JP2009230220A - Information processor and image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase processing efficiency while saving power by assigning information to be processed to a processor with a throughput corresponding to the processing load for each processing unit. <P>SOLUTION: In a control part 101 of an image processor, a processing load prediction part 133 calculates a throughput-based predicted processing load of each processor for each page by using arithmetic coefficients corresponding to the throughput of each processor which is managed by an arithmetic coefficient management part 131 based on the processing load information of each page included in a print job from a client terminal. A processing assignment control part 134 assigns the processing of each page to the processor with the throughput corresponding to the calculated predicted processing load based on the calculated throughput-based predicted processing load of each processor and the throughput-based processing load threshold of each processor which is managed by a processing load threshold management part 132, and causes the processor to execute the processing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an image processing apparatus.

  In various information processing apparatuses using a processor, various techniques for improving information processing efficiency by the processor have been proposed.

  In an image information processing apparatus such as a printer or a multifunction peripheral, for example, an image processing function for generating print data based on document information instructed to be printed from a host terminal is realized by a processor system.

  Regarding an application example of a processor system to this type of image information processing apparatus, Patent Document 1 below discloses an image processing system that allocates asymmetric multiprocessors and a plurality of jobs whose workload can be predicted to the processors. .

In the image processing system described in Patent Literature 1, each processor instruction set has a basic instruction set and a subset of the basic instruction set, and the processor to which the process is allocated is excluded based on the basic instruction and each sub set. Is selected.
JP 2004-252900 A

  The present invention assigns and processes information to be processed to a processor having a processing capability capable of handling the processing load for each processing unit, thereby enabling to improve processing efficiency while saving power. It is an object of the present invention to provide a processing device and an image processing device.

  In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to claim 1 is characterized in that a plurality of processors having different information processing capacities and arithmetic coefficients corresponding to the processing capacities are managed according to the processing capacities of the processors. Coefficient management means, threshold management means for managing the processing load threshold corresponding to the processing capacity for each processing capacity of the processor, and processing load information indicating the processing load value of information of each processing unit included in the information processing instruction And calculating means for calculating a predicted processing load value for each processing capacity for each processing unit information based on the processing coefficient for each processing capacity managed by the arithmetic coefficient management means, and for each information of the processing unit Then, it is determined for each processing capability of the processor whether the predicted processing load value calculated by the calculating means is equal to or greater than the processing load threshold value managed by the threshold value managing means, and When it is determined that the processing load value is equal to or greater than the processing load threshold, the processing unit information is assigned to a processor having a processing capability that exceeds the processing capability, and the predicted processing load value is less than the processing load threshold. If it is determined that the processing unit is determined to be, processing allocation means for allocating the processing of the information of the processing unit to the processor having the processing capability.

  The image processing apparatus according to claim 2 includes a plurality of processors having different processing capabilities of image information, arithmetic coefficient management means for managing arithmetic coefficients corresponding to the processing capacity according to the processing capacity of the processor, and the processor. Threshold management means for managing each processing load threshold corresponding to the processing capability for each processing capability, processing load information indicating the processing load value of the image information of each page included in the print command of the image information, and the calculation coefficient management Calculation means for calculating a prediction processing load value for each processing capacity for each image information of each page based on the calculation coefficient for each processing capacity managed by the means, and for each image information of each page, the calculation It is determined for each processing capability of the processor whether the predicted processing load value calculated by the means is greater than or equal to the processing load threshold managed by the threshold management means, and the predicted processing load value is determined by the processing capacity. If it is determined that the load threshold is exceeded, the processing of the image information of the page is assigned to a processor having a processing capability exceeding the processing capability, and the predicted processing load value is determined to be less than the processing load threshold. In some cases, the image processing apparatus includes processing allocation means for allocating processing of image information on the page to a processor having the processing capability.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the processing load information includes an integer arithmetic processing load value related to integer arithmetic processing and a floating point arithmetic processing load value related to floating point arithmetic processing. The arithmetic coefficient management means manages the arithmetic coefficients composed of integer arithmetic coefficients related to integer arithmetic processing and floating point arithmetic coefficients related to floating point arithmetic processing, and the calculating means manages each image information on each page. A predicted processing load value is calculated by adding a value obtained by multiplying the integer arithmetic processing load value by the integer arithmetic coefficient to a value obtained by multiplying the floating point arithmetic processing load value by the floating point arithmetic coefficient.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the second or third aspect, when the processor to which the process is assigned cannot accept the process, the process assigning means sequentially until there is a processor that can accept the process. Then, the processing is substituted and assigned to a processor having a higher processing capability.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the processor according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the processing allocation means is a processor capable of accepting a process when a processor having the highest processing capability to which the process is assigned cannot accept the process. Until there exists, the process is sequentially assigned to a processor having a lower processing capacity.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, the process allocating unit is configured such that when all processors of the process allocation destination and the alternative allocation destination cannot accept the process, The operating state of the processor is monitored, and the process is substituted and assigned to the processor that has changed from the operating state to the idle state.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the second to sixth aspects, the apparatus includes a determination unit that determines whether the print command is in an idle state when the print command is received. If the determination means determines that the print command is in an idle state, the first page of the image information for which the print command has been issued is assigned to the processor having the highest processing capability.

  According to the invention of the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, a high-performance processor is allocated to information on a processing unit having a large processing load to improve processing throughput, while information on a processing unit having a low processing load is While allocating a low-performance processor to reduce power consumption, the overall processing speed can be increased and the current consumption can be reduced.

  According to the invention of the image processing apparatus of the second aspect, when processing image information, a high-performance processor is assigned to a page with a large processing load to improve the processing throughput, while a page with a low processing load is assigned to the page. While allocating a low-performance processor to reduce power consumption, the overall processing speed can be increased and the current consumption can be reduced.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the second aspect, even when the image information of each page is composed of integer operation target information and floating point operation target information, the image information of each page is processed as a processing load. It is possible to increase the processing efficiency of image information while reducing power consumption by allocating to a processor having a processing capability that can handle the above.

