JP2012133558A - Starting device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to start up so as to quickly switch an execution mode at power-on without holding a plurality of snapshots.
An activation device 1 holds a volatile memory 14 used when executing a program and a volatile memory 14 immediately before executing a determination program for determining a mode to be executed among a plurality of modes. A first non-volatile memory 17 that holds a copy of the first information, and a first reproduction that reproduces the first information in the volatile memory 14 based on the copy held in the first non-volatile memory 17 when the power is turned on Means 16.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an activation device.

  As the operation system (hereinafter referred to as OS) becomes more sophisticated, the time required to start up the OS has become longer. Therefore, in order to shorten the startup time, a technique is known in which a program position to be returned after the OS is started is set and the program position is quickly returned at the time of startup (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-249418 A

  In the prior art, a plurality of program execution states (information stored in a memory such as register contents and memory contents managed by the OS, called a snapshot) corresponding to a plurality of operation modes, respectively. Since it was held in a non-volatile memory, there was a problem of consuming a large amount of non-volatile memory area.

  The activation device according to the present invention includes a volatile memory used at the time of execution of a program, and first information held in the volatile memory immediately before executing a determination program for determining a mode to be executed among a plurality of modes. A first non-volatile memory that holds a copy; and a first reproduction unit that reproduces the first information in the volatile memory based on the copy held in the first non-volatile memory when the power is turned on. Features.

  The activation device according to the present invention can be activated so as to quickly switch the execution mode when the power is turned on without holding a plurality of snapshots.

It is a block diagram explaining the structural example of the electronic camera by one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the content memorize | stored in a non-volatile memory. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the process which CPU starts when a power supply is turned on.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an electronic camera 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an electronic camera 1 includes a photographing optical system 11, an image sensor 12, an image processing unit 13, an SDRAM 14, an LCD monitor 15, a CPU 16, a nonvolatile memory 17, and a card interface (I / F). 18, a communication interface (I / F) 19, and an operation member 20.

  The CPU 16, the nonvolatile memory 17, the card interface 18, the communication interface 19, the image processing unit 13, the SDRAM 14, and the LCD monitor 15 are connected via a bus 25.

  The photographing optical system 11 includes a plurality of lens groups including a zoom lens and a focusing lens, and forms a subject image on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 12. In order to simplify FIG. 1, the photographing optical system 11 is shown as a single lens.

  The imaging element 12 is configured by a CMOS image sensor or the like in which light receiving elements are two-dimensionally arranged on the light receiving surface. The image sensor 12 photoelectrically converts an image of the light beam that has passed through the photographing optical system 11 to generate a digital image signal. The digital image signal is input to the image processing unit 13. The image processing unit 13 performs various types of image processing (color interpolation processing, gradation conversion processing, contour enhancement processing, white balance adjustment processing, etc.) on the digital image data.

  The LCD monitor 15 is composed of a liquid crystal panel or the like. The LCD monitor 15 displays an image, an operation icon, a menu screen, and the like according to an instruction from the CPU 16. The SDRAM 14 is a volatile memory that does not retain stored contents when the power is turned off. The SDRAM 14 temporarily stores digital image data in a pre-process and post-process of image processing by the image processing unit 13 and is used when a program is executed by the CPU 16. The nonvolatile memory 17 is configured by a flash memory or the like. Since the stored contents are retained when the power is turned off, a program executed by the CPU 16 and duplicated data called a snapshot to be described later are stored.

  The CPU 16 controls the operation performed by the electronic camera 1 by executing a program stored in the nonvolatile memory 17. The CPU 16 also performs AF (autofocus) operation control and automatic exposure (AE) calculation. In the AF operation, for example, an in-focus position of a focusing lens (not shown) is obtained based on the contrast information of the through image. The through image refers to a monitor image that is repeatedly acquired by the image sensor 12 at a predetermined time interval (for example, 60 frames / second) before the release operation.

