JP7354593B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that executes jobs such as copying and printing, and particularly relates to a technique for detecting abnormal operations.

In this type of image forming apparatus, for example, the number of times a part is used or the operating time is measured, and when the measured number of times of use or operating time reaches a preset threshold, that is, when the life of the part has come to an end. The part is being replaced. For example, in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the usage frequency of each part is counted, the replacement time of each part is determined based on this usage frequency, and the management server is Obtaining exchange guide information from.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-122207

However, as described above, simply replacing parts based on their lifespans does not address problems in the image forming apparatus before their lifespans.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to detect the occurrence of abnormal operation based on vibrations and sounds of an image forming apparatus, regardless of whether or not the parts have reached the end of their service life. do.

An image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes: a vibration detection unit that detects vibrations of the image forming apparatus and the surrounding environment ; a noise detection unit that detects sounds of the image forming apparatus and the surrounding environment; a storage section that stores in advance information indicating vibrations and sounds during normal operation of the device; and a normal operation in which the vibrations detected by the vibration detection section and the sounds detected by the sound detection section are stored in the storage section. If it is determined that the information corresponds to the information indicating vibrations and sounds at the time, it is determined that the image forming apparatus does not detect abnormal operation that has occurred in the image forming apparatus, and if it is determined that the image forming apparatus does not correspond, the image a control unit that detects that an abnormal operation has occurred in the image forming apparatus; the storage unit further stores in advance information indicating vibrations and sounds in the surrounding environment of the image forming apparatus; Determine whether the vibration detected by the detection unit and the sound detected by the noise detection unit match or approximate information indicating vibrations and sounds in the surrounding environment stored in the storage unit, and If it is determined that this is the case, abnormal operation of the image forming apparatus is not detected based on other information stored in the storage unit.

According to the present invention, abnormal operation can be detected based on vibrations and sounds of the image forming apparatus, regardless of whether or not the life of the parts has come to an end.

1 is a sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing the main internal configuration of an image forming apparatus. Conceptually, it is a data table in which information indicating vibration or noise during normal operation of the image forming apparatus, information indicating vibration or noise during abnormal operation, and information indicating vibration or noise in the surrounding environment of the image forming apparatus is stored in advance. FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for detecting and notifying the occurrence of an abnormal operation of an image forming apparatus based on vibration detected by a vibration detection unit and noise detected by a noise detection unit when a job is executed by an image forming apparatus; be.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment is an MFP (multifunction peripheral) that has multiple functions such as a copy function, a printer function, and a facsimile function. This image forming apparatus 10 includes an image reading section 11 and an image forming section 12.

The image reading unit 11 has an image sensor that optically reads the image of the original, and the analog output of this image sensor is converted into a digital signal to generate image data representing the image of the original.

The image forming unit 12 forms an image indicated by the image data on recording paper, and includes an image forming unit 3M for magenta, an image forming unit 3C for cyan, an image forming unit 3Y for yellow, and an image forming unit 3Y for black. The image forming unit 3Bk is provided. In each of the image forming units 3M, 3C, 3Y, and 3Bk, the surface of the photoreceptor drum 4 is uniformly charged, the surface of the photoreceptor drum 4 is exposed, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 4. , the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 4 is developed into a toner image, and the toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 4 is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 5 . As a result, a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 5. This color toner image is secondarily transferred onto the recording paper P conveyed from the paper feed section 14 through the conveyance path 8 in the nip area N between the intermediate transfer belt 5 and the secondary transfer roller 6.

Thereafter, the recording paper P is heated and pressurized by the fixing device 15, the toner image on the recording paper P is fixed by thermocompression bonding, and the recording paper P is further discharged to the discharge tray 17 through the discharge roller 16.

Next, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the main internal configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes an image reading section 11, an image forming section 12, a display section 21, an operation section 22, a touch panel 23, a facsimile communication section 24, and a network communication section 24. 25, a vibration detection section 26, a noise detection section 27, a storage section 28, and a control unit 29. These components are capable of transmitting and receiving data or signals to and from each other via a bus.

The display unit 21 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, and the like. The operation unit 22 includes physical keys such as a numeric keypad, an enter key, and a start key.

A touch panel 23 is arranged on the screen of the display section 21 . The touch panel 23 is a so-called resistive film type or capacitive type touch panel, and detects the contact (touch) of a user's finger or the like on the touch panel 23 together with the position of the touch, and generates a detection signal indicating the coordinates of the position of the touch. is output to a control section 31 of the control unit 29, which will be described later.

