JP2004246372A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To forbid reuse of a used cartridge and to prevent repacking of consumables. <P>SOLUTION: A central processing unit and a memory are disposed at the cartridge for accommodating the consumables. The cartridge central processing unit calculates cumulative value of rotation number of a photosensitive drum during use of the cartridge and the value is written in the cartridge memory. A printer reads out the cumulative value written in the cartridge memory and when the cumulative value reaches or exceeds prescribed value, it presumes that remaining quantity of toner is below prescribed quantity and the cartridge is judged to be a used one. When the cartridge is judged to be the used one, warning display that the cartridge cannot be reused is performed and further the cartridge is made to be inoperative. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a cartridge for storing consumables is set so as to be replaceable, such as a printer, a facsimile machine, and a copying machine.

  For example, in an electrophotographic printer, a toner cartridge filled with toner is used as a development medium. This toner cartridge is filled with a certain amount of toner at the time of manufacture, and is set to be replaceable in a printer. This toner cartridge does not require replenishment of toner from the replenishing bottle into the toner storage chamber in the printer, so there is no fear of hands and clothes becoming dirty with toner, and only the toner cartridge needs to be replaced. There are advantages such as being simple.

  A process cartridge in which the toner cartridge is further developed and a photosensitive drum, a charging roller, a developing roller, a cleaning unit, and the like are attached is known. This process cartridge is widely used in personal printers and the like because it has advantages such as easy maintenance and no need for a maintenance contract because the photosensitive drum and the like are replaced at the same time as the replacement of the toner.

  Used cartridges are collected by a printer manufacturer through a cartridge vendor. The printer manufacturer disassembles used cartridges, inspects each part and reuses normal parts from the viewpoint of environmental pollution prevention and effective use of resources, and plastic parts are melted and pelletized to produce plastic materials. Reusing. In addition, by recycling this cartridge, the selling price of the cartridge is reduced.

  Instead of returning all used cartridges to the printer manufacturer, some of them are sent to a toner refiller. The toner refilling company contracts refilling at a predetermined charge, disassembles the cartridge, and replenishes appropriate toner. Some toner refillers purchase used cartridges, disassemble them, replenish the toner, and sell them to general users as remanufactured cartridges at a considerably lower price than new cartridges.

  The toner (genuine product) filled at the time of manufacture of the cartridge determines the toner component in consideration of the printer process characteristics (photosensitive drum characteristics, charging voltage, cleaning characteristics, fixing characteristics). However, since the toner used by the toner refilling company is different in composition from genuine toner, the print quality may be deteriorated. In addition, the toner may stick to the fixing roller and damage the fixing roller.

  When the print quality deteriorates or a failure occurs, the user often misunderstands that there is a cause in the printer despite the cause in the replenished toner. As a result, the reliability of printers built up steadily is lost. Also, some users may not trust the manufacturer that manufactured the printer, and may be disgusted by all the products handled by the manufacturer.

  In order to maintain the reliability of the printer manufacturer, measures such as preventing refilling of consumables such as toner and ink in advance by a refiller, or preventing improper cartridges with refilled consumables from being reused. It is necessary to consider.

  As a countermeasure for preventing refilling of consumables, Patent Document 1 listed below describes a process cartridge provided with a counter for counting the number of printed sheets and an electromagnetic brake for preventing the rotation of the developing roller. In this process cartridge, the amount of toner consumed is indirectly checked from the number of printed sheets. When the number of printed sheets reaches a certain value, it is estimated that the toner has run out, and the electromagnetic brake is activated. Since this electromagnetic brake prevents the developing roller from rotating, once the toner runs out, the process cartridge cannot be used regardless of whether or not the toner is replenished. Therefore, a process cartridge that contains toner but is electromagnetically braked cannot be used even if it is set in a printer. Thereby, since it is considered that the user gives up refilling of toner, refilling of toner is indirectly prevented.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-28320

  However, conventional countermeasures for preventing toner refilling have a problem that the process cartridge is complicated and large because an electromagnetic brake must be provided in the process cartridge. In addition, since the state where the electromagnetic brake is applied can be known immediately, when disassembling the process cartridge, the electromagnetic brake can be removed or the brake can be turned off. Can not. For this reason, it is not an effective refill prevention measure.

