Konica Corporation

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.

Konica-minolta Holdings, Inc.

Konica Minolta, Inc.

Kouichi Takaki

Mitsuo Azumai

Hiroyuki Yamamoto

Kenji Izumiya

Hiroshi Ishii

Toshihiro Motoi

Shinji Morita

Takeshi Yoshino

Satoshi Haneda

Kouichi Sawada

An image forming apparatus includes a control unit that generates a valid region signal corresponding to the length of a paper sheet of a regular size in the conveyance direction thereof, and performs control to form an image on the paper sheet based on the valid region signal, wherein, when an image is formed on a long paper sheet having a longer length than the paper sheet of the regular size, the control unit generates the valid region signal in each channel, performs control for generating the next valid region signal in a period during which the valid region signal is not generated in any of the channels, generates a continuous valid region signal corresponding to the long paper sheet by combining the valid region signals in the channels, and performs control to form an image by reading out image data based on the continuous valid region signal.

Image forming apparatus, image formation control program, and image formation control method

Disclosed is an image forming apparatus includes: an image forming section, a control section, and a magnification factor adjusting section. The control section employs an index signal based on a detected result of a light beam irradiation, for controlling an operation timing of the image forming section in the toner image area; and when forming the band-shaped toner image on the area between the toner image areas being adjacent to each other, while controlling the magnification factor adjusting section to implement an operation for adjusting the image magnification factors in parallel, the control section employs a timing signal, created otherwise without depending on the detected result of the light beam irradiation, for controlling the operation timing of the image forming section.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus including a control section which detects an offset of a recording sheet being conveyed, the offset being in a main scanning direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction of the recording sheet; performs an offset regulation control which adjusts a main scanning direction image area signal in accordance with the offset; and forms a patch at a non-transfer area on an image carrier, wherein the control section performs a first control based on the offset of the recording sheet for the offset regulation control while a sub scanning direction image area signal is active for image forming on the recording sheet, and performs a second control for the offset regulation control while the image area signal in the sub scanning direction is inactive.

This invention is directed to an image printing apparatus which can print images without any halfway offset or obverse/reverse pixel offset at a low cost. An image printing apparatus includes a clock generating section which generates a dot clock as the basis of each pixel forming an image, an image printing section which prints a one-line image in a main scanning direction in accordance with image data with reference to the dot clock output from the clock generating section, and prints a one-page image by repeating in the sub-scanning direction one-line image printing performed in the main scanning direction, and a clock control section which changeably controls the frequency of the dot clock during scanning of one line in the main scanning direction.

Image printing apparatus and method of adjusting and correcting main-scanning offset in image printing apparatus

A tandem type color image forming apparatus, which can continuously form color images each containing two or more colors, including: a signal creating section having, for each color, two or more image area setting counters for generating an image valid area signal to set a starting position and a width of an image formation area in a sub-scanning direction; and a control section for executing color image formation control on a predetermined face of paper, based on an image top signal for controlling writing of an image on an image carrier and the image valid area signal for each color, wherein the control section sets each of the outputs of the image area setting counters independently according to a preset image formation mode, and selects and controls one of the image area setting counters for each image formation of each color.

Color image forming apparatus

This invention relates to a CCD pulse generator capable of generating a CCD driving signal and CCD output processing signal at accurate timings. The pulse generator includes a digital delay type pulse control section which finely delays a transfer signal for driving a CCD, thereby generating a plurality of delay signals, and changes selection of these delay signals, thereby generating a CCD driving signal and/or CCD output processing signal corresponding to set rise and fall timings, an inverted/non-inverted signal generating section which generates the inverted signal and non-inverted signal of the generated signal, a selection section which selects the inverted signal and non-inverted signal of the generated signal, a blanking section which temporarily disables the generated signal, an output section which has an output enable function and outputs the signal selected by the selection section, and an output signal condition setting section which sets pieces of condition setting information that determine the operations of the respective sections.

CCD pulse generator

A laser scanning apparatus includes: a plurality of laser light sources including a first laser light source and a second laser light source; a scanner for scanning laser lights emitted from the plurality of laser light sources in a main scanning direction; a light receiving sensor for receiving the laser lights deflected and scanned by the scanner; and a signal generation unit for generating a first signal which is in synchronization with a pixel clock for the second laser light source based on an output from the light receiving sensor obtained by a laser light emitted from the first laser light source, and for generating a second signal which is in synchronization with a pixel clock for the first laser light source based on an output from the light receiving sensor obtained by a laser light emitted from the second laser light source.

