1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming system which further subjects a recording material having an image formed thereon using a first image forming apparatus to image formation using a second image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is widely used an image forming apparatus in which a toner image forming portion forms a toner image and transfers the toner image onto a recording material, and then a fixing device heats and pressurizes the recording material to fix the image. Further, there is widely used an image forming apparatus which performs duplex printing, in which a recording material having a first surface with an image fixed thereon is fed to the toner image forming portion again in a state in which a front surface and a back surface of the recording material are reversed, thereby similarly transferring a toner image onto a second surface thereof.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-58881 (U.S. Pat. No. 7,024,152) describes a multiply-connecting image forming system in which two independent image forming apparatus of the same type, which individually perform duplex printing, are connected to each other in series through a relay unit including a switchback mechanism for the recording material. In this case, the relay unit reverses the front surface and the back surface of the recording material, thereby executing duplex printing in which a first image forming apparatus on an upstream side and a second image forming apparatus on a downstream side perform printing on one side in a divided manner.
However, in a conventional case, when duplex image formation is performed and when the two image forming apparatus can both continue the image formation, the duplex image formation is performed by the two image forming apparatus. Therefore, even when reduction in power consumption is desired, the image formation is performed always by the two image forming apparatus. As a result, the demand of reducing the power consumption cannot be satisfied.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an image forming system including: an executing unit configured to execute a duplex image forming mode including: a first duplex image forming mode in which a recording material, which is conveyed from a first recording material containing portion and has one surface subjected to image formation by a first image forming apparatus, is conveyed by a conveying unit, and another surface of the recording material is subjected to image formation by a second image forming apparatus; and a second duplex image forming mode in which one surface and another surface of a recording material conveyed from a second recording material containing portion are sequentially subjected to image formation by the second image forming apparatus; and an input portion through which an operator inputs a setting for execution of the second duplex image forming mode. Thus, the present invention can reduce power consumption.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Hereinafter, an embodiment mode of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
A toner image forming portion is enabled regardless of full color/monochrome, one-component developer/two-component developer, direct transfer method/recording material conveyance method/intermediate transfer method, charging methods, exposure methods, kinds of a photosensitive member, and the like. An image forming apparatus may be used for various purposes, such as a printer, various printing machines, a copying machine, a fax machine, and a multifunction peripheral, through addition of necessary devices, equipment, and housing configurations.
(Multiply-connecting Image Forming System)
As illustrated in
The feed deck 400 stores a larger number of recording materials than a recording material cassette 500 of the first image forming apparatus 101, and continuously feeds the recording materials. One pack of cut paper is constituted by 500 sheets of A3 paper having a basis weight of 80 g/m2. The recording material cassette 500 stores one pack of cut paper including 500 sheets. On the other hand, the feed deck 400 stores 12 packs of cut paper including 6,000 sheets in total, and continuously feeds the sheets to the first image forming apparatus 101.
The stacker 600 stacks the recording materials output from the second image forming apparatus 102 on a delivery tray portion 610 or a stacker portion 620. The stacker portion 620 is arranged on a wagon so as to enable easily conveyance in subsequent processing steps. The stacker portion 620 stacks the output printed matters in the order of output from below. The delivery tray portion 610 is provided so as to output a printed matter at the time of test printing or interruption printing.
One stacker 600 has a stacking capacity of 6,000 sheets of A3 paper, which corresponds to the storing capacity of one feed deck 400. Therefore, when the same number of the stackers 600 as the feed decks 400 is additionally provided, it is possible to continuously operate the multiply-connecting image forming system 100 while securing a stacking space for the printed matters until all recording materials are used up.
The multiply-connecting image forming system 100 is operable in a first duplex image forming mode in which the first image forming apparatus 101 on the upstream side and the second image forming apparatus 102 on the downstream side perform printing on respective one sides of a recoding material in a divided manner for duplex printing of the recording material. In the first duplex image forming mode, a recording material is fed from the feed deck 400 (or the recording material cassette 500) one by one and is fed to a toner image forming portion 101A of the first image forming apparatus 101. In the toner image forming portion 101A, a toner image is formed, and the toner image is transferred onto a first surface of a recording material nipped and conveyed by a transferring portion T. The recording material having the toner image transferred thereon is heated and pressurized by a fixing device 202A to fix the image onto the first surface of the recording material. Then, the recording material is passed from the first image forming apparatus 101 to the relay unit 301. The relay unit 301 reverses the front surface and the back surface of the recording material received from the first image forming apparatus 101, and sends the recording material to the second image forming apparatus 102 in a state in which a second surface of the recording material is faced up.
In a toner image forming portion 101B of the second image forming apparatus 102, a toner image is formed, and the toner image is transferred onto the second surface of the recording material nipped and conveyed by a transferring portion T. The recording material having the toner image transferred thereon is heated and pressurized by a fixing device 202B to fix the image onto the second surface of the recording material. Then, the recording material is stacked in the stacker 600.
In recent years, image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a multifunction peripheral are demanded to have higher speed, higher image quality, and improved energy conservation. Therefore, the multiply-connecting image forming system 100 includes the relay unit for conveying the recording material between the first image forming apparatus 101 and the second image forming apparatus 102, thereby executing duplex printing in which the first image forming apparatus 101 and the second image forming apparatus 102 perform printing on respective one sides of a recording material in a divided manner.
The multiply-connecting image forming system 100 includes multiple sets of devices for charging, exposure, development, transfer, and fixing. Therefore, an image is formed on the first surface of the recording material at the first image forming apparatus 101, and after that, the recording material is reversed, and another image is formed on the second surface of the recording material at the second image forming apparatus 102.
Accordingly, the number of output pages in duplex printing is doubled as compared to the number of output pages in duplex printing performed by a single apparatus in the conventional case. Thus, printing can be performed at higher speed.
In the multiply-connecting image forming system 100, the first image forming apparatus 101 and the second image forming apparatus 102, which solely function as an image forming apparatus, are connected to each other through the relay unit 301. Accordingly, without a large-scale design change, the multiply-connecting image forming system 100 can be easily commercialized.
(Image Forming Apparatus)
The first image forming apparatus 101 and the second image forming apparatus 102 incorporated in the multiply-connecting image forming system 100 are monochrome printers having the same specification, which solely function as an image forming apparatus. Hereinafter, the first image forming apparatus 101 will be described, and redundant description for the second image forming apparatus 102 is omitted.
The toner image forming portion 101A includes, around a photosensitive drum 1, a charging roller 2, an exposure device 3, a development device 4, a transfer roller 5, and a drum cleaning device 6. The photosensitive drum 1 includes a photosensitive layer formed on an outer peripheral surface of an aluminum cylinder, and rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow of
The exposure device 3 scans a laser beam by a rotary mirror, thereby reducing a surface potential of the charged photosensitive layer of the photosensitive drum 1 to form an electrostatic image on the photosensitive drum 1. When a copying function is executed, a document is read by an image reading device (scanner), and a laser beam output in accordance with the document image is applied to the photosensitive drum 1. When a printing function or a fax function is executed, image information from an external personal computer or telephone line is received by a controller 901 serving as an image receiving device, and a laser beam output in accordance with the received image is applied to the photosensitive drum 1.
The development device 4 causes a development sleeve to carry charged magnetic toner (one-component developer), and thus the electrostatic image on the photosensitive drum 1 is developed to form a toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. The transfer roller 5 is applied with a DC voltage having an opposite polarity to the charging polarity of the toner, and thus the toner image born on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred onto a recording material P which is nipped and conveyed by the transferring portion T. The drum cleaning device 6 collects un-transferred residual toner which has not been transferred onto the recording material and remains on the photosensitive drum 1.