The network communication unit (NW communication unit) 25 is a communication interface equipped with a communication module such as a LAN chip (not shown), and is connected to a terminal device 40 such as a PC (Personal Computer) on the network, and is connected to a terminal device 40 such as a PC (Personal Computer) on the network. Send and receive data.

A facsimile communication unit (FAX communication unit) 24 transmits and receives image data to and from other image forming apparatuses, facsimile machines (not shown), etc. via a network.

The vibration detection unit 26 is, for example, a known acceleration detection sensor. The vibration detection unit 26 detects vibrations generated inside the image forming apparatus 10 and vibrations transmitted to the image forming apparatus 10 from the outside (the surrounding environment of the image forming apparatus 10 ).

The noise detection unit 27 is, for example, a known microphone. The noise detection unit 27 detects noise generated inside the image forming apparatus 10 and noise generated in the surrounding environment of the image forming apparatus 10 .

The storage unit 28 is a large-capacity storage device such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and stores various application programs and various data.

The control unit 29 includes a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). The control unit 29 functions as the control section 31 by executing the control program stored in the ROM or the storage section 28 described above by the processor described above.

The control unit 29 controls the image forming apparatus 10 in an integrated manner. The control unit 29 includes an image reading section 11 , an image forming section 12 , a display section 21 , an operation section 22 , a touch panel 23 , a facsimile communication section 24 , a network communication section 25 , a vibration detection section 26 , a noise detection section 27 , and a storage section 28 It controls the operations of these components and sends and receives signals and data to and from each component.

The control unit 31 serves as a processing unit that executes various processes necessary for image formation by the image forming apparatus 10. Further, the control unit 31 receives operation instructions input by the user based on the detection signal output from the touch panel 23 or the operation of the physical keys of the operation unit 22. Further, the control section 31 has a function of controlling display operations of the display section 21 and a function of controlling communication operations of the facsimile communication section 24 and the network communication section 25.

In the image forming apparatus 10 having such a configuration, for example, when a user sets a document on the image reading section 11 and operates the operation section 22 to input an instruction to execute a copy job, the control section 31 Upon receiving the instruction, the image reading section 11 reads the image of the document, and the image forming section 12 forms the image of the document on recording paper. Alternatively, in the image forming apparatus 10, when the network communication unit 25 receives an instruction to execute an image and a print job, the control unit 31 receives the instruction and causes the image forming unit 12 to form the image on recording paper. . In addition, when the user sets a document on the image reading unit 11, operates the operation unit 22, inputs an instruction to execute a transmission job, and inputs a transmission destination (email address, IP address, etc.), the control The unit 31 receives the instruction, causes the image reading unit 11 to read the image of the document, and transmits the image of the document to the destination via the network communication unit 25. Alternatively, the user sets the original on the image reading unit 11, operates the operation unit 22, inputs an instruction to execute a facsimile job, and inputs the transmission destination (such as the telephone number of the receiving side facsimile machine). Then, the control section 31 receives the instruction, causes the image reading section 11 to read the image of the document, and transmits the image of the document to the destination via the facsimile communication section 24.

In this way, in the image forming apparatus 10, the control unit 31 executes a copy job, a transmission job, a facsimile job, a print job, etc. upon instruction.

On the other hand, when the image forming apparatus 10 executes a job, the control unit 31 analyzes the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit 26 and the noise detected by the noise detection unit 27, and indicates the detected vibration and noise. Information is acquired, and the acquired information is compared with information indicating vibration and noise of the job stored in advance in the storage unit 28 to detect the occurrence of abnormal operation of the image forming apparatus 10.

For example, the storage unit 28 stores in advance information indicating vibration or noise during normal operation of the image forming apparatus 10 while executing the job in association with the job. When executing a job, the control unit 31 analyzes the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit 26 and the noise detected by the noise detection unit 27, acquires information indicating the detected vibration and noise, and also acquires information indicating the detected vibration and noise. Information indicating vibration or noise during normal operation associated with the job is read from the storage unit 28, and whether the acquired information matches or approximates the read information indicating vibration or noise during normal operation. If it is determined that they do not match or approximate, it is detected that an abnormal operation has occurred in the image forming apparatus 10. That is, since normal vibrations and noise are generated in the image forming apparatus 10 when the image forming apparatus 10 is operating normally, the vibrations and noise detected by the vibration detecting section 26 and the noise detecting section 27 are stored in the storage section 28. If the vibration and noise are different from normal vibrations and noises indicated by pre-stored information, it is detected that an abnormal operation has occurred in the image forming apparatus 10. This makes it possible to detect the occurrence of an unexpected abnormal operation. Note that if the control unit 31 determines that the acquired information matches or approximates the read information indicating vibration or noise during normal operation, the control unit 31 detects that no abnormal operation has occurred in the image forming apparatus 10. .

