JP2010166310A - Communication control apparatus and image processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To return response to a request for acquiring information about a state of an image processing apparatus without increasing the power consumption of the image processing apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: In an NIC (Network Interface Controller) 30 of the image processing apparatus, when a main control unit 40 is in a power saving mode, a PHY 31 receives a packet, a packet detection unit 32 determines not to restore the main control unit 40 when the packet is a request packet, and a reception processing unit 33 receives the request packet and stores it in a transmission and reception buffer 34. A response information memory 36 stores response contents transmitted when the main control unit 40 is in a normal active state, or response contents updated by information when the main control unit 40 is shifted to the power saving state. Then, a transmission and reception control unit 35, when the request packet is stored in the transmission and reception buffer 34, instructs a transmission processing unit 37 to transmit the response contents stored in the response information memory 36 as a response packet. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication control device and an image processing device.

  A technique for preventing the image forming apparatus from consuming unnecessary power than returning from the power saving mode is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this patent document 1, a system configuration is employed in which a proxy response server connected on the same network makes a proxy response while the image forming apparatus is in a power saving mode that can be restored only by a predetermined activation request.

JP 2006-350801 A

Here, in general, in order to return a response to an information acquisition request regarding a device to which power is not supplied, it is necessary to supply power to the device and receive information to be returned as a response, and the power consumption of the device Will be increased.
An object of the present invention is to return a response to an acquisition request for information about a device without increasing the power consumption of the device.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided storage means for storing in advance a response to be transmitted in response to an acquisition request for information relating to a device to which the device is connected, and an acquisition request for specific information relating to the device. When receiving the specific information acquisition request by the receiving unit and the receiving unit receiving from the device, if the power is not supplied to the device, the response stored in the storage unit is sent to the other device. A communication control device comprising a transmission means for transmitting to the communication device.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the transmission unit receives the acquisition request for the specific information by the reception unit, if power is supplied to the device, the transmission unit transmits the response acquired from the device. The communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication control apparatus transmits to another device.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the storage unit stores a response acquired from the device when the receiving unit receives the specific information acquisition request as the response to be transmitted. The communication control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the communication control apparatus is a communication control apparatus.
The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the storage unit stores a response acquired from the device when power is not supplied to the device as the response to be transmitted. It is a communication control apparatus of description.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the storage means stores, for each type of information, a response to be transmitted in response to an acquisition request for information related to the device, and the transmission means uses the reception means. When power is not supplied to the device when the specific information acquisition request is received, the response stored in the storage unit is transmitted to the other device regardless of the type of the specific information. The communication control device according to claim 1.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing unit that performs image processing in response to an instruction from a terminal device, a management unit that manages a state of a resource used in the image processing unit, and acquisition of information regarding the state of the resource A storage unit that stores in advance a response to be transmitted in response to a request; a receiving unit that receives an acquisition request for information on a state of a specific resource used in the image processing unit from the terminal device; and A transmission unit configured to transmit the response stored in the storage unit to the terminal device when power is not supplied to the management unit when an acquisition request for information on a state of a specific resource is received; An image processing apparatus characterized by this.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, when the transmission unit receives an acquisition request for information related to the state of the specific resource by the reception unit, if the power is supplied to the management unit, the management unit To the terminal device, and the storage means should transmit the response acquired from the management means when receiving the information acquisition request regarding the status of the specific resource by the receiving means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image processing apparatus is stored as a response.
The invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that the storage means stores a response acquired from the management means when power is not supplied to the management means as the response to be transmitted. Item 7. The image processing device according to Item 6.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to return a response to an acquisition request for information about a device without increasing the power consumption of the device, compared to a case where the present configuration is not provided.
According to the invention of claim 2, when power is supplied to the device, information managed by the device can be returned as a response.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the processing load for storing a response to be returned after power is not supplied to the device, as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided.
According to invention of Claim 4, compared with the case where it does not have this structure, the response returned after electric power is no longer supplied to an apparatus can be made new.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to simplify the process of returning a response after power is no longer supplied to the device, as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the power consumption of the image processing device is increased in response to an acquisition request for information regarding the state of the resource managed by the image processing device, compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided. Can return a response.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce a processing load for storing a response to be returned after power is not supplied to the image processing apparatus, as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided.
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, a response to be returned after power is not supplied to the image processing apparatus can be made newer than when the present configuration is not provided.

