| 摘要 |
<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which is used while a process unit comprising an image carrier and its peripheral elements as one unit is loaded, the image forming apparatus outputting an alarm in specified timing when one of the elements becomes nearly dead. <P>SOLUTION: The process unit includes a plurality of constituent elements having different functions together and is equipped with an information storage tag storing life parameters of those constituent elements, and the image forming apparatus is equipped with a tag information readout means of reading life criterion information out of the information storage tag and a display means of displaying a warning message indicating that the process unit needs to be replaced when the life deciding means decides that at least one of the constituent elements has a life shorter than a previously set reference value through a use state detecting means detecting use states of the respective constituent elements of the process unit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI |
