Electronic equipment, decision program, and decision method

Abstract

This provides a simpler way to determine if there is a problem with the mechanism of an electronic device. [Solution] The electronic device comprises an initial power consumption acquisition unit that acquires the initial power consumption of the electronic device during standalone activity, an actual power consumption acquisition unit that acquires the actual power consumption of the electronic device during standalone activity, an increase amount determination unit that determines whether the increase in the actual power consumption relative to the initial power consumption exceeds a threshold, and a degradation determination unit that determines if the increase exceeds the threshold, that there is a problem with the hardware mechanism that performs the standalone activity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electronic device such as an image forming apparatus, and a determination program and a determination method for determining that there is a problem in the mechanism of the electronic device.

Background Art

[0002] There is a technique for determining whether an electronic device such as an image forming apparatus is in a failure warning state (Patent Document 1, paragraph 0001).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] As means for knowing the aging deterioration of an electronic device such as an image forming apparatus, there are means such as regular, quantitative, and sensing. For example, during regular inspections, the inspector judges from the visual degree of deterioration, vibration, sound, etc. and performs preventive maintenance in advance, but there are variations in the judgment by the inspector. Alternatively, parts are periodically replaced at intervals of time or counter values, but there are also parts that are still usable and there are wasteful replacements. With these means, pre-replacement tends to occur for safety reasons, which is inefficient. Alternatively, a sensor is attached to the electronic device and automatic monitoring is performed with sensing data, but the cost increases due to the attachment of the sensor and know-how is required. Furthermore, learning of data is required and corresponding measures are required for each individual electronic device. This also applies to the case of judging from sound, images, etc.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to more simply determine that there is a problem in the mechanism of an electronic device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] An electronic device relating to one form of this disclosure is An initial power consumption acquisition unit that acquires the initial power consumption of an electronic device during standalone operation, A unit for acquiring the actual power consumption of the electronic device during its standalone operation, An increase amount determination unit that determines whether the increase in the actual power consumption relative to the initial power consumption exceeds a threshold, When the aforementioned increase exceeds the aforementioned threshold, the degradation determination unit determines that there is a problem with the hardware mechanism that performs the standalone activity. It is equipped with.

[0007] The decision program relating to one form of this disclosure is: Control circuits for electronic devices, An initial power consumption acquisition unit that acquires the initial power consumption of the electronic device during standalone operation, A unit for acquiring the actual power consumption of the electronic device during its standalone operation, An increase amount determination unit that determines whether the increase in the actual power consumption relative to the initial power consumption exceeds a threshold, A degradation determination unit determines that there is a problem with the hardware mechanism performing the standalone activity when the increase exceeds the threshold. To operate as such.

[0008] The method for determining one form of this disclosure is: The control circuit of an electronic device executes a decision program, The initial power consumption of the electronic device during standalone operation is obtained, The actual power consumption of the aforementioned electronic device during its standalone operation is obtained. Determine whether the increase in the actual power consumption relative to the initial power consumption exceeds a threshold. If the aforementioned increase exceeds the aforementioned threshold, it is determined that there is a problem with the hardware mechanism that performs the standalone activity. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to more simply determine that there is a problem in the mechanism of an electronic device.

[0010] Note that the effects described here are not necessarily limited, and any effect described in the present disclosure may be applicable.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011] [Figure 1] Shows the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Shows the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 3] Shows the operation flow of the image forming apparatus.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the electronic device will be described as an image forming apparatus such as an MFP, but other electronic devices may also be applicable.

[0013] 1. Hardware Configuration of the Image Forming Apparatus

[0014] FIG. 1 shows the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] The image forming apparatus 10 includes a control circuit 100 that constitutes a computer. The control circuit 100 is composed of a CPU 11a (Central Processing Unit) as a processor, a RAM 11b (Random Access Memory), a ROM 11c (Read Only Memory) as a memory, and a dedicated hardware circuit, etc., and is in charge of the overall operation control of the image forming apparatus 10. The CPU 11a loads the information processing program stored in the ROM 11c into the RAM 11b and executes it. The ROM 11c fixedly stores programs and data executed by the CPU 11a. The ROM 11c is an example of a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium.

[0016] The control circuit 100 is connected to an image reading unit 12 (image scanner), an image processing unit 14 (including a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)), an image memory 15, an image forming unit 16 (printer), a touch panel (front panel) 17 which is an operation unit having a display unit 17a, a large-capacity non-volatile storage device 18 such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), a facsimile communication unit 19, a network communication interface 13 (communication unit), etc. The control circuit 100 controls the operations of the above-mentioned connected units and performs signal or data transmission and reception between the units. The operation unit of the touch panel 17 is a form of input device, and as an input device, an audio input device including a microphone may be provided.

[0017] 2. Functional Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus

[0018] FIG. 2 shows the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus.

[0019] In the control circuit 100 of the image forming apparatus 10, the CPU 11a operates as an initial power consumption amount acquisition unit 101, an actual power consumption amount acquisition unit 102, an increase amount determination unit 103, and a degradation determination unit 104 by loading and executing the power saving program stored in the ROM 11c into the RAM 11b. Typically, a power meter 20 for constantly measuring the power consumption of the image forming apparatus 10 is installed in the image forming apparatus 10 as an after-installation component.

[0020] 3. Operation Flow of Image Forming Apparatus

[0021] FIG. 3 shows the operation flow of the image forming apparatus.

