Kyocera Document Solutions Inc.

Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.

Kyocera Mita Corporation

Kyocera Documents Solutions Inc.

Masami Shibahara

Masahiro Hashizume

Yasushi Takatsuki

Yoshihiko Tanaka

Shinsaku Yoneda

Atsushi Yoshihara

A control unit of an image forming apparatus can perform a density correction mode to correct toner density, based on detection results of toner density of a plurality of reference images formed with density gradations changed sequentially in a plurality of steps, detects presence or absence of a change in the voltage in each density gradation, based on the toner density detection value detected in the density correction mode, and if the density gradation has a specific density gradation in which a change in the voltage is detected, it corrects the toner density of the specific density gradation, using the detection values of density gradations before and after the specific density gradation.

Image forming apparatus

A fixing apparatus includes a fixing device, a temperature sensor, a storage device, and a control device. The control device selects, before start of power supply to a heater of the fixing device, a temperature characteristic of an initial temperature the same as or approximate to a temperature of a nip region detected by the temperature sensor, out of respective temperature characteristics of a plurality of initial temperatures stored in the storage device, calculates a predicted temperature that may be reached a prescribed time after the start of power supply to the heater, on a basis of the selected temperature characteristic, and increases the power to the heater by a predetermined first value, when a temperature, detected by the temperature sensor the prescribed time after the start of power supply to the heater, is lower than the predicted temperature.

Fixing apparatus that controls power supplied to heater according to initial temperature of nip region, and image forming apparatus

In a fixing device, a pressure roller is in contact with a fixing belt to form a fixing nip part with the fixing belt, a heating member heats the fixing belt when electrodes are energized, and a holding member holds the heating member. A connector in the fixing device includes a contact terminal that is in contact with the electrode, and by being mounted at a predetermined position of the holding member, the electrode and the contact terminal are in contact with each other. The holding member includes: a guide part having an inclined surface which is inclined with respect to a predetermined direction; and a positioning part that sets the position of the connector, inserted while being in contact with the inclined surface, in a rotatable state toward the predetermined position. The contact terminal is in contact with the electrode over a period before and after rotation of the connector.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus

Provided is a document reading apparatus that is able to determine a document size even when there is a large number of target document sizes to be determined. The diagonal-line-identifying unit identifies a diagonal line for determining size in image data that is read by the scanner. The document-size-determining unit determines document size in either a first determining operation or a second determining operation. The first determining operation is based on determining data that is read by arranging the scanner at a large-size determining position after a second opening/closing detecting sensor detects a closed state after detecting an open state. The second determining operation is based on change in the diagonal line for determining size in determining data that is read while the scanner scans from the large-size determining position after a first opening/closing detecting sensor detects a closed state.

Document reading apparatus that reads documents placed on a contact glass and has a document size determining function

The image forming device includes an image formation request accepting section, an image data acquisition section, a readability improvement request accepting section, an area discriminating section, a line width measuring section, a correction object extracting section, a correction processing section, and an image forming section. The area discriminating section discriminates between a line drawing area and an area other than the line drawing area in the image data, and extracts a letter and a line. The line width measuring section measures the line width of the line or the letter. The correction object extracting section extracts an area where the line width measured by the line width measuring section is lower than the predetermined threshold as a correction object. The correction processing section broadens the width of the area determined as the correction object up to the predetermined value, to form corrected data for printing.

Image forming device including correction process

An image forming apparatus includes an operation control portion, and an operation mode setting portion. Operation control portion performs control in either operation mode of first operation mode where operation control portion controls heating portion so that heat transfer portion is first target temperature, and controls conveying portion so that conveying speed of sheet is first speed; and second operation mode where operation control portion controls heating portion so that heat transfer portion is second target temperature, and controls conveying portion so that conveying speed of sheet is second speed. Operation mode setting portion, under condition that first print job has been input, sets operation mode of operation control portion to first operation mode, and when second print job input after first print job has satisfied predetermined condition, sets operation mode of operation control portion to second operation mode.

