JPH11170665A - Image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a time from the print starting requirement of a user to the print starting to raise its utility and thereby save the consumption of electric power by shifting the state of an image recording device from an ordinary state to a stopping state in accordance with the situation of use of a user, or restoring it from the stopping state to the ordinary state. SOLUTION: The initialization of a switching control task is carried out at the starting period of a printer and after the completion of warm up to set a feed classification variable and timer setting value. For example, setting is made as a feed classification variable = 1 (a printable state) and a timer setting value = 20 min/60 min (a sleeve state after 20 min, an interruption state after 60 min). After that, the presence or absence of a trigger signal is discriminated, and the issuance source of the trigger is discriminated as the time of detecting the trigger signal, and a variable corresponding to a waiting time is set in accordance with the issuance source in reference of the setting table of a storing part 262. On the other hand, at the time of detecting no trigger time, a feed switching command is generated from a control part 261 after the lapse of setting time so as to switch the feed state of an electric source part 30.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus which switches between a steady state and a halt state to save energy.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one of the operating states of an image recording apparatus, there is a state called a sleep mode (pause state) in which power supply to a mechanism with large power consumption is cut off, and so-called energy saving is achieved. The transition from the steady state to the hibernation state has been performed when there has been no key operation for a certain period of time in the case of a copying machine, and when there has been no data transfer from the host for a certain period of time in the case of a printer.

[0003] On the other hand, as for a technique for shortening the first print time for returning from a pause state to a steady state, there is an image recording apparatus described in JP-A-9-80983. The technique described in the above publication relates to an image recording apparatus that detects that a user has directly operated the image recording apparatus and starts warm-up if the operation by the user is an operation suggesting printing.

[0004]

According to the technique described in the above publication, if an operation directly performed by a user on a printer in a sleep state is an operation indicating that printing is to be started soon, warm-up is immediately performed. To start. After the completion of warm-up, if a print command is executed on a personal computer or the like connected to the printer as a peripheral device and a print start request is output to the printer, printing can be performed without waiting time. When technology is used, if a print start request is made without performing any direct operation on the printer, in this case, the printer will receive the print start request in the sleep state, and it may take time to warm up. There is a problem that printing is not started as desired by the user.

On the other hand, if the warm-up is started immediately upon detecting the suggested operation, energy saving may not be achieved. When the user performs any operation, the print start request is not always output immediately at any time, but the print start request may be made after the warm-up that has been started immediately is completed and temporarily shifted to the sleep state. In this case, a warm-up operation is required again. Generally, an image recording apparatus consumes more power during warm-up than in a steady state in which an image can be output. Therefore, stabilizing in a steady state may consume less power than repeating warm-up many times. Clearly, however, delaying the time from the steady state to the hibernate state is disadvantageous for energy saving.

Therefore, even if the above-mentioned technique is used, since it does not conform to the actual use of the image recording apparatus by the user, warm-up is repeated many times to shift from the idle state to the steady state, so that wasteful energy is consumed. There is a problem of consumption, but if the time to shift to the hibernate state is simply advanced, warm-up is required, and the time from the print start request to the print start is increased, which is inconvenient for the user. There was a problem.

Accordingly, the present invention is to change the state of the image recording apparatus from a steady state to a sleep state or to return from the sleep state to a steady state in accordance with the usage status of the user. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording apparatus which shortens the time required to improve the usability of the user and also reduces power consumption.

