JP4412583B2 - Device unit, image forming apparatus, and management system - Google Patents

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus unit that is installed in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine thereof in a replaceable manner, an image forming apparatus, and a management system that manages the use status thereof. is there.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, many image forming apparatuses such as a color copying machine have been developed in which an apparatus unit such as a process cartridge is configured to be detachable from an image forming apparatus main body. In such an image forming apparatus, when an existing apparatus unit has reached the end of its life or failure, a maintenance work is performed by an operator such as a user or a service person to replace the existing apparatus unit with a new apparatus unit. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

Here, the new equipment unit that is replaced and installed in the main body of the image forming apparatus is recovered after being used in any one of the image forming apparatuses in addition to the one that has been completely newly manufactured in the manufacturing factory. Recycled units that have been reused are also included.
In particular, with the recent increase in awareness of resource saving, the manufacture (reuse processing) of recycling units is often performed by a manufacturer different from the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-133561 discloses a technique for mounting a nonvolatile memory in a process cartridge that is replaceably installed in an image forming apparatus main body and exchanging information with the memory mounted in the image forming apparatus main body. Yes.
Specifically, for the purpose of preventing write failure due to noise in the nonvolatile memory mounted on the process cartridge, writing is performed only when writing to the nonvolatile memory is necessary, and writing to the nonvolatile memory is performed at other times. The timing of writing is controlled so as to prohibit writing.

JP 2002-23570 A (page 3-5, Fig. 2-3)

  In the conventional image forming apparatus described above, there is a case where the image quality in the output image is deteriorated by replacing the process cartridge at the time of maintenance.

Details are as follows.
That is, an image forming apparatus manufactured at a manufacturing factory is shipped after various adjustments are made in a state where a process cartridge is installed in the apparatus. Among the adjustments, there is also an elaborate adjustment for ensuring the highest image quality, and there is often a one-to-one correspondence between the process cartridge and the image forming apparatus main body. That is, when the process cartridge installed in the image forming apparatus for which adjustment has been completed is replaced with another one, strictly speaking, there are many cases where exactly the same image quality cannot be obtained.

Such a problem becomes apparent when an operator performs maintenance work in an image forming apparatus on the market. In other words, when the existing process cartridge has reached the end of its life or failure and the replacement process cartridge is installed in the main body of the image forming apparatus, the image quality may deteriorate.
The above-described problem hardly causes a difference in image quality if the replacement process cartridge is a genuine one (the quality is controlled by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus). That is, the image forming apparatus main body and the process cartridge are designed and manufactured based on the know-how that the difference in image quality is minimized even if the process cartridge is replaced. The same applies to a process cartridge recycled by a genuine manufacturer.

On the other hand, the process cartridge for replacement is a non-genuine one (manufactured by a manufacturer different from the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus and cannot be controlled by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus). In some cases, the above problem may not be negligible. That is, non-genuine ones often do not reflect the above-mentioned know-how. The same is true for process cartridges recycled by non-genuine manufacturers. Non-genuine recycling includes collecting genuine products for reuse by non-genuine manufacturers, collecting non-genuine products for further reuse by non-genuine manufacturers, and collecting non-genuine products. There are cases where a genuine manufacturer recycles.
The above-described problem cannot be ignored particularly in a color image forming apparatus that requires high image quality.

In order to solve such a problem, a measure to prevent the non-genuine process cartridges from being uniformly installed in the main body of the image forming apparatus is also conceivable (for example, see FIG. 4 in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-29583).
However, some non-genuine products should be able to maintain the same good image quality as genuine products by the efforts of the manufacturer. In particular, if a genuine product is collected and recycled, there is a high possibility that a good image can be maintained even if it is recycled by a non-genuine manufacturer. It is not appropriate to make them impossible to install in the image forming apparatus uniformly, because it limits the options for the user of the image forming apparatus.

  Note that the above-described problem is an apparatus unit configured on the premise that the image forming apparatus main body is replaced other than the process cartridge, and an apparatus unit (for example, a photosensitive unit) whose quality may vary depending on the unit difference. This is a problem common to all the body drum, charging unit, developing unit, toner cartridge, cleaning unit, optical unit, transfer unit, paper feeding unit, fixing unit, and the like.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the apparatus unit to be replaced with the image forming apparatus main body can be replaced regardless of the type such as genuine / non-genuine or recycled / non-recycled. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus unit, an image forming apparatus, and a management system that can always operate under optimum conditions and can be used with peace of mind by users.

The apparatus unit according to claim 1 of the present invention is detachably installed in an image forming apparatus having a control unit that controls the apparatus, and includes an image carrier, a charging unit that charges the image carrier, A developing unit that develops a latent image formed on the image carrier, a transfer unit that transfers a toner image formed on the image carrier to a transfer material, and a cleaning unit that cleans the image carrier. A device unit in which any one or a plurality of units is unitized, and includes a nonvolatile memory that holds information exchanged with the control unit, and the nonvolatile memory prohibits rewriting of information with respect to existing information and a write prohibited area, the writable area can be written information, have a, a second write area available only once writing of information, the write inhibit area on said image bearing member Information relating to image forming conditions and information relating to manufacturing are retained, information relating to operation history is retained in the writable area, and information relating to start of use is retained in the second writable area. The write-protected area is formed such that when a preset code is recognized, the prohibition of rewriting information on the existing information is canceled and the information on the existing information can be rewritten once. The second writable area is formed so that the information can be written once more when a preset code is recognized .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the apparatus unit according to the first aspect, wherein the write-inhibited area, the writable area, and the second writable area are formed in correspondence with a commodity group ID. To do.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the device unit according to the first or second aspect, the nonvolatile memory is provided in an IC tag that is detachably formed.

An image forming apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the invention includes the apparatus unit according to any one of the first to third aspects.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention is configured to be connectable to a public communication line or the Internet to which a management system for managing the usage status of the apparatus is connected. The information held in the control unit is sent to the management system via the public communication line or the Internet.

