JP2008262295A - Image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming system having high processing capability and high image forming speed, while the total of power values supplied from a commercial power source does not exceed an allowable power value. <P>SOLUTION: In this image forming system 1, a print server 2 and a plurality of printers 3A-3C supplied with power from the commercial power source 6 are communicably connected. At least one printer of the plurality of printers 3A-3C is the storage-battery-equipped printer 3A. The print server 2 has: an acquisition part 2B acquiring a total power consumption value of the printer which should be brought into a starting state; and a supply part 2C supplying the power of a first power value to all the printers which should be brought into the starting state from the commercial power source 6 when the total power consumption value does not exceed the allowable power value of the commercial power source 6, and supplying the power of a second power value smaller than the first power value to at least one storage-battery-equipped printer 3A of the storage-battery-equipped printer 3A which should be brought into the starting state when the total power consumption value exceeds the allowable power value. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses that form an image on a recording medium and a power supply control apparatus that controls power supplies of the plurality of image forming apparatuses.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an image forming system has been developed in which an image forming speed is increased and an image forming apparatus such as a printer is connected via a network. A single image forming system often includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses, and the plurality of image forming apparatuses are arranged to be supplied with power from an outlet disposed under a single breaker. Often done often. In such an image forming system, it is necessary that the total power consumption value of the image forming apparatus to be activated does not exceed the allowable power value of the commercial power source regulated by the breaker.

In order to prevent the total power consumption value of a plurality of image forming apparatuses from exceeding the allowable power value, a configuration is disclosed in which an image forming operation is performed only when the total power consumption value is smaller than the allowable power value (for example, (See Patent Document 1).
JP-A-11-143663

  However, in the conventional configuration, when the total power consumption value exceeds the allowable power value, the image forming apparatus cannot be activated. For this reason, when there is an image formation request in which the processing power as an image forming system is low and the total power consumption value exceeds the allowable power value, the total power consumption value does not exceed the allowable power value. There is a waiting time. Therefore, the image formation speed from when there is an image formation request until when an image is actually formed decreases.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming system having a high processing capability and a high image forming speed while preventing an electric power value supplied from a commercial power source from exceeding an allowable power value.

  In the image forming system of the present invention, the power supply control device and a plurality of image forming devices to which power is supplied from a commercial power supply are connected to be communicable. Each image forming apparatus is in an activated state in which an image forming operation can be performed with power of a predetermined first power value. At least one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses is an image forming apparatus with a supply source having a power supply source other than a commercial power source. The power control apparatus acquires a total power consumption value of an image forming apparatus that should be in an activated state including an image forming apparatus that is already activated and an image forming apparatus that is to be activated, among a plurality of image forming apparatuses. When the acquisition unit and the total power consumption value do not exceed the allowable power value of the commercial power supply, the power of the first power value is supplied from the commercial power supply to each of all the image forming apparatuses to be activated, and the total power consumption When the value exceeds the allowable power value, the power of the second power value smaller than the first power value from the commercial power source to at least one of the image forming apparatuses with a supply source to be activated And a supply unit for supplying power of the first power value to the other image forming apparatuses among the image forming apparatuses to be activated.

  In this configuration, when the total power consumption value exceeds the allowable power value, the power value supplied from the commercial power source to at least one image forming apparatus with a supply source among the image forming apparatuses with a supply source to be activated is By making the second power value smaller than the first power value, the image forming apparatus to be activated is activated while being controlled so that the total power value supplied from the commercial power supply does not exceed the allowable power value. The

  The power supply control apparatus may further include a storage unit that stores the first power value and the second power value. If the power supply control device stores the first power value and the second power value in advance, it does not require a means for measuring the power value required to activate each image forming apparatus. Decreases and the manufacturing cost decreases. In addition, the load required to control the power supply of the image forming apparatus is reduced.

  The supply source may be a storage battery that is charged with power supplied from a commercial power source, and the image forming apparatus with a power source is in an activated state when supplied with the second power value from the commercial power source. The power of the storage battery can be used. In this configuration, the image forming apparatus can be brought into an activated state by supplementing the power value supplied from the commercial power supply from the first power value to the second power value with the power of the storage battery. .

