JP2002254730A - Digital image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor capable of performing an operation check of an additional memory with a simple method or a method without making a significant alteration to the device configuration and confirming a phenomenon with visual observation by printing the results on paper. SOLUTION: A memory control part 10 determines a memory chip configuration when instructed to check an additional memory. A read operation for a draft is executed, one page of the draft is stored in a work area 115 of a standard memory, the image data are read and the data are compressed then written in a SO-DIMM(shift-out dual in-line memory module). The data expansion is performed to the compressed data, the expanded data are written in an open area of the storage area 116, and the image data of the work area 115 are printed. Then, the expanded data are read, transferred to a record control part 117, and printed to paper. When the image in the first page is the same with the image in the second page, it is found that the memory of whole area of SO-DIMM is working normally.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus such as a digital copier, a printer, a facsimile, and a digital multifunction peripheral to which a standard memory and an additional memory can be mounted.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, digital image processing apparatuses such as digital copiers and printers have realized additional digital-specific functions such as an electronic sort function and a rotation function by storing data in an image memory. Generally, an image memory is composed of a standard memory that is built into a device such as a digital copying machine from the beginning, and an additional memory that can be added later as needed. As the additional memory, there is a memory dedicated to a model, but in recent years, a so-called SIMM (Single Inl) used in a personal computer (PC) or a notebook PC in consideration of general versatility.
ine Memory Module), DIMM (D
ual Inline Memory Modul
e), SO-DIMM (Small Outline-
Dual Inline Memory Modul
e) is often used. Incidentally, in a digital image processing apparatus such as a digital copying machine or a facsimile, a technique of a failure diagnosis method of an internal function is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 5-18367.
No. 3 publication.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned general-purpose memory is easy to obtain, but the quality of the memory is degraded due to the distribution of many kinds. In addition, it is easy to handle easily because of its small size.
AM chip is ESD (Electrostatic D)
damage).
Furthermore, there is also a possibility of malfunction or damage due to poor mounting or poor connector. When such a failure or malfunction occurs, it is difficult for an ordinary user to quickly determine that the additional memory is abnormal. As described above, in the conventional digital copying apparatus, the operation check at the time of memory expansion is usually performed to the extent that data can be written / read to / from a specific address. In some cases, even a memory operation check is not performed. There is also a method of confirming the memory function in the function block check, but it is insufficient as a memory check function.

[0004] From the above viewpoints, the operation of the additional memory of the digital copying apparatus can be easily checked,
It has been desired to realize a method of specifying a defective memory chip, a method of leaving a history of defective memory chips, and a recovery operation of a defective memory chip by a simple method. Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to perform an operation check of the additional memory by a simple method similar to a normal copy operation or a print operation, a method that does not greatly change the configuration of the apparatus, and the like. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a digital image processing apparatus capable of confirming a phenomenon by visual observation.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a digital image processing apparatus capable of preventing useless use of paper resources by checking an operation of an image taken into an additional memory without printing the image on paper. It is. A third object of the present invention is to provide a digital image processing apparatus capable of easily detecting whether a compression / expansion malfunction or a memory access abnormality occurs when an additional memory is abnormal. A fourth object of the present invention is to perform a series of operations for checking an image taken in an additional memory without printing the image on paper immediately after power-on, and to perform an additional memory check without performing any special operation. It is to provide a digital image processing device capable of performing the above.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a digital image processing apparatus to which an additional memory can be attached, data receiving means for receiving data to be subjected to image processing, and data received by the data receiving means. A storage unit for storing data; a memory determination unit for determining a memory configuration such as a memory capacity and specifications of the attachable additional memory; and Data storage means for compressing data stored in the means and storing the data in the additional memory; and data stored in the storage means or data stored in the additional memory by the data storage means on paper. The first object is achieved by providing image output means for forming and outputting an image. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, data expansion means for expanding the data stored in the extension memory by the data storage means, and data expanded by the data expansion means and the storage means Determining means for comparing and determining whether the stored data matches, and error notifying means for notifying a memory error when the determining means determines that the data does not match, further comprising: Achieve the second objective.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the invention, when a memory error is notified by the error notifying means, the data storage means compresses the data stored in the storage means. Without storing the data in the additional memory, and the determination means compares and determines whether the data stored in the storage means and the data in the additional memory stored without being compressed match. Achieve the third objective. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second or third aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a power supply unit for inputting a power supply of the digital image processing apparatus. The fourth object is achieved by being performed immediately after the power is supplied by the power supply means.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system of the digital copying apparatus. In the following embodiments, a digital copying apparatus will be described as an example of a digital image processing apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is applicable to digital image processing apparatuses such as printer apparatuses, facsimile apparatuses, and multifunction apparatuses. Can also be adapted. Further, in the present embodiment, SO-
The description will be made assuming a DIMM.

