Electronic device, image forming apparatus, and control method

Abstract

To provide an electronic apparatus, an image forming device, and a control method capable of reducing downtime of the device.SOLUTION: An electronic apparatus includes: a detection part 111 for detecting a voltage divided by a thermistor R2 arranged in an MFP1 and a resistor R1 for pulling up to a predetermined voltage; a determination part 112 for determining at least a state of wiring connected to the thermistor R2 based on the voltage detected by the detection part 111; and a control part 113 for switching control of the MFP1 according to a determination result of the determination part 112.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device, an image forming apparatus, and a control method. [Background technology]

[0002] Various techniques for detecting a break in a wire harness are already known. One such technique for detecting a break in a wire harness is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, which detects a break in a wire harness by transmitting a pulse signal to an electric wire to be detected and measuring the time difference between the transmitted wave and the reflected wave. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 has the problem that the system is shut down uniformly to perform stop control regardless of the abnormal state, resulting in long downtime.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has as its object to provide an electronic device, an image forming apparatus, and a control method that can reduce downtime of the apparatus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a power supply comprising: a detection unit that detects a voltage divided by a thermistor arranged in a device and a first resistor for pulling up to a predetermined voltage; a determination unit that determines a state of at least a wiring connected to the thermistor based on the voltage detected by the detection unit; and a control unit that switches control of the device depending on the determination result of the determination unit. the upstream side of the thermistor and the first resistor are connected via a connector, and the downstream side of the thermistor and a grounded second resistor are connected via the connector; the determination unit determines a pinch state of a wiring connected to the thermistor and a connection state of the connector based on the voltage detected by the detection unit; the determination unit determines that pinching has occurred in the wiring between the thermistor and the second resistor when the detection unit detects a voltage less than the product of the value obtained by dividing the predetermined voltage pulled up by the first resistor by the sum of the resistance value of the first resistor, the resistance value of the thermistor, and the resistance value of the second resistor, and the sum of the resistance value of the thermistor and the resistance value of the second resistor; and the control unit calculates a combined resistance value of the resistance caused by the pinch and the second resistor, and switches to a temperature detection operation based on the voltage detected by the detection unit and the calculated combined resistance value. It is characterized by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present invention, downtime of the device can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the main configuration of an MFP according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of functional blocks of a control ASIC according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of an abnormality detection process of the MFP according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The electronic device, image forming apparatus, and control method according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and the components in the following embodiments include those that would be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art, those that are substantially the same, and those that are within the scope of what is called equivalents. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, modifications, and combinations of the components can be made without departing from the spirit of the following embodiments.

[0009] (Main components of MFP) 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the main parts of an MFP according to an embodiment, and the configuration of the main parts of an MPF ​​(Multifunction Peripheral) 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, MFP1 is an example of an image forming apparatus (an example of an apparatus) and is a multifunction peripheral that forms an image and prints out based on a print job or the like. A multifunction peripheral is a device that has at least two of the following functions: copy function, printer function, scanner function, and fax function. As shown in FIG. 1, MFP1 has an IOB10 and a thermistor R2. While FIG. 1 shows MFP1 as an example of an apparatus, this is not limiting, and other possible apparatuses include inkjet printers, electronic whiteboards, conference terminal devices, or information processing devices such as PCs (Personal Computers) and smartphones. In this embodiment, the MFP1 will be described as an example of an apparatus.

[0011] The IOB 10 is a control board that performs I / O control and includes a control ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 11, a resistor R1 (first resistor), and a resistor R3 (second resistor).

[0012] The control ASIC 11 is an electronic circuit that controls the operation of the IOB 10 .

[0013] Resistor R1 is a resistor (pull-up resistor) for pulling up the upstream side of thermistor R2 to a power supply voltage of 5 V (an example of a predetermined voltage). Note that the voltage pulled up by resistor R1 is not limited to the power supply voltage of 5 V. Resistor R1 is connected to thermistor R2 via connector CN. The wiring between resistor R1 and connector CN is connected to control ASIC 11, and the voltage on this wiring is converted to a digital value by an ADC (analog-to-digital converter) in control ASIC 11 and detected as a detection voltage. For example, if there is no break or other problem in the path from the power supply voltage 5 V to ground, the ADC detects a voltage obtained by subtracting the voltage drop across resistor R1 from 5 V, depending on the resistance value of thermistor R2, which changes with temperature. On the other hand, if there is no current flowing in the path from the power supply voltage 5 V to ground due to a break or other problem, the ADC detects the power supply voltage of 5 V.

