JP5082463B2 - Information processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus.

  In information processing apparatuses such as digital multifunction peripherals, printers, and personal computers, in addition to the normal mode in which normal drive power is supplied to each internal device, supply of drive power to some devices is stopped Some have a power saving mode in which the amount of power consumption is reduced by lowering the supply amount than that in the normal mode. These information processing apparatuses shift to the power saving mode and reduce the power consumption of the entire apparatus when request packet data such as printout is not received from the network for a certain period. When packet data is received from the network, power control is performed to resume power supply to the stopped device and return to the normal mode.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for switching between a normal mode and a power saving mode. Specifically, the power consumption of the entire device is reduced by changing the operation mode of each component device including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) which is a calculation means to the power saving mode. The sum value is stored in the nonvolatile memory. Then, when returning to the normal mode, it is determined whether or not the information stored in the volatile memory is valid using a sum value having a relatively small amount of data. As a result, the data transfer time is reduced, and the time required for processing for switching to the normal mode can be shortened.
JP 2002-264434 A

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, when the packet data requesting the image forming process is received in the power saving mode and an image such as a document is formed on the sheet, the CPU first switches to the normal mode. Then, the CPU switches the image forming unit, which is a means for performing the requested processing, to the normal mode. That is, the time required for each of the CPU that is the computing means and the image forming unit that is the processing means to switch to the normal mode is from the arrival of the packet data in the power saving mode to the start of the image forming process. Time equivalent to the sum is required. In order to solve this problem, the image forming unit may be immediately switched to the normal mode on condition that packet data has arrived. However, when such a method is adopted, even when the packet data does not require image forming processing, another problem arises that the image forming unit is switched to the normal mode and consumes unnecessary power. End up.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for reducing power consumption when switching from a power saving mode to a normal mode and quickly starting a requested process. There is.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a receiving means for receiving data via a network, a first operation mode that operates while receiving a predetermined amount of power supply, and less than the first operation mode. In any one of the second operation modes that operate while receiving an amount of power supply, arithmetic means for performing arithmetic processing according to a procedure described in a program, the first operation mode, and the second operation mode In any one of the operation modes, one or a plurality of processing means for performing predetermined processing in accordance with an instruction from the calculation means, a port number or a protocol identifier specified by the port number, and an assignment to the processing means Storage means for associating and storing the identified identification information, and the operation mode in the computing means and the processing means is the second operation. When the first data specifying the device as a data destination is received by the receiving means when the first operating mode is selected from the second operating mode of the operating mode in the calculating means When the second data specifying the port number is received by the receiving means after the start, the port number specified by the second data or the protocol specified by the port number The identification information associated with the identifier is stored in the storage means, and the operation mode in the processing means to which the identification information is assigned is changed from the second operation mode to the first operation mode. switching, and a switching means for starting before the switching of the the first mode of operation of the operation mode in the operation means is completed In the storage means, when the identification information is not associated with the port number specified by the second data or the protocol identifier specified by the port number, the first of the operation modes in the calculation means After the switching to the operation mode is completed, switching of the operation mode of the processing means from the second operation mode to the first operation mode is started .

In the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the processing unit includes an image forming unit that forms an image represented by image data on a sheet, and designates a port number corresponding to the image forming unit stored in the storage unit. When the second data is received by the receiving unit, the switching unit may switch the operation mode in the image forming unit from the second operation mode to the first operation mode.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the power consumption at the time of switching from a power saving mode to a normal mode can be reduced, and the requested | required process can be started rapidly.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus configured as a digital multifunction peripheral will be described.

(1) Configuration of Embodiment First, the configuration of the image forming system 1 will be described.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of the image forming system 1. The image forming system 1 includes an image forming apparatus 10, a host device 20, and a network 30. The image forming apparatus 10 is an information processing apparatus having a printout function, a copy function, and the like, for example. The host device 20 is, for example, a personal computer (PC). The image forming apparatuses 10 a, 10 b, 10 c and 10 d and the host apparatus 20 are connected via a network 30. In this embodiment, Ethernet (registered trademark) is used as the network 30, and packet data based on various protocols such as TCP / IP is transmitted to the network 30. In FIG. 1, only four image forming apparatuses 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d are shown as apparatuses that communicate with the host apparatus 20. However, in reality, a larger number of apparatuses may be provided. Good. A plurality of host devices may also be provided. Hereinafter, the image forming apparatuses 10 a to 10 d are collectively referred to as “image forming apparatus 10” when it is not necessary to distinguish between them.

