JP2002108512A - Image information processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image information capable of being restored in a normal state when any abnormality is caused by preventing the occurrence of any condition being the factor of operational abnormality, thereby evading the occurrence of the operational abnormality. SOLUTION: A power supply timing from a device body 250 to a CD drive 140 is controlled. Then, the driven state of a power switch 143 of the CD drive is monitored directly or indirectly through an SCSI controller 77. Even when the power source switch 143 is turned on after the power source is disconnected, any power re-supply is inhibited within the minimum interval time when the power re-supply is made available after the power source is turned off so that any operation being the factor of operation abnormality can be prevented, and that the occurrence of any abnormality can be prevented. When the operational abnormality is reported through the SCSI controller, restoration processing is performed by controlling the power source OFF/ON.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an internal storage means for storing image information taken in through input means, and a storage medium capable of inputting and outputting image information transferred between the internal storage means. An external storage device provided for
For image information processing devices that store image information and process image information (for example, digital copiers, printers, facsimile machines, scanners, electronic filing devices, and devices that combine these devices). Prevents abnormal operation that occurs when the power of the storage device is turned on.
The present invention relates to the image information processing apparatus including a unit capable of performing a return operation when an operation abnormality occurs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, devices for digitally processing images have been developed.
For example, a digital copier incorporates a semiconductor memory or a large-capacity hard disk for storing image data read from a scanner or image data in which character codes are expanded (bit-mapped). A function for storing and making a copy by one original scan when making a plurality of copies, performing a sort operation of outputting a plurality of sets in an order different from the order of input, It realizes the function of outputting images in a single batch and the copy server function of outputting image data stored on a large-capacity hard disk. In such an image information processing apparatus, the storage capacity required for a storage unit for storing image data is increasing in accordance with the amount of image data to be processed. Further, a function of storing image data (group) input as necessary together with management (attribute) data necessary for output control of an image signal for a long time and outputting the image data again at a later date has been realized. An apparatus has been developed which has a configuration in which an external storage device is provided in an image information processing apparatus, and image data stored in a storage unit built in the image information processing apparatus is transferred to and stored in the external storage apparatus. I have. In this case, if the external storage device is a device capable of inputting and outputting data to and from a removable storage medium, backup (movement) or long-term storage of image information in storage means inside the image forming apparatus becomes possible, and Since it is not necessary to keep the data stored in the storage unit inside the forming apparatus, the utilization efficiency of the entire image forming apparatus is improved. As a removable storage medium, a large-capacity storage medium such as a writable CD-R, a writable CD-RW, a large-capacity DVD, and a data tape is often used.

As a prior art using an external storage device capable of inputting / outputting a removable storage medium, for example, Japanese Patent No.
The apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2376 is one of the image information processing apparatuses as described above, and stores information necessary for copying and an operation procedure program in addition to image data in a removable storage medium. Is being improved. Patent 276
In the digital copier disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 0396, when image data is written to a removable storage medium, a reduction process is performed according to the remaining capacity of the storage medium, and continuous image data is transferred to a plurality of storage media. It is a thing which did not come off. Further, in the copying apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-205270, when a removable storage medium for storing image data and copy processing mode information is mounted, by detecting that the sensor is mounted, The information can be efficiently written on a storage medium. In a copying machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-31375, image data is encrypted and stored in a removable storage medium. In these examples, in an image information processing apparatus that stores a plurality of input image data and performs output processing using various functions, an internal image storage unit for storing image data is provided in the apparatus. It is essential to manage input and output of image signals, and a large-capacity removable storage medium (for example, a magneto-optical disk, a CD
-R, CD-RW or other recording media) to back up the internal image storage means and re-output the image signal stored in it or send it to a remote location for output. It indicates that action is also needed.

[0004]

In the case where an external storage device capable of inputting and outputting is used for a removable storage medium, there is a concern that the storage medium may be defective or that the storage medium may be erroneously detected. You. For example, a writable CD (C
DR) or a rewritable CD (CD-RW), it may take several seconds to recognize the type of storage medium after turning on the power of the storage device (CD-R / RW drive) (If the storage medium is already inserted when the power is turned on). After turning on the power, turn off the power during this period before initializing the external storage device or recognizing the type of storage medium, and then immediately turn on the power again (repeatedly turning off and on the power in a short period of time). It has been reported that a phenomenon occurs in which the type of the storage medium is erroneously recognized or data from the storage medium cannot be read. Unlike a storage device such as a hard disk, in the case of a storage device capable of inputting / outputting data to / from a removable storage medium, the above-described power-on state and the operation of inserting / removing the storage medium (operation error) Therefore, it is apparent that there is a high possibility that an abnormality occurs temporarily in the processing on the storage medium. According to the present invention, transfer of image information is performed between an internal storage unit of the apparatus and
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the related art in an image information processing apparatus equipped with an external storage device capable of inputting and outputting data to and from a removable storage medium. By performing control so as not to cause a condition that causes an operation error at power-on, such as erroneously recognizing the type of the storage medium or preventing data from being read from the storage medium, a means for avoiding such an operation error can be provided. Equipped image information processing apparatus (for example, digital copier, printer, facsimile, scanner,
An electronic filing device, and a device obtained by combining these devices). Further, a second object of the present invention is to provide an image information processing apparatus equipped with an external storage device capable of transferring data to and from a removable storage medium for transferring image information to and from an internal storage means of the device. It is an object of the present invention to provide the image information processing apparatus, further comprising means for returning the apparatus to a normal state when the operation abnormality at the time of power-on occurs in the apparatus.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an internal storage means for storing image information taken in through an input means, and a removable storage medium. Turning on the power of the external storage device in an image information processing apparatus having an external storage device capable of inputting / outputting transferred image information, and an internal storage unit and a unit for outputting image information stored in the external storage device And an electric power supply control means for controlling disconnection is provided on the image information processing apparatus main body side.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the power supply control means prohibits power-on within a predetermined time after power-off. It is.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image information processing apparatus according to the second aspect, a means for variably setting the predetermined time is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image information processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, when the power to the external storage device is turned on, the operation state of the storage medium including the recognition of the storage medium is checked. Means for performing power-on by the power control means when the check means detects an abnormality.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image information processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, it is instructed whether or not to execute a power-on again by the power supply control means. It is characterized by comprising means for variably setting.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an internal storage means for storing image information taken in through the input means, and a removable storage medium, wherein the image information transferred to and from the internal storage means is stored in the storage medium. Initialization processing for controlling initialization processing of an external storage device in an image information processing apparatus having an external storage device capable of inputting and outputting, and an internal storage unit and a unit for outputting image information stored in the external storage device An image information processing apparatus characterized in that the control means is provided on the image information processing apparatus main body side.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image information processing apparatus according to the sixth aspect, there is provided means for checking an operation state of the storage medium including recognition of the storage medium at the time of operation of the external storage device. When the means detects an abnormality, re-processing is performed by the initialization processing control means.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image information processing apparatus according to the seventh aspect, it is instructed whether or not to execute the reprocessing performed by the initialization processing control means. It is characterized by comprising means for variably setting.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an internal storage means for storing image information taken in through an input means, and a removable storage medium, wherein the image information transferred to and from the internal storage means is stored in the storage medium. In an image information processing apparatus having an external storage device capable of inputting and outputting, and an internal storage unit and a unit for outputting image information stored in the external storage device, the operation of a detachable mechanism of a storage medium included in the external storage device is performed. An image information processing apparatus characterized in that a storage medium attachment / detachment control unit to be controlled is provided on the image information processing apparatus main body side.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image information processing apparatus according to the ninth aspect, further comprising means for checking an operation state of the storage medium including recognition of the storage medium when the external storage device is operated. When the means detects an abnormality, a remounting operation is performed by the attachment / detachment control means.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the image information processing apparatus according to the tenth aspect, it is instructed whether or not to execute the reattachment performed by the attachment / detachment control means. It is characterized by having a setting means.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the image information processing apparatus according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, there is provided an image reading means as an input means and / or an interface for taking in image information generated externally, An image forming means for forming an image based on image information stored in an internal storage means and an external storage device is provided as an output means.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described with reference to the following embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. The embodiment shown here is applied to a digital multifunction peripheral (a digital copier equipped with a plurality of functions such as a printer function in addition to a copying function) as an image information processing apparatus. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an entire configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 1, the apparatus configuration, functions, and operations of the apparatus will be described below along the flow of a document copy operation of reading a document, processing read image data, and writing an image using the processed data. I do. A document bundle placed on a document table 2 provided in an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as “ADF”) 1 with the image side of the document facing up is pressed by a start key 34 of an operation unit 30 (see FIG. 2) by a user. When depressed, the original is fed from the lowermost document to a predetermined position on the contact glass 6 by the feed roller 3 and the feed belt 4.
At this time, the number of read originals is managed by a counting function that counts up the number of originals each time the feeding of one original is completed. The image data is read by the reading unit 50 on the fed document on the contact glass 6,
The document that has been read is discharged by the feed belt 4 and the discharge roller 5. Further, the original set detector 7
When it is detected that the next document is present on the document table 2, the document is fed onto the contact glass 6 in the same manner as the previous document. The feeding roller 3, the feeding belt 4, and the discharging roller 5 are transport motors 2.
6 (see FIG. 4).

