Image forming apparatus and initialization method

Abstract

The invention provides an image forming apparatus which can simply initialize a consumable memory. An image forming apparatus (1) stores first life information (224-225, 426-428) in first consumable memories (22, 42) provided in first consumables (4, 20), stores second life information (224-225, 426-428) in second consumable memories (22, 42) provided in second consumables (4, 20), and executes: an acceptance process (S12) that accepts an instruction to initialize the first life information and the second life information; an initialization process (S313, S314) for initializing the first life information and the second life information in accordance with the received instruction; and a write process (S415, S434) in which first initialization information indicating that the first life information has been initialized is written to the first consumable memory, and second initialization information indicating that the second life information has been initialized is written to the second consumable memory.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming device and an initialization method. Background Art

[0002] The image forming apparatus is equipped with consumables such as a toner cartridge, a drum cartridge, and an ink cartridge. The consumables have a consumable memory. The consumable memory stores life information related to the life of the consumables.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an ink cartridge provided with a reset button for resetting the contents of a memory mounted on the ink cartridge. The user manually actuates the reset button to reset the contents of the memory.

[0004] Prior art literature

[0005] Patent Literature

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-202900

[0007] Technical problem to be solved by the invention

[0008] In order to promote the reuse of consumables, it is hoped that users can simply initialize the consumable storage without going through complicated steps. Summary of the invention

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily initializing a consumable memory.

[0010] Technical means for solving technical problems

[0011] In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the first mode of the image forming device of the present invention comprises a main body shell, a controller and a main body memory, the main body shell is installed with a first consumable and a second consumable, the first consumable memory possessed by the first consumable stores first life information related to the life of the first consumable, and the second consumable memory possessed by the second consumable stores second life information related to the life of the second consumable, and the controller executes: acceptance processing, accepting an instruction to initialize the first life information and the second life information; initialization processing, initializing the first life information and the second life information according to the accepted instruction; and writing processing, writing the first initialization information indicating that the first life information has been initialized into the first consumable memory, and writing the second initialization information indicating that the second life information has been initialized into the second consumable memory.

[0012] According to a second aspect, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the first consumables or the second consumables may include a replacement part.

[0013] A third method may also be that, in the image forming device of the first method, the image forming device includes a display, and the controller: executes a first display process of displaying an object selection screen on the display, the object display screen is used to allow a user to select the first consumable and the second consumable as objects of the initialization process, and performs the initialization process on the first consumable and the second consumable selected as objects of the initialization process via the object selection screen.

[0014] The image forming device of the fourth mode may also be that, in the image forming device of the first mode, first identification information indicating whether the first consumable is a toner cartridge or a drum cartridge is stored in the first consumable storage, and the controller: executes an acquisition process for acquiring the first identification information, and when the first identification information acquired in the acquisition process indicates that the first consumable is a toner cartridge, in the initialization process, at least any one of the toner consumption, the developing roller rotation speed, and the number of prints stored in the first consumable storage is initialized; when the first identification information acquired in the acquisition process indicates that the first consumable is a drum cartridge, in the initialization process, at least any one of the photosensitive drum rotation speed and the number of prints stored in the first consumable storage is initialized.

[0015] A fifth method may also be that, in an image forming device of the first method, second identification information indicating whether the second consumable is a toner cartridge or a drum cartridge is stored in the second consumable storage, and the controller: executes an acquisition process for acquiring the second identification information, and in a case where the second identification information acquired in the acquisition process indicates a toner cartridge, in the initialization process, at least any one of the toner consumption, the developing roller rotation speed, and the number of prints stored in the second consumable storage is initialized; and in a case where the second identification information acquired in the acquisition process indicates a drum cartridge, in the initialization process, at least any one of the photosensitive drum rotation speed and the number of prints stored in the second consumable storage is initialized.

[0016] The sixth method may also be that, in the image forming device of the first method, the image forming device has a display, and the controller: executes a second display processing of displaying a first warning and a first selection screen on the display, the first warning is intended to indicate that the printing quality cannot be guaranteed if the first life information and the second life information are initialized according to the instruction, the first selection screen is used to allow the user to select whether to initialize the first life information and the second life information, and when initialization is selected through the first selection screen, the initialization processing is executed.

[0017] According to a seventh aspect, in the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the image forming apparatus includes an operation unit, and the controller accepts, in the acceptance process, an instruction to initialize the first life information and the second life information via the operation unit.

[0018] The eighth method may also be that, in the image forming device of the first method, the first initialization information is an initialization number indicating the number of times the first life information is initialized, and the controller further performs a determination process for determining whether the initialization number of the first life information indicated by the first initialization information has reached a predetermined upper limit number, and in the determination process, if it is determined that the initialization number has reached the upper limit number, the initialization process is not performed.

[0019] In addition, it may also be that, in an image forming device of the first mode, the second initialization information is an initialization count indicating the number of times the second life information is initialized, and the controller further performs a determination process for determining whether the initialization count of the second life information indicated by the second initialization information has reached a predetermined upper limit, and in the determination process, if it is determined that the initialization count has reached the upper limit, the initialization process is not performed.

[0020] The ninth method may also be that, in an image forming device of any one of the first method to the eighth method, at least one of first consumption information and first remaining information is stored in the first consumable memory as the first life information, the first consumption information is used to determine the extent to which the first consumable is used, and the first remaining information is used to determine the amount of material remaining in the first consumable.

[0021] In addition, in an image forming device of any one of the first to eighth modes, at least one of second consumption information and second remaining information may be stored in the second consumable memory as the second life information, the second consumption information being used to determine the extent to which the second consumable is used, and the second remaining information being used to determine the amount of material remaining in the second consumable.

[0022] The tenth method may also be that in the image forming device of the ninth method, the first consumable is a toner cartridge, and at least one of the number of prints, the developing roller rotation speed, and the toner consumption is stored in the first consumable memory as the first consumption information, and the controller resets the value of the first consumption information to zero during the initialization process.

[0023] In addition, in the image forming device of the above-mentioned method, the second consumable is a toner cartridge, and at least one of the number of prints, the developing roller speed and the toner consumption is stored in the second consumable memory as the second consumption information, and the controller resets the value of the second consumption information to zero during the initialization process.

[0024] The eleventh method may also be that in the image forming device of the ninth method, the first consumable is a drum cartridge, and at least one of the number of prints and the drum speed is stored in the first consumable memory as the first consumption information, and the controller resets the value of the first consumption information to zero during the initialization process.

[0025] In addition, in the image forming device of the above-mentioned method, the second consumable is a drum cartridge, and at least one of the number of prints and the drum speed is stored in the second consumable memory as the first consumption information, and the controller resets the value of the second consumption information to zero during the initialization process.

[0026] The twelfth method may also be that in the image forming device of the ninth method, the first consumable is a box for storing printing materials, a value representing the capacity of the box is stored in the main memory or the first consumable memory, the remaining amount of printing materials is stored in the first consumable memory as the first remaining amount information, and the controller rewrites the value of the remaining amount of printing materials into the value representing the capacity stored in the main memory or the first consumable memory during the initialization process.

[0027] In addition, in the image forming device of the above-mentioned method, the second consumable is a box for storing printing materials, a value indicating the capacity of the box is stored in the main memory or the second consumable memory, and the remaining amount of printing materials is stored in the second consumable memory as the second remaining amount information, and the controller rewrites the value of the remaining amount of printing materials into the value indicating the capacity stored in the main memory or the second consumable memory during the initialization process.

[0028] The thirteenth mode may also be that, in an image forming device of any one of the first mode to the eighth mode, mode information indicating whether the image forming device is in a contract mode is stored in the main memory, and the contract mode means that a contract is signed for the image forming device, and the controller does not perform the acceptance processing when the mode information indicates that it is in the contract mode.

[0029] The fourteenth mode may also be that, in an image forming apparatus of any one of the first mode to the eighth mode, first category information is stored in the first consumables memory, the first category information indicating whether the first consumables are contract consumables that can be used in an image forming apparatus that has signed a contract or general consumables that can be used in an image forming apparatus that has signed a contract and an image forming apparatus that has not signed a contract, and when the first category information indicates that the first consumables are contract consumables, the controller further performs a change process to change the first category information to the general consumables according to the instruction.

[0030] Alternatively, in an image forming device of any one of the first to eighth modes, second category information is stored in the second consumables memory, the second category information indicating whether the second consumables are contract consumables that can be used in an image forming device that has signed a contract or general consumables that can be used in both an image forming device that has signed a contract and an image forming device that has not signed a contract, and when the second category information indicates that the second consumables are contract consumables, the controller further performs a change process to change the second category information to the general consumables according to the instruction.

[0031] The fifteenth method may also be that, in the image forming device of the fourteenth method, the image forming device includes a display, and when the first category information is indicated as a contract consumable, the controller: executes a third display processing of displaying a second warning and a second selection screen on the display, the second warning is intended to indicate that if the first life information is initialized according to the instruction, the contract consumable is identified as the general consumable, the second selection screen is used to allow the user to select whether to initialize the first life information, and when initialization is selected via the second selection screen, the initialization processing is performed.

[0032] In addition, it may also be that in the image forming device of the above-mentioned method, the image forming device has a display, and when the second category information is indicated as a contract consumable, the controller: executes a third display processing of displaying a second warning and a second selection screen on the display, the second warning is intended to indicate that if the second life information is initialized according to the instruction, the contract consumable is identified as the general consumable, the second selection screen is used to allow the user to select whether to initialize the second life information, and when initialization is selected through the second selection screen, the initialization processing is performed.

[0033] In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the sixteenth mode of the initialization method of the present invention initializes a first consumable storage device possessed by a first consumable and a second consumable storage device possessed by a second consumable, wherein the method comprises: an acceptance step, in which an image forming device accepts an instruction to initialize first life information and second life information, and in the first consumable and the second consumable installed in the main body shell of the image forming device, the first life information is stored in the first consumable storage device and is related to the life of the first consumable, and the second life information is stored in the second consumable storage device and is related to the life of the second consumable; an initialization step, in which the image forming device initializes the first life information and the second life information according to the accepted instruction; and a writing step, in which the image forming device writes first initialization information indicating that the first life information has been initialized into the first consumable storage device, and the image forming device writes second initialization information indicating that the second life information has been initialized into the second consumable storage device.

[0034] A seventeenth aspect may be that, in the initialization method of the sixteenth aspect, the first consumable or the second consumable includes a replacement part.

[0035] The eighteenth mode may also be that, in the initialization method of the sixteenth mode, it includes a first display step, the image forming device displays an object selection screen on the display of the image forming device, the object selection screen is used to allow the user to select the first consumables and the second consumables as objects to be initialized in the initialization step, and the image forming device executes the initialization step for the first consumables and the second consumables selected as objects to be initialized in the initialization step via the object selection screen.

[0036] The nineteenth embodiment may also be that in the initialization method of the sixteenth embodiment, first identification information indicating whether the first consumable is a toner cartridge or a drum cartridge is stored in the first consumable storage device, and the initialization method includes an acquisition step, the image forming device acquires the first identification information stored in the first consumable storage device, and when the first identification information acquired in the acquisition step indicates a toner cartridge, the image forming device initializes at least any one of the toner consumption, the developing roller rotation speed, and the number of prints stored in the first consumable storage device in the initialization step, and when the first identification information acquired in the acquisition step indicates a drum cartridge, the image forming device initializes at least any one of the photosensitive drum rotation speed and the number of prints stored in the first consumable storage device in the initialization step.

[0037] The twentieth embodiment may also be that in the initialization method of the sixteenth embodiment, second identification information indicating whether the second consumable is a toner cartridge or a drum cartridge is stored in the second consumable storage, and the initialization method includes an acquisition step, the image forming device acquires the second identification information stored in the second consumable storage, and when the second identification information acquired in the acquisition step indicates a toner cartridge, the image forming device initializes at least any one of the toner consumption, the developing roller rotation speed, and the number of prints stored in the second consumable storage in the initialization step; when the second identification information acquired in the acquisition step indicates a drum cartridge, the image forming device initializes at least any one of the photosensitive drum rotation speed and the number of prints stored in the second consumable storage in the initialization step.

