JP2015170002A - Image forming apparatus, control method of image forming apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To supply a power to a plurality of functional parts in response to the reception of a specific request when a power supply is in a standby state, acquire specific information, and make a transit to a state to stop supplying a power to the functional parts.SOLUTION: There is provided a control method of an image forming apparatus including a plurality of functional parts, the method including, when receiving a request to make a transition to a mode for performing maintenance of the plurality of functional parts in a standby state to stop supplying a power to the plurality of functional parts, controlling to supply a power to the plurality of functional parts, acquiring information on the functional parts from the plurality of functional parts having been supplied with a power, and updating information on the functional parts stored in storage means.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a control method for the image forming apparatus, and a program.

  In recent years, there has been a demand for low power consumption of electronic devices including image forming apparatuses from the viewpoint of environmental protection. In order to realize this, the image forming apparatus employs a technique of stopping the power supply to each device in the apparatus as necessary and shifting to the power saving mode. However, if energy saving is realized too much, there is a problem that job execution and operability of the image forming apparatus are deteriorated. For example, since the job is executed after energization and initialization of each device, it takes more time to start the image forming process than to execute the job from the normal state (standby state).

  According to Patent Document 1, it is described that setting values of each device are stored in a non-volatile storage medium before shifting to the power saving mode, and when returning from the energy saving mode, the setting conditions before returning to the energy saving mode are restored. . In this way, by using the cache data held at the time of startup, the return time is kept short, so that energy saving is realized and user operability is enhanced.

  Also, according to Patent Document 2, it is described that the usage status of each device is specified based on the number of executions of a job executed by the user, and the power saving mode is set according to the usage status. . In this way, by optimizing the energization state of each device in the image forming apparatus by the user, the user's operability is improved while realizing energy saving suitable for the user.

JP-A-8-254922 JP 2011-248734 A

As described above, according to Patent Document 1, it is possible to realize energy saving without deteriorating operability by returning using a cache secured in a nonvolatile storage medium. However, the abnormality that occurred before the transition to the energy saving mode cannot be grasped because the power of each device is not turned on immediately after the return, and the user does not notice the abnormality until the job is actually executed.
Therefore, there is a problem that the service operability is deteriorated because an abnormality cannot be detected in a mode operated by a serviceman or the like in which each device is not operated but a setting value or the state of the image forming apparatus is confirmed.

  According to Patent Document 2, it is possible to improve energy saving and operability suitable for the user depending on the job execution status of the user. However, the service maintenance mode, which is an operation unrelated to the job, has a problem that operability is not improved.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to supply power to a plurality of functional units in response to receiving a specific request when the power state is in a standby state. If the information is acquired, a mechanism capable of transitioning to a state in which the supply of power to each functional unit is stopped is provided.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object has the following configuration.
A plurality of functional units, a power supply control unit that controls supply of power to each functional unit, an acquisition unit that acquires specific information from each functional unit, and a memory that stores the specific information acquired by the acquisition unit And a receiving unit that receives a request to shift to a mode for performing maintenance of the plurality of functional units in a standby state in which the supply of power to the plurality of functional units is stopped. In this case, the power control unit controls the power to be supplied to the plurality of function units, and the acquisition unit obtains information on the function units from the plurality of function units supplied with power by the power control unit. Update means for acquiring and updating information of the functional unit stored in the storage means.

  According to the present invention, when a specific request is acquired by supplying power to a plurality of functional units in response to receiving a specific request in a standby state, the supply of power to each functional unit is stopped. Can transition to a state.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an energization state of each device in the image forming apparatus. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating transition of a power supply state of the image forming apparatus in the image forming apparatus. It is a figure explaining the information of the cache shown in FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling the image forming apparatus. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling the image forming apparatus. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a UI screen displayed on the UI illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a UI screen displayed on the UI illustrated in FIG. 1.

Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Description of system configuration>
[First Embodiment]

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. In this example, an image forming apparatus will be described in detail as an example of a multi-function peripheral including a scanner function unit, a print function unit, and a plurality of function units including a data communication function unit.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a scanner device that optically reads an image from a document and converts it into a digital image. A printer apparatus 4 outputs a digital image to a paper device. An operation unit 107 is used for operating the present apparatus. In addition, the operation unit 107 includes a UI 109 for confirming the result and state of the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. A hard disk device 104 stores digital images, control programs, and the like.

