JP2002149469A - Data storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent such inconvenience that it is impossible to effectively utilize the storage area of a memory as a not storable area although it is a not stored area, and to prevent the deterioration of a file storage and reading speed generated due to the repetition of the storage and erasure of a file concentrated to a part of a storage area. SOLUTION: At first, division numbers ranging from 1 to 4 are established as saving time information according to a time when picture data should be saved. Then, a retrieval condition for retrieving a not stored block is established according to the division numbers by a retrieval condition generating part 112. The not stored block is retrieved from a storage area 110 of the memory according to the retrieval condition by the storage block retrieving part 113, and the address of the not stored block retrieved at first is decided as a storage block address. Then, an image file is stored in the storage block address.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data storage device for storing a file in a storage area of a memory, and more particularly to a storage control for storing the file in an optimum storage area on the memory according to the storage time of the file and the type of the memory. Data storage device comprising means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a data storage device used for various computers including an image input / output device such as a facsimile device and an image scanner device, a RAM (Rand) has been used.
2. Description of the Related Art Data storage devices using various memories, such as an amAccess Memory and a flash memory, have become widespread.

In general, a RAM has a large storage capacity and a high data transfer speed, and is therefore used as a memory of a data storage device for an image input device. In addition, a continuous storage area on the storage area of the RAM is used. Image data processing may be performed.

In a flash memory, the number of repetitions of file storage and erasure is small, and when the number of file erasures increases in a part of the storage area, the storage area deteriorates and the file storage and reading speeds decrease. The feature is that the processing speed of the entire data storage device is reduced. However, since power supply for holding the memory is not required, it is used for a data storage device utilizing its characteristics. In addition,
Due to its physical structure, erasing a file in a flash memory can only be performed in a batch erasure with one unit of a physically divided sector in a storage area.

A data storage device using these memories detects an area for storing data from various storage areas in the memory and stores a file in the detected storage area. Hereinafter, storage control in a conventional data storage device will be specifically described with reference to FIGS.

[0008] The storage control when a file is stored in the RAM in the conventional data storage device will be described with reference to FIG. The storage area 801 of the RAM is divided into a plurality of subdivided storage areas (hereinafter, referred to as blocks), and is arranged from block 1 to block 6 in ascending order of address. When storing a file in such a RAM, an unstored block is searched from block 1 to block 6 without considering the purpose of storing the file and the time to store the file, and the detected unstored block is detected. Had stored the file.

For example, after files are stored in blocks 1 and 2 of the storage area 801 of the RAM, even if it is necessary to store a file having a long storage time, unstored blocks are stored in the order from block 1 to block 6. , And block 3 which is the first unstored block detected
Was storing that file. Here, the file having a long storage time is, for example, a file that needs to be repeatedly used and stored for several years, such as a base paper in which the format of a report is determined.

According to such storage control, after all files having a short storage time that have become unnecessary after a certain period of time have been erased, even if there is a storage area for five discontinuous blocks in the RAM, Regardless, since a file with a long storage time is still stored in the block 3, a continuous storage area has not been obtained.

Next, the storage control when a file is stored in a flash memory in a conventional data storage device will be described with reference to FIG. The storage area 901 of the flash memory has six sectors, sector 1 to sector 6, which are physically divided, and a plurality of subdivided blocks exist in each sector. When storing a file in such a flash memory, the file is stored without considering the purpose of storing the file or the time when the file should be stored.

For example, a storage area 90 of a flash memory
Even when it is necessary to store a file with a long storage time in a state where only one sector 4 and sector 6 have unstored blocks, the unstored blocks are searched in order from the sector with the least number of file erasures. However, the file is stored in block 2 of sector 4 which is the first undetected block.

In the case of a flash memory, a file is stored in a sector having a small number of file erasures. When the storage and erasure of the file are concentrated in some sectors and the number of file erasures increases, the performance of the sector deteriorates. This prevents the problem that the file storage and reading speeds are reduced and the processing speed of the entire data storage device is reduced.