  An object of the present invention is to prevent refilling of consumables by prohibiting reuse of a used cartridge that has used up consumables (toner and ink) without causing an increase in the size of the cartridge and with a simple configuration. To do.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a measuring unit for measuring an estimated usage amount of a consumable used in image formation stored in a cartridge that is replaceably set in the apparatus main body, and a cartridge provided in the cartridge. Writing means for writing the estimated usage amount measured in the memory; and determination means for determining that the cartridge has been used when the estimated usage amount reaches a predetermined value preset in the cartridge memory; And a display for displaying that the cartridge cannot be used for image formation when the determination means determines that the cartridge is used.

  Further, another image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a measuring unit for measuring an estimated usage amount of a consumable that is housed in a cartridge that is replaceably set in the apparatus main body and is used for image formation, and the cartridge. Writing means for writing the estimated usage amount measured in the provided cartridge memory, and indirectly checking the remaining amount of the consumable by comparing the estimated usage amount with a predetermined value preset in the cartridge memory. Determining means for determining that the cartridge has been used when the remaining amount is estimated to be less than or equal to a predetermined amount; and when the determination means determines that the cartridge has been used, the cartridge is used for image formation. And an indicator for indicating that the device cannot be used.

  The cartridge is, for example, a cartridge having a consumable storage chamber and a developing roller, the measuring means is a rotation detecting means for detecting the rotation of the developing roller, and the writing means is a signal from the rotation detecting means. Based on the above, the accumulated value of the rotational speed is written in the cartridge memory, and the determination means performs the used determination based on the accumulated value.

  The cartridge is, for example, a cartridge having a consumable storage chamber, a photosensitive drum, a charging roller, and a developing roller, and the measuring unit is a rotation detecting unit that detects the rotation of the photosensitive drum, the developing roller, the charging roller, or the charging roller. The writing means writes the accumulated value of the rotational speed into the cartridge memory based on the signal from the rotation detecting means, and the determining means makes a used determination based on the accumulated value.

  Another image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a remaining amount measuring unit that directly checks a remaining amount of a consumable stored in a cartridge that is set to be replaceable in the apparatus main body, and a cartridge provided in the cartridge. Writing means for writing the measured remaining amount of consumables in the memory, and determining that the cartridge has been used when the remaining amount of the consumables falls below a predetermined amount preset in the cartridge memory And a display for displaying that the cartridge cannot be used for image formation when the determination unit determines that the cartridge has been used.

  The cartridge is, for example, a cartridge having a consumable storage chamber and a developing roller, and the remaining amount measuring means for directly checking the remaining amount of the consumable includes a photo sensor provided in the consumable storage chamber. Further, the cartridge is provided with a photosensitive drum and a charging roller.

  As described above in detail, the present invention measures the estimated usage and remaining amount of consumables that are stored in a cartridge that is replaceably set in the apparatus main body and used for image formation, and the measurement results are used as the measurement results. When it is written in the cartridge memory provided in the cartridge and the measurement result reaches a predetermined value preset in the cartridge memory, it is determined that the cartridge is used, and this determination means determines whether the cartridge is used. In this case, since the display unit displays that the cartridge cannot be used for image formation, inappropriate refilling of consumables is prevented.

  FIG. 1 shows an electrophotographic printer to which the present invention is applied. In the printer 10, a cartridge 12 is set in the printer main body 11 so as to be replaceable. In addition to the toner chamber 13 filled with the toner 14, the cartridge 12 is provided with a photosensitive drum 15, a charging roller 16, and a developing roller 17, and is in the form of a so-called process cartridge.

  The photosensitive drum 15 is provided with a photoconductive film on the outer peripheral surface of a metal cylinder. The charging roller 16 includes a metal shaft, a foamed urethane cylinder fitted on the outer periphery thereof, and a semiconductive plastic tube fitted outside the foamed urethane. The charging roller 16 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 15 by the elasticity of urethane foam. Further, in order to apply a constant voltage between the photosensitive drum 15 and the charging roller 16, the cylindrical body of the photosensitive drum 15 and the shaft of the charging roller 16 are connected to a power supply circuit in the printer main body 11. For this connection, the cartridge 12 and the printer main body 11 are provided with electrical contacts (see reference numeral 68 in FIG. 5).

