CN110001210B - Consumable chip, consumable, and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

The application provides a consumptive material chip, consumptive material and image forming system relates to consumptive material chip technical field. Wherein, the consumptive material chip includes: a memory storing a first parameter and a second parameter determined based on the first parameter; the first parameter is used for representing the using times of the consumable chip, and the second parameter is used for representing the current electrical performance of the consumable chip. Through the setting, the equipment connected with the consumable chip can quickly and effectively acquire the electrical performance of the consumable chip, and when corresponding operation is carried out based on the electrical performance, on one hand, the reliability of the operation can be ensured (if higher printing quality can be ensured), and on the other hand, the problem that the consumable chip is damaged due to improper operation can be avoided.

Description

Consumable chip, consumable, and image forming system

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of consumable chips, in particular to a consumable chip, a consumable and an image forming system.

Background

The existing consumables generally include ink cartridges and toner cartridges for storing ink or toner, respectively, through corresponding accommodating compartments. In which a consumable chip is generally disposed on the accommodating chamber to store data, such as the remaining amount of ink or toner, so that the image forming apparatus can obtain the data and perform a corresponding printing operation according to the data. After the ink or toner is consumed, in order to improve the utilization rate of resources and to take environmental issues into consideration, the consumable materials are generally recycled for reuse.

In the related art, a time parameter and a number of times parameter for recycling the consumables are stored in the consumable chip, so that the image forming apparatus or the recycling apparatus can determine the performance of the consumables according to the parameters.

After long-term research and analysis of the inventor, the inventor finds that the corresponding judgment on the performance of the consumable material is only carried out based on the time parameter and the frequency parameter, so that a correct and reliable judgment result is difficult to obtain, and the reliability of the operation of the consumable material based on the judgment result is low.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above problem, the embodiment of the present application adopts the following technical solutions:

a consumable chip comprising:

a memory storing a first parameter and a second parameter determined based on the first parameter;

the first parameter is used for representing the using times of the consumable chip, and the second parameter is used for representing the current electrical performance of the consumable chip.

In a preferred option of the embodiment of the application, in the consumable chip, when the consumable chip is communicatively connected to an image forming apparatus, the second parameter is read by the image forming apparatus, so that the image forming apparatus can operate the consumable chip according to the second parameter.

In a preferred option of the embodiment of the application, in the consumable chip, when the consumable chip is communicatively connected to a recycling device, the first parameter and/or the second parameter is read by the recycling device, so that the recycling device can determine whether the consumable chip can be recycled according to the first parameter and/or the second parameter.

In a preferred option of the embodiment of the present application, in the consumable chip, the first parameter is further used for characterizing a number of times of use of a consumable applied by the consumable chip.

In a preferred option of the embodiment of the present application, in the consumable chip, the first parameter is further used for characterizing types of image forming apparatuses to which the consumables applied by the consumable chip are respectively applicable before and after recycling.

In a preferred option of the embodiment of the present application, in the consumable chip, the memory includes:

a read-only area for storing the second parameter so that the communicatively connected image forming apparatus cannot perform a rewriting operation on the second parameter.

In a preferred option of the embodiment of the present application, in the consumable chip, the second parameter is calculated by the first parameter and a predetermined associated parameter.

In a preferred option of this embodiment of the application, in the consumable chip, the related parameter includes a performance loss parameter, and the performance loss parameter is used to characterize a degree of loss of the electrical performance of the consumable chip after each time the consumable of the consumable chip is used up.

In a preferred option of the embodiment of the present application, in the consumable chip, the performance loss parameter is stored in the memory.

In a preferred option of this embodiment of the application, in the consumable chip, the second parameter includes at least one of a resistance characteristic parameter, a voltage characteristic parameter, an access characteristic parameter, a power consumption characteristic parameter, and a current characteristic parameter.

In a preferred option of the embodiment of the present application, in the consumable chip, the voltage characteristic parameter includes a stored voltage characteristic parameter, and the stored voltage characteristic parameter is used for characterizing an analog magnification of the memory.

In a preferred option of the embodiment of the present application, in the consumable chip, a consumable applied by the consumable chip includes a nozzle circuit, and the memory further stores a third parameter determined based on the first parameter;

and when the consumable chip is in communication connection with an image forming device, the third parameter is read by the image forming device, so that the image forming device can operate the nozzle circuit according to the third parameter.

