Patent ID: 7756463

Claim:
An image recording apparatus having an image holding material which is charged and rotated and is exposed by an exposing unit and on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, a developing unit which adheres toner onto said electrostatic latent image on said image holding material, a medium feeding unit which feeds out a recording medium, a conveying unit which is driven by a driving unit after a skew of said fed-out recording medium is corrected and which conveys said recording medium toward a transfer position, and a transfer unit which transfers said toner adhered on said image holding material onto said recording medium which is arranged at said transfer position and is conveyed, comprising: an exposure control unit which drives said exposing unit on the basis of said driving of said conveying unit; a medium detecting unit which is arranged between said conveying unit and said transfer position and outputs a detection signal when a front edge of said conveyed recording medium is detected; and a conveying speed control unit which measures a time which is required until said detection signal is received after said driving of said conveying unit is started, sets a conveying speed of said conveying unit in order to allow an exposure start position of said image holding material to coincide with a transfer start position of said recording medium at said transfer position on the basis of a time difference between said measured time and a set time, and controls said driving unit wherein: said conveying speed control unit sets the same conveying speed as a peripheral speed of said image holding material into said conveying unit, sets a low speed for adjustment lower than said conveying speed, sets an adjustment time for driving said conveying unit at said low speed in correspondence to the time difference between said measured time and said set time, and discriminates whether or not said low speed can be set on the basis of said time difference, and said apparatus further comprises: a cleaning sequence control unit which, if said conveying speed control unit determines that the setting of said low speed is impossible, stops said driving unit, controls said exposure control unit so as to stop the driving of said exposing unit, stops supply of a developing voltage to said developing unit for a predetermined time so as to prevent the toner from being adhered onto the electrostatic latent image formed on said image holding material, and stops supply of a transfer voltage for a predetermined time so as to prevent the toner adhered on said image holding material from being transferred to said transfer unit; an exposure re-driving control unit which controls said exposure control unit so as to drive said exposing unit again when the stop of the supply of said developing voltage and the stop of the supply of said transfer voltage are cancelled; and a re-conveyance control unit which sets the conveying speed of said conveying unit in correspondence to the re-driving of said exposing unit and controls said driving unit.