JPH0527494A - Image forming device with no-break power source - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent useless processing by regarding the off of a power source switch as a rower interruption, on an image forming device having the necessary processing of transfer sheet ejection, etc., by a no-break power source at the time of cutting off a power source. CONSTITUTION:The power source switch is divided into a switch for the no- break power source 97 and a power source switch for an image formation 98, the switch for the no-break power source 97 is provided between the power source 90 and the no-break power source 91, and the power source switch for the image formation 98 is provided on the rear step side of the no-break power source 91. Then, the normal on and off of the power source are executed by the power source switch for the image formation 98, so that the no-break power source 91 does not have the useless processing when there is interruption of service.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus with an uninterruptible power supply.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus, for example, a copying machine, when the power is cut off during a copying operation, all the operations are stopped, and the transfer paper before copying, during copying, or after copying is stored in the copying machine. I will remain. Then, when the power is restored, the copying machine is initialized and the transfer paper remains on the conveyance path, so that the jam detection works. Therefore, the operator must perform the jam processing and reset the copy mode such as the number of copies.

Therefore, by mounting an uninterruptible power supply, even when the power is cut off, the transfer paper discharging process inside the machine is performed, and the remaining processing contents (for example, a copy mode including the number of copies, etc.) are stored. There is a device which eliminates the troublesomeness at the time of power restoration by performing a special process at the time of power interruption such as.

[0004]

However, if an uninterruptible power supply is provided to a general commercial power supply via a power switch for copying operation, it can be discriminated whether the power interruption is due to a power failure or the power switch is turned off. Without knowing when to perform special processing at the time of power interruption using the uninterruptible power supply,
There is a possibility that special processing will be performed as useless processing.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an image forming apparatus with an uninterruptible power supply having an uninterruptible power supply for supplying power for a predetermined time when the power is shut off, the power supply and the uninterruptible power supply are not provided. A switch for a power failure power supply was provided between them, and a power supply switch for image formation was provided after the uninterruptible power supply.

In addition, according to the second aspect of the invention, there is provided the delay means for turning off the switch for the uninterruptible power supply by a predetermined time after turning off the power switch for image formation.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the image forming power switch is arranged in the latter stage of the uninterruptible power supply, and the on / off operation of this switch is regarded as a power failure. The off operation eliminates wasteful processing by the uninterruptible power supply. Further, when the device is not used for a long period of time, the switch for the uninterruptible power supply is turned off to avoid wasteful power consumption.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the uninterruptible power supply is turned off after being delayed by a predetermined time with respect to the turning off operation of the image forming power supply switch, the image forming power supply switch is turned off. At this time, the uninterruptible power supply is also turned off, but at this time, since the image forming power supply is off, no actual processing is performed even if the uninterruptible power supply operates, and wasteful power consumption is suppressed.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of a digital copying machine to which the present invention is applied
The operation will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the overall configuration of a digital copying machine. When roughly classified, an automatic document feeder (ADF) 2, a sorter unit 3, a double-sided reversing unit 4 and the like are attached to a copying machine main body 1. To be done.

The copying machine main body 1 comprises a scanner section, an optical writing section, a photoconductor section, a developing section, a paper feeding section and the like. Here, the schematic configuration and operation of each unit will be described. First, the scanner unit is equipped with a light source 5 with a reflecting mirror and a first mirror 6, and a first scanner that moves at a constant speed,
Equipped with 2nd and 3rd mirrors 7 and 8, 1/2 of the 1st scanner
And a second scanner that moves following the first scanner at a speed of. The original on the contact glass 9 is optically scanned by these first and second scanners, and the reflected image is guided to the lens 11 via the color filter 10 and imaged on the one-dimensional solid-state image pickup element 12. Here, a fluorescent lamp or a halogen lamp can be used as the light source 5, but in consideration of wavelength stability and long life, a fluorescent lamp is generally used.
A CCD is generally used as the one-dimensional solid-state imaging device 12. Since the image signal read by the one-dimensional solid-state imaging device 12 is an analog value, it is A / D converted and various image processings (for example, binarization, multi-value conversion, gradation processing, etc.) are performed by the image processing board 13. Magnification processing, editing processing, etc.) is performed and converted into a digital signal as a set of spots.

In order to obtain color image information, here, a color filter 10 that allows only the information of the required color to pass through is arranged in the middle of the optical path guided from the document to the solid-state image pickup device 12 so as to be able to move forward and backward. Therefore, the color filter 10 is moved in and out in accordance with the scanning of the document, and the functions such as multiple transfer and double-sided copy are activated each time, so that various kinds of copies can be created.

Next, the optical writing section will be described. The image processing after the image processing is performed by the optical writing unit 15 in the form of a set of light points by raster scanning of laser light.
Written on 6. 3 and 4 show the optical writing unit 15
FIG. 3 is a plan view and a front view showing FIG. The laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 17 is collimated by the collimator lens 18 and is shaped into a light flux having a constant shape by the aperture 19. After that, it is incident on the polygon mirror 21 in a form compressed by the first cylinder lens 20 in the sub-scanning direction. The polygon mirror 21 formed in an accurate polygonal shape is rotated by a polygon motor 22 in a certain direction at a constant speed, and the laser light incident on the polygon mirror 21 is
The reflected light is deflected by the rotation of the polygon mirror 21. The deflected laser light enters the fθ lens 23, is converted so that scanning light having a constant angular velocity is scanned on the photoconductor 16 at a constant speed, and is imaged on the photoconductor 16 so as to have a minimum light spot. At this time, the light that has passed through the fθ lens 23 is guided outside the image area by the synchronization detection mirror 24 through the synchronization detection light introducing section 25.
And is propagated to the sensor unit by the optical fiber, and is used for synchronous detection serving as a cue reference in the main scanning direction. The process of outputting the image data for one line after a lapse of a fixed time after the synchronization signal is output is similarly repeated for each line,
Two-dimensional optical writing is performed.

In the photoconductor section, the photoconductor 16 is
It has a photosensitive layer on the peripheral surface which is sensitive to a semiconductor laser beam having a wavelength of 780 nm, and such a photosensitive layer includes an organic photoconductor (OPC), α-Si, Se-Te, etc. Uses OPC). Generally, in the case of laser writing, a negative / positive (N / P) process of shining light on an image portion and a positive / positive (P / P / P / n) process of shining light on the background
P) There are two types of process, but here, the former N
/ P process method. Also, the charger 2
Reference numeral 8 denotes, for example, a scorotron type, which is configured such that the surface of the photoconductor 16 is uniformly negatively charged, and when the image forming portion is irradiated with laser light, the electric charge at that portion is dropped. As a result, the background portion of the surface of the photoreceptor 16 is -750 to -800V,
An electrostatic potential image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor 16 when the image portion has a potential of about -500V. The developing device 29 applies a bias voltage of -500 to -600 V to the developing roller,
The latent image is visualized by attaching charged toner to the latent image.
The visualized image is transferred by applying a + electric charge by the transfer charger 30 onto the transfer paper that is fed and conveyed in synchronization with the photoconductor 16. After transfer, the transfer paper is subjected to AC charge removal by the separation charger 31 and separated from the photoconductor 16. After the transfer, the residual toner is scraped off and removed by the cleaning device 32 by the cleaning device 32, and the residual potential is erased by the light irradiation of the static elimination lamp 33.

Next, the paper feed section will be described. Here, it is possible to carry out double-sided copying or re-feeding by having a plurality of paper feed cassettes 35 and passing the transfer paper once transferred through a re-feeding loop 36. When one of the plurality of paper feed cassettes 35 is selected and the start button is pressed, the paper feed roller near the selected paper feed cassette 35 rotates and paper is fed until the leading edge of the paper hits the registration roller 37. It At this time, although the registration roller 37 is stopped, the registration roller 37 starts rotating at the timing of the image position on the photoconductor 16 to feed the photoconductor 16. After that, as described above, the transfer / separation operation is performed, and the transfer sheet after the transfer is suctioned and conveyed by the separation / conveyance unit 38. After that, the image is fixed by the heat fixing device 39, and during normal copying, it is guided to the sheet discharge port on the sorter unit 3 side by the switching claw 39. On the other hand, at the time of multiple copy, the paper output path to the sorter unit 3 side is closed by switching the switching claw 39, and the paper is guided to the registration roller 37 side again through the lower paper re-feeding loop 36. Further, in the case of double-sided copying, there are two kinds of cases, that is, only the copying machine main body 1 is used and the case where the double-sided reversing unit 4 is used. For example, in the former case, the switching claw 39 moves downward. The guided paper is further guided downward by the switching claw 40, and further guided by the switching claw 41 below it onto the tray 42 below the re-feeding loop 36. Then, the sheet is fed back from the tray 42 by the roller 43 in the re-feeding loop 36 in an inverted state, fed to the registration roller 37 side and used for double-sided copying.

Next, the ADF 2 will be described. The ADF 2 automatically performs the operation of guiding the originals one by one onto the contact glass 9 and discharging the originals after copying. That is, the originals placed on the original feeding table 51 are separated and fed one by one by the feeding roller 52, and are conveyed and set to a predetermined position on the contact glass 9 by the conveying belt 53. When a predetermined number of copies (exposure) are completed, the original is again discharged onto the discharge tray 54 by the conveyor belt 53.

