Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Nobuaki Tomidokoro

Yasuo Kawada

Osamu Kizaki

Tomofumi Harada

Yasunari Hashimoto

Kazuyuki Nakahara

Masayuki Hayashi

Yoshihiro Mitekura

Koichi Kanaya

Toshiya Tagawa

Masato Terao

Masahiro Kitayama

Tsuyoshi Endoh

Hiroshi Nishida

Tetsuo Asakawa

Shohzoh Miyawaki

Takeshi Kowada

Shiho Toyonori

Ryoichi Suzuki

Shigeru Watanabe

Hidetoshi Yano

Makoto Obu

Katsuhiro Echigo

Shinichi Kawahara

Kunio Hayakawa

Yasuhiro Kawashima

Shigeru Yoshiki

Tadashi Nagata

Fumio Kishi

Hideaki Matsui

Aritaka Hagiwara

Motoyuki Katsumata

Kohji Ishikura

Masami Higuchi

Hidenori Sakai

Akira Miyazaki

Kazuki Nakahara

You Masuyama

Youko Fukui

A size storing unit stores a size of a ring member for binding stacked sheets. A range determining unit determines whether a thickness represented by input thickness information is larger than a minimum total thickness of sheets allowed to be bound with a ring member having the stored size and equal to or smaller than a maximum total thickness of sheets that can be bound with the ring member. When it is determined that the thickness represented by the thickness information is equal to or smaller than the minimum total thickness or larger than the maximum total thickness, a setting unit sets the size stored in the size storing unit to a different size.

Device, method, and computer program product for controlling ring binding

An image processing apparatus includes a controlling unit that controls all units of the image forming apparatus, a reading unit that reads an image, a processing unit that generates image data based on the image read, a recognizing unit that recognizes a ground tint pattern in the image read, and a detecting unit that detects an abnormality in the recognizing unit. When the recognizing unit recognizes a ground tint pattern in an image read, the controlling unit controls the processing unit to perform a special processing on the image. When the detecting unit detects an abnormality in the recognizing unit, the controlling unit controls the image forming apparatus according to the abnormality.

Image processing apparatus with ground-tint pattern recognition and abnormality detection

In an image forming device, a ground-tint detection unit detects a ground-tint pattern in an original image based on image data output from an image reader unit. An image invalidation unit outputs a processed image data that makes the image data of the original image illegible, when the ground-tint pattern in the original image is detected. A resolution setting unit allows a resolution of the image reader unit to be higher than a minimum resolution needed for detection of a ground-tint pattern and stored in a memory unit.

Image forming device with ground-tint detection, image invalidation, and read resolution setting

An image forming device management system includes a plurality of image forming devices, a central service station which provides a maintenance service for the image forming devices, and a communication control unit which is connected to each of the image forming devices by a signal line, the communication control unit connecting one of the image forming devices to the central service station via a communication network. In the system, each of the image forming devices includes a message unit which outputs a signal line separation message when the image forming device has no signal from the central service station or the communication control unit over a predetermined period.

Image forming device management system

An image forming apparatus supervising system includes a central control apparatus, a plurality of image forming apparatuses each having a memory and connected to the central control apparatus with a communication line, and a data communication apparatus connected to the plurality of image forming apparatuses and the central control apparatus using a communication line. An information code data transmitting device transmits information code data, having a plurality of levels in which character data is respectively included from the central control apparatus to the image forming apparatus, and a data reading device reads data corresponding to the information code data from the memory. A response data transmitting device transmits the data read from the memory to the central control apparatus via the data communication apparatus and the communication line. The central control apparatus changes all character data included in one or more levels lower than a prescribed level of the information code data with particular character data before transmitting the information code data when reading all data in the memory, which accords with character data included in one or more levels higher than the prescribed level of the information code data. Further, the data reading device reads only data of the memory which accords with the character data not changed with the particular character data when receiving the information code data.

Image forming apparatus supervising system

An image forming apparatus supervising system includes a problem detecting device in each of image forming apparatuses, which detects a problem to be reported to a central control apparatus as a service person call when the problem occurs in the image forming apparatus. A first copysheet number storing device is employed to store a total number of copysheets having been copied before a current occurrence of the problem occurs in an image forming apparatus. A second copysheet number storing device is also employed to store a number of copysheets having been copied before a last occurrence of the problem. The problem is reported only when a difference between the numbers of copysheets stored in the first copysheet number storing device and the second copysheet number storing device exceeds a predetermined level so that an erroneously detected problem can be avoided from being reported as the service person call.

