Abstract: An image formation apparatus and process cartridge exhibiting high durability, in which such disadvantages as irregular recovery of untransferred toner and the advance of carrier degradation are not produced even when jointly using a trickle development system and a cleanerless system, comprising an image support member on which a latent image is formed; a developing unit that houses developer having carrier and toner, develops the latent image formed on the image support member, and recovers untransferred toner remaining on the image support member; a carrier supply unit that supplies carrier to the developing unit; carrier discharge means that discharges carrier housed in the developing unit to outside of the developing unit; and lubricant supply means that supplies lubricant onto the image support member.

Abstract: A time point at which a predetermined period elapses since the start of use of a copying machine as a detection subject after factory shipment or repair is obtained. Pieces of set information, which are combinations of various types of information until the time point is reached are sequentially stored to construct a normal set information group. After the time point is reached, presence of abnormality in the copying machine is determined based on the normal set information group and the various types of information obtained.

Abstract: A code stream generating part converts image data into two-dimensional wavelet coefficients, quantizes the same and coding the quantization result so as to compress the image data and generate a code stream. An additional information creating part creates additional information concerning the image data, and an additional information embedding part embeds the thus-created additional information into the code stream as a code in an off-rule zone which is not decoded by a JPEG 2000 standard rule.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes an image data acquisition unit to acquire first encoded image data of a first data size, an image data creation unit to create a second encoded image data of a second, smaller data size than the first data size from the first encoded image data, a display unit to display an image corresponding to the second encoded image data in a displayunit, an editing unit to accept an edit operation to the image displayed in the display unit and for applying an edit processing corresponding to the edit operation to the first encoded image data, and an edit-result manifesting unit to manifest a result of the edit processing to the second encoded image data.

Abstract: A image processing apparatus transmits a codestream through a transmission path, the codestream being created from an image by dividing the image into rectangular portions and performing a discrete wavelet transform, a quantization and an entropy encoding for the respective rectangular portions of the image. The image processing apparatus comprises an error resilience inserting unit which inserts error resilience to respective code data of the rectangular portions prior to the entropy coding, and an error resilience setting unit which sets intensities of the error resilience inserted to the respective code data for the error resilience inserting unit, so that the error resilience intensities are different according to base units of the respective code data.

Abstract: A digital watermarking technique is disclosed, in which image data are converted to frequency components through discrete wavelet transform and quantized into a set of quantized coefficients, which are then divided into a plurality of blocks. A digital watermark is embedded in the quantized coefficients by performing ON/OFF adjustment of bit information, such that the relation between natural number T and the bit information defined by N (N is an even number) significant bits Qnm (x, y) of the m-th bit plane of the n-th block satisfies the ON state represented by equation (1), or the OFF state represented by equation (2), depending on whether the hash value of the n-th block is odd or even. Then the quantized coefficients are encoded to produce a code stream.

Abstract: In a method for reversibly transforming a data format, a forward transformation and a backward transformation are reciprocally conducted for data between unit systems having different resolution levels, and the forward transformation and the backward transformation, a first unit system having a lower resolution level is used as a common unit system, and a reversible data conversion is conducted by an integer operation for data in the first unit system having the lower resolution level and data in a second unit system having a higher resolution level higher than the first unit system.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a memory which stores a code stream having a wavelet division level, an interface unit which transmits the code stream to another apparatus, and a processing unit which changes the wavelet division level of the code stream before the transmission of the code stream to such another apparatus by acquiring a target division level that is a wavelet division level of such another apparatus, checking a difference between the target division level and the wavelet division level of the code stream, generating data that compensates for the difference, and embedding the generated data into the code stream.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a movable body to be charged and a charger including a charging member that contacts or adjoins the body to be charged and applies a voltage, including an AC component, to the charging member for thereby charging the body. A protection substance for protecting the surface of the body from deterioration ascribable to charging is caused to exist on the body. The number of particular elements, contained in the protection substance and detected by an X-ray photon spectral analyzer (XPS) in a zone where the charging member charges the body, is held in a particular ratio to the total number of all elements constituting the outermost surface of the body and also detected by the XPS.

Abstract: A code conversion apparatus includes an input section to input compressed and transformed input codes, a header information rewriting section to rewrite only header information within the codes so as to change a decoded state of the input codes, and an output section to output the codes, including rewritten header information, to a target object such as a display unit and an external equipment.