The sorter unit 3 selectively discharges the transfer paper discharged from the copying machine main body 1 in, for example, page order, page by page, or a preset bin 55.

Further, the double-sided reversing unit 4 will be described. As described above, the double-sided copying using only the copying machine main body 1 can perform only the double-sided copying for each sheet, but by using the double-sided reversing unit 4, the double-sided copying can be performed collectively. That is, when making a double-sided copy for a plurality of sheets collectively, the double-sided reversing unit 4 is operated by the switching claw 39.
Sent to. The paper that has entered the double-sided reversing unit 4 is discharged and stacked on the double-sided tray 57 by the paper discharge roller 56. At this time, the transfer paper is aligned vertically and horizontally. The transfer sheets accumulated on the double-sided tray 57 are re-fed by the re-feeding roller 58 at the time of back side copying. At this time, the switching claw 41 directly guides the sheet to the refeeding loop 36.

Next, the electrical equipment control system will be described.
First, FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of the entire electrical equipment control.
The main control board 61 controls the scanner control circuit 62, the sorter control board 63, the double-sided control board 64, the paper feed control board 65, and the operation unit 66 and the application system 67. Has been done.
A power supply circuit 68 from a general commercial power supply is connected to the main control board 61 and the like.

The scanner control circuit 62 will now be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the ADF control plate 69 for the ADF 2, the ballast 70 for the fluorescent lamp (light source) 5, the scanner motor 71, the memory unit 72, etc. In addition, an APS solenoid, an ADF solenoid, etc. are connected. For the memory unit 72, the read signal from the CCD (solid-state image sensor) 12 is the image preprocessor (IPP) 73,
It is input via an image process unit (IPU) 74, and is also connected to an external storage device 75.

As shown in FIG. 7, the sorter control plate 63 is connected with sensors 76 such as an inlet sensor and a bin sensor, a drive motor 77, and loads 78 such as an interrupt solenoid. The double-sided control plate 64 includes solenoids 79 such as a tray solenoid and clutches 8 such as a paper feed clutch.
0, a jogger motor 81, and sensors 82 such as paper discharge detection are connected.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the paper feed control plate 65 includes solenoids 83 such as a toner replenishing solenoid, clutches 84 such as a registration clutch, and various sensors 85.
At the same time, an intake fan 86 and a transport fan 87 are connected.

Looking at the power supply circuit 68, FIG.
As shown in, power is supplied from the general commercial power supply to the AC system load via the uninterruptible power supply 91, while a DC voltage is generated by the DC power supply 92 and supplied to the main control board 61 and the scanner control circuit 62. There is. Here, due to the AC system load, the AC drive plate 93, the main motor drive plate 94, the polygon motor drive plate 95, the high voltage power source 9
6 is prepared.

On the other hand, such an electric equipment control system will be described from another point of view. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the main control board 61 as a control unit of the digital copying machine used in this embodiment has two CPUs 101 and 102, and the CPU 101 takes charge of sequence-related control. The CPU 102 is configured to take charge of operation-related control. CPUs 101 and 102 are
Connected by serial interface.

First, the sequence control side will be described with reference to FIG. The CPU 101 for sequence control is
It sets and outputs conditions related to paper transport timing, image formation, paper size detection sensor, sensor 103 for paper transport such as paper discharge detection and registration detection, double-sided reversing unit, high-voltage power supply unit, relay, solenoid, motor, etc. The driver 104, the sorter unit 3, the scanner unit 105, etc. are connected.

Regarding the sensor 103, as described above, a paper size sensor that detects the size and orientation of the paper loaded in the paper feed cassette 35 and outputs an electric signal according to the detection result, resist detection, and paper discharge detection. There is an input from a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of supply such as oil end and toner end, and a sensor for detecting machine abnormality such as door open and fuse blown.

Regarding the double-sided reversing unit, as described above, the motor for aligning the paper width, the paper feed clutch, the solenoid for changing the transport path, the paper presence / absence detection sensor, the home position sensor of the side fence for paper width alignment,
There are sensors related to paper transport. The high-voltage power supply unit applies predetermined high-voltage power to the outputs of the charging charger, the transfer charger, the separation charger, and the developing bias electrode only by the duty obtained by the PWM control. In the PWM control, the feedback value of each high-voltage power output is converted into a digital value by A / D conversion and is controlled to be equal to the target value.

Regarding the driver relationship, as described above,
Paper feed clutch, registration clutch, counter, motor,
There are solenoids for toner supply, power relays, fixing heaters, etc.

Further, the sorter unit 3 is connected by a serial interface, and a CP for sequence is used.
It is configured such that the paper is conveyed at a predetermined timing according to a signal from U101 and is discharged to each bin 55.

