INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS

• US 20120166850A1
• Filed: 03/07/2012
• Published: 06/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kuroda, Yuji, Yanagawa, Katsuhiko, Akiba, Tomohiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,543,853 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/323
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5004 Power supply control, e.g. power-saving mode, automatic power turn-off

Abstract

An information processing apparatus includes a storage unit configured to store data, a supply unit configured to supply electric power to the storage unit, a determination unit configured to determine whether to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode, a measuring unit configured to measure an elapsed time after a power source of the information processing apparatus is turned on and until the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode, and a control unit configured to control the supply unit to decrease electric power supplied from the supply unit to the storage unit at a timing determined based on the elapsed time and a predetermined reference time, in case that the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a storage unit configured to store data;

a supply unit configured to supply electric power to the storage unit;

a determination unit configured to determine whether to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode;

a measuring unit configured to measure an elapsed time until the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode; and

a control unit configured to control the supply unit to decrease electric power supplied from the supply unit to the storage unit at a timing determined based on the elapsed time and either one of a number of increment times when the power supply from the supply unit to the storage unit is increased and a number of decrement times when the power supply from the supply unit to the storage unit is decreased, in case that the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a subtracting unit configured to subtract a reference time from the elapsed time every time when the electric power supplied from the supply unit to the storage unit is decreased,

wherein the control unit is configured to control the supply unit to decrease electric power supplied from the supply unit to the storage unit at a first timing if the elapsed time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, and is configured to control the supply unit to decrease electric power supplied from the supply unit to the storage unit at a second timing that is later than the first timing if the elapsed time is shorter than the predetermined time.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second timing is a timing when a calculated time has elapsed after the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode, wherein the calculated time can be obtained by subtracting the elapsed time from the reference time.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storing unit configured to store, as a storage time, a value obtained by subtracting a reference time from a time having elapsed after the power supply to the storage unit is reduced by the supply unit and until the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in the power saving mode, every time when electric power supplied from the supply unit to the storage unit is decreased,

wherein the control unit is configured to control the supply unit to decrease electric power supplied from the supply unit to the storage unit at a first timing if a time obtained by adding the storage time to the time having elapsed after the power supply to the storage unit is reduced by the supply unit and until the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in the power saving mode is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, and is configured to control the supply unit to decrease electric power supplied from the supply unit to the storage unit at a second timing that is later than the first timing if the time obtained by adding the storage time to the time having elapsed after the power supply to the storage unit is reduced by the supply unit and until the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in the power saving mode is shorter than the predetermined time.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second timing is a timing when a calculated time has elapsed after the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode, wherein the calculated time can be obtained by subtracting, from the reference time, the time having elapsed after the power supply to the storage unit is reduced by the supply unit and until the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in the power saving mode and the storage time.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a recording unit configured to record a number of increment times when the power supply from the supply unit to the storage unit is increased,

wherein the control unit is configured to control the supply unit to decrease electric power supplied from the supply unit to the storage unit at a first timing if the elapsed time is equal to or longer than a time obtained by multiplying a reference time by the number of increment times, and is configured to control the supply unit to decrease electric power supplied from the supply unit to the storage unit at a second timing that is later than the first timing if the elapsed time is shorter than the time obtained by multiplying the reference time by the number of increment times.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the second timing is a timing when a calculated time has elapsed after the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode, wherein the calculated time can be obtained by subtracting the elapsed time from a time obtained by multiplying the reference time by the number of increment times.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to control the supply unit to decrease electric power supplied from the supply unit to the storage unit at a first timing if the time having elapsed after the power supply to the storage unit is increased by the supply unit and until the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in the power saving mode is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, and is configured to control the supply unit to decrease electric power supplied from the supply unit to the storage unit at a second timing that is later than the first timing if a time having elapsed after the power supply to the storage unit is increased by the supply unit and until the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in the power saving mode is shorter than the predetermined time.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim. 8, wherein the second timing is a timing when a calculated time has elapsed after the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode, wherein the calculated time can be obtained by subtracting, from a reference time, the time having elapsed after the power supply to the storage unit is increased by the supply unit and until the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in the power saving mode.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an execution unit configured to execute job processing based on the data stored in the storage unit, wherein the determination unit is configured to determine to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode if the execution unit completes the job processing and there is not any job to be subsequently processed.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a reference time is a time that can be calculated by dividing an operation time assured for the information processing apparatus, during which the information processing apparatus can operate without failure, by a number of times assured for the storage unit until which the electric power supply to the storage unit can be safely increased or reduced without causing any failure in the storage unit.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined time is the reference time.

14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined time is the reference time.

15. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined time is the reference time.

12. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus that includes a storage unit configured to store data and a supply unit configured to supply electric power to the storage unit, the method comprising:

determining whether to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode;

measuring an elapsed time until it is determined to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in the power saving mode; and

controlling the supply unit to decrease electric power supplied from the supply unit to the storage unit at a timing determined based on the elapsed time and either one of a number of increment times when the power supply from the supply unit to the storage unit is increased and a number of decrement times when the power supply from the supply unit to the storage unit is decreased, in case that it is determined to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode.