JP3476401B2 - Inappropriate cartridge detection method, apparatus and system, cartridge and storage medium - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improper cartridge in which an exchangeable cartridge set in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, etc. is disassembled and replenished with consumables (toner, ink). The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus and system for detecting whether or not, a cartridge and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an electrophotographic printer, a toner cartridge filled with toner is used as a developing medium. This toner cartridge is filled with a certain amount of toner at the time of manufacture, and is set so as to be replaceable in the printer. This toner cartridge does not need to be replenished with toner from the replenishment bottle to the toner storage chamber inside the printer, so there is no concern that your hands or clothes will be soiled with toner, and you can simply replace the toner cartridge. Has the advantage that it is simple.

Further development of this toner cartridge,
A process cartridge having a photosensitive drum, a charging roller, a developing roller, a cleaning unit, etc. is also known.
This process cartridge is widely used for personal printers because it has advantages such as easy maintenance because the photosensitive drum is also replaced at the same time as the toner is replaced, and a maintenance contract is not particularly required. .

The used cartridge is collected by the printer manufacturer through the cartridge distributor. From the perspective of preventing environmental pollution and effectively using resources, printer manufacturers disassemble used cartridges, inspect each part and reuse normal ones, and dissolve and pelletize plastic parts as plastic materials. It is reused. In addition, by recycling this cartridge, we are also trying to reduce the selling price of the cartridge.

Not all of the used cartridges are returned to the printer manufacturer, but some of them are sent to a toner refiller. The toner refilling company undertakes the refilling at a predetermined fee, disassembles the cartridge, and supplies an appropriate toner. Also, there is a toner refilling company that purchases a used cartridge, disassembles it, supplies toner, and then sells it to a general user as a remanufactured cartridge at a considerably lower price than a new cartridge.

For the toner (genuine product) to be filled when the cartridge is manufactured, the toner components are determined in consideration of the printer process characteristics (photosensitive drum characteristics, charging voltage, cleaning characteristics, fixing characteristics). However, the toner used by the toner refilling company has a different composition component from the genuine toner, so that the print quality may deteriorate. Further, the toner may stick to the fixing roller and damage the fixing roller.

When the print quality is degraded or a failure occurs, the user often misunderstands that the printer has the cause, although the supplied toner has the cause. As a result, the reliability of the printers that have accumulated steadily is lost all at once. In addition, some users may not trust the manufacturer of the printer and may feel dislike of all products handled by this manufacturer.

In order to maintain the reliability of the printer manufacturer, it is necessary to prevent the refilling company from refilling the consumables such as toner and ink in advance, or to prevent the improper cartridge in which the consumables are refilled from being reused. It is necessary to consider measures such as

As a measure for preventing refilling of consumables, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-28320 discloses a process cartridge provided with a counter for counting the number of printed sheets and an electromagnetic brake for preventing rotation of the developing roller. In this process cartridge, the amount of toner consumed is indirectly checked from the number of prints, and when the number of prints reaches a certain value, it is estimated that the toner has run out and the electromagnetic brake is activated. Since the developing roller is prevented from rotating by this electromagnetic brake, once the toner runs out, the process cartridge cannot be used regardless of whether toner is replenished or not. Therefore, it is possible to determine that a process cartridge that contains toner but has an electromagnetic brake is a refilled product of toner.

[0010]

However, in the conventional measures for preventing toner refilling, the process cartridge must be provided with an electromagnetic brake, so that there is a problem that the process cartridge becomes complicated and large, and the cost becomes high. In addition, since the state in which the electromagnetic brake is applied can be immediately known, the electromagnetic brake can be removed or the brake can not be applied when the process cartridge is disassembled, so it cannot be said to be an effective refill prevention measure.

According to the present invention, an improper cartridge capable of detecting an improper cartridge in which consumables (toner, ink) are illegally refilled can be detected without increasing the size of the cartridge and having a simple and inexpensive structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a detection method and device and system, and a cartridge and a storage medium used therein.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus and system for detecting an improper cartridge which makes it impossible to use the improper cartridge, and a cartridge and a storage medium used therein. It is in.

