JP2000190567A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the printing output of the data of residual life by utilizing the image forming means of an apparatus main body not only in an image forming apparatus having no large-sized display but also in an analogue type image forming apparatus. SOLUTION: In an image forming apparatus forming the latent image of a read manuscript on a photosensitive member and developing the same to form an image, a blank exposure unit 80 having a light emitting element array arranged in opposite to the surface of the photosensitive member is used to process the latent image of the graph region corresponding to solid black to perform the printing output of the residual life data of a principal part. Therefore, a means for successively altering and storing the data corresponding to the use quantity of the principal part and a control means are provided. The control means controls the lighting of a plurality of the light emitting elements of the light emitting element array on the basis of the data corresponding to the use quantity of the principal part when the residual life data of the principal part is outputted as a graph to imagewise form the residual life data of the principal part on recording paper as a graph.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus having a blank exposure device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional electrostatic copying machine, a serviceman manages a copy number counter to know when to replace consumable parts used in various parts of a main body. When it reaches or when the function is abnormal, the target part is replaced. For that purpose, it was necessary to record and save a counter value when a major consumable part was replaced.

In recent years, from the viewpoint of environmental protection and recycling, there has been a movement to disassemble and reuse a main body in order to use each main part as a part for a little longer time. However, since it is not possible to determine how long those parts have been used, there may be cases where even if there are no abnormalities in appearance and parts which can be reused, they cannot actually be reused.

[0004]

Therefore, it is conceivable to store the remaining lives of the main parts in the main body and display the remaining lives on a liquid crystal display of an operation panel or to print on recording paper.

However, a small display limits the amount of data that can be displayed simultaneously, and a large liquid crystal display is expensive.

On the other hand, in order to perform printing, a digital image forming apparatus capable of freely editing data must be used, and such printing cannot be performed with an analog type image forming apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus which does not have a large display or an analog type image forming apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of printing out information on the remaining life by using the means.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus for forming an image by forming a read latent image of a document on a photoreceptor and developing the latent image on the photoreceptor. A light emitting element array composed of a plurality of light emitting elements disposed opposite to the surface of the photoreceptor in a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the photoconductor, and sequentially updating information corresponding to the usage of main components of the image forming apparatus. Means for storing;
Control means for graphically outputting remaining life information of the main part based on information corresponding to the usage of the main part,
The control unit controls the lighting of the plurality of light emitting elements of the light emitting element array based on information corresponding to the usage amount of the main parts, thereby forming the remaining life information of the main parts as a graph on a recording paper. It is something to do.

With this configuration, even in an image forming apparatus having no large-sized display or in an analog type image forming apparatus, information on the remaining life can be printed out using the image forming means using the photosensitive member. Specifically, an original in which an area corresponding to the output area of the graph is solid-recorded is used as an original to be copied, and a charged area on the photoconductor corresponding to the solid recording area is a plurality of light-emitting element arrays. Is processed into a graph by the lighting control of the light emitting element.

Alternatively, the graph is a bar-shaped graph, and a document having a solid recording area corresponding to 100% of each bar-shaped portion is used as a document to be copied, and the charged area corresponding to each bar-shaped portion is illuminated. It is processed into a graph by controlling the lighting of a plurality of light emitting elements in the element array.

Preferably, the identifier of the main part and the scale of the graph are recorded outside the periphery of the graph output area of the document. Thus, the light-emitting element array does not perform the processing for the area on the photoconductor corresponding to the periphery of the graph output area, and the image of the identifier and the graduation of the graph is obtained by ordinary copying using the optical image of the original. The formation can take place.

In another embodiment, a graph output area on the photosensitive member is plotted by controlling the lighting of a plurality of light emitting elements of the light emitting element array by using recording paper in which an area corresponding to the graph output area is an unrecorded area. It is also possible to record the graph on the recording paper. In this case, the original to be copied is unnecessary. Also, if the identifier of the main part and the scale of the graph are recorded outside the periphery of the graph output area of the recording paper, the light emitting element array is located between the periphery of the graph output area and the periphery of the document. The processing does not need to be performed on the corresponding area on the photoconductor.

The graph is a bar graph, and it is considered that each bar-shaped portion of the bar graph extends in a direction orthogonal to the light emitting element array, and a configuration in which each bar extends in a direction parallel to the light emitting element array.

More specifically, the control means includes a first mode in which the light emitting element array is used for a normal image forming operation, and a remaining mode of the main component based on information corresponding to the usage of the main component. A second mode for graphically outputting the life information, and in the second mode, controlling the lighting of the plurality of light emitting elements of the light emitting element array based on information corresponding to the usage of the main component, A blank exposure device in an image forming apparatus is used as the light emitting element array.

