JP2016034735A - Image forming device, control method for image forming device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a scheme for reducing unnecessary operation sound at the time when a device returns from a sleep state thereby to start.SOLUTION: The sensitivity of a human sensitive sensor for detecting the approach of a person for the momentum from a sleep state, according to the setting of a function unit to be operated at the time returning from the sleep state, that is, a threshold value can be automatically adjusted to suppress the drive sound at the time of an unnecessary start of the device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a plurality of power modes including a normal power mode in a normal power consumption state and a power saving mode in a power consumption state lower than normal, and in particular a sensor. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a method for controlling an image forming apparatus, and a control program for performing power control such as switching of a power mode by detecting that a person has approached.

Conventionally, in the power control method of the image forming apparatus, when detecting the approach of the user or pressing of the button for canceling the power saving, the normal power consumption state is changed from the sleep state which is the power saving mode of the low power consumption state. There is known a technology for returning to sleep in which the normal power mode is restored.
However, in sleep recovery due to the above-described recovery factor such as user detection, since initialization of most functional units is started before it is determined which functional unit is used, for example, a motor that does not lead to use It was a cause of noise such as operation noise.

Therefore, eco-power-saving that restricts the drive of the initialization operation until a function unit to be used is determined when returning from sleep has been proposed.
In this eco-power-saving system, the user selects the function unit on the operation screen and starts driving the function unit when the function unit used by the user is confirmed. It can be freely set ON / OFF accordingly.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus that can change or select a component whose power supply is cut off when a power saving mode is set.

JP 2001-148751 A

However, in an image forming apparatus equipped with a human sensor, when the above-described eco-power-saving setting is OFF, the function unit starts driving only when the human sensor detects that there is a person around the apparatus. Resulting in.
If the person detected by the human sensor is a user of the image forming apparatus, there is no problem even if the driving of the functional unit is started, but when the detected person is a passerby passing in front of the image forming apparatus, There is a problem of malfunction that the functional unit is driven unnecessarily to generate driving sound.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for reducing unnecessary operation sound when the apparatus detects a person and starts up after returning from a sleep state. That is.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object has the following configuration.
Any one of the first power supply state of normal power consumption, the second power supply state of lower power consumption than normal, and the third power supply state of lower power consumption than the second power supply state An image forming apparatus driven in a supply state, wherein a human detection unit that detects the presence of a person, a sensitivity setting unit that sets a detection sensitivity of the human detection unit, and a return from the third power supply state Power supply setting means for setting the power supply state to be performed, and power supply control means for controlling the power supply state to the set power supply state when the person detection means detects that a person is present. The sensitivity setting means sets the detection sensitivity of the human detection means based on the power supply state set by the energization setting means.

According to the present invention, the sensitivity of the human sensor that detects human approach that triggers the return from the sleep state, that is, the threshold value is automatically set according to the setting of the function unit that is operated when the sleep state is returned. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the drive sound at the time of unnecessary startup of the apparatus.
Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the erroneous return of human approach and return from sleep, perform power control suitable for the use state of the image forming apparatus, etc., and operate the apparatus with lower power consumption. It becomes possible.

1 is an external view of an image forming apparatus. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus. 4 is a display screen for parameter setting of the image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows each electric power mode and each electricity supply location. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of a main controller unit of the image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows the parameter setting of an image forming apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of a determination unit of the image forming apparatus.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the component described in this embodiment is an example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to them.
FIG. 1 is an external view of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
In this example, the image forming apparatus 1 corresponds to an example in which an image forming apparatus such as a multifunction machine equipped with various functions such as a copy function, a scan function, a FAX function, and a print function is used.

When the operator stands in front of the image forming apparatus 1, the sensor unit 600 detects a person and automatically returns from the sleep mode, that is, the power saving mode to the normal power mode. Specifically, the operation unit 500 is turned on to notify the operator that the apparatus can be used.
For example, when performing a copy operation, the operator sets a document to be copied in the document feeder 2 and presses the copy button of the operation unit 500. An original is optically scanned by the document feeder 2, an image is formed on the paper drawn from the paper cassette 3 by the electrophotographic process unit 4, a copy of the document in the document feeder 2 is created, and the document is discharged to the paper discharge unit 5. Make paper.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus 1.
The image forming apparatus 1 includes a power supply unit 100, a main controller unit 200, a scanner unit 300, a printer unit 400, an operation unit 500, and a sensor unit 600 including a sensor 601 and a determination unit 602.
The image forming apparatus 1 has a plurality of power modes including a power saving mode, and has a power mode for normal operation for executing a copy operation and the like, and a power saving mode with less power consumption, that is, a sleep mode.

