JP4982220B2 - Image forming apparatus and power supply control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus equipped with a secondary battery for promoting energy saving and having a controller energy saving circuit, and a power supply control method thereof.

  Conventionally, a heat roller fixing method using a fixing roller (heating roller) having a heating means inside as a fixing device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, etc. Widely adopted from monochrome machines to full-color machines. However, in a conventional heat roller fixing type fixing device, when a recording material or toner is overheated, it is necessary to heat a fixing roller having a large heat capacity, which is disadvantageous in terms of energy efficiency and energy saving. It was.

  By the way, power generation using thermoelectric conversion technology can directly convert even relatively low-quality heat into electricity, and is a technology that can recover the current unused waste heat. As environmental problems become more serious, expectations for thermoelectric conversion technology are increasing.

  This thermoelectric conversion technology uses the Seebeck effect in which thermoelectromotive force is generated at both ends by giving a temperature difference to thermoelectric conversion materials in which two different types of metals or p-type semiconductors and n-type semiconductors are paired. It is a technology that directly converts thermal energy into electric power, and has an excellent feature that it does not require moving parts such as a motor and a turbine and that there is no waste product.

  Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses that in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile, heat discharged from a fixing unit that fixes an unfixed image on recording paper by heat is insulated from peripheral devices that are easily affected by heat. In addition, in order to recover and reuse the exhausted heat to improve energy saving, a paper feeding and conveying means for feeding recording paper, and an unfixed image forming means for forming an unfixed image on the recording paper, An image forming apparatus comprising: a fixing unit that fixes the unfixed image by heat; and a paper discharge conveying unit that discharges the recording paper on which the image is fixed by the fixing unit. The fixing unit is surrounded by a heat insulating member. An invention is disclosed in which the heat insulating member has a thermoelectric conversion element on a surface thereof, and further has a power storage device that stores electric power thermoelectrically converted by the thermoelectric conversion element.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, in order to reuse the waste heat moved from the recording material or the fixing roller to the pressure roller, a heating roller and a pressure roller that are pressed against each other are provided, and the recording material holding the toner image is heated. In an image forming apparatus having a fixing device for fixing the toner image to the recording material by being nipped and conveyed while being heated and pressed at a pressure contact portion between the roller and the pressure roller, the heat of the pressure roller can be converted thermoelectrically. A configuration provided with thermoelectric conversion means is disclosed.

  Further, Patent Document 3 collects heat discharged from electrophotographic image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, facsimiles and the like and accessory devices constituting the image forming apparatus by using thermoelectric conversion means. In order to recycle as electric energy, a paper feeding and conveying means for conveying the transfer paper from the paper feeding unit, an image forming means for forming an unfixed image, and a fixing for fixing the transfer paper on which the unfixed image is formed by heat And an electrophotographic image forming apparatus provided with a conveying means for guiding the transfer paper downstream of the fixing means in the transfer paper passing direction, the first thermoelectric conversion means as the thermoelectric conversion of the high temperature exhaust heat, and the low temperature An invention provided with second and third thermoelectric conversion means as thermoelectric conversion of exhaust heat is disclosed.

In general, image forming apparatuses such as printing machines, copiers, printers, and facsimiles that are generally used have recently become widespread in offices or homes because of image reproducibility and stability. On the other hand, this type of image forming apparatus is usually operated with the power turned on because of the nature of the product, and it is intended to improve convenience rather than reducing energy consumption. It was. However, today, when energy consumption issues have become apparent, energy consumption is reduced in heat-fixing units that have the problem of longer standby times than operating hours, or depleted resources such as fossil fuels that affect global warming. There is a need to reduce the use of energy sources.
There is also a need for stable supply of power in equipment that handles information. With regard to the stable supply of this power supply, in the situation of infrastructure of centralized power supply (thermal power, hydropower, nuclear power, etc.) Currently, countermeasures are taken by using a representative backup battery (secondary battery) or the like.
JP 2005-338430 A JP 2005-308826 A JP 2005-099527 A

  As described above, the conventional image forming apparatus uses a secondary battery, a capacitor, or a fuel cell in addition to the main power source as a plurality of energy supply means (energy storage means), and consumes a large amount of power as in a heat fixing operation. The energy is energized during the transition period to shorten the transition period, and the first copy time is reduced and the energy is saved. However, in this image forming apparatus, the main power source which is one energy supply means is an AC commercial line power source, and the other energy supply means has an auxiliary function for temporarily energizing energy as a sub power source. I am in charge.

