JP2002163090A - Network system for image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To lower power consumption in an image forming device network system connecting a plurality of image forming devices to a computer terminal controlling power source supply for them via a network. SOLUTION: On the image forming device side, it is checked whether a demand for turning on a power source is made or not (step S101). When a power source key, which is not shown in the figure, in the image forming device is pressed down (step S101: Yes), a command for turning on the power source is issued to the computer terminal side (step S102). Then, a response from the computer terminal is waited (step S103), and in receipt of a permissive response command (step S103: Yes), the power source for the image forming device is turned on (step S104). In receipt of a rejective response command (step S103: Yes), the power source is not turned on. On the computer terminal side, in receipt of the command for turning on the power source, it is checked whether there is an image forming device on warm standby or not. If there is no image forming device on warm standby, the permissive response command is transmitted to the image forming device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a network system for an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine, and more particularly, to power supply control when a plurality of copying apparatuses are connected.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art JP-A-2000-019887 and JP-A-11-017875 can disperse current consumption when operating a power supply of a plurality of image forming apparatuses on a network from an external terminal. An image forming apparatus and system are disclosed. . This makes it possible to collectively operate power supply to a plurality of image forming apparatuses in a network within a LAN and not to supply power to the image forming apparatuses at once, so that a large amount of power is not consumed at once. An image forming apparatus and system as described above.

[0003]

However, in the above-described network system, power is supplied to an unused image forming apparatus in the network, and wasteful power is consumed. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus and system which solves the above-mentioned disadvantages, manages a power supply operation to the image forming apparatus in a network, and suppresses power consumption.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
Communication means for performing communication with the outside of the image forming apparatus;
Power control means for turning on / off the power of the image forming apparatus in response to a signal from the outside of the image forming apparatus, external control means capable of controlling them externally when a plurality of the image forming apparatuses are installed, and In a system connected in combination with a connection unit for connecting the device, the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on by receiving a permission response from the outside in response to a power on request from the image forming apparatus to the external apparatus. With such control, it is possible to suppress an increase in power consumption at one time by waiting for transmission of a power-on permission during warm-up in another image forming apparatus. Further, the power supply is turned off only when there is a use request from the user of the image forming apparatus.
N is performed to suppress wasteful power consumption to the apparatus.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in response to a power-on request from an image forming apparatus, if the number of image forming apparatuses that are powered on is equal to or greater than a threshold value set in an external control apparatus, the external control is performed. Power ON from the device to the image forming device
Has a control means for rejecting the request, the number of image forming apparatuses that can be turned on at one time can be limited,
The purpose is to reduce power consumption. Further, the power can be turned on only for the image forming apparatus that the user needs to use, thereby improving the usability.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in response to a power-on request from an image forming apparatus, if the number of image forming apparatuses that are powered on is equal to or greater than a threshold value set in the external control apparatus, the external control is performed. Power ON from the device to the image forming device
Control means for rejecting the request of the
If the number of image forming apparatuses that can be turned on at one time is provided by having control means for displaying that fact on the display means of the image forming apparatus when N is rejected, When the power-on request is issued, the user is notified that the power cannot be turned on, and the usability is improved.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 6 are a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus, a schematic diagram of an operation unit, and a block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the image forming apparatus. When a start key 34 on the operation unit 30 is pressed, a document bundle placed on a document table 2 in an automatic document feeder (hereinafter, ADF) 1 is pressed to the lowermost document. Is fed to a predetermined position on the contact glass 6 by a feed roller 3 and a feed belt 4. It has a counting function for counting up the number of originals upon completion of feeding one original. The fed document is read by the reading unit 50 to read the image data of the document on the contact glass 6, and the read document is discharged by the feed belt 4 and the discharge roller 5. Further, when the document set detection 7 detects that the next document is present on the document table 2, the document is fed onto the contact glass 6 in the same manner as the previous document.

The feed roller 3, the feed belt 4, and the discharge roller 5 are driven by a transport motor 26. The transfer sheets stacked on the first tray 8, the second tray 9, and the third tray 10 are fed by the first sheet feeding device 11, the second sheet feeding device 12, and the third sheet feeding device 13, respectively, and are vertically conveyed. The sheet is transported by the unit 14 to a position where it contacts the photoconductor 15. The image data read by the reading unit 50 is written on the photoconductor 15 by the laser from the writing unit 57, and passes through the developing unit 27 to form a toner image. Then, the toner image on the photoconductor 15 is transferred while the transfer paper is conveyed by the conveyance belt 16 at the same speed as the rotation of the photoconductor 15. Thereafter, the image is fixed by the fixing unit 17, and the image is discharged to the finisher 100 of the post-processing device by the sheet discharging unit 18.

