JP2012152934A - Image forming apparatus and energy-saving mode-controlling method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus, and to provide an energy-saving mode-controlling method.SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus 200 that is connected to a network includes: an RAM unit 304 that caches information generated when the image forming apparatus 200 is in a normal mode and that holds the information during a period when the image forming apparatus 200 enters an energy-saving mode; an interface unit 308 that transmits and receives a packet via the network; a packet-analysis unit 306 that analyzes the received packet; and a controlling unit 302 that accesses the information thus cached in the RAM unit 304 when the received packet is analyzed and the access to the information on the image forming apparatus 200 is required, and that responds via the interface unit 308 in the energy-saving mode.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus and an energy saving mode control method that improve energy efficiency by managing the return from an energy saving mode to a normal mode.

  In recent years, copiers, facsimile machines, and MFPs referred to as so-called MFPs (Multi-Function Peripherals) execute processes such as copying, facsimile, printers, scanners, and Internet access in order to achieve low carbon consumption. Except for a period, it is required to save in a so-called energy saving mode with low power consumption. In recent years, efforts for global warming have become more and more important, and in image forming apparatuses more than before, the image forming apparatus can perform other than the minimum period necessary for image processing. Therefore, it is preferable to save in the energy saving mode as much as possible.

  In addition, with the improvement of functions of information processing devices, price reductions, and the spread of network infrastructure, information processing devices and image forming devices are connected via a network, and image forming devices respond to various commands from information processing devices. A mounting form for executing image processing is common, and in an office environment, a plurality of image forming apparatuses are usually connected to a network. Regardless of whether or not the image forming apparatus is in the energy saving mode, when a processing command is sent from an externally connected information processing apparatus, the image forming apparatus normally moves from the energy saving mode to execute the requested processing. Return to operation mode and execute processing.

  There has also been proposed a digital multi-function peripheral that minimizes the return of the image forming apparatus connected to the network to the normal mode. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-93609 (Patent Document 1) provides a determination table for a network controller. There is described a digital multifunction device that responds only with a network controller while maintaining the digital multifunction device in an energy-saving state according to the contents of the packet.

  Even with the technology described in Patent Document 1, for example, when a packet such as an ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) command or polling by PING is received, the information processing apparatus itself is maintained in the energy saving mode and the packet is transmitted only by the network controller. Processing can be performed.

  On the other hand, the SNMP (Small Network Management Protocol) protocol is used to manage the status of the image forming apparatuses connected to the network, and to manage the status of the processing command and the status of the device. It is usual to monitor the state of an image forming apparatus connected to the network and functioning as an SNMP agent.

  Various commands are used for SNMP, and basic commands such as trap and simple polling among SNMP commands will respond by processing only in the network controller without returning the image forming apparatus from the energy saving mode. You can also In addition, since various devices are managed in the printer network, various inquiries and responses are made to devices such as image forming apparatuses, and these inquiries and reports are also interrupted from the outside on the image forming apparatus side. Must be processed as a request. For this reason, the network device of each image forming apparatus must provide a minimum function even in the energy saving mode in order to process a request via the network. Among the responses, there are types that cannot respond unless the image forming apparatus is returned from the energy saving mode, and there are types that can respond while the image forming apparatus is in the energy saving mode.

  The above-described SNMP protocol will be described as an example. In polling or the like for inquiring about the operation state, it is not always necessary to return the image forming apparatus from the energy saving mode as shown in Patent Document 1. However, when, for example, a GET REQUEST command is sent from an SNMP master to an image forming apparatus functioning as an agent, the image forming apparatus accesses a database such as a MIB (Machine Information Base) to obtain requested information, It must be returned to the SNMP host. In this case, the image forming apparatus may return from the energy saving mode only to access the MIB, and the image forming apparatus once returned from the energy saving mode is maintained in the normal mode until the energy saving mode saving condition is satisfied. As a result, useless power is consumed.

  In order to reflect various information sent from the SNMP master in real time, the image forming apparatus must be returned from the energy saving mode. However, the image forming apparatus is currently in the energy saving mode and sent in real time. There is no need to set various information. In addition, in the SNMP protocol, the SNMP host may poll the image forming apparatus in order to grasp various current states of the image forming apparatus during polling. When these SNMP commands are sent, the image forming apparatus acquires the information stored in the MIB and sends the information acquired from the MIB to the SNMP host. There has been a case where the forming apparatus is returned from the energy saving mode.

