JP2008142942A - Power management controller of printer, power management control method of printer, and control program of printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To greatly reduce the useless power consumption of a printer by preventing impairment of the ease of use of a user of the printer as much as possible in power management control of the printer. <P>SOLUTION: Reception of a printing job from a host apparatus is waited (step S2). When a duration time of the reception-free state exceeds a preliminarily set specified time (Yes in S4), it is judged whether or not the present time is a time within a preliminarily set time zone (S8). When the present time is a time outside the time zone, the printer shifts from a normal mode to a sleep mode (S5). If the present time is a time within the time zone, a power supply of the printer is turned off (S10). The power supply of the printer is turned off only when the duration time of the reception-free state exceeds the specified time even if it enters the time zone. Damage to the ease of use of the user is lessened so much, and the useless power consumption of the printer can be reduced greatly. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer power management control apparatus, a printer power management control method, and a printer control program for performing power management control for reducing power consumption in a printer.

  Generally, a printer is connected to a computer which is a host device via a host interface such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) or a network (for example, a LAN). A print job transmitted from the computer is received, and print data included in the print job is printed under conditions specified by the print job.

  In recent years, from the viewpoint of global environmental conservation, reduction of energy consumption has been demanded for peripheral devices of computers including printers. Therefore, it has been required to automatically shift to a low power consumption mode (hereinafter referred to as a sleep mode) while the peripheral device is not used. According to the international regulations for such requirements, such as International Energy Star and Blue Angel, it is necessary to automatically enter the sleep mode when the function of the peripheral device has not been used for a predetermined time. There is. For example, in the case of a certain type of printer, when no print job is received from the computer for 15 minutes or more and no operation on the operation panel is performed, that is, when the printing operation is not performed, the sleep mode is set. It is supposed to be migrated. When a print job is sent from the computer in the sleep mode, the printer automatically returns from the sleep mode to the normal print processable mode (normal operation state, hereinafter referred to as normal mode) and prints the sent print job. You must be able to print the data.

  FIG. 4 shows a flow of power management control corresponding to the sleep mode in the conventional printer. This control is performed by a system controller that controls the entire printer.

  When the main power supply of the printer is turned on by a user operation, power management control is started in step S1 of FIG. This control is continued until the main power of the printer is turned off by the user's operation. When the main power is turned on, power is supplied to each part of the printer, and the printer is in a normal mode, that is, a normal state in which a printing operation is possible.

  After the power management control is started, the print job is first waited to determine whether a print job has been received (step S2). If received, the print job is printed (step S3). When the printing process is completed, the process returns to step S2 and again enters a print job standby state. The processing so far is the basic operation as a printer.

  On the other hand, if a print job has not been received in step S2, the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4, the duration of the state in which there is no reception of the print job timed by the timer exceeds a predetermined time that is set in advance (the time until the mode shifts to the sleep mode specified by International Energy Star, Blue Angel, etc.). Check whether or not If it does not exceed, the process returns to step S2, and again enters a print job standby state. That is, if the print job is not received as it is, the print job standby state is maintained until the specified time is exceeded.

  If the duration exceeds the specified time in step S4, the minimum power that can maintain the printer sleep mode is left (in accordance with the regulations of International Energy Star, Blue Angel, etc.), and many parts of power are turned on. Shut off and shift to sleep mode (step S5).

  Then, after shifting to the sleep mode, it is determined whether or not data has been received from the computer (step S6). During this time, the sleep mode is maintained.

  When data is received from the computer in step S6, power is supplied to each unit that has been shut off from the printer to shift (return) to the normal mode (step S7).

  Then, the process returns to the print job waiting state in step S2. If the data received from the computer immediately before returning to the normal mode is a print job (Yes in step S2), the print job is printed (step S3). When the printing process is completed, the process returns to the print job waiting state in step S2.

  The above control operation is continued until the printer is turned off. Such power management control can reduce the power consumption of the printer.

  Further, as a technique for reducing the power consumption of the printer, particularly at night, there is a technique using an auto power off function that automatically turns off the power at a preset time.

Also, the standby mode (sleep mode) is entered at night, and even if a print job is received, the print job is stored without printing processing, and the printing processing is performed collectively after the standby mode is canceled later. A method is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-254736

  However, the conventional printer that performs power management control as shown in FIG. 4 consumes power for maintaining the sleep mode even when the printer enters the sleep mode. International regulations such as Energy Star and Blue Angel have been revised repeatedly to promote a reduction in power consumption during sleep mode, but there are still many printers that consume several watts or more during sleep mode. .

