JP2003066790A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus in which power saving effect can be obtained without reducing the work efficiency in regard to the use of a power economizing mode. SOLUTION: In the image forming apparatus provided with a power economizing mode and a power saving mode for reducing consumed power, a means is provided to measure the state of use of the image forming apparatus during a specified time zone and the transiting condition to a power economizing mode is determined according to the measured result.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color copying machine having a power saving mode and a power saving mode for reducing power consumption,
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a color printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, an image is formed by thermally fixing a toner image transferred onto a recording sheet, and the temperature of the fixing roller is kept constant. A large amount of electric power is consumed even in the standby state by driving a cooling fan for cooling the above portion.

On the other hand, in recent years, from the viewpoint of resource saving and cost reduction, it has been desired to reduce the power consumption of electric equipment, and in the image forming apparatus, the power consumption of the fixing heater is reduced, the rotation of the polygon motor is stopped, and the like. A device having a function called a power saving mode for reducing power and a power saving mode has become common.

The transition condition to the power saving mode is set by the user in advance, and the power saving mode is set when the standby time during which the image forming apparatus is not performing the copying operation or the printing operation exceeds the setting time. Many are moving to.

[0005]

However, when many people use one image forming apparatus,
It is difficult to accurately grasp the usage status of the entire device, and the transition time to save power may be sensuously determined. In this case, if the transition time is set too short, the power saving state will often occur at the start of use, and it will be necessary to wait for the temperature of the fixing roller to rise each time it is restored, reducing work efficiency. Will end up. On the contrary, if the transition time is set too long, the standby time of the image forming apparatus becomes long, and the power saving effect cannot be obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of obtaining a power saving effect without lowering work efficiency when using a power saving mode. It is in.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus having a power saving mode for reducing power consumption and a power saving mode, in which the image forming apparatus is provided within a specific time zone. It has a means to measure the usage,
The feature is that the transition condition to the power saving mode is determined according to the measurement result.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

In the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, the main control section 1 performs each control of the image forming apparatus and plays a role of control means.
Is CPU2, ROM3, RAM4, backup RA
It consists of M5 and timer 6. CPU 2 is the main control unit 1
The center of the image forming apparatus is controlled according to a program stored in the ROM 3.

The ROM 3 is a read-only memory for storing programs to be executed by the CPU 2, and the RAM 4 is C
It is a read / write memory used as a work memory when the PU 2 performs various processes. Backup RA
M5 is a power supply OF for transmitting various data processed by the CPU.
It is a non-volatile RAM that retains even after F. The timer 6 is a time measuring unit that measures time in synchronization with the power supply frequency or the clock of the crystal oscillator. In bus 7, CPU2 is ROM3,
The parallel I / F 8 is a common data bus for exchanging data with the RAM 4 and the like, and the parallel I / F 8 is the bus 6 of the main control unit 1.
Is an interface for exchanging signals between the control device and each control device. The control device connected to the parallel I / F 8 includes an operation unit 9, a device drive system 10, an exposure / charging system 11, a paper feed / discharge system 12, and a fixing system 13, each of which is controlled by the CPU 2 through a driver.

Next, the power saving operation of this image forming apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, at the same time when the image forming apparatus is powered on, a timer value t1 for counting the waiting time of the image forming apparatus is started (S1). Then S
When there is a copy start command in 2, the image forming apparatus main body performs the copy operation, and at the same time, the timer 1 stops counting in the power saving processing unit (S3), and the timer value is incremented every 1 hour from the timer value t1. The average value t2 of t1 is calculated (S4). This average value t2 represents the average time from the end of copying until the next copy is performed.
This corresponds to the average waiting time of the image forming apparatus for each hour. When the copying is completed in S5, the timer 1 is reset and the counting is started again (S6).

