JP2012096496A - Image output device, control method, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image output device that ensures both operational efficiency of the operation of acquiring image data and the operation of printing using the image data.SOLUTION: An image processing apparatus 1 includes an HDD14 and SSD15, and prints an image based on the image data composed by a block BK after being compressed. The apparatus is provided with an I/O control unit 12 for performing control so that the writing of block BK after being compressed to the SSD15 is executed in parallel with the reading of the block BK after being compressed from the HDD14 as much as possible.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image output apparatus that prints an image based on image data on a sheet.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, image processing apparatuses called “multifunction peripherals” having various functions such as copying, network printing (PC printing), scanners, fax machines, and document servers have become widespread.

  In such an image processing apparatus, when various functions such as a copy function are realized, two operations of reading an original and printing the read image are executed in parallel. The image processing apparatus includes an image memory so that the two operations can be executed in parallel.

  That is, the image memory holds the image data read from the document until it is used for printing. Here, when the speed of the document reading process is higher than the speed of the printing process, the image data is accumulated in the image memory in accordance with the difference between the speeds of the two processes.

  In general, a volatile semiconductor memory having a high reading / writing speed is used as the image memory. However, such a volatile semiconductor memory has a high cost per capacity.

  In view of this, the image processing apparatus includes an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) to complement the image memory, although the reading / writing speed is lower than that of the image memory, but the cost per capacity is low. The image data in the image memory is temporarily saved in the HDD, and the image data in the HDD is returned to the image memory as necessary.

  As described above, the image processing apparatus can hold image data having a size larger than the capacity of the image memory by complementing the small-capacity image memory with the HDD.

JP 2006-338691 A

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a general access time for an HDD or an SSD.

In an image processing apparatus provided with an image memory and an HDD for complementing it, access to the HDD occurs in the following cases.
(1) When image data read from a document is transferred from the image memory to the HDD (2) When image data used for printing is transferred from the HDD to the image memory Is slow. For this reason, of the above accesses, the access (2) accompanied by reading from the HDD takes more time than the access (1) accompanied by writing to the HDD (see FIG. 1A).

  Therefore, when an HDD is used as a storage device that complements the image memory, the data transfer speed from the HDD to the image memory may be lower than the print processing speed, and the image data used for printing may be image data. The printing process may be awaited until it is read into the memory. That is, there arises a problem that productivity (operation efficiency) of printing operation is lowered.

  In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to use an SSD (Solid State Drive) as a storage device that complements the image memory.

  The SSD has a single-chip configuration, and does not require a mechanical head movement when reading data, and seek time does not occur. Therefore, the reading speed is higher than that of the HDD regardless of the data reading position. However, the SSD needs to follow two procedures for data writing: an erase operation and a program operation, and the write speed may be lower than that of the HDD. Therefore, for the accesses (1) and (2) above, when the HDD is replaced with an SSD, the access (1) accompanied by writing to the SSD is compared with the access (2) accompanied by reading from the SSD. It takes time (see FIG. 1B).

  Therefore, when the SSD is used as a storage device that complements the image memory, the data transfer speed from the image memory to the SSD may be lower than the reading speed of the original, and the image read from the original may be reduced. Until the data is written to the SSD, the document reading process may be awaited. That is, there arises a problem that the productivity (operation efficiency) of the reading operation of the document is lowered.

  As described above, when the HDD is used as a storage device that complements the image memory, the productivity of the printing operation decreases, and when the SSD is used, the productivity of the document reading operation decreases. End up. In other words, the productivity of the entire image processing apparatus cannot be ensured regardless of which storage device is used.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and provides an image output apparatus that can ensure both the moving efficiency of the image data acquisition operation and the printing operation using the image data. With the goal.

  By the way, as a related technology, a hybrid storage having a disk device and a non-volatile semiconductor memory is provided, and this hybrid storage can be read and written according to the user's designation or the operating state such as temperature, vibration / impact, noise, etc. It has been proposed to select either a disk device or a nonvolatile semiconductor memory as a storage medium to be switched (Patent Document 1).