  The above-described device management based on the SNMP protocol is for the purpose of network management and device management not related to the image forming process itself, and the image forming apparatus is returned from the energy saving state to the normal operation mode only to support the SNMP protocol. There was room for further improvement in terms of low-carbon requirements. In addition to various commands based on the SNMP protocol, an image forming apparatus that is in an energy saving state is not restored from the energy saving mode to the normal mode in real time for interrupts coming in via a network. In some cases, when there is an interrupt for providing this function, it is reflected in the image forming apparatus.

  That is, the present invention enables an image forming apparatus and an energy saving mode control method capable of maintaining the energy saving mode of the image forming apparatus as long as possible until there is an external interrupt requesting a function that the image forming apparatus should originally provide. The purpose is to provide.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art. In the present invention, an interruption in the energy saving mode of the image forming apparatus is performed in response to an SNMP protocol or other interrupts that enter the image forming apparatus from the network. By improving the processing capability, it is possible to effectively use the energy saving mode in the image forming apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention caches information used in interrupts entering the image forming apparatus, for example, information such as MIB in the case of the SNMP protocol, in a storage unit that is maintained even in the energy saving mode. Further, the information that has entered the image forming apparatus at the same time as the interruption is cached in a storage means that is maintained even in the energy saving mode. The storage means is provided in a hardware hierarchy where a network interface enabling network access can be accessed without affecting the energy saving mode of the image forming apparatus, and packets received by the network adapter without changing the state of the energy saving mode. Processing is possible.

1 is a schematic diagram of a printer network 100 including an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic hardware block 200 of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a functional block 300 provided to the image forming apparatus by the hardware block 200 shown in FIG. 2. 4 is a schematic flowchart of energy saving mode control processing according to the present embodiment. The schematic flowchart of the 2nd energy-saving mode control process of this embodiment. The flowchart of the energy-saving mode control method implemented in embodiment which makes it possible to control MIB cache creation by the external setting at the time of normal mode.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a printer network 100 including an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the printer network 100, various devices are interconnected by a network 114 including Ethernet (registered trademark) and the like, and an electronic document can be created and printed. Information processing apparatuses such as the server 102 and personal computers 106 and 110 are connected to the network 114.

  The server 102 may or may not be connected. In this case, the server 102 receives a print request from the personal computers 106 and 110 together with the print data, and is an image forming apparatus that should be the output destination. Sort print jobs. The server 102 and the personal computers 106 and 110 are implemented as so-called information processing apparatuses, and are the PENTIUM (registered trademark) series, PENTIUM-DUAL CORE (registered trademark), CORE2-DUO (registered trademark), CORE2-QUAD (registered trademark), Including i3, i5, i7, XEON (registered trademark), ATHLON (registered trademark), OPETRON (registered trademark), POWER PC (registered trademark) CPU (central processing unit), RAM, ROM, hard disk device, etc. In addition, various application programs are executed by an operating system (OS) such as WINDOWS (registered trademark) series, MAC OS (registered trademark), UNIX (registered trademark), LINUX (registered trademark), etc. To perform the management of the print job.

  In addition, as the image forming apparatuses 104, 108, and 112, an inkjet printer, a laser printer, or a function that can provide a copy function, a scanner function, a printer function, a facsimile function, a data access function, or the like can be provided by one unit. An image forming apparatus having a composite function referred to as a MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral) can be cited. The types and number of image forming apparatuses 104, 108, and 112 are network elements that can participate in the printer network 100. As long as it has, there is no particular limitation. Note that the image forming apparatus 112 may be provided with functions such as a printer server and a data server if the performance permits. Even in the case where the image forming apparatus 112 has a server function, in this embodiment, when referring to the output function, the image forming apparatus 112 is referred to as an image forming apparatus. When referred to as an information processing apparatus, it also means an MFP having a server function.

  Since a plurality of information processing apparatuses and image forming apparatuses of the printer network 100 are connected and each issue a print job and execute a print job, the image forming apparatuses 104 and 108 connected to the printer network 100 are usually connected. For the purpose of managing the status of 112, the status of each of the image forming apparatuses 104, 108, 112 is monitored under the SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) protocol. Further, the image forming apparatuses 104, 108, 112 connected to the printer network 100 receive a request for realization of a low-carbon society in recent years. It is configured to retreat to the energy saving mode. In the energy saving mode, unless requested by the outside, the image forming apparatuses 104, 108, and 112 stop supplying power to the hard disk device and the processing engine for providing various functions, or are in a minimum state. It is hoped that.

