JP6264929B2 - Failure determination system, electronic device, failure determination method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for determining a failure of power generation means attached to a device that generates heat during operation, an electronic apparatus equipped with the system, a failure determination method, and a program for causing a computer to execute the method.

  Electronic devices such as copiers, printers, facsimile machines using these electrophotographic processes, and multi-functional machines equipped with them include devices that generate heat, such as a power supply unit, a scanner, and a fixing unit. In response to the recent demand for energy saving, a technology to reduce the power by converting the heat generated by these devices into electrical energy, storing it in the storage battery, and using the electrical energy stored in the sleep state is proposed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  In this patent document 1, in order to prevent the interruption of the power supply by a storage battery, the monitoring means which monitors the state of a storage battery and the electric power generation output of a power generation part is provided, and based on the monitoring result by the monitoring means, power generation amount and its storage battery are included. The failure of the power storage unit can be confirmed.

  A failure of a power generation means (for example, a thermoelectric conversion element) that is attached to a device that generates heat, such as the power storage unit or the fixing unit, and that generates power by the heat generated from the device is output from the storage battery or the power generation means. This can be determined by measuring the voltage. This is because it can be determined that a failure has occurred when the output voltage that should originally be obtained cannot be obtained.

  In order to measure this voltage, a dedicated circuit such as a voltage detection circuit is provided. However, if this dedicated circuit is provided for each of the plurality of power generation means mounted in the electronic device, there is a problem that the mounting area is increased at the same time as the cost is increased.

  Therefore, it has been desired to provide a system and method that can determine the failure of the power generation means without providing a dedicated circuit for each power generation means.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an electronic device including a plurality of power generation means attached to each of a plurality of devices that generate heat during operation, and a power storage means for storing power generated by one or more power generation means. And determining each storage amount stored in the storage unit per unit time in association with each of job information of a plurality of jobs that can be executed by the electronic device. As storage means for storing, job information of a job requested to be executed by the electronic device, acquisition means for acquiring the job information from the electronic device, and storing in the power storage means when the electronic device is executing the job The detection means for detecting the storage amount, the storage change amount obtained from the storage amount detected by the detection means, and the storage change amount acquired from the storage means based on the job information acquired by the acquisition means, Based on the compare results, including determination means for determining a failure of one or more power generating means attached to one or more devices that operate by the execution of the job, the failure determination system is provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine the failure of the power generation means without providing a dedicated circuit for each power generation means.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an electronic apparatus according to the embodiment. The figure which showed the structural example of the control part with which an electronic device is provided. The figure which showed the 1st structural example of the power supply system mounted in the electronic device shown in FIG. The figure which illustrated the 1st table which matched the electric power generation amount of each operation mode, and the voltage change amount at the time of charge. The figure which illustrated the relationship between charging time and charging voltage. The flowchart which illustrated the flow of the 1st process which a failure judgment system performs. The figure which illustrated the relationship between charging time and charging voltage. The figure which illustrated the 2nd table which matched the electric power generation amount of each operation mode, and the voltage change amount at the time of charge. The flowchart which illustrated the flow of the 2nd process which a failure judgment system performs. The figure which illustrated the relationship between charging time and charging voltage. The figure which illustrated the 3rd table which matched the electric power generation amount of each operation mode, and the voltage change amount at the time of charge. The flowchart which illustrated the flow of the 3rd process which a failure judgment system performs. The figure which showed the 2nd structural example of the power supply system mounted in an electronic device. The figure which illustrated the relationship between charging time and charging voltage. The figure which illustrated the 4th table which matched the electric power generation amount of each operation mode, and the voltage change amount at the time of charge. The figure which showed the 3rd structural example of the power supply system mounted in an electronic device.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming apparatus as an example of an electronic apparatus. An image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a multifunction device having functions of a printer and a scanner. In addition, the image forming apparatus 10 may be a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or the like. Here, the image forming apparatus 10 is taken as an example, but the electronic device may be a PC, a server, a television, a projector, a Blu-ray disc recorder, or the like. Further, the electronic device may be a combination of two or more of these devices.

  The image forming apparatus 10 includes an automatic document feeder (ADF) 11, an image reading device 12, a printer unit 13, and a capacitor unit 14. In addition, the image forming apparatus 10 includes an operation panel and input keys (not shown), and can be switched to each mode (function mode) by an application switching key or input key displayed on the operation panel. As the function mode, a mode corresponding to the function of the image forming apparatus 10 can be set, and there are a copy mode, a print mode, a scan mode, a fax mode, and the like. The image forming apparatus 10 executes a job corresponding to the function mode set by the user. That is, if the copy mode is set, the copy job is executed.

  The ADF 11 includes a document feed tray for supplying a document (not shown), a pickup roller for picking up the document from the document feed tray, a separation roller for separating and feeding the documents one by one, and a paper discharge tray for discharging the document. Consists of including. Since this configuration is an example, other configurations may be used, and additional components may be included.

  The image reading device 12 is a scanner, and a transparent contact glass on which an original is conveyed, a light source that emits light to the original through the contact glass, a photoelectric that receives light from the original and converts it into an electrical signal. A conversion element is included. In addition, the image reading device 12 can include a plurality of reflecting mirrors, a condensing lens, an A / D converter that converts an analog signal that is an electrical signal into digital data, and the like. Here, a reflection type device that converts reflected light into an electrical signal is used, but a transmission type device that converts light transmitted through a document into an electrical signal may be used.

  Here, the printer unit 13 is an electrophotographic printer, and includes a writing unit 15, a photosensitive drum 16, a developing unit 17, a transport belt 18, and a fixing unit 19. In addition, the printer unit 13 includes a paper feed tray that stores paper to be supplied onto the transport belt 18, a paper feed roller that feeds the paper one by one, and the photosensitive drum 16 and the transport belt 18 at a predetermined timing. A registration roller or the like that feeds the paper between the two can be provided.

