JP2012121194A - Image forming apparatus, operation control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To maintain a power consumption reduction effect high in an energy saving mode, in an image forming apparatus including the energy saving mode.SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes: a communication interface part 22 that receives an inquiry about setting information from a network; a history storage unit 304 that stores history information on the inquiry about the setting information previously received; an item extraction unit 306 that extracts a predetermined number of information items (high frequency items) from the history information in a descending order of number of times of inquiries; a sub processing unit 402 that processes the inquiries about the setting information on the information items corresponding to the high frequency items in the energy saving mode; and an operation switching unit 404 that switches from the energy saving mode to a normal mode when receiving an inquiry about the setting information on the information items other than the high frequency items in the energy saving mode.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an operation control method, and a program, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus, an operation control method, and a program that include a normal mode for performing a printing operation and the like and an energy saving mode that consumes less power than the normal mode. .

  In the image forming apparatus, as a method of reducing power consumption, when a certain period of time has elapsed without a user operation or print request, power supply to each part of the image forming apparatus is stopped except for some parts such as the user operation panel. A method of shifting the entire image forming apparatus to a low power consumption state called an energy saving mode is known.

  Although the above method can significantly reduce power consumption, for example, in an image forming apparatus that receives an operation request from a personal computer (PC) via a network, a PC (hereinafter, referred to as an operation request source). When a setting information inquiry about tray setting information (paper type and size information) is received from a client PC), it is necessary to return to the normal mode every time in order to respond to the inquiry. When such setting information queries are frequently received, the frequency of returning to the normal mode increases, and there is a problem that the power consumption reduction effect is reduced.

  As a method for solving this problem, the image forming apparatus includes a main CPU and a sub CPU that is smaller than the main CPU and consumes less power. In normal mode operation, the entire image forming apparatus is controlled by the main CPU to save energy. Is known to respond to the setting information inquiry from the client PC by the sub CPU, and to reduce the frequency of return from the energy saving mode to the normal mode, thereby maintaining a high power consumption reduction effect.

  As an example of such an image forming apparatus including a main CPU and a sub CPU, in order to prevent the processing for information inquiry from the client PC from stagnation in the process of returning from the energy saving mode to the normal mode, the client PC A communication buffer that temporarily stores communication packets received from, and generates an interrupt signal when the received communication packet is a packet related to a predetermined setting information query that causes a return from the energy saving mode to the normal mode (return factor packet) The main CPU is activated by an interrupt signal generated when the return factor packet is received, and the sub CPU receives the communication before the return factor packet is received until the activation is completed. Image forming apparatuses that process packets remaining in the network (patent text) Reference 1).

  However, in the conventional image forming apparatus, in order to reduce power consumption in the energy saving mode, a small-capacity memory is combined with the sub CPU, and the setting information inquiry received from the client PC relates to some limited information items. Only the setting information inquiry is processed by the sub CPU. For this reason, depending on what information item is assigned as the processing target of the sub CPU, setting information queries that cannot be processed by the sub CPU frequently occur, and the expected power consumption reduction effect cannot be obtained. May occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and its purpose is to reduce the frequency of return to the normal mode after shifting to the energy saving mode even if the memory capacity of the memory that can be used in the energy saving mode is small. It is to keep the power consumption reduction effect by the energy saving mode high.

The present invention has a function for switching between two operation modes, a normal mode and an energy saving mode, and an inquiry process for receiving an inquiry about the setting information of its own device and transmitting information about an information item to be inquired to the inquiry source device An inquiry processing means for performing the inquiry processing for the inquiry for a predetermined information item in the energy saving mode, and information other than the predetermined information item in the energy saving mode. An image forming apparatus comprising: an operation switching unit that switches the operation mode from the energy saving mode to the normal mode when the inquiry about the item is received.
In addition, the present invention receives the inquiry about the setting information of the own device and the function for switching the two operation modes of the normal mode and the energy saving mode, and transmits the information about the information item that is the subject of the inquiry to the inquiry source device. An operation control method in an image forming apparatus having an inquiry processing function, the step of performing the inquiry processing for the inquiry for a predetermined information item in the energy saving mode, and the predetermined information in the energy saving mode. And a step of switching the operation mode from the energy saving mode to the normal mode when the inquiry for the information item other than the item is received.
In addition, the present invention receives the inquiry about the setting information of the own device and the function for switching the two operation modes of the normal mode and the energy saving mode, and transmits the information about the information item that is the subject of the inquiry to the inquiry source device. An image processing apparatus having an inquiry processing function, in an energy saving mode, an inquiry processing means for performing the inquiry processing for the inquiry for a predetermined information item, and in the energy saving mode, other than the predetermined information item Is a program that functions as an operation switching unit that switches the operation mode from the energy saving mode to the normal mode when the inquiry for the information item is received.

