JP2012004694A - Power supply management device, image forming apparatus comprising power supply management device, network system, and terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of reducing consumption power without lowering a use efficiency.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: a detection part 162 for detecting a terminal device which is connected to a network, communicable with the image forming apparatus and in a working state; a transmission processing part 166 for transmitting, when the number i of the terminal devices detected by the detection part 162 is a predetermined number N or less, a message to each detected terminal device via the network; and power supply control parts 168, 170 and 172 for controlling a power supply state of the image forming apparatus based on the presence or absence of a response to the message and a content of the response to the message.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copier / printer / facsimile / multifunction machine having a plurality of functions thereof having an energy saving mode in addition to a normal operation mode, and in particular, communicates with a plurality of terminal apparatuses via a network. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for forming an image.

  Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional network system 20 is connected to a network line 22, a plurality of terminal devices 24, 26, and 28 that are all connected to the network line 22, and the network system 20. An image forming apparatus 30 that operates as a network printer for the plurality of terminal devices 24, 26, and 28 by communicating with the terminal devices 24, 26, and 28 via the network line 22 is included.

  In such a network system 20, when all the terminal devices 24, 26, and 28 are powered off, there is no terminal that uses the image forming apparatus 30. Nevertheless, it is useless to keep the image forming apparatus 30 powered on.

  Patent Document 1 discloses printing for solving such a problem in the network system 20. The printing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 executes a program having the following control structure.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the program disclosed in Patent Document 1 confirms the activation status of the monitoring target terminal device connected to the network line 22 after the predetermined time has elapsed and Step 40 for maintaining the standby state for a predetermined time. Step 42 to be performed, and Step 44 to determine whether or not all the terminal devices are turned off as a result of Step 42. If all the terminals are turned off, the printing apparatus is shifted to the power saving state in step 46 and the process is terminated. If the condition that all the terminal devices are turned off is not satisfied, the process returns to step 40 and again enters the standby state.

  According to the image forming apparatus according to the invention disclosed in Patent Literature 1, if all the terminal devices to be monitored are turned off, the image forming apparatus shifts to a power saving state. With this configuration, the power consumption of the image forming apparatus can be reduced when the terminal device is not operating at all.

JP 2001-353929 A

  A typical example of the terminal device is a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”). Recently, a power saving mechanism has been incorporated into the PC itself. For example, a technique for turning off the monitor screen when a predetermined time elapses without any operation on the PC is also common.

  As a result of adopting such a technology in the PC, the user may return as it is, assuming that the PC is turned off despite the power being on. When such a situation occurs in any PC on the network, the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot shift to the power saving state by the mechanism described above. As a result, there is a problem that the power consumption of the image forming apparatus cannot be effectively reduced. Such a problem tends to occur particularly when the network is large and many PCs are set to use the same image forming apparatus. Despite such human error, there is a need for a technology that can more reliably reduce power consumption.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, a power management apparatus, a terminal apparatus, and a network system that can reduce power consumption without reducing usage efficiency.

  An image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus that operates by communicating with a terminal device via a network, and is a terminal device connected to the network and capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus. When the number of terminal devices detected by the detecting means is less than or equal to a predetermined number, each of the terminal devices detected by the detecting means is connected via the network. A transmission unit configured to transmit a message; and a power source control unit configured to control a power state of the image forming apparatus based on the presence or absence of a response to the message or the content of the response to the message.

  A message is transmitted to the activated terminal device, and the power supply state of the image forming apparatus is controlled according to the presence or absence of the response or the content of the response. For example, when there is no plan to use the image forming apparatus, or when the terminal device is forgotten to be turned off, it is possible to prevent the image forming apparatus from being forgotten to be turned off. As a result, the power consumption of the image forming apparatus can be reduced without reducing the work efficiency.

  Preferably, the power control unit includes a unit for cutting off or maintaining the power supply to the image forming apparatus based on the presence / absence of a response to the message or the content of the response to the message.

  More preferably, the power supply control means includes means for setting the image forming apparatus to either the power saving state or the standby state based on the presence or absence of a response to the message or the content of the response to the message.

  More preferably, the power control means activates only a part of the function of the image forming apparatus, a process of cutting off the power supply to the image forming apparatus based on the presence / absence of the response to the message or the content of the response to the message. Means for executing one of a process of setting and cutting off power supply to the other, a process of setting the image forming apparatus in a power saving state, and a process of setting the image forming apparatus in a standby state.

  The detection means may include a terminal device connected to the network and capable of detecting a communication device that is communicable with the image forming apparatus and in an operating state every time a predetermined time elapses.

  Preferably, the image forming apparatus is further connected to the detection unit for determining whether or not the number of terminal devices detected by the detection unit is smaller than the number of terminal devices detected by the detection unit before that. A determination means; When the number of terminal devices detected by the detection unit is equal to or less than a predetermined number, or when the number of terminal devices detected by the detection unit is less than the number of terminal devices previously detected by the detection unit, Means for transmitting a message via the network to each of the terminal devices detected by the detection means when determined by the determination means.

  There is a high possibility that a situation in which it is appropriate to change the power supply state of the image forming apparatus due to a decrease in the number of connected terminal devices. Therefore, in such a case, the power consumption can be managed more finely by transmitting a message to each terminal apparatus and performing power control of the image forming apparatus based on the response. Since the same operation is performed at regular time intervals, the power control of the image forming apparatus can be reliably performed even when all the connected terminal devices are forgotten to turn off the power. As a result, the power control of the image forming apparatus can be performed more accurately, and the power consumption can be reduced.

  A network system according to a second aspect of the present invention is a network system including any of the image forming apparatuses described above, a plurality of terminal devices, and a network line to which the image forming devices and the terminal devices are connected. Each of the plurality of terminal devices includes a message receiving unit for receiving a message transmitted from the transmission unit of the image forming apparatus, and the use of the image forming apparatus in response to the message receiving unit receiving the message. Dialog display means for displaying a dialog for confirmation, and response means for generating a response based on an input to the dialog display means and transmitting the response to the power control means of the image forming apparatus.

  By confirming the use schedule of the image forming apparatus on the terminal device through a message, the use status can be determined more accurately. As a result, the power control of the image forming apparatus can be more reliably performed and the power consumption can be reduced.

