JP2016210093A - Image processing apparatus, control method thereof, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mechanism which determines, via a network, whether shutdown processing is completed normally even when an image processor is shut down remotely.SOLUTION: On receiving remote shutdown notice for ending an image processor 1 from an external terminal as a user terminal, a controller 3 of the image processor executes first end processing for ending software executed by the image processor 1. Once the first end processing is completed, destination information indicative of the external terminal is reported to a network part, and second end processing for ending hardware of the image processor 1 is executed. Further, the network part of the image processor determines whether the second end processing is completed normally and transmits a result of the determination to the external terminal that the destination information indicates.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a control method thereof, and a program for notifying an operator that shutdown has been completed when the power is turned off remotely via a network.

  An image processing apparatus having a network connection function in recent years has a function (remote shutdown function) for turning off the power by a user's remote operation. In addition, a function of turning on power by a user's remote operation (remote power on) is also provided. The remote shutdown function is generally performed by a user connecting to an image processing apparatus from an external terminal with HTTP and instructing shutdown via a browser. The remote power-on function is generally performed by transmitting a magic packet to an image processing apparatus that has been slightly supplied with power to the network communication control unit.

  As described above, since recent image processing apparatuses are multifunctional, the shutdown process is complicated, and there are cases where the shutdown process cannot be normally terminated due to a hang-up during the shutdown process. In the conventional remote shutdown, it is impossible to connect to the image processing apparatus after the HTTP communication is stopped, and it is impossible to determine whether or not the remote shutdown process is normally completed.

  However, it is required to notify the user who performs the remote operation whether the remote shutdown process is not normally terminated due to a hang-up after HTTP communication is stopped or the remote shutdown process is normally terminated. . For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for uniformly managing power off / on of a plurality of image processing apparatuses connected to a network. Patent Document 2 proposes a technique for determining that the state of an image processing apparatus connected to a network is in a shutdown state from a PC via a network and determining that the power is turned off when communication becomes impossible. ing.

JP 2001-216118 A JP 2013-127729 A

  However, the above prior art has the following problems. The above prior art simply allows the use status of a plurality of image processing apparatuses connected to the network to be managed in real time, or when the power of the image processing apparatus is turned off. A message indicating that the image processing apparatus is powered off is displayed.

  For example, even when a remote shutdown is performed by the user, if the software hangs up during the shutdown process, it is generally timed by the hardware timer, and the power is forcibly turned off by the hardware after a predetermined time. Is. In such a case, it is impossible for the user to determine via the network whether the remote shutdown has been properly performed or whether the user has hung up during the shutdown process after stopping the HTTP. On the other hand, if the user confirms and confirms the image processing apparatus in order to confirm whether the remote shutdown is correctly completed, the convenience of the remote shutdown is significantly impaired.

  In the above prior art, a plurality of image processing apparatuses connected to the network can be managed in real time by performing network communication. However, after the shutdown process is started and the network function is stopped, communication with the image processing apparatus cannot be performed, and the user cannot know whether the remote shutdown has been properly performed. Further, in the above-described conventional technology, it is possible to make a determination based on the state acquired from the image processing device and whether or not the network communication with the image processing device is possible and display the state of the image processing device on a PC that communicates with the image processing device. It is. However, after the shutdown process is started and the network function is stopped, communication with the image processing apparatus cannot be performed, and in this case, it is impossible to display the state of the image processing apparatus.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has a mechanism for determining whether or not shutdown processing has been normally completed via a network even when the image processing apparatus is shut down by remote shutdown. The purpose is to provide.

  The present invention is an image processing apparatus, wherein a communication unit that is communicably connected to an external terminal, and a remote shutdown notification that terminates the image processing apparatus by the communication unit are received from the external terminal. A first end process for ending software executed in the apparatus is executed, and when the first end process is completed, destination information indicating the external terminal is notified to the communication unit, and the hardware of the image processing apparatus is Control means for executing a second end process to be ended, and the communication means determines whether or not the second end process by the control means has ended normally, and the external terminal indicated by the destination information The determination result is transmitted.

