Konica Minolta, Inc.

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.

Takeshi Tamada

Satoshi Ogata

Kenji Izumiya

Takahiro Tsujimoto

Akinori Kimata

Akihiro Hayashi

Katsuyuki Ikuta

Yoshihito Sasamoto

Mikiyuki Aoki

Hiroaki Takatsu

Seiichi Kirikubo

Masayuki Watanabe

Kenji Tamaki

Masahiro Kamiya

Hiroshi Oyama

Hiroshi Eguchi

Kenji Yamamoto

Hideo Yamane

Eiji Sugimoto

Tianhua Xu

Junichi Masuda

Teruhiko Toyoizumi

Kazumichi Yamauchi

Shinichi Yabuki

Yuji Kobayashi

Taku Kimura

Masatoshi Hitaka

Kosuke Sasaki

Masahito Takano

Takumi Shirakuma

Takeshi Nomura

Koji Ohara

Shota Igo

Shohei Otsu

Kouji Ohara

Masahiro Shiigi

Hiroshi Tokuan

An information processing apparatus including a hardware processor that: acquires output information of a recording medium on which an image is formed by an image forming apparatus and recording medium-related information, and determines, based on the output information and the recording medium-related information that is acquired, information on a recording medium that is recommended for use in the image forming apparatus or information on a recording medium that is not recommended for use in the image forming apparatus.

Information processing apparatus and non-transitory recording medium storing computer readable control program

An image forming apparatus includes: a drive source that drives an object; and a hardware processor that detects a fluctuation range of a load applied to the drive source by driving the object, and determines a state of the object on a basis of a detection result.

Image formation with increased productivity by determining surface state of medium conveying roller based on detected fluctuation range in roller driving load

A recording medium conveyance device includes a storage, a conveyer that conveys a conveyed object, an ultrasonic sensor that outputs a value indicating an attenuation amount of an ultrasonic wave caused by the conveyed object, and a hardware processor. The hardware processor executes a type detection process of detecting a type of the conveyed object based on output of the ultrasonic sensor and storing the type in the storage and an overlay detection process of detecting whether the conveyed object is in an overlay state in which a gap is present based on output of the ultrasonic sensor, and switches to either one of the type detection process and the overlay detection process. The hardware processor executes the type detection process when the type is not stored in the storage and executes the overlay detection process when the type is stored in the storage.

Recording medium conveyance device, recording medium conveyance method and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with recording medium conveyance instructions

An image forming apparatus, includes: a media sensor that detects a sheet type; a fixer that fixes the image on a sheet; a storage that stores a fixing temperature for each sheet type; and a hardware processor that controls power supplied to the fixer by pulse-width modulation (PWM) control and controls a temperature of the fixer to the fixing temperature corresponding to the sheet type detected by the media sensor.

Image forming apparatus and temperature control method

A control device that controls an image former, includes: a second power supply that performs power feeding to a detector during a power feeding suspension period during which power feeding from a first power supply to the image former and the detector is not performed, the detector detecting an environment variable around the image former, the environment variable affecting quality of an image formed by the image former; and a determiner that determines a control condition for the image former in accordance with a result of detection performed by the detector during the power feeding suspension period, when power feeding from the first power supply to the image former is started at an end of the power feeding suspension period and the image former enters an image formation ready state in which the image former can perform image formation.

Control device, image forming apparatus, and program

An image forming apparatus includes a heater, a first heater drive circuit which rectifies AC power from an AC power supply and subjects a current to be conducted to the heater to PWM control, and a second heater drive circuit which allows conduction from the AC power to the heater. The image forming apparatus further includes a switching circuit which sets a drive circuit which is to drive the heater to any one of the first heater drive circuit and the second heater drive circuit and a control unit which controls switching between the drive circuits by the switching circuit.

Image forming apparatus

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

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.

An excessive heating protection circuit to be connected to a first temperature sensor being configured to output less voltage with a rise in temperature and a second temperature sensor being configured to output more voltage with a rise in temperature. The excessive heating protection circuit includes: a multiplexer having a plurality of channels capable of receiving reference voltages predetermined for the first and second temperature sensors, the multiplexer being configured to output one of the reference voltages by selecting one of the channels with reference to input selection signals; a first comparator being configured to compare the output voltage of the first temperature sensor to the output reference voltage of the multiplexer and to output a comparison result; and a second comparator being configured to compare the output voltage of the second temperature sensor to the output reference voltage of the multiplexer and to output a comparison result.

Excessive heating protection circuit and image forming apparatus

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

A sheet processing apparatus is described which is used to process a sheet transferred from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine. A sheet processing apparatus is provided with a punching unit which cuts off part of a sheet conveyed along a conveying route, and a humidifying unit located on this conveying route in the upstream side of the punching unit and configured to humidify a predetermined area which is selected from the entire area of the sheet and includes punch areas to be cut off from the conveyed sheet by the punching unit. The cutting wastes can thereby be electrostatically discharged without leaving the sheet excessively wet.

Sheet punching device with humidifier

A fixing apparatus comprises a fixing nip width adjustment unit configured to adjust the fixing nip width of a fixing nip portion; a braking force generation motor configured to generate an effective braking force in the direction to hinder rotation of an upper pressure roller; and a control unit configured to perform restore control for rotating the upper pressure roller and a lower pressure roller by driving a drive motor and speed keeping control for keeping the rotational speed of the braking force generation motor no higher than a predetermined speed during the restore control in a non-fixing period in which the fixing nip width adjustment unit is controlled to decrease the fixing nip width smaller than in a fixing period and a braking force is applied to the fixing side member by the braking force generation motor.

Fixing apparatus for fixing images formed on sheet and image forming apparatus provided with this fixing apparatus

An image forming apparatus performs a serviceman call detection mode during its idling time. In this time, a control portion controls upper and lower pressuring rollers to be clamped, controls a driving motor, and controls a change-over mechanism to switch a braking motor off. A torque detection portion detects a torque value Y of the driving motor at this time. The control portion then controls the upper and lower pressuring rollers to be clamped, controls the driving motor, and controls the change-over mechanism to switch the braking motor on. The torque detection portion detects a torque value Z of the driving motor at this time. The control portion subtracts the torque value Y from the torque value Z to calculate a difference value. The control portion determines that the braking motor is broken down when the difference value does not exceed the threshold value.

An image forming apparatus comprises a drive motor configured to rotate the lower pressure roller, a torque generation unit for generating a braking force in the direction to hinder rotation of a fixing belt in order to adjust the differential speed between the surface speed of the fixing belt and the surface speed of the lower pressure roller, and a control unit for adjusting the braking force generated by the torque generation unit. The control unit adjusts the braking force generated by the torque generation unit to decrease if the rotational torque of the drive motor is larger than a predetermined target torque, and increase if the rotational torque of the drive motor is smaller than the predetermined target torque.

Image forming apparatus that adjusts a differential speed between a surface of a fixing belt and a surface of a pressure roller based on a detected torque of a motor that drives the pressure roller

An image forming apparatus is provided with a fixing unit in which flickers can be effectively reduced while inhibiting electric current imbalance. The fixing unit comprises a fixing heater, a switching unit for switching the fixing heater on/off with an AC power source, and a control unit which controls the switching unit to switch in units of the half wave period of the AC power source AC, and a storing unit for storing a plurality of energization patterns which define the ways of performing the switch control. Each energization pattern corresponds to a control cycle which contains a three or more odd number of the half wave periods each of which is either an OFF period and an ON period, and all the half wave periods of the smaller in number of the ON periods and the OFF periods are not successively arranged.

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Toyohashi, Japan

Takeshi Tamada