JP2020032541A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve convenience of a user.SOLUTION: An image forming device 1 comprises a control unit 10, a managing unit 101, a determining unit 102, a restarting unit 103 and a resuming unit 104. The control unit 10 controls execution of a job. The managing unit 101 manages execution time of the job and a progressing situation of the job. The determining unit 102 determines whether or not the execution time is within a specified time. The restarting unit 103 restarts the control unit 10 on the basis of a determined result by the determining unit 102. The resuming unit 104 resumes execution of the job on the basis of the progress situation after the control unit 10 is restarted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  The printing apparatus becomes unusable due to an error in a control unit included in the printing apparatus in addition to a failure that can be dealt with by a general user, such as a paper jam or a shortage of toner. In such a case, the user generally takes a countermeasure such as inquiring a countermeasure to a service center or requesting a countermeasure by a serviceman.

  However, such measures involve costs, including labor costs. Therefore, an error recovery capability has conventionally been provided to the printing apparatus itself.

  For example, the printing apparatus described in Patent Literature 1 records an error that has occurred and a solution to the error in an error log. When an error occurs, the printing device described in Patent Document 1 refers to the error log and automatically restarts the printing device if the error can be resolved by restarting.

JP 2010-162815 A

  However, the printing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 does not automatically restart unless an error is recorded in the error log even if the error can be resolved by restarting, and displays the occurrence of the error on the display unit of the printing apparatus. Just do it.

  Therefore, if the user does not notice the error display displayed on the display unit of the printing apparatus, the user cannot recover from the error state.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can recover from an error state without a user noticing the presence of the error.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a control unit, a management unit, a determination unit, a restart unit, and a restart unit. The control unit controls execution of a job. The management unit manages the execution time of the job and the progress of the job. The determination unit determines whether the execution time is within a specified time. The restart unit restarts the control unit based on a result of the determination by the determination unit. The restart unit restarts the execution of the job based on the progress status after the restart of the control unit.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the image forming apparatus which concerns on this invention, it can recover from an error state, without a user noticing existence of an error, and can improve user's convenience.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a setting screen displayed on a display unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an error screen displayed on a display unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a call screen displayed on a display unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding portions have the same reference characters allotted, and description thereof will not be repeated.

  The configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an operation unit 2, a document conveyance unit 3, a reading unit 4, a paper supply unit 5, a conveyance unit 6, an image formation unit 7, a fixing unit 8, a discharge unit 9, and a control unit. A unit 10 is provided.

  The operation unit 2 receives an instruction from the user and displays a message from the image forming apparatus 1 to the user. The operation unit 2 has a display unit 21 and an input unit 22. The display unit 21 is, for example, a touch panel. The touch panel has a display and a touch sensor. The display is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display having a touch panel function. The touch sensor is provided on a surface of the display.

  The display of the display unit 21 displays a message from the image forming apparatus 1 to the user. The message may be, for example, "There is an incomplete print job. Would you like to restart and restart?", "Call a service technician.", "Replace the toner container." Is jammed. " The touch sensor of the display unit 21 outputs an operation signal according to a user operation to the control unit 10.

  The input unit 22 receives an instruction from a user. The input unit 22 includes a plurality of operation buttons such as a start key, a numeric keypad, and a cancel key. The start key is a key for instructing the reading unit 4 to start an image reading process. The ten keys are keys for inputting the number of copies and the like. The cancel key is a key for canceling a process being executed or a reserved process. The input unit 22 transmits the input contents to the control unit 10.

  The operation unit 2 has a built-in buzzer B. The buzzer B emits a warning sound to attract the user's attention. When the control unit 10 applies a predetermined voltage to the buzzer B, the buzzer B emits a warning sound.

  The document feeder 3 includes a document placing tray 31, a document discharge tray 32, and a document feeder 33. The document conveying device 33 conveys the sheet-shaped document D placed on the document placing tray 31 one by one to the document discharge tray 32 via the reading position. The reading position is a position where the reading unit 4 can read an image of the document D being conveyed by the document conveying unit 3.

  The reading unit 4 reads an image of the document D and generates image data. The generated image data is transmitted to the control unit 10. The reading unit 4 includes a contact glass and a reading mechanism.

  The contact glass is disposed above the reading unit 4 and faces the bottom surface of the document conveying unit 3. The reading mechanism includes a light source, a carriage that moves the light source in the sub-scanning direction, an optical system, and an image sensor.

