Power Supply Controller for Image Forming Apparatus Maintenance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Image forming apparatuses face issues where the main power supply is turned off prematurely during periodic maintenance, potentially leading to incomplete tasks such as automatic firmware updates or weekly timer events, resulting in system failures or user inconvenience.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus includes a power supply controller that turns on the power supply prior to scheduled maintenance, maintains it during the event, and only shuts down after the maintenance is completed, ensuring that tasks like firmware updates and other events are completed without interruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the main power supply is turned off after periodic maintenance completes, then energy consumption is reduced and device longevity is improved, but scheduled events such as firmware updates or weekly timer tasks may be interrupted causing system failures
Solution Approach 1:
The system checks for scheduled events (firmware updates, weekly timer tasks) before shutting down the power supply after maintenance. If such events are detected, the shutdown is postponed until these events complete, preventing interruptions while still enabling energy savings when no events are pending
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors for scheduled events and uses this feedback information to dynamically control the power supply state. The shutdown decision is adjusted based on real-time detection of pending tasks, ensuring reliability when events are present while maintaining energy efficiency when they are not
2Reliability
If the power supply is kept on during periodic maintenance, then scheduled events can be executed without interruption, but energy consumption increases during maintenance operations
Solution Approach 1:
The power supply state transitions dynamically based on the timing of scheduled events relative to maintenance completion. The system adapts the power state from off during maintenance to on when scheduled events are detected, optimizing energy usage while ensuring event completion
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing apparatus includes a component to be maintained, a maintenance engine configured to perform maintenance on the component, and circuitry. The circuitry turns on a power supply to the apparatus at a power-on time set in advance by a timer; acquires, from a memory, a scheduled time of periodic maintenance to be executed on the component; turns on the power supply at a time prior to the scheduled time of the periodic maintenance; and shuts down the apparatus in response to an end of the periodic maintenance. In response to an arrival of the power-on time by the timer during execution of the periodic maintenance, the circuitry controls a state of the power supply to be kept at an on-state after the periodic maintenance ends.