  In the present embodiment, the energy saving mode is not received until an interrupt requesting a function to be provided by the image forming apparatus is received without returning from the energy saving mode by various external interrupts for network management such as the SNMP protocol. It is possible to return from.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic hardware block 200 of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus includes a CPU 202, a RAM 204, a hard disk (HDD) I / F 206, and a NIC (Network Interface Card) 210. The CPU 202 controls various processes of the image forming apparatus, and performs various controls using the memory space provided by the RAM 204 as an execution area. Note that the RAM 204 in this embodiment includes a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) that provides a persistent storage area as another memory element in addition to a temporary storage RAM whose stored contents are lost when power supply is stopped. Defined as including.

  The HDD I / F 206 performs operation control and data access control of the hard disk device, and the NIC 210 enables various communications via the network 114. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 202, RAM 204, HDD I / F 206, and NIC 210 are interconnected by a system bus. In this embodiment, the system bus 230 means, for example, a bus classified in the hierarchy of the north bridge, for example, upstream of the bus bridge, such as a host-PCI bus such as a PCI bus, a PCI-X bus, and a PCI Express. To do.

  The image forming apparatus further includes a processing engine I / F 212 for controlling the processing engine, a USB host I / F 214, and an extended function I / F 216, which are interconnected by an I / O bus 240. The processing engine I / F 212 is for copy engine control I / F, printer engine control I / F, scanner control I / F, and facsimile control for controlling a processing module for executing processing for image formation. An I / F can be mentioned, and is provided corresponding to a processing function to be provided by the image forming apparatus. The USB host I / F 214 controls connection of various peripheral devices via the USB bus 250, and ROM (Read Only Memory) type nonvolatile memory such as EEPROM, EPROM, and Flash memory via the USB bus 250. 218 and other devices 2, 3,..., N are controlled.

  The extended function I / F 216 is an I / F for providing various optional functions prepared by the vendor of the image forming apparatus, and is not particularly limited as long as mutual communication is possible using an appropriate protocol such as IEEE 1384 and IEEE 1284. . System bus 230 and I / O bus 240 are interconnected by ASIC 208.

  By the way, the MIB for the SNMP protocol includes settings unique to the vendor of the image forming apparatus, and must cope with various version upgrades. Therefore, the main I / F such as the HDD I / F 206, the ASIC 208, the NIC 210, and the like. It is not suitable for mounting on a board, and is mounted as a rewritable ROM that is USB-connected on-board or off-board, and after mounting the image forming apparatus, an MIB corresponding to the model setting is written.

  FIG. 3 shows a functional block 300 that the hardware block 200 shown in FIG. 2 provides to the image forming apparatus. In FIG. 3, the control means 302 corresponds to the CPU 202, the RAM means 304 corresponds to the RAM 204, and the packet analysis means 306 and the second layer means 308 correspond to the NIC 210. The second layer means 308 is a generic name for the functions of the first layer and the second layer in the OSI basic reference model, collects the packet from the network 114, executes the processing of the third layer and higher in the OSI basic reference model, and executes the packet. It has a function of buffering received packets for IP header analysis by the analysis means 306.

  The HDD means 310 is in the HDD I / F 206, the ROM means 320 is in the nonvolatile memory 218, the extended function means 322 is in the extended function I / F 216, the various device means 324 is in the devices 220 to 224, and the processing engine means. Reference numeral 326 denotes a unit including both hardware and I / F functions respectively corresponding to the processing engine I / F 212. As shown in FIG. 3, the MIB 328 is recorded in the ROM means 320 for each function as a printer MIB, a system MIB, a copy MIB, a scanner MIB, a fax MIB, and the like. The bus line 314 in FIG. 3 corresponds to the I / O bus line 240 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, in short, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which all functional means necessary for performing image processing of the image forming apparatus 200 are separated into I / O bus lines.

