JP2000206838A - Image forming device and process cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image forming device provided with a process cartridge whose maintenance is easier and which is quickly restored from a fault. SOLUTION: The process cartridge 100 is provided with a display part 200 displaying individual information, and a device main body is provided with a reading means 21 reading information displayed on the display part 20 and a storing means 31 storing at least two or more individual information of the processing cartridge used. Since the information such as, for instance, whether the processing cartridge having a fault is used or not, and how many copies the processing cartridge having the fault is used and how many cartridges are attached, detached and exchanged up to now, is understood, the cause for a main body fault is easily investigated and it is consequently quickly restored.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium, such as an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer, and a facsimile, and a process cartridge detachable from the image forming apparatus. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus such as a printer forms an electrostatic latent image by selectively exposing a photosensitive drum, which is a uniformly charged electrostatic latent image carrier, to an electrostatic latent image. Is visualized as a toner image with toner as a developer, and the toner image is transferred to a recording medium to perform image recording.

In such an apparatus, the toner must be replenished each time the toner runs out. However, this toner replenishment operation is not only troublesome, but also involves contamination. In addition, maintenance of each member can only be performed by a specialized service technician, which often causes inconvenience to the user.

Therefore, by forming a process cartridge in which the photosensitive drum, the developing device, the cleaning member, and the like are integrated into a single structure, when the user runs out the toner when the process cartridge is mounted on the apparatus main body, or when the photosensitive drum is exhausted. Parts that can be replaced when their lifespan has expired and that facilitate maintenance have been put to practical use.

[0005]

By the way, in recent years, with the spread of personal computers, networking of computers in companies has been advanced, and printers are often shared by a plurality of departments. In such an environment, the ratio of the number of people who suffer damage in the event of a printer failure increases, so that it is necessary to recover the failure more quickly than ever. On the other hand, for example, by preparing a dedicated cartridge for each department, the frequency of replacing the cartridge from the main body has been increased more than ever. In such a situation, for example, people in a department that frequently prints in the special mode such as the cardboard mode must change the setting every time the cartridge is replaced, so that improvement in operability has been desired.

Accordingly, it is a main object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which is easier to maintain and recovers quickly from a failure.
And a process cartridge which is exchangeably mounted on the image forming apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus having excellent operability and a process cartridge which is exchangeably mounted on the image forming apparatus.

[0008]

The above object is achieved by an image forming apparatus and a process cartridge according to the present invention. In summary, the present invention provides at least an electrostatic latent image carrier, charging means for uniformly charging the electrostatic latent image carrier, and an electrostatic latent image formed on the electrostatic latent image carrier. One of a developing unit that visualizes the electrostatic latent image with a developer, a developer container that stores the developer and supplies the developer to the developing unit, and a cleaning unit that cleans the electrostatic latent image. In an image forming apparatus for forming an image by detachably attaching a process cartridge having one or more integrated units, the process cartridge has a display unit for displaying individual information of the process cartridge, and reads information displayed on the display unit. Means for storing the individual information of at least two or more used process cartridges.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in a process cartridge detachably attached to an image forming apparatus main body, at least the electrostatic latent image carrier and the electrostatic latent image carrier are uniformly charged. Charging means, developing means for visualizing an electrostatic latent image formed on the electrostatic latent image carrier with a developer, and developer for containing the developer and supplying the developing means to the developing means The storage container, and at least two of cleaning means for cleaning the electrostatic latent image are integrally formed, and has a display unit for displaying individual information of the process cartridge, and the image forming apparatus main body is A process unit comprising: a reading unit that reads information displayed on the display unit; and a storage unit that stores the individual information of at least two or more used process cartridges. Cartridge is provided.

