JP2012192557A - Image forming apparatus, server device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of decreasing a power consumption, and to provide a server device and a program.SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus 100 includes: a receiving unit 91 for receiving a print job containing at least one print data; a memory unit 40; an acquisition unit 92 for acquiring an environmental temperature; a determination unit 93 for determining whether the environmental temperature is less than a threshold; a printing unit 2 for executing printing based on the print data; and a control unit 94. The control unit 94 stores the print job in the memory unit 40 without allowing the printing unit 2 to execute the print job, until a given condition is established, when the determination unit 93 determines that the environmental temperature is less than the threshold.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a server apparatus, and a program.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the fixing device is energized at the time of startup, and the fixing temperature is increased to a printable state. From the viewpoint of energy saving, it is desirable that the power consumption amount of the image forming apparatus including the power amount at startup (startup power amount) is as small as possible. For example, in Patent Document 1, in an image forming system including a plurality of multifunction peripherals (image forming apparatuses) and a server device connected to each of the plurality of multifunction peripherals, the server apparatus receives a print job from a host. A technique is disclosed in which a multi-function peripheral having the highest environmental temperature among a plurality of multi-function peripherals executes the print job to reduce the amount of startup power.

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a print job is received, the print job is always executed. Therefore, the print job is executed in a low-temperature environment where the room is not sufficiently warm, such as early morning. In such a case, the startup power amount in this case becomes larger than that in the case where the print job is executed in a high temperature environment. In other words, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the power consumption of the image forming apparatus cannot be reduced sufficiently.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus, a server apparatus, and a program that can reduce power consumption.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a reception unit that receives a print job including at least one print data, a storage unit that stores the print job, and an environmental temperature. An acquisition unit that acquires, a determination unit that determines whether or not the environmental temperature is lower than a threshold value, a printing unit that executes printing based on the print data, and a control unit that controls the printing unit, And when the determination unit determines that the environmental temperature is lower than the threshold value, the control unit does not cause the printing unit to execute the print job until a predetermined condition is satisfied. A print job is stored in the storage unit.

  The server apparatus of the present invention is a server apparatus connected to an image forming apparatus that executes printing based on at least one print data included in a print job, the reception unit receiving the print job, and the print job A storage unit that stores the environmental temperature, an acquisition unit that acquires the environmental temperature, a determination unit that determines whether the environmental temperature is less than a threshold value, and a control unit that controls the image forming apparatus, When the determination unit determines that the environmental temperature is lower than the threshold value, the control unit causes the image forming apparatus to execute the print job without executing the print job until a predetermined condition is satisfied. The job is stored in the storage unit.

  The program of the present invention determines a first step for accepting a print job including at least one print data, a second step for obtaining an environmental temperature, and whether the environmental temperature is less than a threshold value. When it is determined in the third step and the third step that the environmental temperature is lower than the threshold value, the print job is executed by a printing unit that performs printing based on the print data until a predetermined condition is satisfied. 4 is a program for causing a computer to execute the fourth step of storing the print job in the storage unit without executing the above.

  According to the present invention, there is an advantageous effect that an image forming apparatus, a server apparatus, and a program that can reduce power consumption can be provided.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of a color image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the printing unit. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the color image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the CPU of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a change in room temperature over time. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of power consumption by the warm-up operation. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of power consumption by the warm-up operation. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of power consumption by the printing operation. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the color image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the CPU of the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the setting screen. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a color image forming apparatus according to a modification. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the CPU of the modification. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a server device on which a CPU is mounted.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an image forming apparatus, a server apparatus, and a program according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each of the following embodiments, as an image forming apparatus, a multifunction peripheral having at least one of a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is not a thing.

<A: First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of an electrophotographic color image forming apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the color image forming apparatus 100 includes a scanner unit 1 that is an image reading device and a printing unit (image forming unit) 2. Further, a main body paper feed tray 7 and a bank paper feed tray 8 are provided at the lower part of the printing unit 2. Further, a manual feed tray 9 is provided in the main body of the color image forming apparatus 100.

