Image forming apparatus

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus, including: a device body; a cartridge that can be attached to the device body and detached from the device body; a supply restriction unit configured to switch between a restricted state that restricts the supply of toner through a supply port and a permitted state that permits the supply of toner through the supply port; a toner remaining amount detection unit; and a controller configured to, when a supply container is attached to the supply port, maintain the supply restriction unit in the restricted state when the number of second printable sheets is greater than the number of first printable sheets, the number of first printable sheets being obtained based on the life of the cartridge, and the number of second printable sheets being obtained based on the sum of the amount of toner contained in a developer container and the amount of toner contained in the supply container.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material. Background Art

[0002] Generally, an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic system forms an image on a recording material by developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of a photosensitive member with toner and then transferring the toner image from the photosensitive member to the recording material. As a method for supplying toner consumed by repeatedly performing image formation to the image forming apparatus, a process cartridge system and a successive supply system are known. The process cartridge system is a system in which a photosensitive member and a developer container containing toner are integrated into a process cartridge, and when all the toner in the developer container is exhausted, the process cartridge is replaced with a new one.

[0003] In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H08-30084 discloses a developing unit of a successive supply system, which includes a toner conveyance path and a developer supply tank. Toner is supplied to a developing roller through the toner conveyance path. The developer supply tank is connected to the toner conveyance path and supplies toner from the developer supply tank to the toner conveyance path according to the detection result of the remaining amount of toner.

[0004] In recent years, in addition to the above-described process cartridge system and successive supply system, the demand of users for a wider variety of uses of image forming apparatuses has been increasing. Summary of the Invention

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus in which a supply container for accommodating toner can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus is configured to form an image on a recording material. The image forming apparatus includes: a device body; a cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the device body, the cartridge including: an image bearing member; a developer container configured to accommodate toner; a developing unit configured to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on the image bearing member into a toner image by using the toner accommodated in the developer container; and a supply port configured to allow supply of toner from the supply container through the supply port to the developer container in a state where the supply container disposed outside the image forming apparatus is attached to the supply port; a supply restricting unit configured to switch between a restricted state in which supply of toner through the supply port is restricted and a permitted state in which supply of toner through the supply port is permitted; a toner remaining amount detecting unit whose output value varies based on the amount of toner accommodated in the developer container; and a controller configured to, when the supply container is attached to the supply port, keep the supply restricting unit in the restricted state when a second number of printable sheets is greater than a first number of printable sheets, the first number of printable sheets being obtained based on the life of the cartridge, and the second number of printable sheets being obtained based on the sum of the amount of toner accommodated in the developer container and the amount of toner accommodated in the supply container.

[0006] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus in which a supply container for accommodating toner can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus is configured to form an image on a recording material. The image forming apparatus includes: a device body; a cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the device body, the cartridge including: an image bearing member; a developer container configured to accommodate toner; a developing unit configured to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on the image bearing member into a toner image by using the toner accommodated in the developer container; and a supply port configured to allow supply of toner from the supply container through the supply port to the developer container in a state where the supply container disposed outside the image forming apparatus is attached to the supply port; a toner remaining amount detecting unit whose output value varies based on the amount of toner accommodated in the developer container; a display unit; and a controller configured to, when the supply container is attached to the supply port, display a warning prompting replacement of the cartridge on the display unit based on the output value of the toner remaining amount detecting unit.

[0007] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus in which a supply container for accommodating toner can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus is configured to communicate with an information processing apparatus including a display unit and form an image on a recording material. The image forming apparatus includes: a device main body; a cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the device main body, the cartridge including: an image carrier member; a developer container configured to accommodate toner; a developing unit configured to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier member into a toner image by using the toner accommodated in the developer container; and a supply port configured to allow toner to be supplied from the supply container to the developer container through the supply port in a state where the supply container disposed outside the image forming apparatus is attached to the supply port; a toner remaining amount detection unit whose output value varies based on the amount of toner accommodated in the developer container; and a controller configured to display a warning prompting replacement of the cartridge on the display unit based on the output value of the toner remaining amount detection unit when the supply container is attached to the supply port.

[0008] More features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1A is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment.

[0010] Figure 1B is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment.

[0011] Figure 2A is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment.

[0012] Figure 2B is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment.

[0013] Figure 3 is a diagram for describing attachment and detachment of a processing cartridge according to a first embodiment.

[0014] FIG. 4A is a diagram for describing an openable and closable member of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment.

[0015] FIG. 4B is a diagram for describing an openable and closable member of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment.

[0016] FIG. 4C is a diagram for describing an openable and closable member of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment.

[0017] Figure 5AThis is a diagram for describing the configuration of a process cartridge according to the first embodiment.

[0018] Figure 5B This is a diagram for describing the configuration of a process cartridge according to the first embodiment.

[0019] Figure 6A is a diagram for describing the configuration of a process cartridge according to the first embodiment.

[0020] Figure 6B is a diagram for describing the configuration of a process cartridge according to the first embodiment.

[0021] Figure 6C This is a diagram for describing the configuration of a process cartridge according to the first embodiment.

[0022] Figure 7A This is a perspective view of a toner package according to the first embodiment.

[0023] Figure 7B This is a side view of a toner package according to the first embodiment.

[0024] Figure 8A This is a perspective view of a toner package according to the first embodiment.

[0025] Figure 8B This is a side view of a toner package according to the first embodiment.

[0026] Figure 8C This is a diagram showing how toner is discharged.

[0027] Figure 9A is a perspective view of a supply container attachment portion according to the first embodiment.

[0028] Figure 9B is a top view of a supply container attachment portion according to the first embodiment.

[0029] Figure 9C is an enlarged view of a supply container attachment portion according to the first embodiment.

[0030] Figure 10A This is a diagram for describing the operation of a supply container attachment portion according to the first embodiment.

[0031] Figure 10B This is a diagram for describing the operation of a supply container attachment portion according to the first embodiment.

[0032] Figure 10C This is a diagram for describing the operation of a supply container attachment portion according to the first embodiment.

[0033] Figure 11A This is a diagram showing the position of a locking member according to the first embodiment.

[0034] Figure 11B This is a diagram showing the position of a locking member according to the first embodiment.

[0035] Figure 12 is a perspective view of a toner package according to the first embodiment.

[0036] Figure 13 is a view showing the pressing mechanism of the locking member according to the first embodiment.

[0037] Figure 14A is a view showing the panel according to the first embodiment.

[0038] Figure 14B is a view showing the panel according to the first embodiment.

[0039] Figure 14C is a view showing the panel according to the first embodiment.

[0040] Figure 15A is a perspective view of a toner bottle unit according to the first modification example.

[0041] Figure 15B is a perspective view of a toner bottle unit according to the first modification example.

[0042] Figure 15C is a side view of a toner bottle unit according to the first modification example.

[0043] Figure 15D is a cross-sectional view of a toner bottle unit according to the first modification example.

[0044] Figure 16A is a view for describing the internal configuration of a toner bottle unit according to the first modification example.

[0045] Figure 16B is a view for describing the internal configuration of a toner bottle unit according to the first modification example.

[0046] Figure 16C is a view for describing the internal configuration of a toner bottle unit according to the first modification example.

[0047] Figure 16D is a view for describing the internal configuration of a toner bottle unit according to the first modification example.

[0048] Figure 16E is a view for describing the rotation detection of the toner bottle unit.

[0049] Figure 16F is a view for describing the rotation detection of the toner bottle unit.

[0050] Figure 17A is a perspective view of a process cartridge according to the second modification example.

[0051] Figure 17B is a top view of a process cartridge according to the second modification example.

[0052] Figure 17C It is a cross-sectional view of a process cartridge according to a second modified example.

[0053] Figure 17D It is a cross-sectional view of a process cartridge according to a second modified example.

[0054] Figure 18A It is a perspective view of a process cartridge according to a third modified example.

[0055] Figure 18B It is a top view of a process cartridge according to a third modified example.

[0056] Figure 18C It is a cross-sectional view of a process cartridge according to a third modified example.

[0057] Figure 19 It is a block diagram showing a control system of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment.

[0058] Figure 20 It is a flowchart showing calculation control for calculating a counter.

[0059] Figure 21 It is a perspective view of a display unit that displays a toner remaining amount insufficient message.

[0060] Figure 22 It is a flowchart for describing operating conditions of a locking member.

[0061] Figure 23 It is a flowchart showing control related to toner consumption amount and the life of a process cartridge.

[0062] Figure 24 It is a flowchart showing control related to toner consumption amount and the life of a process cartridge.

[0063] Figure 25 It is a perspective view of a personal computer and a mobile information processing terminal connected to an image forming apparatus. Detailed Description of the Invention

[0064] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0065] First Embodiment

[0066] (1) Image Forming Apparatus

[0067] Figure 1AIt is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 is a monochrome printer that forms an image on a recording material based on image information input from an external device. Examples of the recording material include sheets of different properties. Examples of the sheets include paper (such as regular paper and cardboard), plastic film (such as sheets for overhead projectors), paper with irregular shapes (such as envelopes and index paper), and cloth, etc.

[0068] (1-1) Overall configuration

[0069] As Figure 1A and 1B shown, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a printer main body 100 that serves as a device main body, a reading device 200 that is supported on the printer main body 100 in an openable and closable manner, and an operation unit 300 that is attached to the outer surface of the printer main body 100. The printer main body 100 includes an image forming unit 10, a feeding unit 60, a fixing unit 70, and a discharging roller pair 80. The feeding unit 60 feeds the recording material to the image forming unit 10, and the image forming unit 10 forms a toner image on the recording material. The fixing unit 70 fixes the toner image formed by the image forming unit 10 to the recording material, and the discharging roller pair 80 discharges the recording material that has passed through the fixing unit 70 to the outside of the device. In addition, the processing cartridge 20 of this embodiment adopts a direct supply system, in which toner is directly supplied from the outside of the image forming apparatus 1 by using a toner package 40 filled with toner for supply.

[0070] The image forming unit 10 is an electrophotographic image forming unit including a scanner unit 11, a processing cartridge 20, and a transfer roller 12. The processing cartridge 20 includes a photosensitive drum 21, a charging roller 22 provided near the photosensitive drum 21, a developing roller 31, and a cleaning blade 24.

[0071] The photosensitive drum 21 serving as the image bearing member of this embodiment is a photosensitive member formed in a cylindrical shape. The photosensitive drum 21 of this embodiment includes a drum-shaped base formed of aluminum, and a photosensitive layer formed of an organic photoconductor that can be negatively charged on the base. In addition, the photosensitive drum 21 is rotationally driven by a motor in a predetermined direction at a predetermined processing speed, and the predetermined direction is Figure 1A the clockwise direction in

[0072] The charging roller 22 contacts the photosensitive drum 21 with a predetermined pressing force, thereby forming a charging portion. In addition, a desired charging voltage is applied from a charging high voltage power source to the charging roller 22, whereby the charging roller 22 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 to a predetermined electric potential. In this embodiment, the photosensitive drum 21 is negatively charged by the charging roller 22.

[0073] The scanner unit 11 irradiates the laser beam L corresponding to the image information input from an external device or a reading device 200 onto the photosensitive drum 21 by using a polygon mirror, thereby exposing the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 in a scanning manner. As a result of this exposure, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image information is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21. It should be noted that the scanner unit 11 is not limited to a laser scanner unit. For example, an LED exposure unit including an LED array can be employed, in which a plurality of LEDs are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 21.

[0074] The developing unit 802 includes a developing roller 31 serving as a developer carrier member (configured to carry a developer), a developer container 32 serving as a frame member of the developing unit 802, and a supply roller 33 capable of supplying the developer to the developing roller 31. The developing roller 31 and the supply roller 33 are rotatably supported by the developer container 32. Further, the developing roller 31 is disposed in the opening of the developer container 32 so as to face the photosensitive drum 21. The supply roller 33 is rotatably in contact with the developing roller 31, and toner (which serves as the developer accommodated in the developer container 32) is applied onto the surface of the developing roller 31 by the supply roller 33. The developer container is also referred to as a developer storage container.

[0075] The developing unit 802 of the present embodiment employs a contact developing system as the developing system. That is, the toner layer carried on the developing roller 31 serving as a developing portion comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 21 in a developing portion that is a developing area where the photosensitive drum 21 and the developing roller 31 face each other. A developing voltage is applied from a developing high-voltage power source to the developing roller 31. Under the influence of the developing voltage, according to the potential distribution on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21, the toner carried on the developing roller 31 is transferred onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 21, thereby developing the electrostatic latent image into a toner image. It should be noted that in the present embodiment, an inversion developing system is employed. That is, a toner image is formed by attaching toner to the areas on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 that have been charged in the charging step and have had their charge amounts reduced due to exposure in the exposure step.

[0076] In addition, in the present embodiment, a toner having a particle size of 6 micrometers (μm) and a normal charging polarity of negative polarity is used. For example, a polymer toner generated by a polymerization method is used as the toner in the present embodiment. Further, the toner in the present embodiment is a so-called non-magnetic one-component developer that does not contain a magnetic component and is carried on the developing roller 31 mainly by intermolecular force and electrostatic force (i.e., mirror force). However, a one-component developer containing a magnetic component can be used. In addition, in some cases, in addition to toner particles, the one-component developer further contains additives for adjusting the fluidity and charging performance of the toner. Examples of the additives include wax and silica fine particles. Further, a two-component developer composed of a non-magnetic toner and a magnetic carrier can be used as the developer. In the case of using a magnetic developer, a cylindrical developing sleeve (in which a magnet is provided) is used as the developer carrying member. That is, the developer contained in the developer container 32 is not limited to a one-component developer containing only toner components, and can also be a two-component developer containing toner and a carrier.

[0077] A stirring member 34 serving as a stirring unit is provided inside the developer container 32. The stirring member 34 is driven to pivot, thereby stirring the toner in the developer container 32 and conveying the toner toward the developing roller 31 and the supply roller 33. Further, the stirring member 34 has a function of circulating the toner that has not been used for development and peeled off from the developing roller 31 in the developer container 32, thereby making the toner in the developer container 32 uniform.

[0078] In addition, a developing blade 35 for controlling the amount of toner carried on the developing roller 31 is provided at an opening portion of the developer container 32 where the developing roller 31 is provided. As the developing roller 31 rotates, the toner supplied to the surface of the developing roller 31 passes through a portion where the developing roller 31 and the developing blade 35 face each other, thereby forming a uniform thin layer and being negatively charged due to frictional charging.

[0079] The feeding unit 60 includes a front door 61 that is supported so as to be openable and closable with respect to the printer main body 100, a support tray 62, an inner plate 63, a tray spring 64, and a pickup roller 65. The support tray 62 constitutes the bottom surface of a recording material accommodation space that is exposed by opening the front door 61, and the inner plate 63 is supported on the support tray 62 so as to be able to move up and down. The tray spring 64 upwardly presses the inner plate 63 and presses the recording material P supported on the inner plate 63 against the pickup roller 65. It should be noted that the front door 61 closes the recording material accommodation space in a state of being closed with respect to the printer main body 100, and supports the recording material P together with the support tray 62 and the inner plate 63 in a state of being open with respect to the printer main body 100.

[0080] The transfer roller 12 serving as the transfer unit transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 21 of the process cartridge 20 to the recording material. It should be noted that although a direct transfer system (wherein the toner image formed on the image bearing member is directly transferred from the image bearing member to the recording material) will be described in this embodiment, an intermediate transfer system (wherein the toner image is transferred from the image bearing member via an intermediate transfer member such as an intermediate transfer belt) can be adopted. In this case, for example, a transfer unit composed of an intermediate transfer belt, a primary transfer roller for transferring the toner image from the photosensitive drum to the intermediate transfer belt by primary transfer, and a secondary transfer roller for transferring the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt to the recording material serves as the transfer unit.