Reference numeral 108 denotes a FAX apparatus that performs processing for transmitting and receiving a digital image to a telephone line or the like. A controller 10 is connected to each of the above-described units and is configured to execute a job on the image forming apparatus by giving an instruction to each module.
Note that the image forming apparatus 1 can also input / output digital images, issue jobs, and instruct devices from the computer 8 via the LAN 106.

  The scanner device 2 operates by loading a control program stored in the ROM 24 and executing it by the CPU 23. A document feeding unit 21 that can automatically and sequentially replace document bundles, and a scanner unit 22 that can optically scan a document and convert it into a digital image, the converted image data are transmitted to the controller 10. .

  Further, the printer device 4 operates by loading a control program stored in the ROM 45 and executing it by the CPU 44. A sheet feeding unit 43 that can sequentially feed a sheet bundle one by one, a marking unit 41 for printing image data on the fed sheet, and a sheet discharge unit 42 for discharging the printed sheet.

  The controller 10 operates by loading a control program stored in the HDD device 104 and executing it by the CPU 103. The CPU 103 performs transmission / reception and storage of image data with the scanner device 2 and the printer device 4. Further, information of each device is stored as a cache 105 in the HDD device 104. That is, the controller 10 temporarily stores the image data received from the scanner device 2 in the memory 102. Thereafter, the image data is stored in the hard disk device 104 to complete scanning and saving of the image.

  The controller 10 can temporarily store the image data from the hard disk device 104 in the memory 102, and perform print output by transmitting the image data from the memory 102 to the printer device 4.

In addition, the image processing unit 5 is capable of storing again the image data stored in the memory 102 after being subjected to processing such as reduction by the general-purpose image processing unit 51. The image processing unit operates by loading a control program stored in the HDD device 104 and executing it by the CPU 52. This general-purpose image processing unit is used in various scenes as necessary.
The image forming apparatus 1 includes an operation unit 107 that is controlled by the controller 10. The CPU 103 interprets user operations or instructions from the LAN 106, and can execute various jobs shown below.

  8 and 9 are diagrams illustrating an example of a UI screen displayed on the UI 109 illustrated in FIG. For the following functional jobs, a function job setting screen is displayed by selecting a button (copy, scan and send, inbox, secure print, etc.) displayed on the UI screen. In particular, FIG. 8 shows a standard screen, and FIG. 9 corresponds to a maintenance screen after transition with a button selected from the standard screen.

[Copy function job]
In this job, the image read from the scanner device 2 is stored in the hard disk device 104 and simultaneously printed using the printer device 4.
[Image transmission function job]
In this job, an image read from the scanner device 2 is stored in the hard disk device 104 and transmitted to the computer 8 via the LAN 106.
[Image storage function job]
In this job, an image read from the scanner device 2 is stored in the hard disk device 104, and image transmission or image printing is performed as necessary.
[Image Print Function Job]
This job analyzes, for example, a page description language transmitted from the computer 8 and prints it by the printer device 4.
[FAX reception print function job]
In this job, the FAX image received from the FAX apparatus 108 is stored in the hard disk apparatus 104 and simultaneously printed using the printer apparatus 4.
[FAX transmission processing function job]
In this job, the image read from the scanner device 2 is stored in the hard disk device 104 and is simultaneously transmitted from the FAX device 108 to the public line.
In many cases, the hard disk device 104 is interposed in order to recover from an abnormal state such as a job failure or a power failure.

  Reference numeral 6 denotes a power supply device that supplies power to the image forming apparatus 1. When the image forming apparatus 1 is off, the AC power source 7 is insulated by the switch 71. When the switch 71 is turned on, AC power is supplied to the AC-DC converter 61, and DC power is generated. This apparatus can perform four independent power supply controls for the entire apparatus according to instructions from the power supply control unit 101. That is, according to the logic (Hi level / Low level) of the signal 110 output from the power control unit 101, the state (OFF / ON) of the switch S1 that switches between supply and cut-off of the power of the controller unit power 62 is switched. .

