JP2003335024A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption of an imaging apparatus furthermore. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging apparatus comprises a memory MEM for storing input image information, a printer 100, and imaging controllers 1 and 131 for driving the printer in a set operation mode wherein the imaging controller has an instantaneous print mode and a fixed time print mode. Input image information in the fixed time print mode is held in the memory MEM and imaged at a fixed time whereas input image information in the instantaneous print mode is imaged instantaneously and image information being held in the memory MEM after finishing the imaging is also imaged, if any. Furthermore, a power saving controller 1 is provided to determine a power supply mode from a stand-by mode capable of imaging immediately upon responding to a designation to a power saving mode (low power mode/idle mode) capable of reading out the designation but not capable of imaging, or reversely, and input image information is printed immediately at the time of stand-by mode. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to saving power consumption of an image forming apparatus. Specifically, although not intended to be limited to this, for example, it relates to power consumption reduction of an image processing system including a printer, a copier, a facsimile, or at least one of these.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, printers, copiers, facsimiles and the like that utilize thermal recording, thermal fixing and thermal drying consume a large amount of power during image formation. Therefore, there is a proposal to automatically shut off the power switch of the apparatus when the image formation is completed.

For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-129042 discloses a power switch between a power supply circuit of an image forming apparatus and an AC100V plug, which is turned on / off by a user and has a relay function and can be turned off by a CPU. There is proposed an image forming apparatus in which the CPU turns off the power switch when the image formation is completed and shuts off all the power of the image forming apparatus.

However, when all the power supplies are cut off, the image forming apparatus cannot be used unless the user newly turns on the power switch. In an image forming apparatus having an element such as a fixing heater that takes a long time to warm up, when the user needs to form an image, the user must wait for the warming up to be completed even after turning on the power switch. Further, this type of image forming apparatus cannot be used for the purpose of automatically printing out a document of a computer in response to a printout command of an external device such as a computer.

Therefore, in order to improve the usability for the user, even after the image formation in the setting mode is completed, the apparatus stands by in the standby mode in which the image formation can be started in response to the image formation instruction and the elapsed time is measured. , When the image forming instruction is newly received, the image forming is started in response to the instruction.
If the set time elapses without receiving an image formation instruction,
Image that shifts to a sleep mode in which power is supplied to the minimum necessary electric elements such as a standby circuit that recognizes the arrival of a return instruction and a memory that requires data retention, and standby power supply is also cut off to other electric circuits or electric elements A forming device is presented.
In the standby mode, there is considerable power consumption, for example, for maintaining the fixing roller at the fixing temperature, but in the rest mode, this power consumption disappears and the power supply to many other electric circuits also stops, so the power consumption is extremely low. When a use access to the image forming apparatus such as a printout command by inputting an operation board or communication is made in the sleep mode, the standby circuit that recognizes the arrival of the return instruction returns the image forming apparatus to the standby mode.

For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-251317 discloses an image forming apparatus in which a printer controller switches to an energy saving mode when there is no communication from a host to a printer, and at this time the power of the image forming engine is turned off. .

However, in the standby mode, when there is no instruction and the set time elapses, the mode automatically shifts to the sleep mode, and if print instructions are frequently issued at time intervals shorter than the set time, the energy saving effect is low.

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 154515/1995, when the daytime is switched to the normal mode and the nighttime is switched to the energy-saving mode, the facsimile reception data in the energy-saving mode is accumulated in the memory and the mode is switched to the normal mode. There is proposed a facsimile apparatus which prints out stored data and temporarily switches to the normal mode when the remaining amount of the memory falls below a predetermined value even in the energy saving mode to print out the stored data.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-86304 proposes a composite digital copying machine which stores facsimile reception data and print output data in a memory and prints the stored data when a human body detection sensor detects an operator. ing.

However, when the normal mode is set at daytime, the facsimile machine continues to consume power in the normal mode, and the energy saving effect is low. If you print out the stored data when the human body detection sensor detects the operator, the stored data will be printed out every time a person approaches the copying machine to make a copy, and copying will be executed immediately. Energy saving effect can be expected with regard to printout of received data and personal computer (PC) print data, but since people use the copier to perform copying dubiously, energy saving related to copying is normally done without a copy instruction. If the mode continues for the set time, it will remain within the range of the energy saving effect when switching to the energy saving mode.

An object of the present invention is to further reduce the power consumption of the image forming apparatus.

[0012]

[Means for Solving the Problems] (1) Memory means (MEM) for accumulating input image information; image generating means (100) for forming an image on a transfer sheet; and the image generating in the set operation mode. Image forming controller (1,1
31) ;, the image forming controller (1, 131) has an immediate print mode and a scheduled print mode, and input image information of the scheduled print mode is held in the memory means (MEM) to form the image at the scheduled time. Then, the input image information in the immediate print mode is immediately image-formed, and when there is image information held in the memory means after completion of this image formation, this is also image-formed.

In order to facilitate understanding, the reference numerals of corresponding elements or corresponding elements of the embodiments shown in the drawings and described later are added in parentheses for reference. The same applies to the following.

According to this, the number of times of starting up from the power saving mode to the normal mode in which the power consumption is high can be reduced by gathering the printouts of the documents that do not need to be printed out at regular time intervals, and the image forming apparatus can be reduced accordingly. Power consumption is reduced. Since you can print out quickly,
The possibility of impairing the convenience of the user is low. If there is a urgent printout, the image information in the memory means (MEM) will be printed out subsequently, so if there is no image information in the memory means (MEM) even at the scheduled printout time, the energy saving mode will continue. Power consumption can be suppressed. By recognizing the existence of the scheduled mode, it can be expected that the user can suppress unnecessary immediate printout.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (2) Image forming controller (1, 1
31) is for forming the image of the input image information when the amount of image information in the memory means becomes equal to or more than a set value by writing the input image information, and also for the image information held in the memory means after completion of the image formation. Image formation: the image forming apparatus according to (1) above.

When there is a possibility that the memory means (MEM) will overflow, the input image information at that time is printed out and the image information stored in the memory means (MEM) is also printed out. ) Can be saved.

