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

Abstract

To present a method for using an image forming apparatus in consideration of an environment regardless of whether or not the image forming apparatus is mounted with a measuring instrument of power consumption.SOLUTION: When the image forming apparatus is provided with a measuring means for measuring power consumption in a printing means, the power consumption in a fixed period is displayed on a display means on the basis of a measurement result in the fixed period by the measuring means. On the other hand, if the image forming apparatus does not include the above-described measurement unit, the image forming apparatus causes the display unit to display the ratio of each of the plurality of power states of the image forming apparatus in the predetermined period.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

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, and countries and companies are being asked to take measures to address them. One example of an environmental issue for image forming devices is reducing power consumption. Methods for reducing power consumption include reducing power through technological improvements, as well as encouraging users to be more environmentally conscious, which can lead to reduced power consumption. As a method for reducing power consumption, calculating and displaying the actual power consumption of an image forming device is already known. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a method for accurately calculating and displaying power consumption by installing a power measurement device in an image forming device and measuring the power consumption in each operating mode. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-85796 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Although the term "image forming device" is generally used, there is a wide variety of product lineups, ranging from high-performance, high-priced models to low-priced models with fewer functions, and depending on the product specifications, some products can be equipped with a power consumption measuring device and others cannot. As a result, it may happen that while high-end products equipped with a measuring device can calculate and display power consumption with high precision by applying the technology of Patent Document 1, this cannot be done for low-end products that do not have a measuring device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The program for controlling an image forming device having a printing means according to the present disclosure is characterized in that, if the image forming device is equipped with a measuring means for measuring the amount of power consumed by the printing means, the program causes the image forming device to execute a first process of displaying the amount of power consumed over a certain period of time on a display means based on the measurement results over the certain period by the measuring means, and, if the image forming device does not have the measuring means, the program causes the image forming device to execute a second process of displaying the proportions of each of a plurality of power states of the image forming device over the certain period of time on a display means. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the technology of the present disclosure, it is possible to present an environmentally friendly method of using an image forming apparatus, regardless of whether or not the image forming apparatus is equipped with a power consumption measuring device. [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] (a) is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the controller, and (b) is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the printer mechanism. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the configuration of an operation unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating transitions between a plurality of power states. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for accumulating power-related information. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing an example of power-related information in a table format. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for presenting power-related information. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a UI screen on which the transition of power consumption amount can be seen. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a UI screen on which the percentage of each power state can be seen. 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 feeds paper one by one from a stack of paper set in a paper feed unit, prints a digital image on the paper using a marking unit, and discharges the printed paper from a paper discharge unit. Details of the printer mechanism 104 will be described later. In this embodiment, an electrophotographic method is assumed as the printing method, but other printing methods such as an inkjet method may also be used.

[0013] 1 is merely an example, and is not intended to be limiting. For example, the image forming system 101 may have a finisher mechanism that performs processes such as sorting, stapling, punching, and cutting on printed sheets ejected from 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 reading an original document set in the ADF unit 121 with the scanner unit 122 and printing the resulting image data on paper with the printer mechanism 104 .

[0016] <Print function> This is a function of printing, on paper, image data included in a print job sent from the computer 109 or image data stored in advance (stored in a box) on the HDD 106 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 function allows image data obtained by scanning an original with the scanner mechanism 102 to be stored in the HDD 106, and can be sent to an external device or printed as needed.

[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(a). 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 power is cut off, a disk controller 206 that controls storage devices, 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. This 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 image data output command to the printer mechanism 104 via the CPU 221. Upon receiving the output command, 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 transmitted to the printer mechanism 104 via the image 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 from the HDD 106 or the memory 223 to the printer mechanism 104 without receiving the image data from the scanner mechanism 102.

[0022] <Internal structure of the printer mechanism> Fig. 2(b) is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the printer mechanism 104. The printer mechanism 104 will be described in detail below with reference to Fig. 2(b).

