Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.

Minolta Company, Ltd.

Konica Minolta, Inc.

Katsuyuki Hirata

Kentaro Katori

Takashi Harashima

Yoshinobu Hada

Yukihiko Okuno

Masahiro Kouzaki

Masaki Tanaka

Kazuomi Sakatani

Tatsuya Isono

Toshio Tsuboi

Tetsuya Sakai

Mitsuru Obara

Yoshinori Tsutsumi

Hideaki Tanaka

Kazuhiro Saito

Hironobu Nakata

Hironori Akashi

Takaaki Kooriya

Yoshihiko Hirota

Toru Yamaguchi

Ryo Hasegawa

Daiki Yamanaka

Yasuyuki Inada

Kiyohito Tsujihara

Toshifumi Watanabe

Yuji Okugawa

Tomiko Imoto

Toshikuni Ando

Tomoki Wada

Kentro Katori

In image-checking equipment, a detector reads a line-shaped check image formed on a sheet and acquires image data on the check image. A controller calculates an edge blur in a rising edge and a falling edge of the image data, calculates a line width of the check image. The controller refers to a correction table with the measured values of the edge blur and the line width of the check image, and acquires a corrected line width value based on the correction table to obtain the real line width of the check image.

Equipment to determine line width of check image and image-forming apparatus using the same

In one aspect of the present invention, exposure timings for a plurality of light beams are adjusted on the basis of a toner concentration of a boundary part between line images formed by one light beam and line images formed by another light beam neighboring the one light beam and a toner concentration of a part except the boundary part in a pattern image. Here, in the pattern image, line images extending in the main-scan direction of a photoreceptor are formed while having a predetermined pitch in the sub-scan direction of the photoreceptor and also the boundary part is arranged so as to be shifted from the sub-scan direction of the photoreceptor, by an image forming section.

Image forming apparatus and exposure position adjusting method

An image forming apparatus includes a control unit and first and second image scanning devices. The first and second image scanning devices scan the same surface of the same sheet with an image formed thereon on a sheet-conveying pathway. The image forming apparatus adjusts an image forming condition based on information acquired through the scan by the first and second image scanning devices. The first image scanning device scans only a part of an area in the main scanning direction. The second image scanning device scans an area across the image forming width in the main scanning direction. The control unit detects an anomalous value based on the information acquired through the scan by the second image scanning device, and prompts cleaning of the first and second image scanning devices in response to detection of the anomalous value.

Image forming apparatus

According to an image forming apparatus and an exposure position adjusting method of one aspect of the present invention, an exposure section scans a plurality of light beams to form a plurality of electrostatic latent images periodically along a main-scanning direction of the photoreceptor at a predetermined pitch in a sub-scanning direction of the photoreceptor. Next, a surface potential detecting section detects electric potentials of the plurality of electrostatic latent images formed on the surface of the photoreceptor, along the main-scanning direction. Furthermore, a controller calculates exposure timings by the plurality of light beams in the exposure section on the basis of a detection result by the surface potential detecting section.

An image forming apparatus has a detector that includes a toner density sensor arranged on the downstream side of a fixing section. When performing a control to determine an image forming condition of an image forming section based on the detection result of an image-adjusting pattern image obtained by the detector, the temperatures of a plurality of points in the axial direction of the fixing section are detected by a fixing temperature detector. Further, based on the temperature detection values obtained by the fixing temperature detector, a controller sets a detection area of the detector in a place where the fixing temperature is equal to a desired temperature, so that the detector detects the information about the image-adjusting pattern image at such place.

An image forming apparatus includes: a detection unit detecting information about an image-adjusting pattern image fixed to a paper; a determination unit which, on the basis of an image-noise detecting pattern image that is formed on the paper prior to forming the image-adjusting pattern image, determines the presence or absence of an image noise generated in the image-adjusting pattern image; and a control unit. On the basis of the determination result of the determination unit, the control unit sets a detection region where the detection unit detects information about the image-adjusting pattern image, to a region where the image noise is not generated, and determines the image forming condition by using the information detected in the detection region.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method

An image forming apparatus and a gradation correction method for the same are provided. An image forming apparatus includes an image forming section that forms a plurality of patch bands in a plurality of positions in a main scanning direction on an image bearing member, each of the plurality of patch bands having a plurality of gradation patches disposed in a sub-scanning direction; a density detection section that detects densities of the plurality of patch bands; and a control section that performs gradation correction based on detection results from the density detection section. The plurality of patch bands differs from each other.