[0081] The fixing unit 70 is a heat fixing system that performs an image fixing process by heating and melting the toner on the recording material. The fixing unit 70 includes a fixing film 71, a fixing heater such as a ceramic heater for heating the fixing film 71, a thermistor for measuring the temperature of the fixing heater, and a pressure roller 72 that is crimped to the fixing film 71.

[0082] Next, the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. When a command for image formation is input to the image forming apparatus 1, based on the image information input from an external computer connected to the image forming apparatus 1 or the image information input from the reading device 200, the image forming unit 10 starts an image forming process. The scanner unit 11 irradiates the laser beam L toward the photosensitive drum 21 based on the input image information. At this time, the photosensitive drum 21 has been pre-charged by the charging roller 22, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 21 by irradiating with the laser beam L. Then, this electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing roller 31, and a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 21.

[0083] In parallel with the above-described image forming process, the pickup roller 65 of the feeding unit 60 feeds out the recording material P supported on the front door 61, the support tray 62, and the inner plate 63. The recording material P is fed to the registration roller pair 15 by the pickup roller 65, and its skew is corrected by abutting against the clamping portion of the registration roller pair 15. In addition, the registration roller pair 15 is driven according to the transfer timing of the toner image (this transfer timing is obtained based on the start time of the exposure performed by the scanner unit 11), and conveys the recording material P to the transfer unit, which is the clamping portion formed between the transfer roller 12 and the photosensitive drum 21.

[0084] A transfer voltage is applied from a transfer high-voltage power source to a transfer roller 12, and the toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred onto a recording material P conveyed by a registration roller pair 15. After the transfer, the residual transferred toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is removed by a cleaning blade 24, which is an elastic blade in contact with the photosensitive drum 21. The recording material P onto which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to a fixing unit 70 and passes through a nip formed between a fixing film 71 and a pressure roller 72 formed in the fixing unit 70, whereby the toner image is heated and pressed. As a result, the toner particles melt and then adhere to the recording material P. Accordingly, the toner image is fixed onto the recording material P. The recording material P that has passed through the fixing unit 70 is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus 1 by a discharge roller pair 80 and is supported on a discharge tray 81 formed on the upper portion of the printer main body 100.

[0085] The discharge tray 81 is inclined upward toward the downstream side along the discharge direction of the recording material, and by sliding downward along the discharge tray 81, the trailing end of the recording material discharged onto the discharge tray 81 is aligned by a control surface 84.

[0086] (1-2) Openable and closable parts of the image forming apparatus

[0087] As Figure 2A 、 2B and Figure 3 shown, a first opening 101 that opens upward is provided in the upper portion of the printer main body 100. As Figure 1B shown, during use, the first opening 101 is covered by a top cover 82, and as Figure 2B shown, the process cartridge 20 is exposed by opening the top cover 82 upward. The top cover 82 is supported so as to be openable and closable relative to the printer main body 100 by rotating about a rotation axis 82c extending in the left-right direction as Figure 3 shown, and the discharge tray 81 is provided on its upper surface. When the reading device 200 is opened relative to the printer main body 100, the top cover 82 opens from the front side toward the rear side. It should be noted that the reading device 200 and the top cover 82 are configured to be held in the open state and the closed state by a holding mechanism such as a hinge mechanism.

[0088] For example, in the case where a paper jam occurs in a conveyance path CP through which the recording material fed by a pickup roller 65 passes, the user opens the top cover 82 together with the reading device 200. Then, the user approaches the process cartridge 20 through the first opening 101 exposed by opening the top cover 82 and pulls out the process cartridge 20 along a cartridge guide 102. A protrusion 21a provided at an end of the process cartridge 20 in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 21 as Figure 5A shown slides on the cartridge guide 102, and thus the process cartridge 20 is guided by the cartridge guide 102.

[0089] Then, as a result of pulling out the processing cartridge 20 to the outside through the first opening 101, a space is created through which a hand can reach inside the conveyance path CP. The user can place the user's hand in the printer main body 100 through the first opening 101 to approach the recording material that has caused a paper jam in the conveyance path CP, and thus remove the recording material that has caused the paper jam.

[0090] In addition, in the present embodiment, an opening / closing member 83 is provided on the top cover 82 so as to be openable and closable, as Figure 1B shown in FIGS. 4C. An upwardly opening opening 82a is provided in the upper surface of the top cover 82 (on which the discharge tray 81 is provided), and the opening 82a is covered by closing the opening / closing member 83. The opening / closing member 83 and the opening 82a are provided on the right side of the top cover 82. Further, the opening / closing member 83 is supported on the top cover 82 so as to be openable and closable about a pivot axis 83a extending in the front-rear direction, and is opened to the right by hooking a finger on a groove portion 82b provided on the top cover 82. The opening / closing member 83 is formed in an approximately L shape according to the shape of the top cover 82. It should be noted that the opening / closing member 83 is not limited to the above-described opening / closing mechanism. For example, the opening / closing member 83 may be provided on the top cover 82 to cover the supply container attachment portion 701, and may be configured to open and close the opening 82a by sliding on the upper surface of the top cover 82 and pivoting about a pivot axis perpendicular to the top cover 82. Here, sliding on the upper surface of the top cover 82 means that the movement of the opening / closing member 83 in the pivot axis direction is restricted.

[0091] The opening 82a is opened to expose the supply container attachment portion 701 for toner supply provided in the upper part of the processing cartridge 20. By opening the opening / closing member 83, the user can access the supply container attachment portion 701 without opening the top cover 82. The user can supply toner to the processing cartridge 20 by attaching the toner package 40 to the supply container attachment portion 701.

[0092] In the present embodiment, a system such as a direct supply system is adopted, in which Figure 1A as shown in FIGS. 1B and, while the processing cartridge 20 is still attached to the image forming apparatus 1, the user supplies toner from the toner package 40 filled with toner for supply to the processing cartridge 20. Therefore, when the amount of toner remaining in the processing cartridge 20 becomes small, it is not necessary to perform an operation of removing the processing cartridge 20 from the printer main body 100 and replacing the processing cartridge 20 with a brand-new processing cartridge, and thus usability can be improved. It should be noted that the image forming apparatus 1 and the toner package 40 constitute an image forming system.

[0093] Note that, in this embodiment, the reading device 200 is provided on the upper part of the image forming device 1, and when the opening / closing member 83 is opened, the reading device 200 needs to be opened first to expose the top cover 82. However, a configuration in which the reading device 200 is omitted and the opening / closing member 83 is originally exposed on the upper part of the image forming device 1 can be adopted.

[0094] (1-3) Reading device

[0095] As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the image reading device 200 includes a reading unit 201 and a platen 202. A reading section (not shown) is included in the reading unit 201, and the platen 202 is supported by the reading unit 201 so as to be openable and closable. A platen glass 203 that transmits light emitted from the reading section and supports a document placed thereon is provided on the upper surface of the reading unit 201.

[0096] When the image of a document is read by the reading device 200, the user places the document on the platen glass 203 with the platen 202 open. Then, the platen 202 is closed to suppress displacement of the document on the platen glass 203, and a read command is output to the image forming device 1 by operating the operation unit 300, for example. When the reading operation starts, the reading section in the reading unit 201 reciprocates in the sub-scanning direction, that is, reciprocates in the left-right direction with the operation unit 300 of the image forming device 1 facing forward. While irradiating light from the light emitting section onto the document, the reading section receives the light reflected from the document through the light receiving section, and reads the image of the document by performing photoelectric conversion.

[0097] Note that, in the following description, the front-back direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction of the image forming device 1 are defined based on the state where the operation unit 300 faces forward. The up-down direction corresponds to the direction of gravity. The positional relationship between members (such as the processing cartridge 20) that can be attached to the printer main body 100 and detached from the printer main body 100 will be described based on the state where the members are attached to the printer main body 100. In addition, the "longitudinal direction" of the processing cartridge 20 refers to the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 21.

[0098] (1-4) Configuration of processing cartridge

[0099] Next, the configuration of the processing cartridge 20 will be described. Figure 5A is a perspective view of the processing cartridge 20 and the toner package 40, Figure 5B is a side view of the processing cartridge 20 and the toner package 40. FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6A-6A of Figure 5B and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6B-6B of Figure 5B Figure 6C ​is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6C-6C of FIGS. 6A and 6B. Note that in Figures 5A to 6C the outer shape of the supply container attachment portion 701 is shown in a simplified manner. For the detailed shape, see, for example, FIG. 9A.

[0100] As Figures 5A to 6C shown, the processing cartridge 20 is composed of a toner receiving unit 801, a developing unit 802, and a cleaning unit 803. The toner receiving unit 801, the cleaning unit 803, and the developing unit 802 are arranged in this order from the upper side to the lower side along the direction of gravity. Each unit will be described in turn below.

[0101] The toner receiving unit 801 is provided at the upper part of the processing cartridge 20. A toner storage portion 8011 composed of a frame member for storing toner is provided in the toner receiving unit 801, and a supply container attachment portion 701 connected to the toner package 40 is provided at the end of the toner receiving unit 801. Note that the frame member constituting the toner storage portion 8011 may be composed of a single member or a combination of multiple members. The supply container attachment portion 701 includes a supply port 8012 through which toner discharged from the toner package 40 is received. The detailed configuration of the supply container attachment portion 701 and the attachment of the toner package 40 to the supply container attachment portion 701 will be described below.

[0102] In addition, a first conveying member 8013, a second conveying member 8014, and a third conveying member 8015 are provided inside the toner receiving unit 801. The first conveying member 8013 conveys the toner that has fallen into the end of the toner storage portion 8011 in the longitudinal direction through the supply port 8012 toward the central portion of the toner storage portion 8011 along the Figure 6C arrow direction H shown. The second conveying member 8014 conveys the toner conveyed by the first conveying member 8013 in the Figure 6C arrow J direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction shown, that is, to the upper part of the developing unit 802, that is, to the discharge port 8016. The third conveying member 8015 mainly receives the toner from the second conveying member 8014 at the central portion in the longitudinal direction, and conveys the toner in the longitudinal direction (i.e., the arrow K direction and the arrow K' direction) to the first side and the second side. Note that the first conveying member to the third conveying member are operated to move the toner, and thus may also be referred to as the first developer moving member to the third developer moving member.

[0103] When toner from the toner package 40 serving as a supply container flows into the toner receiving unit 801, air also flows in. The supply container is also referred to as a developer supply container. The toner receiving unit 801 includes Figure 5AThe air filter 8017 shown allows air to flow in the direction of arrow H when replenishing toner, making it easier to replenish toner. This air filter 8017 suppresses the ejection of toner from the replenishment port 8012 due to the increase in the internal pressure of the toner receiving unit 801 and a part of the air flowing in the direction opposite to the direction of arrow H when replenishing toner.

[0104] In addition, discharge ports 8016 for discharging toner from the toner storage section 8011 to the developer container 32 of the developing unit 802 shown in FIG. 6B are respectively provided at two ends of the toner receiving unit 801 in the longitudinal direction. The toner that has reached the discharge port 8016 through conveyance by the third conveyance member 8015 falls into the developer container 32 according to gravity. It should be noted that a conveyance member may be further provided in the path of the discharge port 8016 to assist the movement of the toner according to gravity.

[0105] The developing unit 802 located below the processing cartridge 20 includes an opening 8021 shown in FIG. 6B, which receives the toner discharged through the discharge port 8016. A sealing member (not shown) is provided between the discharge port 8016 and the opening 8021 so that the toner does not leak through the gap between the discharge port 8016 and the opening 8021.

[0106] The toner that has fallen from the toner package 40 into the toner receiving unit 801 through the replenishment port 8012 is conveyed in the toner receiving unit 801 by the first conveyance member 8013, the second conveyance member 8014, and the third conveyance member 8015. Then, the toner is conveyed from the toner receiving unit 801 to the developing unit 802 through the discharge ports 8016 and the opening 8021 provided at two ends in the longitudinal direction. In this way, the toner supplied through the replenishment port 8012 is conveyed in the processing cartridge 20 and reaches the developer container 32. The replenishment port 8012 is located at an end of the processing cartridge 20 in the longitudinal direction and is horizontally away from the developer container 32 when viewed in the longitudinal direction.

[0107] As described above, the toner storage section 8011 of the toner receiving unit 801 and the developer container 32 of the developing unit 802 communicate with each other, thereby constituting a storage container that defines a space for storing toner in the processing cartridge 20. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the replenishment port 8012 for replenishing toner from the outside is provided as a part of the storage container of the processing cartridge 20. However, a replenishment port directly connected to the replenishment container may be provided in the printer main body, and the processing cartridge may receive toner through this replenishment port. In this case, as Figure 3 shown, parts of the processing cartridge 20 other than the replenishment port can be detached from the image forming apparatus 1.

[0108] The toner supplied to the developing unit 802 through the opening 8021 is stored in a conveyance chamber 36 formed in a developer container 32, which is constituted by a frame member of the developing unit 802, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. It should be noted that the frame member constituting the developer container 32 may be constituted by a single member or a combination of a plurality of members. Here, a stirring member 34 is provided in the conveyance chamber 36. The stirring member 34 includes a shaft member 34a disposed near the rotation center of the stirring member 34, and blade portions 34b extending radially from the shaft member 34a. In a sectional view, the toner within the rotation locus of the distal ends of the blade portions 34b is pushed and moved according to the movement of the blade portions 34b. The toner replenished through the opening 8021 is conveyed toward the developing roller 31, supply roller 33, and developing blade 35 while being stirred by the stirring member 34.

[0109] The cleaning unit 803 includes a fourth conveyance member 8031, a fifth conveyance member 8032, and a waste toner chamber 8033 constituted by a frame member, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. It should be noted that the frame member constituting the waste toner chamber 8033 may be constituted by a single member or a combination of a plurality of members. The waste toner chamber 8033 is a space for storing the collected substances (so-called waste toner, such as the transfer residual toner collected from the photosensitive drum 21 by the cleaning blade 24), and is independent of the internal spaces of the toner receiving unit 801 and the developing unit 802. The waste toner collected by the cleaning blade 24 is conveyed by the fourth conveyance member 8031 and the fifth conveyance member 8032 in the direction of arrow M, and gradually accumulates starting from the front side of the rear portion 8033a of the waste toner chamber 8033.

[0110] In this document, as shown in FIG. 6A, a laser passage space SP is defined between the cleaning unit 803 and the developing unit 802, and the laser passage space SP is a gap through which the laser L emitted from the scanner unit 11 shown in Figure 1A FIG. can pass through toward the photosensitive drum 21. As described above, the discharge port 8016 and the opening 8021 for conveying the toner from the toner receiving unit 801 to the developing unit 802 are provided at the ends of the respective units in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, in a configuration with a small size of the entire process cartridge 20, while ensuring the laser passage space SP, the toner replenished from the outside of the image forming apparatus 1 (particularly the toner replenished through the replenishment port 8012 opened in the upper surface of the apparatus) can be conveyed to the developer container 32 provided at the lower portion of the process cartridge 20.

[0111] (1-5) Configuration of the Toner Package

[0112] The configuration of the toner package 40 will be described. Figure 7Ais a perspective view of the toner package 40 in a state where the shutter member 41 is closed, Figure 7B and is a bottom view thereof. Figure 8A is a perspective view of the toner package 40 in a state where the shutter member 41 is open, Figure 8B and is a bottom view thereof. Figure 8C shows how a user squeezes the toner package 40 by hand when replenishing toner. In addition, Figure 12 is a perspective view of the toner package 40 in a state where the shutter member 41 is closed as viewed from below.

