Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Kunio Yamada

Makoto Hirota

Akira Ishii

Takashi Yamamuro

Toru Misaizu

Yasuki Yamauchi

Atsushi Ogihara

Kiyotaka Ishikawa

Shigeru Tsukada

Masao Ito

Yasuhiro Kusumoto

Atsumi Kurita

Masao Seki

Junichi Maekawa

Yoshihiko Sakai

Yoshinori Matsuno

An image formation processing method for forming an image to be raised with color toners on a raised portion of an expandable toner which is formed on a recording sheet according to an original image, comprising extracting a contour section of the image to be raised from the original image, and changing a color of the extracted contour section to enhance the image to be raised.

Image formation processing method and image formation processing apparatus

An image forming device for adequately forming an image in which images overlap one another. The priority order (display order) of the images overlapping with one another is judged for the area where images of different attributes overlap with one another. When the priority rank of a three-dimensional image is high, a planar image in the overlapping area is deleted, or a three-dimensional image is formed on a planar image. When the rank of a planar image is high, only the color image of a three-dimensional image in the overlapping area is deleted, and a planar image is formed using foaming toner.

Image forming device and image forming method

An image formation apparatus for forming a three dimensional print image on a recording medium by an image of three dimensional printing material and an image of color material in accordance with image data, comprises a designation unit for designating a three dimensional print region using three dimensional printing material and a non-three dimensional print region, with regard to the image data; and an image processing unit for performing different color conversions on the image data depending on the three dimensional print region and the non-three dimensional print region designated by the designation unit.

Image formation apparatus and image formation method

A photosensor apparatus includes a light receiving element that receives reflection light of light which is illuminated onto a reference pattern image formed on a moving member, a first illuminating unit that enters regular reflection light to the light receiving element, a second illuminating unit that enters diffuse reflection light to the light receiving element, and a light receiving optical system that conducts the regular reflection light and the diffuse reflection light to the light receiving element. Preferably, the light receiving optical system includes a lens, constitutes an image forming optical system that forms the reference pattern image on a light receiving plane of the light receiving element with respect to the diffuse reflection light, and enters to the light receiving plane of the light receiving element only a part of regular reflection light, which is reflected from substantially the same region where the diffuse reflection light is received.

Photosensor apparatus and image forming apparatus

In an image processing section, a foam toner signal generator generates a foam toner signal corresponding to a foam toner amount to be transferred to a three-dimensional print designation region discriminated at a three-dimensional print region discriminator, and a foam toner interpolation signal generator generates a foam toner interpolation signal corresponding to a foam toner amount to be transferred to an image region equal to or greater than a constant area in an ordinary print region discriminated at the three-dimensional print region discriminator. Foam toner of a predetermined amount corresponding to the foam toner signal is transferred to the three-dimensional print region, and foam toner of an amount that is less (of a lower height) than the predetermined amount and corresponds to the foam toner interpolation signal is transferred to the ordinary print region.

Image forming apparatus, image processing apparatus, image forming method and image processing method for forming/processing a three-dimensional image

There is provided an image forming apparatus in which, if the image forming apparatus using only a normal toner is modified to be capable of forming an image formed of a special toner, an appropriate image can be formed in accordance with the characteristics of the special toner.

Image forming apparatus capable of mounting thereto another developing unit

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier and a first developing unit for forming an image on the image carrier using at least one type of first developer to which a second developing unit for forming an image using at least one type of second developer which differs from the first developer is installable. The apparatus includes a developing unit determination part for determining the type of developing unit of the image forming apparatus, and an announcement part for announcing to the user that, when the second developing unit is not installed and an image formation instruction for instructing the formation of an image obtained by using the second developer is inputted, the image formation instruction cannot be made to effect a response.

Image forming apparatus capable of verifying the availability of desired image developing units

To provide an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image with a normal toner and forming an image with special toner, which makes it possible to perform appropriate fixing of a toner to be used according to characteristics of the toner. There is provided an image forming apparatus including: an image bearing member; a first developing unit for forming an image consisting an image consisting of one type or plural types of first developer on the image bearing member; a second developing unit for forming an image consisting of one type or plural types of second developer different from the first developer on the image bearing member; a transfer section for transferring the image formed on the image bearing member to a recording medium; a fixing apparatus for fixing the image on the recording medium under predetermined fixing conditions and conveying the same; a developing unit judging section for judging a type of a developing unit used by the image forming apparatus; and a control unit for controlling the fixing conditions based on a judgment result of the developing unit judging section.