  Preferably, any of the plurality of terminal devices includes computer hardware, the computer hardware, a message receiving unit, a dialog display unit, and a monitor program that functions as a transmission unit.

  By using the dedicated monitor program, it is possible to receive an instruction from the user regarding power control of the image forming apparatus through a unified interface regardless of the type of the connected terminal device.

  A power management apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is a power management apparatus that is connected to a network to which a plurality of terminal devices and an image forming apparatus are connected, and manages the power supply of the image forming apparatus. In response to receiving a power control command from the outside, the image forming apparatus can be set to a first state in which the power consumption is relatively large and a second state in which the power consumption is relatively small. is there. The power management device is a terminal device connected to a network, and is capable of communicating with the image forming device and the power management device and detecting a terminal device in an operating state, and the terminal device detected by the detection device Is less than or equal to a predetermined number, based on the transmission means for transmitting a message to each of the terminal devices detected by the detection means via the network, the presence or absence of a response to the message, or the content of the response to the message And a power control means for generating a power control command for controlling the power state of the image forming apparatus and transmitting it to the image forming apparatus.

  Preferably, a plurality of image forming apparatuses can be connected to the network, and the power control unit determines the power state of each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses based on the presence / absence of a response to the message or the content of the response to the message. Means for individually generating a power control command for controlling and transmitting it to the corresponding image forming apparatus.

  By connecting a plurality of terminal devices to the image forming apparatus and the power management apparatus via a network, the power management of the image forming apparatus can be performed by the power management apparatus. Further, the power management apparatus can perform power management for a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

  A power management device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is any one of the power management devices described above, and is a router.

  By installing the power management apparatus not in the image forming apparatus alone but in the router, the power management of a plurality of image forming apparatuses can be unified in the router. By providing such a function to the router, it is possible to effectively perform power management of the image forming apparatus on the network without preparing another special apparatus.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when the image forming apparatus is not scheduled to be used or when the terminal apparatus is forgotten to be turned off, the image forming apparatus may be turned off or may be shifted to a power saving state. In this case, the image forming apparatus can be controlled so as to reduce the power consumption of the image forming apparatus. As a result, it is possible to effectively reduce the power consumption of the image forming apparatus without reducing the work efficiency.

1 is a block diagram of a network system including terminal devices and image forming devices used by these terminal devices. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control structure of a program for controlling power-off in a conventional image forming apparatus. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 3. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a control structure of a program for controlling power-off in the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 3. It is a schematic diagram which shows the response dialog displayed on the monitor of the terminal device using the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 3 according to the instruction | indication from an image forming apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control structure of a program for controlling a power state in an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a control structure of a program for controlling a power supply state in an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the network system containing the image forming apparatus and router or server which concern on 4th Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the network system containing the image forming apparatus and router or server which concern on 5th Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the response dialog displayed on the monitor of the terminal device connected to the same network as the image forming apparatus concerning 5th Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the response dialog displayed on the monitor of the terminal device connected to the same network as the image forming apparatus concerning 6th Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the computer system for implement | achieving the terminal 24 etc. of each embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 100 is a so-called MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) having a copy function, a facsimile transmission / reception function, a printer function, and a scanner function. Hereinafter, the structure and schematic operation of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 3, taking as an example a function for forming an image on a recording sheet (used in a copy function, a facsimile reception function, and a printer function).

[Structure of image forming apparatus]
The image forming apparatus 100 forms a multicolor image or a single color image on a predetermined sheet (recording paper) in accordance with image data transmitted from the outside. In general, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a main body part 110 and an automatic document processing apparatus 120 disposed on the upper part of the main body part 110. The main body 110 includes an exposure unit 1, a developing device 2, a photosensitive drum 3, a cleaner unit 4, a charger 5, an intermediate transfer belt unit 6, a fixing unit 7, a paper feed cassette 81, a paper discharge tray 91, and the like. A forming part is provided.

  On the upper surface of the main body 110, a document placing table 92 made of transparent glass on which a document is placed is provided. An automatic document processor 120 is attached to the upper side of the document table 92. The automatic document processing device 120 has a document tray and has a function of automatically conveying a plurality of documents placed on the document tray onto the document placing table 92. The automatic document processing apparatus 120 is attached to the main body 110 so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow M about one side of the upper surface of the main body 110 as a rotation axis. By rotating the automatic document processing device 120 along the arrow M so as to open the upper surface of the document placing table 92, the document can be manually placed on the upper surface of the document placing table 92. A document placed on the document placing table 92 is read by a document reading unit (scanner unit) described later and converted into image data.

  The image data handled by the image forming apparatus 100 is data corresponding to a color image using each color of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). Accordingly, four developing devices 2, photosensitive drums 3, chargers 5, and cleaner units 4 are provided so as to form four types of latent images corresponding to the respective colors, and four of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow are provided. One image station is formed.

  The charger 5 is for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 to a predetermined potential. The exposure unit 1 includes a laser scanning unit (LSU) provided with a laser emitting portion, a reflection mirror, and the like. The LSU includes a polygon mirror that scans a laser beam and optical elements such as a lens and a mirror for guiding the laser beam reflected by the polygon mirror to the photosensitive drum 3. These are not shown in FIG. 3 to avoid overcomplicating the figure.

  The exposure unit 1 has a function of forming an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data on the surface thereof by exposing the charged photosensitive drum 3 according to the input image data. The developing device 2 visualizes the electrostatic latent images formed on the respective photosensitive drums 3 with toners of four colors (Y, M, C, K). The cleaner unit 4 is for removing and collecting toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 after development and image transfer.

  An intermediate transfer belt unit 6 is disposed above the photosensitive drum 3. The intermediate transfer belt unit 6 includes an intermediate transfer belt 61, an intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62, an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63, an intermediate transfer roller 64, and an intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65. Four intermediate transfer rollers 64 are provided corresponding to the respective colors Y, M, C, and K. The intermediate transfer belt 61 is stretched around the intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62, the intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63, and the intermediate transfer roller 64, and is driven to rotate. The intermediate transfer roller 64 provides a transfer bias for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum 3 onto the intermediate transfer belt 61.