  The image forming apparatus with a supply source may further include a storage amount detector that detects a storage amount of the storage battery. When the total power consumption value exceeds the allowable power value of the commercial power source, the power supply control device The power value supplied to the image forming apparatus with a supply source in which the storage amount of the storage battery is greater than or equal to a predetermined value based on the detection result of the storage amount of the storage battery by the storage amount detector is set to the second power value. May be.

  In this configuration, the power storage amount of the storage battery is detected in advance, and the power value supplied to the image forming apparatus with a supply source whose power storage amount is a predetermined value or more is set to the second power value. Can be prevented from being activated.

  When the total power consumption value exceeds the allowable power value of the commercial power supply and the number of prints requested for image formation is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the power supply control device transfers to the image forming device with a supply source to be activated. The supplied power value may be a second power value, and if the number of printed sheets exceeds a predetermined value, it may be notified that the image forming apparatus to be activated cannot be activated.

  In this configuration, when the number of prints requested for image formation is less than or equal to a predetermined value, the image forming operation can be performed by supplementing the required power with the storage amount of the storage battery, while when the number of prints exceeds the predetermined value, Since there is a possibility that the required power cannot be supplemented by the amount of electricity stored in the storage battery, it is possible to warn by notifying that the image forming apparatus to be activated cannot be activated.

  The image forming apparatus with a supply source may further include a fixing device that fixes the developer onto the recording medium, and a warm-up fixing heater that heats the fixing device at the time of startup. In this configuration, when the image forming apparatus is started, the fixing device is heated by the warm-up fixing heater, so that the time required for the fixing device to reach the required temperature can be shortened, and the image forming apparatus can perform the image forming operation. It is possible to increase the image forming speed by shortening the time required to enter the active state.

  The image forming apparatus with a supply source may further include a control unit that supplies the power of the supply source to the warm-up fixing heater when the first power value is supplied from the commercial power source. In this configuration, since the power necessary to bring the image forming apparatus into the activated state is supplied from the commercial power supply, the power supplied from the commercial power supply is supplied by supplying the power from the supply source to the warm-up fixing heater. Without increasing the time, it is possible to shorten the time until the image forming apparatus is in an activated state in which an image forming operation can be performed, thereby increasing the image forming speed.

  The image forming apparatus with a supply source further includes a control unit that supplies the power of the supply source to a load device other than the fixing device and the warm-up fixing heater when the second power value is supplied from the commercial power source. You may have. In this configuration, since the power value supplied from the commercial power supply is less than the first power value, it is possible to supplement the power supply from the supply source that is insufficient to activate the image forming apparatus.

  For each image forming apparatus, the power control apparatus may turn off the power of the image forming apparatus that has not requested image formation for a predetermined time from the end of the previous image forming operation. In this configuration, the total power consumption value can be lowered by turning off the power of the image forming apparatus that has not performed the image forming operation for a predetermined time. This makes it difficult for the total power consumption value to exceed the allowable power value when the image forming apparatus is activated next time.

  According to the present invention, when the total power consumption value exceeds the allowable power value, the power value supplied from the commercial power source to at least one image forming apparatus with a supply source out of the image forming apparatuses with a supply source to be activated. Is set to a second power value smaller than the first power value, so that the total power value supplied from the commercial power supply does not exceed the allowable power value, while increasing the processing capability of the image forming system, The image forming speed can be increased.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The image forming system 1 includes a print server 2, a plurality of printers 3A, 3B, and 3C, and a client personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) connected via a communication line. Electric power is supplied from the commercial power supply 6 to the printers 3A to 3C. The allowable power value of the commercial power source 6 is limited to, for example, 4 kW by the breaker 7.

  The print server 2 corresponds to the power control device of the present invention. The printers 3A to 3C correspond to the image forming apparatus of the present invention. The number of the printers 3A to 3C may be two, or four or more. In this embodiment, it is assumed that only the printer 3A is a printer with a storage battery that contains the storage battery 4, and the other printers 3B and 3C do not have a storage battery. The storage battery 4 corresponds to the supply source of the present invention. In this embodiment, an electric double layer capacitor is used as the storage battery 4. The printer 3A with a storage battery corresponds to the image forming apparatus with a supply source of the present invention.

  The print server 2 includes a storage unit 2A, an acquisition unit 2B, and a supply unit 2C. As shown in FIG. 2, printer management table data is stored in the storage unit 2A. The printer management table data includes all of the printers 3A to 3C connected to the print server 2, the printer name, the power state, the first power value, the presence / absence of the storage battery, and the printer 2A having the storage battery 4. A relationship with the second power value is included.

  The power state indicates a state in which each of the printers 3A to 3C is activated (power is turned on) or stopped (power is turned off). The first power value is a power consumption value in a start-up state in which the printers 3A to 3C can perform an image forming operation. In this embodiment, the first power value is 1.5 kw. The second power value is a predetermined power value smaller than the first power value. In this embodiment, the output power value of the storage battery 4 is 0.5 kW, and the second power value is 1 kW.

  When the power state of any of the printers 3A to 3C is changed, the print server 2 transmits a start command or a stop command to the printer and updates the printer management table data.

  The acquisition unit 2B acquires the total power consumption value of the printer to be activated among the plurality of printers 3A to 3B. The total power consumption value includes the power consumption values of both the printer that has already been activated and the printer that is to be activated. The acquisition unit 2B calculates the total power consumption value by referring to the printer management table data from the storage unit 2A and adding the first power value of the printer to be activated.

  The supply unit 2C supplies the power of the first power value or the second power value from the commercial power source 6 to the printers 3A to 3C based on the result of comparing the total power consumption value and the allowable power value of the commercial power source. In response, send a start command to start.

  As described above, when the print server 2 receives the image formation request together with the image data from any of the PCs 5A to 5C, if the printer designated by the image formation request is in the activated state, the image data and the image formation request Is transmitted to the printer. If the printer is in a stopped state, the printer is activated, and then the image data and the image formation request are transmitted to the printer.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a power supply line of the storage battery-equipped printer 3A.

  The battery-equipped printer 3A includes a sub power supply unit 11, a communication unit 12, a storage amount detector 13, a control unit 14, a thermistor 15, a main power supply unit 21, a general load 22, a charging circuit 31, a storage battery 4, a fixing heater 41, and a warm-up. Fixing heater 42, main switch 51, and sub switches 52, 53, 54, 55 and 56.

  The sub switches 52 to 56 are ON / OFF controlled by the control unit 14 based on a power supply control signal including a start command and a stop command transmitted from the print server 2.

  The main switch 51 is provided on the surface of the housing of the printer 3A, and when it is pressed by the user, the power supply state to the entire printer 3A is switched on or off.

  The fixing heater 41 is connected to the commercial power source 6 via the sub switch 54 and the main switch 51. While the main switch 51 is on, the power supply state from the commercial power source 6 to the fixing heater 41 is switched by the on / off control of the sub switch 54.

  The fixing heater 41 converts most of the supplied electric power into heat, and heats a fixing roller (not shown). The fixing rotor melts the toner as the developer and fixes it on the paper as the recording medium. The fixing heater 41 is supplied with electric power and heated during warm-up, image forming operation, and preheating mode.

  The charging circuit 31 is connected to the commercial power supply 6 via the sub switch 53 and the main switch 51. The charging circuit 31 controls the voltage and current supplied to the storage battery 4. While the main switch 51 is on, the power supply state from the commercial power supply 6 to the charging circuit 31 is switched by the on / off control of the sub switch 53. When the printer 3A does not perform an image forming operation, the sub switch 54 is turned off and the sub switch 53 is turned on, whereby the storage battery 4 is charged with power supplied from the commercial power source 6.

  Further, the power supply state from the storage battery 4 to the main power supply unit 21 is switched by the on / off control of the sub switch 55. By the on / off control of the sub switch 56, the power supply state from the storage battery 4 to the warm-up fixing heater 42 is switched. With the sub switch 56 turned on, the power is supplied from the storage battery 4 to the warm-up fixing heater 42. Is supplied.

  The warm-up fixing heater 42 is supplied with electric power from the storage battery 4 during warm-up, thereby heating the fixing roller together with the fixing heater 41. As a result, the time until the fixing roller reaches the required temperature is shortened, and the time until the printer 3A is in an activated state in which an image forming operation can be performed is shortened. The image forming speed until it is formed is increased.

  The main power supply unit 21 is connected to the commercial power supply 6 via the sub switch 52 and the main switch 51. While the main switch 51 is on, the power supply state from the commercial power supply 6 to the main power supply unit 21 is switched by the on / off control of the sub switch 52. In addition, electric power is supplied from the storage battery 4 to the main power supply unit 21 in a state where the sub switch 55 is turned on.