[0008]

The object of the present invention has been attained by an image recording apparatus according to the present invention. That is, the image recording apparatus according to claim 1 includes an image recording unit that performs image recording on a recording medium, a power supply unit that supplies power to the image recording unit, and a power supply state from the power supply unit to the image recording unit. In an image recording apparatus including a switching unit that switches between a steady state and a pause state, a detection unit that detects that a user has performed an operation that requires switching, a determination unit that determines a type of the operation, A storage unit that stores a standby time corresponding to the type from the start of switching the power supply state after detecting an operation, and a standby time corresponding to the type is obtained from the storage unit.
Control means for issuing a command to switch the power supply state to the switching means when the standby time has elapsed. When the image recording apparatus detects that the user has performed an operation that requires switching of the power supply state, the image recording apparatus switches the power supply state after a predetermined time has elapsed. If the elapsed time is set to a time suitable for the operation, it is possible to prevent the transition to the hibernation state too quickly or the difficulty of returning to the steady state. Therefore, the power supply state is switched in accordance with the usage status of the user, the time from the user's request to start printing to the start of printing can be reduced, and power consumption can be suppressed.

In this image recording apparatus, the operation is an operation indicating that the user does not issue a print start request, and the switching is preferably a switching from a steady state to a pause state.

In this image recording apparatus, the operation is an operation indicating that the user issues a print start request, and the switching of the power supply state is preferably a switch from a pause state to a steady state.

In these image recording apparatuses, it is preferable that the storage unit stores the time until the switching for each operation of the user.

Further, these image recording apparatuses have an interface unit for executing communication with a host using software capable of outputting a print start request, and the control unit controls the interface unit to terminate the software. Preferably, upon detecting that a signal has been received, the standby time is obtained from the storage means.

[0013] Further, these image recording apparatuses correspond to an elapsed time acquiring means for acquiring an elapsed time from the detection of the operation to the issuance of the print start request, and correspond to the detected operation and the acquired elapsed time. Storage means for storing the corresponding data, wherein the control means accumulates and stores the corresponding data in the storage means every time the operation is executed, and performs the control based on the accumulated corresponding data. It is good to set the waiting time. According to this image recording device,
Since the standby time is set based on the accumulated correspondence data, the more the user uses, the more the setting of the standby time is optimized for the user's usage environment. The time from the user's request to start printing to the start of printing can be further reduced, and power consumption can be further reduced.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 showing a printer 1 as an example of an image recording apparatus.
In FIG. 1, a local area network (LA)
N), the computer 10, the laser printer 1, and the security system 32 are connected. Of course, other computers, printers, facsimile machines and the like can also be connected.

The computer 10, which is an information processing device,
It comprises a main body 11, a CRT 12 as a display means, and a keyboard 13 as an input means capable of inputting characters provided with a pointing device (not shown) such as a mouse. Although not shown, the main body 11 includes:
CPU, which is a central processing unit that controls the entire computer 10, random access memory used when executing programs such as applications and drivers recorded on a hard disk, and stores application programs such as document creation software and graphic creation software In addition, a well-known means such as a hard disk for storing a driver for driving and controlling a printer and the like and a network interface for connecting to a LAN is provided. Then, the CPU reads out, starts up, processes data, creates a document stored in a memory, a hard disk, or the like based on the operation of the keyboard 13 or the pointing device, and creates a document.
Display on the CRT 12 is performed. The created document is provided as image data to the printer 1 via the LAN, and the printer 1 forms an image (prints out).

The printer 1 includes an image recording unit 21, a cassette 22 for storing recording paper P, a paper feeding unit 23 for feeding the recording paper P stored in the cassette 22 to the image recording unit 21, A computer via a mark providing means 24 for providing a mark on the paper P, a paper output tray 25 on which the discharged image-formed recording paper is placed, and a network interface 29 for controlling the entire printer 1 and connecting to a LAN. It comprises a control board 26 for controlling the transmission and reception of data to and from the control board 10. The image recording unit 21 includes a photosensitive drum 211, a charging unit 212, a laser exposure unit 213, a developing unit 214, a transfer unit 215,
The image forming apparatus includes a cleaning unit 216, a fixing unit 217, and the like, and performs image formation by an electrophotographic method.

