JP2011020267A - Printer and printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer and a printing system, capable of reducing efficiently an electric power consumption even in an electric power saving mode. <P>SOLUTION: A PC 3 confirms an operation state of a digital compound machine 1, when printing is indicated. The PC 3 prepares a stand-by printing job 51, when the digital compound machine 1 is under the electric power saving mode, and stores the job 51 in a shared folder 41 prepared in a PC 4. The PC 3 transmits stand-by printing indication information 52 indicating a stored side of the stand-by printing job, to the digital compound machine 1. The digital compound machine 1 acquires the stand-by printing job 51, based on the stand-by printing indication information 52, when electric power is supplied restartedly to a printing part 12, and carries out the acquires stand-by printing job. The digital compound machine 1 acquires and executes forcibly the stand-by printing job 51, based on a time set in time limit information 521 included in the stand-by printing indication information 52, when the electric power is not supplied to the printer 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus capable of shifting to a power saving mode and reducing power consumption, and a printing system including the printing apparatus.

  A conventional printing apparatus such as a digital multifunction peripheral shifts to a power saving mode when the standby state has passed for a certain period of time. In the power saving mode, power is not supplied to a printer engine, a control unit that controls the printer engine, and the like. For this reason, there is an advantage that the power consumption of the printing apparatus is reduced and the operation cost can be reduced. Moreover, there is a merit that it can contribute to energy saving measures and environmental measures by reducing power consumption.

  The printing apparatus shifts from the power saving mode to the normal mode when a print job is received or when the user operates the operation panel. However, the power consumption when returning to the normal mode becomes larger than that in the normal mode as the printer engine warms up. For this reason, it is desirable that the number of times of return from the power saving mode is small.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus capable of reducing the number of times of returning from the power saving mode. The image forming apparatus according to Patent Document 1 stores a print job in a built-in hard disk device when a print job that does not require real-time printing in the power saving mode occurs. Then, the image forming apparatus prints the accumulated print job when the number of pages to be printed by the accumulated print job exceeds a predetermined number.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-313488

  The image forming apparatus according to Patent Document 1 can store image data such as facsimile data using a built-in hard disk device. However, since the image forming apparatus according to Patent Document 1 stores a print job received in the power saving mode in a hard disk device that incorporates the print job, the power consumption in the power saving mode cannot be efficiently reduced.

  In addition, as a storage destination of a print job received in the power saving mode, it is conceivable to use a memory that is supplied with power even in the power saving mode and is used as a software work area. However, when the image forming apparatus receives a print job exceeding the number of print jobs that can be stored in the memory, the image forming apparatus must return from the power saving mode to execute the print job.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus and a printing system capable of increasing the number of print instructions that can be accepted in the power saving mode.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is a printing apparatus connected to a network, wherein a power is supplied even in a power saving mode, and a network controller that controls communication via the network; and A printing unit that stops power supply in a power saving mode; and a power control unit that controls power supplied to the network controller and the printing unit. The network controller is created in a device different from the device itself A storage unit that stores the standby print instruction information while maintaining the power saving mode when standby print instruction information instructing execution of the standby print job stored in the shared folder is received in the power saving mode; When the power saving mode is canceled, the standby print job is transferred to the network based on the standby print instruction information. Through acquired, characterized in that it comprises an instruction unit, an instructing execution of the waiting print job acquired in the printing unit.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the first aspect, the standby printing instruction information includes deadline information indicating an execution deadline of the standby printing job, and the network controller further includes the standby printing. A determination unit that determines whether to execute a job based on the time limit information, and the instruction unit acquires the standby print job when the determination unit determines to execute the standby print job, The power control unit is instructed to supply power to the printing unit.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the second aspect, the standby print instruction information includes information related to a plurality of stored print jobs stored as standby print jobs in the shared folder. In the time limit information, an execution time limit of at least one stored print job among the plurality of stored print jobs is recorded, and the instruction unit determines whether the determination unit uses the plurality of stored print jobs based on the time limit information. When the execution of any one of the stored print jobs is determined, the plurality of stored print jobs are acquired based on the standby print instruction information.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the printing unit is included in a print job and converts print data described in a page description language into raster data. And a printer engine that prints raster data on a print medium, wherein the power control unit individually controls power supply to the printer controller and the printer engine, and the instruction unit includes the printer When power is not supplied to the controller but power is supplied to the printer engine, and a standby print job including print data described in a page description language is stored in the shared folder, power is supplied to the printer controller. To the power control unit, and a standby print job including print data described in the page description language. Wherein the instructing execution of the probe to the printing unit.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the printing unit executes a raster print job including print data in a raster format received in the power saving mode using the printer engine. The power control unit resumes power supply to the printer controller in parallel with the execution of the raster print job, and the instruction unit is described in the page description language in parallel with the execution of the raster print job. A standby print job including the printed data is acquired.

