Image forming apparatus and method for determining continued use of consumable memory

Abstract

To allow for determining whether a consumable memory is usable or not without using information indicative of the number of times information has been written to the consumable memory when a consumable is filled with a printing material without replacing the consumable memory.SOLUTION: A controller (61) of an image forming device (1) provided herein performs determination processing for determining whether a toner memory (42) can be continued to be used or not after print volume information is changed, on the basis of capacity information stored in the toner memory (42) and print volume upper limit information stored in the toner memory (42) or a main memory (62).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus and a method for determining whether a consumable memory is to be continuously used. [Background technology]

[0002] There is an upper limit to the number of times that the control unit can write information to the nonvolatile memory. Writing to the nonvolatile memory deteriorates the nonvolatile memory, and if the number of write operations exceeds the upper limit, it may become impossible to write information or the quality of the written information may no longer be guaranteed. In other words, the upper limit to the number of write operations is the maximum number of write operations that can be performed while the quality of the information stored in the nonvolatile memory is guaranteed. Such nonvolatile memory with an upper limit to the number of write operations is used as a consumable memory for managing the lifespan of consumables, etc.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes an image forming apparatus having a detachable consumable part with a memory unit that stores information, a counting unit, a measuring unit, and a control unit. The counting unit counts the number of accesses to the memory unit. The measuring unit measures the amount of use of the consumable part. The control unit controls the frequency of access to the memory unit according to the number of accesses and the amount of use of the consumable part.

[0004] For example, it is desirable that consumables such as toner cartridges installed in printers be recyclable. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-53681 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] If printing material is filled into the consumables without the consumable memory being replaced, the number of times information is written to the consumables memory may reach an upper limit while the consumables are being used, and the consumables memory may become unusable.

[0007] The present disclosure aims to provide an image forming apparatus that is capable of determining whether a consumable memory can be used when printing material is filled into a consumable without the consumable memory being replaced. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, an image forming apparatus of a first aspect of the present disclosure is an image forming apparatus comprising: a main body housing; a consumable that can be attached to the main body housing and has a consumable memory; a controller; and a main body memory, wherein the consumable memory stores print volume information that represents the print volume set as a product specification of the consumable; the consumable memory or the main body memory stores upper limit print volume information that is upper limit print volume information allowed when printing using the consumable memory and represents the upper limit of the print volume that can be printed using the consumable memory; and the controller executes a determination process based on the print volume information and the upper limit print volume information to determine whether the consumable memory can continue to be used even if the print volume information is changed.

[0009] A second aspect is the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, wherein the upper limit of the print amount indicated by the upper limit print amount information may be greater than the print amount indicated by the print amount information.

[0010] A third aspect is the image forming apparatus of the first or second aspect, wherein the controller may execute the determination process when the print amount indicated by the print amount information is changed.

[0011] A fourth aspect is an image forming device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the controller executes a reception process to receive an instruction to select a printing volume to be set as the printing volume information, and when the selection instruction is received in the reception process, the controller determines in the determination process that the consumable memory can be used continuously.

[0012] A fifth aspect is an image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the controller may determine in the determination process that the consumable memory can be continuously used if the printing volume represented by the printing volume information to be changed is within an allowable range that can be printed using the consumable memory.

[0013] A sixth aspect is an image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect, wherein the controller executes a first calculation process to calculate a first printing volume by subtracting the printing volume represented by the printing volume information from the upper limit of the printing volume represented by the upper limit printing volume information, and in the determination process, if the printing volume represented by the printing volume information to be changed is equal to or less than the first printing volume, it may be determined that the printing volume represented by the printing volume information to be changed is within the allowable range.

[0014] A seventh aspect is an image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect, wherein the consumable memory stores cumulative printing volume information representing the cumulative printing volume of the consumable, and the controller executes a second calculation process to calculate a second printing volume by subtracting the printing volume obtained by adding the printing volume represented by the printing volume information and the cumulative printing volume from the upper limit of the printing volume represented by the upper limit printing volume information, and in the determination process, if the printing volume represented by the printing volume information to be changed is equal to or less than the second printing volume, it may be determined that the printing volume represented by the printing volume information to be changed is within the allowable range.

[0015] An eighth aspect is an image forming device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the consumable memory stores the upper limit printing volume information, and when the controller determines in the determination process that the consumable memory can be used continuously, it may execute a first update process to update the upper limit printing volume information based on the printing volume information and the upper limit printing volume information.

[0016] A ninth aspect is an image forming apparatus of the eighth aspect, wherein the controller executes a first calculation process to calculate a first printing volume by subtracting the printing volume represented by the printing volume information from the upper limit of the printing volume represented by the upper limit printing volume information, and in the first update process, the upper limit printing volume information may be rewritten to the first printing volume.

[0017] A tenth aspect is an image forming device according to any one of the first to fifth and seventh aspects, wherein the consumable memory stores cumulative printing volume information representing the cumulative printing volume of the consumable, the main memory stores the upper limit printing volume information, and the controller executes a second update process to update the cumulative printing volume information based on the printing volume information and the cumulative printing volume information.

[0018] An eleventh aspect is an image forming apparatus of the tenth aspect, wherein the controller, in the second update process, may rewrite the cumulative printing volume information to a printing volume obtained by adding the printing volume represented by the printing volume information and the cumulative printing volume.

[0019] A twelfth aspect is an image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, wherein the controller may execute a reception process for receiving an instruction to select a printing amount to be set as the printing amount information, and a rewrite process for rewriting the printing amount information to the printing amount selected by the selection instruction if the determination process determines that the consumable memory can be used continuously.

[0020] A thirteenth aspect is the image forming apparatus of any one of the first to twelfth aspects, wherein the consumable item may be a cartridge that contains printing material.

[0021] A fourteenth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to thirteenth aspects, wherein the printing amount may be a volume of printing material.

[0022] In order to solve the above problem, a determination method of a 15th aspect of the present disclosure is a determination method for determining whether a consumable memory of a consumable attached to a main body housing of an image forming device can be continuously used, and includes a determination step in which the image forming device determines whether the consumable memory can be continuously used even if the print volume information is changed, based on print volume information stored in the consumable memory, which represents the print volume set as a product specification of the consumable, and upper limit print volume information stored in the consumable memory or the main body memory of the image forming device, which is allowed when printing using the consumable memory and represents the upper limit of the print volume that can be printed using the consumable memory.

[0023] A sixteenth aspect is the determination method of the fifteenth aspect, wherein the upper limit of the print amount indicated by the upper limit print amount information may be greater than the print amount indicated by the print amount information.

[0024] A seventeenth aspect is the determination method according to the fifteenth or sixteenth aspect, wherein the image forming apparatus may execute the determination step when the print amount indicated by the print amount information is changed.

[0025] An 18th aspect is a determination method according to any one of the 15th to 17th aspects, which includes a receiving step in which the image forming device receives an instruction to select a printing amount to be set as the printing amount information, and if the image forming device receives the selection instruction in the receiving step, the image forming device may determine in the determination step that the consumable memory can be continued to be used.

[0026] A 19th aspect is a determination method according to any one of the 15th to 18th aspects, wherein in the determination step, if the printing volume represented by the changed printing volume information is within an allowable range that can be printed using the consumable memory, the image forming device may determine that the consumable memory can be continued to be used.

[0027] A 20th aspect is a determination method of the 19th aspect, which includes a first calculation step in which the image forming device calculates a first printing volume obtained by subtracting the printing volume represented by the printing volume information from the upper limit of the printing volume represented by the upper limit printing volume information, and in the determination step, if the printing volume represented by the printing volume information to be changed is equal to or less than the first printing volume, the image forming device may determine that the printing volume represented by the printing volume information to be changed is within the allowable range.

[0028] A 21st aspect is a determination method of the 19th aspect, in which the consumable memory stores cumulative printing volume information representing the cumulative printing volume of the consumable, and the image forming device includes a second calculation step in which the image forming device calculates a second printing volume by subtracting the printing volume obtained by adding the printing volume represented by the printing volume information and the cumulative printing volume from the upper limit of the printing volume represented by the upper limit printing volume information, and in the determination step, if the printing volume represented by the printing volume information to be changed is equal to or less than the second printing volume, the image forming device may determine that the printing volume represented by the printing volume information to be changed is within the allowable range.

[0029] A 22nd aspect is a determination method of any of the 15th to 20th aspects, wherein the consumable memory stores the upper limit printing volume information, and if it is determined in the determination step that the consumable memory can be used continuously, the method may include a first update step in which the image forming device updates the upper limit printing volume information based on the printing volume information and the upper limit printing volume information.

[0030] A 23rd aspect is a determination method of the 22nd aspect, which includes a first calculation step in which the image forming device calculates a first printing volume obtained by subtracting the printing volume represented by the printing volume information from the upper limit of the printing volume represented by the upper limit printing volume information, and in the first update step, the image forming device may rewrite the upper limit printing volume information to the first printing volume.

[0031] A 24th aspect is a determination method of any of the 15th to 19th and 21st aspects, wherein the consumable memory stores cumulative printing volume information representing the cumulative printing volume of the consumable, the main memory stores the upper limit printing volume information, and the method may include a second update step in which the image forming device updates the cumulative printing volume information based on the printing volume information and the cumulative printing volume information.

[0032] A 25th aspect is a determination method of the 24th aspect, wherein in the second update process, the image forming device may rewrite the cumulative printing volume information to a printing volume obtained by adding the printing volume represented by the printing volume information and the cumulative printing volume.

[0033] A 26th aspect may be a determination method of any of the 15th to 25th aspects, including a receiving step in which the image forming device receives an instruction to select a printing amount to be set as the printing amount information, and a rewriting step in which the image forming device rewrites the printing amount information to the printing amount selected by the selection instruction if it is determined in the determination step that the consumable memory can be used continuously.