[0013]

When a consumable item such as toner is refilled, the cartridge is disassembled. Therefore, by checking whether or not the cartridge has been disassembled, it is possible to indirectly detect the refilling of the consumable item. That is, the device for detecting an improper cartridge according to claim 1 is
A means for detecting that the cartridge containing the consumables has been disassembled, a means for storing the disassembly information sent from the detecting means, and a check for disassembly information stored in the storage means to disassemble the cartridge. It is characterized in that it comprises means for judging an improper cartridge when information is given.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an improper cartridge detection device,
A display means for displaying a warning is provided. Further, the apparatus for detecting an improper cartridge according to claim 3 is provided with means for prohibiting the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus in which the cartridge is set when it is determined that the cartridge is an improper cartridge.

In the apparatus for detecting an improper cartridge according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, storage means is provided in the cartridge.
The apparatus for detecting an improper cartridge according to claim 5 includes means for determining whether or not the storage means is provided in the cartridge, and determines that the cartridge is an improper cartridge when the storage means is not provided. is there.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for detecting an improper cartridge which determines the improper cartridge when the cartridge is set in the image forming apparatus.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for detecting an improper cartridge, wherein disassembly information indicating that the cartridge has been disassembled is disassembled when the cartridge that stores consumables and is set to be replaceable in the image forming apparatus is disassembled. When a cartridge to which the disassembly information is assigned is reused, it is determined that the cartridge is an inappropriate cartridge, and the warning or the image forming operation is prohibited.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a consumable item storage chamber for accommodating a consumable item used for image recording, wherein the cartridge set to be replaceable in the image forming apparatus detects that the cartridge has been disassembled. And means for storing disassembly information indicating that the cartridge has been disassembled based on the signal from the detection means.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, as the detecting means, a switch composed of a pair of contact pieces is used, and when the cartridge is disassembled, both contact pieces come into contact with each other to turn on. It is a thing.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, as the detecting means, an optical sensor including a light source and a light receiving section for receiving light from the light source is used, and the light receiving is stopped when the cartridge is disassembled. The optical sensor is turned off.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an improper cartridge detection system, in which a consumable article storage chamber for accommodating a consumable article used for image recording, a means for detecting that the cartridge has been disassembled, and a signal from the detection means. Based on the above, the cartridge having a means for storing the disassembly information indicating that the cartridge has been disassembled, the image forming unit for forming an image on the recording paper, and the disassembly information in the storage means of the cartridge set to be replaceable. Check if is remembered,
And an image forming apparatus having means for determining that the cartridge is an improper cartridge when the disassembly information is given.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium, the step of checking whether or not the disassembly information indicating that the cartridge has been disassembled is written in the storage means on the cartridge side, and when the disassembly information is written, it is inappropriate. It is characterized in that a program for executing the step of judging the cartridge is stored.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an electrophotographic printer to which the present invention is applied. Printer 10
The cartridge 12 is set to be replaceable in the printer body 11. In addition to the toner chamber 14 filled with the toner 13, the cartridge 12 also includes the photosensitive drum 1
5, a charging roller 16 and a developing roller 17 are provided, and are in the form of a so-called process cartridge.

The photosensitive drum 15 is provided with a photoconductive film on the outer peripheral surface of a metal cylindrical body. Charging roller 1
Reference numeral 6 denotes a metal shaft, a conductive urethane foam tubular body fitted to the outer periphery thereof, and a semiconductive plastic tube fitted to the outside of the urethane foam. The charging roller 16 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 15 by the elasticity of urethane foam. Also,
In order to apply a constant voltage between the photosensitive drum 15 and the charging roller 16, the cylindrical body of the photosensitive drum 15 and the shaft of the charging roller 16 are connected to a charging circuit in the printer body 11. For this connection, the cartridge 12 and the printer body 11 are provided with electrical contacts (not shown).

