Toner cartridges and toner refill equipment

Abstract

A toner cartridge and a toner refill device are provided. The toner cartridge includes: a customer replaceable unit monitoring device; and a toner refill device for storing error information during the toner filling process of the toner cartridge. The availability of a toner cartridge refill operation is identified based on a predetermined first reference value and the amount of toner detected in the toner cartridge, provided that the error information is not stored in the customer replaceable unit monitoring device. Conversely, the availability of a toner cartridge refill operation is identified based on a predetermined second reference value and the amount of toner detected in the toner cartridge, provided that the error information is stored in the customer replaceable unit monitoring device.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of patent application No. 201980059167.6, filed on May 8, 2019, entitled "Method for Error Handling in Toner Refilling Process". Background Technology

[0002] Image forming apparatuses are typically operated to print out print data generated at a terminal such as a computer onto paper. Examples of image forming apparatuses may include copiers, printers, scanners, fax machines, or multifunction peripherals (MFPs) in which the above functions are combined and implemented by a single device.

[0003] In laser printing, the image forming apparatus uses toner to print images. Toner is used whenever an image forming operation is performed, and is depleted after a predetermined period of time or longer. Attached Figure Description

[0004] Some examples of this disclosure will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0005] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the image forming system based on the example;

[0006] Figure 2 It is shown Figure 1 A simplified block diagram of an image forming device;

[0007] Figure 3 It is shown Figure 1 A more detailed block diagram of an example of an image forming device;

[0008] Figure 4 It is shown Figure 2 A diagram illustrating an example of a printing engine;

[0009] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the memory chip of a toner refill device;

[0010] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the information stored in the Customer Replaceable Unit Monitoring (CRUM) device of the toner cartridge when an error has occurred and information about the toner refill device is stored in the toner cartridge;

[0011] Figure 7 and Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the information stored in the memory of the toner cartridge and the image forming apparatus when an error has occurred and information from the toner refill device is stored in memory; and

[0012] Figure 9This is a flowchart illustrating a method for error handling based on an example.

[0013] Throughout the accompanying drawings, it should be noted that similar reference numerals are used to denote the same or similar elements, features, parts, assemblies, or structures. Detailed Implementation

[0014] One or more examples will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The examples described below can be modified and implemented in various different forms. To describe the features of the examples more clearly, detailed descriptions of matters known to those skilled in the art will be omitted.

[0015] In this disclosure, the connection of any feature to another feature includes cases where features are directly connected to each other and cases where features are indirectly connected to each other (e.g., electrically connected) with other features in between. Furthermore, when a feature is stated as "including" another feature, unless otherwise stated, this means that the feature may include yet another feature, rather than excluding that yet another feature.

[0016] As used herein, the term "image forming job" can refer to various image-related tasks (e.g., copying, printing, scanning, or faxing), such as forming an image or creating / storing / transferring an image file. Furthermore, the term "job" can refer not only to an image forming operation but also to the series of processes required to perform an image forming operation.

[0017] Image forming apparatuses are typically operated to print print data generated at a terminal such as a computer onto a printing medium such as printing paper. Examples of image forming apparatuses may include copiers, printers, fax machines, and multifunction peripherals (MFPs) that provide combined functionality of at least two of these devices. Image forming apparatus can refer to any device capable of performing image forming operations, such as copiers, printers, scanners, fax machines, MFPs, display devices, etc.

[0018] The term "print data" can refer to data that has been converted into a format that can be printed in a printer. If the printer supports indirect printing, the document itself can be print data.

[0019] The term "user" can refer to a person who uses the image forming equipment or a device connected to the image forming equipment by wire or wireless means to perform operations related to image forming. Furthermore, the term "administrator" can refer to a person with access to all functions and systems of the image forming equipment. The terms "administrator" and "user" can refer to the same person.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the image forming system based on the example.

[0021] Reference Figure 1 The image forming system 1000 may include an image forming apparatus 100 and a toner refill apparatus 400.

[0022] The image forming apparatus 100 can perform printing jobs by using toner stored in the toner cartridge.

[0023] When the toner refill device 400 is connected, the image forming device 100 can identify whether the toner cartridge can be refilled and whether the toner refill device 400 is available.