  According to the present invention, even if the memory capacity of the memory that can be used in the energy saving mode is small, the frequency of returning to the normal mode after shifting to the energy saving mode can be reduced, and the power consumption reduction effect by the energy saving mode can be maintained high. .

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the inquiry log | history information in the image forming apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of normal mode processing in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of energy saving mode transition processing in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of energy saving mode processing in the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of normal mode return processing in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The image forming apparatus 10 includes a printing unit 12 that prints an image on a recording sheet, a control unit 20 that controls the printing unit 12, and an operation unit that allows a user to input data and operation instructions. 20 has an operation display unit 14 such as a touch panel, which is also a display means for displaying images, operation buttons, and the like to the user.

  The control unit 20 is connected to another device, for example, a client PC via a network. The control unit 20 receives a print request and image data from the client PC, and based on the received image data, the printing unit 12 prints on a recording sheet. Print an image on

  Further, the control unit 20 has a function of inquiry processing for receiving a setting information inquiry from the client PC and transmitting various setting information of the image forming apparatus 10 to the PC. The setting information here refers to information on various items (information items) indicating the state of the image forming apparatus 10, and the paper quality and size of the paper set on the paper tray (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 10. Etc. (tray setting information), information items such as toner remaining amount information, information on the cumulative number of printed sheets (printer number information), and the like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the control unit 20.
The control unit 20 includes a main control unit 30 that is powered only in the normal mode and a sub-control unit 40 that is powered regardless of the operation mode. Here, the main control unit 30 controls the operation of each unit of the image forming apparatus 10 including the printing unit 12 and the operation display unit 14 in the normal mode operation, and performs an inquiry process for the setting information inquiry received from the client PC. Then, the sub-control unit 40 performs an inquiry process for an inquiry for a predetermined information item among the switching of the operation mode from the normal mode to the energy saving mode and the setting information inquiry from the client PC in the energy saving mode.

  The control unit 20 also includes a communication interface unit 22 that receives a setting information inquiry from a client PC via a network, and a power supply unit 24 that supplies power to each unit of the control unit 20.

  Each of the main control unit 30 and the sub control unit 40 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which a program is written, a RAM (Random Access Memory) for temporarily storing data, and the like. The main control unit 30 and the sub control unit 40 are connected by a data transmission path 28 such as a PCI bus.

  The main control unit 30 includes a main processing unit 302 that is an inquiry processing unit that performs an inquiry process for a setting information inquiry received by the communication interface unit 22 in the normal mode, and a setting information inquiry received so far by the communication interface unit 22. The history storage unit 304 stores information including information items to be queried and the number of queries for each information item (hereinafter referred to as “query history information”), and the query history information stored in the history storage unit 304 includes Among the included information items, there is an item extracting unit 306 that extracts a predetermined number of information items (hereinafter referred to as “high frequency items”) in descending order of the number of inquiries.

  The sub-control unit 40, when receiving a setting information query for a predetermined information item in the energy saving mode, a sub-processing unit 402 that is a query processing unit that performs a query process for the query, and a sub-processing unit 402 A processing target storage unit 406 for storing processing target information including the list of predetermined information items related to the setting information query to be processed and setting information (for example, setting values) for the information items, and the image forming apparatus 10 Operation switching means 404 for switching the operation mode between the normal mode and the energy saving mode, and a timer 408 are provided.

  Here, the item extracting unit 306 realizes an item determining unit that determines a predetermined information item related to the setting information inquiry to be processed by the sub processing unit 402 in the energy saving mode. Also, the item information storage unit that stores the predetermined information item determined by the item determination unit and the setting information about the predetermined information item is realized by the processing target storage unit 406.