  The scanner unit 1 reads image data of a document to be read. More specifically, the scanner unit 1 scans the document while irradiating the document with a light source, and photoelectrically converts reflected light from the document with a CCD sensor, thereby generating image data of the document. Image data read by the scanner unit 1 is supplied to an image processing unit (not shown). The image processing unit performs image processing such as gamma correction, color conversion processing, image separation processing, and gradation processing (halftone processing) on the image data sent from the scanner unit 1. The image data after the image processing is supplied to an exposure device (writing unit) 15 described later included in the printing unit 2.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the printing unit 2. The printing unit 2 includes four photosensitive drums 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K, and a plurality of developing devices 11Y that develop the latent images formed on the surfaces of the photosensitive drums into different color toner images, respectively. 11M, 11C, 11K, an exposure device 15, and an intermediate transfer belt 16 on which toner images of different colors are superimposed and transferred (primary transfer).

  The intermediate transfer belt 16 is an endless belt and is supported by two axes of a driving roller 17 and a tension roller 19. On the upper side of the intermediate transfer belt 16, four photosensitive drums 10 for each color of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) are rotated in the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 16. Arranged in order along A. Around the photosensitive drum 10, the developing device 11, the charging device 12, the cleaning device 13, and the primary transfer roller 14 constituting the primary transfer device are disposed. An exposure device 15 is disposed above the photosensitive drum 10. The exposure device 15 includes a laser diode that emits laser light, and modulates the driving of the laser diode in accordance with image data (image data after image processing) supplied from an image processing unit (not shown).

  The photosensitive drum 10 is driven to rotate in the direction B in FIG. The charging device 12 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 with a predetermined polarity. The charged surface is irradiated with laser light emitted from the exposure device 15. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10. The developing device 11 visualizes the toner carried out from a toner container (not shown) into an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10. As a result, a toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10.

  A primary transfer roller 14 is opposed to each photosensitive drum 10. The intermediate transfer belt 16 rotates while being sandwiched between each primary transfer roller 14 and the photosensitive drum 10. Then, the toner image formed on the surface of each photosensitive drum 10 is transferred (primary transfer) to the intermediate transfer belt 16 by the action of the primary transfer roller 14. In this way, the black, cyan, magenta, and yellow toner images are sequentially transferred so as to be accurately superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 16, and a full-color composite color image is formed. After the primary transfer, untransferred toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 without being transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 16 is collected by the cleaning device 13.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a secondary transfer roller 18 is disposed opposite to the driving roller 17 (secondary transfer counter roller) with the intermediate transfer belt 16 interposed therebetween. When a recording sheet P as a recording medium is fed from the sheet feeding tray, it is fed between the driving roller 17 and the secondary transfer roller 18 at a predetermined timing by the rotation of the registration roller pair 22. Then, the composite color image carried on the intermediate transfer belt 16 is collectively transferred onto the recording paper P by the action of the secondary transfer roller 18. The toner image transferred to the recording paper P is fixed by heat and pressure by the fixing device 23 and discharged onto a paper discharge tray (not shown).

  Although an example of a method of transferring to a transfer sheet via a secondary transfer roller has been described here, the present invention is not limited to this, and an image forming apparatus of a method of transferring directly to a recording sheet P may be used.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the color image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the color image forming apparatus 100 is connected to a plurality of PCs (Personal Computers) 300 that are host apparatuses via a network 200, and print jobs including at least one print data are received from each PC 300. It can be received. The print job is a command signal for requesting printing of print data included in the print job, and the number of print data (number of printed sheets) included in the print job can be arbitrarily set. The print data is described in a language such as PDL (Page Description Language).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a communication I / F unit 30, a storage unit 40, an image processing unit 50, the above-described printing unit 2, an operation display unit 60, and other I / F units. 70, a measuring unit 80, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 90, which are connected to each other via a bus B1.

  The communication I / F unit 30 is a means for connecting the image forming apparatus 100 to the network 200 and can receive a print job from each PC 300.

  The storage unit 40 includes a hard disk drive (HDD) 42, a read only memory (ROM) 44, and a random access memory (RAM) 46. The storage unit 40 can store the print job received by the communication I / F unit 30. The HDD 42 and the ROM 44 are nonvolatile semiconductor memories, and store various programs executed by the image forming apparatus 100 and various data (such as a print job received by the communication I / F unit 30). The RAM 46 is a volatile semiconductor memory that temporarily holds various data when executing various programs stored in the HDD 42 or the ROM 44.

