JP2001027915A - Input/output device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an input/output device whose power consumption and manufacturing cost can be reduced and whose operation is easy. SOLUTION: When power is turned on (S101), a control part confirms whether a cable is connected or not (S102). When the cable is connected, a light source is lighted (S102) and a picture reader as an input/output device becomes a standby state (S104). When the cable is not connected to a connection part, the light source is turned off (S111). When the instruction of original reading is given in the standby state (S105), the picture reader becomes a reading state and it reads an original placed on an original stand (S106). In the case the connection of the cable is released when the picture reader is in the standby state, the light source is turned off and the picture reader becomes a power saving state (S112). When the cable is connected again, the light source of the picture reader in the power saving state is lighted and it is restored to the standby state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an input / output device connected to a processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as a personal computer)
Personal computers are called "PCs". 2. Description of the Related Art A communication cable (hereinafter, a communication cable is simply referred to as a “cable”) is used as a transmission unit for connecting a processing device such as an image reading device or an input / output device such as a printer and transmitting a signal. The cable is connected to the interface of the processing device and the input / output device. Conventional processing devices such as personal computers have no means for recognizing whether or not a cable is connected to the interface unit. Therefore, the personal computer can recognize the connected input / output device, but it is difficult for the personal computer to recognize whether or not the cable is actually connected to the interface unit.

[0003] On the other hand, the input / output device is not limited to the input / output device having the above-described interface unit. The input / output device can be activated at any time, for example, by a user via a personal computer or directly instructed by a user. But the power is on. Therefore, power is consumed even in the standby state.

However, from the viewpoint of energy saving and environmental protection, it is desirable to reduce power consumption of the input / output device when not in use as much as possible. In particular, recently, a recommendation on energy saving by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a so-called energy star, has set a target value of power consumption when not in use. The following method is used as a method for reducing the power consumption of the input / output device when it is not used.

A function of measuring time is added to a control unit of an input / output device such as an image reading device, a printer, and a display. When the control unit recognizes that the predetermined time has elapsed in the standby state, the control unit shifts to a power saving state in which the power consumed inside the input / output device is reduced. For example, in the case of an image reading apparatus, when a standby state in which a document can be read continues and a predetermined time has elapsed, a light source having large power consumption is turned off to reduce power consumption. Then, when there is a return instruction from the personal computer connected to the image reading apparatus to the standby state, the image reading apparatus shifts from the power saving state to the standby state.

[0006]

However, when shifting from the standby state to the power saving state after a predetermined time has elapsed, the standby state is maintained until the predetermined time has elapsed. For example, in the case of an image reading apparatus, the light source remains on until a predetermined time elapses even though the reading of the document is not performed in the standby state. Further, it is difficult for the user to freely change the time required for the image reading apparatus to transition from the standby state to the power saving state. Therefore, even when not in use, power is wasted while the light source is on. Further, since it is necessary to add a function of managing time in the control unit, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the input / output device increases.

Further, when the input / output device shifts to the power saving state, the user needs to give an instruction via the personal computer or directly to the input / output device to return the input / output device to the standby state. is there. Moreover, it takes several seconds to several minutes for the input / output device to return from the power saving state to the standby state. Therefore, after a predetermined time elapses, regardless of the user's intention, the state shifts to the power saving state.
When a user wants to use a peripheral device, the user may not be able to use it immediately.

An object of the present invention is to provide an input / output device which can reduce power consumption and manufacturing cost and is easy to operate.

[0009]

According to the input / output device of the first aspect of the present invention, since the recognition unit is provided, it is easy to determine whether the transmission unit is connected to the connection unit or the connection is released. Can be recognized. When the recognition unit recognizes that the transmission unit is connected to the connection unit, the input / output device is controlled to a standby state in which a predetermined operation can be performed. When the recognition unit recognizes that the connection between the connection unit and the transmission unit has been released, the input / output device is controlled to be in a power saving state in which power consumption is reduced as compared with the standby state.

Therefore, the user can easily shift the state of the input / output device to the standby state or the power saving state by connecting or disconnecting the transmission means and the connection section, and the input / output device can be handled easily. Easy. Also, power on / off the input / output device according to the user's request.
Since the FF can be performed arbitrarily, the standby state does not continue until a predetermined time, for example, and the power consumed by the input / output device can be reduced. Further, since it is not necessary to add a function of managing time to the input / output device, for example, the manufacturing cost of the input / output device can be reduced.

