BACKGROUND

[0001] A toner cartridge may be installed in an image forming apparatus to supply toner as part of an image forming operation. The toner cartridge may be originally supplied with a certain volume of toner and may remain in the image forming apparatus until the volume of toner is exhausted. At that time, the toner cartridge may be replaced. However, various situations may occur in which the toner cartridge is removed from the image forming apparatus before the supply of toner is exhausted. In that case, the toner cartridge may contain an amount of unused or undeveloped toner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] Various examples will be described below by referring to the following figures.

[0003] FIG. 1 illustrates a toner recycling method according to an example;

[0004] FIG. 2 illustrates a harvesting operation of undeveloped toner in more detail according to an example;

[0005] FIG. 3 illustrates a toner aggregating operation in more detail according to an example;

[0006] FIG. 4 illustrates a toner cartridge including a reservoir and an indicator according to an example; and

[0007] FIG. 5 illustrates an image forming apparatus having the toner cartridge of FIG. 4 installed therein according to an example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0008] Hereinafter, various examples will be described with reference to the drawings to assist in an understanding of the disclosure. However, the disclosure may be modified and performed variously unlike in the examples described herein. Like reference numerals in the specification and the drawings denote like elements, and thus a redundant description may be omitted.

[0009] The terms used in the specification and claims have been selected as general terms in consideration of functions in the disclosure. But, these terms may vary in accordance with precedent, technical interpretation, the emergence of new technologies, and the like.

[0010] In the disclosure, the expression that a certain component is “connected” to another component includes a case in which the components are “directly connected to each other,” and also a case in which the components are “connected to each other with another component interposed therebetween.” In addition, a component that is described to “include” another component, may include still another component, rather than excluding it, unless otherwise noted. [0011] An image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a scanner, a fax machine, or a multi-purpose peripheral (MFP) that complexly implements functions of the printer, the copier, the scanner, and the fax machine through one apparatus, may use a toner cartridge as a replaceable component. For example, an image forming apparatus may perform an image forming operation based on an electrophotographic printing process in which a latent image formed on a photoconductor is used to form a toner image by application of toner to the latent image. In that case, the image forming apparatus may include a toner cartridge to supply the toner.

[0012] The toner cartridge may originally be supplied by a manufacturer or other supplier with a certain volume of toner. For example, the toner cartridge may be supplied having a volume of toner to support a certain number of image forming operations. As an example, the toner cartridge may be originally supplied having a toner volume that is represented as a number of pages that may be printed using the toner cartridge. The toner cartridge may include an integrated circuit chip having a memory that stores information regarding a remaining volume, a percent life remaining, or other information corresponding to an amount of toner remaining in the toner cartridge based on a period of use of the toner cartridge.

[0013] Based on continued use of the toner cartridge, the toner supply of the toner cartridge may become exhausted. In that case, the toner cartridge may be removed from the image forming apparatus and replaced with another toner cartridge. In that situation, a remaining toner volume of the toner cartridge may be at or near zero and a user of the toner cartridge may dispose of the toner cartridge, such as by returning the toner cartridge to the manufacturer for recycling.

[0014] However, in various situations, a toner cartridge may be removed from the image forming apparatus before the remaining toner volume of the toner cartridge is at or near zero. For example, the toner cartridge may suffer a defect, an error, or another problem that prevents the toner cartridge from use in the image forming apparatus. In another example, a user may return the toner cartridge before the remaining toner volume of the toner cartridge is exhausted based on the toner cartridge being part of a subscription program. In these and similar cases, the toner cartridge may still contain unused or undeveloped toner, despite the toner cartridge being removed from the image forming apparatus for replacement. In previous implementations, the unused toner has simply been disposed of.

