JP2009196133A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more appropriately estimate a fatal error. <P>SOLUTION: A control part 160 stores in a temporary storage part 163 error estimation information obtained by detection of a device information detecting part 161 or measurement and the like from the movement of a monitor object part 162 (Sa), regularly monitors the error estimation information stored in the temporary storage part 163 and error estimation information (set value information) stored in a ROM 43 with reference to an RTC 48, and stores information obtained by monitoring into a hysteresis storage part 164 at any time (Sb and Sc). After the storing, stored contents of the temporary storage part 163 are erased (Sd). The steps Sa-Sd are repeated for a predetermined period of time (transmission period of time). A transmitting part 160a transmits an error estimation information hysteresis 200 stored in the hysteresis storage part 164 to a control server 500 after the transmission period of time expires (Se). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a transmission unit capable of transmitting information to a management computer, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus that transmits device information using the transmission unit.

  Conventionally, when a predetermined fatal error (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as an error) occurs in the image forming apparatus, an error display (service man call) is displayed on the main body display panel, and the user confirms the error display. I contacted a service man and asked for maintenance.

  At this time, the user printed status information including error information and setting value information inside the image forming apparatus and communicated the device information to the service person. Until the man goes to the user for maintenance, the user can no longer use the image forming apparatus, and there is a risk of further damage to the device if the user forcibly uses the image forming apparatus.

  Therefore, it is desirable that status information before the occurrence of a fatal error is obtained, and an error is predicted in advance based on the status information, and a service person goes to the user for maintenance or gives an appropriate countermeasure instruction. It is.

Therefore, Patent Documents 1 and 2 below disclose a configuration in which status information including set value information inside the apparatus or remaining ink information is transmitted to an administrator terminal at a predetermined timing.
JP 2002-281224 A JP 2003-63104 A

  However, general status information including those according to the inventions of Patent Documents 1 and 2 is limited, and fatal errors such as roller rotation speed that can lead to fatal errors can be predicted in advance. A configuration for acquiring multiple types of error prediction information and transmitting them is not disclosed. Also, these configurations only transmit current status information. Therefore, even if the administrator who receives the status information can know the current state of the device, he cannot know the past state, and thus cannot properly predict a fatal error.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of more appropriately predicting a fatal error.

In the first aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention,
In an image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit; a storage unit coupled to the control unit; and a transmission unit coupled to the control unit and capable of transmitting information to a management computer.
The control means includes
Error prediction information related to a predetermined fatal error is monitored, the monitored information is stored in the storage means as an element of the error prediction information history, and the error prediction information history stored in the storage means at a predetermined timing Is transmitted to the management computer by the transmission means or stored in the transmission means.
It is characterized by that.

  Here, the “predetermined fatal error” means that a service man call, toner empty, paper jam, etc. are displayed on the display screen of the image forming apparatus, etc. This refers to a state where operation or function use is disabled, or an abnormal image is output.

  The control unit includes a program that realizes the function and a CPU that executes the program, and the transmission unit is coupled to, for example, a transmission unit coupled to the management computer via a network, or the management computer. Includes possible removable storage media.

In a second aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention,
An error prediction information acquisition unit that detects or measures the error prediction information is further provided.

In a third aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention,
The control means periodically monitors the error prediction information and accumulates the monitored information in the storage means as an element of an error prediction information history.

In a fourth aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention,
As a part of the error prediction information acquisition unit, a drive time measuring unit or a driving number measuring unit for measuring a driving time or a driving number related to a component of the image forming apparatus is provided.
The control means accumulates drive time information or drive frequency information related to the components of the image forming apparatus, which are monitoring targets, in the storage means as elements of the error prediction information history.
It is characterized by that.

In a fifth aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention,
The driving time or the number of times of driving related to the components of the image forming apparatus is a cumulative value.

In a sixth aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention,
When there is a change in the error prediction information to be monitored, the control unit stores the information in the storage unit as an element of the error prediction information history.

In a seventh aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention,
As part of the error prediction information acquisition means, a roller rotation speed detection means for detecting the rotation speed of various rollers of the image forming apparatus is provided,
The control means accumulates in the storage means rotational speed information of various rollers of the image forming apparatus that are monitoring targets as elements of the error prediction information history.
It is characterized by that.

In an eighth aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention,
The control unit accumulates calibration information of the image forming apparatus, which is a monitoring target, in the storage unit as an element of the error prediction information history.
It is characterized by that.

In a ninth aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention,
The error prediction information acquisition unit includes a temperature detection unit or a humidity detection unit,
The control means accumulates the temperature or humidity detected by the temperature detection means or the humidity detection means to be monitored in the storage means as an element of the error prediction information history.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.

In a tenth aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention,
A timer,
The control means further acquires the date and time indicated by the timer and associates the date and time with the error prediction information to be monitored and stores it in the storage means as an element of the error prediction information history.
It is characterized by that.

