JP2012020545A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more effectively suppress power consumption or a corresponding value of emission amount in carbon dioxide.SOLUTION: A login processing part 45 prohibits a user from logging in when a comparison part 44 determines that a power consumption PH exceeds a deactuation upper limit UL2. However, if a password for an administrator is input, a login is permitted. If the determination is conducted during the login, the login processing part 45 completes an ongoing job and forces an logout onto the user.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that suppresses carbon dioxide emission or power consumption by using an image forming apparatus.

  In order to prevent global warming, it is required to suppress carbon dioxide emissions.

  Patent Document 1 below discloses a configuration in which power consumption of an image forming apparatus is converted into a carbon dioxide emission amount and integrated, and a warning is displayed on a screen when the amount exceeds an upper limit set value.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-6696

  However, since the image forming apparatus is generally used with priority given to business execution, warnings are easily ignored and the effectiveness is poor.

  In view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of more effectively suppressing the power consumption amount or the converted carbon dioxide emission amount of the image forming apparatus.

In the first aspect of the present invention, an integrated amount calculating means for integrating and obtaining an integrated amount by adding an amount proportional to the power consumption of the own system, a setting means for setting an upper limit value of the integrated amount, input data and registration Login means for permitting / prohibiting login to the own system based on the data, and an image forming apparatus comprising:
The log-in means displays the stored integrated amount on a login screen, and prohibits login to the own system when the integrated amount exceeds the upper limit value.

  For example, the amount is a power consumption amount or a converted carbon dioxide emission rate, and the integrated amount is a power consumption amount or a converted carbon dioxide emission amount.

  In a second aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, in the first aspect, the login unit obtains a remaining usage time of the own system based on a difference between the upper limit value and the stored integrated amount, and the login unit The remaining usage time is further displayed on the screen.

  In a third aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the login unit is configured to input the input data based on the input data and the registered data even if the integrated amount exceeds the upper limit value. If it is determined that the data is an administrator password, login to the own system is permitted.

  In the fourth aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, it is determined whether or not a difference between the upper limit value and the calculated integrated amount is less than a set value. If it is determined, a warning to that effect is displayed on the screen.

  In a fifth aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the log-in means further determines whether or not the obtained integrated amount exceeds the upper limit value during log-in. If the result of the determination is affirmative, the user is forcibly logged out if the job is not being executed, and is forcibly logged out after the job is completed if the job is being executed.

  According to the configuration of the first aspect, the log-in means accumulates an amount proportional to the power consumption of the own system, displays the value on the login screen, and when the accumulated amount exceeds the upper limit value, Since login is prohibited, the power consumption of the image forming apparatus or the equivalent carbon dioxide emission can be more effectively suppressed.

  According to the configuration of the second aspect, the remaining usage time of the own system is obtained based on the difference between the upper limit value and the integrated amount, and the remaining usage time is also displayed on the login screen. Or the effect that it becomes possible to further suppress the conversion amount of carbon dioxide equivalent.

  According to the configuration of the third aspect, even if the integrated amount exceeds the upper limit value, the login is permitted if the administrator password is input, so that the above effect is achieved without causing any trouble in business execution. There is an effect that can be done.

  According to the configuration of the fourth aspect, since the login unit displays a warning on the screen when the integrated amount approaches the upper limit value, the power consumption amount or the converted carbon dioxide emission amount of the image forming apparatus is further suppressed. There is an effect that becomes possible.

  According to the configuration of the fifth aspect, even when the user is logged in, if the login unit determines that the accumulated amount exceeds the upper limit value, the user is forced to log out after the job being executed. There is an effect that the above-described effect can be achieved more effectively without any trouble in execution.

  Other objects, characteristic configurations and effects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description read in connection with the appended claims and the drawings.

2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a power consumption suppression processing unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a schematic flowchart which shows the procedure of the login process by the login process part in FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart showing a procedure of processing started by a login processing unit in response to occurrence of an event that the comparison unit in FIG. 1 has detected an upper limit exceeded. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the change of power consumption, and an upper limit. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming system. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram illustrating a power consumption suppression processing unit of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In this system, the image forming apparatus 10 and the host computer 20 are connected by a network 30.

  In the image forming apparatus 10, a CPU 11 is coupled to a PROM 13, DRAM 14, hard disk drive 15, network interface 16, operation panel 17, scanner 18, printer 19, IC card reader 1 </ b> A, and fax modem 1 </ b> B via an interface 12. In FIG. 5, a plurality of types of interfaces are represented by one block 12 for the sake of simplicity.

