Image forming apparatus and network connection method thereof relates to an image forming apparatus which supports different network connections according to an operation mode

A network connection method of an image forming apparatus which is connected to a network using a physical layer protocol (PHY) and operates in a plurality of operation modes, the method comprising:

• determining an operation mode of the plurality of operation modes of the image forming apparatus;
• forming a first data path between a first control unit, which includes a first Media Access Controller (MAC) to perform Media Access Control for the PHY when the image forming apparatus operates in a normal mode and which controls functions of the image forming apparatus, and the PHY;
• forming a second data path between a second control unit, which includes a second Media Access Controller (MAC) to perform Media Access Control for the PHY when the image forming apparatus operates in a power saving mode and which operates with lower power than the first control unit, and the PHY;
• and
• switching to the first data path or the second data path according to the determined operation mode of the image forming apparatus,
• wherein in the switching to the first data path or the second data path, if printing data are received through the second data path between the second MAC and the PHY and the image forming apparatus is operating in the power saving mode, the second data path is switched to the first data path so as to operate the image forming apparatus in the normal mode.

A method of connecting an image forming apparatus to a network with a physical layer protocol (PHY), the method comprising:

• determining an operation mode of the image forming apparatus;
• switching to a first data path between a first control unit of the image forming apparatus and the PHY when it is determined that the operation mode is a normal operation mode;
• and
• switching to a second data path between a second control unit and the PHY when it is determined that the operation mode is a power saving mode;
• determining whether printing data is received through the second data path when the image forming apparatus is in the power saving mode;
• and
• switching to the first data path when it is determined that printing data is received through the second data path and operating the image forming apparatus in the normal mode.