  According to the present invention, even when the image processing apparatus is shut down by remote shutdown, it can be determined via the network whether the shutdown process has been normally completed.

The block diagram which shows the internal structure of an image processing apparatus. The block diagram of the controller part in an image processing device. The flowchart 1 which shows the process sequence of this invention. The flowchart 2 which shows the process sequence of this invention. The flowchart 3 which shows the process sequence of this invention. The flowchart 4 which shows the process sequence of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the present embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the present invention. .

<Configuration of image processing apparatus>
First, a configuration example of an image processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus 1 includes a scanner device 2, a controller (control means) 3, a printer device 4, an operation unit 5, an auxiliary storage device 6, a power supply unit (power supply control unit) 7, and a power switch 8. Is provided. The scanner device 2 includes a document feeding unit 21 and a scanner unit 22. The printer device 4 includes a marking unit 41, a paper feed unit 42, and a paper discharge unit 43.

  The scanner device 2 optically reads an image from a document, converts it into a digital image, and outputs it. The printer device 4 outputs a digital image to a paper device. The operation unit 5 is a user interface for operating the image processing apparatus 1. The auxiliary storage device 6 stores a digital image, a control program, and the like. The power supply unit 7 controls power supply to the scanner device 2, the printer device 4, and the controller 3. The power switch 8 is a hardware switch for controlling ON / OFF of power supply from the power supply unit 7. The controller 3 is connected to these components and executes a job on the image processing apparatus 1 by giving an instruction to each module.

  The image processing apparatus 1 is communicably connected to a computer 9 that is an external terminal via the LAN 10, and can receive digital image input / output, job issuance, device instructions, and the like from the computer 9. The LAN 10 and the controller 3 are connected by a LAN I / F (communication means) 208 provided in the controller 3.

  The scanner device 2 includes a document feeding unit 21 that can automatically and sequentially replace a bundle of documents, and a scanner unit 22 that can optically scan a document and convert it into a digital image. Is transmitted to the controller 3. The printer device 4 includes a marking unit 41 for printing image data on the fed paper, a paper feeding unit 42 that can sequentially feed one sheet at a time from a bundle of paper, and a discharge unit for discharging the printed paper. And a paper unit 43.

  Next, a control configuration of the controller 3 in the image processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The controller 3 includes a main board 200 and a sub board 220. The main board 200 is a so-called general-purpose CPU system, and includes a CPU 201 that controls the entire board, a boot ROM 202 that includes a boot program, and a memory 203 that the CPU uses as a work memory. The main board 200 includes a bus controller 204 having a bridge function with an external bus, a nonvolatile memory 205 that does not disappear even when the power is turned off, and a disk controller 206 that controls the storage device. Further, the main board 200 includes a flash disk (SSD or the like) 207 that is a relatively small capacity storage device composed of semiconductor devices, an interface LAN I / F 208 for network connection to the outside, a power control circuit 209, and the like. Is provided. The main board 200 is connected to the operation unit 5 and the auxiliary storage device 6.

  The sub board 220 is a relatively small general-purpose CPU system and image processing hardware, and includes a CPU 221 that controls the entire board and a memory 223 that the CPU uses as a work memory. In the present invention, it is assumed that the memory 223 is nonvolatile, and an example of the nonvolatile memory is MRAM. The sub board 220 includes a bus controller 224 having a bridge function with an external bus, and a nonvolatile memory 225 that does not disappear even when the power is turned off. Further, the sub board 220 includes an image processor 227 that performs real-time digital image processing and a device controller 226. The device controller 226 is connected to the scanner device 2 and the printer device 4.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram and is simplified. For example, the CPU 201, the CPU 221 and the like include a large number of CPU peripheral hardware such as a chip set, a bus bridge, and a clock generator, but are simply described because they are not necessary for the granularity of explanation. In other words, the present invention is not intended to be limited to this block configuration.

  Here, as a detailed operation of the controller 3, an image copy by a paper device will be described as an example. When the user instructs image copying from the operation unit 5, the CPU 201 sends an image reading command to the scanner device 2 via the CPU 221. The scanner device 2 optically scans a paper document, converts it into digital image data, and inputs the image data to the image processor 227 via the device controller 226. The image processor 227 performs DMA transfer to the memory 223 via the CPU 221 and temporarily stores the digital image data.