The control system includes a main control unit 10, an image control unit 11, an operation panel control unit 12, a paper feed tray control unit 13,
Sorter / finisher control unit 14, ADF control unit 15,
Various sensors 19 for detecting the state of each part, CPU (central processing unit) 16, ROM (read only memory) 1
7, RAM (random access memory) 18. The main control unit 10 controls paper feeding, conveyance, fixing,
Performs double-sided and process control. Operation panel control unit 12
Detects the key input operation of the operator,
The display control of the LCD and the LED, the scanner reading control and the setting of the reading mode are performed. The ADF control unit 15
ADF (automatic paper feeder) is controlled. The paper feed tray control unit 13 controls a paper feed unit. The sorter / finisher control unit 14 controls a sorter and a finisher that determine the output form of the output recording paper.

Next, the image control unit 11 will be described.
The image control unit 11 converts the original 1 into a CCD (photoelectric conversion element) 1
11, the signal processing unit 112 performs analog processing such as dark level correction and signal amplification.
The data is transferred to the D conversion unit 113 and quantized into multi-value data. A
After D conversion, the digital image processing unit 114 performs scanner image correction such as black reproduction, shading correction, gamma correction, and smoothing processing, scaling processing, MTF correction, and the like.
A value conversion process or a multi-value conversion process is performed, and image correction such as isolation removal and unevenness correction is performed. In this embodiment, for simplification of the description, the image data of the document 1 from the digital image processing unit 114 is described as being transferred to the memory unit as binary data.

Here, the roles of the standard memory and the additional memory will be described. As a method of using the standard memory, there is a method of using only as a page memory, and a method of using it as a storage memory in addition to the page memory. As still another method, there is a digital copying apparatus having no memory in the standard system.
In order to perform oN copying (copying one original for N sheets), an original reading operation must be performed for each copy. Therefore, no consideration is given to the case where no memory is mounted. The page memory stores the read document data as it is and uses it as a work area, and is a memory necessary for performing a plurality of copies by only one reading operation at the time of 1 to N copy.

On the other hand, the storage memory stores the read original in the page memory at the same time as writing the data into the page memory, compressing the data and storing the data in the memory. Copy
This is a memory necessary to realize a so-called electronic sort function. In addition, as a method of using the additional memory, it is common to use an additional memory or an additional function.
Even in this case, it may be used to increase the page memory. Further, a digital copying apparatus generally implements electronic sorting by dividing functions into a page memory and a storage memory only with a standard memory, but in the present embodiment, for simplicity of description, as an example, The description will be made assuming that the standard memory is used as the page memory and the additional memory is used as the storage memory, but the present invention is not limited to this.

As an additional memory, there is generally an additional memory board peculiar to the system, but for convenience of explanation,
In the present embodiment, as an example, a so-called SI used in a personal computer (PC) or a notebook PC is used.
A general-purpose board such as MM, DIMM, or SO-DIMM is assumed, and the SO-DIMM board will be described as an additional memory.

Next, the operation of the digital copying apparatus according to this embodiment when a standard memory is mounted will be described. As described above, the standard memory is the work area 11 in this embodiment.
Assume to use only as 5. In the case of 1 to 1 (partial copying of one document), the data after digital image processing passes through the page memory and is sent to the recording control unit 117 as it is, printed on the recording paper 2 and discharged. Paper. In the case of performing 1-to-N multi-copy (repeat copy), when printing one sheet, it is passed through and printed on recording paper, and at the same time, written in the work area 115. The second and subsequent prints are stored in the work area. The read image data is repeatedly read and printed on the recording paper 2.

Next, the operation of the digital copying apparatus according to the present embodiment when an additional memory is installed will be described. In the present embodiment, an electronic sort function is added by installing an additional memory. When M copies of N originals are to be made, the N originals are sequentially read, compressed one page at a time, and written to the storage area (expansion memory) 116. The printing of the first copy is performed in parallel with this, data is sent to the recording control unit 117 through the work area 115 and printed. This is repeated N times.
For the second and subsequent copies, the compressed data of the read original written in the storage area 116 is expanded one page at a time and expanded in the work area 115, and the data is transferred to the recording control unit 117 for printing. Although not shown, the sorter / finisher shifts the discharge position of the printed document of each unit or separates the discharge tray in accordance with the control of the sorter / finisher control unit 14.