[0022] The initial power consumption amount acquisition unit 101 acquires the initial power consumption amount of the single activity of the image forming apparatus 10 (step S1). The single activity is a predetermined operation sequence by a predetermined mechanism of the image forming apparatus 10, for example, a startup sequence or a printing operation. The initial power consumption amount of each single activity of the image forming apparatus 10 is held in advance in a non-volatile storage device 18 such as an HDD or an SSD.

[0023] The actual power consumption acquisition unit 102 acquires the actual power consumption of the image forming apparatus 10 during its standalone operation (step S2). Specifically, the actual power consumption acquisition unit 102 either directly acquires the actual power consumption measured by the power meter 20 from the power meter 20, or reads the value measured and recorded by the power meter 20 from the storage device.

[0024] The increase amount determination unit 103 determines whether the increase in actual power consumption relative to the initial power consumption exceeds a threshold (step S3). The increase amount determination unit 103 can determine the increase amount as the difference between actual power consumption and initial power consumption, or the ratio of actual power consumption to initial power consumption.

[0025] The degradation determination unit 104 determines that there is a problem (typically due to aging) in the hardware mechanism that performs the standalone activity if the increase exceeds a threshold (step S3, YES) (step S4). The degradation determination unit 104 may also notify the user of the determination result by displaying it on the display unit 17a. On the other hand, the degradation determination unit 104 determines that there is no problem in the hardware mechanism that performs the standalone activity if the increase does not exceed a threshold (step S3, NO).

[0026] As a premise, as the mechanism deteriorates (deteriorates over time), the required power consumption increases. For example, deterioration of the paper feed roller causes slippage, increasing the motor speed required to move the paper to the specified position. As another example, wear on the bearings or deterioration of the grease increases rotational resistance, increasing the torque required to maintain the same linear speed. As yet another example, when the motor deteriorates, the load on the motor changes, which alters the behavior of the motor current. Therefore, the deterioration detection unit 104 can determine that there is a problem with the mechanism performing the standalone operation if the increase in actual power consumption compared to the initial power consumption exceeds a threshold.

[0027] The initial power consumption acquisition unit 101 may acquire the initial power consumption of individual components used in the standalone activity (step S1), and the actual power consumption acquisition unit 102 may acquire the actual power consumption of individual components when the standalone activity is performed (step S2). Components used in the standalone activity include, for example, paper feed rollers, bearings, motors, etc. (components) used in the printing operation (standalone activity). As a result, if the increase amount determination unit 103 determines whether the increase in actual power consumption relative to the initial power consumption exceeds a threshold (step S3, YES), the deterioration determination unit 104 can determine that there is a problem (typically due to aging deterioration) in a specific component performing the standalone activity (identifying the component with the problem) (step S4).

[0028] According to this embodiment, since the power meter 20 constantly measures power consumption to determine problems with the mechanism, problems such as aging deterioration can be constantly monitored. Furthermore, since the power meter 20 can be retrofitted, it is simple, inexpensive, requires no special skills for installation, and reliable and accurate values ​​can be obtained from the power meter 20. In addition, there is no need to collect data from numerous electronic devices and perform learning, as the judgment can be made only from the power consumption of the relevant electronic device 10, allowing for accurate detection of problems by adapting to individual and environmental differences. Moreover, unlike preventative maintenance or periodic parts replacement, only parts that have actually experienced problems need to be repaired or replaced, thus avoiding the unnecessary replacement of still usable parts and reducing the environmental impact.

[0029] Although various embodiments and modifications of this technology have been described above, this technology is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of this technology. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0030] Image forming apparatus 10 Initial power consumption acquisition unit 101 Actual power consumption acquisition unit 102 Increase amount determination unit 103 Deterioration judgment unit 104

Claims

1. An initial power consumption acquisition unit that acquires the initial power consumption of an electronic device during standalone operation, A unit for acquiring the actual power consumption of the electronic device during its standalone operation, An increase amount determination unit that determines whether the increase in the actual power consumption relative to the initial power consumption exceeds a threshold, When the aforementioned increase exceeds the aforementioned threshold, the degradation determination unit determines that there is a problem with the hardware mechanism that performs the standalone activity. An electronic device equipped with the following features.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, The initial power consumption acquisition unit acquires the initial power consumption of each component used in the individual activity, The actual power consumption acquisition unit acquires the actual power consumption of the component unit when the individual activity is performed, The deterioration determination unit determines that there is a problem with the component that performs the standalone activity. electronic equipment.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, The increase amount determination unit determines the difference between the actual power consumption and the initial power consumption, or the ratio of the actual power consumption to the initial power consumption, as the increase amount. electronic equipment.

4. Control circuits for electronic devices, An initial power consumption acquisition unit that acquires the initial power consumption of the electronic device during standalone operation, A unit for acquiring the actual power consumption of the electronic device during its standalone operation, An increase amount determination unit that determines whether the increase in the actual power consumption relative to the initial power consumption exceeds a threshold, A degradation determination unit determines that there is a problem with the hardware mechanism performing the standalone activity when the increase exceeds the threshold. A decision program that operates as such.

5. The control circuit of an electronic device executes a decision program, The initial power consumption of the electronic device during standalone operation is obtained, The actual power consumption of the aforementioned electronic device during its standalone operation is obtained. Determine whether the increase in the actual power consumption relative to the initial power consumption exceeds a threshold. If the aforementioned increase exceeds the aforementioned threshold, it is determined that there is a problem with the hardware mechanism that performs the standalone activity. Judgment method.

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