Abstract: A printer device includes: a recessed accommodation part accommodating a roll-shaped continuous paper; a pair of rack gears arranged in a staircase-like shape on a paper conveyance direction side of the continuous paper, and having tooth rows arranged in a first direction orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction so as to face each other; a pinion gear arranged between the pair of rack gears and fitting into the tooth rows of the pair of rack gears, and a pair of paper guides respectively provided at one end portion of an upper rack gear in the first direction and anther end portion of a lower rack gear in the first direction, and supporting side surfaces of the continuous paper accommodated in the accommodation part. The pair of paper guides perform an opening or closing movement in the first direction by the pair of rack gears and the pinion gear.

Abstract: A printer, capable of appropriately extending an existing replacement recommendation time of a component determined based on a life prescribed for the component, includes: a time determination unit (timer), a comparison examination unit (comparator), and a notification unit (notifier). The timer determines a time at which replacement of a component is recommended based on tendency information indicating a deterioration tendency of the component with respect to an operation status. The tendency information is generated from collection and storage of information on the operation status collected from a plurality of printers and information on a degree of deterioration at a disposal time of the component. The comparator compares a time output by the time determination unit with a predetermined life of the component, and examines whether to perform recommendation for component replacement.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, there is provided a printer including a print head, a platen roller, a sheet position sensor, an antenna, and a movable portion. The print head is configured to print on a strip-shaped sheet. The platen roller is configured to move the sheet pinched between the platen roller and the print head along a longitudinal direction of the sheet. The sheet position sensor is provided on a substrate disposed on an upstream side of the print head in a conveyance direction of the sheet, and is configured to detect a position of the sheet. The antenna is provided on the substrate and is configured to write information to a wireless tag provided on the sheet. The movable portion is configured to move the substrate along a width direction of the sheet.

Abstract: A wireless tag communication device includes an antenna, a communication control circuit, a camera, a sensor, and a processor. The antenna has directivity. The communication control circuit communicates with a wireless tag via the antenna. The camera captures an image in which a direction in which the directivity of the antenna is maximized coincides with a capturing direction. The sensor detects brightness in a first image captured by the camera. The processor calculates a detection position of a wireless tag as a search target in the first image and displays on a display the first image and a second image in which the first image is masked with a mask density according to a sensor value detected by the sensor in an area other than an explicit area with the detection position of the wireless tag as a base point.

Abstract: A device configured to fix toner to a sheet including a tubular body, a heater, and a heat conduction section. The tubular body is configured to be in contact with a sheet moving in a first direction. The heater includes a heat generator. The heater includes a first surface and a second surface on the opposite side of the first surface. The first surface of the heater is in contact with the inner surface of the tubular body. The heat conduction section is in contact with the second surface of the heater. The heat conduction section includes a first heat transfer section and a second heat transfer section. The first heat transfer section is in contact with the second surface of the heater. The second heat transfer section is in contact with the surface opposite to the heater with respect to the first heat transfer section.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of sheet storage receptacles configured to store a sheet. The image forming apparatus also includes a fixing device having a heating belt and a pressure roller configured to heat and fix toner on the sheet conveyed from one of the plurality of sheet storage receptacles. The image forming apparatus also includes a processor and a memory configured to store temperature information associated with each sheet storage receptacle and related to temperature control of the fixing device, acquire type information of a sheet to be printed, in response to a predetermined condition, specify the sheet storage receptacle storing the sheet to be printed, and perform a first heating control that controls a temperature of the fixing device based on the stored temperature information associated with the specified sheet storage receptacle.

Abstract: A sheet stacking part stacks sheets. A first roller applies a force in a conveyance direction to an uppermost sheet among sheets stacked on the sheet stacking part by rotating in a forward direction. A second roller is separated from the first roller on the downstream side in the conveyance direction. The second roller applies the force in the conveyance direction to the uppermost sheet by rotating in the forward direction. A controller controls rotation of the first roller and the second roller so that a second main operation is performed after a first main operation. The first main operation is an operation of rotating only the first roller of the first roller and the second roller in the forward direction. The second main operation is an operation of rotating both the first roller and the second roller in the forward direction.

Abstract: A tracking-based point-of-sales (POS) system includes a first sensing device, a second sensing device, and a processing device. The processing device is configured to perform location tracking with respect to the one or more customers around the product display section based on location information, perform a first operation to determine a purchasing customer who has performed a product displacement activity based on a result of the location tracking, and perform a product registration. The processing device is configured to perform a second operation to determine a product-returning customer who has performed a product placement activity based on a result of the location tracking, and perform a product deregistration. The processing device is configured to, upon the product deregistration causing an anomalous number of product in a purchase list of the product-returning customer, perform an anomaly operation.

Abstract: An image processing device includes a camera interface connectable to a camera configured to capture a video of a worker in a work area, an output interface connectable to a display device that is viewable from the work area, a memory that stores task information about a task to be performed by the worker, and a processor configured to determine a position and a posture of the worker in the work area based on the captured video, determine whether the worker has performed the task properly based on the task information stored in the memory and the determined position and posture of the worker, upon determining that the worker has not performed the task properly, extract from the video a first part showing the task that has been performed by the worker, and control the output interface to output the first part to the display device.

