JP2006187944A - Failure reporting method and its device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly report failure to an operator who comes later without causing noises by unnecessary action in reporting the occurrence of error, if the error occurs at a time when the operator is absent or a user himself/herself is not available nearby. <P>SOLUTION: In this failure reporting method, a human-body sensing sensor 103 senses operator's approach. If an error occurs then, the error report (sound, optical message or the like) is carried out at that timing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a failure reporting device.

  Many devices are designed to report faults to the operator, such as when a problem occurs during operation or when consumables are exhausted.

  There are various methods for reporting a failure, such as a warning sound, a warning lamp, and a warning message. There are several methods for reporting the failure, such as a method that keeps reporting from the time of the failure until it is recovered, a method that reports only when a failure occurs, and a method that keeps the warning lamp lit but only when a warning sound occurs. It has been taken.

  In order to report troubles with a high degree of urgency, it is often necessary to continue to report troubles using light and sound.

  However, in office equipment, etc., the degree of urgency of the failure is low, and if the warning sound is continuously sounded in the office, it may interfere with the work. When a failure occurs, all methods such as warning lamp, warning sound, warning message, etc. In many cases, a warning is reported, but only the warning lamp continues to light after that.

As another conventional example, Patent Document 1 can be cited.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-203098

  Of the conventional methods described above, in the method used in office equipment, when the operator is absent or is not present at the time of the failure, the occurrence of the failure is not easily transmitted to the operator only by displaying the warning lamp or warning message of the device. There was a drawback.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a failure reporting method and a failure reporting apparatus that can clearly notify a failure that has occurred in the absence or the like to an operator. It is in.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is a device for reporting a failure to an operator when a failure occurs, a failure reporting means for reporting the failure, and a human sensor for detecting the approach of the human body. When the approach of the human body is detected by the human sensor, a failure that has not been solved at that time is reported again.

  As described above, according to the present invention, by detecting the approach of an operator and reporting a failure occurring at that time, all means such as warning sound, warning lamp, warning message display, etc. Since it is possible to report troubles effectively used, a trouble reporting method and a trouble reporting apparatus that can properly report troubles to the operator without generating noise due to unnecessary reporting operations are provided. I can do it.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described more specifically and in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiment described below, a printer will be described as an example.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a printer embodying the present invention.

  The printer 101 includes a human body sensor 103 for detecting that a person has approached. In addition, an output panel 106 for displaying an operation state of the printer and displaying an error is provided. The output panel 106 includes an error display LED 105, a message display LCD 107, and a buzzer 108.

  The human body sensor 103 and the output panel 106 are connected to a device control unit 102 that controls the entire printer. The apparatus control unit 102 further includes a printing mechanism unit 109 having a mechanism for printing on a print medium, and an error information holding memory 104 for storing errors generated in the apparatus.

  For example, an error that has occurred in the printing mechanism unit 109 is transmitted to the apparatus control unit 102 and held in the error information holding memory 104.

  The device control unit 102 reads error information held in the error information holding memory 104 as necessary, and issues an error report instruction to the output panel 106.

  A specific error report processing procedure when the operator 110 approaches the printer 101 will be described below.

  First, in the printer 101, it is assumed that a “paper out error” occurs in the printing mechanism unit 109 that there is no paper for printing.

  The printing mechanism unit 109 notifies the apparatus control unit 102 of the occurrence of a “paper out error”.

  The apparatus control unit 102 sets “paper out error” information in the error information holding memory 104. Further, the apparatus control unit 102 requests the output panel 106 to display an error when a “paper out error” occurs. In response to a “paper out error” display request from the apparatus control unit 102, the output panel 106 turns on the error display LED 105 and displays a message “Please set paper” on the message display LCD 107. Further, the buzzer 108 sounds “beep” to notify the occurrence of an error. At this time, the warning sound at the buzzer 108 is only once at the time when the display request is made.

  The printer 101 waits until the “paper out error” is recovered by the operator 110. At this time, the error display LED 105 is lit on the output panel 106, and the message “Please set paper” is displayed on the message display LCD 107. There is no sound.

  When the operator 110 approaches the printer 101, the human body sensor 103 detects the approach of the operator and notifies the apparatus control unit 102 of the approach of the operator.

  The device control unit 102 confirms whether or not an error has occurred at this time from the contents of the error information holding memory 104. Since it is confirmed that a “paper out error” has occurred, the output panel 106 is requested to display a “paper out error”.

  In response to a “paper out error” display request from the apparatus control unit 102, the output panel 106 turns on the error display LED 105 and displays a message “Please set paper” on the message display LCD 107. Further, the buzzer 108 is sounded “beep” to notify the operator who has approached that an error has occurred.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of processing performed by the apparatus control unit 102 and the output panel 106 regarding error display processing from the occurrence of error to recovery, which characterizes the present invention, in the printer of this embodiment. It is a flowchart.

  First, when an error occurs, the device control unit 102 is notified of the error occurrence. In step S201, the device control unit 102 first performs error display processing. In the error display process, the output panel 106 is requested to display an error for the currently occurring error.

  In response to the error display processing request, the output panel 106 starts blinking the error LED in step S205, sounds a buzzer warning sound in step S206, and displays a message on the LCD in step S207. Here, when the warning sound is generated in step S206, the warning sound is not continuously generated, but the output is stopped after a specific warning sound is generated for one cycle.

  The error display process ends, and the apparatus control unit 102 waits for error recovery by the operator in step S202. Here, the operator's approach is monitored simultaneously with waiting for error recovery.

  If an operator approach is detected in S202, the process returns to S201 and the error display process is executed again. This step makes it possible to report an error to the approaching operator along with a warning sound.

  If error recovery by the operator is performed in S202, the apparatus control unit 102 proceeds to step S203 and confirms whether or not the error has been recovered normally. In step S204, if the error recovery is confirmed in step S203, if the error is recovered normally, the error recovery ends and the process returns to normal processing. If recovery has not been performed, the process returns to S201 and error display processing is performed again.

1 is an internal configuration diagram of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of error processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

101 printer
102 Device control unit
103 Human body sensor
104 Error information holding memory
105 Error display LED
106 Output panel
107 Message display LCD
108 buzzer

Claims (1)

In a device that reports a failure to the operator when a failure occurs,
A fault reporting means for reporting faults;
A human sensor for detecting the approach of the human body,
A failure reporting device that, when detecting the approach of a human body by the human sensor, reports again a failure that has not been resolved at that time.

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