JP2011093250A - Electronic device and operation mode switching method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic device which can make transition quickly and safely to an operation mode of different power consumption. <P>SOLUTION: The electronic device includes a main control unit 30 which processes data, and a sub-control unit 40 which is controlled by the main control unit 30. The sub-control unit 40 includes detection units 41 and 44 which detect the mode transition information from the operation mode of the main control unit before the transition of operation mode is made from one of the first operation mode consuming the first power or the second operation mode consuming the second power that is smaller than the first power to the other operation mode, and preparation units 41 and 43 which performs preparation of the mode transition according to the mode transition information thus detected. The electronic device further includes a mode switching unit 31 which switches one operation mode to the other operation mode after preparation of the mode transition is executed by the preparation units 41 and 43. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly, to switching of an operation mode in an electronic device that includes a main control unit and a sub control unit and has an operation mode of a normal mode and a power saving mode.

  Conventionally, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to power saving control in an electronic apparatus that includes a main control unit and a sub control unit and has an operation mode of a normal mode and a power saving mode. There, a technique relating to power saving management in an image forming apparatus (electronic device) such as a copying machine controlled by a master-slave system using a plurality of CPUs is shown. Specifically, the CPU that the master CPU board (main control unit) controls the return of the slave CPU board that consumes the least amount of power among the plurality of slave CPU boards (sub control units) from the power saving mode based on an external event. Select as a board. In this way, power saving is achieved in the power saving mode.

JP 2005-275771 A

  However, in the above-described prior art documents, although the power consumption in the power saving mode can be reduced, the slave CPU at the time of transition from the normal mode to the power saving mode or at the time of transition from the power saving mode to the normal mode. The control of the board (sub-control unit) is not disclosed. That is, for example, when switching from the normal mode to the power saving mode, the main control unit stops the clock to the sub control unit by stopping the function of the sub control unit, thereby realizing power saving in the power saving mode. To do. In that case, there is a possibility that a malfunction may occur in the register information in the sub-control unit and the devices connected to the sub-control unit due to the sudden stop of the sub-control unit. For this reason, there has been a demand for a technique capable of stably shifting modes, including when shifting from the normal mode to the power saving mode.

  The present invention provides a technique for quickly and safely shifting to an operation mode with different power consumption.

  As means for achieving the above object, an electronic device according to a first aspect of the invention includes a first operation mode that consumes first power, and a second operation mode that consumes second power smaller than the first power. An electronic device having a main control unit for processing data and a sub control unit controlled by the main control unit, wherein one of the first operation mode and the second operation mode is the other From the operation mode of the main control unit before the operation mode transition to the operation mode, the detection unit that detects the mode transition information, and the preparation unit that executes the mode transition preparation according to the detected mode transition information And a mode switching unit that shifts the one operation mode to the other operation mode after execution of the mode preparation by the preparation unit.

  According to this configuration, before the actual operation mode transition is performed, the slave control unit detects the mode transition information from the operation mode of the main control unit, and the slave control unit prepares for mode transition. Therefore, it is possible to quickly and safely shift to an operation mode with different power consumption.

  According to a second invention, in the electronic device of the first invention, the electronic device includes a plurality of buses for transferring data from the main control unit to the sub control unit. The number of buses to be used is increased or decreased among the plurality of buses, and the detection unit detects the increased or decreased number of buses as the mode transition information.

  According to this configuration, when the operation mode is changed according to power consumption, the number of buses used according to the operation mode is changed by dynamic bus sizing or the like. Therefore, mode change can be suitably predicted in the slave control unit based on the change information on the number of used buses, and preparation for mode change can be made.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device according to the second aspect, the main control unit includes a bus width changing circuit that increases or decreases the number of buses to be used.
According to this configuration, when the main control unit includes a CPU, the CPU does not need to perform the bus width changing process, and thus can concentrate on the original data processing.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device of the second or third aspect, the detection unit detects a change in the increased or decreased number of buses, and the preparation unit detects a decrease in the number of buses. Execute preparation for mode transition from the first operation mode to the second operation mode, and prepare for mode transition from the second operation mode to the first operation mode when an increase in the number of buses is detected. To do.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to accurately predict the mode to be shifted according to the change in the number of buses, and it is possible to reliably execute the mode transition preparation corresponding to the mode to be shifted.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device of the second or third aspect, the detection unit detects the number of buses after the increase / decrease, and the preparation unit prepares for mode transition according to the number of buses. Execute.