(3) The image forming apparatus according to (1) or (2), further comprising means (260) for notifying at least one of the next scheduled image forming output time and the waiting time until then.

The user can recognize the next scheduled image forming output time or waiting time and use it as a guide for selecting whether to perform the regular printout or the immediate printout, and the energy saving effect is enhanced. It can be expected that the possibility of selecting the scheduled mode to be increased.

(4) The image forming apparatus is further in an energy saving mode (low power mode / pause mode) in which an instruction can be read but an image cannot be formed from a standby mode in which an image can be immediately formed in response to an instruction. And vice versa, the image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3) above, further comprising a power saving controller (1) that determines a power supply mode.

According to this, by consolidating the printing of the document which is not hurried to be printed out at a fixed time, it is possible to reduce the number of times to start up from the energy saving mode to the standby mode in which the power consumption is high, and the image forming apparatus can be correspondingly reduced in number. Power consumption is reduced.

(5) The image forming controller (1,131)
When receiving an instruction in the standby mode, the input image information is immediately formed into an image; the image forming apparatus according to (4) above.

According to this, there is the preceding image formation,
Since the image forming apparatus is in a state capable of forming an image within the set time after the end, the current start of image formation does not impair energy saving. The possibility of reserved storage at regular time is reduced, and the possibility of staying in the energy saving mode without image information in the memory means at regular time is high, so reduction of power consumption can be expected.

(6) The image forming apparatus further comprises a self-holding relay (88) connected in parallel with the power switch (79) of the power circuit.
And a safety instruction means (79s); and the image forming controller (1,131) turns on the self-holding relay in response to the safety instruction to turn on the self-holding relay, and if there is image information to be held in the memory means, image formation thereof is performed. After that, the self-holding relay is turned off again; the image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (5) above.

When the user operates the safety instruction means (79s), the self-holding relay is turned on. Therefore, even if the user subsequently turns off the main power switch, the power supply to the image forming apparatus continues. If there is image information to be stored in the memory means by turning on the self-holding relay, the image is formed on the self-holding relay, and then the self-holding relay is turned off again.Therefore, the image information in the memory means (MEM) disappears without printout. It is prevented.

(7) The safety instruction means (79s) mechanically closes and locks the main power switch when the main power switch (79) changes from open to closed, and generates a safety instruction signal when a person performs an unlock operation. This is a safety button switch (79s) provided in the main power switch (79); the image forming apparatus according to (6) above.

When the user unlocks the safety button switch (79s) to turn off the main power switch (79), the image forming controller (1,131) turns on the self-holding relay and the image information stored in the memory means is stored. If so, the self-holding relay is turned off after the image is formed.
When the main power switch (79) is turned off, the memory means (M
It is possible to prevent the image information of (EM) from disappearing without printout. When the main power is on, it will not move unless the safety button is pressed unless the safety button is pressed, so there is an effect to prevent accidentally turning off the main power switch.

(8) The power saving controller (1) is set in the standby mode for a set time (TD1 / TD1 + T) without any operation or instruction.
D2) If it continues, it switches to the energy saving mode (low power mode / pause mode); the image forming apparatus of (4) or (5) above.

(9) The power saving controller (1) switches to the standby mode when there is an instruction for immediate printing in the energy saving mode (low power mode / pause mode); (4), (5) or (8) above. ) Image forming apparatus.

(10) The image generating means (100) is an electric heater
(87); energy-saving mode includes low-power mode and hibernation mode; the energy-saving controller (1) energizes only the circuit that detects an operation or instruction to the image forming apparatus in hibernation mode, and electricity in low-power mode. Energize everything except the heater (87) and the electric heater in standby mode;
The image forming apparatus according to (4), (5), (7), (8) or (9) above.

(11) The power saving controller (1) is in the standby mode for the first set time (TD1) without any operation or instruction.
The image forming apparatus according to (10) above is switched to the low power mode when continued, and is switched to the rest mode when the low power mode continues for the second set time (TD2) without any operation or instruction.

(12) The image forming apparatus further includes a document scanner.
(10); the power-saving controller (1) supplies power to the image generating means (100), the document scanner and the circuit for detecting the operation or instruction in the standby mode, and detects the document scanner and the operation or instruction in the low power mode. Power to the circuit that detects the operation or instruction in the sleep mode;
The image forming apparatus according to (11) or (12).

(13) The circuit for detecting an operation or instruction is
Circuit to detect key-in of operation board (20), external PC
Circuit to detect (personal computer) communication and facsimile
Includes a circuit to detect (FCU) call communication; (8) above
The image forming apparatus according to (10), (11) or (12).

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

[0034]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a multi-function full color digital copying machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This full-color copying machine is roughly composed of an automatic document feeder (ADF) 30, an operation board 20, a color scanner 10, and a color printer 100.
And each unit of the paper feed bank 35. The stapler and the finisher 34 with a tray capable of stacking image-formed sheets, the double-sided drive unit 33, and the large-capacity sheet feeding tray 36 are optionally mounted.

On-board image data processing device ACP (FIG. 3)
Is a LAN (Local Area Net) connected to a personal computer PC.
work), and the exchange PBX connected to the telephone line PN (facsimile communication line) is connected to the facsimile control unit FCU (FIG. 3). The printed paper of the color printer 100 is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 108 or the finisher 34.

FIG. 2 shows the mechanism of the color printer 100. The color printer 100 of this embodiment is a laser printer. In this laser printer 100, four sets of toner image forming units for forming images of magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y), and black (black: K) are arranged in a moving direction of the transfer paper. They are arranged in this order along (from the lower right to the upper left direction y in the figure). That is,
This is a 4-drum type full-color image forming apparatus.

The magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y) and black (K) toner image forming units are respectively provided on the photoconductor drums 111M, 111C and 11D.
A photoconductor unit 110M having 1Y and 111K,
110C, 110Y and 110K, and developing unit 1
20M, 120C, 120Y and 120K. The arrangement of each toner image forming unit is such that the rotation axes of the photoconductor drums 111M, 111C, 111Y and 111K in each photoconductor unit are parallel to the horizontal x-axis (main scanning direction), and the transfer paper is arranged. Movement direction y (sub-scanning direction)
Are set to have a predetermined pitch.

