JP4349373B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  Since toner used for image formation in an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer is consumed by image forming processing, it is necessary to replace the cartridge with a new one when the remaining amount of toner in the cartridge decreases.

  Here, the remaining amount of toner is obtained, for example, by counting the amount of toner used according to the number of printed sheets. That is, when the toner usage amount count reaches a predetermined value, it is detected that the remaining amount of toner has decreased, and a display for prompting replacement of the cartridge is displayed on a display unit such as a display. When the user who sees the display replaces the cartridge, the image can be formed again, and the toner usage count is reset at this time.

  By the way, when counting the amount of toner used, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, each time the cover is opened or closed, a display is displayed to confirm to the user whether the cartridge has been replaced each time. When the information indicating that the cartridge has been replaced is input, the toner usage amount count may be reset.

  Further, as shown in Patent Document 2, when the number of printed sheets is counted and the cover is opened and closed when the predetermined number of printed sheets is exceeded, the user is informed whether the cartridge has been replaced. When a confirmation message is displayed and information indicating that the cartridge has been replaced is input by the user, there is a type that resets the toner usage amount count.

  On the other hand, it is not configured to reset the counter based on the user's own operation as shown in the above-mentioned patent document, but is provided with new article detection means capable of detecting replacement of a cartridge with a new one, and confirms that the cartridge has been replaced with a new one. A device that does not require a resetting operation by a user when a new article detecting means detects is known.

Specifically, for example, as shown in Patent Document 3, when a developing device is provided with a sector gear having recesses and protrusions and a new developing device is mounted on the electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body, The protrusion formed on the sector gear enters the new product side detection sensor, turns on the new product side detection sensor, and when the idler gear starts to be driven after the developing device is mounted, the sector gear also rotates and the new product side detection sensor The protrusion moves to the old product side detection sensor, the protrusion enters the old product side detection sensor and turns on the old product side detection sensor. At the same time, the idler gear reaches the recess of the sector gear, and the sector gear Proposals have been made to stop rotation.
JP 2003-241484 A JP 2004-77788 A JP 2000-221781

  By the way, when detecting whether or not the cartridge has been replaced with a new article only by the new article detection means, there is a possibility that a false detection that the new article detection means is not detected as a new article may occur when the new article detection means does not operate normally due to a failure or the like.

  In view of this, a configuration in which the user or the like can modify the detection result by the new product detection means is conceivable to the image forming apparatus. When there is no need to revise the detection result by the means, there is a problem that a malfunction may occur in image formation or the like due to an inappropriate operation by the user.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus capable of reducing problems caused by an inappropriate operation by a user.

As means for achieving the above object, the image forming apparatus of the invention of claim 1 is a cartridge containing a colorant, a detection means for detecting a feature provided in the cartridge, and a user input by a user. Attribute determining means for determining an attribute of the cartridge based on at least one of the input information and the characteristic information of the cartridge detected by the detecting means, and image formation control based on the attribute determined by the attribute determining means Control means for performing determination, and undecidable means for disabling determination of the attribute of the cartridge based on the user input information in the attribute determination means , wherein the undecidable means is based on information on characteristics of the cartridge If the attribute determining unit fails to determine the attribute of the cartridge, it is based on the user input information. And cancels the inoperative to disable the Ku determination of attributes of the cartridge.
The “feature provided in the cartridge” is not limited to the external feature including the shape of the cartridge. For example, when the cartridge is configured to include a storage unit such as an RFID tag, the feature is stored in the storage unit. The content features are included.
Further, the “cartridge attribute” includes, for example, the size of the operating amount of the cartridge (for example, whether the cartridge is new (operating amount is 0) or old (used)), and the amount of colorant contained. This includes the amount (whether there is a lot of colorant or a small amount of colorant), the color of the colorant, and the nature of the colorant (such as a toner dedicated to photography).

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the user input information is information indicating an operation amount of the cartridge .
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the attribute is determined according to an amount of the colorant used or an operating amount of the cartridge. It is characterized in that it is impossible to determine the attribute of the cartridge based on the user input information during a period when the usage amount of the colorant or the operation amount of the cartridge does not reach a predetermined threshold value.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided the method according to the third aspect , wherein the attribute determining means determines the attribute of the attribute by the indeterminable means after the usage amount of the colorant or the operating amount of the cartridge reaches a predetermined threshold value. It is characterized in that it is switched from a state in which determination is impossible to a state in which the attribute of the cartridge can be determined based on the user input information in the attribute determination means.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the cartridge according to any one of the first to fourth aspects is a developing cartridge including a developing roller, and the control unit is configured to control the attribute based on the user input information. Control is performed to apply a different bias voltage to the developing roller between the attribute determined by the determining unit and the attribute determined by the attribute determining unit based on information on the characteristics of the cartridge detected by the detecting unit. However, it has characteristics.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, the information processing device further comprises notification means for notifying the life of the cartridge, and the notification means is provided in the user input information by the attribute determination means. When the attribute is determined based on the detection, the life of the cartridge is notified at an earlier stage than when the attribute is determined based on the detection by the detection means.

  A seventh aspect of the present invention is the method according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the attribute determining means determines an attribute based on the user input information or is detected by the detecting means. Further, the present invention has a feature in that output means for outputting whether the attribute is determined based on the feature information of the cartridge is provided.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the control unit causes image formation to be performed by different control according to the attribute determined by the attribute determination unit. Has characteristics.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the attribute is determined according to an operation amount of the cartridge, and the cartridge includes a developing roller. It is a cartridge, and the control means is characterized in that it controls to apply a bias voltage to the developing roller according to the operating amount of the developing cartridge.

  The invention of claim 10 is characterized in that, in the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the attribute is determined according to an operation amount of the cartridge or a storage amount of the colorant. Have.

<Inventions of Claims 1 and 2 >
Even if the user does not specify the cartridge attribute, the cartridge attribute can be determined based on the characteristics of the cartridge detected by the detecting means, so that the burden of the user inputting the cartridge attribute can be reduced.

  Further, if an error may occur in the cartridge attribute determined by the attribute determining means, the attribute of the cartridge is determined by determining the attribute based on the user input information that is information related to the cartridge and is input by the user. It is possible to prevent errors.

  Here, even when it is less necessary to determine the attribute of the cartridge, if the attribute is determined based on the user input information, the control of the image forming apparatus can be performed when the user input information is erroneously input. May cause problems.

  On the other hand, according to this configuration, for example, when there is little need to input user input information, the determination of the cartridge attribute based on the user input information by the indeterminate means cannot be performed. It is possible to reduce problems caused by operation.