The finisher 100 of the post-processing apparatus can guide the transfer paper conveyed by the paper discharge roller 19 of the main body toward the normal paper discharge roller 102 and the stapling section. By switching the switching plate 101 upward, the normal discharge tray 104
Can be discharged to the side. Further, by switching the switching plate 101 downward, the transport rollers 105 and 107
, And can be conveyed to the staple table 108. The transfer paper stacked on the staple table 108 is aligned by the paper aligning jogger 109 every time one sheet is discharged, and the copy of the stapler 1 is completed when a part of the copy is completed.
06. The transfer paper group bound by the stapler 106 is stored in the stapling completion paper discharge tray 110 by its own weight.

On the other hand, a normal paper discharge tray 104 is a paper discharge tray that can move back and forth. The paper discharge tray unit 104 that can be moved back and forth moves back and forth for each original or for each copy unit sorted by the image memory, and sorts the copy paper that is easily discharged. . When images are formed on both sides of the transfer paper, the transfer pawls fed and imaged from the paper feed trays 8 to 10 are not guided to the discharge tray 104 side, and the branch claws 112 for path switching are set. By setting it on the upper side, it is once stocked in the duplex sheet feeding unit 111. Then, double-sided paper feed unit 1
In order to transfer the toner image formed on the photoreceptor 15 again, the transfer paper stocked in
11 is re-fed, and a branch pawl 11 for path switching
2 is set on the lower side, and guided to the discharge tray 104. The double-sided paper supply unit 111 is used when an image is created on both sides of the transfer paper as described above.

The photoconductor 15, the conveyor belt 16, the fixing unit 17, the paper discharging unit 18, and the developing unit 27 are driven by a main motor 25, and each of the paper feeding devices 11 to 13 controls the driving of the main motor 25 by a paper feeding clutch 22. ~ 24
The transmission is driven. The vertical transport unit 14 is driven to transmit the drive of the main motor 25 by the intermediate clutch 21.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the operation unit 30. The operation unit 30 includes a liquid crystal touch panel 31, a numeric keypad 32,
There are a clear / stop key 33, a print key 34, a preheat key 35, a reset key 36, and an interrupt key 37,
The liquid crystal touch panel 31 displays function keys, the number of copies, a message indicating the state of the image forming apparatus, and the like.
When the interrupt key 37 is pressed, the mode shifts to the interrupt pressing mode. The interrupt mode is a mode in which a copy operation is temporarily interrupted during a copy operation and during a copy operation to perform a copy. By setting this mode, the previous copy mode and, if the copying is in progress, the progress information is stored in the non-volatile RAM, the mode is shifted to the interrupt mode, and the mode is initialized. After executing the copy operation,
When the interrupt mode is released, the mode and information stored in the nonvolatile RAM are returned to restore the state before the interrupt mode was set, and the mode before the interrupt can be continued by restarting.

By pressing the initial setting key 38, the initial state of the machine can be arbitrarily customized. It is possible to arbitrarily set the size that is set when the paper size stored in the machine is set or when the mode clear key of the copy function is pressed. In addition, setting the transition time to low power according to the ENERGY STAR, and the transition time to auto-off / sleep mode, such as selecting the application that is preferentially selected when there is no operation for a fixed time, etc. It is possible to set. When the preheating key 35 is pressed, the machine shifts from the standby state to the power reduction state, lowers the fixing temperature, and turns off the display on the operation unit. The preheating state means a low power state according to the International Energy Star Program. To release the preheating state, the off state / sleep state, and shift to the standby state, the preheating key is pressed again. The new reservation key 39 is used when making a reservation copy. By pressing the job list key 40, a list of active copy jobs is displayed. Details of the new reservation and the job list will be described later.

FIG. 3 shows a liquid crystal touch panel 31 of the operation unit 30.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the display. When the operator touches a key displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 31, the key indicating the selected function is inverted to black. When the details of the function need to be specified (for example, in the case of scaling, a scaling value or the like), by touching a key, a setting screen for a detailed function is displayed. As described above, since the liquid crystal touch panel uses the dot display, the optimal display at that time can be graphically performed.

