Patent ID: 8052144
Filing Date: 2011-11-08
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
1. An image forming apparatus connectable to a plurality of recording medium feed trays including a first feed tray and a second feed tray, the image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium conveyed from one of the feed trays; a feed path that connects a corresponding feed tray of the feed trays to the image forming unit, the feed path including a first feed path that connects the first feed tray to the image forming unit and a second feed path that connects the second feed tray to the image forming unit; a detecting unit provided on the feed path to sense recording medium jam in the feed path, the detecting unit including a first detecting unit that senses recording medium jam in the first feed path and a second detecting unit that senses recording medium jam in the second feed path; an identifying unit that identifies a feed path and a feed tray where recording medium jam has occurred as a jammed path and a jamming feed tray from information from the detecting unit; a first determining unit that determines whether the image forming apparatus is connected to a non jamming feed tray, that is any feed tray other than the jamming feed tray; a second determining unit that determines, when the first determining unit determines that the image forming apparatus is connected to the non jamming feed tray, whether the non jamming feed tray can feed a recording medium to the image forming unit based on the jammed path that is identified by the identifying unit; a feeding unit that feeds, when the second determining unit determines that the non jamming feed tray can feed a recording medium, a recording medium from the non jamming feed tray to the image forming unit; and a controller that controls feeding operation of the feeding unit, wherein a common-path detecting unit provided on the common path to sense recording medium jam in the common path, the common-path detecting unit including a first common-path detecting unit that senses recording medium jam in the common path of the first feed path and a second common-path detecting unit that senses recording medium jam in the common path of the second feed path, the identifying unit identifies either an individual feed path or a common path and a feed tray where recording medium jam has occurred as the jammed path and the jamming feed tray from information from either the individual-path detecting unit or the common-path detecting unit, and when the following three conditions are met, (i) the first determining unit determines that the image forming apparatus is connected to the non jamming feed tray, (ii) the identifying unit identifies the common path as the jammed path and (iii) a recording medium fed from the non jamming feed tray to the image forming unit passes only the common path located downstream of the identified common path, the second determining unit determines that the non jamming feed tray can feed a recording medium to the image forming unit, the second determining unit sends a jammed-paper notification to the controller to prompt the removal of the jammed recording medium from the jammed path only after the identifying unit identifies the jammed path and the jamming feed tray and printing on a recording medium fed from the non jamming feed tray is completed.