JP2007017754A - Image forming apparatus, control method for image forming apparatus, process cartridge, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus continuing a good image forming operation regardless of the environment of use and using up consumables until service life is over, and to provide a control method for the image forming apparatus, a process cartridge, and a recording medium. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus is provided with an environment sensor 27 detecting environmental information of the environment of use, a main body control part 32 processing the environmental information and detecting the service life of the consumables, and a memory 26 storing the environmental information processed by the main body control part 32 and the used amount of the consumables. The main body control part 32 decides an exchange period for the consumables on the basis of the processed environmental information and the used amount of the consumables stored to the memory 26. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile, a printer, and a copying machine, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic method, a control method for the image forming apparatus, a process cartridge, and a storage medium.

  In an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system, an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier is visualized as a toner image by a developing device. Conventionally, various dry one-component developing devices have been proposed and put into practical use as one of the developing devices used in such an image forming apparatus.

  An example of the dry one-component developing device is a developing device using a pressure development method. A developing device using the pressure development method does not require a magnetic material, so that the developing device can be simplified and miniaturized, and color images can be formed by using non-magnetic toner. Has many advantages.

  FIG. 12 shows a developing apparatus using a pressure developing method. In FIG. 12, 101 is a developing roller, 102 is a developing blade, 104 is an elastic roller, and 105 is toner.

  In the pressure development method, development is performed by pressing or contacting the surface of the developer carrying member with an electrostatic latent image. Therefore, the developing roller 101 having elasticity and conductivity is used as the developer carrying member.

  In order to obtain a known developing electrode effect and bias effect, a conductive layer can be provided on or near the surface of the developing roller 101, and a bias voltage can be applied as necessary. Further, the toner 105 is charged by frictional charging between the developing roller 101 and the developing blade 102 for forming the toner layer.

  Factors that determine the life of an image forming apparatus having such a developing device include the remaining amount of toner and deterioration of consumable parts such as an image carrier, a charging unit, and a developer carrier. The remaining amount of toner and the life of consumable parts are managed as follows.

  That is, the remaining toner level and the consumable component life level are sequentially detected by the consumable component or the toner remaining amount and consumable component life detection means provided in the image forming apparatus main body. The consumable component life level is obtained based on a predetermined consumable component usage threshold and an actual consumable component usage amount. Subsequently, the toner remaining amount and the consumable component life signal are transmitted to the image forming apparatus itself or a host computer connected to the image forming apparatus. Then, the information is displayed on the display unit of the image forming apparatus or the host computer to notify the user.

For example, a configuration that accurately detects the amount of toner remaining in a developing device or process cartridge as a consumable part attached to an image forming apparatus and sequentially notifies the user of the remaining amount of toner and the remaining number of printable sheets is disclosed in, for example, a patent. It is described in Document 1.
JP-A-9-120208

  However, the degree of deterioration of consumable parts of the image forming apparatus varies depending on the environment. That is, even with the same usage amount, there is a difference in the degree of deterioration of consumable parts depending on the usage environment. The usage threshold is usually a lifetime value guaranteed by a manufacturer set based on use in a relatively harsh environment. Therefore, for example, the life of the consumable part may be exhausted before reaching the usage threshold of the consumable part, or conversely, the life of the consumable part may not be reached even if the usage threshold of the consumable part is exceeded.

  Therefore, in the case of consumable component life management performed by sequentially detecting the remaining amount of toner and the consumable component life level according to the conventional example, it is notified that the consumable component has reached the end of its life. Therefore, even if the amount of remaining toner is sufficient for image formation, an image failure occurs, or a consumable has not reached the end of its life, and a good image can be formed. There was a problem of being.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and the object of the present invention is to maintain a good image forming operation regardless of the use environment, and to reach the end of life of consumable parts. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, a control method for the image forming apparatus, a process cartridge, and a storage medium that can be used up to the end.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that the image forming apparatus has the following configuration.

  Environment detecting means for detecting an environment to be used; processing means for processing information detected by the environment detecting means; storage means for storing environment information processed by the processing means and a consumption amount of consumable parts; An image forming apparatus having a determination unit that determines a replacement time of a consumable part, wherein the determination unit is configured to store a consumable part based on the environment information and the usage amount of the consumable part stored in the storage unit. An image forming apparatus that determines a replacement time.

