JP7424136B2 - Information processing device and information processing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method that perform information processing.

Information processing devices are often provided with a sleep mode that consumes less power than a normal mode. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus that switches from a power saving mode to a normal mode based on a protocol requested by an information terminal device.

JP2012-179788A

The information processing device switches from sleep mode to normal mode when a received network packet satisfies a determination condition in sleep mode. For example, the number of such determination conditions is limited due to memory capacity constraints. Even in such cases, it is desired to effectively reduce power consumption.

It is desirable to provide an information processing device and an information processing method that can effectively reduce power consumption.

A first information processing device in an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication section, a determination section, a power mode setting section, a setting section, and a registration section. The communication unit is configured to receive communication packets. The determination unit is configured to determine whether the communication packet received by the communication unit in the first power mode and the second power mode, which has lower power consumption than the first power mode, is included in the determination condition information. is configured to determine whether at least one of a plurality of determination conditions is met. The power mode setting section is configured to shift the power mode from the second power mode to the first power mode based on the determination result of the determination section. The setting unit is configured to enable or disable a first communication protocol supported by the communication unit. The registration unit is configured to exclude a first determination condition for determining a communication packet communicated by the first communication protocol from the plurality of determination conditions when the first communication protocol is set to be disabled. A plurality of judgment conditions are registered in the judgment condition information. The registration unit registers a plurality of determination conditions other than the first determination condition in the determination condition information when the first communication protocol is set to be disabled. The determination condition information can include a predetermined number of determination conditions. The setting section enables or disables the second communication protocol supported by the communication section. When the second communication protocol is set to be valid, the registration unit includes the first determination condition, and when the first communication protocol is set to be valid, the registration unit includes the first determination condition and determines whether communication is performed using the second communication protocol. Multiple judgment conditions other than the second judgment condition for communication packets are registered, and when the first communication protocol is set to invalid, the judgment conditions including the second judgment condition and other than the first judgment condition are registered. Register multiple judgment conditions.
A second information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication section, a determination section, a power mode setting section, a setting section, and a registration section. The communication unit is configured to receive communication packets. The determination unit is configured to determine whether the communication packet received by the communication unit in the first power mode and the second power mode, which has lower power consumption than the first power mode, is included in the determination condition information. is configured to determine whether at least one of a plurality of determination conditions is met. The power mode setting section is configured to shift the power mode from the second power mode to the first power mode based on the determination result of the determination section. The setting unit is configured to enable or disable a first communication protocol supported by the communication unit. The registration unit is configured to exclude a first determination condition for determining a communication packet communicated by the first communication protocol from the plurality of determination conditions when the first communication protocol is set to be disabled. A plurality of judgment conditions are registered in the judgment condition information. The registration unit registers a plurality of determination conditions when the power mode shifts from the first power mode to the second power mode.
A third information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication section, a determination section, a power mode setting section, a setting section, a registration section, a display processing section, and an input processing section. There is. The communication unit is configured to receive communication packets. The determination unit is configured to determine whether the communication packet received by the communication unit in the first power mode and the second power mode, which has lower power consumption than the first power mode, is included in the determination condition information. is configured to determine whether at least one of a plurality of determination conditions is met. The power mode setting section is configured to shift the power mode from the second power mode to the first power mode based on the determination result of the determination section. The setting unit is configured to enable or disable a first communication protocol supported by the communication unit. The registration unit is configured to exclude a first determination condition for determining a communication packet communicated by the first communication protocol from the plurality of determination conditions when the first communication protocol is set to be disabled. A plurality of judgment conditions are registered in the judgment condition information. The input processing unit is configured to accept user operations. The display processing section performs display processing to display two or more judgment conditions including a plurality of judgment conditions other than the first judgment condition, and the input processing section receives a condition selection operation for the two or more judgment conditions, and the input processing section receives a condition selection operation for the two or more judgment conditions. registers a plurality of judgment conditions selected by the condition selection operation.

According to the first information processing device, the second information processing device, and the third information processing device in one embodiment of the present invention, power consumption can be effectively reduced.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of condition data shown in FIG. 1; 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the determination table shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of another determination table shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen that accepts a selection operation of a determination table. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen that accepts a communication protocol selection operation. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is another explanatory diagram showing an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is another explanatory diagram showing an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is another explanatory diagram showing an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is another explanatory diagram showing an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is another flowchart showing an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a setting screen that accepts an operation for selecting a determination condition to be registered in an image forming apparatus according to a modification. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a determination table according to another modification. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a setting screen that accepts an operation for setting a determination condition to be valid or invalid in an image forming apparatus according to another modification.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[Configuration example]
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of an information processing apparatus (image forming apparatus 1) according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that since the information processing method according to the embodiment of the present invention is embodied by this embodiment, it will also be described.

The image forming apparatus 1 is a printer that forms an image on a recording medium such as paper. Image forming apparatus 1 has two power modes M (normal mode M1 and sleep mode M2). The normal mode M1 is a mode in which the image forming apparatus 1 performs an image forming operation of forming an image on a recording medium based on print data, for example. Sleep mode M2 is a mode in which power consumption can be kept lower than in normal mode M1, for example, when no image forming operation is performed. For example, the image forming apparatus 1 shifts the power mode M from the normal mode M1 to the sleep mode M2 when a predetermined time has elapsed after performing an image forming operation in the normal mode M1. Further, as will be described later, when the image forming apparatus 1 receives a predetermined network packet P that satisfies the determination condition in the sleep mode M2, the image forming apparatus 1 shifts the power mode M from the sleep mode M2 to the normal mode M1. There is.

