JP2005107289A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus in which even when an uninspected substrate or a substrate rejected in inspection is mixed, such a substrate can surely be identified in the course of the assembly of the apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus having the plurality of substrates on which circuit parts are mounted includes: a nonvolatile storage means provided on at least one of the substrates in order to store the history of the inspection of the substrate itself; and a determining means by which, when the image forming apparatus is assembled, whether the substrate corresponding to the history of the inspection is abnormal or not is determined based upon the history of the inspection stored in the storage means on the substrate mounted on the apparatus. The apparatus is provided with an alerting means for alerting a user to the abnormal state when the determining means determines that the substrate is abnormal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, or a multifunction machine of these, and more particularly to an inspection technique for the image forming apparatus.

  An electronic device usually includes a circuit board in which circuit components and the like are mounted on a board made of glass epoxy or the like. Such a board is composed of, for example, a plurality of circuit boards separated for each function from the viewpoint of downsizing of the equipment and improvement of manufacturing yield, and the plurality of boards are used as electronic equipment in the assembly process of the equipment. Built-in and connected.

  An image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a multi-function peripheral also has, for example, a control board that performs drive control of a mechanism unit such as an image reading unit, an image forming unit, and a paper transport unit, and outputs a command to each control board. It has a plurality of circuit boards separated from the main board for controlling the operation.

  For these circuit boards, mounting of circuit components and inspection of mounted boards are performed for each type of board, and a board that passes this inspection is used for assembling the image forming apparatus.

  Even if a board fails the above inspection, it can be repaired manually if it can be repaired by replacing or adjusting the circuit components mounted on the board. And the board | substrate which passed the re-inspection is used for an assembly as a passing board | substrate.

  On the other hand, each control board of the mechanism section includes a non-volatile memory in which adjustment data unique to each image forming apparatus, such as sheet passing timing data, image adjustment data, and other maintenance data, is stored. These adjustment data are data used for properly operating the image forming apparatus, are determined for each image forming apparatus in an adjustment process performed after the apparatus is assembled, and are recorded in the nonvolatile memory.

In addition, as a technique similar to the present invention, Patent Document 1 listed below determines an effective reuse method / reuse route when collecting components based on the use environment and use history recorded in the storage means. An electronic device is disclosed.
JP 2002-6694 A

  However, due to human error such as the above repaired board being used uninspected or rejected board being used at the stage of assembly, the inspection originally failed. There is a possibility that a substrate to be mixed is mixed.

  In this way, when an untested board or a failed board is mixed and used in the assembly of the device, it is impossible to identify such a substrate by appearance, and the malfunction of the device is confirmed in the above adjustment process. In such a case, it will be detected for the first time that the board is rejected. In this way, when a malfunction is confirmed in the adjustment process, other normal boards and mechanisms may be damaged due to the failed board, and all the boards of the device assembled at the same time are re-inspected. It is necessary to significantly reduce the production efficiency.

  Also, if the cause of failure in the inspection is a malfunction that seems to work normally, such as poor solder connection of circuit components, it will not be confirmed even in the adjustment process, and it may flow out to the market and cause a market accident There is also sex.

  The present invention has been proposed on the basis of the above-described conventional circumstances, and even when untested substrates and unacceptable substrates are mixed, an image that can reliably identify such substrates at the stage of device assembly. An object is to provide a forming apparatus.

  The present invention employs the following means in order to achieve the above object. That is, according to the present invention, in an image forming apparatus having a plurality of substrates on which circuit components are mounted, at least one of the substrates, a nonvolatile storage means for storing the inspection history of the substrate itself, and image formation At the time of assembling the apparatus, the apparatus includes a determination unit that determines whether there is an abnormality in the substrate corresponding to the inspection history based on the inspection history stored in the storage unit of the substrate mounted on the apparatus.

  According to the above configuration, for example, the inspection history of the substrate such as the inspection type, the number of inspections, the inspection result, and the repair record is stored in the storage unit on the substrate, and the determination unit provided in the image forming apparatus includes the inspection history Based on this, it is determined whether or not there is an abnormality in the substrate, so that it is possible to reliably detect mixing of untested substrates and unacceptable substrates at the assembly stage of the image forming apparatus. For this reason, a decline in production efficiency can be avoided and a market accident can be prevented.

  In particular, if the storage means is configured to divert the storage means that is originally arranged on the substrate for use in another application such as storage of the adjustment data, the inspection result output by the inspection apparatus is Since the writing means for storing the inspection history in the storage means can be realized simply by adding to the conventional manufacturing process, the cost is low.

  Further, when a configuration including a notifying unit that notifies an abnormality when the determining unit determines that an abnormality has occurred, it is possible to more reliably detect mixing of uninspected substrates and unacceptable substrates. In particular, if the power shut-off means for shutting off the power supply to the board mounted on the device is adopted as the notification means, other normal boards and mechanism parts may be damaged due to the mixed reject board. It can be surely prevented.

