JP2013097289A - Image forming apparatus, method, system, and printer driver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an image from being printed in an excessively dark tone or in an excessively light tone even when a non-genuine product is used for replacing a component without impairing convenience for a user.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 100 includes: an image forming unit 103 that forms an image; a non-genuine product determination unit 101a that determines whether or not a toner cartridge 108a that is a replacement component of the image forming unit 103 is a non-genuine product; and a control unit 101 that controls the image forming unit 103 in accordance with image forming conditions. When the non-genuine product determination unit 101a determines that the toner cartridge 108a of the image forming unit 103 is a non-genuine product, the control unit 101 regulates a range of an image density setting value that can be set by a user when a replacement component is determined to be a genuine product from among the image forming conditions.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, method, system, and printer driver, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus, method, system, and printer driver having a function of determining whether or not a replacement part is a non-genuine product. .

  Replacement parts such as photoconductor drums, transfer belts, and toner cartridges used in image forming devices such as multifunction peripherals are supplied with genuine supplies by the device manufacturers to guarantee print quality. There are an increasing number of cases where third parties other than manufacturers sell supplies as compatible parts. Although the compatible parts are supplied at a low price, the printing quality is not guaranteed at all, and the equipment is not maintained by the seller of the compatible parts. In general, multifunction devices are not designed to support even non-genuine supplies, so when using non-genuine products, printing may be blurred due to environmental conditions such as high temperature / high humidity, low temperature / low humidity, Fogging or the like has occurred remarkably, and a reduction in print quality has been a problem.

  On the other hand, for example, Patent Document 1 describes an image forming apparatus that can identify whether or not a replacement part is a genuine product. The image forming apparatus reads the toner manufacturer company name information from the memory tag built in the toner cartridge, compares the read company name information with the company name information stored in advance, and if they match, the image forming apparatus is attached. The toner cartridge is determined to be a genuine product, the company name information is displayed on the display unit, and the image density correction operation is executed. If they do not match, the installed toner cartridge is a non-genuine product. The company name information is not displayed on the display unit, and the image density correction operation is not executed.

  Patent Document 2 describes an image forming apparatus that can select a first mode that presumes the use of genuine consumables and a second mode that permits the use of non-genuine consumables. The image forming apparatus includes: a consumables determination unit that determines whether a mounted consumable is genuine or non-genuine; a print job reception unit that receives a print instruction; and a print job reception when the first mode is selected. If the consumables used to reproduce the color instructed to print by means include consumables determined to be non-genuine by the consumables determination means, without using the consumables determined to be non-genuine, An image is formed using only consumables determined to be genuine.

JP 2010-266588 A JP 2009-300694 A

  Usually, since the above-mentioned supplies are exchanged or replenished by an administrator, the general user is printing without being aware of whether or not the supplies are genuine. For example, when non-genuine toner is used, the combination evaluation of the multifunction machine and non-genuine toner has not been sufficiently performed, so even if a small amount of printed matter is printed, blurring or fogging may occur. In some pages of a large amount of printed matter, blurring or fogging may occur, and there is a problem that stable printing cannot be performed.

  Even if the toner can be transferred to the recording paper, the printed matter is important because the toner is peeled off due to the low temperature setting or the printing fog due to the high temperature setting occurs depending on the relationship between the toner and the fixing temperature. In the case of an unsatisfactory document, it was necessary to check for defects due to transfer or fixing.

  Here, in the above-described multifunction peripheral, a user can set a desired image density (also referred to as toner density). In general, a multi-function peripheral is set to an image density of, for example, about five levels at the time of factory shipment. This image density setting value is based on the use environment such as average temperature, humidity, paper quality, etc. A value that does not easily cause printing defects is set. The parameters for determining the image density include, for example, a charging bias for charging the photosensitive drum, a developing bias for developing the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum, and the exposure unit (LSU) to the photosensitive drum. The appropriate amount of light is set by adjusting these parameters.

  However, when using non-genuine toner, as described above, the combination evaluation of the multifunction machine and the non-genuine toner has not been sufficiently performed, so that the intended image density can be obtained with respect to the image density setting value. Is not limited. In particular, when the maximum value (the darkest) or the minimum value (the lightest) of the image density setting values is adopted, there is a concern that an extremely dark image or a light image will be printed.

  On the other hand, the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 cannot perform good printing when detecting that the toner cartridge is a non-genuine product. When image quality is required, printing is performed using only genuine products without using non-genuine products, but the above problems are not taken into consideration. In addition, when a non-genuine product is used, there is a method of prohibiting the printing operation, but if it is uniformly prohibited, the convenience for the user is greatly impaired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and even when a non-genuine product is used as a replacement part, an extremely dark image or a light image can be printed without impairing the convenience of the user. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, a method, a system, and a printer driver that can avoid the occurrence of the problem.

  In order to solve the above problems, the first technical means of the present invention includes an image forming unit that forms an image, a non-genuine product determination unit that determines whether or not a replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product, An image forming apparatus including a control unit that controls the image forming unit according to image forming conditions, and when the non-genuine product determination unit determines that the replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product, The control unit limits a range of image density setting values that can be set by a user when the replacement part is determined to be a genuine product among the image forming conditions.

