JP2008070779A - Image forming apparatus and time control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus of which the power consumption is reduced by controlling the timing of power supply, and to provide a time control program. <P>SOLUTION: When the operation of turning on a power source is performed through an operation panel 28, a power control section 23 detects the operation, a timer count section 25 starts a timer and reads information about time required to start a warmup process and stored in the storage section 24. When time required to start the execution and read by the timer of the timer count section 25 is reached, an instruction to execute the warmup process is given to a warmup control section 26. The warmup processing section 26 instructs an engine control section 22 and a panel control section 27 to execute the process. Consequently, the engine control section 22 and panel control section 27 supply power from a power source device to a fixing heater 15, a photoreceptor drum 13, and a back light 105. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a time control program.

  In general, power is supplied to a drive device that constitutes an image forming apparatus when the power is turned on, and the drive device is moved to a steady state at a constant temperature and can be operated and processed. Since the power supply amount at this time becomes larger than the power amount supplied during normal operation, the power consumption per unit time increases. In order to suppress this power consumption, in Patent Document 1, the printing speed is changed based on the surface temperature of the fixing roller of the printing apparatus.

  In Patent Document 1, when the surface temperature of the fixing roller is low, printing output is performed at a low speed, and the power consumption is reduced by increasing the printing speed as the temperature increases with time. It is suppressed.

Once the temperature rises until it reaches a steady state, it is necessary to continue supplying a certain amount of power in order to maintain the steady state. At this time, when the unused state continues for a predetermined period of time designated in advance, a technique is used in which the power consumption is suppressed by transitioning to a power saving state lower than the power consumption in the steady state.
JP 2004-126329 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and a time control program that reduce power consumption by controlling the timing of power supply.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is directed to a fixing unit that thermally fixes a toner image formed on a sheet based on an image formation request, a preheating unit that preheats the fixing unit, and a power supply. Detection means for detecting, setting means for setting a predetermined time, and preheating by the preheating means is started after elapse of the time set by the setting means after the detection means detects that the power is turned on. And control means for controlling as described above.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the measurement means for measuring an elapsed time from when the detection means detects that the power is turned on until the image formation request is received, and the measurement means And updating means for updating the set time with the measured elapsed time.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, every time the detection unit detects the power-on, an elapsed time from when the power-on is detected to when the image forming request is received is determined. A measuring unit for measuring, a storing unit for storing the elapsed time measured by the measuring unit as history information, and a time measured by the measuring unit with the most elapsed time among the elapsed times stored by the storing unit. Updating means for updating the set time.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the computer, a detecting means for detecting power-on, a setting means for setting a predetermined time, and a setting by the setting means after detecting the power-on by the detecting means A control unit that controls to start preheating of the fixing unit that thermally fixes the toner image formed on the paper after a lapse of the specified time, and receives a processing request after detecting the power-on by the detecting unit And measuring means for measuring the elapsed time until and an updating means for updating the set time with the time measured by the measuring means.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the computer, a detection means for detecting power-on, a setting means for setting a predetermined time, and a setting by the setting means after detecting the power-on by the detection means A control unit that controls to start preheating of a fixing unit that thermally fixes a toner image formed on a sheet after a lapse of a predetermined time, and each time the detection unit detects that the power is turned on, A measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from detection of input until a processing request is received, a saving means for saving the elapsed time measured by the measuring means as history information, and an elapsed time saved by the saving means It is made to function as an update means which updates the set time with the time measured by the measurement means in the most elapsed time.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to control the power supply timing based on the use state, and it is possible to reduce the power consumption until the start of use.

  In addition, according to the second and fourth aspects, the power supply timing can be changed according to the current usage state, and the power consumption can be reduced according to the usage state.

  According to claims 3 and 5, it is possible to supply power at the most frequent timing based on the time information from the previous power-on to the start of operation, and to reduce the power consumption until the start of use. There is an effect that it becomes possible.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an image forming apparatus and a time control program according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an apparatus configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus configured by applying an image forming apparatus and a time control program according to the present invention.

  FIG. 1 shows an apparatus configuration of a printing apparatus 100 as an example of an image forming apparatus. The printing apparatus 100 includes a sheet storage (feed tray) 101, a power supply device 102, a display display 103, an operation panel 104, a back panel. A light device 105, a paper discharge tray 106, a control board 107, and a power supply board 108 are configured. The power supply to the power supply devices such as the photosensitive drum 13, the motor 14, the fixing heater 15, and the heat roller 16 is controlled.

  The control board 107 is a board on which a central processing unit, a storage device, and the like that perform arithmetic processing, input / output processing, and storage processing in the printing apparatus 100 are arranged, and performs printing processing of print data requested for printing.

  In addition, the control board 107 measures and manages the elapsed time from power-on to reception of print data, and each time from the power supply device 102 to the time set based on the elapsed time at the next power-on. A preheating process (hereinafter referred to as “warm-up process”) is started in which power is supplied to the power-supplied apparatus and brought into a steady state.

