WO2023139877A1 - 画像形成システム、方法、画像形成装置、及びサーバ装置 - Google Patents

画像形成システム、方法、画像形成装置、及びサーバ装置 Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2023139877A1
WO2023139877A1 PCT/JP2022/040368 JP2022040368W WO2023139877A1 WO 2023139877 A1 WO2023139877 A1 WO 2023139877A1 JP 2022040368 W JP2022040368 W JP 2022040368W WO 2023139877 A1 WO2023139877 A1 WO 2023139877A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
image forming
forming apparatus
user
image
code
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/JP2022/040368
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Japanese (ja)
Inventor
晋平 石川
希彦 平島
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Canon Inc
Original Assignee
Canon Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Canon Inc filed Critical Canon Inc
Publication of WO2023139877A1 publication Critical patent/WO2023139877A1/ja
Priority to US18/767,549 priority Critical patent/US20240362447A1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
    • G06K15/00—Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data, e.g. computer output printers
    • G06K15/40—Details not directly involved in printing, e.g. machine management, management of the arrangement as a whole or of its constitutive parts
    • G06K15/407—Managing marking material, e.g. checking available colours
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J29/00—Details of, or accessories for, typewriters or selective printing mechanisms not otherwise provided for
    • B41J29/38—Drives, motors, controls or automatic cut-off devices for the entire printing mechanism
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
    • G03G15/06—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing
    • G03G15/08—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing using a solid developer, e.g. powder developer
    • G03G15/0822—Arrangements for preparing, mixing, supplying or dispensing developer
    • G03G15/0863—Arrangements for preparing, mixing, supplying or dispensing developer provided with identifying means or means for storing process- or use parameters, e.g. an electronic memory
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
    • G03G15/06—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing
    • G03G15/08—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing using a solid developer, e.g. powder developer
    • G03G15/0822—Arrangements for preparing, mixing, supplying or dispensing developer
    • G03G15/0865—Arrangements for supplying new developer
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
    • G03G15/50—Machine control of apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern, e.g. regulating differents parts of the machine, multimode copiers, microprocessor control
    • G03G15/5016—User-machine interface; Display panels; Control console
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
    • G03G15/50—Machine control of apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern, e.g. regulating differents parts of the machine, multimode copiers, microprocessor control
    • G03G15/5075—Remote control machines, e.g. by a host
    • G03G15/5091—Remote control machines, e.g. by a host for user-identification or authorisation
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
    • G03G15/55—Self-diagnostics; Malfunction or lifetime display
    • G03G15/553—Monitoring or warning means for exhaustion or lifetime end of consumables, e.g. indication of insufficient copy sheet quantity for a job
    • G03G15/556—Monitoring or warning means for exhaustion or lifetime end of consumables, e.g. indication of insufficient copy sheet quantity for a job for toner consumption, e.g. pixel counting, toner coverage detection or toner density measurement
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G21/00—Arrangements not provided for by groups G03G13/00 - G03G19/00, e.g. cleaning, elimination of residual charge
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G21/00—Arrangements not provided for by groups G03G13/00 - G03G19/00, e.g. cleaning, elimination of residual charge
    • G03G21/16—Mechanical means for facilitating the maintenance of the apparatus, e.g. modular arrangements
    • G03G21/18—Mechanical means for facilitating the maintenance of the apparatus, e.g. modular arrangements using a processing cartridge, whereby the process cartridge comprises at least two image processing means in a single unit
    • G03G21/1875—Mechanical means for facilitating the maintenance of the apparatus, e.g. modular arrangements using a processing cartridge, whereby the process cartridge comprises at least two image processing means in a single unit provided with identifying means or means for storing process- or use parameters, e.g. lifetime of the cartridge
    • G03G21/1878—Electronically readable memory
    • G03G21/1892—Electronically readable memory for presence detection, authentication
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
    • G06K15/00—Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data, e.g. computer output printers
    • G06K15/02—Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data, e.g. computer output printers using printers
    • G06K15/14—Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data, e.g. computer output printers using printers by electrographic printing, e.g. xerography; by magnetographic printing

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to an image forming system, method, image forming apparatus, and server apparatus.
  • Image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers and facsimile receivers use developer such as toner or ink and consumable members such as photosensitive drums to form images on recording media.
  • consumables When these consumables are exhausted or have no remaining life, the user can continue to use the image forming apparatus by replacing the cartridges or supplying consumables from an external device to the image forming apparatus.
  • the replenishment system in which a device such as a replenishment pack is connected to the image forming apparatus only when replenishing, has the advantages of low cost and low environmental load.
  • Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200001 proposes a mechanism for connecting a cylindrical containing device containing toner to a printer and supplying toner from the containing device to the printer.
  • Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200001 discloses a technology in which data indicating the remaining amount of toner in the cartridge is stored in the memory of the toner cartridge, and when the data indicates that the remaining amount of toner is low, the user is prompted to place an order for the cartridge in a timely manner.
  • Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-100000 discloses a technique for enabling the supply of toner from a cartridge when the printer reads a random value from the memory of a cartridge inserted into the printer and authentication based on the random value is successful in a server device.
  • Patent Document 1 also performs authentication based on authentication data read from the memory of the containing device, but the authentication is limited to local authentication by a single printer.
  • Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-201003 discloses a technique of storing history information of image forming operations in a memory of a cartridge inserted into a printer and variably controlling the conditions of the image forming process based on the history information.
  • Patent Literature 1 only allows relatively simple device management based on information known to the image forming apparatus (for example, compatibility between the apparatus and a contained device).
  • information known to the image forming apparatus for example, compatibility between the apparatus and a contained device.
  • various information such as remaining amount data, random numbers, and operation history described in Patent Documents 2 to 4 are stored in the memory of the storage device, advanced control is possible, but the cost of the device increases, and the running cost borne by the user increases. Running costs would be minimized if the device had no memory and functions such as authentication and control of operating conditions were omitted.
  • the image may not be formed under the conditions suitable for the storage device or the supplied consumables, and the user may experience disadvantages such as deterioration in image quality.
  • the technology according to the present disclosure aims to eliminate or reduce at least one of the above-described inconveniences.
  • an image forming apparatus that exists in a user environment and forms an image on a recording medium using consumables in a storage device; a deterrent mechanism that is disposed in at least one of the storage device and the image forming apparatus that can deter supply of the consumables from the storage device to the image forming apparatus or insertion of the storage device into the image forming apparatus; a server device that exists in a remote environment and performs authentication of the contained device based on the code acquired by the acquisition unit; a first control unit that exists in the user environment and switches the suppression mechanism to a state in which the supply of the consumable material or the insertion of the contained device is possible when the authentication performed by the server device is successful; and a second controller for setting the image forming system.
  • a corresponding method, imaging device, and server device are also provided.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image forming system according to one embodiment
  • FIG. 1 is a first schematic perspective view showing an example of the appearance of an image forming apparatus according to a first configuration example
  • FIG. 2 is a second schematic perspective view showing an example of the appearance of the image forming apparatus according to the first configuration example
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of the internal physical configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first configuration example
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view for explaining an example of a configuration of a replenishment route according to a first configuration example
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining an example of the configuration of a storage unit and its surroundings according to a first configuration example
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image forming system according to one embodiment
  • FIG. 1 is a first schematic perspective view showing an example of the appearance of an image forming apparatus according to a first configuration example
  • FIG. 2 is a second
  • FIG. 2 is a first schematic perspective view for explaining an example of a schematic configuration of a replenishment pack according to a first configuration example
  • FIG. 4 is a second schematic perspective view for explaining an example of the schematic configuration of the replenishment pack according to the first configuration example
  • FIG. 11 is a first explanatory diagram for explaining opening and closing of the discharge tray according to the first configuration example
  • FIG. 7 is a second explanatory diagram for explaining opening and closing of the discharge tray according to the first configuration example
  • FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a supply pack is connected to a toner receiving portion
  • FIG. 4 is a first explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a restraining mechanism for locking the operation of the opening/closing mechanism
  • FIG. 5 is a second explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a restraining mechanism for locking the operation of the opening/closing mechanism;
  • FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the appearance of an image forming apparatus according to a second configuration example;
  • FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view showing how the front cover of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 10 is opened;
  • FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining an example of the operation of the suppression mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the second configuration example;
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a management server according to one embodiment;
  • FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a setting management table that holds setting data;
  • FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a further example of the configuration of a setting management table that holds setting data;
  • FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a further example of the configuration of a setting management table that holds setting data;
  • FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a further example of the configuration of a setting management table that holds setting data;
  • FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of database update at the time of device registration;
  • FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of updating a database when a device is delivered;
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user terminal according to one embodiment;
  • 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment;
  • FIG. 11 is the second half of the flowchart showing the first example of the flow of lock control processing executed by the image forming apparatus; FIG.
  • FIG. 11 is the second half of the flowchart showing the second example of the flow of lock control processing executed by the image forming apparatus
  • FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a message that can be displayed on the screen when setting data is reflected in the image forming apparatus
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image forming system 1 according to one embodiment.
  • the imaging system 1 includes user environments E1a and E1b and a remote environment E2.
  • An image forming apparatus 100a is installed in the user environment E1a.
  • user Ua possesses user terminal 400a and uses image forming apparatus 100a.
  • the image forming apparatus 100a and the user terminal 400a are connected to a local network N1a, which may be a LAN (Local Area Network), for example.
  • the local network N1a is connected to an external network N2, which may be for example the Internet or a VPN (Virtual Private Network).
  • the image forming apparatus 100a is a replenishment type image forming apparatus. That is, the image forming apparatus 100a forms an image on a recording medium using toner supplied from a device temporarily connected to the apparatus and stored inside the apparatus.
  • FIG. 1 conceptually depicts a user Ua holding a supply pack 200a. When the toner in the image forming apparatus 100a runs out, the user Ua connects the supply pack 200a to the image forming apparatus 100a and supplies toner from the supply pack 200a to the image forming apparatus 100a.
  • the supply pack 200a is a type of storage device that stores consumables for image formation.
  • An image forming apparatus 100b is installed in the user environment E1b.
  • user Ub possesses user terminal 400b and uses image forming apparatus 100b.
  • the image forming apparatus 100b and user terminal 400b are connected to a local network N1b, which may be a LAN, for example.
  • the local network N1b is connected to the external network N2.
  • the image forming apparatus 100b is an apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium using consumables stored in a detachable cartridge.
  • the cartridge 200b has already been inserted into the image forming apparatus 100b.
  • the user Ub removes the old cartridge 200b from the image forming apparatus 100b and inserts a new cartridge 200c into the image forming apparatus 100b.
  • Cartridges 200b and 200c are a type of storage device that stores consumables for image formation.
  • a management server 300 is installed in the remote environment E2.
  • Remote environment E2 is connected to local networks N1a and N1b via external network N2.
  • Each of the local networks N1a, N1b and the external network N2 may include any number of network devices of any kind, eg routers, switches, gateways, wireless access points and base stations.
  • the image forming apparatus 100 when there is no need to distinguish between the image forming apparatuses 100b and 100b, they are collectively referred to as the image forming apparatus 100 by omitting the alphabet at the end of the reference numeral.
  • the supply pack 200a and the cartridges 200b and 200c are collectively referred to as a storage device 200.
  • the image forming apparatuses 100a and 100b are electrophotographic printers (also referred to as laser printers) will be mainly described, but the technology according to the present disclosure can also be applied to other types of printers, such as inkjet printers.
  • the technology according to the present disclosure is widely applicable to image forming apparatuses in general, such as copiers, printers, facsimile receivers, and multifunction machines, regardless of whether they are monochrome or color.
  • the management server 300 is a server device for managing use of the housing device 200 in the image forming apparatus 100 .
  • the management server 300 may be a device for centrally managing the usage status of each image forming apparatus and storage device by a plurality of users.
  • the management server 300 may be implemented as an application server, database server, or cloud server using, for example, a high-performance general-purpose computer.
  • management server 300 may be provided by a single device, or may be provided by a plurality of physically separate devices cooperating with each other. Also, part of the database described as held by the management server 300 may be held by a device separate from the management server 300 (for example, another database server).
