Image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020019358-A1
Application number	US-201916508060-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 10, 2019
Priority date	Jul 13, 2018
Publication date	Jan 16, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a communication device, a received data processing portion, a human detection sensor, a sensitivity setting portion, a rest control portion, and a return control portion. The sensitivity setting portion sets, based on content of the job data, the sensitivity of the human detection sensor for a time when specific devices including the received data processing portion are in a predetermined rest state. The rest control portion causes the specific devices to transit to the rest state when a predetermined rest condition is satisfied. The return control portion causes the specific devices to transit from the rest state to a return state when the human detection sensor detects a human body in the situation where the specific devices are in the rest state, wherein larger power is consumed in the return state than in the rest state.

First claim

1 . An image forming apparatus comprising:
a communication device configured to receive, from another apparatus, job data that includes processing object data and a processing request that is a request to process the processing object data; a received data processing portion configured to process the processing object data in accordance with the processing request; a human detection sensor configured to detect a human body with a preliminarily set sensitivity; a sensitivity setting portion configured to set, based on content of the job data, the sensitivity of the human detection sensor for a time when specific devices including the received data processing portion are in a predetermined rest state; a rest control portion configured to cause the specific devices to transit to the rest state when a predetermined rest condition is satisfied; and a return control portion configured to cause the specific devices to transit from the rest state to a return state when the human detection sensor detects a human body in the situation where the specific devices are in the rest state, wherein larger power is consumed in the return state than in the rest state.

2 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
when the processing request included in the job data is a request for a print process in which an image based on the processing object data is formed on a sheet, the sensitivity setting portion sets the sensitivity of the human detection sensor to a lower sensitivity than when the processing request included in the job data is a request for a data storing process in which the processing object data is stored in a nonvolatile storage device.

3 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a return state selecting portion configured to select the return state from a plurality of predetermined candidate states, based on the content of the job data.

4 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
when the processing request included in the job data is a request for a data storing process in which the processing object data is stored in a nonvolatile storage device, the return state selecting portion selects, as the return state, a candidate state among the plurality of candidate states such that a time required to transit from the candidate state to a print process executable state is shorter than when the processing request included in the job data is a request for a print process in which an image based on the processing object data is formed on a sheet.

5 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
when a predetermined initialization condition is satisfied after the specific devices transit to the rest state, the sensitivity setting portion changes the sensitivity that has been set based on the content of the job data, to a predetermined reference sensitivity.

6 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
the initialization condition includes either or both of that a predetermined return operation has been performed on an operation device configured to receive user operations, and that a predetermined initialization time has elapsed from a most recent time when job data was received, or a time when processing of processing object data included in most recently received job data was completed.

Assignees

• Kyocera Document Solutions Inc

Inventors

• Okazaki Yusuke
• Ohashi Akira
• Shibata Yukihiro
• Sato Satoshi
• Yamamoto Yuki
• Tagaki Koji

Classifications

• H04N1/00896 Primary

  using a low-power mode, e.g. standby · CPC title

• G06F3/1221

  with regard to power consumption · CPC title

• G06F3/1238 Primary

  Secure printing, e.g. user identification, user rights for device usage, unallowed content, blanking portions or fields of a page, releasing held jobs · CPC title

• G06K9/00362

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06V40/10

  Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands · CPC title