Image forming device

Abstract

To provide an image formation device capable of performing acquisition and analysis of log information of the image formation device without reducing the operating performance of system resources such as CPU and memory in the device.SOLUTION: In the image formation device that performs complex control between respective units by using PLC communication, a duplexer 182 constitutes a system built by PLC (Power Line Comunication) with a unit 124, a unit 125, a unit 126, a power supply 162, a signal line 127, and a power supply line 128. The power supply line 128 is connected to a PLCu164 in the duplexer. The PLCu164 is connected to a wireless unit 165 via an interface line 166. A signal for the PLC is an analog signal that is superimposed on DC power supplies on the power line 128 and on the signal line 127.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that acquires log information of units within the apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, configurations have become known in copiers, multifunction peripherals, and printers that store logs of usage information and the like of units within the device and transmit the logs to an external device.

[0003] Also, a power line communication technology called PLC (Power Line Communication) has been known (Patent Document 1). The advantage of PLC is that it enables communication with less loss than wireless by superimposing communication signals on power lines. Furthermore, it eliminates the need to install new wiring other than power lines, such as control signal lines, making it possible to keep capital investment costs low. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-94308 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] If system resources such as the device's CPU and memory are used when acquiring and analyzing log information, the device's operating performance will be reduced.

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to prevent a decrease in the operational performance of an image forming apparatus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises: In an image forming apparatus having a plurality of electrical units that are powered, a first electrical unit and a second electrical unit, each of which is one of the plurality of electrical units; a power source that supplies power to the first electrical unit and the second electrical unit; a power line that supplies power from the power source to the first electrical unit and the second electrical unit and connects the first electrical unit and the second electrical unit; a first communication control means provided in the first electrical unit and a second communication control means provided in the second electrical unit, so as to perform power line communication between the first electrical unit and the second electrical unit by superimposing an analog signal on the power line; an acquisition means connected to the power line for acquiring the content of communication between the first electrical component unit and the second electrical component unit; a transmitting means connected to the acquiring means and configured to transmit information based on the communication content acquired by the acquiring means to an outside of the image forming apparatus; The present invention is characterized by having the following. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the operational performance of the image forming apparatus from being degraded. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of an image forming apparatus. [Figure 3] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating communication control by harnesses between the board units. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the internal configuration of a communication control unit. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the internal configuration of a radio unit. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process for controlling a system using a power line communication control signal. [Figure 7]This is a diagram showing the PLCu, interface line, and wireless unit arranged outside the main body. [Figure 8] This is a diagram showing how the PLCu, interface line, and wireless unit are connected to the AC line inside the device. [Figure 9] This is a diagram showing the PLCu connected to an AC line outside the device. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a power supply unit and a primary-secondary separation filter. [Figure 11] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a communication signal frame. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the shapes of the components and their relative positions described in the embodiments may be changed as appropriate depending on the configuration of the device to which the present invention is applied and various conditions, and the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to the following embodiments.

[0011] [First embodiment] [Image forming equipment] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a color electrophotographic copying machine (hereinafter referred to as an image forming apparatus) used in this embodiment. Note that the image forming apparatus is not limited to a copying machine, and may be, for example, a facsimile machine, a printing machine, a printer, etc. Furthermore, the recording method is not limited to an electrophotographic method, and may be, for example, an inkjet method. Furthermore, the type of the image forming apparatus may be either a monochrome type or a color type.

[0012] The configuration and functions of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described below with reference to FIG. 。

[0013] The image forming apparatus 100 includes a photoconductor 109, a primary charger 111, a potential sensor 112, an exposure unit 121, a developing unit 122, a transfer unit 108, a cleaner 107, and a fixing unit 113. To feed the sheet 110, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a paper feed cassette 120 that stores the sheet 110, a paper feed roller 119, and conveyance rollers 117 and 118. A plurality of sensors 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, and 106 are provided on the conveyance path and cassette along which the sheet 110 is fed and ejected. A first-stage sensor 104, a second-stage sensor 105, and a third-stage sensor 106 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the conveyance direction of the sheet 110. The image forming apparatus 100 includes stepping motors 114 and 116 and DC brush motors 115 and 132. Furthermore, the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 is controlled by a controller (not shown) through an interface with a user.

