JP2014057134A - Image forming device, image forming device control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow an image forming device to keep a power supply cut-off state until a request to access to a connected specific storage device is made, after the image forming device shifts to a low power mode.SOLUTION: In the image forming device provided with a storage device operating with power supplied via a predetermined interface, a CPU 105 determines whether the attributes of the connected storage device are predetermined attributes (S203). If the CPU 105 determines that the attributes of the storage device are the predetermined attributes, the CPU 105 discriminates a request for data processing and shifts a power supply state to the low power mode, and in the case of receiving a request to return from the low power mode to a normal power mode after the shifting to the low power mode, the CPU 105 performs control to avoid starting supply of power to the predetermined interface (S205 to S211).

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that controls power supply to a storage device connected via a predetermined interface, a control method for the image forming apparatus, and a program.

In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, data used for processing, image data, and the like are stored in a hard disk (hereinafter referred to as “HDD”) that is an external storage device. However, HDDs have problems such as “weak to shock and vibration”, “high power consumption”, “slow start-up”, and “finite number of power on / off times”. Therefore, in recent years, replacement with SSD (Solid State Drive) using a semiconductor memory as an alternative to HDD is being promoted.
However, since SSDs have a higher capacity unit price than HDDs, the capacity of SSDs must be reduced in order to reduce costs, and there is not enough storage area when it is desired to store a large amount of image data. Therefore, an image forming apparatus that can connect an external HDD already on the market and increases the storage area is realized.

In this external HDD, the connection with the host device is an interface conforming to the USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard. Since this USB interface is provided with a power supply line (V-BUS) in addition to the data line, any peripheral device with low power consumption can operate by receiving power supply from the host device via USB. .
Specifically, many external HDDs using 2.5-inch HDDs do not require connection with an AC adapter, and can operate only by supplying power from the power line of the USB interface.
Conversely, an external HDD using a 3.5-inch HDD does not receive power from the USB interface and operates by receiving power from an external power source such as a commercial power source. Here, for the 3.5-inch external HDD, since the host device and the external HDD are powered independently, the power is supplied to the external HDD even when the host device is turned off. There was a problem of unnecessary consumption.

In view of this, there has been proposed a device that reduces unnecessary power consumption of the peripheral device by linking the on / off of the power switch of the peripheral device with the on / off of the host device (see Patent Document 1).
With the apparatus of Patent Document 1, a 3.5-inch external HDD can link the power supply of the host device and the external HDD in the same manner as a 2.5-inch external HDD.

Further, with the USB interface, even when the host device is not accessing the peripheral device, power is continuously supplied to the peripheral device while it is connected to the host device, and power is wasted. there were.
Therefore, a power control device that detects access to a peripheral device and supplies power to the peripheral device only when the access is detected has been proposed (see Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-305880 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-280770

However, in the above-described conventional technology, when the host device is powered on, the peripheral device connected to the USB interface is authenticated every time in order to acquire information on the connected peripheral device. Therefore, even if the host device is activated, power is wasted when the peripheral device is not used.
Further, in the case where the host device is frequently turned on / off, the peripheral device is also turned on / off in conjunction with it, so the number of times the peripheral device is turned on / off like an external HDD. However, there is a problem that the number of times of turning on / off the power supply is extremely increased.
In particular, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention frequently recovers from the low power consumption state, so that the peripheral device is also turned on each time. Note that the low power consumption state is a state in which, when the device has not been used for a predetermined time, etc., only the parts necessary for job reception and device restoration are left, and other parts including peripheral devices are de-energized. Say.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is until an access request to a specific storage device to be connected is made after the image forming apparatus shifts to the low power mode. It is to provide a mechanism that can maintain a state where the supply of power is cut off.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object has the following configuration.
An image forming apparatus, a storage device that operates with power supplied via a predetermined interface, a determination unit that determines whether an attribute of the connected storage device is a specific attribute, and the storage When it is determined that the device attribute is a specific attribute, the data processing request is determined, the power supply state is shifted to the low power mode, and the request for returning from the low power mode to the normal power mode is accepted. And control means for controlling so as not to start the supply of power to the predetermined interface.