The image forming apparatus according to the invention of claim 6 is the invention described in claim 4 or claim 5, the public communication line or the Internet management system is connected to manage the usage of the device It is configured to be connectable, and sends information sent from the management system via the public communication line or the Internet, and causes the control unit to hold the information.

A management system according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is a management system for managing the usage status of the image forming apparatus according to the fifth or sixth aspect, wherein the image is transmitted via the public communication line or the Internet. Connected to the forming apparatus.

  The present invention relates to information on unit types such as version, genuine / non-genuine, recycled / non-recycled, and image forming conditions, manufacturing conditions, operation history, etc. Individual information is exchanged between the apparatus unit and the image forming apparatus main body, and further between the image forming apparatus and the management system. In addition, since this information is stored hierarchically with a lighter degree of freedom in writing, the information is organized and information manipulation by a third party unrelated to the manager managing the quality is also prevented. Thus, the adjustment of the image forming apparatus can be optimized efficiently. That is, it is possible to provide an apparatus unit, an image forming apparatus, and a management system that are always operated under optimal image forming conditions and can be used with peace of mind by the user.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is the same or it corresponds, The duplication description is simplified or abbreviate | omitted suitably.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an entire image forming apparatus according to an embodiment.
In FIG. 1, 1 is an apparatus main body of a color copying machine as an image forming apparatus, 2 is an optical unit (optical unit) that emits laser light based on image information, and 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20BK are colors (yellow, magenta, A process cartridge 21 as an apparatus unit installed in an installable position corresponding to cyan and black) in a replaceable manner; a photosensitive drum 21 as an image carrier housed in each of the process cartridges 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20BK; Is a charging unit for charging the photosensitive drum 21, 23 is a developing unit for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 21, and 24 is a toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 21 as a material to be transferred. A transfer roller for transferring to P, a cleaning unit 25 for collecting untransferred toner on the photosensitive drum 21, and a reference numeral 30 for a transfer belt unit. A copying belt, 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32BK are toner supply units that supply toner of each color to the developing unit 23 of each process cartridge 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20BK, and 61 is a storage material P such as transfer paper. A paper feeding unit (paper feeding unit) 66 is a fixing unit (fixing unit) for fixing an unfixed image on the transfer material P, and 80 is detachably installed in each of the process cartridges 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20BK. An IC tag 90 is an operation unit provided so as to be partially exposed on the exterior of the apparatus main body 1, 100 is a control unit of the apparatus main body 1, and 120 is a scanner that optically reads a placed document.

  Here, in each process cartridge 20Y, 20M, 20C, 20BK, a photosensitive drum 21, a charging unit 22, a developing unit 23, and a cleaning unit 25 are integrally held, respectively. Then, image formation of each color (yellow, magenta, cyan, black) is performed on the photosensitive drum 21 in each of the process cartridges 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20BK.

Hereinafter, an operation during normal color image formation in the image forming apparatus will be described.
Each of the four photosensitive drums 21 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. First, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is uniformly charged at a position facing the charging unit 22 (a charging process). Thereafter, the surface of the charged photosensitive drum 21 reaches the irradiation position of each laser beam.

  On the other hand, when a color original is placed on the original placement portion of the scanner 120, image information of the original is optically read by a reading portion (not shown). That is, the original is scanned with an illumination light source, and an original image is formed on a color CCD (not shown). Then, the original image, that is, the reflected light of the light irradiation on the original is photoelectrically converted by the color CCD to generate R, G, and B image signals. These image signals are transmitted to the optical unit 2. Thereafter, in the optical unit 2, laser light corresponding to the image signal is emitted from the LD light source corresponding to each color. The laser light is incident on the polygon mirror 3 and reflected, and then passes through the lenses 4 and 5. The laser light after passing through the lenses 4 and 5 passes through different optical paths for each color component of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black (this is an exposure process).

The yellow component laser light is reflected by the mirrors 6 to 8 and then irradiated to the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 of the first process cartridge 20Y from the right side of the drawing. At this time, the yellow component laser light is scanned in the rotational axis direction (main scanning direction) of the photosensitive drum 21 by the polygon mirror 3 that rotates at high speed. Thus, an electrostatic latent image of a yellow component is formed on the photosensitive drum 21 charged by the charging unit 22.
Similarly, the magenta component laser light is reflected by the mirrors 9 to 11 and then irradiated to the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 of the second process cartridge 20M from the right side of the paper, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image of the magenta component. The The cyan component laser light is reflected by the mirrors 12 to 14 and then irradiated to the surface of the photosensitive drum 12 of the third process cartridge 20C from the right side of the paper, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image of the cyan component. The black component laser light is reflected by the mirror 15 and then is irradiated onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 of the fourth process cartridge 20BK from the right side of the drawing to form a black component electrostatic latent image.

Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 on which the electrostatic latent images of the respective colors are formed further rotates and reaches a position facing the developing unit 23. Then, the toner of each color is supplied from the developing unit 23 onto the photosensitive drum 21, and the latent image on the photosensitive drum 21 is developed (this is a developing step).
Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 after the development process reaches a position facing the transfer belt 30. Here, the transfer roller 24 is installed at each facing position so as to contact the inner peripheral surface of the transfer belt 30. Then, the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photosensitive drum 21 are sequentially transferred onto the transfer material P conveyed by the transfer belt 30 at the position of the transfer roller 24 (transfer process).

  In the transfer belt unit (transfer section), the transfer belt 30 is stretched and supported by a driving roller and three driven rollers. Then, the transfer belt 30 travels in the direction of the arrow in the drawing by the driving roller. This transfer belt unit is configured as an apparatus unit in which members such as the transfer roller 24 and the transfer belt 30 described above are integrally formed and can be exchanged for the apparatus main body 1.

Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 after the transfer process reaches a position facing the cleaning unit 25. The untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 21 is collected by the cleaning unit 25 (this is a cleaning process).
Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 passes through a static elimination unit (not shown), and a series of image forming processes is completed.

On the other hand, the material to be transferred P fed by the paper feed roller 62 is guided from the paper feed unit 61 (paper feed unit) to the position of the registration roller 64 after passing through the transport guide 63. The transfer material P guided to the registration roller 64 is transported toward the contact portion between the transfer belt 30 and the suction roller 27 while the transport timing is controlled.
Thereafter, the transfer material P sequentially passes through the facing positions of the four photosensitive drums 21 while being conveyed to the transfer belt 30 that runs in the direction of the arrow in the drawing. Thus, the toner images of the respective colors are transferred onto the transfer material P, and a color image is formed.

Thereafter, the transfer material P on which the color image is formed is separated from the transfer belt 30 of the transfer belt unit and guided to the fixing unit 66 (fixing unit). In the fixing unit 66, the color image is fixed on the transfer material P at the nip portion between the heating roller 67 and the pressure roller 68.
The transferred material P after the fixing process is discharged out of the apparatus main body 1 by the paper discharge roller 69, and a series of operations of the image forming apparatus is completed.

Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the process cartridge installed in the image forming apparatus body 1 in a replaceable manner will be described in detail.
The four process cartridges installed in the apparatus main body 1 have substantially the same structure except that the color of the toner T to be stored is different. Therefore, the four process cartridges are illustrated by omitting the alphabets (Y, M, C, BK). To do.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view showing the process cartridge 20 in a new state (a state in which a non-recycled product or a recycled product has never been used in the apparatus main body after manufacturing or after a recycling process).
As shown in the figure, the process cartridge 20 mainly includes a photosensitive drum 21 as an image carrier, a charging unit 22, a developing unit 23, and a cleaning unit 25, which are integrally stored in a case 26. Has been. The developing unit 23 includes a developing roller 23a, stirring rollers 23b and 23c, a doctor blade 23d, a T sensor 29 (toner density sensor), and the like, and a developer composed of the carrier C and the toner T is accommodated therein. Has been. The cleaning unit 25 includes a cleaning blade 25a, a cleaning roller 25b, and the like.

Here, an IC tag 80 is detachably installed on the case 26 of the process cartridge 20.
Specifically, the IC tag 80 is an IC that can communicate with the control unit 100 of the apparatus main body 1 and is a packaged IC including an external terminal. The external terminal of the IC tag 80 is inserted into the connection terminal of the IC socket 81 fixed to the case 26. The form of the IC tag 80 is not limited to the present embodiment, and can be an IC chip having a size of several millimeters square, or an IC chip is mounted on a PCB having external terminals. It can also be. Further, the exchange of information with the control unit 100 of the apparatus main body 1 can be performed as a contact IC tag by wire, or can be performed wirelessly as a non-contact IC tag.

Then, replacement work for the apparatus main body is performed by the operator in units of the process cartridge 20.
That is, referring to FIG. 2B, the process cartridge 20 as an apparatus unit is installed in the installation section of the apparatus main body.
Specifically, after the door (not shown) of the apparatus main body is opened by the operator, the process cartridge 20 is guided by a rail (not shown) provided in the apparatus main body and installed in the apparatus main body.

  When the installation of the process cartridge 20 in the apparatus main body is completed, first, information is exchanged between the IC tag 80 of the process cartridge 20 and the engine control board 110 of the control unit 100 in the apparatus main body. Information exchanged at this time includes image forming conditions related to the process cartridge 20, manufacturing, operation history, information related to start of use, and the like. Based on the exchanged information, the entire image forming apparatus is adjusted to the optimum image forming conditions by the control unit 100 of the apparatus main body 1. The control related to the exchange of information at this time will be described in detail later.

Then, referring to FIG. 2B, normal image formation is performed after the above-described exchange of information is completed. This normal image formation is performed as described above with reference to FIG.
Specifically, the developing roller 23a rotates in the direction of the arrow in the drawing. The toner T in the developing unit 23 is mixed with the carrier C together with the toner T supplied from the toner supply unit 32 by the stirring rollers 23b and 23c that rotate counterclockwise in the drawing. The frictionally charged toner T is supplied onto the developing roller 23a together with the carrier C by one stirring roller 23b.
The toner T in the toner bottle 33 is appropriately supplied into the developing unit 23 as the toner T in the developing unit 23 is consumed. The toner T in the developing unit 23 is consumed by a toner concentration sensor 28 (P sensor) as an optical sensor facing the photosensitive drum 21 and a toner concentration sensor (T) as a magnetic permeability sensor provided in the developing unit 23. Sensor).

Thereafter, the toner T carried on the developing roller 23a passes through the position of the doctor blade 23d and then reaches a position facing the photosensitive drum 21. At the opposite position, the toner T adheres to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21. Specifically, the toner T adheres to the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 by an electric field formed by a potential difference between the surface potential of the region irradiated with the laser light L and the developing bias applied to the developing roller 23a.
Most of the toner T adhering to the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred onto the transfer material P. The toner T remaining on the photosensitive drum 21 is collected in the cleaning unit 25 by the cleaning blade 25a and the cleaning roller 25b.

Next, the control unit 100 of the image forming apparatus main body 1 and the IC tag 80 of the process cartridge 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 3, the control unit 100 includes a controller board 101 related to the overall control of the apparatus, an operation unit control board 102 that performs control related to the operation unit 90, an HDD 103 that stores image information, and a communication control device 105. Communication control device interface board 104 connected to a public communication line such as an analog telephone line via LAN, LAN interface board 106 connected to LAN, facsimile control unit (FCU) 107 connected to PCI bus, IEEE 1394 board / Wireless LAN board / USB board 108, engine control board 110 connected to controller board 101 via PCI bus 109, and I / O control board connected to engine control board 110 to control I / O of device main body 1 40, consists of the scanner 120 reads the image of the placed copied document on the scanner board (SBU) 122, written on the photosensitive drum 21 to image information as a laser beam LDB130 like.