A plurality of recording papers 2 are placed on the paper feed tray 20.
1 is set. The recording paper 21 on the top of the paper feed tray 20 is pulled out by the paper feed roller 22 and fed toward the pair of conveyance rollers 23. The transport roller pair 23 is
The recording paper 21 is nipped and conveyed to the transfer position. A transfer roller 24 is arranged at this transfer position and comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 15 when the cartridge 12 is set.

During printing, the photosensitive drum 15 rotates clockwise at a constant speed. The outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 15 is uniformly charged when passing through while contacting the charging roller 16. Further, the semiconductor laser 26 is driven according to the image data, and emits intensity-modulated laser light. This laser light is incident on the rotating photosensitive drum 15 via the polygon mirror 27. Polygon mirror 27
Means that the laser beam is directed in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 15 (main scanning direction).
Raster scan by waving to. Photosensitive drum 1
In No. 5, since the portion irradiated with the laser beam is eliminated, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the outer periphery thereof.

The toner 14 in the toner chamber 13 adheres to the outer circumference of the rotating developing roller 17 and is conveyed. Toner 1
4 passes through the regulation blade 28 (see FIG. 4) while being attached to the developing roller 17 and conveyed. At the time of this passage,
The toner 14 is charged to the opposite polarity to the photosensitive drum 15 due to the friction with the regulation blade 28. When this toner 14 is conveyed to the photosensitive drum 15, it is electrostatically charged.
The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 15 is visualized as a toner image.

The rotation of the photosensitive drum 15 moves the toner image to the transfer position. At this transfer position, the recording paper 2
1 is sandwiched between the transfer roller 24 and the photosensitive drum 15, and moves at the same speed as the peripheral speed of the photosensitive drum 15. Since the transfer roller 24 is biased to a potential opposite to that of the toner image, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 15 is transferred to the recording paper 21.

The recording paper 21 on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed toward the fixing device 29. The fixing device 29 includes a pair of fixing rollers 30 and a heater (not shown), and heats and melts the toner. The melted toner is attracted to the recording paper 21. Recording paper 2 that has been fixed
The sheet 1 is discharged from the printer body 11.

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

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

When the cartridge 12 is assembled, the cap 37 is covered by the lower cartridge body 35 so that the cap 37 is not exposed to the outside. Therefore, once the cartridge 12 is assembled, the toner cannot be filled unless it is disassembled into the upper cartridge body 34 and the lower cartridge body 35.

The charging roller 16 is rotatably attached to the upper cartridge body 34. An exposure opening 39 is formed at a position close to the charging roller 16, and the laser light passes through the exposure opening 39 to expose the photosensitive drum 1 to light.
It is incident on 5.

To connect the upper cartridge 32 to the lower cartridge 33, the upper cartridge main body 34 has two locking claws 40 on the toner chamber 13 side and two locking claws 41 on the charging roller 16 side. Are formed. As is clear from FIG. 4, reference numerals 42 to 44 are sponge tapes for closing the gap so that the toner 14 does not enter the exposure chamber 45.

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

A cleaning blade 51 is attached to the end of the support plate 50, and the photosensitive drum 15 is
Scrape off any excess toner that has adhered to. In order to collect the scraped toner in the waste toner chamber 52, a squeeze sheet 53 is attached to the lower cartridge body 35. The waste toner chamber 52 is provided in the support plate 5
It is divided by 0, a cleaning blade 51, and a squeeze sheet 53.

Since the upper end of the support plate 50 is in contact with the sponge tape 44, the waste toner chamber 52 and the exposure chamber 45 are separated from each other, so that the used toner does not leak from the cartridge 12 through the exposure chamber 45. I am trying. Further, the sponge tape 42 contacts the inside of the lower cartridge body 35, and the sponge tape 43 contacts the upper end of the regulation blade 28. By partitioning the toner chamber 13 side and the exposure chamber 45 with the sponge tapes 42 and 43, the unused toner 14 is removed from the exposure chamber 4.
Leakage from the cartridge 12 via 5 is prevented.