  An image output apparatus according to the present invention is an image output apparatus that sequentially prints a plurality of images based on a plurality of image data on a sheet, the image data acquisition means for sequentially acquiring the plurality of image data, and the plurality of images A printing unit that sequentially receives data and prints a plurality of images based on the plurality of image data sequentially on a sheet, and stores the image data, and the average time required to write the image data is the first writing time A first storage device in which an average time required for reading the image data is a first read time; and storing the image data, and an average time required for writing the image data is shorter than the first write time. A second storage device having a short second writing time and a second reading time that is longer than the first reading time, and an average time required for reading the image data; A first writing means for writing the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means to the first storage device; and a first writing means for writing the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means to the second storage device. Second writing means, first reading means for reading the image data used for printing in the printing means from the first storage device, and the image data used for printing in the printing means in the second storage Second reading means for reading from the apparatus, and transfer control means for controlling the writing by the first writing means and the reading by the second reading means to be executed in parallel as much as possible.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image output apparatus in which both the movable efficiencies of the image data acquisition operation and the printing operation using the image data are ensured.

It is a figure which shows the example of the general access time with respect to HDD or SSD. It is a figure which shows the example of the hardware constitutions of an image processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a one part function structure in a main control part. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the flow of image data associated with a copy job. It is a figure which shows the example of the access time with respect to HDD and SSD. It is a figure which shows the example of the access time with respect to HDD or SSD. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the flow of a part of process in an input-output control part. It is a figure which shows the example of the access time with respect to HDD or SSD. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the flow of image data associated with a fax job and a print job.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus 1.

  The image processing apparatus 1 is an image processing apparatus called a “multifunction machine” having various functions such as copying, network printing (PC printing), scanner, fax, and document server.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image processing apparatus 1 includes a main control unit 11, an input / output control unit 12, an image memory 13, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 14, an SSD (Solid State Drive) 15, a display operation unit 16, an image. A reading unit 17, an image processing unit 18, an image compression unit 19, an image expansion unit 20, an image printing unit 21, a facsimile unit 22, a network I / F (Interface) unit 23, and the like are included. These units 11 to 23 are connected to each other via a bus.

  The main control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11a, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 11b, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 11c, and the like, in addition to programs and data stored in the ROM 11c, Main operations of the image processing apparatus 1 are controlled based on various data input from the outside as needed.

  When executing various jobs, the main control unit 11 may generate a plurality of tasks and execute the tasks in parallel. For example, when executing a copy job, a task of acquiring image data by reading an image of a document by the image reading unit 17, a task of printing an image based on the acquired image data on a sheet by the image printing unit 21, and Other tasks may be created and executed in parallel. In addition, the main control unit 11 gives a command related to data transfer (input / output operation) between the units 11 to 23 to the input / output control unit 12. Details of these controls will be described later.

  The RAM 11b serves as a work memory for the CPU 11a, and also stores a page memory 11d for storing image data transmitted / received via the facsimile unit 22, print data received via the network I / F unit 23, etc., on a page. It becomes. The page memory 11d can store one or more pages of the image data.

  The image data for one page stored in the page memory 11d is composed of an aggregate of one or a plurality of block unit image data. The block-unit image data stored in the page memory 11d is image data in a state before being compressed by the image compression unit 19.

  In this embodiment, as will be described later, the block-unit image data read by the image reading unit 17 and subjected to predetermined processing by the image processing unit 18 is directly sent to the image compression unit 19. It is not stored in the page memory 11d. However, this block-unit image data may also be temporarily stored in the page memory 11 d before being sent to the image compression unit 19.

  The ROM 11c stores various programs for executing jobs and various fixed data.

  The input / output control unit 12 is configured by a dedicated IC (Integrated Circuit) or the like, and controls data transfer between the units 11 to 23 based on a command from the main control unit 11.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the input / output control unit 12 can perform control so that data transfer between the image memory 13 and the HDD 14 and data transfer between the image memory 13 and the SSD 15 are performed in parallel. It is possible.

  The image memory 13 is a volatile storage device configured by a semiconductor memory or the like. The image memory 13 temporarily stores image data in units of blocks compressed by the image compression unit 19. That is, the block-unit image data stored in the image memory 13 is image data after being compressed by the image compression unit 19.

  Each block of image data is image data obtained by compressing image data for one line or a plurality of lines of the line image sensor of the image reading unit 17. For example, the image data is compressed image data for 16 lines.

  Hereinafter, image data in block units is referred to as “block”. In addition, a block before being compressed by the image compression unit 19 may be referred to as a “pre-compression block”, and a block after being compressed by the image compression unit 19 may be referred to as a “post-compression block”.

  The HDD 14 is a non-volatile recording device including a magnetic disk and a recording head. In the HDD 14, an area in which a compressed block read from the image memory 13 is written is secured. It is assumed that the average time required for writing the compressed block to the HDD 14 is shorter than that to the SSD 15 and the average time required for reading the compressed block from the HDD 14 is longer than that from the SSD 15.

  The SSD 15 is a non-volatile recording device that includes a flash memory and a dedicated controller. The SSD 15 also has an area in which the compressed block read from the image memory 13 is written. It is assumed that the average time required to write the compressed block to the SSD 15 is longer than that to the HDD 14, and the average time required to read the compressed block from the SSD 15 is shorter than that from the HDD 14.

  The HDD 14 or the SSD 15 may store programs and data executed by the CPU 11 a of the main control unit 11. In that case, the program and data are read to the RAM 11b of the main control unit 11 as necessary.

  The display operation unit 16 is a device that displays various screens for the user and accepts various operations from the user, and includes a display whose surface is a touch panel and various operation switches. . On the display, a screen for giving various guidance to the user, a screen for informing the user of the processing status and results, and the like are displayed. Further, when the user operates the touch panel or the operation switch, an instruction such as a job to be executed is input to the display operation unit 16.

  The image reading unit 17 is a device that reads an image of an original, and includes a light source, a line image sensor, a moving unit that moves an original reading position, an optical path, and the like.

  The light source irradiates light toward the reading position of the document. The line image sensor receives reflected light from the document and reads an image of the document for one line. The moving means moves the reading position of the document line by line. The optical path is composed of a lens, a mirror, etc., and the reflected light from the document is guided to the line image sensor to form an image.

  For example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) is used for the line image sensor. The analog image signal output from the line image sensor is converted into a digital image signal by the A / D conversion circuit and sent to the image processing unit 18.

  The image processing unit 18 is configured by a dedicated IC or the like, and is a functional unit that performs various processes on the image data read by the image reading unit 17. For example, the image processing unit 18 performs enlargement, reduction, or rotation processing on the original image data. In addition, processing such as shading correction, line-to-line correction, resolution conversion, or gamma conversion may be performed. The image data that has been subjected to various processes by the image processing unit 18 is sent to the image compression unit 19.

  The image compression unit 19 is configured by a dedicated IC or the like, compresses the image data sent from the image processing unit 18 for one line or a plurality of lines of the line image sensor of the image reading unit 17, It is a functional unit that creates a block after compression. For example, a post-compression block is created by compressing image data for every 16 lines.

  Further, the image compression unit 19 compresses the pre-compression block read from the page memory 11d of the main control unit 11, and creates a post-compression block.

  The post-compression block created by the image compression unit 19 is stored in the image memory 13 without being temporarily stored in a buffer memory or the like. Therefore, when the copy job is executed, the compressed block is stored in the image memory 13 every time one block of image data is read while the image reading unit 17 reads the image of the document. Similarly, at the time of execution of a fax job, every time image data for one block is received via the facsimile unit 22, the compressed block is stored in the image memory 13, and at the time of execution of a print job. Each time print data for one block is received via the network I / F unit 23, the compressed block is stored in the image memory 13.

