JP2022117333A - Image forming apparatus and initialization method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus that can easily execute initialization of a consumable item memory.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus (1) comprises: a main body housing that has consumable items (4, 20) attached thereto; a controller (61); and a main body memory (62). Consumable item memories (22, 42) provided in the consumable items store life information (224-225, 426-428) concerning the life of the consumable items. The controller executes reception processing (S102) of receiving instructions to initialize the life information, initialization processing (S401-S403) of initializing the life information stored in the consumable item memories according to the received instructions, and writing processing (S407) of writing, in the consumable item memories, initialization information indicating that the life information has been initialized.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus and initialization method.

Consumables such as toner cartridges, drum cartridges, and ink cartridges are installed in the image forming apparatus. The consumable has a consumable memory. The consumables memory stores life information about the lifespan of consumables.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an ink cartridge provided with a reset button for resetting the contents of a memory mounted on the ink cartridge. The user manually actuates the reset button to reset the memory contents.

JP-A-10-202900

In order to promote the recycling of consumables, it is required that the user can easily initialize the consumables memory without going through complicated procedures.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily initializing a consumable memory.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes a main body housing in which consumables are mounted, a controller, and a main body memory. is stored with life information relating to the life of the consumables, and the controller performs a reception process for accepting an instruction to initialize the lifespan information, and stores the consumables in the consumables memory according to the accepted instruction. and a writing process of writing initialization information indicating that the life information has been initialized into the consumables memory.

A second aspect is the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, wherein the image forming apparatus includes a display, and the controller indicates that print quality is not guaranteed when the life information is initialized according to the instruction. and a first selection screen for allowing the user to select whether or not to initialize the service life information on the display, and displaying the first selection screen on the display. When the initialization is selected through the above, the initialization process is executed.

A third aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect or the second aspect, wherein the image forming apparatus includes an operation unit, and the controller receives the instruction to initialize the lifespan information in the receiving process. , through the operation unit.

A fourth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the initialization information is an initialization count representing the number of times the life information is initialized, and the controller and determining whether the number of times of initialization of the life information indicated by the initialization information has reached a predetermined upper limit number of times. is reached, the initialization process is not executed.

A fifth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, wherein the consumables memory stores, as the lifespan information, consumption information for specifying the degree of use of the consumables. Information and/or remaining amount information for identifying the amount of material left in the consumable is stored.

A sixth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect, wherein the consumable item is a toner cartridge, and the consumable item memory stores the number of prints, the number of revolutions of the developing roller, and the toner consumption amount as the consumption information. at least one of is stored, and the controller sets the value of the life information to zero in the initialization process.

A seventh aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, wherein the consumable is a drum cartridge, and the consumables memory stores the number of prints and the number of revolutions of the drum as the consumption information. At least one of them is stored, and the controller sets the value of the life information to zero in the initialization process.

An eighth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the fifth aspect to the seventh aspect, wherein the consumables are cartridges containing printing materials, and the main body memory or the consumables memory stores the A value indicating the capacity of the cartridge is stored, the remaining amount of printing material is stored in the consumables memory as the remaining amount information, and the controller determines the remaining amount of printing material in the initialization process. The value is rewritten to a value indicating the capacity stored in the main body memory or the consumables memory.

A ninth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect, wherein the image forming apparatus includes a display, and the initialization information indicates the number of times the lifespan information has been initialized. The controller further performs a reading process of reading the initialization count from the consumables memory of the consumables attached to the main body housing, and detection processing for detecting that the mounted consumable is a recycled product based on , and print quality is guaranteed when the recycled product is used in response to detection of the recycled product. a second display process of causing the display to display a second warning to the effect that the recycled product will not be used and a second selection screen for allowing the user to select whether or not to use the recycled product.

A tenth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the ninth aspect, wherein the controller further permits printing using the recycled product when use is selected via the second selection screen. Execute permission processing.

An eleventh aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the ninth aspect or the tenth aspect, wherein the controller further determines that the recycled product is used when use is selected via the second selection screen. storage processing for storing usage history information indicating that the device has been used in the main body memory.

A twelfth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first aspect to the eleventh aspect, wherein the body memory stores information indicating that the image forming apparatus has concluded a contract with the image forming apparatus. Mode information indicating whether the contract mode is meant is stored, and the controller does not execute the accepting process when the mode information indicates the contract mode.

A thirteenth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first aspect to the twelfth aspect, wherein the consumable item memory stores a contract consumable item usable in the image forming apparatus with which the contract is concluded. and type information indicating whether the consumable is a normal consumable that can be used between an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded and an image forming apparatus without which a contract has been concluded. If the information indicates that the consumable is a contracted consumable, a change process is further executed for changing the type information to the normal consumable according to the instruction.

A fourteenth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the thirteenth aspect, wherein the image forming apparatus includes a display, and the controller responds to the instruction when the type information indicates that the product is a contract consumable item. Therefore, when the life information is initialized, the contract consumables will be recognized as the normal consumables. 3 selection screen is displayed on the display, and when initialization is selected through the third selection screen, the initialization process is performed.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an initialization method according to a fifteenth aspect of the present disclosure is an initialization method for initializing a consumable memory of a consumable, which is attached to a main body housing of an image forming apparatus. In the consumables, a receiving step in which the image forming apparatus receives an instruction to initialize life information about the lifespan of the consumables stored in the consumables memory, and the consumables memory according to the received instructions. and a writing step in which the image forming apparatus writes initialization information indicating that the life information has been initialized into the consumables memory. and including.

A sixteenth aspect is the initialization method of the fifteenth aspect, wherein a first warning is issued to the effect that printing quality will not be guaranteed if the life information is initialized, and the life information is initialized, according to the instructions. and a first display step of causing the image forming apparatus to display on the display of the image forming apparatus a first selection screen for allowing the user to select whether or not to perform initialization via the first selection screen. is selected, the image forming apparatus executes the initialization step.

A seventeenth aspect is the initialization method according to the fifteenth aspect or the sixteenth aspect, wherein in the accepting step, the image forming apparatus receives the instruction to initialize the lifespan information by operating an operation unit of the image forming apparatus. accepted through

An eighteenth aspect is the initialization method according to any one of the fifteenth to seventeenth aspects, wherein the initialization information is an initialization count representing the number of times the life information has been initialized, and the initialization a determining step of determining whether the number of times of initialization of the life information indicated by the information has reached a predetermined upper limit number of times, wherein in the determining step, the number of times of initialization has reached the upper limit number of times; If it is determined that there is, the image forming apparatus does not execute the initialization step.

A nineteenth aspect is the initialization method according to any one of the fifteenth to eighteenth aspects, wherein the consumables memory stores, as the lifespan information, consumption data for specifying the extent to which the consumables have been used. Information and/or remaining amount information for identifying the amount of material left in the consumable is stored.

A twentieth aspect is the initialization method according to the nineteenth aspect, wherein the consumable item is a toner cartridge, and the consumable item memory stores the number of prints, the number of revolutions of the developing roller, and the toner consumption amount as the consumption information. at least one of which is stored, and in the initialization step, the image forming apparatus sets the value of the consumption information to zero.

A twenty-first aspect is the initialization method of the nineteenth aspect or the twentieth aspect, wherein the consumable is a drum cartridge, and the consumables memory stores the number of prints and the number of rotations of the drum as the consumption information. At least one of them is stored, and in the initialization step, the image forming apparatus sets the value of the consumption information to zero.

A 22nd aspect is the initialization method according to any one of the 19th to 21st aspects, wherein the consumable is a cartridge containing a printing material, and the main body memory of the image forming apparatus or the consumable memory. stores a value indicating the capacity of the cartridge, the consumables memory stores the remaining amount of printing material as the remaining amount information, and in the initialization step, the image forming apparatus: The value of the printing material remaining amount is rewritten to the value indicating the capacity stored in the main body memory or the consumables memory.

A twenty-third aspect is the initialization method according to any one of the fifteenth to twenty-second aspects, wherein the initialization information is an initialization count representing the number of times the life information is initialized, and a reading step in which the image forming apparatus reads the number of times of initialization from a consumables memory of the consumables worn on the body; a detection step in which the image forming apparatus detects that the consumable item is a recycled item; 2 a second display step of causing the image forming apparatus to display a warning and a second selection screen for allowing the user to select whether or not to use the recycled product on the display of the image forming apparatus. .

A twenty-fourth aspect is the initialization method of the twenty-third aspect, wherein the image forming apparatus permits printing using the recycled product when use is selected via the second selection screen. step, including

A twenty-fifth aspect is the initialization method of the twenty-third aspect or the twenty-fourth aspect, wherein a usage history indicating that the recycled product has been used when use is selected through the second selection screen a storage step in which the image forming apparatus stores the information in a main body memory of the image forming apparatus.

A twenty-sixth aspect is the initialization method according to any one of the fifteenth to twenty-fifth aspects, wherein the main body memory of the image forming apparatus stores information indicating that the image forming apparatus concludes a contract with the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus stores mode information indicating whether it is a contract mode, which means that the image forming apparatus is in a contract mode, and when the mode information indicates the contract mode, the image forming apparatus does not execute the receiving step.

A twenty-seventh aspect is the initialization method according to any one of the fifteenth to twenty-sixth aspects, wherein the consumable item memory stores a contract consumable item usable in an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded. or a normal consumable that can be used between an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded and an image forming apparatus without which a contract has been concluded. A change step of changing the type information to the normal consumable item by the image forming apparatus in accordance with the instruction when the item indicates that the item is a consumable item.

