JP6056683B2 - Multi-core processor, image forming apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a multi-core processor, an image forming apparatus, and a program.

  A multi-core processor having a plurality of processor cores with different performances is known. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-151561 describes a technique for assigning a process to each processor core based on the frequency of instructions executed in each processor core in a multi-core processor. Patent Document 2 describes a technique in which schedule information of sub-processes included in a dynamic process is obtained in advance and a dynamic process is assigned to a plurality of processor cores based on the schedule information.

JP-A-8-153023 JP 11-272623 A

  An object of the present invention is to suppress generation of processing for switching a plurality of processor cores having different performances.

  A multi-core processor according to claim 1 is a hardware configuration or software of a first processor core, a second processor core having higher power consumption and processing capability than the first processor core, and an apparatus including the multi-core processor In accordance with the configuration, a determining unit that determines a threshold value of a load magnitude at which the process by the first processor core and the process by the second processor core are switched, and the magnitude of the load of the given process and the threshold value And switching means for switching between processing by the first processor core and processing by the second processor core.

  The multi-core processor according to claim 2 is the configuration according to claim 1, wherein the determination means has a higher probability of switching to processing by the second processor core as the complexity of software installed in the device increases. As described above, the threshold value is determined.

  The multi-core processor according to a third aspect is the configuration according to the second aspect, wherein the complexity is determined according to the number of software installed in the device.

  A multi-core processor according to a fourth aspect is the configuration according to the second or third aspect, wherein the complexity is determined according to a degree to which a plurality of the software are related to each other.

  A multi-core processor according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the configuration according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the multi-core processor is configured according to a configuration of an electronic device incorporated in the device in order to cause the device to execute a predetermined process. And determining the threshold value.

  The multi-core processor according to a sixth aspect is the configuration according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the switching unit is configured to change the first processor when a magnitude of a given processing load exceeds a threshold value. The processing by the core is switched to the processing by the second processor core, and the processing by the second processor core is switched to the processing by the first processor core when the magnitude of the given processing load falls below a threshold value. It is characterized by.

  The image forming apparatus according to claim 7 includes a multi-core processor that processes an image and an image forming unit that forms an image processed by the multi-core processor on a recording medium, wherein the multi-core processor includes a first processor core. And a second processor core having higher power consumption and processing capability than the first processor core, and processing by the first processor core and the second processor according to the hardware configuration or software configuration of the own device Determining means for determining a threshold value of a load magnitude at which processing by the processor core is switched; processing by the first processor core and the second processor in accordance with a given processing load magnitude and the threshold value Switching means for switching between processing by the core.

  An image forming apparatus according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the configuration according to the seventh aspect, wherein the determination unit has a higher probability of switching to the processing by the second processor core as the speed at which the image forming unit forms an image is higher. As described above, the threshold value is determined.

  A program according to claim 9 is a hardware of an apparatus including a multi-core processor in a multi-core processor having a first processor core and a second processor core having higher power consumption and processing capacity than the first processor core. Determining a threshold value of a load magnitude at which a process by the first processor core and a process by the second processor core are switched according to a hardware configuration or a software configuration; and a magnitude of the load of the given process. In accordance with the threshold, a step of switching between processing by the first processor core and processing by the second processor core is executed.

According to the first, seventh, and ninth aspects of the invention, the processing by the first processor core and the processing by the second processor core are compared with the case where the threshold value is not determined according to the hardware configuration or software configuration of the apparatus. Occurrence of the process of switching between is suppressed.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first threshold is higher than the case where the threshold is determined so that the higher the complexity of the software installed in the apparatus, the higher the probability of switching to the processing by the first processor core. Occurrence of processing for switching between processing by the processor core and processing by the second processor core is suppressed.
According to the invention of claim 3, the threshold value is determined according to the number of software installed in the apparatus.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the threshold is determined according to the degree to which the plurality of software installed in the apparatus are related to each other.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the processing by the first processor core and the processing by the second processor core are switched compared to the case where the threshold is not determined according to the configuration of the electronic device incorporated in the apparatus. Generation of processing is suppressed.
According to the invention of claim 6, when the load is greater than or equal to the threshold, the process is switched to the first processor core, and when the load is below the threshold, the process is switched to the second processor core. As compared with the above, the processing efficiency of the multi-core processor can be improved.
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the first threshold value is determined as compared to the case where the threshold value is determined such that the higher the speed at which the image forming unit forms an image, the higher the probability of switching to the processing by the first processor core. Occurrence of processing for switching between processing by the processor core and processing by the second processor core is suppressed.