In addition to the toner image forming unit described above, the laser printer 100 also carries an optical writing unit 102 by laser scanning, paper feed cassettes 103 and 104, a pair of registration rollers 105, and a transfer paper carrying each toner image. A transfer / conveying belt 160 that conveys so as to pass through the transfer position of the forming section.
A transfer belt unit 106 having the above, a fixing unit 107 of a belt fixing system, a paper discharge tray 108, a double-sided drive (surface reversal) unit 33, and the like. The laser printer 100 also includes a manual feed tray, a toner supply container, a waste toner bottle, and the like, which are not shown.

The optical writing unit 102 includes a light source, a polygon mirror, an f-θ lens, a reflection mirror, etc., and each photoconductor drum 111M, 111C, 11 based on image data.
The surface of 1Y and 111K is irradiated with laser light while being swung in the x direction. Further, the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 2 indicates the transfer paper conveyance path. Paper feed cassette 103, 10
The transfer paper fed from No. 4 is transported by the transport rollers while being guided by a transport guide (not shown), and is sent to the registration roller pair 105. The transfer paper sent to the transfer / transport belt 160 at a predetermined timing by the registration roller pair 105 is carried by the transfer / transport belt 160, and is transported so as to pass through the transfer position of each toner image forming unit.

Photosensitive drum 111 of each toner image forming section
The toner images formed on M, 111C, 111Y, and 111K are transferred onto the transfer paper carried and conveyed by the transfer / conveyance belt 160, and the transfer paper on which the color toner images are superposed, that is, the color image is formed, is a fixing unit. Sent to 107. That is, the transfer is a direct transfer method in which the toner image is directly transferred onto the transfer paper. When passing through the fixing unit 107, the toner image is fixed on the transfer paper. The transfer paper on which the toner image is fixed is discharged or fed to the paper discharge tray 108, the finisher 36, or the double-sided drive unit 33.

The outline of the yellow Y toner image forming unit will be described below. The other toner image forming units have the same structure as that of the yellow Y. As described above, the yellow Y toner image forming unit corresponds to the photoconductor unit 110Y.
And a developing unit 120Y. The photoconductor unit 110Y includes, in addition to the photoconductor drum 111Y, a brush roller for applying a lubricant to the surface of the photoconductor drum, a swingable blade for cleaning the surface of the photoconductor drum, and a discharge lamp for irradiating the surface of the photoconductor drum with light. , A non-contact type charging roller for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum, and the like.

In the photoconductor unit 110Y, on the surface of the photoconductor drum 111Y, which is uniformly charged by the charging roller to which the AC voltage is applied, the optical writing unit 102 modulates it based on the print data and deflects it by the polygon mirror. When the laser light L is emitted while being scanned, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor drum 111Y. The electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor drum 11IY is the developing unit 20Y.
Is developed into a yellow Y toner image. At the transfer position on the transfer / transport belt 160 where the transfer paper passes, the toner image on the photoconductor drum 11IY is transferred to the transfer paper. After the toner image is transferred, the surface of the photoconductor drum 111Y is coated with a predetermined amount of lubricant by a brush roller, cleaned by a blade, and discharged by light emitted from a discharge lamp to remove static electricity. Prepared for forming a latent image.

The developing unit 120Y contains a two-component developer containing a magnetic carrier and a negatively charged toner. Then, a developing roller provided so as to be partially exposed from the opening of the developing case 120Y on the side of the photosensitive drum,
Conveyor screw, doctor blade, toner concentration sensor,
Equipped with a powder pump. The developer contained in the developing case is triboelectrically charged by being stirred and conveyed by the conveying screw. Then, a part of the developer is carried on the surface of the developing roller. The doctor blade uniformly regulates the layer thickness of the developer on the surface of the developing roller, the toner in the developer on the surface of the developing roller is transferred to the photoconductor drum, and the toner image corresponding to the electrostatic latent image is transferred to the photoconductor. Appears on the drum 111Y. The toner density of the developer in the developing case is detected by the toner density sensor. When the density is insufficient, the powder pump is driven to replenish the toner.

The transfer / conveying belt 160 of the transfer belt unit 106 is provided on the photosensitive drum 111 of each toner image forming section.
It is wound around four grounded tension rollers so as to pass through the respective transfer positions in contact with and opposed to M, 111C, 111Y and 111K. One of the stretching rollers is 109. Among these tension rollers, an electrostatic attraction roller to which a predetermined voltage is applied from a power source is arranged so as to face an inlet roller on the upstream side in the transfer paper moving direction indicated by a two-dot chain line arrow. The transfer paper passing between these two rollers is electrostatically adsorbed on the transfer / transport belt 160. Further, the outlet roller on the downstream side in the transfer paper moving direction is a drive roller that frictionally drives the transfer conveyance belt, and is connected to a drive source (not shown). Further, a bias roller to which a predetermined cleaning voltage is applied from a power source is arranged so as to come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the transfer / transport belt 160.
The bias roller removes foreign matter such as toner adhering to the transfer / transport belt 160.

Further, the photosensitive drums 111M, 111C,
A transfer bias applying member is provided so as to come into contact with the back surface of the transfer / conveying belt 160 that forms a contact facing portion that contacts and faces 111Y and 111K. These transfer bias applying members are fixed brushes made of Myra, and a transfer bias is applied from each transfer bias power source. By the transfer bias applied by the transfer bias applying member, transfer charge is applied to the transfer / transport belt 160, and a transfer electric field having a predetermined strength is formed between the transfer / transport belt 160 and the surface of the photosensitive drum at each transfer position. .

FIG. 3 shows the system configuration of the image processing system of the copying machine shown in FIG. In this system, a color original scanner 12 including a reading unit 11 and an image data output I / F (Interface) 12 is used as an image data interface control C of an image data processing device ACP.
It is connected to a DIC (hereinafter simply referred to as CDIC).
The image data processing device ACP also includes a color printer 1
00 is connected. The color printer 100 includes an image data processing device IPP (Imag (Imag) of the image data processing device ACP.
e Processing Processor; simply described as IPP below)
Then, the write I / F 134 receives the recorded image data and the image forming unit 135 prints it out. The image forming unit 135 is the one shown in FIG.