In a preferred option of an embodiment of the present application, in the consumable chip, the nozzle circuit includes a heating control circuit, a resistor, and a thermistor, and the operating the nozzle circuit according to the third parameter includes:

based on different third parameters, different magnitudes of heating voltages are applied to the resistor by the heating control circuit, different durations of heating voltages are applied to the resistor by the heating control circuit, and/or different temperature coefficients are determined for the thermistor.

On the basis, the embodiment of the application also provides a consumable, which comprises the consumable chip.

On the basis of the above, embodiments of the present application also provide an image forming system including an image forming apparatus and the consumable described above.

The application provides a consumptive material chip, consumptive material and image forming system, through save first parameter and second parameter in the memory at the consumptive material chip to the mode that makes can be through reading this second parameter is quick, obtain the current electrical property of consumptive material chip effectively, thereby the guarantee can operate effectively based on the electrical property of consumptive material chip, for example, can guarantee to have higher printing quality on the one hand, on the other hand can avoid leading to the impaired problem of consumptive material chip because the operation is improper. Moreover, the second parameter is configured to be determined through the first parameter, the problem of complex operation caused by the need of adopting detection equipment to detect the electrical performance of the consumable chip can be avoided, and the method has high practical value.

In order to make the aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the present application more comprehensible, preferred embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block schematic diagram of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a consumable provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a schematic circuit diagram of a nozzle circuit according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a consumable chip according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Icon: 10-consumable; 20-an image forming apparatus; 100-consumable chip; 110-a memory; 200-a holding bin; 300-nozzle circuit; 310-a nozzle; 320-a resistor; 330-address selection circuitry; 340-heating control circuit.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all the embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present application, generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, can be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations.

Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application, presented in the accompanying drawings, is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed application, but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the application. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

It should be noted that: like reference numbers and letters refer to like items in the following figures, and thus, once an item is defined in one figure, it need not be further defined and explained in subsequent figures. In the description of the present application, the terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like are used merely to distinguish one description from another, and are not to be construed as merely or implying relative importance.

In the description of the present application, unless expressly stated or limited otherwise, the terms "disposed," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, e.g., as meaning fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be connected directly or indirectly through intervening media, or they may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood in a specific case by those of ordinary skill in the art.

As shown in fig. 1, an embodiment of the present application provides an image forming system that may include a consumable 10 and an image forming apparatus 20. Wherein the consumable 10 is communicatively connected with the image forming apparatus 20 to complete a corresponding printing operation based on the control of the image forming apparatus 20.

In detail, when acquiring the data to be printed, the image forming apparatus 20 may read the data stored in the consumable 10 to determine a corresponding control manner based on the data to control the consumable 10 to perform a corresponding printing operation, so that the data to be printed may be formed on an image forming medium (such as paper) to obtain a corresponding image and/or text.

Alternatively, the specific type of the image forming apparatus 20 is not limited, and may be selected according to the actual application requirements, and for example, the specific type may include, but is not limited to, a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, a scanner, and a kiosk that integrates multiple functions of printing, copying, faxing, scanning, and the like.

With reference to fig. 2, the present application also provides a consumable 10 applicable to the image forming system. The consumable 10 may include a consumable chip 100 and a receiving bin 200, among others.

In detail, the consumable chip 100 is provided to store data written by the image forming apparatus 20 or other apparatuses described above, and the data can be read by the image forming apparatus 20. The receiving chamber 200 is configured to receive ink or toner for printing image.

Wherein the consumable 10 may further include different components based on the type of the consumable 10. For example, when the consumable 10 is a toner cartridge, the consumable may further include necessary developing components such as a developing roller, a charging roller, and a photosensitive drum.

For another example, when the consumable 10 is an ink cartridge, the nozzle circuit 300 may be further included. Correspondingly, a circulation channel for ink is provided on the accommodating chamber 200, so that the ink can flow out through the corresponding circulation channel under the control of the nozzle circuit 300 to complete the corresponding printing operation.

