JP2001356940A - Processor, its method and computer readable memory - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a processor capable of confirming operation history of software even without connecting a measuring instrument with peripheral equipment to be developed, its method and a computer readable memory. SOLUTION: Generation of prescribed events in relation to a control operation is detected and the detected generation of the events is time sequentially stored. And the stored time sequential events are stored as the operation history of an operation program.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing device for executing a predetermined control operation in accordance with an operation program incorporated in advance, a method thereof, and a computer-readable memory.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the development of embedded software for peripheral devices, there are many cases where a problem with extremely low reproducibility occurs during software development or software evaluation. Usually, in order to identify the cause of such a problem with low reproducibility, a special or general-purpose measuring instrument or the like is often required in addition to the equipment under development.

[0003]

However, it is very inefficient to connect a measuring instrument to all the devices under development or evaluation and wait for a phenomenon in which it is difficult to identify the point of occurrence. is there. Also, since the absolute number of measuring instruments owned by the development department is usually smaller than the number of peripheral devices to be developed,
There is a problem that it is difficult to specify the cause with a measuring instrument.

In such a case, with the rapid networking of offices in recent years, the problematic phenomenon often occurs only in a specific environment, and depending on the environment, It may be difficult to connect a measuring instrument.

Recently, an interface (I / F) for connecting a large-capacity storage device to an image forming apparatus has been provided.
In many cases, it is already incorporated as a product specification in advance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and provides a processing apparatus and method capable of confirming the operation history of software without connecting a measuring instrument to a peripheral device to be developed, and a computer-readable memory. The purpose is to provide.

Another object of the present invention is to identify the cause of a failure in a control program of an apparatus to some extent, even at a place other than the site or after the fact, without the need for a measuring instrument. It is an object of the present invention to provide a processing apparatus, a method thereof, and a computer-readable memory that can easily solve a problem with low reproducibility and a problem that occurs only in a special environment where a measuring instrument cannot be connected.

[0008]

The processing apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object has the following arrangement. That is, a processing device that executes a predetermined control operation according to an operation program incorporated in advance, and a detection unit that detects occurrence of a predetermined event related to the control operation,
A storage unit that stores the occurrence of the event detected by the detection unit in a time-series manner; and a storage unit that stores the time-series event stored in the storage unit as an operation history of the operation program.

Preferably, the detecting operation by the detecting means, the storing operation by the storing means, and the storing operation by the storing means are incorporated in the operation program as a part of the program.

[0010] Preferably, the event stored in the storage means is copied to a predetermined area of the storage means after the storage.

Preferably, when the amount of the event from the storage means reaches an amount exceeding the capacity of a predetermined area of the storage means, a new event is overwritten on the predetermined area.

[0012] Preferably, the storage means is a non-volatile storage medium physically removable from the processing apparatus.

Preferably, the storage means stores the occurrence time of the event and the time of occurrence of the event in chronological order.

Preferably, the operation history and / or
Alternatively, the occurrence time is created as text format data.

A processing method according to the present invention for achieving the above object has the following arrangement. That is, a processing method for executing a predetermined control operation in accordance with an operation program incorporated in advance, comprising: a detection step of detecting occurrence of a predetermined event related to the control operation; and an occurrence of the event detected in the detection step. And a storage step of storing the time-series events stored in the storage medium as an operation history of the operation program.

A computer readable memory according to the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is,
A computer readable memory stored with a program code of a process of performing a predetermined control operation according to a pre-installed operation program, and a program code of a detection step of detecting occurrence of a predetermined event related to the control operation, A program code for a storage step for storing the occurrence of an event detected in the detection step in a time-series manner in a storage medium, and a storage for storing the time-series event stored in the storage medium as an operation history of the operation program Process code.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image input / output device according to a first embodiment.

In the image input / output device 100 shown in FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes an image input device (hereinafter, referred to as a reader unit) which optically reads a document and converts it into image data. The reader unit 101 includes a scanner unit 103 having a function of actually reading a document optically,
A document feed unit (hereinafter referred to as a DF) having a function of transporting a document so that the scanner unit 103 can read the document.
Unit 102).

