JP2002290639A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor, which enables an operator to know the time until it becomes operable from its power turn on and can optimize the power consumption, in an image reader which has a unit where there is a need for waiting for temperature rise, until it becomes operable. SOLUTION: The image processor is equipped with a plurality of units, a power controller which can turn on or turn off the power source of the plurality of units separately by each unit, and a general controller which performs the operation control of the entire image processor, including the plurality of units and the power controller.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and more particularly, to an image processing apparatus that needs to raise the temperature of a certain processing section to a desired temperature from when the power is turned on to when it can be used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image processing apparatus such as a copying machine capable of reading an image from a document and forming the read image on a transfer sheet has been provided.

As an image forming method of such an image processing apparatus, for example, an electrophotographic method is adopted. In the electrophotographic method, a fixing unit for fixing an image developed on recording paper is used.

Since this fixing unit fixes toner on recording paper by heat, it cannot operate unless the temperature is raised to a predetermined temperature.

In such a situation, in the conventional image processing apparatus, when the power is turned on by the operator, in any case, power is supplied to each internal unit in a predetermined fixed order, for example, simultaneously. Was something.

[0006]

However, such a conventional image processing apparatus has the following problems.

That is, in the conventional image processing apparatus, since power is supplied to each internal unit in a predetermined fixed order, it is necessary to wait for the temperature to rise before operation becomes possible. Even in the state, power is supplied quickly, and there is a problem that power consumption is increased as compared with, for example, a case in which power supply to means for increasing the temperature is delayed.

Further, the conventional image processing apparatus has a problem in that the time from when the power is turned on to when the image processing apparatus can be used is not known to the operator, and no indication is provided as to how long the image processing apparatus can be used.

Further, the conventional image processing apparatus has a function as an image reading apparatus for reading an image from a document or an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording sheet, and only each of the functions can be used. However, even in such a case, there is a problem in that power is supplied to other functional parts that are not used, so that useless power is consumed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has been described in connection with an image processing apparatus having a unit which needs to wait for a temperature rise before operation is possible. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus that enables a user to know and optimize power consumption.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plurality of units, a power supply control unit capable of turning on / off a power supply of each of the plurality of units, And an overall control unit for controlling the operation of the entire image processing apparatus including the unit and the power control unit.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, an electrophotographic copying machine will be described as an example of an image processing apparatus for correcting image inclination.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a copying machine according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a copying machine 1 according to the present embodiment includes a power control unit 2, a Vout operation circuit 3, a V1 operation circuit 4, a V2 operation circuit 5, a V3 operation circuit 6, V
4 operation circuit 7. As shown in FIG. 1, the copying machine 1 also includes a bus 11 used to connect circuits other than the circuits in the Vout operation circuit 3.
A hard disk device 9 for storing image data and the like handled by the copying machine 1; and an I / F 10 as an interface circuit between the bus 11 and the hard disk device 9.

The power control unit 2 controls whether or not to supply power to each circuit in the copying machine 1.

The power supply control unit 2 includes an AC-DC power supply unit 21 that converts an AC voltage supplied from outside via the switch 8 into a DC voltage and outputs the DC voltage as a voltage Vin.
A secondary battery 22 that can be stored therein and is used as an auxiliary power supply, a voltage Vin from the AC-DC power supply unit 21 and a voltage Vout from the power supply switching circuit 24 are monitored to output a switching signal described later. Monitoring circuit 23
Based on the switching signal from the voltage monitoring circuit 23,
The voltage Vin from the DC power supply unit 21 and the secondary battery 2
A power supply switching circuit 24 for switching the voltage from the power supply circuit 2 and outputting the voltage as a voltage Vout;
and a power supply control circuit 25 for generating voltages V1, V2, V3 and V4 by out and controlling the supply of the voltages V1, V2, V3 and V4 to other units as power. You.

The Vout operation circuit 3 includes a power supply switching circuit 24
And a circuit group that operates using the voltage Vout from the power supply as a power supply, and includes, for example, a control unit that manages and controls the state of the entire device.

In this embodiment, the Vout operation circuit 3
Is a CPU 31 for performing overall control, and an RTC (real-time clock) 32 for obtaining a current time.
And a ROM 33 capable of reading and writing data, and an RO storing in advance programs and parameters necessary for the operation.
M34, an I / O 35 serving as an interface circuit with the power control unit 2, a CPU 31, an RTC 32, and a RAM 33.
And a bus control circuit 37 for controlling the bus 36 and the bus 11.

The power supply switching circuit 24 in the power supply control unit 2 also has a function as a reset circuit for outputting a reset signal to the CPU 31.

The V1 operation circuit 4 is a group of circuits that operate using the voltage V1 from the power supply control circuit 25 as a power supply.

