JP5117745B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fixing device having a heat fixing function, a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and an image forming apparatus having a combination of these functions, and more particularly to a secondary battery that fixes a toner image on a recording material. In this regard, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in consideration of energy saving that can recover waste heat of a pressure roller that sandwiches and conveys a recording material while facing a heating roller, and can reuse this waste heat as electric energy.

Conventionally, a heat roller fixing method using a fixing roller (heating roller) having a heating means inside as a fixing device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, etc. Widely adopted from monochrome machines to full-color machines. However, in a conventional heat roller fixing type fixing device, when a recording material or toner is overheated, it is necessary to heat a fixing roller having a large heat capacity, which is disadvantageous in terms of energy efficiency and energy saving. It was.
By the way, power generation using thermoelectric conversion technology can directly convert even relatively low-quality heat into electricity, and is a technology that can recover the current unused waste heat. As environmental problems become more serious, expectations for thermoelectric conversion technology are increasing.
This thermoelectric conversion technology uses the Seebeck effect in which thermoelectromotive force is generated at both ends by giving a temperature difference to thermoelectric conversion materials in which two different types of metals or p-type semiconductors and n-type semiconductors are paired. It is a technology that directly converts thermal energy into electric power, and has an excellent feature that it does not require moving parts such as a motor and a turbine and that there is no waste product.
Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses that in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile, heat discharged from a fixing unit that fixes an unfixed image on recording paper by heat is insulated from peripheral devices that are easily affected by heat. In addition, in order to recover and reuse the exhausted heat to improve energy saving, a paper feeding and conveying means for feeding recording paper, and an unfixed image forming means for forming an unfixed image on the recording paper, An image forming apparatus comprising: a fixing unit that fixes the unfixed image by heat; and a paper discharge conveying unit that discharges the recording paper on which the image is fixed by the fixing unit. The fixing unit is surrounded by a heat insulating member. An invention is disclosed in which the heat insulating member has a thermoelectric conversion element on a surface thereof, and further includes a power storage device that stores electric power thermoelectrically converted by the thermoelectric conversion element.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, in order to reuse the waste heat moved from the recording material or the fixing roller to the pressure roller, a heating roller and a pressure roller that are pressed against each other are provided, and the recording material holding the toner image is heated. In an image forming apparatus having a fixing device for fixing the toner image to the recording material by being nipped and conveyed while being heated and pressed at a pressure contact portion between the roller and the pressure roller, the heat of the pressure roller can be converted thermoelectrically. A configuration provided with thermoelectric conversion means is disclosed.

  Further, Patent Document 3 collects heat discharged from electrophotographic image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, facsimiles and the like and accessory devices constituting the image forming apparatus by using thermoelectric conversion means. In order to recycle as electric energy, a paper feeding and conveying means for conveying the transfer paper from the paper feeding unit, an image forming means for forming an unfixed image, and a fixing for fixing the transfer paper on which the unfixed image is formed by heat And an electrophotographic image forming apparatus provided with a conveying means for guiding the transfer paper downstream of the fixing means in the transfer paper passing direction, the first thermoelectric conversion means as the thermoelectric conversion of the high temperature exhaust heat, and the low temperature An invention provided with second and third thermoelectric conversion means as thermoelectric conversion of exhaust heat is disclosed.

In general, image forming apparatuses such as printing machines, copiers, printers, and facsimiles that are generally used have recently become widespread in offices or homes because of image reproducibility and stability. On the other hand, this type of image forming apparatus is usually operated with the power turned on because of the nature of the product, and it is intended to improve convenience rather than reducing energy consumption. It was. However, today, when energy consumption issues have become apparent, energy consumption is reduced in heat-fixing units that have the problem of longer standby times than operating hours, or depleted resources such as fossil fuels that affect global warming. There is a need to reduce the use of energy sources.
There is also a need for stable supply of power in equipment that handles information. With regard to the stable supply of this power supply, in the situation of infrastructure of centralized power supply (thermal power, hydropower, nuclear power, etc.) Currently, countermeasures are taken by using a representative backup battery (secondary battery) or the like.
JP 2005-338430 A JP 2005-308826 A JP 2005-099527 A