  The image processing unit 50 performs image processing of print data included in the print job. More specifically, the image processing unit 50 converts print data described in a page description language such as PDL into image data drawn in a format printable by the printing unit 2 (for example, bitmap format), The image data is supplied to the printing unit 2. The printing unit 2 forms an image on the recording paper P based on the image data supplied from the image processing unit 50 under the control of the CPU 90. In other words, the printing unit 2 executes printing based on the print data included in the print job under the control of the CPU 90.

  The operation display unit 60 is a means for displaying various screens and information regarding the image forming apparatus 100 and allowing the user to perform various operation inputs. Although not shown in detail, the operation display unit 60 includes a display panel that displays various screens and information related to the image forming apparatus 100 and receives a touch input from the user, and an operation device such as a key.

  In addition, the I / F unit 70 includes a scanner unit 1, a peripheral device having a function of punching staples or punch holes in the recording paper P, a peripheral device capable of stacking a large amount of recording paper P, and the like. In short, the other I / F unit 70 includes an interface necessary for image formation.

  The measurement unit 80 is a means for measuring the environmental temperature, and is constituted by a temperature sensor, for example.

  The CPU 90 is a unit that controls each unit of the image forming apparatus 100. The functions of the CPU 90 include a reception unit 91, an acquisition unit 92, a determination unit 93, and a control unit 94. These functions are realized by the CPU 90 reading out the control program stored in the ROM 44 to the RAM 46 and executing it. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and these functions can also be realized by individual circuits (hardware).

  The accepting unit 91 accepts various inputs from the communication I / F unit 30 and the operation display unit 60. For example, the reception unit 91 receives a print job received by the communication I / F unit 30. The acquisition unit 92 acquires the environmental temperature that is the measurement result of the measurement unit 80. The determination unit 93 determines whether or not the environmental temperature value acquired by the acquisition unit 92 is less than a target value (threshold value). Detailed contents will be described later. The control unit 94 executes various controls using various inputs received by the receiving unit 91 and determination results by the determination unit 93. Detailed contents will be described later.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the CPU 90. First, the receiving unit 91 determines whether a print job has been received (step S1). When the reception unit 91 determines that the print job has been received, the control unit 94 registers (stores) the print job received by the reception unit 91 in the storage unit 40 (step S2). After step S2, the acquisition unit 92 acquires the measurement result of the measurement unit 80, that is, the environmental temperature (step S3).

  After step S3, the determination unit 93 determines whether or not the environmental temperature acquired in step S3 is equal to or higher than the target value (threshold value) (step S4). When it is determined that the environmental temperature is lower than the target value, the control unit 94 determines whether or not a preset set time has been reached (step S5). Here, the set time is the time when the power consumption when the print job is executed after reaching the set time is determined when the environmental temperature is determined to be lower than the target value in step S4 described above. It is preferable to set the value to be smaller than the power consumption in the case. This will be specifically described below.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a temporal change in the environmental temperature (room temperature) in the office in the winter. As shown in FIG. 5, the room temperature at 8 o'clock before the start of work is about 10 degrees, which is lower than the room temperature (about 20 degrees) from 12 o'clock to 19 o'clock. The amount of power consumed for the increase increases. The warm-up operation is an operation of energizing the fixing device 23 for fixing the toner image and increasing the temperature of the fixing device 23 (fixing temperature) to a printable state. The execution of the print job is to execute both the warm-up operation and the print operation.

