JP2012142034A - Information processing device and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing device and its control method capable of migrating the information processing device from an idle state to an operational state with high speed.SOLUTION: A CPU 103 in a printer 100 selects a start program from among multiple kinds of start programs stored in an HDD 109. When the selected start program is not stored in a first partition of the HDD 109, the CPU 103 transfers the start program from a fourth partition whose data readout speed is slower than that of the first partition, to the first partition. The CPU 103 is able to migrate an information processing device from an idle state to an operational state with high speed, by executing the start program stored in the first partition.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a control method thereof.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for executing a startup program for starting (initializing) an apparatus from a stopped state to an operating state is known. An apparatus is known that includes a plurality of types of startup programs and selects and executes any one of the plurality of startup programs (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-8-179937

  The apparatus of Patent Document 1 stores a plurality of types of startup programs in a plurality of ROMs, and reads and executes the startup programs from any one of the ROMs. However, it is expensive to provide a plurality of ROMs for storing a plurality of types of startup programs, and complicated work is required even when the startup programs are replaced. Therefore, it is conceivable to use a large-capacity storage means (for example, a hard disk) that is not a ROM in order to store a plurality of startup programs. However, the large-capacity storage means may have different data read / write speeds depending on the storage area, which may cause the startup program to be unable to be read at high speed. For example, it is known that in a hard disk, the data reading / writing speed is slower on the inner periphery side of the disk than on the outer periphery side of the disk. In order to enable the start-up program to be read at high speed in such a large-capacity storage means, the start-up program may be stored in an area where the reading speed is high (outer side of the hard disk). However, if all of the plurality of types of startup programs are stored in an area where the reading speed is high, there is a problem that an area where data other than the startup program is stored becomes an area where the reading speed is low.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in an information processing apparatus and a control method for selecting and executing one of a plurality of types of startup programs, an area where data reading speed in a storage unit is high is provided. To provide an information processing apparatus and a control method therefor capable of quickly shifting the information processing apparatus from a stopped state to an operating state by appropriately shortening the reading time of the start program without being occupied by a plurality of types of start programs It is in.

  In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a first storage unit including a first storage area, a second storage area having an access speed slower than the first storage area, and a second storage area. An information processing apparatus having a storage unit and holding a plurality of types of startup programs corresponding to each of a plurality of device configurations, wherein the plurality of types of startup programs are selected from the plurality of types of startup programs according to the configuration of the information processing device. An activation program selection means for selecting an activation program to be used when the information processing apparatus is activated; a control means for storing the activation program selected by the activation program selection means in the first storage area; and the control means. And executing means for reading and executing the activation program stored in the first storage area into the second storage means.

  The information processing apparatus control method according to the present invention includes a first storage unit including a first storage area, a second storage area having an access speed slower than the first storage area, and a second storage unit. And a method for controlling an information processing apparatus that holds a plurality of types of startup programs corresponding to a plurality of device configurations, respectively, according to the configuration of the information processing device, from among the plurality of types of startup programs An activation program selection step of selecting an activation program to be used when starting the information processing apparatus, a control step of storing the activation program selected in the activation program selection step in the first storage area, and the control step An execution step of reading and executing the activation program stored in the first storage area into the second storage means.

  According to the present invention, in an information processing apparatus that selects and executes one of a plurality of types of startup programs and a control method thereof, a plurality of types of startup programs do not occupy an area where the data reading speed in the storage unit is high Thus, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus and a control method thereof that can appropriately shorten the read-out time of the activation program and shift the information processing apparatus from the stopped state to the operating state at high speed.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the printing apparatus 100. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an HDD 109. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a data management method in the HDD 109. FIG. It is a figure which shows a file management table. It is the figure which showed the example of the data memorize | stored with respect to each cluster. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which selects any one startup program from multiple types of startup programs. 3 is a diagram for explaining a storage area of a disk 3001 of an HDD 109. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which selects any language file from multiple types of language files.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of a printing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a scanner unit 106 optically reads a plurality of documents (images printed on a sheet such as paper) to generate image data, and performs image processing on the read image data. (For example, shading correction processing) is executed. Then, the scanner unit 106 stores a plurality of pages of image data subjected to image processing in a hard disk (HDD) 109 as one print job.

