JP2026011060A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

To appropriately manage consumable parts according to the consumption rate of consumable materials of the consumable parts.
[Solution] The image forming device 10 includes an ink cartridge 16 that supplies ink, and a control unit 29 that acquires the remaining ink amount ZR and expiration date SK in the ink cartridge 16, determines a granularity X related to the time until the ink expiration date SK based on the remaining ink amount ZR and expiration date SK, and determines the ink consumption status until the expiration date SK based on the granularity X related to time.
[Selected Figure] Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to image forming devices that consume consumables such as toner and ink, and in particular to technology for determining the consumption status of consumables.

Image forming devices include electrophotographic systems, which apply toner to recording paper to form an image on the recording paper, and inkjet systems, which eject ink onto the recording paper to form an image on the recording paper. Electrophotographic systems use a toner container that holds toner, and the toner container is replaced when the toner in the toner container runs out. Inkjet systems use ink cartridges that hold ink, and the ink cartridge is replaced when the ink in the ink cartridge runs out.

The print recording system described in Patent Document 1 comprises at least one print recording device that prints on a print target, and a server connected to the print recording device so that they can communicate with each other. The server calculates the current consumption time of the consumables based on the operating environment data of the print recording device and the operating time of the consumables. The server compares the calculated current consumption time with the set effective time to obtain a comparison result, manages the consumables based on this comparison result, and if the current consumption time has reached or is approaching the set effective time, displays on a display device that the consumable should be replaced. This allows for appropriate management of consumables used in the print recording device.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-109361

In Patent Document 1, the current consumption time of the consumable is calculated. The server compares this calculated current consumption time with the set valid time to obtain the comparison result, and manages the consumables based on this comparison result. Therefore, it can be said that consumables are managed on an hourly basis.

However, depending on the remaining amount of consumables or the pace at which consumables are consumed, managing consumables on an hourly basis can be inaccurate, making consumable management cumbersome.

The present invention was developed in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to make it possible to effectively utilize consumable parts according to the rate at which the consumable materials in those parts are consumed.

An image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a consumable part that supplies consumables, and a control unit that acquires the remaining amount and expiration date of the consumables in the consumable part, determines the granularity of the time remaining until the expiration date of the consumables based on the remaining amount and expiration date of the consumables, and determines the consumption status of the consumables up to the expiration date based on the granularity of time.

This invention makes it possible to effectively utilize consumable parts according to the rate at which the consumable materials in the consumable parts are consumed.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a main internal configuration of an image forming apparatus; 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for automatically setting the granularity relating to the time until the expiration date of ink, or for allowing a user to arbitrarily set the granularity relating to the time until the expiration date of ink. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a selection screen for setting a time granularity displayed on a display unit of the image forming apparatus; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a custom setting screen for time granularity displayed on a display unit of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a selection setting screen for time granularity displayed on a display unit of the image forming apparatus. 10 is a flowchart showing a process for automatically setting a granularity related to time, and a process for determining the ink consumption status up to the expiration date based on the granularity related to time. 10A and 10B are diagrams used to explain a modified example of determining the ink consumption status. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First Embodiment

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 1, image forming apparatus 10 is an MFP (multi-function peripheral) that combines multiple functions such as copying and scanning. This image forming apparatus 10 includes an image reading unit 11 and an image forming unit 12.

The image reading unit 11 has an imaging element, such as a contact image sensor (CIS), that optically reads the image of the original M, and image data representing the image of the original M is output from this CIS.

The image forming unit 12 inputs image data representing an image of the original M and forms the image of the original M represented by the image data on recording paper P using an inkjet system. The image forming unit 12 has ink cartridges 16 containing four colors of ink (black, cyan, magenta, and yellow), and line heads (an example of an ink head) 15 that receive the ink of each color from the ink cartridges 16 and eject ink droplets of that color. Each line head 15 ejects ink droplets of that color onto recording paper P that has been transported from the paper feed unit 14 to the transport unit 4 via the first transport path 3, forming a color image on the recording paper P.

The transport unit 4 includes a drive roller 8, a driven roller 9, a tension roller 5, and a transport belt 6. The transport belt 6 is an endless belt that is stretched across the drive roller 8, the driven roller 9, and the tension roller 5. The drive roller 8 is a roller that is driven to rotate counterclockwise by a motor (not shown). When the drive roller 8 is driven to rotate, the transport belt 6 moves in a counterclockwise direction, and the driven roller 9 and the tension roller 5 are driven to rotate counterclockwise.