In the writing unit 57, the laser emission of the laser output unit 58 in the writing unit 57 is controlled by the image forming data generated based on the image data read by the reading unit 50, and the laser writing to the photoconductor 15 is performed. Creates a latent image. The photoreceptor 15 carrying the latent image adheres toner to the latent image by passing through the developing unit 27 to form a toner image. The conveying belt 16 is rotated at the same speed as the rotation of the photoconductor 15 for holding the toner image.
While transferring the transfer paper, the toner image on the photoconductor 15 is transferred to the transfer paper. A first tray 8, a second tray 9,
The transfer paper stacked on the third tray 10 is fed by the first paper feeder 11, the second paper feeder 12, and the third paper feeder 13, respectively, and is brought into contact with the photoconductor 15 by the vertical transport unit 14. Transported to The transfer paper carrying the transferred toner image is then fixed in a fixing unit 17 and discharged by a discharge unit 18 to a finisher 100 of a post-processing device.

The finisher 100 of the post-processing apparatus can guide the transfer paper conveyed by the paper discharge unit 18 of the main body toward the paper discharge tray 104 and the staple table 108. By switching the switching plate 101 downward, the sheet can be discharged to the sheet discharge tray 104 via the transport roller 103. Also, by switching the switching plate 101 upward, via the transport rollers 105 and 107,
It can be transported to the staple table 108. The transfer paper stacked on the staple table 108 is aligned with the jogger 109 for paper alignment every time one sheet is discharged, and is stapled by the stapler 106 when a part of the copy is completed. The transfer paper group bound by the stapler 106 is stored in the stapling completion paper discharge tray 110 by its own weight. On the other hand, the paper discharge tray 104 is a paper discharge tray that can move back and forth. Output tray 104 that can be moved back and forth
Is to sort the copy paper that moves back and forth and is ejected for each original or for each copy unit sorted by the image memory.

When an image is formed on both sides of the transfer paper, the transfer paper fed from each of the paper feed trays 8 to 10 and formed is not guided to the paper discharge tray 104, but is provided with a branch claw for path switching. By setting 112 on the upper side, the sheet is temporarily stocked in the duplex sheet feeding unit 111. Then, double-sided paper feed unit 1
The transfer paper stocked at 11 is transferred to the double-sided paper feed unit 1 in order to transfer the toner image formed on the photoconductor 15 again.
11, the branch pawl 112 for path switching is set on the lower side, and is guided to the paper discharge tray 104. As described above, the double-sided paper feeding unit 111 is used when forming images on both sides of the transfer paper. Photoconductor 15, transport belt 1
6, the fixing unit 17, the paper discharging unit 18, and the developing unit 27 are driven by a main motor 25 (see FIG. 4), and each of the paper feeding devices 11 to 13 applies the driving force of the main motor 25 to a paper feeding clutch 22 to 24 ( (See FIG. 4). The vertical transport unit 14 is the main motor 2
5 is transmitted and driven by the intermediate clutch 21 (see FIG. 4).