[0113] As Figures 7A to 8C shown, the toner package 40 serving as an example of a replenishment container includes a bag member 43 filled with toner, a discharge portion 42 formed of resin and attached to the bag member 43, and a shutter member 41 capable of opening and closing an opening portion of the discharge portion 42. A storage unit 45 serving as a storage portion for storing information of the toner package 40 is attached to the discharge portion 42. The storage unit 45 includes a plurality of metal plates serving as contact portions 45a, and the contact portions 45a are in contact with contact portions 70133 of a replenishment container attachment portion 701 shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B and described below. The plurality of metal plates serve as metal terminals exposed to the outside of the toner package 40. In addition, as the material of the bag member 43, polypropylene resin, polyethylene terephthalate resin, cardboard, paper, etc. can be used. In addition, the thickness of the bag member 43 can be set to 0.01 mm to 1.2 mm. In addition, from the viewpoints of squeezability by the user and durability of the bag, the thickness is more preferably 0.05 mm to 1.0 mm.

[0114] As Figure 7B , Figure 8B and Figure 12 shown, the shutter member 41 has a shape obtained by cutting out a part of a disk capable of relatively rotating with respect to the discharge portion 42. Side surfaces of the shutter member 41 extending in the thickness direction at the cutout portion serve as engagement surfaces 41s. At the same time, the shape of the discharge portion 42 also has a cutout portion therein. The cutout portion of the discharge portion 42 includes an engagement surface 42s parallel to the engagement surface 41s. In addition, a discharge port 42a is provided at a position approximately 180° from the engagement surface 42s in the circumferential direction of the discharge port 42a. It should be noted that details of the engagement surfaces 41s and 42s are shown in Figure 12 .

[0115] As Figure 7B and Figure 12 shown, when viewed from above or below, when the positions of the cutouts of the shutter member 41 and the discharge portion 42 are aligned, the discharge port 42a is covered by the shutter member 41. This state will be referred to as a closed state. As Figure 8BAs shown, when the baffle member 41 rotates 180° relative to the discharge portion 42, the discharge port 42a is exposed through the cutout portion of the baffle member 41, and the internal space of the bag member 43 communicates with the space outside the toner package 40. It should be noted that, as Figure 12 shown, the baffle member 41 preferably has a structure in which a sealing layer 41b formed of an elastic material such as sponge is adhered to the rigid body portion 41a. In this case, the sealing layer 41b is in firm contact with the sealing layer 42c covering the peripheral edge portion of the discharge port 42a in the closed state, thereby suppressing toner leakage. The sealing layer 42c is shown in Figure 12 and is formed of an elastic material such as sponge similar to the sealing layer 41b.

[0116] As described below, when replenishing the image forming apparatus 1 with toner from the toner package 40, by aligning the discharge portion 42 with a predetermined position, the toner package 40 is inserted and connected to the supply container attachment portion 701. Then, when the discharge portion 42 rotates 180°, the discharge portion 42 rotates relative to the baffle member 41 to open the discharge port 42a, and the toner in the bag member 43 falls into the toner receiving unit 801 according to gravity. At this time, the baffle member 41 cannot move relative to the supply container attachment portion 701.

[0117] As Figure 8C shown, in a state where the toner package 40 is attached to the supply container attachment portion 701 and rotated 180°, the user squeezes the bag member 43, thereby promoting the discharge of toner from the toner package 40.

[0118] It should be noted that although the rotatable baffle member 41 has been described as an example herein, the baffle member may be omitted, and a sliding type baffle member may be used instead of the rotary baffle member 41. In addition, the baffle member 41 may be configured to be broken by attaching the toner package 40 to the supply port 8012 or rotating the toner package 40 in the attached state, or may have a detachable cover structure such as a sticker.

[0119] In addition, it is preferable to attach a protective cap to the discharge portion 42 of the unused toner package 40 so that toner does not leak during transportation or the like. For example, the protective cap engages with the baffle member 41 and the cutout portion of the discharge portion 42 in a state of being attached to the discharge portion 42, so as to restrict the relative rotation of the baffle member 41 and the discharge portion 42. By removing the protective cap, the user can attach the toner package 40 to the supply container attachment portion 701.

[0120] (1-6) Configuration of the supply container attachment portion

[0121] The shutter opening / closing mechanism of the toner package 40 and the toner receiving unit 801 and the locking mechanism of the shutter member 41 will be described. FIG. 9A is a perspective view of the supply container attachment portion 701, and FIG. 9B is a top view of the supply container attachment portion 701. The supply container attachment portion 701 includes a supply port 8012, a supply port shutter 7013, a locking member 7014, and a rotation detection portion 7015.

[0122] The supply port 8012 is an opening that communicates with the toner storage portion 8011 of the toner receiving unit 801 shown in FIG. 6 and is fixed to the frame member 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801. The supply port shutter 7013 includes a lid portion 70131 that covers the supply port 8012, a cylindrical portion 70132 that receives the discharge portion 42 of the toner package 40, and a contact portion 70133 (which is connected to Figure 8B the contact portion 45a of the storage unit 45 of the toner package 40 shown). In FIG. 9A, a part of the cylindrical portion 70132 that covers the contact portion 70133 is shown as the cylindrical portion 70132a. The supply port shutter 7013 is a member in which the lid portion 70131, the cylindrical portion 70132, and the contact portion 70133 are integrated and is rotatably attached to the frame member 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801. Each conductor exposed on the contact portion 70133 is electrically connected to the controller of the image forming device 1 installed in the printer main body 100 via the wiring provided in the process cartridge 20 and the contact between the process cartridge 20 and the printer main body 100.

[0123] The rotation detection portion 7015, which serves as a rotation detection sensor, is a mechanism that detects the rotation of the supply port shutter 7013. The rotation detection portion 7015 of the present embodiment is composed of two conductive leaf springs 70151 and 70152. The leaf spring 70152 elastically deforms in the clockwise direction and comes into contact with the leaf spring 70151 at the distal end portion 701521 when pressed by a protrusion 70135a provided on the outer periphery of the supply port shutter 7013. That is, the rotation detection portion 7015 is a circuit configured such that its conduction state and non-conduction state are switched according to the rotation angle of the supply port shutter 7013 (i.e., the rotation position of the supply port shutter 7013). As described below, Figure 19 the controller 90 of the image forming device 1 shown identifies whether the discharge port 42a of the toner package 40 communicates with the supply port 8012 of the supply container attachment portion 701 based on whether the rotation detection portion 7015 is in a conduction state or a non-conduction state. In other words, the controller 90 can determine that the supply operation performed by the user using the toner package 40 has at least been normally executed up to the communication between the discharge port 42a and the supply port 8012.

[0124] As shown in FIGS. 9A to 10C, a plurality of protrusions 70135a and 70135b are provided at the outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical portion 70132 of the supply port baffle 7013. In addition, the frame member 8010 includes a baffle support portion 7011, and the baffle support portion 7011 rotatably supports the cylindrical portion 70132 of the supply port baffle 7013. A plurality of protrusions 70125a and 70125b are also provided on the cylindrical portion 7011a of the baffle support portion 7011. The plurality of protrusions 70125a and 70125b are located in the direction of gravity Figure 10A below the protrusion 70135a shown on the right side in Figure 10A . The protrusion 70125b allows Figure 10A the protrusion 70135a shown on the right side in Figure 10A to pass through by rotational movement. In contrast, Figure 10A the protrusion 70135a shown on the left side in Figure 10A is located at the same height as the protrusion 70135a shown on the right side in

[0125] and extends downward to a height overlapping with the protrusions 70125a and 70125b. Therefore, depending on the rotation angle of the supply port baffle 7013 (i.e., the rotational position of the supply port baffle 7013), the protrusion 70125b comes into contact with Figure 10A the protrusion 70135a shown on the left side in Figure 10A , thereby restricting the rotational movement of the protrusion 70135a shown on the left side in

[0126] . The locking member 7014 is a member that restricts the rotation of the supply port baffle 7013. Figure 11A The state where the locking member 7014 is in the locked position is shown, Figure 11BShows the state where the locking member 7014 is in the unlocked position. By moving in the vertical direction, the locking member 7014 can be switched between the locking position that serves as the limiting position and the unlocked position that serves as the allowing position. As shown in FIGS. 9B and 11A, when the locking member 7014 abuts against the protrusion 70135a of the supply port baffle 7013 in the locking position, the rotation of the supply port baffle 7013 is restricted. When the locking member 7014 moves to the unlocked position as shown in Figure 11B shown, the locking member 7014 retracts from the movement locus of the protrusion 70135a formed when moving from the supply port baffle 7013, thereby allowing the rotation of the supply port baffle 7013.

[0127] (1-7) Pressing mechanism of the locking member

[0128] Figure 13 Shows the pressing mechanism 600 that moves the locking member 7014 between the locking position and the unlocked position. The pressing mechanism 600 includes a motor 601, an input gear 602, a cam gear 603, and a retractable pin 604. The input gear 602 is a crossed helical gear attached to the output shaft of the motor 601. The cam gear 603 includes a gear portion 6032 and a cam portion 6031. The gear portion 6032 is composed of a helical gear meshing with the input gear 602, and the cam portion 6031 is used to reciprocate the retractable pin 604.

[0129] The retractable pin 604 is supported by a holding member so as to be linearly movable in the vertical direction in the direction of gravity and the direction opposite to the direction of gravity. When the motor 601 rotates, the cam gear 603 rotates via the input gear 602, and the retractable pin 604 reciprocates in the vertical direction by being pressed by the cam portion 6031. Therefore, the locking member 7014 also moves up and down between the locking position and the unlocked position. Figure 13 Shows the locked state.

[0130] It should be noted that although the combination of a helical gear and a crossed helical gear has been used as the drive transmission configuration of the pressing mechanism 600 in this embodiment, this configuration is not limited thereto as long as the rotation of the motor can be converted into linear motion. For example, bevel gears can be used, or the input gear 602 can be removed and the cam gear 603 can be directly driven by the motor 601. Additionally, an actuator (such as a solenoid) that outputs linear motion can be used as the drive source instead of the motor 601.

[0131] In addition, the composition Figure 13Each component of the pressing mechanism 600 shown is supported by the frame member 609 of the printer main body 100, and the advancing and retracting pin 604 is supported by the guiding portion 604a so as to be reciprocally movable in the vertical direction. The guiding portion 604a is provided in the housing of the printer main body 100. At the same time, the pivot shaft 7014a of the locking member 7014 is held by a holding portion provided on the frame member 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801 so as to be pivotable and slidable in the vertical direction. Therefore, when replacing the process cartridge 20, the locking member 7014 is also replaced, and the pressing mechanism 600 is left in the printer main body 100. The pivot shaft 7014a and the advancing and retracting pin 604 are formed as separate components. When the locking member 7014 is in the unlocked position, the advancing and retracting pin 604 is away from the locking member 7014, the process cartridge 20 is separated from the main body, and the advancing and retracting pin 604 remains in the main body. However, this configuration is not limited thereto. For example, the pivot shaft 7014a of the locking member 7014 may be supported by the printer main body 100.

[0132] (1-8) Replenishment operation process using the toner package

[0133] The operation process performed when detaching the toner package 40 after attaching the toner package 40 to the replenishment container attachment portion 701 and replenishing the toner will be described based on the above-described configurations of the toner package 40, the replenishment container attachment portion 701, and the pressing mechanism 600. Figure 10A is a top view of the replenishment container attachment portion 701 when the replenishment port 8012 is in the closed state, Figure 10B is a top view of the replenishment container attachment portion 701 when the replenishment port 8012 is in the open state. Figure 10C is a perspective view of the replenishment container attachment portion 701 when the replenishment port 8012 is in the open state.

[0134] As Figure 10A shown, the replenishment port shutter 7013 in the closed state is fixed so as not to be rotatable relative to the replenishment port 8012 by abutting against the locking member 7014 located at the locking position along the rotation direction by the protrusion 70135a. At this time, the cover portion 70131 of the replenishment port shutter 7013 completely closes the replenishment port 8012. In addition, the leaf springs 70151 and 70152 of the rotation detection portion 7015 are separated from each other, and the rotation detection portion 7015 is in the off state.

[0135] When inserting the toner package 40 into the replenishment container attachment portion 701, the user will Figure 12The discharge portion 42 of the toner package 40 and the cutout portion of the baffle member 41 shown are aligned with the supply port 8012 and the lid portion 70131 of the supply port baffle 7013, and the toner package 40 is inserted. In this case, the engagement surface 42s of the discharge portion 42 engages with the engagement surface 7013s shown in FIG. 9C, which is the side surface of the lid portion 70131, and the engagement surface 41s of the baffle member 41 engages with the engagement surface 8012s shown in FIG. 9C, which is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the supply port 8012. At this time, the discharge portion 42 engaged with the lid portion 70131 of the supply port baffle 7013 cannot rotate until the locking of the supply port baffle 7013 by the locking member 7014 is released later, and becomes rotatable together with the supply port baffle 7013 after the locking is released. In addition, by engaging with the supply port 8012 of the frame member 8010 fixed to the toner receiving unit 801, the baffle member 41 of the toner package 40 is in a non-rotatable state. It should be noted that as a different engagement mechanism between the lid portion 70131 and the discharge portion 42, a protruding portion protruding upward may be provided on the upper surface of the lid portion 70131, and a concave portion engaging with the protruding portion may be provided on Figure 12 the lower surface 42b of the discharge portion 42 shown.

[0136] In addition, by inserting the toner package 40, Figure 7A and 7B the contact portion 45a of the storage unit 45 shown contacts the contact portion 70133 of the supply container attachment portion 701, and the information stored in the storage unit 45 is read by the controller 90 of the image forming apparatus 1. The information stored in the storage unit 45 indicates whether there is still toner in the toner package 40, that is, whether the toner package 40 has been used. This information will also be referred to as a brand-new product flag. When the controller 90 reads the brand-new product flag and determines that the currently attached toner package 40 contains toner (i.e., the currently attached toner package 40 has not been used), the controller 90 controls the pressing mechanism 600 to push the locking member 7014 upward. As a result, the locking member 7014 moves from the locking position to Figure 11B the unlocking position shown.

[0137] In a state where the locking member 7014 has moved to the unlocking position, the locking member 7014 is separated from the protruding portion 70135a of the supply port baffle 7013, so that the supply port baffle 7013 becomes rotatable in Figure 10A and 10B the R1 direction. However, since the protruding portion 70125a provided on the frame member 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801 and Figure 10AThe protrusion 70135a interferes, so the rotation of the supply port baffle 7013 in the R2 direction is restricted. That is, in Figure 10A the protrusions 70125a and 70125b are located below the protrusions 70135a and 70135b, enabling the protrusions 70135a and 70135b to move along the rotation direction and pass over the protrusions 70125a and 70125b.

[0138] When the user grasps the toner package 40 and rotates the discharge part 42 or the part of the bag member 43 near the discharge part 42 by 180° in the R1 direction, the state shown in Figure 10B is presented. The supply port baffle 7013 also rotates 180° together with the discharge part 42 of the toner package 40. Thus, the cover part 70131 moves away from the position covering the supply port 8012, and the supply port 8012 is exposed. The side surface of the cover part 70131 is pushed by the engagement surface 42s, which is part of the rotating discharge part 42. Therefore, the cover part 70131 rotates and moves together with the engagement surface 42s. In addition, since the discharge part 42 rotates 180° with the baffle member 41 fixed, Figure 8B the discharge port 42a of the toner package 40 shown is exposed and faces the supply port 8012. As a result, the internal space of the toner package 40 and the internal space of the toner receiving unit 801 communicate with each other through the discharge port 42a and the supply port 8012, and the toner stored in the bag member 43 flows downward into the toner storage part 8011.

[0139] As described above, the toner falling into the toner storage part 8011 is conveyed inside the toner receiving unit 801, reaches the developer container 32, and is available for the developing process. It should be noted that a configuration can be adopted in which, even before the newly replenished toner reaches the developer container 32, the developing unit 802 can still perform the developing process as long as there is still an amount of toner required to maintain the image quality left in the developer container 32. That is, a configuration can be adopted in which, regardless of whether the image forming operation is being performed by the Figure 1A image forming unit 10 shown, toner can be supplied from a supply container provided outside the image forming apparatus to the developer container.