  The writing unit 15 irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 16 with writing light based on image information from an image processing unit (not shown), and forms an electrostatic latent image that cannot be seen with the naked eye on the surface. As the writing light, laser light, LED, or the like can be used. The developing unit 17 attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 16 to form a visible image (toner image) that can be seen with the naked eye.

  The toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 16 is placed on the transport belt 18 and transferred to the transported paper. The fixing unit 19 applies heat and pressure to the paper on which the toner image is transferred, and fixes the toner image on the paper. The paper on which the toner image is fixed is conveyed to a paper discharge tray and discharged.

  The capacitor unit 14 includes a capacitor (capacitor) as power storage means, and stores power obtained by power generation by power generation means (not shown). The capacitor unit 14 supplies the stored power to each apparatus when the image forming apparatus 10 is in the sleep state. The capacitor stores electric charge as electric power when voltage is applied. Here, a capacitor is taken as an example, but it is also possible to use a storage battery that stores electricity using a chemical reaction.

  An operation of the image forming apparatus 10 when the function mode set in the image forming apparatus 10 is the copy mode will be briefly described. The image forming apparatus 10 executes a copy job corresponding to the set copy mode. The copy job is started when a bundle of documents is set on the document feed tray of the ADF 11 and the start button is pressed. The image forming apparatus 10 picks up a set of set originals with a pickup roller, separates them with a separation roller, and feeds them one by one onto the contact glass of the image reading apparatus 12. The image reading device 12 irradiates light on a document sent onto the contact glass, converts the reflected light into an electrical signal by a photoelectric conversion element, converts it into digital data by an A / D converter, and outputs an image. Output as data.

  The image data is sent to a control unit (not shown), and various corrections such as shading correction and gamma correction are performed. Then, the corrected image data is given to the writing unit 15 as image information. Shading correction is a correction that makes uneven brightness due to the characteristics of the optical system uniform, and gamma correction is a color correction that allows the color information of the input image to be faithfully reproduced by the printer. It is a correction to be adjusted.

  The writing unit 15 irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 16 with laser light or the like based on image information given from a control unit (not shown), and forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface. In forming this latent image, the photosensitive drum 16 is uniformly charged in advance by a charging unit (not shown). The writing unit 15 is exposed to a laser beam, an LED, or the like, and forms a pattern to be printed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 16 as an electrostatic latent image.

  The photosensitive drum 16 is attached with toner by the developing unit 17, and a toner image is formed on the surface thereof. As the toner, only a black toner may be used, or a plurality of color toners may be used. Since the photosensitive drum 16 rotates in a constant direction at a constant speed, the toner image formed on the surface is pressed against the paper conveyed at a constant speed and transferred. The toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 16 after the transfer is removed by a cleaning unit (not shown). The paper is conveyed to a transfer position by a registration roller (not shown) in accordance with the timing of writing by the writing unit 15 and rotation of the photosensitive drum 16.

  The paper on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 19 by the conveyance belt 18 at a constant speed. In the fixing unit 19, first, heat is applied to melt the toner, and then pressure is applied to firmly fix the toner on the paper. The paper on which the toner image is fixed in this manner is discharged to a paper discharge tray.

  The image forming apparatus 10 includes a control unit in order to realize a plurality of functions such as a printer and a scanner and to control each unit and apparatus. The configuration of the control unit will be briefly described with reference to FIG. The control unit is a controller 20 and includes a CPU 21, a RAM 22, a ROM 23, an HDD 24, and an NVRAM 25. The CPU 21 controls the entire image forming apparatus 10, and the RAM 22 is used as a work space for the CPU 21. The ROM 23 stores a boot program, firmware, and the like. The HDD 24 stores various programs such as an OS and applications for realizing each function, data used by the programs, and the like. The NVRAM 25 stores various setting information and the like.

  The controller 20 is connected to the operation panel 26, the image reading device 12, the printer unit 13, the modem 27, the network I / F 28, the media drive 29, and the like. The operation panel 26 is a touch panel, and functions as an input device that receives input from a user, and a display device that displays input information, an operation status of the image forming apparatus 10, and the like. The modem 27 is connected to a telephone line to realize fax transmission / reception. The network I / F 28 is connected to a network such as the Internet, and realizes communication via the network. The media drive 29 is a unit that reads programs and data recorded on a CD-ROM, DVD, SD card, etc., and writes them.

  When the multifunction device is turned on, the CPU 21 executes a boot program stored in the ROM 23 to activate the multifunction device, reads and activates the OS from the HDD 24, executes an application on the OS, and executes each function. Realize. At that time, the CPU 21 also executes image processing such as shading correction and gamma correction, and inputs the image information after the image processing to the writing unit 15.

  The image forming apparatus 10 realizes each function in each function mode such as a copy mode and a printer mode by executing the application. The image forming apparatus 10 also includes a sleep mode as a function mode in which the apparatus is stopped if there is no operation or access for a certain period of time. This mode is a mode introduced with the recent energy saving. In the sleep mode, it is only necessary to have power for starting to start the device when the next operation or access is made, and power supply other than that is unnecessary, so that power consumption can be reduced. In order to secure this starting power, a capacitor unit 14 is provided, and power can be supplied from the capacitor unit 14 at the time of starting.

  The capacitor unit 14 can supply power from an external power source and store the power when the image forming apparatus 10 is activated. In this image forming apparatus 10, heat is generated by the operation of the image reading device 12, a power supply unit (not shown), the fixing unit 19, and the like. ing. If the power generated by this power generation element is stored (charged) in the capacitor unit 14, the power supplied from the external power source can be reduced or eliminated, and the power consumption can be further reduced.