  When the CPU 201 confirms that a certain area of the memory 223 is filled with the digital image data or all the areas are filled, the CPU 201 outputs an image output instruction to the printer device 4 via the CPU 221. The CPU 221 notifies the image processor 227 of the position of the image data in the memory 223. Thereafter, the image data on the memory 223 is transmitted to the printer device 4 via the image processor 227 and the device controller 226 in accordance with the synchronization signal from the printer device 4, and is printed on the paper device by the printer device 4 according to the digital image data. When printing a plurality of copies, the CPU 201 stores the image data in the memory 223 in the auxiliary storage device 6, so that the second and subsequent copies are transferred to the printer device 4 without transferring images from the scanner device 2. Can be sent.

<First Embodiment>
The first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, a remote shutdown processing procedure performed by the CPU 201 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The processing described below is realized by the CPU 201 reading the control program stored in the boot ROM 202, the nonvolatile memory 205, and the auxiliary storage device 6 into the memory 203 and executing the control program. The processing described below is started when a remote shutdown notification is received by the LAN I / F 208 from an external terminal operated by a user (operator).

  In S301, the CPU 201 stops the shutdown timer when the remote shutdown of the image processing apparatus is started. The shutdown timer here measures the elapsed time after starting the shutdown process to forcibly shut off the power after a certain period of time, such as when the shutdown process cannot be performed due to a hang-up during the shutdown process. It is a timer. When the shutdown timer is stopped, the CPU 201 holds the IP address (destination information) of the remote shutdown request source in the memory 203 in S302.

  Next, in S303, the CPU 201 executes an end process (first end process) of each software. Examples of the software end process include a file system end process and a task stop, which vary from system to system. The CPU 201 sequentially executes software termination processing, determines whether or not the software termination processing is completed in S304, and proceeds to S305 when the software termination processing is completed. Notice.

  Subsequently, in S306, the CPU 201 executes a hardware end process (second end process). Examples of hardware termination processing include various cache flush processing, termination processing of various devices mounted on the main board 200, termination processing of the sub board 220, termination notification to the scanner device and printer device, and the like. This also varies from system to system. Further, the LAN I / F 208 is terminated as part of the hardware termination process, and the LAN I / F 208 is notified that remote shutdown is to be performed. The CPU 201 sequentially executes hardware end processing. In S307, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the hardware end processing is completed. End the remote shutdown process. Here, the shutdown completion flag being set indicates that a setting value indicating that the shutdown process has been completed is set in the flag.

  When the flag is set, the image processing apparatus 1 is in a state where power is supplied only to the LAN I / F 208. Here, the power control state of the image processing apparatus 1 will be described. The image processing apparatus 1 includes, as power control states, a normal state in which power is supplied to all loads of the image processing apparatus 1, a first stop state in which power is supplied only to the network unit, and the image processing apparatus 1 And a second stop state in which power supply to all the loads is stopped. Therefore, the state in which the flag is set indicates the first stop state. Control may be performed so as to shift to the second stop state when the processing of FIG. 4 described later is completed, that is, when the result of the remote shutdown processing is notified to the computer 9 that is an external terminal. Further, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, a state in which a transition is made in the state in which the flag is set may be configured to be set via the operation unit 5. In this case, at the stage where the flag is set, finally, a transition state is selected according to the setting information set via the operation unit 5.

  Next, a processing procedure performed by a CPU (not shown) mounted on the LAN I / F 208 will be described with reference to FIG. The process described below is executed when the notification in S305 is received.

  When the remote shutdown of the image processing apparatus 1 is started, the CPU 201 notifies that the remote shutdown process is performed in S401, and the IP address (destination information) of the remote shutdown request source is notified in S402. When the notification is received from the CPU 201, in step S403, the LAN I / F 208 executes a transition process for transitioning itself to the remote shutdown state. Specifically, in preparation for remote power-on, processing necessary for activation by receiving a magic packet is performed. When the transition process for transitioning to the remote shutdown state is completed, the LAN I / F 208 checks a flag that the CPU 201 sets in the power supply control circuit 209 in S404.

