WO2023054330A1

WO2023054330A1 - Image forming device and determination method

Info

Publication number: WO2023054330A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/035866
Authority: WO
Inventors: 忠雄京谷
Original assignee: ブラザー工業株式会社
Priority date: 2021-09-30
Filing date: 2022-09-27
Publication date: 2023-04-06
Also published as: JP2023051472A

Abstract

The present invention addresses the issue of limiting the number of times that life information stored in a consumables memory is reset. A controller (61) in an image formation device (1) executes: a first determination processing in which the manufacturer of a toner cartridge (4) is determined on the basis of manufacturer information; and a determination processing in which a maximum number of times indicated in upper limit information (625) is determined, in accordance with the manufacturer of the toner cartridge (4) determined by the first determination processing.

Description

Image forming apparatus and determination method

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

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

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

JP-A-10-202900

In recent years, the types of consumables attached to image forming apparatuses have diversified. Therefore, depending on the type of consumable, it may be desirable to limit the number of times the information stored in the memory is reset.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of limiting the number of times information stored in memory is reset.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes a main body housing in which consumables are mounted, a controller, and a main body memory, and a consumables memory provided by the consumables. stores life information relating to the life of the consumable and manufacturer information indicating the manufacturer of the consumable, and the body memory stores the number of resettable times set for the consumable. a first determination process for determining a manufacturer of the consumable based on the manufacturer information; and a determination process of determining the number of times the initialization can be performed according to the manufacturer of the consumable item determined by the first determination process.

A second aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the consumables memory stores, as the manufacturer information, a first manufacturer indicating a first manufacturer that manufactures the image forming apparatus by a manufacturer of the consumables. and second maker information indicating a second maker whose manufacturer of the consumables is different from the first maker, and the controller, in the determination process, The allowable number of times of initialization may be determined according to which of the first manufacturer information and the second manufacturer information.

A third aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect or the second aspect, wherein initialization history information indicating a history of initialization of the life information is stored in the consumables memory, and the controller and, in the determination process, the number of possible initializations may be determined based on the initialization history information.

A fourth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, wherein the initialization history information stored in the consumables memory indicates that the life information has not been initialized, It may indicate either that the life information has been initialized or that the life information has been initialized by the image forming apparatus.

A fifth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the allowable number of times of initialization represented by the number of times information of the second manufacturer is smaller than the number of times of initialization represented by the number of times information of the first manufacturer. good too.

A sixth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first aspect to the fifth aspect, wherein the consumable item memory stores a consumable item that can be used in the image forming apparatus with which the contract has been concluded. and contract information indicating whether the consumable is a normal consumable that can be used between an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded and an image forming apparatus without which a contract has been concluded. The first determination process may be executed when the information indicates that the item is the normal consumable item.

A seventh aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect, wherein the consumables memory stores initialization number information indicating the number of times of initialization of the life information, The controller comprises a second determination process for determining whether the number of times of initialization is less than the possible number of initializations; and a permission process for permitting the initialization of the life information when the determination is made by the second determination process.

An eighth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the seventh aspect, wherein initialization history information indicating a history of initialization of the life information is stored in the consumables memory, and the controller performs the permission process. When the initialization of the life information is permitted in the above, an update process of updating the initialization history information may be executed.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a determination method according to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure is a determination method for determining the number of times a consumable item memory possessed by a consumable item can be initialized. a first determination step in which the image forming apparatus determines a manufacturer of the consumables based on manufacturer information stored in the consumables memory and indicating a manufacturer of the consumables; The number of resettable times set for the consumables stored in the main body memory of the image forming apparatus according to the manufacturer of the consumables determined by the determination step 1, which is stored in the consumables memory. and a determination step of determining, by the image forming apparatus, an allowable number of initializations to allow initialization of life information relating to the life of the consumable.

A tenth aspect is the determination method of the ninth aspect, wherein the consumables memory stores, as the manufacturer information, first manufacturer information indicating a first manufacturer that manufactures the image forming apparatus by the manufacturer of the consumables. and second manufacturer information indicating a second manufacturer that is different from the first manufacturer as a manufacturer of the consumables, and in the determining step, the image forming apparatus stores: , the number of times the initialization can be performed may be determined according to which of the first manufacturer information and the second manufacturer information.

An eleventh aspect is the determination method of the ninth aspect or the tenth aspect, wherein initialization history information indicating a history of initialization of the life information is stored in the consumables memory, and in the determination step , the image forming apparatus may determine the allowable number of times of initialization based on the initialization history information.

A twelfth aspect is the determination method of the eleventh aspect, wherein the initialization history information stored in the consumables memory indicates that the life information has not been initialized, and that the life information has not been initialized. It may indicate either that the life information has been initialized or that the life information has been initialized by the image forming apparatus.

A thirteenth aspect is the determination method of the tenth aspect, wherein the allowable number of initializations represented by the number of times information of the second manufacturer is smaller than the number of times of initialization represented by the number of times information of the first manufacturer. good.

A fourteenth aspect is the determination method according to any one of the ninth to thirteenth aspects, wherein the consumables memory stores contracted consumables usable in an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded. or whether the consumable is a normal consumable that can be used by an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded and an image forming apparatus without which a contract has been concluded, and the contract information indicates the normal consumable The image forming apparatus may execute the first determination step if the image forming apparatus indicates that the image is of good quality.

A fifteenth aspect is the determination method according to any one of the ninth aspect to the fourteenth aspect, wherein the consumables memory stores initialization frequency information indicating the number of initializations of the life information, a second determination step, in which the image forming apparatus determines whether the number of times of initialization is less than the possible number of times of initialization; and a permitting step of permitting the initialization of the life information by the image forming apparatus when determined by a second determining step.

A sixteenth aspect is the determination method of the fifteenth aspect, wherein initialization history information indicating a history of initialization of the life information is stored in the consumables memory, and in the permission step, the life information The image forming apparatus may update the initialization history information when the initialization is permitted.