  The intermediate transfer belt 61 is provided in contact with the four photosensitive drums 3. A color toner image (multicolor toner image) is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 61 by sequentially superimposing and transferring the respective color toner images formed on the photosensitive drum 3 onto the intermediate transfer belt 61. The intermediate transfer belt 61 is formed in an endless shape using, for example, a film having a thickness of about 100 μm to 150 μm.

  The transfer of the toner image from the photosensitive drum 3 to the intermediate transfer belt 61 is performed by an intermediate transfer roller 64 that is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 61 on the back side of the photosensitive drum 3 with the intermediate transfer belt 61 interposed therebetween. A high-voltage transfer bias (a high voltage having a polarity (+) opposite to the toner charging polarity (−)) is applied to the intermediate transfer roller 64 in order to transfer the toner image. The intermediate transfer roller 64 includes a base made of a metal (for example, stainless steel) shaft having a diameter of 8 mm to 10 mm, and a conductive elastic material (for example, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber, foamed urethane, or the like) that covers the surface of the base. With this conductive elastic material, a high voltage can be uniformly applied to the intermediate transfer belt 61. A component having a function like the intermediate transfer roller 64 is called a transfer electrode. In this embodiment, a roller-shaped electrode is used as the transfer electrode, but a brush-shaped electrode or the like can be used in addition to that.

  As described above, the electrostatic latent images visualized according to the respective colors on the respective photosensitive drums 3 are stacked on the intermediate transfer belt 61. The stacked image information is conveyed to a contact position with a predetermined recording sheet by the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 61. The image information is transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 61 onto the recording paper by the transfer roller 10 disposed at the contact position.

  At this time, the intermediate transfer belt 61 and the transfer roller 10 are pressed against each other at a predetermined nip. A voltage for transferring the toner onto the recording paper is applied to the transfer roller 10 (a high voltage having a polarity (+) opposite to the charging polarity (−) of the toner). In order to obtain the nip constantly, either the transfer roller 10 or the intermediate transfer belt drive roller 62 is made of a hard material (metal or the like), and the other is a soft material such as an elastic roller (elastic rubber roller or foaming resin roller). And so on).

  Usually, the toner is transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 61 onto the recording paper by the transfer roller 10. However, some toner may not be transferred and may remain on the intermediate transfer belt 61. Such toner causes toner color mixture in the next step. Therefore, it is removed and collected by the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65. The intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65 includes a cleaning member that cleans the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61 by contacting the intermediate transfer belt 61, for example, a cleaning blade. An intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63 that supports the intermediate transfer belt 61 from the side opposite to the cleaning blade is provided at a position where the intermediate transfer belt 61 contacts the cleaning blade.

  A paper feed cassette 81 is provided below the exposure unit of the main body 110. The paper feed cassette 81 is a tray for storing sheets (recording paper) used for image formation. A manual paper feed cassette 82 is provided on the side surface of the main body 110. A sheet used for image formation can also be placed on the manual paper feed cassette 82. A paper discharge tray 91 is provided above the main body 110. The paper discharge tray 91 is a tray for collecting printed sheets face down.

  In the main body 110, a substantially vertical sheet conveyance path for feeding a sheet taken out from the sheet feeding cassette 81 or the manual sheet feeding cassette 82 to the sheet discharge tray 91 via the transfer roller 10 and the fixing unit 7. S is provided. In the vicinity of the sheet conveyance path S, a pickup roller 11a, a pickup roller 11b, a plurality of conveyance rollers 12a to 12d, a registration roller 13, a transfer roller 10, a fixing unit 7, and the like are arranged.

  The conveyance rollers 12 a to 12 d are small rollers for promoting and assisting conveyance of the sheet, and a plurality of conveyance rollers 12 a to 12 d are provided along the sheet conveyance path S. The pickup roller 11 a is provided near the end of the paper feed cassette 81, picks up sheets one by one from the paper feed cassette 81, and supplies them to the paper transport path S. The pickup roller 11 b is provided near the end of the manual paper feed cassette 82, picks up sheets one by one from the manual paper feed cassette 82, and supplies them to the paper transport path S.

  The registration roller 13 temporarily holds the sheet being conveyed on the sheet conveyance path S. The registration roller 13 has a function of conveying the sheet once held in this way to the transfer roller 10 at a timing when the leading edge of the toner image on the photosensitive drum 3 and the leading edge of the sheet are aligned.

  A motor for driving these rollers, a sensor for detecting a sheet for controlling these motors, and the like are each driven by DC power having a predetermined voltage value.

  The fixing unit 7 includes a heat roller 71 and a pressure roller 72. The heat roller 71 and the pressure roller 72 are configured to rotate with the sheet interposed therebetween. The heat roller 71 is set so as to reach a predetermined fixing temperature by a control unit that controls the entire image forming apparatus 100 or controls the image forming unit based on a signal from a temperature detector (not shown). The heat roller 71 has a function of fusing, mixing, and pressing the multicolor toner image transferred to the sheet and thermally fixing the sheet to the sheet by thermocompression bonding the toner to the sheet together with the pressure roller 72. .

  The fixing unit 7 is provided with a heater (such as a halogen heater) for heating the heat roller 71. This heater is driven by AC power.

  The sheet conveyance path has the following configuration. As described above, the image forming apparatus 100 is provided with the paper feed cassette 81 and the manual paper feed cassette 82 for storing sheets in advance. In order to feed sheets from these sheet feeding cassettes 81 or manual sheet feeding cassettes 82, pickup rollers 11a or pickup rollers 11b are arranged to guide the sheets one by one to the sheet conveyance path S.

  The sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding cassette 81 or the manual sheet feeding cassette 82 is conveyed to the registration roller 13 by the conveying roller 12a in the sheet conveying path S. The sheet is conveyed to the transfer roller 10 at a timing when the leading edge of the sheet and the leading edge of the image information on the intermediate transfer belt 61 are aligned. As a result, image information is written on the sheet. Thereafter, as the sheet passes through the fixing unit 7, unfixed toner on the sheet is melted and fixed by heat. The sheet is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 91 through a conveyance roller 12b disposed after the fixing unit 7.