[0014] A primary charger 111 uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductor 109. The uniformly charged surface of the photoconductor 109 is exposed by an exposure unit 121 in accordance with an image signal, forming an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image signal. A developing unit 122 develops the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image on the surface of the photoconductor 109. A potential sensor 112 is provided between the exposure position of the exposure unit 121 and the development position of the developing unit 122 to measure the potential of the electrostatic latent image. The toner image formed on the surface of the photoconductor 109 is transferred by a transfer unit 108 to a sheet 110 fed from a paper feed cassette 120. Residual toner remaining on the photoconductor 109 after transfer is collected by a cleaner 107. The toner image transferred to the sheet 110 is fixed by a fixing unit 113 and then discharged from the image forming apparatus 100. This results in a printed product.

[0015] The feeding operation of the sheet 110 will now be described. When starting the feeding operation, the controller detects the presence or absence of the sheet 110 in the sheet feed cassette 120 using the sensor 103. If the sheet 110 is present in the sheet feed cassette 120, the controller starts feeding the sheet 110 stored in the sheet feed cassette 120 using the sheet feed roller 119. The controller drives the sheet feed roller 119 using the DC brush motor 115. The sheet feed roller 119 transports the sheets 110 one by one from the sheet feed cassette 120 to the transport roller 117. The sensor 104 is provided on the transport path between the sheet feed roller 119 and the transport roller 117. The sensor 104 detects whether the sheet 110 has passed a detection position on the transport path from the sheet feed roller 119 to the transport roller 117. The controller detects whether the sheet 110 has passed the detection position within a predetermined timing according to the detection result of the sensor 104.

[0016] The conveying roller 117 is rotated by a stepping motor 116. When the sensor 104 detects the sheet 110, the controller drives the conveying roller 117 by the stepping motor 116. The conveying roller 117 rotates to convey the sheet 110 conveyed from the paper feed roller 119 to the conveying roller 117. The sensor 105 is provided between the conveying roller 117 and the conveying roller 118 on the conveying path. The sensor 106 detects whether the sheet 110 has passed a detection position on the conveying path from the conveying roller 117 to the conveying roller 118. The controller detects whether the sheet 110 has passed the detection position within a predetermined timing according to the detection result of the sensor 106.

[0017] The conveying rollers 118 are rotated by a stepping motor 114. When the sensor 106 detects the sheet 110, the controller drives the conveying rollers 118 by the stepping motor 114. The conveying rollers 118 rotate to convey the sheet 110 conveyed from the conveying rollers 117 to the transfer unit 108. The timing at which the conveying rollers 118 convey the sheet 110 to the transfer unit 108 is adjusted according to the timing at which the toner image formed on the photosensitive member 109 is conveyed to the transfer unit 108. As a result, the sheet 110 and the toner image formed on the photosensitive member 109 pass through the transfer unit 108 while overlapping each other, and the toner image is transferred. The controller may control the conveying speed of the sheet 110 by the conveying rollers 118 so that the toner image on the photosensitive member 109 passes through the transfer unit 108 while overlapping the sheet 110.

[0018] The paper output tray sensor 101 detects whether the sheet 110 has been discharged through the fuser 113 and onto the paper output tray 123. The device 100 also has a mechanism for quickly detecting whether a user has accessed the discharged paper and removed it from the output tray, even when the device 100 is in a low power consumption mode, where no job has been generated for a certain period of time and low power consumption is maintained. In the low power consumption mode, if the paper is removed from the output tray 123, the device returns from the low power consumption mode to the normal standby state, since there is a possibility that the user will perform some operation on the device.

[0019] The DC brush motor 132 is used to transport a fixed amount of toner, which is used to form a toner image on the photosensitive member 109, from a toner supply container set by the user to the developing unit 122.

[0020] The cassette status detection sensor 102 reacts when the user pulls out the cassette 120 to refill the sheets 110, for example. Like the paper output tray sensor 101, it has a mechanism that can quickly detect this even when the device 100 is in a low power consumption mode, in which no jobs have been generated for a certain period of time and power consumption is kept low. In the low power consumption mode, if a user operation such as pulling out the cassette 120 occurs, the device returns from the low power consumption mode to a normal standby state in preparation for the next job being input.

