Patent Application
20150210488
The present disclosure relates to printing machines that include multiple media feeders, and more particularly, to a method for automatically switching to another of said multiple media trays when a misfeed from a selected media tray is detected.
Currently, when a misfeed occurs, the marking engine immediately shuts down and the user is requested to check the paper in the paper feed tray or purges paper upstream of the jam and then shuts down. Marking is stopped and the job is paused until the user follows given instructions. This can be frustrating for users magnifying the impact of the misfeed, especially if they have submitted a large job and have waited a while before going to the machine expecting to just pick up their prints.
Heretofore, various jam clearing methods have been employed. For example, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20080079210 A1 shows a marking machine that includes a system that automatically clears itself of jams in the machine when the machine is unattended. The paper transport is enabled to move forward and backward and when a jam occurs it will automatically move backward until the jam is cleared. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,567 a method and apparatus for clearing jams in the transport path of a copier includes the steps of sensing a jam, clustering in process sheets at the jam or at a location upstream of the jam location, while simultaneously allowing the sheets downstream of the jam location to continue. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,127 a buckle chamber is provided along a sheet path where jammed sheets are compiled during a down cycle during a jam.
Unfortunately, even though the jam clearance techniques of the above prior art are useful, the misfeed problems of virgin sheet input feeders mentioned-hereinabove are still present.
In answer thereto, provided hereinafter is an auto tray switching method that is invoked when a misfeed occurs if another paper tray that has appropriate paper stock that can be used to continue the job is available. This keeps the job marking and at the end of the job the user is then directed to check the paper feed tray. Other jobs could also be allowed to mark even after the misfeed but before it is cleared if other paper trays can be used. This significantly decreases the impact of the misfeed on the user and the frustration of the job being paused.
The disclosed system may be operated by and controlled by appropriate operation of conventional control systems. It is well known and preferable to program and execute imaging, printing, paper handling, and other control functions and logic with software instructions for conventional or general purpose microprocessors, as taught by numerous prior patents and commercial products. Such programming or software may, of course, vary depending on the particular functions, software type, and microprocessor or other computer system utilized, but will be available to, or readily programmable without undue experimentation from, functional descriptions, such as, those provided herein, and/or prior knowledge of functions which are conventional, together with general knowledge in the software of computer arts. Alternatively, any disclosed control system or method may be implemented partially or fully in hardware, using standard logic circuits or single chip VLSI designs.
The term ‘sheet’ herein refers to any flimsy physical sheet or paper, plastic, media, or other useable physical substrate for printing images thereon, whether precut or initially web fed.
As to specific components of the subject apparatus or methods, it will be appreciated that, as normally the case, some such components are known per se' in other apparatus or applications, which may be additionally or alternatively used herein, including those from art cited herein. The cited references, and their references, are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for teachings of additional or alternative details, features, and/or technical background. What is well known to those skilled in the art need not be described herein.
Various of the above-mentioned and further features and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the specific apparatus and its operation or methods described in the example(s) below, and the claims. Thus, they will be better understood from this description of these specific embodiment(s), including the drawing figures (which are approximately to scale) wherein:
Referring now to printer 10 in
Subsequently, charger 22 charges the area of belt 14 to a relatively high, substantially uniform potential. Next, the charged area of belt 14 passes laser 24 to expose selected areas of belt 14 to a pattern of light, to discharge selected areas to produce an electrostatic latent image. Next, the illuminated area of the belt passes developer unit Y, which deposits yellow toner on charged areas of the belt.
Subsequently, charger 26 charges the area of belt 14 to a relatively high, substantially uniform potential. Next, the charged area of belt 14 passes laser 28 to expose selected areas of belt 14 to a pattern of light, to discharge selected areas to produce an electrostatic latent image. Next, the illuminated area of the belt passes developer unit C, which deposits cyan toner on charged areas of the belt.
Subsequently, charger 30 charges the area of belt 14 to a relatively high, substantially uniform potential. Next, the charged area of belt 14 passes laser 32 to expose selected areas of belt 14 to a pattern of light, to discharge selected areas to produce an electrostatic latent image. Next, the illuminated area of the belt passes developer unit K, which deposits black toner on charged areas of the belt.
As a result of the processing described above, a full color toner image is now moving on belt 14. In synchronism with the movement of the image on belt 14, a conventional registration system receives copy sheets from sheet feeder module 100 through interface module 50 and brings the copy sheets into contact with the image on belt 14. Sheet feeder module 100 includes high capacity feeders 102 and 104 that feed sheets from sheet stacks 106 and 108 positioned on media supply trays 107 and 109 into interface module 50 that directs them either to purge tray 118 through sheet feed path 52 or to imaging or marking module 12 through sheet feed path 54. Additional high capacity media trays could be added to feed sheets along sheet path 120, if desired.
A corotron 34 charges a sheet to tack the sheet to belt 14 and to move the toner from belt 14 to the sheet. Subsequently, detack corotron 36 charges the sheet to an opposite polarity to detack the sheet from belt 14. Prefuser transport 38 moves the sheet to fuser E, which permanently affixes the toner to the sheet with heat and pressure. The sheet then advances to stacker module F, or to duplex loop D.
Cleaner 40 removes toner that may remain on the image area of belt 14. In order to complete duplex copying, duplex loop D feeds sheets back for transfer of a toner powder image to the opposed sides of the sheets. Duplex inverter 90, in duplex loop D, inverts the sheet such that what was the top face of the sheet, on the previous pass through transfer, will be the bottom face on the sheet, on the next pass through transfer. Duplex inverter 90 inverts each sheet such that what was the leading edge of the sheet, on the previous pass through transfer, will be the trailing on the sheet, on the next pass through transfer.
With further reference to
In recapitulation, a method is disclosed by which paper tray misfeeds or paper jams which occur early in the paper path and not impacting the printing from other paper trays would not stop a print job from continuing when paper is available in an alternative tray. This automatic switching of paper trays would allow for a print job to be completed and would still result in notification of the misfeed or paper jam condition.
The claims, as originally presented and as they may be amended, encompass variations, alternatives, modifications, improvements, equivalents, and substantial equivalents of the embodiments and teachings disclosed herein, including those that are presently unforeseen or unappreciated, and that, for example, may arise from applicants/patentees and others. Unless specifically recited in a claim, steps or components of claims should not be implied or imported from the specification or any other claims as to any particular order, number, position, size, shape, angle, color, or material.
