JP2017228960A - Information processing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus and a method that reduce a peak of a rush current in a power supply system during energization to the apparatus.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus reduces a peak of a rush current in a power supply system including apparatuses by changing the timing to energize the apparatuses, and comprises: an abnormal interruption determination part 404 that determines that supply of power is interrupted; an interruption information storage part 405 that, when the abnormal interruption determination part 404 determines that the supply of power is interrupted, stores information on the interruption; and a main power supply start-up part 403 that, when the supply of power is resumed, energizes the apparatuses after the lapse of a preset standby time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method.

  A plurality of electronic device devices may be connected to one power supply system and used. For example, in an office, a plurality of image forming apparatuses may be connected to a network, and a user may select and use the image forming apparatus.

  In general, since an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a heat fixing device, power consumption is large. Further, in the state where the temperature is low, such as immediately after the start-up of the apparatus, more electric power is required.

  For this reason, when an image forming apparatus is started at the same time in an environment where there are a plurality of image forming apparatuses as described above, a breaker of the power supply system may drop due to an excessive inrush current, or a voltage drop may occur in a nearby power supply system. May cause malfunction of the device or flickering of lighting.

  Here, the inrush current at the time of starting the image forming apparatus will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a temporal change in current when the image forming apparatus is activated. The waveform indicated by the broken line in FIG. 9A indicates the current when one image forming apparatus is activated, and the waveform indicated by the solid line is the current when two image forming apparatuses are activated simultaneously. Is shown.

  In the image forming apparatus, the amount of current rapidly increases immediately after startup (inrush current). Thereafter, the amount of current decreases with time, and the value becomes constant (steady current). Here, since the two lines are activated simultaneously, the solid line waveform is a waveform obtained by doubling the current value of the broken line waveform. Therefore, the peak value of the inrush current is double that when one unit is started, which may affect the trip of the breaker and the neighboring power supply system.

  In order to avoid such an influence, a technique for reducing the peak of the inrush current by shifting the power-on timing of each image forming apparatus is known.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-268411 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technique for shifting the power-on timing by connecting a plurality of image forming apparatuses to a network and monitoring the power-on status of other image forming apparatuses. It is disclosed.

  According to Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 9B, the second image forming apparatus can be activated at the timing when the first image forming apparatus becomes a steady current, and the peak of the inrush current is reached. The value can be reduced.

  However, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-260, other image forming apparatuses are monitored by a network to set the timing for powering on the image forming apparatus. Therefore, when the power on timing to the network control unit is the same. The peak of the inrush current cannot be shifted. For example, if the breaker is raised again after the breaker of the power supply system to which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected, the start timing of the apparatus is the same, so the peak of the inrush current is shifted. I can't.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus and method for reducing the peak of the inrush current of the power supply system when the apparatus is energized.

That is, according to the present invention,
An information processing device that reduces the peak of the inrush current of the power system including the device by changing the timing of energization of each device,
Means for determining that the supply of power has been interrupted;
Means for storing the interrupted information when it is determined by the determining means that the supply of electric power is interrupted;
An information processing apparatus is provided that includes means for energizing the apparatus after a set standby time has elapsed when the supply of power is restored.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus and method for reducing the peak of the inrush current of the power supply system when the apparatus is energized.

The hardware schematic block diagram in embodiment of this invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration included in an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. The power supply system figure in embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating software blocks included in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. 10 is a flowchart of general processing for starting an image forming apparatus. 6 is a flowchart of processing for ending the image forming apparatus in the present embodiment. 5 is a flowchart of processing for starting an image forming apparatus in the present embodiment. 6 is a flowchart of processing for setting a priority order for starting the image forming apparatus in the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a change in current over time when the image forming apparatus is activated.

  Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated with embodiment, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned later. In the drawings referred to below, the same reference numerals are used for common elements, and descriptions thereof are omitted as appropriate. In the following description of the embodiment, the image forming apparatus is described as an example of the position embodiment of the information processing apparatus, but the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic hardware configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows an example in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses 101 and a terminal 102 are connected via a network.

  The image forming apparatus 101 can execute a print job in response to a request from the terminal 102, and can also communicate with other image forming apparatuses 101 via a network and monitor the states of each other. The terminal 102 can perform various settings of the image forming apparatus 101.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 101 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration included in the image forming apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 101 includes a CPU 201, a RAM 202, a ROM 203, an HDD 204, a print engine 205, and a communication interface 206.

