Image forming apparatus, method for controlling image forming apparatus, and storage medium

Abstract

To provide an action index for urging a user how to use an image forming apparatus in consideration of an environment.SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes a printing unit that performs printing on a recording medium based on image data, and a control unit that controls the printing unit based on a job involving printing, in which the control unit applies a print setting to the image data related to the job involving printing, causes the printing unit to execute printing, and outputs information on an amount of power required for execution of the job involving printing, the information being information on an amount of power per processing unit when the print setting is applied.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technique for presenting environmentally friendly usage methods for image forming devices. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, environmental issues have become a global issue that must be addressed, and countries and companies are being called upon to take measures to address them. One example of an environmental issue for image forming apparatuses is reducing power consumption. Methods for reducing power consumption include not only reducing power through technological improvements, but also encouraging users to be more environmentally conscious, which can lead to reduced power consumption. In this regard, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that measures power consumption using a power meter, breaks down the power consumption into different power consumption factors, and then performs a simulation based on the actual measured values ​​to show the user how much power consumption can be reduced. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-182131 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology of Patent Document 1 calculates and presents the amount of energy that can be reduced based on the amount of energy consumed per page of a job and the number of pages that can be reduced when a job processing setting that reduces energy consumption is applied. This allows users to know the effect of reducing energy consumption when performing, for example, consolidated printing (N-up printing). However, the information presented by this technology is not yet sufficient as a behavioral indicator for encouraging users to use image forming devices efficiently from an environmentally conscious perspective, and there is room for improvement. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The image forming apparatus according to the present disclosure comprises a printing means for printing on a recording medium based on image data, and a control means for controlling the printing means based on a job involving printing, wherein the control means applies print settings to the image data relating to the job involving printing, causes the printing means to execute printing, and outputs information on the amount of power required to execute the job involving printing, which is information on the amount of power per processing unit when the print settings are applied. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a behavioral index for encouraging users to use an image forming apparatus in an environmentally friendly manner. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image forming system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a controller. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the power supply configuration of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 4] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an operation unit of an image forming apparatus, and FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an example of a UI screen. [Figure 5] Graph (a) shows the amount of power consumed when color printing on one sheet of A4-sized plain paper, and graph (b) explains the proportion of power consumed by each part of the image forming device. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating how the amount of power consumed to print one image changes depending on the print settings. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for saving basic data for calculating the amount of power consumed to print one image. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for calculating the amount of power consumed to print one image. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for saving basic data for calculating the amount of CO2 emissions associated with printing one image. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for calculating the amount of CO2 emissions associated with printing one image. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The technology described in this specification can contribute to the realization of a sustainable society, such as a decarbonized / recycling-based society. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the present invention, and not all of the combinations of features described in the present embodiments are necessarily essential to the solutions of the present invention. Furthermore, the same components will be described with the same reference numerals.

[0009] [Embodiment 1] <System configuration> 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image forming system according to this embodiment. The image forming system 100 of this embodiment is made up of an image forming apparatus 101, a computer (information processing apparatus) 109, and an access point 112.

[0010] The image forming apparatus 101 is a multifunction peripheral (MFP) equipped with multiple functions, including copying, printing, data transmission, and data storage. The image forming apparatus 101 is configured to receive print instruction data (called a "print job") from a computer 109 via a LAN 108. The number of computers 109 connected may be two or more. The scanner mechanism 102 optically reads an original document and converts it into a digital image. The printer mechanism 104 prints the digital image on a print medium (hereinafter referred to as "paper"), such as paper or a plastic sheet. The operation unit 105 includes a touch panel and hard keys for accepting various settings for the image forming apparatus 101 from a user and displaying the processing status. The HDD 106 is a nonvolatile large-capacity storage device that stores digital image data, control programs, and the like. Instead of the HDD 106, an SSD or eMMC may be used. The FAX mechanism 107 transmits and receives digital image data via a telephone line or the like. The controller 103 is connected to the scanner mechanism 102, printer mechanism 104, operation unit 105, HDD 106, and FAX mechanism 107, and executes jobs for each function on the image forming apparatus 101 by issuing instructions to each module. The image forming apparatus 101 can also input and output events and data to and from the computer 109 via an access point 112 and a wireless LAN 111. The image forming apparatus 101 can also input and output events and data to and from the computer 109 via a USB 110.

[0011] The scanner mechanism 102 comprises an ADF unit 121 that can take in documents one by one from a stack of documents set therein, and a scanner unit 122 that optically reads the documents and converts them into digital images. The converted digital image data is sent to a controller 103.

[0012] The printer mechanism 104 comprises a paper feed unit 142 capable of feeding paper one sheet at a time from a stack of loaded paper, a marking unit 141 for printing digital images on paper, and a paper discharge unit 143 for discharging printed paper. In this embodiment, the printing method is assumed to be electrophotographic, but other printing methods such as inkjet printing may also be used.

[0013] 1 is merely an example, and is not limited to this. For example, the image forming apparatus 101 may have a finisher mechanism that performs processes such as sorting, stapling, punching, and cutting on the paper output from the paper discharge unit 143 of the printer mechanism 104. The image forming apparatus 101 may also be a single-function printer that is specialized only for printing functions.

[0014] <Outline of each function of the image forming device> The functions of the image forming apparatus 101 of this embodiment are summarized below.

[0015] <Copy function> This is a function of printing image data obtained by reading an original document with the scanner unit 122 onto paper with the printer mechanism 104.

[0016] <Print function> This is a function of printing image data included in a print job input from the computer 109 or image data previously stored (stored in a box) in the HDD 106 onto paper by the printer mechanism 104 .

[0017] <Data transmission function> This is a function of transmitting image data obtained by scanning an original with the scanner mechanism 102 to an external device such as a computer 109 via a LAN 108 .

[0018] ≪Data save (Box save) function≫ This is a function for storing image data obtained by scanning an original document with the scanner mechanism 102 in the HDD 106, and the stored image data can be read out as needed and sent to an external device or printed on paper by the printer mechanism 104.

[0019] <Internal configuration of the controller> Next, the internal configuration of the controller 103 will be described using the block diagram shown in FIG. 2. The controller 103 is composed of a main board 200 and a sub-board 220. The main board 200 is a so-called general-purpose CPU system. The main board 200 includes a CPU 201 that controls the image forming apparatus 101, a boot ROM 202 that stores a boot program, a memory 203 used by the CPU 201 as a work memory, and a bus controller 204 that functions as a bridge to an external bus. The main board 200 also includes a non-volatile memory 205 that retains data even when the power is turned off, a disk controller 206 that controls a storage device, a flash disk 207 such as an SSD or eMMC, and a USB host controller 208 that controls USB. The main board 200 also includes a USB device controller 210 that transmits and receives data to and from the computer 109 via the USB 110 and a network controller 211 that transmits and receives data to and from the computer 109 via the access point 112. The network controller 211 corresponds to the wireless LAN 111 in FIG. 1. The CPU 201 controls a watchdog timer (WDT) 230 that resets the controller 103, and a network controller 211 that transmits and receives data to and from the computer 109 via the LAN 108. The CPU 201 also controls an RTC 212 that sets the current time and the return time. The main board 200 is connected to a USB memory 209, an operation unit 105, an HDD 106, and the like.

[0020] The sub-board 220 is composed of a relatively small general-purpose CPU system and image processing hardware. It includes a CPU 221 that controls the entire sub-board 220, a memory 223 used by the CPU 221 as work memory, a bus controller 224 with a bridge function to an external bus, a nonvolatile memory 225, an image processor 227, and a device controller 226. The scanner mechanism 102 and printer mechanism 104 exchange digital image data via the device controller 226. Paper printed by the printer mechanism 104 is output to a paper output tray (not shown). The CPU 221 controls the FAX mechanism 107. Note that Figure 2 is a partially simplified block diagram showing the main components of the controller. For example, the CPU 201, CPU 221, etc. include CPU peripheral hardware such as a chipset, bus bridge, and clock generator, which are omitted. The configuration of the controller 103 shown in Figure 2 is merely an example and is not limited to the above configuration.

[0021] <Controller operation> Next, the operation of the controller 103 will be described using the copy function as an example. When a user issues a copy command via the operation unit 105, the CPU 201 sends a document read command to the scanner mechanism 102 via the CPU 221. The scanner mechanism 102 optically reads the document, generates digital image data in which each pixel has an RGB color value, and inputs the image data to the image processor 227 via the device controller 226. The image processor 227 performs DMA (Direct Memory Access) transfer to the memory 223 via the CPU 221 and temporarily stores the image data. Next, when the CPU 201 confirms that a certain amount or all of the image data has been stored in the memory 223, it issues an output command to the printer mechanism 104 via the CPU 221 to output the image data. Upon receiving the output command from the CPU 201, the CPU 221 informs the image processor 227 of the storage address of the image data in the memory 223. The image data in the memory 223 is sent to the printer mechanism 104 via the image processing processor 227 and the device controller 226 in accordance with a synchronization signal from the printer mechanism 104. The printer mechanism 104 then prints the image data on paper. When printing multiple copies, the CPU 201 stores the image data in the memory 223 in the HDD 106. From the second copy onwards, it is possible to send image data to the printer mechanism 104 from the HDD 106 or the memory 223 without receiving image data from the scanner mechanism 102.

[0022] <Power supply configuration of image forming device> FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the power supply configuration of the image forming apparatus 101. The power supply and related components of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, the power supply control unit 303 is constantly supplied with power from the power supply 301 via a power line. However, because power consumption is only very small, when the power is turned off, only the power supply control unit 303 is energized and power control is performed. When the power switch 110 of the image forming apparatus 101 is pressed, the power supply control unit 303 detects this and controls the power switch P310 to supply power to the CPU 201 of the controller 103. Similarly, the power supply control unit 303 controls the power switch Q311 to supply power to the CPU 305 of the operation unit 105, the power switch R312 to supply power to the scanner mechanism 102, and the power switch L313 to supply power to the printer mechanism 104. The CPU 201 of the controller 103 can also control the power switch Q311 to supply power individually to the CPU 305 of the operation unit 105 by notifying the power supply control unit 303. At the same time, power can be supplied separately from the power supply 301 to the scanner mechanism 102 by controlling the power switch R312 and to the printer mechanism 104 by controlling the power switch L313. Power supply for each block as shown in FIG. 3 can be achieved, for example, by configuring the power switch P310 with two systems, and in the sleep state, turning off only the relay switch connected to the block to be powered off and leaving the other on. In the shutdown state, the relay switches of both systems are turned off. In this case, the power control signal is not a binary signal but a multi-value control signal corresponding to the power supply state. Although detailed explanations are omitted in this embodiment, power is supplied in each power state, including the sleep state and the shutdown state, by the control described above. Below, power supply by the power supply control unit 303 will be explained by pattern.

[0023] <Power supply when restarting> The CPU 201 of the controller 103 receives a reboot event while in a standby state (ready state) after startup. The reboot event may be issued by an application running on the CPU 201 or may be received by the CPU 201 from the computer 109 via the LAN 108. First, the CPU 201 performs application termination processing and processing to save information in the memory 203 to the HDD 106. The CPU 201 also performs peripheral device termination processing and termination processing for the printer mechanism 104, scanner mechanism 102, fax mechanism 107, etc. The CPU 201 notifies the power supply control unit 303 and transitions to a power-off state. In the power-off state, the power supply control unit 303 turns off each of the power switches 310 to 313. As a result, the power supply control unit 303 cuts off power to the controller 103, printer mechanism 104, scanner mechanism 102, fax mechanism 107, etc. The power supply control unit 303 waits until the analog power signal has decayed and completely dropped. Next, the power supply control unit 303 turns on each of the power switches 310 to 313 to energize the controller 103, the operation unit 105, the scanner mechanism 102, the printer mechanism 104, etc. The CPU 201 of the controller 103 performs a startup process, initializes the peripheral devices, and starts up the printer mechanism 104, the scanner mechanism 102, and the FAX mechanism 107.

[0024] <Power supply during sleep transition> The CPU 201 transitions to a sleep state when a certain period of time has passed without the user using the active state, when the user presses the touch panel or power-saving key on the operation unit 105, or when a preset time has arrived. The sleep state is a state in which power consumption can be reduced while the startup time can be made earlier than normal startup. The CPU 201 notifies the power control unit 303 of the transition to the sleep state and changes the power supply to the controller 103. Power supply for each block can be achieved, for example, by configuring the relay switch 310 with two systems, and in the sleep state, only the relay switch connected to the block to be powered off is turned off and the relay switch connected to the block to be powered off remains on. Similarly, the scanner mechanism 102 and the printer mechanism 104 can also transition to a sleep state.

[0025] <Power supply during sleep> In the sleep state, power is supplied to the memory 203, interrupt controller, network controller, RTC, USB controller, etc. of the controller 103. Power is also supplied to the power saving key of the operation unit 105, part of the FAX mechanism 107, various sensors, etc.

[0026] <Power supply when waking up from sleep> The power supply control unit 303 starts supplying power when it receives an interrupt during sleep mode. Examples of interrupt causes include opening and closing the cover of the printer mechanism 104, inserting and removing paper from the manual paper feed unit, opening and closing the pressure plate of the scanner mechanism 102, detecting an original document in the ADF, detecting an NFC reader, detecting a human presence sensor, off-hooking a fax handset, and receiving a fax. The power supply control unit 303 notifies the CPU 201 of the interrupt cause, and the CPU 201 performs a sleep return process to return the software to its normal state upon receiving the notification. Specifically, when the power supply control unit 303 receives an event handler for pressing the power-saving key, which is one of the sleep return causes, during sleep mode, it turns on the power switch 310 and returns the CPU 201 of the controller 103 from sleep mode. At this time, for example, the power supply control unit 303 controls the power switch 310 in a multi-value manner to supply power to each block of the controller 103. The CPU 201 notifies the power control unit 303, and the power control unit 303 turns on each of the power switches 311 to 313 to supply power to the operation unit 105, the scanner mechanism 102, and the printer mechanism 104. It is also possible to return from sleep mode in response to receiving a network packet and process the network packet while in an intermediate sleep state. When the power control unit 303 receives a network packet while in sleep mode, it turns on the power switch 310 to return the CPU 201 of the controller 103 from sleep mode. At this time, if the content of the received network packet is a print job, the CPU 201 notifies the power control unit 303. Upon receiving the notification, the power control unit 303 turns on the power switch 313 to supply power to the printer mechanism 104. In this case, processing can be performed without supplying power to the operation unit 105 or the scanner mechanism 102. In other words, if the user does not use a touch panel or the like, it is not necessary to supply power to the operation unit 105. Furthermore, the printer mechanism 104 and the scanner mechanism 102 do not need to be powered if no job has been generated or if there is no need to obtain device information.

[0027] <Power supply when entering sleep mode again> When the CPU 201 finishes executing a copy based on a user instruction via the operation unit 105 or a print based on a print instruction via the network, the CPU 201 transitions to the sleep state again. That is, the CPU 201 notifies the power supply control unit 303 of the transition to sleep. The power supply control unit 303 turns off each of the power switches 311 to 313 and stops power supply to components other than the controller 103.

[0028] <Power supply during fast startup mode> When the power switch 110 is turned off, the power supply control unit 303 notifies the CPU 201. The power supply control unit 303 controls the power switch 310 in accordance with instructions from the CPU 201, powers off the CPU 221 and memory 223, and lowers the refresh rate of the memory 203 to enter a self-refresh state in which power is saved. This puts the controller 103 into a suspended state (a power-saving state in which power is supplied to the memory to maintain its state). Thereafter, when the power switch 110 is turned on, the power supply control unit 303 releases the memory 203 from the self-refresh state and powers on and starts up the CPU 221 and memory 223, thereby returning from the suspended state.

[0029] <Configuration of the operation section> FIG. 4A is a plan view illustrating the configuration of the operation unit 105 of the image forming apparatus 101. The operation unit 105 has a touch panel 400, various keys 401-410, and various LEDs 411-413. The touch panel 400 is a display device such as an LCD integrated with an input device that displays various user interface screens (UI screens) for selecting functions to be used and print settings during printing. The user can perform various operations by directly touching the surface of each UI screen. The numeric keypad 401 is used to enter numbers 0-9, the ID key 402 is used to enter a department number when the device is managed by department, and the reset key 403 is used to reset the set mode. The guide key 404 is used to display an explanation screen for each mode, the user mode key 405 is used to enter a user mode screen where various settings related to the device can be made, and the interrupt key 406 is used to perform an interrupt copy. The start key 407 is used to start a copy or scan operation, and the stop key 408 is used to cancel a job currently being executed. The power saving key 409 is a key for entering a power saving mode, and pressing it once and then again will return from the power saving mode. The counter check key 410 is a key for displaying the count results of the number of copies or PDL print outputs on the touch panel 400. The status LED 411 is an LED that indicates that a job is being executed or that images are being stored in the image memory, the error LED 412 is an LED that indicates that an error state such as a paper jam or an open door has occurred, and the main power LED 413 is an LED that indicates that the main switch is ON. Note that the various keys 401 to 410 may not be hard keys, but may be soft keys configured within the touch panel 400.

[0030] Based on user instructions, the CPU 201 of the controller 103 displays various UI screens on the touch panel 400 of the operation unit 105 according to the device status. FIG. 4B shows an example of a UI screen according to this embodiment that displays the "amount of power consumed to print one page of a document" to the user in order to raise environmental awareness. The UI screen in FIG. 4B includes a label field 421, a display unit switching button 422, a graph field 423, and an OK button 424. The label field 421 contains text representing the content of the UI screen, such as "amount of power consumed to print one page of a document." The display unit switching button 422 allows the user to select and switch the horizontal axis (time axis) of the graph from among a daily, weekly, or monthly period. The currently selected "day," representing a daily period, is indicated by white text. Graph field 423 is a field for displaying graphs, and currently displays a graph with the amount of power on the vertical axis and a one-week period in days on the horizontal axis. If the user selects "week," a graph with, for example, a three-month period in weeks on the horizontal axis is displayed, and if the user selects "month," a graph with, for example, a one-year period in months on the horizontal axis is displayed. Note that the above-mentioned display unit period is an example, and it may also be, for example, a 48-hour period in hours or a three-year period in years. OK button 424 is a button to be pressed after checking the power consumption confirmation UI screen, and pressing it will transition to the previously displayed UI screen.

[0031] <About "Energy consumption per page of a document"> Here, we will explain the "power consumption for printing one page of a document" written in label field 421. First, "printing" in this case includes both printing by a copy job and printing by a print job. Furthermore, "per page of a document," an important concept in this disclosure, refers to "one scanned image" obtained by scanning one page of a document during copying, or "one page image" obtained by interpreting one page of PDL data during PDL printing. Both cases have in common the fact that they refer to "one image," which is the unit of imposition. In other words, "per page of a document" is synonymous with one surface image, which is the unit of imposition, and the above-mentioned "power consumption for printing one page of a document" can be rephrased as "power consumption for printing one surface image." For example, if the normal printing method is specified in the print settings applied when printing, one "scanned image / page image" is imposed and printed out on one sheet of paper. However, when aggregate printing (also known as Nin1 or N-Up) is specified, multiple "scanned images / page images" are imposed and printed out per sheet of paper. In other words, in the case of aggregate printing, multiple "scanned images / page images" as described above are included per output page. Therefore, "per page of original (per one-side image)" is a concept that is similar but not the same as "per page of output (per sheet of output paper)." The "amount of power consumed to print per one-side image" according to the present disclosure can be calculated using the following formula (1):

[0032] Energy consumed to print one image = (reading power consumption + printing power consumption + controller power consumption) ÷ number of surface images Formula (1) In the above formula (1), "number of surface images" represents the total number of surface images related to copy jobs and print jobs executed in a certain period of time in the past. "Reading power consumption", "Printing power consumption", and "Controller power consumption" are defined as follows:

[0033] Reading power consumption: Copy count x reading power constant (only for copy jobs) Printing power consumption: Total power consumption of the printer (fusing process + non-fusing process) Controller power consumption: Job execution time x controller power constant In this case, the "copy count" refers to the number of scans performed, assuming subsequent printing. For example, when scanning a document and sending the resulting image data to an external device, no printing occurs after the scan, so the copy count is not included. Similarly, in the case of a print job such as PDL printing, scanning is not performed prior to printing, so the copy count is not included. The read power constant is the amount of power required for one scan, and is, for example, 65 mWh when scanning A4-size plain paper in color. The controller power constant varies depending on the specifications of the controller 103, but is, for example, 18 W. If the time required for one copy is 10 seconds, the controller power consumption is calculated as follows: 180 W × 1000 mW ÷ 60 seconds ÷ 60 minutes = 50 mWh.