  The image decompression unit 20 is configured by a dedicated IC or the like, and is a functional unit that reconstructs image data for one page by decompressing a plurality of compressed blocks read from the image memory 13. The image data reconstructed by the image expansion unit 20 is sent to the image printing unit 21.

  The image printing unit 21 is an apparatus that forms and outputs an image corresponding to image data on a recording medium by an electrophotographic process, and includes a recording medium conveying device, a photosensitive drum, a charging device, a laser unit, a developing device, and a transfer device. A separation device, a cleaning device, a fixing device, and the like are provided.

  The facsimile unit 22 is a device for transmitting / receiving various data to / from other FAX terminals via a public line network using a protocol such as G3. When a new fax job is received via the facsimile unit 22, the image data received via the facsimile unit 17 is stored in the page memory 11 d of the main control unit 11.

  The network I / F unit 23 is a device for transmitting / receiving various data to / from other information terminals via a LAN (Local Area Network) by using a protocol such as TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol). It is. For the network I / F unit 23, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) is used. When a new print job is received via the network I / F unit 23, the image data in which the print data received via the network I / F unit 23 is expanded page by page is stored in the page memory of the main control unit 11. 11d.

  Note that all or part of the functions of the image processing unit 18, the image compression unit 19, and the image expansion unit 20 may be realized by the main control unit 11. That is, a dedicated IC may not be provided for each unit 18-20.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a partial functional configuration in the main control unit 11.

  In the ROM 11c of the main control unit 11, a program for realizing a job reception unit 101, an image data acquisition unit 102, an image data printing unit 103, an image data transfer unit 104, and other functional units as shown in FIG. Is stored. The image data transfer unit 104 includes an HDD write request unit 104a, an HDD read request unit 104b, an SSD write request unit 104c, and an SSD read request unit 104d.

  In the main controller 11, these programs stored in the ROM 11c are executed by the CPU 11a as necessary. Alternatively, some or all of these programs may be stored in the HDD 14 or the SSD 15. In that case, it is read to the RAM 11b of the main control unit 11 as necessary, and is executed by the CPU 11a.

  Hereinafter, when a user sets an original consisting of eight pages and gives a copy job to the image processing apparatus 1 via the display operation unit 16, processing performed by the functional units 101 to 104 (104a to 104d) is performed. Explain the contents.

  In this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the image reading unit 17 needs to move the line image sensor 80 times to read an image of one page of the document, and the image compression unit 19 Assume that a post-compression block in which image data for a line is compressed is created. Therefore, 5 post-compression blocks (80 [lines] / 16 [lines / piece]) per page of the document are created.

  4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the flow of image data associated with a copy job, FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams illustrating examples of access times to the HDD 14 and the SSD 15, respectively, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing flow of a unit.

  When the job reception unit 101 receives an instruction to execute a copy job via the input / output control unit 12, the job reception unit 101 instructs the image data acquisition unit 102 to acquire image data by reading an image of a document. Further, the image data printing unit 103 is instructed to print an image based on the acquired image data on a sheet.

  When receiving an image data acquisition instruction from the job reception unit 101, the image data acquisition unit 102 operates the image reading unit 17, the image processing unit 18, the image compression unit 19, and the like via the input / output control unit 12. .

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the digital image signal GA is output from the image reading unit 17. In addition, image data GB obtained by performing predetermined processing on the image signal GA in the image processing unit 18 is output. Further, a post-compression block BK obtained by compressing the image data GB in units of blocks in the image compression unit 19 is output. Then, the compressed blocks BK of the target page are sequentially written in the image memory 13.

  When the compressed blocks BK read from the image compression unit 19 to the image memory 13 are completed for one page (five), the input / output control unit 12 issues a page reading completion notification S11 to the image data acquisition unit 102. . That is, the page reading completion notification S11 is issued for each page.