[0038] The twenty-first embodiment may also be that, in the initialization method of the sixteenth embodiment, it includes a second display step, wherein the image forming device displays a first warning and a first selection screen on the display of the image forming device, the first warning is intended to indicate that the printing quality cannot be guaranteed if the first life information and the second life information are initialized according to the instructions, and the first selection screen is used to allow the user to choose whether to initialize the first life information and the second life information. When initialization is selected through the first selection screen, the image forming device executes the initialization step.

[0039] According to a twenty-second aspect, in the initialization method of the sixteenth aspect, in the accepting step, the image forming apparatus accepts an instruction to initialize the first life information and the second life information via an operation unit of the image forming apparatus.

[0040] The twenty-third embodiment may also be that, in the initialization method of the sixteenth embodiment, the first initialization information is an initialization count indicating the number of times the first life information is initialized, and the initialization method includes a determination step of determining whether the initialization count of the first life information indicated by the first initialization information has reached a predetermined upper limit, and in the determination step, if it is determined that the initialization count has reached the upper limit, the image forming device does not execute the initialization step.

[0041] The twenty-fourth method may also be that, in the initialization method of any one of the sixteenth to twenty-third methods, at least one of first consumption information and first balance information is stored in the first consumable memory as the first life information, the first consumption information is used to determine the extent to which the first consumable is used, and the first balance information is used to determine the amount of material remaining in the first consumable.

[0042] The twenty-fifth method may also be that, in the initialization method of the twenty-fourth method, the first consumable is a toner cartridge, and as the first consumption information, at least any one of the number of prints, the developing roller speed, and the toner consumption is stored in the first consumable memory, and in the initialization step, the image forming device resets the value of the first consumption information to zero.

[0043] The twenty-sixth embodiment may also be that, in the initialization method of the twenty-fourth embodiment, the first consumable is a drum cartridge, and at least one of the number of prints and the drum speed is stored in the first consumable memory as the first consumption information, and in the initialization step, the image forming device resets the value of the first consumption information to zero.

[0044] The twenty-seventh embodiment may also be that in the initialization method of the twenty-fourth embodiment, the first consumable is a box for storing printing materials, a value representing the capacity of the box is stored in the main memory of the image forming device or the first consumable memory, and the remaining amount of printing materials is stored in the first consumable memory as the first remaining amount information, and in the initialization step, the image forming device rewrites the value of the remaining amount of printing materials into the value representing the capacity stored in the main memory or the first consumable memory.

[0045] The twenty-eighth embodiment may also be that, in the initialization method of any one of the sixteenth to twenty-third embodiments, mode information indicating whether the image forming apparatus is in a contract mode is stored in the main memory of the image forming apparatus, and the contract mode means that a contract has been signed for the image forming apparatus. When the mode information indicates that the image forming apparatus is in the contract mode, the image forming apparatus does not execute the acceptance step.

[0046] The twenty-ninth embodiment may also be that, in the initialization method of any one of the sixteenth to twenty-third embodiments, first category information is stored in the first consumables memory, and the first category information indicates whether the first consumables are contract consumables that can be used in an image forming apparatus that has signed a contract or general consumables that can be used in an image forming apparatus that has signed a contract and an image forming apparatus that has not signed a contract, and the initialization method further includes a changing step, and when the first category information indicates that the first consumables are contract consumables, the image forming apparatus changes the first category information to the general consumables according to the instruction.

[0047] The thirtieth embodiment may also be that, in the initialization method of the twenty-ninth embodiment, the initialization method includes a third display step, and when the first category information is indicated as a contract consumable, the image forming device displays a second warning and a second selection screen on the display of the image forming device, the second warning is intended to indicate that if the first life information is initialized according to the instruction, the contract consumable is identified as the general consumable, and the second selection screen is used to allow the user to choose whether to initialize the first life information, and when initialization is selected through the second selection screen, the image forming device executes the initialization step.

[0048] Effects of the Invention

[0049] According to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the user can easily initialize the first consumable storage of the first consumable and the second consumable storage of the second consumable using the image forming apparatus. Therefore, the user can easily initialize the plurality of consumable storages with a single instruction using the image forming apparatus.

[0050] According to the image forming apparatus of the second embodiment, the user can easily initialize the first consumables storage device or the second consumables storage device of the replacement component by using the image forming apparatus. Therefore, the user can easily initialize multiple consumables and multiple replacement components by one instruction by using the image forming apparatus.

[0051] According to the image forming apparatus of the third embodiment, the user can easily initialize the first consumable storage device of the first consumable storage device and the second consumable storage device of the second consumable storage device by selecting the first consumable storage device and the second consumable storage device from the object selection screen displayed on the display. Therefore, the user can easily initialize the consumable storage devices of the selected consumable storage devices by selecting multiple consumable storage devices at once from the object selection screen.

[0052] According to the image forming apparatus of the fourth aspect, the user can easily initialize the different first life information stored in the first consumables memory depending on whether the first consumables is a toner cartridge or a drum cartridge.

[0053] According to the image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect, the user can easily initialize the different second life information stored in the second consumables memory depending on whether the second consumables is a toner cartridge or a drum cartridge.

[0054] According to the image forming apparatus of the sixth aspect, the user can use the image forming apparatus to initialize the first and second consumables storage devices after understanding that the print quality of the reused first and second consumables cannot be guaranteed.

[0055] According to the image forming apparatus of the seventh aspect, the user can easily instruct the image forming apparatus to initialize the first consumable supply storage device and the second consumable supply storage device via the operation unit.

[0056] According to the image forming apparatus of the eighth aspect, the first consumable supply storage is prohibited from being initialized exceeding the permitted number of initialization times, and thus it is possible to prevent the first consumable supply from being reused exceeding the permitted number of reuse times.

[0057] According to the image forming apparatus of the ninth aspect, at least one of the first consumption information and the first remaining amount information stored in the first consumable supply memory can be easily initialized.

[0058] According to the image forming apparatus of the tenth aspect, when the first consumable to be reused is a toner cartridge, consumption information for understanding the life of the toner cartridge, such as the number of printed sheets, the rotation speed of the developing roller, and the toner consumption, is appropriately initialized. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the unfavorable situation that the life of the toner cartridge after reuse cannot be appropriately understood due to the consumption information before reuse being left.

[0059] According to the image forming apparatus of the eleventh aspect, when the first consumable to be reused is a drum cartridge, consumption information for understanding the life of the drum cartridge, such as the number of printed sheets and the drum rotation speed, is appropriately initialized. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the disadvantage that the life of the drum cartridge after reuse cannot be appropriately understood due to the consumption information before reuse being left.

[0060] According to the image forming apparatus of the twelfth aspect, when the first consumable to be reused is a toner cartridge or ink cartridge, the remaining amount information, specifically, the remaining amount of the printing material consumed in each printing, is appropriately initialized. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the unfavorable situation that the life of the toner cartridge or ink cartridge after reuse cannot be appropriately grasped due to the remaining amount information (printing material remaining amount) before reuse.

[0061] According to the image forming apparatus of the thirteenth aspect, in the contracted image forming apparatus, the first life information stored in the first consumable supply storage and the second life information stored in the second consumable supply storage can be prohibited from being initialized.

[0062] According to the image forming apparatus of the fourteenth aspect, when the first consumable is a contract consumable, it is possible to prevent the first consumable from being reused as a contract consumable and to promote reuse as a general consumable.

[0063] According to the image forming apparatus of the fifteenth aspect, the user can understand that when the first consumable as a contract consumable is initialized, the first consumable as a contract consumable is treated as a general consumable after reuse. Thereafter, the user can use the image forming apparatus to initialize the first consumable storage device based on understanding that the first consumable is treated as a general consumable.

[0064] In addition, each of the initialization methods of the sixteenth to thirtieth aspects has the same effects as those of the image forming apparatus of any one of the first to fifteenth aspects corresponding to the initialization method according to these aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0065] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an image forming system in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0066] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0067] Figure 3 It is a diagram showing the main structure of an image forming apparatus including a drum cartridge and a toner cartridge.

[0068] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the use history information stored in the main body memory.

[0069] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of toner cartridge information stored in the toner memory.

[0070] Figure 6 This is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the drum cartridge information stored in the drum memory.

[0071] Figure 7 This is a flowchart showing the flow of processing executed by the image forming apparatus in the reuse preparation phase.

[0072] Figure 8 Yes means display Figure 7 Flowchart of the process of processing the standby screen.

[0073] Fig. 9 Is it possible to check whether Figure 7 Flowchart of the process of initialization processing.

[0074] Fig.10 Yes means Figure 7 Flowchart of the process of initialization processing.

[0075] Fig.11 Yes Fig.10 Flowchart of the process of initializing the toner cartridge information.

[0076] Fig.12 Yes Fig.10 Flowchart of the process of initializing the drum cartridge information.

[0077] Fig.13 This is a diagram showing an example of an object selection screen for selecting an initialization object. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0078] (Implementation Method 1)

[0079] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, as an example, a case where the image forming device is a laser printer and the image formation is performed by printing will be described. However, the image forming device may also be a printer other than a laser printer. For example, the image forming device 1 may also be an inkjet printer.

[0080] <Overview of Image Forming System>

[0081] Figure 1 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an image forming system 100 in an embodiment of the present invention. In the image forming system 100, a printing service is provided from an operator to an image forming device 1 of a user according to a contract signed between the operator and the user. Hereinafter, a fixed-rate printing service provided based on a contract is referred to as a contract service. Furthermore, printing performed by the image forming device 1 using the provided contract service is referred to as contract printing, as distinguished from general printing performed without regard to a contract. Hereinafter, general printing performed without regard to a contract is referred to as general printing.

[0082] like Figure 1As shown, the image forming system 100 includes a plurality of image forming devices 1, a server 8, and a user terminal 9. The image forming device 1 used by the user functions as a device for performing general printing, but as described later, when the use of the contract service is permitted, the image forming device 1 can function as a device for performing contract printing. The server 8 used by the business operator is a device for managing the image forming device 1 for which a contract has been signed and the use of the contract service is permitted. Hereinafter, the image forming device 1 for which a contract has been signed and the use of the contract service is permitted is referred to as a contract machine.

[0083] The user terminal 9 used by the user is a device for communicating with the server 8 to execute the signing, cancellation and other procedures of the contract. As the user terminal 9, for example, an information processing terminal with a standard communication function such as a PC (Personal Computer) or a smart phone can be used. The devices constituting the image forming system 100 can communicate with each other via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0084] Figure 1 The plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 shown may be image forming apparatuses purchased by the same user or may be image forming apparatuses purchased by other users.

[0085] The plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 are image forming apparatuses for which a user can use contract-specific consumables or replacement parts by signing a contract with an operator. As an example, a contract refers to an agreement between an operator providing contract services and a user, on the basis of agreeing on the use period, use fee, upper limit number of sheets, etc. of the contract services, and the agreement between both parties that the operator will provide the contract services to the user. That is, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is an image forming apparatus that can perform printing based on the contents of the signed contract, i.e., contract printing, after a contract for the contract services is signed.

[0086] In the image forming system 100 , in the contract service provided by the business operator to the user, the timings of (1) and (2) described below may be different.

[0087] (1) The time when the server 8 recognizes the image forming apparatus 1 as a contracted machine;

[0088] (2) The time when the server 8 considers that the use of the contract service has started in the image forming apparatus 1 .

[0089] That is, in the contract service, the server 8 may recognize the image forming apparatus 1 as “a contract machine, but the use of the contract service has not yet started”.

[0090] In addition, "server 8 recognizes image forming apparatus 1 as a contract machine" in (1) may be triggered by executing a state transition of image forming apparatus 1 from a non-contract mode indicating that a contract has not been concluded to a contract mode indicating that a contract has been concluded.

[0091] In (2), "it is considered that the use of the contract service has started" means that the server 8 recognizes that "the use of the contract service has started from a certain date and time." Therefore, the time when the server 8 is considered to have started the use of the contract service may not be consistent with the time when the image forming apparatus 1 actually executed the contract printing.

[0092] Unless otherwise specified, contract services are charged services. The time (1) is the time when the server 8 recognizes the image forming apparatus 1 as a contracted device and is not a trigger for charging. The time (2) is the time when charging starts.

[0093] In other examples, the time of (1) and the time of (2) above may be approximately the same time. As an example, (1) and (2) above may also be triggered by the installation of a box (consumables) dedicated to the contract service and used for contract printing. Hereinafter, the box dedicated to the contract service used for contract printing will be referred to as a contract box. For example, the image forming device 1 reads specified information from the box memory of the installed contract box and sends the specified information to the server 8. The server 8 that receives the specified information from the image forming device 1 identifies the image forming device 1 as a contract machine and considers that the use of the contract service has started in the image forming device 1.

