the pressurizing rotating body 53 and passes therethrough, and is heated and pressurized at the time of passing therethrough. As a result, the toner constituting the toner image is melted under pressure, and the toner image is fixed on the recording paper 9.
Subsequently, the recording paper 9 after the toner image is fixed is discharged from the fixing portion 5 and then transported via the discharge transport path Rt3, and finally discharged from the paper discharge port 11 to the outside of the housing 10. Is accommodated in the discharge accommodating surface portion 12.

By performing the above operation, one recording sheet 9 on which a full-color image is formed on one side is output. Further, when a request command for a plurality of image forming operations is received, the above image forming operation is repeated in the same manner for the number of images.

In addition, in the image forming apparatus 1, in the above image forming operation, a monochromatic image is formed by operating any one of the four image forming apparatus 20 (Y, M, C, K), and 4 It is also possible to form a color image other than a full-color image by operating two or three of the image-forming devices 20 (Y, M, C, K) in combination.

<Function to perform an operation to identify a defective or deteriorated article>
By the way, in the image forming apparatus 1, due to repeated image forming operations and the like, some articles of a plurality of articles 8 used in the process of forming an image may be damaged or deteriorate over time.
The article 8 used in the process of forming an image is an article that is directly involved in a series of flows in the process, and has an adverse effect (image defect, etc.) in the operation of forming an image due to a failure or deterioration. It is an article that easily causes (occurrence). Examples of the article 8 include a photosensitive drum 21, a charging roll 22, an exposure device 23, a developing device 24, a primary transfer roll 251 and a cleaning member 26a of the drum cleaning device 26, an intermediate transfer belt 31, support rolls 32a and 32b, and two. The next transfer roll 351, the cleaning member 36a of the belt cleaning device 36, the heating rotating body 52 of the fixing portion 5, the pressurizing rotating body 53, and the like.

If any one of the above-mentioned articles 8 fails or deteriorates, the failed or deteriorated article cannot perform its original function. Therefore, when the image is formed on the recording paper 9, the article fails. Image defects may occur due to deterioration. The image defect is, for example, a defect in which an unscheduled image such as a streak or a dot, an uneven density including a partial decrease in density, or an abnormal image portion that deteriorates image quality such as background fog occurs. ..
Moreover, when such an image defect occurs, it is often difficult to identify the article 8 that is the cause of the defect.

<Structure of a function that performs an operation to identify an article>
Therefore, the image forming apparatus 1 has a function of performing the following operations for identifying an article that has failed or deteriorated from among a plurality of articles 8 used in the process of forming an image.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 and the like, the image forming apparatus 1 is a regular in the axial direction E in which at least one article 80 of the plurality of articles 8 intersects the traveling direction D of the process of forming an image. It is movably arranged in a non-regular position J different from the position K, and when at least one of the movably arranged articles 80 is moved to the non-regular position J and placed in the regular position K. The control means (control unit) 61 for executing the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn under the same conditions is provided.
Hereinafter, the operation executed by the control means 61 is referred to as a "confirmation operation".

The plurality of articles 8 used in the step of forming an image in the image forming apparatus 1 are, for example, articles conceptually shown in FIG.
That is, the article 8 used in the image forming process for forming the toner image includes a photosensitive drum 21, a charging roll 22, a line-type exposure device 23, a developing roll 241, a drum cleaning member 26a, a static eliminator 27, and the like. The article 8 used in the transfer step of transferring the toner image includes an intermediate transfer belt 31, a primary transfer roll 251 and some belt support rolls 32a, 32b, 32c, a belt cleaning member 36a, a secondary transfer roll 351 and the like. Is. Further, the article 8 used in the transporting process for transporting the recording paper 9 on which the toner image is transferred is a paper guide member 46 or the like. Further, the article 8 used in the fixing step of fixing the toner image on the recording paper 9 is a rotating body 52 for heating and a rotating body 53 for pressurization.

The plurality of articles 8 used in the process of forming the image are normal in the axial direction E in which at least one of the articles 80 intersects the traveling direction D of the process of forming the image, as shown in FIGS . 3 and 4. It is movably arranged at a non-regular position J different from the position K of. The traveling direction D is a direction along the rotation direction of a rotating body such as the photosensitive drum 21 and the intermediate transfer belt 31, and a direction along the conveying direction of the recording paper 9. Further, as the article 80 to be arranged so as to be movable, for example, an article that tends to be easily damaged or deteriorated, or an article that has been a target of replacement from the beginning can be preferentially selected.

For example, when the movable article 80 has positioning reference portions 82 and 83 on both ends of the main body portion 81 in the axial direction E as illustrated in FIG. 4, the following configuration is applied. Will be done. First, one of the positioning reference portions 82 faces the support member 13 such as a support frame via an elastic member 14 such as a coil spring, while the other positioning reference portion 83 is arranged on the support member 13 to form a main body. The structure is such that the portion 81 and the like are confronted with a moving mechanism 7 that moves along the axial direction E against the elastic restoring force of the elastic member 14.

Here, the positioning reference portions 82 and 83 are portions formed by a structural portion having a shape such as a protrusion, a surface portion such as a part of a side wall surface, or the like. Further, as the moving mechanism 7, for example, a cam mechanism 71 is applied. The cam mechanism 71, for example, fixes the eccentric cam 73 to a rotating shaft 72 rotatably attached to the support member 13, and rotates the rotating shaft 72 by a required angle to connect different parts of the eccentric cam 72 to a mating member. To displace the mating member in contact with. Further, the cam mechanism 71 uses the power of a manual mechanism for rotating the rotating shaft 72 by using human power of a service engineer, a user, or the like, or a drive device 74 including an electric motor, a rotation transmission mechanism, or the like. It is configured as an automatic mechanism that rotates.

Further, the regular position K of the movablely arranged articles 80 is set to a substantially central position of the image formable range in the axial direction E of each article 80, for example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. .. On the other hand, the non-regular position J in the article 80 is, for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, a predetermined separation distance L in any one of the axial directions E1 and E2 with reference to the regular position K. It is set to the position moved by. The normal position K may be set to the position of one end of the image-forming range in the axial direction E.

