Image forming apparatus

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus that does not unnecessarily cancel a power-saving state of an engine unit when a communication packet is received.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus includes a communication unit which determines whether or not a received communication packet is a return packet for canceling a power-saving state, a control unit which processes jobs, an engine unit which performs printing, and a power supply unit which individually turns on and off power supplied to the control unit and the engine unit. When the communication unit determines that the received communication packet is a return packet, the communication unit instructs the power supply unit to supply power to the control unit, and further determines a first determination condition on whether the communication packet meets conditions for notification, and a second determination condition on whether or not a sender of the communication packet is included in a sender list from which no notification is to be performed. When the first determination condition is satisfied and the second determination condition is not satisfied, the communication unit performs notification to the control unit. When the first determination condition is not satisfied or the second determination condition is satisfied, the communication unit does not perform the notification. The control unit, when the notification is performed, starts up the engine unit in advance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus that determines whether to cancel the power saving state of an engine unit for printing when a communication packet is received in a power saving state. [Background technology]

[0002] An image forming apparatus has been proposed that can prevent unnecessary initialization of an electrophotographic process when a factor occurs that causes the apparatus to return from a power-saving mode (power-saving state) to a normal mode (normal state). For example, the image forming apparatus has a determination unit that, when the image forming apparatus receives a job in a sleep state, determines the port number through which the job was received, and a determination unit that determines whether initialization of the image forming unit is necessary based on the port number determined by the determination unit. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus has a startup control unit that, when the determination unit determines that initialization of the image forming unit is necessary, starts initialization of the image forming unit and then controls the control unit to start processing the job (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-222753 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, even if the port number of the job sent to the image forming device indicates a print job, if the print job is stored as a reserved print or print server and is related to a service that does not involve the operation of the engine section that should be output immediately to the image forming device, the engine will be initialized unnecessarily.

[0005] This disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and provides an image forming device that, when receiving a communication packet from an external device, does not unnecessarily release the power saving state of the engine unit as much as conventionally does. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The image forming apparatus according to this disclosure includes a communication unit that, when receiving a communication packet in a power saving state, determines whether the communication packet is a return packet that should cause the power saving state to be cancelled; a control unit that processes a job accepted through communication including a subsequent packet; an engine unit that performs printing in accordance with instructions from the control unit; and a power supply unit that turns on and off power supplied to the control unit and the engine unit individually, and when receiving the communication packet in the power saving state, if the communication packet is a return packet that should cause the power saving state to be cancelled, the communication unit instructs the power supply unit to supply power to the control unit, and further if the communication packet matches a condition for notification. and a second determination condition whether the sender of the communication packet is included in the list of senders that do not issue a notification. If the first determination condition is met and the second determination condition is not met, the notification is issued to the control unit. On the other hand, if the first determination condition is not met or the second determination condition is met, the notification is not issued. The control unit, which has been started up by the supply of power, is characterized in that, when the notification is issued, the control unit instructs the power supply unit to supply power to the engine unit without performing communication including a subsequent packet, thereby starting up the engine unit in advance. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] In the image forming apparatus according to this disclosure, when a communication packet is received in a power saving state, if the communication packet is a return packet that should cancel the power saving state, the communication unit instructs the power supply unit to supply power to the control unit, and further determines a first determination condition of whether the communication packet meets the conditions for notification and a second determination condition of whether the sender of the communication packet is included in a list of senders that do not send notifications, and if the first determination condition is met and the second determination condition is not met, the notification is sent to the control unit, while if the first determination condition is not met or the second determination condition is met, the notification is not sent, and the control unit, which has been started up by the supply of power, instructs the power supply unit to supply power to the engine unit without performing communication including a subsequent packet when the notification is sent, thereby starting up the engine unit in advance, thereby realizing an image forming apparatus that does not unnecessarily cancel the power saving state of the engine unit as compared to conventional image forming apparatuses. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an image forming apparatus related to cancellation of a power saving state upon reception of a communication packet in an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process related to canceling the power saving state, which is executed by a communication unit in the power saving state, in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an initial process executed by a control unit when a power saving state is released and power is supplied in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process of the main control unit when receiving a subsequent packet in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a main control unit when a timer setting time is reached in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7]10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a process until an information processing apparatus that has accessed an image forming apparatus is added to a list of image forming apparatuses that are not targets for prior activation in the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 8] 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a process until an information processing apparatus that has accessed an image forming apparatus is removed from the list of image forming apparatuses that are not targets for advance startup in the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] In this disclosure, an "image forming device" is a device that forms and outputs an image, such as a copier or multifunction device with a copying function, such as a printer that uses an electrophotographic method to form an image with toner, or an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) that also includes functions other than copying.

[0010] Further, preferred embodiments of this disclosure will be described.

[0011] In the image forming device according to this disclosure, when the communication unit receives the communication packet in the power saving state and is started up by being supplied with power, and then the engine unit is started up in advance by receiving the notification, but the job accepted through communication including the subsequent packet is not a print job involving operation of the engine unit, the control unit may increase a count number for each source IP address included in a predetermined list of false early start judgments, and when the count number reaches a predetermined first number, notify the communication unit of the source IP address of the communication packet, and the communication unit may add the information of the source IP address notified by the control unit to the list of sources for which notification is not to be made.

[0012] In this way, if the control unit starts up by receiving power due to the communication unit receiving a communication packet in a power-saving state and then starts up the engine unit in advance due to receiving a notification, but the job accepted through communication including a subsequent packet is not a print job that requires operation of the engine unit, the control unit increases the count number for each sender IP address included in a predetermined list of false advance start judgments, and when the count number reaches a predetermined first number, notifies the communication unit of the IP address of the sender of the communication packet, and the communication unit adds the information of the sender IP address notified by the control unit to the list of senders that do not receive notifications, thereby realizing an image forming apparatus that does not unnecessarily cancel the power-saving state of the engine unit as before.

[0013] In the image forming device according to this disclosure, if the control unit receives the communication packet in the power saving state, causing the power to be supplied, and the job accepted through communication including the subsequent packet is a print job involving operation of the engine unit, even though the notification is not received, the control unit may reduce the count number for each sender IP address included in a predetermined list of erroneous advance start-up judgments by a predetermined number, and when the count number becomes less than a predetermined second number, notify the communication unit of the sender IP address of the communication packet, and the communication unit may delete the information of the sender IP address notified by the control unit from the list of senders for which notification is not to be made.

[0014] In this way, if the control unit receives a communication packet in a power-saving state and is started up, and power is supplied to the communication unit, but the control unit does not receive a notification, and the job accepted through communication including a subsequent packet is a print job that involves operation of the engine unit, the control unit reduces the count number for each sender IP address included in a predetermined list of false advance start-up judgments by a predetermined number, and when the count number becomes less than a predetermined second number, notifies the communication unit of the sender IP address of the communication packet, and the communication unit deletes the information of the sender IP address notified by the control unit from the list of senders that do not issue notifications, thereby realizing an image forming apparatus that does not unnecessarily disable the power-saving state of the engine unit as conventionally done.

[0015] This disclosure will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following description is illustrative in all respects and should not be construed as limiting this disclosure.

[0016] First, an image forming apparatus 10 according to this disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image forming system 100 including an image forming apparatus 10 and an information processing apparatus 19 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 100 includes an image forming apparatus 10 and an information processing apparatus 19 connected to each other via a network 18 . In the example of Figure 1, only one information processing device 19 is shown connected to the image forming device 10, but this is not limited to this case and the system may consist of multiple information processing devices 19 and image forming devices 10.

[0018] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 for canceling a power saving state upon receiving a communication packet in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a communication unit 11, an engine unit 12, a control unit 13, a power supply unit 14, and a power switch 15.

[0019] The solid arrows shown in FIG. 2 indicate internal communications and control signals within the image forming apparatus 10. The dashed arrow indicates a control signal 20 that is asserted by the communication unit 11 when notifying the main control unit 13M, which has been released from the power saving state and turned on, to execute a predetermined process. The open arrow indicates the power supply.

[0020] Each component of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described below.

[0021] The communication unit 11 is a communication control circuit that enables the image forming apparatus 10 to communicate with external devices connected via a network 18. It performs network-level processing on communication packets received via the network 18. In terms of the OSI reference model, this processing mainly corresponds to the data link layer (layer 2) and network layer (layer 3) levels.