<Invention of Claim 3 >
For a period in which the amount of colorant used or the amount of cartridge operation does not reach the predetermined threshold, it is highly likely that the cartridge is in a sufficiently usable state, and the user's input information is used to set the attributes of the cartridge. Less need to decide. Therefore, when there is an input from the user during such a period, it is highly likely that the input is inappropriate. Therefore, for the period when the usage amount of the colorant or the operation amount of the cartridge does not reach the predetermined threshold value, the determination of the attribute of the cartridge based on the input user input information is disabled, so that the user is inappropriate. Inconveniences that occur in the control of the image forming apparatus due to the operation can be reduced.

<Invention of Claim 4 >
According to this configuration, after the possibility that an inappropriate operation by the user is reduced, the attribute can be determined based on the user input information.

<Invention of Claim 5>
Depending on whether the attribute determined by the attribute determining means is an attribute determined based on user input information input by the user or an attribute determined based on cartridge characteristic information by the detecting means In general, the reliability of whether the determined attribute is correct is different. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to perform more preferable image formation according to the reliability of the determined attribute by performing control to apply a different bias voltage to the developing roller by the control unit.

<Invention of Claim 6>
Generally, when the attribute of the cartridge is determined based on user input information input by the user, it is considered that an error is more likely to occur than when the attribute is determined based on detection by the detection unit. Therefore, according to this configuration, when an attribute is determined based on user input information that is relatively likely to have an error, the lifetime is earlier than when the attribute is determined based on detection by the detection unit. By notifying the user, it is possible to prompt the user to take action according to the possibility that a problem occurs in image generation.

<Invention of Claim 7>
According to this configuration, the attribute is determined based on the user input information input by the user by the output from the output unit, or is determined based on the cartridge characteristic information detected by the detection unit. You can know if it is an attribute. Therefore, for example, it becomes easy to know the factor (for example, whether the user input information is wrong) when the quality of the image is bad.

<Invention of Claim 8>
When the attributes of the cartridge are different, it is preferable that the control performed for image formation is also varied according to the attribute. Therefore, according to this configuration, the control unit causes the image formation to be performed by different control according to the attribute determined by the attribute determination unit, so that high-quality image formation is possible.

<Invention of Claim 9>
If the colorant is deteriorated due to the operation amount of the cartridge, problems such as darkening of the image at the time of image formation tend to occur, but in this case, a bias voltage corresponding to the operation amount of the cartridge is applied to the developing roller. By applying it, it becomes possible to form a good image.

<Invention of Claim 10>
According to this configuration, it is possible to perform proper image formation when the newness of the cartridge and the amount of the coloring agent are different.

<Embodiment 1>
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
1. Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a laser printer as an image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the laser printer. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the laser printer with the process cartridge 18 removed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the laser printer 1 includes a feeder unit 4 for feeding a sheet 3 as a recording medium and an image formation for forming an image on the fed sheet 3 in a main body casing 2. Part 5 and the like.

  In the main casing 2, an attachment / detachment opening 6 for attaching / detaching a process cartridge 18 to be described later is formed on one side wall, and a front cover (hereinafter referred to as “cover 7”) for opening / closing the attachment / detachment opening 6 is formed. ) Is provided.

The cover 7 is rotatably supported by a cover shaft (not shown) inserted through a lower end portion of the cover 7, and the process cartridge 18 can be attached to and detached from the main casing 2 through the attachment / detachment opening 6.
Hereinafter, in the laser printer 1 and the process cartridge 18, the side on which the cover 7 is provided is referred to as “front side”, and the opposite side is referred to as “rear side”.

  The feeder unit 4 includes a paper feed tray 8 that is detachably attached to the bottom of the main casing 2, a paper feed roller 9 and a separation pad 10 that are provided above the front end of the paper feed tray 8, and a paper feed roller 9, a pickup roller 11 provided on the rear side of the sheet feeding roller 9, a pinch roller 12 disposed oppositely on the lower front side of the sheet feeding roller 9, and a registration roller 13 provided on the upper rear side of the sheet feeding roller 9.

  Inside the paper feed tray 8 is provided a paper pressing plate 14 on which the paper 3 can be placed in a stack. The paper pressing plate 14 is supported at the rear end so as to be swingable, so that the front end is movable in the vertical direction.

  A lever 15 for lifting the front end portion of the paper pressing plate 14 upward is provided at the front end portion of the paper feed tray 8. The lever 15 is formed in a substantially L-shaped cross section so as to go from the front side to the lower side of the paper pressing plate 14, and its upper end is attached to a lever shaft 16 provided at the front end of the paper feed tray 8. The rear end portion is in contact with the front end portion of the lower surface of the paper pressing plate 14. Accordingly, when a clockwise rotational driving force in the drawing is input to the lever shaft 16, the lever 15 rotates about the lever shaft 16, and the rear end portion of the lever 15 lifts the front end portion of the paper pressing plate 14.

  When the front end portion of the sheet pressing plate 14 is lifted, the uppermost sheet 3 on the sheet pressing plate 14 is pressed by the pickup roller 11, and the sheet feeding roller 9, the separation pad 10, and the like are rotated by the rotation of the pickup roller 11. The conveyance is started in between.

  On the other hand, when the paper feed tray 8 is detached from the main casing 2, the rotational driving force input to the lever shaft 16 is not input, and the front end of the paper pressing plate 14 moves downward due to its own weight. Then, the state is along the bottom surface of the paper feed tray 8. In this state, the sheets 3 can be stacked on the sheet pressing plate 14.

  When the sheet 3 sent out between the sheet feeding roller 9 and the separation pad 10 by the pickup roller 11 is sandwiched between the sheet feeding roller 9 and the separation pad 10 by the rotation of the sheet feeding roller 9. Each sheet is reliably fed and fed. The fed paper 3 passes between the paper feed roller 9 and the pinch roller 12 and is conveyed to the registration roller 13.

  The registration roller 13 is composed of a pair of rollers facing each other, and after the registration of the sheet 3, the transfer position of the image forming unit 5 (the nip position between the photosensitive drum 28 and the transfer roller 30) 28, the toner image on the paper 28 is conveyed toward the transfer position 3).

The image forming unit 5 includes a scanner unit 17, a process cartridge 18, a fixing unit 19, and the like.
The scanner unit 17 is provided in the upper part of the main casing 2 and includes a laser light source (not shown), a polygon mirror 20 that is rotationally driven, an fθ lens 21, a reflecting mirror 22, a lens 23, a reflecting mirror 24, and the like. The laser beam based on the image data emitted from the laser light source is deflected by the polygon mirror 20 after passing through the fθ lens 21, as shown by the broken line in FIG. After passing through 23, the optical path is further bent downward by the reflecting mirror 24, so that the surface of a photosensitive drum 28 (to be described later) of the process cartridge 18 is irradiated with high-speed scanning.

