JP2002051100A - Repeater and control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact repeater, which can transfer the data of large capacitance at high speed and further reduces costs, and a control method therefor. SOLUTION: A buffer 32 of an interface converter 10 is virtually divided into nine blocks B0-B8. While only a job to use interfaces 23 and 25 is under progress, the blocks B1 and B3-B9 are assigned to the combination of the interfaces 23 and 25. When a job to use interfaces 22 and 26 is added during the progress of this job, on the other hand, the blocks B1, B3, B4 and B5 are assigned to the combination of the interfaces 23 and 25 and the blocks B0, B6, B7 and B8 are assigned to the combination of the interfaces 22 and 26. Thus, since the area of an incorporated memory can be effectively utilized, data can be transferred at high speed without increasing memory capacity and further, the cost reduction and compaction of the device can be attained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an IEEE 1284
The present invention relates to a relay device such as an interface conversion device including a plurality of interfaces of the same or different types such as an interface and an IEEE 1394 interface, and a control method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, IEEE1 has attracted attention as an interface for next-generation high-speed serial data transfer.
A personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer) equipped with a 394 interface is becoming popular, and by utilizing this interface, a large amount of image data taken by a digital video camera or a digital camera can be imported into the personal computer at high speed. It is becoming possible to do it. On the other hand, the IEEE 1284 interface is still used as a standard interface for data transfer between a personal computer and a printer.

[0003]

[0006] Even in an environment where such interfaces having different standards are frequently used, data transmission and reception can be performed without problems by IEEE 139.
4 transmits data transmitted via the interface to IEEE
A relay device (interface conversion device) that can transmit to a peripheral device such as a printer via the E1284 interface is conceivable. In such a relay device, it is necessary to allocate a buffer of an appropriate size in advance for each interface so as to be able to cope with each interface having different standards.

Further, in recent years, it has become necessary to transfer print data having a large data capacity, such as high-resolution image data and multi-color data. Therefore, it is desired to further improve the transfer speed. However, when trying to improve the transfer speed with a relay device,
A buffer having a large storage capacity is required to cope with a high transfer rate, which increases the cost of the relay device and also increases the size.

On the other hand, versatility of connecting a plurality of devices, such as a network hub, is also important in a relay device, and it is desirable to prepare a plurality of interfaces of the same type or different transfer rates. For example, IEEE 139
If only four interfaces and one IEEE 1284 interface are provided, only one printer and one personal computer can be connected, which is not so good from the use of the relay device. However, simply incorporating an architecture that supports multiple interfaces requires an increase in the number of buffers to be used as much as the number of interfaces, or a large-capacity buffer is required. Can be very large and expensive.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a low-cost and compact relay device capable of transferring large-capacity data such as image data to an information processing device at a high speed, and a control method therefor. It is an object. Also, even if you have multiple interfaces,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a relay device and a control method thereof that can minimize a necessary storage area and prevent a significant increase in cost and size of the device.

[0007]

Therefore, in the present invention, instead of fixing the memory or the memory area individually allocated to the interface or the combination of the interfaces for transferring the data, the present invention is configured in accordance with the generation of the job. In accordance with the number of interface combinations or the operating state of each interface, the combination of each interface, that is, the memory area allocated to the job is changed. As a result, data can be transferred at a high speed by effectively utilizing the buffer without greatly increasing the number of memories or the capacity thereof according to the number of interfaces.

That is, the relay device of the present invention comprises a plurality of interfaces capable of at least one of data input and output, and a data transfer for combining these interfaces to transfer data from one interface to another interface. Means, a temporary storage area for data relayed by a combination of interfaces, and an area control means capable of partially allocating a storage area to each of the combinations of operating interfaces, wherein the area control means comprises: It is characterized in that the ratio of the storage area portion allocated to each interface is changed according to the number of combinations of the interfaces. Further, the control method of the relay device of the present invention has a plurality of interfaces capable of at least one of data input and output, and a temporary storage area for data relayed by a combination of these interfaces, A method of controlling a relay device for transferring data from one interface to another interface by combining interfaces, the method comprising: partially allocating a storage area to each of the active interface combinations; Changing the ratio of the portion of the storage area allocated to them in accordance with

In the relay apparatus and the control method according to the present invention, a certain portion of the storage area is not fixedly assigned to each interface, but a job for transferring data for printing or the like is generated and terminated. The ratio of the portion of the storage area allocated to each interface combination can be changed according to the number of configured interface combinations. In a device having a plurality of interfaces, if the storage area allocation is fixed for each interface, it is extremely rare that the plurality of interfaces are used at the same time. It is wasteful, the storage area utilization efficiency is low, and the device becomes large and expensive for its functions. However, according to the present invention, since the storage area is allocated corresponding to the combination of active interfaces, most of the storage area is effectively used even when the number of active jobs is small, and data is transferred at high speed. it can. On the other hand, even if the number of jobs increases,
Since a part of the storage area can be allocated to all the interface combinations by changing the ratio of the storage area portion to be allocated according to the number of interface combinations, the storage area can be effectively used for all jobs. Therefore, there is no need to wait for the preceding job to end and release the buffer (storage area), and the job can be executed quickly.

Therefore, when the number of jobs is small,
It is possible to provide a low-cost and compact relay device which can allocate a large storage capacity to each job and can process the job at high speed, effectively utilize the storage capacity even when the number of jobs is large, and can process all jobs without waiting. . Further, since a plurality of interfaces can be dealt with by changing the division ratio of the storage area, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated storage area for a combination of individual interfaces, and the cost of a relay device equipped with a plurality of interfaces can be reduced. , Can be downsized. Therefore, according to the present invention, a plurality of information processing apparatuses such as a personal computer, a scanner, a printer, and a digital video camera, and a plurality of peripheral devices can be connected, and a highly versatile, high-performance, and low-cost relay apparatus can be provided.

Since the relay device of the present invention has an area in which data to be transferred can be temporarily stored, not only devices provided with a plurality of interfaces of the same standard but also, for example, IEEE 1394, IEEE 1284, SCSI,
The present invention can be applied to a device having an interface having a different standard such as RS-232C or USB and a different transfer rate. Therefore, a very flexible information processing system that can be combined with the information processing device using the relay device of the present invention can be constructed.

In the relay apparatus of the present invention, a storage area is allocated to a combination of operating interfaces so that a portion of each unused output interface that can be exclusively accessed remains in the storage area. Is desirable. Thus, when a new job is input from the interface on the input side (reception side), the received data can be stored without waiting for the exclusive portion to be released. Therefore, when the job for data transfer is started, the job can be executed immediately, so that there is no delay in the timing for starting the data transfer, and it is possible to prevent data from being leaked at the time of data transfer.

In IEEE 1394, USB, and the like, data transmission and reception are performed in predetermined units (packets). Therefore, by dividing the storage area into units in which packet size data can be temporarily stored and allocating them as blocks, it is possible to prevent waste of storage capacity when dividing. Also, if at least one block is secured for reception, data can be received. For this reason, if the storage area is divided into a plurality of blocks according to the data transmission / reception unit, and the storage area is increased or decreased in block units with respect to the number of used interface combinations, the capacity of the allocated storage area is calculated. This eliminates the need for complicated control such as sequential determination, and simplifies storage area allocation control, thereby omitting hardware or software resources involved.

In order to increase the storage area in block units, for example, the maximum number of blocks allocated to each interface combination (each job) is determined by the number of active interface combinations (active jobs). When the number of blocks already allocated is smaller than the maximum value, data from one interface, that is, data from the receiving interface may be transferred to a block in a newly allocated storage area. . At this time, it is desirable to determine the maximum value of the blocks so that at least one block remains for each unused output interface.

Thus, when the number of active interface combinations decreases, blocks can be allocated correspondingly, and the storage area can be used effectively. When the number of the combinations increases, the number of blocks to be allocated becomes smaller than the maximum value. Therefore, the reception is postponed until the maximum value is reached, and the corresponding blocks are released from other interface combinations. In this way, the allocation of the storage area is automatically changed according to the number of jobs, so that a plurality of interfaces can always be used effectively. Further, the maximum value of the blocks is determined so that at least one block remains for the unused output interface. Therefore, when a job for data transfer comes in from the input side interface, the job related to the job is involved. Data can be stored immediately.

Further, peripheral devices such as a printer enter an error state due to a paper jam or the like, the job is interrupted, and data communication becomes impossible. In such a case, the portion of the storage area allocated to the interrupted job is useless, and therefore, of the interface combinations, the storage area portion allocated to the interface combination for which data transmission is disabled is released. Then, it is desirable to change the ratio of the portion of the storage area allocated to the combination of interfaces.

Thus, it is possible to increase the storage capacity allocated for the interface combination (job) in which data communication is normally performed, and to improve the transmission / reception speed of the interface combination. In the case where the storage area is divided into blocks according to the packet size, if an error occurs, the storage area is opened in units of blocks so that simple processing can be performed without a complicated process. The storage area can be released at the same time.

If a block is opened when an error occurs in the interface, the transmission and reception of data stored in the block is canceled. However, when the error is released and the system returns to be able to transmit and receive data, By requesting the data source to resend the data, the data can be transferred without omission.