[0024] When a toner refilling operation is possible, the image forming apparatus 100 can refill toner in the toner cartridge using the toner refilling device 400. For this purpose, the image forming apparatus 100 may include a sealing cap 171 for connection to the toner refilling device 400. At the lower portion of the sealing cap 171, a tube may be provided to connect the sealing cap 171 to the toner cartridge (e.g., the toner storage container of the toner cartridge). For example, toner from the toner refilling device 400 may be supplied to the toner cartridge via the tube.

[0025] A door member (not shown) for electrically opening and closing an opening (e.g., a hole) or pipe may be provided at a specific location relative to the opening or pipe. The door member (not shown) is a device that opens and closes the opening based on an electrical signal and may be driven by a device such as a solenoid.

[0026] The image forming apparatus 100 can identify whether an error has occurred during the toner injection process using the toner refill device 400. If an error has occurred, the image forming apparatus 100 can store error-related information in the toner cartridge. The following will refer to... Figure 2 and Figure 3 Examples describing the composition and operation of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0027] The image forming apparatus 100 may include a button 161, and can receive input of user control commands through the button 161. The button 161 may be a power button, a cancel button, a print button, etc. The button 161 may be used for the purpose of receiving input indicating that an error has occurred in the toner refill apparatus 400.

[0028] The toner refill device 400 is a device for supplying toner to the image forming apparatus 100. The toner refill device 400 may have the shape of a bottle capable of containing toner and may have an outlet capable of injecting the toner contained in the bottle into an opening (e.g., a hole) in a toner cartridge. When the toner refill device 400 is connected to the image forming apparatus 100, the outlet may be inserted into the sealing cap 171 described above.

[0029] In various examples, the toner refill device 400 can be implemented in the form of a syringe. The toner refill device 400 may be referred to as a refill bottle, a toner syringe, etc.

[0030] The toner refill device 400 may include a memory chip 410 for storing information about the toner refill device 400. The memory chip 410 may be referred to as a refill bottle memory, a refill bottle chip, a refill sealing memory, a refill sealing chip, etc.

[0031] The memory chip 410 may be disposed on one side of the toner refill device 400. For example, when the inlet of the toner refill device 400 is inserted into the sealing cover 171 of the image forming apparatus 100, the memory chip 410 may be disposed at a location that may communicate with a wired terminal of the image forming apparatus 100 or (e.g., using near field communication (NFC)) with a wireless communication device.

[0032] The memory chip 410 can store information about the toner refill device 400. For example, the memory chip 410 can store information related to the identification information, manufacturer, manufacturing date, and toner information of the toner refill device 400.

[0033] The memory chip 410 may store historical information related to toner refilling. For example, the memory chip 410 may store refill start information, refill end time, refill time information, cartridge information of the image forming apparatus 100, error information, etc. In this document, error information may be information indicating whether an error has occurred during the refilling process (e.g., a 1-bit flag), or it may be the number of dockings. In this document, the number of dockings may include information indicating how many times the toner refilling device 400 has been connected to the image forming apparatus 100 (or toner cartridge), which may, for example, store a value of 0 when no connection has ever been made before, a value of 1 when a connection is established and refilling is complete, and a value of 1 or greater when an error has occurred during the toner refilling process.

[0034] Therefore, if the number of docking operations is greater than 2, or if the number of docking operations is 1 but the end information is not complete, it can be understood that an error has previously occurred. In various examples, only the counter value of the error occurrence can be stored.

[0035] Information stored in memory chip 410 can be encrypted and stored. In the example, memory chip 410 can be a non-volatile memory, such as electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).

[0036] As described above, the image forming system 1000 according to the example can refill toner in the image forming apparatus 100 by using the toner refill device 400. Furthermore, if an error has occurred during the refill process, the image forming system 1000 can identify the occurrence of the error and therefore respond appropriately to the occurrence of the error.

[0037] Figure 2 It is shown Figure 1 A block diagram of a simplified example of an image forming device.

[0038] Reference Figure 2 The image forming apparatus 100 may include a communication device 110, a print engine 120, and a processor 130. The print engine 120 may include a toner cartridge 200.

[0039] The communication device 110 can be connected to a print control terminal device (not shown) and can receive print data from the print control terminal device. The print control terminal device can be an electronic device that provides print data, and can be, for example, a personal computer (PC), a laptop PC, a tablet PC, a smartphone, a server, etc.

[0040] The communication device 110 can be configured to connect to an external device such as a management server (not shown), and can be connected not only via a local area network (LAN) or the Internet, but also via a universal serial bus (USB) port or a wireless connection (e.g., Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n, near field communication (NFC), or Bluetooth) port. The communication device 110 may be referred to as a "transceiver".