The image forming apparatus 1 includes a power supply section 9, a wireless communication module 10, and a processing section 20.

The power supply unit 9 is configured to generate various DC power supply voltages based on, for example, AC power supplied from a system power supply, and to supply the generated power supply voltages to the wireless communication module 10 and the processing unit 20.

The wireless communication module 10 is configured to communicate with network devices using a wireless LAN (Local Area Network). The wireless communication module 10 is capable of communicating based on the power supply voltage supplied from the power supply section 9 in both the normal mode M1 and the sleep mode M2. The wireless communication module 10 includes a network communication section 11, a determination table storage section 12, and a packet processing section 13.

The network communication unit 11 is configured to exchange network packets P with network devices using a wireless LAN. In this example, the network communication section 11 is connected to the personal computer 100 via the network NET.

The determination table storage unit 12 is configured to store a determination table T. The determination table T includes determination conditions for the network packet P such that when the network communication unit 11 receives the network packet P in the sleep mode M2, the power mode M of the image forming apparatus 1 is shifted from the sleep mode M2 to the normal mode M1. Contains information about. In this example, the determination table T can include nine or fewer determination conditions. The determination table storage unit 12 is configured using, for example, a volatile semiconductor memory, and for example, the determination table T is registered by the processing unit 20 when the power mode M shifts from the normal mode M1 to the sleep mode M2. It looks like this.

The packet processing unit 13 is configured to supply received data included in the network packet P received by the network communication unit 11 to the processing unit 20 when the power mode M is the normal mode M1. Furthermore, when the network communication unit 11 receives a network packet P when the power mode M is the sleep mode M2, the packet processing unit 13 stores the network packet P in the determination table storage unit 12. It is checked whether at least one of the plurality of determination conditions included in the determination table T is met. Then, when the network packet P satisfies at least one of the plurality of determination conditions, the packet processing unit 13 generates a return command CMD that instructs the transition from the sleep mode M2 to the normal mode M1. A return command CMD is supplied to the power mode setting unit 21 (described later) of the processing unit 20. Then, after the processing unit 20 starts operating, the packet processing unit 13 supplies the received data included in the network packet P to the processing unit 20. Further, the packet processing unit 13 is configured to discard the network packet P when the network packet P does not meet any of the plurality of determination conditions.

The packet processing unit 13 also generates a network packet P based on the transmission data supplied from the processing unit 20 and supplies the generated network packet P to the network communication unit 11.

The processing unit 20 is configured to perform processing based on the network packet P received by the wireless communication module 10. The processing section 20 includes a power mode setting section 21 , an operation section 22 , a display section 23 , an image forming section 24 , a storage section 25 , and a control section 30 .

Power mode setting section 21 is configured to set power mode M in image forming apparatus 1 . In the normal mode M1, the power mode setting unit 21 supplies the power supply voltage supplied from the power supply unit 9 to each block of the processing unit 20. Furthermore, in the sleep mode M2, the power mode setting unit 21 stops supplying the power supply voltage supplied from the power supply unit 9 to each block of the processing unit 20. For example, the power mode setting unit 21 shifts the power mode M from the normal mode M1 to the sleep mode M2 when a predetermined time has elapsed after the image forming apparatus 1 performed an image forming operation in the normal mode M1. Further, the power mode setting unit 21 is configured to shift the power mode M from the sleep mode M2 to the normal mode M1 when a return command CMD is supplied from the wireless communication module 10.

The operation unit 22 is configured to accept user operations. The operation unit 22 is configured using, for example, various buttons, a touch panel, and the like.

The display unit 23 is configured to display the operating status of the image forming apparatus 1 and the like. The display unit 23 is configured using, for example, a liquid crystal display, various indicators, and the like.

The image forming unit 24 is configured to perform an image forming operation of forming an image on a recording medium such as paper based on an instruction from the control unit 30 when the image forming apparatus 1 receives print data.

The storage unit 25 is a nonvolatile storage unit, and is configured to store, for example, firmware and various setting information. The storage unit 25 is configured using, for example, a semiconductor memory. The storage unit 25 stores device setting data D1 and condition data D2.

The device setting data D1 includes various setting information for the image forming apparatus 1. Specifically, the device setting data D1 includes, for example, setting information about the image forming section 24, setting information about the wireless communication module 10, such as a communication protocol, and a determination table T.

The condition data D2 includes information about the determination conditions registered in the determination table storage section 12. This condition data D2 is used when the table registration unit 34 (described later) of the control unit 30 registers the determination table T in the determination table storage unit 12.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the condition data D2. Condition data D2 includes a plurality of determination conditions. Further, the condition data D2 includes information indicating which of two predetermined determination tables T (determination tables T1, T2) each of the plurality of determination conditions should be included in. The determination table T1 is a determination table that is desired to be used when the network NET to which the image forming apparatus 1 is connected is a network where mainly IPv4 (Internet Protocol Version 4) network packets P are exchanged. be. The determination table T2 is a determination table that is desired to be used when the network NET to which the image forming apparatus 1 is connected is a network where mainly IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) network packets P are exchanged. be. For example, the judgment conditions marked with "〇" in the "T1" column are the judgment conditions that should be included in the judgment table T1, and the judgment conditions marked with "〇" in the "T2" column are the judgment conditions that should be included in the judgment table T1. This is a judgment condition that should be included in the judgment table T2.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the determination table T1. FIG. 4 shows an example of the determination table T2. Each of the determination tables T1 and T2 includes nine determination conditions in this example.

