Image Forming Apparatus Selective Density Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multi-function peripherals (MFPs) face issues with illegible images when printing fax data at lower density, leading to unnecessary retransmissions due to excessive consumable material usage reduction.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus with a scanner, receiver, and controller that processes image data to reduce consumable material usage selectively, while maintaining image legibility by adjusting density settings based on user input and mode settings, ensuring that fax data is not reduced in quality unless explicitly set by the user.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If the reference density level for printing is set to be low to reduce consumable material usage, then the consumption amount of toner or ink is reduced, but the resulting image may become illegible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating processing based on the source of image data. Scanner-originated images receive density reduction processing to save consumables, while FAX-originated images maintain original density to ensure legibility. This selective application of quality adjustment resolves the contradiction by optimizing consumable usage where appropriate while preserving image quality where necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the density parameter selectively based on the image source. For scanner images, the reference density level is reduced to minimize toner/ink consumption. For FAX images, the density parameter is maintained at standard levels to ensure legibility. This conditional parameter modification resolves the technical contradiction between consumable reduction and image quality maintenance.
2Loss of substance
If image data from external apparatus is processed to reduce density, then consumable material usage is reduced, but the image quality deteriorates leading to illegible prints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by applying different processing strategies to different sources of image data. Internal scanner images undergo density reduction for consumable savings, while external FAX images receive no density reduction to maintain print quality. This targeted approach resolves the contradiction between reducing consumable usage and maintaining manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the image data processing based on the source device. It identifies whether image data originates from the built-in scanner or external FAX apparatus, then applies appropriate processing. This segmentation allows the system to optimize consumable usage for scanner images while preserving print quality for FAX images, resolving the technical contradiction.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a scanner, a receiver, and a controller. The scanner scans a document to obtain image data representing the scanned document. The receiver receives faxed image data. The controller includes a processor and a memory, performs processing for reducing usage of a consumable material on the image data obtained by the scanner, and does not perform the processing on image data obtained from an external apparatus.