Further, the storage unit 28 stores in advance, for each of a plurality of jobs, information indicating vibrations or noises during abnormal operation of the image forming apparatus 10 while executing the job, in association with the job. When executing a job, the control unit 31 analyzes the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit 26 and the noise detected by the noise detection unit 27, acquires information indicating the detected vibration and noise, and also acquires information indicating the detected vibration and noise. Information indicating vibration or noise during abnormal operation associated with the job is read from the storage unit 28, and whether the acquired information matches or approximates the read information indicating vibration or noise during abnormal operation. If it is determined that they match or are similar, it is detected that an abnormal operation has occurred in the image forming apparatus 10. That is, since abnormal vibrations and noise are generated in the image forming apparatus 10 when the image forming apparatus 10 is operating abnormally, the vibrations and noise detected by the vibration detecting section 26 and the noise detecting section 27 are stored in the storage section 28. It is detected that an abnormal operation has occurred in the image forming apparatus 10 when the vibration and noise match or approximate the abnormal vibration and noise indicated by pre-stored information. In this case, an abnormal operation that could be expected in advance will be detected. Note that if the control unit 31 determines that the acquired information does not match or approximate the read information indicating vibration or noise during abnormal operation, it does not detect that an abnormal operation has occurred in the image forming apparatus 10.

Furthermore, information indicating vibration or noise in the environment surrounding the image forming apparatus 10 is stored in the storage unit 28 in advance. Vibrations or noise in the surrounding environment include vibrations and noise from nearby trains, and noise from telephones. When executing a job, the control unit 31 analyzes the vibrations detected by the vibration detection unit 26 and the noise detected by the noise detection unit 27, acquires information indicating the detected vibrations and noise, and also acquires information indicating the detected vibrations and noise. Information indicating vibrations or noise in the surrounding environment of the forming device 10 is read from the storage unit 28, and it is determined whether the acquired information matches or approximates the read information indicating vibrations or noise in the surrounding environment, and a match is determined. Alternatively, if it is determined that the approximation occurs, the occurrence of abnormal operation in the image forming apparatus 10 is not detected. That is, the control unit 31 controls the control unit 31 when the vibration and noise detected by the vibration detection unit 26 and the noise detection unit 27 match or approximate the vibration or noise of the surrounding environment indicated by the information stored in advance in the storage unit 28. does not detect the occurrence of an abnormal operation in the image forming apparatus 10 based on other information stored in the storage unit 28. This prevents vibrations or noise in the surrounding environment from being erroneously detected as being caused by abnormal operation of the image forming apparatus 10.

Further, the control unit 31 causes the storage unit 18 to store information indicating such detected abnormal operation as history information. Then, the control unit 31 determines whether or not to notify abnormal operation of the job based on the history information. For example, as the notification, the control unit 31 causes the display unit 21 to display a message indicating that an abnormal operation has occurred, or transmits this message from the network communication unit 25 to the terminal device 40 for the service person via the network. .

The above-mentioned information indicating vibration or noise during normal operation, information indicating vibration or noise during abnormal operation, and information indicating vibration or noise in the surrounding environment include, for example, the level, frequency, generation period, and generation time of the vibration or noise. Consisting of The control unit 31 analyzes the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit 26 and obtains the level, frequency, period of occurrence, and time of occurrence of this vibration. Further, the control unit 31 analyzes the noise detected by the noise detection unit 27 and obtains the level, frequency, generation period, and generation time of this noise.

FIG. 3 shows information indicating vibration or noise during normal operation of the image forming apparatus 10, information indicating vibration or noise during abnormal operation, and information indicating vibration or noise in the surrounding environment of the image forming apparatus 10, which are stored in advance. A data table DT is shown. As shown in FIG. 3, the data table DT includes vibration level VL1, vibration level VL1, and information indicating the vibration during normal operation of the image forming apparatus 10 for each of a plurality of jobs such as a copy job, a transmission job, a facsimile job, and a print job. A frequency VF1, a generation period VP1, and a generation time VT1 are stored, and a noise level SL1, a frequency SF1, a generation period SP1, and a generation time ST1 are stored as information indicating the noise during normal operation. In addition, the data table DT stores, for each job, vibration level VL2, frequency VF2, occurrence period VP2, and occurrence time VT2 as information indicating the vibration during abnormal operation of the image forming apparatus 10, and also stores the vibration level VL2, frequency VF2, occurrence period VP2, and occurrence time VT2. The noise level SL2, frequency SF2, generation period SP2, and generation time ST2 are stored as information indicating the noise. Furthermore, the data table DT stores the level VL3, frequency VF3, generation period VP3, and generation time VT3 of vibrations from nearby trains as information indicating vibrations in the surrounding environment, and also stores nearby vibrations as information indicating noise in the surrounding environment. The level SL3, frequency SF3, generation period SP3, and generation time ST3 of the noise from the train are stored, and the level SL3, frequency SF3, generation period SP3, and generation time of the noise from the telephone are stored as information indicating other noises in the surrounding environment. Time ST3 is stored.

