JPH0744068A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image forming device capable of operating optimum power control without giving any excess loads on an operator. CONSTITUTION:A device 1A is provided with a device state detecting part 29 and a state control CPU(control means) 62A. The state of the device is detected by the device state detecting part 29 and image forming time is learned. Switching of on and sleep states of the power of the device is controlled by the state control CPU 62A based on the learning result of the device state detecting part 29. Thus, labor and time for setting time for switching on and sleep states is saved and unnecessary power is saved.

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 using an electrophotographic process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a power source in an image forming apparatus of this type is controlled by a timer capable of setting a time to turn the power source on or off, as described in JP-A-58-203459. Was configured to do.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, since the operator has to input the power on / off time of the device in advance, the operator turns on / off the power of the device.
There is the complexity of having to predict and input the optimum switching time of P, and the operator has to reset the ON / SLEEP switching time each time the operating time of the device changes.

Further, the thermal fixing means of this type of image forming apparatus generally holds the heating element in the fixing means at a predetermined temperature when the image forming operation is not performed (hereinafter referred to as "standby state"). I am letting you. This is so that the printing operation can be started immediately upon receiving a printing operation command from the host computer to which the image forming apparatus is connected.

In such an image forming apparatus, the power consumption of the heating element in the standby state can be suppressed.
In some cases, the operator can instruct the resting state so as not to energize the heating element in the standby state.

In such an image forming apparatus, an operator must always stabilize the apparatus in a resting state.
Further, it is necessary to individually set the image forming apparatuses on all the office floors.

There is also proposed an image forming apparatus in which a quick mode (also called a normal mode) in which an image forming speed is relatively fast or a relatively slow energy saving mode can be selected. In this energy saving mode, the temperature of the fixing unit in the standby state is set lower than that in the quick mode.
If the energy-saving mode is set, there are literally energy-saving effects such as environmental conservation and reduction of operating costs.

However, for the operator who forgets to set the energy-saving mode, or the operator who requests urgent printing, the mode switching procedure is troublesome, and the energy-saving mode is intentionally set.
There is a problem that the energy saving effect cannot be exerted because the mode may not be set in some cases.

[0009]

As described above, the conventional device has a problem in that even if an attempt is made to save power, the effect cannot be exhibited depending on the operation of the operator.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of optimal power supply control without imposing an excessive burden on an operator.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to claim 1 is an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium based on input image information. A device state detecting means for detecting the image forming time and learning the image forming time, and a control means for controlling the power supply of the device to switch between the on state and the sleep state based on the learning result of the device state detecting means. It is a feature.

The image forming apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus which forms an image by fixing toner on a recording medium by controlling the temperature of a heating element, and determines the brightness of the environment in which the apparatus is placed. It is characterized by having a detecting means for detecting and a control means for controlling the temperature of the heating body based on the detection result of the detecting means.

The image forming apparatus according to a third aspect of the invention is an image forming apparatus in which toner on a recording medium is fixed by a temperature control of a heating body to form an image, and a quick mode in which an image forming speed is relatively high. Alternatively, selection means for selecting a relatively slow energy-saving mode, and control means for controlling the temperature of the heating element according to the mode selected by this selection means and setting the energy-saving mode at the same time when the power of the device is turned on. It is characterized by having.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus in which the toner on the recording medium is fixed by the temperature control of the heating body to form an image, the quick mode in which the image forming speed is relatively high. Alternatively, after selecting a relatively slow energy saving mode and controlling the temperature of the heating element in accordance with the mode selected by this selecting means and selecting the quick mode, the energy saving mode is passed after a predetermined period has elapsed. It has a control means to be.

[0015]

According to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, since the power supply of the apparatus is controlled to switch between the ON state and the sleep state based on the learning result of the apparatus state detecting means, the ON state / sleep state. This saves the trouble of setting the switching time of, and saves unnecessary power.

According to the image forming apparatus of the second aspect, when the control means determines that the environment is bright based on the detection result of the detection means, it is considered that the operator is in the room where the apparatus is placed. , Raise the temperature of the heating element to a temperature suitable for fixing the toner. Further, when it is determined that the environment is dark, the control unit considers that there is no operator in the room in which the device is placed, and lowers the temperature of the heating body to save power.

According to the image forming apparatus of the third aspect, when the quick mode is selected by the selecting means, the control means sets the temperature of the heating element in accordance with the mode and forms a relatively fast image. Is possible. Further, when the energy saving mode is selected by the selection means, the control means sets the temperature of the heating element in accordance with the mode, and enables relatively slow image formation. Energy saving can be achieved by such a simple mode selection. Also, by setting the energy saving mode when the power is turned on, forgetting to set the energy saving mode can be avoided.

According to the image forming apparatus of the fourth aspect, the control means sets the energy saving mode after a lapse of a predetermined period after the quick mode is selected. As a result, even if the operator neglects to switch from the quick mode to the energy saving mode, the energy saving mode can be automatically switched to save energy.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the schematic arrangement of an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, for example, a laser beam printer.

The apparatus 1A has an apparatus main body 1, and in the apparatus main body 1, a cassette 2 for storing a recording sheet S, a cassette sheet presence / absence sensor 3 for detecting the presence / absence of the recording sheet S in the cassette 2, A cassette size sensor 4 (composed of a plurality of micro switches) for detecting the size of the recording paper S of the cassette 2 and a paper feed roller 5 for feeding the recording paper S out of the cassette 2 are provided.

A registration roller pair 6 for synchronously transporting the recording paper S is arranged downstream of the paper feed roller 5. An image forming unit 8 that forms a toner image on the recording paper S based on the laser light from the laser scanner unit 7 is disposed downstream of the registration roller pair 6.

Further, a fixing device 9 for thermally fixing the toner image formed on the recording paper S is arranged downstream of the image forming portion 8, and downstream of the fixing device 9 the paper conveying portion of the paper discharging portion. A paper discharge sensor 10 for detecting the state, a paper discharge roller 11 for discharging the recording paper S, and a stacking tray 12 for stacking the recording paper S for which recording has been completed are arranged.

Further, the laser scanner section 7 is a laser unit 13 which emits laser light modulated based on an image signal sent from an external device 28 which will be described later.
A polygon motor 14 for scanning the laser beam from the laser unit 13 onto the light emitting drum 17, an image forming lens group 15, a folding mirror 16 and the like.

The image forming section 8 includes the photosensitive drum 17 and the pre-exposure lamp 1 necessary for a known electrophotographic process.
8, a primary charger 19, a developing device 20, a transfer charger 21, and a cleaner 22 having a cleaner blade 22a.

The main motor 23 applies a driving force to the paper feed roller 5 via the paper feed roller clutch 24 and to the registration roller pair 6 via the registration roller clutch 25. Driving force is also applied to each unit fixing device 9 and the paper discharge roller 11 of the image forming portion 8 including the above.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a printer control device for controlling the device main body 1, which is connected to an external device 28 via an interface 27 so that transmission and reception can be performed. Reference numeral 40 is an operation panel.

Reference numeral 29 is an apparatus state detection unit. In this embodiment, the learning result of the image forming time is considered as the apparatus state. A state management CPU 62A is provided inside the device state detection unit 29. The state management CPU 62A learns the image forming time, corrects reliability data, and detects the detected state.
ON / SLEEP switching is performed based on reliability data.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a power source section, and SLEE is provided inside.
The power supply unit 31 for P, the power supply unit 32 for NORMAL, and the AC input unit 33 are provided.

As cables for connection, there are an AC input line 34, a device state detecting section power supply line 35, and a NORMAL power supply line 36.

Reference numeral 41 is a connection line for connecting the operation panel and the printer control device 26. In 37, the device state detection unit 29 turns on / off the NORMAL power supply unit 32.
It is an ON / SLEEP switching signal line for controlling F. 42
Is a serial communication line for performing data communication between the printer control device 26 and the device state detection unit 29. Reference numeral 38 is a main switch for turning on / off the AC power supply to the apparatus body 1.

