JPH07175373A - Electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily judge the process, state, etc., of a fault in detail even in the case a faulty equipment is not on hand. CONSTITUTION:The nonvolatile memory of an EEPROM 33, etc., is disposed separately from a front ROM 32 in a memory card 4 constituted so as to be attachable/detachable to/from an image processor and incorporating a character font, etc. The CPU 22 of a device main body writes an equipment own number and initialization value stored in an EEPROM 29 in an initialization area of the EEPROM 33, when the memory card 4 is loaded and the device main body is first energized, and writes the operating state information of the device main body generated from its calendar timer 25, I/O port 27, A/D converter 31, etc., in the normal operating area of the EEPROM 33 during the energization. When abnormality occurs, abnormality occurrence information is written in the abnormality occurrence area of the EEPROM 33. The operating state information consists of an energization history, a data and time, a user operation history, etc., at the time of initialization and stationary running, and the abnormality occurrence information consists of the abnormality of an exposure, a power source, control, a driving system, fixed, the paper feeding or the like.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device in which a memory card for storing information indicating an abnormality of an apparatus main body and an operating condition at the time of occurrence of the abnormality is removable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when an abnormality occurs in a copying machine, an electrophotographic printer, or the like that is in operation, the abnormality is displayed and notified on a display panel of the main body of the apparatus. Normally, the types of abnormalities that can be recovered by the user's processing such as paper jams and toner exhaustion (operator calls), and abnormalities that require repairs by a serviceman (serviceman calls)
In case of abnormality, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b) and (c), the type of error that occurred is displayed together with the alarm display. FIG. 3A shows an example of a display panel in which display lamps are arranged for each type of abnormality, and English characters indicating the details of the abnormality are previously displayed above each lamp. In the example shown in the figure, the lamp below "JAM" is lit to notify that a paper jam has occurred. Same figure
(b) is an example of a display panel including a liquid crystal display device. In the example of the figure, "Service call 123" is displayed to inform that a service person needs repair. Figure (c) is an example of a display panel that shows the details of an abnormality with pictograms. In the example of the figure, the picture of the spanner is lit, and this also notifies that the service person needs to repair the same as above.

Generally, for an operator call, the user takes measures for canceling the abnormality in accordance with an operation manual or the like. If the error is not cleared, a serviceman call will be displayed and all processing will stop.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned abnormality display is a temporary display and disappears or reoccurs depending on the processing content by the user. Alternatively, a user who is unfamiliar with the device may operate the device indiscriminately and develops into another abnormality. Further, these abnormalities have a drawback that no history of the abnormalities remains after the power is turned off. Therefore, there is a problem that the user or the service person cannot surely grasp the exact situation or contents of the abnormality. In particular, since the user is not an expert in the device, it is not always possible to make a situational decision on an operator call, to know the process of occurrence of an abnormality, and to take corrective action after the fact.

There are various causes of the abnormality occurrence. For example, in the case of an apparatus in which paper jams occur frequently, which one of APF, cassette and manual feeding is used as the paper feeding method, and the paper size is A4 or B4. , B5, etc., and which part of the paper feed unit, the standby unit, the transport unit, the paper ejection unit, etc., the abnormality occurs in. Depending on what is known or not, there will be a big difference in response to the abnormality in terms of time and effort. Further, in addition to the above, information such as whether the abnormality occurs when the cassette is inserted, when the last sheet is fed, or how often the abnormality occurs is about every number of sheets is an important clue for solving the abnormality.

However, since the user usually does not remember the situation at the time of occurrence of such an abnormality, a serviceman who arrives at the user for repairing the abnormality often makes a situation diagnosis by repeating trial and error. However, there is a problem in that the failure is reproduced and the cause of the abnormality is searched for, which consumes a large amount of time until the repair is completed and reduces the efficiency of the repair work.

Not only in the case of such a large-sized device, but also in a low-priced page printer which does not have an LCD display such as a certain type of printer which has recently been marketed, since there is no display device, a more abnormal type is generated. Has become difficult to judge. In the case of a device mainly used for personal use as described above, there is also a problem that the user has to carry the device to the service center at the time of failure, which is troublesome.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device which enables detailed and simple determination of a failure process and situation without having to check the failed device at hand.