Block diagram showing hardware configuration of image forming apparatus Block diagram showing hardware configuration and mechanical configuration of multi-core processor The flowchart which shows the process which determines threshold value Th Diagram illustrating initial value data Diagram illustrating relevance data The figure which illustrates the relationship between the transition of the magnitude of the load and the switching of the processor The figure which illustrates the relationship between the transition of the magnitude of the load and the switching of the processor The flowchart which shows the process which concerns on the modification 1. The conceptual diagram explaining the process which concerns on the modification 4.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 is an apparatus that functions as a copying machine, a printer, a scanner, a facsimile, or the like. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, a display unit 13, an input unit 14, and an image forming unit 15. The control unit 10 controls the operation of each unit of the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 10 includes a multi-core processor 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103. A multi-core processor 101 (hereinafter simply referred to as “processor 101”) is a dual-core processor that controls each unit of the image forming apparatus 1 by executing a program. The ROM 102 is a nonvolatile storage device that stores various programs and data. The RAM 103 is a volatile storage device that stores data.

  The communication unit 11 communicates with an external apparatus such as another image forming apparatus or a personal computer. The storage unit 12 is a storage device that stores data and programs, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). The display unit 13 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, and displays a menu screen or various messages for operating the image forming apparatus 1. The input unit 14 includes various keys for inputting data or instructions to the image forming apparatus 1. The input unit 14 also includes a touch screen (touch panel) provided on the display of the display unit 13. The image forming unit 15 is an apparatus that forms an image on a sheet (an example of a recording medium) by, for example, an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration and a mechanical configuration of the processor 101. The processor 101 includes a processor core 101A (an example of a first processor core) and a processor core 101B (an example of a second processor core). The processor core 101A and the processor core 101B are processor cores having different power consumption and processing capability. In this embodiment, the processor core 101B is a processor core having higher power consumption and processing capability than the processor core 101A. In the processor 101, the processor core 101 </ b> A and the processor core 101 </ b> B are switched to each other according to the applied processing load to execute the program, thereby achieving both reduction in power consumption and improvement in processing performance. Specifically, the processor core 101B executes the process when the processing load applied to the processor 101 is equal to or greater than the threshold Th, and the processor core 101A executes the process when the load is below the threshold Th. . Both the processor core 101A and the processor core 101B are not turned on (enabled) except when processing is switched.

  The processor 101 (processor core 101A and processor core 101B) includes a determination unit 1011 (1011A and 1011B) and a switching unit 1012 (1012A and 1012B) as functional configurations. The determination unit 1011 determines a threshold value Th of a load magnitude at which processing by the processor core 101A and processing by the processor core 101B are switched. The determination unit 1011 determines the threshold Th according to at least one of the hardware configuration and the software configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. In this embodiment, the smaller the threshold Th determined by the determining unit 1011 is, the higher the probability of switching to processing by the processor core 101B is. The larger the threshold Th is, the higher the probability of switching to processing by the processor core 101A is. The switching unit 1012 switches between processing by the processor core 101A and processing by the processor core 101B according to the magnitude of the load applied to the processor 101 and the threshold Th determined by the determination unit 1011. Specifically, the switching unit 1012 switches the processing by the processor core 101A to the processing by the processor core 101B when the magnitude of the processing load given to the processor 101 is equal to or greater than the threshold Th, and the processing given to the processor 101 When the magnitude of the load falls below the threshold Th, the processing by the processor core 101B is switched to the processing by the processor core 101A.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing in which the processor 101 determines the threshold Th. The following processing is started, for example, when the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on. The following processing may be performed by any of the processor cores 101A and 101B.

