Image-forming apparatus

1. An image-forming apparatus having an image-forming mode during which an image is formed on a recording medium and a power-saving mode in which power consumption is reduced relative to in the image-forming mode, the apparatus comprising:

a continuously-powered unit powered in both the image-forming mode and the power-saving mode; and

a non-continuously-powered unit powered in the image-forming mode but not in the power-saving mode,

wherein the continuously-powered unit includes:

a communication unit connected with an external network;

a first storage unit storing setting data when the setting data is received from the external network via the communication unit during the power-saving mode, wherein the setting data is for making settings in the continuously-powered unit and non-continuously-powered unit; and

a processing unit using the setting data to perform processing when an external operation switches the image-forming apparatus from the power-saving mode to the image-forming mode.

2. The image-forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first storage unit is a nonvolatile memory.

3. The image-forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a second storage unit included within the non-continuously-powered unit, wherein the second storage unit stores setting data when the setting data is received from the external network via the communication unit during the image-forming mode.

4. The image-forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the processing unit transfers at least part of the setting data stored in the second storage unit to the first storage unit when the image-forming apparatus is switched from the image-forming mode to the power-saving mode.

5. The image-forming apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a second storage unit included within the non-continuously-powered unit, wherein the second storage unit stores setting data when the setting data is received from the external network via the communication unit during the image-forming mode.

6. The image-forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the processing unit transfers at least part of the setting data stored in the second storage unit to the first storage unit when the image-forming apparatus is switched from the image-forming mode to the power-saving mode.

7. A method for reducing power consumption in an image-forming apparatus, wherein the image-forming apparatus has an image-forming mode during which an image is formed on a recording medium and a power-saving mode in which power consumption is reduced relative to in the image-forming mode, the method comprising:

switching from the image-forming mode to the power-saving mode;

transferring setting data to a first storage unit from a second storage unit, wherein the first storage unit is located within a continuously-powered unit of the image-forming apparatus, wherein the second storage unit is located within a non-continuously-powered unit of the image-forming apparatus, and wherein the setting data is for making settings in the continuously-powered unit and non-continuously-powered unit;

stopping power to the non-continuously-powered unit, wherein the non-continuously-powered unit comprises at least an image-reading unit, an image-forming unit, the second storage unit, and an operation display; and

overwriting the setting data in the first storage unit upon receiving new setting data from a user terminal connected to the image-forming apparatus via a network, wherein the image-forming apparatus is connected to the network via a communication unit, wherein the communication unit is part of the continuously-powered unit.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the first storage unit is a nonvolatile memory.

9. The method according to claim 7 , wherein power to the non-continuously-powered unit remains stopped throughout the overwriting step.

10. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising:

switching from the power-saving mode to the image-forming mode upon occurrence of an external operation;

powering the non-continuously-powered unit; and

performing processing on at least one of the image-reading unit and the image-forming unit using the setting data.

11. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the continuously-powered unit comprises the first storage unit, the communication unit, and a processing unit that uses the setting data to perform processing when an external operation switches the image-forming apparatus from the power-saving mode to the image-forming mode.

12. The method according to claim 7 , wherein overwriting the setting data comprises:

setting a flag;

storing the setting data in the first storage unit; and

sending data to the user terminal via the communication unit and network to provide notification of a successful setting.

13. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising transferring notification data from the second storage unit to a third storage unit.

14. The method according to claim 13 , further comprising:

transferring notification data from the image-reading unit and the image-forming unit to the third storage unit; and

transferring setting data from the image-reading unit and the image-forming unit to the first storage unit.

15. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising providing notification that the image-forming apparatus is in the power-saving mode.

16. A controller for an image-forming apparatus, the image-forming apparatus comprising an image-reading unit, an image-forming unit, a hard disc drive, and an operation display and having an image-forming mode during which an image is formed on a recording medium and a power-saving mode in which power consumption is reduced relative to in the image-forming mode, the controller comprising:

a non-volatile memory for storing setting data while the image-forming apparatus is in the power-saving mode;

a volatile memory for storing notification data while the image-forming apparatus is in the power-saving mode;

a communication unit for receiving data from a plurality of user terminals over a network; and

a processing unit for using the setting data to perform processing when an external operation switches the image-forming apparatus from the power-saving mode to the image-forming mode, and for stopping power to the image-reading unit, the image-forming unit, the hard disc drive, and the operation display when the image-forming apparatus switches from the image-forming mode to the power-saving mode.

17. The controller according to claim 16 , wherein the processing unit further transfers at least part of data stored on the hard disc drive to the non-volatile memory and the volatile memory when the image-forming apparatus switches from the image-forming mode to the power-saving mode.

18. The controller according to claim 16 , wherein the setting data includes data for setting parameters to control the image-reading unit and the image-forming unit.

19. The controller of claim 18 , wherein the setting data is generated by an information processing device connected to the image-forming apparatus via the network.

20. The controller of claim 18 , wherein the notification data is indicative of a state of the image-forming apparatus.