JP6024308B2 - Electronics - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device equipped with a secondary battery.

Various electronic devices may be configured to use both power supplied from an external power source such as a commercial power source and power supplied from a secondary battery such as a nickel metal hydride battery.
For example, an image forming apparatus that is a type of electronic device is provided with an image forming unit (processing unit) that executes an image forming job and an external interface (receiving unit) that receives an execution instruction (processing request) for the image forming job. For such an image forming apparatus, a configuration that switches between an energy saving mode, an operation mode, and a sleep mode has been proposed as a system that uses both the power of the commercial power supply and the power of the secondary battery.

Here, the energy saving mode refers to a state in which the power of the commercial power supply is not supplied to the image forming unit and the external interface, and the power of the secondary battery is supplied to the external interface and an image forming job execution instruction is accepted.
The operation mode refers to a state in which the power of the commercial power supply is supplied to the image forming unit and the external interface to execute the received image forming job and receive an instruction to execute another image forming job. A state in which when the image forming job is not executed, the power of the commercial power supply is not supplied to the image forming unit but supplied to the external interface and the execution instruction of the image forming job is received.

  For example, when the image forming job is not executed during business hours of a company or the like, the mode is switched to the operation mode when the external interface accepts an instruction to execute the image forming job in the sleep mode. When the forming job is executed and the image forming job is completed, the mode is switched so as to return to the sleep mode. By using the sleep mode, the power of the commercial power source in the image forming unit is stopped to save power, and the external interface is used. It is possible to accept an execution instruction for an image forming job.

  In addition, when it is outside business hours (such as at night) and does not use the image forming device very much, if it shifts to the energy-saving mode that does not use commercial power, it will be externally powered by the secondary battery power even at night. After driving the interface and accepting an image forming job execution instruction, temporarily switching to the operation mode and executing the image forming job, it is possible to return to the energy-saving mode, while the power from the commercial power source at night etc. Thus, the standby power in the image forming apparatus can be eliminated and significant power saving can be performed.

JP 2007-47556 A

In order to supply the power of the secondary battery to the external interface in the energy saving mode, the secondary battery may be charged with the power of the commercial power supply before entering the energy saving mode.
Rechargeable batteries can be charged either in the operation mode that uses the power of the commercial power supply or in the sleep mode. However, if charging is performed in the sleep mode, the power consumption of the commercial power supply increases by the amount required for charging, and the sleep mode It is desirable to charge in the operation mode because the power saving effect at the time is reduced.

By configuring a circuit for supplying a part of the power to the secondary battery while supplying the power of the commercial power source to the image forming unit and the external interface via the power source unit of the image forming apparatus in the operation mode, The secondary battery can be charged simultaneously while driving the image forming unit and the external interface.
However, since the operation mode is started when the execution instruction of the image forming job by the user is triggered, it depends largely on the user when and how many charging opportunities are obtained.

For this reason, for example, even if it is just before the end of the working hours of the day, if the charging time until then is short, the capacity of the secondary battery will be in the energy saving mode when it enters the energy saving mode at a time outside the working hours. It also tends to occur that the capacity required to continue supplying power to the external interface over the time from the start to the end is not reached.
If the capacity of the secondary battery is too low during the time of the energy saving mode and the external interface cannot be driven, there is a possibility that it will not be possible to accept an execution instruction for an image forming job from the outside.

  In order to avoid this, the capacity of the secondary battery is detected immediately before the transition to the energy saving mode, and if the capacity of the secondary battery is low, even if the previous time is in the sleep mode, it is the same as in the operation mode. It is conceivable to take a method of performing additional charging forcibly charging the secondary battery by switching the supply circuit, that is, the power of the commercial power source from the power source unit to the circuit that supplies the image forming unit, the external interface, and the secondary battery. .

However, in this additional charging method, the voltage is applied to the circuit board and sensor of the image forming unit by supplying power to the image forming unit even though the image forming job is not executed. If standby power is generated on the circuit board or the like during the charging of the secondary battery, there is a problem that wasteful power consumption is increased and the charging efficiency of the secondary battery is deteriorated.
The problem as described above is not limited to the image forming apparatus, and may occur in an electronic apparatus having a function of charging the secondary battery in the operation mode.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device that can charge a secondary battery more efficiently.

  In order to achieve the above object, an electronic device according to the present invention includes a main body having a receiving unit that receives a processing request and a processing unit that executes the received process, an external power source and a secondary battery as a driving source, and from an external power source. An energy saving mode that cuts off the power supply to the main unit and supplies the power of the secondary battery to the receiving unit, an operation mode that supplies power to the main unit from the external power source for execution of the processing, and an external power source to the processing unit And a power supply device that can switch between a sleep mode that cuts off the power supply and supplies power from the external power supply or the secondary battery to the reception unit, and the power supply device uses the power of the external power supply in the operation mode. Charging means for charging the secondary battery, and operation assumed to be executed within the unit period so that the capacity of the secondary battery does not fall below a value necessary for the operation of the receiving unit within a predetermined unit period Secondary battery in mode Based on the predicted amount of discharge of the secondary battery when the non-predicted charge amount and operating mode, characterized in that it comprises a charging planning means to make a charging plan of the secondary battery within the unit period.

  Also, an acquisition means for acquiring the start time and end time of the energy saving mode is provided, and when the acquired start time is reached, the mode is shifted to the energy saving mode if it is in the sleep mode, and the operation mode if it is in the operation mode. When the processing request is accepted during the energy saving mode, the mode is temporarily switched to the operation mode, and when the processing is completed, the mode returns to the energy saving mode and the acquired end time is reached. If it is in the mode, it shifts to the sleep mode.If it is in the operation mode, it shifts to the sleep mode after the operation mode ends.When a processing request is accepted during the sleep mode, the mode is switched to the operation mode. You may return to sleep mode.

  Here, the unit period is triggered by the release of the energy saving mode, and is at least a first time zone in which the operation mode and the sleep mode are scheduled to be executed, and a subsequent time zone, and the execution of the energy saving mode is scheduled. The start time of the second time zone corresponds to the start time of the acquired energy saving mode, and the end time of the second time zone is the end of the acquired energy saving mode. It may be equivalent to time.

  Further, the power supply device includes a detection means for detecting a capacity Qa of the secondary battery when the energy saving mode is released, and a reference charge Ps at the reference power Ps in the operation mode in the first time zone as the predicted charge amount of the secondary battery. Assuming that the secondary battery is discharged when it is outside the operation mode in the first time zone, the first calculation means for obtaining the predicted charge amount Qb when the secondary battery is assumed to be charged, and the predicted discharge amount of the secondary battery are assumed. A second calculating means for obtaining a predicted discharge amount Qc in the case, wherein the charging plan means is a time point of entering a second time zone from the capacity Qa, the predicted charge amount Qb, and the predicted discharge amount Qc of the secondary battery. When the minimum capacity required at the time of entering the second time zone is defined as Qe, and Qt <Qe, the capacity at the time of entering the second time zone is obtained. Secondary battery capacity is over Qe Sea urchin, may change to a larger power Pu than the reference power Ps charging power for rechargeable batteries.

Here, in the case where Qt> Qe, the charging planning means determines the charging power for the secondary battery as the reference power Ps within a range where the capacity of the secondary battery at the time of entering the second time zone satisfies Qe or more. It may be changed to a smaller power Pd.
In addition, the power supply apparatus includes a mode prediction unit that predicts the operation mode time in a first time zone, and the first calculation unit obtains a predicted charge amount Qb from the operation mode prediction time and the reference power Ps, and The second calculating means may obtain the predicted discharge amount Qc from the time other than the operation mode in the first time zone and the predicted discharge amount of the secondary battery per unit time.

Here, the mode prediction means may execute the prediction based on a past operation mode and an execution history of other modes.
In addition, the power supply device includes a detection unit that detects a capacity Qa of the secondary battery when the energy saving mode is canceled, and a predicted charge amount of the secondary battery over a reference time Ts during an operation mode in a first time zone. A first calculation means for obtaining a predicted charge amount Qb when the secondary battery is assumed to be charged, and when the secondary battery is discharged at a time other than the operation mode in the first time zone as the predicted discharge amount of the secondary battery. Second charge calculating means for obtaining a predicted discharge amount Qc when assumed, wherein the charge planning means is based on the secondary battery capacity Qa, the predicted charge amount Qb, and the predicted discharge amount Qc in a second time zone. The capacity Qt of the secondary battery at the time of entering is obtained, and when the minimum capacity required at the time of entering the second time zone is Qe, when Qt <Qe, the time of entering the second time zone Secondary battery capacity in Q is more than Qe As described above, the charging time for the secondary battery is changed to a time Tu longer than the reference time Ts, and the charging means sets the accumulated charging time for the secondary battery in the first time zone to the changed time. When it reaches, it may be possible to prohibit further charging.

Here, when Qt> Qe, the charging planning means sets the charging time for the secondary battery to a reference time Ts within a range where the capacity of the secondary battery at the time of entering the second time zone satisfies Qe or more. The time may be changed to a shorter time Td.
Further, the detection means further detects the capacity of the secondary battery at a predetermined time immediately before entering the second time zone, and the power supply device detects that the predetermined time is in the sleep mode and is detected When the capacity of the secondary battery is lower than the minimum required capacity at that time, the operation mode may be switched to perform additional charging of the secondary battery by the charging means.

Here, when the power supply device determines that charging of a predetermined amount or more can be expected by charging the secondary battery by temporarily switching to the operation mode during the energy saving mode in the second time zone, the operation mode The additional charging of the secondary battery by switching may be prohibited.
Further, the acquisition unit may be a reception unit that receives an input of a start time and an end time of the energy saving mode from a user.

Furthermore, the unit period may be one day.
Here, when the next day of the day on which the charging plan is performed is a predetermined holiday, or when there are a plurality of predetermined holidays consecutively after the next day, the charging planning means The period may be extended to a time obtained by adding 24 hours a day to the time of the holiday.
Further, the charging planning means may make a charging plan for the secondary battery at the time of entering the unit period.