Alternatively, when the consumable 10 is an ink cartridge, the arrangement of the consumable chip 100 and the nozzle circuit 300 is not limited, and may be selected according to the actual application requirements. For example, the consumable chip 100 and the nozzle circuit 300 may both be disposed on the outer wall of the receiving bin 200.

The relative position relationship between the consumable chip 100 and the nozzle circuit 300 can be selected according to the actual application requirements. For example, in an alternative example, the consumable chip 100 and the nozzle circuit 300 may be integrated on the same substrate. For another example, in another alternative example, the consumable chip 100 and the nozzle circuit 300 may be integrated on different substrates, and then disposed on the outer wall of the accommodating chamber 200.

Also, when the ink cartridge is applied to the image forming system described above, since the consumable chip 100 and the nozzle circuit 300 need to establish a communication connection with the image forming apparatus 20 described above to acquire, write, or transmit data or signals. Accordingly, the consumable chip 100 and the nozzle circuit 300 may further include a terminal group to be communicatively connected with the image forming apparatus 20 through the terminal group, respectively.

For example, in an alternative example, the consumable chip 100 and the nozzle circuit 300 may be communicatively connected to the image forming apparatus 20 through different terminal groups, respectively. For another example, in another alternative example, the consumable chip 100 and the nozzle circuit 300 may be connected to the image forming apparatus 20 through the same terminal set, that is, the consumable chip 100 and the nozzle circuit 300 may have the same electrical contacts therebetween.

Alternatively, the specific configuration of the nozzle circuit 300 is not limited and may be selected according to the requirements of the actual application. For example, in an alternative example, in conjunction with FIG. 3, nozzle circuit 300 may include a plurality of nozzles 310, a plurality of resistors 320, address selection circuitry 330, and heating control circuitry 340.

In detail, the plurality of resistors 320 may be disposed corresponding to the plurality of nozzles 310, respectively, such that each resistor 320 corresponds to one nozzle 310. The address selection circuit 330 may select one or more resistors 320 to enable the heating control circuit 340 to supply power to the selected one or more resistors 320, so that the resistors 320 are heated after being powered on, and thus ink near the resistors 320 is heated to expand and is ejected through the corresponding nozzles 310 to form corresponding images or texts.

The control mode of the address selection circuit 330 and the heating control circuit 340 for each resistor 320 is not limited, and can be selected according to the actual application requirements. For example, in an alternative example, each resistor 320 may be grounded or connected to the heating control circuit 340 through a switching device (e.g., a transistor, a fet, etc.), and a control terminal (e.g., a base of the transistor, a gate of the fet) of each switching device is respectively connected to the address selection circuit 330, and then the address selection circuit 330 may select any one or more of the switching devices to be turned on, so as to supply power to the corresponding resistor 320 through the heating control circuit 340 (in this case, the heating control circuit 340 corresponds to a power source).

For another example, in another alternative example, to avoid the need for more switching devices to control each resistor 320, the control may be performed separately on a row and column basis. Specifically, each resistor 320 may be divided into a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. The address selection circuit 330 may be configured to select a plurality of resistors 320 by setting a plurality of switching devices such that each switching device controls whether the resistor 320 of one row is grounded. The heating control circuit 340 may be configured by providing a plurality of switching devices such that each switching device controls whether a column of resistors 320 is connected to a power source. When it is necessary to control the energization of any one of the resistors 320, the address selection circuit 330 and the heating control circuit 340 can respectively control the conduction of the switching device corresponding to the row where the resistor 320 is located and the conduction of the switching device corresponding to the column where the resistor 320 is located.

Further, in order to monitor whether the nozzle circuit 300 can work normally, so as to perform timely and effective maintenance, thereby ensuring the reliability of the printing operation, in this embodiment, the nozzle circuit 300 may further include a thermistor.

In detail, the thermistor may be plural, and each thermistor may be disposed in a vicinity of each resistor 320, respectively, to monitor the temperature of the ink in the area, thereby facilitating judgment of whether the nozzle circuit 300 is operating normally. For example, when any nozzle 310 should eject ink but does not eject ink, if the temperature of the ink is detected to be high, it may be determined that the corresponding nozzle 310 has a failure (e.g., is clogged) so that the expanded ink cannot be ejected normally; if the temperature of the ink is monitored to be low, it can be determined that the corresponding resistor 320 is malfunctioning so that the resistor 320 cannot generate heat.

