IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD FOR EXECUTING A PROXY IN RESPONSE TO A HEARTBEAT

• US 20130185573A1
• Filed: 01/14/2013
• Published: 07/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Okubo, Yuzuru
• Granted Patent: US 9,261,948 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/320
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3209 Monitoring remote activity, e.g. over telephone lines or network connections
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3284 Power saving in printer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3296 by lowering the supply or operating voltage
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/00 Reducing energy consumption in communication networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

An image forming apparatus automatically recognizes and responds to an encrypted heartbeat packet only with a small amount of calculation, without causing a sub control unit to execute an SSL/TLS decryption process. As a result, the image forming apparatus can execute a proxy response with less power consumption.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, comprising:

a main control unit configured to control an image forming processing unit configured to execute an image forming process; and

a sub control unit configured to exchange data with an information processing apparatus via a network,

wherein the main control unit includes a power-saving control unit configured to shift the main control unit to a power-saving state, in which power supply to the image forming processing unit is reduced, and

wherein the sub control unit comprises;

a determination unit configured to determine, if an encryption communication protocol is used for exchanging messages and a message is transmitted from the information processing apparatus, whether the main control unit needs to be shifted to a non-power-saving state from the power-saving state based on a bit pattern of the message, without executing a decryption process on the message;

a return unit configured to give, if the determination unit determines that the main control unit needs to be shifted to the non-power-saving state, a return instruction for shifting the main control unit to the non-power-saving state, to cause the main control unit to transmit information in response to the message to the information processing apparatus; and

a response unit configured to transmit, if the determination unit determines that the main control unit does not need to be shifted to the non-power-saving state, information in response to the transmitted message to the information processing apparatus, without giving the return instruction for shifting the main control unit to the non-power-saving state.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sub control unit further comprises a storage unit configured to store number of transmissions of response information from the response unit as a response message number,

wherein, when the main control unit is shifted to the non-power-saving state, the return unit notifies the main control unit of the stored response message number, and

wherein, when the main control unit is shifted from the power-saving state to the non-power-saving state, the main control unit executes a hash check on the message based on the response message number, of which the main control unit has been notified, and then, if the main control unit succeeds in the hash check, the main control unit transmits information in response to the message to the information processing apparatus.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the sub control unit establishes connection with the information processing apparatus, the sub control unit stores a hash size of the message and stores a pattern obtained by subtracting the stored hash size from a bit pattern of the message as a bit pattern,

wherein the determination unit determines whether a pattern of a message obtained by subtracting the stored hash size from a bit pattern of a message transmitted from the information processing apparatus again matches the stored bit pattern,

wherein, if the determination unit determines that the patterns match, the determination unit determines that the main control unit does not need to be shifted from the power-saving state to the non-power-saving state, and

wherein, if the determination unit determines that the patterns do not match, the determination unit determines that the main control unit needs to be shifted from the power-saving state to the non-power-saving state.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the determination unit determines whether number of times when the pattern of a message transmitted from the information processing apparatus matches the stored bit pattern exceeds a predetermined determination consecutive message number,

wherein, if the number of times exceeds the predetermined determination consecutive message number, the determination unit determines that the main control unit does not need to be shifted from the power-saving state to the non-power-saving state, and

wherein, if the number of times falls below the predetermined determination consecutive message number, the determination unit determines that the main control unit needs to be shifted from the power-saving state to the non-power-saving state.

5. A method for controlling an image forming apparatus including a main control unit configured to control an image forming processing unit configured to execute an image forming process, and a sub control unit configured to exchange data with an information processing apparatus via a network, the method comprising:

shifting the main control unit to a power-saving state, in which power supply to the image forming processing unit is reduced;

determining, if an encryption communication protocol is used for exchanging messages and a message is transmitted from the information processing apparatus, whether the main control unit needs to be shifted to a non-power-saving state from the power-saving state based on a bit pattern of the message, without executing a decryption process on the message;

giving, if it is determined that the main control unit needs to be shifted to the non-power-saving state, a return instruction for shifting the main control unit to the non-power-saving state, to cause the main control unit to transmit information in response to the message to the information processing apparatus; and

transmitting, if it is determined that the main control unit does not need to be shifted to the non-power-saving state, information in response to the transmitted message to the information processing apparatus, without shifting the main control unit to the non-power-saving state.

6. A non-transitory storage medium storing a program for causing an image forming apparatus to execute the method according to claim 5.