[0034] Next, with reference to the drawings, a specific example of the amount of power consumed to print one image, calculated using equation (1), will be described. FIG. 5(a) is a graph showing the amount of power consumed when color printing is performed on one sheet of A4-sized plain paper, with the vertical axis representing power consumption and the horizontal axis representing elapsed time. In the graph of FIG. 5(a), the double-headed arrow 501 indicates that the time required for pre-processing (chip initialization / temperature control / patch inspection / color correction, etc.) is approximately 2 seconds, and the power consumption during this time is approximately 1000 W. The double-headed arrow 502 indicates that the time required for paper transport and image formation is approximately 16 seconds, and the power consumption during this time is approximately 450 W. The double-headed arrow 503 indicates that the time required for post-processing (cool-down, etc.) is approximately 1 second, and the power consumption during this time is approximately 0 W. In this case, the power consumption required for color printing one sheet of A4-sized plain paper is approximately 1000 (W) × 2 (sec) + 450 (W) × 16 (sec) = 9200 (Ws). Converting this to Wh per hour results in 9200 (Ws) × 1000 (mW) ÷ 60 (sec) ÷ 60 (min) = 2556 (mWh). Figure 5(b) is a diagram illustrating the power consumption ratio of each part of the image forming apparatus 101. Figure 5(b) shows that the printer mechanism 104 accounts for approximately 85% of the total power consumption, and that more power is consumed when executing jobs that involve printing, such as copy jobs and print jobs.

[0035] FIG. 6 illustrates how the amount of power consumed to print one image changes depending on the print settings when copying four original pages onto A4-sized paper. For the specific example shown in FIG. 5(a) above, the process for calculating the amount of power consumed to print one image for each print setting is explained. Taking into account the time indicated by the double-headed arrow 503 in FIG. 5(a), the amount of power consumed to print one color sheet of A4-sized plain paper is assumed to be 9,000 Ws. Based on FIG. 5(b) above, the calculation assumes that 6,000 Ws is consumed for the "fusing process" and 3,000 Ws is consumed for "other processes." However, the amount of power consumed for the "fusing process" in monochrome printing is 5,000 Ws, 15% lower than in color printing.

[0036] <<Color copy (normal)>> The amount of power consumed to print one image when color and non-aggregated printing are specified in the print settings can be calculated from the above formula (1) as follows:

[0037] First, calculate the power consumption required to color copy one original. Using the specific example above, the power consumption for the fixing process is 6000 (Ws) x 1000 (mW) ÷ 60 (sec) ÷ 60 (min) = 1667 (mWh). Furthermore, the power consumption for processes other than the fixing process is 3000 (Ws) x 1000 (mW) ÷ 60 (sec) ÷ 60 (min) = 833 (mWh). Therefore, the printing power consumption is 1667 (mWh) + 833 (mWh) = 2500 (mWh). Given that the scanning power constant is 65 (mWh) and the controller power consumption per copy is 50 (mWh), the power consumption required to color copy one original is 65 (mWh) + 2500 (mWh) + 50 (mWh) = 2615 (mWh).

[0038] As a result of the above, the amount of energy consumed to print one page of original (= one image) when making a non-consolidated color copy of four originals is {2615 (mWh) x 4 (sheets)} ÷ 4 (number of images) = 2615 (mWh). However, because the temperature adjustment time is not simply four times longer, the actual value will be less than 2615 (mWh).

[0039] <<For color copies (combined)>> When 2-in-1 printing is specified in the print settings, the printer's power consumption will be half that of the non-2-in-1 printing mentioned above. In other words, the amount of power consumed to print one image in this case is calculated as {power consumption for the fusing process + power consumption for processes other than the fusing process} x 2 + {scanning power constant + controller power constant} x 4} ÷ 4. Substituting the above values ​​into this equation, we get {(1667 (mWh) + 833 (mWh)) x 2 + (65 (mWh) + 50 (mWh)) x 4} ÷ 4 = 1365 (mWh), which is the amount of power consumed to print one page of original (= one image) when making color copies of four originals using 2-in-1 printing.

[0040] <<Monochrome copy (normal)>> When monochrome and non-aggregated printing is specified in the print settings, the amount of power consumed to print one image can be calculated using the above formula (1) as follows:

[0041] First, calculate the power consumption required to make a monochrome copy of one original. Using the specific example above, the power consumption for the fixing process is 5000 (Ws) x 1000 (mW) ÷ 60 (sec) ÷ 60 (min) = 1389 (mWh). Furthermore, the power consumption for processes other than the fixing process is 3000 (Ws) x 1000 (mW) ÷ 60 (sec) ÷ 60 (min) = 833 (mWh). Therefore, the printing power consumption is 1389 (mWh) + 833 (mWh) = 2222 (mWh). Given that the scanning power constant is 65 (mWh) and the controller power consumption per copy is 50 (mWh), the power consumption required to make a monochrome copy of one original is 65 (mWh) + 2222 (mWh) + 50 (mWh) = 2337 (mWh).

[0042] As a result of the above, the amount of energy consumed to print one page of original (= one image) when copying four originals in black and white without consolidation is {2337 (mWh) x 4 (sheets)} ÷ 4 (number of images) = 2337 (mWh). However, because the temperature adjustment time is not simply four times longer, the actual value will be less than 2337 (mWh).

[0043] <<For monochrome copies (combined)>> When monochrome, combined (2-in-1) is specified in the print settings, the printer's power consumption will be half of that when it is not combined as described above. In other words, the amount of power consumed to print one image in this case is calculated by {power consumption for the fusing process + power consumption for processes other than the fusing process} x 2 + {scanning power constant + controller power constant} x 4} ÷ 4. Substituting the above values ​​into this equation, we get {(1389 (mWh) + 833 (mWh)) x 2 + (65 (mWh) + 50 (mWh)) x 4} ÷ 4 = 1226 (mWh), which is the amount of power consumed to print one page of original (= one image) when copying four originals in monochrome using combined (2-in-1) mode.

[0044] As can be seen from the above, monochrome printing can reduce power consumption by about 10% compared to color printing, and consolidating printing can reduce power consumption by about 50%.

[0045] <Operation flow of image forming device> <Storing basic data for calculating power consumption> Next, a series of processes for saving basic data for calculating the amount of power consumed to print one image will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 7. The series of processes shown in the flowchart in Fig. 7 are realized by the CPU 201 of the controller 103 executing a predetermined program. In the following description, the symbol "S" means step.

[0046] S701 is a step for monitoring whether or not an event involving printing has occurred, and if such an event is detected, S702 is executed next. Examples of events involving printing that are detected here include pressing the "Copy" button or the "Box Print" button via the operation unit 105, receiving a copy instruction from the computer 109 via a remote UI, or receiving a print job via a printer driver. If pressing the "Copy" button via the operation unit 105 or receiving a copy instruction via a remote UI is detected, the controller 103 generates a corresponding copy job or print job. Furthermore, if pressing the "Box Print" button via the operation unit 105 is detected, the print job generated at the time of saving is read out.