When the image forming apparatus 1 is not used even after a predetermined time has elapsed, or when the user instructs the power saving mode via the operation unit 500, the main controller unit 200 controls the remote line 6 to control the power supply unit 100. Is notified of the power saving mode and shifts to the sleep mode.
In the sleep mode, the power supply unit 100 stops supplying power to the scanner unit 300, the printer unit 400, a part of the main controller unit 200, and a part of the operation unit 500 in accordance with the notification from the main controller unit 200. .

The sensor unit 600 includes a sensor 601 and a determination unit 602.
The power to the sensor unit 600 is supplied from the power supply unit 100 via the main controller unit 200 even in the sleep mode, but the power supply to the determination unit 602 may be stopped in the sleep mode. However, when the power supply to the determination unit 602 is stopped in the sleep mode, it is necessary to configure the power supply to the determination unit 602 to be started immediately when a predetermined reaction is detected in the sensor 601. .

  The determination unit 602 determines whether or not the user exists by processing the detection result of the sensor 601. If the determination result indicates that the user exists, the determination unit 602 outputs an energization request signal to the main controller unit 200. When the main controller unit 200 receives the energization request signal, the main controller unit 200 controls the power supply unit 100 via the remote line 6 to return the power mode of the apparatus to the normal operation power mode.

The outline of the process of outputting the energization request signal 7 of the determination unit 602 will be described with reference to FIG.
The sensor 601 employed in this embodiment is an infrared array sensor, for example, and outputs the temperature distribution state as two-dimensional image data.
The determination unit 602 acquires two-dimensional image data from the sensor 601 when a human is continuously present in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus 1 and stops using the apparatus, performs image processing, and performs feature processing. And the process of outputting the energization request signal 7 is executed.
Of course, as the sensor unit 600, a sensor used as a human sensor such as an infrared type or an ultrasonic type of other types can be used.

In S <b> 101, the determination unit 2 acquires data from the sensor 601. Next, the determination unit 602 calculates image processing and feature amounts in S102, and determines whether or not a person exists in the vicinity in S103.
When determining that there is a person, the determination unit 602 counts up the detection time for measuring the time when the person is present in S104.
In S105, the timer threshold value T according to the human detection sensitivity notified from the main controller unit 200 in advance is calculated. This conversion will be described later.

In S106, it is determined whether or not the person has been in the vicinity for a time longer than the time of the timer threshold T, based on whether or not the time counted up in S104 has exceeded the timer threshold T.
If the determination unit 602 determines in S106 that the time of the timer threshold has been exceeded, the energization request signal 7 is asserted in S107, and a request for return from the power saving mode is notified to the main controller unit 200. .
The above is the outline of the process in which the determination unit 602 outputs the energization request signal 7. Details of this processing will be described later.

FIG. 3 is a screen for setting the behavior of the apparatus on the operation unit 500 by the owner or administrator of the image forming apparatus 1. This setting is used for setting a human detection sensitivity and a timer threshold value determined in accordance with the human detection sensitivity.
In the human detection setting 8, the operation unit 500 is automatically turned on when a person approaches, and the owner or the administrator selects whether to automatically return from the power saving mode by turning OFF / ON. To set.
When the human detection setting 8 is OFF, the determination unit 602 performs control so that the energization request signal 7 is not output regardless of the detection result of the sensor 601.

The person detection level 9 is an item that can be set only when the person detection setting 8 is ON, and it is possible to set whether or not it is easy for the determination unit 602 to detect the presence of a person. The high button can more easily detect a person, and can become more difficult to detect a person as it becomes medium to low.
If there are many misjudgments of returning from sleep depending on the installation location and operating environment, this person detection level 9 is set low, and if there are few misjudgments, it is higher by setting the person detection level 9 high. Responsiveness is obtained.
This human detection level 9 is an item that cannot be set when the human detection setting 8 is OFF. Therefore, when the upper human detection setting 8 is set to OFF, the entire area of the human detection level 9 is conspicuous with a mesh. Consideration such as displaying so as not to be present is also preferable.

The automatic image forming preparation setting 10 sets whether to start energizing the engine unit, that is, the printer unit 400 and the scanner unit 300 at the same time when the operation unit 500 is turned on and to start image forming preparation. It is.
When this setting is turned OFF, even if the operation unit 500 is lit, the self-operation image preparation is not performed, and the power supply state to the printer unit 400 and the scanner unit 300 is a state where the power is not turned on immediately, and the sleep state After returning from the state, the device can be used.