[0015] In examples that are described herein, unused or undeveloped toner may be gathered or harvested from the used toner cartridge. The harvested toner may be of any color and may be combined with other harvested toner for use as an aggregated toner. The aggregated toner may have print characteristics similar to print characteristics of black toner and may be implemented in an image forming apparatus for use as a black toner. In an example, the aggregated toner may have properties sufficient for draft quality printing. Several benefits are achieved by harvesting and aggregating the unused toner including reduction in waste, provision of a toner suitable for draft printing in a lower-cost product, support of sustainability, and others.

[0016] In the following description, a “manufacturer” may be described as performing operations that are part of an example method. However, this is merely for sake of convenience and any party including a party other than a manufacturer may perform the described operations. Also in the following description, a used toner cartridge may be described as including “unused” or “undeveloped” toner, which refers to toner that is located within the used toner cartridge after installation and use of the toner cartridge in an image forming apparatus. In an example, the “unused” or “undeveloped” toner may be found within a supply reservoir of the used toner cartridge, which is distinct from used toner that may be found within a waste toner reservoir of the used toner cartridge. In still other examples, the “unused” or “undeveloped” toner may refer to toner that is located within a toner cartridge that has not been installed or used in an image forming apparatus or may refer to toner that has not been included in toner cartridge. For example, a toner cartridge that has not been installed or used in an image forming apparatus may be recalled or otherwise returned to a manufacturer. In that case, the recalled or otherwise returned toner cartridge may contain “unused” or “undeveloped” toner although the toner cartridge has not been installed or used in an image forming apparatus. As another example, use of a toner may be discontinued such that an inventory of bulk toner that has not been included in a toner cartridge may result. In that case, the bulk toner may be considered “unused” or “undeveloped” toner for purposes of the description herein.

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates a toner recycling method according to an example.

[0018] Referring to FIG. 1 , an example toner recycling method includes harvesting undeveloped toner in operation S110. As an example, a manufacturer of toner cartridges may receive a used toner cartridge based on a mechanical failure of the toner cartridge, based on an early return of the toner cartridge, based on an error occurring in the toner cartridge, based on the amount of toner within the toner cartridge being less than a threshold, and the like. In any of those cases, the received toner cartridge may have a volume of unused toner that may be harvested. The harvesting of the unused toner in operation S110 may include a process of extracting the unused toner from the used toner cartridge using an existing orifice of the used toner cartridge or by creating an orifice through which to extract the unused toner from the used toner cartridge.

[0019] In operation S120, the harvested toner may be mixed to form an aggregated toner. In various examples, the aggregated toner may include a plurality of unused toners of different colors that are combined using the same or different amounts of each toner. For example, the aggregated toner may be a combination of a first volume of a first color toner and a second volume of a second color toner, wherein the first volume and the second volume may be the same or different from each other. In another example, the aggregated toner may be a combination of a first volume of a first color toner, a second volume of a second color toner, a third volume of a third color toner, and a fourth volume of a fourth color toner. In that case, the volume of each toner color may the same or different from the remaining volumes of toners of different colors. In other examples, the aggregated toner may be any combination of a plurality of toners of different colors.

[0020] In an example, the harvested toner that is mixed to form the aggregated toner may be selected based on a characteristic of the unused toner. For example, the aggregated toner may be formed using a plurality of unused toners of different colors wherein each of the plurality of unused toners has a common characteristic, such as a same type of toner, a same manufacturer, a same toner standard, and the like.

[0021] In operation S130, the aggregated toner is supplied to a toner cartridge. For example, the toner cartridge may include a reservoir having an orifice to receive the aggregated toner. As an example, the reservoir may include an inlet port to receive the aggregated toner and may include an outlet port to supply the toner to an image forming apparatus upon installation and use of the toner cartridge in the image forming apparatus. In an example, the toner cartridge that receives the aggregated toner is a new toner cartridge that has not been previously used.

