JP5418337B2 - Image forming apparatus, commercial power cutoff method for image forming apparatus, and commercial power cutoff program for image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a function of reducing power consumption by turning off an alternating current (AC) commercial power supply based on a detection result of an illuminance sensor. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of executing commercial power supply shutdown without causing trouble to an internal device in accordance with a function processing state, a commercial power supply cutoff method in the image forming apparatus, and a commercial power supply cutoff program for the image forming apparatus.

  Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus (MFP), for example, when an illuminance sensor detects office light in a use environment and the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor falls below a predetermined threshold (when it is determined that the user is dark), there is no user. Therefore, a technology for reducing power consumption by turning off the commercial power source has been introduced.

  As a known technique related to reducing the power consumption by shutting off the commercial power supply using such a sensor, for example, the power supply is cut off according to the detection result by the human body detection means or the detection result by the light quantity detection means, “Power supply device for image forming apparatus” (see Patent Document 1) that supplies power, manages power supply based on the detected illuminance by the optical sensor, and can be activated appropriately according to the setting of the user regardless of the installation environment. Image forming apparatus "(see Patent Document 2).

  Specifically, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is intended to provide a power supply device for an image forming apparatus having a more convenient power saving mode, and when the human body is not detected by the human body detection unit or the light amount detection unit. Or when the amount of light falls below a predetermined threshold (when it is determined to be dark), the power supply to the image forming apparatus is cut off, and when a human body is detected or when the amount of light exceeds a predetermined threshold (when it is determined to be bright) And a function of supplying power to the image forming apparatus.

  In addition, the technique described in Patent Document 2 is intended to start the image forming apparatus appropriately according to the user's setting regardless of the installation environment. The power saving control / power cutoff is based on the illuminance detected by the optical sensor. Specifically, by setting the duration of the illuminance, it is possible to prevent false detection due to noise, people, shadows of manuscript documents, and set the standard illuminance, which makes it an optimal value according to the installation environment The function which can set is built.

  Since the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above cuts off and supplies power according to the detection result by the human body detection means and the detection result by the light amount detection means, the timing for shutting off the commercial power supply is set to the recent eco ( (Environmental support) can not be properly performed to cope with various functional processing states in the multifunctional image forming apparatus, and as a result, the compatibility in the apparatus state when the commercial power is turned off. In addition, there is a problem that it is difficult to guarantee safety because measures against data destruction of internal devices are not considered.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 2, the power saving control / power-off is executed based on the illuminance detected by the optical sensor. Even if the illuminance duration is set appropriately, the technique of Patent Document 1 is used. Similarly, the timing for shutting off the commercial power supply cannot be properly performed so as to correspond to various functional processing states in recent multifunctional image forming apparatuses, and as a result, when the commercial power supply is turned off. There is a problem in that it is difficult to guarantee the safety because the countermeasure in the device state is poor and the countermeasure against the data destruction of the internal device is not taken into consideration.

  In short, according to the methods of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, for example, an appropriate commercial power supply shut-off mode corresponding to various functional processing states in the image forming apparatus, specifically, a power supply during writing in the nonvolatile memory at normal time A mode to turn off the commercial power after prohibiting the power off, a mode to turn off the commercial power after prohibiting a power off during writing when there is a write to the nonvolatile memory in an energy saving state where the CPU can operate, a nonvolatile STR (One of the suspend modes in which the computer is put into a sleep state to reduce power consumption when there is no writing to the memory, and the power consumption at the time of suspend and the time required for recovery (Suspend mode with the best balance) In the state where the power supply to the CPU is stopped, such as the state, the commercial power supply is turned off immediately because there is no writing to the non-volatile memory As a result, the illuminance sensor does not take into account the risk of malfunctions such as data destruction possessed by internal devices such as non-volatile memory when commercial power is cut off. There is a problem that it is difficult to guarantee safety in addition to poor compatibility with the apparatus state when the commercial power supply is turned off based on the detection result.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and the technical problem is that no unnecessary processing is performed when the commercial power is turned off based on the detection result of the illuminance detection means (illuminance sensor). Provided is an image forming apparatus that can execute commercial power supply shutdown with high safety and no problem for an internal device according to the apparatus state, and has excellent compatibility, a commercial power shutdown method for the image forming apparatus, and a commercial power shutdown program for the image forming apparatus. There is.

  In order to solve the above technical problem, the basic configuration of the present invention has a function of reducing power consumption by turning off the commercial power supply based on the detection result by the illuminance detection means installed to detect the illuminance around the device. In addition, in the image forming apparatus having the energy saving mode, when the detected illuminance indicating the detection result by the illuminance detection unit falls below a predetermined threshold, the apparatus state is set to the normal state based on the result of detecting the apparatus state. In an energy saving state in which writing to the nonvolatile storage means is performed, the commercial power supply is shut off after prohibiting writing to the nonvolatile storage means included in the internal device before shutting off the commercial power supply. In an energy saving state in which writing to the means is not performed, it has a commercial power source cutoff control function for immediately shutting off the commercial power source.

  The detailed configuration of the image forming apparatus includes: an illuminance determination unit that compares the detected illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit with a preset reference illuminance to determine whether the detected illuminance is equal to or higher than the reference illuminance; It is determined that the detected illuminance is less than the reference illuminance by the state determining means for determining whether the device state is in the normal state or the energy saving state, the write prohibiting means for prohibiting writing to the nonvolatile storage means, and the illuminance determining means. Control for shutting off the commercial power supply after prohibiting writing to the non-volatile storage means by the write prohibition means if it is in a normal state according to the device state determined by the state determination means when And commercial power control means for selectively executing control for immediately shutting off the commercial power.

  The image forming apparatus includes an illuminance detection unit, an illuminance determination unit, and a commercial power supply cutoff power supply unit that supplies power to the commercial power supply control unit in a state where the commercial power source is shut off by the commercial power source control unit. Preferably, the control means starts supplying the commercial power to the apparatus when the illuminance determining means determines that the detected illuminance is equal to or higher than the reference illuminance in a state where the commercial power is cut off.

