JPH11129581A - Sleep mode controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a sleep mode transition unit for printer in which useless power consumption is eliminated. SOLUTION: A print data is delivered from a host unit 7 to a data receiving section 9 and analyzed at a receiving data analyzing section 10. It is then stored in a frame memory as a bit map data and delivered to a printer engine 12 where it is printed onto a recording sheet. During the operation, a valid print data identifying section 14 in the receiving data analyzing section 10 identifies a valid print data, e.g. a character code, included in an input print data. Only when a valid print data is included, it is notified to a sleep mode managing section 13 where a printer 8 is released from sleep mode.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a sleep mode control device for a printing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A printing apparatus such as a printer connected to a host device such as a personal computer is provided with a sleep mode transition function. The sleep mode is a function of, for example, limiting the power supply to a power consuming member such as a fixing roll when the printing apparatus is not used for a certain period of time, thereby suppressing the power consumption of the entire apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a system configuration diagram for explaining a shift to a sleep mode in a conventional printer device. Print data output from the host device 1 is stored in a data receiving unit 3 in the printer device 2, is converted into bitmap data by an interface controller (not shown), and is printed on recording paper in accordance with the driving of the printer engine 4. You. The recording paper on which the image according to the bitmap data is printed is discharged out of the machine through the transport path,
The paper discharge management unit 5 confirms the discharge of the recording paper by a paper discharge sensor, for example. The sleep mode management unit 6 includes a paper discharge management unit 5
After a certain period of time elapses after confirming the output of the recording paper, the printer device 2 shifts to the sleep mode described above, and when there is received data from the host device 1 to the data receiving section 3, the sleep mode is canceled.

[0004]

In the conventional sleep mode shifting apparatus, the mode automatically shifts to the sleep mode after a lapse of a predetermined time after the discharge of the recording paper, and unconditionally shifts to the sleep mode by receiving data from the host device 1. Was released from For this reason, the following problems have occurred in the conventional apparatus.

(A) Since the sleep mode is unconditionally released by receiving data from the host device 1, if the received data is not valid print data (for example, NU
(LL data), the sleep mode is canceled and the sleep mode is canceled even though the printing process on the recording paper is not performed, so that wasteful power consumption is performed.

(B) In the conventional sleep mode,
After the elimination of the recording paper, if a state where no data is received from the host device 1 elapses for a predetermined time, the mode shifts to the sleep mode. For this reason, even a printer device that is infrequently used cannot shift to the sleep mode unless a predetermined period of time elapses, causing unnecessary power consumption.

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a sleep mode transition device that eliminates useless power consumption.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a print information output from a host device is analyzed, and it is determined whether or not the print information includes valid print data. This can be attained by providing a sleep mode control device including a discriminating unit and a sleep mode canceling unit that cancels a sleep mode when the discriminating unit discriminates the valid print data.

The discriminating means analyzes print information output from a host device such as a personal computer, discriminates whether the print information contains valid print data such as a character code, and performs valid print. If the data is included, the printing process on the recording paper is always performed, so the sleep mode canceling means is driven to cancel the sleep mode.

With this configuration, the sleep mode is released when valid print data for performing printing processing on recording paper is output, and the sleep mode is released when valid print data is not included. , And wasteful power consumption is prevented.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the storage means for storing the immediately preceding sleep time and the immediately preceding sleep time stored in the storage means are referred to, and the release timing of the new sleep state is determined according to the sleep time. This can be achieved by providing a sleep mode control device having sleep mode canceling means for setting.

That is, the immediately preceding sleep time is stored in the storage means, and is referred to when shifting to the sleep mode next time. With this configuration, for example, in a printing apparatus that is not frequently used, a long sleep mode can be set, and power consumption can be suppressed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a storage means for storing a plurality of previous sleep times, a calculation means for calculating an average value of the sleep times stored in the storage means, and a calculation means for calculating the average sleep time. This can be achieved by providing a sleep mode control device having sleep mode canceling means for canceling the sleep mode in accordance with the sleep time judgment value referred to the sleep time judgment value.

With this configuration, when the average value of the past sleep times is short, the printer shifts to the sleep mode if the printing apparatus is not used for any time.
Power consumption can be suppressed.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. <First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a printer including a sleep mode control device for explaining a first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, a printer 8 includes a data receiving unit 9, a received data analyzing unit 10, a paper discharge managing unit 11, a printer engine 12, and a sleep mode managing unit 13. Here, the data receiving unit 9, the received data analyzing unit 10, the paper discharge managing unit 11, and the sleep mode managing unit 13 are included in the interface controller and create bitmap data in a frame memory (not shown). Thereafter, the bit map data is output to the printer engine 12.