  In step SA1, the processor 101 identifies the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. The “hardware configuration” specified by the processor 101 refers to the complexity of the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1, and here refers to the characteristics of at least one of the hardware elements included in the image forming apparatus 1. . In this example, the processor 101 specifies a speed at which the image forming unit 15 forms an image (hereinafter referred to as “image forming speed”) as a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. When the image forming apparatus 1 has a plurality of operation modes having different image forming speeds, the processor 101 specifies the image forming speeds in the operation modes serving as a predetermined reference. Data indicating the image forming speed is stored in the ROM 102, and the processor 101 specifies the image forming speed based on this data.

  In step SA2, the processor 101 determines an initial value Th0 of the threshold Th according to the identified hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. Specifically, the processor 101 reads data (hereinafter referred to as “initial value data”) for determining the initial value Th0 from the ROM 102, and determines the initial value Th0 based on the initial value data. The processor 101 stores the determined initial value Th0 in the RAM 103.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the initial value data. In the example of FIG. 4, the image forming speed Vi is represented by the number of sheets on which the image forming unit 15 forms an image per minute. The initial value Th0 is represented by an integer from 1 to 10. In the initial value data shown in FIG. 4, for example, when the image forming speed Vi is slower than 10 sheets / minute, the initial value Th0 is determined to be “10”. In another example, when the image forming speed Vi is 10 sheets / minute or more and is slower than 20 sheets / minute, the initial value Th0 is determined to be “9”. In yet another example, when the image forming speed Vi is 90 sheets / minute or more, the initial value Th0 is determined to be “1”. Thus, the initial value Th0 indicated in the initial value data becomes smaller as the image forming speed Vi is higher. Therefore, the processor 101 determines the initial value Th0 such that the higher the image forming speed Vi (that is, the higher the possibility that the load given to the processor 101 becomes higher), the higher the probability of switching to processing by the processor core 101B. To do.

  Refer to FIG. 3 again. In step SA3, the processor 101 calculates the complexity Cp of software installed in the image forming apparatus 1. In the image forming apparatus 1, various types of software (for example, software for user authentication or management of user usage history, software for managing document data, and information leakage are prevented according to the purpose of use of the user. Software for managing the workflow, software for managing the workflow, etc.) are installed. The processor 101 has a degree of the installed software related to various functions of the image forming apparatus 1 (hereinafter referred to as “relationship Lf”) and a degree of the installed software related to other software (hereinafter referred to as “relationship degree Lf”). Complexity Cp is calculated according to “relevance Ls”. The ROM 102 stores data indicating the relevance Lf and the relevance Ls (hereinafter referred to as “relevance data”) in advance. The processor 101 calculates the complexity Cp based on the relevance data. The processor 101 stores the calculated complexity Cp in the RAM 103.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating relevance data. In FIG. 5, alphabets A to E indicate software types. Copy, scan, FAX, and print indicate functions of the image forming apparatus 1. The left region fb in the relevance data shown in FIG. 5 represents the relevance Lf. In the example shown in FIG. 5, when certain software and a certain function of the image forming apparatus 1 are related, “1” is shown in the column where the row of the software and the function column intersect. The relation between a certain software and a certain function means that when the processor 101 executes a process related to the function (or when executing a process related to the function), a process based on the software is executed. For example, the software A is related to the copy, scan, and print functions, and the relevance Lf of the software A is “3”. In another example, the software B is related to the print function, and the relevance Lf of the software B is “1”. Note that the degree of association data may indicate a larger numerical value as the relationship between software and the function of the image forming apparatus 1 is greater.