The relay device and the control method thereof according to the present invention
It can be provided as software or firmware executable by a processor such as a computer or a CPU, and can be provided as a computer or processor-readable control program device such as a ROM or a memory card, or a control program recorded on a recording medium and provided. Further, when the firmware is updated via a communication line such as the Internet, the firmware may be provided as a program device that adds the functions of the present invention or embedded in a transmission medium distributed over a network.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of an information processing system constructed using an information processing apparatus such as a relay apparatus (hereinafter, an interface conversion apparatus) and a personal computer to which the present invention is applied. 2 and 3 show a schematic hardware configuration diagram and a schematic functional block diagram of the interface conversion device of the present example, respectively.

The information processing system 1 shown in FIG. 1 uses two interface converters 10 according to the present embodiment and
The system configuration is such that four personal computers PC1, PC2, PC3 and four printers P1, P2, P3, P4 are mutually connected. Also, the digital camera DC1 or the digital video camera DV1 can be connected to the information processing system 1 via the interface conversion device 10. As shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3, the interface conversion device 10 of the present embodiment includes three interface connectors 2, 3, and 4 for IEEE1394, and IEEE1284.
And three interface connectors 5, 6 and 7. For example, the connectors 2 and 3 of the interface conversion device 10 are respectively connected to personal computers PC1 and PC3.
Is an IEEE1394 compliant interface cable 1
1a and 11b, and printers P3, P2 and P4 are connected to the connectors 5, 6, and 7, respectively, according to the IEEE2 standard.
It is connected via an interface cable (centronics cable) 12b, 12a, 12d based on the 84 standard. The personal computer PC2 is connected to the personal computer PC2 via an interface cable 11c conforming to IEEE1394.
3 and connected to the interface conversion device 10 via the personal computer PC3. Furthermore, the remaining connectors 4 of the interface conversion device 10
Is connected to the other interface conversion device 10 via an interface cable 11d compliant with IEEE1394.
Is connected.

The other interface converter 1
0 is connected to the digital camera DC1 via an IEEE1394 compliant interface cable 11e.
Alternatively, a digital video camera DV1 is connected, and a printer P1 is connected to the connector 5 via a Centronics cable 12c. In the information processing system 1 configured as above, each of the personal computers PC1, PC2, P
The print data can be transferred from C3 to each of the printers P1, P2, P3, and P4 and printed out, and each of the personal computers PC1, PC2, and PC3 or each of the printers P1 can be transferred from the digital camera DC1 or the digital video camera DV1. , P2, P3, and P4.

As shown in FIG. 2, the interface converter 10 of the present embodiment includes a CPU 15, a ROM 16 storing a control program for the CPU, and a temporary storage area for data and an R area used as an execution area for various programs.
AM 17, which are connected via a bus 18. In addition, the interface conversion device 10
Interface circuit 19 conforming to IEEE1394
And a driver 21 for IEEE 1394, and the CPU 15 executes a control program recorded in the ROM 16 to execute a process of transferring data between the interfaces using these hardware.

As shown in FIG. 3, the interface converter 10 of the present embodiment has six interfaces 22 and 2.
3, 24, 25, 26, and 27 and commands from host-side devices, such as computers PC1, PC2, PC3, digital camera DC1, and digital video camera DV1, input from the input-side interfaces 22 to 24 are analyzed. A command analysis unit 35 for executing the analyzed command, and a buffer 32 serving as a temporary storage area for data relayed by a combination of interfaces. Interfaces 22 to 27 are respectively
7 and interface control units 2a to 7a. In addition, the command execution unit 36
Data transfer unit 3 for transferring data from one interface to the other interface by combining 2 to 27
1 and an area control unit 33 for partially allocating an appropriate area of the buffer 32 to each of these active interface combinations.

Here, the combination of the operating interfaces means that when a job of printing out from the personal computer PC1 via the interface converter 10 by the printer P3 occurs, the interface 23 and the interface 25 are switched to the operating interface. Becomes the combination of When a job of printing out from the personal computer PC3 via the printer P2 via the interface conversion device 10 occurs while the combination of interfaces is operating, the interface 22 and the interface 26 are combined with the operating interface. In this state, the former combination and the latter combination are simultaneously activated, so that the number of active interface combinations is "2".

In the interface converter 10 of this embodiment, three interfaces 22, 23, and 24 of the six interfaces 22 to 27 are connected to the IEEE 139.
4 and the remaining three are IEEE128
4. Note that the number of interfaces is not limited to this example, and the interfaces are not limited to those of the above-described standards.
For example, an RS-232C, SCSI, or USB type interface may be used.

The buffer 32 is formed in the RAM 17, and includes personal computers PC1 to PC3, digital camera DC1,
It is virtually divided into nine blocks B0 to B8 corresponding to the packet size of data transferred from the digital video camera DV1 to the interface conversion device 10. The determination of the blocks to be allocated to the active interface combination, the process of releasing the block allocation from the combination, and the like are performed by the area control unit 33. For this reason, in the present example, the area control unit 33 determines the combination of active interfaces (job).
By changing the number of blocks allocated to them in accordance with the number of, the ratio of the storage capacity available for each job is changed.

