Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/535,832, filed Aug. 5, 2009, which claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2008-98373, filed Oct. 7, 2008 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     Aspects of the present invention relate to an image forming apparatus in which a usage right is set according to user accounts, and a method of warming up the image forming apparatus. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In general, an image forming apparatus may be embodied as a printer, a copier, a facsimile, or a multi function printer to print an image on a print medium (such as paper). As multiple operations have recently been integrated into one device, the multi function printer has also extended its operations. 
     Such a multi function image forming apparatus is generally connected to a plurality of user computers through a network. In this case, in order to prohibit an unauthorized user from using the image forming apparatus or a specific operation of the image forming apparatus, user accounts are set for the image forming apparatus to give a usage right to an authorized user allowing the user to use the image forming apparatus or the specific operation thereof. 
     Furthermore, such an image forming apparatus has a power save mode in which power is cut off to some components thereof to save power when printing is not performed for a specific time. In order to perform printing in the power save mode, the components to which power is cut off should be restored into a normal mode. To this end, warming up is needed. 
     However, the image forming apparatus in which the user accounts are set performs the warming up for all of the operations thereof regardless of the usage right. Similarly, when initial power is supplied to the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus performs the warming up for all of the operations thereof regardless of the usage right. 
     Typically, the warming up operation takes much time and power. Thus, the warming up for all of the operations regardless of the usage right in the image forming apparatus in which user accounts are set causes unnecessary consumption of time and power, and simultaneously causes inconvenience to a user. 
     SUMMARY 
     Aspects of the present invention provide an image forming apparatus that selectively performs warming up for an operation corresponding to a usage right of a user to thereby prevent unnecessary consumption of time and power and user inconvenience, and a method of warming up the image forming apparatus. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of warming up an image forming apparatus having a plurality of operations, the method including: setting a usage right of a user for the plurality of operations of the image forming apparatus; receiving a login of the user by the image forming apparatus in a power save mode; and performing a warming up for at least one operation corresponding to the usage right according to the login. 
     The method may further include displaying a screen for the login in the power save mode. 
     The setting of the usage right may include setting the usage right by the image forming apparatus or an external apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus. 
     The performing of the warming up may include returning the at least one operation to a normal mode from the power save mode. 
     The plurality of operations may include printing, scanning, feeding, discharging, and/or data communication operations. 
     The method may further include displaying the at least one operation corresponding to the usage right of the logged in user. 
     The method may further include displaying, if the user has the usage right for a plurality of operations, the plurality of operations for the user to select the at least one operation therefrom. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having a plurality of operations, the apparatus including: a user interface to receiving a setting of a usage right of a user for a plurality of operations of the image forming apparatus and a login of the user while the image forming apparatus is in a power save mode; and a controller to perform a warming up for at least one operation corresponding to the usage right according to the login. 
     The apparatus may further include a display unit to display a screen for the login in the power save mode. 
     The apparatus may further include a communication unit to connect to an external apparatus, wherein a command to set the usage right is received from the external apparatus. 
     The image forming apparatus may return to a normal mode from the power save mode by the warming up. 
     The at least one operation may include printing, scanning, feeding, discharging, and/or data communication operations. 
     The display unit may display the at least one operation corresponding to the usage right of the logged in user. 
     The display unit may display a plurality of operations for the user to select the at least one operation therefrom according to the usage right of the user. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of setting a usage right in an image forming apparatus having a plurality of operations, the method including: setting a usage right of a user for the plurality of operations of the image forming apparatus; and storing the set usage right, wherein the usage right defines one or more authorized operations for the user, such that when the user requests an operation of the image forming apparatus while the image forming apparatus is in a power save mode, a warming up of the operation is performed if the operation is an authorized operation for the user according to the usage right. 
     According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of warming up an image forming apparatus having a plurality of operations, the method including: receiving a request, from a user, for an operation of the image forming apparatus while the image forming apparatus is in a power save mode; and performing a warming up for the operation if the operation is set as an authorized operation in a usage right corresponding to the user. 