[0034] A twenty-seventh aspect is the determination method according to any one of the fifteenth to twenty-sixth aspects, in which the consumable item may be a cartridge that contains printing material.

[0035] A twenty-eighth aspect is the determination method according to any one of the fifteenth to twenty-seventh aspects, in which the printing amount may be a volume of printing material.

[0036] In addition, the image forming apparatus according to each aspect of the present disclosure may be realized by a computer. In this case, the control program of the image forming apparatus that causes the computer to operate as each part (software element) of the image forming apparatus to realize the image forming apparatus on the computer, and the computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded, also fall within the scope of the present disclosure. [Effects of the Invention]

[0037] According to the image forming device of the first aspect, it is determined whether the consumable memory can be used continuously even if the print volume information is changed, based on the upper limit print volume information and the print volume information. Therefore, even if the print volume information is changed, the image forming device can allow the consumable memory to be used continuously if the print volume upper limit is not exceeded. In other words, the image forming device can determine whether the consumable memory can be used continuously when the print volume information is changed.

[0038] According to the image forming apparatus of the second aspect, continuous use of the consumable memory can be permitted as long as the upper limit of the printing amount is not exceeded.

[0039] According to the image forming apparatus of the third aspect, when the print volume information is changed, it is possible to prevent continuous use of the consumable memory from being permitted beyond the upper limit of the print volume.

[0040] According to the image forming apparatus of the fourth aspect, it is possible to determine that the consumable memory can be used continuously when a selection instruction for selecting the print amount is received.

[0041] According to the image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect, it is possible to determine that the consumable memory can be used continuously when it is determined that the changed print volume is within an allowable range.

[0042] According to the sixth aspect of the image forming apparatus, it is possible to determine that a printing volume equal to or less than the first printing volume, which is equal to or less than the upper limit of the printing volume, is within the allowable range, and therefore continuous use of the consumable memory can be permitted if the upper limit of the printing volume is not exceeded.

[0043] According to the seventh aspect of the image forming apparatus, it is possible to determine that a print volume equal to or less than the second print volume, which is equal to or less than the upper limit of the print volume, is within the allowable range, and therefore continuous use of the consumable memory can be permitted if the upper limit of the print volume is not exceeded.

[0044] According to the image forming apparatus of the eighth aspect, it is possible to determine whether the consumable memory can be continuously used even if the print volume information is changed, using the updated upper limit print volume information.

[0045] According to the image forming apparatus of the ninth aspect, by rewriting the upper limit print amount information, the latest upper limit print amount information can be used the next time a determination is made as to whether or not the consumable memory can be continuously used.

[0046] According to the tenth aspect of the image forming apparatus, the accumulated print volume information is updated based on the print volume information and the accumulated print volume information. Therefore, even if the upper limit print volume information does not change with fluctuations in the print volume, the image forming apparatus can permit continuous use of the consumable memory as long as the upper limit of the print volume is not exceeded.

[0047] According to the image forming apparatus of the eleventh aspect, by rewriting the cumulative print amount information, the latest cumulative print amount information can be used the next time a determination is made as to whether or not the consumable memory can be continuously used.

[0048] According to the image forming apparatus of the twelfth aspect, by rewriting the print volume information, the latest print volume information can be used the next time a determination is made as to whether or not the consumable memory can be continuously used.

[0049] According to the image forming apparatus of the thirteenth aspect, it is possible to determine whether the consumable memory of the cartridge that contains the printing material can be continuously used.

[0050] According to the image forming apparatus of the fourteenth aspect, it is possible to determine whether the consumable memory can be continuously used by using the capacity of the printing material as the printing amount set as the product specifications of the consumable.

[0051] Each of the determination methods of the fifteenth to twenty-eighth aspects has the same effect as that of the image forming apparatus of any of the first to fourteenth aspects corresponding to the determination method of these aspects. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0052] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an image forming apparatus including a drum cartridge and a developing cartridge. [Figure 3] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of toner cartridge information stored in a toner memory. FIG. [Figure 4] 5 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of drum cartridge information stored in a drum memory. FIG. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of preparatory processing for recycling a cartridge. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of an initialization process. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of another initialization process. [Figure 8] 10 is a diagram showing another main configuration of an image forming apparatus including a drum cartridge and a developing cartridge. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of another data structure of toner cartridge information stored in a toner memory. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of another process required to recycle consumables. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0053] [Embodiment 1] Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, as an example, the image forming apparatus is a laser printer, and image formation is printing. However, the image forming apparatus may be a printer other than a laser printer. For example, the image forming apparatus 1 may be an inkjet printer.

[0054] <Structural Overview of Image Forming Apparatus 1> Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus 1. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the image forming apparatus 1, including a drum cartridge 20 and a developing cartridge 4. As shown in Fig. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 is composed of a main body housing 10 and a cover 11.

[0055] (Main body housing 10) A developing cartridge 4 is attached to the main body housing 10 of the image forming apparatus 1. As will be described in detail later, the developing cartridge 4 is attached to the drum cartridge 20, thereby becoming one with the drum cartridge 20. In other words, the developing cartridge 4 is attached to the drum cartridge 20 and then attached to the main body housing 10 together with the drum cartridge 20.

[0056] Note that four developer cartridges 4 are attached to the image forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment. That is, four drum cartridges 20 and four developer cartridges 4 can be attached to the image forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment. However, the number of drum cartridges 20 and developer cartridges 4 attached to the image forming apparatus 1 is not limited to the example in FIG. 1. For example, the image forming apparatus 1 may be a monochrome printer that can attach one drum cartridge 20 and one developer cartridge 4.

[0057] The developer cartridge 4 contains toner. The image forming apparatus 1 consumes the toner contained in the developer cartridge 4 to perform printing. In other words, the developer cartridge 4 is a consumable item used in the image forming apparatus 1. The drum cartridge 20 has a photosensitive drum 21. The drum cartridge 20 is also an example of a consumable item used in the image forming apparatus 1.

[0058] The main body housing 10 is, for example, in the shape of a rectangular box. The image forming apparatus 1 includes four drum cartridges 20, four developer cartridges 4, a transfer belt 70, a controller 61, a main body memory 62, an operation unit 64, and a display 65. The four drum cartridges 20, the four developer cartridges 4, the transfer belt 70, the controller 61, the main body memory 62, the operation unit 64, and the display 65 are housed in the main body housing 10. If the operation unit 64 is a hardware button, the depression surface of the operation unit 64 may be provided on the outer surface of the main body housing 10 so that the user can operate it. Furthermore, the display surface of the display 65 may be provided on the outer surface of the main body housing 10 so that the user can visually recognize the displayed information. The display 65 may be configured to function as the operation unit by being integrated with a touch panel.

[0059] The main body housing 10 has four cartridge holding sections 13. Each cartridge holding section 13 is formed in a concave shape and has an opening. The drum cartridge 20 and the developing cartridge 4 are attached to the main body housing 10 by being held in each cartridge holding section 13.

[0060] (Cover 11) The cover 11 of the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a light source unit 50 corresponding to each drum cartridge 20. In other words, the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with four light source units 50. The cover 11 is rotatable (movable) about a rotation shaft 11A extending in a first direction between an open position where the opening 10A is opened, shown by a solid line in Fig. 1, and a closed position where the opening 10A is closed, shown by a two-dot chain line in Fig. 1. The rotation of the cover 11 opens and closes the opening 10A provided at the top end of the main body housing 10.

[0061] When the cover 11 is placed in the open position, the openings of the cartridge holding portions 13 are open. When the cover 11 is placed in the closed position, the openings of the cartridge holding portions 13 are covered by the cover 11.

[0062] The main body housing 10 may be provided with a closing sensor (not shown) at the opening 10A. The closing sensor is a sensor that detects whether the cover 11 is in the closed position. The closing sensor may be, for example, a contact type sensor or an optical type sensor.

[0063] (developing cartridge 4) The developing cartridge 4 has a cartridge housing capable of accommodating a developing roller 41 and a developer (e.g., toner) as an example of printing material. The cartridge housing is mountable to the main body housing 10. The four developing cartridges 4 accommodate developers of different colors (e.g., cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) as materials used for forming images. The developer is a material that is consumed with use. When the developing cartridge 4 is mounted in the drum cartridge 20, the outer circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 21 comes into contact with the outer circumferential surface of the developing roller 41.

[0064] 2, the developer cartridge 4 has a toner memory 42 as an example of a consumable memory. The toner memory 42 is disposed on one outer surface of the developer cartridge 4 in the first direction. The toner memory 42 is a memory from which information can be read and written, such as a flash ROM (Read Only Memory) or an EEPROM (Registered Trademark, Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory).

[0065] The toner memory 42 stores toner cartridge information 420, which is information relating to the developing cartridge 4. The data structure of the toner cartridge information 420 will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0066] (Drum cartridge 20) The drum cartridge 20 has a cartridge housing. The drum cartridge 20 includes a photosensitive drum 21 as a component used for image formation. The photosensitive drum 21 is a replaceable part that requires replacement due to deterioration such as surface wear that occurs with use. The outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is covered with a photosensitive material.

[0067] The drum cartridge 20 may also include a drum memory 22, which is an example of a consumable memory. The drum memory 22 is a memory from which information can be read and written. The drum memory 22 is, for example, a flash ROM or an EEPROM (registered trademark).

[0068] 2, the drum memory 22 stores drum cartridge information 220, which is information relating to the drum cartridge 20. The data structure of the drum cartridge information 220 will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0069] <Cartridge installation and printing mechanism> 1, the drum cartridge 20 and the developer cartridge 4 are attached to the main body casing 10 with the cover 11 in the open position. In this state, the drum cartridge 20 and the developer cartridge 4 are inserted into the cartridge holding portion 13 through the opening 10A.