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

According to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, it is possible to limit the number of times the life information stored in the consumables memory is reset.

According to the image forming apparatus of the second aspect, the controller can determine the number of resettable times depending on whether the manufacturer of the consumables is the first manufacturer or the second manufacturer.

According to the image forming apparatus of the third aspect, the controller can determine the number of possible initializations according to the history of initialization of consumables.

According to the image forming apparatus of the fourth aspect, the controller can determine the number of possible initializations according to the information indicated by the initialization history information.

According to the image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect, by setting the allowable number of initializations for the second manufacturer to be smaller than the allowable number of initializations for the first manufacturer, the initializing operation suitable for each manufacturer (manufacturer of consumables) is performed. It is possible to set the number of times that can be changed.

According to the image forming apparatus of the sixth aspect, the controller can determine the number of resettable times only when the consumable can be handled as a normal consumable.

According to the image forming apparatus of the seventh aspect, the controller can initialize the lifespan information until the number of times of initialization reaches the possible number of times of initialization.

According to the image forming apparatus of the eighth aspect, the controller can execute determination processing using the latest initialization history information.

Each of the initialization methods of the ninth to sixteenth modes has the same effect as the image forming apparatus of any one of the first to eighth modes.

1 is a diagram showing an overview of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of essential parts of an image forming apparatus including a drum cartridge and a toner cartridge; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of usage history information stored in the main body memory; 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of toner cartridge information stored in a toner memory; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of drum cartridge information stored in a drum memory; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing executed by the image forming apparatus in a recycle preparation phase; 10 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for displaying a standby screen; 10 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for checking whether initialization is possible; 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of initialization processing; 5 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing executed by the image forming apparatus in the recycle item use phase; 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for reading out cartridge information; 9 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for determining the upper limit number of times;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 1 has

connectors

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

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

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

The cartridge information 621 is information about the cartridges installed in the image forming apparatus 1 . Specifically, the cartridge information 621 includes the toner cartridge information 420 read from the toner memory 42 of the toner cartridge 4 of each color so that each toner cartridge 4 can be identified. The cartridge information 621 also includes the drum cartridge information 220 read from the drum memory 22 of the drum cartridge 20 so that each drum cartridge 20 can be identified. The toner cartridge information 420 includes life information 440 related to the life of the toner cartridge 4, for example. The drum cartridge information 220 includes life information 230 related to the life of the drum cartridge 20, for example. Details of the data structures of the toner cartridge information 420 and the drum cartridge information 220 stored as the cartridge information 621 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Upper limit information 625 is stored in the body memory 62 . The upper limit information 625 is information indicating the upper limit of the number of recycling times allowed for the cartridge. The upper limit information 625 is the allowable number of initializations set for the cartridge, and is an example of number of times information indicating the allowable number of initializations for which the lifespan information relating to the cartridge is permitted to be initialized. The maximum number of times that the cartridge is allowed to be recycled is an example of the number of times that can be initialized. The upper limit information 625 may include an upper limit number of times the life information 440 regarding the toner cartridge 4 can be initialized and an upper limit number of times the life information 230 regarding the drum cartridge 20 can be initialized.

In this embodiment, the upper limit information 625 includes a first number of times 625P, a second number of times 625Q, a third number of times R, and a fourth number of times S shown below. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the controller 61 refers to the manufacturer information 430 and the initialization history information 431, which will be described later, to determine the first number 625P, the second number 625Q, the third number 625R, and the fourth number 625S. Decide on one. More specifically, the manufacturer information 430 indicates that the toner cartridge 4 is manufactured by the first manufacturer that manufactures the image forming apparatus 1 (step S701 in FIG. 13: YES), and the initialization history information 431 is If the life information 440 stored in the toner memory 42, which will be described later, is not initialized (step S705), the controller 61 determines the first count 625P. Further, the manufacturer information 430 indicates that the toner cartridge 4 is manufactured by the first manufacturer that manufactures the image forming apparatus 1 (step S701 in FIG. 13: YES), and the initialization history information 431 indicates that the first If the toner cartridge 4 has been recycled at the manufacturer's factory (step S705), the controller 61 determines the second count 625Q. The manufacturer information 430 indicates that the toner cartridge 4 is manufactured by the first manufacturer that manufactures the image forming apparatus 1 (step S701 in FIG. 13: YES), and the initialization history information 431 indicates that the first manufacturer manufactures If the manufactured toner cartridge 4 indicates that the life information 440 stored in the toner memory 42 has been initialized by the image forming apparatus 1 (step S705), the controller 61 determines the third number of times 625R. Initialization of the life information 440 by the image forming apparatus 1 is executed, for example, by accepting an instruction from a user or an instruction from an operator of a manufacturer authorized to recycle cartridges manufactured by the first manufacturer. may be

If the manufacturer information 430 indicates that the toner cartridge 4 is manufactured by a second manufacturer different from the first manufacturer (step S701 in FIG. 13: NO), the controller 61 determines the fourth number of times 625S. .

In this embodiment, the cartridge is prohibited from being recycled beyond the upper limit number of times indicated by the upper limit information 625 . For example, as described above, the controller 61 refers to the manufacturer information 430 and the initialization history information 431 stored in the toner memory 42 to set the first number of times 625P, the second number of times 625Q, the third number of times as the upper limit number of times. It is determined which of the number of times 625R and the fourth number of times 625S is used. The controller 61 can perform control so as not to initialize cartridge information for recycling of a cartridge whose recycling count has reached the determined upper limit count.

Also, the fourth number 625S is smaller than any of the first number 625P, the second number 625Q, and the third number 625R. The first number of times 625P, the second number of times 625Q, and the third number of times 625R are examples of the number of times that can be initialized represented by the number of times information of the first manufacturer. The fourth number of times 625S is an example of the possible number of times of initialization indicated by the number of times information of the second manufacturer. Also, the second number of times 625Q is smaller than the first number of times 625P. Also, the third number 625R is smaller than the second number 625Q. By setting the upper limit information 625 in this way, it is possible to set the upper limit number of times that matches the manufacturer of the toner cartridge 4 .