  According to the configuration of the first aspect, the control means “monitors error prediction information that is linked to a predetermined fatal error and accumulates the monitored information in the storage means as an element of the error prediction information history”. The service person can grasp the transition of information related to a fatal error by referring to this history, and thus has an effect of being able to predict a fatal error more appropriately.

  Also, the control means “receives the error prediction information history accumulated in the storage means at a predetermined timing to the management computer or stores it in the transmission means”. An effect that a fatal error can be predicted based on the error prediction information history and the service person can go to the user for maintenance or give an appropriate countermeasure instruction before the fatal error occurs. Play.

  According to the configuration of the second aspect described above, since “further comprising the error prediction information detection means for detecting the error prediction information”, the service person can monitor error prediction information other than status information, and thus more It is possible to grasp the error prediction information.

  According to the configuration of the third aspect, since the control means “periodically monitors the error prediction information and accumulates the monitored information in the storage means as an element of the error prediction information history” The amount of information necessary for predicting fatal errors can be reduced. As a result, errors during storage can be reduced, and even when errors occur during storage, the damage can be minimized.

  According to the configuration of the fourth aspect, the control unit stores “the driving time information or the driving frequency information relating to the component of the image forming apparatus, which is the monitoring target, in the storage unit as the element of the error prediction information history”. Therefore, the service person can grasp error prediction information other than status information, that is, driving time information or driving frequency information, and can predict the occurrence of an out-of-life error of a drive system component more appropriately, for example. There is an effect.

  According to the configuration of the fifth aspect, since “the driving time or the number of times of driving related to the components of the image forming apparatus is an accumulated value”, for example, the occurrence of an out-of-life error of the components of the driving system is regarded as cumulative driving. There is an effect that the prediction can be made more accurately based on the time and the cumulative number of driving times.

  According to the configuration of the sixth aspect described above, the control means “stores the information in the storage means as an element of the error prediction information history when there is a change in the error prediction information to be monitored”. It is possible to refer to a history including only information. Thereby, there is an effect that the storage capacity of the storage means can be reduced and the cost can be suppressed. Further, it is not complicated when referring to the history.

  According to the configuration of the seventh aspect, the control means “stores the rotational speed information of the various rollers of the image forming apparatus that are the monitoring targets in the storage means as elements of the error prediction information history”. Man can also grasp error prediction information other than status information, that is, rotation speed information, for example, more appropriately occurrence of various fatal errors such as the above-mentioned roller life-out error and drive engine failure, and The effect is that it can be predicted in real time.

  According to the configuration of the eighth aspect, the control unit “stores the calibration information of the image forming apparatus, which is the monitoring target, in the storage unit as an element of the error prediction information history”. Error prediction information other than status information, that is, calibration information (calibration time / number of times) can be grasped. For example, the abnormal state and life of the developer and the developer can be predicted more appropriately. Play.

  According to the configuration of the ninth aspect, the control means “stores the temperature or humidity detected by the temperature detection means or the humidity detection means in the storage means as an element of the error prediction information history”. Error prediction information other than status information, that is, the temperature or humidity in the image forming apparatus can be grasped.For example, when there is an abnormal temperature rise, the abnormal state and life of the thermistor of the fixing device can be predicted. The temperature / humidity information can be used as a determination factor when an image defect such as fixing failure occurs.

  According to the configuration of the tenth aspect described above, the control means obtains “the date and time indicated by the timer, associates the date and time with the error prediction information to be monitored, and associates the error prediction information history element. Therefore, the serviceman can grasp the time-series transition of the error prediction information.

  Other objects, configurations and effects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a maintenance system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[1] Schematic Configuration of Maintenance System This system is configured by connecting a management server 500 to the image forming apparatus 10, for example, a multifunction peripheral via the Internet 400.

  The image forming apparatus 10 detects and measures information inside the device (hereinafter referred to as error prediction information) that leads to a fatal error, and periodically acquires the acquired information as an element of the error prediction information history. The error prediction information history is accumulated in the storage means and transmitted to the management server 500 at a predetermined timing.

  The management server 500 performs information processing such as extraction and graphing described later based on the received error prediction information history. Based on the processing result, the service person predicts a fatal error, goes to the user before the occurrence, and performs maintenance of the image forming apparatus 10 to prevent the occurrence of the fatal error. Also, until the service person goes, the life extension process described later is performed to suppress the occurrence of the end of life error among fatal errors.

In the first embodiment, details of accumulation and transmission of error prediction information by the image forming apparatus 10 will be described.
[2] Hardware Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. For simplification, a configuration in the case where the image forming apparatus 10 is used as a printer will be described below.

  The image forming apparatus 10 includes an A4 paper feed tray 111 and an A3 paper feed tray 112, and A4 size paper 121 and A3 size paper 122 are set vertically.