  The main power supply unit 21 controls the voltage and current supplied to the general load 22. The general load 22 does not include, for example, the fixing heater 41, the warm-up fixing heater 42, the sub power supply unit 11, the communication unit 12, the storage amount detector 13, the control unit 14, and the thermistor 15. Load devices such as a motor and an electric board for driving the body drum, the developing device, the transport roller group, the transfer unit, the image reading unit, the display unit, and the like are included. The photosensitive drum rotates while carrying an electrostatic latent image. The developing device supplies toner to the surface of the photosensitive drum, thereby developing the electrostatic latent image to form a developer image. The transport roller group transports the paper along a transport path provided in the printer 3A. The transfer unit transfers the developer image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum to the paper transported by the transport roller group. The image reading unit reads an image of a document placed on a document table and forms image data. The display unit displays information to be notified to the user.

  The sub power supply unit 11 is connected to the commercial power supply 6 via the main switch 51. While the main switch 51 is on, power is always supplied from the commercial power supply 6 to the sub power supply unit 11.

  The control unit 14 controls the overall operation of the printer 3 </ b> A and performs on / off control of the sub switches 52 to 56. The storage amount detection unit 13 detects the storage amount of the storage battery 4 by measuring the voltage across the storage battery 4, and outputs the detection result to the control unit 14. The control part 14 determines with the storage battery being fully charged, when the electrical storage amount of the storage battery 4 is more than predetermined value. The control unit 14 transmits the storage amount of the storage battery 4 to the print server 2 via the communication unit 12.

  The thermistor 15 measures the temperature of the fixing roller and outputs the measurement result to the control unit 14. The control unit 14 performs on / off control of the sub switch 54 based on the measurement result of the temperature of the fixing roller by the thermistor 15 during the image forming operation. The communication unit 12 communicates with the print server 2 via a communication line. The sub power supply unit 11 controls the voltage and current supplied to each of the control unit 14, the storage amount detector 13, the thermistor 15, and the communication unit 12.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control line of the storage battery-equipped printer 3A.

  The control unit 14 has functions of a main controller 14A, a scanner controller 14B, a printer controller 14C, and a network controller 14D.

  The main controller 14A controls the scanner controller 14B, the printer controller 14C, and the network controller 14D so as to cooperate well. The scanner controller 14B reads image data from an image of a set original, and outputs the image data to the printer controller 14C via the main controller 14A. The network controller 14D outputs the image data of the print job received by the communication unit 12 from the printers 3A to 3C to the printer controller 14C via the main controller 14A. The printer controller 14C performs an electrophotographic image forming process on the paper based on the image data of the print job.

  The printer controller 14 </ b> C controls on / off of the sub switches 53 and 55 in order to control power supply to the general load 22. Further, the printer controller 14C controls the on / off of the sub switch 54 so that the temperature of the fixing roller detected by the thermistor 15 becomes a predetermined value. Further, the printer controller 14 </ b> C controls the on / off of the sub switch 53 in order to control the power supply to the storage battery 4.

  When the communication controller 12 receives the storage amount request signal from the print server 2, the network controller 14 </ b> D detects the storage amount of the storage battery 4 by the storage amount detector 13 and creates a storage amount notification signal. The network controller 14D transmits a storage amount notification signal from the communication unit 12 to the print server 2.

  Each part of the printer 3A is operated by the power supply line and the control line as described above.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a power supply line of the printer 3B that does not include the storage battery 4. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a control line of the printer 3 </ b> B that does not include the storage battery 4. The printer 3C is configured similarly to the printer 3B.

  The printer 3B is configured in the same manner as the printer 3A except that it does not include the storage amount detector 13, the charging circuit 31, the storage battery 4, the warm-up fixing heater 42, and the sub switches 53, 55, and 56.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the print server 2. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a power supply line of the battery-equipped printer 3A at the time of warm-up supplied with power of the first power value. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a power supply line of the printer 3B that does not have the storage battery 4 during warm-up and image forming operation to which power of the first power value is supplied. The printer 3C is configured similarly to the printer 3B. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a power supply line of the storage battery-equipped printer 3 </ b> A during the image forming operation to which the first power value is supplied. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a power supply line of the printer 3A with a storage battery during warm-up and image forming operation to which power of the second power value is supplied.