Note that the first number of times 625P and the second number of times 625Q may be the same number of times. Also, the second number of times 625Q and the third number of times 625R may be the same number of times. Also, the third number of times 625R and the second manufacturer's number of times 625B may be the same number of times. However, the first number of times 625P, the second number of times 625Q, the third number of times 625R, and the fourth number of times 625S may all be set to the same number of times.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

<Data structure of cartridge information>
(Toner cartridge information)
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the toner cartridge information 420 stored in the toner memory 42. As shown in FIG. The toner cartridge information 420 includes, for example, a toner ID 421, capacity information 422, color information 423, specification information 424, type information 425, life information 440, and initialization frequency information.

The lifespan information 440 is information about the lifespan of consumables. As an example, lifespan information 440 includes at least one of consumption information for identifying the extent to which the consumable has been used and remaining information for identifying the amount of material remaining in the consumable. including. Examples of consumption information include, but are not limited to, the number of printed sheets, the dot count, the amount of printing material consumed, the number of rotations of the developing roller, and the number of rotations of the drum. For example, but not limited to, remaining amount of printing material, such as remaining amount of toner and remaining amount of ink, is an example of remaining amount information.

The toner cartridge information 420 of the toner cartridge 4 includes, as an example of life information 440, the number of printed sheets 426, the number of rotations of the developing roller 427, and the toner remaining amount 428 (printing material remaining amount). In another example, life information 440 may include a dot count.

The number of times of initialization information is information indicating the number of times of initialization of the life information 440 regarding the toner cartridge 4 . The initialization count information can also be rephrased as information indicating whether or not at least part of the information stored in the toner memory 42 has been initialized. The toner cartridge information 420 includes, as an example of initialization number information, a recycling number 429 indicating the number of times the toner memory 42 has been initialized for recycling.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The type information 425 indicating the type "commercial" is stored in the toner memory 42 of the commercially available toner cartridge 4 that can be purchased from a home appliance mass retailer or a mail order site. Hereinafter, this type of toner cartridge will be referred to as a commercially available cartridge (normal consumable) to distinguish it from a contracted cartridge (contracted consumable). A commercially available cartridge is a cartridge that can be used in the image forming apparatus 1 with which the contract has been concluded and the image forming apparatus without which the contract has been concluded.

Commercially available cartridges are, for example, "genuine cartridges", "genuine regenerated cartridges", or "third party regenerated cartridges". A “genuine cartridge” is a cartridge that is manufactured by the first manufacturer that manufactures the image forming apparatus 1 and has never been recycled. A “genuine recycled cartridge” is a cartridge that is manufactured by the first manufacturer that manufactures the image forming apparatus 1 and that is recycled at the manufacturing factory of the first manufacturer. A "third-party recycled cartridge" is a cartridge manufactured by the first manufacturer that manufactures the image forming apparatus 1, or a cartridge manufactured by a manufacturer different from the first manufacturer (for example, a second manufacturer), and , the life information 440 stored in the toner memory 42 by the image forming apparatus 1 is initialized. Initialization of the life information 440 by the image forming apparatus 1 is executed, for example, by accepting an instruction from a user or an instruction from an operator of a manufacturer authorized to recycle cartridges manufactured by the first manufacturer. may be Also, the initialization of the lifespan information 440 by the image forming apparatus 1 may be executed by receiving an instruction from the first manufacturer.

In this embodiment, the controller 61 refers to the manufacturer information 430 stored in the toner memory 42 to determine whether the commercially available cartridge is the cartridge manufactured by the first manufacturer or the cartridge manufactured by the second manufacturer. It can be determined whether Further, the controller 61 refers to the initialization history information 431 stored in the toner memory 42 to determine whether the cartridge is the "genuine cartridge", the "genuine regenerated cartridge", or the "third party regenerated cartridge". I can judge.

The number of printed sheets 426 is information indicating the number of sheets printed in the image forming apparatus 1 after the toner cartridge 4 is attached to the image forming apparatus 1 .

The number of rotations of the developing roller 427 is information indicating the number of rotations of the developing roller 41 in the toner cartridge 4 caused by execution of printing after the toner cartridge 4 is attached to the image forming apparatus 1 .

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

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

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

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

The number of recycles 429 may include the number of times initialized according to instructions received by the controller 61 via the operation unit 64 or the display 65 functioning as a touch panel. The instructions received by the controller 61 may be given by any of the user, the operator of the first manufacturer, and the operator of the second manufacturer.

By reading the recycling count 429 from the toner memory 42 , the controller 61 can compare the recycling count 429 with the upper limit count indicated by the upper limit information 625 stored in the main body memory 62 .

The toner cartridge information 420 also includes manufacturer information 430 and initialization history information 431, for example.

The manufacturer information 430 is information indicating the manufacturer of the toner cartridge 4 . For example, when the toner cartridge 4 is manufactured by a first manufacturer that manufactures the image forming apparatus 1, the manufacturer information 430 indicates first manufacturer information indicating the first manufacturer. When the toner cartridge 4 is manufactured by a second manufacturer different from the first manufacturer, the manufacturer information 430 indicates second manufacturer information indicating the second manufacturer.

The initialization history information 431 is information indicating the history of initialization of the life information 440 regarding the toner cartridge 4 . The initialization history information 431 may be information stored in the toner cartridge 4 manufactured by the first manufacturer. The initialization history information 431 may be information indicating that the lifespan information 440 has not been initialized. Alternatively, the initialization history information 431 may be information indicating that the life information 440 has been initialized by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus 1 . Alternatively, the initialization history information 431 may be information indicating that the life information 440 has been initialized by the image forming apparatus 1 .

(Drum cartridge information)
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the drum cartridge information 220 stored in the drum memory 22. As shown in FIG. The drum cartridge information 220 includes, for example, a drum ID 221, specification information 222, type information 223, life information 230, and initialization frequency information.