According to the invention, it is preferable that the storage means is a nonvolatile storage means. According to another aspect, the storage unit stores the used history information of the process cartridge together with the individual information read from the process cartridge. It is preferable that the history information of the process cartridge is information on the number of sheets printed by the process cartridge and / or the amount of developer. The storage unit stores, together with the individual information read from the process cartridge, a main body setting at the time of performing printing with the process cartridge, and when the process cartridge having the stored individual information is remounted. It is preferable to have control means for changing the main body setting to the setting stored in the storage means.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus and a process cartridge according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus outputs a laser beam modulated according to an image signal from a scanner unit 101 including a laser and a polygon mirror correction system lens. Then, this laser light is reflected by the folding mirror 10.
The light is reflected on the photosensitive drum 1 and is irradiated on the photosensitive drum 1 as an electrostatic latent image carrier. The photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged in advance by a charging roller 2 serving as a primary charger, and an electrostatic latent image is formed in response to irradiation with a laser beam.

On the other hand, the toner 7 as the developer stored in the toner hopper (developer container) 6 of the developing device 51 is conveyed while charging the peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 3 as the developing means. A developable toner layer is formed thereon. The electrostatic latent image is developed by this toner layer and is visualized as a toner image.

On the other hand, a recording material 104 as a recording medium accommodated in a cassette 103 is supplied by a paper feed roller 105 in synchronization with the formation of a latent image on the photosensitive drum 1.
The recording material 104 is conveyed to a roller-shaped transfer unit 107 in synchronization with the leading end of the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1, and the toner image is transferred onto the recording material 104 by the transfer unit 107.

The recording material 104 onto which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to a fixing unit 109, where the toner image is fixed to form a permanent image. The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 is removed by cleaning means (elastic cleaning blade) 5.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The photosensitive drum 1, the charging roller 2, the developing device 51, the cleaning means 5, and the cover 52 are integrated as a process cartridge 100, and the mounting means 11 of the image forming apparatus is provided.
2 (see FIG. 1).

The developing device 51 includes a toner hopper 6 containing the toner 7, a developing sleeve 3 disposed at the opening thereof, a developing blade 8 for regulating the thickness of the toner layer on the developing sleeve 3, and a toner remaining amount detecting device. Antenna member 9 for
It has.

The components such as the photosensitive drum 1 of a process cartridge (hereinafter, simply referred to as “cartridge”) 100 are assembled in a predetermined mutual arrangement relationship, and the cartridge 100 includes a toner stored in a toner hopper 6. When the photoconductor 7 is worn out or when the photosensitive drum 1 reaches the end of its life, it is replaced by the user.

A feature of the present invention is that, as shown in FIG. 1, a display section 20 for displaying the individual information of the cartridge 100 is provided on the cartridge 100, and a reading device 21 for reading the individual information is provided on the image forming apparatus main body side. The storage means 31 for storing information is provided.

The individual information display section 20 of the present invention includes:
There is no particular limitation as long as the individual information of the cartridge can be recorded and transmitted, and a known recording means can be used. Specifically, optical recording means such as a bar code and an optical card, magnetic recording means such as a magneto-optical card and a magnetic card, an IC card, a mask ROM, EE
A storage medium using electric recording means such as a PROM can be used.

As the reading means 21, a known means corresponding to a storage medium to be used is used. Specifically, a bar code reading scanner or a magnetic head is used.

Further, information displayed on the display unit 20 for individual information includes the following.

For example, information such as the serial number and production lot of a cartridge, the production lot and characteristics of cartridge parts such as photosensitive drums and toner, the number of printable sheets,
And so on.

The information is read by the reading means 21 and stored in the storage means 31.

As the storage means 31 used in the present invention, a known storage means is used without any particular limitation, but a storage means which retains the stored contents even when the main body power is turned off is more preferable. Specifically, a nonvolatile IC memory such as an EEPROM, a magnetic disk, a magnetic card, a magneto-optical card, and the like are preferable.

The storage unit 31 writes the individual information of the cartridge 100 mounted on the image forming apparatus every time the cartridge 100 is replaced. The individual information once written is basically stored without being erased, but may be erased in the order of the old individual information when the cartridge is replaced by a predetermined number or more due to the limitation of the memory capacity. Further, when the cartridge once mounted and removed is mounted again, the fact that remounting has been performed may be added to the previously stored information.

