JPH07214871A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To minimize power consumption at the time of non-use without printing operation in a printer for printing out based on external print information. CONSTITUTION:Operations of a print information input interface (first transmitting means) 5 for transmitting print information to a printing unit 9 and the unit 9 are controlled by a main power source (first control means) 10, and an operation of additional input interface (second transmitting means) 8 for transmitting its control information is controlled by a main power source controller (second control means) 11. The power source 10 is controlled by the controller 11, and only the controller 11 is energized while the operation of the unit 9 is not executed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer having a plurality of information transmission means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A printing apparatus does not need to be energized when processing printing information sent from an information processing apparatus connected to the printing apparatus, when it is not processing. However, in general, the power supply of the printing device is often controlled independently of the interruption of the power supply of the information processing device. This is because the conventional interface for sending print data from the information processing device to the printing device does not include a function for controlling the power supply of the printing device.

As a special example, the interface specifications are expanded to have a function of controlling the power supply of the printing apparatus, or the operating status of the information processing apparatus is estimated on the printing apparatus side.
In some cases, the power supply control circuit of the printing device waits for an instruction to turn on the power from the information processing device. Can't be cut after all.

[0004]

The conventional printing apparatus is configured as described above, and the power supply of the control circuit can be cut off even if the power supply is cut off when not in use for power saving. Therefore, even if the standby mode is set when not in use, the control device cannot actually be cut off, and there is a problem that power consumption of several watts is consumed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a printing apparatus capable of minimizing the power consumption when not in use.

[0006]

The printer of the present invention is constructed as follows.

(1) First transmitting means for transmitting print information, first control means for controlling transmission of the print information, and second transmitting means for transmitting control information of the printing section. And second control means for controlling the transmission of the control information, and the second control means controls the first control means.

(2) In the printing apparatus of the above (1), the second control means controls the connection and disconnection of the power source other than the second control means.

(3) In the printing apparatus of the above (2), the second control means is adapted to be supplied with electric power independently of the first control means.

(4) In the printing apparatus of (3) above, the second control means is adapted to be supplied with electric power from the battery.

[0011]

In the printing apparatus of the present invention, the first transmission means for transmitting the print information, the first control means for controlling the first transmission means, and the second control means for transmitting the control information of the printing section are provided. It has a transmission means and a second control means for controlling the second transmission means. When the second control means transmits, for example, a signal for requesting the connection / disconnection of the power source of the printing unit. , Turn on / off the power of the printing unit.

The power supply of the second control means has a power supply independent of the power supply of the first control means. For example, a battery is used as the power supply of the second control means to cut off the power supply of the printing section. At this time, the consumption of commercial power can be eliminated.

[0013]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a host computer that generates print data, and the data is sent to the printer 2 according to the present invention. At this time, the print data generated by the host computer 1 is
Is output via the print information output interface 3 attached to the. Here, the print data is usually handled as standard data represented by RS-232C and Centronics.

Reference numeral 4 is an interface cable, and the print data passed through the output interface 3 is input to the printer 2 through the interface cable 4. Reference numeral 5 denotes a print information input interface attached to the printer 2, and print data passing through the interface cable 4 is input to the print information input interface 5. Further, the interface 5 takes in the input print information into the printer 2, and the printer 2 prints based on the input print information.

Reference numeral 6 is a power supply control information output interface, and the power supply control information output from this interface includes the printer 2.
There are two power-on instructions and a power-off instruction. here,
The host computer 1 outputs a power-on instruction for the printer 2 prior to sending a print command to the printer 2, and the power-on instruction is the additional output interface 6
Is output to the printer 2. Here, the additional output interface 6 may have various modes, but in this embodiment, it is an infrared remote controller widely used for general electric equipment. Of course, the present invention does not limit the interface 6 to an infrared remote controller.

The infrared signal 7 including the power-on instruction command output from the additional output interface 6 is detected by the additional input interface 8 of the printer 2. The additional input interface 8 converts the infrared signal 7 into an electric signal and sends it to the inside of the printing device 2, and the power of the printing device 2 is turned on by this signal.

When the printing by the host computer 1 is completed and the host computer 1 judges that there is no problem even if the power of the printer 2 is turned off, the host computer 1 turns off the power to the printer 2. Output instructions. This power-off instruction is also transmitted to the printer 2 in the same manner as the above-mentioned power-on instruction, and the printer 2 is powered off. At this time, the power-off signal is output with a certain delay so that the power is turned off after the printing is actually finished, or a circuit is provided in the printer 2 so that the power is not turned off during printing. It goes without saying that it is added.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the printing device 2. In the figure, 9 is a printing unit of the printing apparatus 2, and this printing unit 9 includes almost all the circuits and mechanisms for receiving print information from the interface 5 and printing it on a sheet. Reference numeral 10 is a main power supply unit that supplies electric power to the printing unit 9, and the main power supply unit 10 is connected to a commercial power supply here.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a main power supply control unit for controlling the main power supply unit 10. The main power supply control unit 11 gives an instruction to turn on and off the power of the printer 2 sent from the host computer 1 by an additional input interface 8. And the main power supply unit 10 is controlled to be turned on and off according to the instruction.
Reference numeral 12 is a sub-power supply unit that is connected to a commercial power supply and supplies power to the main power supply control unit 11 and the additional input interface 8.
The sub power supply unit 12 is always energized, and the main power supply control unit 11 and the additional input interface 8 are also always energized regardless of the operating state of the printing apparatus 2.

