Identification and monitoring of image forming process units

• US 4,851,875 A
• Filed: 10/19/1988
• Issued: 07/25/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanimoto, Yasufumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Prescott, A. C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pipala, Ed
• Application Number:
  US07/259,420
• Time in Patent Office: 279 Days
• Field of Search: 355/14 C, 355/14 CU, 355/3 SH, 355/3 DR, 355/14 R, 355/14 SH, 355/3 DD, 365/22, 365/72, 365/78, 365/103, 365/175, 365/243, 377/15, 377/55, 377/56, 377/110, 377/111, 340/825.34, 235/435, 235/441, 235/492, 307/317 R
• US Class Current: 399/24
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/55 Self-diagnostics; Malfunction or lifetime display
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/553 Monitoring or warning means for exhaustion or lifetime end of consumables, e.g. indication of insufficient copy sheet quantity for a job
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/1875 provided with identifying means or means for storing process- or use parameters, e.g. lifetime of the cartridge
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2221/1663 having lifetime indicators
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2221/183 Process cartridge

Abstract

An image forming apparatus including a main body and a processing unit detachably mounted in the main body. The processing unit includes at least one of an image bearing member and developing device. The number of image forming repetitions of the processing unit are counted by a counter in the main body. When the counted number for the processing unit reaches a reference value representing the effective life of the processing unit, an alarm device actuates to notify the user that the effective life of the processing unit has been reached.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

a main body;

at least two types of processing units to be used for image forming operations, said processing units comprising a first unit having a first prescribed effective life and a second unit having a second prescribed effective life different from that of said first unit, both units being detachably mounted in said main body, each of said processing units including an identity indicating means for representing an identity of each of said processing units;

detecting means for detecting the identity of each of said processing units and producing an identity code corresponding to each of said processing units; and

storage means associated with each of said processing units for separately storing the number of image forming operations conducted by each of said processing units.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising control means responsive to the detecting means for simultaneously storing counts of the number of image forming operations conducted by each type of said detachably mounted processing unit in said storage means.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said identity indication means comprises a manufacturing serial number for uniquely identifying each of said processing unit.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising at least one mounting unit including a guide frame mounted to said main body for slidable movement between a first position in which said guide frame is in said main body and a second position in which said guide frame is outside of said main body, said two types of processing units being detachably mounted to said guide frame.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first type of processing unit comprises a developing device and said second type of processing unit comprises a photosensitive body.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising at least one mounting unit including a guide frame mounted to said main body for slidable movement between a first position in which said guide frame is in said main body and a second position in which said guide frame is outside of said main body, said developing device and photosensitive body being detachably mounted to said guide frame.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said storage means includes a plurality of shift registers.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein each of said shift registers corresponds to one memory area for separately storing the number of image forming operations of one of said processing units.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said identity indicating means includes a first electrical connector comprising plural conductors, and said detecting means includes a second electrical connector comprising plural conductors, said first and second connectors being connected to each other when said processing units are mounted in said main body, said detecting means also includes means for sequentially actuating conductors of said second electrical connector.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said identity indicating means include a diode circuit connected to said first electrical connector, said diode circuit including plural diodes selectively connected in parallel.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said actuating means of said detecting means includes a switching circuit connected to said second electrical connector, said switching circuit for sequentially actuating conductors of said second electrical connector and said diode circuit when said first and second electrical connectors are connected to each other.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising

first memory means for storing first values representative of the number of image forming repetitions corresponding to the first prescribed effective life of said first type of processing unit and for storing values representative of the number of image forming repetition corresponding to the second prescribed effective life of said second type of processing unit;

second memory means for storing the identity code of each of said processing units produced by said detecting means; and

comparing means for comparing the number of image forming repetitions of each of said processing units stored in said storage means with the corresponding first or second values stored in said first memory means.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said second memory means includes a nonvolatile memory device.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said nonvolatile memory device comprises an identity code storage portion including a plurality of memory areas for storing identity codes produced by said detecting means.

15. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said comparing means include means for generating a coincidence signal when the first or second values representative of the number of image forming repetitions corresponding to the different prescribed effective lives of each type of said processing unit in the apparatus equals the corresponding number stored in said storage means for each processing unit.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 further comprising alarm means operatively connected to said comparing means and responsive to the coincidence signal for indicating when each of said processing units in the apparatus has reached the corresponding value of image forming repetitions corresponding to each of the first and second prescribed effective lives.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 also including halt means responsive to the coincidence signal for preventing further operation of said processing units in the apparatus.