[0022] Even when the image forming apparatus 10 is in the power saving mode, power is supplied to the communication unit 11, and the communication unit 11 can receive data packets from an external device. The communication unit 11 has a nonvolatile memory that stores various settings, including a list of sources that do not assert (make valid) the control signal 20, and therefore can hold settings from the main control unit 13M.

[0023] FIG. 2 also shows an image forming system in which an information processing device 19 in which a printer driver 19D is installed is connected to the image forming device 10 via a network 18. The information processing device 19 may be, for example, a personal computer or a smartphone, but is not limited to these devices. Any device may be used as long as the printer driver 19D is installed and the device issues instructions related to a print job to the image forming device 10 via the network 18. The information processing device 19 may also use software (not shown) to request the start of various services via the network 18 without involving the operation of the engine unit 12.

[0024] The engine unit 12 is a mechanism and circuit that forms an image, for example, by electrophotography or inkjet printing. Because the engine unit 12 consumes a large amount of power to operate its circuits and mechanisms, in this embodiment, power to the engine unit 12 is turned off in the power-saving state. After the power-saving state is released and power is supplied to the engine unit 12, an initialization process (known as warm-up) is required before the engine unit 12 can print, and it takes a certain amount of time from the start to the end of the warm-up. For example, this time is 20 seconds.

[0025] The control unit 13 controls each unit of the image forming apparatus 10, including the engine unit 12. The control unit 13 is a circuit having a hardware configuration centered around at least one processor, a memory, and an I / O port for inputting and outputting control signals 20, and the processing of the control unit 13 is performed by the processor executing a program stored in the memory. In other words, the functions of the control unit are realized by organically combining software and hardware.

[0026] 2 shows an embodiment in which the control unit 13 includes an engine control unit 13E that controls the engine unit 12 and a main control unit 13M that controls other units including the communication unit 11. This embodiment shows that the engine control unit 13E and the main control unit 13M each have their own unique hardware. The main control unit 13M and the engine control unit 13E communicate with each other and cooperate to control the image forming apparatus 10.

[0027] The main control unit 13M has a non-volatile memory that stores settings related to at least one job requested from an external device, in addition to a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) as memories.

[0028] Main control unit 13M stores various settings related to the user interface and print jobs of image forming apparatus 10 so that the processor can read and write them, such as settings related to at least one job requested from an external device, a list of erroneous precedence start determinations, a list of precedence start exclusions, and source IP addresses of return packets. In addition to or instead of the nonvolatile memory, the image forming apparatus may have storage such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive).

[0029] The main control unit 13M controls the operation of the image forming device 10 based on user operations on the image forming device 10 received via an operation unit (not shown) and communication with external devices performed by the communication unit 11 via the network 18.

[0030] The engine control unit 13E receives a request from the main control unit 13M and controls the operation of the engine unit 12 to execute a print job. The engine control unit 13E also controls the power supply unit 14 to turn on and off the power to the engine unit 12.

[0031] Power supply unit 14 is a circuit that receives AC power from the power grid, converts it into DC power, and supplies it to communication unit 11, engine unit 12, main control unit 13M, and engine control unit 13E. Power supply unit 14 can individually turn on and off the power supplied to engine unit 12, main control unit 13M, and engine control unit 13E.

[0032] When the image forming apparatus 10 is in a normal state (normal mode), the power supply unit 14 supplies power to the communication unit 11, the main control unit 13M, and the engine control unit 13E. On the other hand, the power supply unit 14 does not supply power to the engine unit 12 until a request is received from the engine control unit 13E.

[0033] When the main control unit 13M instructs a transition from a normal state to a power saving state (power saving mode), the power supply unit 14, based on that instruction, cuts off the power supplied to the engine unit 12 (if power is being supplied), the main control unit 13M, and the engine control unit 13E to reduce power consumption. However, even in the power saving state, power is supplied to the communication unit 11. This is to enable communication packets to be received from external devices via the network 18.

[0034] The power operation switch 15 is a switch circuit disposed in the operation unit of the image forming apparatus 10. When the user operates the power operation switch 15 while the image forming apparatus 10 is in a power saving state, the power supply unit 14 responds to the operation and turns on the power to the main control unit 13M and the engine control unit 13E. When the main control unit 13M receives power and starts processing, it instructs the engine control unit 13E to start warming up. In response to this, the engine control unit 13E instructs the engine unit 12 to turn on the power, and the power supply unit 14 turns on the power supplied to the engine unit. The engine unit 12 performs warm-up and transitions to a state where it is ready to form an image.