  According to the present invention, for example, the inspection history of the substrate such as the type of inspection, the number of inspections, the inspection result, and the repair record is stored in the storage means on the inspection target substrate, and the determination means provided in the image forming apparatus Since the presence / absence of the abnormality of the substrate is determined based on the inspection history, it is possible to reliably detect the mixing of the uninspected substrate and the unacceptable substrate at the stage of assembling the image forming apparatus. For this reason, it is possible to avoid a decrease in production efficiency and to prevent occurrence of a market accident due to a substrate defect.

  In addition, if the storage means is configured to divert the storage means originally disposed on the substrate for use in another purpose such as storage of the adjustment data, it is not necessary to change the substrate layout. Since the writing means for storing the inspection result output from the inspection apparatus in the storage means is only added to the conventional manufacturing process, this configuration can be realized at low cost.

  Furthermore, if the power shut-off means for shutting off the supply of power to the board mounted on the apparatus is adopted as a notifying means for notifying the abnormality when the judging means judges that it is abnormal, it may be caused by the rejected board that is mixed. It is possible to prevent the normal substrate and the mechanism portion from being damaged.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a part of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a mechanism unit 2 such as an image reading unit that scans and reads image data and an image forming unit that prints image data on a sheet, as in a conventional image forming apparatus. The operation of each mechanism unit 2 is controlled by a control board 3 a connected to each mechanism unit 2.

  Each control board 3a is connected to a main board 3b that controls the operation of the entire apparatus, and operates based on a signal output from a CPU 4 provided on the main board 3b. The control board 3a and the main board 3b (hereinafter, when the control board 3a and the main board 3b are not distinguished from each other will be described as the board 3) and the mechanism unit 2 are included in the image forming apparatus 1. However, since the present invention is irrelevant to the arrangement, it will not be described in detail here.

  The substrate 3 is obtained by mounting various circuit components on a substrate made of glass epoxy or the like on which metal wiring is formed using an automatic mounting machine or the like. In this circuit component mounting process, non-volatile storage means 5 such as an EEPROM or a flash memory for storing the adjustment data described in the background art is mounted on some types of substrates 3. For example, a storage unit 5 that stores image adjustment data is mounted on the control board 3a of the image forming unit, and a storage unit 5 that stores sheet passing timing data is mounted on the control board 3a of the paper transport unit. .

  When the mounting of the circuit components is completed, for example, an in-circuit test for inspecting each substrate 3 for the presence or absence of mounting failure of the circuit components, or whether the circuit is operating normally by inputting an inspection signal to the substrate. Inspections such as a function test for inspecting whether or not are performed.

  For this inspection, for example, a substrate inspection apparatus 10 including measuring devices such as a current-voltage measuring device, a signal generator, and a signal detector is used. The substrate inspection apparatus 10 electrically connects the measuring device and the substrate 3 by bringing a probe (inspection pin) into contact with an electrode on the substrate 3 designated by each inspection item in the inspection. Perform the measurement corresponding to the inspection item. And based on the said measurement result, it is determined whether the board | substrate 3 is an acceptance board | substrate or a rejection board | substrate.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, when the inspection for one substrate 3 is completed, the substrate inspection apparatus 10 outputs inspection information of the substrate 3 to the writing means 6. The writing means 6 to which the inspection information is input writes the inspection information via the probe that is in contact with the data bus 7 that is a data input line of the storage means 5 on the substrate 3. ing.

  FIG. 2 shows a case where the same probe brought into contact with the data bus 7 is used at the time of inspection and at the time of inspection information writing. At the time of inspection, the electrode and the measuring instrument are electrically connected to each other. At the time of information writing, a changeover switch 8 for electrically connecting the electrode and the writing means 6 is provided. Further, wiring other than the data bus 7 connected to the board inspection apparatus 10 is omitted because it is not related to the present application.

  Thereby, the inspection history of the substrate 3 itself is stored in the storage means 5 of the substrate 3. Here, the inspection information is, for example, data such as the type of inspection, the number of inspections, and the inspection result (a failure mode when failing).

  The writing means 6 only needs to have a function of writing data to the storage means 5, and for example, software executed on a personal computer can be used. Further, if the writing means 6 is software executed on a computer for controlling the apparatus provided in the board inspection apparatus 10, the configuration becomes easy.

  Here, the inspection information stored in the storage means 5 on the substrate 3 when the above inspection is executed will be described.

  For example, in the storage means 5 on the substrate 3 that has passed the in-circuit test, “I” indicating that the type of inspection is the in-circuit test and “1” indicating the result of the first in-circuit test. ”And“ 0 ”indicating that all inspection items in the in-circuit test are passed are stored as“ I, 1, 0 ”.

  In addition, in the storage means 5 of the board 3 that has been rejected, instead of “0” indicating that it has passed, “1” indicating that it has failed and inspection items that have failed. “5” indicating the number (in this case, the case where the item of the inspection item number 5 is rejected) is stored as “I, 1, 1, 5”.