[0022] In operation S140, an indicator of the toner cartridge may be set to reflect a property of the aggregated toner. As an example, the aggregated toner may be used in place of a black toner in an image forming operation such as use for monochrome printing in an image forming apparatus capable of color printing. In that case, the aggregated toner may have different printing properties than the black toner, such that a setting of the image forming apparatus may be changed to correspond to a property of the aggregated toner. For example, the indicator may include a value to be provided to a processor of an image forming apparatus to change a setting for an image forming operation. Examples of such a setting include a bias voltage, a transfer voltage, a color table, a density setting, a speed setting, a calibration setting, a cleaning cycle, a counting or gas gauge setting, and the like.

[0023] In various examples, the indicator may be an electrical or a mechanical device. For example, the indicator may be an integrated circuit chip having a memory to store at least one value corresponding to a property of the aggregated toner. In an example, the integrated circuit chip may store a plurality of values corresponding to different properties of the toner or to different settings of the image forming apparatus. In another example, the indicator may be a mechanical device such as a key, a protrusion, or the like that may contact a corresponding mechanical device of an image forming apparatus based on installation of the toner cartridge in the image forming apparatus. The contact of the indicator of the toner cartridge and the mechanical device of the image forming apparatus may cause a signal to be provided to a processor the image forming apparatus corresponding to a property of the aggregated toner or a setting of the image forming apparatus. Based on installation of the toner cartridge including the aggregated toner in an image forming apparatus, the indicator may transmit or otherwise provide an electric or mechanical signal to the image forming apparatus. Based on receipt of the signal, the image forming apparatus may change a setting for a printing process.

[0024] In another example, the indicator may be an electrical device that provides an instruction to the image forming apparatus to obtain a setting value from a cloud-based server. In that case, the cloud-based server may include a database of setting values, aggregated toner properties, aggregated toner types, and the like that may be updated and provided to the image forming apparatus.

[0025] FIG. 2 illustrates a harvesting operation of undeveloped toner in more detail according to an example.

[0026] Referring to FIG. 2, based on receiving a used toner cartridge, it may be determined whether the used toner cartridge includes genuine toner in operation S210. For example, a manufacturer may receive and evaluate a used toner cartridge to determine whether the used toner cartridge was originally supplied by the manufacturer, whether the used toner cartridge was previously refilled or refurbished by the manufacturer, whether the used toner cartridge includes toner of an authorized supplier other than the manufacturer, whether the used toner cartridge is of a competing manufacturer and includes toner that satisfies a certain characteristic, and the like.

[0027] In various examples, the determining of whether the used toner cartridge includes genuine toner in operation S210 may include an inspection of the harvested toner, testing of the harvested toner, an inspection of an electronic identifier (e.g., a memory chip) included with the user toner cartridge, an inspection of identification information of the user toner cartridge (e.g., a model number, a vendor name, a serial number or other unique identifier, a universal product code, etc.), and the like.

[0028] Based on a determination in operation S210 that the used toner cartridge includes genuine toner, it may be determined whether the used toner cartridge includes an amount of undeveloped toner that is greater than or equal to an amount threshold in operation S220. As an example, the amount threshold of undeveloped toner may correspond to an amount of toner below which harvesting of the toner may not be economical.

[0029] In various examples, the amount of undeveloped toner may be determined based on a percent life remaining (PLR) of the toner cartridge, a weight (e.g., grams, etc.) of the toner cartridge, a value included in a memory chip of the toner cartridge, and the like. The amount threshold value may have the same unit of measurement as the amount of undeveloped toner (e.g., PLR, grams, etc.) and may be any value greater than zero. The amount threshold of undeveloped toner may be changed depending on economic, environmental, or other considerations.

[0030] Based on a determination in operation S220 that the amount of undeveloped toner is greater than or equal to the amount threshold, it may be determined whether the age of the undeveloped toner is less than or equal to an age threshold in operation S230. As an example, a usage scenario of an image forming apparatus may include a situation in which most pages are printed having a low print coverage area such that a small amount of toner is used for each print operation. In that case, a toner cartridge may be in-service for a longer period of time as the toner cartridge is able to support the printing of a greater number of pages based on the low print coverage. Based on the longer period of service, the electrophotographic properties of the undeveloped toner may have deteriorated to a point where the undeveloped toner is no longer suitable for use as an aggregated toner as it may no longer support even draft quality printing. In various examples, age information of the undeveloped toner may be obtained from a memory chip of the toner cartridge, from a remote server such as a cloudbased server including telemetry data of the toner cartridge, and the like.

