JP2021151749A - Image forming device and mode transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

To enable a mode to transfer from a power saving mode to a normal mode efficiently.SOLUTION: An image forming device comprises: a control part that controls transfer into a normal mode; and a network communication part that receives a packet through a network during a normal mode and during a power saving mode, and when receiving the packet of a specific packet type during the power saving mode, accepts the packet and notifies the control part of the acceptance. The control part, when receiving a notification from the network communication part during the power saving mode, transfers the image forming device from the power saving mode into the normal mode, and makes the network communication part transmit setting information indicating a packet type that the network communication part can accept even during the power saving mode to a terminal on the network, during the normal mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a mode transition method.

An image forming apparatus such as a printer has a power saving mode in which power consumption is reduced in addition to the normal mode (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such an image forming apparatus, it may be necessary to receive a packet sent from a higher-level device such as a computer even in the power saving mode. Therefore, in the conventional image forming apparatus, even if the mode is changed from the normal mode to the power saving mode, the network module is operated as it is, and the network module receives the packet.

In such an image forming apparatus, when the network module receives a specific packet in the power saving mode, the network module accepts the packet to return from the power saving mode to the normal mode. Specifically, the network module stores the packet types that can be accepted in the power saving mode, and when a specific packet that matches the stored packet type is received, the image forming apparatus is released from the power saving mode. It was supposed to return to normal mode.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-179788

However, in the conventional technique, since the packet type that can be accepted in the power saving mode on the image forming apparatus side cannot be grasped on the upper apparatus side, the upper apparatus accepts the image forming apparatus in the power saving mode. A packet of a packet type that cannot be received may be transmitted. In this case, the image forming apparatus cannot return (shift) from the power saving mode to the normal mode. In particular, in an environment in which many types of packets are used, there is a high possibility that a higher-level device transmits a packet of a type that cannot be received to the image forming device in the power saving mode.

The present invention has taken the above points into consideration, and an object of the present invention is to propose an image forming apparatus and a setting information transmission method capable of efficiently shifting from a power saving mode to a normal mode.

The present invention is an image forming apparatus having a normal mode and a power saving mode that consumes less power than the normal mode. In the normal mode, the image forming apparatus is controlled, and in the power saving mode, the normal mode is entered. When a packet is received via the network in the normal mode and the power saving mode and a packet of a specific packet type is received in the power saving mode, the control unit that controls the transition is received and the control is received. The control unit includes a network communication unit that notifies the unit, and when the control unit receives a notification from the network communication unit in the power saving mode, the control unit shifts the image forming apparatus from the power saving mode to the normal mode. In addition, in the normal mode, the network communication unit transmits setting information indicating a packet type that can be accepted by the network communication unit even in the power saving mode to a terminal on the network.

Further, the present invention is a mode transition method using an image forming apparatus having a normal mode and a power saving mode that consumes less power than the normal mode, and packets are transmitted via a network during the normal mode and the power saving mode. When the receiving network communication unit receives a packet of a specific packet type in the power saving mode, it receives the packet and notifies the control unit, and the control unit receives the packet from the network communication unit in the power saving mode. Upon receiving the notification, the image forming apparatus is shifted from the power saving mode to the normal mode, and the packet type that the control unit can accept in the normal mode and in the power saving mode is also received by the network communication unit. The setting information indicating the above is transmitted by the network communication unit to the terminal on the network.

As a result, the terminal side that has received the setting information can grasp the packet types that can be accepted even when the image forming apparatus is in the power saving mode, so that the terminal accepts the image forming apparatus in the power saving mode. It is possible to make it difficult for a situation in which a packet of a packet type that cannot be received is transmitted.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can realize an image forming apparatus and a mode transition method capable of efficiently shifting from a power saving mode to a normal mode.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of an image formation system. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of an image forming apparatus. It is a figure used for the explanation of the determination method of whether or not to accept a received packet. It is a figure which shows the content of the setting packet. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal which has a driver, utility software, etc. for using an image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows the setting file which a terminal holds. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal which does not have a driver, utility software, etc. for using an image forming apparatus. It is a sequence chart which shows the operation of an image formation system when a driver and utility software are installed in a terminal. It is a sequence chart which shows the operation of the image formation system when the image formation apparatus transmits a multicast packet. It is a sequence chart which shows the operation of an image formation system when a terminal transmits a packet such as print data to an image formation apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the invention (hereinafter, referred to as embodiments) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[1. Image formation system configuration]
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 1 includes an image forming device 100, a router 200, and a plurality of terminals 300 (300A, 300B, 300C). The image forming apparatus 100 and the plurality of terminals 300 are connected to a network Nt such as a LAN (Local Area Network) managed by the router 200, and can communicate with each other via the router 200. In the image forming system 1, for example, when a packet of print data is transmitted from the terminal 300A to the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus 100 prints (that is, forms an image) based on the print data. ..

In the present embodiment, of the plurality of terminals 300A, 300B, and 300C, the terminals 300A and 300B have a driver, utility software, and the like for using the image forming apparatus 100, whereas the terminal has a terminal. It is assumed that the 300C does not have these.

Further, the image forming system 1 has a network environment corresponding to both IPv4 and IPv6 as an Internet protocol version (hereinafter, abbreviated as a protocol version). Further, the image forming system 1 supports multicast. For example, when a multicast packet is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100 to the router 200, the router 200 replicates the multicast packet and a plurality of terminals 300A and 300B. , Is designed to be transmitted to 300C. The configuration of the image forming system 1 is as described above.