  According to this configuration, when there is a correspondence between the number of buses and the operation mode, the mode to be shifted can be accurately predicted based on the number of buses, and the mode transition preparation corresponding to the mode to be shifted can be reliably executed.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device of the first aspect, the sub control unit includes a plurality of registers in which information necessary for control of the main control unit is registered, and the detection unit shifts to the operation mode. The mode transition information is detected from an access mode to the plurality of registers of the main control unit before the control.

  Usually, before the operation mode shifts, a change occurs in the access mode of the main control unit to the register of the sub control unit. For example, the main control unit accesses only a specific register or only has read access to the register. For this reason, according to this configuration, it is possible to appropriately predict the mode shift in the slave control unit from the access mode of the master control unit to the register of the slave control unit, and to prepare for the mode shift.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device according to the sixth aspect, when the preparation unit detects that the main control unit only accesses a specific register among the plurality of registers, A mode transition preparation from the first operation mode to the second operation mode is executed.
According to this configuration, since the access to the register of the main control unit is, for example, only the access to the register that monitors the temperature at a predetermined location of the electronic device, the mode to be transferred can be accurately predicted and the transfer is performed. The mode transition preparation corresponding to the mode can be executed reliably.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device according to the seventh aspect, when the preparation unit detects that the main control unit performs only read access to a specific register among the plurality of registers, A mode transition preparation from the first operation mode to the second operation mode is executed.

  According to this configuration, since the access to the register of the main control unit is, for example, only the read access to the register that monitors a predetermined state of the electronic device, the mode to be shifted can be accurately predicted, and the shift is performed. The mode transition preparation corresponding to the mode can be executed reliably.

  A ninth invention is an electronic device according to any one of the first to eighth inventions, wherein the electronic device is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium, and the data is image data, and the electronic device The apparatus further includes an image forming unit that forms an image based on the image data, and the slave control unit controls a drive unit for driving the image forming unit, and the main control unit and the slave unit are controlled. The control unit is provided on a separate substrate.

  According to this configuration, the image forming apparatus can quickly and safely shift to an operation mode with different power consumption. In addition, since the main control unit that controls the image data and the sub control unit that controls the drive unit that drives the image forming unit are provided on different substrates, the flexibility of arrangement of the drive unit and the sub control unit is increased. . Thereby, for example, the wiring between the drive unit and the sub control unit can be shortened, and noise can be reduced.

  An electronic device operation mode switching method according to a tenth aspect of the present invention includes a main control unit that processes data, a sub control unit that is controlled by the main control unit, and a first operation mode that consumes first power. An operation mode switching method for an electronic device having a second operation mode that consumes a second power smaller than the first power, wherein one of the first operation mode and the second operation mode is the other operation mode. From the operation mode of the main control unit before shifting to the operation mode, the step of detecting mode shift information in the sub control unit, and the mode shift preparation according to the detected mode shift information, the sub control And a step of shifting the one operation mode to the other operation mode after execution of the mode transition preparation.

  According to the present invention, preparation for mode transition is performed in the slave control unit before actual operation mode transition is performed. Therefore, it is possible to quickly and safely shift to an operation mode with different power consumption.

1 is a side sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an electronic apparatus (color printer) according to the present invention Block diagram schematically showing the electrical configuration of the master circuit board and slave circuit board Flow chart showing the flow of mode switching processing Shows the relationship between operation mode and bus width Time chart for mode switching processing

<Embodiment>
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

1. First, the overall configuration of the printer will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a color printer (an example of an “image forming apparatus”) 1 which is an example of an electronic apparatus according to the invention. In the following description, the right side in FIG. Note that the image forming apparatus is not limited to a color printer, and may be, for example, a monochrome printer, a so-called multifunction machine having a copy function, or the like. Furthermore, the electronic device of the present invention is not limited to an image forming apparatus, and can be applied to, for example, an audio device and a video device.

  The color printer 1 includes a main body casing 2, and a supply tray 4 on which sheets (an example of “recording medium”) 3 is loaded is provided at the bottom of the main body casing 2. A pickup roller 5 is provided above the front end of the supply tray 4.

  Along with the rotation of the pickup roller 5, the sheet 3 stacked at the top in the supply tray 4 is picked up and sent out to the registration roller 6. The registration roller 6 corrects the skew of the paper 3 and sends the paper 3 onto the belt 13 at a predetermined timing.

  The image forming unit 10 includes a belt unit 11, a process unit 20, a fixing device 28, and the like. The belt unit 11 has a configuration in which a belt 13 is stretched between a pair of front and rear support rollers 12. When the belt 13 is driven, the paper 3 on the belt 13 is conveyed backward. Further, on the inner side of the belt 13, transfer rollers 14 are provided at positions facing the respective photosensitive drums 26 of the process unit 20 across the belt 13.

  The process unit 20 includes, for example, four developing cartridges 22 (22Y, 22M, 22C, and 22K, respectively) corresponding to four colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black). Each developing cartridge 22 is provided with a scanner unit 17 individually. The scanner unit 17 irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 26 (26Y, 26M, 26C, and 26K, respectively) corresponding to each color with laser light L emitted from a laser light emitting unit (not shown). Thereby, the surface of the photosensitive drum 26 is exposed based on the print data.

  Each developing cartridge 22 is provided with a toner storage chamber 23 for storing each color toner as a developer, a supply roller 24, a developing roller 25, a photosensitive drum 26, a charger 27, and the like.

  The toner released from the toner storage chamber 23 is supplied to the developing roller 25 by the rotation of the supply roller 24. As the surface of the photosensitive drum 26 rotates, the surface is first uniformly charged by the charger 27 and then exposed by the laser light L from the scanner unit 17 to correspond to the image to be formed on the paper 3. An electrostatic latent image is formed. Next, by the rotation of the developing roller 25, the toner on the developing roller 25 is supplied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 26, and the electrostatic latent image is visualized. Thereafter, the toner image carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 26 is transferred to the sheet by the transfer bias voltage applied to the transfer roller 14 while the sheet 3 passes between the photosensitive drum 26 and the transfer roller 14. 3 is transferred.

  The transferred paper 3 is conveyed to the fixing device 28 by the belt unit 11 where the toner image transferred onto the paper 3 is thermally fixed. In this way, the printing process is performed on the paper 3 by the image forming unit 10 based on the print data. The heat-fixed paper 3 is discharged onto a discharge tray 29 provided on the upper surface of the main casing 2 by a paper discharge roller 16 that is rotationally driven by the main motor 15.

  The color printer 1 also includes a master circuit board (an example of a main control unit) 30 that processes image data, and a slave circuit board (an example of a sub control unit) 40 that is controlled by the master circuit board 30. Furthermore, the color printer 1 has, as operation modes, a normal mode that consumes first power (an example of a first operation mode) and a sleep mode that consumes a second power smaller than the first power (an example of a second operation mode). And have.

2. Configuration of Master Circuit Board and Slave Circuit Board Next, the circuit configuration of the master circuit board 30 and the slave circuit board 40 will be described with reference to the circuit block diagram of FIG. Between the master circuit board 30 and the slave circuit board 40, a plurality of data buses for transferring data from the master circuit board 30 to the slave circuit board 40, for example, 16 (16-bit) data buses here. (An example of “a plurality of buses”) 50 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the master circuit board (an example of the “main control unit”) 30 includes a master CPU 31, a system control unit 32, a network IF (interface) 33, a sensor 34, a timer 35, a bus width determination circuit 36, and a bus. A width determination circuit 36, a bus IF control circuit 37, and an image processing ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) 38 are included. The entire configuration of the master circuit board 30 except for the image processing ASIC 38 may be configured by a single ASIC.