FIG. 2 shows an operation unit 30 provided for a user to input a command in the apparatus shown in FIG. The operation unit 30 includes a liquid crystal touch panel 31, a numeric keypad 32, a clear / stop key 33, a print key (start key).
34, a preheat key 35, a reset key 36, an initial setting key 37, a copy key 38, a copy server key 39, a document management key 40, and a printer key 41. The liquid crystal touch panel 31 has various function keys, the number of copies, and the state of the machine. Is displayed. By pressing the initial setting key 37, the initial state of the machine can be arbitrarily customized. For example, the paper size stored in the machine,
The state set when the mode clear key of the copy function is pressed can be arbitrarily set. In addition, to select an application that is preferentially selected when there is no operation for a certain period of time, to set the transition time to low power according to the International Energy Star Plan, and to set the transition time to sleep mode Is possible. By pressing the copy key 38, the copy function can be used. The copy server key 39 is used when storing the original image read by the reading unit 50 and printing the stored image and the stored image by the printer function (other copy mode setting and deletion). The details of the copy server operation will be described later.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the display screen 40 of the liquid crystal touch panel 31 in the operation section 30 (FIG. 2). This example shows a display screen when the copy server key 39 is pressed.
When the user touches a key displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 31 on this screen, the key indicating the selected function is inverted to black. When the details of the function must be specified (for example, when the printing conditions are specified), touching a key displays a setting screen for the detailed function. As described above, since the liquid crystal touch panel uses the dot display, the optimal display at that time can be graphically performed. The display screen 40 shown in FIG.
This is a display example displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 31 when the copy server key 39 shown in FIG. 2 is pressed, and the internal storage means (for example, FIG.
5) User ID (user identification code), document name, number of pages, storage time, printing order, size (data amount) as image management information for specifying the image data stored in 5)
Is displayed. Since the user ID is assigned in the printer driver of the personal computer connected to the apparatus, it is displayed only when storing an image processed using the printer function. A document name is given each time an image is stored. The number of pages is the number of stored document images. The storage time is the time when the image data was stored, and the printing order is the printing order given when printing the stored plurality of image data. Note that the displayed image management information is stored in the nonvolatile memory NV-RAM 74.
And the image management information is maintained even when the power is turned off. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the operation unit display screen is a key for copying image information (image data and image management information) to an external storage device (FIG. 5, external storage device 76) [document. Copy to external media] key is displayed.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control device of the digital multi-function peripheral, focusing on the main controller. The main controller 20 controls the entire digital multifunction peripheral. The main controller 20 includes a display for the user on the liquid crystal display device 31 and keys 32 to 35 from the user.
, An image processing unit (IPU) 49 for controlling the reading unit 50, controlling the writing of a document image in the image memory 66, controlling the image formation from the image memory 66, and the like. 26, Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) with Document Set Detector 7
1, etc. are connected. Each decentralized control device and the main controller 20 exchange machine status and operation commands as needed. Further, the main motor 25, the vertical transport unit 14, the first
The various clutches 21 to 24 required for transmission of the respective sheet feeders 11 to 13 are also connected.

Returning to FIG. 1, the operation of the digital multi-function peripheral of this embodiment from reading of the original document to writing of the image will be described in more detail. This operation is mainly performed by the reading unit 50 and the writing unit 57. The reading unit 50 includes a contact glass 6 on which a document is placed and a scanning optical system. The scanning optical system includes an exposure lamp 51, a first mirror 52, a lens 53, a CCD image sensor 54, and the like. . Exposure lamp 51 and first
The mirror 52 is fixed on a first carriage (not shown),
The second mirror 55 and the third mirror 56 are fixed on a second carriage (not shown). The scanning optical system is driven by a scanner drive motor (not shown). The document image is read by the CCD image sensor 54, converted into an electric signal, and processed.

The writing unit 57 includes a laser output unit 58, an imaging lens 59, and a mirror 60.
Inside the laser output unit 58, a laser diode as a laser light source and a polygon mirror (polygon mirror) that rotates at a constant high speed by a motor are provided.
At the same time that the laser light output from the writing unit 57 irradiates the photoconductor 15 of the image forming system with main scanning,
A main scan synchronization signal is generated by irradiating a beam sensor (not shown) provided at a light receiving position near one end of the photoconductor 15. Based on the main scanning synchronization signal, control of image recording start timing in the main scanning direction and generation of a control signal for inputting and outputting an image signal described later are performed.

Next, the processing of image data centered on the image processing unit (IPU) in the present embodiment from the image signal read by the reading unit 50 to the generation of image data to be input to the writing unit 57 will be described.
This will be described in detail. FIG. 5 shows an image processing unit (IPU) 4
9 shows a block diagram of a circuit configuration of FIG. The reflected light from the document irradiated by the exposure lamp 51 is photoelectrically converted by the CCD image sensor 54 and is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 61. The image signal converted into the digital signal is subjected to shading correction 62 and then processed by an image processing unit 63 such as MTF correction and γ correction. Next, the image signal is input to the selector 64 after being enlarged or reduced in accordance with the magnification by passing through the magnification processing section 72. The selector 64 switches the destination of the image signal to one of the writing γ correction unit 71 and the image memory controller 65. The image signal that has passed through the writing γ correction unit 71 has its writing γ corrected according to the image forming conditions, and is sent to the writing unit 57.

Image memory controller 65 and selector 6
Between the four, the image signal can be input and output bidirectionally. In addition, setting to the image memory controller 65 and the like,
And a CPU 68 for controlling the reading unit 50 and the writing unit 57, and a ROM 69, a RAM 70, and a N for storing programs and data for executing the CPU 68.
A V-RAM 74 is provided. Further, the CPU 68 writes and reads data in the image memory 66 via the image memory controller 65. Here, the document image sent to the image memory controller 65 is sent to the image memory 66 after the image data is compressed by an image compression device in the image memory controller 65. The reason for performing image compression is that it is possible to write 256 gradation data of the maximum image size into the image memory 66 as it is, but as it is, one document image requires an extremely large capacity of the image memory 66. Therefore, by performing image compression, the limited image memory 66 is effectively used.

Further, when image compression is performed, a large amount of document image data can be stored at one time. Therefore, for example, when a sort function is used, the document image data can be output in page order using the image memory 66. . In this case, the image data in the image memory 66 is output while being sequentially expanded by the expansion device in the image memory controller 65. Further, by utilizing the function of the image memory 66, a plurality of original images can be stored in an area of one transfer sheet in the image memory 66 by four.
It is also possible to sequentially write data into equally divided areas. For example, four manuscript images are converted to four
By sequentially writing in the equally divided areas, four originals are combined into one transfer paper image, and an integrated copy output can be obtained. Such a function is generally called “aggregated copy”.

The image data in the image memory 66 is stored in the CPU 6
8 is accessible. With this configuration, the contents of the image data held in the image memory 66 can be processed, and for example, an image thinning process, an image cutout process, and the like can be performed. In the processing, the image data held in the image memory 66 can be processed by writing data to the register of the image memory controller 65. The processed image is held in the image memory 66 again. The image memory 66 is configured to divide the image data into a plurality of areas according to the size of the image data to be processed and to simultaneously execute input and output of the image data. In order to allow input and output of image data to be performed in parallel with each of the divided areas, two sets of read / write address / data lines can be connected to the interface with the image memory controller 65. ing. Thus, an operation of outputting (reading) an image from the area 2 while inputting (writing) the image to the area 1 becomes possible. Further, the configuration is such that the content of the image memory 66 can be read by the CPU 68 and transferred as image data 73 to the operation unit 30 via the I / O port 67. Generally, since the screen display resolution of the operation unit 30 is low, the original image in the image memory 66 is thinned out and sent to the operation unit 30.