In this embodiment, the V1 operation circuit 4
The image processing apparatus includes a reading unit 41 that reads an image from a document, and an I / O 42 that is an interface circuit between the reading unit 41 and the bus 11.

The V2 operation circuit 5 is a circuit group of circuits that operate using the voltage V2 from the power supply control circuit 25 as a power supply.

In this embodiment, the V2 operation circuit 5
A printer unit 51 for forming an image on recording paper; and an I / O interface circuit between the printer unit 51 and the bus 11
52.

The V3 operation circuit 6 is a group of circuits that operate using the voltage V3 from the power supply control circuit 25 as a power supply.

In this embodiment, the V3 operation circuit 6
The image processing apparatus includes an image processing unit 61 that performs various types of image processing on image data, and an I / O 62 that is an interface circuit between the image processing unit 61 and the bus 11.

The V4 operation circuit 7 is a circuit group of circuits that operate using the voltage V4 from the power supply control circuit 25 as a power supply.

In this embodiment, the V4 operation circuit 7
An operation unit 71 having an input unit for the operator to input an operation instruction to the copying machine 1 and a display unit for displaying information from the copying machine 1 to the operator; It has an I / O 72 as an interface circuit.

In this embodiment, since the power supply of each of the above-described V1 operation circuit 4, V2 operation circuit 5, V3 operation circuit 6, and V4 operation circuit 7 is controlled, FIG.
As shown in the figure, a bus control circuit 37 is provided between the Vout operation circuit 3, the V1 operation circuit 4, the V2 operation circuit 5, the V3 operation circuit 6, and the V4 operation circuit 7 to separate the bus 11 from the bus 36. It has a configuration that can be used.

The voltage monitoring circuit 23 detects the voltages Vin and V
out is monitored, and a switching signal is output to the power supply switching circuit 24 so as to output the voltage Vin from the AC-DC power supply unit 21 as Vout, and if the voltage Vin drops due to a power failure, disconnection of a connector, or the like. For example, a switching signal is output to the power supply switching circuit 24 so as to output the voltage from the secondary battery 22 as Vout.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flowcharts showing the operation of the copying machine according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2A is a flowchart when the power is turned on, and FIG. 2B is a flowchart when the power is turned off.

First, the operation when the power is turned on will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the operator turns on the switch 8 which is the main power switch of the copying machine 1 (A-1),
The voltage Vin is supplied by the AC-DC power supply unit 21, and the supply of the voltage Vin switches the voltage Vout output from the power supply switching circuit 24 from the secondary battery 22 to the voltage Vin from the AC-DC power supply unit 21. Also,
At this time, the power supply switching circuit 24 outputs a reset signal,
The CPU 31 is reset to start the initial operation. By resetting and starting the CPU 31, the initial setting of each unit and each I / O in the copying machine 1 is executed (A-2,
A-3, A-4).

At this stage, the voltages V1, V2, V3, and V4 output from the power supply control circuit 25 are all OFF, and the V1 operation circuit 4, V2 operation circuit 5, V3 operation circuit 6, and V4 operation circuit 7 Is not powered.

Next, the power supply control circuit 25 turns on each power supply output in a predetermined setting order (A-5). In the present embodiment, first, the operation unit 71 serving as an interface with the operator is activated with the first priority. Therefore, the power supply control circuit 25 supplies power to the V4 operation circuit 7 having the operation unit 71 by turning on the output V4.

In the operation unit 71 to which the power is supplied, the copying machine 1 notifies the operator of the fact that the initial setting is currently being performed by display or the like.

Next, power is supplied to the V2 operation circuit 5 having the printer unit 51 in order to start up the printer unit 51 which has a fixing unit and requires time for temperature management setting. That is, the power supply control circuit 25 supplies power to the V2 operation circuit 5 by turning on the output V2.

Subsequently, the power supply control circuit 25 outputs the output V
1 is turned on, the V1 having the reading unit 41
Power is supplied to the operation circuit 4 to activate the reading unit 41. Further, the power supply control circuit 25 turns on the output V3.
Thus, power is supplied to the V3 operation circuit 6 having the image processing unit 61, and the image processing unit 61 is activated.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in consideration of providing information to the operator and promptly starting the apparatus, the first start:
Each unit is activated in the order of the operation unit 71, the second activation: the printer unit 51, the third activation: the reading unit 41, and the fourth activation: the image processing unit 61 (A-6).

Further, during the start-up, the start-up state of each unit and the time until it becomes usable can be notified to the operator by displaying it on the operation unit 71. After the start-up is completed, the operator can be notified. To accept the operation instruction and execute the instructed process (A-7, A-8).

Next, referring to FIG. 2B, the power is turned off.
The operation when this is done will be described.

The stop operation is performed in the following manner regardless of whether the operator turns off the switch 8 which is the main power switch of the copier 1 or the case where the power is unexpectedly turned off such as a power failure. The processing is performed similarly.