It should be noted that the consumable 10 may further include other chips on the basis of the consumable chip 100, so as to provide data writing or reading to the image forming apparatus 20 through the cooperation of the chip and the consumable chip 100, for example, the other chips may be used for storing the doses of ink or toner in the accommodating chamber 200.

Among them, the amount of data interaction between the consumable chip 100 and the image forming apparatus 20 may be smaller than that between the other chips and the image forming apparatus 20.

Referring to fig. 4, the present embodiment further provides a consumable chip 100 applicable to the consumable 10. Wherein, the consumable chip 100 may comprise a memory 110 for storing the first parameter and the second parameter.

In detail, a first parameter may be used to characterize the number of uses of the consumable chip 100, a second parameter may be used to characterize the current electrical performance of the consumable chip 100, and the second parameter may be determined based on the first parameter. That is, the electrical performance of the consumable chip 100 may vary according to the number of times the consumable chip 100 is used. For example, in an alternative example, the electrical performance of the consumable chip 100 with the number of uses of 1 may be better than the electrical performance of the consumable chip 100 with the number of uses of 2.

The "number of times the consumable chip 100 is used" refers to the number of times the consumable 10 used by the consumable chip 100 is depleted of toner or ink. For example, in one specific example, at a usage count of 0, the consumable 10 is characterized as being used for the first time without being recycled; when the number of times of use is 1, the characterization consumable 10 is used for the second time and is recycled for the first time; when the number of times of use is n-1, the consumable 10 is characterized as being used for the nth time and recovered through n-1. The number of uses may be written by the recycling apparatus (+1) when the consumable 10 is recycled, or may be updated by the image forming apparatus 20 (e.g., a printer) connected by communication when the toner or ink in the consumable 10 is exhausted.

Through the arrangement, the problem that improper operation is easy to occur due to the fact that accurate electrical performance of the consumable chip 100 cannot be obtained when the consumable chip 100 is operated by equipment in communication connection with the consumable chip 100 in the prior art can be solved, and therefore the consumable chip has high practical value.

For example, if the corresponding operation cannot be executed or is not executed according to the current electrical performance of the consumable chip 100, on one hand, the data obtained during data reading may be inaccurate, and further, the printing quality may be low when the printing operation is executed based on the data; on the other hand, improper operation of the consumable chip 100 (e.g., mismatch of applied voltage or current) may be caused, thereby causing a problem of a reduction in the lifetime of the consumable chip 100.

Optionally, specific applications of the first parameter and the second parameter are not limited, and may be selected according to actual application requirements. For example, in an alternative example, the first parameter and the second parameter may be used as references for the operation of the consumable chip 100 by the image forming apparatus 20.

In detail, the memory 110 may be connected with the corresponding terminal set through a wire so as to establish a communication connection with the image forming apparatus 20 when applied to the above-mentioned image forming system, so that the image forming apparatus 20 can read the second parameter and operate the consumable chip 100 according to the second parameter.

The image forming apparatus 20 may also read the stored first parameter at the same time when reading the second parameter, and operate the consumable chip 100 based on the first parameter and the second parameter. That is, the electrical performance of the consumable chip 100 can be characterized by the first parameter and the second parameter together.

For example, the first parameter of the consumable chip a is 1, the second parameter is 2, and the first parameter of the consumable chip B is 0, the second parameter is 2. Although the second parameter of both the consumable chips a and B is 2, since the first parameter is different, different operations may be performed on the consumable chips a and B. For example, characterization data "1" when the voltage value read from the memory 110 of the consumable chip a is higher than 3V, and characterization data "1" when the voltage value read from the memory 110 of the consumable chip B is higher than 2V.

Therefore, by storing the first parameter and the second parameter in the memory 110, the problem that operation failure (such as data write failure) is easy to occur when the image forming apparatus 20 operates the consumable chip 100 in the prior art due to the fact that the electrical performance of the consumable chip 100 cannot be accurately obtained can be improved, and the method has high practical value and effectively ensures reliable performance of subsequent printing operation. Also, since the operation of the consumable chip 100 does not match the current electrical performance of the consumable chip 100, the extent of the electrical performance degradation of the consumable chip 100 is also easily increased, thereby causing the reduction of the service life of the consumable chip 100.