When the first image forming apparatus 101 performs simplex printing, the recording material which is fed from the feed deck 400 (or the recording material cassette 500) and has the first surface subjected to image formation is delivered outside from the first image forming apparatus 101 as it is. Meanwhile, when the first image forming apparatus 101 performs duplex printing alone, the recording material having the first surface subjected to image formation is conveyed to a reversal mechanism 11 to be switchback-conveyed, and is sent to a duplex conveyance path 12. The recording material having the first surface subjected to image formation is fed to the transferring portion T again in a state in which the front and back surfaces thereof are reversed, thereby transferring the toner image similarly onto the second surface. After that, the recording material is heated and pressurized by the fixing device 202A to fix the image similarly onto the second surface. The recording material having both surfaces subjected to image formation is delivered outside from the first image forming apparatus 101.
(Fixing Device)
The fixing device 202A of the first image forming apparatus 101 and the fixing device 202B of the second image forming apparatus 102 have the same configuration. Hereinafter, the fixing device 202A will be described, and redundant description for the fixing device 202B is omitted.
The fixing device 202A includes a fixing roller 211 and a pressure roller 212, which abut against each other to form a heating nip for the recording material. The fixing roller 211 is driven so as to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow of
In the fixing roller 211, a cylindrical core bar made of aluminum is covered with an elastic layer made of silicone rubber, and the elastic layer is covered with a release layer formed of a tube made of a fluorine resin (perfluoroalkoxy resin: PFA). A halogen heater 213 is arranged inside the fixing roller 211, and power to be input to the halogen heater 213 is automatically adjusted so that the surface temperature of the fixing roller 211, which is to be detected by a thermistor 215, becomes a predetermined target temperature.
The pressure roller 212 has both end portions pressurized by a pressure mechanism (not shown) toward the fixing roller 211 with a predetermined total pressure. In the pressure roller 212, a cylindrical core bar made of stainless steel is covered with an elastic layer made of silicone rubber, and the elastic layer is covered with a release layer formed of a tube made of a fluorine resin. A halogen heater 214 is arranged inside the pressure roller 212, and power to be input to the halogen heater 214 is automatically adjusted so that the surface temperature of the pressure roller 212, which is to be detected by a thermistor 216, becomes a predetermined target temperature.
(Relay Unit)
The relay unit 301 switchback-conveys the recording material received from the first image forming apparatus 101, and changes the trailing edge of the first surface to the leading edge of the second surface, thereby sending the recording material to the second image forming apparatus 102 in a state in which the front and back surfaces of the recording material are reversed.
In order to secure a time period to enable switchback conveyance of the recording material by the relay unit 301, it is necessary to reduce the productivity in the first image forming apparatus 101, and increase the feed interval (inter-sheet gap) between the recording materials as compared to a normal case. In order to avoid those situations, in a case where the process speed of the first image forming apparatus 101 is 500 mm/sec, the conveyance speed of the relay unit 301 is increased to 1,500 mm/sec. Accordingly, it becomes unnecessary to increase the feed interval (inter-sheet gap) between the recording materials in the first image forming apparatus 101, and the productivity of the image forming system 100 is prevented from being reduced. At the entrance of the relay unit 301, the conveyance speed of the recording material is increased from 500 mm/sec to 1,500 mm/sec and then switchback is performed. Then, at the exit of the relay unit 301, the conveyance speed of the recording material is decreased from 1,500 mm/sec to 500 mm/sec.
Note that, as illustrated in
Further, in a case that the first image forming apparatus 101 includes a face-down (switchback) output mechanism on the downstream of the fixing device 202A, after the front and back surfaces of the recording material are reversed by the face-down output mechanism, the recording material may be sent to a relay unit without the switchback function.
(Control System for Multiply-connecting Image Forming System)
The control portion 901 controls, in response to a command from the connecting system controlling portion 800, the first image forming apparatus 101 so as to execute an image formation job, timely execute an operation of feeding the recording material from the recording material cassette 500, and execute power control in a waiting state. The control portion 902 controls, in response to a command from the connecting system controlling portion 800, the second image forming apparatus 102 so as to execute an image formation job, timely execute an operation of feeding the recording material from the recording material cassette 500, and execute power control in a waiting state.