  The area cs on the right side of the relevance data shown in FIG. 5 represents the relevance Ls. In the example shown in FIG. 5, when certain software and other software are related, “1” is shown in a column where rows and columns of these software intersect. The relationship between certain software and other software means that the timing at which processing based on certain software is executed overlaps with the timing at which processing based on other software is performed. For example, in FIG. 5, software A is associated with software B and software D. The relevance Ls is counted when both related two software are installed in the image forming apparatus 1. For example, when software A and software B are installed, the degree of association Ls of software A is “1” (the relation between software A and software D is not counted). Note that the degree of association data may indicate a larger numerical value as the relationship between software is greater.

  The complexity Cp is calculated by summing the total value of the relevance levels Lf and the total value of the relevance levels Ls of the software installed in the image forming apparatus 1. When the complexity Cp is calculated, the total value of the relevance Ls is multiplied by 1/2 before being summed with the relevance Lf so that the relevance of the plurality of software is not counted repeatedly. . For example, when software A and software B are installed, the total value of the relevance Lf is “4”, and the total value of the relevance Lf is “2”. Then, ½ of the total value of the relevance Ls is “1”. Therefore, in this case, the complexity Cp is “5”, which is a sum of “4” of the total value of the relevance level Lf and “1” of the total value (1/2) of the relevance level Ls. The complexity Cp increases as the relevance Lf and the relevance Ls increase.

  Refer to FIG. 3 again. In step SA4, the processor 101 changes the threshold Th according to the calculated complexity Cp. Specifically, the processor 101 reads the initial value Th0 and the complexity Cp from the RAM 103, and changes the threshold Th to a value obtained by subtracting the complexity Cp from the initial value Th0. For example, when the initial value Th0 is “10” and the complexity Cp is “5”, the threshold Th is changed to “5”. The processor 101 stores the changed threshold Th (hereinafter referred to as “threshold Th1”) in the RAM 103. Thus, the threshold value Th1 decreases as the complexity Cp increases. Therefore, the processor 101 changes the threshold value Th so that the higher the complexity Cp (that is, the higher the possibility that the load given to the processor 101 increases), the higher the probability of switching to the processing by the processor core 101B. When the process of determining the threshold value Th by the process of step SA1 to step SA4 ends, the processor 101 performs the process by the processor core 101A and the process by the processor core 101B according to the magnitude of the given processing load and the threshold value Th1. Switch.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the transition of the processing load applied to the processor 101 and the switching of the processor 101. In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis represents time t, and the vertical axis represents the processing load PL given to the processor 101. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a comparative example in the case where the process for determining the threshold value Th is not performed and the threshold value Th is a constant value (Thc). In this example, at times t11, t13, and t14, the load magnitude PL is equal to or greater than Thc, and the processor core 101B executes processing. At time t12, the load PL is less than Thc, and the processor core 101A executes processing. Therefore, in FIG. 6A, an overhead for switching between processing by the processor core 101A and processing by the processor core 101B occurs. FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an example when the process of determining the above-described threshold Th is performed. In this example, the threshold value Th1 is determined to be smaller than the threshold value Thc. At times t11, t12, t13, and t14, the magnitude of the load is equal to or greater than Th1, and the processor core 101B executes the process. Therefore, in FIG. 6B, there is no overhead for switching between processing by the processor core 101A and processing by the processor core 101B.

  FIG. 7 is another diagram illustrating the relationship between the transition of the processing load applied to the processor 101 and the switching of the processor 101. FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating a comparative example when the threshold value Th is a constant value (Thc). In this example, at times t21, t23, and t24, the load magnitude PL is lower than Thc, and the processor core 101A executes processing. At time t22, the load magnitude PL is equal to or greater than Thc, and the processor core 101B executes processing. Accordingly, in FIG. 7A, an overhead for switching between the processing by the processor core 101A and the processing by the processor core 101B occurs. FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating an example when the process of determining the above-described threshold Th is performed. In this example, the threshold value Th1 is determined to be larger than the threshold value Thc. At times t21, t22, t23, and t24, the load PL is less than Th1, and the processor core 101A executes processing. Therefore, in FIG. 7B, there is no overhead for switching between processing by the processor core 101A and processing by the processor core 101B.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when the threshold value Th is determined according to the hardware configuration and software configuration of the image forming apparatus 1, the switching of the processor 101 occurs compared to the case where the threshold value Th is a constant value. The probability of doing is low. Therefore, compared to the case where the threshold value Th is a constant value, occurrence of overhead for switching the processor 101 is suppressed.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made. Hereinafter, some modifications will be described. Two or more of the modifications described below may be used in combination.