  The function of automatically shifting to the sleep mode in the conventional printer is a convenient function for the printer user to easily reduce the power consumption of the printer, but tends to refrain from turning off the printer power. . Especially for printers connected to the network, there are multiple users, so if one user stops using the printer, other users may still use it and turn off the printer. Hesitate to do. For this reason, many network printers continue to consume power (several W) in the sleep mode during a period outside the normal working hours (for example, 18: 00 to 9:00). In a large organization, a large number of printers are connected to the network, and they consume power in sleep mode for a long time, so even if the power in sleep mode per unit is several watts, a considerable amount of power is wasted in total. Will consume.

  In general, the lifetime of an electrical component is set by the time during which voltage is applied to the component. In recent years, printers are required to have high functions, and there is a tendency to shorten the return time from the sleep mode to the normal mode. Therefore, the voltage remains applied even in the printer sleep mode. There are many parts. For this reason, in printers that remain in sleep mode without being turned off during off-hours, the lifespan of parts that remain in voltage mode in sleep mode is reduced, and as a result Will be shorter.

  Also, with the method using the auto power off function, the user is in the middle of printing processing, or while making various settings with the printer driver on the computer to print a little later. However, the power is forcibly turned off at a preset time. This impairs the convenience for the user.

  Further, in the method of performing print processing collectively after canceling the sleep mode as in Patent Document 1, since the printer is kept in the sleep mode for a long time, the effect of reducing wasteful power consumption is small and the life of the printer is also short. Become. In addition, the completion of printing of the print job may be significantly later than the time expected by the printer user, which also deteriorates the convenience for the user.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to greatly reduce the wasteful power consumption of the printer and extend the life of the printer so as not to impair the convenience of the printer user as much as possible in the power management control of the printer. There is to do.

In order to solve the above problems, a power management control device for a printer according to the present invention provides:
In the printer, when the printing operation has not been performed for a predetermined time or more, it shifts to the low power consumption mode due to that, and then when the print job is received from the host device, it returns to the printable mode and prints. Control means for controlling the job to be printed;
A time zone setting means for presetting a time zone assumed not to use the printer,
The control means shifts to the low power consumption mode when the factor for shifting to the low power consumption mode in the printer occurs outside the time zone set by the time zone setting means, and within the set time zone. If this occurs, power management control is performed in accordance with the time period during which the printer power is turned off.

  In the present invention, the printer power management control method and printer control program configuration corresponding to the configuration of the printer power management control device according to the present invention are employed.

  According to the present invention, the printer shifts to the low power consumption mode when the printing operation is not performed for a predetermined time or more outside the preset time zone. Also, within the time period, the printer is turned off if the printing operation has not been performed for a predetermined time period. Therefore, the wasteful power consumption of the printer can be greatly reduced, and the application time of the voltage to the electrical components of the printer can be shortened to extend the life of the components, thereby extending the life of the printer. In addition, the printer is turned off only when the printing operation has not been performed for a predetermined time or more even after entering the time period, and printing is possible until the power is turned off. An excellent effect is obtained in that the property is hardly impaired.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a printing system in which a printer 2 according to a first embodiment and a computer 1 as a host device are connected via a network 3 such as a LAN.

  The computer 1 is installed with various application programs 10, an OS (Operating System) 11 that controls the computer 1, and a printer driver 13 that controls the printer 2. Further, the computer 1 is provided with a network I / F (interface) 14 for performing data communication with the printer 2 via the network 3.

  The OS 11 includes a power control task 12. The power control task 12 cooperates with the OS 11 that manages the execution of the application program 10 and various task programs of the OS 11 itself, and performs various processes necessary for shutting down the power of the computer 1 and the timing of power shut-off. Make adjustments. That is, in general, when the power is suddenly shut down, data handled by the program being executed, data being transferred through various communication I / Fs, and HDD (hard disk drive) are written. There is a possibility of losing data in the middle. In order to avoid such a failure, the power control task 12 terminates a program that becomes a failure when the power source of a device driver being executed or a task that performs data processing is suddenly shut down, and then the power source Control to turn off.

  In the configuration of the printer 2, a network I / F 21 is mounted on the system controller 20 and performs data communication with the computer 1 via the network 3.