An image forming process by the printer 1 will be briefly described. First, the control board 26 receives the image data transmitted from the computer 10 via the LAN via the network interface 29. Then, the photosensitive drum 211 rotating clockwise in the drawing is subjected to uniform charging by the charging unit 212, image exposure based on image data by the exposure unit 213, and development by the developing unit 214 (visualization with toner). Thus, a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 211.
On the other hand, the recording paper P stored in the cassette 22 is
The paper is sent out by the paper feeding unit 23 and is conveyed to the transfer area while synchronizing with the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 211. In the transfer area, the transfer means 215
The toner image on the photosensitive drum 211 is transferred onto the recording paper P. The recording sheet on which the image has been formed is heated and pressed by a pair of rollers constituting the fixing unit 217, and then discharged onto the discharge tray 25. On the other hand, the photosensitive drum 211 is cleaned by the cleaning unit 216 and is prepared for the next image formation.

In the figure, reference numeral 272 denotes a cassette detector. When the cassette 22 is set at a regular position of the printer 1, the actuator 272a detects the cassette 22 and outputs a trigger signal.

The main body of the printer 1 is divided into an upper main body 1a and a lower main body 1b at a dividing line x indicated by a broken line, and is configured to be opened and closed with a hinge 28 as a fulcrum. Upon opening / closing operation, the user releases the lock mechanism (not shown), and then opens the upper body 1a in the closed state in the direction of arrow b, or closes the upper body 1a in the released state in the direction of arrow c. An opening / closing detector 271 cooperates with a detected member 271a that moves up and down in accordance with opening and closing of the upper body 1a of the printer 1, detects that the upper body 1a has been closed by a user operation, and outputs a trigger signal.

Numeral 30 supplies a high voltage and a low voltage to the image recording unit 21 and a control board 26 and a cassette detector 27.
2. A power supply unit for supplying a low voltage to the open / close detector 271, the network interface 29, and the like. The sleep state in the present embodiment refers to a state in which the high voltage supply of the power supply unit 30 to the image recording unit 21 is interrupted and the low voltage is supplied to other loads. In addition, the cutoff state referred to in the present embodiment is a state in which the power supply unit 30 does not supply power at all. The sleep state and the cutoff state are both examples of the pause state of the present invention.

Reference numeral 32 denotes an automatic security system (security system) for a room in which the computer 10, the printer 1 and the like are installed. When the user locks the room, the automatic security starts a few seconds later and the trigger signal Trg is broadcast on the LAN. I do. Broadcast means that a signal is issued by designating all nodes on the LAN as communication destinations.

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram for explaining a control mechanism of the printer 1. In the figure, a broken line indicates a low-voltage power supply line, an alternate long and short dash line indicates a high-voltage power supply line, and a solid line indicates a signal line.

The control board 26 switches the power supply state of the power supply unit 30 in accordance with a control unit 261 having a CPU and a plurality of timers, a storage unit 262 having a battery backed up memory, and a command (switching command) of the control unit 261. A switching unit 263 is provided. PC 10
a, the server 10b is the computer 1 shown in FIG.
0 is an example.

The network interface 29 includes a personal computer 10a and a server 10 in addition to the image data DATA.
(b) Receives a control signal Con, a trigger signal Trg, and the like issued by the security system 32 and the like, and transfers them to the control unit 261.

The detection unit 27 is connected with an open / close detector 271, a cassette detector 272, and the like. The control unit 261 transmits a trigger signal Trg generated by the open / close detector 271, the cassette detector 272, and the like to the network interface 29.
And a trigger signal Trg via the Control unit 26
1 analyzes the reception of the trigger signal Trg and specifies which detection unit or trigger signal Trg corresponding to what operation in the personal computer 10a, the server 10b, the security system 32, or the like.

The storage unit 262 can store accumulated data of the elapsed time until switching according to the source of the trigger signal Trg, and a standby time until switching and a power supply state setting table.

The switching unit 263 switches a relay (high voltage unit) and a switching element (low voltage unit) of the power supply unit 30 according to a command (switching command) from the control unit 261.

Next, the switching control task will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 which describes the switching control of the power supply state according to the trigger signal Trg.