A twenty-eighth aspect is the initialization method according to the twenty-seventh aspect, wherein when the type information indicates that the contract expendable item is a contract expendable item, the contract expendable item is initialized according to the instruction. The image forming apparatus displays a third warning to the effect that the product is recognized as the normal consumable, and a third selection screen for allowing the user to select whether or not to initialize the service life information. a third display step of displaying on the display of the forming apparatus, and when initialization is selected through the third selection screen, the image forming apparatus executes the initialization step.

The image forming apparatus according to each aspect of the present disclosure may be realized by a computer. In this case, the image forming apparatus is operated by operating the computer as each part (software element) included in the image forming apparatus. A control program for an image forming apparatus realized by a computer and a computer-readable recording medium recording it are also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

According to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the user can easily initialize the consumables memory using the image forming apparatus.

According to the image forming apparatus of the second aspect, the user can use the image forming apparatus to initialize the consumables memory after understanding that the print quality is not guaranteed for the recycled products.

According to the image forming apparatus of the third aspect, the user can easily instruct the image forming apparatus to initialize the consumables memory via the operation unit.

According to the image forming apparatus of the fourth aspect, since it is prohibited to initialize the consumables memory beyond the permitted number of times of initialization, the consumables are recycled beyond the permitted number of times of recycle. can be prevented.

According to the image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect, it is possible to easily initialize at least one of the consumption information and remaining amount information stored in the consumables memory.

According to the image forming apparatus of the sixth aspect, in the toner cartridge to be recycled, the consumption information for grasping the life of the cartridge, such as the number of prints, the number of rotations of the developing roller, and the amount of toner consumed, is properly initialized. . Therefore, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the life of the cartridge after recycling cannot be properly grasped because the consumption information before recycling remains.

According to the image forming apparatus of the seventh aspect, in the drum cartridge to be recycled, the consumption information for grasping the life of the cartridge, such as the number of prints and the number of revolutions of the drum, is properly initialized. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the life of the cartridge after recycling cannot be properly grasped because the consumption information before recycling remains.

According to the image forming apparatus of the eighth aspect, in the toner cartridge or ink cartridge to be recycled, the remaining amount information, specifically, the remaining amount of printing material consumed for each printing, is properly initialized. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the remaining amount information (remaining amount of printing material) before recycling remains and the life of the cartridge after recycling cannot be properly grasped.

According to the image forming apparatus of the ninth aspect, when using the image forming apparatus to which the recycled product is attached, the user can understand that the recycled product is not covered by warranty.

According to the image forming apparatus of the tenth aspect, the user can execute printing using the recycled product after understanding that the recycled product is not covered by the warranty.

According to the image forming apparatus of the eleventh aspect, when a problem occurs in the image forming apparatus, the controller can determine whether or not the image forming apparatus is covered by warranty based on whether or not recycled products are used.

According to the image forming apparatus of the twelfth aspect, it is possible to prohibit initialization of life information in an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded.

According to the image forming apparatus of the thirteenth aspect, it is possible to prevent contracted consumables from being recycled as contracted consumables, while promoting recycling as normal consumables.

According to the image forming apparatus of the fourteenth aspect, when the user initializes the contracted consumables, the user understands that the contracted consumables are treated as normal consumables after recycling, and then uses the image forming apparatus to: Initialization of the consumable memory can be performed.

Note that the initialization methods of the fifteenth to twenty-eighth modes have the same effect as the image forming apparatus of any one of the first to fourteenth modes corresponding to the initialization methods according to these modes. .

1 is a diagram showing an overview of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of main parts of an image forming apparatus including a drum cartridge and a toner cartridge; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of usage history information stored in the main body memory; 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of toner cartridge information stored in a toner memory; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of drum cartridge information stored in a drum memory; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing executed by the image forming apparatus in a recycle preparation phase; 10 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for displaying a standby screen; 10 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for checking whether initialization is possible; 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of initialization processing; 5 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing executed by the image forming apparatus in the recycle item use phase; 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for reading out cartridge information;

[Embodiment 1]
Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, as an example, a case where the image forming apparatus is a laser printer and image formation is printing will be described. However, the image forming device may be a printer other than a laser printer. For example, the image forming apparatus 1 may be an inkjet printer.

<Overview of Image Forming System>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an image forming system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the image forming system 100, a printing service is provided from the business to the user's image forming apparatus 1 based on a contract concluded between the business and the user. A fixed-price printing service provided based on a contract is hereinafter referred to as a contracted service. The printing executed by the image forming apparatus 1 using the provided contract service is called contract printing to distinguish it from normal printing executed regardless of the contract. Normal printing, which is carried out independently of the contract, is hereinafter referred to as normal printing.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 100 includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses 1, a server 8, and a user terminal 9. As shown in FIG. The image forming apparatus 1 used by the user normally functions as an apparatus for executing printing, but as will be described later, when the use of the contract service is permitted, the image forming apparatus 1 functions as an apparatus for executing contract printing. can do. The server 8 used by the business is a device for managing the image forming apparatus 1 with which a contract has been concluded and the use of the contracted service is permitted. Hereinafter, the image forming apparatus 1 for which a contract has been concluded and the use of the contracted service is permitted will be referred to as a contracted machine. A user terminal 9 used by a user is a device for communicating with the server 8 to conclude and cancel a contract and execute other procedures. As the user terminal 9, for example, an information processing terminal having a standard communication function such as a PC (Personal Computer) or a smart phone can be adopted. Each device that configures image forming system 100 can communicate with each other via a communication network such as the Internet.

The plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 shown in FIG. 1 may be image forming apparatuses purchased by the same user, or may be image forming apparatuses purchased by other users.

Each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 is an image forming apparatus in which the user can use contract-exclusive consumables or replacement items by making a contract with a business operator. As an example, a contract is an agreement between the service provider providing the contract service and the user regarding the usage period, usage fee, maximum number of sheets, etc. of the contract service, and then the service provider provides the contract service to the user. Both sides must agree to that. That is, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is an image forming apparatus that can perform contract printing, which is printing based on the content of the contracted service, after the contract for the contracted service is concluded.

In the image forming system 100, the timings of (1) and (2) below may be different in the contracted service provided to the user by the business operator.

(1) Timing at which the server 8 recognizes the image forming apparatus 1 as a contracted machine with which a contract has been concluded (2) Timing at which the server 8 regards the use of the contracted service in the image forming apparatus 1, that is, at the contracted service , the server 8 may recognize the image forming apparatus 1 as "although it is a contracted machine, but the use of the contracted service has not yet started".

Note that (1) "the server 8 recognizes the image forming apparatus 1 as a contract machine" means that the image forming apparatus 1 is in the non-contract mode, which means that the contract has not been concluded. It may be executed by triggering the transition of the state to the contract mode.

Further, in (2), ``deeming that the use of the contracted service has started'' simply means that the server 8 recognizes that ``the use of the contracted service has started from a certain date and time''. Therefore, the timing at which the server 8 considers that the use of the contracted service has started does not have to coincide with the timing at which the image forming apparatus 1 actually executes the contracted printing.

Below, unless otherwise specified, the contracted service is a paid service. The timing of (1) is the timing when the server 8 recognizes the image forming apparatus 1 as a contract machine and does not trigger the start of billing, and the timing of (2) is the timing of the start of billing. do.

In another example, timing (1) and timing (2) above may be substantially simultaneous. As an example, the above (1) and (2) may occur triggered by the attachment of a cartridge (consumable) that is dedicated to contract services and used for contract printing. Hereinafter, a cartridge dedicated to the contract service used for contract printing will be referred to as a contract cartridge. For example, the image forming apparatus 1 reads predetermined information from the cartridge memory of the attached contracted cartridge and transmits the predetermined information to the server 8 . The server 8 that has received the predetermined information from the image forming apparatus 1 recognizes the image forming apparatus 1 as a contracted machine, and considers that the image forming apparatus 1 has started using the contracted service.

The image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a display section such as a liquid crystal display and a lamp, and an operation section such as buttons. Further, the liquid crystal display may be configured to function as an operation unit by being configured integrally with the touch panel.

<Overview of Structure of Image Forming Apparatus 1>
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the image forming apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing internal structures of the image forming apparatus 1 and the server 8 including the drum cartridge 20 and the toner cartridge 4. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a main housing 10 and a cover 11. As shown in FIG. Although not shown, the image forming apparatus 1 may be provided with a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or a lamp, and an input unit such as a button. Further, the liquid crystal display may be configured to function as an input unit by being configured integrally with the touch panel.

(main body housing 10)
A toner cartridge 4 is attached to a main housing 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 . Although details will be described later, the toner cartridge 4 is integrated with the drum cartridge 20 by being attached to the drum cartridge 20 . That is, the toner cartridge 4 is attached to the main housing 10 together with the drum cartridge 20 while being attached to the drum cartridge 20 . Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 1 including the drum cartridge 20 and the toner cartridge 4 is realized.

It should be noted that the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment requires four toner cartridges 4 to be installed for printing. That is, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is configured to be mountable with four drum cartridges 20 and four toner cartridges 4 . However, the number of drum cartridges 20 and toner cartridges 4 mounted in the image forming apparatus 1 is not limited to the example in FIG. For example, the image forming apparatus 1 may be a monochrome printer in which one drum cartridge 20 and one toner cartridge 4 can be installed.

The toner cartridge 4 contains toner that the image forming apparatus 1 consumes during printing. That is, the toner cartridge 4 is a consumable item for the image forming apparatus 1 . Further, the drum cartridge 20 includes a photosensitive drum 21 used when the image forming apparatus 1 prints. The drum cartridge 20 is also an example of consumables for the image forming apparatus 1 .