FIG. 4 illustrates a control device centering on the main controller. The main controller 20 controls the entire image forming apparatus. Main controller 20
An image processing unit (IPU) that performs operations such as display to an operator, input of function setting input from the operator, control of a scanner, control of writing a document image in an image memory, control of image formation from an image memory, and the like. ) 4
9, a distributed control device such as an automatic document feeder (ADF) 1 is connected. Each decentralized control device and the main controller 20 exchange machine status and operation commands as needed. In addition, the main motor 2 required for paper conveyance, etc.
5, various clutches 21 to 24, and a human body detection sensor 29 for detecting whether or not a user is in front of the apparatus are also connected.

Returning to FIG. 1, the steps from reading of the original by the image forming apparatus to writing of the image will be described. The reading unit 50 includes a contact glass 6 on which a document is placed and an optical scanning system.
1, a first mirror 52, a lens 53, a CCD image sensor 54, and the like. The exposure lamp 51 and the first mirror 52 are fixed on a first carriage (not shown), and the second mirror 55 and the third mirror 56 are fixed on a first carriage (not shown). When reading a document image, the first carriage and the second carriage are mechanically operated at a relative speed of 2: 1 so that the optical path length does not change. This optical scanning system is driven by a scanner drive motor (not shown).

The original image is read by the CCD image sensor 54, converted into an electric signal and processed.
The writing unit 57 includes a laser output unit 58, an imaging lens 59, and a mirror 60. Inside the laser output unit 58, a polygon mirror (polygon mirror) that rotates at a high speed at a constant speed by a laser diode as a laser light source and a motor is provided. ) Is provided. The laser beam output from the writing unit 57 is applied to the photosensitive member 1 of the image forming system.
5 is irradiated. Although not shown, a beam sensor that generates a main scanning synchronization signal is disposed at a position near one end of the photoconductor 15 where the laser beam is irradiated.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the image processing unit (IPU) 49. The reflection of the light emitted from the exposure lamp 51 is photoelectrically converted by the CCD image sensor 54 and is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 61. The image signal converted into the digital signal is subjected to MTF
Correction, γ correction and the like are performed. The image signal that has passed through the scaling unit 72 is scaled according to the scaling factor, and flows to the selector 64. In the selector 64, the destination of the image signal is switched to the writing γ correction unit 71 or the image memory controller 65. The image signal that has passed through the writing γ correction unit 71 has its writing γ corrected according to the image forming conditions, and is sent to the writing unit 57.

Image memory controller 65 and selector 6
Between the four, the image signal can be input and output bidirectionally. Further, a CPU 68 for setting the image memory controller 65 and the like, and controlling the reading unit 50 and the writing unit 57, and a ROM 69 and a RAM 70 for storing programs and data thereof are provided. Furthermore, CPU6
8 can write and read data in the image memory 66 via the image memory controller 65.

The original image sent to the image memory controller 65 is sent to the image memory 66 after the image data is compressed by an image compression device in the image memory controller. Here, the reason for compressing the image is that the data of 256 gradations corresponding to the maximum image size is directly stored in the image memory 6.
6 can be written, but one document image uses an image memory very much. By performing image compression,
An image memory with limited images can be used effectively. Also,
Since many document image data can be stored at one time, the stored document image data can be output in the order of pages as a sorting function. In this case, when the image is output, the data is output while sequentially expanding the data in the image memory 66 by the expansion device in the memory controller 65. Such a function is generally called “electronic sorting”.

Further, by utilizing the function of the image memory, it is possible to sequentially read a plurality of original images into an area obtained by dividing an area for one transfer sheet in the image memory. For example, four original images are sequentially written into four equal areas of one transfer paper in the image memory, so that the four originals are combined into one transfer paper image to obtain an integrated copy output. It becomes possible. Such a function is generally called “aggregated copy”. The image in the image memory 66 is a CPU
68. For this reason, the contents of the image memory can be processed, and for example, image thinning processing, image clipping processing, and the like can be performed. For processing, image data processing can be performed by writing data to the register of the image memory controller 65. The processed image is stored again in the image memory.

The image memory 66 is divided into a plurality of areas according to the size of the image data to be processed, and is configured to be able to simultaneously execute input and output of image data. In order to enable the input and output of image data to be executed in parallel in each of the divided areas, an interface with a memory controller is connected by two sets of address / data lines for reading and writing. Thus, an operation of outputting (reading) an image from the area 2 while inputting (writing) the image to the area 1 becomes possible. Further, the configuration is such that the content of the image memory 66 can be read by the CPU 68 and transferred as image data 73 to the operation unit 30 via the I / O port 67.

