JP4819564B2 - Printing apparatus control method, printing apparatus control program, and printing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention is a control method of a printing device operatively connected to the host device, the printing device control program, and a printing device.

  In recent years, there has been a worldwide movement to promote a reduction in power consumption. Depending on the country, environmental standard regulations may be established at the national level, and restrictions may be imposed on appliances that do not meet the regulations, such as not permitting sales.

  A so-called power management function is put into practical use in PCs (personal computers) and peripheral devices, but it is considered that it is necessary to provide a wide power management function in other electronic devices that will be put on the market in the future.

  Regarding power management functions used in PCs and the like, standards such as Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) or Advanced Power Management (APM) are known.

For example, in ACPI, the power supply mode is defined as follows.
S0 Full operation state (normal operation state)
S1 Low power consumption state (CPU / chipset is powered on)
S2 Low power consumption state (CPU / cache is powered off, chipset is powered on)
S3 Standby state S4 Hibernation state
S5 Power off by software The current power management function stops a part of the function to reduce power consumption while the device is not in use, and is in a state called a power saving mode, for example, a sleep mode (power mode in the case of the above ACPI) One of S1 to S5). In addition, the apparatus is returned to the normal state (same as S0) triggered by a user operation on the apparatus or an access from an external apparatus.

  In various power management standards, there are some inconsistencies in terms, but in the following, “sleep mode” is used as a term representing a low power consumption mode or a power saving mode.

  That is, in this specification, “sleep mode” refers to all power saving modes (upper power supply modes S1 to S5) that consume less power than the normal operation mode (power-on mode: upper power supply mode S0). To do.

  In a printing apparatus such as a printer, a configuration provided with the power management function as described above is known. For example, a configuration has been proposed in which the transition / return to the sleep mode is controlled by a timer, or a wake-up command is transmitted from the host to the printer in response to the application's printer access to speed up the return process from the sleep mode. (For example, Patent Document 1 below).

  A configuration for detecting access to an interface for communicating with an external device and returning from the sleep mode is also known. For example, in a network interface such as CSMA / CD (Ethernet (registered trademark)), a WOL (Wake-On-LAN) function is known.

  In WOL, when a specific packet is received via the network interface, the device in the sleep mode is restored. Several specific packets used in this WOL have been proposed. For example, MagicPacket (registered trademark) developed by AMD is known.

  This MagicPacket is a special-format CSMA / CD packet in which the frame information field is generated from the MAC address of the target device, and the target device (only) can be activated by this packet. The network interface corresponding to MagicPacket is designed to respond to the packet pattern, and outputs a signal that activates the entire device when it recognizes its own Mac address.

By using this WOL function, a device connected to the network can also realize the power management function.
JP-A-11-005350

  A conventional device having a power management function has a problem that normal operation cannot be guaranteed during the transition / return period to the sleep mode.

  FIG. 2 shows a communication response between a device having a power management function, for example, a printer and a host. The printer in FIG. 2 starts transition from the normal state to the sleep mode at time t201 and starts returning from the sleep mode to the normal state from time 203.

  The transition periods t202 and t204 starting from the time 201 and the time 203 in FIG. 2 are necessary for the normal mode termination process or the startup initialization process, and normal operation cannot be guaranteed. Further, it is impossible to set the lengths of the periods t202 and t204 to zero.

  On the other hand, the host device may perform communication assuming that the printer is in a normal state. However, particularly when the access from the host device overlaps the periods t202 and t204, the printer is normal with respect to the host device. It is possible that an unsuccessful communication response cannot be made. Such a situation is not uncommon in printers that are accessed from a plurality of host devices via a network interface.

  For this reason, conventionally, a MagicPacket or a packet for access is repeatedly transmitted from the host device at an appropriate interval in anticipation of the transition period such as t202 and t204 in FIG. 2 (or automatic retransmission is used in TCP or the like). Has been done. This causes a problem that the communication line bandwidth due to communication retransmission is wasted. Alternatively, if the response of the printer expected by the host cannot be obtained, depending on the timing, the host device may determine that the printing device is not operating, and then the host may give up the printer access.

  At present, the host device cannot know at all when the target device such as a printer will enter the sleep mode and return to the normal operation mode, so that the above problem cannot be avoided. It is very difficult.