  According to the present invention, an image forming apparatus that can maintain a good image forming operation regardless of the use environment and can use up a consumable part until it reaches the end of its life, a method for controlling the image forming apparatus, a process cartridge, and A storage medium can be provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those unless otherwise specified. .

  In the present invention, the “life” of a consumable part is a period assured by the manufacturer so that the image forming apparatus according to the present invention can maintain image formation of a predetermined quality.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus A according to the present embodiment is a laser beam printer that forms an image according to image information on a recording material 6 as a recording medium such as a recording sheet or an OHP sheet by an electrophotographic method. Further, as will be described later, the process cartridge B is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus A.

  The image forming apparatus A can be connected to a host 14 such as a personal computer. The image forming apparatus A has a controller unit 33, and the controller unit 33 receives and processes a print request signal and image data from the host 14. Then, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data is formed on the photosensitive drum 1 as the image carrier by controlling the scanner 3 as the exposure means. The photosensitive drum 1 rotates in the direction of arrow R1 in the figure.

  A DC contact charging roller (hereinafter referred to as a charging roller) 2 as a charging unit is pressed against the photosensitive drum 1 under pressure. A DC voltage fixed to a predetermined value is applied to the charging roller 2 as a charging bias, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly negatively charged. The charging roller 2 is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow R4 in the figure as the photosensitive drum 1 rotates. The charging roller 2 is in contact with the entire length of the photosensitive drum 1 (direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording material 6).

  The photosensitive drum 1 uniformly charged by the charging roller 2 is exposed by the laser light L from the scanner 3, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface thereof. The scanner 3 includes a laser light source (not shown), a polygon mirror, a lens system, and the like, and scans and exposes the photosensitive drum 1 under the control of the controller unit 33.

  Thereafter, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is visualized as a toner image by being supplied with toner as a developer by a developing device 4 as developing means.

  The developing device 4 includes a developing container 21 as a developer accommodating portion that accommodates a negatively charged nonmagnetic toner (hereinafter, toner) 22 as a one-component developer. In this embodiment, as the toner 22, a substantially spherical toner having a weight average particle diameter of about 7 μm is used in order to achieve a small particle diameter and a low melting point, and to improve transfer efficiency. Further, the developing container 21 is opened over substantially the entire longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 1 at a position facing the photosensitive drum 1, and the developing device 4 has a developing roller 23 as a developer carrying member in this opening. The developing roller 23 is pressed and brought into contact with the photosensitive drum 1 located at the upper left of the developing device 4 in the figure so as to have a predetermined penetration amount, and is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow R2 in the figure. Further, the surface has moderate irregularities in order to increase the probability of rubbing with the toner 22 and to carry the toner 22 well.

  An elastic roller 24 for supplying the toner 22 to the developing roller 23 and peeling off the residual toner on the developing roller 23 from the developing roller 23 is in contact with the lower right portion of the developing roller 23 in the drawing. The elastic roller 24 is rotatably supported by the developing container 21. The elastic roller 24 is a rubber sponge roller from the viewpoint of supplying the toner 22 to the developing roller 23 and stripping off the remaining toner, and is driven to rotate in the direction indicated by an arrow R3 in the same direction as the developing roller 23.

  Further, the developing device 4 includes a developing blade 25 as a developer layer thickness regulating member that regulates the amount of toner carried on the developing roller 23. The developing blade 25 is made of an elastic phosphor bronze metal thin plate, and is provided so that the vicinity of the free end side is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 23 by surface contact. The toner 22 carried on the developing roller 23 by rubbing against the elastic roller 24 is given a charge by frictional charging when passing through the contact portion with the developing blade 25 and is regulated to a thin layer.

  In the developing device 4 having such a configuration, a DC voltage fixed to a predetermined value as a developing bias is applied to the developing roller 23. As a result, the electrostatic latent image is developed by reversing and developing the exposed portion where the negative charge on the surface of the uniformly charged photosensitive drum 1 is attenuated.

  On the other hand, the recording material 6 is separated and fed from a cassette 16 serving as a recording medium accommodating portion by a supply roller 12a and the like, and is temporarily stopped by a registration roller 12b. The registration roller 12b synchronizes the recording position of the recording material 6 with the formation timing of the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1, and moves to a facing portion (transfer portion) between the transfer roller 5 as the transfer means and the photosensitive drum 1. The recording material 6 is sent out.

