JP2017111558A - Image formation apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation apparatus capable of achieving a fast image printing speed at a low cost, even with truck refresh processing.SOLUTION: An image formation apparatus includes a hard disk drive and nonvolatile memory. The image formation apparatus further includes a read/write determination part configured to determine whether an access operation to the hard disk drive is a write operation or a read operation; a data type determination part configured to determine whether access data is image data or non-image data if the access operation is a write operation; and an access device determination part configured to store, if the access data is image data, the image data in the nonvolatile memory, and to store, if the access data is non-image data, the non-image data in the hard disk drive.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and method including an HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

  In recent years, in an image forming apparatus, there is an increasing demand for higher speed of CPM (Copies Per Minute) indicating the number of copies per minute. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the transfer speed of an HDD (hard disk drive) mounted on the image forming apparatus. In the HDD, data is recorded using magnetism, so that there is a problem that data due to leakage magnetic flux disappears. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, a writing process called a track refresh process for rewriting data with the same data is periodically performed. The track refresh process will be described below.

  Assume that data is written to the DISK TRACK number N by HEAD. In this case, a slight magnetic flux leakage occurs in the TRACK numbers (N−1) and (N + 1). The data of TRACK numbers (N−1) and (N + 1) disappear due to this leakage flux. In order to prevent this, a track refresh process is performed in which data of TRACK numbers (N−1) and (N + 1) is read and written again when data is written to TRACK number N a predetermined number of times.

  For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a disk storage device that can improve the operation efficiency by limiting the frequency of refresh processing in a single dwrite method. According to the single write method, at least two types of write counters, that is, an outer peripheral counter and an inner peripheral counter are prepared for each band, and when written to an adjacent band of a certain band, Evaluate the influence of leakage magnetic flux on the outer circumference side individually. Since the target band candidate for the refresh process can be determined according to the evaluation result, it is possible to realize the optimum refresh control.

  However, the above-described Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is difficult to realize high-speed CPM due to the influence of the track refresh process during image printing.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that solves the above problems and can realize a high image printing speed at a low cost even when a track refresh process is performed.

An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes:
An image forming apparatus including a hard disk drive and a nonvolatile memory,
A read / write determination unit that determines whether the access operation to the hard disk drive is a write operation or a read operation;
A data type determination unit that determines whether the access data is image data or non-image data when the access operation is a write operation;
And an access device determination unit that stores image data in a non-volatile memory when the access data is image data, and stores non-image data in a hard disk drive when the access data is non-image data.

  According to the present invention, since image data is written not to the HDD but to a nonvolatile memory such as eMMC or SSD, the track refresh process of the HDD at the time of image printing does not occur. Therefore, it is possible to provide a system that can achieve a high CPM with a low-cost configuration even when a track refresh process is performed.

1 is a block diagram showing an image forming apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention and its peripheral components. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the element comprised by CPU11 (software) of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the data writing process performed by CPU11 of FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus 100A according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention and its peripheral components. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the element comprised by CPU11A (software) of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the data saving process performed by CPU11A of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the image forming apparatus 100B which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention, and its surrounding component. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the element comprised by CPU11B (software) of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the data saving process performed by CPU11B of FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus 100C according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention and its peripheral components. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the element comprised by CPU11C (software) of FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a data saving process executed by a CPU 11C of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the image forming apparatus 100D which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention, and its surrounding component. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the element comprised by CPU11D (software) of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the data saving process performed by CPU11D of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the image forming apparatus 100E which concerns on Embodiment 6 of this invention, and its surrounding component. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the element comprised by CPU11E (software) of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the data saving process performed by CPU11E of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each following embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the same component.

Embodiment 1. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image forming apparatus 100 and its peripheral components according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 100 in FIG. 1 includes a main controller 1 that controls the image forming apparatus 100, a scanner unit 2 that reads an image, a print unit 3 that prints an image, and an operation unit 4. The The main controller 1 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 11, an SDRAM (Synchronous dynamic random access memory) 12 that is a volatile main storage device, and an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 10. The main controller 1 includes a NAND controller 13, a NAND flash ROM 14, an HDD (hard disk drive) 15, an eMMC (Embedded multi Media Card) 16, and a network I / F (interface) circuit 17.