  The units included in the main control unit 30 and the sub control unit 40 are function realizing units realized by programs of the main control unit 30 and the sub control unit 40, which are computers. The computer program can be stored in any computer-readable storage medium.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of inquiry history information stored in the history storage unit 304 of the main control unit 30.
The inquiry history information shown in FIG. 3 includes information items (left column) to be inquired about setting information queries received by the communication interface unit 22 so far, and the number of queries for each information item (right column). And.

The image forming apparatus 10 having the above configuration starts operation in the normal mode when the power is turned on.
In the normal mode, the main control unit 30 controls operations such as a printing operation, processes a setting information inquiry from the client PC received from the network, and stores it in the history storage unit 304 based on the content of the inquiry. Update the contents of the stored query history information. Further, when a condition for shifting to the energy saving mode (described later) is satisfied, the sub-control unit 40 starts a process for shifting to the energy saving mode.

  At the time of transition from the normal mode to the energy saving mode, the main control unit 30 uses the item extraction unit 306 to extract the high-frequency items and the number of times of the inquiry from the inquiry history information stored in the history storage unit 304, Setting information (information such as setting values) for each high-frequency item is transmitted to the sub-control unit 40, and the operation is stopped. On the other hand, the sub-control unit 40 receives information regarding these high-frequency items, and stores them in the processing target storage unit 406 as processing target information.

  As a result, the processing target of the sub-processing unit 402 in the energy saving mode is only the setting information query for the high-frequency item, but these high-frequency items are information items with a large number of queries in the past, Since the probability of receiving a setting information query targeting information items other than is low, the probability of returning from the energy-saving mode to the normal mode to process the setting information query targeting information items other than high-frequency items is low. Thus, since the duration of the energy saving mode becomes longer, the power consumption reduction effect by the energy saving mode is kept high.

  In addition, the processing target storage unit 406 stores only information about a predetermined number of high-frequency items that have been frequently queried in the past as processing target information. Therefore, the processing target storage unit 406 has a large capacity and high power consumption. There is no need to use memory.

Next, the operation procedure of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described according to the operation flow shown in FIG.
First, when the user turns on the power of the image forming apparatus 10 (S101), the power supply unit 24 starts supplying power to the sub-control unit 40 and the communication interface unit 22 (S102). The power supply unit 24 is instructed to start power supply to the main control unit 30 (S103). Subsequently, the main control unit 30 that has received power is activated (S104), and normal mode processing is performed (S105).

  This normal mode process is terminated when the operation switching means 404 of the sub-control unit 40 transmits an energy saving mode shift instruction to the main control unit 30 when an energy saving mode shift condition described later is satisfied. After the end, the energy saving mode transition process is performed (S106), and then the energy saving mode process is performed (S107).

  The energy saving mode process is performed when the operation switching unit 404 of the sub-control unit 40 instructs the power supply unit 24 to start power supply to the main control unit 30 when a normal mode return condition described later is satisfied. finish. Then, after the energy saving mode process ends, the normal mode return process is performed (S108), and then the process returns to step S105 to repeat the normal mode process. Note that the processing according to the operation flow illustrated in FIG. 4 ends when the image forming apparatus 10 is powered off.

Next, the procedure of normal mode processing of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
When the normal mode process is started, the main control unit 30 determines whether or not an energy saving mode transition instruction has been received from the sub control unit 40 (S201), and when received (S201, Yes), the normal mode process is terminated. To do.

Here, the energy saving mode transition instruction is transmitted to the main control unit 30 when the operation switching unit 404 of the sub-control unit 40 determines that the energy saving mode transition condition is satisfied. Here, the conditions for shifting to the energy saving mode can be, for example, the following conditions.
(1) When a predetermined time elapses in a state where no operation instruction is input from the operation display unit 14 and no operation instruction is received by the communication interface unit 22 (that is, time measurement from the main control unit 30) When the elapsed time after receiving an instruction (described later) exceeds a predetermined time).
(2) When an energy saving mode transition instruction is input from the operation display unit 14.