As described above, the conventional image forming apparatus uses a secondary battery, a capacitor, or a fuel cell in addition to the main power source as a plurality of energy supply means (energy storage means), and consumes a large amount of power as in a heat fixing operation. The energy is energized during the transition period to shorten the transition period, and the first copy time is reduced and the energy is saved. However, in this image forming apparatus, the main power source which is one energy supply means is an AC commercial line power source, and the other energy supply means has an auxiliary function for temporarily energizing energy as a sub power source. I am in charge.
Therefore, the energy supply source has to rely on a commercial power source as a whole. Further, even if a spontaneous power generation means such as a fuel cell is provided as a secondary power source, such a spontaneous power generation means is an auxiliary for temporarily energizing energy using the accumulated electrical energy during the transition period. It can only be an appropriate means. Rather, the use of the spontaneous power generation means as an auxiliary for temporarily energizing energy causes waste of the energy source (fuel) due to the auxiliary use of the spontaneous power generation means that can always supply energy.
As described above, the conventional technology aims to shorten the first copy time and save energy, but it is not a fundamental solution to these two contradictory purposes. The reason is that the AC power supply (line power supply), which is the main power supply, occupies most of the energy supply means, and the auxiliary power supply positioned as the sub power supply is adopted and applied passively. This is because the use of a power generation device or a power storage device as an energy drive source is limited. As a result, all the sites (deployment locations) where the image forming apparatus is installed can be used, even if there is a corresponding effect in maintaining the power in the energy saving mode and shortening the startup time (reducing the first copy time). The energy usage is considered as a whole, and it is not rational and cooperative usage that actively shares energy consumption between image forming apparatuses beyond the isolated space where the image forming apparatuses are installed. Was a difficult point.
Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to combine the functions of a device group such as a commercial power source, a power generation device, a power storage device, a power feeding device, etc. By actively acting the function of the device, the energy consumption and control function of the image forming apparatus can be rationally differentiated so that the total energy consumption of the entire image forming apparatus can be reduced.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the first means supplies power to each part of the apparatus in the image forming apparatus that stops power supply to each part of the apparatus except for a specific circuit that performs control in the energy saving state. A secondary battery for supplying power to the specific circuit in an energy saving state in which the power supply is stopped, and first power supply means for supplying power to each part of the device including the specific circuit based on the power supplied from the outside And a second power supply means for charging the secondary battery based on the power supplied from the outside, and provided in the image forming apparatus main body for supplying the secondary battery with power generated by thermoelectric conversion. The thermoelectric conversion means for charging the secondary battery, the power supply from the secondary battery, and the power supply from the first power supply device are selected, and power is supplied to the specific circuit Circuit power supply And the specific circuit power supply selection means cuts off the power supply from the first power supply means when the amount of power stored in the secondary battery exceeds a predetermined threshold value in an energy saving state. Power is supplied from the secondary battery to the specific circuit, and when the amount of electricity stored in the secondary battery is lower than a predetermined threshold value, the first power supply unit supplies power to the specific circuit.

  In the first means, when the thermoelectric conversion means is driven, the second means supplies power from the thermoelectric conversion means to charge the secondary battery, and power supply from the second power supply means is stopped. It is characterized by.

Third means, in the first means, said second feeding means is stopped during the operation of the system, characterized by feeding electricity output of the thermoelectric conversion unit to the secondary battery and the specific circuit .

  A fourth means is characterized in that, in the first means, after the operation of the system, the thermoelectric conversion means is driven until the temperature falls below a predetermined temperature to charge the secondary battery and supply power to the specific circuit. And

  The fifth means is characterized in that, in the second means, power is supplied from the second power supply means to the secondary battery when the thermoelectric conversion means is stopped.