The relationship between the communication control CPU 51, the printer control CPU 54, the state management CPU 62A and the input / output elements will be described with reference to FIG.

Inside the printer control device 26, a communication control I.V. for transmitting and receiving to and from the external device 28 via the interface 27 is provided. C. Equipped with 50. Communication control I.
C. 50 is bus-connected to the communication control CPU 51. The communication control CPU 51 is connected to the printer control CPU 54 by a serial communication line 53 via a buffer 52. 56 and 58 are resistors for pulling up.
The printer control CPU 54 is connected to the state management CPU 62A by the serial communication line 42 via the buffer 61. State management CPU 6 inside the device state detection unit 29
2A is connected to the solind state relay 64 by the ON / SLEEP switching signal line 37 via the buffer 63. A solid state relay 64 is provided inside the NORMAL power supply section 32, and the relay 64 is turned ON / O.
ON / O of NORMAL power supply 66 by FF
You can FF.

The AC power from the AC input section 33 is transmitted to the NORMAL power source 66 through the transformer 65.
The NORMAL power supply 66 sends power for driving the printer control device 26 through the NORMAL power supply line 36. In addition, power is supplied to each unit requiring a power source in the apparatus main body 1 through the NORMAL power supply line 36.

Power is supplied to the apparatus main body 1 through an AC input line 34. When the main switch 38 is turned on, AC
When power is supplied to the input section 33 and the main switch 38 is turned off, AC power supply to the apparatus main body 1 is stopped.

The SLEEP power supply section 31 is the AC input section 3
AC is supplied from 3 to generate power for driving the device state detection unit 29. Through the power supply line 35 for SLEEP,
Power is supplied to the state detection unit 29.

The state management CPU 62A can recognize the printing state of the apparatus 1A through the serial communication line 42, and can grasp the time and the number of sheets. Therefore, the state management CPU
62A can learn the image formation time. Further, the reliability data can be corrected by calculating the correlation between the learning result of the image forming time until the previous day and the actual result of the image forming time of the day.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
It will be described in accordance with the flowchart of.

First, the operation of the printer control CPU 54 will be described.

After the start (S101), when the operator turns on the main switch 38, the apparatus main body 1 is brought into a use state (S102). At this point, the state management CPU 62A turns on the NORMAL power supply unit 32, so that the printer control CPU 54 is energized and is in a normal use state (S103). This state is the NORMAL power supply unit 32.
Continues while is ON.

The printer control CPU 54 uses the external device 28.
Waits for a print command from (S104). When there is a print command, the state management CPU 62A is notified of the start of print processing (S105), and print processing is performed (S106).

Next, the operation of the state management CPU 62A will be described.

After the start (S101). When the operator turns on the main switch 38, the apparatus main body 1 is brought into a use state (S102). Next, the NORMAL power supply unit 32 is turned off.
N, and printing is enabled (S107). Then, the printer control CPU 54 waits for the printing process to start (S10).
8). When the print processing start notification is given, the number of print sheets at that time is calculated (S109).

Further, the state management CPU 62A is set to 1 a day.
At 00:00:00 (S110), reliability data is calculated from the learning result of the printing time up to the previous day and the actual printing time of the day (S111). Next, the results of the current day are added to the learning results up to the previous day, and the learning result data is updated (S112).

The state management CPU 62A, 24 times a day,
When every hour is 0 minutes and 0 seconds (S113), the learning result of the printing time up to the previous day is multiplied by the reliability, and when the value is larger than 1 (S114), the NORMAL power supply unit 32 is turned on (S115) to print. It can be processed. If the above value is 1 or less (S114), the NORMAL power supply unit 3
2 is turned off (S116), and the sleep state is set.

Next, the variables used in FIGS. 6 to 9 will be described with reference to FIG.

The TOD (24) is an array for storing the actual print number of sheets at each time of the day. As an example, T
OD (13) indicates the number of prints printed in 1 hour from 13:00 to 14:00.

YES (24) is an array for storing the number of print learning results at each time until the previous day.

TTOD is from TOD (0) to TOD (2
It is a total of up to 3) and indicates the total number of prints on the day.