Image forming apparatus with developing units for controlling fixing conditions of toner

An image formation method for forming an image containing an embossed portion of an expandable material on a recording medium, comprising converting height information about an embossed image which is the image of the embossed portion to the same density information as one used to indicate a density of a non-embossed image which is not raised, and controlling an amount of the expandable material formed on the recording medium according to the converted density information.

Image formation method and apparatus

An image forming apparatus that forms a raised print image by successively transferring foaming toner and non-foaming toner onto a recording medium in correspondence to print image information and heat-fixing onto the recording medium the foaming toner and the non-foaming toner that have been transferred onto the recording medium. The image forming apparatus includes an image processing section that image-processes the print image information so that transfer of an image resulting from the foaming toner is selectively prohibited in correspondence to a line width or size of an image to be transferred by the non-foaming toner onto the foaming toner.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method

According to this invention, a controlled image quality is obtained without adjustment with respect to a short range of environmental changes in temperature, humidity and the like, and feedback control is easily performed for controlled variables over a long range to cope with changes with time, and the like. In the two-component non-contact development, the image density becomes stable irrespective of any environmental changes in temperature, humidity and the like when the developing bias AC voltage in the developer unit is a predetermined value. At the same developing bias AC voltage, when the rotating speed of the development roll is changed, the image density varies While making the developing bias AC voltage and the development roller rotating speed variable at the same time, a reference pattern is prepared on a banner sheet to measure the image density with an optical sensor. From the measured results, the stable value for the developing bias AC voltage is determined, and further the rotating speed of the development roller at which desired image quality density is attained, is determined.

Image forming apparatus

An unfixed toner image of a reference pattern is formed on a photosensitive member, the unfixed toner image is measured by a development density sensor 13, and the amount of toner to be supplied to a developing device 4 is controlled by a toner supply control unit 60 on the basis of a measurement output, thereby maintaining the image quality constant. If it is judged from a result of a detection of a state amount such as the temperature and the humidity by a state amount sensor 19 that there is a fear that the image quality exceeds an allowable range, a fixed image of a reference pattern is formed on a record medium such as a banner sheet, and the fixed image is measured by an optical sensor 10. Operation amounts such as the charge amount and the exposure value of an image output unit 100 are controlled by an image density control unit 20, thereby maintaining the image quality to be within the allowable range.

Image forming apparatus having high image quality control mechanism

A target density accomplishment line is a line at which a control case plane and a target density plane intersect each other. If present control contents are plotted on the target density accomplishment line, it means that a target density is accomplished. It is not correct to say that any point on the target density accomplishment line can be employed. A point on the target density accomplishment line which should be employed needs to also satisfy optimization rules for respective manipulated variables. By applying bias and laser power optimization rules are applied to the points on the target density accomplishment line, a combination of bias and laser power set values that maximizes the product of bias and laser power optimization rule satisfaction levels is selected.

System control based on control cases and using optimization rules

Operation variables such as laser power, grid voltage, and developing bias are corrected by using image-density controlling rules so as to control the image density. Control of toner supply is also effected by using the image-density controlling rules. A solid density reference pattern corresponding to actual values of the operation variables is measured, and a rule which fits the solid density is used to correct the operation variables. A solid density to be obtained with standard values of the operation variables is calculated by using the composed rule. A standard solid density for a standard toner concentration or a standard toner charge amount is outputted, and is compared with the calculated solid density. The toner supply is controlled in such a manner that an error between the two solid densities becomes zero, to thereby ensure that the toner concentration in a developing device or the toner charge amount reaches a standard value.

Image forming apparatus and method enabling toner amount control without

A system controller which significantly reduces the number of development processes and automatically exercises control corresponding to situations. The system controller is made up of a manipulation value output circuit for supplying a manipulation value to a system to be controlled, a control example memory for storing the manipulation value and a controlled variable which is output from the system in response to the manipulation value, a control rule extraction circuit for extracting a control rule from among a plurality of control examples stored in the control example memory, and a manipulation value computing circuit for calculating a manipulation value which matches the controlled variable with a target figure using the control rule extracted by the control rule extraction circuit, and causing the manipulation value output circuit to output the thus obtained manipulation value.

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Ebina, Japan

Kunio Yamada