  A sixth means is characterized in that, in any one of the first to fifth means, the required power of the specific circuit is smaller than the power generation amount of the thermoelectric conversion means.

A seventh means is a charging power selection means for selecting a power feeding from the second power feeding means and a power feeding from the thermoelectric conversion means in the first means and supplying charging power to the secondary battery. It is characterized by having.

The eighth means includes a first secondary battery to which charging power is supplied from the thermoelectric conversion means and a second secondary to which charging power from the second power feeding means is supplied in the first means. And a battery.

  In the embodiments described later, the secondary battery is denoted by reference numeral 108, the first secondary battery is denoted by reference numeral 108a, the second secondary battery is denoted by reference numeral 108b, the image forming apparatus is denoted by reference numeral PR, and the main circuit is the main circuit. The controller 111, the specific circuit to the controller energy saving circuit 112, the first power supply means to the main PSU 105, the second power supply means to the charge-only PSU 106, the thermoelectric conversion means to the thermoelectric module 110, and the first selection means to the first The first power selector 107 corresponds to the second power selector 109, and the controller energy saving circuit 112 controls charge control and selection control. Each unit operates according to a command from the controller energy saving circuit 112. To do.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to rationally differentiate the energy consumption and control functions of the image forming apparatus and reduce the total energy consumption of the entire image forming apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of an image forming system according to Example 1 of the present embodiment. In the figure, the image forming system according to the present embodiment is a system in which a host PC and an image forming apparatus PR are connected via a network NT. The image forming apparatus includes a scanner SCR, an automatic document feeder ADF, and a sorter 11 for a color printer PTR. Image information is transmitted from a host PC such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) through a network NT. When given print data, the print data is printed out (image output). The image forming apparatus PR is a digital color copying machine having a composite function, and not only functions as a printer as described above, but also can generate a copy of a document by itself. In addition, the image forming apparatus PR includes an auxiliary battery device 50 that is detachable from the image forming apparatus PR and a secondary battery 52 that is detachable from the auxiliary battery apparatus 50. An operation panel OPB is provided at the upper part on the front side of the image forming apparatus PR.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the printer PTR in FIG. The printer PTR is an electrophotographic laser scanning color printer, and includes an image forming device, a paper feeding device (bank), a double-sided paper feeding device, and a post-processing device (sorter) 11. The image forming apparatus mainly includes a photosensitive member 1, a main charger 2, a laser scanner 3, a developing device 4, a transfer belt 6, a transfer separation charger 8, a transport belt 9, and a fixing device 10.

  The laser scanner 3 is supplied with image data separated into Bk (black), Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) color components for each color unit. Each color unit is one image forming unit. At the time of monochromatic recording, image data of one of the four colors is given to the laser scanner 3. The photoreceptor 1 is rotated at a constant speed, and the potential charged by the main charger 2 is adjusted to an appropriate potential by the quenching lamp QL. The laser scanner 3 scans and projects the laser modulated by the image data on the charging surface. Thereby, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data is formed on the photoreceptor 1. This electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing device (Bk) having a developing toner of a color corresponding to an image formation designated color (for example, Bk) of the rotational positioning type developing device 4 to become a visible image, that is, a toner image. The toner image is transferred to the transfer belt 6 by the transfer charger 5, and transferred to the transfer paper fed by the registration roller 7 by the transfer separation charger 8. The transfer paper on which the toner image has been transferred is sent to the fixing device 10 by the transport belt 9.