[0014] Resistor R3 is a resistor that grounds the downstream side of thermistor R2 and is connected to thermistor R2 via connector CN.

[0015] Thermistor R2 is a component whose resistance value changes with temperature. Therefore, control ASIC 11 can detect the environmental temperature where thermistor R2 is located by directly or indirectly detecting the resistance value of thermistor R2 (for example, by detecting the voltage of a component including thermistor R2). In addition, in the case of MFP 1, thermistor R2 is used to detect, for example, the heater temperature of a fixing unit that fixes toner, or the temperature of an imaging unit.

[0016] The electronic device according to the present invention can be regarded as the control ASIC 11, as the IOB 10 including the control ASIC 11, or as the MFP 1 incorporating the IOB 10.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1 , if the wiring connected from the connector CN to the thermistor R2 outside the IOB 10 is pinched by a component disposed within the MFP 1, the coating on the wiring may break and contact the component, or the wiring may be grounded via the component. Specifically, pinching may occur at or above point A on the wiring upstream of the thermistor R2 or point B on the wiring downstream of the thermistor R2. Therefore, pinching at point A, pinching at point B, or disconnection of the connector CN changes the detection voltage detected by the control ASIC 11. The control ASIC 11 according to this embodiment changes its operation in response to this change in detection voltage. This change in operation will be described in detail below.

[0018] (Configuration of control ASIC functional blocks) 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the functional blocks of the control ASIC according to the embodiment. The configuration of the functional blocks of the control ASIC 11 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the control ASIC 11 includes a detection unit 111, a determination unit 112, a control unit 113, and a notification unit 114.

[0020] The detection unit 111 is a functional unit that detects the voltage of the wiring connecting the resistor R1 and the connector CN (i.e., the voltage downstream of the resistor R1). That is, the detection unit 111 detects the voltage divided by the thermistor R2 and the pull-up resistor R1. As described above, the resistance value of the thermistor R2 changes depending on the temperature. Therefore, the detection unit 111 detects the voltage when the MFP1 is started up, that is, when the internal temperature of the MFP1 (the temperature of the environment in which the thermistor R2 is placed) is approximately equal to the ambient temperature of the MFP1. The temperature detected by the ambient temperature sensor is estimated as the temperature detected by thermistor R2, and the resistance value of thermistor R2 calculated from the estimated temperature is used to perform a determination process by the determination unit 112, which will be described later. The detection unit 111 is realized by the above-mentioned ADC included in the control ASIC 11.

[0021] The determination unit 112 determines the phenomenon that has occurred based on the voltage (detected voltage) detected by the detection unit 111. Specifically, the determination unit 112 determines whether pinching has occurred at point A, whether pinching has occurred at point B, or whether the connector CN has come loose (the connection state of the connector CN), etc.

[0022] For example, when the temperature detected by the detection unit 111 is 0 [V], the determination unit 112 determines that grounding has occurred due to pinching at the point A (i.e., a voltage drop of 5 [V] has occurred across the resistor R1 alone). Possible ways in which grounding has occurred at the point A include when the wiring at the point A is pinched by a surrounding component, causing the coating to break, and the metal wire in the wiring to come into contact with the surrounding component, causing grounding.

[0023] Furthermore, if the voltage detected by the detection unit 111 is less than 5 / (R1+R2+R3)×(R2+R3) [V], the determination unit 112 determines that pinching has occurred at point B. Here, "R2" is the estimated resistance value of thermistor R2, as described above. If pinching has occurred at point B, it is possible that pinching by a surrounding component has broken the coating on the wiring at point B, causing the metal wire in the wiring to come into contact with the surrounding component, resulting in grounding via the surrounding component. Therefore, a combined resistance is formed by the resistance due to the surrounding component where pinching has occurred at point B and resistance R3, and this combined resistance is smaller than the normal detection voltage of 5 / (R1+R2+R3)×(R2+R3).