  The configuration of the power supply system of the image forming apparatus 10 including such a power generation element and the capacitor unit 14 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In power generation using a power generation element, heat to be converted into electric power is required. As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 10 includes an image reading device 12, a fixing unit 19, and a switching element that drives a power supply unit (PSU) as a device that generates heat during operation. In FIG. 3, these devices are referred to as heat generating components 31, 41, 51.

  The heat generating component 31 is provided in the power supply unit 30, and a power generation element 32 that converts heat discharged from the heat generating component 31 into electric power is disposed adjacent to the heat generating component 31. The power supply unit 30 is provided with a temperature detection circuit 33 as temperature detection means for detecting the temperature in order to calculate the power generation amount of the power generation element 32. A heat radiating plate 34 is provided between the heat generating component 31 and the power generating element 32 so that heat from the heat generating component 31 can be efficiently transmitted to the power generating element 32. Further, a similar heat radiating plate 35 is provided on the back side of the power generating element 32 opposite to the side on which the heat radiating plate 34 is provided. Cooling air is sent from the cooling fan 36 to the heat radiating plate 35 so as to be cooled. It has become.

  The heat generating component 41 is provided in the scanner unit 40, and a power generation element 42 that converts heat discharged from the heat generating component 41 into electric power is disposed adjacent to the heat generating component 41. The scanner unit 40 is also provided with a temperature detection circuit 43 that detects the temperature in order to calculate the amount of power generated by the power generation element 42, and a heat radiating plate 44 is provided between the heat generating component 41 and the power generation element 42. . A similar heat radiating plate 45 is provided on the back side of the power generating element 42 opposite to the side on which the heat radiating plate 44 is provided. Cooling air is sent from the cooling fan 46 to the heat radiating plate 45 to be cooled. ing.

  The heat generating component 51 is provided in the fixing unit 50, and a power generating element 52 that converts heat discharged from the heat generating component 51 into electric power is disposed adjacent to the heat generating component 51. The fixing unit 50 is also provided with a temperature detection circuit 53 that detects the temperature in order to calculate the amount of power generated by the power generation element 52, and a heat radiating plate 54 is provided between the heat generating component 51 and the power generation element 52. . A similar heat radiating plate 55 is provided on the back side of the power generation element 52 opposite to the side on which the heat radiating plate 54 is provided. Cooling air is sent to the heat radiating plate 55 from the cooling fan 56 to be cooled. ing. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the power generation elements 32, 42, 52 are arranged via the heat dissipation plates 34, 44, 54, but each of the power generation elements 32, 42, 52 is a heat generating component 31, 41, 51. It may be attached directly adjacent to each.

  The image forming apparatus 10 is connected to an external power source 60 by a power cable having an outlet plug, and the external power source 60 is supplied to the PSU 61. The PSU 61 converts an external power source 60 that is alternating current into direct current and supplies it to each device in the image forming apparatus 10. Each device in the image forming apparatus 10 includes an ADF 11, an image reading device 12, a fixing unit 19, and the like. The image forming apparatus 10 switches between the capacitor 62 as the capacitor unit 14, the discharger 63 that extracts power from the capacitor 62, and the power that is extracted by the discharger 63 and the power from the heat generating component 31. And a switching circuit 64. Various devices that consume power are connected to the switching circuit 64 as the load 65. For this reason, the image forming apparatus 10 can operate each apparatus by supplying power from the battery 62 even when the external power supply 60 cannot be used, such as during a power failure.

  The image forming apparatus 10 stores power from the power supply unit 30, the scanner unit 40, and the fixing unit 50 in the battery 62 through the diodes 37, 47, 57 and the charger 66. The diodes 37, 47, and 57 allow current to flow only in one direction. Here, current flows from each of the heat generating components 31, 41, and 51 toward the charger 66. The charger 66 converts the voltage of the portion exceeding the nominal voltage of the battery 62 into a current and charges the battery 62. When the circuit included in the charger 66 is turned off, the power generation elements 32, 42, and 52 are disconnected from each other, so that the power generation by the power generation elements 32, 42, and 52 is stopped.

  The image forming apparatus 10 includes a temperature detection circuit 33, 43, 53, a cooling fan 36, 46, 56, a discharger 63, a switching circuit 64, a load 65, a control circuit 67 that gives various instructions to the charger 66, And a temperature measuring circuit 68 for measuring the temperature in the image forming apparatus 10. The instructions from the control circuit 67 are instructions for measuring the temperature for the temperature detection circuits 33, 43, and 53, and instructions for starting and stopping the cooling fans 36, 46, and 56. The instructions for the discharger 63, the switching circuit 64, the load 65, and the charger 66 are instructions for discharging, switching, starting and ending charging, and starting and stopping the unit.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 10 is provided with one voltage detection circuit 69 as a voltage detection unit that detects the voltage of the battery 62 on a line connecting the battery charger 66 and the battery 62. The control circuit 67 is provided with a monitoring circuit 70 that monitors the heat generating components 31, 41, 51.

  The voltage detection circuit 69 is used for the control circuit 67 to monitor the voltage of the battery 62 and is used to detect the amount of charge (charge amount) stored in the battery 62. The monitoring circuit 70 can determine the failure of the power generation elements 32, 42, and 52 using the voltage of the battery 62 monitored by the control circuit 67 and information on the operation mode described later. A method for determining this failure will be described later.

  Therefore, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a failure determination system that determines a failure of the power generation elements 32, 42, and 52. The failure determination system includes at least a storage unit, an acquisition unit, a detection unit, and a determination unit in order to determine a failure of the power generation elements 32, 42, and 52. The storage means can be realized by the HDD 24 or the NVRAM 25 in the controller 20, the acquisition means can be realized by the control circuit 67, the detection means can be realized by the voltage detection circuit 69, and the determination means can be realized by the monitoring circuit 70. The acquisition unit may be realized by the monitoring circuit 70.