1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an image processing system in an embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed schematic operation | movement of the image processing system in embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the function structural example of NIC (Network Interface Controller) and the main-control part in the image processing apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the example of the response information memorize | stored in the response information storage part of NIC in embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the example of the format of the response packet produced | generated in the transmission process part of NIC in embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the operation example of the transmission / reception control part of NIC in embodiment of this invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image processing system to which the exemplary embodiment is applied.
As shown in the figure, this image processing system is configured by connecting a terminal device 10 and an image processing device 20 via a network 80 so as to be capable of bidirectional communication.

Among these, the terminal device 10 is a device that instructs the image processing device 20 to print a document, send a facsimile, or the like, and is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer). Further, the terminal device 10 may transmit a packet requesting acquisition of information related to the state of the image processing device 20 to the image processing device 20.
As will be described in detail later, the image processing apparatus 20 is based on information input from the terminal apparatus 10 via the network 80 or information obtained by directly inserting media or scanning a paper document. Thus, it is an apparatus for performing image processing. For example, a printer, which can be regarded as an image forming apparatus from this viewpoint. Further, it may be a scanner, and from this point of view, it can also be regarded as an image reading apparatus. Further, it may be a facsimile, and from this point of view, it can also be regarded as an image transmission device or an image reception device.

Further, the network 80 is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or the Internet, but includes a communication line such as a telephone line or a satellite communication line (for example, a spatial transmission line in digital satellite broadcasting). But you can.
Normally, a plurality of terminal devices 10 and a plurality of image processing devices 20 can be connected on the network 80, but FIG. 1 shows one terminal device 10 and one image processing device 20 as a part thereof. ing.

Here, the image processing apparatus 20 will be described in more detail.
As illustrated, the image processing apparatus 20 includes a network interface controller (NIC) 30 and a main control unit 40. A UI (User Interface) unit 21, an image input unit 22, an image output unit 23, and a FAX (facsimile) communication unit 24 are connected to the main control unit 40 via an internal bus 25.
Among these, the NIC 30 is a controller that controls communication of information between the main control unit 40 and the network 80, which will be described in detail later. In the present embodiment, the NIC 30 is provided as an example of a communication control device.
The main control unit 40 controls the functional units of the UI unit 21, the image input unit 22, the image output unit 23, and the FAX communication unit 24, which will be described in detail later. It also manages the status of these functional units. In the present embodiment, an image input unit 22, an image output unit 23, and a FAX communication unit 24 are provided as an example of an image processing unit. The main control unit 40 is provided as an example of a management unit that manages the state of resources used by the image processing unit.

The UI unit 21 is, for example, a touch panel that displays various types of information and receives operation inputs from the user.
The image input unit 22 reads an image recorded on a recording medium such as paper and inputs it into the apparatus. Here, the image input unit 22 is, for example, a scanner, and a CCD method in which reflected light with respect to light irradiated from a light source to a document is reduced by a lens and received by a CCD (Charge Coupled Devices), or an LED light source is sequentially irradiated onto a document. It is preferable to use a CIS system in which reflected light with respect to the received light is received by a CIS (Contact Image Sensor).
The image output unit 23 outputs an image to a recording medium such as paper. Here, the image output unit 23 is, for example, a printer, and forms an image by transferring the toner attached to the photosensitive member to a recording medium to form an image, or ejecting ink onto the recording medium. An ink jet type may be used.
For example, the FAX communication unit 24 compresses an image input from the image input unit 22 and transmits it to the telephone line according to a protocol such as G3 or G4, or decompresses data received from the telephone line according to a protocol such as G3 or G4. For example, the image is output to the image output unit 23.