  Further, any one of the image forming apparatuses includes a return factor detecting unit that detects a return factor for returning from the energy saving state to the normal state, and the commercial power source control unit determines that the illuminance detected by the illuminance determining unit is less than the reference illuminance. If the return factor is detected by the return factor detection means when it is determined, it is preferable to perform control for prohibiting writing to the non-volatile storage means by the write prohibiting means and canceling the interruption of the commercial power supply.

  Further, any one of the image forming apparatuses described above preferably includes a reference illuminance changing unit for appropriately changing the reference illuminance in the illuminance determining unit to an arbitrary value.

  In addition, in any one of the above image forming apparatuses, it is preferable that the illuminance determination unit performs the determination process when the detected illuminance continues for a reference time set in advance with respect to the reference illuminance. Furthermore, it is preferable that a reference time changing unit for appropriately changing the reference time here to an arbitrary value is provided.

  According to the present invention, when the detected illuminance of the detection result by the illuminance detection means (illuminance sensor) falls below a predetermined threshold, the device state is set to the normal state and the non-volatile storage means (nonvolatile memory) based on the result of detecting the device state. In an energy-saving state where data is written to the non-volatile memory means, the writing to the nonvolatile memory means is prohibited before the commercial power supply is shut off, and then the commercial power supply is shut off. Since the commercial power supply is shut off immediately, no unnecessary processing is performed when the commercial power supply is turned off based on the detection result of the illuminance sensor, and the internal device can be safely operated without any trouble according to various functional processing states in the apparatus. It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus with high compatibility that can be executed.

1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration (hardware configuration) of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a commercial power supply cutoff control function unit configured by a processing function of each unit of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement process of the commercial power supply cutoff control function part shown in FIG. 2 is a timing chart illustrating signal waveforms of an illuminance detection value of an illuminance sensor and an apparatus power value according to commercial power supply cutoff control of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a display screen illustrated to explain setting of reference illuminance and reference time related to commercial power supply cutoff control of an operation unit provided in the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus, a commercial power cutoff method for the image forming apparatus, and a commercial power cutoff program for the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, a technical outline of the image forming apparatus (MFP) of the present invention will be briefly described. This image forming apparatus has a function of turning off a commercial power source to reduce power consumption based on a detection result by an illuminance detection means (illuminance sensor) installed to detect illuminance around the apparatus, and in an energy saving state. When the detected illuminance indicating the detection result by the illuminance detection means falls below a predetermined threshold, the device status is in the normal state and the nonvolatile storage means (nonvolatile memory) based on the result of detecting the device status. In the energy-saving state where writing to is performed, writing to the non-volatile storage means is performed after the commercial power supply is shut off after prohibiting writing to the non-volatile storage means included in the internal device before shutting off the commercial power supply. When there is no energy saving state, it has a commercial power cutoff control function that immediately shuts off the commercial power. Incidentally, the normal state of the device state here indicates the operating state and the standby state, and the energy saving state in which writing to the nonvolatile storage means is performed includes the preheating / low power state and the silent state. The energy saving state in which writing to the non-volatile storage means is not performed indicates the engine off state, the STR state, and the shutdown state (described in detail later).

  In other words, this commercial power shutoff control function detects that the ambient illumination light is dark (the amount of received light is below a certain level) by the illuminance detection means, and if it is determined to be dark, the device stops the power supply to the CPU If the device is in an energy saving state where the power supply of the CPU is stopped, the commercial power supply is immediately turned off. If the device is not in the energy saving state where the power supply of the CPU is stopped, the software operation is stopped. The commercial power supply is turned off after preparations for shutting off the commercial power supply are performed (at this time, writing to the nonvolatile storage means included in the internal device is prohibited).

  Hereinafter, a specific detailed configuration of the image forming apparatus for performing the commercial power supply cutoff control function will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration (hardware configuration) of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus includes a controller 9 including a CPU 1, an operation unit 23 including an illuminance sensor 15, and a power supply circuit 21 that is supplied with power from an alternating current (AC) commercial power supply, as a rough basic configuration. Is done.

  Among these, the controller 9 is configured by connecting the RAM 1, the ROM 3, the HDD 4, the operation unit I / F 5, the timer 6, the energy saving control unit 7, and the commercial power supply control unit 8 to the CPU 1 via the system bus.

  The CPU 1 controls all other units. At this time, the CPU 1 develops the program stored in the ROM 3 in the RAM 2 and executes control based on the program while using the RAM 2 as a work area.

  The HDD 4 is used for storing image information read by the scanner, temporarily storing image information such as jam recovery, or storing information such as logs and programs.

  The operation unit I / F 5 transmits and receives data to and from the operation unit 23 described later. The timer 6 has a timer function that is used when the CPU 1 controls each unit. For example, the timer 6 is used when counting timing for synchronizing each unit, or used as a time reference when storing the date and time. The case of doing can be illustrated.

  The energy saving control unit 7 performs energy saving transition / return control. At the time of energy saving transition, the engine is notified to limit / stop the power supply to the fixing unit of the device due to energy saving transition factors such as pressing of the energy saving transition switch, timer setting, etc., or to some circuits at the time of energy saving On the other hand, in order to cut off the power supply, an instruction to stop the power output is given to the power activation circuit 20 of the power supply circuit 21 described later, or an instruction to stop the power supply to the CPU 1. At the time of energy saving return, notify the engine to restart the power supply to the fixing unit of the device due to energy saving return factors such as print job, press plate opening / closing, document placement, weekly timer, energy saving return switch press, etc. A command to start power supply output is given to a power supply activation circuit 20 of a power supply circuit 21 to be described later, or a command to start power supply to the CPU 1 is given.