  The card interface 18 has a connector (not shown), and a storage medium 30 such as a memory card is connected to the connector. The card interface 18 writes data to the connected storage medium 30 and reads data from the storage medium 30. The storage medium 30 is configured by a memory card incorporating a semiconductor memory, a hard disk drive, or the like.

  For example, the communication interface 19 performs communication using an TCP / IP protocol with an external device connected to a connector (not shown). Through this communication, commands and data from an external device are received, and image data, audio data, and the like stored in the storage medium 30 are transmitted to the external device. The operation member 20 includes a release button, a menu switch, and the like. The operation member 20 sends an operation signal corresponding to each operation such as a photographing operation, a mode switching operation, and an icon selection operation to the CPU 16.

  Since the electronic camera 1 according to the present embodiment is characterized by the activation process performed by the CPU 16 when the power is turned on, the following description will be focused on the activation process. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the contents stored in the nonvolatile memory 17. In FIG. 2, in the area of the fast start program, a start program for the CPU 16 to start at high speed is stored.

  In the boot loader area, a program that describes the contents that the CPU 16 executes at startup is stored. Based on the program described in the boot loader area, the CPU 16 executes the fast startup program when the power is turned on normally (step S140 described later). Further, the CPU 16 executes an OS transfer program instead of the fast startup program based on a program described in the boot loader area when the electronic camera 1 is manufactured or when an abnormality of a snapshot described later is determined (described later). Step S30). The OS transfer program is a program for expanding the contents (kernel) of the OS to a predetermined area of the SDRAM 14.

  An operating system program executed by the CPU 16 is stored in the OS area. An application program executed by the CPU 16 is stored in the application program area. The application program of this embodiment includes a mode determination program and each mode processing program. The mode determination program is a program for determining an operation mode based on a mode switching operation signal from the operation member 20. The mode processing program is a program for performing processing of the determined operation mode. The mode processing program includes, for example, a shooting processing program, a reproduction processing program, a menu processing program, and a communication processing program.

  The shooting process program is a program for shooting in the “shooting process” mode. The reproduction processing program is a program for displaying a reproduction image on the LCD monitor 15 in the “reproduction processing” mode. The menu processing program is a program for displaying an operation menu on the LCD monitor 15 in the “menu processing” mode and receiving an operation signal from the operation member 20 corresponding to the displayed menu item. The communication processing program is a program for communicating with an external device in the “communication processing” mode.

  The data area stores information necessary for executing each program described above. In the snapshot area, the contents of a register set in a predetermined area of the SDRAM 14 at the time of program execution and the “replication” of the contents of the SDRAM 14 managed by the OS are stored. The recording of the “replication” in the non-volatile memory 17 is performed by the CPU 16 when the electronic camera 1 is manufactured or when it is determined that the snapshot is abnormal. When executing the above-described fast startup program, the CPU 16 reproduces the register setting information and information managed by the OS on the SDRAM 14 by using “replication” stored in the snapshot area.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing that the CPU 16 starts when the power is turned on (an ON operation signal is input from the operation member 20). In step S10 of FIG. 3, the CPU 16 performs a boot loader process. Specifically, the CPU 16 activates the boot loader program and proceeds to step S20. In step S20, the CPU 16 determines whether the snapshot is normal. In general, when the nonvolatile memory 17 normally holds stored contents, the stored contents of the nonvolatile memory 17 do not change. Therefore, the CPU 16 determines whether or not there is an abnormality using the checksum by providing a checksum when the “replica” is recorded in the nonvolatile memory 17.

  The CPU 16 forms a data string when the sum of numerical values constituting the “duplicate” data string read from the snapshot area of the nonvolatile memory 17 records “duplicate” in the snapshot area of the nonvolatile memory 17. If the sum does not coincide with the sum of the numerical values, a negative determination (abnormality determination) is made in step S20 and the process proceeds to step S30. Here, even when “Duplicate” is not recorded in the snapshot area of the non-volatile memory 17 as in the first start-up after manufacturing, the sum of the numerical values constituting the data string does not match, so step S20 Negative decision. On the other hand, if the above sums match, the CPU 16 makes an affirmative determination (normal determination) in step S20 and proceeds to step S140.