  The above-mentioned conveyance path is used when a single-sided printing request is made on a sheet. On the other hand, when a double-sided printing request is made, when the single-sided printing is completed, the sheet passes through the fixing unit 7, and the trailing edge of the sheet is gripped by the final conveying roller 12b, the conveying roller 12b rotates in the reverse direction. The sheet is guided to the conveying rollers 12c and 12d by the operation of the conveying roller 12b. Thereafter, after printing is performed on the back surface of the sheet through the registration roller 13, the sheet is discharged to the discharge tray 91.

[Operation mode of image forming apparatus]
Image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a copy mode, a facsimile transmission / reception mode, a printer mode, and a scanner mode as its operation modes. In the following, these operation modes (different from the power mode described later) will be described.

-Copy mode-
In the copy mode, the copy function is realized mainly by the operation of the main body 110. Note that the automatic document processor 120 operates when the document is automatically fed.

  In the image forming apparatus 100, a document placed on the document table 92 is read as image data, and the read image data is input to the control unit, where various image processing is performed on the image data. An image forming unit having the above-described configuration prints an image of a document indicated by the image data on a recording sheet.

-Facsimile mode-
In the facsimile mode, the facsimile function is realized mainly by the operation of the document reading unit (scanner unit) and the FAX communication unit in the transmission operation and the operation of the FAX communication unit and the image forming unit in the reception operation.

Transmission Operation In the facsimile mode, a document placed on the document placing table 92 is read by the document reading unit and converted into image data. The read image data is input to the control unit, where various image processing is performed on the image data. The processed image data is output to the FAX communication unit.

  The FAX communication unit of the image forming apparatus 100 on the transmission side connects the designated transmission line to the designated transmission destination, converts the image data into communication data that conforms to the facsimile communication standard, and then converts the image data on the reception side. The data is transmitted to a facsimile machine (for example, image forming apparatus 100 having a facsimile function).

Communication Operation When a line is connected, the FAX communication unit of the receiving image forming apparatus 100 detects a communication request signal from the FAX communication unit of the transmitting image forming apparatus 100 and transmits a response signal. After that, for example, the FAX communication unit transfers the capability information implemented on the transmission side and the reception side, and determines the communication speed at the maximum available capacity and the encoding / code correction method of the image data. Set the modem communication method. Data is transmitted from the FAX communication unit of the image forming apparatus 100 on the transmission side to the FAX communication unit of the image forming apparatus 100 on the reception side using an image signal format adapted to this communication method. When transmission is completed, the line is disconnected.

Reception operation The FAX communication unit of the image forming apparatus 100 on the receiving side converts the received data into image data and sends it to the image forming unit. The received data may be converted into image data by the image forming unit. The image forming unit prints an image of the document indicated by the image data converted from the received data on the recording paper, in the same manner as in the above-described copy mode.

-Printer mode-
Hereinafter, the operation of the printer mode will be described. In this printer mode, the print function is realized mainly by the operation of the image forming unit.

  When print data is received from the computer via the network interface, the received print data is converted into image data and sent to the image forming unit. The print data may be converted into image data by the image forming unit. The image forming unit prints the image of the document indicated by the image data converted from the print data on the recording paper, similarly to the operation in the copy mode described above.

-Scanner mode-
Hereinafter, the operation of the scanner mode will be described. In the scanner mode, the scanner function is realized mainly by the operation of the document reading unit (scanner unit).

  In the image forming apparatus 100, a document placed on the document table 92 is read as image data by the document reading unit, and the read image data is input to the control unit, where various image processing is performed on the image data. The image data is stored in a storage device or transmitted to a computer connected to a network via a network interface.

-Operation of fixing unit-
Among the operation modes of the image forming apparatus 100 described above, the image forming unit including the fixing unit 7 operates in the copy mode, the facsimile reception mode, and the printer mode in which an image is formed on a recording sheet. In other facsimile transmission modes (transmission results are not printed) and scanner mode, the image forming unit including the fixing unit 7 does not operate.

[Functional configuration]
Referring to FIG. 4, image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes document reading unit 126, image forming unit 124, paper feeding unit 106, paper discharge processing device 108, and operation unit 122. The operation unit 122 includes a display 130 (hereinafter simply referred to as “display 130”) and a display operation unit 140. The display 130 includes a display panel 132 made of a liquid crystal panel or the like, and a touch panel 134 disposed so as to overlap the display panel 132. The touch panel 134 can detect the locus of the user's finger that has touched the surface. Display operation unit 140 includes an indicator lamp 142, a power key 144, an energy saving key (hereinafter referred to as “energy saving key”) 146, and a home key 148 for returning the display of display 130 to the home screen. The home screen refers to a screen for the user to select various operation modes. In FIG. 4, the automatic document processing apparatus 120 shown in FIG. 3 is not shown in order to simplify the drawing.

  Referring to FIG. 4, image forming apparatus 100 further includes an operation unit 122 capable of setting functions relating to a copy mode, a facsimile mode, a document filing mode, and a mail mode, a ROM 306 for storing a program, and the like, Includes a hard disk 302 that is a non-volatile storage device that can store a program, data, and the like, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 308 for providing a storage area when the program is executed. .

  The image forming apparatus 100 further includes a document reading unit 126, an image forming unit 124, a FAX communication unit 150, an operation unit 122, a ROM 306, a hard disk 302, a bus 310 connected to the RAM 308, and an image forming unit connected to the bus 310. And a CPU 300 for executing a program for realizing general functions of the apparatus and controlling each unit of the image forming apparatus 100.

  The hard disk 302 stores image data files of originals scanned by the image forming apparatus 100 together with save date / time and save user name for each folder.

  The ROM 306 stores programs and data necessary for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 100. The CPU 300 controls the image forming apparatus 100 according to the program and data stored in the ROM 306 and executes control related to each function of the image forming apparatus 100.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the FAX communication unit 150 is connected to a public line for transmitting and receiving image data, and the network interface 304 is connected to a network line (such as the network line 22 shown in FIG. 1). A PC or the like that uses the image forming apparatus 100 as a network compatible printer is connected to the network line.