  When an image formation request is made to the printer named MFP_X among the printers 3A to 3C (S1), the print server 2 includes the printer already in the activated state and the printer MFP_X to be activated in the future, The total power consumption value of the printer to be activated is acquired (S2). The printer server 2 calculates the total power consumption value by referring to the printer management table data from the storage unit 2A and adding the first power value of the printer to be activated.

  When the total power consumption value is 4 kw or less, which is the allowable power value of the commercial power supply 6, the print server 2 supplies power of the first power value to the printer MFP_X and transmits a start command to the printer MFP_X (S3). ).

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, in the printer MFP_X that has received the activation command to be activated at the first power value, the main switch 21 is turned on by the control unit 14 by turning on the sub switches 52 and 54. In addition, power is supplied from the commercial power source 6 to the fixing heater 41. In this embodiment, 0.5 kw of power is supplied to the main power supply 21 and 1 kw of power is supplied to the fixing heater. As a result, the printer MFP_X is activated so that an image forming operation can be performed.

  When the printer MFP_X is a printer 3A with a storage battery, as shown in FIG. 8, in addition to the sub switches 52 and 54, the sub switch 56 is turned on by the control unit 14, and the power of the storage battery 4 is supplied to the warm-up fixing heater 42. Supplied. Since the power to be supplied to the main power supply unit 21 and the fixing heater 41 is supplied from the commercial power supply 6, the power supplied from the commercial power supply 6 is increased by supplying the power of the storage battery 4 to the warm-up fixing heater 42. Accordingly, the time until the printer MFP_X is activated is shortened and the image forming speed is increased.

  When the fixing roller reaches a predetermined temperature based on the temperature detected by the thermistor 15 by the thermistor 15, the controller 14 turns off the sub switch 56 and stops the heating of the fixing roller by the warm-up fixing heater 42.

  During the image forming operation, the sub switch 54 is on / off controlled according to the temperature detected by the thermistor 15 of the fixing roller. When the printer MFP_X is a printer 3A with a storage battery, as shown in FIG. 10, the sub switch 56 is turned off, and the heating of the fixing roller by the warm-up fixing heater 42 is stopped.

  When the print job requested to form an image by the printer MFP_X is completed (S4), the print server 2 transmits a stop command to the printer MFP_X after a predetermined time has elapsed (S5). When receiving the stop command, the control unit 14 turns off the sub switches 52 and 54 to turn off the printer MFP_X (S6). As a result, the supply of power from the commercial power source 6 to the image forming apparatus that has not performed an image forming operation for a predetermined time is stopped, and the total power consumption value is lowered. Therefore, when any of the printers 3 </ b> A to 3 </ b> B is activated next time, the total power consumption value is unlikely to exceed the allowable power value of the commercial power source 6.

  When receiving a stop command from the print server 2, the control unit 14 turns on the sub switch 53 to charge the storage battery 32.

  When the total power consumption value exceeds 4 kw, which is the allowable power value of the commercial power supply 6 in S2, the print server 2 determines whether the printer MFP_X is a printer 3A of the type having the storage battery 4 (S7).

  When the printer MFP_X has the storage battery 4, the print server 2 determines that the total power consumption value of the printer to be activated when the supply power value to the printer MFP_X is the second power value is the allowable power of the commercial power supply 6. It is further determined whether or not the value is 4 kw or less (S8). If the total power consumption value exceeds 4 kw, the printer MFP_X cannot be started up and notified to the PC that requested the image formation (S9).

  When the total power consumption value is 4 kw or less in S8, the print server 2 further determines whether or not the storage battery 4 of the printer MFP_X is fully charged (S10), and activates the printer MFP_X if it is not fully charged. The fact that it is not possible is notified to the PC that requested the image formation (S9). This prevents a situation in which the printer MFP_X cannot be activated due to an insufficient amount of power stored in the storage battery 4.