[0023] The CPU 301 is an arithmetic processing unit that controls the printer mechanism 104. The non-volatile memory 302 is a storage device such as a ROM that stores programs executed by the CPU 301. The memory 303 is a storage device such as a DRAM that the CPU 301 temporarily stores data in. The printer I / F 304 is an interface that connects to the controller 103. The marking unit 306 prints image data received from the controller 103 via the printer I / F 304 onto paper fed from a paper feed unit 305. The paper printed by the marking unit 306 is ejected by a paper ejection unit 307. The printer mechanism 104 also has two measuring devices (power measurement units) for measuring the amount of power actually consumed. One is a first power measurement unit 308 that records the cumulative amount of power consumed for operations other than the fixing process, described below, such as paper feeding, paper ejection, and transport. The other is a second power measurement unit 309, which records the cumulative power consumption required for the process of fixing an image (a toner image in the case of electrophotography) formed on paper using heat and pressure. These power measurement units have the function of recording the cumulative power consumption until it reaches an upper limit, and the amount of power consumed during a certain period of time can be obtained from the difference between the cumulative power consumption value at a certain point in time in the past and the current cumulative power consumption value. The sum of the power consumption values ​​during a certain period obtained based on the measurements of the first power measurement unit 308 and the second power measurement unit 309 is the power consumption value for the entire printer mechanism 104 during that period. The power measurement units 308 and 309 are not essential components of the printer mechanism 104, but can be optionally included depending on the product specifications.

[0024] <Configuration of the operation section> FIG. 3 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.

[0025] <Power status of image forming device> 4 is a diagram illustrating the transitions between the multiple power states of the image forming apparatus 101. The image forming apparatus 101 of this embodiment has four power states: active state, ready state, sleep state, and off state. Each power state is defined as follows:

[0026] Active state The active state is a state in which a job is being executed on the image forming apparatus 101, and power is supplied to the controller 103 and operation unit 105, and further to the printer mechanism 104 and / or scanner mechanism 102 depending on the job. When a job is input in the ready state or sleep state, the apparatus transitions to the active state. In this case, if a job is received from the computer 109 connected via LAN while in the sleep state, power does not need to be supplied to the operation unit 105. The active state is the power state with the highest power consumption among the four power states.

[0027] <Ready state> The ready state is a power state in which the operation unit 105 of the image forming apparatus 101 is lit and can accept operations from the user, but no job is being executed. The image forming apparatus transitions to the ready state when the power switch is turned on in the off state, when a sleep recovery event occurs in the sleep state (such as detection by a human sensor or a touch operation on a touch panel), or when job execution is completed in the active state. In the ready state, power is supplied to the controller 103 and operation unit 105, but power is not supplied to the printer mechanism 104 and scanner mechanism 102 as a general rule. The ready state consumes less power than the active state, but more power than the sleep state.

[0028] <Sleep mode> The sleep state is a state in which the operation unit 105 of the image forming apparatus 101 is turned off to reduce standby power consumption. In the sleep state, power is supplied only to part of the controller 103 and the power-saving key 409 on the operation unit 105 (or to a touch sensor on the operation unit 105 if the power-saving key is implemented as a soft button). The sleep state is entered when an event for transitioning to sleep occurs in the ready state (such as pressing the power-saving key 409 or the passage of a certain period of time without a job being executed). The sleep state consumes less power than the ready state, but more power than the off state. Note that the sleep state may be further subdivided by dividing the power supply to part of the controller 103 into different levels.

[0029] <<Off state>> The off state is a state in which the image forming apparatus 101 is powered off, and only electrical components that detect that the power switch is on are energized when the plug is inserted into an outlet and power is being supplied to the main power supply. The image forming apparatus transitions to the off state when the user turns off the power switch in one of the power states of the active state, ready state, or sleep state, or when the user unplugs the power plug from the outlet to cut off the power supply to the main power supply. The off state consumes the least amount of power among the four power states.

[0030] In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 101 will be described as having the above four types of power states, but the types of power states and transition conditions are not limited to the above examples.

[0031] <Operation flow of image forming device> <Storage of electricity-related information> Next, a series of processes for accumulating information (power-related information) related to power consumption in the image forming apparatus 101 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 5. The series of processes shown in the flowchart in Fig. 5 are realized by the CPU 201 of the controller 103 executing a predetermined program when the image forming apparatus 101 is powered on (started up). The power state immediately after the start of this flow is the ready state, and the ready state will continue as long as any of the above-mentioned events that trigger a state transition is not detected. In the following description, the symbol "S" means step.