  Although details of the commercial power shutoff unit 8 will be described later, if the processing function is briefly described, commercial power is supplied based on the output a from the illuminance judgment circuit 16 of the operation unit 23 and the result of judging the state of the apparatus. The output b for on / off control of the relay 22 connected to the AC circuit 18 of the power supply circuit 21 is generated.

  In addition to these functions, the controller 9 has a function to exchange image information with the engine unit of the apparatus. Incidentally, a known printer engine such as an electrophotographic method or a droplet discharge method represented by an ink jet is used for the engine unit. However, since each method forms an image (prints) by a well-known method, it is here. Then, the technology related to that is omitted.

  In addition, in the controller 9, the CPU 1, the RAM 2, the ROM 3, the timer 6, the energy saving control 7, and the commercial power supply control unit 8 have a power supply voltage 5VE, a part of the HDD 4 and the operation unit I / F 5 have a voltage of 5V, and the HDD 4 The other part is supplied with a voltage of 12V. However, the commercial power control unit 8 is supplied with power from the battery when the commercial power is shut off. As for the battery, a case where a secondary battery that can be charged at the time of supplying commercial power is used can be exemplified.

  The operation unit 23 includes an LCDC 11, an input unit 12, a ROM 13, a RAM 14, and a timer 17 connected to the operation unit controller 10 connected to the operation unit I / F 5 of the controller 9, and an illuminance determination circuit connected to the illuminance sensor 15. 16 is connected to the ROM 13 and the timer 17.

  Among these, the operation unit controller 10 develops a program stored in the ROM 13 in the RAM 14 and executes control based on the program while using the RAM 2 as a work area. The operation unit controller 10 receives a command from the controller 9 via the operation unit I / F 5 and reflects it on the screen of the LCDC 11 as a display unit or displays information on the input unit 12 on the operation unit I. In addition to transmission to the controller 9 via / F5, writing to the ROM 13 is also performed.

  The timer 17 is a timer function used when the operation unit controller 10 controls each unit. For example, a case where the timer 17 is used when counting timing for synchronizing each unit can be exemplified.

  The LCDC 11 displays the status and functions of the device to the user. The input unit 12 includes a touch panel, a key operation unit, and the like, and sends information on touch panel and key presses when the user selects a function or sets the number of copies to the operation unit controller 10.

  The illuminance sensor 15 detects the illuminance around the apparatus, that is, the illuminance in the room (office) that is the set location. About the installation location of the illumination intensity sensor 15, the case where it installs on the surface of the operation part 23 can be illustrated, for example so that the illumination intensity of an office can be detected easily.

  The illuminance determination circuit 16 compares the detected illuminance of the office detected by the illuminance sensor 15 with the reference illuminance stored in the ROM 13 in advance, and the duration when the detected illuminance exceeds the reference illuminance or is below the reference illuminance. Is counted based on the count number by the timer 17, and when the count number exceeds the reference time stored in advance in the ROM 13, the commercial power supply control unit 8 is notified.

  In addition, in the operation unit 23, the operation unit controller 10, part of the LCDC 11, the input unit 12, the RAM 14 has a voltage of 5 V, the other part of the LCDC 11 has a voltage of 24 V, the ROM 13, the illuminance sensor 15, the illuminance determination circuit 16, The timer 17 is supplied with a power supply voltage of 5VE. However, the ROM 13, the illuminance sensor 15, the illuminance determination circuit 16, and the timer 17 are supplied with power from the battery when the commercial power supply is shut off. Here, as for the battery, a case where a secondary battery that can be charged when supplying commercial power is used can be exemplified.

  In the power supply circuit 21, a DC generation circuit 19 for generating a direct current (DC) is connected to an AC circuit 18 connected to a commercial power supply via a relay 22, and a power supply activation circuit 20 is further connected to the DC generation circuit 19. Has been configured.

  Among these, the AC circuit 18 functions as an input unit for inputting a commercial power source that is an AC power source. The relay 22 is controlled to be turned on / off by an output b from the commercial power supply control unit 8, and supplies commercial power to the AC circuit 18 when turned on, and cuts off commercial power to the AC circuit 18 when turned off. The DC generation circuit 19 includes, for example, an A / D converter and the like, converts the AC power supplied from the AC circuit 18 and generates a DC power.

  The power activation circuit 20 supplies power to the controller 9 and the operation unit 23 according to the output c from the energy saving control unit 7 of the controller 9 or cuts off the power supply. However, here, the DC power supplied from the DC generation circuit 19 under the condition that the relay 22 is on and the AC power is input from the AC circuit 18 is cut off by the output c from the energy saving control unit 7. Also supplied to the controller 9 when

  The image forming apparatus having such a configuration has apparatus states classified into some cases as described below.

  The first example of the apparatus state is a state in which operations such as copy, print, scanner, and FAX, which are generally called operation states, are performed. In this operating state, the 5 V, 12 V, and 5 VE power supplies are supplied from the DC generation circuit 19 and the power supply activation circuit 29 to the controller 9, and the 5 V, 24 V voltage, and power supply are supplied to the operation unit 23. The power supply of the voltage 5VE is performed, and the writing operation to the ROM 3 and the HDD 4 is performed.

  The second example of the device state is a state in which it is possible to immediately shift to an operation state called a standby state. In this standby state, 5 V, 12 V, and 5 VE power are supplied from the DC generation circuit 19 and the power supply activation circuit 20 to the controller 9, and 5 V, 24 V, and power are supplied to the operation unit 23. The power supply of the voltage 5VE is performed, and the writing operation to the ROM 3 and the HDD 4 is performed.

  The above operating state and standby state are normal states of the apparatus state.

  The third example of the apparatus state is a state in which the temperature of the fixing heater, called a preheating / low power state, is held down and it is necessary to wait for the fixing heater to warm up until it enters the operating state, so that it can immediately enter the operating state. It is. In this preheating / low power state, 5 V, 12 V, and 5 VE are supplied to the controller 9 from the DC generation circuit 19 and the power activation circuit 20, and 5 V and 24 V are supplied to the operation unit 23. The power supply of the voltage and the power supply voltage 5VE is performed, and the writing operation to the ROM 3 and the HDD 4 is performed.

  The fourth example of the apparatus state is a state where the power supply to the fixing heater is called a silent state, and it is necessary to wait for the fixing heater to warm up from the preheating / low power state until it enters an operating state. In this silent state, 5 V, 12 V, and 5 VE power are supplied from the DC generation circuit 19 and the power activation circuit 20 to the controller 9, and 5 V, 24 V, and power are supplied to the operation unit 23. The power supply of the voltage 5VE is performed, and the writing operation to the ROM 3 and the HDD 4 is performed.

  The preheating / low power state and the silent state described above are energy saving states in which the device state is written to the nonvolatile storage means.

  The fifth example of the device state is a state in which the power supply to the engine and the operation unit, called the engine off state, is stopped. In this engine off state, the power supply starting circuit 20 supplies the controller 9 with a voltage of 5V and 12V, but the power supply of 5V and 24V to the operation unit 23 is stopped, and The power supply of the power supply voltage 5VE is supplied from the DC generation circuit 19 and the power supply activation circuit 20 to the controller 9 and the operation unit 23, and the writing operation to the ROM 3 and the HDD 4 is not performed.

  In the sixth example of the device state, power supply to the CPU 1 called the STR state is stopped to reduce power consumption, and power is supplied to the RAM 2 to hold information at the time of start-up (energy saving). (Return) Time can be shortened. In this STR state, a power supply of 5V and 12V is supplied from the power supply starting circuit 20 to the controller 9, but a power supply of 5V and 24V to the operation unit 23 is stopped, and DC is supplied. The power supply of the power supply voltage 5VE is supplied from the generation circuit 19 and the power supply activation circuit 20 to the controller 9 and the operation unit 23, and the power supply to the CPU 1 is stopped by the energy saving control unit 7, and is supplied to the ROM 3 and the HDD 4. No write operation is performed.

  This STR state is one of the suspend modes described above, and indicates a state where energy is saved by stopping the power supply to most devices such as the CPU 1 and the HDD 4 while the current state is stored in the memory. is there. Incidentally, as for the STR state, well-known techniques (for example, JP-A-2005-269103, JP-A-2005-278110, JP-A-2005-303978, JP-A-2006-126987, JP-A-2006-155391). , A technology related to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-252482 is disclosed). In recent years, due to a demand for power saving in an image forming apparatus, an opportunity to adopt the STR state in a functional configuration is increasing.

  The seventh example of the device state is a state where the supply of commercial power to the device called a shutdown state is interrupted. In this shutdown state, the 5 V voltage, 12 V voltage, 5 V voltage, 5 V voltage, 24 V voltage, and 5 VE power supply to the operation unit 23 from the DC generation circuit 19 and the power activation circuit 20 are stopped. The The commercial power supply control unit 8, the ROM 13, the illuminance sensor 15, the illuminance determination circuit 16, and the timer 17 are supplied with power from the battery, and the writing operation to the ROM 3 and the HDD 4 is not performed.

  The shutdown state is a state in which the main switch of the image forming apparatus is on and the supply of commercial power is cut off, and is distinguished from the state in which the supply of commercial power is cut off by turning off the main switch. The main switch is turned on / off by the operation of the user (user).

  The engine off state, the STR state, and the shutdown state described above are energy saving states in which the device state is not written to the nonvolatile storage unit.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a commercial power cutoff control function unit constructed by the processing function of each unit of the image forming apparatus described above.

  The commercial power shut-off control function unit compares the detected illuminance detected by the illuminance detecting means 100 with the illuminance detecting means 100 that detects the illuminance around the apparatus and the preset reference illuminance to be equal to or higher than the reference illuminance. Illuminance determination means 101 that performs a determination process when the detected illuminance continues for a reference time set in advance with respect to the reference illuminance, and the apparatus state is in either the normal state or the energy saving state When the state illuminance is determined to be less than the reference illuminance by the state determining means 102 for determining whether the detected illuminance is less than the reference illuminance by the write prohibiting means 103 for prohibiting writing to the nonvolatile storage means (nonvolatile memory) If it is an energy saving state in which writing to the normal state and the non-volatile storage means is performed according to the device state determined by the state determination means 102, the write prohibition means 103 Control that selectively shuts off the commercial power supply after prohibiting writing to the non-volatile storage means, and selectively executes control that immediately shuts off the commercial power supply when there is an energy saving state in which writing to the non-volatile storage means is not performed Power supply control means 104.

  In addition, the commercial power supply cutoff control function unit is a commercial power supply that supplies power to the illuminance detection means 100, the illuminance determination means 101, and the commercial power supply control means 104 in a state where the commercial power supply is shut off by the commercial power supply control means 104. The power supply means 105 at the time of interruption, the return factor detecting means 106 for detecting the return factor for returning from the energy saving state to the normal state, and the reference illuminance changing means 107 for appropriately changing the reference illuminance in the illuminance determining means 101 to an arbitrary value. And a reference time changing means 108 for appropriately changing the reference time in the illuminance determining means 101 to an arbitrary value.

  However, the commercial power supply control unit 104 here starts supplying commercial power to the apparatus when the illuminance determination unit 101 determines that the detected illuminance is equal to or higher than the reference illuminance in a state where the commercial power supply is shut off. If the return factor is detected by the return factor detection unit 106 when the determination unit 101 determines that the detected illuminance is less than the reference illuminance, the write prohibiting unit 103 writes data to the nonvolatile storage unit (nonvolatile memory). Control to release the prohibition and cut off of the commercial power supply.

  Briefly describing the operation of each unit, the illuminance detection means 100 detects the illuminance around the office apparatus. The illuminance detection means 100 corresponds to the illuminance sensor 15 provided in the operation unit 23 of the apparatus configuration shown in FIG. The detected detected illuminance is input to the illuminance determining means 101.

