Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Yoshikado Yamada

Yoshiteru Mori

Toshihisa Matsuo

Ken-ichi Iwamoto

Toyoaki Namba

Hideo Taniguchi

Yoshiyuki Noda

Yuuji Sugimoto

Syoichiro Yoshiura

Yuji Okamoto

Takahiro Fukunaga

Katsuyoshi Fujiwara

Tadasu Taniguchi

Kaoru Ishikura

Motoaki Okitsu

Atsushi Narukawa

Kimihito Yamasaki

Junichi Kajiwara

Tadaaki Kawano

Norihide Kunikawa

Masashi Toyoda

Kenji Okada

Hiroaki Uchiyama

Katsutoshi Ishikawa

Masanori Mori

Tadashi Okada

Yoshiomi Hamano

Kazuyuki Ogita

Osamu Iwasa

An operation guidance display apparatus displays dynamic images of operations which are necessary for a display section provided to an image forming apparatus in the case where jam, out of toner, etc. occur in sheet passing sections of the image forming apparatus, and an operation by an operator is required. As a result, even if the operator first performs the necessary operations or it is difficult for the operator to understand the operations, the operator can safely and securely performs the operations. Therefore, operability of the image forming apparatus can be improved by providing the apparatus of the present invention to the image forming apparatus.

Operation guidance display apparatus of image forming apparatus

A communication system for implementing maintenance of a copying machine is arranged to have one or more copying terminals, a host computer, and a communication line connecting both with each other. The copying terminal provides a counter for counting maintenance data such as a total number of copied sheets or jammed sheets, input keys, and a communication modem. The host computer provides a communication modem. The copying terminal has an operation unit for entering communication conditions such as a maintenance data transmission time by handling some input keys and a modem for sending the maintenance data to the host computer on the input data. The host computer also provides a standard timer for synchronously controlling the timers provided in the copying terminals so that the times indicated by all the timers are made equal.

Communication system for implementing maintenance of copying machine

A copy material feeding device in accordance with the present invention includes at least one rotatable cassette having a copy material orientation changing device for shifting copy material thereon in at least two feeding positions from which the copy paper is fed; and at least one fixed cassette without the copy material orientation changing device. The feeding device has an arrangement wherein the rotatable cassette is disposed in such a position that a transport path from the rotatable cassette to the copying apparatus is allowed to be shorter than that from the fixed cassette to the copying apparatus. Accordingly, with respect to copy paper of a predetermined size stored in the rotatable cassette, both lateral and longitudinal feeds are performed by way of the shortest transport path, that is, in a minimized transport time, and therefore the arrangement permits the copy paper to be transported to the copying machine at high speeds.

Image forming device having a plurality of copy material feeding members

A sheet supplying device supplies a sheet to a sheet supplied apparatus which designates the size and transport direction of the sheet. The sheet supplying device includes a transport path for transporting therethrough the sheet to the sheet supplied apparatus, a movable cassette for placing the sheet and movable to at least two transport positions so as to transport the sheet in at least two transport directions, and a fixed cassette for placing the sheet and fixed in one transport position so as to transport the sheet in one transport direction. The sheet supplying device further includes a control device for selecting either the movable cassette or the fixed cassette and for ordering the movable cassette to move to a transport position corresponding to the designated transport direction. The sheet supplying device also includes a transport device for transporting the sheet from the selected cassette through the transport path.

Sheet supplying device

An imaging apparatus has a plurality of image processing functions which can be classified at least into a first group including first related functions and a second group including second related functions. The imaging apparatus includes a display for displaying different information. When a special key for calling one of the first and second groups is activated, all the related functions which are included in the called group are displayed in the display. Then, another key is used for selecting one function from the related functions displayed by the display.

Imaging apparatus for displaying related imaging processing functions

A feeding device for enabling continuous copy paper feed from a first and second cassette. When copy material of the same size is stored in a first cassette and an absence of copy material is detected in the first cassette, orientation of the second rotatable cassette is altered, if necessary to coincide with that of the first cassette, and paper feed continues from the second rotatable cassette. Still further, the second rotatable cassette may be selected for continuing copy paper feed if copy material within the first cassette is detected to be less than a predetermined amount.

Feeding device for enabling continuous copy paper feed from plural copy

A sheet supplying device supplies a sheet to a sheet supplied apparatus which has a predetermined maximum size of the sheet capable of being supplied thereto. The sheet supplying device includes a movable cassette for placing the sheet thereon and movable to at least two transport positions so as to transport the sheet therefrom to the sheet supplied apparatus in at least two transparent directions, and a driving device, to which a driving order is given, for moving the movable cassette to at least two transport positions in response to the driving order. The sheet supplying device further includes a control device, to which the size of the sheet placed on the movable cassette is input, for stopping the driving motion of the driving device prior to the driving order if the input size of the sheet exceeds the maximum size when the movable cassette is moved.

Rotatable sheet supplying cassette and associated controller which may

A sheet supplying device has at least one sheet stacking portion for stacking a plurality of sheets to be fed, a unit for drawing the sheets out of the sheet stacking portion to feed the drawn sheet to a predetermined path, and a unit for returning a sheet into the sheet stacking portion. This sheet is drawn by the drawing unit but stayed in a position that the leading edge thereof is out of the sheet stacking portion.

