JP2019134317A - Image forming apparatus and image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

To solve the problem in which: an image forming apparatus supplies power to all of a plurality of units included in the image forming apparatus at the start-up, which leads to unnecessary power consumption.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: a plurality of units to be controlled; a control section that controls the plurality of units; and a start-up condition storage section that stores a start-up condition related to the units. At the start-up of the image forming apparatus, the control section performs energization control at the start-up for each of the plurality of units on the basis of the start-up condition read from the start-up condition storage section. The control section acquires usage information on the plurality of units after the start-up of the image forming apparatus, and determines the start-up condition so as not to perform, at the subsequent start-up, energization to a unit that is not used after the start-up on the basis of the usage information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a so-called MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) having a copy function, a FAX function, a print function, a scanner function, and the like has different units that execute each function. If all these units are kept in an operable state, useless power is consumed when the unit is not used. Therefore, a technique for controlling energization to each unit is known in order to reduce power consumption.

  For example, in the apparatus described in Patent Literature 1, the power supply timing to a plurality of processing units at the time of activation is controlled according to the time until each processing unit is in a ready state, etc. The useless power consumption is reduced.

  Further, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 2, when restart is instructed, the power control state is stored before the start of the shutdown process. Then, after the restart is started, the stored power control state is read, and when the read power control state is the power saving state, the power saving state is shifted to perform efficient power saving control.

  However, since the devices described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 supply power to all the units at the time of startup, unnecessary power is consumed accordingly.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 includes a plurality of units to be controlled,
A controller that controls the plurality of units; and an activation condition storage that stores activation conditions related to the units. The controller read from the activation condition storage when the image forming apparatus is activated. In the image forming apparatus that performs energization control at startup for each of the plurality of units based on a startup condition, the control unit acquires usage information of the plurality of units after startup of the image forming apparatus, and the usage information The image forming apparatus determines the activation condition so that the unit that is not used after activation is not energized at the next activation.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in the apparatus which has a different several unit, it can prevent consuming the electric power which is not required at the time of starting.

It is a hardware block diagram of a 1st embodiment. It is a functional block of a 1st embodiment. It is a flowchart of a 1st embodiment. It is a flowchart of a 2nd embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of a 3rd embodiment. It is a flowchart of 4th Embodiment. It is a flowchart of 5th Embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of 6th Embodiment. It is a functional block of a 6th embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each of the drawings for explaining the embodiments of the present invention, constituent elements such as members and components having the same function or shape are described once by giving the same reference numerals as much as possible. Then, the explanation is omitted.

  First, an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 100 includes a controller unit 110, a power control unit 114, a FAX unit 120, a scanner unit 130, a plotter unit 140, an operation display unit 150, a power supply unit 160, a main power switch 200, unit power switches 201 to 201. 204. The image forming apparatus 100 can operate by receiving power from an external power source, for example, a commercial power source 300.

  Among these units, the FAX unit 120, the scanner unit 130, the plotter unit 140, and the operation display unit 150 are units for executing each function of the image forming apparatus 100, and are hereinafter referred to as a unit n when it is not necessary to distinguish between them. Sometimes. A white arrow indicates a connection by a bus or the like for exchanging signals and data between the units, and a black arrow indicates a flow of power supply.

  The main power switch is referred to as main power SW in the following description and drawings. The unit power switch is SW in the following description and drawings.

  The controller unit 110 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111, a memory 112, a memory 113, and a power supply control unit 114.

  The memory 112 is a non-volatile memory, so-called ROM (Read Only Memory), and is shown as a memory (ROM) in FIG. The memory 112 functions as a boot memory that stores at least various settings and programs for starting up the image forming apparatus 100. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that various settings and programs for controlling the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 100 are also stored and the entire image forming apparatus 100 can be controlled.

  The memory 113 is a volatile memory, a so-called RAM (Random Access Memory). In FIG. 1, it is shown as a memory (RAM).