[0031] Based on a determination in operation S230 that the age of undeveloped toner is less than or equal to the age threshold, the undeveloped toner contained in the used toner cartridge is harvested in operation S240. For example, as described with reference to operation S110, the harvesting of the unused toner may include a process of extracting the unused toner from the used toner cartridge using an existing orifice of the used toner cartridge or by creating an orifice through which to extract the unused toner from the used toner cartridge. The toner that is harvested in operation S230 may be kept separately from other harvested toner before a mixing process or may be mixed with other harvested toner upon removal from the used toner cartridge. In various examples, harvesting of the toner in operation S240 may also include post-processing operations such as filtering the undeveloped toner for impurities, etc., testing of the undeveloped toner for electrophotographic or other properties, and the like.

[0032] Based on a determination in operation S210 that the used toner cartridge does not include genuine toner, based on a determination in operation S220 that the amount of undeveloped toner is less than the amount threshold, or based on a determination in operation S230 that the age of undeveloped toner is greater than the age threshold, the used toner cartridge may be disposed of in operation S240. As an example, the used toner cartridge may be recycled.

[0033] FIG. 3 illustrates a toner aggregating operation in more detail according to an example.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 3, toner that is harvested from a used toner cartridge may be sorted in operation S310. In various examples, a determination may be made as to a property of the harvested toner such as a color, a type, a manufacturer, an age, and the like. Based on at least one determined property, the harvested toner may be sorted and stored with harvested toner having the same property. As an example, used toner of a certain type and a certain color may be sorted and stored with other used toner having the same type and the same color.

[0035] In operation S320, a mix ratio of undeveloped toners may be selected. As an example, different undeveloped toners may be considered for mixing based on at least one property of the undeveloped toner such as a color, a type, a family, a class, a manufacturer, an age, and the like. For example, a mix of undeveloped toners having different colors may be selected based on a printing property of the undeveloped toners in the aggregate. In an example, the printing property of the undeveloped toners in the aggregate may be determined based on experiment.

[0036] As an example, a mix ratio of an aggregated toner may be selected based on a color and a type of undeveloped toner. In more detail, the aggregated toner may be comprised of undeveloped toners having the same type but different colors. As an example, the aggregated toner may include 25% each of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black undeveloped toner, wherein each of the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black undeveloped toner is of the same type. The aggregated toner may be tested to determine a printing quality of the aggregated toner, for example to determine that the aggregated toner has bulk properties sufficient for draft printing.

[0037] As another example, the aggregated toner may include 30% each of cyan, magenta, and yellow undeveloped toner, and 10% of black undeveloped toner, wherein each of the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black undeveloped toner is of the same type. The aggregated toner may be tested to determine a printing quality of the aggregated toner, for example to determine that the aggregated toner has bulk properties sufficient for draft printing. Of course, these percentages and colors are merely to show examples of a mix ratio based on colors of undeveloped toner and should not be construed as limiting. Moreover, the aggregated toner is not limited to undeveloped toners of the same type or limited to undeveloped toners having the same property. In other examples, the aggregated toner may be based on a combination of any of a plurality of undeveloped toners.

[0038] In operation S330, a setting may be selected based on a property the aggregated toner. For example, based on determining a printing property or a characteristic of the aggregated toner, a setting may be selected for an indicator of a toner cartridge. As an example, based on use of the aggregated toner in an image forming apparatus, a setting of the image forming apparatus may be changed based on a printing property of the aggregated toner. In more detail, the aggregated toner may be used as black toner in the image forming apparatus. However, the aggregated toner may have a different property than a property of the black toner. In that case, the image forming apparatus may have a factory setting based on use of the black toner and the property of the black toner. In that case, use of the aggregated toner in the image forming apparatus having a setting based on the property of the black toner may result in reduced print quality. To address this concern, the setting of the image forming apparatus may be changed based on the property of the aggregated toner.