The image data processing device ACP (hereinafter simply referred to as ACP) includes a parallel bus Pb, an image memory access control IMAC (hereinafter simply described as IMAC), and a memory module MEM which is an image memory (hereinafter simply described as MEM). ), System controller 1, RAM 4,
Non-volatile memory 5, font ROM 6, CDIC, IPP
Etc. A facsimile control unit FCU (hereinafter simply referred to as FCU) is connected to the parallel bus Pb. The operation board 20 is connected to the system controller 1.

The reading unit 11 of the color original scanner 10 for optically reading the original produces photoelectric conversion of the reflected light of the lamp irradiation on the original by the CCD to generate R, G, B image data, and outputs it at the output I / F 12. It is converted into RGB image data, shading corrected, and sent to the CDIC.

The CDIC outputs I / O for image data.
Data transfer between the F12, the parallel bus Pb, and the IPP, and communication between the process controller 131 and the system controller 1 that controls the overall ACP are performed. Also,
The RAM 132 is used as a work area of the process controller 131, and the non-volatile memory 133 stores the operation program of the process controller 131 and the like.

The IPP is a programmable arithmetic processing means for performing image processing. Output I / F1 of scanner 10
The image data input from 2 to the CDIC is transferred to the IPP via the CDIC, and the IPP corrects the signal deterioration (signal deterioration of the scanner system) due to the quantization into the optical system and the digital signal. It is output (transmitted) to the CDIC.

The image memory access control IMAC (hereinafter simply referred to as IMAC) controls writing / reading of image data to / from the MEM. The system controller 1 controls the operation of each component connected to the parallel bus Pb. RAM 4 is the system controller 1
Used as a work area of the non-volatile memory 5 and stores the operation program of the system controller 1 and the like.

The operation board 20 inputs the processing to be performed by the ACP. For example, the type of processing (copying, facsimile transmission, image reading, printing, etc.) and the number of processings are input. As a result, the image data control information can be input.

The image data read by the reading unit 11 of the scanner 10 is subjected to IP correction such as shading correction.
After performing image processing to correct the reading distortion with P, MEM
Accumulate in. When the MEM image data is printed out, the RGB signals are color converted into YMCK signals in the IPP, and image quality processing such as printer gamma conversion, gradation conversion, and gradation processing such as dither processing or error diffusion processing is performed. The image data after the image quality processing is transferred from the IPP to the writing I / F 134. Write I / F 13
A laser control 4 controls the gradation-processed signal by pulse width and power modulation. After that, the image data is sent to the image forming unit 135, and the image forming unit 135 forms a reproduced image on the transfer paper.

Based on the control of the system controller 1, the IMAC controls access to image data and MEM, L
The print data of a personal computer PC (not shown) connected to the AN (hereinafter simply referred to as PC) is expanded, and the image data is compressed / expanded for effective use of the MEM.

The image data sent to the IMAC is stored in the MEM after data compression, and the stored image data is read out as needed. The read image data is
The image data is decompressed, restored to the original image data, and returned from the IMAC to the CDIC via the parallel bus Pb. After transfer from CDIC to IPP, image quality processing is performed and write I / F 13
4 and the reproduced image is formed on the transfer paper in the image forming unit 135.

In the flow of image data, the function of the digital multi-function peripheral is realized by the bus control by the parallel bus Pb and the CDIC. The facsimile transmission is performed by performing image processing on the read image data by the IPP and transferring the image data to the FCU via the CDIC and the parallel bus Pb. The FCU converts data into a communication network and sends it to the public line PN as facsimile data. The facsimile reception is performed by converting the line data from the public line PN into image data by the FCU and transferring the image data to the IPP via the parallel bus Pb and the CDIC. In this case, no special image quality processing is performed, the writing I / F 134 outputs the image, and the image forming unit 135 forms a reproduced image on the transfer paper.

In a situation in which a plurality of jobs, for example, a copy function, a facsimile transmission / reception function, and a printer output function operate in parallel, the reading unit 11 and the image forming unit 13
The allocation of the usage right of the bus 5 and the parallel bus Pb to the job is controlled by the system controller 1 and the process controller 131. Process controller 1
Reference numeral 31 controls the flow of image data, the system controller 1 controls the entire system, and manages the activation of each resource. The function selection of the digital multi-function peripheral is performed on the operation board 20, and the processing contents such as the copy function and the facsimile function are set by the selection input of the operation board 20.

The system controller 1 and the process controller 131 communicate with each other via the parallel buses Pb, CDIC and serial bus Sb. Specifically, communication between the system controller 1 and the process controller 131 is performed by converting data between the parallel bus Pb and the serial bus Sb in the CDIC and a data format conversion for the interface.

Various bus interfaces such as parallel bus I / F 7, serial bus I / F 9, local bus I / F 3 and network I / F 8 are I / F.
It is connected to the MAC. Controller unit 1
Connects with related units via multiple types of buses in order to maintain independence within the entire ACP.

The system controller 1 controls other functional units via the parallel bus Pb. The parallel bus Pb is used for transferring image data.
The system controller 1 issues an operation control command for accumulating image data in the MEM to the IMAC. This operation control command is IMAC, parallel bus I /
It is sent via F7 and the parallel bus Pb.

In response to this operation control command, the image data is transferred from the CDIC to the parallel bus Pb and the parallel bus I.
/ F 7 to IMAC. Then, the image data is stored in the MEM under the control of IMAC.

On the other hand, the ACP system controller 1
Is called as a printer function from a PC,
It functions as a printer controller, network control, and serial bus control. Via network,
The IMAC receives the print output request data via the network I / F 8.

In the case of general-purpose serial bus connection, IMA
C receives the print output request data via the serial bus I / F 9. The general-purpose serial bus I / F 9 supports multiple types of standards, for example, USB (Universal
It corresponds to the interface of the standard such as Serial Bus), 1284 or 1394.