[0070] The four light source units 50 are attached to the inner surface of the cover 11. When the drum cartridge 20 is attached to the main body housing 10 and the cover 11 is in the closed position, the light source units 50 are arranged to face the surface of the photosensitive drum 21. The light source units 50 also have a plurality of light sources arranged in a first direction. The light sources are capable of irradiating light onto the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21. The light sources are, for example, LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes).

[0071] The light source unit 50 is electrically connected to a controller 61. The controller 61 causes the multiple light sources of the light source unit 50 to emit light in accordance with input image data. The light sources irradiate the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 with light. As a result, the photosensitive material on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is exposed in accordance with the image data.

[0072] The transfer belt 70 is a component that transfers the developer (e.g., toner) on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 to printing paper. The transfer belt 70 is a replaceable component that must be replaced due to deterioration such as surface wear that occurs with use. The transfer belt 70 is a belt that can come into contact with the photosensitive drum 21 and is annular (endless belt). The outer circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 21 can come into contact with the outer circumferential surface of the transfer belt 70. During printing, printing paper is transported between the transfer belt 70 and the photosensitive drum 21.

[0073] The transfer belt 70 is stretched between a drive roller 71 and a driven roller 72. The drive roller 71 drives the transfer belt 70. The controller 61 rotates the drive roller 71. The driven roller 72 rotates in accordance with the movement of the transfer belt 70 caused by the drive of the drive roller 71.

[0074] <Internal structure of the main body> The controller 61 has, for example, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The controller 61 is electrically connected to a main body memory 62 provided in the main body housing 10 of the image forming apparatus 1. Although not shown in FIG. 2, an operation unit 64 and a display 65 are also electrically connected to the controller 61. The controller 61 executes various operations to cause the image forming apparatus 1 to perform various processes related to printing.

[0075] The controller 61 may include a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). In this case, a control program for realizing a control method for the image forming apparatus may be stored in the main body memory 62, and the controller 61 may cause the image forming apparatus 1 to perform various processes by the processor operating in accordance with the control program.

[0076] The controller 61 may also include a computer-readable recording medium, such as a main memory 62, that stores a control program. The recording medium may be a "non-transitory tangible medium," such as a ROM, tape, disk, card, semiconductor memory, or programmable logic circuit. A random access memory (RAM) for expanding the control program may also be used. The control program may be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium (such as a communications network or broadcast waves) capable of transmitting the control program. Note that one aspect of the present disclosure may also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the control program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[0077] 2, the image forming apparatus 1 has a connector 101 and a connector 102. When the drum cartridge 20 is inserted into the cartridge holding portion 13 shown in FIG. 1, the connector 101 is electrically connected to the drum memory 22, thereby enabling the controller 61 to communicate with the drum memory 22 of the drum cartridge 20. In other words, the controller 61 can read information from the drum memory 22 and write information to the drum memory 22 (including rewriting).

[0078] Furthermore, when the developing cartridge 4 is attached to the main body housing 10, the connector 102 is electrically connected to the toner memory 42, thereby enabling the controller 61 to communicate with the toner memory 42 of the developing cartridge 4. In other words, the controller 61 can read information from the toner memory 42 and write information to the toner memory 42 (including rewriting).

[0079] The main memory 62 is a memory from which information can be read and written. The main memory 62 is, for example, a flash ROM or an EEPROM (registered trademark). The main memory 62 has one or more storage areas, and each area stores, for example, the following types of information:

[0080] The cartridge information 621 is information relating to the cartridges attached to the image forming apparatus 1. Specifically, the cartridge information 621 includes toner cartridge information 420 read from the toner memory 42 of the developer cartridge 4 of each color so that each developer cartridge 4 can be identified. The cartridge information 621 also includes drum cartridge information 220 read from the drum memory 22 of the drum cartridge 20 so that each drum cartridge 20 can be identified. The toner cartridge information 420 includes, for example, usage amount information indicating the usage amount of the developer cartridge 4. The drum cartridge information 220 includes, for example, usage amount information indicating the usage amount of the drum cartridge 20. Details of the data structures of the toner cartridge information 420 and drum cartridge information 220 stored as the cartridge information 621 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0081] Hereinafter, "recycling cartridges" refers to restoring a cartridge to a state suitable for printing use by replacing or refilling only the components of the cartridge that need replacement. In other words, cartridge recycling includes not only refilling consumed materials but also replacing deteriorated replacement parts with new ones. Hereinafter, cartridges (consumables) recycled by refilling materials or replacing parts will be referred to as recycled cartridges (recycled products).

[0082] The usage history information 624 is information that indicates the history of use of recycled cartridges in the image forming apparatus 1. As one example, the usage history information 624 may be information that indicates the number of recycled cartridges that have been installed in the image forming apparatus 1. In another example, the usage history information 624 may be a table that holds a combination of the cartridge ID of the recycled cartridge and the number of times it has been recycled. In yet another example, the usage history information 624 may be a flag that indicates whether the recycled cartridge has been installed at least once or has never been installed.

[0083] The specification information 628 is information indicating the specifications of the image forming apparatus 1. In this embodiment, as an example, the image forming apparatus 1 and consumables are manufactured to specifications that suit the circumstances of the country in which they are used. For example, there are three specifications for the image forming apparatus 1 and consumables: for the EU (Europe), for the US (United States), and for JP (Japan). The specification information 628 indicates any of the above specifications.

[0084] In addition to the information described above, the main memory 62 may also have, for example, an area for storing the cumulative number of printed sheets in the image forming device 1, an area for storing error conditions occurring in the image forming device 1, etc.

[0085] <Cartridge information data structure> (Toner cartridge information) 3 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of toner cartridge information 420 stored in toner memory 42. The toner cartridge information 420 includes, for example, a toner ID 421, color information 423, genuine product information 424, specification information 425, capacity information 431, printable page count information 432, upper limit capacity information 433, upper limit page count information 434, usage amount information, and initialization information.

[0086] Usage information is information that indicates the amount of a consumable used. For example, usage information includes at least one of consumption information for determining the extent to which the consumable has been used and remaining amount information for determining the amount of material remaining in the consumable. Examples of consumption information include, but are not limited to, the number of prints, dot count, amount of printing material used, number of development roller rotations, and number of drum rotations. Examples of remaining amount information include, but are not limited to, the amount of remaining printing material, such as the amount of remaining toner and the amount of remaining ink.

[0087] The toner cartridge information 420 of the developer cartridge 4 includes, as examples of usage information, the number of printed pages 426, the number of rotations of the developer roller 427, and the amount of remaining toner 428. In another example, the usage information may include a dot count. The initialization information indicates whether at least a portion of the information stored in the consumables memory has been initialized in accordance with a user instruction, and an example of this information is the number of recycling times 430. The number of recycling times 430 indicates the number of times the toner memory 42 has been initialized for recycling.

[0088] The various pieces of information listed above are merely examples of the toner cartridge information 420. Other information may be added, or some of the above-mentioned various pieces of information may be omitted as appropriate.

[0089] The toner ID 421 is identification information for uniquely identifying the developing cartridge 4. As an example, the toner ID 421 is a serial number specific to the developing cartridge 4.

[0090] The color information 423 is information indicating the color of the printing material contained in the developer cartridge 4. In this embodiment, as an example, the developer cartridge 4 has four colors: "C (cyan)," "M (magenta)," "Y (yellow)," and "BK (black)." The color information 423 indicates one of the above colors.

[0091] The genuineness information 424 is information indicating whether the developing cartridge 4 is genuine or non-genuine. As an example, the developing cartridge 4 is classified as "genuine" or "non-genuine." The genuineness information 424 indicates one of the above classifications.

[0092] The specification information 425 is information indicating the specifications of the developing cartridge 4. As with the image forming apparatus 1, the developing cartridge 4 also has three specifications: for "EU (Europe)", "US (United States)", and "JP (Japan)". The specification information 425 indicates one of the above specifications.

[0093] The number of printed sheets 426 is information indicating the cumulative number of printed sheets printed by the image forming apparatus 1 using the developing cartridge 4. In other words, it is information indicating the number of sheets of paper printed by the image forming apparatus 1 since the developing cartridge 4 was installed in the image forming apparatus 1.

[0094] The number of rotations of the developing roller 427 is information indicating the number of rotations of the developing roller 41 in the developing cartridge 4 that has occurred in association with the execution of printing since the developing cartridge 4 was attached to the image forming apparatus 1.

[0095] The remaining toner amount 428 is information indicating the remaining amount of toner in the developing cartridge 4. As an example, the remaining toner amount 428 may be configured with values ​​corresponding to a plurality of stages from full to empty. For example, the remaining toner amount 428 may be a character string such as "FULL" to "EMPTY", a numerical value such as "100%" to "0%, or information that combines a character string and a numerical value.

[0096] The initial value of the remaining toner amount 428 corresponds to the full amount of the capacity corresponding to the capacity information 431. As an example, when toner is consumed with use, a sensor (not shown) may optically measure the developer cartridge 4. The controller 61 may write the remaining toner amount obtained by the above measurement into the toner memory 42 as the remaining toner amount 428.

[0097] In another example, the controller 61 may monitor the amount of toner consumed after being discharged from the developer cartridge 4, and calculate the remaining amount of toner based on the monitored amount of toner consumption and the capacity information 431 stored in the toner memory 42. The controller 61 may write the calculated remaining amount of toner into the toner memory 42 as the remaining toner amount 428. Alternatively, the amount of toner consumption may be written into the toner memory 42 instead of the remaining toner amount 428. The initial value of the amount of toner consumption may be zero.

[0098] The dot count 429 is information indicating the cumulative value of the number of dots printed by the image forming apparatus 1 using the developing cartridge 4. In other words, it is information indicating the cumulative value of the number of dots printed by the image forming apparatus 1 after the developing cartridge 4 is attached to the image forming apparatus 1.