  The process cartridge 18 is detachably attached to the main body casing 2 below the scanner unit 17. The process cartridge 18 includes a drum cartridge 25 and a developing cartridge that is detachably attached to the drum cartridge 25.

  Each of the drum cartridges 25 extends in the front-rear direction, and a developing cartridge 26 is disposed on the front side between a pair of side plates 27 arranged to face each other in a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction (hereinafter simply referred to as “width direction”). A photosensitive drum 28, a scorotron charger 29, a transfer roller 30 and a cleaning brush 31 are provided on the rear side.

  The photosensitive drum 28 includes a cylindrical drum body 32 formed by a positively chargeable photosensitive layer whose outermost layer is made of polycarbonate or the like, and a metal extending along the longitudinal direction of the drum body 32 at the axis of the drum body 32. And a drum shaft 33 made of steel. The drum shaft 33 is non-rotatably supported on both side plates 27 of the drum cartridge 25, and the drum main body 32 is rotatably supported on the drum shaft 33, so that the photosensitive drum 28 is disposed between the both side plates 27. The shaft 33 is provided to be rotatable.

  The scorotron charger 29 is disposed oppositely and spaced apart from the rear side of the photosensitive drum 28 so as not to contact the photosensitive drum 28. The scorotron charger 29 is a positively charged scorotron charger that generates corona discharge from a charging wire such as tungsten, so that the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 can be uniformly charged to a positive polarity. Is provided.

  The transfer roller 30 is rotatably supported on both side plates 27 of the drum cartridge 25, contacts the photosensitive drum 28 from the lower side in the vertical direction, and forms a nip with the photosensitive drum 28. Has been placed. The transfer roller 30 is configured by covering a metal roller shaft 34 with a roller 35 made of a conductive rubber material. A transfer bias is applied to the transfer roller 30 during transfer.

  The cleaning brush 31 is disposed behind the photosensitive drum 28 so that the tip of the brush is in contact with the surface of the drum body 32 of the photosensitive drum 28.

  The developing cartridge 26 is detachably attached to the drum cartridge 25, and has a box-like housing 36 opened on the rear side, a supply roller 37, a developing roller 38, and the like provided in the housing 36. A layer thickness regulating blade 39 is provided.

  A partition plate 40 projecting downward from the upper surface of the housing 36 is provided extending in the width direction, and toner (colorant) is accommodated in the internal space in front of the partition plate 40. A toner storage chamber 41 is provided, and an inner space behind the partition plate 40 is a development chamber 42.

  In the toner storage chamber 41, positively charged nonmagnetic one-component toner is stored as a developer. Examples of the toner include polymerizable monomers such as styrene monomers such as styrene, and acrylic monomers such as acrylic acid, alkyl (C1 to C4) acrylate, and alkyl (C1 to C4) methacrylate. Polymerized toners obtained by copolymerization by a known polymerization method such as suspension polymerization are used. Such a polymerized toner has a spherical shape, has extremely good fluidity, and can achieve high-quality image formation.

  Such a toner is blended with a colorant such as carbon black, wax, and the like, and an external additive such as silica is added to improve fluidity. The particle diameter is about 6 to 10 μm.

  Further, an agitator 43 (agitating member) for agitating the toner in the toner accommodating chamber 41 is provided in the toner accommodating chamber 41. The agitator 43 is supported at the central portion of the toner storage chamber 41 by an agitator rotation shaft 44 extending in the width direction, and the agitator 43 is rotated with the agitator rotation shaft 44 as a fulcrum, whereby the inside of the toner storage chamber 41. The toner is stirred and discharged from the toner discharge port 45 below the partition plate 40 toward the developing chamber 42.

  The supply roller 37 is disposed below the front side in the developing chamber 42, and is rotatably supported between both side plates facing the width direction of the housing 36. The supply roller 37 includes a metal supply roller shaft 46 extending in the width direction, and a sponge roller 47 made of a conductive foam material covering the supply roller shaft 46.

  The developing roller 38 is disposed below the rear side in the developing chamber 42 and is rotatably supported between both side plates facing the width direction of the housing 36. The developing roller 38 is disposed so that a part of the surface of the developing roller 38 protrudes rearward from the housing 36 and is exposed, and faces the photosensitive drum 28 in the front-rear direction in a state where the developing cartridge 26 is mounted on the drum cartridge 25. Then touch. The developing roller 38 includes a roller shaft 48 of a metal developing roller 38 and a rubber roller 49 made of a conductive rubber material covering the roller shaft 48 of the developing roller 38. The rubber roller 49 is made of conductive urethane rubber or silicone rubber containing carbon fine particles, and the surface thereof is covered with fluorine-containing urethane rubber or silicone rubber. The rubber roller 49 is disposed in contact with the sponge roller 47 of the supply roller 37 so as to be compressed with each other.

  The layer thickness regulating blade 39 is made of a metal leaf spring material, and includes a pressing rubber member 50 having a semicircular cross section made of insulating silicone rubber at the tip. The layer thickness regulating blade 39 is supported by the housing 36 above the developing roller 38, and the lower end thereof is opposed to the rubber roller 49 of the developing roller 38 from the front side, and the pressing rubber member 50 has the layer thickness. The rubber blade 49 is pressed against the elastic force of the regulating blade 39.

  The toner discharged from the toner discharge port 45 to the developing chamber 42 by the rotation of the agitator 43 is supplied onto the rubber roller 49 of the developing roller 38 by the rotation of the supply roller 37. At this time, the sponge roller 47 of the supply roller 37 is supplied. And the rubber roller 49 of the developing roller 38 are positively frictionally charged. The toner supplied onto the rubber roller 49 enters between the pressing rubber member 50 of the layer thickness regulating blade 39 and the rubber roller 49 with the rotation of the developing roller 38 to become a thin layer having a constant thickness. 49 is carried.

  On the other hand, the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 is uniformly positively charged by the scorotron charger 29 and then exposed by high-speed scanning of the laser beam from the scanner unit 17 to form an electrostatic latent image based on the image data. .

  Specifically, the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 28 becomes a high voltage state of about 870 [V], for example, by being uniformly positively charged by the scorotron charger 29. From this state, the laser beam is scanned on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 at high speed from the scanner unit 17 described above. Thereby, since the positive charge decreases in the scanned portion, the potential of the exposed portion is lowered to, for example, about 100 [V]. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 28.

  On the other hand, for example, a developing bias voltage of 300 to 400 [V] is applied to the roller shaft 48 of the developing roller 38 depending on settings (setting 1 to setting 5) described later. As a result, an electric field from the developing roller 38 toward the photosensitive drum 28 is generated in the exposed portion, and an electric field from the photosensitive drum 28 toward the developing roller 38 is generated in the portion that is not exposed to the contrary.

