Conventionally, an image forming apparatus including a plurality of antennas for detecting for an arrival direction of a radio wave was not invented. In the present invention, a communication board including a plurality of antennas for wireless communicating with a communication terminal is provided on a front side with respect to a front-rear direction of an image forming apparatus including an imager forming unit in a vertical direction.

An image forming apparatus includes a main body that includes a photosensitive member on which an electrostatic latent image is formed and a development unit configured to develop the photosensitive member with toner. The main body is configured to discharge a recording material on which an image is formed with the toner onto a discharge tray. The image forming apparatus also includes a toner supply port on which a supply container is mounted to supply toner to a toner containing portion of the development unit. The image forming apparatus further includes a non-contact communication portion including an antenna and configured to receive a signal for user authentication. The discharge tray, the toner supply port, and the non-contact communication portion are provided at an upper portion of the main body. The non-contact communication portion is provided outside the discharge tray when the main body is viewed from above.

A toner container attachment detecting device includes a reader-writer, a shutter made with an electrically conductive material and provided movably between an open position where the shutter is kept from influencing a carrier wave radiated from an antenna of the reader-writer and a covering position where the shutter influences the carrier wave, and first and second displacing portions. When the toner container is attached to an apparatus body, the first displacing portion displaces the shutter to the open position. When the toner container is removed from the apparatus body, the second displacing portion displaces the shutter to the covering position. A radio field intensity detecting section of the reader-writer detects a radio field intensity of the carrier wave and a determining section of the reader-writer determines, based on a detection result of the radio field intensity detecting section, whether or not the toner container is attached to the apparatus body.

An image forming apparatus includes a storage and a controller. When it is determined that a temperature detected by a temperature detector is equal to or higher than a reference temperature, the controller stops a wireless communication between an RFID tag and a reader/writer. In addition, when a predetermined condition for determining that the detected temperature is lower than the reference temperature is satisfied, the controller starts the wireless communication between the RFID tag and the reader/writer, and causes the reader/writer to update information stored in the RFID tag to update information that was stored in the storage between a time point when it was determined that the temperature detected by the temperature detector is equal to or higher than the reference temperature and a time point when the predetermined condition was satisfied.

An image forming apparatus that utilizes a communication device is disclosed. A communication unit of a housing which corresponds to an antenna portion is provided at a position at which the communication unit can be seen without obstruction from the upper side. A communication device such as a smartphone can be brought close to or into contact with the communication unit readily. Accordingly, wireless communication between the antenna portion and the communication device can be established.

In accordance with an embodiment, an IC chip for a recording agent cartridge comprises a contact interface, a non-contact interface, a memory and a switching section. The contact interface communicates with a first external device in a wired manner. The non-contact interface communicates with a second external device in a wireless manner. The memory stores identification information. The switching section switches between a first mode capable of accessing the memory via wired communication and a second mode capable of accessing the memory via wireless communication. The switching section switches between the first mode and the second mode depending on whether access information is acquired via the contact interface or the non-contact interface.

A sheet feeder includes a cassette has a sheet container space configured to hold a sheet having a wireless tag. The cassette feeds the sheet to a first side in a first direction. A horizontal direction orthogonal to the first direction is a second direction. A range in the second direction occupied by the wireless tag of the sheet held in the sheet container space is a first range. A range in the second direction including at least a part of the first range is a second range. A range in the second direction occupied by the sheet container space is a third range. In the cassette front wall, a height in a vertical direction in the third range except the second range is smaller than a height in the vertical direction in the second range.

An image forming device includes a communication device, an image forming unit, a transfer unit, a transmitting unit, and a processor. The communication device communicates includes a wireless tag. The image forming unit forms a developer image on a surface of a photoreceptor. The transfer unit transfers the developer image to a medium provided with the wireless tag communicating with the communication device. The transmitting unit transmits the medium to the transfer unit. The processor controls an operation of the transmitting unit so as to transmit the medium at a first timing when communication with the wireless tag by the communication device is normally executed and controls the operation of the transmitting unit so as to transmit the medium at a second timing different from the first timing when the communication with the wireless tag by the communication device is not normally ended.

An image forming apparatus includes a storage and a controller. When it is determined that a temperature detected by a temperature detector is equal to or higher than a reference temperature, the controller stops a wireless communication between an RFID tag and a reader/writer. In addition, when a predetermined condition for determining that the detected temperature is lower than the reference temperature is satisfied, the controller starts the wireless communication between the RFID tag and the reader/writer, and causes the reader/writer to update information stored in the RFID tag to update information that was stored in the storage between a time point when it was determined that the temperature detected by the temperature detector is equal to or higher than the reference temperature and a time point when the predetermined condition was satisfied.

An image forming apparatus includes a communication portion arranged inside a cover covering an image forming portion in the main body of the apparatus and including an antenna surface for use in establishing near field communication. The cover includes a stacking portion in its upper section. The stacking portion is configured to receive a recording medium with an image thereon, the recording medium being discharged outside the main body of the apparatus. The antenna surface faces a region of the upper section of the cover downstream in a direction of discharging the recording medium. The antenna surface at least partially faces a region of the upper section of the cover outside the stacking portion in a direction perpendicular to the direction of discharging the recording medium. The communication portion is capable of communicating with another communication portion using near field communication.