[0094] In addition, a display unit such as a display and a lamp and an operation unit such as a button are provided in the image forming apparatus 1. In addition, the display may be configured to function as the operation unit by being integrally configured with a touch panel.

[0095] <Overview of the Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 1>

[0096] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the image forming apparatus 1 . Figure 3 1 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the image forming apparatus 1 including the drum cartridge 20 and the toner cartridge 4 , and the server 8 .

[0097] like Figure 2 As shown, the image forming apparatus 1 is composed of a main body housing 10 and a cover 11. Although not shown in the figure, a display unit such as a display and a lamp and an input unit such as a button may be provided in the image forming apparatus 1. In addition, the display may be configured to function as an input unit by being integrally configured with a touch panel.

[0098] (Main body housing 10)

[0099] The toner cartridge 4 is mounted on the main body housing 10 of the image forming apparatus 1. As described in detail below, the toner cartridge 4 is mounted on the drum cartridge 20 and becomes integral with the drum cartridge 20. That is, the toner cartridge 4 is mounted on the main body housing 10 together with the drum cartridge 20 in a state of being mounted on the drum cartridge 20. Thus, the image forming apparatus 1 including the drum cartridge 20 and the toner cartridge 4 is realized.

[0100] In addition, in the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, four toner cartridges 4 need to be installed in order to perform printing. That is, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to install four drum cartridges 20 and four toner cartridges 4. However, the number of drum cartridges 20 and toner cartridges 4 installed in the image forming apparatus 1 is not limited to Figure 2 For example, the image forming apparatus 1 may also be a black and white printer capable of installing a drum cartridge 20 and a toner cartridge 4.

[0101] The toner cartridge 4 contains toner consumed when the image forming apparatus 1 prints. That is, the toner cartridge 4 is a consumable part of the image forming apparatus 1. In addition, the drum cartridge 20 contains a photosensitive drum 21 used when the image forming apparatus 1 prints. The drum cartridge 20 is also an example of a consumable part of the image forming apparatus 1. In addition, the drum cartridge 20 is an example of a replacement part used together with the toner cartridge 4.

[0102] The main body housing 10 is, for example, a rectangular box. Four drum cartridges 20, four toner cartridges 4, a transfer belt 70, a controller 61, a main memory 62, a communication unit 63, an operation unit 64, and a display 65 are accommodated in the main body housing 10. In addition, in the case where the operation unit 64 is a hardware button, the pressing surface of the operation unit 64 can also be provided on the outer surface of the main body housing 10 so that the user can operate. In addition, the display surface of the display 65 can also be provided on the outer surface of the main body housing 10 so that the user can visually recognize the displayed information.

[0103] The main body casing 10 has four cartridge holding portions 13. The cartridge holding portions 13 are formed in a concave shape and have an opening. The drum cartridge 20 and the toner cartridge 4 are mounted on the main body casing 10 by being held in the cartridge holding portions 13, respectively.

[0104] (Hood 11)

[0105] The housing 11 of the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with light source units 50 corresponding to the drum cartridges 20. That is, the image forming apparatus 1 has four light source units 50. Figure 2 The open position of the opening 10A shown by the solid line is Figure 2 The cover 11 can be rotated (moved) around a rotation axis 11A extending in the first direction between the closed positions for closing the opening 10A indicated by the two-dot chain line. The opening 10A provided at the upper end of the main body housing 10 is opened and closed by the rotation of the cover 11 .

[0106] In addition, the "first direction" refers to the direction in which the rotation center axis (developing axis) of the developing roller in the toner cartridge extends. When the cover 11 is configured in the open position, each opening of the cartridge holding portion 13 is opened. When the cover 11 is configured in the closed position, each opening of the cartridge holding portion 13 is covered by the cover 11.

[0107] The closing sensor 12 is provided at the opening 10A of the main body housing 10. The closing sensor 12 is electrically connected to the controller 61. The closing sensor 12 is a sensor that detects that the cover 11 is in a closed position closing the opening 10A. When a signal is input from the closing sensor 12 that detects that the cover 11 is in the closed position, the controller 61 determines that the cover 11 is in the closed position. On the other hand, when a signal is not input from the closing sensor 12 that detects that the cover 11 is in the closed position, the controller 61 determines that the cover 11 is opened. The closing sensor 12 may be, for example, a contact type sensor or an optical type sensor.

[0108] (Toner Cartridge 4)

[0109] The toner cartridge 4 has a cartridge housing capable of housing a developing roller 41 and a developer (e.g., toner) as an example of a printing material. The cartridge housing can be mounted on the main housing 10. The four toner cartridges 4 house developers of different colors (e.g., cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) as materials for image formation. The developer is a material that is consumed as it is used. The developing roller 41 is a cylindrical component extending in a first direction, and can rotate around a developing shaft extending in the first direction. When the toner cartridge 4 is mounted on the drum cartridge 20, the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 contacts the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 41.

[0110] In addition, if Figure 3 As shown, the toner cartridge 4 has a toner memory 42 (a first consumables memory or a second consumables memory). The toner memory 42 is arranged on an outer surface of one side in a first direction of the toner cartridge 4. The toner memory 42 is a memory capable of reading and writing information, such as a flash ROM (Read Only Memory) or an EEPROM (registered trademark, Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory).

[0111] The toner memory 42 stores toner cartridge information 420 as information related to the toner cartridge 4. Figure 5 The data structure of the toner cartridge information 420 will be described.

[0112] (Drum box 20)

[0113] The drum cartridge 20 has a cartridge housing that can be mounted on the main body housing 10. The cartridge housing includes a photosensitive drum 21 as a component for image formation. The drum cartridge 20 is a replacement component that needs to be replaced due to the wear and other degradation of the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 caused by use. The photosensitive drum 21 is a cylindrical photosensitive body extending in a first direction. The photosensitive drum 21 can rotate around a drum shaft extending in the first direction. The outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is covered with a photosensitive material.

[0114] Therefore, the toner cartridge 4 is an example of the first consumable product or the second consumable product. In addition, the drum cartridge 20 is an example of the first consumable product or the second consumable product. In addition, the drum cartridge 20 is an example of a replacement part.

[0115] The drum cartridge 20 may also include a drum memory 22 (a first consumable memory or a second consumable memory). The drum memory 22 is a memory capable of reading and writing information. The drum memory 22 is, for example, a flash ROM or an EEPROM (registered trademark).

[0116] like Figure 3 As shown, the drum memory 22 stores information related to the drum cartridge 20, namely, drum cartridge information 220. Figure 6 The data structure of the drum cartridge information 220 will be described.

[0117] <Box Installation and Printing Mechanism>

[0118] like Figure 2 As shown, the drum cartridge 20 and the toner cartridge 4 are mounted on the main body casing 10 in a state where the cover 11 is arranged at the open position. In this state, the drum cartridge 20 and the toner cartridge 4 are inserted into the cartridge holding portion 13 from the opening 10A.

[0119] Four light source units 50 are mounted on the inner surface of the cover 11. The light source unit 50 is arranged opposite to the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 when the drum cartridge 20 is mounted on the main housing 10 and the cover 11 is in the closed position. In addition, the light source unit 50 has a plurality of light sources arranged along a first direction. The light source can irradiate light to the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21. The light source is, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode).

[0120] The light source unit 50 is electrically connected to the controller 61. The controller 61 makes the plurality of light sources of the light source unit 50 emit light according to the input image data. The light sources irradiate light to the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21. As a result, the photosensitive material on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is exposed according to the image data.

[0121] The transfer belt 70 is a component that transfers the developer (e.g., toner) on the surface of the photosensitive drum to the printing paper. The transfer belt 70 is a replacement component that needs to be replaced due to surface wear and other degradation caused by use. The transfer belt 70 is a belt that can contact the photosensitive drum 21 and is in an annular shape (annular belt). The outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 can contact the outer peripheral surface of the transfer belt 70. During the printing process, the printing paper is transported between the transfer belt 70 and the photosensitive drum 21.

[0122] The transfer belt 70 is stretched between a driving roller 71 and a driven roller 72. The driving roller 71 drives the transfer belt 70. The controller 61 rotates the driving roller 71. The driven roller 72 rotates as the transfer belt 70 moves in accordance with the driving of the driving roller 71.

[0123] <Internal structure of the main body case>

[0124] The controller 61 includes, for example, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The controller 61 is electrically connected to a main body memory 62 and a communication unit 63 provided in the main body casing 10 of the image forming apparatus 1. Figure 3 Although not shown in the figure, the operation unit 64 and the display 65 are also electrically connected to the controller 61. The controller 61 causes the image forming apparatus 1 to perform various processes related to printing by executing various operations.

[0125] In addition, the controller 61 may include a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). In this case, a control program for implementing a method for controlling the image forming apparatus may be stored in the main memory 62, and the processor may operate according to the control program, so that the controller 61 causes the image forming apparatus 1 to perform various processes.

[0126] In addition, the controller 61 may also have a computer-readable storage medium such as a main memory 62 that stores a control program. As a storage medium, in addition to "non-temporary tangible media" such as ROM, tapes, disks, cards, semiconductor memories, programmable logic circuits, etc. can also be used. In addition, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the control program can also be used. In addition, the control program can also be provided to the above-mentioned computer via any transmission medium (communication network, broadcast waves, etc.) that can transmit the control program. In addition, one method of the present invention can also be implemented in the form of a data signal that is embodied in a carrier wave and is embedded in the control program through electronic transmission.

[0127] like Figure 3 As shown, the image forming apparatus 1 has a connector 101 and a connector 102. When the drum cartridge 20 is inserted into the Figure 2 In the state of the cartridge holding portion 13 shown, the connector 101 is electrically connected to the drum memory 22, so that the controller 61 can communicate with the drum memory 22 of the drum cartridge 20. That is, the controller 61 can perform a read process of information from the drum memory 22 and a write process of information to the drum memory 22 (including a rewrite process).

[0128] In addition, when the toner cartridge 4 is installed in the main body housing 10, the connector 102 is electrically connected to the toner memory 42, so that the controller 61 can communicate with the toner memory 42 of the toner cartridge 4. That is, the controller 61 can perform a read process of information from the toner memory 42 and a write process (including an overwrite process) of information to the toner memory 42.

[0129] The main body memory 62 is a memory capable of reading and writing information. The main body memory 62 is, for example, a flash ROM or an EEPROM (registered trademark). The main body memory 62 has one or more storage areas, and each area stores the following various information as an example.

[0130] The cartridge information 621 is information related to the cartridge installed in the image forming apparatus 1. Specifically, the cartridge information 621 is included so that the toner cartridge information 420 read from the toner memory 42 of each color toner cartridge 4 can be identified for each toner cartridge 4. In addition, the cartridge information 621 is included so that the drum cartridge information 220 read from the drum memory 22 of the drum cartridge 20 can be identified for each drum cartridge 20.

[0131] As an example, the toner cartridge information 420 includes first life information associated with the life of the toner cartridge 4. As an example, the drum cartridge information 220 includes second life information associated with the life of the drum cartridge 20. Figure 5 and Figure 6 The data configurations of the toner cartridge information 420 and the drum cartridge information 220 stored as the cartridge information 621 are described in detail.

[0132] In this embodiment, the controller 61 refers to the cartridge information (drum cartridge information 220 and toner cartridge information 420) read from the memory of each cartridge to accurately determine the state of the cartridge. The controller 61 can initialize the cartridge information appropriately to properly reuse the cartridge by accurately understanding the state of the cartridge.

[0133] Hereinafter, "reusing a cartridge" means restoring the cartridge to a state suitable for printing by replacing or replenishing only the components that need to be replaced among the components of the cartridge. That is, the steps of reusing a cartridge include replenishing consumable materials and replacing deteriorated replacement parts with new ones. Hereinafter, a cartridge (consumables) that is reused by replenishing materials or replacing parts is referred to as a reused cartridge (reusable product).

[0134] The device ID 622 is identification information for identifying the image forming apparatus 1. The device ID 622 is, for example, a serial number of the image forming apparatus 1.