  Therefore, in the exposed portion, the positively charged toner is attracted to the photosensitive drum 28 side due to the action of the electric field, so that the toner on the developing roller 38 adheres to the drum surface when contacting the photosensitive drum 28. To do. As a result, the electrostatic latent image is visualized and a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 28. Then, when the sheet 3 passes through the transfer position, the toner image is transferred onto the sheet 3.

On the other hand, an electric field is generated in the unexposed part so as to prevent the movement toward the photosensitive drum 28, so that the toner adheres to the photosensitive drum 28 even if the toner contacts the surface of the drum. There is no.
As a result, the toner that has not adhered to the photosensitive drum 28 rotates substantially once around the outer periphery of the developing roller 38, returns to the toner storage chamber, and is stirred again by the agitator 43.

  For this reason, when there are many prints of an image with a small print portion (black portion) in the paper 3, the amount of toner returning to the toner storage chamber increases, and as a result, the time for stirring by the agitator 43 increases and the toner deteriorates. End up. When the toner deteriorates, a problem such as an image becoming dark due to a change in the charge amount is likely to occur. Therefore, in this embodiment, the developing bias voltage is set according to the degree of toner deterioration (number of printed sheets, cartridge operation amount). By lowering (differentiating), the image density is improved, and when the predetermined number of prints is reached, printing is stopped and the development cartridge is replaced (toner replacement). Yes.

  The predetermined number of printed sheets means the number of printed sheets until the end of the service life due to the deterioration of the toner because the amount of toner used is small before the toner in the toner storage chamber becomes empty (toner empty). And differ depending on settings (setting 1 to setting 5) described later. Further, the initial value of the developing bias voltage also varies depending on the setting (setting 1 to setting 5).

  Next, the photosensitive drum 28 and the transfer roller 30 are rotationally driven so as to sandwich and convey the sheet 3 therebetween, and the sheet 3 is conveyed between the photosensitive drum 28 and the transfer roller 30. Then, the toner image carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 is transferred onto the paper 3.

  Note that the paper dust adhering to the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 by contact with the paper 3 after the transfer, when the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 faces the brush of the cleaning brush 31 as the photosensitive drum 28 rotates, Removed by the brush.

  The fixing unit 19 is provided on the rear side of the process cartridge 18. The fixing frame 51 extends in the width direction. The fixing roller 19 is rotatably supported by the fixing frame 51. It has.

  The heating roller 52 includes a metal base tube as a cylindrical member, and a halogen lamp is provided along the axial direction thereof. The surface of the heating roller 52 is heated to the fixing temperature by the halogen lamp.

  The pressing roller 53 includes a metal pressing roller shaft 80 and a rubber roller 81 made of a rubber material that covers the periphery of the pressing roller shaft 80. In the pressing roller 53, the rubber roller 81 is elastically pressed against the metal base tube of the heating roller 52, and is driven by the rotation of the heating roller 52.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the fixing unit 19 thermally fixes the toner transferred onto the paper 3 while the paper 3 passes between the heating roller 52 and the pressing roller 53. The sheet 3 on which the toner is fixed is conveyed to a sheet discharge path 82 extending in the vertical direction toward the upper surface of the main casing 2. The sheet 3 conveyed to the sheet discharge path 82 is discharged onto a sheet discharge tray 84 formed on the upper surface of the main casing 2 by a sheet discharge roller 83 provided at the upper end of the sheet 3.

2. Configuration for Detecting Installation of New Developer Cartridge FIG. 4 is a side view of the developer cartridge. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the detection operation when a new developing cartridge 26 is mounted.
The laser printer 1 is provided with a new attachment detection means 60 for detecting whether or not the attached developing cartridge 26 is new.

  This new attachment detection means 60 detects whether the development cartridge 26 is a new development cartridge 26 of the plurality of gear mechanism portions 61 provided on the side surface portion of the development cartridge 26 and the operation of the gear mechanism portion 61. And a new article detection unit 71 (an example of the “detection means” of the present invention).

(Gear mechanism)
The gear mechanism portion 61 is covered with a gear cover 62 on the side surface (side wall) of the developing cartridge 26, an input gear 63 that receives a driving force from the motor 96, an intermediate gear 64 that meshes with the input gear 63, An agitator drive gear 65 that rotates the agitator 43 by a rotational force that is meshed with the intermediate gear 64 and transmitted, and a new article detection gear portion 67 that meshes with the agitator drive gear 65 and rotates. The input gear 63 is engaged with a developing roller driving gear 38A for rotating the developing roller 38 and a supply roller 37 driving gear 37A for rotating the supply roller 37.

The intermediate gear 64 is a two-stage gear in which external teeth 64A meshing with the input gear 63 and internal teeth 64B meshing with the external teeth 65A of the agitator drive gear 65 are integrally formed.
The agitator drive gear 65 is a two-stage gear in which external teeth 65A meshing with the internal teeth 64B of the intermediate gear 64 and internal teeth 65B meshing with the new article detection gear portion 67 are integrally formed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the new article detection gear portion 67 has a disc shape, and has a tooth portion 67A provided on the outer periphery thereof and projects in the width direction of the developing cartridge 26 from the tooth portion 67A. And an abutting protrusion 70 that abuts on an actuator 72 (to be described later) during rotation of 67.

  The tooth portion 67A is provided only in a substantially semicircular portion (approximately 180-degree arc-shaped portion) of the entire outer periphery of the new article detection gear portion 67, and the substantially semicircular tooth portion 67A is provided in the agitator drive gear. The inner teeth 65B of the 65 are engaged with each other. Then, after the agitator drive gear 65 is meshed with one end portion of the tooth portion 67A when the developing cartridge 26 is mounted, the meshing is completed by rotating approximately half a circumference to the other end portion of the tooth portion 67A, and the new detection gear portion. No rotational force is transmitted to 67. As a result, the new article detection gear portion 67 is held in a state where the rotation is stopped by the frictional force of the portion of the rotating shaft 67B at the position.

  Two abutment protrusions 70 are formed at positions separated by a predetermined angle as ridges extending radially outward from the center, and the tip part slightly rounded in the rotational direction abuts on the actuator 72. One end of the actuator 72 is pushed down.

  Here, the number of the contact protrusions 70 has been described as two. However, the number of the contact protrusions 70 may be, for example, a large amount of toner (for a user who performs printing frequently when new). For the toner having a high capacity toner used), the number of the contact protrusions 70 is two, and when it is new, the amount of toner is relatively small (used for users who do not print frequently). Standard (which has a normal toner amount)) has one contact protrusion 70.