Further, a fixing temperature, a photosensor input, a monitor input of the semiconductor laser 17, a reference voltage of the semiconductor laser 17, feedback values of output values from various high-voltage power supplies, and the like are input to the analog input of the CPU 101. An input from a thermistor provided in the fixing device 39 performs on / off control or phase control of the fixing heater so that the temperature of the fixing portion becomes constant. The photo sensor input is used for controlling the toner density by inputting a photo pattern created at a predetermined timing by a photo transistor and controlling the on / off of the toner supply clutch by detecting the density of the pattern. . Also,
The toner end is also detected by this density detection.

Next, the operation-related control is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to 0. The main CPU 102 controls a plurality of serial ports and a calendar IC, and the plurality of serial ports includes a CPU 1 for sequence control.
01, uninterruptible power supply 91, operation unit 106,
The editor 107, scanner control circuit 62, application unit 67, etc. are connected.

The operation unit unit 106 has a display for displaying the operator's key input and the status of the copying machine, and informs the main CPU 102 of the key input information by serial communication. Based on this information, the main CPU 102 determines whether the indicator of the operation unit unit 106 is on or off, and serially transmits the operation unit unit 106. Operation unit 10
6 turns on, turns off or blinks the display according to the information from the main CPU 102. The main CPU 102 further determines the operating conditions of the machine from the obtained information and performs sequence control at the start of copying.
The information is transmitted to 01.

In the scanner control circuit 62, as shown in FIG. 6, scanner servo motor drive control and image processing,
Information regarding image reading is serially transmitted to the CPU 102, and interface processing between the ADF control board 69 and the sequence CPU 101 is performed.

The application unit 67 is an external device (facsimile, printer, etc.) and the main CPU 102.
It is an interface between and, and exchanges preset information contents. The editor 107 is a unit for inputting an editing function, and serially transmits image editing data (masking, trimming, image shift, etc.) input by the operator to the CPU 102. Calendar IC108
Stores the date and time and can be called by the CPU 102 at any time. Therefore, the current time is displayed on the display of the operation unit 106 and the machine on / off time is set to turn on / off the power of the machine. It is possible to control off by timer.

A signal switching gate array 109 is also provided. This signal switching gate array 109 is C
In response to a select signal from PU 102, page memory 1
The image data (DATA0 to 7) stored in 10 and various synchronization signals are output in the following three directions. First
Is output from the scanner control circuit 62 to the image control circuit 111. In this case, the image signal transferred from the scanner as 8-bit data (however, it can also be 4-bit or 1-bit) is used as the laser beam scanner unit 1.
This is output to the image control circuit 111 in synchronization with the synchronization signal PMSYNC from 05. The second is output from the scanner control circuit 62 to the application unit 108. In this case, the image signal transferred from the scanner as 8-bit data is transferred to the application unit 108.
Output in parallel. Application unit 108
Then, the input image data is output to an output device such as a printer connected to the outside. The third is output from the application unit 108 to the image control circuit 111. In this case, the image signal transferred from the input unit externally connected to the application unit 108 with 8-bit data (however, it can be 4 bits or 1 bit) is used as the laser beam scanner unit 10.
The signal is output to the image control circuit 111 in synchronization with the synchronization signal PMSYNC from 5. When the image signal from the outside has 4 bits or 1 bit, it is necessary to perform a process of converting it into 8-bit data.

The CPU 102 has a ROM 112.
And the RAM 113 are connected. RAM1 here
Reference numeral 13 is a non-volatile memory to which a backup battery (not shown) is connected. As a result, the data contents are not erased even when the power is turned off. Therefore, the count values of various counters such as the total copy number counter and the jam counter, the illuminance setting value of the light source 5, the setting value of the fixing heater temperature, etc. I can remember it. These data can be changed using a numeric keypad or the like, if necessary.

Next, the structure of the image scanner unit is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to 1. The analog image signal output from the CCD image sensor 12 is an image preprocessor IP.
The signal processing circuit 121 inside the P73 amplifies and corrects the light amount, and the A / D converter 122 converts the signal into a digital multilevel signal. This signal is subjected to correction processing by the shading correction circuit 123, and the image processing unit IPU
It is output to 74.