  The system controller 20 controls the entire system of the printer 2. Then, the print job transmitted from the computer 1 is received via the network I / F 21, converted into print bitmap data that can be handled by the engine controller 22, and transferred to the engine controller 22. The system controller 20 includes a CPU as a main control body, a ROM storing the control program, a RAM used as a work area and a print data buffer, a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM, and a timer. .

  The engine controller 22 controls the mechanical mechanism, the print head, and the like of the engine unit 23 based on information from the sensor and the like of the engine unit 23 of the printer 2 to perform a printing operation.

  The engine unit 23 mainly includes a mechanical mechanism such as a paper feed mechanism that conveys printing paper and a moving mechanism that moves a carriage on which the print head is mounted. The print head is not particularly limited, but is, for example, an ink jet type. The engine unit 23 performs printing by sequentially ejecting ink droplets of a specified color from the print head to a specified location of the printing paper by paper feeding, carriage movement, and driving of the print head.

  Further, the operation panel 24 includes various operation switch groups for the user to perform various inputs for operating the printer 2, and a display that displays information such as the status of the printer 2. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the user can arbitrarily set the power-off time period by an input from the operation panel 24. Here, the power-off time zone is a time zone in which it is normally assumed that the printer is not used, that is, a time zone in which the printer power may be turned off. As the power-off time zone, for example, a time zone from the end time (for example, 18:00) of the working time of the day in the office to the start time (for example, 8:00) of the next morning working time is set.

  In the setting of the power-off time zone, first, a power-off time zone setting screen is displayed on the display according to the input of a predetermined operation switch on the operation panel 24, and the power-off time zone is operated by operating the numeric keypad on the screen. The start time and end time are entered. In response to this, the CPU of the system controller 20 writes the input start time and end time data in a nonvolatile memory or the like to set the power-off time zone.

  Note that the input for setting the power-off time zone may be performed on a printer setting screen displayed on a monitor (not shown) by the printer driver 13 of the computer 1.

  In the configuration of the printing system of FIG. 1 as described above, the computer 1 and the printer 2 are connected to the network 3 by the network I / Fs 14 and 21, respectively, and can exchange data with each other. When the application program 10 running on the OS 11 of the computer 1 requests print processing, the printer driver 13 is activated. Then, the operator of the computer 1 designates printing conditions such as the type and size of the printing paper and the printing mode by setting various parameters on the setting screen by the printer driver 13. Then, the specified print condition information is added to the print data created by the application program to create a print job.

  The print job is transmitted to the system controller 20 via the network I / F 14, the network 3, and the network I / F 21. When the system controller 20 receives the print job, it analyzes the print job, extracts the print data in the print job, and outputs a print processing command to the engine controller 22 in accordance with the print conditions specified by the print job. Based on the command, the engine controller 22 controls the mechanical mechanism and the print head of the engine unit 23 to execute a printing process desired by the operator of the application program 10.

  Next, FIG. 2 shows a control procedure of power management control in the printer 2 of this embodiment. This control is performed by the system controller 20 of the printer 2. Specifically, the CPU of the system controller 20 executes the control program for the power management control task stored in the ROM, so that the power management control is performed as follows in the control procedure of FIG. The control procedure of FIG. 2 is obtained by adding steps S8 and S10 different from the conventional example to steps S1 to S7 common to those in FIG. 4 of the conventional example. It overlaps with the explanation in.

  When the main power supply of the printer 2 is turned on by the user's operation, power management control is started in step S1 of FIG. This control is continued until the main power supply of the printer 2 is automatically turned off in step S10 described later or until the main power supply of the printer 2 is turned off by the user's operation. When the main power is turned on for the first time, power is supplied to each part of the printer 2, and the printer 2 is in a normal mode, that is, a normal state in which a printing operation is possible.

  After the power management control is started, the print job is first waited to determine whether a print job has been received (step S2). If received, the print job is printed (step S3). When the printing process is completed, the process returns to step S2 and again enters a print job standby state. The processing so far is the basic operation as a printer.

  On the other hand, if the print job has not been received in step S2, the predetermined duration of time in which the print job is not received, which is timed by the first timer in the system controller 20, is set to a predetermined predetermined time. It is checked whether or not it has been exceeded (step S4). The specified time is a time required to shift to a sleep mode specified by International Energy Star, Blue Angel, or the like.

