JPH07281852A - Power source control method and printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent unnecessary power consumption of a printer by variously setting conditions of transition to a power-saving mode and accurately placing the printer in the power-saving mode. CONSTITUTION:When a laser beam printer(LBP) 100 gets ready for printing by turning-on of a power supply source, time measurement is not started and a power source control part 11 is instructed to enter a print mode, which is changed into the power-saving mode. After the mode is entered, the input of print data to an input part 3 from an external device 2 or switch operation is performed, the power source control part 11 is instructed to shift to a print mode, and a print ready mode is entered. Then, the time measurement is started as usual and if the input of print data or switch operation is not performed for a certain time, the power-saving mode is entered. The LBP 100 also has a function for automatically entering the power-saving mode when the power source of the external device 2 is turned off and also automatically entering the print ready mode when the external device 2 is turned on.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus which receives a control code or a character code input from an external device and performs a printing operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printing apparatus such as a laser beam printer has been widely used as one of peripheral apparatuses connected to a host computer and the like.

In such a printing apparatus, when the printing process or the user's operation is not performed for a preset fixed time, the power consumption is saved. Then, only when the printing process or the user's operation is performed, the power saving state is restored to the normal printable state.

Further, in the conventional printing apparatus, the form for saving the power consumption is only a certain method. Further, when returning from the state of saving power consumption, the printing environment of the printer retains the environment before the transition to the state of saving power consumption.

[0005]

As described above, in the above-described conventional example, when the printing apparatus is powered on, if the printing operation is not performed for a certain period of time, the power saving mode is automatically set. The purpose was to eliminate unnecessary power consumption.

However, since the mechanism is such that the power saving mode is not entered until the fixed time set from the beginning, a small amount of wasted power is consumed. For example, conventional printers often do not print immediately after the power is turned on, and during that time, power is wasted.

Further, depending on the environment of use of the user of the printing apparatus, there are various conditions under which the printing operation is not performed and usage conditions in which the printing operation is not performed.

Further, after the printing apparatus is used, the printing apparatus is still powered on, but the connected external apparatus is powered off, that is, data is transmitted to the printing apparatus. Even if there is no possibility of coming in the near future, there was a case where useless power was consumed until a certain period of time passed and the power saving mode was entered. It is also common for users to turn off external devices and forget to turn off printing devices. Furthermore, the same thing can be considered when the external device has a function of saving power consumption.

As described above, in the conventional printing apparatus, when the host computer is turned off, or the power consumption saving mode is entered, the printing apparatus is left unusable in the near future. Even if the meaningless state continues, there is a problem that the power is continuously consumed until a preset fixed time elapses.

In addition, in the above-mentioned conventional example, since the conditions for entering and exiting the power consumption saving mode (time, operation, etc.) are set from the beginning, the power saving mode suitable for the user's use environment is set. Cannot be realized, resulting in wasted power consumption, and when returning to the printable mode, return to the printing environment setting value set before shifting to the power saving mode. Sisters,
There is a problem that a certain printing environment cannot be guaranteed.

Although the above description has been given by taking the printing apparatus as an example, the same problem occurs in other peripheral apparatuses connected to the host computer.

An object of the present invention is to provide a power supply control method and a printing apparatus which can save power consumption.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a power supply control method for a device used by connecting to an external device,
A mode determining step of determining whether the device is in a power consumption saving mode or an operable mode, and a mode continuation time determining step of determining whether or not the operable mode has continued for a predetermined time after the above operation is completed. An external condition detecting step of detecting the surrounding environment, an external condition judging step of judging that the surrounding environment value detected in the external condition detecting step is smaller than a certain value, a power state of the external device and / or
Alternatively, the external device monitoring step for monitoring the mode at regular intervals or constantly, and the power of the external device connected to the device in the external device monitoring step is turned off,
Alternatively, in the external device determination step of determining that the power saving mode is entered, and the mode continuation time determination step, the external condition determination step, or the external device determination step, it is determined that the operable mode has continued for a predetermined time. In this case, a mode switching step of switching the mode of the device is provided.

Further, according to the present invention, in a printing device which performs a printing operation based on input data from an external device, a power consumption saving means for saving power consumption of the printing device, and a power consumption saving by the power consumption saving means. The transition means for transitioning to the mode, the transition condition detection means for detecting the condition for transition to the power saving mode, and the information detected by the transition condition detecting means to determine whether or not to transition to the power saving mode. Transition condition determining means for determining, release means for releasing the power consumption saving mode, release condition detecting means for detecting a condition for releasing the power saving mode, and information detected by the release condition detecting means, And a cancellation condition determining means for determining whether or not to cancel the power consumption saving mode.