In the determination table T1 (FIG. 3), for example, the determination conditions for the service “IPv4” are that the protocol type is IPv4 and the destination MAC (Media Access Control) address is the MAC address of the image forming apparatus 1. The determination conditions for the service “IPv6” are that the protocol type is IPv6 and the destination MAC address is the MAC address of the image forming apparatus 1. The criterion for the service “802.1X” is that the protocol type is 802.1X. There are two criteria for determining the service "Bonjour". The first judgment condition for the service "Bonjour" is that the protocol type is IPv4, the protocol type is UDP (User Datagram Protocol), the destination port number is 5353, and the destination IP (Internet Protocol) address is 224.0. .0.1. This destination IP address is a multicast address. The second determination condition for the service "Bonjour" is that the protocol type is IPv6, the protocol type is UDP, the destination port number is 5353, and the destination IP address is [FF02::FB]. This destination IP address is a multicast address. The determination conditions for the service "SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)" are that the protocol type is IPv4, the protocol type is UDP, and the destination port number is 161. The determination conditions for the service “WindowsRally” are that the protocol type is IPv4, the protocol type is UDP, and the destination port number is 3702. The determination conditions for the service “NBT (NetBIOS over TCP/IP)” are that the protocol type is IPv4, the protocol type is UDP, and the NBNS data is the NetBIOS name of the image forming apparatus 1. Protocol ABC is, for example, a manufacturer-specific protocol developed by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus 1. The determination conditions for this service "protocol ABC" are that the protocol type is IPv4, the protocol type is UDP, and the destination port number is a predetermined number ("XXXX" in FIG. 3).

In this way, the determination conditions are set by combining the protocol type, destination MAC address, protocol type, destination port number, destination IP address, etc.

As described above, the determination table T1 is a determination table that is preferably used when the image forming apparatus 1 is connected to a network where mainly IPv4 network packets P are exchanged. , "Bonjour", the protocol type is IPv6. Furthermore, the two determination conditions for the service "Bonjour" include a determination condition related to IPv4 and a determination condition related to IPv6.

In the determination table T2 (FIG. 4), for example, the determination conditions for the services "IPv4", "IPv6", "802.1X", and "Bonjour" are the same as in the determination table T1 (FIG. 2). The judgment conditions for the services “SNMP”, “WindowsRally”, “NBT”, and “Protocol ABC” are the judgment conditions for the services “SNMP”, “WindowsRally”, “NBT”, and “Protocol ABC” in the judgment table T1 (Figure 3). , the protocol type was changed from IPv4 to IPv6.

As described above, the determination table T2 is a determination table that is preferably used when the image forming apparatus 1 is connected to a network where IPv6 network packets P are mainly exchanged. , "Bonjour", the protocol type includes a determination condition that the protocol type is IPv4.

The control unit 30 is configured to control the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 30 includes, for example, a processor capable of executing programs, a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. For example, when print data is supplied from the packet processing unit 13, the control unit 30 controls the operation of each block so that the image forming apparatus 1 performs an image forming operation. The control section 30 includes an input processing section 31 , a display processing section 32 , a device setting management section 33 , and a table registration section 34 .

The input processing unit 31 is configured to perform input processing to accept user operations on the operation unit 22 and user operations on the personal computer 100 that communicates with the image forming apparatus 1 .

The display processing unit 32 is configured to perform display processing to generate display information to be displayed on the display unit 23 or the display unit of the personal computer 100 that communicates with the image forming apparatus 1.

The device setting management section 33 is configured to manage various setting information in the image forming apparatus 1 using the device setting data D1 stored in the storage section 25.

The table registration unit 34 stores the determination table T in the wireless communication module 10 by registering a plurality of determination conditions included in the determination table T based on the device setting data D1 and using the condition data D2. 12.

With this configuration, the image forming apparatus 1 selects a plurality of judgment conditions registered in the judgment table storage section 12 based on the apparatus setting data D1. Thereby, the image forming apparatus 1 can effectively reduce power consumption. That is, when one determination table T is fixedly used, many determination conditions cannot be set due to, for example, memory capacity constraints. In such a case, it is difficult to cover all necessary services, so it is difficult to reduce power consumption. The image forming apparatus 1 selects a plurality of judgment conditions registered in the judgment table storage section 12 based on the apparatus setting data D1. As a result, in the image forming apparatus 1, as will be described later, for example, the plurality of determination conditions registered in the determination table T can be made not to include the determination conditions related to services that the user does not use. It is now possible to effectively reduce power consumption.

Here, the network communication section 11 corresponds to a specific example of a "communication section" in the present invention. The packet processing unit 13 and the determination table storage unit 12 correspond to a specific example of the “determination unit” in the present invention. The power mode setting section 21 corresponds to a specific example of the "power mode setting section" in the present invention. The device setting management section 33 corresponds to a specific example of a "setting section" in the present invention. The table registration unit 34 corresponds to a specific example of a “registration unit” in the present invention. The input processing section 31 corresponds to a specific example of an "input processing section" in the present invention. The display processing section 32 corresponds to a specific example of a "display processing section" in the present invention. The network packet P corresponds to a specific example of a "communication packet" in the present invention. The normal mode M1 corresponds to a specific example of a "first power mode" in the present invention. Sleep mode M2 corresponds to a specific example of a "second power mode" in the present invention. The determination table T corresponds to a specific example of "determination condition information" in the present invention.