  Among the functional blocks 300 in FIG. 3, in the normal mode, all the functional blocks shown in FIG. 3 operate in a normal power supply state. On the other hand, in the energy saving mode, only the function within the rectangular frame 312 shown by the broken line in FIG. 3 is supplied with power. For this reason, when the image forming apparatus is in the energy saving mode and the MIB must be referred to, the ROM means 320 and the extended function means corresponding to the device below the ASIC 208 in FIG. 2, that is, the device below the USB host I / F 214 at least. 322, If the various device means 324 is not returned from the energy saving mode, the MIB information stored in the nonvolatile memory 218 cannot be acquired, and as a result, the energy saving mode with the minimum energy consumption is restored for network management. A situation will occur. Note that, depending on the mounting format of the ASIC 208, all devices other than the rectangular frame 312 in FIG. 3 may be restored, which reduces the usability of the energy saving mode.

  For this reason, in this embodiment, the MIB 328 recorded in the ROM unit 320 is cached in the RAM unit 304 at an appropriate timing in the normal mode. The term “cache” in the present embodiment refers to a process of supplying information for access and storing information stored in the nonvolatile memory 218 having a relatively slow access speed in the RAM means 304 having a relatively fast access speed. Means.

  Appropriate timing in the normal mode is (1) a timing set in advance, such as periodically copying the MIB to the RAM means 304 in the normal mode, or (2) MIB in the RAM 204 within the sequence of the saving operation in the energy saving mode. This means the timing of copying (3) immediately after the image forming apparatus is activated, and any of the embodiments is not particularly limited as long as the state of the image forming apparatus can be correctly reflected. The RAM unit 304 is in the energy saving mode, and MIB information and other information are sent via the network 114, and it is determined by the analysis of the packet analysis unit 306 that the synchronous image forming apparatus 200 does not need to be returned to the normal mode. It is also used to cache the payload information of the received packet when the request is made.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of the energy saving mode control process of the present embodiment. The process of FIG. 4 starts from step S400. In step S401, it is determined whether or not the timing for saving the energy saving mode has come. If the timing for saving the energy saving mode is not reached (no), the process is repeated in step S401 to save energy. If it is determined that the timing for saving to the mode has arrived (yes), it is determined in step S402 whether the MIB cache has been created. If it is determined in step S402 that the MIB cache has been created (yes), the process branches to step S404. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S402 that the MIB cache has not been created (no), the MIB cache is copied and created in the RAM means 304 in step S403.

  In step S404, the power supply is stopped while leaving the CPU, RAM, and NIC, and is saved in the energy saving mode. In step S405, a packet is received. In step S406, it is determined whether the received packet is an SNMP packet. If it is determined in step S406 that the packet is an SNMP packet (yes), the MIB cache in the RAM means 304 is referred to in step S407, an SNMP response is returned, and the process returns to step S405. Receive. If it is determined in step S406 that the packet is not an SNMP packet (no), in step S408, a return process from the energy saving mode is called to return the image forming apparatus to the normal mode, and the process ends in step S409.

  With the processing shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to prevent the image forming apparatus from returning from the energy saving mode due to arrival of a packet other than at least a port number for instructing image processing in the image forming apparatus. In another aspect of the present embodiment, for example, when an interrupt due to HTTP access or FTP access is detected via the network 114, only the HDD unit 310 may be activated.

  FIG. 5 shows a schematic flowchart of the second embodiment of the energy saving mode control process of the present embodiment. The process of FIG. 5 corresponds to an embodiment in which the image forming apparatus creates the MIB cache at the same time or at a timely timing in the normal mode. The processing in FIG. 5 starts from step S500, and in step S501, it is determined whether a MIB cache has been created. If the MIB cache has been created (yes), the process branches to step S503. If the MIB cache has not been created (no), the MIB cache is copied and created in the RAM means 304 in step S502. In step S503, it is determined whether or not the timing for retreating to the energy saving mode has arrived. If no other timing has arrived for retreating to the energy saving mode (no), the process is repeated in step S503 to change to the energy saving mode transition timing. Wait for the arrival.