Further, when the charging planning unit reaches a predetermined time point in the unit period after the time point when the unit period is entered, the charging plan unit is in an operation mode that is assumed to be executed in the unit period after the predetermined time point. The charging plan for the secondary battery may be reestablished based on the predicted charging amount of the secondary battery and the predicted discharging amount of the secondary battery at a time other than the operation mode.
The processing request is an instruction to execute an image forming job, the receiving unit is an external interface that receives an instruction to execute an image forming job, and the processing unit is placed on a sheet based on the instruction to execute the image forming job. The image forming unit may form an image.

  By configuring as described above, it is possible to prevent a situation where the capacity of the secondary battery falls below the lower limit during the energy saving mode within the unit period without performing additional charging immediately before the transition to the energy saving mode within the unit period. This makes it possible to charge the secondary battery more efficiently than the configuration in which additional charging is performed.

1 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of an image forming apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the mode of an energy saving mode, an operation mode, and a sleep mode. It is a schematic diagram which shows the mode transition prediction of an energy saving mode, an operation mode, and a sleep mode. It is a figure for demonstrating the charging plan of a secondary battery. It is a figure which shows the circuit structure of an output switching part, a charging part, and a discharge part. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content which performs a charging plan. It is a flowchart which shows the content of additional charge control.

Embodiments of an electronic apparatus and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
(1) Overall Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the image forming apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus is an MFP (Multiple Function Peripheral) that is a multi-function multifunction peripheral capable of executing an image forming job including printing, facsimile communication, and the like, and includes a power supply apparatus 10 and an apparatus main body 20. Here, a thick solid line, a broken line, and an alternate long and short dash line arrow in the figure indicate a power line, and a thin solid line arrow indicates a data or signal line.

(2) Configuration of the apparatus main body 20 The apparatus main body 20 is connected to a print unit (processing unit) 21 that executes an image forming job for forming an image on a recording sheet based on image data, and a network (not shown) such as a LAN. An external interface (external I / F: accepting unit) 22 is connected and accepts an image forming job execution instruction (processing request) from an external terminal device such as a personal computer or a facsimile machine via a network.

The printing unit 21 includes an image forming unit 31, a fixing unit 32 having a heater 32a, an operation panel 33 having a display unit 33a, a main body control unit 34, and the like. For example, an image is printed on a recording sheet by electrophotography. The image forming job to be executed is executed.
The image forming unit 31 forms an image such as toner on the conveyed recording sheet.
The fixing unit 32 fixes the image formed on the recording sheet to the recording sheet at a temperature (fixing temperature) necessary for fixing by the heat of the heater 32a.

The operation panel 33 accepts input of various information from the user and sends the accepted information to the main body control unit 34. The various types of information include time settings for the energy saving mode, which will be described later. For example, the start time and end time of the energy saving mode, such as a time period from 6 pm to 9 am on the next day, Can be set in advance from the operation panel 33 by the user.
The main body control unit 34 displays various types of information on the display unit 33a, and controls the image forming unit 31 and the fixing unit 32 based on the execution instruction of the image forming job received by the external I / F 22, thereby performing the image forming job. Is executed. In the above description, the example of the electrophotographic method has been described. However, the configuration is not limited to this as long as the image forming job is executed, and for example, an inkjet method may be used.

The external I / F 22 can be wireless or wired, but it is preferable to use a method with low power consumption. Low power consumption wireless technologies include infrared communication, visible light communication, human body communication, and the like, and wireless standards include ZigBee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low, and the like.
(3) Configuration of Power Supply Device 10 The power supply device 10 executes control for supplying power supplied from the external power source, here, the commercial power supply 40 to the device main body 20, charging / discharging control of the secondary battery 30, and the like. And includes a relay 12, an AC-DC power supply 13, a charging unit 14, a power control unit 15, a discharging unit 16, a storage unit 17, and the like.

  The relay 12 is of a latching type, and in accordance with an instruction from the power supply control unit 15, a power supply state in which the AC power of the commercial power supply 40 is supplied to the AC-DC power supply 13, and the AC power of the commercial power supply 40 is supplied to the AC-DC power supply. 13 is switched to a power cut-off state that is not supplied to 13. Since the relay 12 is a latching type, even if the power supply to the relay 12 itself is interrupted after switching, the state after the switching is maintained. When the relay 12 is in the power cutoff state, the power supply from the commercial power supply 40 to the power supply device 10 becomes zero.

The AC-DC power supply 13 does not operate if the relay 12 is in the power cut-off state. When the relay 12 is in the power supply state, the AC-DC power supply 13 inputs the AC power of the commercial power supply 40 via the relay 12 and receives the input AC power. The power is converted into DC power, and the converted DC power is supplied to the power supply control unit 15.
The power supply control unit 15 controls the entire input / output of power in the power supply device 10, and includes a CPU 51, an output switching unit 52, a clock IC 53 having a calendar function, and the like from the AC-DC power supply 13. Electric power is supplied to the apparatus body 20 and supplied to the charging unit 14.

The apparatus main body 20 is ready to execute an image forming job by supplying power from the power supply control unit 15.
The charging unit 14 charges the secondary battery 30 with DC power supplied from the power control unit 15 based on an instruction from the power control unit 15.
Based on an instruction from the power supply control unit 15, the discharge unit 16 switches between supply (discharge) and interruption (discharge stop) of the electric power stored in the secondary battery 30 to the external I / F 22.

  The power supply control unit 15 can exchange signals with the apparatus main body 20. For example, the power supply control unit 15 receives a job end notification indicating that the image forming job has ended from the main body control unit 34, and receives a new one from the external I / F 22. An execution instruction reception notification indicating that an image forming job execution instruction has been received is received. Further, the time information of the energy saving mode set and input by the user on the operation panel 33 is received.

Furthermore, when the power control unit 15 receives power from the AC-DC power supply 13 when the relay 12 is turned on, the power control unit 15 can detect that the power of the commercial power supply 40 is in a supply state.
The secondary battery 30 has one or more cells that generate and discharge (supply) electricity by an electrochemical reaction caused by a pair of electrodes and an electrolyte, and power is supplied by charging to supply current between the electrodes. Can be stored. As the secondary battery 30, for example, a nickel metal hydride battery is used, but other types of batteries may be used.

(4) Configuration of CPU 51 The CPU 51 includes a mode switching unit 61, an energy saving mode time setting unit 62, a mode prediction unit 63, a capacity prediction unit 64, a charge planning unit 65, an additional charge determination unit 66, and a voltage measurement. The unit 67 is provided.
The mode switching unit 61 performs switching control for switching between the energy saving mode, the operation mode, and the sleep mode.

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram showing the state of the energy saving mode, in which the power of the commercial power supply 40 is not supplied to the power supply device 10 and the device main body 20, and the power of the secondary battery 30 is discharged via the power supply device 10. The state supplied to the external I / F 22 is shown. In the energy saving mode, the power consumption of the power from the commercial power supply 40 in the apparatus main body 20 becomes zero.
The energy saving mode is executed at a preset time as described above, for example, from 6:00 pm to 9:00 am on the next day. When the end time is reached, the energy saving mode is canceled and the sleep mode is entered.

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram showing the state of the sleep mode, in which power from the commercial power supply 40 is not supplied to the printing unit 21 of the apparatus main body 20 via the power supply apparatus 10 but to the external I / F 22. In this state, the power of the secondary battery 30 is not supplied to the external I / F 22 and the secondary battery 30 is not charged.
In the sleep mode, the power of the secondary battery 30 is not supplied to the external I / F 22, so that the capacity reduction of the secondary battery 30 can be suppressed. Further, since the power of the commercial power source 40 is not supplied to the printing unit 21, the commercial power source 40 is provided by a circuit board provided in the main body control unit 34 of the printing unit 21, a sensor provided in the image forming unit 31, a heater 32 a of the fixing unit 32, and the like. Is prevented from being wasted as standby power.

For this reason, the sleep mode has a smaller power saving effect than the energy saving mode, but can be said to be a power saving mode in which power saving is performed together with the energy saving mode.
When the external I / F 22 receives an execution instruction for an image forming job in the sleep mode, the operation mode is entered.
FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram showing a state of the operation mode, in which the power of the commercial power supply 40 is supplied to both the printing unit 21 and the external I / F 22 of the apparatus main body 20 via the power supply apparatus 10. The state in which the secondary battery 30 is charged is shown. As a result, the accepted image forming job is executed by the printing unit 21, and an execution instruction for another image forming job can be received by the external I / F 22 even while the job is being executed.

When the image forming job is completed, the mode returns to the sleep mode. When an execution instruction for another image forming job is received during the execution of the sleep mode, the operation mode is entered again, and the received image forming job is executed. The sleep mode and the operation mode are alternately switched until the start time of the next energy saving mode.
When the start time of the energy saving mode is reached during the sleep mode, the mode is shifted to the energy saving mode. Further, when the start time of the energy saving mode is reached during the execution of the image forming job, the mode is shifted to the energy saving mode after the operation mode is ended due to the end of the job. Further, when an instruction to execute an image forming job is received during the energy saving mode, the mode switching is controlled so as to temporarily move to the operation mode and execute the job and return to the energy saving mode after the job is completed.

  If the operation mode is set because the image forming job is being executed when the end time of the energy saving mode is reached, the mode is shifted to the sleep mode after the operation mode is ended due to the end of the job. If the operation mode is not reached when the end time of the energy saving mode is reached, the mode is shifted to the sleep mode. In this sense, it can be said that the CPU 51 functions as means for switching between the energy saving mode, the operation mode, and the sleep mode using the commercial power source 40 and the secondary battery 30 as drive sources.