However, according to such storage control, the sector 4 is used for a long time after which the file is erased and is not stored again, whereas the sector 6 is used for the file which needs to be stored only for a short time thereafter. Storing and erasing are repeated.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, RAM
In a conventional data storage device that uses as a memory, unstored blocks and stored blocks are mixed in a storage area, so that even though they are unstored blocks, they may not be effectively used as storable blocks. There was a problem.

For example, in an image input / output device using a RAM having a storage area 801 as shown in FIG. 8 as a memory of a data storage device, the storage of four consecutive blocks for image data processing or the like is used. Consider the case where a region is needed.

After a certain period of time, even if all unnecessary files with a short storage time are deleted and a storage area of five discontinuous blocks is generated in the RAM, a file with a long storage time is stored in the block 3. In such a case, a storage area consisting of four consecutive blocks cannot be obtained, so that image data processing cannot be performed, which may cause a problem that the function of the entire image input apparatus is impaired.

In a conventional data storage device using a flash memory as a memory, the storage and reading speed of a file is reduced due to repeated storage and deletion of a file concentrated on a part of a storage area. There was a problem that occurs.

For example, in a flash memory having a storage area 901 as shown in FIG. 9, it is assumed that a file having a long storage time is stored in an unstored block 2 of a sector 4 in which the number of file erasures is small.

In sector 4, the file is erased and stored again for a long time, whereas sector 6, which originally had the largest number of erasures, is used for storing and erasing the file which only needs to be saved for a short time. Are repeated, so that the speed of storing and reading the file in the sector 6 gradually decreases. Therefore, despite the fact that the sector 4 has a storage area in which the file storage and reading speeds have not been reduced, the processing speed of the entire data storage device is slowed down, and the function of the entire image input device is impaired. become.

Further, the following problem occurs. That is, due to the characteristics of the flash memory, a file can be erased only by batch erasing for each sector. Therefore, a file having a short storage time is stored in the block 3 which is an unstored block of the sector 4, and this file becomes unnecessary thereafter. Also block 2
Until the file is deleted, unnecessary files stored in the block 3 cannot be deleted. Accordingly, the block 2 becomes a non-storable block in spite of a block storing an unnecessary file, and thereafter, for the same reason, a non-storable block is accumulated in the sector 4. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above point, and there is no problem that the storage area of the memory cannot be effectively used as a non-storage area even though it is an unstored area. It is an object of the present invention to provide a data storage device capable of minimizing a reduction in file storage and reading speed caused by repeating storage and deletion of a file in a centralized manner.

[0021]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has taken the following means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a memory for sequentially storing files in a plurality of storage areas and a temporary storage for printing or a long-term storage for repeated use are provided. Generating means for generating storage time information of the file based on a processing method of the file, searching means for searching an unstored area of the memory with search conditions corresponding to the storage time information, and detecting by the searching means. Storage control means for storing the file in the unstored area.

According to this configuration, it is possible to determine whether the file is a file having a short storage time or a file having a long storage time and store the file in another storage area. After an unnecessary file with a short storage time is deleted, the storage area and the unstored area do not mix, and the storage area of the memory can be effectively used.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data storage device comprising: a memory for sequentially storing files in a plurality of storage areas; a generation unit for generating file storage time information in accordance with an operation instruction of an input source of the file; A configuration is provided that includes: a search unit that searches for an unstored area of the memory using search conditions corresponding to storage time information; and a storage control unit that stores the file in the unstored area detected by the search unit. .

According to this configuration, the storage time of the file is determined by the designation of the operator, so that an appropriate file can be stored without performing complicated processing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a data storage device for inputting and outputting a file to and from a facsimile device, a scanner device, and a printer device, a memory for sequentially storing files in a plurality of storage areas and an input source of the file are provided. Generating means for generating storage time information of a file in accordance with the type of device; searching means for searching an unstored area of the memory using search conditions corresponding to the storage time information; Storage control means for storing the file in a storage area.

