JP2008067299A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus in which image data stored in a volatile storage means can speedily be saved into a nonvolatile storage means when the end of operation is instructed by an instruction of shutting-off a power source or the like and the image data saved into the nonvolatile storage means can efficiently be read. <P>SOLUTION: According to this image forming apparatus, when a sub-power switch 122 of an operating unit 12 is operated and sub power OFF is instructed, image data being stored in a resident image region 164 of a volatile memory 16b are sequentially transferred to an HDD 16e one by one, written and stored in continuous cluster regions, respectively, and a memory management table T1 rewritten into a starting cluster number and an ending cluster number of the cluster regions of the HDD 16e wherein the image data are written, is transferred to a memory management table backup region 182 of a flash memory 18 and written. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including volatile storage means for storing image data and nonvolatile storage means such as a hard disk.

  In some cases, an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine or a printer is used as a mass printing machine for POD (Print On Demand), and hundreds of documents are output in hundreds or thousands. If the print output operation is forcibly terminated and the power is turned off (OFF), the image data and related data stored in the volatile memory will be lost. Therefore, when the power is turned on, the image data is read (transmitted) again. ), And the user must set the operation setting, the number of remaining copies, etc., and print again. This is inconvenient.

  Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 has a one-touch job memory key for interrupting the image output operation, and when the one-touch memory key is pressed, the image formation of the final transfer paper of the currently output portion is completed. At that time, the image output is interrupted, and the operation setting condition related to the image output, the number of documents, the number of output copies, and the data indicating the association with the image data are saved in the nonvolatile memory, and then the power shutdown operation is started. An image forming apparatus is described in which the image output operation can be resumed even after the power is turned on again.

Patent Document 2 describes an image recording apparatus that saves data being processed to a non-volatile storage medium when receiving a power-off instruction and restores the saved data when the power is turned on. In Patent Document 3, when the occurrence of a trouble to be processed is detected by turning off the power switch, the stored image data can be retained even when the power switch is turned off. An image forming apparatus is described in which an image output operation is continuously performed on image data stored in the internal memory after the trouble is solved.
JP 2000-250362 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-112060 JP-A-7-162624

  When writing image data to a hard disk, it is usually written in a file format managed by FAT (File Allocation Tables). In the file format managed by the FAT, there is a case where one piece of image data is written in a plurality of physically divided clusters. In this case, information indicating the data connection (chain structure) is managed in the FAT. .

  However, if an image is written in a file format managed by FAT, the image data may be written in a physically divided cluster, and it takes time to read and write, is inefficient, and wants to shut off the power supply quickly. However, there is a problem that it takes time to save the image data to the hard disk. Further, when the image output operation is performed again after the power is turned on, there is a problem that it takes time to read the image data from the hard disk.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to speed up the saving of image data stored in a volatile storage unit to a nonvolatile storage unit when an end of operation is instructed by an instruction to shut off the power supply in the image forming apparatus. At the same time, the image data saved in the nonvolatile storage means can be efficiently read.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention described in claim 1
In an image forming apparatus including an output unit that forms and outputs an image on a recording medium based on input image data.
Volatile storage means for storing the input image data;
Nonvolatile storage means for storing image data transferred from the volatile storage means;
An end instruction means for instructing the end of the operation;
When the end of the operation is instructed by the end instruction unit, the image data stored in the volatile storage unit is transferred to the non-volatile storage unit and written into a continuous cluster area of the non-volatile storage unit. Means,
It is characterized by having.

The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1,
Setting means for setting a threshold value of image data storage capacity of the volatile storage means for the volatile storage means;
When writing the input image data into the volatile storage means, it is determined whether or not the storage amount of the image data in the volatile storage means exceeds the set threshold, and exceeds the set threshold A write control means for transferring the input image data to the non-volatile storage means and writing in a continuous cluster area of the non-volatile storage means;
It is characterized by having.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2,
The operation end instruction by the end instruction means is a power-off instruction.

