IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND POWER SUPPLY CONTROL METHOD FOR AN IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS
Provided is an image forming apparatus, including: a system control section that performs control of the apparatus; a functional block that forms a part of the image forming apparatus; and a power control section that is communicably connected to the system control section, that controls power supply to the system control section and the functional block, that is provided with data for power control defining with regard to the power supply to the system control section and the functional block by the system control section, and that controls the power supply to the system control section and the functional block based on the data for power control.
1 . An image forming apparatus, comprising:
a system control section that performs control of the image forming apparatus;
a functional block that communicates with the system control section and forms a part of the image forming apparatus; and
a power control section that is communicably connected to the system control section, that controls power supply to the system control section and the functional block, that is provided with data for power control defining with regard to the power supply to the system control section and the functional block by the system control section, and that controls the power supply to the system control section and the functional block based on the data for power control.
2 . An image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a plurality of kinds of interrupt generation sections that detect that an operation or an input has been performed with respect to the image forming apparatus to generate an interrupt, and transmits the interrupt to the power control section; and
a timer portion that measures time, wherein:
the system control section provides the power control section with a stop permission notification that permits stopping of the power supply to the system control section and the functional block when a predetermined time has elapsed without any interrupt being transmitted from any of the interrupt generation sections; and
the power control section stops the power supply to the system control section and the functional block upon reception of the stop permission notification.
3 . An image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the data for power control comprises data defining the functional block to have the power supply thereto restarted according to a kind of the generated interrupt when the interrupt is generated under a state in which the power supply to the system control section and the functional block is stopped.
4 . An image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the data for power control comprises data defining that the power supply to the system control section is restarted irrespective of the kind of the generated interrupt when the interrupt is generated under the state in which the power supply to the system control section is stopped.
5 . An image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the data for power control comprises data defining the functional block to have the power supply thereto restarted according to the kind of the generated interrupt for each of time slots.
6 . An image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein:
the time slots used in the data for power control comprise at least two kinds of a midnight time slot and a time slot other than the midnight time slot; and
the data for power control corresponding to the midnight time slot is defined so as to have a smaller number of the functional blocks to have the power supply thereto restarted than that corresponding to the time slot other than the midnight time slot.
7 . An image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the power control section notifies the system control section of the kind of the interrupt when the power supply to the system control section is restarted because the interrupt is generated under the state in which the power supply to the system control section is stopped.
8 . An image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
one or a plurality of kinds of voltages are supplied to the system control section and the respective functional blocks;
the power control section performs switching on/off of the voltages supplied to the system control section and the respective functional blocks; and
the data for power control comprises data defining an order of turning on the voltages when the power supply is started and an order of turning off the voltages when the power supply is stopped with regard to the system control section and the respective functional blocks to which the plurality of kinds of voltages are supplied.
9 . An image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a setting input section for performing settings regarding the image forming apparatus,
wherein the setting input section receives an input for changing the data for power control.
10 . A power supply control method for an image forming apparatus, comprising:
providing, by a system control section that performs control of the image forming apparatus, data for power control defining with regard to the system control section, a functional block that forms a part of the image forming apparatus, and the power supply to the functional block, to a power control section that is communicably connected to the system control section and controls power supply to the system control section and the functional block; and
controlling, by the power control section, the power supply to the system control section and the functional block based on the data for power control.
11 . A power supply control method for an image forming apparatus according to claim 10 , further comprising:
generating an interrupt when an operation or an input has been performed with respect to the image forming apparatus;
transmitting the interrupt to the power control section;
measuring time;
providing the power control section, by the system control section, with a stop permission notification that permits stopping of the power supply to the system control section and the functional block when a predetermined time has elapsed without any interrupt being transmitted; and
stopping, by the power control section, the power supply to the system control section and the functional block upon reception of the stop permission notification.
12 . A power supply control method for an image forming apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the data for power control comprises data defining the functional block to have the power supply thereto restarted according to a kind of the generated interrupt when the interrupt is generated under a state in which the power supply to the system control section and the functional block is stopped.
13 . A power supply control method for an image forming apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the data for power control comprises data defining that the power supply to the system control section is restarted irrespective of a kind of the generated interrupt when the interrupt is generated under the state in which the power supply to the system control section is stopped.
14 . A power supply control method for an image forming apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the data for power control comprises data defining the functional block to have the power supply thereto restarted according to a kind of the generated interrupt for each of time slots.
15 . A power supply control method for an image forming apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein:
the time slots used in the data for power control comprise at least two kinds of a midnight time slot and a time slot other than the midnight time slot; and
the data for power control corresponding to the midnight time slot is defined so as to have a smaller number of the functional blocks to have the power supply thereto restarted than that corresponding to the time slot other than the midnight time slot.
16 . A power supply control method for an image forming apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the power control section notifies the system control section of a kind of the interrupt when the power supply to the system control section is restarted because the interrupt is generated under the state in which the power supply to the system control section is stopped.
17 . A power supply control method for an image forming apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein:
one or a plurality of kinds of voltages are supplied to the system control section and the respective functional blocks;
the power control section performs switching on/off of the one or the plurality of kinds of voltages supplied to the system control section and the respective functional blocks; and
the data for power control comprises data defining an order of turning on the voltages when the power supply is started and an order of turning off the voltages when the power supply is stopped with regard to the system control section and the respective functional blocks to which the plurality of kinds of voltages are supplied.
18 . A power supply control method for an image forming apparatus according to claim 10 , further comprising receiving an input for changing the data for power control.