JP2004240504A - Information equipment having storage device and method for controlling electric power saving of equipment thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide information equipment capable of obtaining the effect of electric power saving at the same time without shortening the life of a storage device having limitation in the number of use such as an HDD. <P>SOLUTION: This information equipment counts the number of shifts of an equipment body into an electric power saving mode every time the equipment body shifts into the electric power saving mode without shifting a storing device into an electric power saving mode and when the equipment body shifts into the electric power saving mode for a predetermined number, the storage device is also shift into the electric power saving mode at that time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to control of a hard disk drive in an apparatus such as a digital copying machine having a hard disk drive and having a power saving function.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a digital copying machine has various functions as a facsimile, a scanner and a printer connected to a network as well as a function as a copying machine, and is referred to as a multifunction peripheral (hereinafter, referred to as an MFP). It is becoming. With the diversification of this function, the amount of data to be handled is steadily increasing, and a large-capacity hard disk drive (hereinafter, referred to as HDD) is provided for storing such data.
[0003]
By the way, since a copier conventionally consumes a large amount of power in an office, it has a power saving mode (energy save mode, sleep mode, etc.) that operates with low power when not in use. It has a function to automatically shift to the power saving mode when it is not used for a longer time. In recent years, due to environmental considerations, there has been a strong demand that power consumption during standby be reduced as much as possible, and in order to respond to this, the MFP is not performing operations such as scanning, printing, and data transmission / reception. During the period, the apparatus stands by in the power saving mode. In the power saving mode, the power is generally turned off while leaving only the power of the control system of the apparatus. (For example, see Patent Document 1)
[0004]
In the power saving mode, it is preferable that the above-mentioned HDD is also set to the power saving mode in order to minimize power consumption. As the power saving mode of the HDD, a standby mode and a sleep mode defined by the ATA standard can be considered. In such a standby mode or sleep mode of the HDD, the power consumption is suppressed by stopping the spindle motor of the HDD, and when returning from the standby mode or the sleep mode, the spindle motor is restarted.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-374380 (page 39, line 39 to page 43, line 43)
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Incidentally, an upper limit is generally defined for the number of start / stop operations of the HDD. The number of start / stop operations is counted not only when the power is turned on / off, but also when shifting to the standby (sleep) mode and when returning from the standby (sleep) mode. In a general HDD, the number of times is specified to be 40,000 or less in total (one count in a start / stop pair). Use beyond this number will shorten the life of the HDD. For this reason, if the MFP is turned off every time the MFP enters the power saving mode, the longer the number of times the MFP body enters the power saving mode, the shorter the life of the HDD is. .
[0007]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a control method in a power saving mode of a device having an HDD, which can obtain the maximum power saving effect without shortening the effective life of the HDD.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an information device according to the present invention has one of a first mode driven by normal power and a second mode driven by lower power than the normal power. And a third mode in which various data are stored in the device main body and driven with normal power, and a fourth mode driven with lower power than the normal power. A storage device driven in one of the modes, and first power switching means for switching the device main body from the first mode to the second mode when the device main body is not operated for a predetermined time or more. Counting means for counting the number of times the first power switching means has switched the device main body from the first mode to the second mode; and Mo When counting that the number of times the mode has been switched from the mode to the second mode has reached a predetermined number, the storage device is switched from the third mode to the fourth mode, and the device main body is switched to the fourth mode. When returning from the second mode to the first mode, a second power switching means for switching the storage device from the fourth mode to the third mode is provided.
[0009]
As a result, it is possible to provide an information device capable of simultaneously obtaining the effect of power saving without shortening the life of a storage device having a limited number of uses such as an HDD.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows a hardware configuration of a multifunctional copying machine (hereinafter, referred to as an MFP) as an example of an apparatus having a hard disk (hereinafter, referred to as an HDD) to which the present invention is applied. The MFP has a function as a copier, a function as a printer, a function as a FAX, and a function as a network scanner. The MFP is roughly divided into three blocks: a FAX unit 11, a scanner unit 12, and a printer unit 13, and each executes a function as a FAX, a function as a scanner, and a function as a printer. In addition, it communicates information with an external device and exchanges various data including images with the external device via the network interface 141 and the facsimile interface 142. These are all performed under the control of the CPU 10. The CPU 10 is connected to a ROM 15 storing programs and the like, a RAM 16 for temporarily storing processing data, and an HDD 17 as a mass storage device. The HDD 17 stores image data read by the scanner unit 12, image data captured via the network interface 141 and the FAX interface 142, and the like. The MFP further has an operation panel (not shown) as a user interface, and various jobs for the MFP are set by the user by operating the operation panel.
