JP2005059221A - Image formation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation apparatus which enables the user to recognize a sign of failures of a hard disk drive before the hard disk drive crashes. <P>SOLUTION: The image formation apparatus is equipped with a speed calculating part 11 for calculating an access speed at the time when data stored in the hard disk drive 50 is read, a judging part 12, and a reporting part 13 for reporting the sign of the failure to the user. The judging part 12 judges that a transfer error is brought about when the calculated access speed is lower than a corresponding threshold T1, and adds 1 to a counter C1 and a consecutive number of times counter C2. When values of both counters exceed thresholds T1 and T2, respectively, the judging part 12 judges that there is the sign of the failure in the hard disk drive 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a hard disk drive in which image data is stored.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the image forming apparatus, document image data read by a scanner is corrected by an image reading circuit and stored in a hard disk drive. The accumulated image data is read from the hard disk drive, subjected to image processing by a print processing circuit, and output to the image forming unit. If a transfer error occurs when reading data from the hard disk drive, error correction and error retry processing is automatically performed on the hard disk drive side so that correct data is output to the main unit control unit side. It has become.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, if error correction and error retry processing are performed automatically on the hard disk drive side, no information on transfer errors can be obtained on the main unit control side, so it is possible to grasp the signs of a hard disk drive failure. It is not possible to notify the user of a sign of a hard disk drive failure. Therefore, there is a problem that the user encounters a situation where the hard disk drive suddenly crashes.
[0004]
SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus that allows a user to recognize a failure sign of a hard disk drive before the hard disk drive crashes. .
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an image forming apparatus that stores image data and includes a hard disk drive that performs error correction and error retry processing when a transfer error occurs when the data is read. A speed calculation means for calculating an access speed for reading data stored in the hard disk drive, a determination means for determining a sign of failure of the hard disk drive based on the calculated access speed, and the determination And a notifying means for notifying the user of a failure sign determined by the means.
[0006]
According to this configuration, the access speed of the data stored in the hard disk drive is calculated, and based on the calculated access speed, an indication of a hard disk drive failure is determined and notified to the user. Therefore, before the hard disk drive crashes, the user can be notified of a sign of a failure of the hard disk drive, so that it is possible to take measures such as replacing the hard disk drive in advance. Therefore, the user can avoid a situation where the hard disk drive suddenly crashes.
[0007]
In the hard disk drive, the determination unit is configured to determine a corresponding zone calculated by the speed calculation unit with respect to an access speed threshold set in advance for each zone that is an area determined according to the access speed. When the access speed is low, it is preferable to determine that a transfer error has occurred, and to determine a symptom of the hard disk drive failure based on the frequency of the transfer error.
[0008]
According to this configuration, the data stored in the hard disk drive is added with the characteristic that the reading speed varies depending on the stored position, and the sign of the failure of the hard disk drive is determined based on the frequency of the transfer error. Therefore, the reliability of the determination is increased.
[0009]
In addition, when the transfer error occurs, the hard disk drive generates an error status indicating whether the error is caused by the hard disk drive itself, and the determination unit includes the error status. It is preferable that the frequency is added only when the transfer error occurs due to the hard disk drive itself. According to this configuration, since the frequency is added only when a transfer error occurs due to the hard disk drive itself, a symptom of a hard disk drive failure can be determined more accurately.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view mainly showing a mechanical configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The image forming apparatus includes a main body unit 200, a sheet post-processing unit 300 disposed on the left side of the main body unit 200, an operation unit 400 for a user to input various operation commands and the like, and an upper part of the main body unit 200. The document reading unit 500 is disposed, and the document feeding unit 600 is disposed above the document reading unit 500.
[0011]
The operation unit 400 includes a touch panel 401, a start key 402, a numeric keypad 403, and the like. The touch panel 401 displays various operation screens and various operation buttons for the user to input various operation commands. The start key 402 is used for the user to input a print execution command and the like, and the ten key 403 is used for inputting the number of copies to be printed.
[0012]
The document feeding unit 600 includes a document placement unit 601, a document discharge unit 602, a paper feed roller 603, a document transport unit 604, and the like, and the document reading unit 500 includes a scanner 501 and the like. The paper feed roller 603 feeds out the original set on the original placement unit 601, and the original transport unit 604 transports the fed originals one by one on the scanner 501. The scanner 501 sequentially reads the conveyed document, and the read document is discharged to the document discharge unit 602.
[0013]
The main body 200 includes a plurality of paper feed cassettes 201, a plurality of paper feed rollers 202, a transfer roller 203, an intermediate transfer body roller 204, a photosensitive drum 205, an exposure device 206, and development for each color of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. Devices 207Y, 207M, 207C, and 207K, a fixing roller 208, a discharge port 209, a discharge tray 210, and the like are provided.
[0014]
The photosensitive drum 205 is uniformly charged by a charging device (not shown) while rotating in the direction of the arrow. The exposure device 206 converts the modulation signal generated based on the image data of the original read by the original reading unit 500 into a laser beam and outputs it, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 205 for each color. The developing devices 207Y, 207M, 207C, and 207K supply each color developer to the photosensitive drum 205 to form a toner image for each color.