  Further, the image processing apparatus 20 can take two states, a normal operation state and a power saving state, from the viewpoint of power saving. Among these, the normal operation state is an image forming operation mode in which an image forming operation is performed on a recording medium based on a print job, or a standby that can be immediately shifted to an image forming operation mode when a print job is input. The mode is set. The power saving state is a power saving mode in which power consumption is reduced by stopping the supply of power to at least the main control unit 40 when there is no input of a print job for a certain period in the normal operation state. It is a state that has been. In the power saving mode, if the supply of power to the UI unit 21, the image input unit 22, the image output unit 23, and the FAX communication unit 24 is also stopped, the power consumption can be reduced to the maximum. Of these, a mode in which the supply of power to other than the UI unit 21 is stopped may be included in the power saving mode.

  By the way, in such an image processing system, the terminal device 10 periodically transmits an information acquisition request regarding the state of the image processing device 20 to the image processing device 20. An example of such an information acquisition request is SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) get-request. In this way, since the terminal device 10 periodically transmits information acquisition requests, if a large number of terminal devices 10 are connected to the network 80, the image processing device 20 frequently receives information acquisition requests, I have to respond.

On the other hand, as described above, the image processing apparatus 20 may be in the power saving state, but the information acquisition request is sent regardless of whether the image processing apparatus 20 is in the power saving state. For this reason, the image processing apparatus 20 only energizes the NIC 30 so that it can receive and process an information acquisition request from the terminal apparatus 10 via the network 80 even in the power saving state. When the NIC 30 receives the information acquisition request, the NIC 30 issues an interrupt signal to the main control unit 40 to return the main control unit 40 from the power saving state to the normal operation state, and from the main control unit 40 to the image processing apparatus. Information on the status of 20 is acquired and a response is returned to the requesting terminal device 10.
However, considering an environment in which a large number of terminal devices 10 are connected to the network 80, the image processing device 20 frequently returns from the power saving state, and the power saving effect due to the provision of the power saving mode is sufficiently obtained. There is a problem that can not be.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the NIC 30 can return a response to the information acquisition request from the terminal device 10 without returning the main control unit 40 and the like.
Specifically, when there is an information acquisition request from the terminal device 10, the following operation is performed.
FIG. 2 shows a schematic operation when information is exchanged between the terminal apparatus 10 and the image processing apparatus 20.
First, (a) is a schematic operation when the image processing apparatus 20 is in a normal operation state.
In this case, as illustrated, for example, if the terminal device 10a requests information identified by Item-1 and Item-2, the image processing device 20 is identified by Item-1 and Item-2. Information is returned as a response, and the image processing apparatus 20 holds the information. When the terminal device 10b requests information identified by Item-3, the image processing device 20 returns information identified by Item-3 as a response, and the image processing device 20 holds this information. Keep it. Further, if the terminal device 10c requests information identified by Item-1, the image processing device 20 returns information identified by Item-1 as a response, and the image processing device 20 holds this information. Keep it. Thereafter, for example, when the printing operation is not performed for a certain period of time and the image processing apparatus 20 shifts to the power saving mode, it is identified by Item-1, Item-2, and Item-3 held in the image processing apparatus 20. The information is held in the NIC 30 in which power supply is not stopped in the image processing apparatus 20.

Next, (b) is a schematic operation when the image processing apparatus 20 is in a power saving state.
In this case, as illustrated, for example, it is assumed that the terminal device 10x requests information identified by Item-1. Then, since it is impossible to determine that the information identified by Item-1 is requested in the image processing apparatus 20 unless the main control unit 40 is restored, the Item 30 held by the NIC 30 in (a) is used. 1. Information identified by Item-2 and Item-3 is returned unconditionally as a response. That is, the image processing apparatus 20 returns the held information regardless of the Item requested by the terminal apparatus 10. In this case, the terminal device 10x is requesting information identified by Item-1, but the information transmitted from the image processing device 20 includes information identified by Item-1. Therefore, even if extra information identified by Item-2 and Item-3 is sent, no problem occurs.

Next, the NIC 30 that performs such a general operation will be described in detail.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the NIC 30 according to the present embodiment. In the figure, the configuration of the main control unit 40 is also shown.
First, the functional configuration of the NIC 30 will be described.
As illustrated, the NIC 30 includes a PHY (physical layer circuit) 31, a packet detection unit 32, a reception processing unit 33, a transmission / reception buffer 34, a transmission / reception control unit 35, a response information storage unit 36, and a transmission processing unit. 37.