The main housing 10 is, for example, a rectangular box shape. Four drum cartridges 20 , four toner cartridges 4 , transfer belt 70 , controller 61 , main body memory 62 , communication section 63 , operation section 64 and display 65 are accommodated in main body housing 10 . When the operation unit 64 is a hardware button, the pressing surface of the operation unit 64 may be provided on the outer surface of the main housing 10 so that the user can operate it. Moreover, the display surface of the display 65 may be provided on the outer surface of the main housing 10 so that the user can visually recognize displayed information.

The body housing 10 has four cartridge holding portions 13 . The cartridge holding portion 13 is formed in a concave shape and has an opening. The drum cartridge 20 and the toner cartridge 4 are attached to the main housing 10 by being held by the cartridge holding portions 13 respectively.

(Cover 11)
A cover 11 of the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a light source unit 50 corresponding to each drum cartridge 20 . That is, the image forming apparatus 1 has four light source units 50 . The cover 11 rotates about a rotation shaft 11A extending in the first direction between an open position that opens the opening 10A indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2 and a closed position that closes the opening 10A indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It is movable (movable). The rotation of the cover 11 opens and closes the opening 10A provided at the upper end of the main housing 10 .

The "first direction" indicates the direction in which the rotation center axis (development axis) of the developing roller in the toner cartridge extends. When the cover 11 is arranged at the open position, each opening of the cartridge holding portion 13 is opened. When the cover 11 is arranged at the closed position, each opening of the cartridge holding portion 13 is covered with the cover 11 .

The body housing 10 may be provided with a closed sensor (not shown) at the opening 10A. The closed sensor is a sensor that detects that the cover 11 is in the closed position. The closed sensor may be, for example, a contact sensor or an optical sensor.

(Toner cartridge 4)
The toner cartridge 4 has a cartridge housing that can accommodate a developing roller 41 and developer (for example, toner) as an example of printing material. The cartridge housing can be attached to the body housing 10 . The four toner cartridges 4 contain developers of different colors (for example, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) as materials used for image formation. A developer is a material that is consumed with use. The developing roller 41 is a cylindrical member extending in the first direction, and is rotatable around a developing shaft extending in the first direction. When the toner cartridge 4 is attached to the drum cartridge 20 , the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 41 .

The toner cartridge 4 also has a toner memory 42 (consumables memory), as shown in FIG. The toner memory 42 is arranged on the outer surface of one side of the toner cartridge 4 in the first direction. The toner memory 42 is a memory from which information can be read and written, such as a flash ROM (Read Only Memory) or an EEPROM (registered trademark, Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory).

The toner memory 42 stores toner cartridge information 420 that is information about the toner cartridge 4 . The data structure of toner cartridge information 420 will be described later with reference to FIG.

(Drum cartridge 20)
The drum cartridge 20 has a cartridge housing that can be attached to the body housing 10 . The cartridge housing includes a photosensitive drum 21 as a component used for image formation. The photoreceptor drum 21 is a replacement part that needs to be replaced because deterioration such as wear of the surface occurs with use. Photoreceptor drum 21 is a cylindrical photoreceptor extending in the first direction. The photoreceptor drum 21 is rotatable around a drum shaft extending in the first direction. The outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is covered with a photosensitive material.

Further, the drum cartridge 20 may have a drum memory 22 (consumables memory). The drum memory 22 is a memory from which information can be read and written. The drum memory 22 is, for example, a flash ROM or EEPROM (registered trademark).

The drum memory 22 stores drum cartridge information 220, which is information about the drum cartridge 20, as shown in FIG. The data structure of the drum cartridge information 220 will be described later with reference to FIG.

<Cartridge installation and printing mechanism>
As shown in FIG. 2, the drum cartridge 20 and the toner cartridge 4 are attached to the main housing 10 with the cover 11 positioned at the open position. In this state, the drum cartridge 20 and the toner cartridge 4 are inserted into the cartridge holding portion 13 through the opening 10A.

Four light source units 50 are attached to the inner surface of the cover 11 . The light source unit 50 is arranged to face the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 with the drum cartridge 20 attached to the main housing 10 and the cover 11 at the closed position. Also, the light source unit 50 has a plurality of light sources arranged in the first direction. The light source can irradiate the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 with light. The light source is, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode).

The light source unit 50 is electrically connected with the controller 61 . The controller 61 causes the plurality of light sources of the light source unit 50 to emit light according to the input image data. The light source irradiates light toward the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor drum 21 . As a result, the photosensitive material on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is exposed according to the image data.

The transfer belt 70 is a component that transfers the developer (for example, toner) on the surface of the photosensitive drum to the printing paper. The transfer belt 70 is a replacement part that needs to be replaced due to wear and other deterioration of its surface as it is used. The transfer belt 70 is a belt that can come into contact with the photosensitive drum 21 and has a ring shape (endless belt). The outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 can come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the transfer belt 70 . During the printing process, printing paper is conveyed between the transfer belt 70 and the photosensitive drum 21 .

The transfer belt 70 is stretched between a drive roller 71 and a driven roller 72 . A drive roller 71 drives the transfer belt 70 . The controller 61 rotates the drive roller 71 . The driven roller 72 rotates as the transfer belt 70 moves as the drive roller 71 is driven.

<Internal structure of main body housing>
The controller 61 has, for example, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Controller 61 is electrically connected to main body memory 62 and communication unit 63 provided in main body housing 10 of image forming apparatus 1 . Although not shown in FIG. 3, the operating section 64 and the display 65 are also electrically connected to the controller 61 . The controller 61 causes the image forming apparatus 1 to perform various processes related to printing by executing various operations.

Note that the controller 61 may include a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). In this case, the controller 61 may cause the image forming apparatus 1 to perform various processes by storing a control program that implements the control method of the image forming apparatus in the main memory 62 and causing the processor to operate according to the control program. .

The controller 61 may also include a computer-readable recording medium such as the main body memory 62 storing the control program. As a recording medium, a "non-temporary tangible medium" such as a ROM, a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. Alternatively, a RAM (random access memory) for expanding the control program may be used. Also, the control program may be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium (communication network, broadcast wave, etc.) capable of transmitting the control program. It should be noted that one aspect of the present disclosure may also be embodied in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the control program is embodied by electronic transmission.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 1 has connectors 101 and 102 . The controller 61 can communicate with the drum memory 22 of the drum cartridge 20 by electrically connecting the connector 101 to the drum memory 22 while the drum cartridge 20 is inserted into the cartridge holding portion 13 shown in FIG. . That is, the controller 61 can read information from the drum memory 22 and write information to the drum memory 22 (including rewrite processing).

Further, the controller 61 can communicate with the toner memory 42 of the toner cartridge 4 by electrically connecting the connector 102 to the toner memory 42 while the toner cartridge 4 is attached to the main housing 10 . That is, the controller 61 can read information from the toner memory 42 and write information to the toner memory 42 (including rewrite processing).

The main body memory 62 is a memory from which information can be read and written. The main body memory 62 is, for example, a flash ROM or an EEPROM (registered trademark). The body memory 62 has one or more storage areas, and each area stores, as an example, the following various types of information.

Cartridge information 621 is information about the cartridges to be installed in the image forming apparatus 1 . Specifically, the cartridge information 621 includes the toner cartridge information 420 read from the toner memory 42 of the toner cartridge 4 of each color so that each toner cartridge 4 can be identified. The cartridge information 621 also includes the drum cartridge information 220 read from the drum memory 22 of the drum cartridge 20 so that each drum cartridge 20 can be identified. The toner cartridge information 420 includes life information related to the life of the toner cartridge 4, for example. The drum cartridge information 220 includes life information related to the life of the drum cartridge 20, for example. Details of the data structures of the toner cartridge information 420 and the drum cartridge information 220 stored as the cartridge information 621 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG.

In this embodiment, the cartridge information (drum cartridge information 220 and toner cartridge information 420) read out from the memory of each cartridge is referred to by the controller 61 to accurately determine the state of the cartridge. By accurately grasping the state of the cartridge, the controller 61 can properly initialize the cartridge information so that the cartridge can be properly recycled.

In the following, "recycling a cartridge" means restoring the cartridge to print-ready condition by replacing or replenishing only those components of the cartridge that require replacement. Point. That is, cartridge recycling includes not only replenishment of consumed materials, but also replacement of degraded replacement parts with new ones. Hereinafter, cartridges (consumables) recycled by replenishment of materials or replacement of parts are referred to as recycled cartridges (recycled products).

The device ID 622 is identification information for identifying the image forming device 1 . The device ID 622 is, for example, the serial number of the image forming device.

The mode information 623 is information indicating the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 1 . In this embodiment, as an example, two types of modes are defined: "contract mode" and "non-contract mode". The “contract mode” means that the image forming apparatus 1 operates on the image forming system 100 as a contract machine with which a contract has been concluded. "Non-contract mode" means that the image forming apparatus 1 operates not as a contract machine but as a normal image forming apparatus for which no contract has been concluded.

When the image forming apparatus 1 is shipped, the body memory 62 stores mode information 623 indicating a value corresponding to the non-contract mode by default. The server 8 transmits to the image forming apparatus 1 of the user with whom the contract has been concluded a request including a contract transition instruction instructing transition to the contract mode. The controller 61 changes the mode information 623 from the non-contract mode to the contract mode according to the request from the server 8 . In the present embodiment, as an example, changing the value of the mode information 623 from the non-contract mode to the contract mode by the controller 61 is called "transition to contract mode".