  The CPU 201 is a device that executes a program that controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 101. A RAM 202 is a volatile storage device for providing an execution space for programs executed by the image forming apparatus 101, and is used for storing and developing programs and data. The ROM 203 is a non-volatile storage device for storing programs executed by the image forming apparatus 101 and data.

  The HDD 204 is a device that stores a program that causes the image forming apparatus 101 to function, a database of various setting items, and the like. The print engine 205 is a device that prints a print image on a print medium based on a received print job. The communication interface 206 is a device for connecting to a network by wire or wireless, and can receive a print job.

  The hardware configuration included in the image forming apparatus 101 has been described above. Next, the power supply system of the image forming apparatus 101 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a power system diagram in the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 101 is supplied with power from a power source 320 via a breaker 310. The power supplied from the power source 320 is, for example, AC 100V, and the image forming apparatus 101 can be supplied with power by connecting an outlet.

  When power is supplied to the image forming apparatus 101, first, the power supply unit 301 is energized. The power supply unit 301 has a function of supplying power to each hardware included in the image forming apparatus 101 and can be controlled by a switch. Further, the power supply unit 301 can perform AC / DC conversion, and can generate, for example, DC5V as a secondary power supply.

  The power supply control circuit 304 is connected to the power supply unit 301 and is always energized when power is supplied to the image forming apparatus 101. The power supply control circuit 304 controls the switch of the power supply unit 301 by monitoring the pressing of the power supply key 305 and monitors the power ON / OFF state of the image forming apparatus 101.

  When the switch of the power supply unit 301 is operated by pressing the power key 305 and the image forming apparatus 101 is turned on, the main control circuit 302 and the LAN control circuit 303 are energized in this order. When the image forming apparatus 101 is turned off by pressing the power key 305, the main control unit performs a power-off process and ends the operation of the image forming apparatus 101.

  In the power supply system configured by the image forming apparatus 101 of the present embodiment, when the power supply of the image forming apparatus 101 is interrupted due to a trip of the breaker 310 or an abnormality of the power supply 320, the image forming apparatus 101 is abnormal. Temporarily remember that there was an interruption. As a result, when the power supply is restored, the power supply control circuit 304 can shift the timing of switching on the power supply unit 301, and the plurality of image forming apparatuses 101 can be prevented from being energized simultaneously.

  Next, functional units executed by each hardware of the image forming apparatus 101 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating software blocks included in the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 101 includes a communication unit 401, a standby time setting unit 402, a main power supply activation unit 403, an abnormal interruption determination unit 404, and an interruption information storage unit 405. Details of each functional block will be described below.

  A communication unit 401 is a unit that communicates with another image forming apparatus 101 via the communication interface 206. The standby time setting unit 402 is a unit that refers to an image forming apparatus on the network through communication performed by the communication unit 401 and sets a time until the image forming apparatus 101 is energized when returning from an abnormal shutdown. is there.

  The main power supply activation unit 403 refers to the shutoff information storage unit 405 to determine whether it is a return from an abnormal shutoff, waits for the time set by the standby time setting unit 402, and then sets the image forming apparatus 101. It is a means to start. If the power supply is not restored from an abnormal shutdown, the main power activation unit 403 waits for the image forming apparatus 101 to be activated by pressing the power key 305.

  The abnormal interruption determination unit 404 is a unit that determines whether the apparatus has ended abnormally due to an interruption of electric power while the image forming apparatus 101 is activated. Examples of power being interrupted abnormally include power outages, tripping of breaker 310, dropping of outlet due to erroneous operation, and the like.

  The cutoff information storage unit 405 is a unit that stores the cutoff information when the abnormal cutoff determination unit 404 determines that the power is abnormally cut off. For example, the interruption information storage unit 405 stores, as an abnormal end flag, that the electric power has been abnormally interrupted, thereby shifting the energization timing at the time of return.

  Note that the above-described software blocks correspond to functional means realized by causing the hardware to function by causing the CPU 201 to execute the program of the present embodiment. In addition, all of the functional means shown in each embodiment may be realized by software, or a part or all of them may be implemented as hardware that provides an equivalent function.