A master CPU (an example of a “main control unit” and a “mode switching unit”) 31 controls each unit of the master circuit board 30 and the slave circuit board 40 and performs overall control related to image formation. Before the operation mode transition, the master CPU 31 increases or decreases the number of buses to be used among the plurality of data buses 50 according to the operation mode after the transition. That is, the master CPU 31 performs so-called dynamic bus sizing when the operation mode is shifted.
The master CPU 31 shifts one operation mode to the other operation mode after the slave CPU (preparation unit) 41 executes the mode shift preparation.

The system control unit 32 performs overall control of the master circuit board 30 and also performs power control of the master circuit board 30.
The network IF 33 functions as an interface when the color printer 1 is connected to a network such as a LAN.

  The sensor 34 includes a temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the fixing device 28. The timer 35 measures the elapsed time when changing the operation mode.

  A bus width determination circuit (an example of a “bus width change circuit”) 36 determines a data bus 50 to be used according to an operation mode from among the 16 data buses 50 based on the control of the master CPU 31. Change 50 bus widths.

  The bus IF control circuit 37 interfaces the data bus 50 determined by the bus width determination circuit 36.

  An image processing ASIC (an example of a “subordinate control unit”) 38 performs data processing based on print data or the like, generates image data to be actually printed, and supplies the image data to the image forming unit 10.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the slave circuit board (an example of the “subordinate control unit”) 40 includes a slave CPU 41, a system control unit 42, a mode transition control circuit 43, a bus access analysis circuit 44, and a PLL (Phase Locked Loop). The circuit 45 includes a register unit 46, a bus IF control circuit 47, a heater control circuit 48, a motor control circuit 49, a ROM 51, and a RAM 52. Note that the entire configuration of the slave circuit board 40 may be configured by a single ASIC.

  The slave CPU (an example of a “subordinate control unit”, “detection unit”, and “preparation unit”) 41 executes mode transition preparation according to the mode transition information. For example, when the slave CPU 41 detects a decrease in the number of buses (the number of bits) of the data bus 50, the slave CPU 41 prepares for mode transition from the normal mode to the sleep mode. On the other hand, when detecting an increase in the number of buses, the slave CPU 41 prepares for mode transition from the sleep mode to the normal mode.

  That is, the slave CPU 41 detects the mode transition information from the operation mode of the master CPU 31 before the operation mode transition in which one of the normal mode and the sleep mode is shifted to the other operation mode. At that time, in the slave CPU 41, the mode transition control circuit 43 detects a change in the increased or decreased number of buses as the mode transition information. In this case, the operation mode of the master CPU 31 is the dynamic bus sizing operation of the master CPU 31.

  As another example of the operation mode of the master CPU 31, the slave CPU 41 can detect the mode transition information from the access mode to the plurality of registers 46 of the master CPU 31 before the operation mode transition. For example, when it is detected that the master CPU 31 only accesses a specific register among the plurality of registers 46, the slave CPU 41 can execute preparation for mode transition from the normal mode to the sleep mode. Alternatively, when it is detected that the master CPU 31 performs only read access to a specific register among the plurality of registers 46, the slave CPU 41 can execute preparation for mode transition from the normal mode to the sleep mode.

The system control unit 42 performs overall control of the slave circuit board 40, and controls on / off of the power supply of each block.
A mode transition control circuit (an example of a “preparation unit”) 43 determines a mode to be transitioned from the result of the bus access analysis, and outputs a command or information for mode transition to the system control unit 42 and the slave CPU 41.
A bus access analysis circuit (an example of a “detection unit”) 44 analyzes the access mode of the bus 50 by the master CPU 31 in order to detect the change in the number of buses or the access mode to the plurality of registers 46 by the master CPU 31. The analysis information is provided to the mode transition control circuit 43, the system control unit 42, and the slave CPU 41.
The PLL circuit 45 generates a clock signal corresponding to the frequency corresponding to the operation mode.

