MFP Power Control Unit Event Reservation During Suspend
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses face inefficiencies in power management, leading to wasteful power consumption and delayed user interaction due to incorrect device energization states after resuming from suspend mode, where devices other than the intended one may be powered on or not powered on in time.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus with a control unit and power control unit that shifts between power states based on a wake-up reservation event, storing the event information to ensure only necessary devices are powered according to the triggering event, thereby optimizing power usage and reducing waiting times.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a wake-up reservation flag is set to trigger resuming process immediately after suspension, then the system can respond quickly to wake-up events, but the energization state of devices after restoration may not match the intended wake-up factor event, causing wasteful power consumption or delayed device activation
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit stores information about the wake-up factor event that occurred during the shifting process before the system actually resumes. This preliminary recording of event information allows the system to later restore devices to the correct energization state corresponding to the original wake-up event, rather than using a generic resuming process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from the stored wake-up factor event information to control the energization state of devices during resuming. The power control unit refers back to the recorded event type (such as print job reception, scan request, etc.) and activates only the specific devices needed for that event, creating a closed-loop control system that adapts the power state to the actual user need.
2Ease of operation
If devices are powered on during resuming process, then user interaction is enabled quickly, but power is consumed by devices that are not needed for the current wake-up event
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly powering on all devices during resuming, the system applies local quality control by selectively activating only the specific devices corresponding to the stored wake-up factor event. For example, if the wake-up event was a network packet reception, only the network interface and related processing units are powered on, while other devices remain in low-power state.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system restores all devices to full power state after suspension, then all functions are immediately available, but power consumption increases and user wait time increases for unnecessary device activation
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit performs preliminary action by recording the specific wake-up factor event during the shifting process, so that when resuming occurs, the system already knows which devices need to be activated. This eliminates the need for sequential device activation checks and allows immediate powering on of only the required devices.
Data Source
AI summary
When an event serving as a restoration factor occurs during a suspending process, a central processing unit (CPU) of a multifunctional peripheral (MFP)) reserves restoration to a power control unit and stores the event in a factor-event storage unit. In the suspend mode, if the restoration is reserved, the power control unit resumes power supply to a predetermined module. In the resuming process, the CPU restores the MFP, and in the case where a factor event is stored in the factor-event storage unit, the CPU controls the energization state of the MFP according to the factor event.