  When the storage battery 4 of the printer MFP_X is fully charged in S10, the print server 2 further determines based on the image formation request whether or not the number of sheets printed by the image formation request is equal to or less than a predetermined value (S11). When the number of sheets exceeds the predetermined value, the PC that has requested the image formation is notified that the printer MFP_X cannot be activated (S9). When the number of prints requested for image formation is less than or equal to a predetermined value, the image forming operation can be performed by supplementing the required power with the amount of electricity stored in the storage battery 4, while when the number of prints exceeds the predetermined value, the storage battery 4 Since there is a possibility that the required power cannot be compensated for by the amount of stored electricity, it is possible to warn by notifying that the printer MFP_X that is going to be activated from now on cannot be activated.

  If the number of printed sheets is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value in S11, the print server 2 supplies the printer MFP_X with the second power value and transmits an activation command to the printer MFP_X (S12).

  As shown in FIG. 11, in the printer MFP_X that has received the activation command to be activated with the second power value, the control unit 14 turns on the sub switch 54, so that 1 kW is supplied from the commercial power supply 6 to the fixing heater 41. Power is supplied. Further, when the sub switch 55 is turned on, 0.5 kW of power is supplied from the storage battery 32 to the main power supply unit 21. Note that, unlike the case of FIGS. 8 and 10, the sub switch 52 remains turned off.

  The difference between the first power value and the second power value is compensated by the power of the storage battery 4, whereby the storage battery-equipped printer 3A is activated.

  The print server 2 is a printer 3B or a printer 3C of the type in which the printer MFP_X does not have the storage battery 4 (S7), and the power of the first power value is supplied from the commercial power supply 6 to the printer that is currently in the activated state. When there is a storage battery-equipped printer 3A that is received and activated (S13), the total power consumption value of the printer to be activated when the supply power value to the printer 3A with storage battery is set to the second power value is: It is determined whether or not the allowable power value of the commercial power supply 6 is 4 kW or less (S14).

  When the total power consumption value exceeds 4 kw, the print server 2 notifies the PC that has requested the image formation that the printer MFP_X cannot be activated (S9).

  When the total power consumption value is 4 kw or less in S14, the print server 2 further determines whether or not the storage battery 4 of the printer 3A with storage battery that is currently in the activated state is fully charged (S15). If it is not charged, the printer MFP_X is informed to the PC that has requested the image formation (S9). This prevents a situation where the image forming operation of the storage battery-equipped printer 3 </ b> A is interrupted due to an insufficient amount of power stored in the storage battery 4.

  When the storage battery 4 of the printer 3A with storage battery is fully charged in S15, the print server 2 further determines whether or not the remaining number of prints of the printer 3A with storage battery is equal to or less than a predetermined value (S16). If the value exceeds the predetermined value, the PC that has requested the image formation is notified that the printer MFP_X cannot be activated (S9). When the remaining number of printed sheets is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the printer 3A with storage battery can perform the image forming operation by supplementing the necessary power with the amount of power stored in the storage battery 4 for all the printed sheets, while the number of printed sheets is the predetermined value. In the printer 3A with a storage battery, there is a possibility that the image forming operation may be interrupted without supplementing the required power with the amount of power stored in the storage battery 4, so that the printer MFP_X that is going to be activated cannot be started. Warning.

  When the number of printed sheets is equal to or less than the predetermined value in S16, the print server 2 supplies from the commercial power source 6 to the storage battery-equipped printer 3A that is activated by receiving the first power value from the commercial power source 6. The power value is changed to the second power value (S17), and a start command for starting the printer by supplying the power of the first power value to the printer MFP_X is transmitted (S3).

  Since power supplied to the printer 3A with a storage battery can be supplied to the printer MFP_X by reducing the power supplied from the first power value to the second power value, the printer MFP_X supplies the first power value. Can be activated.

  The storage battery-equipped printer 3 </ b> A is activated by supplementing the amount of power supplied from the commercial power supply 6 from the first power value to the second power value with the power of the storage battery 4.

  The print server 2 cannot start the printer MFP_X when there is no printer 3A with a storage battery that is activated by receiving the supply of the first power value from the commercial power supply 6 among the printers that are currently activated (S13). This is notified to the PC that has requested the image formation (S9).

  In the above-described embodiment, the image forming system 1 includes the single storage battery-equipped printer 3 </ b> A and the printers 3 </ b> B and 3 </ b> C that do not include the two storage batteries 4, but is not limited thereto. It is sufficient if at least one printer 3A with a storage battery is provided, and a plurality or all of the printers may be printers 3A with a storage battery.

