JP2004341268A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing the inventry management of a consumable material unit set composed of a plularity of the same type consumable material units. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes a consumable material unit 10 that incorporates consumable materials used for the image forming apparatus 20, is integrally replaceable, and has an RFID memory 22 storing data on the consumable materials. The consumable material unit 10 is one of a consumable material unit set TS composed of the same type of consumable material units 10A , 10B, and 10C. Specific data that is updated by adding the history of the used consumable material unit to the data of the fresh consumable material unit is stored in the RFID memories 22A, 22B, and 22C of the consumable material units 10A, 10B, and 10C in advance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image using a consumable unit equipped with a memory.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic or ink-jet type copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, or a multifunction machine in which the functions of these devices are combined into one device, an image is formed on a recording medium. In the electrophotographic method, a powdery toner is used, and in the ink jet method, ink is used. In the electrophotographic system, a photoconductor is further used to form an electrostatic latent image on an intermediate recording medium. In the two-component developing system, in addition to the toner, the toner is charged and moved to the photoconductor. A developer (mixture of a carrier and a toner) which plays a role of causing the toner to be used is also used.
[0003]
These inks, toners, developers, or photoconductors are consumables that are consumed together with image formation or have a life corresponding to the frequency of image formation, and are designed so that ordinary users can easily replace them. There are many. For example, the ink is an ink cartridge, the toner is a toner cartridge, the developer is a developing unit, and the photoreceptor is a photoreceptor unit. Further, a toner / developing unit in which the toner and the developer are unitized integrally, an image forming unit or a process cartridge in which the photosensitive member and the toner, or the photosensitive member, the developer and the toner are integrally united, and the like. Various consumable units have been devised.
[0004]
When the consumable unit is assumed to be replaced by a general user, the consumable unit is not only integrally unitized structurally, but also devised so that it can be easily inserted into and removed from the image forming apparatus. I have. Further, since the consumable unit has a service life, a history such as the cumulative number of images formed by the consumable unit is counted and the information is often stored in the image forming apparatus.
[0005]
In recent image forming apparatuses, in order to improve the usability of the user, an electronic device such as a flash memory is mounted on a detachable consumable unit such as a process cartridge. When the consumable unit is written in the main body of the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus refers to the data and performs an image forming operation under the optimum condition of the consumable unit when the consumable unit is attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus. Attempts have been made to add.
[0006]
Further, in Patent Literature 1, this concept is advanced, an antenna for transmitting an electromagnetic wave is provided on a control board on the image forming apparatus main body side, and the consumable unit receives the electromagnetic wave and generates electric power to cover its own operation. By providing a non-volatile memory, non-contact memory access can achieve both high security and high reliability without physically connecting the control board and the non-volatile memory of the consumable unit with signal lines. What is realized is disclosed.
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-149039
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, regardless of whether the memory is a contact type or a non-contact type, since only the information unique to each consumable unit is stored, even a consumable unit which may be sold in several sets at the same time like a toner cartridge is used. The history cannot be taken over between the used consumable unit and the new consumable unit. Therefore, the following problem could occur.
[0009]
That is, as long as the toner cartridge purchased as a set is in stock, the toner cartridge can be replaced from the stock even when the life of the toner cartridge expires. Due to the passage of days, you may not be aware of it, or you may inadvertently place an order due to poor inventory control.
[0010]
Therefore, even though the toner cartridge is purchased at a low price due to the set sale, the cost is lost, or the excess inventory is forced to return the product, resulting in a great disadvantage for both the user and the store. There was a problem. One of the causes of such a problem is that the current memory-mounted toner cartridge has had to rely on the user's own storage and recording to manage the inventory of the set.
[0011]
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and provides a user-friendly image forming apparatus capable of performing inventory management of a consumable unit set including a plurality of consumable units of the same type by the image forming apparatus. The purpose is to do.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a consumable unit including a consumable used in an image forming apparatus, which is configured to be integrally replaceable, and which includes a storage unit for storing data relating to the consumable. Wherein the consumable unit is one of a set of consumable unit composed of a plurality of consumable units of the same type, and the storage unit of each consumable unit includes a used consumable unit and a consumable unit. It is characterized in that predetermined data to be updated while taking over the history with a new consumable unit is stored in advance.
