Abstract: There is provided an image forming apparatus which is capable of operating in a stable condition and in an efficient manner by omitting automatic adjustment in the case where there is no necessity of carrying out the automatic adjustment when the image forming apparatus returns from a power-saving mode to a normal mode. A CPU shifts the operation mode of the image forming apparatus to a power-saving mode in which power consumption is saved. The CPU detects at least one of a status of the image forming apparatus before the operation mode is shifted to the power-saving mode and a status of the image forming apparatus in the power-saving mode. The CPU determines the contents of a return process executed when the operation mode returns to a normal mode from the power-saving mode, according to the detected status of the image forming apparatus.

Abstract: There is provided an image forming apparatus which is capable of reducing a period of time required for obtaining an image output, in the case of changing the image forming operation from a monochromatic image formation to a color image formation during execution of the image forming operation. A plurality of image forming units form images and overlap images the formed images onto a transfer material. A preparation for image formation is started in a first mode in which image formation is carried out by the plurality of image forming units while image formation is being carried out in a second mode in which image formation is carried out by at least one of the image forming units. The image formation is carried out in the first mode after the image formation in the second mode is completed.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image forming apparatus which, when switching operation from color image forming operation to monochromatic image forming operation, forms a monochromatic image on each of a prescribed number of sheets by stopping a part of the functions of yellow, magenta and cyan image forming sections of the color image forming operation, and thereafter, forms a monochromatic image only with a black-only image forming section, thereby permitting extension of service life of the image forming sections, while improving the productivity.

Abstract: There is provided an image forming apparatus which is capable of quickly performing measurements required for obtaining a proper image density. The image forming apparatus having a plurality of image forming apparatuses performs an image density adjustment control process by carrying out a maximum density control process at a reference image forming speed, and carrying out a density gradation control process at each of the plurality of image forming speeds. Image forming conditions for carrying out the density gradation control process at speeds other than the reference image forming speed are determined by performing operation on image forming conditions determined by the maximum density control process carried out at the reference image forming speed.

Abstract: There is provided an image forming apparatus capable of setting up a tab sheet mode-operating and configuring environment in which an effective tab sheet mode output can be obtained by a simple operation of selecting feeding of tab sheets and a destination of discharge of the tab sheets. A controller is responsive to instruction of feeding of the tab sheets, for providing control to automatically select the cassettes 21a-21d or the multi manual feed tray 27 or the deck 28 that can feed tab sheets that enable a valid image transfer result to be obtained, according to a sheet discharge destination selected by a user for the face-up discharge tray 2 or the face-down discharge tray 3 and a page order designated for the cassettes 21a-21d or the multi manual feed tray 27 or the deck 28, which is indicated by sheet management information.

Abstract: The present invention has as its object to prevent faulty fixing after rising, and in order to achieve this object, a fixing apparatus for fixing a toner image on a recording material by heat has a pair of rotary members having a heat generating member, and rotatable in contact with each other, electric power supply control means for controlling electric power supply to the heat generating member so that the temperature of at least one of the rotary members may become a set temperature, and rotation time setting means for setting a time for which the electric power supply control is effected after the shift from a warming-up operation to a fixing capable state and the pair of rotary members are rotated continuedly from rotation during the warming-up operation, on the basis of the time of the warming-up operation.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a fixing unit that performs thermal fixation for a sheet on which a developer has been transferred, and a controller that sets a temperature of the fixing unit at one of a first temperature for fixing a developer expressing a monochrome image on a sheet and a second temperature for fixing developers expressing a color image on a sheet, wherein if a color page is contained in an image forming job, the controller sets the temperature of the fixing unit at the second temperature and starts the image forming job.

Abstract: A system including sub-networks mounted with different kinds of protocols/profiles, a gate way/proxy for connecting the sub-networks, a gate way/proxy for connecting the sub-networks, and nodes on the sub-networks, the gateway/proxy being mounted with processing of a physical layer and a data link layer as a protocol of the sub-network and processing of a physical layer and a data link layer as a protocol of the sub-network and having a common transport layer and a service proxy and a client proxy shared by the sub-networks.