The above-mentioned print information input interface 5 constitutes a first transmission means for transmitting the print information to the printing section 9, and the main power source section 10 controls the transmission of the print information and the printing operation. It constitutes the first control means.
Further, the additional input interface 8 constitutes second transmitting means for transmitting the control information of the printing section 9, and the main power source control section 11 constitutes second controlling means for controlling the transmission of the control information. ing. Then, the main power supply control section 11 which is the second control means controls the main power supply section 10 which is the first control means, but controls the connection and disconnection of the power supply to other than the main power supply control section 11. ing.

In the above configuration, when the host computer 1 gives a power-on instruction while the main power source of the printer 2 is turned off, the additional input interface 8 and the main power source controller 11 are in operation, so that power source is turned on. Follow the input instructions
The main power supply unit 10 is started up and the printing unit 9 is put into operation. Then, when the host computer 1 gives a power-off instruction, the main power supply control unit 11 confirms that the printing operation of the printing unit 9 is completed, and then disconnects the main power supply unit 10. For this reason,
It is possible to turn off the power of all circuits of the normal printing device 2. Here, the power consumption of the main power supply control unit 11 and the sub power supply unit 12 is very small compared to the power consumption of the printing unit 9 and the main power supply unit 10, and there is almost no problem.

As described above, when the printer 2 is not used, that is, when the printer 9 is not operating, it is sufficient to energize the main power supply controller 11 to minimize power consumption.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment described above, the sub power supply unit 1
2 is always energized, but from the viewpoint of security, it is desirable that the power supply be cut off when the sub power supply unit 12 is not used either. Therefore, in this embodiment, the sub power supply unit 12 is configured as shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 3, and the power supply of the sub power supply unit 12 is also cut off when not in use.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 21 is a plug for connecting to a commercial power source, and the commercial power source is shared with the main power source unit 10 although not shown in the drawing. Reference numeral 22 is a relay switch. The relay switch 22 has its opening / closing determined by a relay coil 23.
Is input to the DC constant voltage generation circuit 24 via. In the case of the present embodiment, the DC constant voltage generating circuit 24 is provided with two systems of output A25 and output B26. The output voltage of the output B26 is set to be slightly higher than that of the output A25.

The output A25 passes through the current limiting circuit 27 and charges the secondary battery 28 having a sufficient capacity. At this time, the current limiting circuit 27 is attached so as not to damage the secondary battery 28 by charging it. The output side of the current limiting circuit 27 is connected to the cathode of the diode 29,
The secondary battery 28 is connected to the anode of the diode 29. This is because the output of the secondary battery 28 is the current limiting circuit 2
This is to prevent backflow to 7. In addition, the secondary battery 28
The output side of is also connected to the anode of the diode 30.

On the other hand, the output B2 of the DC constant voltage generating circuit 24
6 is input to the anode of the diode 31. And
The cathodes of the diodes 29 and 30 are connected to each other, and the output 32 of the sub power supply unit 12 is taken out from this. Also,
The relay coil 23 is connected to the ground terminal 33 and the power supply control terminal 34.

In the sub power supply section 12 configured as described above, the control from the power supply control terminal 34 is controlled similarly to the main power supply control. That is, the host computer 1 shown in FIG. 1 is turned on by a power-on instruction to the printer 2. In this embodiment, the secondary battery 28 is charged when the commercial power source is turned on, and the secondary battery 28 is discharged when the commercial power source is turned off and taken out as an output of the sub power source unit 12. Be done.

As described above, the main power source control section 11 supplies electric power independently of the main power source section 10, and the sub power source section 12 is also provided.
By supplying power from the secondary battery 28 to the main power supply control unit 11, it is possible to further reduce power consumption when not in use.

(Embodiment 3) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, a plurality of printing devices are controlled. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the third embodiment. In the figure, 2a is a first printing device, 2
b is a second printing device, which is an interface cable 4
From the host computer 1 to these printers 2
The print information and the control information are sent to a and the printer 2b.

The same data as the above-mentioned print information is input to both printing devices 2a and 2b from the printing information input interfaces 5a and 5b through the interface cable 4, but the printing device which operates by the additional input interfaces 8a and 8b is selected. Here, if the power source activation code is set separately for each printer, the printers 2a and 2b can be selected by activating the power source.

Even with such a configuration, the same operational effects as those of the above-described respective embodiments can be obtained, and the power consumption when the printers 2a and 2b are not used can be minimized.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since each control means for controlling the transmission of the print information and the transmission of the control information is provided, and the control means for the control information controls the print information, the power consumption when not in use can be minimized. There is an effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the printing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Host Computer 2, 2a, 2b Printer 3 Print Information Output Interface 5, 5a Print Information Input Interface (First Transmission Means) 6 Power Control Information Output Interface 8, 8a Additional Input Interface (Second Transmission Means) 9 Printing Part 10 Main power supply part (first control means) 11 Main power supply control part (second control means) 28 Secondary battery

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A first transmission means for transmitting print information, a first control means for controlling the transmission of the print information, and a second transmission means for transmitting the control information of the printing section. And a second control unit for controlling the transmission of the control information, the second control unit controlling the first control unit. 2. The second control means controls the connection and disconnection of the power source other than the second control means.
The printing device described in 1. 3. The printer according to claim 2, wherein the second control means is supplied with electric power independently of the first control means. 4. The printer according to claim 3, wherein the second control means is supplied with power from a battery.