JP2007088570A - Network adapter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To add a power saving function to an image forming apparatus without a power saving function. <P>SOLUTION: The network adapter for use in an image forming apparatus performs processing of a packet transmitted from a network in place of the image forming apparatus when the image forming apparatus is in off-state. When the image forming apparatus is in on-state, a packet transmitted from the network is bypassed to the image forming apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a network adapter that adds a power saving function to an image forming apparatus compatible with a network.

  In an office, an image forming apparatus such as a printer is often connected to a network and used by a plurality of people. If the power of the image forming apparatus is kept on while such a printer is not sending a job from the network, the image forming apparatus always consumes high power. Due to the recent demand for energy saving, an image forming apparatus capable of a power saving operation (referred to as a power saving mode or an energy saving mode) for reducing power consumption when the image forming apparatus is not used for a certain period of time has been developed.

  However, in order to enable the image forming apparatus to perform power saving operation, it is necessary to have a dedicated hardware configuration. Therefore, in an office using an image forming apparatus that does not have a hardware configuration capable of power saving operation, there is a problem that energy saving cannot be realized unless the image forming apparatus itself is replaced with one having a power saving function. there were.

In an image forming apparatus having an insufficient power saving function, for example, there is a technique described in Patent Document 1 as a technique for complementing the power saving function. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a technique for shifting to an energy saving mode after a lapse of a certain time for a printer that has the energy saving mode but does not have a function of shifting to the energy saving mode after a lapse of a certain time.
JP 11-161449 A

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 does not change that the image forming apparatus needs to have a hardware configuration capable of power saving operation, and has a hardware configuration capable of power saving operation. There is a problem that energy saving cannot be realized in the image forming apparatus that does not.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a technique of adding a power saving function to an image forming apparatus that does not have a power saving function.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an apparatus connection unit that transmits and receives control signals and data to and from an image forming apparatus, a network connection unit that transmits and receives control signals and data via a network, Power determining means for determining whether the power of the image forming apparatus is on or off based on a control signal received from the image forming apparatus via the apparatus connecting means; and turning off the power of the image forming apparatus from the on state. An off-condition detecting unit that detects that a condition for shifting to the state is satisfied, and a condition for shifting the power of the image forming apparatus from the on-state to the off-state by the off-condition detecting unit , An off signal generating means for generating a control signal for turning off the power of the image forming apparatus, and a control signal generated by the off signal generating means, An off signal output means for outputting to the image forming apparatus via the apparatus connecting means, and the image forming apparatus while the power determining means determines that the power of the image forming apparatus is off. When data requesting processing is received via the network connection means, an on signal generating means for generating a control signal for turning on the power of the image forming apparatus; and a power supply of the image forming apparatus by the power determining means Is generated by the on-signal generating unit and the temporary storage unit that stores data that is received via the network connection unit and that requests processing to the image forming apparatus. An on signal output means for outputting the control signal to the image forming apparatus via the apparatus connecting means, and the image forming apparatus by the power source judging means. A network adapter having temporary storage data output means for transmitting data stored in the temporary storage means to the image forming apparatus via the apparatus connection means when it is determined that the power supply has changed from an off state to an on state; I will provide a.
According to this network adapter, it is possible to add a power saving function to an image forming apparatus that does not have a power saving function.