The drum cartridge information 220 of the drum cartridge 20 includes, as an example of life information 230, the number of printed sheets 224 and the number of rotations of the drum 225. The number of times of initialization information is information indicating the number of times of initialization of the life information 230 regarding the drum cartridge 20 . As with the toner cartridge 4 , the initialization count information is, for example, the recycling count 226 .

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

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

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

The type information 223 is information indicating the type of the drum cartridge 20 . As with the toner cartridge 4, the drum cartridge 20 can also be set to at least two types: "contract" and "commercial". The type information 223 indicates one of the types described above.

The number of printed sheets 224 is information indicating the number of sheets printed in the image forming apparatus 1 after the drum cartridge 20 is attached to the image forming apparatus 1 .

The number of rotations of the drum 225 is information indicating the number of rotations of the photosensitive drum 21 in the drum cartridge 20 caused by printing after the drum cartridge 20 is installed in the image forming apparatus 1 .

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

As with the toner cartridge 4, the number of times of recycling 226 may include the number of times of initialization according to instructions received by the controller 61 via the operation unit 64 or the display 65 functioning as a touch panel.

By reading the recycling count 226 from the drum memory 22 , the controller 61 can compare the recycling count 226 with the upper limit count indicated by the upper limit information 625 stored in the main body memory 62 .

The drum cartridge information 220 also includes manufacturer information 227 and initialization history information 228, for example.

The manufacturer information 227 is information indicating the manufacturer of the drum cartridge 20 . As with the toner cartridge 4, for example, when manufactured by a first manufacturer, the manufacturer information 227 indicates first manufacturer information indicating the first manufacturer. If manufactured by the second maker, the maker information 227 indicates second maker information indicating the second maker.

The initialization history information 228 is information indicating the history of initialization of life information regarding the drum cartridge 20 . The initialization history information 228 may be information stored in the drum cartridge 20 manufactured by the first manufacturer. Initialization history information 228 may be information indicating that lifespan information 230 has not been initialized. Alternatively, the initialization history information 228 may be information indicating that the life information 230 has been initialized by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus 1 . Alternatively, the initialization history information 228 may be information indicating that the life information 230 has been initialized by the image forming apparatus 1 .

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

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

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

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

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

In step S103 (first display process, first display step), the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display an initialization selection screen (first selection screen). The initialization selection screen includes a first warning for explaining to the user that the print quality cannot be guaranteed if the toner cartridge information 420, particularly the lifespan information 440, is initialized. Further, the initialization selection screen includes a second UI component for allowing the user to select whether or not to initialize toner cartridge information 420 including life information 440 . As an example, the second UI component includes a button corresponding to "initialize" which means that the user wishes to initialize the lifespan information 440, and a button corresponding to "initialize" which means that the user does not wish to initialize the lifespan information 440. It consists of a button corresponding to "do not initialize". The second UI component is configured so that the user can select any one of the buttons described above. User selection operations may be implemented via either hardware buttons or software buttons.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Note that steps S105 to S107 are omitted for toner cartridges 4 whose capacities are fixed and cannot be changed each time they are recycled.

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

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

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

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

Note that steps S108 to S110 are omitted for toner cartridges 4 whose colors are fixed and cannot be changed at each recycling.

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

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

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

In step S113 (initialization process, initialization step), the controller 61 initializes the toner cartridge information 420 stored in the toner memory 42 . The initialization process for initializing the toner cartridge information 420 may include, for example, setting the life information 440 (eg, the number of printed sheets 426 and the number of rotations of the developing roller 427) to zero. Further, the initialization process may include rewriting the life information 440 (for example, the toner remaining amount 428) to an initial value (specifically, the FULL value of the selected capacity).

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

At step S114, the controller 61 determines whether an error has been detected during the initialization process at step S113. If no error is detected, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge information 420 has been successfully initialized, proceeds to NO in S114, and ends the series of processes. After the initialization is successful, the controller 61 may cause the display 65 to display an initialization success screen for notifying the user of the success of the initialization. On the other hand, if an error is detected, the controller 61 determines that the initialization of the toner cartridge information 420 has failed, and advances the process from YES in S114 to S115.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In step S303, the controller 61 authenticates the toner cartridge 4. A method for authenticating the toner cartridge 4 is not particularly limited. For example, when the model number of the toner cartridge 4 corresponds to the model number of the image forming apparatus 1, the controller 61 may determine that the toner cartridge 4 has been successfully authenticated. On the other hand, if the model number of the toner cartridge 4 does not correspond to the model number of the image forming apparatus 1, the controller 61 may determine that the authentication of the toner cartridge 4 has failed.

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

In step S304, the controller 61 reads the specification information 424 from the toner memory 42.

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

In step S306, the controller 61 reads the type information 425 from the toner memory 42.

In step S307, the controller 61 determines whether the read type information 425 indicates the type "contract" or the type "marketing". If the type information 425 indicates the type "contract", the controller 61 advances the process from YES in S307 to S308. If the type information 425 indicates "marketed", the controller 61 advances the process from NO in S307 to S312.

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

As an example, the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display an initialization selection screen (third selection screen) regarding the contracted cartridge. The initialization selection screen includes a third warning for explaining to the user that when the toner cartridge information 420 of the contracted cartridge, especially the lifespan information 440, is initialized, the contracted cartridge will be recognized as a commercially available cartridge. Further, the initialization selection screen includes a second UI component for allowing the user to select whether or not to initialize toner cartridge information 420 including life information 440 . As described above, the second UI component includes a button corresponding to "initialize", which means that the user wishes to initialize the life information 440, and a button that means that the user does not wish to initialize the life information 440. It consists of a button corresponding to "do not initialize". The second UI component is configured so that the user can select any one of the buttons described above. User selection operations may be implemented via either hardware buttons or software buttons.

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

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

At step S312, the controller 61 reads the manufacturer information 430 from the toner memory 42.