[0013]
According to this, since the data relating to the consumable unit set is passed from the used consumable unit to the new consumable unit, inventory management of the consumable unit set is performed by the image forming apparatus until the set is used up.
[0014]
For example, the predetermined data includes at least data relating to the number of unused consumable units in the consumable unit set.
[0015]
By using an RFID (non-contact rewritable nonvolatile memory) as the storage means, one-to-one wireless communication can be performed between the image forming apparatus main body and the consumable unit, and the history is reliably taken over. Can be.
[0016]
As such a consumable unit, a toner cartridge often sold as a set is preferable.
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a printing unit of the image forming apparatus. In FIG. 1, a printing unit rotates clockwise in the drawing, and a photoconductor 8 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed by a charger 1 and an exposure unit 2, and an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 8. A developing device 3 for developing an image into a toner image, a fixing device 7 for fixing the toner image transferred from the photoconductor 8 to the paper P by the transfer device 5, and a charge and toner remaining on the photoconductor 8 after transfer And a static elimination / cleaning device 6 for removing the toner.
[0018]
In the case of the two-component developing system, the developing device 3 includes a developer 3c in which a carrier and a toner are mixed at a predetermined ratio and is stirred by a stirring roller 3b. Through the surface of the photoconductor 8 and develops the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 8. Further, a toner supply container 4 filled with a predetermined amount of toner 4a is mounted on the upper portion of the developing device 3, and supplies the toner 4a to the developing device 3 as needed. In the case of the one-component developing method, since only the toner is used without using the carrier, the developer 3c and the toner 4a may be replaced with the toner in the above example.
[0019]
In the above-described configuration, as described above, for example, a toner or a cartridge that can be replaced by a user is a toner cartridge 10, a developer or a developing device is a developing unit 14, and a photoconductor is a photoconductor unit 15. Often, they are integrally configured as a form. Further, a toner / developing unit 11 in which a toner and a developer are unitized integrally, an image forming unit (or a process cartridge) in which a photosensitive member and a toner, or a photosensitive member, a developer and a toner are unitized as a unit A variety of consumable units, such as 12), have been devised.
[0020]
Hereinafter, a toner cartridge 10 will be described as an example of a consumable unit in order to facilitate understanding of the embodiment of the present invention. However, the consumable unit according to the present invention includes the toner cartridge 10 and various types of the above-described various units. The unit is not limited to the cartridge and the unit, but is a unit including various consumables and consumables, and generally means a unit configured to be integrally replaceable.
[0021]
Such a toner cartridge 10 has a memory for storing data for managing the cartridge. In many cases, a rewritable nonvolatile memory is used as the memory so that data is stored even when the power of the image forming apparatus is turned off. Further, as a form of the memory, an RFID memory (Radio Frequency IDentification memory, a non-contact rewritable nonvolatile memory) that wirelessly transfers and supplies power is generally used.
[0022]
Next, the components according to the present invention when the toner cartridge having the above-described memory is mounted on the apparatus main body will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view when the toner cartridge 10 having the RFID memory 22 is mounted on the image forming apparatus 20. In this example, the toner cartridge 10 is slid and inserted from an opening 21 provided on the main body side of the image forming apparatus 20, and after the insertion, the RFID memory 22 is connected to the antenna 23 and the main body side of the image forming apparatus 20. The wireless communication with the RFID control circuit 24 is performed via the antenna 25 of the provided RFID control circuit 24. By using the RFID memory 22 in this manner, the tuning circuit of the RFID memory 22 tunes to the frequency used by the RFID control circuit 24, and the power required for writing and reading data is reduced via the antennas 23 and 25. Since the data is supplied from the control circuit 24 to the RFID memory 22, there is an advantage that a connector or wiring for connecting the two is not required.
[0023]
When the toner cartridge 10 is completely inserted into the opening 21, the toner cartridge attaching / detaching sensor 26 provided at the rear of the opening 21 is turned on by the toner cartridge 10 to detect the attachment. Then, the remaining toner determination sensor 28 provided at the opening is turned on, and the presence or absence of toner in the toner cartridge 10 is monitored.