[2. Composition of each part]
Next, the configuration of each part constituting the image forming system 1 will be described. Here, the configurations of the image forming apparatus 100 and the terminals 300A, 300B, and 300C will be described. The router 200 may have an existing configuration that supports multicast, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Further, since the terminals 300A and 300B have the same configuration, only the configuration of the terminal 300A will be described here.

First, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 2 shows only the portion of the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 includes a normal mode and a power saving mode in which power consumption is reduced as compared with the normal mode, and includes a main board 101, a power supply unit 102, a display unit 103, an operation unit 104, and an image forming unit 105. Have.

Of these, the main board 101 includes a control unit 110 that controls the entire image forming apparatus 100, a storage unit 111 and a temporary storage unit 112 that the control unit 110 accesses, and a network communication unit that performs network processing such as sending and receiving packets. The network module 113 and the connector 114 for connecting to the network Nt are provided.

The power supply unit 102 is connected to the main board 101, and supplies electric power to each component (control unit 110, network module 113) on the main board 101 in the normal mode. The power supply unit 102 is also connected to the display unit 103, the operation unit 104, and the image forming unit 105, and supplies electric power to these in the normal mode. Further, in the power saving mode, the power supply unit 102 cuts off the power supply to most of the control unit 110, the display unit 103, the image forming unit 105, and the like, thereby reducing the power consumption of the entire image forming apparatus 100. It has become. The network module 113 is supplied with power from the power supply unit 102 even in the power saving mode.

The display unit 103 and the operation unit 104 are connected to the control unit 110 and are used for the purpose of confirming or changing the setting of the image forming apparatus 100 by the user of the image forming apparatus 100. The image forming unit 105 is connected to the control unit 110 and prints (image forming) based on the print data transmitted from the terminal 300A or the like.

In the normal mode, the control unit 110 is in a state of operating as a whole by supplying electric power to the entire control unit 110, and controls the entire image forming apparatus 100, for example. Further, in the normal mode, the control unit 110 controls the power supply unit 102 to shift the image forming apparatus 100 from the normal mode to the power saving mode when the state in which the image forming operation is not performed continues for a predetermined time. ..

Further, in the power saving mode, the control unit 110 is supplied with power only to a part of the control unit 110, so that only a part (specifically, a part for controlling the power supply unit 102 and a part for receiving an interrupt signal from the network module 113) is supplied. It becomes an operating state and controls, for example, the transition from the power saving mode to the normal mode.

The network module 113 is connected to the control unit 110 and the connector 114, and the network module 113 and the control unit 110 are connected by a communication path L1 and an interrupt signal line L2. Further, the network module 113 has a network processing unit 120 that performs network processing and the like, and a storage unit 121 and a temporary storage unit 122 that the network processing unit 120 accesses. The network module 113 is, for example, a module corresponding to a wired LAN, but may be a module corresponding to a wireless LAN. When the network module 113 is a module corresponding to a wireless LAN, for example, an antenna is provided instead of the connector 114.

The network module 113 has a function of determining whether or not to accept the received packet. Specifically, the network processing unit 120 of the network module 113 operates a specific packet (that is, the entire control unit 110) in which the packet received from the terminal 300A or the like needs to return to the normal mode in the power saving mode. If it is a specific packet that needs to be), it accepts the received packet. At this time, the network processing unit 120 notifies the control unit 110 of the interrupt signal by setting the level of the interrupt signal passing through the interrupt signal line L2 to High.

When the control unit 110 recognizes that the interrupt signal has become High due to a part operating in the power saving mode (that is, when the interrupt signal is notified), the control unit 110 controls the power supply unit 102 to control the image forming apparatus 100. Is designed to return from the power saving mode to the normal mode.

As described above, in the image forming apparatus 100, when the network module 113 receives a specific packet in the power saving mode, the network module 113 notifies the control unit 110 of an interrupt signal, so that the control unit 110 causes the image forming apparatus 110. The 100 is returned from the power saving mode to the normal mode.

Here, an example of a method for determining whether or not to accept a received packet, which is performed by the network module 113 in the power saving mode, will be described with reference to FIG. When the network processing unit 120 (see FIG. 2) of the network module 113 receives the packet Pk composed of the header Hd and the data Dt, the network processing unit 120 stores the packet Pk in the temporary storage unit 122. Here, it is assumed that the packet type of the packet Pk is described in the header Hd of the packet Pk. Specifically, the packet type is indicated by a combination of the protocol type and the protocol version (Internet protocol version).

Here, the protocol types that can be used in the image forming system 1 are, for example, more than 10 types such as SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), NBT (NetBIOS over TCP / IP), Bonjour, and original protocol. For the protocol type used in the image forming system 1, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-202986 is referred to. On the other hand, there are two protocol versions, for example, IPv4 and IPv6. The image forming apparatus 100 accepts packet Pk of any packet type in the normal mode, and accepts only packet Pk of a specific packet type in the power saving mode.

On the other hand, the storage unit 121 of the network module 113 stores receivable packet type data IHd (IHd1 to IHd4) indicating the packet types that can be received by the network module 113 even in the power saving mode. The acceptable packet type data IHd is stored in the format of the header Hd.

For example, the acceptable packet type data IHd1 indicates "LPR" and "IPv4" as the packet types that can be accepted in the power saving mode. Further, the acceptable packet type data IHd2 indicates "LPR" and "IPv6" as the acceptable packet types. Further, the acceptable packet type data IHd3 indicates “SNMP” and “IPv4” as acceptable packet types. Further, the acceptable packet type data IHd4 indicates "NBT" and "IPv6" as the acceptable packet types. In the example shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of receivable packet type data IHds are stored in the storage unit 121, but at least one of them may be stored. Further, although the acceptable packet type data IHd is stored in the header Hd format here, the packet type may be simply stored in the text format.