[0015]
The intermediate transfer roller 204 transfers the color toner images from the photosensitive drum 205, and forms a color toner image on the intermediate transfer roller 204.
[0016]
On the other hand, the paper feeding roller 202 pulls out the recording paper from the paper feeding cassette 201 in which the recording paper is stored and feeds the recording paper to the transfer roller 203. The transfer roller 203 transfers the toner image on the intermediate transfer body roller 204 onto the conveyed recording paper, and the fixing roller 208 heats and fixes the transferred toner image on the recording paper. Thereafter, the recording paper is carried into the paper post-processing unit 300 from the discharge port 209 of the main body unit 200. The recording paper is also discharged to the discharge tray 210 as necessary.
[0017]
The paper post-processing unit 300 includes a carry-in port 301, a recording paper transport unit 302, a carry-out port 303, a stack tray 304, and the like. The recording paper transport unit 302 sequentially transports the recording paper carried into the carry-in port 301 from the discharge port 209 and finally ejects the recording paper from the carry-out port 303 to the stack tray 304. The stack tray 304 is configured to move up and down in the direction of the arrow in accordance with the number of recording sheets stacked from the carry-out port 303.
[0018]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The image forming apparatus includes a CPU 10 that functions as a control unit that performs overall control of the image forming apparatus, a ROM (read only memory) 20 that stores a control program for causing the CPU 10 to function as a control unit, and a work area for the CPU 10. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 30 to be used, a reading processing circuit 40 for correcting image data of a document read by the image reading unit 500, and a hard disk drive 50 for storing image data processed by the reading processing circuit 40 A print processing circuit 60 that performs processing for converting RGB color system image data into CMY color system image data, a hard disk controller 70 that performs input / output control of data to and from the hard disk drive 50, and a print processing circuit 60. On the recording paper based on the image data processed by And an image forming unit 80 to form an image.
[0019]
The CPU 10, ROM 20, RAM 30, operation unit 400, read processing circuit 40, print processing circuit 60, and hard disk controller 70 are connected to each other via a bus line B so that various data can be transmitted and received.
[0020]
The hard disk drive 50 determines whether or not a transfer error has occurred based on error correction data (for example, ECC (Error Correcting Code)) added to the read data, and the transfer error has occurred. In this case, an error retry process for reading data again is performed. Also, when a transfer error occurs again by error retry processing, error correction processing is performed to correct the data to correct data. In addition, when a transfer error occurs in the hard disk drive 50, the error is generated in the hard disk drive 50, or the hard disk drive 50 such as a cable connecting the hard disk drive 50 and the hard disk controller 70. An error status is generated indicating whether or not the error has occurred externally.
[0021]
The image forming unit 80 includes a transfer roller 203, an intermediate transfer member roller 204, a photosensitive drum 205, an exposure device 206, and developing devices 207Y, 207M, 207C, and 207K for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black colors shown in FIG. The fixing roller 208 corresponds.
[0022]
The hard disk controller 70 is connected to the hard disk drive 50 via, for example, an ATA (AT attachment) interface (I / F), and performs input / output control of data to the hard disk drive 50.
[0023]
The CPU 10 functions as the speed calculation unit 11, the determination unit 12, and the notification unit 13 by executing the control program stored in the ROM 20, and causes the ROM 20 to function as the threshold storage unit 21.
[0024]
The threshold storage unit 21 stores a determination table used when the determination unit 12 determines a failure symptom of the hard disk drive 50. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the determination table. The determination table describes a zone number indicating each zone of the disk in the hard disk drive 50 and a threshold value corresponding to each zone.
[0025]
FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the address indicating the position where the hard disk drive 50 stores data and the access speed for each address. The vertical axis indicates the access speed, and the horizontal axis indicates the address. In this image forming apparatus, an address is given for each sector, for example, and a larger address is set for a sector located on the outer track of a disk-shaped disk.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 4, the hard disk drive 50 has a characteristic that the access speed decreases as the address increases. Therefore, when only one threshold is used as the threshold used when determining the access speed delay, if there are many accesses to a zone with a low access speed, there is a risk of erroneously detecting that the access speed has decreased. Therefore, in this image forming apparatus, the erroneous detection is prevented by dividing the disk in the hard disk drive 50 into n zones (n is an integer) according to the address, and providing a threshold value for each zone. As the threshold value of each zone, the access speed at the time of normal operation of data stored at the position where the address is the largest in each zone is set.
[0027]
The speed calculation unit 11 calculates an access speed when data is read from the hard disk drive 50. In the present embodiment, the access speed refers to the time until the data is read from the hard disk drive 50 after the CPU 10 issues a data read command.
[0028]
The determination unit 12 acquires the threshold T1 of the zone including the address where the data for which the access speed is calculated by the speed calculation unit 11 is included by referring to the determination table, and the acquired threshold T1 and the speed calculation unit 11 When the access speed is lower than the threshold value T1, it is determined that a transfer error has occurred, and 1 is added to the counter C1 for counting the number of transfer errors. 1 is added to the continuous number counter C2 for counting the number of times of occurrence. When the counter C1 is larger than the threshold T1 and the continuous number counter C2 is larger than the threshold T2, the hard disk drive 50 determines that there is a sign of failure.
