Electrophotography – Diagnostics – Unit or part identification
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-28
2001-07-24
Pendegrass, Joan (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Diagnostics
Unit or part identification
Reexamination Certificate
active
06266492
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus comprising an expendable member for use in forming an image, which is removably mounted to a main body of the image forming apparatus, and provided with a storing section in which information specific to the expendable member is previously stored, and control means for judging whether the expendable member is proper or not based on the specific information previously stored in the storing section of the expendable member.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional image forming apparatus, a developing apparatus is replenished with a developer in the following manner: when the ratio of a developer (T/D) in a developer tank of the developing apparatus decreases, the developer tank is replenished with a developer from a developer replenishing container, and the developer replenishing container is mounted to the image forming apparatus main body by the user.
In the case where a plurality of image forming apparatuses are placed close to each other, the kinds of developers used in the image forming apparatuses are often different. For example, even in the case where image forming apparatuses use the same photoconductors, the polarity of a developer used in an apparatus whose developing system is an analog system (regular rotation developing system) is opposite to the polarity of a developer used in an apparatus whose developing system is a digital system (reverse rotation developing system). Further, even in developers with the same polarity, the resistances of the developers depend on the components thereof (CCA, resin or the like) thereof due to electrification characteristics (saturation electrification amounts). Furthermore, in the case of an image forming apparatus which can form a color image, a developer used therein has a different hue.
In the case where the user mounts a developer replenishing container which contains a developer uninterchangeable among image forming apparatuses to a wrong image forming apparatus by mistake, a developing apparatus is replenished with a developer with different characteristics, and the developer with different characteristics causes a carrier rise and a developer burst. As a result, the developer scatters in the image forming apparatus, and a photoconductor is deteriorated.
In order to avoid such a problem, an image forming apparatus is proposed which comprises a developer replenishing container provided with a storing section which stores information specific to the developer replenishing container (information such as the kind of developer and the model of a proper image forming apparatus), and at the time of mounting a developer replenishing container to a developing apparatus of an image forming apparatus, it is judged whether the mounted developer replenishing container is proper or not based on the specific information stored in the storing section.
However, the image forming apparatus as described above has a problem that since all the specific information stored in the storing section are read when it is judged whether a mounted developer replenishing container is proper or not, even a developer replenishing container having been judged once needs to be judged to be proper or not based on all the specific information as well, and the judgement whether proper or not is not executed with efficiency.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which, once a judgement that an expendable member mounted to the image forming apparatus is proper therefor is formed, subsequent judgments of whether an expendable member is proper or not is carried out with ease by identifying the expendable member with the one which was once judged as being proper.
The invention provides an image forming apparatus comprising:
a main body having a storing section for storing a random number;
an expendable member for use in forming an image, removably mounted to the image forming apparatus main body, the expendable member being provided with a storing section in which information specific thereto is previously stored: and
control means for judging whether or not an expendable member mounted to the image forming apparatus main body is proper for the image forming apparatus, based on the specific information,
wherein, when an expendable member is mounted to the image forming apparatus, the control means judges the expendable member as being proper, the control means generates a random number, which random number is then stored in the storing section of the image forming apparatus main body and the storing section of the expendable member, and
a subsequent judgment of an expendable member mounted to the image forming apparatus is first carried out by checking a match of random numbers of the storing sections of the image forming apparatus main body and expendable member by the control means, and in the case where the random number of the expendable member storing section matches with the random number of the storing section of the image forming apparatus main body, the expendable member is judged as being proper for the image forming apparatus.
According to the invention, the image forming apparatus comprises the expendable member for use in forming an image which is removably mounted to the image forming apparatus, and is provided with the storing section in which information specific to the expendable member is previously stored, and the control means in which when a judgement that an expendable member mounted to the image forming apparatus main body is proper for the image forming apparatus is formed for the first time, based on the specific information previously stored in the storing section, the control means generates a random number and causes the storing section of the expendable member and the storing section of the image forming apparatus main body to store the random number, subsequent judgments of whether an expendable member is proper or not is carried out, based on whether or not the random number in the storing section of the expendable member matches the random number in the storing section of the image forming apparatus main body. When the first judgment that the mounted expendable member is proper is formed, the control means generates a random number and executes a later judgement of an expendable member by using the random number, so that it is possible to judge with efficiency whether an expendable member is proper or not. Moreover, it is possible to judge with ease and reliability whether the expendable member is the same as the one mounted last time.
Further, in the invention it is preferable that when the random number in the storing section of the expendable member does not match the random number in the storing section of the image forming apparatus main body, the control means judges whether the expendable member is proper or not based on the specific information.
According to the invention, in the case where the random number in the storing section of the image forming apparatus main body does not match the random number in the storing section of the expendable member, the judgement of whether the expendable member is proper or not is then carried out based on the specific information previously stored in the storing section of the expendable member. Therefore, efficient and reliable judgment of whether an expendable member is proper or not.
In the invention it is preferable that the control means judges whether the expendable member mounted to the image forming apparatus is proper or not every time a power of the image forming apparatus main body is turned on.
According to the invention, the control means judges whether the expendable member mounted to the image forming apparatus is proper every time the power of the image forming apparatus main body is turned on, so that it is possible to judge with reliability whether the expendable member is proper or not before using the apparatus.
In the invention it is preferable that the expendable member is a devel
Pendegrass Joan
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
LandOfFree
Image forming apparatus with expendable member and random... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Image forming apparatus with expendable member and random..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Image forming apparatus with expendable member and random... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2537304