  6 and 7 show examples of power consumption when the warm-up operation is executed at the environmental temperature of 8 o'clock in the morning shown in FIG. 5 and the environment from 12:00 to 19:00 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the electric power consumption at the time of performing warm up operation | movement at 20 degree | times which is temperature (environment temperature when it rises to a fixed temperature). In the example of FIGS. 6 and 7, it is assumed that the warm-up operation is completed in one minute with 1500 W of electric power when the environmental temperature is 20 degrees. In this example, each time the environmental temperature decreases by 1 degree, the warm-up time indicating the length of time until the warm-up operation is completed increases by 5%, so the environmental temperature is 10% compared to the case where the environmental temperature is 20 degrees. If it goes down, the warm-up time will increase by 50%. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when the environmental temperature is 10 degrees, 1 minute and 30 seconds are required as the warm-up time. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the amount of power is 37.5 Wh when the environmental temperature is 10 degrees and 25 Wh when the environmental temperature is 20 degrees.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of electric power required for executing a printing operation when the environmental temperature is 10 degrees and an example of electric power required for executing a printing operation when the environmental temperature is 20 degrees. FIG. The above model requires 1200 W of power when a standard plain paper, A4 size printing operation is executed under an environmental temperature of 20 degrees. In this example, every time the environmental temperature decreases, the required power increases by 2%. Therefore, when the environmental temperature decreases by 10 degrees compared to the case where the environmental temperature decreases by 20 degrees, the required power is 20%. Increase. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, when the environmental temperature is 10 degrees, the power required for executing the printing operation is 1440 W, and when the environmental temperature is 20 degrees, the power required for executing the printing operation. Is 1200W. Here, plain paper has been described as an example. However, in the case of thick paper, the amount of heat required is larger than that of plain paper, so the power increase coefficient due to the temperature drop is larger than that of plain paper.

  In the above example, it is preferable that the set time is set to a value such that the environmental temperature reaches 20 degrees when the set time is reached. For example, the set time can be set at 12:00 or can be set at 15:00. In short, the set time is determined that the power consumption when the print job (warm-up operation and print operation) is executed when the set time is reached is that the environmental temperature is less than the target value in step S4 described above. Any value may be used as long as it is smaller than the power consumption when the print job is executed at that time. The set time can be set as a time or a time length.

  Returning again to FIG. 4, the description will be continued. If it is determined in step S5 described above that the set time has been reached, the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 described above that the set time has not been reached, the process returns to step S3 described above.

  In step S6, the control unit 94 controls the printing unit 2 to execute the print job stored in the storage unit 40 (step S6). More specifically, it is as follows. First, the control unit 94 controls the printing unit 2 to execute a warm-up operation. After the warm-up operation is completed, the control unit 94 controls the printing unit 2 to execute printing based on the print data included in the print job stored in the storage unit 40. If a plurality of print jobs are stored in the storage unit 40, these print jobs are executed together.

  As described above, when the environmental temperature is lower than the target value, the CPU 90 (control unit 94) of the present embodiment determines that the predetermined temperature (in this example, the environmental temperature is equal to or higher than the target value, Alternatively, the printing unit 2 is not allowed to execute the print job until the set time is reached, so that even if the environmental temperature is lower than the target value, it is unconditional when the print job is received. Compared to the configuration for executing the print job, there is an advantageous effect that the power consumption amount (particularly the startup power amount) of the image forming apparatus 100 can be reduced.

<B: Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment, even if the environmental temperature is lower than the target value, the print job is executed when the CO ₂ emission amount is equal to or less than the target value (threshold value). And different. Below, it demonstrates centering on the part which is different from the above-mentioned 1st Embodiment, and abbreviate | omits description suitably about the part which overlaps with 1st Embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the color image forming apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment. The hardware configuration of the color image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 9 is basically the same as the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3, but the CO ₂ emission amount for calculating the CO ₂ emission amount is included in the functions of the CPU 90. The difference is that the calculation unit 95 is included. In the present embodiment, the CO ₂ emission amount calculation unit 95 calculates the CO ₂ emission amount per predetermined number when the print job stored in the storage unit 40 is executed.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the CPU 90 of the second embodiment. Since the content of step S11-step S14 of FIG. 10 is the same as the content of step S1-step S4 of FIG. 4, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

If it is determined in step S14 of FIG. 10 that the environmental temperature is lower than the target value, the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, the CO ₂ emission amount calculation unit 95 calculates the CO ₂ emission amount per predetermined number of sheets. More specifically, the CO ₂ emission amount calculation unit 95 calculates the CO ₂ emission amount per predetermined number when the print job stored in the storage unit 40 is executed. Hereinafter, a specific example of a method for calculating the CO ₂ emission amount will be described. Here, it is assumed that the CO ₂ emission amount calculation unit 95 calculates the CO ₂ emission amount per sheet.