[0035] Therefore, in this embodiment, the trigger for returning the image forming apparatus 10 from the power saving state to the normal state is the receipt of a communication packet via the network 18 or the operation of the power operation switch 15. Of these triggers, the one related to the features of this disclosure is the receipt of a communication packet via the network 18.

[0036] <<Processing of communication unit 11 in power saving state>> Next, a process for canceling the power saving state, which is executed by the communication unit 11 in the power saving state, will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing related to canceling the power saving state, which is executed by the communication unit 11 in the power saving state in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 3, the communication unit 11 processes communication packets received via the network 18 in the power saving state.

[0038] In step S1 of FIG. 3, when a communication packet is received (if the determination in step S1 is Yes), in step S2, the communication unit 11 determines whether the received communication packet (received packet) corresponds to a predetermined pattern of a recovery packet (step S2).

[0039] A recovery packet is a communication packet in which at least part of the content matches a predetermined pattern, and one example is a magic packet that is defined to send a power-on command to a device connected via a network. Another example is a packet that an information processing device 19 with a driver installed sends to an image forming device 10 to request the start of one of the above services. In this case, the part of the packet used for the request that represents characteristics such as a port number or protocol is reflected in the pattern. The return pattern may be one that is fixedly held by the communication unit 11, or may be one that is dynamically registered in the communication unit 11 by the main control unit 13M. The communication unit 11 determines whether or not each received communication packet matches one or more predetermined return patterns.

[0040] If the received packet does not match the pattern of a recovery packet (if the determination in step S2 is No), the communication unit 11 does not perform any processing related to canceling the power saving state, but returns the processing to step S1 and waits for reception of the next communication packet.

[0041] On the other hand, if the received packet matches the pattern of a recovery packet (if the judgment in step S2 is Yes), in step S3, the communication unit 11 judges whether the received packet matches the predetermined assertion condition of the control signal 20 (step S3).

[0042] The condition for asserting the control signal 20 at the time of recovery is, for example, specified by the main control unit 13M when registering a recovery pattern in the communication unit 11, as to whether or not to assert the control signal 20 for each recovery pattern depending on which recovery pattern of the recovery packet is matched. Furthermore, the main control unit 13M may specify whether or not to assert the control signal 20 for each destination port number.

[0043] If the received packet meets the assertion condition of the control signal 20 (if the judgment in step S3 is Yes), in step S4, the communication unit 11 judges whether the sender of the received packet is included in the list of senders that do not assert the control signal 20 (step S4).

[0044] Here, the list of sources that do not assert the control signal 20 is basically the same as the list of non-preemptive start targets stored in the main control unit 13M, but if the number of addresses that can be stored in the non-volatile memory of the communication unit 11 is small, the list will contain as many IP addresses as can be stored, starting with the most recent date and time of the last erroneous judgment. In this case, the date and time of the last erroneous determination must be recorded in the list of programs not to be started in advance.

[0045] If the sender of the received packet is not included in the list of senders that do not assert the control signal 20 (if the determination in step S4 is No), in step S5, the communication unit 11 asserts a predetermined control signal 20 (step S5).

[0046] In this case, the main control unit 13M requests the engine control unit 13E to start the engine unit 12 first. Upon receiving the request, the engine control unit 13E instructs the power supply unit 14 to start supplying power to the engine unit 12 and performs various preparatory operations required to start printing.

[0047] On the other hand, if in step S3 the received packet does not meet the assertion conditions of the control signal 20 (if the judgment in step S2 is No), or if in step S4 the sender of the received packet is included in the list of senders that do not assert the control signal 20 (if the judgment in step S4 is No), in step S6 the communication unit 11 negates (sets to an invalid state) the predetermined control signal 20 (step S6).

[0048] After asserting or negating the predetermined control signal 20, in step S6, the communication unit 11 instructs the power supply unit 14 to turn on the power supplied to the main control unit 13M and the engine control unit 13E (i.e., the control unit 13), that is, to cancel the power saving state (step S6). However, the power supplied to the engine unit 12 is not turned on. The instruction to turn on the power supplied to the engine unit 12 is issued by the engine control unit 13E.

