Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Toshio Yamagishi

Masanobu Deguchi

Syoichiro Yoshiura

Shintaro Hashimoto

Masatsugu Nakamura

Hiroshi Maeda

Katsuyoshi Fujiwara

Yukihiro Yoshida

Toshihisa Matsuo

Kiyoshi Inamoto

Norihide Kunikawa

Masaru Nishijima

Youichi Kimura

Ken-ichi Iwamoto

Akira Mitsuyama

Toshihiro Okahashi

Yoshiaki Imanaka

Ikuo Itoh

Hiroaki Uchiyama

Tamotsu Shuto

Tatsuya Itoh

Tatuya Ito

Mitsuo Tada

Shizuka Hiraike

A digital image forming apparatus includes a CCD optical unit and an information editing section. The CCD optical unit inputs image information to an image control unit (ICU) upon an instruction to start image formation input through an operation panel. The information editing section inputs the image information to the ICU upon an instruction to start image formation input by a keyboard. The ICU stores the image information input from the information editing section page by page depending on an image processing mode specified through the operation panel and the keyboard, and successively performs image processing on the stored image information page by gage. With this arrangement, various image editing functions of a digital copying machine is effectively used for image information input from the information editing section.

Digital image forming apparatus

The present invention is made to reduce the effect of variation of pulses for driving a printer when recording image data and to improve the gray level representation of picture images to be printed. Data incoming through an image reading device are quantized and processed two pixels at a time by a gray level image processing circuit. The two-pixels' data are first discriminated by an edge discriminator to determine whether they represent an edge portion within the image or not. An object image, on which an operation for inter-pixel spacing shall be conducted, is selected according to the discrimination result. The arithmetic and logic portion performs the above-mentioned operation by two pixels at a time if the data correspond to a non-edge portion and performs correction for enhancement if the data correspond to an edge. This may eliminate the effect of dot displacement due to variation of drive pulses of a printer and improve the quality, in particular, of a gray level image portion.

Image processing device

A document feeding device for feeding documents to a document scanning section where the image of the document is scanned. The document feeding device has first trasnport rollers for feeding each document to the scanning section, discharge rollers for discharging from the scanning section the document thus supplied, a reversing transport path for passing and turning over the document sent from the discharge rollers, and second transport rollers for feeding the document that has been turned over through the reversing transport path to the document reading section. The reversing transport path is designed to change the length of the document transport path depending on the size of the document. With the arrangement, reversing operation and scanning operation of the documents can be performed effectively. Further, without increasing the momentary transporting speed of the document transport mechanism, this arrangement makes it possible to feed documents at comparatively high speed from an entire apparatus standpoint.

Document feeder with adjustable length document reversing transport path

An original document detecting device includes at least a pair of elements made up of a light emitting element and a light receiving element oppositely arranged on both sides of an original placing platform which is used for placing an original document, for example, on a copying machine. When no original document is present on the platform, the light receiving element receives the light from the light emitting element. When an original document is placed on the platform, the light is interrupted because of the presence of the original document. The detecting apparatus is provided for detecting whether the light is received by the light receiving element or the light is interrupted by an original document. Because the light is interrupted, the presence or absence of the original document is detected. There is also provided a sensor for detecting the intensity of disturbance of light and drive control apparatus for controlling the intensity of the input value of the light emitting element, so as to control the intensity of the input light of the light receiving element dependent on the output signal of the sensor. The apparatus can also be used for determining the size of the original document when an original document is present on the placing platform.

Detecting device for detecting the size and/or presence of an original

A timing control device for a driving mechanism including a clutch or a solenoid has a sensor which operates a fixed time interval after the mechanism is driven in response to a drive signal and a timer which measures the time interval between when this drive signal is given and when the sensor operates. This measured time interval is compared with a reference value and the timing of providing the drive signal is adjusted according to the result of this comparison.