The tension roller 5 is a roller that maintains appropriate tension on the conveyor belt 6. The attraction roller 7 is in contact with the conveyor belt 6 and charges the conveyor belt 6, thereby electrostatically attracting the recording paper P fed from the paper feed unit 14 to the conveyor belt 6.

After the image of the original is formed on the recording paper P by the image forming unit 12, the recording paper P passes through the transport path 18 and is discharged onto the discharge tray 17 via the transport rollers 19.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the image forming device 10. As shown in Figure 2, the image forming device 10 includes an image reading unit 11, an image forming unit 12, a paper feed unit 14, an operation unit 21, a display unit 22, a touch panel 24, RFID (radio frequency identification) readers 25, a memory unit 26, and a control unit 28. These components are capable of sending and receiving data or signals to and from each other via a bus.

The operation unit 21 is equipped with physical keys such as a numeric keypad, a decision key, and a start key. The user inputs various instructions into the operation unit 21 in response to the operation of these keys. The display unit 22 is composed of a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, etc.

A touch panel 24 is arranged on the screen of the display unit 22. The touch panel 24 is a so-called resistive or capacitive touch panel, which detects contact (touch) with the touch panel 24 by a user's finger or the like, along with the contact position, and outputs a detection signal indicating the coordinates of the contact position to the control unit 29 of the control unit 28.

Each RFID reader 25 is provided at the installation location of each ink cartridge 16 and reads the ink cartridge 16 information TD from the RFID tag (not shown) of each ink cartridge 16. Each ink cartridge 16 is provided with an RFID tag, and the ink cartridge 16 information TD is stored on this RFID tag. The ink cartridge 16 information TD indicates the remaining ink amount ZR, the ink expiration date SK, etc.

The storage unit 26 is a large-capacity storage device such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) or HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and stores various application programs and data.

The control unit 28 is composed of a processor, RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ASIC, or MPU (Micro Processing Unit). The control unit 28 functions as a control unit 29 when a control program stored in the ROM or memory unit 26 is executed by the processor.

The control unit 29 provides overall control of the image forming device 10. The control unit 29 is connected to the image reading unit 11, image forming unit 12, operation unit 21, display unit 22, touch panel 24, each RFID reader 25, memory unit 26, and paper feed unit 14, and controls the operation of these components and sends and receives signals and data between them.

The control unit 29 serves as a processing unit that executes various processes necessary for image formation by the image forming device 10. The control unit 29 also accepts operation instructions input by the user based on detection signals output from the touch panel 24 or operation of the physical keys on the operation unit 21. For example, the control unit 29 accepts the above instructions in response to touch operations on a GUI (Graphical User Interface) displayed on the screen of the display unit 22 via the touch panel 24. Furthermore, the control unit 29 has the function of controlling the display operation of the display unit 22.

The control unit 29 also controls each ink head 15, which ejects ink droplets of each color based on image data, and measures the amount of ink ejected from each ink head 15 to calculate the amount of ink consumed when forming a color image on recording paper. Then, for each ink cartridge 16 containing ink of each color, the control unit 29 has the RFID reader 25 read the ink cartridge 16 information TD from the RFID tag of the ink cartridge 16, subtract the amount of ink consumed from the remaining ink amount ZR indicated by the information TD, calculate the remaining ink amount ZR at that point in time (the point in time when the ink consumption amount was calculated; this point in time is referred to as the present), and has the RFID reader 25 write the calculated current remaining ink amount ZR to the RFID tag of the ink cartridge 16, updating the RFID tag information TD.

When an ink cartridge 16 is unused, it is full of ink, and the information TD stored in its RFID tag indicates the amount of ink remaining when full. When use of an ink cartridge 16 begins, as described above, the control unit 29 causes the RFID reader 25 to read the information TD from the RFID tag of each ink cartridge 16, subtracts the amount of ink consumed from the remaining ink amount ZR indicated by the ink information TD, calculates the remaining ink amount ZR at that point in time (the point in time when the ink consumption amount is calculated; this point in time is referred to as the present), and causes the RFID reader 25 to write the calculated current remaining ink amount ZR to the RFID tag of the ink cartridge 16. As a result, the RFID tag of each ink cartridge 16 stores ink information TD indicating the current remaining ink amount ZR of the respective ink cartridge 16.

