Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Kentaro Aoyama

Kazushi Shumiya

Seiya Sato

Keita Inoue

Shinta Sugiura

Jie Zheng

Kunihiro Amano

Masaaki Wakizaka

Toshinori Araki

Shunsuke Hachiya

Osamu Takahashi

Yoshihiro Okamoto

Toshiki Motoyama

Yoshihiro Oyama

Kazuhito Misumi

Wataru Fujishiro

Etsuteru Inoue

Shunsuke Aiba

An image-forming apparatus includes: a main casing; a drawer movable in a first direction between a first position inside the main casing and a second position outside the main casing; process cartridges attachable to and detachable from the drawer; a controller; and a device-side terminal connected to the controller. The process cartridges are arranged in the first direction in an attached state to the drawer. Each process cartridge includes a photosensitive drum, a magnetic roller, a developing container for storing carrier, a conveying member, a toner sensor, a process memory, and a process-side terminal. The toner sensor is configured to output a detection signal corresponding to a concentration of toner in the developing container. The process-side terminal is for both outputting the detection signal of the toner sensor and outputting information about the process cartridge stored in the process memory. The device-side terminal is configured to contact the process-side terminal.

Image-forming apparatus including process cartridge and device-side terminal configured to contact process-side terminal

A scanning device includes a casing holding a original document table. A facing area is provided to the casing, and a rectangular hole is formed on the facing area. The rectangular hole has edges extending along a main scanning direction and edges extending along a sub-scanning direction. The edges extending along the sub-scanning direction are located in a central area of a photoelectric conversion element row of a sensor assembly in the main scanning direction. The sensor assembly scans the rectangular hole and detects a edge extending along the main scanning direction and a edge extending along the sub-scanning direction, thereby determines a scanning start position.

Scanning device comprising a sensor assembly including photoelectric conversion elements in a row that detect a rectangular hole to determine a scanning start position

A device includes: a first wireless communication interface; a second wireless communication interface; a storage; and a controller. The controller is configured to perform: storing in the storage a center communication frequency of a second communication channel used for second wireless communications; determining a search target distribution, the search target distribution being a range defined by minimum and maximum communication frequencies among a plurality of communication frequencies, the plurality of communication frequencies being at least a part of a plurality of center communication frequencies stored in the storage and being separated from each other by less than a first frequency bandwidth occupied by each of a plurality of first channels; and determining a first communication channel from among at least one first channel satisfying a condition requiring that both minimum and frequencies of each of the at least one first channel be included in the search target distribution.

Device provided with a plurality of types of wireless communication functions

In a reading device, a light transmissive member has a front surface on which an original is placed. A peripheral member is adjacent to the light transmissive member, and includes a back surface in which a reference hole is formed. The reference hole includes a first edge and a second edge intersecting with each other. A reading sensor faces the back surface of the light transmissive member and the back surface of the peripheral member. The controller controls the reading sensor to read a reading range including the reference hole to obtain a read image, and determines a reference position in the reading range based on the read image. The reference position is determined to an intersection between the first edge and the second edge. The controller sets a reading start position based on the reference position.

Reading device setting reading start position by reading reference hole having L-shape

An image forming apparatus includes a housing, a drawer, an operation panel, and a sensor. The housing includes a first side wall having a first opening, and a second side wall having a vent and extending in a direction crossing the first side wall. The drawer supports a cartridge. The drawer is movable through the first opening between an inner position at which the drawer is accommodated in the housing and an outer position at which a part of the drawer is exposed to outside the housing. At least part of the operation panel protrudes from an outer surface of the second side wall. The sensor is arranged in the housing between the drawer and the second side wall. The sensor is configured to detect at least temperature or humidity of ambient air taken in through the vent.

Image forming apparatus

A high-voltage electrical circuit board is located in a first region that is a region at one side of photosensitive drums in a first direction and outside of the photosensitive drums in the first direction. A first motor drives a conveyance mechanism. A second motor is located in a second region and drives each photosensitive drum. A third motor is located in the second region and drives each developing roller to rotate and to drive a separation mechanism configured to individually move the developing rollers between a contact position and a separation position. A control board is located in the second region. The control board includes a controller configured to control a first applying circuit, the first motor, the second motor, and the third motor. The first motor, the second motor, the third motor, and the control board are located at different positions from one another in the second region.

Image forming apparatus in which high-voltage electrical circuit board is located in first region and motors and control board are located in second region

A reading apparatus, having a document placement plate, a reader, a driving device, a cover, and a controller, is provided. The cover includes an alignment part and a protrusive part. The protrusive part includes an uneven surface and first and second edges forming outer edges of the uneven surface extending in a main scanning direction and in a sub-scanning direction, respectively. The controller is configured control the driving device to move the reader in the sub-scanning direction and the reader while being moved to read the protrusive part, and detect the first edge and the second edge in image data of the protrusive part read by the reader based on an image of the uneven surface and determine a reading range for the reader in the document placement plate based on positions of the first edge and the second edge.

Reading apparatus

A reading apparatus, having a document supporting part, a reader, a driving mechanism, a reference density plate, and a controller, is provided. The controller controls the reader to perform a first reading action to read the reference density plate at a first position and adjust an amount of light, controls the reader to perform a second reading action under the light in the adjusted amount and create correction data for shading correction, controls the driving mechanism to move the reader from the first position toward a standby position, controls the reader while being moved from a second position toward a third position to perform a third reading action including a plurality of reading actions under the light in the adjusted amount, and inspects validity of the correction data by comparing read data obtained from signals resulted from the plurality of reading actions.

A communication controller controls non-contact communication with an external device via an antenna while at least one of first and second power is supplied. A first circuit electrically connects a first power supply to a communication node. A second circuit electrically connects a second power supply to the communication node. The first circuit includes a first electrical component configured to prevent second power from being supplied to a particular target electrically connected to the first power supply while the second power is supplied to the communication node. The communication controller communicates with the communication node in a certain data communication method while the second power is supplied to the communication node. In response to reception of electric power from the external device via the antenna, the second power supply supplies the second power to the communication controller, and supplies the second power to the communication node through the second circuit.

Communication apparatus configured to perform non-contact communication with external device

A communication device, including: a touch sensor configured to detect a touch or an approach of an input object by detecting a change in capacitance; a near field communicator configured to perform near field communication with an information processing terminal present in a communication area in which near field communication is possible, the information processing terminal being capable of performing the near field communication; and a controller configured to control the communication device in accordance with detection of the touch or the approach of the input object by the touch sensor, wherein the controller is configured to reduce detection sensitivity of the touch sensor for detecting the input object when the information processing terminal is in the communication area.

Growing community of inventors

Nagoya, Japan

Kentaro Aoyama