JP2010032665A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image forming apparatus that strikes a balance between user's convenience and contribution to power saving at high level. <P>SOLUTION: When a shift time set by a shift time setting part 73 has passed with no detection of the occurrence of events by an event occurrence detecting part 71, a power saving control part 77 shifts its own electric power mode to a power saving mode having much higher power saving effect, at the same time, the control part performs a power saving control to change the shift time set by the shift time setting part 73 to a shift time shorter than the present time length. Accordingly, when the apparatus using frequency is extremely low, priority is given not to the contribution to user's convenience unpredictable when it comes, but to the contribution to the power saving, then, the power mode is earlier shifted to the power saving mode having much higher power saving effect. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a power saving control function, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus capable of achieving both user convenience and contribution to power saving at a high level.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been provided an image forming apparatus called a so-called MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) having various functions such as copying, facsimile, scanner, and printer. In such MFPs, it is strongly demanded from society that power saving should be taken into consideration in response to the recent increase in global environmental protection.

  As one approach to responding to such a request, the applicant of the present application includes an operation panel, an optical sensor that detects illuminance in an installation environment, and a power management unit that performs power saving control based on the detected illuminance. Provided with a reference illuminance setting unit for setting the reference illuminance on the operation panel, and the power management unit is configured to activate power saving control when the detection illuminance detected by the optical sensor is lower than the set reference illuminance. A forming apparatus has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

  According to the power saving control technique described in Patent Document 1, the power saving control of the image forming apparatus can be appropriately activated according to the user's setting regardless of the installation environment.

  By the way, as an important element to be considered when performing power saving control in the image forming apparatus, it is possible to mention that the convenience of the user is not significantly impaired. This is because the convenience of the user is significantly impaired because the user falls over. Here, in order to highlight the outline of the problem, an extreme example will be described. Power saving control in which the main power supply is intermittently turned on when the image forming apparatus is used is preferable from the viewpoint of power saving. After the main power is turned on, the user is kept waiting until a required job, for example, a copy job can be executed, so that the user's convenience is significantly impaired. On the other hand, in the power saving control in which the main power supply of the image forming apparatus is always kept on and the transition time to the power saving mode is set to a long time such as 3 hours, the power saving control is substantially performed. The scene where this is performed is highly likely to occur rarely, and the power saving effect is significantly impaired. On the other hand, since there is almost no waiting time for the user, it is preferable from the viewpoint of user convenience.

In other words, the convenience of the user and the effect of power saving are in a trade-off relationship with each other. Under such a background, a new level that can achieve both user convenience and contribution to power saving at a high level. Technology development has been awaited among those concerned.
JP 2006-184346 A

  The problem to be solved is that it has been difficult to obtain an image forming apparatus capable of achieving both user convenience and contribution to power saving at a high level.

  The present invention pays attention to the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and for the purpose of obtaining an image forming apparatus capable of achieving both user convenience and contribution to power saving at a high level, power is supplied to various functional units related to image formation. Image forming having one or two or more power saving modes for performing a power saving operation by stopping power supply from the power supply section to a predetermined functional section or reducing a supply voltage. One transition that follows a predetermined rule from an event occurrence detection unit that detects the occurrence of an event that is a return trigger from the power saving mode and a plurality of transition times having different time lengths When the transition time set in the transition time setting unit has passed without the transition time setting unit for setting the time and the event occurrence detection unit detecting the occurrence of the event, The power saving control is performed to change the transition time set in the transition time setting unit to a shorter one than the current time length while shifting the power mode to a power saving mode with a higher power saving effect. And the power control unit.

  First, when the transition time set in the transition time setting unit elapses without the event occurrence detection unit detecting the occurrence of an event, for example, a key operation or scanner reading serving as a return trigger from the power saving mode Etc. does not occur within the transition time, which means that the frequency of use of the apparatus is extremely low. In such a case, it is more convenient for the user to shift to the power saving mode with higher power saving effect by giving priority to contribution to power saving over the convenience of the user who cannot predict when it will come. This is preferable from the viewpoint of appropriately adjusting the relationship with the contribution to power saving.

  From such a viewpoint, in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, when the transition time set in the transition time setting unit elapses without the event occurrence detection unit detecting the occurrence of the event, the power saving control unit itself The power mode is shifted to a power saving mode having a higher power saving effect, while the power saving control is performed to change the transition time set in the transition time setting unit to a time shorter than the current time length. I decided to do it.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the frequency of use of the apparatus is extremely low, priority is given to the contribution to power saving over the convenience of the user who cannot predict when the apparatus will come, and the power saving effect is higher. As a result of being able to shift to the power saving mode at an early stage, it is possible to obtain an image forming apparatus that can achieve both user convenience and contribution to power saving at a high level.

