Abstract: A toner container includes a container body, a cap, bosses and a cover. The container body has a toner filling port. The cap is detachable and closes the filling port. The bosses are provided on the container body. The cover is detachably attached to the container body so as to cover the filling port and the bosses, and has a through hole through which each of the bosses penetrates. The boss has a tip end portion protruding from the cover through the through-hole. The tip end portion is provided so as to regulate detachment of the cover by being worked into a head portion having a cross-sectional area larger than the through-hole, and to permit the detachment of the cover by cutting off the head portion. The container body, the cap and the cover can be reused maximum by the number of times corresponding to the number of the bosses.

Abstract: A toner includes toner particles. The toner particles each include a toner mother particle and an external additive attached to the surface of the toner mother particle. The external additive includes specific resin particles. The specific resin particles contains a specific resin having an alkoxysilyl group. The specific resin may include a first repeating unit derived from a specific monomer having the alkoxysilyl group and a (meth)acryloyl group.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a rotary mechanism that allows a display device to rotate between a landscape orientation in which the long sides are opposed in an up-down direction, and a portrait orientation in which the short sides are opposed in the up-down direction, and a controller that displays a second preview screen, in which a preview image display region has been expanded, when the display device, displaying a first preview screen, has been shifted from the landscape orientation to the portrait orientation. When the display device is shifted from the portrait orientation to the landscape orientation, in a state where the second preview screen is displayed on the display device, and a job assigned with respect to image data corresponding to the second preview image is suspended, the controller displays a message urging inputting of an instruction on whether to resume the job, on the display device.

Abstract: The toner container includes a container body, a transmission gear, a cap member, and a seal member. The transmission gear is fitted to the container body under a circumferential-movement restricted condition, and transmits rotation driving force to the container body. The cap member covers an opening of the container body, and retains a rotation-halted state while the container body and the transmission gear are rotating. The seal member is placed between the container body and the cap member. The transmission gear has a large-diameter portion larger in outer diameter than the other portions. The cap member includes a body portion, and a cylindrical-shaped retaining portion protruded from the body portion in a rotational-axis direction. A fore end portion of the retaining portion is in contact with a step gap portion on one side of the large-diameter portion closer to the cap member.

Abstract: A gear connection structure included in a drive device of a document conveyance device includes: a rotary shaft extending in an axial direction thereof; a parallel pin inserted through a pin hole formed in the rotary shaft, the pin hole passing through the rotary shaft in a radial direction thereof orthogonal to the axial direction; a gear; and a biasing member. The gear includes: a shaft hole through which the rotary shaft is passed; and a pin groove inside which the parallel pin is placed. The biasing member biases the parallel pin placed inside the pin groove from a separate wall being one of a pair of walls of the pin groove toward a contacting wall being the other of the pair of walls to press the parallel pin against the contacting wall and against a side of an inner periphery of the pin hole close to the contacting wall.

Abstract: A document transport device includes an ejection tray on which documents ejected in a predetermined ejection direction are loaded and a stopper that prevents documents from falling from the ejection tray in the ejection direction. The stopper has a rotating shaft rotatably supported at the ejection tray in a direction intersecting the ejection direction, a contact piece provided at the rotating shaft to be hit by a tip of a document in the ejection direction, and a weight piece provided at the rotating shaft. The stopper is able to pivot to be in a standing posture in which the contact piece stands due to the weight of the weight piece and pivot to be in a tilting posture in which the stopper tilts in the ejection direction from the standing posture when a predetermined force is applied to the contact piece.

Abstract: A processing device within a computing system uses a scheduler that dynamically processes jobs. Jobs are received at the processing device. The scheduler uses one or more scheduling algorithms to schedule the jobs for processing. The processing device queries one or more external systems for factors related to parameters and attributes at the external systems. Factors may include quality of service, capacity, load, time of day, and operations currently running on the external system. The scheduler uses the factors from the external system to modify the schedule for the received jobs.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photoconductor housing that supports a photoconductor drum so as to rotate about a shaft, a developing housing that supports a developing roller, so as to rotate about a shaft, a first contact member provided on an end portion of the photoconductor housing in an axial direction, and a second contact member provided on an end portion of the developing housing in the axial direction, and configured to make contact with the first contact member. The photoconductor housing includes a first bonding projection, projecting outward from the end portion in the axial direction. The first contact member includes a first elongate slot, longer than a diameter of the first bonding projection in a back-and-forth direction, and is fixed to the photoconductor housing, by bonding the first bonding projection, inserted through the first elongate slot, to the first contact member.

Abstract: An electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a conductive substrate and a photosensitive layer provided directly or indirectly on the conductive substrate. The photosensitive layer includes a charge generating layer and a charge transport layer. The charge transport layer contains a binder resin, a hole transport material, and a phthalocyanine pigment. The binder resin includes a specific polyarylate resin. The specific polyarylate resin includes a first repeating unit represented by general formula (1), a second repeating unit represented by chemical formula (2), a third repeating unit represented by chemical formula (3), and a fourth repeating unit represented by chemical formula (4). In general formula (1), X represents a divalent group with a carbon number of 1 to 10. R1 and R2 each represent, independently of one another, a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group with a carbon number of 1 to 6.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a receiver that receives a manual input operation via an operation device and a voice instruction via a microphone; and a controller that executes a job on the basis of setting received by the receiver. The controller performs control of not executing a predefined job of the image forming apparatus when the microphone is brought into a state where voice is input and executing the predefined job when the microphone is not in the state where voice is input.