The usage history information 624 is information indicating the history of usage of the recycle cartridge in the image forming apparatus 1 . The usage history information 624 may be, for example, information indicating the number of recycle cartridges attached to the image forming apparatus 1 . In another example, the usage history information 624 may be a table holding combinations of cartridge IDs of recycled cartridges and the number of times of recycling. In yet another example, the usage history information 624 may be a flag indicating whether or not the recycle cartridge has been installed even once.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the usage history information 624 as the table described above, which is stored in the main body memory 62. As shown in FIG. A cartridge ID is identification information that uniquely identifies a recycle cartridge attached to the image forming apparatus 1 . The number of recycling times is information indicating the number of times the mounted recycle cartridge has been recycled so far when the recycle cartridge is mounted.

By referring to the usage history information 624 shown in FIG. 4 , the controller 61 can count not only the cartridge ID but also the number of recycling times separately when counting the number of recycle cartridges installed in the image forming apparatus 1 . . In other words, the controller 61 can count the number of cartridges having the same cartridge ID separately, depending on whether the cartridge is mounted when the number of recycling times is the first time or when the number of recycling times is the second time.

The upper limit information 625 is information indicating the upper limit of the number of recycling times allowed for the cartridge. In this embodiment, the cartridge is prohibited from being recycled beyond the upper limit number of times indicated by the upper limit information 625 . For example, the controller 61 can compare the number of cartridge recycling times with the upper limit information 625, and can control not to initialize the cartridge information for recycling for cartridges that have reached the recycling number of times.

A first number counter 626 is the total number of printed sheets in the image forming apparatus 1 . A second number counter 627 indicates the number of printed materials printed by the image forming apparatus 1 using the contract service. The second number counter 627 may be reset to 0 each time the image forming apparatus 1 shifts from the non-contract mode to the contract mode. It may be the total number of sheets. Henceforth, unless otherwise specified, the value of the second number counter 627 is the total number of sheets printed under contract printing.

The specification information 628 is information indicating the specification of the image forming apparatus 1 . In this embodiment, as an example, the image forming apparatus 1 and consumables are manufactured with specifications that meet the circumstances of the country where they are used. For the image forming apparatus 1 and consumables, for example, there are three specifications for "EU (Europe)", "US (United States)", and "JP (Japan)". Specification information 628 indicates any of the above specifications.

In addition to the information described above, the main body memory 62 has, for example, an area for storing the cumulative number of printed sheets in the image forming apparatus 1, an area for storing an error state occurring in the image forming apparatus 1, and the like. may be

The communication unit 63 communicates between the image forming apparatus 1 and the server 8 via a communication network such as the Internet. The communication unit 63 outputs the request received from the server 8 to the controller 61 . As an example, "request" refers to various requests, instructions, inquiries, etc., sent from the server 8 in the process performed in relation to the contract. The communication unit 63 returns the result of calculation and output by the controller 61 in response to the above-described request to the server 8 as a “response”. In this embodiment, the return of the response by the communication unit 63 may be omitted. For example, if the request is an instruction to change various settings within the image forming apparatus 1, the controller 61 changes various settings within the image forming apparatus 1 according to the instruction. However, returning the notification that the setting has been changed to the server 8 via the communication unit 63 may be omitted.

<Server configuration>
The server 8 includes a server communication section 83, a server memory 82, and a server control section 81 (control section). The server communication unit 83 is a communication interface that performs communication between the server 8 and the image forming apparatus 1 . Server communication unit 83 transmits a request input from server control unit 81 to image forming apparatus 1 . Server communication unit 83 receives a response sent from image forming apparatus 1 in response to the transmitted request, and outputs the response to server control unit 81 .

Further, the server communication unit 83 communicates with the user terminal 9 operated by the user of the image forming apparatus 1 via the communication network, and transmits and receives information to and from the user terminal 9 . In this embodiment, the server communication unit 83 transmits and receives various types of information necessary for concluding a contract with the user terminal.

The server memory 82 is a storage device that stores data required for the operation of the server 8 . Server memory 82 stores device information 821 for each image forming device 1 subscribing to a contracted service provided in image forming system 100 . The device information may include, for example, a device ID, a contract flag, a contract upper limit number of sheets, a model number of the image forming device 1, a manufacturing date, and the like.

The device ID 622 is identification information for the server 8 to uniquely identify the image forming device 1 . The contract flag is information indicating whether or not the image forming apparatus 1 has transitioned to the contract mode, that is, whether or not it has been recognized as a contract machine. The contracted maximum number of sheets indicates the maximum number of sheets that the image forming apparatus 1 can print under contract for a predetermined period defined in the contract.

The server control unit 81 is a CPU that controls the server 8 in an integrated manner. Server control unit 81 creates a request to image forming apparatus 1 at a predetermined timing, and outputs the created request to server communication unit 83 .

Further, based on the response received from the image forming apparatus 1 via the server communication section 83, the server control section 81 causes the server memory 82 to store new device information or updates already stored device information. or

<Data structure of cartridge information>
(Toner cartridge information)
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the toner cartridge information 420 stored in the toner memory 42. As shown in FIG. The toner cartridge information 420 includes, for example, a toner ID 421, capacity information 422, color information 423, specification information 424, type information 425, life information, and initialization information.

Lifespan information is information about the lifespan of consumables. As an example, the service life information includes at least one of consumption information for specifying the extent to which the consumable has been used, and remaining amount information for specifying the amount of material remaining in the consumable. include. Examples of consumption information include, but are not limited to, the number of printed sheets, the dot count, the amount of printing material consumed, the number of rotations of the developing roller, and the number of rotations of the drum. For example, but not limited to, remaining amount of printing material, such as remaining amount of toner and remaining amount of ink, is an example of remaining amount information.

The toner cartridge information 420 of the toner cartridge 4 includes, as an example of life information, the number of printed sheets 426, the number of rotations of the developing roller 427, and the toner remaining amount 428 (printing material remaining amount). In another example, the life information may include dot count. The initialization information is information indicating whether or not at least part of the information stored in the consumables memory has been initialized according to the user's instruction, and is the number of recycling times 429, for example. The number of recycling times 429 indicates the number of times the toner memory 42 has been initialized for recycling.

The various types of information given above are merely examples of the toner cartridge information 420 . Depending on the environment or circumstances in which the image forming system 100 is constructed, other information may be added, and part of the various information described above may be omitted as appropriate.

The toner ID 421 is identification information for uniquely identifying the toner cartridge 4 . As an example, the toner ID 421 is a serial number unique to the toner cartridge 4 .

The capacity information 422 is information indicating the capacity of the printing material that the toner cartridge 4 can accommodate. In this embodiment, as an example, the toner cartridge 4 can be set to have four levels of capacity. More specifically, the capacity that can be set for the toner cartridge 4 is, in ascending order, four stages of "small capacity", "standard capacity", "large capacity", and "super large capacity". Indicates any of the above capacities.

The color information 423 is information indicating the color of the printing material contained in the toner cartridge 4 . In this embodiment, as an example, the toner cartridge 4 has four colors of "C (cyan)", "M (magenta)", "Y (yellow)" and "BK (black)". Color information 423 indicates one of the colors described above.

The specification information 424 is information indicating the specification of the toner cartridge 4 . As with the main body of the image forming apparatus 1, the toner cartridge 4 also has three specifications for "EU (Europe)", "US (United States)", and "JP (Japan)". Specification information 424 indicates any of the above specifications.

The type information 425 is information indicating the type of the toner cartridge 4 . In this embodiment, at least two types of "contract" and "commercial" can be set as the type of the toner cartridge 4. FIG. The type information 425 indicates one of the types described above.

The toner memory 42 of the contract cartridge stores type information 425 indicating the type "contract". The image forming apparatus 1 can perform contracted printing while the contracted cartridge is attached. For example, a contracted cartridge is supplied from a business to a user who has signed a contract for the image forming apparatus 1 .

The toner memory 42 of the commercially available toner cartridge 4 that can be purchased from an electric appliance store or a mail-order site stores type information 425 indicating the type "commercial". Hereinafter, this type of toner cartridge will be referred to as a commercially available cartridge (normal consumable) to distinguish it from a contracted cartridge (contracted consumable). The commercially available cartridge may be a so-called genuine product manufactured by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus 1, or a so-called third-party product manufactured by a third party other than the manufacturer.

The number of printed sheets 426 (lifetime information, consumption information) is information indicating the number of sheets printed in the image forming apparatus 1 after the toner cartridge 4 is installed in the image forming apparatus 1 .

The number of rotations of the developing roller 427 (life information, consumption information) is information indicating the number of rotations of the developing roller 41 in the toner cartridge 4 caused by execution of printing after the toner cartridge 4 is installed in the image forming apparatus 1 . be.

The toner remaining amount 428 (life information, remaining amount information) is information indicating the remaining amount of toner in the toner cartridge 4 . As an example, the toner remaining amount 428 may be configured with values corresponding to multiple stages from full to empty. For example, the toner remaining amount 428 may be a character string such as "FULL" to "EMPTY", or a numerical value such as "100%" to "0%". It may be combined information.

The initial value of the toner remaining amount 428 corresponds to the full amount of the capacity corresponding to the capacity information 422 . As an example, a sensor (not shown) may optically measure the toner cartridge 4 as toner is consumed with use. The controller 61 may write the remaining toner amount obtained by the above measurement to the toner memory 42 as the remaining toner amount 428 .

In another example, the controller 61 monitors the amount of toner discharged from the toner cartridge 4 and consumed, and determines the amount of toner to be consumed based on the amount information 422 stored in the toner memory 42 and the monitored toner consumption. The remaining amount may be calculated. The controller 61 may write the calculated remaining amount of toner to the toner memory 42 as the remaining amount of toner 428 .