[0024] Furthermore, if the voltage detected by the detection unit 111 is 5 [V], the judgment unit 112 judges that the connector CN has come loose (connector loose) or that a break has occurred due to pinching at point A or point B (i.e., no current flows through resistor R1 and no voltage drop occurs).

[0025] Furthermore, if the voltage detected by the detection unit 111 is 5 / (R1+R2+R3)×(R2+R3) [V], the judgment unit 112 determines that there is no malfunction due to pinching at points A and B, and that the connector CN has not come loose.

[0026] The control unit 113 is a functional unit that changes the operation of the MFP 1 in accordance with the determination result by the determination unit 112 .

[0027] Specifically, when determining unit 112 determines that grounding has occurred at point A due to entrapment, control unit 113 determines that temperature detection by thermistor R2 is not possible, and stops the operation of MFP1.

[0028] Furthermore, when the judgment unit 112 judges that pinching has occurred at point B, the control unit 113 allows thermistor R2 to continue detecting the temperature, and calculates the combined resistance value of the resistance caused by the surrounding component pinched at point B and resistor R3 using the following equation (1).

[0029] Combined resistance value = {ADC detection value × (R1 + R2) - (5V × R2)} / (5V - ADC detection value) (1)

[0030] In equation (1), the ADC detection value is the value of the detection voltage detected by the detection unit 111. Then, the control unit 113 switches to a temperature detection operation using a conversion table in which the resistance value of resistor R3 is replaced with the calculated combined resistance value. Here, the conversion table is, for example, a table that associates the resistance value of thermistor R2 with the temperature of the environment in which thermistor R2 is placed.

[0031] For example, if there is no pinching problem at point A or point B, and no disconnection of connector CN, the voltage detected by detector 111 will be equal to 5 / (R1+R2+R3)×(R2+R3) [V], and the resistance value of thermistor R2 can be determined. Then, in the conversion table, the temperature corresponding to the resistance value of thermistor R2 can be determined as the temperature of the environment in which thermistor R2 is placed.

[0032] On the other hand, if pinching has occurred at location B, the voltage detected by detection unit 111 matches 5 / (R1+R2+R3)×(R2+R3)[V], where the resistance value of resistor R3 is replaced with the combined resistance value, and the resistance value of thermistor R2 can be determined. Then, in the conversion table, the temperature corresponding to the resistance value of thermistor R2 can be determined as the temperature of the environment in which thermistor R2 is placed.

[0033] Furthermore, if the judgment unit 112 determines that the connector CN has come loose (connector loose) or that a break has occurred due to pinching at point A or point B, the control unit 113 determines that temperature detection by thermistor R2 is impossible and stops the operation of MFP1.

[0034] In addition, when the judgment unit 112 judges that there is no malfunction due to pinching at pinching points A and B, and that the connector CN has not come loose, the control unit 113 controls the temperature detection operation using a conversion table based on the resistor R1, thermistor R2, and resistor R3 as normal operation.

[0035] Notification unit 114 is a functional unit that notifies an external service person or the like under the control of control unit 113 when determination unit 112 determines that pinching has occurred at location B. Notification unit 114 may, for example, send a notification by email containing information indicating the abnormal state via the network I / F of MFP 1, or may perform an operation such as notifying the abnormality by turning on an abnormality lamp of MFP 1. Note that notification unit 114 may also notify an external party when control unit 113 stops the operation of MFP 1 based on the determination by determination unit 112.

[0036] It should be noted that the judgment unit 112, the control unit 113, and the notification unit 114 are not limited to being realized by the control ASIC 11, but may also be realized by executing a program on a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like mounted on the IOB 10 or the MFP 1.

[0037] (MFP abnormality detection processing) 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of abnormality detection processing of the MFP 1 according to the embodiment. The abnormality detection processing of the MFP 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0038] <Step S11> If the MFP 1 has started up (step S11: Yes), the process proceeds to step S12, and if the MFP 1 has not started up (step S11: No), the process waits until the MFP 1 starts up.

[0039] <Step S12> The detection unit 111 uses the ADC function to detect the voltage of the wiring connecting the resistor R1 and the connector CN (that is, the voltage on the downstream side of the resistor R1), and then proceeds to step S13.

