Method for controlling automatic discharge of jammed paper for automatic jam removal

A method for controlling an automatic discharge of a jammed paper to automatically remove a jam generated in a machine including a plurality of sensing means adapted to sense various operation conditions of the machine, central processing means adapted to analyze output signals from the sensing means and control overall operation of the machine on the basis of the analysis, means for supplying a power to various parts of the machine under a control of the central processing means, means for driving various parts of the machine under a control of the central processing means, a manipulation panel coupled to the central processing means, and sorter control means coupled to the central processing means, the method comprising the steps of:

• (A) discriminating a jam removal mode currently set when the jam is generated;
• (B) checking kind of the generated jam where the current jam removal mode corresponds to an automatic or semi-automatic mode, incrementing, by one, a jam count indicative of the number of repeated jam removal operations in the current jam removal mode, determining whether the incremented jam count has reached a predetermined maximum jam removal number, manually removing the jam when the incremented jam count has reached the predetermined maximum jam removal number, while setting a jam removal try requiring flag and displaying the jam when the incremented jam count has not reached the predetermined maximum jam removal number;
• (C) displaying a position of the jam, powering off a main driving part of the machine, and powering off predetermined parts of the machine for avoiding a generation of fire and a user from getting burnt upon manually removing the jam;
• (D) checking whether the jam removal try requiring flag has been set, and checking kind of the jam when the jam removal try requiring flag has been set;
• (E) checking whether the jam generated corresponds to a miss feed jam at a paper supply part of the machine or a body jam, checking whether a temperature of a fixture roller equipped in the machine has reached a fixture enable temperature where the generated jam corresponds to the body jam, checking a jam removal mode currently set, checking whether a sorter equipped in the machine is at its opened state, and then performing a forced jam removal operation, while proceeding to a subsequent step without performing any jam removal operation where the jam corresponds to the miss feed jam to perform a copying operation;
• (F) checking whether the jam removal mode set corresponds to the automatic removal mode or the semi-automatic removal mode, immediately performing the copying operation where the set jam removal mode corresponds to the automatic removal mode, while keeping a copying standby state and performing the copying operation when the user presses down a copying start key where the set jam removal mode corresponds to the semi-automatic removal mode;
• (G) checking whether a jam has been generated after completion of the copying operation at the step (F), repeatedly executing all the above steps where the jam has been generated, while clearing associated counters and flags when a normal paper discharge has been accomplished, checking a copying mode currently set, repeatedly executing the copying operation performing step of the step (F) and the steps following the copying operation performing step where the set copying mode corresponds to a continuous copying mode, while repeatedly executing the copying standby step of the step (F) and the steps following the copying standby step where the set copying mode does not correspond to the continuous copying mode.