As an example, CO ₂ emissions of a method of calculating the CO ₂ emissions can be determined using the following equation (1).
X = α + β + γ + ζ (1)

X in the above formula (1) is the total CO ₂ emission amount when the print job stored in the storage unit 40 is executed. Α in the equation (1) is the CO ₂ emission amount generated by the power consumption, and is calculated from the power amount consumed in the warm-up operation and the printing operation. Here, the CO ₂ emission amount calculation unit 95 obtains the CO ₂ generation amount from the power consumption amount calculated in consideration of the environmental temperature acquired in step S13. More specifically, the CO ₂ emission amount calculation unit 95 performs steps from a data table in which the relationship between parameters such as the environmental temperature, the type and size of the recording paper P, and the power consumption corresponding to the parameters is recorded. The power consumption corresponding to the environmental temperature, the type and size of the recording paper P acquired in S13 is read out. Then, CO ₂ emission amount calculator 95 calculates the CO ₂ emissions from power consumption thus read out. For example, the CO ₂ emission amount calculation unit 95 may obtain the CO ₂ emission amount corresponding to the read power consumption amount using a data table in which the relationship between the power consumption amount and the CO ₂ emission amount is recorded.

In the above equation (1), β is the CO ₂ emission amount generated by the consumption of the recording paper P. The CO ₂ emission amount calculating unit 95 calculates β from the type (weight, size, recycled paper rate, etc.) of the recording paper P, the number of printed sheets, and the like. In the above formula (1), γ is a CO ₂ emission amount generated by consumption of toner. The CO ₂ emission amount calculation unit 95 calculates γ from the amount and type of toner consumed during printing. Furthermore, ζ in the equation (1) is the CO ₂ emission generated by the consumption of other resources. The CO ₂ emission amount calculation unit 95 calculates the ζ from the consumption amount of staples, fixing oil, etc. (consumption amount of other resources). Then, the total CO ₂ emission amount X is obtained by adding α, β, γ, and ζ.

The CO ₂ emission amount calculation unit 95 divides the total CO ₂ emission amount X calculated using the above equation (1) by the number of printed sheets (the number of print data included in the print job), thereby reducing the CO ₂ per sheet. ₂ Emissions can be calculated. The above is an example of the specific content of step S15.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the CO ₂ emission amount per sheet is calculated as an example of the CO ₂ emission amount per predetermined number calculated by the CO ₂ emission amount calculation unit 95 in step S15 described above will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the predetermined number is arbitrary. For example, the user can variably set a predetermined number of values by performing a screen touch operation or a device operation. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the user inputs a predetermined number of values to a terminal device such as a PC, and the input information is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100 via the network. It may be set to an input value.

After step S15 described above, the controller 94 determines whether or not the CO ₂ emission amount per sheet calculated in step S15 is equal to or less than a target value (threshold value) (step S16). If it is determined that the CO ₂ emission amount per sheet is equal to or less than the target value, the process proceeds to step S17. Since the content of step S17 is the same as the content of step S6 of FIG. 4, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S16 described above that the CO ₂ emission amount per sheet exceeds the target value, the process proceeds to step S18. Since the content of step S18 is the same as the content of step S5 of FIG. 4, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. If it is determined in step S18 that the set time has not been reached, the process returns to step S13. Then, the above process is repeated.

As described above, also in the present embodiment, the CPU 90 (the control unit 94), when the environmental temperature is less than the target value, in addition to the predetermined condition (here, the condition in the first embodiment, the CO ₂ ) The amount of power consumed by the image forming apparatus 100 (especially the amount of startup power) can be advantageously reduced since the print unit 2 is not allowed to execute a print job. There is an effect.

<C: Modification>
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Modified examples will be described below. Note that the following modifications may be arbitrarily combined.

(Modification 1)
The environmental temperature target value, the set time, and the CO ₂ emission target value in each of the above-described embodiments can be arbitrarily set (changed). FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen displayed on the operation display unit 60. For example, the user can variably set the environmental temperature target value, the set time, and the CO ₂ emission target value by performing screen touch operations or device operations. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the user inputs a predetermined number of values to a terminal device such as a PC, and the input information is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100 via the network. It may be set to an input value.

