An image forming apparatus includes a main body, a development cartridge supplying toner accommodated in a toner accommodating portion to an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoconductor to form a toner image, a toner refilling portion in the development cartridge and on which a toner refill cartridge for refilling toner in the toner accommodating portion is mounted, and a controller controlling operations of the image forming apparatus based on a connection between the development cartridge mounted on the main body and the toner refill cartridge mounted on the toner refilling portion. The toner refilling portion connects the toner refill cartridge to the main body through an interface between the development cartridge and the main body.

In an image forming apparatus, a consumable is mounted in the main casing. The consumable includes a consumable memory. A controller performs a consumable determination process to determine based on type information stored in a consumable memory whether the consumable mounted in the main casing is a special consumable. The controller performs a transmission process in a case where the consumable determination process determines that the consumable mounted in the main casing is the special consumable. The transmission process transmits via the communication interface a request to an external device which communicates with the image forming apparatus. The request is to cancel an agreement which is concluded for another image forming apparatus as a contract subject. The another image forming apparatus is different from the image forming apparatus.

An image forming apparatus comprises a main unit, a main unit memory, a drum cartridge, a toner cartridge, and a controller. The main unit memory stores printer identification information. The drum cartridge comprises a drum memory that stores drum identification information. The toner cartridge comprises a toner memory that stores toner identification information. The controller is configured to store in the main unit memory the drum identification information stored in the drum memory and store in the drum memory the printer identification information stored in the main unit memory, if it determines that the drum cartridge installed in the main unit is new, and store in the main unit memory the toner identification information stored in the toner memory and store in the toner memory the drum identification information stored in the drum memory, if it determines that the toner cartridge installed in the main unit is new.

In an image forming apparatus a toner cartridge includes a toner memory storing toner identification information. The toner cartridge is detachably attachable to a drum cartridge. The drum cartridge includes a drum memory storing drum identification information. The drum cartridge is detachably attached to the main-body casing. A controller performs a request process to request execution of a density correction process to correct a density of developer, in a case where a toner identification information determination process determines that the toner identification information stored in the toner memory does not match the toner identification information which is stored in the main-body memory in a toner identification information storing process or a drum identification information determination process determines that the drum identification information stored in the drum memory does not match the drum identification information which is stored in the main-body memory in the drum identification information storing process.

The present disclosure relates to a consumable chip, a consumable, an image forming device, and an image forming control method. The consumable chip is detachably installed on the consumable, and the consumable is detachably installed on the image forming device. The consumable chip includes a chip control unit, and the chip control unit is used to obtain a response signal based on a query signal, and process the response signal based on a preset rule to generate verification data, and the verification data is used to determine whether the consumable is a consumable that meets the preset requirement. The consumable chip generates verification data by processing the response signal according to preset rules, so that the verification data received by the image forming device includes both the response signal and auxiliary verification data obtained according to the response signal, thereby improving the verification reliability of forming device on consumable chip.

An image forming apparatus includes a casing, an image forming unit movable between an accommodated position and a shifted position, an actuator, an urging member, a cam, and a contact portion. The actuator includes a pivot shaft and a protrusion protruding therefrom. The protrusion at a standby position crosses a conveyance path and is contactable with a sheet conveyed along the conveyance path. When the image forming unit is at the accommodated position, the contact portion and the cam contact each other and maintain the protrusion at the standby position against an urging force of the urging member. As the image forming unit moves from the accommodated position to the shifted position, the contact portion and the cam move away from each other such that the protrusion pivots from the standby position, by the urging force, to a retracted position at which the protrusion is retracted from the conveyance path.

In an image forming apparatus, a controller performs processes in accordance with an operation mode settable to one of a first subscription mode and a second subscription mode. The first subscription mode corresponds to a first subscription in which a specific-color cartridge is a subscription subject and a non-specific-color cartridge is not the subscription subject. The second subscription mode corresponds to a second subscription in which both the specific-color cartridge and the non-specific-color cartridge are the subscription subject. The controller performs restricting usage of the non-specific-color cartridge in a case where the first subscription mode is set as the operation mode and the type information of the non-specific-color cartridge indicates the subscription type, compared to a case where the second subscription mode is set as the operation mode and the type information of the non-specific-color cartridge indicates the subscription type.

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, a cover, a cartridge, and a controller. The cartridge includes a second memory storing lifetime information indicating lifetime of the cartridge and identification information unique to the cartridge. In a case where the lifetime information indicates the initial value for the lifetime, the controller is configured to perform setting the cartridge to be usable in the image forming apparatus. In a case where the controller determines that the lifetime information does not indicate the initial value for the lifetime of the cartridge, the controller is configured to perform judging whether the identification information stored in the second memory matches a registration identification information stored in a first memory of the apparatus body. In a case where the identification information matches the registration identification information, the controller is configured to perform determining that the cartridge is usable for the image forming apparatus.

An example image forming apparatus may include a memory storing computer executable instructions and a processor. The processor may, by executing the computer executable instructions stored in the memory, determine whether a toner cartridge mounted in the image forming apparatus is genuine, and when it is determined that the toner cartridge is non-genuine, deactivate a user-defined application installed in the image forming apparatus.

A toner container includes a housing having a toner reservoir. An input gear is positioned on the housing for mating with a corresponding output gear in an image forming device when the toner container is installed in the image forming device. A toner agitator is movably positioned in the reservoir. The toner agitator is operatively connected to the input gear such that rotation of the input gear in a first rotational direction causes movement of the toner agitator for agitating toner in the reservoir. An encoded member is encoded with authentication information of the toner container and is operatively connected to the input gear such that rotation of the input gear in a second rotational direction causes movement of the encoded member for communicating the authentication information of the toner container to a controller of the image forming device when the toner container is installed in the image forming device.