(New article detection part)
The new article detection unit 71 is provided on the inner wall of the main casing 2 so as to detect whether or not the installed development cartridge 26 is new by detecting the contact protrusion 70 provided on the development cartridge 26. It has become. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the central portion is pivotally supported by the shaft portion 2 </ b> B protruding from the inner wall surface of the main body casing 2, and the shaft portion 2 </ b> B rotates around the contact portion 70 when contacting. An actuator 72 capable of (oscillating) and an optical sensor 76 that switches between a light incident state and a light shielding state by the rotation of the actuator 72 are provided.

The actuator 72 includes a receiving portion 73 that is pushed down when contacting the contact protrusion 70 on the front side of the shaft portion 2B, and a light shielding portion 74 that blocks the optical axis of the optical sensor 76 on the rear side of the shaft portion 2B. Become.
The optical sensor 76 includes a light projecting element and a light receiving element arranged so as to sandwich the light shielding portion 74, and an optical axis is formed between the light projecting element and the light receiving element.

  Here, the light shielding portion 74 is pulled downward by a spring 75 fixed to the inner wall surface of the main casing 2. Further, a stopper projection 77 is formed at the center of the upper surface of the actuator 72, while a stopper abutting portion 78 that can abut on the stopper projection 77 is provided on the main body casing 2. Accordingly, the actuator 72 is held in a state where the optical axis of the optical sensor 76 is shielded as shown in FIG. 5A before the new developing cartridge 26 is mounted. FIG. 5 shows the developing cartridge 26 having a high capacity toner amount in which the number of the contact protrusions 70 is two.

  When a new developing cartridge 26 is mounted, the optical axis of the optical sensor 76 enters the light incident state (the light shielding state is released) as shown in FIG. 5B.

  When the CPU 91 detects that the cover 7 is closed by the cover opening detection unit 104 after the developing cartridge 26 is mounted, a warm-up operation is started under the control of the CPU 91, and the driving force of the motor controls the input gear 63 and the like. Through this, a rotation operation for rotating the agitator drive gear 65 and the like is performed.

  As a result, the new article detection gear section 67 rotates, the optical axis of the optical sensor 76 is again in the light-shielding state (FIG. 5C), and then comes into contact with the second contact projection 70 (see FIG. 5). 5 (d)), the optical axis enters a light incident state (FIG. 5 (e)), and further rotates to bring the optical axis into a light shielding state. When the meshing between the agitator drive gear 65 and the new article detection gear portion 67 is released by rotating about half a circle (FIG. 5 (f)), the rotation of the new article detection gear portion 67 stops at this position. .

  Note that the detection operation of the new developing cartridge 26 has been described for the case where two contact protrusions 70 are provided. However, the optical sensor 76 detected by the CPU 91 can be changed by changing the number of contact protrusions 70. Since the number of times of incident light changes, the attribute (either high capacity or standard) of the new developing cartridge 26 can be detected based on the number of incident light. When one contact protrusion 70 is provided (in the case of standard), the operation is the same as when two contact protrusions 70 are provided, except that the number of incident light of the optical sensor 76 is one. Therefore, the description is omitted.

3. Electrical Configuration Next, the electrical configuration of the laser printer 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram conceptually showing the electrical configuration of the laser printer 1.
As shown in FIG. 6, the laser printer 1 includes a CPU 91, a ROM 92, a RAM 93, an NVRAM (Non Volatile RAM) 101, a network I / F 94, and a control unit 95 including an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). A control device 90 is configured, and further, an operation unit 98 capable of various operations in a form connected to the control unit 95, a display unit 99 including various LEDs, a main motor 96, a scanner motor 97, and the like. The image forming unit 5 and a detection unit 100 including various sensors are provided, and a control system is configured by these.

  The ROM 92, the RAM 93, and the NVRAM 101 are connected to the CPU 91. The CPU 91 controls each component via the control unit 95 while storing the processing result in the RAM 93 or the NVRAM 101 according to the processing procedure stored in the ROM 92. .

  The operation unit 98 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) touch panel 102 and a main power switch 103 (see FIG. 1).

  Although details will be described later, the CPU 91 determines attributes (high capacity, standard, new, used, etc.) based on information (user input information) input to the touch panel 102 by the user and information from the new article detection unit 71. ) Is determined, and printing (image formation) is controlled in accordance with this determination. Therefore, the CPU 91 is an example of the “attribute determining means” in the present invention.

  The main motor 96 is a motor that rotates the photosensitive drum 28, the developing roller 38, the transfer roller 30, the fixing unit 19, the registration roller 13, the agitator 43 (the agitator driving gear 65), the new article detection gear unit 67, and the like. The scanner motor 97 is a motor that rotates the polygon mirror 20 and the like in the scanner unit 17.

The CPU 91 performs drive control of the main motor 96 and the scanner motor 97 based on a program stored in the ROM 92 in advance.
Further, the CPU 91 counts the number of printed sheets (or counts the number of rotations of the agitator 43 and the like based on a signal from the main motor 96). The CPU 91 detects that the stored toner has deteriorated (has reached the end of its life) based on the counted number of printed sheets (or the number of rotations).
The NVRAM 101 stores settings for executing different processes according to the attributes of the mounted developing cartridge 26. As will be described later in detail, as shown in FIG. 8, the number of prints until the toner life end and the bias voltage applied to the developing roller 38 are stored for each setting as shown in FIG. ing.

  The detection unit 100 includes a cover opening detection unit 104, a toner remaining amount detection unit 105, and a new article detection unit 71.

  Further, the cover opening detection unit 104 includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element having a positional relationship such that the cover opening 7 is in an OFF state when the attachment / detachment opening 6 is closed, and is in an ON state when the attachment / detachment opening 6 is opened. A pair of sensors (not shown) are arranged inside the main casing 2 and the attachment / detachment opening 6 is opened by the cover 7 or the attachment / detachment opening 6 is closed according to the switching state. This detection result is given to the CPU 91.

  The toner remaining amount detecting unit 105 includes a light emitter and a light receiver (not shown). The light emitter is driven in response to a command from the CPU 91, and sends the remaining amount detection light for detecting the remaining amount of toner to the inside of the process cartridge 18 (toner accommodation chamber 41 through the remaining toner detection window 107 (see FIG. 2)). In). At this time, since the toner filled in the process cartridge 18 is agitated at a predetermined cycle, if the remaining amount of toner is small, the time during which the remaining amount detection light is received by the light receiver during one cycle is long. On the other hand, if the remaining amount of toner is large, the time during which the remaining amount detection light in one cycle is received by the light receiver is shortened. Since the remaining amount of toner filled in the developing cartridge can be detected according to the light reception time, for example, it can be detected that the filled toner is used up (toner empty). It has become.