  The second technical means is characterized in that, in the first technical means, the control unit restricts the minimum value and the maximum value of the image density setting value from being input.

  According to a third technical means, in the second technical means, the control unit performs control so that the minimum value and the maximum value are not displayed when the image density setting value is selectably displayed. It is a feature.

  According to a fourth technical means, in the second technical means, the control unit controls the minimum value and the maximum value to be displayed in gray out when the image density setting value is selectably displayed. It is what.

  According to a fifth technical means, in any one of the first to fourth technical means, when the control unit limits the image density setting value, a replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product. It is characterized by notifying that it is restricted to.

  A sixth technical means controls an image forming unit that forms an image, a non-genuine product determination unit that determines whether a replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product, and the image forming unit according to image forming conditions. A non-genuine product determination unit for determining whether a replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product, and the control unit. However, when the determination step determines that the product is a non-genuine product, a range restriction that limits a range of image density setting values that can be set by the user when the replacement part is determined to be a genuine product among the image forming conditions. And an image forming step in which the image forming unit forms an image according to an image forming condition in which the range of the image density setting value is limited in the range limiting step.

  A seventh technical means is an image forming system in which an information processing apparatus in which a printer driver is installed and an image forming apparatus controlled by the printer driver are connected via a network, and the image forming apparatus includes: An image forming unit that forms an image, a non-genuine product determination unit that determines whether or not a replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product, and a communication that transmits a determination result by the non-genuine product determination unit to the information processing apparatus A printer driver of the information processing apparatus, wherein the replacement part is genuine among the image forming conditions that can be input to the image forming apparatus when the determination result from the image forming apparatus is a non-genuine product. The image density setting value range that can be set by the user when it is determined as a product is limited.

  The eighth technical means is a printer driver that can be installed in the information processing apparatus constituting the image forming system in the seventh technical means.

  According to the present invention, when it is determined that a non-genuine product other than a genuine product supplied by the manufacturer is used in the apparatus, for example, a minimum value and a maximum value among image density setting values that can be set in the image forming apparatus. By limiting the value so that it cannot be input, it is possible to avoid printing an extremely dark image or a light image without impairing user convenience.

1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is configured as a multifunction peripheral. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a toner cartridge that is a replacement part. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the image forming method by the image forming apparatus of this invention. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appearance of an operation panel included in the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the initial screen at the time of copy mode. It is a figure which shows an example of a copy density setting screen. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print condition input screen displayed by a printer driver of the information processing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print density setting screen displayed in the case of genuine toner. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print density setting screen displayed in the case of non-genuine toner. FIG.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an image forming apparatus, a method, a system, and a printer driver according to the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is configured as a multifunction peripheral, and illustrates an example of an image forming apparatus configured as a multifunction peripheral having a scanner function.
The image forming apparatus 100 forms an image on recording paper by transmitting image data transmitted from the outside or read by a scanner (image reading means), and includes an apparatus main body 130 and an automatic document processing apparatus 120.

The apparatus main body 130 includes an exposure unit 1, a developing device 2, a photosensitive drum 3, a cleaner unit 4, a charger 5, an intermediate transfer belt unit 6, a fixing unit 7, a paper feed cassette 81, a paper discharge tray 91, and the like.
A document placing table 92 made of transparent glass is provided on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 130, and an automatic document processing device 120 that automatically conveys the document to the document placing table 92 is attached on the upper side. The automatic document processing device 120 is configured to be rotatable in the direction of arrow M, and the document can be placed manually by opening the document table 92.

  The apparatus main body 130 has an image reading unit 90 accommodated in a housing. The image reading means 90 is a reduction optical system image reading means composed of a light source unit 93 that holds the light source and the first mirror, a mirror unit 94 that holds the second and third mirrors, and a lens and the CCD 95. . In addition, the apparatus main body 130 is provided with an operation panel (not shown) so that a user can input an operation. Further, the apparatus main body 130 includes means for inputting image data from an externally connected apparatus, or means for reading image data from a portable recording medium (none of which is shown).

  The image data handled in the image forming apparatus 100 corresponds to, for example, four color images of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). Accordingly, four each of the developing device 2, the photosensitive drum (image carrier) 3, the charger 5, and the cleaner unit 4 are provided so as to form four types of latent images corresponding to the respective colors. An image station is configured.

The charger 5 is a charging means for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 to a predetermined potential. In addition to the charger type as shown in FIG. 1, a contact type roller type or brush type charger is used. Sometimes used.
The exposure unit 1 is configured as a laser scanning unit (LSU) provided with a laser emitting portion, a reflection mirror, and the like. The exposure unit 1 includes a polygon mirror that scans a laser beam and optical elements such as a lens and a mirror for guiding the laser beam reflected by the polygon mirror to the photosensitive drum 3. In addition, as the exposure unit 1, for example, a method using an EL or LED writing head in which light emitting elements are arranged in an array can be employed.