Further, the acceptable packet type data IHd (IHd1 to IHd4) stored in the storage unit 121 of the network module 113 can be appropriately changed on the image forming apparatus 100 (that is, by operating the image forming apparatus 100). There are possible packet type data IHd and unchangeable acceptable packet type data IHd common to all image forming apparatus 100. For example, acceptable packet type data IHd1 and IHd2 are fixed acceptable packet type data IHd. , Acceptable packet type data IHd3 or later is changeable acceptable packet type data IHd.

Here, as the unchangeable acceptable packet type data IHd common to all the image forming apparatus 100, the acceptable packet type data IHd1 indicating "LPR" and "IPv4" and "LPR" and "IPv6" are used. The acceptable packet type data IHd2 indicating the above is stored in the storage unit 121, and this is an example. For example, among these, the acceptable packet type data IHd1 of "IPv4" that can be supported by more devices. Only may be the unchangeable acceptable packet type data IHd common to all image forming apparatus 100. Further, in order to unify the protocol version of the packet Pk exchanged on the network Nt to IPv6, only the acceptable packet type data IHd2 of "IPv6" is common to all image forming devices 100 and cannot be changed. It may be data IHd. The term "all image forming devices 100" as used herein means, for example, all the image forming devices 100 that are expected to be used in the image forming system 1.

The network processing unit 120 of the network module 113 extracts the header Hd from the packet Pk that has been received and stored in the temporary storage unit 122, and this header Hd and the receivable packet type data IHd stored in the storage unit 121. Compare each of (IHd1 to IHd4). Then, when the extracted header Hd matches any of the acceptable packet type data IHd (IHd1 to IHd4) stored in the storage unit 121, the network processing unit 120 receives the packet and stores it in the temporary storage unit 122. It accepts Pk and notifies the control unit 110 of the interrupt signal. The above is an example of a method for determining whether or not to accept a received packet, which is performed by the network module 113 in the power saving mode.

Return to FIG. 2 again. The control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100 indicates a set packet CPk (FIG.:) indicating a packet type that can be accepted even when the image forming apparatus 100 is in the power saving mode (that is, the network module 113 can accept) at a predetermined timing in the normal mode. 4) is transmitted to the terminal 300.

Here, the contents of the setting packet CPk are shown in FIG. The setting packet CPk includes, for example, device information Ad related to the image forming apparatus 100 and setting information Cd indicating a packet type that the image forming apparatus 100 can accept even in the power saving mode. The device information Ad and the setting information Cd are stored in, for example, the storage unit 111. Further, the content of the setting packet CPk shown in FIG. 4 is an example, and information other than the device information Ad and the setting information Cd may be included.

In the device information Ad, for example, the device name, serial number, IPv4 address, IPv6 address, multicast group ID, and the like of the image forming device 100 are described. The multicast group ID is information required when the terminal 300 receives a multicast packet transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100.

On the other hand, the setting information CD indicates whether or not the image forming apparatus 100 can accept even in the power saving mode for each packet type indicated by the combination of the protocol type and the protocol version. In the example shown in FIG. 4, when the image forming apparatus 100 can accept both the normal mode and the power saving mode, the packet type is "○", and the packet type can be accepted only in the normal mode (that is, it is accepted in the power saving mode). (Not possible) Packet types are marked with an "x".

The above-mentioned acceptable packet type data IHd (IHd1 to IHd4) corresponds to this setting information Cd. For example, the first line of the setting information Cd indicates that the image forming apparatus 100 can accept the packet Pk of LPR, IPv4, and LPR, IPv6 in either the normal mode or the power saving mode. There is. That is, the acceptable packet type data IHd1 (LPR, IPv4) and IHd2 (LPR, IPv6) correspond to the first line of the setting information Cd. Further, in the second line of the setting information Cd, if the SNMP packet Pk is IPv4, the image forming apparatus 100 can be accepted in either the normal mode or the power saving mode, but if it is IPv6, the power saving mode can be accepted. Sometimes it has been shown to be unacceptable. That is, the acceptable packet type data IHd3 (SNMP, IPv4) corresponds to the second line of the setting information Cd.

Further, the device information Ad and the setting information Cd stored in the storage unit 111 can be changed on the image forming apparatus 100, and when the setting information Cd is changed, the changed contents are stored in the storage unit 121. It is reflected in the acceptable packet type data IHd. In other words, in the image forming apparatus 100, the user can select a packet type that can be accepted in the power saving mode, and the control unit 110 is set to be stored in the storage unit 111 accordingly. The information Cd and the receivable packet type data IHd stored in the storage unit 121 are changed. It should be noted that, of the setting information Cd, the portion (for example, the first line of the setting information Cd) corresponding to the unchangeable acceptable packet type data IHd (IHd1, IHd2) common to all the image forming apparatus 100 cannot be changed. It is desirable to do so.

By transmitting the above-mentioned set packet CPk to the terminal 300 in the normal mode, the image forming apparatus 100 causes the terminal 300 to grasp the packet types that the image forming apparatus 100 can accept even in the power saving mode. There is. The configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 is as described above.

Subsequently, the configuration of the terminal 300A will be described with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 5 shows only the portion of the configuration of the terminal 300A according to the present embodiment. The terminal 300A includes a network interface 301 that performs network processing such as sending and receiving packets, a driver 302 for using the image forming apparatus 100, a program 303 for connecting to the image forming apparatus 100 via a network, and an image forming apparatus 100. It has utility software 304 for printing using the above, and terminal setting 305 indicating various settings of the terminal 300A.