Light emitting timing adjustment method, laser scanning apparatus, and image formation apparatus

There is described a signal controlling circuit particularly used in a printer or copier. The circuit includes a delay chain section to generate a plurality of delayed clock signals, a synchronized signal detecting section to detect a number of delay stages, a total delay time of which is equivalent to a single period of the reference clock signal, based on delayed clock signals synchronized with an index signal and are selected from the plurality of delayed clock signals, an index signal counting section to count index signals inputted into the index signal counting section, a phase shift calculating section to calculate a phase shift amount in respect to the reference clock signal, and a delayed clock selecting section to select a specific delayed clock signal out of the plurality of delayed clock signals in an alternative way, so as to output the specific delayed clock signal to an external section.

Signal controlling circuit

The invention concerns a clock-generating circuit, which generates dot clock pulses for driving a light-emitting element employed in an optical-writing section of an image-forming apparatus and has a function of canceling f&thgr; property errors caused by a f&thgr; lens employed in the image-forming apparatus. The clock-generating circuit includes a digital-delay dot clock adjusting section to adjust timings of rising-edges or falling-edges of the dot clock pulses generated by changing a selection for a plurality of delayed-clock pulses, which are generated by delaying clock-pulses, outputted from a reference oscillator, in slightly different delay times; and a controlling section to control a selecting operation for the plurality of delayed clock pulses, performed in the digital-delay dot clock adjusting section, so as to compensate for f&thgr; property errors caused by the f&thgr; lens employed in the optical-writing section.

Clock-generating circuit and image-forming apparatus having a function of canceling F-theta property errors

The invention concerns a clock-generating circuit, which generates dot clock pulses for driving a light-emitting element employed in an optical-writing section of an image-forming apparatus and has a function of canceling unevenness of scanning-light amount caused by variations of transmittances and reflectances in the optical-writing section when a polygon mirror scans a laser beam. The clock-generating circuit includes a digital-delay dot clock adjusting section to adjust timings of rising-edges or falling-edges of the dot clock pulses generated by changing a selection for a plurality of delayed-clock pulses, which are generated by delaying clock-pulses, outputted from a reference oscillator, in slightly different delay times; and a controlling section to control a selecting operation for the plurality of delayed clock pulses, performed in the digital-delay dot clock adjusting section, so as to compensate for unevenness of scanning-light amount caused by the variations of transmittances and reflectances in the optical-writing section.

Clock-generating circuit and image-forming apparatus having a function of canceling unevenness of scanning-light amount

An image forming device scans in a main scanning direction in synchronization with dot clock pulses for each scanning line to form an image; a basic clock pulse generator generates basic clock pulses with a predetermined interval; a delayed clock pulse generator generates a group of plural delayed clock pulses having different phases respectively; a synchronism detector detects at least two delayed clock pulses synchronizing with an index signal from the plural delayed clock pulses; a calculating section calculates a number of delay stages existing within a given time period based on the two synchronizing delayed clock pulses; and a clock pulse controller selects delayed clock pulses sequentially delayed from the synchronizing delayed clock pulse within a predetermined time period based on the calculated number of delay stages to control a number of clock pulses outputted as the dot clock pulses during the predetermined time period.

System for generating clock pulse which the number of pulses outputted within a predetermined time period is based on the number of calculated delay stages

A clock generator is provided which controls a leading edge and a trailing edge of a clock to come to an arbitrary position for every clock pulse. A base clock pulse is generated, and then at least first and second clock pulses are generated by delaying the base clock pulse, wherein phases of each of the base clock pulse, the first clock pulse, and the second clock pulse are different from each other. The first clock pulse and the second clock pulse are selected in order so as to synthesize an output clock pulse from the first clock pulse and the second clock pulse within one cycle period of the output clock pulse, so that a leading edge portion of the output clock pulse comprises the first clock pulse and a trailing edge portion of the output clock pulse comprises the second clock pulse within the one cycle period of the output clock pulse.

Clock generating device

In an apparatus for forming multi-color image provided with a rotatable image carrying member and a plurality of image forming means each having a charging device, a scanning exposure device and a developing device; each scanning exposure device includes a beam generator and a polygonal mirror. The apparatus is further provided with a first sensor for detecting the beam passing at a start reference position on a peripheral surface of the rotatable image carrying member and for outputting a start reference signal; a second sensor for detecting the beam passing at an end reference position on the peripheral surface and for outputting a stop reference signal; and a controller to measure a time between the start reference signal and the stop reference signal and to control a frequency of clock pulses to transmit image signals for each scanning exposure device on the basis of the measured time of each scanning exposure device.

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Hachioji, Japan

Kouichi Takaki