  Although the details will be described later, the storage unit associates each storage amount stored in the capacitor 62 per unit time in association with each piece of job information of a plurality of jobs that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 10, and stores each storage change amount. Remember as. When the current of the electric power stored in the battery 62 is constant, only the voltage changes, so that it can be stored as a voltage change amount per unit time. Hereinafter, description will be made assuming that the voltage change amount is used.

  Examples of jobs that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 10 include a copy job, a print job, a scanner job, and FAX transmission / reception. As job information, operation mode information can be cited as an example. Examples of the operation mode include scanner operation, fixing heater ON, continuous paper feeding, and combinations thereof. The amount of voltage change per unit time can be, for example, a voltage amount that increases or decreases per minute.

  The acquisition unit acquires job information of a job requested to be executed by the user from the image forming apparatus 10 from the image forming apparatus 10. The user selects copy as a function and presses a copy start button to request the image forming apparatus 10 to execute a copy job. The image forming apparatus 10 receives the request and starts executing the copy job. The acquisition unit acquires information on an operation mode associated with the copy job from the image forming apparatus 10, for example, information on scanner operation + fixing heater ON.

  The detecting unit detects the voltage of the electric power stored in the battery 62 during the execution of the image forming apparatus 10 by executing the job. The voltage may be detected continuously, may be detected at regular time intervals, or may be detected at any predetermined time.

  The determination unit obtains a voltage change amount per unit time from the voltage detected by the detection unit, and the voltage change amount acquired from the storage unit based on the obtained voltage change amount and the operation mode information acquired by the acquisition unit. And compare. From the comparison result, the determination means can determine that the power generating elements 32, 42, and 52 used in the job have no failure if the voltage change amount is approximately the same. Since there is an error in the detected voltage, a certain error range is provided, and if it is within that range, it can be determined that there is no failure, and if it is outside this range, it can be determined that there is a failure. This range can be arbitrarily set. For example, an appropriate range can be obtained by conducting a test in advance, and the obtained range can be set.

  Depending on the job, a plurality of devices may be used simultaneously. For example, in a copy job for copying a large amount of originals, the image reading device 12 for reading the originals, the fixing heater of the printer unit 13, the paper supply unit, and the paper discharge unit are used simultaneously. In this case, when the determination means determines that there is a failure, the failure determination system specifies the temperature detection circuits 33, 43, 43 attached to the heat generating components 31, 41, 51 in order to identify which power generation element has failed. 53 can be provided as a temperature detecting means.

  The temperature detecting means detects the surface temperature of the heat-generating parts 31, 41, 51 when the heat-generating parts 31, 41, 51 are operated and the heat is discharged. The temperature can be detected continuously, in the same manner as the detecting means, or at regular time intervals, or at any predetermined time. The determination means calculates the power generation amount expected when the power generation elements 32, 42, and 52 generate power from the detected temperature.

  Since the power generation amount is generally proportional to the temperature, it can be obtained by multiplying (multiplying) an arbitrary coefficient. The determination unit specifies which power generation element 32, 42, or 52 is in failure based on the information on the operation mode and the calculated power generation amount.

  The storage means can store information as shown in FIG. 4 in order for the determination means to calculate the amount of voltage change per unit time. In FIG. 4, the information is a table in which the power generation amount in each operation mode is associated with the voltage change amount during charging. The operation mode is information relating to a device that generates heat used in the job, and includes, for example, scanner operation, fixing heater ON, continuous paper feeding, a combination of these, and the like. The power generation amount indicates the total power generation amount generated by each power generation element 32, 42, 52 when each device operates in each operation mode. Here, the power generation amount is set as a current amount of 0.2A. Yes. The charge change amount is a voltage change amount per unit time of the electric power stored in the battery 62. These power generation amount and charge change amount can be set to values obtained by conducting a test and measuring in advance.

  From this, the determination means can acquire the voltage change amount per unit time with reference to the table stored in the storage means based on the job information acquired from the acquisition means. Although it is a table in FIG. 4, it may be stored as a mathematical expression such as a linear function of time, and the voltage change amount per unit time may be obtained by calculating its slope or differentiation. Hereinafter, description will be made assuming that each circuit is used as these means.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the charging voltage and the charging time. Referring to FIG. 5, the charging voltage is substantially constant for a period of time from about 0.5 to about 3.5 minutes after each job is started and each heating component 31, 41, 51 starts operating. The amount of change. If the relationship at this time is expressed by an equation, it can be expressed by a straight line with a constant inclination. The voltage change amount shown in FIG. 5 is a value obtained from the slope of the straight line when the charging voltage is 3.1 V when the elapsed time is 0.5 minutes in any of the operation modes.

  When the operation mode is the scanner operation, the charging voltage when the elapsed time is 0.5 minutes is 3.1V, and the charging voltage when the elapsed time is 3.5 minutes is 3.4V. Therefore, the voltage change amount (slope a) per unit time can be obtained as a = (3.4-3.1) / (3.5−0.5) = 0.10.

  The amount of change in charge in the table shown in FIG. 4 is the amount of change in voltage per minute between about 0.5 and about 3.5 minutes, and this value is set. Therefore, when judging the failure, the voltage is detected between about 0.5 to about 3.5 minutes, the voltage change amount per unit time obtained therefrom, and the voltage change amount obtained from the storage means To compare.

  Based on the above, processing performed by the failure determination system will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 6. The failure determination system starts processing from step 600 when the image forming apparatus 10 starts executing a job. In step 605, when charging of the battery 62 is started, the voltage of the battery 62 is detected by the voltage detection circuit 69 and acquired as voltage information. In step 610, the control circuit 67 acquires operation mode information as job information. It should be noted that either step 605 or step 610 may be performed first.

  The acquired voltage information is sent to the monitoring circuit 70, and in step 615, the monitoring circuit 70 determines whether or not the voltage value in the voltage information is equal to or lower than the set voltage set according to the operation mode. In the example shown in FIG. 5, it is determined whether or not the voltage value of the voltage detected by the voltage detection circuit 69 is equal to or less than the voltage value corresponding to the specified elapsed time of the operation mode of about 3.5 minutes.

