Image Forming Apparatus Power Saving State Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses wastefully cancel their power-saving state when receiving communication packets, leading to unnecessary initialization of the engine, even for services that do not involve printing.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus with a service setting storage, a communicator, a controller, and a power supply that determines whether a communication packet received in a power-saving state requires cancellation of the power-saving state. The apparatus refers to service settings before entering the power-saving state and registers specific patterns for return packets, allowing the power supply to turn on only when necessary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the image forming apparatus cancels the power-saving state upon receiving any communication packet, then the apparatus can respond to all incoming communications, but the engine is wastefully initialized even for services that do not involve printing
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary classification of communication packets before triggering engine initialization. The communicator analyzes incoming packets to determine whether they represent actual print jobs or other service requests, and only cancels the power-saving state when a print job is detected. This preliminary discrimination prevents wasteful engine initialization while maintaining responsiveness to legitimate print requests.
2Reliability
If the image forming apparatus uses multiple notification signals with different codes to monitor various return factors, then comprehensive monitoring is achieved, but the processing and exchange of notification signals becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple notification signals into a unified processing framework. The notification signal integrates information from various sensors (document placement detection, pressure plate open/close detection, power supply operation switch) into a single standardized format that the controller can process uniformly. This consolidation maintains comprehensive monitoring capability while significantly reducing the complexity of signal processing by eliminating the need to handle multiple separate signal codes.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus comprises a controller referring to a service setting storage before shifting to a power-saving state, when a request related to a start of an automatic printing-unnecessary service that is a predetermined service that does not start printing in response to the reception of the request is set not to be received in at least the power-saving state, adding a first type attribute to a pattern corresponding to a predetermined return packet and registering the pattern in the communicator, adding a second type attribute to a pattern related to another return packet and registering the pattern, and, when a request related to a start of any automatic printing-unnecessary service is set to be received, adding the second type attribute to a pattern related to any of the return packets and registering the pattern.