JPH0811392A - Printing machine and method for controlling power source of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To save electric power without damaging convenience largely corresponding to a different steady state of a printing machine main body. CONSTITUTION:When the printing state of a printing machine main body is monitored by CPU 12 and the printing state is discriminated and judged to be at least in three or more kinds of steady states in which power consumption is different, a power source controller 1602 restricts the power supply from a power source 1603 to each member of a printing machine main body corresponding to the judged steady state.

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 print data from an external apparatus such as a host computer, analyzes the received print data, and prints, and a power supply control method for the printing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, some electronic devices including a printing device are in a state in which power is not consumed as compared with a normal state when the device is not used for a long time. For example, it is called "sleep mode", and the device is in a "sleeping" state.

It usually takes some time from the "sleep" state to the normal state.

Conventionally, in the power supply control of a printing apparatus of this type, for example, a laser beam printer, in the sleep state, the energization amount to the fixing roller is small and the fixing unit reaches a temperature (for example, about 180 degrees) sufficient for fixing. Therefore, in order to start printing, it is necessary to start energization of the heater for heating the fixing roller to raise the temperature. For this reason, it takes a certain amount of time for the fixing roller to reach a printable high temperature.

Further, in the sleep state, power supply to a display such as an LED or LCD is stopped and power control is performed to turn off the light, so that the user can easily visually recognize the current state of the printer. It may be difficult.

[0006]

As described above, in the sleep mode processing based on the power control in the conventional printing apparatus,
The more the power consumption is suppressed, the longer it takes to return to the normal state, or the display disappears and the state of the printing apparatus is unknown, and the printing apparatus becomes more difficult to use. The "sleep" mode thus has the disadvantage of increasing the convenience of saving power and the like, but sacrificing the convenience of operating the printing apparatus.

The power control state of the conventional printing apparatus is generally controlled to either a normal state or a sleep state, which greatly impairs convenience, and is suitable for the user. However, there is a problem in that it is difficult to say that power control is difficult and the convenience for the user is reduced.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the first to sixth inventions according to the present invention is to provide a steady state in which at least three types of power consumption are different. By identifying and determining that, by controlling the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus body corresponding to each steady state,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus and a power supply control method for the printing apparatus, which can save power without significantly impairing convenience according to different steady states of the printing apparatus main body.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, power is supplied from a power supply source in order to receive print data from an external device, analyze the received print data, and perform printing. In a printing apparatus having a printing apparatus main body composed of a plurality of members that perform printing in accordance with the above, the printing state of the printing apparatus main body is monitored, and it is determined that at least three types of steady states with different power consumptions are identified. And a power supply control means for controlling power supply from the power supply source to each member of the printing apparatus main body in accordance with each steady state determined by the determination means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, at least one of the members is constituted by a display device for informing the state of the printing apparatus main body.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, at least one of the members is a fixing device of the printing apparatus main body.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the determining means is
It is configured to monitor the data reception waiting time after the printing by the printing apparatus main body at different time intervals and identify and determine that there are at least three types of steady states with different power consumptions.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of printing apparatuses receive print data from an external device, analyze the received print data, and perform printing in response to power supply from a power supply source. In a printing apparatus having a printing apparatus main body composed of the above member, a printing unit starts printing by the printing apparatus main body, and prints from the number of printings per unit time based on the printing start time stored in the storage unit. Derivation means for deriving the frequency and data reception waiting time after the printing by the printing apparatus main body is monitored at different time intervals set according to the printing frequency derived by the deriving means, and at least three types of electric power are monitored. Judgment means for discriminating that the printer is in a steady state in which the consumption amount is different, and the printing apparatus main body from the power supply source according to each steady state judged by the judging means. It is provided with a power supply control means for controlling power supply to each member.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, print data is received from an external device, the received print data is analyzed, and printing is performed in response to power supply from a power supply source in order to perform printing. A method for controlling the power supply of a printing apparatus having a printing apparatus main body composed of the above-mentioned members, monitoring the printing state of the printing apparatus main body, and discriminating and judging at least three or more kinds of steady states with different power consumptions. And a power supply limiting step of limiting the power supply from the power supply source to each member of the printing apparatus main body according to each steady state determined by this determination step.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the determination unit monitors the printing state of the printing apparatus main body and it is determined that there are at least three types of steady states with different power consumptions, the determined steady states are determined. The power supply control unit controls the power supply from the power supply source to each member of the printing apparatus main body according to the state, and performs power saving control according to each different steady state.

