Image forming apparatus
View Patent ↗An image forming apparatus includes an image reader that covers an image recorded material placed on a reading surface with an openable cover plate so as to press thereof and optically reads an image of the image recorded material, an image output unit that forms an image on a recording sheet and outputs the image, a detecting unit that detects an opened/closed state of the cover plate when the image output unit forms a gradation test image on the recording sheet, the recording sheet having the gradation test image formed thereon is placed on the reading surface of the image reader, and an operation of reading the gradation test image is performed, and a gradation correction unit that conducts a gradation correction of the image forming apparatus based on an image read by the image reader when the detecting unit detects the closed state of the cover plate.
1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image output unit that forms a gradation test image on a recording sheet and outputs the recording sheet having the gradation test image formed thereon;
an image reader that covers the recording sheet placed on a reading surface of the image reader with an openable cover plate and optically reads the recording sheet to obtain read data of the gradation test image and read data of a detecting area of the recording sheet;
a detecting unit that detects, when the image reader optically reads the recording sheet, an opened/closed state of the openable cover plate by reading the detecting area of the recording sheet and using the read data of the detecting area that is inside a portion of the recording sheet; and
a gradation correction unit that, when the detecting unit detects that the openable cover plate is in the closed state, conducts a gradation correction of the image forming apparatus using the read data of the gradation test image;
wherein the detecting unit detects the opened/closed state of the openable cover plate by comparing the read data of the detecting area that is inside the portion of the recording sheet with a threshold value indicating the closed state of the openable cover plate.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the gradation correction unit conducts, when the detecting unit detects that the openable cover plate is in the closed state, the gradation correction of the image forming apparatus by correcting a gradation of the read data of the gradation test image so as to be close to a standard gradation correction data.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a portion out of the gradation test image and inside the recording sheet is used as the detecting area.
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a portion of the gradation test image of the recording sheet is formed as the detecting area.
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a notifying unit that notifies an error to a user when the detecting unit detects that the openable cover plate is not closed.
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a position detect unit that detects a placing position of the recording sheet having the gradation test image formed thereon when being placed on the reading surface of the image reader.