IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, IMAGE SCANNING APPARATUS, AND REMOTE DIAGNOSIS METHOD FOR IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS

• US 20090128848A1
• Filed: 11/12/2008
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kamisuwa, Yoshikatsu
• Application Number:
  US12/269,665
• Publication Number:
  US 20090128848A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.150
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/009 Detecting type of paper, e.g. by automatic reading of a code that is printed on a paper package or on a paper roll or by sensing the grade of translucency of the paper
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5079 for maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/55 Self-diagnostics; Malfunction or lifetime display
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00109 Remote control of apparatus, e.g. by a host
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2294 by remote test
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00681 Detecting the presence, position or size of a sheet or correcting its position before scanning H04N1/047 takes precedence; mode signalling H04N1/333; skew detection or correction in image signals H04N1/3878
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00724 Type of sheet, e.g. colour of paper or transparency
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00726 Other properties of the sheet, e.g. curvature or reflectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3222 of processing required or performed, e.g. forwarding, urgent or confidential handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3232 of a page, copy or picture number
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3246 of data relating to permitted access or usage, e.g. level of access or usage parameters for digital rights management [DRM] related to still images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3252 Image capture parameters, e.g. resolution, illumination conditions, orientation of the image capture device H04N2201/3256 and subgroups take precedence

Abstract

An image forming apparatus sets setting information for forming an image, detects, using a media sensor, characteristic information of a recording medium on which an image is formed according to setting by the setting information, forms an image on the recording medium, the characteristic information of which is detected by the media sensor, on the basis of the setting information, stores, as log data, the setting information for forming an image on the recording medium and the characteristic information of the recording medium detected by the media sensor, and transmits the log data to an image diagnosis apparatus that diagnoses a state of image forming processing in the image forming apparatus.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

a setting unit that sets setting information for forming an image on a recording medium;

a printer that forms an image on the recording medium on the basis of setting contents set by the setting unit;

a media sensor that detects characteristic information of the recording medium on which the printer forms an image;

a storing unit that stores, if the printer forms an image on the recording medium, as log data, the setting information set by the setting unit and the characteristic information of the recording medium detected by the media sensor; and

an interface that transmits the log data stored in the storing unit to an image diagnosis apparatus that diagnoses a state of image forming processing in the image forming apparatus.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a state sensor that detects a state when the printer forms an image on the recording medium, wherein

the storing unit further stores, as the log data, information indicating the state during the image formation detected by the state sensor.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the state sensor is a humidity sensor that detects humidity in the printer, a temperature sensor that detects temperature in the printer, a potential sensor that detects surface potential of a photoconductive member for forming an electrostatic latent image in the printer, or a density sensor that detects density of an image transferred onto the recording medium.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a scanner that scans the image formed on the recording medium by the printer and converts the image into image data, wherein

the communication interface transmits the log data to be stored in the storing unit to the image diagnosis apparatus together with the image data scanned from the recording medium by the scanner.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an extracting unit that extracts, from the storing unit, as the log data that should be transmitted to the image diagnosis apparatus, log data obtained when the image scanned by the scanner is formed on the recording medium, wherein

the communication interface transmits the log data extracted by the extracting unit to the image diagnosis apparatus together with the image data scanned from the recording medium by the scanner.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the extracting unit extracts, from the storing unit, log data including the log data obtained when the image scanned by the scanner is formed on the recording medium and log data immediately preceding the log data.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a classifying unit that classifies the recording medium on the basis of the characteristic information detected by the media sensor; and

a management table that accumulates data indicating a result of the classification by the classifying unit, wherein

the communication interface further transmits the data accumulated in the management table to the image diagnosis apparatus together with the image data scanned from the recording medium by the scanner.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the classifying unit classifies the recording medium according to a surface state estimated on the basis of information obtained by detecting reflected light from a surface of the recording medium with the media sensor, and

the management table accumulates data indicating a result of the classification based on the surface state of the recording medium by the classifying unit.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the classifying unit classifies the recording medium according to thickness estimated on the basis of information obtained by detecting transmissive light transmitted through the recording medium with the media sensor, and

the management table accumulates data indicating a result of the classification based on the thickness of the recording medium by the classifying unit.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an authenticating unit that performs user authentication; and

an extracting unit that extracts, from the storing unit, log data including user information indicating a user for whom authentication by the authenticating unit is successful, wherein

the printer forms an image on the recording medium if the user authentication by the authenticating unit is successful,

the storing unit stores the log data including the user information indicating the user for whom the authentication by the authenticating unit is successful, and

the communication interface transmits the log data including the user information indicating the user for whom the authentication by the authenticating unit is successful, which is extracted by the extracting unit, to the image diagnosis apparatus together with the image data scanned from the recording medium by the scanner.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the extracting unit extracts the log data including the user information indicating the user for whom the authentication by the authenticating unit is successful and log data immediately preceding the log data including the user information, and

the communication interface transmits the log data extracted by the extracting unit to the image diagnosis apparatus together with the image data scanned from the recording medium by the scanner.

12. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a second media sensor that detects characteristic information of the recording medium from which the scanner scans the image, wherein the communication interface further transmits the characteristic information of the recording medium detected by the second media sensor.

13. An image scanning apparatus comprising:

a scanner that scans an image formed on a recording medium by a printer and converts the image into image data;

a media sensor that detects characteristic information of the recording medium; and

a communication interface that transmits the image data scanned from the recording medium by the scanner and the characteristic information of the recording medium detected by the media sensor to an image diagnosis apparatus that diagnoses the image formed on the recording medium by the printer.

14. A remote diagnosis method for an image forming apparatus, the remote diagnosis method comprising:

setting information for forming an image;

detecting, using a media sensor, characteristic information of a recording medium on which an image is formed according to setting by the setting information;

forming an image on the recording medium, the characteristic information of which is detected by the media sensor, on the basis of the setting information;

storing, as log data, the setting information for forming an image on the recording medium and the characteristic information of the recording medium detected by the media sensor; and

transmitting the log data to an image diagnosis apparatus that diagnoses a state of image forming processing in the image forming apparatus.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising detecting a state when an image is formed on the recording medium, wherein

the storing is further storing, as the log data, information indicating the detected state during the image formation.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the detecting the state is detecting humidity in the image forming apparatus, temperature in the image forming apparatus, surface potential of a photoconductive member for forming an electrostatic latent image in the image forming apparatus, or density of an image transferred onto the recording medium.

17. The method according to claim 14, further comprising scanning the image formed on the recording medium and converting the image into image data, wherein

the transmitting is transmitting the log data together with the image data scanned from the recording medium.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising extracting, from the stored log data, as the log data that should be transmitted to the image diagnosis apparatus, log data obtained when the image to be converted into the image data is formed on the recording medium, wherein

the transmitting is transmitting the extracted log data to the image diagnosis apparatus together with the image data scanned from the recording medium.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the extracting is extracting, from the stored log data, the log data obtained when the image to be converted into the image data is formed on the recording medium and log data immediately preceding the log data as log data that should be transmitted to the image diagnosis apparatus.

20. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

classifying the recording medium on the basis of the characteristic information detected by the media sensor; and

accumulating data indicating a result of the classification by the classifying in a management table, wherein

the transmitting is further transmitting the data accumulated in the management table to the image diagnosis apparatus together with the image data scanned from the recording medium.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein

the classifying is classifying the recording medium according to a surface state estimated on the basis of information obtained by detecting reflected light from a surface of the recording medium with the media sensor, and

data indicating a result of the classification based on the surface state of the recording medium by the classifying is accumulated in the management table.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein

the classifying is classifying the recording medium according to thickness estimated on the basis of information obtained by detecting transmissive light transmitted through the recording medium with the media sensor, and

data indicating a result of the classification based on the thickness of the recording medium by the classifying is accumulated in the management table.

23. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

authenticating a user; and

extracting, from the stored log data, log data including user information indicating a user for whom authentication is successful, wherein

the forming an image is forming an image on the recording medium if the authentication is successful,

the storing is storing the log data including the user information indicating the user for whom the authentication is successful, and

the transmitting is transmitting the log data including the user information indicating the user for whom the authentication is successful to the image diagnosis apparatus together with the image data scanned from the recording medium.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein

the extracting is extracting the log data including the user information indicating the user for whom the authentication is successful and log data immediately preceding the log data including the user information, and

the transmitting is transmitting the extracted log data to the image diagnosis apparatus together with the image data scanned from the recording medium.

25. The method according to claim 17, further comprising detecting, with a second media sensor, characteristic information of the recording medium from which the image is scanned, wherein

the transmitting further transmitting the characteristic information of the recording medium detected by the second media sensor.