  The CPU 16 that has affirmed the determination in step S20 executes the fast startup program as the startup process at the time of normal determination. In step S140, the CPU 16 activates the fast activation program using the “replication” stored in the snapshot area of the nonvolatile memory 17, and proceeds to step S80. When the high-speed startup program is started, the same register and OS management information as when the processing of step S30 to step S70 is executed is reproduced on the SDRAM 14 without performing the processing of steps S30 to S70 described later. .

  The CPU 16 that makes a negative determination in step S20 performs the processing from step S30 to step S70 as the startup processing at the time of abnormality determination. In step S30, the CPU 16 executes the OS transfer program and proceeds to step S40. In step S40, the CPU 16 starts activation of the OS program and proceeds to step S50. In step S50, the CPU 16 initializes the driver and proceeds to step S60. Initialization refers to setting contents such as parameters in a driver to a predetermined initial state.

  In step S60, the CPU 16 starts a mode determination program and proceeds to step S70. In step S <b> 70, the CPU 16 creates a snapshot in the snapshot area of the nonvolatile memory 17. Specifically, the CPU 16 records the register information in the SDRAM 14 and uses the SDRAM 14 by the OS program by performing the above-described processing of Step S30 to Step S60. The CPU 16 updates and records “duplicate” of the content stored in the SDRAM 14 in the snapshot area in the nonvolatile memory 17 immediately before executing the mode determination program and determining the mode, and proceeds to step S80.

  In step S80, the CPU 16 performs mode determination. If the CPU 16 determines “shooting process”, it proceeds to step S90. If the CPU 16 determines “reproduction processing”, it proceeds to step S100. If the CPU 16 determines “menu processing”, the process proceeds to step S110. If the CPU 16 determines “communication processing”, the process proceeds to step S120.

  In step S90, the CPU 16 activates the photographing processing program and proceeds to step S130. In step S100, the CPU 16 activates the reproduction processing program and proceeds to step S130. In step S110, the CPU 16 activates the menu processing program and proceeds to step S130. In step S120, the CPU 16 activates the communication processing program and proceeds to step S130.

  In step S130, the CPU 16 determines whether or not the power is off. When an off operation signal is input from the operation member 20, the CPU 16 makes a positive determination in step S130, performs a predetermined power-off process, and ends the process of FIG. When the off operation signal is not input from the operation member 20, the CPU 16 makes a negative determination in step S130 and returns to step S80. When returning to step S80, the above-described processing is repeated.

According to the embodiment described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) The electronic camera 1 reproduces the contents held by the SDRAM 14 immediately before executing the SDRAM 14 used when executing the program and the determination program for determining the mode to be executed among the plurality of modes. And a CPU 16 that reproduces the above contents in the SDRAM 14 based on a copy held in the nonvolatile memory 17 when the power is turned on, so that a plurality of snapshots are held. It is possible to start up quickly so that the execution mode at power-on can be quickly switched.

(2) In the electronic camera 1 of (1), the electronic camera 1 further includes a CPU 16 that determines whether or not the duplication held in the nonvolatile memory 17 is normal immediately after the power is turned on. Reproduce the above content. As a result, when the duplication is not normal, it is possible to prevent the SDRAM 14 from being erroneously reproduced.

(3) In the electronic camera 1 of the above (2), a non-volatile memory 17 that holds an operation system program and a determination program based on the operation system program held in the non-volatile memory 17 when a negative determination is made by the CPU 16 A CPU 16 that reproduces the contents held in the SDRAM 14 immediately before execution in the SDRAM 14 is further provided. Thereby, when the replication is not normal, the snapshot can be recreated. That is, the operation system program is executed to acquire the contents held in the SDRAM 14 immediately before the determination program is executed.