Image forming apparatus and fixing operation control method

An image forming apparatus includes an image formation stopping unit that, in a case of comparing the length of recording paper to actually be fed with the length of recording paper set and having determined that the recording paper length detected by a recording paper length detecting unit is shorter than the length of the recording paper input through a recording paper size inputting unit, causes an image forming operation to a photoconductor by the image forming unit to stop before an image formation length in a vertical scanning direction by the image forming unit reaches a recording paper length according to the recording paper length detecting unit.

An image reading apparatus includes: a lamp shining light on a target original document to be read; a lamp operating circuit for turning on the lamp; an image sensor receiving light shone from the lamp to the original document and reflected from the original document, for generating image data; a control section outputting a lamp control signal for controlling turning-on and -off of the lamp to the lamp operating circuit; and a lamp control circuit, separate from the control section, outputting a lamp control signal for controlling turning-on and -off of the lamp and, when a main power switch of the apparatus is turned on, permitting the lamp to be turned on before the control section is activated.

Image reading apparatus and image forming apparatus therewith

When the setting of sheet P is completed, a lift motor is actuated to raise the sheet P at Speed A&#xd7;2. When a first light-blocking plate raised in association with the rise of the sheet P is detected by a PI sensor, the lift motor reduces its rotational speed to switch its lifting speed from high Speed A&#xd7;2 to Speed A which is a half of the high speed. The Speed A does not cause the lift motor to overrun.

Sheet feeding device and image forming apparatus

This invention relates to a drive switching mechanism for use in an image input apparatus. While a pivotable gear is set on the side of a document feeder, a displacement restricting mechanism of the drive switching mechanism restricts a displacement of the pivotable gear toward an image scanner. With this arrangement, even if the pivotable gear is caused to move toward the image scanner while set on the side of the document feeder, a stopper of the displacement restricting mechanism restricts such movement to maintain an engaged state of the pivotable gear with a drive gear of the document feeder. Accordingly, a driving force of a motor rotatable in the opposite direction (forward and backward) can securely be transmitted to the drive gear of the document feeder via a non-pivotable gear and the pivotable gear. The same operation and effect as on the side of the document feeder is obtainable on the side of the image scanner.

Drive switching mechanism for use in image input apparatus

An image forming apparatus comprises a document feeder for feeding a plurality of documents one by one, a copy paper feeder for feeding a copy paper sheet having a front surface and a rear surface onto which document images are transferable, an image transferring assembly for transferring an image of the fed document onto a copy paper sheet, an operable unit for discharging the copy paper sheet or temporarily retaining the copy paper sheet therein to refeed the sheet to the image transferring assembly when a next document is fed, a mode setting key for selectively setting in advance either of a first mode in which the copy paper sheet onto which the last document image is transferred is forcibly discharged or a second mode in which the copy paper sheet onto which the last document image is transferred is temporarily retained in the operable unit, and a CPU. The CPU determines that an image of a last document of the plurality of documents has been transferred onto one of the two surfaces of the copy paper sheet and determines in accordance with the result of the above determination that the last document image is transferred onto a front surface of the copy paper sheet. Further, based on the determination as to whether the last document image is transferred onto the front surface of the copy paper sheet and the mode set by the mode setting key, the CPU controls the operable unit so as to execute one of the operations of discharging the copy paper sheet onto the rear surface of which the image of the document is transferred, discharging the copy paper onto the front surface of which the last document image is transferred in the case where the first mode is selected, and retaining therein the copy paper onto the front surface of which the last document image is transferred in the case where the second mode is selected.

Image forming apparatus provided with an automatic document feeder

Improvements in a device for removing the electrostatic charge on a photoconductor in an image forming apparatus. The electrostatic charge-removing device has a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) incorporated in a case. The LEDs emit diffuse light to the photoconductor to remove the electrostatic charge. The LEDs are regularly spaced from each other in a orthogonal direction to a movement direction of the photoconductor in such a way that the successive diffuse light radiations emitted from the neighboring LEDs overlap with each other. The brightness is considerably higher in the locations where the diffuse light radiations overlap with each other than in the other locations. Light-blocking members are mounted upstream of their respective light radiations as viewed in the movement direction of the photoconductor, for uniforming the brightness of light in the orthogonal direction to the movement direction of the photoconductor. This evens out the image erasure line.

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Osaka, Japan

Masami Shibahara