[0135] The mode information 623 is information indicating the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 1. In the present embodiment, two modes, "contract mode" and "non-contract mode", are defined as an example. "Contract mode" means that the image forming apparatus 1 operates as a contract machine with a contract signed on the image forming system 100. "Non-contract mode" means that the image forming apparatus 1 is not a contract machine, but operates as a general image forming apparatus with no contract signed.

[0136] When the image forming apparatus 1 is shipped, mode information 623 indicating a value corresponding to the non-contract mode is stored in the main body memory 62 by default. The server 8 sends a request including a contract transfer instruction instructing transfer to the contract mode to the image forming apparatus 1 of the user who has signed the contract. The controller 61 changes the mode information 623 from the non-contract mode to the contract mode in accordance with the request from the server 8. In the present embodiment, as an example, the case where the controller 61 changes the value of the mode information 623 from the non-contract mode to the contract mode in this way is referred to as "transfer to the contract mode".

[0137] The use history information 624 is information indicating the history of the use of the reusable box in the image forming apparatus 1. As an example, the use history information 624 may be information indicating the number of reusable boxes installed in the image forming apparatus 1. In another example, the use history information 624 may be a table storing a combination of a box ID and the number of times of reuse of the reusable box. In another example, the use history information 624 may be a flag indicating whether the reusable box has been installed at least once or has not been installed at all.

[0138] Figure 4 1 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the use history information 624 as the above table stored in the main body memory 62. The cartridge ID is identification information for uniquely identifying a reusable cartridge installed in the image forming apparatus 1. The number of reuses is information indicating the number of times the installed reusable cartridge has been reused up to the time when the reusable cartridge was installed.

[0139] For example, when the reusable cartridge installed in the image forming apparatus 1 is the toner cartridge 4, the controller 61 reads a toner ID 421 (see Figure 5) and stores it in the use history information 624 as the cartridge ID. The controller 61 stores "TON0001" in the use history information 624 as an example of the toner ID 421. "TON" indicates the toner cartridge 4. "0001" is a serial number inherent to the toner cartridge 4. In addition, the controller 61 reads the reuse count 429 (see Figure 5 ) and is stored in the usage history information 624 as the number of reuses.

[0140] For example, when the reusable cartridge mounted on the image forming apparatus 1 is the drum cartridge 20, the controller 61 reads a drum ID 221 (see FIG. 20 ) described later and stored in the drum memory 22. Figure 6 ) and stores it in the use history information 624 as the cartridge ID. The controller 61 stores "DRM0056" in the use history information 624 as an example of the drum ID 221. "DRM" indicates the drum cartridge 20. "0056" is a serial number inherent to the drum cartridge 20. In addition, the controller 61 reads the reuse count 226 (see Figure 6 ) and is stored in the usage history information 624 as the number of reuses.

[0141] The controller 61 refers to Figure 4 The usage history information 624 shown can distinguish and count not only the cartridge ID but also the number of times of reuse when counting the number of reusable cartridges installed in the image forming apparatus 1. That is, the controller 61 can distinguish and count the installation when the number of times of reuse is the first time and the installation when the number of times of reuse is the second time for a cartridge having the same cartridge ID.

[0142] The upper limit information 625 is information indicating the upper limit of the number of times the cartridge can be reused. In the present embodiment, it is prohibited to reuse the cartridge exceeding the upper limit number of times of reuse included in the upper limit information 625. For example, the controller 61 compares the number of times the cartridge is reused with the upper limit information 625, and can control the cartridge 61 so that the cartridge information for reuse is not initialized for the cartridge that has reached the number of times of reuse. Therefore, the upper limit information 625 includes the upper limit number of times each of the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 can be reused.

[0143] The first sheet counter 626 is a cumulative count of the number of sheets printed in the image forming apparatus 1. The second sheet counter 627 indicates the number of sheets of printed matter printed by the image forming apparatus 1 using the contract service. Whenever the image forming apparatus 1 is switched from the non-contract mode to the contract mode, the second sheet counter 627 may be reset to 0 or may be a cumulative count of the number of sheets of printed matter printed by the image forming apparatus 1 using the contract service so far. Thereafter, unless otherwise specified, the value of the second sheet counter 627 is the cumulative number of sheets printed as contract printing so far.

[0144] The specification information 628 is information indicating the specification of the image forming apparatus 1. In the present embodiment, as an example, the image forming apparatus 1 and consumables are manufactured with specifications suitable for the conditions of the country where they are used. The image forming apparatus 1 and consumables have, for example, three specifications for "EU (Europe)", for "US (United States)", and for "JP (Japan)". The specification information 628 indicates any of the above specifications.

[0145] The main body memory 62 may include, in addition to the above-mentioned information, an area for storing the cumulative number of printed sheets in the image forming apparatus 1 , an area for storing an error state occurring in the image forming apparatus 1 , and the like.

[0146] The communication unit 63 communicates between the image forming apparatus 1 and the server 8 via a communication network such as the Internet. The communication unit 63 outputs the request received from the server 8 to the controller 61. As an example, a "request" refers to various requests, instructions, inquiries, etc. sent from the server 8 in the process performed in association with the contract. The communication unit 63 returns the result output by the controller 61 in response to the above request as a "response" to the server 8.

[0147] In the present embodiment, the reply of the response of the communication unit 63 may be omitted. For example, when the request is an instruction to change various settings in the image forming apparatus 1, the controller 61 changes the various settings in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the instruction. However, the reply of the notification indicating that the settings have been changed to the server 8 via the communication unit 63 may be omitted.

[0148] <Server Structure>

[0149] The server 8 includes a server communication unit 83, a server memory 82, and a server control unit 81 (control unit). The server communication unit 83 is a communication interface for performing communication between the server 8 and the image forming apparatus 1. The server communication unit 83 transmits a request input from the server control unit 81 to the image forming apparatus 1. The server communication unit 83 receives a response from the image forming apparatus 1 according to the transmitted request, and outputs the response to the server control unit 81.

[0150] The server communication unit 83 communicates with the user terminal 9 operated by the user of the image forming apparatus 1 via the communication network, and transmits and receives information to and from the user terminal 9. In the present embodiment, the server communication unit 83 transmits and receives various information required for contract conclusion to and from the user terminal 9.

[0151] The server memory 82 is a storage device that stores data required for the operation of the server 8. The server memory 82 stores device information 821 for each image forming device 1 that has joined the contract service provided by the image forming system 100. The device information may include, for example, the device ID 622, the contract flag, the upper limit number of sheets in the contract, the model number of the image forming device 1, the date of manufacture, and the like.

[0152] The device ID 622 is identification information for the server 8 to uniquely identify the image forming device 1. The contract flag is information indicating whether the image forming device 1 has shifted to the contract mode, that is, whether it has been identified as a contract machine. The contract upper limit number of sheets indicates the upper limit number of sheets that the image forming device 1 can print under contract within a specified period specified in the contract.

[0153] The server control unit 81 is a CPU that generally controls the server 8. The server control unit 81 generates a request to the image forming apparatus 1 at a predetermined timing, and outputs the generated request to the server communication unit 83.

[0154] Furthermore, the server control unit 81 stores new device information in the server memory 82 or updates the already stored device information based on the response received from the image forming apparatus 1 via the server communication unit 83 .

[0155] <Data Structure of Box Information>

[0156] (Toner Cartridge Information)

[0157] Figure 5 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the toner cartridge information 420 stored in the toner memory 42. As an example, the toner cartridge information 420 includes a toner ID 421, capacity information 422, color information 423, specification information 424, category information 425 (first category information), first life information, and first initialization information.

[0158] The first life information is information related to the life of the consumables. As an example, the first life information includes at least one of consumption information for determining the extent to which the consumables are used and remaining information for determining the amount of material remaining in the consumables. Although not limited to this, for example, the number of printed sheets, dot count, printing material consumption, developer roller speed, and drum speed are examples of the first consumption information. Although not limited to this, for example, the remaining amount of printing materials such as the remaining amount of toner and the remaining amount of ink are examples of the first remaining information.

[0159] As an example of the first life information, the toner cartridge information 420 of the toner cartridge 4 includes the number of printed sheets 426, the rotation speed of the developing roller 427, and the remaining toner 428 (the remaining amount of printing material). In other examples, the first life information may also include a dot count. The first initialization information is information indicating whether at least a part of the information stored in the consumables memory is initialized according to the user's instructions, and as an example, it is the number of reuses 429. The number of reuses 429 indicates the number of times the toner memory 42 is initialized for reuse.

[0160] The various information listed above is only an example of the toner cartridge information 420. Other information may be added or part of the various information listed above may be omitted as appropriate, depending on the environment or situation in which the image forming system 100 is constructed.

[0161] The toner ID 421 is identification information (first identification information) for uniquely identifying the toner cartridge 4. As an example, the toner ID 421 is composed of "TON" indicating the toner cartridge 4 and a serial number inherent to the toner cartridge 4 (see Figure 4 ).

[0162] The capacity information 422 is information indicating the capacity of the printing material that can be accommodated in the toner cartridge 4. In the present embodiment, as an example, four levels of capacity can be set for the toner cartridge 4. More specifically, the capacities that can be set in the toner cartridge 4 are four levels, starting from the smallest, namely, "small capacity", "standard capacity", "large capacity", and "extra large capacity", and the capacity information 422 indicates any of the above capacities.

[0163] The color information 423 is information indicating the color of the printing material contained in the toner cartridge 4. In the present embodiment, as an example, the toner cartridge 4 has four colors, namely, "C (cyan)", "M (magenta)", "Y (yellow)", and "BK (black)". The color information 423 indicates any one of the above colors.

[0164] The specification information 424 is information indicating the specification of the toner cartridge 4. Like the main body of the image forming apparatus 1, the toner cartridge 4 has three specifications for "EU (Europe)", for "US (United States)", and for "JP (Japan)". The specification information 424 indicates any one of the above specifications.

[0165] The category information 425 (first category information) is information indicating the category of the toner cartridge 4. In the present embodiment, at least two types, "contract" and "commercially available", can be set as the types of the toner cartridge 4. The category information 425 indicates any one of the above categories.

[0166] The toner memory 42 of the contract box stores category information 425 indicating the category "contract". The image forming apparatus 1 can perform contract printing while the contract box is installed. For example, the contract box is supplied from a business operator to a user who has signed a contract for the image forming apparatus 1.

[0167] The toner storage 42 of the commercially available toner cartridge 4 that can be purchased from a home appliance retailer or a mail order website stores category information 425 indicating the category "commercially available". Hereinafter, the toner cartridge 4 of this category is referred to as a commercially available cartridge (general consumables) to distinguish it from a contract cartridge (contract consumables). The commercially available cartridge may be a so-called original product manufactured by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus 1, or a so-called third-party product manufactured by a third party other than the manufacturer.

[0168] The number of printed sheets 426 (first life information, first consumption information) is information indicating the number of sheets of paper printed in the image forming apparatus 1 after the toner cartridge 4 is installed in the image forming apparatus 1 .

[0169] The developing roller rotation speed 427 (first life information, first consumption information) is information indicating the rotation speed of the developing roller 41 in the toner cartridge 4 that occurs as printing is executed after the toner cartridge 4 is mounted in the image forming apparatus 1 .

[0170] The remaining toner amount 428 (first life information, first remaining amount information) is information indicating the remaining amount of toner in the toner cartridge 4. As an example, the remaining toner amount 428 may also be composed of values ​​corresponding to a plurality of stages from full to empty. For example, the remaining toner amount 428 may be a character string such as "FULL" to "EMPTY", a numerical value such as "100%" to "0%", or information composed of a combination of a character string and a numerical value.

[0171] The initial value of the remaining toner amount 428 corresponds to the full amount of the capacity corresponding to the capacity information 422. As an example, when the toner is consumed by use, a sensor (not shown) may optically measure the toner cartridge 4. The controller 61 may write the remaining toner amount obtained by the above measurement into the toner memory 42 as the remaining toner amount 428.

[0172] In another example, the controller 61 may monitor the amount of toner consumed by being discharged from the toner cartridge 4, and calculate the remaining toner amount based on the capacity information 422 stored in the toner memory 42 and the monitored toner consumption amount. The controller 61 may also write the calculated remaining toner amount into the toner memory 42 as the remaining toner amount 428.

[0173] The reuse count 429 (first initialization information) is information indicating the number of times (initialization count) at least a portion of the information stored in the toner memory 42 of the toner cartridge 4 has been initialized in accordance with a user's instruction. In this embodiment, the information in the toner memory 42 is initialized based on the user's instruction once for each reuse.