  Referring to FIG. 3, the color CCD 121 of the scanner 120 is a three-line color CCD, and generates EVENch / ODDch R, G, and B image signals. These image signals are input to the analog ASIC of the SBU 122. Here, the SBU 122 is equipped with a timing generation circuit for generating the driving timing of the analog ASIC and the color CCD 121. The output of the CCD 121 is sampled and held by a sample and hold circuit inside the analog ASIC, and then A / D converted. The A / D converted R, G, and B image data is then subjected to shading correction and sent to an IPP (image information processor) of the engine control board 110 via an output I / F (interface).

In the IPP of the engine control board 110, separation generation (determination of whether an image is a character area or a photographic area), background removal, scanner gamma conversion, filter, color correction, scaling, image processing, printer gamma Conversion, gradation processing, etc. are performed. The IPP is a programmable arithmetic processing unit that performs image processing.
The image information transmitted from the SBU 122 to the IPP is written into the frame memory of the controller board 101 after correction for signal deterioration.

The controller board 101 includes a CPU, a ROM that controls the controller board 101, an SRAM that is a working memory used by the CPU, a backup of the SRAM with a built-in lithium battery, an NV-RAM with a built-in clock, and a system bus control. It consists of an ASIC that controls the CPU periphery, such as frame memory control and FIFO, an interface circuit, and the like.
The controller board 101 has application functions as a multifunction machine such as a scanner application, a facsimile application, a printer application, and a copy application, and controls the entire system. That is, the information related to the application input from the operation unit control board 102 is decoded, the system is set, and the state is displayed on the display unit of the operation unit 90.

  The controller board 101 is connected to the communication control device 105 via the communication control device interface board 104 so that full duplex asynchronous serial communication can be performed. Note that the communication control device 105 is multidrop-connected in accordance with the RS-485 interface standard. Communication with a management system, which will be described later, is performed via the communication control device interface board 104.

  The controller board 101 is connected to a LAN (Internet) via a LAN interface board 106. The LAN interface board 106 is a standard communication interface of a PHY chip I / F or an I2C bus I / F equipped with a PHY chip. Communication with a management system, which will be described later, is performed via the LAN interface board 106.

  The HDD 103 connected to the controller board 101 functions as a system application program, an application database for storing activation information, and a database for image information. The HDD 103 is connected to the controller board 101 through an interface compliant with ATA / ATAPI-4.

  The operation unit control board 102 connected to the controller board 101 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, LCDC, and the like. Through the communication between the operation unit control board 102 and the controller board 101, a display necessary for key input and operation is displayed on the display unit (display panel) of the operation unit 90. The ROM of the operation unit control board 102 holds a control program for controlling input reading and display output. The RAM of the operation unit control board 102 is a working memory used by the CPU. Note that the display unit (display panel) of the operation unit 90 is used by an operator to input system settings and display system settings and status to the operator.

On the other hand, the engine control board 110 mainly performs control related to the image forming process described above with reference to FIGS. The engine control board 110 includes a CPU 116, an I / O / ACIC, an IPP, a ROM 115 holding a program necessary for control relating to image formation, an SRAM necessary for the control, an NV-RAM, and the like.
Here, the CPU 116 of the engine control board 110 and the IC tag 80 of the process cartridge are configured to be communicable. This will be described in detail later.

The engine control board 110 is connected to the controller board 101 via the PCI bus 109. Here, the PCI bus 109 is an image information bus / control command bus that transmits image information and control commands in a time-sharing manner.
In addition, in the LD board (LDB) 130 connected to the engine control board 110, write signals of each color (yellow, magenta, cyan, black) output from the work memory of the controller board 101 are input to the LD write circuit. . In this LD writing circuit, LD current control (modulation control) is performed and output to each LD light source.

  The I / O • ASIC of the engine control board 110 includes a serial interface that transmits and receives signals to and from the CPU 116. The I / O ASIC controls devices such as counters, fans, solenoids, and motors mounted near the engine control board 110.

The I / O control board 140 connected to the engine control board 110 through a synchronous serial interface includes a CPU, an I / O ASIC, a process cartridge I / F 141, and the like. The CPU of the I / O control board 140 functions as a so-called sub CPU and performs I / O control such as analog control of the toner density sensors 28 and 29 described in FIG.
Here, the detection of the mounting of the new process cartridge 20 to the apparatus main body 1 is performed when the door of the apparatus main body 1 is opened and closed. That is, when the door SW (switch) connected to the I / O control board 140 is off, the process cartridge 20 may be replaced, so that the confirmation is performed and the result is transmitted to the engine control board 110.

The process cartridge I / F 141 is an interface circuit for exchanging information between the engine control board 110 of the apparatus main body 1 and the nonvolatile memory of the IC tag 80 mounted on the process cartridge 20.
For example, when the communication interface between the nonvolatile memory and the control unit 100 of the apparatus main body 1 is an I2C bus, the parallel signal from the CPU 116 of the control unit 100 is converted into an I2C signal and transmitted to the nonvolatile memory of the IC tag 80. Is done. Similarly, the signal from the nonvolatile memory is converted into a parallel signal and transmitted to the CPU 116 of the control unit 100. On the other hand, when the CPU 116 of the control unit 100 includes an I2C bus, both are directly connected.
A PSU 135 as a power source is a unit that supplies power for controlling the image forming apparatus main body 1. By turning on the main SW, commercial power is supplied to the image forming apparatus.

