JP2003233276A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which immediately switches to a power-saving mode when predetermined conditions are met in such a case where paper cannot be detected or an operator is not present around the apparatus and which carries out printing after automatically returning to a normal mode from the power-saving mode when the conditions are canceled. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus has a power saving control part 111 which switches between the normal mode in which normal image-formation is carried out and the power-saving mode in which power consumption is less than in the normal mode. When a paper detection means 104 which detects presence or no presence of paper in a paper feed part 103 detects the no presence of paper or when an ambient detection part 107 detects that a room light is off, it immediately switches to the power-saving mode. When the paper detection means detects paper or when the required number of prints becomes equal to or higher than a threshold value, it returns to the normal mode. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a power saving mode, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus capable of automatically shifting to the power saving mode and automatically returning from the power saving mode to the normal mode.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a copying machine or a printer having a printing function, when the stop time becomes long, it has been made to shift to a power saving mode from the viewpoint of power saving. And
From the power saving mode to the normal mode, for example, JP-A-1
In No. 1-85429, the power saving cancel button on the screen of the display unit is pressed to shift the process. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-333504 has a power saving cancel button on the operation panel or the remote panel so as to return from the power saving mode to the normal mode.

However, even if the paper feed tray is pulled out from the paper feed position or there is no paper in the manual feed tray and printing cannot be performed, the power saving mode is not switched until a predetermined time elapses. there were.
Even if it is clear that the operator will immediately perform the image forming operation, such as setting the paper feed tray or manual feed tray to the printable state or setting paper in the paper feed tray or manual feed tray, press the release button. If it is not, it does not return to the normal mode, which is troublesome and inconvenient.

Further, with the development of networking, the sharing of image forming apparatuses as printing apparatuses has progressed, and image forming apparatuses have been operated from a plurality of host apparatuses via a network such as a LAN. In such a case, the image forming apparatus is often installed in a place away from the host apparatus that requests printing, a room dedicated to the image forming apparatus, or the like. Then, in the room dedicated to the image forming apparatus, if there is no person, the illumination is turned off from the viewpoint of power saving.

Further, as a recent trend, the multifunctionalization of image forming apparatuses has progressed, and accordingly, the display section has become larger in size and color, the load on the display image processing section has increased, and the power consumption has also increased. ing. Therefore, the power saving effect by shifting the image forming apparatus to the power saving mode is large. For this reason, when the light is turned off and a predetermined time elapses, the power saving mode is entered.

However, when a print request is made through the network even when the room in which the image forming apparatus is installed is turned off, even if the print request is for only one sheet, the image forming apparatus is set to the normal mode. After returning, the instructed printing is performed. Since there is no operator when the light is off, it is not clear when the printed matter will come to be collected even if printing is performed at such a time. Further, if printing is performed every time a small number of jobs are requested, the power saving mode is frequently returned to the normal mode, and there is a problem that unnecessary power consumption increases.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve these problems, and cannot detect a sheet,
When a predetermined condition such as that there is no operator in the vicinity is satisfied, the power saving mode is immediately switched to, and when the above conditions are resolved, the power saving mode is automatically returned to the normal mode and printing is performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that is easy to use and can keep the power saving mode for a long time.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises a paper feed unit, a paper detection unit for detecting the presence or absence of paper in the paper feed unit, and a normal image formation. And a power saving control unit that switches between a normal mode for performing the power saving mode and a power saving mode that consumes less power than the normal mode, and the power saving control unit immediately saves power when the paper detection unit detects a paper-free state. It is characterized by switching to the power mode.

Alternatively, the paper feed unit, the paper detection means for detecting the presence / absence of paper in the paper feed unit, and the normal mode in which normal image formation is performed and the power saving mode which consumes less power than the normal mode are switched. A power saving control unit is provided, and when the power saving control unit is in the power saving mode, the paper detection unit detects the paper and returns to the normal mode.

The paper feed unit is a paper feed tray that is movable between a paper feed position and a paper refill position, and the paper detection means can detect that the paper feed tray is at the paper feed position. Alternatively, the paper feed unit may include a manual feed tray.

Alternatively, the image forming apparatus of the present invention has a network interface for receiving job reservation information through a communication line, a peripheral detecting section for detecting a peripheral state of the image forming apparatus, and a normal mode for performing normal image formation. It has a power saving control unit that switches to a power saving mode that consumes less power than the normal mode, and a non-volatile storage unit that stores a preset threshold value for the number of printed sheets, and the peripheral state by the peripheral detection unit is set to a predetermined value. If it is in the state, the power saving control unit switches to the power saving mode, and if the number of printed sheets of the job reserved by the communication line in the power saving mode is less than the threshold value stored in the nonvolatile storage unit, the power saving mode is set. If the value is equal to or more than the threshold value or when the peripheral state by the peripheral detection unit is released from the predetermined state, the normal mode is returned to and the job is executed. It is characterized in that.