  A printer unit 105 executes print processing on a plurality of sheets S based on a print job stored in the HDD 109. Since the print job is composed of a plurality of pages of image data, the plurality of image data is printed on each of the plurality of sheets.

  The CPU 103 controls the entire printing apparatus 100 by writing the program read from the BOOTROM 101 or the HDD 109 to the SDRAM 102 and executing the program using the SDRAM 102.

  The HDD 109 is connected to the PCI bus on the bus controller 104 via the PCI controller 107. The IDE controller 108 functions as a control device that controls data output from the HDD 109 to the PCI bus and data input from the PCI bus to the HDD 109.

  The operation panel 114 allows the operator of the printing apparatus 100 to set printing conditions (the number of copies to be printed, the size of paper used for printing, the presence / absence of double-sided printing, etc.) when executing printing processing using the printer unit 105, the scanner unit 106, and the like. It is for setting. An operator of the printing apparatus 100 can input printing conditions via the operation panel 114. Further, the contents input via the operation panel 114 are interpreted by the CPU 103, and the CPU 103 controls the printer unit 105 and the scanner unit 106 so that the printing process is executed under the designated printing conditions.

  The bus controller 104 is connected to the BOOTROM 101, SDRAM 102, CPU 103, PCI controller 107, printer unit 105, scanner unit 106, and operation panel 114. The bus controller 104 controls transmission / reception of data between the units, and functions as a bus bridge.

  In addition, the printing apparatus 100 includes a power source 110 that supplies power to the functional unit 113 and the SDRAM 102 in different systems. The power supply 110 supplies power to the SDRAM 102 via the power supply system 112 while supplying power to the functional unit 113 via the power supply system 111. The CPU 103 saves power when the printing apparatus 100 is in a state where it does not operate for a certain period of time (for example, a state where the scanner unit 106 and the printer unit 105 do not operate for a certain period of time). Transition to the state. When the CPU 103 determines that the printing apparatus 100 is to be shifted to the power saving state, the CPU 103 stops power supply to the functional unit 113 via the power supply system 111. On the other hand, the CPU 103 does not stop power supply to the SDRAM 102 via the power supply system 112.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the HDD 109 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 3001 denotes a disk that is a magnetic recording material, and reference numeral 3003 denotes a head for writing data to the disk 3001 and reading data from the disk 3001. Reference numeral 3002 denotes an arm for moving the head 3003 to an arbitrary position on the disk 3001. The disk 3001 is controlled to rotate at a constant speed by a motor (not shown). By moving the head 3003 to an arbitrary position with respect to the disk 3001 rotating at a constant speed, data can be written / read on a concentric area on the disk 3001.

  Next, a data management method in the HDD 109 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In a storage medium using a disk, data is divided and recorded concentrically. A concentric area divided by these circumferences is a track, which corresponds to 3410 and 3411 in FIG. A portion obtained by further dividing the track in a radial manner is called a sector, which is the minimum recording unit (for example, 512 bytes) in a disk-shaped recording medium. In FIG. 3, 3401 to 3403 are sectors included in the track 3410, and 3404 to 3406 are sectors included in the track 3411. For example, when writing or reading data stored in the SDRAM 102 to the HDD 109, the CPU 103 designates an area in which data is stored by designating a sector number. Then, the IDE controller 108 having received the sector number designation from the CPU 103 controls to write the data received from the RAM 102 into the designated sector. Note that a group of a plurality of sectors is referred to as a cluster, and the CPU 103 may specify a cluster number instead of specifying a sector number in data transmission / reception with the HDD 109. In the following description, it is assumed that the CPU 103 designates a cluster number and the IDE controller writes / reads data to / from a plurality of sector areas corresponding to the designated cluster number. Note that the correspondence between the sector number and the cluster number is stored in advance in the HDD 109.

  The CPU 103 manages data in the HDD 109 on a file basis, and manages data using the file management table shown in FIG. A system that handles data in file units is called a file system.