When the warm-up after startup of the printer 1 is completed, the switching control task is initialized in step 1 (St1). The switching control task sets the power supply type variable and the timer setting value as variables. The power supply type variables are four types of data: warm-up state = 0, printable state = 1, sleep state = 2, and cut-off state = 3. The warm-up state and the printable state are examples of the steady state of the present invention, and the sleep state and the cutoff state are examples of the pause state of the present invention as described above. On the other hand, the timer set value is a variable corresponding to a standby time from the detection of the trigger signal Trg to the issuance of a power supply state switching command. At the time of initialization, power supply type variable = 1 (printable state), timer setting value = 20 minutes / 60 minutes (sleep state after 20 minutes, 60 minutes
Minutes later). Here, two timer setting values are set, a timer setting value for switching from the steady state to the sleep state and a timer setting value for switching from the steady state to the cutoff state.

When the initialization is completed, it is determined in step 2 (St2) whether or not the trigger signal Trg has been detected.

When the trigger signal Trg is detected, the source of the trigger is determined in step 3 (St3), and the storage unit 2
Reference is made to the setting table 62.

In step 4 (St4), the variables acquired from the setting table are set according to the trigger issuing source. After setting the variables, the process returns to step 2.

If the trigger signal Trg is not detected in step 2, the process proceeds to step 5 (St5) to determine whether a set time has elapsed. Whether or not the set time has elapsed is determined by whether or not the timer set value = 0. If the set time has not elapsed, the process returns to step 2, while if the set time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step 6 (St6).

In step 6 (St6), the control unit 261 issues a power supply switching command to switch the power supply state of the power supply unit 30. Here, the switching of the power supply state is determined by a variable set by the setting table referred to in Step 3 (St3), and a specific example will be described later with reference to Tables 1 and 2.

The above power supply state switching control is executed in a multitask environment.

In this embodiment, the timer setting value is always changed based on the latest trigger signal Trg. However, the priority is set for each type of the trigger signal Trg, and a variable is set when the priority trigger signal Trg is detected. May be set.

[0037]

[Table 1]

Next, the setting table will be described with reference to Table 1. The setting table can refer to the power supply state and the timer setting value for each trigger type. In the table, the trigger type is shown for each user operation. Sleep indicates the set time until the sleep state, cut-off indicates the cut-off state, and warm-up indicates the set time until switching to the steady state. The blank column indicates that the variable of the timer setting value is not set.
In the following example, various trigger signals Trg broadcast on the network are directly detected by the control unit 261 via the network interface 29.

When the user terminates the word processing software, the personal computer 10a outputs a word processing software termination trigger signal Trg and an operating system (OS).
Is terminated, the OS termination trigger signal Trg is broadcast on the network. The power supply state and the timer setting value are the broadcast word processor soft end trigger signal Trg or the OS end trigger signal Tr
When g is detected, it switches to sleep after 5 minutes,
When the OS termination trigger signal Trg is detected, it is set to switch to the cutoff state after 10 minutes.

Since the server 10b broadcasts a specific control packet for confirming the connection with the client at a certain timing, the control unit 261 monitors the control packet via the network interface 29 and receives the control packet for a certain time. If it cannot, a server stop trigger signal Trg is issued. The power supply status and the timer setting value are determined by the server stop trigger signal Tr.
When g was detected, it was set to switch to the cutoff state after 5 minutes.

When the user removes the cassette 22, the cassette detector 272 outputs the cassette removal trigger signal T.
Issue rg. The power supply state and the timer set value are set so as to switch to the sleep state after 10 minutes and to the cutoff state after 20 minutes when the cassette removal trigger signal Trg is detected.

The trigger signal Trg defined in the setting table
Is not detected for 20 minutes, the control board 26 issues a no-signal trigger signal Trg. When the no-signal trigger signal Trg is issued, the state is switched to the sleep state immediately. When the trigger signal Trg specified in the setting table cannot be detected for further 40 minutes, the state is switched to the cutoff state.