  The illuminance determination unit 101 compares the detected illuminance with a reference illuminance stored in advance, and determines whether or not the detected illuminance is greater than or equal to the reference illuminance. In addition, it is determined whether or not the time for which the detected illuminance is equal to or greater than the reference illuminance or the time for which the detected illuminance is less than the reference illuminance has continued for a previously stored reference time. When it is determined that the time during which the detected illuminance is greater than or equal to the reference illuminance or the time during which the detected illuminance is less than the reference illuminance has continued beyond the reference time, the commercial power supply control unit 104 is notified of this.

  The illuminance determination unit 101 includes the illuminance determination circuit 16, the timer 17, and the ROM 13 that are provided in the operation unit 23 of the apparatus configuration illustrated in FIG. 1. The reference illuminance and the reference time are stored in advance in the ROM 13, and the illuminance determination circuit 16 compares the output (detected illuminance) of the illuminance detection means 100 with the reference illuminance, and whether or not the reference time is continued based on the count number of the timer 17. Is determined by the illuminance determination circuit 16.

  The reference illuminance changing means 107 and the reference time changing means 108 are for enabling the user and service personnel to change the reference illuminance and the reference time, respectively. The user or service person displays the selection screen at the time of change on the LCDC 11 which is the display unit of the operation unit 23, and then inputs using the input unit 12. The operation unit controller 10 stores the input value in the ROM 13. The means for automatically setting the reference illuminance is not described in the apparatus configuration of FIG. 1, but is easily constructed by a processing function for inputting the output of the illuminance sensor 15 to the operation unit controller 10 and storing the value in the ROM 13. It is what is done.

  When the illuminance determination unit 101 determines that the output (detected illuminance) of the illuminance detection unit 100 is in a state longer than or equal to a reference time with respect to the reference illuminance, or less than that, commercial power control The means 104 acquires state information indicating whether the apparatus is in a shutdown state, an operating state, a standby state, a preheating / low power state, a silent state, an engine off state, or a STR state by the state determination unit 102.

  The state determination means 102 obtains the software status information stored in the RAM 2 because the power is supplied to the CPU 1 in the case of the operation state, standby state, preheating / low power state, silent state, and engine off state. Or when the energy saving control unit 7 has a register indicating the energy saving state, the register is read. In the shutdown state, whether the power supply of the power supply voltage 5VE is stopped by the commercial power supply control unit 8 supplied with power from the battery is monitored based on the voltage state of the power supply voltage 5VE, or the relay 22 is turned off. Whether or not a signal is output is determined based on the state of the signal b. In the STR state, power supply to the CPU 1 is stopped, and register read to the RAM 2 and the energy saving control unit 7 cannot be performed. Therefore, whether or not the power supply of the CPU 1 is stopped by the commercial power control unit 8 is determined based on the voltage. It is determined by monitoring and monitoring whether the power supply voltage 5VE is supplied based on the voltage state of the power supply voltage 5VE. The reason why the power supply voltage 5VE is monitored is to distinguish it from the shutdown state because the power supply of the CPU 1 is stopped even in the shutdown state.

  When the illuminance determining unit 101 determines that the output (detected illuminance) of the illuminance detecting unit 100 is longer than or equal to the reference time with respect to the reference illuminance and is determined to be in the shutdown state by the state determining unit 102, it is already commercial. Since the power is cut off, the commercial power control means 104 ends the process. In the shutdown state, power is supplied to the illuminance detection means 100, the illuminance determination means 101, the commercial power supply control means 104, and the state determination means 102 by the power supply means 105 when the commercial power supply is cut off. It can be regarded as the power receiving unit 109 when the commercial power supply is cut off as shown in FIG.

  The illuminance determining means 101 determines that the output (detected illuminance) of the illuminance detecting means 100 is equal to or longer than the reference time with respect to the reference illuminance, and is shut down by the commercial power control means 104 via the return factor detecting means 106. When it is determined that the state is other than the state, the return factor detection means 106 determines whether an energy saving return factor has occurred. Return factors such as print job, plate open / close, document placement, weekly timer, energy saving return switch press, etc. are stored in the register of the energy saving control unit 7. The commercial power supply control means 104 ends the process.

  Regarding the operating state, standby state, preheating / low power state, silent state, and engine off state, the power is supplied to the CPU 1 so that the register reading of the energy saving control unit 7 is possible, but the STR state is transferred to the energy saving control unit 7. If one signal capable of identifying the presence / absence state of the return factor is prepared and input to the commercial power supply control unit 8, the presence / absence of the return factor can be known.

  The illuminance determining means 101 determines that the output (detected illuminance) of the illuminance detecting means 100 is equal to or longer than the reference time with respect to the reference illuminance, and is shut down by the commercial power control means 104 via the return factor detecting means 106. When it is determined that the state is other than the state and it is determined that there is no return factor, when it is determined that the STR state or the engine is off, the commercial power source control means 104 turns off the relay 22 to shut off the commercial power source. To do. This is because there is no writing to ROM3 and HDD4 which are non-volatile memories.

  In the illuminance determining means 101, it is determined that the output (detected illuminance) of the illuminance detecting means 100 is equal to or greater than the reference illuminance for the reference time, and the commercial power supply control means 104 is not in the shutdown state via the return factor detecting means 106 When it is determined that there is no return factor, the commercial power supply control unit 104 ends the processing because it is determined that the user is in use when the operating state is determined.

  The illuminance determining means 101 determines that the output (detected illuminance) of the illuminance detecting means 100 is equal to or longer than the reference time with respect to the reference illuminance, and is shut down by the commercial power control means 104 via the return factor detecting means 106. When it is determined that the state is other than the state and there is no recovery factor, and when it is determined that the standby state, the preheating / low power state, and the silent state, the ROM 3 and HDD 4 which are nonvolatile memories are determined by the write prohibiting means 103. A process for prohibiting writing to the network is performed, and when the write prohibition is completed, the relay 22 is turned off to shut off the commercial power supply.