  The paper feed trays 111 to 112 are provided with urging means 131 to 132 including paper receiving plates 131a to 132a, coil springs 131b to 132b, and lifting devices 131c to 132c, respectively. Further, the image forming apparatus 10 is provided with paper feed rollers 141 to 142 corresponding to the paper feed trays 111 to 112, respectively, and further corresponding to the paper feed rollers 141 to 142, respectively. Is arranged.

  For example, the sheet receiving plate 131a is urged upward by a coil spring 131b protruding in conjunction with the driving of the lifting device 131c, whereby the top surface of the front end side of the sheet bundle on the sheet receiving plate 131a is fed. The paper feed roller 141 provided above the front end of the tray 111 is pressed against. Then, the A4 paper 121 is fed out from the paper bundle of the A4 paper feed tray 111 one by one to the transport path 100 by driving the paper feed roller 141, and can be fed to the image forming unit 20 via the paper transport roller 151. Yes.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a specific configuration in the vicinity of the paper feed roller 141 shown in FIG. 2 (hereinafter referred to as a paper feed unit). The configuration of the sheet feeding unit near the sheet feeding roller 142 is the same as the following configuration.

  In addition to the A4 paper feed tray 111, the paper feed unit includes a paper feed roller 141, a rotation shaft 300 of the paper feed roller 141, a rotation detection encoder 301 mounted on the rotation shaft 300, a drive motor 304 as a drive source, a plurality of A gear train 305, an electromagnetic clutch 306 as a connecting means for connecting the drive motor 304 and the paper feed roller 141 in an intermittent manner are configured.

  A gear is connected to the motor shaft of the drive motor 304, and the rotational driving force is transmitted while the rotational speed is adjusted by a series of gear trains 305. An electromagnetic clutch 306 is provided on the last stage gear shaft, and transmission of the rotational driving force of the drive motor 304 to the driven side is controlled by turning on / off the power supply to the electromagnetic coil.

  A driven gear 307 is coaxially mounted on the roller rotation shaft 300 of the paper feed roller 141, and the rotational driving force transmitted through the plurality of gear trains 305 and the electromagnetic clutch 306 rotates the driven gear 307. It is transmitted to the paper feed roller 141 by driving.

  The roller rotation shaft 300 of the paper feed roller 141 is provided with a rotation detection encoder 301 for measuring the rotational speed of the paper feed roller 141 and the rotation rise time of the paper feed roller 141. The rotation detection encoder 301 includes a disk-shaped light shielding plate 302 mounted coaxially with the roller rotation shaft 300, a photosensor 303 including a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and a waveform processing unit (not shown).

  Bar lines formed radially and at equal intervals are provided in the vicinity of the inner periphery of the disk-shaped light shielding plate 302 formed of a transparent plate. The bar lines are sandwiched from both sides of the photo sensor 303. A light emitting element and a light receiving element are arranged. When the disk-shaped light shielding plate 302 rotates, the bar line blocks the light of the photosensor 303, and a pulse train corresponding to the rotational speed is detected from the light receiving side output of the photosensor 303.

  In addition to the photo sensor 303, a similar photo sensor 308 is disposed on the downstream side of the paper feed roller 141 toward the transport path 100, and the A4 paper 121 transported from the paper feed roller 141 is light of the photo sensor 308. , It is detected that the A4 sheet 121 has reached the position.

  Returning to FIG. 2, in the image forming unit 20, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is uniformly charged by the charge roller 22, and the charging on the photosensitive drum 21 is selectively erased by the laser beam LB, and the photosensitive drum An electrostatic latent image is formed on the toner 21, and toner is attached to the charging portion by the developing device 23 and developed.

  A temperature / humidity sensor 16 having both a temperature sensor for detecting temperature and a humidity sensor for detecting humidity is disposed in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 21.

  The registration roller 24 temporarily stops the conveyance of the sheet supplied from the sheet conveyance rollers 151 to 152, resumes the conveyance at a predetermined timing, and supplies the sheet between the electrostatic transfer roller 25 and the photosensitive drum 21. To do. The electrostatic transfer roller 25 electrostatically transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 21 onto the fed paper. The transferred paper is heated and pressurized through the fixing device 30, whereby the toner image is fixed on the paper. The remaining toner after transfer on the photosensitive drum 21 is removed by the cleaner 26.

  For example, in the case of plain paper single-sided printing, the paper passes through the paper discharge roller 155 and is discharged face down onto the paper discharge tray 15. In the case of duplex printing, the paper discharge roller 155 rotates reversely to switch back before the discharge, and is returned to the registration roller 24 of the image forming unit 20 through the paper transport rollers 156 and 157.

  In order to control the inside of the image forming apparatus 10, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a system control device 40, which includes a main power source 41, a RAM 42, a ROM 43, an HDD 44, an operation unit 45, A transport control device 46, an image forming unit control device 47, an RTC (Real Time Clock) 48, a NIC (Network Interface Card) 49, and a USB port 50 are combined.

