Image forming apparatus

Abstract

To speed up image formation more efficiently than before.SOLUTION: A printer 1 has a functional unit 100 having an image forming unit 110, a maintenance unit 120, and a control unit 140 and the like, and a state switching unit 150 that switches between a suspended state and an operating state for at least part of the components of the functional unit 100. When a communication unit 132 receives an inquiry about a function from an external device 2 in a sleep state of the functional unit 100 in which a part of the components is in the suspended state, the state switching unit 150 switches the component of the functional unit 100 from the suspended state to the operating state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are image forming devices such as printers that form images based on image formation instructions sent from an external device such as a PC. The device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is one such example, in which the image forming device is caused to execute a pre-operation when an image formation instruction is sent from the external device. The pre-operation is an operation for preparing for image formation before the start of image formation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-59889 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In an image forming apparatus, some of the functions of the apparatus may be suspended for an appropriate period of time, such as when image formation is not being performed. This suspended state is switched to an operating state before image formation is started. In order to quickly execute image formation, it is preferable to switch the state as early as possible. In the case of Patent Document 1 as an example, it is conceivable that the state may be switched using a preceding operation as a trigger.

[0005] However, the above-mentioned advance operation is performed after an instruction to form an image is issued, and there is a demand for switching the state at an earlier timing to speed up image formation.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can more effectively speed up image formation than conventional apparatuses. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises an image forming unit that performs an image forming operation to form an image on a medium, a communication unit that communicates with an external device, a functional unit consisting of hardware and software that at least constitutes a control unit that controls the image forming unit and the communication unit, and a state switching unit that switches at least a portion of the functional unit between a sleep state and an operating state, wherein the control unit performs a response process that causes the communication unit to send a response to the inquiry to the external device when the communication unit receives an inquiry regarding the function of the functional unit from the external device, and an image forming process that causes the image forming unit to perform the image forming operation in accordance with the instruction from the external device when the communication unit acquires an instruction regarding the image forming operation from the external device after receiving the inquiry by the communication unit, and the state switching unit performs a function recovery process that, when the communication unit receives the inquiry, starts a process of switching at least a portion of the functional unit from the sleep state to the operating state before the communication unit receives the instruction, and a function suspension process that switches at least a portion of the functional unit from the operating state to the sleep state after the image forming operation is completed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] Before an external device issues an instruction to form an image to an image forming device, the external device may inquire about the functions of the image forming device, for example, so that the external device can grasp the functions of the image forming device and allow the user to select a function on the external device.

[0009] The present invention switches the functional unit from a dormant state to an active state in response to a function inquiry from an external device as described above. This initiates the switchover before an image formation instruction is received. This allows for an earlier timing for starting image formation after receiving the image formation instruction. This effectively speeds up image formation compared to conventional techniques. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 2 is a sequence diagram showing the process performed by the printer and the external device in FIG. 1 when image formation starts. [Figure 3] 2 is a graph showing the transition between a sleep state and a ready state in the printer of FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A printer 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 3. As shown in Figure 1, printer 1 (corresponding to the "image forming apparatus" of the present invention) has a functional unit 100 that performs its main functions. The functional unit 100 has an image forming unit 110, a maintenance unit 120, a touch panel display 131, a communication unit 132, and a control unit 140.

[0012] Image forming unit 110 performs image formation operations using a laser method or an inkjet method. Image formation operations involve forming an image on printing paper by applying ink or toner to the paper. Image forming unit 110 includes, as its components, a transport unit that transports printing paper, a toner heating unit, an exposure unit and development unit for a photosensitive drum, a fixing unit, ink cartridges, toner cartridges, an inkjet head, etc.

[0013] The maintenance unit 120 performs maintenance operations on the image forming unit 110 to maintain and improve the quality of image formation. Maintenance operations for the inkjet image forming unit 110 include, for example, an operation to discharge dried ink from the nozzles that eject ink, and an operation to clean dirt from the surface where the nozzles of the inkjet head open. Maintenance operations for the laser image forming unit 110 include, for example, an operation to clean the photosensitive drum. The maintenance unit 120 includes, as components, cleaning mechanisms corresponding to each cleaning operation. A maintenance operation is performed, for example, immediately before image formation is performed.