  As described above, the board 3 that has failed the inspection is manually repaired, but when performing this repairing operation, the inspection item number that has been stored in the board 3 to be repaired is read out. Thus, it is possible to easily determine the circuit parts that need to be replaced without making a mistake. When the repair is completed, the storage means 5 on the repaired substrate 3 may store the repair contents such as the numbers indicating the circuit parts replaced in the repair work.

  Then, the in-circuit test is performed again on the substrate 3 that has been repaired, and the storage means 5 of the substrate 3 that has passed the re-inspection indicates that it has passed the second in-circuit test. , 0 "is additionally stored.

  By the way, in the assembly process of the image forming apparatus 1, the board 3 that has passed the above inspection is mounted on the apparatus main body, and the main board 3b and each control board 3a are electrically connected by a wiring cable or the like.

  When the power is turned on in this state, the CPU 4 on the main board 3b automatically starts up the board diagnosis program stored in the storage means 5 on the main board 3b. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the process of the circuit diagnostic program. Hereinafter, the process of the board diagnostic program will be described with reference to FIG.

  When this board diagnostic program is activated, the CPU 4 accesses the storage means 5 of the control board 3a in the first order specified by the board diagnostic program, and the inspection information stored in the storage means 5 is accessed. Is read (S1).

  Then, based on the read inspection information, it is determined whether or not the control board 3a is normal (passes all inspections to be performed on the control board 3a) (S2). .

  If it is determined to be normal, the storage means 5 of the next control board 3a is accessed according to the order specified in the board diagnosis program, and the inspection information is read (S3 → S1, indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1).

  The above determination is repeated for all the control boards 3a mounted on the image forming apparatus 1, and when all the control boards 3a are normal, the CPU 4 ends the board diagnosis program.

  As described above, when all the control boards are determined to be normal, the board diagnosis program does not need to be activated by the subsequent power-on. For this reason, when the board diagnostic program ends normally, the setting is changed so that the board diagnostic program is not started by the subsequent power-on (S4).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there is an abnormality in the determination step S2, the CPU 4 displays the name or number of the control board 3a determined to be abnormal on the display unit (shown in FIG. 1) which is the notification unit 9 provided in the image forming apparatus 1. By displaying information for specifying the control board 3a and the like and the contents determined to be abnormal, the abnormality is notified (S5), and the board diagnosis program is stopped (S6).

  In this way, when the abnormality of the control board 3a is notified, the operator checks the content notified by the display means and then shuts off the power supply. Replace the control board. Then, by turning on the power again, the board diagnostic program is started again, and it is possible to determine the abnormality of all the control boards including the replaced control board.

  In this way, it is possible to reliably detect mixing of uninspected substrates and unacceptable substrates at the stage of assembling the image forming apparatus. For this reason, it is possible to avoid a decrease in production efficiency and to prevent occurrence of a market accident due to a substrate defect.

  Further, in the above configuration, since the storage means 5 arranged on the control board is used for storing the adjustment data as the storage means 5 for storing the inspection history, it is not necessary to change the board layout. Since only the writing means 6 need be added to the conventional apparatus, this configuration can be realized at low cost.

  In the above description, the abnormality is notified by the display means. However, instead of or in addition to the display means, a power cut-off switch for cutting off the power supply to the control board mounted on the apparatus is provided. If it is set as the structure with which a line is provided, it can prevent that another normal control board and a mechanism part are damaged by the cause of the mixed board | substrate which rejected.

  In the above, when the board diagnosis program ends normally, the setting is changed so that the board diagnosis program will not be started when the power is turned on thereafter. It is good also as a structure provided with the means to restart a diagnostic program.

  Further, in the above description, the storage means installed on the control board is used for other purposes as the storage means for storing the inspection history, but the configuration includes a dedicated storage means for storing the inspection history on all the control boards. Of course, it is also possible.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can reliably identify substrates that have not been inspected and substrates that have not been inspected in the assembly process, and therefore has the effect of not reducing production efficiency, and is useful for inspection of image forming apparatuses and the like.

1 is a schematic functional block diagram of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. Explanatory drawing explaining the memory | storage of the test | inspection log | history of this invention. The flowchart which shows the board | substrate diagnostic process of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Mechanism part 3a Control board 3b Main board 4 CPU (determination means)
5 storage means 6 writing means 9 notifying means 10 substrate measuring apparatus

Claims (3)

In an image forming apparatus having a plurality of substrates on which circuit components are mounted,
Non-volatile storage means for storing the inspection history of the substrate itself, provided in at least one of the substrates;
Determining means for determining whether there is an abnormality in the substrate corresponding to the inspection history based on the inspection history stored in the storage means of the substrate mounted on the apparatus at the time of assembling the image forming apparatus;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying unit that notifies the abnormality when the determining unit determines that there is an abnormality. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the notification unit is a power cutoff unit that cuts off power supply to a substrate mounted on the apparatus.

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