  For example, when there is a print instruction from the operation unit 45, the system control device 40 supplies the image information to be printed stored in the RAM 42 to the image forming unit control device 47 and controls the paper conveyance to the conveyance control device 46. To do. The image forming unit controller 47 develops a bitmap of this image information, and performs on / off control of the laser beam LB based on the bitmap data while scanning the laser beam LB on the photosensitive drum 21, thereby performing photosensitivity. A desired electrostatic latent image is formed on the body drum 21. When there is a setting instruction from the operation unit 45, the set value is stored in the ROM 43.

  The main power supply 41 is a power switch for the user to turn on or off the image forming apparatus 10 and power on / off control for controlling the power on / off of the system control apparatus 40 in response to the instruction. Part. After the main power supply 41 is turned on, an initialization process is generally performed. The initialization process includes, for example, a plurality of process items such as determination of whether or not a toner tank (not shown) is replenished, color resist adjustment process, and density adjustment process. By such initialization processing, each function related to image formation is prepared to function normally.

  The RAM 42 is for a work area and temporarily stores image information to be printed. The ROM 43 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory, for example, and stores the model name of the image forming apparatus 10 and various setting value information.

  The HDD 44 is for data storage. The operation unit 45 is configured by a combination of a touch panel and hardware keys, and is used for inputting instructions or setting values and displaying various operation screens or confirmation screens.

  The RTC 48 counts the date and time, is driven by a unique battery, and continuously performs a counting operation even when the main power supply 41 is turned off. Further, the RTC 48 periodically supplies a timeout pulse to the interrupt input terminal of the system controller 40. In response to this, the system controller 40 interrupts the internal CPU.

The NIC 49 enables the image forming apparatus 10 and the management server 500 to communicate with each other via the Internet 400. The USB port 50 is detachable from the USB memory 1000, and mediates exchange of electronic data between the image forming apparatus 10 and the USB memory 1000.
[3] Main Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the main configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In order to implement the present invention, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a control unit 160, a transmission unit 160a, a device information detection unit 161, a monitoring target unit 162, a temporary storage unit 163, a history storage unit 164, a main A power supply 41, a ROM 43, and an RTC 48 are mainly provided.

  The control unit 160 includes the system control device 40, the conveyance control device 46, and the image forming unit control device 47, and includes a CPU, an OS, and a control program that operates on the OS. The transmission unit 160a includes the system control device 40, the NIC 49, and the ROM 43, and includes a CPU, an OS, and mail software that operates on the OS.

  In the following, the step identification codes in FIG. 4 are shown in parentheses. The control unit 160 stores error prediction information obtained by measurement from the detection of the device information detection unit 161 or the operation of the monitoring target unit 162 in the temporary storage unit 163 (Sa), and periodically refers to the RTC 48. The error prediction information stored in the temporary storage unit 163 and the error prediction information (setting value information) stored in the ROM 43 are monitored, and the information obtained by monitoring is stored in the history storage unit 164 as needed (Sb, Sc). After the above storage, the stored contents of the temporary storage unit 163 are deleted (Sd). The above steps Sa to Sd are repeated for a predetermined period (transmission period). After the transmission period expires, the transmission unit 160a transmits the error prediction information history 200 stored in the history storage unit 164 to the management server 500 (Se). The detailed description of each operation of the control unit 160 and the transmission unit 160a will be described later.

  The device information detection unit 161 is, for example, the temperature / humidity sensor 16 or the rotation detection encoder 301. The rotation detection encoder 301 detects an average value of the rotation speeds of the paper feed rollers 141 or 142. In addition to the rotation speed of the paper feed roller 141 or 142, the charge roller 22, the registration roller 24, the electrostatic transfer roller 25, as long as the rotation detection encoder 301 as shown in FIG. You may detect the rotational speed of the paper conveyance rollers 151-152, the paper discharge roller 155, or the paper conveyance rollers 156-157. If a scanner is installed, the rotation speed of the scanner roller may be detected.

  The monitoring target unit 162 is an operation target to be monitored by the control unit 160 in order to acquire the cumulative drive count, the cumulative drive time, or the job history, which is a part of the error prediction information according to the present invention. Examples of monitoring targets for acquiring (measuring) the cumulative drive count or cumulative drive time include, for example, on / off operation of the main power supply 41, access of the RAM 42, ROM 43 or HDD 44, drive of the developing device 23, and drive of the fixing device 30. , Driving of the photosensitive drum 21, driving of various rollers exemplified above, driving of the electromagnetic clutch 306, driving of the lifting devices 131 c to 132 c of the urging means 131 to 132, calibration operation or printing operation of the image forming unit 20, Or, a scanning operation when a scanner is mounted, and the like. The monitoring target for acquiring the job history is, for example, a job execution instruction.

