Image forming apparatus mounted with replaceable unit, image forming system, and method of controlling image forming apparatus

• US 7,263,298 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2005
• Issued: 08/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Sakata, Yasushi, Kimura, Kiyoshi, Nagamine, Kiyoshi, Yokoe, Takeshi, Ono, Akinori, Toda, Tsuneo, Okabe, Haruhiko, Soga, Hiroh
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen; Sophia S.
• Application Number:
  US11/082,911
• Publication Number:
  US 20050254839A1
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• Field of Search: 399/12, 399/81, 399/82, 399/24, 399/27, 399/8, 399/9, 399/111, 347/19, 347/49, 347/86
• US Class Current: 399/12
• 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 15/556 for toner consumption, e.g. pixel counting, toner coverage detection or toner density measurement

Abstract

In the case of being mounted with any cartridge other than a genuine cartridge, which accommodates a toner other than a genuine toner, a user can select as an operation mode other than that corresponding to a genuine toner, through a UI device 18, making a correction to the consumption of a developer by combining conditions to be changed, such as increasing or decreasing the degree of a change (gradient) in a set value of the toner density with respect to the consumption of a developer (m1 or m2); increasing or decreasing a limit value (m1 or m2); varying an initial value (consumption=0) (m3); no making a change in a set value according to the consumption (m4); and no making a change in a set value according to the consumption, for example, by varying an initial value (m5)

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

an image forming apparatus main body,

at least one replaceable unit replaceably mounted in the image forming apparatus main body,

a discriminating unit that discriminates whether or not the replaceable unit is a genuine article,

an input unit for selecting any one of an operation mode corresponding to a replaceable unit which is a genuine article and other operation modes, different from the operation mode, corresponding to a replacement unit that is other than a genuine article, and

a control unit that performs control in an operation mode selected by the input unit that improves an image quality and/or an operational performance achieved with a replacement unit other than a genuine article.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the operation mode corresponding to the replaceable unit which is a genuine article is set as a default.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, the apparatus further comprising a display unit that performs display on the basis of discrimination results of the discriminating unit.

4. An image forming apparatus comprising:

an image forming apparatus main body,

at least one replaceable unit replaceably mounted in the image forming apparatus main body,

a detecting unit that detects that the replaceable unit has been replaced,

a discriminating unit that discriminates whether or not the replaceable unit is a genuine article, if the detecting unit detects that the replaceable unit has been replaced,

an input unit for selecting any one of an operation mode corresponding to a replaceable unit which is a genuine article and other operation modes, different from the operation mode, corresponding to a replacement unit that is other than a genuine article, and

a control unit that performs control in an operation mode selected by the input unit that improves an image quality and/or an operational performance achieved with a replacement unit other than a genuine article.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the input unit can select an operation mode even when the replacement of the replaceable unit is not detected by the detecting unit.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the discriminating unit discriminates whether or not the replaceable unit is a genuine article when the detecting unit detects that the replaceable unit has been replaced.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the discriminating unit discriminates whether or not the replaceable unit is a genuine article after the detecting unit detects that the replaceable unit has been replaced.

8. An image forming system comprising:

an image forming apparatus, and

a host apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus,

the image forming apparatus having;

an image forming apparatus main body,

at least one replaceable unit replaceably mounted in the image forming apparatus main body,

a discriminating unit that discriminates whether or not the replaceable unit is a genuine article, and

a control unit that performs control in an operation mode selected,

the host apparatus having

an input unit for selecting any one of an operation mode corresponding to a replaceable unit which is a genuine article and other operation modes different from the operation mode, corresponding to a replacement unit that is other than a genuine article,

wherein the control unit performs control in a selected operation mode corresponding to a replacement unit that is other than a genuine article to improve an image quality and/or an operational performance achieved with a replacement unit other than a genuine article.

9. A method of controlling an image forming apparatus in which at least one replaceable unit is mounted in an image forming apparatus main body, the method comprising:

discriminating whether or not the mounted replaceable unit is a genuine article,

waiting until a user selects an operating mode after performing display that urges the user to select an operation mode, corresponding to a replacement unit that is other than a genuine article, and

performing control in an operation mode corresponding to input by the user, if the user inputs the operation mode, that improves an image quality and/or an operational performance achieved with a replacement unit other than a genuine article.

10. A method of controlling an image forming apparatus in which at least one replaceable unit is mounted in an image forming apparatus main body, the method comprising:

discriminating whether or not the mounted replaceable unit is a genuine article,

waiting until a user selects an operating mode after performing display that urges the user to select an operation mode corresponding to a replacement unit that is other than a genuine article, if it is discriminated that the mounted replaceable unit is not genuine, and

performing control in an operation mode corresponding to input by the user, if the user inputs the operation mode, that improves an image quality and/or an operational performance achieved with a replacement unit other than a genuine article.

11. A method of controlling an image forming apparatus in which at least one replaceable unit is mounted in an image forming apparatus main body, the method comprising:

detecting that the replaceable unit has been mounted in the image forming apparatus main body,

discriminating whether or not the mounted replaceable unit is a genuine article,

waiting until a user selects an operating mode after performing display that urges the user to select an operation mode corresponding to a replacement unit that is other than a genuine article, and

performing control in an operation mode corresponding to input by the user, if the user inputs an operation mode corresponding to a replacement unit that is other than a genuine article, that improves an image quality and/or an operational performance achieved with a replacement unit other than a genuine article.

12. A method of controlling an image forming apparatus in which at least one replaceable unit is mounted in an image forming apparatus main body, the method comprising:

detecting that the replaceable unit has been mounted in the image forming apparatus main body,

discriminating whether or not the mounted replaceable unit is a genuine article,

waiting until a user selects an operating mode after performing display that urges the user to select an operation mode corresponding to a replacement unit that is other than a genuine article, if it is discriminated that the mounted replaceable unit is not a genuine article, and

performing control in an operation mode corresponding to input by the user, if the user inputs an operation mode corresponding to a replacement unit that is other than a genuine article, that improves an image quality and/or an operational performance achieved with a replacement unit other than a genuine article.