  The exposure unit 1 has a function of forming an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data on the surface thereof by exposing the charged photosensitive drum 3 according to the input image data. The developing unit 2 visualizes the electrostatic latent images formed on the respective photosensitive drums 3 with toners of four colors (Y, M, C, K). The cleaner unit 4 removes and collects toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 after development and image transfer.

The intermediate transfer belt unit 6 disposed above the photosensitive drum 3 includes an intermediate transfer belt 61, an intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62, an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63, an intermediate transfer roller 64, and an intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65. I have. Four intermediate transfer rollers 64 are provided corresponding to each color of Y, M, C, and K.
The intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62, the intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63, and the intermediate transfer roller 64 are driven to rotate while the intermediate transfer belt 61 is stretched. Each intermediate transfer roller 64 provides a transfer bias for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum 3 onto the intermediate transfer belt 61.

  The intermediate transfer belt 61 is provided in contact with each photosensitive drum 3. Then, the color toner images (multicolor toner images) are formed on the intermediate transfer belt 61 by sequentially superimposing and transferring the respective color toner images formed on the photosensitive drum 3 onto the intermediate transfer belt 61. The intermediate transfer belt 61 is formed in an endless shape using, for example, a film having a thickness of about 100 μm to 150 μm.

  Transfer of the toner image from the photosensitive drum 3 to the intermediate transfer belt 61 is performed by an intermediate transfer roller 64 that is in contact with the back side of the intermediate transfer belt 61. A high-voltage transfer bias (a high voltage having a polarity (+) opposite to the toner charging polarity (−)) is applied to the intermediate transfer roller 64 in order to transfer the toner image. The intermediate transfer roller 64 is a roller whose base is a metal (for example, stainless steel) shaft having a diameter of 8 to 10 mm and whose surface is covered with a conductive elastic material (for example, EPDM, urethane foam, or the like). With this conductive elastic material, a high voltage can be uniformly applied to the intermediate transfer belt 61. In this configuration example, a roller shape is used as the transfer electrode, but a brush or the like can also be used.

  As described above, the electrostatic images visualized according to the respective hues on the respective photosensitive drums 3 are stacked on the intermediate transfer belt 61. The stacked electrostatic images are transferred onto the recording sheet by the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 61 by a transfer roller 10 which is a secondary transfer mechanism unit disposed at a contact position between the sheet and the intermediate transfer belt 61 described later. The The secondary transfer mechanism is not limited to a transfer roller, and a corona charger or a transfer belt can also be used.

  At this time, the intermediate transfer belt 61 and the transfer roller 10 are pressed against each other at a predetermined nip, and a voltage for transferring the toner onto the paper is applied to the transfer roller 10 (the polarity opposite to the toner charging polarity (−)). (+) High voltage). Further, in order to obtain the nip constantly, the transfer roller 10 uses either the transfer roller 10 or the intermediate transfer belt drive roller 62 as a hard material (metal or the like) and the other as a soft material (elasticity such as an elastic roller). Rubber roller, foaming resin roller, etc.).

  Further, as described above, the toner adhered to the intermediate transfer belt 61 by contacting the photosensitive drum 3 or the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 61 without being transferred to the recording paper by the transfer roller 10 is used in the next step. Therefore, the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65 is configured to remove and collect the toner. The intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65 includes a cleaning blade as a cleaning member that comes into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 61. The intermediate transfer belt 61 that comes into contact with the cleaning blade is supported by an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63 from the back side. ing.

  The paper feed cassette 81 is a tray for storing recording paper (sheets) used for image formation, and is provided below the exposure unit 1 of the apparatus main body 130. In addition, recording paper used for image formation can also be placed in the manual paper feed cassette 82. A paper discharge tray 91 provided above the apparatus main body 110 is a tray for collecting printed recording sheets face down.

  In addition, the apparatus main body 110 includes a substantially vertical sheet conveyance path S1 for feeding the recording sheets of the sheet feeding cassette 81 and the manual sheet feeding cassette 82 to the sheet discharge tray 91 via the transfer roller 10 and the fixing unit 7. Is provided. In the vicinity of the paper transport path S1 from the paper feed cassette 81 or the manual paper feed cassette 82 to the paper discharge tray 91, pickup rollers 11a and 11b, a plurality of transport rollers 12a to 12d, a registration roller 13, a transfer roller 10, and a fixing unit. 7 etc. are arranged.

  The transport rollers 12a to 12d are small rollers for promoting and assisting the transport of the recording paper, and a plurality of the transport rollers 12a to 12d are provided along the paper transport path S1. The pickup roller 11a is provided near the end of the paper feed cassette 81, picks up recording paper one by one from the paper feed cassette 81, and supplies it to the paper transport path S1. Similarly, the pickup roller 11b is provided near the end of the manual paper feed cassette 82, picks up recording paper from the manual paper feed cassette 82 one by one, and supplies it to the paper transport path S1.

  The registration roller 13 temporarily holds the recording paper that is being transported through the paper transport path S1. The recording paper is transported to the transfer roller 10 at the timing when the leading edge of the toner image on the photosensitive drum 3 is aligned with the leading edge of the recording paper.