In the digital copying apparatus of the present embodiment, the configuration of the memory chip mounted on the additional memory is determined by reading the identification information of the storage memory (additional memory) 116. The method of this determination will be described below. I do.
In the present embodiment, an example of a memory is SDRA
M (Synchronous DRAM) will be described. SO-DIMM has EEP based on SPD standard.
ROM (Electrically Erasable)
Programmable Read-OnlyMe
memory) is mounted, and is written in advance in a chip format, an AC timing standard value, and a predetermined format.
By reading the data, the characteristics of the SO-DIMM can be detected.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the control signal. The control signal to the SO-DIMM is supplied to the address bus (A
11-0), bank address (BA1-0), data bus (D63-0), / RAS (row address strobe), / CAS (column address strobe), / WE
(Write enable), / CS0, / CS1 (chip select), DQM7-0 (data input / output mask), CL
K0, CLK1 (clock), CKE0, CKE1 (clock enable), SCL (SPD clock), S
DA (SPD address / data bus).

CLK0, CLK1, CKE0, CKE1
One or two are used depending on the number of mounted chips.
Here, as an example, SO-DIMM is SDRAM,
Description will be made assuming that one bank is 32 MB. By reading some identification information of the SPD as shown in FIG.
64 banks of 4 banks x 1M x 16bit bus x configuration
-It turns out that four SDRAMs are mounted. Further, it can be read that the row address bus = 12 and the column address = 8. Based on this, the memory control unit 118 sets each row / column address width and switches the DQM signal for each memory space 1M. DQ
The M signal is a signal for prohibiting data input / output when it is at the “H (high)” level, and is used as a selection signal for the SDRAM chip in the SO-DMM. Here, since only one bank select signal is used for the module, only / CS0 is used.

Next, the operation of the digital copying apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. "Expansion memory check instruction"
Is instructed through the operation panel, the main control unit 1
0 reads the SPD data of the SO-DIMM, determines the configuration of the module or the mounted memory chip, and determines the row address width / column address width for the memory module. Subsequently, an original reading operation is performed, and an original for one page is accumulated in the work area 115 of the standard memory. Further, after reading and compressing the image data stored in the standard memory, the image data is written to the SO-DIMM. 1
After writing the compressed data for the page is completed, a data decompression operation is performed using the data, and the decompressed data is written to a free area of the storage area (expansion memory) 116. Then, the image data of the work area 115 is printed.

This image data is referred to as document reading data, and is image data stored in the standard memory. Subsequently, the decompressed data in the SO-DIMM is read, transferred to the recording control unit 117, and printed on paper. If the first printed image is the same as the second printed image, it indicates that the memory of the entire area of the SO-DIMM is operating normally.
When there is an abnormality in the memory, an abnormality is seen in the first and second images. In the first embodiment, it is possible to confirm whether or not there is an abnormality in the memory by simply observing the printed sheet by only minimally changing the configuration of the apparatus.

Next, the operation of the digital copying apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is an embodiment in which an additional memory is checked without printing on paper. When the “additional memory check instruction” is instructed through the operation panel, the main control unit 10 sets the SO-DIM
The M SPD data is read, the configuration of the module or the mounted memory chip is determined, and the row address width / column address width is determined for the memory module. Subsequently, an original reading operation is performed, and the work area 115 of the standard memory is read.
The original of one page is accumulated. Further, the image data stored in the standard memory is read, and after compressing the data, the image data is written to the SO-DIMM. After writing the compressed data for one page, the compressed data is expanded to
Write to DIMM. Then, the image data stored in the standard memory and the decompressed data stored in the SO-DIMM are read out, and the two data are sequentially compared from the first image.

In the data comparison, if the image data do not match, a memory error flag is set and the operation ends. The error result is displayed on the display panel or the corresponding LED is turned on to notify the user. Thus, in the second embodiment, without printing on paper,
It is possible to notify a memory abnormality. In the present embodiment, a memory comparator for comparing image data is described as being included in the memory control unit 118 as an example, but is not limited to this. Further, in the present embodiment, if the compression / expansion of the image data in the compression / expansion unit 119 is an irreversible algorithm, the decompressed data does not match the original data. And

Next, the operation of the digital copying apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described. Usually, the cause of the memory error can be identified only when electronic sorting is performed, and it is difficult to identify the cause of the error in the shipping inspection because it sometimes depends on the read image. In the second embodiment, the case where the cause of the image data mismatch is a memory error is detected. In the third embodiment, what is the cause of the memory error, for example, the possibility of failure of the compression / decompression unit, etc. In this embodiment, a memory error factor is detected. When the "additional memory check instruction" is instructed through the operation panel, the main control unit 10 reads the SPD data of the SO-DIMM, determines the configuration of the module or the mounted memory chip, and stores the row address width / column in the memory module. Determine the address width. Subsequently, an original reading operation is performed, and 1 is stored in the work area 115 of the standard memory.
Documents for pages are accumulated.