[0049] If the control signal 20 is not asserted, the main control unit 13M does not request the engine control unit 13E to start up the engine unit 12, and therefore power is not supplied to the engine unit 12 at the time of the return process.

[0050] All information registered or specified by the main control unit 13M in the communication unit 11 may be set when transitioning to the power saving state, or the settings may be stored in the non-volatile memory of the communication unit 11 so that only the information to be changed can be set at any time before transitioning to the power saving state.

[0051] After the power saving state is cancelled and the main control unit 13M and the engine control unit 13E start processing, the communication unit 11, under the control of the main control unit 13M, communicates with the information processing device 19 and other devices connected via the network 18. Since this disclosure relates to the cancellation of the power saving state, a description of the processing that occurs after the power supply unit 14 is instructed to cancel the power saving state will be omitted.

[0052] <<Processing of the control unit after power saving mode is released (at startup)>> Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a process of turning on the power supplied to the engine unit 12 by the control unit 13 to which power has been supplied after the communication unit 11 has executed the process of step S7 described above will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the control unit 13 as the main control unit 13M at startup, particularly the processing related to canceling the power saving state.

[0053] When the power is turned on and processing starts, as shown in step S11 of FIG. 4, the main control unit 13M executes basic initialization processing such as clearing the work memory and initializing the I / O ports (step S11). This initialization process is not a process related to the release of the power-saving state, but a general process, and is described here to show the context of the subsequent process related to the release of the power-saving state.

[0054] When the initialization process is completed, in the next step S12, the main control unit 13M determines whether or not the communication unit 11 is asserting the control signal 20 (step S12). The control signal 20 is a control signal output by the communication unit 11 and is received at an input port of the main control unit 13M.

[0055] If the control signal 20 has been asserted (if the judgment in step S12 is Yes), the main control unit 13M judges that the assertion of the control signal 20 by the communication unit 11 is highly likely to be communication related to a print job that requires printing using the engine unit 12 to be started immediately.

[0056] Therefore, in step S13, an instruction is sent to engine control unit 13E to start warming up the engine unit at that time in preparation for execution of the print job (step S13). In response to this instruction, engine control unit 13E instructs power supply unit 14 to supply power to engine unit 12. This causes engine unit 12 to start warming up.

[0057] In the following step S14, the main control unit 13M starts up the OS and prepares for use of the communication unit 11 (network processing) (step S14).

[0058] When the preparation for use is complete, in step S15, the communication unit 11 acquires the return packet, reads the source IP address from the header portion of the packet, and stores the IP address in memory (step S15).

[0059] Thereafter, in step S16, a timer (not shown) for checking whether a print job has been received is set to a predetermined waiting time (for example, 20 seconds) (step S16). During this waiting time, it is checked whether or not a print job involving the operation of the engine unit 12 has been received from the sender of the return packet.

[0060] <<Processing of the main control unit 13M when receiving a subsequent packet>> Next, the processing of the main control unit 13M when receiving a subsequent packet will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the main control unit 13M when receiving a subsequent packet in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0061] If a job is received from the sender of the return packet during the standby time, the main control unit 13M performs the following process.

[0062] In step S21 of FIG. 5, the main control unit 13M determines whether the destination port number is for printing processing (step S21). If the destination port number is not for printing (if the determination in step S21 is No), in step S22, the main control unit 13M performs processing for each application corresponding to the receiving port (step S22).

[0063] On the other hand, if the destination port number is for printing processing (if the determination in step S21 is Yes), in step S23, the main control unit 13M analyzes the print job data (step S23).

[0064] In the following step S23, the main control unit 13M determines whether or not it has been determined that the print job is a print job that involves the operation of the engine unit 12 (step S23).

[0065] Here, the method of determining whether or not the print job involves the operation of the engine unit 12 is based on the following criteria (1) and (2), for example. (1) The "hold print" function, which refers to the function assigned in the header of the print job data and holds the print data in memory or storage until a print instruction is received from the user without printing it immediately, is not enabled. (2) In addition to (1), the analysis and rendering of the print job data must proceed normally, and the first page must be printable.

[0066] Although the judgment based on the judgment criterion (2) is more reliable, the judgment may be slow. Therefore, from the viewpoint of practicality, it is acceptable to use only the judgment criterion (1).