  The light source irradiates the original D placed on the contact glass with light while moving in the sub-scanning direction by the carriage. The optical system guides light reflected from the document D to the image sensor. The image sensor converts the light guided by the optical system into an electric signal, and outputs the electric signal to the control unit 10 as image data.

  The paper feeding unit 5 includes a plurality of cassettes 51. The cassette 51 stores a plurality of sheets P, and supplies the sheets P to the image forming unit 7 one by one via the transport unit 6. The paper P is, for example, plain paper, copy paper, recycled paper, thin paper, thick paper, glossy paper, or an OHP (Overhead Projector) sheet.

  The transport unit 6 transports the paper P from the paper feed unit 5 to the discharge unit 9 via the image forming unit 7 and the fixing unit 8. The transport unit 6 includes a plurality of rollers and a plurality of guide members. The control unit 10 controls the number of rotations of the roller. In other words, the control unit 10 controls the transport speed, the sheet interval, and the transport destination of the paper P.

  The image forming unit 7 is disposed downstream of the sheet feeding unit 5 in the sheet conveyance path. The image forming unit 7 forms a toner image on the paper P. The image forming unit 7 includes a photosensitive drum 74, a charging device 71, an exposure device 72, a developing device 73, and a transfer device 75.

  The photoconductor drum 74 is rotatably arranged. The photoconductor drum 74 has, for example, a conductive substrate and a photosensitive layer. The conductive substrate has conductivity and is formed in a cylindrical shape. The photosensitive layer is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the conductive substrate.

  The charging device 71 charges the photosensitive drum 74 to a predetermined potential. The exposure device 72 forms an electrostatic latent image by irradiating the charged outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 74 with a laser. The electrostatic latent image is formed based on image data or the like generated by the reading unit 4.

  The developing device 73 develops the electrostatic latent image as a toner image. As a result, a toner image is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 74. The transfer device 75 transfers the toner image onto the paper P. The transfer device 75 includes a transfer roller. The transfer roller forms a nip portion together with the photoconductor drum 74. The transfer roller transfers the toner image to the paper P passing through the nip.

  The fixing unit 8 is disposed downstream of the image forming unit 7 in the sheet conveyance path. The fixing unit 8 includes a heating member 81 and a pressing member 82. The heating member 81 and the pressing member 82 heat and press the paper P on which the toner image has been transferred, and fix the toner image on the paper P. The heating member 81 has, for example, an endless rotating body such as a roller or a belt. Further, the pressing member 82 has an endless rotating body such as a roller, for example.

  The discharge unit 9 includes a discharge tray 91 and a discharge roller pair 92. The discharge roller pair 92 discharges the sheet P on which an image has been formed by the image forming unit 7 to a discharge tray 91.

  The control unit 10 controls execution of various jobs by controlling each unit included in the image forming apparatus 1. The jobs are, for example, printing (printing), image reading (scanning), copying, fax transmission, and fax reception.

  The control unit 10 includes a processor 11 and a storage unit 12. The processor 11 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 11 includes a volatile memory called a register, and controls a numerical calculation and an operation of the image forming apparatus 1 using the register.

  The storage unit 12 includes a volatile memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory. The storage unit 12 may further include a hard disk drive (HDD) and / or a solid state drive (SSD), which are nonvolatile mass storage devices. The storage unit 12 stores a control program such as an operating system and an application program in a nonvolatile memory, an HDD, or an SSD. The processor 11 controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 by executing a control program.

  Next, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 10 includes an operation unit 2, a document transport unit 3, a reading unit 4, a paper feed unit 5, a transport unit 6, an image forming unit 7, a fixing unit 8, It is connected to the discharge unit 9.

  The control unit 10 includes a management unit 101, a determination unit 102, a restart unit 103, a restart unit 104, a data storage unit 105, a setting unit 106, a display control unit 107, and a warning unit 108. Specifically, the processor 11 of the control unit 10 executes the control unit program stored in the storage unit 12 to execute the control unit 101, the determination unit 102, the restart unit 103, the restart unit 104, the data storage unit 105, It functions as the setting unit 106, the display control unit 107, and the warning unit 108.

  The management unit 101 manages a job user, a document name, a job execution time, a job type, and a job progress status for each job. The execution time of a job is the elapsed time from the start of the job to the current time. The job types are, for example, printing (printing), image reading (scanning), copying, fax transmission, and fax reception. The progress of the job is, for example, "printing has been completed up to 6 out of 10 copies" for a print job, and "copying of 2 copies has been completed" for a copy job. The management unit 101 manages the execution time of the job and the progress of the job by storing them in a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory.