  The RAM 308 provides a function as a working memory that temporarily stores the results of calculation and processing by the CPU 300 and a function as a frame memory that stores image data.

  Control of document reading unit 126, image forming unit 124, display 130 and display operation unit 140 constituting operation unit 122, ROM 306, hard disk 302, and RAM 308 is performed by CPU 300 executing predetermined programs. The operation unit 122 communicates with the CPU 300 via an input / output interface (not shown).

  The operation unit 122 is configured by a plate-like panel that is provided so as to be easily viewed by the user. On the surface of the operation unit 122, the display 130 is in the left area, and the display operation section 140 (the indicator lamp 142, the power key 144 that is a hardware button, the energy saving key 146, and the home key 148) is in the right area. Is provided. The display 130 and the display operation unit 140 are configured such that the operation unit 122 is integrated as a whole.

  As described above, the display 130 includes the display panel 132 and the touch panel 134 disposed on the display panel 132. On the display 130, a home screen for selecting an operation mode in the image forming apparatus 100, a current state of the image forming apparatus 100, a destination designation state, a job processing state, and the like are displayed on the display panel 132. A selection button which is a software button is displayed on the display area of the display panel 132. When the area where the selection button is displayed is pressed with a finger, the touch panel 134 detects the pressed position and indicates the position. Output information. By collating the display position of the selection button with the output of the touch panel 134 on the program, the operation mode selection, function setting, operation instruction, and the like of the image forming apparatus 100 are performed. In addition to such a touch operation (command input operation based on a pressed position by a user), the image forming apparatus 100 supports the above-described gesture operation (command input operation based on an operation locus by a user).

The indicator lamp 142 of the display operation unit 140 is, for example, an LED (Light Emitting).
The CPU 300 controls lighting / extinguishing (/ flashing). When the user presses a power key 144 provided separately from the main power switch, the image forming apparatus 100 shifts from a standby mode (for example, only a FAX reception operation is possible with the main power on) to a normal mode. All the operation modes of the image forming apparatus 100 can be used. The indicator lamp 142 lights up in conjunction with this state. Further, when a predetermined period of time that the user does not operate elapses or when the user presses the energy saving key 146, the image forming apparatus 100 shifts from the normal mode to the energy saving mode, and the image forming apparatus 100 Only some of the operation modes can be used. The indicator lamp 142 blinks in conjunction with this state. Further, when the user presses the energy saving key 146 in the energy saving mode, the image forming apparatus 100 shifts from the energy saving mode to the normal mode. The home key 148 is a hardware key for returning the display on the display 130 to the initial state (home screen).

  It should be noted that a key lamp whose lighting / extinguishing (/ flashing) is controlled by the CPU 300 may be embedded in the hardware buttons (the power key 144, the energy saving key 146, and the home key 148) of the display operation unit 140. For example, this key lamp shines around a circular key in a ring shape, or shines at the center of the key. This key lamp lights up at a timing when it is permitted to use the hardware button as an operation device (when the hardware button is used, processing is executed).

[Realization by computer]
As described above, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is realized by the CPU 300 shown in FIG. 3 executing a predetermined program. This program is stored in, for example, the HDD 302 in FIG. 3, read when the CPU 300 is executed, and loaded into the RAM 308. Hereinafter, an instruction is read from the RAM 308 in accordance with an address indicated by a register called a program counter in the CPU 300, and is interpreted and executed by the CPU 300.

  Referring to FIG. 5, the program executed by CPU 300 is executed in step 160 for maintaining a standby state for a predetermined time, and a terminal device (a plurality of terminal devices 24) that is executed when the predetermined time has elapsed and connected to network line 22. , 26, 28, etc.). The number of detected terminals is stored in variable i.

  The program further includes a step 164 of determining whether or not the detected number of terminals i is equal to or less than a predetermined number and branching the control flow according to the determination result. If the predetermined number here is N (in this embodiment, N = 2), the determination at step 164 is “N ≧ i”. If the determination is negative, the control returns to step 160 and again enters a standby state. If the determination is affirmative, control proceeds to step 166.

  In step 166, a predetermined message is transmitted to the connected terminal device that is communicable and in an operating state. This message may be any message as long as it has a function of responding to this message on the terminal device side. In the present embodiment, the terminal that receives this message operates a dedicated monitor program for communication with the image forming apparatus 100. If it is in an operating state, a response dialog 360 as shown in FIG. Is displayed on the monitor and waits for a response from the user. Here, the “operating state” means a state in which the terminal device is turned on and an appropriate response can be made to any event. For example, even if the terminal device is in a so-called sleep state, it can be said to be in the “operating state” if it can receive a message and return a response.

  Referring to FIG. 6, the response dialog 360 asks whether or not the image forming apparatus can be turned off, and checks to specify whether or not the terminal apparatus is scheduled to use the image forming apparatus. A form 194 including a box and an OK button 196 are included. As with the radio button, the check box of the form 194 is unchecked when one is checked. In the present embodiment, the check box “No plan to use” is checked as an initial value. Different numerical values are assigned to these check boxes, and when an OK button 196 is pressed, numerical values corresponding to the checked check boxes are transmitted to the image forming apparatus. If no operation is performed even after a predetermined time has passed with the response dialog 360 displayed, the response dialog 360 is automatically closed, and at the same time, a value corresponding to the check box checked at that time is transmitted to the image forming apparatus. The In the image forming apparatus, it is possible to perform the subsequent processing of step 168 and subsequent steps by checking whether or not the transmitted value is a value indicating “no use scheduled”. If there is no response from the terminal device even after a predetermined time has elapsed, the image forming apparatus treats the terminal device as being powered off.

  In step 168 following step 166, it is determined whether or not there is a response from any of the terminals to the message transmitted in step 166. If there is no response from one unit, the image forming apparatus is turned off in step 172. If there is any response, control proceeds to step 170.

  In step 170, a determination is made as to whether all of the responses indicate that the image forming apparatus may be powered off. If the determination is affirmative, in step 172, the image forming apparatus is turned off. If the determination is negative, control returns to step 160 and enters a standby state.

