JP2016058122A - Information processing device and control method of information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress a fall in reliability owing to automatic unloading of a magnetic disc without a command input.SOLUTION: An information processing device is a magnetic disc storing data, and the information processing device comprises: a magnetic disc that has an automatic unload function unloading a magnetic head when not receiving a next command for a prescribed time since the command is received; and control means that controls writing and reading of the data with respect to the magnetic disc. The control means is configured to issue a prescribed command for causing the magnetic disc to maintain a load of the magnetic head as a lapsed time becomes a first time shorter than the prescribed time since the control means finally issued the command to the magnetic disc.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus having a magnetic disk.

  In many magnetic disks such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a load / unload method is adopted. “Load” means that the magnetic head is on a rotating disk and data is being read (read) or written (written), or can be immediately read or written. Say. Normally, when the HDD is turned on, the magnetic head performs a load operation and waits for a command from the CPU. On the other hand, “unload” refers to stopping the rotation of the disk and retracting the magnetic head from the disk to a retreat location called a ramp. Unloading can be performed by turning off the power of the HDD or transmitting a command such as sleep or standby from the CPU to the HDD.

  Here, wear occurs due to the contact between the magnetic head and the ramp during loading and unloading. If wear is repeated, debris of the member due to wear is generated, and if it adheres to the magnetic head, disk, etc., there is a possibility that writing and reading cannot be performed normally. Therefore, each HDD manufacturer sets an upper limit for the number of times of loading / unloading in order to ensure reliability.

  Further, in some image forming apparatuses employing such HDDs, the power mode is controlled so that the number of loading / unloading times does not exceed the upper limit during the design life of the image forming apparatus (see Patent Document 1). ).

  On the other hand, some recent magnetic disks, specifically 2.5-inch HDDs, automatically unload (auto-unload) without receiving a command to be unloaded from the CPU. There are mainly two reasons for performing automatic unloading.

  The first reason is that a mobile device such as a laptop computer is driven by a battery as a power source, so that the power consumption of the HDD can be reduced by unloading.

  The second reason is that since the mobile device can be carried in the drive state, it is easily affected by dropping or vibration, but the HDD magnetic head is retracted in the unloaded state, so it is relatively safe even when subjected to the impact. That's why.

JP 2005-186426 A

  From the viewpoint of cost reduction, it is conceivable to employ a magnetic disk equipped with an automatic unload function in the image forming apparatus. However, the effect of automatic unloading is small for a stationary information processing apparatus such as an image forming apparatus.

  In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, no consideration is given to the case where the magnetic disk automatically unloads. There is a possibility that the actual number of loads / unloads increases from the number of loads / unloads managed by the information processing apparatus itself, and exceeds the upper limit of the number of loads / unloads of the magnetic disk. As a result, the reliability of the magnetic disk is lowered, and the reliability of the information processing apparatus is also lowered.

  An object of the present invention is to suppress a decrease in reliability due to a magnetic disk automatically unloading without command input.

In order to solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus of the present invention provides:
A magnetic disk for storing data, and a magnetic disk having an automatic unload function for unloading the magnetic head if a command is not received for a predetermined time after receiving the command;
Control means for controlling writing and reading of data with respect to the magnetic disk;
First timing means for timing an elapsed time since the control means last issued a command to the magnetic disk;
Have
The control means has a predetermined value for maintaining the load of the magnetic head on the magnetic disk as the elapsed time measured by the first time measuring means becomes a first time shorter than the predetermined time. It is characterized by issuing a command.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress a decrease in reliability due to the magnetic disk automatically unloading without command input.

It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the information processing apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing operation | movement of CPU in 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the information processing apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing operation | movement of CPU in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing operation | movement of CPU in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing operation | movement of CPU in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of a magnetic disc.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment.

  First, the controller unit 120 serving as the central function of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described. A CPU 101 controls the entire image forming apparatus 100. Reference numeral 110 denotes a read-only memory (ROM), which stores a boot program of the apparatus, fixed parameters, and the like. Reference numeral 111 denotes a random access memory (RAM), which is used for temporary data storage when the CPU 101 controls the apparatus.

  A hard disk drive (HDD) 112 is a magnetic disk used for storing various data such as image data. The configuration of the HDD 112 is shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 7, reference numeral 701 denotes a disk in which a magnetic layer is formed on an aluminum or glass substrate, and data is recorded by magnetizing the magnetic layer. A magnetic head 702 reads data on the magnetized disk 701 or writes data by magnetizing the disk 701. Reference numeral 703 denotes a ramp that is a retreat location of the magnetic head 702. Here, the movement of the magnetic head 702 from the ramp 703 to the disk 701 for reading and writing is called loading, and the movement of the magnetic head 702 from the disk 701 to the ramp 703 is called unloading.