  Upon receiving the page reading completion notification S11, the image data acquisition unit 102 instructs the image data transfer unit 104 to read the compressed block BK of the target page from the image memory 13 and write it to the HDD 14 or the SSD 15.

  When the image data transfer unit 104 receives an instruction to write the compressed block BK from the image data acquisition unit 102, the image data transfer unit 104 determines whether to write the compressed block BK to the storage device of the HDD 14 or the SSD 15 as follows. To do.

  That is, when the compressed block BK to be written this time is the compressed block BK of the first page, it is determined that the data can be written to any storage device of the HDD 14 or the SSD 15. On the other hand, when the post-compression block BK to be written this time is the post-compression block BK for the second page and after, it should be written to a storage device different from the storage device that has written the post-compression block BK of the previous page. Judge that there is.

  When the storage device of the write destination thus determined is the HDD 14, the HDD write request unit 104a issues an HDD write request S21 to the input / output control unit 12, and the post-compression block BK of the target page Is read from the image memory 13 and written to the HDD 14.

  If the storage device of the write destination thus determined is SSD 15, the SSD write request unit 104c issues an SSD write request S22 to the input / output control unit 12, and the compressed block BK of the target page Is read from the image memory 13 and written to the SSD 15.

  When receiving the HDD write request S 21, the input / output control unit 12 reads the compressed block BK of the target page from the image memory 13 and writes it to the HDD 14. When writing of all the compressed blocks BK on the target page is completed, an HDD writing completion notification S12 is issued to the image data printing unit 103. Further, the post-compression block BK for which writing has been completed is deleted from the image memory 13.

  When receiving the SSD write request S22, the input / output control unit 12 reads the compressed block BK of the target page from the image memory 13 and writes it to the SSD 15. When writing of all the compressed blocks BK on the target page is completed, an SSD writing completion notification S13 is issued to the image data printing unit 103. Further, the post-compression block BK for which writing has been completed is deleted from the image memory 13.

  When all the compressed blocks BK of the target page are written to the HDD 14 or the SSD 15 by the input / output control unit 12, the image memory 13 becomes empty, so that the compressed blocks BK of the next page are successively stored in the image memory 13 Will continue to be written. Then, when the compressed block BK for one page is prepared, the page reading completion notification S11 is issued again from the input / output control unit 12 to the image data acquisition unit 102. Then, the HDD write request S21 or the SSD write request S22 is issued again from the image data transfer unit 104 to the input / output control unit 12, and all the compressed blocks BK of the next page are written to the HDD 14 or the SSD 15.

  In this way, the compressed block BK read from the original is alternately written to the HDD 14 and the SSD 15 for each page (HDD writing (i) in FIG. 5A and SSD writing in FIG. 5B). (See (iii)).

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the compressed blocks BK of the first, third, fifth, and seventh pages are written to the HDD 14, and the compressed blocks BK of the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth pages are written to the SSD 15. However, the compressed block BK of each page may be written in the opposite storage device. That is, the compressed blocks BK of the first, third, fifth, and seventh pages may be written to the SSD 15, and the compressed blocks BK of the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth pages may be written to the HDD 14.

  In parallel with the processing by the image data acquisition unit 102 described above, processing by the image data printing unit 103 is also performed.

  That is, when the image data printing unit 103 receives an image printing instruction from the job receiving unit 101, the image data printing unit 103 performs print preparation, for example, calibration of a printing mechanism, for example, via the input / output control unit 12. Instruct.

  When the image data printing unit 103 receives the HDD writing completion notification S12 from the input / output control unit 12, the image data printing unit 103 reads the compressed block BK of the target page from the HDD 14 to the image data transfer unit 104, and stores the image memory 13 is instructed to write.

  When the image data printing unit 103 receives the SSD writing completion notification S13 from the input / output control unit 12, the image data printing unit 103 reads the compressed block BK of the target page from the SSD 15 to the image data transfer unit 104, and stores the image memory 13 is instructed to write.