  • the user terminal 400 is a terminal device that provides a user with a user interface for supporting the device management function of the management server 300 .
  • the user terminal 400 may be, for example, a general-purpose terminal device such as a smart phone, mobile phone, PC (Personal Computer), or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).
  • Image forming apparatus 100 may also provide a user interface to the user.
  • each contained device 200 is assigned a unique code for uniquely identifying the contained device 200 .
  • FIG. 1 shows a code 201a attached to the supply pack 200a, a code 201b attached to the cartridge 200b, and a code 201c attached to the cartridge 200c (collectively referred to as code 201).
  • Code 201 may be referred to as, for example, a manufacturing number, serial number, or device identifier.
  • a code 201 is printed on the surface of each storage device 200 or on the package of each storage device 200 in a format that can be read manually by a user or optically by a user terminal 400 .
  • Optically readable formats may include formats such as, for example, one-dimensional barcodes or two-dimensional QR codes.
  • the code 201 read by the user or by the user terminal 400 can be transmitted to the management server 300 and used for device management, which will be described later.
  • FIG. 1 shows an example in which the image forming system 1 includes two user environments N1a and N1b and one remote environment E2, the configuration of the image forming system 1 is not limited to this example.
  • any number of user environments and remote environments may exist within the system, and any number of imaging devices may be installed in each user environment.
  • FIG. 1 the image forming apparatus 100a according to the first configuration example is a replenishment type monochrome laser printer.
  • the image forming apparatus 100b according to the second configuration example is a cartridge type color laser printer.
  • First configuration example> 2A and 2B are schematic perspective views showing an example of the appearance of the image forming apparatus 100a according to the first configuration example.
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of the internal physical configuration of the image forming apparatus 100a.
  • the image forming apparatus 100a forms an image on a recording medium based on input image data.
  • the recording medium here can include various media of different materials such as paper, plastic film, envelope, sheet, and cloth.
  • the height direction of the image forming apparatus 100a when the image forming apparatus 100a is installed on a horizontal surface is defined as the Z direction.
  • a direction orthogonal to the Z direction and parallel to the rotation axis direction (main scanning direction) of the photosensitive drum 44, which will be described later, is defined as the X direction.
  • a direction perpendicular to the X direction and the Z direction is defined as the Y direction.
  • the housing of the image forming apparatus 100a includes a front cover 20 (see FIG. 3), an exterior cover 21, a rear cover 22, and a discharge tray 82 (see FIG. 2A).
  • a handle 23 is provided on the rear cover 22 .
  • the front cover 20 is openable and closable on one side surface of the image forming apparatus 100a and protects a processing circuit 90, which will be described later.
  • the back cover 22 is arranged openable and closable on the other side surface of the image forming apparatus 100a. A user can open the back cover 22 by gripping the handle 23 of the back cover 22 to expose a part of the transport path along which the recording medium is transported, and perform maintenance work such as clearing a jam or exchanging the unit.
  • 2A shows a state in which the rear cover 22 is closed
  • FIG. 2B shows a state in which the rear cover 22 is opened.
  • the image forming apparatus 100 a includes a paper feed tray 25 , a feeding section 30 , an image forming section 40 , a fixing section 70 , a discharge roller pair 80 and a processing circuit 90 .
  • the feeding section 30 feeds the recording medium toward the image forming section 40 .
  • the image forming unit 40 forms an image on a recording medium using toner, which is a consumable material. Toner may be called developer, and an image formed using toner may be called a toner image or a developer image.
  • the fixing section 70 fixes the image formed by the image forming section 40 onto the recording medium.
  • a discharge roller pair 80 discharges the recording medium processed by the fixing section 70 to a discharge tray 82 .
  • the image forming section 40 has a process unit 41 , a scanner unit 42 and a transfer roller 43 .
  • the process unit 41 has a photosensitive drum 44 , a developing roller 45 , a cleaning unit 46 , a charging roller 47 and a reservoir 48 .
  • the process unit 41 may be fixed to the main body of the image forming apparatus 100a, or may be removable.
  • the photosensitive drum 44 is an image carrier, and has a photosensitive layer formed of an organic photoconductor on a drum-shaped base.
  • the photosensitive drum 44 is rotationally driven in the R1 direction in the figure by a motor.
  • the charging roller 47 is applied with a charging voltage by a high-voltage power supply, is pressed against the photosensitive drum 44 , and uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 44 .
  • the scanner unit 42 irradiates the photosensitive drum 44 with laser light according to the input image data to expose the surface of the photosensitive drum 44 . This exposure forms an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the input image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 44 .
  • the scanner unit 42 may irradiate the photosensitive drum 44 with light from an LED array instead of laser light.
  • the developing roller 45 is rotatably supported by the storage section 48 .
  • the storage unit 48 stores toner.
  • the reservoir 48 may further include a supply roller that applies the toner stored in the reservoir 48 to the surface of the developing roller 45 .
  • a developing voltage is applied to the developing roller 45 by a high-voltage power supply.
  • the feeding section 30 has a pickup roller 32, a separation roller pair 33, and a conveying roller pair .
  • the pickup roller 32 is positioned above the paper feed tray 25, picks up one recording medium (hereinafter simply referred to as a sheet) from a bundle of recording media P stacked on the paper feed tray 25, and sends it out toward the separation roller pair 33.
  • the separation roller pair 33 separates the sheet from the bundle and conveys it toward the conveying roller pair 34 .
  • the conveying roller pair 34 conveys the sheet toward the transfer nip between the transfer roller 43 and the photosensitive drum 44 .
  • the transfer roller 43 is applied with a transfer voltage from a high-voltage power supply, and transfers the toner image developed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 44 to the sheet conveyed to the transfer nip.
  • the sheet onto which the toner image has been transferred is transported along the transport path and reaches the fixing section 70 .
  • the fixing section 70 has a heating roller 71 , a pressure roller 72 and a fixing heater 73 . Heat roller 71 and pressure roller 72 heat and press the sheet as it passes through the nip between these rollers. This causes the toner particles to melt and then stick together, thereby fixing the toner image to the sheet.
  • the sheet that has passed through the fixing section 70 is discharged from the discharge port 81 to the discharge tray 82 by the discharge roller pair 80 .
  • the cleaning unit 46 is arranged near the photosensitive drum 44 . The cleaning unit 46 cleans the photosensitive drum 44 by scraping off toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 44 .
  • the processing circuit 90 has electronic component groups 91, 92, 93, and 94 arranged on a substrate.
  • electronic component 91 may be a processor
  • electronic component 92 may be a program memory
  • electronic component 93 may be an input/output device
  • electronic component 94 may be a non-volatile data memory.
  • the input/output device may include a communication interface.
  • the scanner unit 42 performs an exposure operation of exposing the photosensitive drum 44 to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 44 .
  • the developing roller 45 performs a developing operation of supplying toner to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 44 to develop the toner image.
  • the transfer roller 43 performs a transfer operation of transferring the toner image onto the recording medium.
  • the fixing section 70 heats the toner image on the recording medium to perform a fixing operation to fix the toner image on the recording medium.
  • the processing circuit 90 operates as a controller for controlling such image forming operations.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view for explaining an example of the configuration of the supply route of the image forming apparatus 100a.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining an example of the configuration of the storage section 48 and its surroundings.
  • storage unit 48 forms part of toner supply unit 101 .
  • the toner supply section 101 has a storage section 48 and a toner receiving section 110 .
  • the toner receiving portion 110 includes a cylindrical member 112 , a main body shutter 116 and a connecting member 120 .
  • the toner receiving portion 110 further includes a ring member 111 which will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7A to 9B, but the ring member 111 is omitted in FIG. 4 for the purpose of showing other components.
  • the internal space of the cylindrical member 112 communicates with the reservoir 48 via the side opening 115 and the hollow connecting member 120 .
  • the main body shutter 116 serves as an opening/closing mechanism capable of opening and closing a toner replenishment path from a replenishment pack 200a to the storage section 48, which will be described later.
  • a protrusion 117 is formed on the inner surface of the body shutter 116 .
  • FIG. 5 shows how the replenishment pack 200a is connected to the toner receiving section 110, together with a cross section of the configuration of the storage section 48 and its surroundings.
  • the supply pack 200a is temporarily connected to the image forming apparatus 100a when supplying toner as a consumable material to the image forming apparatus 100a.
  • the replenishment path extending from the replenishment pack 200a to the storage section 48 through the connection member 120 is opened. With the supply path open, the toner discharged from the supply pack 200a is supplied to the storage section 48 through the supply path.
  • a stirring member 60 having a shaft 60a arranged along the X direction and blades 60b rotating around the shaft 60a is provided.
  • the blade 60b is driven by a motor 65 to rotate.
  • the toner in the storage section 48 is agitated by the rotation of the vanes 60 b and reaches the developing roller 45 .
  • the stirring member 60 may have a spiral member instead of the blades 60b.
  • the stirring member 60 may have a role of uniforming the toner in the storage section 48 by scraping the toner from the developing roller 45 and circulating the toner in the storage section 48 .
  • a remaining amount detection unit 61 is further provided in the storage unit 48 .
  • the remaining amount detection unit 61 is a sensor for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the storage unit 48 .
  • the remaining amount detection unit 61 has a light emitter 61a and a light receiver 61b.
  • Light emitter 61a emits light that travels inside reservoir 48 along optical axis Q1.
  • the light receiver 61b is arranged at a position facing the light emitter 61a and receives light emitted from the light emitter 61a. Note that when light is guided by, for example, a light guide tube, the light receiver 61b does not necessarily have to be arranged at a position facing the light emitter 61a.
  • the light emitter 61a may be, for example, a light emitting element such as an LED, or may be a halogen lamp, a fluorescent lamp, or the like.
  • the light receiver 61b may be, for example, a phototransistor, photodiode or avalanche photodiode.
  • the light receiver 61b outputs a light detection signal having a signal level dependent on the amount of light received.
  • the light detection signal is input to the processing circuit 90 after being analog-to-digital converted, for example.
  • Processing circuitry 90 may estimate the amount of toner remaining, for example, based on the percentage of time light from emitter 61a is blocked (by toner) for a given time window while the toner is being agitated. Note that the remaining amount of toner is not limited to the configuration example of the remaining amount detection unit 61 described above, and the remaining amount of toner may be detected or estimated by any method. For example, the amount of toner remaining may be estimated by subtracting the cumulative amount used after that from the total amount at the time of the previous toner replenishment. Processing circuitry 90 may derive toner usage based on statistics about imaging operations, such as the number of sheets of recording media consumed by printing or pixel counts.
  • Configuration of supply pack> 6A and 6B show an example of a schematic configuration of the replenishment pack 200a.
  • the replenishment pack 200 a includes a storage section 211 , a nozzle 212 and a pack shutter 214 .
  • Containment portion 211 may be configured, for example, as a hollow tube or pouch to contain toner.
  • the container 211 is filled with toner in advance.
  • the housing part 211 may be, for example, an easily deformable plastic bag.
  • the container 211 is not limited to such an example, and may be made of any material such as resin, paper, or vinyl, and may have any shape such as a bottle, cylinder, or box.
  • the nozzle 212 is an interface portion with the toner receiving section 110 of the image forming apparatus 100a.
  • the inside of the nozzle 212 communicates with the inside of the housing portion 211 .
  • a side surface of the nozzle 212 is formed with an opening 213 for discharging toner to the outside.
  • the opening 213 is normally closed by the pack shutter 214 .
  • the pack shutter 214 is a cylindrical member concentric with the nozzle 212 and arranged radially outside the nozzle 212 .
  • the pack shutter 214 has an opening 214c.
  • a portion of the edge forming the opening 214c constitutes a drive transmission surface 214b.
  • a sealing member 231 that normally blocks the opening 213 of the nozzle 212 may be further disposed on the inner peripheral surface of the pack shutter 214 .
  • the sealing member 231 prevents toner from leaking out of the replenishment pack 200a when the toner is not being replenished.
