Image forming apparatus and image forming system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9772591-B2
Application number	US-201415039823-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 18, 2014
Priority date	Nov 29, 2013
Publication date	Sep 26, 2017
Grant date	Sep 26, 2017

Abstract

To notify a residual life of a replaceable part at appropriate time on image quality required by the user. An image forming apparatus including: a replaceable part used for image formation; an output unit configured to output information indicating that a usage amount has reached a threshold; an input unit configured to input information; and a control unit configured to change the threshold in accordance with information about image quality input by the input unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An image forming apparatus having a replaceable unit, the image forming apparatus comprising:
an output unit configured to output information indicating that a usage amount of the replaceable unit has reached a threshold value for determining replacement of the replaceable unit;
an input unit configured to input setting information for setting the threshold value; and
a control unit configured to set the threshold value in accordance with the setting information input by the input unit,
wherein the output unit outputs a first image sample and a second image sample by using the replaceable unit, the second image sample being lower in image quality than the first image sample,
wherein, the setting information includes first information corresponding to the first image sample and second information corresponding to the second image sample,
wherein, when the first information is input in the control unit, the control unit sets the threshold value to a first threshold, and wherein, when the second information is input in the control unit, the control unit sets the threshold value to a second threshold being different from the first threshold, and
wherein the first threshold is smaller than the second threshold.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, when the usage amount reaches the first threshold or the second threshold, the output unit outputs information indicating that the replaceable unit has reached an end of a residual life.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, when the usage amount reaches the first threshold or the second threshold, the output unit outputs information indicating that the replaceable unit has reached a replacement time.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first image sample and the second image sample are formed on a recording material in order to let the setting information be input from outside of the image forming apparatus, and the recording material on which the first image sample and the second image sample are formed is discharged from the image forming apparatus.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , comprising a plurality of the replaceable units, wherein, when a usage amount of each of the plurality of the replaceable units reaches a corresponding threshold, the output unit outputs information indicating that each of the units has reached a replacement time.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the replaceable unit includes a heating apparatus configured to heat a recording material and fix an image to the recording material.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the replaceable unit includes a transfer member configured to transfer the image to a recording material.

8. An image forming system which includes an image forming apparatus and an input device connected to the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus having a replaceable unit, the image forming system comprising:
an output unit configured to output information indicating that a usage amount of the replaceable unit has reached a threshold value for determining replacement of the replaceable unit; and
a control unit configured to set the threshold value in accordance with setting information input by the input device,
wherein the output unit outputs a first image sample and a second image sample by using the replaceable unit, the second image sample being lower in image quality than the first image sample,
wherein, the setting information includes first information corresponding to the first image sample and second information corresponding to the second image sample,
wherein, when the first information is input in the control unit, the control unit sets the threshold value to a first threshold, and wherein, when the second information is input in the control unit, the control unit sets the threshold value to a second threshold being different from the first threshold, and
wherein the first threshold is smaller than the second threshold.

9. The image forming system according to claim 8 , wherein the input device includes a computer provided with a display unit, and displays the first image sample and the second image sample on the display unit of the computer.

10. The image forming system according to claim 8 , wherein the first image sample and the second image sample are formed on a recording material, and the recording material on which the first image samples and the second image sample are formed is discharged from the image forming apparatus.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Taniguchi Satoru
• Uchida Wataru
• Yamazaki Hiroyuki
• Kitamura Toshifumi

Classifications

• G03G15/5016 Primary

  User-machine interface; Display panels; Control console · CPC title

• G03G15/502 Primary

  relating to the structure of the control menu, e.g. pop-up menus, help screens · CPC title

• G03G15/553

  Monitoring or warning means for exhaustion or lifetime end of consumables, e.g. indication of insufficient copy sheet quantity for a job · CPC title