  According to the present invention, after the image forming apparatus shifts to the low power mode, it is possible to maintain a state where the supply of power is cut off until an access request to a specific storage device to be connected is made.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling the image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface displayed on an operation part. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface displayed on an operation part. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface displayed on an operation part. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling the image forming apparatus.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the components described in the present embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

<Description of system configuration>
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. The image forming apparatus shown in this example can be connected to an external storage device (storage device (2.5 inch HDD)) via a bidirectional interface, for example, a USB interface. The image forming apparatus shown in the present embodiment includes a nonvolatile storage device, for example, an SSD (Solid State Drive) as an internal storage device. As for the storage capacity, it is assumed that HDD has more storage capacity than SSD. In the present embodiment, the storage device operates with power supplied via the V-BUS of a predetermined interface.

  In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 101 is largely composed of a scanner unit 102 that is an image input device, a printer unit 103 that is an image output device, and a controller 104 that controls image processing and image forming operations. Since the scanner unit 102 and the printer unit 103 can have various configurations based on well-known techniques, description thereof is omitted here.

  The controller 104 includes a CPU 105 that controls the entire apparatus, a RAM 106 that is a main storage device such as a DRAM for operating the CPU 105, and a control unit 108 that includes a ROM 107 that stores a system boot program and the like. ing. Further, an operation unit 109, which is a user interface (UI) for operating the image forming apparatus 101 and displaying the state of the apparatus, and a computer terminal 110, which is an external device, are connected via a LAN or the like. A network interface 111 and a USB interface 112 for connecting peripheral devices are provided.

  Here, the USB interface 112 includes a USB controller, SIE (Serial Interface Engine), and the like, and includes two data lines and two power supply lines (V-BUS). Furthermore, the controller 104 includes a V-BUS switch 113 that performs V-BUS on / off control in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 108. Further, the controller 104 includes an SSD 114 as a secondary storage device, and stores an operating system or the like, or saves a print job or the like received via the network interface 111. Here, when the V-BUS switch 113 determines that the attribute of the external HDD 115 is a specific attribute, the V-BUS switch 113 determines the data processing request and shifts the power supply state to the low power supply mode. To work. Specifically, when a request for returning from the low power mode to the normal power mode is received, the power supply of the V-BUS is changed to an off state so as not to start supplying power to the predetermined interface.

  Next, the 2.5-inch external HDD 115 is connected to the control unit 108 via the USB interface 112 and expands the storage area of the SSD 114. The USB interface 112 to which the external HDD 115 is connected is a dedicated interface for expanding the storage area of the SSD 114, and it is assumed that only a storage device such as an external HDD is attached. Further, when a plurality of USB interfaces are provided, any one of them may be a USB interface dedicated for expansion.

Finally, the power supply control unit 116 generates a DC power supply from the commercial power supply and supplies power of an appropriate DC potential necessary for each unit of the image forming apparatus 101. Further, in accordance with an on / off control signal from the control unit 108, a switch is provided that can control on / off of the DC power supplied to each unit.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. Hereinafter, an example of power control according to the present embodiment will be described. Each step will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Each step is realized by the CPU 105 loading a control program stored in the ROM 107 into the RAM 106 and executing it. Hereinafter, when the image forming apparatus recovers from the low power consumption state, the peripheral device connected to the USB interface is not turned on, and power is supplied to the peripheral device only when the peripheral device is actually accessed. Thus, power saving and control capable of reducing the number of times of turning on / off the peripheral device will be described.

  In S201, the image forming apparatus 101 is in a normal power state, and when a peripheral device such as the external HDD 115 is connected to the USB interface 112 by the user, the CPU 105 confirms the USB device class of the connected peripheral device (S202). ). Here, the USB device class is a specification classified according to the function of a device connected to the USB. If the class is the same, the device can be operated with a unified device driver. Next, the CPU 105 determines whether or not the device class acquired in S202 is a mass storage device class (S203).

