JP2010125630A - Printer and method for controlling printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer that further reduces power consumption during its sleep and a method for controlling the printer, whereby a user can be aware of the state of an engine even, in particular, during the sleep. <P>SOLUTION: The printer having a control section for creating image data based on print data, and an engine section for printing the image data on a recording medium includes: a sleep mode setting means for setting the control section to a sleep mode; and an output means for detecting a state change of the engine section when the control section is in the sleep mode, and outputting the state change detection signal to the control section. The control section outputs a state check signal to the engine section upon the input of the state change detection signal, thereby checking the state of the engine section. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus capable of further reducing power consumption in a sleep mode, and a printing apparatus control method.

  Today, various types of electrical equipment and electronic equipment have been sought to save energy, and printing apparatuses are required to design power-saving equipment. In particular, methods for reducing the power consumption of electronic circuits in various devices include a method of using parts with lower power consumption, a method of actively utilizing parts having a low power consumption mode, and a reduction in circuit operation clock. And a method of developing a new low-power-consumption electronic circuit.

Patent Document 1 has been proposed as an invention of an image formation control apparatus that realizes power saving. This invention is an invention that suppresses power consumption by statically stopping a reference clock for a function that is not used in an engine interface that is made into an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).
JP 2002-229666 A

  However, there is a problem with the above conventional method. For example, a method using a component with lower power consumption is useful, but such a component is not always found. In addition, when a component having a low power consumption mode is actively used, it is sufficient that there is no functional problem in the low power consumption mode, but there is a component that cannot use the low power consumption mode functionally. Further, as a method of reducing the operation clock of the circuit, it is sufficient that the frequency can be changed during the operation of the system, but the frequency may not be changed. In addition, a method for developing an electronic circuit with low power consumption requires a development period and is expensive. Furthermore, in the case of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, if an operation on the engine side is performed while the reference clock is stopped, this cannot be detected, which causes a problem.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a printing apparatus and a printing apparatus control method capable of knowing the state on the engine side even during sleep, and capable of further reducing power consumption during sleep.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus having a control unit that creates image data based on print data and an engine unit that prints the image data on a recording medium. Sleep mode setting means for setting an electronic circuit that performs data compression, decompression, and transfer processing to a sleep mode; and when the electronic circuit is in a sleep mode, detects a change in the state of the engine unit, and sends a state change detection signal to the control unit And an output means for outputting to the engine section, the control section outputs a state confirmation signal to the engine section when the state change detection signal is inputted, and provides a printing apparatus for confirming the state of the engine section. Can be achieved.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the setting of the sleep mode of the electronic circuit can be achieved by providing a printing apparatus that performs the supply of the clock signal to the electronic circuit.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the control unit can be achieved by providing a printing apparatus that displays the state of the engine unit based on the output result of the state confirmation signal.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the sleep mode setting means can be achieved by providing a printing apparatus that also stops the power supply to the high power consumption means of the engine unit.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus control method comprising: a control unit that creates image data based on print data; and an engine unit that prints the image data on a recording medium. A sleep mode setting process for setting an electronic circuit that performs compression, expansion, and transfer processing of the created image data to a sleep mode; and when the electronic circuit is in a sleep mode, a state change of the engine unit is detected, and a state change detection signal is generated. A control method for a printing apparatus that performs an output process to be output to the control unit and a confirmation process for outputting a state confirmation signal to the engine unit and confirming the state of the engine unit when the state change detection signal is input. Can be achieved by providing.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus that can greatly reduce power consumption when the printing apparatus sleeps, and that can constantly check a change in the state of the engine unit during the sleep, and a control method for the printing apparatus. can do.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram in which a printer device (printing device) used in this embodiment is connected to a personal computer (PC) as a host device via a network. In FIG. 1, a printer apparatus 1 is connected to a personal computer (PC) via a USB (universal serial bus) 7a or a LAN (local area network) 7b, and receives print data from the personal computer (PC).

  The printer apparatus 1 includes an interface controller (hereinafter referred to as an I / F controller) 2, an engine controller 3, and a head controller 4. The I / F controller 2 receives print data from a personal computer (PC) as described above. Is supplied.