Information indicating vibrations or noise in the surrounding environment is obtained when the user operates the operation unit 22 or the touch panel 23 to instruct sampling of vibrations or noise in the surrounding environment, and the control unit 31 controls the sampling of the vibration or noise in the surrounding environment. The vibration detected by the vibration detection unit 26 or the noise detected by the noise detection unit 27 is analyzed and acquired according to the instruction. Alternatively, the control unit 31 receives and acquires preset information indicating vibration and noise in the surrounding environment from a storage on the network through the network communication unit 25 based on an instruction by operating the operation unit 22 or the touch panel 23. It's okay. Further, the control unit 31 causes the image forming apparatus 10 to detect the position of the image forming apparatus 10 using a built-in GPS (not shown), and detects the position of the image forming apparatus 10 from the storage on the network through the network communication unit 25. The search result is displayed on the display section 21, and the train information is searched for from the storage on the network through the network communication section 25 based on instructions from the operation section 22 or the touch panel 23. Information indicating vibration or noise may be acquired.

Next, when the image forming apparatus 10 executes a job as described above, the occurrence of an abnormal operation of the image forming apparatus 10 is detected based on the vibration detected by the vibration detecting section 26 and the noise detected by the noise detecting section 27. The processing procedure for making the notification will be explained in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 and the like.

First, the control unit 31 waits for an instruction to execute a job (S101 "No"), and when instructed to execute a job (S101 "Yes"), determines the type of the job (S102). Then, while executing the job, the control unit 31 analyzes the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit 26 and obtains the level vl, frequency vf, generation period vp, and generation time vt of this vibration (S103 ), the noise detected by the noise detection unit 27 is analyzed to obtain the level sl, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st of this noise (S104).

Subsequently, the control unit 31 stores in the storage unit 28 the level VL3, frequency VF3, generation period VP3, and generation time VT3 of vibrations from nearby trains, and the noise level SL3, frequency SF3, generation period SP3, and generation time ST3. (S105), and the vibration level vl, frequency vf, generation period VP, and generation time vt acquired in S103 are the vibration level VL3, frequency VF3, generation period VP3, and vibration from nearby trains obtained in S103. It is determined whether or not the noise level sl, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st acquired in S104 match or approximate the generation time VT3, and the noise level SL3 and frequency from the read nearby trains are determined. It is determined whether they match or approximate SF3, occurrence period SP3, and occurrence time ST3 (S106). Further, the control unit 31 reads the noise level SL3, frequency SF3, generation period SP3, and generation time ST3 of the noise from the telephone from the data table DT in the storage unit 28 (S105), and reads the noise level SL3, frequency SF3, and generation time ST3 of the noise from the telephone from the data table DT in the storage unit 28 (S105). It is determined whether sf, generation period sp, and generation time st match or approximate the read noise level SL3, frequency SF3, generation period SP3, and generation time ST3 from the telephone (S106).

Specifically, in S106, for example, it is determined whether the vibration level vl acquired in S103 matches the vibration level VL3 from a nearby train, or S103 with respect to the vibration level VL3 from a nearby train. The control unit 31 determines whether the error in the vibration level vl obtained in is within a certain range. Also, it is determined whether or not the vibration frequency vf, generation period vp, and generation time vt acquired in S103 match the frequency VF3, generation period VP3, and generation time VT3 of vibrations from nearby trains, respectively. The control unit 31 determines whether or not the respective errors with respect to the frequency VF3, the generation period VP3, and the generation time VT3 of vibrations from a nearby train fall within a certain range. Furthermore, regarding the noise level sl, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st acquired in S104, the control unit 31 changes the noise level SL3, frequency SF3, generation period SP3, and generation time ST3 from nearby trains to the noise level SL3, frequency SF3, generation period SP3, and generation time ST3. It is determined whether they match each other, or it is determined whether the respective errors with respect to the level SL3, frequency SF3, generation period SP3, and generation time ST3 of noise from nearby trains fall below a certain range. Ru. Similarly, whether or not the noise level sl, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st obtained in S104 match the noise level SL3, frequency SF3, generation period SP3, and generation time ST3 of the noise from the telephone, respectively. The control unit 31 determines whether the noise level SL3, frequency SF3, generation period SP3, and generation time ST3 of the noise from the telephone are each within a certain range.

