JP2008078912A - Complex machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a complex machine in which when a replacement unit having maintenance components being maintenance objects is replaced, an accumulated use degree of the maintenance components included in the replacement unit is easily initialized and a work load at the replacement of the replacement unit is alleviated. <P>SOLUTION: The complex machine is constituted so that a component management part 11a of a control part 11 initializes a counter parameter value indicating the accumulated use degree of the maintenance components included in the replacement unit by inputting information regarding the replaced unit via an operation part 15, etc. when the replacement unit having a plurality of the maintenance components such as an automatic document feeding unit 22 is replaced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a multifunction machine having an exchange unit.

As a conventional technology, a life counter that counts the number of times a part is used is marked in the check box for the replacement part of the standard format paper, and the standard format paper is read by the device so that the life counter of the replacement part can be read. Is automatically reset (Patent Document 1, Abstract).
JP 2006-91609 A

  However, in the prior art, when a replacement unit having a plurality of replacement parts is replaced, it is time-consuming to mark a plurality of corresponding check fields included in the standard format paper and read the standard format paper for image reading. Work is necessary, and the work burden when replacing the replacement unit is large.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is that when a replacement unit having a maintenance part that is a maintenance management target is replaced, the cumulative usage of the maintenance part included in the replacement unit can be easily and easily reduced. The object is to provide a multi-function machine that can be initialized and that can reduce the work load when replacing a replacement unit.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the invention of claim 1, a replacement unit having a plurality of maintenance parts that are maintenance management targets and a cumulative usage of each maintenance part included in the replacement unit are detected. A component management unit that manages the component, and the component management unit initializes the cumulative usage of the maintenance component included in the replacement unit when the replacement unit is replaced.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the multifunction machine according to the first aspect of the present invention, the multi-function peripheral further includes an input receiving unit that receives an operation input, and the component management unit receives the operation input indicating that the replacement unit has been replaced. When it is performed on the input reception unit, the cumulative usage of the maintenance parts included in the replacement unit is initialized.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the multifunction machine according to the first aspect of the invention, the parts management unit detects that the replacement unit has been replaced, and the accumulation of the maintenance parts included in the replacement unit. Initialize usage.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the multifunction machine according to any one of the first to third aspects, the replacement unit includes a mechanical component as the maintenance component.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the multifunction machine according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the replacement unit includes an automatic document feeding unit.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the multifunction machine according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the replacement unit includes a paper reversing unit for reversing the front and back of the paper during duplex printing.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the multifunction machine according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the replacement unit includes an electrical component or an electronic component as the maintenance component.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the multifunction machine according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the replacement unit includes a light source unit for exposing the photosensitive drum or a light source unit for illuminating the original.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the multifunction machine according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the replacement unit includes a circuit board.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the parts management unit is configured to initialize the cumulative usage of the maintenance parts included in the replacement unit when the replacement unit is replaced, the part management unit becomes a maintenance management target. When a replacement unit having a maintenance part is replaced, the cumulative usage of the maintenance part included in the replacement unit can be easily initialized without trouble, and the work load when replacing the replacement unit can be reduced.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when an operation input indicating that the replacement unit has been replaced is performed, the cumulative usage of the maintenance parts included in the replacement unit is automatically initialized in response thereto. It does not take time to initialize the cumulative usage of maintenance parts.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, the parts management unit detects that the replacement unit has been replaced, and initializes the cumulative usage of the maintenance parts included in the replacement unit. It takes less time to initialize the cumulative usage of maintenance parts.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the work burden when replacing the replacement unit including the mechanical part as the maintenance part.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the work burden when replacing the automatic document feeder unit.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the work burden when replacing the sheet reversing unit.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the work burden when replacing the replacement unit including the electrical component or the electronic component as the maintenance component.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the work burden when replacing the light source unit for exposure or document illumination.

  According to invention of Claim 9, the work burden at the time of replacement | exchange of a circuit board can be reduced.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a facsimile multifunction machine 1 as a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the facsimile multifunction apparatus 1 includes a control unit 11, a reading unit 12, a recording unit 13, a display unit 14, an operation unit 15 as an input receiving unit, a communication unit 16, a storage unit 17, and the like. ing. Further, the functions of the facsimile composite apparatus 1 include a facsimile function, a copy function, a scanner function, a printer function, an Internet facsimile function, and the like.