Abstract: A locking mechanism of an image forming apparatus includes a cap that is rotatable integrally with an operation panel, a rotating member on which the cap is rotatably supported, a fixed member by which the rotating member is rotatably supported, a first coil spring that connects the rotating member and the cap, and a second coil spring that connects the rotating member and the fixed member and has a winding direction opposite to that of the first coil spring, in which, when a force is applied to the operation panel in one direction, a force is applied to the first coil spring in a loosening direction via the cap to allow the operation panel to rotate, and when a force is applied to the operation panel in another direction, a force is applied to the second coil spring in a loosening direction to allow the operation panel to rotate.

Abstract: A CO2 emission estimation system includes a CO2 emission estimator. The CO2 emission estimator calculates an estimated value of CO2 emissions from an image forming apparatus when performing a job, using a CO2 emission estimation model as a formula for estimating the CO2 emissions and settings for the job. The CO2 emission estimation model is a formula where a multiple regression expression for determining an estimated value of a power consumption of the image forming apparatus when performing the job is multiplied by a CO2 emission factor. The CO2 emission estimation model has a plurality of explanatory variables each according to a different type of setting for the job.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a recording head that ejects droplets onto a recording medium; an endless belt that conveys the recording medium toward a position where an image is to be formed on the recording medium by the recording head; a support plate that supports the endless belt; and a suction device which is located on an opposite side of the recording head relative to the endless belt and sucks the recording medium together with air to attract the recording medium to a surface of the endless belt. The support plate includes an air inlet and an air vent. The air sucked by the suction device passes through the air inlet from a side of the recording head toward the suction device. The air inside the suction device passes through the air vent from the suction device toward the endless belt.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a rotation mechanism capable of rotating a rectangular display device between a landscape orientation with longer sides being top and bottom and a portrait orientation with shorter sides being top and bottom; a detection sensor that detects switching of the display device between the landscape orientation and the portrait orientation; and a controller that, upon detection of switching of the display device from the landscape orientation to the portrait orientation by the detection sensor, enlarges a preview display area and allows a preview to be displayed in a size enlarged to fit the enlarged preview display area and displayed to make top and bottom edges of the preview parallel to the shorter sides of the display device.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a display device, a rotation mechanism that allows the display device to rotate between a landscape orientation in which the long sides are a top and a bottom and a portrait orientation in which the short sides are a top and a bottom, a detection sensor that detects switching between the landscape orientation and the portrait orientation of the display device, and a controller that causes the display device to perform display according to a posture of the display device based on a detection result obtained by the detection sensor. Further, when the controller determines that the posture of the display device has switched at a predetermined frequency or more based on the detection result obtained by the detection sensor, the controller causes the display device to display a message indicating occurrence of a problem related to a rotational operation of the display device.

Abstract: In an image reading apparatus, a character area extractor extracts character areas from a document image in units of rows. A title reliability calculator calculates a title reliability level of each character area using a feature quantity data set and a machine learning model. A character recognizer converts character areas of which title reliability levels exceed a threshold into text data. A title judger collates text data with a title candidate. In a case in which one piece of text data coinciding with a title candidate is judged and detected, the title judger sets the text data as a title of the document image. In a case in which a plurality of pieces of coinciding text data are judged and detected, the title judger sets text data of which a title reliability level is the highest among the detected pieces of text data as a title of the document image.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a display device with a rectangular shape having long sides and short sides; a rotation mechanism causing the display device to be rotatable between a landscape orientation with the long sides located on upper and lower sides and a portrait orientation with the short sides located on the upper and lower sides; a detection sensor detecting which of landscape and portrait orientations the display device is in; and a controller displaying an error screen including a concept image and a text indicating details of an error on the display device. The controller arranges first and second display regions on the error screen, and horizontally arranges the first and second display regions when the detection sensor detects the landscape orientation of the display device, or vertically arranges the first and second display regions when the detection sensor detects the portrait orientation of the display device.

Abstract: In an image reading apparatus, the image reading apparatus reads a document bundle to acquire a document image, and determines a first page of the document image according to the selected division method by a user. A page number recognizer extracts a page number from the document image by executing page number recognition processing, and determines the document image indicating a first page to be a first page of the document. A layout recognizer detects a marginal area or background color from the document image by executing layout recognition processing, and determines the first page of the document. A title recognizer extracts a title by executing title recognition processing and determines the first page of the document. A divider divides the document image into documents on the basis of the determined first page, converts the divided document images into files, and stores the files in a storage device.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a receiver that receives a manual input instruction via an operation device and a voice instruction via a microphone; and a controller that executes a job on the basis of setting received by the receiver. The controller performs switching between a manual input dedicated mode in which only a manual input instruction is received by the receiver and a voice input possible mode in which a voice input and a manual input instruction are received by the receiver, and when an operation screen for receiving an input of information, an input of which through a voice instruction is prohibited in advance, is displayed on a display device by a display controller, the controller performs switching to the manual input dedicated mode.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a detection device, a reception device, and a control device that functions as a determination device and a changing device. The detection device detects a detection target. The reception device receives an operation from the detection target and generates operation information. The operation information includes end information regarding end of the operation. The determination device determines whether use of the image forming apparatus has ended based on the end information and a detection result of the detection device. When the determination device determines that the use of the image forming apparatus has ended, the changing device changes a first period of time, which is required to transition from a first power state to a second power state in which less power is consumed than in the first power state, to a second period of time which is shorter than the first period of time.