The invention according to claim 4
In an image forming apparatus including an output unit that forms and outputs an image on a recording medium based on input image data.
Volatile storage means for storing the input image data;
Nonvolatile storage means for storing image data transferred from the volatile storage means;
Write control means for transferring the input image data to the non-volatile storage means and writing it in a continuous cluster area of the non-volatile storage means when a predetermined amount of image data is stored in the volatile storage means When,
Pre-evacuation instruction means for instructing pre-evacuation of image data;
With
The write control means transfers the input image data to the non-volatile storage means without always storing it in the volatile storage means when instructed by the advance save instruction means, It is characterized by writing in continuous cluster areas of the storage means.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to speed up the saving of the image data stored in the volatile storage unit to the non-volatile storage unit when the end of the operation is instructed in the image forming apparatus. In addition, the image data saved in the nonvolatile storage means at the time of restarting the operation can be read efficiently.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the threshold value of the storable capacity of the image data in the volatile storage means can be set freely, so that the setting of this threshold value actually causes the end of the operation to be instructed. The time until the operation is finished can be adjusted. For example, by setting the threshold value to 0, the input image data is not written to the volatile storage means but transferred to the nonvolatile storage means and written, so that when the end instruction means instructs the end of the operation In addition, it is not necessary to transfer and write image data from the volatile storage unit to the non-volatile storage unit, and the operation can be promptly terminated after instructing the end of the operation.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to speed up the saving of the image data stored in the volatile storage unit to the nonvolatile storage unit when the image forming apparatus is instructed to shut off the power. In addition, the image data saved in the nonvolatile storage means when the power is turned on can be efficiently read.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the apparatus has the pre-evacuation instruction means for instructing the pre-evacuation of the image data, and when the pre-evacuation instruction means is instructed, the input image data is stored in the volatile memory. Since it is transferred to the non-volatile storage means without always storing it in the means and written to the continuous cluster area of the non-volatile storage means, if it is known that the operation is interrupted and terminated before the operation starts, By instructing the save instruction means, when the end of the operation is instructed during the operation, the operation can be promptly finished without saving the image data to the nonvolatile storage means.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
First, the configuration will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows a functional configuration example of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 is, for example, an electrophotographic copying machine. As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 11, the operation unit 12, the display unit 13, the communication control unit 14, the image reading unit 15, and the image processing unit 16. The image output unit 17, the flash memory 18, the power supply unit 19, and the like are connected to each other through a bus 20.

  The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11a, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 11b, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 11c, and the like. The CPU 11a of the control unit 11 reads out the system program and various processing programs stored in the ROM 11b in response to the operation of the operation unit 12, develops them in the RAM 11c, and operates each unit of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the developed programs. Centralized control.

  That is, the CPU 11a receives various processing requests input from the operation unit 12 or the communication control unit 14, registers them as image forming jobs (hereinafter referred to as jobs), and controls the image output unit 17 and the like based on the registered jobs. Then, an image forming operation (operation including formation and discharge (output) of an image on a recording medium) is executed. Here, executing a series of operations relating to image formation based on a registered job is called job execution. The status of waiting for execution of a registered job is called job waiting. Of the registered jobs, a job waiting for execution (waiting) is referred to as a reserved job.

  The job includes job data and original image data, and is managed by the CPU 11a with a job ID for identifying the job in the order of registration. The job data is data including a job ID for identifying a job, various output conditions (number of original pages, number of copies, paper type, paper size, magnification, single-sided / double-sided, etc.), storage location of image data, and the like. , Stored in the RAM 11c. Further, the CPU 11a counts the number of pages and the number of copies being output in the image output unit 17 during job execution, and stores them in the RAM 11c in association with the job ID.

  The CPU 11a executes various processes including an image data write control process, a save process, and a pre-save preparation process, which will be described later, according to the developed program.

The operation unit 12 includes a touch panel 12a and hard keys 12b.
The touch panel 12a is a pressure-sensitive (resistive film pressure type) touch panel in which transparent electrodes are arranged in a grid pattern so as to cover the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen of the display unit 13, and the power point pressed by a finger or a touch pen Are detected as voltage values, and the detected position signal is output to the control unit 11 as an operation signal. Note that the touch panel is not limited to a pressure-sensitive type, and may be another electrostatic type, an optical type, or the like.
The hard key 12b includes numeric buttons, a start button (not shown), various operation buttons such as a pre-retraction button 121 as a pre-retraction instruction unit, and various operation switches such as a sub power switch 122 as an end instruction unit. An operation signal generated by an operation or switch operation is output to the control unit 11. The sub power switch 122 instructs the control unit 11 to turn on the power to each part of the image forming apparatus 1 (sub power ON), or to shut off the power to each part of the image forming apparatus 1 (sub power OFF). It is a switch for instructing.