  • the discharge tray 82 is configured to be openable and closable about an opening/closing axis provided in the housing along the X direction.
  • the discharge tray 82 is in a closed state, and the sheet discharged from the discharge port 81 is discharged onto the discharge tray 82 in this state.
  • the discharge tray 82 is in an open state, and in this state, the replenishment port 114 of the toner receiving portion 110 is exposed.
  • the discharge tray 82 also serves as a shielding member that shields the supply port 114 .
  • the user can connect the supply pack 200a to the toner receiver 110 by lifting and opening the discharge tray 82 as shown in FIG. 7B and inserting the nozzle 212 of the supply pack 200a into the exposed supply port 114 as shown on the left in FIG.
  • FIG. 8 shows an enlarged view of the replenishment pack 200a connected to the toner receiving portion 110.
  • a ring member 111 surrounding the supply port 114 is rotatably supported on the top surface of the cylindrical member 112 .
  • the ring member 111 has a lever 111b to be gripped by the user and a projecting portion 111d indicated by dotted lines in the figure.
  • the projecting portion 111 d engages with the drive transmission surface 214 b of the pack shutter 214 of the replenishment pack 200 a inserted into the toner receiving portion 110 .
  • the drive transmission surface 214b also engages with the protrusion 117 (see FIG. 4) of the main body shutter 116. As shown in FIG.
  • the force generated in the rotational direction is transmitted from the projection 111d to the drive transmission surface 214b of the pack shutter 214, and further transmitted from the drive transmission surface 214b to the projection 117 of the main body shutter 116.
  • the main body shutter 116 and the pack shutter 214 of the replenishment pack 200a are rotated in conjunction with the ring member 111, and the toner replenishment path can be opened after, for example, 90 degrees of rotation.
  • the toner stored in the storage portion 211 of the supply pack 200a is injected from the opening 213 of the nozzle 212 into the toner receiving portion 110, passes through the connecting member 120, and is supplied to the storage portion 48.
  • the rotation of the ring member 111 can be regulated by a regulating member (not shown) so that rotation exceeding a predetermined upper limit angle is not performed.
  • the toner replenishment path is opened by the rotational force generated by the user's operation of the lever 111b, but the replenishment path may be closed and opened without relying on the user's operation.
  • the image forming apparatus 100a may include a pack sensor that detects that the supply pack 200a is connected to the toner receiving portion 110, and a drive motor that generates driving force for rotating the ring member 111.
  • the processing circuit 90 may actuate the drive motor on the condition that the pack sensor detects that the supply pack 200a is connected to the toner receiving portion 110, and rotate the ring member 111 by the rotational force of the drive motor to open the supply path.
  • the opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the replenishment route is not limited to the shutter rotation mechanism described above. Instead of a rotating shutter, a linearly movable shutter may be employed, or a mechanism different from the shutter, such as a valve, may be employed.
  • the opening/closing mechanism may be provided in at least one of the storage device such as the supply pack 200a and the image forming apparatus. That is, the replenishment path from the storage device to the image forming apparatus may be always open on one side of the storage device and the image forming apparatus, and may be opened and closed only on the other side. Alternatively, the supply path may be opened and closed at both the storage device and the image forming apparatus, as in the example above. Further, a sensor for detecting the operation of the opening/closing mechanism by the user or detecting the state (open state or closed state) of the opening/closing mechanism may be additionally arranged.
  • the opening/closing mechanism described above is configured so that its operation can be suppressed (and the suppression can be released) by the suppression mechanism described in the next section.
  • a restraining mechanism may also be disposed on at least one of the containment device and the image forming apparatus.
  • a leakage prevention member such as a lid or a cap for preventing leakage of toner may be attached to the supply port 114 of the image forming apparatus 100a or the opening 213 of the supply pack 200a. Such a leak prevention member may be freely removable by the user at any time.
  • Toner Replenishment> The ring member 111 of the image forming apparatus 100a may normally be locked so as not to rotate even if the user applies force.
  • 9A and 9B are explanatory diagrams for explaining an example of a restraining mechanism for locking the rotation of the ring member 111.
  • FIG. 9A and 9B show how the toner receiving section 110 is viewed from the inside of the apparatus (in the Z direction) so that an example of the internal configuration of the toner receiving section 110 can be understood in more detail.
  • Toner receiving section 110 includes, for example, lock unit 130 .
  • the lock unit 130 has a rod-like lock member 132 whose one end is supported by a shaft 131 and which can rotate about the shaft 131 .
  • the ring member 111 has a protrusion 111k.
  • the tip 133 of the lock member 132 opposite to the shaft 131 is urged away from the lock unit 130 by the elastic force of a spring (not shown) in the lock unit 130, so that the tip 133 is positioned on the rotation orbit of the projection 111k of the ring member 111. Therefore, even if the user attempts to rotate the ring member 111 clockwise (in the direction of Rc in the figure), the tip 133 of the lock member 132 interferes with the projection 111k, the rotation of the ring member 111 is suppressed, and the opening/closing mechanism of the replenishment path is locked in the closed state (see FIG. 9A).
  • the lock unit 130 further has, for example, a solenoid (not shown) for rotating the lock member 132 in a direction opposite to the elastic force of the spring.
  • the solenoid is temporarily energized during a period in which toner is allowed to be replenished from the replenishment pack 200a to the image forming apparatus 100a, and its attractive force causes the lock member 132 to rotate.
  • the solenoid is energized and the lock member 132 rotates, the distal end 133 of the lock member 132 retreats from the rotation track of the projection 111k of the ring member 111 (see FIG. 9B).
  • the user can rotate the ring member 111 clockwise in the figure, that is, the opening/closing mechanism of the replenishment path is unlocked.
  • the locking and unlocking of such opening and closing mechanisms may be controlled by processing circuitry 90 .
  • the configuration of the restraining mechanism that locks and unlocks the opening/closing mechanism is not limited to the example described above, and may be any mechanical, electromagnetic, electrical, or software mechanism.
  • locking member 132 may be driven by a motor or other type of actuator rather than a solenoid. If an opening/closing mechanism is employed that operates under computer control without relying on user operation, locking and unlocking of the opening/closing mechanism may simply be implemented by program code.
  • an indicator 125 is arranged near the ring member 111 .
  • the indicator 125 indicates to the user whether the above-described opening/closing mechanism is in the locked state or the unlocked state.
  • the indicator 125 may be composed of, for example, an LED (Light-Emitting Diode) disposed within the housing and a window through which light from the LED is transmitted. The user can rotate the ring member 111 to open the supply path when the indicator 125 indicates that the opening/closing mechanism is in the unlocked state.
  • FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the appearance of an image forming apparatus 100b according to the second configuration example.
  • the housing of the image forming apparatus 100b includes an exterior cover 151 and a front cover 152, and a handle 153 is provided on the front cover 152.
  • the lower edge of the front cover 152 is hinged to the exterior cover 151 at both ends thereof. The user can open the front cover 152 by grasping the handle 153 and pulling it forward.
  • the front cover 152 is opened, for example, the insertion path of the cartridge 200b to the image forming apparatus 100b is opened.
  • a rear cover (not shown) is provided on the rear side of the housing of the image forming apparatus 100b opposite to the front cover 152 .
  • the back cover may also be openable, for example, the user can open the back cover to expose the transport path inside the housing and clear jams occurring on the transport path.
  • FIG. 11 shows a state where the front cover 152 of the image forming apparatus 100b is open and the insertion path of the cartridge 200b is opened. With the front cover 152 thus opened, the user can remove the old cartridge from the image forming apparatus 100b and insert a new cartridge into the image forming apparatus 100b.
  • the cartridge 200b includes process units 41Y, 41M, 41C, and 41K for each of the four color components. That is, the cartridge 200b is a process cartridge.
  • Each process unit of the process cartridge 200b can include, for example, a reservoir containing toner, as well as one or more of an image carrier, a charging member, and a developing member.
  • a sensor flag 155 is arranged at one end of the upper side of the front cover 152 .
  • An open/close sensor 156 is provided at a position on the housing side corresponding to the position of the sensor flag 155 when the front cover 152 is closed.
  • the open/close sensor 156 may be a photointerrupter that senses light that may be blocked by the sensor flag 155, and outputs a sensor signal indicating whether the front cover 152 is closed or open to the processing circuit 90 of the image forming apparatus 100b.
  • a pin receiving member 161 is arranged at the other end of the upper side of the front cover 152 of the image forming apparatus 100b.
  • a lock pin 162 is provided at a position on the housing side corresponding to the position of the pin receiving member 161 when the front cover 152 is closed.
  • the pin receiving member 161 and lock pin 162 constitute a lock unit 160 .
  • FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the front cover 152 viewed from the direction along the rotation axis, for explaining an example of the operation of the lock unit 160.
  • a pin receiving member 161 which moves with the front cover 152 , forms with the inner surface of the front cover 152 an open-ended cavity for receiving the locking pin 162 .
  • Lock pin 162 may be, for example, a rod-like member having a diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the cavity formed by pin receiving member 161 .
  • the side surface of the lock pin 162 on the front cover side is inclined so that the width of the cross section of the lock pin 162 along the YZ plane in the lateral direction gradually narrows toward the lower end.
  • the lock pin 162 normally protrudes in the D1 direction in the figure by the elastic force of a spring (not shown) or gravity.
  • a spring not shown
  • gravity When the front cover 152 is closed, the lock pin 162 is inserted into the pin receiving member 161 at this time, and the lock pin 162 prevents the front cover 152 from rotating even if the user pulls the front cover 152 in the Y direction. Therefore, the rotation of the front cover 152 is suppressed.
  • the pin receiving member 161 abuts on the lock pin 162 and pushes the inclined surface upward. Thereby, the pin receiving member 161 can pass the position of the lock pin 162 and the user can close the front cover 152 .
  • the lock unit 160 further has, for example, a solenoid (not shown) for retracting the lock pin 162 in the direction opposite to the D1 direction.
  • the solenoid is temporarily energized while cartridge insertion (or cartridge replacement) is permitted.
  • the lock pin 162 When the lock pin 162 is retracted by energizing the solenoid, the lock pin 162 does not prevent the rotation of the front cover 152, so that the user can freely open the front cover 152 and insert the cartridge into the image forming apparatus 100b.
  • the configuration of the deterring mechanism for deterring insertion of the cartridge is not limited to the above example.
  • a mechanism for blocking the insertion path of the cartridge may be adopted as the restraining mechanism.
  • the cartridge insertion path may be closed by a movable shutter or stopper.
  • Such a restraining mechanism may restrain movement of the cartridge in the direction of insertion while always allowing movement of the cartridge in the direction of extraction.
  • a movable member of the restraining mechanism eg, the locking pin, shutter or stopper discussed above
  • the restraining mechanism may be any mechanical, electromagnetic, electrical or software mechanism. If the cartridge is inserted and removed under computer control without relying on user operation, locking and unlocking of the restraining mechanism may be implemented simply by program code.
  • a locked state is a state in which the supply of consumables from the storage device to the image forming apparatus or the insertion of the storage device into the image forming apparatus is inhibited.
  • the image forming function of image forming apparatus 100b may be configured in the same manner as image forming apparatus 100a described above, except that the image forming section has a group of units for forming toner images of each of the four color components for color printing.
  • the four color components may be, for example, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C) and black (K).
  • the toner images of the four color components are not directly transferred from the four photosensitive drums to the sheet, for example, but are sequentially overlapped and primarily transferred from the four photosensitive drums to the intermediate transfer belt, and then collectively secondarily transferred from the intermediate transfer belt to the sheet.
  • the image forming apparatus 100b also includes processing circuitry 90 that may include a processor, volatile and nonvolatile memory, input/output devices, and communication interfaces. Processing circuitry 90 operates as a controller for controlling image forming operations, which may include one or more of charging, exposing, developing, transferring and fusing operations.
  • the cartridge 200b inserted into the image forming apparatus 100b may have a detection section for detecting the remaining amount of toner, similar to the remaining amount detection section 61 described with reference to FIG. Additionally or alternatively, the sensing portion of the cartridge 200b may sense indicators that affect the degree of member wear, such as the sensitivity or rotational distance of the photosensitive drum, or the drive time or voltage application time of other members.