  When the energy saving mode transition instruction is not received in step S201 (S201, No), it is determined whether or not an operation instruction is input to the operation display unit 14 (S202), and when it is input (S202, Yes). Then, an operation instructed by the operation instruction, for example, if it is a print instruction, a print operation is performed, a time measurement instruction is transmitted to the sub-control unit 40 (S203), and the process returns to step S201 to repeat the process. Thereby, the sub-control unit 40 starts measuring elapsed time until the next process is accepted after the process by the timer 408.

  On the other hand, when an operation instruction is not input to the operation display unit 14 (S202, No), it is determined whether or not the operation instruction is received from the client PC by the communication interface unit 22 (S204). (S204, No) returns to step S201 and repeats the process.

  When an operation instruction is received in step S204 (S204, Yes), it is determined whether or not the received operation instruction is a setting information inquiry (S205), and when it is a setting information inquiry (S205, Yes), Inquiry processing for the inquiry is performed, and a time measurement instruction is transmitted to the sub-control unit 40 (S206). Subsequently, after updating the contents of the inquiry history information stored in the history storage unit 304 based on the contents of the inquiry processing (S207), the process returns to step S201 to repeat the processing.

  Here, in the update of the inquiry history information performed in step S207, specifically, when the information item related to the inquiry is not included in the inquiry history information, the information item is added to the inquiry history information, and The number of inquiries for the information item is initialized to 1. Alternatively, when the information item is already included in the inquiry history information, 1 is added to the number of inquiries for the information item.

  On the other hand, when the received operation instruction is not a setting information inquiry in step S205 (No in S205), the main control unit 30 performs an operation instructed by the operation instruction, for example, a print operation if it is a print request. Then, a time measurement instruction is transmitted to the sub-control unit 40 (S208), and the process returns to step S201 to repeat the process.

  Note that step S201 of FIG. 5 is not provided, and the operation switching unit 404 of the sub-control unit 40 generates an interrupt signal to the main control unit 30 when the energy saving mode transition condition is satisfied. The normal mode process in the control unit 30 may be terminated. Similarly, when an operation instruction is input from the operation display unit 14 or when an operation instruction is received from the communication interface unit 22, an interrupt signal is sent from the operation display unit 14 or the communication interface unit 22 to the main control unit 30, respectively. As the interrupt processing, step S203 of FIG. 5 or steps S205 to S208 may be executed.

  Next, the procedure of the energy saving mode transition process of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the energy saving mode transition process is started, the main control unit 30 extracts the high frequency items and the number of inquiries from the inquiry history information stored in the history storage unit 304 by the item extraction unit 306 (S401). The high-frequency item, the number of inquiries thereof, and setting information regarding each high-frequency item are transmitted to the sub-control unit 40 (S402). This setting information can be stored in advance in, for example, the RAM of the main control unit 30 and read out from the RAM and transmitted during the process of step S402.

  Subsequently, the sub-control unit 40 receives the high-frequency items, the number of inquiries, and the setting information, and stores them in the processing target storage unit 406 as processing target information (S403).

Next, after performing a process (operation stop process) for stopping the operation, the main control unit 30 transmits an operation stop notification to the sub-control unit 40 (S404).
Subsequently, after receiving the operation stop notification from the main control unit 30, the sub control unit 40 instructs the power supply unit 24 to perform the energy saving mode operation of the main control unit 30, the printing unit 12, the operation display unit 14, and the like. The power supply to the unused portion is stopped (S405), and the energy saving mode transition process is terminated.

  It should be noted that the history storage unit 304 can be configured with a non-volatile memory so that the stored contents of the history storage unit 304 do not disappear when power supply to the main control unit 30 is stopped. Alternatively, the storage contents of the history storage unit 304 can be temporarily stored in a fixed disk device (not shown), and the stored contents can be downloaded from the fixed disk device to the history storage unit 304 when returning to the normal mode.

Next, the procedure of the energy saving mode process of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described.
In the energy saving mode process, the sub-control unit 40 processes the setting information inquiry for the high-frequency item and determines whether any of the normal mode return conditions is satisfied. The process ends. In the energy saving mode process, only the sub-control unit 40 performs the process, and the main control unit 30 is maintained with its operation stopped.