  In the above, the printing apparatus (printer) is exemplified as the electronic device that performs the power saving operation. However, the above-described problem is also common to other electronic devices that perform the power saving operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to make it possible for the host device to recognize when and how the printing apparatus that performs the power saving operation returns from the power saving mode to the normal operation mode. In addition, this is to prevent the host device from transiting from the power saving mode to the normal operation mode and reliably communicate with the printing device without causing unnecessary traffic on the connection interface.

In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, in a printing apparatus control method, a printing apparatus control program, and a printing apparatus that are connected to a host apparatus and receive a command from the host apparatus and return from a power saving mode , Prior to entering the power saving mode, it is determined whether or not a sheet is set in the printing apparatus. If it is determined that a sheet is not set, a command is received from the host device to return from the power saving mode. The information indicating the first time required for the recovery is notified to the host device prior to shifting to the power saving mode, and when it is determined that the paper is set, the command is received from the host device. Then, information indicating a time obtained by adding a second time to the first time as a return time required for returning from the power saving mode, Adopting a configuration for notifying the host device prior to transition to serial power saving mode.

  According to the above configuration, the host apparatus can recognize when and how the printing apparatus that performs the power saving operation returns from the power saving mode to the normal operation mode. This also allows the host device to reliably communicate with the printing apparatus without causing unnecessary traffic on the connection interface by avoiding the transition period from the power saving mode to the normal operation mode. In addition, since the host device can be notified of an appropriate return time depending on whether or not a sheet is set in the printing apparatus, the host device can recognize the appropriate return time.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, a printing apparatus (printer) will be exemplified as an example of an electronic device that performs a power saving operation.

  FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a printing apparatus 100 employing the present invention. The printing apparatus 100 of FIG. 1 includes the following members connected to exchange data via a bus 109 with a CPU 101 that controls operation of the entire apparatus as a center.

  The ROM 102 stores a program executed by the CPU 101. A control program related to power management, which will be described later, can be stored in the ROM 102, for example. The RAM 103 is used for storing various data necessary for controlling the apparatus. This data includes, for example, image data to be printed.

  The motor drive control means 104 performs detection control of motor drive for conveying paper or a print head provided in the printing apparatus 100. A head drive motor 109 that drives the print head 111 and a paper feed drive motor 110 that feeds the paper are connected to the motor drive control means 104.

  The print head control means 105 is connected to a print head 111 of a predetermined recording method, and controls the printing operation of this print head 111. If the print head is of an ink jet type, the print head control means 105 controls, for example, the ink ejection operation of the print head 111 on the paper.

  The sensor control unit 106 collects information obtained from various sensors for detecting paper and recording materials provided in the printing apparatus 100. The sensor control unit 106 is connected to a paper sensor 112 that detects the presence / absence of a sheet and the number of sheets and an ink sensor 113 that detects a remaining amount of ink ejected from the print head 111. The CPU 101 can grasp the operation state of the printing apparatus 100 via the sensor control unit 106.

  A network I / F (network interface) 107 is of the CSMA / CD system, for example, and is used as a communication interface with a host 150 (described later) connected on the network. In addition to receiving print data and control commands transmitted from the host 150 via the network I / F 107, the printing apparatus 100 transmits information about the mode transition time and mode transition completion time to the host 150 in this embodiment.

  The liquid crystal panel 108 functions as a message display means used for displaying various information such as a device name and an operating state, and a message character string for displaying an operation instruction.

  The timer 114 is composed of an element such as an RTC (real time clock) and is used to measure the current time (date and time) and elapsed time. The timer 114 can be used for timing related to the following power management control.

  Next, power management control in the above configuration will be described. FIG. 3 shows the flow of the sleep mode transition process of the printing apparatus 100 in this embodiment. The procedure of FIG. 3 is periodically executed by, for example, a timer interrupt. The procedure in FIG. 3 is stored in the ROM 102 as a control program for the CPU 101, for example.

  In step S301 in FIG. 3, the timer counter configured by the timer 114 (or by other means) is reset, and then in step S302, it is determined whether the apparatus is currently operating.

  The timer counter used in steps S301 to S304 measures the elapsed time in a state where the apparatus is not operating and no user operation is performed.

