Konica Minolta, Inc.

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.

Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha

Minolta Company, Ltd.

Mikiyuki Aoki

Toru Kasamatsu

Kouei Cho

Yohei Yamada

Taku Kimura

Junichi Masuda

Akinori Kimata

Takeshi Tamada

Seiichi Kirikubo

Masahiro Nonoyama

Kunio Furukawa

Eiji Okabayashi

Takeshi Kato

Akimasa Ishikawa

Takahiro Yokoya

Kazuhiko Kowase

Kunihiko Omura

Hideaki Komiyama

Shun Sugai

Morio Kinoshita

A sheet conveying apparatus capable of conveying a sheet as a conveyance target in a conveyance path includes a detector that detects capacitance in a predetermined detection region in the conveyance path; and a basis weight identifier that identifies a basis weight of the sheet as the conveyance target on the basis of first capacitance detected by the detector while the sheet as the conveyance target does not pass through the detection region and second capacitance detected by the detector while the sheet as the conveyance target passes through the detection region.

Sheet conveying apparatus, image forming apparatus, method for estimating basis weight of sheet, and program for estimating basis weight of sheet

A power supply device includes: a first transformer including a primary winding and a secondary winding; a first control circuit controlling a switching operation of a switch element, and cause the primary winding to generate a first AC voltage; an application circuit receiving a second AC voltage generated in the secondary winding by mutual induction with the primary winding, and apply an output voltage according to the second AC voltage to a load; a voltage detection circuit detecting a magnitude of a DC voltage obtained by rectifying the first AC voltage or the second AC voltage; and an output circuit outputting a stop signal indicating stop of the power supply device, when a result of comparison between the magnitude of the DC voltage and a threshold value set according to a magnitude of the load satisfies a predetermined condition, after reception of an instruction to stop voltage supply.

Power supply device and control method

A phase control device includes: at least one switching element connected to an AC power source, the switching element being capable of: turning on and off at specified timings; delivering AC power to a load upon turn-on and cutting it off upon turn-off; and keeping an on-time from the start to the end of turn-on and an off-time from the start to the end of turn-off, the on-time and off-time being variable; a timing setting portion that sets a turn-on and turn-off timing for turning on and off the switching element; a judgment portion that judges whether or not the turn-on and turn-off timing are on at a phase within a first or second phase range; and a processor that starts turning on and off the switching element at the turn-on and turn-off timing, the processor being capable of adjusting the on-time and off-time depending on the judgment result.

Phase control device, image forming apparatus, and recording medium

A power supply control device including a chopper circuit generating a heater current for a halogen heater, a current feedback circuit generating a current feedback signal indicating a current amount based on an amount of the heater current, and a constant current circuit performing pulse-width modulation of the heater current amount according to a difference between a target heater current amount and the current amount indicated by the current feedback signal. The current feedback circuit switches between methods at least including a first method and a second method for generating the current feedback signal. The current feedback signal indicates a greater current amount with the first method than with the second method, and the current feedback circuit uses the first method during a period with a predetermined time length starting from when the halogen heater is turned on, and uses the second method after elapse of the period.

Power supply control device and image forming apparatus

A power supply device having a transformer and a control circuit for controlling a power input to the transformer in accordance with a set value of an output voltage is provided. The power supply device includes an auxiliary winding provided in the transformer and a control power supply circuit configured to rectify AC power produced in the auxiliary winding to output a control voltage for operating the control circuit. The control power supply circuit includes a smoothing capacitor which is connected between output terminals for the control voltage and is to be charged with power obtained by rectifying the AC power, and a charge thinning circuit configured to intermittently charge the smoothing capacitor so that a voltage value between both ends of the smoothing capacitor reaches a set value of the control voltage.

Switching power supply device for reducing energy loss

A first rectification circuit includes a bypass element connected to both ends of a rectification element. The bypass element is smaller in voltage drop amount than the rectification element. A power supply device is configured to perform switching between a first mode and a second mode based on at least one of information showing a magnitude of electric power that is being supplied to a load and information showing a magnitude of electric power that is to be supplied to the load. In the first mode, an AC voltage is rectified in a path including the rectification element. In the second mode, the AC voltage is rectified in a path including the bypass element.

Power supply device for suppressing cross regulation and image forming apparatus including power supply device

An image forming apparatus includes: a fixing part including a heater, and a first temperature detection part configured to detect the temperature of the heater; a chopper circuit including a reactor, a freewheeling element, and a switching element, the chopper circuit being configured to switch an input direct current on and off in a specified duty cycle by using the switching element and to supply the current to the heater; and a control part configured to control the duty cycle based on a detection result obtained by the first temperature detection part, as well as to control a switching frequency of the switching element based on an operation mode of the image forming apparatus.