  The I / F controller 2 generates video data based on the supplied print data, and performs printing on the recording medium by the LED head 6 via the head controller 4. Further, an operation panel 5 is connected to the I / F controller 2 to supply an operation signal from the user to the I / F controller 2 and display necessary information on the operation panel 5.

  The engine controller 3 performs information communication with the I / F controller 2 by a COMMAND / STATUS signal. Various detection signals are input to the engine controller 3 from many sensors. For example, a detection signal for detecting opening / closing of the front door of the printer apparatus 1 is input from the front door sensor 8, and a detection signal for detecting that the paper feed cassette is pulled out is input from the cassette drawer sensor 9. A detection signal for detecting the presence or absence of toner in a developing unit (not shown) is input, a detection signal for a sheet that has passed through a fixing unit (not shown) is input from the paper discharge sensor 11, and the temperature in the printer apparatus 1 is input from the temperature / humidity sensor 12. Enter humidity information.

Further, a drive signal is supplied from the engine controller 3 to the motor 13, and a high voltage control signal is supplied to the high voltage unit 14.
FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of the I / F controller 2. The I / F controller 2 includes a CPU 16, SDRAM (synchronous DRAM) 17, flash memory 18, ASIC 19, RTC (real time clock) 20, and EEPROM 21. Further, as described above, the I / F controller 2 (CPU 16) is connected to the personal computer (PC) via the USB 7a and connected to the personal computer (PC) via the LAN (LAN PHY (Physical)) 7b. Has been.

  The ASIC 19 generates video data under the control of the CPU 16, performs compression processing, expansion processing, and the like on the video data, and transmits the video data to the head controller 4. The ASIC 19 exchanges various signals with the engine controller 3.

  Further, a status change signal (STATUS_CHANGE signal) is output from the engine controller 3 to the CPU 16. This STATUS_CHANGE signal is a signal output from the engine controller 3 when the ASIC 19 detects that the front door or the paper feed cassette is pulled out in a sleep mode described later.

Further, the operation panel 5 is provided with a power saving button (not shown), a power saving mode display LED, and the like, and the printer device 1 can be set to the power saving mode by operating the power saving button. In the power saving mode, the power saving mode display LED is lit. The return from the power saving mode can also be set by operating the power saving button. Further, the power saving mode of this example not only stops driving of the normal fixing heater or the like, but also stops driving of the ASIC 19 in the I / F controller 2 as will be described later.
The RTC 20 measures the date and time, the flash memory 18 and the EEPROM 21 store various information necessary for the printing process, and the SDRAM 17 is mainly used for drawing video data.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the relationship among the engine controller 3, the CPU 16, and the ASIC 19 configured as described above. The CPU 16 includes a PCI controller block 16a, an ETHER (Ethernet (registered trademark)) controller block 16b, an SDRAM controller block 16c, and a CPU core block 16d. Each of the controller blocks 16a to 16d controls the corresponding circuit. For example, the PCI controller block 16a controls the PCI bus.

  The ASIC 19 performs processing such as compression, expansion, and transfer of video data, and transfers the video data (VIDEO_K to VIDEO_C) expanded for each color to the head controller 4. The ASIC 19 includes a PCI controller block 25, a compression circuit block 26, a command status (COMMAND STATUS) transmission / reception circuit block 27, decompression circuits 28K to 28C, and video transfer circuits 29K to 29C.

  Also, the PCI clock (PCICLK) is supplied from the CPU 16 to the ASIC 19, and the ASIC 19 divides the PCI clock (PCICLK) to drive each circuit. For example, video data compression processing by the compression circuit block 26 and transmission / reception circuit block 27 that controls transmission / reception of various commands are performed. The CPU 16 and the ASIC 19 exchange address data (PCIAD0 to 31) and transfer various signals (FRAME, IRDY, TRDY, DEVSEL) when transferring video data.