With the above configuration, when the external environment in which the device is placed or the condition of the external device connected to the device changes, or after the power of the device is turned on, the operation such as printing is performed. By shifting to the power saving mode at the same time as the possible mode, wasteful power consumption by the device is prevented.

In addition, by allowing the user of the device to set the conditions for shifting to the power consumption saving mode according to the use environment and frequency of use of the device, the energy saving measure desired by the user can be taken. Becomes

[0017]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of a laser beam printer (hereinafter referred to as LBP) to which the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, the LBP main body 100 inputs and stores character information (character code), form information, macro commands, etc. supplied from an external device (described later in FIG. 2) connected to the outside. At the same time, a corresponding character pattern, form pattern, or the like is created according to the information, and an image is formed on the recording paper, which is a recording medium.

The operation panel 101 is provided with switches for various operations, LEDs, a display, etc., and the control unit 1 analyzes the control of the entire LBP 100 and character information supplied from an external device. , Mainly converts the character information into a video signal having a corresponding character pattern and outputs the video signal to the laser driver 102.

The laser driver 102 is the semiconductor laser 1
This is a circuit for driving 03, and switches on / off the laser beam 104 emitted from the semiconductor laser 103 according to the input video signal. The laser beam 104 is swung in the left-right direction by the rotating polygon mirror and scans the electrostatic drum 106. As a result, an electrostatic latent image having a character pattern is formed on the electrostatic drum 106. The latent image is developed by the developing unit 107 arranged around the electrostatic drum 106 and then transferred to the recording paper. A cut sheet is used as the recording sheet, and the cut sheet recording sheet is LBP10.
It is stored in the paper cassette 108 mounted on 0, taken into the apparatus by the paper feed roller 109 and the conveyance rollers 110 and 111, and supplied to the electrostatic drum 106.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control system of the LBP shown in FIG.

In the figure, the external device 2 transmits print data and the like to the LBP main body 100. The power supply unit 8 is LBP
The necessary power is supplied to each part of the main body 100. The printing mechanism unit 9 executes recording on a recording medium (recording paper) based on the image data output from the control unit 1. The printing mechanism unit 9 in this embodiment employs the laser beam method as described above.

The storage device 11 is composed of a non-volatile memory (hard disk, floppy disk, etc.) that retains the stored contents even if power is not supplied.

The input interface 21 is an external device 2
More various data is input, and the CPU 22
The entire control unit 1 is controlled. Also, ROM2
3 stores various control programs executed by the CPU 22, character font patterns, etc., and the RAM 24 stores
It is used as a reception buffer for storing print data sent from the external device 2 and a work area required for the CPU 22 to execute the control program. The output interface 25 is an interface for outputting an output image to the printing mechanism unit 9. The device interface 26 includes a power supply unit 8, a display unit 9, a storage device 10,
Data communication between the CPU 22 and the switch 27 is executed. The above-mentioned various configurations in the control unit 1 are the system bus 31.
, And exchanges data with each other.

The processing operation of the control unit 1 embodying the present invention in the LBP 100 having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control functions realized by the control unit 1 in the printing apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG.

To briefly explain FIG. 3, the control unit 1, the external device 2, the printing mechanism unit 6, the display unit 9, the storage device 10, and the power supply unit 12 are common to those in FIG.

In the control unit 1, the input unit 3 for receiving the data, the print data analysis unit 4 for analyzing the input data to generate the output image in the bitmap format, and the print data analysis unit 4 for generating the output image. An output unit 5 for performing on / off control of the laser beam according to the output image,
A display control unit 8 that controls the display device 9 and a power supply control unit 11 that controls the power supply based on information from the input unit 3 and has a time measuring function. Further, cut paper or the like is used as the recording medium 7.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of a conventional LBP having a system configuration similar to that of this embodiment.

First, power is input to the LBP (S1
1) At the same time when the printable state is set, time measurement is started (S12). When print data is not input from the external device 2 to the input unit 3 or the switch 27 is not operated within a preset time (S13, S14), the power supply control unit 11 is instructed to change the print mode. (S15), the power supply controller 11 shifts to the power consumption saving mode (S16).

As described above, in the conventional example, even after the power is turned on and the printable state is set, the power saving mode is not entered unless a preset time has elapsed.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the operation in the LBP of this embodiment.

When the LBP is powered on (S21) and the printable state is reached, the time measurement is not started and a print mode shift command is issued to the power supply control unit 11 (S22) to set the print mode to the power saving mode. (S23). After this shift, print data is input from the external device 2 to the input unit 3 or the switch 27 is operated (S24), and a print mode shift command is issued to the power supply control unit 11 (S25). , And shifts to the printable mode (S26).

After that, the time measurement is started (S27) as in FIG. 4, and when the print data is not input for a certain period of time or the switch is not operated (S28), the print mode is transferred to the power control unit. The process of issuing a command (S22) and shifting to the power saving mode is repeated.