  FIG. 4 shows a file management table created by the file system when managing two files. Although two files are managed here, it is needless to say that an arbitrary number of files can be managed.

  The table in FIG. 4 is a table for managing two types of files, a file whose file name is “First File Name” and a file whose file name is “Second File Name”. Table contents include file name, size, file creation date, and cluster number. Here, the cluster number is a unit of a plurality of sectors as described above, and indicates a file writing position. For example, for a file having a file name of “First File Name”, it indicates that data constituting the file has been written from the cluster number 08. In addition, regarding the file having the file name “Second File Name”, it is indicated that the data constituting the file has been written from the cluster number 08.

  Each cluster is composed of 8 sectors. If each sector is 512 bytes, the data size of each cluster is 4 Kbytes. FIG. 5 shows an example of data stored for each cluster.

  Next, a description will be given of causing the CPU 103 to execute a startup program in order to shift the printing apparatus 100 from the stopped state to the operating state.

  The CPU 103 of the printing apparatus 100 executes a startup program in order to shift the entire printing apparatus 100 from the stopped state to the operating state in response to the power supply to the printing apparatus 100 being turned on. The CPU 103 executes the activation program to initialize each unit of the printing apparatus 100 including the printer unit 105 and the scanner unit 106 connected via the bus controller 104 and shifts from the stopped state to the operating state. The HDD 109 of the printing apparatus 100 stores a plurality of types of startup programs as startup programs. Then, the CPU 103 causes the printing apparatus 100 to shift from the stopped state to the operating state by executing any one of a plurality of types of starting programs.

  Note that the CPU 103 needs to read the activation program from the HDD 109 and expand it on the SDRAM 102 and then execute the program expanded on the SDRAM 102. However, the CPU 103 needs to initialize the HDD 109 in order to read the activation program from the HDD 109. Therefore, prior to reading the boot program from the HDD 109, the CPU 103 reads the boot program stored in the BOOTROM 101 to the SDRAM 102 and executes it, and reads the boot program from the HDD 109 using this boot program.

  The reason why there are a plurality of types of startup programs is that, for example, the data size of the executable program varies depending on the capacity of the SDRAM 102 of the printing apparatus 100. In the printing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the SDRAM 102 can be replaced with memories having various capacities. Accordingly, a plurality of types of activation programs corresponding to the capacity of the SDRAM 102 are stored in advance in the HDD 109, and an appropriate operation can be performed by selecting and executing an appropriate activation program according to the actual capacity of the SDRAM 102.

  Here, a method for selecting any one of the startup programs stored in the HDD 109 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  6 is executed when the CPU 103 reads the program stored in the BOOTROM 101 into the SDRAM 102.

  In step S601 of FIG. 6, the CPU 103 communicates with the SDRAM 102 connected via the bus controller 104, acquires information on the maximum data capacity that can be stored in the SDRAM 102, and determines whether the capacity of the SDRAM is 512 MB. Note that the printing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can be connected to either an SDRAM having a maximum data amount of 512 Mbytes or 256 Mbytes.

  If it is determined in step S601 that the size is 512 MB, the process proceeds to step S602; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S606.

  In step S602, the CPU 103 selects the activation program A as the activation program. On the other hand, in step S606, the CPU 103 selects the activation program B as the activation program.

  Here, how a plurality of types of startup programs are stored in the HDD 109 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 7 explains the storage area of the disk 3001 of the HDD 109, and shows that there are four partitions as the storage area from the first partition to the fourth partition. The first partition 7002 is located on the outermost periphery of the disk 3001, and the second partition 7003 is located on the inner periphery of the first partition 7002. The third partition 7004 is located on the inner circumference of the second partition 7003, and the fourth partition 7005 is located on the inner circumference of the third partition 7004. Since the disk 3001 rotates at a constant speed with the center of the circular disk as an axis, the moving speed of the disk 3001 with respect to the head 3003 increases as the outer circumference is reached. That is, the speed at which the head 3003 reads / writes data increases in the outer peripheral partition. For example, the average value of the data read / write speed in the first partition is about 25 Mbytes, while the average value of the data read / write speed in the fourth partition is about 15 Mbytes.