[0009]

The structure of an electronic device according to the present invention will be described below. The electronic device of the present invention includes a non-volatile storage means in a memory built in a memory card that is detachably attached to the device body, and an operation status that generates information indicating an operation status of the device body in the device body. The information generating means, the abnormality occurrence information generating means for recognizing an abnormality occurring in the apparatus body and generating abnormality occurrence information, and the abnormality occurrence information generated by the abnormality occurrence information generating means by the operation status information generating means. A writing control unit that writes the operation status information in the generated non-volatile storage unit together with the operation status information in the vicinity of the time when the abnormality occurs in the generated operation status information.

The non-volatile storage means is, for example, an EEPROM (electrically erasable pr) with a built-in memory card.
ogrammable ROM). Of course, it may be a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) with a backup power supply. The operation status information generating means and the abnormality occurrence information generating means of the apparatus body are, for example, EEPRO.
The control means is a CPU (Central Process).
ssing Unit) etc.

[0011]

The present invention provides a non-volatile storage means included in the memory of a memory card detachably attached to the apparatus main body.
The abnormality occurrence information generated by the abnormality occurrence information generating means is written by the writing control means together with the operation status information at the time when the abnormality occurs in the operation status information generated by the operation status information generating means.

Thus, by simply reading the data written in the non-volatile storage means of the memory card, detailed diagnosis of abnormality of the apparatus body can be easily performed without directly examining the apparatus body.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a unit configuration inside the printer according to the embodiment. In FIG. 1, the printer body 1 is roughly divided into a body fixing portion 2 and a roof movable portion 3. The memory card 4 is connected to the controller 8 of the main body fixing unit 2 by a connector (socket).
It is removably connected via the parallel interface 6. The memory card 4 inputs a memory control signal from the printer body 1 via the controller 8, stores the transmitted operation data and the like, and outputs character font data and the like to the printer body 1. Further, the host computer 5 is connected to the controller 8 of the main body fixing unit 2 via an interface cable 7 such as Centronics or RS-232C. The host computer 5 exchanges transmission control signals and print data with the printer body 1.

The controller 8 serves both as a printer controller for controlling each unit of the printer engine and as an interface controller for controlling input image data (print data) input from the host computer 5, and a signal line 9 is used. It is connected to each unit and controls each of these units.

On the other hand, from the above units connected to the controller 8 via the signal line 9, the controller 8
Enter status information for each. That is, first, the power supply unit 10 includes a power switch (not shown), and supplies a specified DC voltage to the controller 8 and each unit based on the switch-on operation. Next, the automatic paper feeder (APF) 11 is configured to be detachable from the printer main body 1 and supplies paper other than commonly used paper such as colored paper and postcards. Information is output to the controller 8 and controlled by the controller 8. Further, the drive unit 12 drives the respective units that perform electrophotographic processing, such as rotation and rotation, by a motor, a clutch, a solenoid, etc., to execute sheet feeding, conveyance, unloading, etc., and respond to these operation commands. When an abnormal lock occurs, an alarm signal is transferred to the controller 8. Further, the paper feed cassettes 14 and 15 can feed paper of different paper sizes, and the paper size sensor and the paper presence / absence sensor (not shown) transmit the presence / absence information of the paper and the cassette loading / unloading information to the controller 8.

The high-voltage unit 13 is a unit that generates a high-voltage output for the charger under the control of the controller 8. The high-voltage output is a process unit 17 for each timing of the high-voltage sequence of electrophotographic processing such as image formation and transfer.
Supply to.

The process unit 17 includes a photosensitive drum,
Equipped with a charging device consisting of a charging roll or a charging brush, a developer (toner), a developing device such as a developing roll, and a toner recycling mechanism for cleaning residual toner after development. Information, the amount of toner, information on the replacement (new) of the photosensitive drum, etc. are transmitted to the controller 8.

JAM sensor 16 (paper passage detection sensor)
Are arranged at various places in the paper transport system that perform paper feeding, standby, transportation, paper ejection, etc., detect the passage of the paper, and transmit the paper passage availability information to the controller 8.