In the second invention, at least one of the members is a display for informing the state of the printing apparatus main body, and the judging means monitors the printing state of the printing apparatus main body to detect at least three kinds of power consumption. When it is discriminated that there is a different steady state, the power supply control means controls the power supply from the power supply source to the display unit of the printing apparatus main body in accordance with each of the determined steady states. The power to the display is controlled according to the steady state of.

In the third aspect of the invention, at least one of the members is a fixing device of the printing apparatus main body, and the determination unit monitors the printing state of the printing apparatus main body to detect at least three types of steady states having different power consumptions. When it is discriminated that the power supply control means controls the power supply from the power supply source to the fixing device of the printing apparatus main body in accordance with each of the determined steady states, one of the steady states is obtained. The power to the display is controlled accordingly.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the determination means monitors the data reception standby time after the printing by the printing apparatus main body at different time intervals and determines that at least three or more kinds of power consumption are in different steady states. Identification determination is performed, and different energization control is performed for each member according to each steady state based on the usage environment of the printing apparatus main body.

In the fifth aspect of the invention, when the printing frequency is derived from the number of times of printing per unit time based on the printing start time stored in the storage means by the deriving means, the determining means determines whether the printing is completed by the printing apparatus main body. The data reception standby time of the above is monitored at different time intervals set according to the printing frequency derived by the deriving means, and it is determined that at least three or more kinds of steady states with different power consumption are identified, and the determination is made. The power supply control means controls the power supply from the power supply source to each member of the printing apparatus body according to each steady state, and monitors each steady state at time intervals according to the printing history of the printing apparatus body. Then, the energization control optimally customized to the usage environment of the printing apparatus main body of each user is performed.

In a sixth aspect of the invention, the printing state of the printing apparatus main body is monitored to discriminate and determine that there are at least three types of steady states with different power consumptions, and the aforesaid steady state is determined according to the determined steady state. The power supply from the power supply source to each member of the printing apparatus main body is limited to perform programmable power saving control according to each different steady state.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Before describing the structure of this embodiment, the structure of a laser beam printer suitable for applying this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. It is needless to say that the device to which the present embodiment is applied is not limited to the laser beam printer, and may be another electronic device.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the construction of a printing apparatus to which the present invention is applicable. For example, the construction of a laser beam printer will be described with reference to FIG. It is needless to say that the device to which the present embodiment is applied is not limited to the laser beam printer, and may be another electronic device.

In the figure, reference numeral 1500 denotes an LBP main body (printer), which stores and stores print information (character codes, etc.), form information, macro commands, etc. supplied from an externally connected host computer. A corresponding character pattern, form pattern, or the like is created in accordance with the information, and an image is formed on a recording medium such as recording paper. 1501 is a switch for operation and L
Operation panel with ED display etc., 1000 is L
A printer control unit for controlling the entire BP main body 1500 and analyzing character information and the like supplied from the host computer.

The printer control unit 1000 mainly converts character information into a video signal of a corresponding character pattern and outputs it to the laser driver 1502. The laser driver 1502 is a circuit for driving the semiconductor laser 1503, and switches on / off a laser beam 1504 emitted from the semiconductor laser 1503 according to an input video signal. The laser beam 1504 is a rotating polygon mirror 1505.
Then, the electrostatic drum 1506 is swung in the left-right direction to perform scanning exposure on the electrostatic drum 1506.

As a result, an electrostatic latent image of a character pattern is formed on the electrostatic drum 1506. This latent image is developed by a developing unit 1507 arranged around the electrostatic drum 1506 and then transferred to a recording paper.
A cut sheet is used as the recording sheet, and the cut sheet recording sheet is stored in a sheet cassette 1508 mounted on the LBP 1500, and has a sheet feeding roller 1509 and a conveying roller 151.
It is taken into the apparatus by 0 and the conveyance roller 1511 and is supplied to the electrostatic drum 1506.

Further, the LBP main body 1500 is provided with at least one or more card slots (not shown) so that an optional font card and a control card (emulation card) having a different language can be connected in addition to the built-in font.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the control arrangement of the printing apparatus showing the embodiment of the present invention. Here, a laser beam printer (FIG. 1) will be described as an example. In addition,
It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a single device or a system including a plurality of devices as long as the functions of the present invention are executed.

In the printer 1500 of FIG. 2, reference numeral 12 is a printer CPU, and the system bus 1 is based on a control program or the like stored in the program ROM of the ROM 13 or a control program or the like stored in the external memory 14.
Access to various devices connected to the printer 5 is generally controlled, and an image signal as output information is output to the printing unit (printer engine) 17 connected via the printing unit interface 16.