[0041] Communication equipment 110 can be attached to Figure 1 The toner refill device 400 communicates with the memory chip 410. For example, when the toner refill device 400 is connected to... Figure 1 When the sealing cap 171 is in place, the communication device 110 can communicate with the memory chip 410 of the toner refill device 400.

[0042] The communication device 110 can be electrically connected to the toner refill device 400 via multiple terminals mounted on the body of the image forming device 100, or it can communicate with the memory chip 410 of the toner refill device 400 using a radio frequency identification (RFID) method.

[0043] When the amount of toner in toner cartridge 200 is less than or equal to a predetermined amount and it is determined that toner cartridge 200 needs to be replaced or refilled, communication device 110 may notify the management server (not shown) or the administrator (e.g., the administrator's terminal device).

[0044] The printing engine 120 can form an image. The printing engine 120 can form an image on an image forming medium such as a photosensitive drum, an intermediate transfer belt, or a paper conveyor belt.

[0045] The printing engine 120 may include various consumable devices directly or indirectly involved in the image forming operation. For example, in the case of a laser image forming apparatus, charging devices, exposure devices, developing devices, transcribing devices, settling devices, various rollers, belts, organic photoconductor (OPC) drums, etc., may be consumable devices. In addition to these, various types of devices that must be replaced after use in the image forming apparatus (e.g., developers) may also be defined as consumable devices. An example of a consumable device is a toner cartridge, which performs the function of a developer as described above. (Referring later...) Figure 4 An example describing the configuration and operation of print engine 120.

[0046] The processor 130 can control each unit within the image forming apparatus 100. For example, the processor 130 can control the print engine 120 to perform a print job on the received print data when print data is received from a print control terminal device (not shown).

[0047] The processor 130 may be implemented as a single device (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)) or as multiple devices (e.g., a clock generating circuit, a CPU, a graphics processor, etc.).

[0048] The processor 130 can identify whether the toner refill device 400 is connected to the image forming device 100. For example, the processor 130 can identify that the toner refill device 400 is connected when an electrical connection or NFC communication connection with the memory chip 410 of the toner refill device 400 is identified.

[0049] When the toner refill device 400 is connected, the processor 130 can identify whether the toner refill device 400 is available and whether refilling the toner cartridge 200 is possible.

[0050] The following describes an example operation to determine whether it is possible to refill the toner cartridge 200.

[0051] Toner refilling is only possible if the toner cartridge 200 includes sufficient free space to receive toner injection. Typically, during toner refilling, all the toner in the toner refilling device 400 is expected to be injected into the toner cartridge 200, therefore the toner cartridge 200 must have more empty space than the amount of toner included in the toner refilling device 400.

[0052] Therefore, if the amount of toner in toner cartridge 200 is greater than or equal to a predetermined first toner amount, the processor 130 can identify that refilling of toner cartridge 200 is not available, and if the amount of toner in toner cartridge 200 is less than (or equal to) the predetermined first toner amount, the processor 130 can identify that refilling of toner cartridge 200 is available.

[0053] It may be difficult to calculate the accurate amount of toner in toner cartridge 200. Therefore, in the event of an error, the amount of toner in toner cartridge 200 identified by processor 130 may differ from the actual amount of toner in toner cartridge 200. That is, the amount of toner in toner cartridge 200 identified by processor 130 may indicate that toner refill is possible, but in reality, toner cartridge 200 may contain more toner than identified by processor 130.

[0054] Therefore, if an error has occurred during the toner refilling process, the processor 130 can identify whether refilling the toner cartridge 200 is possible based on a second toner amount that is less than the predetermined first toner amount mentioned above.

[0055] In other words, when the error information of the toner cartridge 200 is not stored, the processor 130 can identify whether refilling is possible based on a first reference value (e.g., 60%), and when the error information of the toner cartridge 200 is stored, the processor 130 can identify whether refilling is possible based on a second reference value (e.g., 20%) that is less than the first reference value. Therefore, toner overflow that may occur when refilling is performed again using a new toner refilling device after an error has occurred can be prevented.

[0056] However, if the toner refill device used when the error occurred is reconnected, the operation of identifying whether refilling the toner cartridge 200 is possible can be omitted. That is, if the corresponding toner refill device 400 is reconnected, it has been determined that even if all the toner in the toner refill device 400 is injected into the toner cartridge 200, there will be no toner overflow problem.