[0140] In addition, the protrusion 70125b is arranged to abut against the protrusion 70135a of the supply port baffle 7013 when the supply port baffle 7013 rotates 180° in the R1 direction from the Figure 10A state, as shown in Figure 10BAs shown. That is to say, similar to the protrusion 70125a, the protrusion 70125b is also located below the protrusions 70135a and 70135b. As a result, the pivoting of the supply port baffle 7013 by more than 180° in the R1 direction is restricted. At the same time, the protrusion 70135a of the supply port baffle 7013 presses the leaf spring 70152 of the rotation detection unit 7015, and its distal end 701521 contacts the leaf spring 70151. When the rotation detection unit 7015 is in the conducting state, the controller 90 recognizes that the supply port baffle 7013 has been switched to the open state, and operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 back to the locking position. Then, the locking member 7014 engages with the protrusion 70135b of the supply port baffle 7013 to restrict rotation in the R2 direction, so that the supply port baffle 7013 and the toner package 40 cannot be rotated in any direction.

[0141] In addition, in Figure 10B the state where (the discharge part 42 of the toner package 40 and the supply port baffle 7013 have rotated 180°), the cover part 70131 of the supply port baffle 7013 covers the upper part of the baffle member 41 of the toner package 40. Therefore, when attempting to pick up the toner package 40 from the supply container attachment part 701, the baffle member 41 interferes with the cover part 70131, and the movement of the toner package 40 is restricted. Therefore, unless the user performs the disassembly operation of the toner package 40 according to the predetermined procedure described below, the disassembly of the toner package 40 from the supply container attachment part 701 will be prevented.

[0142] After starting to discharge the toner from the toner package 40, if the conditions for determining that the discharge of the toner has been completed are met, the controller 90 operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the unlock position. In this embodiment, the completion of the toner discharge is determined based on the time elapsed since the rotation detection unit 7015 has switched to the conducting state.

[0143] After the locking member 7014 has moved to the unlock position, the user can disassemble the toner package 40 by following the procedure opposite to that performed when attaching the toner package 40. That is to say, the user grasps the discharge part 42 of the toner package 40 or a part of the bag member 43 near the discharge part 42, and rotates the toner package 40 by 180° in the R2 direction, which is opposite to the rotation direction during attachment. In this case, the supply port baffle 7013 rotates 180° together with the discharge part 42, and the supply port 8012 is covered by the cover part 70131 of the supply port baffle 7013, as Figure 10A shown. In addition, Figure 10AThe protrusion 70135a of the supply port baffle 7013 shown on the left abuts against the protrusion 70125a, thereby restricting the rotation of the supply port baffle 7013 in the R2 direction beyond 180°.

[0144] In a state where the discharge portion 42 of the toner package 40 has been rotated 180° in the R2 direction, the position of the cutout portion of the discharge portion 42 aligns with the position of the cutout portion of the baffle member 41, as Figure 12 shown. Therefore, even if the toner package 40 is moved upward, the baffle member 41 does not interfere with the cover portion 70131 of the supply port baffle 7013, so the user can remove the toner package 40 from the supply container attachment portion 701 by grasping and lifting the toner package 40.

[0145] It should be noted that during the process of rotating the supply port baffle 7013 180° in the R2 direction, the protrusion 70135a separates from the leaf spring 70152, and the rotation detection portion 7015 returns to the off state. Then, the controller 90 recognizes that the supply port baffle 7013 has been switched to the closed state, and operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the locking position. As a result, the supply container attachment portion 701 is switched back to the same initial state as before the toner supply operation was performed. For example, when a predetermined time has elapsed after the rotation detection portion 7015 has been switched to the on state, the controller 90 can determine that a predetermined condition for moving the locking member 7014 to the unlocking position is satisfied. It should be noted that the trigger condition for moving the locking member 7014 to the locking position can be the loss of conduction between the contact portion 70133 of the supply container attachment portion 701 and the contact portion 45a of the toner package 40 shown in FIG. 7 due to the detachment of the toner package 40 from the supply container attachment portion 701.

[0146] Although the positional relationship is set in this embodiment such that the discharge port 42a of the toner package 40 and the supply port 8012 communicate with each other after rotating 180°, the rotation angle required for communication can be changed as long as the toner package 40 can be removed by an operation similar to that of this embodiment.

[0147] (1 - 9) Panel

[0148] Next, the panel 400 will be described. For example, as Figure 1B and Figures 14A to 14CAs shown, the panel 400 is provided on the front surface of the housing of the printer main body 100. The panel 400 is an example of a display unit that displays information related to the remaining amount of toner in the developer container 32 or the remaining capacity of the developer container 32. The panel 400 is constituted by a liquid crystal panel including a plurality of indicators. In the present embodiment, three indicators 4001, 4002, and 4003 are arranged in this order from the upper side to the lower side in the vertical direction. The panel 400 indicates the amount of toner that can be added to the developer container 32 for replenishment by the gradually changing display of the indicators 4001 to 4003. The controller 90 continuously updates the display of the panel 400 based on the recognition of the completion of the replenishment operation described below. In addition, in the case where the completion of the replenishment operation is not reflected in the remaining amount of toner, the remaining amount of toner can be subsequently detected, and the display of the panel 400 can be updated. For example, in the case where the controller 90 has detected by the optical sensors represented by 51a and 51b that the toner has not actually been sufficiently replenished after the lamp of the indicator 4002 has been turned on, the controller 90 updates the display of the panel 400 by turning off the lamp of the indicator 4002. In addition, the lowermost indicator 4003 also indicates whether the toner in the developer container 32 is at a low level or an out level. It should be noted that the low level is a level at which, although the developer container 32 needs to be replenished with toner, at least the amount of toner required to maintain the image quality is retained, and the image forming operation can still be performed. The out level is a level at which almost no toner remains in the developer container 32 and the image forming operation cannot be performed.

[0149] In the illustrated configuration example of the panel 400, the fact that the lamps of all three indicators 4001 to 4003 are turned off indicates that the toner in the developer container 32 is at the out level. This state is used as the fourth state.

[0150] As Figure 14A shown, in the case where only the lamp of the lower indicator 4003 is turned on, the remaining amount of toner in the developer container 32 is at the low level. In this state, since the lamps of two indicators are turned off, it can be seen that toner corresponding to the amount of two toner packages 40 can be added for replenishment. This state is used as the third state. In addition, it can also be seen that since the lamps of the digital panels "+1" and "+2" next to the indicator are turned on, toner corresponding to the amount of two toner packages 40 can be added for replenishment.

[0151] As Figure 14BAs shown, when the lights of the middle and lower indicators 4002 and 4003 are on and the light of the upper indicator 4001 is off, the toner remaining amount in the developer container 32 is greater than the low-level toner remaining amount and less than the full-load level toner remaining amount when the developer container 32 is full. In this state, the light of one indicator is off, so it can be seen that, for example, toner corresponding to the amount of one toner package 40 can be added for replenishment. This state is used as the second state. In addition, it can also be seen that since the light of the digital panel "+1" next to the indicator is on and the light of the digital panel "+2" next to the indicator is off, toner corresponding to the amount of one toner package 40 can be added for replenishment.

[0152] As Figure 14C shown, when the lights of all three indicators 4001 to 4003 are on, the toner remaining amount in the developer container 32 is at the full-load level. In this state, the light of no indicator is off, so it can be seen that, for example, toner cannot be added from the toner package 40 for replenishment. This state is used as the first state. In addition, it can also be seen that since the lights of the digital panels "+1" and "+2" next to the indicator are off, toner cannot be added from the toner package 40 for replenishment.

[0153] It should be noted that Figures 14A to 14C the panel 400 shown is an example of the display unit, and the display content of the display unit changes according to the toner remaining amount in the developer container 32, and different configurations can be adopted. For example, the panel can be composed of a combination of a light source such as an LED or an incandescent lamp and a diffusing lens instead of a liquid crystal panel. Optionally, a configuration that omits the indicator and only uses the digital panel can be adopted, or a configuration that omits the digital panel and only uses the indicator can be adopted.

[0154] In addition, the number and display method of the indicators of the panel 400 can be appropriately modified. For example, when the toner remaining amount in the developer container 32 is at a low level, the user can be prompted to replenish the toner by making the light of the lower indicator flash.

[0155] (2) First modification

[0156] Next, a first modification will be described with reference to Figures 15A to 15D wherein a toner bottle unit having a bottle shape is used as another example of the replenishment container instead of the toner package having a bag shape. It should be noted that the toner bottle unit is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the above-described replenishment container attachment portion 701 similarly to the above-described toner package 40. Therefore, the description of the elements of the image forming apparatus that are the same as those in the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0157] (2-1) Configuration of the toner bottle unit

[0158] Figure 15A is a perspective view showing the appearance of the toner bottle unit 900, Figure 15B is a perspective view of the toner bottle unit 900 after discharging the toner. Figure 15C is a view showing the toner bottle unit 900 as observed from the lower side of the piston, Figure 15D is along Figure 15C a cross-sectional view of the toner bottle unit 900 taken along the line D-D.

[0159] In addition, Fig. 16A is a perspective view of the toner bottle unit 900 in which the illustration of the outer cylinder 903 shown Figure 15A is omitted; Fig. 16B is a perspective view of the toner bottle unit 900 after discharging the toner in which the illustration of the outer cylinder 903 is omitted. Figure 16C is a view showing the state before the pushing operation of the components related to the push detection of the toner bottle unit 900, Figure 16D is a view showing the state after the pushing operation of the components related to the push detection. Figure 16E is a view showing the state before the rotation operation of the components related to the rotation detection of the toner bottle unit 900, Figure 16F is a view showing the state after the rotation operation of the components related to the rotation detection of the toner bottle unit 900.

[0160] As Figure 15A and 15D shown, the toner bottle unit 900 generally includes an outer cylinder 903, an inner cylinder 901, a piston 902, a baffle member 904, and a storage unit 911. The outer cylinder 903 and the inner cylinder 901 have a cylindrical shape, the inner cylinder 901 is assembled inside the outer cylinder 903, and the piston 902 is assembled inside the inner cylinder 901 and can slide relative to the inner cylinder 901. In the following description, the direction in which the piston 902 moves (i.e., the axial direction of the outer cylinder 903 and the inner cylinder 901) will be referred to as the axial direction of the toner bottle unit 900. In addition, the piston 902 serves as an example of a pressing member.

[0161] The inner cylinder 901 includes a toner storage portion 9014 having a cylindrical shape and storing toner, a bottom portion 9013 provided on the first end side in the axial direction, and a discharge port 9011 provided in the bottom portion 9013. The inner cylinder 901 has a cylindrical shape, and the first end portion of the toner storage portion 9014 in the axial direction is closed by the bottom portion 9013. An opening portion 9012 is provided on the second end side of the toner storage portion 9014, and a piston 902 is inserted into the toner storage portion 9014 through the opening portion 9012. Further, a weight member 905 having a spherical shape and capable of moving in the toner storage portion 9014 is included in the inner cylinder 901.

[0162] The outer cylinder 903 includes: an inner cylinder accommodation portion 9034 having a cylindrical shape that accommodates the toner storage portion 9014 of the inner cylinder 901; a bottom portion 9033 provided on the first end side in the axial direction; and a discharge port 9031 provided in the bottom portion 9033. The outer cylinder 903 has a cylindrical shape, and the first end portion of the inner cylinder accommodation portion 9034 in the axial direction is closed by the bottom portion 9033 similarly to the inner cylinder 901, and the inner cylinder 901 is held non-relatively movably. An opening portion 9032 (through which the piston 902 is inserted) is provided on the second end side of the inner cylinder accommodation portion 9034.

[0163] The discharge port 9011 of the inner cylinder 901 has a thin cylindrical shape extending from the bottom portion 9013 toward the first end side in the axial direction. The discharge port 9031 of the outer cylinder 903 is provided in the bottom portion 9033 at a position corresponding to the discharge port 9011 of the inner cylinder 901. The discharge port 9031 of the outer cylinder 903 is a discharge port through which the toner stored in the toner storage portion 9014 is discharged to the outside of the toner bottle unit 900. It should be noted that a retreat space 9013a is provided adjacent to the discharge port 9011 of the inner cylinder 901, and this retreat space is used to allow the weight member 905 to retreat therein when the piston 902 is pushed in so as not to block the discharge port 9011.

[0164] It should be noted that the bottom portion 9013 of the inner cylinder 901 has an inclined shape, and the cross-sectional area on the discharge port side in the axial direction is smaller, specifically, a tapered shape with a smaller inner diameter on the discharge port side in the axial direction. The bottom portion 9033 of the outer cylinder 903 opposite to the bottom portion 9013 of the inner cylinder 901 also has a similar inclined shape. The discharge port 9011 and the retreat space 9013a of the inner cylinder 901 are provided at the apex portion of the inclined shape of the bottom portion 9033. The weight member 905 has a spherical shape and is guided by the bottom portion 9013 to move to the retreat space 9013a by gravity.

[0165] The piston 902 includes an elastic member 906 and a pushing rib 9021. The elastic member 906 is attached to a first end portion 9023 on the first end side in the axial direction (i.e., the discharge port side), and the pushing rib 9021 is provided near a second end portion 9022 on the second end side, which is the portion pushed by the user when pushing the piston 902. The elastic member 906 is configured to contact the inner peripheral surface of the toner storage portion 9014 without a gap therebetween and has a function of suppressing toner leakage when pushing the piston 902. In addition, the pushing rib 9021 has a protruding shape that protrudes radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the piston 902.

[0166] The configuration of the baffle member 904 is similar to the configuration of the baffle member 41 provided in the toner package 40 as described above. That is, as Figure 15C shown, the baffle member 904 has a disk shape with a partial cutout and is rotatable relative to the outer cylinder 903. The side surface of the baffle member 904 extending in the thickness direction in the cutout portion serves as an engagement surface 904s. At the same time, the outer cylinder 903 also has a shape with a cutout. The outer cylinder 903 includes an engagement surface 903s parallel to the engagement surface 904 in the cutout portion. In addition, the discharge port 9031 is provided at a position approximately 180° away from the engagement surface 903s in the circumferential direction of the outer cylinder 903.

[0167] Figure 15C A state where the discharge port 9031 has been exposed is shown, but in the state during transportation of the toner bottle unit 900, the positions of the cutout engagement surface 903s of the outer cylinder 903 and the cutout engagement surface 904s of the baffle member 904 are aligned. In this case, the discharge port 9031 is covered by the baffle member 904, and the sealed state (i.e., the closed state) of the toner storage portion 9014 is maintained. As Figure 15C shown, when the baffle member 904 rotates 180° relative to the outer cylinder 903, the discharge port 9031 is exposed through the cutout portion of the baffle member 904, so the seal of the toner storage portion 9014 is released and the toner can be discharged. This state corresponds to the open state. The configuration of the discharge port 9031, the engagement surface 903s, and the baffle member 904 is substantially the same as the configuration described with reference to Figures 7A to 8C and Figure 12 described.

[0168] The storage unit 911, which serves as a storage unit for storing information of the toner bottle unit 900, is attached to a portion near the discharge port 9031 of the outer cylinder 903. As shown in FIG. 16A, the storage unit 911 includes a plurality of metal plates 9111, 9112, and 9113, which are exposed to the outside of the toner bottle unit 900 to serve as a contact portion 911a that contacts the contact portion 70133 of the supply container attachment portion 701 shown in FIG. 9A.