  The invention according to claim 6 is a printing system in which an information processing apparatus and a printing apparatus are connected via a network, wherein the information processing apparatus checks an operation state of the printing apparatus, and When the printing device is in a power saving mode, a print data creation unit that creates a standby print job from document data, a storage unit that saves the standby print job in a shared folder created in a device different from the printing device, A transmission unit that indicates a storage destination of the standby print job and transmits standby print instruction information that instructs execution of the standby print job to the printing apparatus, and the printing apparatus is supplied with power even in the power saving mode. A network controller that controls communication via the network, a printing unit that stops power supply in the power saving mode, and the network And a power management unit that manages power supplied to the printing unit, the network controller responding to an operation confirmation request from the information processing device, and the standby printing instruction information When received in the power saving mode, the storage unit that stores the standby print instruction information, and the standby print job is transmitted via the network based on the standby print instruction information when the power saving mode is canceled. And an instruction unit that instructs the printing unit to execute the standby print job that has been acquired.

  According to the present invention, after canceling the power saving mode, the printing device can execute a standby print job from a shared folder created in a device different from the own device based on the standby print instruction information received in the power saving mode. Get and execute. Since the data size of the standby print instruction information is very small compared to the print job, the number of standby print instruction information that can be stored in the storage unit can be significantly increased from the number of print jobs that can be stored in the storage unit. . Therefore, the number of print jobs to be executed after the printing apparatus returns from the power saving mode can be greatly increased. In addition, since it is not necessary to receive a print job in the power saving mode, the printing apparatus of the present invention can reduce power consumption in the power saving mode.

  In the standby print instruction information, deadline information indicating the execution deadline of the standby print job is set, and the printing apparatus forcibly executes the standby print job before the print deadline elapses. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the standby print job from being left unexecuted.

  In addition, a plurality of stored print jobs may be stored in a shared folder as standby print jobs. When the determination unit determines to execute any one of the plurality of stored print jobs based on the time limit information, the printing apparatus acquires all of the plurality of stored print jobs. Thereby, a standby print job whose execution time limit has not elapsed can be executed early.

  In the printing unit, even when power is not supplied to the printer controller and power is supplied to the printer engine, the printing apparatus can transfer a standby print job having print data described in a page description language to a shared folder. Get it from and run it. Thereby, the standby print job having the print data described in the page description language can be executed at an early stage.

  In addition, the printing apparatus resumes power supply to the printer controller in parallel with the execution of the raster print job received in the power saving mode, and acquires a standby print job including print data described in the page description language. To do. Thus, the printing apparatus can quickly execute a standby print job including print data described in the page description language.

1 is a configuration diagram of a network system including a digital multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment. 3 is a flowchart of a printer driver. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a print job. It is a figure which shows standby printing instruction information. 3 is a flowchart of the digital multi-function peripheral in a power saving mode. It is a flowchart of the determination part which manages term information.

{Configuration of digital MFP and overall configuration of network system}
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a network system including a digital multi-function peripheral 1 according to the present embodiment.

  The digital multi-function peripheral 1 is connected to a LAN (Local Area Network) 2. PCs (Personal Computers) 3 and 4 are connected to the LAN 2.

  The digital multi-function peripheral 1 is a multi-function device having a copy function, a fax function, a scanner function, a printer function, and the like. The user can use the printer function of the digital multifunction peripheral 1 by sending a print instruction from the PC 3 to the digital multifunction peripheral 1 via the LAN 2. In addition, the user can operate the operation panel (not shown) of the digital multi-function peripheral 1 to use the copy function and the fax function of the digital multi-function peripheral 1.

  First, the configuration of the digital multifunction machine 1 will be described. The digital multi-function peripheral 1 includes a control unit 11, a printing unit 12, a power control unit 13, and a network controller 14. In FIG. 1, processing units relating to the scanner function and the fax function of the digital multi-function peripheral 1 are omitted.