  The temporary storage unit 163 is an area in which error prediction information is stored in the storage area of the RAM 42, for example.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the contents stored in the temporary storage unit 163. The temporary storage unit 163 temporarily stores, for example, a roller rotation speed history 170, a temperature history 171 and a humidity history 172 for a predetermined period (storage period) detected by the device information detection unit 161. In addition, the cumulative drive count 173, the cumulative drive time 174, or the job information history 175 of the storage period measured by the control unit 160 by various operations of the monitoring target unit 162 is temporarily stored. When the storage period elapses, in order to prevent the storable area (empty area) from running out, the storage content of the temporary storage unit 163 is erased by the control unit 160, and the error prediction information remains until the next period expires. It will be stored. The storage period may be 1 hour, 3 hours, 1 day, or the like, or may be a period different for each error prediction information.

Returning to FIG. 4, the history storage unit 164 stores a plurality of types of error prediction information stored in the temporary storage unit 163 by detection / measurement or the like and stored in advance in the ROM 43 in the error prediction information history 200. It is stored periodically as an element.
[4] Storage Contents of History Storage Unit 164 FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram of storage contents of the history storage unit 164. The history storage unit 164 periodically stores a plurality of types of error prediction information related to fatal errors among various pieces of device information, and forms a history 200 of error prediction information. Examples of the elements of the error prediction information history 200 include the following.
(1) Device setting history 200a
(2) Rotational speed history 200b
(3) Temperature history 200c
(4) Humidity history 200d
(5) Cumulative addition drive count 200e
(6) Cumulative addition drive time 200f
(7) Job history 200g
Hereinafter, each of the above elements will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

  (1) The device setting history 200a includes a plurality of various device settings that are periodically copied from the ROM 43 and related to a fatal error, and the copy date and time (date and time when error prediction information is monitored).

  (2) The rotation speed history 200b is detected by the device information detection unit 161, and the rotation speed history 170 of a predetermined period stored in the temporary storage unit 163 is one rotation speed per day, for example, every day. The rotation speed at the time of the first image formation after copying from the first power saving mode is copied, and includes a plurality of rotation speeds and measurement dates / times. The rotational speed history 200d is useful for predicting, for example, the occurrence of a life-out error of a component related to conveyance or the occurrence of a failure error or abnormal state of the drive motor 304. When the detection unit 161 can detect the rotation speeds of the plurality of types of rollers described above, the rotation speed history 200b includes a rotation speed history for each roller.

  (3) The temperature history 200c is a temperature history 171 detected by the device information detection unit 161 and stored in the temporary storage unit 163. For example, one temperature is copied every hour. And a plurality of the measurement dates and times. The temperature history 200c is useful, for example, for predicting the occurrence of an end-of-life error of the thermistor of the fixing device 30 or the occurrence of an abnormal state such as a failure.

  (4) The humidity history 200d is detected by the device information detection unit 161, and, for example, one humidity is copied from the humidity history 172 of the predetermined period stored in the temporary storage unit 163 every hour. A plurality of the humidity and the measurement date and time are included. The humidity history 200d is useful for predicting the occurrence of a print image defect due to a fixing failure or the like.

  (5) The cumulative addition driving number 200e is measured by the control unit 160, and the cumulative driving number 173 for a predetermined period stored in the temporary storage unit 163 is periodically stored in the history storage unit 164 by the control unit 160. This is added to the accumulated number of driving times. When the monitoring target unit 162 includes a plurality of types of operations described above, the cumulative addition drive count 200e includes one cumulative drive count for each monitoring target. This cumulative addition drive count 200e is useful for, for example, predicting the occurrence of an out-of-life error of a component related to driving. Although not used for predicting a fatal error, the history of the cumulative driving count 173 for a predetermined period may also be stored in the history storage unit 164.

  (6) The cumulative addition drive time 200f is measured by the control unit 160, and the cumulative drive time 174 for a predetermined period stored in the temporary storage unit 163 is periodically stored in the history storage unit 164 by the control unit 160. Is added to the accumulated driving time. When the monitoring target unit 162 includes a plurality of types of operations described above, the cumulative addition drive time 200f includes one cumulative time for each monitoring target. The driving time 200f is useful for predicting the occurrence of an end-of-life error of the components related to driving, for example. Although not used for predicting a fatal error, the history storage unit 164 may also store the history of the cumulative drive time 174 for a predetermined period.

(7) The job history 200g is obtained by periodically copying the job history 175 of a predetermined period acquired by the control unit 160 and stored in the temporary storage unit 163. The job history 200g is useful for predicting the occurrence of an end-of-life error of components related to various jobs.
[5] Detailed Description of Operation of Control Unit 160 Hereinafter, detailed description of the operation of the control unit 160 will be given with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a partial detailed flowchart of the operation of the control unit 160.

  This process is started, for example, every 10 msec by the timer interrupt of the RTC 48. In the following, the step identification codes in FIG. 7 are shown in parentheses.