The moving mechanism 7 is set to have a performance that causes an action F to move the article 80 from at least the normal position K to the non-normal position J separated by the separation distance L in the axial direction E1. Further, when the moving mechanism 7 returns the article 80 that has been moved to the non-regular position J to the regular position K, for example, by weakening the above-mentioned action F, the moving mechanism 7 receives the elastic restoring force of the elastic member 14 to move the article 80. Move to the regular position K. In the first embodiment, the non-regular position J is set to the position on the side where the non-regular position J is moved from the regular position K in the axial direction E1, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the non-regular position J is set to the regular position K. It may be set to the position on the side moved in the axial direction E2 in the direction opposite to the axial direction E1.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 1, in order to detect the position of the side end portion of the intermediate transfer belt 31 during the image forming operation and eliminate the amount of displacement caused by the meandering (positional displacement) of the intermediate transfer belt 31. One end of the tension applying and meandering correction roll 32c is slightly displaced back and forth in the traveling direction D by a displacement mechanism (not shown). As a result, the position of the intermediate transfer belt 31 may slightly fluctuate with respect to the axial direction E (the width direction of the belt). Such an operation is automatically performed as one of the control operations related to the misalignment correction.
Therefore, the non-regular position J in the article 80 is an article (for example, an intermediate transfer belt 31 or a belt support roll 32c) in which the distance L from the regular position K is automatically corrected in the axial direction E. The dimension (L> α) is set to be longer than the maximum correction movement length α.
For example, if the permissible misalignment condition is 70 μm or less, the maximum correction movement length α is also considered to be 70 μm, and the distance L between the non-regular position J and the regular position K is a control error. The dimensions are set to be longer than 0.1 mm in consideration of the occurrence of such factors.

Further, for the non-normal position J, the separation distance L from the normal position K forms the confirmation image Gn from the viewpoint of avoiding that the confirmation image Gn cannot be formed by executing the confirmation operation. The dimensions are set to be within the length (Lx) that does not interfere with the operation.
The length (Lx) that does not hinder means, for example, a position where the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn itself cannot be performed normally, or even if the operation of forming the image is possible, there is a possibility that a failure such as a leak discharge may occur. This is the maximum distance from the regular position K at a position that does not reach an inappropriate position such as a certain position.

The number of articles 80 to be arranged so as to be movable may be one, but usually a plurality of articles are adopted. Further, the article 80 to be arranged in a movable manner is selected with priority given to an article 80 in which the structure (structure) to be arranged in the movable manner can be easily adopted.
In the first embodiment, for example, the photosensitive drum 21, the charging roll 221 and the primary transfer roll 251 and the secondary transfer roll 351 are configured as the movable article 80.
Further, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the developing roll 241 is configured as an article 80 which is movably arranged by the entire developing apparatus 24. Further, the drum cleaning member 26a and the belt cleaning member 36a are configured as articles 80 that are movably arranged by the entire drum cleaning device 26 and the entire belt cleaning device 36. Further, the heating rotating body 52 (and the heating rotating body 53) is configured as an article 80 in which the entire fixing unit 50 is collectively arranged so as to be movable.

In addition to this, in the first embodiment, the photosensitive drum 21 and the charging roll 221 (charging device 22) are integrated so as to be detachably attached to and replaced with the housing 10 as illustrated in FIG. It may be configured as a drum unit 28 which is a unit structure, and the entire drum unit 28 may be treated as an article 80 which is movably arranged.
Further, the intermediate transfer belt 31, the primary transfer roll 251 (primary transfer device 25), and the support rolls 32a to 32e are, for example, a unit structure integrated with the housing 10 so that they can be detachably attached and replaced. It may be configured as a certain intermediate transfer unit 30, and the entire intermediate transfer unit 30 may be treated as an article 80 which is movably arranged.
When a unit structure to be replaced is adopted as the article 80 to be movably arranged in this way, the unit structure can be specified as one article that has failed or deteriorated.

The confirmation image Gn formed by executing the confirmation operation by the control means 61 has a content that makes it easy to visually recognize or detect a sign that appears due to a failure or deterioration of the article 8 that causes the above-mentioned image defect or a state that has already appeared. It is preferably an image. Specifically, for example, an image (single color or multicolor halftone image) having a multicolored intermediate density obtained by combining each of the four colors (Y, M, C, K) or two or three colors thereof. An image such as an image when an image defect actually occurs, a white image, or the like is applied as a confirmation image Gn.

The control means 61 is a means (control unit) composed of an arithmetic processing unit, a storage element, an input / output device, an external storage device, and the like. Further, the control means 61 is designed to execute a required control operation based on a program and data stored in the storage element (ROM) or the like, and in the first embodiment, the above confirmation operation can be executed. It is configured. Further, although the control means 61 is configured as a part of the central control unit 6, it may be configured as an independent means.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the control means 61 includes an image processing unit 15 that performs necessary image processing on image information input from the outside of the image forming device 1, and an exposure driving unit 16 that drives the exposure device 23. It is connected to the display unit 14b or the like of the operation display device 14, and transmits a control signal necessary for performing an operation such as a confirmation operation to them. Further, the control means 61 is connected to a communication unit 19 that communicates information with an external device or the like, an input unit 14a of the operation display device 14, and the like, thereby obtaining information necessary for control operation. There is.

First, when the control means 61 automatically moves the movable article 80 when executing the confirmation operation, the control means 61 is added to the movable article 80 as illustrated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. A moving drive unit 75 that controls the operation of a drive device 74 such as an electric motor that operates the moving mechanism 7 provided is connected, and is configured to control the moving drive unit 75.
In this case, the control means 61 controls the drive device 74 to operate via the movement drive unit 75 during the confirmation operation, thereby driving the movement mechanism 7 by a required amount.

Further, when the confirmation operation is executed, the control means 61 is configured to transmit the image information (signal) of the confirmation image Gn from the image processing unit 15 to the exposure drive unit 16 to execute the image formation operation. ..
The image forming operation when executing the confirmation operation may differ in that the content of the image to be formed becomes the confirmation image Gn, but the other image forming conditions are the conditions for forming a normal image. It is done by applying the same conditions as. Further, in the image forming operation when executing the confirmation operation, the same image forming conditions are applied to each other when the movable article 80 is in the regular position K and when it is moved to the non-regular position J. It is done.
The image information of the confirmation image Gn is stored in advance in the storage unit of the image processing unit 15 or the storage element of the control means 61 as specific image data. When executing the image forming operation for the confirmation operation, the control means 61 controls to transmit the stored image data (signal) of the confirmation image Gn to the exposure apparatus 23 through the exposure drive unit 16.