  The fixing device 10 fixes the toner image on the transfer paper to the transfer paper by heating and pressing. After the fixing, the transfer paper is discharged to the sorter 11. The photosensitive rest surface after the transfer of the toner image is cleaned by the cleaning device 12. The surface of the transfer belt 6 that has been transferred is wiped with a cleaning blade 13. A reflection type optical sensor 14 for detecting the toner density on the surface of the photoreceptor 1, called a P sensor, is disposed at a predetermined position facing the photoreceptor 1, and a reflection type sensor for detecting a mark indicating the reference position of the transfer belt 6. An optical sensor 15 is provided inside the transfer belt 6. A temperature sensor 16 for detecting the temperature of the fixing roller is provided at a position facing the roller of the fixing roller 10.

  When two or more colors are overlaid (most representative is full-color recording), the toner image formation on the photosensitive member 1 and the transfer onto the transfer belt 6 are repeated for each color, and the transfer belt 6 is then printed. Each color toner image is superimposed on the sheet, and is transferred onto a transfer sheet at a time after completing overprinting of required colors.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a system configuration including the power supply unit of the image forming apparatus PR shown in FIG. In the figure, when power is supplied to the image forming apparatus PR, the main body and main parts are connected from a plug 100 connected to an outlet (not shown) through a main power switch 101, an AC current detection device 102, an AC ON / OFF sensor 103, and an AC cut device 104. AC power is supplied to a power supply device (main PSU) 105 for the circuit, AC is converted to DC by the main PSU 105, and DC power is supplied to each part of the image forming apparatus PR.

  On the other hand, a charging-dedicated PSU 106 is provided, and a charging DC power source is connected to the first power selector 107 from the charging-dedicated PSU 106. The first power selector 107 is connected to the thermoelectric module 110 provided in the fixing device 10 of the image forming apparatus PR in addition to the charging-only PSU 106, and selects the charging-only PSU 106 or the thermoelectric module 110 to select the secondary battery 108. To charge. The secondary battery 108 is connected to a controller 112 for an energy saving circuit in the image forming apparatus PR via a second power selector 109, and supplies DC power when saving energy. The controller energy saving circuit 112 is a circuit that is energized in common in each mode of the controller. The second power selector 109 receives DC power from the main PSU 105 and selects either the DC discharge of the secondary battery 108 or the DC power of the main PSU 105 when supplying power to the controller energy saving circuit 112. .

  In addition to the image reading unit SCR, the operation unit OPB, and the image writing unit 3, the image forming apparatus PR includes a thermoelectric module 110 that is the thermoelectric conversion device, a speaker 113, and the like, and a main controller 111 that controls a main circuit and an energy saving. And a controller energy saving circuit 112 for controlling the circuit. The main controller 111 includes a main microcomputer 111a and a communication interface control unit 111b. The main controller 111a controls main parts of the image forming apparatus PR, and the communication interface control unit 111b via a network or an external device via USB. Communication control with is executed. The controller energy saving circuit 112 includes a sub microcomputer 112a and an RTC 112b, and controls the energy saving mode.

  The AC current detection device 102 inputs the detected current value of the AC current to the controller energy saving circuit 112, and the AC ON / OFF sensor inputs an AC ON / OFF state signal to the controller energy saving circuit 112. On the other hand, from the controller energy saving circuit 112, a control signal for AC cutting / not performing AC cutting is input to the AC cutting device 104, and a control signal for charging / discharging the battery is input to the first power selector 107, respectively. Further, the controller energy saving circuit 112 outputs a power select signal to the first and second power selectors 107 and 109.

  The first power supply selector 107 selects power supply / thermoelectric module power supply / OFF from the charge-only PSU by a power supply select signal from the controller energy saving circuit 112. Further, power supply from the secondary battery is controlled by a control signal for charging / discharging the battery. The second power supply selector 109 selects power supply from the main PSU / power supply from the secondary battery / OFF by a power supply select signal.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the PSU in the image forming apparatus PR is the main PSU (first power supply device) 105 for the main body and other main electric circuits and the sub-PSU (second second) dedicated to charging the secondary battery 108. Two PSUs of the power feeding device) 106 are provided. As described above, the power supply to the secondary battery 108 can also be selected from DC charging from the thermoelectric module 110 prepared in the main body heat generating portion.