For example, the control unit 31 determines whether the level vl, frequency vf, generation period VP, and generation time VT of the vibration acquired in S103 match the level VL3, frequency VF3, generation period VP3, and generation time VT3 of vibrations from nearby trains. It is determined that the noise level sl, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st approximated and obtained in S104 match or approximate the noise level SL3, frequency SF3, generation period SP3, and generation time ST3 of the noise from a nearby train. Then (S106 "Yes"), the process from S107 onward is not performed, and therefore, the process returns to S103 without detecting whether or not an abnormal operation has occurred.

Similarly, the control unit 31 determines that the noise level sl, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st obtained in S104 match or approximate the noise level SL3, frequency SF3, generation period SP3, and generation time ST3 of the noise from the telephone. If it is determined to be so (S106 "Yes"), the process from S107 onward is not performed, and therefore, the process returns to S103 without detecting the occurrence of abnormal operation. This prevents vibrations or noise in the surrounding environment from being erroneously detected as being caused by abnormal operation of the image forming apparatus 10.

Further, the control unit 31 determines whether the vibration level vl, frequency vf, occurrence period vp, and occurrence time VT obtained in S103 match the vibration level VL3, frequency VF3, occurrence period VP3, and occurrence time VT3 of the vibration from a nearby train. No approximation, and the noise level sl, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st obtained in S104 do not match or approximate the noise level SL3, frequency SF3, generation period SP3, and generation time ST3 of the noise from nearby trains. It is determined that the noise level sl, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st obtained in S104 do not match or approximate the noise level SL3, frequency SF3, generation period SP3, and generation time ST3 of the noise from the telephone. Then (S106 "No"), the process from S107 onwards is performed.

In this case, the control unit 31 determines the vibration level VL2, frequency VF2, generation period VP2, and generation time VT2 of the vibration during abnormal operation of the image forming apparatus 10 that is associated with the type of job determined in S102, and the noise level. The level SL2, frequency SF2, generation period SP2, and generation time ST2 are read from the data table DT in the storage unit 28 (S107), and the level vl, frequency vf, generation period vp, and generation time vt of the vibration acquired in S103 are The level sl, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st of the noise that match or approximate the read vibration level VL2, frequency VF2, generation period VP2, and generation time VT2 during abnormal operation, and obtained in S104 are read out. It is determined whether the noise level SL2, frequency SF2, occurrence period SP2, and occurrence time ST2 match or approximate the noise level SL2, frequency SF2, occurrence period SP2, and occurrence time ST2 during the abnormal operation (S108). In S108, as in S106, the vibration level vl, frequency vf, occurrence period vp, and occurrence time vt obtained in S103 are used for the vibration level VL2, frequency VF2, and occurrence period during abnormal operation read in S107. It is determined whether they match VP2 and occurrence time VT2, respectively, or the respective errors with respect to vibration level VL2, frequency VF2, occurrence period VP2, and occurrence time VT2 during the abnormal operation fall below a certain range. It is determined whether or not the noise level SL2, frequency SF2, generation period SP2, and generation time st of the noise during abnormal operation read out in S107 are determined. It is determined whether they each match the occurrence time ST2, or whether the respective errors with respect to the noise level SL2, frequency SF2, occurrence period SP2, and occurrence time ST2 during the abnormal operation fall below a certain range. It is determined whether

For example, the control unit 31 determines that the vibration level VL2, frequency VF2, generation period VP2, and generation time VT2 of the vibration during abnormal operation read out in S107 is the vibration level VL, frequency VF, generation period VP2, and generation time VT2 acquired in S103. , and the noise level sl, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st acquired in S104 are the noise level SL2, frequency SF2, generation period SP2, and generation time ST2 during abnormal operation read out in S107. If it is determined that the job matches or approximates (S108 "Yes"), it is detected that an abnormal operation has occurred during execution of the type of job determined in S102 (S109). As a result, the occurrence of an unexpected abnormal operation is detected.

Then, the control unit 31 determines the type of job determined in S102, the vibration level vl, frequency vf, generation period vp, and generation time vt acquired in S103, and the noise level sl, frequency sf, and generation time acquired in S104. The period sp and the occurrence time st are stored in the storage unit 28 as history information of the abnormal operation (S110).