Since a large amount of image data is stored in the image memory 66, a hard disk (HD) 75 may be separately provided for storing a large amount of image data for reasons of storage capacity. By using the HD 75, there is also a feature that an external power supply is unnecessary and an image can be held permanently. In addition,
In the configuration including the HD 75, the image memory 66 and the HD 75
Constitutes internal storage means for storing images,
In the configuration not including 5, the image memory 66 serves as an internal storage unit. In order to read and hold a plurality of fixed originals (format originals) with a scanner, the HD 75 is generally used. Also, CD-R,
An external storage device 76 having a removable storage medium such as a CD-RW and a DVD having a larger storage capacity is provided.
The external storage device 76 has a bus controlled by the SCSI controller 77 and executes writing and reading of image data. At the time of writing and reading, the image data is temporarily stored in the image memory 66 in order to absorb the difference from the processing speed of image formation and image reading from the reading unit 50. That is, when writing the image data from the scanner to the external storage device 76, the image data is always written via the image memory 66. When sending image data from the external storage device 76 to the writing unit 57, the image data is temporarily stored in the image memory 66 and then sent to the writing unit 57. Image memory 66 for storing image data, HD
75, the image memory controller 65 determines an image path for reading and writing image data from and to the external storage device 76, inputting image data from a scanner (such as the reading unit 50), and outputting image data to be sent to the writing unit 57. . A CPU 68 for inputting image data;
By determining the output destination, the image memory controller 65 connected to the CPU 68 can switch the flow of the image data.

Here, the transfer timing of the image signal for one page in the selector 64 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, / FGATE is a frame gate signal, and indicates an effective period of one page of image data in the sub-scanning direction. / LSYNC is a main scanning synchronization signal for each line, and the image signal becomes valid at a predetermined clock after this signal rises. / LGATE is a line gate signal, which is a signal indicating that the image signal in the main scanning direction is valid. These signals are synchronized with the pixel clock (pixel synchronization signal) VCLK, and VCLK
In one cycle, data of 8 bits per pixel (256 gradations) is sent. In the present embodiment, the writing density 4
00 dpi, the maximum number of pixels is 4800 pixels in the main scan and 6800 pixels in the sub-scan. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the closer to 255 the image data is, the whiter the image becomes.

Next, an example of the operation of copying an image stored in the internal storage means (such as the image memory 66 or the HD 75) to the external storage device 76 will be described. FIG. 7 shows a configuration of a software system of the digital multifunction peripheral. As shown in FIG. 7, the function of operating the image data stored in the internal storage device is a copy server application processing unit 212.
And the copy application processing unit 211,
It is assumed that the printer application processing unit 213 is started up in the same row as the printer application processing unit 213 and operates independently. An operation unit 221, a peripheral device 222, an image forming (writing) unit 223, an image reading unit 224, which are shared resources,
The memory unit 225 is arbitrated by the system control (system controller) 200. Each application processing unit can write the respective operation screen information in the virtual screen area (memory area corresponding to the real screen) provided by the operation unit 221. The operation unit 221 develops and displays operation screen information of a virtual screen area instructed by the system controller 200 on a real screen. When the external storage device 76 is provided externally, the external storage device 76 is connected to the connection port of the SCSI controller 77 (232 in FIG. 7) shown in FIG.
This is performed by the CSI controller 77.

Next, a description will be given of an embodiment of the present invention relating to the operation of the external storage device 76 in the digital multifunction peripheral configured as described above. When operating the external storage device 76,
By pressing the copy server key 39 on the operation unit 30 (see FIG. 2), the copy server application 212 is activated, and the operation screen of FIG. 3 is called. In the operation screen shown in FIG. 3, for example,
When performing an operation of copying a document from the internal storage means (for example, the HD 75) to the storage medium of the external storage device 76, power is supplied to the external storage device 76 and sent from the device (digital multifunction peripheral) body. It is necessary to receive the operation instruction and make it ready to start the operation according to the instruction. Therefore, the power is turned on to the external storage device 76, and after the power is turned on, an initial operation at the time of power-on such as initializing the external storage device 76 and recognizing the type of the storage medium is executed. by the way,
Turn off the power during the initial operation when turning on the power, and then turn it on again immediately (repeat the power off / on in a short period of time)
Then, as described above, an operation abnormality occurs in which the type of the storage medium is erroneously recognized or data from the storage medium cannot be read. In the present embodiment, the occurrence of such an operation abnormality can be prevented. This is because even if the power OFF / ON operation is repeated during the power-on start-up process, which is a condition that causes the operation to fail, the device itself (in this embodiment, the digital MFP) A means for controlling the power-on of the external storage device 76 is provided, and by controlling the power-on timing of the external storage device 76, an operation abnormality is prevented from occurring.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention in which the power supply of the external storage device 76 is controlled from the apparatus main body will be described in detail. FIG. 8 is an example of a system configuration according to the present embodiment. Here, the drive 140 illustrated in FIG. 9 is used as an external storage device (hereinafter, referred to as “drive”) capable of inputting / outputting data to / from a removable storage medium (medium). In FIG. 9, a drive 140 uses a CD-R as a medium, a tray 144 for inserting the medium 143 into an operation position in the apparatus, and an eject button 142 for performing an operation of inserting / ejecting the medium 143 received in the tray 144. And a power switch 143 for turning off / on the power of the drive 140. The drive 140 is provided with an access lamp 141, which is illuminated to notify a read or write state. 8 includes an apparatus main body 250 and an apparatus main body 2.
The drive 140 under the control of the 50 main controller 20 and the SCSI controller 77 constitute a system. SCSI controller 77 is drive 1
In addition to the operation instruction to the device 40, the status of the drive 140 such as the operation status or the presence or absence of a medium is grasped, and the status is notified according to a command from the main controller 20 of the apparatus main body 250. The main controller 20 on the device main body 250 side operates the power switch 14 of the drive 140.
It is necessary to monitor the operation state of the third. For this purpose, monitoring may be performed directly as shown in FIG. 8, but it is also possible to know via the SCSI controller 77.

Control of turning on the power to the drive 140 is performed by the main controller 20 of the apparatus main body 250. Here, the power supply 20p is supplied to the drive 140, and the power supply connector 20n is controlled by the main controller 20. Main controller 2
0 controls the OFF / ON operation timing of the power supply connector 20n according to the operation state of the power switch 143 being monitored. For this reason, the current drive 1 is
The power state of 40 is managed by a state variable SW_State.
SW_State is initialized when the main power is turned on. Drive 14
The initial power state of 0 is OFF, and the power supply to the drive 140 is stopped. Here, a control operation flow for turning on the power to the drive 140 performed from the apparatus main body 250 will be described. FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of a process for initializing the power supply state of the drive 140 managed by the main controller 20. The main controller 20
The initialization process is performed when the main body is turned on. As shown in FIG. 10, the power supply to the drive 140 is stopped by disconnecting the power supply connector 20n that supplies the main body power supply 20p to the drive 140, and the state variables of the power supply are initialized. , That is, SW_Sta
te ← OFF (S101), and the process ends.