  Hereinafter, the flow of each process executed by the image forming apparatus 101 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a general process for starting the image forming apparatus. First, in step S1001, power is supplied to the image forming apparatus 101 by connecting the image forming apparatus 101 and the power source 320 with an outlet or the like.

  The power supplied to the image forming apparatus 101 is energized to the power control circuit 304 through the power supply unit 301 (step S1002). Thereafter, in step S1003, it is determined whether the power key 305 has been pressed. If the power key 305 has not been pressed, the process returns to step S1003 to wait for the power key 305 to be pressed.

  If the power key 305 is pressed, the process proceeds to step S1004 to energize the main control circuit 302. After energizing the main control circuit 302, the LAN control circuit 303 is activated in step S1005, and the image forming apparatus 101 is normally activated in step S1006.

  When the image forming apparatus 101 starts up normally, various processes such as execution of a print job can be performed. Next, processing for terminating the image forming apparatus 101 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of processing for ending the image forming apparatus 101 in the present embodiment. FIG. 6A shows a case where the processing is ended by operating the power key 305, and FIG. The cases of termination are shown respectively.

  First, FIG. 6A will be described. As described with reference to FIG. 5, the image forming apparatus 101 has started normally after A in FIG. 5 (step S2001), and in step S2002, it is determined whether the power key 305 has been pressed to finish. If the power key 305 has not been pressed, the process returns to step S2002 to wait for the power key 305 to be pressed.

  If the power key 305 is pressed, the process proceeds to step S2003, where the main control circuit 302 is turned off, and then the image forming apparatus 101 ends in step S2004.

  The case where the process is terminated by operating the power key 305 has been described above. Next, the case where the process is terminated by cutting off power will be described.

  In step S3001 in FIG. 6B, the image forming apparatus 101 is normally started up from A in FIG. Thereafter, in step S3002, when the power supplied to the image forming apparatus 101 is interrupted due to a power failure or a disconnection of the outlet, the power supply from the power supply unit 301 to each hardware is reduced (step S3003). ).

  In such a case, the abnormal interruption determination unit 404 determines that the power source 320 has been interrupted, and writes an abnormal end flag in the interruption information storage unit 405 in step S3004. Even when the power supply 320 is shut off, the power supply from the power supply unit 301 to each hardware gradually decreases, so that a short-time operation is possible and an abnormal end flag can be written. Further, the image forming apparatus 101 may include a capacitor, a battery, or the like in order to ensure a sufficient time for writing the abnormal end flag.

  After writing the abnormal end flag in step S3004, the image forming apparatus 101 ends in step S3005.

  The processing for ending the image forming apparatus 101 has been described above. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the processing to be ended is distinguished by whether or not the power is cut off. The start timing of the image forming apparatus 101 can be shifted. Therefore, processing that is started by the image forming apparatus 101 in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of processing for starting the image forming apparatus 101 in the present embodiment. In the following description, the description of processes common to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 is omitted as appropriate.

  First, power is supplied to the image forming apparatus 101 in step S4001. The power supply at this time is performed by re-inserting the tripped breaker 310, etc., in addition to the connection of the outlet, etc. as in step S1001. Thereafter, in step S4002, the power supply control circuit 304 is energized.

  Next, in step S4003, with reference to the cutoff information storage unit 405, the presence / absence of an abnormal end flag is determined. If there is no abnormal end flag, the process advances to step S4005 to wait for the power key 305 to be pressed. The processing after step S4005 is the same as the processing after step S1003 in FIG.

  If it is determined in step S4003 that there is an abnormal end flag, the process advances to step S4004 to determine whether the restart standby time has elapsed. If the standby time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S4004 again, and the process is repeated until the standby time has elapsed.

  If the standby time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S4006, the main control circuit 302 is energized, and it starts normally in steps S4007 and S4008. Note that the processing in steps S4006 to S4008 is the same as the processing in steps S1004 to S1006 in FIG.

  When the power supply of the image forming apparatus 101 that is normally activated is cut off, there is a high probability that the switch of the power supply unit 301 is in the ON state. Therefore, when the power supply is restored, the image forming apparatuses 101 connected to the same power supply system are activated all at once, and there is a concern about malfunction due to an increase in inrush current.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment described above, even when the switch of the power supply unit 301 is in the ON state, another image formation is performed by waiting for energization to the main control unit until the standby time elapses in step S4004. The timing when the apparatus 101 is restarted can be shifted.