[0024]
Incidentally, the toner cartridge 10 may be sold as a set of several cartridges. Now, a case where a user purchases a toner cartridge set (hereinafter, denoted by a reference symbol TS) sold in sets of three will be described. This toner cartridge set TS includes three toner cartridges 10A, 10B, and 10C.
[0025]
FIG. 3 shows an example of data stored in the RFID memory of the toner cartridge for describing the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the items included in the data include the identification number of the toner cartridge, the amount of toner charged, the number of toner cartridges set, the cumulative number of toner consumptions (hereinafter denoted by SP), and the remaining toner. The amount (hereinafter, denoted by a symbol W), the total toner remaining amount (hereinafter, denoted by a symbol TW), the number of toner cartridges in stock (hereinafter, denoted by a symbol R), and the data of the above data items are normal. Is a checksum or a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) used to determine whether or not the data has been written to the memory. Note that the other data items are irrelevant to the description of the present embodiment, and are omitted for convenience of description.
[0026]
Among the above data, the data items whose contents do not change are the identification number, the toner filling amount, and the number of sets, and are hereinafter collectively referred to as fixed data. The contents of other data items change for each image forming job, and are collectively referred to as fluctuation data.
[0027]
Then, the values as shown in FIG. 3 are stored in advance in the RFID memories 22A, 22B, and 22C of the toner cartridges 10A, 10B, and 10C of the unused toner cartridge set TS.
[0028]
Here, a supplementary explanation of the data specific to the toner cartridge set TS is as follows. The “number of sets” means the number of toner cartridges sold as a set. In this example, three sets are used. , "3" are stored in all the RFID memories 22A, 22B, 22C. The “cumulative toner consumption count SP” is the number of times the toner cartridge has contributed to image formation throughout the entire toner cartridge set TS by consuming toner from the toner cartridge.
[0029]
The “total toner remaining amount TW” represents the remaining amount of toner over the entire toner car cartridge set TS, and is a value obtained by multiplying the toner filling amount by the number of sets in the initial state where all the toner cartridges are unused (the same amount). For a set of toner cartridges). That is, in this example, 100 g × 3 = 300 g, so “300” is stored in all the RFID memories 22A, 22B, and 22C in the toner cartridge manufacturing process. The “stock number R” represents the number of unused toner cartridges in the toner cartridge set TS, and has the same value as the set number in an initial state where all the toner cartridges are unused.
[0030]
Next, a circuit according to the present invention for writing the data described with reference to FIG. 3 into the memories 22A, 22B, and 22C mounted on the toner cartridges 10A, 10B, and 10C will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a circuit for writing to the RFID memory 22A mounted on the toner cartridge 10A according to the present invention. Note that, in this block diagram, circuits not involved in writing to the memory 22A of the toner cartridge 10A are omitted. Further, in this block diagram, the case where the toner cartridge 10A is mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus 20 is shown, but if the toner cartridge 10B or 10C is mounted, the memory 22A in FIG. 4 becomes the memory 22B or 22C. Needless to say.
[0031]
The toner remaining determination sensor 28 and the toner cartridge detachment sensor 26 described with reference to FIG. 2 are connected to the internal bus 40 to which the CPU 41 that controls the entire image forming apparatus 20 is connected. The CPU 41 receives detection signals from the two sensors and performs control described later based on the signals. The main storage unit 42 is a storage unit for main control of the image forming apparatus 20, and stores the latest contents of the data items described in FIG. 3 in a specific area. The RFID memory control circuit 24 includes a buffer memory 24a having at least the same capacity as the variable data area of the RFID memory 22A. Further, the RFID memory control circuit 24 receives the command from the CPU 41 and the variation data of each item stored in the main storage unit 42, and in the same order and data format as those stored in the RFID memory 22, stores the buffer memory 24a. After that, the variation data and its write start address are transferred to the RFID memory 22A via the antennas 23 and 25. The RFID memory 22A receives the change data and the write start address, and writes the change data from the specified address.
[0032]
Next, a sequence from the use of the circuit described with reference to FIG. 4 to the end of use of the toner cartridge set will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a flowchart, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a transition of a predetermined data item in the RFID memory. In FIG. 6, the RFID memory of the used or used toner cartridge is indicated by a solid line, and the unused one is indicated by a dotted line.