[0040] <Step S13> The determination unit 112 determines whether the temperature detected by the detection unit 111 is 0 [V]. If the temperature detected by the detection unit 111 is 0 [V] (step S13: Yes), the process proceeds to step S16, and if the temperature is not 0 [V] (step S13: No), the process proceeds to step S14.

[0041] <Step S14> The determination unit 112 determines whether the voltage detected by the detection unit 111 is less than 5 / (R1+R2+R3)×(R2+R3) [V]. Here, "R2" is the estimated resistance value of thermistor R2, as described above. If the voltage detected by the detection unit 111 is less than 5 / (R1+R2+R3)×(R2+R3) [V] (step S14: Yes), the process proceeds to step S17. If the voltage detected by the detection unit 111 is not less than 5 / (R1+R2+R3)×(R2+R3) [V] (step S14: No), the process proceeds to step S15.

[0042] <Step S15> The determination unit 112 determines whether the temperature detected by the detection unit 111 is 5 [V]. If the voltage detected by the detection unit 111 is 5 [V] (step S15: Yes), the process proceeds to step S18, and if it is not 5 [V] (step S15: No), it is determined that there is no abnormality and the abnormality detection process ends. Here, the case where the detected voltage is not 5 [V] specifically means that the detected voltage is 5 / (R1+R2+R3)×(R2+R3) [V], which is normal.

[0043] <Step S16> When the temperature detected by detection unit 111 is 0 [V], determination unit 112 determines that grounding has occurred due to pinching at pinching location A (that is, a voltage drop of 5 [V] has occurred across resistor R1 alone). Then, when determination unit 112 determines that grounding has occurred due to pinching at pinching location A, control unit 113 determines that temperature detection by thermistor R2 is impossible and stops the operation of MFP1. Then, the abnormality detection process ends.

[0044] <Step S17> If the voltage detected by the detection unit 111 is less than 5 / (R1+R2+R3)×(R2+R3) [V], the determination unit 112 determines that pinching has occurred at location B. If the determination unit 112 determines that pinching has occurred at location B, the control unit 113 allows thermistor R2 to continue temperature detection and calculates a combined resistance value of resistor R3 and the resistance caused by the surrounding component pinched at location B using the above-mentioned equation (1). Then, the control unit 113 switches to a temperature detection operation based on the detection voltage detected by the detection unit 111 and the calculated combined resistance value. Specifically, the control unit 113 switches to a temperature detection operation using a conversion table in which the resistance value of resistor R3 is replaced with the calculated combined resistance value. Furthermore, if the determination unit 112 determines that pinching has occurred at location B, the notification unit 114 notifies an external service person or the like under the control of the control unit 113. Then, the abnormality detection process ends.

[0045] <Step S18> If the voltage detected by detection unit 111 is 5 V, determination unit 112 determines that connector CN has come loose (connector disconnection) or that a disconnection has occurred due to pinching at location A or location B (i.e., no current flows through resistor R1 and no voltage drop occurs). If determination unit 112 determines that connector CN has come loose (connector disconnection) or that a disconnection has occurred due to pinching at location A or location B, control unit 113 determines that temperature detection by thermistor R2 is impossible and stops operation of MFP1. Then, the abnormality detection process ends.

[0046] The abnormality detection process is executed through the flow of steps S11 to S18 described above.

[0047] As described above, in the MFP1 according to this embodiment, the detection unit 111 detects the voltage divided by the thermistor R2 disposed in the MFP1 and the resistor R1 for pulling up the voltage to a predetermined voltage, the determination unit 112 determines the state of at least the wiring connected to thermistor R2 based on the voltage detected by the detection unit 111, and the control unit 113 switches control of the MFP1 in accordance with the determination result of the determination unit 112. In this way, even if a problem occurs in the state of the wiring connected to thermistor R2, the control of the MFP1 is switched in accordance with the determination result of the state. For example, if temperature detection by thermistor R2 is possible, the operation of the MFP1 is allowed to continue. This reduces downtime of the MFP1 as a device.

