Image forming apparatus, and a cartridge having a developer container detachably mountable on such apparatus

• US 5,923,917 A
• Filed: 10/24/1996
• Issued: 07/13/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Sato, Hiroshi, Yamauchi, Kazumi, Sakurai, Kazushige
• Primary Examiner(s): Grimley, Arthur T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chen, Sophia S.
• Application Number:
  US08/736,128
• Time in Patent Office: 992 Days
• Field of Search: 399/24, 399/25, 399/27, 399/30, 399/389, 399/58, 399/59
• US Class Current: 399/27
• 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 15/556 for toner consumption, e.g. pixel counting, toner coverage detection or toner density measurement
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/1889 for auto-setting of process parameters, lifetime, usage
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/0888 Arrangements for detecting toner level or concentration in the developing device
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2221/1663 having lifetime indicators
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2221/1823 Cartridges having electronically readable memory
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2221/183 Process cartridge

Abstract

An image forming apparatus for forming image on a recording material includes a cartridge detachably mountable on the main body of the apparatus, which is provided with a developer container, a detector for detecting residual developer amounts in the developer container, and a memory for storing rewritable data, an access unit for accessing data on the memory, which writes data on consumed developer amounts to the memory after a detected residual amount of the residual amount detection detector arrives at a given value, and a display for indicating the absence of developer when data on consumed developer amounts arrives at a given value in the memory.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus for forming images on a recording material, comprising:

a cartridge detachably mountable on a main body of said apparatus, said cartridge being provided with a developer container;

means for detecting a residual developer amount in said developer container; and

memory means for storing rewritable data;

access means for writing data for a consumed developer amount in said memory means after the detected residual amount of said residual amount detection means arrives at a first given value; and

display means for indicating absence of the developer when the data for the consumed developer amount in said memory means arrives at a second given value.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said access means rewrites the data for the consumed developer amount for printing each time printing is executed after the detected residual amount of said means for detecting residual amount arrives at the first given value.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising correction means for correcting the data for the consumed developer amount to be written in said memory means in accordance with the size of a recording material.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data for the consumed developer amount is data on the number of printed recording materials.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said data for the consumed developer amount is data on exposure time.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising correction means for correcting the data for the consumed developer amount to be written in said memory means in accordance with the number of printed recording materials until the detected residual amount of said residual amount detection means reaches the first given value.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data for the consumed developer amount is data on a number of printed dots.

8. A cartridge detachably mountable on an image forming apparatus, comprising:

a developer container;

means for detecting a residual developer amount in said container; and

memory means for storing a consumed developer amount data after a residual developer amount arrives at a given value.

9. The cartridge according to claim 8, wherein the data for the consumed developer amount data is data on the number of printed sheets.

10. The cartridge according to claim 8, wherein the data for the consumed developer amount data is data on exposure time.

11. The cartridge according to claim 8, further comprising a development roller to carry a developer.

12. The cartridge according to claims 11, further comprising a photosensitive element.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the data for the consumed developer amount is data on a number of printed dots.

14. The image forming apparatus for forming images on a recording material, comprising:

a cartridge detachably mountable on a main body of said apparatus, said cartridge being provided with a developer container, and a memory for storing rewritable data;

a comparing circuit for comparing data of a residual amount of a developer obtained from said cartridge and a first predetermined data;

writing means for writing a data relating to a consumed developer amount in said memory after the data of the residual amount reaches the first predetermined data.

15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the data for the consumed developer amount is data on the number of printed recording materials.

16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the data for the consumed developer amount is data on exposure time.

17. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the data for the consumed developer amount is data on a number of printed dots.