[0174] Therefore, the "initialization times" in the toner memory 42 means the reuse times of the toner cartridge 4. When the reuse times 429 is a value less than 1, it means that the toner cartridge 4 has not been reused. When the reuse times 429 is a value greater than 1, it means that the toner cartridge 4 is a reuse cartridge.

[0175] (Drum Cartridge Information)

[0176] Figure 6 2 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the drum cartridge information 220 stored in the drum memory 22. As an example, the drum cartridge information 220 includes a drum ID 221, specification information 222, category information 223 (second category information), second life information, and second initialization information.

[0177] As an example of the second life information, the drum cartridge information 220 of the drum cartridge 20 includes the number of printed sheets 224 and the drum rotation speed 225. As with the toner cartridge 4, the second initialization information is, as an example, the number of reuses 226.

[0178] The various information listed above is only an example of the drum cartridge information 220. Other information may be added or part of the various information listed above may be omitted as appropriate, depending on the environment or situation in which the image forming system 100 is constructed.

[0179] The drum ID 221 is identification information (second identification information) for uniquely identifying the drum cartridge 20. As an example, the drum ID 221 is composed of "DRM" indicating that it is the drum cartridge 20 and a serial number inherent to the drum cartridge 20 (see Figure 4 ).

[0180] The specification information 222 is information indicating the specification of the drum cartridge 20. The drum cartridge 20 has three specifications for "EU (Europe)", for "US (United States)", and for "JP (Japan)" as the image forming apparatus 1 and the toner cartridge 4. The specification information 222 indicates any one of the above specifications.

[0181] The category information 223 (second category information) is information indicating the category of the drum cartridge 20. Similar to the toner cartridge 4, at least two types, "contract" and "commercially available", can be set as the types of the drum cartridge 20. The category information 223 indicates any of the above categories.

[0182] The number of printed sheets 224 (second life information, second consumption information) is information indicating the number of sheets of paper printed in the image forming apparatus 1 after the drum cartridge 20 is mounted in the image forming apparatus 1 .

[0183] The drum rotation speed 225 (second life information, second consumption information) is information indicating the rotation speed of the photosensitive drum 21 in the drum cartridge 20 that occurs as printing is executed after the drum cartridge 20 is mounted in the image forming apparatus 1 .

[0184] The reuse count 226 (second initialization information) is information indicating the number of times (initialization count) at least a portion of the information stored in the drum memory 22 of the drum cartridge 20 is initialized according to the user's instruction. The information in the drum memory 22 is initialized based on the user's instruction once for each reuse. Therefore, the "initialization count" in the drum memory 22 directly indicates the number of times the drum cartridge 20 is reused. When the reuse count 226 indicates a value less than 1, it means that the drum cartridge 20 has not been reused even once. When the reuse count 226 indicates a value greater than 1, it means that the drum cartridge 20 is a reusable cartridge.

[0185] Next, based on Figure 7 to Figure 13 The following describes a process flow executed by the controller 61 of the image forming apparatus 1 in the reuse preparation phase. In the reuse preparation phase, the controller 61 executes various processes necessary to initialize cartridge information stored in the consumables memory of each of the plurality of consumables selected according to a user's instruction.

[0186] <Processing flow in the reuse preparation stage>

[0187] Figure 7 1 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing executed by the image forming apparatus 1 in the reuse preparation phase. Figure 7 The series of processes shown are executed by the controller 61. The controller 61 displays the standby screen and the object selection screen on the display 65.

[0188] like Figure 7 As shown, in step S11, the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display a standby screen. The standby screen is, for example, a screen displayed when the image forming apparatus 1 is in print standby. The standby screen may be displayed, for example, when the image forming apparatus 1 is powered on or when it is restored from a sleep state. The standby screen includes a user interface component (hereinafter referred to as a UI component) for causing the image forming apparatus 1 to perform various actions.

[0189] The UI component may be configured as a software button that the user can select by operating the operation unit 64. As an example, the standby screen includes a first UI component that instructs initialization of desired cartridge information based on the toner cartridge information 420 stored in the toner memory 42 and the drum cartridge information 220 stored in the drum memory 22. The detailed processing flow of step S11 will be described in detail later with reference to another figure.

[0190] In step S12 (acceptance processing, acceptance step), the controller 61 detects that the user has indicated the initialization of the desired cartridge information based on the toner cartridge information 420 and the drum cartridge information 220. For example, the controller 61 may also detect that the operation unit 64, which is a hardware button indicating "determine", has been pressed when the first UI component in the standby screen is selected. Alternatively, the controller 61 may also detect that the first UI component has been touched via the operation unit 64, which is integrally formed as a touch panel with the display 65. As described above, when it is detected that the user has indicated the initialization of the desired cartridge information, the controller 61 advances the processing from "Yes" of S12 to step S13.

[0191] Although not shown in the figure, when another UI component indicating another action is selected in the standby screen, the controller 61 proceeds from "No" in S12 to a step of executing the action in accordance with the instruction. For example, when the user operates a setting button for changing the setting of the image forming apparatus 1, the controller 61 proceeds to a process of causing the display 65 to display the setting screen. In addition, when a predetermined paper feed tray (insertion tray, etc.) is selected from the print setting displayed on the display 65, and a print execution button is operated, the controller 61 performs a process to execute the instructed printing.

[0192] In step S13 (first display processing, first display step), the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display the object selection screen. The object selection screen includes a display for the user to select the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 to be initialized.

[0193] Here, based on Fig.13 An example of the object selection screen is described below. Fig.13 2 is a diagram showing an example of an object selection screen for selecting an initialization object. In addition, in this figure, the operation unit 64 is composed of a touch panel arranged integrally on the screen of the display 65.

[0194] like Fig.13As shown, the controller 61 displays "Please select the initialization object" at the top of the screen. The controller 61 prompts the user to select the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 to be initialized. In addition, the controller 61 can also display an "ALL" button 91 at the top, and the "ALL" button 91 can select all of the four-color toner cartridges 4 and the four-color drum cartridges 20 as the initialization objects.

[0195] In addition, the controller 61 may display a "Toner ALL" button 92 below the "ALL" button 91, and the "TonerALL" button 92 can select all of the four-color toner cartridges 4 as the object to be initialized. In addition, the controller 61 may display a "Drum ALL" button 93 on the right side of the "Toner ALL" button 92, and the "Drum ALL" button 93 can select all of the four-color drum cartridges 20 as the object to be initialized.

[0196] In addition, the controller 61 may also display square buttons 95 for selecting "C (cyan)", "M (magenta)", "Y (yellow)" and "BK (black)" for each color powder cartridge 4 and each drum cartridge 20 in a free combination at the lower center of the display 65. Fig.13 As shown, a plurality of square buttons 95 may be configured to be selectable.

[0197] In addition, the controller 61 may display an "OK" button 96 for inputting the meaning of deciding the initialization object below the square button 95. In addition, the controller 61 may display a "Cancel" button 97 for inputting the meaning of terminating the selection of the initialization object on the right side of the "OK" button 96. In addition, the arrangement of the above-mentioned "ALL" button 91, "Toner ALL" button 92, "Drum ALL" button 93, square button 95, "OK" button 96 and "Cancel" button 97 is not limited to this.

[0198] Next, in step S14, the controller 61 detects that the initialization object to be initialized among the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 is selected via the object selection screen. For example, when the square button 95 of "Toner Y" and the square button 95 of "Toner M" are pressed in the object selection screen, the controller 61 detects that the square button 95 of "Toner Y" and the square button 95 of "Toner M" are pressed. And, in the case where it is detected that the "OK" button 96 is pressed, the controller 61 detects that the yellow toner cartridge 4 (first consumable) and the magenta toner cartridge 4 (second consumable) are selected as the initialization object.

[0199] In addition, for example, when the square button 95 of "Toner Y" and the square button 95 of "Drum Y" are pressed on the object selection screen, the controller 61 detects that the square button 95 of "Toner Y" and the square button 95 of "Drum Y" are pressed. And, when it is detected that the "OK" button 96 is pressed, the controller 61 detects that the yellow toner cartridge 4 (first consumable) and the yellow drum cartridge 20 (second consumable) are selected as the initialization objects.

[0200] In addition, for example, when the "ALL" button 91 is pressed on the object selection screen, the controller 61 detects that the "ALL" button 91 is pressed. Furthermore, when the "OK" button 96 is detected to be pressed, the controller 61 detects that all of the four-color toner cartridges 4 and the four-color drum cartridges 20 are selected as the initialization objects.

[0201] Furthermore, when the controller 61 detects that the initialization object to be initialized is selected as described above, the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 selected as the initialization object are stored in the main body memory 62 in a prescribed order. For example, when any one of the "ALL" button 91, the "Toner ALL" button 92, and the "Drum ALL" button 93 is pressed on the object selection screen, the controller 61 stores the toner cartridge 4 in a prescribed color order. Subsequently, the controller 61 stores the drum cartridge 20 in the main body memory 62 in a prescribed color order.

[0202] In addition, for example, when a plurality of square buttons 95 are pressed on the object selection screen, the controller 61 stores the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 in the main body memory 62 in the order in which the plurality of square buttons 95 are pressed. In addition, the order of storage in the main body memory 62 when a plurality of square buttons 95 are pressed on the object selection screen is not limited to this. Subsequently, the controller 61 advances the process from "Yes" of S14 to S15.

[0203] On the other hand, when the controller 61 detects that the "Cancel" button 97 is pressed, it determines that the selection of the initialization object is terminated, enters "No" in S14, and ends a series of processes. The controller 61 can also return to S11 from "No" in S14 and display the standby screen on the display 65.

[0204] In step S15 (second display processing, second display step), the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display an initialization selection screen (first selection screen). The initialization selection screen includes a first warning for explaining to the user that the printing quality is not guaranteed if the first life information of the toner cartridge information 420 and the second life information of the drum cartridge information 220 are initialized.

[0205] Furthermore, the initialization selection screen includes a second UI component for allowing the user to select whether to initialize the first life information of the toner cartridge information 420 and the second life information of the drum cartridge information 220. As an example, the second UI component is configured as a button that allows the user to select either a "perform initialization" button or a "do not perform initialization" button.

[0206] The "Initialize" button means that the user wishes to initialize the first life information and the second life information. The "Do Not Initialize" button means that the user does not wish to initialize the first life information and the second life information. The user's selection operation may also be implemented via either a hardware button or a software button.

[0207] In step S16, the controller 61 determines whether the "initialize" button or the "do not initialize" button in the second UI component is selected. If the controller 61 determines that the "initialize" button is selected, the processing proceeds from "Yes" of S16 to S17. On the other hand, if the controller 61 determines that the "do not initialize" button is selected, it proceeds to "No" of S16 and ends a series of processing. The controller 61 can also return to S11 from "No" of S16 to display the standby screen on the display 65.

[0208] The user's selection of the "Initialize" button means that the user agrees with the content of the first warning, and on this basis, for reuse, the toner cartridge information 420 and the drum cartridge information 220 are initialized. In this embodiment, the user agrees with the content of the first warning, thereby allowing the toner cartridge information 420 and the drum cartridge information 220 to be initialized.

[0209] In step S17, the controller 61 checks whether initialization of the toner cartridge 4 or the drum cartridge 20 first stored in the main body memory 62 as the initialization target in step S14 can be performed.

[0210] Specifically, when the toner cartridge 4 is stored first, the controller 61 communicates with the first toner cartridge 4. Then, the controller 61 reads the current latest toner cartridge information 420 to check whether the toner cartridge 4 meets the necessary conditions for reuse. When the toner cartridge 4 meets the necessary conditions for reuse, the initialization of the toner cartridge information 420 is allowed.

[0211] In addition, in the case where the drum cartridge 20 is stored first, the controller 61 communicates with the first drum cartridge 20. Then, the controller 61 reads the current latest drum cartridge information 220 to check whether the drum cartridge 20 meets the necessary conditions for reuse. When the drum cartridge 20 meets the necessary conditions for reuse, initialization of the drum cartridge information 220 is allowed. In addition, the detailed processing flow of step S17 will be described in detail later with reference to another figure.

[0212] In step S18, the controller 61 determines whether an error is detected during the check in step S17. If no error is detected, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge information 420 or the drum cartridge information 220 can be initialized, and advances the process from "No" in S18 to S19. On the other hand, if an error is detected, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge information 420 or the drum cartridge information 220 cannot be initialized, and advances the process from "Yes" in S18 to S23.

