JP2000094794A - Imaging system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging system in which optimal energy save control is carried out for a plurality of imaging units connected with a network. SOLUTION: A print managing unit 20 connected through a network 50 comprises a section 21 for setting priority of imaging units 30, 40 connected under environment of the network 50, and a section 22 for storing the priority. When a power supply state monitoring section 25 detects turn on power of any one imaging unit, an energy save mode setting section 26 sets an energy save mode starting time automatically based on the priority stored in the priority information storing section 22. Consequently, fluctuation of energy save mode setting is eliminated among users and reduction of power consumption is realized through optimal power saving.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image forming system in which at least one image forming apparatus is connected to a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine controls the temperature of a fixing heater or shuts off power to the fixing heater when a predetermined time has elapsed in a standby state as an energy saving measure. In general, a method of reducing the power consumption by performing the operation is known.

Normally, the setting of whether to use the energy saving mode or the setting of the time from when the energy saving mode is switched to the energy saving mode is performed by the user from the operation panel. It was set in the state.

For example, the energy saving mode is not set when the frequency of use of the printer is low, or conversely, the mode is shifted to the energy saving mode in a short standby state despite the extremely high frequency of use of the printer. There was a situation that would. When the printing process to the printer occurs in such a setting situation, a warm-up process is required to make the temperature of the fixing heater reach a temperature at which the printing process can be performed. During that time, the user has to wait for the printing process. However, there has been a problem that the working efficiency is reduced.

To solve these problems, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-109029 discloses an image recording apparatus as Conventional Example 1. The image recording apparatus has an interface with an external device such as a personal computer, and records an image on a recording sheet based on image information input from the external device via the interface. An energy saving mode is provided, and at least one energy saving mode is set.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-239768 discloses an image forming system having energy saving measures for a plurality of printers connected in a network environment as a second conventional example. This image forming system is an image forming system that is connected to each other by a transmission cable so that a plurality of host machines share one printer.
By controlling the power of the printer on / off from the host machine side, it is possible to prevent forgetting to turn off the printer power and to save energy.

[0007]

However, in the image recording apparatus shown in the above-mentioned prior art example 1, in a recent office environment, a plurality of host users do not use only one printer, but in a network environment. In general, the environment in which multiple printers connected to a network can be used has become a problem, and there has been a problem in that the relationship between the energy saving mode settings of the multiple printers connected to a network and the frequency of use of the printers varies. I was As described above, there is a problem that it is necessary to consider energy saving measures for a plurality of printers connected in a network environment, instead of energy saving measures for only one apparatus as in the image recording apparatus of the first conventional example.

Further, the image forming system of the above-mentioned conventional example 2 has a problem that only the ON / OFF control of the power supply of the printer is not performed, and it is not a more detailed energy saving measure such as reduction of power consumption in a standby state of the printer. Was.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming system which solves the conventional drawbacks and enables optimum setting of energy saving control in a plurality of printers connected in a network environment.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming system in which at least one image forming apparatus and a host apparatus are connected to a network via a print management apparatus. Wherein the print management device receives print data from the host device and transmits the received print data to at least one image forming apparatus; and data storing the print data received by the transmission / reception means. Storage means, priority setting means for setting the priority of at least one image forming apparatus, priority storage means for storing the priority set by the priority setting means, and power supply status in at least one image forming apparatus Power supply monitoring means for monitoring power supply, and power supply monitoring means for supplying power to at least one image forming apparatus. If is sensed, characterized by having a, and energy-saving mode start time setting means for setting the energy saving mode (power saving mode) start time based on the priority stored by the priority storing means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the priority set by the priority setting means is such that the print job of each image forming apparatus in a predetermined time zone of at least one image forming apparatus is set. It is characterized by being set based on the number.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the priority set by the priority setting means is set based on the processing performance of at least one image forming apparatus. I do.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of an image forming system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG.
4 to FIG. 4, there is shown an embodiment of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming system 100 includes a host device 10 and a print management device 20.
, An image forming apparatus 30 such as a printer and a copying machine, and an image forming apparatus 40. The host apparatus 10 and the print management apparatus 20 are connected via a network 50.

The host device 10 is connected under a network 50 environment, and includes a data input unit including a keyboard (not shown) and a liquid crystal display unit.
The host device 10 is equipped with a function such as a word processor, and can create sentences and the like by data input by the user.

The print management apparatus 20 is connected to the host apparatus 10 via the network 50, is connected to the image forming apparatus 30 and the image forming apparatus 40, and transmits and receives data to and from the host apparatus 10 or the image forming apparatuses 30 and 40. Alternatively, temporary data storage is possible, and the states of a plurality of image forming apparatuses are constantly monitored.

The print management device 20 includes a priority setting unit 21
, Priority information storage section 22, data transmission / reception section 23
A print data storage unit 24, a power status monitoring unit 25,
An energy saving mode setting unit 26 is provided.