[0099] The recycling count 430 is information indicating the number of times (initialization count) that at least a part of the information stored in the toner memory 42 of the developing cartridge 4 has been initialized in accordance with an instruction from the user.

[0100] The capacity information 431 indicates the capacity of printing material that can be refilled into the developer cartridge 4. The capacity information 431 indicates one capacity selected from multiple capacity levels. In this embodiment, as an example, when the developer cartridge 4 is recycled, the capacity of the developer cartridge 4 can be selected from five capacity levels. More specifically, the developer cartridge 4 can be recycled as a cartridge having one of five capacities selected from five capacity levels, in ascending order: "5K," "10K," "15K," "20K," and "25K." "K" indicates that the number of prints is 1,000. The capacity indicated by "5K" indicates a capacity capable of printing 5,000 sheets. Similarly, the capacities indicated by "10K," "15K," "20K," and "25K" indicate capacities capable of printing 10,000 sheets, 15,000 sheets, 20,000 sheets, and 25,000 sheets, respectively.

[0101] In this embodiment, information such as "5K," "10K," "15K," "20K," or "25K" is stored in the toner memory 42 as the capacity information 431. However, an ID that can identify the capacities indicated by "5K," "10K," "15K," "20K," and "25K" may be set for each of the capacities indicated by "5K," "10K," "15K," "20K," and "25K." In this case, an ID that indicates any of the above-mentioned capacities may be stored in the toner memory 42 as the capacity information 431. In other words, identification information that can uniquely identify each of the multiple levels of capacity may be stored in the toner memory 42 as the capacity information 431.

[0102] The printable sheet count information 432 is information indicating the number of sheets that can be printed by the image forming apparatus 1 using the printing material of the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431. The printable sheet count information 432 is stored in association with the capacity information 431. The printable sheet count information 432 may be, for example, any of information indicating the printable sheet count corresponding to each of the capacities indicated by "5K," "10K," "15K," "20K," and "25K."

[0103] The capacity information 431 and the printable number information 432 are examples of print amount information that indicates the print amount set as a product specification of the developing cartridge 4. The capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 and the printable number indicated by the printable number information 432 are examples of the print amount that is uniquely set as a product specification of the developing cartridge 4. Alternatively, the dot count or the number of rotations of the developing roller that is uniquely set as a product specification of the developing cartridge 4 may be an example of the print amount described above.

[0104] In the description of the processing flow of the controller 61 to be described later, an example is given in which the print amount information is the capacity information 431. As will be described later, if the controller 61 determines that the toner memory 42 can continue to be used even if the capacity information 431 is changed, the controller 61 rewrites the capacity information 431.

[0105] The upper limit capacity information 433 is information permitted when printing using the toner memory 42, and is information that indicates the upper limit of the capacity that can be printed using the toner memory 42. The upper limit number information 434 is information permitted when printing using the toner memory 42, and is information that indicates the upper limit of the number of pages that can be printed using the toner memory 42. The upper limit capacity information 433 and the upper limit number information 434 are examples of upper limit print amount information that indicates the upper limit of the print amount that can be printed using the toner memory 42.

[0106] The upper limit print volume information is information that is set by the manufacturer of the developer cartridge 4, for example, during the manufacturing stage of the developer cartridge 4. The upper limit of the print volume represented by the upper limit print volume information is a value calculated based on the upper limit of the number of writes so that the number of times information is written to the toner memory 42 is equal to or less than the upper limit of the number of writes.

[0107] Furthermore, the capacity that can be set as capacity information 431 is smaller than the upper limit of the capacity represented by upper limit capacity information 433. In other words, the upper limit of the capacity represented by upper limit capacity information 433 is larger than the capacity represented by capacity information 431. Similarly, the number of printable sheets that can be set as printable sheet count information 432 is smaller than the upper limit of the number of printable sheets represented by upper limit number information 434. In other words, the upper limit of the number of printable sheets represented by upper limit number information 434 is larger than the number of printable sheets represented by printable sheet count information 432. Therefore, controller 61 can permit continuous use of toner memory 42 as long as the upper limit of the capacity or the upper limit of the number of printable sheets is not exceeded.

[0108] Alternatively, the upper limit print volume information may be, for example, upper limit dot count information indicating the upper limit of dot count as the print volume, or upper limit roller number information indicating the upper limit of the number of times the developing roller is used as the print volume. However, it is sufficient that the toner memory 42 stores at least one of the upper limit capacity information 433, the upper limit number of sheets information 434, the upper limit dot count information, and the upper limit roller number information as the upper limit print volume information. In other words, it is sufficient that the toner memory 42 stores at least one of the above-mentioned information as the upper limit print volume information used when the controller 61 determines whether the toner memory 42 can be used continuously.

[0109] In the description of the processing flow of the controller 61 described below, a case where the upper limit print amount information is the upper limit capacity information 433 is taken as an example. As will be described later, in this embodiment, when the controller 61 determines that the toner memory 42 can be continuously used, the controller 61 updates the upper limit capacity information 433. Specifically, the controller 61 updates the upper limit capacity information 433 by rewriting the upper limit capacity information 433 to a first capacity obtained by subtracting the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 from the upper limit of the capacity indicated by the upper limit capacity information 433. The first capacity is an example of the first print amount obtained by subtracting the print amount indicated by the print amount information from the upper limit of the print amount indicated by the upper limit print amount information.

[0110] (Drum cartridge information) 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of drum cartridge information 220 stored in drum memory 22. The drum cartridge information 220 includes, for example, a drum ID 221, genuine product information 222, specification information 223, usage amount information, and initialization information.

[0111] The drum cartridge information 220 of the drum cartridge 20 includes, as examples of usage information, the number of prints 224, the number of drum rotations 225, and the dot count 226. As with the developing cartridge 4, the initialization information includes, as an example, the number of recycles 227.

[0112] The various pieces of information listed above are merely examples of the drum cartridge information 220. Other information may be added, or some of the above-mentioned various pieces of information may be omitted as appropriate.

[0113] The drum ID 221 is identification information for uniquely identifying the drum cartridge 20. For example, the drum ID 221 is a serial number unique to the drum cartridge 20.

[0114] The genuineness information 222 is information indicating whether the drum cartridge 20 is genuine or non-genuine. As an example, the drum cartridge 20 is classified as "genuine" or "non-genuine." The genuineness information 222 indicates either of the above classifications.

[0115] The specification information 223 is information indicating the specifications of the drum cartridge 20. As with the image forming apparatus 1 and the developing cartridge 4, the drum cartridge 20 also has three specifications: for "EU (Europe)", "US (United States)", and "JP (Japan)". The specification information 223 indicates one of the above specifications.

[0116] The number of printed sheets 224 is information indicating the cumulative number of printed sheets printed by the image forming apparatus 1 using the drum cartridge 20. In other words, it is information indicating the number of sheets of paper printed by the image forming apparatus 1 since the drum cartridge 20 was installed in the image forming apparatus 1.

[0117] The drum rotation count 225 is information indicating the number of rotations of the photosensitive drum 21 in the drum cartridge 20 that has occurred in association with the execution of printing since the drum cartridge 20 was attached to the image forming apparatus 1.

[0118] The dot count 226 is information indicating the cumulative value of the number of dots printed by the image forming apparatus 1 using the drum cartridge 20. In other words, it is information indicating the cumulative value of the number of dots printed by the image forming apparatus 1 since the drum cartridge 20 was installed in the image forming apparatus 1.

[0119] The recycle count 227 is information indicating the number of times that at least a part of the information stored in the drum memory 22 of the drum cartridge 20 has been initialized in accordance with a user instruction.

[0120] Like the toner memory 42, the drum memory 22 may store printable page count information as an example of print volume information that indicates the print volume set as a product specification of the drum cartridge 20. Additionally, the drum memory 22 may store information indicating a dot count or drum rotation number that is uniquely set as a product specification of the drum cartridge 20 as an example of print volume information.

[0121] Similarly to the toner memory 42, the drum memory 22 may store upper limit print volume information, which is information permitted when printing using the drum memory 22 and indicates the upper limit of the print volume that can be printed using the drum memory 22. The upper limit print volume information is information that is set by the manufacturer of the drum cartridge 20, for example, during the manufacturing stage of the drum cartridge 20. The upper limit of the print volume indicated by the upper limit print volume information is a value calculated based on the upper limit of the number of writes so that the number of times information is written to the drum memory 22 is equal to or less than the upper limit of the number of writes.

[0122] Examples of upper limit print volume information include upper limit number information indicating the upper limit of the number of printable sheets as the print volume, upper limit dot count information indicating the upper limit of the dot count as the print volume, and upper limit drum count information indicating the upper limit of the number of drum cycles as the print volume. As with the toner memory 42, the drum memory 22 is only required to store at least one of the upper limit number information, upper limit dot count information, and upper limit drum count information as the upper limit print volume information. Also, as with the toner memory 42, the upper limit print volume indicated by the upper limit print volume information stored in the drum memory 22 is greater than the print volume indicated by the print volume information stored in the drum memory 22.

[0123] As in the case of the toner memory 42, if the controller 61 determines that the drum memory 22 can continue to be used even if the print amount information has changed, the controller 61 may rewrite the print amount information stored in the drum memory 22. Also, as in the case of the toner memory 42, in this embodiment, if the controller 61 determines that the drum memory 22 can continue to be used, the controller 61 may update the upper limit print amount information stored in the drum memory 22.

[0124] <Processing performed by the controller> Next, an example of a method for determining whether the consumable memory can be used continuously will be described. Specifically, an example of various processes that are prerequisites for recycling the consumable memory and are necessary for initializing the cartridge information will be described. Also, an example of a process for initializing the cartridge information will be described.

