Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Other

Michitoshi Akao

Kenji Sakakibara

Tokunori Katoh

Jun Sakai

Shigeyuki Hayashi

Hiroshi Morisaki

Yukichi Sawaki

Naoyuki Hatta

Takemi Yamamoto

Yumio Matsumoto

Takesi Izaki

Tsugio Okamoto

Takashi Nakata

Yuji Asano

Kazuo Sangyoji

Takeshi Izaki

Osamu Nagata

Hitoshi Nakai

Hideo Yoshihara

Masanari Kobayashi

Toshio Takahashi

Toshio Nakai

Shin Asai

Osamu Takagi

Hiroshi Igarashi

Akira Sago

Masashi Ueda

Makoto Suzuki

Tokunori Kato

Kazumasa Makino

Toshio Sakai

Kiyoharu Hayakawa

Ryohei Komiya

Ichiro Sasaki

Takayuki Hayashi

Hiroshi Onoda

Takashi Tomizawa

Hiroshi Kawahara

Satoshi Furukawa

Satoru Kuwabara

Takakuni Sonoda

Katsuyoshi Sonobe

Hiroaki Kimura

Nobuo Aoki

Yousuke Ito

Eiji Fujii

Kazuichi Sakaida

Satoshi Uchiyama

Yuki Asano

Kenji Sakaibara

Atsunori Katoh

Ken Izaki

Hidetoshi Asada

An image-forming device is configured so that a process to print confidential print data is not automatically resumed after the printing process has been interrupted and the cause of the interruption has been resolved. Accordingly, the printing of confidential print data is not resumed when the user who requested the printing operation is not near the printer during an interruption and another person resolves the cause of the interruption. In this way the image-forming device prevents content of the confidential print data from being exposed to another person.

Image-forming device

An image forming apparatus for feeding a photosensitive recording sheet having a leader on which characteristic information for the photosensitive recording sheet, such as exposure and development characteristics, is recorded. The apparatus having the capability to read the characteristic information and mechanisms for performing exposure, development and other processes on the basis of the read-out characteristic information, the capability comprising plural rollers disposed spacedly away from one another along a sheet feeding path for feeding the photosensitive recording sheet along the sheet feeding path and a detector disposed between two rollers of the plural rollers for reading out the characteristic information on the leader.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus has a thermal fixing unit which includes a heater to thermally fix an image on a recording medium. The temperature in the apparatus goes down when a replaceable unit is exchanged. A temperature sensor detects the reduction in temperature. A status sensor detects an exchanging state in which the replaceable unit is exchanged and outputs a detection signal indicating the exchanging state. A CPU judges that the heater is properly operating even if the temperature signal indicates the reduction in temperature when the detection signal is outputted.

Apparatus for detecting the proper functioning of a thermal fixing unit

A light-and pressure-sensitive recording sheet and an original, overlapping each other, are introduced into an image forming apparatus, and are exposed to radiation on a transparent drum by means of a light source in the drum, whereupon a latent image, based on the contents of the original, is formed on the recording sheet. Then, the recording sheet is separated from the original by means of a separator, and is passed between a pair of pressure rolls. When the recording sheet is exposed, microcapsules thereon change their hardness. These microcapsules are ruptured selectively by pressure applied to the sheet. As a result, a chromogenic material, contained in the microcapsules, and a developer material, on the surface of a substrate of the recording sheet, react with each other, so that the sheet surface changes its color. Thus, the latent image is developed to accomplish copying in accordance with the original.

An image recording apparatus for forming a latent image on a photosensitive recording medium and for developing the latent image on a developer sheet. The apparatus includes a winding unit for winding up the photosensitive recording medium subjected to development, a detecting unit for detecting occurrence of malfunction of the winding unit, and an alarming unit for alarming the occurrence of malfunction. The detecting unit detects the occurrence of malfunction of the winding unit, and the detection signal from the detecting unit is supplied to the alarming unit, to thereby alarm the occurrence of malfunction and stop the copying operation.

