IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS
First Claim
1. An image forming apparatus for transporting sheets of paper at a predetermined interval and forming an image on said sheets of paper, comprising:
- a first decision unit for deciding whether a predefined first condition for starting control of said predetermined interval is satisfied;
a determination unit for determining a mode of the control of said predetermined interval;
a control unit for performing the control of said predetermined interval in the mode determined by said determination unit, in response to a decision made by said first decision unit that said first condition is satisfied;
said mode of the control including;
a first mode of prolonging said predetermined interval by suspending a next paper feeding operation, for a predetermined time and for every predetermined number of sheets of paper; and
a second mode of prolonging said predetermined interval by expanding the interval of transportation between said paper feeding operations while continuing the transportation; and
a first calculation unit for calculating power consumption in each mode from the decision that said first condition is satisfied to completion of uncompleted printing,said determination unit is configured to select a mode in which the power consumption calculated by said first calculation unit is relatively lower.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An image forming apparatus transporting sheets of paper at a predetermined interval and forming an image on the sheets has, as modes for controlling the predetermined interval, a first mode of suspending a next paper feeding operation, for a predetermined time and for every predetermined number of sheets of paper and a second mode of expanding the interval of transportation between the paper feeding operations while continuing the transportation. The image forming apparatus decides whether a predefined first condition for starting control of the interval is satisfied during normal printing, determines a mode of the control in response to a decision that the condition is satisfied, and performs the control in the determined mode. The image forming apparatus calculates power consumption in each mode from the decision that the condition is satisfied to completion of uncompleted printing, and selects a mode in which the power consumption is relatively lower.
4 Citations
10 Claims
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1. An image forming apparatus for transporting sheets of paper at a predetermined interval and forming an image on said sheets of paper, comprising:
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a first decision unit for deciding whether a predefined first condition for starting control of said predetermined interval is satisfied; a determination unit for determining a mode of the control of said predetermined interval; a control unit for performing the control of said predetermined interval in the mode determined by said determination unit, in response to a decision made by said first decision unit that said first condition is satisfied; said mode of the control including; a first mode of prolonging said predetermined interval by suspending a next paper feeding operation, for a predetermined time and for every predetermined number of sheets of paper; and a second mode of prolonging said predetermined interval by expanding the interval of transportation between said paper feeding operations while continuing the transportation; and a first calculation unit for calculating power consumption in each mode from the decision that said first condition is satisfied to completion of uncompleted printing, said determination unit is configured to select a mode in which the power consumption calculated by said first calculation unit is relatively lower. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for controlling an image forming apparatus so that said image forming apparatus transports sheets of paper at a predetermined interval and forms an image on said sheets of paper, said image forming apparatus having, as modes for controlling said predetermined interval, a first mode of prolonging said predetermined interval by suspending a next paper feeding operation, for a predetermined time and for every predetermined number of sheets of paper and a second mode of prolonging said predetermined interval by expanding the interval of transportation between said paper feeding operations while continuing the transportation, said method comprising:
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deciding whether a predefined condition for starting control of said predetermined interval is satisfied during normal printing; determining a mode of the control of said predetermined interval in response to a decision that said condition is satisfied; and performing the control of said predetermined interval in the determined mode, said determining a mode including; calculating power consumption in each mode from the decision that said condition is satisfied to completion of uncompleted printing; and selecting a mode in which said power consumption is relatively lower.
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10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a control program for causing a controller of an image forming apparatus to execute a process of transporting sheets of paper at a predetermined interval and forming an image on said sheets of paper, said image forming apparatus having, as modes for controlling said predetermined interval, a first mode of prolonging said predetermined interval by suspending a next paper feeding operation, for a predetermined time and for every predetermined number of sheets of paper and a second mode of prolonging said predetermined interval by expanding the interval of transportation between said paper feeding operations while continuing the transportation,
said control program causing said controller of said image forming apparatus to perform: -
deciding whether a predefined condition for starting control of said predetermined interval is satisfied during normal printing; determining a mode of the control of said predetermined interval in response to a decision that said condition is satisfied; and performing the control of said predetermined interval in the determined mode, said determining a mode including; calculating power consumption in each mode from the decision that said condition is satisfied to completion of uncompleted printing; and selecting a mode in which said power consumption is relatively lower.
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Specification