Copying apparatus

• US 4,583,834 A
• Filed: 09/08/1978
• Issued: 04/22/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Nakamura, Isao, Yano, Takashi, Tani, Tatsuo, Idenawa, Hiroyuki, Seko, Nachio
• Primary Examiner(s): MOSES, RICHARD L
• Application Number:
  US05/940,857
• Time in Patent Office: 2,783 Days
• Field of Search: 355/14 R, 355/3 R, 355/14 C, 364/900, 364/107
• US Class Current: 399/8
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5079 for maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/55 Self-diagnostics; Malfunction or lifetime display
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/553 Monitoring or warning means for exhaustion or lifetime end of consumables, e.g. indication of insufficient copy sheet quantity for a job
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00092 the support being an IC card

Abstract

A plurality of copying machines (12), (13), (14) are connected to a computer (39). Each copying machine (12), (13), (14) comprises sensor means (16), (17), (18), (19), (21), (22), (23), (24) for sensing various operating parameters thereof such as a total number of copies produced, machine malfunctions, amounts of remaining copy sheets and toner, etc. These parameters are all transmitted to the computer (39) which processes and prints them out. In response to a copying machine malfunction the computer (39) feeds back to the malfunctioning copying machine instructions for correction. The instructions are displayed at the copying machine. The computer (39) further computes the degree of degeneration of the photoconductive element of each copying machine (12), (13), (14) and controls the imaging exposure intensity and developing bias voltage in accordance therewith.

Claims

1. A copying apparatus including a plurality of copying machines each having sensor means for sensing operating parameters thereof, characterized by comprising:

storage means provided in each copying machine respectively for storing the parameters thereof;

computing means; and

transmission means for transmitting the parameters from the storage means of all of the copying machines to the computing means;

the computing means comprising display means for displaying the parameters of all of the copying machines and being constructed to operate on the parameters in a predetermined manner.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1, in which the transmission means is constructed to transmit the parameters of the copying machines to the computing means in sequence.

3. An apparatus as in claim 1, in which the display means comprises a printer.

4. A copying apparatus including a plurality of copying machines each having sensor means for sensing operating parameters thereof, characterized by comprising:

storage means provided in each copying machine respectively for storing the parameters thereof;

computing means for operating on the parameters in a predetermined manner; and

transmission means for transmitting the parameters from the storage means of all of the copying machines to the computing means;

the parameters including at least two of the following parameters;

a total number of copies, numbers of copies of different sizes, a sheet jam, a fixer overheating condition, an exposure lamp overheating condition, a number of remaining copy sheets, an amount of remaining toner, an amount of photoconductive element use and an identification code.

5. A copying apparatus including a plurality of copying machines each having sensor means for sensing operating parameters thereof, characterized by comprising:

storage means provided in each copying machine respectively for storing the parameters thereof;

computing means; and

transmission means for transmitting the parameters from the storage means of all of the copying machines to the computing means;

the parameters including malfunction conditions of the copying machines, the computing means being constructed to compute and feed to a malfunctioning copying machine instructions for correcting the malfunction, each copying machine comprising display means for displaying the instructions.

6. A copy apparatus including a plurality of copying machines each having sensor means for sensing operating parameters thereof, charactrized by comprising:

storage means provided in each copying machine respectively for storing the parameters thereof;

computing means; and

transmission means for transmitting the parameters from the storage means of all of the copying machines to the computing means;

the parameters comprising an amount of photoconductive elements use, the computing means being constructed to compute a degree of photoconductive element degeneration and control the copying machines in response thereto.

7. An apparatus as in claim 6, in which each copying machine comprises means for controlling at least one of an imaging exposure intensity and a developing bias voltage in response to the computed degree of photoconductive element degeneration.

8. A copying apparatus including a plurality of copying machines each having sensor means for sensing operating parameters thereof, characterized by comprising:

storage means provided in each copying machine respectively for storing the parameters thereof;

computing means for operating on the parameters in a predetermined manner; and

transmission means for transmitting the parameters for the storage means of all of the copying machines to the computing means;

the computing means comprising a computer and processing means for processing the parameters prior to feeding the parameters to the computer.

9. An apparatus as in claim 8, in which the processing means comprises a central processing unit, a read-only memory containing an operating program and a random-access memory for temporarily storing the parameters.