The print output request data from the PC is expanded into image data by the system controller 1. The deployment destination is an area in MEM. The font data necessary for development can be obtained by referring to the font ROM 6 via the local bus I / F 3 and the local bus Rb. The local bus Rb connects the controller 1 to the nonvolatile memory 5 and the RAM 4.

Regarding the serial bus Sb, in addition to the external serial port 2 for connection with a PC, there is also an interface for transfer with the operation board 20 which is the operation unit of the ACP. This is not print data, IM
It communicates with the system controller 1 via AC, receives processing procedures, and displays the system status.

Data transmission / reception between the system controller 1 and the MEM and various buses is performed via the IMAC. Jobs using MEM are centrally managed in the entire ACP.

FIG. 4 shows an outline of a power supply system for supplying an operating voltage to each part of the scanner 10, the image data processing device ACP, the printer 100 and the FCU shown in FIG. When the main power switch 79, which is the main power switch, is closed, the commercial AC 100V is applied to the rectifying / smoothing circuit 81 and the AC circuit 86 of the DC power / AC control plate 80. Rectifying and smoothing circuit 8
The DC output of No. 1 is applied to the DC / DC converter 82. In this example, the DC / DC converter 82 has two stabilized DC voltages of + 24V and + 5V, + 24V.
E, +5 VE is generated.

The system controller 1 is supplied with + 5VE which is in the energized state even in the sleep mode. The main control board 50 is powered off in the sleep mode + 5V
Is supplied. The I / O control board 70 is supplied with + 5V and + 24V, which are also turned off in the rest mode.

In the DC power / AC control board 80, the converter outputs + 24VE (voltage of + 24V) and + 5VE (+).
The switches 84 and 85 are respectively connected to the voltage of 5V). AC circuit 86 for energizing the heater 87 of the fixing device
Has a power supply relay which is closed by + 24V given through the switch 83, and when the power supply relay is closed, commercial AC is applied to the AC energization circuit of the AC circuit 86 that energizes the fixing heater 87. This AC energization circuit is a phase control AC energization circuit that uses a triac (phase control switching element), and refers to a temperature detection signal of a fixing temperature sensor (not shown) so that the fixing temperature reaches a target temperature. Control the conduction phase.

ON / OFF of the above-mentioned switches 83, 84, 85
A control signal for turning off is given from the system controller 1 to the switches 83, 84, 85. The target temperature of the fixing device is set as the fixing operation temperature determined for the fixing process of the transfer paper on which the toner image is transferred, and the temperature of the fixing roller is maintained therein. In response to a copy start or print command, image formation is performed with substantially no delay time. In the "standby mode" (operational mode; normal mode) in which the switch can be started, the system controller 1 turns on all the switches 83, 84 and 85 by the control signal.

In the "low power mode", the system controller 1 supplies the AC circuit 86 for energizing the heater 87 of the fixing device.
The switch 83 that gives the ON instruction voltage +24 V to the power relay of is switched to OFF. That is, "low power mode"
In order to enable the operations of the scanner 10 and the ADF 30 for image reading for regular print output, image reading for facsimile transmission, and image reading of an original sent to a personal computer PC without printing output, To the system +
The switch 84 for supplying 24V and the switch 85 for supplying + 5V to the control system and the communication system continue to be turned on, and only the power supply to the fixing heater 87 is cut off.

In the "pause mode", the system controller 1 turns off both the switch 84 for supplying + 24V and the switch 85 for supplying + 5V. That is, all the switches 83 to 85 are turned off.

However, in the rest mode, the switches 83 to 8
Although 5 is off, an electric circuit of the system controller 1 and the operation board 20 for detecting an act of an operator indicating the possibility of using a copying machine, an electric circuit for detecting a print command of a personal computer PC, and a facsimile control unit. + 5VE is continuously applied to the facsimile reception detection circuit of the FCU. In the system controller 1, + 5VE is continuously applied to the circuit that waits for the detection and turns on the switches 83, 84, and 85 in response to the detection, and the memory that stores data that needs to be held in a nonvolatile manner.

Table 1 below shows the relationship between each of the above-mentioned energy saving switching modes and the ON / OFF states of the power supply switches 83 to 85, and Table 2 summarizes the information processing possible in each of the above modes. Show.

[0075]

[Table 1]

[0076]

[Table 2]

“Send / Receive” in Table 2 is FCU facsimile transmission / reception without printout, and data retention is retention of MEM accumulated image data.

FIG. 5A shows an enlarged top view of a part of the operation board 20, and FIG. 5B shows a circuit block of the operation board 20. The operation board 20 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) 260, operation key groups 254, 2
62, 263, a display LED (light emitting diode) 261 and the like.

The power key 254 is an operation key for instructing switching from the energy saving mode (sleep mode or low power mode) to the standby mode and vice versa. If the power key 254 is pressed once while the energy saving mode is set, the energy saving mode is switched to the standby mode. When the power key 254 is pressed once in the standby mode, the standby mode is switched to the sleep mode.

The main body of the electric control system of the operation board 20 shown in FIG. 5B is the MPU 61 of the system controller 1.
CPU 253 that communicates with, reads the input of the operation board 20 and controls the display on the board.
ROM 26 in which the control program of U253 is stored
5, RAM2 for temporarily storing data during control
66, VRAM 2 for storing drawing data of LCD 260
68, a liquid crystal display controller (LC which is connected to the VRAM 268 and controls drawing timing of the LCD 260, etc.
DC) 267, clock IC 273 for generating time data
Etc. An LCD 260 having a CFL light source as a backlight 270 is connected to the LCDC 267.
The CPU 253 further includes an inverter 269 for driving the CFL backlight 270, operation key groups 254, 262.
263 key matrix 271, L of display LED 261
An ED matrix 272 and an LED driving device 273 for driving those LEDs are connected. Also, CP
A non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) 264 for storing the image processing mode is connected to the data bus to which the U253 is connected.

6 and 7, the switching control between the standby mode / low power mode / pause mode, which is executed by the MPU 61 of the system controller 1 in cooperation with the CPU 253 of the operation board 20, and the image shown in FIG. A part of image input / output control of a processing system is shown.