  The invention according to claim 4 assigns image information processing of the corresponding page according to the processing load among the high performance, medium performance and low performance processors in the invention of claim 2 or 3, for example, If the medium performance processor is not available and the high performance processor is available, the high performance processor can perform image information processing on the page.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the second or third aspect, the image information processing of the page in the high performance processor among the high performance, medium performance and low performance processors is assigned, When the high-performance processor is not available and the medium-performance processor is available, the intermediate-performance processor can perform image information processing on the page.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein any one of high performance, medium performance, and low performance is assigned when an image information processing of a page is assigned to the high performance processor. If the processor is not available, then, for example, when the medium performance processor is available, the image processing of the page can be performed by the medium performance processor.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein when a print instruction is received in an idle state, the image information of the first page is processed by a high-performance processor and the image is quickly output. It is possible to relieve the anxiety caused by the waiting time until the image output of the user who has instructed printing starts.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system according to the present invention.

  The printing system has an image processing function for generating image data to be processed and image data to be sent to the image output device 20 based on a print instruction from the client terminal 30 and the client terminal 30. The processing apparatus 10 is configured to be connected via a communication network 50 such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The client terminal 30 is realized by, for example, a PC (Personal Computer), and as shown in FIG. 1, displays an input / operation unit 31 including an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and various types of information such as operation guidance and operation status. When communicating with the image processing apparatus 10 via a network 50, a display unit 32 that stores various information such as operation programs, a control unit 34 that controls the entire apparatus, and the network 50 The communication interface (I / F) unit 35 that controls the communication interface is configured.

  In the client terminal 10, the control unit 34 includes an application unit that performs operations such as operation on document information (document file), storage, display, editing, and print instruction operation in accordance with a predetermined operation on the input / operation unit 31. 341, based on a print instruction operation of a predetermined document file in the input / operation unit 31, PDL (Page Description Language) information which is a drawing instruction of the document file, and a process indicating a processing load value for each page of the document file A printer driver 342 that generates a print job including the load information and sends it to the image processing apparatus 10 is provided.

  FIG. 2 is a table showing an example of processing load information added to the PDL information of the document file to be printed by the printer driver 342 of the client terminal 30.

  In the table shown in FIG. 2, the number of pages (for example, i) is 1 to N, PageiI is an integer operation (I) load value of the i-th page, and PageiF is a floating-point operation (F) of the i-th page. ) Represents the load value.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer driver 342 generates an integer calculation processing load value (Page1I, Page2I,...) Related to integer calculation processing for each page 1 to N when generating a print job for an N-page document file. , PageNI) and a floating point arithmetic processing load value (Page1F, Page2F,..., PageNF) relating to the floating point arithmetic processing, and processing consisting of the integer arithmetic processing load value and the floating point arithmetic processing load value of each page The load information is added to the PDL information to instruct the image processing apparatus 10 to print.

  On the other hand, the image processing apparatus 10 according to the present invention includes, for example, an image processing unit realized by a plurality of processors having different processing capabilities in stages, such as high performance, medium performance, and low performance. The processing load information is extracted for each page from the print job received via the network 50, and the estimated processing load value (predicted processing load) is calculated for each page using the extracted processing load information. Thus, the processing function of allocating the processing of each page to a processor having a processing capability capable of handling the predicted load value based on the calculated predicted load value is provided.

  Hereinafter, the configuration and processing operation of a processor system applied to the image processing apparatus 10 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to each embodiment.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment.

  The image processing apparatus 10 includes a control unit 101 that controls the entire apparatus, and an image processing unit that performs image processing on image data to be printed based on a print job received from the client terminal 30 under the control of the control unit 101. 102, a network interface (I / F) unit 104 that performs interface processing with the network 50 when a print job is received from the client terminal 30 via the network 50, and data (print data) after image processing by the image processing unit 102 ) From the printer engine interface (I / F) unit 105 that controls an interface when outputting to the image output device 20 that is a printer engine unit, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 106 that stores information such as operation programs, and the client terminal 30 Received print jobs, etc. And a RAM (Random Access Memory) 107 used as a temporary storage unit of various information, and an input / output (I / O) device 108 that controls a communication interface with various input / output devices.

  The control unit 101, the image processing unit 102, the network I / F unit 104, and the printer engine I / F unit 105 are configured by one semiconductor device.

  In this semiconductor device, an internal bus 121 that is an information transmission path between the above functional units, and an external bus 122 between these functional units and functional units such as ROM 106 and RAM 107 outside the semiconductor device are provided. An external bus I / F unit 103 for communication is further provided.

  In addition, each of the image information processing units 102 which are constituent elements in the semiconductor device has one processing ability among various kinds of processing ability (processing ability at each stage such as high performance, medium performance, and low performance). Are comprised of a plurality of microprocessors (microprocessors: hereinafter referred to as processors).

  In this embodiment, one high-performance processor 111 (processor A), one medium-performance processor 112 (processor B) having the next highest (one step lower) processing capability of the high-performance processor A, and the medium-performance processor Three low-performance processors 113, 114, 115, and 116 [processor C (C1, C2, C3)] having the next higher processing capability (lower by one step) than B are configured.

  The control unit 101 is also composed of a processor, and estimates the processing load of each page of the document file instructed to print based on the processing load information in the print job (including PDL and processing load information) input from the printer driver 342. It has a function of assigning processing to three types (high performance, medium performance, low performance) of processors A, B, and C1 to C3.

  The internal bus 121 is a bus inside the semiconductor device, and is connected to the external bus I / F unit 103 which is a module of a connection interface between the processors A, B, C1 to C3 and components outside the semiconductor device. ing.

  The external bus I / F unit 130 is an interface module that transfers data of the external bus 122 to which the internal bus 121 and an external device are connected.

  A ROM 106, a RAM 107, and an I / O device 108 are connected to the external bus 122.

  The network I / F unit 104 is a LAN interface for receiving information from the printer driver 342 of the client terminal 30 and is connected to the network 50.

  The printer engine I / F unit 105 is connected to an image output device 20 that prints an image.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the control unit 101 of the image processing apparatus 10 (see FIG. 3) according to the present embodiment.