The lower cartridge body 35 has an engaging hole 5
6 and a locking projection 57. When the upper cartridge 32 is fitted into the lower cartridge 33, the engaging hole 5
6, the locking claw 40 of the upper cartridge body 34 is fitted,
The locking projections 57 are attached to the locking projections 57 of the upper cartridge body 34.
Engage. These locking claws 40, 41, engaging holes 56,
The locking protrusion 57 allows the upper cartridge 32 and the lower cartridge 33 to be integrally assembled.

Next to the waste toner chamber 52, a disassembly detection switch 58 and a circuit board 59 are provided. The disassembly detection switch 58 is for detecting that the cartridge 12 has been disassembled. The disassembly detection switch 58 is
It is composed of a pair of contact pieces 61, 62 and is attached to the lower cartridge body 35. This disassembly detection switch 58
Are electrically connected to the circuit board 59. Further, the upper cartridge body 34 has an L-shaped pressing piece 34a.
Is provided.

The pressing piece 34a is for pressing the open end of the contact piece 61 when the upper cartridge body 34 and the lower cartridge body 35 are assembled so that both contact pieces 61, 62 are in a non-contact state. Is. When the upper cartridge main body 34 and the lower cartridge main body 35 are separated, the pressing piece 34a is separated from the contact piece 61, and both contact pieces 61,
62 contacts and the disassembly detection switch 58 is turned on.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the cartridge 12 is set in the cartridge chamber of the printer body 11, the contact 63 on the cartridge side is connected to the contact 64 on the printer side. When the cartridge 12 is disassembled and the disassembly detection switch 58 is turned on, the writing circuit 6 is driven by the battery 67.
5. The memory 66 is powered. When the disassembly detection switch 58 is turned on, the writing circuit 65 writes disassembly information indicating that the cartridge 12 has been disassembled in the memory 66. This memory 66 does not require backup.
EPROM is used. The battery 67, the writing circuit 65, and the memory 66 are provided on the circuit board 59.

The printer body 11 is provided with a CPU 68, an image forming section 69, and a display 71. CPU68
Controls the respective units of the printer 10 in sequence. Also,
The CPU 68 reads the disassembly information from the memory 66,
Whether or not the cartridge has been disassembled is determined by its presence or absence.

As described above, in order to fill the toner into the cartridge 12 that has been assembled, it is necessary to disassemble the cartridge 12. Therefore,
When the disassembly information is written in the memory 66, it is considered that the cartridge 12 has been disassembled and the toner has been refilled illegally, and the cartridge 12 is determined to be an improper cartridge.

If it is determined that the cartridge is improper, the display 71 indicates that the cartridge is improper, that the cartridge should be replaced, or that printing is prohibited. The operation of the image forming unit 69 is prohibited. The display 71 is provided on the outer surface of the printer body 11 together with an operation panel (not shown).

The image forming section 69 includes a recording system such as a laser 26 and a polygon mirror 27, a fixing device 29, a motor for driving the transfer roller 24, the cartridge 12, the paper feeding roller 22 and the conveying roller 23, and a voltage for the charging roller 16. It is composed of a charging circuit for applying a voltage.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. To load the cartridge 12 into the cartridge chamber (not shown) of the printer body 11, first, the lid of the cartridge chamber is opened.
Next, the cartridge 12 is inserted into the cartridge chamber.
When the cartridge 12 is completely loaded in the cartridge chamber, the memory 66 is connected to the CPU 68, and the photosensitive drum 15 and the charging roller 16 are connected to the charging circuit of the image forming unit 69.

When the printer power is turned on, the cartridge 12 is checked. Also, when the printer power is already turned on, the CPU 68 receives a signal from a switch (not shown) that detects that the lid of the cartridge chamber is closed, and the CPU 68 determines that the cartridge 12 is set, Check. First, C
The PU 68 checks the presence / absence of the memory 66. In addition to the disassembly information, a flag indicating that there is a cartridge memory is written in the memory 66. When the flag can be read, the CPU 68 determines that the cartridge is a genuine cartridge provided by the printer manufacturer.