In the interface conversion apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, when changing the number of blocks to be assigned to a combination of active interfaces, the area control unit 33 uses the number of active jobs (combinations of active interfaces) to change each block. The maximum value of the blocks (in this example, the maximum number of reserved blocks) allocated to the job (combination of interfaces) is increased or decreased, and the data transfer unit 3
According to 2, when the number of blocks already allocated is smaller than the maximum value, data from the interface on the input side (reception side) is transferred to the newly allocated block. In this example, IEEE1
394-compliant interfaces 22, 23, and 24 are input-side interfaces, and IEEE1284-compliant interfaces 25, 26, and 27 are output-side interfaces. The number of active interfaces is
For example, it can be grasped by looking at the use status of the interfaces 25 to 27 on the output side. Alternatively, the information of each job may be temporarily stored in the RAM 17 without observing the usage status of the interfaces 25 to 27, and the number of active interfaces may be grasped from the job information. The method of performing is not limited to these.

In the interface converter 10 of the present embodiment, the maximum value is determined by the area control unit 33 so that at least one block remains for each of the unused output-side interfaces 25 to 27. . As a result, the output interfaces 25, 26 and 2
7, a block capable of storing data always remains, and a job start command, data, or the like is input from any of the interfaces 22 to 24, and the output interface to be used is determined by the command analyzer 35. , A block left to be assigned to its output interface, eg, block B
1, B2 or B3 is the output interface 25 to
27 as a dedicated block,
Data is immediately stored in the block. For this reason,
When a command to start a new job comes in,
The data accompanying it can be stored immediately.
Each of these newly allocated blocks also has a capacity corresponding to the packet size of the information, so that when a job occurs, the job can be surely advanced without leaking data. The output side interface 2
The blocks to be reserved for 5 to 27 may be dynamically changed in accordance with the progress of the job or the like, or may be predetermined.

Further, in the interface conversion apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, when data transmission becomes impossible among the active interface combinations, the block of the storage area allocated to the interface combination is changed by the area control unit 33. The above ratio is changed so as to be opened. For this reason, the number of interface combinations for which data transmission is disabled is reduced, and the maximum number of blocks (the maximum number of reserved blocks in this example) allocated to the active interface combination is increased. In addition, the area control unit 33 releases the blocks assigned to the combination of interfaces for which data transmission is disabled.

FIG. 4 shows the processing in the interface conversion device 10 using a flowchart. FIG.
6 and FIG. 6 show a limited allocation of storage areas such as the registers of the RAM 17 or the CPU 15 or representative data to be stored. FIGS. 5A and 6A show a case where a personal computer is connected to a printer, and are examples of printer data 100 for managing a job input from an input-side interface. Cur 101 is the reception number of the data currently being printed, Last 102 is the reception number of the received data, Re
sNo103 is the reserved block number, PQue (i)
Is data indicating a block number. FIGS. 5B and 6B show which interface combination, that is, the job, is allocated to the block of the buffer 32. FIGS. 5C and 6C show the respective blocks. This is flag data 110 indicating the usage status. FIGS. 5D and 6D show management data of the number of printer ports in use and the number of reserved blocks.
orNo91 is the number of operating printer ports, Max
BufNo92 is data indicating the maximum number of reserved blocks.

A job for printing out from the personal computer PC1 by the printer P3 (hereinafter referred to as job J)
While the job 1) is in progress, a new job (hereinafter referred to as job J) for printing out from the personal computer PC3 by the printer P2
The process when 2) occurs will be described as a representative.

When a new job J2 is generated, the output interface 26 used in the job J2 is in an unused state, so that acceptance of the new job is permitted in step 41. At this time, since the block B1 has been completed, the block B1 is immediately assigned to the combination of the interfaces 22 and 26 operating in the job J2. Then, by using this block B1, the job J2 can be started immediately without a time lag.
When the job J2 is received, the number of operating interface combinations is “2” because the number of interface combinations corresponding to the job J1 and the job J2 is the same. When the job J2 is accepted, the process of allocating a part of the blocks B0, B3 to B9 assigned to the job J1 to the job J2 is started in step 42.

In step 42, the maximum number of reserved blocks (maximum value MaxBufNo) allocated for job J1 (combination of interfaces 23 and 25)
Decrease 92. When only the job J1 is being executed, the maximum reserved block number 92 in the job J1 is obtained by subtracting the remaining (unused) output interface number “2” from the total block number “9”. 7 ", but is changed to" 4 ". As a result, of the total number of blocks “9”, all that is obtained by subtracting the number of remaining (unused) output interfaces “1” becomes available for the two jobs J1 and J2.

Immediately after the maximum reserved block is increased or decreased, the blocks used in the job J1 are filled with data, so that blocks cannot be allocated according to the changed maximum value (maximum number of reserved blocks).

