Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Yoshio Mizuno

Tokuharu Kaneko

Satoshi Kaneko

Hirokazu Takahashi

Keizo Isemura

Noriaki Matsui

Masahiro Serizawa

Taisei Fukada

Masayoshi Taira

Akihiko Satoh

Hirohiko Kishimoto

Yoshihiro Hosomi

Tsuyoshi Moriyama

Kenji Fukushi

Tatsuaki Hashimoto

Yoshihiko Suzuki

Ryo Hanashi

Atsushi Chaki

Kazukiyo Akashi

Shinichi Nakamura

Tadashi Suzuki

Chikara Sato

Masakazu Hiroi

Shokyo Koh

Tomohito Nakagawa

Noriyoshi Ueda

Yoshinori Isobe

Takehito Utsunomiya

Akimaro Yoshida

Kazuhiko Hirooka

Satoru Kanno

Isamu Sato

Ikuo Takeuchi

Masatoshi Tanabe

Koki Kuroda

Mitsuru Amimoto

Akihiro Sakai

Toshihiko Kitahara

Yasuhide Hishikawa

An image formation apparatus comprises: an automatic adjustment unit for automatic adjustment of the apparatus; a job queuing unit for queuing image formation jobs; a counting unit for counting the number of pages from the previous automatic adjustment, for each automatic adjustment item; a determining unit for determining whether the number of image formation pages for automatic adjustment will be reached during execution of the image formation queued job; and a control unit wherein, in the event that the determining unit determines that the number of image formation pages for automatic adjustment will be reached during execution of the image formation job queued by the job queuing unit, automatic adjustment is performed before starting executing of the image formation queued job even though the number of image formation pages counted by the counting unit has not reached the number for the automatic adjustment is to be performed.

Image formation apparatus

An image formation apparatus includes an automatic adjustment unit for automatic adjustment of the apparatus, a job queuing unit for queuing image formation jobs, a counting unit for counting the number of pages from the previous automatic adjustment for each automatic adjustment unit, and a determining unit for determining whether the number of image formation pages for automatic adjustment will be reached during the execution of the image formation queued job. In the event that the determining unit determines that the number of image formation pages for automatic adjustment will be reached during execution of the image formation job queued by the job queuing unit, automatic adjustment is performed before starting execution of the image formation queued job, even though the number of image formation pages counted by the counting unit has not reached the number for the automatic adjustment.

In order to prevent a toner residual amount from being erroneously judged as 'toner present' after the toner residual amount has been judged to be insufficient, a toner residual amount detection apparatus includes a developing device for developing an electrostatic image formed on an image bearing member by a toner, the developing device being provided for movement relative to an apparatus main body, a sensor for outputting information corresponding to the toner residual amount in the developing device, a judging device for comparing the output of the sensor with a reference value to thereby judge the toner residual amount, wherein image forming is inhibited via a predetermined number of times of image forming after the toner residual amount is judged to be not sufficient, and a changing device for changing the reference value to a smaller value with the judgement that the toner residual amount is not sufficient.

Toner residual amount detection apparatus

There is provided an image forming system which is capable of performing image formation operations in an order identical or close to the order of reception of inputted print jobs even when some printers cannot output print jobs due to maintenance to thereby raise the operational efficiency. Scheduling is carried out to assign an inputted plurality of jobs to a plurality of image forming apparatuses. Respective maintenance times of the plurality of image forming apparatuses are monitored. When the result of monitoring is that the maintenance time of an image forming apparatus has been reached, scheduling is carried out to reassign unprocessed jobs out of the assigned jobs to image forming apparatuses other than the image forming apparatus for which the maintenance time has been reached. A CPU causes the other image forming apparatuses to perform image formation based on the reassigned unprocessed jobs.

Image forming system, method of controlling the same, and program for implementing the method

In order to prevent a toner residual amount from being erroneously judged as 'toner present' after the toner residual amount has been judged to be insufficient, the toner residual amount detection apparatus of the present invention has a developing device for developing an electrostatic image formed on an image bearing member by a toner, the developing device being provided for movement relative to an apparatus main body, a sensor for outputting information corresponding to the toner residual amount in the developing device, a judging device for comparing the output of the sensor with a reference value to thereby judge the toner residual amount, wherein image forming is inhibited via a predetermined number of times of image forming after the toner residual amount is judged to be not sufficient, and a changing device for changing the reference value to a smaller value with the judgement that the toner residual amount is not sufficient.