The PHY 31 is a circuit that performs physical connection with the network 80.
The packet detection unit 32 operates when the main control unit 40 is in a power saving state, that is, when power is not supplied to the main control unit 40. Then, based on the packet received by the PHY 31 from the network 80, whether or not the main control unit 40 should be returned from the power saving state, that is, a return instruction signal is output to the main control unit 40 and power is supplied to the main control unit 40. Determine whether to be supplied. If the packet received from the network 80 by the PHY 31 is a request packet for requesting information, the response packet is transmitted based on the determination of the NIC 30 without causing the main control unit 40 to return from the power saving state and causing the main control unit 40 to make a determination. . The fact that the main control unit 40 is in the power saving state may be transmitted to the packet detection unit 32 via the transmission / reception control unit 35 when the main control unit 40 shifts to the power saving mode. For example, the packet detection unit 32 may output the return instruction signal to the main control unit 40 via the transmission / reception control unit 35.

The reception processing unit 33 performs reception processing for packets from the PHY 31. In the present embodiment, a reception processing unit 33 is provided as an example of a receiving unit that receives a specific information acquisition request.
The transmission / reception buffer 34 temporarily stores packets received by the reception processing unit 33 and packets to be transmitted by the transmission processing unit 37.
The transmission / reception control unit 35 controls the entire NIC 30 including packet transmission / reception and also functions as an interface with the main control unit 40.
The response information storage unit 36 stores the response content to be transmitted based on the determination by the NIC 30. In the present embodiment, a response information storage unit 36 is provided as an example of a storage unit that stores a response to be transmitted in advance.
The transmission processing unit 37 receives an instruction from the main control unit 40 via the transmission / reception control unit 35 and transmits the packet in the transmission / reception buffer 34. Further, the response content in the response information storage unit 36 is transmitted based on the judgment of the NIC 30. In the present embodiment, a transmission processing unit 37 is provided as an example of a transmission unit that transmits a response.

Next, the functional configuration of the main control unit 40 will be described.
As shown in the figure, the main control unit 40 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 41, a random access memory (RAM) 42, a read only memory (ROM) 43, and a hard disk drive (HDD) 44. .
The CPU 41 implements the functions of the main control unit 40 by loading various programs stored in the ROM 43 and the like into the RAM 42 and executing them.
The RAM 42 is a memory used as a working memory for the CPU 41.
The ROM 43 is a memory that stores various programs executed by the CPU 41.
The HDD 44 is, for example, a magnetic disk device that stores image data input by the image input unit 22, image data output by the image output unit 23, and the like.

Here, the response information stored in the response information storage unit 36 of the NIC 30 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of response information.
As shown in the drawing, the response information is an item identifier and response content associated with each other.
Among these, the Item identifier is an identifier for identifying an Item (type of information) requested by the terminal device 10. In the figure, the Item identifier is shown in a format of “Item-n” (n is a natural number), but any format may be used as long as the Item can be identified. In this example, Item-1 corresponds to information on the size of the paper tray set in the image processing apparatus 20, and Item-2 corresponds to information on the remaining amount of toner filled in the image processing apparatus 20. Correspondingly, Item-3 corresponds to information on an IP address assigned to the image processing apparatus 20. In this embodiment, an Item identifier is used as an example of the type of information.
The response content is content that responds to a request packet that requests information identified by each Item identifier. In this example, for Item-1 relating to the size of the paper tray, information indicating that A4 portrait is set in tray 1, B4 is set in tray 2, and A3 is set in tray 3 is stored. ing. For Item-2 relating to the remaining amount of toner, information indicating that the black toner is full is stored (assuming a monochrome printing machine). Further, “192.168.0.97” is stored for Item-3 relating to the IP address. In the present embodiment, these response contents are used as an example of a response to be transmitted in response to an acquisition request for information on the state of resources used in image processing.