  The visualized toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred to the recording material 6 by the transfer roller 5. The recording material 6 onto which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to a fixing device 9 as a fixing unit. The unfixed toner image on the recording material 6 is permanently fixed to the recording material 6 by heat and pressure in the fixing device 9. Thereafter, the recording material 6 is discharged out of the apparatus by a discharge roller 12c and the like.

  Untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 without being transferred is cleaned by a cleaner 10 as a cleaning means. The cleaner 10 scrapes the transfer residual toner from the photosensitive drum 1 by a cleaning blade 7 as a cleaning member and stores it in a waste toner container 8. The cleaned photosensitive drum 1 is used for image formation.

  In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus A is a process in which the photosensitive drum 1 and process means acting on the photosensitive drum 1 are integrally formed into a cartridge, and the process cartridge B is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus A. The cartridge system is used.

  Here, the process means includes a charging roller 2, a developing device 4, and a cleaner 10. That is, the process cartridge B is a cartridge in which the charging roller 2, the developing device 4, the cleaner 10, and the photosensitive drum 1 are integrally formed. Is this process cartridge B removable from the main body of the image forming apparatus A? Alternatively, at least one of the charging roller 2, the developing device 4, and the cleaner 10 and the photosensitive drum 1 are integrally formed into a cartridge, and the process cartridge B can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus A. Alternatively, at least the developing device 4 and the photosensitive drum 1 are integrally formed into a cartridge, and the process cartridge B can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus A.

  Further, the developing device 4 may be configured such that the developing container 21 and the developing roller 23 can be separated from each other. In this case, the process cartridge B includes the charging roller 2, the developing container 21, the developing roller 23, and The cleaner 10 and the photosensitive drum 1 are integrated into a cartridge, or at least one of the charging roller 2, the developing container 21, the developing roller 23, and the cleaner 10 and the photosensitive drum 1 are integrated into a cartridge. Or at least the developing roller 23 and the photosensitive drum 1 may be integrated into a cartridge.

  In this embodiment, the photosensitive drum 1, the charging roller 2, the developing device 4, and the cleaner 10 are integrally formed into a cartridge to form a process cartridge B, which can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus A main body. The process cartridge B is detachably mounted on the image forming apparatus A main body via a mounting member (not shown) included in the image forming apparatus A main body.

  Further, there is a recording medium conveyance mechanism for conveying the recording material 6 to the process cartridge B by the supply roller 12a, the registration roller 12b, the discharge roller 12c, and the like, and discharging the recording material 6 after image formation from the apparatus A main body. It is configured.

  Next, a method for detecting and displaying the remaining amount of toner and the amount of consumable parts used according to this embodiment will be described. The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment individually outputs two parameters of the remaining amount of toner detected sequentially and the sequential usage amount of the developing roller weighted according to the environment. The usage amount detection result based on the information is displayed on the display unit of the host 14 connected via the display unit of the image forming apparatus or the network. In this embodiment, the developing roller 23 is used as a consumable part. However, the present invention is not particularly limited to this, and the usage amount is similarly detected even for other consumable parts, that is, the photosensitive drum 1, the charging roller 2, and the like. be able to.

  The image forming apparatus A includes an environment sensor 27 as environment detection means. The environmental sensor 27 detects temperature and humidity in the environment where the image forming apparatus A is disposed. Further, the process cartridge B is provided with a memory 26 as a storage means. As the memory 26, for example, a contact non-volatile memory that communicates data by contacting a contact provided in the image forming apparatus, a non-contact non-volatile memory that communicates wirelessly with the image forming apparatus, a volatile memory having a power source, etc. Can be used. In this embodiment, a non-contact non-volatile memory 26 is mounted on the process cartridge B.

  The memory 26 has an antenna as information transmission means on the memory side, and can read and write information by wirelessly communicating with a main body control unit 32 provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus A described later.

  The image forming apparatus A includes a main body control unit 32. The main body control unit 32 includes a calculation unit and a control unit, and has functions of transmitting information on the main body side of the image forming apparatus A and reading and writing information in the memory 26.

  The image forming apparatus A has a clock 40 as a clock unit having a timer function for detecting a use date and time, and the clock 40 transmits a signal to the main body control unit 32 every hour. As a result, the main body control unit 32 can recognize the passage of time every hour. In the present embodiment, the time interval of the timepiece 40 is 1 hour, but it is needless to say that the time interval is not particularly limited to this.