  • the processing circuit 90 of the image forming apparatus 100b may estimate the degree of remaining life of the cartridge 200b (also referred to as remaining cartridge amount) based on the index value acquired from the detection unit.
  • Management server configuration example> Local authentication of contained devices at individual image forming devices allows for relatively simple device management based on information known to the image forming device. If the containing device is equipped with a memory capable of storing various types of information, more advanced control using information read from and written to the memory will be possible. However, mounting a memory means an increase in the development and manufacturing costs of the containing device, which results in an increase in running costs to be borne by the user.
  • a management server 300 operating in a remote environment is introduced to provide advanced device management and control considering contracts or other factors while avoiding the need for on-board memory on the contained devices. The management server 300 manages or controls use of each contained device 200 in the image forming apparatus 100 in each user environment.
  • FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the management server 300 according to this embodiment.
  • management server 300 comprises communication interface 301 , memory 302 , management database 303 and processing circuitry 304 .
  • the communication interface (I/F) 301 is an interface (also called a communication unit) for the management server 300 to communicate with other devices.
  • the communication I/F 301 communicates with the image forming apparatus 100 and the user terminal 400 existing in the user environment.
  • Communication I/F 301 may be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface.
  • the memory 302 may include any type of storage medium, such as a semiconductor memory such as ROM (Read Only Memory) or RAM (Random Access Memory), an optical disk, or a magnetic disk. Memory 302 may include non-transitory computer-readable storage media. Memory 302 stores one or more computer programs that are executed by processing circuitry 304, as well as various data.
  • ROM Read Only Memory
  • RAM Random Access Memory
  • Memory 302 stores one or more computer programs that are executed by processing circuitry 304, as well as various data.
  • the management database (DB) 303 consists of a group of tables for managing the use of the housing device 200 in one or more image forming apparatuses 100 under the management of the image forming system 1 . More specifically, the management DB 303 includes an account table 310, device registration table 320, delivery device table 330, and setting management table 340, as shown in FIG.
  • the account table 310 is a table that holds information about accounts of users who use the supply pack 200 a provided by the image forming system 1 .
  • Accounts table 310 may include, for example, one or more of the following items of information: ⁇ "User ID” ⁇ "password” ⁇ "name” ⁇ "mail address” ⁇ "address” ⁇ Contract type ⁇ "Payment Method”
  • “User ID” is identification information for uniquely identifying each user account.
  • a “password” is used for user authentication when a user logs into the system.
  • “Name” represents the user name of each account. The user name, for example, may be displayed on-screen after login and used as an address when shipping the contained device 200 .
  • the “Address” may be used as the destination for shipping the contained device 200 .
  • the “email address” can be used when sending various notifications from the system to each user by e-mail.
  • Contract type represents the type of contract that each user has made with the company that operates the image forming system 1 .
  • the provision manager 360 which will be described later, can determine when to deliver the contained device 200 to each user depending on the user's contract type.
  • the “payment method” is information regarding the method of payment for the accommodation device 200 provided to each user.
  • the device registration table 320 is a table that holds information about image forming devices registered in the image forming system 1 as devices of each user.
  • Device registration table 320 may include, for example, one or more of the following items of information: ⁇ "owner" ⁇ "Device ID” ⁇ "Equipment type” ⁇ "Registration date” ⁇ "status” ⁇ "Survivability” “Owner” indicates the account of the user who owns or manages each image forming apparatus with the “user ID” registered in the account table 310 .
  • “Device ID” is identification information for uniquely identifying each image forming device.
  • a pair of "owner” and “device ID” indicates the association between each user account and at least one image forming device registered as the device of the user having that account.
  • Two or more image forming apparatuses may be associated with one user account.
  • “Device type” indicates the type of each image forming device.
  • the “registration date” indicates the date when the “device ID” of each image forming device was registered in the device registration table 320 .
  • "Status” is status information regarding verification of whether each image forming apparatus is actually installed in the user environment of the "owner”.
  • the “status” may indicate “unverified” at the time of initial registration of the "device ID", and change to "verified” when the verification is completed.
  • the “remaining level” indicates the latest remaining amount of toner or cartridge estimated in each image forming apparatus. For example, “survival” may be expressed as a percentage. For the cartridge type image forming apparatus 100b, if the cartridge has not been inserted or has been removed, the "remaining level” may be blank.
  • the delivery device table 330 is a table that holds information on contained devices that have been delivered to each user.
  • Delivery device table 330 may include, for example, one or more of the following items of information: ⁇ "Contractor” ⁇ "Device ID” ⁇ "type” ⁇ "Date of shipment” ⁇ "status” ⁇ "Date of use”
  • Contractor indicates the account of the user to whom each cartridge is provided by “user ID” registered in the account table 310 .
  • “Device ID” is identification information for uniquely identifying each contained device.
  • a “subscriber” and “device ID” pair indicates the association between each user account and at least one accommodation device provided to the user having that account.
  • the number of accommodated devices associated with one user account in the delivery device table 330 increases.
  • Type indicates the type of consumable contained in each storage device or each storage device.
  • “Shipping date” indicates the date when each storage device was shipped to the "contractor”.
  • "Status” is status information regarding the use of each contained device. For example, at the time of shipment, the "status” indicates “unused”. As each contained device arrives in the user environment, is authenticated, and is connected to the device or used, the 'status' may change to 'used' or 'in use'.
  • “Date of use” indicates the date when each contained device was used. It should be noted that instead of the device registration table 320, the delivery device table 330 may have the data item of "remaining degree" described above.
  • the setting management table 340 is a table that holds setting data related to individual storage devices, which should be set in the image forming apparatus when forming an image using consumables in the storage devices.
  • the setting data is held in association with at least one of an individual contained device and a type of contained device.
  • the setting data may be held in association with at least one of individual and type of image forming apparatus.
  • the setting management table 340 has a device ID 341 and data items of first setting item 345-1 to n-th setting item 345-n.
  • the device ID 341 indicates the individual contained device associated with each record with the “device ID” registered in the delivery device table 330 .
  • the first setting item 345-1 to n-th setting item 345-n are data items for storing the values of n (n is an integer equal to or greater than 1) operation parameters referred to in the image forming operation.
  • the operating parameters here may include, for example, one or more of charging voltage, development voltage, transfer voltage, exposure light amount, fixing temperature, and fixing pressure.
  • the setting management table 340 has data items of device type 342 and first setting item 345-1 to n-th setting item 345-n.
  • the device type 342 indicates the type of storage device associated with each record by “type” registered in the delivery device table 330 .
  • the type of storage device may be distinguished by any combination of attributes such as, for example, consumable supply method, storage capacity, composition, manufacturing lot, manufacturer, and manufacturing time.
  • the setting management table 340 has data items such as device ID 341, device type 343, and first setting item 345-1 to n-th setting item 345-n.
  • Each record of the setting management table 340 in this case is uniquely identified by a combination of the device ID 341 and device type 343 .
  • the device type 343 indicates the type of image forming device associated with each record by “device type” registered in the device registration table 320 .
  • the type of image forming apparatus may be distinguished by any combination of attributes such as, for example, consumable supply method, model number, manufacturer, and date of manufacture.
  • the setting management table 340 has data items of device type 342, device type 343, and first setting item 345-1 to n-th setting item 345-n.
  • Each record of the setting management table 340 in this case is uniquely identified by a combination of a device type 342 and an apparatus type 343 .
  • the setting management table 340 may have "device ID" indicating an individual image forming device associated with each record as a data item instead of the device type 343 shown in FIG. 15A or 15B.
  • the value of each operating parameter is determined based on the results of product testing so that, for example, fluctuations in optimum values due to changes in the conditions (manufacturing conditions and environmental conditions) during manufacturing of the containment device are absorbed. Then, necessary records can be registered in advance in the setting management table 340 prior to provision of each accommodated device to the user.
  • the processing circuit 304 may include a CPU (Central Processing Unit), for example, and provides various functions of the management server 300 by executing computer programs stored in the memory 302 . More specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, the processing circuitry 304 can function as a data manager 350, a provision manager 360, and an authenticator 370.
  • FIG. 13 Central Processing Unit
  • the data management unit 350 manages registration and updating of data in the management DB 303.
  • the data management unit 350 may cause the user terminal 400 to display a screen for receiving input of account information to be registered in the account table 310, receive the input account information via the communication I/F 301, and register it in the account table 310.
  • the data management unit 350 may cause the user terminal 400 to display a screen for accepting input of device information about the image forming device owned by each user, receive the input device information via the communication I/F 301, and register it in the device registration table 320.
  • These input screens may be provided in any form, such as web pages, input forms, or application screens.
  • input of device information may be accepted while the user is logged into the system after successful user authentication using the user ID and password stored in the account table 310.
  • the data management unit 350 may perform a simple verification as to whether the device information registered in the device registration table 320 is actually installed in the user environment of the corresponding user. For example, the data management unit 350 presents a message prompting the user to perform a predetermined operation on the image forming apparatus 100 when the user logs in to the system and inputs the apparatus information of the image forming apparatus 100 to the input screen.
  • the predetermined operation may be, for example, pressing a specific physical button of the image forming apparatus 100 or touching a button on a GUI (Graphical User Interface).
  • the message presented to the user may include content prompting to turn on image forming apparatus 100 (in case image forming apparatus 100 is turned off).
  • the image forming apparatus 100 transmits a device ID for identifying itself to the management server 300 .
  • the data management unit 350 waits for reception of the device ID from the image forming device 100 until a predetermined period of time has passed since the presentation of the message. Then, when the same device ID as the device ID input by the user is received from the image forming device 100 before timeout, the data management unit 350 determines that the image forming device 100 identified by the device ID is actually installed in the user environment.
  • the data management unit 350 sets the "status" value of the device registration table 320 to "unverified” for the device before the verification is completed, and sets the "status” value of the device registration table 320 to "verified” for the device after the verification is completed.
  • the data management unit 350 also manages updating the value of the "remaining degree" of the device registration table 320. For example, the data management unit 350 receives remaining amount information regarding the remaining amount of toner in the storage unit 48 of the registered image forming apparatus 100 or the remaining amount of the inserted cartridge via the communication I/F 301 . Then, the data management unit 350 updates the value of the "remaining degree", which is the status information regarding the remaining amount, based on the received remaining amount information.
  • the provision management unit 360 manages provision of the housing device 200 to the user of the image forming system 1 .
  • the provision manager 360 monitors occurrence of a trigger event that triggers provision of the contained device 200 to the user.
  • An example of a triggering event may be the user's purchase of a containment device.
  • the provision management unit 360 may start providing the storage device to the user who is the purchaser when an order for the storage device is accepted (that is, when an individual contract is concluded) on a website that sells products including replenishment packs and cartridges.
  • a trigger event is the arrival of the provision timing based on the contract with the user. For example, a user may enter into a subscription agreement with a business to purchase a certain number of contained devices on a regular basis (eg, once every month or several months).
  • the provision management unit 360 may start providing the accommodated device to such a user when it is determined that the timing for providing the next accommodated device has arrived.
  • the trigger event may be detection of a decrease in the remaining amount of toner or cartridge in the image forming apparatus 100 registered in the apparatus registration table 320 .
  • the provision management unit 360 may monitor the value of the “remaining level” in the device registration table 320 for the registered image forming device 100 of the user, and start providing the accommodation device to the user when it is determined that the value is below a predetermined threshold.
  • the triggering event for automatic purchase of a storage device may be reaching a threshold for the number of registered image forming apparatus 100 operations (e.g., number of job executions, or cumulative consumption of recording media).
  • the triggering event for automatic purchase of a containment device may be detection of use of a containment device previously provided to the user.
  • the provision management unit 360 may start providing a new stored device when the value of "status" in the delivery device table 330 changes from "unused” to "used” or "in use” for a stored device that has already been provided to a user who has concluded an automatic purchase contract.