TYES is from YES (0) to YES (2
It is the total number up to 3), and shows the total number of prints of the learning results up to the previous day.

NORTOD (24) is TOD (N) /
It is calculated by TTOD and is standardized by the total number of prints on the day. Therefore, NORTOD
The total sum from (0) to NORTOD (23) is 1.

NORYES (24) is YES (N) /
It is calculated by TYES and the number of print learning results up to the previous day is standardized by the total number. Therefore, N
The total sum from ORYES (0) to NORYES (23) is 1.

COR is (NORTOD (0) × NOR
From YES (0), (NORTOD (23) x NOR
The total is up to YES (23), which is the correlation value between the print state indicated by the learning result up to the previous day and the print state of the current day. The fact that this correlation value is high means that the accuracy is high when the print state of the current day is predicted from the learning results up to the previous day.

REL represents reliability. The correlation value is 0.
If it is larger than 1, REL is increased and the correlation value is 0.
If it is smaller than 06, REL is made smaller. The learning result of the correlation value is used as the reliability.

NOW is the current time, indicates the time of day, and takes an integer value from 0 to 23. I
Is an integer for calculation.

Here, steps S109, S111, S112, and S114 in FIG. 4 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

In step S109 (calculation of the number of printed sheets), according to the current time NOW, the print result T of the day is recorded.
INCREMENT OD (NOW) by 1.

In step S111, the reliability is calculated from the learning results up to the previous day and the results of the day. First, in steps S121 and S122, the total number of printed sheets is cleared to zero. Next, steps S123 to S12
At 6, the total number is printed and the total number of prints is calculated. Normalization is performed in steps S127 to S130. In step S131, the correlation value COR is cleared to zero. In steps S132 to S134, the correlation value between the learning result up to the previous day and the actual result on the current day is calculated. Step S
If the correlation value is larger than 0.1 at 135, the reliability R
Increase the value of EL by 0.1. However, the maximum value of reliability is 1. In step S136, the correlation value is 0.06.
If it is smaller, the value of the reliability REL is decreased by 0.1. However, the minimum value of reliability is 0.1.

In step S112 (update of learning result), in steps S141 to S143, the learning result up to the previous day and the average of the print results on the current day are set as a new learning result. In steps S144 to S146, the print result of the day is cleared to zero.

Step S114 (learning result × reliability>
For 1), the above evaluation formula is (YES (NOW) * R
EL)> 1.

According to the first embodiment as described above, the device state detecting means, the reliability correcting means, the SLEEP power feeding means, the NORMAL power feeding means, and the ON / SLEEP switching means are provided, so that it is always and whenever necessary. There is an effect that it is possible to cut unnecessary power by setting it to the ON state and setting it to the SLEEP state when unnecessary.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the electrical connection of the image forming apparatus of the second embodiment of the present invention.

This device 1B has a state management CPU 62B having a function different from that of the first embodiment. A microphone 67 as a device state detection means is connected to this state management CPU 62B, and the others are the first. The configuration is similar to that of the embodiment. Therefore, the operation of the printer control CPU 54 is the same as that shown in FIG.

The operation of the state management CPU 62B will be described with reference to FIG.

The state management CPU 62B constantly inputs the volume level (S121). State management CPU here
The 62B inputs the volume every 1 minute, averages the values 10 times, and determines the average volume every 10 minutes. The average volume for every 10 minutes is averaged 6 times, and the average volume for each hour is determined.

When the state management CPU 62B detects the start of printing processing (S108), it calculates the number of prints at each time (S122). State management CPU 62B
Is once a day at 00:00:00 (S11
0), reliability data is calculated from the actual print time on the day and the average volume per hour (S123). next,
From the actual volume and reliability data of average volume every 10 minutes, the following 2
Determine the slice level of the volume used for 4 hours.

The state management CPU 62B displays 00, 1 every hour.
When 0 minutes, 20 minutes, ..., 50 minutes are reached (S125), the average volume for each 10 minutes input at that time is compared with the slice level of the volume (S126), and the NORMAL power supply unit 3 is used.
2 is turned on / off (S115), (S116).