Next, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a CPU 11, a main memory 12, a bus bridge 13, a communication control unit 14, a power control unit 15, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 16, and an image forming unit. 17, an operation display unit 18, and a PCI bus 19. The bus of the CPU 11 (CPU bus) and the bus of the main memory 12 are connected via a bus bridge 13. The bus bridge 13, the communication control unit 14, the image forming unit 17, and the operation display unit 18 are connected via a PCI bus 19.

  The operation modes in the image forming apparatus 10 include a “normal mode” that is a first operation mode and a “power saving mode” that is a second operation mode. “Normal mode” refers to a mode in which each component device in the device operates while receiving a predetermined amount of power supply. “Power saving mode” refers to at least one of the component devices in the device. This is a mode that operates in a state where the amount of power supplied is smaller than that in the normal mode. In addition, each component apparatus here is specifically each hardware which performs a predetermined | prescribed process according to the instruction | indication by CPU11, Specifically, CPU11, the communication control part 14, the power supply control part 15, An image forming unit 17 and an operation display unit 18.

  The CPU 11 performs arithmetic processing according to the procedure described in the program stored in the HDD 16. The communication control unit 14 transmits / receives data to / from the host device 20 via the network 30. The power supply control unit 15 is connected to a power supply (not shown) and controls the amount of power supplied from the power supply to each component device. Specifically, the CPU 11 and the communication control unit 14 output to the power control unit 15 a power control signal designating a component device that is a power supply target. In accordance with the power control signal, the power control unit 15 supplies power to each component device in the normal mode or the power saving mode.

The image forming unit 17 is a processing unit that forms an image represented by image data on a sheet. The image forming unit 17 includes an image processing unit 170, an image processing buffer 171, and a printer output engine 172. The image processing unit 170 performs image processing such as rotation / enlargement / reduction on the image data stored in the image processing buffer 171. The printer output engine 172 forms an image on the surface of the sheet using an image forming method such as an electrophotographic method based on the image data stored in the image processing buffer 171.
The operation display unit 18 includes a display unit and a transparent touch panel disposed on the display surface. The operation display unit 18 displays various types of information in accordance with instructions from the CPU 11, accepts an operation by the user, and supplies a signal corresponding to the operation to the CPU 11.

Next, the configuration of the communication control unit 14 will be described in detail.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the communication control unit 14. The communication control unit 14 includes a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as “communication I / F unit”) 140, a communication buffer 141, a control unit 142, and a storage unit 143. The communication I / F unit 140 is connected to the network 30 and exchanges packet data with the host device 20 via the network 30. Packet data received by the communication I / F unit 140 is stored in the communication buffer 141.

The control unit 142 performs processing related to transmission / reception of packet data according to the contents of the management table stored in the storage unit 143.
Here, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the management table stored in the storage unit 143. As shown in FIG. 4, in the management table, port numbers, protocol names, and activation target component devices are described in association with each other. The port number specifies a service in the transport layer and is specified by TCP SYN packet data transmitted from a communication partner apparatus. Since the protocol is uniquely determined when the port number is specified, the type of processing requested to the information processing apparatus can be specified by this port number.

  As shown in FIG. 4, for example, when the port number designated by the TCP SYN packet data is “515”, the protocol name corresponding to the port number is LPD (Line Printer Daemon protocol). Since this protocol is a protocol for causing the image forming apparatus connected to the network to perform the image forming process, it is the image forming unit 17 that performs the process according to the protocol. For this reason, when TCP SYN packet data specifying the port number “515” is received in the power saving mode, the “image forming unit 17” manages as the activation target component device from which power supply in the normal mode is started. It is described in the table. Note that “start-up” here means switching from the power saving mode to the normal mode.