The control unit 29 also causes the RFID reader 25 to read the ink information TD from the RFID tag of each ink cartridge 16, and automatically sets the granularity X indicating the time until the ink expiration date SK based on the remaining ink amount ZR and the ink expiration date SK indicated by the ink information TD, or allows the user to arbitrarily set the granularity X related to the time until the ink expiration date SK. The control unit 29 also determines the ink consumption status until the expiration date SK based on the time-related granularity X, and displays this determined ink consumption status on the display unit 22. Here, "granularity" refers to the unit of time from the expiration date until when the control unit 29 displays a warning on the display unit 22 indicating that the expiration date is approaching. For example, if the granularity is one day, the control unit 29 displays the warning when there is one day left until the expiration date. Alternatively, if the particle size is 15 days, the control unit 29 will display the warning when there are 15 days left until the expiration date, or if the particle size is 1 month, when there is 1 month left until the expiration date.

By checking the ink consumption status displayed on the display unit 22, the user can increase the frequency of use of the image forming device 10, thereby using up as much ink as possible before the expiration date SK.

Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the processing steps for automatically setting the granularity X related to the time until the ink expiration date SK, or for allowing the user to arbitrarily set the granularity X related to the time until the ink expiration date SK.

The user operates the GUI displayed on the screen of the display unit 22 to input an instruction to the operation unit 21 to select a setting mode for granularity X related to time. When an instruction to select a setting mode for granularity X related to time is input to the operation unit 21 via the touch panel 24 for the GUI, the control unit 29 causes the display unit 22 to display a selection screen G1 for setting the method for granularity X related to time, such as the example shown in FIG. 4 (S101).

The setting method selection screen G1 shown in Figure 4 displays a button B11 associated with automatic setting of time granularity X, a button B12 associated with custom setting of time granularity X, and a button B13 associated with selective setting of time granularity X.

For example, when the user touches button B12, the control unit 29 receives an instruction via the touch panel 24 to set the granularity X associated with button B12 as a custom setting (S102 "Custom"). At this time, the control unit 29 displays a custom setting screen G2 as shown in FIG. 5 on the display unit 22 (S103). The operation unit 21 and the touch panel 24 are both examples of an operation unit within the scope of the claims.

The custom settings screen G2 shown in Figure 5 displays a text box TX11 for displaying the number of months entered, a text box TX12 for displaying the number of days entered, and a button B21 for accepting an instruction to save the entered content.

For example, when the user touches text box TX11, the control unit 29 receives an instruction via the touch panel 24 to display a pull-down menu showing multiple months (1, 2, 3, ...) based on this touch operation, and displays the pull-down menu on the custom setting screen G2 in accordance with this instruction. When the user operates one of the months displayed in the pull-down menu, the control unit 29 receives a selection instruction via the touch panel 24 to select the number of months displayed in the operated section. The control unit 29 sets the number of months indicated by the selection instruction as the time granularity X (S104).

Alternatively, when the user touches the text box TX12, the control unit 29 receives an instruction via the touch panel 24 to display a pull-down menu showing multiple days (1, 2, 3, ...) based on the touch operation, and displays the pull-down menu on the custom setting screen G2 in accordance with the instruction. When the user operates one of the number-of-days display sections shown in the pull-down menu, the control unit 29 receives a selection instruction via the touch panel 24 to select the number of days displayed in the operated section. The control unit 29 sets the number of days indicated by the selection instruction as the time granularity X (S104).

Furthermore, if the control unit 29 receives a save instruction associated with button B21 via the touch panel 24 (S105 "Yes"), it stores the granularity X related to the time set in S104 in the memory unit 26 (S106). Furthermore, if the control unit 29 does not receive the save instruction (S105 "No"), it does not store the granularity X related to the time set in S104 in the memory unit 26.

Furthermore, when the control unit 29 receives an instruction associated with button B13 on the setting method selection screen G1 shown in FIG. 4 in response to a user operation (S102 "Select"), it causes the display unit 22 to display a time-related granularity X selection setting screen G3, as shown in the example of FIG. 6 (S107).

The selection setting screen G3 shown in Figure 6 displays buttons B31, B32, and B33 corresponding to the 1st, 15th, and 1 month, respectively.

The user touches one of the buttons B31, B32, or B33 to select either 1 day, 15 days, or 1 month.

When the control unit 29 receives an instruction associated with one of buttons B31, B32, or B33 via the touch panel 24, it sets the time granularity X to one of 1 day, 15 days, or 1 month indicated by the received instruction (S108).