[0067] Furthermore, if the communication unit 11 does not receive print data even after a predetermined waiting time (such as 90 seconds) has elapsed, it may also be determined that the print job does not involve the operation of the engine unit 12.

[0068] If it is determined that the print job involves the operation of the engine unit 12 (if the judgment in step S23 is Yes), in step S25, the main control unit 13M judges whether the timer for checking the reception of the print job is running (step S25).

[0069] If the timer for checking the reception of the print job is running (if the judgment in step S25 is Yes), in step S26, the main control unit 13M judges whether the IP address of the sender matches that of the sender of the return packet stored in memory (step S26).

[0070] If the IP address of the sender matches the one stored in the memory (if the determination in step S26 is Yes), in step S27, the main control unit 13M clears the timer for checking reception of the print job (step S27).

[0071] In the following step S28, if the control signal 20 is asserted, the main control unit 13M instructs the communication unit 11 to negate the control signal 20 (step S28).

[0072] After that, in step S29, the main control unit 13M updates the erroneous determination list of the prior activation (step S29). Specifically, if the IP address of the return packet sender is in the erroneous determination list stored in memory, the erroneous determination count is decremented by a predetermined number (for example, 1). Alternatively, the erroneous determination count may be set to 0.

[0073] Then, in step S30, the main control unit 13M deletes the IP address of the source from the precedent activation target list as necessary, and reflects it in the list of sources that do not assert the control signal 20 of the communication unit 11 (step S30). For example, when the count number of erroneous determinations becomes smaller than a predetermined upper limit (N), the IP address of the sender is deleted from the list of non-targets for advance startup.

[0074] On the other hand, if the determination is No in step S24, S25, or S26, the main control unit 13M does not perform the processes of steps S27 to S30.

[0075] After the process of step S22 or S30, the image forming apparatus 10 continues to receive and process subsequent packets.

[0076] <<Processing of the main control unit 13M when the timer set time is reached>> Next, the process of the main control unit 13M when the timer set time is reached will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the process of the main control unit 13M when the timer setting time is reached in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0077] When the set time of the timer is reached, in step S41 of FIG. 6, the main control unit 13M determines whether or not the control signal 20 is asserted (step S41).

[0078] If the control signal 20 is not asserted (if the determination in step S41 is No), the main control unit 13M ends the process.

[0079] On the other hand, if the control signal 20 is asserted (if the determination in step S41 is Yes), in step S42, the main control unit 13M instructs the communication unit 11 to negate the control signal 20 (step S42).

[0080] In the following step S43, the main control unit 13M updates the erroneous precedent activation determination list (step S43). Specifically, if the IP address of the sender of the return packet is in the erroneous judgment list stored in memory, the erroneous judgment count is incremented by one; if not, the IP address is added to the erroneous judgment list and the count is reset to one.

[0081] Then, in step S44, the main control unit 13M adds the IP address of the source from the precedent activation target list as needed, and reflects it in the list of sources that do not assert the control signal 20 of the communication unit 11 (step S44). For example, when the count number of erroneous determinations reaches or exceeds a predetermined upper limit (N), the IP address of the sender is added to the list of devices not targeted for prior activation. Thereafter, the main control unit 13M ends the processing related to the timer.

[0082] (Variation 1) As a first modification, the list of non-precedent start targets and the list of senders that do not assert the control signal 20 may be combined with the destination port number in addition to the IP address of the sender.

[0083] In this way, it becomes possible to more appropriately specify whether or not to assert the control signal 20 depending on the combination of the source IP address and the destination port number.

[0084] For example, if the IP address of the information processing device 19 is "192.168.0.XX" and the information processing device 19 sends a print job communication packet to the image forming device 10, the combination of the source IP address and destination port number will be "192.168.0.XX+port 9100" (an example of a RAW port). When a communication packet for accessing a web page is sent from the same information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus 10, the combination of the source IP address and destination port number is "192.168.0.XX+port 80" (an example of an HTTP port). In this way, it is possible to manage the list of erroneous prior activation determination and the list of non-target prior activation separately.

[0085] (Variation 2) As a second variant, the list of non-target devices for prior activation and the list of devices from which the control signal 20 is not asserted may be displayed in a list on a display unit (not shown) including the IP addresses of the senders and the port numbers of the destination devices, so that the user can set them.