The display unit 13 is configured by an LCD or the like, and displays various operation buttons, device statuses, operation statuses of various functions, and the like on the display screen in accordance with instructions of display signals input from the control unit 11.
In the present embodiment, based on an instruction from the control unit 11, the display unit 13 uses the volatile memory 16 b to store a threshold value S that can store the image data input from the processing unit 161, that is, a volatile memory. A threshold setting screen (not shown) is displayed for the user to set and input the threshold value S of the capacity allocated to the resident image area 164 (see FIG. 3). The threshold setting screen receives an input of the threshold S from the touch panel 12a. The control unit 11 sets the threshold S by storing the threshold S input from the threshold setting screen in the threshold area 184 of the flash memory 18 (setting unit).

  The communication control unit 14 is an interface connectable to a transmission medium connected to a communication network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network). The communication control unit 14 is composed of a communication control card such as a LAN card, for example, and sends control signals and printer codes to and from an external device such as a host device connected to a communication network via a communication line such as a LAN cable. Send and receive various data including the beginning.

  The image reading unit 15 includes a scanner below the contact glass on which the document is placed, and reads an image of the document. The scanner is composed of a light source, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), etc., and forms an image of the reflected light of the light scanned from the light source to the original and photoelectrically converts it to read the image of the original. The image data is converted into digital image data by a converter and output to the image processing unit 16. Here, the image includes not only image data such as graphics and photographs but also text data such as characters and symbols.

  The image processing unit 16 includes a processing unit 161 and an image storage unit 162. The image processing unit 16 subjects the image data input from the image reading unit 15 in the processing unit 161 to image processing such as spatial filter processing, enlargement / reduction processing, rotation processing, and gradation correction processing, and temporarily stores the image data in the image storage unit 162. And output to the image output unit 17 at a predetermined timing. The printer code input from the communication control unit 14 is converted into image data, temporarily stored in the image storage unit 162, and output to the image output unit 17 at a predetermined timing.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the image storage unit 162. As shown in FIG. 2, the image storage unit 162 includes a memory controller 16a, a volatile memory 16b, a compression / decompression unit 16c, an HDD (Hard Disk) controller 16d, and an HDD 16e.

  Based on the control from the control unit 11, the memory controller 16a writes the image data input from the processing unit 161 to the volatile memory 16b and reads the image data from the volatile memory 16b. That is, based on the control from the control unit 11, the memory controller 16a compresses the image data input from the processing unit 161 by the compression / decompression unit 16c and writes the data in the volatile memory 16b to be temporarily stored. Further, when there is an instruction to output image data from the control unit 11, the memory controller 16 a expands the output-instructed image data stored in the volatile memory 16 b by the compression / decompression unit 16 c and sends it to the image output unit 17. Output.

  The volatile memory 16b is a volatile storage unit configured by a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or the like. The volatile memory 16b temporarily stores the image data input from the processing unit 161 and compressed by the compression / decompression unit 16c. The compression / decompression unit 16c is an IC that performs image data compression processing and expansion processing.

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the volatile memory 16b. As shown in FIG. 3, the volatile memory 16 b includes a memory management table area 163, a resident image area 164, a transfer image area 165, and a work image area 166.

  The memory management table area 163 is an area for storing the memory management table T1. FIG. 4 shows an example of the memory management table T1. The memory management table T1 is a table for the control unit 11 to manage the image data in the resident image area 164. As shown in FIG. 4, an image ID (for example, 001, 002, 003, ...), a start address area for storing the start address number of the area of the resident image area 164 in which the image data is stored, and an end for storing the end address number of the area An address area, a capacity area for storing data indicating the storage capacity (KB) of the area (for example, 30, 40, 50,...), And data indicating whether the area is currently used (for example, , Yes, No,...).