  The event occurrence detection unit was set in the transition time setting unit for the purpose of obtaining an image forming apparatus that can achieve both user convenience and contribution to power saving at a high level. When the transition time has elapsed, the power mode is shifted to a power saving mode with a higher power saving effect, while the transition time set in the transition time setting section is shorter than the current time length. This is realized by the power saving control unit that performs power saving control to be changed.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Schematic configuration around the image forming apparatus]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external view of an operation panel unit in the image forming apparatus.

  This device can use various functions including, for example, a copy job, a fax transmission job, a print job, or a network transmission (email transmission or data transmission) job, and includes a microcomputer and a dedicated hardware circuit. It is controlled by the main control unit 11. As an input / output device connected to the main control unit 11 and responsible for various functions, this apparatus includes a scanner unit 21, an image processing unit 31, an engine unit 41, an operation panel unit 51, a facsimile communication unit 61, and an HDD (hard disk drive) 63. A network I / F (interface) unit 65, and an IC card communication unit 67.

  The main control unit 11 includes a scanner controller 13 that performs operation control for realizing a scanner function, a facsimile controller 15 that performs operation control for realizing a facsimile function, and a printer controller that performs operation control for realizing a printer function. 17 and a copy controller 19 for controlling the operation for realizing the copy function are incorporated, and the overall operation of the apparatus is controlled.

  The scanner unit 21 includes an image irradiation lamp 23 and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor 25 constituting a scanner (not shown). The scanner unit 21 irradiates the document with the image irradiation lamp 23, receives the reflected light with the CCD sensor 25, reads an image from the document, and outputs image data corresponding to the read image to the image processing unit 31. .

  The image processing unit 31 includes a correction unit 33, an image processing unit 35, and an image memory 37. The image processing unit 31 processes the image data read by the scanner unit 21 with the correction unit 33 and the image processing unit 35 as necessary, and stores the processed image data in the image memory 37, the engine unit 41, Output to the facsimile communication unit 61 or the like. The correction unit 33 performs predetermined correction processing such as level correction and gamma correction on the image data read by the scanner unit 21. The image processing unit 35 performs various types of processing such as image data compression or expansion processing and enlargement or reduction processing.

  The engine unit 41 includes a sheet conveying unit 43 including a sheet feeding cassette and a sheet feeding roller (not shown), an image forming unit 45 including a photosensitive drum, an exposure device, a developing device, and the like, a transfer roller (not illustrated), and the like. And a fixing unit 49 including a fixing roller (not shown). The engine unit 41 stores image data read by the scanner unit 21, image data transmitted from a client PC (personal computer) or the like by a LAN (Local Area Network) via the network I / F unit 65, and a facsimile communication unit 61. The image is printed on a sheet using image data such as fax data received from an external facsimile machine. Specifically, the paper transport unit 43 transports the paper to the image forming unit 45, the image forming unit 45 forms a toner image corresponding to the image data, the transfer unit 47 transfers the toner image to the paper, The fixing unit 49 fixes the toner image on a sheet to form an image.

  The operation panel unit 51 includes a touch panel unit 53 and a function key unit 55, as shown in FIGS. The operation panel unit 51 is used for a user to perform operations related to a scanner function, a facsimile function, a printer function, a copy function, and the like, and gives an operation command and the like by the user to the main control unit 11.

  The touch panel unit 53 includes a touch panel unit that combines a touch panel and a color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and displays various operation screens, for example, information regarding the document size, copy size, number of copies, and the like when executing the copy function. In addition, operation buttons for inputting various operation commands are displayed by the user touching the corresponding part.

  The function key unit 55 includes a plurality of function keys that are operated when items related to various functions relating to image formation are selected or set. Specifically, for example, when the start key 57 that is operated when performing an instruction operation related to the execution of the copy function, or when the power mode of the apparatus itself is shifted to a power saving mode with a higher power saving effect, or And a power saving key 59 that is operated when performing various settings such as a transition time related to the power saving mode.

  The facsimile communication unit 61 includes an encoding / decoding unit (not shown), a modem unit (not shown), and an NCU (Network Control Unit) (not shown). The facsimile communication unit 61 transmits image data of a document read by the scanner unit 21 to a facsimile apparatus or the like via a telephone line, or receives image data transmitted from the facsimile apparatus or the like.