Image forming apparatus and gradation correction method for the same

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a storage unit, an image processing unit and a control unit. The image processing unit (i) calculates a summed height of a color toner image formed on a sheet by summing up a height of the color toner image on the basis of input image data, (ii) calculates, on the basis of a target value for glossiness stored in the storage unit, a target total height of the color toner image and a clear toner image to realize the target value for glossiness, and (iii) calculates a height of the clear toner image by subtracting the summed height from the target total height. On the basis of the calculated height of the clear toner image, the control unit adjusts the height of the clear toner image formed on the sheet.

Image forming apparatus () creates a toner pattern on intermediate transfer belt () as a preprocessing of gradation correction, and calculates a cycle at which density unevenness is largest. Then, a toner image for gradation correction is formed so as to cancel cyclic unevenness at a cycle at which the largest density unevenness occurs. As a result of this, it becomes possible to suppress the deterioration of density detection accuracy and perform a highly accurate gradation correction even if density unevenness of any cycle occurs.

Image forming apparatus and gradation correction method with density unevenness detection

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier that carries a toner image, an image forming device that forms the toner image on the image carrier, a sensing device that senses a toner concentration of the image carrier and a control device that makes the image forming device form a test toner image on the image carrier, and determines necessity to execute each adjustment operation for adjusting a plurality of kinds of driving conditions for the image forming device at the time of forming the toner images, based upon a toner concentration of the test toner image.

Image forming apparatus performing image concentration stabilization control

There are provided a powder supply element adapted to supply powders containing at least toner; developing element adapted to develop an electrostatic latent image by agitating and conveying a developer containing the powders that are supplied by the powder supply element; a toner amount detecting element that is placed in the middle of a conveyance path to connect the powder supply element with the developing element and detects a toner amount per unit volume to be supplied to the developing element; and control element that controls a correction amount with respect to a reference supply amount due to the powder supply element on the basis of a toner amount per unit volume that is detected by the toner amount detecting element.

Image forming device and developer supply method including pre-supply toner detection

An image forming apparatus includes: sensor detecting light intensity and output voltage based on the light intensity; data acquisition part setting reference voltages for the sensor to detect light intensity of bare surface of intermediate transfer member, acquiring, at set reference voltage, voltage output by the sensor on the bare surface as detection data; storage storing the detection data corresponding to the reference voltages; judgment part judging whether to perform image density correction processing; voltage calibration part adjusting output level at light intensity detection; density acquisition part forming toner pattern, and acquiring density data of the toner pattern by causing the sensor having adjusted output level to detect its light intensity; density data correction part reading one piece of detection data referring to output level, and correcting the density data based on the detection data; and image density correction part performing the processing based on the density data.

Image forming apparatus and image density correction method therefor

An image forming apparatus of the invention includes an image carrier, an exposure device performing exposure for forming a toner image on a surface of the image carrier and having at least a first exposure light source and a second exposure light source, a sensor for detecting specified patterns, which are formed on the image carrier at a specified time with use of the first and second exposure light sources, a storing unit for storing a correlation, which is attained from a detection result by the sensor, between the first and second exposure light sources, and a controller for controlling the first and second exposure light sources based on the correlation.

Image forming apparatus, and exposure control method therefor

The developing apparatus, having stirring members for conveying and stirring developer-tank-contained developer and a developer holder, comprises a developer replenishing tank; a magnetic-type toner concentration detecting sensor; a trickle-type discharging mechanism; conveying state switching device for temporarily blocking the flow of the developer-tank-contained developer and for temporarily switching the circulating state of the developer-tank-contained developer to the staying state thereof; and a controller for controlling replenishment operation for replenishing the toner and the carrier for replenishment to the developer tank when the toner concentration is lower than a predetermined reference toner concentration, wherein the controller determines the amounts of the toner and the carrier to be replenished on the basis of the calculated toner concentration and the estimated amount of the developer.

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Toyokawa, Japan

Katsuyuki Hirata