First, referring to FIG. 6, the source power switch 79 between the DC power supply / AC control plate 80 and the commercial AC power supply (outlet) shown in FIG. 3 is closed, and the DC power supply / AC control plate 80 changes the operating voltage. Then, the MPU 61 of the system controller 1 initializes the power-on response (step 1) and sets the standby mode there. That is, the switches 83 to 85 are turned on. Next, the timer Td1 having the time limit value of the waiting time Td1 for switching from the standby mode to the low power mode is started (step 2), and the current time (the clock IC 273 is generated in the fixed time group registered in the NVRAM 264). Current time)), select the future time closest to the time data, write it to the fixed time register (step 3), read input (step 4)
I do.

In the following, the word "step" is omitted in parentheses and only the step number is shown.

In the initialization process (1), after the MPU 61 of the system controller 1 turns on all the switches 83, 84 and 85, that is, after setting the power supply to each part in the standby mode, the CP of the operation board 20 is set.
The U253 responds to the instruction from the MPU 61 and outputs the NVRAM 26.
Read out the copy conditions of the standard processing mode in 4 and LC
Display on D260.

In the input reading (4), C of the operation board 20
The PU 253 reads the user's operation on the operation board 20 to notify the MPU 61 of the system controller 1 and the MPU 61 of the system controller 1 decodes the command from the personal computer PC and FCU. C
The PU 253 responds to the user's operation on the operation board 20 by reading the depression of the numeric keypad, generating the input numerical data, reading the depression of the start key, transferring the start instruction to the system controller 1, and setting the paper size. It controls the reading and display output of ordinary copying machines such as reading the switching input.

The waiting time Td1 for switching from the standby mode to the low power mode, the waiting time Td2 for switching from the low power mode to the sleep mode, and the scheduled time group can be input from the operation unit 20, and the input value Is stored (registered) in the NVRAM 264 shown in FIG. "Input reading" (4) CPU25
When 3 reads the operator's operation of the setting key in the operation key group 262, the setting menu screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display 2
60 is displayed. When the operator designates the time setting field on the setting menu screen, the CPU 253 displays the energy saving switching waiting time setting screen 260dt and the scheduled output time setting screen 260tt shown in FIG. 8 on a part of the display surface of the liquid crystal display 260. .

Here, the operator operates the up / down button on the screen 260dt to set the timer T for determining the timing of switching from the standby mode to the low power mode.
It is possible to adjust the time limit value (Td1) A set to d1 and the time limit value (Td2) B set to the timer Td2 that determines the switching timing from the low power mode to the sleep mode.

By operating the scroll up / down buttons of the fixed output time setting screen 260tt, the display from which only one fixed time can be displayed from No. 1 to No. 2, No. 3, ... Or vice versa. The scheduled time displayed in the column can be changed, and thereby the newly added scheduled time can be added. When the delete button is operated, the scheduled time displayed in the display field is deleted. The hour or minute can be selected with the hour and minute buttons, and the up / down button can be operated to change the time displayed in the display field. In this embodiment, a large number of times can be input as the "scheduled time" within the range of 24 hours a day. When the operator operates the Enter button, the CPU 253 displays the time limit values Td1 (A) and Td2 displayed on the energy saving switching waiting time setting screen 260dt and the fixed output time setting screen 260tt at that time.
(B) and "Regular time" group (which is scroll-displayed) is updated and written (overwritten) in NVRAM 264.
In addition, the time limit values Td1 (A) and Td2 (B) are transferred to the MPU 61 of the printer controller 60. MPU
Reference numeral 61 updates the corresponding data in the RAM with the transferred data and refers to it in steps 2 and 10.

Incidentally, after that, these time limit values Td1 and Td2 on the NVRAM 264 are read by the CPU 253 of the operation unit 20 in the initialization process (1) in accordance with the instruction of the MPU 61 to read the copy condition of the standard process mode in the NVRAM 264. When displaying on LCD 260, CP
U253 transfers to MPU61. The MPU 61 holds these data Td1 and Td2 in the RAM, and then refers to them in steps 2 and 10.

In the "input reading" (4), an instruction is input, for example, a user's operation on the operation board 20 (depression of a numeral key, depression of a start key, switching of paper size, etc.), document pressing of the document scanner 10. When the switch is closed (press position) is changed to open (open position), the document is detected by the ADF 30, and the print command is sent from the personal computer PC or FCU, the MPU 61 of the system controller 1 is received.
Proceeds to processing corresponding to the instruction input (5-16).

However, if there is no instruction input, the time data generated by the clock IC 273 is awaited while waiting for the instruction input.
Check to see if the time in the scheduled register has been reached (6),
It is checked whether the timer Td1 has timed out (7, 8). When there is no instruction input and the timer Td1 times out, the MPU 61 writes "1" indicating the low power mode in the mode register FT (9), and T
The timer Td2 for the d2 time period is started (10), and the low power mode is entered (11). That is, the switch 83
Turn off. The switches 84 and 85 continue to be turned on.
Then, after that, when there is no input and the timer Td2 times out (12, 13), the MPU 61 writes the image processing mode being displayed on the LCD 260 to the NVRAM 264 as the previous mode, and indicates to the mode register FT that it is in the sleep mode. Is written (14), and the mode is shifted to the sleep mode (15). That is, the switches 83, 84 and 85 are turned off.

When the power key 254 is turned on while the standby mode is set, the MPU 61 considers that the user has instructed switching to the sleep mode, and the LCD 260
The image processing mode currently displayed is written in the NVRAM 264 as the previous mode, and the mode shifts to the pause mode. Power key 25 when low power mode or hibernate mode is set
When 4 is turned on, the MPU 61 considers that the user has instructed to switch to the standby mode, sets the standby mode, reads the previous image processing mode written in the NVRAM 264, and displays it on the LCD 260.

When the MPU 61 of the system controller 1 recognizes the instruction input in the "input reading" (4), the instruction input is the user's operation on the operation board 20, the change of the document pressing switch of the document scanner 10 from the closed state to the open state, ADF
When the MPU 61 is currently set in the energy saving mode (low power mode or sleep mode), such as the detection of a document in 30, the MPU 61 displays the time held in the time register on the liquid crystal display 260. In addition, by referring to the current time of the clock IC 273, the waiting time until the displayed time is calculated, and this is also the liquid crystal display 2
A notification text that is displayed on 60 and prompts the user to select one of “scheduled output” and “immediate printing” is displayed on the liquid crystal display 260 (18A).