  In the image processing apparatus 10, the control unit 101 includes an arithmetic coefficient management unit 131 that manages arithmetic coefficients corresponding to the processing capacities according to the processing capacities of the three types of processors A, B, and C, and the three types of processors A, A processing load threshold management unit 132 that manages processing load thresholds corresponding to the processing capacities according to the processing capacities of B and C, and processing load values of information of each page included in the print job (print command) from the client terminal 30 Based on the processing load information shown and the processing coefficients by processing capacity corresponding to the processors A, B, and C managed by the processing coefficient management unit 131, the estimated processing load by processing capacity for each piece of information on each page The processing load prediction unit 133 that predicts (calculates) the processing load estimated value (predicted processing load value) calculated by the processing load prediction unit 133 is processed for each piece of information on each page of the processing target information. Whether or not the processing load threshold managed by the load threshold management unit 132 is greater than or equal to the processing load of the three types of processors A, B, and C is determined, and if it is determined that the predicted processing load value is greater than or equal to the processing load threshold The processing of the information on the page is assigned to a processor having a processing capacity exceeding the processing capacity, and if it is determined that the predicted processing load value is less than the processing load threshold, A process assignment control unit 134 for assigning processes is provided.

  FIG. 5 is a table showing a management form of calculation coefficients for each processing capability of each processor by the calculation coefficient management unit 131 of the control unit 101 in the image processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 5, for the high-performance processor A, the integer arithmetic coefficient is represented as “AI” and the floating-point arithmetic coefficient is represented as “AF”.

  For the medium performance processor B, the integer arithmetic coefficient is represented by “BI” and the floating point arithmetic coefficient is represented by “BF”.

  For the low-performance processor C, the integer arithmetic coefficient is represented by “CI” and the floating-point arithmetic coefficient is represented by “CF”.

  The calculation coefficient is small when the processing capability is high, and is large when the processing capability is low. Accordingly, the magnitude relationship of (AI <BI <CI) and (AF <BF <CF) is established.

  In this example, it is assumed that the floating-point arithmetic of the low-performance processor C is processed by software emulation, and “CF” is a considerably larger value than “BF”.

  As described above, in the image processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the calculation coefficient management unit 131 uses the calculation coefficient management table 1311 (for example, provided in the calculation coefficient management unit 131) as shown in FIG. Corresponding to the processing capacities of the performance processor A, the medium performance processor B, and the low performance processor C, each of them holds and manages arithmetic coefficients composed of integer arithmetic coefficients and floating point arithmetic coefficients.

  The calculation coefficient managed using the calculation coefficient management table 1311 shown in FIG. 5 is used for the processing load prediction (calculation) process in the processing load prediction unit 133 of the control unit 101 (see FIG. 4).

  That is, in the control unit 101 of the image processing apparatus 10, when the processing load prediction unit 133 receives a print job from the client terminal 30, the processing load value for each page included in the print job and the calculation coefficient management table 1311 are stored. Based on the calculation coefficient to be stored and managed, the following formulas (1) to (3) are used to estimate the processing load estimated value (predicted processing load) for each processing capacity of each type of processor A, B, C for each page. Value).

Estimated processing load of page i in high-performance processor A (LAi)
= (PageiI × AI) + (PageiF × AF) (1)
Estimated processing load on page i in medium performance processor B (LBi)
= (PageiI × BI) + (PageiF × BF) (2)
Estimated processing load of page i in low-performance processor C (LCi)
= (PageiI × CI) + (PageiF × CF) (3)
According to the above formulas (1) to (3), the processing load prediction unit 133 calculates the integer calculation processing load for each page of the document file instructed for printing from the client terminal 30 and the integer calculation coefficient for each processing capacity of the processor. The product of the floating-point arithmetic processing load for each page and the floating-point arithmetic coefficient for each processing capacity of the processor is added to the product to calculate a processing load estimate (predicted processing load value).

  FIG. 6 is a table showing a management form of the processing load threshold value according to the processing capability of each processor by the processing load threshold value management unit 132 of the control unit 101 in the image processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment.

  The processing load threshold value management unit 132 uses a processing load threshold value management table 1321 (for example, provided in the processing load threshold value management unit 132) shown in FIG. 6 to perform a high performance processor A, a medium performance processor B, and a low performance processor C. The processing load thresholds having values of “Ath”, “Bth”, and “Cth” are held and managed corresponding to the respective processing capacities.

  The processing load threshold managed using the processing load threshold management table 1321 shown in FIG. 6 is compared with the predicted processing load value of each page calculated by the processing load prediction unit 133 for each processing capability, and based on the comparison result. This is used to determine the assignment of the page processing to each processor.

  That is, in the control unit 101 (see FIG. 4) of the image processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the processing allocation control unit 134 performs the processing load prediction unit 133 for each page of the document file instructed to be printed from the client terminal 30. Whether the calculated predicted processing load value is greater than or equal to the processing load threshold managed by the processing load threshold management unit 132 is determined for each processing capability of the processor, and when it is determined that the predicted processing load value is greater than or equal to the processing load threshold Assigns the processing of the page to a processor having a processing capability exceeding the processing capability, and assigns the processing of the page to a processor having the processing capability when it is determined that the predicted processing load value is less than the processing load threshold. Process allocation control is performed.

  Hereinafter, the processor allocation processing of the image processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  Prior to this processor allocation process, in the client terminal 30, the printer driver 342 generates a print job including PDL information and processing load information by a user's print instruction operation, and the print job is transmitted through the communication I / F unit 35. It transmits to the network 50 addressed to the image processing apparatus 10.

  In the image processing apparatus 10, the network I / F unit 104 receives a print job sent from the printer driver 342 of the client terminal 30 to the network 50.

  Then, the PDL information and the processing load information constituting the received print job are written in the RAM 107, and the processor allocation process according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 is started.

  In the processor allocation process shown in FIG. 7, first, the processing load prediction unit 133 of the control unit 101 of the image processing apparatus 10 determines the processing capability of each processor A, B, and C from the calculation coefficient management table 1311 of the calculation coefficient management unit 131. Separately set integer arithmetic coefficients (AI, BI, CI) and floating point arithmetic coefficients (AF, BF, CF) are read (step S101).