In place of the light emitting element array, a combination of a light source and a slide shutter can be used.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. First, the configuration of the image forming apparatus will be described while explaining the general operation of the image forming apparatus.

When the user places a document on the document table 1 and presses a start button (not shown), the document exposure lamp on the document reading section 9 turns on and moves below the document to read the document. This light image is guided onto the photoreceptor 80 via an optical system,
A latent image is formed on the rotating photoconductor 80.

Prior to the formation of a latent image, the entire surface of the photoreceptor 80 is uniformly charged by a primary charger 81. In the present invention adopting the regular (positive) developing method, first, the photosensitive member 80 having the entire surface charged is first charged.
The blank exposure unit 18 adjusts the size of the recording paper
By selectively turning on the light emitting portion of the blank exposure unit 18 in order to prevent toner from adhering to the non-image area, an area corresponding to the outer peripheral portion of the recording paper on the surface of the photoreceptor is exposed to remove charges. As a result, the area is not developed with the toner. Next, the developing unit 83 performs development for attaching toner to the charged portion on the surface of the photoreceptor 80, and this portion is
Head to.

On the other hand, the recording paper is supplied from the cassette 13, and the toner image on the photosensitive member 80 is transferred by the transfer charger 82. The recording paper is transported by the transport unit 14 to the fixing device 19, where the toner image is fixed, and then discharged onto the paper discharge tray 70.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an arrangement relationship between the blank exposure unit 18 and the photosensitive member 80. As shown in FIG. 3, the blank exposure unit 18 includes a large number (n) of LEs.
The D element 22 is composed of an LED array in which the D elements 22 are linearly arranged. Each LED
The element 22 is housed in a harmonica-shaped light shielding wall.

As shown in FIG. 4A, when the LED element 22 is turned on, the charge on the surface of the photoreceptor irradiated with the light is removed, and the portion is not developed by the toner. Conversely, when the light is turned off, the charge on the surface of the photoconductor is not removed by the LED element 22. Therefore, this portion becomes black on the recording paper unless it is further exposed by the light image of the document.

As shown in FIG. 4B, consider a case where only one LED element 22 (a) is turned off. in this case,
Light from the LED elements 22 on both sides does not reach the corresponding area a. Therefore, the LED element 22
When (a) is turned off, electric charges remain in the area a.

FIG. 5 shows a hardware configuration for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 5, the life value storage register 31
Is a register for storing a known life value of each main component 34. Here, the life value is a fixed value of the usage amount that can be regarded as the life of the component, which is represented by the energization time, the number of image formations, and the number of times of ON / OFF defined for each main component 34. The usage amount storage register 32 is provided for each main component 34,
A register for updating and storing the changing usage amount.
In the present embodiment, the main components include a photoconductor, an exposure lamp, a fixing heater, various rollers, various clutches, various motors, various solenoids, and the like. What is used as the "consumption" depends on the main component. For example, the number of images formed on the photoreceptor, the energization time for the fixing heater and the motor, the number of ON / OFF operations for the clutch and the solenoid, etc. The service switch (service SW) 33 is a switch operated by a user (for example, a service person) to shift to the service mode according to the present invention. The blank exposure unit 18 is as described above. The MPU 37 controls each of the main components 34, and sequentially accumulates the used amount and manages the accumulated amount in the used amount storage register 32. The remaining life of each main component 34 is calculated based on the used amount and the life value of the life value storage register 31. The operation value buffer 35 is a register that stores the obtained operation value.
The reset SW 36 is a switch for resetting the used amount of the part in the used amount storage register to 0 when the part is replaced.

The switches 33 and 36 need not be actually mechanical switches, but may be operating means such as a menu. LED off time buffer 4
Reference numeral 1 denotes a buffer for storing data of the light-off time of the LED element corresponding to each main component.

Now, it is assumed that the serviceman operates the service SW 33 and the apparatus shifts to the service mode. In response, the MPU 37 determines, for each main component 34,
The corresponding life value and usage amount are read from the life value storage register 31 and the usage amount storage register 32, respectively,
The following operation is performed.

Xi = (consumption / life value) × 100 [%] (1) (where i = 1, 2, 3,..., N) You can see what percentage was used. Also, from the difference between the calculation result and 100%, it is possible to know what percentage of the remaining life (remaining life).
For example, if the calculation result obtained from the used amount of a certain main component for a predetermined life value is 30%, the component is used 30% of the predetermined life at that time, and the remaining life is 70%. There will be. As described above, the operation result is temporarily stored in the operation value buffer 35. Further, the LED extinguishing time corresponding to the calculation result is stored in the LED extinguishing time buffer 41. Predetermined addresses 1 to n are assigned to these registers and buffers for each component, such as, for example, address 1 for the photoconductor and address 2 for the exposure lamp.