  The resident image area 164 is an area for temporarily storing the image data input from the processing unit 161 until the image data is output to the image output unit 17. The transfer image area 165 is an area for temporarily storing image data to be transferred to the HDD 16e. The work image area 166 is an area to be a work area when processing image data (for example, compression / expansion in the compression / expansion unit 16c).

  The image data input to the image storage unit 162 is compressed and then stored and stored in the resident image area 164. If the resident image area 164 has no free area and cannot be input, The image data is temporarily stored in the transfer image area 165 and then transferred to the HDD 16e. A threshold value S indicating how much capacity is allocated to the resident image area 164 is determined in advance, but the user can press the pre-save button 121 on the operation unit 12 or the threshold setting screen (not shown) on the display unit 13 to display the threshold value S. It can be changed.

  Based on the control from the control unit 11, the HDD controller 16d writes image data to the HDD 16e, and reads and erases image data from the HDD 16e. The HDD controller 16d is equipped with a DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller, and controls image data transfer between the HDD 16e and the volatile memory 16b.

  The HDD 16e is a non-volatile storage unit that stores image data, and outputs the image data processed by the processing unit 161 to the image output unit 17 at a predetermined timing as a virtual memory that compensates for the lack of capacity of the volatile memory 16b. Memorize temporarily. That is, the HDD 16e temporarily stores the image data transferred without being able to write to the resident image area 164 to which the capacity of the threshold S is assigned. The HDD 16e is used as a save area for image data stored in the resident image area 164 when a power-off instruction is issued during job execution or job reservation. The HDD 16e is directly managed by the control unit 11, and image data for one page is written in a continuous cluster area (continuous area).

Here, data management of the HDD 16e in the control unit 11 will be described.
The CPU 11a of the control unit 11 creates the HDD management table T2 in the RAM 11c by software processing in cooperation with the program stored in the ROM 11b, manages the image data storage status of the HDD 16e, and based on the HDD management table T2, Controls writing and reading of image data to and from the HDD 16e.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the HDD management table T2. As shown in FIG. 5, the HDD management table T2 stores an image ID area for storing an image ID (for example, 029, 030, 041,...) For identifying the image data, and the image data. Data indicating the start cluster area for storing the start cluster number of the continuous area, the end cluster area for storing the end cluster number of the continuous area, and the size (number of clusters) of the continuous area ,...) And a used area for storing data indicating whether the continuous area is currently used (for example, Yes, No,...). .

  When writing image data to the HDD 16e, the CPU 11a of the control unit 11 refers to the HDD management table T2, and if there is a continuous area that is not currently used and is equal to or larger than the image data size to be written, If the continuous area is determined as the image data writing area, and there is no continuous area that is not currently used and is larger than the image data size to be written, the continuous area following the last cluster that is currently used The area is determined as a data writing area, and the HDD management table T2 is rewritten. When the job is completed and image data is erased from the HDD 16e, for example, the used area of the data in the HDD management table T2 corresponding to the image data to be erased is set to No and the image data to be erased is stored. This is done by making the area available. At the same time, meaningless data may be written in the area to be erased.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the management table (HDD management table T2) of the HDD 16e is stored in the RAM 11c, and one piece of image data is written into a continuous cluster of the HDD 16e, so that the image data is stored in the HDD in a normal file format. Compared to the case where file management is performed by accessing the FAT (File Allocation Tables) stored in the HDD one by one (the image data may be written in a physically separated area). The read / write speed to / from is high.

  The image output unit 17 in FIG. 1 is an output unit that forms and outputs an image on a recording medium based on the image data input from the image processing unit 16. The image output unit 17 includes a pulse width modulator, a laser light source, a photosensitive drum, a charger, a developing unit, a transfer unit, a paper feeding unit, a paper discharge unit, a fixing unit, and the like. The obtained image data is subjected to pulse width modulation by a pulse width modulator to emit laser light, and the surface of the photosensitive drum charged by the charger is irradiated with laser light to form an electrostatic latent image. Further, the image output unit 17 conveys a recording medium having a size and orientation instructed by the operation unit 12 and the communication control unit 14 from the paper feeding unit, and develops the photosensitive drum surface area including the electrostatic latent image by a developing device. The toner is attached, transferred onto the conveyed recording medium by the transfer unit, fixed by the fixing device, and then discharged from the paper discharge unit.