[0011]
In such an MFP, the transition to the power saving mode includes an auto mode in which the user automatically transitions when a predetermined time has elapsed since the user used the MFP, and a “power saving” mode provided by the operator on the operation panel. In general, the operation is enabled by a manual mode which is shifted by operating the "mode switching button". In this example, the auto mode will be described. The time for shifting from the normal power state to the power saving state in the auto mode can be freely set according to the usage environment of the MFP. When the power saving mode is entered, the temperature of the fixing device is lowered to a temperature lower than the normal ready temperature, the cooling fan is stopped or switched to low-speed rotation, and the display on the operation panel is turned off. These operations are executed each time the MFP main body enters the power saving mode. However, in the present invention, only for the HDD 17, every time the MFP main body shifts to the power saving mode N times (N is a natural number), “low power consumption” is set. Power mode (standby mode or sleep mode) ”.
[0012]
FIG. 2 shows a first example of power saving control of the MFP body and the HDD 17 in the present embodiment. In the first example, the power saving mode transition time Ts in the auto mode of the MFP body is set to 10 minutes, and the HDD 17 is switched to the standby mode every time the MFP body transitions to the power saving sleep mode three times. (Example of N = 3). In the first example, after the MFP main body operates for 5 minutes, the MFP main body is left without operation for 10 minutes, and then enters the first power saving mode, and after 5 minutes, the MFP main body operates (5 minutes) and 10 minutes. After the lapse, the MFP enters the second power saving mode. Five minutes later, the MFP main body operates (5 minutes). After the lapse of 10 minutes, the MFP enters the third power saving mode. At this time, since N = 3 as described above, the HDD 17 also shifts to the standby mode along with the third shift to the power saving mode of the main body. In the case of this example, the number of starts / stops of the HDD 17 is once per hour. In the first example, the MFP is assumed to be used quite frequently, in which the next use is started 5 minutes after the MFP body enters the power saving mode, but the MFP is used in a general office (user). Assuming that the HDD operates 10 hours a day, the HDD start / stop count in the MFP product life period (generally, “5 years”) in the first example is the power ON / OFF once a day. Also add
[0013]
(1 [times / day] +1 [times / hour] × 10 [hours / day]) × 365 [days / year] × 5 [year] = 20,075 [times]
[0014]
It becomes. Since the limit of the number of times of start / stop of a general HDD is set to 40,000, the first example is a value that can satisfy the specification of a general HDD.
[0015]
Here, the above-described power saving control routine will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, when the power of the MFP main body is turned on (ST1), the set transition time Ts (auto mode) to the power saving mode is confirmed (ST2). In accordance with the set transition time Ts, the relationship between the number of transitions of the MFP body to the power saving mode and the number of transitions of the HDD 17 to the power saving mode (standby mode) is confirmed (ST3). Here, N = 6 if Ts is less than 10 minutes, N = 3 if 10 minutes or more and less than 20 minutes, N = 2 if 20 minutes or more and less than 30 minutes, and N = 1 if 30 minutes or more. Arranged. Next, 1 is substituted into a counter n for counting that the MFP main body has shifted to the power saving mode (ST4). It starts counting the time from the end of the job of the MFP main body, and determines whether or not the standby time has continued for Ts (ST5). If the standby time has continued for Ts, the MFP body shifts to the power saving mode (ST6). Then, it is determined whether or not the counter n has reached N set in ST3 (ST7). If the counter n has reached N, the HDD 17 shifts to the standby mode (ST8). Here, if the counter n has not reached N, the counter n is counted up by one (ST9), and the process proceeds to the next processing. This state is continued until the user operates the operation panel of the MFP main body, receives data via the network, or receives FAX data via the FAX line (ST10). If any event occurs in ST10, the power saving mode is canceled, the mode is shifted to the normal mode (ST11), and the power saving control ends. This process is continued until the power of the MFP body is turned off (ST12).