  In step S405, the LAN I / F 208 determines whether the flag is set and the remote shutdown on the CPU 201 side is completed. Based on the result of the determination, if completed, the process proceeds to S408, a packet indicating normal termination of remote shutdown is transmitted to the IP address notified in S402, and the remote shutdown process is terminated. The transmission may be performed by e-mail, for example. On the other hand, if the flag is not set and the remote shutdown on the CPU 201 side is not completed, the process proceeds to S406, and the LAN I / F 208 determines whether or not a timeout has occurred because there may be a problem on the CPU 201 side. To do. The time-out here is that the elapsed time from the notification of the IP address (destination information) from the controller 3 to the completion of the hardware end processing (second end processing) in the LAN I / F 208 is a predetermined time. Assume that the time has passed. If not timed out, the process returns to S404 to wait for the remote shutdown process on the CPU 201 side to be completed, and the flag that the main CPU sets in the power supply control circuit 209 is checked again. If timed out in S406, the process proceeds to S407, and the LAN I / F 208 determines that a problem has occurred in the remote shutdown processing on the CPU 201 side, controls the power supply control circuit 209, and forcibly turns off the power. When the power is forcibly cut off, the process proceeds to S408, and the LAN I / F 208 transmits a packet indicating abnormal termination of remote shutdown to the IP address notified in S402, and ends the remote shutdown process.

  As described above, the image processing apparatus mainly includes the network unit (communication means) such as the LAN I / F 208 that is communicably connected to the external terminal and the controller (control means) 3. When the controller 3 receives a remote shutdown notification for terminating the image processing apparatus 1 from an external terminal that is a user terminal, the controller 3 executes a first termination process for terminating the software executed on the image processing apparatus 1. Further, when the first end process is completed, the destination information indicating the external terminal is notified to the network unit, and the second end process for ending the hardware of the image processing apparatus 1 is executed. The network unit determines whether or not the second end process has ended normally, and transmits the result of the determination to the external terminal indicated by the destination information. Thereby, in this embodiment, even when the image processing apparatus is shut down by remote shutdown, it is possible to determine whether or not the shutdown process is normally completed via the network.

<Second Embodiment>
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. First, a remote shutdown processing procedure performed by the CPU 201 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The processing described below is realized by the CPU 201 reading the control program stored in the boot ROM 202, the nonvolatile memory 205, and the auxiliary storage device 6 into the memory 203 and executing the control program. In addition, about the process similar to the flowchart of FIG. 3 in the said 1st Embodiment, the same number is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted. That is, in the present embodiment, the branch process in the hardware end process in S306 is different.

  During the execution of the hardware termination process by the CPU 201 in S306, a hang-up or the like may occur. As an example of a hang-up, there is a case where a hardware state change is awaited, but the hardware state does not change for some reason, and an infinite loop occurs. When the power is forcibly turned off by the hardware timer in such a state, the auxiliary storage device 6 such as an HDD may break down due to the configuration. This is not specific to the image processing apparatus 1 but can occur widely in the entire image processing apparatus. When the image processing apparatus 1 hangs up, for example, Magic SysRq is a method for preventing a logical failure of the auxiliary storage device 6 before forcibly turning off the power. With Magic SysRq, it is possible to interrupt the OS by pressing the SysRq key (input means) provided in the information processing apparatus, and to prevent the file system of the information processing apparatus from being broken. Therefore, the image processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with the SysRq key in the operation unit 5. If the key hangs up during execution of the hardware termination process, the key can be pressed by the user.

  If a hang-up occurs during the execution of the hardware termination process in S306, the process branches to S501 and the CPU 201 generates an interrupt. Thereby, the user who performed the remote shutdown can know the hang-up during the hardware termination process by S607 in FIG. If a hang-up occurs during the execution of the hardware termination process in S306, the user interrupts the OS by pressing a special key on the image processing apparatus 1, and performs the synchronization process of the auxiliary storage device 6 such as the HDD. It becomes possible to suppress logic failure.