  If it is determined in step S302 that the device is performing any operation, the process returns to step S301, and the timer counter is reset.

  If it is determined in step S302 that the apparatus is not currently operating, it is determined in step S303 whether or not a user panel operation has been performed. If the panel operation is performed in step S303, the process returns to step S301, and the timer counter is reset.

  If the panel operation is not performed in step S303, it is determined in step S304 whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed by checking the value of the timer counter started in step S301. If the predetermined time has not elapsed by the timer 114 in step S304, the process returns to step S302.

  If the predetermined time has elapsed by the timer 114 in step S304, that is, if the apparatus is not operating and no user operation is performed for a predetermined time, the process proceeds to step S305, and the ROM 102 The values of the shutdown time, which is the transition completion time from the normal mode to the sleep mode, and the restart time, which is the completion time from the sleep mode to the normal mode, are stored in the RAM 103.

  The shutdown time and restart time correspond to periods t202 and t204 in FIG. 2, respectively, and time values previously selected according to the hardware configuration of the printing apparatus are stored in the ROM 102. Alternatively, a time value actually measured by the timer 114 (operating during the normal sleep mode) may be stored in the nonvolatile memory, and this value may be used.

  In step S <b> 306, the paper sensor 112 determines whether the paper is set in the printing apparatus 100 via the sensor control unit 106. If it is determined in step S306 that paper is set, 5 seconds is added to the restart time value acquired in step S305 in step S307, and the result is stored in the RAM 103, and the process proceeds to step S308. The above-mentioned 5 seconds is the time required for completing the sheet loading operation at the time of restarting the printing apparatus.

  Here, it is considered that the restart time is corrected according to the presence / absence of the paper set. However, depending on other conditions that influence the restart time (for example, whether the recovery operation of the print head is necessary). The restart time may be adjusted. The same applies to the shutdown time, and it is conceivable to adjust the shutdown time depending on whether or not the print head needs to move to the home position.

  As described above, the operation state of the component member of the electronic device is detected, and time (or time) information related to the transition period in which the operation mode is shifted to or returned from the power saving mode according to the detected operation state of the component member is obtained. Thus, more accurate, reliable and realistic information can be notified to the host 150 as the information.

  If no printing paper is set in step S306, the process proceeds from step S306 to step S308.

  In step S308, the time obtained by adding the shutdown time to the current time obtained from the timer 114 is stored in the RAM 103 as the shutdown completion time.

  Further, in step S309, the shutdown completion time, shutdown time, and restart time calculated and stored in steps S305, S307, and S308 are configured into packets in an appropriate data format, and a broadcast address is designated from the network I / F 107. Packet transmission.

  As a result, all the hosts connected to the network I / F 107 are notified of the shutdown completion time, shutdown time, and restart time of the printing apparatus 100 that will enter the sleep mode.

  After the notification process in step S309 is completed, the print head drive operation or the like is performed within the shutdown time as the shutdown process of the printing apparatus 100 in step S310, and then the CPU 101 is shifted to the sleep mode to end the sleep mode transition process.

  As described above, according to the sleep mode transition process of the present embodiment, the host connected to the printing apparatus 100 can know the shutdown completion time, the shutdown time, and the restart time of the printing apparatus 100. It is possible to suppress communication from the host side while the communication response is not possible.

  For example, if the host refrains from accessing the printing apparatus 100 from the time when the shutdown time is subtracted from the shutdown completion time until the shutdown completion time, it is possible to prevent the printing apparatus 100 from being accessed during a period of unstable operation. .

  In the sleep mode, for example, by sending a wake-up packet such as the above-mentioned MagicPacket to the printing apparatus 100, the printing apparatus 100 can be returned from the sleep mode at any time.

  Therefore, for example, after transmitting MagicPacket, the apparatus waits for the restart time notified from the printing apparatus 100 before transmitting the target print data, or longer, and then starts access to the printing apparatus 100. As a result, it is possible to reliably operate the printing apparatus 100 without causing unnecessary network traffic or malfunction. That is, the host can more accurately determine the restart time of the printing apparatus 100 by calculating the restart time acquired from the printing apparatus 100.

  In the above description, the “sleep mode” is exemplified as the power saving mode. However, the “sleep mode” can be replaced with any power saving mode other than the normal operation mode. The shutdown completion time, shutdown time, and restart time may be considered as the completion time of transition to power saving mode, power saving mode transition time, and power saving mode return time in the power saving mode control, respectively.