  For example, when the port number specified by the TCP SYN packet data is “631”, the protocol name corresponding to the port number is IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). Since this protocol is a protocol for exchanging image data and the like in the TCP / IP network, the activation target component device is also the “image forming unit 17” in this case.

(2) Operation of Embodiment Next, the operation of the image forming system 1 will be described. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of processing executed by the host device 20 and the image forming apparatus 10 in the image forming system 1. In the following, an operation when the host device 20 requests the image forming apparatus 10a to perform an image forming process when the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 10a is the power saving mode will be described. Therefore, the port number designated by the TCP SYN packet data transmitted by the host device 20 is “515”. The contents of the management table are as shown in FIG.

  First, the host apparatus 20 designates the IP address of the image forming apparatus 10a, and transmits packet data according to ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) to the image forming apparatuses 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d via the network 30 (step). S1). Note that ARP is an address resolution protocol used in TCP / IP to obtain a physical layer network address (MAC address) from an IP address. The host device 20 stores an ARP table. In the ARP table, the IP address of the apparatus connected to the network and the MAC address are described in association with each other. At this time, the IP address of the image forming apparatus 10a is not described in the ARP table. And

  When the communication control unit 14 of the image forming apparatus 10a receives the ARP packet data in which the IP address of the own apparatus is specified from the host apparatus 20, the ARP packet data is stored in the communication buffer 141. At this time, the image forming apparatuses 10b, 10c, and 10d also receive similar ARP packet data. However, as described above, it is determined that the IP address specified by the ARP packet data is different from the one assigned to the apparatus itself, and the image forming apparatuses 10b to 10d discard the packet data and leave it as it is. Maintain power saving mode.

  Next, in the communication control unit 14 of the image forming apparatus 10a, the control unit 142 outputs a power control signal designating the CPU 11 to the power control unit 15 in order to switch the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 10a to the normal mode (step S2). . In response to the power control signal, the power control unit 15 starts supplying power to the CPU 11 in the normal mode. Thereby, the CPU 11 starts activation in the normal mode (step S3a). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that it takes about 3 seconds from the start of startup of the CPU 11 in the normal mode to the completion of startup.

  Next, the control unit 142 causes the communication I / F unit 140 to transmit packet data including the MAC address of the own apparatus (image forming apparatus 10a) (hereinafter, ARP response packet data) to the host apparatus 20 (step S4). ). In response to the ARP response packet data, the host device 20 transmits TCP SYN packet data.

  Upon receiving the ARP response packet data, the host device 20 transmits TCP SYN packet data specifying the port number “515” to the image forming apparatus 10a based on the specified MAC address (step S5). The TCP SYN packet data is packet data for confirming whether or not the port having the port number “515” of the image forming apparatus 10 is open. On the other hand, the host apparatus 20 describes the IP address of the image forming apparatus 10a in association with the MAC address specified by the ARP response packet data in the ARP table.

  When the communication control unit 14 of the image forming apparatus 10 a receives TCP SYN packet data from the host device 20 via the communication I / F unit 140, the control unit 142 stores this in the communication buffer 141. Then, the control unit 142 determines a component device to be switched from the power saving mode to the normal mode based on the port number specified by the TCP SYN packet data and the management table (see FIG. 4) stored in the storage unit 143. (Step S6). Here, since the port number specified by the TCP SYN packet data is “515”, the control unit 142 determines that the corresponding protocol name is LPD from the management table shown in FIG. It is determined that it is the image forming unit 17 (step S6; YES).

  Then, the control unit 142 outputs a power control signal designating the image forming unit 17 to the power control unit 15 (step S7). In response to the power control signal, the power control unit 15 starts supplying power to the image forming unit 17 in the normal mode. In response to this, the image forming unit 17 starts activation in the normal mode (step S8a). In this embodiment, it is assumed that it takes about 7 seconds from the start of the image forming unit 17 to start in the normal mode. As described above, since it takes about 3 seconds to complete the activation of the CPU 11, the activation of the CPU 11 in the normal mode is not yet completed at this point.