  Whether the secondary battery 108 is fed from the sub-PSU 106 or the thermoelectric module 110 can be controlled by the sub-microcomputer 112a on the controller energy saving circuit 112. In addition, it is possible to select whether to supply power from the secondary battery 108 or the main PSU 105 to the controller energy saving circuit focused on a specific circuit unit that is always operating even during energy saving (standby time, etc.). . This selection can also be controlled by the sub-microcomputer 112a on the controller energy saving circuit 112.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a comparative example for the power feeding unit of FIG. In this comparative example, the AC power detection device 102, the charge-only PSU 106, and the first power selector 107 are deleted from the power supply circuit of FIG. 3, and the thermoelectric module 110 and the controller energy saving circuit 112 are further provided on the image forming apparatus PR side. Is omitted. Thereby, the power supply unit (PSU) 105 and the secondary battery 108 for the main body and other main circuits are selected by the power supply selector 109, and the power is supplied from the secondary battery 108 during standby, thereby realizing energy saving driving. . In this embodiment, the thermoelectric module 110 is provided in the image forming apparatus PR, so that the system configuration as shown in FIG. 3 is obtained. By controlling and selecting a plurality of power feeding apparatuses according to the situation, the image forming apparatus PR is configured. Is promoting more advanced energy saving.

  FIG. 5 is a system state transition diagram in the system configuration of FIG.

In the state transition diagram of FIG. 5, white indicates OFF, halftone indicates battery power supply, and hatching indicates PSU power supply. In the state of FIG.
1) SHUTDOWN mode (M1)
2) Standby mode (M2)
3) Print mode (M3))
4) Energy saving mode (M4)
5) Battery drive standby mode (M5)
6) Battery driven printing mode (M6)
7) Battery drive energy saving mode (M7)
These seven modes are set. The state of each part in each mode is as follows.
1) SHUTDOWN mode M1
AC power supply = OFF
AC CUT = No Charging = Thermoelectric converter only Controller energy-saving power supply = OFF
Controller power supply = OFF
Battery level = 0-100%
Communication = OFF
Operation from the operation panel = Impossible 2) Standby mode M2
AC power supply = ON
AC CUT = No Charging = PSU only for charging> Thermoelectric converter Controller Energy saving power source = PSU
Controller power supply = PSU
Battery level = 5 to 94%
Communication = ON
Operation from the operation panel = Possible 3) Print mode M3
AC power supply = ON
AC CUT = No Charging = PSU only for charging> Thermoelectric converter Controller Energy saving power source = PSU
Controller power supply = PSU
Battery level = 5 to 95%
Communication = ON
Operation from the operation panel = Possible 4) Energy saving mode M4
AC power supply = ON
AC CUT = No Charging = PSU only for charging> Thermoelectric converter Controller Energy saving power source = PSU
Controller power supply = OFF
Battery level = 10-94%
Communication = ON
Operation from the operation panel = Only the sub power key can be used. 5) Battery drive standby mode M5
AC power supply = ON
AC CUT = No Charging = Thermoelectric converter only Controller energy-saving power supply = Battery Controller power supply = PSU
Battery level = 11-95%
Communication = ON
Operation from the operation panel = possible 6) Battery-driven printing mode M6
AC power supply = ON
AC CUT = No Charge = Thermoelectric converter only Controller energy-saving power supply = Battery Controller power supply = PSU
Battery level = 5 to 95%
Communication = ON
Operation from the operation panel = Possible 7) Battery drive energy saving mode M7
AC power supply = ON or OFF
AC CUT = ON Charging = Thermoelectric converter only Controller energy-saving power supply = Battery Controller power supply = OFF
Battery level = 11-95%
Communication = ON
Operation from the operation panel = Only the sub power key can be used. Each mode changes as follows.
-When AC ON in SHUTDOWN mode M1 (C1), transition to standby mode M2.
-When AC OFF is performed in the standby mode M2 or the battery drive standby mode M5 (C2), the mode shifts to the SHUTDOWN mode M1.
When the specified time has elapsed in the standby mode M2 (C3), the mode shifts to the energy saving mode M2.
If the capacity of the secondary battery is 95% or more in the standby mode M2 (C4), the process shifts to the battery drive standby mode M5.
-When an operation start request is received in the energy saving mode M3 (C5), the mode shifts to the printing mode M3.
When the operation is stopped in the printing mode M3 (C6), the operation mode is shifted to the standby mode M2.
If the remaining battery level is 95% or more in the printing mode M3 (C7), the process shifts to the battery-driven printing mode M6.
When the operation is stopped in the battery-driven printing mode M6 (C8), the process shifts to the battery-driven standby mode M5.
If the remaining battery level is 10% or less in the battery-driven print mode M6 (C9), the process proceeds to the print mode M3.
If the battery capacity is 10% or less in the battery-driven standby mode M5 (C10), the process shifts to the standby mode M2.
When an operation start request is received in the battery drive standby mode M5 (C11), the process shifts to the battery drive print mode M6.
If the remaining battery level is 95% or more in the energy saving mode M4 (C12), the process shifts to the battery drive energy saving mode M7.
When an operation start request is received in the battery drive energy saving mode M7 (C13), the process shifts to the battery drive print mode M6.
Battery-driven energy saving mode M7 If the remaining battery level is 10% or less (C14), the process shifts to the energy saving mode M4.
When an operation start request is received in the standby mode M2 (C15), the process shifts to the print mode M3.
When the specified time has elapsed in the battery drive standby mode M5 (C16), the battery drive energy saving mode M7 is entered.
-If AC OFF is performed in the energy saving mode M7 or the battery drive energy saving mode M7 (C17), the mode shifts to the SHUTDOWN mode M1.