Further, the control unit 95 controls the image forming unit 5 in accordance with a command from the CPU 91. Specifically, exposure control for exposing the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 by each unit constituting the scanner unit 17, control of the developing bias of the developing roller 38, and transfer when transferring toner from the photosensitive drum 28 to the paper 3 are performed. Bias control is performed. Therefore, the CPU 91 is an example of the “control unit” of the present invention.
The control device 90 is provided with a network interface (network I / F) 94 for connecting to an external device such as a personal computer. The CPU 91 performs drive control of each unit as described above, thereby forming an image based on image data input via the network interface 94 on the paper 3 (recording surface).

4). Processing of Control Device Next, processing executed by the CPU 91 of the control device 90 will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for detecting whether or not the toner has been consumed (has reached the end of its life). FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the setting change process. FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the printing process.
The CPU 91 of the control device 90 periodically performs the toner consumption detection process for detecting the consumption (life) of the toner contained in the developing cartridge 26, and when the toner consumption is detected during the toner consumption detection process. Setting change processing, and print processing performed when print data is received.

<Toner consumption detection process>
The toner consumption detection process is, for example, a process for detecting that the toner has been consumed (the life has been reached) by the printing process. As shown in FIG. 13, the CPU 91 detects the number of printed sheets (or the rotational speed of the agitator 43, etc. ) Is greater than or equal to a set threshold value (number of sheets, FIG. 8) (S11).
If the number of printed sheets (or the number of rotations of the agitator 43) is equal to or greater than the set threshold value ("Y" in S11), a setting change process is performed (S13).

  On the other hand, if the number of printed sheets (or the number of rotations of the agitator 43) is not equal to or greater than the set threshold (“N” in S11), it is determined whether toner empty has occurred based on a signal from the toner remaining amount detection unit 105. (S12).

If it is determined that toner empty has occurred ("Y" in S11), setting change processing is performed (S13).
On the other hand, if it is determined that toner empty has not occurred ("N" in S12), the toner consumption detection process is terminated.

  The toner consumption detection process (S11 to S13) is repeated every predetermined time.

<Setting change processing>
In the setting change process, since the toner empty or the toner life end is detected first, in order to notify the user of the state, the CPU 91 prompts the user to replace the toner as shown in FIG. (See FIG. 9) is displayed on the touch panel 102 (an example of “notification means” of the present invention) (S21).

  When the user opens the cover for toner replacement, the CPU 91 detects that the cover 7 has been opened by a signal from the cover opening detection unit 104 (“Y” in S22).

  Next, when the user removes the developing cartridge 26, attaches the developing cartridge 26 filled with toner, and the cover 7 is closed by the user, the CPU 91 detects that the cover 7 is in response to a signal from the cover opening detection unit 104. Closed is detected (“Y” in S23).

  Then, the CPU 91 performs the above-described glass turning operation, and determines whether or not a new developing cartridge 26 is mounted depending on whether or not a detection signal is transmitted from the new product detection unit 71 (S24).

  When it is determined from the detection signal from the new product detection unit 71 that a new development cartridge 26 is installed (“Y” in S24), it is determined whether or not the installed development cartridge 26 has a high capacity with a large amount of toner. Judgment is made (S25).

  When it is determined that the mounted developing cartridge 26 has a high capacity (when the detection signal from the new article detection unit 71 is detected twice) (“Y” in S25), the setting is set to 1 and this Setting 1 is stored in the NVRAM 101. That is, in setting 1, as shown in FIG. 8, the set value of the number of printed sheets until reaching the toner life end is set to 7000, for example (S26), and the initial voltage of the developing bias applied to the developing roller 38 is set to 400. [V], the final voltage is set to 300 [V] (S27). As a result, a voltage of 400 [V] is applied to the developing roller 38 at the start of printing, and the voltage gradually decreases as the number of printed sheets increases, and reaches 300 [V] when 7000 sheets are printed. (When 70 sheets are printed, the voltage of 1 [V] decreases).

  When it is determined that the detected developing cartridge 26 is a standard of a normal toner amount (a toner amount smaller than that of a high capacity toner) (when a detection signal from the new product detection unit 71 is detected only once) ( In S25, “N”), the setting is set to 2. That is, in setting 2, the set value of the number of prints until the end of the toner life is set to be smaller than setting 1, for example, 4000 sheets (S28), and the initial voltage of the developing bias applied to the developing roller 38 is set to 400 [ V] and the final voltage are set to 300 [V] (S29).

  If it is determined in S24 that a new developing cartridge 26 has not been mounted (a detection signal from the new article detecting unit 71 has not been detected) ("N" in S24), the user can obtain information on the developing cartridge 26. A message prompting input of (user input information) is displayed on the touch panel 102 (S30). Here, as shown in FIG. 10, first, a message prompting whether or not the toner has been replaced is displayed on the touch panel 102, and if an input indicating that the developing cartridge 26 has not been replaced is input (No. 2 is selected). ("N" in S31), an error message is displayed again in S21. When an input indicating that the developer cartridge 26 has been replaced by the user's operation (selecting high of 1; “Y” in S31), as shown in FIG. 11, attribute information of the developer cartridge 26 replaced by the user, etc. A message (selection instruction of any one of high capacity, standard, and used) that prompts input by the user (input of user input information) is displayed on the touch panel 102 (an example of the “notification unit” of the present invention). Therefore, from this point, the user can input user input information.

  In other words, until the CPU 91 displays a message prompting the user to input user input information (after the amount of toner used or the amount of cartridge operation reaches a predetermined threshold, the user can switch to a state where the attribute can be determined). Since input information cannot be input (determination of attributes cannot be made) and user input information does not need to be input, user input information is erroneously input, resulting in image formation defects Can be prevented. Therefore, the CPU 91 is an example of the “undecidable means” in the present invention.

  Here, for example, for a high-capacity developer cartridge 26 (used developer cartridge 26) once used, the user selects a high-capacity one that is the same as a new one (almost not used), and once The standard developing cartridge 26 (used developing cartridge 26) is selected if it is the same as a new one (almost unused). On the other hand, for those that have already been used to some extent, secondhand is selected.

  When the high capacity is selected by the user's operation (“Y” in S33), the setting is set to 3. That is, in setting 3, the setting value of the number of printed sheets until the end of the toner life is set to, for example, 6300 sheets (10% less than setting 1) (S34), and the initial voltage of the developing bias applied to the developing roller 38 is set. The final voltage is set to 390 [V] and 300 [V] (S35).