  In standby, preheat / low power, and quiet states, if there is a possibility of writing to the ROM3 and HDD4 which are non-volatile memories, if the commercial power supply is shut down without writing prohibition, data destruction due to power shutoff during writing This is possible to prevent.

  When the illuminance determination unit 101 determines that the output (detected illuminance) of the illuminance detection unit 100 is longer than or equal to the reference time with respect to the reference illuminance, and the state determination unit 102 determines that it is other than the shutdown state. Since the commercial power is supplied, the commercial power control means 104 ends the process.

  When the illuminance determining means 101 determines that the output (detected illuminance) of the illuminance detecting means 100 is equal to or longer than the reference time with respect to the reference illuminance, and the state determining means 102 determines that it is in the shutdown state, commercial power control The means 104 turns on the relay 22 to start supplying commercial power.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation process of the commercial power supply cutoff control function unit described above. However, here, description will be made along the details of the apparatus configuration shown in FIG. 1 corresponding to each function processing means shown in FIG.

  In the operation process of the commercial power cut-off control function unit, first, the illuminance determination circuit 16 determines whether or not the output (detected illuminance) of the illuminance sensor 15 is equal to or higher than the reference illuminance (step S1). As a result, if it is equal to or higher than the reference illuminance, it is determined whether or not the output (detected illuminance) of the illuminance sensor 15 is equal to or longer than the reference time (step S11). If it is less than the reference illuminance), it is determined whether or not the time less than the reference illuminance is longer than the reference time (step S2).

  If the time during which the output (detected illuminance) of the illuminance sensor 15 is less than the reference illuminance is not equal to or greater than the reference time (less than the reference time), the process returns to standby before the first process (step S1). If the time during which the output of 15 (detected illuminance) is less than the reference illuminance is greater than or equal to the reference time, the commercial power supply control means 8 determines whether or not the commercial power supply is cut off (step S3). As a result, if the commercial power supply is cut off, the commercial power supply control means 8 recognizes that the relay 22 is off, and the commercial power supply has already been cut off, so the operation process is terminated. If the relay 22 is ON, the process proceeds to the determination of whether or not there is a return factor (step S4).

  Here, based on the register read of the energy saving control unit 7 and a signal indicating the presence / absence of the return factor to the commercial power supply control unit 8, if there is a return factor, the user may use it. If there is no return factor, it is determined whether or not the STR state is present, that is, whether or not power is being supplied to the CPU 1 (step S5). As a result, if the power supply to the CPU 1 is not performed based on the power monitoring of the CPU 1, it is determined that it is in the STR state, and after jumping to the process of turning off the relay 22 and shutting off the commercial power (step S10), the operation process However, if the power supply to the CPU 1 is performed, it can be determined that the operation state is one of the operation state, the standby state, the preheating / low power state, the silent state, and the engine off state. After acquiring the status information of the image forming apparatus or reading the register indicating the energy saving state if the energy saving control unit 7 has a register indicating the energy saving state (step S6), the processing is performed in the operating state. It is determined whether or not there is (step S7).

  As a result, if it is in the operating state, the operation process is terminated because the user is in use, but if it is not in the operating state, whether or not writing to the ROM 3 and HDD 4 which are nonvolatile memories may occur. Judgment (step S8) is performed. As a result, if there is no possibility that writing will occur (if the engine is off), the operation is terminated after jumping to the process of turning off the relay 22 and shutting off the commercial power (step S10). However, if there is a possibility that writing may occur (if it is in a standby state, a preheating / low power state, or a silent state), writing to the ROM 3 and HDD 4 that are nonvolatile memories may be performed. After performing the process of prohibiting writing to the ROM 3 and HDD 4 which are nonvolatile memories (step S9), the operation process is terminated after the process of turning off the relay 22 and shutting off the commercial power supply (step S10).

  By the way, by determining whether or not the output (detected illuminance) of the previous illuminance sensor 15 is equal to or higher than the reference illuminance (step S1), the output (detected illuminance) of the illuminance sensor 15 is equal to or higher than the reference illuminance. As a result of determining whether or not the output (detected illuminance) is equal to or greater than the reference time (step S11), the first process (step S11) is performed. Return to S1) and wait, but if it is equal to or longer than the reference time, the commercial power supply control means 8 determines whether the commercial power supply is cut off (step S12). As a result, if the commercial power supply is cut off, the commercial power supply control means 8 recognizes that the relay 22 is on, and the commercial power is already supplied, so the operation process is terminated. If the relay 22 is off, the relay 22 is turned on to start supplying the commercial power (step S13), and the operation process is terminated.

  FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing signal waveforms of the illuminance detection value of the illuminance sensor and the apparatus power value according to the commercial power supply cutoff control of the image forming apparatus. However, in FIG. 4, the horizontal axis represents time, and one of the vertical axes with respect to the time on the horizontal axis represents the illuminance detection value by the illuminance sensor 15, and the illuminance becomes brighter as the level goes up, The illuminance becomes darker as it goes down, and the other of the vertical axis represents the apparatus power value of the image forming apparatus. The power goes up as the level goes up, and the power goes down as it goes down. is there.

  Here, when the apparatus state of the image forming apparatus is in a standby / energy saving state (standby state, preheating / low power state, or silent state), the illuminance detection value (detected illuminance) becomes lower than the reference illuminance, and the reference time Continuing, it indicates that the commercial power supply is shut off by turning off the relay 22 after completing the write prohibition processing to the nonvolatile memory. Even if the commercial power supply is shut off, the electric power is accumulated in the capacitor and the like, so that the apparatus power value gradually decreases, and finally the power consumption becomes 0 W.

  Next, while the commercial power supply is shut off, when the detected illuminance value (detected illuminance) becomes higher than the reference illuminance and continues for the reference time, the relay 22 is turned on to start supplying commercial power. Along with this, the image forming apparatus is activated and enters a standby state, and energy saving transition is performed by pressing an energy saving transition switch, setting a timer, or the like. The energy saving transition here is shown as an energy saving state (either an engine off state or a STR state) in FIG.