[Operation and effect]
Next, the operation and effects of the image forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment will be explained.

(Overview of overall operation)
First, an overview of the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be explained with reference to FIG. The power supply section 9 generates various DC power supply voltages based on, for example, AC power supplied from a system power supply, and supplies the generated power supply voltages to the wireless communication module 10 and the processing section 20 . The wireless communication module 10 communicates with network devices using a wireless LAN. The processing unit 20 performs processing based on the network packet P received by the wireless communication module 10. For example, when the wireless communication module 10 receives a network packet P containing print data, the processing unit 20 forms an image on a recording medium such as paper according to the print data. Further, for example, when the wireless communication module 10 receives a network packet P including an IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) device information acquisition command, the processing unit 20 performs processing to return a response corresponding to the command. The power mode setting unit 21 of the processing unit 20 sets the power mode M in the image forming apparatus 1. In the normal mode M1, the power mode setting unit 21 supplies the power supply voltage supplied from the power supply unit 9 to each block of the processing unit 20. Furthermore, in the sleep mode M2, the power mode setting unit 21 stops supplying the power supply voltage supplied from the power supply unit 9 to each block of the processing unit 20.

(Detailed operation)
The image forming apparatus 1 first sets, based on a user operation, whether the network NET to which the image forming apparatus 1 is connected is the network through which network packets P, IPv4 or IPv6, are mainly exchanged.

For example, when a user operates the operation unit 22, the input processing unit 31 of the control unit 30 accepts the user operation, and the display processing unit 32 performs a process to configure the image forming apparatus 1 based on the user operation. Menu screen information is generated, and the display unit 23 displays the menu screen based on this menu screen information. The user operates the operation unit 22 while looking at the displayed menu screen, and the input processing unit 31 accepts the user operation. Then, the display processing unit 32 generates setting screen information regarding the determination table T, and the display unit 23 displays the setting screen A1 based on this setting screen information.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the setting screen A1. This setting screen A1 includes a radio button B1, an OK button B2, and a cancel button B3. The radio button B1 is a button for the user to select which of IPv4 communication and IPv6 communication is frequently performed in the network NET to which the image forming apparatus 1 is connected. Radio button B1 includes two radio buttons, and one of the two radio buttons is selected by the user. When IPv4 communication is frequently performed, the radio button associated with "Type 1" is operated, and when IPv6 communication is frequently performed, the radio button associated with "Type 2" is operated. The OK button B2 is a button operated by the user when applying the settings on the setting screen A1. The cancel button B3 is a button operated by the user when canceling the settings on the setting screen A1.

The input processing unit 31 receives a user's selection operation on the setting screen A1. Then, the device setting management section 33 updates the device setting data D1 based on the selection operation. Specifically, in the radio button B1, when the user selects the radio button related to "Type 1", since IPv4 communication is often performed in the network NET, the device setting management unit 33 determines that the determination table T1 is selected. The information indicating that this has been done is set in the device setting data D1. In addition, when the user selects the radio button related to "Type 2", since IPv6 communication is often performed in the network NET, the device setting management unit 33 transmits information that the determination table T2 has been selected to the device. Set in the setting data D1.

In this example, the user operates the operation unit 22, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the user may operate the operation unit of the personal computer 100 that communicates with the image forming apparatus 1. In this example, when a user operates the operation unit of the personal computer 100, the input processing unit 31 of the image forming apparatus 1 receives the user's operation via the wireless communication module 10. Then, the display processing unit 32 generates setting screen information regarding the determination table T, and the wireless communication module 10 transmits the setting screen information to the personal computer 100. The display unit of the personal computer 100 displays a setting screen as shown in FIG. 5 based on this setting screen information. When the user performs a selection operation on the setting screen, the input processing unit 31 of the image forming apparatus 1 accepts the selection operation from the user. Then, the device setting management section 33 updates the device setting data D1 based on the selection operation.

The image forming apparatus 1 also sets whether to enable or disable each of the plurality of communication protocols based on user operations.

For example, when a user operates the operation unit 22, the input processing unit 31 of the control unit 30 accepts the user operation, and the display processing unit 32 performs a process to configure the image forming apparatus 1 based on the user operation. Menu screen information is generated, and the display unit 23 displays the menu screen based on this menu screen information. The user operates the operation unit 22 while looking at the displayed menu screen, and the input processing unit 31 accepts the user operation. Then, the display processing unit 32 generates setting screen information regarding the communication protocol, and the display unit 23 displays the setting screen A2 based on this setting screen information.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the setting screen A2. This setting screen A2 includes radio buttons B4 to B8, an OK button B9, and a cancel button B10. Each of the radio buttons B4 to B8 includes two radio buttons. The radio button B4 is a button operated by the user when setting the communication protocol of the service "Bonjour" to either valid or invalid. The radio button B5 is a button operated by the user when setting the communication protocol of the service "SNMP" to either valid or invalid. The radio button B6 is a button operated by the user when setting the communication protocol of the service "WindowsRally" to either valid or invalid. The radio button B7 is a button operated by the user when setting the communication protocol of the service "NBT" to either valid or invalid. The radio button B8 is a button operated by the user when setting the communication protocol of the service "protocol ABC" to either valid or invalid. The OK button B9 is a button operated by the user when applying the settings on the setting screen A2. The cancel button B10 is a button operated by the user when canceling the settings on this setting screen A2.