[0021] The sensors 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, and 106 are configured, for example, by photointerrupters. In this case, the sensors 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, and 106 each include a light-emitting unit (e.g., an LED (Light Emitting Diode)) and a light-receiving unit (e.g., a phototransistor) that receives light emitted from the light-emitting unit. When the sheet 110 presses a shield provided at a detection position on the conveyance path, blocking the optical path between the LED and the phototransistor, the sensors 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, and 106 can detect the presence or absence of the sheet 110. However, the configuration of the sensors 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, and 106 is not limited to this, as long as they are configured to detect the sheet 110 being conveyed / discharged along the conveyance path at the detection position or to detect the presence or absence of a cassette. For example, the LED and the phototransistor may be arranged opposite each other across the transport path, and the optical path may be blocked when the sheet 110 passes through the transport path. Alternatively, the light from the LED may be reflected by the sheet 110 on the transport path, forming an optical path to the phototransistor.

[0022] The multiple electrical units 124, 125, and 126, and the harnesses 127 and 128 between the units, are DC power lines with superimposed analog communication signals. Unit 124 is connected to a paper output tray sensor 101 and a fuser 113 by a harness 131. Unit 125 is connected to a DC brush motor 115, which drives a paper feed roller 119 to transport paper in the cassette, by a harness 129. Sensors 105 and 106 for detecting paper being transported are also connected. Unit 126 is connected to a paper transport detection sensor 104 and a stepping motor 116 by a harness 130. When the controller (not shown) receives a request for image printing from a user, it notifies unit 125 that it drives DC brush motor 115 to transport paper 110 in cassette 120. When DC brush motor 115 is driven, paper feed roller 119 rotates and begins transporting the paper. At the same time, unit 125 notifies unit 126 that paper transport has started by using an analog communication control signal superimposed on the DC power line of harness 128. Unit 126 detects that the paper has passed the position of connected paper transport detection sensor 104 and controls the drive of stepping motor 116. Drive control of stepping motor 116 causes transport roller 117 to rotate in sync. At this time, unit 125 detects the timing when transport sensor 105 contacts transport roller 117 and the timing when the paper passes transport sensor 106 after passing transport roller 117. Unit 125 notifies unit 124 that paper transport has started, that the paper has passed paper transport sensors 105 and 106, by using an analog communication control signal superimposed on the DC power line of harness 127. Upon receiving the notification, unit 124 rotates the pressure transport roller inside the fuser, which is connected to harness 131. After an image is formed on the paper by the photosensitive drum on the transport path, the image is fixed by the fixing unit 113 and the paper reaches the paper discharge sensor 101. Unit 124 detects that the printed matter is being discharged by the paper discharge sensor 101 and notifies the controller.Communication between the controller and each unit 124, 125, and 126 can be done using serial or parallel digital communication methods, or the proposed analog control signals superimposed on the DC power lines. By superimposing analog communication signals on the DC power lines between the divided units, there is no need for digital communication signal lines, making it possible to build an image forming apparatus with a configuration that requires fewer harnesses.

[0023] In this embodiment, a PLCu 164 is connected to the DC power line on which the analog control signals between the divided units are superimposed, and a radio unit 165 can be connected to the PLCu 164. Furthermore, the power line 128 and the AC power line 161 are connected via a primary-secondary power separation filter 163, thereby representing a configuration in which the analog control signals from the units 124, 125, and 126 are superimposed on the AC power line. The commercial AC voltage from the AC power line 161 is used by a power supply 162 to generate a DC voltage to be supplied to each unit from the power line 128.