  When the mode is set in this way, and the power supply from the secondary battery and the power supply from the main PSU are set, the SHUTDOWN mode M1, the standby mode M2, the print mode M3, and the energy saving mode M4 have four modes. The secondary battery 108 is charged during driving, and in this state, the operation of the charge-only PSU 106 is stopped. In other words, according to an instruction from the controller energy saving circuit 112, the first power supply selector 107 selects charging by supplying DC power from the thermoelectric module 110.

  Further, in the battery-driven standby mode M5, the battery-driven printing mode M6, and the battery-driven energy saving mode M7, when the charge amount of the secondary battery 108 is sufficient, the electric power that the thermoelectric module 110 continues to output is left. It is used as an energy saving power source for the controller energy saving circuit 112. At this time, the second power selector 109 selects the DC discharge side of the secondary battery 108 in the state of the first power selector 107 and receives power from the secondary battery 108.

  In the normal standby mode M2, the printing mode M3, and the energy saving mode M4, the remaining charge of the secondary battery 108 is monitored, and if the remaining battery charge is a predetermined amount, which is 95% or more in this embodiment, the battery drive The state transitions to the mode, and a transition is made to a battery-driven standby mode M5, a battery-driven printing mode M6, and a battery-driven energy saving mode M7.

  At that time, in the battery-driven standby mode M5, the battery-driven printing mode M6, and the battery-powered energy saving mode M7, the first power selector 107 switches the charge-only PSU 106 side according to an instruction from the second controller when the thermoelectric module 110 is stopped. The secondary battery 108 is selected and charged.

  FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the load factor of PSU and the conversion efficiency, and shows the characteristics at the time of conversion from AC100V to DC5V. As can be seen from this figure, when power is supplied to the controller and the secondary battery with one PSU as shown in the comparative example of FIG. When the power supply to the controller and the power supply to the secondary battery have the 2PSU configuration in which the PSU is provided, it is possible to use the PSU having characteristics suitable for each use. In particular, when the charge-only PSU 106 is used, the specifications of the charge-only PSU 106 can be adjusted so as to obtain high conversion efficiency.