The input processing unit 31 receives the user's selection operation on the setting screen A2. Then, the device setting management section 33 updates the device setting data D1 based on the selection operation. Specifically, in the radio button B4, when the user selects the radio button related to "valid", the device setting management unit 33 adds information indicating that the communication protocol of the service "Bonjour" is valid to the device settings. If the user selects the radio button related to “invalid”, the device setting management unit 33 sets information indicating that the communication protocol of the service “Bonjour” is invalid in the device setting data D1. do. The same applies to radio buttons B5 to B8.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 6, settings for multiple communication protocols can be performed all at once on one setting screen A2, but the invention is not limited to this. , settings for these plurality of communication protocols may be performed, for example, on a plurality of setting screens.

Further, in this example, each of the plurality of communication protocols is directly set to be enabled or disabled, but the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, for example, each of a plurality of communication protocols may be indirectly set to be enabled or disabled. Specifically, for example, enabling a feature will enable one or more communication protocols related to that feature, and disabling that feature will disable one or more communication protocols related to that feature. You may also make it so that

From then on, when the power mode M of the image forming apparatus 1 transitions from the normal mode M1 to the sleep mode M2, the table registration unit 34 uses the device setting data D1 and the condition data D2 stored in the storage unit 25 to Then, the determination table T is registered in the determination table storage section 12 of the wireless communication module 10.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the registration operation of the determination table T in the image forming apparatus 1.

First, the table registration unit 34 checks whether the power mode setting unit 21 has determined the transition from the normal mode M1 to the sleep mode M2 (step S101). For example, the power mode setting unit 21 determines the transition from the normal mode M1 to the sleep mode M2 when a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the image forming apparatus 1 performed an image forming operation in the normal mode M1. If the power mode setting unit 21 has not determined whether to shift to sleep mode M2 (“N” in step S101), this step S101 is repeated until it determines whether to shift to sleep mode M2.

When the power mode setting unit 21 determines to shift to the sleep mode M2 (“Y” in step S101), the table registration unit 34 makes the determination based on the device setting data D1 stored in the storage unit 25. The user settings for table T and communication protocol are confirmed (step S102). Specifically, the table registration unit 34 provides information about which of the determination tables T1 and T2 is selected on the setting screen A1 (FIG. 5), and information about the service "Bonjour" on the setting screen A2 (FIG. 6). , "SNMP", "WindowsRally", "NBT", and "Protocol ABC" are each checked as to whether they are enabled or disabled.

Next, the table registration unit 34 registers essential determination conditions in the determination table T (step S103), and registers determination conditions for valid communication protocols in the determination table T (step S104). Then, the table registration unit 34 checks whether there is any space in the determination table T (step S105). If there is no vacancy (“N” in step S105), the process advances to step S107. Further, if there is a vacancy (“Y” in step S105), the table registration unit 34 selects a determination condition to be added according to the vacancy status, registers the selected determination condition in the determination table T ( Step S106), proceed to step S107.

Below, on the setting screen A1 (Fig. 5), the judgment table T1 (Type 1) is selected, and on the setting screen A2 (Fig. 6), the services "Bonjour", "SNMP", and "Protocol ABC" are enabled. The processing of steps S103 to S106 in this case will be described in detail.

FIG. 8 shows an example of information regarding the selected determination table T1 and communication protocol settings. In this example, the services "Bonjour", "SNMP", and "Protocol ABC" are set to be valid, and the services "WindowsRally" and "NBT" are set to be disabled.

In this example, the services "IPv4", "IPv6", and "802.1X" are essential communication protocols in the image forming apparatus 1, and the user cannot disable these three services. Therefore, the table registration unit 34 registers the judgment conditions of these services as essential judgment conditions in the judgment table T (step S103). As a result, three determination conditions are registered in the determination table T, as shown in FIG.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 8, the services "Bonjour", "SNMP", and "Protocol ABC" are set to be valid. Therefore, the table registration unit 34 registers the determination conditions for these services in the determination table T (step S104). As a result, seven determination conditions are registered in the determination table T, as shown in FIG.

In this example, the determination table T can include nine or less determination conditions, but in FIG. 10, it includes seven determination conditions. Therefore, since there is space in the determination table T (“Y” in step S105), the table registration unit 34 selects two determination conditions to be added to the determination table T (step S106). In this example, the table registration unit 34 selects two judgment conditions to be added to the judgment table T from a plurality of judgment conditions included in the judgment table T2 that was not selected.

FIG. 11 shows an example of information regarding the determination table T2 and communication protocol settings. In this example, as in FIG. 8, the services "Bonjour", "SNMP", and "Protocol ABC" are set to be valid, and the services "WindowsRally" and "NBT" are set to be disabled.

The determination conditions for the services "IPv4", "IPv6", "802.1X", and "Bonjour" in the determination table T2 are the same as those in the determination table T1. Furthermore, the services “SNMP” and “WindowsRally” are set to be disabled. Therefore, the table registration unit 34 selects the determination conditions for the services "SNMP" and "Protocol ABC" as determination conditions to be added, and registers these determination conditions in the determination table T. As a result, nine determination conditions are registered in the determination table T, as shown in FIG.

In this way, the table registration unit 34 registers a plurality of determination conditions in the determination table T.

Then, the power mode setting unit 21 shifts the power mode M from the normal mode M1 to the sleep mode M2 (step S107).

With this, this flow ends.