The mass storage device class is a type of USB device class, and includes storage devices such as a USB memory, a memory card reader / writer, and an external HDD. Next, if the CPU 105 determines that it is not the mass storage device class in S203, since the peripheral device connected to the USB interface is not a storage device, the CPU 105 displays the UI screen shown in FIG. An error message such as “A USB device other than the device has been connected. This USB terminal is a dedicated terminal for expanding the storage area. Please connect the storage device” is displayed (S204), and the process ends. To do. Accordingly, when it is determined that the connected storage device is not an external HDD, a warning to that effect can be given to the display unit of the operation unit 109.
On the other hand, when the CPU 105 determines the mass storage device class in S203, the CPU 105 determines that a storage device such as an external HDD has been added for expansion of the storage area of the SSD 114.

  Subsequently, in S205, the CPU 105 shifts to the low power consumption state when a predetermined time elapses or when a transition condition to the low power consumption state such as an instruction from the user is satisfied using the operation unit 109 (S206). .

  At this time, the CPU 105 sends a signal for turning off the V-BUS switch 113 in order to stop the supply of the V-BUS power. At the same time, the controller 104 transmits a control signal for turning on / off each unit to the power control unit 116, and the power control unit 116 stops the power supply of each unit based on the received control signal, and the image forming apparatus 101. To a low power consumption state.

In the present embodiment, the low power consumption state refers to a state in which power is supplied only to a part of the network interface 111 and the operation unit 109, and to the other controller 104, scanner unit 102, and printer unit 103. The power is not supplied. This state is virtually shown by the dotted line shown in FIG.
However, a configuration in which only the external HDD 115 and the scanner unit 102 are not supplied with power, or a configuration in which a plurality of low power consumption states with different power consumptions are provided and the power supply of each unit is sequentially turned off after a certain period of time has elapsed. Etc. That is, a state where the normal power consumption state shifts to a low power state as little as possible is referred to as a low power consumption state. However, in the low power consumption state in the present invention, the external HDD 115 is always turned off.

In step S <b> 207, the image forming apparatus 101 receives a print job from the computer terminal 110 or satisfies a condition for returning from a low power consumption state such as a return instruction from the user using the operation unit 109. Then, power is supplied from the power supply control unit 116 to each unit to return from the low power consumption state (S208).
However, at this time, the CPU 105 keeps the V-BUS switch 113 in the OFF state and does not supply power to the external HDD 115. Therefore, the CPU 105 cannot recognize the external HDD 115, but the CPU 105 stores the state before the transition to the low power consumption state in the SSD 114, and the area of the external HDD 115 that is virtually connected is stored. As shown in FIG. 4, it is displayed on the operation unit 109.
This example corresponds to an external HDD 112 that can transition to a usable state by supplying power from the V-BUS of the USB interface 112 when a request for returning from the low power mode to the normal power mode is accepted. The attached virtual storage device can be displayed on the display unit. In this state, no power is supplied to the external HDD 112, and the external HDD 112 is not turned on / off while maintaining the low power state.

By controlling in this way, it is possible to make the external HDD 115 accessible to the user even when the external HDD 115 is not actually recognized. In step S <b> 209, the CPU 105 determines whether the received job or user request needs to use the external HDD 115. If the CPU 105 determines that it is not necessary to use the external HDD 115, the job is executed without starting the external HDD 115 with the V-BUS switch 113 kept off (S211), and processing Exit.
On the other hand, if the CPU 105 determines that the received job or user request needs to use the external HDD 115 in S209, the CPU 105 turns on the V-BUS switch 113 and activates the external HDD 115 ( (S210), the job is executed (S211), and this process is terminated.
In this embodiment, when it is determined that the attribute of the HDD is a specific attribute, after determining the data processing request and shifting the power supply state to the low power mode, the low power mode is changed to the normal power mode. When a return request is received, control is performed so that power supply to a predetermined interface (USB interface) is not started. As a result, unless the HDD connected to the USB interface is requested to use the HDD directly, the power supply is cut off and the power saving state can be maintained. Furthermore, even if requests that do not directly access the HDD occur frequently, useless on / off operations can be limited, and the life of the HDD itself can be extended.

  Note that the processing of S201 to S203 is executed only when the external HDD 115 is first connected to the image forming apparatus 101, and thereafter is not executed unless the connection of the external HDD 115 is released or there is something wrong. Further, when the external HDD 115 is removed from the image forming apparatus 101, the CPU 105 cannot recognize that the external HDD 115 has been removed if the external HDD 115 is not being accessed.