  Next, the processing load prediction unit 133 updates the value of the print page counter i to a value obtained by incrementing the initial value “0” by “1” (step S102), and the processing load information (client terminal) stored in the RAM 107 30 (information received together with PDL information from 30), the integer calculation load value (= Page1I) and the floating point calculation load value (= Page1F) of the first page are read (step S103), and the read integer calculation load of the first page Based on the value (= Page1I) and the floating point calculation load value (= Page1F), the integer calculation coefficient (AI, BI, CI) and the floating point calculation coefficient (AF, BF, CF) read out in step S101, A predicted processing load value (LA, LB, LC) that is an estimated value for each processor processing capacity of the page (first page) is calculated ( Step S104).

  Specifically, as the predicted processing load value (LA1) corresponding to the processing capability of the high-performance processor on the first page, the above equation (1) is used, and (LA1) = (Page1I × AI) + (Page1F × AF) ) Is calculated.

  Further, as the predicted processing load value (LB1) corresponding to the processing capability of the medium performance processor on the first page, the above formula (2) is used, and (LB1) = (Page1I × BI) + (Page1F × BF). calculate.

  Further, as the predicted processing load value (LC1) corresponding to the processing capability of the low-performance processor on the first page, (LC1) = (Page1I × CI) + (Page1F × CF) is calculated using (3) above. To do.

  Next, the processing allocation control unit 134 determines the processing load threshold (Ath) for each processing capability of each of the high performance, medium performance, and low performance processors from the processing load threshold management table 1321 (see FIG. 6) of the processing load threshold management unit 132. ), (Bth), (Cth), and the processing threshold values (Ath), (Bth), (Cth) thus read and the processing of each of the high-performance, medium-performance, and low-performance processors calculated in step S104. Comparing the predicted processing load values (LA1), (LB1), and (LC1) for each capability by processing capability, and as a result of comparing the predicted processing load value for each processing capability and the processing load threshold, If it is determined that the predicted processing load value is equal to or greater than the processing load threshold, the processing of the page (first page) is assigned to a processor having a processing capacity exceeding the processing capacity, and the predicted processing load There executes allocation processing of allocating the first page of the process to the processor that has the processing power when it is determined to be less than the processing load threshold.

  Specifically, first, in order to determine whether or not the processing load value LC1 in the low performance processor C can be processed sufficiently in the low performance processor C, the processing load value LC1 is compared with the processing load threshold Cth. (Step S105).

  Here, when the processing load value LC1 is smaller than the processing load threshold Cth (NO in step S105), it is determined that the processing by the low performance processor C is sufficient, and the processing of the one page is assigned to the low performance processor C ( Step S200).

  On the other hand, when the processing load value LC1 is larger than the processing load threshold value Cth (YES in step S105), the processing by the low performance processor C is insufficient, so the processing load value LB1 in the medium performance processor B is the medium performance processor B. In step S106, the processing load value LB1 is compared with the processing load threshold value Bth.

  Here, when the processing load value LB1 is smaller than the processing load threshold Bth (NO in step S106), it is determined that the processing by the medium performance processor is sufficient, and the processing of the one page is assigned to the medium performance processor B (step S106). S300).

  On the other hand, when the processing load value LB1 is larger than the processing load threshold Bth (step S106 YES), the processing by the medium performance processor B is not sufficient, and therefore the processing of the one page is assigned to the high performance processor A (step S400).

  As described above, after assigning one page of processing to any of the high performance, medium performance, and low performance processors, the processing assignment control unit 134 determines whether there is a next page (step S107). ), If it is determined that there is a next page (YES in Step S107), the process returns to Step S102, and thereafter, Steps S102 to S105, S200, or Steps S102 to S105, S106, S300, or Steps S102 to S105, The processes of S106 and S400 are repeated until it is determined in step S107 that there is no next page.

During the series of processes repeatedly executed for each page from the second page to the last page (i-th page: i = 2, 3,..., N), in step S102, the processing load predicting unit 133 prints the printed page. The value of the counter i is updated to the value of the page (= i). In step S103, the integer calculation load value (= PageiI) and the floating-point calculation load value (= PageiF) of the i page in the processing load information from the RAM 107. In step S104, the read integer calculation load value (= PageiI) and floating point calculation load value (= PageiF) of the i-th page and the integer calculation coefficients (AI, BI, CI) and floating-point arithmetic coefficients (AF, BF, CF), respectively, using the above formulas (1), (2), and (3),
Predictive processing load value (LAi) = (PageiI × AI) + (PageiF × AF) corresponding to the processing capability of the high-performance processor of the i-th page,
Predictive processing load value (LBi) = (PageiI × BI) + (PageiF × BF) corresponding to the processing capability of the medium performance processor of the i-th page,
And the predicted processing load value (LCi) = (PageiI × CI) + (PageiF × CF) corresponding to the processing capability of the low-performance processor of the i-th page.
Is calculated.

  Next, in step S105, the processing load value LCi in the low performance processor is compared with the processing load threshold Cth of the corresponding processing capability. If the processing load value LCi is smaller than the processing load threshold Cth (NO in step S105), in step S200. The process of the i-th page is assigned to the low-performance processor C.

  On the other hand, when the processing load value LCi is larger than the processing load threshold value Cth (YES in step S105), the processing load value LBi in the medium performance processor B is compared with the processing load threshold value Bth of the processing capability corresponding to the processing load threshold value Bth in step S106. When the load value LBi is smaller than the processing load threshold value Bth (NO in step S106), the processing of the i-th page is assigned to the medium performance processor B in step S300, while the processing load value LBi is larger than the processing load threshold value Bth ( In step S106, the processing of the i-th page is assigned to the high-performance processor A in step S400.

  In this manner, after assigning each page from the first page to the Nth page to a processor having a processing capability corresponding to the predicted processing load value based on the predicted processing load value, the next page is performed in step S107. If it is determined that there is no page (YES in step S107), the series of processor allocation processes is terminated.

  Next, allocation processing for each of the low performance, medium performance, and high performance processors in steps S200, S300, and S400 of FIG. 7 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the low performance processor allocation processing in step S200 of FIG.

  This process is started in step S105 of FIG. 7 when it is determined that the processing load value LCi in the low performance processor C is smaller than the processing load threshold Cth for the i-th page to be processed (step S105 NO).