The remaining life of each main component obtained in this manner is printed out on a recording sheet by using the image forming process of the present image forming apparatus as follows.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the remaining life of the main parts according to the present embodiment on the recording paper 38 by placing a solid black original on the original platen 1 and performing a predetermined operation with the service SW 33. This shows a printed state. In this example, each main component is assigned to every other LED element of the blank exposure unit 18. When each part of the surface of the photoreceptor 80, the entire surface of which is uniformly charged by the primary charger, passes under the blank exposure unit 18, the white part of the print output turns off the LED element 22 to erase the electric charge. Means that there is no printing on the recording paper 18, and the black part is
This means that the LED element 22 is turned off and the electric charge is left to print. That is, the LED elements 22 assigned to the respective main parts are turned off after turning off the light corresponding to the LED turning-off time data stored in the corresponding LED turning-off time buffer 41, and then turned on, thereby remaining life (%).
A solid black bar corresponding to the above is left. During this operation, the LED elements that are not assigned to the respective main components are constantly turned on.

In this example, each main part is assigned to every other LED element. However, the assignment of the LED elements can be arbitrarily performed according to the number of main parts. It is preferable that a blank portion exists between the bar-shaped portions of adjacent main parts of the bar graph for the sake of clarity. However, when the number of main parts is large, the blank portion can be eliminated. is there. Further, “solid black” means that a given area has been completely recorded in a predetermined manner, and the color is not particularly limited to black, but a low reflection color or light absorption color is sufficient. Further, the entire area does not need to be recorded uniformly, and may be, for example, a solid area such as hatching or hatching. Such a recording area is referred to as “solid recording” in this specification.

In the printed output as shown in FIG. 6, it is not known which rod portion corresponds to which component. Therefore,
In practice, it is preferable to use a document 39 as shown in FIG. The original 39 is not solid black on the entire surface, but a solid black region 79 is a graph region processed into a bar graph, and each component name is placed at a position corresponding to each bar-shaped portion at the root (left side of the solid black region 79 in the figure). In addition, a% scale is recorded on the side of the bar graph (the upper side of the solid black area 79 in the figure). When using this original, the blank exposure unit 18
Is the same as the conventional method on the outside of the periphery of the document, and the operation described with reference to FIG.

As a result, a normal image forming operation (copying) is performed outside the solid black area of the document, and as shown in FIG. 8, the name of the part ( Or some identifier), and a scale on the side of the bar graph.

Also, the original 39 as shown in FIG. 7 may be enlarged and copied at the time of outputting an image to have a desired size which is easy for a serviceman to see.
The original may be smaller in size (for example, A5 size or A6 size) than the size of the recording paper for actually outputting an image.

When a part is replaced with a new part, the data of the part in the usage amount storage register 32 (FIG. 5) must be returned to zero. For this purpose, the service mode is entered by the service SW 33, the component is designated, and then the data is reset to 0 by the reset SW 36.

Next, a second embodiment will be described.
In the first embodiment, the latent image is processed using the blank exposure unit 18 and the original to be copied. However, in the present embodiment, the exposure of the original is not performed. That is, even if the copy key is pressed, the original is not scanned. Instead of placing the document on the document table 1, a document 40 in which the names of main parts, the graph area, and the scale as shown in FIG. 9 are recorded is manually inserted from the tray 10 (FIG. 1) as recording paper. The blank exposure unit 18 completely removes the charge of the photoconductor 80 outside the graph area, and performs the same processing as described with reference to FIG. 6 inside the graph area. As a result, a print output equivalent to that shown in FIG. 8 is obtained.

FIG. 10 shows an original used in the third embodiment which is a modification of the first embodiment. This manuscript is a bar graph in which a bar portion (black) having a size of 100% is recorded in advance for each main part, together with the name and scale of each main part. This is used as a document, and as shown in FIG.
The LED elements corresponding to the respective bar-shaped portions are controlled so as to remove the electric charge in the portion corresponding to the used amount, similarly to the document of FIG. Other LED elements may be kept off.

In the first embodiment using the original shown in FIG. 7, the charge removal of the area on the photosensitive member corresponding to the original area other than the bar graph area is performed by the blank exposure unit 18. However, in the present embodiment, This is different from the first embodiment in that this is performed using an exposure image of a document. The print result according to the present embodiment is as shown in FIG. 12, and numerical values appear beside the graph of each item. Therefore, not only% of the remaining life but also a specific numerical value for each item can be used as a memory. .

Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. In all the embodiments described above, each bar portion of the bar graph extends in a direction orthogonal to the LED array of the blank exposure unit 18. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
It extends in parallel with the D array.

FIG. 14 shows a hardware configuration of the fourth embodiment. This configuration is almost the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 5, except that a lighting LED address buffer 42 is provided instead of the LED turning-off time buffer 41 of FIG. This is because, in the present embodiment, a variable number of LED elements are used for removing the electric charge on the surface of the photoconductor corresponding to the usage amount of the part for one bar portion of the bar graph.

In this embodiment, instead of the LED array, as shown in FIG. 15, light from a light source 151 such as a fuse lamp is controlled by opening and closing a slide shutter 152 driven by a motor 153. You may. This configuration is suitable for the fourth embodiment, but by providing a plurality of pairs of a light source and a slide shutter,
It is also possible to use it in the preceding embodiment.

Next, the operation of the MPU in each of the above embodiments will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When there is an instruction from the user (serviceman), whether the instruction is a normal copy (first mode),
Alternatively, it is determined whether the mode is the service mode (second mode) (S11). If it is a normal copy, the usage of each main component is accumulated and stored in the usage storage register 32 with the normal copying operation (S12). If it is not a normal copy, it is checked whether the service SW 33 has been turned on (S13). If the service SW 33 has not been turned on, the process returns to step S11. If the service SW 33 has been turned on,
The remaining life graph is printed out (S14). This detailed processing will be described later. Until the main body power is turned off (S15), the process returns to step S11 and repeats the above processing.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a detailed example of the processing in step S14 in FIG.
This corresponds to the second and third embodiments.

In this process, first, the usage amount and the life value of each main component are read from the usage amount storage register 32 and the life value storage register 31, respectively (S21, S2).
2). From these data, a remaining life calculation is performed for each main component based on the above-described equation (1) (S23). Xi thus obtained corresponds to the image erase (erase) amount. Next, based on these calculation results, the LED extinguishing time Ti is calculated for each main component (S24). These times Ti are temporarily stored in the LED extinguishing time buffer 41.

Thereafter, when the original is set on the original platen and the copy key is pressed (S25), time counting is started (S26). In response to the pressing of the copy key, the surface on the photoconductor 80 is uniformly charged by the primary charger. The time counted in step S26 is the time from the start of the copying operation to the point where 0% of the graph of the charged area reaches below the blank exposure unit 18. This time can be obtained in advance because the rotation speed of the photosensitive drum is known. When that time has elapsed (S27, Y), a predetermined LED element is controlled (S28). That is, for example, in the first and second embodiments, the LED elements corresponding to the gaps between the bars of the bar graph are turned on, and the others are turned off. Up to this point, when the component name is recorded as described above, the LED element is turned off in that area.
Although the FF is performed, the LED element may be turned on in other areas. The counting of the time is started again from the lapse of the time (S29). This is for comparing the count value with the LED extinguishing time Ti for each main component.

Thereafter, when the count value reaches one of Ti (S30), the LED corresponding to the i-th bar-shaped portion
The element is turned on (S31). This process is repeated for all Ti
Is repeated (S33, Y), and the present process ends. In the first and second embodiments, all the LEDs
The element is turned on when a portion corresponding to 100% of the graph area reaches below the blank exposure unit 18 (S3).
2).

The processing in steps S21 to S24 is as follows.
In step S12 of FIG. 16, the process may be executed each time the usage amount is updated.

In the embodiment in which a latent image of a document is formed,
The formation of the latent image is performed after the processing of FIG.

FIG. 18 is also a flowchart showing a detailed example of the process of step S14 in FIG. 16, which corresponds to the fourth embodiment.

First steps S31 to S33 of this process
Are the same as S21 to S23 in FIG. In the subsequent step, based on the result of the above equation (1), not the LED extinguishing time Ti, but the address of the LED element to be turned on (there may be a plurality) for each main component (S3).
4). These addresses are temporarily stored in the lighting LED address buffer 42.

The following steps S36 and S37 are the same as S26 and S27 in FIG.

Subsequently, in step S38, the lighting LED address corresponding to the bar portion of the first component is read.
Next, the LED element corresponding to the read address is turned on (S39). After the lighting of the LED element is continued for a predetermined time corresponding to the width of the rod-shaped portion (S40),
These LED elements are turned off (S41). Next, 2
The counting of the time until the latent image of the second bar reaches the blank exposure unit is started (S42). This time
It corresponds to the width of the space between the two rods. When this time is reached (S43), the lighting LED address corresponding to the next component is read (S44), and those LED elements are turned on.
Yes (S45). After this ON is continued for a predetermined time similarly to step S40 (S46), those LED elements are turned OFF (S47). When the processing of steps S42 to S47 is executed for all the rod-shaped portions (S48,
Y), this process ends.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.