The terminal 300A is controlled by a control unit (not shown). The driver 302, the program 303, and the utility software 304 are software executed by the control unit, and are stored in, for example, a storage unit (not shown). Further, the terminal setting 305 is information stored in the storage unit and read by the control unit.

The terminal 300A receives the setting packet CPk sent from the image forming apparatus 100 by the network interface 301. When the utility software 304 of the terminal 300A receives the setting packet CPk, as shown in FIG. 6, the utility software 304 is included in the setting packet CPk in one of the setting files Cf (Cf1, Cf2) (for example, Cf1) in the utility software 304. Stores the device information Ad and the setting information Cd. Further, the utility software 304 can access the network interface 301 in both the normal mode and the power saving mode based on the setting file Cf1 in which the device information Ad and the setting information Cd are stored. Change the settings of the driver 302, the program 303, and the terminal setting 305. By doing so, when the terminal 300A subsequently transmits the packet Pk to the image forming apparatus 100, the terminal 300A always forms an image regardless of whether the image forming apparatus 100 is in the normal mode or the power saving mode. The device 100 will transmit a packet Pk of a packet type that can be accepted in the power saving mode (that is, a packet type that can be accepted in both the normal mode and the power saving mode). Instead of the utility software 304 changing the settings of the other (network interface 301 or driver 302, etc.), the other (network interface 301, driver 302, etc.) may read the settings of the utility software 304.

Further, the utility software 304 of the terminal 300A sets the multicast group ID described in the device information Ad stored in the setting file Cf1 in the network interface 301. As a result, the terminal 300A will receive the multicast packet transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100 thereafter. The configuration of the terminal 300A is as described above.

Subsequently, the configuration of the terminal 300C will be described with reference to FIG. 7. Note that FIG. 7 shows only the portion of the configuration of the terminal 300C according to the present embodiment. This terminal 300C has a configuration in which the driver 302, the program 303, and the utility software 304 are omitted from the terminal 300A, and has a network interface 301 and a terminal setting 305. Since the network interface 301 and the terminal setting 305 are the same as those of the terminal 300A, detailed description thereof will be omitted. That is, the terminal 300C includes a driver 302 for using the image forming apparatus 100, a program 303 for connecting to the image forming apparatus 100 via a network, and utility software 304 for printing using the image forming apparatus 100. Does not have. Therefore, although the terminal 300C is connected to the network Nt, it cannot cause the image forming apparatus 100 to print, and cannot receive the multicast packet transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100. The configuration of the terminal 300C is as described above.

[3. Operation of image formation system]
Next, the operation of the image forming system 1 will be described. Here, as the operation of the image forming system 1, the operation when the driver 302 and the utility software 304 are installed on the terminal 300A, the operation when the image forming apparatus 100 transmits a multicast packet (setting packet CPk), and the operation when the terminal 300A transmits an image. The operation when the packet Pk such as print data is transmitted to the forming apparatus 100 will be described.

First, the operation when the driver 302 and the utility software 304 are installed on the terminal 300A will be described using the sequence chart shown in FIG.

In step SP1, for example, the user of the terminal 300A operates the terminal 300A to start the installation of the driver 302 and the utility software 304. In the following step SP2, the utility software 304 of the terminal 300A corresponds to the receivable packet type data IHd (for example, IHd1 and IHd2 shown in FIG. 3) that are common to all the image forming devices 100 and cannot be changed in the process of installation. A setting information request packet (hereinafter abbreviated as a request packet) RPk having a header Hd and requesting a setting packet CPk from the image forming device 100 is generated, and this is transmitted to the image forming device 100 by the network interface 301. do. At this time, the image forming apparatus 100 is assumed to be in the power saving mode, for example.

The utility software 304 program incorporates acceptable packet type data IHd that is common to all image forming devices 100 and cannot be changed. Further, in the utility software 304, as the acceptable packet type data IHd common to all the image forming apparatus 100, if the protocol versions are IPv4 and IPv6 and the terminal 300A supports IPv6, the IPv6 The receivable packet type data IHd is selected to generate the request packet RPk having the header Hd corresponding to the receivable packet type data IHd.

The request packet RPk transmitted from the terminal 300A is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100 via the router 200. When the network module 113 of the image forming apparatus 100 receives the request packet RPk sent from the terminal 300A, in step SP3, the header Hd included in the request packet RPk is stored in the storage unit 121. This request packet RPk is accepted by matching with one of the possible packet type data IHd, and the interrupt signal is notified to the control unit 110.

Upon receiving the interrupt signal, the control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100 returns the image forming apparatus 100 from the power saving mode to the normal mode in the subsequent step SP4. After that, in step SP5, the control unit 110 reads the device information Ad and the setting information Cd from the storage unit 111 according to the request packet RPk received from the network module 113, and based on these, for example, the request packet RPk and the packet type. Generates the same setting packet CPk and returns it to the terminal 300A via the network module 113.

The setting packet CPk transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100 is transmitted to the terminal 300A via the router 200. When the utility software 304 of the terminal 300A receives the setting packet CPk sent from the image forming apparatus 100 by the network interface 301, the image forming apparatus 100 saves the normal mode and saves based on the received setting packet CPk in step SP6. The settings of the network interface 301, the driver 302, the program 303, and the terminal setting 305 are changed so that they can be accessed in either of the power modes. Further, the utility software 304 sets the network interface 301 so as to receive the multicast packet transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100 based on the received setting packet CPk. In this way, the utility software 304 transmits the request packet RPk to the image forming apparatus 100, receives the setting packet CPk from the image forming apparatus 100, and performs various settings based on the setting packet CPk in the process of installation. It has become.