  The management unit 101 may store the type of the job to be restarted in a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory and manage the job in addition to the job execution time and the progress of the job. Similarly, the management unit 101 may manage the specified time. The specified time indicates a time for waiting for the restart of the control unit 10. The specified time is, for example, 60 minutes.

  The determination unit 102 determines whether the execution time of each job is within a specified time. Specifically, the determination unit 102 determines whether or not the execution time is within a specified time with reference to information managed by the management unit 101. The determination unit 102 may determine whether the type of each job is a target of the restart in addition to whether the execution time of each job is within the specified time.

  The determination unit 102 may determine whether to restart the job based on whether the user wants to restart the job. This is because, for a job that the user does not want to restart, even if the job is restarted, it may not benefit the user. For example, even if the print job is not completed within the specified time, if the user does not want, the determination unit 102 may determine not to restart.

  The restart unit 103 restarts the control unit 10 based on the determination result of the determination unit 102. Specifically, the restarting unit 103 erases information stored in a volatile memory such as a register, and performs initialization processing such as restarting the operating system. After the operating system is restarted, the restart unit 103 restarts an application program for performing the function of the image forming apparatus 1. The application programs are, for example, a program for executing a copy job, a program for executing a print job, and a program for executing image reading. After the operating system is restarted, the restart unit 103 also restarts programs that function as the management unit 101, the determination unit 102, the restart unit 103, the restart unit 104, and the like.

  After the control unit 10 is restarted, the restart unit 104 restarts the job execution based on the progress status. Specifically, the resuming unit 104 refers to the progress of the job managed by the management unit 101 and selects a job that has not been completed before the restart. The resuming unit 104 selects an application program suitable for executing the selected job. The resuming unit 104 causes the selected application program to execute the selected job according to the progress of the job managed by the management unit 101.

  The data storage unit 105 stores data to be executed in a non-volatile memory, an HDD, or an SSD. The data to be executed by the job includes, for example, image data indicating an image to be printed, image data indicating an image to be copied, image data indicating an image to be faxed, and an image generated by image reading. Data.

  The setting unit 106 sets the type of the job to be restarted and / or the specified time. For example, the type of the job to be restarted is set to a print job, and the specified time is set to 60 minutes. In this case, when the execution time of the print job exceeds 60 minutes, the control unit 10 is restarted. On the other hand, even if the execution time of a job other than the print job exceeds 60 minutes, the control unit 10 is not restarted. The setting unit 106 causes the management unit 101 to store the set job type and the specified time.

  The display control unit 107 controls the display unit 21 so that the display unit 21 displays various screens. The various screens include, for example, a setting screen for setting the type of job to be restarted and / or a specified time, an error screen indicating the existence of a job exceeding the specified time, and a call screen for requesting a serviceman to call. is there.

  The warning unit 108 causes the buzzer B to emit a warning sound indicating that there is a job exceeding the specified time. Specifically, the warning unit 108 applies a predetermined voltage to the buzzer B.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. More specifically, FIG. 3 illustrates an operation in which the image forming apparatus 1 completes a job while managing the progress of the job.

  The operation illustrated in FIG. 3 starts when the user operates the operation unit 2 to instruct the image forming apparatus 1 to display the setting screen S on the display unit 21. The setting screen S is a screen for setting the type of job to be restarted and / or the specified time. The setting screen S will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In step S101, the user sets the type of job to be restarted and / or the specified time while the setting screen S is displayed. The setting unit 106 causes the management unit 101 to store the setting result. The operation proceeds to step S103.

  In step S103, the user causes the image forming apparatus 1 to execute a job. For example, the user places the original D on the original placing tray 31 of the original transport unit 3 and operates the operation unit 2 to instruct the image forming apparatus 1 to execute a copy job. The control unit 10 controls the document transport unit 3, the reading unit 4, the image forming unit 7, and the like to execute a copy job of the document D. When the execution of the copy job is started, the management unit 101 starts managing the copy job.

  In step S105, the determination unit 102 determines whether the execution time of the job is within a specified time. When the determination unit 102 determines that the execution time of the job is not within the specified time (No in step S105), the operation proceeds to step S107. When the determination unit 102 determines that the execution time of the job is within the specified time (Yes in step S105), the operation proceeds to step S103, and steps S103 to S105 until a job whose execution time exceeds the specified time occurs. repeat.