  The CPU 11 includes a hardware interval timer, and a clock function is configured by combining this with an OS (Operating System) program. The PROM 13 is, for example, a flash memory, and stores a basic input / output system (BIOS), an OS, various drivers, and various applications for functioning as an image forming apparatus. The DRAM 14 is used as a main storage device. The hard disk drive 15 stores printing data, image data read by the scanner fax modem 1B, facsimile reception data, and data to be described later. Network interface 16 is coupled to network 30. The operation panel 17 includes an input unit and a display unit. The scanner 18 is used as an input device for printing and facsimile transmission, and is used for generating an image file. The printer 19 includes a print engine, a paper feed unit, a conveyance unit, and a paper discharge unit. The bitmap data generated in the DRAM 14 is supplied, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum based on the data. This image is developed with toner, and the toner image is transferred and fixed on a sheet, and discharged. The IC card reader 1A is for authenticating a user including an administrator by communicating with an IC card via radio waves.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a power consumption suppression processing unit of the image forming apparatus 10 (own system).

  Among the constituent elements 40 to 51, the blocks 42 to 46 and the control unit 50 are configured by a program and the CPU 11, and the warning upper limit value holding unit 40, the use suspension upper limit value holding unit 41 and the registration authentication information 49 are stored in the PROM 13 or the hard disk drive 15. The display unit 47 and the input unit 48 are components of the operation panel 17.

  As shown in FIG. 4, each of the warning upper limit holding unit 40 and the use suspension upper limit holding unit 41 has a warning upper limit UL1 for the power consumption PH in a predetermined period, for example, one month (period from t1 to time t2). The use upper limit UL2 is set by the user via the user interface unit 46 and the input unit 48.

  On the other hand, the power consumption integration unit 42 calculates the power consumption PH by integrating the power consumption of the image forming apparatus 10. For example, prior to shipment of the image forming apparatus 10, experimentally in advance, the average power consumption when the operation state is in the standby mode, the average power consumption in the ready state after the operation state returns from the standby state, and the fixing heater In addition, the average power consumption when the driving unit such as the paper transport is operating is measured, and the data is stored in the PROM 13 for each operation state. The power consumption integrating unit 42 reads this measurement data, and obtains the power consumption PH by cumulatively adding the product of the power consumption corresponding to the current operating state and the time using the clock function.

  The comparison unit 43 compares the power consumption amount PH with the warning upper limit value UL1, and the comparison unit 44 compares the power consumption amount PH with the use suspension upper limit value UL2. These comparison results are supplied to the login processing unit 45. The comparison unit 44 also supplies the login processing unit 45 with the use suspension upper limit value UL2 and the power consumption amount PH.

  The login processing unit 45 displays a login screen on the display unit 47 via the user interface unit 46, and displays contents according to these comparison results on this screen. The login processing unit 45 compares the authentication information input from the input unit 48 through the user interface unit 46 or from the IC card through the IC card reader 1A with the authentication information registered in the registration authentication information 49, and The log-in process described below is performed in consideration of the comparison result of the electric energy PH.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart showing a procedure of login processing by the login processing unit 45. Hereinafter, the parentheses are identification codes in the figure.

  (S0) The login processing unit 45 causes the display unit 47 to display a login screen via the user interface unit 46.

  (S1) If the comparison result of the comparison unit 43 indicates that PH> UL1, the process proceeds to step S2, and if not, the process proceeds to step S3.

  (S2) The login processing unit 45 calculates (UL2-PH) / (average power consumption) as a predicted value of the remaining usable time, and indicates that the power consumption PH exceeds the warning upper limit value UL1 and the remaining The usable time predicted value is displayed on the display unit 47 via the user interface unit 46.

  (S3) If the comparison result of the comparison unit 43 indicates that PH> UL2, the process proceeds to step S4. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S5.

  (S4) Since the power consumption PH exceeds the use suspension upper limit UL2, it is displayed on the display unit 47 via the user interface unit 46 that the user cannot log in unless the administrator ID and password are input. Let

  (S5) In response to a request from the user, the administrator inputs the ID and password by placing the IC card reader over the IC card reader 1A or operating the operation panel 17.

  (S6) If PH> UL2, the process proceeds to step S7; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S9.

  (S7) If the input ID and password do not match those of the administrator registered in the registration authentication information 49, the process returns to step S5, and if they match, the process proceeds to step S8.

