Patent ID: 6879787
Filing Date: 2005-04-12
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a plurality of developing units that accommodate toners of different colors; a plurality of image carriers on which toner images of the different colors are formed; a transfer medium onto which the toner images are sequentially transferred from the image carriers, wherein toner remaining on each of the image carriers after image transfer is recovered, and the recovered toner is supplied to each of the developing units for reutilization of the recovered toner; and a controller that controls operation of the image forming apparatus, wherein the controller operates an automatic self-adjusting mode when an interruption signal is not present and starts a self-diagnosis mode when the interruption signal is present, and diagnosis is performed on the image forming apparatus in the self-diagnosis mode, wherein the diagnosis includes detecting how colors of toners are mixed within each of the developing units.