Next, the IC tag 80 detachably installed on the process cartridge 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the IC tag 80 is a contact type IC tag, and includes a CPU 152, an I / O port 153, a system control logic 154, a ROM 155, a RAM 156, an EEPROM 157 as a nonvolatile memory, an E-EEPROM 158, and the like. ing.
Here, the EEPROM (nonvolatile memory) 157 is provided with a write prohibited area 157a, a writable area 157b, and a second writable area 157c as addresses. In these areas, information relating to the process cartridge 20 necessary for controlling the image forming apparatus is held. This will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

Further, the CPU 152 writes information to the nonvolatile memory 157 and reads information held in the nonvolatile memory 157 in accordance with communication with the outside and commands from the outside by a program stored therein. .
The I / O port 153 is a communication interface compliant with ISO7816-3, and exchanges communication interface signals 181 and 182 with the CPU 116 installed on the engine control board 116 of the control unit 100. The CPU 152 can also exchange the communication interface signal 170 with the apparatus main body CPU other than the CPU 116 of the engine control board 116.

The system control logic 154 is a control circuit related to control in the IC tag 80. The ROM 155 is a program memory, and the RAM 156 is a working memory for executing the program. Further, the E-EEPROM is a memory that holds a dedicated program related to a write operation to the nonvolatile memory 157.
The CPU 152, the I / O port 153, the system control logic 154, the ROM 155, the RAM 156, the nonvolatile memory 157, and the E-EEPROM 158 are connected by a control signal 161, a control bus 162, a data bus 163, and an address bus 164, respectively. Has been.

In the present embodiment, the IC tag 80 is a contact IC tag, but may be a non-contact IC tag. In this case, the IC tag 80 is provided with a non-contact communication interface connected to the transmission / reception antenna instead of the I / O port of FIG. 4 and a power supply source (power supply). Information is exchanged wirelessly with a CPU provided on the main body side.
The nonvolatile memory 157 in the IC tag 80 is not limited to the EEPROM of this embodiment, and various types of nonvolatile memories can be applied.

Next, the nonvolatile memory 157 installed in the process cartridge 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a memory map of the nonvolatile memory 157 installed in the IC tag 80.
As shown in the figure, in the non-volatile memory, a writable area as address “00H”, a second writable area as address “20H”, and a write-inhibited area as address “30H”, respectively, A model Secured when using. Similarly, a writable area (address “50H” in the figure), a second writable area (not shown), and a write prohibited area (not shown) are used when the B model is used. Secured.

Here, the A model and the B model are different types of image forming apparatuses. The process cartridge 20 is configured so that it can be installed in a plurality of image forming apparatuses (model A, model B, etc.).
Then, by exchanging information between the apparatus main body 1 and the process cartridge 20 described above, the process cartridge 20 side determines the model of the apparatus main body 1 (here, A model), and the non-volatile corresponding to the model. The information of the writable area (address “00H”), the second writable area (address “20H”), and the write prohibited area (address “30H”) in the memory is used.

As shown in FIG. 5, the writable area (address “00H”) of the nonvolatile memory includes “process cartridge product group ID”, “process cartridge version”, “type (color ID)”, “valid period” (Retention period) "," Number of copies "," Number of recycling "," Reproduction date "," Failure history (error history) "," Filling amount "," Filling date "," Toner remaining amount "," T Information such as “sensor control information” and “P sensor control information” is held for each byte count.
Here, the information in the writable area is mainly information (fluid information) related to the operation history of the process cartridge 20 (mainly related to the recycling history). These pieces of information in the writable area are information that flows along with the history of the process cartridge 20, so that information on existing information held in the area can be rewritten. In other words, the rewritable area is an area where information can be freely read and written (read / write area), and is formed so as not to limit the number of times information can be written.
The reason why the “process cartridge product group ID” and the “process cartridge version” are used as fluid information is that recycling of the process cartridge is taken into consideration.

In addition, in the second writable area (address “20H”) of the nonvolatile memory, information such as “use start date”, “use start signal”, “write prohibition flag”, etc. is held in the number of bytes. Has been.
Here, these pieces of information in the second writable area are information related to the start of use of the process cartridge 20 (the cartridge 20 in a new state is used in the apparatus main body 1 for the first time) (fixed determined by the start of use). Information). Since these pieces of information in the second writable area are fixed information determined as the process cartridge 20 starts to be used, information can be written only once. That is, at the start of use, information such as “use start date” is written in the second writable area.

In the non-volatile memory write-protected area (address “30H”), “lot number”, “manufacturer name (manufacturer ID)”, “manufacturing date”, “serial number (recognition number)”, “recycle” Information such as “upper limit of number of times”, “commodity ID of process cartridge”, “version of process cartridge”, “exposure amount”, “charge amount”, “development bias”, and the like is held in the number of bytes.
Here, these pieces of information in the write-protected area are centered on information relating to the manufacturing and image forming conditions of the process cartridge 20 (fixed information determined at the time of manufacturing). Since these pieces of information in the write-inhibited area are fixed information determined at the time of manufacturing the process cartridge 20, information over existing information held in the area cannot be rewritten.
The image forming conditions relate to the image forming process described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, and the exposure amount of the laser beam L in the exposure process, the charge amount of the charging unit 22 in the charging process, and the development process. The development bias of the development unit 23 is information unique to the process cartridge 20 for optimal image formation.
The reason why “process cartridge product group ID” and “process cartridge version” are also used as fixed information is that it is necessary to refer to the original information at the time of manufacture.
Further, “rewriting information” in the present application includes not only the case where the existing information is initialized and the new information is written, but also the case where the information is overwritten on the existing information. The new area with “information rewriting” may be wider or narrower than the existing area.
In addition, the above-described write prohibition area, writable area, and second writable area are formed in correspondence with the product group ID (“product group ID of process cartridge”), respectively, thereby facilitating the organization of information. .