System and method for avoiding an erroneous service person call

A consumable item supplying system includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses each using a plurality of consumable items, for example, copysheets, toner, and so on. The consumable item supplying system includes a consumable item manual requesting operation for manually requesting a consumable item from each of the image forming apparatuses. A central controller orders a consumable item from a consumable item supplier or the like when the consumable item is requested from one of the image forming apparatuses, and a data communication device can receive data representing a consumable item request by polling each of the image forming apparatuses and sending the polling results from the image forming apparatus to the central controller.

Consumable item supplying system for an image forming apparatus

A communication control device connected between an image forming apparatus and a communication line in an image forming apparatus supervising system which connects the image forming apparatus and a host machine by the communication line. Assume that particular data of an image forming apparatus and updated day by day should be read periodically. Then, even when the power supply to the image forming apparatus is shut off, a host machine can access the apparatus to read the data which should be read periodically, and receive it. In addition, the data can be preserved until the next time for reading.

Communication control device connected between an image forming

A communication control device connected between an image forming apparatus and a communication line in an image forming apparatus supervising system which connects the image forming apparatus and a host machine by the communication line. Assume that particular data of an image forming apparatus which is updated day by day should be read periodically. Then, even when the power supply to the image forming apparatus is shut off, a host machine can access the apparatus to read the data which should be read periodically, and receive it. In addition, the data can be preserved until the next time for reading. The data is stored in a first memory until the data is ready for transfer to the host machine, at which time the data is transferred to a second memory and then to the host machine.

Communication control device for an image forming apparatus supervising

A control system for collectively supervising a plurality of copiers or similar image forming apparatuses connected to a control device by communication lines with or without the intermediary of communication control units. To down-load data relating to image formation, the control device determines whether or not a copier of interest is in an inoperative state and, if it is in an inoperative state, automatically sends the data to the copier via a telephone line, an exchange, and a communication control unit. This data is written to storing means built in the copier. To up-load data relating to image formation, the control device causes each copier to automatically send the data stored in the storing means and stores the data in memory means. Up-loading is effected at an optimal time other than the time when the copier is performing an automatic adjustment, is in use, or is quite likely to be used.

System for supervising an image forming apparatus from a remote computer

In an image forming apparatus, the size of sheets (ordinary sheets) set on any tray not set as a tab tray by tab tray setting member is determined by ordinary sheet size sensing member on the basis of the dimension in the sheet feed direction and the dimension in the direction (widthwise) perpendicular to the above direction. On the other hand, the size of sheets (sheets with tabs) set on a tray set as a tab tray is determined by tab sheet size sensing member on the basis only of the dimension in the widthwise direction. If the size of the sheets of the tab tray cannot be determined on the basis only of the above dimension, the size set beforehand is selected. With this configuration, the apparatus is capable of detecting the sizes of various kinds of tab sheets with accuracy.

Image forming apparatus

A control system for collectively supervising a plurality of copiers or similar image forming apparatuses connected to a control device by communication lines with or without the intermediary of communication control units. To down-load data relating to image formation, the control device determines whether or not a copier of interest is an inoperative state and, if it is in an inoperative state, automatically sends the data to the copier via a telephone line, an exchange, and a communication control unit. This data is written to storing means built in the copier. To up-load data relating to image formation, the control device causes each copier to automatically send the data stored in the storing means thereof and stores the data in memory means thereof. Up-loading is effected at an optimal time other than the time when the copier is performing an automatic adjustment, in use, or quite likely to be used.

Control device for controlling a plurality of image forming apparatuses

A communication control device connected between an image forming apparatus and a communication line in an image forming apparatus supervising system which connects the image forming apparatus and a host machine by the communication line. Assume that particular data of an image forming apparatus and which is updated day by day should be read periodically. Then, even when the power supply to the image forming apparatus is shut off, a host machine can access the apparatus to read the data which should be read periodically, and receive it. In addition, the data can be preserved until the next time for reading. The data is stored in a first memory until the data is ready for transfer to the host machine, at which time the data is transferred to a second memory and then to the host machine.

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Sagamihara, Japan

Nobuaki Tomidokoro