     According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having a plurality of operations, the image forming apparatus including: a user interface to receive a request, from a user, for an operation of the image forming apparatus while the image forming apparatus is in a power save mode; and a controller to perform a warming up for the operation if the operation is set as an authorized operation in a usage right corresponding to the user. 
     Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and/or other aspects of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating a process of setting a usage right according to user accounts according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating a method of warming up an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures. Redundant description to different embodiments may be omitted for simplicity of description. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus  100  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus  100  may be embodied as a printer, a copier, a facsimile or a multi function printer. Referring to  FIG. 1 , the image forming apparatus  100  is connected to an external host apparatus  200  (such as a personal computer, a laptop computer, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, etc.). A user may perform login in an administrator mode through the host apparatus  200  to access the image forming apparatus  100  in order to set and/or change various environments for the image forming apparatus  100 . Here, the administrator mode refers to a mode in which the user may set or change environments for the image forming apparatus  100  without limitation. 
     The image forming apparatus  100  performs printing on at least one print medium (such as paper, transparencies, etc.) for printing data. The image forming apparatus  100  includes an image forming unit  110 , a scanning unit  120 , a feeding unit  130 , a discharge unit  140 , a communication unit  150 , a user interface  160 , a display unit  170 , a storage unit  180 , and a controller  190 . 
     If a printing command is received, the image forming apparatus  110  forms an image to be printed on at least one print medium on the basis of the printing data. The image forming apparatus  110  may include a printer engine to print the formed image on the printing medium. It is understood that the term “printing” includes a printing operation to copy a scanned document or item, a printing operation for received facsimile data, and a printing operation for print data that is received from an outside source through the host apparatus  200  including a server or that is stored internally (for example, in an HDD) or externally (for example, in a USB memory) in relation to the image forming apparatus  100 . 
     The scanning unit  120  reads a document or item to be scanned and generates a scan image therefrom. Here, the term “document” includes a typical document, a photograph, a film, etc. 
     The feeding unit  130  supplies a recording medium or a print medium on which an image is to be printed from at least one feeding tray. The feeding unit  130  includes an automatic document feeder (ADF), a duplex automatic document feeder (DADF), a feed cassette, a manual feed tray, and/or an optional tray provided on a side of the image forming apparatus  100 . 
     The discharge unit  140  discharges the print medium on which an image is printed to an outside of the image forming apparatus  100 . Furthermore, the discharge unit  140  may perform a post-processing operation for the discharged print medium and may include a stacker, a finisher, a stapler, a sorter, and/or a puncher that collect, stack, and/or classify the discharged print medium and/or staple the classified print medium. 
     The communication unit  150  performs data communication with an external apparatus (such as the host apparatus  200  and the server). The communication unit  150  may include a wired and/or wireless communication module to connect to the external apparatus via a network by a local or a predetermined protocol, and/or a USB port to connect to the external apparatus and/or a portable storage medium such as a USB memory. Moreover, the communication unit  150  may include a facsimile communication module to change data read by the scanning unit  120  into a facsimile signal for transmission and/or to receive a facsimile signal from an outside source. Also, the communication unit  150  may perform a scan to host operation to transmit the scan data read by the scanning unit  120  to the host apparatus  200 , a scan to server operation to transmit the scan data by the scanning unit  120  to the server, and/or a scan to e-mail operation to transmit the scan data to an outside device through an e-mail. 
     The user interface  160  receives a command from a user. The user interface  160  may include a key button (or a hard key or a keypad), a graphic user interface (GUI), an input device (such as a rotatable dial), and/or a touch screen. The GUI may be generated by executing a printer driver or a separate application and is displayed on the display unit  170  for user input. The user interface  160  receives a command to register a user account of the image forming apparatus  100  (including, for example, an identification (ID) and a password) and a command to set a usage right for the image forming apparatus  100  according to each user account. 