  The register unit 46 includes a plurality of registers in which information necessary for controlling the master circuit board 30 is registered. Examples of information registered in the register include heater temperature, motor rotation speed, clock frequency, and the like.

The bus IF control circuit 47 interfaces with the data bus 50.
The heater control circuit 48 controls the temperature of a heater (not shown) of the fixing device 28 according to the control of the slave CPU 41. The motor control circuit 49 performs drive control of the main motor 15 in accordance with the control of the slave CPU 41.

  The ROM 51 stores various programs for executing a mode switching process, which will be described later, and the slave CPU 41 controls each unit while storing the processing result in the RAM 52 according to the program read from the ROM 51. .

3. Operation Mode Switching Process Next, the operation mode switching process in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flowchart schematically showing the procedure of the operation mode switching process, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the operation mode and the bus width (number of bits). FIG. 5 is a schematic time chart corresponding to the operation mode switching process. The operation mode switching process is mainly performed by the slave CPU 41 in accordance with a predetermined program.

  If the printer 1 is turned on at time t0 shown in FIG. 5 (S110), the normal mode is set as the new mode (in this case, the initial mode) (S120). In the normal mode, for example, each circuit of the slave circuit board 40 is operated at the highest clock frequency, and the slave CPU 41 is maintained in an activated state. Further, the control of the main motor 15 is executed, the temperature of the fixing device 28 is maintained at a high temperature, and the driving of a cooling fan (not shown) is also maintained. In addition, the power sources of all memories such as the ROM 51 and the RAM 52 are turned on.

Next, in step S130, the slave CPU 41 determines whether there is a change in the bus width based on the bus width change signal. If there is no change in the bus width (step S130: NO), the process returns to step S120. When there is a change in the bus width (step S130: YES), in step S140, the slave CPU 41 sets a new transition mode according to the change amount of the bus width. As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the bus width is set to 16 bits in the normal mode, 8 bits in the sleep mode, and 4 bits in the deep sleep mode. That is, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a correspondence relationship is set between the bus width (the number of buses) and the operation mode.
Here, in the sleep mode, for example, the slave CPU 41 is operated at a clock frequency lower than that in the normal mode, and the operation frequency of each circuit of the slave circuit board 40 is also reduced from that in the normal mode. Further, power is supplied only to the necessary memory, and the sensor function and simple port control are executed. Although the fixing device 28 is lower than the normal mode, it is maintained at a temperature higher than the room temperature in order to shorten the reprint disclosure time.

  In the deep sleep mode, for example, only the sensor function is in an operating state. The power supply to the slave CPU 41 is stopped, and the power supply to the main motor 15 and the fixing device 28 is completely cut off. All other unnecessary functions are stopped. The sensor function includes, for example, a function for returning to the normal mode when there is an operation input to the printer 1, a function for turning the fan when the internal temperature rises for some reason, and monitoring the temperature with a long time period. Functions and the like.

  FIG. 5 shows an example in which the normal mode is changed to the sleep mode and the sleep mode is returned to the normal mode. That is, when there is no operation input to the printer 1 by the time t1 when a predetermined time elapses from the power-on time t0, the timer signal corresponding to the operation of the mode transition timer is turned on at the time t1. Then, at time t2 after a predetermined time from time t1, the bus width determination circuit 36 of the master circuit board 30 changes the setting of the bus width from 16 bits to 8 bits and changes the setting from 16 bits to 8 bits (mode For example, the bus width change signal indicating the shift information is changed from a low level to a high level.

  When receiving the high-level bus width change signal at time t2, the slave CPU 41 of the slave circuit board 40 starts preparation for mode transition (step S150 in FIG. 3). Mode transition preparation includes, for example, temperature monitoring of the fixing device 28, clock frequency change processing, data backup, sampling frequency setting, and the like.

  Next, when the timer signal is turned off at time t3 in FIG. 5, the master CPU 31 changes the operation mode from the normal mode to the sleep mode (step S160), and the process returns to step S120.