The data receiving section 9 stores print data output from the host device 7, and when a predetermined amount of data is stored, the received data analyzing section 10 performs data analysis processing. For example, a character code included in the print data is converted into corresponding character pattern data by a character generator (CG) (not shown), and a control command included in the print data is processed according to the instruction of the command. . By this analysis processing, bitmap data is created in a frame memory (not shown), and the bitmap data is output to the printer engine 12, whereby printing processing on recording paper is performed.

The paper discharge management section 11 has a function of detecting the passage of the recording paper when the above-mentioned recording paper passes through a fixing device having a heat roll and is discharged outside the apparatus. Also,
The above-mentioned received data analysis unit 10 has an effective print data identification unit 14 therein, and when analyzing the print data supplied from the host device 7, recognizes whether or not the print data includes effective print data. I do.

The sleep mode management unit 13 performs a transition to the sleep mode or a release process from the sleep mode according to the information supplied from the valid print data identification unit 14 and the paper discharge management unit 11 described above. The processing operation of the sleep mode transition device having the above configuration will be described below.

The sleep mode is, for example, one of the above-described temperature control modes of the heat roll, and keeps the heat roll in a residual heat state in order to suppress wasteful power consumption while the fixing process to the recording paper is not performed. Mode. Therefore, although the fixing process cannot be performed immediately, the fixing process can be performed in a short time.

After the heat roll shifts to the sleep mode as described above, the present invention cancels the sleep mode only when valid print data is supplied from the host device 7. That is, while the received data analysis unit 10 performs the above-described data analysis processing, the valid print data identification unit 14 determines whether the received data includes valid print data such as a character code. When the effective print data is included, the sleep mode management unit 13 is notified.
Gives an instruction to cancel the sleep mode.

That is, for example, when print data is input from the host device 7 but does not include valid print data, the valid print data identification unit 14 does not instruct the input of print data. Do not cancel. Therefore, useless sleep mode is not canceled, and useless power consumption can be prevented.

In the above description of the embodiment, the effective print data is identified by the effective print data identification unit 14 in the reception data analysis unit 10. However, for example, the paper size, clipping area, printing Since it is difficult to determine the conditions such as the color, it may be arranged in an image memory drawing unit (not shown).

Although the sleep mode has been described as the residual heat state in the description of the above embodiment, a so-called off sleep mode in which the fixing roll (fixing heater) is completely turned off may be used. <Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of a sleep mode transition device for explaining a second embodiment. In the figure, the printer device 8 includes a data receiving unit 9, a received data analyzing unit 10, a paper discharge managing unit 11, a printer engine 12, and a sleep mode managing unit 13, as in the above-described embodiment. And a sleep IN reference time value memory 16. Here, the above-described data reception unit 9, reception data analysis unit 10, paper discharge management unit 11, sleep mode management unit 13, timer A, sleep IN reference time value memory 16 are included in the interface controller, and a frame (not shown) After the bitmap data is created in the memory, the bitmap data is output to the printer engine 12.

The data receiving section 9 stores print data output from the host device 7, and when a predetermined amount of data is stored, the received data analyzing section 10 performs data analysis processing. This data analysis process performs a process corresponding to a character code and a control command included in print data as described above.

The paper discharge management section 11 has a function of detecting the passage of the recording paper when the recording paper passes through a fixing device having a heat roll and is discharged outside the apparatus. The received data analysis unit 10 internally has a valid print data identification unit 14
When analyzing the print data supplied from the host device 7, it recognizes whether or not the print data includes valid print data.

The sleep mode management unit 13 performs a transition to the sleep mode or a release process from the sleep mode according to the information supplied from the valid print data identification unit 14 and the paper discharge management unit 11 described above.

On the other hand, timer A is
Is cleared to zero by a control signal output from the CPU or a paper discharge confirmation signal output from the paper discharge management unit 11, and then a counting process is performed. The count data of the timer A is output to the sleep mode management unit 13, and is used for the sleep mode transition process and the sleep mode release process of the sleep mode management unit 13.