The IPU 74 is constructed as shown in FIG. That is, the image signal applied to the IPU 74 is emphasized in the high frequency range by the MTF correction circuit 124 and the scaling circuit 125.
Is electrically scaled (according to magnification data in the main scanning direction set by the scanner control circuit 62) by the γ conversion circuit 12
6 is applied. The γ conversion circuit 126 performs conversion processing so that the input characteristics are optimized according to the characteristics of the machine, and the image signal output from the γ conversion circuit 126 is predetermined by the switch 128 of the data depth switching mechanism 127. Is converted to the quantization level of. This data depth switching mechanism 1
Reference numeral 27 includes a 4-bit conversion circuit 129, a binarization circuit 130, a dither circuit 131, and a switch 132, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (c), the data is switched to three data types. First, the 4-bit conversion circuit 129 outputs 4-bit data as shown in FIG.
Then, the input 8-bit multivalued data is converted into binary data by a preset fixed threshold value, and 1-bit data as shown in FIG. 13C is output. The dither circuit 131 produces an area gradation with 1-bit data as shown in FIG. The switch 128 selects one of these three data types and outputs it as DATA0-7.

The scanner control circuit 62 follows the instruction from the CPU 102 and outputs the ballast 70 and the timing control circuit 13.
3. Controls the variable power circuit 125 and the scanner drive motor 71 in the IPU 74. The ballast 70 is the scanner control circuit 6
According to the instruction from 2, the light source 5 is turned on / off and the light amount is controlled. The rotary encoder 13 is attached to the drive shaft of the motor 71.
4 are connected, and the position sensor 135 detects the reference position of the sub-scanning drive mechanism.

The timing control circuit 133 outputs each signal according to the instruction from the scanner control circuit 62. That is,
When reading is started, a transfer signal for transferring data for one line to the shift register and a shift clock pulse for outputting the data in the shift register bit by bit are given to the CCD 12. The pixel synchronization clock pulse CLK, the main scanning synchronization pulse LSYNC, and the main scanning effective period signal LGATE are output to the image reproduction system control unit. This pixel synchronization clock pulse CLK is a signal almost the same as the shift clock pulse given to the CCD 12,
The main scanning synchronization pulse LSYNC is used by the image writing unit 15
Main scanning synchronization signal PMSYNC output by the beam sensor
Although the signal is almost the same as that of the pixel synchronization clock pulse C
It is output in synchronization with LK. Further, the main scanning effective period signal LGATE is a signal which becomes H level at the timing when the output data DATA0 to DATA7 are regarded as effective data. Incidentally, in this embodiment, the CCD 12 is supposed to output valid data of 4800 bits per line.

When the scanner control circuit 62 receives a reading start instruction from the CPU 102, the light source 5 is turned on, the scanner drive motor 71 is started to be driven, the timing control circuit 133 is controlled, and the reading by the CCD 12 is started. Further, the sub-scanning effective period FGATE is set to the H level. This signal FGATE becomes L level when the time required to scan the maximum reading length (in this example, the size in the longitudinal direction of A3 size) in the sub-scanning direction after being set to H level.

By the way, the memory system 14 of the present embodiment.
1 will be described with reference to FIG. The image signal from the CCD 12 is output as 8-bit data through the IPP 73 having the functions of shading correction, black level correction, and light amount correction. This data is the multiplexer (MUX) 1
Selected in 42, it has a spatial frequency high-frequency emphasis function (MTF correction function), a speed conversion function (magnification change function), a γ conversion function, and a data depth conversion function (8 bit / 4 bit / 1 bit conversion function). It is processed by the IPU 74 and output to the printer section PR through the multiplexer 143.

In the case of a system having a frame memory for image data, as shown in FIG. 15, the image data from the IPU 74 is temporarily stored in the memory device (MEM) 144.
In the memory device 144, and when necessary, it is retrieved from the memory device 144 and output to the printer PR. Also, I
It is also common to store the image data from the PU 74 to the printer PR and at the same time store the image data in the memory device 144 and copy the second and subsequent sheets with the image data from the memory device 144.

In this respect, in the present embodiment, the data flow as shown in FIG. 16 is arranged so that both the data processed by the IPU 74 and the raw data can be fetched in the memory device 144. Has been done. That is, FIG.
The data flow can be changed by switching the three multiplexers 142, 145, 143 shown in FIG. For example, a single scanner scan can generate multiple IP
When outputting a copy in which the parameters of U74 are changed, the multiplexer 142 is set to A when scanning the scanner.
Side, multiplexer 145 to B side, multiplexer 14
3 is set to the A side and the first sheet is output. At this time, the raw data is stored in the memory device 144 through the multiplexer 145. For the second and subsequent sheets, the multiplexer 142 is set to the B side, the data from the memory device 144 is input to the IPU 74, and the multiplexer 143 is output to the printer PR. At this time, the parameters of the IPU 74 are changed every time one copy is made. It can be achieved by such a procedure.

When holding compact data such as 1-bit data, the multiplexer 145 is set to A
The output of the IPU 74 is taken into the memory device 144. In this case, the printer PR switches to the binary data (1 bit) mode and performs the copy operation.

Signals EXTIN and EXT shown in FIG.
UT is an image data input / output signal from the external storage device 75.