The power supplied from the power supply device 10 to the device main body 20 in the operation mode is large, for example, about 1000 W, and the power supplied to the external I / F 22 in the sleep mode or the energy saving mode is, for example, about 1 W. It is so minimal.
Returning to FIG. 1, in the operation mode and the sleep mode, the power supply control unit 15 operates with the power of the commercial power supply 40 by setting the relay 12 in the power supply state, and in the energy saving mode, the power supply control unit 15 sets the relay 12 in the power cut-off state. It operates with only the power supplied from the secondary battery 30 without receiving 40 power.

The external I / F 22 operates with power supplied from the secondary battery 30 in the energy saving mode, and operates with power supplied from the power supply device 10 in the operation mode and the sleep mode.
The mode switching unit 61 transitions to the operation mode when receiving an image forming job execution instruction acceptance notification from the external I / F 22 during the sleep mode, that is, the power (e.g., power required for executing the image forming job in the apparatus main body 20). An arrow 30a) indicated by a thick solid line in FIG. 1 is supplied.

  When the power required for execution of the image forming job is supplied from the power supply device 10 by the transition to the operation mode, the main body control unit 34 of the apparatus main body 20 is in a state in which the print unit 21 can form an image, here the fixing unit 32. When the temperature of the fixing unit 32 is increased to the fixing temperature, image formation based on the accepted image forming job is executed. When the image forming job ends, a job end notification is sent to the power supply control unit 15.

The mode switching unit 61 of the power supply control unit 15 transitions from the operation mode to the sleep mode upon receipt of the job end notification, that is, the power of the commercial power supply 40 is supplied only to the external I / F 22 of the apparatus main body 20 ( The arrow 30b shown by the dashed-dotted line of FIG.
When the start time of the energy saving mode is reached in the sleep mode, the mode switching unit 61 shifts to the energy saving mode, that is, cuts off the power of the commercial power supply 40 to the apparatus main body 20 and supplies the power of the secondary battery 30 to the external I / F 22 and the power supply. It is made to supply to the control part 15 (arrow 30c, 30d shown with the broken line of FIG. 1). Moreover, when the end time of the energy saving mode is reached, a transition to the sleep mode is performed.

Furthermore, when the mode switching unit 61 receives an image forming job execution instruction reception notification from the external I / F 22 during the energy saving mode, the mode switching unit 61 temporarily switches to the operation mode. As a result, the job is executed in the apparatus main body 20. Thereafter, when the mode switching unit 61 receives a job end notification from the apparatus main body 20, the mode switching unit 61 causes the operation mode to return to the energy saving mode.
The mode switching unit 61 performs a process of switching each mode and writing history information including the total operating time indicating the total time of the operating mode on a daily basis in the storage unit 17.

The energy saving mode time setting unit 62 acquires time information including the start time and end time of the energy saving mode set and input by the user on the operation panel 33 and writes the time information in the storage unit 17.
The mode prediction unit 63 predicts the time Tx of the operation mode that is assumed to be executed within the business hours of the day when a unit period, for example, one day is divided into the business hours of the company and the outside of the business hours.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the mode transition prediction between the energy saving mode, the operation mode, and the sleep mode between the first day of a certain month X and the second day, which is the next day. The Example in the case of performing the charge plan (after-mentioned) in the form of this is shown, (b) has shown the comparative example when not performing a charge plan.

  In Fig. 3, the time from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm on the first day (business hours), the time from 6:00 pm to 9:00 am on the second day (second time zones) An example in the case of overtime is shown. In this example, the energy saving mode is preset to 1 hour from 0:00 pm to 1 pm and 15 hours from 6:00 pm to 9:00 am on the next day. This setting is made by the energy saving mode time setting unit 62.

  As shown in FIG. 3, there are 10 times when the operation mode is entered during the business hours of the first day, and during other times, the sleep mode and the energy saving mode between 0 pm and 1 pm are entered. Can be seen. The first time zone, which is the business time, is at least a time zone where the operation mode and the sleep mode are scheduled, and the second time zone, which is outside the business time, is a time zone where the energy saving mode is scheduled.

The prediction of the operation mode time Tx corresponds to the prediction of the total operation time within the business hours. In the example of FIG. 3, the time obtained by adding the execution times in each of the ten operation modes is calculated. The calculation time becomes the operation mode prediction time Tx.
As described above, since the operation mode is based on an instruction to execute the image forming job by the user, the job execution time is not necessarily constant every day, but the history information stored in the storage unit 17 is not necessarily constant. The execution time is predicted by referencing the total operation time of the past day from the average, averaging the total operation time of multiple days, or adopting the same time as the total operation time of the same day of the week before can do. It is possible to make a charging plan according to the average operation status of the user.

  Note that the method of predicting the operation mode time Tx is not limited to these, and for example, the execution time of the image forming job is assumed in units of one day in advance, and the estimated time, for example, one hour is used as the prediction time. You can also. This method is suitable, for example, when the allowable time for an image forming job in a day for a user is determined in advance and the image forming job is not executed beyond the allowable time. . The amount of charge assumed by the specifications can be secured.

Further, the total operating time of the previous day may be used. Necessary charging plans can be made according to the latest operating conditions.
Returning to FIG. 1, the capacity predicting unit 64, every day, at the time when the non-business hours (second time zone) end and the energy saving mode is canceled (in the above example, 9 am) The capacity Qt of the secondary battery 30 at the time of entering outside business hours (second time zone) (in the above example, 6 pm on the same day) is predicted. This prediction method will be described later.

Based on the prediction result of the capacity prediction unit 64, the charging plan unit 65 plans the magnitude of charging power for the secondary battery 30 in the operation mode within the business hours of the day (charging plan).
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a charging plan of the secondary battery 30, and is a graph showing a predicted transition of the capacity of the secondary battery 30 when it is assumed that each mode is executed under the same conditions as in FIG. 3. It is.
The solid line graph shows that when the capacity of the secondary battery 30 at 9 am at the time of canceling the energy saving mode is Qa, the capacity increases due to charging in the operation mode within business hours, and from 1 pm Until then, the capacity decreases due to the discharge in the energy saving mode, and the capacity increases to Qt at 6 pm when it enters outside business hours. It shows that the capacity has decreased to QL at 9:00 am the next day.

Here, the capacity QL indicates the minimum capacity at which the external I / F 22 cannot be operated with the power of the secondary battery 30 when the value is less than this value.
If there is no opportunity to charge the secondary battery 30 outside of business hours, only discharging will occur, and if the capacity of the secondary battery 30 falls below QL during the outside of business hours, the external I / F 22 is operated. Can not be made. In order to avoid this, at the time of 6:00 pm when it enters outside business hours, it is equal to or more than the capacity (lower limit) Qe obtained by adding Qd to the capacity (predicted discharge amount) Qd that is expected to decrease over the business hours It will be good if it is secured.

In order to secure the lower limit value Qe at 6:00 pm when it is outside business hours, it is only necessary to charge the secondary battery 30 as much as necessary during the previous business hours.
However, if the secondary battery 30 is overcharged more than necessary, the burden at the time of charging becomes large, and there is a high possibility that the secondary battery 30 will lead to a short life.
Therefore, when the secondary battery 30 is charged within the business hours until 6:00 pm at the previous 9:00 am stage so that the capacity Qt of the secondary battery 30 reaches the lower limit value Qe at 6:00 pm. If the charging power P is planned and executed, the necessary minimum charging can be performed.

  The solid line graph shows the capacity when assuming that the power (charging power) used for charging the secondary battery 30 is executed with the reference power Ps, the capacity Qa of the secondary battery 30 at 9:00 am, and the business hours. This is an example predicted from the predicted charge amount Qb and the predicted discharge amount Qc of the secondary battery 30 after that. If this example is followed, the capacity of the secondary battery 30 is reduced between the business hours and the business hours. It does not fall below the minimum capacity QL.

  On the other hand, if the capacity of the secondary battery 30 at 9 am is Qa1 lower than Qa, even if the secondary battery 30 is charged with the reference power Ps under the same condition as Qa1, At 6 o'clock, the capacity Qt of the secondary battery 30 does not reach the lower limit value Qe, and a relationship of Qt <Qe is established. This means that the capacity of the secondary battery 30 falls below the minimum capacity QL in the middle of business hours after 6 pm.

In order to prevent this, as shown by the one-dot chain line graph, if the charging power in the operation mode is set to Pu which is larger than the reference power Ps, the increase rate of the capacity of the secondary battery 30 (the slope of the graph) Correspond to the reference power Ps, and the relationship of Qt = Qe can be satisfied at 6 pm.
Conversely, if the capacity of the secondary battery 30 at 9 am is Qa2 (not shown) higher than Qa, even if the charging power of the secondary battery 30 is lowered to Pd which is a value lower than the reference power Ps, It becomes possible to satisfy the relationship of Qt ≧ Qe at 6 pm.

That is, as the charging plan of the secondary battery 30, when the capacity Qt of the secondary battery 30 predicted by the capacity prediction unit 64 is lower than the lower limit value Qe, the charging power of the secondary battery 30 in the operation mode is The magnitude is set to a value Pu (FIG. 3A) larger than the reference power Ps.
Thereby, the capacity | capacitance of the secondary battery 30 can be increased compared with the case where the reference | standard electric power Ps is set as charging power by the charge for every operation mode time within the business hours of the day, and it is 6:00 pm which goes out of business hours. At this time, the capacity Qt of the secondary battery 30 can be set to the lower limit value Qe or more.

Further, when the predicted capacity Qt of the secondary battery 30 exceeds the upper limit value Qu (FIG. 4) larger than the lower limit value Qe, the magnitude of the charging power of the secondary battery 30 in the operation mode is used as a reference. A value Pd (FIG. 3A) smaller than the power Ps is set.
Thereby, the load at the time of charge with respect to the secondary battery 30 can be reduced compared with the case where charging electric power is made into the reference electric power Ps. In general, the secondary battery 30 has a characteristic that the lower the charging current or voltage is lower than the higher the charging current or voltage, the lighter the load during charging, and the lighter the load is advantageous for the life. At 6 pm when the business hours are not reached, it is possible to contribute to extending the life of the secondary battery 30 as much as possible while securing the capacity of the secondary battery 30 between the lower limit value Qe and the upper limit value Qu. .