On the other hand, if the cartridge is not a regular cartridge, the memory 66 may not be provided. With such a cartridge, the flag cannot be read. Non-appropriate cartridges are treated in the same manner as improper cartridges, and the CPU 68 displays a warning and does not accept a print request from a personal computer or the like, resulting in printing by the image forming unit 69. Prohibit operation.

In the case of a regular cartridge, the memory 6
Data of disassembly information is read from 6. When the disassembly information is not written in the memory 66, the CPU 68 determines that the cartridge is a proper cartridge. If the disassembly information is written, it is determined that the cartridge is an improper cartridge that has been refilled with toner. If the data of the disassembly information is falsified, the fact that the toner is refilled cannot be detected. Therefore, in order to prevent data tampering, the CPU 6 uses the encrypted data.
It is better to decode this at 8 or use a special protocol for reading data.

When the CPU 68 determines that the cartridge is improper, the CPU 68 warns that the toner is being refilled, the print quality is deteriorated, the proper cartridge should be loaded, and the printing operation is prohibited. To do.

When the CPU 68 determines that the cartridge is proper, the CPU 68 permits the print operation of the image forming section 69. When there is a print request from a personal computer or the like, the CPU 68 sequence-controls the image forming unit 69 and prints the recording paper 2
Images and characters are recorded in 1.

During normal operation of the printer 10, the number of prints is counted. When this count value reaches a predetermined value, it is determined that the toner has run out, and the display 71 indicates that the cartridge should be replaced. Even if the replacement display is made, since a predetermined amount of toner 14 actually remains, the printer can be operated as it is to print an appropriate number of sheets.

The emptied cartridge is taken out of the printer body 11, and a new cartridge is set in the printer body 11 instead. When setting this new cartridge, first, the seal tape is peeled off to open the toner supply port 13a. Toner discharge port 13a
When the is opened, the toner 14 in the toner chamber 13 becomes
7 can be supplied. When this cartridge is loaded into the cartridge chamber and the lid of the cartridge chamber is closed, the presence or absence of disassembly information is checked as described above.
Since the disassembly information is not written in the new cartridge, the printer can be normally operated as described above.

The used cartridge, which has run out of toner, is collected by the printer manufacturer through the cartridge distributor and recycled. Printer manufacturers disassemble the cartridge, clean it, and inspect each part. Normal parts are reused, and parts that have failed or have expired are returned to the materials for reuse.

Further, the memory or the writing circuit may be broken, or the disassembly detection switch 58 may be damaged. In such a case, it is better that only the circuit board 59 and the disassembly detection switch 58 can be easily replaced.
The circuit board 59 and the disassembly detection switch 58 can be removed from the cartridge.

Depending on the user, a refilling company may be requested to replenish toner for an empty cartridge. The refiller installs the locking claw 40 into the engagement hole 56.
And the locking claw 41 from the locking projection 57,
The cartridge 12 is disassembled into an upper cartridge 32 and a lower cartridge 33. Upper cartridge body 34
When the cartridge main body 35 is separated from the cartridge main body 35, the disassembly detection switch 58 is turned on, and the writing circuit 65 and the memory 66 are separated.
And are powered. The writing circuit 65 writes the decomposition information in the memory 66.

After disassembling the cartridge 12, after cleaning each part, the toner discharge port 13a of the upper cartridge 32
Then, apply sealing tape and close it. next,
The cap 37 of the upper cartridge 32 is removed, and the toner is replenished in the toner chamber 13. After replenishing the toner, the cap 37 is fitted again to seal the toner chamber 13. After refilling the toner, the refilling company
2 and the lower cartridge 33 are assembled, and the assembled cartridge 12 is packaged and shipped to the user.

When the improper cartridge returned from the refilling company is set in the printer body 11, the disassembly information is checked as described above. In this refill product, since the disassembly information is written in the memory 66, the CPU 68 determines that the cartridge 12 is an improper cartridge, and prohibits warning and printing.