Therefore, even if the data of the job J2 is received in step 43, it is determined in step 47 that the maximum number of reserved blocks is larger than the number of received packets.
If the data of the block B1 has not been processed in step 48, it is determined that there is no empty block, and no data is received. In step 50, a busy signal is returned to the personal computer PC3.

On the other hand, the job J1 proceeds, and
In step, when the data stored in the block is transmitted to the printer P3, the block having the maximum value or more is released in step 51, and can be used in the job J2.
The released block can be used as a storage area of the job J2, and is allocated as a memory area therefor. If the block is empty, when data is received in step 43 and it is determined in step 47 that the maximum number of reserved blocks 92 is larger than the number of packets already received, it is determined in step 48 that there is an empty block. Is done. Then, in step 49, the data received from the personal computer PC3, that is, the data of the job J2 of the combination of the interfaces 22 and 26, is temporarily stored in the opened block.

When the data of the job J1, that is, the data sent from the personal computer PC1 is received in step 43, the maximum number of reserved blocks 92 has been reduced from "7" to "4". Maximum number of reserved blocks 9 based on the number of packets already received
2 is determined to be small, and in step 50, a busy signal is returned to the personal computer PC1. Such block release processing and data reception suspension processing are performed until the number of blocks used by each job J1, J2, that is, the combination of each interface reaches the maximum reserved block number 92 set in step 42 (see FIG. 6).

Step 45 is a process when an error occurs in the job for some reason. If the output destination printer becomes jammed, out of paper, or out of consumables such as ink or toner, an error occurs, and data transmission / reception becomes impossible. In such a case, the blocks assigned to the job in which the error has occurred (combination of interfaces) are wasted, so the interface conversion device 10 of the present embodiment assigns the blocks assigned to the job in which the error has occurred. Release the block that is

For example, in step 45, if an error occurs in the printer P3 and transmission / reception of data becomes abnormal, in step 52, data of the blocks assigned to the combination of the interfaces 23 and 25 (job J1) is deleted. Blocks other than the block being transmitted are released. Therefore, interface 2
They can be used on the side of the combination of 2, 26 (job J2), and the storage capacity allocated for the combination (job) of the interface in which data communication is normally performed can be increased. Therefore, the transmission / reception speed of the combination of interfaces can be improved. Therefore, in the interface conversion device 10 of the present example, the number of the maximum reserved blocks 92 is changed to a value corresponding to the number of jobs in which no error has occurred.

When such error processing is performed, transmission / reception of data to / from the printer in which the error occurred is canceled in the middle. However, after the error is cleared, the data is transmitted to the personal computer which is the data transmission source. It is possible to request retransmission. With such a function, data transfer can be performed normally even after the error is resolved, without losing the data stored in the block before the error occurs.

On the other hand, when the job is completed in step 46, the blocks used in the job are released. For example, when the job J1 that has been proceeding prior to the job J2 is completed, the blocks B0, B3, B4, and B5 used in the job J1 are released, and the unused output interface 25 is used. Correspondingly, one block is left, and the other block is made available for the job J2. Therefore, in step 53, the maximum number of reserved blocks 92 in the job J2 is increased from “4” to “7”. This increases the memory area for data transfer in job J2,
Transfer speed can be improved.

As described above, when the number of active interface combinations decreases, the maximum number of reserved blocks 92 increases. Accordingly, other active interface combinations have been used up to now. You can use the open blocks. Therefore, the storage area (buffer 32) can be used effectively. On the other hand, when the number of interface combinations (jobs) increases, the maximum number of reserved blocks 92 decreases, the maximum number of reserved blocks 92 becomes smaller than the number of used blocks, and the number of used blocks becomes the maximum. Until the number of reserved blocks drops to 92, data reception in the running job is suspended.
In this way, the allocation of blocks is automatically changed according to the number of running jobs, so that a plurality of interfaces can always be used effectively.

That is, in the interface converter 10 of the present embodiment, a dedicated memory area is not fixedly allocated to each of the interfaces 22 to 27, but when a job is generated, that is, when a combination of interfaces is generated, each An appropriate amount of memory area is allocated to the job. For this reason, when a job occurs, almost all of the area of the buffer 32, which is a memory area built in the apparatus 10, can be used effectively regardless of the number of jobs, and the memory utilization efficiency is extremely high. Therefore, almost all of the area of the buffer 32 built in the device 10 can always be used to the maximum, so that even if the capacity of the memory prepared in the device is smaller than preparing a dedicated buffer for each interface, Sufficient transfer efficiency can be secured. Therefore, the interface converter incorporating a plurality of interfaces can be made compact,
Also, it can be provided at low cost.

