JP2005202667A - Hardware function variable printer, hardware function modification program and hardware function modification method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hardware function variable printer, a hardware function modification program, and a hardware function modification method suitable for speeding up of print processing. <P>SOLUTION: This printer 200 determines a module required for processing of intermediate print data, segments a hardware area of a hardware circuit 20 into a plurality of areas, and creates a reconfiguration schedule which specifies execution sequence of the module for each segment area based on the results of determination. At the same time, it reads required reconfigurable data from a storage 62, configures the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 so that they may be reconfigured based on reconfigurable data and the reconfiguration schedule which are read. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for performing printing by dynamically changing hardware functions, and a program and method applied to the apparatus, and more particularly to a hardware function variable printing apparatus suitable for speeding up printing processing and The present invention relates to a hardware function changing program and a hardware function changing method.

Conventionally, as a technique for dynamically changing the function of a device, for example, there are image processing apparatuses disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2.
The invention described in Patent Document 1 is a host buffer that receives an image processing procedure and data transfer for image processing from a process controller during an idle cycle time when the processor array unit is not executing image processing, and temporarily stores them. The image processing processor is provided with a transfer control unit for transferring image processing procedures and data for image processing from the program buffer and the data RAM to the program RAM and the data RAM. Transfer control is performed so that it is divided.

The invention described in Patent Document 2 selects a combination of a circuit module and a program module required for executing an applied image processing function, and based on rewrite information including information on the selected circuit module. The circuit module is formed by reconfiguring the rewritable hardware area of the semiconductor element, and the selected program module is executed in the semiconductor element in which the circuit module is formed.
JP 2001-76125 A JP 2003-150949 A

In printing, rendering processing is performed to convert document data or intermediate print data created by the host terminal into raster data that can be printed by the printer (hereinafter simply referred to as print data). The rendering process is one of the processes with the largest load in the printing flow, and the efficiency of the rendering process is important for speeding up the entire printing process.
However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the processing speed is increased by transferring program data during an idle cycle time in which the processor array unit is not executing image processing. When the invention described in Patent Document 1 is applied to a printer, the time required for rendering processing cannot be reduced even though the time required for transferring program data can be reduced.

  As a method of speeding up rendering processing, a hardware circuit having a rewritable hardware area is provided in a printer as in the invention described in Patent Document 2, and the hardware area is dynamically reconfigured as necessary. A method of converting document data or intermediate print data into print data by a hardware circuit is known. Certainly, focusing only on the rendering process, the processing is faster when the rendering process is performed by hardware than by software. However, since it takes a certain amount of time to reconfigure the hardware area, for example, when there are frequent print requests from a plurality of host terminals at the same time and the hardware area is frequently reconfigured, each rendering processing time Even if it is short, it takes time to reconfigure the hardware area, and as a result, the time of the entire printing process may increase.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made paying attention to such an unsolved problem of the conventional technology, and is a hardware function variable printing apparatus and hardware function suitable for speeding up printing processing. It is an object to provide a change program and a hardware function change method.

[Invention 1] In order to achieve the above object, a hardware function variable printing apparatus of Invention 1 comprises:
A device that performs printing by dynamically changing hardware functions,
Circuit elements having a rewritable hardware area, reconfiguration schedule creating means for creating a reconfiguration schedule for the hardware area, circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit for realizing a print data processing function, and the reconfiguration schedule Hardware area reconfiguring means for reconfiguring the hardware area based on the reconfiguration schedule created by the creating means.

  In such a configuration, a reconfiguration schedule for the hardware area is created by the reconfiguration schedule creation means, and the hardware area is created based on the circuit configuration information and the created reconfiguration schedule by the hardware area reconfiguration means. Is reconstructed. The hardware area is reconfigured as a circuit that realizes a print data processing function. For example, when processing two processing target data A and B, the print data processing functions a and b are used for processing the processing target data A, and the print data processing functions c and b are used for processing the processing target data B, respectively. Suppose it is necessary. The time required for reconfiguring the hardware area as a circuit for realizing the print data processing functions a to c is twa, tbw, and twc, respectively, and the time required for the print data processing in the circuit that realizes the print data processing functions a to c Are ta, tb, and tc, respectively, and if the processing target data A and B are simply processed sequentially without creating a reconfiguration schedule, the total time required is twa + ta + twb + tb + twc + tc + twb + tb. On the other hand, the hardware area is divided into two, the print data processing functions a and c are configured in that order in the first divided area, and the print data processing function b is configured in the second divided area. If the reconfiguration schedule is created so that A and B are processed in parallel, the total required time is approximately twa + ta + twc + tc (required time in the first partitioned area) and twb + tb + tb (required time in the second partitioned area). Whichever is longer.

  Thereby, since the print data processing is performed by the circuit element, the time required for the print data processing can be shortened as compared with the case where the print data processing is performed by software. Moreover, since a reconfiguration schedule is created and the hardware area is reconfigured based on the created reconfiguration schedule, the hardware area can be reconfigured efficiently. For example, the time required to reconfigure the hardware area, the time required for print data processing, or the waiting time can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an effect that the printing process can be speeded up as compared with the prior art.

  Here, as long as the circuit configuration information is available, any information can be used. For example, information stored in the apparatus may be used, or it may be received or acquired from the outside. You may use things. Hereinafter, the same applies to the hardware function variable printing device of the invention 11, the hardware function changing program of the invention 12 and 22, and the hardware function changing method of the invention 23 and 33.

[Invention 2] Furthermore, the hardware function variable printing device of Invention 2 is:
A device that performs printing by dynamically changing hardware functions,
Circuit configuration information storage means for storing circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit for realizing a print data processing function, circuit elements having a rewritable hardware area, processing target data receiving means for receiving processing target data, A print data processing function determination unit that determines the print data processing function necessary for processing the processing target data received by the processing target data reception unit, and the hardware area based on a determination result of the print data processing function determination unit Reconfiguration schedule creating means for creating a reconfiguration schedule, and hardware area reconfiguring means for reconfiguring the hardware area,
The hardware area reconfiguring unit reads circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determining unit from the circuit configuration information storage unit, and creates the read circuit configuration information and the reconfiguration schedule. The hardware area is reconfigured based on a reconfiguration schedule created by the means.

  With such a configuration, when the processing target data is received by the processing target data receiving unit, the print data processing function determining unit determines the print data processing function necessary for processing the received processing target data. Next, a reconstruction schedule for the hardware area is created by the reconstruction schedule creation means based on the determination result of the print data processing function determination means. Then, the hardware configuration reconfiguration unit reads out the circuit configuration information corresponding to the determined print data processing function from the circuit configuration information storage unit, and based on the read circuit configuration information and the generated reconfiguration schedule The hardware area is reconfigured. The hardware area is reconfigured as a circuit that realizes a print data processing function. The creation of the reconfiguration schedule is based on the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the first aspect.

  Thereby, since the print data processing is performed by the circuit element, the time required for the print data processing can be shortened as compared with the case where the print data processing is performed by software. In addition, a reconfiguration schedule is created in consideration of the print data processing function required for processing the processing target data, and the hardware area is reconfigured based on the created reconfiguration schedule. Can be done automatically. For example, the time required to reconfigure the hardware area, the time required for print data processing, or the waiting time can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an effect that the printing process can be speeded up as compared with the prior art.

  Here, the processing target data may be document data or intermediate print data (generally called an intermediate language). Document data refers to data that includes images, characters, graphics (vector graphics), and other editing elements. Image data itself refers to data that includes only images, and text data itself refers to data that includes only characters. If it contains only vector graphics, it means vector graphics data itself. Hereinafter, the same applies to the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the invention 11, the hardware function changing program of the inventions 13 and 22, and the hardware function changing method of the inventions 24 and 33.

  The processing target data may be processed by the circuit element after being reconfigured by the hardware area reconfiguring means, and may be received before reconfiguration by the hardware area reconfiguring means. Alternatively, it may be received after reconfiguration by the hardware area reconfiguration means. The same applies to the hardware function variable printing apparatus according to the eleventh aspect and the hardware function changing program according to the thirteenth and twenty-second aspects.

  The circuit configuration information storage means stores the circuit configuration information at any time and at any time. The circuit configuration information storage means may store the circuit configuration information in advance or store the circuit configuration information in advance. Instead, the circuit configuration information may be stored by an external input or the like during operation of the apparatus. The same applies to the hardware function changing program of the invention 13 and the hardware function changing method of the invention 24 below.

[Invention 3] Furthermore, the hardware function variable printing device of Invention 3 is the hardware function variable printing device of Invention 2,
The reconstruction schedule creating means determines the parallel degree of the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determination means.
In such a configuration, the parallel degree of the determined print data processing function is determined by the reconfiguration schedule creating means, and the hardware area is set so as to have the determined parallel degree by the hardware area reconfiguring means. Reconfigured.