  (S8) The user inputs the ID and password by placing the IC card reader on the IC card reader 1A or operating the operation panel 17.

  (S9) If the input ID and password do not match those of the user registered in the registration authentication information 49, the process proceeds to step S10, and if they match, the process proceeds to step S11.

  (S10) The login processing unit 45 causes the display unit 47 to display that there is an error in the ID or password input by the user via the user interface unit 46, and returns to step S8.

  (S11) A login flag is set, and the ID of the logged-in user and the login time are written in the log file in the hard disk drive 15 as login information.

  If PH> UL1 or PH> UL2 is established during login, an event occurs at the change point, and the processing shown in FIG.

  (S20) If PH> UL1, the process proceeds to step S21; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S22.

  (S21) The login processing unit 45 calculates (UL2-PH) / (average power consumption) as a predicted value of the remaining usable time, and indicates that the power consumption PH exceeds the upper limit value UL1 and the remaining usage. The possible time predicted value is displayed on the display unit 47 via the user interface unit 46.

  (S22) If PH> UL2, the process proceeds to step S23, and if not, the process of this event handler is terminated.

  (S23) If the job execution flag of the control unit 50 is set, the process proceeds to step S24; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S25.

  (S24) Since the power consumption PH exceeds the upper limit value UL2, forcibly logging out immediately after ending the currently running job is displayed on the display unit 47 via the user interface unit 46.

  (S25) The login flag is reset, the login information including the user ID, logout time and forced logout reason is written in the log file, and this event handler is terminated.

  If the login flag of the login processing unit 45 is set, the control unit 50 executes the job by starting the application 51 based on an instruction supplied from the input unit 48 via the user interface unit 46. The above-mentioned job execution flag is set, and when this job ends, the job execution flag is reset.

  With this process, the user acts to avoid the situation where the administrator password is required, so that the power consumption of the image forming apparatus 10 can be reduced. Even if PH> UL2, the management is performed. Since the administrator is informed that PH> UL2 is required because the user password is required, the rate of increase in the power consumption PH is suppressed as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating the power consumption suppression processing unit of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The difference from FIG. 1 is that the power consumption PH calculated by the power consumption integrating unit 42 is converted into an average amount of CO ₂ generated by the power company by the CO ₂ conversion unit 52 and supplied to the comparison units 43 and 44. The upper limit value set in the upper limit value holding units 40 and 41 is the upper limit value of the CO ₂ generation amount. This CO ₂ generation amount is proportional to the power consumption PH.

  The other points are the same as in the first embodiment.

  In the above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, the present invention includes various modifications, and other configurations that realize the functions of the respective components described in the above embodiments are used. However, other configurations that would be conceived by those skilled in the art from these configurations or functions are also included in the present invention.

10 Image forming apparatus 11 CPU
12 Interface 13 PROM
14 DRAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Hard disk drive 16 Network interface 17 Operation panel 18 Scanner 19 Printer 1A IC card reader 1B Fax modem 20 Host computer 30 Network 40 Warning upper limit holding part 41 Use stop upper limit holding part 43, 44 Comparison part 42 Power consumption integrating part 45 Login Processing unit 46 User interface unit 47 Display unit 48 Input unit 49 Registration authentication information 50 Control unit 51 Application UL1, UL2 Upper limit value t1, t2 Time PH Power consumption

Claims (6)

Based on input data and registration data, integrated amount calculation means for integrating the amount proportional to the power consumption of the own system to obtain and store the integrated amount, setting means for setting an upper limit value of the integrated amount, and the input data and registered data An image forming apparatus comprising: a login unit that permits / prohibits login to
The login means displays the stored integrated amount on a login screen, and prohibits login to the own system when the integrated amount exceeds the upper limit;
An image forming apparatus. The login means obtains the remaining usage time of the own system based on the difference between the upper limit value and the stored accumulated amount, and further displays the remaining usage time on the login screen.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. If the log-in means determines that the input data is an administrator password based on the input data and the registration data even if the integrated amount exceeds the upper limit value, the log-in means Allow login,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: It is determined whether or not the difference between the upper limit value and the calculated integrated amount is less than a set value, and when an affirmative determination is made, a warning to that effect is displayed on the screen.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The log-in means further determines whether or not the obtained integrated amount exceeds the upper limit value during log-in. Forcibly log out after the job is finished,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The amount is power consumption or converted carbon dioxide emission rate, and the integrated amount is power consumption or converted carbon dioxide emission rate.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.

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