  The CPU 111 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 100 by executing a program stored in the memory 112 using the memory 113 as a work area (work area). Examples of the control include, but are not limited to, operation control of each unit n, and energization control for each unit n described later.

  The power supply control unit 114 is a microcomputer as an example, monitors the power supplied to the image forming apparatus 100 or the power consumed in the image forming apparatus 100, and forms an image in cooperation with the CPU 111 as necessary. The power supply for supplying power to the apparatus 100 is controlled. An example of the control is that the power supply from the external power supply is lost due to a power failure or the like, and notifies the CPU 111, but is not limited thereto.

  The SWs 201 to 204 control voltage output according to a control signal from the CPU 111. An example is a power supply circuit such as an LDO (Low Dropout), and a plurality of SWs may be provided for one unit n1 as necessary.

  The image forming apparatus 100 may further include an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) in addition to the memory 112 as a nonvolatile storage medium.

  Further, the operation of each component when the image forming apparatus 100 is activated will be described with reference to FIG. When the main power supply SW 200 is pressed by the user in a state where the image forming apparatus is shut down, the activation process starts. That is, when the power supply unit 160 detects that the main power supply SW 200 is pressed, the power supply unit 160 starts supplying power from the commercial power supply 300 to the controller unit 110. Then, the CPU 111 of the controller unit 110 starts control of the SWs 201 to 204, that is, the CPU 111 starts energization control for the units 120 to 150.

  Next, the operation of each component when the image forming apparatus 100 is shut down will be described with reference to FIG. As an example of a shutdown request to the image forming apparatus 100 in a state where the image forming apparatus 100 is activated, the shutdown process starts when the user presses the main power SW 200. That is, the control of the SW 201 to 204 by the CPU 111 of the controller unit 110 is stopped, the power supply to each unit 120 to 150 is stopped, and then the power supply to the controller unit 110 is stopped and the shutdown is completed.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the first embodiment.

  The control unit 1 is realized by the CPU 111 executing a program stored in the memory 112 using the memory 113 as a work area, and controls the entire image forming apparatus 100. Further, the CPU 111 may be realized in cooperation with the power control unit 114. When the image forming apparatus 100 has other CPUs and memories (for example, when connected to an external storage medium or the like that can be connected to the image forming apparatus 100), the CPU 111 and the control unit cooperate with them. 1 may be realized.

  The control unit 1 further includes an energization control unit 11, a usage information acquisition unit 12, a start condition determination unit 13, and a shutdown detection unit 14.

  The energization control unit 11 reads the activation condition of the storage unit 4 when the image forming apparatus 100 is activated, and controls the energization of each unit n.

  The usage information acquisition unit 12 acquires usage information, which is information regarding whether or not each unit n has been used, that is, whether each unit n has received power and executed each function.

  The activation condition determination unit 13 determines the activation condition at the next activation based on the usage information.

  The shutdown detection unit 14 detects a shutdown request input to the image forming apparatus 100, in other words, a trigger for starting shutdown.

  As an example of the trigger, there is pressing of the main power supply SW 200 by the user while the image forming apparatus 100 is activated. In this case, the shutdown detection unit 14 functions by the CPU 111 executing a program stored in the memory 112 using the memory 113 as a work area (work area), and monitoring a signal when the main power switch 200 is pressed. Can be detected.

  As another example of the trigger, there is a power supply stop from the commercial power source 300 that is not intended by the user, that is, due to a power failure or the like. In this case, the shutdown detection unit 14 can be detected by monitoring the presence or absence of power supply from the commercial power supply 300 by the power control unit 114 functioning.

  The unit processing unit 2-n is realized by any unit n of the FAX unit 120, the scanner unit 130, the plotter unit 140, and the operation display unit 150, and implements the functions of each unit n.

  The unit processing unit 2-n further includes an energization completion notification unit 21-n. The energization completion notifying unit 21-n notifies the control unit 1 that energization performed when the image forming apparatus 100 is started up for the own unit n is completed.