  Then, for example, at time t4 in FIG. 5, when the job request signal for printing changes from low level to high level in response to an operation input to the printer 1 by the user, for example, the bus width is changed at time t5. The signal is changed from high level to low level. That is, when the bus width is changed from 8 bits to 16 bits (S130: YES), the slave CPU 41 starts preparation for returning to the normal mode (step S150). Preparations for returning to the mode include, for example, data restoration, preparation for starting the main motor 15, and start of remaining heat of the fixing device 28.

  Next, when the job request signal changes from the high level to the low level at time t6 in FIG. 5, the master CPU 31 changes the operation mode from the sleep mode to the normal mode (step S160), and the process returns to step S120.

4). Effect of Embodiment Before the operation mode is actually shifted by the master CPU 31, the slave circuit board 40 (secondary control unit) changes the mode of the bus width setting in the master circuit board 30 (the operation mode of the main control unit) from the mode. Migration information is detected. Then, preparation for mode transition is performed in the slave circuit board 40. Therefore, it is possible to quickly and safely shift to an operation mode with different power consumption.

  As the mode transition information, information on the number of bits (bits) that is increased or decreased by dynamic bus sizing is used. Therefore, with the noise reduction effect and the power saving effect by dynamic bus sizing, the mode control can be suitably predicted in the slave control unit based on the change information of the number of buses used, and the mode transition can be prepared. At that time, mode transition is predicted using an existing configuration. For this reason, it is not necessary to individually supply the sleep signal to the slave control unit, and the connection terminal and the wiring relating to the sleep signal can be omitted.

  The bus width changing process accompanying the mode change is performed by a bus width determining circuit (bus width changing circuit) 36. Therefore, the master CPU 31 does not need to perform the bus width changing process, and can concentrate on the original data processing.

  Since the correspondence relationship is set between the number of buses and the operation mode, the mode to be shifted can be accurately predicted based on the number of buses, and the mode transition preparation corresponding to the mode to be shifted can be reliably executed.

  Also, a master CPU (main control unit) 31 that controls image data and a slave CPU (secondary control unit) 41 that controls a drive unit such as a main motor 15 that drives the image forming unit 10 are provided on separate substrates. This increases the flexibility of arrangement of the drive unit and the sub control unit. Thereby, for example, the wiring between the drive unit and the sub control unit can be shortened, and the color printer (image forming apparatus) 1 can be reduced in weight.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) In the above embodiment, the slave CPU 41 (detection unit) detects the number of increased or decreased buses in step S130 of FIG. 3 as the mode transition information. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the slave CPU 41 may detect the mode transition information from the mode of access to the register unit (a plurality of registers) 46 of the master CPU 31 (main control unit) before the operation mode transition.

  Usually, before the operation mode shifts, the access mode of the master CPU 31 to the register unit 46 changes. For example, only a specific register 46 is accessed among the plurality of registers of the master CPU 31 and the register unit 46, or only read access of the register unit 46 is performed. Therefore, in this case, the mode shift can be suitably predicted in the slave control unit from the access mode of the master CPU 31 to the register unit 46, and the mode shift can be prepared.

  Therefore, for example, when it is detected that the master CPU 31 only accesses the specific register 46 in the register unit 46, the slave CPU (preparation unit) 41 switches from the normal mode (first operation mode) to the sleep mode. You may make it perform the mode transfer preparation to (2nd operation mode). In this case, since the access to the register unit 46 of the master CPU 31 is, for example, only the access to the register 46 for monitoring the temperature at a predetermined location of the electronic device, the mode to be shifted can be accurately predicted, and the mode to be shifted The mode transition preparation corresponding to can be executed reliably.

  Alternatively, when it is detected that the master CPU 31 performs only read access to a specific register 46 in the register unit 46, the slave CPU (preparation unit) 41 prepares for mode transition from the normal mode to the sleep mode. You may make it do. In this case, since the access to the register 46 of the master CPU 31 is, for example, only read access to the register 46 that monitors a predetermined state of the electronic device, the mode to be shifted can be accurately predicted, and the mode to be shifted to The corresponding mode transition preparation can be executed reliably.