First, when the operator turns off the switch 8 which is the main power switch of the copying machine 1 (B-1), the supply of the voltage Vin from the AC-DC power supply unit 21 is stopped, and the power supply switching circuit 24 is activated. Output voltage Vou
t is switched from the voltage Vin from the AC-DC power supply unit 21 to the secondary battery 22 (B-2). When the main power supply is turned off, the power supply switching circuit 24 detects a drop in the voltage Vin,
The switching operation to the secondary battery 22 is automatically executed.

Further, the voltage monitoring circuit 23 causes the CPU 31 to detect the decrease in the voltage Vin via the I / O 35 (B-3). This detecting means can be realized, for example, by programming the CPU 31 to periodically read the I / O 35. In addition, since the power supply state of the device has changed, the operation status of the power supply control circuit 25 and each unit is grasped, and each unit is controlled.

In this control, the follow operation for stopping the operation is started from the unit which is difficult to operate with the power supply by the secondary battery 22 in each unit (B-4).

The processing that is preferentially performed is performed by the printer unit 51.
It is. The sensor on the transport path checks for any recording paper that is being transported.If there is a recording sheet on the transport path downstream of the paper feed tray, the process is performed until the final process operation, and the paper on the transport path is Will be ejected.

Next, the reading unit 41 processes. If the original is being read, the operation unit 7 displays a message urging the operator to read the set original until the end.
As shown in Fig. 1, the user selects the continue or interrupt button. When the interruption is selected, the image information of the read original is stored in the HDD 9 together with the current date and time. At this time, the current date and time are RTC32.
(B-5). If continuation is selected, a message indicating that printing is not possible is displayed, and the original document information and the remaining document information are stored in the HDD 9. At this time, as in the case of interruption, the current date and time are also stored in the HDD 9 together. When the document information is stored in the HDD 9 during the interruption or continuation in this manner, the operator further inputs the personal identification number as memo information from the operation unit 71, so that the document can be deleted when the data is deleted by a third party. It is possible to prevent information, that is, image data from being lost.

When the operation stop of the printer unit 51 and the reading unit 41 is completed, the power supply of each unit is cut off and Vout
The data backup operation in the operation circuit 3 is executed. Examples of specific data are setting contents of an image processing mode set by an operator, control parameters unique to the apparatus, and the like.
These data are written in a predetermined area of the ROM 34,
Backup is performed so that data is not erased even when the secondary battery 22 is exhausted (B-6).

Thereafter, the power supply to each unit is cut off (B-6), and the operation of the CPU 31 is stopped (B-6).
8).

The signal path of a series of processings for reading a document image by the reading unit 41, performing predetermined processing designated by the operator, and forming an image by the printer unit 51 is as follows.
Via O42, I / O62 and I / O52. In this case, the bus control circuit 37 plays a role of separating the bus so that the bus control of the bus 36 in the Vout operation circuit 3 does not affect the operation. This separation can also stabilize the bus operation in the Vout operation circuit 3 and suppress current consumption when power supply to each unit is cut off.

In the above-described image data backup processing, each unit (the reading unit 41, the image processing unit 61,
The image data corresponding to each processing stage can be stored in the HDD 9 according to the operation status of the printer unit 51).

When the copying machine 1 is powered off as described above and restarted, the operator is notified by the operating section 71 that the image data has been accumulated when the power was last turned off.
If the data is necessary for the operator, the operator can output image data by inputting the password registered at the time of accumulation from the operation unit 71.

Next, an example in which the starting order of each unit can be changed in this embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the copying machine which can change the starting order of each unit in the present embodiment.

First, the main power switch 8 is turned on (C
At the time of -1), the CPU 31 is activated to complete the initial setting (C-2, C-3). Next, the power supply is checked via the I / O 35 (C-4), and the Vout operation circuit 3 as the overall control unit of the copying machine 1 is started. At this time, each unit (the reading unit 41, the printer unit 51, the image processing unit 61, and the operation unit 71) has not been activated.

Next, the temperature of the fixing unit of the printer unit 51 is measured by a temperature sensor (not shown) under the control of the Vout operation circuit 3 (C-5). Further, the time when the power was turned off, which was stored when the main power switch 8 was turned off last time, is read from the ROM 34 (C-6), and RT
Comparing with the current time obtained from C32, the elapsed time from the previous power-off to the current power-on, that is, the time during which the power was turned off is calculated (C-7). Note that RTC32
Since the battery is driven by a battery, an accurate current time can be obtained.

Next, it is determined whether the elapsed time calculated in step (C-7) is shorter than a predetermined elapsed time (C-8).