[0032] In S501, first, the current startup time (the time the power was turned on) is obtained from the RTC 212 and stored in the memory 203. Next, the shutdown time (the time the power was turned off last time) saved in S511 (described later) during the previous execution of this flow is read from the HDD 106 and stored in the memory 203. Then, the difference between these two times is calculated and stored in the memory 203 as the time the image forming apparatus 101 was powered off (the duration of the off state).

[0033] S502 is a step for monitoring the transition of the power state, and when a transition of the power state is detected, S503 is executed next. Note that the control for actually transitioning the power state is executed in accordance with a program separate from the program that realizes this flow so as to be consistent with this flow (for example, transition to the off state is executed after execution of S511).

[0034] In S503, the current transition start time is acquired from the RTC 212 and stored in the memory 203. Furthermore, the previous transition start time stored in the memory 203 is read, and the difference between the current transition start time and the previous transition start time is calculated and stored in the memory 203 as the duration of the power state before the transition.

[0035] In S504, the next process to be executed is determined based on the power state after this transition. If the power state after this transition is sleep or off, S505 is executed next; if not, the process returns to S502 and continues.

[0036] In S505, the durations calculated for each power state in S501 and / or S503 are added together, and if any, these are also added together to calculate the cumulative time for each power state, and the resulting data is stored in HDD 106 as power-related information. FIG. 6A shows an example of power-related information in a table format, and is composed of a "DATE" column 601, an "ACTIVE" column 602, a "READY" column 603, a "SLEEP" column 604, an "OFF" column 605, and a "POWER CONSUMPTION" column 606. The "DATE" column 601 stores date information. The "ACTIVE" column 602, the "READY" column 603, the "SLEEP" column 604, and the "OFF" column 605 store the percentage (%) of the cumulative time for each power state, assuming the total time for all power states to be 100%. The "POWER CONSUMPTION" column 606 stores the amount of power consumed by the image forming apparatus corresponding to the date information, as calculated in S508 (described later). In the table of Fig. 6(a), the percentage of each power state and information on power consumption are stored on a daily basis, but this may also be stored on a weekly or monthly basis. Furthermore, the "ACTIVE" column 602, "READY" column 603, "SLEEP" column 604, and "OFF" column 605 each list the percentage of each power state, but the accumulated time for each power state may also be listed directly. Alternatively, information on the accumulated time for each power state may be stored separately from the power-related information described above.

[0037] In S506, the CPU 221 of the subboard 220 is requested via the bus controller 204 to acquire measured values ​​from the first power measurement unit 308 and the second power measurement unit 309. Upon receiving the request, the CPU 221 attempts to acquire current measured values ​​(cumulative power consumption values) from each of the first power measurement unit 308 and the second power measurement unit 309 of the printer mechanism 104 via the device controller 226. If the CPU 221 is able to acquire measured values ​​from both the power measurement units 308 and 309, it notifies the CPU 201 of the acquired measured values ​​and stores the acquired measured values ​​in the HDD 106. If the first power measurement unit 308 and the second power measurement unit 309 are not installed in the printer mechanism 104 or if the current measured values ​​cannot be acquired due to a malfunction or the like, the CPU 221 notifies the CPU 201 that the values ​​could not be acquired.

[0038] In S507, the next process to be executed is determined depending on whether or not the amount of power consumption of the printer mechanism 104 was acquired in S506. If the amount of power consumption was acquired, S508 is executed next, and if the amount of power consumption was not acquired, S510 is executed.

[0039] In S508, the amount of power consumed by the image forming apparatus 101 is calculated. Specifically, the power consumption of each of the controller 103, printer mechanism 104, and scanner mechanism 102 is calculated first. The sum of the calculated power consumption values ​​for the three components is the total power consumption of the image forming apparatus 101. The power consumption of the controller 103 is calculated by multiplying the power constant for each power state by the duration t of each power state. Alternatively, the power consumption may be calculated by multiplying the average power coefficient across the active, ready, and sleep states by the total duration of these three power states. The power consumption of the scanner mechanism 102 is calculated by multiplying the average power required for one scan (read power constant) by the number of scanned documents. The power consumption of the printer mechanism 103 is calculated based on the measurement results of the first power measurement unit 308 and the second power measurement unit 309. Specifically, the previous measurements of the first power measurement unit 308 and the second power measurement unit 309 are first read from the HDD 106. The power consumption is then calculated by calculating the difference between the previously read measurement value and the currently acquired measurement value and adding up the two differences. The power consumption of the printer mechanism 104 varies significantly between, for example, preprocessing (chip initialization, temperature control, patch inspection, color correction, etc.) and job execution, and also varies depending on the job content (e.g., number of pages printed). Therefore, to accurately determine the amount of power consumed over a certain period, it is necessary to measure the actual power consumption using a measuring device. In contrast, the controller 103 and scanner mechanism 102 do not have the above-mentioned variations, so power consumption close to the actual measured value can be calculated by calculation using a predetermined power constant. The calculation results obtained in this way are stored in memory 203. If the image forming apparatus is a single-function printer without a scanning function, the power consumption of the controller 103 and printer mechanism 104 is calculated, and the sum of the two calculated power consumption values ​​is the power consumption of the entire image forming apparatus 101.