[0014] Touch panel display 131 (corresponding to the "screen display unit" of the present invention) has a screen that displays characters, images, etc. On this screen, for example, a setting screen including a control image for user input is displayed. Touch panel display 131 can accept user input using this setting screen. When a finger or the like touches the screen, touch panel display 131 detects the contact position and outputs the detection result to control unit 140. This allows various user inputs via the setting screen displayed on touch panel display 131.

[0015] The communication unit 132 is a communication interface that performs network communication such as LAN (Local Area Network), short-range wireless communication, USB (Universal Serial Bus) communication, etc. The communication unit 132 connects to an external device 2 such as a PC or a smartphone and performs data communication.

[0016] The control unit 140 has hardware such as a main CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage unit consisting of ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and software such as programs and image data stored in the storage unit. The image data is received from the external device 2 via the communication unit 132, for example.

[0017] The control unit 140, through cooperation between these hardware and software, executes various processes for controlling other parts of the functional unit 100. The control unit 140 includes an image formation processing unit 141, a maintenance processing unit 142, and a UI processing unit 143 as parts responsible for these various processes.

[0018] The image formation processing unit 141 controls the operation of the image forming unit 110 to perform image formation processing that causes the image forming unit 110 to perform an image formation operation based on image data in the storage unit. The maintenance processing unit 142 controls the operation of the maintenance unit 120 to perform maintenance processing that causes the maintenance unit 120 to perform various maintenance operations. The UI processing unit 143 controls the operation of the touch panel display 131 to perform notification processing that displays various types of information on the touch panel display 131 and user input processing that causes the touch panel display 131 to accept user input via a setting screen.

[0019] Additionally, when the control unit 140 receives an inquiry (described later) about the functions of the functional unit 100 from the external device 2 via the communication unit 132, the control unit 140 responds by transmitting the contents of the functions of the functional unit 100 to the external device 2 via the communication unit 132 (this corresponds to the "response process" of the present invention). The contents of the functions include whether the printer 1 supports color printing, what types of printing paper are supported, the remaining amounts of ink, toner, and printing paper, etc.

[0020] As described above, functional unit 100 is composed of various hardware components such as a transport unit that transports printing paper, a toner heating unit, an exposure unit and development unit for the photosensitive drum, a fixing unit, ink cartridges, toner cartridges, an inkjet head, a cleaning mechanism, a touch panel display 131, a communication unit 132, a CPU, an ASIC, a memory unit, etc., as well as software stored in the memory unit, etc. Also included as components are image formation processing unit 141, maintenance processing unit 142, and UI processing unit 143, whose functions are realized by the cooperation of hardware and software.

[0021] The state switching unit 150 switches the state of each component of the functional unit 100 between a dormant state and an active state. The active state is an operating state in which each component can perform its function. The dormant state is a state in which each component stops performing its function or can perform its function with lower performance than in the active state, thereby reducing power consumption compared to the active state. For example, in the touch panel display 131, the screen display is turned on in the active state, but the screen display is turned off in the dormant state. Furthermore, in the maintenance unit 120, maintenance operations are performed in the active state, but not in the dormant state. The state switching unit 150 is composed of a circuit that controls the power supply to each component of the functional unit 100, a sub-CPU, a memory that stores programs that cause the sub-CPU to execute various processes, and the like.

[0022] The state of a component is switched by turning on and off the power supply to that component. The state of a component is also switched by sending a signal to that component instructing the component to switch its state. For example, the sub-CPU of the state switching unit 150 sends a signal to the main CPU of the control unit 140 instructing the component to switch its state. In response to this, the main CPU switches its state between a sleep state and an operating state. Furthermore, the main CPU can switch between a sleep state and an operating state by executing or stopping the corresponding processing for each of the image formation processing unit 141, the maintenance processing unit 142, and the UI processing unit 143.

