US 9,001,351 B2Granted

Image forming apparatus

AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorsHidehiro Wakamiya, Marehiko Hirajima

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Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes first through third control units, with the first for processing input image information and each of the second and third for controlling an operation of an image forming unit by communication with the first. In a first mode, in which power is supplied to the first through third control units, the first and third control units communicate via the second control unit. In a second mode, in which the first control unit does not communicate with the second control unit, the first and third control units communicate via a communication line without communicating via the second control unit. The power consumption of the second mode is lower than that of the first mode. In the second mode, the first and third control units can transmit information for transition from the second mode to the first mode to each other via the communication line.

Claims22

Dependent claims

An image forming apparatus comprising:

a first control unit for processing input image information;
a second control unit for communicating with the first control unit;
a third control unit for controlling an operation of the image forming unit by communication with the second control unit;
and
a communication unit for communication between the first and third control units,
wherein in a first mode in which power is supplied to the first, second and third control units, the first and third control units communicate via the second control unit,
wherein in a second mode, in which a power consumption is lower than that in the first mode, the first and third control units communicate via the communication unit without communicating via the second control unit, and
wherein in a case where the second mode is changed to the first mode, information for transition from the second mode to the first mode is transmitted via the communication unit from the first control unit to the third control unit, or the information for transition is transmitted via the communication unit from the third control unit to the first control unit.

5 more elements

An image forming apparatus comprising:

a first control unit;
a second control unit for communicating with the first control unit;
a third control unit for communicating with the second control unit;
and
a communication unit for communication between the first and third control units,
wherein in a first mode in which power is supplied to the first, second and third control units, the first and third control units communicate via the second control unit,
wherein in a second mode, in which a power consumption is lower than that in the first mode, the first and third control units communicate via the communication unit without communicating via the second control unit, and
wherein in a case where the second mode is changed to the first mode, information for transition from the second mode to the first mode is transmitted via the communication unit from the first control unit to the third control unit, or the information for transition is transmitted via the communication unit from the third control unit to the first control unit.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/167,352Filed 29 Jan 2014 · continuation
Priority: JP 2009-2300301 Oct 2009
Published: US 2014/0146347 A129 May 2014
Granted: 7 Apr 2015
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G06K 15/4055
Details not directly involved in printing, e.g. machine management, management of the arrangement as a whole or of its constitutive parts:…
G03G 15/5004
Machine control of apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern, e.g. regulating differents parts of the machine, multimode…:…
Y02D 10/00
Energy efficient computing
G06K
Graphical data reading

Family

Application12/893,508Parent of this continuation · filed 29 Sep 2010
US 2014/0146347 A1Pre-grant publication · published 29 May 2014
US 8,677,156 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2011/0080605 A1Published application
US 8,958,094 B2Related patent
US 9,001,351 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.