[0024] FIG. 2 is a simplified diagram of an image forming apparatus. The apparatus 100 is configured as a system using PLC (Power Line Communication) communication, with units 124, 125, and 126, a power supply 162, a signal line 127, and a power supply line 128. The power supply line 128 is connected to a PLCu 164 within the apparatus, and a wireless unit 165 is connected to the PLCu 164 via an interface line 166. Signals for power line communication (PLC communication) are analog signals superimposed on the DC power supply on the power line 128 or the signal line 127. The PLCu 164 monitors the analog signals superimposed on the power line 128 and transmits data to external wireless devices using the wireless unit 165. The wireless unit is capable of wireless communication using wireless LAN, Bluetooth, or other wireless technologies with stronger security, such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) and 5G (fifth generation mobile communication systems). When PLCu 164 monitors analog signals, it does not send commands to other units 124, 125, and 126; instead, it analyzes the analog signals appearing on the power line 128 and extracts byte-packed digital data. Therefore, the operation of units 124, 125, and 126 is not affected. For example, the monitored data can be sent as log data to an external device, including a wireless device. Providing a large-capacity storage function for the external device allows for long-term log acquisition and monitoring of events with low reproducibility within device 100, helping to analyze problematic operation and detect potential malfunctions. Furthermore, PLCu 164 can analyze the monitored data in real time, trigger the detection of a predefined data pattern, and notify the external device via the wireless unit 165, thereby improving efficiency by narrowing the scope of log analysis. If the wireless unit 165 supports LTE or 5G communications, user-related information and device-related information can be securely transferred to external devices. Wireless LAN communications such as Wi-Fi go via the public Internet, which means that user-related information can potentially be stolen, but LTE and 5G communication methods can protect user confidentiality.

[0025] FIG. 3 illustrates communication control via harnesses between each board unit. DC 12V is applied to DC power line 128 from power supply 162. The DC 12V power is applied to power conversion unit 138 via inductance 140 and power line 139 within unit 125. The power conversion unit 138 converts the DC 12V power applied from power line 139 to 5V. For example, a DC / DC converter or a regulator IC can be used as power conversion unit 138. For the sake of explanation, FIG. 3 illustrates the conversion from 12V to 5V. However, even if the input voltage and output voltage are different, the control of power line communication remains unchanged. The 5V power converted by power conversion unit 138 is connected to unit 124 via power line 137 and inductance 136. The DC 5V from power line 127 passes through inductance 135 and power line 134 within unit 124 to form the power supply for the system within unit 124.

[0026] The communication control unit 149 on the unit 124 is connected to the GND within the unit 124. The communication input / output signal line 147 is connected to the capacitor 146, and further connected to the aforementioned inductance 135 and harness 127 via an internal signal line 143. The communication control unit 149 is composed of an analog front end and modem device that transmit and receive power line communication signals of the PLC (Power Line Communication) system, a CPU, memory, etc., and sends out analog signals as communication signals. The communication control unit 149 has a roughly similar internal configuration to the communication control unit 187 described in FIG. 4, except for the presence or absence of an interface line 166. The other communication control units 154 and 157 also have a similar configuration to the communication control unit 149.

[0027] When an analog communication signal is sent from the communication control unit 149 to another unit, the sent analog signal passes through the aforementioned capacitor 146 and is superimposed on the DC 5V power supply that passes from the output line 137 of the power conversion unit 138 through the inductance 136. In addition to the inductance 136, a capacitor 148 is also electrically connected. The inductance 136 has the characteristic of passing only DC components and not passing analog AC components such as communication signals. The aforementioned inductors 135 and 140 also require similar characteristics. Because the output line 137 of the power conversion unit 138 has low impedance, using the aforementioned inductance 136 increases the impedance for AC analog communication signals, but allows only DC components to pass. This prevents attenuation of the analog communication signal on the communication line 127. In the unit 125, an internal signal line 144 is connected to the communication line 127.

[0028] The analog signal component, from which the DC component has been removed after passing through the capacitor 148, appears on the signal line 152, which is configured as a pattern on the circuit board, and is input to the communication control unit 154. A capacitor 153 is also connected to the signal line 152 as a communication signal path with other units. Like the communication control unit 149, the communication control unit 154 includes an analog front end, a PLC modem, a CPU, and memory. It analyzes the analog input signal and initiates communication control if necessary. If it determines that communication control is not necessary, it does not control the communication and waits while analyzing the analog communication signal until the next timing for starting communication control. Alternatively, as explained in FIG. 1, the communication control unit 154, in response to a control notification from a controller (not shown), sends an analog communication start signal when no communication signal is generated on the signal line pattern 152 and waits for a communication signal response from the other unit. The analog communication signal is superimposed on the DC 5V power supply by connecting the capacitor 153 to the internal signal line 150. A capacitor 155 is connected to an internal signal line 151 of unit 126 that is connected to power line 128, and signal line 156 connects the line to communication control unit 157, allowing only analog AC signals to pass through. This type of connection configuration enables communication using analog communication signals even when the power supply voltage to other units is different. In other words, signal line 152 between capacitors 148 and 153 enables communication regardless of the difference in power supply voltage between the input and output of power conversion unit 138. This enables communication between unit 124 and unit 126, and in this case, communication control unit 154 of unit 125 can monitor the communication signal on signal line 152, allowing communication control unit 154 to adjust its own communication start timing.