The number of recycling times 429 (initialization information) is information indicating the number of times (initialization times) that at least part of the information stored in the toner memory 42 of the toner cartridge 4 has been initialized according to user instructions. In this embodiment, the initialization of the information in the toner memory 42 based on the user's instruction is executed once per recycling. Therefore, the "number of times of initialization" in the toner memory 42 described above means the number of times the toner cartridge 4 is recycled. If the recycling count 429 indicates a value less than 1, it means that the toner cartridge 4 has never been recycled. If the recycling number 429 indicates a value of 1 or more, it means that the toner cartridge 4 is a recycled cartridge.

(Drum cartridge information)
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the drum cartridge information 220 stored in the drum memory 22. As shown in FIG. The drum cartridge information 220 includes, for example, a drum ID 221, specification information 222, type information 223, life information, and initialization information.

The drum cartridge information 220 of the drum cartridge 20 includes the number of printed sheets 224 and the number of rotations of the drum 225 as an example of life information. As with the toner cartridge 4 , the initialization information is, for example, the number of recycling times 226 .

The various types of information given above are merely examples of the drum cartridge information 220 . Depending on the environment or circumstances in which the image forming system 100 is constructed, other information may be added, and part of the various information described above may be omitted as appropriate.

The drum ID 221 is identification information for uniquely identifying the drum cartridge 20 . As an example, the drum ID 221 is a serial number unique to the drum cartridge 20 .

The specification information 222 is information indicating the specification of the drum cartridge 20 . Similar to the image forming apparatus 1 and the toner cartridge 4, the drum cartridge 20 also has three specifications for "EU (Europe)", "US (United States)", and "JP (Japan)". The specification information 222 indicates any one of the above specifications.

The type information 223 is information indicating the type of the drum cartridge 20 . As with the toner cartridge 4, at least two types of "contract" and "market" can be set for the drum cartridge 20 as well. The type information 223 indicates one of the types described above.

The number of printed sheets 224 (lifetime information, consumption information) is information indicating the number of sheets printed in the image forming apparatus 1 after the drum cartridge 20 was installed in the image forming apparatus 1 .

The drum rotation number 225 (life information, consumption information) is information indicating the number of rotations of the photosensitive drum 21 in the drum cartridge 20 caused by printing after the drum cartridge 20 is installed in the image forming apparatus 1 . be.

The number of recycling times 226 (initialization information) is information indicating the number of times (initialization times) at least part of the information stored in the drum memory 22 of the drum cartridge 20 has been initialized according to user instructions. Initialization of the information in the drum memory 22 based on the user's instruction is performed once for each recycling. Therefore, the above-described "initialization count" in the drum memory 22 indicates the recycling count of the drum cartridge 20 as it is. If the recycling count 226 shows a value less than 1, it means that the drum cartridge 20 has never been recycled. If the recycling count 226 indicates a value of 1 or more, it means that the drum cartridge 20 is a recycled cartridge.

Next, the flow of processing executed by the controller 61 of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to a flowchart. The processing executed by the controller 61 can be broadly divided into a recycle preparation phase and a recycle product use phase. In the recycle preparation phase, the controller 61 performs various processes necessary to initialize the cartridge information stored in the consumables memory. In the recycle product use phase, the controller 61 executes various processes necessary for using the recycle cartridge when the recycle cartridge is attached to the image forming apparatus 1 .

<Processing flow of the recycling preparation phase>
FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing executed by the image forming apparatus 1 in the recycle preparation phase. The recycle preparation phase includes processing to initialize the cartridge information stored in the consumables memory according to user instructions. A series of processes shown in FIG. 7 are executed by the controller 61 . In the following, the recycling preparation phase will be described by taking the case of recycling the toner cartridge 4 as an example. Therefore, in the initialization process, the initialization of the toner memory 42 is merely an example. The controller 61 can also execute processing for initializing the drum memory 22 according to user instructions.

In step S101, the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display a standby screen. The standby screen is, for example, a screen displayed while the image forming apparatus 1 is waiting for printing. The standby screen can be displayed, for example, when the power of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on, or when the image forming apparatus 1 recovers from a sleep state. The standby screen includes user interface components (hereinafter referred to as UI components) for causing the image forming apparatus 1 to perform various operations. The UI parts may be configured as software buttons that can be selected by the user operating the operation unit 64, for example. In this embodiment, as an example, the standby screen includes a first UI component for instructing initialization of the toner cartridge information 420 stored in the toner memory 42 . The detailed processing flow of step S101 will be described later in detail with reference to another drawing.

In step S102 (accepting process, accepting step), the controller 61 detects that the user has instructed initialization of the toner cartridge information 420 . For example, the controller 61 may detect that the operation unit 64, which is a hardware button meaning "determine", is pressed while the first UI component in the standby screen is selected. Alternatively, the controller 61 may detect that the first UI component has been touch-operated via the operation unit 64 integrally configured with the display 65 as a touch panel. When the controller 61 detects that the user instructs initialization as described above, the process advances from YES in S102 to S103.

Although illustration is omitted, when another UI component instructing another action is selected on the standby screen, the controller 61 proceeds from NO in S102 to a step of executing the action according to the instruction. .

In step S103 (first display process, first display step), the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display an initialization selection screen (first selection screen). The initialization selection screen includes a first warning for explaining to the user that the print quality is not guaranteed if the toner cartridge information 420, especially life information, is initialized. Furthermore, the initialization selection screen includes a second UI component for allowing the user to select whether or not to initialize the toner cartridge information 420 including life information. As an example, the second UI component includes a button corresponding to "initialize", which means that the user wishes to initialize the life information, and an "initialize" button, which means that the user does not wish to initialize the life information. It consists of a button corresponding to "No". The second UI component is configured so that the user can select any one of the buttons described above. User selection operations may be implemented via either hardware buttons or software buttons.

In step S104, the controller 61 determines which button of the second UI parts has been selected. When the controller 61 determines that the "initialize" button has been selected, the process advances from YES in S104 to S105. When the controller 61 determines that the "do not initialize" button has been selected, the controller 61 proceeds to NO in S104 and terminates the series of processes. The controller 61 may return from NO in S104 to S101 and cause the display 65 to display the standby screen.

The fact that the user has selected the "initialize" button means that the user agrees with the content of the first warning and wishes to initialize the toner cartridge information 420 for recycling. means In this embodiment, the initialization of the toner cartridge information 420 is permitted when the user agrees to the content of the first warning.

In step S105, the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display a capacity selection screen. The capacity selection screen is a screen including UI components for allowing the user to select the capacity of the toner cartridge 4 after recycling. As an example, the user can select the capacity of the toner cartridge 4 after recycling from the four levels described above via the capacity selection screen.

In step S106, the controller 61 waits for the user to select a capacity via the capacity selection screen.

In step S107, the controller 61 may accept an instruction to cancel initialization of the toner cartridge information 420 while waiting for capacity selection. If the controller 61 receives the above instruction to cancel without selecting a capacity, the controller 61 advances from NO in S106 to YES in S107, and ends the series of processes.

When the controller 61 accepts the selection of the capacity, the controller 61 temporarily stores the selected capacity in the main body memory 62, and advances the process from YES in S106 to S108.

Note that steps S105 to S107 are omitted for the toner cartridge 4 whose capacity is fixed and cannot be changed each time it is recycled.

In step S108, the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display a color selection screen. The color selection screen is a screen including UI components for allowing the user to select the color of the toner to be filled in the recycled toner cartridge 4 . As an example, the user can select the color of the toner cartridge 4 after recycling from the four colors described above via the color selection screen.

In step S109, the controller 61 waits for the user to select a color via the color selection screen.

In step S110, controller 61 may accept an instruction to cancel initialization of toner cartridge information 420 while waiting for color selection. If the controller 61 accepts the above-described instruction to cancel without selecting a color, the controller 61 advances from NO in S109 to YES in S110, and ends the series of processes.

When the controller 61 receives the color selection, the controller 61 temporarily stores the selected color in the body memory 62, and advances the process from YES in S109 to S111.

Note that steps S108 to S110 are omitted for the toner cartridge 4 in which the color of the toner cartridge 4 is fixed and the color of the toner to be filled cannot be changed each time it is recycled.

Alternatively, the controller 61 may execute steps S105 to S107 after executing steps S108 to S110.

At step S111, the controller 61 checks whether the toner cartridge information 420 can be initialized. Specifically, the controller 61 communicates with the toner cartridge 4 to read the latest toner cartridge information 420 at present, and checks whether the toner cartridge 4 meets the requirements for recycling. Initialization of the toner cartridge information 420 is permitted when the toner cartridge 4 satisfies the requirements for recycling. The detailed processing flow of step S111 will be described later in detail with reference to another drawing.

In step S112, the controller 61 determines whether or not an error has been detected in the process of checking in step S111. If no error is detected, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge information 420 can be initialized, and advances the process from NO in S112 to S113. On the other hand, if an error is detected, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge information 420 cannot be initialized, and advances the process from YES in S112 to S115.

In step S<b>113 (initialization process, initialization step), the controller 61 initializes the toner cartridge information 420 stored in the toner memory 42 . The initialization process for initializing the toner cartridge information 420 may include, for example, setting life information (eg, the number of printed sheets 426 and the number of rotations of the developing roller 427) to zero. Further, the initialization process may include rewriting the life information (for example, remaining toner amount 428) to an initial value (specifically, the FULL value of the selected capacity).

In addition to the initialization process described above, the controller 61 may further execute a process of changing the capacity information 422 and the color information 423 to the capacity and color selected by the user in S113. The controller 61 may further execute processing (writing processing, writing step) for incrementing the number of recycles 429 by one. The detailed processing flow of step S113 will be described later in detail with reference to another drawing.