The program ROM of the ROM 13
Includes a CPU 1 as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
The control program of No. 2 is stored. The font ROM of the ROM 13 stores font data and the like used when generating the above output information, and the data ROM of the ROM 13
In the case of a printer that does not have the external memory 14 such as a hard disk, it stores information used on the host computer.

The CPU 12 can communicate with the host computer via the input unit 18, and can notify the host computer 3000 of information in the printer. Reference numeral 19 denotes a RAM that functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like of the CPU 12, and is configured so that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). Hereinafter, the correspondence between the present embodiment and each means of the first to fourth inventions and their actions will be described with reference to FIG.

In the first invention, print data is received from an external device (host computer 3000), the received print data is analyzed, and printing is performed in response to power supply from a power supply source 1603 for printing. In a printing apparatus having a printing apparatus main body composed of a plurality of members that perform the above, a determination unit that monitors the printing state of the printing apparatus main body and discriminates and determines at least three types of steady states with different power consumptions. (Depending on the function of the CPU 12),
A power supply control unit (power supply controller 160) that restricts power supply from the power supply source 1603 to each member of the printing apparatus main body according to each steady state determined by the determination unit.
2) is provided, the CPU 12 monitors the printing state of the printing apparatus main body, and if it is determined that there are at least three or more types of steady states with different power consumption, the power supply is determined according to each of the determined steady states. The controller 1602 controls power supply from the power supply source 1603 to each member of the printing apparatus main body, and performs power saving control according to each different steady state.

In the second invention, at least one of the members is a display (provided on the operation panel 1501) for notifying the state of the printing apparatus main body, and the judgment unit monitors the printing state of the printing apparatus main body. When it is determined that there is at least three or more types of steady states with different power consumption, the power supply controller 1602 operates from the power supply source to the display unit of the printing apparatus main body in accordance with the determined steady states. The power supply to the display device is controlled, and the power supply to the display device is controlled according to one of the steady states.

In the third invention, at least one of the members is a fixing device (see FIG. 1) of the printer body, and CP
When the printing state of the printing apparatus main body is monitored by U12 and it is determined that there is at least three types of steady states with different power consumption, the power supply controller 1602 supplies the power according to each determined steady state. The power supply from the source 1603 to the fixing device of the printing apparatus main body is controlled,
The energization of the display is controlled according to one of the steady states.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the CPU 12 monitors the data reception waiting time after the printing by the printing apparatus main body at different time intervals and identifies at least three kinds of steady states with different power consumption. It is determined and different energization control is performed on each member according to each steady state based on the usage environment of the printing apparatus main body.

The RAM 19 is an output information expansion area,
Used for environment data storage area, NVRAM, etc. Access to the external memory 14 such as the hard disk (HD) or IC card described above is controlled by a disk controller (DKC) 20. The external memory 14 is connected as an option and stores font data, emulation programs, form data and the like.

Reference numeral 18 denotes an input unit, which is provided with the above-mentioned operation panel, such as switches for operation and an LED display.

Further, the above-mentioned external memory 14 is not limited to one, but at least one external memory is provided, and in addition to the built-in font, an optional font card and a plurality of external memories storing programs for interpreting printer control languages of different languages are stored. It may be configured to be connectable. further,
An NVRAM (not shown) may be provided to store the printer mode setting information from the operation panel 1501.

The printer 1500 is the first printer for normal printing.
Mode, and a second mode in which the LED and LCD of the operation panel 1501 are turned off to save a little power consumption when waiting for data input, and a small amount of power is supplied to the fixing device 1511 to greatly save power consumption. And a third mode to do.

The CPU 12 counts the time elapsed since the last printing with an internal timer or the like, and enters a second mode in which a certain amount of power is saved when a certain time elapses, and a large amount of power is saved when a further time elapses. This is the third mode.

For example, the possibility of being used again in the next minute when only 5 minutes have passed since the last time it is used is that the printing device is not used for 5 hours in the next minute. It is considered more likely to be used.

That is, the longer the time elapsed since the last use, the more likely it is to be reused in a unit time. The less likely it is used, the greater the power savings at the expense of convenience, and the less likely it is at the expense of convenience. When the printing device operates, it is possible to save a relatively large amount of electric power as a whole, and it is reasonable that convenience is not significantly deteriorated.

