Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Satoru Tao

Noritaka Masuda

Hiromichi Matsuda

Makoto Nakura

Norikazu Okada

Keita Maejima

Yuichi Hirose

Takaaki Shirai

Takuma Kasai

Tomoyuki Yamashita

Homare Ehara

Ryohta Kubokawa

Susumu Saito

Toshiyuki Andoh

Shunichi Oohara

Satoru Komatsubara

Takuro Kamiya

Michihito Ohashi

Yoshihiko Sano

Satoru Ohno

Nobuyuki Furuya

Shinya Tomita

Hiroaki Nagata

Hiroki Tsubouchi

Yuji Uozaki

Takemasa Ryo

A device management system includes a device management apparatus; and a plurality of devices connectable to the device management apparatus. The device management apparatus includes circuitry configured to receive a notice of failure risk condition from the plurality of devices; in response to receiving a notice indicating that a first condition of the failure risk condition is satisfied from a first device, transmit to the first device a change request for changing the failure risk condition from the first condition to a second condition; identify, based on similarity between information stored for the first device and the plurality of devices other than the first device, a second device that is to be monitored using the same monitoring condition used for the first device; and transmit, to the second device, the change request for changing the failure risk condition from the first condition to the second condition.

Device management system, apparatus, and device involving request to change to a higher failure risk condition that changes the target device monitoring condition

An image forming apparatus includes an engine controller configured to control an operation of the image forming apparatus; an image processing controller including a constant log storage configured to temporarily store a log of the engine controller; a network controller configured to store the log, which is stored in the constant log storage, in another device via a network or in a storage of the image forming apparatus, according to a command from the engine controller; a communication line configured to communicably couple the engine controller to the image processing controller, and to communicably couple the image processing controller to the network controller; and an exclusive-use communication line configured to communicably couple the engine controller to the network controller, and to be used to report the command from the engine controller to the network controller.

Image forming apparatus including a constant log storage

An image forming apparatus includes a heat-generating component, a power generation device including a thermoelectric element, a heat radiation device, a cooling device, a temperature detector that detects a temperature increase of the heat-generating component, and a controller. The heat radiation device includes a first radiator plate interposed between the heat-generating component and a surface of the thermoelectric element and a second radiator plate attached to another surface of the thermoelectric element. The cooling device cools the first radiator plate. The controller controls operations of the cooling device and the power generation device by operating the cooling device if the detected temperature increase reaches at least a predetermined threshold value, and causing the power generation device to generate power without operating the cooling device to cool the first radiator plate passively if the detected temperature increase falls below the predetermined threshold value.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a heat generator configured to generate heat in the image forming apparatus; a converter including a capacitor to convert AC power supplied from an external power supply into DC power for a load unit; a thermoelectric transducer configured to convert the generated heat into DC power for the load unit; a detector configured to detect a voltage of the AC power; and a controller configured to cause the converter to continue supplying the DC power to the load unit when a first elapsed time elapsed since the detected voltage drops below a rated voltage is shorter than a first time period shorter than an upper limit of a period of time over which the capacitor is dischargeable, and cause the thermoelectric transducer to supply the DC power to the load unit when the first elapsed time exceeds the first time period.

Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and computer-readable storage medium

According to one embodiment, transit time taken for a recording medium passing through a nip portion to transit a predetermined distance is measured. A nip width adjusting mechanism adjusts a nip width on the basis of the transit time of the recording medium over the predetermined distance.

Fixing device, image forming apparatus, and method of controlling fixing device

An image forming apparatus is disclosed that includes an image carrier, a driving source, a rotation detection unit, and a control unit that performs fluctuation pattern recognition processing, control pattern construction processing, speed fine-adjustment processing, and remaining pattern recognition processing. The control unit is configured to perform control pattern correction processing for setting a frequency band of a remaining speed fluctuation to be detected by the remaining pattern recognition processing narrower than a frequency band of a speed fluctuation to be detected by the fluctuation pattern recognition processing and correcting the speed control pattern so as to be a pattern capable of reducing even the remaining speed fluctuation based on a remaining speed fluctuation pattern recognized by the remaining pattern recognition processing.

Image forming apparatus for detecting speed fluctuation

An endless belt member is suspended in a tensioned manner by a plurality of roller members including a drive roller and a drive motor drives the drive roller member so as to move the belt member in a predetermined direction of travel. A detecting unit detects an amount of displacement of the belt member in a widthwise direction of the belt member, and a correction unit that corrects displacement of the belt member in the widthwise direction. The correction unit corrects the displacement of the belt member in a widthwise direction based on data sampled by the detecting unit every time a drive signal is input to the drive motor a prescribed number of times.

Belt device and image forming apparatus

A control unit calculates a difference between a displacement of a belt detected by an encoder and a predetermined target value, calculates a pulse frequency of a driving pulse signal based on a feedback control based on the difference and a feed-forward control based on a reference driving pulse frequency, sets a control range of the feedback control to be equal to or smaller than a frequency of one rotation of a driven roller, and controls driving of a pulse motor such that the belt moves at a constant speed.

Belt-conveyance control device, image forming apparatus, belt-conveyance control method, and computer program product

In a belt device, a first detecting unit detects a widthwise displacement of a belt, and a correcting unit corrects displacement of the belt in the width direction during a period starting from turning power on and ending with completion of drive preparation of the belt based on the widthwise displacement. Moreover, a second detecting unit detects whether the belt has displaced in the width direction by an amount that is greater than a threshold, and a belt stopping unit stops running of the belt when the second detecting unit detects that the belt has displaced by an amount that is greater than the threshold.

A belt traveling unit includes an endless belt, a drive roller and a correction roller, a driving unit, a correction unit, a contact member, a position detector and a regulating member. The endless belt is spanned between a plurality of rollers. The driving unit rotates the drive roller to drive the belt. The correction unit adjusts a tilt angle of the correction roller to correct drifting of the belt in the width direction thereof. The contact member is rotatable in conjunction with traveling of the belt in the width direction thereof. The position detector detects a position of the contact member to detect a position of the belt in the width direction thereof. The regulating member is located at a position where the position detector does not misdetect the position of the belt when the contact member rotates.

Image forming apparatus including belt traveling unit which detects drifiting of belt postion

A belt-conveyor device includes a detecting unit that detects a belt position in a width direction of the endless belt for a plurality of times within more than a cycle of the endless belt, the width direction being a direction orthogonal to direction of travel of the endless belt; an average calculating unit that calculates an average belt position from the belt positions detected by the detecting unit; a storing unit that stores therein a plural sets of correction values and belt positions; and a meander correcting unit that corrects meander of the endless belt based on a correction value that corresponds with the average belt position in the storing unit.

Growing community of inventors

Ibaraki, Japan

Satoru Tao