JP6188630B2 - Information processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus having a communication function, and more particularly, a main system and a subsystem each having a communication function, and when the main system is in a power saving mode, the subsystem is an alternative response to the communication function of the main system. The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus.

  In an information processing apparatus such as an image forming apparatus having a communication function, the main system and the subsystem each have a communication function. When the main system is in a power saving mode, the communication function of the subsystem is an alternative response to the communication function of the main system. May be performed.

  As such a technique, there is a technique for switching a route of a network packet (hereinafter simply referred to as “packet”) between a normal mode and a power saving mode (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 enables processing of a predetermined packet received via a network while maintaining an information processing apparatus capable of switching the power mode to the power saving mode or the normal power mode in the power saving mode. The cost is reduced while reducing the power consumption.

JP 2013-242875 A

  By the way, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the cause of the switching timing of the power mode is not limited to the packet, but switching is also caused by the operation of the power key, the panel screen, or the state change such as a print engine error. If you want to. For this reason, path switching may be performed unnecessarily even in situations where it is not necessary to perform processing in the main system. In order to switch the route, it is necessary to wait for FIFO (First In, First Out) processing to end and no unprocessed data to disappear. Further, at the time of switching, it is necessary to perform processing such as transferring a packet remaining at the switching source, and processing such as data transfer by grasping the status of what processing has been performed so far. As a result, the switching process may take time.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a condition, and it aims at providing the technique which can solve the said subject.

The present invention is an information processing apparatus that is connectable to a network and includes a main system and a subsystem that performs an alternative process of the main system when the main system is in a power saving mode. When the system returns from the power saving mode to the normal mode, if the cause of the return to the normal mode is a factor not related to network communication, the system continues the substitution process.
If a packet transmission event occurs in the main system when the substitution process continues after the transition to the normal mode, a process of switching the substitution process of the subsystem to the main system is performed. Also good.
Further, when a packet transmission event occurs in the main system during the transition from the normal mode to the power saving mode and the normal mode returns, the processing of the transmission event is performed according to the type of the transmission event. It may be possible to return to the normal mode after setting whether the operation is performed in the main system or the subsystem.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique for quickly switching between the normal mode and the power saving mode by eliminating unnecessary switching of the power mode and performing minimum switching at a necessary timing.

1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the transfer sequence from power saving mode to normal mode based on embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, an image forming apparatus is illustrated as an information processing apparatus.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 10 is, for example, a printer or a multifunction machine. The image forming apparatus 10 includes a main system 20, a standby response subsystem 60, a print engine 30, an image reading engine 40, an operation panel unit 50, a storage device 70, a power management unit 80, and a communication interface 22. And an image analysis unit 24.

  The main system 20 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM, and the like, and comprehensively controls each component of the image forming apparatus 10.

  The standby response subsystem 60 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM, and the like, and performs a proxy response when the main system 20 is in the power saving mode. The standby response subsystem 60 is configured on a platform that is power-separated from the main system 20, and has a lower performance than the configuration of the main system 20, and a process for maintaining network connection Is executed.

  Protocols exchanged via the network 99 are transmitted and received as predetermined packets. Packets unrelated to the image forming apparatus 10 also flow through the network 99. Even if the packet is to be processed by the image forming apparatus 10 itself, there may be a relatively light response process as long as the packet is for monitoring and managing the network connection state. In such a case, if the high-performance main system 20 is operated, the power consumption increases. Therefore, the standby response subsystem 60 with low power consumption makes an alternative response of the main system 20.

  Here, regarding the power mode in the image forming apparatus 10, the normal mode for processing print data and the like, and the main system 20 is turned off and the standby response subsystem 60 operates only to maintain network communication when the main system 20 is not necessary. And a power mode.

  The communication interface 22 is an interface based on a predetermined communication standard such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a USB (Universal Serial Bus), and is connected to the PC 90 (personal computer) via the network 99.

  The image analysis unit 24 creates image data based on print data acquired from the PC 90 via the main system 20. Further, the image analysis unit 24 analyzes the image content of each created page and determines the fixing temperature in the print engine 30.

  The print engine 30 includes, for example, an engine control unit, an image forming unit, a fixing control unit, and a fixing device, and forms a toner image on actual paper based on the image data generated by the image analysis unit 24. It is heated and pressed by a fixing device and fixed on the paper.

  The image reading engine 40 reads a document set on a predetermined document table (not shown) and generates image data of the document.