     Furthermore, the user performs a login process in which, for example, an ID and a password allocated to each user account is received through the user interface  100 . Here, the login process may include a login in an administrator mode in which settings and changes for environments of the image forming apparatus  100  are available. In the case that the login is performed in the administrator mode, at least one user account is registered in the image forming apparatus  100  and the usage right is set according to the registered user account. If the login of the user or the login in the administrator mode is performed, the image forming apparatus  100  performs identification and permission for the login. In this way, the image forming apparatus  100  sets a usage right for the user by the login in a normal user mode or may set different usage rights for a plurality of users by the login in the administrator mode. 
     According to another embodiment of the present invention, a user may perform a login in the administrator mode or the normal user mode in the host apparatus  200  connected to the image forming apparatus  100  through the communication unit  140  to set the usage right for the image forming apparatus  100 . 
     The display unit  170  may display a setting and operation state of the image forming apparatus  100  to the user and may display the GUI screen to receive various commands from the user. The display unit  170  may include a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) and a driving unit (not shown) for driving the TFT-LCD. 
     If the user logs in, the display unit  170  may display one or more available operations corresponding to the usage right. Here, if the usage right for a plurality of operations is set to the logged in user, the display unit  170  may display the plurality of operations to the user for selection. If the user selects at least one of the displayed operations, the image forming apparatus  100  performs a warming up for the selected operation(s). 
     The storage unit  180  stores user registration information, user permission information, and/or usage right information that are set according to user accounts. The storage unit  180  may include an internal storage medium such as a hard disc drive (HDD), and/or an external or portable storage medium such as a USB memory, a memory card (memory stick, compact flash card, micro memory card (MMC), etc.). In addition, the storage unit  180  may store print data received from an outside source or a scan image generated through the scanning unit  120 . 
     The controller  190  controls overall operations of the image forming apparatus  100 . In particular, the controller  190  performs a wake up operation in which the image forming apparatus  100  returns to a normal mode from a power save mode. Moreover, when initial power is supplied, the controller  190  receives a command for user identification (such as login from the user interface  160 ) and selectively performs warming up for one or more operations corresponding to a usage right for the identified user. Here, the command for the user identification may include a copy command, a scan command, and/or a facsimile transmission command that the image forming apparatus  100  receives in the power save mode. In addition, the command may include print data that the image forming apparatus  100  receives in the power save mode. If the print data is received in the power save mode, the controller  190  determines the usage right of the logged in user and performs a warming up for the corresponding operation. If there is not a logged in user, the controller  190  may display a message requesting a user to perform login through the display unit  170 . 
     The operation corresponding to the usage right may include a printing operation, a scanning operation, a feeding operation, a discharging operation, or a data communication operation. The printing operation refers to a printing operation through the printer engine of the image forming unit  110 . The scanning operation refers to a scanning operation of the scanning unit  120  to scan the document or item with light or laser. The feeding operation refers to an operation of the feeding unit  130  to supply a print medium for image printing from the feeding tray. The feeding operation performs an operation using an ADF, a DADF, a feeding cassette, a manual feeding tray, and/or an optional tray provided on a side of the image forming apparatus  100 . The discharging operation refers to an operation of the discharge unit  140  to perform a post-processing operation for the discharged print medium through a stacker, a finisher, a stapler, a sorter, and/or a puncher. The data communication operation refers to an operation to transmit print data or scanning data through the communication unit  150  to an outside device and includes facsimile transmission/reception, scan to host operation, scan to server operation, and/or e-mail transmission. 
     For example, in the case that a usage right of a user A is set only to the facsimile transmission, if the user A logs in, the controller  190  performs a warming up for the scanning unit  120  and the communication unit  150 . Accordingly, the image forming apparatus  100  performs the scanning operation and the data communication operation. On the other hand, in the case that a usage right of a user B is set to the facsimile transmission and confirm report output, if the user B logs in, the controller  190  performs a warming up for the scanning unit  120  and the communication unit  150 . Accordingly, the image forming apparatus  100  performs the scanning operation, the data communication operation, and the printing operation. Furthermore, if the user B logs in, the controller  190  may also perform warming up for the feeding unit  130  and the discharge unit  140  for the feeding operation and discharging operation. Here, the feeding unit  130  and the discharge unit  140  may be embodied such that the controller performs warming up for a part of modules according to a feeding and discharging method. 
