Patent ID: 8213026

Claim:
An image processing apparatus, connected to a plurality of external devices by way of a communication network so as to be able to exchange image data therewith, the apparatus including: a main board for expanding the image data received as a print job from one of the external devices into data of printable images; a sub board having a function of connection with the communication network; and a power saving mode function for supplying electric power to the sub board only, by cutting off power supply to the main board when the image processing operation has been stopped for a predetermined duration, characterized in that the sub board comprises a received data analyzer, the received data analyzer comprising: a time-designated printing data storage which, when time-designated printing data is received as the image data during the power saving mode or while the power saving mode function is activated, stores each time-designated printing data received as a set of time-designated printing data having a data size; a time-designated printing data extracting portion for extracting, in accordance with a predetermined condition, at least one set of time-designated printing data from (i) the sets of time-designated printing data being stored in the time-designated printing data storage and (ii) a newly received set of time-designated printing data having a received data size; and a time-designated printing data forwarding portion for transferring the at least one set of time-designated printing data extracted at the time-designated printing data extracting portion to an external device that is different from the external device from which the image data was originally transmitted, wherein the time-designated printing data extracting portion extracts sets of time-designated printing data in the order in which the print completion time is earliest, from the sets of time-designated printing data being stored in the time-designated printing data storage and the newly received set of time-designated printing data, wherein the sub board includes a power saving mode recovery notifier for transmitting a power saving mode recovery signal to the external device to which the set of time-designated printing data was transferred when the apparatus is recovered from the power saving mode.