[0029] The GND of unit 124 is connected to the frame GND 158 of the device, the GND of unit 125 is connected to the frame GND 159 of the device, and the GND of unit 126 is connected to the frame GND 160 of the device.

[0030] Inside the PLCu 164, a capacitor 184 and an inductance 186 are connected to the power supply line 128 to which the voltage DC 12V generated by the power supply 162 is applied.

[0031] The AC analog communication signal, from which the DC component has been removed by passing it through a capacitor 184, is input to or output from a communication control unit 187. An inductance 186 passes only the DC power component of the power line 128, supplying a DC 12V power supply to the power conversion unit 133. The power conversion unit 133 generates a DC 3.3V power supply by using a DC-DC converter, a regulator IC, or the like. The DC 3.3V power supply described above is used as the power supply voltage for each device in the PLcu 164 and as the power supply for the wireless unit 165 in FIG. 2. An interface line 166 is a data communication signal line between the communication control unit 187 and the wireless unit 165 in FIG. 2. For example, communication using a Media Independent Interface (MII), bus communication, or a communication method using a serial peripheral interface (SPI) or UART can be used.

[0032] FIG. 4 shows an example of the internal configuration of the communication control unit. It includes a transmit signal buffer amplifier 167 connected to an analog signal input / output signal line 185, and a D / A converter 168 for generating an analog transmit signal to the transmit buffer amplifier 167. The receive buffer 170 is connected to the input / output signal line 185 via a bandpass filter to remove the effects of external noise, such as EMI and EMC, that may occur on the communication transmission line when receiving the analog signal and to reliably extract the communication signal components. The receive buffer amplifier 170 is further connected to an A / D converter 171, which samples the analog communication signal into a digital value. A CPU 173 is connected to the D / A converter 168 and the A / D converter 171, and the CPU 173 controls communication according to a program stored in a connected memory 172. In addition to storing the aforementioned programs, the memory 172 also functions as a buffer memory for transmit data to the D / A converter 168 and a receive buffer memory for data input from the A / D converter 171. Furthermore, in a communication control system such as a PLC, as described in FIG. 1, each unit must be controlled according to its associated function, and thus identifiers such as IDs and addresses may be pre-registered in memory 172. As previously mentioned, interface line 166 serves as a data communication signal line between communication control unit 187 and wireless unit 165 (FIG. 2), and may use parallel MII communication, bus communication, or serial SPI or UART communication. Communication control unit 187 only monitors communication signals between other units or communication control units occurring on signal line 185, enabling it to perform processes such as log analysis without affecting the other units or communication control units by transmitting communication signals. In this case, the other units or communication control units do not allocate resources such as CPU or memory to communication with communication control unit 187, thereby preventing an impact on the performance of the main unit control.

[0033] The CPU 174 in the wireless unit 165 is connected to an interface line 166 that connects to a CPU 173 in a communication control unit 187 in the PLCu 164. The CPU 174 analyzes the data flowing through the interface line 166, byte-packs the data using a memory 175, and then flows the data to an L2 (Layer 2) switch 176. Because communication using a CPU can slow down the performance speed during data flow, it is also effective to transfer the byte-packed data in the memory 175 to the L1 (Layer 1) / L2 (Layer 2) switch 176 using DMA (Direct Memory Access). The L1 / L2 switch 176 processes the data by overlaying it with header data according to protocol stacks such as the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control (RLC), and Media Access Control (MAC) layer, as part of its L2 switch function. Furthermore, as a function of the L1 baseband layer, it provides a frequency spectrum for quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and MIMO (Multi-Input Multiple-Output) transmission using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM). The digital radio unit 177 performs processing such as a DUC (Digital Up Converter) and DDC (Digital Down Converter) for converting digital data processed according to the protocol stack described above to a wireless sampling rate, CFR (Crest Factor Reduction) for ensuring a high-efficiency amplification range by reducing peaks, and DPD (Digital Pre-Distortion) for suppressing nonlinear distortion of the signal. Furthermore, the radio frequency for wireless communication is transmitted via a D / A converter 178 and a transmission buffer amplifier 180 via a duplexer 182. Alternatively, radio waves received by the wireless antenna 183 are separated by the duplexer 182 from the radio frequency for wireless communication described above, and are input to the digital radio unit 177 via the receiving buffer amplifier 181 and the A / D converter 179.The L2 switch 176 processes the data received from the digital radio unit 177 through each protocol stack and transfers the data to the CPU 174. Alternatively, the data is transferred to the memory 175 using the DMA (Direct Memory Access) method. The CPU 174 analyzes the received data in the memory 175 and transfers the data to the CPU 173 in the communication control unit 187 via the interface line 166. The wireless unit 165 not only performs wireless LAN communication such as Wi-Fi with external wireless devices, but also provides a mechanism for operating as a terminal for LTE (Long Term Evolution) and 5G (5th Generation Mobile Communication System), which are high-speed mobile communication standards. This enables user-related information and device-related information to be transferred securely to external devices. While Wi-Fi and other wireless LAN communication uses the public Internet and there is a risk of user-related information being intercepted, LTE and 5G communication methods relatively protect user confidentiality.