  If the voltage is equal to or lower than the set voltage, the process proceeds to step 620 and a failure determination is performed. On the other hand, if the set voltage is exceeded, the process proceeds to step 640, and the process is terminated without performing failure determination. The voltage of a storage battery or a storage battery such as a lithium ion battery, the change of the charging voltage with respect to the charging time is not linear from the start to the end of charging as shown in FIG. 5, but changes at a constant rate only within a certain voltage range, This is because a voltage change amount per unit time can be obtained.

  In step 620, the voltage of the electric power stored in the battery 62 is detected by the voltage detection circuit 69. In step 625, using the acquired information on the operation mode and the voltage change obtained from the detected voltage, with reference to the table shown in FIG. Determine if is normal.

  Here, the monitoring circuit 70 refers to the table, acquires the voltage change amount corresponding to the operation mode, and compares the voltage change amount obtained from the detected voltage with the acquired voltage change amount. Then, a certain error range is considered with respect to the acquired voltage change amount, and if there is a voltage change amount obtained from the detected voltage within the error range, the process proceeds to step 630 and is determined to be normal. If it is not within the error range, the process proceeds to step 635 to determine a failure. In step 635, the monitoring circuit 70 determines which power generation element has failed based on the acquired operation mode information and the power generation amount calculated from the temperatures detected by the temperature detection circuits 33, 43, and 53. Identify.

  For example, the operation mode is the fixing heater ON + scanner operation, the power generation amounts calculated from the respective temperatures are 0.4 A and 0.16 A, respectively, and the charge amount obtained from the voltage detected by the voltage detection circuit 69 is 0. Suppose that it was 4A. In this case, the power generation element 52 of the fixing heater having the same 0.4 A can be regarded as generating power normally. On the other hand, the power generation element 42 of the scanner having a different 0.16A does not generate power normally, and can be regarded as malfunctioning. In this way, it is possible to specify which power generating element is in failure.

  If it is determined in step 630 that the power generation element is faulty in step 635, the information is displayed on the screen to notify the user, and the process ends in step 640. The information can be displayed and notified on the screen as a message indicating that the information is normal or a message indicating which power generation element has failed. For this reason, the failure determination system can further include notification means for notifying them.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the relationship between the charging voltage and the charging time in each operation mode differs when the charging voltage is high and low, and a linear relationship can be obtained only within a specific voltage range. For example, the scanner operation shown in FIG. 5 is in the range of 3.1 to 3.4V. In this case, a failure can be determined only when it is within the range. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, it can be divided into a plurality of voltage ranges that are approximately linearly related, and a failure can be determined without being within a specific voltage range. In FIG. 7, the voltage ranges are divided into three voltage ranges, each voltage range is linearly approximated, and the inclination is calculated as a voltage change amount per unit time.

  The table shown in FIG. 8 is divided into three voltage ranges as shown in FIG. 7, and the slope calculated for each voltage range is set as each voltage change amount per unit time. For this reason, it is not necessary to determine whether or not the voltage is equal to or lower than the set voltage in step 615 in FIG. 6, and it is possible to determine the failure of the power generation element regardless of the charging voltage of the battery 62. Here, although divided into three voltage ranges, it may be two voltage ranges or four or more voltage ranges. By dividing into a large number of voltage ranges, more accurate judgment can be made.

  Since the process for determining a failure in this case is not limited to a specific voltage range, it is different from the flow shown in FIG. The processing flow will be described with reference to FIGS. As described above, the failure determination system starts processing from step 900 when the image forming apparatus 10 starts a job. In step 905, when charging of the battery 62 is started, the voltage of the battery 62 is detected by the voltage detection circuit 69 and acquired as voltage information. In step 910, the control circuit 67 acquires operation mode information as job information. It should be noted that either step 905 or step 910 may be performed first.

  The acquired voltage information is sent to the monitoring circuit 70. In step 915, the monitoring circuit 70 calculates the voltage change amount per unit time from the table shown in FIG. 8 according to the voltage value and the operation mode in the voltage information. get. Specifically, the voltage change amount corresponding to the voltage value among the voltage change amounts represented by the slopes a to c in the table shown in FIG. 8 is acquired.

  In step 920, the voltage detection circuit 69 detects the voltage of the electric power stored in the battery 62. In step 925, the monitoring circuit 70 compares the voltage change amount obtained from the detected voltage with the acquired charge change amount (voltage change amount), and the electric power stored in the capacitor 62 based on the comparison result. It is determined whether the voltage change amount of is normal.

  Consider the error range for the calculated voltage change amount, and if there is a voltage change amount obtained from the detected voltage within the error range, proceed to step 930 to determine that it is normal and within the error range. If not, the process proceeds to step 935 and is determined to be a failure. In step 935, the monitoring circuit 70 identifies which power generation element is faulty based on the identified operation mode and the calculated predicted power generation amount.

  When it is determined that the power generation element is normal in step 930, when a faulty power generation element is specified in step 935, the information is displayed on the screen or the like to notify the user, and this process is terminated in step 940. The information can be displayed and notified on the screen as a message indicating that the information is normal or a message indicating which power generation element has failed.

  Since the power generation elements 32, 42, and 52 are made of metal or semiconductor, they deteriorate over time due to long-term use. Specifically, metals and semiconductors are repeatedly at normal temperature and high temperature when the apparatus is started and stopped, and are exposed to surrounding water vapor, and are oxidized and deteriorated. Thereby, power generation efficiency falls.