In the first embodiment, the control means 61 is configured to record the result of the confirmation image Gn on the recording paper 9 and output it when the confirmation operation is executed.
The recording paper 9 used in this confirmation operation is the maximum size recording paper used by the image forming apparatus 1 or the recording paper having the maximum feed width during transportation. Further, as the recording paper 9 used in the confirmation operation, when two recording papers 9 out of the recording papers 9 obtained in the confirmation operation are overlapped, the confirmation image Gn of each recording paper 9 (actually, an abnormal image). It is preferable to use a recording medium having physical properties (semi-transparency, transparency, etc.) through which the portion) can be seen through. When the use of the recording medium having the physical characteristics that can be seen through is recommended, for example, when the control means 61 executes the confirmation operation, the operation display device 14 displays a message for prompting the use of the recording medium having the physical characteristics. It is displayed on the part 14b.

Then, the confirmation operation by the control means 61 is configured to be executed when, for example, a service engineer (serviceman) or a user selects and instructs an execution mode of the confirmation operation from the input unit 14a in the operation display device 14. ing.
In this case, the execution mode of the confirmation operation is displayed, for example, on the display unit 14b of the operation display device 14 as a screen for instructing selection. Further, the confirmation operation according to the instruction of the service engineer or the like is executed periodically according to the progress of the frequency of use based on the information such as the number of images formed, or when an image defect occurs. To.

Further, when the confirmation operation by the control means 61 is executed, a service engineer or the like visually compares the confirmation images Gn recorded on two or more sheets of recording paper 9 by the confirmation operation, which is abnormal. Check for the presence or absence of image parts and the amount of misalignment. As a result, the presence or absence of the defective or deteriorated article 8 (80) is confirmed and specified.

<Confirmation operation>
In the image forming apparatus 1, when the execution mode of the confirmation operation is selected and instructed by the service engineer or the like from the input unit 14a of the operation display device 14, the confirmation operation illustrated below is executed by the control means 61.

The confirmation operation at this time is, first, an operation of forming a confirmation image Gn when all of the movable articles 80 are arranged at the regular position K (hereinafter, the operation at this time is referred to as a "confirmation operation". It may be called "A".)
Further, the image forming operation for forming the confirmation image Gn at this time was performed in the same manner as the operation for forming the full-color image described above. Further, as the confirmation image Gn, for example, a halftone image was applied.
By the way, it was confirmed that there is no abnormal image portion that causes an image defect in the confirmation image Gn of the recording paper 9 output when all of the articles 80 are arranged at the regular position K. In that case, the confirmation operation may be terminated at this point. In this case, since there is a high possibility that the defective or deteriorated component 8 does not exist, there is almost no need to continue the subsequent confirmation operation.

Subsequently, in the confirmation operation, one of the movable articles 80 is moved to the side of the axial direction E1 by the distance L from the regular position K by automatically or manually operating the moving mechanism 7. It is moved to a distant non-regular position J (FIG. 4 (b)). After that, the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn in the state where one of the articles 80 is arranged at the non-regular position J (hereinafter, the operation at this time may be referred to as "confirmation operation B"). , It is executed under the same image formation conditions as in the confirmation operation A.
That is, the image forming operation when forming the confirmation image Gn in the confirmation operation B is different in that one article 80 is in the non-regular position J, and the full-color image is formed in the confirmation operation A described above. It was performed under the same conditions as the operation at that time. At this time, as the article 80 that moves to the non-regular position J, the photosensitive drum 21 used for forming the confirmation image Gn was selected. The movement of the article 80 at this time is performed manually or automatically by operating the movement mechanism 7 via the movement drive unit 75 under the control of the control means 61.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the recording paper 9 on which the confirmation image Gn obtained when the two confirmation operations A and B are performed is recorded.
In this example, as illustrated in FIG. 6A, an abnormal image portion 95a different from the confirmation image Gn forms an image on the confirmation image Gn recorded by the confirmation operation A. It is confirmed that the images are formed at intervals along the direction D (which also corresponds to the transport direction of the recording paper 9).
On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 6B, the confirmation image Gn recorded by the confirmation operation B also has the same type (intermittent muscle) as the abnormal image portion 95a confirmed during the confirmation operation A. It is confirmed that an abnormal image portion 95b existing in a state of being similarly spaced along the traveling direction D of the process of forming the image is formed.

At this time, it is confirmed that the abnormal image portion 95b in the confirmation operation B is formed at a position deviated by a distance β from the abnormal image portion 95a in the confirmation operation A to the side in the axial direction E1. In some cases.
When such a result is obtained, the distance β between the abnormal image portion 95b in the confirmation operation B and the abnormal image portion 95a in the confirmation operation A is the normal position K of the article 80 moved in the confirmation operation B. If the distance L between and the non-regular position J coincides with or almost coincides with the distance L, it is possible to identify (guess) that the cause of the abnormal image portions 95a and 95b is the moved article 80. ..
Then, when the cause of the abnormal image portions 95a and 95b at this time is associated with the failure or deterioration of the moved article 80, the moved article 80 is "a broken or deteriorated article". It becomes possible to specify.

The association at this time can be performed, for example, as follows.
Anomalous image portions 95a, 95b are either colored streaks, white streaks, colored dots, white dots, uneven density, partial density reduction, or partial background fog, and have been moved. It is assumed that 80 is a photosensitive drum 21 (or a photosensitive drum 21 or a charging roll 221 in the drum unit 28). In this case, the abnormal image portions 95a and 95b are damaged or deteriorated due to scratches, dents, wear of the photosensitive layer, adhesion of foreign matter, optical characteristic fatigue of the photosensitive layer, etc. on the photosensitive drum 21 (or charging roll 221). It can be associated with the fact that it is likely to be caused by it.