In the sleep IN reference time value memory 16,
A reference time value for shifting to the sleep mode is registered, and the sleep IN reference time value data is supplied from the sleep IN reference time value memory 16 to the sleep mode management unit 13. The sleep mode management unit 13 performs a process of shifting to the sleep mode from the sleep IN reference time value and the count data supplied from the timer A, and a process of releasing the sleep mode.

The processing operation of the sleep mode transition device having the above configuration will be described below. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating this processing operation, which is a processing operation performed by the sleep mode management unit 13.

First, the sleep mode management unit 13 reads the data of the sleep IN reference time value from the sleep IN reference time value memory 16 and sets it as the reference value of the transition time to the sleep mode (step (hereinafter, referred to as S) 1). .

Next, the count data of the timer A is read (S2). Here, there are usually two cases of the timer A zero clear processing. For example, the paper discharge management unit 1 shown in FIG.
1 determines that the printing paper is completely discharged (step (ST)
1), a case where the signal is cleared to zero by a signal output from the paper discharge management unit 11, and a case shown in FIG. 5 (however, the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 5 will be described later). Therefore, after the above-described zero clear processing is performed, the counting processing of the timer A is performed, and the above processing (S
According to 2), the count data of the timer A for which the counting process is being performed is read.

Next, the sleep mode management unit 13 compares the count data of the timer A with the sleep IN reference time value (S3). Here, if the count data of the timer A has not reached the sleep IN reference time value (S
3 is N (No)), the count data is read from the timer A at a predetermined timing, and the above-described comparison processing is performed (S3).
Then, the count data of the timer A is changed to the sleep IN.
When the reference time value is reached (Y in S3), the sleep mode management unit 13 sets the printer 8 to the sleep mode (S4). By this processing, power supply to the above-described heat roll (fixing heater) is suppressed, and the heat roll (fixing heater) is set to a residual heat state. Therefore,
This time power consumption can be suppressed.

Thereafter, the sleep mode management unit 13 maintains the sleep mode until an instruction to cancel the sleep mode is issued (N in S5). Also in this example, the sleep mode is released by inputting valid print data, as in the above-described embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating this process.

That is, an initial setting process is performed when the power of the printer device 8 is turned on, and a zero clear process for the timer A is performed (step (hereinafter, referred to as STP) 1).
Thereafter, the reception data analysis unit 10 waits for print data output from the host device 7, and when print data is input from the host device 7, determines whether the print data is valid print data (STP).
2, STP3). Here, if the print data is valid print data such as a character code (STP3 is Y (yes)), it is determined that the print data is data for a new print process and the current sleep mode is determined (STP4). If in the mode (STP4 is Y (yes)), the sleep mode is canceled (STP5).

Therefore, also in this embodiment, the host device 7
If the print data input from the printer is not valid print data (STP3 is N (No)), the sleep mode management unit 13
Does not release the sleep mode and continues the above-described timer A update processing (STP6). For this reason, in the present embodiment, useless sleep mode is not canceled, and useless power consumption can be prevented.

In the above judgment (STP4), if the printer 8 is not in the sleep mode (STP4
Is N (No), the timer A is cleared to zero (STP1) because new valid print data is input, and the counting process of the set time to the sleep mode is restarted.

In the above description of the embodiment, the valid print data is identified by the valid print data identifying section 14 in the received data analyzing section 10, but is arranged in an image memory drawing section (not shown). This may be the same as in the above-described embodiment.

Although the sleep mode has been described as a residual heat state, a so-called off sleep mode in which the fixing roll (fixing heater) is completely turned off may be the same as in the above embodiment. <Third Embodiment> Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 6 is a system configuration diagram of a sleep mode transition device for explaining a third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a printer device 8 includes a data receiving unit 9, a received data analyzing unit 10, a paper discharge managing unit 11, a printer engine 1
2, sleep mode management unit 13, sleep IN reference time value memory 16, sleep IN minimum time value memory 1
7, immediately before sleep time 18, timer A, timer B
It is composed of

Here, as described above, the data receiving unit 9, the received data analyzing unit 10, the paper discharge managing unit 11, and the sleep mode managing unit 13 are included in the interface controller, and store bitmap data in a frame memory (not shown). , And outputs this bitmap data to the printer engine 12.