[0125] (Prerequisite processing for recycling consumables) FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of prerequisite processing for recycling consumable memory.

[0126] The following description will be given taking an example of recycling the developer cartridge 4. As will be described later, in the initialization process in step S9, the controller 61 changes the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 to the capacity selected by the user. That is, when the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 is changed, the controller 61 executes the processes of steps S1 to S8. Note that in the initialization process, initializing the toner memory 42 is merely an example. The controller 61 can also execute a process of initializing the drum memory 22 in accordance with a user instruction. As described above, the following description will be given taking an example where the print amount information is capacity information 431 and the upper limit print amount information is upper limit capacity information 433.

[0127] In step S1, the controller 61 displays a recycle selection screen on the display 65. The recycle selection screen includes, for example, a user interface component (hereinafter referred to as a UI component) that allows the user to select whether or not to recycle the cartridge. As an example, the UI component is configured with a button corresponding to "Recycle," which means that the user wishes to recycle the cartridge, and a button corresponding to "Do not recycle," which means that the user does not wish to recycle the cartridge.

[0128] In step S2, the controller 61 determines which button of the UI widgets has been selected on the recycle selection screen. If the controller 61 determines that the "Recycle" button has been selected, the controller 61 proceeds from YES in step S2 to step S3. If the controller 61 determines that the "Do not recycle" button has been selected, the controller 61 proceeds from NO in step S2 to end the series of processes. The controller 61 may return from NO in step S2 to step S1 and cause the recycle selection screen to be displayed on the display 65.

[0129] Next, the controller 61 reads the upper limit capacity information 433 and the capacity information 431 stored in the toner memory 42. Then, in step S3, the controller 61 executes a first calculation process to calculate a first capacity by subtracting the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 from the upper limit of the capacity indicated by the upper limit capacity information 433.

[0130] In step S4, the controller 61 displays a capacity selection screen on the display 65. The capacity selection screen is a screen including UI components that allow the user to select the capacity of the recycled developer cartridge 4. When displaying the capacity selection screen, the controller 61 determines, based on the capacity calculated in step S3, from all capacities that can be set as the capacity information 431, a capacity that the user can select as the capacity of the recycled developer cartridge 4. In other words, from all capacities that can be selected as the capacity information 431, the controller 61 determines an allowable range of capacities that can be set as the capacity of the recycled developer cartridge 4 and that can be used for printing using the toner memory 42.

[0131] In this embodiment, the controller 61 determines a capacity equal to or less than the first capacity calculated in step S3 as a capacity that can be set as the capacity of the recycled developer cartridge 4. Then, the controller 61 displays capacities equal to or less than the first capacity on the capacity selection screen as capacities that the user can select as the capacity of the recycled developer cartridge 4. This allows the user to select an appropriate capacity as the capacity of the recycled developer cartridge 4 via the capacity selection screen.

[0132] For example, consider a case where the upper limit of capacity indicated by the upper limit capacity information 433 indicates 40K as an initial value, and the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 indicates 25K. In this case, in step S3, the controller 61 calculates that the first capacity is 15K by subtracting 25K from 40K. Then, the controller 61 determines the capacities indicated by "5K," "10K," and "15K," which are capacities of 15K or less, from the five capacity levels described above, as capacities that the user can select as the capacity of the recycled developer cartridge 4. The controller 61 displays "5K," "10K," and "15K" on the capacity selection screen as capacities that the user can select.

[0133] In step S5, the controller 61 determines whether the user has selected a capacity equal to or less than the first capacity via the capacity selection screen. If the controller 61 determines in step S5 that the user has selected a capacity equal to or less than the first capacity, the controller 61 proceeds from YES in step S5 to step S6. That is, if the controller 61 determines that the user has selected a capacity equal to or less than the first capacity, the controller 61 determines in step S6 that the toner memory 42 can be used continuously.

[0134] On the other hand, if the controller 61 determines in step S5 that the user has not selected a capacity equal to or less than the first capacity via the capacity selection screen, the controller 61 proceeds from NO in step S5 to step S7.

[0135] Specifically, if the determination in step S5 is NO, prior to step S7, the controller 61 displays a cancel instruction screen on the display 65. The cancel instruction screen is a screen including UI components for prompting the user to issue a cancel instruction regarding the continued use of the toner memory 42.

[0136] Then, in step S7, the controller 61 determines whether a cancel instruction has been received via the cancel instruction screen. If it is determined in step S7 that a cancel instruction has been received, the controller 61 advances the process from YES in step S7 to step S8. That is, if it is determined that a cancel instruction has been received, the controller 61 determines in step S8 that the toner memory 42 cannot be continuously used. Then, the controller 61 ends the series of processes. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S7 that a cancel instruction has not been received, the controller 61 returns the process to step S4 from NO in step S7.

[0137] As described above, in steps S5 and S7, the controller 61 executes a determination process based on the capacity information 431 and the upper limit capacity information 433 to determine whether the toner memory 42 can be continuously used even if the capacity information 431 is changed. Therefore, even if the capacity information 431 is changed, the image forming apparatus 1 can permit the toner memory 42 to be continuously used if the upper limit of the capacity is not exceeded. In other words, when the capacity information 431 is changed, the image forming apparatus 1 can determine whether the toner memory 42 can be continuously used without using information indicating the number of times information has been written to the toner memory 42. In other words, the image forming apparatus 1 can determine whether the toner memory 42 can be continuously used without presetting an area in the toner memory 42 for storing the number of times information has been written to the toner memory 42. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 1 can determine whether the toner memory 42 can be continuously used without executing a process for updating the number of times information is written to the toner memory 42 each time information is written to the toner memory 42.

[0138] As a specific determination process, as described above, if the result of step S5 is YES, the controller 61 executes a reception process to receive an instruction to select a capacity to be set as the capacity information 431. Then, if the controller 61 receives the selection instruction, the controller 61 determines in step S6 that the toner memory 42 can be used continuously.

[0139] Also, as described above, in step S4, the controller 61 displays on the capacity display screen a capacity within the allowable range that can be printed using the toner memory 42 as the capacity represented by the changed capacity information 431. Then, if the controller 61 receives a selection instruction in step S5 to select a capacity within the allowable range that can be printed using the toner memory 42, the controller 61 determines in step S6 that the toner memory 42 can be used continuously. In other words, if the capacity represented by the changed capacity information 431 is within the allowable range that can be printed using the toner memory 42, the controller 61 determines that the toner memory 42 can be used continuously.

[0140] In this embodiment, as described above, in step S4, the controller 61 displays a capacity equal to or less than the first capacity calculated in step S3 on the capacity display screen. Then, if in step S5 the controller 61 receives a selection instruction to select a capacity equal to or less than the first capacity, the controller 61 determines in step S6 that the toner memory 42 can be used continuously. In other words, if the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 to be changed is equal to or less than the first capacity, the controller 61 determines that the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 to be changed is within the allowable range for printing using the toner memory 42.

[0141] Furthermore, if the first capacity calculated in step S3 is equal to or greater than the minimum capacity that can be set as capacity information 431, the controller 61 displays a capacity equal to or less than the first capacity on the capacity display screen as a capacity within the allowable range that can be printed using the toner memory 42. In other words, if the first capacity is less than the minimum capacity, the controller 61 does not display it on the capacity display screen on the display 65, and executes the process of step S8.

[0142] As an example, if the first capacity is 15K and the minimum capacity that can be set as the capacity information 431 is 5K, the allowable range of printable capacity using the toner memory 42 is a capacity of 5K or more and 15K or less.

[0143] After step S6, in step S9, the controller 61 executes an initialization process to initialize the toner cartridge information 420 stored in the toner memory 42. The initialization process will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG.

[0144] In step S10, the controller 61 determines whether or not an error was detected during the initialization process of step S9. If no error was detected, the controller 61 determines that the initialization of the toner cartridge information 420 was successful, and proceeds from NO in step S10 to step S11.

[0145] In step S11, the controller 61 executes a first update process to update the upper limit capacity information 433 based on the capacity information 431 and the upper limit capacity information 433. In this embodiment, the controller 61 rewrites the upper limit capacity information 433 to a first capacity calculated in step S3 based on the capacity information 431 and the upper limit capacity information 433. As an example, if the upper limit of capacity indicated by the upper limit capacity information 433 is 40K and the first capacity is 15K, the controller 61 rewrites the upper limit capacity information 433 from 40K to 15K. Then, the controller 61 ends the series of processes.

[0146] In this embodiment, the toner memory 42 stores the upper limit capacity information 433. Therefore, in step S11, the controller 61 can update the upper limit capacity information 433. Therefore, the controller 61 can determine whether the toner memory 42 can be used continuously using the updated upper limit capacity information 433. Furthermore, because the toner memory 42 stores the upper limit capacity information 433, it is not necessary to store information other than the upper limit capacity information 433, which is used by the controller 61 to determine whether the toner memory 42 can be used continuously, in the toner memory 42 or the main body memory 62.

[0147] In step S10, if an error is detected during the initialization process in step S9 described above, the controller 61 determines that the initialization of the toner cartridge information 420 has failed, and proceeds from YES in step S10 to step S12. In step S12, the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display an error screen. For example, the controller 61 causes the display 65 to display an error screen to notify the user that the toner cartridge information 420 has not been initialized. After processing step S12, the controller 61 ends the series of processes.

[0148] (Initialization process) FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process for initializing the toner cartridge information 420, which corresponds to step S9 shown in FIG.

[0149] In step S21, the controller 61 initializes the number of printed sheets 426 stored in the toner memory 42. Specifically, the controller 61 resets the number of printed sheets 426, which has been counted up to a predetermined number, to zero.