  In the above, the network I / F 107 is exemplified as an interface for communication between the host and the printing apparatus. However, the same effect as described above is expected if the host and the printing apparatus are capable of bidirectional communication such as USB (Universal Serial Bus). it can.

  In addition, as a method of notifying the host about the power saving mode from the printing device, a method in which the printing device broadcasts simultaneously to the broadcast address is adopted, but it goes without saying that the same object can be achieved by other methods. .

  For example, identification information (for example, the IP address of the host) of the host to be notified about the power saving mode is registered in advance in the printing apparatus. Then, a packet for notifying the power saving mode is transmitted to the registered host (only).

  Alternatively, the host side may communicate with the printing apparatus for contents that voluntarily inquire about the contents of the completion time. For this communication, it is conceivable to use a protocol such as SNMP for notifying the setting / operation state of the remote device. Then, the printing apparatus that has received the inquiry transmits a packet for notifying the power saving mode.

  The same effect as in the case of broadcast communication can also be expected by the above communication method.

  In the above-described embodiment, the sensor control unit 106 is used as the state acquisition unit that acquires the state of the printing apparatus. However, the setting value of the printing apparatus stored in the ROM 102 or the RAM 103 or stored in the network I / F 107 is used. Even if the configuration is such that the set value of the set network protocol is used as the status acquisition means, the same effect can be obtained.

  In the above embodiment, the timer 114 (RTC) is considered as means for obtaining the current time of the printing apparatus. However, it goes without saying that an internal time holding unit such as a calendar timer unit having some other configuration provided in the printing apparatus can be used. In addition, an external time acquisition unit may be used in which the printing apparatus acquires time information from another host via the network I / F 107 using a protocol such as NTP (Network Time Protocol). That is, regarding the current time acquisition, the above-described effect does not change regardless of the method for acquiring any time.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the printing apparatus is exemplified as the electronic device that performs the power saving operation and notifies the power saving mode. However, not only the printing apparatus but also any other electronic device can be considered as an electronic device that performs the power saving operation and notifies the power saving mode. Of course, these devices include devices such as a PC body and a scanner.

  The present invention can be applied to various electronic devices that perform power saving operation and perform notification regarding the power saving mode. A control program for carrying out the present invention in this type of electronic device is stored in advance in a ROM of the electronic device, or installed from a medium such as an MO or a CD-ROM connected to the electronic device via a USB interface, for example. It is also possible to update / update the electronic device from any server via the network.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus employing the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the mode of the operation mode of a printing apparatus, and the mode of the network communication between a printing apparatus and a host. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of a sleep mode transition process of the printing apparatus employing the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

100 Printing apparatus 101 CPU
102 ROM
103 RAM
104 Motor drive control means 105 Print head control means 106 Sensor control means 107 Network I / F
109 Bus 110 Paper feed drive motor 111 Print head 112 Paper sensor 113 Ink sensor 114 Timer 150 Host

Claims (5)

In a control method of a printing apparatus connected to a host apparatus, receiving a command from the host apparatus and returning from a power saving mode ,
Prior to entering the power saving mode, it is determined whether paper is set in the printing apparatus,
When it is determined that no paper is set , information indicating a first time as a return time required for returning from the power saving mode upon receiving a command from the host device is displayed prior to shifting to the power saving mode. To notify the host device ,
When it is determined that a sheet is set, information indicating a time obtained by adding a second time to the first time as a return time required for receiving a command from the host device and returning from the power saving mode Prior to shifting to the power saving mode, the host apparatus is notified of the printing apparatus control method. The control method of the printing apparatus according to claim 1, prior to the shift to the power saving mode, a control method of a printing apparatus and notifies the migration completion time to the power-saving mode. The control method of the printing apparatus according to claim 1, prior to the shift to the power saving mode, a control method of a printing apparatus and notifies the power saving mode transition time required to shift to the power saving mode. In order to implement the method for controlling the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the control of the printing apparatus and controls the components of the printing device operatively connected to the host device program. In order to implement the method for controlling the printing apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 3, printing apparatus characterized by operatively connected to a host device includes a component to operate.

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