Patent ID: 7317555
Filing Date: 2008-01-08
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a printer section having a plurality of process units arranged in a tandem fashion and configured to form an image of respective colors on a sheet; a scanner section configured to read a color document as three RGB color components and provide RGB image signals; a delay section configured to store the RGB image signals provided from the scanner section as RGB image data to delay transmission of the RGB image data by a predetermined time; a mask data retaining section configured to retain mask data; a selecting section configured to allow one of the delayed RGB image data coming from the delay section, on one hand, and mask data coming from the mask data retaining section, on the other, to be selected in accordance with a select signal and to be output; a printer controller configured to allow the data which is selected by the selecting section to be transmitted as an output signal to an external device connected to the image forming apparatus via a communication network, the external device being external with respect to the image forming apparatus; a specific document deciding section configured to decide whether or not the document read by the scanner section is any specific document and, if the document is the specific document, set the select signal to an active level and send the select signal to the selecting section, the selecting section being responsive to an active level of the select signal to select mask data coming from the mask data retaining section; a color conversion section configured to allow the RGB image signals which are supplied from the scanner section to be converted to image data of colors suitable for the respective process units of the printer section; a plurality of delay memories configured to, when the image of respective colors is formed on the respective process units on the basis of the color image data converted by the color conversion section, prevent the respective colors of the image from being displaced on the sheet due to a distance between the respective process units, the delay section being comprised of the plurality of the delay memories; and a control section configured to, when the image data is transmitted by the printer controller to the external device through the communication network, control the plurality of delay memories to allow capacities of the memories to be made equal.