  The fixing unit 7 includes a heat roller 71 and a pressure roller 72. The heat roller 71 and the pressure roller 72 are configured to rotate with the recording paper interposed therebetween. The heat roller 71 is set so as to reach a predetermined fixing temperature by a control means based on a signal from a temperature detector (not shown). It has the function of fusing, mixing, and pressing the multicolor toner image transferred to the paper, and thermally fixing the recording paper. An external heating belt 73 for heating the heat roller 71 from the outside is provided.

  Next, the recording paper conveyance path will be described more specifically. As described above, the image forming apparatus 100 is provided with the paper feed cassette 81 and the manual paper feed cassette 82 that store recording paper in advance. In order to feed the recording paper from these paper feed cassettes 81 and 82, pickup rollers 11a and 11b are respectively arranged so as to guide the recording paper one by one to the paper transport path S1.

  The recording paper conveyed from each of the paper feed cassettes 81 and 82 is conveyed to the registration roller 13 by the conveyance roller 12a in the paper conveyance path S1, and the timing at which the leading edge of the recording paper and the leading edge of the image information on the intermediate transfer belt 61 are aligned. The image information is written on the recording paper. Thereafter, the recording paper passes through the fixing unit 7, whereby the unfixed toner on the recording paper is melted and fixed by heat, and is then discharged onto the paper discharge tray 91 through the conveying roller 12 b disposed thereafter.

  The above-mentioned transport path is for a single-sided printing request for recording paper. On the other hand, for a double-sided printing request, the single-sided printing is completed and the recording paper after passing through the fixing unit 7 as described above. When the end is gripped by the final transport roller 12b, the transport roller 12b rotates in reverse to guide the recording paper to the transport path S2 in which the transport rollers 12c and 12d are arranged. Then, the conveyance path S2 joins the conveyance path S1, and the recording paper is conveyed from the registration roller 13 to the transfer roller 10. At this time, since the front and back sides of the recording paper are reversed at the stage of joining from the conveyance path S2 to S1, the transfer roller 10 performs printing on the back side of the recording paper. Then, the recording paper printed on the back surface is fixed by the fixing unit 7 and discharged to the paper discharge tray 91.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of the image forming apparatus and the information processing apparatus according to the present invention. The image forming apparatus 100 is configured as, for example, the above-described multifunction peripheral, and controls the functions of the image forming apparatus 100 and is realized by a microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like, and an operation unit 102a. And an operation panel 102 including a display unit 102 b, an image forming unit 103 that forms an image of image data on recording paper according to the control of the control unit 101, and a communication unit 104 for connecting to the information processing apparatus 200 via the network N. A storage unit 105 such as a hard disk, a reading unit 106 that reads ID information from an IC chip attached to the toner cartridge 108, a sensor circuit 107 that includes various sensors and peripheral circuits that process signals from the sensors, and replacement parts A toner cartridge 108 and an image density setting unit 109a. Configured to include an image processing unit 109.

  The operation panel 102 includes an operation unit 102a and a display unit 102b. The operation unit 102a receives an operation input by a user and outputs the operation input to the control unit 101. The display unit 102b displays an operation screen and various information. The display unit 102b may be configured with a touch panel that can perform an input operation on the operation screen. In this case, the display unit 102b can accept an operation input by the user in the same manner as the operation unit 102a.

  Further, the information processing apparatus 200 is, for example, a general-purpose PC (personal computer), and controls the communication unit 201 for connecting to the image forming apparatus 100 via the network N and each function of the information processing apparatus 200. An arithmetic processing unit 202 including a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, a storage unit 203 such as a hard disk in which a printer driver 203a is installed, an input unit 204 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display unit 205 such as a liquid crystal display. It is prepared for. The printer driver 203a is software (program) for controlling the image forming apparatus 100 to execute image forming processing (printing processing). The printer driver 203 a is read from the storage unit 203 by the arithmetic processing unit 202 and executed on the RAM of the arithmetic processing unit 202 when printing is performed.

  A main object of the present invention is to avoid printing an extremely dark image or a light image without impairing the convenience of the user even when a non-genuine product is used as a replacement part. As a configuration for this, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a non-genuine product determination unit 101a that determines whether or not the replacement part of the image forming unit 103 is a non-genuine product, and a control unit that controls the image forming unit 103 according to image forming conditions. 101. The non-genuine product determination unit 101 a is realized as a function of the control unit 101. When the replacement part of the image forming unit 103 is determined to be a non-genuine product by the non-genuine product determination unit 101a, the control unit 101 determines that the replacement part is a genuine product among the image forming conditions. Limits the range of image density setting values that can be set. More specifically, the image density setting value is restricted so that the minimum and maximum values cannot be input.

  When the copy function of the image forming apparatus 100 is executed, the image forming conditions are input from the operation panel 102 of the image forming apparatus 100. For example, when the display unit 102b of the operation panel 102 is configured by a touch panel, a copy condition input screen (also referred to as a copy condition setting screen) is displayed on the display unit 102b. Entered. Further, when the printing function of the image forming apparatus 100 is executed, the image forming conditions are input by the input unit 204 and the display unit 205 of the information processing apparatus 200. In this case, a print condition input screen (print condition setting screen) of the printer driver 203 a is displayed on the display unit 205, and image forming conditions are input from the print condition input screen by operating the input unit 204.

