JP-2026075349-A - Image recording device, control method for image recording device, and program

JP2026075349AJP 2026075349 AJP2026075349 AJP 2026075349AJP-2026075349-A

Abstract

[Problem] To reduce the power consumption of the image recording device. [Solution] The image recording device includes: a first processing means that performs a process to put the image recording device into a power-saving state while the power remains on, based on information about the non-operating time during which the image recording device is in a non-operating state and whether or not the non-operating image recording device is in a predetermined state; a second processing means that performs a process to automatically turn off the power of the image recording device from the power-saving state, based on the non-operating time of the image recording device; and a third processing means that performs a process to automatically turn off the power of the image recording device from the state where the image recording device is not in the power-saving state, based on the non-operating time of the image recording device. [Selection Diagram] Figure 4

Inventors

源田泰久

Assignees

キヤノン株式会社

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20241022

Claims (15)

An image recording device, A first processing means that performs a process to put the image recording device into a power-saving state while keeping the power on, based on information about the non-operating time during which the image recording device is in a non-operating state, and whether the image recording device in a non-operating state is in a predetermined state. A second processing means that, based on the non-operating time of the image recording device, executes a process to automatically turn off the power of the image recording device from the power-saving state, A third processing means that, based on the non-operating time of the image recording device, executes a process to automatically turn off the power of the image recording device when the image recording device is not in the power-saving state, An image recording device characterized by having the following features.
The information indicating whether or not the predetermined state is in place is information indicating whether or not the image recording device is connected to an external device. The image recording device according to claim 1, characterized in that the first processing means executes a process to put the image recording device into the power-saving state when the non-operating time of the image recording device exceeds a first set time and the image recording device is not connected to the external device.
The image recording device according to claim 2, characterized in that the state in which the image recording device is connected to the external device includes at least one of the states in which an external memory is connected to the image recording device or a USB is connected to the image recording device.
The third processing means is, The image recording device according to claim 2, characterized in that if the non-operating time of the image recording device in a state other than the power-saving state exceeds the sum of the first set time and a second set time different from the first set time, the device automatically performs a process to turn off the power of the image recording device.
The third processing means is, The image recording device according to claim 2, characterized in that if the non-operating time in the image recording device when it is not in the power-saving state exceeds a second set time which is longer than the first set time, the power of the image recording device is turned off.
The third processing means and the second processing means are The image recording device according to claim 1, characterized in that, if the image recording device is in a specific state other than the power-saving state, the process of turning off the power of the image recording device is not performed.
The image recording device according to claim 6, characterized in that the aforementioned specific state includes at least the state in which the image recording device is connected to a network.
The image recording device according to claim 7, characterized in that the state of being connected to the network is a state in which network connection is enabled as a setting state of the image recording device, or a state in which an IF connector is connected to the image recording device.
The image recording device according to claim 6, characterized in that the aforementioned specific state is different from the aforementioned predetermined state.
The second processing means is, The image recording device according to claim 2, characterized in that if the non-operating time of the image recording device exceeds a second set time different from the first set time, and the image recording device is in the power-saving state, the power of the image recording device is turned off.
The image recording device according to claim 2, characterized in that if the non-operating time of the image recording device exceeds the first set time, the processing by the third processing means is controlled to become effective.
The system further includes recording means for recording images, The image recording device according to claim 1, characterized in that the power-saving state is at least a sleep state in which the power supply to the recording means is restricted.
The image recording apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that the recording means records images using an inkjet method.
A method for controlling an image recording device, A first processing step is performed to put the image recording device into a power-saving state while the power remains on, based on information about the non-operating time during which the image recording device is in a non-operating state, and whether the image recording device in a non-operating state is in a predetermined state. A second processing step is to perform a process to automatically turn off the power to the image recording device from the power-saving state based on the non-operating time of the image recording device, A third processing step, based on the non-operating time of the image recording device, is to execute a process to automatically turn off the power of the image recording device when the image recording device is not in the power-saving state, A control method characterized by having the following features.
A program for causing a computer to execute each of the means of the image recording apparatus described in any one of claims 1 to 13.

Description

This disclosure relates to an image recording device, a control method for an image recording device, and a program. Some image recording devices have a function that automatically switches to a power-saving sleep state by limiting the power supply to the device itself while maintaining the power-on state, if it has not been operated continuously for a preset period of time. Patent Document 1 describes an image recording device that, even when set to automatically enter sleep mode, will not automatically enter sleep mode if a blocking factor occurs. Furthermore, Patent Document 1 describes an auto-shutdown mechanism that stops the power supply to the entire image forming apparatus. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-73604 A diagram showing the external appearance of an image recording device.A block diagram showing the control configuration of an image recording device.A diagram showing an example of the power saving settings screen.A flowchart illustrating an example of power control processing.A flowchart illustrating an example of power control processing.A flowchart illustrating an example of power control processing.A diagram illustrating an example of a limiting factor. The following describes embodiments of the technology of this disclosure. The following embodiments are not intended to limit the technology of this disclosure as defined in the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the following embodiments are necessarily essential to the solutions of the technology of this disclosure. <First Embodiment> Some image recording devices automatically transition to a power-saving state (called sleep mode) by limiting the power supply to the device itself while maintaining the power-on state. Furthermore, there are methods to control the image recording device to prevent it from automatically transitioning to sleep mode if factors that could disrupt its operation (called limiting factors or blocking factors) are detected. For example, to transition to sleep mode from a state where limiting factors preventing automatic sleep mode are present, the user must either manually instruct the device to enter sleep mode or manually remove the limiting factors. Furthermore, some image recording devices have an automatic power-off function that automatically turns off the power to further conserve power beyond sleep mode. In image recording devices where this automatic power-off function is enabled, the power of the image recording device will automatically turn off if the continuous time in sleep mode exceeds the automatic power-off setting time. Therefore, if factors limiting the transition to automatic sleep mode occur, the device will not enter sleep mode without user intervention, and as a result, the power may not turn off even if the automatic power-off function is enabled. Therefore, this embodiment describes a method for controlling the image recording device so that the power is automatically turned off even if factors limiting automatic sleep mode transition occur continuously for a predetermined period of time. [Device configuration] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the external appearance of a printer 100, which is an image recording device of this embodiment. The printer 100 includes a display unit 106, an operation unit 107, and an ink tank unit 110. The display unit 106 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display and is capable of displaying characters, figures, and indicators. The ink tank unit 110 stores ink. The ink tank unit 110 is equipped with an ink inlet (not shown). Ink can be injected into the ink tank unit 110 from an ink bottle (not shown). Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration related to the control of the printer 100. The printer 100 includes a CPU 201, ROM 202, RAM 203, EEPROM 204, and an external device connection unit 205. The CPU 201 is a central processing unit for controlling the various parts within the printer 100. ROM202 is a storage unit that stores fixed data such as control programs executed by the CPU201, data tables, and embedded operating system (OS) programs. In this embodiment, each control program stored in ROM202 performs software execution control such as scheduling, task switching, and interrupt handling under the management of the embedded OS stored in ROM202. RAM 203 temporarily stores image data and other data during the execution of each service, and performs buffering. EEPROM 204 stores non-volatile information. This non-volatile information includes the printer 100's shipping destination information, the language setting displayed on the display unit 106, and user-registered settings. The settings stored in EEPROM 204 also include the sleep timer value (the setting time for automatic sleep transition) and the automatic power-off setting time. The external device connection unit 205 connects to external devices via USB or a network. Specifically, the external device connec