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of the ON / OFF control of the power supply to the drive 140 performed by the apparatus main body 250 in response to the operation of the power switch 143 of the drive 140. As shown in this flowchart, first, the main controller 20 acquires the current pressed state of the power switch 143 of the drive 140 directly or via the SCSI controller 77 (S111). Thereafter, it is checked whether or not the power switch 143 has been pressed by the operator (S112). If not, step S111 is performed again, and steps S111 and S11 are performed.
Poll the second step. On the other hand, power switch 1
When the button 43 is pressed, it is determined whether or not the obtained power state variable is SW_State = ON to determine the current power state acquired in step S111 (S113), and the acquired SW_State is OFF. If it is, turn off the power
In response to an instruction to press the power switch 143 to change the power of the drive 140 to ON, the power connector 20n that supplies the power 20p of the main body to the drive 140 is connected to the drive 140.
To the power supply and update the power supply state variables,
SW_State ← ON is set (S114). If the SW_State acquired in step S113 is ON, the power supply to the drive 140 is stopped by disconnecting the power supply connector 20n that supplies the power supply 20p of the main body to the drive 140 in accordance with the instruction to press the power switch 143 to change the power supply state. At the same time, the state variable of the power supply is updated, and SW_State ← OFF is set (S115). After steps S114 and S115, the process returns to step S111 and the subsequent flow is repeated.

Next, the drive 140 is
By operating the control means capable of controlling the power-on timing to the power supply, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an abnormal operation even if the power OFF / ON operation is repeated during the drive 140 startup process. An example will be described below. In this example, as a means for preventing the occurrence of the operation abnormality, the power switch 143
Provide a means to prohibit power-on (re-power-on) for a certain period of time even if there is an ON operation. For this purpose, there are provided means for measuring the time until the power switch 143 is turned on after the power is turned off, and means for presetting a minimum interval time: MIN_PASSED_TIME at which the power can be turned on again after the power is turned off. When the time measuring means determines that MIN_PASSED_TIME has elapsed, the prohibition is released and the power can be turned on again.

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of the present embodiment for performing ON / OFF control of the power supply to the drive 140 when the power is turned on again. As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12, the main controller 20 first obtains the current pressed state of the power switch 143 of the drive 140 directly or via the SCSI controller 77 (S121). Thereafter, it is checked whether the power switch 143 has been pressed by the operator (S122). If not, step S121 is performed again, and steps S121 and S12 are performed.
Poll the second step. On the other hand, step S12
If the power switch 143 is pressed in step S2, the process proceeds to step S
In order to determine the current state of the power supply acquired at 121,
It is determined whether or not the obtained power state variable is SW_State = ON (S123). If the obtained SW_State is OFF, the power switch 143 according to the operator's will to change the power state from OFF to ON is determined. Since this is an instruction to press, the power supply 20p of the main body is
Power is supplied to the drive 140 by connecting the power supply connector 20n that supplies power to the power supply 0, and the state variable of the power supply is updated to SW_State ← ON (S124). If the SW_State acquired in step S123 is ON, there is an instruction to press the power switch 143 by the operator's will to change the power state from ON to OFF, and this processing is performed. A power-on waiting process (S126), which will be described in detail, is performed to prevent occurrence of the above-mentioned operation abnormality due to power-on again. Power-on wait processing (S
126) After that, the power supply to the drive 140 is stopped by disconnecting the power supply connector 20n that supplies the power supply 20p of the main body to the drive 140, and the state variable of the power supply is updated to SW_State ← OFF (S125). After steps S124 and S125, the process returns to step S121, and the subsequent flow is repeated.

The power-on waiting process (S126) in the flowchart of FIG. 12 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 13, the main controller 20 first determines whether a flag indicating that time counting is in progress: wait_flag is set, that is, wait_fl
It is checked whether or not ag = SET (S131). If it is, wait until the flag is turned off, and then set a new flag to set MIN_PASSED_TIME for the current power switch pressing operation, that is, wait_flag ← S
ET is set (S132). After this, the newly set flag
The MIN_PASSED_TIME is taken out from the NV-RAM 74 and set, and the recording time measuring means waits until the MIN_PASSED_TIME has elapsed (S133). Prohibit power-cycle (OFF / ON). MIN_PASSED_T
Drop the flag when the IME has passed, ie wait_flag
Set ← RESET (S134) to end this flow.
Thereafter, according to step S125 of the flow of FIG. 12, the power supply to the drive 140 is stopped, the state variable of the power supply is updated, SW_State ← OFF, and the power supply can be turned on again. Also, MIN_PASSED_TIME to set as the minimum interval time at which the power can be turned on again after the power is turned off
Can be arbitrarily changed by the user so that the time can be set as short as possible without causing any inconvenience in the operation. This setting is prepared in a setting item of an initial setting screen which can be called by pressing an initial setting key 37 of the operation unit 30 shown in FIG. 2, and an operation of setting change is performed. The minimum interval time set on the initial setting screen is stored in the nonvolatile memory NV-RAM 74 as the minimum time interval: NV_MIN_PASSED_TIME. Read from RAM 74,
It is copied to MIN_PASSED_TIME, and is used for the power control sequence during the initial operation of the drive 140 as described above.

The following embodiment relates to a return process when an operation error occurs after the power supply to the external storage device is turned on.
In the above embodiment, the power supply is controlled so that no operation abnormality occurs after the power supply to the external storage device is turned on. However, this embodiment provides a means for returning to the normal state when the operation abnormality occurs. It is. The status of the drive 140 is notified to the device main body 250 via the SCSI controller 77. This includes a medium abnormal state such as an inability to recognize the medium 143 inserted in the drive 140 or an inability to read data. The detection of the media abnormal state is usually performed by the SCSI controller 77. When a media abnormality is detected, the recovery process is started and normal media 143 is recognized. The occurrence of an operation abnormality is determined by issuing a command from the main controller 20 to the SCSI controller 77 and responding to the command from the SCSI controller 77. For example, in the case of media recognition, a media recognition command is issued, and when it is notified as to whether or not it has been recognized as a response, a determination according to the notification is made,
If there is no response, determine an abnormality.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a return process performed when an operation error occurs when the power is turned on. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the main controller 20 first checks whether a flag indicating that time counting is in progress: wait_flag is set, that is, whether wait_flag = SET (S141). If it is standing, it is the operation performed immediately before, so wait until the flag is turned off, and then MIN_PASS for the operation to be performed as return processing from now on
A new flag is set to set ED_TIME, that is, wait_flag ← SET, and the newly set flag MIN_PASS
ED_TIME is extracted from the NV-RAM 74 and set (S
142). At the same time, the power of
The power supply to the drive 140 is stopped by disconnecting the power supply connector 20n supplied to the power supply, and the state variable of the power supply is updated to SW_State ← OFF (S143). Thereafter, the process waits until the MIN_PASSED_TIME set in step S142 elapses (S144), that is, the time measuring means
Until the N_PASSED_TIME is measured, the power state is kept OFF, so that the state is not shifted to the ON state, and the power is not turned on again during this time. When the MIN_PASSED_TIME has elapsed, the power is supplied to the drive 140 by connecting the power connector 20n that supplies the power 20p of the main body to the drive 140, and at the same time, the state variable of the power is updated and SW_State ← ON (S145). afterwards,
The flag set in step S142 is cleared, that is, wait_f
lag ← RESET is set (S146), and a media recognition command is issued to the SCSI controller 77 (S147).
This flow ends.