  The operation panel unit 50 includes various operation keys such as a numeric keypad, a start key, and a power key, and a touch panel. The operation panel unit 50 receives a user operation and notifies the main system 20 of the operation. The main system 20 performs processing according to the instruction. The storage device 70 includes a DRAM as a main storage device, an HDD as an auxiliary storage device, and the like.

  The power management unit 80 supplies power to the main system 20 and the standby response subsystem 60 through independent paths. That is, even when the power supply to the main system 20 is stopped or minimized, the standby response subsystem 60 is operable.

  The operation of the image forming apparatus 10 having the above configuration will be described by focusing on the processing of the main system 20 and the standby response subsystem 60 during the power mode transition. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a transition sequence from the power saving mode to the normal mode. Here, the process assumes a return to the normal mode by pressing the power key. The return to the normal mode due to the packet factor is switched from a general return process, that is, an alternative response by the standby response subsystem 60 to a response to the main system 20.

  When the standby response subsystem 60 detects that the power key of the operation panel unit 50 is pressed in the power saving mode (S10), the standby response subsystem 60 starts the power mode transition (S12). In other words, the standby response subsystem 60 notifies the power management unit 80 to put the power supply to the main system 20 in the normal mode. The restored main system 20 shifts the state of each component to the normal mode, but recognizes that “the restoration factor is not the restoration of the packet factor” (S14).

  At this time, the main system 20 continues the alternative response process related to the network process by the standby response subsystem 60 (S16). That is, the main system 20 does not perform the process of switching the packet route, but only performs the return process required when the power key is pressed. As described above, when a packet that cannot be replaced is received, the standby response subsystem 60 notifies the main system 20 at that time. Then, the main system 20 switches the packet route and performs processing on the main system 20 side.

  When an event to be transmitted from the main system 20 side does not occur (N in S18), the standby response subsystem 60 continues the alternative response process (S16). When an event to be transmitted from the main system 20 side occurs (N in S18), the packet path is switched and the process is performed in the main system 20 (S20).

  If a packet transmission from the main system 20 occurs during the transition process when the transition to the power saving mode occurs again due to a timeout of the transition timer to the power saving mode, the packet transmission is temporarily suspended, Whether the power mode is returned to the normal mode at the timing and whether the main system 20 or the standby response subsystem 60 performs processing when the normal mode is restored is reserved. That is, for example, if the packet transmission to be executed is a relatively light process, the standby response subsystem 60 can complete the process within an appropriate processing time. On the other hand, if the process is heavy, the standby response subsystem 60 may time out the job, and it is desirable that the main system 20 execute it. Therefore, appropriate processing can be performed by recording and holding in the predetermined table what kind of processing is continued in the standby response subsystem 60 and referring to it at the timing of reservation setting. That is, at the next activation, it is possible to determine whether the switching is performed immediately after the activation by looking at the route setting or at the timing when an event requiring the switching occurs.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, unnecessary switching can be eliminated and minimum switching can be performed at a necessary timing. That is, the switching operation between the normal mode and the power saving mode can be performed quickly. Conventionally, the packet path is switched in accordance with the transition of the power mode. However, in this embodiment, it is possible to switch the path by determining which one of the main system 20 and the standby response subsystem 60 should operate and respond without matching the state transition.

  In addition, since the switching operation becomes faster, the time required for the migration process can be shortened. As a result, power consumption can be reduced.

  Even if the packet processing is not the cause of the switching, the packet processing in the normal mode is continued even though the processing by the standby response subsystem 60 is sufficient after the switching in the normal mode. It is possible to avoid a situation in which switching is difficult.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of these components, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 20 Main system 22 Communication interface 24 Image analysis part 30 Print engine 40 Image reading engine 50 Operation panel part 60 Standby response subsystem 70 Storage device 80 Power supply management part 90 PC
99 network

Claims (3)

An information processing apparatus that is connectable to a network and has a main system and a subsystem that performs an alternative process of the main system when the main system is in a power saving mode,
The subsystem continues the substitution process when the factor of returning to the normal mode is a factor not related to network communication when returning from the power saving mode to the normal mode. . When a packet transmission event occurs in the main system when the substitution process continues after the transition to the normal mode, a process of switching the substitution process of the subsystem to the main system is performed. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.   When a packet transmission event occurs in the main system during the transition from the normal mode to the power saving mode and the normal mode returns, the processing of the transmission event is performed according to the type of the transmission event. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is returned to the normal mode after setting whether to perform in step 1 or to be the subsystem.

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