[0057] The following describes an example operation for identifying the availability of toner refill equipment.

[0058] The processor 130 can identify whether the toner refill device 400 is available based on information stored in the memory chip 410 of the toner refill device 400. As an example, the processor 130 can read the information stored in the memory chip 410 and can perform an authentication process to identify whether the connected toner refill device 400 is an authorized device based on the information stored in the memory chip 410.

[0059] This certification process can be referenced later. Figure 3 The authentication method described for CRUM device 300 is the same or similar. Alternatively, authentication for toner refill device 400 may use a different method than that used for CRUM device 300. For example, the authentication process for toner refill device 400 may vary compared to that used for CRUM device 300, by using a relatively low-security encryption algorithm or by using a relatively simple authentication process. For example, processor 130 may perform the authentication process to decode a digital signature stored in memory chip 410 of toner refill device 400.

[0060] If the toner refill device 400 is an certified device, the processor 130 can identify whether the toner refill device 400 is available. For example, based on information stored in the currently connected toner refill device 400, the processor 130 can identify that toner refilling can be performed. In one example, the processor 130 can determine whether information relating to another image forming device is stored in the memory chip 410. If the processor 130 determines that information relating to another image forming device is not stored in the memory chip 410, the processor 130 can identify that toner refilling can be performed.

[0061] Here, the information related to the image forming apparatus 100 may be usage history information indicating whether the toner refill device 400 has ever been connected to the image forming apparatus 100. In the example, usage history information may be identification information (e.g., serial number information of the image forming apparatus 100 or serial number information of the toner cartridge). In other examples, inherent information related to the image forming apparatus 100 (e.g., Media Access Control (MAC) information, etc.) and identification information may be used, or inherent information of a specific toner cartridge may be used.

[0062] Therefore, if the usage history information is not stored in the memory chip 410, the processor 130 can identify that the corresponding toner refill device 400 has no usage history and that the toner refill device 400 is available.

[0063] When an error occurs during toner refilling, for example, if the power to the image forming device 100 is turned off during the refilling process, and only some toner is refilled due to a user error, or if a temporary abnormality has occurred at the inlet or pipeline, a method for reusing the toner refilling device 400 may be required.

[0064] Therefore, even if information related to the image forming apparatus 100 is stored, if the stored information matches the information of the image forming apparatus 100, that is, if the identification information stored in the memory chip 410 matches the serial number of the image forming apparatus 100, the processor 130 can identify that the corresponding toner refill device 400 is available.

[0065] For this operation, when information related to another image forming device is not stored in the memory chip 410 (e.g., when the toner refill device 400 is connected for the first time), the processor 130 may store the identification information of the image forming device 100 (e.g., the serial number of the image forming device 100, the serial number of the toner cartridge, etc.) in the memory chip 410.

[0066] In the example, the toner refill device 400 can be connected and used only a predetermined number of times. Therefore, the processor 130 can only identify the corresponding toner refill device 400 as available if the number of connections stored in the toner refill device 400 is less than or equal to a predetermined value.

[0067] For this purpose, the processor 130 can update the number of docking (or error counter values) of the toner refill device 400.

[0068] When the toner refill device 400 is identified as available, the processor 130 can control the door component to open the hole to provide a passage to the toner cartridge 200.

[0069] When a predetermined event occurs during the toner refill process, the processor 130 can identify that an error has occurred during toner injection. For example, if toner injection into the toner cartridge 200 is not completed within a predetermined time, the processor 130 can identify that an error has occurred. That is, if a toner injection completion event does not occur within a predetermined time, the processor 130 can identify that an error has occurred.

[0070] When the button indicating a toner error has occurred during toner refilling is selected, the processor 130 can recognize that an error has occurred. In this example, the button may be located near the sealing cap 171 and is specifically designed to receive input indicating a toner error. In another example, the button may be a multi-function button that can receive input indicating a toner error as well as input for performing one or more different functions.

[0071] In the example, the processor 130 can activate a button provided on the body of the image forming apparatus 100 during toner refilling to receive error input instead of its inherent function. Therefore, the user can notify the processor 130 of an error by selecting an operation of the button provided on the body during toner refilling. This button could be a power button, a cancel button, a print button, etc.