According to the input / output device according to the second and third aspects of the present invention, the recognizing unit recognizes whether or not the transmission unit is connected to the connection unit by the power supplied from the processing device. Signals from the processing device to the input / output device are intermittently transmitted as needed, whereas power is constantly supplied.
Therefore, the recognition unit can always identify whether the transmission unit is connected to the connection unit.

According to the input / output device of the third aspect of the present invention, since the transmission means is a USB (Universal Serial Bus), the input / output device can be introduced at low cost and can be handled easily. According to the input / output device of the present invention, the input / output device is an image reading device. Therefore, even if a light source with large power consumption is provided, power consumption can be reduced.

[0013]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of an input / output system to which an image reading device is applied as the input / output device of the present invention. The input / output system 1 includes a personal computer 10 as a processing device, an image reading device 20 as an input / output device, a cable 50 as transmission means, and the like.

The image reading device 20 is of a flatbed type, and a document table 22 made of a transparent plate such as glass is provided on an upper surface of a box-shaped casing 21 of the image reading device 20. A carriage 30 is provided inside the housing 21 so as to be able to reciprocate in parallel with a document 23 placed on a document table 22 by a driving device (not shown).

A light source 31 and a line sensor 32 as an optical sensor are mounted on the carriage 30. Light source 3
The irradiation light from 1 is reflected on the surface of the original 23 and is reflected on the mirror 3
3. After being reflected by the mirror 34, the light is condensed on the line sensor 32 by the condensing lens 35. Light source 3
1 is provided on the carriage 30, and for example, a mercury lamp or the like is used.

As the line sensor 32, a CCD (Char
ge Coupled Device) and other pixels
The charge storage type optical sensors arranged linearly in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction are used. In the line sensor 32, an electric charge of an amount corresponding to the amount of light collected by each element is accumulated, and the accumulated electric charge is output as an electric signal to the image processing unit 41 of the control unit 40 and processed.

The control unit 40 includes an image processing unit 41, a CPU
(Central Processing Unit) 42, ROM (Read Only)
Memory) 43 and the like. CPU42
Controls the entire image reading device 20. ROM4
Reference numeral 3 stores a computer program to which a number of instructions for controlling the image reading device 20 have been input. The image reading device 20 is connected to an external processing device, such as the personal computer 10, via a cable 50 as a transmission unit connected to the connection unit 241 of the interface unit 24.

An image processing section 41 converts the data from the line sensor 32 into digital data. The A / D conversion section corrects variations in sensitivity of each element of the line sensor 32 and variations in light amount of the light source in the main scanning direction. A shading correction unit, a gamma correction unit that performs gamma correction by a predetermined gamma function and converts a light amount signal output from the shading correction unit into an image signal, and performs various conversions such as color correction, edge enhancement, and area enlargement / reduction. Correction section. The corrected digital data is transmitted to the personal computer 10 via the interface unit 24 and the cable 50.
Is output to Interface section 11 of personal computer 10
Is provided with a connection portion 111. This connection part 111
Is connected to the end of the cable 50 on the side opposite to the image reading device.

Next, the interface section 24 of the image reading device 20 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 3, the interface unit 24 has a connection unit 241 and a recognition unit 242. A cable 50 as a transmission unit is connected to the connection unit 241. The cable 50 includes not only signals from the personal computer 10 but also the personal computer 10.
Cables that can supply power from
ersal Serial Bus) cables can be used. By using a USB cable, the PC 10
Can supply power to the image reading apparatus 20 from the printer. In this embodiment, the power consumed by the image reading device 20 such as the driving of the light source 31 and the carriage 30 is supplied from a power source (not shown). The power supplied by the USB cable is used by the recognition unit 242 to recognize the connection between the connection unit 241 and the cable 50.

The recognizing unit 242 is connected to the control unit 40 of the image reading device 20.
Is connected to the connection unit 241 or the connection is released. Power is constantly supplied from the personal computer 10 to the image reading device 20. The control unit 40 connected to the recognition unit 242 by this power can always recognize whether or not the cable 50 is connected to the connection unit.

Next, the state of the image reading device 20 will be described. As a state of the image reading device 20 controlled by the control unit 40, a standby state, a power saving state, and a reading state are set.