In this manner, after the power is turned on, the power consumption saving mode is immediately entered to prevent wasteful power consumption.

In the first embodiment described above, attention is paid only to the processing immediately after the printing apparatus is started up, and the apparatus immediately shifts to the power consumption saving mode when the printing apparatus is powered on and becomes ready for printing. Next, as a second embodiment of the present invention, when the power of the external device 2 is turned off, the LBP automatically shifts to the power saving mode, and when the external device is turned on. Similarly, an apparatus having a function of automatically shifting to the printable mode will be described.

The configuration of the LBP and the schematic configuration of its control system in this embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment (FIG. 1, FIG. 1).
Since it is the same as that of FIG. 2), the description here is omitted.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the operation in the LBP of this embodiment.

First, the power supply controller 11 monitors the on / off state of the power supply in the external device 2 at regular intervals (S).
301-S303). That is, the external device 2 and the input unit 3
Is connected via a bidirectional interface cable, and the power supply control unit 11 uses the connected bidirectional interface cable to check a signal indicating the power state of the external device 2 at regular intervals or whether or not there is a response. Contact us.

By the above method, when it is determined that the power supply of the external device 2 is on and the LBP is in the power saving mode (S304), the power supply control unit 11 issues a print mode shift command (S305). , And shifts to the printable mode (S306).

If the LBP is already in the printable mode, the printable mode is continued (S307).

If it is determined that the power of the external device 2 is off and the LBP is not in the power saving mode (S308), the power control unit 11 issues a print mode transition command (S309), and the power consumption is reduced. The saving mode is entered (S310). If the LBP is already in the power saving mode, the power saving mode is continued (S3
11).

In the second embodiment, the state of the power supply in the external device 2 is inquired and monitored at regular time intervals, but by constantly monitoring this, it is possible to further reduce unnecessary power consumption by the device. Will be possible.

Also, in the second embodiment described above, ON / OFF is described as the operating state of the external device 2, but as the operating state other than this, the external device 2 has a power consumption saving mode like the LBP. The same process can be performed when the automatic transfer function to the function is included.

Even when the external device 2 is not monitored at regular intervals or constantly, the external device 2 sends an appropriate command to the LBP immediately before the external device 2 shifts to the power saving mode, so that the external device 2 is externally monitored. It is also possible to detect a change in the device 2 and shift to the power consumption saving mode.

In the above first and second embodiments, the conditions and the method for shifting the LBP to the power saving mode have been described. Next, as the third embodiment of the present invention, the LBP is in the power saving mode. A method for providing a constant printing environment when shifting from the printable mode to the printable mode will be described.

The structure of the LBP of this embodiment and the schematic structure of its control system are the same as those of the above-mentioned first embodiment (FIGS. 1 and 2), and therefore their explanations are omitted here.

In the conventional LBP, the printing environment when the power saving mode is changed to the printable mode and printing becomes possible is to provide the printing environment immediately before the power saving mode. However, with this method, if the person who used the printing device changed the printing environment immediately before shifting to the power saving mode and then shifted to the power saving mode, the person who used the printing device next time. It is not uncommon for the printing environment to be inconvenient.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to avoid such an inconvenience and guarantee a constant printing environment after the power saving mode is released, when the printing environment releases the power saving mode, The print environment set value immediately before the transition to the power saving mode is discarded, and the print environment set value of the printing apparatus is returned to the default (NVRAM set value).

Although the printing environment immediately before the transition to the power saving mode is discarded in this description, it is possible that the user of the printing apparatus is using the printing apparatus under a certain printing environment. This can also be realized by a method of confirming the setting value of the printing environment when canceling the power saving mode with the user of the printing apparatus in advance or by confirming the setting when canceling the mode.

Next, as a fourth embodiment of the present invention, a printing apparatus in which the user can arbitrarily set the time until shifting to the power saving mode will be described. The configuration of the LBP of this embodiment and the schematic configuration of its control system are the same as those of the first embodiment (FIGS. 1 and 2), and therefore description thereof is omitted here.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the processing for shifting to and canceling the power saving mode in this embodiment.

First, in S50, time measurement is started, and S5
At 1, it is determined whether or not a time (described later) set in advance by the user has elapsed. If the time has not passed, this process is repeated. If the set time has passed,
In step S52, the power supply control unit 11 issues a command to the power supply unit 12 to shift to the power consumption saving mode to save power consumption.

Thereafter, in S53, the process waits until print data is input or a switch operation is performed. When the print data is input or the switch is operated, the power saving mode is canceled in S54.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing for changing the set time determined in S51.

When the user requests to change the transition time until the transition to the power saving mode in S60, S
At 61, the transition time can be changed. After that, the transition time changed in S62 is registered, and thereafter, this value is changed to S5.
It is used to judge 1.