Further, the control unit 31 determines that the vibration level VL2, frequency VF2, generation period VP2, and generation time VT2 of the vibration during the abnormal operation read out in S107 is based on the vibration level VL, frequency VF, generation period VP2, and generation time VT2 acquired in S103. , or the noise level SL2, frequency SF2, generation period SP2, and generation time of the noise during abnormal operation read out in S107. If it is determined that it does not match or approximate ST2 (S108 "No"), the following processes of S111 and S112 are performed.

In this case, the control unit 31 determines the vibration level VL1, frequency VF1, generation period VP1, and generation time VT1 of the vibration during normal operation of the image forming apparatus 10, which are associated with the type of job determined in S102, and the vibration level VL1, frequency VF1, generation period VP1, and generation time VT1 of the noise The level SL1, frequency SF1, generation period SP1, and generation time ST1 are read from the data table DT in the storage unit 28 (S111), and the level vl, frequency vf, generation period vp, and generation time vt of the vibration acquired in S103 are The read noise level sl, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st that match or approximate the read vibration level VL1, frequency VF1, generation period VP1, and generation time VT1 during normal operation, and obtained in S104. It is determined whether the noise level SL1, frequency SF1, generation period SP1, and generation time ST1 match or approximate the noise level SL1, frequency SF1, generation period SP1, and generation time ST1 during normal operation (S112). In this S112, as in S105, the vibration level vl, frequency vf, occurrence period vp, and occurrence time vt acquired in S103 are used for the vibration level VL1, frequency VF1, and occurrence period during normal operation read in S111. It is determined whether the vibration level VL1, frequency VF1, and generation period VP1 of the vibration during normal operation are within a certain range. The noise level sl, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st determined and acquired in S104 are read out in S111 and set as the noise level SL1, frequency SF1, generation period SP1, and generation time ST1 during normal operation, respectively. It is determined whether they match or not, or whether the respective errors with respect to the noise level SL1, frequency SF1, generation period SP1, and generation time ST1 during normal operation fall below a certain range. .

For example, the control unit 31 determines that the vibration level VL1, frequency VF1, generation period VP1, and generation time VT1 of the vibration during normal operation read out in S111 is the vibration level VL1, frequency VF1, generation period VP1, and generation time VT1 acquired in S103. , and the noise level SL1, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st acquired in S104 are the noise level SL1, frequency SF1, generation period SP1, and generation time ST1 during normal operation read in S111. If it is determined that it matches or approximates (S112 "Yes"), it is detected that no abnormal operation has occurred during execution of the job of the type determined in S102, and the process returns to S103.

Further, the control unit 31 determines that the vibration level VL1, frequency VF1, generation period VP1, and generation time VT1 of the vibration during normal operation read out in S111 is the vibration level VL1, frequency VF, generation period VP1, and generation time VT1 acquired in S103. The noise level SL1, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st obtained in S104 do not match or approximate the noise level SL1, frequency SF1, generation period SP1, and generation time during normal operation read out in S111. If it is determined that it does not match or approximate ST1 (S112 "No"), it is detected that an abnormal operation has occurred during execution of the job of the type determined in S102 (S109). As a result, the occurrence of an unexpected abnormal operation is detected.

Then, the control unit 31 determines the type of job determined in S102, the vibration level vl, frequency vf, generation period vp, and generation time vt acquired in S103, and the noise level sl, frequency sf, and generation time acquired in S104. The period sp and the occurrence time st are stored in the storage unit 28 as history information of the abnormal operation (S110).

Subsequently, an abnormal operation during execution of the job of the type determined in S102 is detected (S109), and the type of this job, the vibration level vl, frequency vf, occurrence period vp, occurrence time vt, and When the noise level sl, frequency sf, occurrence period sp, and occurrence time st acquired in S104 are stored in the storage unit 28 as abnormal operation history information (S110), the control unit 31 stores the abnormal operation history of the job. The information is read from the storage unit 28, the number of occurrences of abnormal operations for this job is determined based on this history information (S113), and it is determined whether the number of occurrences of abnormal operations for this job has reached a preset threshold. A determination is made (S114).

Then, if the number of occurrences of the abnormal operation of the job has not reached the threshold (S114 "No"), the control unit 31 returns to the process from S103 without performing the process of S115.

Further, if the number of occurrences of the abnormal operation of the job has reached the threshold (S114 "Yes"), the control unit 31 sends a message indicating that the abnormal operation of the job has occurred and history information of the abnormal operation of the job. is displayed on the display section 21, or an e-mail addressed to the administrator is written, the message and the history information of the abnormal operation of the job are written in the e-mail, and this e-mail is sent from the network communication section 25. The information is transmitted to a server on the network (S115). This e-mail is received by the server, sent and received from the server to the serviceman's terminal device 40, and displayed on the display device of the terminal device 40. After this, the process returns to S103.