After the installation of the driver 302 and the utility software 304 is completed, the terminal 300A can access the image forming apparatus 100 regardless of whether the image forming apparatus 100 is in the normal mode or the power saving mode, and the image forming apparatus 100 can multicast the image forming apparatus 100. You are ready to receive packets. The operation when the driver 302 and the utility software 304 are installed on the terminal 300A is as described above.

Here, the case where the request packet RPk is transmitted from the terminal 300A to the image forming apparatus 100 in the power saving mode has been described, but the request packet RPk from the terminal 300A to the image forming apparatus 100 in the normal mode has been described. Is transmitted, the control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100 generates a setting packet CPk according to the request packet RPk received via the network module 113, and returns the setting packet CPk to the terminal 300A.

Further, although the operation when the driver 302 and the utility software 304 are installed on the terminal 300A has been described here, the operation when the driver 302 and the utility software 304 are installed on the terminal 300 (for example, the terminal 300B) other than the terminal 300A is also the same. It has become.

Subsequently, the operation when the image forming apparatus 100 transmits a multicast packet (setting packet CPk) will be described with reference to the sequence chart shown in FIG. The image forming apparatus 100 periodically (for example, every hour) transmits the set packet CPk as a multicast packet to each terminal 300 regardless of the request from the terminal 300A or the like.

That is, in the normal mode, the control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100 waits until the timing of transmitting the set packet CPk in step SP10, and moves to step SP11 when the timing of transmission is reached.

In step SP11, the control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100 reads the apparatus information Ad and the setting information Cd from the storage unit 111, generates a setting packet CPk which is a multicast packet based on these, and uses this as the network module 113. It sends to the router 200 via. Specifically, the control unit 110 transmits the set packet CPk to the IP address representing the multicast group ID stored as the device information Ad in the storage unit 111.

It is assumed that the packet type of the setting packet CPk generated at this time corresponds to, for example, multicast. Further, for example, when it is desired to unify the protocol version of the packet Pk exchanged on the network Nt to IPv6, the packet type of the set packet CPk is set to the packet type of IPv6, and the terminal 300 corresponding only to IPv4 on the network Nt If it exists, it may be set to the packet type of IPv4.

In step SP12, when the router 200 receives the set packet CPk transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100, it determines from the destination of the set packet CPk (that is, the multicast group ID) that the set packet CPk is a multicast packet. This set packet CPk is duplicated and simultaneously transmitted to each terminal 300 (300A, 300B, 300C) on the network Nt.

When the utility software 304 of the terminal 300A receives the setting packet CPk sent from the router 200 by the network interface 301, in step SP13, the setting packet CPk is based on the multicast group ID which is the destination of the setting packet CPk. Judges that the packet is for its own terminal and receives it. Then, based on this setting packet CPk, the utility software 304 of the terminal 300A can access the network interface 301, the driver 302, the program 303, so that the image forming apparatus 100 can access in either the normal mode or the power saving mode. Update each setting of terminal setting 305. At this time, the utility software 304 of the terminal 300A updates the setting related to the multicast of the network interface 301 based on the received setting packet CPk.

Further, when the utility software 304 of the terminal 300B receives the setting packet CPk sent from the router 200 by the network interface 301, in step SP14, the setting packet is based on the multicast group ID which is the destination of the setting packet CPk. CPk determines that the packet is for its own terminal and receives it. Then, based on this setting packet CPk, the utility software 304 of the terminal 300B can access the network interface 301, the driver 302, the program 303, so that the image forming apparatus 100 can access in either the normal mode or the power saving mode. Update each setting of terminal setting 305. At this time, the utility software 304 of the terminal 300B updates the setting related to the multicast of the network interface 301 based on the received setting packet CPk.

Further, when the terminal 300C receives the setting packet CPk sent from the router 200 by the network interface 301, in step SP15, the setting packet CPk is not a packet for the own terminal based on the destination of the setting packet CPk. Judge and discard. The operation when the image forming apparatus 100 transmits the multicast packet is as described above.

In this way, the image forming apparatus 100 periodically transmits the set packet CPk to each terminal 300 all at once by using multicast. As a result, the image forming apparatus 100 transmits, for example, the latest setting information Cd indicating the changed packet type to each terminal 300 as the setting packet CPk even when the packet type that can be accepted in the power saving mode is changed. , The setting on the terminal 300 side can be updated according to the setting change on the image forming apparatus 100 side. By doing so, the terminal 300 (specifically, the terminals 300A and 300B) can access the image forming apparatus 100 even when the packet type that can be accepted in the power saving mode is changed on the image forming apparatus 100 side.

Subsequently, using the sequence chart shown in FIG. 10, the operation when the terminal 300A transmits the packet Pk such as print data to the image forming apparatus 100 will be described. The terminal 300A is an image forming apparatus regardless of whether the image forming apparatus 100 is in the normal mode or the power saving mode, based on the set packet CPk received from the image forming apparatus 100 before performing this operation. It is in a state where 100 can be accessed.

When transmitting a packet Pk such as print data, the utility software 304 of the terminal 300A first determines the packet type of the packet Pk to be transmitted this time based on the setting information Cd stored in the setting file Cf1 in step SP20. select. Specifically, the utility software 304 selects a packet type that can be accepted by the image forming apparatus 100 in either the normal mode or the power saving mode. When the packet type that can be accepted by the image forming apparatus 100 in either the normal mode or the power saving mode has a protocol version of IPv4 and an IPv6, and the terminal 300A supports IPv6. The utility software 304 is designed to select the packet type of IPv6.