[0072] When an error occurs during the toner refill process, the processor 130 can store information about the error in the toner cartridge 200. For example, the processor 130 can store information about the toner refill device 400 in the toner cartridge 200. For example, the processor 130 can store identification information of the toner refill device 400 in the toner cartridge 200. Alternatively, the processor 130 can only set flag information indicating that an error has previously occurred in the toner cartridge 200 and store the identification information of the toner cartridge 200 in additional storage.

[0073] When toner refilling is complete, processor 130 can store information related to the completion of toner refilling in memory chip 410.

[0074] Although the image forming apparatus 100 has been shown and described above considering only basic components, it should be understood that separate configurations may be provided during implementation. Reference will be made below. Figure 3 An example describing such a configuration.

[0075] Figure 3 It is shown Figure 1 A more detailed example of a block diagram of an image forming device.

[0076] Reference Figure 3 The image forming apparatus 100 may include a communication device 110, a printing engine 120, a processor 130, a memory 140, a display 150, an input device 160, and a locking device 170.

[0077] Communication equipment 110 Figure 2 The above has already been explained, so for the sake of brevity, it will not be explained further below. Furthermore, the processor 130 and the printing engine 120 are... Figure 2 The meaning has already been explained, so for the sake of brevity, it will not be explained further below. The following will only explain... Figure 3 The added components.

[0078] Processor 130 can communicate with CRUM device 300. As an example, processor 130 can perform communication for authentication of CRUM device 300 and communication for management of data stored in CRUM device 300.

[0079] In this configuration, the processor 130 can communicate with the CRUM device 300 using either an integrated circuit (I2C) method or an enhanced integrated circuit (eI2C) method. The I2C method can be a standard serial communication method using data (SDA) and clock signals. The eI2C method modifies the I2C method so that the clock signal is periodic even during idle periods. The eI2C method can be referred to by various names (e.g., 3-contact I2C method, coded I2C method, etc.).

[0080] The CRUM device 300 can be a device for storing information about consumable devices (e.g., toner cartridge 200) and can be referred to as a memory, memory chip, chip device, toner cartridge memory, etc.

[0081] The processor 130 can communicate with the memory chip 410 of the toner refill device 400. If the toner cartridge 200 includes a terminal for connection to the toner refill device 400, the processor 130 can communicate with the memory chip 410 of the toner refill device 400 in the same manner as the CRUM device 300 described above, using either the I2C method or the eI2C method.

[0082] The processor 130 can encrypt the data transmitted to the memory chip 410 of the CRUM device 300 or the toner refill device 400 and perform communication. Various encoding algorithms can be used for encryption, such as RSA, ECC asymmetric algorithms, ARIA, TDES, SEED, AES symmetric key algorithms, etc.

[0083] When the processor 130 communicates with the memory chip 410 of the connected CRUM device 300 or the connected toner refill device 400 using the I2C method or the eI2C method, in order to perform communication with the CRUM device 300 or the memory chip 410, the processor 130 may generate a clock signal, generate and transmit a data signal, or receive a data signal.

[0084] Processor 130 can perform an authentication process to identify whether the installed CRUM device is an authenticated device based on information provided from CRUM device 300. Furthermore, processor 130 can determine whether toner refilling is necessary based on information provided from CRUM device 300 (e.g., information related to remaining consumables).

[0085] If toner refilling is necessary, the processor 130 can control the display 150 to show a message indicating the necessity of toner refilling.

[0086] The cartridge information of the image forming apparatus 100 can be stored in the CRUM device 300 attached to the toner cartridge 200, or it can be stored in the memory 140 of the image forming apparatus 100. If the cartridge information is stored in the CRUM device 300, the processor 130 can read the cartridge information stored in the CRUM device 300.

[0087] The processor 130 can store information about the toner refill device 400 in the CRUM device 300. The information stored in the CRUM device 300 can be inherent information of the toner refill device 400 (e.g., the serial number of the toner refill device 400).

[0088] As described above, the processor 130 can store information about the toner refill device 400 (e.g., identification information of the toner refill device) in the CRUM device 300. Therefore, the availability of the toner refill device 400 can be identified by using the information about the toner refill device stored in the CRUM device 300.

[0089] As an example, if the identification information of the toner refill device 400 is stored in the CRUM device 300, the processor 130 can compare the identification information of the toner refill device 400 stored in the CRUM device 300 with the information of the toner refill device 400 (e.g., the serial number of the toner refill device) and identify whether the toner refill device 400 is available.