  The HDD (hard disk drive) 63 stores image data read by the scanner unit 21 and various data such as an output format set in the image data. The image data stored in the HDD is not only used inside the image forming apparatus, the program, and the recording medium, but also can be confirmed from a client PC or the like via the network I / F unit 65 if necessary. It is transferred to a predetermined folder such as a PC or FTP server.

  The network I / F unit 65 uses a network interface (10 / 100Base-TX) or the like to control transmission / reception of various data to / from a user terminal 67 such as a client PC connected via a LAN.

  By the way, in order to obtain an image forming apparatus capable of achieving both user convenience and contribution to power saving at a high level, the main control unit 11 detects an event serving as a return trigger from the power saving mode. Occurrence of an event in the occurrence detection unit 71, a transition time setting unit 73 that sets one transition time according to a predetermined rule, among variations related to a plurality of transition times having different time lengths, and an event occurrence detection unit 71 The event counter 75 that counts the event by incrementing the value by “1” every time it is detected, and the event occurrence detection unit 71 is set in the transition time setting unit 73 without detecting the occurrence of the event. When the transition condition indicating that the transition time has elapsed is satisfied, the power mode is shifted to a power saving mode with a higher power saving effect. The transition time set between setting unit 73 is configured to include a power saving control unit 77 for performing power saving control for changing to those shorter than the current length of time, the.

[Operation of Image Forming Apparatus According to Embodiment of Present Invention]
Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the image forming apparatus, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of power supply specifications to each functional unit for each power saving mode hierarchized in, for example, three stages, and FIG. FIGS. 6 (1) to 6 (4) are explanatory views showing variation examples of the transition time length to the power saving mode, and are explanatory diagrams showing the power saving effect for each variation of the transition time length.

  Prior to the description of this operation, the presupposed configuration of the image forming apparatus will be described. The image forming apparatus includes a power supply unit (not shown) that supplies power to various function units (engine unit 41, operation panel unit 51, facsimile communication unit 61) related to image formation, and a predetermined function from the power supply unit. In order to perform power saving operation by stopping the supply of power to the units 41, 51, 61 or reducing the supply voltage, for example, as shown in FIG. In the case of including the power saving mode, the power saving mode is performed in four stages. Specifically, in the ready mode (normal standby mode), power is supplied to all of the engine unit 41, the operation panel unit 51, and the facsimile communication unit 61, whereas in the first power saving mode, Power is supplied to the engine unit 41 and the facsimile communication unit 61 excluding the operation panel unit 51, and the facsimile communication unit excluding the engine unit 41 and the operation panel unit 51 in the second and third power saving modes. Power is supplied to 61. However, in the third power saving mode, the facsimile communication unit 61 has a specific power saving mode in which the power supply to all electronic components is interrupted except for the function of monitoring the start command from the main control unit 11. The point of operation is different from the second power saving mode. The main control unit 11 is always supplied with power regardless of the power saving mode. In this way, according to the power mode hierarchized in three stages, the ready mode is used as a starting point, and the first power saving mode, the second power saving mode, and the third power saving mode are shifted to a deep hierarchy. As a result, power consumption will be reduced.

  Now, returning to the description of the operation according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, when the main power supply (not shown) of the apparatus main body is turned on and power is supplied to each function unit, Start in ready mode. At this time, the main control unit 11 initializes the value of the event counter 75 to “0” (step S11). On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, the transition time setting unit 73 sets “transition time” to an initial value “30 minutes” (step S12). Simultaneously with this setting, the passage of a transition time timer (not shown) in the main control unit 11 is started.

  During the transition time timer, the event occurrence detection unit 71 becomes a return trigger from the power saving mode, for example, key operation, scanner reading operation, facsimile transmission operation, copy operation, printing operation, platen cover (not shown). Whether or not an event has occurred is monitored by detecting the occurrence of an event related to the opening / closing operation of the event (step S13).

  As a result of monitoring in step S13, when the event occurrence detection unit 71 detects the occurrence of an event (“Yes” in step S13), the main control unit 11 increments the value of the event counter 75 by “1”, The flow is returned to step S11, and the above-described processes are sequentially executed from the beginning. Note that the event occurrence monitoring in step S13 is repeatedly executed until the transition time set in the transition time setting unit 73 is timed up without the event occurrence detection unit 71 detecting the occurrence of the event. .