The information stored in the storage means 31 is displayed on a display means (not shown) when the calling command is issued from an input means (not shown), or the CPU 3
2, the contents can be displayed on a host such as a personal computer (not shown).

According to the present embodiment, as described above, the individual information of the cartridges used so far is stored in the main body of the image forming apparatus, so that, for example, whether or not a cartridge having a defect is used can be determined. Information such as how many sheets have been used due to a defect and how many cartridges have been inserted / removed / replaced can be found, so that even if the device itself is out of order, the cause can be easily investigated. As a result, recovery from the failure can be accelerated.

Embodiment 2 Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 3 has a configuration substantially similar to that of the image forming apparatus in which the process cartridge described with reference to FIG. 1 is mounted. Therefore, the description of the same parts will be omitted, and different parts will be described.

In this embodiment, an antenna member 9 for detecting the remaining amount of toner is provided near the developing sleeve 3 in the toner hopper 6, and the antenna member 9 is connected to the remaining toner detecting circuit 33. Then, the capacitance between the developing sleeve 3 and the antenna member 9 is detected by the antenna member 9, and is compared with a reference capacitance set in advance in the remaining toner amount detection circuit 33 of the apparatus main body. It is detected whether the remaining amount of toner is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, a storage means 31 provided in the main body not only reads and stores the contents displayed on the individual information display section 20 of the cartridge 100 by the reading means 21 but also stores the contents of the CPU 32 together with the individual information.
And whether there is a history that the remaining amount of toner has become a predetermined value or less. Here, the history information indicating that the remaining amount of toner has become equal to or less than a predetermined value is stored, for example, together with the number of prints in the cartridge so that it is possible to later know at what number of prints the remaining amount of toner has become equal to or less than the predetermined value. May be stored.

The stored contents are referred to by referring to the individual information of the cartridge stored at the same time. For example, when the cartridge in which the remaining amount of toner is once displayed as the predetermined value or less is mounted again, a display unit (not shown) is displayed. For example, the user may be warned that the remaining amount of toner is low.

As the history information of the cartridge,
In addition to the above information, for example, the size of the printed recording paper (for example, how many sheets of A4, how many sheets of postcard), and the occurrence record of the jam may be stored.

As the individual information display section 20 of the cartridge 100, the reading means 21 of the main body, and the storage means 31 in the present embodiment, those similar to those in the first embodiment can be used.

As in the first embodiment, when a call command is issued from an input unit (not shown), the contents of the storage unit 31 are displayed on a display unit (not shown).
The contents can be displayed on a host such as a personal computer (not shown) through the CPU 32.

As described above, in the present embodiment, not only the individual information but also the history information of the use of the cartridge is stored. The user can be informed of the fact when re-attached, and the usability can be improved.

Embodiment 3 Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 4 has substantially the same configuration as the image forming apparatus equipped with the process cartridge described with reference to FIG. 1, and therefore, the description of the same parts will be omitted, and different parts will be described.

In FIG. 4, the storage means 31 provided in the main body not only reads and stores the contents displayed on the individual information display section 20 of the cartridge by the reading means 21 but also changes the main body setting together with the individual information. The contents set by the user can be stored through the CPU 32 by the means 34. Here, the content that can be stored as the user setting can be stored without any particular limitation as long as the content has a function that can be changed by the user in the image forming apparatus main body. Specific examples include a change in image density and a change in print mode (for example, thick paper mode and normal mode).

The stored information is referred to the individual information of the cartridge stored at the same time, and is automatically transmitted to the CPU 32 when the previously mounted cartridge is mounted again on the main body. The setting of the main body is changed to the stored contents through the means 35.

As the individual information display section 20 of the cartridge 100, the reading means 21 of the main body, and the storage means 31 in the present embodiment, those similar to those in the first embodiment can be used.