Reference numeral 105 denotes an image output device (hereinafter, referred to as a printer unit) having a plurality of types of recording paper cassettes (not shown), and outputting image data as visible images on recording paper in accordance with a print command. This printer unit 105
Is a printer unit 106 having a function of transferring and fixing image data on recording paper, and a finisher unit 107 for sorting, stapling, etc., the recording paper on which the image is fixed.
It consists of.

Reference numeral 104 denotes a control device (hereinafter, referred to as a control unit), which is electrically connected to the reader unit 101 and executes various functions. The control unit 104 includes, as circuits (functional units) for executing various functions, for example, a fax communication unit, a computer I / F (interface) communication unit,
An image processing unit, a PDL formatter unit, and an operation unit I / F are provided.

Reference numeral 108 denotes an operation unit of the image input / output device 100. The operation unit 108 includes, for example, a large-sized liquid crystal touch panel, and allows the user to easily give an execution instruction to the image input / output device 100. It has a function as an F section.

The image input / output device 100 including the reader unit 101, the control unit 104, the printer unit 105, and the operation unit 108 can communicate with an external device via the control unit 104. Therefore, the image input / output device 1
00 includes a network (hereinafter, LAN)
(Generally called Ethernet (registered trademark))
20 are connected.

Reference numerals 112 and 118 denote personal computers (PCs) which are usually used by a user to create documents. Of these, PC 11 is LAN1
It is possible to exchange e-mail with another computer connected to the PC 20 and to browse HTML by a service of a server (such as an HTTP server) on the LAN.

Reference numeral 114 denotes a computer having a function as a workstation (WS).
Is a fax machine. The fax device 113
It is possible to communicate with the image input / output device 100 via the LAN 120, and the facsimile device 117 is configured to be able to communicate with the image input / output device 100 via the public line (G3 or G4) 125.

Reference numeral 111 denotes a printer, and 115 denotes a scanner. Reference numeral 121 denotes a computer I / F.
And generally, RS232C, Centronics I
/ F, IEEE 1284, SCSI, and the like.

Hereinafter, the operation of the image input / output device 100 will be described. However, since the reader unit 101 and the printer unit 105 have no direct relation to the present invention, the description is omitted here.

First, the control unit 1 of the image input / output device 100
The configuration and operation of the device 04 will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a signal processing configuration of the control unit 104 according to the first embodiment.

Referring to FIG.
Are mainly a central control unit (CPU) 502, a RIP (ra
This is a one-chip microcomputer constituted by a Ster image processor (503).

The CPU 502 is a central control unit for causing each functional block of the control unit 104 to execute processing described later. The RIP 503 converts the PDL format such as PS, PCL, etc.
It has a function of developing in accordance with the instruction of U502 and converting it into an image format (bitmap) that can be output by the printer unit 105 connected to the control unit 104. Further, the controller chip 501 has a built-in PCI controller for controlling a PCI bus described later.

The connectors 515 and 518 are composed of a bidirectional asynchronous serial I / F and a video I / F, of which the connector 515 is connected to the scanner unit 103 and the connector 518 is connected to the printer unit 105. Have been.

The CPU 502 transmits a control command to the scanner unit 103 via the connector 515, requests image transfer, and receives image information from the scanner unit 103. Also, the CPU 50
2 is the printer unit 10 via the connector 518.
The control unit 5 transmits a control command to the printer unit 5 and requests image transfer, and transmits image information to the printer unit 105.

A scanner image processing circuit 516 is an image processing circuit for performing image processing on an image transferred from the scanner unit 103.
Controlled via O. This scanner image processing circuit 51
The 6 main functions include an RGB phase correction function, a background removal function, a character judgment function, an image processing function, a chromatic color judgment / count function, a main scanning scaling function, a binarization function, a contour / edge emphasis function, and the like. No.

The above-described RGB phase correction function corrects a reading phase (sub-scanning position) deviation between the respective color components of the scanner unit 103. The background removal function is for removing a background color in an image input from the scanner unit 103. The character determination function is a function of determining an edge area of a character / thin line portion.

As the image processing function, an italic function for converting a corresponding portion in an image determined as a character by the above-described character determination function into italic, a mirror image function for inverting an image to a mirror image,
There is a repeat function capable of outputting a plurality of identical images.