Further, the image data stored in the standard memory is read, and after the data is compressed, the SO-DIMM is read.
Write to. After writing one page of compressed data,
This compressed data is decompressed and written to the SO-DIMM.
Then, the image data stored in the standard memory and S
The decompressed data stored in the O-DIMM is read out, and the two data are sequentially compared from the first image. If the image data does not match in the data comparison, the image data stored in the standard memory is compressed without compression.
Write to O-DIMM. The image data stored in the standard memory and the image data stored in the SO-DIMM are read out and compared in order from the first pixel. If a memory error occurs again as a result of the comparison, an external memory error is notified to the outside. If both data match as a result of the comparison, the data is notified to the outside as a compression / expansion operation error.

Next, the operation of the digital copying apparatus according to the fourth embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, the first,
The operations in the second and third embodiments are performed immediately after the power of the digital copying apparatus is turned on. That is, since the digital copying apparatus normally executes various system checks and initialization flows immediately after power-on, it is necessary to add a memory check operation for detecting a memory operation check from the initial stage as in the present embodiment. Thereby, the confirmation operation can be easily realized without performing a special operation.

[0026]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the memory discriminating means for discriminating the memory configuration of the additional memory, and the data stored in the storage means based on the memory configuration of the additional memory discriminated by the memory discriminating means. A data storage means for compressing the data and storing the data in the additional memory; and an image output means for forming an image on paper and outputting the data stored in the storage means or the data stored in the additional memory by the data storage means. Therefore, by performing addressing according to the configuration of the additional memory installed, writing the original to be read in all the areas of the additional memory, reading all the data written to the additional memory, and printing on paper. The image can be checked, and the operation of the additional memory can be easily checked without changing the memory configuration. Door can be. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the data expansion means for expanding the data stored in the additional memory by the data storage means, and whether the data expanded by the data expansion means matches the data stored in the storage means. A determination means for comparing and determining, and an error notification means for notifying a memory error when the data does not match by the determination means, further comprising: image data already written in the standard memory; Can compare the image data written to all areas of the memory and check the operation of the expansion memory by checking the operation of the expansion memory with little change in the memory configuration and without wasting transfer paper It can be performed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when a memory error is notified by the error notifying means, the data storing means stores the data stored in the storing means in the additional memory without compressing the data, and It is determined whether or not the data stored in the storage means and the data of the additional memory stored uncompressed match. Therefore, in addition to the comparison with the compressed and expanded data, the non-compressed and expanded data (through data) Can be performed, and both a memory error and a compressor / decompressor failure can be detected. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a power supply unit for inputting a power supply of the digital image processing apparatus. It is possible to realize the confirmation operation without performing it.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system of a digital copying apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a control signal.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of identification information of an additional memory;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Original 2 Recording paper 10 Main control part 11 Image control part 12 Operation panel control part 13 Paper feed tray control part 14 Sorter / finisher control part 15 ADF (automatic paper feeder) control part 16 CPU (Central processing unit) 17 ROM ( Read-only memory) 18 RAM (random access memory) 19 Various sensors 111 CCD (photoelectric conversion element) 112 Signal processing unit 113 AD (analog / digital) conversion unit 114 Digital image processing unit 115 Work area (standard memory) 116 Storage area (additional memory) 117 Recording control unit 118 Memory control unit 119 Compression / expansion unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A digital image processing apparatus to which an additional memory can be attached, wherein: a data receiving means for receiving data to be subjected to image processing; a storage means for storing data received by the data receiving means; A memory discriminating unit for discriminating a memory configuration such as a memory capacity and a specification of the additional memory; and compressing data stored in the storage unit based on the memory configuration of the additional memory determined by the memory discriminating unit. Data storage means for storing the data in the additional memory, and image output means for forming an image of the data stored in the storage means or the data stored in the additional memory by the data storage means on a sheet and outputting the paper. A digital image processing apparatus comprising: 2. A data expansion means for expanding data stored in an additional memory by the data storage means, and whether data expanded by the data expansion means matches data stored in the storage means. 2. The digital image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a determination unit configured to perform a comparison determination; and an error notification unit configured to notify a memory error when the determination unit determines that the data does not match. 3. When a memory error is notified by the error notifying means, the data storing means stores the data stored in the storing means in the additional memory without compressing the data, and the determining means comprises: 3. The digital image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a comparison is made as to whether the data stored in the storage means matches the data of the additional memory stored without being compressed. 4. A power supply unit for inputting power of the digital image processing apparatus, wherein the determination by the determination unit as to whether or not the data match is performed immediately after the power supply by the power supply unit. The digital image processing device according to claim 2 or 3.