In step S313, the controller 61 determines, based on the read manufacturer information 430, which of the upper limit counts included in the upper limit information 625 stored in the main body memory 62 is to be used. The detailed processing flow of step S312 will be described later in detail with reference to another drawing.

In step S309, the controller 61 reads out the recycling count 429 from the toner memory 42.

In step S310, the controller 61 compares the read recycling count 429 (initialization count) with the upper limit count determined in step S312. That is, the controller 61 checks whether or not the number of recycling times 429 has reached the upper limit number of times determined in step S312. In other words, the controller 61 executes the second determination process to determine whether the number of recycling times 429 is smaller than the upper limit number of times determined in step S312. Step S310 is an example of a second determination step in which the image forming apparatus 1 executes the second determination process.

If the number of recycling times 429 is equal to or greater than the upper limit number of times, the controller 61 proceeds from YES in S310 to S302. That is, it is prohibited to initialize the toner cartridge information 420 by exceeding the upper limit number of recycles. On the other hand, if the number of recycling times 429 is less than the upper limit number of times, the controller 61 advances the process from NO in S310 to S311.

In step S311, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge 4 satisfies the requirements for recycling, and executes permission processing for permitting initialization of the toner cartridge information 420. Step S311 is an example of a permission step in which the image forming apparatus 1 executes permission processing.

(Processing for determining the upper limit number of times)
A determination method for determining the upper limit number of times will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for determining the upper limit number of times, corresponding to S313 shown in FIG.

In step S701, the controller 61 executes first determination processing for determining the manufacturer of the toner cartridge 4 based on the manufacturer information 430 read in S312 of FIG. Step S701 is an example of a first determination step in which the image forming apparatus 1 executes the first determination process. As shown in FIG. 9, the controller 61 executes the processes of steps S312 and S313 when the type information 425 is information indicating "marketed". That is, when the type information 425 is information indicating "marketed", the controller 61 executes the first determination process shown in step S701. Accordingly, the controller 61 can determine the upper limit number of times only when the toner cartridge 4 can be handled as a commercially available cartridge.

In this embodiment, the controller 61 determines whether the manufacturer information 430 is the first manufacturer information. When the controller 61 determines that the manufacturer information 430 is not the first manufacturer information, the controller 61 advances the process from NO in step S701 to step S702.

At step S702, the controller 61 determines that the manufacturer information 430 is the second manufacturer information. That is, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge 4 attached to the main body housing 10 is a cartridge (another cartridge) other than the genuine cartridge, the genuine regenerated cartridge, and the third-party regenerated cartridge. Therefore, in step S703, the controller 61 reads the fourth count 625S stored in the main body memory 62. FIG. That is, the controller 61 determines the fourth number of times 625S as the upper limit number of times used in step S310 shown in FIG. After the process of step S703, the controller 61 executes the process of step S309 shown in FIG.

On the other hand, if the controller 61 determines that the manufacturer information 430 is the first manufacturer information, the controller 61 proceeds from YES in step S702 to step S704. In step S704, the controller 61 reads the initialization history information 431 stored in the toner memory 42. FIG. The controller 61 determines the upper limit number of times to be used in step S310 shown in FIG. 9 based on the read initialization history information 431 . Therefore, the controller 61 can determine the upper limit number of times according to the history of initialization of the toner cartridge 4 .

In step S705, the controller 61 determines what kind of information the read initialization history information 431 is. Thereby, the controller 61 can determine the upper limit number of times according to the information indicated by the initialization history information 431 .

When the controller 61 determines that the read initialization history information 431 indicates that the lifespan information 440 has not been initialized, the process proceeds from step S705 to step S706. In step S706, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge 4 attached to the main housing 10 is a genuine cartridge. Therefore, in step S707, the controller 61 reads the first count 625P stored in the main body memory 62. FIG. That is, the controller 61 determines the first number of times 625P as the upper limit number of times used in step S310 shown in FIG.

When the controller 61 determines that the read initialization history information 431 indicates that the life information 440 has been initialized by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus 1, the process proceeds from step S705 to step S708. In step S708, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge 4 attached to the main housing 10 is a genuine regenerated cartridge. Therefore, in step S709, the controller 61 reads the second count 625Q stored in the main body memory 62. FIG. That is, the controller 61 determines the second number of times 625Q as the upper limit number of times used in step S310 shown in FIG.

When the controller 61 determines that the read initialization history information 431 indicates that the life information 440 has been initialized by the image forming apparatus 1, the process proceeds from step S705 to step S710. In step S710, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge 4 attached to the main housing 10 is a third-party remanufactured cartridge. Therefore, in step S711, the controller 61 reads the third number of times 625R stored in the main body memory 62. FIG. That is, the controller 61 determines the third number of times 625R as the upper limit number of times used in step S310 shown in FIG.

After the processing of steps S707, S709 and S711, the controller 61 executes the processing of step S309 shown in FIG.

It should be noted that the controller 61 can read the first manufacturer information as the manufacturer information 430 from the toner memory 42 through YES in step S308 shown in FIG. can't When the controller 61 reads the first manufacturer information as the manufacturer information 430 and cannot read the initialization history information 431, the controller 61 may determine the first number of times 625P as the upper limit number of times.

As described above, in steps S703, S707, S709 and S711, the controller 61 executes determination processing for determining the upper limit number of times according to the manufacturer of the toner cartridge 4 determined in step S701. Steps S703, S707, S709, and S711 are examples of determination steps in which the image forming apparatus 1 executes determination processing. By executing the determination process, the controller 61 can limit the number of times the life information 440 stored in the toner memory 42 is reset. Further, in the present embodiment, the controller 61 determines the upper limit number of times depending on whether it is the first manufacturer information or the second manufacturer information. Therefore, the controller 61 can determine the upper limit number of times according to whether the manufacturer of the toner memory 42 is the first manufacturer or the second manufacturer.