[0213] In step S19, the controller 61 determines whether the check of whether the cartridge information can be initialized is completed for all the toner cartridges 4 and drum cartridges 20 stored in the main body memory 62 as the initialization objects in step S14. The cartridge information is the toner cartridge information 420 or the drum cartridge information 220. And, in the case where it is determined that the check is not completed for all the toner cartridges 4 and drum cartridges 20 as the initialization objects (S19: No), the controller 61 selects the next toner cartridge 4 or drum cartridge 20. Then, the controller 61 enters the process of S17.

[0214] On the other hand, when it is determined that the check of whether or not the cartridge information can be initialized is completed for all of the toner cartridges 4 and drum cartridges 20 selected as the initialization targets, the controller 61 proceeds from “YES” in S19 to the process of S20 .

[0215] In step S20 (initialization processing, initialization step), the controller 61 initializes the cartridge information of the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 which are first stored in the main body memory 62 as the initialization targets in step S14.

[0216] Specifically, when the toner cartridge 4 is stored first, the controller 61 initializes the toner cartridge information 420 stored in the toner memory 42 of the first toner cartridge 4. Also, when the drum cartridge 20 is stored first, the controller 61 initializes the drum cartridge information 220 stored in the drum memory 22 of the first drum cartridge 20. The detailed processing flow of step S20 will be described in detail later with reference to another figure.

[0217] In step S21, the controller 61 determines whether an error is detected during the initialization process of the above-mentioned step S20. If no error is detected, the controller 61 determines that the initialization of the toner cartridge information 420 or the drum cartridge information 220 is successful, and advances the processing from "No" of S21 to S22. On the other hand, if an error is detected, the controller 61 determines that the initialization of the toner cartridge information 420 or the drum cartridge information 220 has failed, and advances the processing from "Yes" of S21 to S23.

[0218] In step S22, the controller 61 determines whether the initialization is completed for all the toner cartridges 4 and drum cartridges 20 stored in the main body memory 62 as the initialization targets in step S14. Then, if it is determined that the initialization is not completed for all the toner cartridges 4 and drum cartridges 20 as the initialization targets (S22: No), the controller 61 selects the next toner cartridge 4 or drum cartridge 20. Then, the controller 61 proceeds to the process of S20.

[0219] On the other hand, when the controller 61 determines that the initialization of all the toner cartridges 4 and drum cartridges 20 stored in the main body memory 62 as the initialization objects in step S14 is completed, the controller 61 proceeds to "Yes" in S22 and ends a series of processes. The controller 61 may also display an initialization success screen on the display 65 to notify the user of the initialization success after the initialization is successful.

[0220] In step S23, the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display an error screen for notifying the user that the toner cartridge information 420 and the drum cartridge information 220 are not initialized. The controller 61 may also make the display contents of the first error screen displayed in response to "Yes" in S18 and the second error screen displayed in response to "Yes" in S21 different.

[0221] For example, the first error screen may include a message indicating that the toner cartridge 4 or the drum cartridge 20 cannot be initialized because the necessary conditions for reuse are not satisfied. Also, for example, the second error screen may include a message notifying that the writing operation to the toner memory 42 or the drum memory 22 has not been completed normally. Also, the second error screen may include a message prompting confirmation of the installation status of the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20.

[0222] In addition, for example, the second error screen may display the reason why the writing operation to the toner memory 42 or the drum memory 22 has not been completed normally, such as "the cover is closed" or "communication with the yellow toner cartridge is faulty".

[0223] <Processing of displaying the standby screen>

[0224] Figure 8 It means Figure 7The flowchart is a flow chart of the processing flow of displaying the standby screen corresponding to step S11 shown.

[0225] In step S111 , the controller 61 detects an event that triggers the process of displaying the standby screen, such as power on, etc. If the trigger is detected, the controller 61 advances the process from “YES” in S111 to S112 .

[0226] In step S112, controller 61 reads mode information 623 stored in main body memory 62. Mode information 623 is information indicating whether image forming apparatus 1 is in contract mode or non-contract mode, and mode information 623 is used to determine whether image forming apparatus 1 is a contract machine.

[0227] In step S113, the controller 61 determines whether the mode information 623 indicates the contract mode or the non-contract mode. If the mode information 623 indicates the non-contract mode, that is, if the image forming apparatus 1 is not a contract machine, the controller 61 advances the process from "Yes" in S113 to S114. If the mode information 623 indicates the contract mode, that is, if the image forming apparatus 1 is a contract machine, the controller 61 advances the process from "No" in S113 to S115.

[0228] In step S114, the controller 61 uses the image forming apparatus 1 which is not a contract machine to display a standby screen on the display 65 so that the box information can be initialized. Specifically, the controller 61 displays a standby screen on which a menu button for instructing to initialize the box information is displayed on the display 65. For example, the controller 61 displays the object selection screen (see Figure 4 ) is displayed on the display 65, and the object selection screen allows the user to select the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 to be initialized.

[0229] In step S115, the controller 61 uses the image forming apparatus 1 as a contract machine to display a standby screen on the display 65 in such a manner that the cartridge information cannot be initialized. Specifically, the controller 61 displays the standby screen without displaying a menu button for instructing to initialize the cartridge information or in such a manner that the menu button cannot be selected on the display 65. That is, in the contract machine, the controller 61 is configured not to accept instructions for initializing the toner memory 42 of the toner cartridge 4 and the drum memory 22 of the drum cartridge 20.

[0230] According to the above method, in the image forming apparatus 1 which is not a contract machine, the initialization of the first consumables storage and the second consumables storage can be easily performed, which can help promote reuse. For example, the initialization of the toner storage 42 (the first consumables storage or the second consumables storage) of the toner cartridge 4 and the drum storage 22 (the first consumables storage or the second consumables storage) of the drum cartridge 20 can be easily performed.

[0231] In addition, the toner memory 42 (the first consumable memory or the second consumable memory) of the yellow toner cartridge 4 and the toner memory 42 (the first consumable memory or the second consumable memory) of the black toner cartridge 4 can be easily initialized.

[0232] Therefore, when a user uses an image forming apparatus 1 that is not a contract machine, the user can easily initialize the plurality of toner storages 42 and drum storages 22 with a single instruction. On the other hand, in a contract machine, the reused box is prevented from being used as a contract box. Thus, it is possible to avoid a situation where the printing quality cannot be guaranteed in the contracted image forming apparatus 1. That is, the added value of the subscription service that guarantees the printing quality is not impaired.

[0233] <Checking the process that can be initialized>

[0234] Fig. 9 It means Figure 7 The flowchart of the process flow for checking whether initialization can be performed corresponds to step S17 shown.

[0235] In step S211, the controller 61 determines whether the cover 11 is in an open state via the closing sensor 12. Specifically, the controller 61 determines whether a signal is input from the closing sensor 12 to detect that the cover 11 is in a closed position. Then, in the case where a signal is input from the closing sensor 12 to detect that the cover 11 is in a closed position, the controller 61 determines that the cover 11 is closed, and advances the processing from "No" of S211 to S221 described later. On the other hand, in the case where a signal is not input from the closing sensor 12 to detect that the cover 11 is in a closed position, the controller 61 determines that the cover 11 is in an open state, and advances the processing from "Yes" of S211 to S212.

[0236] In step S212, the controller 61 attempts to communicate with the toner memory 42 of the toner cartridge 4 or the drum memory 22 of the drum cartridge 20 that has been initialized in step S17. If the controller 61 determines that it cannot communicate with the toner memory 42 or the drum cartridge 20, for example, if it cannot read information of the toner memory 42 or the drum cartridge 20, the process proceeds from "No" of S212 to S221 described later. On the other hand, if the controller 61 determines that it can communicate with the toner memory 42 or the drum cartridge 20, the process proceeds from "Yes" of S212 to S213 described later.

[0237] In step S213, the controller 61 authenticates the toner cartridge 4 or the drum cartridge 20 that has been initialized in step S17. The authentication method of the toner cartridge 4 or the drum cartridge 20 is not particularly limited.

[0238] For example, when the model of the toner cartridge 4 or the drum cartridge 20 corresponds to the model of the image forming apparatus 1, the controller 61 may determine that the authentication of the toner cartridge 4 or the drum cartridge 20 is successful. On the other hand, when the model of the toner cartridge 4 or the drum cartridge 20 does not correspond to the model of the image forming apparatus 1, the controller 61 may determine that the authentication of the toner cartridge 4 or the drum cartridge 20 has failed.

[0239] If the toner cartridge 4 or the drum cartridge 20 can be authenticated, the controller 61 advances the process from "Yes" of S213 to S214. On the other hand, if the toner cartridge 4 or the drum cartridge 20 cannot be authenticated, the controller 61 advances the process from "No" of S213 to S221 described later. In other examples, the controller 61 may omit the process of S213.

[0240] In step S214, when the toner cartridge 4 is initialized in step S17, the controller 61 reads the specification information 424 from the toner memory 42. When the drum cartridge 20 is initialized in step S17, the controller 61 reads the specification information 222 from the drum memory 22.

[0241] In step S215, the controller 61 determines whether the read specification information 424 or specification information 222 is consistent with the specification information 628 of the image forming device 1 stored in the main body memory 62. When the two specification information are consistent, the controller 61 advances the processing from "Yes" of S215 to S216. On the other hand, when the two specification information are inconsistent, the controller 61 advances the processing from "No" of S215 to S221 described later. In other examples, the controller 61 may also omit the processing of S214 and S215.

[0242] In step S216, when the toner cartridge 4 is initialized in step S17, the controller 61 reads the type information 425 from the toner memory 42. When the drum cartridge 20 is initialized in step S17, the controller 61 reads the type information 223 from the drum memory 22.

[0243] In step S217, the controller 61 determines whether the read category information 425 or category information 223 indicates the category "contract" or the category "commercially available". If the category information 425 or category information 223 indicates the category "contract", the controller 61 advances the process from "Yes" of S217 to S218. If the category information 425 or category information 223 indicates "commercially available", the controller 61 advances the process from "No" of S217 to S219.

[0244] In step S218 (third display processing, third display step), the controller 61 determines whether the user agrees to reuse the toner cartridge 4 or the drum cartridge 20 as a contract cartridge as a commercially available cartridge.

[0245] As an example, the controller 61 displays an initialization selection screen (second selection screen) related to the contract box on the display 65. The initialization selection screen includes a second warning, which is used to explain to the user that the contract box is identified as a commercial box after the contract box is initialized. That is, it includes a second warning, which is used to explain to the user that the toner box information 420 or the drum box information 220 of the contract box, especially the first life information and the second life information, are respectively initialized, and are identified as a commercial box.

[0246] Furthermore, the initialization selection screen includes a second UI component, and the second UI component is used to allow the user to select whether to initialize the toner cartridge information 420 or the drum cartridge information 220 including the life information. As described above, the second UI component is configured so that the user can select either a button of "initialize" or a button of "do not initialize". The button corresponding to "initialize" means that the user wishes to initialize the first life information and the second life information. The button corresponding to "do not initialize" means that the user does not wish to initialize the first life information and the second life information.

[0247] In the above example, when the button corresponding to "initialize" is selected, the controller 61 determines that the user agrees to reuse the contract box as a commercial box. In this case, the controller 61 advances the process from "Yes" in S218 to S219.

[0248] On the other hand, if the button corresponding to "do not initialize" is selected, the controller 61 determines that the user does not agree. In this case, the controller 61 advances the process from "No" in S218 to S221 described later.

[0249] In S219, when the toner cartridge 4 is initialized in step S17, the controller 61 reads the reuse count 429 from the toner memory 42. When the drum cartridge 20 is initialized in step S17, the controller 61 reads the reuse count 226 from the drum memory 22.

[0250] In step S220 (determination processing, determination step), the controller 61 compares the read number of reuse times 429 (initialization times) or the number of reuse times 226 (initialization times) with the upper limit information 625 (upper limit times) stored in the main body memory 62. That is, the controller 61 checks whether the read number of reuse times 429 or the number of reuse times 226 has reached the upper limit times indicated by the upper limit information 625.