The data receiving section 9 stores print data output from the host device 7, and when a predetermined amount of data is stored, the received data analyzing section 10 performs data analysis processing. At this time, the valid print data identification unit 14 in the received data analysis unit 10 identifies whether the print data supplied from the host device 7 is valid print data.

As described above, the paper discharge management section 11 has a function of detecting the passage of the recording paper when the recording paper passes through a fixing device having a heat roll and is discharged outside the apparatus. Have. In addition, the sleep mode management unit 13 performs a transition to the sleep mode or a release process from the sleep mode according to the information supplied from the valid print data identification unit 14 and the paper discharge management unit 11 described above.

On the other hand, the timer A is
Is cleared to zero by a control signal output from the CPU or a paper discharge confirmation signal output from the paper discharge management unit 11, and then a counting process is performed. The count data of the timer A is output to the sleep mode management unit 13, and is used for the sleep mode transition process and the sleep mode release process of the sleep mode management unit 13.

The timer B is cleared to zero by a signal output from the paper discharge management unit 11, and thereafter performs a counting process and outputs count data to the sleep mode management unit 13. The count value of the timer B is used for setting a value immediately before the sleep time described later.

In the sleep IN reference time value memory 16,
A reference time value for shifting to the sleep mode is registered, and the sleep IN reference time value data is supplied from the sleep IN reference time value memory 16 to the sleep mode management unit 13. The sleep mode management unit 13 performs a process of shifting to the sleep mode from the sleep IN reference time value and the count data supplied from the timer A, and a process of releasing the sleep mode.

The sleep IN minimum time value memory 17
Is a memory for storing the shortest time from when the timer A starts counting processing to when the timer A shifts to the sleep mode, and is set to one minute in this example, for example.

Further, the sleep time immediately before value memory 18
Is a memory for storing a sleep time to which a previous shift has been made, and particularly stores a time in the immediately preceding sleep mode. Therefore, the timer B described above is used. The processing operation of the sleep mode transition device having the above configuration will be described below. 7 to 9 are flowcharts illustrating the processing of this example.

First, in FIG. 7, the sleep mode management unit 13 reads the corresponding data from the sleep IN reference time value memory 16, the sleep IN shortest time value memory 17, and the sleep time immediately before value memory 18, respectively (step (hereinafter referred to as W). Shown) 1). For example, the sleep IN reference time value read as described above serves as a reference value for the transition time to the sleep mode. Also, the sleep IN minimum time value is the minimum time value at the time of transition to the sleep mode, and the immediately preceding sleep time value is the immediately preceding sleep time,
Therefore, it is not set at the initial stage.

Next, the count data of the timer A is read (W2). Here, for example, when the paper discharge management unit 11 shown in FIG. 8 completely discharges the printing paper (step (indicated by V) 1), the timer A is cleared to zero by a signal output from the paper discharge management unit 11 ( V2), the count value after the zero clear processing is read as count data.

Next, the sleep mode management unit 13 compares the count data of the timer A with the sleep IN minimum time value (W3). Here, if the count data of the timer A has not reached the sleep IN minimum time value (W
3 is N (No), the count data is read from the timer A at a predetermined timing, and the above-described comparison processing is continued (S
3). That is, in this example, the sleep IN minimum time value is 1
This is the time when the count value of the timer A is less than one minute because the minute is set.

Thereafter, if the count data of the timer A exceeds the sleep IN minimum time value (1 minute) (W3 is Y (yes)), the sleep mode management unit 13 next proceeds to the sleep time immediately preceding value and the sleep IN reference time. Value (W
4). Since the value immediately before the sleep time is not initially set as described above, the determination (W4) is N (No), and the sleep mode management unit 13 compares the count data of the timer A with the sleep IN reference time value. (W5).
Therefore, in this case, if the count data of the timer A has not reached the sleep IN reference time value (S3 is N
(No)), returning to the process (W2), if the count data of the timer A has reached the sleep IN reference time value (W5 is Y (yes)), the printer 8 is shifted to the sleep mode (W6).

On the other hand, if the printing process has already been performed several times, the immediately preceding sleep mode time is stored in the immediately preceding sleep time value area 18, and the aforementioned process (W
According to 1), the value immediately before the sleep time is read into the sleep mode management unit 13. In this case, judgment (W4)
When it is determined that the immediately preceding sleep time value is shorter than the sleep IN reference time value (W4 is Y (yes)), the process immediately shifts to the sleep mode (W6). For example, if the sleep IN reference time is set to 30 minutes, and if the immediately preceding sleep time value is 20 minutes, when the count value of the timer A reaches 20 minutes, the mode immediately shifts to the sleep mode.