Incidentally, the work of confirming the presence / absence of the abnormal image portions 95a and 95b and the fact of their positional deviation can be performed by actually measuring the positions of the abnormal image portions 95a and 95b. Further, when a recording paper having physical properties that can be seen through when two sheets are overlapped is used as the recording paper 9 used in the confirmation operation, the two obtained recording papers 9 (FIGS. 6A, 6), (B)) can be easily confirmed by aligning and superimposing them on top of each other and then examining them through fluoroscopy so as to compare them.
If the defective or deteriorated article 80 can be identified, the target article 80 will be repaired or replaced with a new one.

On the other hand, when it is confirmed that the abnormal image portion 95b in the confirmation operation B is formed at substantially the same position as the abnormal image portion 95a in the confirmation operation A in the axial direction E without being displaced. There is also.
When such a result is obtained, it is presumed that the cause of the abnormal image portions 95a and 95b at that time may be another article 8 (80) instead of the moved article 80. Can be done. Further, in this case, it can be inferred that the moved article 80 is not a defective or deteriorated article.

In particular, when the latter result (the result that the abnormal image portions 95a and 95b are not displaced in the axial direction E and are formed at substantially the same position) is obtained, the movable image portion can be moved as the above confirmation operation. After moving another one of the arranged articles 80 to the non-regular position J separated by the separation distance L from the regular position K to the side in the axial direction E1 (FIG. 4 (b)), that state. The operation of forming the confirmation image Gn (hereinafter, such an operation may be referred to as “confirmation operation C”) is performed under the same image formation conditions.

Also in this case, the confirmation image Gn on the recording paper 9 obtained in the confirmation operation C may have an abnormal image portion of the same type as the abnormal image portion 95a in the confirmation operation A. When confirmed, the work of comparing the confirmation image Gn on the recording paper 9 obtained in the confirmation operation A with the confirmation image Gn on the recording paper 9 obtained in the confirmation operation C is performed.
As a result, when it is confirmed that the abnormal image portion in the confirmation operation C is formed at a position deviated by the distance β from the abnormal image portion 95a in the confirmation operation A to the side in the axial direction E1. May be able to identify that the article 80 moved to the non-regular position J for the second time is an article that has failed or deteriorated due to the occurrence of the abnormal image portion 95a or the like.

Such a confirmation operation by the control means 61 can be repeated in the same manner for the number of articles 80 movably arranged. Further, in this confirmation operation, it can be confirmed that the same type of abnormal image portion is formed at a position deviated by a distance L on the side of the axial direction E1 with respect to the abnormal image portion 95a obtained in the confirmation operation A. It may be repeated in the same manner until.
Further, in the confirmation operation, when four image forming devices 20 (Y, M, C, K) are provided as in the image forming device 1, the image forming device 20 (Y, M, C, K) A part (one, two, or three) may be operated to execute the formation operation of the confirmation image Gn.
Finally, this confirmation operation can be terminated when the defective or deteriorated article 80 can be identified.

In the confirmation operation according to the first embodiment, since the result of the confirmation image Gn is recorded on the recording paper 9 and output, a failure or failure occurs as compared with the case where the result is recorded on the recording paper 9 and not output. The deteriorated article 80 can be easily identified by a visual comparison work.
Moreover, at this time, when a recording medium having physical properties such that the confirmation image Gn of each recording paper 9 can be seen through when the two recording papers 9 are overlapped as the recording paper 9, a recording medium having such characteristics is used. Compared with the case where the above is not used, the visual comparison work at the time of identifying the defective or deteriorated article can be easily and efficiently performed.

Further, in this confirmation operation, for the non-regular position J, the position of the separation distance L from the regular position K in the axial direction E is automatically corrected (for example, the intermediate transfer belt 31 or the support roll 32a). The dimension is set to be longer than the maximum correction movement length α and within the length (Lx) that does not interfere with the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn. As a result, in this confirmation operation, as compared with the case where it is not set as such, the deviation of the abnormal image portion formed in the confirmation image Gn in the axial direction E is automatically corrected due to the correction movement of the article. It is no longer possible to determine whether or not the image Gn is, and there is no possibility that the confirmation image Gn cannot be formed normally. As a result, in this confirmation operation, it is possible to stably identify the defective or deteriorated article 80.

[Embodiment 2]
FIG. 7 shows the configuration of an article that is movably arranged, which is a main part of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.
The image forming apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment sets the non-regular positions J of the plurality of articles 80 to be movably arranged at different positions (for example, J1 and J2), and then sets the articles at the different positions. The configuration is the same as that of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, except that the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn is performed while the 80 is moved to different non-normal positions (for example, J1 and J2). It consists of.

In the image forming apparatus 1, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the non-regular positions J in the two articles 80A and 80B arranged so as to be movable are set as follows.
In one article 80A, the non-regular position J is set to the position J1 separated from the regular position K on the side of the axial direction E1 by the separation distance L1 (FIG. 7A). In the other article 80B, the non-regular position J is set to the position J2 separated from the regular position K on the side of the axial direction E1 by a separation distance L2 (> L1) longer than the separation distance L1 (FIG. 7). (B)). The movement of the articles 80A and 80B to different non-regular positions J1 and J2 is, for example, a portion where the eccentric cam 73 of the cam mechanism 71 of the moving mechanism 7 is brought into contact with the positioning reference portion 83 of each of the articles 80A and 80B. It is configured to be done by changing each other.
In the second embodiment, for example, the drum unit 28 used for forming the confirmation image Gn as the article 80A is adopted, and the developing device unit 24 having the same color as the drum unit 28 of the article A is adopted as the article 80B.

<Confirmation operation>
In the confirmation operation in the image forming apparatus 1, first, all of the movable articles 80 (including the articles 80A and 80B) are arranged at the regular position K, and then the confirmation image Gn is formed (the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn). The confirmation operation A) is executed in the same manner as in the case of the confirmation operation A in the first embodiment.