[0034] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an embodiment in which the CPUs in the communication control units 154 and 157 control the system using the power line communication control signal of the present invention. The CPUs in the communication control units 154 and 157 first receive a control start notification from the controller. The CPU in the communication control unit 154 drives the DC brush motor 115 (S100). Almost simultaneously, the CPU in the communication control unit 154 controls the D / A converter and transmission buffer in the communication control unit to send an analog communication signal for PLC communication to the communication signal line 152. The communication signal line 152 is ultimately connected to the communication control unit 157 via the DC power line 128 described in FIG. 3, and the CPU in the communication control unit 157 receives a notification from the communication control unit 154 via the receiving buffer amplifier and A / D converter (S200). When the sensor 104 detects the leading edge of the paper (S201), the communication control unit 157 notifies the communication control unit 154 that the sensor 104 has detected the leading edge of the paper by using a PLC communication signal. The communication control unit 154 receives a notification from the communication control unit 157 (S101) and monitors whether the sensor 105 detects the conveyed paper (S102). The communication control unit 154 notifies the communication control unit 157 of the detection of the conveyed paper by the sensor 105 via a PLC communication signal. The communication control unit 157 receives the notification from the communication control unit 154 (S202) and starts driving control of the stepping motor 116. This includes control such as adjusting the speed of the stepping motor to synchronize with the image forming photosensitive drum. The CPU of the communication control unit 154 also stops driving the DC brush motor 115 after the sensor 105 detects the conveyed paper, and then starts controlling the stepping motor 116 to detect that the conveyed paper has reached the sensor 106 (S104). The CPU in the communication control unit 154 then notifies the communication control unit 157 that the conveyed paper has finished passing through the sensor 106 via a PLC communication control signal (S105). The communication control unit 157 receives a notification from the communication control unit 154 that the sensor 106 has finished detecting the conveyed paper, and stops driving the stepping motor 116 (S205). In this way, using PLC communication makes it possible to perform complex control between each unit.

[0035] In S104, the sensor 106 sets the conveyed paper detection timer to 2 seconds (S106), and if no detection is made after the 2 seconds have elapsed, an error process is performed (S107). At this time, as an error process, the communication control unit 157 sends an error to the power line 128 by a PLC communication signal. Indicate an error The signal is monitored and further analyzed by the communication control unit 187 in the PLCU 164. The communication control unit 187 in the PLCU 164 notifies an external wireless communication device of an error state via the wireless unit 165, thereby enabling efficient LOG analysis.

[0036] 8 can be applied to the operation of not only DC brush motors and stepping motors but also solenoids, clutches, fans, etc. and other electrical circuits. Furthermore, the detection of the sensors in the communication control units 154 and 157 can be applied to detection signals from electrical circuits such as image sensors and switch open / close detection.

[0037] 7 is a diagram showing the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in which the PLCu 164, interface line 166, and wireless unit 165 can be arranged outside the main body 182. The power line 128 can be connected to the outside of the device using a connector or the like, but because it is outside the device, safety measures must be taken to prevent the user from directly touching the power line 128. The PLCu 164, interface line 166, and wireless unit 165 can also be configured to be detachable as device options.