The configuration of the response packet transmitted by the NIC 30 will also be described.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a response packet.
The response packet includes destination information, transmission source information, and response contents.
Among these, the destination information is information indicating the address of the terminal device 10 that is the destination of the response packet. This destination information is generated according to the transmission source information of the request packet when the packet detection unit 32 determines that the packet from the PHY 31 is a request packet.
The transmission source information is information indicating the address of the image processing apparatus 20 that is the transmission source of the response packet, and is generated based on the information of the own apparatus.
The response content is information transmitted in response to a request packet from the terminal device 10. Although the response content is shown by three rectangles, each rectangle corresponds to one Item. In the figure, only information on three items can be set as response contents. However, if information on four or more items is stored in the response information storage unit 36, four or more response contents can be set. Information for an Item may be set.

Next, the operation of the NIC 30 when a request packet is received in the present embodiment will be described.
First, in the NIC 30, the PHY 31 receives a request packet from the network 80. If the main control unit 40 is in the power saving state, the packet detection unit 32 receives this request packet, determines that the return instruction signal is not output to the main control unit 40, and the reception processing unit 33 receives the request packet. Receive. If the main control unit 40 is not in the power saving state, the reception processing unit 33 receives a request packet directly from the PHY 31. The reception processing unit 33 stores the received request packet in the reception data storage area of the transmission / reception buffer 34.

On the other hand, the transmission / reception control unit 35 performs processing on the request packet stored in the transmission / reception buffer 34.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the transmission / reception control unit 35 at this time.
As shown in the figure, first, the transmission / reception control unit 35 determines whether a request packet is stored in the transmission / reception buffer 34 (step 301).
If it is determined that the request packet is stored in the transmission / reception buffer 34, the transmission / reception control unit 35 determines whether the main control unit 40 is in the power saving state (step 302). For example, when the main control unit 40 shifts to the power saving mode, the main control unit 40 outputs a transition signal to the transmission / reception control unit 35, and the transmission / reception control unit 35 determines whether or not the main control unit 40 saves power depending on whether the signal is output. It is good to determine whether it is in a state.

  As a result, when determining that the main control unit 40 is not in the power saving state, the transmission / reception control unit 35 transmits the contents of the request packet to the main control unit 40 (step 303). In response to this, when the main control unit 40 interprets the Item identifier (type of information) included in the request packet, and transmits the response content to this, the transmission / reception control unit 35 receives the response content (step). 304). At this time, the transmission / reception control unit 35 also receives the Item identifier from the main control unit 40. Then, the transmission / reception control unit 35 stores the response content in the response information storage unit 36 in association with the Item identifier (step 305). In this case, if another response content is already stored for the same Item identifier, the response content may be overwritten with the current response content. That is, the response information storage unit 36 always stores the latest response content for the Item identifier.

After that, the transmission / reception control unit 35 sets the destination information and the transmission source information in the packet having the configuration shown in FIG. 5 and stores it in the transmission data storage area of the transmission / reception buffer 34 (step 306). Here, the transmission source information included in the request packet acquired in step 303 may be used as the destination information, and the information of the own device may be used as the transmission source information. At this time, the response content is not set in the packet.
Finally, the transmission / reception control unit 35 transmits the item identifier received from the main control unit 40 to the transmission processing unit 37 and instructs transmission of the response packet (step 307).

  Thereby, the transmission processing unit 37 takes out the packet stored in the transmission / reception buffer 34 in step 306 and sets a response content in this to generate a response packet. Here, the response contents are those stored in the response information storage unit 36 in step 305. The transmission processing unit 37 can extract the response content from the response information stored in the response information storage unit 36 using the Item identifier transmitted from the transmission / reception control unit 35 as a key. Then, the PHY 31 transmits the response packet generated in this way to the requesting terminal device 10.

On the other hand, when determining that the main control unit 40 is in the power saving state in step 302, the transmission / reception control unit 35 performs processing for responding only with the NIC 30 without transmitting the contents of the request packet to the main control unit 40.
That is, the transmission / reception control unit 35 sets the destination information and the transmission source information in the packet having the configuration shown in FIG. 5, and stores it in the transmission data storage area of the transmission / reception buffer 34 (step 306). Here, the transmission source information included in the request packet acquired in step 303 may be used as the destination information, and the information of the own device may be used as the transmission source information. At this time, the response content is not set in the packet.
Finally, the transmission / reception control unit 35 instructs the transmission processing unit 37 to transmit a response packet without designating the Item identifier (step 307).