In this way, the determination table T is registered in the determination table storage unit 12 of the wireless communication module 10. From this point on, when the image forming apparatus 1 receives a network packet P when the power mode M is the sleep mode M2, the image forming apparatus 1 detects that the network packet P is one of the plurality of Check whether at least one of the judgment conditions is met. Then, when the network packet P satisfies at least one of the plurality of determination conditions, the image forming apparatus 1 shifts the power mode M from the sleep mode M2 to the normal mode M1. This operation will be explained in detail below.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus 1.

First, the packet processing unit 13 checks whether the power mode M is the sleep mode M2 (step S111). If power mode M is normal mode M1, this flow ends.

In step S111, if the power mode M is the sleep mode M2 (“Y” in step S111), the packet processing unit 13 checks whether the network communication unit 11 has received the network packet P (step S112). ). If the network packet P has not been received yet (“N” in step S112), the process returns to step S111 and the power mode M becomes the normal mode M1 or the network communication unit 11 receives the network packet P. The processes of steps S111 and S112 are repeated until the process is completed.

When the network communication unit 11 receives the network packet P in step S112 (“Y” in step S112), the packet processing unit 13 registers the network packet P received in step S112 in the determination table storage unit 12. It is checked whether at least one of the plurality of determination conditions included in the determined determination table T is met (step S113). For example, when the determination table T shown in FIG. 12 is registered in the determination table storage unit 12, the protocol type of the received network packet P is IPv4, the protocol type is UDP, and the destination port number is 5353. If the destination IP address is 224.0.0.1, the packet processing unit 13 determines that this network packet P corresponds to at least one of the plurality of determination conditions. Further, for example, if the protocol type of the received network packet P is IPv4, the protocol type is UDP, the destination port number is 3702, and the destination MAC address is not the MAC address of the image forming apparatus 1, the packet The processing unit 13 determines that this network packet P does not meet any of the plurality of determination conditions.

In step S113, if the network packet P corresponds to at least one of the plurality of determination conditions (“Y” in step S113), the image forming apparatus 1 changes the power mode M from the sleep mode M2 to the normal mode. It returns to M1 (step S114). Specifically, the packet processing unit 13 generates a return command CMD that instructs a transition from sleep mode M2 to normal mode M1. Then, the power mode setting unit 21 shifts the power mode M of the image forming apparatus 1 from the sleep mode M2 to the normal mode M1 based on this return command CMD. As a result, the processing unit 20 starts operating.

Then, the image forming apparatus 1 performs processing according to the network packet P received in step S112 (step S115). Specifically, the packet processing unit 13 supplies the received data included in the network packet P to the processing unit 20 after the processing unit 20 starts operating. The control unit 30 of the processing unit 20 performs processing corresponding to the network packet P based on this received data. Then, this flow ends.

In step S113, if the network packet P does not meet any of the plurality of determination conditions (“N” in step S113), the image forming apparatus 1 discards the network packet P received in step S112. (Step S116). That is, the image forming apparatus 1 discards the network packet P.

With this, this flow ends.

In this way, in the image forming apparatus 1, when a certain communication protocol is set to be disabled, the judgment condition for judging the network packet P communicated by this communication protocol is excluded from the plurality of judgment conditions. Multiple judgment conditions are registered in the judgment table T. With this, for example, when the user disables a communication protocol related to a service that the user does not use in the device settings, the determination condition related to this communication protocol can be excluded. Specifically, for example, in the examples shown in FIGS. 8 and 12, the judgment conditions for the services "WindowsRally" and "NBT" which are set to be disabled as shown in FIG. 8 are not registered in the judgment table T shown in FIG. 12. You can do it like this. Therefore, for example, when a network packet P for a service that the user uses is received, the normal mode M1 is returned from the sleep mode M2, and when a network packet P for a service that the user does not use is received, the sleep mode M2 is returned. can be maintained. In this way, in the image forming apparatus 1, the determination conditions can be registered based on the device settings of the image forming apparatus 1, so that power consumption can be effectively reduced.

That is, for example, if a judgment condition related to a service that the user does not use is registered in the judgment table T, when a network packet P related to such a service is received, even though the service is not used by the user, First, the power mode M returns from the sleep mode M2 to the normal mode M1. In that case, power consumption cannot be effectively reduced. On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus 1, since the determination condition related to a service that is not used by the user is excluded, when the network packet P related to such a service is received, the power mode M is maintained in the sleep mode M2. Power consumption can be effectively reduced.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, in the image forming apparatus 1, when there is a vacant space in the determination table T, a determination condition to be added is selected according to the vacant status, and the selected determination condition is added to the determination table T. Since the registration is made, it is possible to secure an opportunity to return from the sleep mode M2 to the normal mode M1. Specifically, for example, when a certain communication protocol is set to be disabled, one space is created in the determination table T, so the table registration unit 34 is configured to, for example, select another communication protocol that is set to be enabled. It is possible to select the judgment condition related to the above as the judgment condition to be added and register the selected judgment condition in the judgment table T. That is, since the judgment conditions registered in the judgment table T are replenished without being reduced, an opportunity to return from the sleep mode M2 to the normal mode M1 is secured when a network packet P for a service used by the user is received. be able to.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 1, if the network packet P received in the sleep mode M2 corresponds to at least one of the plurality of determination conditions, the power mode M is returned from the sleep mode M2 to the normal mode M1. After that, the network packet P is processed according to the network packet P, and if it does not meet any of the multiple judgment conditions, the network packet P is discarded. Since the processing can be performed, processing according to the network packet P can be performed effectively.