Image recording apparatus having detection unit for detecting

An image forming apparatus has a thermal fixing device having a first thermistor in the thermal fixing device for detecting the temperature in the thermal fixing device and a second thermistor being substantially at the center of the apparatus out of the thermal fixing device for detecting the temperature in the apparatus. In the image forming apparatus, the temperature detected by the second thermistor is compared with two predetermined reference temperatures T1 and T2 (T1&lt;T2) repectively. The thermal fixing device is thermally controlled by the first thermistor based on a first preset current IA of the device when the temperature detected by the second thermistor is lower than the reference temperature T1 and controlled by the first thermistor based on a second preset current IB (IB&lt;IA) preset in the device when the temperature detected by the second thermistor is in the range between T1 and T2, and further controlled so as to stop heating of the device when the temperature detected by the second thermistor is higher than the reference temperature T2. By such an image forming apparatus, the temperature both inside and outside the fixing device can be constantly controlled and, therefore, sensitivity change of the photosensitive and pressure sensitive medium used in image forming can be prevented so as to be able to stably form the image on the medium. At the same time, a warm-up time can be shortened by applying initially higher current to the heating device, which current is then lowered for steady state control.

Image forming apparatus with a thermal fixing device

An image recording apparatus for recording an image corresponding to an original on a photosensitive recording medium by irradiating light onto the original and converging light from the original onto the photosensitive recording medium. The apparatus includes a lens unit vertically movably supported by the frame, a plurality of position setting holes arrayed in a vertical direction of the frame, position setting means provided on the lens unit and capable of being inserted into one of the position setting holes for fixing the lens unit to the frame, urging means provided on the lens unit for urging the position setting means toward the frame to project the position setting means, actuating means provided on the lens unit for actuating the position setting means so that the position setting means retracts and moves away from the frame against urging force of the urging means when electric current is supplied to the actuating means. The apparatus further includes control means for controlling the actuating means so that when an error is detected during movement of the lens unit, electric current to the actuating means is cut off to project the position setting means by the urging force of the urging means and to fix the lens unit to the frame.

Image recording apparatus having a mechanism for varying copying

An image recording apparatus for recording an image of an original on a photosensitive recording medium. Light emitted from a light source is irradiated onto the original to optically scan the original, and light reflected from or transmitted through the original is applied to the recording medium to thereby record the image on the recording medium. The density of an image to be recorded on the photosensitive recording medium is adjusted by changing the scanning speed while maintaining an amount of light emitted from a light source at constant, whereby a load imposed to the light source is reduced which may otherwise be increased if an amount of light emitted therefrom is changed to adjust the image density.

Image recording apparatus capable of adjusting a density of an image

Motor-control device for an image forming apparatus includes a motor, an encoder, a microcomputer, and a driving circuit. The encoder generates a pulse signal in response to rotation of the motor. The microcomputer includes a CPU, a RAM and a ROM. The CPU detects actual rotational speed of the motor based upon the pulse signal generated by the encoder. The CPU cyclically provides a driving signal by comparing the actual rotational speed with a predetermined target rotational speed of the motor. An operating cycle is proportional to a cycle of the pulse signal generated by the encoder. The driving circuit drives the motor based upon the driving signal provided by the CPU. The CPU determines the operating cycle based upon the predetermined target rotational speed. The CPU also determines whether the motor condition is normal or abnormal by comparing the driving signal with a predetermined reference driving signal.