  Thereafter, when the activation of the CPU 11 is completed (step S3b), the CPU 11 transmits TCPSYN_ACK packet data to the host device 20 via the communication control unit 14 (step S9). “TCPSYN_ACK packet data” is packet data for notifying that the image forming apparatus 10 a has normally received the packet data transmitted from the host device 20.

  Thereafter, the CPU 11 receives packet data including a processing request from the host device 20 via the communication control unit 14. Then, when the image forming unit 17 completes the activation in the normal mode (step S8b), the CPU 11 takes out the image data divided into a plurality of packet data from the data area of the packet data, and extracts them into the image forming unit 17 To supply. The printer output engine 172 of the image processing unit 170 forms an image on a sheet based on the image data stored in the image processing buffer 171.

  On the other hand, in step S6 described above, the control unit 142 may determine that the port number specified by the TCP SYN packet data is not specified by the management table of FIG. 4 (step S6; NO). This is a case where the communication control unit 14 has received PING (Packet Internet Groper) or MIB (Management Information Base) information, for example. In this case, the communication control unit 14 switches the image forming apparatus 10a to the normal mode according to the same procedure as the conventional one. That is, the control unit 142 first starts the process of switching the CPU 11 to the normal mode, and after the activation is completed, switches the necessary component device to the normal mode.

In communication between the image forming apparatus 10a and the host apparatus 20 for the second and subsequent times, the IP address of the image forming apparatus 10a and the MAC address are associated with each other and described in the ARP table. Therefore, the host device 20 does not need to transmit packet data according to the ARP in the above-described step S1, and the operation procedure is as follows.
The host apparatus 20 first transmits TCP SYN packet data to the image forming apparatus 10a using the MAC address described in the ARP table. In response to this, the communication control unit 14 of the image forming apparatus 10a instructs the CPU 11 to start in the normal mode. Subsequently, the communication control unit 14 determines the activation target component device based on the port number specified by the TCP SYN packet data. That is, it operates in the same procedure as step S6 and subsequent steps in FIG. In this way, in the second and subsequent communications, the host device 20 does not need to transmit ARP request packet data in step S1, or the communication control unit 14 does not need to transmit ARP response packet data in step S4.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the communication control unit 14 specifies processing means (in this embodiment, the image forming unit 17) to be switched to the normal mode based on the port number specified by the TCP SYN packet data. This is activated in parallel with the activation of the CPU 11. In this way, since the image forming unit 17 is started immediately after the start of the CPU 11, the image forming process can be started in about 7 seconds from the start of the CPU. In contrast, since the image forming unit is activated after the CPU is activated, at least about 10 seconds, which is the sum of the activation times, is required from the activation of the CPU to the start of the image forming process. It was. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the time required to execute the processing required from the power saving mode is shortened compared to the conventional case. Furthermore, the processing content of the communication control unit 14 is less than that of the CPU, and the operation clock in the communication control unit is also small, so that the power consumed by the communication control unit 14 is less than that of the CPU. Therefore, less power is consumed when the activation target component device is switched to the normal mode.

(3) Modifications Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various modes. Specifically, the following modifications are mentioned, for example. These modifications can be combined as appropriate.

In the above-described embodiment, only the image forming unit 17 is specified as the activation target component device in the management table of FIG. 4, but the activation target component device is not limited thereto.
For example, the operation display unit 18 may be the activation target component device. When the image forming apparatus 10 performs an image forming process, not only forms an image on a sheet, but also displays a message for notifying the user that the image forming process is being executed, or cancels the process being executed. In some cases, an operation button for accepting a user instruction for causing the user to perform the operation is displayed. In such a case, the image forming unit 17 and the operation display unit 18 perform processing according to the protocol. That is, in the management table shown in FIG. 4, for example, the activation target component device “operation display unit 18” is further described in association with the port number “515” and the protocol name “LPD”. Therefore, in steps S6 and S7 of FIG. 5 described above, when the port number “515” is designated by the received TCPSYN packet data, the communication control unit 14 designates the operation display unit 18 together with the image forming unit 17. Output power control signal and start in normal mode.
As described above, if a component device is described in association with a port number and a protocol name in the management table, a component device other than the image forming unit 17 can also be designated as the activation target component device.
In the management table, the protocol name is used to identify each protocol. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any identifier that can identify the protocol may be used. In addition, although both the port number and the protocol name are described in the management table, either one can be associated with the activation target component device, so either the port number or the protocol name is described. You may do it.