Subsequently, in the confirmation operation, the articles 80A and 80B set at different non-regular positions J1 and J2 are moved in the axial direction by the distance L1 or L2 from the regular position K by automatically or manually operating the moving mechanism 7. It is moved to each of the non-regular positions J1 and J2 away from the E1 side (FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b)). After that, the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn in the state where the articles 80A and 80B are arranged at the non-regular positions J1 and J2 respectively (hereinafter, the operation at this time may be referred to as "confirmation operation D"). It is executed under the same image formation conditions as in the confirmation operation A.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a recording sheet 9 on which the confirmation image Gn obtained when the two confirmation operations A and D are performed is recorded.
In this example, in the confirmation image Gn recorded by the confirmation operation A, as illustrated in FIG. 8A, two types of abnormal image portions 95a and 96a different from the confirmation image Gn form an image. It is confirmed that each of them is formed at intervals along the traveling direction D of the forming step.
On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 8B, the confirmation image Gn recorded by the confirmation operation D also has the same types as the two types of abnormal image portions 95a and 96a confirmed during the confirmation operation A. Therefore, it is confirmed that two types of abnormal image portions 95b and 96b existing at similar intervals along the traveling direction D of the process of forming an image are formed, respectively.

At this time, one or both of the abnormal image portion 95b and the abnormal image portion 96b generated during the confirmation operation D move from the abnormal image portions 95a and 96a generated during the confirmation operation A to the side in the axial direction E1. It may be formed at a position deviated by a distance β1 or a distance β2, respectively. The example result shown in FIG. 8 shows a case where both the abnormal image portions 95b and 96b are formed at positions shifted by the distance β1 or the distance β2, respectively.

When such a result is obtained, the distance between the abnormal image portions 95a and 96b in the confirmation operation D and the abnormal image portions 95aa and 96a in the confirmation operation A is the normal of the moved articles 80A and 80B. There are cases where the distances L1 or L2 between the position K and the non-regular positions J1 and J2 are the same or almost the same, respectively.
At this time, it is specified that the cause of the abnormal image portions 95a and 95b is the article 80A moved to the non-regular position J1, and the cause of the abnormal image portions 96a and 96b is non-regular. It is possible to identify one or both of the articles 80B that have been moved to position J2.
Then, when the cause of the abnormal image portions 95a and 95b at this time is associated with the failure or deterioration of the article 80A, the moved article 80A is "an article that is defective or deteriorated". Can be specified. Further, when the cause of the abnormal image portions 96a and 96b is associated with the failure or deterioration of the article 80B, the moved article 80B is specified as "the article is defective or deteriorated". be able to. Furthermore, both of the above may be specified.

On the other hand, at this time, the abnormal image portions 95b and 96b in the confirmation operation D are formed at substantially the same positions as the abnormal image portions 95a and 96a in the confirmation operation A in the axial direction E without being displaced. It may be confirmed that.
When such a result is obtained, it is possible that the cause of the abnormal image portions 95a and 95b at that time is not the moved article 80A or 80B, but another article 8 (80). You can guess that there is. Further, in this case, it can be inferred that the articles 80A and 80B moved to the non-regular positions J1 and J2, respectively, are not defective or deteriorated articles.

In the second embodiment, especially when the latter result is obtained, as the above confirmation operation, for example, another two articles 80 set at the non-regular positions J1 and J2 are similarly subjected to the same procedure. After moving to the non-regular positions J1 and J2, the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn in that state is executed under the same image formation conditions as in the confirmation operation A.
Further, in the second embodiment, as different non-normal positions J, three or more kinds of different positions can be set as long as the distance L from the regular position K satisfies the above-mentioned condition.

[Embodiment 3]
FIG. 9 shows the configuration of a main part (movably arranged article) of the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment.
The image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment is configured to move at least one article 80D of the plurality of articles 80 movably arranged during the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn, and then move the article 80D. It has the same configuration as the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, except that the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn is performed while moving at least one article 80D of the article to be used.

In this image forming apparatus 1, as illustrated in FIG. 9, at least one article 80D which is movably arranged is placed at a regular position K and a non-regular position by the moving mechanism 7 during the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn. It is configured to move between J and (separation distance Lb). The reference numeral Ja in FIG. 9B indicates an intermediate position before reaching the non-normal position Jb, and the separation distance La (<Lb) shorter than the separation distance Lb between the normal position K and the non-normal position J. Only the position away from the regular position K.

In the third embodiment, for example, the article 80D is set to be moved only once at a required speed in one direction (axial direction E1) from the regular position K to the non-regular position J.
The movement of the article 80D at this time is performed by rotating the eccentric cam 73 of the cam mechanism 71 in the moving mechanism 7 at a required speed by a range of a required rotation angle, and a cam portion in which the radius of the eccentric cam 73 gradually increases. This is done by sequentially facing the positioning reference unit 83 on the main body 81 of the article 80D.
Further, in the movement of the article 80D, the drive of the drive device 74 is controlled via the movement drive unit 75 (FIG. 5) by the control operation of the control means 61 to drive the cam mechanism 71 of the movement mechanism 7 by a required amount. By doing so, it is done automatically. If conditions such as the type of the article 80 and the type of the moving mechanism 7 are appropriate, the article 80D may be moved manually.

<Confirmation operation>
In the confirmation operation in the image forming apparatus 1, first, all of the movable articles 80 (including the article D) are arranged at the regular position K, and then the confirmation image Gn is formed (“confirmation”). The operation A ”) is executed in the same manner as in the case of the confirmation operation A in the first embodiment.

Subsequently, in the confirmation operation, one of the articles 80D configured to move during the image forming operation is moved from the regular position K to the non-regular position J in one direction (axial direction E1) at a required speed. While doing so, the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn (hereinafter, the operation at this time may be referred to as "confirmation operation E") is executed under the same image formation conditions as in the confirmation operation A.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a recording sheet 9 on which the confirmation image Gn obtained when the two confirmation operations A and E are performed is recorded.
In this example, in the confirmation image Gn recorded by the confirmation operation A, as illustrated in FIG. 10A, a long streak-like abnormal image portion 97a different from the confirmation image Gn forms an image. It is confirmed that the image is formed so as to extend substantially linearly along the traveling direction D of the process.
On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 10B, the confirmation image Gn recorded by the confirmation operation E also has the same type (long) as the streak-like abnormal image portion 97a confirmed during the confirmation operation A. It is confirmed that a streak-like abnormal image portion 97b is formed which is a streak-like image) and substantially along the traveling direction D of the process of forming the image.

At this time, the streak-like abnormal image portion 97b generated during the confirmation operation E gradually shifts toward the axial direction E1 from the streak-like abnormal image portion 97a generated during the confirmation operation A, and finally. It may be formed in a state where it exists at a position deviated by a distance β. The abnormal image portion 97b shown in FIG. 10B extends linearly from the normal position K as a starting point so as to gradually move away from the traveling direction D toward the axial direction E1, and finally reaches the non-normal position J. It looks like this.