[0040] In S509, based on the calculation result in S508, the power consumption of the entire image forming apparatus 101 is saved as power-related information in the HDD 106. That is, the power consumption value calculated in S508 is entered in the "POWER CONSUMPTION" column 606 of the table in FIG. 6A described above. Note that if the cumulative power consumption cannot be acquired from the power measuring unit in S506, the power consumption of the image forming apparatus is not calculated, and in that case, the value in the "POWER CONSUMPTION" column 606 remains blank, as shown in FIG. 6B.

[0041] In S510, the next process to be executed is determined depending on whether the power state after this transition is the OFF state. If the power state after this transition is the OFF state, S511 is executed next, and if not, the process returns to S502 and continues.

[0042] In S511, the time is acquired from the RTC 212 and is saved as the power-off time in the HDD 106. Thereafter, the image forming apparatus 101 is powered off, and this flow ends.

[0043] The above is the content of a series of processes for accumulating information about power consumption in the image forming apparatus 101. Here, we will explain how the power state transitions and how the flow in Fig. 5 progresses in each power state, using as an example a case where a user performs a series of operations in which the user turns on the power, makes a copy, and then turns off the power after a period of time has passed without using the apparatus.

[0044] First, when the power switch is turned on from off, the power state changes to ready, and the time spent in the off state is calculated from the previous off time and the current on time (S501). Thereafter, when the user issues a copy command from the operation unit 105 (Yes in S502), the state transitions from ready to active, and the copy process is executed, and the time spent in the ready state during that time is also calculated (first S503). Then, when the copy execution is completed, the state transitions again to ready (Yes in S502), and the time spent in the active state is calculated (second S503). Then, after a certain period of time has passed while remaining in the ready state, the state transitions to sleep (Yes in S502), and the time spent in the ready state is calculated again (third S503). Furthermore, each of the times calculated in S503 up to this point is associated with the corresponding power state and saved (S505). Then, measured values ​​are acquired from the first power measurement unit 308 and the second power measurement unit 309 (S506), and the total power consumption of the image forming apparatus is calculated and saved (S508, S509). The sleep state is then maintained until the power switch is turned off (No in S510, No in S502). When the power switch is turned off, the time spent in the sleep state is calculated and saved (Yes in S503 and S504 for the fourth time, S505). Further, measured values ​​are acquired from the first power measurement unit 308 and the second power measurement unit 309 (S506), but because no new printing process is being performed, the same measured values ​​as those acquired previously are acquired. Therefore, the power consumption of the image forming apparatus is calculated and saved again, but the result remains unchanged. Since the image forming apparatus is now in the off state (Yes in S510), the time the power was turned off is saved (S511), and this process ends.

[0045] 5, the processes of S505 to S509 are executed when the device transitions to the sleep state or the off state, in order to minimize the impact on the operation of the main functions of the image forming device, such as copying and printing. However, the start of the processes of S505 to S509 is not limited to the timing of the device transitioning to the sleep state or the off state, and may be executed at regular time intervals, for example.

[0046] <Presenting electricity-related information> Next, a series of processes for presenting the power-related information accumulated as described above to the user 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 response to a user instruction via the operation unit 105 (for example, pressing a graph display button (not shown) on the touch panel 400). In the following description, the symbol "S" denotes a step.