Next, the control in the above-described image forming apparatus will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing control on the process cartridge side when the process cartridge 20 is installed in the apparatus main body 1.
First, when the main SW of the apparatus main body 1 is turned on (power is turned on) or the door of the apparatus main body 1 is opened / closed, the existing process cartridge 20 (described as “PC” in the drawing) is described in the apparatus main body 1. )) Is transmitted to the IC tag 80 of the currently installed process cartridge.

As shown in FIG. 6, on the process cartridge side, the IC tag 80 reads the existing information related to the merchandise group ID, serial number, write signal, etc. transmitted from the apparatus main body (steps S1 to S2). ).
And it is discriminate | determined whether the information of the transmitted merchandise group ID corresponds with the merchandise group ID memorize | stored in the non-volatile memory 157 (step S3). That is, it is determined whether the product group ID of the currently installed process cartridge is the original product group ID (product group ID at the time of factory shipment).

As a result, if it is determined that the merchandise group IDs match, it is further determined whether the transmitted serial number matches the serial number stored in the nonvolatile memory 157 (step S4).
As a result, if it is determined that the serial numbers match, the transmitted “recycle count” (information that can be written at the recycle factory) matches the “recycle count” stored in the nonvolatile memory 157. It is determined whether or not to perform (step S5).

As a result, if it is determined that the number of recyclings is the same, the information is transmitted to the control unit 100 of the apparatus main body, assuming that the process cartridge has not been replaced (step S6).
Then, it is determined whether there is a write signal in the information transmitted from the apparatus main body (step S7).
As a result, when it is determined that there is no write signal, this flow is finished (step S8).
On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a write signal, the flow proceeds to another flow N. The flow N is a control flow relating to writing of information to the nonvolatile memory, and will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

If it is determined in step S4 that the serial numbers do not match, the serial number stored in the nonvolatile memory is transmitted to the control unit 100 of the apparatus main body together with the matched product group ID (step S9). .
Then, the flow after step S7 demonstrated previously is performed.
If it is determined in step S5 that the number of recyclings does not match, the “number of recyclings” stored in the non-volatile memory is transmitted to the control unit 100 of the apparatus main body together with the matching product group ID (step S5). S10).
Then, the flow after step S7 demonstrated previously is performed.

  If it is determined in step S3 that the product group IDs do not match, the transmitted original product group ID does not match one of the plurality of product group IDs held in the nonvolatile memory 157. Is determined (step S11). Here, control information corresponding to a plurality of commodity group IDs is stored in the nonvolatile memory. The control information is useful for enabling good image formation even when the process cartridge is installed in another image forming apparatus manufactured by the same manufacturer or in an image forming apparatus manufactured by another manufacturer. Information.

If it is determined in step S11 that the original merchandise group ID does not match any of the plurality of merchandise group IDs, a message to that effect is transmitted to the control unit 100 (step S17), and this flow is terminated (step S11). S18).
On the other hand, when it is determined that the original merchandise group ID matches one of the plurality of merchandise group IDs, the fact that the currently installed process cartridge is not the original one is transmitted, and the merchandise group ID is also transmitted. Is transmitted to the apparatus main body (step S12).

Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the serial number transmitted from the apparatus body matches the serial number corresponding to the merchandise group ID matched in step S11 (step S13).
As a result, if it is determined that the serial numbers match, it is further determined whether the transmitted “recycle count” matches the “recycle count” corresponding to the matched merchandise group ID in step S11 ( Step S14).

As a result, if it is determined that the number of recyclings is the same, the information is transmitted to the control unit 100 of the apparatus main body, assuming that the process cartridge has not been replaced (step S15).
Then, this flow is finished (step S16).

If it is determined in step S13 that the serial numbers do not match, the corresponding serial number is transmitted to the control unit 100 of the apparatus main body together with the matched product group ID (step S19). Then, the flow after step S7 demonstrated previously is performed.
If it is determined in step S14 that the number of times of recycling does not match, the corresponding “number of times of recycling” is transmitted to the control unit 100 of the apparatus main body together with the matched product group ID (step S20). Then, the flow after step S7 demonstrated previously is performed.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing control related to information writing to the nonvolatile memory 157 of the process cartridge 20.
As shown in FIG. 7, in the control of writing information to the nonvolatile memory 157 of the process cartridge 20, first, a memory area corresponding to the merchandise group ID is selected (steps S31 to S32).

And it is discriminate | determined whether the information transmitted from the apparatus main body is the information regarding a 2nd writable area (step S33).
As a result, if the information relates to the second writable area, the presence / absence of a write prohibition flag is further determined (step S34). As a result, when there is no write prohibition flag, that is, when it is determined that writing to the second writable area is possible, “use start date” and “use start signal” are stored in the nonvolatile memory 157. It is written in the second writable area corresponding to the merchandise group ID (step S35).
Further, the write prohibit flag of the second writable area of the nonvolatile memory is set (step S36).

Thereafter, information related to the image forming condition corresponding to the merchandise group ID held in the nonvolatile memory 157 is transmitted to the control unit 100 of the apparatus main body 1 (step S37).
Further, information held in the writable area of the nonvolatile memory 157 is transmitted to the control unit 100 of the apparatus main body 1 (step S38).
Then, this flow is finished (step S39).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S33 that the information is not related to the second writable area, it is further determined whether the information is write prohibition information (step S40). As a result, when it is write prohibition information, this flow is ended (step S41).
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S40 that the information is not write prohibition information, the information is written in a writable area corresponding to the merchandise group ID in the nonvolatile memory (step S42), and this flow is performed. The process ends (step S43).
Also, in the case where it is determined in step S34 that there is a write prohibition flag, this flow is ended (step S41).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the control related to information writing to the write prohibited area / second writable area in the nonvolatile memory of the process cartridge 20.
The control described here is based on the principle that the write-protected area does not allow rewriting of information with respect to existing information, and the second writable area is based on the principle that information is written only once. An exception is for an administrator (a specific person who manages the image forming apparatus) to write information by canceling the prohibition of rewriting or the restriction of only one time. As a result, the adjustment control of the image forming apparatus by the administrator can be optimized.
Note that the administrator can directly input necessary information by directly operating the operation unit 90 of the image forming apparatus, or can input necessary information by remote operation from the management system.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the control of information writing to the write-inhibited area / second writable area, first, a signal for canceling the writing (preliminarily set to information from the outside (operation unit or management system)). Is determined) (steps S51 to S52).
As a result, when it is determined that there is no write release signal, this flow is ended (step S53).
On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a write release signal, it is further determined whether or not the product group ID related to the write release signal matches the original product group ID of the process cartridge (step S54).