[0251] When the read reuse count 429 or reuse count 226 is greater than the upper limit, the controller 61 advances the process from "Yes" in S220 to S221. That is, the toner cartridge information 420 or drum cartridge information 220 is prohibited from being initialized beyond the upper limit of reuse. On the other hand, when the read reuse count 429 or reuse count 226 is less than the upper limit, the controller 61 advances the process from "No" in S220 to S222.

[0252] In step S221, the controller 61 outputs an error not to permit initialization of the toner cartridge information 420 of the toner cartridge 4 or the drum cartridge information 220 of the drum cartridge 20 which is the target of initialization in step S17.

[0253] In step S222, the controller 61 determines whether the toner cartridge 4 or drum cartridge 20 initialized in step S17 satisfies the necessary conditions for reuse. Then, the controller 61 allows the toner cartridge information 420 of the toner cartridge 4 or the drum cartridge information 220 of the drum cartridge 20 initialized in step S17 to be initialized.

[0254] <Processing of Initializing Box Information>

[0255] Fig.10 It means Figure 7 The flowchart of the initialization processing flow corresponding to step S20 shown.

[0256] In step S311, when the toner cartridge 4 is the object of initialization in step S20, the controller 61 reads the toner ID 421 (first identification information) from the toner memory 42. In addition, when the drum cartridge 20 is the object of initialization in step S20, the controller 61 reads the drum ID 221 (second identification information) from the drum memory 22.

[0257] In step S312, the controller 61 determines whether the read toner ID 421 or drum ID 221 includes "TON" indicating the toner cartridge 4. Then, if the controller 61 determines that the read toner ID 421 or drum ID 221 includes "TON" indicating the toner cartridge 4, it determines that the toner cartridge 4 is the object of initialization in step S20. Then, the controller 61 advances the process from "Yes" in S312 to S313.

[0258] On the other hand, when it is determined that the read toner ID 421 or drum ID 221 does not include "TON" indicating the toner cartridge 4, the controller 61 determines that the toner cartridge 4 is not the object of initialization in step S20. That is, the controller 61 determines that the drum cartridge 20 is the object of initialization in step S20, and advances the process from "No" in S312 to S314.

[0259] In step S313 (initialization processing, initialization step), after initializing the toner cartridge information 420 stored in the toner memory 42 of the toner cartridge 4 that has been initialized in step S20, the controller 61 advances the process to S315. The detailed process flow of step S313 will be described in detail later with reference to another figure.

[0260] In step S314 (initialization processing, initialization step), after initializing the drum cartridge information 220 stored in the drum memory 22 of the drum cartridge 20 that has been initialized in step S20, the controller 61 advances the process to S315. The detailed process flow of step S314 will be described in detail later with reference to another figure.

[0261] In step S315, when the toner cartridge 4 is the object of initialization in step S20, the controller 61 determines whether the reading action from the toner memory 42 and the writing action to the toner memory 42 are successful. When all the reading actions and writing actions are successful, the controller 61 proceeds to "Yes" in S315 and ends a series of initialization processes. On the other hand, when the reading action or the writing action fails in any of the above steps, the controller 61 advances the process from "No" in S315 to S316.

[0262] In addition, when the drum cartridge 20 is the object of initialization in step S20, the controller 61 determines whether the reading action from the drum memory 22 and the writing action to the drum memory 22 are successful. When all the reading actions and writing actions are successful, the controller 61 proceeds to "Yes" in S315 and ends a series of initialization processing. On the other hand, when the reading action or the writing action fails in any of the above steps, the controller 61 advances the processing from "No" in S315 to S316.

[0263] In step S316 , the controller 61 outputs an error because the toner cartridge information 420 or the drum cartridge information 220 cannot be initialized.

[0264] <Processing of Initializing Toner Cartridge Information 420>

[0265] Fig.11 It means Fig.10 4 is a flowchart of the process flow for initializing the toner cartridge information 420 corresponding to step S313 shown in FIG.

[0266] In step S411 (initialization processing, initialization step), the controller 61 initializes the number of printed sheets 426 stored in the toner memory 42. Specifically, the controller 61 resets the number of printed sheets 426 accumulated up to a predetermined number of sheets to zero.

[0267] In step S412 (initialization processing, initialization step), the controller 61 initializes the developing roller rotation speed 427 stored in the toner memory 42. Specifically, the controller 61 resets the developing roller rotation speed 427 counted to a predetermined rotation speed to zero.

[0268] In step S413 (initialization processing, initialization step), the controller 61 initializes the remaining toner amount 428 stored in the toner memory 42. Specifically, the controller 61 returns the remaining toner amount 428, which decreases in value as the toner is consumed, to the initial value. That is, the controller 61 returns the remaining toner amount 428 to a FULL value (a value indicating the capacity of the cartridge) such as "FULL" or "100%". The FULL value corresponding to each capacity may be pre-stored in the main body memory 62 or in the toner memory 42.

[0269] In step S414 (changing process, changing step), controller 61 changes category information 425 stored in toner memory 42. Specifically, controller 61 changes category information 425 from "contract" to "commercial" so that toner cartridge 4 is recognized as a commercial cartridge rather than a contract cartridge after reuse.

[0270] In addition, the controller 61 Fig. 9In the process of checking shown in FIG. 1 , if the result of step S218 is "Yes", the process of step S414 described above is executed. If the result of step S218 is not "Yes", the process of step S414 described above is omitted.

[0271] In step S415 (writing processing, writing step), the controller 61 increments once the reuse count 429 stored in the toner memory 42 and updates it, and then ends the processing of initializing the toner cartridge information 420 .

[0272] <Processing of Initializing Drum Cartridge Information 220>

[0273] Fig.12 It means Fig.10 The flowchart of the process flow of initializing the drum cartridge information 220 corresponding to step S314 shown in FIG.

[0274] In step S431 (initialization processing, initialization step), the controller 61 initializes the number of printed sheets 224 stored in the drum memory 22. Specifically, the controller 61 resets the number of printed sheets 224 accumulated up to a predetermined number of sheets to zero.

[0275] In step S432 (initialization processing, initialization step), the controller 61 initializes the drum rotation speed 225 stored in the drum memory 22. Specifically, the controller 61 resets the drum rotation speed 225 counted to a predetermined rotation speed to zero.

[0276] In step S433 (change processing, change step), the controller 61 changes the type information 223 stored in the drum memory 22. Specifically, the controller 61 changes the type information 223 from "contract" to "commercial" so that the drum cartridge 20 is recognized as a commercial cartridge rather than a contract cartridge after reuse.

[0277] In addition, the controller 61 Fig. 9 In the process of checking shown in FIG. 1 , if the result of step S218 is "Yes", the process of step S433 described above is executed. If the result of step S218 is "Yes", step S433 is omitted.

[0278] In step S434 (writing processing, writing step), the controller 61 increments once and updates the number of reuses 226 stored in the drum memory 22, and then ends the processing of initializing the drum cartridge information 220.

[0279] [Modifications]

[0280] [Modification 1]

[0281] For example, in Figure 7In the steps S17 to S19, in the process of step S18, the controller 61 may also perform the process of step S23 only for the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 for which an error is detected. That is, the controller 61 may also display an error screen on the display 65 to inform the user that only the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 for which an error is detected are not initialized.

[0282] In addition, the controller 61 may also display on the error screen which toner cartridge 4 and drum cartridge 20 is detected as an error, such as displaying "yellow toner cartridge", etc. In addition, the reason why the necessary conditions for reuse are not met may be displayed, such as displaying "the number of reuses exceeds the upper limit", "the specification information is inconsistent with the specification information of the original product", etc.

[0283] Then, in the process of step S18, the controller 61 may allow the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 to be initialized without detecting an error, and execute the Figure 7 The processing of steps S20 to S23.

[0284] [Modification 2]

[0285] For example, in Figure 7 In the steps S20 to S22, in the process of step S21, the controller 61 may also perform the process of step S23 only for the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 that detected an error in the reading action or the writing action. In addition, the controller 61 may also display which toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 are not initialized on the error screen, for example, displaying "yellow toner cartridge" or the like.

[0286] Then, the controller 61 may display an initialization success screen on the display 65 for notifying the user that initialization has been successful, for the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 in which no error has been detected.

[0287] [Variation 3]

[0288] For example, the controller 61 may be configured to simultaneously communicate with all of the toner storage 42 and the drum storage 22 via the connectors 101 and 102. Figure 7 In step S17, the controller 61 may also simultaneously check whether the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 stored in the main body memory 62 in step S14 can be initialized. Figure 7 In step S20, the controller 61 may also simultaneously execute the initialization of the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 which are allowed to be initialized in step S17.

[0289] [Variation 4]

[0290] The developing roller 41 of the first embodiment may be provided in the toner cartridge 4 or in the drum cartridge 20 as long as the functions described in the first embodiment are realized. In the first embodiment, the toner cartridge 4 is inserted into the opening of the cartridge holding portion 13 together with the drum cartridge 20 in a state in which the toner cartridge 4 is installed in the drum cartridge 20. That is, in the first embodiment, the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 are separate cartridges. However, the toner cartridge 4 and the drum cartridge 20 may be integrally formed as one cartridge.

[0291] [Variation 5]

[0292] The image forming apparatus 1 may also be an inkjet printer. When the image forming apparatus 1 is an inkjet printer, an ink cartridge is installed in the cartridge holding portion 13 of the image forming apparatus 1 instead of the drum cartridge 20 and the toner cartridge 4 described in Embodiment 1. In addition, the number of ink cartridges installed in the image forming apparatus 1 is not particularly limited. For example, a total of four ink cartridges corresponding to the four colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black may be installed in the image forming apparatus 1.

[0293] The ink cartridge includes a cartridge case filled with ink as a printing material and an ink storage device storing ink cartridge information, such as ink ID, capacity information, color information, specification information, category information, number of prints (first life information), ink remaining amount (first life information), and number of reuses.

[0294] The ink ID is identification information of the ink cartridge, and is information included in the ink cartridge information instead of the toner ID 421 of the first embodiment. The remaining ink amount is information indicating the remaining ink in the ink cartridge, and is information included in the ink cartridge information instead of the remaining toner amount 428 of the first embodiment. The capacity information, color information, specification information, category information, number of prints, and number of reuses are information equivalent to the information of the same name in the toner cartridge information 420 of the first embodiment. In addition, the "toner" in the toner cartridge information 420 of the first embodiment is replaced by "ink", and the "toner cartridge" is replaced by "ink cartridge".

[0295] Furthermore, the cartridge case of the ink cartridge may include an agitator for agitating the ink. The agitator is operated according to an instruction from the controller 61 when the ink cartridge is mounted in the image forming apparatus 1 .

[0296] Even when the image forming apparatus 1 is an inkjet printer, the processing flows shown in the flowcharts described in Embodiment 1 are the same. Specifically, when the image forming apparatus 1 is an inkjet printer, the "toner cartridge 4" and "toner storage 42" in Embodiment 1 may be replaced with an ink cartridge and an ink storage, respectively. In addition, the "toner cartridge information 420" in Embodiment 1 may be replaced with ink cartridge information.

[0297] In addition, various information included in the toner cartridge information 420 of the first embodiment may be replaced with corresponding information in the ink cartridge information. In addition, since the developing roller speed 427 is not included in the ink cartridge information, in the case of this modification, the image forming apparatus 1 may also omit various processes related to the developing roller speed 427. The image forming apparatus 1 of this modification has the same effect as the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment.

[0298] [Variation 6]

[0299] The printing substrate of the image forming device 1 is not limited to paper. For example, the printing substrate may be a tape. When the printing substrate is a tape, a tape cassette for supplying the tape is installed in the image forming device 1. The image forming device 1 prints on the tape fed from the tape cassette. In this case, the image forming device 1 may be a laser printer or an inkjet printer.

[0300] [Variation 7]

[0301] In addition, the image forming apparatus 1 may also be an MFP (Multi Function Printer) having other functions such as a scanner or a facsimile. Even when the image forming apparatus 1 is an MFP, the image forming apparatus 1 can perform the various processes described in Embodiment 1 in the same manner as the image forming apparatus 1 of Embodiment 1. The image forming apparatus 1 of this modification achieves the same effects as the image forming apparatus 1 of Embodiment 1.

[0302] (Software-based implementation example)

[0303] The functions of the image forming apparatus 1 can be realized by a program for causing a computer to function as the image forming apparatus 1 and a program for causing a computer to function as each control block (particularly the controller 61 ) of the image forming apparatus 1 .