  After the printing apparatus 100 is turned on, it is required to shift the printing apparatus 100 from the stopped state to the operating state as soon as possible, and it is necessary to read the activation program from the HDD 109 to the SDRAM 102 at high speed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, what is used as a startup program is stored in the first partition in the outer peripheral portion of the HDD 109, so that the startup program can be read from the HDD 109 to the SDRAM 102 at high speed. However, since the data can be read / written at high speed, the first partition is used as an area for storing data (for example, image data) other than the startup program. Therefore, in this embodiment, the startup program A and the startup program B are stored in the fourth partition, and the startup program selected in step S602 or 606 is transferred from the fourth partition to the first partition.

  In step S603, the CPU 103 determines whether the activation program A selected in step S602 is stored in the first partition. If it is stored, the process proceeds to step S605. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S604.

  In step S604, since the startup program A is not stored in the first partition, the CPU 103 transfers the startup program A stored in the fourth partition to the first partition.

  In step S605, the CPU 103 executes the startup program A stored in the first partition of the HDD 109, thereby causing the printing apparatus 100 to shift from the stopped state to the operating state.

  In step S607, the CPU 103 determines whether or not the activation program B selected in step S606 is stored in the first partition. If it is stored, the process proceeds to step S609; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S608.

  In step S608, the CPU 103 determines that the activation program B is not stored in the first partition. Then, the CPU 103 causes the startup program B stored in the fourth partition to be transferred to the first partition.

  In step S609, the CPU 103 executes the startup program B stored in the first partition of the HDD 109, thereby causing the printing apparatus 100 to shift from the stopped state to the operating state.

  As described above, a plurality of types of startup programs (A and B) are stored in the fourth partition having a low data read / write speed, while the one selected as the startup program is stored in the first partition from the first partition. Transfer it to the partition. By doing so, a burden of transferring the boot program from the fourth partition to the first partition is applied. However, the startup program once transferred from the fourth partition to the first partition continues to be stored in the first partition even when the power supply to the printing apparatus 100 is interrupted. As a result, when the startup program stored in the first partition is executed, the startup program can be read from the HDD 109 to the SDRAM 102 at a high speed.

  In the above description, two types of startup programs A and B have been described as startup programs. However, any type of two types ≧ may be used.

  In the above description, a plurality of types of startup programs are stored in the fourth partition, and the startup program selected to be used for starting the printing apparatus 100 is transferred from the fourth partition to the first partition. However, other modes may be used. That is, it is only necessary to transfer the selected startup program to an outer peripheral area (partition) rather than an area (partition) in which a plurality of types of startup programs are stored.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  In the first embodiment, a startup program selected as one used to start the printing apparatus 100 among a plurality of types of startup programs is transferred from the fourth partition to the first partition.

  On the other hand, in the second embodiment, other files are transferred from the fourth partition to the first partition in addition to the boot program.

  Here, the other file is a language file related to the language displayed on the operation panel 114. The printing apparatus 100 may be used not only in Japan but also in countries around the world that have different language systems. In order to use the printing apparatus 100 in various countries around the world, it is necessary to switch the characters displayed on the operation panel 114 in accordance with the language system of each country. For example, only the language file corresponding to the country in which the printing apparatus 100 is shipped may be stored in the HDD 109, but the product specifications (language files stored in the HDD 109) need to be different for the language system. In order to eliminate such a complicated operation, a plurality of language files for all of a plurality of language systems in which the printing apparatus 100 may be used may be stored in the HDD 109. In this embodiment, the HDD 109 stores a plurality of language files for all of a plurality of language systems in which the printing apparatus 100 may be used.

  Now, consider a configuration in which the HDD 109 stores a plurality of language files for all of a plurality of language systems in which the printing apparatus 100 may be used. In this configuration, it is desirable to store the language file that is actually used in the HDD 109 in an area where data can be read / written at high speed.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the language file to be actually used is stored in the first partition in the same manner as the activation program actually used in the first embodiment is stored in the first partition of the HDD 109. To do.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of selecting any language file from a plurality of types of language files.

  Note that steps S801 to 809 are the same as steps S601 to 609 of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. It is assumed that a plurality of types of language files are stored in the fourth partition.