  Therefore, the energy supply source has to rely on a commercial power source as a whole. Further, even if a spontaneous power generation means such as a fuel cell is provided as a secondary power source, such a spontaneous power generation means is an auxiliary for temporarily energizing energy using the accumulated electrical energy during the transition period. It can only be an appropriate means. Rather, the use of the spontaneous power generation means as an auxiliary for temporarily energizing energy causes waste of the energy source (fuel) due to the auxiliary use of the spontaneous power generation means that can always supply energy.

  As described above, the conventional technology aims to shorten the first copy time and save energy, but it is not a fundamental solution to these two contradictory purposes. The reason is that the AC power supply (line power supply), which is the main power supply, occupies most of the energy supply means, and the auxiliary power supply positioned as the sub power supply is adopted and applied passively. This is because the use of a power generation device or a power storage device as an energy drive source is limited. As a result, all the sites (deployment locations) where the image forming apparatus is installed can be used, even if there are appropriate effects such as maintaining power in the energy saving mode and shortening the startup time (reducing the first copy time). The energy usage is considered as a whole, and it is not rational and cooperative usage that actively shares energy consumption between image forming apparatuses beyond the isolated space where the image forming apparatuses are installed. Was a difficult point. Therefore, when the shutdown process is ready, there may not be enough power left to execute the shutdown process. If there is not enough power left to execute the shutdown process, the system goes down without performing the shutdown process. It will be.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to prevent the shutdown process from becoming impossible due to a low remaining battery level.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the first means includes a main power source directly fed from a commercial power source, an auxiliary power source having a secondary battery charged from the main power source, and an image forming unit, and is controlled by a control unit. In the image forming apparatus that executes control of each unit according to various modes, the image forming apparatus sets the operation mode to be used for control of each unit from among the various modes. And when the remaining power of the secondary battery is less than a predetermined value when the control unit transitions from the commercial power shutdown operation mode to the commercial power on operation mode, Charging is performed until the remaining battery level reaches the predetermined value.

A second means is the first means, wherein the plurality of operation modes are a shutdown mode, a remaining battery charge mode, a battery replacement mode, a shutdown preparation mode, a charge standby mode, a charge energy saving mode, a standby mode, a plotter scan. -It is characterized by including the operation mode in any one of HDD operation mode and AC * 0W battery drive energy saving mode .

A third means is that the image forming apparatus according to the second means, when the image forming apparatus satisfies all of the following three conditions: commercial power-on, AC / 0W battery drive energy saving mode, and remaining battery level of 10% or less. The control unit is switched to the commercial power source while the mode is maintained, and the secondary battery is charged .

The fourth means includes a main power source directly fed from a commercial power source, an auxiliary power source having a secondary battery charged from the main power source, and an image forming means. The control unit controls each part according to various modes. In the power supply control method of the image forming apparatus that executes control, the setting of the operation mode to be used for the control of each unit among the various modes is performed by the image forming apparatus according to the remaining battery level of the secondary battery. And when the remaining battery level of the secondary battery is less than a predetermined value when the commercial power supply shutdown operation mode is changed to the commercial power-on mode, the control unit causes the secondary battery level to be reduced. Charging is performed until the value reaches the predetermined value .

  In the embodiment described later, the communication means is the communication ON / OFF control unit 111b, the auxiliary power source having the secondary battery is the power source and the charging control unit 105, the image forming means is the PTR, and the controller circuit is the reference numeral 111. Various modes and their transition states are shown in FIG. 4 together with conditions.