In a preferred aspect, the network adapter restricts power supply to some or all of the components of the network adapter while the power determining unit determines that the power of the image forming apparatus is on. You may further have a power limiting means.
According to this network adapter, power saving of the entire system including the network adapter itself can be achieved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The multifunction peripheral 100 is an image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a scanner, a FAX, a printer, and a copy. As will be described later, the multifunction peripheral 100 has a network interface, and can transmit and receive control signals and data to and from other devices via the network. The multi-function device 100 does not have a dedicated hardware configuration for performing a power saving operation. The network adapter 200 has a function of relaying data transmitted and received between the multifunction device 100 and the network 300. The network adapter 200 further has a function of causing the multifunction peripheral 100 to perform a power saving operation. Details of the network adapter 200 will be described later. The network 300 is a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), and the Internet. The network 300 may include a wireless section in a part thereof. A plurality of PCs (Personal Computers) 400 are connected to the network 300. The user of the PC 400 can cause the multifunction peripheral 100 to perform operations such as printing, FAX transmission, and scanning via application software that operates on the PC 400.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the multifunction peripheral 100. A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110 is a control unit that controls each unit of the multifunction peripheral 100. The memory 130 is a storage unit that stores various data and programs. The memory 130 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and the like. The bus bridge 120 has a function of connecting the CPU 110 bus and the memory 130 bus. The I / O controller 140 has a function of controlling input / output of the multifunction peripheral 100. The FAX communication module 170 is a module for performing FAX transmission / reception. The network IF 180 is an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from other devices via the network. An IIT (Image Input Terminal) 150 and an IOT (Image Output Terminal) 160 are modules for performing image reading and image formation, respectively. The IIT 150 and the IOT 160 are connected to the bus 190 via the bus bridge 125. Note that the multifunction device 100 has a function of stopping the supply of power to the CPU 110, the memory 130, the IIT 150, and the IOT 160, or starting the supply of the stopped power in accordance with a control signal from the outside. In the MFP 100, a state in which power is not supplied to these elements is referred to as an “off state”, and a state in which power is supplied is referred to as an “on state”.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the network adapter 200. The CPU 210 is a control unit that controls each unit of the network adapter 200. The memory 230 is a storage unit that stores various data and programs. The memory 230 includes a ROM, a RAM, an HDD, and the like. The bus bridge 220 has a function of connecting the CPU 210 bus and the memory 230 bus. The device IF 270 is an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from the multifunction device 100. The network IF 280 is an interface for transmitting / receiving data to / from other devices via the network 300. The switch 240, the switch 250, and the switch 260 are switching means for changing the data transmission path.

  The device IF 270 of the network adapter 200 is connected to the network IF 180 of the multifunction device 100. The network adapter 200 is connected to the network 300 via the network IF 280.

  Next, the operation of the image forming system 1 will be described. First, an operation when the multi-function device 100 is in an off state (energy saving mode, power saving mode) will be described. In the present embodiment, the network adapter 200 and the multi-function device 100 can communicate according to, for example, TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol).

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of shifting the power supply of the multifunction peripheral 100 from the off state to the on state. The CPU 210 of the network adapter 200 determines whether a packet related to a job such as a print request has been transmitted from the network 300 (step S100). Since the network adapter 200 is located upstream of the multi-function device 100 when viewed from the network 300, a packet sent from the network 300 is first received by the network adapter 200. While the print request is not received from the network (step S100: NO), the CPU 210 waits until the print request is received.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the data flow in step S100. When the multifunction device 100 is in the off state, the multifunction device 100 cannot process a packet transmitted from the network 300. In this case, the network adapter 200 processes the packet in place of the multifunction device 100. The memory 230 stores a flag indicating whether the multi-function device 100 is in an on state or an off state. When the flag stored in the memory 230 indicates an off state, the CPU 210 controls the switch 240 and the switch 250 and stores the packet received from the network 300 via the network IF 280 in the memory 230 (FIG. 5). (1) route). The CPU 210 processes the packet stored in the memory 230 according to TCP / IP (route (2) in FIG. 5). The CPU 210 stores data obtained by packet processing in the memory 230. If the CPU 210 determines from the header of the processing target packet that the processing target packet is not destined for the multifunction peripheral 100 (step S100: NO), no special processing is performed. If the CPU 210 determines from the header of the processing target packet that the processing target packet is destined for the multifunction peripheral 100 (step S100: YES), the process proceeds to step S110.

  A description will be given with reference to FIG. 4 again. In step S <b> 110, the CPU 210 first generates a control signal (referred to as a “power-on signal”) for shifting the multifunction peripheral 100 to the on state. The CPU 210 outputs the generated power-on signal to the multi-function device 100. When the power-on signal is output, the CPU 210 monitors whether the multifunction peripheral 100 has shifted to the on state (step S120). The determination as to whether or not the multifunction peripheral 100 has been turned on is made by monitoring a signal output from the network IF 180 of the multifunction peripheral 100. When the level of a signal output from the network IF 180 is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold, the CPU 210 determines that the multifunction peripheral 100 has shifted to an on state. If it is determined that the multifunction device 100 has shifted to the on state (step S120: YES), the CPU 210 proceeds to step S130.