According to this configuration, the length of the storage time can be determined from the type of the input source device and stored in another storage area. After the short file is deleted, the storage area and the non-storage area are not mixed, and the storage area of the memory can be effectively used.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the data storage device according to any one of the first to third aspects, when the storage time is shorter than a predetermined time,
In the storage area of the memory, the unstored area is searched in a predetermined order, and when the storage time is longer than a predetermined time, the storage area of the memory is searched in a reverse order to the predetermined order. The non-stored area is searched.

According to this configuration, a file having a short storage time is stored in the first storage area in a predetermined order.
A file having a long storage time has a high probability of being stored in the last storage area in the predetermined order. On the other hand, the probability that a continuous unstored area can be secured in the storage area in the middle order in the predetermined order is increased. Therefore, even when a temporary continuous storage area is required for file processing, a problem hardly occurs.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the data storage device according to the fourth aspect, when the storage time is longer than a first predetermined time and shorter than a second predetermined time, In the storage area of the memory, the unstored area is searched in the reverse order of the predetermined order from the unstored area in the middle of the predetermined order.

According to this configuration, a file whose storage time is longer than the first predetermined time and shorter than the second predetermined time is
Since the probability of being stored in the last storage area in the predetermined order is low, a file whose storage time is longer than the first predetermined time and longer than the second predetermined time is the last file in the predetermined order. The probability of being stored in the storage area is further increased, and it is possible to reliably prevent the problem of the conventional data storage device that a continuous unstored area cannot be obtained.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the data storage device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the storage control means stores the file and the information on the storage time in association with each other. Then, when storing another file later, the search means searches the unstored area from the storage area in which the file whose storage time is similar is stored.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the data storage device according to the sixth aspect, the memory is divided into a plurality of the storage areas, and a file stored in the storage area in the division is stored. For erasing, only batch erasing using the above-described division as one unit was possible.

According to these configurations, a remarkable effect can be obtained in a data storage device using a memory having a characteristic that erasing of a file can be performed only by batch erasing for each sector. That is, the probability that a file having a long storage time and a file having a short storage time are mixedly stored in the same sector is reduced, and thus a file having a long storage time is erased as in a conventional data storage device. Until then, a file that has already become unnecessary to save cannot be erased, and there is no problem that the block becomes a non-storable block even though it is a block that stores a file that does not need to be saved.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the data storage device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the memory comprises a plurality of types of memories, and the search means comprises a memory. Is determined, and is selected from the search means according to any one of claims 3 to 6 according to the type of memory.

According to this configuration, the file can be stored by the optimum file storage control means according to the type and characteristics of the memory.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus including the data storage device according to any one of the first to eighth aspects.

According to this configuration, the image data handled by the image processing apparatus may require a large capacity, and the storage time varies greatly depending on the type of the image data. According to the present invention in which a file is stored by the optimum file storage control means according to the present invention, a remarkable effect can be obtained in an image processing apparatus.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, when storing a file in a memory, it is determined whether the file is to be temporarily stored for printing or long-term storage for repeated use. A generation step of generating storage time information of a file based on a processing method; a search step of searching for an unstored area of the memory with a search condition corresponding to the storage time information; and the unstored area detected by the search step And a storage control step of storing the file in an area.

According to this configuration, it is possible to determine whether the file is a file having a short storage time or a file having a long storage time and store the file in another storage area. After an unnecessary file with a short storage time is deleted, the storage area and the unstored area do not mix, and the storage area of the memory can be effectively used.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, when a file is stored in a memory, a generation step of generating storage time information of the file in accordance with an operation instruction of an input source of the file; And a storage control step of storing the file in the unstored area detected by the search step.

According to this configuration, the storage time of the file is determined by the designation of the operator, so that an appropriate file can be stored without performing complicated processing.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in a data storage device for inputting and outputting a file to and from a facsimile device, a scanner device, and a printer device, when storing the file in the memory of the data storage device, the input of the file is performed. A generation step of generating storage time information of a file according to the type of the original device; a search step of searching for an unstored area of the memory with a search condition corresponding to the storage time information; A storage control step of storing the file in the unstored area.

According to this configuration, the length of the storage time can be determined from the type of the input source device and stored in another storage area. After the short file is deleted, the storage area and the non-storage area are not mixed, and the storage area of the memory can be effectively used.

[0045]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration and processing flow of a data storage device 101 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the data storage device 101 will be described with reference to FIG.

The data storage device 101 includes the image input unit 10
Facsimile device 103 and scanner device 10
4 to store the comprehensive image information described below,
This is a device that outputs image data to the printer device 106 via the image output unit 105. The data storage device 10
A RAM is used as the first memory.

The image input unit 102 is an input unit for the comprehensive image information, and divides the comprehensive image information into image data and image control information. Among them, the former image data is output to the file storage control unit 107, and waits to be stored as an image file. On the other hand, the latter image control information is output to the image control information analysis unit 109 of the file input control unit 108,
Eventually, storage information to be described later is generated and stored as an image file together with the former image data.

Here, the comprehensive image information is obtained from the facsimile device 103 or the scanner device 104 to the image input section 102.
The image data itself related to information such as the brightness and hue of the image, and the image control information including the purpose of storing the image data capacity, line density, document size at the time of printing, and image data. Including.

The purpose of storing the image data is, for example, to temporarily store the image data for immediate output to the printer, or to store the image data for a certain number of times after storing a predetermined number of image data. Various purposes such as storing time image data are conceivable.

The purpose of storing the image data is to be notified by a push button signal of the facsimile machine on the transmitting side, or to recognize the identification number of the facsimile machine on the transmitting side in accordance with a preset condition in the facsimile apparatus 103 on the receiving side. By determining whether the image input device is the facsimile device 103 or the scanner device 104, the purpose is obtained and added to the image control information. According to such a method, the image control information can be easily and appropriately generated, and the generation of the storage time to be performed later becomes easy.

The file input control unit 108 is a control unit for determining an address of a block in the storage area 110 of the memory in which the image file is to be stored, and includes an image control information analysis unit 109, a storage time generation unit 111, Condition generator 1
12, a storage block search unit 113, and a storage information generation unit 114.

The image control information analysis unit 109 is an analysis unit that extracts image attribute information from the image control information. Here, the image attribute information is information necessary for storing image data, for example, the purpose of storing image data, and the like.
It is extracted from the image control information. This image attribute information is sent from the image control information analysis unit 109 to the storage information generation unit 11.
4 and the storage time generation unit 111.

From the image attribute information output to the former storage information generation unit 114, storage information is generated together with the storage block address by a method described later, and output to the file storage control unit 107.

The storage time information is generated from the image attribute information output to the latter storage time generation unit 111. As will be described in detail later, based on this storage time information, a file with a short storage time and a file with a long storage time are stored in different storage areas, so that the storage area 110 of the memory can be used effectively. The method of generating the storage time information will be described below.

For example, when temporarily storing an image file for the purpose of immediately outputting the image file to the printer device 106, it is assumed that the time to store the image data is within one minute. In addition, the time for storing image data that is used repeatedly, such as a base paper in which the format of a report is determined, is one day or more. After a certain number of image data is received from the facsimile machine 103 and stored, the printer 106 It is assumed that the time to store the image data to be output to the PC is within one hour.

In these cases, the number or name of the section corresponding to each image data among a plurality of sections set in advance based on the length of time for storing the image data is the storage time information of the image data. It becomes.

In this example, the image data to be immediately output to the printer 106 is classified into section number 1, facsimile apparatus 1
The image data which is output to the printer 106 after receiving and storing a predetermined number of image data from the printer 03 is classified into the classification number 2, and the image data which is used repeatedly like the base paper for which the format of the report is defined is classified into the classification number 4. Thus, storage time information is generated.

Since the storage time of the image data is determined by the processing method of the image data as described above, the number of sections of the storage time is determined by the facsimile apparatus 103 and the scanner apparatus 1.
A method of setting the number to be equal to the number of all image processing functions included in 04 or a method of setting a number smaller than the number of all image processing functions by combining a plurality of similar image processing functions is also conceivable.