  FIG. 10 illustrates the relationship between the charging time and the charging voltage in an arbitrary operation mode before aging and after aging. Before the deterioration over time, the relationship between the charging voltage immediately after the start of use of the power generation elements 32, 42, 52 and the charging time is shown. After the deterioration over time, the charging voltage after the power generation elements 32, 42, 52 have been used for n hours. And the charging time. As shown in FIG. 10, after the aging deterioration, the amount of power generation is reduced, so that the charging voltage is lowered overall. For this reason, the slope indicating the amount of voltage change per unit time also changes. In the example shown in FIG. 10, the slope a is 0.1 before deterioration, but the slope a is reduced to 0.08 after deterioration. In this operation mode, the charging voltage immediately after the start of the operation is about the same value as about 3.1 V before and after aging. For this reason, the charging voltage per unit time up to about 3.5 minutes that can be linearly approximated can be calculated as the slope a.

  Since this varies depending on the usage time, the amount of voltage change per unit can be calculated according to the usage time and stored in the storage means. The image forming apparatus 10 can record and hold the usage time of each power generating element 32, 42, 52, acquires the usage time by the acquisition unit, and stores a voltage change amount corresponding to the usage time. Can be obtained from.

  The amount of voltage change per unit time calculated in the example shown in FIG. 10, that is, the slope a becomes a value in the table shown in FIG. In FIG. 11, the inclination a is set for the operation modes other than the operation modes illustrated in FIG. Note that the usage time can be a time obtained by accumulating the time (operation time) until each heating component 31, 41, 51 starts to operate and stops. When the operation time of one time is almost the same, it is counted as the number of times of use, and the use time can be obtained from the counted value. This usage time can be recorded in a storage device such as the HDD 24 and updated every time it is used.

  Processing performed by the failure determination system in consideration of this aging deterioration will be described with reference to FIGS. Also in this case, when the image forming apparatus 10 starts executing the job, the processing is started from step 1200. The image forming apparatus 10 records and holds the usage time of the power generation elements 32, 42, and 52. In step 1205, the control circuit 67 displays the usage time of each power generation element 32, 42, 52 as usage time information. Get as. In step 1210, when charging of the battery 62 is started, the voltage of the battery 62 is detected by the voltage detection circuit 69 and acquired as voltage information. In step 1215, the control circuit 67 acquires operation mode information as job information. Note that the processing in steps 1205 to 1215 may be performed in any order.

  The acquired voltage information is sent to the monitoring circuit 70. In step 1220, the monitoring circuit 70 refers to a table as shown in FIG. 11 according to the usage time in the usage time information, the voltage value in the voltage information, and the operation mode information, and changes the voltage per unit time. To get. In addition, when there is no voltage change amount of the same time as the use time acquired in the table, the voltage change amount at the use time can be obtained by using an interpolation method or the like.

  In step 1225, the voltage detection circuit 69 detects the voltage of the electric power stored in the battery 62. In step 1230, the monitoring circuit 70 compares the voltage change obtained from the detected voltage with the voltage change obtained in step 1220. Based on the comparison result, the voltage of the electric power stored in the battery 62. Determine whether the amount of change is normal.

  The error range is taken into consideration for the calculated voltage change amount, and if there is a voltage change amount obtained from the detected voltage within the error range, the process proceeds to step 1235 to determine that it is normal and within the error range. If not, the process proceeds to step 1240 and is determined to be a failure. In step 1240, the monitoring circuit 70 identifies which power generation element is faulty based on the identified operation mode and the calculated predicted power generation amount.

  If it is determined in step 1235 that the power generation element is faulty in step 1240, the information is displayed on the screen to notify the user, and the process ends in step 1245. The information can be displayed and notified on the screen as a message indicating that the information is normal or a message indicating which power generation element has failed.

  The image forming apparatus 10 can include an MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracker) circuit 71 as shown in FIG. 13 in order to improve the power generation efficiency of each power generation element 32, 42, 52. The MPPT circuit 71 is a circuit that automatically calculates an appropriate current and voltage value that maximizes the power generation amount in the power generation amount represented by current × voltage. This optimal current and voltage value is referred to as the maximum power point or optimal operating point. The MPPT circuit 71 instructs the charger 66 to perform charging at the optimum current and voltage values. Then, the charger 66 controls the current and voltage according to the instruction, and charges the battery 62 with the electric power of the power generation amount.

  When the current and voltage are controlled in this way, the amount of power generation changes and the detected voltage also changes. Therefore, the voltage change amount is converted according to the control by the MPPT circuit 71 using the table and the conversion information such as the conversion coefficient, and the failure is determined using the converted voltage change amount. In addition, it is possible to set a voltage change amount converted into a table in advance and determine a failure in the same manner as described above. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the power generation elements 32, 42, 52 are arranged via the heat dissipation plates 34, 44, 54, but each of the power generation elements 32, 42, 52 is a heat generating component 31, 41. , 51 may be directly adjacent to each other.

  When the heating parts 31 and 41 operate in the job and the power generation amount generated by the power generation elements 32 and 42 is the same, or at least one of the plurality of heating parts 31, 41, and 51 starts or stops the operation when charging. In this case, it cannot be determined only by a simple voltage change amount. That is, when the power generation amounts of the power generation elements 32 and 42 are the same, it is impossible to determine which of the power generation elements 32 and 42 normally generates power and which has failed. When the heat generating component 31 starts operation or stops operation halfway, the amount of power generation changes, so the voltage change amount at that time is different from the voltage change amount set in the table. . As a result, although all of them are operating normally, it is determined as a failure and cannot be determined correctly.

  Even if the power generation amount is the same, if one of the power generation elements 32 and 42 starts the operation or determines when it stops, it is possible to identify which one has failed. When the power generation element 32 is operating normally, even if the operation of the failed power generation element 42 is started, the amount of power generation does not increase, so that it can be determined that the power generation element 42 has failed. Similarly, when the power generation element 42 is stopped, the power generation amount does not decrease even when the power generation element 42 that has failed is stopped. Therefore, it can be determined that the power generation element 42 has failed.