Timing control device for driving mechanism

An image forming device such as a copier has separate upper, middle and lower units which are mutually openable. The axes of rotation around which the upper unit can rotate with respect to the middle unit and the middle unit with respect to the lower unit are symmetrically disposed and engaging and locking mechanisms are provided such that when one of the pairs of mutually openable units is opened, the other pair is prevented from opening. Thus, the overall equalibrium of the device is not lost even if both pairs of units are opened.

Image forming device with separable units

A multiple-unit type copying apparatus having an apparatus housing divided into a plurality of units including an optical system unit in which an optical system and a driving device are incorporated and which is openably provided so as to be opened about its one end portion relative to the remaining units. The copying apparatus further includes a connector for coupling the driving device with a power source circuit, a coupling detecting device for detecting a coupling state of the connector and a power supply cut-off device for cutting off power supply to the remaining units when it has been found by the coupling detecting device that the connector is in an uncoupled state.

Multiple-unit type copying apparatus

An improved copying apparatus for copying by shifting images by a desired distance, and also for copying the central portion of a copy paper sheet according to copying factors such as the copy paper sheet sizes, original document sizes and copying magnifications.

Copying apparatus having a controlled scanning speed according to a

An electric element breakdown detector includes an electric element (5: 5a: 106: 132: 172) connected in series with a switching element (6: 6a: 116: 116a: 171) which define a series connection. A processing circuit (40: 110: 174) produces a control signal to the switching element to control on and off operation of the switching element, so as to control the current flow through the series connection. A comparator (10: 119) is provided for comparing a voltage at one end of the electric element with a reference voltage produced from a reference voltage producer (12: 121, 123), and generates a result signal representing the result of the comparison. The result signal is fed to the processing circuit. The processing circuit detects the condition of the series connection by the detection of combination of the control signal and the result signal.

Electric element breakdown detector

A heat fixing device comprises a fixing member for fixing particles onto a base material by heating, a detector for detecting environmental conditions surrounding and/or applied to the fixing member, and a controller responsive to the detector, for controlling the speed of the base material passing through the fixing means.

Heat fixing device for a copying machine

An electrophotographic copying machine comprises a body for accommodating a number of elements to execute a copying operation, a subsystem such as a sorter for sorting a plurality of copied papers in the copied order on each of shelves, and an optical communication system between the body of the copying machine and the sorter. For the optical communication system, the sorter includes some light emitting diodes while the copying machine includes some light receiving elements. In place of optical communication, magnetic communication may be provided.

Separated communication between electrophotographic copying machine and

An electrophotographic copying machine includes a combined developing-cleaning magnetic brush element. When the copy sheet is smaller than half the size of a photosensitive drum surface, two sheets of copy are obtained by three revolutions of the photosensitive drum in a multi-copy mode. During the first revolution of the photosensitive drum, the combined developing-cleaning magnetic brush element conducts the developing operation onto a first half section of the photosensitive drum and conducts the cleaning operation onto a second half section of the photosensitive drum. During the second revolution of the photosensitive drum, the first half section is cleaned and the second half section is developed. During the third revolution of the photosensitive drum, the first and second half sections are cleaned by the combined developing-cleaning magnetic brush element.

Electrophotographic copying machine

Within an electrophotographic copying machine having a predetermined number of sensing elements each deriving an output indicative of respective one of operating states of the machine, there is provided a single chip, MOS-LSI microprocessor responsive to the outputs of the sensing elements to control the machine in a sequential or serial mode. The microprocessor contains storage means storing a string of instructions, processing means to fetch sequentially the instructions from the storage means and to deal with the fetched instructions, first input means to receive synchronizing signals generated within the body of the machine, first output means to determine with aid of the processing means whether any synchronizing signal is inputted via the first input means and to produce confirmation signals after confirming the sensed operating states of the machine, second input means to introduce through the sensing elements the confirmation signals supplied via the first output means, and a second output means to process with aid of the processing means the signals received by the first input means and the second input means and to consequently produce control signals effective to control operation of the machine.

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Nara, Japan

Toshio Yamagishi