Therefore, for example, in the case of the printer 8 that is used less frequently, the printer shifts to the sleep mode in a short time after the paper is discharged, and wasteful power consumption can be avoided.

Thereafter, the sleep mode management unit 13 maintains the sleep mode until an instruction to cancel the sleep mode is given (W7 is N (No)). Also in this example, the sleep mode is released by inputting valid print data, as in the above-described embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating this process. This flowchart is the same as that of FIG.
First, the timer A is cleared to zero (step (hereinafter, referred to as U) 1), and the received data analysis unit 10 waits for print data output from the host device 7,
When print data is input from the host device 7, it is determined whether or not the print data is valid print data (U2, U3). Here, if it is valid print data such as a character code (U3 is Y (yes)),
It is determined that the data is data for a new print process and the current mode is the sleep mode (U4). If the data is in the sleep mode as described above (U4 is Y (yes)), the sleep mode is released (U5). .

When the sleep mode is released by the above processing (YES in W7 in FIG. 7), the following processing (W8 to W10) is executed to register the current sleep time in the immediately preceding sleep time area 18. .

That is, first, the sleep mode management unit 13
Reads the timer B, and reads the timer time at this time (W8). As described above, the timer B is cleared to zero by the signal output from the paper discharge management unit 11 and thereafter starts counting processing and counts the time until the sleep mode is released. Therefore, the count data read out by the sleep mode management unit 13 at this time is the time until the sleep mode newly performed this time is canceled. Therefore, the count data is written to the immediately preceding sleep time area 18 and the new immediately preceding sleep time value is stored in the immediately preceding sleep time area 18 (W
9).

Thereafter, the sleep mode is released (W10), the heat roll (fixing heater) is shifted from the residual heat state to the steady heating state, and the print processing is performed according to the supplied effective print data.

Further, the immediately preceding value of the new sleep time stored in the immediately preceding sleep time area 18 is used for comparison processing (W4) when the printer apparatus next shifts to the sleep mode.
Used for

With the above-described configuration, in a printer device or the like that is used less frequently, the mode is shifted to the sleep mode in a short time after the sheet is discharged, and wasteful power consumption can be prevented. In the above-described embodiment, the sleep IN reference time is set to 30 minutes, the value immediately before the sleep time is set to 20 minutes, and the minimum time for sleep IN is set to 1 minute. However, these values may be changed. And can be arbitrarily set by an external command. <Fourth Embodiment> Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 10 is a system configuration diagram of a sleep mode transition device for explaining a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a printer device 8 includes a data receiving unit 9, a received data analyzing unit 10, a paper discharge managing unit 11, a printer engine 1
2, sleep mode management unit 13, sleep IN reference time value memory 16, sleep IN minimum time value memory 1
7, a sleep time judgment value memory 19, a sleep time memory 20, a timer A, and a timer B.

Here, as described above, the data receiving unit 9, the received data analyzing unit 10, the paper discharge managing unit 11, and the sleep mode managing unit 13 are included in the interface controller, and store bitmap data in a frame memory (not shown). , And outputs this bitmap data to the printer engine 12.

The data receiving section 9 stores print data output from the host device 7, and when a predetermined amount of data is stored, the received data analyzing section 10 performs data analysis processing. At this time, the valid print data identification unit 14 in the received data analysis unit 10 identifies whether the print data supplied from the host device 7 is valid print data.

As described above, the paper discharge management section 11 has a function of detecting the passage of the recording paper when the recording paper passes through the fixing device having the heat roll and is discharged outside the apparatus. Have. In addition, the sleep mode management unit 13 performs a transition to the sleep mode or a release process from the sleep mode according to the information supplied from the valid print data identification unit 14 and the paper discharge management unit 11 described above.

On the other hand, the timer A is
Is cleared to zero by a control signal output from the CPU or a paper discharge confirmation signal output from the paper discharge management unit 11, and then a counting process is performed. The count data of the timer A is output to the sleep mode management unit 13, and is used for the sleep mode transition process and the sleep mode release process of the sleep mode management unit 13.

The timer B is cleared to zero by a signal output from the paper discharge management unit 11, and thereafter performs a counting process and outputs count data to the sleep mode management unit 13. The count value of the timer B is used for setting a sleep time value described later.