  The main body control unit 32 as information processing means causes the environment sensor 27 to detect information on the temperature P and the humidity Q every hour. Then, based on the environmental information from the environmental sensor 27, the temperature overall average value ZP (t), the humidity overall average value ZQ (t), the temperature short period average value AP (t), and the humidity short period average value AQ (t) are obtained. calculate. Further, the main body control unit 32 stores in the memory 26 the maximum and minimum values of the temperature P and the humidity Q, and the overall temperature average value ZP (t), the overall humidity average value ZQ (t) calculated by the main body control unit 32, The temperature short-term average value AP (t), the humidity short-term average value AQ (t), and the number of detections t are updated and stored.

  In this embodiment, this operation is continuously performed even when the image forming apparatus A is powered off. In addition, the short period in this embodiment is a period of the last 10 hours, but is not particularly limited thereto.

  The main body control unit 32 calculates the temperature average value calculation and the temperature short-term average value based on the following equations. That is, the temperature average value calculation is performed based on the overall temperature average value ZP (t) = {ZP (t−1) × (t−1) + P} / t. The average value AP (t) = {AP (t−9) + AP (t−8) +... + AP (t−2) + AP (t−1) + P} / 10. The same applies to the calculation of the humidity average value.

  Next, a method for sequentially detecting the remaining amount of toner will be described.

  In this embodiment, a plate antenna method is used as a method for sequentially detecting the remaining amount of toner. In the plate antenna system, an AC voltage is applied to the sheet metal plate antennas 34 and 35 and the developing roller 23 through which current flows, and the electrostatic capacity between the sheet metal plate antennas and between the developing roller 23 and the sheet metal plate antennas 34 and 35 is determined. This is a method of detecting the remaining amount of toner by measuring an alternating current. However, the remaining toner amount detection method is not limited to the plate antenna method, and any method may be used as long as the remaining toner level can be detected.

  A method for displaying the remaining amount% of toner will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the main body control unit 32 serving as a life detection means performs detection control of the remaining amount of toner, and detects the remaining amount of toner (step S101). Subsequently, the main body control unit 32 compares the maximum amount of toner in the developing container 21 with the detected amount of remaining toner to determine the remaining amount of toner (step S102). Here, the maximum amount of toner in the developing container 21 is determined in advance for the developing container 21 and stored in the memory 26. When the user confirms the toner remaining amount information signal (step S103), the main body control unit 32 transmits a toner remaining amount information signal of “toner remaining amount X%” to the display unit described later (step S104). . On the display unit, “toner remaining amount X%” is displayed (step S105).

  A display system of the image forming apparatus A will be described with reference to FIG. After the toner remaining amount% is calculated by the main body control unit 32, the main body control unit 32 transmits a toner remaining amount information signal to the display unit 41 such as the main body display unit 31 or the display of the host 14, and according to a user request. The remaining amount information is displayed on each display unit.

  When displaying the remaining amount of toner on the display units 31 and 41, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, "toner remaining amount 80%" 108 is displayed to notify the user that the remaining amount of toner is 80%. Alternatively, “toner remaining amount 5%” 111 is displayed to notify the user that the remaining toner amount is 5%. As described above, the remaining amount of toner is displayed by being subtracted according to the toner amount, and the life information of the process cartridge B is simply and clearly provided to the user.

  Further, when the remaining amount of toner becomes 0% or less than a predetermined amount, the user can be notified of information relating to the life of the process cartridge B even if the user does not request confirmation of the remaining amount of toner. Good. For example, a “toner low warning” display indicating that the toner in the process cartridge is low or a “no toner warning” display indicating that the toner has run out may be notified. Thereby, even when the user neglects to check the remaining amount of toner, the life of the process cartridge B can be notified to the user at an appropriate timing.

  Next, a method for sequentially detecting the usage amount of the developing roller 23 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the horizontal line region is a low-temperature and low-humidity L / L environment, the vertical line region is a high-temperature and high-humidity H / H environment, and the blank region between them is an N / N environment. In the image forming apparatus A, the deterioration in image quality due to the increase in the number of images formed is examined in advance. As a result, there is an environmental difference in the deterioration in image quality, and the order of bad <L / L <H / H <N / N <good. I found out that As described above, the difference in image quality due to the environment is caused by the development roller 23 having an N / N environment due to an increase in frictional force due to a decrease in the fluidity of the toner 22 in the L / L environment, and a temperature increase in the H / H environment. This is because the deterioration is quicker than that.