Image forming apparatus

A power control device receiving supply of power from a power source, the power control device including: a power accumulator accumulating a part of power from the power source; a first voltage converter receiving power from the power source and the power accumulator, performing voltage conversion to a first target voltage, and supplying power with the first target voltage to a first load; a second voltage converter receiving power from the first voltage converter, performing voltage conversion to a second target voltage, and supplying power with the second target voltage to a second load; a power source monitor monitoring power from the power source; and a power controller lowering the first target voltage to a level that the second voltage converter is capable of converting to the second target voltage when the power source monitor detects that the supply of power from the power source has stopped.

Power control device and image forming device

A fuser control device includes: a fusing portion having a heater; a chopper portion including a reactor, a free-wheeling element, and a switching element; and a processor portion being configured to implement a first current control during an implementation period, the implementation period including a first time interval and a second time interval, the implementation period being longer than a commercial power period, the first current control for transferring a control signal having a predetermined duty ratio to the switching element during the first time interval and transferring a control signal having a 100% duty ratio to the switching element during the second time interval.

Fuser control device and image forming apparatus

Image forming apparatus comprises an electric power supply circuit board, an electric power control unit, functional circuits, and an electrical power saving circuit. The electric power control unit executes constant voltage control, to make electrical potential of a remote sensing location constant. The functional circuits are connected with the electric power supply circuit board. The electrical power saving circuit switches the state of functional circuits between the state in which they are provided with electric power and the state in which they are not provided with electric power. The electrical power saving circuit sets the contact point of the input side of the circuit, in which the consumption electrical current or the behavior guarantee minimum electrical voltage is the largest, out of the electrical power saving circuit and functional circuits provided with electric power, as the remote sensing location.

Electric power supply device which can reduce the amount of power consumption

A unit checking device is provided which checks whether a unit detachably provided to a device body is new or old. The unit checking device includes a transistor for checking provided in the unit and configured to be destructed by power supplied from the device body; and an inspection device provided in the device body and configured to determine whether or not the transistor is destructed by applying a voltage to the transistor.

Unit checking device, unit, and image forming apparatus

The apparatus includes first and second terminals, an electrical conductor placed around at least the second terminal, a first current applying unit, an abnormal circumstances determining unit, a second current applying unit, and an informing unit. The first current applying unit applies current between the first terminal and the second terminal. The abnormal circumstances determining unit determines whether there is an abnormal circumstance at the connection between the apparatus and the unit side circuit, under the condition that the current is applied by the first current applying unit. The second current applying unit applies current between the first terminal and the second terminal, in case that the abnormal circumstances determining unit determined that there is not an abnormal circumstance of the connection. The informing unit informs the abnormal circumstance of the connection, in case that the abnormal circumstances determining unit determined that there is the abnormal circumstance of the connection.

Apparatus for detecting an abnormal circumstance at a connection between the apparatus and an attached detachable unit

An electric power supply control device comprises a first converter, at least one second converter, and an electrical voltage control unit. The second converter can work in intermittent oscillation, and converts outputting electrical voltage from the first converter. The electrical voltage control unit controls the outputting electrical voltage of the first converter, so that the outputting electrical voltage is equal to or less than a minimum value of upper limits of operating electrical voltage of the second converter, and is more than or equal to a maximum value of lower limits of operating electrical voltage of the second converter, and at least one of the second converter performs low electric power behavior.

Electric power supply control device which can increase power converting efficiency

An image forming apparatus having image supporting members and developing devices provided for a plurality of colors respectively, and a developing bias source. The developing bias source includes DC power circuits provided for the colors respectively, an AC power circuit provided for use in common for all of the colors, and an element provided for at least one of the colors other than black. The developing bias source generates developing biases by superimposing an AC voltage output from the AC power circuit on DC voltages output from the DC power circuits and applies the developing biases to the respectively corresponding developing devices. The element maintains a constant voltage having a potential of an opposite polarity to a potential of charged toner used for the development. The developing bias source further superimposes the constant voltage on the developing bias for the at least one of the colors other than black.

An image forming apparatus that forms a color image by overlaying toner images formed on respective first, second, and third photoreceptors, comprising: first, second, and third voltage-applied members respectively facing the first, second, and third photoreceptors; a first AC power supply generating first AC voltage, and superimposing the first AC voltage on first DC voltage to generate first voltage for causing a first electric field between the first voltage-applied member and the first photoreceptor; a second AC power supply generating second AC voltage, and superimposing the second AC voltage on second DC voltage to generate second voltage for causing a second electric field between the second voltage-applied member and the second photoreceptor; and a composite circuit superimposing a composite of the first voltage and the second voltage on third DC voltage, to generate third voltage for causing a third electric field between the third voltage-applied member and the third photoreceptor.

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Toyohashi, Japan

Mikiyuki Aoki