The priority setting unit 21 sets priorities based on information such as the frequency of use or processing performance in each connected image forming apparatus. Priority information storage unit 22
Stores information on the priority set by the priority setting unit 21. The data transmitting / receiving unit 23 receives the print data transmitted from the host device 10 and transmits the previous print data to the connected image forming apparatus. The print data storage unit 24 stores the print data received by the data transmission / reception unit 23, and transmits the print data from the data transmission / reception unit 23 to the image forming apparatus 30,
When transmitting the print data to the print data storage 40, the print data stored in the print data storage unit 24 is read and transmitted. The power supply status monitor 25 constantly monitors the power supply status of each of the image forming apparatuses 30 and 40. Energy saving mode setting section 26
Has a memory, and stores priority data of a plurality of image forming apparatuses as management information, and sets an optimum energy saving mode start time for the image forming apparatuses based on the priority data.

The image forming apparatus 30 mainly includes a print control unit 34
, Memory 32, CPU 33, data input / output unit 34
And prints image data such as text transmitted via the print management device 20 on an output medium such as recording paper based on the print data information.

The print control unit 31 controls data printing on an output medium such as recording paper based on the print data information transmitted via the print management device 20. The memory 32 temporarily stores data transmitted from the host device 10 via the print management device 20, and also stores various system information of the image forming device 30. The CPU 33 is a microprocessor, and stores a program for controlling the entire image forming apparatus 30. The data input / output unit 34
The data input / output unit receives data from the data transmission / reception unit 23 of the print management apparatus 20 and transmits data from the image forming apparatus 30 to the data transmission / reception unit 23 of the print management apparatus 20.

The image forming apparatus 40 mainly includes a print control unit 41
, Memory 43, CPU 43, data input / output unit 44
And each function is performed by the image forming apparatus 30.
Has the same function as that of, and performs the same operation.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the image forming system of the present invention. In a network 50 environment, a plurality of host devices such as the host device 10 and the print management device 20 connected between the plurality of image forming devices such as the image forming device 30 or the image forming device 40 are connected to the power supply of each image forming device. The status is constantly monitored (Step S20)
1).

The print management apparatus 20 determines whether or not the power is turned on to the image forming apparatus connected to the network 50 (step S202).
For example, when it is detected that the power of the image forming apparatus 30 is turned on, the priority order data stored in the priority order information storage unit 22 of the print management apparatus 20 is searched, and the priority order of the image forming apparatus 30 that is turned on is determined. Recognize (Step S20)
3).

Next, the print management device 20 executes step S2.
Based on the priority data recognized in step S03, an optimum energy saving mode start time is set for the image forming apparatus 30 by the energy saving mode setting unit 26 (step S20).
4).

The image forming apparatus 30 stores the energy saving mode start time setting data sent from the print management apparatus 20 in the memory 32. When the image forming apparatus 30 is in the standby state, the energy saving mode stored in the memory 33 is stored. When the start time has elapsed, the mode is shifted to the energy saving mode (step S205). In step S202, when the power-on of the image forming apparatus is not detected, the power supply state of each image forming apparatus is monitored (step S20).
6).

In step S206, the print management apparatus 20 determines whether or not the power of the image forming apparatus connected to the network 50 is turned on, and turns on the power of an arbitrary image forming apparatus, for example, the image forming apparatus 40. When the priority is detected, the priority information storage unit 22 of the print management device 20
Of the image forming apparatus 40 that has been powered on (step S2).
07).

Next, the print management device 20 executes step S2.
Based on the priority data recognized in step S07, an optimal energy saving mode start time is set for the image forming apparatus 40 (step S208).

The image forming apparatus 40 stores the energy saving mode start time setting data sent from the print management apparatus 20 in the memory 42. When the image forming apparatus 40 is in the standby state, the energy saving mode stored in the memory 42 is stored. When the start time has elapsed, the mode is shifted to the energy saving mode (step S209).

FIG. 3 shows a flow of an operation example of determining the energy saving mode start time for the image forming apparatus in the print management apparatus 20.

Here, as a definition of the priority, the print management apparatus 20 stores and manages the number of print jobs in each image forming apparatus, for example, in a predetermined time zone in which the printer is frequently used. Based on the stored information and the management information, the priority order according to the frequency of use of each image forming apparatus is determined.

In FIG. 3, the print management device 20 is operated by the host device 10 and the image forming device 30 during a predetermined time period.
Alternatively, the number of print jobs transmitted to the image forming apparatus 40 is stored in a memory (not shown) (step S301).

Next, after a predetermined time has elapsed, the print management apparatus 20 determines the priority of the image forming apparatus 30 or the image forming apparatus 40 according to the frequency of use from the storage information stored in a memory (not shown). For example, the image forming apparatus 30 that is used frequently is given priority 1 and the image forming apparatus 40 that is used less frequently is given priority 2 (step S3).
02).

Next, the print management device 20 executes step S3.
The optimum energy saving mode start time is calculated from the priority of the image forming apparatus determined in 02. For example, for the image forming apparatus 30 having the first priority, the start time of the energy saving mode is delayed, and for the image forming apparatus 40 having the second priority, the start time of the energy saving mode is shortened (step S303). The energy saving mode start time is set as a specific number.