In the example of FIG. 11, since the environmental temperature target value is set to 20 degrees, when the environmental temperature is less than 20 degrees, the print job stored in the storage unit 40 is executed until a predetermined condition is satisfied. It is not done. In the example of FIG. 11, since the target value of the CO ₂ emission amount (here, the emission amount per sheet) is set to 400 g, the CO ₂ emission amount is reduced even if the environmental temperature is less than 20 degrees. In the case of 400 g or less, the print job stored in the storage unit 40 is executed.

  Further, in the example of FIG. 11, the start time of the print job can be set as the set time, and the time length until the print job is started can be set. Further, in the example of FIG. 11, the time at which the print job is completed can be set, and the time length from the setting to the completion of the print job can be set. In the example of FIG. 11, when “completion of print job by 12:00” is selected, the CPU 90 (control unit 94) determines the time required for the warm-up operation and the print operation from the information included in the print job. Calculate time. For example, when the calculation result is 5 minutes, the CPU 90 controls the printing unit 2 to start the print job at 11:55. In the example of FIG. 11, if “print job completed by 1 hour” is selected, the CPU 90 (control unit 94) executes a print job when 55 minutes have elapsed since the setting was made. For example, the printing unit 2 is controlled to start.

(Modification 2)
In the second embodiment described above, an example in which a print job is executed when the CO ₂ emission amount is equal to or lower than the target value even when the environmental temperature is lower than the target value has been described. For example, when the power consumption is less than or equal to a target value, a configuration in which a print job is executed may be used.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the color image forming apparatus 100 according to this modification. The hardware configuration of the color image forming apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 12 is basically the same as the configuration illustrated in FIG. 9, but instead of the above-described CO ₂ emission calculating unit 95, The difference is that a power consumption calculation unit 96 that calculates the power consumption is included in the function of the CPU 90. Others are the same as the above-mentioned 2nd Embodiment.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the CPU 90 according to the modification. Since the content of step S21-step S24 is the same as the content of step S11-step S14 of FIG. 10, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. In step S25 of FIG. 13, the power consumption amount calculation unit 96 calculates the power consumption amount per predetermined number when the print job stored in the storage unit 40 is executed. More specifically, the power consumption calculation unit 96 uses the environmental temperature acquired in step S23, the number of print data included in the print job stored in the storage unit 40 (corresponding to the number of prints), and the like. The amount of power consumption per sheet is calculated.

  After the power consumption amount calculation unit 96 calculates the power consumption amount per predetermined number of sheets (after step S25 described above), the control unit 94 determines that the power consumption amount per predetermined number of sheets is equal to or less than a target value (threshold value). It is determined whether or not (step S26). If it is determined that the power consumption per predetermined number is less than or equal to the target value, the process proceeds to step S27. Since the content of step S27 is the same as the content of step S17 of FIG. 10, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. On the other hand, if it is determined that the power consumption per predetermined number exceeds the target value, the process proceeds to step S28. Since the content of step S28 is the same as the content of step S18 of FIG. 10, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

In short, even if the determination unit 93 determines that the environmental temperature is lower than the target value, if the environmental load information (information indicating the load applied to the environment) when the print job is executed is equal to or lower than the target value, the print job is Anything can be executed. Then, as the environmental load information, can either be employed CO ₂ emissions as in the second embodiment described above, it is also possible to employ a power consumption.

(Modification 3)
For example, the CPU 90 described above may be mounted on a server device connected to the image forming apparatus. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the server apparatus 400 on which the above-described CPU 90 is mounted. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the server device 400 includes the communication I / F unit 30 described above, the storage unit 40 described above, the image processing unit 50 described above, the CPU 90 described above, and an I / F unit 410. Are connected to each other via a bus B2. In the example of FIG. 14, the server apparatus 400 is connected to the image forming apparatus 500 via a dedicated line 600. The I / F unit 410 is means for connecting the server device 400 to the image forming apparatus 500, and a dedicated line 600 is connected to the I / F unit 410.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the image forming apparatus 500 includes an I / F unit 510, the above-described printing unit 2, the above-described operation display unit 60, the above-described other I / F unit 70, and the above-described measurement. Are connected to each other by a bus B3. The I / F unit 510 is means for connecting the image forming apparatus 500 to the server apparatus 400, and a dedicated line 600 is connected to the I / F unit 510. The image forming apparatus 500 executes a print job under the control of the CPU 90 of the server apparatus 400. In the example of FIG. 14, the CPU 90 mounted on the server device 400 executes the processing described in the above embodiments.