  Thereby, since the degree of parallelism is determined in consideration of the print data processing function necessary for processing the processing target data, the hardware area can be reconfigured more efficiently. For example, if the parallelism of print data processing functions that require time for print data processing is increased, the time required for print data processing can be shortened. Therefore, it is possible to further increase the speed of the printing process.

[Invention 4] Furthermore, the hardware function variable printing device of Invention 4 is the hardware function variable printing device of Invention 3,
The reconfiguration schedule creation means performs basic printing of a plurality of print data processing functions determined by the print data processing function determination means for one piece of processing target data, with the data processing time of the print data processing function being minimum. For each print data processing function, the parallelism of the print data processing function depends on a value obtained by dividing the data processing time of the print data processing function by the data processing time of the basic print data processing function. It is characterized in that it is determined as a parallel number.

With such a configuration, for a plurality of print data processing functions determined for one processing target data, the parallel degree of the print data processing functions is set for each print data processing function by the reconfiguration schedule creating means. The parallel number is determined according to a value obtained by dividing the data processing time of the print data processing function by the data processing time of the basic print data processing function.
As a result, for a plurality of print data processing functions determined for one processing target data, the time required for the print data processing is reduced based on the data processing time of the basic print data processing function. Can be further shortened. Therefore, it is possible to further increase the speed of the printing process.

[Invention 5] Furthermore, the hardware function variable printing device of Invention 5 is the hardware function variable printing device of Invention 4,
For each print data processing function, the reconstruction schedule creation means multiplies the data capacity necessary for realizing the print data processing function by the parallelism determined for the print data processing function, and sums the multiplication results Is determined to be less than a predetermined data capacity, the degree of parallelism is preferentially increased from the preceding one among the plurality of print data processing functions.

In such a configuration, for each print data processing function, the reconfiguration schedule creating means multiplies the data capacity necessary for realizing the print data processing function by the parallel degree determined for the print data processing function. Is done. If it is determined that the sum of the multiplication results is less than a predetermined data capacity, the degree of parallelism is preferentially increased from the previous one among the plurality of print data processing functions.
Thereby, the area | region which is not used as a circuit among hardware areas can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to further increase the speed of the printing process.

[Invention 6] Further, the hardware function variable printing device of Invention 6 is the hardware function variable printing device of any one of Inventions 2 to 5,
The reconstruction schedule creation means has a processing order for a plurality of processing target data received by the processing target data receiving means and those having a common print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determination means. The processing order is changed so as to be continuous.

With such a configuration, the processing order is changed by the reconfiguration schedule creating means so that the processing order of the received data to be processed among the plurality of processing target data is the same.
As a result, the processing target data having the same print data processing function is continuously processed, so that the number of times of reconfiguring the hardware area is reduced. Therefore, the time required for reconfiguring the hardware area can be shortened, so that the effect of further speeding up the printing process can be obtained.

[Invention 7] Furthermore, the hardware function variable printing device of Invention 7 is the hardware function variable printing device of any one of Inventions 2 to 6,
Further, when it is determined that the circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determination unit does not exist in the circuit configuration information storage unit, the circuit configuration information is acquired from the outside. An acquisition means,
The hardware area reconfiguring means reconfigures the hardware area based on circuit configuration information in the circuit configuration information storage means or circuit configuration information acquired by the circuit configuration information acquisition means. Features.

In such a configuration, when the circuit configuration information acquisition unit determines that the circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function does not exist in the circuit configuration information storage unit, the circuit configuration information is acquired from the outside, The hardware area is reconfigured by the hardware area reconfiguration unit based on the acquired circuit configuration information.
As a result, new circuit configuration information can be used in the printing apparatus, so that the versatility and flexibility can be improved.

[Invention 8] Furthermore, the hardware function variable printing device of Invention 8 is the hardware function variable printing device of Invention 7,
The reconfiguration schedule creation means includes circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determination means among the plurality of processing target data received by the processing target data reception means. For those not present in the storage means, the processing order is changed so that the processing order is lowered.

With such a configuration, the processing order is determined for the circuit configuration information storage unit for which the circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function does not exist among the plurality of processing target data received by the reconstruction schedule creation unit. The processing order is changed to be lower.
As a result, the processing target data whose circuit configuration information does not exist in the circuit configuration information storage means is postponed, and the circuit configuration information is acquired from the outside using the processing waiting time. The effect that it can further aim to achieve is obtained.

[Invention 9] Furthermore, the hardware function variable printing device of Invention 9 is the hardware function variable printing device of any one of Inventions 2 to 8,
The hardware area reconfiguring unit configures a circuit that realizes the print data processing function for each divided area when the hardware area is divided into a plurality of divided areas, and the divided area in which the processing of the print data processing function is completed Is characterized in that a circuit for realizing a new print data processing function is configured.

With such a configuration, a circuit that realizes the print data processing function is configured for each divided area by the hardware area reconfiguring means, and a new print is performed for the divided area for which the processing of the print data processing function has been completed. A circuit for realizing the data processing function is configured.
Accordingly, it is possible to reduce an area that is not configured as a circuit in the hardware area, and it is possible to reduce a time during which an area that is configured as a circuit in the hardware area is not driven. Therefore, it is possible to further increase the speed of the printing process.

[Invention 10] The hardware function variable printing apparatus according to Invention 10 is the hardware function variable printing apparatus according to any one of Inventions 2 to 9,
Furthermore, a usage frequency measuring unit that measures a usage frequency of the circuit configuration information, and a circuit configuration information management unit that manages circuit configuration information of the circuit configuration information storage unit are provided,
The circuit configuration information management means preferentially holds the circuit configuration information stored in the circuit configuration information storage means that has a high usage frequency measured by the usage frequency measurement means.

With such a configuration, the usage frequency of the circuit configuration information is measured by the usage frequency measuring means. Then, the circuit configuration information management unit preferentially holds the circuit configuration information stored in the circuit configuration information storage unit that is frequently used.
As a result, the circuit configuration information that is frequently used is likely to exist in the circuit configuration information storage unit, so that it can be read from the circuit configuration information storage unit and used immediately without being acquired from the outside. . Therefore, it is possible to further increase the speed of the printing process.

[Invention 11] Furthermore, the hardware function variable printing device of the invention 11 includes:
A device that performs printing by dynamically changing hardware functions,
A circuit element having a rewritable hardware area, a hardware area reconfiguring means for reconfiguring the hardware area based on circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit for realizing a print data processing function, and processing target data Processing target data receiving means for receiving, and print data processing function determining means for determining the print data processing function necessary for processing the processing target data received by the processing target data receiving means,
The hardware area reconfiguring unit reconfigures the hardware area based on circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determining unit. .

  With such a configuration, when the processing target data is received by the processing target data receiving unit, the print data processing function determining unit determines the print data processing function necessary for processing the received processing target data. Then, the hardware area reconfiguration unit reconfigures the hardware area based on the circuit configuration information corresponding to the determined print data processing function. The hardware area is reconfigured as a circuit that realizes a print data processing function.

  As a result, the print data processing function necessary for processing the processing target data is autonomously determined, and the hardware area is reconfigured based on the corresponding circuit configuration information. High-speed printing. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an effect that the printing process can be speeded up as compared with the prior art.

[Invention 12] On the other hand, in order to achieve the above object, the hardware function change program of Invention 12 includes:
A program for dynamically changing a hardware function of a printing apparatus including a circuit element having a rewritable hardware area,
Reconfiguration schedule creation means for creating a reconstruction schedule for the hardware area, circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit for realizing a print data processing function, and the reconfiguration schedule created by the reconstruction schedule creation means It is a program for causing a computer to execute processing realized as hardware area reconfiguration means for reconfiguring a hardware area.
With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing in accordance with the read program, the same operation and effect as those of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the first aspect can be obtained.

[Invention 13] Furthermore, the hardware function changing program of Invention 13 is
A hardware function of a printing apparatus including a circuit configuration information storage unit that stores circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit that realizes a print data processing function and a circuit element having a rewritable hardware area is dynamically changed. A program,
Processing target data receiving means for receiving processing target data, print data processing function determining means for determining the print data processing function necessary for processing the processing target data received by the processing target data receiving means, and print data processing function determination In order to cause a computer to execute a process realized as a reconfiguration schedule creation means for creating a reconfiguration schedule for the hardware area based on a determination result of the means, and a hardware area reconfiguration means for reconfiguring the hardware area Is a program of
The hardware area reconfiguring unit reads circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determining unit from the circuit configuration information storage unit, and creates the read circuit configuration information and the reconfiguration schedule. The hardware area is reconfigured based on a reconfiguration schedule created by the means.

  With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing according to the read program, the same operation and effect as the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the second aspect can be obtained.