For example, in the above example, the blank exposure unit 18 having a harmonica structure was used, but this may be a round type in which a smaller LED element is embedded.
Instead of the LED element, another light emitting element such as a plasma light emitting element may be used.

[0056]

According to the present invention, the life of each main part used in an analog image forming apparatus is visualized in an easy-to-understand graph, so that serviceability is improved and management of parts replacement time is managed. Extremely easy. In addition, since the remaining life of each component can be known even when disassembling and recycling the main body after the end of its life, it is easy to determine whether or not it can be reused.

[0057]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a blank exposure unit 1 of the image forming apparatus of FIG.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an arrangement relationship between a photoconductor 8 and a photoconductor 80.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a blank exposure unit 18 illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a photoconductor 8 of the blank exposure unit 18 shown in FIG.
FIG. 2A is a schematic side cross-sectional view (a) showing the relationship with 0, and FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which a graph representing a remaining life of a main component according to the first embodiment is printed on recording paper.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a document used in the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a printing result performed using the document of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a document used in a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a document used in a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a blank exposure unit and a bar graph in the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a print result according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a blank exposure unit and a bar graph according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration according to a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a modification of the fourth embodiment using a slide shutter.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an MPU according to each embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed example of a process of step S14 in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating another detailed example of the process of step S14 in FIG. 16;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Original platen, 8 ... Main body, 9 ... Original reading part, 13 ... Paper feed cassette, 14 ... Conveying part, 18 ... Blank exposure unit,
19: Fixing device, 22: LED element, 31: Life value storage register, 32: Usage amount storage register, 33: Service S
W, 34 each main part, 35 ... operation value buffer, 37 ...
MPU, 38: recording paper, 39, 40: graph document for serviceman, 41: LED off time buffer, 42: LED address buffer, 70: discharge tray, 81: primary charger, 82: transfer charger, 83: development vessel.

Claims (10)

[Claims] An image forming apparatus for forming an image by forming a read latent image of a document on a photosensitive member and developing the latent image, wherein the photosensitive member is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to a moving direction of the photosensitive member. A light emitting element array composed of a plurality of light emitting elements arranged opposite to the surface of the image forming device; a unit for sequentially updating and storing information corresponding to the usage of the main components of the image forming apparatus; Control means for graphically outputting remaining life information of the main part based on the corresponding information, wherein the control means controls the plurality of light emitting elements of the light emitting element array based on the information corresponding to the usage of the main part. An image forming apparatus that forms an image on recording paper as a graph of remaining life information of the main component by controlling lighting. 2. An original in which an area corresponding to the output area of the graph is solid-recorded is used as an original to be copied, and a charged area on the photoconductor corresponding to the solid recording area is used as a plurality of light emitting elements of the light emitting element array. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image is processed into a graph by controlling the lighting of the elements. 3. The graph is a bar graph, wherein a document having a solid recording area corresponding to 100% of each bar is used as a document to be copied, and a charged area corresponding to each bar is used as the light emitting area. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing is performed in a graph shape by controlling lighting of a plurality of light emitting elements of the element array. 4. An identifier of the main part and a scale of a graph are recorded outside a periphery of the graph output area of the document, and the light emitting element array is provided between the periphery of the graph output area and the periphery of the document. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processing is not performed on an area on the photoconductor corresponding to (b). 5. A graph output area on the photoconductor is processed into a graph by controlling lighting of a plurality of light emitting elements of the light emitting element array, using a recording paper having an area corresponding to the graph output area as an unrecorded area. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a graph is recorded on the recording paper. 6. An outer periphery of a graph output area of the recording paper, on which an identifier of the main part and a scale of a graph are recorded, and the light emitting element array corresponds to the periphery of the graph output area. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the processing is not performed on an upper region. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said graph is a bar graph, and each bar portion of said bar graph extends in a direction orthogonal to said light emitting element array. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the graph is a bar graph, and each bar-shaped portion of the bar graph extends in a direction parallel to the light emitting element array. 9. The control means displays a first mode in which the light emitting element array is used for a normal image forming operation and remaining life information of the main part based on information corresponding to a usage amount of the main part. A second mode for outputting, and in the second mode, controlling the lighting of the plurality of light emitting elements of the light emitting element array based on information corresponding to the amount of use of the main component; 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a blank exposure device in the image forming apparatus is used. 10. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a combination of a light source and a slide shutter is used in place of said light emitting element array.