Abstract: A color image forming apparatus including a first-color developing unit configured to form a toner image on the photoconductive belt; and a second-color developing unit and successive developing units, at least the second-color and successive developing units each include an electrostatic developing unit including, an electrostatic toner conveying device including a plurality of electrodes, and a toner feeding device configured to feed the toner to the electrostatic toner conveying device, wherein voltages applied to the plurality of electrodes form a traveling-wave electric field for electrostatically transferring the toner, an electric field for causing the toner to electrostatically move toward the latent image formed on the photoconductive belt is formed, and toners not moved toward the latent image are directly conveyed to the toner feeding device by the electrostatic toner conveying device.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus, an image reading apparatus, an image forming apparatus and a computer-readable recording-medium for storing an image processing program are disclosed. The image processing apparatus can synthesize coded data encoded in accordance with JPEG 2000 standard from source and target images at a higher speed with less use of a memory. The image processing apparatus includes a search part and an objective block synthesis part. The search part searches coded data of the source image per predetermined independently processable block for an objective block corresponding to a designated synthesis area. The objective block synthesis part synthesizes detected coded data of the objective block of the source image and coded data of the objective block of the target image.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is capable of specifying the type of an occurring abnormality to a certain extent while avoiding the increasingly complicated control that is caused when a plurality of abnormalities is detected individually according to the presence of their respective causes. A normal group data set, which is a collection of normal value combinations relating to grouped information constituted by a plurality of information of differing types, is stored in RAM or ROM serving as information storage device of a control unit. At least two or more sets of grouped information, including first grouped information constituted by a plurality of different types of information, and second grouped information constituted by a plurality of information in a different combination to that of the first grouped information, are obtained from the RAM, the ROM, various sensors, and an operation display unit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of color toner development devices, a recycled toner development device, at least one cleaning device, a toner collecting and supplying device, and an image pattern generation device. The plurality of color toner development devices store separate color toners, and the recycled toner development device stores recycled toner. The at least one cleaning device removes toner remaining on at least one image carrying member after a transfer operation. The toner collecting and supplying device stores and supplies the removed toner to the recycled toner development device. The image pattern generation device generates image patterns developed by the plurality of color toner development devices and the recycled toner development device based on a characteristic of developer and a color of the recycled toner stored in the recycled toner development device.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an object to be charged whose surface moves. A charging device for charging the object uses an electrical discharge generated by applying a voltage including an alternating current component to a charging member provided in contact with or in proximity to the object. A latent image forming device forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the object. A developing device causes a two-component developer to come into contact with the image portion of the electrostatic latent image formed by the latent image forming device and affixes toner thereto. A protective substance is present on the surface of the object in the discharge region for charging the object, and the saturation magnetization of the carrier of the two-component developer with respect to an applied magnetic field of 1000 oersted is 40 to 80 emu/g.

Abstract: An apparatus for coding an image while scrambling the image by randomizing pixel values includes a scrambling unit which scrambles an image by utilizing an encryption function to compute a displacement of a pixel value to be randomized in response to a displacement of a previously randomized pixel value.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a movable body to be charged and a charger including a charging member that contacts or adjoins the body to be charged and applies a voltage, including an AC component, to the charging member for thereby charging the body. A protection substance for protecting the surface of the body from deterioration ascribable to charging is caused to exist on the body. The number of particular elements, contained in the protection substance and detected by an X-ray photon spectral analyzer (XPS) in a zone where the charging member charges the body, is held in a particular ratio to the total number of all elements constituting the outermost surface of the body and also detected by the XPS.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a unit including image carriers for carrying electrostatic latent images, respectively, and developing devices for developing the electrostatic latent images with toners, respectively, and integrated with the image carriers, and toner feeding devices for feeding the toners to the developing devices, respectively, and provided separately from the unit, wherein the toner feeding devices and developing devices are detachably engaged with each other.

Abstract: An image formation apparatus including at least a moving body to be charged, a charging device for charging the body to be charged using discharge caused by applying a voltage to a charging member provided in contact with or proximity to the body to be charged, a latent image formation device for forming a latent image on a surface of the body to be charged which is charged by the charging device, and a development device for depositing toner on an image portion of the latent image formed by the latent image formation device, wherein an elastic displacement ratio ?e for the surface of the body to be charged is equal to or greater than 40% which is defined by the following formula, elastic displacement ratio ?e (%)=[(maximum displacement)-(plastic displacement)]/(maximum displacement)×100, and the image formation apparatus further includes a protective material feeding device for depositing a protective material on at least a discharge area of the surface of the body to be charged.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus for compositing multiple component images into a composite image is proposed. The image processing apparatus includes: a separating unit that separates a codestream corresponding to each one of the component images into a header portion and a data portion; a header processing unit that edits the separated header portion; and a codestream generation unit that generates a codestream corresponding to the composite image by combining the edited headers and the separated data portions. Each component codestream is generated by dividing the corresponding one of the component images into one or more rectangular regions, transforming pixel values of the divided one or more rectangular regions with discrete wavelet transform into transform coefficients, and compressing the transform coefficients.