  (S1) It is determined whether the device information detection unit 161 has detected the rotation speed, temperature, humidity, or the like of various rollers, which is a part of the error prediction information. If a positive determination is made, the process proceeds to step S2, and if a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to step S3.

  (S2) The detected error prediction information is stored in the temporary storage unit 163 together with the date and time indicated by the RTC 48.

  (S3) It is determined whether various operations included in the monitoring target unit 162, such as driving of the developing device 23, have been started. If a positive determination is made, the process proceeds to step S4, and if a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to step S10.

  (S4) Depending on the type of operation, the number of driving times and / or the driving time, which is part of the error prediction information, is measured. If the operation is a job execution instruction, the job information is acquired. For example, when a print job is started, the job information includes a job name (print job), a paper size, the number of prints, a print type (color / monochrome), and the like.

  (S5) The measured or acquired error prediction information is stored in the temporary storage unit 163 together with the date and time indicated by the RTC 48.

  (S10) Referring to the RTC 48, it is determined whether or not a predetermined period, for example, one hour has elapsed since the previous storage contents of the temporary storage unit 163 were completely erased in step S24. If an affirmative determination is made, the process proceeds to step S11. If a negative determination is made, the process ends.

  (S11) Of the device settings stored in the ROM 43, the error prediction information is copied to the history storage unit 164.

  (S12) The job history 175 acquired and stored in the temporary storage unit 163 is copied to the history storage unit 164.

  (S13) From the temperature history 171 and the humidity history 172 detected and stored in the temporary storage unit 163, for example, only one set or temperature history and humidity history at 10-minute intervals are extracted, and these are stored in the history storage unit 164. To copy.

  (S14, S17) The following steps S15 and S16 are repeated by the number of rollers to be detected by the device information detection unit 161.

  (S15) The rotational speed history 170 detected and stored in the temporary storage unit 163 includes the rotational speed at the time of the first image formation after the first return from the power saving mode during the day. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S16. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S17.

  (S16) From the rotation speed history 170, only the rotation speed at the time of the first image formation after the return from the power saving mode during the day is extracted, and this is copied to the history storage unit 164.

  (S18, 20) The following step S19 is repeated as many times as the number of cumulative drive counts to be measured in the monitoring target unit 162.

  (S19) The cumulative driving number 173 measured and stored in the temporary storage unit 163 is added to the cumulative addition driving number 200e stored in the history storage unit 164, and the history storage unit 164 is overwritten.

  (S21, S23) The following step S22 is repeated as many times as the number of cumulative drive time measurement targets in the monitoring target unit 162.

  (S22) The cumulative drive time 174 measured and stored in the temporary storage unit 163 is added to the cumulative addition drive time 200f stored in the history storage unit 164, and the history storage unit 164 is overwritten.

(S24) All the recorded contents of the temporary storage unit 163 are erased.
[6] Detailed Description of Operation of Transmission Unit 160a Hereinafter, detailed description of the operation of the transmission unit 160a will be given with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a partial detailed flowchart of the operation of the transmission unit 160a.

  (S30) Referring to the RTC 48, it is determined whether, for example, three weeks have passed since the deletion date of the error prediction information history 200 in the previous step S37. If an affirmative determination is made, the process proceeds to step S31. If a negative determination is made, the process ends.

  (S31) A connection process for the Internet 400 is performed via the NIC 49.

  (S32) It is determined whether or not the Internet 400 is already connected. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S33, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S32a.

  (S32a) The number of connections is counted.

  (S32b) It is determined whether or not the number of connections is four. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S32c, and if the determination is negative, the process returns to step S31.

  (S32c) It is determined whether or not the USB 1000 is inserted into the port 50. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S32d. If the determination is negative, the process ends.

  (S32d) The error prediction information history 200 stored in the history storage unit 164 is copied to the USB memory 1000, and the process proceeds to step S36.

  (S33) The mail software is started, the fact that the error prediction information history 200 is attached is described in the main body, and the mail address of the management server 500 is input as the destination of the electronic mail to create the electronic mail.

  (S34) The error prediction information history 200 stored in the history storage unit 164 is attached as a file to the created electronic mail.

  (S35) An e-mail with an attached file is transmitted to the destination.

  (S36) The fact that it has been transmitted or that it has been copied to the USB memory 1000 is displayed on the panel of the operation unit 45.

(S37) The error prediction information history 200 is deleted from the history storage unit 164.
[7] Effects of the Invention of the First Embodiment According to the first embodiment, the control unit 160 acquires various error prediction information 170 to 175 related to a fatal error by detection / measurement or the like, and temporarily stores the information 163. The error prediction information stored in the server is periodically monitored and stored in the history storage unit 164 as an element of the error prediction information history 200, and the history 200 is transmitted to the management server 500 at a predetermined timing. As a result, the service person can refer to the history 200 by the management server 500 and can predict various fatal errors in advance.

