Image forming apparatus that erases images during interruption of image forming
AssigneesKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorToshifumi Mimura
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Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit configured to form images that are to be transferred to first sheets, a fixing and erasing unit configured to fix the images onto the first sheets and erase images formed with a decolorizable material on second sheets, and a controller. The controller is configured to interrupt the image forming unit to stop forming images that are to be transferred to the first sheets, and control the fixing and erasing unit to carry out an erasing operation on the second sheets while the image forming unit is interrupted.
Claims20
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- an image forming unit configured to form images that are to be transferred to first sheets;
- a fixing and erasing unit configured to fix the images onto the first sheets and erase images formed with a decolorizable material on second sheets;
- and
- a controller configured to:
- interrupt the image forming unit to stop formation of images that are to be transferred to the first sheets, and
- control the fixing and erasing unit to carry out an erasing operation on the second sheets while the image forming unit is interrupted.
A method for operating an image forming apparatus including an image forming unit configured to form images that are to be transferred to first sheets, and a fixing and erasing unit configured to fix the images onto the first sheets and erase images formed with a decolorizable material on second sheets, the method comprising:
- interrupting the image forming unit to stop formation of images that are to be transferred to the first sheets;
- and
- controlling the fixing and erasing unit to carry out an erasing operation on the second sheets while the image forming unit is interrupted.
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- an image forming unit configured to form images that are to be transferred to first sheets;
- a fixing and erasing unit configured to fix the images onto the first sheets and erase images formed with a decolorizable material on second sheets;
- and
- a controller configured to:
- determine whether or not the image forming unit stops forming images for a predetermined time period, and
- control the fixing and erasing unit to carry out an erasing operation on the second sheets during the predetermined time period.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.