  According to the present invention, when the power supply from the commercial power source is connected, if the remaining amount of the secondary battery is less than the predetermined amount, charging is performed until the predetermined amount is reached. Can be made impossible.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of an image forming system according to the present embodiment. In the figure, the image forming system according to the present embodiment is a system in which a host PC and an image forming apparatus PR are connected via a network NT. The image forming apparatus includes a scanner SCR, an automatic document feeder ADF, and a sorter 11 for a color printer PTR. Image information is transmitted from a host PC such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) through a network NT. When given print data, the print data is printed out (image output). The image forming apparatus PR is a digital color copying machine having a composite function, and not only functions as a printer as described above, but also can generate a copy of a document by itself. In addition, the image forming apparatus PR includes an auxiliary battery device 50 that is detachable from the image forming apparatus PR and a secondary battery 52 that is detachable from the auxiliary battery apparatus 50. An operation panel OPB is provided at the upper part on the front side of the image forming apparatus PR.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the printer PTR in FIG. The printer PTR is an electrophotographic laser scanning color printer, and includes an image forming device, a paper feeding device (bank), a double-sided paper feeding device, and a post-processing device (sorter) 11. The image forming apparatus mainly includes a photosensitive member 1, a main charger 2, a laser scanner 3, a developing device 4, a transfer belt 6, a transfer separation charger 8, a transport belt 9, and a fixing device 10.

  The laser scanner 3 is supplied with image data separated into Bk (black), Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) color components for each color unit. Each color unit is one image forming unit. At the time of monochromatic recording, image data of one of the four colors is given to the laser scanner 3. The photoreceptor 1 is rotated at a constant speed, and the potential charged by the main charger 2 is adjusted to an appropriate potential by the quenching lamp QL. The laser scanner 3 scans and projects the laser modulated by the image data on the charging surface. Thereby, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data is formed on the photoreceptor 1. This electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing device (Bk) having a developing toner of a color corresponding to an image formation designated color (for example, Bk) of the rotational positioning type developing device 4 to become a visible image, that is, a toner image. The toner image is transferred to the transfer belt 6 by the transfer charger 5, and transferred to the transfer paper fed by the registration roller 7 by the transfer separation charger 8. The transfer paper on which the toner image has been transferred is sent to the fixing device 10 by the transport belt 9.

  The fixing device 10 fixes the toner image on the transfer paper to the transfer paper by heating and pressing. After the fixing, the transfer paper is discharged to the sorter 11. The photosensitive rest surface after the transfer of the toner image is cleaned by the cleaning device 12. The surface of the transfer belt 6 that has been transferred is wiped with a cleaning blade 13. A reflection type optical sensor 14 for detecting the toner density on the surface of the photoreceptor 1, called a P sensor, is disposed at a predetermined position facing the photoreceptor 1, and a reflection type sensor for detecting a mark indicating the reference position of the transfer belt 6. An optical sensor 15 is provided inside the transfer belt 6. A temperature sensor 16 for detecting the temperature of the fixing roller is provided at a position facing the roller of the fixing roller 10.

  When two or more colors are overlaid (most representative is full-color recording), the toner image formation on the photosensitive member 1 and the transfer onto the transfer belt 6 are repeated for each color, and the transfer belt 6 is then printed. Each color toner image is superimposed on the sheet, and is transferred onto a transfer sheet at a time after completing overprinting of required colors.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a system configuration including the power supply unit of the image forming apparatus PR shown in FIG. In the figure, when power is supplied to the image forming apparatus PR, a power supply device (from a plug 100 connected to an outlet (not shown) to a main body and main circuits via a main power switch 101, an AC ON / OFF sensor 102, and an AC cut device 103 ( (PSU) 104 is supplied with AC power, PSU 104 converts AC to DC, and DC power is supplied to each part of image forming apparatus PR.

  On the other hand, the PSU 104 is connected to a secondary battery as a single module and its charge control unit 105 (hereinafter simply referred to as a secondary battery). The secondary battery 105 is connected to the controller 111 of the control circuit of the image forming apparatus PR via the power supply selector 106. The power selector 106 selects either DC discharge of the secondary battery 105 or DC power from the main PSU 104 when supplying power to the controller 111.