The power values Pu and Pd are calculated by (Expression 3) and (Expression 4) described later.
Returning to FIG. 1, even if the additional charge determination unit 66 charges the secondary battery 30 with the charging power planned by the charging plan unit 65, immediately before 6:00 pm, for example, 15 minutes before entering the business hours, etc. If the capacity of the secondary battery 30 is lower than the lower limit value Qe at the point of time, additional charging (complementary charging) for forcibly charging the secondary battery 30 is performed even in the sleep mode. .

The additional charging is performed in the operation mode shown in FIG. 2C, that is, a circuit that supplies power for charging to the secondary battery 30 while the power of the commercial power supply 40 is supplied to the printing unit 21 via the power supply device 10. This is done by configuring. In this sense, it can be said that the additional charging is performed by switching to the operation mode.
Originally, in the sleep mode, the secondary battery 30 is charged by switching to the same circuit configuration as in the operation mode. If the standby power is consumed by the circuit board or sensor in the print unit 21 as described above, Accordingly, the power of the commercial power supply 40 is wasted, and charging efficiency is reduced as compared to charging in the normal operation mode.

The voltage measuring unit 67 measures the voltage of the secondary battery 30.
The storage unit 17 is non-volatile here, and the start time and end time of the first time zone and the second time zone in the day, and the operation mode in the first time zone of the day in the past one day unit. The history information including the total operation time that is the total of the time of the time, information indicating the predicted discharge amount Qd of the secondary battery 30 in the second time zone, and the like are stored.

  Since the start time and end time of the second time zone are equal to the start time and end time of the longest energy saving mode in the present embodiment, the longest energy saving mode is set by the time setting of the energy saving mode time setting unit 62. If the start time and end time are set, the second time period is automatically determined. If the second time period is determined, the end of the second time period until the start of the next second time period The time zone is automatically determined as the first time zone.

(5) Configuration of Output Switching Unit 52 The output switching unit 52 is configured by a circuit that switches the output destination of the power received from the AC-DC power supply 13 between the energy saving mode, the operation mode, and the sleep mode.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of the output switching unit 52, the charging unit 14, and the discharging unit 16. Hereinafter, the circuit configuration will be described in the order of the output switching unit 52, the charging unit 14, and the discharging unit 16.

As shown in the figure, the output switching unit 52 includes FETs (Field Effect Transistors) 71 to 73 as switching elements, DC / DC converters 74 and 75, diodes 76a to 76c, and the like.
The FET 71 has an input terminal 1 a connected to the output terminal of the AC-DC power supply 13, an output terminal 1 b connected to the input terminal 2 a of the FET 72 and the input terminal 3 a of the FET 73 via the diode 76 a, and a gate 1 c of the CPU 51. It is connected to the output terminal P1.

The output terminal 2b of the FET 72 is connected to the input terminal 4a of the DC / DC converter 74, and the gate 2c of the FET 72 is connected to the output terminal P5 of the CPU 51.
The output terminal 4b of the DC / DC converter 74 is connected to an output terminal 11a for supplying power to the apparatus main body 20 in the operation mode via a diode 76b.
The output terminal 3b of the FET 73 is connected to the input terminal 5a of the DC / DC converter 75. The output terminal 5b of the DC / DC converter 75 supplies power to the external I / F 22 through the diode 76c in the sleep mode. Connected to an output terminal 11b. The gate 3c of the FET 73 is connected to the output terminal P4 of the CPU 51.

The charging unit 14 includes a DC / DC converter 81, a current variable circuit 82, and a diode 83.
The DC / DC converter 81 has its input terminal 8 a connected to the output terminal 2 b of the FET 72, and its output terminal 8 b connected to the input terminal 9 a of the current variable circuit 82. The output terminal 9b of the current variable circuit 82 is connected to an output terminal 11d for supplying charging power to the secondary battery 30 via a diode 83, and the input terminal 9c of the current variable circuit 82 is an output of the CPU 51. It is connected to the terminal P2.

The discharge unit 16 includes an FET 91 and a diode 92.
The input terminal 10a of the FET 91 is connected to a line connecting the diode 83 and the output terminal 11d, and the output terminal 10b of the FET 91 is an output terminal 11c for supplying power to the external I / F 22 via the diode 92. The gate 10c of the FET 91 is connected to the output terminal P3 of the CPU 51.

  In such a configuration, the CPU 51 sets the output terminal P1 to the H level in the energy saving mode. Thereby, the FET 71 is turned off, and the power supply line between the AC-DC power supply 13 and the output switching unit 52 is cut off. At the same time, the relay 12 is turned off. Thereby, the power of the commercial power supply 40 is not supplied not only to the output switching unit 52 but also to the power supply device 10 itself. This state is called a power interruption state.

It is possible to prevent the power of the commercial power supply 40 from being consumed as standby power when the power of the commercial power supply 40 continues to flow through the AC-DC power supply 13, the CPU 51, its peripheral circuit, and the like in the energy saving mode.
At the same time, the CPU 51 sets the output terminal P3 to L level as a discharge instruction when in the energy saving mode. Thereby, the FET 91 is turned on, and the electric power output by the discharge of the secondary battery 30 is supplied to the external I / F 22 through the output terminal 11d, the FET 91, the diode 92, and the output terminal 11c. This state is referred to as a discharge state of the secondary battery 30.

  In the operation mode, the CPU 51 turns on the relay 12. When the relay 12 is turned on, DC power is supplied from the AC-DC power supply 13 to the output switching unit 52. The CPU 51 turns on the relay 12 and switches the output terminals P1 and P5 to the L level and the output terminal P4 to the H level. As a result, the FET 71 and FET 72 are turned on, the FET 73 is turned off, and the DC voltage from the AC-DC power supply 13 is operated by the DC / DC converter 74 to operate the apparatus main body 20 such as execution of an image forming job or power supply to the external I / F 22. The direct current voltage is converted into a direct current voltage having a magnitude necessary for this, and the converted direct current voltage is supplied to the entire apparatus main body 20 (both the print unit 21 and the external I / F 22) via the output terminal 11a.

Further, the DC voltage from the AC-DC power supply 13 is converted into a voltage suitable for charging the secondary battery 30 by the DC / DC converter 81 and output to the current variable circuit 82.
When an instruction voltage indicating the magnitude of the charging power P planned by the charging plan is input from the output terminal P2 of the CPU 51 to the input terminal 9c, the current variable circuit 82 generates a current having a magnitude corresponding to the instruction voltage. And output from the output terminal 9b. This current becomes a charging current.

Thus, charging power is output from the output terminal 9b of the current variable circuit 82, and the charging power is supplied to the secondary battery 30 via the output terminal 11d, whereby the secondary battery 30 is charged. As a charging method, for example, pulse charging can be used. This operation mode state is referred to as a state where the power of the commercial power supply 40 is supplied.
In the operation mode, the output terminal P3 is set to H level as an instruction to prohibit discharge. Thereby, the FET 91 is turned off, and the power of the secondary battery 30 is not supplied to the external I / F 22 through the FET 91. This state is referred to as a discharge stop state of the secondary battery 30.

  On the other hand, in the sleep mode, the CPU 51 switches the output terminal P4 to the L level and the output terminal P5 to the H level while maintaining the output terminal P1 at the L level. As a result, the FET 71 and the FET 73 are turned on and the FET 72 is turned off, and the DC voltage from the AC-DC power supply 13 is converted into a DC voltage having a required magnitude in the sleep mode in the DC / DC converter 75. The voltage is supplied to the external I / F 22 via the output terminal 11b. Further, since the FET 72 is turned off, the current supply to the circuits such as the DC / DC converters 74 and 81 is cut off, and the power is prevented from being consumed in these circuits.

In the sleep mode, as in the operation mode, the output terminal P3 is set to H level as an instruction to prohibit discharge, whereby the secondary battery 30 enters a discharge stop state.
In the sleep mode, power is supplied only to the external I / F 22 in the apparatus main body 20, so that the supplied power is much less than that in the operation mode in which power is supplied to all of the apparatus main body 20. . This state is called a sleep state.

  In the circuit shown in FIG. 5, the input terminal 10 a of the FET 91 is also connected to the input terminal PA <b> 2 that is a voltage measurement terminal of the CPU 51. Since the input terminal PA2 has a high impedance, the output current from the secondary battery 30 hardly flows into the CPU 51, and a current variable circuit is interposed between the secondary battery 30 and the current variable circuit 82. Since the diode 83 for blocking the current to flow back to the current 82 is interposed, the current does not flow to the current variable circuit 82.

The input terminal PA2 is a terminal for measuring the voltage of the secondary battery 30, and the CPU 51 determines the current voltage of the secondary battery 30 during charging and discharging based on the magnitude of the input voltage of the input terminal PA2. Obtain values from time to time by measurement. The voltage measurement unit 67 of the CPU 51 is in charge of measuring the voltage of the secondary battery 30.
When performing additional charging, even in the sleep mode, the CPU 51 is the same circuit as in the operation mode, that is, the relay 12 is turned on, the FETs 71 and 72 are turned on, the FETs 73 and 91 are turned off, and the current variable circuit 82 is turned on. Switch to the circuit to be operated. It is not necessary to provide a separate supply circuit dedicated to additional charging, which is advantageous in terms of cost without complicating the circuit configuration.

(6) Content of Charging Plan FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing content for performing the charging plan, which is repeatedly executed by the CPU 51 each time it is called by a main routine (not shown).
As shown in the figure, it is determined whether or not the release time of the longest energy saving mode has been reached (step S1). In the energy saving mode, the user sets the time in advance as described above, and the longest energy saving mode is equal to the second time zone. For this reason, the determination that the release time of the longest energy saving mode has been reached is made by determining that the current time coincides with the end time of the second time zone (9:00 am in the example of FIG. 3). Is called. The current time is acquired by the clocking of the clock IC 53.

If it is determined that it is not time to release the energy saving mode (“NO” in step S1), the process returns.
When it is determined that the energy saving mode release time has been reached (“YES” in step S1), the current capacity Qa of the secondary battery 30 is detected (step S2).
Here, the capacity Qa of the secondary battery 30 is obtained by detecting the voltage of the secondary battery 30 and converting the detected voltage into a capacity (mAh).

  The capacity Qa of the secondary battery 30 varies greatly depending on how many execution instructions of the image forming job are received during the time of the energy saving mode before cancellation (such as at night). For example, when the battery is not accepted once, the secondary battery 30 is not charged once by switching to the operation mode, so only the discharge is performed during the energy saving mode time. The capacity Qa of the secondary battery 30 at the time of release is reduced.

Conversely, when an instruction to execute an image forming job such as FAX reception is accepted during the energy saving mode, the secondary battery 30 is charged while the image forming job is executed by switching to the operation mode, and image forming is performed. When the job is completed, a state transition is made to return to the energy saving mode.
In the example of FIG. 4, the time between tm and tn during the energy saving mode (second time zone) corresponds to the charging time of the secondary battery 30 in the operation mode, and the capacity of the secondary battery 30 is increased by this charging. Therefore, after that, the transition is as shown by the broken line graph. As a result, the capacity Qa of the secondary battery 30 at the time of canceling the energy saving mode (9:00 am on the second day) becomes larger than when no image forming job has been accepted even once during the energy saving mode.

  The method for detecting the capacity Qa of the secondary battery 30 is not limited to the above method. For example, in a configuration that can detect that the battery has reached a certain capacity, such as full charge, the discharge time from the detection to the present time is counted, and the discharge amount per unit time in the energy saving mode ( A value obtained by subtracting a value obtained by multiplying (consumption amount) from the constant capacity may be used as the capacity Qa of the secondary battery 30.

Returning to FIG. 6, in step S <b> 3, the estimated charge amount Qb of the secondary battery 30 in the time until the next longest energy saving mode is entered within the unit period is obtained.
Here, the unit period is a predetermined period from the end of the longest energy saving mode, which is 24 hours (one day) in the present embodiment, and the next time until the longest energy saving mode is entered. 3 corresponds to the first time zone, and in the example of FIG. 3, if the current day is 9 am on the first day, the time is from 9 am to 6 pm.

The predicted charge amount Qb of the secondary battery 30 in the first time zone is calculated by the following (Equation 1).
Qb = Qa + (Tx × Cs) (Formula 1)
Here, Tx is an operation mode prediction time (total operation time) in the first time zone, and is obtained by the mode prediction unit 63.
Cs is a reference charging current for charging the secondary battery 30 and is determined in advance.

Then, a predicted discharge amount Qc of the secondary battery 30 assumed to be consumed by the discharge in the first time zone is obtained (step S4).
This predicted discharge amount Qc is the amount of discharge per unit time of the secondary battery 30 in the energy saving mode, the time in the energy saving mode in the first time zone (in the example of FIG. 3, the time from 0:00 pm to 1:00 pm ). The discharge amount per unit time of the secondary battery 30 is obtained in advance by measuring how much power of the secondary battery 30 is consumed per unit time in the energy saving mode, and is stored in the storage unit 17.

Since the energy saving mode time in the first time zone is preset by the user, the discharge amount of the secondary battery 30 in the first time zone can be obtained by multiplying the set time by the discharge amount per unit time. Qc can be obtained.
Subsequently, a value Qt obtained by (Qa + Qb-Qc) is obtained (step S5). This Qt corresponds to the predicted capacity of the secondary battery 30 at the time of entering the longest energy saving mode (6 pm in the example of FIG. 3), that is, at the start of the second time zone.

Then, a predicted discharge amount Qd of the secondary battery 30 that is assumed to be consumed by discharge during the longest energy saving mode is obtained (step S6).
The predicted discharge amount Qd is obtained by multiplying the discharge amount per unit time of the secondary battery 30 in the energy saving mode by the longest energy saving mode time. The discharge amount per unit time is read from the storage unit 17, and the time set in advance by the user is referred to for the longest energy saving mode time. The discharge amount based on the schedule can be accurately calculated.

  The calculation of the predicted discharge amount Qd is not limited to the above method. For example, if the actual discharge amount of the secondary battery 30 in the longest energy saving mode in the previous unit period can be detected, the detected value can be used as the predicted discharge amount Qd. Since the most recent actual value is used, it is assumed that the user repeatedly performs operations outside the schedule, such as executing the image forming job by canceling the energy saving mode for a certain period of time during the longest energy saving mode. Suitable for cases where

In addition to the above, the actual discharge amount of the secondary battery 30 in the longest energy saving mode can be detected every time, and the average value can be used as the predicted discharge amount Qd. The amount of discharge according to the average operating condition of the user can be obtained.
Next, a lower limit capacity (lower limit value) Qe of the secondary battery 30 that is assumed to be minimum required at the time of entering the longest energy saving mode (6 pm) is obtained (step S7).

The lower limit value Qe is obtained by the following (Formula 2).
Qe = Qd + QL (Formula 2)
Here, QL is the capacity of the secondary battery 30 that is the minimum required for the operation of the external I / F 22 as described above, and is obtained in advance through experiments or the like, and the information is stored in the storage unit 17.
Even when there is no charging opportunity because the operation mode is not in the longest energy-saving mode, the longest energy-saving mode is available if the capacity of the secondary battery 30 is equal to or greater than the lower limit Qe at 6 pm. It is possible to prevent a situation in which the external I / F 22 cannot be operated due to a decrease in the capacity of the secondary battery 30.

  The predicted discharge amount Qd varies depending on the time of the energy saving mode, but once the energy saving mode is set, it is constant until the next resetting. If the discharge amount is constant, the predicted discharge amount Qd can also be a constant value from when the time of the energy saving mode is set until it is reset. In this case, it is not necessary to calculate the lower limit value Qe by (Equation 2), and it is possible to store the calculated lower limit value Qe and read it out.

  Also, (Equation 2) is an equation assuming that there is no charging opportunity during the longest energy-saving mode (second time zone), and temporarily operates by job execution during the longest energy-saving mode. When it can be assumed that the secondary battery 30 is charged by switching to the mode, the lower limit value Qe can be set to a small value by the capacity Qz that is increased by the charging. That is, instead of (Expression 2), an expression represented by Qe = Qd + QL−Qz can be used.

  This is suitable when the capacity increase due to the charging of the secondary battery 30 can be expected, such as in an environment where a FAX reception job is regularly received even outside business hours. For the capacity Qz, for example, the actual charge amount outside the business hours of each time can be detected and stored as a past history, and the minimum value of the range that can be expected as the charge amount from the history can be taken. In this way, the capacity Qz is varied based on the past history, and a value corresponding to the actual performance of charging can be used. Further, when the capacity Qz can be determined to a certain amount to some extent, the certain amount may be used.

Then, it is determined whether or not Qt = Qe (step S8).
Here, Qt = Qd means that the capacity of the secondary battery 30 at the time when the longest energy saving mode ends (9 am on the next day) just decreases to QL.
In this case, if the charging of the secondary battery 30 in the operation mode within the time (first time zone) until the longest energy saving mode is entered is set to the reference charging current Cs and executed, the longest energy saving mode is established. During this time, the capacity of the secondary battery 30 does not fall below QL. In other words, it is possible to prevent the external I / F 22 from being driven due to a decrease in the capacity of the secondary battery 30 during the longest energy saving mode, thereby preventing the acceptance of an image forming job.

If it is determined that Qt = Qe (“YES” in step S8), the charging power P in the operation mode in the first time zone within the unit period is set as the reference power Ps (step S9), and the process returns. . The reference power Ps corresponds to the magnitude of power obtained by multiplying the reference charging current Cs by a constant voltage during charging.
Here, the setting of the reference power Ps is performed by writing power information indicating that the charging power P is set as the reference power Ps in a predetermined area in the storage unit 17. The power information may be written by updating (overwriting) past information or leaving a history associated with the date and time. The same applies to the setting of power values Pu and Pd described later.

If Qt = Qe is not satisfied (“NO” in step S8) and it is determined that Qt <Qe (“YES” in step S10), the charging power P in the operation mode is set to Pu larger than the reference power Ps. (Step S11), the process returns.
Qt <Qe means that the capacity of the secondary battery 30 falls below QL during the longest energy saving mode, and the external I / F 22 cannot be driven. Therefore, the charging power in the operation mode within the unit period P is changed to electric power Pu larger than the reference electric power Ps, and the storage capacity of the secondary battery 30 by charging is increased.

The electric power Pu is obtained by the following (Equation 3).
Pu = Ps + V × (Qe−Qt) / Tx (Formula 3)
Here, V is a charging voltage.
(Qe−Qt) corresponds to the shortage of the capacity of the secondary battery 30, and the power value obtained by multiplying the current value obtained by dividing this by the total operating time Tx and the charging voltage V is By adding to the reference power Ps, the minimum required charge power value Pu can be obtained. If the charging voltage of the secondary battery 30 is constant, the electric power Pu corresponds to a value obtained by multiplying the charging voltage by a current larger than the reference charging current Cs.

It is also possible to take a method of setting the power Pu by adding a predetermined value α to the value obtained by (Equation 3) with a margin.
The predetermined value α corresponds to a margin, and the capacity Q of the secondary battery 30 at the time of entering the second time zone is equal to or greater than the lower limit value Qe even if there is some variation in the charge amount or discharge amount of the secondary battery 30. Can satisfy the relationship.

On the other hand, if it is determined that Qt> Qe (“NO” in step S10), the charging power P in the operation mode is set to Pd smaller than the reference power Ps (step S12), and the process returns.
Qt> Qe means that the capacity of the secondary battery 30 does not decrease to QL during the longest energy saving mode, that is, the capacity of the secondary battery 30 has some allowance. Therefore, if the charging power P in the operation mode within the unit period is changed to the power Pd smaller than the reference power Ps, the load at the time of charging the secondary battery 30 by increasing the charging power is reduced as much as possible. The life of the secondary battery 30 can be extended even a little.