The peripheral detection unit is a brightness sensor for detecting the brightness around the image forming apparatus, and the predetermined state is such that the peripheral brightness of the image forming apparatus is less than or equal to a threshold value, It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the number of prints of a plurality of jobs reserved by the communication line is sequentially accumulated, and the number of prints is cumulative.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control device in the image forming apparatus. The control device includes an overall control unit 10
0 and the printer control unit 200, each of which has a CPU and a storage unit such as a flash memory, and controls the entire image forming apparatus according to a program installed in the storage unit.

The overall control unit 100 is a unit that reads an image from a document, selects a transfer sheet, and selects a copy mode such as the number of copies or single-sided / double-sided copying. The printer control unit 200 is a unit that drives a scanner, a paper feeding device, a photoconductor, and the like to transfer an original image onto a transfer sheet.

The overall control unit 100 includes an operation unit 101, a display unit 102, a paper feed unit 103, a paper detection unit 104, an image reading unit 105, a FAX control unit 106, and a peripheral detection unit 10.
7. The image output unit 108 is connected. Operation unit 101
Has various keys such as a ten-key pad, from which the number of sheets to be printed, paper size selection, magnification, etc. are input. Display 1
Reference numeral 02 denotes a liquid crystal panel or the like, which displays the conditions input by the operation unit 101 and the state of the image forming apparatus.

The paper feed unit 103 is usually composed of one or more paper feed trays and a manual feed tray, and a paper detection means 104 for detecting the presence or absence of paper is provided in each of them. Although only one paper feed unit 103 and one paper detection unit 104 are shown in the figure, in reality, there are a plurality of paper feed trays and one manual feed tray, each of which is the paper feed unit 103, and each of which is a paper feed unit 103. A sheet detection unit 104 is provided.
The paper feed tray is movable between a paper feed position for feeding paper to the image forming apparatus and a position for removing or pulling out the paper from the image forming apparatus to replenish the paper feeding tray with new paper. The paper detection unit 104 detects whether or not there is paper when the paper feed tray is at the paper feed position.
In addition, some of the manual feed trays can be folded and stored when not used. In this case, if the manual feed tray is in the use position and the paper is not set, the paper detection unit 104 cannot detect the paper, and there is no paper even in another state, that is, the folded state or the opened state. The condition is that the paper cannot be detected. Therefore, the sheet detecting unit 104 is not limited to the presence / absence of a sheet,
It is also possible to detect whether or not the paper feed tray or the manual feed tray is at the paper feed position.

The image reading section 105 is a section for reading a document on a contact glass or a document sent from an automatic document feeder by a scanning optical system. FAX control unit 106
Is connected to a telephone line by the line control unit 109, and signals of image information are transmitted and received by the telephone line.

A power saving control unit 1 is provided in the overall control unit 100.
11, a non-volatile storage unit 112, a comparison unit 113, an image processing unit 114, and a file storage unit 115 are provided. The power saving control unit 111 is a place for switching between the power saving mode and the normal mode.

Image data of the original read by the image reading unit 105 is subjected to necessary image processing such as gamma correction.
If there are a plurality of originals, the image data of each original and the number of copies are temporarily stored in the file storage unit 115.

A network interface 201 is connected to the printer control unit 200 and receives print conditions such as a print image file and the number of prints from a remote host device. The received print image file and the number of prints are temporarily stored in the file storage unit 115.

The peripheral detection unit 107 is a sensor that detects a change in the surrounding environment of the image forming apparatus. In this example,
A brightness detection sensor that detects the illumination of the room in which the image forming apparatus is installed is used. As described above, this image forming apparatus has a function of printing in response to a print instruction from a remote host device, which is connected to a LAN or the like, in addition to a normal copy function. Such a device may be installed in an independent room such as a copy room. In such a case, a printed matter instructed from a remote host device is provided unless a person taking a copy enters the room to perform work. When you come to the collection, it is about to enter the room, and when there is no person, it is turned off. Therefore, the periphery detection unit 107 detects whether the illumination is on or off.

In this embodiment, the illumination is detected as the peripheral state, but in addition, the presence of a person such as an infrared sensor in front of the image forming apparatus or a switch for turning on / off depending on the weight of the person is detected. The presence or absence of an operator may be detected by installing a sensor that can detect it.

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention. This will be described below with reference to this figure and the block diagram of FIG.