When such a result is obtained, the maximum separation distance in the axial direction E between the abnormal image portion 97b in the confirmation operation E and the abnormal image portion 97a in the confirmation operation A is the normal of the moved article 80D. There are times when the distance Lb from the position K to the non-regular position J is the same as or almost the same as the distance Lb.
At this time, it is possible to identify (guess) that the cause of the occurrence of the linear and abnormal image portions 97a and 97b is the article 80D moved to the non-regular position J.
Then, when the cause of the abnormal image portions 97a and 97b at this time is associated with the failure or deterioration of the moved article 80D, the moved article 80D is "a broken or deteriorated article". It can be specified.

On the other hand, at this time, it is confirmed that the abnormal image portion 97b in the confirmation operation E is formed at substantially the same position as the abnormal image portion 97a in the confirmation operation A in the axial direction E without being displaced. In some cases.
When such a result is obtained, it is presumed that the cause of the abnormal image portions 97a and 97b at that time may be another article 8 (80) instead of the moved article 80D. be able to. Further, in this case, it can be inferred that the moved article 80D is not a defective or deteriorated article.

When the latter result is obtained, as the confirmation operation, another one or a plurality of articles 80 are similarly moved in one direction between the regular position K and the non-regular position J. The operation of forming the confirmation image Gn is executed under the same image formation conditions as in the case of the confirmation operation A.

<Modification 1 of Embodiment 3>
Further, in the image forming apparatus 1, the moving article 80D can be set to reciprocate between the regular position K and the non-regular position J at a required speed.
In the confirmation operation by the image forming apparatus 1 when set in this way, after the confirmation operation A is performed, one of the articles 80D is reciprocated between the regular position K and the non-regular position J at a required speed. While doing so, the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn (hereinafter, such an operation may be referred to as "confirmation operation F") is executed under the same image formation conditions as in the confirmation operation A.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a recording sheet 9 on which the confirmation image Gn obtained when the two confirmation operations A and F are performed is recorded.
In this example, in particular, in the confirmation image Gn recorded by the confirmation operation F, as illustrated in FIG. 11B, the streak-like abnormal image portion 97a confirmed during the confirmation operation A (FIG. 11). It is confirmed that an abnormal streak-like image portion 97c of the same type (long streak-like image) as in (a)) is formed substantially along the traveling direction D of the process of forming the image.

At this time, the streak-like abnormal image portion 97c generated during the confirmation operation F is gradually displaced in the axial direction E1 from, for example, the streak-like abnormal image portion 97a generated during the confirmation operation A. After finally reaching the position deviated by the distance β (non-regular position J), it gradually deviates in the opposite axial direction E2 and returns to the position deviated by the distance β (regular position K). It may be formed in a curved line. That is, the long streak-like abnormal image portion 97c at this time may be formed in a curved linear shape that draws a locus corresponding to the movement method (pattern) of the article 80D.

When this result is obtained, the maximum separation distance in the axial direction E between the abnormal image portion 97c in the confirmation operation F and the abnormal image portion 97a in the confirmation operation A is the normal position of the moved article 80D. There are times when the distance L from K to the non-regular position J is the same as or almost the same as the distance L. Further, in this case, the locus drawn by the abnormal image portion 97c becomes a locus corresponding to the way of moving the article 80D.
At this time, it can be identified that the cause of the long streaky abnormal image portions 97a and 97c is the moved article 80D.
Then, when the cause of the abnormal image portions 97a and 97c at this time is associated with the failure or deterioration of the moved article 80D, the moved article 80D is "faulted or deteriorated". It can be specified.

<Modification 2 of Embodiment 3>
Further, in the image forming apparatus 1, the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn while moving the plurality of articles 80D to be moved between the regular position K and the non-regular position J at different times or speeds. Can also be configured to run.
In the confirmation operation by the image forming apparatus 1 in this configuration, after the confirmation operation A is performed, for example, the two articles 80D are reciprocated between the regular position K and the non-regular position J at different times. While doing so, the operation of forming the confirmation image Gn (hereinafter, such an operation may be referred to as "confirmation operation H") is executed under the same image formation conditions as in the confirmation operation A.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a recording sheet 9 on which the confirmation image Gn obtained when the two confirmation operations A and H are performed is recorded.
In this example, the confirmation image Gn obtained by the confirmation operation A has a continuous (intermittent) streak-like abnormal image portion 97a as illustrated in FIG. 12 (a). It is confirmed that the abnormal image portion 98a is formed.
On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 12B, the confirmation image Gn obtained by the confirmation operation H also has the same type as the streaky abnormal image portions 97a and 98a confirmed during the confirmation operation A. (Streak-like image), a continuous streak-like abnormal image portion 97b and a discontinuous streak-like abnormal image portion 98b substantially along the traveling direction D of the process of forming an image are formed at different positions. It is confirmed that it has been done.

At this time, the streak-like abnormal image portion 97b generated during the confirmation operation H draws a bending line that bends as if it has reciprocated twice, almost matching the two movement times of one article 80D. May be formed in.
Further, the streak-like abnormal image portion 98b generated during the confirmation operation H substantially coincides with one movement time different from the above two movement times of the other article 80D, and moves back and forth only once. It may be formed to draw a discontinuous bending line that bends like this.

When this result is obtained, the maximum separation distance in the axial direction E between the two abnormal image portions 97b and 98b generated in the confirmation operation H and the abnormal image portions 97a and 98a generated in the confirmation operation A is determined. There are times when the distance L between the regular position K and the non-regular position J of the two moved articles 80D is the same or almost the same. Further, in this case, the loci drawn by the abnormal image portions 97b and 98b become loci corresponding to the movement methods of the two articles 80D at different times.
At this time, it can be identified that the cause of the continuous linear and abnormal image portions 97a and 97b is the one article 80D that has moved back and forth twice. Further, it is specified that the cause of the discontinuous linear and abnormal image portions 98a and 98b is the other article 80D that has made one reciprocating movement at a time different from the two movement times. Can be done.