[Invention 14] Furthermore, the hardware function change program of Invention 14 is the hardware function change program of Invention 13,
The reconstruction schedule creating means determines the parallel degree of the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determination means.
With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing according to the read program, the same operation and effect as the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the invention 3 can be obtained.

[Invention 15] Furthermore, the hardware function change program of Invention 15 is the hardware function change program of Invention 14,
The reconfiguration schedule creation means performs basic printing of a plurality of print data processing functions determined by the print data processing function determination means for one piece of processing target data, with the data processing time of the print data processing function being minimum. For each print data processing function, the parallelism of the print data processing function depends on a value obtained by dividing the data processing time of the print data processing function by the data processing time of the basic print data processing function. It is characterized in that it is determined as a parallel number.

  With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing according to the read program, the same operation and effect as the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the invention 4 can be obtained.

[Invention 16] Furthermore, the hardware function change program of Invention 16 is the hardware function change program of Invention 15,
For each print data processing function, the reconstruction schedule creation means multiplies the data capacity necessary for realizing the print data processing function by the parallelism determined for the print data processing function, and sums the multiplication results Is determined to be less than a predetermined data capacity, the degree of parallelism is preferentially increased from the preceding one among the plurality of print data processing functions.

  With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing according to the read program, the same operation and effect as the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the fifth aspect can be obtained.

[Invention 17] The hardware function change program of Invention 17 is the hardware function change program of any one of Inventions 13 to 16,
The reconstruction schedule creation means has a processing order for a plurality of processing target data received by the processing target data receiving means and those having a common print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determination means. The processing order is changed so as to be continuous.

  With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing in accordance with the read program, the same operations and effects as those of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the sixth aspect are obtained.

[Invention 18] Furthermore, the hardware function change program of Invention 18 is the hardware function change program of any one of Inventions 13 to 17,
Further, when it is determined that the circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determination unit does not exist in the circuit configuration information storage unit, the circuit configuration information is acquired from the outside. Including a program for causing a computer to execute processing realized as acquisition means,
The hardware area reconfiguring means reconfigures the hardware area based on circuit configuration information in the circuit configuration information storage means or circuit configuration information acquired by the circuit configuration information acquisition means. Features.

  With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing in accordance with the read program, the same operation and effect as those of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the seventh aspect can be obtained.

[Invention 19] Furthermore, the hardware function change program of Invention 19 is the hardware function change program of Invention 18,
The reconfiguration schedule creation means includes circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determination means among the plurality of processing target data received by the processing target data reception means. For those not present in the storage means, the processing order is changed so that the processing order is lowered.

  With this configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing according to the read program, the same operation and effect as those of the hardware function variable printing apparatus according to Aspect 8 can be obtained.

[Invention 20] Furthermore, the hardware function change program of Invention 20 is the hardware function change program of any one of Inventions 13 to 19,
The hardware area reconfiguring unit configures a circuit that realizes the print data processing function for each divided area when the hardware area is divided into a plurality of divided areas, and the divided area in which the processing of the print data processing function is completed Is characterized in that a circuit for realizing a new print data processing function is configured.

  With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing according to the read program, the same operation and effect as the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the ninth aspect can be obtained.

[Invention 21] Furthermore, the hardware function change program of the invention 21 is the hardware function change program of any of the inventions 13 to 20,
Furthermore, a program for causing a computer to execute a process realized as a usage frequency measuring unit that measures the usage frequency of the circuit configuration information and a circuit configuration information management unit that manages the circuit configuration information of the circuit configuration information storage unit Including
The circuit configuration information management means preferentially deletes circuit configuration information stored in the circuit configuration information storage means that has a low usage frequency measured by the usage frequency measurement means.

  With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing according to the read program, the same operation and effect as those of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the tenth aspect can be obtained.

[Invention 22] Furthermore, the hardware function change program of Invention 22 is
A program for dynamically changing a hardware function of a printing apparatus including a circuit element having a rewritable hardware area,
Hardware area reconfiguring means for reconfiguring the hardware area based on circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit for realizing a print data processing function, processing target data receiving means for receiving processing target data, and the processing target data A program for causing a computer to execute a process realized as a print data processing function determination unit that determines the print data processing function necessary for processing the processing target data received by the reception unit,
The hardware area reconfiguring unit reconfigures the hardware area based on circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determining unit. .

  With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing according to the read program, the same operation and effect as those of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the eleventh aspect can be obtained.

[Invention 23] On the other hand, in order to achieve the above object, the hardware function changing method of Invention 23 includes:
A method of dynamically changing a hardware function of a printing apparatus including a circuit element having a rewritable hardware area,
Based on the reconfiguration schedule creation step for creating a reconfiguration schedule for the hardware area, circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit for realizing a print data processing function, and the reconfiguration schedule created in the reconfiguration schedule creation step And a hardware area reconfiguring step for reconfiguring the hardware area.
Thereby, an effect equivalent to that of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the first aspect can be obtained.

[Invention 24] Furthermore, the hardware function changing method of the invention 24 includes:
A hardware function of a printing apparatus including a circuit configuration information storage unit that stores circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit that realizes a print data processing function and a circuit element having a rewritable hardware area is dynamically changed. A method,
A processing target data receiving step for receiving processing target data, a print data processing function determining step for determining the print data processing function necessary for processing the processing target data received in the processing target data receiving step, and the print data processing A reconfiguration schedule creation step for creating a reconfiguration schedule for the hardware area based on a determination result of the function determination step, and a hardware area reconfiguration step for reconfiguring the hardware area,
In the hardware area reconfiguration step, circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined in the print data processing function determination step is read from the circuit configuration information storage means, and the read circuit configuration information and the reconfiguration schedule creation The hardware area is reconfigured based on the reconfiguration schedule created in the step.

Thereby, an effect equivalent to that of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the invention 2 can be obtained.
Here, the data to be processed need only be processed by the circuit element after reconfiguration in the hardware area reconfiguration step, and may be received before reconfiguration in the hardware area reconfiguration step. Alternatively, it may be received after reconfiguration in the hardware area reconfiguration step. Hereinafter, the same applies to the hardware function changing method of the invention 33.

[Invention 25] The hardware function changing method of Invention 25 is the same as the hardware function changing method of Invention 24,
The reconfiguration schedule creating step determines the parallel degree of the print data processing function determined in the print data processing function determination step.
Thereby, the same effect as that of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the invention 3 can be obtained.

[Invention 26] The hardware function changing method of Invention 26 is the same as the hardware function changing method of Invention 25,
In the reconfiguration schedule creation step, basic printing is performed for a plurality of print data processing functions determined in the print data processing function determination step for one piece of processing target data, with a minimum data processing time of the print data processing function. For each print data processing function, the parallelism of the print data processing function depends on a value obtained by dividing the data processing time of the print data processing function by the data processing time of the basic print data processing function. The parallel number is determined.
Thereby, the same effect as that of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the invention 4 can be obtained.

[Invention 27] Furthermore, the hardware function changing method of Invention 27 is the hardware function changing method of Invention 26,
The reconfiguration schedule creating step multiplies the data capacity required for realizing the print data processing function by the parallel degree determined for the print data processing function for each print data processing function, and sums the multiplication results Is determined to be less than a predetermined data capacity, the degree of parallelism is preferentially increased from the preceding one of the plurality of print data processing functions.
Thereby, the same effect as that of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the invention 5 can be obtained.

[Invention 28] Furthermore, the hardware function changing method of Invention 28 is the hardware function changing method of any one of Inventions 24 to 27,
In the reconstruction schedule creation step, among the plurality of processing target data received in the processing target data receiving step, those having the same print data processing function determined in the print data processing function determination step have a processing order. The processing order is changed so as to be continuous.
Thereby, the same effect as that of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the invention 6 can be obtained.

[Invention 29] Further, the hardware function changing method of the invention 29 is the hardware function changing method of any of the inventions 24 to 28,
Further, when it is determined that the circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined in the print data processing function determination step does not exist in the circuit configuration information storage unit, the circuit configuration information for acquiring the circuit configuration information from the outside Including an acquisition step,
In the hardware area reconfiguration step, the hardware area is reconfigured based on circuit configuration information in the circuit configuration information storage means or circuit configuration information acquired in the circuit configuration information acquisition step.
Thereby, the same effect as that of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the invention 7 can be obtained.

[Invention 30] Furthermore, the hardware function changing method of Invention 30 is the same as the hardware function changing method of Invention 29,
In the reconstruction schedule creation step, circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined in the print data processing function determination step among the plurality of processing target data received in the processing target data reception step is the circuit configuration information. For those that do not exist in the storage means, the processing order is changed so that the processing order becomes lower.
Thereby, the same effect as that of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of aspect 8 can be obtained.