The exposure head 18 is disposed on the roof movable portion 3 above the main body, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum of the process unit 17 by exposure. Roof movable part 3
Has a structure that can be opened at the time of jam processing, toner replenishment, etc. At that time, the exposure head 18 rotates together with the roof movable portion 3.

In the fixing unit 20, the fixing temperature is controlled by the controller 8 on the one hand, and the temperature of the heat fixing heater is detected by the temperature sensor (not shown) on the other hand,
The normal / abnormal information of the temperature is output to the controller 8.

The cooling fan 19 is a fan for keeping the internal temperature of the apparatus at room temperature against heat generated by the fixing unit 20, the power supply unit 10 and other units, and is controlled by the controller 8 and, for example, a FAN lock, FA
A fan abnormality detection signal such as an N alarm is output to the controller 8.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the one-chip microprocessor (or ASiC) in the controller 8 and the memory card 4. In the figure, C in the one-chip microprocessor 21
The PU 22 includes a ROM 24, a calendar timer 25, a timer 26, an I / O port 27, an RA via a bus line 23.
It controls the M28, the EEPROM 29, the buffer 30, the A / D converter 31, and the like.

The ROM 24 stores an operation program for the controller 8. The controller 8
It operates based on an operation program sequentially read from the ROM 24 to control each unit.

The calendar timer 25 is a clock that is always energized by a battery backup (not shown) and operates, and outputs "year, month, day, hour, minute" data to the CPU 22 via the bus line 23.

The timer 26 is an interval timer having a hardware configuration, and sequentially notifies the CPU 22 of the elapse of a designated time interval required for the operation of the controller 8. I / O
The port 27 is an output port for controlling each unit shown in FIG. 2 and an input port for inputting signals from various sensors.

The RAM 28 is used by the CPU 22 as various registers and a stack pointer, and is also used as a soft timer counter for integrating energization time. E
The EPROM 29 stores a model number, a manufacturing number, various initial setting values, and various counter values.

The A / D converter 31 converts an analog amount such as temperature and voltage input from a sensor or the like into 8-bit digital data, and the CPU via the bus 23.
22 is output. The CPU 22 uses these digital data for temperature detection, various voltage detection, toner temperature detection, and the like.

On the other hand, the memory card 4 has a built-in EEPROM 33 as a rewritable non-volatile memory element in addition to the ROM 32 containing a print font (CG) and the like, and the one chip of the controller 8 through the parallel interface 6. It is connected to the buffer 30 of the microprocessor 21. The buffer 30 may be omitted. In that case, the CPU 22 uses a bus buffer between the external memory and the CPU, and the ROM of the memory card 4 via the bus 23 and the parallel interface 6.
32, and controls the EEPROM 33.

All the operating condition data of the printer body 1 used for the failure diagnosis are written in the EEPROM 33 of the memory card 4 under the control of the CPU 22. FIG. 3 shows the structure of data written in the EEPROM 33. As shown in the figure, in the EEPROM 33, the initial address area from the head address "0000", the normal operation area from the address "A1", and the abnormality occurrence area from the address "A2" are set.

"Initial" in the initial area indicates when the memory card 4 is inserted into the printer main body 1 and the first energization (power-on) is performed.
Initial information at this point is written in the initial area. Also, the normal operation in the normal operation area is
It shows that the printer is energized and the printing operation is performed. Various operation status information of this period is written in the normal operation area. This normal operation area is subdivided into a number of areas corresponding to various operations, and each of these subdivided areas is
When an overflow occurs, except for the number-of-prints data described later, the oldest data is sequentially updated by the first-in first-out method, and the operation status information of the latest period is always stored. Then, in the abnormality occurrence area, abnormality information at the time when any of the various abnormalities described later occurs and operation status information at the time of the abnormality occurrence are written.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the above-mentioned abnormality information and operation status information. The columns shown in the figure are, in order from the left end, a "No." column that represents an information number, an "item" column that represents an information name, a "contents" column that represents information content, and a "memory access" that represents when the CPU 22 accesses. Each column is shown.

The memory access column is further divided into an "initial time" column, a "normal operation" column, and an "abnormality occurrence" column corresponding to the time when the CPU 22 accesses each of the above items (information). ing. These three columns correspond to the initial area from the address "0000", the normal operation area from the address "A1", and the abnormality occurrence area from the address "A2" shown in FIG. 3, respectively.