  Similarly, a signal 111 is a switch S2 for switching between supply and cutoff of the printer unit power 63, a signal 112 is a switch S3 for switching between supply and cutoff of the scanner unit power 64, and a signal 113 is a general-purpose image processing unit power. It is possible to control the switch S2 that switches between supply and shut-off of the power supply 65. The power supply control unit 101 controls these signals 110 to 113 to appropriately supply power to necessary devices of the image forming apparatus 1.

The CPU 103 appropriately supplies power to a necessary place of the image forming apparatus 1 by using these switch units 110 to 113. The state transition of the image forming apparatus and its power state are described below.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an energization state of each device (functional unit) in the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment.
In FIG. 2, ◯ indicates a state where power is supplied, × indicates a state where power is not supplied, and Δ indicates a state where power is supplied / not supplied depending on the situation. A detailed situation will be described later in the job execution state 303.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the transition of the power supply state of the image forming apparatus in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. This state is held in the memory 102 in the controller 10, and is judged / transitioned by the CPU 103.

  In FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 1 shifts from the power-off state 300 to the activated state 301 by operating the switch 71 (310). The power-off energized state is the power-off state of FIG. 2 and is a state where all devices are not energized.

  The energized state immediately after the start is the start of FIG. The controller unit power 62, the printer unit power 63, the scanner unit power 64, and the general-purpose image processing unit power 65 are all energized. After startup, the status of each device is acquired and stored as a cache 105 in the HDD device 104. The cache will be described in detail later using Table 4. When the activation is confirmed, the state immediately shifts to the standby state 302 (311).

  The energized state of the standby state 302 in which the supply of power to a plurality of devices is stopped is the standby in FIG. In this state, the controller power 62 is energized. A user operation from the operation unit 107 or a job via the network from the LAN 106 is accepted. The printer unit power 63, the scanner unit power 64, and the general-purpose image processing unit power 65 are off. Further, depending on the activation sequence, the external device is not energized even at the activation, and the power-off state 300 is directly shifted to the standby state 302 (312). In this case, since the state of each device cannot be acquired and the cache 105 cannot be updated, the operation is performed using the cache stored at the previous activation.

When a job is received from the standby state 302, the job execution state 303 is entered (313). The energized state of the job execution state 303 is the job execution of FIG. Since the energization state varies depending on the type of job, details will be described below.
Described below.

[Copy function job]
By turning on the scanner unit power 64 and the printer unit power 63 as power supply destinations, the copying function can be executed as described above.
[Image storage function job]
By turning on only the scanner unit power 64 as a power supply destination, an image storage function for storing the read image data can be executed.
(Image printing function)
By turning on only the printer unit power 63 as a power supply destination, an image printing function for printing various image data can be executed.
(Image transmission function)
As a power supply destination, only the scanner unit power 64 is turned ON, and an image transmission function for transmitting the read image data can be executed.
[FAX reception print function]
As a power supply destination, the printer unit power 63 and the general-purpose image processing unit power 65 are turned ON, and the received FAX image can be subjected to general-purpose image processing and then printed by FAX reception printing.
[FAX transmission processing function]
As a power supply destination, the scanner unit power 64 and the general-purpose image processing unit power 65 are turned ON, and a FAX transmission processing function for transmitting the read FAX image data to the public line can be executed.

  Returning to the description of the power supply state in FIG. 3, when the job is completed, the power of the device is turned off to shift to the standby state 302 (314). Only necessary devices can be energized only when they are used, and standby power during standby can be reduced.

  When the switch 71 is turned off in the standby state 302, the state again shifts to the power-off state 300 (315). The maintenance state 304 is a mode (maintenance mode) used when a serviceman or a special administrator performs maintenance of the device. For example, when changing firmware, changing the configuration of the image processing apparatus, or the like, the operation is performed from this mode. In order to shift to this mode, special operations such as specific key operation input and use of a jig are required (320).

Hereinafter, the energized state and the like of the maintenance state 304 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a view for explaining specific information managed by the cache 105 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, version information of each device, print position, light amount adjustment, density adjustment, setting information related to color adjustment, and the like are managed as specific information.
FIG. 4A shows cache information indicating the model number of the device and the version of the control program. FIG. 4B is cache information indicating setting items and setting values set for the scanner device. FIG. 4C shows cache information indicating setting items and setting values to be set for the printer apparatus.

  As described above, when the cache information shifts to the activation state 301, the cache information is acquired and updated. In addition, the job execution state 303 may be entered, and only the energized device may acquire information and be updated individually.