[0016]
Here, as the value of N increases, the number of start / stop operations of the HDD 17 can be reduced, but this is disadvantageous from the viewpoint of power saving. Conversely, when the value of N is small, it is advantageous from the viewpoint of power saving. The number of start / stop times tends to increase. Therefore, the optimal value of N may be determined according to the value of the power saving mode transition time (auto mode) Ts of the MFP main body. Generally, the value of Ts is made variable by user setting. Therefore, when Ts is set to a small value, it is considered that the user frequently uses the MFP main body, and the MFP main body shifts to the power saving mode. Since the number of times of return is expected to increase, N is set to a large value, and when Ts is set to a large value, it is considered that the MFP main body is a user who uses the MFP less frequently, and the MFP main body shifts to the power saving mode. Since it is predicted that the number of times of return is small, N may be set to a small value.
[0017]
By the way, in the first example described above, it is assumed that a user who frequently uses the MFP that the operation is restarted 5 minutes after entering the power saving mode, but even such a user always switches the MFP every 5 minutes. Opportunities do not always occur. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, after the MFP main body enters the second power saving mode (portion indicated by (n = 2) in FIG. 4), there is no user access and the power saving mode continues for a long time. In this case, the HDD 17 waits for a long time in the idle mode without entering the standby mode. This is undesirable in terms of power saving. Therefore, assuming such a use situation, in the second example, if there is no access to the HDD 17 for a certain period of time (Thd [minutes]) or more, control to shift the HDD 17 to the standby mode is performed. , In addition to the control of the first example described above. In the second example, after the MFP main body operates for 5 minutes, the MFP main body is left without operation for 10 minutes, and then enters the first power saving mode. After 5 minutes, the MFP main body operates (5 minutes) and then operates for 10 minutes. After the elapse, the power saving mode is entered for the second time, and the state in which the operation is not performed continues. At this time, 60 minutes after the time count to the second power saving mode is started, the HDD 17 also shifts to the standby mode. Thereby, even when, for example, n = 3, the HDD 17 can be put into the power saving state if the situation in which the HDD 17 does not operate continues for a long time before reaching n = 3. Power can be done. This can also be realized by enabling the HDD automatic power down function defined by the ATA standard.
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform control so as to cope with the power saving mode while suppressing an increase in the number of start / stop operations of the HDD. Obtainable.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a multifunctional copying machine to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing a flow of an example of first power saving control of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of a power saving control process of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing a flow of an example of a second power saving control of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 CPU, 17 Hard Disk, 11 FAX Unit, 12 Scanner Unit, 13 Printer Unit, 141 Network Interface, 142 FAX Interface

Claims (5)

A device main body driven in one of a first mode driven by normal power and a second mode driven by lower power than the normal power;
Various data stored in the main body of the device are stored, and one of a third mode driven by normal power and a fourth mode driven by lower power than the normal power is used. A storage device to be driven;
First power switching means for switching the device main body from the first mode to the second mode when the device main body is not operated for a predetermined time or more;
Counting means for counting the number of times the first power switching means switches the device main body from the first mode to the second mode;
When the counting means counts that the number of times the device main body has been switched from the first mode to the second mode has reached a predetermined number, the storage device is changed from the third mode to the second mode. And a second power switching means for switching the storage device from the fourth mode to the third mode when the device main body returns from the second mode to the first mode while switching to the fourth mode. When,
An information device having a storage device, comprising: Reset means for resetting the counting means when the storage device is switched from the fourth mode to the third mode by the second power switching means;
The information device having the storage device according to claim 1, further comprising: 2. The information device having a storage device according to claim 1, wherein no power is supplied to the storage device in the fourth mode. A device main body driven in one of a first mode driven by normal power and a second mode driven by lower power than the normal power; And a storage device driven in one of a third mode driven by normal power and a fourth mode driven by lower power than the normal power. Information equipment,
Switching the device main body from the first mode to the second mode when the device main body is not operated for a predetermined time or more;
Counting the number of times the device body has been switched from the first mode to the second mode;
When it is counted that the number of times the device body has been switched from the first mode to the second mode has reached a predetermined number, the storage device is switched from the third mode to the fourth mode. Switching,
Switching the storage device from the fourth mode to the third mode when the device main body returns to the first mode from the second mode;
A power saving control method for an information device having a storage device, comprising: Resetting the count value when the storage device is switched from the fourth mode to the third mode;
The power saving control method for an information device according to claim 4, further comprising: a storage device.

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