  When the multifunction device 100 receives the power-on signal from the network adapter 200, the multifunction device 100 starts supplying power to the CPU 110, the memory 130, the IIT 150, and the IOT 160. When power is supplied, the CPU 110 of the multifunction peripheral 100 reads out and executes the activation program from the memory 130. Thus, the multi-function device 100 shifts to the on state, that is, the normal operation state. Until the multifunction device 100 shifts to the ON state, the multifunction device 100 cannot process the packet. Accordingly, during this time, the CPU 210 of the network adapter 200 stores the received packet in the memory 230. The CPU 210 processes the packet stored in the memory 230.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the flow of data in step S110. In step S130, the CPU 210 first updates the flag stored in the memory 230 to indicate an on state. When the flag is updated, the CPU 210 reads data addressed to the multi-function device 100 stored in the memory 230 (route (3) in FIG. 6). The CPU 210 outputs the read data as a packet to the multifunction peripheral 100 via the bus bridge 220, the switch 240, the switch 250, and the device IF 270 (route (4) in FIG. 6). When receiving a packet (job) from the network adapter 200, the multi-function device 100 processes the packet. The CPU 110 of the multifunction device 100 executes processing such as printing according to data generated from the packet.

  As described above, according to the network adapter 200 according to the present embodiment, a power saving function can be added to an image forming apparatus (multifunction peripheral 100) that does not have a power saving function. That is, when the multifunction device 100 is in the off state, the network adapter 200 processes a packet addressed to the multifunction device 100. The network adapter 200 transmits data obtained by packet processing to the multi-function device 100. Therefore, the multi-function device 100 can process data transmitted when it is in the off state as usual.

  The network adapter 200 according to the present embodiment may be connected to an image forming apparatus having a power saving function. Even in an image forming apparatus having a power saving function, if it takes time to return to a normal state (on state), packet dropping may occur. When the packet is not received, it is determined that the transmission destination terminal does not exist in the transmission source terminal (PC 400), and an error message such as “printer is offline” is displayed. In this case, the user of the PC 400 must transmit data (job) to the multifunction device 100 again after confirming that the multifunction device 100 has shifted to the ON state. If the network adapter 200 according to the present embodiment is used, even in an image forming apparatus that takes a long time to shift from the power saving state (off state) to the normal state (on state), data (packets) are missed. Can be eliminated.

  Next, an operation after the multifunction device 100 has shifted to the on state will be described. When the multifunction device 100 shifts to the on state, the network adapter 200 shifts to the off state (power saving state) (FIG. 4: step S140). When the multifunction device 100 is in the on state, the network adapter 200 does not need to function. For this reason, power supply to unnecessary elements is stopped, and power saving is thoroughly implemented.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the data flow in step S140. When the flag stored in the memory 230 is updated to the one indicating the ON state, and the data addressed to the multifunction device 100 temporarily stored in the memory 230 is transmitted to the multifunction device 100, the CPU 210 causes the switch 250 and The switch 260 is controlled to switch the data path. That is, the data (packet) transmitted from the network 300 is output to the multi-function peripheral 100 via the network IF 280, the switch 260, the switch 250, and the device IF 270 (route (5) in FIG. 7). When the data path is switched, the power control unit (not shown) shifts the network adapter 200 to the power saving state.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the power saving state of the network adapter 200. In the power saving state, the power control unit stops supplying power to the CPU 210, the bus bridge 220, and the memory 230. When the network adapter 200 shifts to the power saving state, the power consumption of the entire image forming system 1 can be reduced.

Next, an operation for shifting the power supply of the multifunction peripheral 100 from the on state to the off state will be described.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of shifting the power supply of the image forming apparatus from the on state to the off state. The CPU 110 of the multifunction device 100 monitors whether the condition for shifting to the off state (power saving state) is satisfied (step S200). The condition for shifting to the off state is, for example, a condition that the user inputs an instruction to shift to the off state via the user interface of the multifunction peripheral 100. Alternatively, it may be a condition that the CPU 110 measures the time during which the non-use state continues in the multifunction peripheral 100 and the non-use state continues for a certain time or more.

  When the condition for shifting to the off state is satisfied, the CPU 110 generates a notification packet indicating that the multifunction peripheral 100 shifts to the off state, and outputs the notification packet to the network adapter 200 via the network IF 180. When the network IF 280 receives the notification packet, the power control unit of the network adapter 200 starts supplying power to the CPU 210, the bus bridge 220, and the memory 230. When power is supplied to the CPU 210, the CPU 210 reads the activation program from the memory 230 and performs processing necessary for activation. When the activation is completed, the CPU 210 switches the data path. That is, the operation of the network adapter 200 is switched to the normal operation (ON state) (step S210).

  FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the flow of data when the multifunction peripheral 100 is in the off state. The CPU 210 controls the switch 250 and the switch 260 to switch the data path to the path of the network IF 280, the switch 260, the bus bridge 220, and the memory 230 (the path (6) in FIG. 10). This route is the same as the route (1) in FIG. That is, the route of data is changed so that the packet transmitted from the network 300 is processed by the CPU 210 of the network adapter 200 (step S220).

  When the data path is changed, the CPU 210 generates a control signal (referred to as a “power-off signal”) for shifting the multifunction peripheral 100 to the off state. The CPU 210 outputs the generated power-off signal to the multi function device 100 via the device IF 270 (step S230). When receiving the power-off signal, the multifunction device 100 shifts to the off state.

  When the power off signal is output, the CPU 210 monitors whether the multi-function device 100 has shifted to the off state (step S240). The determination as to whether the state has shifted to the off state is made in the same manner as the determination regarding whether the state has shifted from the off state to the on state (FIG. 4: step S120). If it is determined that the multifunction device 100 has shifted to the off state (step S240: YES), the CPU 210 updates the flag stored in the memory 230 to a flag indicating the off state. Hereinafter, the operation when the multifunction peripheral 100 is in the OFF state is as described with reference to FIG.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, when the multifunction peripheral 100 is in the off state, the elements that stop supplying power are not limited to those described in the above embodiment. For example, only power supply to a storage device such as an HDD may be stopped. The same applies to the point that the supply of power is stopped when the network adapter 200 is in an off state, which is not limited to that described in the above embodiment.

Further, the network adapter 200 may be configured not to have a power saving function. In other words, power may be supplied to the CPU 210, the bus bridge 220, and the memory 230 of the network adapter 200 even when the multifunction device 100 is in the on state.
Further, the device connected to the network adapter 200 via the device IF 270 is not limited to the image forming apparatus, and any device that transmits and receives data via the network may be used.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system 1 according to an embodiment. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the multifunction peripheral 100. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a network adapter 200. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which transfers to an ON state from an OFF state. It is a figure explaining the flow of data. It is a figure explaining the flow of data. It is a figure explaining the flow of data. It is a figure explaining the power saving state of the network adapter. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which transfers to an OFF state from an ON state. It is a figure explaining the flow of data.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming system, 100 ... Multifunction machine, 110 ... CPU, 120 ... Bus bridge, 125 ... Bus bridge, 130 ... Memory, 140 ... I / O controller, 150 ... IIT, 160 ... IOT, 170 ... FAX communication module, 180 ... network IF, 190 ... bus, 200 ... network adapter, 210 ... CPU, 220 ... bus bridge, 230 ... memory, 240 ... switch, 250 ... switch, 260 ... switch, 270 ... device IF, 280 ... network IF, 300 ... Network, 400 ... PC

Claims (2)

Device connection means for transmitting and receiving control signals and data to and from the image forming apparatus;
Network connection means for transmitting and receiving control signals and data via the network;
Power determining means for determining whether the power of the image forming apparatus is on or off based on a control signal received from the image forming apparatus via the apparatus connecting means;
Off condition detection means for detecting that a condition for shifting the power supply of the image forming apparatus from an on state to an off state is satisfied;
An off signal generating unit that generates a control signal for turning off the power of the image forming apparatus when a condition for shifting the power of the image forming apparatus from the on state to the off state is satisfied by the off condition detecting unit When,
An off signal output means for outputting the control signal generated by the off signal generating means to the image forming apparatus via the apparatus connecting means;
When the power determination unit receives data requesting processing from the image forming apparatus via the network connection unit while the power source of the image forming apparatus is determined to be in an off state, the image formation On-signal generating means for generating a control signal for turning on the power of the apparatus;
Temporary storage for storing data for requesting processing to the image forming apparatus received via the network connection unit while the power source determining unit determines that the power source of the image forming apparatus is off. Means,
An on signal output means for outputting the control signal generated by the on signal generating means to the image forming apparatus via the apparatus connecting means;
When the power determining unit determines that the power of the image forming apparatus has changed from the off state to the on state, the data stored in the temporary storage unit is transmitted to the image forming apparatus via the apparatus connecting unit. Temporary storage data output means;
With network adapter.   And a power limiting unit that limits power supply to some or all of the components of the network adapter while the power determining unit determines that the image forming apparatus is powered on. The network adapter according to claim 1.

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