  When the standard is selected by the user's operation (“N” in S33, “Y” in S36), the setting is set to 4. That is, in setting 4, the setting value of the number of printed sheets until the end of the toner life is, for example, 3600 sheets (10% less than setting 2) (S37), and the initial voltage of the developing bias applied to the developing roller 38 is set. The final voltage is set to 390 [V] and 300 [V] (S38).

  When used (Chuco) is selected by the user's operation (“N” in S33, “N” in S36), the setting is set to 5. When the setting is set to 5 here, as shown in FIG. 12, a message prompting the user to input the number of printed sheets using the used developing cartridge 26 is displayed.

  When the number of printed sheets (estimated number of sheets used) is input by the user, the user inputs that the toner corresponding to the number of sheets (operating amount) has already been used with reference to the standard developing cartridge 26. Calculate the number of printable sheets using the remaining toner from the number of sheets that can be printed and the number of sheets that can be filled with toner, and set the number of sheets that can be printed by this calculation until the end of the toner life. (S39). Further, a voltage obtained by reducing the initial voltage of the developing bias applied to the developing roller 38 in accordance with the number of printed sheets (400 [V] when the number of printed sheets is 0) is set to 300 [V] (S40).

  Next, after the above-described setting, the toner life end counter (printing number counter) is reset (S41), and the newly set bias voltage initial value (390 [V], 400 [V], etc.) is set. (S42).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 7, whether the attribute is automatically set based on the information detected by the new article detection unit 71 (auto setting (Auto). In the case of setting 1 and setting 2), the user input by the user Information on whether the attribute is determined based on the input information (manual setting (Manual), setting 3, setting 4, or setting 5) and information on the developing cartridge 26 installed by the user (High Capacity, Standard) (Standard) is printed on the paper 3 by the image forming unit 5 (output unit) and output (S43) Note that the output of the information may be displayed on the LCD of the touch panel 102, or the communication unit. Is connected to an external device (not shown) such as a personal computer via the PC, the output is made to the external device, and the display of the external device (for example, a printer Information such as a setting method may be displayed on the driver setting display screen.

<Print processing>
As shown in FIG. 15, for example, when the CPU 91 detects that print data is received from an external device or the like via the network I / F 94 (“Y” in S51), the bias voltage of the developing roller 38 is set according to the setting. The printing process is executed with the detected voltage (S52).

5. Advantages of the present embodiment (1) Even if the user does not specify the attributes (new, used, high capacity, standard, etc.) of the developing cartridge 26, the new cartridge that the developing cartridge 26 detected by the new article detecting unit 71 (detecting means) has Since the attributes (new, used, high capacity, standard, etc.) of the developing cartridge 26 can be determined based on the contact protrusion 70 (feature) of the detection gear section 67, the user inputs the attributes of the developing cartridge 26. The burden can be reduced.
Further, when detecting whether or not the cartridge has been replaced with a new one by only the new article detection unit 71, after the new cartridge is once mounted, it is replaced with another cartridge with almost no toner used, and again. May be detected as used even though it is almost new. In addition, there is a possibility that an appropriate determination (determination of normal attributes) cannot be performed, for example, when the new article detection unit does not operate normally due to a failure or the like (failure of a sensor or the like).

Therefore, the attributes (high capacity, standard, used, etc.) are based on the user input information (high capacity, standard, used, etc.) input by the user, regardless of the attribute of the developing cartridge 26 determined by the new article detection unit 71. By making the determination possible, an error in the attribute of the developing cartridge 26 can be corrected.
Here, even when it is less necessary to determine the attribute of the developing cartridge 26, assuming that the attribute is determined based on the user input information, when the user input information is erroneously input, image formation or the like is performed. May cause problems.

  On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, for example, when it is less necessary to input user input information, the CPU 91 (determination means) cannot determine the attribute of the developing cartridge 26 based on the user input information. Therefore, it is possible to reduce problems caused by inappropriate operations by the user.

(2) When the time for replacement of the developing cartridge 26 arrives, attribute changes are likely to occur due to replacement of the developing cartridge 26. Therefore, only when the development cartridge 26 needs to be replaced, that is, when the end of the life of the development cartridge 26 (predetermined threshold) has been reached, and the possibility that the developer cartridge 26 will be replaced by the user is high. It is desirable to allow user intervention (operation).
In the present embodiment, the developer cartridge 26 is unlikely to be replaced during a period when the amount of toner (colorant) used or the operating amount of the developer cartridge 26 does not reach a predetermined threshold. The possibility that the attribute will change is low, and there is little need to determine the attribute of the developing cartridge 26 by the user inputting user input information. Therefore, when there is an input from the user during such a period, it is highly likely that the input is inappropriate. Therefore, the user cannot determine the attribute of the developing cartridge 26 based on the input user input information for a period in which the amount of colorant used or the operating amount of the developing cartridge 26 does not reach a predetermined threshold. It is possible to reduce problems caused in image formation and the like due to inappropriate operations.

  (3) The CPU 91 (attribute determining means) is in a state in which the attribute determination by the CPU 91 (undecidable means) is disabled after the usage amount of the colorant or the operating amount of the developing cartridge 26 reaches a predetermined threshold value. Based on the user input information in the CPU 91 (attribute determining means), the developing cartridge 26 is switched to a state where the attribute can be determined. Therefore, after the possibility that an inappropriate operation by the user is reduced, the attribute can be determined based on the user input information.

  (4) Since the CPU 91 (attribute determining means) includes notifying means for notifying that the attribute can be determined based on the user input information, development is performed based on the user input information by notifying the notifying means. The user can know that the attribute of the cartridge 26 can be determined.

(5) The CPU 91 (control means) determines the attributes determined by the CPU 91 (attribute determination means) based on the user input information and the new article detection gear section of the developing cartridge 26 detected by the new article detection section 71 (detection means). Control is performed to apply a bias voltage to the developing roller 38 that is different from the attribute determined by the CPU 91 (attribute determining means) based on the information of the 67 contact protrusions 70 (features).
Here, the attribute determined by the CPU 91 (attribute determining means) is an attribute determined based on user input information input by the user, or the developing cartridge 26 of the new article detection unit 71 (detecting means). Generally, the reliability of whether or not the determined attribute is correct differs depending on whether or not the attribute is determined based on the information of the contact protrusion 70 (feature) of the new article detection gear unit 67. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, by controlling the CPU 91 (control unit) to apply a different bias voltage to the developing roller 38, more preferable image formation can be performed according to the reliability of the determined attribute. It becomes possible.