  When the allocation process of the low performance processor C is started, the process allocation control unit 134 first checks whether or not the low performance processor C is free (step S201), and if the low performance processor C is free. (Step S201 YES), the process of the page is assigned to the low-performance processor C (Step S211), and then the process proceeds to Step S107 in FIG.

  On the other hand, when the low performance processor C is not available (step S201 NO), it is then checked whether the medium performance processor B having a higher processing capability is available (step S202), and the medium performance processor B is available. If so (YES in step S202), instead of the low-performance processor C, the process of the page is assigned to the medium-performance processor C (step S212), and then the process proceeds to step S107 in FIG.

  On the other hand, if the medium performance processor C is not available (step S202 NO), then it is checked whether or not the high performance processor A having a further higher processing capacity is available (step S203), and the high performance processor A is available. If so (YES in step S203), the processing of the page is assigned to the high-performance processor A (step S213), and then the process proceeds to step S107 in FIG.

  If the high-performance processor A is not available (step S203 NO), the process allocation control unit 134 monitors the operating state of each of the high-performance, medium-performance, and low-performance processors (YES in step S204), and any of the processors is When the operating state is changed to the idle state (the processor becomes free) (YES in step S204), the processing of the page is assigned to the processor in the idle state (step S205), and after the assignment, step S107 in FIG. Migrate to

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the medium performance processor allocation processing in step S300 of FIG.

  This processing is started in step S106 of FIG. 7 when it is determined that the processing load value LBi in the medium performance processor B is smaller than the processing load threshold Bth for the i-th page to be processed (NO in step S106).

  When the allocation process of the medium performance processor B is started, the process allocation control unit 134 first checks whether the medium performance processor B is free (step S301), and if the medium performance processor B is free. (Step S301 YES), the process of the page is assigned to the medium performance processor B (Step S311), and then the process proceeds to Step S107 in FIG.

  On the other hand, if the medium performance processor B is not free (NO in step S301), then, it is checked whether or not the high performance processor A having one step higher processing capability is available (step S302). If it is vacant (YES in step S302), the processing of the page is assigned to the high-performance processor A instead of the medium-performance processor B (step S312), and then the process proceeds to step S107 in FIG.

  On the other hand, if the high-performance processor A is not free (step S302 NO), then it is checked whether the low-performance processor C is free (step S303). If the low-performance processor C is free (step S303 YES), the The processing of the page is assigned to the low performance processor C (step S313), and then the process proceeds to step S107 in FIG.

  If the low-performance processor C is not available (NO in step S303), the process allocation control unit 134 monitors the operating state of each of the high-performance, medium-performance, and low-performance processors (YES in step S304). When the operating state is changed to the idle state (the processor is vacant) (step S304 YES), the processing of the page is assigned to the processor in the idle state (step S305), and after the assignment, step S107 in FIG. Migrate to

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the high-performance processor allocation process in step S400 of FIG.

  This processing is started in step S106 of FIG. 7 when it is determined that the processing load value LBi in the medium performance processor B is larger than the processing load threshold Bth for the i-th page to be processed (step S106 YES).

  When the allocation process for the high-performance processor A is started, the process allocation control unit 134 first checks whether or not the high-performance processor A is free (step S401), and if the high-performance processor A is free. (Step S401 YES), the processing of the page is assigned to the high-performance processor A (Step S411), and then the process proceeds to Step S107 in FIG.

  On the other hand, if the high performance processor A is not available (NO in step S401), then, it is checked whether or not the medium performance processor B having the processing capability one step lower is available (step S402). If it is vacant (YES in step S402), the process of the page is assigned to the medium performance processor B (step S412), and then the process proceeds to step S107 in FIG.

  On the other hand, if the medium performance processor B is not available (step S402 NO), then it is checked whether or not the low performance processor C having a further lower processing capability is available (step S403), and the low performance processor C is available. If so (YES in step S403), the processing of the page is assigned to the low-performance processor C (step S413), and then the process proceeds to step S107 in FIG.

  If the low-performance processor C is not available (NO in step S403), the process allocation control unit 134 monitors the operating state of each of the high-performance, medium-performance, and low-performance processors (YES in step S404). When the operating state is changed to the idle state (the processor is vacant) (YES in step S404), the processing of the page is assigned to the processor in the idle state (step S405). After the assignment, step S107 in FIG. Migrate to

  In addition, when assigning processes to the processors having the respective performances shown in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10, control is performed so as to shift to a power saving mode such as stopping the clock for the processors to which the processes are not assigned. And reduce power consumption.

  In this embodiment, high-performance processors are allocated to pages with heavy (large) processing loads, and the throughput of processing is improved, while low-performance processors are allocated to pages with light (small) processing loads to reduce power consumption. In addition, heat generation of the semiconductor device is suppressed.

  According to such processor allocation processing, in an image processing apparatus in which a plurality of processors having different image processing capabilities are integrated and mounted as a semiconductor device, the overall processing speed can be increased, and power consumption is reduced and the semiconductor device is reduced. Operation with reduced heat generation can be realized.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 10B according to the second embodiment.

  In the image processing apparatus 10B of the present embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those of the image processing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment.

  In the image processing apparatus 10B of the present embodiment, the image processing unit 102b includes one high-performance processor 111 and four low-performance processors 113, 114, 115, and 116.

  In the image processing apparatus 10B, the control unit 101b has a functional configuration as shown in FIG.

  Also in the control unit 101b, the same components as those of the control unit 101 (see FIG. 4) according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In the control unit 101b illustrated in FIG. 12, a print reception state monitoring unit 135 is provided as a configuration not included in the first embodiment.

  When receiving a print instruction (print job) from the client terminal 30, the print reception state monitoring unit 135 determines whether or not the image processing apparatus 10B is in an idle state until the print instruction is received. It has a function.

  In the control unit 101b, the arithmetic coefficient management unit 131b includes two types of processors, a high-performance processor A and a low-performance processor C (C1, C2, C3, C4) in the image processing unit 102b (see FIG. 11). Corresponding to the configuration, an arithmetic coefficient management table 1311b as shown in FIG. 13 is provided. Using the arithmetic coefficient management table 1311b, an integer arithmetic coefficient “AI” and a floating-point arithmetic coefficient “AF” related to the high-performance processor A are used. ", An integer arithmetic coefficient" CI "related to a low-performance processor, and a floating-point arithmetic coefficient" CF ".