According to the second embodiment as described above, the power supply of the apparatus is turned on / off based on the volume level and the print result data.
Since the FF is determined, the power of the printer is turned on / off according to the operator's state, and the optimum power control can be performed.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the electrical connection of the image forming apparatus of the third embodiment of the present invention.

The device 1C has a state management CPU 62C having a function different from that of the first embodiment, and the state management CPU 62C has a light quantity sensor 6 as a device state detection means.
8 and a resistor 69 are connected so that the state management CPU 62 can detect the amount of light, and the other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment.

According to the third embodiment, the printer power is turned on / off according to the change in the light quantity.
Optimal power control is possible.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the essential parts of an image forming apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

This device 1D includes a control unit 62D including a microprocessor, a program ROM and a control RAM.
And a heating body 69 including a heater, and a detector (for example, a thermistor) 70 that detects the temperature of the heating body. The temperature information of the heating element 69 obtained from the detector 70 is converted into a voltage value by the resistor 71, converted into digital information by the A / D converter 72, and input to the control unit 62D. The controller 62D keeps the temperature of the heating element 69 constant by turning on / off the triac 73 based on the obtained information of the heating element 69. 74 is a commercial power supply. Reference numeral 75 denotes a phototransistor for detecting the brightness outside the device, which is converted into a voltage by the resistor 76 and is taken into the control unit 62D as digital information by the A / D converter 77.

Next, the operation of the controller 62D will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the brightness outside the control device is judged (S
200), if it is bright, it is judged whether the printing state is present (S201), and if printing is in progress, the control temperature of the heating element 69 is set to Tp and the temperature is adjusted (S202). However, if it is not the printing state but the standby state in step S201, the control temperature is set to Ts to adjust the temperature (S20).
3).

When it is determined in step S100 that the external brightness is dark, it is determined whether or not the print state is set (S204). If the print state is set, the previous state, that is, the temperature of Tp is adjusted. Wait until the print status is completed. When the printing operation is completed, the control temperature is set to TL (S205). In the present invention, TL stops energization to room temperature, that is, the heating element 69.

According to the fourth embodiment as described above, by detecting the environment of the device 1D, it is possible to control the supply of electricity to the heating element 69 at the time of standby, so that the operator can operate on the office floor. When not in use (when the office is dark), all the image forming apparatuses 1D installed in the office can be put into the energy saving mode without adding a special interface or the like. In particular, the effect is great for the image forming apparatus 1D having a halogen heater or the like that does not use a ceramic heater.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of the essential parts of an image forming apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

The device 1E has a control section 62E, and an image controller 79 is connected to the control section 62E via a video interface 78. This image controller 79 is connected to a host computer (located outside the image forming apparatus) of a higher level via an interface 80
81 is connected, and the image controller 79 is
The print data from the host computer 81 is matched with the image forming apparatus to generate image information. On the other hand, the image controller 79 is connected to the operation panel 83 via another interface 82, and on the operation panel 83, in addition to the detector 83a for detecting the brightness of the external environment, switches for the operator to access ( 83b
And display LEDs (plural) 83c.

It is easy to arrange the detector 83a on the operation panel 83 because the operation panel 83 is usually attached to the exterior because of the structure of the present device 1E. External brightness information obtained by the detector 83a is taken into the image controller 78 via the interface 81, and the control unit 62
Sent to D. When the information indicates "dark", the control unit 62D performs the operation shown in FIG.

At this time, the image controller 78
The energization of the LEDs 83c of the operation panel 83 is also stopped. If the operation panel 83 has a liquid crystal display (hereinafter, LCD) (not shown) and has a light emitting means for the LCD, the light emission is also stopped. However, about one of the LEDs 83c may be turned on for monitoring. Further, a switch or the like may be provided on the control unit 62D or the operation panel 83 of FIG. 13 so that the operator can specify whether or not the operation according to the present invention is possible.