(6) Generally, when the attribute of the developing cartridge 26 is determined based on user input information input by the user, the attribute is determined more than when the attribute is determined based on the detection of the new article detection unit 71 (detection means). It is considered that errors are likely to occur. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the touch panel 102 (notification means) detects the new article detection unit 71 (detection means) when the CPU 91 (attribute determination means) determines the attribute based on the user input information. The service life of the developing cartridge 26 is notified at an earlier stage than when the attribute is determined based on this.
Therefore, when an attribute is determined based on user input information that is relatively likely to cause an error, notification is made earlier than when an attribute is determined based on detection by the new article detection unit 71 (detection means). By doing so, it is possible to prompt the user to take action according to the possibility that a problem occurs in image generation.

  (7) The CPU 91 (attribute determining means) determines the attribute based on the user input information or the contact of the new article detecting gear section 67 of the developing cartridge 26 detected by the new article detecting section 71 (detecting means). Whether the attribute is determined based on the information of the protrusion 70 (feature) is output to the paper 3 by the image forming unit 5 (output unit). Therefore, the attribute is determined based on the user input information input by the user by the output from the image forming unit 5 (output unit), or the information detected by the new article detection unit 71 (detection unit). It is possible to know whether the attribute is determined based on the attribute. Therefore, for example, it becomes easy to know the factor (for example, whether the user input information is wrong) when the quality of the image is bad.

  (8) When the attributes of the developing cartridge 26 are different, it is preferable that the control performed for image formation is also varied according to the attribute. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the control unit causes the image formation to be performed by different control according to the attribute determined by the CPU 91 (attribute determination unit), so that high-quality image formation is possible.

  (9) If the colorant is deteriorated due to the operating amount of the developing cartridge 26, problems such as darkening of the image at the time of image formation are likely to occur. In such a case, depending on the operating amount of the developing cartridge 26 By applying the bias voltage to the developing roller 38, a good image can be formed.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.

  (1) In the above-described embodiment, the developer cartridge 26 is new by detecting the contact protrusion 70 (feature) of the new-article detection gear portion 67 provided on the developer cartridge 26 by the new-article detection unit 71 on the main body casing 2 side. However, the configuration for detecting whether or not the product is new is not limited thereto. For example, it may be configured to detect whether or not the developing cartridge 26 is new by detecting an external feature including the shape of the developing cartridge 26 other than the contact protrusion 70. In addition to the external features, in addition to the external features, for example, when the developing cartridge 26 includes a storage unit such as an RFID tag, the developer cartridge is read by reading the content stored in the storage unit. It is good also as a structure which detects whether 26 is a new article.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the “attribute of the developing cartridge 26” is the amount of operating amount (number of printed sheets) of the developing cartridge 26 (for example, the developing cartridge 26 is new (operating amount is 0) or old) Product (used)) and a large amount of toner (colorant) (amount of toner or a small amount of toner), but is not limited thereto. For example, the color of the colorant, the property of the colorant (such as a toner dedicated to photography), and the like may be used.

  (3) Although user input information related to the attributes of the developing cartridge 26 is input from the touch panel 102, user input information from an external device such as a personal computer (for example, a printer driver setting display screen) via the communication means. May be input.

1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus showing an embodiment according to the present invention. Cross-sectional side view of the main part of the image forming apparatus with the process cartridge mounted Cross-sectional side view of the main part of the image forming apparatus with the process cartridge removed Side view of developer cartridge The figure explaining operation at the time of detecting a new development cartridge Block diagram showing electrical configuration of image forming apparatus Figure with information about settings printed on paper Information about each setting stored in advance Touch panel display in case of error Touch panel display when the front cover is closed Touch panel display when not detected as new Touch panel display prompting you to enter the number of used toner prints Flow chart for detecting whether the toner has reached the end of its life Flow chart of setting change processing Print processing flowchart

1. Laser printer (image forming device)
2 ... Main body casing 5 ... Image forming section (output means)
7 ... Front cover 26 ... Development cartridge (cartridge)
38 ... Developing roller 43 ... Agitator 60 ... New article mounting detection means 65 ... Agitator drive gear 67 ... New article detection gear part 70 ... Abutting protrusion 71 ... New article detection part (detection means)
72 ... Actuator 76 ... Optical sensor 90 ... Control device 91 ... CPU (attribute determining means, indeterminable means, control means)
96 ... main motor 98 ... operation unit 99 ... display unit 102 ... touch panel (notification means, notification means)
104 ... Cover open detection unit 105 ... Toner remaining amount detection unit

Claims (10)

A cartridge containing a colorant;
Detecting means for detecting a feature provided in the cartridge;
Attribute determining means for determining an attribute of the cartridge based on at least one of user input information input by a user and information on the characteristics of the cartridge detected by the detecting means;
Control means for controlling image formation based on the attribute determined by the attribute determination means;
Undecidable means for disabling determination of the attribute of the cartridge based on the user input information in the attribute determining means ;
With
The undecidable means disables the determination of the attribute of the cartridge based on the user input information when the attribute determining means cannot determine the attribute of the cartridge based on the feature information of the cartridge. image forming apparatus characterized by releasing the. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the user input information is information indicating an operation amount of the cartridge . The attribute is determined according to an amount of the colorant used or an operating amount of the cartridge,
The undecidable means is
The period during which the operating amount of the used amount or the cartridge has not reached the predetermined threshold value of the colorant, according to claim 1, characterized in that disabling the determination of attributes of the cartridge based on the user input information or the image forming apparatus according to 2. The attribute determining means includes
Based on the user input information in the attribute determining means, from the state where the determination of the attribute by the indeterminable means is impossible after the usage amount of the colorant or the operating amount of the cartridge reaches a predetermined threshold value. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the attribute of the cartridge is switched to a state where the attribute can be determined. The cartridge is a developing cartridge including a developing roller,
The control means includes
A bias voltage different between the attribute determined by the attribute determining unit based on the user input information and the attribute determined by the attribute determining unit based on information on the characteristics of the cartridge detected by the detecting unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus performs control to be applied to the developing roller. A notification means for notifying the lifetime of the cartridge;
The notification means includes
When the attribute is determined based on the user input information by the attribute determination unit, the life of the cartridge is notified at an earlier stage than when the attribute is determined based on the detection by the detection unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.   An output unit for outputting whether the attribute determination unit determines the attribute based on the user input information or whether the attribute is determined based on the cartridge characteristic information detected by the detection unit; The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The control means includes
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein image formation is performed by different control according to the attribute determined by the attribute determining unit. The attribute is determined according to the operation amount of the cartridge,
The cartridge is a developing cartridge including a developing roller,
The control means includes
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a control is performed to apply a bias voltage to the developing roller in accordance with an operation amount of the developing cartridge.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute is determined according to an operation amount of the cartridge or a storage amount of the colorant.

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