The connecting system controlling portion 800 is connected to the feed deck 400 and the stacker 600 in a communicable state. The feed deck 400 sends, in response to a command from the connecting system controlling portion 800, a recording material to the first image forming apparatus 101. The stacker 600 stacks, in response to a command from the connecting system controlling portion 800, the recording material delivered from the second image forming apparatus 102.
(Network Communication System)
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The administrator of the multiply-connecting image forming system 100 accesses from the external computer 1020 to the external controller 1010, thereby enabling control and instruction to the connecting system controlling portion 800 via the external controller 1010.
(Waiting Mode)
In the multiply-connecting image forming system 100, through communication with an operating portion 91 of the first image forming apparatus 101, an operating portion 92 of the second image forming apparatus 102, the external computer 1020, a waiting state of the connecting system controlling portion 800 is settable.
The waiting mode refers to a mode in which the fixing device is controlled to a temperature lower than a temperature for fixing and is caused to wait for the image formation job until the temperature rises up to the fixing temperature. The waiting mode includes a power saving mode and a silent mode.
As shown in Table 1, in the standby state, a reception of the image formation job is waited for in a state in which the fixing devices 202A and 202B are each maintained at the temperature for fixing. Therefore, the image formation job can be immediately started at the same time as the reception of the image formation job.
When the status is put into the waiting state after the power saving mode is set, the power consumption in the waiting state can be reduced.
When the status is put into the waiting state after the silent mode is set, in addition to the reduction of the temperature of the fixing device, a scanner and a cooling fan are stopped. Therefore, this waiting mode can reduce a larger amount of power consumption.
When the power saving mode (or the silent mode) is set and when the standby state, in which the fixing devices 202A and 202B are maintained at the temperature for fixing, continues for a predetermined period of setting time, the temperature of the fixing devices 202A and 202B to be set is reduced to put the status into the waiting state.
(Setting through Operating Portion)
In a case that the multiply-connecting image forming system 100 is installed as a copy model, the operator can perform setting of a transition time to the waiting state of the power saving mode or to the waiting state of the silent mode through the operating portion (input portion) 91 of the first image forming apparatus 101 or the operating portion (input portion) 92 of the second image forming apparatus 102.
(1) As illustrated in
(2) As illustrated in
The following are settings on a transition time to the waiting state of the power saving mode.
(1) As illustrated in
(2) As illustrated in
The following are settings on a transition time to the waiting state of the silent mode.
(1) As illustrated in
(2) As illustrated in
(Setting through Network)
As illustrated in
(1) The user accesses from the external computer 1020 to the external controller 1010 via the Internet communication line 5000.
(2) When the user accesses to an Internet address (URL) of the external controller 1010, a menu screen 94A illustrated in
(3) As illustrated in
(4) As illustrated in
(5) As illustrated in
(6) When the status enters a state in which an instruction is transmittable from the external controller 1010 to the connecting system controlling portion (input portion) 800, a system administration setting screen 94C illustrated in
(7) As illustrated in
The following are settings on the transition time to the waiting state of the power saving mode.
(1) As illustrated in
(2) As illustrated in
The following are settings on a transition time to the waiting state of the silent mode.
(1) As illustrated in
(2) As illustrated in
Note that, the method of setting through external communication is not limited to this form. The necessary minimum components are, as illustrated in
By the way, as illustrated in
Therefore, in the multiply-connecting image forming system 100, in order to reduce the power consumption when waiting for the image formation job, the power saving mode and the silent mode are settable.
However, when the first image forming apparatus 101 and the second image forming apparatus 102 are always activated in a case where the multiply-connecting image forming system 100 receives an image formation job for duplex printing in the standby state, excessive power is consumed in some cases.