When the printing apparatus performs such an operation, for example, at night, if the device is not used for a long time, it may take a long time to use it for the first time in the morning, but a large amount of power can be saved at night. If it is used frequently during the day, a small amount of unused time can save some power, and printing is performed as soon as data is received. [First Embodiment] A power supply control method for a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of a power supply control method for a printing apparatus according to the present invention. In addition,
(1) to (7) show each step.

First, in step (1), it is determined whether or not data has been received, and the host computer 3000
If the data is not received from the CPU 12, the CPU 12 determines whether the data is held for 10 minutes in step (2). If 10 minutes have not elapsed, the process returns to step (1).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (2) that 10 minutes have elapsed, then in step (3) the LC
The indicators such as D and LED are turned off, and the light sleep mode (second mode) is entered.

Further, in step (4), the CPU 1 determines whether or not data is received from the host computer 3000.
If it is determined that 2 has received and has received, step (2)
Return to

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (4) that the data has not been received, the process proceeds to step (5), in which the CPU 12 determines whether or not the data from the host computer 300 has been waiting for about 2 hours. If the time has not elapsed, the process returns to step (4), and steps (4) and (5) are repeated until two hours have elapsed or data is received.

On the other hand, when the CPU 12 determines in step (5) that two hours have passed, the process proceeds to step (6), in which the fixing device 15 shown in FIG.
The amount of electricity supplied to 11 is reduced to enter the deep sleep mode (third mode). Further, the process proceeds to step (7) to check whether the data is received from the host computer 300.
If U12 makes the determination and the data is received, the process returns to step (2). Correspondence between the present embodiment and each step of the sixth invention and its action will be described below with reference to FIG.

A sixth aspect of the present invention receives a print data from an external device (host computer 3000), analyzes the received print data, and prints by a power source 160.
In a power control method for a printing apparatus having a printing apparatus main body composed of a plurality of members that perform printing in accordance with power supply from the power supply unit 3, at least three or more types of power consumption are monitored by monitoring the printing state of the printing apparatus main body. Determination step for distinguishing between different steady states (step (2) in FIG. 3,
(5)) and a power supply limiting step (steps (3) and (3) in FIG. 3) for limiting the power supply from the power supply source to each member of the printing apparatus main body in accordance with each steady state determined by this determination step. 6)) is executed to perform programmable power saving control according to each different steady state.

In the present embodiment, the power supply control of the printing apparatus is taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited as long as it is an electronic device (hardware) capable of taking a steady state with three or more different power consumptions. It goes without saying that it can be easily applied.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the power supply control which causes a deep sleep with the lapse of time after printing is taken as an example.
The printing time may be stored, the printing frequency may be obtained from the number of printed sheets per unit time, the printing probability may be learned as the printing is repeated, and the result may be reflected in the power supply control. As a result, three or more types of hardware that can achieve a steady state with different power consumption (printing device main body composed of each member)
Also, the time at which printing is easy to be performed is learned from the past printing time, and power supply control is executed to reduce power consumption at times when the printing probability is low, and power supply control that is more appropriate for the user's printing environment is realized. Correspondence between the present embodiment and each means of the fifth invention and its operation will be described below with reference to FIG.

A fifth aspect of the present invention receives a print data from an external device (host computer 3000), analyzes the received print data, and prints by a power supply source 160.
In a printing apparatus having a printing apparatus main body composed of a plurality of members that perform printing in response to power supply from the printer 3, storage means (NVRAM or the like not shown) for storing the printing start time of the printing apparatus main body, and this storage means. Derivation means for deriving the printing frequency from the number of printings per unit time based on the printing start time stored in (by the function of the CPU 12)
And a data reception standby time after the printing by the printing apparatus main body is monitored at different time intervals set according to the printing frequency derived by the deriving unit, and at least three or more kinds of steady states with different power consumptions are monitored. Determination means (by the function of the CPU 12) for determining that the power supply source controls the power supply from the power supply source to each member of the printing apparatus main body in accordance with each steady state determined by the determination means. Means (power supply controller 1602),
When the printing frequency is derived from the number of prints per unit time based on the printing start time stored in the storage means by the CPU 12, the data reception standby time after the printing by the printing apparatus main body is completed by the deriving means. Monitor at least 3 different time intervals set according to the frequency
It is determined that there are different types or more of steady states with different power consumption, and the power supply controller 1602 restricts the power supply from the power supply source 1603 to each member of the printing apparatus main body in accordance with the determined steady states. Then, each steady state is monitored at time intervals according to the printing history of the printing apparatus main body, and energization control optimally customized to the usage environment of the printing apparatus main body of each user is performed.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0054]

As described above, the first aspect of the present invention
According to the invention, when the determination unit monitors the printing state of the printing apparatus main body and identifies and determines that there are at least three or more types of steady states having different power consumptions, the determination unit determines whether or not the steady states are different. Since the power supply control means controls the power supply from the power supply source to each member of the printing apparatus main body, it is possible to individually perform power saving control according to each different steady state.