FIG. 14 shows an embodiment of the return process. In the following embodiment, the return process performed when an operation abnormality occurs at the time of power-on is performed by a predetermined number of times while the abnormality occurs. It is intended to be able to be repeated.
The number of retries for this return process: NV_RETRY_TIMES is arbitrarily determined, and can be arbitrarily changed by the user from the initial setting screen (called by the initial setting key 37 of the operation unit 30 shown in FIG. 2). It is memorized. NV_RETRY_TIMES is stored in the non-volatile memory NV-RAM7 at initialization when the power of the main unit is turned on and at the time of change on the initial setting screen.
4 is copied to RETRY_TIMES, and each time the return process is performed, the process is repeated until the count value of the return trial counter that counts the number reaches the set RETRY_TIMES. Also, whether or not to perform this return processing can be set by a return processing flag: NV_RETRY_FLAG, can be arbitrarily changed by the user from the initial setting screen, and is stored in the nonvolatile memory NV-RAM 74. Main unit power ON
NV_RET when initializing the time and when changing on the initial setting screen.
The RY_FLAG is read from the non-volatile memory NV-RAM 74, copied to the RETRY_FLAG, and used for the control sequence at the time of the return processing of the drive 140 in the same manner as the above RETRY_TIMES. When NV_RETRY_TIMES is set to 0 (no return attempt is made), NV_RETRY_FLAG is reset.

FIG. 15 shows a recovery process performed when an operation error occurs when the power is turned on (depending on the retry operation mode).
The flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, when an operation abnormality (media abnormality) is notified via the SCSI controller 77, the main controller 20 first determines whether the return processing trial flag RETRY_FLAG is set, that is, RETR.
It is checked whether Y_FLAG = SET (S151), and SET
If not, the processing flow ends. On the other hand, if it is SET, the count value t of the return trial counter is initialized to 0 (S152), and the return process is started (S153). The return process executes the flow of the return process (FIG. 14) shown in the previous embodiment. Thereafter, in step S147 of the final stage in the flow of the return process (FIG. 14), the SCSI controller 77
Since the media recognition command has been issued to the server, the response is received, and it is checked whether the response of the media recognition command after the return processing is normal (S154). Finish. On the other hand, if the response is a media error, the count value t of the return attempt counter is incremented, that is, t ← t +
Set to 1 (S155), and the incremented t becomes RETRY_TIME
It is checked whether it is larger than S (S156), and if it is larger, this flow ends. If smaller, step S1
The return processing after 53 is performed again.

In the digital multifunction peripheral of this embodiment, another embodiment will be described in which an operation abnormality (abnormality of a storage medium) that occurs when the power is turned on to the external storage device 76 (the drive 140 in FIG. 8) can be avoided. If the timing of turning on the power of the external storage device 76 can be controlled from the device main body (see the embodiment of FIG. 12), as described above, the operation abnormality can be easily avoided. When it is not possible to connect to the device main body due to the power supply specification of the storage device 76. It is not possible to avoid problems or recover from failures by controlling the power supply. In the present embodiment, in such a situation, control of the initialization processing of the external storage device 76 is performed from the device main body so as not to cause an operation abnormality. This is based on the assumption that the cause of the operation abnormality can be eliminated by re-initializing the external storage device 76 when an abnormality occurs. Then, it is possible to perform the initialization re-processing from the main body of the apparatus. Hereinafter, the present embodiment in which the apparatus main body controls the initialization process of the external storage device 76 will be described in detail. The system configuration of this embodiment is the same as the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 shown in the above embodiment, and includes a device main body 250 and a drive (external device) under the control of the main controller 20 of the device main body 250. A system is configured by using the storage device 140 and the SCSI controller 77 as elements. By issuing a command from the main controller 20 of the device main body 250 to the SCSI controller 77, initialization of the drive 140 such as parameter setting performed at power-on can be executed. In addition to the operation instruction to the drive 140, the SCSI controller 77 grasps the device state and the operation state such as the initialized state of the drive 140, and recognizes the state and the operation state of the device main body 2.
The notification is made in response to a command from the main controller 20 of 50.

Here, a control operation flow of the initialization processing for the drive 140 performed from the apparatus main body 250 will be described. FIG. 16 shows a flowchart of the initialization processing of the drive 140 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, the main controller 20 of the device main body 250
By issuing a command to the controller 77, a cache use method (write cache method), which is one of the initial settings performed when the power is turned on, is set (S1).
61). When this setting is completed on the drive 140, the SCSI
Since the setting completion is notified via the controller 77, it is waited for, and the setting completion notification is confirmed (S16).
2) Make the following settings. Next, the method of writing to the medium is set (S163). When the setting is completed in the drive 140, the completion of the setting is notified via the SCSI controller 77, so that the setting is notified, and the notification of the completion of the setting is confirmed (S164), and the next setting is performed. Next, an access speed, which is a setting parameter of the drive 140, is set (S165). When the setting is completed in the drive 140, the completion of the setting is notified via the SCSI controller 77, so that the notification of the completion of the setting is confirmed (S166), and the initialization processing ends.

The following embodiment relates to a recovery process in the case where an operation abnormality occurs when power is supplied to the external storage device 76 (the drive 140 in FIG. 8). In the above embodiment, the example in which the initialization process to the external storage device 76 can be controlled from the device main body 250 has been described, but this process is performed as a process of returning to a normal state when an operation abnormality occurs. This is an effective method when the cause of the operation abnormality can be eliminated by re-initializing. FIG. 17 shows a flowchart of a return process performed when an operation error occurs when the power is turned on. The return process is performed to check whether the main controller 20 can perform a normal operation from the main controller 20 to the SCSI controller 77 after performing the initialization process, and to know whether the media can be read or the data can be read. Issue the command
The response from the SCSI controller 77 is determined, and this is performed when it is determined that the operation is abnormal. In the case of media recognition, for example, in the case of media recognition, when it is notified whether or not it has been recognized as a response to a command, a determination is made according to the notification, and when there is no response, an abnormality is determined. When it is determined that an operation abnormality has occurred, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the main controller 20
The initialization process of 40 (see the flow of FIG. 16) is executed again (S171). After executing the initialization process, a media recognition command is issued to the SCSI controller 77 (S172), and this flow ends.