The electric power Pd is calculated | required by following (Formula 4).
Pd = Ps−V × (Qt−Qe) / Tx (Formula 4)
If the charging voltage of the secondary battery 30 is constant, the power Pd corresponds to a value obtained by multiplying the charging voltage by a current smaller than the reference charging current Cs.
When a certain amount of margin is provided, a value obtained by adding a predetermined value β to the value obtained by (Equation 4) can be used as the power Pd. Even if the charge amount or discharge amount of the secondary battery 30 varies, it is possible to satisfy the relationship in which the capacity Q of the secondary battery 30 at the time of entering the second time zone becomes equal to or higher than the lower limit value Qe.

FIG. 3A shows Pu as the charging power P in the operation mode that is executed during the business hours (first time zone) on the first day at 9:00 am on the first day when the longest energy saving mode is canceled. Or the example when Pd is planned is shown.
In the embodiment of FIG. 3 (a), if it is as planned at the time of 9:00 am on the first day, when it actually arrives at 6:00 pm, which is the end of business hours (starting outside business hours) Since the capacity Q of the secondary battery 30 should be the lower limit value Qe or higher, it is not necessary to perform additional charging immediately before 6 pm.

On the other hand, the comparative example of FIG. 3B is an example in which the charging plan is not executed, and the charging power P in the operation mode is fixed to the reference power Ps. Therefore, if compared with the example in which the charging power P is set to Pu in FIG. 3A, in the comparative example in FIG. 3B, the capacity of the secondary battery 30 is increased during business hours (first time zone). Insufficient charge will be required just before 6pm.
In the additional charging, standby power is consumed in the printing unit 21 as described above, and accordingly, the embodiment of FIG. 3A reduces wasteful power consumption more than the comparative example of FIG. , Charging efficiency can be improved.

  Further, if compared with the example in which the charging power P is set to Pd in FIG. 3A, the comparative example in FIG. 3B has a reference even though the capacity of the secondary battery 30 has a margin. Charging is performed with the electric power Ps, and the charging current or voltage cannot be reduced, which is disadvantageous to the life of the secondary battery 30 accordingly. In other words, the embodiment of FIG. 3A can lower the charging current or voltage of the secondary battery 30, and the life of the secondary battery 30 is longer than that of the comparative example of FIG. It can be extended.

  In the above (Equation 1), the reduction in the amount of stored electricity due to the self-discharge of the secondary battery 30 in the sleep mode in the first time zone is not considered. This is because, in the sleep mode in the first time zone, the external I / F 22 is driven by the power of the commercial power supply 40 and the power of the secondary battery 30 is not used. In some cases, this decrease may be taken into account.

  For example, “Qa + (Tx × Cs) −Qf” can be used instead of “Qa + (Tx × Cs)” in (Expression 1). Qf corresponds to the total discharge amount in the sleep mode in the first time zone. Since the operation mode time is predicted, the time obtained by subtracting the operation mode and the energy saving mode time from the first time period is the total operation time of the sleep mode, and the self-discharge per unit time of the secondary battery 30 If the amount is obtained in advance, the total discharge amount Qf in the sleep mode can be obtained by multiplying the amount by the total operation time in the sleep mode.

In the above description, the charging power P for the secondary battery 30 in the operation mode in the business time (first time zone) is set. However, the set charging power P is outside the business time within the same unit period. It can also be applied to (second time zone).
Specifically, the second time zone is in the state of transition to the energy saving mode, but when an image forming job is accepted, the mode is temporarily switched to the operation mode, and the accepted image forming job is being executed. In parallel with this, the secondary battery 30 is also charged. This is applied to the charging power at the time of charging.

Alternatively, a configuration that does not apply can be adopted. For example, the charging power P when charging the secondary battery 30 when temporarily switched to the operation mode during the energy saving mode may be set to the reference power Ps or a value Pd smaller than this.
(7) Contents of Additional Charging Control FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the contents of additional charging control, and is repeatedly executed by the CPU 51 every time it is called by a main routine (not shown).

As shown in the figure, it is determined whether or not the time for determining whether or not additional charging is necessary has been reached (step S21).
The timing for determining whether or not additional charging is necessary is determined in advance. In the present embodiment, one minute before the time of entering the second time zone (outside business hours), in the example of FIG. 3, 5:59 pm It is.
If it is determined that the determination time has not been reached ("NO" in step S21), the process returns. If it is determined that the determination time has been reached (“YES” in step S21), it is determined whether or not the sleep mode is set (step S22).

If it is not the sleep mode, that is, if it is the operation mode (“NO” in step S22), the image forming job is being executed and the secondary battery 30 is being charged. wait.
When it is determined that the sleep mode is set or the mode is returned to the sleep mode (“YES” in step S22), the capacity Qj of the secondary battery 30 at that time is detected (step S23). This detection is performed by the same method as in step S2.

Next, the lower limit value Qe of the secondary battery 30 that is assumed to be required at the minimum when the longest energy saving mode is entered (in the above case, 6 pm) is obtained (step S24). This lower limit value Qe is obtained by the same method as in step S7.
It is determined whether Qj> Qe is satisfied (step S25).
If it is determined that Qj> Qe (“YES” in step S25), it is determined that no additional charging is required (step S26), and the process returns. In this case, additional charging is not performed.

Qj> Qe means operation after the start of the first time zone, depending on the charging power P (Ps, Pu, Pd) planned at the start of the first time zone (9:00 am in the above example) When the secondary battery 30 is charged in the mode, the charging proceeds as planned, and it is determined that the additional charging is unnecessary.
On the other hand, if it is determined that Qj ≦ Qe (“NO” in step S25), additional charging is required (step S27), and a difference Δ between Qe and Qj is obtained (step S28), corresponding to the difference Δ. The secondary battery 30 is additionally charged (step S29), and the process returns. The additional charging is executed by switching to the operation mode as described above.

Note that the charging power P at the time of additional charging may be the reference power Ps, but may be larger than this. Conversely, the power value Pd may be smaller than the reference power Ps. When the additional charging is completed, the longest energy saving mode is entered.
This makes it possible to secure at least the lower limit Qe of the capacity of the secondary battery 30 at the time of entering the longest energy saving mode, and drive the external I / F 22 due to the capacity of the secondary battery 30 being insufficient during the energy saving mode. It can be prevented that it becomes impossible to do.

  In the above description, the timing for determining whether or not additional charging is necessary is set to one minute before the time point of entering the second time zone (6 pm), but is not limited to this. It may be before or 30 minutes ago. In this case, the minimum required capacity of the secondary battery 30 is obtained in advance 15 minutes or 30 minutes in advance, and additional charging is performed based on the magnitude relationship with the capacity Q actually detected at that time. Necessity is judged. In this way, since the start time of the additional charge is advanced, it becomes possible to end the additional charge before the end of the first time zone, and it is possible to shift to the longest energy saving mode according to the schedule. .

  In addition, during the longest energy-saving mode, when it is determined that the secondary battery 30 is expected to be charged more than a predetermined amount by temporarily entering the operation mode, specifically, a certain amount of FAX jobs are received at night. In such a case, the estimated charge amount is obtained, and if the sum of the obtained estimated charge amount and the capacity Qj is larger than the lower limit value Qe, the condition of Qj ≦ Qe may be satisfied. The additional charging may be prohibited. Unnecessary additional charging is not required, and charging efficiency can be improved.

  The expected charge of the secondary battery 30 in the energy saving mode is, for example, the past charge amount in the energy saving mode is stored as a history every time, and if there is a previous charge record, the charge is expected Therefore, it is possible to determine the charge amount at that time as the predicted charge amount. The charge amount can be obtained by multiplying the charging time by the charging current. Moreover, you may use the value which averaged the charge amount for every past each time as an estimated charge amount.

  The present invention is not limited to an image forming apparatus, and may be a secondary battery charging control method in an electronic apparatus such as an image forming apparatus. The method may be a program executed by a computer. The program according to the present invention is, for example, a magnetic disk such as a magnetic tape or a flexible disk, an optical recording medium such as a DVD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, or an MO, a flash memory recording medium, etc. It can be recorded on various possible recording media, and may be produced, transferred, etc. in the form of the recording medium, and various wired and wireless networks including the Internet in the form of programs, broadcasting, telecommunications In some cases, the data is transmitted and supplied via a line or satellite communication.

<Modification>
As described above, the present invention has been described based on the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the following modifications may be considered.
(1) In the above embodiment, when the unit period is entered by canceling the energy saving mode, the capacity of the secondary battery 30 in the unit period is predicted, and the charging plan is made based on the prediction result. Not limited to this. For example, it may be possible to make a charging plan between the start of the unit period and the first execution of the operation mode.

  If the time at which the first operation mode starts is known in advance, the charging plan may be made during the previous sleep mode, or for several minutes after entering the unit period based on the past history In the case where it is almost the case that the operation mode is switched to after the operation continues, the charging plan may be made during the sleep mode. In addition, when such mode transition is unknown or cannot be predicted, it is desirable to make a charging plan with the release of the energy saving mode as in the embodiment.

(2) In the above embodiment, the predicted charge amount of the secondary battery 30 in the operation mode assumed to be executed in the first time zone that is the business time, and the first time zone in the unit time period. Based on the predicted discharge amount of the secondary battery 30, the magnitude of the charging power P for the secondary battery 30 in the actual operation mode during the business hours is planned, but the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, when it can be predicted from the past history etc. that the operation mode is entered even in the second time period outside the business hours within the unit period, the predicted charge amount and the predicted discharge amount over the entire unit period Based on the obtained result, an actual charging plan for the secondary battery 30 within the unit period may be established at or immediately after the start of the unit period.