If the result of the determination in step (C-8) is that the elapsed time calculated in step (C-7) is shorter than the predetermined elapsed time, each unit is started in a predetermined startup order accordingly. (C-9, C-10). in this case,
Since the copying machine 1 was used just before, it can be understood that the temperature of the fixing unit of the printer unit 51 has reached a certain temperature. There is no need to actively accelerate the introduction. Therefore, the boot order in this case is, for example,
Each unit is started in the order of the first start: the operation unit 71, the second start: the reading unit 41, the third start: the image processing unit 61, and the fourth start: the printer unit 51.

Further, during the start-up, the start-up state of each unit and the time until it becomes usable can be notified to the operator by displaying it on the operation unit 71. After the start-up is completed, the operator can be notified. To accept the operation instruction and execute the instructed processing (C-11, C-12).

In this case, since the activation of the printer unit 51 can be delayed, the power consumption can be reduced accordingly.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step (C-8),
If the elapsed time calculated in step (C-7) is not shorter than the predetermined elapsed time, each unit is started in a predetermined start order accordingly (C-13, C-1).
4). In this case, since a considerable time has elapsed since the power of the copier 1 was turned off, it can be understood that the temperature of the fixing unit of the printer unit 51 has dropped to room temperature. It is desirable to start in the order of startup. For this reason, the starting order in this case is, for example, first starting: operating unit 71, second starting: printer unit 5
1, third activation: reading unit 41, fourth activation: image processing unit 61
Start each unit in this order.

During startup, the operating status of each unit and the time until it can be used can be notified to the operator by displaying it on the operation unit 71. After the startup, the operator can be notified. To accept the operation instruction and execute the instructed process (C-15, C-12).

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the start order is changed depending on whether or not the elapsed time calculated in step (C-7) is shorter than a predetermined elapsed time. The present invention is not limited to this. For example, step (C-
The start-up order may be changed based on the temperature of the fixing unit measured in 5), or an outside air temperature measuring unit for measuring the outside air temperature may be further provided, and the outside air temperature measured by this outside air temperature measuring unit and the previous outside air temperature may be changed. The start order may be changed based on the elapsed time from the power OFF to the current power ON.

Further, according to the present invention, since the power can be turned on / off for each unit, only the unit having a desired function among a plurality of functions of the image processing apparatus can be turned on and used. For example, when it is desired to use the image processing apparatus only as a scanner or only as a printer, it is sufficient not to supply power to other units, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0066]

As described above, according to the present invention, in an image processing apparatus having a unit in which it is necessary to wait for a rise in temperature before it becomes operable, the time from when the power is turned on until it becomes operable is determined by the operator. And an image processing apparatus capable of optimizing power consumption.

That is, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the information on the operation state of the image processing apparatus can be accurately provided to the operator of the image processing apparatus.

Further, according to the present invention, information on units requiring temperature management is accurately grasped, and the start order of each unit is controlled, so that the operator can accurately display the available start time. Can be transmitted.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently control the temperature of a unit such as a fixing unit that requires temperature management, and to average current consumption.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a copying machine according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing a flowchart of the operation of the copying machine according to the present embodiment, wherein FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a flowchart when the power is turned on, and FIG. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flowchart of an operation of the copier capable of changing the starting order of each unit in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Copier 2 Power supply control part 3 Vout operation circuit 4 V1 operation circuit 5 V2 operation circuit 6 V3 operation circuit 7 V4 operation circuit 8 Switch 9 Hard disk drive 10 I / F 11 Bus 21 AC-DC power supply unit 22 Secondary battery 23 Voltage Monitoring circuit 24 Power supply switching circuit 25 Power supply control circuit 31 CPU 32 RTC 33 RAM 34 ROM 35 I / O 36 Bus 37 Bus control circuit 41 Reading unit 42 I / O 51 Printer unit 52 I / O 61 Image processing unit 62 I / O 71 Operation unit 72 I / O

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C061 AP04 AQ06 HH11 HJ10 HK09 HK10 HK19 HT13 2H027 DA27 DA40 EA15 EF01 EJ17 ZA01 2H071 BA20 DA34 EA08 5C062 AA05 AB43 AB46 AB50 AB51 AC22 AC58 AF06 BA00 BA07

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of units, a power control unit capable of turning on / off the power of the plurality of units for each unit, and an operation control of the entire image processing apparatus including the plurality of units and a power control unit. An image processing apparatus comprising: 2. When an operator turns on a main power switch of the image processing apparatus, temperature information of a unit requiring temperature management among the plurality of units is grasped, and based on the temperature information, the plurality of units are recognized. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the order of starting the units is changed. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising storage means for storing a time when the main power switch of the image processing apparatus is turned off by an operator. 4. When the operator turns on the main power switch of the image processing apparatus, based on the time stored in the storage means and the current time, the elapsed time from the time when the power was previously turned off to the time when the main power switch was turned on this time. And, based on the elapsed time,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a start order of the plurality of units is changed.