  The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), and performs overall control of the digital multi-function peripheral 1.

  The printing unit 12 executes a print job created by the PC 3. The printing unit 12 includes a printer controller 121 and a printer engine 122.

  The printer controller 121 converts the print data 55 into raster data when the print job has print data 55 in a PDL (Page Description Language) format. The printer engine 122 includes a photosensitive drum and a fixing roller (not shown), and prints raster data on a print medium such as paper.

  When the print job has raster format print data 55, the printing unit 12 functions as a host-based printer. In this case, the printing unit 12 executes a print job using only the printer engine 122 out of the printer controller 121 and the printer engine 122.

  The power control unit 13 controls the power supplied to each component of the digital multifunction peripheral 1 according to the normal mode, the power saving printing mode, and the power saving mode.

  The network controller 14 is connected to the LAN 2 and controls communication via the LAN 2. The network controller 14 controls communication based on, for example, TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol).

  The network controller 14 includes a storage unit 141, an instruction unit 142, and a determination unit 143.

  The storage unit 141 stores standby print instruction information 52 received in the power saving mode. The instruction unit 142 acquires the standby print job 51 from the shared folder 41 created in the PC 4 based on the standby print instruction information 52, and instructs the printing unit 12 to execute the acquired standby print job 51. The determination unit 143 determines whether or not the standby print job 51 is forcibly executed based on the time limit information 521 (see FIG. 4) set in the standby print instruction information 52. Details of the standby printing, the standby printing job 51, and the standby printing instruction information 52 will be described later.

  Next, the PC 3 will be described. The PC 3 is an information processing apparatus operated by a user, and includes a printer driver 31.

  The printer driver 31 creates a print job from document data for which the user has instructed printing. The printer driver 31 includes an operation confirmation unit 311, a PDL data creation unit 312, and a raster data creation unit 313.

  The operation confirmation unit 311 confirms the operation state of the digital multifunction peripheral 1. The PDL data creation unit 312 functions as a PDL printer driver, and creates PDL format print data 55 from document data. The raster data creation unit 313 functions as a raster printer driver and creates raster format print data 55 from document data.

  Next, the PC 4 will be described. A shared folder 41 is created in the PC 4. The shared folder 41 temporarily stores the standby print job 51 transmitted from the PC 3.

{Normal mode, power saving mode and power saving printing mode}
The digital multi-function peripheral 1 operates in any one of a normal mode, a power saving mode, and a power saving printing mode with different power consumptions according to the usage status of the user.

  The normal mode is a mode for supplying power to the entire digital multi-function peripheral 1. The digital multi-function peripheral 1 is divided into a main body processing unit, a printing unit 12, and a network controller 14 as structural units for supplying power. The main body processing unit includes the control unit 11 and an operation panel (not shown). In the normal mode, the power control unit 13 supplies power to the main body processing unit, the printing unit 12, and the network controller 14.

  In the power saving mode, power is supplied to the network controller 14. No power is supplied to the main body processing unit and the printing unit 12.

  In the power saving printing mode, power is supplied to the printing unit 12 and the network controller 14. No power is supplied to the main body processing unit.

  For example, the digital multifunction peripheral 1 shifts from the normal mode to the power saving mode after a certain period of time has elapsed after operating according to the user's instruction. When the user presses the cancel button for the power saving mode, the digital multifunction peripheral 1 returns to the normal mode.

  Further, when the digital multifunction peripheral 1 receives a print job in the power saving mode, the digital multifunction peripheral 1 shifts from the power saving mode to the power saving printing mode. This is because when the print job is executed, the printing unit 12 only needs to operate, and it is not necessary to supply power to the main body processing unit.

{Normal printing and standby printing}
The PC 3 instructs the digital multifunction peripheral 1 to perform normal printing or standby printing in accordance with a user instruction. In this embodiment, for convenience, a print job created during normal printing is called a normal print job 53, and a print job created during standby printing is called a standby print job 51.

  Normal printing means that the PC 3 sends the normal print job 53 directly to the digital multi-function peripheral 1. By executing the normal print job 53 received by the digital multi-function peripheral 1, the user of the PC 3 can immediately obtain a desired printed matter. In normal printing, when the digital multi-function peripheral 1 receives a normal printing 53 job in the power saving mode, the digital multifunction peripheral 1 executes the normal printing job 53 after shifting to the power saving printing mode. In the normal mode, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 executes the received normal print job 53 as it is.