[Invention 31] Furthermore, the hardware function changing method of Invention 31 is the hardware function changing method of any one of Inventions 24 to 30,
The hardware area reconfiguration step configures a circuit that realizes the print data processing function for each divided area when the hardware area is divided into a plurality of divided areas, and the divided areas in which the processing of the print data processing function is completed Is characterized by constituting a circuit for realizing a new print data processing function.
Thereby, the same effect as that of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of aspect 9 can be obtained.

[Invention 32] Furthermore, the hardware function changing method of Invention 32 is the hardware function changing method of any one of Inventions 24 to 31,
Furthermore, a usage frequency measurement step for measuring the usage frequency of the circuit configuration information, and a circuit configuration information management step for managing circuit configuration information in the circuit configuration information storage means,
In the circuit configuration information management step, the circuit configuration information stored in the circuit configuration information storage unit is preferentially deleted from the circuit configuration information having a low usage frequency measured in the usage frequency measurement step.
Thereby, an effect equivalent to that of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the tenth aspect can be obtained.

[Invention 33] Further, the hardware function changing method of Invention 33 is as follows.
A method of dynamically changing a hardware function of a printing apparatus including a circuit element having a rewritable hardware area,
A hardware area reconfiguration step for reconfiguring the hardware area based on circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit for realizing a print data processing function; a processing target data receiving step for receiving processing target data; and the processing target A print data processing function determination step for determining the print data processing function necessary for processing the processing target data received in the data reception step,
In the hardware area reconfiguration step, the hardware area is reconfigured based on circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined in the print data processing function determination step.

  Thereby, an effect equivalent to that of the hardware function variable printing apparatus of the eleventh aspect is obtained.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 to FIG. 11 are diagrams showing a first embodiment of a hardware function variable printing apparatus, a hardware function changing program, and a hardware function changing method according to the present invention.
In the present embodiment, a hardware function variable printing apparatus, a hardware function changing program, and a hardware function changing method according to the present invention are changed according to a print request from a host terminal 100 as shown in FIG. The present invention is applied to a case where printing is performed by dynamically changing 200 hardware functions.

First, an outline of functions of a network system to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of functions of a network system to which the present invention is applied.
As shown in FIG. 1, the network 199 includes a plurality of host terminals 100 for use by a user, a printer 200 that performs printing in response to a print request from the host terminal 100, and a reconfigurable data that manages reconfigurable data. The portable data management terminal 300 is connected.

The host terminal 100 includes a print data generation unit 10 that generates intermediate print data based on document data, and an intermediate print data transmission unit that transmits the intermediate print data generated by the print data generation unit 10 to the printer 200 in response to a print request. 11.
The printer 200 receives a hardware circuit 20 having a rewritable hardware area, a reconfigurable data storage unit 21 that stores a plurality of reconfigurable data, an intermediate print data storage unit 22, and intermediate print data. The intermediate print data receiving unit 23 and an intermediate print data registering unit 24 for registering the intermediate print data received by the intermediate print data receiving unit 23 in the intermediate print data storage unit 22 are configured.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the contents of the reconfigurable data.
As shown in FIG. 2, in the reconfigurable data, a circuit that implements a module necessary for data processing of intermediate print data can be configured in the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20.
In the example of FIG. 2, when the printer 200 is a color printer, for example, reconfigurable data capable of configuring a circuit that implements a color intermediate language rendering module is stored. The color intermediate language rendering module generates RGB rendering data for each color of RGB based on the intermediate print data described in the intermediate language for color printing. In addition, for example, reconfigurable data capable of configuring a circuit that realizes an RGB → CMYK color conversion module is stored. The RGB → CMYK color conversion module generates CMYK rendering data for each color of CMYK based on the RGB rendering data.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the printer 200 further includes a module determination unit 25 that determines a module required for processing the intermediate print data for each intermediate print data in the intermediate print data storage unit 22, and a determination result of the module determination unit 25. A reconfiguration schedule generator 26 for generating a hardware area reconfiguration schedule based on the hardware circuit 20, a hardware area reconfiguration unit 27 for reconfiguring the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20, and a hardware circuit And a print execution unit 28 that performs printing based on the print data processed in step 20.

  The hardware area reconfiguration unit 27 reads the reconfigurable data corresponding to the module determined by the module determination unit 25 from the reconfigurable data storage unit 21 and generates the read reconfigurable data and the reconfiguration schedule generation unit 26. The hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 is reconfigured based on the reconfiguration schedule.

  The printer 200 further includes a reconfigurable data acquisition unit 29 that acquires reconfigurable data from the reconfigurable data management terminal 300, a usage frequency measurement unit 30 that measures the usage frequency of the reconfigurable data, and a reconfigurable data. The reconfigurable data management unit 31 manages the reconfigurable data in the data storage unit 21.

Based on the measurement result of the usage frequency measurement unit 30, the reconfigurable data management unit 31 preferentially holds the reconfigurable data stored in the reconfigurable data storage unit 21 with high usage frequency. Yes.
The reconfigurable data management terminal 300 includes a reconfigurable data storage unit 40 that stores a plurality of reconfigurable data, and the reconfigurable data storage unit 40 in response to an acquisition request from the printer 200. 200 and a reconfigurable data providing unit 41 provided to 200.

Next, the configuration of the printer 200 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the printer 200.
As shown in FIG. 3, the printer 200 includes a CPU 50 that controls operations and the entire system based on a control program, a ROM 52 that stores a control program for the CPU 50 in a predetermined area, data read from the ROM 52, etc. A RAM 54 for storing calculation results necessary in the calculation process of the CPU 50, a hardware circuit 20, a reconfigurable device 56 for rewriting the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20, and an input / output of data to an external device. These are connected to each other via a bus 59 which is a signal line for transferring data so that data can be exchanged.

  The I / F 58 is in the form of an operation panel 60 that can input data as a human interface, a storage device 62 that stores data and tables as files, and a printer 200 such as an inkjet printer or a laser printer as external devices. Accordingly, a printing mechanism 64 including a mechanism necessary for the printing and a signal line for connecting to the network 199 are connected.

The storage device 62 is configured as a reconfigurable data storage unit 21 and an intermediate print data storage unit 22 and stores a usage frequency registration table 400 in addition to the reconfigurable data and the intermediate print data.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of the usage frequency registration table 400.
In the usage frequency registration table 400, one record is registered for each reconfigurable data stored in the storage device 62, as shown in FIG. Each record includes a field 402 in which a module name is registered, a field 404 in which usage frequency is registered, and a field 406 in which the data capacity of reconfigurable data is registered.

  In the example of FIG. 4, “color intermediate language rendering module” is registered as the module name, “250” as the usage frequency, and “50 KB” as the data capacity are registered in the first row record. This indicates that the use frequency of the reconfigurable data corresponding to the color intermediate language rendering module is 250, and the data capacity is 50 [KB].

  The CPU 50 is composed of a microprocessing unit (MPU) or the like, and starts a predetermined program stored in a predetermined area of the ROM 52, and in accordance with the program, print request reception processing and reconfigurable processing shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. Data acquisition processing, print control processing, and reconfigurable data management processing are each executed in a time-sharing manner.

First, the print request reception process will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing print request reception processing.
The print request reception process is a process realized as the intermediate print data receiving unit 23, the intermediate print data registration unit 24, the module determination unit 25, and the reconstruction schedule creation unit 26. As shown, first, the process proceeds to step S100.

In step S100, it is determined whether or not a print request has been received. When it is determined that a print request has been received (Yes), the process proceeds to step S102. Until it is received in step S100.
In step S102, the intermediate print data is received, the process proceeds to step S104, the received intermediate print data is registered in the storage device 62, the process proceeds to step S106, and a module necessary for processing the received intermediate print data is obtained. Determination is made, and the process proceeds to step S108.

  In step S108, the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 is divided into a plurality of sections, and a reconfiguration schedule that defines the execution order of modules for each divided area is created. For example, when processing two intermediate print data A and B, it is assumed that modules a and b are required for processing the intermediate print data A, and modules c and b are required for processing the intermediate print data B, respectively. The time required to reconfigure the hardware area as a circuit that implements the modules a to c is twa, tbw, and twc, respectively, and the time that is required for print data processing in the circuit that implements the modules a to c is ta, tb, When tc is used, if the intermediate print data A and B are simply processed sequentially without creating a reconstruction schedule, the total time required is twa + ta + twb + tb + twc + tc + twb + tb. On the other hand, the hardware area is divided into two, the modules a and c are configured in that order in the first divided area, the module b is configured in the second divided area, and the intermediate print data A and B are arranged in parallel. If the reconfiguration schedule is created so as to process, the total required time is approximately the longer of twa + ta + twc + tc (required time in the first partitioned area) and twb + tb + tb (required time in the second partitioned area). . As a result, the time required for reconfiguring the hardware area, the time required for print data processing, or the waiting time can be reduced.