The default for selecting "scheduled output" and "immediate printing" is "scheduled output", and the initial screen is a display in which "scheduled output" is selected. When the operator specifies "immediate printing", the display switches to "immediate printing". By operating the setting key in the operation key group 262, the default selection of “scheduled output” can be switched to selection of “immediate printing”.

When the present mode is the standby mode,
The above notification text is not displayed. Next, MPU61
Read the operator's copy mode setting input (19A),
Moving to FIG. 7, copying is started (21A), and writing of image data to the memory MEM in units of original pages is started (22).

Referring again to FIG. 6, "input reading"
The instruction input recognized in (4) is a personal computer PC or FCU.
When the print command is a print command from, the document scanner 10 prints out a document (text, image) that is not used. Therefore, when the MPU 61 is currently set in the energy saving mode (low power mode or sleep mode), The time (output time) held in the register, the waiting time until that time, and the instruction to select one of "scheduled output" and "immediate printing" are displayed on the PC or F
Send to CU. Receiving this, the personal computer PC displays an output time and a waiting time, and a notification text for prompting the user to select one of "scheduled output" and "immediate printing" on the display connected thereto. When the personal computer PC has an input for selecting "scheduled output" or "immediate printing", the personal computer PC transfers the selected information to the system controller 1, and the MPU 61 of the system controller 1 stores the selected information in the selection information register assigned to the RAM. Write selection information (18B).
In the case of the FCU, the notification data received from the system controller 1 is transmitted to the transmission source facsimile, and the transmission source facsimile displays the output time and waiting time and one of the “scheduled output” and “immediate printing” on the display connected to it. Display a notification text that prompts selection. When the source facsimile has an input for selecting “scheduled output” or “immediate printing”, the source facsimile transmits the selected information to the FCU, and the FCU receives and transfers it to the system controller 1, MPU61 is RAM
The selection information is written in the selection information register assigned to (18B). Next, the MPU 61 reads the print mode designated by the PC or FCU (19B), and does not perform processing such as displaying the notification text when the present mode is the standby mode. Next, moving to FIG. 7, input of document data (and conversion to image data) is started (21
B) The writing of the image data to the memory MEM for each page of the original document is started (22).

Then, referring to FIG. 7, when the energy saving mode (low power mode or pause mode) is currently set in both copying and document printing, an "immediate print" instruction is issued. Sometimes, or
Even if the "timed output" is instructed, if the remaining memory capacity of the MEM is less than the set value and there is no margin, "0" indicating the standby mode is written to the mode register FT (23 to 25/23, 24). , 37, 25) and shifts to the standby mode (26). That is, the switches 83,
Turn on 84 and 85. Then, the copy image data or the document image data input this time is printed out (27). When this is finished, the image data input this time is deleted from the MEM. And M
It is checked whether or not the EM has image data for regular output (28), and if there is, it is printed out (29). When all the printouts are completed, the end cycle for continuing the cleaning of the photoconductor of the printer 100 and the transfer belt is started (30), and Td1 is set.
The time limit timer Td1 is started (31), and the process proceeds to "input reading" (4). When the end cycle stop timing comes, the end cycle is stopped. As a result, the mechanism of the printer 100 is brought into a rest state, but in the standby mode, the fixing heater 87 is still energized.

When the "timed output" is instructed and the remaining memory capacity of the MEM is equal to or larger than the set value and there is a margin, if the image forming processing mode is "copy", the timed "X hour Y" displayed in step 17A is displayed. To print out by about "minute",
It is displayed on the liquid crystal display 260 (38). When the image forming processing mode is “print” which responds to the print command of the personal computer PC, the system controller 1 sends information to the personal computer PC to print out by the time “X: Y”, and the personal computer PC The display connected thereto displays a message indicating that the print output will be made by the time of "X: Y" (38). When the image forming processing mode is "print" in response to the print command of the facsimile reception image of the FCU, the information that the print output is to be made by the time "X: Y" is sent from the system controller 1 via the FCU. It is transmitted to a facsimile machine, and the facsimile machine displays on the display that it prints out by about "X, Y minutes" (38).

When the time data of the clock IC 273 reaches the fixed time of the fixed time register, the MPU 61 sets the time selection pointer to the time next to the fixed time in the fixed time register of the fixed time group on the NVRAM 264. After shifting to the one shown, the next time is updated and written in the fixed time register (32). Then, the MPU 61 checks whether or not there is accumulated image data for regular output in the MEM (33).

If the MEM has accumulated image data,
When the energy saving mode (low power mode or hibernation mode) is currently set, “0” indicating the standby mode is written in the mode register FT (34, 3).
5) Then, shift to the standby mode (36). That is, the switches 83, 84 and 85 are turned on. Then, the stored image data of the MEM is printed out (29). When all the printouts are completed, the end cycle is started (30), the timer Td1 for the time period Td1 is started (31), and the process proceeds to "input reading" (4).

-Second Embodiment-A source power switch 79 which is a main power switch of a full-color digital copying machine having a composite function of the second embodiment of the present invention.
Includes a safety button switch 79s, which has an electric contact that mechanically locks it when it changes from open to closed and switches between open and close when a person unlocks it.

FIG. 9 shows an outline of the power feeding system of the second embodiment. A self-holding relay 88 is connected in parallel with the original power switch 79 and is turned on / off by a relay driver 89. The other hardware configuration of the second embodiment is
This is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS.