  In step S107, the determination unit 102 determines whether the job whose execution time is determined not to be within the specified time is a job to be restarted. If the determination unit 102 determines that the job is a job to be restarted (Yes in step S107), the operation proceeds to step S201. If the determination unit 102 determines that the job is not a job to be restarted (No in step S107), the operation proceeds to step S109.

  In step S109, the display control unit 107 controls the display unit 21 so that the display unit 21 displays the error screen E. The error screen E is a screen for notifying that an unfinished job exists. The error screen E will be described later with reference to FIG. The operation proceeds to step S111.

  In step S111, while the error screen E is being displayed, the determination unit 102 determines whether to restart the control unit 10 based on a user instruction. When the determination unit 102 determines that the restart is performed (Yes in step S111), the operation proceeds to step S201. When the determination unit 102 determines that the restart is not performed (No in step S111), the operation proceeds to step S113.

  In step S201, the restart unit 103 restarts the control unit 10. Specifically, the restart unit 103 restarts the operating system and the application program. The operation proceeds to step S203.

  In step S203, the restart unit 104 restarts the job. For example, when the copy job is not completed, the resuming unit 104 refers to the information managed by the management unit 101 and causes a program for executing the copy job to restart the copy job. The operation proceeds to step S103.

  In step S113, the display control unit 107 controls the display unit 21 so that the display unit 21 displays the call screen M. The call screen M is a screen for notifying that a serviceman is recommended to be called. When the display unit 21 displays the call screen M, the operation illustrated in FIG. 3 ends. The call screen M will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Next, a screen displayed on the display unit 21 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the setting screen S. The setting screen S is a screen for setting the type of job to be restarted and / or the specified time.

  The setting screen S displays a check box C, an input field T, a "set" key Y1, and a "do not set" key N1. The check box C is a check box for selecting the type of the job to be restarted. The input field T is an input field for inputting a specified time for each type of job. The "set" key Y1 and the "not set" key N1 are soft keys.

  FIG. 4 shows a setting screen S in which the check box C of the print job is selected and 60 minutes are input in the input column T of the print job. When the user presses the “set” key Y1, the setting unit 106 sets the type of job to be restarted to a print job, and sets the specified time to 60 minutes. Conversely, when the user presses the “do not set” key N1, the setting unit 106 does not set the type of job to be restarted and the specified time.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the error screen E. The error screen E is a screen for notifying that an unfinished job exists. The error screen E displays a message to the user, a “Yes” key Y2, and a “No” key N2. The error screen E displays a message notifying that there is an unfinished job and asking whether to restart and restart the job. The "set" key Y2 and the "not set" key N2 are soft keys.

  If the user presses the “Yes” key Y2, the restart unit 103 restarts the control unit 10. Conversely, if the user presses the “No” key N2, the display control unit 107 controls the display unit 21 so that the call screen M is displayed on the display unit 21.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the call screen M. The call screen M is a screen for notifying that a serviceman is recommended to be called. The call screen M notifies that the serviceman needs to take action to make the image forming apparatus 1 usable.

  As described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, in the present embodiment, when the execution time of a job exceeds the specified time, the control unit 10 is restarted to restart the job. Therefore, even if the user does not notice the existence of the error, it is possible to recover from the error state and continue the job execution. Therefore, user convenience is improved.

  The embodiment of the invention has been described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention (for example, (1) to (7) shown below). The drawings schematically show each component in order to make it easy to understand, and the thickness, length, number, etc. of each component shown in the drawings are different from actual ones for convenience of drawing. There are cases. Further, the shapes, dimensions, and the like of the respective constituent elements shown in the above-described embodiment are merely examples, and are not particularly limited, and various changes can be made without substantially departing from the configuration of the present invention.

(1) As described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, in the embodiment of the present invention, the image forming apparatus 1 is a color MFP, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the image forming apparatus 1 may be a monochrome MFP, or the image forming apparatus 1 may be a color printer or a monochrome printer.

(2) As described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, in the embodiment of the present invention, the image forming apparatus 1 is an electrophotographic printer, but the present invention is not limited to this. The image forming apparatus 1 may be, for example, an inkjet recording type printer.

(3) As described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, in the embodiment of the present invention, the image forming apparatus 1 stores data to be executed of a job in the data storage unit 105. It is not limited to this. The image forming apparatus 1 may perform printing or facsimile communication without storing the image data transmitted from the outside of the reading unit 4 or the outside of the image forming apparatus 1.