[0304] In this case, the image forming apparatus 1 includes, as hardware for executing the above-mentioned program, a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., a memory). The above-mentioned program is executed by the above-mentioned control device and storage device to realize the functions described in the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0305] The program may be stored in one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media. The image forming apparatus 1 may or may not include the above-mentioned storage medium. In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the image forming apparatus 1 via any transmission medium, whether wired or wireless.

[0306] In addition, part or all of the functions of the above-mentioned control block can also be realized by a logic circuit. For example, an integrated circuit formed with a logic circuit used as the above-mentioned control block to perform the function is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, for example, the functions of the above-mentioned control block can also be realized by a quantum computer.

[0307] In addition, each process described in the above embodiment may be executed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, AI may operate in the above control device or in other devices (such as edge computers or cloud servers).

[0308] (Additional Notes)

[0309] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope indicated by the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0310] Explanation of symbols

[0311] 1 image forming device, 4 toner cartridge (consumables), 10 main body housing, 11 cover, 20 drum cartridge (consumables), 22 drum memory (consumables memory), 42 toner memory (consumables memory), 61 controller, 62 main body memory, 64 operation unit, 65 display, 100 image forming system, 220 drum cartridge information (cartridge information), 221 drum ID, 222 specification information, 223 category information, 224 number of printed sheets (second life information, consumption information), 225 drum rotation speed (second life information, second consumption information), 226 number of reuses (second initialization information), 420 toner cartridge information (cartridge information), 421 toner ID, 424 specification information, 425 category information, 426 number of prints (first life information, consumption information), 427 developing roller speed (first life information, first consumption information), 428 toner remaining (first life information, first remaining information), 429 number of reuses (first initialization information), 623 mode information, 624 usage history information, 625 upper limit information (upper limit number of times).

Claims

1. An image forming device, characterized in that: The device comprises a main body housing, a controller and a main body memory, wherein the main body housing is provided with a first consumable and a second consumable. The first consumable memory provided in the first consumable stores first life information related to the life of the first consumable. The second consumable memory provided in the second consumable stores second life information related to the life of the second consumable. The controller executes: Accepting processing, accepting an instruction to initialize the first life information and the second life information; initialization processing, initializing the first life information and the second life information according to the received instruction; and The writing process writes first initialization information indicating that the first life information has been initialized into the first consumables memory, and writes second initialization information indicating that the second life information has been initialized into the second consumables memory.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The first consumable or the second consumable includes a replacement part.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The image forming device includes a display. The controller: executing a first display process of displaying an object selection screen on the display, the object selection screen being used to allow a user to select the first consumable and the second consumable as objects of the initialization process, The initialization process is performed on the first consumables and the second consumables selected as targets of the initialization process via the target selection screen.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The first consumables memory stores first identification information indicating whether the first consumables is a toner cartridge or a drum cartridge. The controller: executing an acquisition process of acquiring the first identification information, When the first identification information acquired in the acquisition process indicates a toner cartridge, at least one of the toner consumption, the developing roller rotation speed, and the number of printed sheets stored in the first consumables memory is initialized in the initialization process. When the first identification information acquired in the acquisition process indicates a drum cartridge, at least one of the photosensitive drum rotation speed and the number of prints stored in the first consumables memory is initialized in the initialization process.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The second consumables memory stores second identification information indicating whether the second consumables is a toner cartridge or a drum cartridge. The controller: executing an acquisition process of acquiring the second identification information, When the second identification information acquired in the acquisition process indicates a toner cartridge, at least one of the toner consumption, the developing roller rotation speed, and the number of printed sheets stored in the second consumables memory is initialized in the initialization process. When the second identification information acquired in the acquisition process indicates a drum cartridge, at least one of the photosensitive drum rotation speed and the number of prints stored in the second consumables memory is initialized in the initialization process.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The image forming device includes a display. The controller: performing a second display process of displaying a first warning and a first selection screen on the display, wherein the first warning is intended to indicate that printing quality cannot be guaranteed if the first life information and the second life information are initialized according to the instruction, and the first selection screen is used to allow a user to select whether to initialize the first life information and the second life information, When initialization is selected via the first selection screen, the initialization process is executed.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The image forming apparatus includes an operating unit. The controller receives, in the receiving process, an instruction to initialize the first life information and the second life information via the operation unit.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The first initialization information is an initialization count indicating the number of times the first life information is initialized. The controller further performs a determination process of determining whether the number of initializations of the first life information indicated by the first initialization information has reached a predetermined upper limit number of times, In the determination process, when it is determined that the number of initialization times has reached the upper limit number of times, the initialization process is not executed.

9. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: As the first life information, at least one of first consumption information and first balance information is stored in the first consumable storage, wherein the first consumption information is used to determine the extent to which the first consumable is used, and the first balance information is used to determine the amount of material remaining in the first consumable.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein: The first consumable is a toner cartridge, The first consumables memory stores at least one of the number of printed sheets, the rotation speed of the developing roller, and the toner consumption as the first consumption information. The controller resets the value of the first consumption information to zero during the initialization process.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein: The first consumable is a drum cartridge, At least one of the number of printed sheets and the drum rotation speed is stored in the first consumables memory as the first consumption information. The controller resets the value of the first consumption information to zero during the initialization process.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein: The first consumable is a box containing printing materials. A value indicating the capacity of the cartridge is stored in the main body memory or the first consumables memory, The first consumables memory stores the remaining amount of printing material as the first remaining amount information. The controller rewrites the value of the remaining amount of the printing material with a value indicating the capacity stored in the main body memory or the first consumables memory in the initialization process.

13. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The main body memory stores mode information indicating whether the image forming apparatus is in a contract mode, the contract mode meaning that a contract has been concluded for the image forming apparatus. The controller does not execute the acceptance process when the mode information indicates the contract mode.

14. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The first consumables memory stores first category information indicating whether the first consumables are contract consumables that can be used in a contracted image forming apparatus or general consumables that can be used in a contracted image forming apparatus and an uncontracted image forming apparatus. When the first category information indicates contract consumables, the controller further executes a change process of changing the first category information to the general consumables according to the instruction.

15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, wherein: The image forming device includes a display. In a case where the first category information indicates contract consumables, the controller: performing a third display process of displaying a second warning and a second selection screen on the display, wherein the second warning is intended to indicate that if the first life information is initialized according to the instruction, the contract consumable is identified as the general consumable, and the second selection screen is used to allow the user to select whether to initialize the first life information, When initialization is selected via the second selection screen, the initialization process is executed.

16. An initialization method for initializing a first consumable storage device of a first consumable and a second consumable storage device of a second consumable, characterized in that: Include: An acceptance step in which the image forming apparatus accepts an instruction to initialize first life information and second life information, wherein the first life information is stored in the first consumable storage and is related to the life of the first consumable and the second consumable is stored in the second consumable storage and is related to the life of the second consumable, and the second life information is stored in the second consumable storage and is related to the life of the second consumable, of the first consumable and the second consumable installed in the main body housing of the image forming apparatus; an initialization step, in which the image forming apparatus initializes the first life information and the second life information according to the received instruction; and In the writing step, the image forming device writes first initialization information indicating that the first life information has been initialized into the first consumables memory, and the image forming device writes second initialization information indicating that the second life information has been initialized into the second consumables memory.

17. The initialization method according to claim 16, characterized in that: The first consumable or the second consumable includes a replacement part.

18. The initialization method according to claim 16, characterized in that: The method comprises a first display step, wherein the image forming device displays an object selection screen on a display of the image forming device, wherein the object selection screen is used to allow a user to select the first consumable and the second consumable as objects to be initialized in the initialization step, The image forming apparatus executes the initialization step for the first consumables and the second consumables selected as targets for initialization in the initialization step via the target selection screen.

19. The initialization method according to claim 16, characterized in that: The first consumables memory stores first identification information indicating whether the first consumables is a toner cartridge or a drum cartridge. The initialization method includes an acquisition step, wherein the image forming device acquires the first identification information stored in the first consumable storage device, When the first identification information acquired in the acquiring step indicates a toner cartridge, the image forming device initializes at least one of the toner consumption, the developing roller rotation speed, and the number of printed sheets stored in the first consumables memory in the initializing step. When the first identification information acquired in the acquiring step indicates a drum cartridge, the image forming apparatus initializes at least one of the photosensitive drum rotation speed and the number of prints stored in the first consumables storage in the initializing step.

20. The initialization method according to claim 16, characterized in that: The second consumables memory stores second identification information indicating whether the second consumables is a toner cartridge or a drum cartridge. The initialization method includes an acquisition step, wherein the image forming device acquires the second identification information stored in the second consumable storage device, When the second identification information acquired in the acquiring step indicates a toner cartridge, the image forming device initializes at least one of the toner consumption, the developing roller rotation speed, and the number of printed sheets stored in the second consumables memory in the initializing step. When the second identification information acquired in the acquiring step indicates a drum cartridge, the image forming apparatus initializes at least one of the photosensitive drum rotation speed and the number of prints stored in the second consumables storage in the initializing step.

21. The initialization method according to claim 16, characterized in that: The method comprises a second display step, wherein the image forming device displays a first warning and a first selection screen on a display of the image forming device, wherein the first warning is intended to indicate that printing quality cannot be guaranteed if the first life information and the second life information are initialized according to the instruction, and the first selection screen is used to allow a user to select whether to initialize the first life information and the second life information. When initialization is selected via the first selection screen, the image forming apparatus executes the initialization step.

22. The initialization method according to claim 16, characterized in that: In the accepting step, the image forming apparatus accepts an instruction to initialize the first life information and the second life information via an operation unit of the image forming apparatus.

23. The initialization method according to claim 16, characterized in that: The first initialization information is an initialization count indicating the number of times the first life information is initialized. The initialization method includes a determination step of determining whether the number of initializations of the first life information indicated by the first initialization information has reached a predetermined upper limit number of times, In the determining step, when it is determined that the number of initialization times has reached the upper limit number of times, the image forming apparatus does not execute the initialization step.

24. The initialization method according to any one of claims 16 to 23, characterized in that: As the first life information, at least one of first consumption information and first balance information is stored in the first consumable storage, wherein the first consumption information is used to determine the extent to which the first consumable is used, and the first balance information is used to determine the amount of material remaining in the first consumable.

25. The initialization method according to claim 24, characterized in that: The first consumable is a toner cartridge, The first consumables memory stores at least one of the number of printed sheets, the rotation speed of the developing roller, and the toner consumption as the first consumption information. In the initialization step, the image forming device resets the value of the first consumption information to zero.

26. The initialization method according to claim 24, characterized in that: The first consumable is a drum cartridge, At least one of the number of printed sheets and the drum rotation speed is stored in the first consumables memory as the first consumption information. In the initialization step, the image forming device resets the value of the first consumption information to zero.

27. The initialization method according to claim 24, characterized in that: The first consumable is a box containing printing materials. A value indicating the capacity of the cartridge is stored in a main body memory of the image forming apparatus or in the first consumables memory, The first consumables memory stores the remaining amount of printing material as the first remaining amount information. In the initialization step, the image forming apparatus rewrites the value of the remaining amount of the printing material with a value indicating the capacity stored in the main body memory or the first consumables memory.

28. The initialization method according to any one of claims 16 to 23, characterized in that: The main body memory of the image forming apparatus stores mode information indicating whether the image forming apparatus is in a contract mode, wherein the contract mode means that a contract has been signed for the image forming apparatus. When the mode information indicates that the image forming apparatus is in the contract mode, the image forming apparatus does not execute the acceptance step.

29. The initialization method according to any one of claims 16 to 23, characterized in that: The first consumables memory stores first category information indicating whether the first consumables are contract consumables that can be used in a contracted image forming apparatus or general consumables that can be used in a contracted image forming apparatus and an uncontracted image forming apparatus. The initialization method further includes a changing step of, when the first category information indicates contract consumables, the image forming apparatus changes the first category information to the general consumables according to the instruction.

30. The initialization method according to claim 29, characterized in that: The initialization method includes a third display step, wherein the image forming device displays a second warning and a second selection screen on the display of the image forming device when the first category information indicates that the contract consumable is a contract consumable, the second warning being intended to indicate that if the first life information is initialized according to the instruction, the contract consumable is identified as the general consumable, and the second selection screen is used to allow the user to select whether to initialize the first life information. When initialization is selected via the second selection screen, the image forming apparatus executes the initialization step.

Images