Therefore, when removing the external HDD 115 from the main body of the image forming apparatus, the operation unit 109 is used to cause the user to perform the removal operation. By doing so, the USB authentication process is reset. Thereby, it can control again so that a process may be performed from S201.
If the external HDD 115 is removed without performing the above operation and the control unit 108 accesses the external HDD 115 and the access destination is not found, the operation unit 109 is informed as shown in FIG. You may be the structure notified to a user by displaying.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, when the image forming apparatus returns from the low power consumption state, the peripheral device connected to the USB interface is not turned on, and only when the peripheral device actually accesses the peripheral device. Power supply can be realized by supplying power to. In addition, when an external HDD is connected as a peripheral device, it is not necessary to turn on the external HDD every time the image forming apparatus returns from the low power consumption state. Can be reduced, and the lifetime of the HDD can be extended.
[Second Embodiment]

In the present embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the external HDD 601 connected to the USB interface 112 is 3.5 inches, and the V-BUS switch 113 is deleted.
As shown in FIG. 6, the 3.5-inch external HDD 601 operates by receiving power supply from a commercial power supply instead of the V-BUS. Also, it is assumed that the external HDD 601 used at this time is an external HDD that is linked to the power supply of the host device as shown in Patent Document 1.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. Hereinafter, an example of power control according to this embodiment will be described. Each step will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Each step is realized by the CPU 105 loading a control program stored in the ROM 107 into the RAM 106 and executing it. Also, S701 to S705 and S707 shown in FIG. 7 are the same as the steps S201 to S205 and S707 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, when the image forming apparatus recovers from the low power consumption state, the peripheral device connected to the USB interface is not turned on, and power is supplied to the peripheral device only when the peripheral device is actually accessed. Thus, a description will be given of control that can save power and reduce the number of times of turning on / off the peripheral device.
In step S <b> 706, the image forming apparatus 101 shifts to a low power consumption state. At this time, the CPU 105 issues an unmount command to the USB interface 112 and releases the USB connection in software. As a result, access from the CPU 105 to the external HDD 601 is stopped, and the operation of the external HDD 601 is also stopped by the power supply interlocking function. In the present embodiment, when a specific unmount command for shifting the external power source to the off state is output to the external HDD 601 and a request for returning from the low power mode to the normal power mode is received, the external HDD 601 is externally connected. Outputs a specific mount command to turn the power on.

Next, in S707, upon receiving an instruction to return from the low power consumption state, the image forming apparatus including the control unit 108 is supplied with power from the power supply control unit 116 and returns from the low power consumption state (S708). At this time, the CPU 105 keeps releasing the USB interface 112, but stores the state before the release in, for example, the SSD 114, and virtually displays the area of the connected external HDD 601. As a result, even if the external HDD 601 is not actually connected, it can be shown to the user that the external HDD 601 can be accessed.
Next, when access to the external HDD 601 occurs in S709, the CPU 105 issues a USB mount command, and when USB re-authentication is performed, the external HDD 601 is activated by the power supply interlocking function of the external HDD 601 (S710). ). Thereafter, the image forming apparatus 101 executes a job using the external HDD 601 (S711), and ends this processing.

  According to the present embodiment, the configuration of power control for peripheral devices connected to the image forming apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to these first and second embodiments, and any combination of the configurations described in the first and second embodiments is also included in the scope thereof. And

For example, an unmount command is issued when a USB connection is released by using a 2.5-inch HDD that operates on a V-BUS, or by combining the first and second embodiments with respect to the second embodiment. However, the V-BUS switch can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention, such as a configuration in which the V-BUS switch is turned off.
In the present invention, the 2.5-inch HDD is supplied from the V-BUS and the 3.5-inch HDD is supplied from the commercial power supply. Of course, the 2.5-inch HDD is supplied from the commercial power supply. The 3.5-inch HDD may use V-BUS.
In this embodiment, when it is determined that the attribute of the HDD is a specific attribute, after determining the data processing request and shifting the power supply state to the low power mode, the low power mode is changed to the normal power mode. When a return request is received, control is performed so that the supply of power from the external power supply is not started. Thereby, unless the HDD connected to the USB interface is requested to use the HDD directly, the power supply from the external power supply is cut off and the power saving state can be maintained. Furthermore, even if requests that do not directly access the HDD occur frequently, useless on / off operations can be limited, and the life of the HDD itself can be extended.
According to each of the above embodiments, when the image forming apparatus recovers from the low power consumption state, the peripheral device connected to the USB interface is not turned on, but only when the peripheral device is actually accessed. Power can be saved by supplying power to the apparatus. In addition, when an external HDD is connected as a peripheral device, it is not necessary to turn on the external HDD every time the image forming apparatus returns from the low power consumption state. Can be reduced, and the lifetime of the HDD can be extended.