  A plurality of recording sheets 21 are set on the sheet feeding tray 20. The recording paper 21 at the top of the paper feed tray 20 is pulled out by the paper feed roller 22 and fed toward the pair of transport rollers 23. The conveying roller pair 23 nips the recording paper 21 and conveys it to the transfer position. A transfer roller 24 is disposed at this transfer position, and comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 15 when the cartridge 12 is set.

  At the time of printing, the photosensitive drum 15 rotates clockwise at a constant speed. When the photosensitive drum 15 passes while contacting the charging roller 16, the outer peripheral surface is uniformly charged. The semiconductor laser 26 is driven according to image data and generates intensity-modulated laser light. This laser light is incident on the rotating photosensitive drum 15 through the polygon mirror 27. The polygon mirror 27 performs raster scanning by oscillating laser light in the axial direction (main scanning direction) of the photosensitive drum 15. Since the photosensitive drum 15 is neutralized at the portion irradiated with the laser beam, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the outer periphery thereof.

  The toner 14 in the toner chamber 13 adheres to the outer periphery of the rotating developing roller 17 and is conveyed. The toner 14 passes through the regulating blade 28 (see FIG. 4) while being adhered to the developing roller 17 and being conveyed. During this passage, the toner 14 is charged with a polarity opposite to that of the photosensitive drum 15 due to friction with the regulating blade 28. When the toner 14 is conveyed to the photosensitive drum 15, it is attracted to the photosensitive drum 15 by electrostatic force, so that the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 15 is visualized as a toner image.

  As the photosensitive drum 15 rotates, the toner image moves to the transfer position. At this transfer position, the recording paper 21 is sandwiched between the transfer roller 24 and the photosensitive drum 15 and moved at the same speed as the peripheral speed of the photosensitive drum 15. Since the transfer roller 24 is biased to a potential opposite to that of the toner image, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 15 is transferred to the recording paper 21.

  The recording paper 21 onto which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed toward the fixing device 29. The fixing device 29 includes a pair of fixing rollers 30 and a heater (not shown), and heats and melts the toner. The melted toner is adsorbed on the recording paper 21. The fixed recording paper 21 is discharged from the printer main body 11.

  2 to 4 show an example of the cartridge. FIG. 2 shows the upper cartridge, and FIG. 3 shows the lower cartridge. FIG. 4 shows the assembled state. The main bodies 34 and 35 of the upper cartridge 32 and the lower cartridge 33 are black plastic molded products.

  2 and 4, a toner chamber 13 is formed in the upper cartridge 32, and a predetermined amount of toner is filled at the time of manufacture. An elongated toner supply port 13a is formed below the toner chamber 13, and is sealed with a seal tape (not shown) before use. Further, a filling port (not shown) for filling the toner is provided on the side surface of the toner chamber 13 and sealed with a cap 37 after the toner is filled. Reference numeral 38 denotes a top plate of the toner chamber 13 and is bonded to the upper cartridge body 34.

  In a state where the cartridge 12 is assembled, the cap 37 is covered with the lower cartridge body 35 so that the cap 37 is not exposed to the outside. Therefore, once the cartridge 12 is assembled, the toner cannot be charged unless it is disassembled into the upper cartridge body 34 and the lower cartridge body 35.

  The charging roller 16 is rotatably attached to the upper cartridge body 34. An exposure opening 39 is formed at a position close to the charging roller 16, and laser light enters the photosensitive drum 15 through the exposure opening 39.

  Reference numeral 54 denotes a shutter that covers the exposure opening 39 and blocks laser light to the photosensitive drum 15. The shutter 50 is attached so as to be movable between an open position where the exposure opening 39 is opened and a closed position where the exposure opening 39 is closed. The shutter 50 is set in the open position and shipped. When the cartridge 12 is used and the remaining amount of the toner 14 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount and the cartridge 12 is used, the shutter 50 moves to the closed position and closes the exposure opening 39. As a result, the cartridge 12 becomes inoperable and its reuse is prohibited.

  Further, in order to couple the upper cartridge 32 to the lower cartridge 33, the upper cartridge body 34 has two locking claws 40 on the toner chamber 13 side and two locking claws 41 on the charging roller 16 side. Is formed. Note that reference numerals 42 to 44 denote sponge tapes for closing the gaps so that the toner 14 does not enter the exposure chamber 45, as is apparent from FIG.