[0169] (2-2) Piston pushing detection mechanism

[0170] In addition, as shown in FIGS. 16A and 16C, as a pushing detection mechanism for detecting the pushing operation of the piston 902, a pushing detection rod 907, a first contact plate 908, and a second contact plate 909 are provided between the outer cylinder 903 and the inner cylinder 901. The pushing detection rod 907 is formed of an insulating material such as resin, and the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are formed of a conductive material such as metal. The pushing detection rod 907 includes a contact release portion 9072 on the first end side (i.e., the discharge port side) in the axial direction, and a piston contact portion 9071 that can abut against the pushing rib 9021 of the piston 902 on the second end side in the axial direction. Since the pushing rib 9021 presses the piston contact portion 9071, the pushing detection rod 907 moves in the axial direction according to the pushing operation of the piston 902.

[0171] For example, the pushing detection rod 907 is assembled in a groove shape defined in the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 901 or the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder 903 in the axial direction, and is thus held so as to be movable in the axial direction relative to the inner cylinder 901 and the outer cylinder 903, while the movement of the pushing detection rod 907 in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction is restricted. In addition, the piston contact portion 9071 has a shape bent perpendicular to the axial direction (i.e., a shape bent into an L shape) so that the pushing rib 9021 can more reliably abut against the piston contact portion 9071. It should be noted that although the pushing rib 9021 is provided to extend around the piston 902 on the outer peripheral surface of the piston 902 in FIG. 16A, a configuration in which the pushing rib 9021 is formed only at a position corresponding to the piston contact portion 9071 in the circumferential direction may also be employed.

[0172] The first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are metal plates, and their conduction state and disconnection state are switched according to the position of the pushing detection rod 907 formed of insulating resin. A new product detection method of the toner bottle unit 900 using the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 will be described below.

[0173] In addition, Figure 15AThe shown cylinder lid 910 is provided at the end portion on the opening side of the outer cylinder 903 to prevent the push-in detection rod 907 from falling off. That is, the cylinder lid 910 that defines the opening 9032 of the outer cylinder 903 is narrowed so that the edge of the opening 9032 shown in Figure 15D is closer to the inside in the radial direction than the outer edge of the piston contact portion 9071 shown in FIG. 16B. Therefore, even when a force is applied to move the push-in detection rod 907 axially toward the opening side, the piston contact portion 9071 interferes with the cylinder lid 910, so the push-in detection rod 907 does not fall from the toner bottle unit 900.

[0174] (2-3) Determination of new / used toner bottle unit

[0175] Next, a configuration for detecting whether the toner bottle unit 900 is unused (i.e., new) or used when the toner bottle unit 900 is attached to the supply container attachment portion 701 will be described. As shown in Figure 16C and 16D , the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907 is located near the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909.

[0176] Figure 16C Corresponding to the state before the piston is pushed in as shown in FIG. 16A, the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are in contact with each other, so they are in a conductive state. At this time, it is preferable that one of the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 formed of metal is formed in the shape of a leaf spring and crimped with the other. In addition, for example, by applying conductive grease to the contact surfaces of the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909, the conduction between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 can be made more reliable.

[0177] Figure 16D Corresponding to the state after the piston is pushed in as shown in FIG. 16B, the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are in an open state. In this state, the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907 pushed in by the push-in rib 9021 enters between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909, thereby physically separating the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909. At least the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907 is formed of an insulating material, and in the state where the contact release portion 9072 shown in Figure 16D exists between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909, the conduction between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is disconnected.

[0178] The first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are connected to different ones of the plurality of metal plates 9111 to 9113 at ends opposite to the ends of the contact release portion 9072 that contacts the push detection lever 907. Here, the first contact plate 908 is connected to the metal plate 9111, and the second contact plate 909 is connected to the metal plate 9113. In this case, it is possible to determine whether the toner bottle unit 900 is in a state before the piston is pushed or in a state after the piston is pushed by detecting whether a current is generated when a minute voltage is applied between the metal plates 9111 and 9113. That is to say, it is possible to determine whether the toner bottle unit 900 has not been used or has been used. That is, in a state where the toner bottle unit 900 is attached to the supply container attachment portion 701, the controller 90 of the image forming apparatus 1 can determine whether the toner bottle unit 900 has been used or has not been used based on the presence / absence of conduction between the metal plates 9111 and 9113. In addition, the controller 90 can determine that the supply operation by the user has been completed based on the disconnection between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909. Based on this determination, the controller 90 performs the display control of the above-described panel 400. Further, the controller 90 writes a brand-new product flag (which indicates whether the toner bottle unit 900 has been used) in the storage unit 45 according to the change in conduction between the metal plates 9111 and 9113. The brand-new product flag being 1 corresponds to brand-new, and the brand-new product flag being 0 corresponds to having been used.

[0179] It should be noted that, in the case of the above configuration, the storage unit 911 is preferably provided in the circuit connecting the metal plates 9111 and 9112. Thereby, the controller 90 of the image forming apparatus can access the storage unit 911 through the metal plates 9111 and 9112 while monitoring the pushing operation of the toner bottle unit 900 via the metal plates 9111 and 9113.

[0180] (2-4) Rotation detection of the toner bottle unit

[0181] Next, a method for detecting the rotation of the toner bottle unit 900 will be described with reference to Figure 16E and 16F Note that, except that a baffle member 904 for sealing the discharge port of the supply container is attached to the outer cylinder 903 of the toner bottle unit 900, the rotation detection method of the present embodiment is the same as the above-described embodiment using the toner package 40.

[0182] As Figure 16E and 16F shown, two conductive leaf springs 70151 and 70152 are provided in the supply container attachment portion 701 of the process cartridge 20 as a rotation detection portion 7015. Further, a protrusion 70135b is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the supply port baffle 7013.

[0183] As Figure 16E shown, in the state before the toner bottle unit 900 inserted into the supply container attachment portion 701 rotates, the distal end portion 701521 of the leaf spring 70152 does not contact the leaf spring 70151, so the rotation detection portion 7015 is in an off state. That is, when a small voltage is applied between the leaf springs 70151 and 70152, no current flows. As Figure 16F shown, when the toner bottle unit 900 rotates 180°, the leaf spring 70152 is pressed by the protrusion 70135a, so the distal end portion 701521 contacts the leaf spring 70151, and the rotation detection portion 7015 is switched to an on state. In this state, when a small voltage is applied between the leaf springs 70151 and 70152, current flows. The controller 90 of the image forming apparatus 1 identifies whether the discharge port 9031 of the toner bottle unit 900 and the supply port 8012 of the supply container attachment portion 701 communicate with each other based on whether the rotation detection portion 7015 is in an on state or an off state.

[0184] (2-5) Replenishment operation process using the toner bottle unit

[0185] A series of operations for detaching the toner bottle unit 900 after the toner bottle unit 900 is attached to the supply container attachment portion 701 and toner is replenished will be described. It should be noted that the description of the same elements as in the above-described embodiment using the toner package 40 will be omitted.

[0186] First, the user attaches an unused toner bottle unit 900 to the supply container attachment portion 701. Specifically, the Figure 15C cutting joint surfaces 903s of the outer cylinder 903 and the cutting joint surfaces 904s of the baffle member 904 shown are aligned with the supply port 8012 and the lid portion 70131 of the supply port baffle 7013, and the toner bottle unit 900 is inserted. In this case, the joint surface 903s of the outer cylinder 903 is joined to the joint surface 7013s which is the side surface of the lid portion 70131, and the joint surface 904s of the baffle member 904 is joined to the joint surface 8012s provided on the outer peripheral portion of the supply port 8012. At this time, the outer cylinder 903 joined to the lid portion 70131 of the supply port baffle 7013 cannot rotate until the locking of the supply port baffle 7013 by the locking member 7014 is released later, and becomes rotatable together with the supply port baffle 7013 after the locking is released. In addition, the baffle member 904 is in a non-rotatable state by being joined to the supply port 8012 of the frame member 8010 fixed to the toner receiving unit 801. In addition, the leaf springs 70151 and 70152 of the rotation detection portion 7015 are separated from each other, and the rotation detection portion 7015 is in the off state as Figure 16E shown.

[0187] In the case where the unused toner bottle unit 900 is inserted into the replenishing container attachment portion 701, the controller 90 recognizes the toner bottle unit 900 as brand new through the above-mentioned brand new product detection mechanism. The controller 90 can recognize the conduction between the metal plates 9111 and 9113, or make a determination by reading the brand new product flag in the storage unit 45. The brand new product flag of 1 corresponds to brand new, and the brand new product flag of 0 corresponds to having been used. In this case, the controller 90 operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the lock release position, so that the toner bottle unit 900 becomes rotatable.

[0188] Then, when the user grasps the toner bottle unit 900 and rotates the toner bottle unit 900 by 180°, the shutter member 904 and the replenishment port shutter 7013 are opened, and the discharge port 9031 of the toner bottle unit 900 and the replenishment port 8012 of the replenishment container attachment portion 701 are communicated with each other. The operation of opening the shutter member 904 and the replenishment port shutter 7013 according to the rotation of the toner bottle unit 900 is similar to that described with reference to FIG. Figure 10A and Figure 10B The case of the toner package 40 is described.

[0189] like Figure 16F As shown, in a state where the toner bottle unit 900 is rotated 180°, the distal end portion 701521 of the leaf spring 70152 pressed by the protrusion 70135b of the replenishing port shutter 7013 contacts the leaf spring 70151. When the rotation detection portion 7015 is switched to the on state in this manner, the controller 90 of the image forming apparatus 1 detects that the rotation operation of the toner bottle unit 900 has been performed. That is, the controller 90 recognizes that the seal achieved by the shutter member 904 and the replenishing port shutter 7013 has been released, and the discharge port 42a of the toner package 40 and the replenishing port 8012 of the replenishing container attachment portion 701 are in communication with each other. In addition, the controller 90 operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the locking position, thereby restricting the rotation of the toner bottle unit 900.

[0190] Next, the user presses the piston 902 of the toner bottle unit 900 to start discharging the toner. The toner that has fallen into the toner storage portion 8011 is transported in the toner receiving unit 801 and reaches the developer container 32. Moreover, in this modification, when the piston 902 is pushed to the deepest position, the above-mentioned push-in detection mechanism detects that the push-in operation of the piston 902 has been completed. That is, as shown in Figure 16B, the push-in rib 9021 of the piston 902 presses the piston contact portion 9071 of the push-in detection rod 907, so that the push-in detection rod 907 moves in conjunction with the piston 902.

[0191] Then, as shown in Figure 16D Figure 16D , when the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection lever 907 is pushed in, the conduction between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is disconnected. The controller 90 of the image forming apparatus 1 identifies the completion of the push-in of the piston 902 based on the fact that no current flows even when a voltage is applied between the metal plate 9111 connected to the first contact plate 908 and the metal plate 9113 connected to the second contact plate 909. That is, in this modification, the detection of the completion of the push-in operation of the piston 902 by the push-in detection mechanism serves as a condition for determining the completion of the toner discharge. It should be noted that a configuration may be adopted in which, when the conduction between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is disconnected, the controller 90 rewrites the new product flag in the storage unit 911, and determines that the discharge of the toner has been completed based on the rewrite of the new flag.

[0192] The controller 90 that has detected the completion of the discharge of the toner from the toner bottle unit 900 operates the pressing mechanism 600 again to move the locking member 7014 to the unlocked position, thereby enabling the toner bottle unit 900 to rotate. The user grasps the toner bottle unit 900 and rotates the toner bottle unit 900 by 180°. In this case, the discharge port 9031 of the toner bottle unit 900 is covered by the baffle member 904, and the supply port 8012 of the supply container attachment portion 701 is covered by the lid portion 70131 of the supply port baffle 7013. In addition, as shown in Figure 16E Figure 16E , the leaf springs 70151 and 70152 are separated, and the rotation detection portion 7015 returns to the off state. Then, the controller 90 identifies that the supply port baffle 7013 has been switched to the closed state, and operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the locked position. As a result, the supply container attachment portion 701 returns to the initial state before toner supply.

[0193] (3) Second modification

[0194] Next, a second modification in which the configuration of the processing cartridge is different will be described. Except for the elements related to the processing cartridge, this modification has the same elements as those in the first embodiment, and thus the description of the same elements will be omitted.

[0195] (3-1) Processing cartridge

[0196] Figures 17A to 17D are a perspective view, a side view, a cross-sectional view, and another cross-sectional view of the processing cartridge 20A according to this modification, respectively. Figure 17C and 17D are cross-sectional views taken at the cross-sectional positions shown in Figure 17B respectively.

[0197] As shown inFigures 17A to 17D As shown, the processing cartridge 20A of this modification example includes a toner receiving unit 801, a developing unit 802, and a drum unit 803A. Compared with the first embodiment, the drum unit 803A does not include a cleaning blade 24 for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 or a waste toner chamber 8033 for accommodating waste toner as shown in FIG. 6A. This is because a cleanerless configuration is adopted in this modification example. In the cleanerless configuration, the transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 and not transferred to the recording material is collected in the developing unit 802 and reused. It should be noted that, for example, a non-magnetic developer or a magnetic single-component developer can also be used herein.

[0198] In the illustrated example, the developing unit 802 is located at the lower part of the processing cartridge 20A, and the toner receiving unit 801 and the drum unit 803A are located above the developing unit 802 in the direction of gravity. Although, as Figure 17B shown, when viewed in the direction of gravity, the toner receiving unit 801 and the drum unit 803A do not overlap, the two can be at least partially aligned along the vertical direction. In addition, the toner receiving unit 801 is disposed in the space where the cleaning blade 24 and the waste toner chamber 8033 are provided in the first embodiment. The configuration of the supply container attachment portion 701 provided in the toner receiving unit 801 is the same as that in the first embodiment, and Figures 17A to 17D its simplified shape is shown.

[0199] A laser passing space SP is defined between the developing unit 802, the drum unit 803A, and the toner receiving unit 801, and this laser passing space SP serves as a gap for allowing the laser L emitted from the Figure 1A shown scanner unit 11 to pass through toward the photosensitive drum 21. In addition, preferably, in the drum unit 803A, a pre-exposure unit for eliminating the electrostatic latent image by irradiating light onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is provided downstream of the transfer portion in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21 and between the transfer portion and the charging roller 22.

[0200] (3-2) Behavior of Toner in Cleanerless Configuration

[0201] The behavior of toner in a cleanerless configuration will be described. The transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 21 in the transfer section is removed according to the following process. The transfer residual toner includes a mixture of toner with a positive charge and toner with a negative charge but insufficient charge amount. After transfer, the charge on the photosensitive drum 21 is eliminated by the pre-exposure unit, and by causing the charging roller 22 to discharge evenly, the transfer residual toner is recharged to a negative polarity. The transfer residual toner recharged to a negative polarity by the charging section reaches the developing section according to the rotation of the photosensitive drum 21. Then, the surface area of the photosensitive drum 21 that has passed through the charging section is exposed by the scanner unit 11, and an electrostatic latent image is drawn on this surface area while the transfer residual toner still adheres to this surface area.

[0202] Here, the behavior of the transfer residual toner that has reached the developing section will be described separately for the exposed and non-exposed portions of the photosensitive drum 21. In the developing section, due to the potential difference between the developing voltage and the potential of the non-exposed portion of the photosensitive drum 21 (i.e., the potential of the dark portion), the transfer residual toner adhering to the non-exposed portion of the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred to the developing roller 31 and collected in the developer container 32. This is because, assuming the normal charging polarity of the toner is negative, the polarity of the developing voltage applied to the developing roller 31 is positive relative to the potential of the non-exposed portion. It should be noted that the toner collected in the developer container 32 is dispersed in the toner in the developer container 32 by being agitated by the agitation member 34 and is reused for the developing process by being carried on the developing roller 31.