  When the image data transfer unit 104 receives an instruction to read the compressed block BK from the HDD 14 from the image data acquisition unit 102, the HDD read request unit 104b issues an HDD read request S23 to the input / output control unit 12. Then, the compressed block BK of the target page is requested to be read from the HDD 14 and written to the image memory 13.

  When the image data transfer unit 104 receives an instruction to read the compressed block BK from the SSD 15 from the image data acquisition unit 102, the image data transfer unit 104 issues an SSD read request S24 to the input / output control unit 12 through the SSD read request unit 104d. Then, the compressed block BK of the target page is requested to be read from the SSD 15 and written to the image memory 13.

  When the input / output control unit 12 receives the HDD read request S23 or the SSD read request S24 from the image data transfer unit 104, the input / output control unit 12 performs control as shown in FIG.

  When the input / output control unit 12 receives the HDD read request S23 (Yes in # 201), the input / output control unit 12 reads the compressed block BK of the target page from the HDD 14 and writes it to the image memory 13, but the transfer process is possible as much as possible. Control is performed so as to be executed at the following timing.

  That is, control is performed such that the transfer process from the HDD 14 to the image memory 13 based on the HDD read request S23 is executed in parallel with the transfer process from the image memory 13 to the SSD 15 based on the SSD write request S22 (# 202). . More preferably, the transfer process for the (N-1) th page compressed block BK based on the HDD read request S23 and the transfer process for the Nth page compressed block BK based on the SSD write request S22 are performed in parallel. To be executed.

  When the input / output control unit 12 receives the SSD read request S24 (Yes in # 203), the input / output control unit 12 reads the compressed block BK of the target page from the SSD 15 and writes it to the image memory 13. Control is performed so as to be executed at the following timing.

  That is, control is performed such that the transfer process from the SSD 15 to the image memory 13 based on the SSD read request S24 is executed in parallel with the transfer process from the image memory 13 to the HDD 14 based on the HDD write request S21 (# 204). . More preferably, the transfer process for the (N-1) -th compressed block BK based on the SSD read request S24 and the transfer process for the N-th compressed block BK based on the HDD write request S21 are performed in parallel. To be executed.

  Therefore, ideally, in the processing for each page, writing to the HDD 14 for the N-th compressed block BK and reading of the (N−1) -th compressed block BK from the SSD 15 are performed in parallel. And writing to the SSD 15 for the N-th compressed block BK and reading (N−1) -th compressed block BK from the HDD 14 are executed in parallel ( (See FIG. 5).

  However, when the input / output control unit 12 receives the HDD read request S23 or the SSD read request S24, there may be a case where the image printing unit 21 is not yet ready for printing. It is also conceivable that the printing process speed in the image printing unit 21 is slower than the document reading process speed in the image reading unit 17. In such a case, the ideal condition described above may not be observed.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6, writing to the HDD 14 for the N-th page compressed block BK and reading from the SSD 15 for the (N−m) -th compressed block BK are executed in parallel. In addition, writing to the SSD 15 for the N-th page compressed block BK and reading from the HDD 14 for the (N−m) -th compressed block BK are executed in parallel. That's fine. Here, m is a number of 1 or more, and is “3” in the example shown in FIG.

  The input / output control unit 12 deletes from the HDD 14 the compressed block BK for which writing from the HDD 14 to the image memory 13 has been completed. Similarly, the compressed block BK for which writing from the SSD 15 to the image memory 13 has been completed is also deleted from the SSD 15.

  When the compressed block BK for one page (five compressed blocks BK) is read from the HDD 14 or the SSD 15 into the image memory 13, the input / output control unit 12 sends a page reread completion notification S 14 to the image data printing unit 103. Issue.

  Upon receiving the page reread completion notification S <b> 14, the image data printing unit 103 operates the image expansion unit 20 and the image printing unit 21 via the input / output control unit 12.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, image data GC for one page reconstructed by, for example, decompressing a plurality of post-compression blocks BK in the image decompression unit 20 is output. Further, the image printing unit 21 forms an image corresponding to the image data GC on the recording medium.