[0047] In S702, the next process to be executed is determined based on whether the job corresponding to the detected event is a copy job that requires scanning or a print job that does not require scanning. If it is a copy job, S703 is executed next, and if it is a print job, S704 is executed next.

[0048] In S703, the ADF unit 121 sequentially takes in the set documents in accordance with instructions from the controller 103, and the scanner unit 122 sequentially scans the taken-in documents. The scanned image data obtained by this scanning process is sent to the controller 103.

[0049] In S704, in accordance with instructions from the controller 103, the paper feed unit 142 feeds predetermined paper to the marking unit 141, the marking unit 141 performs print processing based on the image data for printing, and the paper discharge unit 143 discharges the printed paper. The controller 103 applies the print settings (color / monochrome, aggregate printing, etc.) specified by the user to the image data for the job to be processed, converts it into a format that can be processed by the marking unit 141, and provides it as image data for printing.

[0050] In S705, the controller 103 acquires data on the amount of power consumed in the execution of S702 to S704 as basic data for use in the power consumption calculation process described below. Specifically, the CPU 201 requests the CPU 221 or CPU 301 for the cumulative amount of power consumed in the print process of S704 (the integrated value of "power consumption for the fixing process + power consumption other than the fixing process"), and acquires this as the aforementioned "print power consumption." The CPU 201 also multiplies the time required to execute S702 to S704 by the aforementioned controller power constant to acquire the aforementioned "controller power consumption." Furthermore, when the scan process of S703 is executed (i.e., when a copy is executed), the CPU 201 multiplies the copy count value, which is the number of times the scan process is executed, by the aforementioned read power constant to acquire the aforementioned "read power consumption." The job execution time, copy count value, controller power constant, read power constant, and the like required for the calculation may be read from the memory 203 or HDD 106 as appropriate and used. In addition, if the scanner mechanism 102, controller 103, and printer mechanism 104 are equipped with a power consumption measuring means and an accurate amount of power consumption can be obtained, the actual measured value by each measuring means may be obtained instead of the value calculated by the above calculation.

[0051] In S706, the controller 103 associates each piece of power amount data acquired in S705 with the number of surface images in the executed job and the copy count value (in the case of a copy job), and stores the data in the HDD 106. After storing the data, this flow ends.

[0052] This is the flow of the process for saving the basic data for calculating the amount of power consumed to print one image.The amount of power consumed to print one image is calculated using the basic data saved in this way for a certain period of time.

[0053] <Calculating the amount of energy consumed to print one image> Next, a series of processes for calculating the amount of power consumed to print one image using the basic data stored as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 8. The series of processes shown in the flowchart in Fig. 8 are realized by the CPU 201 of the controller 103 executing a predetermined program. In the following description, the symbol "S" means step.

[0054] S801 is a process for monitoring whether or not there is a power consumption calculation event, and if such an event is detected, S802 is executed next. Here, the power consumption calculation event is, for example, the detection of a signal that causes the image forming apparatus 101 to enter a sleep state / off state. Specifically, this is a transition to a sleep state when the image forming apparatus 101 has not been used for a certain period of time, a shutdown instruction via the operation unit 105 (pressing the power button), etc.

[0055] In S802, the controller 103 reads and acquires basic data for a certain period of the past that has been saved according to the flow of Fig. 7, i.e., the power consumption data linked to the number of surface images, from the HDD 106. Here, as shown in Fig. 4(b) above, basic data for the past year is acquired on the assumption that a graph for the past week will be displayed in "day" units, the past three months in "week" units, and the past year in "month" units.

[0056] In S803, the controller 103 calculates the amount of power consumed to print one image on one side using the basic data for the calculation period out of the basic data acquired in S802. In this embodiment, the target periods are the past week in "days," the past three months in "weeks," and the past year in "months," and the amount of power consumed to print one image on one side is calculated using the basic data corresponding to each target period. The specific calculation method has already been described in detail.

[0057] In S804, it is determined whether calculation of the amount of power consumed to print one image per page has been completed for all target periods, and if there are any target periods that have not yet been processed, processing returns to S803 and continues.On the other hand, if calculation of the amount of power consumed to print one image per page has been completed for each target period: the past week in "days," the past three months in "weeks," and the past year in "months," S805 is then executed.

[0058] In S805, the controller 103 associates information about the amount of power consumed to print one image per page calculated for each target period in S804 with the corresponding target period and saves it in the memory 203 or the HDD 106. After saving, processing according to the event detected in S801 is performed, and this flow ends. For example, if the event detected in S801 is a transition to a sleep state, processing for transitioning to sleep is executed, and if the event detected in S801 is a shutdown instruction, processing for turning off the power is executed.

[0059] The above is the content of the calculation and storage process of the amount of power consumed to print one image according to this embodiment. After that, in response to, for example, pressing a "graph display" button (not shown) via the touch panel 400, a UI screen such as that shown in Fig. 4(b) corresponding to the target period selected by the user is generated and displayed based on the stored information of the amount of power consumed for each target period.

[0060] <Variation 1> In the above-described embodiment, the calculation and storage of the amount of power consumed to print one image was triggered by a transition to a sleep state, but this is not limiting. For example, the calculation of the amount of power consumed to print one image may be performed based on an explicit user instruction, such as the user pressing the "Graph Display" button on the touch panel 400 immediately after copying or PDL printing. In this case, a UI screen such as that shown in FIG. 4(b) corresponding to the target period selected by the user is generated and displayed on the touch panel 400 based on the calculated information on the amount of power consumed for each target period.

[0061] <Variation 2> In the above-described embodiment, information on the calculated amount of power consumed to print one image is stored in the image forming apparatus 101 and displayed on the operation unit 105 of the image forming apparatus 101 upon request from the user. However, this is not limited to this. For example, the UI screen shown in FIG. 4B may be displayed by operating a remote UI or on a server device (not shown). Here, the remote UI refers to software that allows a user to access the image forming apparatus 101 via a network from a web browser on the computer 109 or the like, and check the status of the image forming apparatus 101, operate jobs, and configure various settings. When displaying the amount of power consumed to print one image on the remote UI or server device, the calculation results are saved, for example, in step S805 of FIG. 8 and then transmitted to an external device. The external device that receives the calculation results may store them in internal storage or the like and generate and display a UI screen upon request from the user. The calculation results may be transmitted to the external device via push transmission, in which the calculation results are transmitted each time a new calculation process is performed and updated, or via pull transmission, in which the calculation results are transmitted in response to a request from the external device.