In this embodiment, the function for implementing the invention is recorded in advance in the apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the same function may be downloaded from the network to the apparatus, and the same function is recorded. What is stored in the medium may be installed in the apparatus.
The recording medium may be in any form as long as it can store a program such as a CD-ROM and can be read by the apparatus. As described above, a function obtained by installation or download in advance may be realized in cooperation with an operating system (OS) or the like inside the apparatus.
Note that the HDD described in each of the above-described embodiments may be configured by an information processing terminal such as a notebook computer or a mobile electronic terminal (electronic pad).

  Each process of the present invention can also be realized by executing software (program) acquired via a network or various storage media by a processing device (CPU, processor) such as a personal computer (computer).

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are excluded from the scope of the present invention. is not.

101 Image forming apparatus 104 Controller 105 CPU
106 RAM
107 ROM
108 Control Unit 112 USB Interface 113 V-BUS Switch 114 SSD
115 External HDD (2.5 inch)
116 Power control unit

Claims (23)

An image forming apparatus,
A storage device that operates with power supplied through a predetermined interface;
Determining means for determining whether an attribute of the storage device connected to the predetermined interface is a specific attribute;
When it is determined that the attribute of the storage device is a specific attribute, a request for returning from the low power mode to the normal power mode is performed after determining the data processing request and shifting the power supply state to the low power mode. Control means for controlling so as not to start the supply of power to the predetermined interface,
An image forming apparatus comprising: An image forming apparatus,
A storage device connected to the image forming apparatus via a predetermined interface and operating with a power source supplied from an external power source;
Determining means for determining whether an attribute of the connected storage device is a specific attribute;
When determining that the attribute of the storage device is a specific attribute, when determining the data processing request and shifting the power supply state to the low power mode, the storage device causes the external power source to transition to the off state. Output means for outputting a specific command for transitioning the external power source to an on state to the storage device upon receiving a request to return from the low power mode to the normal power mode. ,
An image forming apparatus comprising: Switch means for shutting off power to be supplied from the predetermined interface to the storage device;
When the control unit determines that the attribute of the storage device is a specific attribute, the control unit determines a data processing request and shifts the power supply state to the low power mode. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the request for returning to the mode is received, the switch unit is shifted to an off state so as not to start supplying power to the predetermined interface.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a warning unit that warns the display unit that the connected device is not the storage device when the determination unit determines that the storage device is not the connected storage device. .   When a request for returning from the low power mode to the normal power mode is received, a virtual storage device associated with the storage device that can be changed to a usable state by supplying the power is displayed on the display unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a virtual unit for displaying.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage device is a hard disk that operates with power supplied via a USB interface.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the storage device is a hard disk connected via a USB interface and operating with a power source supplied from an external power source. A method for controlling an image forming apparatus including a storage device that operates with a power source supplied via a predetermined interface,
A determination step of determining whether an attribute of the storage device connected to the predetermined interface is a specific attribute;
When it is determined that the attribute of the storage device is a specific attribute, a request for returning from the low power mode to the normal power mode is performed after determining the data processing request and shifting the power supply state to the low power mode. Control process for controlling not to start the supply of power to the predetermined interface,
An image forming apparatus control method comprising: A method for controlling an image forming apparatus including a storage device connected to an image forming apparatus via a predetermined interface and operating with a power source supplied from an external power source,
A determination step of determining whether an attribute of the connected storage device is a specific attribute;
When determining that the attribute of the storage device is a specific attribute, when determining the data processing request and shifting the power supply state to the low power mode, the storage device causes the external power source to transition to the off state. An output step of outputting a specific command for transitioning the external power source to an on state to the storage device when a request for returning from the low power mode to the normal power mode is received. ,
An image forming apparatus control method comprising: Including a shut-off step of shutting off power to be supplied to the storage device from the predetermined interface,