[0203] In contrast, the transfer residual toner adhering to the exposed portion of the photosensitive drum 21 is not transferred from the photosensitive drum 21 to the developing roller 31 in the developing section but remains on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21. This is because, assuming the normal charging polarity of the toner is negative, the polarity of the developing voltage applied to the developing roller 31 is further negative relative to the potential of the exposed portion (i.e., the potential of the bright portion). The transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is carried on the photosensitive drum 21 moving to the transfer section together with other toner particles transferred from the developing roller 31 to the exposed portion and is transferred to the recording material in the transfer section.

[0204] By adopting a cleanerless configuration, the space for installing a collection container for collecting transfer residual toner and the like becomes unnecessary, so the size of the image forming apparatus 1 can be further reduced, and the printing cost can be reduced by reusing the transfer residual toner.

[0205] (4) Third variant example

[0206] Next, a third modification in which the configuration of the processing cartridge is different from any of the above embodiments will be described. Except for the elements related to the processing cartridge, this modification has the same elements as the first embodiment, and thus the description of the same elements will be omitted.

[0207] (4-1) The third mode of the processing cartridge

[0208] Figures 18A to 18C Perspective view, side view, and cross-sectional view of the processing cartridge 20B according to this modification, respectively. Figure 18C is at Figure 18B The cross-sectional view taken at the cross-sectional position shown.

[0209] As Figures 18A to 18C shown, the processing cartridge 20B of this modification includes a developing unit 802 and a drum unit 803A. Compared with the third embodiment, the toner receiving unit 801 is omitted, and a supply container attachment portion 701, a first conveying member 8013, and a second conveying member 8014 are provided in the developing unit 802. That is, this modification is configured such that a supply container such as a toner package 40 or a toner bottle unit 900 is attached to a supply port 8012 provided in the developer container 32 from the outside of the image forming apparatus to perform toner supply. The configuration of the supply container attachment portion 701 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and Figures 18A to 18C shows its simplified shape.

[0210] A laser passing space SP is defined between the developing unit 802, the drum unit 803A, and the toner receiving unit 801, which serves as a gap for allowing the laser L emitted from the Figure 1A shown scanner unit 11 to pass through toward the photosensitive drum 21. Further, preferably, in the drum unit 803A, a pre-exposure unit for eliminating the electrostatic latent image by irradiating light onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is provided downstream of the transfer portion along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21 and between the transfer portion and the charging roller 22. A configuration without a cleaner is adopted in this modification. The behavior of the toner in the configuration without a cleaner is the same as that of the second modification, and thus its description will be omitted.

[0211] (5) Control system of the image forming apparatus

[0212] Figure 19It is a block diagram showing the control system of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. The controller 90 (which serves as the controller of the image forming apparatus 1) includes: a central processing unit, namely a central processing unit (CPU) 91 serving as a processing device, a random access memory (RAM) 92 serving as the working area of the CPU 91, and a non-volatile memory 93 storing various programs. In addition, the controller 90 includes an input / output interface (I / O interface) 94 serving as an input / output port connected to external devices, and an analog-to-digital conversion unit (A / D conversion unit) 95 for converting analog signals into digital signals. The CPU 91 reads and executes the control program stored in the non-volatile memory 93, and thereby controls each component of the image forming apparatus 1. Therefore, the non-volatile memory 93 serves as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a control program for causing the image forming apparatus to operate by a specific method.

[0213] In addition, the controller 90 is connected to a T memory 57 and a P memory 58. The T memory 57 is a non-volatile memory included in a supply container (such as the toner package 40 or the toner bottle unit 900), and the P memory 58 is a non-volatile memory included in the processing cartridge 20. Examples of the T memory 57 serving as a storage unit provided in the supply container include the storage unit 45 included in the above-described toner package 40 and the storage unit 911 included in the above-described toner bottle unit 900. In addition, the T memory 57 also stores toner information indicating that the toner stored in a supply container such as the toner package 40 or the toner bottle unit 900 can be supplied to the developer container 32 for replenishment. The toner information is, for example, information describing whether the toner package 40 has not been used and describing the initial amount, expiration date, etc. of the toner. In addition, the P memory 58 stores information on the remaining amount of toner accommodated in the developer container 32, information on the total amount of toner supplied from the supply container, information on the life of the photosensitive member, information on the replacement timing of the processing cartridge 20, etc.

[0214] In addition, the controller 90 is connected to a rotation locking mechanism 59 and an image forming unit 10. Examples of the rotation locking mechanism 59 include the locking member 7014 provided in the supply container attachment portion 701 as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, Figure 11A and 11B shown, and as Figure 13The pressing mechanism 600 of the movable locking member 7014 shown. The image forming unit 10 includes a motor M1 as a driving source for driving the photosensitive drum 21, the developing roller 31, the supply roller 33, the agitating member 34, etc. It should be noted that it is not necessary to share a single driving source among these rotating members, and for example, the photosensitive drum 21, the developing roller 31, the supply roller 33, and the agitating member 34 can be driven by different motors respectively. In addition, the image forming unit 10 further includes a power supply unit 211 for applying a voltage to each member such as the developing roller 31, and an exposure controller 212 for controlling the scanner unit 11.

[0215] The toner remaining amount detection unit 51, the waste toner full detection unit 52, the attachment detection unit 53, the opening / closing detection unit 54, the rotation detection unit 55, and the pushing detection unit 56 are connected to the input side of the controller 90.

[0216] The toner remaining amount detection unit 51 detects the remaining amount of toner accommodated in the developer container 32, and its detection method will be described below. The waste toner full detection unit 52 detects that the amount of waste toner accumulated in the waste toner chamber 8033 of the cleaning unit 803 shown in FIG. 6A has reached a predetermined upper limit.

[0217] The attachment detection unit 53 detects the attachment of a supply container such as the toner package 40 to the supply container attachment portion 701. For example, the attachment detection unit 53 is constituted by a pressure switch provided in the supply container attachment portion 701, and outputs a detection signal when pressed by the bottom surface of the toner package 40. Additionally, the attachment detection unit 53 can be a detection circuit that detects that the T memory 57 has been electrically connected to the controller 90 via the contact portion 70133 of the supply container attachment portion 701 shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C.

[0218] The rotation detection unit 55 detects the rotation of the supply container attached to the supply container attachment portion 701. Examples of the rotation detection unit 55 include the rotation detection unit 7015 constituted by the leaf springs 70151 and 70152 shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C and FIGS. 16A to 16F. The rotation detection unit 7015 is merely an example of the rotation detection unit 55, and optionally, for example, a photoelectric sensor blocked by a protrusion provided on the supply port baffle 7013 can be used as the rotation detection sensor. Additionally, as another example of the rotation detection sensor, a configuration can be adopted in which the conduction between the leaf springs 70151 and 70152 of the rotation detection unit 7015 is facilitated by a protrusion provided on the discharge portion 42 of the toner package 40.

[0219] The push-in detection unit 56 is an element additionally provided when using the toner bottle unit 900 as described in the first modification example, and detects the completion of the pushing-in of the piston 902 of the toner bottle unit 900. Examples of the push-in detection unit 56 include a detection circuit that is provided in the image forming apparatus 1 and detects a change in the state of a push-in detection mechanism constituted by a push-in detection lever 907, a first contact plate 908, and a second contact plate 909 provided in the toner bottle unit 900 as shown in FIGS. 16A to 16F. This detection circuit monitors the current value generated when a voltage is applied between metal plates 9111 and 9113 respectively connected to the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909, and thereby detects whether the piston 902 has been pushed in or not.

[0220] In addition, the controller 90 is connected to the operation unit 300 that serves as a user interface of the image forming apparatus 1 and the panel 400 that serves as a notification unit, and the notification unit notifies the user of information related to the remaining amount of toner in the developer container 32. Here, the information related to the remaining amount of toner is not limited to information indicating the remaining amount of toner itself. In addition to this, examples of the information related to the remaining amount of toner include information indicating the amount of toner supplied from the toner package 40 or the toner bottle unit 900 for replenishment. Further, examples of the information related to the remaining amount of toner include information indicating the remaining capacity of the developer container 32, and this information indicates the amount of toner that can be received by the developer container 32 for replenishment according to the number of toner packages 40 or toner bottle units 900.

[0221] The operation unit 300 includes a display unit 301 capable of displaying various setting screens. For example, the display unit 301 is constituted by a liquid crystal panel. In addition, the controller 90 is connected to an external device such as a desktop computer or a smart phone via the I / O interface 94.

[0222] (6) Control for calculating the number of printable sheets

[0223] Next, the control executed in the toner replenishment of the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, control is executed by converting all parameters related to the amount of available toner and all parameters related to the consumption amount of components other than toner into the number of printable sheets. The control for calculating the number of printable sheets will be described below. Note that although the case where the toner package 40 is attached to the replenishment port 8012 will be described as an example below, of course, the toner bottle unit 900 can be attached instead of the toner package 40.

[0224] The controller 90 of this embodiment includes: a counter A01 that indicates the number of printable sheets obtained based on the amount of toner contained in the developer container 32; and a counter A02 that indicates the number of printable sheets obtained based on the life of components of the processing cartridge 20 other than the toner. In addition, the processing cartridge 20 includes a P memory 58. The P memory 58 stores a value S01 and a value S02. The value S01 is the number of printable sheets obtained based on the amount of toner contained in the developer container 32, and the value S02 is the number of printable sheets obtained based on the life of components of the processing cartridge 20 other than the toner. Additionally, the P memory 58 stores a value D01, which is the number of printable sheets obtained based on the maximum amount of toner that can be contained in the developer container 32 provided in the processing cartridge 20.

[0225] The toner package 40 includes a T memory 57. The T memory 57 stores a value PAC02, which is the number of printable sheets obtained based on the amount of toner contained in the toner package 40. It should be noted that the conversion of each toner amount to the number of printable sheets is performed based on the pre-evaluation result of the number of sheets printed until a predetermined amount of toner is completely consumed in the case of performing intermittent printing on regular paper with an image coverage of 4%.

[0226] In addition, similar to the case of the toner, the number of printable sheets obtained based on the life of components of the processing cartridge 20 other than the toner is calculated based on the pre-evaluation result obtained under the condition of performing intermittent printing on regular paper with an image coverage of 4%. For example, the number of printable sheets indicating the number of sheets that can be printed before the photosensitive drum 21 becomes unusable due to coating wear is set as the value S02. In addition, although in the case of a consumable component of the processing cartridge 20 other than the photosensitive drum 21, the value S02 can be obtained based on the life of any component, it is preferable to obtain the value S02 based on the consumable component with the shortest life. For example, after replacing the charging roller 22, the developing roller 31, and the processing cartridge 20, the value S02 can alternatively be obtained based on the number of printed sheets, the amount of toner contained in the waste toner chamber 8033, etc.

[0227] Figure 20 is a flowchart showing the calculation control for calculating the values of the counters A01 and A02. As Figure 20As shown, when starting the calculation control, the controller 90 determines in step S11 whether the power supply has been turned on or whether the top cover 82 has been opened or closed. In the case where it has been determined that the power supply has been turned on or the top cover 82 has been opened or closed, that is, when the result of step S11 is yes, the controller 90 reads the values S01 and S02 from the P memory 58, and in step S12, rewrites the counters A01 and A02 to the values S01 and S02 respectively.

[0228] Next, the controller 90 determines in step S13 whether the toner supply operation described below has been completed. It should be noted that in the case where it has not been determined in step S11 that the power supply has been turned on or the top cover 82 has been opened or closed, that is, when the result of step S11 is no, the controller 90 advances to step S13 without performing the process of step S12.

[0229] In the case where it has been determined that the toner supply operation has been completed, that is, when the result of step S13 is yes, the controller 90 adds the value PAC02 read from the T memory 57 to the counter A01, and in step S14, rewrites the value S01 of the P memory 58 to the value of the counter A01. Next, the controller 90 determines in step S15 whether a new job has been received or whether the number of printable sheets related to toner is 1 or more. The number of printable sheets related to toner is a value calculated based on the remaining amount of toner in the developer container 32, and represents the number of sheets that can be printed before the toner in the developer container 32 is consumed to the extent that printing can no longer be performed. It should be noted that in the case where the toner supply operation has not been completed in step S13, that is, when the result of step S13 is no, the controller 90 advances to step S15 without performing the process of step S14.

[0230] In the case where no new job has been received and the number of printable sheets related to toner is not 1 or more, that is, when the result of step S15 is no, the controller 90 returns to step S11. In the case where a new job has been received or the number of printable sheets related to toner is 1 or more, that is, when the result of step S15 is yes, the controller 90 determines in step S16 whether the value of the counter A01 is 1 or more. In the case where the value of the counter A01 is 1 or more, that is, when the result of step S16 is yes, the controller 90 determines in step S17 whether the value of the counter A02 is 1 or more.

[0231] When the value of counter A02 is 1 or more, that is, when the result of step S17 is YES, the controller 90 performs printing on one sheet in step S18, decrements the values of counters A01 and A02 by 1, and rewrites the values S01 and S02 to the values of counters A01 and A02.

[0232] When the value of counter A01 is not 1 or more in step S16, that is, when the value of counter A01 is 0 and the result of step S16 is NO, the controller 90 does not perform a printing operation and displays a toner remaining amount insufficient message on the display unit 301 in step S19. The toner remaining amount insufficient message is a message indicating that the toner remaining amount is insufficient. For example, "Printing cannot be performed due to insufficient toner. Please replenish the toner" is displayed as the toner remaining amount insufficient message, as Figure 21 shown. For example, when the user replenishes the toner in response to this message in step S13, the value PAC02 is added to counter A01 in step S14, and the printing operation can be performed again in steps S15 to S18.

[0233] When the value of counter A02 is not 1 or more in step S17, that is, when the value of counter A02 is 0 and the result of step S17 is NO, the controller 90 does not perform a printing operation and displays a cartridge life message on the display unit 301 in step S20. The cartridge life message is a message indicating that the processing cartridge 20 has reached the end of its life. For example, "Printing cannot be performed because the processing cartridge has reached the end of its life. Please replace the processing cartridge" is displayed as the cartridge life message. For example, when the user replaces the processing cartridge 20 in response to this message in step S11, the value of counter A01 is updated in step S12, and the printing operation can be performed again in steps S15 to S18.

[0234] After step S19, the controller 90 returns to step S13, and after step S20, the controller 90 returns to step S11. As described above, the calculation control for calculating the values of counters A01 and A02 is completed. This calculation control is periodically executed every time a predetermined time elapses. In addition, when counters A01 and A02 are updated, the values S01 and S02 are updated in step S12. Therefore, when replacing the processing cartridge 20 itself, the values in the P memory 58 of the new processing cartridge 20 are read, and counters A01 and A02 are updated. As a result, control reflecting the amount of toner in the processing cartridge 20 and the number of printable sheets corresponding to the consumable parts can be performed even when the processing cartridge 20 is still in use or has reached the end of its life.

[0235] (6) Operating conditions of the locking member

[0236] Next, the operating conditions of the locking member 7014 when the toner package 40 is attached to the supply port 8012 will be described. As described above, the locking member 7014 can limit the rotation of the supply port shutter 7013 by positioning at the Figure 11A locking position shown, and allow the rotation of the supply port shutter 7013 by positioning at the Figure 11B unlocking position shown. It should be noted that, as Figure 11A shown, the supply port shutter 7013 and the locking member 7014, which serve as the opening and closing part, constitute the supply restricting portion 70134. In the following description, the operation of moving the locking member 7014 from the unlocking position to the locking position is referred to as "locking", and the operation of moving the locking member 7014 from the locking position to the unlocking position is referred to as "unlocking". In addition, the state in which the locking member 7014 is positioned at the locking position with respect to the supply restricting portion 70134 is referred to as the restricted state, and the state in which the locking member 7014 is positioned at the unlocking position is referred to as the allowed state.