In the above configuration, the processing operation of this embodiment will be described below.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the processing operation of this example. The left side of FIG. 4 shows processing performed by the I / F controller 2, and the right side of FIG. 4 shows processing performed by the engine controller 3.
First, the I / F controller 2 monitors the state of the operation panel 5 described above and also monitors the reception of print data from a personal computer (PC) (step (hereinafter referred to as S) 1).

  In this state, for example, when the user operates the power saving button on the operation panel 5, the I / F controller 2 determines whether or not the printing process is being performed (S 2). If there is (S2 is YES), the end of the printing process is waited (S3). On the other hand, when the printer apparatus 1 is not in the printing process (S2 is NO) or enters an idle state, the I / F controller 2 issues a sleep command (sleep COMMAND) to the engine controller 3 and PCI to the ASIC 19 The output of the clock (PCI CLK) is stopped (S4).

  Further, in order to notify that the sleep mode has been entered, the power saving mode display LED provided on the operation panel 5 is blinked (S5). Through the above processing, power consumption in the I / F controller 2 (ASIC 19) is suppressed thereafter.

On the other hand, when the engine controller 3 receives the sleep command (sleep COMMAND), the power supply to the LED head 6, the fixing heater (not shown), and the high voltage unit is turned off (S6). By this processing, power consumption in the engine controller 3 is further suppressed.
Thereafter, the engine controller 3 monitors state changes such as whether the front door is opened or the paper cassette is pulled out (S7), and outputs the STATUS_CHANGE signal when the front door is opened by the user, for example. (S8).

This STATUS_CHANGE signal is input to the INT terminal (interrupt terminal) of the I / F controller 2 (CPU 16) (S9), drives the PCI controller block 20, and re-supplies the PCI clock (PCI CLK) to the ASIC 19 ( S10). The I / F controller 2 issues a state read command (state read COMMAND) to confirm the state of the engine controller 3 (S11).
On the engine controller 3 side, when the above-described state reading command (state reading COMMAND) is received (S12), the state of the engine controller 3 is confirmed, and a state status (state STATUS) is sent to the I / F controller 2 (CPU 16). Transmit (S13).

  The state status (state STATUS) includes information operated by the user. For example, when the front door is opened by the user, the detection signal is transmitted from the front door sensor 8 to the engine controller 3. This information is included in the status status (status STATUS). For example, when a paper cassette is pulled out, this detection signal is transmitted from the cassette drawer sensor 9 to the engine controller 3, and this information is included in the status status (status STATUS).

  Therefore, the I / F controller 2 knows the operation content of the engine controller 3 by confirming the status status (status STATUS), and depending on the content, displays it on the operation panel 5 (S14). For example, when the front door is opened, a front door open message is displayed on the operation panel 5. When the paper cassette is pulled out, an open message for the paper cassette is displayed on the operation panel 5.

Thereafter, the I / F controller 2 stops the output of the PCI clock (PCI CLK) to the ASIC 19 again (S15). By this process, the ASIC 19 returns to the sleep mode again and suppresses power consumption. Note that the time from when the status status (status STATUS) is input to the I / F controller 2 until the PCI clock (PCI CLK) output is stopped again is less than 1 second, for example. Although the power consumption temporarily increases, the time is negligible considering the ratio of the sleep mode to the total time.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, by stopping the PCI clock (PCI CLK) to the ASIC 19 when the printer apparatus 1 is in the sleep mode, power consumption in the ASIC 19 can be drastically reduced. The power consumption of the printer apparatus 1 can be greatly reduced.

  5 and 6 are diagrams specifically illustrating the effect of reducing the power consumption of the printer device 1 according to the present embodiment. The current consumption for each component and voltage of the I / F controller 2 is measured or cataloged. Data read from and derived from 5 shows a conventional case, and FIG. 6 shows a case where the output of the PCI clock (PCI CLK) described in the present embodiment is stopped. In the conventional case of FIG. 5, the PCI clock (PCI CLK) uses 66 MHz. As power supplies, four systems of 5.0V, 3.3V, 2.5V, and 1.5V are provided in accordance with the specifications of the parts.