  The controller 111 includes a microcomputer 111a and a communication interface control unit 111b. The microcomputer 111a controls main parts of the image forming apparatus PR, and the communication interface control unit 111b performs network, USB, telephone line, wireless LAN, and the like. Control communication with external devices.

  The AC ON / OFF sensor inputs an AC ON / OFF state signal to the controller 111. On the other hand, from the controller 111, a control signal for AC cutting / not performing AC cutting is input to the AC cutting device 103, and a control signal for charging / discharging the battery is input to the secondary power source 105, respectively. Further, the controller 111 outputs a power select signal to the power selector 106.

  The power selector 106 selects either power feeding from the PSU 104 / power feeding from the secondary battery / OFF according to the power source select signal from the controller 111.

  FIG. 4 is a system state transition diagram in the system configuration of FIG.

In the state transition diagram of FIG. 4, white indicates OFF, halftone indicates energy saving mode (battery power supply), and hatching indicates AC power supply. In the state of FIG.
1) SHUTDOWN mode (M1)
2) Battery level securing mode (M2)
3) Battery replacement mode (M3)
4) SHUTDOWN preparation mode (M4)
5) Charging standby mode (M5)
6) Charging energy saving mode (M6)
7) Standby mode (M7)
8) Operation mode (M8)
9) Energy saving mode (M9)
10 modes are set. The state of each part in each mode is as follows.
1) SHUTDOWN mode M1
AC power supply = OFF
AC CUT = No Charging = No Controller power supply = OFF
Battery level = 0-100%
Communication = OFF
Operation from the operation panel = Impossible 2) Battery remaining mode M2
AC power supply = ON
AC CUT = No Charging = Yes Controller power supply = PSU
Battery level = 0-100%
Communication = OFF
Operation from the operation panel = Impossible 3) Battery replacement mode M3
AC power supply = ON
AC CUT = No Charging = No Controller power supply = PSU
Battery level = 0%
Communication = OFF
Operation from the operation panel = Impossible 4) SHUTDOWN preparation mode M4
AC power supply = OFF
AC CUT = No Charging = No Controller power supply = Battery Battery level = 1 to 95%
Communication = OFF
Operation from the operation panel = Impossible 5) Charge standby mode M5
AC power supply = ON
AC CUT = No Charging = Yes Controller power supply = PSU
Battery level = 5 to 94%
Communication = ON
Operation from the operation panel = Possible 6) Charging energy saving mode M6
AC power supply = ON
AC CUT = No Charging = Yes Controller power supply = PSU
Battery level = 10-94%
Communication = ON
Operation from the operation panel = Only the sub power key can be used 7) Standby mode M7
AC power supply = ON
AC CUT = No Charging = No Controller power supply = PSU
Battery level = 11-95%
Communication = ON
Operation from the operation panel = possible 8) Plotter, scan, HDD operation mode M8
AC power supply = ON
AC CUT = No Charging = No Controller power supply = PSU
Battery level = 5 to 95%
Communication = ON
Operation from the operation panel = possible 9) AC / 0W battery-powered energy saving mode M9
AC power supply = ON or OFF
AC CUT = Yes Charging = No Controller power supply = Battery Battery level = 11-95%
Communication = ON
Operation from the operation panel = Only the sub power key can be used. Each mode changes as follows.
When the power is turned on in the SHUTDOWN mode M1 (C1), the battery remaining amount securing mode M2 is entered.
When the remaining battery level is less than 5% in the remaining battery level securing mode M2 (C2), the battery is forcibly charged.
When the remaining battery level is 5% or more in the remaining battery level securing mode M2, the controller power supply is turned on (C3), and the mode shifts to the charging standby mode M5.