When a person unlocks the safety button switch 79s in order to switch the original power switch 79 from closed (on) to open (off), the contact piece of the switch 79s is closed and + 5VE (high level H). ) Joins the ACP's input interface. The low level L obtained by the input interface inverting it is used as an interrupt signal for the interrupt input port INT of the MPU 61 of the system controller 1.
Apply to. The MPU 61 responds to the fall of the signal of the interrupt input port INT from H to L, and thus the MPU 61 of FIG.
The interrupt process shown in is executed. That is, the relay driver 89 is supplied with a relay-on instruction signal so that the self-holding relay 8
Turn on 8 (41). Then, "1" indicating that this interrupt processing has been performed is written to the register FI (4
2) Then, the process returns to the process of the main routine immediately before the interrupt process. By turning on the self-holding relay 88, even if a person switches the original power switch 79 from closed to open, commercial AC power continues to be fed to the DC power supply / AC control board 80 via the self-holding relay 88, The power supply does not stop for any electric circuit.

After returning to the main routine and proceeding to "input read" (4), the MPU 61 then registers FI there.
Data of (5a) is checked, and if it is "1", the process proceeds to the process shown in (b) of FIG. 11, the data of the register FI is cleared (51), and the accumulated image for the regular output of the MEM is output. It is checked if there is data (52). If there is no accumulated image data, the self-holding relay 88 is turned off when the end cycle is completed (59, 60). When there is accumulated image data, when the energy saving mode (low power mode or sleep mode) is currently set, the mode register FT indicates “0” indicating the standby mode.
Is written (53, 54), and the mode is shifted to the standby mode (55). That is, the switches 83, 84 and 8
Turn on 5. Then, the image data accumulated in the MEM is printed out (56). When all printouts are completed, the end cycle is started (57) and T
The timer Td1 for the d1 time period is started (58), the end cycle is waited for, and the self-holding relay 88 is turned off (59, 60).

Then, the operation proceeds to "input reading" (4), but if the person has already switched the original power switch 79 to the open (off) state, when the self-holding relay 88 is turned off, the DC power / AC control is performed. The AC power supply to the plate 80 is stopped, and the power supply to the copying machine is completely stopped.

M of the system controller 1 of the second embodiment
The other processes and functions of the PU 61 are similar to those of the above-described first embodiment.

[0107]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION By grouping the printing of documents that do not need to be printed out at regular intervals, it is possible to reduce the number of startups from the power saving mode to the normal mode in which the power consumption is high, and the power consumption of the image forming apparatus is correspondingly reduced. Is reduced.
Since it is possible to print out in a hurry, the possibility of impairing the convenience of the user is low. If there is a urgent printout, the image information in the memory means (MEM) will be printed out subsequently, so if there is no image information in the memory means (MEM) even at the scheduled printout time, the energy saving mode will continue. Power consumption can be suppressed. By recognizing the existence of the scheduled mode, the effect that the user can suppress unnecessary immediate printout can be expected.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the outer appearance of a copying machine having a composite function according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing an outline of an image forming mechanism of the printer 100 shown in FIG.

3 is a block diagram showing an outline of an image processing system of the copying machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an outline of a power supply system of the copying machine shown in FIG.

5A is an enlarged plan view showing the upper surface of a part of the operation board 20 shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. FIG.
(B) is a block diagram showing an electric system of the operation board 20 for performing key-in reading and display output.

6 is an MPU of the system controller 1 shown in FIG.
61 is a flowchart showing a part of the energy saving mode switching control and the image input / output control of 61.

7 is an MPU of the system controller 1 shown in FIG.
61 is a flowchart showing another part of the energy saving mode switching control and the image input / output control of 61.

FIG. 8 is a liquid crystal display 260 shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view showing a setting input screen displayed in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an outline of a power supply system of a copying machine according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 10 M of the system controller 1 of the second embodiment
7 is a flowchart showing a part of energy saving mode switching control and image input / output control of PU 61.

11A is a flowchart showing the contents of one interruption process of the MPU 61 of the system controller 1 of the second embodiment, and FIG. 11B is an energy saving mode switching control of the MPU 61 of the system controller 1 of the second embodiment. 9 is a flowchart showing another part of the image input / output control.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Color manuscript scanner 20: Operation board 30: Automatic manuscript feeder 100: Color printer PC: Personal computer PBX: Exchanger PN: Communication line 102: Optical writing unit 103, 104: Paper feed cassette 105: Registration roller pair 106: Transfer Belt unit 107: Fixing unit 108: Paper discharge trays 110M, 110C, 110Y, 110K: Photoreceptor units 111M, 111C, 111Y, 111K: Photoreceptor drums 120M, 120C, 120Y, 120K: Developing device 160: Transfer conveyance belt ACP: Image data processing device CDIC: Image data interface control IMAC: Image memory access control IPP: Image data processor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 1/21 H04N 1/21 F term (reference) 2C061 AP03 AP04 AQ06 AR01 HH11 HK19 HK23 HN04 HN15 HN16 HT07 2C187 AC07 AD03 AD04 BH05 CD12 2H027 DA50 DE07 EE08 EF06 EF13 EF16 EH06 EH08 FA35 FB02 FB19 FC02 GB17 GB18 ZA07 5C073 AA06 BC01 BD03

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: memory means for accumulating input image information; image generating means for forming an image on a transfer sheet; and an image forming controller for driving the image generating means in a set operation mode. In the above, the image forming controller has an immediate print mode and a scheduled print mode, input image information in the scheduled print mode is held in the memory means to form an image at a fixed time, and input image information in the instant print mode is immediately formed in the image. If there is image information held in the memory means after the completion of the image formation, the image is also formed on the image information; 2. An image forming controller forms an image of the input image information when the amount of image information in the memory means exceeds a set value by writing the input image information, and holds the image in the memory means after completion of the image formation. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image information is also formed. 3. A means for notifying at least one of the next scheduled image forming output time and the waiting time until then;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 4. The image forming apparatus is further provided with a power supply mode from a standby mode in which an image can be formed immediately in response to an instruction, to an energy saving mode in which an instruction can be read but an image cannot be formed, and vice versa. An image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image forming controller immediately forms an image of the input image information when receiving an instruction in the standby mode. 6. The image forming apparatus further comprises a self-holding relay connected in parallel with a power switch of a power supply circuit; and a safety instructing means, wherein the image forming controller responds to the safety instruction. 2. When there is image information to be held in the memory means by turning on, the image forming is performed and then the self-holding relay is turned off.
6. The image forming apparatus according to any one of 5 to 5.