When a scanner job is input from the operation unit 500 from this power supply state, the main controller unit 200 controls the remote line 6 to turn on only the scanner unit 300 and energize the unnecessary printer unit 400. It is possible to eliminate. That is, by not turning on the power of the unused printer unit 400, unnecessary image preparation sound and power can be reduced, so the eco mode is set in consideration of the environment.
Here, the printer unit and the scanner unit are given as examples of the energized locations where the power is not turned on, but it is also possible to select only the printer unit or other functional units and set them as energized locations where the power is not turned on. .

FIG. 4 shows a list of correspondence relationships between various power modes and energized locations in the present embodiment.
Line 11 in FIG. 4 is power mode 1, which corresponds to the normal power mode and is capable of executing a job. Almost all locations are turned on.
However, when the above-described automatic image preparation setting 10 is OFF, the eco mode is set, and the printer unit 400 and the scanner unit 300 may not be energized depending on the job to be executed.
When the above-described self-operation image preparation setting 10 is ON, the printer unit 400 and the scanner unit 300 are energized regardless of the job to be executed, and image formation is automatically prepared to cope with a rushed user.

  Line 12 in FIG. 4 is power mode 2, which corresponds to the above-described eco mode, in which the above-described automatic image preparation setting 10 is OFF, the operation unit 500 is lit, and the image forming apparatus can be used. In spite of this, the printer unit 400 and the scanner unit 300 are not energized. When the above-described self-operation image preparation setting 10 is ON, it corresponds to the power mode 1 described above, and this state is not present.

Line 13 in FIG. 4 is the power mode 3, which is the sleep state of the power saving mode in which the operation unit 500 is turned off and the image forming apparatus 1 consumes the least power.
These power states are determined by the main controller unit 200 and notified to the power supply unit 100 via the remote line 6. The power supply unit 100 controls energization of the power sources of the respective portions of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the table in FIG. 4 based on the power modes 1 to 3 instructed from the main controller unit 200 via the remote line 6.

The problem to be solved by this embodiment will be described in detail.
When the human detection setting 8 is ON and the automatic operation image preparation setting 10 is OFF, the approaching user recognizes from the appearance only that the operation unit 500 is lit in the power mode 2. It is a state.
However, when the human detection setting 8 is ON and the self-operation image preparation setting 10 is ON, the process shifts to the power mode 1 and starts image preparation when the user approaches. The merit of the energization setting in the power mode 1 is that if an image copying operation is performed by starting image forming preparation at an earlier stage than when a specific job is input and confirmed from the operation panel, The waiting time of the user can be minimized.
Therefore, it is preferable for the user who mainly performs the image copying operation that the automatic image preparation setting 10 is ON.

On the other hand, when the energization request signal 7 is transmitted from the sensor unit 600 against the user's intention despite the lack of intention to use the image forming apparatus immediately, an erroneous determination is made. From various situations, such as a person standing in the vicinity of the device, the system returns from the sleep state, and unnecessary noise and power consumption occur.
The setting for the erroneous determination can be made more difficult by making the human detection level 9 to be changed. Considering the loss of the user that occurs at the time of erroneous determination, it is preferable to change the detection method of the sensor unit 600 to a more reliable determination method so as to reduce the erroneous determination even if it takes time to detect a person.

  Below, when the human detection setting 8 is ON, the self-motion image preparation setting 10 is ON, and the human detection level 9 remains a simple setting. The invention to be disclosed is disclosed.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of the main controller unit 200 of the image forming apparatus. This flowchart is a flow in the power mode 3, that is, in the sleep state in which the operation unit 500 is turned off and the image forming apparatus 1 consumes the least power.
In S201, the main controller unit 200 determines whether or not to shift from the power mode 3. Specifically, it waits in S201 until the user operation of the operation unit 500 or the transmission of the energization request signal 7 from the sensor unit 600.

When the process reaches S202 by the user operation of the operation unit 500 or the transmission of the energization request signal 7 from the sensor unit 600, the main controller unit 200 grasps the setting of the automatic image preparation setting 10.
When the automatic image forming preparation setting 10 is ON, the process proceeds to S203, and the main controller unit 200 notifies the power supply unit 500 to shift to the power mode 1. Therefore, the power supply unit 500 turns on all the power supplies as shown in FIG. At this time, since the printer unit 400 and the scanner unit 300 start preparation for image formation, the operation unit 500 emits a sound of an initial operation when it is turned on, but a high-speed printing operation and scanning operation are possible.