If the battery remaining capacity securing mode M2 is defective (C4), the process shifts to the battery replacement mode M3.
When the remaining battery level becomes 95% or more in the charging standby mode M5 (C5), the mode shifts to the standby mode M7.
If the battery is defective in the charging standby mode M5 (C6), the battery switching mode M3 is entered.
When an operation start request is received in the standby mode M7 (C7), the operation mode M8 is entered.
When the remaining battery level becomes 10% or less in the standby mode M7 (C8), the mode shifts to the charging standby mode M5.
When the operation is stopped in the operation mode M8 (C9), the operation mode is shifted to the standby mode M7.
When the specified time has elapsed in the standby mode M7 (C10), the mode shifts to the energy saving mode M9.
When a key operation is performed in the standby mode M7 or the charging standby mode M5 (C11), the process shifts to the SHUTDOWN preparation mode M4.
When an operation start request is received in the charge standby mode M5 (C12), the operation mode M8 is entered.
When the specified time has elapsed in the charging standby mode M5 (C13), the charging energy saving mode M6 is entered.
When the operation start request is received in the charge energy saving mode M6 (C14), the operation mode M8 is entered.
When the remaining battery level becomes 95% or more in the charging energy saving mode M6 (C15), the mode shifts to the energy saving mode M9.
-When an operation start request is received in the energy saving mode M9 (C16), the operation mode M8 is entered.
When the remaining battery level becomes 10% or less in the energy saving mode M9 (C17), the charging energy saving mode M6 is entered.
If the battery is defective in the charge energy saving mode M6 (C18), the battery transfer mode M3 is entered.
When the battery is replaced in the battery replacement mode M3 (C19), the process shifts to the battery remaining amount securing mode M2.
When the AC power supply is turned off in the battery remaining amount securing mode M2 or the battery remaining amount securing mode M2 (C20), the process shifts to the SHUTDOWN mode M1.
When the remaining battery level is 10% or less and the AC power is turned off in the energy saving mode M9 (C21), the process proceeds to the SHUTDOWN preparation mode M4.
When the AC power supply is turned off in the charging standby mode M5, the standby mode M7, the operation mode M8, or the charging energy saving mode M6 (C22), the AC0W energy saving mode M9 is entered.

When the SHUTDOWN preparation is completed in the SHUTDOWN mode M4, the controller power is turned off (C23), and the mode is shifted to the SHUTDOWN mode M1.

  When the mode is set in this way and the power supply from the secondary battery 105 and the power supply from the PSU 104 are set, the secondary battery is in the three modes of the battery remaining amount securing mode M2, the charge standby mode M5, and the charge energy saving mode M6. 105 is charged.

  In the present embodiment, when the AC power supply is turned on from the shutdown M1 state (C1), the battery shifts to the remaining battery charge mode M2, and if the remaining battery charge is less than 5%, the battery is charged until it reaches 5% until the charging is completed. Communication is turned off, and operation from the operation panel OPB is disabled. Here, 5% is used because it is assumed that 3% of the maximum storable power of the battery is used for the shutdown process. If the power required for the shutdown process changes, the remaining amount changes according to the required power. By performing processing in this way, it is possible to secure power necessary for shutdown.

  When the battery is in the charge energy saving mode M6 and the remaining battery level is 95% or more, the power source is switched to the secondary battery 105, the battery charging is stopped, the AC input is cut, and the AC: 0W energy saving mode M9 is entered. In the AC: 0W energy saving mode, the battery power is continuously used until the remaining battery level reaches 10% (C21). Thereby, AC: 0W is realizable. Further, the loss of the AC / DC converter can be eliminated, and the charge / discharge cycle of the secondary battery 105 can be made as long as possible, thereby extending the life of the battery.

  Further, when the AC power is turned on, and in the AC: 0 W energy saving mode and the remaining battery level is 10% or less, the controller power supply is switched to PSU while the engine energy saving mode is maintained, and the battery is charged. That is, the AC: 0W energy saving mode M9 shifts to the charging energy saving mode M6. Thereby, the secondary battery can be prevented from running out.

  As can be seen from FIG. 4, the power of the secondary battery 105 is used only in the SHUT DOWN preparation mode M4 and the AC: 0W energy saving mode M9. Thereby, a secondary battery can be made long lasting.

  Also, in order to avoid the memory effect of the secondary battery, the battery power is not used while charging the battery. When charging, keep charging until it is almost full, and when using it, keep using it until just before it runs out of power. Thereby, the charging / discharging cycle of a battery can be lengthened as much as possible, and the lifetime of a battery can be extended.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing four modes of the image forming apparatus PR according to the present embodiment. These four modes are a controller off mode Q1, an engine off mode Q2, a silent start-up mode Q3, and a standby mode or an operation mode Q4.