When the process of step S108 ends, the series of processes ends and the original process is restored.
Next, the reconfigurable data acquisition process will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the reconfigurable data acquisition process.
The reconfigurable data acquisition process is a process realized as the reconfigurable data acquisition unit 29. When the reconfigurable data acquisition process is executed in the CPU 50, as shown in FIG. 6, first, the process proceeds to step S200. .

In step S200, it is determined whether or not the reconfigurable data corresponding to the module determined in step S106 exists in the storage device 62. If it is determined that the necessary reconfigurable data does not exist (No), The process proceeds to S202, but when it is determined that this is not the case (Yes), the process waits in Step S200.
In step S202, an acquisition request is transmitted to the reconfigurable data management terminal 300, and necessary reconfigurable data is acquired from the reconfigurable data management terminal 300. The process proceeds to step S204, and the acquired reconfigurable data is acquired. Registration is performed in the storage device 62, and a series of processing is terminated and the original processing is restored.

Next, the print control process will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the print control process.
The print control process is a process realized as the hardware area reconstruction unit 27, the print execution unit 28, and the usage frequency measurement unit 30, and when executed in the CPU 50, as shown in FIG. It is supposed to move to.

In step S300, it is determined whether unprocessed intermediate print data is stored in the storage device 62. If it is determined that intermediate print data is stored (Yes), the process proceeds to step S302. If it is determined that it is not (No), the process waits in step S300.
In step S302, it is determined whether or not the reconfigurable data necessary for processing the intermediate print data to be processed exists in the storage device 62, and when it is determined that the necessary reconfigurable data exists (Yes). The process proceeds to step S304, but when it is determined that this is not the case (No), the process waits in step S302.

  In step S304, the reconfigurable data necessary for processing the intermediate print data to be processed is read from the storage device 62, and the process proceeds to step S306. Based on the read reconfigurable data and the reconfiguration schedule, 56, the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 is reconfigured, the process proceeds to step S308, the use frequency of the reconfigurable data is updated in the use frequency registration table 400, and the process proceeds to step S310.

  In step S310, the intermediate print data to be processed is read from the storage device 62, print data generation processing for converting the read intermediate print data into print data by the hardware circuit 20 is executed, and the process proceeds to step S312. Based on the print data processed by the wear circuit 20, the print mechanism 64 performs print execution processing, and the process proceeds to step S314.

In step S314, it is determined whether or not there is a partitioned area (hereinafter referred to as an unused partitioned area) in the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 where module processing has been completed, and it is determined that an unused partitioned area exists. If yes (Yes), the process proceeds to step S316.
In step S316, it is determined whether unprocessed intermediate print data is stored in the storage device 62. If it is determined that intermediate print data is stored (Yes), the process proceeds to step S302.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S316 that unprocessed intermediate print data is not stored in the storage device 62 (No), the series of processes is terminated and the process returns to the original process.
On the other hand, when it is determined in step S314 that there is no unused division area among the hardware areas of the hardware circuit 20 (No), the process proceeds to step S310.
Next, the reconfigurable data management process will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the reconfigurable data management process.
The reconfigurable data management process is a process realized as the reconfigurable data management unit 31. When the reconfigurable data management process is executed by the CPU 50, as shown in FIG. 8, first, the process proceeds to step S400. .
In step S400, it is determined whether or not the used capacity of the storage device 62 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. When it is determined that the used capacity is equal to or greater than the predetermined value (Yes), the process proceeds to step S402, but it is determined that this is not the case. If (No), the process waits in step S400 until the used capacity becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

In step S402, referring to the usage frequency registration table 400, the reconfigurable data having the lowest usage frequency is searched from the storage device 62, and the process proceeds to step S404, where the reconfigurable data searched by the search is retrieved. Delete, end a series of processing, and return to the original processing.
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, a case where print requests are simultaneously transmitted from a plurality of host terminals 100 having different intermediate print data formats will be described.
In each host terminal 100, when a print request is input from the user, intermediate print data is generated based on the document data, and the generated intermediate print data is transmitted to the printer 200 in accordance with the print request.

Upon receiving the print request, the printer 200 receives the intermediate print data through steps S102 to S106, the received intermediate print data is registered in the storage device 62, and a module necessary for processing the received intermediate print data is determined. Is done.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a module determination result.
As a result of the analysis of the intermediate print data, for example, the intermediate print data with the print job ID “0001” is described in a color intermediate language as shown in FIG. 9, and it is determined that six modules are necessary for the processing. Yes.

  In the printer 200, when a necessary module is determined, a reconfiguration schedule that defines the execution order of the modules for each divided area of the hardware circuit 20 is created based on the determination result through step S108. When unprocessed intermediate print data is registered in the storage device 62, the reconfigurable data necessary for processing the intermediate print data to be processed is read from the storage device 62 through steps S304 and S306. Based on the read reconfigurable data and the reconfiguration schedule, the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 is reconfigured by the reconfigurable device 56.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for reconfiguring the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20.
For example, when processing two intermediate print data A and B, two modules of rendering process A and binarization process A are used for the process of intermediate print data A, and rendering process B is used for the process of intermediate print data B. Assume that two modules of binarization processing B are required. In this case, first, a rendering process A module is configured in the first segmented area, as shown in FIG. Then, rendering data A is generated based on the intermediate print data A by rendering processing A. When the rendering process A is completed, a module of the rendering process B is configured in the first segment area as shown in FIG. Then, rendering data B is generated based on the intermediate print data B by rendering processing B.

  On the other hand, in the second segment area, as shown in FIG. 10A, a binarization processing A module is configured. Then, by binarization processing A, print data A that is binarized data is generated based on the rendering data A, and printing is performed by the printing mechanism 64 based on the generated print data A through step S312. . When the binarization process A is completed, the module of the binarization process B is configured in the second segment area as shown in FIG. Then, the binarization process B generates print data B that is binarized data based on the rendering data B, and printing is performed by the printing mechanism 64 based on the generated print data B through step S312. .

By creating such a reconstruction schedule, the binarization process A and the rendering process B can be executed in parallel by the hardware circuit 20, so that the time required for the print data process can be shortened.
Next, a case where the printer 200 does not have necessary reconfigurable data will be described.

In the printer 200, if the necessary reconfigurable data does not exist in the storage device 62, an acquisition request is transmitted to the reconfigurable data management terminal 300 through step S202.
When the reconfigurable data management terminal 300 receives the acquisition request, the reconfigurable data related to the received acquisition request is read from the reconfigurable data storage unit 40, and the read reconfigurable data is transferred to the printer 200. Provided.

  In the printer 200, when the reconfigurable data is acquired, the acquired reconfigurable data is registered in the storage device 62 through step S204. In this way, necessary reconfigurable data is registered as needed, but since the storage capacity of the storage device 62 is finite, if the usage capacity of the storage device 62 exceeds a predetermined value, the usage frequency is passed through step S402. The registration table 400 is referred to, and the reconfigurable data with the lowest usage frequency is searched from the storage device 62. As a result, when the corresponding reconfigurable data is retrieved, the retrieved reconfigurable data is deleted through step S404.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of the usage frequency registration table 400.
For example, when the upper limit is set to 190 [KB], as shown in FIG. 11, the total capacity of the top four items in the descending order of usage frequency is 190 [KB]. Reconfigurable data is retained and all remaining reconfigurable data is deleted.

  In this way, in the present embodiment, the printer 200 determines a module necessary for processing the intermediate print data, creates a reconfiguration schedule for the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 based on the determination result, Necessary reconfigurable data is read from the storage device 62, and the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 is reconfigured based on the read reconfigurable data and the reconfiguration schedule.

  Thereby, since the print data processing is performed by the hardware circuit 20, the time required for the print data processing can be shortened as compared with the case where it is performed by software. In addition, a reconfiguration schedule is created in consideration of modules necessary for processing intermediate print data, and the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 is reconfigured based on the created reconfiguration schedule. Can be performed efficiently. For example, the time required to reconfigure the hardware area, the time required for print data processing, or the waiting time can be reduced. Accordingly, it is possible to increase the speed of the printing process as compared with the conventional case.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the printer 200 divides the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 into a plurality of parts, configures a module for each of the divided areas, and sets a new module for each of the divided areas for which module processing has been completed. Is configured.
As a result, it is possible to reduce an area that is not configured as a circuit in the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 and to reduce a time during which an area that is configured as a circuit in the hardware area is not driven. Therefore, the printing process can be further speeded up.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the printer 200 determines that the necessary reconfigurable data does not exist in the storage device 62, the printer 200 acquires the reconfigurable data from the reconfigurable data management terminal 300 and acquires the reconfigurable data. The hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 is reconfigured based on the reconfigurable data.

Thereby, since the printer 200 can use new reconfigurable data, versatility and flexibility can be improved.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, the printer 200 measures the usage frequency of the reconfigurable data, and preferentially holds the reconfigurable data in the storage device 62 that has a high usage frequency based on the measurement result. It is like that.