In the subsequent step SP21, the utility software 304 of the terminal 300A generates a packet Pk of the selected packet type, and transmits this to the image forming apparatus 100 by the network interface 301. At this time, the image forming apparatus 100 is assumed to be in the power saving mode, for example.

The packet Pk transmitted from the terminal 300A is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100 via the router 200. When the network module 113 of the image forming apparatus 100 receives the packet Pk sent from the terminal 300A, in step SP22, the header Hd included in the packet Pk is stored in the storage unit 121 as a receivable packet. This packet Pk is received by matching with one of the type data IHd, and the interrupt signal is notified to the control unit 110.

Upon receiving the interrupt signal, the control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100 returns the image forming apparatus 100 from the power saving mode to the normal mode in the subsequent step SP23. After that, in step SP24, the control unit 110 performs an operation (for example, an image forming operation by the image forming unit 105) according to the packet Pk received from the network module 113. The operation when the terminal 300A transmits the packet Pk such as print data to the image forming apparatus 100 is as described above.

Here, the case where the packet Pk is transmitted from the terminal 300A to the image forming apparatus 100 in the power saving mode has been described, but the packet Pk is transmitted from the terminal 300A to the image forming apparatus 100 in the normal mode. If so, the control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100 performs an operation according to the packet Pk received via the network module 113.

Further, here, the operation when the terminal 300A transmits the packet Pk such as print data to the image forming apparatus 100 has been described, but the terminal 300 other than the terminal 300A (for example, the terminal 300B) has printed data or the like to the image forming apparatus 100. The operation when transmitting the packet Pk is also the same.

[4. Summary and effects]
As described above, the image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment controls the image forming apparatus 100 in the normal mode, and controls the transition to the normal mode in the power saving mode, and the control unit 110 in the normal mode and in the normal mode. When a packet Pk is received via the network Nt in the power saving mode and a packet Pk of a specific packet type is received in the power saving mode, the network module 113 that receives the packet Pk and notifies the control unit 110 of an interrupt signal. Be prepared.

Then, the control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100 sets the setting information Cd indicating the packet type that can be received by the network module 113 in the power saving mode (that is, can be received in both the power saving mode and the normal mode) in the normal mode. As CPk, it is transmitted to the terminal 300 on the network Nt by the network module 113.

Further, the control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100 shifts the image forming apparatus 100 from the power saving mode to the normal mode when receiving the notification of the interrupt signal from the network module 113 in the power saving mode.

As a result, in the present embodiment, the terminal 300 that has received the set packet CPk can grasp the packet types that can be accepted even when the image forming apparatus 100 is in the power saving mode, so that the terminal 300 is in the power saving mode. A situation in which a packet Pk of a packet type that is not accepted is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100 of the above (that is, the image forming apparatus 100 is returned from the power saving mode to the normal mode even though the packet Pk is transmitted. It is possible to make it difficult for the situation to occur. Thus, the image forming apparatus 100 can efficiently shift from the power saving mode to the normal mode.

Further, in the present embodiment, the packet types that the image forming apparatus 100 can accept in the power saving mode are indicated by a combination of the protocol type and the protocol version (Internet protocol version). By doing so, for example, IPv4 of NBT cannot be accepted and IPv6 of NBT can be accepted. Therefore, it is possible to specify whether the same protocol type can be accepted or not accepted for each protocol version. This is particularly effective in a network environment in which IPv4 and IPv6 are used in combination, for example.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, as the packet types that can be accepted in the power saving mode, the packet types (acceptable packet type data IHd3, IHd4) that can be appropriately changed on the image forming apparatus 100 and all the images. The packet types (acceptable packet type data IHd1 and IHd2) that are common to the forming device 100 and cannot be changed are set.

Then, the image forming apparatus 100 is all the image forming apparatus 100 sent from the terminal 300 side when the software (driver 302 and utility software 304) for using the image forming apparatus 100 is installed in the terminal 300. A packet type that can be accepted in the power saving mode (that is, a packet type that can be appropriately changed on the image forming apparatus 100) that is set in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the request packet RPk of the packet type that is common and cannot be changed. The setting information Cd indicating the packet type that is common to all the image forming devices 100 and cannot be changed) is set as the setting packet CPk and returned to the terminal 300.

By doing so, in the present embodiment, a plurality of packet types (appropriately changed on the image forming apparatus 100) as packet types that can be accepted by the image forming apparatus 100 in the power saving mode after the software is installed on the terminal 300 side. It is possible to grasp possible packet types and packet types that are common to all image forming devices 100 and cannot be changed). As a result, after the software is installed, the terminal 300 can transmit the packet Pk to the image forming apparatus 100 in the packet type selected from the plurality of packet types that the image forming apparatus 100 can accept in the power saving mode. In other words, the terminal 300 is aware of the packet type that is common to all the image forming devices 100 and cannot be changed from the beginning, and uses the request packet RPk of this packet type to use the image forming device 100. The setting packet CPk is requested to. By doing so, the terminal 300 can access the image forming apparatus 100 regardless of the mode of the image forming apparatus 100 even before receiving the set packet CPk from the image forming apparatus 100.

Further, the image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment periodically transmits the setting information Cd indicating the packet type that can be accepted in the power saving mode as the setting packet CPk to a plurality of terminals 300 on the network Nt by multicasting. I did.