  In step S503, when the energy saving mode body timing has come (yes), in step S504, the CPU, RAM, and NIC are left, power supply is stopped, and the energy saving mode is saved. In step S505, a packet is received. In step S506, it is determined whether the received packet is an SNMP packet. If it is determined in step S506 that the packet is an SNMP packet (yes), in step S507, the MIB cache in the RAM means 304 is referred to, an SNMP response is returned, and the process returns to step S505. Receive. If it is determined in step S505 that the packet is not an SNMP packet (no), in step S508, a return process from the energy saving mode is called to return the image forming apparatus to the normal mode, and the process ends in step S509.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the MIB cache is created during the normal mode operation, and the MIB cache can be used without changing the control sequence for saving to the energy saving mode. Note that, for example, when an interruption due to HTTP access or FTP access is detected via the network 114, only the HDD means 310 can be configured to be activated, as in the embodiment of FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the energy saving mode control method implemented in the embodiment that enables the MIB cache creation to be controlled by the external setting in the normal mode. The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 can be applied depending on the model when the MIB is connected to the system bus 230 in advance, or when the MIB cache cannot be created due to restrictions such as memory capacity. The processing in FIG. 6 starts from step S600. In step S601, whether or not MIB cache creation is set is acquired from a setting flag, an environment setting value, or the like, and is set to create a MIB cache. If it is determined (yes), the process shown in FIG. 4 or 5 is called in step S602 to create the MIB cache, the energy saving mode is controlled, and the process ends in step S604.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S601 that MIB cache creation is not set (no), the energy saving mode in which the MIB cache is not used is controlled in step S603, and the process ends in step S604.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to maintain the energy saving mode of the image forming apparatus as long as possible until there is an external interrupt requesting a function that the image forming apparatus should originally provide. An apparatus and an energy saving mode control method can be provided.

  The above functions of the present embodiment can be realized by a device executable program described in an object-oriented programming language such as C ++, Java (registered trademark) or a procedure-oriented legacy programming language. It can be stored and distributed in a device-readable recording medium such as ROM, MO, flexible disk, EEPROM, EPROM, etc., and can be transmitted via a network in a format that other devices can.

  Although the present embodiment has been described so far, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and other embodiments, additions, changes, deletions, and the like can be conceived by those skilled in the art. It can be changed, and any aspect is within the scope of the present invention as long as the effects and effects of the present invention are exhibited.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Printer network 102 Server 104,108,112 Image forming apparatus 106,110 Personal computer 114 Network 200 Hardware block 202 CPU
204 RAM
206 HDD I / F
208 ASIC
210 NIC
212 Processing engine I / F
214 USB host I / F
216 Extended function I / F
218 Non-volatile memory 220, 222, 224 Device 230 System bus 240 I / O bus 250 USB bus 300 Functional block 302 Control means 304 RAM means 306 Packet analysis means 308 Second layer means 310 HDD means 312 Rectangular frame 314 Bus line 320 ROM Means 322 Extended function means 324 Device means 326 Processing engine means 328 MIB

JP 2010-93609 A

Claims (9)

An image forming apparatus connected to a network, wherein the image forming apparatus includes:
A storage unit that caches information related to the image forming apparatus when the image forming apparatus is in a normal mode, and holds information during a period in which the image forming apparatus is in an energy saving mode;
An interface means for transmitting and receiving packets via the network;
A packet analysis means for analyzing the received packet;
When the received packet is analyzed, and it is necessary to access the information of the image forming apparatus as a result of the analysis, the cached storage unit is accessed in the energy saving mode and the packet is transmitted via the interface unit. An image forming apparatus comprising: control means for responding to   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is apparatus information used for an SNMP protocol.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is cached at the time of saving to the energy saving mode, at a period set within a period of the normal mode, or at the time of starting up the image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interface unit, the storage unit, and the control unit are connected to a bus line in which power supply is maintained in an energy saving mode.   The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the image forming apparatus maintains an energy saving mode except that an interrupt request coming through the network requests an image processing function of the image forming apparatus. Image forming apparatus. An energy saving mode control method for an image forming apparatus connected to a network, wherein the energy saving mode control method includes:
Caching information about the image forming apparatus when the image forming apparatus is in a normal mode in a storage unit;
Holding the information in the storage means during a period in which the image forming apparatus is in the energy saving mode;
Receiving a packet over the network and analyzing the received packet;
As a result of analyzing the received packet, determining whether it is necessary to access the information of the image forming apparatus;
If it is determined that access to the information is necessary, accessing the cached storage means without returning from the energy saving mode, and obtaining the information;
And transmitting the acquired information as a response to the received packet via the network.   The method according to claim 6, wherein the information is device information used for an SNMP protocol.   The method according to claim 6, wherein the step of caching is performed at the time of saving to the energy saving mode, at a period set within a period of the normal mode, or at the time of starting up the image forming apparatus.   Further, when an interrupt request coming in via the network requests an image processing function of the image forming apparatus, the step of acquiring the information is skipped and the image forming apparatus is shifted to a normal mode. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8.