Power-saving printer which controls fixing device based on print data presence
US5550637A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 10, 1994 |
| Grant date | Aug 27, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 10, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06K2215/0082
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A printer makes a decision as to whether data has been received from a host computer and whether the received data is either a control code or print data. When data is not received from the host computer or the received data is a control code, which is related to a print non-executing process, a CPU gives an instruction to a power source, when such a state continues for a predetermined time interval, to thereby bring a fixing device to a power-saved state wherein the power supplied to the fixing device is controlled. When the received data is print data for a print executing process, the CPU instructs the power source to supply the power to the fixing device so that the fixing device is reset to a fixing-operation enable state. Thus, the supply of the power to the fixing device is switched according to the kind of data inputted from the host computer so as to reduce the total power consumed during operation.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.