For another example, in another alternative example, the first parameter and the second parameter can be used as a reference for the recycling device to operate the consumable chip 100.

In detail, when the consumable chip 100 is recycled, after the corresponding recycling device is in communication connection with the consumable chip 100, the first parameter and/or the second parameter currently stored in the consumable chip 100 can be read, and whether the recycling process of the consumable chip 100 can be performed is determined according to the first parameter and/or the second parameter.

For example, in an alternative example, only the first parameter may be read to determine whether the number of uses of the consumable chip 100 reaches a maximum threshold value, and when the maximum threshold value is reached, it is determined that the consumable chip 100 cannot be used again. Therefore, the consumable chip 100 can be discarded to avoid being used again.

The specific size of the threshold set for the number of times of use is not limited, and can be set according to actual application requirements. For example, the print quality requirement, the quality of the consumable chip 100, and other factors may be considered together, that is, when the print quality requirement is low, the threshold may be relatively large; the threshold may be relatively large when the quality of the consumable chip 100 is high. In a specific application example, the threshold may be 6.

For another example, in another alternative example, only the second parameter may be read to determine whether the electrical performance of the consumable chip 100 is higher than the maximum threshold, and when the electrical performance is higher than the maximum threshold, it is determined that the consumable chip 100 cannot be used again.

Similarly, the specific size of the threshold set for the electrical performance is not limited, and the threshold can be set according to the actual application requirements. For example, in one specific example, the threshold may be 15V.

For another example, in another alternative example, the first parameter and the second parameter may be read to determine whether the electrical performance of the consumable chip 100 is higher than the maximum threshold value based on the first parameter and the second parameter together.

Therefore, by storing the first parameter and the second parameter in the memory 110, it is possible to improve the situation that the consumable chip 100 with extremely low electrical performance may be put on the market again or may still be used but discarded too early when the consumable chip 100 is recovered in the prior art, so as to make the best use of the consumable chip to the maximum extent.

The first parameter and the second parameter may be used as a basis for other operations of the recycling/regenerating device. For example, when the consumable chip 100 is reset, the corresponding programming voltage may be determined based on the second parameter. For another example, when the consumable 10 is cleaned, the corresponding cleaning force may be determined based on the first parameter to avoid the problem that the nozzle 310 is blocked due to too small cleaning force.

In some cases, the first parameter may be used to represent the number of times the consumable material 10 applied to the consumable chip 100 is used, because the recovery of the consumable chip 100 is performed together with the recovery of the consumable material 10 applied to the consumable chip 100.

Correspondingly, when recycling, the recycling apparatus may determine whether the consumable 10 applied to the consumable chip 100 can be recycled by reading the first parameter in the consumable chip 100. That is, after the number of uses of the consumable supplies 10 reaches a certain threshold value, it can be determined that the recovery and regeneration process cannot be performed on the consumable supplies 10 any more. Also, scrap handling is required to avoid re-entry into the market.

Moreover, the first parameter can be used for representing whether the consumable 10 is changed in model during the recycling process or not on the basis of representing the using times of the consumable 10. Specifically, the first parameter may be used to characterize the type of image forming apparatus 20 to which the consumable 10 applied by the consumable chip 100 is applied before recycling and after recycling, respectively.

For example, in a specific example, the type of the image forming apparatus 20 to which the consumable 10 is applied before recycling may be a, and in order to facilitate production and management, and to expand market demand, the consumable 10 may be modified such that the type of the image forming apparatus 20 to which the consumable 10 is applied after recycling may be B.

For example, the initial first parameter for type a consumables is "10" and the initial first parameter for type B consumables is "01". The "10" is modified to "11" indicating that the consumable is modified from type A to type B. Similarly, "01" is modified to "00" indicating that the consumable is modified from type B to type A. In this way, when the B-type image forming apparatus reads that the first parameter is "11", it can be determined that the consumable part is a type-modified to B-type.

Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 20 may perform a corresponding operation by reading the stored first parameter in the consumable chip 100. For example, the image forming apparatus 20 to which the consumable 10 is applied before recovery is a low-speed printing apparatus, and the image forming apparatus 20 to which the consumable 10 is applied after recovery is a high-speed printer. In order to ensure that the consumable 10 can be prevented from being damaged greatly on the basis of realizing high-speed printing, the supply voltage to the consumable 10 can be increased while the consumable 10 is operated based on the parameters of the low-speed printing device before recovery, so that the printing speed can be increased.

For example, when the consumable 10 is an ink cartridge, the ink absorption of the nozzles 310 can be increased by increasing the voltage applied to the nozzle circuit 300, thereby increasing the printing speed. The first parameter can also be used to characterize the color change of the consumable 10. For example, the color of the ink or toner in the consumable 10 before recovery is black, and the color of the ink or toner in the consumable 10 after recovery is color.

Optionally, specific content of the second parameter is not limited, and may be selected according to actual application requirements. For example, the second parameter may include at least one of a resistance characteristic parameter, a voltage characteristic parameter, an access characteristic parameter, a power consumption characteristic parameter, and a current characteristic parameter.

That is, the more the consumable chip 100 is used, the more at least one of the resistance characteristic, the voltage characteristic, the access characteristic, the power consumption characteristic, and the current characteristic is changed. For example, the more times the consumable chip 100 is recycled, the greater the power consumption of the consumable chip 100, the longer the reaction time, the greater the resistance of the electrical element, and the like.

To solve the above problem, correspondingly, the image forming apparatus 20 may increase the power supply to the consumable chip 100, decrease the frequency of communication with the consumable chip 100, and the like.

It should be noted that the access characteristic parameter is used to represent the access characteristic of the consumable chip 100, for example, when the access characteristic parameter is a, the consumable chip 100 feeds back corresponding data to the image forming apparatus 20 after a first time period when receiving a reading instruction of the image forming apparatus 20; when the access characteristic parameter is b, the consumable chip 100 will feed back corresponding data to the image forming apparatus 20 after the second time period when receiving the reading instruction of the image forming apparatus 20. Wherein the first duration may not be equal to the second duration.

That is, after sending the reading instruction to the consumable chip 100, the image forming apparatus 20 determines a time period based on the access characteristic parameter of the consumable chip 100, and monitors the data after the time period to obtain the data fed back by the consumable chip 100.

Also, to ensure that the image forming apparatus 20 has a high accuracy in data reading of the consumable chip 100, in an alternative example, the voltage characteristic parameter may include a storage voltage characteristic parameter.

In detail, the storage voltage characteristic parameter is used to characterize the analog magnification of the memory 110. That is, different storage voltage characteristics correspond to different analog magnifications of the memory 110. For example, as the value of the stored voltage characteristic parameter is larger, the voltage value of the output binary data "1" in the memory 110 is also larger.

Specifically, in an alternative example, when the stored voltage performance parameter value is 2, it may indicate that the voltage value read from the memory 110 by the image forming apparatus 20 represents data "1" when it is not lower than 2V and represents data "0" when it is lower than 2V. When the stored voltage performance parameter value is 5, it may indicate that the image forming apparatus 20 reads a voltage value from the memory 110, representing data "1" when it is not lower than 5V, and representing data "0" when it is lower than 5V.

Optionally, the manner of determining the second parameter based on the first parameter is not limited, and may be selected according to the actual application requirement. For example, in an alternative example, a test may be performed to determine a correspondence between the first parameter and the second parameter in advance, so that after the current first parameter is obtained, the current second parameter may be found based on the correspondence.

For example, in an alternative example, the correspondence relationship may be implemented by establishing a correspondence relationship table:

first parameter	Second parameter
			0	1
1	2
		2	4
3	7

For another example, in another alternative example, it is also possible to perform a simulation test or a follow-up test on various usage possibilities of the ink cartridge by conducting an experiment to determine the associated parameter in advance in each case so that after the current first parameter is obtained, the current second parameter can be calculated based on the associated parameter without having to be re-detected at each recovery regeneration.

In particular, the above-mentioned associated parameter may be a performance loss parameter. Wherein the performance loss parameter is used for characterizing the degree of loss of the electrical performance of the consumable chip 100 after each exhaustion of the applied consumable 10.

In detail, a specific calculation formula may be that the current second parameter is the current first parameter performance loss parameter + the last second parameter.