By doing so, for example, even if the packet type that can be accepted in the power saving mode is changed, the image forming apparatus 100 uses the latest setting information Cd indicating the changed packet type as the setting packet CPk in each terminal 300. By transmitting, each terminal 300 can grasp the changed packet type. As a result, the terminal 300 can access the image forming apparatus 100 regardless of the mode of the image forming apparatus 100 even when the packet type that can be accepted in the power saving mode is changed on the image forming apparatus 100 side.

[5. Other embodiments]
[5-1. Other Embodiment 1]
In the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 periodically transmits the setting information Cd indicating the packet type that can be accepted in the power saving mode as the setting packet CPk to each terminal 300. Not limited to this, for example, when the packet type that can be accepted in the power saving mode is changed on the image forming apparatus 100 side, the setting information Cd is updated and the latest updated setting information Cd is set as the setting packet CPk. As a result, it may be transmitted to each terminal 300. If the set packet CPk is transmitted to each terminal 300 only when the packet type that can be accepted in the power saving mode is changed, the set packet is more efficiently set than in the case of periodic transmission. CPk can be transmitted.

Further, not limited to this, at the timing after the image forming apparatus 100 receives the packet Pk of print data from one of the terminals 300 and prints, for example, the setting information Cd is set as the setting packet CPk to each terminal 300. You may send it.

Further, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, when the image forming apparatus 100 returns from the power saving mode to the normal mode (or only when it returns), the setting information Cd is transmitted to each terminal 300 as a setting packet CPk. It may be. Further, not limited to this, the setting information Cd is set as the setting packet CPk only when the image forming apparatus 100 returns from the power saving mode to the normal mode in response to the operation of the operation unit 104 by the user (that is, the user operation). , It may be transmitted to each terminal 300. Not limited to this, the image forming apparatus 100 returns to the normal mode from the power saving mode in response to the operation of the operation unit 104 by the user, and then within a certain period of time (that is, within the time until the power saving mode is entered). In addition, only when the print data packet Pk is received from one of the terminals 300, the setting information Cd is transmitted to each terminal 300 as the setting packet CPk at the timing after printing the print data. You may. Further, at a timing other than these, the image forming apparatus 100 may transmit the set packet CPk to each terminal 300.

[5-2. Other Embodiment 2]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the terminal 300 installs software (driver 302 and utility software 304) for using the image forming apparatus 100, it is common to all the image forming apparatus 100 and cannot be changed. The request packet RPk of the packet type is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100, and the set packet CPk is received from the image forming apparatus 100. Not limited to this, a packet that is common to all image forming devices 100 and cannot be changed at the timing when the terminal 300 is connected to the network Nt, for example, by transitioning from a power-off state to a power-on state. The request packet RPk of the type may be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100 to receive the set packet CPk from the image forming apparatus 100. In this way, the terminal 300 can acquire the latest setting information CD from the image forming apparatus 100 when it is connected to the network Nt.

Further, not limited to this, before the terminal 300 transmits the packet Pk of the print data to the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus performs the request packet RPk of the packet type which is common to all the image forming apparatus 100 and cannot be changed. It may be transmitted to 100 to receive the set packet CPk from the image forming apparatus 100, and then transmit the print data packet Pk to the image forming apparatus 100. Further, at a timing other than these, the terminal 300 may transmit the request packet RPk to the image forming apparatus 100 to receive the set packet CPk.

[5-3. Other Embodiment 3]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the terminal 300 receives a packet type packet (for example, a print data packet) Pk based on the setting packet CPk received from the image forming apparatus 100 even in the power saving mode. Was transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100. Not limited to this, when the terminal 300 continuously transmits a plurality of packets Pk to the image forming apparatus 100, only the first packet Pk is a packet that can be accepted even when the image forming apparatus 100 is in the power saving mode. It may be transmitted by the type, and the subsequent packet Pk may be transmitted by any packet type. That is, since the image forming apparatus 100 is always in the normal mode in the first packet Pk, the packet Pk may be transmitted in any packet type thereafter.

[5-4. Other Embodiment 4]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, a LAN based on IPv4 and IPv6 is used as the network Nt, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a network other than the LAN may be used. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the storage unit 121 and the temporary storage unit 122 are provided inside the network module 113, but the present invention is not limited to this, and at least one of these is provided outside the network module 113. You may do so.

[5-5. Other Embodiment 5]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the packet type is described in the header Hd of the packet Pk, and the network module 113 has the header Hd of the received packet Pk and the acceptable packet of the header format stored in the storage unit 121. By comparing with the type data IHd, it is determined whether or not to accept the received packet Pk. Not limited to this, for example, when the packet type cannot be specified without referring not only to the header Hd of the packet Pk but also to the data Dt, the network module 113 specifies the packet type from the header Hd of the received packet Pk and the data Dt. By comparing the specified packet type with the packet type stored in the storage unit 121, it may be determined whether or not to accept the received packet Pk. Not limited to this, the network module 113 extracts a part of the received packet Pk, calculates the checksum, and obtains the checksum value and the checksum value for each packet type stored in the storage unit 121. By comparing with and, it may be determined whether or not to accept the received packet Pk.

[5-6. Other Embodiment 6]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the set packet CPk is simultaneously transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100 to each terminal 300 by multicast, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a method other than multicast such as unicast may be used. The set packet CPk may be individually transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100 to each terminal 300.

[5-7. Other Embodiment 7]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the image forming system 1 is composed of one image forming device 100, one router 200, and three terminals 300, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, one or more. The image forming apparatus 100, one or more routers 200, and one or more terminals 300 may be configured. When a plurality of image forming devices 100 exist, the utility software 304 of the terminal 300 may store, for example, the device information Ad and the setting information Cd obtained from each image forming device 100 as separate setting files Cf. ..

