Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.

Yuichi Koike

Hiroyuki Yoshikawa

Tetsuo Tomiyama

Yasushi Umeda

Yoshiki Shimomura

Sadao Tanigawa

Kazuto Hori

A so-called 'softly broken apparatus' by constructing a self-repair apparatus based on functional redundancy. An apparatus is represented in a form including a function using an FBS diagram (a diagram comprising functions, behaviors and states). When a fault occurs, a function lost is retrieved by the FBS diagram, and a functional part capable of developing the lost function by a potential function is detected. The potential function of the functional part is developed, thereby to recover the lost function. Specifically, when a fault occurs in an apparatus, a lost function is recovered by utilizing a part which originally exists in the apparatus by utilizing the existing part as a substitute for the part which fails.

Functional redundancy control system

An image forming apparatus has a functional redundancy system by which an inherent function normally performed by a certain portion is performed as a potential function by another portion, when such certain portion no longer can be perform its inherent function. In a first operative sequence, portions in the image forming apparatus perform their respective inherent functions. However, where a function of a certain portion in the apparatus is lost, for example, where a fault occurs and a particular element has failed, operation of other portions in the apparatus are controlled according to a second sequence. In the second sequence, the inherent function of the portion which has failed is replaced by the potential function of another portion in the apparatus.

Image forming apparatus having functional redundancy system

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Tokorozawa, Japan

Yuichi Koike