[0033]
First, when the first toner cartridge 10A is inserted into the opening 21, and the toner cartridge attachment / detachment sensor 26 detects the attachment of the first toner cartridge 10A (step S1), the data stored in the RFID memory 22A is read. (Step S2).
[0034]
Then, the toner cartridge set TS is recognized, and the user is notified (step S3). The balloon explanation column in step S3 shows a notification example in the case where the fact is notified by display. The notation “remaining” and the black band in the same column represent the scale of the total toner remaining amount TW.
[0035]
Through the above steps S1 to S3, the initial data of the toner cartridge 10A as shown in FIG. 6A is read by the image forming apparatus.
[0036]
Then, a normal print operation is performed using the image forming apparatus (step S4). Each time a print operation is performed, the cumulative toner consumption number SP of the RFID memory 22A is updated (step S5). This operation is repeated until the toner remaining determination sensor 28 determines in step S6 that the toner is depleted.
[0037]
The above steps S4 to S6 correspond to the process of the arrow indicating the use in FIG. 6B.
[0038]
Then, when the toner remaining determination sensor 28 determines that the toner is depleted in step S6, the number of stocks R is decremented by 1, and the remaining toner amount W is set to "0" and the total toner remaining amount TW is set to "200". Is updated (step S7), and the user is prompted to replace the toner cartridge (step S8). Subsequently, in order to transfer the history to the next toner cartridge, the values of the cumulative toner consumption number SP, the total toner remaining amount TW, and the stock number R are read from the RFID memory 22A of the first toner cartridge 10A (see FIG. 6C). ) Is read and stored (step S9).
[0039]
The balloon explanation column in step S8 shows an example of the notification when the fact is notified by display. It can be seen that the black area of the “remaining” scale indicating the total toner remaining amount TW is reduced by one toner cartridge. “Total prints” in the same column indicates the cumulative number of prints when the toner is completely used when the first toner cartridge 10A is used, that is, the value of the cumulative toner consumption count SP. In this example, it can be seen that 30,025 sheets have been printed.
[0040]
Through the above steps S7 to S9, as shown in FIG. 6C, the data in the RFID memory 22A of the first toner cartridge 10A is updated, and after the toner cartridge 10A is removed, it is collected for recycling.
[0041]
When the new toner cartridge 10B is inserted into the opening 21 and the toner cartridge attachment / detachment sensor 26 detects the attachment of the second toner cartridge 10B (step S10), the cumulative toner consumption number SP of the RFID memory 22B and the total toner The values of the remaining amount TW and the stock number R are updated (step S11), and the history is taken over from the first toner cartridge 10A (see FIG. 6D). Then, the data stored in the RFID memory 22B is read (step S12). Note that the CPU 41 recognizes each toner cartridge by the difference in the identification number of the toner cartridge before and after the mounting, and if the same toner cartridge is mounted erroneously or for a reason other than replacement, the CPU 41 does not attach / detach the toner cartridge. It returns to the state just before it is removed assuming that it has been removed.
[0042]
Through the above steps S10 to S12, the updated initial data of the toner cartridge 10B as shown in FIG. 6D is read by the image forming apparatus.
[0043]
Then, a normal printing operation is performed using the image forming apparatus (step S13). Each time a print operation is performed, the cumulative toner consumption number SP, the remaining toner amount W, and the total remaining toner amount TW of the RFID memory 22B are updated (step S14). This operation is repeated until it is determined in step S15 that the toner is depleted.
[0044]
The above steps S13 to S15 correspond to the process of the arrow indicating the use in FIG. 6E.
[0045]
If it is determined in step S15 that the toner is depleted, the stock quantity R is decremented by 1, the remaining toner amount W is set to "0", and the total toner remaining amount TW is set to "100" and updated ( Step S16) prompts the user to replace the toner cartridge (step S17). Then, in order to transfer the history to the next toner cartridge, the values of the cumulative toner consumption number SP, the total toner remaining amount TW, and the stock number R are read from the RFID memory 22B of the second toner cartridge 10B (see FIG. 6F). ) Is read and stored (step S18).