[0090] When the toner refill device 400 is identified as available, the locking device 170 can be controlled to secure the toner refill device 400 and the image forming device 100 during the toner refill process. In this example, the locking device 170 is a device that secures the toner refill device 400 to the image forming device 100, and it can be driven by a device such as a spiral tube.

[0091] When it is determined that the toner refill device 400 is unavailable, the processor 130 may control the display 150 to show a message indicating that the toner refill device 400 is unavailable. The message may include not only the difficulty of using the toner refill device 400, but also the reason for it. For example, the message may include information related to: whether an unreliable toner refill device 400 has been connected, whether it is a product that has already undergone toner refilling, whether the number of connections has been exceeded, etc.

[0092] When toner refilling is being processed, the processor 130 can continuously identify whether toner refilling is complete. For example, when the amount of toner detected in the toner cartridge 200 changes to a value greater than a predetermined value, the processor 130 can identify that toner filling is complete. A sensor (not shown) may be provided for sensing the amount of toner in the toner cartridge 200.

[0093] When toner refilling is complete, processor 130 can control locking device 170 to separate toner refill device 400 and image forming device 100 from each other. Processor 130 can also control display 150 to display a message requesting separation of toner refill device 400.

[0094] If an error occurs during toner refilling, processor 130 may store a flag indicating that an error has occurred either in memory 140 or in toner cartridge 200. Therefore, processor 130 can identify an error during toner refilling by means of a flag stored during the initial setup of image forming apparatus 100. Furthermore, when error-related information (e.g., flags) is stored in toner cartridge 200, processor 130 may control locking device 170 to separate toner refilling device 400 and image forming apparatus 100 from each other.

[0095] When the toner is refilled, the processor 130 can update the toner level of the toner cartridge 200. As an example, the processor 130 can change the toner level re-sensed by a sensor provided in the toner cartridge 200 to the toner level of the toner cartridge 200.

[0096] The processor 130 can store the changed toner quantity in the CRUM device 200 of the toner cartridge 200. In addition, the processor 130 can store information about the connected toner refill device 400 in the CRUM device 300, and can also store information such as the amount of toner refilled in the CRUM device.

[0097] The memory 140 can store print data received via the communication device 110. The memory 140 can also store historical information about print jobs executed in the image forming device 100.

[0098] The memory 140 can store information related to the toner refill history of the toner cartridge 200. While toner refilling is in progress, the memory 140 can store information indicating that refilling is in progress. Once toner refilling is complete, this information can be deleted.

[0099] When an error occurs during the refilling process, the memory 140 may store information (e.g., identification information) related to the toner refilling device 400 in which the error occurred.

[0100] The memory 140 may be implemented by a storage medium in the image forming apparatus 100 or an external storage medium (e.g., a removable disk including a USB memory or a web server over a network).

[0101] In an implementation, memory 140 may include multiple memory elements. For example, memory 140 may include a first memory storing data required for performing operations of the image forming apparatus and a second memory storing information relating to CRUM device 300 or toner refill device 400. The second memory may be a non-volatile memory such as memory chip 410 (e.g., electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)).

[0102] The display 150 can display various information provided by the image forming apparatus 100. As an example, the display 150 can display a user interface window to select various functions provided by the image forming apparatus 100.

[0103] The display 150 can show a control menu for performing the functions of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0104] The display 150 can display information related to consumables. For example, when it is determined that replacement of a consumable is necessary, the display 150 can display replacement information and the expected replacement time. Furthermore, when the toner in the toner cartridge 200 is less than or equal to a preset amount, the display 150 can indicate that toner refilling is necessary.

[0105] During toner refilling, the display 150 may show a message indicating that an error has occurred, which can be entered via a button provided on the main body of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0106] The display 150 can show manual information about how to use the toner refill device 400. When it is detected that the connected toner refill device 400 is not available, the display 150 can display a message indicating that refilling cannot be performed.

[0107] Input device 160 can receive user function selections and corresponding function control commands. Functions may include printing, copying, scanning, fax transmission, etc. Such function control commands can be received through a control menu displayed on display 150.