Then, when the cause of the abnormal image portions 97a and 97b at this time is associated with the failure or deterioration of one article 80D, the one article 80D is "an article that is defective or deteriorated." Can be specified. If the cause of the abnormal image portions 98a and 98b at this time is associated with the failure or deterioration of the other article 80D, the other article 80D is "an article that is defective or deteriorated." Can be specified. Furthermore, it may be possible to identify both of them.

In the image forming apparatus 1 of the second modification, the confirmation image Gn is formed while moving the plurality of articles 80D to be moved between the regular position K and the non-regular position J at different speeds. When the operation is executed, the abnormal image portion appearing in the confirmation image Gn is as follows. That is, the abnormal image portion is formed so as to draw a locus in a state in which the deviation (movement ratio) with respect to the axial direction E is rapid, or to draw a locus in a gentle state.
Therefore, when the confirmation image Gn is formed while moving the plurality of articles 80D at different speeds, different numbers of abnormal image portions corresponding to the number of articles 80D are formed in the confirmation image Gn. At that time, it is possible to identify which of the plurality of articles 80D is the abnormal image portion generated for the movement of the article 80D by the difference in the deviation of each of the abnormal image portions with respect to the axial direction E.

[Embodiment 4]
The image forming apparatus according to the fourth embodiment is a reading means 71 for reading the confirmation image Gn formed by the confirmation operation in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first to third embodiments, and the confirmation read by the reading means 71. In the information of the image Gn, there is an abnormal image portion (for example, the abnormal image portion shown by the above reference numerals 95b to 98b, 97c) deviated in the axial direction E by a distance β corresponding to the movement amount of the article 80 to be moved. It is configured by adding a detection means 72 for detecting whether or not to perform the operation.
The reading means 71 and the detecting means 72 are connected to the control means 61 as shown by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. As a result, the control means 61 operates the reading means 71 and the detecting means 72 during the confirmation operation.

When the reading means 71 records and outputs the confirmation image Gn on the recording paper 9 as shown in the first to third embodiments, a document reading device that reads the image of the document can be applied. The document reading device may be an independent document reading device (so-called scanner) separate from the image forming device 1, but when the image forming device 1 is configured as a copying machine provided with the document reading device, the document reading device 1 may be an independent document reading device (so-called scanner). , The document reading device may be used together as a reading means. The document reading device is connected to the control means 61 directly or via the communication unit 19.
When a document reading device is used as the reading means 71, it is recorded on each recording sheet 9 output in each confirmation operation (in the case of confirmation operation A and in the case of other confirmation operations B to F, H, etc.). The confirmation image Gn is read by a document reader.

The detection means 72 performs image analysis based on the information of the confirmation image Gn read by the reading means 71 to detect the presence or absence of an abnormal image portion, and the abnormal image portions obtained by each confirmation operation (axial direction E). It is configured to detect whether or not the farthest edge portion) is deviated in the axial direction E by a distance β corresponding to the amount of movement of the article 80 to be moved. The distance β at this time has a dimension substantially corresponding to the separation distance L between the regular position K and the non-regular position J of the movable article 80. Such a detection means 72 may be configured as a dedicated component or device, but may be configured by adding a detection function as one function of the image processing unit 15, for example.
When the detection means 72 is used, it is not necessary to compare and examine each recording paper 9 on which the confirmation image Gn is formed in the first to third embodiments by human eyes, and the abnormality is compared with the comparison work. Since the analysis of a clear image portion can be performed accurately, it is finally possible to accurately identify a defective or deteriorated article.

Further, the detection means 72 is configured to display the detection result as an image or text information on the display unit 14b of the operation display device 14, for example, by the control operation of the control device 61. With this configuration, the detection result of the detection means 72 can be quickly notified to the service engineer or the like instructing the execution of the confirmation operation through the display unit 14b.
Further, the detection means 72 notifies the detection result to the information terminal such as the personal computer of the user or the service engineer connected to the image forming device 1 via the communication unit 19 by the control operation of the control device 61. It may be configured so that it can be done.

As the reading means 71, in addition to the document reading device, for example, an image arranged between the fixing unit 5 and the ejection port 11 to read a confirmation image on the recording paper 9 ejected from the fixing portion 5. A reading sensor may be applied.

Further, as the reading means 71, as illustrated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 1, the reading means 71 is arranged so as to face the portion of the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31 that is between the image forming apparatus 20K and the secondary transfer position. The image reading sensor 71b and the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 in each image forming apparatus 20 are opposed to the portion between the developing apparatus 24 and the primary transfer apparatus 25 as illustrated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. It is also possible to use the image reading sensor 71a arranged in.
When such image reading sensors 71a and 71b are used as the reading means 71, the toner image is displayed when the confirmation image Gn formed by the confirmation operation is on the photosensitive drum 21 or on the intermediate transfer belt 31. Can be read as. The toner image of the confirmation image Gn at this time is removed by the drum cleaning device 26 or the belt cleaning device 36 after being read by the image reading sensors 71a and 71b. This eliminates the need to use the recording paper 9 for recording the confirmation image Gn.
However, in the case of the configuration in which the image reading sensors 71a and 71b are used for reading, the article 80 to be moved during the confirmation operation extends to the article 80 group arranged around the photosensitive drum 21 or the periphery of the intermediate transfer belt 31. Limited to 80 groups of articles arranged in. Therefore, in this case, the number of articles 80 to be moved is compared with the number of articles 80 in the case of the configuration in which the confirmation image Gn is recorded on the recording paper 9 (the articles 80 after the secondary transfer roll 351). As a result, the number of types of articles that are broken or deteriorated can be reduced.

[Other embodiments]
In the first to third embodiments, a configuration example in which the cam mechanism 71 is applied as the moving mechanism 7 of the article 80 to be movably arranged is shown, but another mechanism may be applied as the moving mechanism 7, for example. , Mechanisms 74-76 as illustrated in FIG. 13 can also be applied.

The mechanism 74 illustrated in FIG. 13A is a screw mechanism. The screw mechanism 74 is arranged by fitting a screw into the support member 13, so that the screw main body portion 74a and the screw main body portion 74a that come into contact with the positioning reference portion 83 of the article 80 are moved forward and backward in the axial directions E1 and E2. It is composed of a manual lever for giving power to rotate the screw and a power transmission unit 74b such as a rotary power transmission member (gear or the like).
Then, the screw mechanism 74 manually or automatically applies power from the power transmission unit 74b during the confirmation operation to move the screw body 74a forward and backward in the axial directions E1 and E2, thereby axially moving the body 81 of the article 80. It can be moved in directions E1 and E2, which causes the article 80 to move between the regular position K and the non-regular position J.

The mechanism 75 illustrated in FIG. 13B is a wedge mechanism. The wedge mechanism 75 has a wedge portion 75a interposed between the support member 13 and the positioning reference portion 83 of the article 80 and arranged so as to reciprocate in both directions substantially orthogonal to the axial direction E, and the wedge portion 75a. It is composed of a drive unit (not shown) that gives power to move it back and forth.
Then, the wedge mechanism 75 manually or automatically applies power from the drive unit during the confirmation operation to move the wedge portion 75a forward and backward (up and down) in the direction indicated by the double-headed arrow, thereby axially moving the main body 81 of the article 80. The article 80 can be moved back and forth in the directions E1 and E2, whereby the article 80 can be moved between the regular position K and the non-regular position J.

The mechanism 76 illustrated in FIG. 13 (c) is a haunting mechanism. The infestation mechanism 76 causes a infestation member 76 mounted so as to appear and disappear in the axial direction E at the tip of the positioning reference portion 83 of the article 80, and a power for reciprocating the infestation member 76 so as to appear and disappear. It is composed of a drive unit (not shown).
Then, the infestation mechanism 76 manually or automatically applies power from the drive unit during the confirmation operation to move the infestation member 76 in and out along the axial direction E, thereby moving the main body 81 of the article 80 in the axial direction E1,. It can be moved back and forth to E2, which allows the article 80 to be moved between the regular position K and the non-regular position J.

Regarding the movablely arranged article 80 that can be applied in the confirmation operation, an example of a failure or deterioration that may occur and an example of an image defect (abnormal image portion) that occurs due to the failure or deterioration are arranged. By way of example, the result is as shown in FIG. 14, for example.
Then, when each confirmation operation is performed by the control means 61, the association (relevance) between the abnormal image portion generated in the confirmation image Gn formed by each confirmation operation and the article 80 is shown in this figure. It may be investigated with reference to the information showing the relationship between the example of failure or deterioration as exemplified in 14 and the example of image defect.

Further, in the first to third embodiments, a color image forming apparatus adopting an intermediate transfer method is exemplified. However, the image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied includes, for example, a plurality of articles involved in the process of forming an image, and it is necessary to identify a defective or deteriorated article from the plurality of articles. If so, another type of image forming apparatus may be used. Other image forming devices include, for example, a device for forming a monochromatic image made of toner by an electrophotographic method or the like, a device for forming an image made of a material other than toner (a device for forming an image made of ink, etc.), and the like. Can be mentioned.

1 ... Image forming apparatus 8 ... Article 9 ... Recording paper (example of recording medium)
21 ... Photosensitive drum (example of photoconductor)
23 ... Exposure device (line type exposure device)
24 ... Development measures 24
26a ... Cleaning member (example of photoconductor cleaning member)
28 ... Drum unit (an example of unit structure)
30 ... Intermediate transfer unit (an example of unit structure)
31 ... Intermediate transfer belt (an example of an intermediate transfer body)
32a to 32c ... Belt support roll 36a ... Cleaning member (an example of intermediate transfer body cleaning member)
46 ... Paper guide member 50 ... Fixing unit (example of unit structure)
52 ... Rotating body for heating (example of fixing member)
53 ... Pressurizing rotating body (example of fixing member)
61 ... Control means 71 ... Reading means 72 ... Detection means 75 ... Detection means 80 ... Movably arranged article 221 ... Charging roll (an example of a contact charging member)
251 ... Primary transfer roll (example of primary transfer member)
351 ... Secondary transfer roll (example of secondary transfer member)
D ... Travel direction E ... Axial direction K ... Regular position J ... Non-regular position Gn ... Confirmation image L ... Separation distance α ... Maximum correction movement length

Claims (10)

Equipped with multiple articles used in the process of forming an image
At least one of the plurality of articles is movably arranged at a non-regular position different from the regular position in the axial direction intersecting the traveling direction of the process.
The operation of forming the confirmation image under the same conditions in the case where at least one of the movablely arranged articles is moved to the non-regular position and the case where the article is arranged in the regular position, respectively. a control means for executing,
At least one of the movablely arranged articles is configured to move between the regular position and the non-regular position during the operation of forming the confirmation image.
The control means is configured to perform an operation of forming the confirmation image while moving at least one of the moving articles between the regular position and the non-regular position . Forming device. The plurality of movablely arranged articles have their non-regular positions set to different positions from each other.
The control means is configured to execute an operation of forming the confirmation image in a state where two or more articles out of the plurality of articles are moved to different non-regular positions. The image forming apparatus according to. The control means is configured to perform an operation of forming the confirmation image while moving the moving plurality of articles between the regular position and the non-regular position at different times or speeds from each other. the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 that is. The non-regular position has a dimension in which the distance from the regular position is longer than the maximum corrected movement length of the article whose axial position is automatically corrected. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is set to have dimensions within a length that does not interfere with the operation of forming a confirmation image. The control means according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control means records and outputs the result of the confirmation image obtained by each image forming operation at the normal position and the non-normal position on a recording medium. The image forming apparatus according to the description. The image according to claim 5, wherein the control means uses, as the recording medium, a recording medium having physical properties that allow the confirmation image of each recording medium to be seen through when the two recording media are superposed. Forming device. A reading means for reading each confirmation image formed by the operation executed by the control means, and
A detection means for detecting whether or not an abnormal image portion deviated in the axial direction by a distance corresponding to the movement amount of the moving article is present in the information of the confirmation image read by the reading means.
With
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control means operates the reading means and the detecting means at the time of the operation. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the reading means is configured to read a confirmation image recorded on a recording medium. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the movablely arranged article is arranged to move manually or automatically. The articles include a photoconductor, a contact charging member, a corona discharger, a line type exposure device, a developing device, a primary transfer member, a photoconductor cleaning member, an intermediate transfer body, a belt support roll, a secondary transfer member, and an intermediate transfer body cleaning member. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a fixing member, a recording medium guide member, and a unit structure having at least one of them.

Images