Furthermore, when the control unit 29 receives an instruction associated with button B11 on the setting method selection screen G1 shown in FIG. 4 in response to a user operation (S102 "Automatic"), the control unit 29 sets the device to perform processing to automatically determine the time granularity X (S109).

Next, the process of automatically setting the time-related granularity X in S109 of FIG. 3 and the process procedure for determining the ink consumption status up to the expiration date SK based on the time-related granularity X will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7.

The control unit 29 determines whether the time-related granularity X has been automatically set (S201). If the control unit 29 determines that the time-related granularity X has not been automatically set (S201 "No"), it temporarily sets the time-related granularity X to 1 day (S202), and for each ink cartridge 16 of each color, causes the RFID reader 25 to read the ink cartridge 16 information TD from the RFID tag of the ink cartridge 16, and obtains the remaining ink amount ZR indicated by the information TD (S203).

As described above, when forming a color image on recording paper, the control unit 29 measures the amount of ink ejected from each ink head 15 and calculates the amount of ink consumed. It also has the RFID reader 25 read the ink cartridge 16 information TD from the RFID tag of the ink cartridge 16, subtracts the amount of ink consumed from the remaining ink amount ZR indicated by the information TD, calculates the current remaining ink amount ZR, and has the RFID reader 25 write the calculated current remaining ink amount ZR to the RFID tag of the ink cartridge 16, updating the RFID tag information TD.

After one day has passed since S203 was performed, the control unit 29 causes the RFID reader 25 to read the ink cartridge 16 information TD from the RFID tag of the ink cartridge 16 for each color, and obtains the remaining ink amount ZR and ink expiration date SK indicated by the information TD (S204).

For each color ink cartridge 16, the control unit 29 calculates the difference by subtracting the current remaining ink amount ZR obtained in S204 from the previous remaining ink amount ZR obtained in S203, and obtains this difference as the daily ink consumption amount DR (S205).

For each color of ink cartridge 16, the control unit 29 divides the remaining ink amount ZR obtained in S204 by the daily ink consumption amount DR obtained in S205 to calculate the remaining consumption period ST until all the ink in the ink cartridge 16 is consumed (S206).

The control unit 29 calculates the validity period YT from the current date and time until the ink expiration date SK obtained in S204 for each color ink cartridge 16 (S207), and then subtracts the remaining consumption period ST calculated in S206 from the validity period YT to calculate the difference (YT - ST) (S208).

The control unit 29 determines whether the difference (YT - ST) is 0 or greater for each ink cartridge 16 of each color (S209). If the difference (YT - ST) is 0 or greater (S209 "Yes"), it assumes that all of the ink in the ink cartridge 16 will be consumed by the end of the valid period YT, and sets the difference (YT - ST) as the time-related granularity X (S210).

Furthermore, if the difference (YT - ST) is not greater than 0 and is negative for each ink cartridge 16 of each color (S209 "No"), the control unit 29 will display a message on the screen of the display unit 22 encouraging the user to use the image forming device 10 more frequently, for example, since not all of the ink in the ink cartridge 16 will be consumed before the expiration of the validity period YT (S211). At this time, the control unit 29 sets the granularity X to 1 day (S212). With this setting, the control unit 29 will cause the display unit 22 to display a warning indicating that the expiration date is approaching, etc., when the remaining consumption period ST becomes 1 day.

Furthermore, if the control unit 29 determines that the time-related granularity X has been automatically set (S201 "Yes"), that is, if the time-related granularity X has already been automatically set in S210, it causes the RFID reader 25 to read the ink cartridge 16 information TD from the RFID tag of the ink cartridge 16 for each color, and obtains the remaining ink amount ZR and ink expiration date SK at this point in time (currently) indicated by the information TD (S213), and divides the remaining ink amount ZR obtained in S213 by the daily ink consumption amount DR calculated in S205 to calculate the remaining consumption period ST until all the ink in the ink cartridge 16 is consumed (S214).

The control unit 29 calculates the validity period YT from the current date and time until the ink expiration date SK obtained in S213 for each color ink cartridge 16 (S215), and then subtracts the remaining consumption period ST calculated in S214 from the validity period YT to calculate the difference (YT - ST) (S216).