  In the read / write processing unit 3, the CPU 111 executes a program stored in the memory 112 using the memory 113 as a work area (work area), thereby performing various conditions and data read / write processing on the memory 112 and the HDD. Do.

  The storage unit 4 is realized by the memory 112, the memory 113, and other known HDDs, and stores various conditions necessary for the operation of the image forming apparatus 100. The storage unit 4 may be realized by a plurality of memories and HDDs. The storage unit 4 includes an activation condition storage unit 41. The activation condition storage unit 41 stores activation conditions that are conditions relating to energization control when the image forming apparatus 100 is activated.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing of the first embodiment. With reference to FIG. 3, a process for determining a start condition at the next start based on use information of a plurality of units will be described.

  When the image forming apparatus 100 is shut down and the main power SW 200 is pressed by the user, that is, when the image forming apparatus 100 receives an instruction to turn on the power (S1-1), the power control unit 114 and the power supply unit 160 are notified. On the other hand, power is supplied from the commercial power source 300. The power supply unit 160 starts supplying power to the controller unit 110 from the commercial power supply 300 that is an external power supply (S1-2). Then, the CPU 111 of the controller unit 110 is also activated, and energization control for each of the unit 120, the unit 130, the unit 140, and the unit 150 is started.

That is, the energization control unit 11 of the control unit 1 reads the activation condition from the memory 112 in which various control conditions are stored, and transmits a signal to each of the SWs 201 to 204 based on the read activation condition to Energization control is performed (S1-3). Then, the energization control unit 11 starts energization control necessary for an operation based on a user instruction to the image forming apparatus 100 following energization control at the time of activation in accordance with the activation condition (S1-4).

  In the usage information acquisition process, the usage information acquisition unit 12 determines whether each unit has been used by the user from the time of startup until that point, in other words, whether each unit has received power supply and executed each function. Usage information, which is information for determining The usage information will be described later.

  When the usage information acquisition unit 12 has updated the usage of each unit between the previous usage information and the current usage information (S1-5), the usage information acquisition unit 12 stores the new usage information in the storage unit 4 (memory 112 as an example). In other words, the usage information of the storage unit 4 is updated (S1-6). If there is no update, the storage unit 4 (memory 112) is not updated and the process proceeds to the next step.

  The activation condition determination unit 13 determines an activation condition at the next activation based on the stored use information as an activation condition determination step (S1-7). More specifically, the determination of the activation condition executed in the activation condition determination step is the storage of the activation condition in the memory 112 which is a nonvolatile memory as the activation condition storage unit 41. That is, the energization control at the next activation is determined by storing the activation condition in the nonvolatile memory so that it can be read at the next activation.

  As an example of the activation condition, a unit that is not used after activation specified from the usage information is a condition that power is not supplied at the next activation. As another example of the activation condition, the usage information itself may be the activation condition. In that case, the CPU 111 can read the usage information as a startup condition at the next startup, determine which unit is used and which is not used, and control the unit not to be energized. It is.

  The description of the flowchart of FIG. 3 will be continued. When the main power supply SW 200 is pressed by the user while the image forming apparatus 100 is activated, the shutdown detection unit 14 detects it as a trigger for a shutdown process for the image forming apparatus 100 (S1-8). Then, the power supply control unit 11 stops the power supply control to each unit by the CPU 111 (S1-9), and the power supply to the controller unit 110 via the power supply unit 160 is stopped by the switching action of the main power supply SW200 ( S1-10).

  On the other hand, while the pressing of the main power switch 200 by the user is not detected (S1-8), the control unit 1 repeats steps S1-5 to S1-7. Note that the CPU 111 may detect that the main power SW 200 has been pressed, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the power control unit 114 may notify the CPU 111.

  According to the embodiment described above, the problems of the conventional apparatus can be solved. That is, conventionally, when the image forming apparatus is started up, all units in the apparatus are energized once to execute initialization. By executing the initialization, it is in an operable state in which it can communicate with other units, and after that, it shifts to a power saving mode for reducing power consumption. However, in that case, there is a unit that is in an operable state but is never used until the main power is turned off from the start. That is, every time the image forming apparatus is started, there is a problem that power consumption until the unit is shifted to the operable state is wasted.