[0047] 5 is read from the HDD 106. Then, in S702, the next process to be executed is determined based on whether the power-related information read in S701 includes information about the amount of power consumed by the image forming apparatus. In this embodiment, if a value is entered in the "POWER CONSUMPTION" column 606 of the table of the read power-related information, S703 is executed next, and if the "POWER CONSUMPTION" column 606 is blank, S704 is executed next.

[0048] In step S703, a UI screen showing the trend in power consumption of the image forming apparatus 101 is generated and displayed based on the power consumption of the image forming apparatus included in the power-related information (in this embodiment, the value of the "POWER CONSUMPTION" column 606 described above). FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the UI screen displayed in this step, including a graph plotting the power consumption of the image forming apparatus 101 over a certain period of time. The UI screen in FIG. 8 allows the user to select the display unit from "day," "week," or "month." Currently, "day" is selected, and the daily power consumption for one week is displayed. In this case, two weeks may also be displayed. Furthermore, if "week" is selected, the total or average weekly or monthly power consumption for, for example, the past three months is displayed; if "month" is selected, the total or average weekly or monthly power consumption for, for example, the past year is displayed.

[0049] In step S704, a UI screen showing the percentage of each power state in the image forming apparatus 101 is generated and displayed based on the percentage of each power state included in the power-related information (in this embodiment, the values ​​in the columns 602 to 605 for the aforementioned "ACTIVE," "READY," "SLEEP," and "OFF"). FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a UI screen displayed in this step, including a bar graph showing the percentage of the power states of the image forming apparatus 101 over a certain period of time. Like the UI screen in FIG. 8, the UI screen in FIG. 9 also allows the user to select the display unit from "day," "week," and "month." Here, "day" is selected, and the percentages of each of the four power states (active, ready, sleep, and off) are displayed in daily units for one week. Alternatively, a two-week period may be displayed. Furthermore, if "week" is selected, the average weekly or monthly percentages for, for example, the past three months are displayed; if "month" is selected, the average weekly or monthly percentages for, for example, the past year are displayed.

[0050] The above is a series of processes for presenting accumulated power-related information to a user. In the above-described embodiment, different UI screens are generated and displayed depending on whether the power-related information includes the power consumption of the image forming apparatus or not. However, this is not limiting. For example, if the power-related information includes the power consumption of the image forming apparatus, the time information for each power state is also included. Therefore, the user may be allowed to select whether to display a UI screen showing the progress of power consumption or a UI screen showing the percentage of each power state. Alternatively, if the power-related information includes the power consumption of the image forming apparatus, a UI screen including graphs of both the progress of power consumption and the percentage of each power state may be displayed.

[0051] As described above, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to present to a user information on power consumption that varies depending on whether the amount of power consumption of an image forming device can be acquired. This makes it possible to present environmentally friendly ways of using an image forming device, regardless of whether the image forming device is equipped with a power measurement device.

[0052] (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.

[0053] The present disclosure also includes the following configurations and methods.

[0054] [Configuration 1] A program for controlling an image forming apparatus having a printing means, If the image forming apparatus is equipped with a measuring means for measuring the amount of power consumed by the printing means, the image forming apparatus is caused to execute a first process of displaying the amount of power consumed for a certain period of time on a display means based on a measurement result for the certain period of time by the measuring means; If the image forming apparatus does not include the measuring means, the image forming apparatus is caused to execute a second process of displaying on a display means the ratios of each of the plurality of power states of the image forming apparatus during the certain period. A program characterized by:

[0055] [Configuration 2] storing an integrated time for each of the plurality of power states; a process of calculating and storing the amount of power consumed by the image forming apparatus for the certain period using a measurement result of the measurement means when the image forming apparatus is equipped with the measurement means; and causing the image forming apparatus to further execute the above. In the first process, the amount of power consumption stored for the certain period is displayed, In the second process, an accumulated time for each of the plurality of power states stored during the certain period is displayed. The program according to configuration 1.

[0056] [Configuration 3] 3. The program according to configuration 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of power states include two or more of an active state, a ready state, a sleep state, and an off state.

[0057] [Configuration 4] 4. The program according to any one of configurations 1 to 3, wherein, when the image forming apparatus is equipped with the measuring means, the second process is performed instead of the first process.

[0058] [Configuration 5] The program according to configuration 4, characterized in that, when the image forming device is equipped with the measurement means, the program causes the image forming device to execute a process of accepting a selection from a user whether to perform the first processing or the second processing.