[0150] In step S22, the controller 61 initializes the number of rotations of the developing roller 427 stored in the toner memory 42. Specifically, the controller 61 sets the number of rotations of the developing roller 427, which has been counted up to a predetermined number of rotations, to zero.

[0151] In step S23, the controller 61 initializes the remaining toner amount 428 stored in the toner memory 42. Specifically, the controller 61 returns the remaining toner amount 428, which has been reduced as toner is consumed, to its initial value. That is, the controller 61 returns the remaining toner amount 428 to the FULL value of the capacity selected in step S5 of FIG. 5. The FULL value may be stored in advance in the main memory 62 or in the toner memory 42.

[0152] In step S6 of FIG. 5, if the controller 61 determines that the toner memory 42 can be used continuously, in step S24, the controller 61 executes a rewrite process to rewrite the capacity information 431 to indicate the capacity selected in step S5 of FIG. 5.

[0153] If the color of toner to be filled into the recycled developer cartridge 4 is selected by the user via the operation unit 64, the controller 61 may rewrite the color information 423 to indicate the selected toner color. Also, the controller 61 may increment the recycling count 430 stored in the toner memory 42 by one.

[0154] In step S25, the controller 61 determines whether the read operation from the toner memory 42 and the write operation to the toner memory 42 were successful. If all read operations and write operations were successful, the controller 61 proceeds to YES in step S25 and ends the series of initialization processes. On the other hand, if the read operation or write operation failed in any of the above steps, the controller 61 proceeds from NO in step S25 to step S26. In step S26, the controller 61 outputs an error because it was not able to initialize the toner cartridge information 420.

[0155] (Another example of initialization processing) FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another process flow for initializing the toner cartridge information 420, which corresponds to step S9 shown in FIG.

[0156] 5, the controller 61 displays, on the capacity selection screen, capacities equal to or less than the first capacity, of all capacities that can be set as the capacity information 431, as capacities that can be selected by the user. However, in step S4 shown in Fig. 5, the controller 61 may display, on the capacity selection screen, all capacities that can be set as the capacity information 431 as capacities that can be selected by the user. When the controller 61 has displayed, on the capacity selection screen, all capacities that can be set as the capacity information 431 as capacities that can be selected by the user, the controller 61 executes the processing shown in Fig. 7 as the processing of step S9 shown in Fig. 5.

[0157] 5, if the controller 61 determines that the user has selected a capacity via the capacity selection screen, the controller 61 advances the process from YES in step S5 to step S9. Since all capacities that can be set as capacity information 431 are displayed on the capacity selection screen, the capacity selected by the user in step S5 may not necessarily be within the allowable range of capacities that can be printed using the toner memory 42.

[0158] 7, the controller 61 determines whether the capacity selected by the user via the capacity selection screen is within the allowable range of capacity that can be printed using the toner memory 42. In this embodiment, if the controller 61 determines that the capacity selected by the user is equal to or greater than the minimum capacity and equal to or less than the first capacity, it determines that the capacity is within the allowable range that can be printed using the toner memory 42.

[0159] If the controller 61 determines that the capacity selected by the user is within the allowable range of capacity that can be printed using the toner memory 42, the process proceeds from YES in step S31 to step S32. That is, if the controller 61 determines that the capacity selected by the user is within the allowable range of capacity that can be printed using the toner memory 42, in step S32 the controller 61 determines that the toner memory 42 can continue to be used. Then, the controller 61 executes the processes from step S21 onwards, as described with reference to FIG. 6.

[0160] On the other hand, if the controller 61 determines that the capacity is outside the allowable range for printing using the toner memory 42, the process proceeds from NO in step S31 to step S33. That is, if the controller 61 determines that the capacity selected by the user is outside the allowable range for printing using the toner memory 42, the controller 61 determines in step S33 that the toner memory 42 cannot be used continuously. Then, the controller 61 ends the process shown in FIG.

[0161] As described above, even if the controller 61 displays all capacities that can be set as the capacity information 431 on the capacity selection screen, the controller 61 can determine whether the toner memory 42 can continue to be used before updating the capacity information 431.

[0162] [Embodiment 2] Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. For ease of explanation, the same reference numerals will be used to designate components having the same functions as those described in the above embodiment, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

[0163] 8 is a diagram showing another main configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 including a drum cartridge and a developing cartridge. As shown in FIG. 8, the main body memory 62 of this embodiment stores upper limit print volume information in addition to cartridge information 621, usage history information 624, and specification information 628. That is, in this embodiment, the upper limit print volume information is stored in the main body memory 62, not in the toner memory 42 or the drum memory 22.

[0164] Like the upper limit capacity information 433 and the upper limit number information 434 described in the first embodiment, the upper limit capacity information 631 and the upper limit number information 632 are examples of upper limit print amount information that indicate the upper limit of the amount of printing that can be done using the toner memory 42. Also, like the upper limit capacity information 433, the upper limit of the capacity indicated by the upper limit capacity information 631 is greater than the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431. Like the upper limit number information 434, the upper limit of the number of printable sheets indicated by the upper limit number information 632 is greater than the number of printable sheets indicated by the printable number information 432.

[0165] Additionally, the main memory 62 may store, as the upper limit printing amount information, the upper limit roller number information and the upper limit dot count information described in embodiment 1. However, as in the case of the toner memory 42, the main memory 62 only needs to store at least one of the above-mentioned information as the upper limit printing amount information used when the controller 61 determines whether the toner memory 42 can be used continuously.

[0166] 9 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of toner cartridge information 420A stored in toner memory 42. Toner cartridge information 420A includes cumulative print volume information in addition to toner ID 421, color information 423, genuine product information 424, specification information 425, number of prints 426, number of development roller rotations 427, remaining toner amount 428, dot count 429, and print volume information. That is, toner cartridge information 420A differs from toner cartridge information 420 in that it includes cumulative print volume information instead of upper limit print volume information.

[0167] The cumulative print amount information is information that represents the cumulative print amount of the developing cartridge 4. The cumulative print amount information is information that represents the cumulative value of the print amount represented by print amount information previously stored in the toner memory 42, and its initial value is 0. The cumulative print amount information is, for example, cumulative capacity information 435 and cumulative page count information 436. The cumulative capacity information 435 is information that represents the cumulative value of the capacity represented by capacity information 431 that was previously stored in the toner memory 42. The cumulative page count information 436 is information that represents the cumulative value of the number of printable pages represented by printable page count information 432 that was previously stored in the toner memory 42.

[0168] Alternatively, the cumulative print amount information may be information that represents the cumulative value of the dot count as the print amount or the number of rotations of the developing roller. However, it is sufficient that the toner memory 42 stores at least one of the above-mentioned information as the cumulative print amount information that the controller 61 uses to determine whether the toner memory 42 can be used continuously.

[0169] In the description of the processing flow of the controller 61 to be described later, an example is given in which the print amount information is capacity information 431 and the upper limit print amount information is upper limit capacity information 631. That is, an example is given in which the cumulative print amount information is cumulative capacity information 435. As will be described later, in this embodiment, when the controller 61 determines that the toner memory 42 can be used continuously, the controller 61 updates the cumulative capacity information 435. Specifically, the controller 61 updates the cumulative capacity information 435 by rewriting the cumulative capacity information 435 to a capacity obtained by adding the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 and the cumulative capacity indicated by the cumulative capacity information 435.

[0170] The drum memory 22 may also store print volume information set as a product specification of the drum cartridge 20. In this case, the main body memory 62 may store upper limit print volume information, which is information permitted when printing using the drum memory 22 and indicates the upper limit of the printable capacity using the drum memory 22. The drum memory 22 may also store accumulated print volume information indicating the accumulated print volume of the drum cartridge 20.

[0171] As described in the first embodiment, the drum memory 22 may store printable sheet number information, dot count information, or drum rotation number information as examples of print amount information. In this case, the main body memory 62 only needs to store at least one of the upper limit sheet number information, upper limit dot count information, and upper limit drum rotation number information described in the first embodiment. The cumulative print amount information may be, for example, cumulative sheet number information representing the cumulative value of the printable sheet number as the print amount. Alternatively, the cumulative print amount information may be cumulative dot count information representing the cumulative value of the dot count as the print amount, or cumulative drum rotation number information representing the cumulative value of the drum rotation number as the print amount. The drum memory 22 only needs to store at least one of the cumulative sheet number information, cumulative dot count information, and cumulative drum rotation number information.

[0172] <Preliminary processing for recycling consumables> FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of another process required to recycle the developing cartridge 4.

[0173] As with FIG. 5, the following description will be given taking an example of recycling the developer cartridge 4. As will be described later, in the initialization process in step S50, the controller 61 changes the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 to the capacity selected by the user. That is, when the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 is changed, the controller 61 executes the processes of steps S41 to S49. Note that in the initialization process, initializing the toner memory 42 is merely an example. The controller 61 can also execute a process of initializing the drum memory 22 in accordance with a user instruction. As described above, the following description will be given taking an example where the print amount information is capacity information 431, the upper limit print amount information is upper limit capacity information 631, and the accumulated print amount information is accumulated capacity information 435.

[0174] In step S41, similar to step S1 in Fig. 5, the controller 61 displays a recycle selection screen on the display 65. In step S42, similar to step S2 in Fig. 5, the controller 61 determines whether the "Recycle" button has been selected on the recycle selection screen.

[0175] If the answer is YES in step S42, prior to step S43, the controller 61 reads out the accumulated capacity information 435 and capacity information 431 stored in the toner memory 42 and the upper limit capacity information 631 stored in the main body memory 62. Then, in step S43, the controller 61 updates the accumulated capacity by adding the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 to the accumulated capacity indicated by the accumulated capacity information 435.