(3) In the above embodiment, an operator such as a user sets and inputs the time in the energy saving mode from the operation panel 33 or the like in advance. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, a configuration in which the user appropriately sets an arbitrary time may be employed. In this case, at the time of entering the unit period (9 am in the above example), the time of the energy saving mode scheduled to be executed within the unit period cannot be specified thereafter. Also for the energy saving mode, the charging power P can be obtained by predicting the time, obtaining the predicted discharge amounts Qc and Qd from the predicted time, and using the above (Equation 1) to (Equation 4).

For the prediction of the time in the energy saving mode, a method similar to the prediction of the operation mode, for example, the results in the previous unit period can be used.
(4) In the above embodiment, the charging power P is varied by varying the current value while keeping the charging voltage value constant. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the voltage value while keeping the current value constant. It is also possible to employ a circuit that varies the current value, a circuit that varies both the current value and the voltage value, and the like.

  Further, the capacity of the secondary battery 30 can be predicted by varying the charging time in the operation mode while keeping the charging power P constant. That is, instead of dedicating the entire operation mode predicted time (total operation time) Tx in the first time zone to the charging time, a part of the time, for example, only half is used as the reference charging time Ts (Equation 1) To obtain the estimated charge amount Qb. Assuming that the predicted operation mode time is Ts, the predicted charge amount Qb is smaller than when all the total operation time Tx is used for charging, and the capacity Qt of the secondary battery 30 is also reduced accordingly.

  If the relationship of Qt = Qe is satisfied when the estimated operation mode time is Ts, the charging time of the secondary battery 30 in the first time zone is sufficient for the first time zone. Every time the operation mode is switched, the charging time is accumulated, and when the accumulated time reaches Ts, the charging of the secondary battery 30 is prohibited in the first time zone, thereby entering the second time zone. Thus, the capacity Qt of the secondary battery 30 can be secured to the lower limit value Qe or more.

On the other hand, in the case of Qt <Qe, the charging time of the secondary battery 30 in the first time zone is insufficient in Ts, so the charging time Ta for the shortage is obtained by the following (Equation 5). Can do.
Ta = (Qe−Qt) / Is (Formula 5)
Here, Is is a reference charging current (constant).

Since (Qe−Qt) corresponds to the shortage of the capacity of the secondary battery 30 as described above, by dividing this by the current value Is, the charging time required to replenish the shortage of capacity by charging. Ta can be obtained.
In this case, if the charging time Tu of the secondary battery 30 in the first time zone is longer than Ts (Ts + Ta) or longer, the cumulative charging time in the first time zone reaches Tu. Thereafter, even if charging of the secondary battery 30 is prohibited, the capacity Qt of the secondary battery 30 can be made equal to or greater than the lower limit value Qe when entering the second time zone.

In the case of Qt> Qe, the charging time is excessive when Ts, and the excessive charging time Tb can be obtained by the following (Equation 6).
Tb ≧ (Qt−Qe) / Is (Expression 6)
In this case, when the charging time Td of the secondary battery 30 in the first time zone is shorter than Ts (Ts−Tb) or longer, the cumulative charging time in the first time zone reaches Td. In addition, after that, even if charging of the secondary battery 30 is prohibited, the capacity Qt of the secondary battery 30 can be made equal to or higher than the lower limit value Qe when entering the second time zone. From the above, it can be said that the configuration in which the charging time is variable is suitable for an environment in which there are many opportunities to change to the operation mode (execution frequency of the image forming job).

If Qt> Qe, the capacity of the secondary battery 30 is not insufficient. Therefore, the charging time may be kept at Ts as long as the life of the secondary battery 30 is not affected.
(5) In the above embodiment, an example in which the unit period is one day has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. If the longest energy-saving mode is set at a certain time interval, the unit period is from when the energy-saving mode is released until the next energy-saving mode is released. It will be decided.

In addition, when the unit period is one day, for example, a method of making a charging plan different between weekdays and holidays can be taken.
Specifically, if the next day is a holiday, if the holiday is considered out of business hours, the energy-saving mode is scheduled during the holiday, so the unit period is expanded to the time that includes the holiday. can do.

  Referring to the example of FIG. 3, when the first day is a weekday, the second day is a holiday, and the next day (third day) is a weekday, the second day is out of business hours and the energy saving mode is used all day. Business hours (first time zone) from 9:00 am on the first day to 6:00 am on the first day, and from 6:00 pm on the first day to 9:00 am on the third day. As (second time zone), the unit period can be two days. In this case, the longest energy saving mode time (second time zone) is 15 hours when the unit period is one day, but changes to 39 hours when the unit period is two days.

If the time of the longest energy saving mode changes, the predicted discharge amount Qd of the secondary battery 30 assumed to be consumed by discharge during the longest energy saving mode changes, and if the predicted discharge amount Qd changes, the lower limit from (Equation 2) If the value Qe changes and the lower limit value Qe changes, the value of the charging power P also changes from (Equation 3) and (Equation 4).
That is, the value corresponding to 39 hours, which is the longest energy saving mode time, is set as the charging power P in the operation mode in the first time zone on the first day. When the unit period is two days, since the time of the energy saving mode is longer than that of one day, the charging power P is set to a larger value accordingly. The determination of weekdays and holidays can be made by registering weekdays and holidays in the calendar function of the clock IC 53 in advance.

  Thus, not only the next day (second day) of the first day becomes a holiday, but also when there are a plurality of predetermined holidays consecutively after the next day, for example, the second day and the third day Similarly, in the case of a holiday, the longest energy-saving mode is increased by the number of consecutive holidays, and the unit period is added to 24 hours a day. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the value of the charging power P corresponding to the expanded time is set.

(6) In the above embodiment, the charging power P of the secondary battery 30 in the operation mode during the working hours of the day is planned and planned every day when the longest energy saving mode is canceled (in the above example, 9 am). Although it was set as the structure which does not change the charging power P until business hours are complete | finished, it is not restricted to this.
For example, the charging plan may be reestablished during business hours.
The charging power P is calculated at the start of business hours based on the prediction of operation mode execution in the subsequent business hours. However, the actual operation mode is not always executed as predicted, and is temporarily predicted. This is because the secondary battery 30 may run out of capacity when it is out of the range.

Finding the appropriate charging power P at that time and updating it to the calculated charging power P in the middle of business hours, it is possible to respond more flexibly to predictions than when charging power P is fixed within business hours This makes it possible to prevent the secondary battery 30 from running out of capacity.
The method for re-establishing the charging plan in the middle of business hours can be the same as the method planned when the longest energy saving mode is canceled (equivalent to the start of business hours). If the plan is re-established in the middle of the business hours, the total of the operation modes expected to be executed within the unit period, for example, the time until the longest energy saving mode is entered (remaining time) after that time. After predicting the operating time, it is necessary to obtain the predicted charge amount Qb of the secondary battery 30 by (Equation 1). Further, since the predicted discharge amount Qc of the secondary battery 30 also changes depending on the remaining time, it is necessary to recalculate the value corresponding to this. In consideration of these, the charging power P of the secondary battery 30 is obtained by (Equation 3) and (Equation 4), and the obtained charging power P is applied to the power when charging the secondary battery 30 thereafter. Is done.

  The timing (predetermined time point) for re-establishing the charging power P can be set at a predetermined time, for example, or at regular intervals (such as one hour). The time and the number of times are not limited, but can be, for example, an intermediate time of business hours. Alternatively, it may be executed every time when all the energy saving modes including the longest energy saving mode are canceled. In this case, in the example of FIG. 3, the charging plan is reestablished even when the energy saving mode is canceled between 0:00 pm and 1:00 pm.

Note that as the number of times of re-establishing the charging plan increases, the calculation processing by the CPU 51 increases and the burden increases. Therefore, a suitable time or the like is determined in advance by comparing the calculation accuracy of the charging power P and the processing burden for each device. .
(7) In the above embodiment, a day is a unit time, and among these, the business hours from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm are the first time zone, and the business hours from 6:00 pm to 9:00 am the next day Although an example has been described in which the second time period is the longest energy saving mode time, with the second time period being the second time period, the time of each time period is not limited thereto.

For example, if the user's longest energy saving mode is between 10:00 pm and 10:00 am on the next day, this time is set as the second time zone, and the time from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm It can be an hour.
In addition, the example in which the energy saving mode is set in a plurality of different time zones between 0:00 pm to 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm to 9:00 am on the next day in the unit period has been described. For example, only one value may be set. In this case, the one energy saving mode is the longest energy saving mode, and the end of the energy saving mode is the end of the unit period.

When the longest energy saving mode is canceled, the charging power P of the secondary battery 30 in the operation mode executed in the first time period in the subsequent unit period can be applied as long as the configuration is planned at the time of the cancellation. is there.
By planning the charging power P when the longest energy saving mode is canceled, the charging power P can be determined in consideration of the capacity of the secondary battery 30 at the time of the cancellation.

  That is, when an image forming job such as FAX reception is accepted during the longest energy saving mode such as at night, the secondary battery 30 is charged while switching to the operation mode and executing the image forming job. When it is difficult to predict how often FAX reception will be accepted during the energy saving mode such as at night, the capacity of the secondary battery 30 when the energy saving mode is canceled tends to vary from day to day.

  The capacity of the secondary battery 30 at the time of cancellation of the longest energy saving mode varies from day to day, even if the total operating time of the operation mode in the first time zone hardly changes from day to day. Every day, according to the capacity of the secondary battery 30 at the time of release, the planned charge power P is set to the capacity of the secondary battery 30 when the next longest energy saving mode is entered. Can be changed to

Specifically, the capacity of the secondary battery 30 when the energy saving mode is released is larger when the secondary battery 30 is frequently charged than when the secondary battery 30 is not charged at all during the longest energy saving mode. Therefore, the planned magnitude of the charging power P is set to a smaller value when the charging is frequently performed than when the charging is not performed at all.
As described above, the load at the time of charging the secondary battery 30 has a characteristic that it increases as the charging current or voltage increases. Therefore, when the secondary battery 30 is frequently charged during the longest energy saving mode. In other words, by reducing the charging power P compared to when it was not performed at all, it is possible to reduce the load at the time of charging the secondary battery 30 in the first time zone and to further extend the life of the secondary battery 30. it can. Further, if it is assumed that the charging power P is not reduced more than necessary (overcharge), the charging efficiency can be improved by reducing the charging power P to an appropriate value.