  • the provision management unit 360 can determine which of the trigger events described above is to be monitored for each user based on the contents of the "contract type" in the account table 310. When the provision management unit 360 determines that a trigger event has occurred for a certain user, it allocates a new accommodation device 200 to the user and transmits a message instructing delivery of the allocated accommodation device 200 to the person in charge of delivery. The provision management unit 360 also adds a new record indicating the user ID of the delivery destination user and the device ID of the allocated accommodation device 200 to the delivery device table 330, and registers the association between the user account and the accommodation device 200 in the management DB 303. The "shipping date" of the delivery device table 330 can be set to the date on which the contained device 200 is shipped, and the "status” and “usage date” can be set to "unused” and blank, respectively, as initial values.
  • the authentication unit 370 performs authentication (hereinafter referred to as pre-use authentication) for permitting use of the housing device 200 to be used in the image forming apparatus 100, in addition to user authentication (for example, password authentication) when the user logs into the system.
  • Pre-use authentication may include determining whether the contained device 200 is permitted to be used (eg, has been provided to the user through a legitimate route).
  • a unique code 201 for uniquely identifying each contained device 200 is assigned to the contained device 200 .
  • the code 201 is, for example, printed on each containment device 200 or its packaging in a format readable by the user or by the user terminal 400 .
  • the authentication unit 370 receives the code of the contained device 200 to be used from the code acquisition means existing in the user environment, and performs pre-use authentication based on the received code. Some examples of how the code of the containment device 200 is obtained in the user's environment are described below.
  • the code 201 may be equal to the device ID of each contained device 200, in which case the authentication unit 370 may use the received code as is for pre-use authentication.
  • code 201 may be generated by encoding the device ID of each contained device 200, in which case authentication unit 370 may use the device ID derived by decoding code 201 for pre-use authentication.
  • Pre-use authentication may include determining whether contained device 200 identified based on code 201 has a corresponding relationship to the logged-in user's user account. For example, the authentication unit 370 checks whether the association between the device ID based on the code 201 and the login user's user ID is registered in the delivery device table 330 . If this association is registered in the delivery device table 330, the authenticator 370 may determine that the contained device 200 being used has a corresponding relationship to the user's user account. By verifying the correspondence relationship between the stored device 200 and the user account in this way, it is possible to prevent the stored device 200 obtained without complying with the contract from being used in the image forming apparatus 100 .
  • the pre-use authentication may include determining whether the image forming apparatus 100 (hereinafter also referred to as the target apparatus) with which the contained device 200 is about to be used has a corresponding relationship with the login user's user account.
  • the authentication unit 370 presents a message prompting the user who intends to use the housing device 200 to perform a predetermined operation on the target device.
  • the predetermined operation may be, for example, pressing a specific physical button of the image forming apparatus 100 or touching a button on the GUI.
  • the image forming apparatus 100 transmits a device ID for identifying itself to the management server 300 .
  • Authentication unit 370 waits to receive the device ID from image forming device 100 until a predetermined period of time has passed since the presentation of the message. Then, authentication unit 370 checks whether the association between the device ID received from image forming device 100 and the user ID of the logged-in user is registered in device registration table 320 before timeout. If this association is registered in the device registration table 320, the authentication unit 370 can determine that the target device has a corresponding relationship with the logged-in user's user account. In this way, by setting the fact that the target device has already been registered as the user's device as a condition for successful authentication, it is possible to promote the registration of the device information in the database. Further, by receiving the device ID from the image forming device 100, the management server 300 can reliably recognize the target device and transmit subsequent control commands to the target device.
  • the authentication unit 370 may receive the device ID and the latest remaining amount information from the image forming device 100 . Then, the authentication unit 370 may refuse to supply toner from the supply pack or insert the cartridge into the image forming apparatus 100 when the remaining amount information received indicates that the life of the toner or cartridge is sufficient. As a result, it is possible to prevent excessive replenishment of toner to the image forming apparatus 100, or removal and disposal of the cartridge in use even though the life of the cartridge remains sufficiently.
  • pre-use authentication may include determining whether the contained device 200 identified based on the code 201 is unused based on the "status" value of the delivery device table 330.
  • the authentication unit 370 may refer to the record of the device ID based on the code 201 in the delivery device table 330, and if the value of "status" is "unused", allow the contained device 200 to be used. On the other hand, the authentication unit 370 can refuse to use the accommodated device 200 if the "status" value of the referenced record is not "unused”.
  • pre-use authentication may include determining whether the contained device 200 identified based on the code 201 is genuine and compatible with the target apparatus.
  • the term "genuine product” as used herein refers to a product that meets the terms of the contract that the user exchanges with the company. For example, when a regular purchase contract (also referred to as a subscription contract) is concluded, the product provided to the user based on the regular purchase contract may be genuine.
  • the device registration table 320 may have the model number of each image forming device, and the delivery device table 330 may have the model number of each device as additional data items.
  • the management DB 303 may also have an additional table showing model numbers of one or more accommodating devices that match each image forming apparatus model number.
  • the authentication unit 370 may permit the use of the contained device 200 only when it is determined that the target apparatus and the contained device 200 are compatible with each other based on the model numbers of the target apparatus and the contained device 200 .
  • At least one of the storage device 200 and the image forming apparatus 100 has a deterrent mechanism capable of deterring the supply of consumables from the storage device 200 to the image forming apparatus 100 or the insertion of the storage device 200 into the image forming apparatus 100.
  • This deterrence mechanism is, in principle, kept locked unless the above-mentioned pre-use authentication is successful.
  • the authentication unit 370 transmits a result of authentication success or an unlock command to the image forming apparatus 100 via the communication I/F 301, thereby causing the image forming apparatus 100 to switch the state of the restraining mechanism from the locked state to the unlocked state.
  • the unlock command for image forming apparatus 100 may be directly transmitted from management server 300 to image forming apparatus 100 .
  • the user terminal 400 that has received the authentication success result from the management server 300 may transmit the unlock command to the image forming apparatus 100 .
  • the authentication unit 370 transmits a result of authentication failure to the image forming apparatus 100 or the user terminal 400 via the communication I/F 301 .
  • the authenticator 370 may display a message on the screen of any device indicating the cause of authentication failure (eg, improper device, unregistered device, or used device).
  • the image forming apparatus 100 detects an increase in the toner remaining amount or cartridge remaining amount and transmits remaining amount information to the management server 300 .
  • the data management unit 350 receives this remaining amount information via the communication I/F 301 and updates the value of the “remaining level” in the device registration table 320 . Further, when the received remaining amount information indicates an increase in remaining amount, the data management section 350 changes the "status" of the corresponding record in the delivery device table 330 to "used" or "in use”.
  • the authentication unit 370 can prohibit reuse of the accommodated device 200 based on the status information. It also becomes possible for the provision management unit 360 to allocate a new accommodation device 200 to the user in response to detection of use of the accommodation device 200 .
  • the authentication unit 370 reads the setting data registered in the setting management table 340 in association with the accommodated device 200 in response to the success of the pre-use authentication for the accommodated device 200 or the above-described status change of the accommodated device 200 . Authentication unit 370 then provides the read setting data to image forming apparatus 100 .
  • the setting data may be transmitted to image forming apparatus 100 together with the unlock command described above, or may be transmitted to image forming apparatus 100 separately from the unlock command.
  • the setting data provided to the image forming apparatus 100 may be data indicating the optimal operation parameter values for the individual contained device 200 associated with the device ID of the successfully authenticated contained device 200.
  • the setting data provided to the image forming apparatus 100 may be data indicating operation parameter values suitable for the type of the accommodated device 200 associated with the device type of the successfully authenticated accommodated device 200.
  • the setting data provided to the image forming apparatus 100 may be data indicating an operation parameter value associated with a combination of the device ID or device type of the accommodated device 200 that has been successfully authenticated and the device ID of the target device.
  • the setting data provided to the image forming apparatus 100 may be data indicating an operation parameter value associated with a combination of the device ID or device type of the accommodated device 200 that has been successfully authenticated and the device type of the target device.
  • FIG. 16 shows an example of updating the device registration table 320 at the time of device registration.
  • the upper part of FIG. 16 shows an account table 310 having a user ID 311 and a name 312 as data items. Other data items of the account table 310 are omitted in the drawing.
  • the middle part of FIG. 16 shows a device registration table 320 having data items such as an owner 321, a device ID 322, a device type 323, a registration date 324, a status 325, and a residual degree 326.
  • the account of the user identified by the user ID “U01” (hereinafter referred to as user U01) has already been registered in the account table 310 . Also, the image forming apparatus identified by the apparatus ID "D00" has already been registered in the apparatus registration table 320 as the apparatus of the user U01.
  • the user U01 installs an image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as apparatus D01) newly identified by the apparatus ID "D01" in the user environment.
  • apparatus D01 an image forming apparatus
  • the management server 300 adds a record for the device information of the device D01 to the device registration table 320.
  • FIG. The owner 321 of the added record is "U01”
  • the device ID 322 is "D01”
  • the device type 323 is "P2”
  • the registration date 324 is the date of registration
  • the status 325 is "unverified”
  • the residual degree 326 is blank.
  • the user U01 performs an operation for device registration on the newly installed device D01, for example, according to a message displayed on the screen.
  • the device D01 stores its own device ID “D01” in advance, and transmits device information including this device ID to the management server 300 in response to an operation by the user.
  • the data management unit 350 changes the value of the status 325 of the record added to the device registration table 320 from "unverified” to "verified” as shown in the lower part of FIG.
  • FIG. 17 shows an example of updating the delivery device table 330 at the time of device delivery.
  • the upper part of FIG. 17 shows the contents of the account table 310 similar to that of FIG.
  • the middle part of FIG. 17 shows a delivery device table 330 having data items such as contractor 331, device ID 332, type 333, shipping date 334, status 335, and usage date 336.
  • the provision management unit 360 newly allocates the accommodation device identified by the device ID "C11” (hereinafter referred to as device C11) to the user U01 in response to detection of one of the trigger events described above.
  • the provision management unit 360 also adds a record for managing the status of the allocated device C11 to the delivery device table 330.
  • FIG. The contractor 331 of the record to be added is "U01”
  • the device ID 332 is "C11”
  • the type 333 is "T1”
  • the shipping date 334 is the date when shipping is performed
  • the status 335 is "unused”
  • the usage date 336 is blank.
  • the target device reports to the management server 300 that the remaining amount has increased. Based on this report, the data management unit 350 changes the value of the status 335 of the record added to the delivery device table 330 from "unused” to "used", and adds the date when the increase in the remaining amount is reported to the date of use 336.
  • FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the user terminal 400 according to this embodiment.
  • user terminal 400 includes communication I/F 411 , memory 412 , camera 413 , input device 414 , display device 415 and processing circuit 416 .
  • the communication I/F 411 is an interface for the user terminal 400 to communicate with other devices.
  • the communication I/F 411 communicates with the image forming apparatus 100 existing in the user environment and the management server 300 existing in the remote environment.
  • the communication I/F 411 may be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface. If the communication I/F 411 is a wireless communication interface, the communication I/F 411 may be, for example, a WLAN interface communicating with a WLAN access point or a cellular communication interface communicating with a cellular base station.
  • the user terminal 400 may have a plurality of different communication modules for communicating with the image forming apparatus 100 and the management server 300 respectively. Communication between the user terminal 400 and the image forming apparatus 100 may be performed using a communication protocol for peripheral device connection, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or USB (Universal Serial Bus).
  • the memory 412 may include any type of storage medium, such as semiconductor memory such as ROM or RAM, optical discs, or magnetic discs. Memory 412 may include non-transitory computer-readable storage media. Memory 412 stores one or more computer programs that are executed by processing circuitry 416, as well as various data.
  • a camera 413 is a module capable of capturing an image or video of a subject. In one embodiment described below, camera 413 is used to optically read code 201 unique to containment device 200 .
  • the input device 414 is used as a user interface for accepting user operations and information input.
  • Input devices 414 may include one or more of touch sensors, keypads, keyboards, pointing devices, and microphones, for example.