As a result, reconfigurable data having a high usage frequency is likely to exist in the storage device 62, so that it can be read from the storage device 62 and used immediately without being acquired from the outside. Therefore, the printing process can be further speeded up.
In the first embodiment, the hardware circuit 20 corresponds to the circuit element of the invention 1, 2, 12, 13, 23 or 24, and the storage device 62 is the invention 2, 7, 10, 13, 18, The intermediate print data receiving unit 23 and step S102 correspond to the processing target data receiving means of the invention 2 or 13, corresponding to the circuit configuration information storage means 21, 24, 29 or 32. Step S102 corresponds to the process target data receiving step of the invention 24, the module determination unit 25 and step S106 correspond to the print data processing function determination means of the invention 2, 7, 13 or 18, and the step S106 This corresponds to the print data processing function determination step of the invention 24 or 29.

  In the first embodiment, the reconstruction schedule creation unit 26 and step S108 correspond to the reconstruction schedule creation means of the invention 1, 2, 12 or 13, and step S108 is the reconstruction schedule of the invention 23 or 24. Corresponding to the configuration schedule creation step, the hardware area reconfiguration unit 27 and steps S304 and S306 correspond to the hardware area reconfiguration means of the invention 1, 2, 7, 9, 12, 13, 18 or 20. . Steps S304 and S306 correspond to the hardware area reconfiguration step of the invention 23, 24, 29 or 31, and the reconfigurable data acquisition unit 29 and steps S200 to S204 acquire the circuit configuration information of the invention 7 or 18. Corresponds to the means.

  In the first embodiment, steps S200 to S204 correspond to the circuit configuration information acquisition step of the invention 29, and the usage frequency measurement unit 30 and step S308 correspond to the usage frequency measurement means of the invention 10 or 21. Step S308 corresponds to the use frequency measurement step of the invention 32. The reconfigurable data management unit 31 and steps S400 to S404 correspond to the circuit configuration information management means of the invention 10 or 21, and steps S400 to S404 correspond to the circuit configuration information management step of the invention 32. The data corresponds to the processing target data of the invention 2, 13, or 24.

In the first embodiment, the reconfigurable data corresponds to the circuit configuration information of the invention 1, 2, 7, 10, 12, 13, 18, 21, 23, 24, 29, or 32. .
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 12 to 17 are diagrams showing a second embodiment of the hardware function variable printing apparatus, the hardware function changing program, and the hardware function changing method according to the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, a hardware function variable printing apparatus, a hardware function changing program, and a hardware function changing method according to the present invention are changed according to a print request from a host terminal 100 as shown in FIG. This is applied to the case where printing is performed by dynamically changing 200 hardware functions. The difference from the first embodiment is to create a reconfiguration schedule that defines the parallel number and execution order of modules. There is in point to do.

First, the reconstruction schedule creation processing in step S108 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a reconstruction schedule creation process.
The reconstruction schedule creation process is a process realized as the reconstruction schedule creation unit 26. When the reconstruction schedule creation process is executed in step S108, as shown in FIG. 12, first, the process proceeds to step S500.

  In step S500, when it is determined in step S106 that a plurality of modules are necessary for one intermediate print data, the module having the minimum data processing time is detected as a basic module. The data processing time can be easily obtained, for example, by measuring the data processing time for each module in advance and storing it as processing time information or the like.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S502, and the parallel number of modules determined in step S106 is determined. If it is determined in step S106 that one intermediate print data requires a plurality of modules, the parallel number of the modules is divided for each module, and the data processing time of the module is divided by the data processing time of the basic module. It is determined as the parallel number according to the value. For example, when the data processing time of the basic module is 100 [ms] and the data processing time of the target module is 900 [ms], the parallel number of the target modules is 900/100 = 9.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S504, where the data capacity necessary to configure the module is calculated based on the determined parallel number and the data capacity of the reconfigurable data, and the calculated required data capacity and the hardware circuit 20 The data capacity of the hardware area is compared to determine whether or not there is sufficient free capacity in the hardware area. When it is determined that sufficient free capacity exists in the hardware area (Yes), the process proceeds to step S506. Transition.

  In step S506, the parallel number of modules is increased. When it is determined in step S106 that a plurality of modules are necessary for one intermediate print data, the number of parallel processes is preferentially increased from those of the preceding modules in the processing step. For example, when there are modules A and B and the processing of module B is started after the processing of module A is completed, the parallel number of modules A is first increased.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S508, where the data capacity necessary to configure the module is calculated based on the determined parallel number and the data capacity of the reconfigurable data. It is determined whether or not the data capacity of the hardware area has been exceeded. If it is determined that the data capacity of the hardware area has been exceeded (Yes), the process proceeds to step S510, and the parallel number is determined in step S506. The increased parallel number of modules is decreased, and the process proceeds to step S512.

  In step S512, the intermediate print data having the same necessary modules is searched from the storage device 62, and the process proceeds to step S514 to determine whether or not the corresponding intermediate print data has been searched for. If it is determined that the data has been retrieved (Yes), the process moves to step S516, the processing order is changed so that the retrieved intermediate print data are consecutive, and the process proceeds to step S512.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S514 that the corresponding intermediate print data is not searched (No), the process proceeds to step S518, and the intermediate print data in which the necessary reconfigurable data does not exist in the storage device 62 is stored in the storage device. 62, the process proceeds to step S520 to determine whether or not the corresponding intermediate print data has been searched. If it is determined that the corresponding intermediate print data has been searched (Yes), the process proceeds to step S522. Transition.

In step S522, it is determined whether or not the processing order of the retrieved intermediate print data has been changed a predetermined number of times (for example, twice) or more, and it is determined that the processing order has not been changed a predetermined number of times (No). Shifts to step S524, changes the processing order so that the processing order of the retrieved intermediate print data is lowered, ends a series of processing, and returns to the original processing.
On the other hand, when it is determined in step S522 that the processing order of the retrieved intermediate print data has been changed more than a predetermined number of times (Yes), and in step S520, it is determined that the corresponding intermediate print data is not to be retrieved ( In No), the series of processing is terminated and the original processing is restored.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S508 that the data capacity necessary for the module configuration does not exceed the data capacity of the hardware area (No), the process proceeds to step S504.
On the other hand, when it is determined in step S504 that there is not enough free space in the hardware area (No), the process proceeds to step S512.
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

Upon receiving the print request, the printer 200 receives the intermediate print data through steps S102 to S106, the received intermediate print data is registered in the storage device 62, and a module necessary for processing the received intermediate print data is determined. Is done.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a module determination result.
As a result of the analysis of the intermediate print data, for example, the intermediate print data with the print job ID “0001” is described in a color intermediate language as shown in FIG. 13, and three modules are required for the processing. It is determined that two of them are stored in the storage device 62. The intermediate print data of the print job ID “0002” is described in a monochrome intermediate language, and three modules are necessary for the processing, and it is determined that all of these modules are stored in the storage device 62. .

In the printer 200, when a necessary module is determined, a reconstruction schedule creation process is executed through step S108. In the reconstruction schedule creation process, the parallel number of each module determined for one intermediate print data is determined through steps S500 to S510.
FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for determining the parallel number of modules.

  First, the module with the shortest data processing time is detected as the basic module. The example of FIG. 14A is a case where six modules are required for processing one intermediate print data, and each data processing time is 900 [ms], 120 [ms], 100 [ms], 100 [ ms], 100 [ms], and 100 [ms]. In this case, since the module with the minimum data processing time is a module of 100 [mm], this is detected as a basic module.

  Then, for each module, the parallel number of that module is determined. The number of modules in parallel is determined as a value obtained by dividing the data processing time of the module by the data processing time of the basic module. In the example of FIG. 14A, since the data processing time of the color intermediate language rendering module is 900 [ms], the parallel number is 900/100 = 9. If the calculation results in a fractional part, round it up. If other modules are determined in the same manner, the respective parallel numbers are 9, 2, 1, 1, 1 and 1 as shown in FIG.

  When this is one set, the data capacity required for the configuration of one set is 50 [KB], 40 [KB], 30 [KB], 30 [KB] for the reconfigurable data corresponding to each module. ], 30 [KB], and 30 [KB], so that 50 × 9 + 40 × 2 + 30 × 4 = 650 [KB]. Here, if the data capacity of the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 is 1024 [KB], the free capacity is 1024-650 = 374 [KB], and there is sufficient free capacity in the hardware area. I understand. However, since there is no data capacity constituting another set, the number of parallel processes is preferentially increased from the previous module. In the example of FIG. 14A, since the color intermediate language rendering module is the first stage, the parallel number is increased by 7 so that the data capacity of the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 is not exceeded. To 16 pieces. At this time, the necessary data capacity is 50 × 16 + 40 × 2 + 30 × 4 = 1000 [KB]. Therefore, finally, the number of parallel modules is 16, 2, 1, 1, 1, and 1 as shown in FIG.