The conditions for returning to the normal mode can be, for example, the following conditions.
(1) When an operation instruction is input from the operation display unit 14.
(2) When the communication interface unit 22 receives an operation instruction other than the setting information inquiry.
(3) When the communication interface unit 22 receives a setting information query for information items other than the high-frequency items.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the energy saving mode process of the image forming apparatus 10.
When the energy saving mode process is started, the sub-control unit 40 determines whether or not an operation instruction is input to the operation display unit 14 (S501). When the operation instruction is input (S501, Yes), the process proceeds to step S507. If not input (S501, No), it is determined whether or not the communication interface unit 22 has received an operation instruction (S502).

  When an operation instruction is received (S502, Yes), it is determined whether or not the operation instruction is a setting information inquiry (S503). When the operation instruction is a setting information inquiry (S503, Yes), the processing target memory is stored. With reference to the processing target information stored in the means 406, it is determined whether or not the target of the inquiry is a high-frequency item (S504). On the other hand, when an operation instruction has not been received in step S502 (S502, No), the process returns to step S501 and is repeated.

  In step S504, when the target of the setting information inquiry is a high-frequency item (S504, Yes), the sub-processing unit 402 refers to the processing target information stored in the processing target storage unit 406 to determine the high-frequency item. The setting information is specified, and the inquiry process is executed (S505). Further, after updating the content of the processing target information stored in the processing target storage unit 406 based on the content of the inquiry (S506), the process returns to step S501 to repeat the processing.

  On the other hand, when the received operation instruction is not a setting information query in step S503 (S503, No), or when the received setting information query is not a high-frequency item in step S504 (S504, No), the power supply unit 24, the power supply to the main control unit 30 and other parts that have stopped power supply in the energy saving mode is started (S507), and the energy saving mode process is terminated.

  Next, the normal mode return processing procedure of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the normal mode return process is started, the main control unit 30 performs a startup process by power supply from the power supply unit 24 (S601), and when the startup process is completed, transmits a startup completion notification to the sub-control unit 40 (S602). In this start-up process, for example, the CPU start-up process of the main control unit 30 or information indicating the operation state of each part of the image forming apparatus 10 stored in a nonvolatile memory (not shown) such as NVRAM is read. Set the operation.

Next, after receiving the activation completion notification from the main control unit 30 (S603), the sub control unit 40 transmits the processing target information stored in the processing target storage unit 406 to the main control unit 30 (S604). .
Subsequently, the main control unit 30 receives the processing target information from the sub control unit 40 (S605), and updates the inquiry history information stored in the history storage unit 304 based on the received processing target information (S606). Then, the normal mode return process is terminated.

In the present embodiment, the main control unit 30 and the sub control unit 40 are configured to have separate CPUs, but the main control unit 30 and the sub control unit 40 may be controlled by one CPU. In this case, as the CPU, for example, a CPU having a normal operation mode that operates at a high speed and an energy saving operation mode that operates with low power consumption by a clock slower than the normal operation mode can be used.
Further, with this one CPU, a large-capacity memory including the history storage unit 304 and a small-capacity memory including the processing target storage unit 406 are used. Only the memory may maintain power supply.

Next, an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In this image forming apparatus, the sub-control unit 40 in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment determines whether or not the operation instruction received by the communication interface unit 22 is a setting information inquiry (step S503 in FIG. 7). Further, it is assumed that the communication interface unit 22 makes these determinations without performing the determination (step S504 in FIG. 7) whether or not the setting information inquiry target is a high-frequency item.

  According to the present embodiment, the sub-control unit 40 does not need to perform processing for these determinations, so that the query processing for the setting information query can be completed quickly.

  Specifically, a dedicated LSI such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) having a logic circuit for specifying the information item can be provided in the communication interface unit 22.

  As the processing of the communication interface unit 22, for example, whether or not the high frequency item indicated by the processing target information in the processing target storage unit 406 is acquired from the sub-control unit 40 and the target of the setting information inquiry received from the network is the high frequency item. If the item is a high-frequency item, an interrupt signal can be transmitted to the sub-control unit 40. The sub-control unit 40 executes the inquiry process until the interrupt signal is received, and when receiving the interrupt signal, the sub-control unit 40 can end the energy saving mode process and start the normal mode return process.