  Further, since the cache information is stored in the HDD device 104 that is a nonvolatile storage medium, the storage state is maintained even when the power-off state 300 is entered. Therefore, the power-off state 300 shifts directly to the standby state 302 without going through the start state 301 (312) In the case of the start sequence, information is not acquired from the device at the start and the cache stored in the HDD device 104 is not acquired. Work with information.

  These pieces of information are information that can be confirmed and reset in the maintenance state 304, and are mainly operated by a service person. For example, light amount adjustment and density adjustment are set for the scanner device, and image position adjustment and color tone adjustment are set for the printer device according to the user's request. In the present embodiment, the main setting items are given as an example, but the present invention is not limited to these items.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. This example corresponds to the transition to the maintenance state 304 and the flow of processing. In the following description, control and determination are performed by the CPU 103 executing a control program stored in the HDD device 104.

  First, in S500, the image forming apparatus 1 is in the standby state 302, and the energization state of each device is the standby state 302 shown in FIG. In step S <b> 501, the controller 10 receives a specific request for shifting to the maintenance state 304 by the operation of the operation unit 107 by the user. Subsequently, in S502, the controller 10 controls the signals 110 to 113 of the power supply control unit 101 via the CPU 103 to control on / off of the switches S1 to S4, thereby energizing all devices (functional units). The same energized state as that in the maintenance shown in FIG.

In step S503, the controller 10 acquires information on all the devices (10, 2, 4, 5) that are energized in step S502. The specific information to be acquired is information for configuring at least (cache 105 (see FIG. 4)).
Furthermore, information necessary for constructing the maintenance screen but not included in the cache is also acquired. In the standby state 302, the state other than the controller 10 is not energized (standby state 302 in FIG. 2), so that the device state may have changed since the previous cache was acquired. For example, the device can be replaced because it is not energized, and the model number may differ from the cache. Moreover, there is a possibility that the device cannot be set due to poor contact or the like. In such a case, incorrect information is displayed and maintenance efficiency is lowered. Therefore, it is necessary to display correct information of each device during maintenance.
In step S504, the controller 10 updates the contents of the cache 105 with the information acquired in step S503. In step S505, the controller 10 uses the information acquired in step S503 to create a screen and display the UI 109.

  Subsequently, in S506, when the user performs a special operation, the controller 10 receives operation information for shifting to the maintenance state 304, and shifts to the maintenance state 304 (320). Processing in the maintenance state 304 will be described later.

  In step S507, the image forming apparatus 1 cuts off the power of the printer unit power 63, the scanner unit power 64, and the general-purpose image processing unit power 65. If necessary, the image forming apparatus 1 operates the switches 63 to 65 to enter the standby state 302. Transition (321).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. This example is a processing example in the maintenance state 304. In the following description, control and determination are performed by the CPU 103 executing a control program stored in the HDD device 104.

  First, in S600, the controller 10 determines whether to end the maintenance state 304. The controller 10 receives the operation information when the user operates the operation unit 107, and determines whether to exit the maintenance state 304. When the controller 10 determines that the maintenance state 304 is to be ended (Y in S600), in S601, the controller 10 ends the maintenance state 304 and continues to S507.

  On the other hand, when the controller 10 determines that the maintenance state 304 is to be continued (N in S600), in S602, the controller 10 determines whether there is a setting item setting change for each device. It is determined whether or not the setting value has been changed by the operation of the operation unit 107 by the user.

If the controller 10 determines that the setting value has been changed (Y in S602), in S603, the controller 10 communicates with the device (2 or 4 or 5) in which the setting value has been changed, and the setting value Rewrite.
For example, when the light amount adjustment value of the scanner device 2 is changed, the scanner device 2 communicates with the scanner device 2 and notifies the scanner device 2 of the set value. The scanner device 2 stores the received setting value in the ROM 24.

In step S604, the contents of the cache 105 are updated. For example, when the light amount adjustment value of the scanner device is changed, the light amount adjustment value of the scanner device 2 (see FIG. 4B) is changed to the value set in S603, and the process continues to S600.
On the other hand, if the controller 10 determines that the set value has not been changed (N in S602), the process continues to S600.
According to this embodiment, the image forming apparatus can suppress power consumption without impairing service workability.
[Second Embodiment]

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. This example is a processing example in which the image forming apparatus is in the maintenance state 304. In the following description, control and determination are performed by the CPU 103 executing a control program stored in the HDD device 104.