  • a code 201 unique to containment device 200 is entered by a user via input device 414 .
  • the display device 415 is used to display images and information.
  • the display device 415 may be composed of, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode).
  • the processing circuitry 416 which may include, for example, a CPU, provides various functions of the user terminal 400 by executing computer programs stored in the memory 412 . More specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, processing circuitry 416 may function as device control section 420, code acquisition section 430, and application section 440. FIG. It should be noted that although only functions related to managing the use of the contained device 200 in the image forming apparatus 100 are primarily described herein, the processing circuitry 416 may also provide the user with many other functions that user terminals typically have.
  • the device control unit 420 controls image formation and other operations performed in the image forming device 100 .
  • Device controller 420 may include driver software for image forming device 100 .
  • the device controller 420 detects one or more devices available to the user terminal 400 in the user environment and presents a list of detected devices to the user on the screen of the display device 415 .
  • the device control unit 420 may acquire the status of each device (for example, power on/off, remaining amount information, etc.) and present the acquired status to the user.
  • apparatus control unit 420 transmits a print job including image data of an image to be printed to image forming apparatus 100, and causes image forming apparatus 100 to print the image.
  • the code acquisition unit 430 acquires the code 201 unique to the containing device 200 that the user intends to use in a state where the restraining mechanism of the image forming apparatus 100 restrains the supply of consumables from the containing device 200 or the insertion of the containing device 200.
  • the code 201 is an optically readable code printed on the containing device 200 or its package (e.g., a piece of paper wrapped or enclosed)
  • the code acquisition unit 430 may optically read the code 201 using the camera 413.
  • the code acquisition unit 430 may cause the user to enter the code 201 using the input device 414 and acquire the entered code 201.
  • the application unit 440 can be an application for device management that operates in cooperation with the management server 300 .
  • Application unit 440 may be a web browser.
  • the application unit 440 causes the display device 415 to display an account information input screen when a new user account is registered or when a change occurs.
  • application unit 440 transmits the received account information to management server 300 via communication I/F 411 .
  • the application unit 440 causes the display device 415 to display an apparatus information input screen when the image forming apparatus 100 is installed in the user environment.
  • the application unit 440 transmits the received device information to the management server 300 via the communication I/F 411 .
  • the application unit 440 may also provide a user who wishes to use the housing device 200 in the image forming apparatus 100 with a user interface for requesting the management server 300 to perform pre-use authentication. For example, when the authentication request button is operated by the user, the application unit 440 activates the code acquisition unit 430 to acquire a unique code for the accommodation device 200, and transmits the acquired code 201 to the management server 300 via the communication I/F 411.
  • Application unit 440 may send code 201 to management server 300 as part of a request for permission to use the device.
  • the application unit 440 may also send the code 201 to the management server 300 as part of the request to unlock the restraining mechanism.
  • the application unit 440 may transmit a transmission request to the image forming apparatus 100 to transmit the device ID required for pre-use authentication by the management server 300 to the management server 300 .
  • the application unit 440 may cause the display device 415 to display a message prompting the user to perform an operation for transmitting the device ID in the image forming device 100 .
  • the application unit 440 After the pre-use authentication is performed by the management server 300 based on the code 201 unique to the housing device 200 , the application unit 440 receives the result of the pre-use authentication from the management server 300 . When the authentication result indicates that the pre-use authentication has been successful, application section 440 may cause device control section 420 to transmit an unlock command for unlocking the restraining mechanism to image forming apparatus 100 . Note that when the command is directly transmitted from the management server 300 to the image forming apparatus 100 , the user terminal 400 need not transmit the command to the image forming apparatus 100 .
  • the application unit 440 causes the display device 415 to display the result of the pre-use authentication received from the management server 300 .
  • the storage device 200 is a replenishment pack and the result of the pre-use authentication indicates successful authentication
  • the user connects the replenishment pack to the image forming apparatus 100 and operates the opening/closing mechanism that blocks the replenishment route.
  • the replenishment path is opened, and toner can be replenished from the replenishment pack to the image forming apparatus 100 .
  • the restraining mechanism of the image forming apparatus 100 is in the unlocked state, the user's operation to open the supply path is not hindered.
  • the housing device 200 is a cartridge
  • the result of the pre-use authentication indicates successful authentication
  • the user inserts a new cartridge into the image forming apparatus 100 (for example, after opening the front cover and removing the old cartridge as necessary).
  • the cartridge replacement work is not hindered.
  • the pre-use authentication result indicates an authentication failure
  • the user may retry the pre-use authentication after appropriate action, or give up using the contained device 200 for the time being, depending on the cause of the failure that may be displayed on the screen.
  • the image forming apparatus 100 maintains the restraining mechanism in the locked state.
  • FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment.
  • image forming apparatus 100 includes communication I/F 11 , memory 12 , user I/F 13 , image forming section 40 , suppression target 50 , suppression mechanism 55 , processing circuit 90 , and setting storage section 95 .
  • the processing circuit 90 can function mainly as a print controller 96 and a lock controller 97 .
  • the communication I/F 11 is an interface for the image forming apparatus 100 to communicate with other apparatuses.
  • the communication I/F 11 communicates with the user terminal 400 existing in the user environment and the management server 300 existing in the remote environment.
  • the communication I/F 11 may be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface. If the communication I/F 11 is a wireless communication interface, the communication I/F 11 may be, for example, a WLAN interface or a cellular communication interface.
  • the image forming apparatus 100 may have a plurality of different communication modules for communicating with the user terminal 400 and the management server 300 respectively.
  • the memory 12 may include any type of storage medium, such as semiconductor memory such as ROM or RAM, optical disk, or magnetic disk. Memory 12 may include non-transitory computer-readable storage media. Memory 12 stores one or more computer programs executed by processing circuitry 90, as well as various data. The memory 12 pre-stores, for example, a device ID (also referred to as device identification information) that uniquely identifies the image forming device 100 .
  • a device ID also referred to as device identification information
  • the user I/F 13 may include an input device for accepting user operations and information input, and a display device for displaying images and information.
  • user I/F 13 may include one or more of a touch panel, keypad, buttons, switches, microphone and speaker.
  • User I/F 13 may be treated as an operation terminal integrated with image forming apparatus 100 .
  • user I/F 13 may be used to accept input of code 201 unique to contained device 200 .
  • the suppression target 50 may be, for example, the opening/closing mechanism (including the ring member 111 and the main body shutter 116) described in relation to the image forming apparatus 100a, or a part thereof.
  • the restraint mechanism 55 corresponds to the lock unit 130 described above, and can restrain the supply of toner from the supply pack to the image forming apparatus 100 (for example, restrain the operation or automatic operation of the opening/closing mechanism).
  • the suppression target 50 may be, for example, the cartridge insertion path described in relation to the image forming apparatus 100b.
  • the deterrent mechanism 55 corresponds to the lock unit 160 described above, and can deter insertion of the cartridge into the image forming apparatus 100 (for example, block the cartridge insertion path or restrict movement of the cartridge along the insertion path). Removal of the cartridge from the image forming apparatus 100 may or may not be prevented.
  • the image forming section 40 consumes consumables in the housing device 200 to form an image on a recording medium under the control of the print control section 96 .
  • the image forming section 40 is typically composed of a plurality of members that operate in cooperation with each other. Each member of the image forming section 40 operates according to the value of the corresponding operation parameter included in the setting data stored in the setting storage section 95 .
  • the setting storage unit 95 has a storage area for storing setting data received from the management server 300 and related to the accommodation device 200 permitted to be used by the image forming apparatus 100 .
  • the properties (eg, resistance values) of the consumables in the containment device 200 are not necessarily uniform across multiple devices and have individual differences. Such individual differences can be checked and quantified through pre-shipment testing of devices.
  • the setting data here is determined in advance so as to absorb the influence on the image forming operation due to individual differences, for example, and is held in a database accessible by the management server 300 . Image forming apparatus 100 can receive such setting data from management server 300 .
  • the setting data can be, for example, a set of operation parameter values such as the charging voltage of the charging roller 47, the developing voltage of the developing roller 45, the transfer voltage of the transfer roller 43, the exposure light amount of the scanner unit 42, and the fixing temperature and fixing pressure of the fixing unit 70.
  • the image forming apparatus 100 may store a developer that can be used by the image forming section 40 or have a usable inserted cartridge when the image forming apparatus 100 is shipped.
  • the setting storage unit 95 may store initial setting data related to usable consumables at the time of shipment. The initial setting data may be read from setting storage portion 95 and used by image forming portion 40 in the image forming operation before the pre-use authentication is successful.
  • the initial setting data described above may be overwritten in the same storage area by setting data received from the management server 300 after successful pre-use authentication.
  • the storage area of the setting storage unit 95 is sufficient if it has a size capable of storing one set of setting data, so memory resources can be saved.
  • the same operational parameters are consistently read from the same memory address in the image forming operation, implementation of the image forming operation is facilitated.
  • the setting storage unit 95 may have a first storage area for storing setting data received from the management server 300 and a second storage area for storing default setting data that can be used before the pre-use authentication is successful. In this way, by holding the default setting data separately from the setting data that can be used according to successful authentication, it is possible to avoid a situation in which image formation cannot be performed under irregular conditions such as loss of a code or communication failure, although usable consumables are available.
  • a special user operation for example, in image forming apparatus 100 or user terminal 400
  • the special user operation here may be, for example, button operation in a predetermined pattern, input of a passcode, or the like.
  • setting data suitable for the containing device or consumables used is not provided, and thus high quality images are not necessarily formed.
  • the print control unit 96 controls settings and operations for image formation by the image forming unit 40 .
  • the print control unit 96 receives setting data related to the contained device 200 permitted to be used from the management server 300 via the communication I/F 11, and stores the received setting data in the setting storage unit 95.
  • the print control unit 96 controls the image forming unit 40 to form an image on a recording medium based on the input image data specified in the print job.
  • print control unit 96 reads the above-described setting data stored in setting storage unit 95 and uses the read setting data to control the image forming operation of image forming unit 40 .
  • This configuration data indicates operating parameter values determined so that operating conditions suitable for a particular containment device or consumable are used, and can be updated each time a new containment device is used. Therefore, even if the developer is replenished or the cartridge is replaced, the image forming apparatus 100 can continuously use the optimum operating conditions for forming good quality images.
  • the setting data stored in the setting storage unit 95 may indicate a difference value with respect to a predetermined reference value (for example, initial value) instead of the absolute value of each operation parameter.
  • the print control unit 96 uses the value obtained by adding the difference value read from the setting storage unit 95 to the reference value for controlling the image forming unit 40 for each operation parameter.
  • the configuration data may indicate a coefficient value by which the reference value for each operating parameter should be multiplied.
  • print control unit 96 uses the value obtained by multiplying the reference value by the coefficient value read from setting storage unit 95 for controlling image forming unit 40 for each operation parameter.
  • the lock control unit 97 controls switching of the restraint mechanism 55 between the locked state and the unlocked state. For example, the lock control unit 97 transmits the device ID stored in the memory 12 to the management server 300 when a predetermined input signal is detected.
  • the device ID sent to the management server 300 may be used to verify whether the image forming device 100 identified by the device ID specified by the user for device registration is actually installed in the user's user environment. Also, the device ID sent to management server 300 may be used by management server 300 to perform pre-use authentication.
  • the lock control unit 97 may transmit the latest remaining amount information to the management server 300 together with the device ID.
  • the input signal that triggers the transmission of the device ID is a received signal received from the user terminal 400 via the communication I/F 11 (eg, a transmission request requesting transmission of the device ID).
  • lock control unit 97 reads the device ID from memory 12 and transmits the read device ID to management server 300 in response to receiving the transmission request.
  • the input signal that triggers transmission of the device ID is a user input signal detected via the user I/F 13 (for example, an operation signal indicating that a predetermined button has been operated). In this case, lock control unit 97 reads the device ID from memory 12 and transmits the read device ID to management server 300 in response to detection of the user input signal.