  The image processing unit 109 has a function of performing image processing on image data read by a scanner (image reading unit) and print data transmitted from the outside such as the information processing apparatus 200. Examples of the image processing include a magnification designation scaling setting, a paper designation scaling setting, a binding margin setting, and an aggregation setting called nin1. Further, the image processing unit 109 includes an image density setting unit 109a for setting an image density (toner density) at the time of copying or printing as one function of these image processes. The image density in the copy mode is referred to as copy density, and the image density in the print mode is referred to as print density.

  As described above, when the image forming apparatus 100 is shipped from the factory, for example, about five levels of image density are set. This image density setting value is not limited to the use environment such as average temperature, humidity, paper quality, and the like. On the premise of toner, a value that is unlikely to cause printing failure is set. This image density has parameters such as a charging bias for charging the photosensitive drum, a developing bias for developing the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum, and the amount of light irradiated to the photosensitive drum from the exposure unit (LSU). The appropriate density is set by adjusting these parameters. The user can select and input, for example, five levels of image density setting values of level 1 (lightest) to 5 (darkest) as the image density, and the image density setting unit 109a selects the selected level. Are output to the control unit 101. The control unit 101 instructs the image forming unit 103 to print image data based on the image density setting value output from the image density setting unit 109a.

  When the non-genuine product determination unit 101a determines that the replacement part of the image forming unit 103 is a non-genuine product, the control unit 101 determines the minimum value (of the five levels of image density setting values of levels 1 to 5 ( Level 1) and the maximum value (level 5) cannot be input. Specifically, when the image density setting values (levels 1 to 5 in this example) are selectably displayed on the copy condition input screen or the print condition input screen, the minimum value (level 1) and the maximum value (level 5) are displayed. Is controlled, or the minimum value (level 1) and the maximum value (level 5) are grayed out.

  Here, the replacement part is a part that constitutes a part of the apparatus from the viewpoint of function and whose performance can be recovered and maintained by replacement. For example, in the case of the image forming apparatus 100, the toner cartridge (or developing cartridge), the photosensitive member cartridge, the cartridge in which the developing member and the photosensitive member are integrally formed, the ink cartridge, the ink tank, and the print head are integrally formed. A cartridge, a thermal transfer type ink sheet cartridge, and the like correspond to this. These replacement parts may be called supplies. In the description of this embodiment, the toner cartridge 108 is described as an example of a replacement part, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  In FIG. 2, the non-genuine product determination unit 101 a determines whether the toner cartridge 108 attached to the image forming apparatus 100 is a genuine product or a non-genuine product. The non-genuine product determination method is realized using the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, and conventionally known techniques such as JP-A-2002-202697 and JP-A-2009-145396. The method is not particularly limited. Hereinafter, as an example of a non-genuine product determination method performed by the non-genuine product determination unit 101a, a case where determination is performed in the image forming apparatus 100 will be described as an example. Also good.

  The toner cartridge 108 records unique ID information that can individually identify the toner cartridge 108. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, it is mounted as an IC chip 108a, and ID information is recorded in advance in a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM or a ferroelectric memory. Alternatively, this ID information may be configured by a simple method such as a barcode. The ID information may be the manufacturer's identification number or the like because it is sufficient to know that the manufacturer is at least a genuine manufacturer. The reading unit 106 differs depending on the form of the ID information given to the toner cartridge 108. In the case of a barcode, the reading unit 106 is a barcode reader. In the case of an IC chip, the reading unit 106 is constituted by reading means using electrical or high frequency. Is done.

  The storage unit 105 stores ID information of genuine products of the toner cartridge in advance. When the replacement of the toner cartridge 108 is confirmed, the non-genuine product determination unit 101a is read by the reading unit 106. The ID information of the toner cartridge 108 and the genuine product ID information stored in the storage unit 105 are compared to determine whether or not they match. Note that the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus 100 may store all ID information of genuine toner cartridges in the storage unit 105 at the manufacturing stage. When the ID information matches, it is determined as a genuine product, and when the ID information does not match, it is determined as a non-genuine product. It should be noted that some non-genuine products may not be provided with ID information. Therefore, even if the reading unit 106 cannot read the ID information, the product is determined to be a non-genuine product.

  The replacement mounting of the toner cartridge 108 can be detected by the sensor circuit 107. As described above, the sensor circuit 107 includes various sensors and peripheral circuits that process signals from the sensors. The sensor includes a mechanical or optical door sensor and a cartridge sensor. The door sensor is a sensor that detects whether the door of the image forming apparatus 100 is open or closed, and the cartridge sensor is a sensor that detects whether or not the toner cartridge 108 is attached to the image forming apparatus 100. Peripheral circuits include a waveform shaping circuit for shaping the waveform of the sensor output, a filter circuit, a binarization circuit, a voltage level adjustment circuit, and the like. The sensor output is converted into a digital signal having a logic level of, for example, 0-5V. Convert.