  If the detected illuminance value (detected illuminance) becomes lower than the reference illuminance in this energy saving state and continues for the reference time, the write prohibition process for the nonvolatile memory is not performed, and the relay 22 is immediately turned off to cut off the commercial power supply.

  Furthermore, when the commercial power supply is shut off, the detected illuminance value (detected illuminance) becomes higher than the reference illuminance, and when the reference time continues, the relay 22 is turned on to start supplying commercial power. In the operation state, the process of shutting off the commercial power supply is not performed.

  FIG. 5 is a display screen illustrated to explain the setting of the reference illuminance and the reference time related to the commercial power supply cutoff control of the operation unit 23 described above. Specifically, the image displayed on the LCDC 11 of the operation unit 23 is shown enlarged.

  Here, the stage after the power cut-off setting is selected by the user / serviceman in the operation unit 23 is described. The screen 200 is displayed when the power shutdown setting is selected by the user / serviceman, so the setting of whether to perform the power shutdown setting on operation, the setting of the reference illuminance, and the setting of the reference time will be described. .

  First, at the top of the screen 200, when the ON button 201 is pressed to set whether or not the power is cut off by the illuminance sensor 15, the power is cut off by the illuminance sensor 15, and when the OFF button 202 is pressed, the illuminance is set. The power is not shut off by the sensor 15. It should be noted that ON of “power cutoff setting: ON” on the screen 200 means that it is currently ON, and when it is OFF, it is displayed as “power cutoff setting: OFF”.

  Next, when setting the reference illuminance for the illuminance sensor 15, when the automatic setting button 203 in "illuminance sensor setting: automatic setting" is pressed, a screen 207 is displayed to inform the user to turn on the office light. When the button 208 is pressed, the illuminance sensor 15 detects the illuminance in the state normally used by the user, and the function of storing the detected illuminance in the nonvolatile memory is set. When the setting button 208 is pressed, the screen transitions to the screen 209 and informs the user to turn off the office light. By pressing the setting button 210, the illuminance sensor 15 detects the illuminance when the user is not normally used. A function for storing the resulting detected illuminance in the nonvolatile memory is set. For the reference illuminance, for example, an intermediate value of illuminance between when the office lights are turned on and when the lights are turned off is set. If the illuminance at the time of lighting or turning off the office light is set as the reference illuminance, the above-mentioned intermediate value is preferable because it is not possible to deal with variations in illuminance at the time of lighting or turning off the office light.

  Accordingly, when the manual setting button 204 is pressed, a screen 211 is displayed, and the illuminance sensor 15 can be manually set. Here, the arrow 212 represents the set value of the reference illuminance that is currently set, and can be set to dark illuminance by pressing the minus button 213, and can be set to bright illuminance by pressing the plus button 214. As both the minus button 213 and the plus button 214 are pressed, the darkening level increases or the brightening level increases.

  Next, a case where a reference time to be compared with the duration of the output of the illuminance sensor 15 (detected illuminance) is set will be described. This is the setting of the time until the power is turned off, and the setting of how long the detected illuminance is lower than the reference illuminance continues to cut off the commercial power, and sets the reference time when the commercial power is turned off.

  In this case, a setting button 205 for “setting time until power-off:” is set on the touch panel on the screen 200, and a numerical value is input by a touch panel / key operation as a function of the input unit 12.

  The time setting until the power is turned on is a setting of how long the detected illuminance is higher than the reference illuminance to start the supply of commercial power, and sets the reference time at the start of the commercial power supply.

  In this case, a setting button 206 for “setting time until power activation:” is set on the touch panel on the screen 200, and a numerical value is input by a touch panel / key operation as a function of the input unit 12.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment described above, when the commercial power supply is turned off when the detected illuminance of the illuminance sensor 15 is less than a predetermined threshold (reference illuminance), the apparatus state is in a normal state and a variety of apparatus states are considered. If the energy saving state where writing to the non-volatile storage means is performed, the writing to the non-volatile memory is prohibited before shutting off the commercial power supply, and then the commercial power supply is shut off and writing to the non-volatile storage means is not performed. Since the commercial power supply is shut off immediately if it is in an energy saving state, no unnecessary processing is performed when the commercial power supply is turned off, and it can be executed safely with no trouble for internal devices according to various functional processing states in the device. It will be rich. Moreover, when the battery power supply is used and the detected illuminance of the illuminance sensor 15 exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the convenience of the user can be improved by supplying commercial power. In addition, when there is a return factor such as print job, plate open / close, document placement, weekly timer, energy saving return switch press, etc., it has a function not to turn off the commercial power supply, improving user convenience You can also. In addition, since the reference illuminance (threshold) for comparing the detected illuminance values of the illuminance sensor can be arbitrarily set, for example, even in a dimly used environment, the commercial power supply is cut off even though the user is using it. Or, it is possible to prevent malfunctions such as commercial power being supplied in the daylight even though the fluorescent light is turned off on holidays, and to improve user convenience according to the user's usage environment, saving power Can contribute to

  In addition, when the reference time for determining whether the output (detected illuminance) of the illuminance sensor 15 is higher than or lower than the reference illuminance is a predetermined time or more, the commercial power supply is turned on. Since it has a function to supply or shut off, it can prevent false detection due to noise, people, shadows of manuscript documents, etc., and the reference time can be set arbitrarily, so that the user's The user-friendliness can be improved in accordance with the usage environment, thereby contributing to sufficient power saving.

  By the way, the technical outline of the image forming apparatus described in the first embodiment is that the commercial power supply for the image forming apparatus is based on the detection result by the illuminance sensor for detecting the illuminance around the apparatus installed in the image forming apparatus. This can be paraphrased as a method of shutting down the commercial power supply in the image forming apparatus when power consumption is reduced by turning off, and specifically, when the illuminance indicating the detection result by the illuminance sensor falls below a predetermined threshold, the apparatus state is detected. Based on the results of the above, in the energy saving state where the device state is the normal state and writing to the non-volatile storage means, the writing to the non-volatile storage means included in the internal device is prohibited before the commercial power supply is shut off. In an energy saving state in which the commercial power supply is shut off and writing to the nonvolatile storage means is not performed, the commercial power supply is shut off immediately.