  Therefore, a plurality of voltage change amounts according to the timing at which the heat generating components 31, 41, 51 start or stop during charging are set in the table, and the voltage change amounts according to the timing are acquired, thereby The failed power generation elements 32, 42, 52 are specified. The timing can be determined based on, for example, the timing at which the acquired operation mode information is switched.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the charging time and the charging voltage in each operation mode. Until now, it has been divided into voltage ranges that can be approximated linearly and only used as voltage change amount classifications, but here the slope is calculated in consideration of the operation timing. In other words, in the above-described embodiments, the charging time is constant for about 0.5 to about 3.5 minutes. However, the charging time varies depending on the timing of starting and stopping the scanner operation and the start of continuous paper feeding. The slope is calculated.

  That is, in the voltage change amount category X, the operation mode is switched to four modes of fixing heater ON, fixing heater ON + scanner operation, fixing heater ON + continuous paper passing + scanner operation, and fixing heater ON + continuous paper passing. For this reason, the slope is calculated for each mode, and these are used as the amount of voltage change to be set in the table. For the sections Y and Z, the operation mode is only one mode of fixing heater ON + continuous paper passing, so only one inclination is calculated for each.

  FIG. 15 illustrates a table in which the voltage change amount calculated in this way is set. When only one device such as the scanner operation and the fixing heater ON operates, the setting contents of the table illustrated in FIG. 8 are the same. Here, continuous paper feeding is the same amount of power generation and voltage change as the scanner operation. Also, with regard to the fixing heater ON + scanner operation and the fixing heater ON + continuous paper passing + scanner operation, since the apparatus starts operating in the middle, the power generation amount and the voltage change amount are different from those shown in FIG. Has been.

  In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 13, the power generation amount used for specifying the failed power generation elements 32, 42, 52 is calculated from the temperatures detected by the temperature detection circuits 33, 43, 53. In this way, it is costly to attach to the individual heat generating components 31, 41, 51. On the other hand, the temperature is almost constant when the heat generating components 31, 41, 51 are normally operated, and the temperature can be assumed according to the type.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, it can be set as the structure which does not use the temperature detection circuit 33,43,53. In this case, the temperature during normal operation is stored in the storage means for each of the heat generating components 31, 41, 51, and the heat generating components 31, 41, 51 that operate are specified from the acquired operation mode information. And the temperature corresponding to the specified heat-emitting components 31, 41, 51 can be acquired from the storage means, and the power generation amount can be calculated from the acquired temperature. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 16, the power generation elements 32, 42, and 52 are arranged via the heat dissipation plates 34, 44, and 54. , 51 may be directly adjacent to each other.

  The monitoring circuit 70 also functions as a control unit. When the failure of the power generation elements 32, 42, 52 is determined and the faulty power generation element 32 is identified, the power is supplied from the power generation element 32 or the power generation element 32 to the battery 62. It is possible to stop the power supply to the unit used when supplying the power. An example of the unit is a cooling fan 36.

  When it is determined that the power generation element 32 has failed, power is not supplied to the power generation element or the unit, and the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 is not affected even if power is not supplied to them. The power supply to them can be stopped. Thereby, useless electric power at the time of failure can be reduced.

  So far, the failure determination system, electronic device, and failure determination method of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Therefore, other embodiments, additions, changes, deletions, and the like can be changed within a range that can be conceived by those skilled in the art, and as long as the effects and advantages of the present invention are exhibited in any aspect, the present invention It is included in the range. Therefore, the present invention can provide a program for causing a computer to execute the failure determination method, a recording medium on which the program is recorded, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image forming apparatus, 11 ... ADF, 12 ... Image reading apparatus, 13 ... Printer unit, 14 ... Capacitor unit, 15 ... Writing unit, 16 ... Photoconductor drum, 17 ... Developing unit, 18 ... Conveyor belt, 19 ... Fixing Unit, 20 ... Controller, 21 ... CPU, 22 ... RAM, 23 ... ROM, 24 ... HDD, 25 ... NVRAM, 26 ... Operation panel, 27 ... Modem, 28 ... Network I / F, 29 ... Media drive, 30 ... Power supply Part, 31, 41, 51 ... exothermic part, 32, 42, 52 ... power generation element, 33, 43, 53 ... temperature detection circuit, 34, 35, 44, 45, 54, 55 ... heat dissipation plate, 36, 46, 56 ... Cooling fan, 37, 47, 57 ... Diode, 40 ... Scanner part, 50 ... Fixing part, 60 ... External power supply, 61 ... PSU, 62 ... Capacitor, 6 ... discharger, 64 ... switching circuit, 65 ... load, 66 ... charger, 67 ... control circuit, 68 ... temperature measuring circuit, 69 ... voltage detection circuit, 70 ... monitoring circuit, 71 ... MPPT circuit

JP 2013-48542 A

Claims (12)