The chromatic color judgment / counting function separates a color character from a black character and controls a character signal. In addition, this function determines whether the document image read by the scanner unit 103 is a monochrome image or a color image.

The main scanning magnification changing function is performed by the scanner unit 10.
3 changes the magnification of the input image from the main scanning direction.
The binarization function is a simple binarization function for binarizing a multi-level signal at a fixed slice level, a binarization function using a variable slice level in which the slice level varies from the value of a pixel around a target pixel, and an error. Includes a binarization function using the diffusion method.

The printer image processing circuit 517 is an image processing circuit for performing image processing on an image to be transferred to the printer unit 105, but a detailed description thereof is omitted here.

The image transferred from the scanner unit 103 is sent to the printer image processing circuit 517 via the controller chip 501 in accordance with the instruction from the CPU 502, and the image processed by the printer image processing circuit 517 is sent to the connector 518. Can be transferred. In the printer image processing circuit 517, the printer unit 105
By processing the image into an optimal image that can be output by the printer, requesting the printer unit 105 to output the image, and transferring the image information, an ordered image can be printed out.

The ROM 504 is a medium for storing a control program of the control device 104, and all the controls of the control device 104 described in the first embodiment are executed based on the program stored in the ROM 504.

The SDRAM 505 is a volatile storage medium used by the CPU 502 as a main memory, and the control device 104 can store various setting values required for its operation. The SDRAM 505 is
It is also possible to save image data as it is.
The contents stored in the RAM 505 are stored in the backup circuit 5.
08 and the secondary battery 509 can be backed up. Therefore, even when the power of the control device 104 is turned off, the stored contents are not lost.

The compression / decompression unit 506 has a function of compressing / decompressing an image using the RAM 507. Examples of the compression format include formats such as JPEG and JBIG. Further, the compression / decompression unit 506 can be directly connected to the controller chip 501 to exchange image data with the SDRAM 505.

Note that the compression / expansion unit 506 has a function of rotating an image in addition to a function of compressing / expanding a binary image. This rotation function converts the binarized image 90 degrees clockwise.
Degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees.

The MAC ROM 512 is a ROM for storing a network physical address. Also, 10
The / 100BASE-T connector 511 is connected to the control device 10
4 is a connector for connecting to the local network, whereby the control device 104 can transmit and receive data to and from the local network.

The MAC ROMs 512 and 10/100
The BASE-T connector 511 is connected to the controller chip 501 via the connector 510.

The operation unit I / F 513 is connected to the external operation unit 10.
8 is an I / F for connection. The operation unit 108 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display unit, a touch panel input device attached on the liquid crystal display unit, and a plurality of hard keys. A signal input by a touch panel or a hard key is transmitted to the CPU 5 via an operation unit I / F 513.
02. Also, the liquid crystal display unit has an operation unit I / F
The image input / output device 100 has a function of displaying the image data transmitted from the image input / output device 513, and can also display a function in operation of the image input / output device 100.

IEEE 1284 (514) is an IEEE standard.
1284-compliant connector and external PC 118
I / F that can be connected to The external PC 118
Scan / scan the control device 104 via the EEE1284.
A print request can be made, and status information of the image input / output device 100 can be obtained.

The LCD controller 519 has a color LC
D (not shown).
Through the CPU 502. Here, the color L connected via the LCD I / F 520
An image is displayed on a CD.

The real-time clock module 521
Is a module that counts time in real time, and has, for example, an alarm function that generates an interrupt to the CPU 502 at a specified time.

The facsimile communication unit 522 is a unit connectable to the above-mentioned public line, and is an IEEE 1284 (514)
It has a function of modulating digital data sent from the public line so that it can be sent to the public line, and a function of converting modulated data sent from the public line into digital data that can be processed in the image input / output device. This FAX communication unit 522
In addition, an image processing function unit (expansion unit 52) for exchanging images with another fax machine or the like on a public line.
3, a compression unit 524, a rotation unit 525, and a scaling unit 526), which are not directly related to the present invention.
Here, the description is omitted.

The HD I / F 528 is an interface for connecting a hard disk (HD) 529. As this interface, generally, E-ID
E and the like. The HD 529 is a large-capacity nonvolatile storage device, and is used as a plurality of applications for operating the CPU 502 or a storage device for storing image data.