[Operation]
Referring to FIG. 5, when a predetermined time has elapsed in the standby state, this image forming apparatus detects the number of activations i of terminal devices connected to network line 22 (step 162). If the number i is not less than the predetermined number N, the process returns to the standby state. When the number i is equal to or less than the predetermined number N, a message for displaying a response dialog 360 regarding whether or not the image forming apparatus may be terminated is transmitted to all of the communicable and operating terminal apparatuses (Step S1). 166). If there is no response from any terminal device, the image forming apparatus is turned off (routes 168 and 172). If there is a response from any of the terminals and all these responses indicate that the image forming apparatus can be turned off, the power of the image forming apparatus is turned off (paths of steps 168, 170, and 172). ). If any response indicates that the power of the image forming apparatus should not be turned off, the image forming apparatus returns to the standby state again (path of steps 168, 170, 160).

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment confirms whether or not the image forming apparatus is used in the terminal device activated on the network, and turns off the power of the image forming apparatus according to the response content. If there is no problem, the image forming apparatus is turned off. Even when the terminal device is forgotten to be turned off, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the power source of the image forming apparatus cannot be turned off. Even when the user uses the terminal device, the power of the image forming apparatus can be turned off if the user does not intend to use the image forming apparatus. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time during which the image forming apparatus is in vain waiting compared to the conventional apparatus.

  Note that the dialog shown in FIG. 6 is a screen for inquiring the user whether there is a plan to use. However, the present invention is not limited to sparse embodiments. A dialog asking whether or not to power off the image forming apparatus may be used. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the predetermined number N = 2 has been described, but it is obvious that this value can be freely set according to the network scale and the network management policy.

<Second Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, an instruction regarding whether or not the image forming apparatus is scheduled to be used is received from the user by a dedicated monitor program of the terminal. The image forming apparatus is turned off when no response is received from any terminal indicating that it is scheduled to be used.

  However, there may be times when the user cannot decide whether to use an image forming apparatus, for example. Then, if the power of the image forming apparatus is turned off, the image forming apparatus must be started up to perform an operation for using the image forming apparatus at the terminal. The time for that is wasted. On the other hand, if it is answered that the image forming apparatus is scheduled to be used, the power of the image forming apparatus remains on, and power consumption cannot be reduced. Furthermore, when the image forming apparatus is a multifunction peripheral and has a facsimile reception function, there is a problem that facsimile reception cannot be performed if the power of the image forming apparatus is uniformly turned off.

  In the second embodiment, in addition to turning off the power source of the image forming apparatus, an option for setting the image forming apparatus to a power saving state or a night FAX state is added as another option. That is, it is possible to select from three options: a standby state, a power saving state in which the power consumption is less than the power consumption in the standby state, and a state in which the power is turned off. These can be selected in advance in the system settings.

  FIG. 7 shows a control structure of a computer program for realizing the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. The hardware configuration is the same as that shown in FIGS.

  Referring to FIG. 7, the first point that this program is different from that shown in FIG. 5 is that, instead of step 170, the power of the image forming apparatus is turned off according to the settings made in advance in response. Including a step 210 of determining whether or not the process of shifting to the power saving state or shifting to the night FAX state may be performed and branching the control flow according to the determination result. Is a point. Further, the second difference is that, instead of step 172 in FIG. 5, a predetermined condition is executed when the determination in step 210 is affirmative and the determination in step 168 is wisdom. Accordingly, the method includes a step 212 of selecting and executing one of a process of turning off the power of the image forming apparatus, a process of shifting to the power saving state, and a process of shifting to the night FAX state.

  The operation of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment operates in substantially the same manner as the image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment. Instead of simply turning off the power, according to the setting, the first is to select and execute any one of the process of turning off the power, the process of shifting to the power saving state, and the process of shifting to the night FAX state. This is different from the image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment.

<Third Embodiment>
The first embodiment relates to whether or not there is a plan to use an image forming apparatus when the number of terminals that are communicable and in an operating state among the terminals connected to the network line 22 becomes a predetermined number N or less. A message for obtaining a response is transmitted from the image forming apparatus to the terminal. When a reply that the image forming apparatus is scheduled to be used is obtained, the process returns to the same state as the previous state again, waits for a predetermined time, and then repeats the same processing. That is, the screen shown in FIG. 6 is repeatedly displayed on the monitor of each terminal after a predetermined time.

  However, if such a process must be repeated, the procedure is only complicated for the user of the terminal. In the third embodiment, the user is prevented from repeatedly performing the same procedure.

  The hardware configuration is the same as that of the image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment. FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of a computer program for realizing the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 8, this program includes steps 160, 162 and 164 which perform the same processing as that shown in FIG. If the determination in step 164 is affirmative, the number of activations of the current terminal device confirmed in step 162 is compared with the number of activations of the terminal device confirmed in the previous processing in step 230 (this is assumed to be i0). It is determined whether i is smaller. If the determination is positive, control proceeds to step 162. After step 166, steps 168, 170 and 172 similar to those shown in FIG. 5 are executed.

  On the other hand, if the determination is negative, control proceeds to step 232. In step 232, it is determined whether or not a certain time has elapsed since the previous execution of this process. If the determination is positive, control proceeds to step 166. Thereafter, the same processing as in FIG. 5 is executed. If the determination is negative, control proceeds to step 234. In step 234, the activation number (i) of the terminal device confirmed this time is held in the variable i0. This variable i0 is used in the determination in step 230 when this process is executed next. After step 234, control returns to step 160, and the image forming apparatus enters a standby state.

  As described above, in steps 166, 168, 170 and 172 shown in FIG. 8, processing similar to that shown in FIG. 5 is executed. However, if the determination in step 170 is negative, the control is different from that shown in FIG. 5 in that the process proceeds to step 234 instead of step 160.