The control unit 29 determines whether the difference (YT - ST) is 0 or greater for each ink cartridge 16 of each color (S217). If the difference (YT - ST) is 0 or greater (S217 "Yes"), it assumes that all of the ink in the ink cartridge 16 will be consumed by the end of the valid period YT, and sets the difference (YT - ST) as the time-related granularity X (S218).

In this case, the period from the expiration date SK back to this point (present) becomes the value of the granularity X (= difference (YT-ST)), so at this point the control unit 29 will cause the display unit 22 to display a warning indicating that the expiration date is approaching (here, a warning informing users that there are X days (X = granularity) until the expiration date).

Furthermore, if the difference (YT - ST) is not greater than 0 and is negative for each ink cartridge 16 of each color (S217 "No"), the control unit 29 will display a message on the screen of the display unit 22 encouraging the user to use the image forming device 10 more frequently, for example, since not all of the ink in the ink cartridge 16 will be consumed before the expiration of the validity period YT (S219). At this time, the control unit 29 sets the granularity X to 1 day (S220). With this setting, the control unit 29 will cause the display unit 22 to display a warning indicating that the expiration date is approaching, etc., when the remaining consumption period ST becomes 1 day.

When the time-related granularity X is automatically set in this manner, the control unit 29 subtracts the current remaining ink amount ZR from the previous remaining ink amount ZR to calculate the daily ink consumption amount DR, and then divides the current remaining ink amount ZR by the daily ink consumption amount DR to calculate the remaining consumption period ST until all the ink in the ink cartridge 16 is consumed. The control unit 29 then calculates the validity period YT until the ink expiration date SK, subtracts the remaining consumption period ST from the validity period YT, and calculates the difference (YT-ST). If this difference (YT-ST) is negative and not greater than zero, the time-related granularity X is set to 1 day. In this case, it is assumed that not all of the ink in the ink cartridge 16 will be consumed by the end of the validity period YT. Therefore, the control unit 29 displays a message on the screen of the display unit 22 encouraging the user to use the image forming device 10 more frequently. This encourages effective use of the ink in the ink cartridge 16 and allows for accurate management of the ink cartridge according to the ink consumption rate.

Even if the time-related granularity X is set by the user in S104 or S108 shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 29 may, for example, have the RFID reader 25 read the ink cartridge 16 information TD from the RFID tag of the ink cartridge 16 for each ink cartridge 16, obtain the ink expiration date SK indicated by the information TD, calculate the validity period YT from the current date and time until the ink expiration date SK, compare the validity period YT with the time-related granularity X set in S104 or S108, and, if the validity period YT is shorter than the time-related granularity X ((YT-X)≧0), display a message on the screen of the display unit 22 encouraging the user to use the image forming device 10 more frequently.

<Modification 1>
In Modification 1, in the case of an image forming device 10 having a mechanism for simultaneously using multiple ink cartridges 16 containing ink of the same color, the expiration date SK of the ink in each ink cartridge 16 is determined individually, and when at least two ink cartridges 16 with overlapping ink expiration dates SK are loaded, these ink cartridges 16 are collectively managed. Also, in Modification 1, among the ink cartridges 16, ink cartridges 16 with ink expiration dates SK that do not overlap with other ink cartridges 16 are managed individually.

For example, as shown in Figure 8, two of the four ink cartridges 16A, 16B, 16C, and 16D containing ink of the same color are arbitrarily selected and used simultaneously.

Here, the ink expiration dates SK of the two ink cartridges 16A and 16B are March 8th to April 1st, the ink expiration date SK of ink cartridge 16C is April 7th to May 1st, and the ink expiration date SK of ink cartridge 16D is March 23rd to April 16th. In variant 1, the expiration dates SK are indicated as a fixed period consisting of multiple days.

Assume that the current date and time is February 26th. In this case, for the two ink cartridges 16A and 16B, the valid period YT from the current date and time until the ink expiration date SK is 35 days. For ink cartridge 16C, the valid period YT from the current date and time until the ink expiration date SK is 65 days. For ink cartridge 16D, the valid period YT from the current date and time until the ink expiration date SK is 50 days. Note that the last day of the expiration date SK is used to calculate the valid period YT.

For ink cartridge 16A, if the remaining consumption period ST calculated by the control unit 29 by dividing the remaining ink amount ZR by the daily ink consumption amount DR is 10 days, the difference (YT - ST) obtained by subtracting the remaining consumption period ST (= 10 days) from the validity period YT (= 35 days) is 25 days, which is positive, and therefore the time granularity X is 25 days.

