G03G15/00

IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS

An image forming apparatus includes an object disposed in an apparatus body so as to be capable of being taken out through an opening; an opening-closing portion that is rotatable and that covers the opening and rotates upward to open the opening; and an operating portion that is rotatable and disposed in front of the opening-closing portion. The operating portion is disposed at a position on a rotation trajectory along which the opening-closing portion rotates upward and on a path along which the object is taken out of the apparatus body. The operating portion rotates forward so as to be retracted from the rotation trajectory and the path along which the object is taken out and so that the path along which the object is taken out is formed between the operating portion and the opening-closing portion in the open state.

Image Forming Apparatus and Condensation Reduction Method That Remove Condensation with Simple Configuration, and Recording Medium Therefor
20170257511 · 2017-09-07 ·

An image forming apparatus includes an image reading unit, a fixing unit, a time setting unit, and a control unit. The image reading unit moves a running body having an onboard optical system. The fixing unit heats toner transferred onto the print medium and applies pressure on the heated toner with respect to the print medium to fix the toner. The time setting unit sets an estimated time when use of the image forming apparatus starts. The control unit controls the image reading unit, the fixing unit, and the time setting unit. The control unit, prior to the set estimated start-of-use time by a predetermined period set in advance, activates the image reading unit to detect whether condensation has occurred in the optical system, heats the fixing unit in response to a detection of occurrence of condensation, and stops the heating before the estimated start-of-use time.

PRINTING DEVICE PARAMETER CONTROL USING MACHINE LEARNING MODEL, IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE REPLACEABLE ITEM LIFESPAN

A printing device includes a printing engine to selectively output print material, a replaceable item of the printing engine, and a subsystem for the printing engine. A machine learning model is used to control controllable parameters of the subsystem for the printing engine, based on physical characteristic measurements of the printing device, to maximize a lifespan of the replaceable item.

IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS
20220236675 · 2022-07-28 ·

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion, a heating portion that includes a heating element which is heated by power from a power supply and heats an image, a temperature detecting portion that detects temperature of the heating portion, and a power control portion that controls power supplied to the heating element based on information from the temperature detecting portion. The image forming apparatus further includes a detecting portion that detects whether voltage from the power supply exceeds a rated value, and when the detecting portion detects that the voltage from the power supply exceeds the rated value, the power control portion controls the power supply such that a waveform pattern of an electric current to the heating element in one control cycle becomes a waveform pattern of phase control, where power supplying time to the heating element in one half wave becomes a predetermined time or less.

IMAGE-FORMING APPARATUS
20220236682 · 2022-07-28 ·

An image-forming apparatus includes, in a body having a predetermined house, an image-reading unit and an image-forming unit that is configured to form an image read by the image-reading unit. A discharge portion is configured to discharge a sheet on which the image was formed onto a discharge tray. An intra-apparatus-discharge space is formed in the body between the image-reading unit and the image-forming unit. The housing includes therein a consumption article mounting portion in which a consumption article used by the image-forming unit is mounted. At least a portion of a surface of the housing at a region of the consumption article mounting portion has a light-transmissive property. When the consumption article is consumed and needs to be replenished, the operator can visually check the region of the consumption article mounting portion in the housing from the outside of the body through the transparent portion.

IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS
20220236672 · 2022-07-28 · ·

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of heaters, a switch portion, and first and second supply lines. The heaters heat a toner image. The switch portion is connected to an alternating-current power source, and opens and closes in a manner interlocked with the opening and closing of a cover. The first supply line connects the respective one ends of the heaters to the switch portion. The second supply line connects the respective other ends of the heaters to the switch portion. The second supply line has a branch portion. The respective other ends of the heaters are each connected to one of branch lines which are electric wires that branch off from the branch portion. The switch portion is disposed between the branch portion and the alternating-current power source.

FIXING DEVICE, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, FIXING CONTROL METHOD
20220236674 · 2022-07-28 ·

A fixing device includes a fixing member, a pressurizing member, a charging portion, and a control portion. The fixing member rotates while being heated. The pressurizing member forms a nip portion between itself and a surface of the fixing member in such a way as to hold a sheet therebetween and conveys the sheet by rotating together with the fixing member, wherein an image of toner has been formed on the sheet. The charging portion electrically charges the surface of the fixing member to a polarity that is same as a charging polarity of the toner by supplying a charging current to a pair of electrodes that is disposed to face the surface of the fixing member. The control portion acquires sheet information that includes one or more of length information, width information, and thickness information of the sheet and adjusts the charging current based on the sheet information.

IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD FOR THE IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND A STORAGE MEDIUM
20220236679 · 2022-07-28 ·

A device of a lower hierarchy in a power supply configuration sets a flag of a non-volatile storage area when the device of the lower hierarchy reset by WDT. In a case where the flag at the time of starting, the device of an upper hierarchy is notified that the device of the lower hierarchy in the power supply configuration is reset. Thus, the device of the upper hierarchy initializes the entire system, and the image forming apparatus can be operated.

COLOR MEASUREMENT DEVICE THAT AVOIDS DIRT ON REFERENCE SURFACE OF WHITE REFERENCE PLATE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS
20220236680 · 2022-07-28 ·

A color measurement device includes a conveying roller unit that conveys a sheet in a conveying direction, a color sensor that is movable in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction and measures a color of an image formed on the sheet, a white reference plate having a reference surface for measurement by the color sensor for calibration of the color sensor, lifting rollers that move with the color sensor and retain the sheet, and slid-on members that protrude to a level higher than the reference surface in a perpendicular direction to the reference surface. When the color sensor moves such that at least part of the lifting rollers overlaps the white reference plate as viewed from the perpendicular direction, the lifting rollers are brought into contact with the slid-on members, whereby a space is formed between the lifting rollers and the reference surface.

IMAGE FORMING SYSTEM, CONTROL METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM
20220236681 · 2022-07-28 ·

An image forming system cyclically conveys an Nth sheet with an image formed on a first side to an image forming unit as a sheet subject to image formation after image formation on a subsequent (N+i)th sheet, and form an image on a second side of the Nth sheet. The system includes an obtaining unit that, during image forming processes, obtains respective updated adjustment values for the first and second sides, and a control unit that performs control to simultaneously store the updated adjustment value for the first side and an unupdated adjustment value for the second side in a part of a period of the processes, form an image on the first side of the (N+i)th sheet using the updated one for the first side, and form the image on the second side of the Nth sheet using the unupdated one for the second side.