[0023] The state switching unit 150 can switch states after a certain period of time has elapsed based on a built-in timer. For example, the state switching unit 150 puts some of the components of the functional unit 100 into a sleep state if the image forming unit 110 has not performed an image formation operation for a certain period of time. Hereinafter, this state will be referred to as the "sleep state" of the functional unit 100. This reduces unnecessary power consumption. Even in the sleep state, some of the components, such as the communication unit 132, remain in operation.

[0024] Furthermore, the state switching unit 150 monitors the operation of the components of the functional unit 100 and can switch the state of the functional unit 100 based on the monitoring results. For example, when the communication unit 132 receives image data, the state switching unit 150 switches the components of the functional unit 100 that are in a dormant state to an active state. Hereinafter, the state in which at least some of the components have been switched from the sleep state to an active state will be referred to as a "ready state."

[0025] The external device 2 comprises hardware including a user input / output unit 21, a CPU, and a memory unit consisting of memory, storage, etc., and software stored in the memory unit. The user input / output unit 21 comprises input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, and an output device such as a display. The software includes a printer driver 22 and image processing software 23. The printer driver 22 causes the external device 2 to function so as to perform various processes related to image formation by the printer 1. The image processing software 23 causes the external device 2 to function so as to edit documents and images, view information, etc., based on user input received by the user input / output unit 21. The external device 2, using functions based on the image processing software 23, generates a request for image formation by the printer 1 in response to user input received by the user input / output unit 21.

[0026] When a request for image formation is issued, the external device 2 executes the process shown in Fig. 2 using functions based on the printer driver 22. First, the external device 2 selects one of the printers connected to the external device 2 in response to a user input (S1). When printer 1 is selected, the external device 2 queries the printer 1 about the functions of the functional unit 100 (S2). In response, printer 1 replies with the contents of the functions of the functional unit 100 (S3), and the external device 2 displays the contents of the reply on the display (S4). After checking the contents displayed on the display, the user selects a function of printer 1 through the user input / output unit 21 and inputs an instruction to form an image (S5). The external device 2 then transmits image data to the printer 1, thereby instructing the printer 1 to form an image (S6).

[0027] Conventionally, when the functional unit 100 of the printer 1 is in a sleep state and receives an image formation instruction from the external device 2, the printer 1 returns from the sleep state to a ready state (see "Conventional Processing" in FIG. 3). However, since the return process itself takes time, it is required to start the return process at an earlier timing in order to speed up image formation. Therefore, in this embodiment, the printer 1 switches between the sleep state and the ready state as shown in FIG. 3.

[0028] When the functional unit 100 is in a sleep state, if there is a function inquiry from the external device 2 at time t1 in FIG. 3 (processing of S2 in FIG. 2), this triggers the state switching unit 150 to switch the functional unit 100 to a ready state. At this time, the state switching unit 150 switches some of the components of the functional unit 100 that were in a dormant state to an active state (corresponding to the "function recovery process" and "first switching process" of the present invention). Hereinafter, this switching process will be referred to as the "first recovery process." The components whose states are switched in the first recovery process correspond to the "first part" of the present invention.

[0029] In the first recovery process, the states of components related to functions that are relatively important for performing image formation and that consume relatively little power are mainly switched. As an example, the screen display function of touch panel display 131 is less important than the functions of image forming unit 110, image formation processing unit 141, maintenance unit 120, and maintenance processing unit 142 that are related to image formation itself and operations prior to image formation. For this reason, recovery of image forming unit 110, image formation processing unit 141, maintenance unit 120, and maintenance processing unit 142 is given priority over recovery of touch panel display 131.