  The unloading is executed in response to the reception of a command from the CPU 101, specifically, the reception of each command of standby, standby immediate, or sleep. Further, the HDD 112 in this embodiment automatically unloads in addition to receiving a command from the CPU 101 when a certain standby state continues after loading. That is, the HDD 112 has an automatic unload function for automatically unloading when a command is not received for a predetermined time after loading, or when a command is not received for a predetermined time after the last command is received. In this embodiment, the standby time until automatic unloading (automatic unload transition time) is 15 seconds. The HDD 112 records SMART information, which is a self-diagnosis function. The SMART records the occurrence rate of read errors, the read / write speed, the number of times of loading / unloading the magnetic head 702, and the like.

  Reference numeral 114 denotes a printer that prints image data generated by the controller unit 120 on paper. A printer I / F control unit 113 transmits image data and controls the printer 114. A scanner 108 reads a document. A scanner I / F control unit 109 receives image data read by the scanner 108 and controls the scanner 108.

  Reference numeral 102 denotes an SRAM for storing various setting values of the image forming apparatus 100. Since the SRAM 102 is a volatile memory, power is supplied by a battery (not shown) when the image forming apparatus 100 is off, and backup is performed to hold data. Reference numeral 103 denotes a timer that can generate an interrupt at a clock function or at a set time. The timer 103 measures the elapsed time since the CPU 101 last issued a command to the HDD 112.

  A network control unit 105 controls data transmission / reception with the network 116. Reference numeral 106 denotes an operation panel that displays various types of information and inputs instructions from the user. Reference numeral 107 denotes a bus to which the CPU 101, SRAM 102, network control unit 105, scanner I / F control unit 109, ROM 110, RAM 111, HDD 112, and printer I / F control unit 113 are connected. A bus 107 is a system bus through which control signals from the CPU 101 and data signals between devices are transmitted and received. Reference numeral 117 denotes a bus for the CPU 101 to control the operation panel 106. Reference numeral 118 denotes a bus for the CPU 101 to control the timer 103.

  Next, the operation of the CPU 101 that controls the HDD 112 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the CPU 101 initializes the timer 103 (S201). Specifically, 14 seconds, which is slightly shorter than 15 seconds of the automatic unload transition time of the HDD 112, is set, and an interrupt is set to occur 14 seconds after the start.

  Next, the CPU 101 determines whether or not an access to the HDD 112 has occurred (S202). That is, it is determined whether or not a data read command or write command to the HDD 112 has been issued. If it is determined in S202 that an access has occurred, the CPU 101 activates the timer 103 (S203).

  After starting the timer 103, the CPU 101 determines whether an access to the HDD 112 has occurred (S204). If it is determined in S204 that an access has occurred, the CPU 101 stops the timer 103 and further clears the timer 103 (S205). Then, returning to S203, the CPU 101 starts the timer 103 again.

  If it is determined in S204 that no access has occurred, the CPU 101 determines whether or not an interruption by the timer 103 has occurred (S206). That is, it is determined whether 14 seconds have passed without access to the HDD 112. If it is determined in S206 that an interrupt has occurred, the CPU 101 issues a read command to the HDD 112 (S207), and then the process proceeds to S205. If it is determined in S206 that no interrupt has occurred, the process returns to S204.

  As described above, the CPU 101 can avoid the automatic unload operation by issuing a dummy read command immediately before the HDD 112 automatically unloads. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the reliability of the HDD 112.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which automatic unloading is always avoided when the HDD 112 is in a power-on state. In the present embodiment, an example in which automatic unloading is avoided for a necessary time in consideration of the design life of the image forming apparatus will be described. Specifically, the automatic unload operation avoidance control is performed so that the number of times of loading / unloading of the HDD 112 does not exceed the upper limit value during the design life of the image forming apparatus. Thereby, it is possible to suppress a decrease in reliability of the HDD 112 while reducing the load on the CPU 101.