[effect]
As described above, in this embodiment, when a certain communication protocol is set to be disabled, the judgment condition for judging network packets communicated by this communication protocol is excluded from the plurality of judgment conditions. Since a plurality of determination conditions are registered in the table, power consumption can be effectively reduced.

[Modification 1]
In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the table registration unit 34 determines the determination conditions to be set in the determination table T, but the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, the user may be able to customize the judgment conditions to be registered, as shown in the setting screen A3 shown in FIG. 14, for example. This setting screen A3 includes a check box B11, an OK button B12, and a cancel button B13. Checkbox B11 includes 13 checkboxes. These 13 check boxes are for the user to select which judgment condition to register out of the 13 judgment conditions. These 13 determination conditions are the 13 determination conditions stored in the condition data D2 (FIG. 2). In this example, the user can select up to 9 of the 13 checkboxes. The OK button B12 is a button operated by the user when applying the settings on this setting screen A3. The cancel button B13 is a button operated by the user when canceling the settings on this setting screen A3.

The display processing unit 32 generates setting screen information regarding such setting screen A3. In this example, the descriptions of the nine judgment conditions registered through the process shown in FIG. 7 are highlighted and displayed in bold. The user selects the determination condition to be registered by operating the check box B11 using the operation unit 22, for example. The input processing unit 31 accepts a condition selection operation by the user on this setting screen A3. Then, the table registration section 34 registers the judgment conditions selected in this way as a judgment table T in the judgment table storage section 12.

[Modification 2]
In the above embodiment, the determination table T registered in the determination table storage unit 12 includes nine determination conditions, but is not limited to this. For example, each of the nine determination conditions It may also include flag information indicating validity or invalidity. FIG. 15 shows an example of the determination table T according to this modification. In this example, the determination table T includes nine determination conditions and nine flags. The nine flags are respectively associated with nine determination conditions. Each of the nine flags indicates whether the corresponding determination condition is valid or invalid. In this example, "1" indicates valid and "0" indicates invalid. In this example, the judgment conditions for services "IPv4", "IPv6", "Bonjour", "SNMP", and "Protocol ABC" are set to "valid", and the judgment conditions for service "802.1X" are set to "disable". It is set. In this example, the packet processing unit 13 determines whether the network packet P meets at least one of the eight determination conditions set to “valid” included in such a determination table T stored in the determination table storage unit 12. If applicable, a return command CMD instructing a transition from sleep mode M2 to normal mode M1 is generated. Here, the flag corresponds to a specific example of "invalidity information" in the present invention.

The user can enable or disable each of the nine judgment conditions in the judgment table T registered in the judgment table storage section 12, for example, using the setting screen A4 shown in FIG. This setting screen A4 includes a check box B14, an OK button B15, and a cancel button B16. Checkbox B14 includes nine checkboxes. The nine check boxes are for the user to select which of the nine determination conditions is to be "enabled." The OK button B15 is a button operated by the user when applying the settings on this setting screen A4. The cancel button B16 is a button operated by the user when canceling the settings on this setting screen A4.

The display processing unit 32 generates setting screen information regarding such setting screen A4. In this example, descriptions of nine determination conditions set by the process shown in FIG. 7 are displayed. The user selects the determination condition to be "enabled" by operating the check box B14 using the operation unit 22, for example. In this example, the judgment conditions for services "IPv4", "IPv6", "Bonjour", "SNMP", and "Protocol ABC" are set to "valid", and the judgment conditions for service "802.1X" are set to "disable". Set. The input processing unit 31 accepts a selection operation by the user on this setting screen A4. Then, the table registration unit 34 registers these nine determination conditions and nine flags as a determination table T in the determination table storage unit 12. In this way, the determination table T shown in FIG. 15 is registered in the determination table storage unit 12.

In this example, the determination condition for validating or invalidating is specified based on nine flags, but the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, for example, a determination condition to be enabled or disabled may be specified based on information indicating a determination condition to be enabled. Further, the determination condition to be enabled or disabled may be specified based on information indicating the determination condition to be invalidated.

Although the present technology has been described above with reference to several embodiments and modifications, the present technology is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications are possible.

For example, in each of the embodiments described above, the image forming apparatus 1 includes the wireless communication module 10, but the image forming apparatus 1 is not limited to this. It may also include a communication module that performs communication using.

For example, in the above embodiments, the present technology is applied to a single-function printer, but the present technology is not limited to this. The present invention may be applied to a so-called multi-function peripheral (MFP) having a multi-function peripheral (MFP).

For example, in the embodiments described above, the present technology is applied to an image forming apparatus, but the present technology is not limited thereto, and can be applied to various information processing apparatuses that perform communication.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Image forming apparatus, 9... Power supply part, 10... Wireless communication module, 11... Network communication part, 12... Judgment table storage part, 13... Packet processing part, 20... Processing part, 21... Power mode setting part, 22... Operation section, 23...Display section, 24...Image forming section, 25...Storage section, 30...Control section, 31...Input processing section, 32...Display processing section, 33...Device setting management section, 34...Table registration section, 100 ...Personal computer, A1-A4...Setting screen, D1...Device setting data, D2...Condition data, M...Power mode, M1...Normal mode, M2...Sleep mode, NET...Network, P...Network packet, T, T1, T2...Judgment table.