  If the sensor circuit 107 detects that the toner cartridge 108 has been replaced, the control unit 101 accesses the IC chip 108a and instructs the reading unit 106 to read the ID information. Then, the non-genuine product determination unit 101a compares the ID information read by the reading unit 106 with the ID information stored in the storage unit 105, thereby determining whether the replaced toner cartridge 108 is a genuine product or not. Judge whether it is a genuine product. In this manner, the non-genuine product determination unit 101a can determine whether the ID information matches or does not match. Even when the reading unit 106 cannot read, it is determined that there is a mismatch, that is, a non-genuine product.

Hereinafter, image density setting processing of the image forming apparatus in the image forming system of the present invention will be described by taking a copy mode as an example.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an example of an image forming method by the image forming apparatus of the present invention. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of the operation panel provided in the image forming apparatus, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an initial screen in the copy mode, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a copy density setting screen. It is a figure which shows an example. In this example, a case where an ID information read command is generated when the sensor circuit 107 detects the mounting of the toner cartridge 108 based on the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 in FIG. 2 will be described.

  First, the control unit 101 determines whether or not an ID information read command from the sensor circuit 107 is generated with the mounting of the toner cartridge 108 (step S11), and determines that an ID information read command is generated (step S11). If YES, the reading unit 106 is instructed to read the ID information of the toner cartridge 108 (step S12). If it is determined in step S11 that no ID information read command has been issued (NO), the process shifts to a standby state in step S11.

  Next, the control unit 101 (non-genuine product determination unit 101a) compares the ID information read by the reading unit 106 with the ID information (registered ID information) stored in the storage unit 105 (step S13). . Then, it is determined whether or not they match (step S14). If they match (YES), the toner cartridge 108 is determined to be a genuine product, and the image forming apparatus 100 performs a normal operation according to a copy operation by the user. A copy density setting screen is displayed (step S15).

  Here, FIG. 6 shows an example of a normal initial screen in the copy mode. The initial screen 300 in FIG. 6 includes a message 301 “Copy can be read” and various copy condition settings at the time of copying from the user. It is a screen to accept. This initial screen 300 is displayed on the display unit 102 b of the operation panel 102. As shown in FIG. 5, the operation panel 102 includes an operation unit 102a and a display unit 102b, and the display unit 102b is a touch panel. The display unit 102b can accept an input by a user's touch operation via the touch panel. For example, when performing a copy, the user presses the copy mode selection button 102d of the operation unit 102a, thereby The initial screen 300 is displayed on the display unit 102b.

  When the copy density setting button 302 on the initial screen 300 shown in FIG. 6 is pressed, a normal copy density setting screen 303 as shown in FIG. 7A is displayed. The copy density setting screen 303 displays five levels of copy density setting values of levels 1 to 5 in a selectable manner, indicating that the copy density setting value where the marker 304 is located is selected. . In this example, the marker 304 is positioned at level 3 and the copy density setting value of level 3 is selected. When the user touches any one of levels 1 to 5, the position of the marker 304 moves. As a result, a desired copy density setting value can be selected and input.

  Next, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the print button (start button) 102c on the operation panel shown in FIG. 5 has been pressed (step S16). When the print button 102c is pressed in step S16 (in the case of YES), the image forming unit 103 applies to the recording paper according to the image forming condition in which any one of the copy density setting values (levels 1 to 5) is set in step S15. Image formation is performed (step S17). If the print button 102c is not pressed in step S16 (NO), the process waits until it is pressed.

  In step S14, if they do not match or cannot be read by the reading unit 106 (in the case of NO), the toner cartridge 108 is determined to be a non-genuine product, and the image forming apparatus 100 follows the copy operation by the user. A copy density setting screen in which the copy density setting value is limited is displayed (step S18). FIG. 7B shows an example of a copy density setting screen in which the copy density setting value is limited. In this case, when the copy density setting button 302 on the initial screen 300 shown in FIG. 6 is pressed, a copy density setting screen 305 as shown in FIG. 7B is displayed.

  This copy density setting screen 305 displays only three levels of copy density setting values of levels 2 to 4 so as to be selectable, indicating that the copy density setting value where the marker 306 is located is selected. Yes. In the case of this example, the marker 306 is located at level 3, and the copy density setting value of level 3 is selected. That is, when the toner cartridge 108 is a non-genuine product, the minimum value (level 1) and the maximum value (level 5) are not displayed. Alternatively, the minimum value (level 1) and the maximum value (level 5) may be grayed out. As a result, it is possible to avoid printing an extremely thin image or a dark image when using non-genuine toner.

  When the user touches any one of levels 2 to 4, the position of the marker 306 moves. As a result, a desired copy density setting value other than levels 1 and 5 can be selected and input. At this time, a message 307 is displayed indicating that the toner cartridge is a non-genuine product and the minimum value (1) and the maximum value (5) cannot be set. As described above, when the copy density setting value is restricted, it is desirable to display and notify that the toner cartridge 108 is restricted because it is a non-genuine product so that the user can understand the reason.