  On the other hand, in the embodiment described above, the units are not used this time, that is, used at the next start-up by monitoring each unit and determining the start-up conditions from the start-up until the main power-off instruction is received by the user. Since the unit that is unlikely to be energized is not energized at the time of activation, wasteful power consumption can be suppressed.

  Here, a method for specifying usage information, which is information that can be used to determine whether each unit has been used, will be described. The usage information is information for determining a unit that is not used as described above. As the monitoring target unit, not all the units for executing each function of the image forming apparatus 100 but a unit with high power consumption may be selected as appropriate.

  A predetermined operation that is highly likely to be detected when each unit is used is determined in advance, and when the operation is detected, it can be determined that the unit has been used. A monitoring method of the scanner unit 130 among the FAX unit 120, the scanner unit 130, the plotter unit 140, and the operation display unit 150, which are monitoring target units, will be described. As a monitoring method, a method suitable for each unit can be selected, and the scanner unit 130 is not limited to this.

  First, the scanner unit 130 is a unit that has an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), for example, and reads image data printed on paper or the like. A cover unit that fixes the paper during reading and functions as a background plate, and an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) that automatically conveys the set paper to the reading position may be provided. An example of a predetermined operation that is highly likely to be detected when the scanner unit 130 is used is a setting of paper on the ADF, and an opening / closing operation of the cover unit as another example.

  Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 3, after the energization control based on the operation condition is started in step S <b> 1-4, if the usage information acquisition unit 12 is the scanner 130, the paper set on the ADF or the cover unit described above is used. When opening / closing is detected, it is determined in step S1-5 that the unit usage has been updated. If a predetermined operation that can be determined to be used for other units is performed, it is determined in step S1-5 that the usage has been updated, and as a result, the usage information of the entire monitored unit is constantly updated. Can do.

  Here, the timing of obtaining the usage information is not limited to detection of a predetermined operation as in step S1-5 in FIG. For example, after the energization control based on the operation condition is started in step S1-4, the usage information is acquired with reference to the operation log of the image forming apparatus 100 temporarily stored in the memory 113 every time a predetermined time elapses, and activated. Conditions may be determined.

  Further, the power supply control unit 114 may be a microcomputer having a storage unit, and the activation condition may be updated in the storage unit of the power supply control unit. In this case, the storage area of the microcomputer of the power supply control unit 114 functions as the storage unit 4.

  Note that energization of each unit that is not energized by the energization control at the time of activation may be executed based on an instruction input by the user from the operation display unit 150 thereafter. Further, energization may be performed when an operation for determining whether or not the sheet has been used (paper is set on the ADF or the cover is opened / closed), or a separate hard switch may be provided for energization.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing of the second embodiment. Unlike the processing flow of FIG. 3, in this flowchart, the activation condition is determined after the main power OFF request of the image forming apparatus 100 is received. Note that the hardware configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of FIG. 1 and the functional block diagram thereof is the same as that of FIG.

  The flowchart of FIG. 4 will be described. When the image forming apparatus 100 is shut down and the main power SW 200 is pressed by the user, that is, when the image forming apparatus 100 receives an instruction to turn on the power (S2-1), the power control unit 114 and the power supply unit 160 are notified. On the other hand, power is supplied from the commercial power source 300. The power supply unit 160 starts supplying power to the controller unit 110 from the commercial power supply 300 that is an external power supply (S2-2).

  That is, the energization control unit 11 of the control unit 1 reads the activation condition from the memory 112 in which various control conditions are stored, transmits a signal to each of the SWs 201 to 204 based on the activation condition, and energizes each unit during activation. Control is performed (S2-3). Then, the energization control unit 11 starts energization control necessary for the operation based on the operation condition included in the instruction to the image forming apparatus 100 by the user following the energization control at the time of activation according to the activation condition (S2-4). .

