Abstract: An optical writing device stores pieces of dithering information indicating dithering patterns whose densities are different, each piece of dithering information including pieces of identification information associated with pixels of the corresponding dithering pattern, and stores pieces of pixel setting information in which pieces of colored/colorless information indicating each of the pixels is colored or colorless are associated with the pieces of identification information, the pieces of colored/colorless information being set based on a resolution of a light source for forming an electrostatic latent image. The optical writing device also includes a control unit configured to arrange the same dithering patterns in a way that the dithering patterns form a pattern with a given size, and cause the light source to emit light based on information generated by setting the pixels of each of the same dithering patterns to be colored or colorless in accordance with the pixel setting information.

Abstract: An apparatus to form plural images on an image conveyor includes plural photoconductor bodies, a light exposure device, a development device, a transfer device, and a pattern detection device, wherein the light exposure device includes an optical scanning part, a first light detection part having a first light receiving face, a second light detection part having a second light receiving face being non-parallel to the first light receiving face, a third light detection part having a third light receiving face being non-parallel to the first light receiving face, the optical scanning part, the first light detection part, and the second light detection part being provided inside a housing of the light exposure device, the third light detection part being provided outside the housing, and a light exposure timing control device.

Abstract: A light emission control device images an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive element by a plurality of light emitting elements corresponding to a line in a second direction perpendicular to a first direction which is a rotational direction the photosensitive element. The light emission control device includes: a detecting unit that detects a rotational position of the photosensitive element, in the first direction, corresponding to a line in the second direction; an acquiring unit that acquires a distance between the light emitting elements and the rotational position of the photosensitive element in the first direction detected by the detecting unit; and a control unit that controls light emission by the light emitting elements according to the distance acquired by the acquiring unit and corrects a fluctuation in a density of a visible image converted from the electrostatic latent image.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a transport member, image forming units (used as pattern forming unit), a pattern detector, and an image misalignment detector. The image forming units form correction-use patterns for each color on the transport member. The pattern detector directs a light beam onto the transport member having the correction-use patterns and detect reflected light reflecting from the transport member. The image misalignment detector detects image misalignment of the correction-use patterns. The pattern forming unit forms a reference color pattern and a first color pattern. The pattern detector uses an irradiation light having a first wavelength matched to a spectral sensitivity peak of the first color pattern to detect an intensity of reflected light reflected from the transport member. The image misalignment detector computes an image misalignment value between the reference and first color patterns based on the intensity of reflected light reflected from the transport member.

Abstract: In the invention, an inclination amount of sensors is reflected in positional deviation correction patterns, and for correcting formation positions of images of various colors, the positional deviation correction patterns are formed on a conveying belt. The positional deviation correction patterns are detected by the sensors. A control unit calculates positional deviation correction amounts based on detection results of the positional deviation correction patterns. Based on the calculated positional deviation correction amounts, the control unit performs calculation for correcting the positional deviation correction patterns, and cancels the inclination amount reflected in the calculation results to obtain final positional deviation correction amounts. Skew correction is performed based on the final positional deviation correction amounts, and thus, the positional deviations are corrected.

Abstract: Disclosed is a power supply including a first voltage generating unit that generates a first voltage from an external power supply; a second voltage generating unit that generates a first predetermined voltage and supplies the generated first predetermined voltage to the load; a third voltage generating unit that generates the first predetermined voltage and supplies the generated first predetermined voltage to the load; and a controller that causes the first voltage to be greater than or equal to a second voltage during a first mode, and causes the first voltage to be less than the second voltage during a second mode. During the first mode, the power is supplied from the second voltage generating unit and the third voltage generating unit to the load, and during the second mode, the power is supplied from the third voltage generating unit to the load.

Abstract: According to an embodiment, provided is an image forming device that includes: an image forming unit forming an image in a predetermined cycle in a direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of a printing medium; a velocity acquisition unit acquiring a conveying velocity of the printing medium at a position where the image is formed by the image forming unit; and a correcting unit correcting the cycle on which the image forming unit forms the image in accordance with the conveying velocity acquired by the velocity acquisition unit.

Abstract: An optical writing device forms an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive element by a connected light source controlled by a light source control circuit that includes: a pixel data output unit; a pixel data correcting unit that corrects a skew between main scanning line of electrostatic latent image and photosensitive element and a local deviation of the electrostatic latent image on the main scanning line, and outputs pixel data; a pattern generating unit that outputs pixel data for forming a predetermined pattern in an electrostatic latent image; a first light source control unit for causing a first light source, that needs correction of the local deviation, to emit light; a second light source control unit for causing a second light source, that does not need correction of the local deviation, to emit light; and a switch that switches between a first transmission status and a second transmission status.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus for which a first mode using toners of plural colors including a black toner and a second mode using only the black toner can be set, includes a first printing cumulatively counting part that cumulatively counts a first number of pages for which image forming has been executed by using the toners of plural colors; a first printing determining part that determines whether the first number of pages counted by the first printing cumulatively counting part has exceeded a threshold; and a correction control part that controls not to execute a correcting process for image forming that uses the toners of plural colors but to execute a correcting process for image forming that uses only the black toner, when the second mode has been set in a case where the first printing determining part has determined that the first number of pages has exceeded the threshold.