For other intermediate print data to be processed, the parallel number of each module is determined in the same manner. The result is, for example, as shown in FIG.
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a result of determining the parallel number of modules for each intermediate print data.
Next, when the parallel number of modules is determined, the processing order is changed so that the processing ranks of the intermediate print data in the storage device 62 that are common to the modules are passed through steps S512 to S516. . In addition, through steps S518 to S524, the processing order of the intermediate print data in the storage device 62 that does not have the necessary reconfigurable data in the storage device 62 is changed so that the processing order is lowered.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a result of changing the processing order of FIG.
In the example of FIG. 16, the processing order of the intermediate print data of the print job ID “0002” is the first. This is because all necessary reconfigurable data exists in the storage device 62 and can be preferentially processed. Also, the processing order of the intermediate print data with the print job ID “0001” is second. This is because the reconfigurable data corresponding to the binarization module for CMYK does not exist in the storage device 62, and it takes time to obtain it, so that the processing order is lowered. In addition, the processing order of the intermediate print data of the print job ID “0004” is the third. This is because the intermediate print data of the print job ID “0001” and the module are common, and therefore the processing order is set immediately after the intermediate print data of the print job ID “0001”. Further, the processing order of the intermediate print data with the print job ID “0003” is the lowest. This is because the reconfigurable data corresponding to the rendering module for monochrome intermediate language (for different models) does not exist in the storage device 62, and it takes time to acquire, so the processing order is lowered.

As a result of changing the processing order, the reconstruction schedule is as shown in FIG.
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a reconstruction schedule.
In the printer 200, when the reconfiguration schedule is created, the reconfigurable data necessary for processing the intermediate print data to be processed is read out from the storage device 62 through steps S304 and S306, and the read reconfigurable data is read out. Based on the figureable data and the reconfiguration schedule, the reconfigurable device 56 reconfigures the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20.

Thus, in this embodiment, the printer 200 determines the parallel number of modules determined in step S106 for one piece of intermediate print data.
As a result, the parallel number is determined in consideration of the modules necessary for processing the intermediate print data, so that the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 can be reconfigured more efficiently. For example, if the parallel number of modules that require time for print data processing is increased, the time required for print data processing can be shortened. Therefore, the printing process can be further speeded up.

Further, in the present embodiment, the printer 200 detects a module having the minimum data processing time among a plurality of modules determined for one intermediate print data as a basic module, and determines the parallel number of the module for each module. The data processing time of the module is determined as a value obtained by dividing the data processing time of the basic module by the data processing time of the basic module.
As a result, for a plurality of modules determined for one intermediate print data, the time required for print data processing is reduced based on the data processing time of the basic module, so the time required for print data processing is further reduced. can do. Therefore, the printing process can be further speeded up.

  Further, in the present embodiment, for each module, the printer 200 multiplies the data capacity of the hardware area necessary for the configuration of the module by the parallel number determined for the module, and the sum of the multiplication results is the hardware. When it is determined that the total data capacity of the hardware area of the wear circuit 20 is not reached, the number of parallel processes is preferentially increased from the previous one in the processing steps of the plurality of modules.

Thereby, the area | region which is not used as a circuit among the hardware areas of the hardware circuit 20 can be reduced. Therefore, the printing process can be further speeded up.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the printer 200 changes the processing order so that the processing orders of the intermediate print data in the storage device 62 that have a common module are consecutive.

As a result, the intermediate print data shared by the modules is continuously processed, so that the number of times of reconfiguring the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 is reduced. Accordingly, the time required for reconfiguring the hardware area can be shortened, so that the printing process can be further speeded up.
Further, in the present embodiment, the printer 200 changes the processing order so that the processing order of the intermediate print data in the storage device 62 that does not have the necessary reconfigurable data in the storage device 62 is lowered. It is like that.

As a result, the intermediate print data for which no reconfigurable data exists in the storage device 62 is postponed, and the reconfigurable data is acquired from the outside using the processing wait time. Can be further improved.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the printer 200 prohibits changing the processing order a predetermined number of times or more for the intermediate print data in the storage device 62 that does not have the necessary reconfigurable data in the storage device 62. It has become.

As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the processing will be postponed and the printing will be significantly delayed.
In the second embodiment, the storage device 62 corresponds to the circuit configuration information storage means of the invention 8, 19 or 30, and the intermediate print data receiving unit 23 and step S102 are those of the invention 6, 8, 17 or 19. Corresponding to the processing object data receiving means, step S102 corresponds to the processing object data receiving step of the invention 28 or 30. The module determination unit 25 and step S106 correspond to the print data processing function determination unit of the invention 3, 4, 6, 8, 14, 15, 17 or 19, and the step S106 corresponds to the invention 25, 26, 28 or 30. Corresponds to the print data processing function determination step.

  In the second embodiment, the reconstruction schedule creation unit 26 and steps S500 to S524 correspond to the reconstruction schedule creation means of inventions 3 to 6, 8, 14 to 17 or 19, and steps S500 to S524. Corresponds to the reconstruction schedule creation step of inventions 25 to 28 or 30. Further, the intermediate print data corresponds to the processing object data of the invention 4, 6, 8, 15, 17, 19, 26, 28 or 30, and the reconfigurable data corresponds to the circuit configuration information of the invention 8, 19 or 30. It corresponds.

  In the first and second embodiments, the printer 200 measures the usage frequency of the reconfigurable data, and based on the measurement result, the reconfigurable data in the storage device 62 has the highest usage frequency. Is preferentially retained. However, if the used capacity of the storage device 62 is close to the upper limit value and the use frequency of the reconfigurable data already stored in the storage device 62 is high, it is newly acquired. The reconfigurable data that has been deleted is preferentially deleted. Therefore, in order to appropriately reflect the usage frequency, the average value of the usage frequency over the past several days is calculated for each reconfigurable data based on the present, and the reconfigurable data in the storage device 62 is calculated based on the calculation result. Of these, the one with a high average value of the usage frequency may be preferentially retained.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for managing reconfigurable data.
First, as shown in FIG. 18A, the usage frequency of the past five days is recorded for each reconfigurable data in the storage device 62 with the current as a reference. At this time, it is preferable to record the frequency of use for the past five days, not counting the last five consecutive days, counting the day when the printer 200 is powered on. Next, as shown in FIG. 18B, an average value of the usage frequency is calculated for each reconfigurable data. For example, when the upper limit value is set to 300 [KB], the total capacity of the top four items is 300 [KB] in descending order of the average value of the usage frequency, as shown in FIG. The top four reconfigurable data are retained in descending order of the average usage frequency, and all remaining reconfigurable data are deleted.

  In the first and second embodiments, the printer 200 creates a reconfiguration schedule and reconfigures the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 based on the reconfigurable data and the reconfiguration schedule. Although configured, the present invention is not limited to this, and a module necessary for processing the intermediate print data is determined, and the hardware area of the hardware circuit 20 is reconfigured based on the reconfigurable data corresponding to the determined module. You can also

In this case, the hardware circuit 20 corresponds to the circuit element of the invention 11, 22 or 33, the intermediate print data corresponds to the processing target data of the invention 11, 22 or 33, and the reconfigurable data corresponds to the invention 11 , 22 or 33.
In the second embodiment, the printer 200 is configured to change the processing order of the intermediate print data in the storage device 62 that have the same module so that the processing order is continuous. In this case, it is preferable to minimize the change in the processing order by changing only one of the processing orders, and to avoid changing the existing processing order (the order in which the print requests are received) as much as possible.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the control program stored in advance in the ROM 52 when executing the processing shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 12. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the program may be read from the storage medium storing the program showing these procedures into the RAM 54 and executed.

  Here, the storage medium is a semiconductor storage medium such as RAM or ROM, a magnetic storage type storage medium such as FD or HD, an optical reading type storage medium such as CD, CDV, LD, or DVD, or a magnetic storage type such as MO. / Optical reading type storage media, including any storage media that can be read by a computer regardless of electronic, magnetic, optical, or other reading methods.