  When the difference in the image quality deterioration is converted into the rotation speed of the developing roller 23, the rotation speed in the L / L environment, the rotation speed in the H / H environment, and the rotation speed in the N / N environment are coefficients 1.2, 1.1, and When 1 is multiplied, the image degradation in each environment becomes equal. That is, the relationship is 1.2 × L / L (developing roller rotation speed) = 1.1 × H / H (developing roller rotation speed) = 1 × N / N (developing roller rotation speed). Here, the coefficients 1.2, 1.1, and 1 are set as the environmental coefficient k in the L / L environment, the H / H environment, and the N / N environment, respectively.

  Therefore, the main body control unit 32 selects the environmental coefficient k from the short-term temperature average value AP (t) and the short-humidity average value AQ (t) stored in the memory 26, and the integrated developing roller rotation speed is set to the environment. The product multiplied by the coefficient k is used as the developing roller usage weighted according to the environmental information. Thus, by assigning a weight according to the environmental information from the average values of temperature and humidity, it is possible to weight the history of temperature changes other than during use due to, for example, ON / OFF of air conditioning. The number of rotations of the developing roller is stored in the memory 26 as needed, and the calculation of the usage amount of the developing roller is performed as needed when the driving of the photosensitive drum 1 is stopped.

  In this example, the environmental short-term average value AP (t) and the short-humidity average value AQ (t) are used to select the environmental coefficient k, and the environmental weighting is performed more accurately. However, the overall temperature average value ZP ( Even if the total humidity average value ZQ (t) is used, substantially the same effect can be obtained.

  Next, a method for displaying the developing roller usage% will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the main body control unit 32 as the life detecting means calculates the developing roller usage weighted according to the environmental information (step S201). Subsequently, the main body control unit 32 compares the developing roller usage amount weighted according to the environmental information with the developing roller usage amount threshold value to determine the developing roller usage amount Y% (step S202). Here, the developing roller usage threshold is a value determined in advance by experience, and is a usage threshold for determining the life of the developing roller guaranteed by the manufacturer. The developing roller usage amount threshold value is stored in the memory 26. When a signal for confirming the developing roller usage amount is turned on by the user (step S203), the main body control unit 32 transmits a usage amount information signal “developing roller usage amount Y%” to the display unit (step S204). “Developing roller usage Y%” is displayed on the display unit (step S205).

  The display of the developing roller usage% is performed in the same manner as the display of the remaining amount of toner. The main body control unit 32 calculates the developing roller usage%, and the main body control unit 32 displays the display on the main body display unit 31 and the host 14. The developing roller usage amount information signal is transmitted to the display unit 41, and the usage amount information is displayed on each display unit in response to a user request.

  When displaying the developing roller usage amount% on the display units 31 and 41, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, "developing roller usage amount 0%" 206 is displayed to indicate that the usage amount of the developing roller is 0%. To inform. Alternatively, “Developing roller usage amount 100%” 210 is displayed to notify the user that the developing roller usage amount is 100%.

  Further, even if the developing roller usage amount 100% guaranteed by the manufacturer is exceeded, the usage amount% is further calculated and displayed as “Developing roller usage amount 130%” 213, for example. As described above, the developing roller usage% can be added and displayed according to the developing roller usage, and the usage of the consumable can be simply and clearly provided to the user as needed.

  Further, when the developing roller usage amount% is equal to or greater than the predetermined percentage, the user may be notified as the life information of the process cartridge B even if the user does not request confirmation of the developing roller usage amount. As a result, even when the user neglects to check the usage amount of the developing roller, the life time (replacement time) of the process cartridge B can be determined and notified to the user at an appropriate time.

  In this embodiment, the remaining toner amount and the developing roller usage% are displayed on the display units 31 and 41 using characters and graphics, but any means can be used as long as the information can be transmitted to the user. For example, information may be transmitted to the user by voice through a speaker or the like in the host 14.

  As for the display on the display units 31 and 41, any method can be used as long as the user can know the remaining amount of toner and the usage amount% of the developing roller, such as a gas gauge as shown in FIG. 8 or a bar graph as shown in FIG. A display method may be used.

  Conventional life management is based on a harsh environment, so the life may not be used up depending on the usage environment. However, in this embodiment, the usage amount of the consumable parts is displayed by weighting the usage environment, so that the life of the consumable parts can be managed more accurately and the consumable parts can be used up to the end of their life without any environmental difference.