  A relation of AI <CI is established between the integer arithmetic coefficient “AI” of the high-performance processor A and the integer arithmetic coefficient “CI” of the low-performance processor C, and the floating-point arithmetic coefficient “AF” of the high-performance processor A relationship of AF <CF is established with the floating-point arithmetic coefficient “CF” of the low-performance processor.

  In this example, since the floating-point operation of the low-performance processor C is processed by software emulation, “CF” is a considerably larger value than “AF”.

  In the control unit 101b, the processing load threshold value management unit 132b includes two types of processors, the high performance processor A and the low performance processor C (C1, C2, C3, C4) in the image processing unit 102b (see FIG. 11). Corresponding to the configuration, the processing load threshold management table 1321b as shown in FIG. 14 is provided, and the processing load threshold management table 1321b is used to correspond to each processing capability of the high performance processor A and the low performance processor C. Thus, the processing load thresholds having values “Ath” and “Cth” are held and managed.

Thereby, in the control unit 101b, when the processing load prediction unit 133 receives a print job from the client terminal 30, the processing load information (see FIG. 2) for each page included in the print job and the calculation coefficient management table 1311b. Based on the calculation coefficient stored and managed in (see FIG. 13), for each page (page number i: i = 1, 2,..., N), using the above-described equation (1),
Estimated processing load of page i in high-performance processor A (LAi)
= (PageiI × AI) + (PageiF × AF)
And calculating the above equation (3),
Estimated processing load of page i in low-performance processor C (LCi)
= (PageiI × CI) + (PageiF × CF)
Is calculated.

  Further, in the control unit 101b, the process allocation control unit 134b includes predicted processing load values (LAi) and (LCi) for each processing capability of the high-performance and low-performance processors calculated by the processing load prediction unit 133, and processing The processing load thresholds (Ath) and (Cth) for each processing capability of each of the high-performance and low-performance processors held in the processing load threshold management table 1321b (see FIG. 14) of the load threshold management unit 132b are the processing capabilities. In comparison, if it is determined that the predicted processing load value is greater than or equal to the processing load threshold for a certain processing capability, the processing of the page (i-th page) is assigned to a processor having a processing capability exceeding the processing capability. When it is determined that the predicted processing load value is less than the processing load threshold value, the processing is assumed to assign the processing of the page (page i) to a processor having the processing capability. In other words, when a print job is received from the client terminal 30, it is determined by the print reception state monitoring unit 135 that the image processing apparatus 10B is in an idle state until the print instruction is received. The first page of image information for which a print command has been issued further has a control function that always assigns processing to the processor A having the highest processing capability.

  Hereinafter, the processor assignment processing of the image processing apparatus 10B according to the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In this image processing apparatus 10B, the network I / F unit 104 receives a print job (consisting of PDL information and processing load information for each page) sent from the printer driver 342 of the client terminal 30 to the network 50, The PDL information and the processing load information constituting the received print job are written in the RAM 107, and the processor allocation process according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 15 is started.

  In the processor assignment process shown in FIG. 15, first, the processing load prediction unit 133 of the control unit 101b of the image processing apparatus 10B is set for each processing capacity of the processors A and C from the calculation coefficient management table 1311b of the calculation coefficient management unit 131b. The integer arithmetic coefficients (AI, CI) and floating point arithmetic coefficients (AF, CF) are read (step S121).

  Next, the processing load prediction unit 133b updates the value of the processing target page counter i to a value obtained by incrementing the initial value “0” by “1” (step S122), and performs processing based on the value of the processing target page counter i. It is checked whether or not the target is the first page (step S123).

  Here, when it is determined that the processing target is the first page (YES in step S123), the fact is notified to the print acceptance state monitoring unit 135.

  Upon receiving this notification, the print reception status monitoring unit 135 determines whether or not the image processing apparatus 10B is in an idle state until a print instruction (print job) is received from the client terminal 30 (step S124). .

  If it is determined that the printer is in the idle state until a print instruction is accepted (YES in step S124), the process assignment control unit 134b assigns the process for the first page to the high-performance processor A (step S170).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the idle state has not been received until the print instruction is received (NO in step S124), the processing load prediction unit 133 determines the integer calculation load value of the first page in the processing load information stored in the RAM 107. (= Page1I) and the floating point calculation load value (= Page1F) are read (step S103), the read integer calculation load value (= Page1I) and floating point calculation load value (= Page1F) of the first page, and the above steps Based on the integer arithmetic coefficients (AI, CI) and floating-point arithmetic coefficients (AF, CF) read in S101, a predicted processing load value (LA) that is an estimated value for each processor processing capacity of the page (first page). , LC) is calculated (step S104).

  Specifically, as the predicted processing load value (LA1) corresponding to the processing capability of the high-performance processor on the first page, the above equation (1) is used, and (LA1) = (Page1I × AI) + (Page1F × AF) ) Is calculated.

  Further, as the predicted processing load value (LC1) corresponding to the processing capability of the low-performance processor on the first page, (LC1) = (Page1I × CI) + (Page1F × CF) is calculated using (3) above. To do.

  Next, the processing allocation control unit 134b determines, based on the processing load threshold management table 1321b (see FIG. 14) of the processing load threshold management unit 132b, the processing load threshold (Ath), ( Cth), the read processing load threshold values (Ath), (Cth), and the predicted processing load values (LA1), (LC1) for each processing capability of the high-performance and low-performance processors calculated in step S104. Are compared for each processing capability, and as a result of comparing the predicted processing load value for each processing capability with the processing load threshold, for a certain processing capability, it is determined that the predicted processing load value is greater than or equal to the processing load threshold Assigns the processing of the page (first page) to a processor having a processing capability exceeding the processing capability, and the predicted processing load value is determined to be less than the processing load threshold It executes allocation processing of allocating the first page of the process to the processor that has the processing capability.