To address this problem, in the following embodiments, the activation control of the multiply-connecting image forming system 100 differs depending on whether or not the power saving mode or the silent mode is selected. When the image formation job for the duplex printing is received in the standby state, the activation of the system is appropriately set, thereby reducing the power consumption.
As illustrated in
The multiply-connecting image forming system 100 is operable in the first duplex image forming mode, in which the recording material having an image formed thereon using the first image forming apparatus 101 is subjected to image formation again using the second image forming apparatus 102.
The connecting system controlling portion 800 selects the power saving mode or the silent mode.
In the standby state, the fixing device 202A and the fixing device 202B are each maintained at the fixing temperature to wait for the image formation job. In the waiting state of the power saving mode and in the waiting state of the silent mode, the first fixing portion and the second fixing portion each wait for input of the image formation job at a temperature lower than the fixing temperature.
When the image formation job for duplex printing is input at the time of transition to the waiting state of the waiting mode, the connecting system controlling portion 800 executes a second duplex image forming mode in priority to the first duplex image forming mode. In the second duplex image forming mode, in a state in which the fixing device 202A is maintained in the standby state, the toner image forming portion 101B and the fixing device 202B are used for starting the image formation on the recording material without using the toner image forming portion 101A.
Even in the case where the second duplex image forming mode is executed in the state in which the fixing device 202A is maintained in the standby state, the amount of power consumption is smaller than in the case where the first duplex image forming mode is executed. The following is the reason why the amount of power consumption is smaller. That is, when the number of duplex prints is the same, the period of time required to complete the image formation in the second duplex image forming mode is approximately twice as long as in the first duplex image forming mode, but the average power consumption of the fixing device as a whole is approximately half the average power consumption in the first duplex image forming mode. In this respect, there is no difference in power consumption between the first duplex image forming mode and the second duplex image forming mode. However, the first duplex image forming mode requires electric power for two sets of components other than the relay unit and the fixing device. In a comprehensive viewpoint, the amount of power consumption is smaller in the case where the second duplex image forming mode is executed.
The following are settings on registration for prioritizing the second duplex image forming mode.
(1) As illustrated in
(2) As illustrated in
(3) As illustrated in
(4) As illustrated in
Accordingly, the registration for prioritizing the second duplex image forming mode is set. After transition to the “power saving/silent mode,” the second duplex image forming mode is executed in priority to the first duplex image forming mode.
Further, the operator may execute similar settings using the external computer 1020 through the network.
As illustrated in
(1) As illustrated in
(2) As illustrated in
(3) As illustrated in
Accordingly, the registration for prioritizing the second duplex image forming mode is set. After transition to the waiting state of the “power saving/silent mode,” the second duplex image forming mode is executed in priority to the first duplex image forming mode.
The phrase “the second duplex image forming mode is executed in priority to the first duplex image forming mode” herein means that only the second image forming apparatus is used for the image formation even in a state in that the first image forming apparatus can be activated to execute printing. In other words, the phrase means that only the second image forming apparatus is used for the image formation even when the status does not fall in a state in which the first image forming apparatus is out of paper or our of toner so that the image formation is inexecutable.
In the first embodiment, an operation screen (GUI) of the external computer, through which a print job command is transmitted, is provided with the function of changing setting conditions of the multiply-connecting image forming system 100, with the result that the power consumption can be reduced as desired by the user.
When the number of prints of image formation in the image formation job input in the sleep state is less than a predetermined number, the connecting system controlling portion 800 executes the second duplex image forming mode. On the other hand, when the number of prints of image formation in the input image formation job is equal to or more than the predetermined number, the connecting system controlling portion 800 executes the first duplex image forming mode.
Referring to
In the second embodiment, an initial value of the transition time to the sleep state is set to 30 minutes. Therefore, when 30 minutes or more have elapsed without receiving the image formation job after the previous printing is completed, the connecting system controlling portion 800 puts the status into the sleep state.