When the printing (or copying) work is started, it is determined whether or not there is paper in the designated paper feed tray or manual feed tray, and the paper detection means 104 provided in the tray.
Detects (# 301). If there is a sheet, the designated printing is performed one sheet (# 302). The overall control unit 100 detects from the content stored in the file storage unit 115 whether or not the printing instructed by this printing is completed (# 303),
If the planned number of prints have not been completed, # 301
Then, if there is paper, it is printed (# 302). The above is repeated under the condition that there is paper, and the specified number of prints is printed, and the process ends. Here, the number of printed sheets is the number of originals × the number of printed copies.

If the paper in the paper feed tray or the manual feed tray being used runs out during printing (# 301),
The paper detection unit 104 sends a signal indicating no paper to the overall control unit 10.
0 and the power saving control unit 111. Overall control unit 100
Stops the printing operation, and the power saving control unit 111 immediately switches to the power saving mode (# 304).

Conventionally, in such a case, switching to the power saving mode has not been performed. When there is no more paper in the paper feed tray or the manual feed tray, only the image forming unit is stopped, and the liquid crystal panel of the display unit 102 displays "Please supply paper to the tray" to stop.

However, the display unit 102 has been made larger and colorized, and the load on the display unit 102 has increased. In addition, since the operator is often not near the image forming apparatus due to remote operation or job reservation, there is a possibility that such a state will continue for a long time, and wasteful power consumption tends to increase. .

On the other hand, in the present invention, when there is no more paper in the paper feed unit 103 such as a paper feed tray or a manual feed tray, the power saving mode is immediately entered without waiting for a predetermined time to elapse. The power-saving mode is extended to reduce unnecessary power consumption. The power saving mode is not limited to turning off the LCD of the display unit. For example, various modes such as lowering the temperature of the fixing roller and lowering the rotation speed of the cooling fan can be considered.

After shifting to the power saving mode, it waits for the paper to be supplied (# 305), and when the paper is supplied, the power saving mode is automatically returned to the normal mode (# 306) and the process goes to # 302. Go and print one sheet. Therefore, it is not necessary to press the button for canceling the power saving mode, which improves usability. After that, # 301 to # 303 are repeated until printing is completed. However, if the paper runs out on the way, #
It goes through 304 to # 306.

In the above-described embodiment, the presence or absence of the paper in the paper feed tray or the manual feed tray is detected. However, in the case of the paper feed tray, this is other than the paper feed position such as attachment / detachment or drawer of the paper feed tray. It means that the moving state to is also detected. This is because, in a state where the paper feed tray cannot feed paper to the image forming apparatus, naturally no paper is detected.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 1 and the flowchart of FIG. This embodiment is a case of a networked image forming apparatus.

First, it is judged whether or not the image forming apparatus is on standby (# 401), and if No, it means that printing is in progress and printing is continued. In the case of waiting, the peripheral detection unit 10
Check if 7 is ON (# 40
2). The state in which the peripheral detection unit 107 is ON means here
The state where the illumination of the room where the image forming apparatus is installed is turned on, and the state where it is turned off is turned off. When the peripheral detection unit 107 detects the presence / absence of an operator in front of the image forming apparatus, it turns on when there is an operator and turns off when there is no operator.

When the peripheral detection unit 107 is ON, it means that the operator is in front of the image forming apparatus and the print request is made (# 403) because the illumination of the room is turned on. Is executed immediately (# 40
9). When a print request is issued from a remote host device via the network interface 201 such as a LAN, printing is immediately executed.

However, in step # 402, when the periphery detection unit 107 is OFF, that is, when the room illumination is off or when there is no operator in front of the image forming apparatus, the time is The process immediately shifts to the power saving mode without waiting for the passage of (# 404).

In the power saving mode, a remote host device can connect to a network interface 201 such as a LAN.
When a print request is issued via # (# 405), the comparison unit 1
13 compares the requested number of prints with the threshold stored in the non-volatile storage unit 112 (# 406). When the number of prints is less than the threshold, the requested job is stored in the file storage unit 115 ( # 407), the power saving mode state is held and printing is not performed. This is because even if you print immediately in response to a print request, it often takes time to pick up, and if you decide to print after picking up, the time in the power saving mode can be extended accordingly. Is.

However, when the number of printed sheets is large, if printing is started after the pick-up is started, a long waiting time occurs and the usability deteriorates. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the number of printed sheets exceeds a preset threshold value, the mode is automatically returned to the normal mode (# 408) and printing is started (# 409). As a result, it is possible to avoid the stress of having to wait for a long time when printing is performed.