  FIG. 2 shows an apparatus configuration for performing a power control process performed by the control board 107.

  The power supply board 108 is a board that controls power supply from the power supply apparatus 102 to each power supply apparatus, and supplies power based on a control signal from the control board 107.

  The time required to reach a steady state by supplying power from the power supply apparatus 102 is defined in advance.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printing apparatus which is an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

  The printing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 2 includes a reception processing unit 20, a print control unit 21, an engine control unit 22, a power control unit 23, a storage unit 24, a timer count unit 25, a warm-up control unit 26, a panel control unit 27, and an operation. A panel 28 is provided.

  The printing apparatus 100 is connected to the host PC 110 via a reception processing unit 20 that is a communication interface, and the reception processing unit 20 transfers print data requested to be printed from the host PC 110 to the print control unit 21.

  The print control unit 21 performs image processing such as color conversion processing and rasterization processing on the received print data, and transfers the print data to the engine control unit 22 to perform print processing.

Further, the print control unit 21 notifies the power control unit 23 that the print data has been received, calculates the elapsed time from when the power control unit 23 receives the print data until the power control unit 23 is turned on, and stores the storage unit 24. Remember.

  When the power switch provided on the operation panel 28 is turned on to perform the above-described printing process, the power control unit 23 detects the operation performed on the operation panel 28, performs power control, and starts the printing apparatus 100. To do. The power control unit 23 activates the timer of the timer count unit 25 when the operation of the operation panel 28 is detected.

  The power control unit 23 supplies power for a time (hereinafter referred to as “execution start time”) until a preset warm-up process is started by detecting the operation of the power switch using the operation panel 28. Thus, power control is performed. Therefore, the power control unit 23 reads the set execution start time from the storage unit 24.

  The storage unit 24 is configured by a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), or the like, and stores an elapsed time from when the power is turned on until print data is received. In the storage unit 24, the elapsed time stored immediately before is set as the execution start time, and the past elapsed time can be accumulated and the most elapsed time can be set as the execution start time as shown in FIG. It is.

  Of course, it is also possible to store the execution start time of the warm-up process as a fixed value.

  When the power control unit 23 reads the execution start time from the storage unit 24, the timer count unit 25 instructs the warm-up control unit 26 to execute the warm-up process when the read execution start time is reached.

  The warm-up control unit 26 controls warm-up processing for supplying power from the power supply device to the power supply device such as the fixing heater 15, the photosensitive drum 13, and the backlight 105 based on an instruction from the power control unit 23. The warm-up control unit 26 instructs the engine control unit 22 and the panel control unit 27 to supply power to the power supply device, and supplies power from the power supply device to the power supply device.

  When the warm-up process is completed, the printing apparatus 100 is in a steady state and can perform the printing process.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the image forming apparatus and the time control program of the present invention.

  In FIG. 3, the process is started when the power is turned on by operating the main switch, and the warm-up process is performed by supplying power from the power-off state to the photosensitive drum, the motor, the fixing device, etc. to bring it into a steady state. The start time information is read (301).

  It is determined whether or not the execution start time has been read by reading (302), and if it has been read (YES in 302), the warm-up process is not performed until the read execution start time, and the power-off standby state is set (303).

  When the execution start time is reached (YES in 303), the warm-up process is started by supplying power from the power supply device to the photosensitive drum, the motor, and the fixing device (304), and the startup state is entered when the steady state is reached (305). ).

  Further, when the execution start time information until the start of the warm-up process cannot be read (NO in 302), for example, when the execution start time information is not stored when power is turned on for the first time, or the storage area in which the time information is stored Is initialized, power is immediately supplied from the power supply device to the photosensitive drum, motor, and fixing device to perform warm-up processing (304).

  The photosensitive drum, motor, and fixing device transition to a steady state due to the warm-up process, and when the warm-up process of the printing apparatus is completed and the start-up state is reached (YES in 305), then reception of print data is confirmed. (306).

  When print data is received (YES in 306), the "elapsed time since power-on" is counted based on the time information at the time of reception (307), and the warm-up process is started when the power is next turned on. The time information is set (308). The detailed flow of the setting process at this time is shown in the flowcharts of FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the setting process for setting the execution start time information of the warm-up process shown in FIG.

  The flow shown in FIG. 4 is a process performed by measuring the elapsed time from power-on to reception of print data when the printing apparatus in the activated state receives print data. The time is stored in the storage area (401).

  Then, the stored elapsed time is set as time information until the start of warm-up at the next power-on (402).

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, the elapsed time from the power-on to the reception of print data in the print output performed immediately before is the start time of the next warm-up process.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of other setting processing.

  FIG. 5 is another flowchart showing the flow of the setting process for setting the start time information of the warm-up process shown in FIG.

  The flow shown in FIG. 5 is a modification of the flow shown in FIG. 4, in which the elapsed time from the previous power-on to the reception of print data is accumulated and stored as history information, and the optimum elapsed time based on this history information Is set as the start time information of the warm-up process from the next power-on.