  (8) In the above embodiment, the power of the commercial power supply 40 is supplied to the external I / F 22 in the sleep mode, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead of the commercial power source 40, for example, the power of the secondary battery 30 may be supplied to the external I / F 22. In this case, since the power of the secondary battery 30 is consumed even in the sleep mode in the first time zone, the power consumption is added to the predicted discharge amount Qc of the secondary battery 30.

  (9) In the above embodiment, the configuration example in which the external I / F 22 is a reception unit that receives an instruction to execute an image forming job has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The image forming job may be received by the power of the secondary battery 30. For example, the receiving unit may be an operation unit such as an operation panel that receives an input of an execution instruction from the user. In this case, a signal indicating that the acceptance key of the image forming job arranged in the operation unit has been operated by the user can be generated by the power of the secondary battery 30 and transmitted.

  (10) In the above embodiment, the current supply to the AC-DC power supply 13 is interrupted by the latching type relay 12, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. A configuration using a switch element of a formula may be used. Further, in the energy saving mode, it is possible to employ a configuration in which a relay or the like is not provided as long as power from an external power source such as the commercial power source 40 is suppressed as much as possible, for example, it can be completely cut off. .

  (11) In the above embodiment, an image forming apparatus that executes an image forming job has been described as an electronic device. However, the present invention is not limited to this. An energy-saving mode in which the power from the external power supply to the main unit is cut off from the external power source such as the commercial power supply 40 and the secondary battery, and the processing request is received by the receiving unit. Operation mode in which power is supplied from the external power source to the main unit for execution of processing by the processing unit, and power from the external power source or the secondary battery is cut off from the external power source while the processing is completed. The present invention can be applied to electronic devices in general that can switch between sleep modes supplied to the reception unit.

  As an electronic device, for example, in a television having a reception unit that accepts a wireless on signal from an external remote controller (remote controller) as a processing request and a tuner or a display, the power of the secondary battery is cut off while the power from the external power source is cut off. The operation time of the energy-saving mode that operates the reception unit with power can be set, and when the processing request is received by the energy-saving mode and the reception unit, the tuner and display are turned on (operated) by the power of the external power supply and the program If there is an operation mode that displays information on the screen and an instruction to turn it off in the operation mode, power is saved by supplying external power or secondary battery power only to a specific module (such as the reception unit) while the display is turned off. That can be switched to sleep mode and personal computers with similar functions Such as computer over it can be considered.

  Further, the contents of the above embodiment and the above modification may be combined.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful as a technique for charging a secondary battery that supplies power to a reception unit in an electronic apparatus having an apparatus main body that includes a reception unit that receives a processing request and a processing unit that executes the received process.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Power supply device 14 Charging part 15 Power supply control part 16 Discharge part 17 Memory | storage part 20 Apparatus main body 21 Print part 22 External I / F
30 Secondary battery 33 Operation panel 40 Commercial power supply 51 CPU
52 Output Switching Unit 61 Mode Switching Unit 62 Energy Saving Mode Time Setting Unit 63 Mode Prediction Unit 64 Capacity Prediction Unit 65 Charging Planning Unit

Claims (17)

A main body having a receiving unit for receiving a processing request and a processing unit for executing the received processing;
An energy-saving mode that uses an external power source and a secondary battery as a drive source, cuts off the power supply from the external power source to the main unit and supplies the secondary battery power to the receiving unit, and power from the external power source to the main unit A power supply device capable of switching between an operation mode for supplying power and a sleep mode for shutting off power supply from the external power source to the processing unit and supplying power from the external power source or the secondary battery to the reception unit,
The power supply device
Charging means for charging the secondary battery with the power of the external power source in the operation mode;
The predicted charge amount of the secondary battery in the operation mode that is assumed to be executed within the unit period so that the capacity of the secondary battery does not fall below the value required for the operation of the receiving unit within a predetermined unit period. And charging plan means for making a charging plan for the secondary battery in the unit period based on the predicted discharge amount of the secondary battery at a time other than the operation mode,
An electronic device comprising: It has acquisition means to acquire the start time and end time of energy saving mode,
When the acquired start time is reached, the system shifts to the energy saving mode if it is in the sleep mode, and if it is in the operation mode, it shifts to the energy saving mode after the operation mode ends,
When a processing request is accepted during the energy saving mode, it temporarily switches to the operation mode, and when the processing is completed, it returns to the energy saving mode,
When the acquired end time is reached, if it is in the energy saving mode, it shifts to the sleep mode, and if it is in the operation mode, it shifts to the sleep mode after the operation mode ends,
2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the processing request is accepted during the sleep mode, the mode is switched to the operation mode, and when the processing is completed, the electronic device returns to the sleep mode. The unit period is
It is started when the energy-saving mode is released, and is divided into a first time zone in which at least the operation mode and the sleep mode are scheduled to be executed, and a second time zone in which the energy-saving mode is scheduled to be executed following this time zone. And
The start time of the second time zone corresponds to a start time of the acquired energy saving mode, and an end time of the second time zone corresponds to an end time of the acquired energy saving mode. 2. The electronic device according to 2. The power supply device
Detecting means for detecting the capacity Qa of the secondary battery when the energy saving mode is released;
A first calculation means for obtaining a predicted charge amount Qb when the secondary battery is assumed to be charged with a reference power Ps in the operation mode in the first time zone as the predicted charge amount of the secondary battery;
A second calculation means for obtaining a predicted discharge amount Qc when the secondary battery is assumed to discharge when the secondary battery is not in the operation mode in the first time zone, as a predicted discharge amount of the secondary battery;
The charging plan means includes
The secondary battery capacity Qt at the time of entering the second time zone is obtained from the capacity Qa of the secondary battery, the predicted charge amount Qb, and the predicted discharge amount Qc, and at least required at the time of entering the second time zone. When the lower limit capacity to be applied is Qe, when Qt <Qe, the charging power for the secondary battery is set to the reference power Ps so that the capacity of the secondary battery at the time of entering the second time zone becomes equal to or more than Qe. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the electronic device is changed to a larger power Pu. The charging plan means includes
In the case of Qt> Qe, the charging power for the secondary battery is changed to the power Pd smaller than the reference power Ps within the range where the capacity of the secondary battery at the time of entering the second time zone satisfies Qe or more. The electronic apparatus according to claim 4. The power supply device
Comprising a mode prediction means for predicting the operation mode time in the first time zone;
The first calculation means includes
Obtain the predicted charge amount Qb from the predicted operation mode time and the reference power Ps,
The second calculation means includes
6. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the predicted discharge amount Qc is obtained from a time other than the operation mode in the first time zone and a predicted discharge amount of the secondary battery per unit time. The mode prediction means includes
The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the prediction is executed based on an execution history of a past operation mode and other modes. The power supply device
Detecting means for detecting the capacity Qa of the secondary battery when the energy saving mode is released;
A first calculation means for obtaining a predicted charge amount Qb when it is assumed that the secondary battery is charged over a reference time Ts during the operation mode in the first time zone as the predicted charge amount of the secondary battery;
A second calculation means for obtaining a predicted discharge amount Qc when the secondary battery is assumed to discharge when the secondary battery is not in the operation mode in the first time zone, as a predicted discharge amount of the secondary battery;
The charging plan means includes
The secondary battery capacity Qt at the time of entering the second time zone is obtained from the capacity Qa of the secondary battery, the predicted charge amount Qb, and the predicted discharge amount Qc, and at least required at the time of entering the second time zone. When the lower limit capacity to be used is Qe, when Qt <Qe, the charging time for the secondary battery is set to the reference time Ts so that the capacity of the secondary battery at the time of entering the second time zone becomes equal to or more than Qe. Change to Tu for a longer time,
The charging means includes
4. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein when the accumulated charging time for the secondary battery in the first time period reaches the changed time, charging after that is prohibited. The charging plan means includes
When Qt> Qe, the charging time for the secondary battery is changed to a time Td shorter than the reference time Ts within a range where the capacity of the secondary battery at the time of entering the second time zone satisfies Qe or more. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein: The detection means includes
Furthermore, the capacity of the secondary battery is detected at a predetermined time immediately before entering the second time zone,
The power supply device
When the predetermined time is in the sleep mode and the detected capacity of the secondary battery is lower than the minimum required capacity at the time, the operation mode is switched to the secondary battery by the charging means. 10. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein additional charging is performed. The power supply device
If it is determined that the expected predetermined amount or more of charging by the charging of the secondary battery by temporarily be switched to operating mode in energy-saving mode in the second time zone, the secondary battery according to switching of the operating mode The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein additional charging is prohibited. The acquisition means includes
The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the electronic device is a receiving unit that receives an input of a start time and an end time of the energy saving mode from a user. The unit period is
The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic apparatus is a day. The charging plan means includes
When the next day on which the charging plan is performed is a predetermined holiday, or when there are a plurality of predetermined holidays continuously after the next day, the unit period is set to 24 hours per day. 14. The electronic apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the time is expanded to a time obtained by adding the time for the holiday. The charging plan means includes
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a charging plan for the secondary battery is made when the unit period starts. The charging plan means includes
The predicted charge amount of the secondary battery in the operation mode that is assumed to be executed within the unit period after the predetermined point when a predetermined point in the unit period is reached after the unit period is entered. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein a charging plan for the secondary battery is reestablished based on a predicted discharge amount of the secondary battery at a time other than the operation mode. The processing request is an instruction to execute an image forming job,
The reception unit is an external interface that receives an instruction to execute an image forming job,
The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit is an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet based on an instruction to execute an image forming job.

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