  The flash memory 18 can continuously execute the job being executed and the reservation job when the sub power is turned on when the sub power switch 122 is operated and the sub power is turned off while the job is being executed or the reserved job is waiting. 6 is a memory for saving data for storing data indicating the current state stored in the volatile RAM 11c and the volatile memory 16b. As shown in FIG. An area 181, a memory management table backup area 182, an HDD management table backup area 183, etc. The bookmark / environment storage area 181 is data indicating the current state stored in the RAM 11c, that is, registered job data, job ID of the job being executed, count value (number of output copies and number of pages), etc. (hereinafter, bookmark) Environment information, which is an area for storing information indicating which image forming operation is restarted under what output condition from what page of what job when the sub power is turned on. The memory management table backup area 182 is an area for saving the memory management table T1 stored in the memory management table area 163 of the volatile memory 16b. The HDD management table backup area 183 is an area for saving the HDD management table T2 stored in the RAM 11c. Further, the flash memory 18 has a threshold area 184 that stores the threshold S set via the threshold setting screen.

  The power supply unit 19 is connected to a commercial AC power source (not shown), converts AC (AC) power source power input from the commercial AC power source into DC (DC) power source power, and supplies necessary voltages to the respective units. The power supply unit 19 supplies power according to a control command from the control unit 11. The connection between the power supply unit 19 and the commercial AC power supply can be turned ON / OFF by a main power switch (not shown).

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing image data write control processing executed by the control unit 11 when the input image data is sequentially written to the image storage unit 162. This process is realized by a software process in cooperation with the CPU 11a and a program stored in the ROM 11b, and a write control unit is realized by executing the process. It is assumed that the image data to be written in the image storage unit 162 is previously compressed by the compression / decompression unit 16c.

  In the image data writing control process, it is determined whether or not there is image data of the next page that is input from the image reading unit 15 or the communication control unit 14 and should be written to the image storage unit 162. When the determination is made (step S1; YES), the “Used” area and the “capacity” area of the memory management table T1 are referred to, and the image data storage amount of the volatile memory 16b is written by writing the input image data for the next page. That is, the image data storage amount of the resident image area 164 (the occupation amount substantially occupied by the storage of the image data, and if fragmentation occurs, the occupation between the areas where the image data is stored) It is determined whether or not (including the amount) exceeds a threshold S stored in the threshold area 184 of the flash memory 18 (step S2). When it is determined that the amount of image data stored in the resident image area 164 does not exceed the threshold S (step S2; NO), the input image data is written to the resident image area 164 via the memory controller 16a, and the memory management is performed. The table T1 is rewritten (step S3), and the process returns to step S1. If it is determined in step S1 that there is no image data of the next page to be written in the image storage unit 162 (step S1; NO), this process ends.

  If it is determined in step S2 that the amount of image data stored in the resident image area 164 exceeds the threshold S (step S2; YES), the input image data is transferred to the volatile memory 16b via the memory controller 16a. It is written in the area 165 (step S4). Next, the HDD management table T2 is referred to, the writing area of the image data in the HDD 16e is determined, and the HDD management table T2 is rewritten (step S5). Specifically, when the HDD management table T2 is referred to and there is a continuous cluster area that is not used at present (the used area in FIG. 5 is “No”) and has a size equal to or larger than the image data size to be written. The continuous area is determined as the image data writing area, and the HDD management table T2 is rewritten. When the HDD management table T2 is referred to and there is no continuous area larger than the image data size to be written in the area that is not currently used (the used area in FIG. 5 is “No”), the last used area A continuous area following the tail cluster is determined as a writing area for the image data, and information is added to the HDD management table T2.

  When the writing area of the input image data in the HDD 16e is determined, the image data stored in the transfer image area 165 of the volatile memory 16b is transferred to the HDD 16e, and the image data is determined in step S5 by the HDD controller 16d. The data is written in the continuous area (step S6), and the process returns to step S1. Here, it is desirable to transfer the image data at high speed by directly performing the transfer between the volatile memory 16b and the HDD 16e by the DMA controller mounted on the HDD controller 16d without using the CPU 11a.