  When the total power consumption value exceeds the allowable power value, the power value supplied from the commercial power supply 6 to the at least one printer with storage battery among the plurality of printers with storage battery to be activated is smaller than the first power value. By setting the second power value, the processing power of the image forming system 1 is increased and the image forming speed is increased while the total power value supplied from the commercial power supply 6 does not exceed the allowable power value. Can do.

  Finally, the description of the above-described embodiment is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above embodiments but by the claims. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of printer management table data stored in a print server. It is a block diagram which shows the electric power supply line of a printer with a storage battery. It is a block diagram which shows the control line of a printer with a storage battery. It is a block diagram which shows the electric power supply line of the printer which does not have a storage battery. It is a block diagram which shows the control line of the printer which does not have a storage battery. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the print server. It is a block diagram which shows the electric power supply line of the printer with a storage battery at the time of the warm-up supplied with the electric power of the 1st electric power value. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a power supply line of a printer that does not have a storage battery during warm-up and image forming operation to which power of a first power value is supplied. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a power supply line of a printer with a storage battery during an image forming operation supplied with power of a first power value. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a power supply line of a printer with a storage battery during warm-up and image forming operation to which power of a second power value is supplied.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming system 2 Print server 3A Storage battery printer (image forming apparatus with a supply source)
3B, 3C printer (image forming device)
4 storage batteries 5A-5C PC
6 Commercial Power Supply 7 Breaker 13 Storage Charge Detector 14 Control Unit 41 Fixing Heater 42 Warm-up Fixing Heater

Claims (9)

An image forming system in which a power supply control device and a plurality of image forming devices to which power is supplied from a commercial power source are connected so as to be capable of communication,
Each image forming apparatus is in an activated state in which an image forming operation can be performed with power of a predetermined first power value,
At least one image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses is an image forming apparatus with a supply source having a power supply source other than the commercial power supply,
The power supply control device
An acquisition unit that acquires a total power consumption value of an image forming apparatus that should be in an activated state including an image forming apparatus that is already activated and an image forming apparatus that is to be activated, among the plurality of image forming apparatuses;
When the total power consumption value does not exceed the allowable power value of the commercial power supply, the power of the first power value is supplied from the commercial power supply to each of all the image forming apparatuses to be activated, and the total power consumption value Exceeds the allowable power value, at least one of the image forming apparatuses with a supply source to be activated is supplied with a second power value smaller than the first power value from a commercial power source. An image forming system comprising: a supply unit that supplies power and supplies power of the first power value to another image forming apparatus among the image forming apparatuses to be activated.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the power supply control device further includes a storage unit that stores the first power value and the second power value. The supply source is a storage battery that is charged by power supplied from a commercial power source,
3. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus with a supply source uses the power of the storage battery to enter an activated state when the power of the second power value is supplied from a commercial power source. . The image forming apparatus with a supply source further includes a storage amount detector that detects a storage amount of the storage battery,
When the total power consumption value exceeds an allowable power value of a commercial power source, the power supply control device, based on a detection result of a storage amount of the storage battery by the storage amount detector in the image forming apparatus with a supply source, The image forming system according to claim 3, wherein a power value supplied to an image forming apparatus with a supply source in which a storage amount of a storage battery is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is the second power value.   When the total power consumption value exceeds the allowable power value of the commercial power source and the number of prints requested for image formation is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the power supply control device forms an image with a supply source to be activated The power value supplied to the apparatus is set to the second power value, and when the number of printed sheets exceeds a predetermined value, the image forming apparatus to be activated is notified that the image forming apparatus cannot be activated. The image forming system described.   6. The image according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus with a supply source further includes a fixing device that fixes the developer onto the recording medium, and a warm-up fixing heater that heats the fixing device at the time of startup. Forming system.   The image forming apparatus with a supply source further includes a control unit that supplies power from the supply source to the warm-up fixing heater when the first power value is supplied from a commercial power source. Image forming system.   The image forming apparatus with a supply source supplies the power of the supply source to a load device other than the fixing device and the warm-up fixing heater when the power of the second power value is supplied from a commercial power source. The image forming system according to claim 6, further comprising a control unit that performs the operation.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power supply control device turns off the power of an image forming apparatus that has not requested image formation for a predetermined time from the end of the previous image forming operation for each image forming apparatus. system.

Images