In S202, when the automatic image preparation setting 10 is OFF, the process proceeds to S204, and the main controller unit 200 notifies the power supply unit 500 to shift to the power mode 2. As shown in FIG. 4, the power supply unit 500 is energized except for the printer unit 400 and the scanner unit 300 and does not turn on the power of the device that generates sound.
S205 corresponds to a state in which the user is operating the image forming apparatus 1. If the operation unit 500 is lit and a job is input, the job is executed. When the user stops the operation and a certain time elapses or the user presses a power saving switch (not shown) on the operation unit 500, the process proceeds to the next flow to enter the sleep state.

In S <b> 206, the user determines the human detection sensitivity 14 based on the parameters of the automatic image preparation setting 10, the human detection setting 8, and the human detection level 9. Specifically, the human detection sensitivity 14 is determined by the above-described parameters based on the list of the main controller unit 200 in FIG.
In step S <b> 207, the main controller unit 200 notifies the determination unit 602 of the sensor unit of the determined human detection sensitivity 14 and sets the sensitivity to the determination unit 602.

In S208, the main controller unit 200 notifies the power supply unit 500 of the power mode 3. The power supply unit 500 stops the power supply to the scanner unit 300, the printer unit 400, and the operation unit 500 so that the power mode 3 shown in FIG.
As described above, the main controller 200 transmits the human detection sensitivity 14 determined in S206 to the determination unit 602 and enters the sleep mode, and the human detection sensitivity 14 determined in S206 is determined by the determination unit 602 in the sensor unit 600. Applied at.

Here, an example of setting the human detection sensitivity will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
When the human detection setting 8 is ON, the human detection level 9 can be set to three levels, for example, high, medium, and low. Of course, it is possible to set multiple levels other than the three levels depending on the situation, but the case of three levels will be described as an example. With the combination of the setting value of the human detection level 9 and the ON / OFF setting of the automatic image preparation setting 10, the human detection sensitivity 14 is 6 from “6” to “1” with reference to FIG. Set to stage. When the human detection level can be set to multiple levels other than 3 levels, the human detection sensitivity can also be set to multiple levels other than 6 levels.

In this state, when the automatic image preparation setting 10 is set from OFF to ON, the sensitivity of the set human detection level is automatically shifted to a lower level by a predetermined amount to determine the human detection sensitivity.
For example, when the automatic image preparation setting 10 is set to OFF and the human detection level 9 is set to “medium”, and the automatic image preparation setting 10 is changed to ON, the human detection The sensitivity 14 is automatically changed from “5” to “2” to become low sensitivity, and false detection is reduced.
Referring to FIG. 6B, when the human detection sensitivity is “2”, it is detected that a human is present when the sensor 601 detects that the human is in the vicinity of the apparatus for 1000 ms or longer.

  The processing of the determination unit 602 in the power mode 3 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 7 to clarify how each parameter related to the human detection sensitivity 14 of FIG. 6 is used.

FIG. 7 is a processing flow in which the determination unit 602 of the sensor unit 600 outputs the energization request signal 7 to the main controller unit 200.
This processing flow is executed every short time, for example, every 100 ms. Of course, other time intervals can be set.

First, in step S <b> 101, the determination unit 602 acquires two-dimensional image data from the sensor 601. In step S102, the determination unit 602 performs image processing on the two-dimensional image data and calculates a feature amount.
In S103, the determination unit 602 determines whether or not a person exists in the vicinity. In this determination, the determination unit 602 determines whether a person is in the vicinity based on the adjustment value of the detection distance 16 that is a parameter adjusted in accordance with the setting of the human detection sensitivity 14 in FIG. The determination to positively reduce the erroneous determination is performed.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, when the setting of the automatic image preparation setting 10 is ON, the detection distance is adjusted to be shorter and compared with the case where the automatic image preparation setting 10 is OFF. Thus, it is detected that a person is in the vicinity only when the image forming apparatus 1 comes closer. Specifically, the presence of a person is detected when the person approaches from a predetermined distance range determined in advance based on the set person detection sensitivity.

  If the determination unit 602 determines in S103 that a person is in the vicinity, in S104, the detection time is counted up in order to measure the time during which the person remains in the vicinity. In this embodiment, since the presence detection is performed every 100 ms, the count value * 100 = the detection duration [ms].