[0030] On the other hand, among the image forming unit 110, the image formation processing unit 141, the maintenance unit 120, and the maintenance processing unit 142, the power consumption of the maintenance operation by the maintenance unit 120 and the maintenance processing unit 142 is relatively large. Therefore, the power consumed by the maintenance unit 120 and the maintenance processing unit 142 per unit time until the start of image formation is greater than the power consumed per unit time by the image forming unit 110 and the image formation processing unit 141. Accordingly, in the first recovery process, the image forming unit 110 and the image formation processing unit 141 are recovered, but the maintenance unit 120, the touch panel display 131, and the maintenance processing unit 142 are not recovered.

[0031] As another example, in a laser-based image forming unit 110, the heating of toner by the heating unit in operation consumes a relatively large amount of power. Therefore, the power consumed by the heating unit per unit time until the start of image formation is greater than the power consumed by the conveying unit per unit time. Accordingly, in the first recovery process, the conveying unit is recovered, but the heating unit is not recovered.

[0032] Next, when an image formation instruction is given from the external device 2 at time t2 in FIG. 3 (the process of S6 in FIG. 2), this triggers the state switching unit 150 to switch the remaining components of the functional unit 100 that are in a dormant state to an active state (corresponding to the "function recovery process" and "second switching process" of the present invention). Hereinafter, this switching process will be referred to as the "second recovery process." The components whose states are switched in the second recovery process correspond to the "second part" of the present invention. Note that the time from the completion of the first recovery process to the start of the second recovery process is shorter than T2, which will be described later.

[0033] In the second recovery process, the states of the components that were not recovered in the first recovery process are switched. For example, the touch panel display 131, the maintenance unit 120, the maintenance processing unit 142, the heating unit of the image forming unit 110, and the like are switched from a dormant state to an operational state. These components then perform operations such as cleaning and toner heating required as a preliminary step to image formation, and the status of image formation is displayed on the screen of the touch panel display 131.

[0034] When the second return process is completed, image formation begins at time t3 in Fig. 3. When image formation is completed at time t4 in Fig. 3, the functional unit 100 waits temporarily in the ready state. When the waiting time from time t4 when image formation is completed reaches T1 at time t5, the state switching unit 150 switches the state of the functional unit 100 from the ready state to the sleep state. Hereinafter, this switching process will be referred to as the "first transition process" (corresponding to the "function pause process" and "first pause process" of the present invention). T1 corresponds to the "first time" of the present invention.

[0035] When the functional unit 100 is in the sleep state, if an inquiry about a function is received from the external device 2 at time t6 in FIG. 3, this triggers the state switching unit 150 to perform the first return process. This puts the functional unit 100 into the ready state. When the waiting time after the completion of the first return process reaches T2 at time t7, this triggers the state switching unit 150 to switch the state of the functional unit 100 from the ready state to the sleep state. Hereinafter, this switching process will be referred to as the "second transition process" (corresponding to the "function pause process" and "first pause process" of the present invention). T2 at this time is shorter than T1. In other words, the time from the completion of the first return process to the start of the second transition process is set shorter than the time from the completion of image formation to the start of the first transition process. T2 corresponds to the "second time" of the present invention.

[0036] According to the present embodiment described above, before the external device 2 issues an instruction to form an image to the printer 1, an inquiry about the functions of the printer 1 is made from the external device 2. This is because, for example, the external device 2 knows the functions of the printer 1 so that the external device 2 can allow the user to select a function.

[0037] The state switching unit 150 according to this embodiment performs a first return process in response to a function inquiry from the external device 2 as described above. That is, the state of the functional unit 100 is switched from the sleep state to the ready state. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the first return process for some of the components of the functional unit 100 can be started before an image formation instruction is received. Then, a subsequent image formation instruction from the external device 2 is triggered to perform a second return process for the remaining components, and image formation begins. On the other hand, in the prior art, the return process is triggered by an image formation instruction. That is, both the first return process and the second return process are performed after an image formation instruction is received. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the timing at which image formation begins (time t3) can be made earlier than the conventional timing (time t3'). This effectively speeds up image formation compared to the prior art.