(1) Modification 1
The process of changing the threshold value Th by the processor 101 is not limited to the case where the process is performed when the power of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on. The process of changing the threshold Th may be performed when new software is installed in the image forming apparatus 1, for example.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing according to the first modification. The following processing may be performed by any of the processor cores 101A and 101B. In step SB1, the processor 101 determines whether new software is installed in the image forming apparatus 1. If it is determined that new software has been installed (step SB1: YES), the processor 101 shifts the processing to step SB2. When it is determined that new software is not installed (step SB1: NO), the processor 101 waits for processing until new software is installed. In step SB2, the processor 101 calculates the complexity Cp of the software installed in the image forming apparatus 1 by the same processing as in step SA3. In step SB3, the processor 101 changes the threshold Th according to the complexity Cp by the same processing as in step SA4.

(2) Modification 2
The hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 specified in step SA1 is not limited to the image forming speed Vi. For example, the configuration of an electronic device incorporated in the image forming apparatus 1 in order to cause the image forming apparatus 1 to execute a predetermined process may be specified as the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. As a specific example, a so-called expansion board (for example, a parallel interface board, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) board, an Ethernet (registered trademark) board, an image data conversion board, etc.) for expanding the functions of the image forming apparatus 1 is used. The hardware configuration of the forming apparatus 1 may be specified. In this case, in step SA2, when the expansion board is incorporated in the image forming apparatus 1, the initial value Th0 may be determined so that the probability of switching to the processor core 101B is increased. Further, the initial value Th0 may be determined so that the probability of switching to the processor core 101B increases as the number of expansion boards incorporated in the image forming apparatus 1 increases. As another specific example, a document feeder that sends a document to the document reading unit of the image forming apparatus 1 may be specified as the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. In this case, in step SA2, when the image forming apparatus 1 includes the document feeder, the initial value Th0 may be determined so that the probability of switching to the processor core 101B is high.

(3) Modification 3
The process in which the processor 101 determines the threshold Th is not limited to the process illustrated in FIG. For example, the processor 101 determines the size of a file for which the print function has been executed in the past (before the processing shown in FIG. 3 is started), the number of objects such as illustrations or diagrams included in the file, and the file The threshold Th is changed so that the probability of switching to the processor core 101B increases as the predicted load increases, based on the compression format or the like. Also good.

(4) Modification 4
The method for calculating the relevance Ls is not limited to the method described in the embodiment. For example, when a plurality of services are activated based on certain software, the relevance Ls may be calculated according to the number of activated services. In this case, the processor 101 specifies the number of activated services for each piece of software installed in the image forming apparatus 1 before the process of step SA3.

  FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a process according to the fourth modification. FIG. 9 is a class diagram showing the relationship between the software shown in FIG. Here, a case where software from software A to software E is installed in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described as an example. In FIG. 9, the number of black circles included in each software class represents the number of services activated by a certain software. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, one service is activated in each of software A, software C, and software D, and two services are activated in software B. Therefore, the relationship between software A and software B is “2”, and the relationship between software A and software D is “1”. Therefore, the relevance Ls of software A is “3”.

(5) Modification 5
The complexity Cp may be calculated according to the number of software installed in the image forming apparatus 1. In this case, the processor 101 calculates the complexity Cp so that the complexity Cp increases as the number of installed software increases. In still another example, the complexity Cp may be calculated according to one of the relevance Lf and the relevance Ls. In this case, the association degree data may indicate either the association degree Lf or the association degree Ls.

