Patent ID: 8228070

Claim:
A control device for determining a connection state of a plurality of electronic devices in an image forming apparatus, comprising: a connector to which said plurality of electronic devices in the image forming apparatus are connected respectively via first communication lines, each of the first communication lines connecting a different one of said plurality of electronic devices to said connector; a control circuit which controls said plurality of electronic devices in the image forming apparatus via the first communication lines; a plurality of inspection circuits which respectively inspect connections between each of said plurality of electronic devices in the image forming apparatus and said control circuit, and output an inspection result, and a second communication line which connects said plurality of inspection circuits and said control circuit in series, wherein said plurality of inspection circuits include a first inspection circuit and a second inspection circuit, wherein said first inspection circuit outputs first inspection result information indicating an own inspection result to said second inspection circuit via said second communication line, wherein said second inspection circuit combines the first inspection result information and second inspection result information indicating an own inspection result, such that the first inspection result information is followed by the second inspection result information, and outputs the combined result information to said control circuit via said second communication line, and wherein said control circuit determines based on the combined result information whether each of said plurality of electronic devices in the image forming apparatus is connected via a corresponding one of the first communication lines properly or not.