  As described above, the amount of image data stored in the resident image area 164 of the volatile memory 16b exceeds the threshold value S, and image data that cannot be written to the volatile memory 16b is transferred to the HDD 16e, and a continuous cluster area. Is written to. Therefore, the image data can be written at a higher speed than the case where the image data for one page is written in the divided area of the HDD 16e in the file format managed by the FAT. In addition, since one piece of image data is written in a continuous cluster area, when reading image data from the HDD 16e, it is possible to access the image data at a higher speed than when writing to an area divided by the file format. It becomes. Further, since the HDD management table T2 for managing the HDD 16e is arranged in the RAM 11c instead of the HDD 16e, the writing area of the HDD 16e is determined and the image data to be read is determined as in the case where file management is performed by FAT. For example, it is not necessary to access the HDD 16e every time when specifying the area in which image data is stored, and the writing and reading speed of image data can be increased.

  The image data temporarily stored in the resident image area 164 or the HDD 16e by the image data writing control memory process is read at a predetermined timing under the control of the CPU 11a and decompressed by the compression / decompression unit 16c. An image is formed on a recording medium based on the image data and printed out.

  Here, when a job for performing mass printing for POD is executed, hundreds or thousands of documents may be output, and it may take hours for image formation and output. In such a job, for example, when the job is started at night but the operator wants to go home, when the job is forcibly terminated and the power is cut off, the image data, bookmarks, and environment stored in the volatile memory 16b Since the information is lost, it is inconvenient that the next day, the image data must be read (received) again, or the user must reset the output conditions and the number of remaining copies.

  Therefore, the image forming apparatus 1 executes the save process shown in FIG. 8 and saves the image data stored in the volatile memory 16b to the HDD 16e at a high speed when the sub power supply OFF is instructed. By saving the HDD management table T2 and bookmark / environment information stored in the table T1 and RAM 11c to the non-volatile flash memory 18, these data are restored when the sub power is turned on and the power is turned on. Make it possible.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the saving process executed by the control unit 11. This processing is executed during job execution, and is realized by software processing in cooperation with the CPU 11a and a program stored in the ROM 11b. By executing this processing, a saving unit is realized.

  When the sub power switch 122 of the operation unit 12 is operated to instruct to turn off the sub power (step S11; YES), the system is controlled so that it can be stopped (step S12). For example, the recording medium on the conveyance path in the image output unit 17 is discharged, and the job is interrupted. Next, the bookmark / environment information stored in the RAM 11c is transferred to the flash memory 18 and written to the bookmark / environment storage area 181 to store data indicating the current state (step S13), and is stored in the RAM 11c. The existing HDD management table T2 is transferred to the flash memory 18, and is written and stored in the HDD management table backup area 183 (step S14). Next, the image data stored in the resident image area 164 of the volatile memory 16b is sequentially transferred to the HDD 16e one by one, and written and stored in the continuous cluster area (step S15). That is, the HDD management table T2 written in the HDD management table backup area 183 is referred to, and is an area that is not currently used (the Used area in FIG. 5 is “No”) and has a size that is equal to or larger than the image data size to be written. If there is a continuous area, the continuous area is determined as an image data writing area, the image data to be written is transferred to the HDD 16e, and the transferred image data is written to the determined continuous area, and the memory management table The start cluster number of the write area is written in the start address area of the image ID corresponding to the transferred image data in T1, and the end cluster number is written in the end address area. If there is no continuous area larger than the image data size to be written in the area that is not currently used (Used area in FIG. 5 is “No”), the continuous area that follows the last cluster that is currently used is The image data to be written is determined, the image data to be written is transferred to the HDD 16e, the transferred image data is written to the determined continuous area, and corresponds to the transferred image data in the memory management table T1. The start cluster number of the write area is written in the start address area of the image ID, and the end cluster number is written in the end address area.

  Then, the memory management table T1 is transferred and written to the memory management table backup area 182 of the flash memory 18 (step S16), and this process ends. After the processing is finished, the control unit 11 cuts off the power supply to each part of the image forming apparatus 1 (sub power supply OFF).