     Hereinafter, a process of setting a usage right and a warming up process according to the usage right in the image forming apparatus  100  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 .  FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating a process of setting a usage right according to user accounts according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 2 , a user (or an administrator) performs a login in an administrator or user mode to the image forming apparatus  100  through the user interface  160  in operation S 110 . Here, the login in the administrator mode may include input and permission of an administrator ID and a password. 
     In response to the login in the administrator or the user mode being completed (operation S 110 ), the image forming apparatus  100  sets a usage right according to a user account through the user interface  160  in operation S 120 . Here, the usage right may be directly set by the user or may be set by the administrator for a plurality of users. The usage right may be set corresponding to each operation of the image forming apparatus  100 . For example, in the case that the administrator desires to set the facsimile transmission/reception and printing for a user C, the administrator may set the usage right for the printing, scanning and data transmission/reception operations. Furthermore, the administrator may set the usage right for feeding and discharging operation for a user D. 
     It is understood that, according to other embodiments, the user may perform the login in operation S 110  through an external apparatus such as the host apparatus  200  to with the image forming apparatus  100 , and may set the usage rights in operation S 120  in the external apparatus or the image forming apparatus  100 . 
     The controller  190  stores information about the set usage right in operation S 130  and performs logout for the administrator or user mode in operation S 140 . If a new user account is added or the set user account is changed, the setting process in operations S 110  to S 140  is repeated. 
     Accordingly, in the case that the image forming apparatus  100  returns to the normal mode from the power save mode or in the case that the initial power is supplied to the image forming apparatus  100 , the controller  190  selectively performs warming up for the image forming apparatus  100  according to the settings of operations S 110  to S 140 . Furthermore, it is understood that one or more of the operations S 110  to S 140  may be performed by an external apparatus (such as the host apparatus  200  or a printer server) according to other aspects. 
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating a method of warming up an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus  100  performs a login through the user interface  160  according to a command for user identification received from a user in operation S 210 . Here, the login may include input and identification of a user ID and a password. Accordingly, the controller  190  confirms the usage right for the logged in user in operation S 220 . 
     The controller  190  selectively performs warming up for one or more operations corresponding to the confirmed usage right in operation S 230 . Here, the operation(s) may include printing, scanning, feeding, discharging, and/or data communication operations. Furthermore, the controller  190  displays the usage right to the logged in user through the display unit  170  in operation S 240 . Here, if the usage right for a plurality of operations is set for the logged in user, the controller  190  may control the display unit  170  for the user to select from among the plurality of operations. If the user selects at least one of the displayed operations, the controller  190  performs warming up for the selected operation(s). Then, the image forming apparatus  100  performs printing, scanning, facsimile transmission/reception, and/or copy operations according to the usage right of the user in operation S 250 . When completed, the image forming apparatus  100  performs logout for the user in operation S 260 . It is understood that one or more of the operations S 210  to S 220 , S 240 , and S 260  may be performed by an external apparatus (such as the host apparatus  200  or a printer server) according to other aspects. 
     As described above, the image forming apparatus according to aspects of the present invention sets a usage right according to user accounts and performs warming up for one or more operations corresponding to the set usage right, thereby preventing unnecessary consumption of time and power and user inconvenience. 
     While not restricted thereto, aspects of the present invention can also be embodied as computer-readable code on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is any data storage device that can store data that can be thereafter read by a computer system. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and optical data storage devices. The computer-readable recording medium can also be distributed over network-coupled computer systems so that the computer-readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. Aspects of the present invention may also be realized as a data signal embodied in a carrier wave and comprising a program readable by a computer and transmittable over the Internet. 
     Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in this embodiment without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

Technology Category: g