When the user once releases and closes the main body 1a, the open / close detector 271 sets the main body sealing trigger signal Trg.
Issue The power supply state and the timer set value are set so that the switch to the warm-up state occurs two minutes after the main body sealing trigger signal Trg is issued.

When the user sets the cassette 22,
The cassette detector 272 issues a cassette-set trigger signal Trg. The power supply state and the timer set value are set such that when the cassette-set trigger signal Trg is detected, the state is switched to the warm-up state two minutes later.

When the power of the printer 1 is turned off, the cassette 22 is removed, the main body 1a on the cassette 22 is sealed, and when the cassette is set, the cassette removal trigger signal Trg, the sealing trigger signal Trg,
Although the cassette-set trigger signal Trg cannot be detected, it may not be detected because it is initialized when the power of the printer 1 is turned on again.

When the user operates the computer 10 to switch the pixel density, the computer 10 broadcasts a pixel density switching trigger signal Trg on the network. The power supply state and the timer set value are set such that the state is switched to the warm-up state after 5 minutes when the pixel density switching trigger signal Trg is detected.

When the user operates the computer 10 to switch the size of the recording paper, the computer broadcasts a paper size switching trigger signal Trg on the network. The power supply state and the timer set value are set so as to be immediately switched to the warm-up state when the sheet switching trigger signal Trg is detected.

When the user activates the printing software on the computer 10, the computer 10 broadcasts a printing software activation trigger signal Trg on the network. The power supply state and the timer set value are set so that the state is switched to the warm-up state after 5 minutes when the print software activation trigger signal Trg is detected.

When the user executes the print preview on the computer 10, the computer 10 broadcasts a preview execution trigger signal Trg on the network. The power supply state and the timer set value are set so that the state is switched to the warm-up state three minutes after the preview trigger signal Trg is detected.

When the user turns off the light in the room where the printer 1 is installed, the security system 32 issues a turn-off trigger signal Trg. The power supply state and timer setting value
It was set to switch to the cutoff state two minutes after detecting the light-off trigger signal Trg.

When the user locks the room where the printer 1 is installed, the security system 32 broadcasts a lock trigger signal Trg on the network.
The power supply state and the timer set value are set so that the state is switched to the cutoff state as soon as the locking trigger signal Trg is detected.

According to the present invention, it is possible to fold the paper output tray by installing an actuator for detecting the folding of the paper output tray and issuing a tray folding trigger signal Trg when the user folds the paper output tray. It can also be applied to an image recording device. For example, when the tray folding trigger signal Trg is detected, a sleep state is set in 10 minutes,
The setting to shift to the cutoff state in 20 minutes is given.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining control (optimization task) for optimizing the setting table.

The printer 1 is a data accumulation table for accumulating and storing actual values corresponding to each variable in the setting table.
It is stored in the storage unit 262. When the printer 1 is started, the optimization task starts in a multitask environment together with a switching control task and the like.

If any trigger signal Trg stored in the setting table is detected in step 10 (St10), the trigger signal Trg is detected in step 11 (St11).
The type of g is determined.

When the type of the trigger signal Trg signal is determined, a timer is started in step 12 (St12) to wait for a print start request from the user. Here, a print start request is an operation in which the user directly instructs print execution. For example, when printing data handled by event-driven software, an operation of clicking a menu with a pointing device such as a mouse , Keyboard operation and the like. After performing an operation for outputting a print start request, the user can obtain a desired print from the printer 1 without performing any operation unless a failure occurs.

Upon receiving the print start request from the user, the control unit 261 adds the measured value of the timer to the data accumulation table in step 13 (St13). The data accumulation table is a table that accumulates and accumulates measured values of the elapsed time from the detection of the trigger signal Trg to the reception of the print start request for each trigger type. An example of the data accumulation table will be described with reference to Table 2.