In the sleep state, the power supply to the fixing devices is stopped, but the power supply to the connecting system controlling portion 800 and the control portions 901 and 902 is continued to wait for the image formation job (S201).
In the multiply-connecting image forming system, when the power saving mode or the silent mode is set and when the number of prints of image formation is less than the predetermined number, in response to reception of the image formation job in the sleep state, the fixing device 202B is activated and the stop of the power supply to the fixing device 202A is maintained. Also in the standby state in which the fixing devices 202A and 202B are activated, when the power saving mode or the silent mode is set and when the number of prints of image formation is less than the predetermined number, the second image forming apparatus 102 is used for executing the image formation job, and the power supply to the fixing device 202A is stopped. Accordingly, the amount of power consumption is further reduced as compared to the first embodiment.
When the connecting system controlling portion 800 receives the image formation job from the external computer 1020 (“Y” in S204), the connecting system controlling portion 800 terminates the sleep state and activates the multiply-connecting image forming system 100 (S208 or S210). At this time, the number of image forming apparatus to be activated differs depending on whether or not the power saving mode or the silent mode is set and whether the number of duplex prints in the image formation job is larger or smaller than the predetermined number.
When the image formation job is received in the sleep state (S203), the connecting system controlling portion 800 determines whether the image formation job is issued for the duplex printing or the simplex printing (S205). In the case of the simplex printing (“N” in S205), the first image forming apparatus 101 is not activated. Only the second image forming apparatus 102 is activated (S208), and the recording material fed from the recording material cassette 500 of the second image forming apparatus 102 is conveyed to the toner image forming portion 101B so that the simplex printing is executed (S209).
On the other hand, in the case of the duplex printing (“Y” in S205), the connecting system controlling portion 800 determines whether or not the power saving mode or the silent mode is set for the first image forming apparatus 101 and the second image forming apparatus 102 (S206).
Under the condition in which the power saving mode or the silent mode is selected (“Y” in S206), the connecting system controlling portion 800 determines whether or not the number of prints in the image formation job is equal to or more than 200 (S207). When the number of prints in the image formation job is less than 200 (“N” in S207), the connecting system controlling portion 800 transmits an activation command to the control portion 902 of the second image forming apparatus 102 to activate the second image forming apparatus 102 (S208). After that, the connecting system controlling portion 800 transmits a printing start command to execute the duplex printing operation by the second image forming apparatus 102 alone (S209). Note that, at this time, the connecting system controlling portion 800 commands the control portion 901 of the first image forming apparatus 101 to continue the sleep state.
On the other hand, when the power saving mode or the silent mode is not set (“N” in S206), the connecting system controlling portion 800 transmits the activation command to both the control portion 901 and the control portion 902 to activate both the first image forming apparatus 101 and the second image forming apparatus 102 (S210). After the fixing devices 202A and 202B are activated, the connecting system controlling portion 800 transmits the printing start command to execute the duplex printing operation in which the first image forming apparatus 101 and the second image forming apparatus 102 perform printing on respective one sides of a recording material in a divided manner (S211).
Also when the number of prints in the image formation job for the duplex printing is equal to or more than 200, the connecting system controlling portion 800 gives a higher priority to reduce the total processing time of the image formation job, and therefore activates both the first image forming apparatus 101 and the second image forming apparatus 102 (S210). Then, the connecting system controlling portion 800 executes the duplex printing operation in which the first image forming apparatus 101 and the second image forming apparatus 102 perform printing on respective one sides of a recording material in a divided manner (S211).
In the multiply-connecting image forming system 100 of the second embodiment, when the power saving mode or the silent mode is not selected and in the case of the duplex printing, both the first image forming apparatus 101 and the second image forming apparatus 102 are used for the duplex printing. When the power saving mode or the silent mode is set, in response to the reception of the image formation job after the transition to the sleep state, the second image forming apparatus 102 is used for the image formation in the state in which the first image forming apparatus is maintained in the sleep state.