An apparatus for controlling a sheet supplying device having a feeding device capable of feeding a copying sheet from a plurality of stacked copying sheets in a sheet stacking portion and a reversing device capable of returning copying sheets desired not to be fed at an instance of feeding process includes an unit for applying a rotational driving force to the feeding device so as to draw a copying sheet out of the stacked copying sheets in the sheet stacking portion by rotating the feeding device in one direction, and an unit for applying a rotational driving force to the reversing device so as to return a copying sheet desired not to be fed to the sheet stacking portion at a time when a plurality of copying sheets are simultaneously fed out from the sheet stacking portion by rotating the reversing device in another direction. The apparatus also includes an unit for controlling both of the applying units such that the rotational driving force applied to the feeding device is stopped at a time when a copying sheet to be fed has passed on the feeding device and the rotational driving force applied to the reversing device is kept to apply to the reversing device at least for a predetermined time period after stopping to apply the rotational driving force to the feeding device. The applying unit for applying the rotational force to the feeding device is capable of applying a rotational force which is enable to rotate the feeding device in the another direction. The controlling unit is capable of applying a rotational driving force to the feeding device so as to rotate in the another direction for a constant time period.

Apparatus for controlling a sheet supplying device

An image forming apparatus comprising: a rotating section of a rotatable cassette movable between a longitudinal feed position from which paper longitudinally oriented with respect to a feeding direction is fed and a lateral feed position from which paper laterally oriented with respect to the feeding direction is fed; a document size detection device for detecting the size and orientation of a document; an automatic paper selection function for selecting a cassette in accordance with document size/orientation data obtained from the document size detection device and magnification data; a timer for measuring a predetermined perod of time; a RAM for storing the document size/orientation data; and control a device for (i) controlling the timer to start its measuring operation upon detection of a document size/orientation by the document size detection device, (ii) controlling the movement of the rotating section of the rotatable cassette to a position which corresponds to a determined orientation of the copy paper if the rotatable cassette is selected by the automatic paper selection function, and there occurs no change in the document size/orientation data sent from the document size detection device to the RAM before the completion of the measuring operation by the timer, and renewing the document size/orientation data stored in the RAM and restarting the measuring operation of the timer if the document size/orientation data have been changed before the completion of the first set measuring operation of the timer. With the above arrangement, even if there occurs a change in the document size/orientation data due to a detection error etc. within a predetermined time period, the rotating section of the rotatable cassette can be set in a desired feed position without undesirable rotations.

Image forming apparatus having a controller to prevent erroneous feeding

An image forming apparatus comprising rotatable cassettes rotated by cassette rotating means between a longitudinal feeding station from which paper is fed in a longitudinal direction thereof and a lateral feeding station from which paper is fed in a lateral direction thereof, wherein memory means stores a cassette rotation signal, when the cassette rotation signal is entered therein and cassette rotating means is controlled in accordance with the cassette rotation signal stored in the memory means when a cassette rotation permission signal for permitting the rotation of the rotatable cassette is generated, so that the rotatable cassette is set in a predetermined feeding station. The invention also provides an image forming apparatus capable of storing the feeding station of the rotatable cassette in the memory means and rotating the rotatable cassette to the feeding station stored in the memory means when the rotatable cassette is out of both longitudinal feeding station and lateral feeding station. Further, the invention provides an imagae forming apparatus capable of selecting a desired cassette from a plurality of cassettes and instructing to rotate the rotatable cassette by depressing a minimum number of operation keys. The invention further provides an image forming apparatus wherein the rotatable cassette is taken out therefrom by setting the rotatable cassette in either of the longitudinal feeding station and the lateral feeding station, characterized in that the rotatable cassette is set in the feeding station specified as a rotatable cassette taking-out/insertion position each time an image formation is completed.

Image forming apparatus

A light adjusting apparatus comprising a lamp connected to a commercial a.c. power supply via a triac, and a switching control circuit operable by a direct current obtained by directly rectifying the current of the power supply for controlling the conduction timing of the triac based on the zero-cross timing of the power supply. The conduction timing of the triac is controlled by a signal obtained by producing a pulse-width modulated light adjusting signal from a signal generating circuit by a light-emitting element, causing a photodetector in the control circuit to receive the adjusting signal and subjecting the resulting output of the control circuit to pulse-width demodulation.

Light adjusting apparatus

A copier is comprised not only of an optical scanner and a paper supplying mechanism for supplying a copy paper sheet to have an image transferred thereonto, but also of numerical keys for inputting displacement values measured during an adjustment mode of operation of the copier at two magnification values such as 200% and 50% between the position of a target image with respect to a scanned original document and the position of a copied image of the target image with respect to a copy paper sheet and a control system which calculates timing values for supplying a copy paper sheet with respect to the action of the optical scanner on the basis of measured values inputted through the numerical keys, and controls the driving of the paper supplying mechanism according to a timing based on the timing values stored in a memory device.

Copier

An image reading apparatus having a solid state pick-up device for receiving light reflected from an image that is irradiated by a light source supplied with AC power. The image reading apparatus includes a zero cross pulse generating circuit that is supplied by an AC supply voltage and a received light amount detection starting time setting device which sets the delay time for a specified period of time from the generation of a pulse by the zero cross pulse generating circuit relating to the time for the solid state pick-up device to start detecting the quantity of light received. The image reading apparatus synchronizes this timing to ensure that an image is irradiated with a constant quantity of light.

Image reading apparatus

In a copying machine including a sensor for detecting the concentration of a developer within a developing unit, and a developer supply unit for supplementing a developer into the developing unit when the concentration of the developer detected by the sensor is lower than a predetermined value, a warning device is provided which includes a counter for counting the number of copies being made and capable of being reset each time the developer is supplemented from the developer supply unit onto the developing unit. A warning unit is also provided which is indicates when the number of copies counted by the counter exceeds the maximum possible number of copies that can be made until the concentration of the developer fully contained in the developing unit decreases to a value lower than a predetermined value.

Growing community of inventors

Kashihara, Japan

Yoshikado Yamada