  Unlike the first embodiment, the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment does not necessarily check whether or not the image forming apparatus can be turned off at regular intervals. First, this confirmation is made when the number of terminals connected to the network line 22 is less than the number previously confirmed. When the number of terminals is the same as the previous time, the confirmation is executed only when a certain time has passed since the previous confirmation. If the number of terminals decreases, it means that the network status has changed, and it is meaningful to re-execute confirmation for the remaining terminals. Therefore, regardless of such a change in the situation, it is not necessary for the user to repeatedly make the same response as in the case of mechanical confirmation at regular intervals. Further, even when the number of terminals on the network does not decrease, confirmation is performed when a certain time has elapsed. Therefore, even if the remaining terminal device is forgotten to be turned off, confirmation is performed at least after a certain time. In addition, if the predetermined time is made longer to some extent, an operation that repeatedly requests a response from the terminal in a relatively short time can be prevented. As a result, there is an effect that the user who operates the terminal device does not need to perform a complicated operation.

<First Modification>
The image forming apparatuses according to the first to third embodiments are directly connected to the network line 22. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, a network system 270 shown in FIG. 9 includes a network line 22, a plurality of terminal devices 24, 26, and 28 connected to the network line 22, a router 280 connected to the network system 20, and a router 280. As a network printer for the plurality of terminal devices 24, 26, and 28 by communicating with the plurality of terminal devices 24, 26, and 28 via the router 280 and the network line 22. And an image forming apparatus 30 that operates.

  In this modification, the image forming apparatus 30 has a function of confirming whether or not the plurality of terminal devices 24, 26, and 28 can be turned off as in the image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment. do not have. Instead, the router 280 has a similar function. However, it is assumed that the image forming apparatus 30 has a function of turning off the power, shifting to the power saving mode, or shifting to the night FAX mode by control from the outside.

  The router 280 realizes the above-described functions by executing a program having a control structure similar to the control structure shown in FIGS. 5, 7, and 8. However, the router 280 does not control the power source of the router 280 in step 172 of FIGS. 5 and 8 and step 212 of FIG. 7, but sends a message for controlling the power source of the image forming apparatus 30 to the image forming apparatus 30. Send to. By doing so, the same effects as those of the first to third embodiments can be obtained. In this modification, the router 280 has information regarding whether the image forming apparatus 30 is powered on. When the power of the image forming apparatus 30 is not turned on, it is not necessary to execute the above processing.

  Further, it is obvious that a server that executes such processing as a service may be provided in the network system 270 instead of the router 280. In this case, the image forming apparatus 30 may be directly connected to the server or may be connected to the network line 22.

<Second Modification>
With the same configuration as in FIG. 9, the power sources of a plurality of image forming apparatuses can be centrally controlled by a router. FIG. 10 shows an example of such a network system 290. Referring to FIG. 10, this network system 290 includes a network line 22, a plurality of terminal devices 24, 26, and 28 that are all connected to the network line 22, and a router 330 that is connected to the network system 20. Each of the image forming apparatuses 340, which operate as a network printer for the plurality of terminal devices 24, 26, and 28 by communicating with the plurality of terminal devices 24, 26, and 28 via the router 330 and the network line 22. 342 and 344.

  The router 330 executes the same processing as the processing executed by the router 280 in FIG. 9 for each of the image forming apparatuses 340, 342, and 344. In this case, these are executed in a separate process on the router 330. When executed in a separate process, the program executed in each process may be the same as that shown in FIG. Of course, it goes without saying that the process of controlling the power sources of these three image forming apparatuses may be performed in one process.

  Also in this modified example, this service may be provided by a single server or a plurality of servers instead of the router 330. The image forming apparatuses 340, 342, and 344 may be connected to the server or to the network line 22.

  FIG. 11 shows a response dialog 370 displayed on the terminal device on the network line 22 when one router 330 performs power control of a plurality of image forming apparatuses in a single process. Referring to FIG. 11, this response dialog 370 includes the same text 192 as shown in FIG. 6 and a check for the user to specify whether or not each image forming apparatus managed by router 330 is scheduled to be used. A form 380 including a box and an OK button 196 are included.

  The user can easily specify whether or not to power on a plurality of image forming apparatuses by checking an appropriate check box as to whether or not each image forming apparatus is scheduled to be used. Based on the response from each terminal device, the router 330 turns off the power of the image forming apparatus that can be turned off, maintains the power supply for the image forming apparatus that is scheduled to be used, and repeats the same after a predetermined time has elapsed. In this way, each terminal device is inquired about whether or not the power can be turned off.

  As described in the second embodiment, there is a plan to use the image forming apparatus, but there is a case where the mode may be shifted to the power saving mode. FIG. 12 shows a display on each terminal device when managing whether or not the power may be turned off and whether or not to shift to the power saving mode for a plurality of image forming apparatuses with one router. A response dialog 390 is shown. Referring to FIG. 9, response dialog 390 inquires whether or not the image forming apparatus is scheduled to be used and whether or not the image forming apparatus can be shifted to the power saving mode even if it is scheduled to be used. And a form 402 for inquiring whether each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses managed by the router is scheduled to be used, and an OK button 196.

  The form 402 shown in FIG. 12 is different from the form 380 shown in FIG. 11 in that a radio box “can go to power saving mode” is provided in the vicinity of the “scheduled use” check box of each image forming apparatus. It is a point. This radio box becomes active when “scheduled to use” is checked, and indicates that the corresponding image forming apparatus may be shifted to the power saving mode when turned on. When it is off, it indicates that the power saving mode should not be entered.

  A response dialog 390 shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on each terminal by the system shown in FIG. In this case, for example, a program executed by the router 330 may have a control structure similar to that shown in FIG. However, in this case, since there are a plurality of image forming apparatuses to be controlled, steps 168, 210 and 212 need to be executed separately for each image forming apparatus.

[Computer hardware]
A terminal device that is a component of the network system of the above embodiment, such as the terminal devices 24, 26, and 28 according to this embodiment, is executed on general computer hardware and the computer hardware. In response to a message received from the image forming apparatus 100, the routers 280 and 330, etc., the program is configured to display a form as shown in FIGS. This program interacts with the user through a GUI (Graphical User Interface) until the OK button 196 of each form is pressed, and updates the screen according to the user's operation. Further, when the OK button 196 is pressed, this program generates a response according to the state of the screen at that time, generates a response by the user, and sends a response message to the image forming apparatus 100, the router 280, or the router 330. Send and finish the process.