  Next, an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 2 will be described.

  The image forming apparatus A according to the present embodiment is different from the image forming apparatus A according to the first embodiment only in the following points. In other words, the image forming apparatus A according to the first embodiment uses a method in which the developing roller 23 is pressed and brought into contact with the photosensitive drum 1 so as to have a predetermined intrusion amount. As shown in FIG. 10, the forming apparatus A uses a jumping development system that develops an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1 while keeping the developing roller 23 in non-contact with the photosensitive drum 1. Since the other points are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  Also for the image forming apparatus A according to the present embodiment adopting the jumping development method, by performing the same operation as in the first embodiment, the consumption amount of the consumable parts is displayed more accurately by displaying the usage environment weighted. By managing the service life of parts, it is possible to use up consumable parts to the end of their service life without any environmental differences.

  Next, an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 3 will be described.

  The image forming apparatus A according to the present embodiment is different from the image forming apparatus A according to the first embodiment only in the following points. That is, the image forming apparatus A according to this embodiment has four process cartridges B (300K, 300C, 300M) corresponding to four color toners (black K, cyan C, magenta M, yellow Y) as shown in FIG. , 300Y) is an inline full color LBP arranged vertically.

  Also in the image forming apparatus A according to the present embodiment, by performing the same operation as in the first embodiment, it is possible to accurately determine the lifetime of the consumable parts without any environmental difference. By adopting such a method, the same effects as those of the first and second embodiments can be obtained independently for the four color process cartridges.

  In this embodiment, the inline full color LBP is used, but the same effect can be obtained even in the full color LBP using the rotary method.

  As described above, according to the image forming apparatus according to the first to third embodiments, the usage amount of the consumable parts is displayed by weighting the usage environment, so that the user can obtain a good image regardless of the usage environment of the image forming apparatus. The formation can be continued and the lifetime of the consumable parts can be used up.

1 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. The figure which shows the display part of an image forming apparatus and a host Flow chart showing how to display the remaining toner percentage Diagram showing the remaining toner percentage display method Diagram showing the relationship between temperature and humidity Flow chart showing how to display the development roller usage% Diagram showing the display method of developing roller usage% The figure which shows the other display system of toner remaining amount and developing roller usage-amount The figure which shows the other display system of toner remaining amount and developing roller usage-amount Schematic sectional view of a part of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment Schematic cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 3 Schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional developing device

Explanation of symbols

1 Photosensitive drum (corresponding to image carrier)
2 Charging roller (supports charging means)
23 Development roller (corresponding to developer carrier)
26 Memory (corresponding to storage means)
27 Environmental sensor (supports environmental detection means)
32 Main body control unit (corresponding to information processing means and life detection means)

Claims (9)

An environment detection means for detecting the environment used;
Processing means for processing information detected by the environment detection means;
Storage means for storing environmental information processed by the processing means and the amount of consumable parts used;
An image forming apparatus having a determination means for determining a replacement time of a consumable part,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the determination unit determines a replacement time of a consumable part based on the environmental information and the usage amount of the consumable part stored in the storage unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying unit that notifies information related to a determination result by the determining unit.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit uses a weighted usage amount according to the environmental information of the consumable part from the environmental information and the usage amount of the consumable part stored in the storage unit. And determining the replacement time of the consumable part from the weighted usage amount and the consumption amount of the consumable part.   4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the environment detection unit detects a temperature and a humidity of a use environment, and the environment information is an average value of the temperature and the humidity. 5. An image forming apparatus.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the average value of temperature and humidity is an average value of temperature and humidity for a predetermined period.   6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the consumable part is a developer carrier. A cartridge detachable from the image forming apparatus,
Storage means for storing the environmental information detected and processed by the environment detection means provided in the apparatus and the amount of consumable parts used, and a developer for supplying the developer to an image carrier carrying an electrostatic latent image A cartridge having a carrier and a developer accommodating portion for accommodating a developer. A storage medium provided in a cartridge detachable from an image forming apparatus,
A storage medium for storing environment information detected and processed by an environment detection unit provided in the apparatus and a used amount of consumable parts.   Detecting information relating to the environment to be used; processing the information relating to the environment; storing the processed environmental information and the amount of consumable parts used; the processed environmental information; A control method for an image forming apparatus, comprising: determining a replacement time of the consumable part based on a consumption amount of the consumable part.