The PCI bus 532 is controlled by arbitration performed by a PCI arbiter 530 which executes an arbitration function of the PCI bus. C
PU 502 is a PC built in controller chip 501.
A PCI bus 532 via an I controller (not shown).
It is possible to transfer data on
Access to I / O 527 or PCI connector 531
It is possible to communicate with other peripheral devices connected earlier.

Next, the operation of the image input / output device according to the first embodiment will be described in detail.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for obtaining the operation history of the image input / output device of the first embodiment.

In the first embodiment, the HD 529 provided in the control unit 104 will be described as an example of a large-capacity nonvolatile storage medium.

In step S601, the control unit 104
U502 first determines whether or not to take an operation history of a program when performing a normal operation. As the element to be determined, a setting backed up in advance to the SDRAM 505 is referred to. Alternatively, when the operation program stored in the ROM 504 is created in advance so as to take an operation history, the operation history is taken.

Data to be backed up in the SDRAM 505 (the same applies to the storage capacity of the HD described later) is stored in the operation unit 10.
8, the contents of the backup can be rewritten by a device developer or a device manufacturer or sales company. However, the rewriting process of the backup data is not directly related to the present invention, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In step S601, it is determined whether or not an operation history is to be taken. If it is determined that the operation history is not taken,
This processing ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the operation history is to be taken, the CPU 502 advances the process to step S602. In this step S602, the CPU 502
At the same time as securing a storage capacity for taking an operation history on the RAM 505, the HD 52 is also connected via the HD I / F 528.
A storage area of a predetermined capacity is secured in the storage area No. 9.

The storage capacity secured in the SDRAM 505 is determined by the contents of the program stored in the ROM 504 in advance. It is assumed that a value stored as backup data in the SDRAM 505 is used for the size of the storage area secured in the HD 529.

After a predetermined amount of storage area has been secured in the nonvolatile storage medium in step S602, the operation history of the program can be obtained at any time. The method of obtaining the operation history of a program is realized by incorporating a mechanism for that into the program in advance. That is, when an event occurs, the SDRAM 505 must be
A means for recording that the event has occurred is incorporated in the program of the ROM 504 in advance.

A specific method for this is to use a program created in advance to secure a variable for debugging on the SDRAM 505, and to store, for example, 0 × 000A when event A occurs, 0 when it occurs
A mechanism for writing x000B is realized by incorporating it in a program in advance.

In step S603, it is determined whether an operation history acquisition event (for example, event A) has occurred. When an operation history acquisition event occurs, the CPU of the control device 104
In step S502, the process proceeds to step S604. Also,
If it is set in advance that the event occurrence time is also saved as a history, the process proceeds to step S606; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S605.

Note that whether or not the event occurrence time is set as the operation history is determined according to the setting contents stored in the SDRAM 505.

In step S605, the occurrence of the event is written by the CPU 502 into a predetermined area of the SDRAM 505 (that is, the area secured in step S602). For example, when event A occurs, 0x000A is written to a variable on the SDRAM. Then immediately CPU
502 sets the register of the I / O 527 via the PCI bus 532 to the HD I / F 528 so that the contents written to the SDRAM 505 are transferred to the HD 529.
Is requested to be copied to a predetermined area. Where HD
The predetermined area 529 is determined by the CPU 502 in step S60.
This is the area secured in 2.

On the other hand, in step S606, step S606
In addition to the same processing as the processing in step 605, the time at which the event occurred together with the fact that the event occurred is indicated by the SDRAM 50.
5 and copy it to HD529.

In step S607, the above step S
In step 605 and step S606, the CPU 502
When the data is copied to the D529, the write position (address) is the HD52 secured in step S602.
It is determined whether or not the final position of the storage area on the storage area 9 has been reached.

Here, when the following event occurs, the HD5
If the amount of data in the operation history exceeds the storage area secured on the storage medium 29, that is, if the data amount of the operation history is larger than the capacity of the secured nonvolatile storage medium, the CPU 502 proceeds to step S6.
Proceed to 08.