  On the other hand, standby printing is performed when the digital multi-function peripheral 1 is in the power saving mode. The PC 3 creates a standby print job 51 and stores it in the shared folder 41. The digital multi-function peripheral 1 acquires the standby print job 51 from the shared folder 41 and executes it in accordance with the shift from the power saving mode to the power saving printing mode or the normal mode. By using standby printing, it is possible to reduce the number of times the digital multi-function peripheral 1 returns from the power saving mode.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the network system when executing standby printing will be described.

{Printer Driver Operation}
First, the operation of the printer driver 31 provided in the PC 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer driver 31.

  A user of the PC 3 operates an application program running on the PC 3 and instructs printing of document data. At this time, the user of the PC 3 selects the conversion format of the document data by selecting either the PDL printer driver or the raster printer driver. The printer driver 31 sets the document data conversion format to the PDL format or the raster format based on the user's selection (step S101).

  The printer driver 31 transmits an operation state confirmation request to the digital multi-function peripheral 1 using SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) (step S102).

  The network controller 14 stores MIB (Management Information Base) information in the storage unit 141. The MIB information stored in the storage unit 141 is updated according to an instruction from the control unit 11 every time the operating state of the digital multi-function peripheral 1 changes. Examples of the change in the operation state of the digital multifunction peripheral 1 include a transition to any one of the normal mode, the power saving mode and the power saving printing mode, or the occurrence of an error in the printing unit 12. The network controller 14 transmits a response to the confirmation request based on the MIB information.

  The printer driver 31 stores the response to the received confirmation request as a status file indicating the operating state of the digital multifunction device 1. The printer driver 31 refers to the status file to check whether the digital multi-function peripheral 1 is in the power saving mode (step S103).

  When the digital multi-function peripheral 1 is in the power saving mode (Yes in step S103), the printer driver 31 displays a dialog for selecting whether to perform normal printing or standby printing on the monitor of the PC 3. (Step S104).

  When the user of the PC 3 selects standby printing (Yes in step S105), the printer driver 31 converts the document data in the conversion format selected by the user and creates the print data 55. Then, the printer driver 31 creates a standby print job 51 including the print data 55 and stores it in the shared folder 41 (step S106). The storage destination of the standby print job 51 is preset in the printer driver 31.

  Next, when the output time limit is designated by the user of the PC 3 (Yes in step S107), the printer driver 31 creates the standby print instruction information 52 including the time limit information 521 (step S108). If the output time limit is not specified (No in step S108), the printer driver 31 creates standby print instruction information 52 that does not include the time limit information 521 (step S109). Then, the standby print instruction information 52 is transmitted from the PC 3 to the digital multifunction peripheral 1 (step S110). Thereby, the process shown in FIG. 2 is completed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the standby print job 51. The standby print job 51 includes PJL (Printer Job Language) data 54 and print data 55. The normal print job 53 has the same configuration as the standby print job 51.

  The PJL data 54 is a control command for the printing unit 12. In the PJL data 54, data format information 541 indicates the data format of the print data 55. When the data format information 541 is set as “@PJL ENTER LANGUAGE = PostScript”, the print data 55 is data in the PDL format described in PostScript (registered trademark). When the data format information 541 is set as “@PJL ENTER LANGUAGE = GDI”, the print data 55 is raster format data.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the standby print instruction information 52. The standby printing instruction information 52 is setting information related to standby printing, and is described using a PJL comment. In the standby printing instruction information 52, “Waiting Print” instructing standby printing is set. “Folder” indicates the network path of the shared folder 41 in which the standby print job 51 is stored. “Type” indicates the data format of the print data 55 included in the standby print job 51. “Name” indicates the name of the standby print job 51. The time limit information 521 indicates the execution time limit of the standby print job 51, and the time limit specified by the user in step S107 is set.

  As described above, when the standby printing is instructed, the PC 3 transmits the standby printing instruction information 52 as shown in FIG. 3 to the digital multifunction peripheral 1 instead of the standby printing job 51 including the PJL data 54 and the printing data 55. To do. Even when the digital multifunction peripheral 1 receives the standby print instruction information 52, the digital multifunction peripheral 1 does not return from the power saving mode.