[0086] (Variation 3) As a third modification, instead of using a timer as described above, a session (connection) started by a return packet may be monitored to check whether printing is being performed in that session.

[0087] Example 1 Next, as a first embodiment, an example of a process until an information processing apparatus that has accessed the image forming apparatus 10 is added to the list of non-prior activation targets of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a process until an information processing device 19 that has accessed the image forming device 10 is added to the list of devices not targeted for advance activation of the image forming device 10 in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0088] 7, it is assumed that the information processing device 19 with the IP address "192.168.0.XX" has accessed the web page of the image forming device 10 N times. The main control unit 13M has registered a pattern in which the packet destination is its own IP address and the protocol is TCP as a recovery pattern in the communication unit 11, and has further instructed the communication unit 11 to assert the control signal 20 when a recovery is to be performed using a packet that matches the pattern.

[0089] As shown in Figure 7(A), when the information processing device 19 accesses the web page of the image forming device 10 in a power saving state for the first time, the packet destination is its own IP address and the protocol is TCP, so it matches the recovery pattern and also matches the assertion condition of the control signal 20, so the engine unit 12 of the image forming device 10 will be started first when it recovers.

[0090] However, since access to a web page is not a print job that requires the engine unit 12 to operate, it is not necessary to start the engine unit 12, and it is clear that the determination of prior start was an erroneous determination. Therefore, the sender's IP address "192.168.0.XX" is stored in the memory in the pre-start erroneous determination list together with the number of erroneous determinations of 1.

[0091] Next, as shown in FIG. 7(B), if the information processing device 19 accesses the web page of the image forming device 10 in the power saving state for the second time, the engine unit 12 of the image forming device 10 will be started first when the image forming device 10 returns to its normal state, just as it did the first time it was accessed.

[0092] In this case, the IP address of the sender "192.168.0.XX" is also stored in the memory in the erroneous judgment list for the prior start, together with the number of erroneous judgments, which is 2.

[0093] As shown in FIG. 7(C), when the information processing device 19 accesses the web page of the image forming device 10 in a power saving state for the Nth time, the engine unit 12 of the image forming device 10 will be started in advance when the device returns to normal operation, just as it did for the first and second accesses.

[0094] In this case, the IP address of the sender "192.168.0.XX" is also stored in the memory in the erroneous determination list for the prior start, together with the number N of erroneous determinations. In addition, since the number of counted erroneous determinations has reached a predetermined upper limit (N) or more, the sender's IP address "192.168.0.XX" is added to the list of devices not targeted for early activation.

[0095] Thereafter, the source IP address "192.168.0.XX" in the list of sources not to be started early is reflected in the list of sources that will not assert the control signal 20 of the communication unit 11 as specified by the main control unit 13M, and therefore, even if there is the next access from that IP address, it will be excluded from the list of sources to be started early by the engine unit 12.

[0096] Example 2 Next, as a second embodiment, an example of a process until an information processing apparatus that has accessed the image forming apparatus 10 is removed from the list of non-prior activation targets of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a process until an information processing device 19 that has accessed the image forming device 10 is removed from the list of devices not targeted for advance activation of the image forming device 10 in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0097] 8, it is assumed that the information processing device 19 with the IP address "192.168.0.XX" has accessed the web page of the image forming device 10 N times, and then another print job has been submitted. As in the first embodiment, the main control unit 13M registers a pattern in which the packet destination is its own IP address and the protocol is TCP as a recovery pattern in the communication unit 11, and further instructs the communication unit 11 to assert the control signal 20 when recovery is to be performed with a packet that matches the pattern.

[0098] As shown in Figure 8 (A), when the information processing device 19 accesses the web page of the image forming device 10 for the Nth time, the sender's IP address "192.168.0.XX" is stored in memory in the advance start erroneous judgment list along with the number of erroneous judgments N. In addition, since the number of counted erroneous determinations has exceeded a predetermined upper limit (N), the sender's IP address "192.168.0.XX" is added to the list of devices not targeted for early startup.