[0038] Furthermore, the PLCu 164 and wireless unit 165 are capable of bidirectional data processing for transmission or reception in order to communicate with the outside. For example, upon receiving instructions from the PLCu 164 via the wireless unit 165, the PLCu 164 can not only monitor the PLC communication signals generated on the power line 166 described above, but also send command signals to the units 124, 125, and 126 to control motors and other devices connected to each unit. The data flow of the PLC communication signals can be bidirectional between the units 124, 125, and 126, including the PLCu 164 and the wireless unit 165. The explanation of the other blocks shown in Figure 7 is the same as that shown in Figure 2, and will not be repeated here.

[0039] In Fig. 8, the PLCu 164, interface line 166, and wireless unit 165 are connected to the AC line 161 within the device 183. The primary-secondary separation filter 163 extracts the analog communication signal on the power line 128 and superimposes it on the AC line 161. This makes it possible for the PLCu 164 to monitor, for example, the PLC communication signal between the unit 125 and the unit 126 on the AC line 161. Details of the primary-secondary separation filter 163 and the power supply 162 will be explained in Fig. 10.

[0040] FIG. 9 shows an application of the PLCu 164, interface line 166, and wireless unit 165 shown in FIG. 8, in which the PLCu 164 is connected to an AC line external to the device. When multiple devices are connected to an AC power line on a facility side, such as a production line, the external PLCu 164, interface 166, and wireless unit 165 in FIG. 9 can communicate with the units 124, 125, and 126 inside each device. Therefore, when performing a shipping inspection of devices on the production line, an inspection execution command can be sent to the units 124, 125, and 126 via the external PLCu 164, interface line 166, and wireless unit 165. Furthermore, PLC communication data flows on the AC line 161 of each device when the main unit is undergoing shipping inspection or operating, enabling monitoring via the external PLCu 164. As shown in FIG. 11 (described later), embedding a device-specific identifier in the frame header of a data frame allows the behavior of each device on the production line to be identified. In the event that PLC communication signals from multiple devices collide with the AC power supply on the production line equipment side, inductance 145 is installed between the AC power supply destination on the equipment side and the power AC plug of the main unit. As a result, the PLC communication signal of the main unit can be processed without interfering with the PLC communication signals of other devices.

[0041] Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram of the power supply unit 162 and primary-secondary separation filter 163. The AC power line 161 is a commercial AC power source input from outside the device. In the power supply unit 162, inductors 192 and 193 are connected to the two lines of the AC power line 161, known as the hot and neutral lines, which generate the AC power potential. The inductors 192 and 193 have impedances that block AC components above a few kHz and do not cause problems with AC 50 Hz or AC 60 Hz commercial power supplies. A capacitor 191 is also located between the hot and neutral terminals of the AC power line 161. This eliminates unwanted noise components when PLC communication signals are transmitted to either the hot or neutral terminal of the AC power line 161 via the primary-secondary separation filter 163 (described later). Stable communication performance can be achieved even if the AC power plug is connected 180 degrees inverted. The AC power line 161 often uses an AC outlet adapter with two physical terminals in addition to a ground terminal. The two terminals of the outlet adapter use a diode bridge 194 so that they can be connected to either the hot or neutral of the facility's AC power supply. Furthermore, a capacitor 207 applies rectified power voltage to a transformer 198. The primary power supply is the winding of the transformer 198 connected to the FET 197. A switching device, such as the FET 197, connected to the primary winding of the transformer 198 oscillates using a drive pulse from a power supply IC 195. This generates a voltage (power) in the secondary winding, which is isolated from the primary winding of the transformer 198, thereby generating power for the secondary side (the device system). The voltage generated in the secondary winding of the transformer 198 is converted into a DC (direct current) power supply voltage by a rectifier diode 201 and a capacitor 202. The DC power supply voltage is affected by the winding ratio between the primary and secondary sides of the transformer 198, but ultimately, the control unit 196 sends instructions to the power supply IC to adjust the voltage at the midpoint of the voltage-dividing resistors 199 and 200 of the secondary DC voltage to a preset voltage. The rectified DC voltage generated between the terminals of the capacitor 202 passes through the inductance 203 and applies only the DC component to the power supply line 128 .Due to the presence of inductance 203, AC analog signals such as PLC communication signals are separated from the capacitor 202 side. When a frequency band of 100 KHz to several MHz is used as the frequency band for PLC communication signals, the cutoff frequency at which the signal is reduced by 3 dB is approximately fc = 1 / (2π * inductance L), so the value of inductance L can be determined. The separation filter 163 for the primary and secondary power supplies provides a mechanism for transmitting the AC analog signal that becomes the PLC communication signal superimposed on the power line 128 described above to the AC power line 161.