If the number of printed sheets is less than the threshold, the job is
Saved in the file storage unit 115 (# 407), # 40
Returning to step 2, the ON / OFF of the peripheral detection unit 107 is checked. If it is OFF, the power saving mode is maintained (# 40
4), wait for the next job to be reserved (# 405),
When reserved, the number of prints is added to the number of prints up to the previous time. When the cumulative number of prints thus added exceeds the threshold value (# 406), the power saving control unit 111 shifts to the normal mode (# 408), printing is executed (# 409), and the process ends.

Even if the accumulated cumulative number of prints is less than the threshold value, when the process jumps to # 402, the periphery detection unit 107
If is ON, printing is executed by returning to the normal mode. That is, when the person who has instructed to print arrives at the reception, the room lighting is turned on, and the printing is executed with this as a signal. Alternatively, printing is executed when the presence of an operator is detected by an infrared sensor or the like. In this case, since the number of printed sheets is small, the printing can be completed in a short time, and the waiting time can be set to an unnoticeable level.

In the above embodiment, the non-volatile memory section 11
The threshold value of the number of printed sheets set to 2 can be displayed on the display unit 102 by the operation of the operation unit 101, and it is desirable that the threshold value can be changed by the input from the operation unit 101.

[0040]

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the paper detecting means detects the absence of paper,
Since the power saving control unit immediately switches to the power saving mode,
The time to enter the power saving mode can be lengthened. Further, since the paper detection unit automatically returns to the normal mode when the paper detection unit detects the paper in the power saving mode, the operation for canceling the power saving mode is unnecessary and the usability for the user is improved.

Alternatively, if the peripheral state by the peripheral detection unit is a predetermined state, the power saving control unit switches to the power saving mode, and in the power saving mode, the number of printed sheets of the job reserved by the communication line is less than the threshold value. If there is, the power saving mode is maintained, and when the peripheral condition by the peripheral detecting unit is released from the predetermined condition or when the peripheral condition is released from the predetermined condition, the normal mode is executed and the job is executed. In this case, the power saving mode can be maintained, the time in the power saving mode can be lengthened, and the power consumption can be reduced. Further, when the peripheral state is released from the predetermined state or the number of printed sheets exceeds the threshold value, the normal mode is automatically returned, which is convenient.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control device in an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 Overall control unit 101 Operation unit 102 display 103 paper feeder 104 paper detection means 107 peripheral detection unit 111 Power saving control unit 112 non-volatile storage unit 113 Comparison section 115 file storage 201 network interface

Continued front page    F term (reference) 2C061 AP04 HH11 HK06 HT11 HT13                 2H027 DA50 DC18 DE04 DE07 EF16                       EJ18 ZA07                 3F048 AA01 AB01 BA02 BB03 CB03                       DA01                 5C062 AA02 AA05 AB30 AB46 AB49                       AB51 AC60 AC68 AF07 BA00

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A paper feed unit, a paper detection unit that detects the presence or absence of paper in the paper feed unit, and a normal mode in which normal image formation is performed and a power saving mode that consumes less power than the normal mode. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a power saving control unit, wherein the power saving control unit immediately switches to a power saving mode when the paper detection unit detects a state where there is no paper. 2. A paper feed unit, a paper detection unit that detects the presence or absence of paper in the paper feed unit, and a normal mode for performing normal image formation and a power saving mode in which power consumption is lower than the normal mode. An image forming apparatus comprising: a power saving control unit, wherein when the power saving control unit is in a power saving mode, the paper detection unit returns to a normal mode when a paper is detected. 3. The paper feed unit is a paper feed tray that is movable between a paper feed position and a paper refill position, and the paper detection unit can detect that the paper feed tray is at the paper feed position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper feeding unit includes a manual feed tray. 5. A network interface for receiving job reservation information through a communication line, a peripheral detection unit for detecting a peripheral state of an image forming apparatus, a normal mode for performing normal image formation, and a power saving mode which consumes less power than the normal mode. It has a power saving control unit for switching to and from a power mode, and a non-volatile storage unit for storing a preset threshold value of the number of printed sheets,
If the peripheral state by the peripheral detection unit is a predetermined state,
The power saving control unit switches to the power saving mode, and when the number of printed sheets of the job reserved by the communication line in the power saving mode is less than the threshold value stored in the nonvolatile storage unit, the power saving mode is maintained and the threshold value is maintained. In the above case or when the peripheral state by the peripheral detection unit is released from the predetermined state, the image forming apparatus returns to the normal mode and executes the job. 6. The brightness sensor detects the brightness of the periphery of the image forming apparatus, and the predetermined state is that the brightness of the periphery of the image forming apparatus is less than or equal to a threshold value. Item 5. The image forming apparatus according to item 5. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the number of printed sheets is a cumulative number of printed sheets that sequentially accumulates the number of printed sheets of a plurality of jobs reserved by a communication line.