[0099] 8B, when a print job is submitted from information processing device 19 to image forming device 10, the packet destination is its own IP address and the protocol is TCP, so this matches the recovery pattern. Furthermore, the assertion condition of control signal 20 is also met, but because the sender's IP address "192.168.0.XX" is on the list of devices not to be started early, the engine unit 12 is not started early when image forming device 10 is restored, just as in the case of accessing a web page.

[0100] However, since the recovery is due to a print job involving the operation of the engine unit 12, the number of erroneous determinations for the source IP address "192.168.0.XX" in the preceding start erroneous determination list is reduced by 1 to N-1. In addition, since the number of counted erroneous determinations has fallen below the predetermined number (N), the source IP address "192.168.0.XX" is deleted from the list of devices not targeted for early startup.

[0101] Thereafter, the deletion of the source IP address "192.168.0.XX" from the list of sources not subject to early startup is reflected in the list of sources that do not assert the control signal 20 of the communication unit 11, so that when there is the next access from that IP address, it will become a target for early startup by the engine unit 12 if the conditions are met.

[0102] In this way, when a communication packet is received from the information processing device 19, if the communication packet is a return packet that should cancel the power saving state when received in the power saving state, the communication unit 11 further determines whether the communication packet meets the predetermined assertion conditions for the control signal 20, and if it does, determines whether the sender of the communication packet is included in the list of senders that do not assert the control signal 20, and if not, asserts the control signal 20, thereby realizing an image forming device 10 that does not unnecessarily cancel the power saving state of the engine unit 12 compared to conventional image forming devices.

[0103] In particular, since the same user is likely to access the image forming device 10 for the same purpose and in the same manner, by using the sender information, it is possible to realize an image forming device 10 that can make a more accurate decision than before when to start supplying power to the engine unit 12.

[0104] It should be understood that the disclosure also includes any combination of the above-described aspects. In addition to the above-described embodiments, various modifications of this disclosure are possible. These modifications should not be interpreted as not belonging to the scope of this disclosure. The disclosure of this disclosure should include all modifications that have the meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims and that belong to the scope of this disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 10: Image forming apparatus; 11: Communication unit; 12: Engine unit; 13: Control unit; 13E: Engine control unit, 13M: Main control unit, 14: Power supply unit, 15: Power operation switch, 18: Network, 19: Information processing device, 19D: Printer driver, 20: Control signal, 100: Image forming system

Claims

1. a communication unit that, when receiving a communication packet in a power-saving state, determines whether the communication packet is a return packet that should be used to cancel the power-saving state; a control unit that processes a job accepted through communication including a subsequent packet; an engine unit that performs printing in accordance with instructions from the control unit; a power supply unit that turns on and off the power supplied to the control unit and the engine unit individually, When the communication unit receives the communication packet in the power saving state, if the communication packet is the return packet that should cause the power saving state to be cancelled, it instructs the power supply unit to supply the power to the control unit, and further determines a first determination condition as to whether the communication packet satisfies a condition for performing notification and a second determination condition as to whether a sender of the communication packet is included in the list of senders that do not perform notification, and if the first determination condition is satisfied and the second determination condition is not satisfied, it notifies the control unit, and on the other hand, if the first determination condition is not satisfied or the second determination condition is satisfied, it does not perform the notification. The control unit, which is started by the supply of power, starts the engine unit in advance when the notification is made by instructing the power supply unit to supply power to the engine unit without performing communication including a subsequent packet.

2. the control unit, after the communication unit has received the communication packet in the power saving state and been started up with the power supplied thereto, receives the notification and then starts up the engine unit in advance, if the job accepted through communication including the subsequent packet is not a print job involving operation of the engine unit, increases a count number for each source IP address included in a predetermined list of erroneous determination of advance startup, and when the count number reaches a predetermined first number, notifies the communication unit of the source IP address of the communication packet; 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit adds information about the IP address of the sender notified by the control unit to the list of senders to which notification is not to be sent.

3. When the control unit receives the communication packet in the power saving state, and then starts up with the power supplied, and the notification is not received, but the job accepted through communication including the subsequent packet is a print job involving operation of the engine unit, the control unit reduces the count number for each source IP address included in a predetermined list of erroneous determination of prior activation by a predetermined number, and when the count number becomes less than a predetermined second number, notifies the communication unit of the source IP address of the communication packet; 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit deletes the information on the IP address of the sender notified by the control unit from the list of senders not to be notified.

Images