[0062] [Embodiment 2] In the first embodiment, the amount of electricity consumed to print one page of a document (one image per page) is displayed to the user, thereby encouraging the user to be more environmentally conscious. Next, a second embodiment will be described in which the amount of CO2 emissions associated with printing one page of a document is displayed to the user, thereby encouraging the user to be more environmentally conscious. In the second embodiment, CO2 (carbon dioxide) is used as an example of a greenhouse gas, but other gases may also be used. Since the system configuration and the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus are basically the same as in the first embodiment, the following description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment.

[0063] <About "CO2 emissions associated with printing one page of manuscript"> Here, we will explain the "CO2 emissions associated with printing one page of a document." First, the meaning of "printing" in this case is the same as in the first embodiment, and includes both printing by copy job and printing by print job. Furthermore, the meaning of "per page of a document" is also the same as in the first embodiment, and is synonymous with one surface image, which is the unit of imposition. The "CO2 emissions associated with printing one surface image" according to the present disclosure can be calculated using the following formula (2).

[0064] CO2 emissions associated with printing one image (g) = CO2 emissions (g) associated with the amount of electricity used to print one image*1 +CO2 emissions (g) from consumable parts per image*2 +CO2 emissions (g) of color materials per image*3 ...Equation (2) As shown in the above formula (2), the "CO2 emissions associated with printing one image" consists of three elements: *1 to *3. Below, we will explain how to calculate each element.

[0065] <<How to calculate CO2 emissions*1>> First, the method for calculating the "amount of electricity (mWh) consumed to print one image" is as described in the first embodiment. Multiplying this by the CO2 emission coefficient (g-CO2 / Wh) yields the amount of CO2 emissions (g) associated with the amount of electricity consumed to print one image. Here, the CO2 emission coefficient (kg-CO2 / kWh) is defined as CO2 emissions ÷ electricity sold, and the relationship CO2 emissions (kg) = electricity consumption (kWh) × CO2 emission coefficient (kg-CO2 / kWh) holds. The CO2 emission coefficient (kg-CO2 / kWh) is assumed to be in the range of 0.3 to 0.7, although this varies depending on the power provider. In this embodiment, "0.447" is used as an example for a power provider. Let's assume that the amount of electricity consumed to print one image is 3,000 (mWh). In this case, the CO2 emissions (g) associated with the amount of electricity used to print one image is 3000 (mWh) ÷ 1000 × 0.447 = 1.341 (g).

[0066] <<How to calculate CO2 emissions (※2)>> First, in this case, "consumable parts" refers to replacement parts that inevitably deteriorate over time, such as drum cartridges and toner cartridges in the case of electrophotographic image forming devices. The CO2 emissions (g) from consumable parts per image can be calculated by multiplying the number of printed pages by the consumable parts number coefficient ÷ the number of printed pages. The consumable parts number coefficient is a value derived from factors such as the product lifespan, such as 0.229. If the consumable parts number coefficient is 0.229, 10 printed pages are printed in a 2-in-1 format, and the number of printed pages is 5, the CO2 emissions (g) from consumable parts per image can be calculated as 5 (pages) × 0.229 ÷ 10 (units) = 0.1145 (g).

[0067] <<How to calculate CO2 emissions (※3)>> The CO2 emissions (g) of colorant per image are calculated by multiplying the number of output sheets by the colorant sheet count coefficient by the image duty ratio (%) and dividing the number of image sheets. Here, the colorant in electrophotography is toner, and the toner sheet count coefficient is a value derived from factors such as the product lifespan and the specified image chart, such as 0.158. In electrophotography, the image duty ratio (%) is synonymous with the toner coverage amount, and is calculated by multiplying the average print image duty ratio (%) by the specified image chart duty ratio (%) by 100. The specified image chart duty ratio (%) is calculated by the toner usage (%) of the specified image chart relative to A4 paper. Let's assume that the toner sheet count coefficient is 0.158, the image duty ratio (toner coverage) is 80%, 10 image sheets are printed in a 2-in-1 format, and the number of output sheets is 5. In this case, the CO2 emissions (g) from toner per image is 5 (sheets) x 0.158 x 80% ÷ 10 (units) = 0.0632 (g). Note that the average print image duty ratio (%) is calculated for A4 paper. Also, if the duty ratio for A3 paper is 20%, it will be calculated as 40% for A4 paper.

[0068] By adding up the CO2 emissions (g) obtained from *1 to *3 above, the CO2 emissions (g) associated with printing one image can be calculated. In other words, the CO2 emissions (g) associated with printing one image, based on the above calculation, is 1.341(g) + 0.1145(g) + 0.0632(g) = 1.5187(g).

[0069] <Operation flow of image forming device> <Storage of basic data for calculating CO2 emissions> A series of processes for saving basic data for calculating the amount of CO2 emissions associated with printing one image will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 9. The difference from the flowchart in Fig. 7 of the first embodiment is that S901 has been added instead of S706. Therefore, the differences will be described, focusing on S901. The series of processes shown in the flowchart in Fig. 9 are realized by the CPU 201 of the controller 103 executing a predetermined program. In the following description, the symbol "S" means step.

[0070] In S901, the controller 103 associates each piece of power consumption data acquired in S705 with the number of face images related to the instruction for copying, etc. received in S701, and further with the number of printed sheets (number of output sheets), and stores the data in the HDD 106. After storing the data, this flow ends.

[0071] This completes the process of saving the basic data for calculating the CO2 emissions associated with printing one image. Using the basic data saved over a certain period of time, the CO2 emissions associated with printing one image are calculated.

[0072] <Calculating CO2 emissions associated with printing one image> Next, a series of processes for calculating the amount of CO2 emissions associated with printing one image using the basic data stored as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 10. The series of processes shown in the flowchart in Fig. 10 are realized by the CPU 201 of the controller 103 executing a predetermined program. In the following description, the symbol "S" means step.

[0073] In step S1001, the presence or absence of a CO2 emission amount calculation event is monitored, and if such an event is detected, step S802 is executed next. Here, the CO2 emission amount calculation event is, for example, the detection of a signal that causes the image forming apparatus 101 to enter a sleep state or an off state, as in step S801 in the first embodiment.

[0074] In S802, the controller 103 reads and acquires basic data for a certain period of the past that has been saved according to the flow of Fig. 9, i.e., power consumption data linked to the number of face images and the number of output sheets, from the HDD 106. Here, as in the first embodiment, basic data for the past year, for example, is acquired on the assumption that graphs will be displayed in "day" units for the past week, in "week" units for the past three months, and in "month" units for the past year.

[0075] In S1002, the controller 103 calculates the amount of CO2 emissions associated with printing one image on one side using the basic data for the calculation period out of the basic data acquired in S802. For example, as in the first embodiment, the target periods are set to the past week in "days," the past three months in "weeks," and the past year in "months," and the CO2 emissions associated with printing one image on one side are calculated using the basic data corresponding to each target period. The specific calculation method has already been described in detail.

[0076] In S804, it is determined whether calculation of CO2 emissions associated with printing one image per page has been completed for all target periods, and if there are any target periods that have not yet been processed, processing returns to S1002 and continues.On the other hand, if calculation of CO2 emissions associated with printing one image per page has been completed for each target period, for the past week in "day" units, the past three months in "week" units, and the past year in "month" units, S1003 is then executed.