A plurality of power generating means attached to each of a plurality of units including at least a power supply unit that generates heat during operation;
A system for determining a failure of the power generation means of an electronic device comprising power storage means for storing electric power generated by one or more of the power generation means,
Storage means for storing each storage amount stored per unit time in the power storage means in association with each of job information of a plurality of jobs executable by the electronic device as each storage change amount;
Acquisition means for acquiring job information of the job requested to be executed from the electronic device from the electronic device;
Detecting means for detecting the amount of electricity stored in the electricity storage means when the electronic device is executing the job;
Comparing the power storage change amount obtained from the power storage amount detected by the detection means with the power storage change amount acquired from the storage means based on the job information acquired by the acquisition means, and based on the comparison result, Determination means for determining a failure of one or more of the power generation means attached to one or more of the units operating by execution of the job ;
A plurality of temperature detecting means attached to each of the plurality of units and detecting the temperature of each of the units in operation;
The determination means calculates the amount of power generated by each of the one or more power generation means attached to the one or more units using the temperature of the one or more units detected by the temperature detection means, A failure determination system that identifies a failed power generation unit among the one or more power generation units based on the calculated power generation amount. A plurality of power generating means attached to each of a plurality of units including at least a power supply unit that generates heat during operation;
A system for determining a failure of the power generation means of an electronic device comprising power storage means for storing electric power generated by one or more of the power generation means,
Storage means for storing each storage amount stored per unit time in the power storage means in association with each of job information of a plurality of jobs executable by the electronic device as each storage change amount;
Acquisition means for acquiring job information of the job requested to be executed from the electronic device from the electronic device;
Detecting means for detecting the amount of electricity stored in the electricity storage means when the electronic device is executing the job;
Comparing the power storage change amount obtained from the power storage amount detected by the detection means with the power storage change amount acquired from the storage means based on the job information acquired by the acquisition means, and based on the comparison result, Determination means for determining a failure of one or more of the power generation means attached to one or more of the units operating by execution of the job,
The storage means stores a temperature that changes per unit time of each unit stored in association with each job information, and the determination means stores the temperature based on the job information acquired by the acquisition means. A power generation amount generated by each of the one or more power generation means attached to the one or more units is calculated using the temperature acquired from the means, and the one or more power generations are calculated based on the calculated power generation amounts. identifying the power generating means has failed among the means, fault determining system. The storage means stores a plurality of the storage change amounts for each of the job information according to the storage amount stored in the storage means, and the detection means stores the storage power when starting execution of the job. 3. The failure determination according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores a storage amount stored in the storage unit, and the determination unit acquires the storage change amount corresponding to the storage amount detected by the detection unit from the storage unit. system. The electronic device records and holds the usage time of each of the power generation means, the storage means stores a plurality of power storage change amounts according to the usage time for each of the job information, and the acquisition means The usage time of the one or more power generation means is acquired from the electronic device, and the determination means acquires the amount of change in power storage according to the usage time acquired by the acquisition means from the storage means. The failure determination system according to any one of 1 to 3 . The electronic device determines a maximum power generation amount that can be generated by the one or more power generation units attached to the one or more units , and performs control for storing the determined power generation amount in the power storage unit. The determination means converts the power storage change amount stored in the storage means, converted according to the control by the control means, or previously converted according to the control by the control means, The failure determination system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein a failure of the one or more power generation means is determined using a storage change amount stored in the storage means. The storage means stores, for each of the job information, a plurality of power storage change amounts according to the timing at which at least one of the units starts or stops the operation, and the determination means includes the detection means at the timing. The failure determination system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein, when detecting a storage amount, the storage change amount corresponding to the timing is acquired from the storage unit. When the determination means determines the failure of the one or more power generation means and specifies the failed power generation means, the specified power generation means and the specified power generation means are operated, and the specified power generation means comprising a control means for stopping the feeding to the unit for use in supplying power to the power storage unit, according to claim 1-6 failure judgment system according to any one of. The storage unit stores a voltage change amount per unit time instead of the power storage change amount, the detection unit detects a voltage when being stored in the power storage unit, and the determination unit includes the detection unit a voltage change amount obtained from the voltage detected by, comparing the voltage change amount acquired from the storage unit based on the job information acquired by the acquisition unit, any one of the claims 1-7 1 Failure determination system as described in the section. A plurality of power generating means attached to each of a plurality of units including at least a power supply unit that generates heat during operation, and a power storage means for storing the power generated by the one or more power generating means. And a failure determination system according to any one of claims 1 to 8 . A plurality of power generating means attached to each of a plurality of units including at least a power supply unit that generates heat during operation;
A failure determination method executed by a system for determining a failure of the power generation means of an electronic device comprising power storage means for storing electric power generated by one or more of the power generation means,
The system includes a storage unit that stores each storage amount stored per unit time in the storage unit as each storage change amount in association with each of job information of a plurality of jobs that can be executed by the electronic device .
A plurality of temperature detecting means attached to each of the plurality of units and detecting the temperature of each of the units in operation;
Obtaining job information of the job requested to be executed from the electronic device from the electronic device;
Detecting the amount of electricity stored in the electricity storage means when the electronic device is executing the job;
The power storage change amount obtained from the detected power storage amount is compared with the power storage change amount acquired from the storage means based on the acquired job information. Based on the comparison result, the operation is performed by executing the job 1 Determining a failure of one or more of the power generation means attached to the unit ;
The power generation amount generated by each of the one or more power generation means attached to the one or more units is calculated using the temperature of the one or more units detected by the temperature detection means, and each of the calculated power generations And a step of identifying a failed power generation means among the one or more power generation means based on the quantity . A plurality of power generating means attached to each of a plurality of units including at least a power supply unit that generates heat during operation;
A failure determination method executed by a system for determining a failure of the power generation means of an electronic device comprising power storage means for storing electric power generated by one or more of the power generation means,
The system includes storage means for storing each storage amount stored per unit time in the storage means as each storage change amount in association with job information of a plurality of jobs that can be executed by the electronic device,
The storage means stores a temperature that changes per unit time of each unit stored in association with each job information,
Obtaining job information of the job requested to be executed from the electronic device from the electronic device;
Detecting the amount of electricity stored in the electricity storage means when the electronic device is executing the job;
The power storage change amount obtained from the detected power storage amount is compared with the power storage change amount acquired from the storage means based on the acquired job information. Based on the comparison result, the operation is performed by executing the job 1 Determining a failure of one or more of the power generation means attached to the unit;
Using the temperature acquired from the storage unit based on the job information acquired in the acquiring step, the power generation amount generated by each of the one or more power generation units attached to the one or more units is calculated. Identifying a faulty power generation means among the one or more power generation means based on each calculated power generation amount;
A failure determination method. The program for making a computer perform the failure judgment method of Claim 10 or 11 .