[0237] Figure 22 is a flowchart for describing the operating conditions of the locking member 7014. In addition, the controller 90 determines in step S31 whether the toner package 40 is connected to (i.e., attached to) the supply port 8012. When the toner package 40 is connected to the supply port 8012, that is, when the result of step S31 is YES, the controller 90 reads the value PAC02 from the T memory 57 and reads the value D01 from the P memory 58 in step S32.

[0238] Next, the controller 90 compares the value obtained by adding the value of the counter A01 and the value PAC02 with the value D01, and determines in step S33 whether "counter A01 + value PAC02 ≤ value D01" is satisfied. The relational expression "counter A01 + value PAC02 ≤ value D01" means that even if all the toner in the currently attached toner package 40 is supplied to the developer container 32, the developer container 32 can accommodate the toner without overflowing the toner. When "counter A01 + value PAC02 ≤ value D01" is satisfied, that is, when the result of step S33 is "YES", the controller 90 sets the flag F01 to "ON" in step S34, and proceeds to step S35.

[0239] When "Counter A01 + Value PAC02 ≤ Value D01" is not satisfied, that is, when the result of step S33 is "No", the controller 90 sets the flag F01 to "OFF" in step S42, continuously displays a remaining capacity insufficient message on the display unit 301, and proceeds to step S35. The remaining capacity insufficient message is a message indicating that the remaining capacity of the developer container 32 is insufficient. For example, "Toner replenishment is not available due to insufficient remaining capacity" is displayed as the remaining capacity insufficient message.

[0240] Next, in step S35, the controller 90 determines whether the value of counter A02 is 1 or more. When the value of counter A02 is 1 or more, that is, when the result of step S35 is "Yes", the controller 90 compares the value obtained by adding the value of counter A01 and value PAC02 with the value of counter A02, and determines in step S36 whether "Counter A01 + Value PAC02 ≤ Counter A02" is satisfied. In other words, the controller 90 determines whether the number of second printable sheets obtained based on the value obtained by adding the value of counter A01 and value PAC02 is greater than the value of counter A02, which is used as the number of first printable sheets.

[0241] The relational expression "Counter A01 + Value PAC02 ≤ Counter A02" means that even if all the toner in the currently attached toner package 40 is consumed, the processing cartridge 20 will not reach the end of life. Conversely, when "Counter A01 + Value PAC02 ≤ Counter A02" is not satisfied, the processing cartridge 20 will reach the end of life before all the toner in the currently attached toner package 40 is consumed, which means that the replenished toner will be wasted.

[0242] When "Counter A01 + Value PAC02 ≤ Counter A02" is satisfied, that is, when the result of step S36 is "Yes", the controller 90 compares the value obtained by adding twice the value of PAC02 and the value of counter A01 with the value of counter A02. Then, the controller 90 determines in step S37 whether "Counter A01 + Value PAC02 × 2 ≤ Counter A02" is satisfied. In other words, the controller 90 determines whether "Counter A01 + Value PAC02 × 2", which is used as the number of third printable sheets, is greater than the value of counter A02, which is used as the number of first printable sheets.

[0243] The relational expression "Counter A01 + Value PAC02 × 2 ≤ Counter A02" means that even if all the toner in the currently attached toner package 40 and all the toner in the next attached toner package 40 are consumed, the processing cartridge 20 will not reach the end of its life. Conversely, when "Counter A01 + Value PAC02 × 2 ≤ Counter A02" is not satisfied, the processing cartridge 20 will reach the end of its life before all the toner in the next toner package 40 to be attached is consumed. That is to say, when "Counter A01 + Value PAC02 × 2 ≤ Counter A02" is not satisfied, it is more economical for the user to prepare a new processing cartridge 20 for the next toner replenishment than to prepare a new toner package 40.

[0244] Therefore, when "Counter A01 + Value PAC02 × 2 ≤ Counter A02" is not satisfied, that is, when the result of step S37 is NO, the controller 90 displays a cartridge life warning message on the display unit 301 as a warning in step S47 and proceeds to step S38. The cartridge life warning message is a message indicating that the processing cartridge 20 is about to reach the end of its life. For example, "The processing cartridge is about to reach the end of its life, and the toner for the next replenishment may be wasted. Please prepare a processing cartridge for the next toner replenishment" is displayed as the cartridge life warning message.

[0245] When "Counter A01 + Value PAC02 × 2 ≤ Counter A02" is satisfied in step S37, that is, when the result of step S37 is YES, the controller 90 determines in step S38 whether the flag F01 is ON. When the flag F01 is ON, that is, when the result of step S38 is YES, the controller 90 unlocks the locking member 7014, that is, switches the supply restricting portion 70134 to the permitted state in step S39.

[0246] Then, the controller 90 determines in step S40 whether the toner package 40 has been detached from the supply port 8012. When the toner package 40 has been detached from the supply port 8012, that is, when the result of step S40 is YES, the controller 90 locks the locking member 7014 in step S41 and completes the process. It should be noted that when the flag F01 is OFF in step S38, that is, when the result of step S38 is NO, the controller 90 does not unlock the locking member 7014 and keeps the locking member 7014 in the locked state, that is, the restricted state. As described above, this is done to prevent toner from overflowing from the developer container 32 due to replenishing the developer container 32 with toner from the toner package 40.

[0247] In addition, when the value of counter A02 in step S35 is not 1 or greater, that is, when the value of counter A02 is 0 and the result of step S35 is NO, the controller 90 displays a message indicating that the cartridge life has expired on the display unit 301 in step S43. The message indicating that the cartridge life has expired is a message indicating that the life of the processing cartridge 20 has expired. For example, "The life of the processing cartridge has expired, and since the replenished toner will be wasted, toner replenishment cannot be performed" is displayed as the message indicating that the cartridge life has expired.

[0248] In addition, when "counter A01 + numerical value PAC02 ≤ counter A02" is not satisfied in step S36, that is, when the result of step S36 is NO, the controller 90 displays a message indicating that the cartridge life is approaching on the display unit 301 in step S44. The message indicating that the cartridge life is approaching is a message indicating that the processing cartridge 20 is about to reach the end of its life. For example, "The processing cartridge is about to reach the end of its life, and since the replenished toner will be wasted, toner replenishment cannot be performed" is displayed as the message indicating that the cartridge life is approaching.

[0249] After displaying the message indicating that the cartridge life has expired or the message indicating that the cartridge life is approaching, the controller 90 displays a toner replenishment selection message on the display unit 301 in step S45. The toner replenishment selection message is a message for asking the user whether to perform an allow operation to allow toner to be replenished through the replenishment port 8012. For example, "The replenished toner may be wasted. Do you want to replenish the toner?" is displayed as the toner replenishment selection message. It should be noted that the message indicating that the cartridge life has expired or the message indicating that the cartridge life is approaching and the toner replenishment selection message can be alternately displayed at a predetermined time interval, or can be displayed simultaneously.

[0250] Then, the controller 90 determines in step S46 whether the user has selected "OK" through the input unit 302. It should be noted that although in this embodiment the above allow operation is the selection of "OK" through the input unit 302, the configuration is not limited thereto. For example, an "OK" button can be displayed on the display unit 301, and a touch operation on the "OK" button can be used as the allow operation.

[0251] When "OK" has been selected, that is, when the result of step S46 is YES, the controller proceeds to step S38; when "OK" has not been selected, that is, when the result of step S46 is NO, the controller finishes the processing.

[0252] As described above, in the present embodiment, when "counter A01 + value PAC02 ≤ counter A02" is not satisfied, that is, when the result of step S36 is "No", the locking member 7014 remains in the locked state, i.e., the restricted state, and a message indicating that the display cartridge life is approaching is displayed. In other words, the present embodiment is configured such that when the toner package 40 is attached to the supply port 8012, a warning can be displayed on the display unit 301 to prompt replacement of the process cartridge 20. As a result, it is possible to suppress a situation where the process cartridge 20 reaches the end of its life before all the toner replenished from the toner package 40 is consumed and the toner is wasted. Therefore, toner replenishment can be performed more economically.

[0253] In addition, even when "counter A01 + value PAC02 ≤ counter A02" is not satisfied, if the user wishes to perform toner replenishment, that is, when the result of step S46 is "Yes", the user can still decide to perform toner replenishment on their own, so usability can be improved.

[0254] In addition, when "counter A01 + value PAC02 × 2 ≤ counter A02" is not satisfied, a message indicating that the display cartridge life is approaching is displayed. As a result, the user can prepare a new process cartridge 20 for the next toner replenishment instead of preparing the toner package 40, so toner replenishment can be performed more economically. In addition, a mode of the image forming apparatus can be provided.

[0255] It should be noted that although both the control of the locking member 7014 and the message display on the display unit 301 are performed in the present embodiment, only either one of the two can be performed. For example, when "counter A01 + value PAC02 ≤ counter A02" is not satisfied, that is, when the result of step S36 is "No", the locking member 7014 can remain in the locked state, i.e., the restricted state, but the message indicating the display cartridge life is not displayed. For example, when "counter A01 + value PAC02 ≤ counter A02" is not satisfied, that is, when the result of step S36 is "No", the message indicating the display cartridge life can be displayed, but the locking member 7014 is not kept in the locked state, i.e., the restricted state.

[0256] In addition, the unlocking condition of the locking member 7014 can be appropriately modified by comprehensively considering usability. For example, when the condition "counter A01 + value PAC02 ≤ value D01" is not satisfied, that is, when the result of step S33 is NO, the locking state of the locking member 7014, i.e., the restricted state, is maintained. Additionally, when the condition "counter A01 + value PAC02 ≤ counter A02" is not satisfied, that is, when the result of step S36 is NO, a cartridge life approaching message can be displayed on the display unit 301 without performing the control to keep the locking member 7014 in the locking state, i.e., the restricted state.

[0257] Furthermore, in steps S37 and S47, the case where toner packages 40 of different specifications are available can be considered, that is, there are models of toner packages 40 that contain a large amount of toner and models of toner packages 40 that contain a small amount of toner. The values obtained by converting the toner amounts of these two models into the number of printable sheets will be referred to as value PAC02-1 and PAC02-2 respectively, and it is assumed that the model of the toner package 40 currently attached to the supply port 8012 corresponds to value PAC02-1. In this case, for example, the controller 90 determines in step S37 whether the condition "counter A01 + value PAC02-1 + value PAC02-2 ≤ counter A02" is satisfied. It should be noted that steps S37 and S47 can be omitted.

[0258] It should be noted that although in this embodiment the controller 90, the T memory 57, and the P memory 58 store the number of printable sheets itself, the configuration is not limited thereto, and any configuration can be adopted as long as the data corresponding to the number of printable sheets is stored in the controller 90, the T memory 57, and the P memory 58.

[0259] Second Embodiment

[0260] (7) Second Embodiment

[0261] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, control related to the toner consumption amount and the life of the process cartridge 20 is performed instead of the control for calculating the number of printable sheets in the first embodiment. Therefore, the illustration of the same elements as in the first embodiment will be omitted, or the same elements in the illustration are denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions will be omitted.

[0262] In this embodiment, the following control is performed by using the toner remaining amount detection unit 51 and the waste toner full detection unit 52. In addition, control related to the deterioration of the photosensitive drum 21 in the process cartridge 20 is performed based on the number of revolutions of the photosensitive drum 21. It should be noted that the same control as in the first embodiment is performed for the parts other than the above-related parts.

[0263] First, the variables included in the controller 90 will be described. The controller 90 includes, as variables, a toner remaining amount B01 indicating the amount of toner in the developer container 32, a total waste toner amount B02 indicating the amount of waste toner in the waste toner chamber 8033, and a cumulative sheet number B03 indicating the number of sheets on which printing has been performed by using the process cartridge 20. In addition, the controller 90 includes, as variables, a total drum rotation number B04 indicating the total rotation number of the photosensitive drum 21, a toner unit consumption amount E01 corresponding to the normal toner consumption amount per printed sheet, and a waste toner unit generation amount E02 indicating the normal waste toner generation amount per printed sheet. Further, the controller 90 includes, as variables, a drum unit rotation number E04 and a waste toner chamber capacity G01. The drum unit rotation number E04 corresponds to the rotation amount of the photosensitive drum 21 per printed sheet, and the waste toner chamber capacity G01 indicates the capacity of the waste toner chamber 8033. Similar to the first embodiment, the toner unit consumption amount E01 is calculated based on the results obtained by performing a preliminary evaluation under the condition of intermittent printing with an image coverage of 4%. The waste toner unit generation amount E02 and the drum unit rotation number E04 are determined in the preliminary evaluation. It should be noted that the rotation number of the photosensitive drum 21 may be the amount by which the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 moves according to the rotation of the photosensitive drum 21.

[0264] In addition, the P memory 58 provided in the process cartridge 20 also includes variables similar to those of the controller 90, and the variables included in the P memory 58 will be referred to as a toner remaining amount C01, a total waste toner amount C02, a cumulative sheet number C03, and a total drum rotation number C04. The T memory 57 provided in the toner package 40 stores a numerical value PAC03 representing the amount of toner accommodated in the toner package 40.

[0265] (7-1) Detection of the toner remaining amount in the developer container

[0266] Next, a method for detecting the toner remaining amount in the developer container 32 by the toner remaining amount detection unit 51 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6A, the toner remaining amount detection unit 51 includes a light emitting unit 51a and a light receiving unit 51b, and is provided at a position where the toner starts to block its optical path 513 when toner corresponding to the amount of one toner package 40 is added for replenishment. In addition, the stirring member 34 includes a blade portion 34b, and whenever the stirring member 34 rotates, the blade portion 34b cleans the light emitting unit 51a and the light receiving unit 51b.

[0267] When the amount of toner in the developer container 32 is greater than the amount corresponding to one toner package 40, the optical response of the toner remaining amount detection unit 51 is 0. When the amount of toner in the developer container 32 is less than the amount corresponding to one toner package 40, there is a time when the optical path 513 is opened according to the rotation of the agitation member 34. This time will be referred to as the detection time. Further, the toner remaining amount detection unit 51 changes one of an electric signal, a current, and a voltage as its output value based on the amount of toner accommodated in the developer container 32. Note that such an optical sensor is merely an example of the toner remaining amount detection unit, and a pressure sensor or an electrostatic capacitance sensor may be used.

[0268] In the following description, the detection time per one rotation of the agitation member 34 will be referred to as the detection time D1, and the detection time when the amount of toner in the developer container 32 is less than the amount corresponding to one toner package 40 will be referred to as the first toner remaining amount threshold T11. Further, when the amount of toner in the developer container 32 is less than 10% of the amount corresponding to one toner package 40, the optical path 513 is opened almost all the time during the rotation of the agitation member 34. The detection time in this case will be referred to as the second toner remaining amount threshold T12. When the agitation member 34 rotates, the detection time D1 is continuously recorded, and the detection time D1 indicating the current toner amount is continuously updated in the controller 90 by setting the average value of the rotations of the most recent 20 turns.

[0269] (7-2) Detection of the amount of waste toner in the waste toner chamber

[0270] Next, a method for detecting the amount of waste toner in the waste toner chamber 8033 by the waste toner full detection unit 52 serving as the waste toner detection unit will be described. The waste toner full detection unit 52 includes a light emitting unit 52a and a light receiving unit 52b as shown in FIG. 6A, and is provided at a position where the optical path 522 of the waste toner full detection unit 52 starts to be blocked when the remaining capacity of the waste toner chamber 8033 reaches 10% of its total capacity. The fifth conveying member 8032 is formed in a grid shape and reciprocates in the left-right direction of FIG. 6A along the bottom surface of the waste toner chamber 8033. As a result, the toner conveyed to the waste toner chamber 8033 is conveyed toward the rear portion 8033a in the direction of arrow M. Then, when the amount of waste toner accommodated in the waste toner chamber 8033 becomes large, the time during which the waste toner conveyed while being agitated by the fifth conveying member 8032 blocks the optical path 522 of the waste toner full detection unit 52 becomes longer. The waste toner full detection unit 52 changes its output value based on the time during which the optical path 522 is opened according to the reciprocating motion of the fifth conveying member 8032. This time will be referred to as the detection time hereinafter. In other words, the waste toner full detection unit 52 changes one of an electric signal, a current, and a voltage as its output value based on the amount of waste toner accommodated in the waste toner chamber 8033. In addition, a sheet-like cleaning unit 8032a is provided at the distal end portion of the fifth conveying member 8032 and cleans the light receiving unit 52b when the fifth conveying member 8032 reciprocates. It should be noted that such an optical sensor is merely an example of the waste toner full detection unit, and a pressure sensor or an electrostatic capacitance sensor may be used.

