Image Forming Apparatus Power Disconnect Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses lack a robust mechanism to manage power consumption during emergency events, such as earthquakes, which can disrupt printing operations and data storage, leading to potential data loss and operational inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus with a disconnect request receiving unit, notification receiving unit, and controller that coordinates power disconnection and reconnection based on power management system requests and event notifications, ensuring critical data is printed before power reduction and allowing for efficient resource management during emergencies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the image forming apparatus immediately disconnects power supply upon receiving a disconnect request, then power consumption is reduced, but printing operations may be interrupted and data may be lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by receiving and storing the disconnect request before actually disconnecting power. The controller maintains power supply in a suspended state, allowing the printing unit to complete current printing operations and store data securely before power disconnection occurs. This preliminary data protection action resolves the contradiction by ensuring data integrity is maintained while still achieving power reduction.
2Reliability
If the image forming apparatus completes printing operations before disconnecting power, then data loss is prevented, but power consumption increases during the printing process
Solution Approach 1:
The power supply state is made dynamic rather than static. The controller can suspend power supply while maintaining the ability to restore it, creating a flexible intermediate state between full power and complete disconnection. This dynamic approach allows the system to complete critical printing operations with power available, then transition to a suspended state that minimizes further power consumption while protecting data integrity.
3Reliability
If the image forming apparatus maintains power supply during emergency events, then printing operations can complete, but operational efficiency during emergencies is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic assessment of the emergency situation and printing status. The controller monitors both the emergency event state and printing operation progress, making decisions at specific intervals whether to maintain, suspend, or disconnect power. This periodic control approach allows critical printing operations to complete while minimizing unnecessary power consumption during extended emergency states, thereby improving operational efficiency without sacrificing printing completion.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a printing unit, a disconnect request receiving unit that receives, from a management apparatus which manages power, a disconnect request to disconnect a supply of power, a notification receiving unit that receives a notification of an occurrence of a predetermined event, and a controller that performs a control operation so as to disconnect the supply of power after the printing unit prints predetermined data if the disconnect request receiving unit has received the disconnect request to disconnect the supply of power and the notification receiving unit has received the notification of the occurrence of the predetermined event.