  In this embodiment, the design life of the image forming apparatus is 5 years, and the upper limit value of the load / unload times of the HDD 112 is 600,000 times. In this case, on average, the load state may be maintained for 4.38 minutes per load (= 5 years ÷ 600,000 times). Therefore, the automatic unloading avoidance control described in the first embodiment only needs to continue for at least 4.38 minutes, and if it exceeds that, automatic unloading may be performed.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The only difference from FIG. 1 is that a timer 303 is provided in addition to the timer 103, and the rest of the configuration is the same, and thus the description thereof is omitted. The timer 303 measures the elapsed time since the CPU 101 last issued a command other than the read command for avoiding automatic unloading to the HDD 112.

  Next, the operation of the CPU 101 that controls the HDD 112 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The same processes as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  First, the CPU 101 initializes the timer 103 (S201). Specifically, 14 seconds, which is slightly shorter than 15 seconds of the automatic unload transition time of the HDD 112, is set, and an interrupt is set to occur 14 seconds after the start. Next, the CPU 101 initializes the timer 303 (S401). Specifically, 5 minutes slightly longer than 4.38 minutes, which is the design life of 5 years divided by the upper limit of the load / unload count of HDD 112 of 600,000, is set to generate an interrupt 5 minutes after startup. To do.

  Next, the CPU 101 determines whether or not an access to the HDD 112 has occurred (S202). If it is determined in S202 that an access has occurred, the CPU 101 activates the timer 303 (S402) and also activates the timer 103 (S203).

  Next, the CPU 101 determines whether or not an access to the HDD 112 has occurred (S204). If it is determined in S204 that an access has occurred, the CPU 101 clears the timer 103 (S205) and returns to S203. If no access occurs in S204, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the timer 103 has generated an interrupt after 14 seconds (S206). If it is determined in S206 that an interrupt has occurred, the CPU 101 issues a read command to the HDD 112 (S207), and then the process proceeds to S205. If no interrupt is generated by the timer 103 in S206, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the timer 303 has been interrupted after 5 minutes (S403). If it is not determined in S403 that no interrupt has occurred, the process returns to S204. That is, the CPU 101 monitors whether an access to the HDD 112 occurs or whether an interruption by the timers 103 and 303 occurs.

  If it is determined in S403 that an interrupt has occurred, the CPU 101 clears the timer 303 (S404) and returns to S202. Therefore, the automatic unloading avoidance control is not executed until the next access to the HDD 112 occurs.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the design life of the image forming apparatus is taken into consideration, and avoidance control of the automatic unload operation of the HDD 112 is limited to a certain time, thereby reducing the load on the CPU 101 and reducing the load on the CPU 112. It is possible to suppress a decrease in reliability.

(Third embodiment)
The access frequency to the HDD 112 varies depending on the usage state of the image forming apparatus 100. In an image forming apparatus with a low operating rate, there are few accesses to the HDD 112, so the increase rate of the load / unload frequency is slow. Therefore, when the number of loads / unloads is small with respect to the remaining design life, it is not necessary to avoid the automatic unload operation every time the HDD is accessed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, an example will be described in which the load on the CPU 101 is reduced by performing avoidance control of the automatic unload operation in consideration of the load / unload count. The hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is the same as that of FIG.

  The operation of the CPU 101 in this embodiment will be described using the flowchart of FIG. Note that the only difference from FIG. 4 is that the processing of S501 to S503 is newly added.

  When the CPU 101 determines in S202 that access to the HDD 112 has occurred, the CPU 101 accesses the SMART information stored in the HDD 112 and acquires the current load / unload count (S501). Then, a threshold value used for determining whether to avoid automatic unloading is calculated (S502).

  Here, the operation of the CPU 101 in S502 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In FIG. 6, the CPU 101 acquires the current time (N minutes) from the timer 103 (S601). Next, the CPU 101 obtains the use start time (S minutes) when the image forming apparatus is first used from the SRAM 102 (S602). This use start time is obtained by the CPU 101 acquiring the time from the timer 103 and storing it in the SRAM 102 when the image forming apparatus is first activated.

Next, the CPU 101 calculates the threshold value (TH) from the following equation (1) (S603), and ends the process.
TH = ULmax− (L + S−N) / T (1)
ULmax: Upper limit value of the number of loading / unloading of the HDD 112 L: Design life (minutes) of the image forming apparatus 100
S: Use start time (minutes)
N: Current time (minutes)
T: Set time for timer 303 (minutes)
Returning to the description of FIG. The CPU 101 compares the current load / unload count acquired in S501 with the threshold calculated in S502, and determines whether the current load / unload count is greater than the threshold (S503).

  When the current number of loads / unloads is larger than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S402 and subsequent steps, and the automatic unload operation avoidance control as described in the second embodiment is executed.