[0042] For example, a capacitor 188 transmits only the AC analog signal, which is the PLC communication signal, to the AC power line 161. The PLC communication signal generated on the power line 161 is also transmitted to the secondary power line 128. In this example, a switch 189 is also used. The switch 189 is turned on and off by a control line 190, which is connected to the PLCU connected to the AC primary side, or to the aforementioned units 124, 125, and 126, or to the CPU 173 in the communication control unit of the secondary-side PLCU 164. The CPU 173 controls the on and off of the switch 189 to prevent collisions of the PLC communication signals on the AC power line. A relay or a semiconductor switch may be used as the switch 189. A capacitor 188 is used to provide safety isolation between the AC primary power supply and the DC secondary power supply, but an insulating pulse transformer or an optical communication device may also be used.

[0043] Fig. 11 shows an example of the structure of a communication signal frame. The analog communication signal superimposed on the power line 161 employs an analog modulation method such as PSK or QAM. The communication signal frame is divided into a preamble 204 for ensuring communication on a frame-by-frame basis, a frame control header 205 for specifying the frame header address, and content data in a payload 206. The PLcu 164 passes the data in the payload 206 to the radio unit 165, but the radio unit 165 must reconstruct the frame packet structure as a radio signal into the preamble 204, frame header 205, and payload 206 shown in Fig. 11. When building a local communication system including the communication device equipment, the data frame structure can be freely determined. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 20 Registration roller 40 sensors 41 LED 100 Image forming device 151a CPU 180 Drawer Unit 400 boards 401 Substrate 402 Motor 403 Connector 404 Capacitor

Claims

1. In an image forming apparatus having a plurality of electrical units that are powered, a first electrical unit and a second electrical unit, each of the plurality of electrical units; a power source that supplies power to the first electrical unit and the second electrical unit; a power line that supplies power from the power source to the first electrical unit and the second electrical unit and connects the first electrical unit and the second electrical unit; a first communication control means provided in the first electrical unit and a second communication control means provided in the second electrical unit, so as to perform power line communication between the first electrical unit and the second electrical unit by superimposing an analog signal on the power line; an acquisition means connected to the power line for acquiring the content of communication between the first electrical component unit and the second electrical component unit; a transmitting means connected to the acquiring means and configured to transmit information based on the communication content acquired by the acquiring means to an outside of the image forming apparatus; An image forming apparatus comprising:

2. the power line is a power line to which a DC voltage is supplied, 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring unit acquires a signal from which a DC component transmitted through the power line has been removed.

3. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring unit analyzes the acquired analog signal and outputs a signal of a predetermined pattern to the transmitting unit.

4. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the signal indicating the predetermined pattern is a signal superimposed on the power line that indicates an abnormality that occurs during image formation.

5. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring unit operates on power supplied through the power line.

6. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit does not communicate with the first communication control unit and the second communication control unit.

7. In an image forming apparatus having a plurality of electrical units that are powered, a first electrical unit and a second electrical unit, each of the plurality of electrical units; a power supply that generates a DC voltage from an AC voltage supplied from an external AC power supply via an AC power line and supplies the DC voltage to the first electrical unit and the second electrical unit; a power line that supplies power from the power source to the first electrical unit and the second electrical unit and connects the first electrical unit and the second electrical unit; a first communication control means provided in the first electrical unit and a second communication control means provided in the second electrical unit, so as to perform power line communication between the first electrical unit and the second electrical unit by superimposing an analog signal on the power line; an extracting and superimposing means for extracting the analog signal superimposed on the power line and superimposing the extracted analog signal on the AC power line; an acquisition means connected to the AC power line and acquiring an analog signal superimposed on the AC power line; a transmitting unit configured to transmit information based on the analog signal acquired by the acquiring unit to an outside of the image forming apparatus; An image forming apparatus comprising:

Images