  FIG. 13 shows an internal configuration of a computer system 430 that implements the terminal device 24, for example. The same applies to the terminal devices 26 and 28. Referring to FIG. 13, this computer system 430 includes a computer 440 having a memory port 470 and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) drive 464 as a removable memory attachment / detachment unit, a keyboard 346, a mouse 448, and a monitor 442. Including.

  In addition to the memory port 470 and the DVD drive 464, the computer 440 is connected to the CPU (Central Processing Unit) 456, the bus 466 to which the CPU 456, the memory port 470, and the DVD drive 464 are connected, and the bus 466, and the bootup program Is connected to a bus 466, a random access memory (RAM) 460 that temporarily stores program instructions, system programs, work data, and the like, and a bus 466. It includes a hard disk 462 that is a non-volatile storage device that stores a large amount of data, and a network interface card (NIC) 468 that is connected to the bus 466 and provides a connection to the network 22.

  A computer program for causing the computer system 430 to function as one component for power management of the network system is stored in the DVD drive 464 or the DVD 490 or the removable memory 492 inserted into the memory port 470 and further stored in the hard disk 462. Transferred. Alternatively, the program may be transmitted to the computer 440 through the network 22 and the NIC 468 and stored in the hard disk 462. The program is loaded into the RAM 460 when executed. The program may be loaded directly into the RAM 460 from the DVD 490, from the removable memory 492, or via a network.

  This program includes a plurality of instructions for causing the computer 440 to operate as the terminal device of the embodiment as described above. Some of the basic functions necessary to perform this operation may be provided by the OS when an operating system (OS) is running on the computer 440. These functions may be provided by third party programs or modules of various tool program kits installed on the computer 440. Therefore, this program does not necessarily include all functions necessary for realizing the system and method of this embodiment. This program only needs to include only an instruction that realizes the function as the terminal device 24 described above by calling an appropriate function in a controlled manner so as to obtain a desired result. The operation of computer system 430 is well known and will not be repeated here.

  The present invention has been described according to a plurality of embodiments. However, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. In the above embodiment, the function of controlling the power sources of the plurality of image forming apparatuses is arranged in the router or the server. However, it is obvious that one of the image forming apparatuses may be provided. However, in this case, the power consumption of this image forming apparatus can be reduced unless it can be turned off only after all other image forming apparatuses have been turned off, or if the power is not turned off. However, it should be noted that it is not possible to properly control all of the image forming apparatus.

  In the above-described embodiment, the “power saving state” is simply described, but the power saving state refers to all states in which power consumption during standby is smaller than during normal standby.

  The embodiment disclosed herein is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The scope of the present invention is indicated by each claim of the claims after taking into account the description of the detailed description of the invention, and all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the wording described therein are included. Including.

20 Network system 22 Network line 24, 26, 28 Terminal device 100 Image forming device 194, 380, 402 Form 360, 370, 390 Response dialog

Claims (11)

An image forming apparatus that operates by communicating with a terminal device via a network,
A detection unit for detecting a terminal device connected to the network and capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus and operating;
Transmitting means for transmitting a message via the network to each of the terminal devices detected by the detecting means when the number of terminal devices detected by the detecting means is less than or equal to a predetermined number;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a power control unit configured to control a power state of the image forming apparatus based on presence / absence of a response to the message or a content of the response to the message. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power supply control unit cuts off or maintains the power supply to the image forming apparatus based on the presence / absence of a response to the message or the content of the response to the message. An image forming apparatus, including means for 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power supply control unit sets the image forming apparatus in either a power saving state or a standby state based on presence / absence of a response to the message or content of a response to the message. An image forming apparatus, including means for setting the color. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power control unit is configured to cut off power supply to the image forming apparatus based on the presence or absence of a response to the message or the content of the response to the message. A process for setting only a part of functions of the image forming apparatus to an operating state and cutting off power supply to others, a process for setting the image forming apparatus to a power saving state, and setting the image forming apparatus to a standby state An image forming apparatus including means for executing any one of the processes. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit is a terminal device connected to the network and is capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus and in an operating state. An image forming apparatus including means for detecting the apparatus every time a predetermined time elapses. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of terminal devices connected to the detection unit and detected by the detection unit is previously detected by the detection unit. Determining means for determining whether or not the number of terminal devices is less than
The transmission means includes the number of terminal devices detected by the detection means when the number of terminal devices detected by the detection means is equal to or less than a predetermined number, or the number of terminal devices detected by the detection means before that. An image forming apparatus comprising: means for transmitting a message via the network to each of the terminal devices detected by the detection means when the determination means determines that the number is less than the number. A network system including the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, a plurality of terminal devices, and a network line to which the image forming devices and the terminal devices are connected.
Each of the plurality of terminal devices is
Message receiving means for receiving a message transmitted from the transmitting means of the image forming apparatus;
A dialog display means for displaying a dialog for confirming a use schedule of the image forming apparatus in response to the message receiving means receiving the message;
And a response unit for generating a response based on an input to the dialog display unit and transmitting the response to the power control unit of the image forming apparatus. The network system according to claim 7, wherein any of the plurality of terminal devices is
Computer hardware,
A network system comprising the computer hardware, the message receiving means, the dialog display means, and a monitor program that functions as the means for transmitting. A power management device connected to a network to which a plurality of terminal devices and image forming apparatuses are connected, and manages the power of the image forming apparatus,
The image forming apparatus can be set to a first state in which the power consumption is relatively large and a second state in which the power consumption is relatively small in response to receiving a power control command from the outside. And
The power management device is
A detection unit configured to detect a terminal device connected to the network and capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus and the power management apparatus and in an operating state;
Transmitting means for transmitting a message via the network to each of the terminal devices detected by the detecting means when the number of terminal devices detected by the detecting means is less than or equal to a predetermined number;
Power supply control means for generating a power supply control command for controlling the power supply state of the image forming apparatus based on the presence or absence of a response to the message or the content of the response to the message and transmitting it to the image forming apparatus; Including a power management device. The power management device according to claim 9,
A plurality of image forming apparatuses can be connected to the network,
The power control unit individually generates a power control command for controlling the power state of each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses based on the presence or absence of a response to the message or the content of the response to the message. And a command transmission means for transmitting to the corresponding image forming apparatus.   A router having the power management device according to claim 9.

Images