Thereby, the transmission processing unit 37 takes out the packet stored in the transmission / reception buffer 34 in step 306 and sets a response content in this to generate a response packet. Here, the response content may be extracted from the response information for all Item identifiers stored in the response information storage unit 36. Then, the PHY 31 transmits the response packet generated in this way to the requesting terminal device 10.
Thus, the operation example of the NIC 30 of this embodiment is completed.

In this operation example, the response contents for the request packet received when the image processing apparatus 20 is in the normal operation state are stored, and the request packet received when the image processing apparatus 20 is in the power saving state is stored. Although the stored response contents are returned as they are, the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, when the image processing apparatus 20 is in the power saving state, the response content for each Item identifier stored in the response information storage unit 36 is updated with the information when the image processing apparatus 20 enters the power saving mode. In response to the received request packet, the response content updated at the time of shifting to the power saving mode may be returned.
Alternatively, the response content for the request packet received when the image processing apparatus 20 is in the normal operation state is not stored, and only the information at the time when the image processing apparatus 20 shifts to the power saving mode is stored in the response information storage unit 36. In response to the request packet received when the image processing apparatus 20 is in the power saving state, the response content stored at the time of shifting to the power saving mode may be returned. In this case, in step 305 of FIG. 6, instead of storing the response content in the response information storage unit 36, the destination information and the transmission source information are set in advance in a packet in step 306. .

  In the present embodiment, when the communication control apparatus connected to the image processing apparatus 20 receives an acquisition request for information regarding the state of the image processing apparatus 20, the image processing apparatus 20 is in a power saving state. By transmitting a response stored in advance, the power consumption of the image processing apparatus 20 is reduced. However, when a communication control device connected to a general device receives a similar request from another device, the communication control device may perform the same processing to reduce the power consumption of the device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Terminal device, 20 ... Image processing apparatus, 30 ... NIC, 40 ... Main control part, 80 ... Network

Claims (8)

Storage means for storing in advance a response to be transmitted in response to an acquisition request for information about the device to which the device is connected;
Receiving means for receiving a request for acquiring specific information about the device from another device;
A transmission unit configured to transmit the response stored in the storage unit to the other device when power is not supplied to the device when the acquisition unit receives the specific information acquisition request. A communication control device characterized by that.   The transmission unit transmits a response acquired from the device to the other device if power is supplied to the device when the acquisition unit receives the specific information acquisition request. The communication control device according to claim 1.   The communication according to claim 2, wherein the storage unit stores a response acquired from the device when the receiving unit receives the acquisition request for the specific information as the response to be transmitted. Control device.   The communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores, as the response to be transmitted, a response acquired from the device when power is not supplied to the device. The storage means stores, for each type of information, a response to be transmitted in response to an acquisition request for information about the device,
When the receiving unit receives the specific information acquisition request by the receiving unit and the power is not supplied to the device, the transmitting unit is stored in the storage unit regardless of the type of the specific information. The communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the response is transmitted to the other device. Image processing means for performing image processing in response to an instruction from the terminal device;
Management means for managing the status of resources used in the image processing means;
Storage means for storing in advance a response to be transmitted in response to an acquisition request for information regarding the state of the resource;
Receiving means for receiving from the terminal device an acquisition request for information relating to a state of a specific resource used in the image processing means;
A transmission for transmitting the response stored in the storage means to the terminal device when power is not supplied to the management means when the acquisition means receives an information acquisition request regarding the state of the specific resource. And an image processing apparatus. When the transmission unit receives an acquisition request for information on the state of the specific resource by the reception unit, if power is supplied to the management unit, the transmission unit sends a response acquired from the management unit to the terminal device. Send
The storage means stores, as the response to be transmitted, a response acquired from the management means when an acquisition request for information on the state of the specific resource is received by the receiving means. Item 7. The image processing apparatus according to Item 6.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the storage unit stores a response acquired from the management unit when power is not supplied to the management unit as the response to be transmitted.

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