[0059] [Configuration 6] The program described in any one of configurations 1 to 3, characterized in that when the image forming device is equipped with the measuring means, instead of the first process, the program causes the image forming device to execute a third process of displaying on a display means the amount of power consumption during the certain period and the proportion of each of multiple power states of the image forming device during the certain period.

[0060] [Configuration 7] The program according to configuration 6, characterized in that, when the image forming device is equipped with the measurement means, the program causes the image forming device to execute a process of accepting a selection from a user whether to perform the first processing or the third processing.

[0061] [Configuration 8] the image forming apparatus has a control unit that controls the printing unit, The first process is a process of calculating the amounts of power consumption of the control means and the printing means for the certain period, and displaying the sum of the two calculated amounts of power consumption on the display means. 8. The program according to any one of configurations 1 to 7.

[0062] [Configuration 9] 9. The program according to configuration 8, wherein the power consumption of the control means is obtained by multiplying the power constants of the active state, the ready state, and the sleep state by the duration of each state.

[0063] [Configuration 10] The program according to configuration 8, characterized in that the power consumption of the control means is obtained by multiplying the average power count through the active state, ready state, and sleep state by the total duration of each power state.

[0064] [Configuration 11] the image forming apparatus further comprises a reading unit for reading an original; The first process is a process of calculating the amounts of power consumption of the control means, the printing means, and the reading means during the certain period, and displaying the sum of the calculated three amounts of power consumption on the display means. 11. The program according to any one of configurations 8 to 10.

[0065] [Configuration 12] 12. The program according to configuration 11, wherein the power consumption of the reading means is obtained by multiplying a predetermined reading power constant by the number of pages of the document that have been read.

[0066] [Configuration 13] the measuring means comprises a first measuring means for recording the cumulative amount of power consumption required for operations other than the fixing process, and a second measuring means for recording the cumulative amount of power consumption required for the fixing process; The power consumption of the printing means is obtained by calculating the difference between the cumulative power consumption value at a certain point in the past and the cumulative power consumption value at the current time for each of the first measurement means and the second measurement means, and adding up the two differences obtained. 13. The program according to any one of configurations 8 to 12.

[0067] [Configuration 14] a printing means for performing printing processing; a control means for controlling the printing means; An image forming apparatus having: The control means If the image forming apparatus is equipped with a measuring means for measuring the amount of power consumed by the printing means, a first process is executed to display the amount of power consumed for a certain period of time on a display means based on a measurement result for the certain period of time by the measuring means; If the image forming apparatus does not include the measuring means, a second process is executed in which a display means displays the ratios of each of the plurality of power states of the image forming apparatus during the certain period. An image forming apparatus characterized by:

[0068] [Configuration 15] The control means storing an integrated time for each of the plurality of power states; a process of calculating and storing the amount of power consumed by the image forming apparatus for the certain period using a measurement result of the measurement means when the image forming apparatus is equipped with the measurement means; Further execute In the first process, the power consumption amount stored for the certain period is displayed on the display means; In the second process, the display means displays the accumulated times for each of the plurality of power states stored during the certain period. 15. The image forming apparatus according to configuration 14.

[0069] [Configuration 16] 16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the plurality of power states include two or more of an active state, a ready state, a sleep state, and an off state.

[0070] [Method 1] a printing means for performing printing processing; a control means for controlling the printing means; A control method for an image forming apparatus having The control means If the image forming apparatus is equipped with a measuring means for measuring the amount of power consumed by the printing means, a first process is executed to display the amount of power consumed for a certain period of time on a display means based on the measurement results for the certain period of time by the measuring means; If the image forming apparatus does not include the measuring means, a second process is executed in which a display means displays the ratios of each of the plurality of power states of the image forming apparatus during the certain period. A control method comprising:

Claims

1. A program for controlling an image forming apparatus having a printing means, If the image forming apparatus is equipped with a measuring unit that measures the amount of power consumed by the printing unit, the image forming apparatus is caused to execute a first process of displaying the amount of power consumed for a certain period of time on a display unit based on a measurement result for the certain period of time by the measuring unit; If the image forming apparatus does not include the measuring means, the image forming apparatus is caused to execute a second process of displaying on a display means the ratios of each of a plurality of power states of the image forming apparatus during the certain period. A program characterized by:

2. storing an integrated time for each of the plurality of power states; a process of calculating and storing the amount of power consumed by the image forming apparatus for the certain period using a measurement result of the measurement means when the image forming apparatus is equipped with the measurement means; and causing the image forming apparatus to further execute the above. In the first process, the amount of power consumption stored for the certain period is displayed, In the second process, an accumulated time for each of the plurality of power states stored during the certain period is displayed.