In the second embodiment, when the image formation job is received in the sleep state of low power consumption, as long as the power saving mode or the silent mode is selected, only the second image forming apparatus 102 is activated to execute the image formation, irrespective of whether the simplex printing or the duplex printing is to be performed.
In the second embodiment, in the standby state or the sleep state, the image formation pattern or the activation pattern of the multiply-connecting image forming system 100 is changed depending on whether or not the “power saving/silent mode” is set. Accordingly, the power consumption is reduced.
As illustrated in
Therefore, in the third embodiment, when the power saving mode or the silent mode is selected and when the image formation job for the duplex printing is input in the standby state, the power supply to the fixing device 202A is stopped after the second duplex image forming mode is started. The status of the first image forming apparatus 101 is put into the sleep state even during the period in which the second image forming apparatus 102 is executing the duplex printing, with the result that the power consumption is further reduced as compared to the first embodiment.
Referring to
Until a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the multiply-connecting image forming system 100 is activated (“Y” in S202), the connecting system controlling portion 800 waits for the image formation job in the standby state, in which the fixing devices 202A and 202B are each maintained at the normal fixing temperature (S201).
When the image formation job is received, the connecting system controlling portion 800 determines whether the image formation job is issued for the duplex printing or the simplex printing (S212). In the case of the simplex printing (“N” in S212), the connecting system controlling portion 800 transmits an image formation command to the control portion 902, and the recording material fed from the recording material cassette 500 of the second image forming apparatus 102 is conveyed to the toner image forming portion 101B so that the simplex printing is executed (S215).
On the other hand, in the case of the duplex printing (“Y” in S212), the connecting system controlling portion 800 determines whether or not the power saving mode or the silent mode is set (S213). When the power saving mode or the silent mode is selected (“Y” in S213), the connecting system controlling portion 800 determines whether or not the number of prints is equal to or more than 200 (S214).
When the number of prints is less than 200 (“N” in S214), the connecting system controlling portion 800 transmits the printing start command to the control portion 902 of the second image forming apparatus 102 to execute the duplex printing by the second image forming apparatus 102 (S215).
On the other hand, when the power saving mode or the silent mode is not selected (“N” in S213), the connecting system controlling portion 800 transmits the printing start command to the control portion 901 and the control portion 902. Then, the connecting system controlling portion 800 executes the duplex printing in which the first image forming apparatus 101 and the second image forming apparatus 102 perform printing on respective one sides of a recording material in a divided manner (S211).
Also when the number of prints is equal to or more than 200, the connecting system controlling portion 800 gives priority to reducing the processing time of the image formation job, and therefore executes the duplex printing in which the first image forming apparatus 101 and the second image forming apparatus 102 perform printing on respective one sides of a recording material in a divided manner (S211).
When the simplex printing is selected (“N” in S212) or when the duplex printing is performed by the second image forming apparatus 102 (“Y” in S214), the connecting system controlling portion 800 determines whether or not a cumulative non-operational time of the first image forming apparatus 101 has reached a predetermined period of time (S216).
When the cumulative non-operational time of the first image forming apparatus 101 has reached the predetermined period of time (“Y” in S216), the connecting system controlling portion 800 issues, to the control portion 901, a command to put the status of the first image forming apparatus 101 into the sleep state (S217).
As described above, through the control of the third embodiment, the status of the first image forming apparatus 101 that is not in use during the period in which the second image forming apparatus 102 is in operation is put into the sleep state. When the second image forming apparatus 102 positioned downstream of the relay unit 301 in a conveyance direction starts the duplex printing for the recording material, the first image forming apparatus 101 positioned upstream of the relay unit 301 in the conveyance direction is put into the sleep state after the elapse of the predetermined period of time. Therefore, the electric power required for the first image forming apparatus 101 to maintain the standby state can be reduced.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-105840, filed May 11, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2011-105840 | May 2011 | JP | national |