The correspondence table and the performance loss parameter may be stored in a recycling device for recycling so that the recycling device calculates the second parameter and writes the second parameter into the consumable chip 100 for storage, or may be stored in the memory 110 of the consumable chip 100 so that the image forming apparatus 20 calculates the second parameter and writes the second parameter into the consumable chip 100 for storage.

Wherein, when the second parameter is calculated by the image forming apparatus 20, the consumable 10 applied by the consumable chip 100 may be a continuous ink cartridge. That is, the user may add ink to the continuous ink supply cartridge so that the continuous ink supply cartridge can be used multiple times.

It should be noted that, in some applications, it is considered that the second parameter is not rewritten by the image forming apparatus 20, which in turn causes a large error in the second parameter obtained by the recycling manufacturer through the data reading operation of the consumable chip 100, so that the recycling apparatus cannot accurately operate the consumable chip 100. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a read-only area (e.g., ROM) may also be formed in the memory 110.

In detail, the read-only area described above may be used to store the second parameter, so that the communicatively connected image forming apparatus 20 can only perform a reading operation on the second parameter, but cannot perform a rewriting operation on the second parameter, thereby ensuring that the second parameter is not arbitrarily changed by the user.

Further, when the consumable 10 applied by the consumable chip 100 is an ink cartridge, the memory 110 may further store a third parameter, and the third parameter may be used to characterize the electrical performance of the nozzle circuit 300 of the ink cartridge. For example, a third parameter may be used to characterize the electrical performance of the resistor 320, with a larger parameter indicating a lower temperature coefficient of resistance of the resistor 320.

That is, the image forming apparatus 20 may read the third parameter to perform the corresponding operation on the nozzle circuit 300 based on the third parameter. For example, based on different third parameters, different magnitudes of voltage may be applied to the resistor 320 by the heating control circuit 340. For another example, based on a different third parameter, a different temperature coefficient may be determined for the thermistor. For another example, based on a different third parameter, a heating voltage may be applied to the resistor 320 by the heating control circuit 340 for a different length of time.

The specific content of the electrical performance represented by the third parameter is not limited, and can be selected according to the actual application requirement. For example, resistance characteristics, voltage characteristics, current characteristics, power characteristics, and the like may be included, but are not limited thereto.

The third parameter may be used to characterize the electrical performance of the nozzle circuit 300 alone, or may be used to characterize the electrical characteristics of the nozzle circuit 300 together with the first parameter.

For example, before recovery, the first parameter of the ink cartridge a is 0 and the third parameter is 1, and the first parameter of the ink cartridge B is 1 and the third parameter is 2. After recovery, since the performance of the ink cartridge a is more degraded, the first parameter of the ink cartridge a is 1, the third parameter is 3, the first parameter of the ink cartridge B is 2, and the third parameter is 3. Although the third parameter of the ink cartridge a and the ink cartridge B after recovery is the same, the image forming apparatus 20 may perform different operations on the nozzle circuit 300 of the ink cartridge a and the nozzle circuit 300 of the ink cartridge B due to the difference in the first parameter of the ink cartridge a and the ink cartridge B. For example, since the first parameter of the ink cartridge a is smaller than the first parameter of the ink cartridge B, the ink cartridge B can be controlled to provide a greater ink absorbing force to ensure a higher printing quality.

It should be noted that the third parameter may also be determined based on the first parameter.

The third parameter is obtained based on the first parameter, or may be obtained by establishing a corresponding relationship table to search for the third parameter or by calculating the third parameter by predetermining the associated parameter. Specifically, the searching or calculating manner may refer to the explanation of the second parameter, and is not described in detail herein.

Further, the memory 110 may further store information of ink amount or toner amount for indicating the remaining ink amount or toner amount in the consumable 10. Also, the memory 110 may further have an authentication check value stored therein for reading by the image forming apparatus 20 to verify the security of the consumable 10.