  In the first and second embodiments, the hardware function variable printing apparatus, the hardware function change program, and the hardware function change method according to the present invention are provided in response to a print request from the host terminal 100. Although the present invention has been applied to the case where printing is performed by dynamically changing the hardware function of the printer 200, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to other cases without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the function outline | summary of the network system to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the content of the reconfigurable data. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a printer 200. FIG. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the usage frequency registration table. It is a flowchart which shows a print request reception process. It is a flowchart which shows a reconfigurable data acquisition process. 6 is a flowchart illustrating print control processing. It is a flowchart which shows a reconfigurable data management process. It is the figure which showed the example of the determination result of a module. 3 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for reconfiguring a hardware area of a hardware circuit 20. FIG. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the usage frequency registration table. It is a flowchart which shows a reconstruction schedule preparation process. It is the figure which showed the example of the determination result of a module. It is a figure for demonstrating the procedure which determines the parallel number of a module. It is a figure which shows the result of having determined the parallel number of modules about each intermediate | middle print data. It is a figure which shows the result of having changed the process order of FIG. It is a figure which shows a reconstruction schedule. It is a figure which shows the result of having changed the process order of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Host terminal, 10 ... Print data generation part, 11 ... Intermediate print data transmission part, 200 ... Printer, 20 ... Hardware circuit, 21 ... Reconfigurable data storage part, 22 ... Intermediate print data storage part, 23 ... Intermediate Print data receiving unit, 24 ... Intermediate print data registration unit, 25 ... Module determination unit, 26 ... Reconfiguration schedule creation unit, 27 ... Hardware area reconstruction unit, 28 ... Print execution unit, 29 ... Reconfigurable data acquisition unit , 30 ... Usage frequency measurement unit, 31 ... Reconfigurable data management unit, 300 ... Reconfigurable data management terminal, 40 ... Reconfigurable data storage unit, 41 ... Reconfigurable data providing unit, 50 ... CPU, 52 ... ROM, 54 ... RAM, 56 ... Recon figure device, 58 ... I / F, 60 ... Operation panel, 62 ... Storage device, 64 ... Printing mechanism, 400 ... Usage frequency registration table

Claims (17)

A device that performs printing by dynamically changing hardware functions,
Circuit elements having a rewritable hardware area, reconfiguration schedule creating means for creating a reconfiguration schedule for the hardware area, circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit for realizing a print data processing function, and the reconfiguration schedule A hardware function variable printing apparatus comprising: a hardware area reconfiguring unit configured to reconfigure the hardware area based on a reconfiguration schedule created by a creating unit. A device that performs printing by dynamically changing hardware functions,
Circuit configuration information storage means for storing circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit for realizing a print data processing function, circuit elements having a rewritable hardware area, processing target data receiving means for receiving processing target data, A print data processing function determination unit that determines the print data processing function necessary for processing the processing target data received by the processing target data reception unit, and the hardware area based on a determination result of the print data processing function determination unit Reconfiguration schedule creating means for creating a reconfiguration schedule, and hardware area reconfiguring means for reconfiguring the hardware area,
The hardware area reconfiguring unit reads circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determining unit from the circuit configuration information storage unit, and creates the read circuit configuration information and the reconfiguration schedule. The hardware function variable printing apparatus, wherein the hardware area is reconfigured based on a reconfiguration schedule created by the means. In claim 2,
The hardware function variable printing apparatus, wherein the reconfiguration schedule creating unit determines a parallel degree of the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determining unit. In claim 3,
The reconfiguration schedule creation means performs basic printing of a plurality of print data processing functions determined by the print data processing function determination means for one piece of processing target data, with the data processing time of the print data processing function being minimum. For each print data processing function, the parallelism of the print data processing function depends on a value obtained by dividing the data processing time of the print data processing function by the data processing time of the basic print data processing function. A hardware function variable printing apparatus characterized by being determined as a parallel number. In claim 4,
For each print data processing function, the reconstruction schedule creation means multiplies the data capacity necessary for realizing the print data processing function by the parallelism determined for the print data processing function, and sums the multiplication results Is determined to be less than a predetermined data capacity, the processing step among the plurality of print data processing functions is preferentially increased in parallel from the previous one. Function variable printer. In any of claims 2 to 5,
The reconstruction schedule creation means has a processing order for a plurality of processing target data received by the processing target data receiving means and those having a common print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determination means. A hardware function variable printing apparatus characterized in that the processing order is changed to be continuous. In any of claims 2 to 6,
Further, when it is determined that the circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determination unit does not exist in the circuit configuration information storage unit, the circuit configuration information is acquired from the outside. An acquisition means,
The hardware area reconfiguring means reconfigures the hardware area based on circuit configuration information in the circuit configuration information storage means or circuit configuration information acquired by the circuit configuration information acquisition means. Characteristic hardware function variable printing device. In claim 7,
The reconfiguration schedule creation means includes circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determination means among the plurality of processing target data received by the processing target data reception means. The hardware function variable printing apparatus is characterized in that the processing order is changed so that the processing order is lower for those not existing in the storage means. In any of claims 2 to 8,
The hardware area reconfiguring unit configures a circuit that realizes the print data processing function for each divided area when the hardware area is divided into a plurality of divided areas, and the divided area in which the processing of the print data processing function is completed The hardware function variable printing apparatus is characterized in that a circuit for realizing a new print data processing function is configured. In any of claims 2 to 9,
Furthermore, a usage frequency measuring unit that measures a usage frequency of the circuit configuration information, and a circuit configuration information management unit that manages circuit configuration information of the circuit configuration information storage unit are provided,
The circuit configuration information management means preferentially holds the circuit configuration information stored in the circuit configuration information storage means that has a high use frequency measured by the use frequency measurement means. Wearable variable printing device. A device that performs printing by dynamically changing hardware functions,
A circuit element having a rewritable hardware area, a hardware area reconfiguring means for reconfiguring the hardware area based on circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit for realizing a print data processing function, and processing target data Processing target data receiving means for receiving, and print data processing function determining means for determining the print data processing function necessary for processing the processing target data received by the processing target data receiving means,
The hardware area reconfiguring unit reconfigures the hardware area based on circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determining unit. Hardware function variable printing device. A program for dynamically changing a hardware function of a printing apparatus including a circuit element having a rewritable hardware area,
Reconfiguration schedule creation means for creating a reconstruction schedule for the hardware area, circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit for realizing a print data processing function, and the reconfiguration schedule created by the reconstruction schedule creation means A hardware function changing program which is a program for causing a computer to execute processing realized as hardware area reconfiguring means for reconfiguring a hardware area. A hardware function of a printing apparatus including a circuit configuration information storage unit that stores circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit that realizes a print data processing function and a circuit element having a rewritable hardware area is dynamically changed. A program,
Processing target data receiving means for receiving processing target data, print data processing function determining means for determining the print data processing function necessary for processing the processing target data received by the processing target data receiving means, and print data processing function determination In order to cause a computer to execute a process realized as a reconfiguration schedule creation means for creating a reconfiguration schedule for the hardware area based on a determination result of the means, and a hardware area reconfiguration means for reconfiguring the hardware area Is a program of
The hardware area reconfiguring unit reads circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determining unit from the circuit configuration information storage unit, and creates the read circuit configuration information and the reconfiguration schedule. A hardware function changing program, wherein the hardware area is reconfigured based on a reconfiguration schedule created by the means. A program for dynamically changing a hardware function of a printing apparatus including a circuit element having a rewritable hardware area,
Hardware area reconfiguring means for reconfiguring the hardware area based on circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit for realizing a print data processing function, processing target data receiving means for receiving processing target data, and the processing target data A program for causing a computer to execute a process realized as a print data processing function determination unit that determines the print data processing function necessary for processing the processing target data received by the reception unit,
The hardware area reconfiguring unit reconfigures the hardware area based on circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined by the print data processing function determining unit. Hardware function change program. A method of dynamically changing a hardware function of a printing apparatus including a circuit element having a rewritable hardware area,
Based on the reconfiguration schedule creation step for creating a reconfiguration schedule for the hardware area, circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit for realizing a print data processing function, and the reconfiguration schedule created in the reconfiguration schedule creation step A hardware function changing method comprising: a hardware area reconfiguring step of reconfiguring a hardware area. A hardware function of a printing apparatus including a circuit configuration information storage unit that stores circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit that realizes a print data processing function and a circuit element having a rewritable hardware area is dynamically changed. A method,
A processing target data receiving step for receiving processing target data, a print data processing function determining step for determining the print data processing function necessary for processing the processing target data received in the processing target data receiving step, and the print data processing A reconfiguration schedule creation step for creating a reconfiguration schedule for the hardware area based on a determination result of the function determination step, and a hardware area reconfiguration step for reconfiguring the hardware area,
In the hardware area reconfiguration step, circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined in the print data processing function determination step is read from the circuit configuration information storage means, and the read circuit configuration information and the reconfiguration schedule creation A hardware function changing method, wherein the hardware area is reconfigured based on the reconfiguration schedule created in the step. A method of dynamically changing a hardware function of a printing apparatus including a circuit element having a rewritable hardware area,
A hardware area reconfiguration step for reconfiguring the hardware area based on circuit configuration information capable of configuring a circuit for realizing a print data processing function; a processing target data receiving step for receiving processing target data; and the processing target A print data processing function determination step for determining the print data processing function necessary for processing the processing target data received in the data reception step,
The hardware area reconfiguring step comprises reconfiguring the hardware area based on circuit configuration information corresponding to the print data processing function determined in the print data processing function determining step. .

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