As described above, the storage time generation unit 111 determines the storage time of the image file based on the image attribute information, generates the storage time information, and generates the search condition generation unit 112
Output to

The search condition generator 112 is a search condition generator for searching the storage area 110 of the memory for a block in which an image file is to be stored, based on the storage time information. The method of generating the search condition is described in the storage area 11 of the memory.
This is a feature of the data storage device 101 adopted to realize the effective use of 0, and the optimum search condition is selected according to the type of memory and the storage time of the image file. This will be described in detail later.

The storage block search unit 113 is a search unit that executes a search and determines the address of a storage block. The search is performed according to the search condition generated by the search condition generation unit 112,
A search is performed on the storage area 110 of the memory, and the address of the first non-stored block detected is determined as the address of the block in which the image file is to be stored. This storage block address is output to the storage information generation unit 114.

The storage information generation unit 114 is a generation unit of storage information necessary for the file storage control unit 107 to execute file storage. The storage information generation unit 114 stores the address of the block in which the image file output from the storage block search unit 113 is to be stored, and the image control information analysis unit 109
, And generates storage information by combining the output image attribute information and the image attribute information, and outputs the generated storage information to the file storage control unit 107.

The file storage control unit 107 is a control unit that stores an image file in the storage area 110 of the memory. In the file storage control unit 107, the image input unit 1
02 is integrated with the storage information from the file input control unit 108, and this information is further divided into a plurality of image files suitable for the capacity that can be stored in one block, and stored in the storage area 110 of the memory. Store.

The file read control unit 115 is a control unit that reads an image file from the storage area 110 of the memory. In accordance with the instruction from the file output control unit 116, the file read control unit 115 integrates a plurality of image files divided and stored in the storage area 110 of the memory, restores the image files to image data, and outputs the image data to the file output control unit 116.

The file output control section 116 controls the file read control section 115 and outputs image data to the image output section 105. File output control unit 116
According to the request information from the image output unit 105,
The storage information is obtained from the file input control unit 108 and the file read control unit 115 is controlled. The image data read and restored by the file reading control unit 115 is transferred to the image output unit 105.

The image output unit 105 is an image data output unit. Upon receiving an instruction to output image data from an external device, the image output unit 105 outputs the file output control unit 116.
Send request information to. The image data returned by the file output control unit 116 according to the request information is output to the printer device 106.

Next, the search condition of the storage block of the image file adopted to realize the effective use of the storage area 110 of the memory, which is a feature of the data storage device 101, is as follows.
How it is generated by the search condition generation unit 112 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a state diagram showing the storage area 201 of the RAM. The storage area 201 of the RAM is divided into a plurality of subdivided blocks 1 to 6 and arranged in order. When an image file is stored in such a RAM, an unstored block is searched for and detected by the search condition generation method shown in FIG. 3 in consideration of the purpose of storing the image file and the time to store the image file. The image file is stored in the unstored block.

That is, first, in S301, image attribute information on the storage time of image data is obtained. Next, S30
In steps 2 to S304, if the storage time of the image data is within 1 minute, the section number 1 is determined as the storage time information of the image data. Similarly, in S305 to S309,
If the storage time of the image data is less than one hour, classification number 2; if the storage time of the image data is less than one day, classification number 3; if the storage time of the image data is more than one day, classification number 4 Are determined as storage time information of the image data.

Next, in S310 to S317, the search condition is determined according to the section number. For example, S310 to S31
In 2, when the section number of the image data is 1, a search condition for searching for an unstored block in the order from block 1 to block 6 is determined.

Similarly, in S312 to S317, if the section number of the image data is 2, a search condition that the unstored block is searched in order from block 2 to block 6 and block 1 is searched last, If the data section number is 3, a search condition is that an unstored block is searched in order from block 5 to block 1 and finally block 6 is searched. If the image data section number is 4, block 6 to block Search conditions for searching for unstored blocks in the order toward 1 are respectively determined.

In accordance with the search conditions determined by the above method, the storage block search unit 113 searches the storage area 201 of the RAM for an unstored block, and the file storage control unit 107 stores the image in the detected storage block address. Storing the file is as described above.

