Apparatus, system, and method of controlling power supply, and recording medium storing power supply control program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9501250-B2
Application number	US-201514679168-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 6, 2015
Priority date	Apr 14, 2014
Publication date	Nov 22, 2016
Grant date	Nov 22, 2016

Abstract

An information processing apparatus stores function information that identifies, for each one of a plurality of functions, one or more devices capable of performing the function, receives a user instruction for executing a job from a first device of the plurality of devices, the user instruction instructing execution of at least one function that cannot be performed by the first device, identifies a second device of the plurality of devices that is capable of performing the at least one function of the user instruction using the function information, and controls the second device to transition from a power save mode to a normal operating mode, while keeping devices other than the second device to be in the power save mode.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of devices through a network, the apparatus comprising:
a memory that stores function information that identifies, for each one of a plurality of functions, one or more devices capable of performing the function;
a network interface that receives a user instruction for executing a job from a first device of the plurality of devices, the user instruction instructing execution of at least one function that cannot be performed by the first device; and
circuitry that identifies a second device of the plurality of devices that is capable of performing the at least one function of the user instruction using the function information, and controls the second device to transition from a power save mode to a normal operating mode, while keeping devices other than the second device to be in the power save mode,
wherein, when the circuitry identifies two or more devices as a candidate of the second device,
the circuitry further controls the two or more identified devices to transition from the power save mode to the normal operating mode, and
in response to selection of one of the two or more identified devices as the second device to perform the at least one function, controls the unselected identified devices to transition from the normal operating mode to the power save mode.

2. The information processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein, when the circuitry identifies two or more devices as a candidate of the second device,
the circuitry further selects one of the two or more identified devices having the lowest power consumption rate as the second device to perform the at least one function.

3. The information processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
the memory further stores information regarding an operating time by each type of job, the operating time indicating a time period that is estimated to be required for a user to input a user instruction for executing the job, and
the circuitry further obtains the operating time for the job in response to receiving the user instruction for executing the job, determines whether an execution time for executing the two or more identified devices is greater than the obtained operating time, and controls the two or more identified devices to transition from the power save mode to the normal operating mode based on determination indicating that the execution time is greater than the obtained operating time.

4. The information processing apparatus of claim 3 , wherein
the circuitry further selects one of the two or more identified devices having the lowest power consumption rate as the second device to perform the at least one function, based on determination indicating that the execution time is less than the obtained operating time.

5. The information processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein, when the circuitry identifies two or more devices as a candidate of the second device,
the circuitry further selects one of the two or more identified devices having the least number of functions as the second device to perform the at least one function.

6. The information processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein, when the circuitry identifies two or more devices as a candidate of the second device,
the circuitry further selects one of the two or more identified devices that is previously set as the second device to perform the at least one function.

7. An information processing system, comprising:
an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of devices through a network, the apparatus comprising:
a memory that stores function information that identifies, for each one of a plurality of functions, one or more devices capable of performing the function;
a network interface that receives a user instruction for executing a job from a first device of the plurality of devices, the user instruction instructing execution of at least one function that cannot be performed by the first device; and
circuitry that identifies a second device of the plurality of devices that is capable of performing the at least one function of the user instruction using the function information, and controls the second device to transition from a power save mode to a normal operating mode, while keeping devices other than the second device to be in the power save mode;
the first device configured to send the user instruction for executing a job to the information processing apparatus through the network;
the second device configured to transition from the power save mode to the normal operating mode according to an instruction received from the information processing apparatus; and
a memory that stores information regarding an operating time by each type of job, the operating time indicating a time period that is estimated to be required for a user to input a user instruction for executing the job,
wherein, when the circuitry identifies two or more devices as a candidate of the second device, the circuitry of the information processing apparatus further obtains the operating time for the job in response to receiving the user instruction for executing the job, determines whether an execution time for executing the two or more identified devices is greater than the obtained operating time, and controls the two or more identified devices to transition from the power save mode to the normal operating mode based on determination indicating that the execution time is greater than the obtained operating time.

8. A method of controlling power supply to a plurality of devices, comprising:
storing, in a memory, function information that identifies, for each one of a plurality of functions, one or more devices capable of performing the function;
receiving a user instruction for executing a job from a first device of the plurality of devices through a network, the user instruction instructing execution of at least one function that cannot be performed by the first device;
identifying a second device of the plurality of devices that is capable of performing the at least one function of the user instruction using the function information, and
controlling the second device to transition from a power save mode to a normal operating mode, while keeping devices other than the second device to be in the power save mode,
wherein, when the identifying identifies two or more devices as a candidate of the second device, controlling the two or more identified devices to transition from the power save mode to the normal operating mode, and controlling the unselected identified devices to transition from the normal operating mode to the power save mode, in response to selection of one of the two or more identified devices as the second device to perform the at least one function.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein, when the identifying identifies two or more devices as a candidate of the second device, the method further comprising:
selecting one of the two or more identified devices having the lowest power consumption rate as the second device to perform the at least one function.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
storing, in the memory, information regarding an operating time by each type of job, the operating time indicating a time period that is estimated to be required for a user to input a user instruction for executing the job, and
obtaining the operating time for the job in response to receiving the user instruction for executing the job;
determining whether an execution time for executing the two or more identified devices is greater than the obtained operating time; and
controlling the two or more identified devices to transition from the power save mode to the normal operating mode based on

Assignees

• Nishimura Tatsuo
• Sasaki Tohru
• Kuroyanagi Tomohiro
• Okazato Atsushi
• Sasaki Makoto
• Aoki Junki
• Mori Takuya
• Saitoh Hirohisa
• Watanabe Mie
• Ishii Yukinori
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Nishimura Tatsuo
• Sasaki Tohru
• Kuroyanagi Tomohiro
• Okazato Atsushi
• Sasaki Makoto
• Aoki Junki
• Mori Takuya
• Saitoh Hirohisa
• Watanabe Mie
• Ishii Yukinori

Classifications

• G06F3/1285

  Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server · CPC title

• G06F3/1229 Primary

  Printer resources management or printer maintenance, e.g. device status, power levels · CPC title

• Y02B60/1271

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• G06F3/1221

  with regard to power consumption · CPC title

• G06F3/1213

  at an intermediate node or at the final node · CPC title