[0108] Input device 160 may include buttons provided on the body of image forming apparatus 100. These buttons may be power buttons, cancel buttons, print buttons, etc. The buttons may receive control commands and may also receive information indicating that an error has occurred during toner refilling. For example, a power button typically functions to receive input commands to switch the power supply to image forming apparatus 100 and may also function to receive information indicating that an error has occurred during toner refilling.

[0109] The print engine 120 can form an image. For example, the print engine 120 can perform a print job by means of toner filling the toner cartridge 200.

[0110] Toner cartridge 200 is a device that supplies toner to the developer, and the toner can be refilled by toner refill device 400. Furthermore, a CRUM device 300 that stores information related to toner cartridge 200 can be mounted on toner cartridge 200. CRUM device 300 can be attached to toner cartridge 200, or it can be separately mounted on image forming device 200.

[0111] The toner cartridge 200 can receive toner from the toner refilling device 400 via a conduit or a similar mechanism connecting the sealing cap 171 and the toner cartridge 200, and receive toner refill.

[0112] As described above, the image forming apparatus 100 can be refilled with toner and used without replacing the toner cartridge 200. Furthermore, even if an error occurs during the refilling process, the toner can be reused to refill the apparatus 400 a predetermined number of times.

[0113] exist Figure 2 and Figure 3 The image forming apparatus 100 is shown and described, including a toner cartridge 200. However, this is merely an example. In embodiments, the image forming apparatus 100 may include multiple toner cartridges 200. Accordingly, multiple CRUM devices 300 may be mounted on the image forming apparatus 100.

[0114] exist Figure 2 and Figure 3 The original text describes processor 130 communicating directly with CRUM device and toner refill device 400. However, in another embodiment, processor 130 may communicate with memory chip 410 of CRUM device and toner refill device 400 via communication device 110.

[0115] Figure 4 It is shown Figure 2 A diagram illustrating an example of a printing engine.

[0116] Reference Figure 4 The printing engine may include a photosensitive drum 121, a charger 122, an exposure device 123, a developer 200, a transfer device 125, and a fixing device 128.

[0117] An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 121. Depending on its form, the photosensitive drum 121 may be referred to as a photosensitive drum, photosensitive belt, etc.

[0118] The charger 122 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 121 to a uniform potential. The charger 122 can be implemented as a corona charger, a charging roller, a charging brush, etc.

[0119] The exposure apparatus 123 can change the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 121 based on information about the image to be printed in order to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 121.

[0120] The developer 200 may contain developer and develop an electrostatic latent image into a visible image by supplying the developer to the image. The developer 200 may include a developing roller 127 for supplying developer (e.g., toner) to the electrostatic latent image. The developer 200 may be referred to as a toner cartridge.

[0121] The visible image formed on the photosensitive drum 121 can be transmitted to the recording medium (P) via the transfer device 125 or the intermediate transfer belt (not shown).

[0122] The fixing device 128 can fix a visible image onto the recording medium P by applying heat and / or pressure to the visible image. The printing operation can be completed through this series of processes.

[0123] The developer described above can be used whenever an image forming operation is performed, and is depleted after being used a predetermined number of times or more. In the example where the developer is toner, the toner can be refilled using a toner refilling device without replacing the developer 200.

[0124] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the memory chip of a toner refill device.

[0125] Reference Figure 5 The memory chip (e.g., memory chip 410) may include the number of docking points and completion information.

[0126] In this case, the number of connections is information stored in the image forming apparatus 100 related to the number of times the toner refill device 400 is connected to the image forming apparatus 100 (or toner cartridge 200), which can indicate whether the toner refill device 400 is connected to the image forming apparatus 100.

[0127] The completion information can be a 1-bit code indicating whether the toner injection using the toner refill device 400 has been completed.

[0128] In the example above, two pieces of information stored in memory chip 410 are shown and described. However, in embodiments, various other information besides the information described above may also be stored in memory chip 410. For example, memory chip 410 may also store information including the type of toner (e.g., toner information), manufacturer information, expiration date information, authenticity identification code, refill time information, inherent information of toner refill device 400, inherent information of image forming device 100 or toner cartridge 200 that was previously connected, etc. Furthermore, in embodiments, some of the above information may be omitted.

[0129] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the information stored in the Customer Replaceable Unit Monitoring (CRUM) device of the toner cartridge when an error has occurred and information about the toner refill device is stored in the toner cartridge.

[0130] Reference Figure 6 The toner cartridge 200 can store the inherent information (i.e., identification information) of the connected toner refill device 400 when an error occurs during toner refilling.