  Next, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the print button (start button) 102c on the operation panel shown in FIG. 5 has been pressed (step S19). When the print button 102c is pressed in step S19 (in the case of YES), the image forming unit 103 applies to the recording paper according to the image forming condition in which any one of the copy density setting values (levels 2 to 4) is set in step S18. Image formation is performed (step S20). If the print button 102c is not pressed in step S19 (NO), the process waits until it is pressed.

  The determination result in step S14 is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100 to the information processing apparatus 200 as genuine product determination information. The genuine product determination information is stored in the storage unit 203 of the information processing apparatus 200 and is referred to when the printer driver 203a is activated. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether or not the toner cartridge 108 is a non-genuine product even on the information processing apparatus 200 side. The determination result in step S14 may be stored in the storage unit 105 of the image forming apparatus 100 as genuine product determination information. In this case, when the printer driver 203a is activated in the information processing apparatus 200, the information processing apparatus 200 requests the image forming apparatus 100 to transmit genuine product determination information, and the image forming device 100 receives the genuine product determination information. get. Based on the genuine product determination information acquired from the image forming apparatus 100, the information processing apparatus 200 can determine whether the toner cartridge 108 is a non-genuine product. When it is determined that the toner cartridge 108 is a non-genuine product, the printer driver 203a restricts input of the print density setting value.

  In FIG. 7B, when the minimum value (level 1) and the maximum value (level 5) of the copy density setting value are not displayed on the copy density setting screen 305, the user presses the “Cancel” button. Can do. In this case, the user recognizes from the message 307 that the minimum value (level 1) and the maximum value (level 5) of the copy density setting value cannot be set because the toner cartridge 108 is a non-genuine product. It is conceivable to take measures such as replacing the non-genuine toner cartridge 108 with a genuine product again. When the toner cartridge is replaced with a genuine toner cartridge, the flow of FIG. 4 is executed again, and image formation is performed by setting the minimum value (level 1) or the maximum value (level 5) of the copy density setting value. It becomes possible.

  Next, a print processing example by the image forming system including the image forming apparatus 100 and the information processing apparatus 200 will be described. In FIG. 2 described above, the image forming apparatus 100 includes the communication unit 104 that transmits the determination result by the non-genuine product determination unit 101a to the information processing device 200. When the determination result from the image forming apparatus 100 is a non-genuine product, the printer driver 203a of the information processing apparatus 200 determines that the replacement part is a genuine product among the image forming conditions that can be input to the image forming apparatus 100. In this case, the range of image density setting values that can be set by the user is limited.

  The printer driver 203a displays a print condition input screen (also referred to as a print condition setting screen) on the display unit 205, thereby presenting various image forming conditions to the user and responding to input operations from the input unit 204 by the user. To set image forming conditions. The image forming conditions are sent together with the print data to the image forming apparatus 100 via the communication unit 201, and the image forming apparatus 100 prints the print data on the recording paper by the image forming unit 103 according to the image forming conditions.

  In the above description, the determination result by the non-genuine product determination unit 101a is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100 to the information processing apparatus 200 as genuine product determination information. The genuine product determination information is stored in the storage unit 203 of the information processing apparatus 200 and is referred to when the printer driver 203a is activated. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether or not the toner cartridge 108 is a non-genuine product even on the information processing apparatus 200 side. The determination result by the non-genuine product determination unit 101a may be stored in the storage unit 105 of the image forming apparatus 100 as genuine product determination information. In this case, when the printer driver 203a is activated in the information processing apparatus 200, the information processing apparatus 200 requests the image forming apparatus 100 to transmit genuine product determination information, and the image forming device 100 receives the genuine product determination information. get. Based on the genuine product determination information acquired from the image forming apparatus 100, the information processing apparatus 200 can determine whether the toner cartridge 108 is a non-genuine product.

  Hereinafter, screen examples of the printer driver 203a of the information processing apparatus 200 in the printing process of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print condition input screen displayed by the printer driver 203 a of the information processing apparatus 200. When the “advanced setting” tab 311 of this print condition input screen is pressed, a print density item (not shown) is displayed. When this print density item is selected, a print density as shown in FIGS. The setting screen is displayed.

  The screen example in FIG. 9 shows a screen display example when the toner cartridge 108 is a genuine product. The print density setting screen 312 in FIG. 9 displays five levels of print density setting values of levels 1 to 5 in a selectable manner, indicating that the print density setting value at which the marker 313 is located is selected. ing. In the case of this example, the marker 313 is located at the level 3 and the print density setting value of the level 3 is selected. When the user selects and operates one of levels 1 to 5, the position of the marker 313 moves. Thereby, a desired print density setting value can be selected and input.

  The screen example of FIG. 10 shows a screen display example when the toner cartridge 108 is a non-genuine product. The print density setting screen 314 in FIG. 10 displays only three levels of print density setting values of levels 2 to 4 in a selectable manner, indicating that the print density setting value at which the marker 315 is located is selected. Show. In the case of this example, the marker 315 is located at level 3 and the print density setting value of level 3 is selected. That is, when the toner cartridge 108 is a non-genuine product, the minimum value (level 1) and the maximum value (level 5) are not displayed. Alternatively, the minimum value (level 1) and the maximum value (level 5) may be grayed out. As a result, it is possible to avoid printing an extremely thin image or a dark image when using non-genuine toner.