  The operation unit 4 is equipped with keys necessary for operating the image forming apparatus 100 and a display unit 40 such as an LCD. The operation unit 4 is provided with a power key, and the power of the image forming apparatus 100 can be turned on or off by pressing the power key. A high-speed CPU is used as the CPU 11, and the CPU 11 mainly performs control when the image forming apparatus 100 operates. The ASIC 10 is equipped with interfaces of the CPU 11, SDRAM 12, NAND controller 13, HDD 15, eMMC 16, network I / F circuit 17, scanner unit 2, print unit 3, and operation unit 4. Further, the ASIC 10 may include an integrated circuit (IC) for interrupt control.

  The NAND controller 13 is an interface IC for accessing the NAND flash ROM 14. The NAND flash ROM 14 is a nonvolatile storage device and stores a program. The HDD 15 is a non-volatile storage device, and stores data such as read images, print images, logs, and address books. The eMMC 16 is a nonvolatile high-speed and large-capacity memory configured to include, for example, a NAND flash memory and a control circuit, and stores data such as a read image and a print image, for example. The eMMC 16 may use an SSD (Solid State Drive), and the same applies to the following embodiments.

  The network I / F circuit 17 is an I / F circuit that performs data input / output with an external LAN / WAN, and is an interface for connecting to the server 300 on the cloud via the router 200. Here, the router 200 is a communication device for relaying data between two or more different networks in a computer network. A server 300 on the cloud is a server installed for sharing files on a network such as a LAN or WAN.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining elements configured by the CPU 11 (software) of FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 11 includes a read / write determination unit 20, a data type determination unit 21, and an access device determination unit 22.

  The read / write determination unit 20 determines whether the access operation type to the HDD 15 is a read operation or a write operation. The data type determination unit 21 determines whether the data accessed to the HDD 15 is image data or non-image data such as log data or address book data. The access device determination unit 22 determines a write destination device according to the type of access data, and stores data for accessing the HDD 15 in the determined device. That is, the access device determination unit 22 writes the image data to the eMMC 16 when the access data is image data, and writes the non-image data to the HDD 15 when the access data is non-image data.

  The operation of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the embodiment configured as described above will be described below.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a data write process executed by the CPU 11 of FIG. In FIG. 3, in step S <b> 1, the read / write determination unit 20 determines whether the type of access operation to the HDD 15 is a read operation or a write operation. If the type of access operation to the HDD 15 is a write operation (YES in step S2), the data type determination unit 21 determines the type of data to be accessed to the HDD 15 (step S3). If it is determined that the type of data accessing the HDD 15 is image data (YES in step S4). The access device determination unit 22 writes the image data into the eMMC 16 (step S5), and this process ends. If it is determined that the type of data accessing the HDD 15 is non-image data (NO in step S4), the access device determination unit 22 writes the non-image data in the HDD 15 (step S6), and this process ends.

  According to the image forming apparatus according to the above embodiment, since image data is written not to the HDD but to a nonvolatile high-speed large-capacity memory such as eMMC, the HDD track refresh during image printing is performed. Processing will not occur. Therefore, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of realizing a high CPM at a low cost even when a track refresh process is performed.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the first embodiment described above, image data is written to a nonvolatile high-speed large-capacity memory such as eMMC. In contrast, the present embodiment is characterized in that data stored in the nonvolatile high-speed and large-capacity memory is periodically saved in the HDD.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an image forming apparatus 100A according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention and its peripheral components. The image forming apparatus 100A in FIG. 4 is characterized in that a main controller 1A is provided instead of the main controller 1 as compared with the image forming apparatus 100 in FIG. Compared with the main controller 1 in FIG. 1, the main controller 1 </ b> A in FIG. 4 includes a CPU 11 </ b> A instead of the CPU 11.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining elements configured by the CPU 11A (software) of FIG. Compared with the CPU 11 in FIG. 2, the CPU 11 </ b> A in FIG. 5 further includes a timer unit 23, a data save processing unit 24, and a data save process start time setting unit 25.

  The timer unit 23 starts a counter when the standby state is entered, counts (measures) the standby state time (standby time), and outputs the value to the data save processing unit 24. The data evacuation processing unit 24 determines whether or not the standby time is equal to or longer than a predetermined set time. When the standby time is equal to or longer than the predetermined set time, the data stored in the eMMC 16 is saved (moved) to the HDD 15. The data saving process start time setting unit 25 sets a time from the standby state to the start of saving data stored in the eMMC 16.