FIG. 17 shows an embodiment of the return process by executing the initialization process. In the following embodiment, the return process performed when an operation abnormality occurs is performed while the abnormality is occurring. It is intended to be able to be repeated a predetermined number of times. The return process in the retry operation mode is performed by setting the number of retries of the return process: NV_RETRY_TIMES.
Whether or not to perform the return processing is also determined by the return processing flag:
There is no difference in the basic concept from the embodiment shown in FIG. 15 in that it can be set by NV_RETRY_FLAG.
Since the processing flow shown in FIG. 15 can be applied, a duplicate description will be omitted here by referring to the above description. However, in the present embodiment, the drive initialization processing shown in FIG. 17 is executed as the return processing in step S153 in the flowchart of FIG.

In the digital multifunction peripheral of this embodiment, another embodiment will be described in which an operation abnormality (storage medium abnormality) that occurs when the external storage device 76 (the drive 140 in FIG. 8) is powered on can be avoided. . External storage device 76
If the power-on timing control (see the embodiment of FIG. 12) can be performed from the apparatus main body, as described above, it is easy to avoid the operation abnormality. When it cannot be connected to the main unit due to the power supply specification. It is not possible to avoid problems or recover from failures by controlling the power supply. In this embodiment, in such a situation, control of insertion / ejection of a storage medium in the external storage device 76 capable of inputting / outputting a removable storage medium is performed from the apparatus main body 250 so as not to cause an operation abnormality. It was made. This is based on the assumption that the cause of the operation abnormality can be eliminated by re-inserting / ejecting the storage medium. The apparatus main body monitors the occurrence of the operation abnormality, and when the operation abnormality occurs, the apparatus main body 250 To insert / eject the storage medium. In the following, a detailed description will be given of this embodiment in which a storage medium is inserted into and ejected from the external storage device 76 from the apparatus main body. The system configuration of the present embodiment is the same as the example shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 shown in the above embodiment, and includes an apparatus main body 250 and a drive 140 under the control of the main controller 20 of the apparatus main body 250.
And a SCSI controller 77 as elements. From the main controller 20 of the device main body 250
By issuing a command to the SCSI controller 77, a tray on which a storage medium (medium) is placed is taken in and out, and a medium is inserted / ejected. In addition, the SCSI controller 77 sends an instruction to move the tray in and out of the drive 140,
The device state and operation state of the
Has a function of notifying the device main body 250 in response to a command from the main controller 20.

Here, a control operation flow of medium insertion / ejection in the drive 140 performed by the apparatus main body 250 will be described. FIG. 18 shows a drive 1 according to this embodiment.
4 shows a flowchart of a medium insertion / ejection control operation at 40. As shown in FIG.
First, the main controller 20 issues a command to the SCSI controller 77, thereby causing one of the operations to be performed when power is supplied to the drive 140 to open the tray, that is, eject the medium (S181).
When the tray is opened by the drive 140 and the ejection of the medium is completed, the completion of ejection of the medium is notified via the SCSI controller 77. Waiting for this, the completion notification is confirmed (S182), and the next medium is checked. Perform the insertion. Next, the command is issued to insert a medium (S183). When the insertion of the medium is completed in the drive 140, the completion of the insertion of the medium is notified via the SCSI controller 77.
After confirming the notification of the completion of the insertion (S184), this flow is ended.

The following embodiment relates to a recovery process in the case where an operation error occurs when the power is turned on to the external storage device 76 (the drive 140 in FIG. 8). In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the insertion / ejection of the storage medium in the external storage device 76 can be controlled from the apparatus main body 250 has been described. This is an effective method when the cause of the operation abnormality can be eliminated by re-inserting / ejecting the storage medium. FIG. 19 shows a flowchart of a return process performed when an operation abnormality occurs when the power is turned on. The recovery process is performed after the initialization process is performed, and then the main controller 20 sends the SCSI controller 77.
Issue a command to check whether media recognition or data reading is possible to check whether normal operation is possible for
The response from the SI controller 77 is determined, and this is performed when it is determined that the operation is abnormal. In the case of media recognition, for example, in the case of media recognition, when it is notified whether or not it has been recognized as a response to a command, a determination is made according to the notification, and when there is no response, an abnormality is determined. When the occurrence of the operation abnormality is determined, as shown in FIG.
The main controller 20 executes the medium insertion / ejection control of the drive 140 (see the flow of FIG. 18) again (S191). After executing media insertion / ejection, SCSI
A media recognition command is issued to the controller 77 (S172), and this flow ends.

FIG. 19 shows an embodiment of the return process by executing the media insertion / ejection control.
The recovery process performed when an operation abnormality occurs can be repeated a predetermined number of times while the abnormality occurs. The return processing in the retry operation mode is set in the manner described above in that the number of retries of the return processing: NV_RETRY_TIMES is set, and whether or not the return processing is performed can be set by the return processing flag: NV_RETRY_FLAG. There is no difference in the basic concept from the embodiment shown in FIG. 15, and the processing flow shown in FIG. 15 can be applied. Therefore, the above description will be referred to here, and no duplicate description will be given. However, in the present embodiment, media insertion / ejection in the drive shown in FIG. 19 is executed as the return process in step S153 in the flowchart of FIG.

[0052]

(1) Effects corresponding to the first and second aspects of the present invention Since the processing for turning on and off the power to the external storage device can be controlled from the main body of the image information processing apparatus, the timing of turning on the power is reduced. This makes it possible to avoid erroneous recognition of the storage medium caused by the cause or occurrence of a defect such as a failure in reading data. In addition, since the power is turned off within a predetermined time after the power is turned off, the operation does not occur even if an operation is performed by an operator that generates a condition causing the operation abnormality. . (2) Effects corresponding to the third aspect of the invention In addition to the effect of the above (1), by providing a means for arbitrarily setting a minimum interval time MIN_PASSED_TIME (power-off prohibition time) from power-off to power-on. This prohibition time can be changed according to the type (characteristic) of the external storage device to be connected, and optimization can be performed. (3) Effects corresponding to the fourth aspect of the invention In addition to the effects of the above (1) and (2), even if an operation error occurs, by performing a return process, the operator can operate normally without being conscious. Operation can be recovered, and the reliability of the image information processing apparatus including the external storage device can be improved. Even if the power-on timing of the external storage device does not conform to the characteristics of the external storage device, the cause can be confirmed, so the minimum interval time when the power can be turned on again MIN_PASSED_TIME
Can also be used as a guide to reset. (4) Advantages Corresponding to the Invention of Claim 5 In addition to the advantages of the above (3), by providing means for arbitrarily setting the number of times of the return processing even when the return processing is not performed, the external storage device It is possible to set an optimal return process (number of times) according to the characteristics and the occurrence rate of defects.