[0038] In this embodiment, the return from the sleep state is performed in two stages: a first return process and a second return process. This allows for a smooth transition from the sleep state to the ready state. Furthermore, if there is no image formation instruction from the external device 2 after the first return process is performed, the printer returns to the sleep state without performing the second return process. This reduces unnecessary power consumption. Here, the time T2 from the completion of the first return process to the start of the second transition process is set shorter than the time T1 from the completion of image formation to the start of the first transition process. This further reduces unnecessary power consumption.

[0039] In this embodiment, the second return process also returns the touch panel display 131, which is related to the screen display function. The maintenance unit 120 and part of the image forming unit 110, which are related to maintenance operations and toner heating, are also returned. In other words, the return of functions that are not essential for image formation and functions that consume a lot of power, are postponed. This makes it easier to avoid excessive power consumption caused by switching from the sleep state to the ready state earlier, and power consumption by non-essential functions.

[0040] <Modification> Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configurations should not be considered to be limited to these embodiments. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims rather than the above description of the embodiments, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

[0041] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the states of the components of the functional unit 100 are switched in two stages, the first return process and the second return process, after a function inquiry is made from the external device 2. Alternatively, when a function inquiry is made from the external device 2, the states of the components may be switched in a series of stages, combining the first return process and the second return process.

[0042] In the above embodiment, the second recovery process is executed when an instruction to form an image is sent from the external device 2. Alternatively, the second recovery process may be executed when a predetermined time has elapsed since the completion of the first recovery process. In this case, the predetermined time is set to be shorter than T2. ​​The second recovery process may be further divided into a 2-1 recovery process and a 2-2 recovery process, the former of which is executed when an instruction to form an image is sent from the external device 2, and the latter of which is executed after the start of image formation. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1. Printer 2 External device 22 Printer Driver 100 Functional Part 110 Image forming unit 131 Touch Panel Display 132 Communications Department 140 Control Unit 141 Image formation processing section 150 State switching unit

Claims

1. a functional unit including at least hardware and software constituting an image forming unit that performs an image forming operation to form an image on a medium, a communication unit that communicates with an external device, and a control unit that controls the image forming unit and the communication unit; a state switching unit that switches between a sleep state and an active state for at least some of the functional units; The control unit a response process in which, when the communication unit receives an inquiry about a function of the functional unit from the external device, the communication unit transmits a response to the inquiry to the external device; after receiving the inquiry by the communication unit, when the communication unit acquires an instruction regarding the image forming operation from the external device, executes an image forming process to cause the image forming unit to perform the image forming operation in accordance with the instruction from the external device; The state switching unit a function recovery process that, when the communication unit receives the inquiry, starts a process of switching at least a part of the functional units from the inactive state to the active state before the communication unit receives the instruction; and after the completion of the image forming operation, executing a function suspension process for switching at least a part of the functional units from the operating state to the suspension state.

2. The function recovery process includes: a first switching process for switching a first part, which is a part of the functional unit, from the inactive state to the active state; 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second switching process for switching a second part, which is another part of the functional unit, from the inactive state to the active state after the first switching process.

3. the functional unit includes a screen display unit as the second part, 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the screen display of the screen display unit is on in the operating state and is off in the inactive state.

4. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the power consumed per unit time by the first portion in the operating state is smaller than the power consumed per unit time by the second portion in the operating state.

5. the functional unit includes, as the second part, at least one of a part of the image forming unit and a part that performs a maintenance operation for the image forming unit, 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the part that performs the maintenance operation performs the maintenance operation in the operating state, and does not perform the maintenance operation in the inactive state.

6. The function suspension process includes: a first pause process for switching at least a part of the functional units from the operating state to the pause state when a first time has elapsed since the completion of the image forming operation; The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second pause process for switching at least a portion of the functional units from the pause state to the operating state when a second time shorter than the first time has elapsed without the communication unit receiving the instruction after the function recovery process has switched at least a portion of the functional units from the pause state to the operating state.

Images