  In the first embodiment, in particular, in addition to the device setting history 200a that is a general transmission target, the rotation speed history 200b, the temperature history 200c, the humidity history 200d, the cumulative addition drive count 200e, the cumulative addition drive time 200f, the job history Since 200 g is transmitted to the management server 500, it is possible to more appropriately predict the occurrence of an out-of-life error or an abnormal state of each component of the image forming apparatus 10 as described above.

The second embodiment shows one modification of the invention of the first embodiment. The timing at which the detected roller rotation speed is stored in the history storage unit 164 from the temporary storage unit 163 is different from that in the first embodiment. The configurations and steps that are not described below are the same as those described in the first embodiment.
[8] Explanation of Operation of Control Unit 160 According to Second Embodiment FIG. 9 is a partial detailed flowchart of each operation of the control unit 160 and the transmission unit 160a for only the roller rotation speed. Other error prediction information is periodically stored in the history storage unit 164 as in the first embodiment.

  This process is started, for example, every 10 msec by the timer interrupt of the RTC 48. In the following, the step identification codes in FIG. 9 are shown in parentheses.

  (S50, S56) The following steps S51 to S55 are repeated by the number of rollers to be detected by the device information detection unit 161.

  (S51) The device information detection unit 161 determines whether the rotation speed of a predetermined roller, which is a part of the error prediction information, has been detected. If a positive determination is made, the process proceeds to step S52, and if a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to step S56.

  (S52) The detected rotation speed is stored in the temporary storage unit 163 together with the date and time indicated by the RTC 48.

  (S53) It is determined whether or not the roller rotation speed stored in the temporary storage unit 163 is changed compared to the latest rotation speed in the roller rotation speed history 200b stored in the history storage unit 164. To do. If a positive determination is made, the process proceeds to step S54, and if a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to step S56.

  (S54) The changed roller rotation speed is copied from the temporary storage unit 163 to the history storage unit 164.

  (S55) The roller rotation speed stored in the temporary storage unit 163 is deleted.

(S57) The transmission unit 160a performs the same transmission process as steps S30 to S37 shown in FIG. 8 described in the first embodiment. Since the change history of the roller rotation speed is more important information that leads to a fatal error than other history, there is a change instead of the periodic transmission such as every three weeks shown in step S30. Sometimes, an immediate transmission process may be performed.
[9] Effect of Invention of Second Embodiment According to the second embodiment, the roller rotation speed of various error prediction information is stored in the error prediction information history 200 only when the speed has changed. Since it is stored in the history storage unit 164 as an element, it is possible to transmit the history 200 including only information important for error prediction. Thereby, the storage capacity of the history storage unit 164 can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced. Further, since only important information is transmitted, there is no complication when referring to the history 200.
[9] Modifications of Inventions of Embodiments 1 and 2 The above-described Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention are examples for explaining the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is limited only to those embodiments. It is not the purpose. Various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the gist thereof. Hereinafter, some of the modifications will be exemplified.

  The apparatus to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the image forming apparatus 10 described in the first embodiment, and may be any information processing apparatus that requires maintenance. For example, a personal computer, a video deck, a DVD player, a game machine, a television, and the like can be given.

  Further, the error prediction information history 200 is transmitted in response to a user instruction from the operation unit 45 or an instruction from the management server 500, in addition to being periodically transmitted as shown in step S30 of FIG. It may be configured. The instruction by the operation unit 45 includes, for example, pressing a transmission button or a transmission icon.

  Furthermore, the transmission method of the error prediction information history 200 is not limited to electronic mail, but may be transmitted using another transmission method such as SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) or SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol).

  When transmitting using SNMP, an SNMP agent and MIB (Management Information Base) are stored in a program storage unit (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 10, and information (error prediction information) associated with various errors is registered in the MIB. Is done. The SNMP agent constantly monitors various error prediction information by a trap command, and notifies the management server 500 of the fact when the value changes to a designated state. On the other hand, a hard disk drive (not shown) of the management server 500 stores a table in which the SNMP manager and the ID and IP address of the image forming apparatus 10 are associated with each other, and an OID (Object ID) is assigned to the image forming apparatus 10. By specifying and transmitting the GET command, the object (error prediction information) in the MIB identified by the OID is read by the SNMP agent and transmitted as a response to the manager of the management server 500.

  On the other hand, when transmitting using SOAP, both the image forming apparatus 10 and the management server 500 need to have a SOAP engine and a SOAP listener. In this configuration, the image forming apparatus 10 describes the destination of the management server 500 in the SOAP header, creates the SOAP message by describing the contents of the accumulated error prediction information history 200 and the analysis request in the SOAP body, and generates this message. Is transmitted to the management server 500.