[0271] In the following description, the average detection time per rotation of the fifth conveying member 8032 will be referred to as the detection time D2, and the detection time when the remaining capacity of the waste toner chamber 8033 is less than 10% of the total capacity will be referred to as the first waste toner remaining amount threshold T21. The detection time when the waste toner chamber 8033 is full and the optical path 522 of the waste toner full detection unit 52 is almost always blocked by the toner will be referred to as the second waste toner remaining amount threshold T22.

[0272] (7-3) Method for determining drum deterioration

[0273] Next, a method for determining that the photosensitive drum 21 has deteriorated will be described. The number of rotations of the photosensitive drum 21 is calculated based on the driving time of the motor M1 that drives the photosensitive drum 21, and is included in the total drum rotation number B04. The total drum rotation number when the function of the photosensitive layer of the photosensitive drum 21 becomes insufficient due to surface wear of the photosensitive drum 21 will be referred to as the threshold H04.

[0274] Note that the rotation time of the photosensitive drum 21 includes an image forming rotation time during which the photosensitive drum 21 rotates while applying a voltage higher than the voltages of the charging roller 22 and the transfer roller 12 to the photosensitive drum 21, and a non-image forming rotation time during which no high voltage is applied. The amount of wear on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 during the non-image forming rotation time is approximately half of the amount of wear during the image forming rotation time. Therefore, the number of rotations during the non-image forming rotation time is included in the total drum rotation number B04 with a weight of 0.5 relative to the number of rotations during the image forming rotation time.

[0275] (7-4) Control related to toner consumption and the life of the process cartridge 20

[0276] Next, control related to toner consumption and the life of the process cartridge 20 will be described. Figure 23 and Figure 24 is a flowchart showing control related to toner consumption and the life of the process cartridge 20.

[0277] When starting control related to toner consumption and the life of the process cartridge 20, as Figure 23 shown, the controller 90 determines in step S51 whether the power supply has been turned on or the top cover 82 has been opened or closed. In the case where it has been determined that the power supply has been turned on or the top cover 82 has been opened or closed, that is, when the result of step S51 is yes, the controller 90 reads the remaining toner amount C01, the total waste toner amount C02, the cumulative sheet number C03, and the total drum rotation number C04 from the P memory 58. Then, in step S52, the controller 90 updates the remaining toner amount B01, the total waste toner amount B02, the cumulative sheet number B03, and the total drum rotation number B04 in the controller 90 with these values.

[0278] Next, the controller 90 determines in step S53 whether the toner replenishment operation has been completed. Note that in the case where it has not been determined in step S51 that the power supply has been turned on or the top cover 82 has been opened or closed, that is, when the result of step S51 is no, the controller 90 proceeds to step S53 without performing the process of step S52.

[0279] When it is determined that the toner replenishment operation has been completed, i.e., when the result of step S53 is Yes, the controller 90 adds the value PAC03 read from the T memory 57 to the toner remaining amount B01, and updates the toner remaining amount C01 to the toner remaining amount B01 in step S54. Next, the controller 90 determines in step S55 whether a new job has been received or the number of printable sheets related to the toner is 1 or more. Note that when the toner replenishment operation has not been completed in step S53, i.e., when the result of step S53 is No, the controller 90 advances to step S55 without performing the process of step S54.

[0280] When a new job has not been received and the number of printable sheets related to the toner is not 1 or more, i.e., when the result of step S55 is No, the controller 90 returns to step S51. When a new job has been received or the number of printable sheets related to the toner is 1 or more, i.e., when the result of step S55 is Yes, the controller 90 determines in step S56 whether the toner remaining amount B01 is greater than or equal to the toner unit consumption amount E01.

[0281] When the toner remaining amount B01 is less than the toner unit consumption amount E01, i.e., when the result of step S56 is No, the controller 90 displays a toner remaining amount insufficient message on the display unit 301 in step S57 and does not perform a printing operation. The toner remaining amount insufficient message is a message indicating that the toner remaining amount is insufficient. For example, the message "Cannot print due to insufficient toner. Please replenish the toner" is displayed as the toner remaining amount insufficient message. For example, when the user performs toner replenishment in step S53 in response to this message, the value PAC03 is added to the toner remaining amount B01 in step S54, and the printing operation can be performed again in steps S55, S56, and S58 to S60. After step S57, the controller 90 returns to step S51.

[0282] When the toner remaining amount B01 is greater than or equal to the toner unit consumption amount E01, i.e., when the result of step S56 is Yes, the controller 90 determines in step S58 whether the condition "total waste toner amount B02 > waste toner chamber capacity G01 - waste toner unit generation amount E02" is satisfied. This condition will be referred to as the first condition. Additionally, as Figure 24 shown, the controller 90 also determines in step S58 whether the condition "total drum rotation number B04 > threshold H04 - drum unit rotation number E04" is satisfied. This condition is hereinafter referred to as the second condition.

[0283] When the first condition or the second condition is not satisfied, that is, when the result of step S58 is NO, the controller 90 displays a cartridge life message on the display unit 301 in step S59 and does not perform a printing operation. The cartridge life message is a message indicating that the processing cartridge 20 has reached the end of its life. For example, "Printing cannot be performed because the processing cartridge has reached the end of its life. Please replace the processing cartridge" is displayed as the cartridge life message. For example, when the user replaces the processing cartridge 20 in response to this message in step S51, the remaining toner amount B01 is updated in step S52, and the printing operation can be performed again in steps S55, S56, and S58 to S60.

[0284] When the first condition and the second condition are satisfied, that is, when the result of step S58 is YES, the controller 90 performs printing on one sheet in step S60. Then, in step S61, the controller 90 subtracts the toner unit consumption amount E01 from the remaining toner amount B01, adds the waste toner unit generation amount E02 to the total waste toner amount B02, and increments the cumulative sheet count B03 by 1. Further, in step S61, the controller 90 adds the drum unit rotation count E04 to the total drum rotation count B04, and updates the drum unit rotation count E04 by dividing the total drum rotation count B04 by the cumulative sheet count B03. Then, the values of the controller 90 are updated to the values in the P memory 58.

[0285] Next, the controller 90 confirms the detection times D1 and D2 in step S62. Then, the controller 90 performs the processes of steps S63 and S65 in parallel. That is, the controller 90 determines in step S63 whether the detection time D1 is greater than a predetermined threshold. Although the second remaining toner amount threshold T12 is described as the predetermined threshold herein, the first remaining toner amount threshold T11 may also be used as the predetermined threshold.

[0286] When the detection time D1 is greater than the first remaining toner amount threshold T11 used as the predetermined threshold, that is, when the result of step S63 is YES, the controller 90 updates the remaining toner amount B01 to 10% of the toner amount of one toner package 40 in step S64. Further, in step S64, the controller 90 updates the toner unit consumption amount E01. For example, assume that the image forming apparatus starts to be used after the developer container 32 has been replenished with the amount of toner corresponding to one toner package 40 and the current cumulative sheet count B03 is 1800. In this case, the amount of toner obtained by 0.9 × numerical value PAC03 (which corresponds to 90% of the toner amount in the toner package 40) is used in the printing of 1800 sheets, so the toner unit consumption amount E01 can be obtained by 0.9 × numerical value PAC03 ÷ 1800.

[0287] In addition, in step S65, the controller 90 determines whether the detection time D2 is less than a predetermined threshold. Although the first waste toner remaining amount threshold T21 will be described as an example of the predetermined threshold, the second waste toner remaining amount threshold T22 can also be used as the predetermined threshold.

[0288] In the case where the detection time D2 is less than the first waste toner remaining amount threshold T21 used as the predetermined threshold, that is, when the result of step S65 is yes, the controller 90 rewrites the total amount of waste toner B02 to a value of 90% of the waste toner chamber capacity G01 in step S66. In addition, in step S66, the controller 90 updates the waste toner unit generation amount E02. For example, assume that the cumulative number of sheets B03 is 45,000. In this case, the amount of toner accumulated in the printing of 45,000 sheets is 90% of the waste toner chamber capacity G01, so the waste toner unit generation amount E02 can be obtained by 0.9 × waste toner chamber capacity G01 ÷ 45,000.

[0289] In the case where the detection time D1 in step S63 is less than or equal to the predetermined threshold, that is, when the result of step S63 is no, or in the case where the detection time D2 in step S65 is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold, that is, when the result of step S65 is no, the controller 90 returns to step S51. Although the control related to the toner consumption amount and the life of the process cartridge 20 has been completed as described above, this control is periodically executed at every predetermined time.

[0290] In addition, when the toner package 40 is attached to the supply port 8012, the operating conditions of the locking member 7014 are the same as those Figure 22 described. However, the calculation of the variables used in the operating conditions of the locking member 7014 is as described below.

[0291] The value PAC02 is calculated by dividing the value PAC03 by the toner unit consumption amount E01. The value D01 is calculated by dividing the amount of toner that can be accommodated in the developer container 32 by the toner unit consumption amount E01. The value of the counter A01 is calculated by dividing the toner remaining amount B01 by the toner unit consumption amount E01.

[0292] The value of counter A02 is calculated based on the smaller of the number of printable sheets obtained from the total amount of waste toner B02, the waste toner chamber capacity G01, and the unit generation amount of waste toner E02, and the number of printable sheets obtained from the total number of drum rotations B04, the threshold value H04, and the unit drum rotation amount E04. The previous number of printable sheets is obtained by (waste toner chamber capacity G01 - total amount of waste toner B02) ÷ unit generation amount of waste toner E02, and the subsequent number of printable sheets is obtained by (threshold value H04 - total number of drum rotations B04) ÷ unit drum rotation amount E04.

[0293] Note that the value of counter A02 can be calculated based on the number of rotations of the developing roller 31 or the charging roller 22 instead of the number of rotations of the photosensitive drum 21. Additionally, the value of counter A02 can be calculated by subtracting the cumulative number of sheets B03 from the number of printable sheets of a brand-new process cartridge 20. Additionally, the value of counter A02 can be obtained by considering the cumulative number of sheets B03 at the time when the toner package 40 is connected to the supply port 8012, the value PAC03 indicating the toner supply amount from the toner package 40, and the number of toner supply operations performed on the process cartridge 20. The value of counter A02 can be calculated by subtracting the cumulative number of sheets B03 from the number of printable sheets of a brand-new process cartridge 20. Furthermore, a function of pausing the printing operation within a predetermined time can be added to accurately determine the amount of toner in the developer container 32 when the toner package 40 is connected to the supply port 8012 or when the toner package 40 is detached from the supply port 8012 after supply.

[0294] As described above, according to the present embodiment, the toner shortage and the life of the process cartridge 20 can be determined based on the actual usage state of the user. Therefore, the life of the process cartridge 20 can be detected with high accuracy before all the toner replenished from the toner package 40 is consumed, so that toner waste can be reduced and toner replenishment can be performed more economically. Additionally, a mode of the image forming apparatus can be provided.

[0295] Third Embodiment

[0296] (8) Third Embodiment

[0297] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the third embodiment, the message described in the first embodiment is displayed on a different information processing apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus 1. Therefore, the illustration of the same elements as those in the first embodiment will be omitted, or the same elements in the illustration are denoted by the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

[0298] As Figure 25As shown, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is communicably connected to a personal computer (PC 2A) and a mobile information processing terminal 2B (e.g., a smart phone). Information sent from the PC 2A and the mobile information processing terminal 2B to the image forming apparatus 1 is input to the controller 90 through the I / O interface 94. In addition, information sent from the image forming apparatus 1 to the PC 2A or the mobile information processing terminal 2B is input from the controller 90 to the PC 2A or the mobile information processing terminal 2B through the I / O interface 94. Note that a sound generating unit such as a speaker may be provided in the PC 2A and the mobile information processing terminal 2B. As a result, a mode of the image forming apparatus can be provided.

[0299] In the present embodiment, each message in the control described with reference to Figures 20 to 24 is displayed on the display unit 301 of the PC 2A or the display unit 304 of the mobile information processing terminal 2B. Note that the above messages may be displayed on two or more display units 301 and 304.

[0300] Another embodiment

[0301] One or more embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads and executes computer-executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be more fully referred to as a "non-transitory computer-readable storage medium") to perform the functions of the above one or more embodiments and / or includes one or more circuits (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of the above one or more embodiments, and by a method executed by the computer of the system or apparatus, e.g., by reading and executing computer-executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of the above one or more embodiments and / or controlling one or more circuits to perform the functions of the above one or more embodiments. The computer may include one or more processors (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessing unit (MPU)), and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read and execute the computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions may be provided to the computer, e.g., from a network or a storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a memory of a distributed computing system, an optical disc (such as a high-density disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), or a Blu-ray disc (BD) TM ), a flash device, a memory card, etc.

[0302] Other embodiments

[0303] Embodiments of the present invention can also be implemented by the following method, that is, software (program) that executes the functions of the above embodiments is provided to the system or device through a network or various storage media, and the computer or central processing unit (CPU) or microprocessing unit (MPU) of the system or device reads and executes the program.

[0304] Although the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the appended claims should be given the broadest interpretation so as to cover all such variations and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, in which a supply container containing toner can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus is configured to form an image on a recording material, the image forming apparatus comprises: a device body; a cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the device body, the cartridge comprising: an image bearing member; a developer container configured to contain toner; a developing unit configured to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on the image bearing member into a toner image by using the toner contained in the developer container; a display unit; and a supply port configured to allow toner to be supplied from the supply container through the supply port to the developer container in a state where the supply container disposed outside the image forming apparatus is attached to the supply port; a supply restricting unit configured to switch between a restricted state in which supplying toner through the supply port is restricted and a permitted state in which supplying toner through the supply port is permitted; a toner remaining amount detecting unit, an output value of which varies based on the amount of toner contained in the developer container; and a controller, wherein, when the number of second printable sheets is greater than the number of first printable sheets, when the supply container is attached to the supply port, the controller is configured to maintain the supply restricting unit in the restricted state and display a toner supply selection message on the display unit to inquire whether the user wants the controller to cause the supply restricting unit to switch from the restricted state to the permitted state in which supplying toner through the supply port is permitted, the number of first printable sheets is obtained based on the life of the cartridge, and the number of second printable sheets is obtained based on the sum of the amount of toner contained in the developer container and the amount of toner contained in the supply container.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output value of the toner remaining amount detecting unit varies based on the received light irradiated on the developer container.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the controller obtains the number of first printable sheets by using the number of revolutions of at least one of the image bearing member and the developing unit.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cartridge includes a waste toner chamber configured to contain waste toner collected from the image bearing member, wherein the image forming apparatus includes a waste toner detecting unit, an output value of which varies based on the amount of waste toner contained in the waste toner chamber, and wherein the controller obtains the number of first printable sheets by using the output value of the waste toner detecting unit.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the supply restricting unit comprises: An opening and closing part configured to open and close the supply port and to cause the supply port and the supply container to communicate with each other when the supply container attached to the supply port rotates; and a locking member configured to restrict rotation of the supply container attached to the supply port.

Images