[5-8. Other Embodiment 8]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the software (driver 302, utility software 304) for using the image forming apparatus 100 is installed in the terminal 300, the terminal 300 uses the packet type (all images) specified by the software. The request packet RPk (packet type that can be accepted in the power saving mode common to the forming device 100) is transmitted to the image forming device 100. Not limited to this, for example, when installing software on the terminal 300, the user of the terminal 300 is made to input a packet type that can be accepted in the power saving mode common to all the image forming devices 100, and the input is input. The request packet RPk of the packet type may be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100.

Further, when the packet types that can be accepted in the power saving mode common to the image forming apparatus 100 differ depending on the type of the image forming apparatus 100, the packets that can be accepted by the software for using the image forming apparatus 100 The types are incorporated for each type of the image forming apparatus 100, and when the terminal 300 installs this software, the acceptable packet types prepared for each type of the image forming apparatus 100 are selected one by one and selected. The request packet RPk of the packet type may be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100. This is effective when the type of the image forming apparatus 100 cannot be specified on the terminal 300 side.

[5-9. Other Embodiment 9]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the image forming apparatus 100 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2, but the present invention is not limited to this, as long as it has the same function as the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus 100 It may be applied to an image forming apparatus having a configuration different from that of the above. Further, the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus having a power saving mode, such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile, and a multifunction device.

[5-10. Other Embodiment 10]
Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. That is, the present invention has an applicable scope to an embodiment in which a part or all of the above-described embodiments are arbitrarily combined, and an embodiment in which a part is extracted.

The present invention can be widely used in devices having a normal mode and a power saving mode.

1 ... Image forming system, 100 ... Image forming device, 101 ... Main board, 102 ... Power supply unit, 103 ... Display unit, 104 ... Operation unit, 105 ... Image forming unit, 110 ... Control unit , 113 ... network module, 200 ... router, 300 ... terminal, 301 ... network interface, 302 ... driver, 303 ... program, 304 ... utility software, 305 ... terminal setting, Nt ... network, Pk ... Packet, Ad ... Device information, Cd ... Setting information, CPk ... Setting packet, RPk ... Request packet, IHd ... Acceptable packet type data.

Claims (11)

An image forming apparatus having a normal mode and a power saving mode that consumes less power than the normal mode.
A control unit that controls the image forming apparatus in the normal mode and controls the transition to the normal mode in the power saving mode.
When a packet is received via the network in the normal mode and the power saving mode, and a packet of a specific packet type is received in the power saving mode, the network communication unit that receives the packet and notifies the control unit. Prepare,
The control unit
Upon receiving a notification from the network communication unit in the power saving mode, the image forming apparatus is shifted from the power saving mode to the normal mode, and in the normal mode, the network communication is performed even in the power saving mode. An image forming apparatus characterized in that the network communication unit transmits setting information indicating a packet type that can be accepted by the unit to a terminal on the network. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the packet type is indicated by a combination of a protocol type of the packet and a protocol version of an Internet protocol. The control unit
The claim is characterized in that, in the normal mode, the network communication unit transmits the setting information indicating a plurality of packet types that can be accepted by the network communication unit to a terminal on the network even in the power saving mode. The image forming apparatus according to 1 or 2. The control unit
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the setting information is periodically transmitted by the network communication unit to a plurality of terminals on the network. The control unit
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the power saving mode is changed to the normal mode, the setting information is transmitted to a plurality of terminals on the network by the network communication unit. The control unit
When the image forming apparatus shifts from the power saving mode to the normal mode according to the user operation and shifts from the power saving mode to the normal mode according to the user operation, the setting information is transmitted to the network communication. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the unit transmits power to a plurality of terminals on the network. The control unit
The image forming apparatus is shifted from the power saving mode to the normal mode according to a user operation, and after shifting from the power saving mode to the normal mode according to a user operation, the network communication unit is within a certain period of time. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the user receives a packet of print data from a terminal on the network, the setting information is transmitted to a plurality of terminals on the network by the network communication unit. The plurality of packet types that the network communication unit can accept even in the power saving mode indicated by the setting information include a packet type that can be changed on the image forming apparatus side and a packet type that cannot be changed on the image forming apparatus side. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the packet type is included. The network communication unit
From the terminal on the network, a setting information request packet of a packet type that cannot be changed on the image forming apparatus side, which is one of a plurality of packet types that can be accepted by the network communication unit even in the power saving mode, is received. Then, the setting information request packet is received, and in the case of the power saving mode at this time, the control unit is notified to shift from the power saving mode to the normal mode.
The control unit
The eighth aspect of claim 8, wherein the setting information is transmitted to the terminal that has transmitted the setting information request packet by the network communication unit in response to the setting information request packet received by the network communication unit. Image forming device. The control unit
When the packet type that can be changed on the image forming apparatus side is changed among the plurality of packet types that can be accepted by the network communication unit even in the power saving mode, the setting information is changed according to the change of the packet type. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the updated setting information is transmitted by the network communication unit to a plurality of terminals on the network. It is a mode transition method by an image forming apparatus having a normal mode and a power saving mode that consumes less power than the normal mode.
When the network communication unit that receives a packet via the network in the normal mode and the power saving mode receives a packet of a specific packet type in the power saving mode, it receives the packet and notifies the control unit.
When the control unit receives a notification from the network communication unit in the power saving mode, the image forming apparatus is shifted from the power saving mode to the normal mode.
Further, the control unit is characterized in that the network communication unit transmits setting information indicating a packet type that can be accepted by the network communication unit to a terminal on the network in the normal mode and even in the power saving mode. Mode transition method.

Images