  If it is determined in S503 that the current number of loads / unloads is smaller than the threshold value, the process returns to S202, and avoidance control for the automatic unload operation is not executed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the load / unload count of the HDD 112 has not reached the calculated threshold value, the automatic unload operation avoidance control is not executed, and when the threshold value has been reached, the automatic unload operation is performed. Execute avoidance control. As described above, by avoiding the automatic unload operation avoidance control in the image forming apparatus having a low operation rate, the load on the CPU 101 can be further reduced.

(Other embodiments)
In each of the embodiments described above, a dummy read command is issued in order to avoid the automatic unload operation of the HDD 112. Here, if the address to be read is fixed, the magnetic head 702 is always located at the same position on the disk 701, so that wrinkles are generated in the lubricant applied on the disk 701 and the uniformity is impaired. . Then, it becomes easy to generate | occur | produce the malfunction that reading and writing cannot be performed normally. Therefore, the address read when issuing a dummy read command may be variable. For example, the read command may be changed every time the read command is issued in S207 of FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, or the read address may be changed if the read command is issued a predetermined number of times for the same read address. The address may be changed to.

  In this way, by changing the address of the read command issued by the CPU 101 to the HDD 112, the magnetic head 702 can no longer be located at the same location on the disk 701, so that the uniformity of the lubricant can be maintained, and a problem occurs. Can be suppressed.

  In each of the above embodiments, the timers 103 and 303 have been described as independent. However, a timer function built in the CPU 101 may be used.

  In each of the above embodiments, the CPU 101 has been described as issuing a read command in order to avoid the automatic unload operation of the HDD 112. However, if the command is for maintaining the load state, other commands are used. Also good. For example, a write command or a SMART read command may be used. However, in the case of a write command, the write address must be an unused area.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the image forming apparatus having the print function and the scanner function has been described as an example. However, other functions may be provided, and some of the plurality of functions may be provided. It may be an image processing apparatus. The present invention can also be applied to other information processing apparatuses such as a video recording device such as a hard disk recorder that records video.

  And this invention is implement | achieved also by performing the following processes. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program code. It is a process to be executed. In this case, the program and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention.

101 CPU
102 SRAM
103, 303 Timer 112 HDD
701 Disc 702 Magnetic head

Claims (9)

A magnetic disk for storing data, and a magnetic disk having an automatic unload function for unloading the magnetic head if a command is not received for a predetermined time after receiving the command;
Control means for controlling writing and reading of data with respect to the magnetic disk;
First timing means for timing an elapsed time since the control means last issued a command to the magnetic disk;
Have
The control means has a predetermined value for maintaining the load of the magnetic head on the magnetic disk as the elapsed time measured by the first time measuring means becomes a first time shorter than the predetermined time. An information processing apparatus that issues a command. Since the control means has last issued a command other than the predetermined command to be issued as the elapsed time counted by the first time measuring means becomes the first time with respect to the magnetic disk. Having a second timing means for measuring the elapsed time;
The control means is a second time in which an elapsed time measured by the second time measuring means is calculated based on a design life of the information processing apparatus and an upper limit value of the number of times of loading / unloading the magnetic disk. Until the first time is reached, the predetermined command is issued to the magnetic disk every time the first time reaches the first time, and the time measured by the second time measuring means. After the time reaches the second time, until the next command is issued, the predetermined command is not issued even if the elapsed time measured by the first time measuring means reaches the first time. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.   3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second time is longer than a value obtained by dividing the design life of the information processing apparatus by the upper limit value of the number of times of loading / unloading the magnetic disk. . Obtaining means for obtaining the number of times of loading / unloading the magnetic disk;
The control unit controls whether or not to issue the predetermined command based on whether or not the number of times of loading / unloading acquired by the acquiring unit exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Or the information processing apparatus of 3.   The threshold is a value calculated based on an upper limit value of the number of times of loading / unloading the magnetic disk, a design life of the information processing apparatus, a use start time of the information processing apparatus, and the current time. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4.   6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined command is a read command.   7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control unit changes a read address every time the read command is issued a predetermined number of times.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is an image processing apparatus having at least one of a print function and a scanner function. A magnetic disk for storing data, and a magnetic disk having an automatic unload function for unloading a magnetic head if a command is not received for a predetermined time after receiving a command; A control unit for performing writing and reading control, and a control method for an information processing apparatus,
The control unit is configured such that the time elapsed since the control unit last issued a command to the magnetic disk becomes a first time shorter than the predetermined time. A control method characterized by issuing a predetermined command for maintaining the load of the head.

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