It should be noted that in other embodiments of the present application, the consumable chip 100 may also be applied to a toner cartridge. The toner cartridge may include a cartridge body, toner, and a developing assembly. The developing assembly may include a developing roller, a charging roller, a photosensitive drum, and the like, which are indispensable components. That is, when the consumable chip 100 is applied to a toner cartridge, the third parameter described above may also be used to characterize the electrical performance of the development assembly. For example, the third parameter described above may be used to characterize a change in charge-discharge characteristics of the photosensitive drum, a change in resistance characteristics of the charging roller, and/or a degree of surface wear of the developing roller, and the like. Thus, the image forming apparatus can adjust the control operation of the developing assembly according to the third parameter described above.

Moreover, the consumable chip 100 can reserve the necessary address space in the first production, but does not write a specific value. When the toner or ink in the consumable 10 is exhausted, the first parameter, the second parameter, and/or the third parameter are written by the image forming apparatus 20 or the recycling apparatus connected by communication.

To sum up, the consumable chip 100, the consumable 10 and the image forming system provided by the present application store the first parameter and the second parameter in the memory 110 of the consumable chip 100, so as to enable the current electrical performance of the consumable chip 100 to be obtained quickly and effectively by reading the second parameter, thereby ensuring effective operation based on the electrical performance of the consumable chip 100, for example, on the one hand, higher printing quality can be ensured, and on the other hand, the problem that the consumable chip 100 is damaged due to improper operation can be avoided. Moreover, the second parameter is configured to be determined by the first parameter, so that the problem of complex operation caused by the need of adopting detection equipment to detect the electrical performance of the consumable chip 100 can be avoided, and the method has high practical value.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application, and various modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement and the like made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims (15)

1. A consumable chip, comprising:

a memory storing a first parameter and a second parameter determined based on the first parameter;

the first parameter is used for representing the number of times of using the consumable chip, the number of times of using the consumable chip is the number of times of using up ink or carbon powder in a consumable applied to the consumable chip, and the second parameter is used for representing the current electrical performance of the consumable chip.

2. The consumable chip of claim 1, wherein the second parameter is read by an image forming apparatus when the consumable chip is communicatively connected to the image forming apparatus, such that the image forming apparatus can operate the consumable chip according to the second parameter.

3. The consumable chip of claim 1, wherein when a recycling device is communicatively connected to the consumable chip, the first parameter and/or the second parameter is read by the recycling device, such that the recycling device can determine whether the consumable chip can be recycled based on the first parameter and/or the second parameter.

4. The consumable chip of claim 3, wherein the first parameter is further used to characterize a number of uses of a consumable applied by the consumable chip.

5. The consumable chip of claim 2, wherein the first parameter is further used to characterize a type of image forming apparatus to which the consumable applied by the consumable chip is applicable before and after recycling, respectively.

6. The consumable chip of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises:

a read-only area for storing the second parameter so that the communicatively connected image forming apparatus cannot perform a rewriting operation on the second parameter.

7. The consumable chip of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the second parameter is calculated from the first parameter and a predetermined correlation parameter.

8. The consumable chip of claim 7, wherein the associated parameters comprise a performance loss parameter characterizing a degree of loss of electrical performance of the consumable chip after each exhaustion of the consumable of the application.

9. The consumable chip of claim 8, wherein the performance loss parameter is stored in the memory.

10. The consumable chip of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the second parameter comprises at least one of a resistance characteristic parameter, a voltage characteristic parameter, an access characteristic parameter, a power consumption characteristic parameter, and a current characteristic parameter.

11. The consumable chip of claim 10, wherein the voltage characteristic parameters comprise stored voltage characteristic parameters that characterize an analog magnification of the memory.

12. The consumable chip of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the consumable for which the consumable chip is applied comprises a nozzle circuit, the memory further storing a third parameter determined based on the first parameter;

and when the consumable chip is in communication connection with an image forming device, the third parameter is read by the image forming device, so that the image forming device can operate the nozzle circuit according to the third parameter.

13. The consumable chip of claim 12, wherein the nozzle circuitry comprises a heating control circuit, a resistor, and a thermistor, and the operating the nozzle circuitry according to the third parameter comprises:

based on different third parameters, different magnitudes of heating voltages are applied to the resistor by the heating control circuit, different durations of heating voltages are applied to the resistor by the heating control circuit, and/or different temperature coefficients are determined for the thermistor.

14. A consumable comprising a consumable chip according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. An image forming system comprising the consumable of claim 14 and an image forming apparatus.

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