[0058]

[Table 2]

The data accumulation table is a look-up table stored in the storage unit 262 and capable of referring to measured value data of elapsed time according to the type of trigger. The minimum value, the maximum value, and the average value are stored in units of minutes according to the type of each trigger signal Trg. In the present embodiment, the main body sealing trigger signal Trg, the cassette set trigger signal Trg, the pixel density switching trigger signal Trg, the paper size switching, the printing software activation trigger signal Tg
The measurement value data of the elapsed time is obtained for six types of trigger signals, ie, rg and a preview execution trigger signal Trg. The minimum value and the maximum value are data obtained from all past measurement values. The average value is stored separately from the past nine data, and each time a new measurement value is obtained, the average value is calculated from the past nine data and a new measurement value (a total of ten data). It is memorized. When a new average value is stored, only the oldest measured value data is discarded by calculation.

Although the timer set values are described for reference,
It is not a variable of the data accumulation table but a variable of the setting table (Table 1).

Returning to the description of FIG. After the data accumulation table (Table 2) is added, the setting table (Table 1) is updated in step 14 (St14). The printer 1 reaches a steady state within 2 minutes after switching to the warm-up state. Therefore, in updating the setting table, a value obtained by subtracting 2 minutes from the average value obtained in the data accumulation table is used as the update data of the timer setting value.

The control unit 261 detects the trigger signal Tr
Although the standby time is set by g, the standby time may be configured to refer to the updated setting table, or may be configured to refer to the setting table before update and refer to the updated setting table from the next trigger signal Trg. But it is good.

When the difference between the minimum value and the maximum value of the measured values is 4 minutes or less, the minimum value is adopted as the timer setting value.

Since the switching control task described with reference to FIG. 3 refers to the timer setting value in the updated setting table,
The switching of the power supply state optimized for the actual use of the printer 1 by the user can be realized.

The number of samples to be accumulated in the data accumulation table is not limited to ten, and each sample may be weighted so that the effect on the timer set value becomes greater as newer samples are obtained.

Further, the trigger signal Trg described in the present embodiment is an example of an example applicable to the present invention, and the standby time can be set and optimized according to various other user operations.

[0067]

According to the image recording apparatus of the present invention, the time from the user's request to start printing to the start of printing can be shortened.
It has become possible to reduce power consumption.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a usage pattern of a printer.

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram illustrating a control mechanism of the printer.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating switching control of a power supply state according to a trigger signal.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating control for optimizing a setting table.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Printer 10 Computer 26 Control Board 261 Control Unit 262 Storage Unit 263 Switching Unit 29 Network Interface 30 Power Supply Unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] An image recording unit for executing image recording on a recording medium; a power supply unit for supplying power to the image recording unit; and a power supply state from the power supply unit to the image recording unit in a steady state and a pause state. In an image recording apparatus including a switching unit, a detecting unit that detects that a user has performed an operation that requires switching, a determining unit that determines a type of the operation, and the detecting unit that detects the operation. Storage means for storing a standby time corresponding to the type until switching of the power supply state is started; and obtaining a standby time corresponding to the type from the storage means. Control means for issuing the power supply state switching command. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation is an operation indicating that the user does not issue a print start request, and the switching is a switching from a steady state to a pause state. apparatus. 3. The operation is an operation indicating that a user issues a print start request.
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the state is a transition from a pause state to a steady state. 4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores a time until the switching for each operation of the user. 5. An interface unit for executing communication with a host using software capable of outputting a print start request, wherein the control unit detects that the interface unit has received an end signal of the software. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the standby time is obtained from the storage unit. 6. An elapsed time acquiring means for acquiring an elapsed time from the detection of the operation to the issuance of the print start request, and correspondence data in which the detected operation is associated with the acquired elapsed time. Storage means, wherein the control means accumulates and stores the correspondence data in the storage means every time the operation is performed, and sets the standby time based on the accumulated correspondence data. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.