  In the first embodiment, the configuration in which the error prediction information history 200 is stored in the USB memory 1000 as shown in FIG. 7 when there is no transmission means or when the Internet 400 cannot be connected has been described. Instead of the USB memory 1000, another removable storage device such as a Flowpy (registered trademark) disk, CD, MD, HDD, SD card, or CF card may be used.

  Further, in the first embodiment, error prediction information detected by the device information detection unit 161 or measured by the control unit 160 is stored in the temporary storage unit 163 and periodically copied from the storage unit 163 to the history storage unit 164. However, the error prediction information detected and measured may be directly stored in the history storage unit 164. In this case, the detected information is appropriately selected by the control unit 160, and only necessary information is stored in the history storage unit 164.

  Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 10 may include components other than the above-described components, or some of the above-described components may not be included.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the maintenance system concerning Example 1 of this invention. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of a specific configuration in the vicinity of a sheet feeding roller (hereinafter, referred to as a sheet feeding unit) illustrated in FIG. 2. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a main part configuration of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the memory content of the temporary memory part shown in FIG. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the memory content of the log | history memory | storage part shown in FIG. 5 is a partial detailed flowchart of the operation of the control unit shown in FIG. 4. 6 is a partial detailed flowchart of the operation of the transmission unit shown in FIG. 4. 10 is a partial detailed flowchart of each operation of a control unit and a transmission unit according to the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 15 Paper discharge tray 16 Temperature / humidity sensor 20 Image forming part 21 Photosensitive drum 22 Charge roller LB Laser beam 23 Developing device 24 Registration roller 25 Electrostatic transfer roller 26 Cleaner 30 Fixing device 40 System controller 41 Main power supply 42 Image information memory 43 Setting information memory 44 Error prediction information history storage device 45 Operation unit 46 Transport control device 47 Image forming unit control device 48 RTC
49 NIC
50 USB port 100 Transport path 111 A4 paper feed tray 112 A3 paper feed tray 121 A4 paper 122 A3 paper 131a, 132a Paper receiving plate 131b, 132b Coil spring 131c, 132c Lifting device 131, 132 Biasing means 141, 142 Paper feed roller 151, 152 Paper transport roller 155 Paper discharge roller 156, 157 Paper transport roller 160 Control unit 160a Transmission unit 161 Device information detection unit 162 Monitoring target unit 163 Temporary storage unit 164 History storage unit 170 Rotational speed history 171 Temperature history 172 Humidity history 173 Cumulative drive count 174 Cumulative drive time 175 Job history 200 Error prediction information history 200a Device setting history 200b Rotational speed history 200c Temperature history 200d Humidity history 200e Cumulative addition drive count 200f Product addition drive time 200g Job history 300 Rotating shaft 301 Rotation detection encoder 302 Disc-shaped light shielding plate 303 Photo sensor 304 Drive motor 305 Multiple gear trains 306 Electromagnetic clutch 307 Driven gear 308 Photo sensor 310 Control unit 311 Device information detection unit 312 Device Information storage unit 313 Error prediction information history storage unit 314 Transmission unit 400 Internet 500 Management server 1000 USB memory

Claims (10)

In an image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit; a storage unit coupled to the control unit; and a transmission unit coupled to the control unit and capable of transmitting information to a management computer.
The control means includes
Error prediction information related to a predetermined fatal error is monitored, the monitored information is stored in the storage means as an element of the error prediction information history, and the error prediction information history stored in the storage means at a predetermined timing Is transmitted to the management computer by the transmission means or stored in the transmission means.
An image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an error prediction information acquisition unit that detects or measures the error prediction information.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit periodically monitors the error prediction information and accumulates the monitored information in the storage unit as an element of an error prediction information history. . As a part of the error prediction information acquisition unit, a drive time measuring unit or a driving number measuring unit for measuring a driving time or a driving number related to a component of the image forming apparatus is provided.
The control means accumulates drive time information or drive frequency information related to the components of the image forming apparatus, which are monitoring targets, in the storage means as elements of the error prediction information history.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the driving time or the number of times of driving related to the components of the image forming apparatus is a cumulative value.   6. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the error prediction information to be monitored is changed, the control unit accumulates the information in the storage unit as an element of the error prediction information history. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. As part of the error prediction information acquisition means, a roller rotation speed detection means for detecting the rotation speed of various rollers of the image forming apparatus is provided,
The control means accumulates in the storage means rotational speed information of various rollers of the image forming apparatus that are monitoring targets as elements of the error prediction information history.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The control unit accumulates calibration information of the image forming apparatus, which is a monitoring target, in the storage unit as an element of the error prediction information history.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The error prediction information acquisition means includes a temperature detection means or a humidity detection means,
The control means accumulates the temperature or humidity detected by the temperature detection means or the humidity detection means to be monitored in the storage means as an element of the error prediction information history.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. A timer,
The control means further acquires the date and time indicated by the timer and associates the date and time with the error prediction information to be monitored and stores it in the storage means as an element of the error prediction information history.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.

Images