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 apparatus reads an original by an image reader, and if it recognizes caption(s) included in the original, stores a page number of the original into a memory, thereafter, performs copying based on the stored page number such that the original page including the caption is transferred onto the front side of a recording sheet.

Image forming apparatus

An image processor rotates an image in conformity with the orientation of an original, thereby enhancing user convenience. An original conveyed by an automatic conveyance device is read by an image reader and the image is stored in an image memory. A character in the stored image is subsequently recognized by a character recognition unit and the orientation of the character is discriminated. The image is rotated by an image editor in conformity with a stapling position, and the rotated image is recorded by an image recording unit. Sheets of paper on which images are recorded are stapled at the stapling position by a staple provided in a sorter.

Copier which rotates an image based on the recognition of an extracted

There is disclosed an image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine, capable of various image forming modes. The image forming mode can be selected by feeding a mode registration format sheet into the apparatus. The format sheet can be a marking sheet, on which the operator can designate the desired image forming mode, and can be printed by the image forming apparatus itself in response to an instruction by the operator, so that the format sheet need not be prepared elsewhere in advance. Also the content of the format sheet, printed by the image forming apparatus, is varied according to the available copying modes, depending on the connection status of external processing units such as document feeder and sorter to the image forming apparatus.

A method and apparatus for recognizing character information in an original document with high recognition accuracy regardless of the size of a character to be recognized. An input image is processed by an image processing circuit and stored in an image recording unit. A character region in the recorded image data is detected by a recognition section, and the image corresponding to the detected character region is read with a predetermined magnification. Character recognition is performed on the image of the character region read at the predetermined magnification, in the recognition section. If the recognition accuracy does not satisfy a predetermined criterion, the same image is read again with a modified magnification wherein the magnification is determined on the basis of preset sizes and the size of the character pattern of a character to be recognized. The image obtained in this way is subjected again to character recognition processing until the recognition accuracy satisfies the predetermined criterion. A character pattern corresponding to the recognized character is generated, and recorded together with the image recorded in the image recording unit in an image recording section. Thus, an image is read with a magnification optimized depending on a character size of an original document image and on a recognition accuracy.

Method and apparatus for recognizing character information at a variable

A reading apparatus includes an image reader for reading a sheet original positioned at a reading position and an automatic original conveyor for supplying the sheet original onto the reading position, wherein the sheet original can be read through an image flow reading mode while the sheet original is being conveyed by the automatic original conveyor by fixing the image reader at any position. The apparatus also has a convey path for directing the sheet original to the reading position, and a controller for initiating conveyance of the sheet original waiting at a predetermined position in the convey path in response to a flow reading mode start signal during the image flow reading mode and for initiating the image flow reading mode by outputting an image tip signal when a tip end of the sheet original reaches a flow reading image tip position.

Reading apparatus in which image reading means may be fixed to read and

An original illuminating apparatus for use in a copying apparatus, an image reader, or a facsimile is provided with a fluorescent lamp having a long tube wall to illuminate an original; a heat radiating member provided at a position opposite to the original illuminating side of the fluorescent lamp; and a thermal coupling member which is close to the tube wall of the fluorescent lamp and the heat radiating member and is thermally coupled thereto. The thermal coupling member is provided within an effective light emission length in the longitudinal direction of the fluorescent lamp at a position different from the original illuminating side of the fluorescent lamp or on the side that is almost opposite to the original illuminating side of the fluorescent lamp.

Original illuminating apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a recording sheet supplying portion for supplying a recording sheet and an image forming device for forming an image on the recording sheet supplied from the recording sheet supplying portion. A main power source supplies electric power to the image forming device and thermal fixing device. A recording sheet detector detects whether the recording sheet is present on the recording sheet supplying portion and a sub-power source supplies electric power to the recording sheet detector. A main power source switch automatically activates the main power source when the recording sheet detector detects the presence of the recording sheet or an image formation signal is inputted. The image forming apparatus does not include a main power switch to manually control the main power source.

Image forming system having main power source

An image forming apparatus includes an image fixing device for fixing a toner image supported on an image supporting material, the fixing device including a heating source for heating the toner image; detecting device for detecting passage of the supporting material; and a control device for controlling power supply to the heating source on the basis of an output of the detecting device.

Growing community of inventors

Ichikawa, Japan

Yoshio Mizuno