Although the embodiment has been described in which the external environment of the image forming apparatus 1E is judged by the brightness to enter the energy saving mode, other conditions may be used for judging the external environment. For example, noise may be detected. Further, although the purpose is to lower the temperature of the heating element 69, stopping the driving of other heat generating members such as a motor at a predetermined timing is also effective as an energy saving measure.

FIG. 16 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

This apparatus 1F includes a control section 62F for controlling the entire apparatus 1F, a main motor 84, a sheet feeding / conveying control section 85 for a sheet feeding / conveying system, a laser exposure section 86, and uniform charging of the photosensitive drum. , A high-voltage control unit 87 for developing toner and transferring a toner image to a sheet, a fixing unit 88 for thermally fixing the toner on the sheet, an operation / display unit 89 for interface with an operator, and an external device. Interface circuit section 90 which is in charge of the interface.

The paper feed / conveyance control section 85 includes the main motor 8
The print sheet is fed and conveyed by controlling the clutches and solenoids of the respective sections while the drive unit 4 is driven.

The laser exposure section 86 forms a latent image on the photosensitive drum inside the apparatus 1F. In addition, laser
Scanning is by rotating the polygon mirror.

FIG. 17 is a detailed view of the operation / display unit 89. 89a to 89f are LEDs, and 89g is a key.
Each function is explained below.

When the LED 89a is turned on, it indicates that the printer is powered on. LED8
9b indicates that the printer is warming up by blinking, and indicates that the printer is ready by lighting. The LED 89c blinks to indicate that the paper is not set in the printer. The LED 89d blinks to indicate that the residual amount of toner is small. The LED 89e blinks to indicate that a jam has occurred. LED 89f is
The light indicates that the operation mode of the printer is designated as the quick mode. The quick key 89g is for switching the operation mode of the printer between the quick mode and the energy saving mode.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a part of the RAM in the controller 62F. Reference numeral 62a is a memory for storing the operation mode (quick or energy saving mode) of the printer. Reference numerals 62b and 62c are RAMs for a general-purpose timer used for printer control.

Here, the quick mode will be described in comparison with the energy saving mode. The quick mode is an operation mode that increases the print speed. To this end, first, the rotation speed of the main motor 84 is increased. Therefore, the conveyance speed of the sheet is increased, so that the conveyance direction timing control for image formation and jam detection is also different from the energy saving mode. The polygon mirror motor is also rotated at a higher speed to achieve the same image resolution as in the quick mode. Therefore, the timing control in the scan direction also differs. In the fixing device 88, since the paper passing speed is high, the temperature control is high. Further, the temperature during standby is also controlled to be high so that the fixing device reaches the temperature for printing earlier from the start of the printing operation. The standby state is a state of waiting for a print operation instruction from an external device after the warm-up is completed.

As described above, the quick mode requires more energy than the energy saving mode.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing the control in this embodiment. The program shown in this chart is stored in the ROM (not shown) in the control unit 62F.
This program is started when the power is turned on. When the power is turned on, the printer operation mode is the energy saving mode (S401). In the standby state, it is checked whether or not the quick key 89g is pressed (S40).
2, S403). If it is pressed, the currently designated operation mode is switched to the other mode (S4).
04 to S406).

According to the sixth embodiment as described above, in the image forming apparatus capable of selecting either the energy saving mode or the quick mode, the operation mode at the time of power-on is changed as in the sixth embodiment. By setting the energy saving mode, it becomes easy to save energy in the printer.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart showing the operation of the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

In the sixth embodiment, the operator can operate the quick key 89g to return from the quick mode to the energy saving mode. Therefore, in the seventh embodiment, a function of automatically returning to the energy saving mode under a predetermined condition is added.
This is more preferable for energy saving.

The operation of the seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The program shown in this chart is basically the program shown in FIG. 19 with added functions, and the same step numbers are given to the same processes. Only the additional points are explained below.

When the quick mode is designated (S40
5), mode timer 0 (not shown) is started (S503). The timer value is stored in the RAM 62b and is rewritten every time it is counted. This timer value is checked when the current mode is the quick mode in the standby state (S402) (S50).
1). At that time, if the timer 0 has finished counting, the operation mode of the printer is returned to the energy saving mode (S
502).