In step S310 shown in FIG. 9, if the number of recycling times 429 is less than the upper limit number of times determined in the determination process, the controller 61 permits initialization of the lifespan information 440 in step S311. In this embodiment, as described above, the fourth number 625S is less than any of the first number 625P, the second number 625Q and the third number 625R. Therefore, when the toner cartridge 4 is any other cartridge, compared to when the toner cartridge 4 is a genuine cartridge, a genuine regenerated cartridge, or a third-party regenerated cartridge, the controller 61 sets the number of recycling times 429 smaller and the life information 440 of the toner cartridge 440 smaller. Initialization can be prohibited.

Genuine cartridges, genuine recycled cartridges, and third-party recycled cartridges are manufactured or recycled by the first manufacturer that manufactures the image forming apparatus 1 . Alternatively, genuine cartridges, genuine regenerated cartridges, and third-party regenerated cartridges are recycled by manufacturers who are permitted to recycle cartridges manufactured by the first manufacturer. Other cartridges, on the other hand, are manufactured or recycled by a second manufacturer that is different from the first manufacturer. Therefore, the parts and toner of other cartridges may be inferior in quality to the parts and toner of genuine cartridges, genuine regenerated cartridges and third-party regenerated cartridges. Further, as the number of recycling times 429 increases, the quality of the parts of the toner cartridge 4 and the toner deteriorates.

By setting the fourth number of times 625S smaller than the first number of times 625P, the second number of times 625Q and the third number of times 625R, the controller 61 prohibits the initialization of the life information 440 with a smaller number of recycles 429, thereby improving the print quality. can reduce the risk of declining Also, the risk of the image forming apparatus 1 malfunctioning due to toner leakage can be reduced.

Also, as described above, the second number of times 625Q is smaller than the first number of times 625P. Therefore, when the toner cartridge 4 is a genuine recycled cartridge, the controller 61 can prohibit the initialization of the life information 440 with a smaller number of recycling times 429 than when the toner cartridge 4 is a genuine cartridge.

As the number of recycling times 429 increases, the quality of the parts of the toner cartridge 4 and the toner deteriorate. By setting the second number of times 625Q to be smaller than the first number of times 625P so that the controller 61 prohibits the initialization of the life information 440 at a smaller number of recycles 429, the risk of print quality deterioration can be reduced. Also, the risk of the image forming apparatus 1 malfunctioning due to toner leakage can be reduced.

Also, as described above, the third number of times 625R is smaller than the second number of times 625Q. Therefore, when the toner cartridge 4 is a third-party remanufactured cartridge, the controller 61 can prohibit initialization of the life information 440 with a smaller number of recycles 429 than when the toner cartridge 4 is a genuine remanufactured cartridge.

Genuine cartridges are replaced with parts or filled with toner by the first manufacturer, while third-party remanufactured cartridges are replaced with parts or filled with toner by a manufacturer authorized to recycle the cartridges manufactured by the first manufacturer. is filled. Therefore, the parts and toner of the third-party remanufactured cartridge may be inferior in quality to the parts and toner of the genuine remanufactured cartridge. Further, as the number of recycling times 429 increases, the quality of the parts of the toner cartridge 4 and the toner deteriorates.

By setting the third number of times 625R to be smaller than the second number of times 625Q and prohibiting the initialization of the life information 440 with the smaller number of recycles 429 by the controller 61, the risk of print quality deterioration can be reduced. Also, the risk of the image forming apparatus 1 malfunctioning due to toner leakage can be reduced.

Depending on the flow of toner cartridges 4 in the market, whether the toner cartridge 4 is a genuine cartridge, a genuine regenerated cartridge, or a third-party regenerated cartridge may be changed. For example, when a genuine cartridge is replaced with parts or filled with toner by a first manufacturer, the genuine cartridge becomes a genuine recycled cartridge. Also, for example, if genuine cartridges or genuine regenerated cartridges are replaced with parts or filled with toner by a manufacturer that is permitted to recycle the cartridges manufactured by the first manufacturer, the genuine cartridges or genuine regenerated cartridges are It becomes a third-party recycled cartridge. Further, for example, if a third-party recycled cartridge manufactured by a first manufacturer is replaced with parts or filled with toner by the first manufacturer, the third-party recycled cartridge becomes a genuine recycled cartridge. The life information 440 of the genuine regenerated cartridge is initialized by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus 1, for example. The third-party recycled cartridge life information 440 is initialized by the image forming apparatus 1, for example.

In this embodiment, initialization history information 431 is stored in the toner memory 42 . Therefore, even if the state of the toner cartridge 4 changes due to the flow of toner cartridges 4 in the market, the controller 61 can determine the upper limit number of times according to the state of the toner cartridge 4 .

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

In step S401 (initialization process, initialization step), the controller 61 initializes the number of printed sheets 426 stored in the toner memory 42 . Specifically, the controller 61 sets the number of printed sheets 426 counted up to the predetermined number of sheets to zero. When the drum memory 22 is to be initialized, the controller 61 sets the number of prints 224 stored in the drum memory 22 to zero.

In step S402 (initialization process, initialization step), the controller 61 initializes the developing roller rotation speed 427 stored in the toner memory 42. Specifically, the controller 61 sets the number of rotations 427 of the developing roller counted up to a predetermined number of rotations to zero. When the object to be initialized is the drum memory 22, the controller 61 sets the drum rotation number 225 stored in the drum memory 22 to zero.

In step S403 (initialization process, initialization step), the controller 61 initializes the remaining amount of toner 428 stored in the toner memory 42 . Specifically, the controller 61 restores the remaining toner amount 428, whose value has been decreased as the toner is consumed, to the initial value. That is, the controller 61 restores the remaining toner amount 428 to the FULL value (value indicating the capacity of the cartridge) selected in step S106 of FIG. The FULL value corresponding to each capacity may be stored in advance in main body memory 62 or may be stored in advance in toner memory 42 .

In step S404, the controller 61 changes the capacity information 422 stored in the toner memory 42. Specifically, the controller 61 rewrites the capacity information 422 so as to indicate the capacity selected in step S106 of FIG.

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

It should be noted that when the object to be initialized is the drum memory 22, S403 to S405 are omitted.