  Specifically, first, in order to determine whether or not the processing load value LC1 in the low performance processor can be sufficiently processed in the low performance processor C, the processing load value LC1 is compared with the processing load threshold Cth ( Step S105).

  Here, when the processing load value LC1 is larger than the processing load threshold Cth (step S127 YES), the processing of the first page is assigned to the high-performance processor A (step S140).

  On the other hand, when the processing load value LC1 is smaller than the processing load threshold Cth (step S127 NO), it is checked whether or not the low performance processor C is free (step S128), and if the low performance processor C is free (step S128). In step S128, the process for the first page is assigned to the low-performance processor C (step S150).

  If the low-performance processor C is not available (NO in step S128), it is further checked whether or not the high-performance processor A is available (step S129). If the high-performance processor is available (step S129 YES), the low performance processor C is checked. Instead of the processor C, the processing of the first page is assigned to the high-performance processor A (step S160).

  On the other hand, when the high-performance processor A is not free (NO in step S129), the process allocation control unit 134b monitors the operating state of each of the high-performance and low-performance processors (step S130), and any of the processors starts from the operating state. If the idle state (processor becomes available) (YES in step S130), the processing of the page is assigned to the processor in the idle state (step S131).

  As described above, after assigning the processing of the first page to either the high-performance or low-performance processor, the processing assignment control unit 134b determines whether there is a next page (step S132). When it is determined that there is a next page (YES in step S132), the process returns to step S122, and thereafter, the processing from step S122 to S131 is repeatedly executed until it is determined in step S132 that there is no next page.

During the series of processes repeatedly executed for each page from the second page to the last page (i-th page: i = 2, 3,..., N), in step S122, the processing load prediction unit 133 prints the printed page. The value of the counter i is updated to the value of the page (= i). In step 123, it is determined that the page is not the first page (NO in step S123), the process proceeds to step S125, and the integer of the page i in the processing load information from the RAM 107. The calculation load value (= PageiI) and the floating point calculation load value (= PageiF) are read. In step S126, the read integer calculation load value (= PageiI) and floating point calculation load value (= PageiF) of the i-th page. , Based on the integer arithmetic coefficients (AI, CI) and floating point arithmetic coefficients (AF, CF) read in step S121, respectively (1) , Using equation (3),
Predictive processing load value (LAi) = (PageiI × AI) + (PageiF × AF) corresponding to the processing capability of the high-performance processor of the i-th page,
And the predicted processing load value (LCi) = (PageiI × CI) + (PageiF × CF) corresponding to the processing capability of the low-performance processor of the i-th page.
Is calculated.

  Next, in step S127, the processing load value LCi in the low-performance processor C is compared with the processing load threshold value Cth of the corresponding processing capability. If the processing load value LCi is greater than the processing load threshold value Cth (YES in step S127), step S140 is performed. The processing of the i-th page is assigned to the high-performance processor A.

  Further, when the processing load value LCi is smaller than the processing load threshold Cth (NO in step S127), if the low performance processor C is vacant (YES in step S128), the low performance processor C performs the process for the i-th page. On the other hand, if the low-performance processor C is not available (step S128 NO), it is further determined whether or not the high-performance processor A is available (step S129).

  Here, if the high-performance processor A is free (YES in step S129), the processing of the i-th page is assigned to the high-performance processor A (step S160), but if the high-performance processor A is not free (step S160). In step S129, if any processor becomes free (becomes idle) after that (YES in step S130), the i-th page processing is assigned to the processor in the idle state (step S131). .

  In this way, when a print instruction (print job) is received from the client terminal 30 and the print reception state monitoring unit 135 determines that it has been in an idle state before (YES in step S124), one page While preferentially assigning the eye process to the high-performance processor, each page from the second page to the last page [when it is determined that it has not been idle until that time (NO in step S124) Each page from the first page to the last page] is assigned to a processor having a processing capability corresponding to the predicted processing load value based on the predicted processing load value, and there is no next page in step S132. If determined (NO in step S132), the series of processor assignment processes is terminated.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the high-performance processor allocation process in step S140 of FIG.

  This process is started in step S127 of FIG. 15 when it is determined that the processing load value LCi in the low performance processor C is larger than the processing load threshold Cth for the i-th page to be processed (step S127 YES).

  When the allocation process of the high-performance processor A is started, the process allocation control unit 134b first checks whether or not the high-performance processor A is free (step S141), and if the high-performance processor A is free. (Step S141 YES), the processing of the i-th page is assigned to the high-performance processor A (Step S145), and then the process proceeds to Step S132 in FIG.

  On the other hand, if the high-performance processor A is not free (NO in step S141), it is then checked whether the low-performance processor C is free (step S142). If the low-performance processor C is free (step S142 YES) However, instead of the high-performance processor A, the processing of the i-th page is assigned to the low-performance processor C (step S146), and then the process proceeds to step S132 in FIG.

  If the low-performance processor C is not available in step S142 (step S142 NO), the process allocation control unit 134b monitors the operating state of each of the high-performance and low-performance processors (step S143). When the processor changes from the operating state to the idle state (the processor becomes free) (step S143 YES), the i-th page processing is assigned to the processor in the idle state (step S144). The process proceeds to step S132 in FIG.

  When processing is assigned to the processors having the respective performances shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, control is performed so that the processor to which processing is not assigned is shifted to a power saving mode such as stopping the clock. Electric power may be reduced.

  In this embodiment, in the idle state, the first page is processed by the most powerful processor so that the print result can be output quickly, and the user can confirm the result quickly.

  For the second and subsequent pages, high-performance processors are allocated to pages with heavy (large) processing loads to improve processing throughput, while low-performance processors are allocated to pages with light (small) processing loads. And to suppress the heat generation of the semiconductor device.

  As a result, in an image processing apparatus in which a plurality of processors having different image processing capabilities are integrated and mounted as a semiconductor device, the output of the first page can be speeded up in the idle state, and the overall processing speed can be increased. At the same time, it can be operated with reduced power consumption and reduced heat generation of semiconductor devices.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and can be implemented by being appropriately modified within a range not changing the gist thereof.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to an image processing apparatus that performs image processing using a plurality of processors having different image information processing capabilities, and a processor having a processing capability capable of handling each page to be printed corresponds to its processing load. An example of allocating and performing distributed processing has been given. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and there are a plurality of processors having different information processing capabilities, and the processing capability capable of handling the information of each processing unit included in the information processing instruction according to the processing load. The present invention can be applied to various information processing apparatuses that perform distributed processing by assigning to processors having

  The present invention can be applied to various information processing apparatuses that process information using a plurality of processors, and image processing apparatuses such as printers and multifunction peripherals that perform image processing using a plurality of processors.