[0176] Next, in step S44, the controller 61 executes a second calculation process to calculate a second capacity by subtracting the updated cumulative capacity calculated in step S43 from the upper limit of the capacity represented by the upper limit capacity information 631. The second capacity is an example of the second printing volume obtained by subtracting the volume obtained by adding the printing volume represented by the printing volume information and the cumulative printing volume represented by the cumulative printing volume information from the upper limit of the printing volume represented by the upper limit printing volume information.

[0177] In step S45, similar to step S4 in Fig. 5, the controller 61 displays a capacity selection screen on the display 65. Similar to step S4 in Fig. 5, when displaying the capacity selection screen, the controller 61 determines a capacity that the user can select as the capacity of the recycled developer cartridge 4 from among all capacities that can be set as capacity information 431, based on the second capacity calculated in step S44.

[0178] In this embodiment, the controller 61 determines the capacity equal to or less than the second capacity calculated in step S44 as the capacity that can be set as the capacity of the recycled developer cartridge 4. Then, the controller 61 displays the capacity equal to or less than the second capacity on the capacity selection screen as the capacity that the user can select as the capacity of the recycled developer cartridge 4.

[0179] For example, consider a case where the accumulated capacity indicated by the accumulated capacity information 435 indicates 0K as an initial value, and the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 is 25K. Note that, as in the first embodiment, the upper limit of the capacity indicated by the upper limit capacity information 631 is 40K. In this case, in step S43, the controller 61 updates the accumulated capacity to 25K by adding 0K and 25K. Next, in step S43, the controller 61 calculates the second capacity to be 15K by subtracting 25K, which is the updated accumulated capacity, from 40K. Then, the controller 61 determines the capacities indicated by "5K," "10K," and "15K," which are capacities of 15K or less, from the five capacity levels described above, as capacities selectable by the user as the capacity of the recycled developer cartridge 4. The controller 61 displays "5K," "10K," and "15K" as the capacities of the recycled developer cartridge 4 on the capacity selection screen. However, the controller 61 may display "20K" and "25K" on the capacity selection screen in addition to "5K", "10K", and "15K". In this case, the controller 61 does not accept the selection of "20K" and "25K".

[0180] In step S46, similar to step S5 in Fig. 5, the controller 61 determines whether the user has selected a capacity equal to or less than the second capacity via the capacity selection screen. If the controller 61 determines in step S46 that the user has selected a capacity equal to or less than the second capacity, the controller 61 proceeds from YES in step S46 to step S47. In step S47, similar to step S6 in Fig. 5, the controller 61 determines that the toner memory 42 can be used continuously.

[0181] On the other hand, if the controller 61 determines in step S5 that the user has not selected a capacity equal to or less than the second capacity via the capacity selection screen, the controller 61 proceeds from NO in step S46 to step S48. In step S48, similar to step 7 in FIG. 5, the controller 61 determines whether a cancel instruction has been received via the cancel instruction screen. If the controller 61 determines in step S48 that a cancel instruction has been received, the controller 61 proceeds from YES in step S48 to step S49. In step S49, similar to step S8 in FIG. 5, the controller 61 determines that the toner memory 42 cannot be continuously used. Then, the controller 61 ends the series of processes. On the other hand, if the controller 61 determines in step S48 that a cancel instruction has not been received, the controller 61 returns from NO in step S48 to step S45.

[0182] As described above, in steps S46 and S48, the controller 61 executes a determination process to determine whether the toner memory 42 can be used continuously even if the capacity information 431 is changed, based on the capacity information 431 and the upper limit capacity information 433. Therefore, similar to the first embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 can permit the toner memory 42 to be used continuously even if the capacity information 431 is changed, as long as the upper limit capacity is not exceeded.

[0183] In this embodiment, in step S45, the controller 61 displays the capacity calculated in step S44, which is equal to or less than the second capacity, on the capacity display screen. Then, if the controller 61 receives a selection instruction to select a capacity equal to or less than the second capacity in step S46, the controller 61 determines in step S47 that the toner memory 42 can be used continuously. In other words, if the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 to be changed is equal to or less than the second capacity, the controller 61 determines that the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 to be changed is within the allowable range for printing using the toner memory 42.

[0184] Furthermore, if the second capacity calculated in step S44 is equal to or greater than the minimum capacity that can be set as capacity information 431, the controller 61 displays a capacity equal to or less than the second capacity on the capacity display screen as a capacity within the allowable range that can be printed using the toner memory 42. In other words, if the second capacity is less than the minimum capacity, the controller 61 does not display it on the capacity display screen on the display 65, and executes the process of step S49.

[0185] As an example, if the second capacity is 15K and the minimum capacity that can be set as the capacity information 431 is 5K, the allowable range of printable capacity using the toner memory 42 is a capacity between 5K and 15K.

[0186] After step S47, in step S50, the controller 61 executes the initialization process similar to step S9 in Fig. 5. In step S51, the controller 61 determines whether or not an error was detected during the initialization process in step S50, similar to step S10 in Fig. 5. If no error is detected, the controller 61 determines that the initialization of the toner cartridge information 420A was successful, and proceeds from NO in step S51 to step S52.

[0187] In step S52, the controller 61 executes a second update process to update the accumulated capacity information 435 based on the capacity information 431 and the accumulated capacity information 435. In this embodiment, the controller 61 rewrites the accumulated capacity information 435 to an updated accumulated capacity obtained by adding the capacity indicated by the capacity information 431 and the accumulated capacity indicated by the accumulated capacity information 435 in step S43. As an example, if the capacity indicated by the accumulated capacity information 435 is 0K and the updated accumulated capacity is 25K, the controller 61 rewrites the accumulated capacity information 435 to 25K. Then, the controller 61 ends the series of processes.

[0188] In this embodiment, the main body memory 62 stores, as the upper limit capacity information 631, information representing a fixed threshold value that does not fluctuate with fluctuations in capacity. Therefore, in this embodiment, instead of the upper limit capacity information 631 representing the threshold value, the toner memory 42 stores accumulated capacity information 435, which is rewritten by the controller 61 when the capacity information 431 is changed. Then, as described above, the controller 61 calculates the second capacity by subtracting the capacity represented by the capacity information 431 and the accumulated capacity represented by the accumulated capacity information 435 from the upper limit of the capacity represented by the upper limit capacity information 631 as the threshold value. Therefore, even if the upper limit capacity information 631 is fixed information, the controller 61 can calculate, as the second capacity, a capacity equivalent to the first capacity in the first embodiment. Therefore, even if the upper limit capacity information 631 is fixed information, the controller 61 can determine a capacity that the user can select as the capacity of the recycled developer cartridge 4, as in the first embodiment.

[0189] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the main body memory 62 stores the upper limit capacity information 631. Therefore, unlike when the toner memory 42 stores the upper limit capacity information 433, the controller 61 can change the initial value of the upper limit capacity information 433 that was set during the manufacturing stage of the toner memory 42. Therefore, the controller 61 can flexibly change the initial value of the upper limit capacity information 433 based on, for example, the actual remaining amount of printing when the developing cartridge 4 is recycled.

[0190] In step S51, if an error is detected during the initialization process in step S50 described above, the controller 61 determines that the initialization of the toner cartridge information 420 has failed, and proceeds from YES in step S51 to step S53. In step S53, similar to step S12 in Fig. 5, the controller 61 displays an error screen on the display 65. After processing step S53, the controller 61 ends the series of processes.

[0191] As in the first embodiment, in step S45, the controller 61 may display all capacities that can be set as the capacity information 431 on the capacity selection screen as user-selectable capacities. As described above, if the controller 61 determines, for example, that the capacities indicated by “5K,” “10K,” and “15K” are user-selectable capacities, the controller 61 may display “20K” and “25K” in addition to “5K,” “10K,” and “15K.” If the controller 61 displays all capacities that can be set as the capacity information 431 on the capacity selection screen as user-selectable capacities, the controller 61 may execute the process shown in FIG. 7 instead of the process shown in FIG. 6 as the process of step S50 shown in FIG. 10. In the above example, the controller 61 accepts the selections of “5K,” “10K,” and “15K” and determines that the toner memory 42 can be continuously used. On the other hand, the controller 61 does not accept the selections of “20K” and “15K” and determines that the toner memory 42 cannot be continuously used. Furthermore, in step S46 of FIG. 10, if the controller 61 determines that the user has selected a capacity via the capacity selection screen, the controller 61 advances the process from YES in step S45 to step S50.

[0192] 7, the controller 61 determines whether the capacity selected by the user via the capacity selection screen is within the allowable range of capacity that can be printed using the toner memory 42. In this embodiment, if the controller 61 determines that the capacity selected by the user is equal to or greater than the minimum capacity and equal to or less than the second capacity, it determines that the capacity is within the allowable range that can be printed using the toner memory 42.

[0193] [Modification] (Variation 1) In the first and second embodiments, the control by the controller 61 provided in the image forming apparatus has been described. However, the control by the controller 61 may be realized by an IC chip provided in the developing cartridge 4. The IC chip is an example of a controller according to the present disclosure.

[0194] (Variation 2) The image forming apparatus 1 may be an inkjet printer. When the image forming apparatus 1 is an inkjet printer, ink cartridges are attached to the cartridge holding unit 13 of the image forming apparatus 1, instead of the drum cartridge 20 and developer cartridge 4 described in the first embodiment. The number of ink cartridges attached to the image forming apparatus 1 is not particularly limited. For example, the image forming apparatus 1 may be attached with a total of four ink cartridges, one for each of the four colors, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, or may be attached with only one ink cartridge, one for the color black.

[0195] An ink cartridge includes a cartridge housing filled with ink, which is the printing material, and an ink memory that stores ink cartridge information, such as the ink ID, capacity information, color information, genuineness information, specification information, number of prints, remaining ink amount, number of recycles, and upper limit capacity information or accumulated capacity information.