  3 and 4, a photosensitive drum 15 and a developing roller 17 are rotatably attached to the lower cartridge main body 35. The lower cartridge body 35 is provided with a driven gear 46 that meshes with a drive gear (not shown) provided in the printer body 11. The rotation of the driven gear 46 is transmitted to the developing roller 17 through the gear 47 and further transmitted to the photosensitive drum 15 through the gear 48. An opening 49 is formed in a portion located below the photosensitive drum 15. The transfer roller 24 enters through the opening 49 and contacts the photosensitive drum 15.

  The driven gear 46 is prevented from rotating by the lock mechanism when the remaining amount of the toner 14 becomes a predetermined amount or less and the cartridge 12 is used. The lock mechanism includes a lock pin 51 and a solenoid (not shown) that drives the lock pin 51. The lock pin 51 is movably attached between an insertion position where the lock pin 51 is inserted into a rotation path of the teeth 46a formed on the driven gear 46 and a retreat position where the lock pin 51 is retracted from the rotation path. As is well known, the solenoid is composed of a movable iron core and a coil wound around the movable iron core. A current flows through the coil to generate a magnetic field, and the movable iron core is moved by the magnetic force.

  When the cartridge 12 is used up, energization to the solenoid is started. When the solenoid is energized, the lock pin 51 moves to the insertion position in response to the pressing of the movable iron core. In this insertion position, the lock pin 51 enters between the teeth 46a, so that when the driven gear 46 tries to rotate, the teeth 46a engage with the lock pin 46a. Therefore, the driven gear 46 is prevented from rotating, and the photosensitive drum 15 and the developing roller 17 are locked.

  A cleaning blade 54 is attached to the tip of the support plate 53 and scrapes off excess toner adhering to the photosensitive drum 15. In order to collect the scraped toner in the waste toner chamber 55, a squeeze sheet 56 is attached to the lower cartridge body 35. The waste toner chamber 55 is partitioned by a support plate 53, a cleaning blade 54, and a squeeze sheet 56.

  Since the upper end of the support plate 53 is in contact with the sponge tape 44, the waste toner chamber 55 and the exposure chamber 45 are partitioned so that the used toner does not leak from the cartridge 12 through the exposure chamber 45. Yes. Further, the sponge tape 42 is in contact with the inside of the lower cartridge body 35, and the sponge tape 43 is in contact with the upper end of the regulating blade 28. By partitioning the toner chamber 13 side and the exposure chamber 45 by these sponge tapes 42 and 43, unused toner 14 is prevented from leaking out of the cartridge 12 through the exposure chamber 45.

  The lower cartridge body 35 is provided with an engagement hole 57 and a locking projection 58. When the upper cartridge 32 is fitted into the lower cartridge 33, the locking claw 40 of the upper cartridge main body 34 is fitted into the engagement hole 57, and the locking claw 41 of the upper cartridge main body 34 is engaged with the locking projection 58. The upper cartridge 32 and the lower cartridge 33 are assembled integrally by the locking claws 40 and 41, the engagement hole 57, and the locking projection 58.

  In FIG. 5 showing the electrical configuration of the printer and cartridge, the printer main body 11 includes an image forming unit comprising a CPU (hereinafter referred to as printer CPU) 60, a memory (hereinafter referred to as printer memory) 61, a laser 26, a polygon mirror 27, and the like. 62, a display 63, a charging circuit 64 for applying a voltage to the charging roller 16, and a motor 66 for driving the transfer roller 24, the cartridge 12, the paper feeding roller 22, and the conveying roller 23 are provided.

  The printer CPU 60 controls each part of the printer 10 in sequence. The printer main body 11 and the cartridge 12 are provided with printer side contacts 68a, 68b, 68c and cartridge side contacts 69a, 69b, 69c in order to electrically connect them. The drive motor 66 is driven by a driver 67 and rotates the photosensitive drum 15 via a driven gear 46 and gears 47 and 48.