By the way, as the memory device 144, for example, one having a structure as shown in FIG. 17 is used. That is, the compressor (COMP) 146 and the expander (EX
P) 147 and before and after the memory unit 148,
In addition to actual data, compressed data can be stored. In this configuration, the compressor 146 must operate at scanner speed and the decompressor 147 must operate at printer speed. Actual data in memory unit 14
8 to store the data in the multiplexers 149 and 15
0 is set to the A side, and when compressed data is used, it is set to the B side.

Here, the memory unit 148 is constructed, for example, as shown in FIG. That is, FIG.
The data width converters 155, 156 are provided at the input and output of the memory block 157 in order to handle the three image data types shown in (a) to (c) and code data which is compressed data. Further, the direct memory controllers (DMC) 158 and 159 write data into or read data from a predetermined address of the memory block 157 according to the number of packed data and the memory data width.

The data type of the image data shown in FIG. 19 will be described. Normally, the speed of image data from the scanner or to the printer is constant regardless of 8-bit data, 4-bit data or 1-bit data. That is, the period of 1 pixel is fixed in the device.
In the apparatus of this embodiment, 1-bit data, 4-bit data, 8-bit data and M
It is defined by SB justification. The blocks for packing and unpacking this data into the data width (16 bits) of the memory block 157 are the data width converters 155 and 156. By packing, the memory block 157 can be used according to the data depth.
44 can be effectively used.

The compressor 146 as shown in FIG.
Instead of using the decompressor 147 and the decompressor 147, the pixel process unit (PPU) 161 may be arranged outside the memory unit 148 as shown in FIG. The PPU 161 is a unit that expresses a logical operation (for example, AND, OR, EXOR, NOT) between image data, and has a function of calculating memory output data and input data and outputting the same to the printer PR, and memory output and input data. (For example, scanner data) is calculated and stored again in the memory unit 148. Switching between the output printer PR and the memory unit 148 is performed by the multiplexers 162 and 163. This function is generally used for image synthesis, and is used, for example, to place overlay data in a memory unit and overlay the scanner data.

Next, an example of the configuration for storing the image data using the external storage device 75 will be described with reference to FIG. First, copy the image data to floppy disk 16
When the data is stored in 5, the data is output from the EXTOUT to the floppy disk controller (FDC) 168 controlled by the file controller 167 through the interface 166,
The floppy disk 165 on the floppy disk drive (FDD) 169 is stored. Under the control of the file controller 167, a hard disk controller (HDC) 170, a hard disk drive (HDD)
There is also 171, and reading / writing on the hard disk is also possible. Specifically, the normally used format data and overlay data are stored in the HDD 171 side so that they can be used as needed.

FIG. 22 shows a configuration capable of 100% recovery even when the processing speeds of compression and decompression are not in time. The memory unit 148 stores data and image data that are compressed at the same time as the scanner scan. The incoming data is stored in different memory areas, but the compressed data is directly input to the decompressor 147 and decompressed. All data for one page is in memory unit 14
If the processing time of the compressor 146 and the decompressor 147 ends normally by the time of entering 8, the compressed data memory area remains and the raw data area is canceled. If the error detection circuit 151 has the compressor 146 or the decompressor 1
When the error signal from 47 is detected, the compressed data area is immediately canceled and the raw data is adopted.

The memory management unit (MMU) 175 is a unit for controlling the memory unit 148 so that two input data and one output data can be simultaneously input / output to / from the memory unit 148. By verifying compression and decompression in real time, high speed and reliability and effective utilization of the memory area are ensured. In this embodiment,
In such a configuration, the memory management unit 175 allows dynamic allocation of the memory area, but two memory units for raw data and compressed data may be provided.

In any case, the configuration shown in FIG. 22 must satisfy both the number of stored pages and the printing speed so that a plurality of pages can be stored and output to the printer in real time as in electronic sorting. Suitable for various applications.

Now, the uninterruptible power supply 91 used in the power supply circuit 68 in this embodiment will be described. When the uninterruptible power supply 91 is cut off due to a power failure,
It supplies power for a predetermined time and is an apparatus equivalent to that used in a computer or the like. The uninterruptible power supply 91 is the main CPU 10 in the main control board 61.
2 is equipped with a serial port for communicating with each other, whereby information such as a power-off signal can be exchanged. In a digital copying machine such as this embodiment, a large amount of power is consumed such as a fixing heater and a motor. Therefore, a large-capacity uninterruptible power supply is required to maintain normal operation for a long time when the power is cut off. Power is required, which is uneconomical and unrealistic. Therefore, the power cutoff is detected by communication, and a special process called a shutdown sequence operation described below is performed.