  When the image forming apparatus 100 is activated and the main power switch 200 is pressed by the user, the shutdown detection unit 14 detects as a trigger for a shutdown process for the image forming apparatus 100 (S2-5). Then, the usage information acquisition part 12 acquires usage information as a usage information acquisition process, and also judges whether there was an update about use of a unit (S2-6).

  If the usage information is updated, the usage information acquisition unit 12 stores the usage information of the unit in the memory 112 (S2-7). If there is no update, the usage information acquisition unit 12 does not update the memory 112 and performs the next step. Migrate to The activation condition determination unit 13 determines an activation condition at the next activation based on the stored use information as an activation condition determination step (S2-8).

  Thereafter, the energization control unit 11 stops the energization control of each unit by the CPU 111 (S2-9), and the power supply to the controller unit 110 via the power supply unit 160 is stopped by the switching action of the main power supply SW200. (S2-10).

  In this flow, the control unit 1 determines a unit that has not been used after detecting a power-off request (S2-4) due to pressing of the main power supply SW200 as a shutdown trigger (S2-5), and the memory 113. (S2-6), and activation condition determination (S2-7) based on information in the memory 113 is performed. The operation history for determining whether or not the unit has been used, for example, whether paper is set in the ADF or whether the cover is opened or closed is temporarily stored in the memory 113, and the usage information acquisition unit 12 refers to the memory 113. Can be judged.

  By rewriting the activation condition only at the shutdown execution timing as in this flow, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the number of rewrites of the memory 112 is reduced and the time until the upper limit of the number of rewrites of the memory 112 is reached is increased. be able to. In other words, the lifetime of the memory 112 as a memory can be extended.

  FIG. 5 is a hardware configuration diagram of the third embodiment. In addition to the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 1, the hardware configuration in FIG. 5 further includes a battery 170 and a battery switch 205 (indicated as BSW in FIG. 5). The configuration shown in FIG. 5 is a hardware configuration that determines the next activation condition even when the power is not intended by the user, for example, when a power failure occurs.

  The battery switch 205 switches the power supply to the power supply unit 160 from the commercial power supply 300 that is an external power supply to the battery 170 in accordance with a control signal from the power supply control unit 114. The functional block diagram of the third embodiment is common with FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing of the third embodiment. The flowchart of FIG. 6 shows a process of rewriting the next activation condition even when the power is not intended by the user, for example, at the time of a power failure. The hardware configuration is the same as in FIG. 1 and the functional block diagram is the same as in FIG.

  The flowchart of FIG. 6 will be described. When the image forming apparatus 100 is shut down and the main power SW 200 is pressed by the user, that is, when the image forming apparatus 100 receives an instruction to turn on the power (S3-1), the power control unit 114 and the power supply unit 160 are notified. On the other hand, power is supplied from the commercial power source 300. The power supply unit 160 starts to supply power to the controller unit 110 from the commercial power supply 300 that is an external power supply (S3-2).

  That is, the energization control unit 11 of the control unit 1 reads the activation condition from the memory 112 in which various control conditions are stored, transmits a signal to each of the SWs 201 to 204 based on the activation condition, and energizes each unit during activation. Control is performed (S3-3). Then, the energization control unit 11 starts energization control necessary for the operation based on the operation condition included in the instruction to the image forming apparatus 100 by the user following the energization control at the time of activation according to the activation condition (S3-4). .

  In a state where the image forming apparatus 100 is activated, the shutdown detection unit 14 detects a shutdown process trigger for the image forming apparatus 100 (S3-5). The energization control unit 11 determines whether the trigger is a power-off request from the user such as pressing of the main power switch (S3-6).

  If it is a power-off request from the user, the usage information acquisition unit 12 acquires usage information as a usage information acquisition step, and further determines whether or not there has been an update regarding the use of the unit (S3-7).