At step S114, the controller 61 determines whether or not an error has been detected during the initialization process at step S113. If no error is detected, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge information 420 has been successfully initialized, proceeds to NO in S114, and ends the series of processes. After the initialization is successful, the controller 61 may cause the display 65 to display an initialization success screen for notifying the user of the success of the initialization. On the other hand, if an error is detected, the controller 61 determines that the initialization of the toner cartridge information 420 has failed, and advances the process from YES in S114 to S115.

In step S115, controller 61 causes display 65 to display an error screen for notifying the user that toner cartridge information 420 has not been initialized. The controller 61 may display different contents between the first error screen displayed when YES in S112 is triggered and the second error screen displayed when YES is selected in S114. For example, the first error screen may include a message to the effect that the toner cartridge 4 cannot be initialized because it does not meet the requirements for recycling. Further, for example, the second error screen includes a message notifying that the writing operation to the toner memory 42 was not completed normally, and a message prompting confirmation of the installation status of the toner cartridge 4. good too.

(Processing to display standby screen)
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for displaying the standby screen, corresponding to step S101 shown in FIG.

In step S201, the controller 61 detects an event that triggers processing for displaying a standby screen, such as power-on. When the controller 61 detects the trigger, the process advances from YES in S201 to S202.

In step S202, the controller 61 reads out the mode information 623 stored in the body memory 62. FIG. The mode information 623 is information indicating whether the image forming apparatus 1 is in the contract mode or the non-contract mode, and the mode information 623 determines whether the image forming apparatus 1 is a contract machine.

In step S203, the controller 61 determines whether the mode information 623 indicates contract mode or non-contract mode. If the mode information 623 indicates non-contract mode, that is, if the image forming apparatus 1 is not a contract machine, the controller 61 advances the process from YES in S203 to S204. If the mode information 623 indicates the contract mode, that is, if the image forming apparatus 1 is a contract machine, the controller 61 advances the process from NO in S203 to S205.

In step S204, the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display a standby screen so that the cartridge information can be initialized using the image forming apparatus 1 that is not a contract machine. Specifically, the controller 61 selects a menu button for instructing initialization of the cartridge information, for example, the first UI component for instructing initialization of the toner cartridge information 420. is displayed on the display 65.

In step S205, the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display a standby screen so that the cartridge information cannot be initialized using the image forming apparatus 1, which is the contract machine. Specifically, the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display a standby screen in which the menu button for instructing initialization of the cartridge information is not displayed or is displayed so as not to be selectable. That is, in the contract machine, the controller 61 is configured not to accept an initialization instruction.

According to the above method, it is possible to easily initialize the consumables memory in the image forming apparatus 1 that is not a contracted machine, thereby contributing to promotion of recycling. On the other hand, in the contract machine, the use of the recycled cartridge as the contract cartridge is prevented. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the print quality is not guaranteed in the image forming apparatus 1 with which the contract has been concluded. In other words, the added value of the subscription service, which is guaranteed print quality, is not lost.

(Processing for checking whether initialization is possible)
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for checking whether initialization is possible, corresponding to step S111 shown in FIG.

At step S301, the controller 61 attempts to communicate with a consumable memory, such as the toner memory 42. FIG. If the controller 61 determines that it cannot communicate with the toner memory 42, for example, it cannot read the information in the toner memory 42, the process advances from NO in S301 to S302. When the controller 61 determines that communication with the toner memory 42 is possible, the process advances from YES in S301 to S303.

In step S302, the controller 61 outputs an error and does not permit initialization.

At step S<b>303 , the controller 61 authenticates the toner cartridge 4 . A method for authenticating the toner cartridge 4 is not particularly limited. For example, when the model number of the toner cartridge 4 corresponds to the model number of the image forming apparatus 1, the controller 61 may determine that the toner cartridge 4 has been successfully authenticated. On the other hand, if the model number of the toner cartridge 4 does not correspond to the model number of the image forming apparatus 1, the controller 61 may determine that the authentication of the toner cartridge 4 has failed.

If the toner cartridge 4 can be authenticated, the controller 61 proceeds from YES in S303 to S304. On the other hand, if the toner cartridge 4 could not be authenticated, the controller 61 advances the process from NO in S303 to S302. In another example, the controller 61 may omit the process of S303.

In step S<b>304 , the controller 61 reads out the specification information 424 from the toner memory 42 .

In step S<b>305 , the controller 61 determines whether the read specification information 424 matches the specification information 628 of the image forming apparatus 1 stored in the main body memory 62 . If the two pieces of specification information match, the controller 61 advances the process from YES in S305 to S306. On the other hand, if the two pieces of specification information do not match, the controller 61 advances the process from NO in S305 to S302. In another example, the controller 61 may omit the processing of S304 and S305.

In step S<b>306 , the controller 61 reads out the type information 425 from the toner memory 42 .

In step S307, the controller 61 determines whether the read type information 425 indicates the type "contract" or the type "marketing". If the type information 425 indicates the type "contract", the controller 61 advances the process from YES in S307 to S308. If the type information 425 indicates "marketed", the controller 61 advances the process from NO in S307 to S309.

In step S308 (third display process, third display step), the controller 61 determines whether or not the user has agreed that the contracted toner cartridge 4 will be recycled as a commercially available cartridge.

As an example, the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display an initialization selection screen (third selection screen) regarding the contracted cartridge. The initialization selection screen includes a third warning for explaining to the user that when the toner cartridge information 420 of the contracted cartridge, particularly the life information, is initialized, the contracted cartridge will be recognized as a commercially available cartridge. Furthermore, the initialization selection screen includes a second UI component for allowing the user to select whether or not to initialize the toner cartridge information 420 including life information. As described above, the second UI component includes a button corresponding to "initialize" indicating that the user wishes to initialize the life information, and an "initialize" button indicating that the user does not wish to initialize the life information. It consists of a button corresponding to "Do not change". The second UI component is configured so that the user can select any one of the buttons described above. User selection operations may be implemented via either hardware buttons or software buttons.

In the above example, the controller 61 determines that the user has agreed to have the contract cartridge recycled as a commercial cartridge when the button corresponding to "initialize" is selected. In this case, the controller 61 advances the process from YES in S308 to S309.

On the other hand, the controller 61 determines that the user has not consented when the button corresponding to "do not initialize" is selected. In this case, the controller 61 advances the process from NO in S308 to S302.

In step S<b>309 , controller 61 reads recycling count 429 from toner memory 42 .

In step S310 (determination process, determination step), the controller 61 compares the read recycling count 429 (initialization count) with the upper limit information 625 (upper limit count) stored in the main body memory 62 . That is, the controller 61 checks whether or not the number of recycling times 429 has reached the upper limit number indicated by the upper limit information 625 . If the number of recycling times 429 is equal to or greater than the upper limit number of times, the controller 61 proceeds from YES in S310 to S302. That is, it is prohibited to initialize the toner cartridge information 420 by exceeding the upper limit number of recycles. On the other hand, if the number of recycling times 429 is less than the upper limit number of times, the controller 61 advances the process from NO in S310 to S311.

In step S311, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge 4 satisfies the requirements for recycling, and permits initialization of the toner cartridge information 420. FIG.

(Processing to initialize cartridge information)
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of initialization processing corresponding to step S113 shown in FIG.

In step S<b>401 (initialization process, initialization step), the controller 61 initializes the number of printed sheets 426 stored in the toner memory 42 . Specifically, the controller 61 sets the number of printed sheets 426 counted up to the predetermined number of sheets to zero. When the drum memory 22 is to be initialized, the controller 61 sets the number of prints 224 stored in the drum memory 22 to zero.

In step S<b>402 (initialization process, initialization step), the controller 61 initializes the developing roller rotation speed 427 stored in the toner memory 42 . Specifically, the controller 61 sets the number of rotations 427 of the developing roller counted up to a predetermined number of rotations to zero. When the object to be initialized is the drum memory 22, the controller 61 sets the drum rotation number 225 stored in the drum memory 22 to zero.

In step S<b>403 (initialization process, initialization step), the controller 61 initializes the toner remaining amount 428 stored in the toner memory 42 . Specifically, the controller 61 restores the remaining toner amount 428, whose value has been decreased as the toner is consumed, to the initial value. That is, the controller 61 restores the remaining toner amount 428 to the FULL value (value indicating the capacity of the cartridge) selected in step S106 of FIG. The FULL value corresponding to each capacity may be stored in advance in main body memory 62 or may be stored in advance in toner memory 42 .

At step S<b>404 , the controller 61 changes the capacity information 422 stored in the toner memory 42 . Specifically, the controller 61 rewrites the capacity information 422 so as to indicate the capacity selected in step S106 of FIG.

In step S405, the controller 61 changes the color information 423 stored in the toner memory 42. FIG. Specifically, the controller 61 rewrites the color information 423 to indicate the color selected in step S109 of FIG.

If the object to be initialized is the drum memory 22, S403 to S405 are omitted.

In step S<b>406 (change processing, change step), the controller 61 changes the type information 425 stored in the toner memory 42 . Specifically, the controller 61 changes the type information 425 from "contract" to "market" so that the toner cartridge 4 is recognized as a commercial cartridge instead of a contract cartridge after recycling. When the target of initialization is the drum memory 22 , the controller 61 changes the type information 223 stored in the drum memory 22 .

It should be noted that the controller 61 executes the process of step S406 described above when YES is passed in step S308 in the checking process shown in FIG. If YES in step S308 has not been passed, step S406 is omitted.