Abstract: A store management server configured to communicate with an alert device installed in a store, includes a network interface and a processor configured to identify a customer entering the store, acquire customer information about the identified customer, detect that the customer is holding a commodity in the store, acquire sales restriction information about the commodity held by the customer, determine whether the customer is eligible to buy the commodity held by the customer based on the acquired customer information and sales restriction information, and control the network interface to transmit, when it is not determined that the customer is eligible to buy the commodity, a first command to an alert device. The first command causes the alert device to output an alert.

Abstract: According to an embodiment, a sheet feeding mechanism includes a first elastic body. The first elastic body blocks a first reference line and a second reference line. The first elastic body has a first angle formed between the first elastic body and the first reference line, the first angle being an acute angle. The first reference line is a reference line along a take-out direction by the first roller. The second reference line is a reference line connecting a nip between the second roller and the third roller and a contact position of the first roller and a sheet.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus, temperature control method, and temperature control device are provided. The apparatus includes the device, which acquires a first temperature difference between a temperature estimation value of a fixer, which is obtained by simulating a member temperature of a temperature control target serving as a heat capacitor-resistor circuit at an initial stage of operation of the fixer, and a detected temperature detected by a temperature sensor, and acquires a second temperature difference between a temperature estimation value of the fixer, which is obtained during an operation after the first temperature difference is acquired, and a detected temperature.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a fixer, first and second temperature sensors, and storage and control units. The fixer fixes an image formed on the sheet by pressing. The first temperature sensor is disposed away from the image forming unit and the fixer, and measures an ambient temperature. The second temperature sensor is disposed closer to the image forming unit than the first temperature sensor, and measures an ambient temperature. The storage unit stores one or more difference values between first and second temperatures measured by the first and second temperature sensors when a switching condition is satisfied. When a difference between the one or more difference values in the storage unit and a latest difference value is equal to or larger than a threshold, the control unit stores information indicating that a reference value for determining an abnormality is exceeded.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a sheet storage, a sheet feed roller, an image forming device, a fixing device, a motor, a sensor, and a controller having a processor. The sheet storage is configured to store a sheet. The sheet feed roller is configured to feed the sheet stored in the sheet storage into the conveyance path. The image forming device is configured to form an image on the sheet. The fixing device includes a fixing belt and a pressure roller abutting on an outside of the fixing belt, and is configured to fix the image formed on the sheet. The motor is configured to drive and rotate the fixing belt by rotating the pressure roller. The sensor is configured to measure the drive current in the motor. The processor is configured to control a conveyance speed of the sheet based on the measured drive current.

Abstract: A heat generating member includes a plurality of heat generating portions configured to generate heat and including a first heat generating portion having a meandering shape, and a plurality of second heat generating portions between two of which the first heat generating portion is disposed.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an image forming apparatus, includes a transfer belt onto which toner images are transferred during an image forming operation, and a sensor that emits light towards the transfer belt and detect an amount of light reflected by the transfer belt. A processor adjusts the amount of light emitted towards the transfer belt based on the detected amount of the reflected light, and stores, in a memory, light level information indicating an output level for the amount of light emitted towards the transfer belt by the sensor. The processor provides an instruction for outputting warning information when the light level information indicates the output level exceeds a threshold value.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an image forming apparatus includes a housing, a first sensor configured to detect a user in front of the housing, an illumination light configured to emit light in an illumination direction, and an opening and closing element configured to open and close a portion of the housing. A second sensor is configured to detect the opening and the closing of the opening and closing element. An adjuster is configured to change a detection distance of the first sensor and the illumination direction in conjunction with each other by physical movement. A controller is configured to turn on the illumination light when the opening and closing element is open, and turn off the illumination light when is closed.

Abstract: A magnetic-ink reading device includes a housing and a conveyor in the housing. A medium inlet and outlet port for inserting and pulling out a medium printed using magnetic ink are in the housing. The conveyor conveys the medium along a conveying path. The magnetic-ink reading device includes a magnetizing mechanism configured to magnetize the magnetic ink of the medium on the conveying path and a magnetism detection head disposed near the magnetizing mechanism and configured to read magnetism of the magnetized magnetic ink. The magnetic-ink reading device includes a reversing mechanism provided on the medium inlet and outlet port side of the conveying path and configured to reverse front and rear surfaces of the medium on a reversing path on an inside. The reversing mechanism includes a retraction path for temporarily retracting the medium when the magnetism of the medium is read by the magnetism detection head.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method and a printer driver unit for printing variable copies of a plurality of pages in a document. In an embodiment, a user input comprising a number of copies of the plurality of pages to be printed is received from a user. Further, the user input is parsed to determine the plurality of pages to be printed and the number of copies that each of the plurality of pages to be printed. Thereafter, the content of each of the plurality of pages is retrieved from a temporary file or a memory associated with the printer driver unit and printed with the help of a printer device. Accordingly, the present disclosure allows users to print variable copies of plurality of pages on a single print action, and thereby enhances speed of printing and ensures optimal usage of resources.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a heating member energization control circuit that estimates a temperature of a fixing rotating body, based on a temperature detection result of the fixing rotating body, which is heated by a heating member and heats a toner image formed on a medium to fix the toner image on the medium, by a temperature sensor, a power supply voltage of a power supply source, and an energization pulse for controlling energization to the heating member, and outputs an energization pulse for controlling power to be supplied to the heating member, based on the estimated temperature and the temperature detection result.