[0029]
When the determination unit 12 determines that the hard disk drive 50 has a sign of failure, the notification unit 13 displays information prompting the replacement of the hard disk drive 50 on the touch panel 401.
[0030]
Next, processing performed by the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Note that the following flowchart shows a process for reading data stored at a certain address constituting image data read from the hard disk drive 50. Further, the processing shown in this flowchart may be performed for all addresses storing image data, or may be performed at regular address intervals.
[0031]
First, the CPU 10 reads data stored at a certain address from the hard disk drive 50 (step S1), and the speed calculation unit 11 calculates the access speed of the read data (step S2).
[0032]
Next, the determination unit 12 compares the access speed calculated in step S2 with a threshold T1 corresponding to the access speed (step S3), and when it is determined that access speed ≦ threshold T1 (YES in step S3), Assuming that a transfer error has occurred, the error status generated in the hard disk drive 50 is referred to, and if the transfer error has occurred inside the hard disk drive 50 (YES in step S4), 1 is added to the counter C1. At the same time (step S5), 1 is added to the continuous number counter C2 (step S6).
[0033]
On the other hand, if the determination unit 12 determines that the access speed> threshold value T1 in step S3, it is determined that no transfer error has occurred, the continuous number counter C2 is reset, and the continuous number counter C2 = 0 is set ( Step S7), the process is terminated.
[0034]
In step S8, the determination unit 12 compares the counter C1 and the continuous number counter C2 with the threshold values T2 and T3, respectively. When the counter C1 ≧ the threshold value T2 and C2 ≧ the threshold value T3 (YES in step S8), the notification unit 13 As a result, information indicating that the hard disk drive 50 has a sign of failure is displayed on the touch panel 401 (step S9), and the process is terminated. In this case, on the touch panel 401, for example, a sentence “The hard disk drive is exhausted and should be replaced”, a mark for prompting the replacement of the hard disk drive 50, and the like are displayed. On the other hand, if NO at step S8, the process ends.
[0035]
As described above, according to the present image forming apparatus, the access speed for each address is calculated, the calculated access speed is compared with the threshold value T1, and if the access speed is smaller than the threshold value T1, a transfer error has occurred. When the values of the counter C1 and the continuous number counter C2 are larger than the threshold values T2 and T3, information that prompts the user to replace the hard disk drive 50 is displayed on the touch panel 401. You can avoid a sudden crash.
[0036]
In addition, since an optimum value is set as the threshold value T1 for each zone of the hard disk drive 50, the accuracy of determining a failure sign increases.
[0037]
In addition, this invention can take the following aspects.
[0038]
(1) In the above embodiment, the hard disk drive is assigned an address for each sector. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an address may be assigned for each of a plurality of sectors.
[0039]
(2) In the above embodiment, the hard disk drive 50 stores the image data of the document read by the image reading unit 500. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an external computer connected to be communicable with the image forming apparatus. The image data output from the above may be accumulated.
[0040]
(3) In the above embodiment, when the counter C1 ≧ the threshold value T2 and the continuous number counter C2 ≧ the threshold value T3, the failure sign is notified. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of threshold values are provided. May be shown in stages.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the access speed of data stored in the hard disk drive is calculated, and based on the access speed, an indication of a hard disk drive failure is determined and notified to the user. Is done. Therefore, before the hard disk drive crashes, the user can be informed of the degree of failure of the hard disk drive, so that it is possible to take measures such as replacing the hard disk drive in advance. Therefore, the user can avoid a situation where the hard disk drive suddenly crashes.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view mainly showing a mechanical configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a determination table stored in a ROM.
FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the address indicating the position of the hard disk drive and the access speed of each address, with the vertical axis indicating the access speed and the horizontal axis indicating the address.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by the image forming apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 speed calculation unit 12 determination unit 13 notification unit 40 read processing circuit 50 hard disk drive 60 print processing circuit 70 hard disk controller 80 image forming unit C1 counter C2 continuous number counter

Claims (3)

An image forming apparatus including a hard disk drive that accumulates image data and performs error correction and error retry processing when a transfer error occurs when reading the data,
Speed calculating means for calculating an access speed when reading data stored in the hard disk drive;
A determination means for determining a sign of failure of the hard disk drive based on the calculated access speed;
An image forming apparatus comprising: notifying means for notifying a user of a failure sign determined by the determining means. In the hard disk drive, the determination means has an access speed of a corresponding zone calculated by the speed calculation means with respect to an access speed threshold set in advance for each zone which is an area determined according to the access speed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if it is low, it is determined that a transfer error has occurred, and an indication of a failure of the hard disk drive is determined based on the frequency of the transfer error. When the transfer error occurs, the hard disk drive generates an error status indicating whether the error is caused by the hard disk drive itself,
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit adds the frequency only when the transfer error occurs due to the hard disk drive itself with reference to the error status.

Images