In the sleep IN reference time value memory 16,
A reference time value for shifting to the sleep mode is registered, and the sleep IN reference time value data is supplied from the sleep IN reference time value memory 16 to the sleep mode management unit 13. The sleep mode management unit 13 performs a process of shifting to the sleep mode from the sleep IN reference time value and the count data supplied from the timer A, and a process of releasing the sleep mode.

The sleep IN minimum time value memory 17
Is a memory for storing the shortest time from when the timer A starts counting processing to when the timer A shifts to the sleep mode, and is set to one minute in this example, for example.

The sleep time judgment value memory 19
This is a memory for storing a sleep time to which a previous shift has been made, and particularly stores a time in the immediately preceding sleep mode. Therefore, the timer B described above is used.

Further, the sleep time memory 20 has five time storage areas 20-1 to 20-5, and stores the past five sleep times. Here, the time storage area 2
0-1 stores the most recent sleep time, the time storage area 20-2 stores the next new sleep time, and then sequentially stores the new data in the time storage area 20-.
The sleep time is stored in 3, 20, 4 and 20-5. The processing operation of the sleep mode transition device having the above configuration will be described below. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of this example.

First, the sleep mode management section 13 reads the corresponding data from the sleep IN reference time value memory 16, the sleep IN shortest time value memory 17, the sleep time judgment value memory 19, and the sleep time memory 20 (step (hereinafter referred to as K). 1). For example, the sleep IN reference time value read as described above serves as a reference value for the transition time to the sleep mode. The sleep IN minimum time value is the minimum time value at the time of transition to the sleep mode, the sleep time judgment value is an average value of the past five sleep times, and the sleep time is the time storage area 2.
Data stored in 0-1 to 20-5.

Next, the sleep mode management section 13 reads the count data of the timer A (K2). Here, similarly to the above, the timer A is cleared to zero by a signal output from the paper discharge management unit 11, and the count value after the zero clear processing is read as count data.

Next, the sleep mode management section 13 compares the count data of the timer A with the sleep IN shortest time value (K3). Here, if the count data of the timer A has not reached the sleep IN minimum time value (K
3 is N (No), the count data is read from the timer A at a predetermined timing, and the above-described comparison process is continued (K
3).

Thereafter, when the count data of the timer A exceeds the sleep IN minimum time value (for example, 1 minute) (K3 is Y (yes)), the sleep mode management unit 13 next proceeds to the sleep time determination value and sleep IN. Compare with the reference time value (K4). Here, the sleep time judgment value is sleep I
If it is larger than the N reference time value (for example, 30 minutes), the determination (K4) becomes N (No), and the sleep mode management unit 13 next compares the count data of the timer A with the sleep IN reference time value. (K5). Then, in this case, if the count data of the timer A has not reached the sleep IN reference time value (K5 is N (No)), the process returns to the processing (K2), and the count data of the timer A reaches the sleep IN reference time value. If yes (K5 is Y (yes)), the printer device 8 shifts to the sleep mode (K6).

On the other hand, when the sleep time judgment value is smaller than the sleep IN reference time value in the above judgment (K4), the mode immediately shifts to the sleep mode (K6). For example, when the sleep IN reference time is set to 30 minutes, if the sleep time determination value is 25 minutes, the sleep mode is immediately shifted to when the count value of the timer A reaches 25 minutes.

Here, the above-mentioned sleep time judgment value is an average value of the previous sleep times. For example, in a printer device that is infrequently used, even if the sleep time happens to be long, the sleep value that is an average value of five times is obtained. It is possible to immediately shift to the sleep mode according to the time judgment value.

Next, the sleep mode management unit 13 maintains the sleep mode until an instruction to cancel the sleep mode is given (K7 is N (No)). Also in this example, the sleep mode is released by inputting valid print data, as in the above-described embodiment. This processing is the same as the processing shown in FIG. 9 described above. When valid print data is input from the host device 7, the sleep mode is released.

When the sleep mode is released by the above processing (Yes at K7 in FIG. 11), the sleep time memory 20 is set as the current sleep time as a new sleep time.
In order to set a new sleep time judgment value,
The following processing (K8 to K12) is executed.

