Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Toshihiko Kitahara

Eiichi Motoyama

Masatoshi Yaginuma

Akihiko Sakai

Masao Watanabe

Tsunao Hombo

Junichi Into

Yoshio Mizuno

Akihiro Sato

Toshiro Tomono

Yasuhiro Saito

Rie Aizawa

Shun-ichi Komatsu

An apparatus is provided that can perform distributed control for a plurality of operation units, without concentrating control in a single device. The apparatus includes a plurality of modules that respectively correspond to a plurality of operation units, each module including a communication device, a functional block setting device and a functional block connected with a corresponding operation unit. The functional block has a register that holds, in an updateable condition, control values relating to various controls of the corresponding operation unit. Each module is triggered by an operation start signal input to a start terminal of the communication device to start an operation for controlling a corresponding operation unit in accordance with each control value held in the register device.

Image forming apparatus with a plurality of modules receiving a common trigger signal

A fixing device which makes it possible to reduce power consumption during a non-fixing operation while reducing the time before fixing is started. A belt has a conductive layer provided thereon. A pressure roller is rotated in a state engaged with the belt to thereby cause the belt to be rotated in a driven manner. Exciting circuits each formed by a magnetic core and an exciting coil generate an eddy current in the conductive layer provided on the belt to thereby cause heat to be generated in the conductive layer. A plurality of the exciting circuits are arranged at different locations along a rotational direction of the belt, and a controller drivingly controls the exciting circuits in respective timings in a state where the belt and the pressure roller are disengaged from each other.

Fixing device using electromagnetic induction heating method

The image forming apparatus includes, even when an abnormality of operation occurs in any of a plurality of modules to which an assigned operation in a plurality of operations for an image formation is assigned and which autonomously executes the assigned operation, each of the modules can autonomously perform a particular operation for eliminating an abnormality of operation at a module in which an abnormality occurs. When detecting the module in which the abnormality of operation occurs based on operation abnormality generation condition information in each of the modules stored in the shared data module, the plurality of modules provided in the image forming apparatus each perform an operation (a particular operation) for eliminating the abnormality of operation in accordance with the module in which the abnormality of operation occurs and the contents of the abnormality of operation. Of the plurality of modules, a module which finally performs the particular operation notifies the occurrence of abnormality of operation to a controller module.

Image forming apparatus and control method for the same

An image forming system including: an image reading portion which reads an image of an original; an image forming portion which forms the image on a sheet based on image information read by the image reading portion; and a storing device which stores the original before the image is read, the original after the image is read, and the sheet on which the image has been formed based on the image information, wherein the storing device is detachable from the image forming system.

Image forming system and image reading apparatus

An image heating apparatus is provided where an electrical power supply to a second heater is started during the electrical power supply to a first heater, a power supply control that controls the electrical power supply to the first heater in accordance with a condition of the second heater.

Image heating apparatus having a plurality of heaters

The invention is to provide an improved high voltage transfer power supply and an image forming apparatus, regardless of resistance connected in series to the transfer roller and impedance change of the transfer roller. The high voltage transfer power supply, if the voltage produced from the output winding NS1 of the transfer transformer T1 is controlled based on the set value of register 8 merely by the process of ATVC, can provide neither an appropriate transfer voltage nor an excellent transfer image. Accordingly, a correction value resulting from the resistance R2 and the impedance change of the transfer roller by means of CPU12, and a set value in a register 8 is corrected by the correction value to obtain an optimal transfer image of the original.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Toshihiko Kitahara