[0039] The selected mix ratios determined in operation S320 and the selected settings determined in operation S330 may be stored and updated based on print quality results using the aggregated toner. In an example, the mix ratios and the settings may be stored in a cloud-based server and may be updated based on feedback regarding print quality results. Also, the settings stored in the cloud-based server may be accessed for use by an image forming apparatus in which the aggregated toner is installed.

[0040] In operation S340, the undeveloped toner may be aggregated. For example, various amounts of undeveloped toners may be selected based on the mix ratio determined in operation S320. The selected amounts of undeveloped toners according to the mix ratio may be combined and subjected to an agitation, a stirring, or another mixing process to obtain the aggregated toner.

[0041] FIG. 4 illustrates a toner cartridge including a reservoir and an indicator according to an example.

[0042] Referring to FIG. 4, a toner cartridge 410 may include a reservoir 420 and an indicator 430. The reservoir 420 may be provided as an enclosed space within the toner cartridge 410. The reservoir 420 may having a capacity (i.e., volume) to receive an amount of aggregated toner corresponding to a desired lifespan or printing quantity of the toner cartridge 410. As an example, the reservoir 420 may have a capacity to receive an amount of aggregated toner capable of printing 5000 pages. Of course, this is only an example, and a capacity of the reservoir is not limited.

[0043] Although not shown, the toner cartridge 410 may include a first port or other opening to receive the aggregated toner and a second port or other opening to provide the aggregated toner to an image forming apparatus based on installation of the toner cartridge 410 in the image forming apparatus. The first port or other opening may be coupled to the reservoir 420 by a pathway or other structure to guide aggregated toner into the reservoir 420. The second port of other opening may also be coupled to the reservoir 420 by a pathway or other structure to guide aggregated toner out of the reservoir 420 and into an image forming apparatus, such as into a developer cartridge of an image forming apparatus. The second port or other opening may further include a coupling structure to securely attach the second port or other opening to the image forming apparatus. In an example, a single port or other opening may be provided that may both receive the aggregated toner and provide the aggregated toner to an image forming apparatus.

[0044] The indicator 430 may be an electrical device or a mechanical device. As an example, the indicator 430 may be an electrical device such as an electronic circuit or an integrated circuit chip including a memory. The indicator 430 may provide setting information of the toner cartridge 41 O to an image forming apparatus. For example, the indicator 430 may communicate a property of the aggregated toner contained in the reservoir 420 to an image forming apparatus. The property of the aggregated toner may correspond to, for example, a bias voltage, a transfer voltage, a color table, a density setting, a speed setting, a calibration setting, a cleaning cycle, a counting or gas gauge setting, and the like. Based on installation of the toner cartridge 410 in an image forming apparatus, the indicator 430 may provide the property of the aggregated toner to the image forming apparatus. In that case, the image forming apparatus may change a setting such as a print setting corresponding to the aggregated toner to improve a print quality.

[0045] In an example, the indicator 430 may include a memory to store information that may be used by the image forming apparatus to determine a property of the aggregated toner. For example, the indicator 430 may include information such as a location (e.g., IP address) of a remote cloud-based server on which the property of the aggregated toner is stored. In that case, a communication device of the image forming apparatus may receive the location information from the indicator 430 and use the location information to obtain the property of the aggregated toner. By storing the property of the aggregated toner on the remote server, the property may be updated based on usage data of the aggregated toner over time. For example, the property may be adjusted based on usage feedback of the aggregated toner over time.