As with the first embodiment, when a call command is issued from an input unit (not shown), the contents stored in the storage unit 31 are displayed on a display unit (not shown). The contents can be displayed on a host such as a personal computer (not shown) through the CPU 32.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when a cartridge for which a bias setting or a special setting such as a thick paper mode has been changed by a user at the time of printing is once removed and then remounted, the automatic setting is performed. The main body setting can be returned to the state set by the user, and operability can be improved.

In the above description, the history information of the cartridge is described in the second embodiment, and the storage of the setting change of the main body is described in the third embodiment.
Both can be stored simultaneously with the individual information of the cartridge.

[0046]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the image forming apparatus and the process cartridge of the present invention,
The process cartridge has a display unit for displaying the individual information, the image forming apparatus main body reads the information displayed on the display unit, and reads the individual information of at least two or more used process cartridges. By having the storage means for storing, the maintenance is simpler and the recovery from the failure can be quickened.

Further, the storage means stores the main unit settings when printing is performed with the process cartridge together with the individual information read from the process cartridge, and the process cartridge having the stored individual information is re-stored. By changing the main body setting to the setting stored in the storage means by the control means at the time of mounting, it is not necessary to change the setting every time the process cartridge is replaced, and operability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a process cartridge according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photosensitive drum (electrostatic latent image carrier) 2 Charging roller (charging means) 3 Developing sleeve (developing means) 6 Toner hopper (developer accommodating container) 20 Individual information display section of cartridge 21 Individual information reading means of cartridge 31 Storage Means 32 CPU 34 Main setting change circuit 35 Control means 51 Developing device 100 Process cartridge 112 Mounting means

Claims (10)

[Claims] At least an electrostatic latent image carrier, charging means for uniformly charging the electrostatic latent image carrier, and a developer for charging the electrostatic latent image formed on the electrostatic latent image carrier with a developer Two or more of a developing unit that visualizes the image by a developer, a developer container that stores the developer and supplies the developer to the developing unit, and a cleaning unit that cleans the electrostatic latent image. An image forming apparatus for forming an image by detachably attaching an integrated process cartridge to an image forming apparatus main body, wherein the process cartridge has a display unit for displaying its individual information, and the image forming apparatus main body is provided on the display unit. An image forming apparatus comprising: a reading unit that reads displayed information; and a storage unit that stores the individual information of at least two or more used process cartridges. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage unit is a nonvolatile storage unit. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores history information on the use of the process cartridge together with the individual information read from the process cartridge. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the history information of the process cartridge is information on the number of sheets printed by the process cartridge and / or the amount of developer. 5. The storage means stores, with the individual information read from the process cartridge, a main body setting when printing is performed by the process cartridge.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit configured to change a main body setting to a setting stored in the storage unit when the process cartridge having the stored individual information is remounted. . 6. A process cartridge detachably mounted on an image forming apparatus main body, comprising: at least an electrostatic latent image carrier; a charging unit for uniformly charging the electrostatic latent image carrier; Developing means for visualizing the electrostatic latent image formed on the latent image carrier with a developer, a developer accommodating container for accommodating the developer and supplying the developer to the developing means, Any two or more of the cleaning means for cleaning the image are integrated, and a display unit for displaying individual information of the process cartridge is provided. The image forming apparatus main body is displayed on the display unit. A process cartridge comprising: reading means for reading information; and storage means for storing the individual information of at least two or more used process cartridges. 7. The process cartridge according to claim 6, wherein said storage means is a nonvolatile storage means. 8. The process cartridge according to claim 6, wherein said storage means stores history information on the use of said process cartridge together with individual information read from said process cartridge. 9. The process cartridge according to claim 8, wherein the history information of the process cartridge is information relating to the number of sheets printed by the process cartridge and / or the amount of developer. 10. The storage unit stores, with the individual information read from the process cartridge, a main body setting at the time of printing with the process cartridge, the process cartridge having the stored individual information is re-stored. 8. The process cartridge according to claim 6, further comprising control means for changing a main body setting to a setting stored in said storage means when the main body is mounted.