  The control unit 11 supervises control of the facsimile multifunction peripheral 1 and is configured to include a CPU and the like. The control unit 11 includes a component management unit 11a as a functional element. The role of the component management unit 11a will be described in detail later.

  The reading unit 12 reads an original, and is used for reading an original when transmitting a facsimile, reading an original when using a scanner function, and the like. The reading unit 12 includes a reading unit 21 that reads a document, and an automatic document feeding unit 22 that sends the document to the reading unit 21. Among these, the automatic document feeding unit 22 is an exchange unit having a plurality of maintenance parts that are maintenance management targets. The detailed configuration of the reading unit 12 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The recording unit 13 includes a printer device or the like, and prints image data on paper or the like. The display unit 14 is constituted by a liquid crystal display device or the like, and is used for displaying operation information and the like of the facsimile composite apparatus 1. The operation unit 15 includes a plurality of operation buttons, a touch panel, and the like, and is used to operate the facsimile composite apparatus 1.

  The communication unit 16 plays a role as a communication interface of the facsimile apparatus 1. The communication unit 16 includes a facsimile communication unit 26, a network communication unit 27, and the like. The facsimile communication unit 26 is responsible for facsimile transmission / reception via the telephone network. The network communication unit 27 is responsible for data communication via the network 18 including a LAN (Local Area Network) and the Internet.

  The storage unit 17 includes a storage device such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk device. The storage contents of the storage unit 17 include, for example, facsimile transmission / reception data transmitted / received via the facsimile multifunction apparatus 1, Internet facsimile transmission / reception data, e-mail transmission / reception data, image data read when the scanner function is used, In addition, data relating to setting, maintenance management, and the like of the facsimile multifunction peripheral 1 is included. More specific contents of the stored contents will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The facsimile multifunction apparatus 1 configured as described above includes an automatic document feeding unit 22 provided in the reading unit 12 as a replacement unit (assembly) having a plurality of maintenance parts that are maintenance management targets, and a recording unit. 13 is provided with a sheet reversing unit that reverses the front and back of the sheet during duplex printing. These replacement units are configured to be replaceable for each unit.

  For example, the automatic document feeder unit 2 is provided with a plurality of mechanism parts as maintenance parts. Specific examples of the maintenance parts include a pickup roller 31, a paper feed roller 32, a separation pad 33, a transport roller 34, and a driven roller 35 as shown in FIG. The pickup roller 31 and the paper feed roller 32 are for feeding the document on the document tray 36 into a substantially U-shaped conveyance path 37. The separation pad 33 is for separating the originals one by one, and is brought into pressure contact with the paper feed roller 32. The conveyance roller 34 and the driven roller 35 are for conveying the original along the conveyance path 37. The reading of the document is performed by the image sensor unit 38 in the reading unit 21 while the document is transported on the transport path. Examples of other maintenance parts included in the automatic document feeding unit 2 include a document sensor that detects the presence or absence of a document on the document tray 36, a drive gear, a drive motor, and various springs. The aforementioned paper reversing unit is also provided with, for example, various rollers, a drive gear, a drive motor, and a paper sensor for detecting passage of paper as maintenance parts.

  In addition, as another replacement unit including a plurality of maintenance parts, there is also a replacement unit including an electrical part or an electronic part. Specifically, for example, a light source unit for exposure to a photosensitive drum provided in the recording unit 13, a light source unit for document illumination provided in the reading unit 21, and various circuit boards (for example, the factory communication unit 26). NCU (Network Control Unit) substrate, etc.). The light source unit for exposure and the light source unit for document illumination include a light emitting component as a maintenance component and an inverter for adjusting power supplied to the light emitting component. Further, circuit boards such as NCU boards include various electric parts and electronic parts as maintenance parts.

  In the facsimile multifunction peripheral 1 according to this embodiment, the parts management unit 11a of the control unit 11 maintains and manages the maintenance parts included in these replacement units. The maintenance management information is stored in the storage unit 17.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the maintenance management information includes identification information (for example, part name, part number, etc.) D1 of each maintenance part and identification information (for example, unit name, part number) of the replacement unit including the maintenance part. Etc.) D2, counter parameter value D3 indicating the cumulative usage of each maintenance component, and life guideline value D4 based on counter parameter D3 of each maintenance component are included. The counter parameter value D3 is used to evaluate the remaining life of the part, and is set according to the characteristics of the part. Specifically, for example, the counter parameter value D3 corresponds to the number of times the part is used, the amount used, the time used, etc. The numerical value to be used is used.