In the fourth embodiment described above, the condition for shifting to the power saving mode is the time set by the user, but the condition may be the light intensity or volume of the surroundings.
That is, when the surrounding light intensity is low or the volume is low, it is determined that the printing apparatus is not used, and the power saving mode is entered. At this time, the condition setting means for the user may be omitted.

Further, as for the condition for returning from the power saving mode, this condition may be set to the magnitude of the ambient light intensity or volume.

In the fourth embodiment, the power saving mode is a preset constant method, but, for example, the display 9 is turned off, the power supply to the semiconductor laser 103 is cut off, and the rotary polygon mirror 105 is used. It is also possible to provide a plurality of methods for saving power consumption, such as rotation stop, so that the user can select one of them.

The above is the printing apparatus of the present invention.
Although the laser beam printer has been described as an example, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to an inkjet printer or the like.

It is obvious that the power control method of the present invention is applicable not only to the printing apparatus but also to any peripheral equipment connected to the host computer. Further, the present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices or an apparatus including a single device.

Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By determining that the power consumption of the device is meaningless, setting various conditions for shifting to the power saving mode, and properly shifting to the power saving mode of the device, wasteful power consumption is reduced. It becomes possible to prevent it.

Further, by providing a means for entrusting the user of the device with the condition setting for shifting to the power saving mode of the device, the energy saving measure desired by the user can be realized and the power saving mode is released. By returning the print environment setting value of to the default value, it is possible to guarantee a constant print environment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a structure of an LBP according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an LBP control system in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing functions implemented by an LBP control unit in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation in a conventional LBP.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation in the LBP of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation in the LBP of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation in the LBP of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a set time changing process in the fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control part, 2 ... External device, 3 ... Input part, 4 ... Print data analysis part, 5 ... Output part, 6 ... Printing mechanism part, 7 ... Recording medium, 8 ... Display control part, 9 ... Display device, 10 ... storage device, 11 ... power supply control unit, 12 ... power supply unit.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shin Tsuchiya 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Atobe 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Incorporated (72) Inventor Masami Kashiwazaki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Tetsuo Kurita 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. ( 72) Inventor Junichi Mori 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A power supply control method for a device used by connecting to an external device, comprising a mode determining step of determining whether the device is in a power saving mode or an operable mode; A mode continuation time determination step of determining whether or not the operable mode has continued for a predetermined time; an external condition detection step of detecting the surrounding environment; a surrounding environment value detected in the external condition detection step is a constant value An external condition determining step of determining that the external power is less than
Or an external device monitoring step of constantly monitoring the mode, or an external device connected to the device is turned off in the external device monitoring step,
Alternatively, an external device determination step of determining that the power saving mode is entered; and in the mode continuation time determination step, the external condition determination step, or the external device determination step, it is determined that the operable mode has continued for a predetermined time. A mode switching step of switching the mode of the device;
A power supply control method comprising: 2. A printing apparatus that performs a printing operation based on input data from an external apparatus, and a power consumption saving unit that saves power consumption of the printing apparatus; a transition to a power consumption saving mode by the power consumption saving unit. Transition means; transition condition detection means for detecting a condition for transition to the power consumption saving mode; transition condition for determining whether or not to transition to the power consumption saving mode based on information detected by the transition condition detection means Determining means; canceling means for canceling the power saving mode; canceling condition detecting means for detecting a condition for canceling the power saving mode; and power saving by the information detected by the canceling condition detecting means. And a release condition determining means for determining whether or not to release the mode. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transition condition detecting means or the release condition detecting means detects a state of an external device, ambient light intensity, or ambient volume. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transition condition detecting unit detects whether or not the power of the printing apparatus has just been turned on. 5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the transition condition detection means or the release condition detection means is for turning on / off an external device connected to the printing device or for an external device having a power consumption saving mode. A printing device for detecting whether or not the external device is in a power saving mode. 6. The printing according to claim 2, wherein the transition condition determining means allows a user to set an elapsed time, a light intensity, or a volume for determining whether to transition to the power saving mode. apparatus. 7. The power consumption saving means according to claim 2, wherein the power consumption saving means consumes a small amount of power, but it takes time to return from the power consumption saving mode, and the power consumption consumes a large amount of power. A printing apparatus comprising a plurality of power consumption saving means including a power consumption saving means that does not require time to return from the power saving mode, and a user can select the plurality of power consumption saving means. 8. The non-volatile storage unit according to claim 2, which stores a value for adjusting a printing environment of the printing apparatus, and the non-volatile storage unit, which is stored in the non-volatile storage unit immediately after the power saving mode is released. A printing apparatus comprising: a return processing unit that adjusts the printing environment of the printing apparatus based on the value.