(6) Modification 6
The hardware configurations of the image forming apparatus 1 and the processor 101 are not limited to the configurations shown in FIGS. As long as the processing of each step shown in FIG. 3 is executed, the image forming apparatus 1 or the processor 101 may have any hardware configuration. For example, the processor 101 is not limited to a dual core processor. The processor 101 may be a multi-core processor (for example, a triple core processor or a quad core processor) having three or more processor cores. Further, the functional configuration of the processor 101 is not limited to the configuration illustrated in FIG. For example, the determination unit 1011 may be included in either the processor core 101A or the processor core 101B. In this case, the process for determining the threshold Th is performed by the processor 101 having the determining means 1011.

(7) Other Modifications In the embodiment, the program executed by the processor 101 includes a magnetic recording medium (magnetic tape, magnetic disk (HDD, FD (Flexible Disk)), etc.), an optical recording medium (optical disc (CD (Compact)). Disk), DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), etc.), magneto-optical recording medium, semiconductor memory (flash ROM, etc.), etc. The program may be downloaded via a network such as the Internet.

The initial value data is not limited to that described in the embodiment. For example, the correspondence between the image forming speed Vi and the initial value Th0 may be discontinuously shown in the initial value data. In this case, the processor 101 may determine an initial value Th0 corresponding to the specified image forming speed by linear interpolation.
The threshold value Th and the range shown in the embodiment are merely examples, and the threshold value Th may be used in any value or range.

  The apparatus in which the processor 101 is incorporated is not limited to the image forming apparatus 1. The processor 101 may be incorporated in another information processing apparatus such as a personal computer.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus, 10 ... Control part, 101 ... Multi-core processor, 102 ... ROM, 103 ... RAM, 11 ... Communication part, 12 ... Memory | storage part, 13 ... Display part, 14 ... Input part, 15 ... Image forming part, 101A, B ... Processor core, 1011 ... Determination means, 1012 ... Switching means

Claims (9)

A multi-core processor,
A first processor core;
A second processor core having higher power consumption and processing capacity than the first processor core;
Determining means for determining a threshold value of a load magnitude at which processing by the first processor core and processing by the second processor core are switched according to a hardware configuration or a software configuration of an apparatus including the multi-core processor;
A multi-core processor comprising: a switching unit that switches between processing by the first processor core and processing by the second processor core according to a given processing load and the threshold value. The said determination means determines the said threshold value so that the probability that it will switch to the process by a said 2nd processor core will become high, so that the complexity of the software installed in the said apparatus is high. The described multi-core processor. The multi-core processor according to claim 2, wherein the complexity is determined according to the number of software installed in the device. The multi-core processor according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the complexity is determined according to a degree to which a plurality of the software are related to each other. The said determination means determines the said threshold value according to the structure of the electronic device incorporated in the said apparatus in order to make the said apparatus perform the determined process. The any one of Claim 1 thru | or 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. The multi-core processor according to item. The switching means is
When the magnitude of the given processing load exceeds a threshold value, the processing by the first processor core is switched to the processing by the second processor core,
The process according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when the magnitude of a given process load falls below a threshold value, the process by the second processor core is switched to the process by the first processor core. The described multi-core processor. A multi-core processor for processing images;
An image forming unit that forms an image processed by the multi-core processor on a recording medium,
The multi-core processor is
A first processor core;
A second processor core having higher power consumption and processing capacity than the first processor core;
Determining means for determining a threshold value of a load magnitude at which processing by the first processor core and processing by the second processor core are switched according to a hardware configuration or a software configuration of the own device;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a switching unit that switches between processing by the first processor core and processing by the second processor core in accordance with a given processing load and the threshold value. The said determination means determines the said threshold value so that the probability that it will switch to the process by a said 2nd processor core will become high, so that the speed at which the said image formation part forms an image is high. Image forming apparatus. A multi-core processor having a first processor core and a second processor core having higher power consumption and processing capacity than the first processor core,
Determining a threshold value of a load magnitude at which processing by the first processor core and processing by the second processor core are switched according to a hardware configuration or a software configuration of the apparatus including the multi-core processor;
A program for executing a step of switching between processing by the first processor core and processing by the second processor core in accordance with a given processing load and the threshold value.

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