  In S <b> 105, the determination unit 602 calculates a timer threshold T corresponding to the human detection sensitivity, which is notified from the main controller unit 200 in advance. In S105, whether or not a person is in the vicinity after setting the timer threshold T based on the adjustment value of the detection time 15 which is a parameter adjusted in accordance with the setting of the human detection sensitivity 14 in FIG. In such a manner, the determination to positively reduce the erroneous determination is performed.

In S106, the determination unit 602 determines whether or not a person has been in the vicinity for a time longer than the time of the timer threshold T, depending on whether or not the time counted up in S104 has exceeded the timer threshold T. . For example, if the detection is executed every 100 ms, if the count value is 10, it means that the person has been detected for 1000 ms.
If the timer threshold value T is 950 ms, the count value is 10 and the person is continuously detected for a time of 1000 ms exceeding the timer threshold value T.

Therefore, in S107, the determination unit 602 outputs the energization request signal 7 and notifies the main controller unit 200 to return from the power saving mode.
In S106, for example, when the count value is 8 and the time during which the person is continuously detected is smaller than the timer threshold value T, this flow is terminated without outputting the energization request signal 7 to the main controller unit 200.

While repeating the flow from S101 to S106 to S107, the determination unit 602 detects that the person is no longer in the vicinity in S103 before the human detection time exceeds the timer threshold value in S106. There is a case.
In this case, in S108, the determination unit 602 clears the detection time count. Therefore, when a person passes in front of the apparatus, unnecessary sleep recovery is avoided by following a flow for clearing the count of detection times.

In this way, by making the determination method of the determination unit 602 elaborate, when the person in S106 to S107 is continuously detected for a certain period of time, the timing and time to return from the power saving mode to the sleep state are made more appropriate, and erroneous determination is reduced. can do.
In the present invention, the determination unit 602 is notified by decoding the set value of the human detection sensitivity 14 into an integer value, but the same control can be performed even if the analog value is notified without decoding.
Further, in the present invention, an embodiment is shown in which two parameters of distance and time for determining that a person has been detected are adjusted and modified.

In addition, in “image detection and feature amount calculation” in S102 of FIG. 7, for example, the feature amount of the user's face is measured using a face sensor widely installed in a digital camera, for example, and more accurately. It is also possible to return to sleep, and not only the image data from the user's infrared array, but also the calculation of various feature values can be used to reduce erroneous determination of return from sleep.
Further, in “whether it is larger than the threshold value” in S106 of FIG. 7, it is considered that the threshold value is set by paying attention to parameters other than the time and used for reducing erroneous determination of return from sleep.

(Other examples)
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.
Further, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are excluded from the scope of the present invention. is not. That is, the present invention includes all the combinations of the above-described embodiments and modifications thereof.

1: Image forming apparatus 100: Power supply unit 200: Main controller unit 600: Sensor unit 602: Determination unit

Claims (7)

Any one of the first power supply state of normal power consumption, the second power supply state of lower power consumption than normal, and the third power supply state of lower power consumption than the second power supply state An image forming apparatus that operates in a supply state,
Human detection means for detecting the presence of a person;
Sensitivity setting means for setting the detection sensitivity of the human detection means;
Energization setting means for setting a power supply state to return from the third power supply state;
Energization control means for controlling the power supply state to the set power supply state when the person detection means detects that a person is present,
The sensitivity setting means sets the detection sensitivity of the human detection means based on the power supply state set by the energization setting means.
An image forming apparatus. The sensitivity setting means has a third power supply state when the detection sensitivity of the human detection means is set to return from the third power supply state to the first power supply state by the energization setting means. Compared to the case where the return to the second power supply state is set, the transition is set to be lower.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second power supply state can be set by selecting an energized portion to supply power. 4.   The human detection means detects that a person is present when a person is detected longer than a predetermined time corresponding to the detection sensitivity set by the sensitivity setting means. 4. The image forming apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 3.   The person detecting means detects that a person is present when a person is detected near a predetermined distance corresponding to the detection sensitivity set by the sensitivity setting means. The image forming apparatus according to any one of 1 to 4. Any one of the first power supply state of normal power consumption, the second power supply state of lower power consumption than normal, and the third power supply state of lower power consumption than the second power supply state A method of controlling an image forming apparatus that operates in a supply state,
A human detection process for detecting the presence of a person;
A sensitivity setting step for setting the detection sensitivity of the human detection step;
An energization setting step for setting a power supply state to return from the third power supply state;
An energization control step for controlling a power supply state to the set power supply state when it is detected by the person detection step that a person is present, and
The sensitivity setting step sets the detection sensitivity of the human detection step based on the power supply state set in the energization setting step.
A control method for an image forming apparatus.   A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 6.

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