  Reference is again made to FIG. If the digital multi-function peripheral 1 is not in the power saving mode in step S103 (No in step S103), the printer driver 31 creates the print data 55 in the data format selected by the user and creates the normal print job 53 (step S111). ). The normal print job 53 is transmitted to the digital multi-function peripheral 1 (step S112). The normal print job 53 has the PJL data 51 and the print data 55 as described above. Therefore, when normal printing is instructed, the print data 55 is transmitted directly to the digital multi-function peripheral 1.

  In step S105, when the user selects normal printing (No in step S105), steps S111 and S112 are executed.

{Operation of digital multifunction device in power saving mode}
Next, the operation of the digital multi-function peripheral 1 in the power saving mode will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the power saving mode is a state in which power is supplied to the network controller 14 and power is not supplied to the main body processing unit and the printing unit 12.

  When the network controller 14 receives data including the PJL command, the network controller 14 starts the process shown in FIG. If “WaitingPrint” is set in the received data, the network controller 14 determines that the standby print instruction information 52 has been received (Yes in step S201). The network controller 14 stores the standby print instruction information 52 in the storage unit 141 (step S202), and ends the process shown in FIG. At this time, the power saving mode is continued.

  If “WaitingPrint” is not set in the received data, the network controller 14 determines that the normal print job 53 has been received (No in step S201). Then, normal printing is started.

  Hereinafter, normal printing processing (steps S203 to S207) performed in the digital multi-function peripheral 1 will be described. When the print data 55 is in the PDL format (Yes in step S203), the network controller 14 instructs the power control unit 13 to supply power to the printer controller 121 and the print engine 122. When power is supplied to the printer controller 121 and the printer engine 122 (step S204), the digital multi-function peripheral 1 shifts from the power saving mode to the power saving printing mode. Then, raster data generated from the PDL format print data is printed (step S205).

  On the other hand, when the print data 55 is in the raster format (No in step S203), the power control unit 13 supplies power only to the printer engine 122 among the printer controller 121 and the printer engine 122 constituting the printing unit 12 ( Step S206). As a result, the digital multifunction peripheral 1 shifts to the power saving printing mode. The printer engine 122 prints the raster format print data 55 (step S207). Since the print data 55 is in the raster format, power is not supplied to the printer controller 121. Thus, by controlling the power supply destination according to the format of the print data, the power consumption in the power saving printing mode is reduced.

  After normal printing, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 determines whether to start standby printing. Specifically, when the standby printing instruction information 52 is not stored in the storage unit 141 (No in step S208), the digital multi-function peripheral 1 ends the processing illustrated in FIG. 5 without performing standby printing.

  On the other hand, when the storage unit 141 stores the standby print instruction information 52 (Yes in step S208), the instruction unit 142 sends the standby print job 51 from the shared folder 41 via the LAN 2 based on the standby print instruction information 52. (Step S209).

  At this time, the network controller 14 obtains the standby print job 51 having the print data 55 in the PDL format even when power is not supplied to the printer controller 121. In other words, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 acquires the standby print job 51 regardless of the data format of the print data 55 and executes the acquired standby print job 51 as long as power is supplied to the printer engine 122. The reason for this will be described later.

  If the print data 55 included in the standby print job 51 is in PDL format (Yes in step S210), raster data generated from the print data 55 in PDL format is printed (step S211). At this time, if power is not supplied to the printer controller 121, the power control unit 13 supplies power to the printer controller 121, and then the process of step S211 is performed. On the other hand, when the print data 55 included in the standby print job 51 is in the raster format (No in step S210), the printer engine 122 prints the print data 55 (step S212).

  Then, the digital multifunction peripheral 1 deletes the standby print instruction information 52 and the standby print job 51 stored in the shared folder 41. Thereby, standby printing is completed.

  As described above, the digital multifunction peripheral 1 executes the standby print job 51 after executing the normal print job 53. As a result, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 does not have to store the standby print job 51 by driving a hard disk device or the like in the power saving mode, thereby reducing power consumption. Further, when the user of the PC 3 selects standby printing when there is no urgent need to print document data, the number of times of return from the power saving mode can be suppressed. In addition, when the standby printing is instructed, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 stores the print instruction information 52 having a very small data size compared to the standby print job 51. Accordingly, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 can accept more standby prints than when the standby print job 51 is stored in the storage unit 141.