  Therefore, next, a standby time for restarting each image forming apparatus 101 will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of processing for setting the priority order for starting the image forming apparatus in the present embodiment.

  In step S5001 in FIG. 8, the image forming apparatus 101 is normally activated following A in FIG. In step S5002, configuration information of the image forming apparatus 101 is read from the network. Here, the configuration information is the specifications and usage statuses of the image forming apparatuses 101 on the same network.

  Thereafter, a priority order for starting the image forming apparatus 101 is set based on the read configuration information. The method of setting the priority order can be set at startup as follows.

  For example, by increasing the priority of the image forming apparatus 101 having the FAX function, the time during which communication from the outside is blocked can be shortened. In addition, by setting the priority order according to the operation time of the image forming apparatus 101, the number of printed sheets, and the like, it is possible to restart from an image forming apparatus that is frequently used. The method for setting the priority order is not limited to the method described above, and can be set by any method.

  After the priority order is set in step S5003, the process proceeds to step S5004, and the time to wait for restart is written in the standby time setting unit 402 of each image forming apparatus 101. Further, after that, in step S5005, the processing for setting the standby time is terminated, and the image forming apparatus 101 is again in a normal startup state. Note that the time to wait for the restart is based on the time until the current of each image forming apparatus 101 reaches a steady current value and the set priority order.

  For example, in the case of the image forming apparatus 101 with the highest priority, the standby time can be set to 0 because it can be restarted immediately after the power source 320 is restored. In the case of the image forming apparatus 101 with the second highest priority, the time until the current of the image forming apparatus 101 with the first priority becomes the steady current value can be set as the standby time. Thereafter, writing to the standby time setting unit 402 is performed in the same manner.

  Note that the process of setting the standby time is not limited to the method described above. For example, the restart order can be arbitrarily set from the terminal 102 by the user's operation.

  In this way, by setting different standby times for the image forming apparatuses 101, the timing at which the image forming apparatus 101 is restarted can be shifted. As shown in FIG. The peak current value can be reduced.

  As described above, according to each embodiment of the present invention described above, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus and method that reduce the peak of the inrush current of the power supply system when the apparatus is energized.

  Each function of the above-described embodiment of the present invention can be realized by a device-executable program described in C, C ++, C #, Java (registered trademark) or the like. The program of this embodiment includes a hard disk device, a CD- It can be stored and distributed in a device-readable recording medium such as ROM, MO, DVD, flexible disk, EEPROM, EPROM, etc., and can be transmitted via a network in a format that other devices can.

  As described above, the present invention has been described with the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and as long as the operations and effects of the present invention are exhibited within the scope of embodiments that can be considered by those skilled in the art. It is included in the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Image forming apparatus, 102 ... Terminal, 201 ... CPU, 202, RAM, 203 ... ROM, 204 ... HDD, 205 ... Print engine, 206 ... Communication interface, 301 ... Power supply unit, 302 ... Main control circuit, 303 ... LAN Control circuit 304 ... Power supply control circuit 305 ... Power supply key 310 ... Breaker 320 ... Power supply 401 ... Communication unit 402 ... Standby time setting unit 403 ... Main power supply activation unit 404 ... Abnormal interruption determination unit 405 ... Blocking information storage unit

JP 2002-268411 A

Claims (7)

An information processing device that reduces the peak of the inrush current of the power system including the device by changing the timing of energization of each device,
Means for determining that the supply of power has been interrupted;
Means for storing the interrupted information when it is determined by the determining means that the supply of electric power is interrupted;
Means for energizing the apparatus after a set standby time has elapsed when the supply of power is restored. The waiting time is set when the device is activated.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The information processing device further includes means for reading configuration information of each device included in the power supply system,
The waiting time is set according to the priority order based on the configuration information.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The priority order is based on the presence or absence of a FAX function.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3. The priority is based on the operating time of the device,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3. The priority is based on the frequency of use of the device,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3. By changing the timing of energizing each device, it is a method of reducing the peak of the inrush current of the power system including the device,
Determining that the supply of power has been interrupted;
Storing the blocked information when it is determined by the determining step that the supply of power has been blocked; and
Energizing the device after a set waiting time has elapsed when the supply of power is restored.