  Further, the power consumption of the controller energy saving circuit 112 is set to be sufficiently smaller than the power generation amount of the thermoelectric module 110. In other words, the power consumption and power generation amount of both are relatively defined.

  In the present embodiment, charging of the secondary battery 108 and power feeding to the second controller (energy saving circuit) 112 can be realized by power feeding from the thermoelectric module 110, respectively. Therefore, the first power selector 107 is provided between the secondary battery 108, the thermoelectric module 110, and the charge-only PSU 106. As a result, when the thermoelectric module 110 is driven, the secondary battery 108 can be charged through this path, so the first power selector 107 selects a path on the thermoelectric module 110 side. On the other hand, when the heat source such as the main body fixing device 10 is in a low temperature state, almost no output is obtained from the thermoelectric module 110, so the first power selector 107 selects a path from the charge-only PSU 106 side. In accordance with this state, the charge-only PSU 106 is activated.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of Example 2 in the present embodiment. In the second embodiment, two secondary batteries 108 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3 are provided in parallel so that one can be charged from the thermoelectric module 110 and the other can be charged from the charge-only PSU 106. That is, a secondary battery 108a that charges from the thermoelectric module 110 and a secondary battery 108b that charges from the dedicated PSU 106 are provided independently between the first power selector 107 and the second power selector 109, respectively. Is. In this configuration, power is supplied to the controller energy saving circuit 112 from the secondary battery 108b charged by the charge-only PSU 106 until the secondary battery 108a charged by the thermoelectric module 110 is full. As a result, the number of charge / discharge cycles of the secondary batteries 108a and 108b can be reduced.

  In any of the embodiments, the second power selector 109 is provided between the controller energy saving circuit 112 and the secondary battery 108 (108a, 108b), and power can be supplied from the main PSU 105. As a result, when the initial system is activated, such as when the secondary battery 108 (108a, 108b) is completely empty, power can be supplied from the main PSU 105 to the controller energy saving circuit 112 to drive the energy saving circuit.

  Other parts that are not specifically described are configured in the same manner as in the first embodiment and function in the same manner, and thus redundant description is omitted.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
1) Since the secondary battery 108 is provided for the purpose of supplying power to the second controller (energy saving circuit) 112, and the dedicated PSU 105 for charging the secondary battery and the thermoelectric module 110 are provided, by using both of them together The frequency of use of the charge-only PSU 106 is reduced, and the life of the charge-only PSU 106 can be extended correspondingly.
2) When the thermoelectric module 110 is driven, the secondary battery 108 is charged, and in this state, the operation of the charge-only PSU 106 is stopped, so that the remaining heat can be used effectively.
3) During the operation of the system, the secondary battery 108 is charged and the controller energy saving circuit 112 is powered by the output of the thermoelectric module 110, so that low power consumption can be realized.
4) After the operation of the system, the thermoelectric module 110 is driven until the temperature falls below a predetermined temperature to charge the secondary battery 108 and supply power to the controller energy saving circuit 112. A state in which no AC power is required can be realized.
5) When the thermoelectric module 110 is stopped, the charge-only PSU 106 is operated to charge the secondary battery 108. Therefore, the secondary battery 108 can be charged more efficiently than the main PSU 105. Further, by specifying the battery driving unit as the power saving circuit unit (controller energy saving circuit 112), it is possible to operate the charging dedicated PSU 106 in the high efficiency range.
6) Since the required power of the controller energy saving circuit 112 is sufficiently smaller than the power generation amount of the thermoelectric module 110, the controller energy saving circuit 112 can be driven only by driving the thermoelectric module 110. It can be operated.
7) Since the secondary battery 108 is charged with surplus power other than driving the controller energy saving circuit 112, the controller energy saving circuit 112 can be driven and the secondary battery 108 can be charged only by driving the thermoelectric module 110. Effective use of electric power can be achieved.
8) Since the first power supply selector 107 for switching the charging of the secondary battery 108 from the dedicated PSU 106 or the thermoelectric module 110 is provided, the optimum power supply is performed according to the combination of the charging state of the battery and the driving state of the thermoelectric module 110. It can be configured.
9) Since the secondary battery 108a charged from the thermoelectric module 110 and the secondary battery 108b charged from the charge-dedicated PSU 106 are provided (Example 2), the secondary battery 108 is charged from the thermoelectric module 110. The secondary battery 108a can supply power to the controller energy saving circuit 112 after storing predetermined power.
10) Since the second power supply selector 109 for switching the power supplied from the secondary battery 108, 108a, 108b or the main PSU 105 to the controller energy saving circuit 112 is provided, the charging state of the secondary battery 108, 108a, 108b, and the thermoelectric An optimal power supply configuration can be realized by a combination of driving states of the module 110. Further, it is possible to cope with the case where the secondary batteries 108, 108a, and 108b are empty.
There are effects such as.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of an image forming system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the printer in FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration including a power supply unit of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the comparative example with respect to the electric power feeding part of FIG. FIG. 4 is a system state transition diagram in the system configuration of FIG. 3. It is a characteristic view which shows the relationship between the load factor of PSU and conversion efficiency. It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of the image forming system which concerns on Example 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