In step S608, the CPU 502 returns (resets) the write position of the operation history in the nonvolatile storage medium to the first position. As a result, when an event for which the operation history needs to be acquired subsequently occurs, a process of overwriting the occurrence of the event on the storage area of the HD 529 is performed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S607 that the storage area of the nonvolatile storage medium is sufficient, or if the process of resetting the write position on the HD 529 is completed in step S608, the CPU 502 The process returns to S603, and thereafter, the same processing as described above is repeated.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, a mechanism for storing and accumulating the operation history of the software of a device to be developed in a large-capacity storage device of the device is set in advance. In this case, the operation history of the program processed by the CPU on the control device of the device can be secured in chronological order. For this reason, for example, when a specific event occurs in a specific environment, by tracking the accumulated operation history, it is possible to grasp the operation state of the program operating on the CPU without using a special measuring device. If there is a defect in the program, it can be easily corrected.

Further, since the nonvolatile storage medium has a structure detachable from the apparatus, after accumulating necessary operation histories, only the nonvolatile storage medium is removed from the image input / output apparatus, and the By analyzing the contents, for example, in a laboratory other than the place where the device was installed,
The cause of the event can be specified.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment, the case where a hard disk (HD) is used as a removable large-capacity nonvolatile storage medium has been described as an example. Is not limited to HD, for example, a DVD RAM or the like may be used.

In the second embodiment, a case will be described in which a DVD RAM is used as a non-volatile storage medium for which an operation history is to be recorded.

The image input / output device according to the second embodiment is
Since the configuration is the same as that of the image input / output device according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, illustration and description thereof are omitted here.

In the image input / output device according to the second embodiment, the DVD RAM is read and written by a DVD RAM drive connected to a SCSI-2 control card (not shown) connected to the PC connector 531. .

Hereinafter, a processing procedure for obtaining an operation history in the image input / output device according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. That is, in step S601 in FIG. 3, similarly to the first embodiment, it is determined whether or not to take the operation history of the program when performing the normal operation.

In step S602, the CPU 502
At the same time as securing a storage capacity for taking an operation history on the DRAM 505, a DVD RAM drive is accessed via the PCI bus 532 and the PCI connector 531 and the DVD inserted in the DVD RAM drive is accessed.
A storage area of a predetermined capacity is secured in the storage area of the RAM.

The storage capacity secured in the SDRAM 505 is as follows.
It is determined by the contents of the program stored in the ROM 504 in advance. As the size of the storage area secured on the DVD RAM, a value stored as backup data in the SDRAM 505 is used. Thereafter, the processing up to step S604 is the same as the processing according to the first embodiment described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

At step S605, CPU 502 writes the occurrence of the event to a predetermined area of SDRAM 505 (the area secured at step S602). even here,
For example, when event A occurs, 0 × 000 A is written to a variable on the SDRAM 505. Then immediately CPU
502 is a PCI bus 532 and a PCI connector 5
31 to a DVD RAM drive,
A request is made to copy the contents written in the RAM 505 to a predetermined area of the DVD RAM. Here, DVD R
The predetermined area of AM is determined by the CPU 502 in step S602.
Means the area secured by

In step S606, in addition to the same processing as in step S605, the time at which the event occurred is written into the SDRAM 505 together with the fact that the event has occurred.
Copy them to DVD RAM through a DRAM drive.

In step S607, the CPU 502 determines in step S605 and step S606 that the DVD R
When the data is copied to the AM, it is determined whether the writing position has not reached the final position of the storage area on the DVD RAM secured in step S602.

If the data amount of the operation history exceeds the storage area secured on the DVD RAM when the next event occurs, the CPU 502 advances the processing to step S608.

In step S608, the CPU 502 resets the position where the operation history is written in the nonvolatile storage medium to the first position. Thereafter, when an event that requires acquisition of the operation history occurs, the occurrence of that event is overwritten on the storage area on the DVD RAM.

When it is determined in step S607 that the storage area is sufficient, or in step S608,
When the process of resetting the write position on the DVD RAM has been completed, the CPU 502 proceeds to step S60.
3 and the same processing as described above is repeated thereafter.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, a DVD RAM is used as a large-capacity non-volatile storage medium, and the above-described processing is performed. The operation history of the program processed by the CPU on the control device can be secured in time series.
Also, even if a specific event occurs in a specific environment,
By tracking the accumulated operation history, the operation state of the program can be grasped without using a special measuring instrument, and if there is a problem in the program, it can be easily corrected.

