Image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10698355-B2
Application number	US-201816038714-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 18, 2018
Priority date	Jul 20, 2017
Publication date	Jun 30, 2020
Grant date	Jun 30, 2020

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a hand detection sensor that detects a hand within a predetermined range from a grasping part of a sheet feeding cassette, a locking mechanism capable of locking the sheet feeding cassette in a closed state with respect to the image forming apparatus body, and an operation control unit that operates the locking mechanism to lock the sheet feeding cassette when the hand is detected by the hand detection sensor during the execution of a printing process in an image forming apparatus body, interrupts the printing process after the locking, and releases the locking by the locking mechanism after the interruption.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image forming apparatus body;
a sheet feeding cassette detachable from the image forming apparatus body along a predetermined mounting direction and having a grasping part at a front end part in the mounting direction;
a hand detection sensor that detects a hand within a predetermined range from the grasping part;
a locking mechanism that is able to lock the sheet feeding cassette in a closed state with respect to the image forming apparatus body; and
an operation control unit that operates the locking mechanism to lock the sheet feeding cassette when the hand is detected by the hand detection sensor during an execution of a printing process in the image forming apparatus body, interrupts the printing process after the locking, and releases the locking by the locking mechanism after the interruption.

2. The image forming apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
an opening/closing detection sensor that detects an opening/closing state of the sheet feeding cassette,
wherein, after the locking of the sheet feeding cassette is released, when the operation control unit determines that the sheet feeding cassette is switched from a closed state to an opened state and is switched to the closed state again on the basis of a signal from the opening/closing detection sensor, the operation control unit resumes the interrupted printing process.

3. The image forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sheet feeding cassette is provided in a plural number,
the locking mechanism and the hand detection sensor are separately provided to each of the plurality of sheet feeding cassettes, and
in a case where a hand is detected by one hand detection sensor of the plurality of hand detection sensors during a printing process in the image forming apparatus body, the operation control unit determines whether a sheet feeding cassette corresponding to the one hand detection sensor is feeding sheets to the image forming apparatus body, and performs processes of operating a locking mechanism corresponding to the sheet feeding cassette to lock the sheet feeding cassette, interrupting the printing process after the locking, and releasing the locking by the locking mechanism after the interruption when it is determined that the one hand detection sensor is under the sheet feeding while maintaining the sheet feeding cassette in a locking release state without performing the processes when it is determined that the one hand detection sensor is not during the sheet feeding.

4. The image forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the hand detection sensor is configured by a capacitance sensor.

Assignees

• Kyocera Document Solutions Inc
• Kyocera Documents Solutions Inc

Inventors

• Moriguchi Kohei

Classifications

• H04N1/00668

  Removing the medium from a cassette, spindle or the like · CPC title

• G03G15/2017

  Structural details of the fixing unit in general, e.g. cooling means, heat shielding means (G03G15/2053 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G03G15/2064

  combined with pressure · CPC title

• G03G15/6502 Primary

  Supplying of sheet copy material; Cassettes therefor · CPC title

• H04N2201/0094

  Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception · CPC title