Generally, since the screen display resolution of the operation unit 30 is low, the original image in the image memory 66 is thinned out and sent to the operation unit 30. As the image memory 66, a hard disk may be used to store a large amount of image data. By using a hard disk, there is also a feature that an external power supply is unnecessary and an image can be held permanently. This hard disk is generally used to read and hold a plurality of fixed originals (format originals) with a scanner.

Here, an image signal for one page in the selector 64 will be described with reference to FIG. / FGA
TE represents an effective period of one page of image data in the sub-scanning direction. / LSYNC is a main scanning synchronization signal for each line, and the image signal becomes valid at a predetermined clock after this signal rises. A signal indicating that the image signal in the main scanning direction is valid is / LGATE. These signals are synchronized with the pixel clock VCLK,
8 bits per pixel for one cycle of VCLK (256 gradations)
Data is sent. In the present embodiment, the writing density on the transfer paper is 400 dpi, and the maximum number of pixels is the main scanning 480.
There are 0 pixels and 6800 pixels in the sub-scan. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the closer to 255 the image data is, the whiter the image becomes.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the power supply system. In the power supply unit 80, a constant voltage VL for a light load such as a CPU and various sensors and a constant voltage VH for a heavy load such as a motor, a clutch, and a heater, which are generated from a commercial power supply, are supplied to respective units. However, a clock IC and RAM (not shown)
Is connected to a backup power supply when the commercial power supply is cut off. The driver 81 is the main controller 2
0, the relay 82a inserted in the supply line of the constant voltage power supply VH for the light load and the relay 82b inserted in the supply line of the constant voltage power supply VH for the heavy load of the power supply unit 80 are independently controlled. Energize / deactivate. The main body realizes an automatic power ON / OFF function by deactivating only the VH side by using the same function.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a network copy system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, three image forming apparatuses are networked, but it is not necessary to limit the number of connected copies. For example, Ethernet (registered trademark) is used as the physical means for the network communication means, and OSI (Open
System Interface) Means such as using TCP / IP communication of a reference model can be considered. An external control device (computer terminal) that communicates with and controls these image forming apparatuses is provided, and enables various controls on the image forming apparatus from the computer terminal through a network. It is also possible to send a signal such as a copy operation state and various information from the image forming apparatus to the computer terminal. Therefore, the computer terminal can grasp the state of the image forming apparatus in the network such as the power ON state and the operation state of the image forming measures in the network.

An operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to flowcharts 9 and 10. First, FIG. 9 will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart on the image forming apparatus side. In step S101, a power-on request is checked. When a power key (not shown) of the image forming apparatus is pressed (step S101: Yes), a power ON command is issued to the computer terminal (step S102). Next, a response from the computer terminal is awaited (step S103), and upon receiving the permission response command (step S103: Yes), the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on (step S104). When the rejection response command is received (Step S105: Yes), the power ON process is not performed.

Referring now to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart on the computer terminal side. When the power ON command is received (step S201: Yes), it is checked whether there is any warm-up image forming apparatus. If there is no warm-up image forming apparatus (step S202: Yes), a permission response command is transmitted to the image forming apparatus (step S203).

Next, the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart on the computer terminal side. When a power ON command is received (Step S301: Yes), the number of image forming apparatuses whose power is ON is checked (Step S302). If less than the set value (step S302: Ye
s) It is checked whether there is any warm-up image forming apparatus (step S303). If there is no warm-up image forming apparatus (step S303: Y
es), a power ON permission command is transmitted to the image forming apparatus (step S304), and the number of the image forming apparatuses whose power is ON is incremented by 1 (step S305). When the number of image forming apparatuses whose power is ON is equal to or greater than the set value (step S302: No), a power ON rejection command is transmitted to the image forming apparatus (step S306). On the other hand, when the power-off command is received (step S307: Ye
s), a power-off permission command is transmitted to the image forming apparatus (step S308), and the number of image-forming apparatuses whose power is on is decremented by one (step S309).