Further, since the DVD RAM is also removable, after storing the operation history, only the DVD RAM can be removed from the image input / output device and its contents can be analyzed, so that the cause of the event can be specified afterwards. It is possible.

[Third Embodiment] In the first embodiment, a hard disk (HD) is used as a removable large-capacity nonvolatile storage medium, and in the second embodiment, a DVD RAM is used as the storage medium. And explained.

In the third embodiment, a magneto-optical disk (MO) is used as a non-volatile storage medium for storing an operation history.
An example using a disc will be described.

Note that the image input / output device according to the third embodiment also
Since the configuration is the same as that of the image input / output device according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, illustration and description thereof are omitted here.

Here, the MO disk serving as the nonvolatile storage medium is connected to the PC connector 531 by the S disk.
It is assumed that data is read and written by a magneto-optical disk drive (MO drive), also not shown, connected to a CSI-2 control card (not shown).

Hereinafter, a processing procedure for obtaining an operation history in the image input / output apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

The processing in step S601 in FIG. 3 of the image input / output apparatus is the same as the processing for determining whether or not to take the operation history of the program when performing a normal operation, as in the first embodiment. .

In step S602, the CPU 502
A memory capacity for taking an operation history is secured on the DRAM 505, and the MO drive is accessed via the PCI bus 532 and the PCI connector 531. Then, a storage area of a predetermined capacity is secured in the storage area of the MO disk inserted in the MO drive.

The storage capacity secured in the SDRAM 505 is as follows.
It is determined by the contents of the program stored in the ROM 504 in advance. As the size of the storage area to be secured on the MO disk, a value stored as backup data in the SDRAM 505 is used. Since the processing up to step S604 is the same as the processing according to the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

In step S605, the CPU 502 writes the occurrence of the event in a predetermined area of the SDRAM 505, that is, the area secured in step S602. Specifically, when event A occurs, 0 × 000 A is written to a variable on SDRAM 505.

Thereafter, the CPU 502 immediately sets the MO via the PCI bus 532 and the PCI connector 531.
It requests the drive to copy the contents written to the SDRAM 505 to a predetermined area of the MO disk. The predetermined area of the MO disk is an area secured by the CPU 502 in step S602.

In step S606, in addition to the same processing as in step S605, the time at which the event occurred is written to the SDRAM 505 together with the fact that the event has occurred, and the MO
Copy them to the MO disk through the drive.

In step S607, the CPU 502
In step S605 and step S606, when data is copied to the MO disk, the writing position is
At 602, it is determined whether or not the final position of the storage area on the MO disk secured has been reached.

If the data amount of the operation history exceeds the storage area secured on the MO disk when the next event occurs, the CPU 502 proceeds to step S608.
Proceed to

In step S608, the CPU 502
A process for resetting the position where the operation history of the nonvolatile storage medium (MO disk) is written to the first position is performed.
Thereafter, when an event for which an operation history needs to be acquired occurs, a process of overwriting the occurrence of the event in a storage area on the MO disk is executed.

If it is determined in step S607 that the storage area is sufficient, or if it is determined in step S60
If the reset processing of the write position on the MO disk has been completed in step 8, the CPU 502 proceeds to step S
The process returns to step 603, and thereafter, the same processing as above is repeated.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, a magneto-optical disk (M
Even when the O disk is used, the operation history of the program processed by the CPU on the control device of the development device can be secured in chronological order as in the first and second embodiments. Also, when a specific event occurs in a specific environment, by tracking the operation history stored on the MO disk, the operation of the program can be grasped without using a special measuring instrument, and if there is a problem in the program If so, you can easily modify it.

Also, since the MO disk can be removed, after the operation history is accumulated, only the MO disk can be taken out from the image input / output device to analyze the accumulated contents, and the cause of the occurrence of a specific event can be determined by the device. It can be specified ex post fact even in a place other than the installation site.

In any of the first to third embodiments, the operation history and the time of occurrence of the event may be created as text format data so that the data has versatility.