  The usage information acquisition unit 12 stores the unit usage information in the storage unit 4 (memory 112 as an example) if there is an update about the usage of the unit at that time (S3-8). The unit (memory 112 as an example) is not updated and the process proceeds to the next step. The activation condition determination unit 13 determines the activation condition at the next activation based on the stored use information (S3-9).

  The energization control unit 11 stops the energization control to each unit by the CPU 111 (S3-10), and the power supply to the controller unit 110 via the power supply unit 160 is stopped by the switching action of the main power supply SW200 ( S3-11).

  If it returns to step S3-6, if it is not the power-OFF request | requirement from a user, the electricity supply control part 11 will change the electric power supply source to the controller part 110 to a battery (S3-12). Specifically, the power control unit 114 inputs a signal to the battery switch 205 to switch the power supply to the power supply unit 160 to the battery 170. And S3-7-S3-11 are performed in response to the electric power supply from a battery.

  According to the third embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, it is possible to reliably determine the next activation condition even if a power interruption unintended by the user occurs.

  That is, when the power is unintentionally cut off due to a power failure or the like, the next activation condition remains undecided, and at the next activation, the unit that was not used last time may be energized. Therefore, when the power is not intended by the user, the power supply is switched from the battery to save the information on the energization unit at the next startup, and then the power is turned off. Therefore, even when the power is not intended by the user, it is possible to reliably shut down after determining the next activation condition.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing of the fourth embodiment. With reference to FIG. 7, the process from the startup to the shutdown of the image forming apparatus 100 in the process of assigning the startup priority to the next startup unit will be described.

  In the configuration in which four units 1 to 4 exist as the unit n, the unit 4 is not used, and the case where the number of uses of the units 1 to 3 is different will be described.

  When the image forming apparatus 100 is shut down and the main power SW 200 is pressed by the user, that is, when the image forming apparatus 100 receives an instruction to turn on the power (S4-1), the power control unit 114 and the power supply unit 160 are instructed. Power is supplied from the commercial power source 300. The power supply unit 160 starts supplying power to the controller unit 110 from the commercial power supply 300 that is an external power supply (S4-2).

  That is, the energization control unit 11 of the control unit 1 reads the activation condition from the memory 112 in which various control conditions are stored, transmits a signal to each of the SWs 201 to 204 based on the activation condition, and energizes each unit during activation. Control is performed (S4-3). The energization control unit 11 starts energization control necessary for the operation based on the operation condition included in the instruction to the image forming apparatus 100 by the user following the energization control at the time of activation according to the activation condition (S4-4). .

  When the image forming apparatus 100 is activated and the main power supply SW 200 is pressed by the user, the shutdown detection unit 14 detects it as a trigger for a shutdown process for the image forming apparatus 100 (S4-5). Then, the usage information acquisition part 12 acquires usage information as a usage information acquisition process, and also judges whether there was an update about use of a unit (S4-6).

  If there is an update regarding the use of the unit at that time, the usage information acquisition unit 12 proceeds to step S4-7. The usage information acquisition unit 12 compares the number of uses of the unit 1 and the unit 2 (S4-7), and if the number of the unit 1 is larger, then compares the number of uses of the unit 1 and the unit 3 (S4-8). . If there are more units 1, the unit 1 is activated (S4-9), and if there are more units 3, the unit 3 is activated (S4-10).

  Returning to step S4-7, if there is more unit 2 than unit 1, the number of uses of unit 2 and unit 3 is compared (S4-11). If there are more units 2, the unit 2 is activated (S4-12), and if there are more units 3, the unit 3 is activated (S4-13).

  The usage information acquisition unit 12 stores, as unit usage information, units that have not been used, unit information that is prioritized for startup at the next startup, and the like in the storage unit 4 (for example, the memory 112) (S4-14).

  Then, the activation condition determination unit 13 determines the activation condition at the next activation based on the usage information stored in the storage unit 4 (S4-15). The energization control unit 11 stops energization control of each unit by the CPU 111 (S4-16), and further, the power supply to the controller unit 110 via the power supply unit 160 is stopped by the switching action of the main power supply SW200. (S4-17).

