SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPTICALLY DETECTING MEDIA FEEDING MALFUNCTIONS IN AN IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS

• Main Authors: ERTEL JOHN P, FELDMEIER DAVID C, BROSNAN MICHAEL JOHN, RAJAIAH SEELA RAJ D, TAN BOON KEAT
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 01.02.2007
• Subjects: CINEMATOGRAPHY; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY; i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; INFORMATION STORAGE; INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORDCARRIER AND TRANSDUCER; LINING MACHINES; MAGNETOGRAPHY; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHYSICS; PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION; PRINTING; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS; STAMPS; TRANSPORTING; TYPEWRITERS

A system and a method for optically detecting media feeding malfunctions in an image forming apparatus are provided to capture images of the surface of a sheet of media as image signals and determine that media feeding malfunction has been generated when detected positional changes satisfy a predetermined condition, thereby minimizing waste of consumables used by the image forming apparatus by quickly detecting the media feeding malfunction. A method for optically detecting media feeding malfunctions in an image forming apparatus comprises the following steps of: capturing images of the surface of a sheet of media transmitted along a media feeding path as image signals(602); processing the image signals of the surface of the sheet of media in order to detect positional changes of the sheet of media(604); and determining that media feeding malfunction has been generated when the positional changes satisfy a predetermined condition(606).