As described above, according to the first to third embodiments, the mechanism for accumulating the occurrences of events stored in chronological order as the operation history of the operation program is incorporated in advance in the software (program) to be developed. This makes it possible to check the software operation history later without connecting a measuring instrument to the device to be developed. There is an excellent effect that it is possible to easily identify the cause of the trouble or the like that does not occur.

Further, when a problem occurs in the operation program, the cause of the problem can be specified to some extent in a place other than the installation place of the apparatus without using a measuring instrument, and a problem or a measuring instrument with low reproducibility can be identified. Problems that occur only in a special environment where connection is not possible can be easily solved.

The present invention can be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), and can be constituted by a single device (for example, a copier, a facsimile). Device).

Further, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium (or a recording medium) in which a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is recorded to a system or an apparatus, and to provide the system or the apparatus with the storage medium. It goes without saying that the present invention is also achieved by a computer (or a CPU or an MPU) reading and executing a program code stored in a storage medium. in this case,
The program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the operating system (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It is needless to say that an OS) or the like performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that a CPU or the like provided in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

When the present invention is applied to the above storage medium,
The storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the above-described flowchart (shown in FIG. 3).

[0113]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide a processing device and method capable of confirming the operation history of software without connecting a measuring device to a peripheral device to be developed, and a computer-readable memory.

Further, when a problem occurs in the control program of the apparatus, the cause can be specified to some extent even in a place other than the site or after the fact without using a measuring instrument, and the reproducibility is low. It is possible to provide a processing device, a method thereof, and a computer-readable memory that can easily solve a problem or a problem that occurs only in a special environment where a measuring instrument cannot be connected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image input / output device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a signal processing configuration of a control unit of the image input / output apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for obtaining an operation history in the image input / output device according to the first to third embodiments.

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A processing device for executing a predetermined control operation in accordance with an operation program installed in advance, comprising: a detection unit configured to detect occurrence of a predetermined event related to the control operation; A processing apparatus comprising: a storage unit that stores occurrences of events in a time series; and a storage unit that stores the time series events stored in the storage unit as an operation history of the operation program. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the detecting operation by the detecting unit, the storing operation by the storing unit, and the storing operation by the storing unit are incorporated in the operation program as a part of the program. The processing device according to claim 1. 3. The event stored in the storage means,
2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein after the storage, the data is copied to a predetermined area of the storage unit. 4. When the amount of the event from the storage means reaches an amount exceeding a capacity of a predetermined area of the storage means,
The processing device according to claim 3, wherein a new event is overwritten on the predetermined area. 5. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is a nonvolatile storage medium physically removable from the processing apparatus. 6. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores the occurrence time of the event and the occurrence time in a time-series manner. 7. The processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the operation history and / or occurrence time is created as text data. 8. A processing method for executing a predetermined control operation in accordance with an operation program incorporated in advance, comprising: a detection step of detecting occurrence of a predetermined event related to the control operation; A process comprising: a storage step of storing occurrences of events in a storage medium in chronological order; and a storage step of storing chronological events stored in the storage medium as an operation history of the operation program. Method. 9. The method according to claim 9, wherein the detecting operation in the detecting step, the storing operation in the storing step, and the storing operation in the storing step are incorporated in the operation program as a part of the program. The processing method according to claim 8, wherein 10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a copying step of copying the event stored in the storage medium in the storage step, and then copying the event to a predetermined area of a storage medium used in the storage step. 9. The processing method according to 8. 11. When the amount of the event stored in the storage medium in the storage step reaches an amount exceeding the capacity of a predetermined area of the storage medium, a new event is overwritten on the predetermined area. The processing method according to claim 10, further comprising a writing step. 12. The processing method according to claim 8, wherein said storing step further stores the occurrence time of the event in the storage medium in a time series with the occurrence of the event. 13. The processing method according to claim 12, further comprising a creating step of creating the operation history and / or occurrence time as text format data. 14. A computer-readable memory storing a program code of a process for executing a predetermined control operation according to a previously installed operation program, wherein a detection step of detecting occurrence of a predetermined event related to the control operation A program code of a storage step of chronologically storing the occurrence of an event detected in the detection step in a storage medium, and a chronological event stored in the storage medium according to the operation of the operation program. And a program code for an accumulation process for accumulating as a history.