Abstract: An apparatus is provided that can perform distributed control for a plurality of operation units, without concentrating control in a single device. The apparatus includes a plurality of modules that respectively correspond to a plurality of operation units, each module including a communication device, a functional block setting device and a functional block connected with a corresponding operation unit. The functional block has a register that holds, in an updateable condition, control values relating to various controls of the corresponding operation unit. Each module is triggered by an operation start signal input to a start terminal of the communication device to start an operation for controlling a corresponding operation unit in accordance with each control value held in the register device.

Abstract: The image forming apparatus includes, even when an abnormality of operation occurs in any of a plurality of modules to which an assigned operation in a plurality of operations for an image formation is assigned and which autonomously executes the assigned operation, each of the modules can autonomously perform a particular operation for eliminating an abnormality of operation at a module in which an abnormality occurs. When detecting the module in which the abnormality of operation occurs based on operation abnormality generation condition information in each of the modules stored in the shared data module, the plurality of modules provided in the image forming apparatus each perform an operation (a particular operation) for eliminating the abnormality of operation in accordance with the module in which the abnormality of operation occurs and the contents of the abnormality of operation.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus by which an image formed on a printing medium by image forming means on the basis of image data can be related to the image data includes a controller which prepares management information corresponding to the image data, and controls an operation of the image forming means in accordance with the management information, an adhering unit which adheres, to the printing medium on which the image is formed by the image forming means, a radio identification tag having a transmitting/receiving unit capable of transmitting/receiving data by radio communication, and a data holding unit capable of holding the data, and a communicating module which writes, in the data holding unit of the radio identification tag adhered on the printing medium, the management information for relating the image on the printing medium to the image data, by communicating with the transmitting/receiving unit by radio.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided that can perform. distributed control for a plurality of operation units, without concentrating control in a single device. The apparatus includes a plurality of modules that respectively correspond to a plurality of operation units, each module including a communication device, a functional block setting device and a functional block connected with a corresponding operation unit. The functional block has a register that holds, in an updateable condition, control values relating to various controls of the corresponding operation unit. Each module is triggered by an operation start signal input to a start terminal of the communication device to start an operation for controlling a corresponding operation unit in accordance with each control value held in the register device.

Abstract: The image forming apparatus includes, even when an abnormality of operation occurs in any of a plurality of modules to which an assigned operation in a plurality of operations for an image formation is assigned and which autonomously executes the assigned operation, each of the modules can autonomously perform a particular operation for eliminating an abnormality of operation at a module in which an abnormality occurs. When detecting the module in which the abnormality of operation occurs based on operation abnormality generation condition information in each of the modules stored in the shared data module, the plurality of modules provided in the image forming apparatus each perform an operation (a particular operation) for eliminating the abnormality of operation in accordance with the module in which the abnormality of operation occurs and the contents of the abnormality of operation.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus by which an image formed on a printing medium by image forming means on the basis of image data can be related to the image data includes a controller which prepares management information corresponding to the image data, and controls an operation of the image forming means in accordance with the management information, an adhering unit which adheres, to the printing medium on which the image is formed by the image forming means, a radio identification tag having a transmitting/receiving unit capable of transmitting/receiving data by radio communication, and a data holding unit capable of holding the data, and a communicating module which writes, in the data holding unit of the radio identification tag adhered on the printing medium, the management information for relating the image on the printing medium to the image data, by communicating with the transmitting/receiving unit by radio.

Abstract: The invention intends to construct an image processing environment in which the copyright protecting information can be easily added to the print information without disturbing the print image and there can be easily discriminated whether the print information contains the copyright information. In an image processing apparats capable of executing a printing process on a recording medium by a printing unit, based on video information generated from print information entered from an information processing apparatus through a predetermined communication medium, the isolated point extracting circuit detects a predetermined isolated point in the video information and a copyright discriminating circuit discriminates whether the print information entered from the information processing apparatus contains copyright information based on the result of detection by the isolated point extracting circuit.