The interface conversion device 1 of this embodiment
In the case of 0, when the number of jobs is small, a large recording capacity can be allocated to each job, so that high-speed processing can be performed. On the other hand, even if the number of jobs increases, a part of the storage area can be used for each job, so it is not necessary to stop the start of other jobs until one job is completed, and the job can be executed without time lag. Can start. Therefore, since a plurality of interfaces can be flexibly dealt with, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated storage area for a combination of individual interfaces, and it is possible to reduce the cost and size of the relay device having the plurality of interfaces. Therefore, in this example, the personal computer,
A highly versatile, high-performance, and low-cost interface converter that can connect a plurality of information processing devices such as scanners, printers, digital cameras, and peripheral devices can be provided.

FIGS. 7 to 13 show a more detailed process of the processing performed by the interface conversion device 10. FIG. FIG. 7A shows processing on the data input side. As shown in FIG. 7A, first, in step 91,
If a job start command is input from any of the input interfaces 22 to 24 and is recognized as a new job, in step 92 the command “Open” is issued.
A job start process is executed as a process corresponding to “Port”. As shown in FIG. 8, in the start process, first, in step 61, a state in which the recognized new job can be started, that is, the output interface 25, 26, or 27 used in the new job is in an unused state. If there is, in step 62, the number 91 of operating printer ports, that is, the number of used IEEE1284-compliant interfaces is counted up by one. Next, in step 63, the number of active interface combinations is grasped according to the number of operating interfaces, that is, the number of operating printer ports.
To change. In the example described above, the maximum number of reserved blocks 92 is changed from “7” to “4” so that four blocks are assigned to each of the jobs J1 and J2. Then, in step 64, the printer information (printer data) 100 used for the new job is initialized, and preparations for starting the new job are completed.

When this preparation is completed, it is determined based on FIG. 7A that the job has been accepted in step 93, and further, in step 94, a block reservation command "Check" for storing data of a new job is checked.
and Reserve FIFO "can be received. This block reservation process (step 98) also uses the command “Check and Reserve FIF”.
This is executed as a process corresponding to “O”. As shown in FIG. 9, in step 65, it is determined whether the number of blocks in use does not exceed the maximum reserved block number 92.
If the maximum reserved block number 92 is not exceeded, at step 66, a check for an empty block and a process for allocating the block to a new job are performed. That is,
A block in which data can be stored is checked, and a request for a data copy process for the block is issued. Then, in step 67, when the use permission of the requested block is lowered, in step 68, the number of the permitted block is changed to the reserved block number ResNo10 of the printer data 100.
Set to 3. When this number setting is completed, the block reservation processing ends.

After the end of the block reservation processing, FIG.
Returning to (a), a command “Print Data” for receiving data from the host in step 95 can be accepted. Then, in step 99, the data receiving process is started. This processing is also performed by the data reception command “Prin
This is performed as processing corresponding to “t Data”. FIG.
As shown in the figure, in the data receiving process (step 99),
In step 71, block reservation processing (step 9)
It is determined that step 8) has been completed normally, and step 72
Is the data P indicating the block number of the printer data 100.
The number of the block reserved in the block reservation processing is written in the portion of Que (i). In step 73, the print data is copied (stored) in the block of the reserved number.
If the reserved block is filled with data, step 7
In step 4, the reception number Last102 of the received data of the printer data 100 is counted up by one, and in step 75, the reserved block number of ResNo103 is cleared. By the clearing of this number, the reception processing of the data of the predetermined packet size ends, and the processing shifts to the processing of data reception of the next packet. That is, a block reservation process (step 98) and a data reception process (step 99) are performed to store the next packet data in another block.

On the other hand, in parallel with such data reception processing, the output side interface 25 shown in FIG.
The process of transmitting data from 26 or 27 to the printer also proceeds. The processing on the output side is performed in step 101.
, When it is time to transmit data to the printer, the process is executed in step 102.
This process is shown in FIG. First, in step 76, an address for transmitting data stored in a predetermined block is set. And step 77
In, data at a predetermined address is transmitted to the printer via the output-side interface. This data transmission is continued in step 79 until all of the data stored in the block has been transmitted. When the data in the block has been transmitted, in step 80, the number of the receiving number Cur101 of the data currently being printed of the printer data 100 is counted up by one. Thereby, the transmission processing of the data stored in the predetermined block ends. If a communication error occurs between the printer and the printer during data transmission, an interrupt process that shifts from step 78 to step 81 occurs, and the communication error process is executed. In this process, as shown in FIG. 12, in step 82, the reception number Last102 of the received data of the printer data 100 is set to data obtained by counting down the reception number Cur101 of the data currently being printed by one.

Returning to FIG. 7A, when the ongoing job is completed in step 96, the job end process in step 97 is performed. This process is also executed as a process corresponding to the command “Close Port” indicating the job end. As shown in FIG. 13, first, in step 85, the number of operating printer ports is counted down by one. Then, in step 86, the maximum reserved block number is changed according to the number of operating printer ports. In the example of the processing described with reference to FIG. 4, the maximum reserved block number 92 is changed from “4” to “8”.