The controller off mode Q1 can be changed when there is no controller option or operation panel option.
1) Controller memory (however, in self-refresh state)
2) Controller memory controller 3) Option FCU
4) Power management 5) Network interface 6) USB interface functions can be used. These parts are always ON even in the normal operation and energy saving state.

The engine off option Q2 can be changed when there is a controller option or an operation panel option.
1) Controller memory (normal state)
2) Controller options (wireless LAN, format conversion accelerator, connection interface (IEEE 1394), operation panel options)
It is in a state where the function of can be specified.

  In the silent startup mode Q3, only HDD access can be used.

In standby mode or operation mode Q4,
1) Fixing heater operation 2) Printing operation 3) Scanner operation 4) Finisher operation 5) Operation panel display and operable functions can be used. Since each of the functions can be used, an image forming operation can be executed in this mode Q4.

  Of these, the energy saving mode is the controller off mode Q1, engine off mode Q2, and silent start-up mode Q3. The direction from the large circle to the small inner circle is the direction in which the energy saving mode proceeds, and the inner small circle mode. This means that the degree of energy saving is large.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
1) Electric power that can be shut down can be secured.
2) AC: 0 W can be realized, and loss of the AC / DC converter can be eliminated.
3) The battery charge / discharge cycle can be made as long as possible to extend the battery life.
4) When the remaining battery level is 10% or less, the controller power supply is switched to PSU while the engine energy-saving mode is maintained, and the battery is charged.
5) Since the battery power uses only the SHUT DOWN preparation mode and the AC: 0W energy saving mode, the battery can be made to last longer.
6) Do not use battery power while charging the battery. When charging, keep charging until it is almost full, and when using it, keep using it until just before it runs out of power, so make the battery charge / discharge cycle as long as possible. , Can extend the battery life.
There are effects such as.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the printer in FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration including a power supply unit of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a system state transition diagram in the system configuration of FIG. 3. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

104 PSU
105 Secondary battery (and charge controller)
106 power selector 111 controller 111a microcomputer 111b communication control unit OPB operation panel PR image forming apparatus

Claims (4)

Image formation comprising a main power source directly fed from a commercial power source, an auxiliary power source having a secondary battery charged from the main power source, and an image forming means, wherein the control unit controls each part in accordance with various modes. In the device
The image forming apparatus performs setting from among the various modes of operation modes for use in controlling each unit according to the remaining battery level of the secondary battery,
When the control unit transitions from the commercial power supply shutdown operation mode to the commercial power-on operation mode, and the remaining battery level of the secondary battery is less than a predetermined value, the remaining battery level of the secondary battery is the predetermined level. An image forming apparatus that performs charging until a value is reached. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The operation mode is any one of a shutdown mode, a remaining battery charge mode, a battery replacement mode, a shutdown preparation mode, a charge standby mode, a charge energy saving mode, a standby mode, a plotter / scan / HDD operation mode, and an AC / 0W battery drive energy saving mode. An image forming apparatus including any of the operation modes . The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 .
The image forming apparatus includes:
Commercial power on,
AC / 0W battery drive energy saving mode ,
Battery remaining 10% or less
When both of the three conditions are satisfied, the power supply of the control unit is switched to the commercial power supply while the energy saving mode of the engine is maintained, and the secondary battery is charged . Image formation comprising a main power source directly fed from a commercial power source, an auxiliary power source having a secondary battery charged from the main power source, and an image forming means, wherein the control unit controls each part in accordance with various modes. In the power supply control method of the device ,
The setting from among the various modes of the operation mode for use in the control of each unit is executed according to the remaining battery level of the secondary battery by the image forming apparatus,
When transitioning from the commercial power supply shutdown operation mode to the commercial power-on operation mode, when the remaining battery level of the secondary battery is less than a predetermined value, the control unit sets the remaining battery level of the secondary battery to the predetermined value. A power supply control method for an image forming apparatus , wherein charging is executed until

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