Abstract: A color image forming apparatus including image forming portions for respective color components of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. It can be set whether a discriminating function of discriminating whether an original image is a color image or a monochromatic image is used. If the use of the discriminating function is set, a preparatory operation of forming the image in a full-color recording mode is performed before obtaining a result of the discrimination. When the result of the discrimination is monochrome, the image formation in a monochrome recording mode is executed after a shift from the full-color recording mode to the monochrome recording mode. If configured to perform the preparatory operation of forming the image in the monochrome recording mode before obtaining the result of the discrimination, when the result of the discrimination is color, the image formation in the full-color recording mode is executed after a shift from the monochrome recording mode to the full-color recording mode.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image forming unit for forming an image on a recording sheet including a special sheet, and a controller for allowing the image forming unit to carry out an image forming sequence which forms an image on the recording sheet, wherein the controller allows the image forming unit to control a cleaning operation of the image forming unit in response to image formation on the special sheet by the image forming unit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus has a feeder for feeding a sheet, an image forming unit for performing an image formation job so as to form an image on a sheet fed from the feeder, a controller for interrupting a current image formation job, performing an interrupt image formation job, and resuming the current image formation job after completion of the interrupt image formation job. When the current image formation job uses a sheet feeder for feeding sheets set in a predetermined order, the controller prevents the sheet feeder used in the current image formation job from being used in the interrupt image formation job.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a fixing unit that performs thermal fixation for a sheet on which a developer has been transferred, and a controller that sets a temperature of the fixing unit at one of a first temperature for fixing a developer expressing a monochrome image on a sheet and a second temperature for fixing developers expressing a color image on a sheet, wherein if a color page is contained in an image forming job, the controller sets the temperature of the fixing unit at the second temperature and starts the image forming job.

Abstract: After being mixed with a boric acid-based inorganic material, styrene beads are pre-formed and then left to age. Thereafter, a Styrofoam product (1) is produced by adding boric acid-based inorganic materials to the pre-formed beads and conducting a main expansion treatment. The surface of each foamed styrene bead (2) of the Styrofoam product (1) is covered by a coating film (3). If exposed to fire, the coating films (3) suppress burning of the styrene beads (2). In case a great quantity of heat is applied, the vitreous coats into which the coating films (3) have changed to prevent the styrene beads (2) from burning deeper. As the vitreous coats absorb black smoke, generation of black smoke is prevented.

Abstract: A human-machine interface system is designed based on the distributed object model and is configured using application nodes, service nodes and composite nodes interconnected with a network. Herein, human-machine interface functions are actualized in forms of distributed objects allocated to the nodes and are realized by mediating interaction between the nodes (or devices). Thus, a human user is able to control an application node to perform a prescribed application by activating a specific service (e.g., speech recognition and speech synthesis) of a service node on the network. Because of the adequate distribution of the objects to the nodes, it is possible to reduce the cost per each device in installation of the human-machine interface system on the network. In addition, operation information regarding the human-machine interface system is commonly shared between the devices, which secures the same feeling of manipulation between the different devices.

Abstract: A vehicle seat having a backrest hinged to a seat squab frame by means of a pair of reclining mechanisms to be tilted forwardly or backwardly with respect to the seat squab frame, the reclining mechanisms each including a ratchet member secured to each side of the lower end portion of the backrest frame to be locked to a support member secured to each side of the rear end portion of the seat squab frame, which vehicle seat includes a single strut member rotatably connected at its upper end to an upper end of the backrest at one side thereof to be moved forwardly or backwardly, and a resilient member mounted on the upper end of the backrest frame for biasing the strut member forwardly, wherein the ratchet member located at the same side as the one side of the backrest is formed with a semi-circular elongated hole of which the radius center is located at a rotation fulcrum of the strut member, and wherein the lower end of the strut member is slidably engaged with the semi-circular elongated hole and is normally