  The component management unit 11 a cumulatively detects the usage of each maintenance component included in the replacement unit, and performs update management of the counter parameter value D of each maintenance component stored in the storage unit 17. For example, for the maintenance parts included in the automatic document feeding unit 22, the counter parameter value D3 of each maintenance part is added each time the document is fed by the automatic document feeding unit 22. The usage of each maintenance part is detected based on, for example, the processing contents (job) related to the unit provided with the maintenance part, the rotation amount of the motor that drives the maintenance part, and the like.

  In addition, when the counter parameter value D3 of any maintenance part included in any replacement unit reaches its life guideline value D4, the parts management unit 11a relates to a predetermined notification process and the maintenance part. The processing operation is stopped. As the notification process, for example, a display indicating the end of the service life of the maintenance part is performed via the display unit 14 or the like.

  In addition, when the replacement unit is replaced, the component management unit 11a initializes the counter parameter value D3 of the maintenance component included in the replacement unit. Specifically, for example, when information indicating a replacement unit (for example, automatic document feeding unit 22) that has been replaced through the operation unit 15 or the like is input by an operator, the replacement is performed in response to the input. The counter parameter value D3 of the maintenance part included in the unit is automatically initialized. The input of the information indicating the replacement unit that has been replaced is performed, for example, by selecting the replacement unit that has been replaced from the list of replacement units displayed on the display unit 14.

  In addition, when a part of the maintenance parts included in the replacement unit is replaced instead of replacing the entire replacement unit, for example, when information indicating the replaced maintenance part is input via the operation unit 15 or the like, the counter of the maintenance part is displayed. The parameter value D3 is automatically initialized.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the replacement unit is replaced, if information regarding the replaced unit is input via the operation unit 15 or the like, the component management unit 11a of the control unit 11 is included in the replacement unit. Therefore, the counter parameter value D3 of the maintenance part included in the replacement unit can be easily initialized without taking time and effort. As a result, an exchange unit having mechanical system maintenance parts such as an automatic document feeding unit 22 and a paper reversing unit, a light source unit for exposing a photosensitive drum and for illuminating a document, and electrical or electronic parts such as various circuit boards The work burden when replacing a replacement unit with maintenance parts can be reduced.

  As a modification of the configuration according to the present embodiment, the replacement unit is automatically detected by the component management unit 11a, and the counter parameter value D3 of the maintenance component included in the replacement unit is initialized. Also good. In this case, since it is not necessary to input information regarding the replacement unit exchanged by the operator, the work load can be further reduced.

1 is a block diagram of a facsimile multifunction machine as a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of a reading part. It is explanatory drawing regarding the component management information memorize | stored in a memory | storage part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Facsimile compound apparatus 11 Control part 11a Parts management part 12 Reading part 13 Recording part 14 Display part 15 Operation part 16 Communication part 17 Storage part 22 Automatic document feeding unit

Claims (9)

A replacement unit having a plurality of maintenance parts to be maintained,
A component management unit that detects and manages the cumulative usage of each maintenance component included in the replacement unit,
The multi-function peripheral, wherein the parts management unit initializes the cumulative usage of the maintenance parts included in the replacement unit when the replacement unit is replaced. The multifunction device according to claim 1,
An input receiving unit for receiving operation inputs is further provided,
When the operation input indicating that the replacement unit has been replaced is performed on the input receiving unit, the component management unit initializes the cumulative usage of the maintenance component included in the replacement unit. Multifunction machine. The multifunction device according to claim 1,
The multifunction device according to claim 1, wherein the component management unit detects that the replacement unit has been replaced, and initializes the cumulative usage of the maintenance component included in the replacement unit. In the multifunction device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The multifunction device according to claim 1, wherein the replacement unit includes a mechanical component as the maintenance component. The multifunction device according to claim 4,
The multi-function machine, wherein the replacement unit includes an automatic document feeding unit. The multifunction device according to claim 4,
The multifunction device includes a paper reversing unit that reverses the front and back of the paper during duplex printing. In the multifunction device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The replacement unit includes an electric part or an electronic part as the maintenance part. The multifunction device according to claim 7,
The exchange unit includes a light source unit for exposure to a photosensitive drum or a light source unit for document illumination. The multifunction device according to claim 7,
The multifunction device according to claim 1, wherein the replacement unit includes a circuit board.

Images