[0046] In an example, the indicator 430 may be a mechanical device such as a protrusion or a mechanical key. In that case, the indicator 430 may be physically received by a corresponding receiving device of the image forming apparatus. A shape or a size of the mechanical device may correspond to a property of the aggregated toner contained in the reservoir 420. For example, the indicator 430 may have a first size or shape to indicate a first property of the aggregated toner, may have a second size or shape to indicate a second property of the aggregated toner, etc. Based on coupling of the indicator 430 to the receiving device of the image forming apparatus, the receiving device may determine the size or the shape of the indicator 430 and may change a setting of the image forming apparatus corresponding to the property of the aggregated toner.

[0047] In an example in which the toner cartridge 410 is to be used as a black toner in an image forming apparatus, the indicator 430 may provide information to the image forming apparatus that the toner cartridge 410 includes aggregated toner, as opposed to black toner. As an example, the aggregated toner may provide an alternative product having a lower price and a print quality that is suitable for draft quality images as compared to the black toner. In that case, the indicator 430 may communicate information to the image forming apparatus that the toner cartridge 410 contains aggregated toner. For example, the communicated information may be displayed on a user interface of the image forming apparatus to indicate that the toner cartridge 410 includes aggregated toner suitable for draft printing. In that case, the user may select to use the toner cartridge 410 and may input settings to the image forming apparatus corresponding to the aggregated toner.

[0048] FIG. 5 illustrates an image forming apparatus having the toner cartridge of FIG. 4 installed therein according to an example.

[0049] Referring to FIG. 5, an image forming apparatus 510 may include a processor 520 and a print engine 530. The processor 520 may control various functions of the image forming apparatus 510 including controlling a printing operation of the image forming apparatus 510. The controlling of the printing operation of the image forming apparatus 510 may include controlling at least one setting of the print engine 530 of the image forming apparatus 510.

[0050] The print engine 530 may be controlled by the processor 520 to print printing data. For example, the print engine 530 may form an image on a recording medium by an electrophotographic method using a series of processes including exposure, development, transfer, fixation, and the like. In the electrophotographic method, the print engine 530 may be controlled using several settings such as a bias voltage, a transfer voltage, a color table, a density setting, a speed setting, a calibration setting, a cleaning cycle, a counting or gas gage setting, and the like. In an example, any or all of these settings may be based on a property of a toner to be used in the electrophotographic method. For example, the image forming apparatus 510 may be provided having settings determined by an original manufacturer based on a property of an original toner. As an example, the image forming apparatus 510 may include a setting based on use of a black toner. In a case in which the toner cartridge 410 including the aggregated toner is installed in the image forming apparatus 510, a setting of the image forming apparatus 510 may be changed.

[0051] As discussed above, the indicator 430 of the toner cartridge 410 may include an electrical or a mechanical indicator, either of which may communicate a property of the aggregated toner to the processor 520. For example, in a case in which the indicator 430 includes an electrical indicator, the processor 520 may include a contact or other electric receptacle with which to communicate with the indicator 430. In an example, the indicator 430 and the processor 520 may each have access to a wireless communication device, such as a near field communication (NFC) device, a WiFi device, a Bluetooth device, and the like that may be used to exchange information including a property of the aggregated toner.

[0052] In an example in which the indicator 430 includes a mechanical indicator, the processor 520 may include a corresponding receiving device. In that case, a shape or a size of the mechanical device may correspond to a property of the aggregated toner contained in the reservoir 420. Based on coupling by the receiving device of the processor 520 to the indicator 430, the processor 520 may determine a characteristic (e.g., a size or a shape) of the indicator 430 and may change a setting of the print engine 530 corresponding to the property of the aggregated toner.

[0053] According to various examples as described above, unused or undeveloped toner may be harvested from a used toner cartridge and mixed with other unused or undeveloped toner to obtain an aggregated toner. Based on a property of the aggregated toner, an indicator may communicate the property to an image forming apparatus to change a print setting. In that case, the aggregated toner may provide draft quality printing at a lower cost than an OEM black toner, while reducing waste and improving sustainability.

[0054] It should be understood that examples described herein should be considered in a descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each example should typically be considered as available for other similar features or aspects in other examples. While examples have been described with reference to the figures, it will be understood that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope as defined by the following claims.