Further, as the mode transition information, as a method different from the method of detecting the number of buses, a method of detecting the communication speed and preparing the mode transition may be used.
(2) In the above-described embodiment, an example of the transition from the normal mode to the sleep mode and the return from the sleep mode to the normal mode is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to the transition from the normal mode to the deep sleep mode and the return from the deep sleep mode to the normal mode (see FIG. 4).
(3) In the above embodiment, an example in which the master CPU 31 (main control unit) and the slave CPU 41 (secondary control unit) are provided on separate substrates is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the master CPU 31 and the slave CPU 41 are the same. It may be provided on the substrate. Moreover, although the example which comprises a mode switching part by master CPU31 was shown, it is not restricted to this, You may make it provide a mode switching part separately from master CPU31.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Color printer 3 ... Paper 10 ... Image forming part 30 ... Master circuit board 31 ... Master CPU
40 ... Slave circuit board 41 ... Slave CPU

Claims (10)

An electronic device having a first operation mode that consumes first power and a second operation mode that consumes second power smaller than the first power,
A main control unit for processing data;
A sub-control unit controlled by the main control unit, wherein the main control unit before the operation mode transition in which one of the first operation mode and the second operation mode is shifted to the other operation mode. From the operation mode, a sub-control unit, including a detection unit that detects mode transition information, and a preparation unit that executes mode transition preparation according to the detected mode transition information,
After execution of mode transition preparation by the preparation unit, a mode switching unit that shifts the one operation mode to the other operation mode;
An electronic device. The electronic device according to claim 1,
A plurality of buses for transferring data from the main control unit to the sub control unit;
The main control unit increases or decreases the number of buses to be used among the plurality of buses before the operation mode transition,
The detection unit is an electronic device that detects the increased or decreased number of buses as the mode transition information. The electronic device according to claim 2,
The main control unit is an electronic device including a bus width changing circuit that increases or decreases the number of buses to be used. The electronic device according to claim 2 or claim 3,
The detection unit detects a change in the increased or decreased number of buses,
The preparation unit executes preparation for mode transition from the first operation mode to the second operation mode when the decrease in the number of buses is detected, and when the increase in the number of buses is detected, An electronic apparatus that executes mode transition preparation from an operation mode to the first operation mode. The electronic device according to claim 2 or claim 3,
The detection unit detects the number of buses after the increase / decrease,
The said preparation part is an electronic device which performs the mode transition preparation according to the said bus number. The electronic device according to claim 1,
The slave control unit includes a plurality of registers in which information necessary for control of the main control unit is registered,
The detection unit is an electronic device that detects the mode transition information from an access mode to the plurality of registers of the main control unit before the operation mode transition. The electronic device according to claim 6,
The preparation unit prepares for mode transition from the first operation mode to the second operation mode when it is detected that the main control unit only accesses a specific register among the plurality of registers. Electronic equipment to perform. The electronic device according to claim 7,
The preparation unit prepares for mode transition from the first operation mode to the second operation mode when it is detected that the main control unit performs only read access to a specific register among the plurality of registers. Perform the electronic equipment. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The electronic device is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium,
The data is image data;
The electronic device
An image forming unit that forms an image based on the image data;
The slave control unit controls a drive unit for driving the image forming unit,
The main control unit and the sub control unit are electronic devices provided on separate substrates. A main control unit that processes data, a sub-control unit that is controlled by the main control unit, a first operation mode that consumes first power, and a second operation mode that consumes second power smaller than the first power An operation mode switching method for an electronic device having
A step of detecting mode transition information in the slave control unit from an operation mode of the main control unit before one of the first operation mode and the second operation mode is shifted to the other operation mode; ,
A step of executing mode transition preparation in accordance with the detected mode transition information in the slave control unit; and a step of transitioning the one operation mode to the other operation mode after execution of the mode transition preparation;
A method for switching an operation mode of an electronic device.

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