Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Panasonic Corporation

Yoshiteru Mori

Yoshikado Yamada

Toshihisa Matsuo

Kazuyuki Ohnishi

Masakiyo Okuda

Hideo Taniguchi

Yoshiyuki Noda

Tadashi Okada

Yutaka Nakamura

Takashi Nakagawa

Hiroyuki Yamada

Kenji Nishimura

Shinichi Takeda

Atsushi Narukawa

Junichi Kajiwara

Norihide Kunikawa

Masashi Toyoda

Takao Fukuda

Katsutoshi Ishikawa

Noriyuki Hoshiai

Tuyoshi Higaki

An IC memory card () has a mode change switch () for switching operation modes of a semiconductor component in the vicinity of an end side opposite the external connection terminals (to). A controller LSI () detects the status of the mode change switch () and switches operation modes according to the detected status.

IC card

The invention is capable of displaying to an operator a guidance for performing an accurate operation in accordance with a state of a copying machine, and at the same time the invention does not require a huge volume memory and a processor for analyzing data in the portable terminal device with the result that the cost can be reduced and the device of the invention can be reduced in size. The portable terminal device is provided for the display and input reception of the maintenance control data in such a manner the portable terminal device can be connected to the copying machine. The maintenance control data is transmitted and received to and from the host computer and the portable terminal device via the copying machine.

Apparatus and method for maintaining and controlling electronic

The invention provides a runaway detection/restoration device which enables an automatic restoration of a high degree of safety and carries out the control of devices when the runaway of a CPU has been generated. The runaway detection/restoration device is provided with runaway detecting means such as a watchdog timer 89 or the like which monitors troubles in a sequential control program for the device operations, and a memory 87 which stores information related to the runaway detected by the runaway detecting means, for the CPU 82 which controls the devices. The runaway detection/restoration device judges whether or not the CPU 82 is automatically restored according to the information related to the runaway stored at the time of the detection of a new runaway, such as the number of times runaway was detected, operation mode at the time of the detection of the runaway and the generation frequency of the runaway.

Runaway detection/restoration device

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

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

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

An automatic document feeder, made a part of a two-side copying machine which selectably operates in one-side or two-side copying mode of operation, has a pre-feeder which advances a document to be copied next from its original position to a waiting position before reaching a copying position on a document table. A selecting device is further included for controlling the pre-feeder such that the pre-feeder does not function when the second surface of a document is being copied in two-side copying mode of operation.

Automatic document feeder

A copying machine for copying an original in the form of a double-spread page placed on an original stand or carriage such that the original is accurately divided when copied onto two sheets of paper. The copying machine includes a control device for controlling a copy start position of an original copy operation by a time difference determined between a reference position timing of an original scanning and a sheet feed start timing, and is operable regardless of a selected magnification.

Growing community of inventors

Nara, Japan

Yoshiteru Mori