By providing the file storage control means as described above, the following effects can be obtained in the data storage device. That is, as in a conventional data storage device,
For example, since the storage area was searched without considering the time to store the image data, the storage time immediately after the image data having a storage time of 1 minute was stored in the block 6 which is the last block in the predetermined order. Even if the image data of one year or more is stored in the block 5 which is in the middle of the predetermined order, and the image data of the block 6 is deleted thereafter,
The problem that a continuous storage area cannot be obtained can be prevented.

Further, even if the image data has a relatively long storage time, the image data having a storage time of one hour or more and less than one year has a low probability of being stored in the block 6 which is the last block in the predetermined order. The probability that image data having a storage time of one year or more is stored in the block 6 is further increased. Therefore, it is possible to surely prevent a problem in the conventional data storage device that a continuous storage area cannot be obtained.

As described above, according to the data storage device 101 of the first embodiment, an unstored block in which an image file is to be stored is searched and determined according to the above-described search conditions. Image data that is stored around the block 1 and has a long storage time has a high probability of being stored around the block 6. On the other hand, the probability that continuous unstored blocks can be secured in the storage area centered on the block 3 or the block 4 increases. Therefore, even when a temporary continuous storage area is required for image data processing, a problem hardly occurs.

(Embodiment 2) Next, a data storage device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described. The overall configuration of the data storage device and the flow of processing are almost the same as those of the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, except that a flash memory is used instead of a RAM as the memory of the data storage device. I do. Accordingly, the search condition for searching the storage area of the flash memory for the block in which the image file is to be stored is also different from the search condition of the first embodiment.

Generally, a flash memory has a characteristic that the number of repetitions of storage and deletion of an image file is relatively small. Therefore, it is necessary to set a search condition for searching for a block in which an image file is to be stored so that storage and deletion of an image file are not repeatedly performed intensively only in a specific storage area. The search conditions will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 4 shows the storage area 40 of the flash memory.
FIG. In the case of a flash memory, file erasing can be performed only in batches for each sector. Therefore, the number of file erasures is determined for each sector.
As shown in (1), the number of erasures varies from sector to sector. When an image file is stored in such a flash memory, an unstored block is searched and detected by the search condition generation method shown in FIG. 5 in consideration of the purpose of storing the image file and the time when the file should be stored. The image file is stored in the unstored block.

First, in steps S301 to S309, from section number 1 to section number 4 corresponding to the storage time of the image data.
The point that any of the division numbers up to is determined and becomes storage time information is the same as the search condition generation method according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

Next, in S501 to S508, the search condition is determined according to the section number. For example, S501 to S50
In 3, when the section number of the image data is 1, a search condition for searching for an unstored block in a sector from the sector 4 with the smallest number of erasures in the order of the smallest number of erasures is determined.

Similarly, in S504 to S508, if the section number of the image data is 2, an unstored block in the sector is searched from the sector 5 with the second smallest number of erasures in the order of the smallest number of erasures, and finally, A search condition for searching for an unstored block in the sector 4 with the least number of erases,
If the section number of the image data is 3, the erasure count is 2
A search condition that an unstored block in a sector is searched in the order of the number of erasures from the sector having the largest number of erasures, and an unstored block in the sector 6 is searched last in the order of erasure;
If the section number of the image data is 4, search conditions for searching for an unstored block in a sector from the sector 6 having the largest number of erasures in the order of the largest number of erasures are determined.

In accordance with the search conditions determined by the above method, the storage block search unit 113 searches for the unstored blocks in the storage area 401 of the flash memory, and stores the image file at the address of the first detected unstored block. Is stored.

By providing the file storage control means as described above, the following effects can be obtained in the data storage device. For example, the storage area 40 of this flash memory
In a state in which only one sector 4 and sector 6 have an unstored block, the image data for a storage time of 1 minute happens to be stored in the unstored block of the sector 6 and immediately after the unstored block in the sector 6 is exhausted. Since the image data having a storage time of one year or longer is stored in the sector 4, the storing and erasing of the image data is repeated only in the sector 6 which originally had the largest number of erasures, and the speed of storing and reading the file is reduced. It is possible to prevent the problem that the conventional data storage device gradually decreases.