Further, the △ and ○ marks in the memory access column are
Writing or rewriting (updating of a counter or the like) of the area of the EEPROM 33 is indicated, and blanks indicate the EEPROM.
33 indicates that the CPU 22 is not operating. Further, the above-mentioned Δ mark and ○ mark indicate the time when the CPU 22 makes an access and the method of holding the accessed data. The ∘ mark indicates data at a certain time point, and the Δ mark indicates generation data or accumulated data for a predetermined latest period, for example, one month or two months.

Next, the information content will be described for each of the above items.
No. The device unique number 1 and the initial setting value are information such as the model number of the printer body 1, the manufacturing number, and the ROM version, and the initial setting value such as the head exposure amount, the tip setting value, and the specification setting data. These pieces of information are transferred from the EEPROM 29 of the controller 8 to the EEP of the memory card 4.
It is copied to the ROM 33. When the memory card 4 is continuously used for the same printer body 1, the item No. The CPU 22 checks the contents of 1 and if they are the same, the contents are not written and the operation proceeds to the next operation.

No. The energization history of 2 is POWER ON
(Power-on) Date and time, energization time accumulated value, POWER ON
/ OFF (power on / off) number of times. This information is for the latest period corresponding to the size of the writing area,
It is recorded sequentially.

No. The date and time of 3 are calendar timer data, and are the date and time at the time of initial, power-on at the time of normal operation, switching from standby for operation preparation to standby state, printing, and other operations (when status changes). The date and time information is, for example, when the paper feeding method is changed, when the paper size is changed, when the amount of toner density changes more than a specified value, when the roof movable portion 3 is opened, and when the process unit is taken in and out.

No. The number of printed sheets of 4 is the total number of printed sheets, the number of sheets for each paper size, the number of consumed photoreceptors (a drum counter value for knowing the allowable frequency of use of the photoreceptors), and the like. No. 5
The paper feed / paper is the paper feed cassette number used, automatic paper feed (APF), paper feed method information such as manual paper feed, and A
Paper size information such as 3, B4, letter, legal, and A4.

No. The developer of No. 6 is information such as the toner amount, the toner concentration, and the toner replenishment frequency. No. The fixing control of 7 is information such as a fixing temperature, a sleep temperature (a temperature when only the power source is on and not in use), a standby temperature (a temperature at the time when the preparation for starting the printing operation has been reached, and the completion).

The above No. 2 to No. The data in the normal operation 7 is data that gives an important clue for early detection of the cause of the abnormality because the operating state of the printer main body 1 before the occurrence of the abnormality can be known. When an abnormality occurs, the above No. 2 to No. No. 7 out of 7 No. 2 date / time data and No. The data at the time of the abnormality occurrence of the energization history data of No. 3 are written in the respective predetermined areas of the abnormality occurrence area. This can be useful for investigating the cause, for example, in the case where the printer body 1 is continuously used as it is after a small abnormality has occurred and a large failure has occurred.

Next, No. The exposure abnormality of 8 includes a head lighting abnormality and a head heating abnormality. In the case of a head lighting abnormality, for example, in the case of an LED head, all dots of the LED head are turned on, and the current consumption at the time of lighting is compared with an initial value (normal value). If it is below, it is determined to be abnormal (there are defective dots or the light amount is reduced). Further, the head heating abnormality is detected when the temperature of the heat dissipation plate of the head body is detected by a thermistor or the like and is higher than a specified value.

No. For the power supply abnormality of 9, the controller 8
Assuming that the power supply (for example, 24V) is normal,
There are overcurrent, overheat, and voltage drop. The overcurrent is detected by changing a specific bit of the input port of the CPU 22 in the controller 8 when the load of the motor or the like becomes an overcurrent and the fuse is blown. The overheat is detected by the A / D converter 31 as an output from a temperature detection element such as a thermistor arranged in the power supply section. The voltage drop is
The voltage drop is detected via the A / D converter 31.

No. The control abnormality of 10 includes an engine controller abnormality and an interface controller abnormality. As for the engine controller abnormality, a read / write abnormality is detected by a memory check in the controller 8 by an initial check program when the power is turned on. As for the interface controller abnormality, the data transfer abnormality or the like is detected by the memory check in the same manner as above.

No. The drive system abnormality 11 includes motor lock, motor control abnormality, motor overheating, clutch / solenoid abnormality, and the like. If the motor does not rotate in response to the motor start command from the controller 8,
It is detected by stopping the output of the rotation detector. The motor control abnormality is judged to be abnormal when the output of the rotation detector does not show the specified rotation speed during rotation. When the motor is overheated, the output of a temperature detection element such as a thermistor mounted on the motor unit is detected via the A / D converter 31. The clutch / solenoid abnormality is detected by reading the disconnection of the overcurrent protection element (fuse or the like) of the clutch / solenoid driving driver (transistor) at the input port of the CPU 22.

No. The high-voltage abnormality 12 is detected by detecting the current or voltage at each time point that appears during processing such as charging, biasing, developing, and transferring, and if this current or voltage is outside the specified value, it is determined to be abnormal.

No. For the fixing abnormality of 13, heater disconnection,
Or, there is a fixing temperature control error due to the thermistor disconnection (or short circuit). Regarding the heater disconnection, when the controller 8 outputs a heater-on signal, the temperature of the fixing roller is detected by the thermistor, and if the temperature of the fixing roller does not rise (Ready (“ready”) within a certain time during warm-up) Case), disconnect the heater. On the other hand, for the thermistor disconnection (or short circuit), the resistance value of the thermistor is detected via the A / D converter 31, and when the thermistor input to the A / D converter 31 is 0 V (or power supply voltage), it is determined to be abnormal.

No. The fan abnormality of 14 includes cooling fan lock. When the cooling fan is stopped due to an abnormality during rotation, a rotation detection sensor such as a hall element provided inside the fan detects the lock of the fan and notifies the input port of the controller 8.

No. The paper path abnormality of 15 includes a paper feed jam, a standby jam, a conveyance jam, a paper discharge jam, and the number of jams. The paper feed jam is a case where the standby sensor does not detect the paper after a predetermined time has elapsed after the paper feed is started. The standby jam and the conveyance jam are cases in which the sheet does not reach the discharge sensor after a certain time passes after passing through the standby sensor. The paper discharge jam is a case where the paper discharge sensor is turned on and then is not turned off after a predetermined time. As for the number of jam occurrences, a value obtained by adding one count to each occurrence of the jam is stored and it is determined whether the jam is normal or abnormal.

The above No. 8 to No. 15 abnormal information,
At the time of occurrence of an abnormality, it is written in the abnormality occurrence area of the EEPROM 33 (see address A2 in FIG. 3). Then, N
o. 16-No. Reference numeral 19 is user operation history information.

No. The number of times the roof is opened 16 is that the CPU 22 detects a roof open signal (power + 24V of the roof movable portion 3 is turned off when the roof movable portion 3 is opened) notified to the controller 8 when the roof movable portion 3 is opened,
This count is accumulated.

No. The number of times 17 process units (drum set / toner set) are taken in and out is accumulated by the CPU 22 of the controller 8 counting the ON / OFF output of the process unit presence / absence detection sensor.

No. The CPU 22 of the controller 8 counts the ON / OFF output of the paper feed cassette presence / absence detection sensor and accumulates the number of times the paper feed cassette 18 is taken in and out.
No. The number 19 of test prints is obtained by accumulating the number of test prints (the number of prints) according to a print format preset in the controller 8.

The above No. 16-No. The 19 user operation history information (data) is also written in a predetermined area of the abnormality occurrence area when the abnormality occurs. In this way, various latest operation status information at the time of occurrence of the abnormality is written in the EEPROM 33 of the memory card 4 as the failure information of the printer body 1 together with the abnormality information.

FIG. 5 shows the printer body 1 as described above.
7 is a flowchart of a processing operation by a CPU 22 in the one-chip microprocessor 21 in the controller 8 that writes failure information to the memory card 4 during use. Hereinafter, the processing operation of the CPU 22 will be described with reference to FIG.

When the memory card 4 is inserted into the printer body 1 and the printer body 1 is energized by the power switch, the CPU 22 detects that the memory card 4 is attached to the printer body 1 and inserts the memory card 4. Is recognized (step S1), and subsequently, power is input to the printer body 1 (step S2), and the following processing is started.

First, the one-chip microprocessor 2
The initial data written in the EEPROM 29 in 1 is compared with the initial data written in the initial area of the EEPROM 33 of the memory card 4 (see item 1 and item 3 in FIG. 4), and both initial data are compared. It is determined whether or not match (step S3).

If both the initial data do not match in this determination (S3 is N), the initial data of the EEPROM 29 is transferred to the EEPROM 33 of the memory card 4.
(Step S4). As a result, the device unique number of the printer body 1 and the initial setting values are stored in the memory card 4.
Memorized in.

On the other hand, when both initial data match (Y in S3), step S4 is not performed and
Printer body 1 ready for printing (READY)
It is determined whether or not (step S5). In this processing, a signal input from each sensor or the like via the I / O port 27 or a signal input from the A / D converter 31 causes any of the abnormalities shown in item 9 or item 14 in FIG. This is a process for determining whether or not it is indicated.

When no abnormality has occurred, (S
5 is Y), the normal operation data is EEPR of the memory card 4.
Write in the normal operation area of OM33 (step S
6). As a result, the energization history and date / time data are stored in the memory card 4 (items 2 and 3 in FIG. 3).
See).

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not printing has started (step S7). This process is a process of detecting an input operation signal from the print switch of the operation panel. If printing has not started yet (N in S7), the process returns to step S5. Thus, when the operation of the printer body 1 is normal, step S6 is repeated, and the energization history is stored in the memory card 4 in time series together with the date / time data.

If printing is started in step S7 (Y in S7), it is determined whether the printing is normally performed (step S8). This process is I / O
It is shown that the signal input from each sensor or the like via the port 27 or the signal input from the A / D converter 31 has any one of the abnormalities shown in item 8 to item 15 of FIG. This is a process of determining whether or not

If there is no abnormality (Y in S8), the normal operation data is written in the normal operation area of the EEPROM 33 of the memory card 4 (step S9), and the process returns to step S5. At this time, the normal operation data written in step S9 is data relating to the number of prints, paper feed / paper, developer, fixing control, etc. (see items 3 to 7 in FIG. 3).

On the other hand, in step S8, if there is an abnormality (N in S8), the abnormal data is EE of the memory card 4.
Write in the abnormal area of PROM 33 (step S
10). In this processing, in addition to the abnormal data of the item that has become abnormal in any of items 8 to 15 in FIG. 4, the energization history and the date / time data at the abnormal time point are stored in the EEPROM 33.
Is written in a predetermined area of the abnormal area.

Then, for a predetermined period from the occurrence of the above abnormality,
It is determined whether or not the user has operated the roof movable part 3, the process unit 17 in / out, the paper feed cassette 14 or 15 in / out, or test printing (see items 16 to 19 in FIG. 4) ( Step S1
1) If no operation has been performed (N in S11), the power of the printer body 1 is turned off and the process is terminated.

As described above, when an abnormality occurs, the latest information of the normal operation for a predetermined period until immediately before the abnormality is stored in the memory card 4 as failure information together with the abnormality data.
If the user does not operate for a certain period, the power of the printer body 1 is automatically cut off and the printer body 1 is stopped.

If the user's operation is performed in step S11 (S11 is Y), the operation data is written in a predetermined area of the abnormality occurrence area of the EEPROM 33 (step S12), and the process returns to step S5. As a result, the action taken by the user at the time of occurrence of an abnormality is stored in the memory card 4, and when the abnormality is repaired by the action, the paper feed cassette 14 or 15 is taken in and out due to, for example, a paper jam error, and the paper is removed. If it is replenished, in step S5, it is determined that the printing is ready, and the normal operation is restarted.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that the print preparation is not ready, then again in step S1.
At 0, the abnormality data, the energization history, and the date / time data are written again in the abnormality occurrence area of the EEPROM 33. At step S11, it is confirmed that the user is no longer operating, and at step S13, the printer main body 1 The power is turned off and the process ends.

As described above, when an abnormality occurs and the abnormality is not recovered even by the user's operation, not only the abnormal data and the latest information of the normal operation but also the user's operation at the time of the abnormality are stored in the memory as failure information. It is stored in the card 4.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a failure display device for reading the contents of the memory card 4 in which the failure information is written in this way. As shown in the figure, the EEPROM 33 of the memory card 4 in which the failure information is written,
It is connected to the buffer 43 of the one-chip microprocessor 42 in the failure display device 41 via the bus line 40 connected by the connector. This buffer 43 is connected to the CPU 45 via a bus line 44, and this CP
In U45, in addition to the buffer 43, the bus line 44
ROM 46, RAM 47, and I / O port 4 via
8 is connected. The I / O port 48 has a display 49 having a display including a liquid crystal display device and a keyboard having simple operation keys via a signal line.
Are connected. In the ROM 46, the CPU 45
A program for reading the failure information (data) from the EEPROM 33 and displaying the data on the display 49 is stored in the.

The fault information written in the EEPROM 33 of the memory card 4 is sent to the CP via the bus line 44.
It is read by U45 and the failure state is determined.
The result of this determination is output to the display 49 via the I / O port 48, and is displayed on the display of the display 49 as character and numerical information. This display content can be selected by inputting an operation key using the keyboard of the display 49, and not only the abnormal data but also the latest operating condition data for a certain period at the time of the abnormal occurrence, and further the user before and after the abnormal occurrence. It is also possible to know data indicating what kind of operation was performed. As a result, even if the printer body 1 is not at hand, if the memory card 4 alone is present, the printer body 1
You can know exactly the situation of the breakdown.

[0070]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the failure status of a device can be determined in detail and easily, so that the repair work for the failure can be speeded up and the work efficiency can be improved. In addition, since the abnormality (failure) of the device can be analyzed and repairs can be prepared just by passing the memory card to a service person or a service center, not only the labor of both the user and the service person can be saved, but also the transportation fee of the device etc. Can be reduced and become economical. In addition, it is convenient for users of different nationalities, because it is not necessary for the user to explain the failure. In addition, since detailed failure diagnosis can be performed even with a device that does not have a character display section, the repair work efficiency of low-priced devices can be improved without spending unnecessary time for failure investigation. In addition, since various data related to failures can be stored in the memory, it is easy for device manufacturers to keep the failure data confidential and ensure the security of corporate confidentiality, as well as facilitate the statistics of market data. It is convenient because it can be used for complaint measures and reliability design of the next model.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a memory card and a one-chip microprocessor (or ASiC) in a controller.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a unit configuration inside a printer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data structure of an EEPROM of a memory card.

FIG. 4 is a chart for explaining abnormality information and operation status information.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a processing operation by a CPU in a microprocessor of a controller that writes failure information to a memory card.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a failure display device for reading the contents of a memory card.

7 (a), (b) and (c) are diagrams showing an example of a conventional abnormality display of a main body apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Printer Main Body 2 Main Body Fixed Section 4 Memory Card 5 Host Computer 6 Parallel Interface 7 Interface Cable 8 Controller 9 Signal Line 10 Power Supply Unit 11 Automatic Paper Feeder (APF) 12 Drive Unit 13 High Pressure Unit 14, 15 Paper Feed Cassette 16 JAM Sensor (Paper passage detection sensor) 17 Process unit 18 Exposure head 19 Cooling fan 20 Fixing unit 21 One-chip microprocessor 22 CPU 23 Bus line 24 ROM 25 Calendar timer 26 Timer 27 I / O port 28 RAM 29 EEPROM 30 Buffer 31 A / D converter 32 ROM of memory card 33 EPROM of memory card 4 Bus line 35 Failure display device 36 One-chip microprocessor 37 Ffa 38 CPU 39 bus lines 40 ROM 41 RAM 42 I / O port 43 indicator

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Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An operation status information including a non-volatile storage means in a memory incorporated in a memory card configured to be attachable to and detachable from the apparatus main body, and generating information indicating an operation status of the apparatus main body in the apparatus main body. Generating means, abnormality occurrence information generating means for recognizing an abnormality occurring in the main body of the apparatus and generating abnormality occurrence information, and abnormality occurrence information generated by the abnormality occurrence information generating means by the operation status information generating means. An electronic device, comprising: write control means for writing the operation status information in the nonvolatile storage means, together with the operation status information in the vicinity of the time when an abnormality occurs in the generated operation status information.