[0046]
The balloon explanation column in step S17 shows a notification example in the case where the fact is notified by display. It can be seen that the black area on the “remaining” scale indicating the total toner remaining amount TW is reduced by two toner cartridges. Also, from the value of “total print” in the same column, it can be seen that 60,085 total prints have been made.
[0047]
Through the above steps S16 to S18, the data in the RFID memory 22A of the second toner cartridge 10B is updated as shown in FIG. 6F, and after the toner cartridge 10B is removed, it is collected for recycling.
[0048]
Then, a new toner cartridge 10C is inserted into the opening 21, and the toner cartridge attachment / detachment sensor 26 detects the attachment of the third toner cartridge 10C (step S19). The values of the remaining amount TW and the stock number R are updated (step S20), and the history is taken over from the second toner cartridge 10B (see FIG. 6G). Then, the data stored in the RFID memory 22C is read (step S21).
[0049]
Through the above steps S19 to S21, the updated initial data of the toner cartridge 10C as shown in FIG. 6G is read by the image forming apparatus.
[0050]
Then, a normal print operation is performed using the image forming apparatus (step S22). Each time a print operation is performed, the cumulative toner consumption number SP, the remaining toner amount W, and the total remaining toner amount TW of the RFID memory 22C are updated (step S23). This operation is repeated until it is determined in step S24 that the toner is depleted.
[0051]
Steps S22 to S24 described above correspond to the process of the arrow indicating that the device is in use in FIG.
[0052]
When the toner remaining determination sensor 28 determines that the toner is depleted in step S24, the number of stocks R is decremented by one, and the remaining toner amount W is set to "0" and the total toner remaining amount TW is set to "0". Is updated (step S25), and when it is confirmed that the stock quantity R has become zero, the user is prompted to order a toner cartridge (step S26).
[0053]
Note that the balloon explanation column in step S26 shows a notification example in the case where the fact is notified by display. From the value of “Total print” in the column, it can be understood that 90,126 sheets have been printed in total of the toner cartridge TS.
[0054]
By the above steps S25 and S26, as shown in FIG. 6 (i), the data in the RFID memory 22C of the third toner cartridge 10C is updated, and after the toner cartridge 10C is removed, it is collected for recycling.
[0055]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the image forming apparatus recognizes a set of consumable units of the same type, and designates a set as a replacement consumable unit until the stock of the set is used up. It is possible to provide a user-friendly image forming apparatus without waste.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a printing unit of an image forming apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view when a toner cartridge having an RFID memory is mounted on an image forming apparatus.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example of data stored in a memory of a toner cartridge for describing the exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a circuit for writing to an RFID memory mounted on the toner cartridge set according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence until the toner cartridge set according to the present invention is completely used.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transition of a predetermined data item of the RFID memory of the toner cartridge set in association with FIG. 5;
[Explanation of symbols]
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Charger 2 Exposure unit 3 Developing device 3b Stirring roller 3a Developing roller 3c Developer 4 Toner supply container 4a Toner 5 Transfer device 6 Static elimination / cleaning device 7 Fixing device 8 Photoconductor 10 Toner cartridge TS Toner cartridge set 10A, 10B, 10C Toner cartridge 11 of toner cartridge set TS Toner / developing unit 12 Image forming unit 14 Developing unit 15 Photoreceptor unit 20 Image forming device 21 Opening 22 RFID memory 22A RFID memory 22B of toner cartridge 10A RFID memory 22C of toner cartridge 10B Toner cartridge 10C RFID memory 23, 25 Antenna 24 RFID memory control circuit 24a Buffer memory 26 Toner cartridge detachment sensor 27 Protective cover 28 Toner remaining judgment Constant sensor

Claims (4)

A consumable unit used in the image forming apparatus, wherein the consumable unit is internally replaceable and includes a storage unit for storing data relating to the consumable unit; One of a set of consumable units composed of different types of consumable units, and the storage means of each of these consumable units stores the history between used consumable units and new consumable units. An image forming apparatus characterized in that predetermined data to be updated is stored in advance. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined data includes at least data on the number of unused consumable units in a consumable unit set. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is an RFID (non-contact rewritable nonvolatile memory). The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the consumable unit is a toner cartridge.

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