# US 7,515,866 B2 · Image forming apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 7,515,866 B2 - Document ID: US7515866B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 11/294,654 - Filed: 2005-12-05 - Published: 2006-06-15 - Granted: 2009-04-07 - Earliest claimed: 2004-12-14 - Assignees: Ricoh Company, Ltd. - Inventors: Toshifumi Togashi; Manabu Nonaka - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7515866B2 ## CPC - G03G 15/6514: {Manual supply devices} - B65H 5/36: Article guides or smoothers, e.g. movable in operation - B65H 2407/21: Manual feeding - G03G 2215/00392: Manual input tray - G03G 2215/00603: Control of other part of the apparatus according to the state of copy medium feeding - G03G 2215/00713: Lock related to feeding device - G03G: ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY - B65H: HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES ## Abstract An image forming apparatus is disclosed that includes an image forming part configured to form an image on a recording medium, a feed part for feeding the recording medium, a manual feed part for manually feeding the recording medium, and a shutter member configured to open and close a manual feed opening from the manual feed part. The shutter member is provided so as to be swingable. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image forming part configured to form an image on a recording medium; a feed part for feeding the recording medium; a manual feed part for manually feeding the recording medium; a shutter member configured to open and close a manual feed opening from the manual feed part; and a swingable opening and closing guide member for providing slackness to the recording medium in a conveyance path of the recording medium from the feed part to the image forming part, wherein the shutter member is provided so as to be swingable, the manual feed opening is disposed on a downstream side of the swingable opening and closing guide member, swinging of the swingable opening and closing guide member is interlocked with opening and closing of the shutter member, and the shutter member is provided so as to be switchable between a first position where the shutter member is prevented from being interlocked with the swingable opening and closing guide member and a second position where the shutter member is interlocked with the swingable opening and closing guide member. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a switch part configured to displace the shutter member from the first position to the second position. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the switch part comprises an electric drive part. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The image farming apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the switch part comprises a tray of the manual feed part, the tray being attached to a main body of the image forming apparatus so as to be openable and closable with respect thereto. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the opening and closing guide member guides the recording medium fed from the manual feed part. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shutter member comprises: an inclination part extending upward at an angle to a direction in which the recording medium is fed. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein if the recording medium is remaining inside the image forming apparatus when the manual feed part is in a position where the manual feed part is ready to perform manual feeding, the shutter member is kept in a position where the shutter member is closed until outputting of the recording medium is completed. ### Claim 8 An image forming apparatus, comprising: a single-sheet manual feed part for manually feeding a recording medium one sheet at a time; a part configured to prevent, when the recording medium is remaining inside a main body of the image forming apparatus, the feeding from the single-sheet manual feed part from being started until output of the recording medium remaining inside the main body is completed; a straight output tray to which the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is conveyed straight and output; a part configured to prevent the feeding from the single-sheet manual feed part from being started when the recording medium output onto the straight output tray is remaining thereon; and a branch detection part configured to detect the recording medium, the branch detection part being provided at a branch part switching output to the straight output tray and output to an output tray onto which the recording medium with an image formed thereon is reversed and output, wherein the branch detection part also serves as a part to detect remaining of the recording medium output onto the straight out tray. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 8, further comprising: a shutter member configured to open and close a conveyance path from the single-sheet manual feed part, wherein the shutter member closes the conveyance path when the single-sheet manual feed part is prevented from starting feeding. ### Claim 10 An image forming apparatus, comprising: a single-sheet manual feed part for manually feeding a recording medium one sheet at a time; and a straight output tray onto which the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is output straight, the straight output tray being provided so as to be openable and closable, wherein when the recording medium is fed from the single-sheet manual feed part and an image is formed on the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part, the recording medium is output onto the straight output tray when the straight output tray is in a position where the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is outputtable onto the straight output tray, and the recording medium is output onto the single-sheet manual feed part when the straight output tray is in a position where the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is prevented from being output onto the straight output tray. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 10, further comprising: a part configured to output, in a case of performing the feeding from the single-sheet manual feed part, information encouraging an operation to open the straight output tray to a position where the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is outputtable onto the straight output tray. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 11, further comprising: a shutter member configured to open and close a conveyance path from the single-sheet manual feed part, wherein the shutter member opens the conveyance path when the straight output tray is opened to the position where the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is outputtable onto the straight output tray. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein: when the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is output onto the single-sheet manual feed part after the image is formed on the recording medium, and when the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is output onto the single-sheet manual feed part after the image is formed on the recording medium, a feed speed at a time of starting to feed the recording medium from the single-sheet manual feed part and a feed speed at a time of outputting the recording medium onto the single-sheet manual feed part are lower than a feed speed at a time of forming the image on the recording medium.