2. The program according to claim 1 .

3. 3. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of power states include two or more of an active state, a ready state, a sleep state, and an off state.

4. 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein, when the image forming apparatus is equipped with the measuring means, the second process is performed instead of the first process.

5. 5. The program according to claim 4, wherein, when the image forming device is equipped with the measurement means, the program causes the image forming device to execute a process of accepting a selection from a user as to whether to perform the first processing or the second processing.

6. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that, when the image forming device is equipped with the measuring means, instead of the first process, the program causes the image forming device to execute a third process of displaying on a display means the amount of power consumed during the certain period and the proportion of each of the multiple power states of the image forming device during the certain period.

7. 7. The program according to claim 6, wherein, when the image forming apparatus is equipped with the measurement means, the program causes the image forming apparatus to execute a process of accepting a selection from a user as to whether to perform the first processing or the third processing.

8. the image forming apparatus has a control unit that controls the printing unit, the first process is a process of calculating the amounts of power consumption of the control unit and the printing unit for the certain period, and displaying the sum of the two calculated amounts of power consumption on the display unit; 2. The program according to claim 1 .

9. 9. The program according to claim 8, wherein the power consumption of the control means is obtained by multiplying a power constant for each of the active state, the ready state, and the sleep state by the duration of each state.

10. 9. The program of claim 8, wherein the power consumption of the control means is obtained by multiplying an average power count across the active, ready, and sleep states by the total duration of each power state.

11. the image forming apparatus further comprises a reading unit for reading an original; The first process is a process of calculating the amounts of power consumption of the control means, the printing means, and the reading means during the certain period, and displaying the sum of the calculated three amounts of power consumption on the display means.

9. The program according to claim 8.

12. 12. The program according to claim 11, wherein the power consumption of the reading means is obtained by multiplying a predetermined reading power constant by the number of pages of the document that have been read.

13. the measuring means comprises a first measuring means for recording the cumulative amount of power consumption required for operations other than the fixing process, and a second measuring means for recording the cumulative amount of power consumption required for the fixing process; The power consumption of the printing means is obtained by calculating the difference between the cumulative power consumption value at a certain point in the past and the cumulative power consumption value at the current time for each of the first measurement means and the second measurement means, and adding up the two differences obtained.

9. The program according to claim 8.

14. a printing means for performing printing processing; a control means for controlling the printing means; An image forming apparatus having: The control means If the image forming apparatus is equipped with a measuring unit that measures the amount of power consumed by the printing unit, a first process is executed in which the amount of power consumed for a certain period is displayed on a display unit based on a measurement result for the certain period by the measuring unit; If the image forming apparatus does not include the measuring means, a second process is executed in which a display means displays the ratios of each of the plurality of power states of the image forming apparatus during the certain period. An image forming apparatus characterized by:

15. The control means storing an integrated time for each of the plurality of power states; a process of calculating and storing the amount of power consumed by the image forming apparatus for the certain period using a measurement result of the measurement means when the image forming apparatus is equipped with the measurement means; Further execute In the first process, the power consumption amount stored for the certain period is displayed on the display means; the second processing causes the display means to display the accumulated times for each of the plurality of power states stored during the certain period.

15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14.

16. 16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the plurality of power states include two or more of an active state, a ready state, a sleep state, and an off state.

17. a printing means for performing printing processing; a control means for controlling the printing means; A control method for an image forming apparatus having The control means If the image forming apparatus is equipped with a measuring unit that measures the amount of power consumed by the printing unit, a first process is executed in which the amount of power consumed for a certain period is displayed on a display unit based on a measurement result for the certain period by the measuring unit; If the image forming apparatus does not include the measuring means, a second process is executed in which a display means displays the ratios of each of the plurality of power states of the image forming apparatus during the certain period. A control method comprising:

Images