In the print-prohibited state, the printer 10 does not execute the print operation even if a print request is issued from a personal computer or the like, and therefore the inappropriate cartridge cannot be used. As a result, the user gives up the request for refilling the toner thereafter and uses the proper cartridge provided by the printer manufacturer. This prevents the print quality from deteriorating due to improper use of toner and contributes to the prevention of printer failure. Further, in the process cartridge, it is possible to prevent the parts such as the photosensitive drum 15 from being used in a state where the quality guarantee period has passed, and to prevent the print quality from deteriorating.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which a photo sensor 72 is used as the detecting means. The photo sensor 72 is the light source 7.
3 and a light receiving portion 74 for receiving light from the light source 73. The photo sensor 72 is the light source 7.
3 and the light receiving portion 74 are provided on the upper cartridge body 34 and the upper cartridge body 35 so as to face each other. The photo sensor 72 receives power from the power supply battery 67 and operates. The light source 73 always emits light, and the light receiving section 74 receives the light while the upper cartridge body 34 and the lower cartridge 35 are coupled.

When the upper cartridge body 34 and the lower cartridge body 35 are separated, the light receiving portion 74 and the light source 73 are separated.
And are separated, and the light reception of the light receiving unit 74 is stopped. When the light receiving section 74 no longer receives the light from the light source 73, the writing circuit 65 operates to write the disassembly information in the memory 66. By using the photo sensor 72, the detecting means can be made smaller.

FIG. 8 shows a storage medium (CD, floppy, I
An example in which a program for executing detection / prohibition of an improper cartridge stored in a C memory, MO, or the like, or installing a program for realizing a function or means in a printer is shown. The printer 80 is connected to a personal computer 81, and character data and image data of the personal computer 81 are sent to the printer main body 80 and printed on recording paper.

If the printer main body 80 is not provided with the procedure for detecting and prohibiting the use of the improper cartridge as shown in FIG. 6, the use of the improper cartridge cannot be prevented. For such a printer body 80, it is necessary to install a program for prohibiting the detection / use of an improper cartridge.

The CD 82, which is a storage medium, stores a program for executing the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, for example. The CD 82 is set in the CD drive (not shown) of the personal computer 81. The personal computer 81 is a CD
The program stored in 82 is read and written in the hard disk 83 of the printer body 80.

The CPU 84 of the printer body 80 executes the program written in the hard disk 83 to detect the improper cartridge as described above, and gives a warning and prohibits use.

The input device 85 is for inputting image data and character data from a scanner, a digital camera or the like. The ROM 86 stores a program for controlling the printing operation of the printing unit 87, a program for image processing, and the like. The RAM 88 is also used to temporarily store data.

The CD 82 may be set directly in the printer body 80 and the necessary programs may be written in the printer body 80. Further, the CD may be used while being set in the printer body 80, and the program read from the CD may be executed to determine the improper cartridge.

Further, in the above example, even when the cartridge is disassembled and the toner is refilled only once, it is detected as an inappropriate cartridge. Considering that there are users who do not know that toner refilling causes printer failure or that print quality deteriorates, and that the performance of the photosensitive drum etc. may be compatible with multiple toner refilling,
It is also possible to allow toner refilling a predetermined number of times, for example once or twice. In this case, the number of times of disassembly is stored in the cartridge memory, and when the limit number of times is reached, a warning display and a print operation are prohibited.

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

[0070]

As described in detail above, the present invention is
When the cartridge is disassembled, the disassembly information indicating that the cartridge has been disassembled is written in the storage means. Therefore, depending on the presence or absence of the disassembly information, it is possible to reliably detect an improper cartridge in which the consumables have been disassembled and refilled illegally. can do.

Further, according to the present invention, when a cartridge that has been disassembled is detected, the cartridge is determined to be an improper cartridge, a warning is displayed, and printing is prohibited. It is possible to prevent the use of improper cartridge that has been refilled,
It is possible to prevent refilling of toner by a toner refilling company.