  • the lock control unit 97 After transmitting the device ID to the management server 300 for pre-use authentication, the lock control unit 97 waits for reception of an unlock command, which is a control signal based on the pre-use authentication result, for a predetermined standby period. Then, when the unlock command is received before the standby period expires, the lock control unit 97 causes the restraint mechanism 55 to transition from the locked state to the unlocked state (for example, by energizing the solenoid described above) in accordance with the unlock command. That is, when the pre-use authentication performed by the management server 300 is successful, the lock control unit 97 switches the suppression mechanism 55 to a state in which the supply of consumables or the insertion of the storage device 200 is possible.
  • an unlock command which is a control signal based on the pre-use authentication result
  • the lock control unit 97 terminates command standby. For example, waiting for an unlock command may be performed by temporarily opening a specific receiving port of the communication I/F 11 . In this way, by waiting for a control signal from the outside only for a limited period triggered by detection of a predetermined input signal, the risk of unauthorized operation of the image forming apparatus 100 by a malicious third party can be minimized. Also, power consumption can be reduced by placing the image forming apparatus 100 or the communication I/F 11 in a sleep state during a period other than the standby period.
  • the lock control unit 97 may maintain the inhibition mechanism 55 in the unlocked state for a predetermined unlock period from the reception of the instruction, and may cause the inhibition mechanism 55 to transition to the locked state again after the unlock period expires.
  • the print control unit 96 controls the remaining amount detection unit 61 so as to detect the remaining amount of toner inside the image forming apparatus 100 or the remaining amount of the cartridge when, for example, an image forming operation is performed, toner is replenished from a replenishment pack, or a cartridge is inserted.
  • the remaining amount detection unit 61 reports the detected remaining amount of toner or cartridge to the print control unit 96 .
  • the print control unit 96 reports remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount thus detected to the management server 300 via the communication I/F 11 .
  • the remaining amount report may be sent to the management server 300 via the user terminal 400 instead of being sent directly to the management server 300 .
  • the management server 300 detects an increase in the toner remaining amount or cartridge remaining amount based on the remaining amount information, thereby knowing that the user has used the contained device 200 for which the pre-use authentication has succeeded.
  • the image forming apparatus 100 or the user terminal 400 may determine the increase in remaining amount and transmit a notification signal indicating that the accommodated device 200 has become used to the management server 300.
  • FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a schematic processing flow related to device registration.
  • the image forming apparatus 100, the management server 300, and the user terminal 400 are mainly involved in the sequence shown in FIG. It is assumed that user account information has already been registered in the account table 310 of the management DB 303 prior to the start of the sequence.
  • the user enters a user ID and password into a login screen provided by the application unit 440 of the user terminal 400, for example.
  • the application unit 440 transmits the input user ID and password to the management server 300 for login.
  • the authentication unit 370 of the management server 300 performs user authentication based on the user ID and password received from the user terminal 400 .
  • the user inputs device information, including the device ID of the image forming device 100 installed in the user environment, on a device information input screen provided by the application unit 440, for example.
  • the application unit 440 transmits a device registration request including the input device information to the management server 300 .
  • the data management unit 350 registers the device information included in the received device registration request in the device registration table 320 .
  • data management unit 350 instructs application unit 440 to display a message prompting the user to perform a predetermined operation in image forming apparatus 100 , and display device 415 displays the message.
  • the user performs a predetermined operation on the user I/F 13 of the image forming apparatus 100 .
  • lock control unit 97 of image forming apparatus 100 reads the device ID from memory 12 and transmits device information including the read device ID to management server 300 .
  • the data management unit 350 collates the device ID included in the device information received from the image forming device 100 with the device ID registered in the device registration table 320 in S16. Then, when these device IDs match, the data management unit 350 updates the corresponding “status” value in the device registration table 320 to “verified”.
  • the data management unit 350 notifies the application unit 440 of the user terminal 400 of the verification result.
  • the application unit 440 displays the notified verification result on the screen.
  • FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram illustrating some examples of general process flows associated with providing a contained device to a user.
  • the image forming apparatus 100, the management server 300, and the user terminal 400 are mainly involved in the sequence shown in FIG.
  • the provision management unit 360 of the management server 300 continuously monitors the occurrence of a trigger event that triggers the provision of the accommodation device 200 to the user.
  • a first example of a trigger event is a decrease in remaining amount
  • a second example is an order for a storage device 200 by a user
  • a third example is the arrival of a supply timing based on a regular purchase contract.
  • the print control unit 96 of the image forming apparatus 100 detects the toner remaining amount or cartridge remaining amount inside the apparatus when, for example, an image forming operation is performed.
  • the detected remaining amount is below the remaining amount threshold that triggers provision of a new accommodation device 200 .
  • the print control unit 96 reports remaining amount information indicating the detected remaining amount to the management server 300 .
  • the provision management unit 360 of the management server 300 recognizes that the toner remaining amount or cartridge remaining amount of the image forming apparatus 100 is low, and allocates a new accommodation device 200 to the user who owns the image forming apparatus 100 .
  • Assigning a contained device 200 to a user may include adding a new record to delivery device table 330 that indicates a user ID and a device ID that identifies the contained device 200 .
  • the provision management unit 360 also transmits a message instructing delivery of the allocated accommodation device 200 to the person in charge of delivery. When the new accommodation device 200 is shipped to the user, the provision management unit 360 transmits a shipping notification to the user terminal 400 in S34.
  • the user accesses a website that sells the housed device 200 using, for example, the user terminal 400, and places an order for a new housed device 200.
  • FIG. In S ⁇ b>37 the user terminal 400 transmits to the management server 300 order information indicating, for example, the type and number of ordered accommodated devices 200 .
  • the provision management unit 360 of the management server 300 allocates the specified number of accommodation devices 200 to the user who is the purchaser in response to the reception of the order information.
  • the provision management unit 360 also transmits a message instructing delivery of the allocated accommodation device 200 to the person in charge of delivery.
  • the provision management unit 360 transmits a shipping notification to the user terminal 400 in S39.
  • the provision management unit 360 determines in S41 that it is time to provide the accommodation device 200 for the user who has concluded a regular purchase contract. In S42, the provision management unit 360 allocates a new accommodation device 200 to the user for whom the provision timing has come. The provision management unit 360 also transmits a message instructing delivery of the allocated accommodation device 200 to the person in charge of delivery. When the accommodation device 200 is shipped to the user, the provision management unit 360 transmits a shipping notification to the user terminal 400 in S43.
  • FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a schematic flow of processing when a contained device is used based on pre-use authentication.
  • the image forming apparatus 100, the management server 300, and the user terminal 400 are mainly involved in the sequence shown in FIG. It is assumed that a new, unused housing device 200 has already been delivered to the user's environment prior to the start of the sequence.
  • the user enters a user ID and password on the login screen.
  • the application unit 440 of the user terminal 400 transmits the input user ID and password to the management server 300 .
  • the authentication unit 370 of the management server 300 performs user authentication based on the user ID and password received from the user terminal 400 .
  • the application unit 440 activates the code acquisition unit 430 according to the user's operation.
  • the code acquisition unit 430 acquires the code 201 unique to the contained device 200 by optically reading it using the camera 413, for example, or by accepting user input.
  • the application unit 440 transmits an unlock request including the code 201 acquired by the code acquisition unit 430 to the management server 300 .
  • the authentication unit 370 of the management server 300 starts pre-use authentication in response to receiving the unlock request.
  • S67 is the first stage of pre-use authentication, and the authentication unit 370 determines whether the stored device 200 identified by the code 201 included in the unlock request has a correspondence relationship with the account of the logged-in user by referring to the delivery device table 330.
  • the authentication unit 370 instructs the application unit 440 to display a message prompting the target device to perform a predetermined operation in S68 in response to the success of the first stage authentication, and the display device 415 displays the message.
  • the user performs a predetermined operation on the user I/F 13 of the image forming apparatus 100, which is the target apparatus. Then, in S ⁇ b>73 , lock control unit 97 reads the device ID from memory 12 and transmits device information including the read device ID to management server 300 .
  • S74 is the second stage of pre-use authentication, and the authentication unit 370 determines whether the target device has a correspondence relationship with the login user's user account based on the device ID included in the received device information, by referring to the device registration table 320.
  • the image forming apparatus 100 has a corresponding relationship with the user account, it is assumed that the second stage authentication is also successful.
  • the authentication unit 370 In response to the success of the pre-use authentication, the authentication unit 370 notifies the user terminal 400 of the result of authentication success in S75. Further, in S ⁇ b>76 , authentication unit 370 transmits to image forming apparatus 100 an unlock command for unlocking restraint mechanism 55 of image forming apparatus 100 .
  • the lock control unit 97 of the image forming apparatus 100 switches the state of the restraint mechanism 55 from the locked state to the unlocked state in response to receiving the unlock command from the management server 300 .
  • the user replenishes the image forming apparatus 100 with toner from the new containing device 200 or inserts (or replaces) the new containing device 200 into the image forming apparatus 100 .
  • the print control unit 96 detects the remaining amount of toner or cartridge inside the image forming apparatus 100 and reports the remaining amount information to the management server 300 .
  • the data management unit 350 of the management server 300 updates the “residual level” value of the record of the device registration table 320 corresponding to the image forming device 100 in response to the reception of the remaining amount information. Also, the data management unit 350 changes the “status” of the record in the delivery device table 330 corresponding to the new accommodation device 200 to “used” or “in use”. On the other hand, when a predetermined unlock period elapses after receiving the unlock command, the lock control unit 97 of the image forming apparatus 100 switches the state of the restraint mechanism 55 from the unlock state to the lock state in S81.
  • the authentication unit 370 acquires setting data associated with the accommodated device 200 that has been successfully authenticated before use from the setting management table 340 and transmits the acquired setting data to the image forming apparatus 100 .
  • the setting data transmitted here may be data associated with a combination of the containing device 200 and the image forming apparatus 100 as the target apparatus.
  • the print control unit 96 of the image forming apparatus 100 updates the setting of the operating conditions of the image forming unit 40 with the setting data received from the management server 300 (stores the setting data in a predetermined storage area of the setting storage unit 95).
  • authentication unit 370 notifies user terminal 400 that the setting data has been updated in image forming apparatus 100 .
  • the pre-use authentication for the accommodated device 200 in S67 may be performed, and the pre-use authentication for the image forming apparatus 100 in S74 may be omitted.
  • the user operation at S72 and the transmission of device information at S73 may also be omitted.
  • the management server 300 may instruct the user to power on the image forming apparatus 100 in S68.
  • FIG. 22 shows an example in which the code 201 unique to the contained device 200 is transmitted from the user terminal 400 to the management server 300, and the device ID of the image forming apparatus 100 is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100 to the management server 300, but the present embodiment is not limited to this example.
  • the code 201 unique to the housing device 200 may be transferred from the user terminal 400 that acquired the code 201 to the image forming apparatus 100 and relayed by the image forming apparatus 100 to the management server 300 together with the apparatus ID of the image forming apparatus 100 .
  • FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of authentication processing executed by the management server 300. As shown in FIG. The authentication process in FIG. 23 corresponds to the process executed by the authentication unit 370 of the management server 300 in S62 to S76 in FIG. This authentication process can be implemented by the processing circuitry 304 executing a computer program pre-stored in the memory 302 of the management server 300, for example.
  • the authentication unit 370 receives the user ID and password entered on the login screen.
  • the authentication unit 370 performs user authentication based on the received user ID and password.
  • the authentication unit 370 receives the code 201 unique to the accommodated device 200 obtained in the user environment.
  • the authentication unit 370 determines whether the contained device 200 identified based on the received code 201 has a corresponding relationship with the login user's user account. For example, if an association between the device ID based on the received code 201 and the login user's user ID is registered in the delivery device table 330, the accommodated device 200 is determined to be a valid device, and the process proceeds to S121. On the other hand, if the association between the device ID based on the received code 201 and the login user's user ID is not registered in the delivery device table 330, the process proceeds to S119.
  • the authentication unit 370 determines that the contained device 200 is not a proper product provided through a regular route, and transmits to the user terminal 400 an authentication result notification indicating that use of the contained device 200 is not permitted and pre-use authentication has failed.