The standby state is a state in which the image reading apparatus 20 can start reading a document whenever the user instructs to read the document. The power saving state is a state in which the light source 31 is turned off and the power consumed by the image reading device 20 is reduced. The reading state is a state in which the image reading device 20 is reading the document 23 placed on the document table 22 based on an instruction from the user.

Next, the operation of the image reading device 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When a power plug (not shown) of the image reading device 20 is connected to a power source, the power of the image reading device 20 is turned on (S101). When the power is turned on, the control unit 40 checks whether or not the cable 50 is connected to the connection unit 241 via the recognition unit 242 (S102). When the cable 50 is connected to the connection unit 241, the light source 31 is turned on (S10).
2), the image reading device 20 enters a standby state (S10).
4). On the other hand, when the cable is not connected to the connection unit 241, the light source 31 is turned off (S111).

When the image reading device 20 is in the standby state, and there is an instruction to read a document from the user directly to the image reading device 20 or via the personal computer 10 (S 10).
5) The image reading device 20 is in the reading state, and the image reading device 20 is
Is read (S106). When the reading of the document 23 is completed, the image reading device 20 returns to the standby state (S104).

When the cable 50 is connected to the connection unit 241 and the user does not instruct the image reading apparatus 20 to read a document, the image reading apparatus 2
0 waits for an original reading instruction while the light source 31 is turned on. When the image reading device 20 is in the standby state, the connection unit 2
When the connection between the cable 41 and the cable 50 is released, the light source 31
Is turned off, and the image reading apparatus 20 enters the power saving state (S112). When the cable 50 is connected again to the connection part 241,
The light source of the image reading apparatus 20 in the power saving state is turned on and returns to the standby state.

The state of the image reading device 20 as described above is controlled by the control unit 40 of the image reading device 20.

In the above embodiment, the case where the cable 50 is connected to or disconnected from the connection portion 241 of the image reading device 20 has been described. However, the cable 50 is connected to or disconnected from the connection portion 111 of the personal computer 10. Accordingly, it is possible to control the state of the image reading device 20 to the standby state or the power saving state.

As described above, according to the image reading apparatus 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the image reading apparatus 20 is placed in the standby state or the power saving state by connecting or disconnecting the cable 50 and the connection unit 241. Can be transferred to. Therefore, the user can arbitrarily change the state of the image reading device 20 with a simple operation, and can easily handle the image reading device 20 and the input / output system 1. Further, power consumed by the image reading device 20 and the input / output system 1 can be reduced.

Further, since it is not necessary to add, for example, a function for managing time to the image reading device 20, the manufacturing cost of the image reading device 20 can be reduced.

The embodiment in which the flatbed type image reading device is applied as the input / output device of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to a sheet feed type image reading device or a flat bed type image reading device such as a printer, a display, or a data storage device, and any computer peripheral device can be applied as the input / output device. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an input / output device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an input / output system to which an input / output device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and illustrates an example in which a flatbed image reading device is applied as the input / output device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a recognition unit of the input / output system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 Personal computer (processing device) 20 Image reading device (input / output device) 23 Document 31 Light source 40 Control unit 50 Cable (transmission means) 111, 241 Connection unit 242 Recognition unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An input / output device connected to a processing device for processing an output or input signal, wherein the input / output device is capable of transmitting a signal and supplying power from the processing device, and A transmission unit capable of transmitting a signal; a connection unit to which the transmission unit is connected; a recognition unit capable of recognizing whether the transmission unit is connected to or disconnected from the connection unit; A control unit that can be controlled to any one of a standby state of waiting in a possible state, and a power saving state capable of reducing power consumption than the standby state, wherein the recognition unit is configured to transmit the connection unit and the transmission. An input / output device, wherein the input / output device is controlled to the standby state when the connection with the means is recognized, and is controlled to the power saving state when the recognition unit recognizes the disconnection between the connection unit and the transmission unit. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recognizing unit recognizes whether the transmission unit is connected to or disconnected from the connection unit by using power supplied from the processing device. I / O devices. 3. The input / output device according to claim 1, wherein said transmission means is a USB. 4. The input / output device according to claim 1, further comprising: a light source for irradiating a document; and a processing unit capable of converting light from the document into an electric signal. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light source is turned on in a standby state, and is turned off in the power saving state.