US5262833A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Image forming apparatus and method
Assignee: Canon Inc
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Filing: 1992-05-20
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Granted: 1993-11-16
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Expires: 2012-05-20
Abstract
Abstract According to the present invention, an image forming apparatus comprises an image forming unit for producing an image on paper, a detector for detecting a plurality of parameters indicating a state of the image forming unit, a corrector for correcting the state of the image forming unit, a rule memory for storing rules for determining the relation between the parameters and the timing of operation of the corrector, and a control for controlling the corrector according to the parameters the detector detects and the rules stored in the memory. Therefore, even a simple configuration permits high-precision control. This reduces a time loss due to the correcting operation, minimizes consumption of development agent, and thus ensures constant gradation all the time.
Inventors
- 👤 Hisashi Fukushima
- 👤 Haruhiko Moriguchi
- 👤 Nobuatsu Sasanuma
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 15:57
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/46; H04N1/56; H04N1/60; H04N1/603; H04N1/6033; G; G03; G03G; G03G15/00; G03G15/01; H04N1/40; H04N1/407; H04N1/4076; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S706/00; Y10S706/90
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
130 words
An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image forming means for forming an image on a medium; reading means for reading the image formed on the medium by said image forming means and generating an electrical signal; correction means for correcting the condition of said image forming means based on the electrical signal generated by said reading means; detecting means for detecting a plurality of parameters indicating a condition of said image forming means; rule storage means for storing rules for determining a relation between the parameters detected by said detecting means and an operation timing of said correction means; and control means for controlling the operation timing of said correction means in accordance with the parameters detected by said detecting means and the rules stored in said rule storage means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
130 words
An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image forming means for forming an image on a medium; reading means for reading the image formed on the medium by said image forming means and generating an electrical signal; correction means for correcting the condition of said image forming means based on the electrical signal generated by said reading means; detecting means for detecting a plurality of parameters indicating a condition of said image forming means; rule storage means for storing rules for determining a relation between the parameters detected by said detecting means and an operation timing of said correction means; and control means for controlling the operation timing of said correction means in accordance with the parameters detected by said detecting means and the rules stored in said rule storage means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said image forming means has a plurality of parts for forming a plurality of color component images.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
31 words
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said detecting means detects at least one of a temperature, a humidity, and the number of cumlative recorded images as a parameter.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
An image forming apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said image forming means forms images using electrophotography, and said detecting means detects at least one of a sensitivity of a photosensitive member, a density of development agent, and a transfer efficiency as a parameter.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said correction means optimizes an image forming condition of said image forming means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
16 words
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said rule storage means comprises a ROM.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
33 words
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said control means calculates the timing of operation of said correction means using fuzzy inference under the rules stored in said rule storage means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
15 words
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said apparatus is a copying apparatus.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
116 words
An image forming method, comprising the steps of: detecting a plurality of parameters indicating a condition of an image forming apparatus; calculating the timing of correcting the condition of the image forming apparatus in accordance with the parameters detected at said detecting step and rules for determining the relation between the parameters and the timing by performing fuzzy inference; forming an image on a medium according to the timing calculated at said calculating step; reading the image formed on the medium and generating an electrical signal; correcting the condition of the image forming apparatus based on the electrical signal; and forming an image using the image forming apparatus whose condition is corrected at said correcting step.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
116 words
An image forming method, comprising the steps of: detecting a plurality of parameters indicating a condition of an image forming apparatus; calculating the timing of correcting the condition of the image forming apparatus in accordance with the parameters detected at said detecting step and rules for determining the relation between the parameters and the timing by performing fuzzy inference; forming an image on a medium according to the timing calculated at said calculating step; reading the image formed on the medium and generating an electrical signal; correcting the condition of the image forming apparatus based on the electrical signal; and forming an image using the image forming apparatus whose condition is corrected at said correcting step.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
128 words
A color image forming apparatus, comprising: image forming means for forming a color image on a medium; reading means for reading the color image formed on the medium by said image forming means and generating an electrical signal; correction means for correcting the condition of said image forming apparatus based on the electrical signal generated by said reading means; a detecting means for detecting a plurality of parameters indicating a condition of an image forming apparatus; rule storage means for storing rules for determining a relation between the parameters and an operation timing of said correction means; and control means for controlling the operation timing of said correction means in accordance with the parameters detected by said detecting means and the rules stored in said rule storage means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
128 words
A color image forming apparatus, comprising: image forming means for forming a color image on a medium; reading means for reading the color image formed on the medium by said image forming means and generating an electrical signal; correction means for correcting the condition of said image forming apparatus based on the electrical signal generated by said reading means; a detecting means for detecting a plurality of parameters indicating a condition of an image forming apparatus; rule storage means for storing rules for determining a relation between the parameters and an operation timing of said correction means; and control means for controlling the operation timing of said correction means in accordance with the parameters detected by said detecting means and the rules stored in said rule storage means.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
18 words
An image forming apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said rule storage means is formed with a ROM.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
33 words
An image forming apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said control means calculates the timing of operation of said correction means using fuzzy inference under the rules stored in said rule storage means.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
15 words
An image forming apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said apparatus is a copying apparatus.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
120 words
A color image forming method, comprising the steps of: detecting a plurality of parameters indicating a condition of an image forming apparatus; calculating a timing of correcting the condition of the image forming apparatus in accordance with the parameters detected at said detecting step and rules for determining the relation between the parameters and the timing by performing fuzzy inference; forming a color image on a medium according to the timing calculated at said calculating step; reading the color image formed on the medium and generating an electrical signal; correcting the condition of the image forming apparatus based on the electrical signal; and forming a color image using the image forming apparatus whose condition is corrected at said correcting step.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
120 words
A color image forming method, comprising the steps of: detecting a plurality of parameters indicating a condition of an image forming apparatus; calculating a timing of correcting the condition of the image forming apparatus in accordance with the parameters detected at said detecting step and rules for determining the relation between the parameters and the timing by performing fuzzy inference; forming a color image on a medium according to the timing calculated at said calculating step; reading the color image formed on the medium and generating an electrical signal; correcting the condition of the image forming apparatus based on the electrical signal; and forming a color image using the image forming apparatus whose condition is corrected at said correcting step.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1996-11-15 | 1997-05-17 | 1997-11-16 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2000-11-15 | 2001-05-17 | 2001-11-16 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2004-11-15 | 2005-05-17 | 2005-11-16 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |