JP2001253152A - Digital combined unit with uninterruptible power supply and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a combined unit and its control method whereby a power supply time of an uninterruptible power supply can be extended and a system of the combined unit can be maintained. SOLUTION: In this combined unit with a printer function of a thermal fixing system connected to the uninterruptible power supply, a printing command is not executed when power is supplied from the uninterruptible power supply.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a copy function and an additional function such as a printer function and
The present invention relates to a digital multifunction peripheral having an AX function and a control method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent computer systems, functions have been decentralized by downsizing, and the number of cases in which processing conventionally performed on a mainframe is replaced by a plurality of workstations or used in a distributed network configuration has increased. For example, a UNIX (registered trademark) machine is very delicate with respect to a power supply failure, and data may be destroyed in the event of a power supply failure such as a power failure. In order to avoid power troubles and prevent data corruption, the number of machines connected to an uninterruptible power supply is increasing. In a multifunction peripheral having a function such as a facsimile apparatus or a facsimile / printer / copy function, an uninterruptible power supply is increasingly connected in order to prevent troubles in facsimile reception. As such a multifunction machine, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos.
186968 and the like.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a multifunction machine connected to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), which turns off a fixing heater which consumes a large amount of power when a commercial power supply is stopped. An object of the present invention is to maintain the system by prohibiting output processing such as a print mode, thereby reducing power consumption and extending the supply time of the UPS.

It is another object of the present invention to notify a user that the system is operating on a UPS and that no printout is performed to maintain the system. Also, the present invention provides a UPS
A mode is provided for enabling print output forcibly as needed by the user even during power supply from the printer.

It is a further object of the present invention to maintain print data in the memory of the apparatus during power supply from the UPS so that print output after power recovery can be performed smoothly.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital multifunction peripheral with an uninterruptible power supply, the multifunction peripheral having a printer function of a thermal fixing system connected to the uninterruptible power supply. The print command is not executed when power is supplied.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital multifunction peripheral with an uninterruptible power supply, wherein the multifunction peripheral does not execute a printer command by turning off a halogen heater.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the digital multifunction peripheral with an uninterruptible power supply according to the first or second aspect, when power is supplied from the uninterruptible power supply, the host notifies the host of a reason for not executing a print command. It is characterized by.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital multifunction peripheral with an uninterruptible power supply according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the multifunction peripheral is supplied with power from a power supply of an uninterruptible power supply. A mode for forcibly executing print output is provided.

A digital multifunction peripheral with an uninterruptible power supply according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is a multifunction peripheral having a printer function of a thermal fixing system connected to the uninterruptible power supply when power is supplied from the uninterruptible power supply. In addition, data is held in a memory device without executing an instruction.

A control method of a digital multi-function peripheral according to a sixth aspect is a control method for supplying power from an uninterruptible power supply of a multi-function peripheral having a printer function of a thermal fixing system connected to the uninterruptible power supply. Data is held without executing a print command.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the method of controlling a digital multifunction peripheral, the UPS is operated by the operation of the uninterruptible power supply after the power is turned off.
After entering the mode, it is checked whether or not the UPS mode has been released. When the UPS mode is maintained, the fixing heater is stopped, the status after confirming the printer access is displayed, and a print command or a forced print command is displayed. When there is, data is printed out or data is received and stored.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an example of a block diagram showing a configuration of the digital multifunction peripheral. The control of the multifunction machine main body includes an operation controller 500 that performs display of liquid crystal, LED, and the like and various key input controls, and a main controller 501 that performs process control such as sheet feeding, conveyance, and fixing.
And a scanner controller 5 for controlling image reading
02 and A from the signal from the image reading controller
An ADF controller 503 for performing DF control, a sorter controller 504 for controlling a sorter, a print unit 505 for feeding / conveying and forming an image of a transfer sheet according to an instruction from a main controller, and a FAX transmission / reception management and a file management. FAX controller 507 to perform and G3
Controller 508 for performing protocol control, G4 controller 509 for performing protocol control, memory device 510 for storing files, and printer controller 5 for receiving print commands from a personal computer or the like.
11 and a memory device 512 for temporarily storing image data
A fixing unit 513 for controlling the fixing heater, and a power supply 514 for supplying power to the main controller and peripheral devices.
It is composed of

At the time of facsimile reception / printing, data sent from the line is transmitted to the facsimile controller 507 via the g3 controller 508 (or g4 controller 509).
Sent to The data stored in the FAX controller is transferred to the main controller 501 and after image processing,
The print control is passed to the write control and printing is performed.

Image data sent from a personal computer or the like is transferred to a main controller 501 via a printer controller 511, and after image processing, passed to a write control for printing. According to the invention described in claim 5, the transmitted image data is stored in the memory device such as a hard disk, and the output process is performed after the power is restored.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the UPS. As shown in FIG. 2, the input section of the UPS 200 is connected to a commercial power supply 210. When the commercial power supply 210 is normal, the rectifier 201 and the inverter 202 are synchronized with the commercial power supply.
Supplies a stable power to the load (here, the multifunction peripheral). At the same time, if the storage battery 203 is not charged, charging is performed.

When an abnormality such as a power failure occurs in the commercial power supply 210, the electric power charged in the storage battery 203 is transferred to the inverter 202.
And supplies power to the multifunction peripheral 100. At this time, a power failure signal is simultaneously transmitted to the load (multifunction peripheral).
FIG. 3 shows a control example at the time of a power failure of the multifunction peripheral connected to the UPS according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the multifunction peripheral 100 receives a battery output signal (hereinafter, an abnormal signal) due to a commercial power supply abnormality from the UPS, the current operation state of the multifunction peripheral is confirmed, and the multifunction peripheral 100 enters a standby state. In this case, the fixing heater is turned off to reduce power consumption (hereinafter, referred to as UPS mode). In particular, the present invention is characterized in that a halogen heater serving as a fixing heater is turned off and a printer command is not executed. Since such a fixing heater is turned off, functions such as printing cannot be used. In the case where processing such as copying, transmission / reception is being performed, the processing shifts to the above-described operation state after the processing is completed.

After a transition to the fixing-off state, if a fax is received, a receiving process is executed. After the processing is performed, the fixing heater is returned to the off state. Check for an abnormal signal, and if the abnormal signal is cleared, return to normal control. Since printers and outputs are generally less responsive than faxes,
Operation is disabled.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the host accesses the apparatus in the UPS mode, the UPS notifies the user that the Simtem is being maintained and the printout is not possible.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, after the notification,
A forced output mode is provided to cope with a case where urgency is required even in a print disabled state, and when the forced output mode is selected, print output is executed, and after the processing is completed, the process returns to the UPS mode.

FIG. 4 shows another example of control at the time of a power failure of the multifunction peripheral of the present invention connected to the UPS in the present invention. When the print function is accessed in the UPS mode, the print function is disabled, the received data is stored in the memory, and a notification is given that the printout is to be performed after the commercial power supply is restored.

If the print execution command after the notification is met, the received data is stored in a memory device such as a hard disk. The saved data is automatically printed out after the commercial power is restored.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the uninterruptible power supply confirms that the UPS is in the UPS mode after the power is turned off (step S1), as shown in FIG.
After confirming whether the PS mode has been canceled (step S
2) While the mode is maintained, the fixing heater is stopped (step S2 → S3). If a printer access occurs during the mode (step S4), the status is displayed (step S4 → S5), and it is determined whether the print command is a forced print command (step S6). Print out (Step S
6 → S7), if not forced printing, step S2
And the same processing is performed thereafter.

As shown in FIG. 4, when it is confirmed that the UPS is in the UPS mode by the operation of the uninterruptible power supply after the power is turned off (step S10), it is confirmed whether or not the UPS mode is released (step S11). ), The fixing heater is stopped while the mode is maintained (step S11 → step S12). If a printer access occurs during the mode (step S13), the status is displayed (step S13 → step S14), and if there is a print command (step S15), the data is received (step S15 → S16) and stored. Then, the process returns to step S11, and thereafter, the same processing is performed as described above.

In the present invention, step S6 shown in FIG. 3 is replaced with step S6 shown in the flowcharts of FIGS.
6 and step S15 can be combined into a new step S6 ′ described below. That is, it is determined whether or not the print command is a forced print command (Step S).
6 '), print out when a forced print command is issued (step S6' → S7), and when not for forced print (step S6 '), receive as data (step S6').
6 ′ → S16) Store and save, and then, in step S
Returning to 2, the same processing is performed as described above.

[0027]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a multifunction peripheral connected to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), when the commercial power supply is stopped, a fixing heater which consumes a large amount of power is turned off and output processing such as a print mode is prohibited. Thus, the power consumption is reduced, the supply time of the UPS is extended, and the system is maintained. In particular, the second aspect is characterized in that the halogen heater serving as the fixing heater is turned off and the printer command is not executed, so that the above-mentioned effect is remarkable.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the user is notified that the system is operating on the UPS and the printout is not performed for maintaining the system, so that the user becomes friendly and the operability can be further improved. .

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a mode is provided for forcibly enabling a print output as required by the user even when the power is supplied from the UPS, so that it is possible to immediately respond when urgency is required. be able to.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, while power is supplied from the UPS, the print data is held in the memory of the apparatus, so that the print output after the power is restored can be smoothly performed. The time can be reduced, and the operability can be improved.

According to the present invention, the data is held without executing the print command.
The power consumption of the PS can be further increased.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, after the uninterruptible power supply enters the UPS mode after the power is turned off, it is confirmed whether or not the UPS mode has been released, and the UPS mode is maintained. At this time, the fixing heater is stopped, the printer access is confirmed, the status is displayed, and when there is a print command or a forced print command, the printout is performed or the data is received and stored. When it is canceled, commercial power is supplied in a timely manner to enable the printer function. When power cannot be supplied, urgent printing is required while maintaining the minimum function of the printer using UPS. In some cases, this can be forcedly printed and saved for non-emergency prints, further reducing the Rendori effect can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electrical system of a multifunction peripheral.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an uninterruptible power supply.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control example at the time of a power failure of the multifunction peripheral connected to the UPS according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating another control example at the time of a power failure of the multifunction peripheral connected to the UPS according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 501 Main controller 502 Image reading controller 503 ADF controller 504 Sorter controller 505 Printing unit 506 Various loads 507 FAX controller 508 G3 controller 509 G4 controller 510, 512 Memory device 511 Printer controller 513 Fixing unit 514 Power supply device

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A multifunction device having a printer function of a thermal fixing system connected to an uninterruptible power supply, wherein a print command is not executed when power is supplied from the uninterruptible power supply. Digital MFP with power supply. 2. The digital multifunction peripheral with an uninterruptible power supply according to claim 1, wherein the multifunction peripheral does not execute a printer command by turning off a halogen heater. 3. The digital multifunction peripheral with an uninterruptible power supply according to claim 1, wherein when power is supplied from the uninterruptible power supply, a reason for not executing a print command is notified to a host. 4. The multi-function peripheral is provided with a mode for forcibly executing print output even when power is supplied from a power supply of an uninterruptible power supply.
The digital multifunction peripheral with an uninterruptible power supply according to any one of the above. 5. In a multifunction peripheral having a printer function of a thermal fixing system connected to an uninterruptible power supply, when power is supplied from the uninterruptible power supply, a print command is not executed and data is stored in a memory device. Digital multifunction peripheral with an uninterruptible power supply. 6. A control method when power is supplied from an uninterruptible power supply of a multifunction peripheral having a printer function of a thermal fixing system connected to the uninterruptible power supply, wherein data is retained without executing a print command. A method for controlling a digital multi-function peripheral, comprising: 7. After the power supply is turned off and the uninterruptible power supply is turned on to enter the UPS mode, it is checked whether or not the UPS mode has been canceled. When the UPS mode is maintained, the fixing heater is stopped. A method of controlling a digital multi-function peripheral, comprising: displaying a status after confirming printer access; and printing out or receiving and storing data when a print command or a forced print command is issued.