The interface conversion device 1 of the present embodiment
In the case of 0, the buffer 32 is set in one memory and is virtually divided. However, a plurality of memories corresponding to the individual buffers, that is, physically different memories may be provided. It may be divided appropriately. Further, all of the above-described devices are merely examples. For example, the number of blocks to be divided is not limited to nine, and may be eight or less, or ten or more. It can be determined according to the memory capacity and the data packet size.

Further, in this example, by dividing the buffer 32 into blocks according to the data packet size, control such as area reservation and area release is simplified, and software and hardware resources for the control are reduced. The reason for this is that fragmented packets can be rearranged and transferred, or variable when the amount of data to be transmitted and received is not constant.

In the above description, the processing for transferring data from the personal computer to the printer via the interface converter 10 of the present embodiment has been described.
For example, a process of transferring data to a personal computer or a printer via the PC 10 or a process of transferring data from the personal computer PC1 to the personal computer PC3 via the device 10 may be used. Further, the error state of the printer has been described as an example of the data communication error. However, since the error state also occurs in peripheral devices such as a scanner, a digital camera, and a digital video camera, the above-described processing is performed for the peripheral devices other than the printer. Is applicable.

Further, the data obtained through the IEEE 1394 interface is transmitted from the IEEE 1284 interface. However, as described above, the interface is not limited to these.
IEEE 1394 and USB, SCSI and IEEE 1394
Of course, a combination of data transfer may be used. Furthermore, an example has been described in which an interface to which data is input and an interface to which data is output are one-to-one. However, a process in which data is input from one interface and data is transferred from two or more interfaces The present invention is also applicable to

The interface conversion device and the processing method of the device described above are executed by a computer, CPU, or AS.
It can be provided in the form of a program product such as software or firmware executable by a processor such as an IC. Further, it can be provided by being recorded on a computer or a processor-readable recording medium such as a ROM or a portable memory such as a memory card. Further, when the firmware is updated on a communication line such as the Internet, the firmware can be provided in a form of adding various functions to transmission media distributed from the communication line.

[0056]

As described above, in the present invention, a memory area is not fixedly allocated to each interface, but a combination of each interface (job ) Is dynamically changed. Therefore, when the number of active jobs is small, most of the storage area can be allocated to the job, and the memory, that is, the storage area can be used effectively. On the other hand, when the number of active jobs is large, the entire storage area can be effectively used for all jobs by changing the ratio of the storage area portion allocated according to the number of interface combinations.

Therefore, when the number of jobs is small,
A large storage capacity can be allocated to each job so that processing can be performed at high speed. Even when the number of jobs is large, the storage capacity can be effectively used and all jobs can be started without a time lag. Further, since the storage area can be effectively used, the capacity of the memory built in the apparatus does not need to be increased more than necessary. Further, even when a plurality of interfaces are provided, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated storage area for a combination of the individual interfaces. Therefore, the cost of the relay apparatus having the plurality of interfaces can be reduced, and the size can be further reduced. As a result, a plurality of information processing devices such as a personal computer, a scanner, a printer, and a digital video camera and peripheral devices can be connected, and a highly versatile, high-performance, low-cost relay device can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information processing system configured using an interface conversion device to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic hardware configuration of an interface conversion device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic functional block diagram of the interface conversion device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a schematic process of the interface conversion device of the present example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining details of printer data and a use state of blocks in the interface conversion device of the present example.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a change in the use state of a block in the interface conversion device of the present example.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing detailed processing in the interface conversion device of the present example.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a job start process in the interface conversion device of the present example.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a block reservation process in the interface conversion device of the present example.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a data receiving process in the interface conversion device of the present example.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a data transmission process in the interface conversion device of the present example.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating communication error processing in the interface conversion device of the present example.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating job end processing in the interface conversion device of the present example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Information processing system 2-7 Interface connector 10 Interface converter 22-24 IEEE1394 compliant interface 25-27 IEEE1284 compliant interface 31 Data transfer unit 32 Buffer (storage area) 33) Area control unit 35 Command analysis unit 36 Command execution unit 92 Maximum number of reserved blocks (maximum value) B0 to B8 Blocks J1, J2 Job PC1, PC2, PC3 PC P1, P2, P3, P4 Printer DC1 Digital camera DV Digital video camera

Claims (22)