  If the specified time has not been exceeded in step S4, the process returns to step S2 and again enters a print job standby state. That is, if the print job is not received as it is, the print job standby state is maintained until the specified time is exceeded.

  If the duration exceeds the specified time in step S4, the current time measured by the second timer in the controller 20 is determined in advance according to the input from the operation panel 24 as described above in step S8. It is determined whether the time is within the set power-off time zone.

  If the current time is outside the power-off time zone, that is, if it is within the time zone during which the printer is normally used, the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, in accordance with the regulations such as International Energy Star and Blue Angel, the minimum power that can maintain the sleep mode of the printer 2 is left, and most of the power is cut off to shift to the sleep mode.

  Then, after shifting to the sleep mode, it is determined whether or not data has been received from the computer (step S6). During this time, the sleep mode is maintained.

  When data is received from the computer in step S6, power is supplied to each unit that has been shut off from the printer to shift (return) to the normal mode (step S7).

  Then, the process returns to the print job waiting state in step S2. If the data received from the computer immediately before returning to the normal mode is a print job (Yes in step S2), the print job is printed (step S3). When the printing process is completed, the process returns to the print job waiting state in step S2.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S8 that the current time is within a preset power-off time period, that is, a time period in which the printer is not normally used, the process proceeds to step S10 and the main power supply of the printer 2 is turned on. Power off processing to turn off is performed. This is because it is determined that there is a low possibility that a new print job will be transmitted thereafter.

  According to the present embodiment as described above, when the printer 2 does not receive a print job and the duration of the state in which the printing operation is not performed exceeds a specified time, it is outside the preset power-off time zone. If so, go to sleep mode. If the power is off, the printer 2 is turned off. Therefore, the wasteful power consumption of the printer 2 can be significantly reduced. Further, if the main power supply of the printer 2 is turned off within the power-off time period, the voltage is not applied to almost all the electrical components of the printer 2 including the electrical components to which the voltage is applied in the sleep mode. Accordingly, it is possible to extend the life of the component by shortening the time for applying the voltage to the component, thereby extending the life of the printer 2.

  Moreover, even if the printer is in the power-off period, the printer 2 is turned off as long as print jobs are continuously sent within the specified time from the completion of the previous printing operation to the transition to the sleep mode. However, it is possible to perform print processing of those print jobs. That is, there is a very high probability that the power is turned off after the print requests of all printer users on the network are processed. Therefore, it is possible to greatly reduce the user's convenience, greatly reduce the wasteful power consumption of the printer, and extend the life of the printer.

  In the first embodiment described above, it is possible to reduce wasteful power when the printer is not used, but the computer that transmits the print job to the printer is not limited thereto. For example, a print job with a very large data capacity or a plurality of print jobs may occur at the end of the working hours, and it may take several hours to complete printing of these print jobs. In such a case, there are many usage methods in which the user goes home while the computer and printer are both turned on. Modern computers consume much more power and are larger than printers. For this reason, in the above-described method of using a computer and a printer, even if the first embodiment is implemented, the wasteful power consumption reduction effect of the entire printing system including the computer and the printer becomes low. A second embodiment for solving such a problem will be described below.

  The configuration of the printing system itself comprising the printer and computer of the second embodiment is the same as the configuration of FIG. In the second embodiment, the power management control procedure performed by the system controller 20 of the printer 2 is changed from the procedure shown in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment to the procedure shown in FIG. Steps S1 to S8 and S10 in FIG. 3 are common to steps S1 to S8 and S10 in FIG. That is, the control procedure of FIG. 3 is obtained by adding step S9 different from the control procedure common to FIG.

  The process of step S9 is executed immediately before the printer 2 is turned off in step S10 when it is determined in step S8 that the current time is within the preset power-off time zone. In step S9, communication with the computer 1 is performed via the network I / F 21 and information for instructing the printer driver 13 of the computer 1 to turn off the computer 1 is notified.

  The printer driver 13 notified of this information instructs the power control task 12 under the management of the OS 11 to turn off the computer 1 by calling a system call of the OS 11. The power control task 12 controls to turn off the computer 1 after ending a program that becomes a failure when the power is suddenly shut down, such as a device driver being executed or a task performing data processing. To do.

  In this manner, the power of the computer 1 can be turned off, and the power of the printer 2 can be turned off in step S10 as in the first embodiment.