In the case where it is determined that the attribute of the storage device is a specific attribute, the control step determines a data processing request and shifts the power supply state to the low power mode. 9. The method of controlling an image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein when the request for returning to the mode is accepted, the shut-off process makes a transition to an off state so as not to start supplying power to the predetermined interface. .   10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a warning step of warning a display unit that the connected device is not the storage device when the determination step determines that the storage device is not the connected storage device. Control method.   When a request for returning from the low power mode to the normal power mode is received, a virtual storage device associated with the storage device that can be changed to a usable state by supplying the power is displayed on the display unit. The method for controlling an image forming apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a display step of displaying.   9. The method of controlling an image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the storage device is a hard disk that operates with power supplied through a USB interface.   The method of controlling an image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the storage device is a hard disk connected via a USB interface and operating with a power source supplied from an external power source. A computer that controls an image forming apparatus including a storage device that operates with a power source supplied via a predetermined interface;
Determining means for determining whether an attribute of the storage device connected to the predetermined interface is a specific attribute;
When it is determined that the attribute of the storage device is a specific attribute, a request for returning from the low power mode to the normal power mode is performed after determining the data processing request and shifting the power supply state to the low power mode. A program for functioning as control means for controlling so as not to start the supply of power to the predetermined interface upon receipt of. A computer that controls the image forming apparatus including a storage device that is connected to the image forming apparatus via a predetermined interface and that is operated by a power source supplied from an external power source;
Determining means for determining whether an attribute of the connected storage device is a specific attribute;
When determining that the attribute of the storage device is a specific attribute, when determining the data processing request and shifting the power supply state to the low power mode, the storage device causes the external power source to transition to the off state. Output means for outputting a specific command for transitioning the external power source to an on state to the storage device when a request for returning from the low power mode to the normal power mode is received. Program to function as. Further, the computer
Function as a shut-off means for shutting off power to be supplied to the storage device from the predetermined interface;
When the control unit determines that the attribute of the storage device is a specific attribute, the control unit determines a data processing request and shifts the power supply state to the low power mode. 16. The program according to claim 15, wherein when the request for returning to the mode is accepted, the shut-off means makes a transition to an off state so as not to start supplying power to the predetermined interface. Further, the computer
The program according to claim 15 or 16, wherein when the determination unit determines that the storage device is not a connected storage device, the program causes the display unit to warn that the connected device is not the storage device. Further, the computer
When a request for returning from the low power mode to the normal power mode is received, a virtual storage device associated with the storage device that can be changed to a usable state by supplying the power is displayed on the display unit. The program according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the program functions as display means for displaying.   The program according to claim 15, wherein the storage device is a hard disk that operates with power supplied via a USB interface.   The program according to claim 16, wherein the storage device is a hard disk connected via a USB interface and operating with a power source supplied from an external power source. A computer that controls an image forming apparatus including a storage device that operates with a power source supplied via a predetermined interface;
Determining means for determining whether an attribute of the storage device connected to the predetermined interface is a specific attribute;
When it is determined that the attribute of the storage device is a specific attribute, a request for returning from the low power mode to the normal power mode is performed after determining the data processing request and shifting the power supply state to the low power mode. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for functioning as control means for controlling not to start the supply of power to the predetermined interface when receiving the request. A computer that controls the image forming apparatus including a storage device that is connected to the image forming apparatus via a predetermined interface and that is operated by a power source supplied from an external power source;
Determining means for determining whether an attribute of the connected storage device is a specific attribute;
When determining that the attribute of the storage device is a specific attribute, when determining the data processing request and shifting the power supply state to the low power mode, the storage device causes the external power source to transition to the off state. Output means for outputting a specific command for transitioning the external power source to an on state to the storage device when a request for returning from the low power mode to the normal power mode is received. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for functioning as a computer.

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