Patent ID: 8090274
Filing Date: 2012-01-03
Classification: B41J,G03G

Abstract:
1. A consumable unit installable in an image forming apparatus, the consumable unit comprising: a toner container to contain toner; and at least one chip mounted to the toner container, the at least one chip including a first memory to store encoded data which is accessible and decodable by the image forming apparatus to authenticate the consumable unit when the consumable unit is installed therein, and a second memory to store recycling prevention information, wherein, when the consumable unit is installed in the image forming apparatus, the first memory is used to store information relating to consumption of the toner contained in the toner container which information is accessible by the image forming apparatus to determine a remaining toner level, and if the remaining toner level is less than a predefined level, the image forming apparatus writes the recycling prevention information in the second memory.