[0131] Therefore, when the availability of the toner refill device 400 is identified, the processor 130 can read the identification information stored in the toner cartridge 200 and identify the availability of the toner refill device 400.

[0132] In this embodiment, in addition to the information described above, the toner cartridge 200 may also store information that is normally stored in the toner cartridge 200.

[0133] Figure 7 and Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the memory of the toner cartridge and the image forming device when an error has occurred and information about the toner refill device is stored in the toner cartridge.

[0134] Reference Figure 7 and Figure 8 The toner cartridge 200 may store flag information indicating that an error has previously occurred. The memory 140 of the image forming apparatus 100 may store inherent information (e.g., identification information) of the connected toner refill device 400 when an error has occurred during toner refilling.

[0135] Therefore, as the refilling of the toner cartridge 200 continues, the processor 130 can identify whether an error has occurred based on the flag information stored in the toner cartridge 200, and identify whether toner refilling can be performed by means of the toner refilling device 400 by comparing the stored intrinsic information with the intrinsic information of the toner cartridge 200.

[0136] Figure 9This is a flowchart illustrating a method for error handling based on an example.

[0137] Reference Figure 9 In operation S910, a toner refill device is used to perform toner refilling of the toner cartridge. As part of the toner refilling process, the toner refill device can be fixed to the image forming apparatus.

[0138] During operation S920, it is possible to identify whether an error has occurred in the toner refill device, as described above. For example, the occurrence of an error can be input via a button provided on the main body of the image forming device. Alternatively, an error can be identified when toner refill is not completed within a predetermined time.

[0139] During operation of S930, when an error is detected during toner refilling, error-related information can be stored in the toner cartridge. The toner refilling device and the image forming device can then be released.

[0140] When toner injection is complete without error, information indicating that the toner refill device is being used can be stored in the memory chip of the toner refill device, and the toner refill device and the image forming device can be released.

[0141] According to the error handling method, when an error has occurred, the fact that the error has occurred is stored in the toner cartridge, thereby restricting the refilling operation of new toner refilling devices for toner cartridges that have previously malfunctioned.

[0142] The communication method in the aforementioned image forming apparatus can be implemented as a program and provided to the image forming apparatus. As an example, a program including the communication method in the image forming apparatus can be stored in and provided therein on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. A non-transitory computer-readable medium refers to a medium that stores data semi-permanently rather than for a very short period (e.g., registers, caches, memories, etc.) and is readable by the device.

[0143] The examples and advantages described above should not be construed as limiting this disclosure. This teaching can be readily applied to other types of devices. Furthermore, the illustrative descriptions of the examples in this disclosure are intended to be illustrative and do not limit the scope of the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A toner cartridge, comprising: Customers can replace the unit monitoring equipment and use a toner refill device to store error information during the toner cartridge filling process. Specifically, based on the fact that the error information is not stored in the customer replaceable unit monitoring device, the availability of the toner cartridge refilling operation is identified based on a predetermined first reference value and the amount of toner detected in the toner cartridge. The availability of the refill operation of the toner cartridge is identified based on the error information stored in the customer replaceable unit monitoring device, and based on a predetermined second reference value and the amount of toner detected in the toner cartridge, wherein the second reference value is less than the first reference value.

2. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein, The error message is at least one of the following: a flag indicating an error in the toner injection process and identification information of the toner refill device.

3. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein, The customer replaceable unit monitoring device stores the identification information of the toner refill device.

4. The toner cartridge according to claim 3, wherein, Based on the error information stored in the customer replaceable unit monitoring device, the availability of the toner cartridge refilling operation is further identified based on the identification information of the toner refilling device stored in the customer replaceable unit monitoring device.

5. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising: A sensor detects the amount of toner in the toner cartridge.

6. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein, The predetermined first reference value is greater than the predetermined second reference value.

7. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein, The customer-replaceable unit monitoring device is attached to the toner cartridge or installed in an image forming device in which the toner cartridge is positioned.

8. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein, The customer replaceable unit monitoring device includes at least one of the following: memory, memory chip, chip device, and toner cartridge memory.

9. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein, The customer replaceable unit monitoring device stores information used to authenticate the toner cartridge.

10. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein, The customer replaceable unit monitoring device stores information indicating the amount of toner detected in the toner cartridge.

11. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising: Terminals for electrical connection to the toner refilling device.

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