105 Main PSU
106 Charging-only PSU
107 first power selector 108, 108a, 108b secondary battery 109 second power selector 110 thermoelectric module 111 main controller 112 controller energy saving circuit PR image forming apparatus

Claims (8)

In the energy saving state, except for a specific circuit that performs control in that state, in the image forming apparatus that stops power supply to each part of the apparatus,
A secondary battery for supplying power to the specific circuit in an energy saving state in which power supply to each part of the device is stopped;
First power supply means for supplying power to each part of the device including the specific circuit based on power supplied from the outside;
A second power supply means for charging the secondary battery based on power supplied from the outside ;
Thermoelectric conversion means provided in the image forming apparatus main body for supplying electric power generated by thermoelectric conversion to the secondary battery to charge the secondary battery;
A specific circuit power supply selection means for selecting one of the power supply from the secondary battery and the power supply from the first power supply device and supplying power to the specific circuit;
With
In the energy saving state, the specific circuit power supply selection unit shuts off the power supply from the first power supply unit when the amount of charge of the secondary battery exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and specifies the specific battery power from the secondary battery. An image forming apparatus, wherein power is supplied to a circuit, and when the amount of power stored in the secondary battery is lower than a predetermined threshold, power is supplied from the first power supply means to the specific circuit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
An image forming apparatus, wherein when the thermoelectric conversion means is driven, electric power is supplied from the thermoelectric conversion means to charge the secondary battery, and power supply from the second power supply means is stopped. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
An image forming apparatus, wherein the second power supply unit is stopped during operation of the image forming apparatus, and the output of the thermoelectric conversion unit is supplied to the secondary battery and the specific circuit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
An image forming apparatus, wherein after the operation of the image forming apparatus, the thermoelectric conversion means is driven until the temperature is not more than a predetermined temperature to charge the secondary battery and supply power to the specific circuit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.
An image forming apparatus, wherein power is supplied to the secondary battery from the second power supply unit when the thermoelectric conversion unit is stopped. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An image forming apparatus characterized in that a required power of the specific circuit is smaller than a power generation amount of the thermoelectric conversion means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
An image forming apparatus comprising: a charging power selection unit that selects one of power feeding from the second power feeding unit and power feeding from the thermoelectric conversion unit and supplies charging power to the secondary battery. . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
A first secondary battery to which charging power is supplied from the thermoelectric conversion means;
A second secondary battery to which charging power from the second power supply means is supplied;
An image forming apparatus comprising:

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