Even if the image data has a relatively long storage time, the image data having a storage time of one hour or more and less than one year has a low probability of being stored in the sector 6. The probability of being stored in sector 6 is even higher. Therefore, the storage and erasure of the image data is repeated only in the sector 6 which originally had the largest number of erasures, and the problem of the conventional data storage device that the storage and read speed of the file gradually decreases can be reliably prevented. .

As described above, according to the data storage device 101 of the second embodiment of the present invention, according to the above-described search condition,
Since an unstored block in which an image file is to be stored is searched and determined, image data having a long storage time is stored in an unstored block in the sector 6 having the largest number of erasures, and the sector 6 is thereafter repeatedly stored and erased. The number of times decreases. on the other hand,
The image data having a short storage time has a high probability of being stored in an unstored block in the sector 4 with the least number of erasures, and the number of repetitions of storage and erasure of the sector 4 thereafter increases. Therefore, since the storing and erasing of the image file are repeated only in a part of the sectors, the problem that the storing and reading speed of the sectors is reduced and the processing speed of the entire data storage device 101 is reduced is less likely to occur.

The search condition for searching the storage area of the flash memory for the block in which the image file is to be stored may be the following search condition. The search condition will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 6 shows the storage area 60 of the flash memory.
1 is shown. When the image file is stored, the image data is stored with the division number classified based on the length of the storage time of the image data, and image files having different division numbers are mixed in each sector. In such a flash memory, a search condition for storing an image file is as follows. First, an unstored block is searched for from a sector in which an image file having the same section number is already stored, and a search is performed in such a sector. When an unstored block is not detected, the above-described search condition shown in FIG. 5 is applied.

For example, in FIG. 6, when it is desired to newly store the image file of the section number 2, an unstored block is searched from the sector 2 in which the image file of the section number 2 having the same section number is already stored. Then, the image file is stored in the block 3 which is the first unstored block.

According to such a search condition, the probability that an image file having a long storage time and an image file having a short storage time are mixedly stored in the same sector is reduced. Therefore, unlike a conventional flash memory in which a file can be erased only by batch erasing for each sector, until the image file having a long storage time is erased, the storage time is short and the storage is no longer required. The image file cannot be erased, and there is no problem that the block becomes a non-storable block even though the image file does not need to be stored.

(Embodiment 3) Next, a data storage device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described. The overall configuration of the data storage device and the flow of processing are almost the same as those in the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. . Accordingly, the search condition for searching the storage area of the flash memory for the block in which the image file is to be stored is also different from the search condition of the first embodiment. Therefore, about how to generate this search condition,
This will be described with reference to FIG.

First, in steps S701 and S702, the type of memory is determined. If the memory is a RAM, an unstored block is searched according to the search condition shown in FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment of the present invention. On the other hand, when the memory is a flash memory, an unstored block is searched according to the search condition shown in FIG. 6 described in the second embodiment of the present invention. That is, in S703 to S704, the presence or absence of a sector in which an image file having the same section number has already been stored is searched, and if so, an unstored block is searched from such a sector. On the other hand, S705 to S70
In FIG. 6, if there is no sector in which the image file having the same section number is stored, or if there is no unstored block in the sector even if such a sector exists, FIG. The unstored block is searched by applying the search condition shown in (1).

According to each of the search conditions classified as described above, when an unstored block is detected in S707, the image file is stored in the unstored block, and when it is not detected in S708, there is no unstored block. A process for returning information that the file cannot be stored is performed.

As described above, according to the data storage device of the third embodiment, the image file can be stored by the optimum image file storage control means according to the type and characteristics of the memory.