According to the seventh embodiment as described above, since the setting period of the quick mode is limited by the automatic switching to the energy saving mode when the quick mode is specified, the energy saving mode is forgotten to be specified. It also becomes possible to deal with the case.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart showing the operation of the eighth embodiment of the present invention.

An eighth embodiment will be described on the assumption that an emergency print is requested immediately after the power is turned on in the printer based on the quick mode. In particular,
If you want to start the printing operation before the lapse of a predetermined time after the power is turned on, use the quick mode.

The operation of the eighth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The program shown in this chart is basically the program shown in FIG. 20 with added functions, and the same step numbers are given to the same processes. The following is a description of the additional points.

When the power is turned on, mode timer 1 (not shown) is started (S601). Mode timer 1
Is the same as timer 0, and the timer value is RAM62.
Stored in c. When a print operation request is received from an external device during standby (S402) (S602),
Check this timer 1. At this time, if the counting is not completed (S603), the operation mode of the printer is set to the quick mode (S405).

According to the eighth embodiment, when the printing operation is started within the predetermined time after the power is turned on, the operation is performed in the quick mode. Energy saving for
The mode is no obstacle.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
Various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0105]

According to the present invention described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained.

According to the first aspect of the invention, since the switching control of the power-on / state / sleep state is performed based on the learning result of the image forming time, the setting of the switching time of the on-state / sleep state is performed. It saves labor and saves unnecessary power.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the temperature of the heating element is controlled by the brightness of the environment in which the device is placed, so power can be saved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the image forming speed can be changed by selecting the mode, and the heating element is controlled to the temperature according to the selected mode. Therefore, the operation is simple. Despite this, energy saving can be achieved. Furthermore, since the energy saving mode is forcibly set when the power is turned on, it is possible to avoid forgetting to set the energy saving mode.

According to the invention of claim 4, the quick
Even if the operator neglects to switch from the quick mode to the energy-saving mode, the energy-saving mode is automatically set after the specified period has elapsed since the mode was selected. It is possible to save energy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical connection of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control of the power supply according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing control of a power supply according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a list of variables according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining details of the flowchart of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining details of the flowchart of the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining details of the flow chart of the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining details of the flowchart of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the electrical connection of the image forming apparatus of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing control of a power supply according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an electrical connection of an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a main part configuration diagram showing an image forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a main part configuration diagram showing an image forming apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an image forming apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing details of the operation / display unit of the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a part of a RAM in a control unit of the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the operation of the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the operation of the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the operation of the eighth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1A to 1F Image forming apparatus 29 Device state detection section 62A to 62C State management CPU (control means) 62D to 62F control section 69 Heating body 75 Phototransistor (detection means) 89 Operation / display section (selection means) S Recording paper (recording) Medium)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Hitoshi Machino 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium on the basis of inputted image information, and an apparatus state detecting means for detecting the state of the apparatus and learning an image forming time, and the apparatus state detecting means. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the power supply of the apparatus based on the learning result of 1. 2. An image forming apparatus for forming an image by fixing toner on a recording medium by controlling the temperature of a heating element, and detecting means for detecting the brightness of the environment in which the apparatus is placed.
An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the temperature of the heating element based on the detection result of the detection unit. 3. An image forming apparatus that forms an image by fixing toner on a recording medium by controlling the temperature of a heating body, and selects a quick mode or a relatively slow energy saving mode in which the image forming speed is relatively high. An image forming apparatus comprising: a selection unit and a control unit that controls the temperature of the heating element according to the mode selected by the selection unit and sets the energy saving mode at the same time when the power of the device is turned on. . 4. An image forming apparatus for forming an image by fixing toner on a recording medium by controlling the temperature of a heating body, wherein a quick mode or a relatively slow energy saving mode in which an image is formed is selected. And a control means for controlling the temperature of the heating element according to the mode selected by the selecting means and for setting the energy saving mode after a lapse of a predetermined period after the quick mode is selected. Image forming apparatus.