  In the example of FIG. 14, the image forming apparatus 500 includes the measurement unit 80. However, the configuration is not limited thereto, and the server apparatus 400 may include the measurement unit 80 instead of the image forming apparatus 500.

  The above-described control program executed by the image forming apparatus 100 or the server apparatus 400 is a file in an installable or executable format, and is a CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, DVD (Digital Versatile). It may be configured to be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as Disk).

  Further, the control program executed by the image forming apparatus 100 or the server apparatus 400 described above may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. . The control program executed by the image forming apparatus 100 or the server apparatus 400 may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Scanner part 2 Printing part 10 Photoconductor drum 11 Developing apparatus 12 Charging apparatus 13 Cleaning apparatus 15 Exposure apparatus 16 Intermediate transfer belt 23 Fixing apparatus 30 Communication I / F part 40 Storage part 42 HDD
44 ROM
46 RAM
50 Image processing unit 60 Operation display unit 70 Other I / F unit 80 Measurement unit 90 CPU
91 reception unit 92 acquisition unit 93 determination unit 94 control unit 95 CO ₂ emission amount calculation unit 96 power consumption amount calculation unit 100 color image forming device 200 network 400 server device 410 I / F unit 500 image forming device 510 I / F unit 600 Leased line

JP 2007-180906 A

Claims (11)

A reception unit that receives a print job including at least one print data;
A storage unit for storing the print job;
An acquisition unit for acquiring the environmental temperature;
A determination unit for determining whether or not the environmental temperature is less than a threshold;
A printing unit that executes printing based on the print data;
A control unit for controlling the printing unit,
When the determination unit determines that the environmental temperature is lower than the threshold value, the control unit causes the printing unit to execute the print job without executing the print job until a predetermined condition is satisfied. Is stored in the storage unit,
An image forming apparatus. The predetermined condition is that the environmental temperature is equal to or higher than the threshold value.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The predetermined condition is that a predetermined time has been reached,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The predetermined time is the time when the power consumption when the print job is executed after reaching the predetermined time is determined when the environmental temperature is determined to be lower than the threshold by the determination unit. Set to a value that is smaller than the power consumption when the job is executed.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3. A calculation unit for calculating environmental load information indicating a load on the environment;
The predetermined condition is that the environmental load information is equal to or less than a target value.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The environmental load information is information indicating the CO ₂ emission amount per predetermined number of sheets when the print job is executed.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 5. The calculation unit calculates the CO ₂ emission amount using the environmental temperature.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 6. The environmental load information is information indicating power consumption per predetermined number of sheets when the print job is executed.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 5. The calculation unit calculates the power consumption using the environmental temperature.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 8. A server device connected to an image forming apparatus that executes printing based on at least one print data included in a print job,
A reception unit for receiving the print job;
A storage unit for storing the print job;
An acquisition unit for acquiring the environmental temperature;
A determination unit for determining whether or not the environmental temperature is less than a threshold;
A control unit for controlling the image forming apparatus,
When the determination unit determines that the environmental temperature is lower than the threshold value, the control unit causes the image forming apparatus to execute the print job without executing the print job until a predetermined condition is satisfied. Storing the job in the storage unit;
The server apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. A first step of accepting a print job including at least one print data;
A second step of obtaining the environmental temperature;
A third step of determining whether the environmental temperature is less than a threshold value;
If it is determined in the third step that the environmental temperature is lower than the threshold value, a print unit that performs printing based on the print data does not execute the print job until a predetermined condition is satisfied. A program for causing a computer to execute a fourth step of storing the print job in a storage unit.

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