On the other hand, as a result of the monitoring in step S13, when the transition condition that the transition time set in the transition time setting unit 73 has timed up is satisfied without the event occurrence detection unit 71 detecting the occurrence of the event. (Refer to the flow from “No” in step S13 to “Yes” in step S15), the power saving control unit 77 sets its own power mode to a power saving mode having a higher power saving effect (in this embodiment, ready). The mode is shifted to the first power saving mode.) And by referring to the value of the event counter 75, whether or not it is “0”, that is, the transition time immediately before shifting to the power saving mode. In step S17, it is determined whether or not an event has not been detected.
As a result of the determination in step S17, when it is determined that the value of the event counter 75 is not “0” (refer to “No” in step S17, this processing flow does not normally occur). The flow is returned to step S11, and the above-described processes are sequentially executed from the beginning.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the value of the event counter 75 is “0” as a result of the determination in step S17 (see “Yes” in step S17), the power saving control unit 77 includes a transition time setting unit. The transition time set in 73 is shorter than the current time length (for example, the initial value “30 minutes” shown in FIG. 5) (for example, the first short time value “20 minutes” shown in FIG. 5). ) (Step S18), the process flow is returned to step S11, and the following processes are sequentially executed.

  Immediately after the transition time is shortened and changed in step S18, in step S12, the “transition time” in the transition time setting unit 73 is “20 minutes” which is the shortened transition time (first time value). ) Will be set.

  Next, the power saving effect of each variation of the transition time length according to the embodiment of the present invention when assuming a situation in which the frequency of use of the present apparatus is extremely low, in contrast to the conventional technology without changing the transition time length, This will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 (1) to 6 (4).

  There is no change in the transition time length shown in FIG. 6 (1) (transition time length (initial value): 30 minutes). In the prior art, even in the transition condition after satisfying the first transition condition, the transition time that is the initial value The length: 30 minutes is repeatedly adopted, while the transition time length shown in FIG. 6 (2) is changed (the transition time length (first short time value): 20 minutes). In the transition condition after satisfying the transition condition, the transition time length: 20 minutes which is the changed first time-short value is adopted, and a power saving effect of 10 minutes is obtained for convenience. Further, there is a change in the transition time length shown in FIG. 6 (3) (transition time length (second short time value): 15 minutes). In the second embodiment, in the transition condition after satisfying the first transition condition, The changed second short time value, the transition time length: 15 minutes, is adopted, and a power saving effect of 15 minutes is obtained. And there is a change in the transition time length shown in FIG. 6 (4) (transition time length (third short time value): 10 minutes) In the third embodiment, in the transition condition after satisfying the first transition condition, The changed transition time length which is the third short time value: 10 minutes is adopted, and a power saving effect of 20 minutes is obtained for convenience.

  By the way, the case where the transition time set in the transition time setting unit 73 elapses without the event occurrence detection unit 71 detecting the occurrence of an event is, for example, a key operation serving as a return trigger from the power saving mode. This is a case where an event relating to scanner reading or the like does not occur within the transition time, which means that the frequency of use of the apparatus is extremely low without being corrected. In such a case, it is more convenient for the user to shift to the power saving mode with higher power saving effect by giving priority to contribution to power saving over the convenience of the user who cannot predict when it will come. This is preferable from the viewpoint of appropriately adjusting the relationship with the contribution to power saving.

  From such a viewpoint, in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the power saving control unit 77 has passed the transition time set in the transition time setting unit 73 without the event occurrence detection unit 71 detecting the occurrence of the event. When the power mode is shifted to a power saving mode having a higher power saving effect, the transition time set in the transition time setting unit 73 is changed to a value shorter than the current time length. It was decided to perform power control.

  According to the power saving control with shortening of the transition time according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the frequency of use of the device is extremely low, priority is given to the contribution to power saving over the convenience of the user who cannot predict when the device will come. Thus, since the transition to the power saving mode having a higher power saving effect is made at an early stage, it is possible to obtain an image forming apparatus capable of achieving both user convenience and contribution to power saving at a high level.

  By the way, in realizing the power saving control accompanied by the shortening of the transition time according to the embodiment of the present invention, the power saving control unit 77 performs the transition set in the transition time setting unit 73 when the transition condition is satisfied. As a time, there is a problem as to what kind of short-time transition time should be adopted among variations related to a plurality of transition times.

  From such a viewpoint, in the embodiment of the present invention, the power saving control unit 77, among the variations related to a plurality of transition times, as the transition time set in the transition time setting unit 73 when the transition condition is satisfied, It is possible to adopt a configuration that performs power saving control to change to the shortest. In this way, for example, when the frequency of use of the device is remarkably low, the highest priority is given to the contribution to power saving over the convenience of the user who cannot predict when it will come. As a result of being able to shift to the mode at an early stage, it is possible to obtain an image forming apparatus capable of achieving both user convenience and contribution to power saving at a higher level.