In step S303, when the energy saving mode start time of each image forming apparatus is calculated and stored in the memory, the date count is updated (step S303).
304).

The print management apparatus 20 monitors the power supply state of the image forming apparatus 30 or the image forming apparatus 40, and when it detects that either of the image forming apparatuses is powered on, based on the priority according to the use frequency of the previous day. Then, an optimal energy saving mode start time is set (step S305).

According to this operation example, the print management device 20 is provided as means for detecting the use frequency of a plurality of printers connected in a network environment. Stores and manages the number of print jobs for each printer during high hours, and prioritizes each printer based on this stored information and management information, making it possible to set the optimal energy-saving mode start time according to the frequency of use Becomes

FIG. 4 shows another example of the operation flow in determining the energy saving mode start time for the image forming apparatus in the print management apparatus 20.

Here, as a definition of the priority, the print management device 20 stores and manages the print processing performance such as the printing speed and resolution of each image forming apparatus in advance, and based on the storage / management information, The priority order according to the print processing performance of the image forming apparatus is always determined.

The print management device 20 stores in advance a print processing performance such as a print speed and a resolution of each image forming apparatus set from the host apparatus 10 or the image forming apparatus 30 or the image forming apparatus 40 in a memory (not shown). It is managed (step S401).

Next, the print management apparatus 20 determines the priority of the image forming apparatus 30 or the image forming apparatus 40 according to the print processing performance from the storage information stored in a memory (not shown). For example, the image forming apparatus 3 having high print processing performance
0 is set to the priority 1 and the image forming apparatus 40 with low print processing performance is set to the priority 2 (step S402).

Next, the print management device 20 executes step S4.
The optimum energy saving mode start time is calculated from the priority of the image forming apparatus determined in 02. For example, for the image forming apparatus 30 having the first priority, the start time of the energy saving mode is delayed, and for the image forming apparatus 40 having the second priority, the start time of the energy saving mode is shortened (step S403). The energy saving mode start time is set as a specific number.

Next, the print management apparatus 20 monitors the power supply state of the image forming apparatus 30 or the image forming apparatus 40, and when it detects that one of the image forming apparatuses is turned on, the print management apparatus 20 has a priority according to the use frequency of the previous day. An optimal energy saving mode start time is set based on the ranking (step S404).

According to this operation example, the print management device 20 provided between the plurality of host devices and the printers stores and manages the print processing performance information of each printer in advance, thereby setting the priority of each printer. Therefore, it is possible to set an optimum energy saving start time according to the print processing performance.

[0044]

As apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a print management device is connected in a network environment, and the print management device assigns a priority to each image forming device. When the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on, the optimal energy saving start time according to the priority order is automatically set for the image forming apparatus.
Power consumption can be reduced by optimal power saving, and printing efficiency, business efficiency, and operation efficiency can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the priority order of each image forming apparatus by the print management apparatus is determined by managing the number of print jobs in each image forming apparatus by the print management apparatus. By doing so, it is possible to obtain an optimal power saving effect according to the frequency of use of each image forming apparatus, and it is possible to improve printing efficiency, business efficiency, and operation efficiency.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the priority of each image forming apparatus by the print management apparatus is determined by preliminarily storing and managing print processing performance such as printing speed and resolution of each image forming apparatus. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an optimal power saving effect according to the print processing performance of each image forming apparatus, and to improve the printing efficiency, the work efficiency, and the operation efficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the image forming system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of a print management device in the image forming system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating another operation example of the print management apparatus in the image forming system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Host apparatus 20 Print management apparatus 21 Priority setting part 22 Priority information storage part 23 Data transmission / reception part 24 Print data storage part 25 Power supply status monitoring part 26 Energy saving mode setting part 30, 40 Image forming apparatus 31, 41 Print control part 32 , 42 memory 33, 43 CPU 34, 44 data input / output unit 50 network 100 image forming system

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 3/12 G06F 3/12 K 1/00 334J

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image forming system in which at least one image forming apparatus and a host device are connected to a network via a print management device, wherein the print management device receives print data from the host device, Data transmission / reception means for transmitting received print data to the at least one image forming apparatus; data storage means for storing the print data received by the transmission / reception means; priority of the at least one image forming apparatus Priority setting means for setting the priority order; priority order storage means for storing the priority order set by the priority order setting means; power supply state monitoring means for monitoring a power supply state in the at least one image forming apparatus; If the power monitoring is detected in the at least one image forming apparatus by the status monitoring means, Image forming system characterized by having a a energy-saving mode start time setting means for setting the energy saving mode (power saving mode) start time based on the priority stored by the priority storing means. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the priority order set by the priority order setting unit is set based on the number of print jobs of each image forming apparatus in a predetermined time zone of the at least one image forming apparatus. The image forming system according to claim 1. 3. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the priority set by the priority setting unit is set based on processing performance of the at least one image forming apparatus.