  According to the second embodiment, even if a print job occurs in which the printing time is long just before the end of working hours (immediately before the start time of the power-off time period), the user can turn on the power of the printer 2 and the computer 1. There is no problem even if you go home with the button turned on (while continuing the printing process). In this case, after the printing of the print job is completed within the power-off time period, the power of the computer 1 and the printer 2 is turned off if the specified time elapses without receiving the subsequent print job. This is because power is not wasted.

  As the power management control in the printer, whether to execute the control in the first and second embodiments (the control in FIGS. 2 to 3; hereinafter referred to as the control according to the time zone) or the control in FIG. 4 of the conventional example. It is convenient if the user can select.

  In order to do so, for example, as a power management control mode to be executed, the user can input information for selecting and setting a control mode corresponding to a time zone or a conventional control mode from the operation panel 24 of the printer 2. Like that. The input power management control mode setting information is stored in a nonvolatile memory of the system controller 20 or the like. The setting information may be input on a printer setting screen displayed on a monitor (not shown) by the printer driver 13 of the computer 1.

  The CPU of the system controller 20 refers to the stored control mode setting information when starting the power management control in response to the power-on of the printer 2. And according to the setting information, the control according to the time zone by the control procedure of FIG. 2 thru | or FIG. 3 or the conventional control by the control procedure of FIG. 4 shall be performed. Along with this, information that informs the user that the control is being executed when the control according to the time zone is executed, and that the control is being executed when the conventional control is executed. Is displayed on the display of the operation panel 24 or the like.

  In this way, the user can select and execute control according to the time zone or conventional control as power management control according to the necessity according to the usage status of the printer 2, etc. The convenience for the user can be further improved.

  In each of the embodiments described above, the host device connected to the printer is a computer. However, for example, a device having a digital image output function such as a digital camera may be used.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system including a printer and a computer that are common to each embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of power management control in the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of power management control in the second embodiment. It is a flowchart figure which shows the control procedure of the conventional power management control.

Explanation of symbols

1 Computer 2 Printer 3 Network 10 Application Program 11 OS
12 Power Control Task 13 Printer Driver 14 Network I / F
20 System Controller 21 Network I / F
22 Engine controller 23 Engine unit 24 Operation panel

Claims (7)

In the printer, when the printing operation has not been performed for a predetermined time or more, it shifts to the low power consumption mode due to that, and then when the print job is received from the host device, it returns to the printable mode and prints. Control means for controlling the job to be printed;
A time zone setting means for presetting a time zone assumed not to use the printer,
The control means shifts to the low power consumption mode when the factor for shifting to the low power consumption mode in the printer occurs outside the time zone set by the time zone setting means, and within the set time zone. A power management control apparatus for a printer, which performs power management control in accordance with a time period during which the printer power is turned off.   When a factor for shifting to the low power consumption mode occurs in the printer within the time zone set by the time zone setting unit, the host device is connected to the host device immediately before the control unit turns off the printer. 2. The power management control apparatus for a printer according to claim 1, further comprising means for transmitting information instructing to turn off the power of the printer. Selection means for selecting whether to cause the control means to execute power management control according to the time zone; and
When the control means executes power management control corresponding to the time zone according to the selection of the selection means, information for informing the user that the power management control corresponding to the time zone is being executed. 3. The printer power management control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an output unit. In the printer, when the printing operation has not been performed for a predetermined time or more, it shifts to the low power consumption mode due to that, and then when the print job is received from the host device, it returns to the printable mode and prints. A power management control method for a printer that controls a job to be printed.
Set a time zone that you expect to not use the printer,
When a factor for shifting to the low power consumption mode occurs outside the set time zone in the printer, the printer enters the low power consumption mode, and when it occurs within the set time zone, the printer is turned off. A power management control method for a printer, which performs power management control according to a time zone.   Information for instructing the host device to turn off the host device immediately before turning off the printer power when the factor causing the printer to enter the low power consumption mode occurs within the set time period. The printer power management control method according to claim 4, wherein: It is possible to select whether to execute power management control according to the time zone,
When power management control corresponding to the time zone is executed according to the selection, information for notifying a user that the power management control corresponding to the time zone is being executed is output. 6. The power management control method for a printer according to claim 4 or 5.   A printer control program comprising: a control procedure for executing power management control by the printer power management control method according to any one of claims 4 to 6.

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