The service person can view and analyze the e-mail message displayed on the display device of the terminal device 40 and the history information of the abnormal operation of the job, and respond to the abnormal operation of the job. For example, it is possible to determine an abnormality in a component before the end of its life based on history information of abnormal operation of a job, and to replace the component. In addition, if there is no abnormality in the parts or the like and it is determined that the abnormal operation has been detected incorrectly, the service person operates the operation unit 22 and touch panel 23 of the image forming apparatus 10 to check the vibration level v in the history information. , frequency vf, generation period vp, generation time vt, and noise level sl, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st are stored in the data table DT as information indicating vibration or noise during normal operation, or It is stored in the data table DT as information indicating vibration or noise in the surrounding environment. As a result, from now on, the vibration level vl, frequency vf, generation period vp, generation time vt, and noise level sl, frequency sf, generation period sp, and generation time st in the history information are determined by the vibration detection unit 26 and the noise detection unit. 27, the control unit 31 determines that these match or approximate the information indicating vibrations and noise during normal operation or the information indicating vibrations and noise in the surrounding environment in the data table DT, and the abnormal operation is detected. false detections are prevented.

As described above, in this embodiment, when a job is executed, the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit 26 and the noise detected by the noise detection unit 27 are analyzed to obtain information indicating the detected vibration and noise. , this acquired information is compared with information indicating vibration and noise during normal operation of the job or information indicating vibration and noise during abnormal operation of the job in the data table DT to detect abnormal operation and the acquired information. is compared with information indicating vibration and noise in the surrounding environment in the data table DT to prevent erroneous detection of abnormal operation.

In addition, since information indicating vibrations and noise during normal operation and information indicating vibrations and noise during abnormal operation are set for each of multiple types of jobs, the vibration and noise detection unit 27 detected by the vibration detection unit 26 The information to be compared with the detected noise can be specified according to the type of job, and the accuracy of detecting the occurrence of an abnormal operation can be improved.

Note that in the above embodiment, under the control of the control unit 31, the abnormal operation of the job is notified when the number of occurrences of abnormal operation of the job reaches a threshold value, but the level of vibration at the time of abnormal operation VL2 etc. The abnormal operation of the job may be immediately notified when the level SL2 of the noise during the abnormal operation reaches a certain value.

Further, in the above embodiment, the control unit 31 stores information indicating vibration and noise during abnormal operation in the data table DT in advance, but the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit 26 or the information detected by the noise detection unit 27 Information indicating vibration and noise during abnormal operation may be acquired based on the noise generated. In this case, each time vibration or noise is detected by the vibration detection unit 26 or the noise detection unit 27, the control unit 31 stores information indicating the detected vibration or noise in the storage unit 28, and stores information indicating the detected vibration or noise. When the information indicating vibration or noise is different from the information indicating vibration or noise previously detected by the vibration detection unit 26 or the noise detection unit 27 and stored in the storage unit 28, the detected vibration or noise is The information shown is stored in the storage unit 28 as information on vibration or noise during abnormal operation. In other words, information indicating vibration or noise different from normal is set as information at the time of abnormal operation. Thereafter, when vibration or noise is detected by the vibration detection unit 26 or the noise detection unit 27, the control unit 31 analyzes the detected vibration or noise and acquires information indicating the detected vibration or noise. Then, it is determined whether this information matches or approximates the information indicating the vibration or noise at the time of the abnormal operation stored in the storage unit 28, and if it is determined that they match or approximate, it is determined that the abnormal operation has occurred. Detect.

In addition, in the above embodiment, one embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is described using an image forming apparatus (multifunction device), but this is only an example, and it includes a copy machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, etc. Other image forming apparatuses such as the above may also be used.

Furthermore, the configurations and processes of the above-described embodiments and modified examples described using FIGS. 1 to 4 are merely examples of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention to these configurations and processes.