  In addition to the photosensitive drum 15 and the like, the cartridge 12 includes a CPU (hereinafter referred to as a cartridge CPU) 71, a memory (hereinafter referred to as a cartridge memory) 72, a rotation detection unit 73, a shutter drive unit 74, a display 75, a lock mechanism 76, A switch 77 is provided. In this example, the remaining amount of toner is indirectly checked based on the accumulated value of the rotational speed of the photosensitive drum 15 to determine that the cartridge 12 has been used.

  That is, the amount of toner used for printing one sheet varies depending on the number of characters, but the average value is empirically known. The number of rotations of the photosensitive drum 15 when printing one sheet is determined according to the diameter of the photosensitive drum 15 and the print size. Therefore, if the cumulative value of the rotational speed of the photosensitive drum 15 is known, it is possible to roughly check how much toner remains.

  The rotation detector 73 detects the rotation of the photosensitive drum 15 in order to count the accumulated value of the photosensitive drum 15. As this rotation detection part 73, the photo interrupter which consists of a light source and the light-receiving part which receives this light is used, for example.

  A projection 15 a is provided at one end of the photosensitive drum 15. The light source and the light receiving unit are arranged at positions facing each other with the protrusion 15a interposed therebetween. When the photosensitive drum 15 rotates and the protrusion 15a passes through the rotation detection unit 73, light traveling from the light source to the light receiving unit is interrupted for a moment. The rotation detector 73 detects that the photosensitive drum 15 has made one rotation by detecting the passage of the protrusion 15a. A reflective photo sensor may be used instead of the photo interrupter. Alternatively, a micro switch may be provided and the protrusion 15a may be turned on to detect the passage of the protrusion 15a.

  When the rotation detection unit 73 detects that the photosensitive drum 15 has made one rotation, it outputs a detection signal to the cartridge CPU 71. When the cartridge CPU 71 receives the detection signal, it adds “1” to the accumulated value of the previous rotational speed stored in the cartridge memory 72 and writes the new accumulated value in the cartridge memory 72.

  In the cartridge memory 72, a predetermined value as a reference for determining that the cartridge 12 has been used is set in advance. As the predetermined value, the rotational speed of the photosensitive drum 15 is used. Since the rotational speed of the photosensitive drum 15 and the rotational speed of the developing roller, charging roller, transfer roller 24, and the like have a correlation, the remaining toner amount is determined from the rotational speed of the developing roller 17, charging roller 16, transfer roller 24, and the like. You may check the amount. In this case, a rotational speed equivalent to the rotational speed of the photosensitive drum 15 is used as the predetermined value. For example, when detecting the rotation of the developing roller 17 instead of the photosensitive drum 15, a rotational speed equivalent to the rotational speed of the developing roller 17 is used.

  The printer CPU 60 reads the accumulated value in the cartridge memory 72 via the cartridge CPU 71 during the printing operation, and estimates that the remaining amount of the toner 14 has become the predetermined amount or less when the accumulated value becomes the predetermined value or more. Is determined to be used. When the printer CPU 60 determines that the cartridge 12 has been used, the printer CPU 60 displays on the display 63 that the toner in the cartridge 12 has run out, should be replaced with a new cartridge, and the like. The display device 63 is provided on the outer surface of the printer main body 11 together with an operation panel (not shown).

  The shutter driving unit 74 is for driving the shutter 50 and operates when it is determined that the cartridge 12 has been used, and moves the shutter 50 to the closed position. The lock mechanism 76 is for driving the solenoid, and, similar to the shutter drive unit 74, operates when the cartridge 12 is determined to be used, and moves the lock pin 51 to the insertion position. The shutter drive unit 74 and the lock mechanism 76 are controlled by the printer CPU 60.

  The switch 77 is disposed on the power supply path from the charging circuit 64 to the charging roller 16 and turns off the power supply path when it is determined that the cartridge 12 has been used. This switch 77 is also controlled by the printer CPU 60. The display 75 is provided on the outer surface of the main body of the cartridge 12 and displays that the toner has run out, the use of the cartridge 12 is prohibited, etc., when it is determined that the cartridge 12 has been used. In addition, although the warning message is displayed on the liquid crystal display as the display devices 63 and 75, other than the liquid crystal display, for example, a warning by voice may be used.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In order to load the cartridge 12 into the cartridge chamber (not shown) of the printer main body 11, first, the seal tape is peeled off from the new cartridge to open the toner supply port 13a. When the toner discharge port 13 a is opened, the toner 14 in the toner chamber 13 can be supplied to the developing roller 17. Next, the lid of the cartridge chamber is opened, and the cartridge 12 is loaded into the cartridge chamber. When the cartridge 12 is completely loaded in the cartridge chamber, the cartridge 12 and the printer main body 11 are electrically connected.