  In this way, the compressed block BK is alternately read from the HDD 14 and the SSD 15 for each page (see HDD read (ii) in FIG. 5A and SSD read (iv) in FIG. 5B)). Used for printing.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the image data transfer process from the HDD 14 to the image memory 13 and the image data transfer process from the image memory 13 to the SSD 15 are executed in parallel. Be controlled. That is, control is performed such that processes between persons with slow speeds are executed in parallel. As a result, the HDD 14 and the SSD 15 are efficiently accessed, and as a result, the frequency of waiting for the printing process and the document reading process is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to secure both the productivity of the original reading operation and the productivity of the printing operation, and it is possible to secure the productivity of the entire image processing apparatus as compared with the conventional art.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of access times to the HDD 14 and the SSD 15 when the above-described control method is partially changed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the following method can be considered if the HDD 14 and the SSD 15 are accessed more efficiently.

  That is, in FIGS. 5 and 6, the time required for writing to the SSD 15 for the N-th page compressed block BK, and the time required for reading from the HDD 14 for the (N−m) -th compressed block BK. Are assumed to be almost the same, but there are few cases where they are actually the same. The same applies to the relationship between the time required for writing to the HDD 14 for the N-page compressed block BK and the time required for reading from the SSD 15 for the (N−m) -th compressed block BK. Here, m is a number of 1 or more, and is “1” in the example shown in FIG. 5 and “3” in the example shown in FIG.

  Considering this point, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, reading from the HDD 14 regarding the (N−m) th page compressed block BK is writing to the SSD 15 regarding the Nth page compressed block BK. If it is completed earlier, the compressed block BK that has not been written to the SSD 15 may be written to the HDD 14. That is, a part (three in the example shown in FIG. 8) of the same target page (five in the example shown in FIG. 8) after compression is written to the SSD 15 and the rest (in the example shown in FIG. 8). 2) may be written to the HDD. However, in that case, when returning the compressed block BK of the target page from the storage device to the image memory 13, a plurality of the compressed blocks BK distributed and stored in different storage devices are continuously transferred to the image memory 13. It is necessary to control to be written (see HDD read (ii) in FIG. 8A and SSD read (iv) in FIG. 8B)).

  The above-described control method can be applied in the same manner as a copy job when a job such as a fax job and a print job other than a copy job is given to the image processing apparatus 1.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the flow of image data associated with a fax job and a print job.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the process of executing the fax job, the received image data GD is output from the facsimile unit 22, and the pre-compression block BKa is generated on the page memory 11d. In the process of executing the print job, the image data GE in which the received print data is expanded for each page is output from the network I / F unit 23, and the pre-compression block BKa is generated on the page memory 11d. Thereafter, the post-compression block BK is transferred between the image memory 13 and the HDD 14 or the SSD 15 as in the case of a copy job. Therefore, the same effect as in the case of a copy job can be expected for a fax job and a print job by applying the above-described control method.

  In the above-described embodiment, the hardware configuration and functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 1 can be appropriately changed in accordance with the gist of the present invention. Further, the processing content and processing order executed by the image processing apparatus 1 can be changed as appropriate in accordance with the gist of the present invention.

1 Image processing device (image output device)
12 Input / output control unit (transfer control means)
14 HDD (second storage device)
15 SSD (first storage device)
102 Image data acquisition unit (image data acquisition means)
103 Image data printing section (printing means)
104a HDD write request section (second writing means)
104b HDD read request section (second reading means)
104c SSD write request section (first write means)
104d SSD reading request section (first reading means)
BK Block after compression (divided data)

Claims (9)