  When the elapsed time from power-on to reception of print data is measured, first, the measured elapsed time is accumulated and stored together with the past elapsed time (501). That is, the newly measured elapsed time is superimposed on the history information of the elapsed time from power-on to warm-up processing as shown in FIG.

  Based on this history information, the elapsed time from the most frequent power-on to the warm-up process is detected (502), and the detected elapsed time is set as the elapsed time until the next warm-up process (503).

  FIG. 6 is a graph showing history information in which the elapsed time from the previous power-on to the warm-up process is accumulated, and the horizontal axis shows the time obtained by dividing the start time of the warm-up process from the power-on in 1 minute units. The vertical axis indicates the frequency of the start time of the warm-up process.

  The start time of the warm-up process on the horizontal axis is the time from when the power is turned on until the print request is received and the print process is started. For example, the elapsed time indicated as “1” is “ The printing process started within “0 minute to 1 minute”, and the elapsed time indicated as “N” started the printing process within “N-1 minutes exceeding N−1 minutes” after power-on. Shows time.

  In the graph shown in FIG. 6, it is shown that the most frequent “M” warm-up process was performed during the elapsed time of “N”. That is, the start time of the warm-up process at the next power-on is read as “M”.

  With the above processing, the image forming apparatus of the present invention can control the start time of the warm-up process by supplying power from the power supply device based on the elapsed time from when the power is turned on until the print request is received.

  This makes it possible to minimize power consumption from power-on to print output.

  Therefore, by applying the present invention, an effect that power consumption can be suppressed to a minimum can be expected, and an effect that higher stable operation can be expected by improving fault tolerance can be expected.

  The processing shown in the flowchart can also be realized by a power control program that can be executed by a computer.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications within the scope not changing the gist thereof.

  The present invention also provides an image forming apparatus having a communication function that executes the above-described operation or stores the program from a recording medium (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.) storing a program for configuring the above-described means. It is also possible to configure an image forming apparatus that executes the above-described processing by installing and executing this.

  Further, the medium for supplying the program may be a communication medium (a medium for temporarily or fluidly holding the program, such as a communication line or a communication system). For example, the program may be posted on an electronic bulletin board (BBS: Bulletin Board Service) of a communication network and distributed via a communication line.

  The present invention can be applied to control power consumption when the image forming apparatus is activated.

FIG. 2 is an apparatus configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus configured by applying an image forming apparatus and a time control program according to the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus that is an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in the image forming apparatus and the time control program of the present invention. The flowchart which shows the flow of the setting process which sets the start time information of the warm-up process shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is another flowchart showing a flow of a setting process for setting start time information of the warm-up process shown in FIG. 3. The graph which shows the historical information which accumulated the elapsed time from the past power-on to warm-up processing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Conveyance roller 11 Drum cartridge 12 Toner cartridge 13 Photosensitive drum 14 Motor 15 Fixing heater 16 Heat roller 20 Reception control part 21 Print control part 22 Engine control part 23 Power control part 24 Storage part 25 Timer count part 26 Warm-up control part 27 Panel Control unit 28 Operation panel 100 Printing device 101 Paper storage (paper feed tray)
102 Power Supply Device 103 Display Display 104 Operation Panel 105 Backlight Device 106 Paper Discharge Tray 107 Control Board 108 Power Supply Board 110 Host PC

Claims (5)

Fixing means for thermally fixing a toner image formed on a sheet based on an image formation request;
Preheating means for preheating the fixing means;
Detection means for detecting power-on,
Setting means for setting a predetermined time;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls to start preheating by the preheating unit after the time set by the setting unit elapses after the detection unit detects that the power is turned on. Measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from detection of the power-on by the detection means until acceptance of the image formation request;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an updating unit that updates the set time with an elapsed time measured by the measuring unit. Measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from detection of the power-on to reception of the image formation request each time the power-on is detected by the detection means;
Storage means for storing the elapsed time measured by the measurement means as history information;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an updating unit that updates the set time with a time measured by the measuring unit at an elapsed time having the highest number of elapsed times stored in the storing unit. On the computer,
Detection means for detecting power-on,
Setting means for setting a predetermined time;
Control means for controlling to start preheating of the fixing means for thermally fixing the toner image formed on the paper after the elapse of the time set by the setting means after the detection means detects the power-on. ,
Measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from when the detection means detects that the power is turned on until a processing request is received;
A time control program that functions as an updating unit that updates the set time with the time measured by the measuring unit. On the computer,
Detection means for detecting power-on,
Setting means for setting a predetermined time;
Control means for controlling to start preheating of the fixing means for thermally fixing the toner image formed on the paper after the elapse of the time set by the setting means after the detection means detects the power-on. ,
Measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from detection of the power-on to reception of a processing request each time the power-on is detected by the detection means;
Storage means for storing the elapsed time measured by the measurement means as history information;
A time control program that functions as an updating unit that updates the set time with a time measured by the measuring unit with an elapsed time having the highest number of elapsed times stored in the storing unit.

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