  In the case of a new cartridge, the cartridge 12 operates normally and a printing operation is performed. When there is a print request from a personal computer or the like, the printer CPU 60 controls the image forming unit 62 to record images and characters on the recording paper 21.

  During normal operation of the printer 10, the cartridge CPU 71 receives the detection signal from the rotation detection unit 73 every time the photosensitive drum 15 makes one rotation, and updates the accumulated value in the cartridge memory 72. The printer CPU 60 reads the accumulated value in the cartridge memory 72 every time it is updated. When the accumulated value reaches a predetermined value or more, it is determined that the cartridge has been used, and the display 63 indicates that the toner has run out.

  In addition, the printer CPU 60 operates the shutter driving unit 74 to move the shutter 50 to the closed position and close the exposure opening 39. Further, the switch 77 is turned off to cut off the power supply to the charging roller 16 and the charging of the photosensitive drum 15 is stopped. Further, the lock mechanism 72 is operated to prevent the driven gear 42 from rotating, and the rotation of the photosensitive drum 15 and the developing roller 17 is locked. As a result, the cartridge 12 becomes inoperable and its use is prohibited.

  Used cartridges that have run out of toner are collected by a printer manufacturer via a cartridge vendor and recycled. The printer manufacturer disassembles the cartridge and cleans it before inspecting each part. Normal parts are reused, and parts that have failed or have expired are returned to the material for reuse.

  Some users may request a refiller to replenish the toner that has run out of toner. The refiller removes the locking claw 40 from the engagement hole 57 and the locking claw 41 from the locking projection 58 to disassemble the cartridge 12 into the upper cartridge 32 and the lower cartridge 33.

  After disassembling the cartridge 12, each part is cleaned, and then a sealing tape is applied to the toner discharge port 13a of the upper cartridge 32 to close it. Next, the cap 37 of the upper cartridge 32 is removed, and the toner is replenished into the toner chamber 13. After the toner is replenished, the cap 37 is fitted again, and the toner chamber 13 is sealed. After refilling the toner, the refiller assembles the upper cartridge 32 and the lower cartridge 33, wraps the assembled cartridge 12 and sends it to the user.

  The user sets an inappropriate cartridge in which the toner has been refilled by the refiller in the printer main body 11. However, as described above, in the cartridge 12 that has been determined to be used once, the exposure opening 39 is closed, the charging of the photosensitive drum 15 is stopped, and the photosensitive drum 15 and the developing roller 17 are also locked and disabled. And its reuse is prohibited.

  When the cartridge 12 is prohibited from being reused, even if a print request is issued from a personal computer or the like, the printer 10 cannot execute the printing operation, and therefore, an inappropriate cartridge in which the toner has been refilled cannot be used. As a result, the user abandons the toner refilling request and uses an appropriate cartridge provided by the printer manufacturer. This prevents a decrease in print quality due to the use of poor toner and contributes to prevention of printer failure. Further, in the process cartridge, it is possible to prevent parts such as the photosensitive drum 15 from being used after the quality guarantee period has elapsed, and to prevent deterioration in print quality due to this.

  FIG. 7 is an example in which when it is determined that the cartridge 12 has been used, the electric circuit provided in the cartridge 12 is electrically destroyed to make the cartridge 12 inoperable and its reuse is prohibited. . In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the same member. In this example, a switch 81 is provided on a power supply path from the charging circuit 64 to the cartridge CPU 71. When the printer CPU 60 determines that the cartridge 12 has been used, the printer CPU 60 turns on the switch 81, applies a high voltage from the charging circuit 64 to the cartridge CPU 71, and electrically destroys the cartridge CPU 71. As a result, the printer CPU 60 cannot communicate with the cartridge CPU 71 and the reuse of the cartridge 12 is prohibited.

