Image forming apparatus and service system therefor
First Claim
1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of sensors each being located at a particular location on a preselected paper transport path;
jam detecting means for detecting a paper jam during image formation location by location on the basis of output signals of said plurality of sensors;
a plurality of storing means, each being assigned to a particular location, for storing a standard jam value corresponding to a number of papers which have undergone image formation to thereby determine whether or not jam information is valid;
a plurality of paper counting means, each being assigned to a particular location, for counting a number of papers which have continuously undergone image formation without any paper jam;
a plurality of jam alarm counting means, each being assigned to a particular location, for counting resulting jam information when said jam detecting means detects a paper jam which occurred at a location and if a count of an associated one of said paper counting means is smaller than said standard jam value assigned to said location, for resetting a count of jam information when the count of said paper counting means reaches said standard jam value assigned to said location before a next paper jam is detected at said location, and for generating, when the count of jam information reaches a preselected reference value, jam alarm information showing that a paper jam will frequently occur at said location in the near future; and
jam alarm information transmitting means for transmitting jam alarm information generated by said plurality of jam alarm counting means to a control unit connected to said apparatus by a communication line.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In an image forming apparatus, a plurality of paper sensors are arranged along a preselected paper transport path. A jam detecting section detects jams location by location in response to the output signals of the paper sensors. A plurality of jam alarm counters are each assigned to the respective location. Each jam alarm counter counts jam information representative of jams occurred at the respective location. When the jam alarm counter counts a preselected number of jam information, jam alarm information is generated and sent to a remote control unit via a transmitting section. However, when the count of a copy counter increases to a preselected standard jam value stored in an alarm level memory, the existing count of the jam alarm counter is reset. The apparatus is capable of accurately sending, with a small capacity memory and with a minimum of computation requirement, information showing the frequent paper jam at a particular location on the paper transport path and information showing that a paper jam will frequency occur at a particular location in the near future.
23 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of sensors each being located at a particular location on a preselected paper transport path; jam detecting means for detecting a paper jam during image formation location by location on the basis of output signals of said plurality of sensors; a plurality of storing means, each being assigned to a particular location, for storing a standard jam value corresponding to a number of papers which have undergone image formation to thereby determine whether or not jam information is valid; a plurality of paper counting means, each being assigned to a particular location, for counting a number of papers which have continuously undergone image formation without any paper jam; a plurality of jam alarm counting means, each being assigned to a particular location, for counting resulting jam information when said jam detecting means detects a paper jam which occurred at a location and if a count of an associated one of said paper counting means is smaller than said standard jam value assigned to said location, for resetting a count of jam information when the count of said paper counting means reaches said standard jam value assigned to said location before a next paper jam is detected at said location, and for generating, when the count of jam information reaches a preselected reference value, jam alarm information showing that a paper jam will frequently occur at said location in the near future; and jam alarm information transmitting means for transmitting jam alarm information generated by said plurality of jam alarm counting means to a control unit connected to said apparatus by a communication line. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of forming an image, comprising the steps of:
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counting a first number of consecutively generated images which have been completed; detecting a first jam; incrementing a jam counter only when the first number of consecutively generated images which have been counted exceeds a first predetermined value; counting a second number of consecutively generated images which have been completed; detecting a second jam; incrementing the jam counter only when the second number of consecutively generated images which have been counted exceeds the first predetermined value; and generating an alarm when the jam counter exceeds a second predetermined value. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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11. A system for forming an image, comprising:
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means for counting a first number of consecutively generated images which have been completed; means for detecting a first jam; means for incrementing a jam counter only when the first number of consecutively generated images which have been counted exceeds a first predetermined value; means for counting a second number of consecutively generated images which have been completed; means for detecting a second jam; means for incrementing the jam counter only when the second number of consecutively generated images which have been counted exceeds the first predetermine value; and means for generating an alarm when the jam counter exceeds a second predetermined value. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. An image forming apparatus, comprising:
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at least one sensor located at a particular location on a preselected paper transport path, each of said at least one sensor generating a corresponding output signal; a jam detecting device which detects a paper jam during image formation using said at least one sensor and the corresponding output signal; at least one paper counter assigned to a particular location which counts a cumulative number of papers which have consecutively undergone image formation since said jam detecting device detected a paper jam; at least one memory assigned to a particular location which stores a first preselected value corresponding to a number of papers which have undergone image formation, said first preselected value being a threshold number of jams which when exceeded indicates that a probability of a frequent jam exists; at least one jam counter assigned to a particular location which counts paper jams which have occurred; and at least one circuit assigned to a particular location which increments, if said jam detecting device detects a paper jam before said cumulative number of said at least one paper counter equals said first preselected value, a count of said at least one jam counter, and which changes a count of said at least one jam counter when said cumulative number of said at least one paper counter equals said first preselected value. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A method of forming an image, comprising the steps of:
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detecting a paper jam during image formation; counting a cumulative number of papers which have consecutively undergone image formation since a paper jam was detected by the step of detecting; storing, in a memory, a first preselected value corresponding to a predetermined number of papers which have undergone image information, said first preselected value being a threshold number of jams which when exceeded indicates a probability of a frequent jam exists; incrementing a jam counter only when a jam is detected before the cumulative number of papers exceeds said first preselected value; and changing said jam counter only when the cumulative number of papers exceeds said first preselected value. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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Specification