(4) Since the electronic camera 1 of (3) is further provided with the CPU 16 for updating the copy held in the non-volatile memory 17 with the reproduced content, the update is performed with the content of the abnormal copy recreated. Can do.

(Modification 1)
At the time of manufacturing the electronic camera 1, when “duplicate” is first recorded in the snapshot area of the non-volatile memory 17, another program (for example, a fast startup program or an application program) for the non-volatile memory 17 is recorded. At this time, “duplicate” may be recorded (installed) together.

(Modification 2)
The mode determination program activated in step S60 (FIG. 3) of the above-described embodiment is, for example, “shooting process”, “reproduction process”, “ A menu process "and a" communication process "may be determined.

(Modification 3)
The mode determination program activated in step S60 (FIG. 3) is based on the icon displayed on the LCD monitor 15 and the touch position detection signal from the touch operation member stacked on the display surface of the LCD monitor 15. “Processing”, “Reproduction processing”, “Menu processing”, and “Communication processing” may be determined. For example, the CPU 16 displays on the LCD monitor 15 an icon representing a camera, an icon representing a right-pointing triangle, an icon representing a tool, and an icon representing an antenna. The CPU 16 determines an operation mode corresponding to the icon displayed at the touch position indicated by the detection signal from the touch operation member constituting the operation member 20.

(Modification 4)
In step S70 (FIG. 3) of the above embodiment, when "duplicate" is updated and recorded in the snapshot area, a message is displayed on the LCD monitor 15 to inform the user that the snapshot abnormality has been determined. It may be. For example, the CPU 16 causes the LCD monitor 15 to display “Since an abnormality has been detected, it will be repaired.”

(Modification 5)
In step S70 (FIG. 3) of the above embodiment, a message is displayed on the LCD monitor 15 without updating “duplicate” in the snapshot area so that the user is informed that the snapshot abnormality has been determined. It may be. For example, the CPU 16 causes the LCD monitor 15 to display “Abnormality has been detected. Would you like to repair it?”. When an operation signal for instructing restoration is input from the operation member 20 by a user operation (for example, operation of a snapshot switch), the CPU 16 updates and records “duplicate” in the snapshot area.

(Modification 6)
In step S70 (FIG. 3) of the above embodiment, only a warning display may be performed by displaying a message on the LCD monitor 15 without updating and recording “duplicate” in the snapshot area. The CPU 16 causes the LCD monitor 15 to display, for example, “Abnormality has been detected. Please bring it to the service center”.

(Modification 7)
Although the electronic camera 1 has been described as an example, the present invention can be applied to devices other than the camera as long as the electronic device is equipped with an OS.

  The above description is merely an example, and is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic camera 12 ... Image pick-up element 14 ... SDRAM
15 ... LCD monitor 16 ... CPU
17 ... Nonvolatile memory 19 ... Communication interface

Claims (6)

Volatile memory used during program execution, and
A first nonvolatile memory holding a copy of the first information held by the volatile memory immediately before executing a determination program for determining a mode to be executed among a plurality of modes;
First reproduction means for reproducing the first information in the volatile memory based on the copy held in the first nonvolatile memory in response to power-on;
An activation device comprising: The activation device according to claim 1,
Determination means for determining whether or not the copy held in the first nonvolatile memory immediately after the power-on is normal;
The first reproduction unit reproduces the first information in the volatile memory when the determination unit determines normality. The activation device according to claim 2,
A second nonvolatile memory for holding an operation system program;
Second reproduction means for reproducing, in the volatile memory, second information immediately before executing the determination program based on the operation system program held in the second nonvolatile memory when a negative determination is made by the determination means. When,
An activation device further comprising: In the starting device according to claim 3,
An activation apparatus, further comprising: an updating unit that updates the copy held in the first nonvolatile memory with the second information reproduced by the second reproduction unit. The activation device according to claim 2,
An activation device further comprising notification means for notifying that if the determination means makes a negative determination. In the starting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The determination apparatus includes a program for determining a setting state of a mode setting operation member or a program for executing a mode setting process.

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