[0196] The ink ID is identification information for the ink cartridge, and is included in the ink cartridge information in place of the toner ID 421. The remaining ink amount is information indicating the amount of ink remaining in the ink cartridge, and is included in the ink cartridge information in place of the remaining toner amount 428. The capacity information, color information, genuineness information, specification information, number of prints, number of times recycled, upper limit capacity information, and cumulative capacity information are each information equivalent to the information of the same name in the toner cartridge information 420 or 420A. However, in the toner cartridge information 420 and 420A, "toner" is replaced with "ink," and "toner cartridge" is replaced with "ink cartridge."

[0197] Even when the image forming apparatus 1 is an inkjet printer, the flow of each process shown in the flowcharts described in the first and second embodiments is the same. Specifically, when the image forming apparatus 1 is an inkjet printer, the "developing cartridge 4," "toner memory 42," and "toner cartridge information 420" in the first embodiment can be read as "ink cartridge," "ink memory," and "ink cartridge information," respectively. Furthermore, each of the various pieces of information included in the toner cartridge information 420 or 420A can be read as the corresponding information in the ink cartridge information. Since the developing roller rotation count 427 is not included in the ink cartridge information, in this modified example, the image forming apparatus 1 may omit various processes related to the developing roller rotation count 427. The image forming apparatus 1 of this modified example achieves the same effects as the image forming apparatus 1 of the first or second embodiment.

[0198] (Variation 3) Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 1 may be an MFP (Multi Function Printer) that also has other functions such as a scanner or a facsimile. Even when the image forming apparatus 1 is an MFP, the image forming apparatus 1 may execute the various processes described in the first and second embodiments in the same manner as the image forming apparatus 1 of the first and second embodiments. The image forming apparatus 1 of this modification achieves the same effects as the image forming apparatus 1 of the first or second embodiment.

[0199] [Software implementation example] The functions of the image forming apparatus 1 can be realized by a program for causing a computer to function as the image forming apparatus 1, that is, a program for causing a computer to function as the controller 61 of the image forming apparatus 1.

[0200] In this case, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., a memory) as hardware for executing the program. The control device and storage device execute the program, thereby realizing the functions described in each of the above embodiments.

[0201] The program may be non-transitory and may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media. The recording media may or may not be included in the device. In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the device via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0202] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the controller 61 can be realized by a logic circuit. For example, an integrated circuit in which a logic circuit that functions as the controller 61 is formed is also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

[0203] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the controller 61 can be realized by a microprocessor built into an IC chip.

[0204] [Additional Notes] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0205] 1 image forming apparatus, 4 developing cartridge (consumable, cartridge), 10 main body housing, 20 drum cartridge (consumable, cartridge), 22 drum memory (consumable memory), 42 toner memory (consumable memory), 61 controller, 62 main body memory, 431 capacity information (print volume information), 432 printable number information (print volume information), 433, 631 upper limit capacity information (upper limit print volume information), 434, 632 upper limit number information (upper limit print volume information), 435 cumulative capacity information (cumulative print volume information), 436 cumulative number information (cumulative print volume information)

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, A main body housing; a consumable item that can be attached to the main body housing and has a consumable item memory; A controller; a main memory; the consumable memory stores print volume information indicating a print volume set as a product specification of the consumable; the consumable memory or the main body memory stores upper limit print amount information that is permitted when printing using the consumable memory and indicates an upper limit of the print amount that can be printed using the consumable memory; The controller When an instruction to recycle the consumables is received, a determination process is executed based on the print volume information and the upper limit print volume information to determine whether the consumables memory can be continuously used even if the print volume information is changed to print volume information selected by a user. Image forming device.

2. The upper limit of the print amount indicated by the upper limit print amount information is greater than the print amount indicated by the print amount information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

3. When the print amount indicated by the print amount information is changed, the controller executes the determination process.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

4. The controller executes a receiving process for receiving a selection instruction for a print amount to be set as the print amount information; When the selection instruction is received in the reception process, it is determined in the determination process that the consumable memory can be continuously used. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

5. The controller In the determination process, if the print volume indicated by the changed print volume information is within an allowable range for printing using the consumable memory, it is determined that the consumable memory can be continuously used. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

6. The controller executes a first calculation process to calculate a first printing amount by subtracting the printing amount indicated by the printing amount information from the upper limit of the printing amount indicated by the upper limit printing amount information; In the determination process, if the print volume indicated by the print volume information to be changed is equal to or less than the first print volume, it is determined that the print volume indicated by the print volume information to be changed is within the allowable range. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 .

7. the consumable memory stores cumulative print amount information representing a cumulative print amount of the consumable; The controller executes a second calculation process to calculate a second print amount by subtracting a print amount obtained by adding the print amount indicated by the print amount information and the accumulated print amount from the upper limit of the print amount indicated by the upper limit print amount information; In the determination process, if the print volume indicated by the print volume information to be changed is equal to or less than the second print volume, it is determined that the print volume indicated by the print volume information to be changed is within the allowable range. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 .

8. the consumables memory stores the upper limit print amount information; The controller When it is determined in the determination process that the consumable memory can be continuously used, a first update process is executed to update the upper limit print volume information based on the print volume information and the upper limit print volume information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

9. The controller executes a first calculation process to calculate a first printing amount by subtracting the printing amount indicated by the printing amount information from the upper limit of the printing amount indicated by the upper limit printing amount information; In the first update process, the upper limit print amount information is rewritten to the first print amount. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8 .

10. the consumable memory stores cumulative print amount information representing a cumulative print amount of the consumable; the main body memory stores the upper limit print amount information; the controller executes a second update process for updating the cumulative print amount information based on the print amount information and the cumulative print amount information; 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

11. In the second update process, the controller rewrites the accumulated print volume information to a print volume obtained by adding the print volume indicated by the print volume information and the accumulated print volume. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10.

12. The controller a receiving process for receiving an instruction to select a print amount to be set as the print amount information; and if it is determined in the determination process that the consumable memory can be continuously used, a rewrite process is executed to rewrite the print amount information to the print amount selected by the selection instruction. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

13. the consumable item is a cartridge containing printing material; The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

14. The printing amount is the volume of the printing material. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

15. A method for determining whether a consumable memory of a consumable attached to a main body housing of an image forming apparatus can be continuously used, comprising: and a determining step in which, when an instruction to recycle the consumable is received, the image forming device determines whether the consumable memory can be continuously used even if the printing volume information is changed to printing volume information selected by a user, based on printing volume information stored in the consumable memory and indicating the printing volume set as a product specification of the consumable, and upper limit printing volume information stored in the consumable memory or a main memory of the image forming device and allowed when printing using the consumable memory, the upper limit printing volume information indicating the upper limit of the printing volume that can be printed using the consumable memory. Judgment method.

16. The upper limit of the print amount indicated by the upper limit print amount information is greater than the print amount indicated by the print amount information. The determination method according to claim 15.

17. When the print amount indicated by the print amount information is changed, the image forming device executes the determination step. The determination method according to claim 15 or 16.

18. a receiving step of receiving, by the image forming apparatus, an instruction to select a print amount to be set as the print amount information; If the image forming apparatus accepts the selection instruction in the accepting step, the image forming apparatus judges in the determining step that the consumable memory can be continuously used. The determination method according to any one of claims 15 to 17.

19. In the determining step, if the print volume indicated by the changed print volume information is within an allowable range for printing using the consumable memory, the image forming device determines that the consumable memory can be continuously used. The determination method according to any one of claims 15 to 18.

20. a first calculation step in which the image forming apparatus calculates a first print amount by subtracting the print amount indicated by the print amount information from the upper limit of the print amount indicated by the upper limit print amount information; In the determination step, when the print volume indicated by the print volume information to be changed is equal to or less than the first print volume, the image forming device determines that the print volume indicated by the print volume information to be changed is within the allowable range. The determination method according to claim 19.

21. the consumable memory stores cumulative print amount information representing a cumulative print amount of the consumable; a second calculation step in which the image forming apparatus calculates a second print volume by subtracting a print volume obtained by adding the print volume indicated by the print volume information and the accumulated print volume from the upper limit of the print volume indicated by the upper limit print volume information; In the determination step, when the print volume indicated by the print volume information to be changed is equal to or less than the second print volume, the image forming device determines that the print volume indicated by the print volume information to be changed is within the allowable range. The determination method according to claim 19.

22. the consumables memory stores the upper limit print amount information; a first updating step of the image forming apparatus updating the upper limit print volume information based on the print volume information and the upper limit print volume information when it is determined in the determining step that the consumable memory can be continuously used; The determination method according to any one of claims 15 to 20.

23. a first calculation step in which the image forming apparatus calculates a first print amount by subtracting the print amount indicated by the print amount information from the upper limit of the print amount indicated by the upper limit print amount information; In the first updating step, the image forming apparatus rewrites the upper limit print amount information to the first print amount. The determination method according to claim 22.

24. the consumable memory stores cumulative print amount information representing a cumulative print amount of the consumable; the main body memory stores the upper limit print amount information; a second updating step of updating the cumulative print amount information by the image forming apparatus based on the print amount information and the cumulative print amount information; 22. The method of claim 15, wherein the first and second components are fused together.

25. In the second updating step, the image forming apparatus rewrites the accumulated print volume information to a print volume obtained by adding the print volume indicated by the print volume information and the accumulated print volume. The determination method according to claim 24.

26. a receiving step in which the image forming apparatus receives an instruction to select a print amount to be set as the print amount information; a rewriting step in which, when it is determined in the determining step that the consumable memory can be continuously used, the image forming apparatus rewrites the print amount information to the print amount selected by the selection instruction. The determination method according to any one of claims 15 to 25.

27. the consumable item is a cartridge containing printing material; The method of any one of claims 15 to 26.

28. The printing amount is the volume of the printing material. The method of any one of claims 15 to 27.

Images