Electrophotography – Diagnostics – Consumable
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-08
2003-07-15
Royer, William J. (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Diagnostics
Consumable
C399S025000, C399S026000, C399S027000, C399S031000, C399S081000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06594451
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus of, for example, an electrophotographic type, and a use-situation reporting system for reporting the use situations of a developer and the other consumables stowed in the image forming apparatus. More particularly, the present invention contributes to improvement of a service to be provided for a user of such an image forming apparatus having a cartridge detachably attached thereto.
Herein, the electrophotographic image forming apparatuses adopting electrophotography include, for example, an electrophotographic copier, electrophotographic printers (for example, an LED printer and a laser beam printer), and an electrophotographic facsimile system.
The cartridge detachably attached to a main unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus accommodates at least one of an electrophotographic photosensitive body, charging means for charging the electrophotographic photosensitive body, a developing means for supplying a developer to the electrophotographic photosensitive body, and a cleaning means for cleaning the electrophotographic photosensitive body. In particular, what is referred to as a process cartridge is a cartridge into which at least one of the charging means, developing means, and cleaning means, and the electrophotographic photosensitive body are integrated. The cartridge is detachably attached to the main unit of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Alternatively, the developing means and electrophotographic photosensitive body are integrated into a cartridge, and the cartridge is detachably attached to the main unit of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally
Conventionally, electrophotographic image forming apparatuses including an electrophotographic copier and a laser beam printer project light, which represents image information, to an electrophotographic photosensitive body (photosensitive body) to form a latent image. A developing means is then used to supply a developer to the latent image, whereby the latent image becomes a visible image. The image is then transferred from the photosensitive body to a recording material, and thus formed on the recording material. A developer storage is coupled to the developing means. As more and more images are formed, the developer is consumed.
For the image forming apparatus, a process cartridge system may be adopted in order to facilitate convenience in replacing the consumables including the electrophotographic photosensitive body and developer with new ones and maintaining them. According to the process cartridge system, the electrophotographic photosensitive body, the developing means, charging means, and a cleaning means as well as a developer container and a waste developer container are integrated into a cartridge that is referred to as a process cartridge. The developing means, charging means, and cleaning means serve as processing means for working on the electrophotographic photosensitive body. The process cartridge is detachably attached to the main unit of the image forming apparatus. According to the process cartridge system, a user can maintain the apparatus without the necessity of asking a serviceperson. This leads to drastically improved operability. The process-cartridge system is widely adopted for electrophotographic image forming apparatuses.
In a process cartridge type image forming apparatus, when the service life of a process cartridge has completed its life span, for example, when a developer has run out, the user merely replaces the process cartridge with a new one. Thus, the image forming apparatus can form images again.
Several factors that determine the service life of the process cartridge include the amount of developer, the fatigue of a photosensitive body, the fatigue of charging means, and the fatigue of a developer bearing member. The most significant factor is the amount of developer.
For managing the service life of the process cartridge, a remaining developer sensing means included in the cartridge or the main unit of the image forming apparatus is used to sense the amount of remaining developer. A signal that represents the amount of remaining developer is then sent to the image forming apparatus itself or a display device of a host computer or a terminal personal computer (PC) connected to the image forming apparatus. Thus, the amount of remaining developer is reported to the user.
The remaining developer sensing means for sensing an amount of remaining developer may be realized with various types of sensors. For example, the remaining developer sensing means may be realized with a piezoelectric sensor for sensing the presence or absence of a developer by checking if it is in contact with the developer, or a magnetic sensor suitable for a magnetic developer. Otherwise, if an alternating bias is applied to the developer bearing member that supplies the developer to the photosensitive body, an antenna sensor will do.
A dot counting method is a method of sensing the amount of developer without the necessity of including the foregoing remaining developer sensing means in a development unit. According to the dot counting method, pixel pulses used to form dots are counted. An amount of consumed developer is calculated on the assumption that the count value is proportional to the amount of consumed developer.
However, even if the remaining developer sensing means is used to sense the amount of remaining developer to manage the service life of the process cartridge, it is impossible to see if the service life of the process cartridge has completed its span. Poor-quality images may be produced before the developer runs out.
For example, assume that an image forming apparatus is used to produce at every time a small number of printouts of a low print ratio (image ratio), that is, printouts whose ratio of the printed portion to the whole is low (hereinafter, this usage shall be referred to as a low print-ratio mode). In this case, before the developer runs out, the service lives of any other consumable such as the photosensitive body, a developing roller that is the developer bearing member, or a charging roller that is the charging means may have completed their life spans.
The process cartridge accommodates consumables other than the developer. A user could not have learned the use times of the consumables in the past.
For example, although an indication of an amount of remaining developer does not signify that the service life of any consumable has completed its life span, a poor-quality image may be output. In this case, a user cannot find out the cause and may therefore complain to a manufacturer. The user may then return the process cartridge to the manufacturer.
In contrast, if the use times of consumables other than the developer are reported to a user, the user becomes aware that the service life of the process cartridge has completed its life span. That is to say, even when an indication of an amount of remaining developer used to directly manage the service life of the process cartridge does not signify that the service life of the process cartridge has completed its life span, the use times of the other consumables may have exceeded predetermined service lives. In this case, the service life of the process cartridge has substantially completed its life span. For example, assume that a serviceperson uses a communicating means such as a telephone to ask a user about the amount of remaining developer and the use times of the other consumables. The serviceperson can thus grasp the state of the process cartridge and can distinctly explain to the user about the current situation of the process cartridge.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention attempts to solve the foregoing problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a use-situation reporting system for reporting the amount of remaining developer and the amount of use of the other consumables, and an image forming apparatus, whe
Kakeshita Tomomi
Ogata Hiroaki
Sasame Hiroshi
Yamamoto Shinya
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Royer William J.
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