  As described above, when the sub power supply is instructed to be turned off by operating the sub power switch 122, the image data stored in the resident image area 164 of the volatile memory 16b is sequentially transferred to the HDD 16e, and one image data is stored. Is stored in the continuous cluster area, and the bookmark / environment information indicating the current state stored in the RAM 11c, the HDD management table T2, and the memory management for enabling access to the image data saved from the volatile memory 16b to the HDD 16e. Since the table T1 is stored in the flash memory 18, when the secondary power ON is instructed and the power is turned on, the bookmark / environment storage area 181 is referred to. If data is stored, the bookmark / environment is stored. Information, HDD management table T1, memory management table T2 from flash memory 18 to RAM From the HDD 16e to the volatile memory sequentially from the image data of the interrupted number of pages of the interrupted number of copies of the job whose operation was interrupted before power-off based on the read bookmark / environment information, etc. Then, the image output unit 17 can perform a print output operation. The image data transferred from the volatile memory 16b when the sub power supply is turned off is written in a continuous cluster of the HDD 16e. Therefore, it is possible to write image data at a higher speed than when writing one piece of image data to a divided area of the HDD 16e in a file format managed by FAT, and image data to the HDD 16e when the power is turned off. Evacuation can be performed at high speed. In addition, since one piece of image data is written in a continuous cluster area, when the image data is read from the HDD 16e when the job is resumed by turning on the sub power supply, the image is compared with the case where the image data is written in the area divided by the file format. Data can be accessed at high speed.

  In the saving process, when the sub power supply is instructed to be turned off, the image data on the volatile memory 16b that is lost due to the power interruption is transferred to the HDD 16e and stored. Then, after the evacuation process is completed, power supply to each unit is interrupted. Therefore, although the image data in the resident image area 164 is saved to the HDD 16e at a high speed, the more image data stored in the resident image area 164, the more time is required for the saving process, and an instruction to turn off the sub power supply is given. It will take some time before the power is actually shut off. Even if the user operates the sub power switch 122 to instruct to turn off the sub power, the power is not cut off easily, and the user waits for that time. Therefore, a pre-retraction button 121 is provided on the operation unit 12 so as to avoid such inconvenience and to shut off the power supply at a high speed when the sub power supply is instructed.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a pre-evacuation preparation process executed by the control unit 11. This process is executed when a job is not being executed, and is realized by a software process in cooperation with a program stored in the CPU 11a and the ROM 11b.

  When the advance save button 121 is pressed (step S21; YES), the threshold S = 0 is set in the threshold area 184 of the flash memory 18 (step S22), and this process ends.

  When the threshold value S = 0 is set by the pre-save preparation process, in the image data writing control process of FIG. 7 performed thereafter, the image data is transferred to the HDD 16e and stored every time the image data is input. Therefore, when the sub power supply is instructed, the processing of step S15 and step S16 can be omitted in the save processing shown in FIG. 8, and the sub power supply can be turned off by performing the save processing at high speed. Become.

  Note that the threshold value S can be easily set to 0 by pressing the advance save button 121, but the threshold value S can also be set from the threshold value setting screen of the display unit 13. In the threshold setting screen, the threshold S can be set within the capacity of the volatile memory 16b as well as the threshold S = 0. When the threshold S is input from the threshold setting screen, the input threshold S is set in the threshold area 184 of the flash memory 18.

  As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 1, the bookmark / environment information stored in the RAM 11 c is stored in the flash memory 18 when the sub power switch 122 of the operation unit 12 is operated and the sub power is turned off. The transferred bookmark / environment storage area 181 saves data indicating the current state, and the HDD management table T2 stored in the RAM 11c is transferred to the flash memory 18 and written to the HDD management table backup area 183. Saved. Further, the image data stored in the resident image area 164 of the volatile memory 16b is sequentially transferred to the HDD 16e one by one, written and saved in each continuous cluster area, and the cluster of the HDD 16e in which the image data is written. After the memory management table T1 rewritten with the start cluster number and end cluster number of the area is transferred and written to the memory management table backup area 182 of the flash memory 18, the power supply to each unit is cut off (sub power supply OFF) The

  Therefore, when the sub power supply is instructed, the image data stored in the resident image area 164 of the volatile memory 16b is saved to the continuous cluster area of the HDD 16e. It is possible to increase the speed.