  Further, when the digital multi-function peripheral 1 shifts from the power saving mode to the power saving printing mode, the digital multifunction peripheral 1 acquires and executes the standby print job 51 regardless of the data format of the print data 55. For example, when the digital multi-function peripheral 1 receives the raster format print data 55 and shifts to the power saving print mode, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 not only receives the standby print job 51 having the raster format print data 55 but also the PDL format print data 55. The standby print job 51 is acquired. Since the standby print job 51 having the raster format print data 55 and the standby print job 51 having the PDL format print data 55 can be executed at the same timing, user convenience is improved.

  When a plurality of standby print instruction information 52 is stored in the storage unit 141, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 repeats steps S209 to S212 by the number of standby print instruction information 52.

{Execution of standby print job based on deadline information}
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the determination unit 143 that manages the output deadline of the standby print job 51.

  The process shown in FIG. 6 is started when the standby print instruction information 52 in which the time limit information 521 is set is stored in the storage unit 14. If a predetermined time has elapsed after storing the standby print instruction information 51 (Yes in step S301), the determination unit 143 determines that the determination time has come, and determines whether to execute the standby print job 51. Specifically, the next determination time is calculated from the current time and a predetermined time. The determination unit 143 compares the next determination time with the time set in the time limit information 521 (step S303).

  When the next determination time is before the time set in the time limit information 521, the determination unit 143 returns to Step S301.

  On the other hand, when the next determination time is later than the time set in the time limit information 521 (Yes in step S303), the determination unit 143 waits regardless of whether the digital multifunction peripheral 1 is in the power saving mode. The execution of the print job 51 is determined. That is, the instruction unit 142 acquires the standby print job 51 from the shared folder 41 based on the standby print instruction information 52, and the printing unit 12 executes the standby print job 51 (steps S305, S306, and S307). The processing in steps S304 to S307 is the same as that in steps S209 to S212 shown in FIG.

  As described above, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 forcibly executes the standby print job 51 before the time set in the time limit information 521 elapses. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the standby print job 51 from being left unexecuted.

  Note that after the standby print job 51 is forcibly executed based on the time limit information 521, other standby print instruction information 52 may be stored in the storage unit 141. In this case, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 executes a standby print job 51 corresponding to other standby print instruction information 52.

  As described above, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 changes to the shared folder 41 without returning to the power saving mode after shifting from the power saving mode to the power saving printing mode or the normal mode due to other factors different from the standby printing instruction. The stored standby print job 51 is acquired and executed. When the user of the PC 3 selects the standby printing when the digital multifunction peripheral 1 is in the power saving mode, the number of times of return from the power saving mode can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to effectively reduce the power consumption of the digital multi-function peripheral 1.

  When the user of the PC 3 instructs standby printing, the PC 3 transmits standby printing instruction information 52 to the digital multi-function peripheral 1 and stores the standby printing job 51 in the shared folder 41. The digital multi-function peripheral 1 does not need to drive a hard disk device or the like in order to store a standby print job. Since the size of the standby print instruction information 52 is very small compared to the size of the standby print job 51, it can be stored in the storage unit 141 (memory) built in the network controller 14. Therefore, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 can efficiently reduce power consumption in the power saving mode.

  In this embodiment, the example in which the standby print job 51 is executed after the end of normal printing has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 may execute the standby print job 51 when shifting from the power saving mode to the power saving printing mode in order to print FAX reception data. The digital multi-function peripheral 1 may execute the standby print job 51 when the user shifts from the power saving mode to the normal mode by using the copy function.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the shared folder 41 is created in the PC 4 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The shared folder 41 only needs to be created in a device connected to the LAN 2 and different from the digital multifunction peripheral 1. For example, the standby print job 51 may be stored in a shared folder created on the PC 3.

  In FIG. 5 described in the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not standby printing can be started after execution of normal printing (step S208), but is not limited thereto. For example, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 may confirm the presence / absence of the standby print instruction information 52 in parallel with the normal printing (steps S203 to S206) (step S208). If the standby print instruction information 52 is stored in the storage unit 141, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 acquires the standby print job 51 from the shared folder 41 in parallel with the normal printing (Steps S203 to S206) (Step S203). S209). In this way, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 can quickly execute the standby print job 53 by determining whether standby printing is possible or not with the execution of normal printing.

  Further, during the processing of step S207, the determination unit 143 confirms that the standby print job 51 having the print data 55 in the PDL format is stored in the shared folder 41 with reference to the standby print instruction information 52. There is a case to do. In this case, the return process of the printer controller 121 may be executed in parallel with the process of S207 and the process of acquiring the standby print job 51. Accordingly, the digital multifunction peripheral 1 can quickly execute the standby print job 51 having the PDL format print data 55 after executing the normal print job 53 having the raster format print data 55.