Sequence control at the time of power interruption using the uninterruptible power supply 91 will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. First, when the commercial power supply is cut off due to a power failure or the like, the uninterruptible power supply 91 detects it by its power supply monitoring circuit, and supplies its power in place of the commercial power supply by its storage battery and DC / AC converter. At the same time, a power-off signal is generated to notify the main CPU 102 in the main control board 61 of this. In response to the power-off signal, the main CPU 102 controls each element connected to the main CPU 102 to execute a special sequence called "shutdown sequence". When the shutdown sequence ends, the main CPU 102 notifies the uninterruptible power supply 91 of an end signal. The uninterruptible power supply 91 which has received the end signal stops the power supply, and the entire system is turned off at this point.

The shutdown sequence will be described here. During this special sequence, which is activated by the power cutoff signal, the commercial power is cut off and the uninterruptible power supply 9
The power is being supplied from the storage battery of No. 1. The purpose of performing such a special sequence is to reduce the power consumption and extend the power supply time by the storage battery. Complete the discharge so that the transfer paper is not left in the machine during copying. Do not adversely affect the photoconductor 16. The photoconductor 1
Complete the initialization of 6 When saving power, save various information to the non-volatile memory 113 so that the previous job can be continued easily. Notify the user that commercial power is cut off. Required processing ends. Then, in order to prevent deterioration due to over-discharge of the storage battery, power supply by the storage battery is stopped.

Each item will be described below. First,
The reduction of power consumption will be described. Generally, in the copying machine as in this embodiment, the largest power consumption element is the fixing heater in the fixing device 39. Specifically, since the toner on the transfer paper is heated and pressure-fixed, the temperature is 1
The temperature is controlled to about 80 ° C. As the fixing heater, a halogen heater of about 800 W is used. Further, since the fixing heater has a relatively large heat capacity, the fixing temperature can be maintained for several copies even after the power supply is stopped. Further, there is a temperature range where the fixing property cannot be guaranteed but the fixing roller can be passed without damaging the fixing roller (see FIG. 24). By utilizing such characteristics, it is possible to discharge the transfer paper inside the machine without energizing the fixing heater and to reduce power consumption. Therefore, in the shutdown sequence, the fixing heater is turned off.

Next, the remaining paper discharge will be described.
One of the major reasons for mounting the uninterruptible power supply 91 is to prevent transfer paper from being left inside the machine when a power failure occurs. That is, removing the residual paper in the machine is the same as the processing of the jam paper, even though it is caused by the power failure, and is one of the most unpleasant operations for the user. Therefore, in the shutdown sequence, the operations of the elements involved in the conveyance and discharge are continued until the discharge of the transfer paper inside the machine is completed. More specifically, when the shutdown process is started, the states of the transfer paper inside the machine are as follows: a state before the image is not yet transferred, a state during the image transfer, and a state after the image transfer is completed. There can be If only discharging is performed, all process means may be turned off to reduce power consumption, and all the power may be distributed to the discharging operation, but the transfer paper in a state where the image is interrupted is discharged. This may give a user an unpleasant feeling and may give a misunderstanding that an abnormal image is generated. Therefore, here, considering the reduction of power consumption, the image is guaranteed, and if the image transfer is completed, it can be fixed without any problem, so it is a normal copy. Although it is made into a copy, fixed, and ejected, if the image has not been placed yet, it will be ejected as a blank sheet as an invalid copy without transferring.

The initialization of the photoconductor will be described. As described above, the transfer paper is discharged so that it does not remain in the machine, but if the photoconductor 16 is also left without performing the predetermined sequence, it may cause fluctuations in characteristics and poor cleaning. . Therefore, even if the transfer paper does not remain in the machine, the photoconductor 16 is always initialized, and the elements necessary for the initialization are driven. In particular,
The charged portion on the photoconductor 16 is discharged by the discharge lamp 33, and the remaining toner portion is removed by the cleaning device 32. Furthermore, N / P
Due to the process, a reverse bias (+) is applied to the developing bias in the non-charged portion so as to prevent toner adhesion.

The power failure notification to the user will be described. Since the shutdown process is a special operation, the repeat copy is interrupted without accepting the user's operation, but if no display is made at this time, the user may feel anxiety / distrust. However, the display consumes a lot of power, so I want to turn it off if possible.
Also, considering the operation at the time of power failure, it is not preferable to add a lot of display to the image. Therefore, here, during the shutdown process, only a specific display, for example, only the power failure display 202 shown in the operation unit 201 of FIG. 25 is lit and all the others are turned off.