On the other hand, when the copy start command is not issued after the power is turned on or after the copy is completed, the power saving time setting routine (S7) and the power saving start determination (S8) described later are executed at regular intervals. In S8, the timer value t1 is compared with the power saving start time t3 set in the power saving time setting routine. If the timer value t1 is smaller than the power saving start time t3, the standby state is maintained as it is, but the timer value t1 is saved. When it is longer than the start time t3, power saving operations such as temperature control of the fixing roller and power-off are performed.

Next, the power saving time setting routine will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the power saving time setting routine is started, first, the current time is checked and the buffer in the corresponding time zone is selected (S10). In the present embodiment, it is 2 every 1 hour.
Prepare 4 buffers.

One buffer stores the average standby time data t2 'when the previous day or the last time the image forming apparatus was activated at a corresponding time and the power saving start time data t3'.

In S11, when the selected buffer is different from the buffer selected in the previous power saving time setting routine, that is, when the buffer changes every hour, the buffer switching processing is performed as follows and the buffer is not switched. In that case, do nothing and exit the routine.

When the buffer is switched, the average waiting time data t2 'stored in the buffer in S12.
And the average waiting time data t2 newly calculated in S4 are compared, and if t2 ′> t2, the power saving start time t3
Is set to be longer than the power saving start time t3 ′ at the previous day or when the image forming apparatus was last started (S13), and t2 ′ <
If it is t2, the power saving start time t3 is set shorter than t3 '(S14).

By the processing of S13 and S14, if the standby time is longer than the previous day or the same time when the image forming apparatus was last booted, the power saving start time is set short, and if the standby time is short, the power saving start is started. You will have to set the time longer. The t2 and t3 thus obtained are replaced with t2 ′ and t3 ′ in the corresponding time zone buffer (S15),
Power saving start time t3 'in the buffer in the switched time zone
Is set as the power saving start time t3 of the new time zone (S16),
It will be used for the comparison in S8. Also, the value t of timer 1
Regarding 1 as well, it is reset because the time zone has been switched (S17), and a new counting is performed.

In the present embodiment, 24 buffers are prepared in 1-hour intervals. However, depending on the user's situation, the 1-hour interval may change depending on the day, but for larger categories, the usage status may vary. There may be cases where the difference in busy time is severe. In such a case, it is considered that the same effect can be obtained by dividing the time zone into four, that is, morning, afternoon, night, and midnight. In addition, a method of dividing the buffer for each day of the week may be considered in order to cope with the busy time difference in the usage status on the day of the week.

[0022]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in an image forming apparatus having a power saving mode for reducing power consumption and a power saving mode, the use of the image forming apparatus within a specific time zone Since a means for measuring the situation is provided and the transition condition to the power saving mode is determined according to the measurement result, it is possible to obtain the power saving effect without lowering the work efficiency when using the power saving mode.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a power saving mode transition processing procedure in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a power saving time setting routine in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Main control section 2 CPU 3 ROM 4 RAM 5 Backup RAM 6 timer 7 bus 8 parallel I / F 9 Operation part 10 Device drive system 11 Exposure / charging system 12 Paper supply / discharge system 13 Fixing system

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus having a power saving mode and a power saving mode for reducing power consumption, having means for measuring the usage status of the image forming apparatus within a specific time period, and depending on the measurement result. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the transition condition to the power saving mode is determined. 2. The means for measuring the use condition is to measure a waiting time from the end of the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus to the start of the image forming operation again. The image forming apparatus according to item 1. 3. The condition for shifting to the power saving mode is a predetermined time after the image forming apparatus finishes an image forming operation,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is means for determining that an operation related to an image forming operation has not been performed. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined time is determined by an average value of waiting times within a specific time zone. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a buffer for storing an average value of waiting time and a predetermined time for each specific time zone. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising means for updating the average value of the waiting time in the buffer and the predetermined time at regular intervals. 7. The updating means compares an average value of waiting times in the buffer with an average value of newly measured waiting times, and the average value of waiting times in the buffer is an average of newly measured waiting times. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein if the value is longer than the value, the predetermined time is set longer, and if the value is shorter, the predetermined time is set shorter.