In step S407 (writing process, writing step), the controller 61 increments the recycling count 429 stored in the toner memory 42 by one. When the object to be initialized is the drum memory 22, the controller 61 increments the recycle count 226 stored in the drum memory 22 by one.

In step S408, the controller 61 determines whether the read operation from the toner memory 42 and the write operation to the toner memory 42 have succeeded. If all read operations and write operations are successful, the controller 61 advances to YES in S408 and terminates a series of initialization processes. On the other hand, if the read operation or write operation fails in any of the steps described above, the controller 61 advances the process from NO in S408 to S409.

In step S409, the controller 61 outputs an error because the toner cartridge information 420 could not be initialized.

<Processing flow of the phase of using recycled products>
FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing executed by the image forming apparatus 1 in the recycle item use phase. A series of processes shown in FIG. 11 are executed by the controller 61 . As an example, a case of using a recycled toner cartridge 4 will be described below.

In step S501, the controller 61 detects power-on. When the power is turned on, the controller 61 proceeds from YES in S501 to S503.

Alternatively, the controller 61 detects opening and closing of the cover 11 in step S502. When the controller 61 detects opening/closing of the cover 11, the process advances from YES in S502 to S503.

In step S503 (reading process, reading step), controller 61 reads toner cartridge information 420 from toner memory 42 of toner cartridge 4 electrically connected via connector 102 . The detailed processing flow of step S503 will be described later in detail with reference to another drawing.

In step S504 (detection process, detection step), the controller 61 determines whether or not the number of recycles 429 read out in S503 is greater than zero. When the number of recycling times 429 is greater than zero, for example, when it is one or more times, the controller 61 detects that the toner cartridge 4 attached to the image forming apparatus 1 is a recycled cartridge. Then, the controller 61 advances the process from YES in S504 to S505. If the number of recycling times 429 is less than one, for example, zero or less, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge 4 attached to the image forming apparatus 1 is not a recycle cartridge, and proceeds from NO in S504 to S508. Proceed with processing.

In step S505 (second display process, second display step), the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display a use selection screen (second selection screen). The usage selection screen includes a second warning for explaining to the user that the print quality cannot be guaranteed if the recycled cartridge is used as a consumable item. Further, the usage selection screen includes a third UI component for allowing the user to select whether or not to use the recycled cartridge for printing. As an example, the third UI component corresponds to a button corresponding to "use", which means that the user wants to use the recycled cartridge, and "do not use", which means that the user does not want to use the recycled cartridge. It consists of a button to The third UI component is configured so that the user can select any one of the buttons described above. User selection operations may be implemented via either hardware buttons or software buttons.

In step S506, the controller 61 determines which button of the third UI parts has been selected. If the controller 61 determines that the "use" button has been selected, the process advances from YES in S506 to S507. If the controller 61 determines that the "do not use" button has been selected, the process advances from NO in S506 to S509.

The user's selection of the "use" button means that the user agrees with the content of the second warning and wishes to print using the recycled cartridge. In this embodiment, the controller 61 permits printing using the toner cartridge 4 in step S506 (permitting process, permitting step) when the user agrees to the content of the second warning.

In step S<b>507 (storage processing, storage step), controller 61 stores usage history information 624 indicating that toner cartridge 4 , which is a recycle cartridge, has been used in image forming apparatus 1 in main body memory 62 . If usage history information 624 has already been stored in main body memory 62 , controller 61 may update usage history information 624 .

In step S508, the controller 61 activates each part of the printing mechanism of the image forming apparatus 1 to shift the image forming apparatus 1 to a state in which printing can be immediately executed at any time.

In step S509, the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display an error screen. The error screen displayed in S509 may indicate the reason for the error, how to resolve the error, and the like. For example, the error screen may include, as the reason for the error, a message to the effect that a recycle cartridge that the user has not approved for use is installed. As an example, it is assumed that the above error can be resolved by turning the power off and then back on, or by opening and closing the cover 11 again. The error screen may contain a message explaining how to fix the error described above.

Each process of steps S504 to S507 and S509 may be executed each time the main power of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on, or each time the opening/closing of the cover 11 is detected, as illustrated.

In another example, each process of steps S504-S507 and S509 may be performed only once when the recycle cartridge is first installed. After that, each process of steps S504 to S507 and S509 may be appropriately omitted while the recycle cartridge continues to be attached without being removed. For example, the controller 61 can refer to the usage history information 624 stored in the main body memory 62 to determine whether or not the loaded recycle cartridge is a recycle cartridge that has already been approved by the user. can. When the toner ID of the installed recycle cartridge is included in the usage history information 624, the controller 61 can determine that this recycle cartridge has already been approved by the user. Then, the controller 61 can omit the processes of steps S504 to S507 and S509 for the recycle cartridge described above.

(Processing for reading cartridge information)
FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for reading cartridge information, corresponding to S503 shown in FIG.

In step S<b>601 (reading process, reading step), the controller 61 reads the recycling count 429 from the toner memory 42 . If the recycle cartridge is the drum cartridge 20 , the controller 61 reads the recycle count 226 from the drum memory 22 .

In step S<b>602 , the controller 61 reads the number of printed sheets 426 from the toner memory 42 . If the recycle cartridge is the drum cartridge 20 , the controller 61 reads the number of printed sheets 224 from the drum memory 22 .

In step S<b>603 , the controller 61 reads the developing roller rotation speed 427 from the toner memory 42 . If the recycle cartridge is the drum cartridge 20 , the controller 61 reads the drum rotation speed 225 from the drum memory 22 .

In step S<b>604 , the controller 61 reads out the toner remaining amount 428 from the toner memory 42 . If the recycle cartridge is the drum cartridge 20, S604 is omitted.

Note that the controller 61 can perform the above steps S601 to S604 in any order. Also, the controller 61 may execute a step of reading the toner ID 421 as necessary.

(Modification 1)
The developing roller 41 of the first embodiment may be provided in the toner cartridge 4 or may be provided in the drum cartridge 20 as long as the functions described in the first embodiment can be realized. Further, in the first embodiment, the toner cartridge 4 is inserted into the opening of the cartridge holding portion 13 together with the drum cartridge 20 while being attached to the drum cartridge 20 . That is, in Embodiment 1, the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 are separate cartridges. However, the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 may be configured integrally as one cartridge.

(Modification 2)
The image forming apparatus 1 may be an inkjet printer. When the image forming apparatus 1 is an inkjet printer, an ink cartridge is mounted in the cartridge holding section 13 of the image forming apparatus 1 instead of the drum cartridge 20 and the toner cartridge 4 described in the first embodiment. The number of ink cartridges to be installed in the image forming apparatus 1 is not particularly limited. For example, the image forming apparatus 1 may be equipped with a total of four ink cartridges corresponding to the four colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, or only the ink cartridge corresponding to one color, black. may be

An ink cartridge includes a cartridge housing filled with ink, which is a printing material, and an ink memory in which ink cartridge information is stored. The ink cartridge information includes, for example, an ink ID, capacity information, color information, specification information, type information, number of prints (lifetime information), ink remaining amount (lifetime information), and the number of recycling times. .

The ink ID is identification information of the ink cartridge, and is information included in the ink cartridge information in place of the toner ID 421 of the first embodiment. The remaining amount of ink is information indicating the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge, and is included in the ink cartridge information in place of the remaining amount of toner 425 of the first embodiment. The capacity information, the color information, the specification information, the type information, the number of prints, and the number of times of recycling are information corresponding to the information of the same names in the toner cartridge information 420 of the first embodiment, and "toner" in the toner cartridge information 420 is "Ink" replaces "toner cartridge" with "ink cartridge".

The cartridge housing of the ink cartridge may be provided with an agitator for agitating the ink. The agitator operates according to instructions from the controller 61 when the ink cartridge is mounted in the image forming apparatus 1 .

Even if the image forming apparatus 1 is an inkjet printer, the flow of each process shown in each flowchart described in the first embodiment is the same. Specifically, when the image forming apparatus 1 is an inkjet printer, the "toner cartridge 4", the "toner memory 42", and the "toner cartridge information 420" of the first embodiment are respectively replaced by the ink cartridge, the ink memory, and the ink cartridge. It should be read as information. Also, each of the various types of information included in the toner cartridge information 420 of the first embodiment may be replaced with corresponding information in the ink cartridge information. Since the developing roller rotation speed 427 is not included in the ink cartridge information, the image forming apparatus 1 may omit various processes related to the developing roller rotation speed 427 in this modification. The image forming apparatus 1 of this modified example has the same effects as the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment.

(Modification 3)
The printing material of the image forming apparatus 1 is not limited to paper. For example, the print substrate may be tape. When the printing base material is a tape, the image forming apparatus 1 is equipped with a tape cassette for supplying the tape. The image forming apparatus 1 prints on a tape conveyed from a tape cassette. In this case, the image forming apparatus 1 may be a laser printer or an inkjet printer.

(Modification 4)
Further, the image forming apparatus 1 may be an MFP (Multi Function Printer) having other functions such as scanner or facsimile. Even if the image forming apparatus 1 is an MFP, the image forming apparatus 1 may perform various processes described in the first embodiment in the same manner as the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 of this modified example has the same effects as the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment.

[Example of realization by software]
The function of the image forming apparatus 1 is a program for causing a computer to function as the image forming apparatus 1, and can be realized by a program for causing the computer to function as each control block (especially the controller 61) of the image forming apparatus 1. can.

In this case, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a computer having at least one control device (eg processor) and at least one storage device (eg memory) as hardware for executing the above program. Each function described in each of the above-described embodiments is realized by executing the above-described program using the above-described control device and storage device.