According to the second invention, at least one of the members is
One is a display device for notifying the state of the printing apparatus main body, and when the determination unit monitors the printing state of the printing apparatus main body and it is determined that at least three types of steady states having different power consumptions are identified and determined, The power supply control means controls the power supply from the power supply source to the display unit of the printing apparatus main body in accordance with each of the determined steady states. Therefore, the power supply to the display unit is controlled according to any one of the steady state. be able to.

According to the third invention, at least one of the members is
One is a fixing device of the printing apparatus main body, and when the determination unit monitors the printing state of the printing apparatus main body and it is determined that there are at least three types of steady states with different power consumption, the determination is made. Since the power supply control means controls the power supply from the power supply source to the fixing device of the printing apparatus main body according to the steady state, it is possible to control the power supply to the display device according to any of the steady state.

According to the fourth invention, the judging means monitors the data reception waiting time after the printing by the printing apparatus main body at different time intervals and is in a steady state in which at least three kinds of power consumption are different. Is determined and determined, it is possible to perform different energization control for each member according to each steady state based on the usage environment of the printing apparatus main body.

According to the fifth aspect, when the printing frequency is derived from the number of prints per unit time based on the print start time stored in the storage means by the deriving means, the determining means terminates the printing by the printer main body. The subsequent data reception waiting time is monitored at different time intervals set in accordance with the printing frequency derived by the deriving unit, and at least three types or more are identified and determined to be in a steady state with different power consumption,
Since the power supply control means controls the power supply from the power supply source to each member of the printing apparatus main body in accordance with each determined steady state, each steady state is set at a time interval according to the printing history of the printing apparatus main body. It is possible to monitor and perform energization control that is optimally customized to the usage environment of the printing apparatus main body of each user.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the printing state of the printing apparatus main body is monitored to discriminate and determine that there are at least three types of steady states with different power consumptions, and the determined steady state is determined according to each determined steady state. Since the power supply from the power supply source to each member of the printing apparatus main body is limited, programmable power saving control can be performed according to each different steady state.

Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to save power without impairing convenience depending on each different steady state of the printing apparatus main body.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a printing apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of a printing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a power supply control method for a printing apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 CPU 13 ROM 17 printing unit 19 RAM 1500 printing apparatus main body (LBP main body) 1602 power supply controller 1603 power supply source 3000 host computer

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus comprising a plurality of members for receiving print data from an external device, analyzing the received print data, and performing printing in response to power supply from a power supply source in order to perform printing. In a printing apparatus having a main body, a determination unit that determines whether or not the printing state of the printing apparatus main body is in a steady state in which at least three types of power consumption are different, and each steady state determined by the determination unit And a power supply control means for controlling power supply from the power supply source to each member of the main body of the printing device according to the above. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the members is a display device for notifying a state of the printing apparatus main body. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the members is a fixing device of a printing apparatus main body. 4. The determining means monitors the data reception standby time after printing by the printing apparatus main body at different time intervals to identify and determine at least three kinds of steady states with different power consumption. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is a printing apparatus. 5. A printing device comprising a plurality of members for receiving print data from an external device, analyzing the received print data, and performing printing in response to power supply from a power supply source in order to perform printing. In a printing apparatus having a main body, storage means for storing a printing start time by the printing apparatus main body, and deriving means for deriving a printing frequency from the number of printed sheets per unit time based on the printing start time stored in the storage means. The data reception standby time after printing by the printing apparatus main body is monitored at different time intervals set according to the printing frequency derived by the deriving unit, and at least three types of steady states with different power consumptions are obtained. The determining means for determining whether or not the power source is supplied to the respective members of the printing apparatus main body from the power supply source according to the steady state determined by the determining means. A printing apparatus comprising: a power supply control unit that controls the printing apparatus. 6. A printing device comprising a plurality of members for receiving print data from an external device, analyzing the received print data, and performing printing in response to power supply from a power supply source in order to perform printing. In a power control method for a printing apparatus having a main body, a determination step of monitoring the printing state of the printing apparatus main body and determining whether or not the printing apparatus main body is in a steady state in which at least three types of power consumption are different, and the determination step is performed. And a power source limiting step of limiting power source supply from the power source to each member of the printing apparatus main body according to each steady state.