  Similarly, it is executed by the information processing means provided in the image forming apparatus, and the commercial power supply to the image forming apparatus is turned off based on the detection result by the illuminance sensor for detecting the illuminance around the apparatus installed in the image forming apparatus. It can also be constructed as a commercial power cutoff program for an image forming apparatus applied when reducing power consumption. The image forming apparatus commercial power supply shut-off program is configured such that when the illuminance indicating the detection result by the illuminance sensor falls below a predetermined threshold, the apparatus state is set to the normal state and the nonvolatile storage unit based on the result of detecting the apparatus state. In the energy-saving state where writing is performed, the commercial power supply is shut off after writing to the non-volatile storage means included in the internal device is prohibited before shutting off the commercial power supply. In the state, there is information on a step of immediately shutting off the commercial power supply.

1 CPU
2,14 RAM
3, 13 ROM
4 HDD
5 Operation I / F
6, 17 Timer 7 Energy saving control unit 8 Commercial power supply control unit 9 Controller 10 Operation unit controller 11 LCDC
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Input part 15 Illuminance sensor 16 Illuminance judgment circuit 18 AC circuit 19 DC generation circuit 20 Power supply starting circuit 21 Power supply circuit 22 Relay 23 Operation part 100 Illuminance detection means 101 Illuminance judgment means 102 State judgment means 103 Write prohibition means 104 Commercial power supply control means 104 105 Power supply means when commercial power is cut off 106 Return factor detection means 107 Reference illuminance changing means 108 Reference time changing means 109 Power supply section when commercial power is cut off

JP-A-6-148972 JP 2006-184346 A

Claims (9)

In the image forming apparatus having the function of reducing the power consumption by turning off the commercial power supply based on the detection result by the illuminance detection means installed to detect the illuminance around the apparatus, and having the energy saving mode,
When the detected illuminance indicating the detection result by the illuminance detection means falls below a predetermined threshold, based on the result of detecting the apparatus state, the apparatus state is written in the normal state and the nonvolatile storage means. In an energy saving state in which writing to the nonvolatile storage means included in the internal device is prohibited before shutting off the commercial power supply and then the commercial power supply is shut off and writing to the nonvolatile storage means is not performed. An image forming apparatus having a commercial power source cutoff control function for immediately shutting off the commercial power source.   2. The illuminance for determining whether or not the detected illuminance is equal to or higher than the reference illuminance by comparing the detected illuminance detected by the illuminance detecting unit with a preset reference illuminance. The detection means by the determination means, the state determination means for determining whether the device state is in the normal state or the energy saving state, the write prohibition means for prohibiting writing to the nonvolatile storage means, and the illuminance determination means When the illuminance is determined to be less than the reference illuminance, the writing prohibition is performed if the energy saving state is such that writing to the normal state and the nonvolatile storage unit is performed according to the device state determined by the state determination unit. Means for prohibiting writing to the non-volatile storage means by the means, and then shutting off the commercial power supply, and energy saving in which writing to the non-volatile storage means is not performed. An image forming apparatus and the commercial power supply control means for executing control to immediately cut off the commercial power supply, if the state selectively, comprising the. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a commercial power supply for supplying power to the illuminance detection means, the illuminance judgment means, and the commercial power supply control means in a state where the commercial power supply is cut off by the commercial power supply control means. Power supply means,
The commercial power control means starts supplying the commercial power to the apparatus when the illuminance determining means determines that the detected illuminance is equal to or higher than the reference illuminance in a state where the commercial power is cut off. Image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a return factor detection unit that detects a return factor that returns from the energy saving state to the normal state.
The commercial power supply control means is configured such that if the return factor is detected by the return factor detection means when the detected illuminance is determined to be less than the reference illuminance by the illuminance determination means, the non-volatile by the write prohibition means. An image forming apparatus that performs control of prohibiting writing to the sexual storage means and releasing the interruption of the commercial power supply.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising reference illuminance changing means for appropriately changing the reference illuminance in the illuminance determining means to an arbitrary value. .   6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the illuminance determination unit performs a determination process when the detected illuminance continues for a reference time set in advance with respect to the reference illuminance. An image forming apparatus.   7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising reference time changing means for appropriately changing the reference time to an arbitrary value.   When the commercial power supply to the image forming apparatus is turned off to reduce power consumption based on the detection result by the illuminance detection means for detecting the illuminance around the apparatus installed in the image forming apparatus, the detection by the illuminance detection means When the illuminance indicating the result falls below a predetermined threshold, based on the result of detecting the device state, the commercial power supply is shut off in the normal state and the energy saving state in which writing to the nonvolatile storage means is performed. Prohibit writing to the nonvolatile storage means included in the internal device before shutting off the commercial power supply, and immediately shut off the commercial power supply in an energy saving state where writing to the nonvolatile storage means is not performed. A commercial power supply cutoff method in an image forming apparatus.   The commercial power supply to the image forming apparatus is turned off based on the detection result by the illuminance detecting means for detecting the illuminance around the apparatus installed in the image forming apparatus, as well as being executed by the information processing means included in the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus commercial power cut-off program applied when reducing power consumption, the result of detecting the apparatus state when the illuminance indicating the detection result by the illuminance detection means falls below a predetermined threshold In the energy saving state where the device state is the normal state and writing to the non-volatile storage means, the writing to the non-volatile storage means included in the internal device is prohibited before the commercial power supply is shut off. Step of immediately shutting off the commercial power supply in an energy saving state in which the commercial power supply is shut off from and the writing to the nonvolatile storage means is not performed Commercial power-off program for an image forming apparatus characterized by having information.