First, in S700, the controller 10 controls the signals 110 to 113 for turning on / off the switches S1 to S4 by the power supply control unit 101 via the CPU 103, and sets the energization state of each device (function unit) to standby energization. Set to the state (standby in FIG. 2). In S503, since the information on each device has been acquired, the unnecessary devices are turned off for energy saving.
In step S701, as in step S600, the controller 10 determines whether to end the maintenance state 304. Here, when the controller 10 determines that the maintenance state 304 is to be ended (Y in S701), in S702, the controller 10 ends the maintenance state 304 and continues to S507.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the maintenance state 304 is to be continued (N in S701), the controller 10 determines whether there is a setting item setting change in each device in S703, which is the same as S602.

On the other hand, when the controller 10 determines that the setting value has been changed (Y in S703), in S704, the controller 10 causes the power control unit 101 to send signals 110 to 113 for the switches S1 to S4 via the CPU 103. And the device (the scanner device 2 or the printer device 4 or the image processing unit 5) whose set value has been changed is energized.
For example, when the color adjustment value of the printer apparatus is changed, the power supply control unit 101 turns on the switch SW1 and energizes the printer apparatus 4. Similarly, when the setting values of the scanner and the image processing unit are changed, the power supply control unit 101 turns on the switches S2 and S2 to energize the corresponding devices.
Subsequently, in S706, as in S603, the controller 10 communicates with the device whose setting value has been changed, rewrites the setting value, and stores it in a nonvolatile area (ROM 24, ROM 45, or HDD device 104) in the device.

  Subsequently, in S706, the controller 10 updates the information in the cache 105 as in S604. For example, when the color adjustment value of the printer is changed, the color adjustment value of the printer apparatus (Table 4-C) is changed to the value set in S705.

In step S <b> 707, the controller 10 controls the switches S <b> 1 to S <b> 4 by turning on / off the signals 110 to 113 of the power supply control unit 101 via the CPU 103, and turns off the device that is energized in step S <b> 704. That is, the standby energization state (standby in Table 2) is set, and the process continues to S701.
On the other hand, if the controller 10 determines that the set value has not been changed (N in S703), the process continues to S701.
According to the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus can reduce power consumption compared to the first embodiment by energizing only necessary devices even during service.

  Each process of the present invention can also be realized by executing software (program) acquired via a network or various storage media by a processing device (CPU, processor) such as a personal computer (computer).

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are excluded from the scope of the present invention. is not.

10 Controller

Claims (8)

A plurality of functional units;
Power control means for controlling the supply of power to each functional unit;
Acquisition means for acquiring specific information from each functional unit;
Storage means for storing the specific information acquired by the acquisition means;
Receiving means for accepting a request to shift to a mode for performing maintenance of the plurality of functional units in a standby state in which the supply of power to the plurality of functional units is stopped;
When the request is received, the power control unit controls the power to be supplied to the plurality of function units, and the acquisition unit receives the function from the plurality of function units supplied with power by the power control unit. Update means for acquiring information on the part and updating the information on the functional part stored in the storage means;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is a non-volatile memory.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information includes version information and setting information of each functional unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power control unit supplies power to each functional unit in response to receiving a request for each functional unit in the standby state.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the functional unit includes a printer device, a scanner device, and an image processing device.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the request received by the receiving unit is a request to shift to a maintenance mode by a service person. An image forming apparatus control method comprising a plurality of functional units,
A power control process for controlling the supply of power to each functional unit;
An acquisition process for acquiring specific information from each functional unit;
A storage step of storing in the storage means the specific information acquired by the acquisition step;
Receiving a request to shift to a mode for performing maintenance of the plurality of functional units in a standby state in which supply of power to the plurality of functional units is stopped,
When the request is received, control is performed so that power is supplied to the plurality of function units in the power supply control step, and information on the function unit is acquired from the plurality of function units supplied with power in the acquisition step. An update process for updating the information of the functional unit stored in the storage unit;
An image forming apparatus control method comprising: A program causing a computer to execute the control method of the image forming apparatus according to claim 7.

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