Claims (11)

a communication unit that receives communication packets;
The communication packet received by the communication unit in the second power mode of the first power mode and the second power mode with lower power consumption than the first power mode is included in the determination condition information. a determination unit that determines whether at least one of the plurality of determination conditions is met;
a power mode setting unit that shifts the power mode from the second power mode to the first power mode based on the determination result of the determination unit;
a setting unit that enables or disables a first communication protocol supported by the communication unit;
When the first communication protocol is set to be disabled, the first judgment condition for the communication packet communicated by the first communication protocol is excluded from the plurality of judgment conditions. a registration unit that registers the plurality of judgment conditions in judgment condition information ;
The registration unit registers the plurality of determination conditions other than the first determination condition in the determination condition information when the first communication protocol is set to be disabled;
The judgment condition information may include a predetermined number of judgment conditions,
The setting unit enables or disables a second communication protocol supported by the communication unit,
When the second communication protocol is set to be valid, the registration unit:
When the first communication protocol is set to be valid, the plurality of conditions including the first judgment condition and other than the second judgment condition for the communication packet communicated by the second communication protocol. Register the judgment conditions,
When the first communication protocol is set to be disabled, registering the plurality of determination conditions including the second determination condition and other than the first determination condition.
Information processing device. When the first communication protocol is set to be disabled, the registration unit includes the plurality of determination conditions including the first determination condition, and an invalidation setting indicating that the first determination condition is to be invalidated. information in the judgment condition information,
The determination unit is configured such that the communication packet received by the communication unit in the second power mode meets at least one of a plurality of determination conditions other than the first determination condition among the plurality of determination conditions. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the information processing device determines whether the following applies. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the registration unit registers the plurality of determination conditions when the power mode shifts from the first power mode to the second power mode. A display processing unit;
further comprising an input processing unit that accepts user operations;
The display processing unit performs display processing to display two or more determination conditions including the plurality of determination conditions other than the first determination condition,
The input processing unit receives a condition selection operation for the two or more determination conditions,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the registration unit registers a plurality of determination conditions selected by the condition selection operation. It further includes an input processing unit that accepts user operations,
The input processing unit receives a selection operation for selecting one of the plurality of determination condition information,
The registration unit excludes the first judgment condition from the plurality of judgment conditions included in the judgment condition information selected by the selection operation when the first communication protocol is set to be disabled. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of determination conditions are registered in the determination condition information so that the determination condition information includes the determination conditions. It further includes a display processing section,
The display processing unit performs display processing to display options for packet types of the communication packets exchanged in a network connected to the communication unit,
The selection operation includes an operation of selecting the packet type.
The information processing device according to claim 5 . The plurality of judgment condition information includes first judgment condition information and second judgment condition information,
one or more judgment conditions among the first plurality of judgment conditions included in the first judgment condition information; and one or more judgment conditions among the second plurality of judgment conditions included in the second judgment condition information. Judgment conditions are equal to each other
The information processing device according to claim 6 . The plurality of judgment condition information includes first judgment condition information and second judgment condition information,
two or more judgment conditions among the first plurality of judgment conditions included in the first judgment condition information, and two or more judgment conditions among the second plurality of judgment conditions included in the second judgment condition information. The criteria are equal to each other,
A determination condition other than the two or more determination conditions among the first plurality of determination conditions is a determination condition related to a first packet type,
A determination condition other than the two or more determination conditions among the second plurality of determination conditions is a determination condition related to a second packet type,
The two or more judgment conditions include a judgment condition related to the first packet type and a judgment condition related to the second packet type.
The information processing device according to claim 7 . The communication service indicated by the judgment condition related to the first packet type included in the two or more judgment conditions is the same as the communication service indicated by the judgment condition related to the second packet type.
The information processing device according to claim 8 . a communication unit that receives communication packets;
The communication packet received by the communication unit in the second power mode of the first power mode and the second power mode with lower power consumption than the first power mode is included in the determination condition information. a determination unit that determines whether at least one of the plurality of determination conditions is met;
a power mode setting unit that shifts the power mode from the second power mode to the first power mode based on the determination result of the determination unit;
a setting unit that enables or disables a first communication protocol supported by the communication unit;
When the first communication protocol is set to be disabled, the first judgment condition for the communication packet communicated by the first communication protocol is excluded from the plurality of judgment conditions. a registration unit that registers the plurality of judgment conditions in judgment condition information;
Equipped with
The registration unit registers the plurality of determination conditions when the power mode shifts from the first power mode to the second power mode.
Information processing device. a communication unit that receives communication packets;
The communication packet received by the communication unit in the second power mode of the first power mode and the second power mode with lower power consumption than the first power mode is included in the determination condition information. a determination unit that determines whether at least one of the plurality of determination conditions is met;
a power mode setting unit that shifts the power mode from the second power mode to the first power mode based on the determination result of the determination unit;
a setting unit that enables or disables a first communication protocol supported by the communication unit;
When the first communication protocol is set to be disabled, the first judgment condition for the communication packet communicated by the first communication protocol is excluded from the plurality of judgment conditions. a registration unit that registers the plurality of judgment conditions in judgment condition information;
A display processing unit;
An input processing unit that accepts user operations;
Equipped with
The display processing unit performs display processing to display two or more determination conditions including the plurality of determination conditions other than the first determination condition,
The input processing unit receives a condition selection operation for the two or more determination conditions,
The registration unit registers a plurality of judgment conditions selected by the condition selection operation.
Information processing device.

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