  In the above example, the printer CPU 60 reads the accumulated value of the rotational speed of the photosensitive drum 15 written in the cartridge memory 72 and determines that the cartridge 12 has been used based on the read value. The CPU 71 may control the shutter driving unit 74, the lock mechanism 76, and the switch 77 by the cartridge CPU 71. Further, the cartridge CPU 71 may not be provided, and the printer CPU 60 may receive the detection signal from the rotation detection unit 73 and update the accumulated value of the cartridge memory 72.

  Further, although the remaining amount of toner is indirectly checked from the accumulated value of the rotational speed of the photosensitive drum 15, for example, a photo sensor is provided in the toner storage chamber to directly measure the remaining amount of toner. You may make it look into.

The cartridge 83 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is an example in which when the cartridge is disassembled, the cartridge is rendered inoperable and its reuse is prohibited.
A separation detection switch 84 and a circuit board 86 are provided next to the waste toner chamber 55 of the cartridge 83. The disassembly detection switch 84 is for detecting that the cartridge 83 has been disassembled. The disassembly detection switch 84 includes a pair of contact pieces 84 a and 84 b and is attached to the lower cartridge body 35. The disassembly detection switch 84 is electrically connected to the circuit board 86. The upper cartridge body 34 is provided with an L-shaped pressing piece 34a.

  The pressing piece 34a is for pressing the open end of the contact piece 84a when the upper cartridge body 34 and the lower cartridge body 35 are assembled, so that the contact pieces 84a and 84b are not in contact with each other. When the upper cartridge body 34 and the lower cartridge body 35 are separated, the pressing piece 34a is separated from the contact piece 84a, the contact pieces 84a and 84b are contacted, and the disassembly detection switch 84 is turned on. In addition to the decomposition detection switch, for example, a photo sensor or the like may be used as the decomposition detection unit.

  The cartridge CPU 71 detects that the disassembly detection switch 84 is turned on, operates the shutter drive unit 74 and the lock mechanism 76, and turns off the switch 77. Further, a warning is displayed on the display device 75. These are operated by receiving power from a power supply battery 87 provided on the circuit board 86. Note that when the disassembly detection switch 84 is turned on, a high voltage may be applied to the cartridge CPU 71 to electrically destroy the cartridge CPU 71.

  As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10, when the cartridge 83 is disassembled, the disassembly detection switch 84 is turned on. As a result, the cartridge CPU 71 operates the display unit 75, the shutter drive unit 74, and the lock mechanism 76 to display a warning, close the exposure opening 39, stop charging the photosensitive drum 15, and lock the photosensitive drum 15 and the developing roller 17. The As a result, the cartridge 83 becomes inoperable and its reuse is prohibited. In order to refill the toner, the cartridge 83 has to be disassembled, so that it is possible to prevent unauthorized refilling of the toner by the toner refiller.

  FIG. 11 shows a program for executing a procedure for measuring the remaining amount of toner stored in a storage medium (CD, floppy (R), IC memory, MO, etc.) and prohibiting the use of a cartridge, or realizing a function or means. An example of installing in a printer is shown. The printer main body 90 is connected to a personal computer 91, and character data and image data of the personal computer 91 are sent to the printer main body 90 and printed on recording paper.

  When the printer main body 90 is not provided with the procedure for measuring the remaining amount of toner and making the cartridge inoperable as shown in FIG. 6, the remaining amount of toner may be checked or the cartridge may be made inoperable. Can not. For such a printer main body 90, it is necessary to install a program for measuring the remaining amount of toner and making the cartridge inoperable.

  For example, a program for executing the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is stored in the CD 92 which is a storage medium. The CD 92 is set in a CD drive (not shown) of the personal computer 91. The personal computer 91 reads the program stored in the CD 92 and writes it in the hard disk 93 of the printer main body 90.

  The CPU 94 of the printer main body 90 executes the program written in the hard disk 93, thereby checking the remaining amount of toner as described above and disabling the warning and the cartridge.

  The input device 95 is for inputting image data and character data from a scanner, a digital camera, or the like. The ROM 96 stores a program for controlling the printing operation of the printing unit 97, a program for image processing, and the like. The RAM 98 is used for temporarily storing data.