The program may be recorded on one or more non-transitory, computer-readable recording media. The above recording medium may or may not be included in the image forming apparatus 1 . In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the image forming apparatus 1 via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

Also, part or all of the functions of the control blocks described above can be realized by logic circuits. For example, an integrated circuit formed with a logic circuit functioning as the control block described above is also included in the scope of the present disclosure. In addition to this, it is also possible to realize the functions of the control block described above, for example, by a quantum computer.

Further, each process described in the above embodiments may be executed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI may operate on the control device described above, or may operate on another device (for example, an edge computer or a cloud server).

The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments is also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.

1 image forming apparatus, 4 toner cartridge (consumable), 10 main housing, 11 cover, 20 drum cartridge (consumable), 22 drum memory (consumable memory), 42 toner memory (consumable memory), 61 controller, 62 main memory, 64 operation unit, 65 display unit, 100 image forming system, 220 drum cartridge information (cartridge information), 223 type information, 224 number of prints (life information, consumption information), 225 drum rotation speed (life information, consumption information) information), 226 Recycle count (initialization information), 420 Toner cartridge information (cartridge information), 425 Type information, 426 Number of prints (life information, consumption information), 427 Developing roller rotation speed (life information, consumption information), 428 Remaining amount of toner (life information, remaining amount information), 429 Recycle count (initialization information), 623 Mode information, 624 Use history information, 625 Upper limit information (upper limit number of times)

Claims (28)

An image forming apparatus,
Equipped with a body housing with consumables attached, a controller, and a body memory,
A consumable memory included in the consumable stores life information relating to the life of the consumable,
The controller is
a reception process for receiving an instruction to initialize the lifespan information;
an initialization process for initializing life information stored in the consumables memory according to the received instruction;
and a writing process of writing initialization information indicating that the life information has been initialized into the consumables memory. The image forming apparatus includes a display,
The controller is
According to the instruction, a first warning that printing quality is not guaranteed if the life information is initialized, and a first selection screen for allowing the user to select whether or not to initialize the life information. , performs a first display process for displaying on the display,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said initialization process is executed when initialization is selected via said first selection screen. The image forming apparatus includes an operation unit,
The controller is
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in said receiving process, said instruction to initialize said lifespan information is received via said operation unit. The initialization information is the number of initializations representing the number of times the lifespan information has been initialized,
The controller further
executing determination processing for determining whether the number of times of initialization of the life information indicated by the initialization information has reached a predetermined upper limit number of times;
4. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the initialization process is not executed when it is determined in the determination process that the number of times of initialization has reached the upper limit number of times. The consumables memory stores, as the life information, consumption information for specifying the extent to which the consumables have been used, and remaining amount information for specifying the amount of material remaining in the consumables. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of them is stored. the consumable is a toner cartridge;
The consumables memory stores at least one of the number of prints, the number of revolutions of the developing roller, and the amount of toner consumed as the consumption information,
The controller is
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the value of the consumption information is set to zero in the initialization processing. the consumable is a drum cartridge;
The consumables memory stores at least one of the number of prints and the number of rotations of the drum as the consumption information,
The controller is
7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the value of the consumption information is set to zero in the initialization process. The expendable item is a cartridge containing a printing material,
a value indicating the capacity of the cartridge is stored in the main body memory or the consumables memory;
The consumables memory stores the remaining amount of printing material as the remaining amount information,
The controller is
8. The image according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein in the initialization process, the value of the remaining amount of printing material is rewritten to a value indicating the capacity stored in the main body memory or the consumables memory. forming device. The image forming apparatus includes a display,
The initialization information is the number of initializations representing the number of times the lifespan information has been initialized,
The controller further
a reading process of reading the number of times of initialization from a consumable item memory of the consumable item attached to the main body housing;
detection processing for detecting that the attached consumable is a recycled product based on the fact that the read number of times of initialization is one or more;
In response to the detection of the recycled product, a second warning that print quality is not guaranteed if the recycled product is used, and a second warning for allowing the user to select whether or not to use the recycled product. a second display process for displaying a selection screen on the display;
9. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The controller further
permission processing for permitting printing using the recycled product when use is selected via the second selection screen;
10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein: The controller further
storage processing of storing usage history information indicating that the recycled product has been used in the main body memory when use is selected through the second selection screen;
11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein: The body memory stores mode information indicating whether the image forming apparatus is in a contract mode, which means that a contract has been concluded with the image forming apparatus,
The controller is
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein when the mode information indicates the contract mode, the accepting process is not executed. In the consumables memory, the consumables are contracted consumables that can be used in an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded, or an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded and an image forming apparatus with which a contract has not been concluded. It stores type information indicating whether it is a normal consumable that can be used with
The controller is
13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein when the type information indicates that the type information is a contracted consumable, a change process is further executed to change the type information to the normal consumable according to the instruction. The image forming apparatus according to . The image forming apparatus includes a display,
When the type information indicates that the type information is a contract consumable, the controller
According to the instruction, a third warning is issued to the effect that the contracted consumables will be recognized as the normal consumables when the lifespan information is initialized, and the user is prompted to select whether to initialize the lifespan information. Execute a third display process for displaying on the display a third selection screen for
14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said initialization process is executed when initialization is selected via said third selection screen. An initialization method for initializing a consumable memory possessed by a consumable,
a receiving step in which the image forming apparatus receives an instruction to initialize life information about the life of the consumable item stored in the consumable item memory in the consumable item attached to the main body housing of the image forming apparatus;
an initialization step in which the image forming apparatus initializes life information stored in the consumables memory according to the accepted instruction;
and a writing step of writing, by the image forming apparatus, initialization information indicating that the life information has been initialized to the consumables memory. According to the instruction, a first warning that printing quality is not guaranteed if the life information is initialized, and a first selection screen for allowing the user to select whether or not to initialize the life information. , wherein the image forming apparatus includes a first display step of causing a display of the image forming apparatus to display;
16. The initialization method according to claim 15, wherein said image forming apparatus executes said initialization step when initialization is selected via said first selection screen. 17. The initialization method according to claim 15, wherein in said accepting step, said image forming apparatus accepts said instruction to initialize said lifespan information via an operation unit of said image forming apparatus. The initialization information is an initialization count representing the number of times the lifespan information has been initialized,
a determining step, wherein the image forming apparatus determines whether the number of times of initialization of the life information indicated by the initialization information has reached a predetermined upper limit number of times;
18. The initialization according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein said image forming apparatus does not execute said initialization step when it is determined in said determination step that said number of times of initialization has reached said upper limit number of times. Method. The consumables memory stores, as the life information, consumption information for specifying the extent to which the consumables have been used, and remaining amount information for specifying the amount of material remaining in the consumables. 19. Initialization method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein at least one of them is stored. the consumable is a toner cartridge;
The consumables memory stores at least one of the number of prints, the number of revolutions of the developing roller, and the amount of toner consumed as the consumption information,
20. The initialization method according to claim 19, wherein in said initialization step, said image forming apparatus sets the value of said consumption information to zero. the consumable is a drum cartridge;
The consumables memory stores at least one of the number of prints and the number of rotations of the drum as the consumption information,
21. The initialization method according to claim 19, wherein in said initialization step, said image forming apparatus sets the value of said consumption information to zero. The expendable item is a cartridge containing a printing material,
a value indicating the capacity of the cartridge is stored in the main body memory or the consumables memory of the image forming apparatus;
The consumables memory stores the remaining amount of printing material as the remaining amount information,
22. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein in said initialization step, said image forming apparatus rewrites the value of said remaining amount of printing material to a value indicating said capacity stored in said main body memory or said consumables memory. The initialization method according to item 1. The initialization information is an initialization count representing the number of times the lifespan information has been initialized,
a reading step in which the image forming apparatus reads out the number of times of initialization from a consumables memory of consumables mounted on the main housing;
a detection step in which the image forming apparatus detects that the mounted consumable is a recycled product based on the fact that the read number of times of initialization is one or more;
In response to the detection of the recycled product, a second warning to the effect that printing quality is not guaranteed if the recycled product is used, and a second warning for allowing the user to select whether or not to use the recycled product. a second display step of causing the image forming apparatus to display a selection screen on a display of the image forming apparatus;
23. An initialization method as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 22, comprising: a permitting step of permitting the image forming apparatus to print using the recycled product when use is selected via the second selection screen;
24. The initialization method of claim 23, comprising: Storage in which the image forming apparatus stores usage history information indicating that the recycled product has been used in a main body memory of the image forming apparatus when use is selected through the second selection screen. step,
25. An initialization method according to claim 23 or 24, comprising: mode information indicating whether the image forming apparatus is in a contract mode, which means that a contract has been concluded with the image forming apparatus, is stored in a main body memory of the image forming apparatus;
26. The initialization method according to claim 15, wherein said image forming apparatus does not execute said accepting step when said mode information indicates said contract mode. In the consumables memory, the consumables are contracted consumables that can be used in an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded, or an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded and an image forming apparatus with which a contract has not been concluded. It stores type information indicating whether it is a normal consumable that can be used with
27. A change step of changing the type information to the normal consumable item according to the instruction when the type information indicates that the item is a contracted consumable item. The initialization method according to any one of . a third warning to the effect that, if the type information indicates that the contracted consumables are contracted consumables, the contracted consumables will be recognized as the normal consumables if the life information is initialized according to the instruction; and a third display step of causing the image forming apparatus to display a third selection screen for allowing the user to select whether or not to initialize the lifespan information on a display of the image forming apparatus,
28. The initialization method according to claim 27, wherein said image forming apparatus executes said initialization step when initialization is selected via said third selection screen.

Images