[0077] In S1003, the controller 103 associates the information on the CO2 emissions associated with printing one image per page calculated for each target period in S804 with the corresponding target period and saves it in the memory 203 or the HDD 106. After saving, processing is performed according to the event detected in S1001, and this flow ends. For example, if the event detected in S1001 is a transition to a sleep state, processing for transitioning to sleep is executed, and if the event detected in S1001 is a shutdown instruction, processing for turning off the power is executed.

[0078] The above is the content of the calculation and storage process of the CO2 emissions associated with printing one image according to this embodiment. Thereafter, as in the first embodiment, in response to, for example, pressing a "graph display" button (not shown) via the touch panel 400, a UI screen corresponding to the target period selected by the user is generated and displayed based on the stored information of CO2 emissions for each target period. As mentioned above, CO2 is merely one example of a greenhouse gas, and emissions of, for example, N2O (nitrous oxide) can be calculated using a similar approach. The total amount of greenhouse gas emissions, including CO2 and N2O, can be calculated by multiplying the activity amount by the emission intensity (emission coefficient).

[0079] <Variation 1> In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the print settings that affect CO2 emissions per image printed were described as color or monochrome, and aggregated or non-aggregated. However, this is not limiting. For example, changing from single-sided printing to double-sided printing requires driving a motor to flip the paper, resulting in a slight increase in power consumption. However, changing from single-sided printing to double-sided printing reduces the number of sheets of paper used for printing by approximately half, thereby reducing the "CO2 emissions in *2" and "CO2 emissions in *3" in the above-mentioned formula (2). In other words, double-sided printing is highly effective in reducing CO2 emissions and allows for more environmentally friendly use of the image forming apparatus. Therefore, in the second embodiment, in addition to the print settings of monochrome and aggregated printing, the user can be made aware of the option of double-sided printing.

[0080] <Variation 2> In the first and second embodiments described above, information on the amount of power consumed to print one image per page and the amount of CO2 emissions associated with printing one image per page, calculated based on an actually executed job, is presented. However, this is not limiting. For example, if the print settings for an actually executed job are color and non-multiplexed, information on the amount of power consumed to print one image per page if the job were printed in monochrome and multiplexed (2-in-1) may also be calculated and the results displayed on a graph. In this case, the line type or color may be changed to allow the user to distinguish between calculations based on the print settings for the actually executed job and calculations based on hypothetical print settings. In this way, the user may be presented with the power consumption reduction effect of executing a job with, for example, recommended print settings.

[0081] (Other Examples) The present disclosure can also be realized by providing a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0082] The present disclosure also includes the following configurations and methods.

[0083] [Configuration 1] a printing means for printing on a recording medium based on image data; a control unit that controls the printing unit based on the job involving printing; Equipped with The control means applying print settings to image data relating to the job involving printing, and causing the printing unit to execute printing; outputting information on the amount of power required to execute the job involving printing, the information being the amount of power required per processing unit when the print settings are applied; An image forming apparatus characterized by:

[0084] [Configuration 2] Further comprising a reading means for scanning the document, 2. The image forming apparatus according to configuration 1, wherein the jobs involving printing include copy jobs that require scanning and print jobs that do not require scanning.

[0085] [Configuration 3] the print setting is a setting for aggregate printing, The power consumption per processing unit when the print settings are applied is the power consumption per one image, which is the unit of imposition processing in the aggregate printing. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

[0086] [Configuration 4] The control means calculating the amount of power per processing unit when the print settings are applied by dividing the total amount of power, including the first amount of power related to the scanning, the second amount of power related to the printing, and the third amount of power related to the control, for the jobs involving printing that have been executed in a certain period in the past by the total number of surface images for the jobs involving printing that have been executed in the certain period; 4. The image forming apparatus according to configuration 3, wherein information on the calculated amount of power is output.

[0087] [Configuration 5] the first amount of power is obtained by multiplying a copy count related to the job involving printing executed during the certain period by a reading power constant; the second amount of power is a cumulative amount of power of the printing unit related to the jobs involving printing executed during the certain period of time, the third amount of power is obtained by multiplying a cumulative time of the jobs involving printing executed during the certain period by a controller power constant; The copy count refers to the number of scans performed, assuming that the resulting scanned image will be printed. 5. The image forming apparatus according to configuration 4.

[0088] [Configuration 6] 6. The image forming apparatus according to configuration 5, wherein the certain period includes at least one period selected from the group consisting of days, weeks, months, and years.

[0089] [Configuration 7] The control means Based on the detection of a specific event, the amount of power consumed per processing unit when the print settings are applied is calculated; storing the calculated information on the amount of power in a storage device; reading out the stored information on the amount of power from the storage device and outputting it based on an instruction from a user; 7. The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 4 to 6.

[0090] [Configuration 8] 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the specific event is a signal that causes the image forming apparatus to enter a sleep state or an off state.

[0091] [Configuration 9] 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the specific event is an instruction from a user via a user interface.

[0092] [Configuration 10] The user specifies any one of hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly units in the instruction, The control means reads out the information on the amount of power corresponding to the specified unit period from the storage device and outputs it. 10. The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 7 to 9.

[0093] [Configuration 11] Further provided with a display means for displaying a UI screen, the control means generates a graph with the amount of power on the vertical axis and the period in the specified unit on the horizontal axis, and causes the display means to display the graph. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10,

[0094] [Configuration 12] further comprising a communication means for communicating with an external device; the control means generates a graph with the amount of power on the vertical axis and the period in the specified unit on the horizontal axis, and transmits data of the graph to the external device; 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10,

[0095] [Configuration 13] 13. The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 3 to 12, wherein when the job involving printing is a print job including PDL data, the surface image is a single page image obtained by interpreting a single page of PDL.

[0096] [Configuration 14] 13. The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 3 to 12, wherein when the job involving printing is a copy job, the surface image is one scanned image obtained when one sheet of the original is scanned.

[0097] [Configuration 15] measuring means for measuring the first amount of power, the second amount of power, and the third amount of power; 5. The image forming apparatus according to configuration 4, wherein the calculation is performed by acquiring the total amount of power based on a measurement value of the measuring means.

[0098] [Configuration 16] a printing means for printing on a recording medium based on image data; a control unit that controls the printing unit based on the job involving printing; Equipped with The control means applying print settings to image data relating to the job involving printing, and causing the printing unit to execute printing; outputting information about greenhouse gas emissions associated with the execution of the job involving printing, the information being about greenhouse gas emissions per processing unit when the print settings are applied; An image forming apparatus characterized by:

[0099] [Configuration 17] Further comprising a reading means for scanning the document, 17. The image forming apparatus according to configuration 16, wherein the jobs involving printing include copy jobs that require the execution of scanning and print jobs that do not require scanning.