  In the results shown in FIG. 6, particularly noteworthy are the power of the part name ASIC (19) and the 5V equivalent current value. In the conventional case shown in FIG. 5, the power consumption of the ASIC is 609 mW, and the 5V equivalent current value is 122 mA. On the other hand, in the present embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the power consumption of the ASIC is 26 mW, and the 5V equivalent current value is greatly suppressed to 5 mA.

  FIG. 7 shows an example in which the frequency of the PCI clock (PCI CLK) is set to 30 MHz. The power consumption of the ASIC is 273 mW, and the 5V equivalent current value is 55 mA. In this case, the power consumption of the ASIC is 273 (mW). However, in the case of the conventional example shown in FIG. 5, when the power consumption of the ASIC 609 mW is theoretically calculated based on the frequency ratio, 609 (mW) × 30 (MHz ) ÷ 66 (MHz) = 277 (mW), which almost coincides with the value derived from the actually measured values in FIG. That is, the power consumption (current consumption) in the ASIC 19 is proportional to the frequency, and in this embodiment, the effect of this power reduction is advanced one step, and the output of the PCI clock (PCI CLK) is stopped in the sleep mode. .

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to significantly reduce power consumption (current consumption) when the printer apparatus is in sleep, and to exchange information with the engine controller during sleep. A printing device can be provided.
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In an implementation stage, a component can be deform | transformed and embodied in the range which does not deviate from the summary. In addition, the present invention can make various inventions by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, the present invention may be configured by deleting some components from all the components shown in the embodiment.

It is a circuit block diagram of an I / F controller. 1 is an overall system configuration diagram in which a printer device used in the present embodiment is connected to a personal computer (PC) as a host device via a network. It is a figure explaining the relationship between an engine controller, CPU, and ASIC. It is a flowchart explaining the processing operation of this example. It is a figure explaining the power consumption of ASIC at the time of supplying the conventional PCI clock (PCI CLK). It is a figure explaining the power consumption of ASIC when supply of the PCI clock (PCI CLK) of this example is stopped. It is a figure explaining the power consumption of ASIC at the time of reducing the clock frequency of a PCI clock (PCI CLK).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer apparatus 2 ... I / F controller 3 ... Engine controller 4 ... Head controller 5 ... Operation panel 6 ... LED head 7a ... USB
7b LAN
8 .. Front door sensor 9... Cassette drawer sensor 10 .. toner presence sensor 11 .. paper discharge sensor 12 .. temperature / humidity sensor 13 .. motor 14 .. high pressure unit 16.
PCI controller block 16b ETHER controller block 16c SDRAM controller block 16d CPU core block 17 SDRAM
18. Flash memory 19 ASIC
20. RTC
21..EEPROM
25 ·· PCI controller block 26 · · compression circuit block 27 · · command status transmission / reception circuit blocks 28K to 28C · · decompression circuits 29K to 29C · · video transfer circuit

Claims (5)

In a printing apparatus having a control unit that creates image data based on print data and an engine unit that prints the image data on a recording medium.
Sleep mode setting means for setting an electronic circuit for performing compression, expansion, and transfer processing on the image data created by the control unit to a sleep mode;
An output means for detecting a state change of the engine unit and outputting a state change detection signal to the control unit when the electronic circuit is in a sleep mode;
When the state change detection signal is input, the control unit outputs a state confirmation signal to the engine unit to confirm the state of the engine unit.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting of the sleep mode of the electronic circuit is performed by stopping supply of a clock signal to the electronic circuit.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit displays a state of the engine unit based on a result of output of the state confirmation signal.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sleep mode setting unit also stops power supply to the high power consumption unit of the engine unit. In a control method for a printing apparatus having a control unit that creates image data based on print data and an engine unit that prints the image data on a recording medium,
A sleep mode setting process for setting an electronic circuit for compressing, expanding, and transferring image data created by the control unit to a sleep mode;
When the electronic circuit is in a sleep mode, an output process for detecting a state change of the engine unit and outputting a state change detection signal to the control unit;
When the state change detection signal is input, a state confirmation signal is output to the engine unit, and a confirmation process for confirming the state of the engine unit;
A control method for a printing apparatus.