  In step S <b> 810, the CPU 103 selects one language file from a plurality of types of language files stored in the HDD 109. Note that which language file is used can be set by the operator of the printing apparatus 100 via the operation panel 104. In step S810, the CPU 103 selects a language file by confirming the language set by the operator.

  In step S811, the CPU 103 determines whether or not the language file selected in step S811 is stored in the first partition. If it is stored, the process proceeds to step S813. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S812.

  In step S812, since the selected language file is not stored in the first partition, the CPU 103 transfers the language file stored in the fourth partition to the first partition.

  In step S813, the CPU 103 reads the language file stored in the first partition of the HDD 109. In step S814, the CPU 103 displays an operation screen on the operation panel 114 using the read language file.

  As described above, the language file is stored in the fourth partition having a low data reading / writing speed, while the language file selected is transferred from the fourth partition to the first partition. By doing so, a burden of transferring the language file from the fourth partition to the first partition is applied. However, the language file once transferred from the fourth partition to the first partition continues to be stored in the first partition even when the power supply to the printing apparatus 100 is interrupted. Thereby, the language file can be read at high speed.

  In the above description, a plurality of types of language files are stored in the fourth partition, and the language file selected for use in displaying the operation screen is transferred from the fourth partition to the first partition. Other embodiments may be used. In other words, the selected language file may be transferred to an outer peripheral area (partition) rather than an area (partition) in which a plurality of types of language files are stored.

<Other embodiments>
The object of the present invention can also be achieved by supplying a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus. In this case, the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium by the computer of the system or apparatus. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

101 BOOTROM
103 CPU
109 HDD

Claims (10)

A plurality of first storage units, a first storage unit including a second storage region having a lower access speed than the first storage region, and a second storage unit, each corresponding to a plurality of device configurations An information processing apparatus that holds a type of startup program,
Depending on the configuration of the information processing apparatus, a startup program selection means for selecting a startup program to be used when starting the information processing apparatus from the plurality of types of startup programs;
Control means for storing the activation program selected by the activation program selection means in the first storage area;
Execution means for reading and executing the activation program stored in the first storage area by the control means in the second storage means;
An information processing apparatus comprising:   If the activation program selected by the activation program selection means is already stored in the first storage area, the execution means selects the selected activation program from the second storage area to the first storage area. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an activation program stored in the first storage is executed without transferring the information. Display means capable of displaying operation screens according to multiple languages;
Language file selecting means for selecting any language file from a plurality of types of language files for displaying operation screens corresponding to the plurality of types of languages;
The control means stores the language file selected by the language file selection means among the plurality of types of language files stored in the second storage area in the first storage area,
3. The information processing according to claim 1, wherein the execution unit reads a language file stored in the first storage area and displays an operation screen corresponding to the language file on the display unit. apparatus.   If the language file selected by the language file selection unit is already stored in the first storage area, the execution means stores the selected language file from the second storage area to the first storage area. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the language file stored in the first storage is read without transferring the information.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first storage unit is a non-volatile storage unit.   6. The first storage means is a hard disk having a circular magnetic disk, and the first storage area is an outer peripheral area on the disk from the second storage area. The information processing apparatus described.   7. The information processing according to claim 1, wherein the activation program selection unit selects an activation program corresponding to a configuration of the information processing apparatus from the plurality of types of activation programs. apparatus.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the activation program selection unit selects an activation program corresponding to a capacity of the second storage unit from the plurality of types of activation programs.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of types of activation programs corresponding to a plurality of apparatus configurations are held in the second storage area. A plurality of first storage units, a first storage unit including a second storage region having a lower access speed than the first storage region, and a second storage unit, each corresponding to a plurality of device configurations A method of controlling an information processing apparatus that holds a type of startup program,
Depending on the configuration of the information processing device, a startup program selection step of selecting a startup program to be used when starting the information processing device from the plurality of types of startup programs;
A control step of storing the startup program selected in the startup program selection step in the first storage area;
An execution step of reading and executing the activation program stored in the first storage area in the first storage area by the control step;
A method for controlling an information processing apparatus, comprising:

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