  Note that the CD 92 may be directly set in the printer main body 90 and necessary programs may be written in the printer main body 90. Further, the cartridge may be used while being set in the printer main body 90, the program read from the CD is executed, the remaining amount of toner is checked, and the cartridge becomes inoperable.

  In the above example, as the use prohibiting means, an example in which a shutter that closes the exposure opening, a switch that stops charging of the photosensitive drum, and a locking mechanism of the photosensitive drum and the developing roller is described. There may be only one.

  In the above example, the process cartridge is used, but the present invention can also be used for a toner cartridge containing only toner. The present invention can also be applied to an ink cartridge containing ink for an ink jet printer, a ribbon cartridge containing an ink ribbon for a dot printer, a ribbon cartridge containing an ink ribbon for a thermal printer, and the like. The present invention is also applied to an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile machine and a copying machine in addition to a printer.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an electrophotographic printer. It is a perspective view of an upper cartridge. It is a perspective view of a lower cartridge. It is sectional drawing of the cartridge which assembled the upper cartridge and the lower cartridge. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of an electrophotographic printer. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of disabling the cartridge when the remaining amount of toner is checked and the cartridge is used. It is a block diagram which shows the example which electrically destroys CPU and makes a cartridge inoperable. It is sectional drawing of the cartridge which shows the example which makes a cartridge inoperable when a cartridge is decomposed | disassembled. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the effect | action of the example of FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of installing a program for measuring the remaining amount of a cartridge and disabling the cartridge from a storage medium into a printer.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Printer 11 Printer main body 12 Cartridge 13 Toner chamber 14 Toner 32 Upper cartridge 33 Lower cartridge 60 Printer CPU
61 Printer memory 71 Cartridge CPU
72 Cartridge Memory 73 Rotation Detection Unit 76 Lock Mechanism 74 Shutter Drive Unit 77, 81 Switch 84 Disassembly Detection Switch

Claims (7)

A measuring means for measuring an estimated amount of consumables stored in a cartridge set to be exchangeable in the apparatus main body and used for image formation;
Writing means for writing the measured estimated usage into a cartridge memory provided in the cartridge;
Determining means for determining that the cartridge has been used when the estimated usage amount reaches a predetermined value preset in the cartridge memory;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a display for displaying that the cartridge cannot be used for image formation when the determination means determines that the cartridge is used. A measuring means for measuring an estimated amount of consumables stored in a cartridge set to be exchangeable in the apparatus main body and used for image formation;
Writing means for writing the measured estimated usage into a cartridge memory provided in the cartridge;
When the remaining amount of the consumable is indirectly checked by comparing the estimated usage amount with a predetermined value preset in the cartridge memory, and the remaining amount of the consumable is estimated to be less than the predetermined amount, the cartridge Determining means for determining that is used;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a display for displaying that the cartridge cannot be used for image formation when the determination means determines that the cartridge is used.   The cartridge is a cartridge having a consumable storage chamber and a developing roller, the measuring means is a rotation detecting means for detecting the rotation of the developing roller, and the writing means is based on a signal from the rotation detecting means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cumulative value of the rotational speed is written in the cartridge memory, and the determination unit performs a used determination based on the cumulative value.   The cartridge is a cartridge having a consumable storage chamber, a photosensitive drum, a charging roller, and a developing roller, and the measuring unit is a rotation detecting unit that detects the rotation of the photosensitive drum, the developing roller, the charging roller, or the charging roller, The writing means writes an accumulated value of the number of revolutions into the cartridge memory based on a signal from the rotation detecting means, and the judging means makes a used judgment based on the accumulated value. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. A remaining amount measuring means for directly checking the remaining amount of consumables stored in a cartridge set to be replaceable in the apparatus body;
Writing means for writing the measured remaining amount of consumables in a cartridge memory provided in the cartridge;
Determining means for determining that the cartridge has been used when the remaining amount of the consumables is less than or equal to a predetermined amount preset in the cartridge memory;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a display for displaying that the cartridge cannot be used for image formation when the determination means determines that the cartridge is used.   The cartridge is a cartridge having a consumable storage chamber and a developing roller, and the remaining amount measuring means for directly checking the remaining amount of the consumable includes a photo sensor provided in the consumable storage chamber. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the cartridge is further provided with a photosensitive drum and a charging roller.

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