[0095]

As described above, the data storage device of the present invention does not have the disadvantage that the storage area of the memory cannot be effectively used as the non-storable area even though it is an unstored area. It is possible to provide a data storage device capable of minimizing a decrease in file storage and reading speed caused by repeating storage and deletion of a file in a part.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data storage device according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a RAM in the data storage device according to the first embodiment;
Diagram of storage area

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of search condition generation in the data storage device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a state diagram of a storage area of a flash memory in a data storage device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of search condition generation in the data storage device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a state diagram of a storage area of a flash memory in a data storage device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of search condition generation and file storage in the data storage device according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a state diagram of a storage area of a RAM in a conventional data storage device.

FIG. 9 is a state diagram of a storage area of a flash memory in a conventional data storage device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 Data storage device 107 File storage control unit 108 File input control unit 110 Storage area of memory 111 Storage time generation unit 112 Search condition generation unit 114 Storage information generation unit 201, 801 Storage area of RAM 401, 601, 901 Storage of flash memory region

Claims (12)

[Claims] A memory for sequentially storing files in a plurality of storage areas, and a method for processing files such as temporary storage for printing or long-term storage for repeated use. Generating means for generating storage time information of the file; searching means for searching for an unstored area of the memory using search conditions corresponding to the storage time information; and storing the file in the unstored area detected by the search means. A data storage device, comprising: storage control means for storing. 2. A memory for sequentially storing files in a plurality of storage areas, generating means for generating storage time information of the file according to an operation instruction of an input source of the file, and a search condition corresponding to the storage time information. A data storage device comprising: a search unit that searches for an unstored area of a memory; and a storage control unit that stores the file in the unstored area detected by the search unit. 3. A data storage device for inputting / outputting a file from / to a facsimile device, a scanner device, and a printer device, a memory for sequentially storing files in a plurality of storage areas, and a type of a device from which the file is input. Generating means for generating storage time information of the file; searching means for searching for an unstored area of the memory using search conditions corresponding to the storage time information; and storing the file in the unstored area detected by the search means. A data storage device, comprising: storage control means for storing. 4. When the storage time is shorter than a predetermined time, the search means searches the storage area of the memory for the unstored area in a predetermined order, and the storage time is longer than a predetermined time. 4. The data storage device according to claim 1, wherein the non-storage area is searched in the storage area of the memory in an order reverse to the predetermined order. 5. The search means, when the storage time is longer than a first predetermined time and shorter than a second predetermined time,
5. The storage area of the memory, wherein the non-storage area is searched in an order reverse to the predetermined order from a non-storage area in the middle of the predetermined order. Data storage device. 6. The storage control means stores the file and the information on the storage time in association with each other, and the search means stores a file having a similar storage time when another file is stored later. 4. The data storage device according to claim 1, wherein the unstored area is searched for from the stored storage areas. 7. The memory is divided into a plurality of the storage areas, and erasing of files stored in the storage areas in the division can be performed only by batch erasing with the division as one unit. 7. The data storage device according to claim 6, wherein: 8. The search device according to claim 3, wherein the memory includes a plurality of types of memories, and the search unit determines a type of the memory and determines the type of the memory according to the type of the memory. The data storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the data storage device is selected from means. 9. An image processing apparatus comprising the data storage device according to claim 1. Description: 10. When storing a file in a memory,
A generating step of generating file storage time information based on a file processing method such as temporary storage for printing or long-term storage for repeated use, and corresponding to the storage time information A data storage method comprising: a search step of searching for an unstored area of the memory using the set search conditions; and a storage control step of storing the file in the unstored area detected by the search step. . 11. When storing a file in a memory,
A generation step of generating storage time information of a file according to an operation instruction of an input source of the file, a search step of searching for an unstored area of the memory with a search condition corresponding to the storage time information, A storage control step of storing the file in the unstored area. 12. A data storage device for inputting / outputting a file from / to a facsimile device, a scanner device, and a printer device. When a file is stored in a memory of the data storage device, the file is stored in accordance with the type of the device from which the file is input. A storage step of generating storage time information, a search step of searching for an unstored area of the memory using search conditions corresponding to the storage time information, and storing the file in the unstored area detected by the search step. A data storage method.