10 Image forming device 11 Image reading section 12 Image forming section 21 Display section 22 Operation section 23 Touch panel 24 Facsimile communication section 25 Network communication section 26 Vibration detection section 27 Noise detection section 28 Storage section 29 Control unit 31 Control section 40 Terminal device

Claims (10)

An image forming apparatus,
a vibration detection unit that detects vibrations of the image forming apparatus and the surrounding environment;
a noise detection unit that detects sounds from the image forming apparatus and the surrounding environment;
a storage unit that stores in advance information indicating vibrations and sounds during normal operation of the image forming apparatus;
Determine whether the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit and the sound detected by the noise detection unit correspond to information indicating vibration and sound during normal operation stored in the storage unit, and take appropriate action. a control unit that detects that an abnormal operation has occurred in the image forming apparatus when it is determined that the image forming apparatus is not responding;
The storage unit further stores in advance information indicating vibrations and sounds in the surrounding environment of the image forming apparatus,
The control unit determines whether the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit and the sound detected by the noise detection unit match or approximate information indicating vibration and sound of the surrounding environment stored in the storage unit. If it is determined that they match or approximate, the image forming apparatus does not detect abnormal operation of the image forming apparatus based on other information stored in the storage unit. In the storage unit, information indicating vibrations and sounds during normal operation of the image forming apparatus while executing the job is associated with each of the plurality of types of jobs executed by the image forming apparatus. memorized in advance,
When executing any of the various jobs, the control unit reads information indicating vibrations and sounds during normal operation associated with the job being executed from the storage unit, and causes the vibration detection unit to detect the information. It is determined whether or not the generated vibration and the sound detected by the noise detection unit correspond to the read information indicating vibration and sound during normal operation, and if it is determined that they correspond, an abnormality is detected in the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus detects that an abnormal operation has occurred in the image forming apparatus when it is detected that no operation has occurred and it is determined that no response is required. The storage unit stores in advance information indicating vibrations and sounds during abnormal operation of the image forming apparatus,
The control unit determines whether the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit and the sound detected by the noise detection unit correspond to information stored in the storage unit that indicates vibration and sound during abnormal operation. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the image forming apparatus takes action, it is detected that the abnormal operation has occurred in the image forming apparatus, and when it is determined that the image forming apparatus does not take action, it is not detected that the abnormal operation has occurred in the image forming apparatus. image forming device. The storage unit stores, for each of a plurality of types of jobs executed by the image forming apparatus, information indicating vibrations and sounds during abnormal operation of the image forming apparatus while executing the job, in association with the job. are stored in advance,
When executing any of the various jobs, the control unit reads information indicating vibrations and sounds during abnormal operation associated with the job being executed from the storage unit, and causes the vibration detection unit to detect the information. It is determined whether or not the generated vibration and the sound detected by the noise detection section correspond to the read information on the vibration and sound at the time of the abnormal operation, and when it is determined that they correspond, the abnormal operation is caused to the image forming apparatus. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when it is detected that an abnormal operation has occurred and it is determined that no response is to be taken, the image forming apparatus does not detect that an abnormal operation has occurred in the image forming apparatus. Each time vibration and sound are detected by the vibration detection unit and the noise detection unit, the control unit causes the storage unit to store information indicating the detected vibration and sound, and stores information indicating the detected vibration and sound. If the information indicating the detected vibration and sound is different from the information indicating the vibration and sound previously detected by the vibration detection unit and the noise detection unit and stored in the storage unit, the information indicating the detected vibration and sound is The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores information indicating vibrations and sounds during abnormal operation. Each time the control unit detects an abnormal operation occurring in the image forming apparatus, the control unit causes the storage unit to store information indicating vibrations and sounds at the time of the detected abnormal operation as history information, and stores the information in the storage unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the abnormal operation is notified based on history information of the abnormal operation. The control unit transmits information indicating vibrations and sounds during abnormal operation detected by the vibration detection unit and the noise detection unit, and information indicating vibrations and sounds during normal operation of the image forming apparatus, according to instructions from a user. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the image forming apparatus is stored as information in the storage unit. The control unit transmits information indicating vibrations and sounds during abnormal operation detected by the vibration detection unit and the noise detection unit, and information indicating vibrations and sounds during normal operation of the image forming apparatus, according to instructions from a user. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores information or information indicating vibrations and sounds in a surrounding environment of the image forming apparatus. The storage unit stores in advance the level, frequency, generation period, and generation time of the vibration and sound as information indicating the vibration and sound,
The control unit analyzes the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit and the sound detected by the noise detection unit, and obtains the level, frequency, generation period, and generation time of the detected vibration and sound. , when the acquired vibration and sound level, frequency, occurrence period, and occurrence time match or approximate the vibration and sound level, frequency, occurrence period, and occurrence time stored in the storage unit; , it is determined that the vibration and sound detected by the detection unit correspond to the information indicating vibration and sound stored in the storage unit, and when they do not match or approximate, the vibration and sound detected by the detection unit The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image forming apparatus determines that the image forming apparatus does not correspond to information indicating vibration and sound stored in the storage unit. The vibration detection section includes an acceleration detection sensor,
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the noise detection section includes a microphone.