As a result, if it is determined that the merchandise county IDs match, this flow is terminated without performing the writing operation (step S55).
On the other hand, if it is determined that the merchandise county IDs do not match, it is further determined whether the merchandise county ID does not match any of the plurality of merchandise county IDs held in the nonvolatile memory 157 (step). S56).

As a result, if it is determined that none of the plurality of merchandise group IDs matches, this flow is terminated without performing the writing operation (step S57).
On the other hand, if it is determined that it matches one of the plurality of merchandise group IDs, a memory area corresponding to the matching merchandise group ID is selected (step S58).

After that, it is determined whether the information (designated information) transmitted together with the write release signal is information related to the write prohibited area (step S59). As a result, when it is determined that the information is related to the write-protected area, a new area including the existing write-protected area in the nonvolatile memory 157 is secured and written as the designation information (step S60).
Further, the write-protected area where the existing information has been rewritten is set again as the write-protected area (step S61), and a flag indicating that the write-protected area has been rewritten (rewritten) is set (step S62). .
Thus, this flow is finished (step S63).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S59 that the information is not related to the write-protected area, it is further determined whether the specified information is information related to the second writable area (step S64).
As a result, if it is determined that the information relates to the second writable area, the designation information is written while a new area including the second writable area in the nonvolatile memory is secured (step S66). ). That is, the second writable area at this time is in a state where information can be written once more.

Furthermore, the second writable area in which the existing information has been rewritten is set again as the second writable area (step S67), and a flag indicating that the second writable area has been rewritten (rewritten) is set. (Step S68).
Thus, this flow is finished (step S69).
If it is determined in step S64 that the information is not related to the second writable area, this flow is ended (step S65).

Next, a management system to which the above-described image forming apparatus is connected will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.
As described above with reference to FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured to be connectable to a public communication line or the Internet.
FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to the management system via the public communication line network, and FIG. 10 is a diagram in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to the management system via the Internet. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the state which exists. The image forming apparatuses in FIGS. 9 and 10 are equivalent to the image forming apparatuses described in FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the two image forming apparatuses 213 and 214 are connected to the communication control apparatus 210 together with the facsimile 222. The other two image forming apparatuses 223 and 224 are connected to the other communication control apparatus 220 together with the telephone 220. The two communication control devices 210 and 220 are connected to a management system 201 serving as a management center via a public communication line 200.

With such a configuration, the plurality of image forming apparatuses 213, 214, 223, and 224 and the management system 201 that manages their quality can exchange information through the public communication line 200.
Specifically, the management system 201 can acquire information held in the control unit 100 and the nonvolatile memory 157 in the image forming apparatuses 213, 214, 223, and 224 via the public communication line 200. As a result, an administrator who operates the management system 201 can accurately grasp the quality state of the image forming apparatuses 213, 214, 223, and 224 in real time while being at a distance. Based on the information, information (designated information) for optimizing the quality state (usage status) of the image forming apparatuses 213, 214, 223, and 224 is transmitted from the management system 201 via the public communication line 200. To the image forming apparatuses 213, 214, 223, and 224. As a result, the administrator who operates the management system 201 can optimally adjust the quality state of the image forming apparatuses 213, 214, 223, and 224 while being at a distance.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the management system 201 is configured to be able to cooperate with the service consignment company 202, and the public communication line 200 includes a mobile phone 230, a mobile terminal 240, and a home phone 250 owned by a service person. It is connected. As a result, the management system 201 provides a higher quality service to the user in cooperation with the service consignment company 202 and the service person based on the information acquired from the image forming apparatuses 213, 214, 223, and 224. Can do.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the two image forming apparatuses 313 and 314 are connected to the router 310 and the firewall 311 together with the terminal 315 to form one LAN. Further, another image forming apparatus 323 is connected to the router 321 and the cable modem 320 together with the terminal 324 to form another LAN. Further, the management system 302 is connected to the router 301 together with the image forming apparatus 303 to form a LAN as a management center. All these LANs are connected by a network to form the Internet 300.

With such a configuration, a plurality of image forming apparatuses 303, 313, 314, and 323 and the management system 302 can exchange information via the Internet 300.
Specifically, the management system 302 can acquire information stored in the control unit 100 and the nonvolatile memory 157 in the image forming apparatuses 303, 313, 314, and 323 via the Internet 300. As a result, an administrator who operates the management system 302 can accurately grasp the quality state of the image forming apparatuses 303, 313, 314, and 323 in real time while being at a distance. Based on the information, information (designated information) for optimizing the quality state (usage status) of the image forming apparatuses 303, 313, 314, and 323 is transmitted from the management system 201 via the Internet 300. Transmit to the forming devices 303, 313, 314, and 323 As a result, the administrator who operates the management system 302 can optimally adjust the state of the image forming apparatuses 303, 313, 314, and 323 while being at a distance.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the management system 302 is configured to be able to cooperate with the service consignment company 307. As a result, the management system 201 can provide the user with a higher quality service in cooperation with the service consignment company 307 based on the information acquired from the image forming apparatuses 303, 313, 314, and 323.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, even when the process cartridge 20 having different types such as manufacturer, presence / absence of recycling, number of times of recycling, version, color, etc. is replaced and installed in the apparatus main body 1, Is recognized by the image forming apparatus and the apparatus main body 1 is adjusted as necessary, so that the apparatus can always be operated under optimum image forming conditions. At this time, necessary information is allocated to the three layers of the write-inhibited area, writable area, and second writable area of the nonvolatile memory 157 of the process cartridge 20 according to the nature of the information. Information is exchanged with the control unit 100 of the main body 1. Thereby, the control related to the adjustment of the apparatus main body 1 is organized, and information operation by a third party unrelated to the administrator who manages the quality of the apparatus is also prevented. Furthermore, since the contents of the information are displayed on the display unit, the user can grasp the state of the apparatus, and the apparatus can be adjusted by exchanging information with the management systems 201 and 302. A device that is expensive and can be used with peace of mind by the user can be provided.