Motor-control device for image forming apparatus

A sheet supplying device for supplying an uppermost sheet of a stack of sheets in a sheet cassette used in an image forming apparatus includes suction cups movable into and out of contact with the uppermost sheet in the sheet cassette, an evacuator for developing a vacuum in the suction cups to enable the suction cups to attract the uppermost sheet, a moving member for upwardly and downwardly moving the suction cups to pick up the sheet from the sheet cassette, a sheet feeding member for feeding the sheet from the moving member along a sheet feed path, and a control system for judging on the basis of a detection signal from each sensor for detecting an image forming error provided in the image forming apparatus whether the error occurs during the sheet supplying operation, and when judging that the image forming error occurs during a sheet supplying operation, the control unit ceasing the sheet supplying operation and controlling the driving of at least one of the suction cups, the evacuator, moving member and the sheet feeding member so that at least one of those members carries out a predetermined operation selected from the series of operations to be performed by at least one of the members.

Sheet supplying device having control unit for sheet supplying operation

An image forming apparatus for performing an exposure process of exposing a microcapsule sheet to light and performing a pressure-developing process of contacting the microcapsule sheet having the latent image thereon with a developer sheet under pressure, thereby to form a visible image on the developer sheet, comprises plural sheet feed rollers for feeding the microcapsule sheet from the sheet feed-out side of the microcapsule sheet to and along a sheet feed path and winding up the microcapsule sheet to thereby perform a sheet feeding operation, an optical sensor or lever sensor provided in the neighboring of the sheet feed-out side of the microcapsule sheet for detecting a sheet feeding condition, such as a residue of the microcapsule sheet, a sheet feed error, a sheet feed speed and so on in the sheet feeding operation and outputting a detection signal indicative of a detection result and a control unit for beforehand storing distance data on the sheet feed path of the latent image forming medium between the sensor and a pressure-developing unit and/or storing data on a sheet feeding condition of the microcapsule sheet based on the detection signal.

Image forming apparatus having sheet feeding condition detecting means

An imaging device includes a first motor for feeding one of two sheets and a second motor for feeding the other sheet. The amounts of feeding of the sheets is detected and used to control the motors to maintain a predetermined relationship between the sheets.

Imaging device

An image recording apparatus for recording an image corresponding to an original on a recording medium including a photosensitive recording medium and an image forming sheet. The apparatus comprises a light source for irradiating the original, scanning device for moving the light source and the original relatively to each other during exposure, moving device for moving the photosensitive recording medium during exposure, transferring device for transferring an image on the photosensitive recording medium to the image forming sheet, thermal fixing device for fixing the transferred image on the image forming sheet, temperature detecting device for detecting temperature of the thermal fixing device, first control device for controlling the quantity of current to be supplied to the light source, and second control device for controlling speeds of the scanning device and the moving device. The quantity of current to be supplied to the light source is controlled in accordance with the quantity of current to be supplied to the thermal fixing device by the first control device, and the speeds of the scanning device and the moving device are controlled by the second control device in accordance with the quantity of light of the light source controlled by the first control device.

Image recording apparatus

An imaging device for forming a visible image by pressurizing and feeding an exposed recording sheet with a developing sheet detects that the recording sheet and the developing sheet are accurately overlapped with each other before the pressurizing operation is begun. The position of the sheets is monitored and the pressurizing rollers are controlled in accordance with the detected positions.

Imaging device having means to accurately superpose sheets in the

An image recording apparatus for recording an image of an original on a developer sheet with the use of a microcapsule, in which the developer sheet and the microcapsule sheet having a surface coated with immense number of photosensitive and pressure-rupturable microcapsules are subjected to pressure development by a pair of pressurizing rollers. To ensure that the pressure development is performed under the condition where the developer sheet and the microcapsule sheet are superposed one on the other, the nip and retract timings of the pressurizing rollers are determined properly according to the present invention. For example, the developer sheet is conveyed at a speed asynchronous with the microcapsule conveying speed and the conveyance of the developer sheet is stopped after its leading edge is introduced between the rollers held in spaced apart condition. The rollers are brought to the nip position to thereby start the pressure development when the exposure start line on the microcapsule sheet is in alignment with the leading end of the developer sheet. The retract timing is determined, for example, depending upon the size of the developer sheet.

Method and apparatus for performing pressure developement with a pair of

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Nagoya, Japan

Michitoshi Akao