In the above-described embodiment, the communication control unit 14 specifies the component device that is preferentially switched to the normal mode based on the port number specified by the TCP SYN packet data. The CPU 11 may specify the packet data after receiving the request. This is because, in the management table stored in the storage unit 143, the component device to be preferentially activated is determined according to the processing that can be assumed from the port number. This is because the number cannot be specified alone. For example, when the port number is “515”, the protocol name is LPD. Therefore, in the above-described embodiment, it is assumed that packet data including image data is sent to the image forming unit 17. However, when the contents (so-called output queue) sent to the image forming unit 17 are confirmed, processing is performed using the port corresponding to the port number “515”. In the former case, the image forming process cannot be performed unless the image forming unit 17 is in the normal mode. On the other hand, in the latter case, the information indicating this content is stored in a recording area such as the HDD 16, so the CPU 11 reads out the information stored in the HDD 16 and communicates without starting the image forming unit 17. The requested processing can be performed by transmitting via the control unit 14. Therefore, after the CPU 11 is activated in the normal mode, a necessary component device may be switched to the normal mode based on packet data including a request for more detailed processing.
For example, in the management table, when a plurality of startup target component devices are specified in association with a port number, a component device that is definitely determined to be necessary based on the port number and other component devices are It should be classified and described. Then, if the communication control unit 14 activates the component device such as the former and the CPU 11 activates the component device such as the latter, the unnecessary component device is not activated and more quickly than in the past. The requested process can be started.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of a communication control part. It is a figure which shows an example of the management table in which the port number, the protocol name, and the identification information of the starting target component device are described in association with each other. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating a processing flow of the image forming system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming system, 10 ... Image forming apparatus, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... Main memory, 13 ... Bus bridge, 14 ... Communication control part, 140 ... Communication I / F part, 141 ... Communication buffer, 142 ... Control part 143, storage unit, 15 power supply control unit, 16 HDD, 17 image forming unit, 170 image processing unit, 171 buffer for image processing, 172 printer output engine, 18 operation display unit, 19 PCI bus.

Claims (2)

Receiving means for receiving data via a network;
In any one of the first operation mode that operates while receiving a predetermined amount of power supply and the second operation mode that operates while receiving a smaller amount of power supply than the first operation mode, Arithmetic means for performing arithmetic processing according to the procedure described in the program;
In one of the first operation mode and the second operation mode, one or a plurality of processing means for performing predetermined processing in accordance with an instruction from the calculation means;
Storage means for storing a port number or a protocol identifier specified by the port number and identification information assigned to the processing means in association with each other;
When the operation mode in the calculation means and the processing means is the second operation mode, when the reception unit receives first data specifying the device as a data destination, the operation in the calculation means Switching of the mode from the second operation mode to the first operation mode is started, and after the start, when the second data designating the port number is received by the receiving means, the second data The identification information stored in the storage means in association with the port number specified by the port number or the protocol identifier specified by the port number is specified, and the operation mode of the processing means to which the identification information is assigned. switching from the second operation mode to the first mode of operation, the first operation mode in the operation means And a switching means for starting before the switching to the operation mode is completed,
In the storage means, when the identification information is not associated with the port number specified by the second data or the protocol identifier specified by the port number, the first of the operation modes in the calculation means An information processing apparatus which starts switching the second operation mode to the first operation mode in the processing means after the switching to the first operation mode is completed . The processing means includes image forming means for forming an image represented by image data on a sheet,
When the second data specifying the port number corresponding to the image forming unit stored in the storage unit is received by the receiving unit, the switching unit changes the operation mode in the image forming unit to the second mode. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation mode is switched from the operation mode to the first operation mode.

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