  Further, since the threshold value S of the capacity in which image data can be written in the resident image area 164 can be freely set by the user on the threshold setting screen, the power supply is actually shut down after the sub power supply is instructed by the set threshold value. It is possible to adjust the time taken until the operation is performed. When the pre-save button 121 is pressed, the threshold value S is set to 0. Therefore, if it is known that the job is to be interrupted before the job starts, the threshold value is set by pressing the pre-save button 121 or the like. By setting S = 0, the input image data is transferred and written to the HDD 16e without being written to the volatile memory 16b, and when the sub power supply is instructed, the volatile memory 16b is transferred to the HDD 16e. Transfer and writing of image data are not necessary, and it is possible to quickly shut down the power when an instruction to turn off the sub power is given. In the present embodiment, the threshold value S = 0. However, the threshold value S is not necessarily 0. If the value is a small value close to 0, the same effect can be obtained.

  The description in the above embodiment is a preferred example of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the case where an HDD is used as the nonvolatile storage means has been described as an example. However, the present invention may be applied to other magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, and optical disks.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when the power-off to each unit is instructed by the sub power switch 122 as the end instruction means, the image data stored in the volatile memory 16b is transferred to the HDD 16e, and the HDD 16e Although writing is performed in continuous cluster areas, the end instruction means is not limited to this. For example, when the operation unit 12 is instructed to shift to the low power consumption mode, the image data stored in the volatile memory 16b may be transferred to the HDD 16e and written in a continuous cluster area of the HDD 16e. .

  In addition, the detailed configuration and detailed operation of the image forming apparatus 1 can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image storage unit 162 in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the volatile memory 16b of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of data storage of the memory management table T1 memorize | stored in the memory management table area | region 163 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the data storage example of HDD management table T2 memorize | stored in RAM11c of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the flash memory 18 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the image data writing control process performed by the control part 11 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the save process performed by the control part 11 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the advance evacuation preparation process performed by the control part 11 of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Image forming apparatus 11 Control unit 11a CPU
11b ROM
11c RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Operation part 12a Touch panel 12b Hard key 121 Advance save button 122 Sub power switch 13 Display part 14 Communication control part 15 Image reading part 16 Image processing part 161 Processing part 162 Image storage part 16a Memory controller 16b Volatile memory 163 Memory management table area | region 164 Resident image area 165 Transfer image area 166 Work image area 16c Compression / decompression unit 16d HDD controller 16e HDD
17 Image output unit 18 Flash memory 181 Bookmark / environment storage area 182 Memory management table backup area 183 HDD management table backup area 184 Threshold area 19 Power supply section 20 Bus

Claims (4)

In an image forming apparatus including an output unit that forms and outputs an image on a recording medium based on input image data.
Volatile storage means for storing the input image data;
Nonvolatile storage means for storing image data transferred from the volatile storage means;
An end instruction means for instructing the end of the operation;
When the end of the operation is instructed by the end instruction unit, the image data stored in the volatile storage unit is transferred to the non-volatile storage unit and written into a continuous cluster area of the non-volatile storage unit. Means,
An image forming apparatus comprising: Setting means for setting a threshold value of image data storage capacity of the volatile storage means for the volatile storage means;
When writing the input image data into the volatile storage means, it is determined whether or not the storage amount of the image data in the volatile storage means exceeds the set threshold, and exceeds the set threshold A write control means for transferring the input image data to the non-volatile storage means and writing in a continuous cluster area of the non-volatile storage means;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the instruction to end the operation by the end instruction unit is an instruction to turn off the power. In an image forming apparatus including an output unit that forms and outputs an image on a recording medium based on input image data.
Volatile storage means for storing the input image data;
Nonvolatile storage means for storing image data transferred from the volatile storage means;
Write control means for transferring the input image data to the non-volatile storage means and writing it in a continuous cluster area of the non-volatile storage means when a predetermined amount of image data is stored in the volatile storage means When,
Pre-evacuation instruction means for instructing pre-evacuation of image data;
With
The writing control means transfers the input image data to the non-volatile storage means without always storing it in the volatile storage means when the pre-evacuation instruction means has been instructed. An image forming apparatus, wherein data is written in a continuous cluster area of a storage unit.

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