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system according to the present invention. The table figure which shows an example of the processing load information contained in the printing command from a client terminal. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a control unit of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a table showing a management form of calculation coefficients for each processing capability of the processor according to the first embodiment. 6 is a table showing a management form of processing load threshold information for each processing capability of a processor according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processor assignment processing of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. 8 is a flowchart showing low-performance processor allocation processing in step S200 of FIG. The flowchart which shows the medium performance processor allocation process in step S300 of FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a high performance processor allocation process in step S400 of FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image processing apparatus according to a second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a control unit of an image processing apparatus according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a table showing a management form of arithmetic coefficients for each processing capability of a processor according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a table showing a management form of processing load threshold information for each processing capacity of a processor according to the second embodiment. 9 is a flowchart illustrating processor assignment processing of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. The flowchart which shows the high performance processor allocation process in step S140 of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 10B ... Image processing apparatus 101, 101b ... Control part, 131, 131b ... Calculation coefficient management part, 1311, 1311b ... Calculation coefficient management table, 132, 132b ... Processing load threshold management part, 1321, 1321b ... Processing load threshold Management table, 133 ... processing load prediction unit, 134, 134b ... processing allocation control unit, 135 ... print reception status monitoring unit, 102, 102b ... image processing unit, 111 ... high performance processor, 112 ... medium performance processor, 113, 114, 115, 116 ... low performance processor, 103 ... external bus interface (I / F) unit, 104 ... network interface (I / F) unit, 105 ... printer engine interface (I / F) unit, 106 ... ROM (Read) Only Memory), 107 ... RAM (Random Ac) ess Memory), 108 ... input / output (I / O) device, 121 ... internal bus, 122 ... external bus, 20 ... image output device, 30 ... client terminal (PC: personal computer), 301 ... processing load information, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 31 ... Input / operation part, 32 ... Display part, 33 ... Memory | storage part, 34 ... Control part, 341 ... Application part, 342 ... Printer driver, 35 ... Communication interface (I / F) part, 50 ... Network (NW)

Claims (7)

Multiple processors with different information processing capabilities;
Arithmetic coefficient management means for managing arithmetic coefficients corresponding to the processing capacity according to the processing capacity of the processor;
Threshold management means for managing each processing load threshold corresponding to the processing capacity according to the processing capacity of the processor;
Based on the processing load information indicating the processing load value of the information of each processing unit included in the processing instruction of information, and the calculation coefficient for each processing capability managed by the calculation coefficient management means, for each information of the processing unit A calculation means for calculating a predicted processing load value for each processing capacity;
For each piece of processing unit information, it is determined for each processing capability of the processor whether or not the predicted processing load value calculated by the calculating means is greater than or equal to the processing load threshold managed by the threshold management means, and the predicted processing load value is If it is determined that the processing load threshold value is greater than or equal to the processing load threshold value, processing of information of the processing unit is assigned to a processor having a processing capability exceeding the processing capability, and the predicted processing load value is determined to be less than the processing load threshold value An information processing apparatus comprising: a processing allocation unit that allocates the processing of the information of the processing unit to a processor having the processing capability when the processing is performed. A plurality of processors having different image information processing capabilities;
Arithmetic coefficient management means for managing arithmetic coefficients corresponding to the processing capacity according to the processing capacity of the processor;
Threshold management means for managing each processing load threshold corresponding to the processing capacity according to the processing capacity of the processor;
Based on the processing load information indicating the processing load value of the image information of each page included in the print command of the image information and the calculation coefficient for each processing capability managed by the calculation coefficient management unit, the image information for each page Calculating means for calculating a predicted processing load value for each processing capacity;
For each image information of each page, it is determined for each processing capability of the processor whether the predicted processing load value calculated by the calculating unit is equal to or greater than the processing load threshold managed by the threshold management unit, and the predicted processing load value Is determined to be equal to or greater than the processing load threshold, the processing of the image information of the page is assigned to a processor having a processing capability exceeding the processing capability, and the predicted processing load value is less than the processing load threshold. An image processing apparatus comprising: a processing allocation unit that allocates the processing of the image information of the page to a processor having the processing capability when determined. The processing load information includes an integer arithmetic processing load value related to integer arithmetic processing and a floating point arithmetic processing load value related to floating point arithmetic processing,
The calculation coefficient management means includes:
Managing the arithmetic coefficient consisting of integer arithmetic coefficients related to integer arithmetic processing and floating point arithmetic coefficients related to floating point arithmetic processing;
The calculating means includes
A predicted processing load value obtained by adding a value obtained by multiplying the integer arithmetic processing load value by the integer arithmetic coefficient and a value obtained by multiplying the floating point arithmetic processing load value by the floating point arithmetic coefficient for each image information of each page. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2. The process assigning means includes
The image processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein when a processor to which the process is assigned cannot accept a process, the process is alternately assigned to a processor having a higher processing capability until a processor that can accept the process exists. . The process assigning means includes
3. If a processor having the highest processing capacity, which is the allocation destination of the process, cannot accept a process, the process is alternatively assigned to a processor having a lower processing capacity one by one until there is a processor that can accept the process. 3. The image processing apparatus according to 3. The process assigning means includes
3. When all the processors of the allocation destination and the alternative allocation destination of the process cannot accept the process, the operating state of each processor is monitored, and the process is substituted and allocated to the processor that has changed from the operating state to the idle state. The image processing apparatus according to any one of 5. A determination means for determining whether or not the engine is in an idle state when receiving the print command;
The process assigning means includes
3. If the determination unit determines that the print command is in an idle state when receiving the print command, the processing of the first page of the image information for which the print command has been issued is assigned to a processor having the highest processing capability. 7. The image processing device according to any one of 6.

Images