  When the user selects and operates one of levels 2 to 4, the position of the marker 315 moves. As a result, a desired print density setting value other than levels 1 and 5 can be selected and input. At this time, a message 316 “Minimum value (1) and maximum value (5) cannot be set because the toner cartridge is a non-genuine product” is displayed. As described above, when the print density set value is limited, it is desirable to display a message or the like to notify that the toner cartridge 108 is limited because it is a non-genuine product so that the user can understand the reason.

  The image forming conditions set by the printer driver 203a in this way are sent to the image forming apparatus 100 via the communication unit 201 together with the print data. In the image forming apparatus 100, the print data is transferred to the image forming unit 103 according to the image forming conditions. Is printed on the recording paper. Note that the print density setting value included in the image forming conditions is one of levels 1 to 5 if the toner cartridge 108 is a genuine product, and the level if the toner cartridge 108 is a non-genuine product. The value is limited to any one of levels 2 to 4 except 1 and 5.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when it is determined that a non-genuine product other than a genuine product supplied by the manufacturer is used in the apparatus, for example, the minimum of the image density setting values that can be set in the image forming apparatus. By restricting the value and maximum value from being entered, it is possible to avoid printing extremely dark or light images without impairing the user's convenience, and to prevent printing defects such as blurring or fogging. can do. Also, waste of recording paper and toner can be suppressed by preventing printing defects.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Exposure unit, 2 ... Developing device, 3 ... Photoconductor drum, 4 ... Cleaner unit, 5 ... Charger, 6 ... Intermediate transfer belt unit, 7 ... Fixing unit, 10 ... Transfer roller, 11a, 11b ... Pickup roller, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d ... conveying roller, 13 ... registration roller, 61 ... intermediate transfer belt, 62 ... intermediate transfer belt driving roller, 63 ... intermediate transfer belt driven roller, 64 ... intermediate transfer roller, 65 ... intermediate transfer belt cleaning Unit: 71 ... Heat roller, 72 ... Pressure roller, 73 ... External heating belt, 81 ... Paper feed cassette, 82 ... Manual paper feed cassette, 90 ... Image reading means, 91 ... Paper discharge tray, 92 ... Document placement table, 93 ... Light source unit, 94 ... Mirror unit, 95 ... CCD, 100 ... Image forming apparatus, 101 ... Control unit, 101a ... Non Authentic product determination unit, 102 ... operation panel, 102a ... operation unit, 102b, 205 ... display unit, 103 ... image forming unit, 104, 201 ... communication unit, 105, 203 ... storage unit, 106 ... reading unit, 107 ... sensor circuit , 108... Toner cartridge 108 a IC chip 109 109 image processing unit 109 a image density setting unit 120 automatic document processing unit 130 main unit 200 200 information processing unit 202 arithmetic processing unit 203 a Printer driver, 204... Input unit.

Claims (8)

An image forming unit that forms an image, a non-genuine product determining unit that determines whether or not a replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product, and a control unit that controls the image forming unit according to image forming conditions An image forming apparatus,
When the replacement part of the image forming unit is determined to be a non-genuine product by the non-genuine product determination unit, the control unit determines whether the replacement part is a genuine product among the image forming conditions. An image forming apparatus that limits a range of settable image density values.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit restricts input of a minimum value and a maximum value of the image density setting value.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit performs control so that the minimum value and the maximum value are not displayed when the image density setting value is displayed in a selectable manner.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit performs control so that the minimum value and the maximum value are grayed out when the image density setting value is displayed in a selectable manner.   5. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the image density setting value is limited, the control unit notifies that the replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product. 2. The image forming apparatus according to item 1. An image forming unit that forms an image, a non-genuine product determining unit that determines whether or not a replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product, and a control unit that controls the image forming unit according to image forming conditions An image forming method by an image forming apparatus,
The non-genuine product determination unit determines whether or not the replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product;
When the control unit determines that the replacement part is a non-genuine product in the determination step, the image density setting value range that can be set by the user when the replacement part is determined to be a genuine product is limited. A range limiting step to
An image forming method comprising: an image forming step in which the image forming unit forms an image according to an image forming condition in which a range of image density setting values is limited in the range limiting step. An image forming system in which an information processing apparatus in which a printer driver is installed and an image forming apparatus controlled by the printer driver are connected via a network,
The image forming apparatus includes: an image forming unit that forms an image; a non-genuine product determination unit that determines whether or not a replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product; A communication unit for transmitting to the processing device,
When the determination result from the image forming apparatus is a non-genuine product, the printer driver of the information processing apparatus determines that the replacement part is a genuine product among the image forming conditions that can be input to the image forming apparatus. An image forming system that limits a range of image density setting values that can be set by a user.   A printer driver that can be installed in an information processing apparatus constituting the image forming system according to claim 7.

Images