In step S406 (change processing, change step), the controller 61 changes the type information 425 stored in the toner memory . Specifically, the controller 61 changes the type information 425 from "contract" to "market" so that the toner cartridge 4 is recognized as a commercial cartridge instead of a contract cartridge after recycling. When the target of initialization is the drum memory 22 , the controller 61 changes the type information 223 stored in the drum memory 22 .

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

In step S410, the controller 61 executes update processing for updating the initialization history information 431 stored in the toner memory 42. Step S410 is an example of an update step in which the image forming apparatus 1 executes update processing. The controller 61 updates the initialization history information 228 when the initialization target is the drum memory 22 . Thereby, the controller 61 can determine the upper limit number of times using the latest

initialization history information

431 or 228 when the

life information

440 or 230 is initialized next time.

In step S410, the controller 61 updates the

initialization history information

431 or 228 according to instructions received via the operation unit 64 or the display 65 functioning as a touch panel. The instructions received by the controller 61 are, for example, given by a user or an operator of a manufacturer authorized to recycle cartridges manufactured by the first manufacturer. In step S<b>410 , the controller 61 updates the

initialization history information

431 or 228 to indicate that the

life information

440 or 230 has been initialized by the image forming apparatus 1 .

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

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

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

<Processing flow of the phase of using recycled products>
FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing executed by the image forming apparatus 1 in the recycle item use phase. A series of processes shown in FIG. 11 are executed by the controller 61 . As an example, a case of using a recycled toner cartridge 4 will be described below. When the controller 61 detects that the power is turned on and that the cover 11 is closed, or detects that the cover 11 changes from the open state to the closed state, , the processing shown in FIG. 11 is executed.

In step S501 (reading process, reading step), the controller 61 reads the toner cartridge information 420 from the toner memory 42 of the toner cartridge 4 electrically connected via the connector 102 . The detailed processing flow of step S501 will be described later in detail with reference to another drawing.

At step S502 (detection process, detection step), the controller 61 determines whether or not the number of recycles 429 read at S501 is greater than zero. When the number of recycling times 429 is greater than zero, for example, when it is one or more times, the controller 61 detects that the toner cartridge 4 attached to the image forming apparatus 1 is a recycled cartridge. Then, the controller 61 advances the process from YES in S502 to S503. If the number of recycling times 429 is less than one, for example, zero or less, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge 4 attached to the image forming apparatus 1 is not a recycle cartridge, and proceeds from NO in S502 to S506. Proceed with processing.

In step S503 (second display process, second display step), the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display a usage selection screen (second selection screen). The usage selection screen includes a second warning for explaining to the user that the print quality cannot be guaranteed if the recycled cartridge is used as a consumable item. Further, the usage selection screen includes a third UI component for allowing the user to select whether or not to use the recycled cartridge for printing. As an example, the third UI component corresponds to a button corresponding to "use", which means that the user wants to use the recycled cartridge, and "do not use", which means that the user does not want to use the recycled cartridge. It consists of a button to The third UI component is configured so that the user can select any one of the buttons described above. User selection operations may be implemented via either hardware buttons or software buttons.

In step S504, the controller 61 determines which button of the third UI parts has been selected. When the controller 61 determines that the "use" button has been selected, the process advances from YES in S504 to S505. If the controller 61 determines that the "do not use" button has been selected, the process advances from NO in S504 to S507.

The user's selection of the "use" button means that the user agrees to the content of the second warning and wishes to print using the recycled cartridge. In this embodiment, the controller 61 permits printing using the toner cartridge 4 in step S504 (permitting process, permitting step) when the user agrees to the content of the second warning.

In step S505 (storage processing, storage step), the controller 61 stores usage history information 624 indicating that the toner cartridge 4, which is a recycled cartridge, has been used in the image forming apparatus 1 in the main body memory 62. If usage history information 624 has already been stored in main body memory 62 , controller 61 may update usage history information 624 .

In step S506, the controller 61 activates each section of the printing mechanism of the image forming apparatus 1 to transition the image forming apparatus 1 to a state in which printing can be immediately executed at any time.

In step S507, the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display an error screen. The error screen displayed in S507 may indicate the reason for the error, how to resolve the error, and the like. For example, the error screen may include, as the reason for the error, a message to the effect that a recycle cartridge that the user has not approved for use is installed. As an example, it is assumed that the above error can be resolved by turning the power off and then back on, or by opening and closing the cover 11 again. The error screen may contain a message explaining how to fix the error described above.

Each process of steps S502 to S505 and S507 may be executed each time the image forming apparatus 1 is powered on or each time the opening/closing of the cover 11 is detected.

In another example, each process of steps S502 to S505 and S507 may be performed only once when the recycle cartridge is first installed. After that, each process of steps S502 to S505 and S507 may be omitted as appropriate while the recycle cartridge described above continues to be attached without being removed. For example, the controller 61 can refer to the usage history information 624 stored in the main body memory 62 to determine whether or not the loaded recycle cartridge is a recycle cartridge that has already been approved by the user. can. When the toner ID of the installed recycle cartridge is included in the usage history information 624, the controller 61 can determine that this recycle cartridge has already been approved by the user. Then, the controller 61 can omit the processes of steps S502 to S505 and S507 for the recycle cartridge described above.

(Processing for reading cartridge information)
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for reading cartridge information, corresponding to S501 shown in FIG.

In step S601 (reading process, reading step), the controller 61 reads out the recycling count 429 from the toner memory 42 . If the recycle cartridge is the drum cartridge 20 , the controller 61 reads the recycle count 226 from the drum memory 22 .

In step S602, the controller 61 reads the number of printed sheets 426 from the toner memory 42. If the recycle cartridge is the drum cartridge 20 , the controller 61 reads the number of printed sheets 224 from the drum memory 22 .

In step S603, the controller 61 reads out the developing roller rotation speed 427 from the toner memory 42. If the recycle cartridge is the drum cartridge 20 , the controller 61 reads the drum rotation speed 225 from the drum memory 22 .