An image output device that sequentially prints a plurality of images based on a plurality of image data on paper,
Image data acquisition means for sequentially acquiring the plurality of image data;
Printing means for sequentially receiving the plurality of image data and sequentially printing a plurality of images based on the plurality of image data on paper;
A first storage device that stores the image data and has an average time required to write the image data as a first write time, and an average time required to read the image data as a first read time;
The image data is stored and the average time required for writing the image data is a second writing time shorter than the first writing time, and the average time required for reading the image data is the first reading A second storage device having a second read time longer than the time;
First writing means for writing the image data acquired by the image data acquiring means to the first storage device;
Second writing means for writing the image data acquired by the image data acquiring means to the second storage device;
First reading means for reading out the image data used for printing in the printing means from the first storage device;
Second reading means for reading out the image data used for printing in the printing means from the second storage device;
Transfer control means for controlling the writing by the first writing means and the reading by the second reading means to be executed in parallel as much as possible;
An image output apparatus comprising: The transfer control means controls the writing by the second writing means and the reading by the first reading means to be executed in parallel as much as possible.
The image output apparatus according to claim 1. Of the plurality of image data, the Nth image data is stored in the first storage device, and the (N + 1) th image data is stored in the second storage means.
The image output apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The transfer control means performs writing of the Nth image data by the first writing means and reading of the (N-1) th image data by the second reading means in parallel as much as possible. Control to be executed,
The image output apparatus according to claim 3. The transfer control unit performs writing of the Nth image data by the second writing unit and reading of the (N−1) th image data by the first reading unit in parallel as much as possible. Control to be executed,
The image output apparatus according to claim 4. Each of the image data is composed of a plurality of divided data divided in a predetermined unit,
The image data acquisition means sequentially acquires the plurality of image data for each of the divided data,
The printing unit sequentially receives the plurality of image data for each of the divided data,
The transfer control means does not complete the writing when the reading is completed first among the writing by the first writing means and the reading by the second reading means that are executed in parallel. For some of the divided data constituting the image data, control is performed such that the writing is interrupted and writing by the second writing unit is performed.
The image output apparatus according to claim 1. Each of the image data is page-unit image data.
The image output apparatus according to claim 1. An image output device that sequentially prints a plurality of images based on a plurality of image data on a sheet of paper,
Image data acquisition means for sequentially acquiring the plurality of image data;
Printing means for sequentially receiving the plurality of image data and sequentially printing a plurality of images based on the plurality of image data on paper;
A first storage device that stores the image data and has an average time required to write the image data as a first write time, and an average time required to read the image data as a first read time;
The image data is stored and the average time required for writing the image data is a second writing time shorter than the first writing time, and the average time required for reading the image data is the first reading A second storage device having a second read time longer than the time;
First writing means for writing the image data acquired by the image data acquiring means to the first storage device;
Second writing means for writing the image data acquired by the image data acquiring means to the second storage device;
First reading means for reading out the image data used for printing in the printing means from the first storage device;
Second reading means for reading out the image data used for printing in the printing means from the second storage device;
A control method used for an image output apparatus comprising:
A process of controlling the writing by the first writing means and the reading by the second reading means to be executed in parallel as much as possible.
A control method characterized by causing the image output apparatus to perform. An image output device that sequentially prints a plurality of images based on a plurality of image data on a sheet of paper,
Image data acquisition means for sequentially acquiring the plurality of image data;
Printing means for sequentially receiving the plurality of image data and sequentially printing a plurality of images based on the plurality of image data on paper;
A first storage device that stores the image data and has an average time required to write the image data as a first write time, and an average time required to read the image data as a first read time;
The image data is stored and the average time required for writing the image data is a second writing time shorter than the first writing time, and the average time required for reading the image data is the first reading A second storage device having a second read time longer than the time;
First writing means for writing the image data acquired by the image data acquiring means to the first storage device;
Second writing means for writing the image data acquired by the image data acquiring means to the second storage device;
First reading means for reading out the image data used for printing in the printing means from the first storage device;
Second reading means for reading out the image data used for printing in the printing means from the second storage device;
A control program used for an image output apparatus comprising:
A process for controlling the writing by the first writing means and the reading by the second reading means to be executed in parallel as much as possible.
A control program executed by the image output apparatus.

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