  Returning to step S4-6, if there is no unit not used at that time, the process proceeds to steps 4-15 to S4-17 without updating the memory 112.

  The activation condition determination unit 13 determines the activation condition at the next activation based on the stored use information (S4-15).

  According to the fourth embodiment, it is possible to shorten the time until a frequently used unit can be used by preferentially activating the frequently used unit.

  The unit n with the highest use frequency may be energized with the highest priority, or energization for activation may be performed based on the priority order according to the use frequency.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing of the fifth embodiment. A process of not energizing each unit at the time of activation will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, as a starting condition, the case where the unit energized at the time of starting is the unit 1 and the unit 2 is demonstrated.

  First, when the image forming apparatus 100 is shut down and the main power switch 200 is pressed by the user, that is, when the image forming apparatus 100 receives an instruction to turn on the power (S5-1), the power control unit 114 and the power supply unit 160 are notified. On the other hand, power is supplied from the commercial power supply 300. The power supply unit 160 starts supplying power to the controller unit 110 from the commercial power supply 300 that is an external power supply (S5-2).

  That is, the energization control unit 11 of the control unit 1 reads the activation condition from the memory 112 in which various control conditions are stored, transmits a signal to each of the SWs 201 to 204 based on the activation condition, and energizes each unit during activation. Control is performed (S5-3). The energization control unit 11 performs energization control at the start-up according to the start-up condition. At this time, first, power supply to the unit 1 is started (S5-4). When the start-up power supply to the unit 1 is completed, the energization completion notifying unit 21-1 notifies the energization control unit 11 of the completion of energization (S5-5).

  Then, the energization control part 11 starts energization at the time of starting to the unit 2 (S5-7). Following such start-up control, energization control necessary for the operation is started based on the operation condition included in the user instruction to the image forming apparatus 100 (S5-8).

  As a trigger for shifting to step S5-8, the energization completion notifying unit 21-2 of the unit 2 may notify the energization control unit 11 of the completion of energization. The order of energization to each unit may be determined in advance and included in the activation condition.

  As described above, in the fifth embodiment, since it is possible to prevent power from being simultaneously supplied to the respective units, it is possible to reduce the possibility of the supply source power supply being dropped due to the inrush current. Also, when many image forming devices are turned on at the same time, such as when recovering from a power failure, the possibility that the breaker will fall due to the generation of more power than can be supplied at the office etc. can do.

  FIG. 9 is a hardware configuration diagram for explaining the sixth embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 has a configuration in which a plurality of energization patterns at the time of activation are determined in advance and a memory (hereinafter referred to as a pattern memory) that stores each energization pattern at the time of activation is provided.

  As a difference from the hardware configuration diagram of FIGS. 1 and 5, the hardware configuration diagram of FIG. 9 has a pattern memory α115, a pattern memory β116, and a pattern memory γ117. Note that the pattern memory α115, the pattern memory β116, and the pattern memory γ117 are shown as a memory (ROM) α, a memory (ROM) β, and a memory (ROM) γ, respectively, in FIG.

  Each pattern memory stores, for example, different energization patterns as follows. That is, the pattern memory α115 is “not energized in the FAX unit 120 and the scanner unit 130. The plotter unit 140 and the operation display unit 150 are energized.” The pattern memory β116 is “in the FAX unit 120 and the scanner unit 130. “The power is not supplied to the operation display unit 150 and then the power is supplied to the plotter unit 140.” The pattern memory γ 117 is “not supplied with power to the FAX unit 120 and the plotter unit 140. The scanner unit 130 is first supplied with power. Then, the activation condition of “energizing the operation display unit 150” is stored.

  The storage unit 4 stores the association between the usage information and the pattern memory in which the energization control information selected at the time of the usage information is stored. For example, in the case of usage information that there is a detection result of a predetermined operation that can be determined to be used for the scanner unit 130 and that there is no predetermined operation detection result that can be determined to be used for the FAX unit 120 and the plotter unit 140. Is associated with a pattern memory γ117. Instead of associating the usage information with the pattern memory, an algorithm for the CPU 111 to calculate the pattern memory to be selected at the next activation from the usage information may be stored.

  FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of the sixth embodiment. As a difference from the functional block diagram of FIG. 2, the functional block diagram of FIG. 10 includes a read / write processing unit 5 and a pattern storage unit 6-m. m is the number of pattern storage units. In this embodiment, m = 1, 2, 3 will be described below.

  The activation pattern storage unit 6-m is realized by any one of the activation pattern memory α115, the activation pattern memory β116, and the activation pattern memory γ117. The read / write processing unit 5 has the CPU 111 that stores the memory 113 in the work area (work area) By executing a program stored in the memory 112 as a region), various conditions and data read / write processing are performed on the pattern memory α115, pattern memory β116, and pattern memory γ117.

  The activation condition determination unit 13 refers to the combination of the usage information and the pattern memory stored in the storage unit 4 based on the usage information, and any of the activation pattern memory α115, the pattern memory β116, and the pattern memory γ117 at the next activation. Whether to read the memory is selected and stored in the activation condition storage unit 41 as an activation condition.

In the configuration in which the start condition of the memory is rewritten every time the start condition is changed as in the other embodiments, the frequency of rewriting the memory is increased and the memory reaches the end of its life quickly. However, in the sixth embodiment, since the activation condition itself is not rewritten in any memory, it is possible to prevent the memory life from being shortened. Note that the memory 112 may be used as one of the pattern memories.

100 Image forming apparatus 1 Control unit 2-n Unit 4 Storage unit 11 Energization control unit 12 Usage information acquisition unit 13 Startup condition determination unit 14 Shutdown determination unit 21-n Energization completion notification unit 41 Startup condition storage unit 6-m Pattern storage unit

JP 2011-43913 A JP 2013-92940 A

Claims (8)

A plurality of units to be controlled;
A control unit for controlling the plurality of units;
An activation condition storage unit for storing activation conditions related to the unit;
In the image forming apparatus that performs energization control at startup for each of the plurality of units based on the startup condition read from the startup condition storage unit when the image forming apparatus is started up.
The controller is
The use condition of the plurality of units is acquired after the image forming apparatus is activated, and the activation condition is determined based on the use information so that the unit that is not used after activation is not energized at the next activation. An image forming apparatus for performing. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the start condition is determined after the image forming apparatus receives a shutdown request. The image forming apparatus includes a battery, can select an external power source and the battery as a power source, and can receive power.
The control unit determines whether the shutdown request received by the image forming apparatus when the image forming apparatus is receiving power from the external power supply is a request from a user;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when it is not a request from a user, the image forming apparatus is switched to receive power from the battery. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit preferentially energizes a unit that is frequently used after activation of the image forming apparatus among the plurality of units. 5. Each unit notifies the control unit of an energization completion notification notifying that energization at the time of starting of the own unit is completed,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit starts activation of another unit after receiving the notification. A plurality of pattern storage units storing patterns of units that are different from each other and that are energized at startup and units that are not used, and the pattern storage unit that is read out at the next startup among the plurality of pattern storage units as the startup condition The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is determined. A plurality of units to be controlled;
An image forming apparatus having a control unit for controlling the plurality of units,
In the image forming apparatus that performs energization control at startup for each of the plurality of units when the image forming apparatus is started up,
The controller is
An image forming apparatus that obtains usage information of each of the plurality of units after activation of the image forming apparatus, and that is not energized at the next activation based on the usage information. In an image forming method for performing energization control at the time of activation for each of a plurality of units included in the image forming apparatus based on the activation conditions read from the activation condition storage unit when the image forming apparatus is activated.
A usage information acquisition step of acquiring usage information of each of the plurality of units after the image forming apparatus is activated;
An image forming method comprising a start condition determining step for determining the start condition so that a unit that is not used is not energized at the next start based on the use information.