[Claims] A plurality of interfaces capable of at least one of input and output of data; data transfer means for combining these interfaces to transfer data from one of said interfaces to another of said interfaces; A temporary storage area for data relayed by a combination of: and an area control unit capable of partially allocating the storage area to each of the combinations of the operating interfaces. A relay device, wherein a ratio of a portion of the storage area allocated to them is changed according to the number of combinations of interfaces. 2. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the one interface and the other interface have different standards. 3. The storage area control unit according to claim 1, wherein the area control means stores the storage area in the combination of the operating interfaces such that an area exclusively accessible to an unused output interface remains in the storage area. A relay device. 4. The storage area according to claim 1, wherein the storage area is divided into a plurality of blocks in accordance with a data transmission / reception unit, and the area control means determines the number of each of the active interface combinations based on the number of active interface combinations. Increasing or decreasing the maximum value of the blocks allocated to the combination of interfaces, the data transfer means newly renews the data from the one interface when the number of blocks already allocated is less than the maximum value. A relay device for transferring data to a block in the allocated storage area. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area control means is configured to select one of the active interface combinations.
When the data transmission becomes impossible, the portion of the storage area allocated to the disabled interface combination is released, and the ratio is changed. 6. The relay according to claim 4, wherein the area control means determines a maximum value of the unused output interface such that at least one block remains for each of the output interfaces. apparatus. 7. The system according to claim 4, wherein the area control means is configured to select one of the active interface combinations.
When the transmission of data is disabled, the maximum value is increased by reducing the number of disabled interface combinations, and the data relay unit is assigned to the disabled interface combination. A relay device for releasing a block of a storage area. 8. An information processing system, comprising: the relay device according to claim 1; and an information processing device that transmits and receives data to and from the relay device. 9. It has a plurality of interfaces capable of at least one of data input and output, and a temporary storage area for data relayed by a combination of these interfaces. A method of controlling a relay device for transferring data from the interface to the other interface, wherein the storage area is partially allocated to each of the active interface combinations; Changing the ratio of the portion of the storage area allocated to them according to the method. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the one interface and the other interface have different standards. 11. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: allocating the storage area to the active interface combination such that an area exclusively accessible to an unused output interface remains in the storage area. A method for controlling a relay device, comprising: 12. The interface combination according to claim 9, further comprising: using a storage area divided into a plurality of blocks corresponding to a data transmission / reception unit, based on the number of active interface combinations. Increasing or decreasing the maximum value of the allocated block; and when the number of the blocks already allocated is less than the maximum value, the block of the storage area to which data from the one interface is newly allocated. Transferring to a relay device. 13. The storage area according to claim 9, further comprising, when data transmission is disabled in one of the operating interface combinations, the storage area allocated to the disabled interface combination. A method of controlling a relay device, comprising a step of changing the ratio so that a portion is opened. 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of increasing or decreasing the maximum value determines the maximum value of the block such that at least one block remains for each unused output interface. Control method of the relay device. 15. The method of claim 12, further comprising: when data transmission is disabled on one of the active interface combinations, reducing the number of disabled interface combinations to increase the maximum value. A method for controlling a relay device, comprising: increasing the number of blocks; and releasing a block of the storage area allocated to the disabled combination of interfaces. 16. An interface comprising a plurality of interfaces capable of at least one of input and output of data, and a temporary storage area for data relayed by a combination of these interfaces. A control program of a relay device for transferring data from the interface to the other interface, wherein, when a request for generating the interface combination is received, the storage area is partially stored in each of the interface combinations. Assigning, and after the occurrence or termination of the interface combination,
Changing the ratio of the portion of the recording area assigned to each interface according to the number of combinations of the respective interfaces. Recording medium. 17. The computer or processor readable recording medium according to claim 16, wherein said one interface and said other interface record said control program having different standards. 18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: allocating the storage area to the combination of the operating interfaces so that an area exclusively accessible to an unused output interface remains in the storage area. Computer or processor-readable recording medium characterized by the following. 19. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: using a storage area divided into a plurality of blocks corresponding to a data transmission / reception unit, and determining the number of combinations of the active interfaces. Increasing or decreasing the maximum value of the allocated block; and when the number of blocks already allocated is less than the maximum value, the block of the storage area to which data from the one interface is newly allocated. A computer or processor-readable recording medium, wherein the control program having instructions capable of executing the steps of: 20. The storage area according to claim 16, further comprising, when data transmission is disabled in one of the operating interface combinations, the storage area allocated to the disabled interface combination. A computer- or processor-readable recording medium, wherein the control program is recorded with instructions for causing a part to be opened and executing the step of changing the ratio. 21. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of increasing or decreasing the maximum comprises determining the maximum of the block such that at least one of the blocks remains for each unused output interface. A computer- or processor-readable recording medium on which the control program having executable instructions is recorded. 22. The method according to claim 19, further comprising, when data transmission is disabled on one of the active interface combinations, reducing the number of disabled interface combinations to increase the maximum value. A computer storing the control program having instructions capable of executing an increasing step and a step of releasing a block of the storage area assigned to the disabled interface combination. Processor readable recording medium.