(4) As described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, in the embodiment of the present invention, the image forming apparatus 1 displays the error screen E on the display unit 21 when there is an uncompleted job. The present invention is not limited to this. In addition to displaying the error screen E, the image forming apparatus 1 may cause the buzzer B to emit a warning sound to attract the user's attention.

(5) As described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, in the embodiment of the present invention, the setting screen S, the error screen E, and the calling screen M are displayed on the display unit 21. It is not limited to. For example, the image forming apparatus 1 may be connected to an external information processing terminal such as a personal computer. Then, the setting screen S, the error screen E, and the calling screen M may be displayed on a display device of the information processing terminal, for example, a liquid crystal display. In this case, the user may be able to set the settings on the setting screen S and whether or not to restart on the error screen E from a personal computer.

  Specifically, the image forming apparatus 1 further includes a communication unit, a transmission unit, and a reception unit. The communication unit communicates information between the image forming apparatus 1 and an external information processing terminal. The transmitting unit transmits a message from the image forming apparatus 1 to the user to the information processing terminal. The transmitted message is displayed on the display device of the information processing terminal as a setting screen S, an error screen E, and a calling screen M. The receiving unit receives a user's instruction from the information processing terminal and transmits the received instruction to each unit of the image forming apparatus. For example, while the setting screen S is being displayed, the receiving unit receives the user's instruction and transmits it to the setting unit 106, and the setting unit 106 stores the setting result in the management unit 101. While the error screen E is being displayed, the receiving unit receives the user's instruction and transmits it to the determining unit 102, and the determining unit 102 determines whether to restart the control unit 10.

(6) As described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, in the embodiment of the present invention, the job whose execution is restarted after the restart is set for each job type, but the present invention is not limited to this. . For example, the image forming apparatus 1 may resume execution of only a specific job among a plurality of jobs based on whether the user desires to resume.

  Further, as a result of the user executing the same job a plurality of times without confirming the execution result of the job, a plurality of jobs having the same name may occur. In this case, the image forming apparatus 1 may notify the user that there are a plurality of jobs, and may resume execution of only one job according to the user's selection.

  Specifically, the display control unit 107 controls the display unit 21 so as to display a question screen for asking the user about a job whose execution is desired to be resumed among the plurality of jobs on the display unit 21. When the user selects a job to be resumed on the question screen, the resuming unit 104 resumes execution of the selected specific job.

(7) As described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, in the embodiment of the present invention, all the jobs that have not been completed before the restart have been completed after the restart, but the present invention It is not limited to. For example, an incomplete job that does not complete for some reason despite restarting may occur. In this case, the image forming apparatus 1 may notify the user that an uncompleted job exists, and delete the uncompleted job based on whether the user wants to resume.

  Specifically, the display control unit 107 controls the display unit 21 to display a question screen for asking the user whether to delete an uncompleted job that is not completed even after the restart. When the user selects deletion of the unfinished job on the question screen, the resuming unit 104 deletes the unfinished job.

  The present invention is useful for an image forming apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Operation part 3 Document conveyance part 4 Reading part 5 Paper supply part 6 Transport part 7 Image formation part 8 Fixing part 9 Ejection part 10 Control part 11 Processor 12 Storage part 21 Display part 22 Input part 101 Management part 102 Judgment Unit 103 restart unit 104 restart unit 105 data storage unit 106 setting unit 107 display control unit 108 warning unit

Claims (11)

A control unit for controlling job execution;
A management unit that manages the execution time of the job and the progress of the job;
A determining unit that determines whether the execution time is within a specified time,
A restart unit that restarts the control unit based on a determination result of the determination unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a restart unit that restarts execution of the job based on the progress status after the control unit restarts.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a data storage unit that stores data on which the job is to be executed.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit configured to set a type of the job to be restarted and / or the specified time.   4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether the job is to be restarted. 5.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether to restart the control unit based on whether the user desires restart. apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resuming unit resumes only execution of a specific job among a plurality of jobs based on whether the user desires resuming.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resuming unit deletes an uncompleted job that is not completed even after the restart based on whether the user desires to delete. A display unit,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a display control unit configured to display an error screen indicating the existence of the job exceeding the specified time on the display unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the display control unit causes the display unit to display a call screen for requesting a call of a serviceman when a response by a serviceman is required. A communication unit that performs communication with an external information processing terminal;
A transmitting unit that transmits a message to the user to the information processing terminal,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a receiving unit configured to receive a user's instruction from the information processing terminal.   The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a buzzer that emits a warning sound indicating that the job has exceeded the specified time.

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