[0100] [Configuration 18] the print setting is a setting for aggregate printing, The greenhouse gas emissions per processing unit when the print settings are applied are greenhouse gas emissions per one surface image, which is a unit of imposition processing in the aggregate printing. 18. The image forming apparatus according to configuration 17.

[0101] [Configuration 19] The control means calculating one or more of the greenhouse gas emissions per processing unit when the print settings are applied by adding together the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the amount of electricity required for printing per processing unit when the print settings are applied, the greenhouse gas emissions of consumable parts per processing unit when the print settings are applied, and the greenhouse gas emissions of color materials per processing unit when the print settings are applied; 19. The image forming apparatus according to configuration 18, wherein the calculated information on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions is output.

[0102] [Configuration 20] Greenhouse gas emissions include information such as CO2 emissions 19. The image forming apparatus according to claim 16, 18, or 19.

[0103] [Configuration 21] the image forming apparatus is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, The colorant is a toner. 20. The image forming apparatus according to claim 19,

[0104] [Method 1] a printing means for printing on a recording medium based on image data; a control unit that controls the printing unit based on the job involving printing; A control method for an image forming apparatus comprising: The control means applying print settings to image data relating to the job involving printing, and causing the printing unit to execute printing; outputting information on the amount of power required to execute the job involving printing, the information being the amount of power required per processing unit when the print settings are applied; A control method comprising:

[0105] [Method 2] a printing means for printing on a recording medium based on image data; a control unit that controls the printing unit based on the job involving printing; A control method for an image forming apparatus comprising: The control means applying print settings to image data relating to the job involving printing, and causing the printing unit to execute printing; outputting information about CO2 emissions associated with the execution of the job involving printing, the information being about CO2 emissions per processing unit when the print settings are applied; A control method comprising:

[0106] [Method 3] Greenhouse gas emissions include information such as CO2 emissions The control method according to method 2, characterized in that

[0107] [Configuration 25] 22. A program for causing a computer to function as the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

Claims

1. a printing means for printing on a recording medium based on image data; a control unit that controls the printing unit based on the job involving printing; Equipped with The control means applying print settings to image data relating to the job involving printing, and causing the printing unit to execute printing; outputting information on the amount of power required to execute the job involving printing, the information being the amount of power required per processing unit when the print settings are applied; An image forming apparatus characterized by:

2. Further comprising a reading means for scanning the document, 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the jobs involving printing include a copy job that requires execution of the scanning and a print job that does not require the scanning.

3. the print setting is a setting for aggregate printing, The amount of power consumed per processing unit when the print settings are applied is the amount of power consumed per one page image, which is the unit of imposition processing in the aggregate printing.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

4. The control means calculating the amount of power per processing unit when the print settings are applied by dividing the total amount of power, including the first amount of power related to the scanning, the second amount of power related to the printing, and the third amount of power related to the control, for the jobs involving printing that have been executed in a certain period of time in the past, by the total number of surface images for the jobs involving printing that have been executed in the certain period of time; 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein information about the calculated amount of power is output.

5. the first amount of power is obtained by multiplying a copy count related to the job involving printing executed during the certain period by a reading power constant; the second amount of power is a cumulative amount of power of the printing unit related to the jobs involving printing executed during the certain period of time, the third amount of power is obtained by multiplying a cumulative time of the jobs involving printing executed during the certain period by a controller power constant; The copy count refers to the number of scans performed, assuming that the resulting scanned image will be printed.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4.

6. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the certain period includes at least one period selected from the group consisting of days, weeks, months, and years.

7. The control means Based on the detection of a specific event, the amount of power consumed per processing unit when the print settings are applied is calculated; storing the calculated information on the amount of power in a storage device; reading out the stored information on the amount of power from the storage device and outputting it based on an instruction from a user; 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4.

8. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the specific event is a signal that causes the image forming apparatus to enter a sleep state or an off state.

9. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the specific event is an instruction from a user via a user interface.

10. The user specifies any one of hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly units in the instruction, The control means reads out the information on the amount of power corresponding to the specified unit period from the storage device and outputs it.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7,

11. Further comprising a display means for displaying a UI screen, the control means generates a graph with the amount of power on the vertical axis and the period in the specified unit on the horizontal axis, and causes the display means to display the graph.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10.

12. further comprising a communication means for communicating with an external device; the control means generates a graph with the amount of power on the vertical axis and the period in the specified unit on the horizontal axis, and transmits data of the graph to the external device; 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10.

13. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the job involving printing is a print job including PDL data, the surface image is a single page image obtained by interpreting one page of PDL.

14. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the job involving printing is the copy job, the surface image is one scanned image obtained by scanning one sheet of the document.

15. measuring means for measuring the first amount of power, the second amount of power, and the third amount of power; 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the calculation is performed by acquiring the total amount of power based on a measurement value of the measuring unit.

16. a printing means for printing on a recording medium based on image data; a control unit that controls the printing unit based on the job involving printing; Equipped with The control means applying print settings to image data relating to the job involving printing, and causing the printing unit to execute printing; outputting information about greenhouse gas emissions associated with the execution of the job involving printing, the information being about greenhouse gas emissions per processing unit when the print settings are applied; An image forming apparatus characterized by:

17. Further comprising a reading means for scanning the document, 17. The image forming apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the jobs involving printing include copy jobs that require the execution of scanning and print jobs that do not require scanning.

18. the print setting is a setting for aggregate printing, The greenhouse gas emission amount per processing unit when the print settings are applied is the greenhouse gas emission amount per one surface image, which is a unit of imposition processing in the aggregate printing.

18. The image forming apparatus according to claim 17.

19. The control means calculating one or more of the greenhouse gas emissions per processing unit when the print settings are applied by adding together the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the amount of electricity required for printing per processing unit when the print settings are applied, the greenhouse gas emissions of consumable parts per processing unit when the print settings are applied, and the greenhouse gas emissions of color materials per processing unit when the print settings are applied; 19. The image forming apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the calculated information on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions is output.

20. Greenhouse gas emissions include information such as CO2 emissions 20. The image forming apparatus according to claim 16, 18 or 19.

21. the image forming apparatus is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, The colorant is a toner.

20. The image forming apparatus according to claim 19.

22. a printing means for printing on a recording medium based on image data; a control unit that controls the printing unit based on the job involving printing; A control method for an image forming apparatus comprising: The control means applying print settings to image data relating to the job involving printing, and causing the printing unit to execute printing; outputting information on the amount of power required to execute the job involving printing, the information being the amount of power required per processing unit when the print settings are applied; A control method comprising:

23. a printing means for printing on a recording medium based on image data; a control unit that controls the printing unit based on the job involving printing; A control method for an image forming apparatus comprising: The control means applying print settings to image data relating to the job involving printing, and causing the printing unit to execute printing; outputting information about greenhouse gas emissions associated with the execution of the job involving printing, the information being about greenhouse gas emissions per processing unit when the print settings are applied; A control method comprising:

24. Greenhouse gas emissions include information such as CO2 emissions 24. The control method of claim 23.

25. A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 22 or 23.

Images