Further, the prevention of over-discharge will be described. Continuing the normal power supply by the uninterruptible power supply 91 even after the shutdown ends causes the battery to be quickly consumed and deteriorated due to over-discharge. Therefore, here, an end signal is sent to the uninterruptible power supply 91 at the end of the shutdown process, and the power supply is stopped except for the power failure display section 254 and the FAX receiving section. As a result, the use of the storage battery is suppressed to a necessary minimum, and deterioration due to overdischarge is prevented.

The above contents are shown in the timing chart of FIG. 26, the copy control flowchart of FIG. 27, and the general flowchart of the shutdown process of FIG.

The switch configuration in the vicinity of the uninterruptible power supply 91 will be described with reference to FIG. General commercial power supply 9
Switch 9 for uninterruptible power supply between 0 and uninterruptible power supply 91
7 is provided, and an image forming power switch 98 is provided on the rear side of the uninterruptible power supply 91. The image forming power switch 98 corresponds to a normal power switch, and by turning off the switch 98 when the copying machine is not used for a short period of time, power is not supplied to the copying machine main body, which is wasteful. Power consumption is prevented. At this time, since the on / off of the switch 98 is not related to the uninterruptible power supply 91, the turning off of the switch 98 is not recognized as the power interruption due to the power failure, and the switch 98
There is no waste that the above-mentioned shirt down sequence is executed by the OFF operation of. On the other hand, if you do not use the copier for a long time, switch 9 for uninterruptible power supply
7 should be turned off. As a result, all power supply is cut off, and power saving is ensured. At this time, turning off the uninterruptible power supply switch 97 is regarded as the same as a power failure and the shirt down sequence is executed by the uninterruptible power supply 91. However, if the uninterruptible power supply switch 97 is turned off rarely, There is no particular problem.

However, the uninterruptible power supply switch 97 may be turned off in association with the turning off operation of the image forming power supply switch 98. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, a delay circuit 99 as a delay means is provided to turn off the uninterruptible power supply switch 97 after a predetermined time has elapsed after the image forming power supply switch 98 was turned off. Composed. According to this, when the uninterruptible power supply switch 97 is turned off, the uninterruptible power supply 91 can be operated as if it were equated with a power failure, but since the image forming power supply switch 98 is turned off prior to this, in practice, Will not be shut down and will not consume power.

[0065]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the image forming power supply switch is arranged in the latter stage of the uninterruptible power supply so that the switch is turned on. -Since the OFF operation is not equated with a power failure, the OFF operation will not perform wasteful processing by the uninterruptible power supply, and if the device will be unused for a long period of time, By turning off the switch for uninterruptible power supply to completely cut off the power supply, useless power consumption can be avoided.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the uninterruptible power supply is turned off after being delayed by a predetermined time with respect to the turning off operation of the image forming power supply switch, the image forming power supply switch is turned off. At this time, the uninterruptible power supply is also turned off, but at this time, since the image forming power supply is off, the actual processing is not performed even if the uninterruptible power supply operates, and wasteful power consumption can be suppressed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the gist of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the entire digital copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a configuration of a writing system.

FIG. 4 is a front view thereof.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing an entire electrical equipment control system.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram mainly showing the vicinity of a scanner control system.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram mainly showing a sorter and a double-sided control system.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram mainly showing a paper feed control system.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram mainly showing a sequence control system.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram mainly showing a main control system.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a processing circuit in the scanner.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an IPU configuration.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an IPU output data format.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a memory system.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an example of its general configuration.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the embodiment system.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a memory device.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the memory unit.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing a data configuration example.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a modified example of the memory device.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an external storage device.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing another modification of the memory device.

FIG. 23 is a timing chart showing a process when power is cut off.

FIG. 24 is a characteristic diagram showing a temperature characteristic of a fixing unit when power is turned off.

FIG. 25 is a plan view showing a configuration example of an operation unit.

FIG. 26 is a timing chart showing a copy process involving a shutdown process.

FIG. 27 is a general flowchart showing copy control.

FIG. 28 is a general flow chart showing the shutdown process.

[Explanation of symbols]

90 power 91 uninterruptible power supply 97 Uninterruptible power supply switch 98 Image forming power switch 99 delay means

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Ishii Kimiku             1-3-3 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stocks             Company Ricoh (72) Inventor Tomonori Fukui             1-3-3 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stocks             Company Ricoh

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus with an uninterruptible power supply having an uninterruptible power supply for supplying power for a predetermined time when the power is cut off, wherein an uninterruptible power supply switch is provided between the power supply and the uninterruptible power supply. An image forming apparatus with an uninterruptible power supply, characterized in that an image forming power switch is provided at a stage subsequent to the power supply. 2. An image forming apparatus with an uninterruptible power supply according to claim 1, further comprising delay means for delaying the switch for the uninterruptible power supply by turning off the image forming power supply switch by a predetermined time. .