That is, first, the sleep mode management unit 13
Reads the timer B, and reads the timer time at this time (K8). The timer B operates in the same manner as described above.
It is cleared to zero by the signal output from 1,
Thereafter, the counting process is started, and the time until the sleep mode is released is counted. Therefore, the count data read out from the timer B is the time until the release of the sleep mode newly performed this time. Therefore, the count data is stored in the sleep time memory 20 next.

More specifically, the sleep time storage areas 20-1 to 20- in which the past five sleep times are stored.
5 is sequentially shifted downward, and new time data is stored in the sleep time storage area 20-1 (K
9, K10). That is, the sleep time storage area 20
-1 is transferred to the sleep time storage area 20-2, and the two previous sleep time data stored in the sleep time storage area 20-2 is transferred to the sleep time storage area 20-3. The sleep time data stored in the sleep time storage area 20-3 is transferred to the sleep time storage area 20-4, and the sleep time data stored four times in the sleep time storage area 20-4 is transferred to the sleep time storage area 20-4. Data is stored in the sleep time storage area 20
The process proceeds to -5, and new time data is stored in the sleep time storage area 20-1. Note that the sleep time data five times before stored in the sleep time storage area 20-5 is deleted.

Next, an average value for the past five data sets newly set as described above is calculated, and a new sleep time judgment value is set (K11). For example, the past five time data are 15 minutes, 25 minutes, 15 minutes, 25 minutes,
If it is 0 minutes, time data of 20 minutes is set as a new sleep time judgment value. This time data is stored in the sleep time judgment value memory 19.

Thereafter, the sleep mode is released (K12), the heat roll (fixing heater) is shifted from the residual heat state to the steady heating state, and the print processing is performed according to the supplied effective print data.

The new sleep time judgment value stored in the sleep time judgment value memory 19 is used for a comparison process (K4) when the printer device next shifts to the sleep mode.

With the above-described configuration, even if the sleep time happens to be long in a printer device or the like that is not frequently used, the sleep mode is immediately shifted to the sleep mode by the sleep time judgment value that is an average value of five times. Therefore, power consumption can be suppressed more efficiently than in the above-described embodiment.

In the present embodiment, when calculating the sleep time judgment value, the average value of the past five time data is calculated. However, the present invention is not limited to five times, but six times, seven times,... Alternatively, the time data may be averaged less than five times. Further, instead of simply calculating the average value, for example, a configuration may be adopted in which the second or third largest time data among the past five times is selected.

[0087]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, since the sleep mode is not shifted until the effective print data is supplied, power consumption can be suppressed.

Further, since the immediately preceding sleep time is stored and the process of shifting to the sleep mode is performed for this sleep time, power consumption can be effectively suppressed particularly in a printer which is not frequently used.

Furthermore, the power consumption can be suppressed more efficiently by storing a plurality of past sleep times and using the average value of the sleep times as the sleep time determination value.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a printer including a sleep mode transition device for describing a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of a printer including a sleep mode transition device for explaining a second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of the second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation when the paper discharge management unit determines complete discharge of print paper.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation performed by a reception data analysis unit.

FIG. 6 is a system configuration diagram of a printer including a sleep mode transition device for explaining a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of the third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation when a paper discharge management unit determines complete discharge of print paper.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation performed by a reception data analysis unit.

FIG. 10 is a system configuration diagram of a printer including a sleep mode transition device for explaining a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a system configuration diagram of a printer including a sleep mode transition device for explaining a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 8 printer device 9 data reception unit 10 reception data analysis unit 11 paper discharge management unit 12 printer engine 13 sleep mode management unit 14 valid print data identification unit 16 sleep IN reference time value memory 17 sleep IN shortest time value memory 18 just before sleep time Memory 19 Sleep time judgment value memory 20 Sleep time memory 20-1 to 20-5 Sleep time storage area

Claims (3)

[Claims] An identification means for analyzing print information output from a host device and identifying whether or not the print information includes valid print data, and the identification means detects the valid print data. And a sleep mode canceling means for canceling the sleep mode. 2. A storage means for storing the immediately preceding sleep time, a sleep mode release means for referring to the immediately preceding sleep time stored in the storage means and setting a new sleep state release time in accordance with the sleep time. A sleep mode control device comprising: 3. A storage unit for storing a plurality of previous sleep times, an arithmetic unit for calculating an average of the sleep times stored in the storage unit, and a sleep time determination value calculated by the arithmetic unit. Sleep mode canceling means for canceling the sleep mode according to the sleep time judgment value.