  In the present embodiment, it has been described that in the normal mode, the power is shared among the main body processing unit, the printing unit 12, and the network controller 14, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the normal mode may be a state where power is supplied to at least the control unit 11 and the network controller 14.

  In the present embodiment, the example in which the digital multifunction peripheral 1 operates in any one of the normal mode, the power saving printing mode, and the power saving mode has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The digital multi-function peripheral 1 may operate in two modes, a normal mode and a power saving mode. In addition to the above three types of modes, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 may operate in a power saving fax mode in which power is supplied to the main body processing unit, the network controller 14, and a fax unit (not shown).

1 Digital MFP 3 PC
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Printing part 13 Power control part 14 Network controller 31 Printer driver 121 Printer controller 122 Printer engine 141 Storage part 142 Instruction part 143 Determination part 311 Operation confirmation part 312 PDL data creation part 313 Raster data creation part

Claims (6)

A printing device connected to a network,
A network controller that is also supplied with power in the power saving mode and controls communication via the network;
A printing unit in which power supply is stopped in the power saving mode;
A power control unit for controlling power supplied to the network controller and the printing unit;
With
The network controller
When standby print instruction information instructing execution of a standby print job stored in a shared folder created in a device different from the own device is received in the power saving mode, the standby print instruction is maintained while maintaining the power saving mode. A storage unit for storing information;
An instruction unit that acquires the standby print job via the network based on the standby print instruction information in response to the release of the power saving mode, and instructs the printing unit to execute the acquired standby print job;
A printing apparatus comprising: The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The standby print instruction information is
Time limit information indicating the execution time limit of the standby print job;
Including
The network controller further includes:
A determination unit that determines whether to execute the standby print job based on the time limit information;
Including
When the determination unit determines to execute the standby print job, the instruction unit acquires the standby print job and instructs the power control unit to supply power to the printing unit. . The printing apparatus according to claim 2,
In the standby print instruction information, information on a plurality of stored print jobs stored as standby print jobs in the shared folder is recorded,
In the time limit information, an execution time limit of at least one of the plurality of stored print jobs is recorded,
When the determination unit determines to execute any one of the plurality of stored print jobs based on the time limit information, the instruction unit determines the plurality of stored print jobs based on the standby print instruction information. The printing apparatus characterized by acquiring. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The printing unit
A printer controller for converting print data included in a print job and described in a page description language into raster data;
A printer engine for printing raster data on a print medium;
Including
The power control unit individually controls power supply to the printer controller and the printer engine,
The instruction unit is configured such that power is not supplied to the printer controller but power is supplied to the printer engine, and a standby print job including print data described in a page description language is stored in the shared folder. A printing apparatus that instructs the power control unit to supply power to the printer controller and instructs the printing unit to execute a standby print job including print data described in the page description language. The printing apparatus according to claim 4,
The printing unit executes a raster print job including raster format print data received in the power saving mode using the printer engine,
The power control unit resumes power supply to the printer controller in parallel with the execution of the raster print job,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the instruction unit acquires a standby print job including print data described in the page description language in parallel with the execution of the raster print job. A printing system in which an information processing device and a printing device are connected via a network,
The information processing apparatus includes:
An operation confirmation unit for confirming an operation state of the printing apparatus;
When the printing apparatus is in a power saving mode, a print data creation unit that creates a standby print job from document data;
A storage unit for storing the standby print job in a shared folder created in a device different from the printing device;
A transmission unit that indicates a storage destination of the standby print job and transmits standby print instruction information that instructs execution of the standby print job to the printing apparatus;
With
The printing apparatus includes:
A network controller that is also supplied with power in the power saving mode and controls communication via the network;
A printing unit in which power supply is stopped in the power saving mode; and
A power management unit for managing power supplied to the network controller and the printing unit;
With
The network controller
A response unit responding to the operation confirmation request from the information processing apparatus;
A storage unit that stores the standby print instruction information when the standby print instruction information is received in a power saving mode;
An instruction unit that acquires the standby print job via the network based on the standby print instruction information in response to the release of the power saving mode, and instructs the printing unit to execute the acquired standby print job;
A printing system comprising:

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