Next, the operation of the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart on the image forming apparatus side. First, a power-on request is checked (step S401). When a power key (not shown) of the image forming apparatus is pressed (step S401: Yes), a power ON command is issued to the computer terminal (step S402). Next, a response from the computer terminal is waited (step S403), and upon receiving the permission response command (step S403: Yes), the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on (step S404). Upon receiving the rejection response command (Step S405: Ye
s) A message that the power cannot be turned on is displayed (step S406). The message is turned off after being displayed for a certain period of time (step S407).

The power is turned on to display a message.
If it is necessary to turn on the power only during the display, the power is turned off when the message is turned off. When the power is turned on at this time, power is supplied only to the load necessary for display, such as the operation unit, and power is not supplied to unnecessary loads such as the fixing unit, so that power consumption is suppressed.

[0034]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the communication means for communicating with the outside of the image forming apparatus, and the power supply of the image forming apparatus is turned on by a signal from outside the image forming apparatus.
A system in which power supply control means for turning on / off the power supply, external control means for externally controlling a plurality of image forming apparatuses in the image forming apparatus having the above means, and connection means for connecting these devices are combined and connected. In response to a power-on request from an image forming apparatus to an external apparatus, an external permission response is received to control the power of the image forming apparatus to be turned on, thereby warming up another image forming apparatus. By waiting for transmission of a power-on permission in the middle, etc., it is possible to suppress an increase in power consumption at one time. Further, since the power is turned on only when there is a use request from a user of the image forming apparatus, Useless power consumption for the device can be suppressed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in response to a power-on request from the image forming apparatus, if the number of image-forming apparatuses whose power is turned on is equal to or greater than a threshold value set in the external control apparatus, By having a control unit for rejecting a power-on request from the external control device to the image forming apparatus,
The number of image forming apparatuses that can be turned on at one time can be limited, and power consumption can be reduced. Further, the power supply is turned off only for the image forming apparatus that needs to be used by the operator.
Since N can be set, the usability is improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in response to a power-on request from the image forming apparatus, if the number of image-forming apparatuses that are powered on is equal to or greater than a threshold value set in the external control apparatus, Control means for rejecting a power-on request from the external control apparatus to the image forming apparatus, and control means for displaying, when the external control apparatus is denied power-on request, on the display means of the image forming apparatus. Thus, when the number of image forming apparatuses that can be turned on at the same time has been reached, or when a request to turn on the power is made from another image forming apparatus, the user can be notified that the power cannot be turned on, and the usability can be improved. Is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating an operation unit.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating a liquid crystal touch panel.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control device.

FIG. 5 is an internal configuration diagram of the image processing unit.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart of each signal relating to an image signal for one page.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a power supply system.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing a network copy system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation on the computer terminal side according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation on the computer terminal side according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 main controller 30 operation unit 80 power supply unit 81 driver 82a, 82b relay

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 1/32 H04N 1/00 107Z 1/26 G06F 1/00 332B H04N 1/00 107 334Q (72) Invention Takeshi Endo 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Ryonosuke Miyazaki 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Ricoh Co., Ltd. (reference) 2C061 AP01 AP04 HH13 HJ10 HQ02 2H027 DA50 EA15 EC20 EE07 EF01 EJ13 EJ15 EJ17 ZA01 ZA07 ZA08 5B011 DA01 EA02 EB06 FF04 LL06 LL14 5B021 BB01 EE04 MM01 5C062 AA13 AA35 AB49 AE16

Claims (3)

[Claims] A communication means for performing communication with the outside;
Turns on / off the power of the image forming apparatus by an external signal
At least one image forming apparatus having a power control unit for performing an image forming operation, an external control unit having communication means for communicating with the image forming apparatus, and externally controlling the image forming apparatus; In a network system of an image forming apparatus connected in combination with a connection unit for connecting the forming apparatus, when the image forming apparatus turns on / off the power, a request to turn on / off the power is sent to an external control device. Request and turn on the power of the image forming apparatus with the permission response.
A network system for an image forming apparatus, comprising: a control unit for setting N or OFF. 2. In response to a power-on request from the image forming apparatus, when the number of the image forming apparatuses that are powered on is equal to or greater than a threshold value set in an external control apparatus, the external control apparatus transmits the power-on request. 2. The network system for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising control means for rejecting a request to turn on the power to the image forming apparatus. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit for displaying, when a request to turn on the power supply to the image forming apparatus from the external control apparatus is rejected, on a display unit of the image forming apparatus. 3. The network system for an image forming apparatus according to item 2.