[0048] Furthermore, when the detection unit 111 detects a voltage less than the product of the power supply voltage pulled up by resistor R1 divided by the sum of the resistances of resistor R1, thermistor R2, and resistor R3, and the sum of the resistances of thermistor R2 and resistor R3, the determination unit 112 determines that pinching has occurred in the wiring between thermistor R2 and resistor R3, and the control unit 113 calculates a combined resistance of the resistance resulting from the pinching and resistor R3, and switches to temperature detection operation based on the detected voltage detected by the detection unit 111 and the calculated combined resistance. In this way, even if a problem occurs in the wiring connected to thermistor R2, as long as temperature detection by thermistor R2 is possible, the MFP 1 continues to operate without being stopped. This reduces downtime of the MFP 1 as a device.

[0049] Furthermore, when detection unit 111 determines that pinching has occurred in the wiring between thermistor R2 and resistor R3, notification unit 114 notifies the outside of the device. This allows an outside service technician to receive notification of the occurrence of pinching, thereby shortening the repair time and ultimately reducing the downtime of MFP1. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1 MFP 10 IOB 11 Control ASIC 111 Detection unit 112 Judgment Department 113 Control Unit 114 Notification Department CN Connector R1, R3 resistance R2 thermistor [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0051] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-189740

Claims

1. a detection unit that detects a voltage divided by a thermistor disposed in the device and a first resistor for pulling up to a predetermined voltage; a determination unit that determines a state of at least the wiring connected to the thermistor based on the voltage detected by the detection unit; a control unit that switches control of the device depending on the determination result of the determination unit; Equipped with the upstream side of the thermistor and the first resistor are connected via a connector; a downstream side of the thermistor and a second resistor connected to ground are connected via the connector; the determination unit determines a pinching state of a wiring connected to the thermistor and a connection state of the connector based on the voltage detected by the detection unit; the determination unit determines that pinching has occurred in the wiring between the thermistor and the second resistor when the detection unit detects a voltage less than the product of the sum of the resistance value of the thermistor and the resistance value of the second resistor and the value obtained by dividing the predetermined voltage pulled up by the first resistor by the sum of the resistance value of the first resistor, the resistance value of the thermistor, and the resistance value of the second resistor; The control unit calculating a combined resistance value of the resistance caused by the pinching and the second resistance; The electronic device switches to a temperature detection operation based on the voltage detected by the detection unit and the calculated combined resistance value.

2. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the resistance value of the thermistor is a resistance value calculated when it is estimated that the temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor at the time of startup of the electronic device is the temperature detected by the thermistor.

3. the determination unit determines that a ground has occurred due to pinching in a wiring between the thermistor and the first resistor when the detection unit detects that the voltage is 0; The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit stops the operation of the device.

4. the determination unit determines that the connector has come loose or that a break has occurred in wiring between the thermistor and the connector when the detection unit detects the predetermined voltage pulled up by the first resistor, The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit stops the operation of the device.

5. 3. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that, when the determination unit determines that pinching has occurred in the wiring between the thermistor and the second resistor, notifies an external device of that fact.

6. 6. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects a voltage divided by the thermistor and the first resistor when the device is started up.

7. the thermistor disposed in an image forming apparatus as the device; the first resistor; The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, An image forming apparatus comprising:

8. a detection step of detecting a voltage divided by a thermistor disposed in the device and a first resistor for pulling up to a predetermined voltage; a determining step of determining a state of at least a wiring connected to the thermistor based on the detected voltage; a control step of switching control of the device depending on the determination result in the determination step; and the upstream side of the thermistor and the first resistor are connected via a connector; a downstream side of the thermistor and a second resistor connected to ground are connected via the connector; In the determining step, a pinching state of the wiring connected to the thermistor and a connection state of the connector are determined based on the voltage detected in the detecting step; In the determination step, if a voltage less than the product of the sum of the resistance value of the thermistor and the resistance value of the second resistor and the value obtained by dividing the predetermined voltage pulled up by the first resistor by the sum of the resistance value of the first resistor, the resistance value of the thermistor, and the resistance value of the second resistor is detected in the detection step, it is determined that pinching has occurred in the wiring between the thermistor and the second resistor, The control step calculating a combined resistance value of the resistance caused by the pinching and the second resistance; A control method for switching to a temperature detection operation based on the voltage detected in the detecting step and the calculated combined resistance value.

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