For ink cartridge 16B, if the remaining consumption period ST calculated by dividing the remaining ink amount ZR by the daily ink consumption amount DR is 60 days, the difference (YT - ST) obtained by subtracting the remaining consumption period ST (= 60 days) from the validity period YT (= 35 days) is -25 days, which is negative, and therefore the time granularity X is 1 day.

For ink cartridge 16C, if the remaining consumption period ST calculated by dividing the remaining ink amount ZR by the daily ink consumption amount DR is 10 days, the difference (YT - ST) obtained by subtracting the remaining consumption period ST (= 10 days) from the validity period YT (= 65 days) is 55 days, which is positive, and therefore the time granularity X is 55 days.

For ink cartridge 16D, if the remaining consumption period ST calculated by dividing the remaining ink amount ZR by the daily ink consumption amount DR is 15 days, the difference (YT - ST) obtained by subtracting the remaining consumption period ST (= 15 days) from the validity period YT (= 50 days) is 35 days, which is positive, and therefore the time granularity X is 35 days.

The control unit 29 performs the processing procedure shown in Figure 7 for each ink cartridge 16A-16D to determine the particle size X for each time.

Then, for example, when two arbitrarily selected ink cartridges 16A, 16B are loaded into the image forming device 10, the control unit 29 compares the expiration dates SK of each ink cartridge 16A, 16B, and since the expiration dates SK of the ink in the two ink cartridges 16A, 16B overlap, from March 8th to April 1st, it selects and sets the lower of the respective granularities X (= 25 days, 1 day) as X, and displays a message on the screen of the display unit 22 encouraging the user to use the image forming device 10 more frequently because the amount of ink consumed is low.

Furthermore, when, for example, two arbitrarily selected ink cartridges 16A and 16C are installed in the image forming device 10, the control unit 29 compares the expiration dates SK of each ink cartridge 16A and 16C, and since the expiration date SK of the ink of one ink cartridge 16A (March 8th to April 1st) and the expiration date SK of the ink of the other ink cartridge 16C (April 7th to May 1st) do not overlap, the control unit 29 sets the particle size X (= 25 days, 55 days) separately for each ink cartridge 16A and 16C.

Furthermore, when, for example, two arbitrarily selected ink cartridges 16A and 16D are installed in the image forming device 10, the control unit 29 compares the expiration dates SK of each ink cartridge 16A and 16D, and since the ink expiration date SK of one ink cartridge 16A (March 8th to April 1st) overlaps with the ink expiration date SK of the other ink cartridge 16C (March 23rd to April 16th), it selects the lower of the respective particle sizes X (= 25 days, 35 days) (= 25 days) and sets this selected particle size X (= 25 days) as the particle size X for each ink cartridge 16A and 16D.

This means that even when two ink cartridges containing the same color of ink are used at the same time, the ink in the two ink cartridges being used at the same time can be consumed within their expiration dates, promoting effective use of ink and allowing for accurate management of each ink cartridge according to the pace at which the ink is consumed.

Second Embodiment
9 is a cross-sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the same reference numerals are used to designate parts that perform the same functions as those in FIG.

The image forming device 10A of the second embodiment includes an image reading unit 11 and an image forming unit 12A. The image reading unit 11 has a CIS that optically reads the image of the original document M, and image data representing the image of the original document M is output from this CIS.

Image forming unit 12A receives image data representing an original document image and electrophotographically forms the original document image represented by the image data on recording paper using toner. Image forming unit 12A includes toner containers 66 containing four colors (magenta, cyan, yellow, and black) of toner, and magenta image forming unit 63M, cyan image forming unit 63C, yellow image forming unit 63Y, and black image forming unit 63Bk, which receive the toner from the respective toner containers 66 and form toner images of the respective colors. Each of image forming units 63M, 63C, 63Y, and 63Bk uniformly charges the surface of photoconductor drum 64, exposes the surface of photoconductor drum 64 to light, forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of photoconductor drum 64, develops the electrostatic latent image on the surface of photoconductor drum 64 into a toner image, and transfers the toner image on the surface of photoconductor drum 64 to intermediate transfer belt 62. This forms a color toner image on intermediate transfer belt 62. This color toner image is secondarily transferred to the recording paper P, which has been transported from the paper feed unit 74 through the transport path 68, in the nip area N between the intermediate transfer belt 62 and the secondary transfer roller 67.