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

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

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

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

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

The ink ID is identification information of the ink cartridge, and is information included in the ink cartridge information in place of the toner ID 421 of the first embodiment. The remaining amount of ink is information indicating the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge, and is included in the ink cartridge information in place of the remaining amount of toner 428 of the first embodiment. The capacity information, the color information, the specification information, the type information, the number of prints, and the number of times of recycling are information corresponding to the information of the same names in the toner cartridge information 420 of the first embodiment, and "toner" in the toner cartridge information 420 is "Ink" replaces "toner cartridge" with "ink cartridge".

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 image forming apparatus, 4 toner cartridge (consumables), 10 main housing, 20 drum cartridge (consumables), 22 drum memory (consumables memory), 42 toner memory (consumables memory), 61 controller, 62 main memory , 223 Type information, 226 Recycle count (initialization count information), 227 Manufacturer information, 228 Initialization history information, 230 Life information, 425 Type information, 429 Recycle count (initialization count information), 430 Manufacturer information, 431 Initialization History information, 440 life information, 625 upper limit information (number of times information)

Claims

An image forming apparatus,
comprising a body housing in which consumables are mounted, a controller, and a body memory,
A consumables memory included in the consumables stores life information relating to the lifespan of the consumables and manufacturer information indicating a manufacturer of the consumables,
The body memory stores frequency information indicating the number of times of initialization that is set for the consumable item and the number of times of initialization that permits initialization of the life information,
The controller is
a first determination process for determining a manufacturer of the consumables based on the manufacturer information;
and determining processing for determining the number of resettable times according to the manufacturer of the consumable item determined by the first determination processing.
In the consumables memory, as the manufacturer information,
First manufacturer information indicating a first manufacturer that manufactures the image forming apparatus as a manufacturer of the consumables; and
second manufacturer information indicating a second manufacturer that is different from the first manufacturer as a manufacturer of the consumables;
is stored,
The controller is
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in said determination processing, said possible number of times of initialization is determined according to which of said first manufacturer information and said second manufacturer information.
Initialization history information indicating a history of initialization of the life information is stored in the consumables memory,
The controller is
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in said determination processing, said resettable number of times is determined based on said initialization history information.
The initialization history information stored in the consumables memory includes:
that the lifetime information has not been initialized;
that the life information has been initialized by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus; and
that the life information has been initialized by the image forming apparatus;
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein any one of:
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the allowable number of initializations represented by the number of times information of the second manufacturer is smaller than the number of times of initialization represented by the number of times information of the first manufacturer.
In the consumables memory, the consumables are contracted consumables that can be used in an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded, or an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded and an image forming apparatus with which a contract has not been concluded. It stores type information indicating whether it is a normal consumable that can be used with
The controller is
6. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said first determination process is executed when said type information indicates said normal consumable item.
The consumables memory stores initialization frequency information indicating the frequency of initialization of the life information,
The controller is
a second determination process for determining whether the number of times of initialization is smaller than the number of times that can be initialized;
a permitting process for permitting initialization of the lifespan information when it is determined by the second determination process that the number of times of initialization is smaller than the possible number of times of initialization determined by the determination process; 7. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
Initialization history information indicating a history of initialization of the life information is stored in the consumables memory,
The controller is
8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein update processing for updating said initialization history information is executed when initialization of said lifespan information is permitted in said permission processing.
A determination method for determining the number of times a consumable memory possessed by a consumable can be initialized, comprising:
With respect to the consumables attached to the main body housing of the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus determines the manufacturer of the consumables based on the manufacturer information stored in the consumables memory and indicating the manufacturer of the consumables. a first determination step to
According to the manufacturer of the consumable item determined by the first determination step, the number of times of initialization set for the consumable item indicated by the number of times information stored in the main body memory of the image forming apparatus, and a determining step of determining, by the image forming apparatus, an allowable number of initializations to allow initialization of life information relating to the life of the consumable item stored in a product memory.
In the consumables memory, as the manufacturer information,
First manufacturer information indicating a first manufacturer that manufactures the image forming apparatus as a manufacturer of the consumables; and
second manufacturer information indicating a second manufacturer that is different from the first manufacturer as a manufacturer of the consumables;
is stored,
10. The determination method according to claim 9, wherein in said determining step, said image forming apparatus determines said number of times of possible initialization depending on whether said first manufacturer information or said second manufacturer information.
Initialization history information indicating a history of initialization of the life information is stored in the consumables memory,
11. The determining method according to claim 9, wherein in said determining step, said image forming apparatus determines said number of times of possible initialization based on said initialization history information.
The initialization history information stored in the consumables memory includes:
that the lifetime information has not been initialized;
that the life information has been initialized by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus; and
that the life information has been initialized by the image forming apparatus;
12. The determination method according to claim 11, wherein any one of:
11. The determination method according to claim 10, wherein the number of possible initializations represented by the number of times information of the second manufacturer is smaller than the number of times of initialization represented by the number of times information of the first manufacturer.
In the consumables memory, the consumables are contracted consumables that can be used in an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded, or an image forming apparatus with which a contract has been concluded and an image forming apparatus with which a contract has not been concluded. It stores type information indicating whether it is a normal consumable that can be used with
14. The determination method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein said image forming apparatus executes said first determination step when said type information indicates said normal consumable item.
The consumables memory stores initialization frequency information indicating the frequency of initialization of the life information,
a second determination step in which the image forming apparatus determines whether the number of times of initialization is smaller than the number of times that can be initialized;
a permission step of allowing the image forming apparatus to initialize the lifespan information when the second determination step determines that the number of times of initialization is less than the number of times of initialization determined in the determination step; 15. A method of determining according to any one of claims 9 to 14, comprising:
Initialization history information indicating a history of initialization of the life information is stored in the consumables memory,
16. The determination method according to claim 15, further comprising an update step of updating said initialization history information by said image forming apparatus when said permission step permits initialization of said lifespan information.