(5) Advantages Corresponding to Claims 6 and 7 Since the control of the initialization of the external storage device can be performed from the main body of the image information processing apparatus, the storage medium that is caused by the power-on timing can be controlled. Executing the initialization process at the time of occurrence of a malfunction such as erroneous recognition or a failure in reading data makes it possible to avoid the malfunction. Even if an operation error occurs, the image information processing apparatus automatically executes the initialization processing of the external storage device and performs the restoration processing, so that the normal operation can be restored without the operator's awareness. Will be possible. (6) Effect corresponding to the invention of claim 8 In addition to the effect of (5), by providing a means capable of arbitrarily setting the number of times of return processing even when the return processing is not performed, an external storage device is provided. Optimum return processing (number of times) can be set in accordance with the characteristics of the above and the occurrence rate of defects. (7) Effects corresponding to the ninth and tenth aspects By adopting a configuration in which the attachment / detachment of the storage medium in the external storage device can be controlled from the main body of the image information processing apparatus, an error in the storage medium caused by the timing of turning on the power supply can be achieved. By automatically re-inserting the storage medium when a problem such as recognition or data reading failure occurs, the problem can be avoided. Even if an operation error occurs, the image information processing device automatically re-inserts the storage medium and performs a recovery process, enabling normal operation to be restored without the operator's awareness. Become. (8) Effects corresponding to the invention of claim 11 In addition to the effect of the above (7), an external storage device is provided by providing a means capable of arbitrarily setting the number of times of return processing even when the return processing is not performed. Optimum return processing (number of times) can be set in accordance with the characteristics of the above and the occurrence rate of defects. (9) Advantages corresponding to the twelfth aspect of the present invention: an image reading means and / or an interface for taking in externally generated image information are provided as input means, and image information stored in an internal storage means and an external storage device as output means. Image information processing apparatus having an image forming means for forming an image based on the image data (for example, a digital copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, a scanner, an electronic filing apparatus, and a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions among them)
In the above, by realizing the effects corresponding to the first to eleventh aspects, the performance of the image information processing apparatus can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an example of an operation unit of the digital multifunction peripheral shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a display screen when a copy server mode setting operation is input on the operation unit in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control device of the digital multi-function peripheral of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of an image processing unit (IPU).

FIG. 6 shows the timing of an image signal for one page operated by the selector.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration of a software system of the digital multi-function peripheral of the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a system configuration for controlling power-on of an external storage device from the device main body.

FIG. 9 shows a CD drive of an external storage device provided in the digital multifunction peripheral of the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of a process when the main body is turned on.

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of power ON / OFF control of a drive (external storage device).

FIG. 12: Power supply when the drive (external storage device) is turned on again
3 shows a flowchart of ON / OFF control.

13 shows details of a flowchart of a power-on waiting process of FIG. 12. FIG.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a return process performed when an operation abnormality occurs at power-on.

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of a return process (retry operation mode).

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart of initialization processing of a drive (external storage device).

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a return process performed when an operation abnormality occurs at power-on.

FIG. 18 shows a flowchart of tray open / close control of a drive (external storage device).

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a return process performed when an operation abnormality occurs at power-on.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Automatic document feeder (ADF) 2. Document platen
6 contact glass 15 photoreceptor 1
7: fixing unit, 20: main controller, 27: developing unit, 30
... operation unit, 31 ... liquid crystal touch panel, 37
… Initial setting key, 39… Copy server key,
50: reading unit, 51: exposure lamp,
54: CCD image sensor, 57: writing unit, 58: laser output unit, 68: CPU, 65: image memory controller, 66: image memory,
75 HD (hard disk), 76 external storage device, 77,232 SCSI controller, 140 CD drive, 143
... storage media (media), 144 ... trays,
212: Copy server application.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 3/12 H04N 1/00 C 5C053 H04N 1/00 1/21 5C062 1/21 G06F 1/00 334B 5C073 5/765 H04N 5/91 L (72) Inventor Yasumitsu Shimizu 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Takao Okamura 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term within Ricoh Co., Ltd. (reference) 2C061 AP03 AP04 AP07 AQ06 AR03 AS02 HN15 2H027 DA31 DA38 DA41 DB01 EC10 EE08 EE10 EF01 EF17 EJ05 EJ17 FA32 FA33 FD08 ZA08 5B011 DB11 EA10 EB07 EB08 HH02 AMB01 DD02 5B065 BA03 EA01 EA40 ZA03 ZA06 ZA14 5C053 FA21 FA23 FA24 FA27 GB12 GB40 KA05 LA03 5C062 AA05 AB11 AB13 AB22 AB42 AB49 AC48 AC58 AC05 AD05 5C073 BA06 BD01

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An internal storage means for storing image information taken in through an input means, and a removable storage medium,
Image information having an external storage device capable of inputting and outputting image information transferred to and from the internal storage device in the storage medium, and a device for outputting the image information stored in the internal storage device and the external storage device An image information processing apparatus comprising: a power supply control unit for controlling turning on and off of an external storage device; 2. The image information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said power control means prohibits power-on within a predetermined time after power-off. 3. The image information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for variably setting the predetermined time. 4. The image information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for checking an operation state of the storage medium including recognition of the storage medium when power is supplied to the external storage apparatus. An image information processing apparatus characterized in that when the checking means detects an abnormality, the power supply means turns on the power again. 5. The image information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an instruction is made as to whether or not to execute a power-on again by the power supply control means, and if so, the number of executions is variably set. An image information processing apparatus comprising: 6. An internal storage means for storing image information taken in through an input means, and a removable storage medium,
Image information having an external storage device capable of inputting and outputting image information transferred to and from the internal storage device in the storage medium, and a device for outputting the image information stored in the internal storage device and the external storage device An image information processing apparatus, characterized in that the processing apparatus includes an initialization processing control means for controlling initialization processing of the external storage device on the image information processing apparatus main body side. 7. The image information processing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: means for checking an operation state of the storage medium including recognition of the storage medium when the external storage device operates.
An image information processing apparatus characterized in that when the check means detects an abnormality, the initialization processing control means performs reprocessing. 8. The image information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said means for instructing whether or not to execute the re-processing performed by said initialization processing control means, and, if so, for variably setting the number of times of execution. An image information processing apparatus comprising: 9. An internal storage means for storing image information taken in through an input means, and a removable storage medium,
Image information having an external storage device capable of inputting and outputting image information transferred to and from the internal storage device in the storage medium, and a device for outputting the image information stored in the internal storage device and the external storage device An image information processing apparatus characterized in that the processing apparatus further includes a storage medium attachment / detachment control unit for controlling an operation of a storage medium attachment / detachment mechanism included in the external storage device. 10. The image information processing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising means for checking an operation state of the storage medium including recognition of the storage medium when the external storage device operates, wherein the check means detects an abnormality. An image information processing apparatus characterized in that a remounting operation is performed by the attachment / detachment control means when the operation is performed. 11. The image information processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising means for instructing whether or not to perform the reattachment performed by said attachment / detachment control means, and variably setting the number of times of execution when the instruction is given. An image information processing apparatus characterized in that: 12. The image information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an image reading unit as an input unit and / or an interface for receiving externally generated image information, and an internal storage unit as an output unit. And an image forming means for forming an image based on image information stored in an external storage device.