  Next, a processing procedure performed by a CPU (not shown) mounted on the LAN I / F 208 will be described with reference to FIG. The process described below is executed when the notification in S305 is received. In addition, about the process similar to the flowchart of FIG. 4 in the said 1st Embodiment, the same number is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted. That is, in the present embodiment, the processing procedure is the same as that in FIG. 4 except that the processing of forcibly turning off the power in S407 is omitted. Specifically, if it is determined in S406 that a timeout has occurred, the process proceeds to S408 without executing the process in S407, and a packet indicating normal termination of remote shutdown is transmitted to the IP address notified in S402. Terminates the shutdown process. As described with reference to FIG. 5, this is not necessary because an interruption is generated and HDD synchronization processing is performed when a hang-up occurs during execution of the hardware termination processing in S306.

  As described above, unlike the first embodiment, the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment interrupts the OS in response to a user operation instead of the control for forcibly turning off the power by the hardware timer. And the synchronization process of the auxiliary storage device 6 is executed. As a result, it is possible to determine whether the shutdown process has been normally completed even when the image processing apparatus is shut down by remote shutdown, as in the first embodiment, while preventing the failure of the auxiliary storage device 6. It can be determined via the network.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program This process can be realized. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

  1: image processing device, 2: scanner device, 3: controller, 4: printer device, 5: operation unit, 6: auxiliary storage device, 7: power supply unit, power switch, 9: computer, 21: document feeding unit, 22: Scanner unit, 41: Marking unit, 42: Paper feed unit, 43: Paper discharge unit

Claims (12)

An image processing apparatus,
A communication means communicably connected to an external terminal;
When a remote shutdown notification for terminating the image processing apparatus is received from the external terminal by the communication means, a first termination process for terminating software executed in the image processing apparatus is executed, and the first termination process is performed. Upon completion, control means for notifying the communication means of destination information indicating the external terminal and executing second end processing for ending the hardware of the image processing apparatus,
The communication means includes
An image processing apparatus that determines whether or not the second end processing by the control means has ended normally and transmits the determination result to the external terminal indicated by the destination information. The communication means includes
When the elapsed time from the notification of the destination information from the control unit to the completion of the second end process by the control unit exceeds a predetermined time, the second end process by the control unit is abnormally terminated. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination is performed. The communication means includes
The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the second end process by the control unit is determined to have ended abnormally, the image processing apparatus is forcibly turned off. The control means includes
The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when an interrupt occurs during the execution of the second end process, a synchronization process of a storage unit provided in the image processing apparatus is executed.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an input unit that is operated by an operator to generate the interrupt.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the communication unit includes a timer for measuring the elapsed time.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein transmission of the determination result to the external terminal by the communication unit is performed by electronic mail.   A normal state in which power is supplied to all loads of the image processing apparatus, a first stop state in which power is supplied only to the communication means, or a load to all loads of the image processing apparatus The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a power control unit that controls the power supply to a second stop state. The power control means includes
When the second end process by the control means executed after receiving the remote shutdown notification is completed, the process proceeds to the second stop state,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein when the communication unit shifts to the second stop state, the communication unit transmits the determination result to the external terminal. Further comprising setting means for setting whether to shift the image processing apparatus to the first stop state or the second stop state after receiving the remote shutdown notification;
The power control means includes
When the second end process by the control means executed after receiving the remote shutdown notification is completed, the process shifts to a stop state set by the setting means,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein when the communication unit shifts to a stop state set by the setting unit, the communication unit transmits the determination result to the external terminal. A control method of an image processing apparatus comprising a communication unit and a control unit that are communicably connected to an external terminal,
When the control means receives a remote shutdown notification for ending the image processing apparatus from the external terminal by the communication means, executing a first ending process for ending software executed in the image processing apparatus;
When the control unit completes the first end process, the control unit notifies the communication unit of destination information indicating the external terminal, and executes a second end process to end the hardware of the image processing device;
And a step of determining whether or not the second end processing has ended normally and transmitting the result of the determination to the external terminal indicated by the destination information. Control method.   The program for making a computer perform each process in the control method of the image processing apparatus of Claim 11.

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