  • the authentication unit 370 determines whether the status of the accommodated device 200 identified by the received code 201 is "unused” by referring to the delivery device table 330. If the status is "unused”, the process proceeds to S125. On the other hand, if the status is not "unused", the process proceeds to S123.
  • the authentication unit 370 determines that use of the accommodated device 200 is not permitted because the accommodated device 200 is not unused. In this case, the authentication unit 370 transmits to the user terminal 400 an authentication result notification indicating that use of the accommodated device 200 is not permitted and pre-use authentication has failed.
  • the authentication unit 370 instructs the user to perform a predetermined operation on the target device (for example, by displaying a message on the screen).
  • the authentication unit 370 receives device information including the device ID from the image forming device 100, which is the target device.
  • the authentication unit 370 determines whether the target device identified by the received device ID has been registered (or registered and verified) as the login user's device.
  • the process proceeds to S133.
  • the association between the received device ID and the logged-in user's user ID is not registered in the device registration table 320, the target device is not registered as the logged-in user's device, so the process proceeds to S131.
  • the authentication unit 370 determines that use of the accommodation device 200 in the target device is not permitted because the target device is not registered as a login user's device. In this case, the authentication unit 370 transmits to the user terminal 400 an authentication result notification indicating that the pre-use authentication has failed because the device has not been registered.
  • the authentication unit 370 determines that use of the accommodated device 200 in the target device is permitted because the target device has already been registered as the logged-in user's device. In this case, the authentication unit 370 transmits an unlock command for switching the suppression mechanism 55 of the image forming apparatus 100 to an unlocked state, and also transmits an authentication result notification indicating successful authentication to the user terminal 400 .
  • the authentication unit 370 (or the data management unit 350 ) receives, from the image forming apparatus 100 , a remaining amount report indicating that the toner remaining amount or cartridge remaining amount has increased.
  • the authentication unit 370 acquires setting data related to the accommodated device 200 (or the combination of the accommodated device 200 and the image forming apparatus 100 ) from the setting management table 340 and transmits it to the image forming apparatus 100 . Then, the authentication processing in FIG. 23 ends.
  • the authentication unit 370 may transmit the setting data to the image forming apparatus 100 together with the unlock command in S133.
  • the authentication unit 370 may also send a notification to the user terminal 400 indicating that the setting data has been sent to the image forming apparatus 100 (or the setting has been successfully updated in the image forming apparatus 100).
  • the user terminal 400 learns through this notification that the setting suitable for the accommodation device 200 has been performed in the image forming apparatus 100, the user terminal 400 may cause the display device 415 to display a message 425 as shown in FIG. 26, for example.
  • Image forming apparatus 100 may also display a similar message on the screen of user I/F 13 .
  • a first example corresponds to the above-described first configuration example of the image forming apparatus 100, and the use of the supply pack 200a is controlled in the image forming apparatus 100a.
  • a second example corresponds to the above-described second configuration example of the image forming apparatus 100, and the use of the cartridge 200b is controlled in the image forming apparatus 100b.
  • FIGS. 24A and 24B are flowcharts showing a first example of the flow of lock control processing.
  • This lock control process corresponds to the process executed by the lock control unit 97 of the image forming apparatus 100a in S72 to S83 of FIG.
  • This lock control process can be realized, for example, by the processing circuit 90 executing a computer program pre-stored in the memory 12 of the image forming apparatus 100a.
  • the lock control unit 97 detects a predetermined input signal.
  • the input signal here can be, for example, an ID transmission request received from user terminal 400 via communication I/F 11 or a user input signal detected via user I/F 13 .
  • lock control unit 97 reads the device ID from memory 12 in response to detection of a predetermined input signal, and transmits device information including the read device ID to management server 300 .
  • the lock control unit 97 starts waiting for reception of an unlock command, which is a control signal based on the result of the pre-use authentication.
  • the lock control unit 97 determines whether or not the predetermined standby period has expired, for example, by referring to the value of a timer that is started when standby starts. If the standby period has expired, the process proceeds to S243. On the other hand, if the standby period has not expired, the process proceeds to S219.
  • the process branches depending on whether or not an unlock command has been received from the management server 300. If an unlock command has been received from the management server 300, the process proceeds to S221. If no unlock command is received, the process returns to S217.
  • the lock control unit 97 causes the restraint mechanism 55 to transition from the locked state to the unlocked state according to the unlock command received from the management server 300 .
  • the lock unit 130 is activated to allow the user to operate the opening/closing mechanism.
  • the lock control unit 97 waits until the unlock period expires using, for example, a timer that is started at the time of transition to the unlocked state.
  • the lock control unit 97 monitors the operation of the opening/closing mechanism by the user. When the opening/closing mechanism is operated by the user to open the replenishment path, the process proceeds to S227.
  • the lock control unit 97 transmits to the management server 300 an operation notification indicating that the replenishment route has been opened. Further, in S229, the remaining amount detection unit 61 detects the remaining amount of toner in the storage unit 48. FIG. Then, in S ⁇ b>231 , the print control unit 96 reports the remaining amount of toner detected by the remaining amount detection unit 61 to the management server 300 . The detection and reporting of the remaining amount of toner in S229 and S231 may be repeated until it is determined in S233 that the unlock period has expired.
  • the lock control unit 97 waits for reception of setting data related to the replenishment pack 200a for which pre-use authentication has succeeded. While waiting to receive setting data, the lock control unit 97 determines in S239 whether the standby period has expired, for example, by referring to the value of the timer, and if the standby period has expired, the process proceeds to S243. If setting data is received from the management server 300 before the standby period expires, the process proceeds to S241. Note that the standby of the setting data here may be started after a message indicating that the replenishment has been successful (for example, the management server 300 has recognized an increase in the remaining amount of toner and the status of the replenishment pack 200a has been updated) is received from the management server 300.
  • the lock control unit 97 passes the setting data received from the management server 300 to the print control unit 96 .
  • the print control unit 96 causes the setting storage unit 95 to store the received setting data.
  • the lock control unit 97 ends waiting for signals and data. Then, the lock control process ends.
  • each member of the image forming unit 40 will operate according to the operation parameters suitable for the new toner when the subsequent print job is executed.
  • FIGS. 25A and 25B are flowcharts showing a second example of the flow of lock control processing.
  • This lock control process corresponds to the process executed by the lock control unit 97 of the image forming apparatus 100b in S72-S83 of FIG.
  • This lock control process can be implemented, for example, by having the processing circuit 90 execute a computer program pre-stored in the memory 12 of the image forming apparatus 100b.
  • the processing steps S211 to S219 related to transmitting device information and waiting for an unlock command may be the same as in the first example of FIGS. 24A and 24B, and therefore will not be described again here.
  • S219 when an unlock command is received from the management server 300, the process proceeds to S222.
  • the lock control unit 97 causes the restraint mechanism 55 to transition from the locked state to the unlocked state according to the unlock command received from the management server 300 .
  • locking unit 160 may be actuated to allow user access to the cartridge insertion path.
  • the lock control unit 97 waits until the unlock period expires using, for example, a timer that is started at the time of transition to the unlocked state.
  • the lock control unit 97 monitors removal of existing cartridges and insertion of new cartridges by the user. When the user inserts a new cartridge, the process proceeds to S230.
  • the remaining amount of the cartridge inserted into the image forming apparatus 100b is detected. Then, in S ⁇ b>232 , the print control unit 96 reports the detected cartridge remaining amount to the management server 300 . After that, in S236, the lock control unit 97 causes the restraining mechanism 55 to transition from the unlocked state to the locked state.
  • the lock control unit 97 waits for reception of setting data related to the cartridge for which pre-use authentication has succeeded. While waiting to receive setting data, the lock control unit 97 determines in S239 whether the standby period has expired, for example, by referring to the value of the timer, and if the standby period has expired, the process proceeds to S243. If setting data is received from the management server 300 before the standby period expires, the process proceeds to S241.
  • the lock control unit 97 passes the setting data received from the management server 300 to the print control unit 96 .
  • the print control unit 96 causes the setting storage unit 95 to store the received setting data.
  • the lock control unit 97 ends waiting for signals and data. Then, the lock control process ends.
  • each member of the image forming section 40 will operate according to the operation parameters suitable for the new cartridge and the consumables inside it when the subsequent job is executed.
  • FIG. 1 At least one of the storage device and the image forming apparatus is provided with a deterrent mechanism capable of deterring the supply of consumables from the storage device to the image forming apparatus or the insertion of the storage device into the image forming apparatus.
  • a code unique to the contained device to be used is acquired by a terminal existing in the user environment, and the acquired code is transmitted to the server device in the remote environment.
  • the server apparatus performs authentication for permitting use of the contained device in the image forming apparatus based on the code.
  • the suppression mechanism is switched to a state in which the supply of the consumable material or the insertion of the storage device is possible, and the setting data related to the storage device is provided from the server device and set in the image forming apparatus. Therefore, setting data suitable for the contained device or the supplied consumables can be set for image formation in the image forming apparatus under the condition that the use of the contained device is confirmed.
  • the manufacturing cost of the storage device can be reduced, and the running cost borne by the user can also be reduced.
  • the setting data related to the contained device is data associated with at least one of the individual and type of the contained device. Therefore, by providing such setting data from the server device, even if there is a change in conditions that affects the characteristics of the device or the expendable material at the time of manufacture of the accommodated device, the image forming apparatus can be made to perform the optimum image forming operation regardless of the influence.
  • the setting data related to the accommodation device may be data further related to at least one of the individual and type of the image forming apparatus. In this case, since the optimal operating parameters for the combination of the accommodation device and the image forming apparatus used are set in the image forming apparatus, it is possible to provide the user with a printed image of even higher quality. By deterring the use of unauthenticated contained devices and providing proper configuration data, it is possible to reduce the risk of failure and extend the life of the product.
  • the code unique to the containing device is an optically readable code or a user-readable code printed on the device or its package. Therefore, the user can easily acquire the code and request authentication by using the UI or the camera of the user terminal or the operation terminal of the image forming apparatus before physically connecting or inserting the device.
  • the user uses the user terminal 400 that is separate from the image forming apparatus 100, but the functions of the user terminal 400 described above may be integrated into the image forming apparatus 100. That is, the operation terminal additionally provided in the image forming apparatus 100 may provide a code acquisition function similar to that of the code acquisition unit 430 of the user terminal 400 described above and a UI function similar to that of the application unit 440 .
  • Embodiments can also be realized in the form of processing in which a program that implements one or more functions is supplied to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be implemented by a circuit (eg, an ASIC) that implements one or more functions.
  • a circuit eg, an ASIC

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PCT/JP2022/040368 2022-01-20 2022-10-28 画像形成システム、方法、画像形成装置、及びサーバ装置 Ceased WO2023139877A1 (ja)

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JP2018106529A (ja) * 2016-12-27 2018-07-05 ブラザー工業株式会社 管理サーバ、管理サーバ及び端末装置のためのコンピュータプログラム
JP2021164052A (ja) * 2020-03-31 2021-10-11 ブラザー工業株式会社 画像形成装置、画像形成装置の制御方法、カートリッジ
CN113524913A (zh) * 2020-04-18 2021-10-22 深圳市汉森软件有限公司 墨水授权使用方法、服务端、上位机、打印设备及系统

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JP2013039732A (ja) * 2011-08-17 2013-02-28 Seiko Epson Corp 液体収容容器の誤挿入防止装置、液体収容容器、液体消費装置、および液体収容容器の誤挿入防止方法
JP2018106529A (ja) * 2016-12-27 2018-07-05 ブラザー工業株式会社 管理サーバ、管理サーバ及び端末装置のためのコンピュータプログラム
JP2021164052A (ja) * 2020-03-31 2021-10-11 ブラザー工業株式会社 画像形成装置、画像形成装置の制御方法、カートリッジ
CN113524913A (zh) * 2020-04-18 2021-10-22 深圳市汉森软件有限公司 墨水授权使用方法、服务端、上位机、打印设备及系统

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