Further, according to the present invention, since only the disassembly information is written in the storage means, it is possible to detect an improper cartridge by a simple and inexpensive method as compared with the case where the electromagnetic brake is provided. Further, unlike an electromagnetic brake, it is not easily repaired and put into a state where it can be reused, so that it is possible to reliably prevent refilling of consumables.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an electrophotographic printer.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an upper cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a lower cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a cartridge in which an upper cartridge and a lower cartridge are assembled.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electrophotographic printer.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a cartridge showing an example in which a photo sensor is used as a detection unit.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of installing an inappropriate cartridge detection / prohibition program from a storage medium into a printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Printer 11 Printer body 12 cartridges 13 Toner chamber 14 Toner 32 upper cartridge 33 Lower cartridge 58 Disassembly detection switch 66 memory 68 CPU 72 Photo sensor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-9-212045 (JP, A) JP-A-8-211812 (JP, A) JP-A-6-19302 (JP, A) JP-A-4- 240661 (JP, A) JP 8-79102 (JP, A) JP 4-157488 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 21/00 370- 512 G03G 15/08 112 G03G 21/16

Claims (12)

(57) [Claims] 1. A means for detecting that a cartridge containing a consumable item has been disassembled, a means for storing the disassembly information sent from the detecting means, and whether or not the disassembly information is stored in the storage means. When the disassembly information is given, the disassembly count reaches the limit count.
A device for detecting an improper cartridge, which comprises a means for checking whether or not the improper cartridge is present, and determining that the improper cartridge is an improper cartridge when the number of times is reached . 2. The apparatus for detecting an improper cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying a warning when it is determined that the improper cartridge is the improper cartridge. 3. The improper cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising means for prohibiting an image forming operation of the image forming apparatus in which the cartridge is set when it is determined that the cartridge is improper. Appropriate cartridge detection device. 4. The improper cartridge detection device according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is provided in the cartridge. 5. A means for determining whether or not the storage means is provided in a cartridge, and when the storage means is not provided, it is determined as an improper cartridge. Incorrect cartridge detection device. 6. The apparatus for detecting an improper cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the determination of the improper cartridge is performed when the cartridge is set in the image forming apparatus. 7. A cartridge to which a consumable item is housed and which is set to be replaceable in an image forming apparatus is disassembled, and disassembly information indicating that the cartridge has been disassembled is assigned to the cartridge. When reused, the number of times it is disassembled is limited.
To see if the limit has been reached.
In this case, a method for detecting an improper cartridge is characterized by determining that the cartridge is improper and prohibiting a warning or an image forming operation. 8. A cartridge comprising a consumables storage chamber for storing consumables used for image recording, which is replaceably set in an image forming apparatus, and means for detecting that the cartridge has been disassembled.
A cartridge for storing the number of times of disassembly, together with disassembly information indicating that the cartridge has been disassembled based on the signal from the detection means. 9. The detecting means is a switch composed of a pair of contact pieces, and when the cartridge is disassembled, both contact pieces come into contact with each other to turn on the switch. The described cartridge. 10. The detection means is an optical sensor including a light source and a light receiving section for receiving light from the light source, and when the cartridge is disassembled, the light reception is stopped and the optical sensor is turned off. 9. The cartridge according to claim 8, characterized in that 11. A consumable item storage chamber for accommodating a consumable item used for image recording, a unit for detecting that the cartridge has been disassembled, and a unit for disassembling the cartridge based on a signal from the detecting unit. It is checked whether or not the cartridge provided with a means for storing the disassembly information that represents it, the image forming unit that forms an image on the recording paper, and the storage means of the cartridge that is set exchangeably store the disassembly information. Is given, whether the number of decompositions has reached the limit
And an image forming apparatus having means for determining whether the cartridge is an improper cartridge when the number of times has reached the limit, and an improper cartridge detection system. 12. A step of checking whether or not disassembly information indicating that the cartridge has been disassembled is written in the cartridge-side storage means, and when the disassembly information is written, the disassembly number further reaches a limit number. The
A storage medium, which stores a program for executing a step of checking whether or not the number of times has reached a limit and determining that the cartridge is an improper cartridge.