Next, an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In this image forming apparatus, the sub control unit 40 in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment has not received a setting information inquiry for information items other than the high-frequency items for a predetermined time or more in the normal mode. As a condition, an energy saving mode transition instruction is transmitted to the main control unit 30.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to shift the image forming apparatus to the energy saving mode on the assumption that the occurrence interval of the setting information inquiry for information items other than the high-frequency items is equal to or longer than a predetermined time. The probability of returning to the normal mode upon receiving a setting information inquiry for information items other than the high-frequency items after shifting to the energy saving mode can be further reduced.

  As described above, according to the first to third embodiments, the processing target in the energy saving mode is set to target a limited number of high-frequency items, that is, predetermined information items with a large number of inquiries in the past. Information inquiry only. For this reason, even when the capacity of the processing target storage unit 406 for storing information related to the processing target is small and the number of information items that can be extracted as high-frequency items is small, the setting information query that is not the processing target is received and the normal mode is restored. The frequency of performing is reduced, the duration of the energy saving mode is increased, and the power consumption reduction effect is maintained high.

  Further, the contents of the inquiry history information stored in the history storage unit 304 are continuously updated based on the contents of the setting information inquiry received from the communication interface unit 22, and the latest inquiry history information is obtained by the item extraction unit 306. The high frequency items are determined based on For this reason, for example, even when the monitoring target item (information item to be monitored) by the client PC changes, the content of the high-frequency item is rewritten according to the change, and the return frequency from the energy saving mode to the normal mode is low. Maintained. As a result, the power consumption reduction effect is also maintained high.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image forming apparatus, 12 ... Printing part, 14 ... Operation display part, 20 ... Control part, 22 ... Communication interface part, 24 ... Power supply part, 30 ... Main Control unit 302... Main processing unit 304... History storage unit 306... Item extraction unit 40 .. Sub control unit 402. 406, processing target storage means, 408, timer.

JP 2005-267100 A

Claims (6)

A function to switch between two operation modes, normal mode and energy-saving mode,
An inquiry processing function that receives an inquiry about the setting information of its own device and transmits information about the information item that is the subject of the inquiry to the inquiry source device;
An image forming apparatus having
In the energy saving mode, an inquiry processing means for performing the inquiry processing for the inquiry for a predetermined information item;
An operation switching means for switching the operation mode from the energy saving mode to the normal mode when the inquiry for the information item other than the predetermined information item is received in the energy saving mode;
An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
Item determining means for determining the predetermined information item;
About the inquiry received so far, information items to be inquired, and history storage means for storing the number of inquiries for each information item,
Have
The item determining unit is an image forming apparatus that determines, as the predetermined information item, a predetermined number of information items extracted from the information items stored in the history storage unit in descending order of inquiries. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2,
In the normal mode, the operation switching unit further switches the operation mode from the normal mode to the energy saving mode on condition that the inquiry about the information item other than the predetermined information item is not received for a predetermined time or more. Forming equipment. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 or 3,
Item information storage means for storing the predetermined information item determined by the item determination means and setting information about the predetermined information item,
The inquiry processing means refers to the predetermined information item stored in the item information storage means and setting information about the information item, and performs the inquiry processing in the energy saving mode. A function to switch between two operation modes, normal mode and energy-saving mode,
An inquiry processing function that receives an inquiry about the setting information of its own device and transmits information about the information item that is the subject of the inquiry to the inquiry source device;
An image forming apparatus having an operation control method comprising:
In the energy saving mode, performing the inquiry process for the inquiry for a predetermined information item;
A step of switching the operation mode from the energy-saving mode to the normal mode when the inquiry for the information item other than the predetermined information item is received in the energy-saving mode;
An operation control method. A function to switch between two operation modes, normal mode and energy-saving mode,
An inquiry processing function that receives an inquiry about the setting information of its own device and transmits information about the information item that is the subject of the inquiry to the inquiry source device;
A computer of an image forming apparatus having
In the energy saving mode, an inquiry processing means for performing the inquiry processing for the inquiry for a predetermined information item;
An operation switching means for switching the operation mode from the energy saving mode to the normal mode when the inquiry for the information item other than the predetermined information item is received in the energy saving mode;
Program to function as.

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