In the present embodiment, the process cartridge 20 is an apparatus unit that is replaceably installed in the apparatus body 1 and includes a nonvolatile memory. However, the application of the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to any apparatus unit that can cause a difference in quality of the image forming apparatus due to the unit difference. Here, in the present application, the “apparatus unit” is defined as a unit that is installed interchangeably with respect to the image forming apparatus main body.
For example, the present invention can be applied to the optical unit 2, the transfer belt units 24 and 30, the fixing unit 66, the paper feeding unit 61, the toner bottle 33 (toner cartridge) in FIG. In an image forming apparatus that does not take the form of a process cartridge, the present invention is also applied to a single unit such as a photosensitive drum, a charging unit, a developing unit, a cleaning unit, and a transfer unit as an apparatus unit related to an image forming process. Applicable. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a composite unit (a configuration other than a process cartridge) in which a plurality of photosensitive drums, charging units, developing units, cleaning units, and transfer units are unitized. In these cases, the device unit is equipped with a non-volatile memory in which necessary information relating to the quality of image formation is held, and a non-writable area, a writable area, and a second writable area are provided in the non-volatile memory. An effect equivalent to that of the present embodiment can be obtained.

  In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an apparatus unit such as an ink jet image forming apparatus or a thermal transfer image forming apparatus is provided. The present invention can be applied to various image forming apparatuses installed.

  In the present embodiment, the engine control board 110 and the controller board 101 are distinguished from each other and installed in the control unit 100 of the image forming apparatus main body 1. However, these boards may be integrated.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is apparent that the embodiment can be appropriately changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention, other than the one suggested in the embodiment. In addition, the number, position, shape, and the like of the constituent members are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be set to a number, position, shape, and the like that are suitable for implementing the present invention.

1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a process cartridge installed in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the process cartridge of FIG. 2A is installed in the image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an IC tag installed in the process cartridge of FIG. 2. 6 is a memory map of a nonvolatile memory in the IC tag of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the control in a process cartridge. It is a flowchart which shows the control regarding the writing of the information to a non-volatile memory. It is a flowchart which shows the control regarding writing of the information to the write-inhibition area | region / 2nd writable area | region of a non-volatile memory. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a state in which the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 and a management system are connected via a public communication line. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a state in which the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 and a management system are connected via the Internet.

Explanation of symbols

1 image forming apparatus main body (apparatus main body), 2 optical section (optical unit),
20, 20Y, 20M, 20C, 20BK Process cartridge,
21 photosensitive drum (image carrier), 22 charging unit,
23 developing unit, 24 transfer roller (transfer belt unit, transfer unit),
25 cleaning section, 30 transfer belt (transfer belt unit, transfer section),
32, 32Y, 32M, 32C, 32BK toner supply unit,
33 Toner bottle (toner cartridge),
61 paper feed unit (paper feed unit), 66 fixing unit (fixing unit),
80 IC tag, 90 operation unit, 100 control unit,
101 controller board, 110 engine control board,
116, 152 CPU, 157 EEPROM (nonvolatile memory),
157a Write protected area, 157b Writable area,
157c second writable area, 200 public communication line,
201, 302 Management system, 300 Internet.

Claims (7)

A development unit that is detachably installed in an image forming apparatus having a control unit that controls the apparatus, and that develops an image carrier, a charging unit that charges the image carrier, and a latent image formed on the image carrier. An apparatus unit in which one or more of a transfer unit for transferring a toner image formed on the image carrier to a transfer material and a cleaning unit for cleaning the image carrier are unitized. There,
A non-volatile memory for holding information exchanged with the control unit;
The non-volatile memory has a write-inhibited area that prohibits rewriting information on existing information, a writable area in which information can be written, and a second writable area in which information can be written only once. And
In the write-inhibited area, information related to image forming conditions in the image carrier and information related to manufacturing are held,
The writable area holds information related to the operation history,
The second writable area holds information related to the start of use,
The write-protect area is formed such that when a preset code is recognized, the information rewrite for the existing information can be rewritten once by canceling the prohibition of rewriting the information for the existing information,
The device unit, wherein the second writable area is formed so that the information can be written once more when a preset code is recognized . 2. The apparatus unit according to claim 1, wherein the write-inhibited area, the writable area, and the second writable area are formed in correspondence with a merchandise group ID. The apparatus unit according to claim 1, wherein the nonvolatile memory is provided in an IC tag that is detachably formed. An image forming apparatus comprising the apparatus unit according to claim 1. It is configured to be connectable to a public communication line or the Internet to which a management system that manages the usage status of the device is connected,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information held in the control unit is sent to the management system via the public communication line or the Internet. It is configured to be connectable to a public communication line or the Internet to which a management system that manages the usage status of the device is connected,
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein information sent from the management system is sent in via the public communication line or the Internet, and the information is held in the control unit. . A management system for managing the usage status of the image forming apparatus according to claim 5 or 6,
A management system connected to the image forming apparatus via the public communication line or the Internet.

Images