Abstract: An optical writing device that forms an electrostatic latent image on a photoreceptor. The device includes a pixel-information acquiring unit, a line-pixel-information storage unit that stores the acquired pixel information corresponding to a plurality of lines for each main scanning line, a light source device that exposes the photoreceptor with a period corresponding to an N-fold sub-scanning direction resolution of the pixel information, a positional-shift-information storage unit that stores a positional shift information, a sub-line counting unit that counts a sub-line period, a reading-line selecting unit that performs N times of selection that determines which main scanning line is selected as the line from which the pixel information is read out, on the basis of a calculated value from the counted value of the sub-line period and the positional shift information, and a pixel-information reading unit.

Abstract: An apparatus to form plural images on an image conveyor includes plural photoconductor bodies, a light exposure device, a development device, a transfer device, and a pattern detection device, wherein the light exposure device includes an optical scanning part, a first light detection part having a first light receiving face, a second light detection part having a second light receiving face being non-parallel to the first light receiving face, a third light detection part having a third light receiving face being non-parallel to the first light receiving face, the optical scanning part, the first light detection part, and the second light detection part being provided inside a housing of the light exposure device, the third light detection part being provided outside the housing, and a light exposure timing control device.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus can transfer a plurality of color component images onto a surface of a recording medium to form an image on the recording medium. The image forming apparatus includes a pattern generation part to generate information about an alignment pattern to be used for a calibration of an image forming, a plurality of stations each including a photosensitive drum to form an alignment pattern corresponding to each of a plurality of color components onto a carry belt or the recording medium, and a read part to detect a plurality of alignment patterns formed by the plurality of stations.

Abstract: A pixel information acquiring unit acquires multilevel pixel information in which one pixel is expressed in multilevel scales. A line pixel information storing unit stores the multilevel pixel information for each main scanning line. A light emission control unit optically exposes a photosensitive element by controlling a binary light source on the basis of the multilevel pixel information. The photosensitive element is exposed to the binary light source with a period corresponding to N-fold in a sub scanning direction resolution of the multilevel pixel information, wherein N is a positive integer, so that the N times exposures corresponds to an exposure for one pixel in an original resolution. The switch on/off statuses of the binary light source are controlled in the N times exposures for each pixel, on the basis of lighting rate information for converting the multilevel scales into a lighting rate in the N times exposures.

Abstract: An exposure control apparatus includes: a plurality of line memories; a processing unit that processes image data by successively recording the image data to the plurality of line memories, and successively reading the image data from the plurality of line memories; and an exposing unit that performs, with an exposure cycle, an exposure process according to the processed image data, and that forms a latent image based on the image data onto an image carrier, wherein the image data is transferred with a cycle which is N times as high as the exposure cycle (N is a natural number), and the processing unit reads the image data N times with the exposure cycle.

Abstract: A toner consumption calculator includes a plurality of line memories; a recorder that sequentially records image data including a plurality of pixels into the line memories; a skew correction unit that performs skew correction on the image data by sequentially reading the image data from the line memories while controlling read timing; and a counter that sequentially reads the image data from the line memories and counts toner consumption of a target pixel on the basis of light amounts of surrounding pixels of the target pixel.

Abstract: A light source control apparatus which controls, based on image data input, light emission of a light source which forms an electrostatic latent image on an image bearing body in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus is disclosed, including a pattern generating unit which generates an internal pattern for position aligning and concentration correcting according to the image data; and a mirroring processing unit which performs a process of mirroring the image data and the internal pattern at a later stage of the pattern generating unit.

Abstract: An optical writer includes a scanning part causing a light beam from a light source to perform scanning on a photosensitive body; an image information obtaining part obtaining image information of an image; a dithering information obtaining part obtaining dithering information of the image; a pixel clock generating part generating a pixel clock signal; and a light emission control part to control the light source based on the image information in accordance with the pixel clock signal. The pixel clock generating part modulates the clock frequency of the pixel clock signal in accordance with phase shift information for correcting a change in the speed of the scanning on main scanning lines on the photosensitive body, and determines the timing of modulating the clock frequency based on the dithering information on a main scanning line basis so that the timing of modulating the clock frequency differs between the main scanning lines.

Abstract: An optical writing device forms an electrostatic latent image and includes a pixel-information acquiring unit that acquires pixel information and stores the acquired pixel information in a storage medium with respect to each main scanning line; a tilt correcting unit that generates a tilt correction signal specifying a main scanning line from which the pixel information to be input to a light source is read out from the storage medium in order to correct a tilt of the electrostatic latent image; a position correcting unit that generates a position correction signal specifying a timing to input the pixel information to the light source in order to correct a position of the electrostatic latent image; and a pixel-information-input control unit that controls input of the pixel information from the storage medium to the light source in response to the tilt correction signal and the position correction signal.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a first detector including a first light emitting device, a first mixed-light receiving device and a first diffuse reflection light receiving device, a second detector including a second light emitting device and a second mixed-light receiving device, and a concentration correction unit. The first mixed-light receiving device detects a mixed light including regular and diffuse reflection light reflected from a transport member. The first diffuse reflection light receiving device detects the diffuse reflection light. The second mixed-light receiving device detects the mixed light. The concentration correction unit conducts concentration correction using detection results of the first and second detectors.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit that forms developer images in different colors on image carriers; a first transfer unit that transfers the developer images onto an endless conveying body; a second transfer unit that transfers the developer images onto a recording medium; pattern detecting units that irradiate a given developer pattern formed on the endless conveying body with a light beam and detect reflected light from the pattern; a cleaning unit that cleans developer images adhered to the second transfer unit; and a control unit that controls each of the units. The pattern detecting units are arranged between the second transfer unit and the image carrier on the most upstream side from the second transfer unit in a rotation direction of the endless conveying body. The control unit changes a cleaning time of the cleaning unit based on a detection result of the pattern detecting units.