  In addition, when realizing power saving control with a shortening of the transition time according to the embodiment of the present invention, a transition value that is set in the transition time setting unit 73 and a transition value that presents any short time as a variation related to a plurality of transition times The question is whether to adopt time.

  From such a viewpoint, in the embodiment of the present invention, a configuration in which each time length can be set and changed as appropriate can be adopted for the variations related to the plurality of transition times. In this way, for example, when the frequency of use of the device is remarkably low, a variation related to the transition time exhibiting a short time with a large (very short) drop compared to the initial value is adopted, while the frequency of use of the device is adopted. If the change is relatively high, the variation related to the transition time can be flexibly changed according to the frequency of use of the device, such as adopting the variation related to the transition time that exhibits a short time value that is not much different from the initial value. It is possible to change the setting. Therefore, even if the usage frequency of the device changes from moment to moment, it is possible to perform power saving control that follows the change, resulting in user convenience and contribution to power saving. Can be obtained at a higher level.

[Effect of Example]
As described above, according to the power saving control accompanied by the shortening of the transition time according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the frequency of use of the apparatus is extremely low, it is less than the convenience of the user who cannot predict when it will come. Prioritizing contribution to electric power and shifting to the power saving mode with higher power saving effect at an early stage, image forming device that can achieve both user convenience and contribution to power saving at a high level Can be obtained.

  Further, when the transition condition is satisfied, the power saving control is performed so that the transition time set in the transition time setting unit 73 is changed to the shortest among the variations related to the plurality of transition times. Since the power control unit 77 is configured, for example, when the frequency of use of the device is remarkably low, the contribution to power saving is given the highest priority over the convenience of the user who cannot predict when it will come. As a result of being able to shift to a high power saving mode at an early stage, it is possible to obtain an image forming apparatus that can achieve both user convenience and contribution to power saving at a higher level.

  And, as a variation related to a plurality of transition times, since the configuration in which each time length can be appropriately changed can be adopted, even if it is a usage mode in which the frequency of use of the device changes every moment, the change As a result of being able to perform power saving control that follows the above, it is possible to obtain an image forming apparatus that can achieve both user convenience and contribution to power saving at a higher level.

[Others]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the invention read from the claims and the entire specification or the technical idea, and image formation accompanied by such changes The apparatus is also included in the scope of the technical scope of the present invention.

  That is, for example, in the embodiment of the present invention, in the ready mode after the main power is turned on, when the transition condition is satisfied, the power mode of the apparatus is shifted to the first power saving mode. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, when the transition condition is satisfied in the first power saving mode, the power mode of the apparatus is shifted to the second power saving mode. Alternatively, when the transition condition is satisfied in the second power saving mode, the present invention can be applied as it is also in the case of shifting the power mode of the apparatus to the third power saving mode. Needless to say.

1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an external view of an operation panel unit in the image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus. It is explanatory drawing showing the example of the electric power supply specification to each function part for every power saving mode hierarchized in three steps. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a variation of the transition time length to a power saving mode. FIG. 6 (1) to FIG. 6 (4) are explanatory diagrams showing the power saving effect for each variation of the transition time length.

Explanation of symbols

11 Main control unit 71 Event occurrence detection unit 73 Transition time setting unit 75 Event counter 77 Power saving control unit

Claims (3)

A power supply unit that supplies power to various functional units related to image formation is provided, and one or two for performing power-saving operation by stopping the supply of power from the power supply unit to a predetermined functional unit or reducing the supply voltage An image forming apparatus having the above power saving mode,
An event occurrence detector that detects the occurrence of an event that is a return trigger from the power saving mode;
A transition time setting unit that sets one transition time according to a predetermined rule from among a plurality of transition times having different time lengths,
When the transition time set in the transition time setting unit elapses without the event occurrence detection unit detecting the occurrence of the event, the own power mode is shifted to a power saving mode with a higher power saving effect. On the other hand, a power saving control unit that performs power saving control to change the transition time set in the transition time setting unit to a shorter one than the current time length;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The power saving control unit
When the transition condition is satisfied, power saving control is performed to change the transition time set in the transition time setting unit to the shortest among the variations related to the plurality of transition times.
An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The variations related to the plurality of transition times can be appropriately set to change each time length,
An image forming apparatus.