After the image of the original is formed on the recording paper P, the recording paper P is heated and pressurized in the fixing unit 65, and the toner image on the recording paper P is fixed by thermocompression. The recording paper P is then ejected onto the ejection tray 71 via the transport rollers 69.

Furthermore, the configuration related to control of the image forming apparatus 10A of the second embodiment is generally the same as that of the image forming apparatus 10 of the first embodiment shown in Figure 2. However, the image forming apparatus 10A of the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it uses an electrophotographic image forming unit 12A instead of an inkjet image forming unit 12. The control unit 29 of the image forming apparatus 10A of the second embodiment controls the electrophotographic image forming unit 12A to form an image of the original on recording paper P using the image forming unit 12A in the procedure described above.

Unlike the image forming apparatus 10 of the first embodiment, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 10A does not supply ink of each color from each ink cartridge 16, but instead supplies toner of each color from each toner container 66. Therefore, each toner container 66 is provided with its own RFID tag (not shown), which stores information TD indicating the remaining toner amount ZR and the toner expiration date SK of each toner container 66. The control unit 29 controls the image forming unit 12A to calculate the amount of toner consumed for each color when forming a color image on recording paper. For each toner container 66, the RFID reader 25 reads the toner container 66 information TD from the toner container's RFID tag, subtracts the toner consumption amount from the remaining toner amount ZR indicated by the information TD, calculates the current remaining toner amount ZR, and then causes the RFID reader 25 to write the calculated current remaining toner amount ZR to the toner container's RFID tag, thereby updating the RFID tag information TD.

In the processing procedure of Figure 7, the control unit 29 replaces the remaining ink amount ZR and ink expiration date SK with the remaining toner amount ZR and toner expiration date SK to calculate the daily toner consumption amount DR, calculates the remaining consumption period ST until all the toner in the toner container 66 is consumed, subtracts the remaining consumption period ST from the valid period YT to calculate the difference (YT - ST), and based on this difference (YT - ST), determines whether all the toner in the toner container 66 will be consumed by the end of the valid period YT, sets the time-related granularity X, and appropriately manages the toner container according to the toner consumption pace.

The present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. The configurations and processes of the above-described embodiments described using Figures 1 to 9 are merely examples of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention to these configurations and processes.

10 Image forming apparatus 10A Image forming apparatus 11 Image reading section 12 Image forming section 12A Image forming section 14 Paper feeding section 16 Ink cartridge 21 Operation section 22 Display section 24 Touch panel 25 RFID reader 26 Storage section 28 Control unit 29 Control section

Claims (7)

An image forming device comprising: a control unit that acquires the remaining amount and expiration date of a consumable item for a consumable part that supplies the consumable item; determines the granularity of the time remaining until the expiration date of the consumable item based on the remaining amount and expiration date of the consumable item; and determines the consumption status of the consumable item up to the expiration date based on the granularity of the time. The image forming device of claim 1, wherein the control unit acquires the remaining amount of the consumable in the consumable part at regular time intervals, calculates the consumption amount of the consumable for the regular time, calculates the remaining consumption period of the consumable based on the remaining amount of the consumable and the consumption amount of the consumable for the regular time, calculates the validity period from the time of calculation until the expiration date, and determines the granularity of the time based on the difference obtained by subtracting the validity period from the remaining consumption period of the consumable. Further comprising a display unit,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit causes the display unit to display a message urging the user to use the consumable product when the time remaining until the expiration date reaches the time indicated by the value of the particle size. The image forming device of claim 3, wherein the control unit determines the time granularity to be one day if the difference is negative. The image forming device of claim 1, wherein the control unit acquires the remaining amount and expiration date of the consumables for each of a plurality of consumable parts, determines the granularity of the time until the expiration date of the consumables based on the remaining amount and expiration date of the consumables, and, if the expiration dates of the consumables for each of the consumable parts overlap, determines the consumption status of the consumables until the expiration date of each of the consumable parts based on the smaller granularity of the time granularity of each of the consumable parts. the image forming apparatus forms an image on recording paper using the ink, which is the consumable material, by an inkjet method;
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the consumable parts is an ink cartridge containing the ink, and is detachably mounted in the image forming apparatus. the image forming apparatus forms an image on recording paper using the toner, which is the consumable material, by an electrophotographic method;
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the consumable parts is a toner container that stores the toner and is detachably mounted on the image forming apparatus.