  The operation of the image forming apparatus 100A according to the embodiment configured as described above will be described below.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a data saving process executed by the CPU 11A of FIG. In FIG. 6, if image forming apparatus 100A is in a standby state (YES in step S11), timer unit 23 counts the standby time (step S12). In step S13, the data save processing unit 24 determines whether or not the standby time is equal to or longer than a predetermined set time. If the standby time is equal to or longer than the predetermined set time (YES in step S14), the data save processing unit 24 saves the data stored in the eMMC 16 to the HDD 15 (step S15), and this process ends. If the standby time is less than the predetermined set time (NO in step S14), the process of step S12 is repeated.

  According to the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. Further, as compared with the first embodiment, it is possible to save image data stored in the nonvolatile high-speed and large-capacity memory to the HDD by using the unused time of the image forming apparatus.

Embodiment 3. FIG.
In the second embodiment described above, the image data stored in the nonvolatile high-speed large-capacity memory is periodically saved in the HDD. In contrast, the present embodiment is characterized in that image data stored in the nonvolatile high-speed and large-capacity memory is saved in the HDD during a period when the image forming apparatus is not used.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an image forming apparatus 100B according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention and its peripheral components. Compared with the image forming apparatus 100 in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 </ b> B includes a main controller 1 </ b> B instead of the main controller 1 and an operation unit 4 </ b> A instead of the operation unit 4. Compared with the main controller 1 in FIG. 1, the main controller 1 </ b> B in FIG. 7 includes a CPU 11 </ b> B instead of the CPU 11 and an ASIC 10 </ b> A in place of the ASIC 10.

  The ASIC 10A in FIG. 7 is characterized by further including an energy saving transition control unit 18 as compared with the ASIC 10 in FIG. The operation unit 4A in FIG. 7 further includes a human sensor 41 as compared with the operation unit 4 in FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining elements configured by the CPU 11B (software) of FIG. Compared with the CPU 11A of FIG. 5, the CPU 11B of FIG. 8 includes a data save processing unit 24A instead of the data save processing unit 24, and further includes a human sensor control unit 26 and a human detection determination unit 27. And

  Compared with the data saving processing unit 24 of FIG. 5, the data saving processing unit 24A is different in that the data stored in the eMMC 16 is saved (moved) to the HDD 15 when there is no person in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus 100B. . The human sensor 41 is a sensor that detects the location of a human such as an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a visible light sensor, or a temperature sensor attached to the operation unit 4. When the human sensor 41 detects a human being, the human sensor control unit 26 generates a human detection signal and outputs it to the human detection determination unit 27. Based on the human detection signal from the human sensor control unit 26, the human detection determination unit 27 determines whether a human is near the image forming apparatus 100B. When the data stored in the eMMC 16 is saved in the HDD 15, the energy saving transition control unit 18 shifts the image forming apparatus 100B to the energy saving state.

  The operation of the image forming apparatus 100B according to the embodiment configured as described above will be described below.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a data saving process executed by the CPU 11B of FIG. In FIG. 9, if image forming apparatus 100B is in the standby state (YES in step S21), human sensor control unit 26 operates human sensor 41 (step S22). Next, when the human sensor 41 detects a human, the human sensor control unit 26 generates a human detection signal and outputs it to the human detection determination unit 27 (step S23).

  In step S <b> 24, the human detection determination unit 27 determines whether there is a human in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus 100 based on the human detection signal. If there is no person in the vicinity (YES in step S25), the data save processing unit 24A saves the data stored in the eMMC 16 to the HDD 15 (step S26). Thereafter, the image forming apparatus 100B is shifted to the energy saving state by the energy saving transition control unit 18, and this processing is ended.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the second embodiment can be obtained.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
In the third embodiment described above, the unused state of the image forming apparatus is determined by determining whether or not there is a person near the image forming apparatus 100 </ b> B using the human sensor 41. On the other hand, the present embodiment is characterized in that the unused period of the image forming apparatus is calculated based on the usage record of the image forming apparatus.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an image forming apparatus 100C according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention and its peripheral components. Compared with the image forming apparatus 100 in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 </ b> C in FIG. 10 includes a main controller 1 </ b> C instead of the main controller 1. Compared with the main controller 1 in FIG. 1, the main controller 1 </ b> C in FIG. 10 includes a CPU 11 </ b> C instead of the CPU 11.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining elements configured by the CPU 11C (software) of FIG. Compared with the CPU 11B of FIG. 8, the CPU 11C of FIG. 11 includes a data save processing unit 24B instead of the data save processing unit 24A, and further includes a use history recording unit 28 and a command input determination unit 29. And Further, the CPU 11C further includes a usage history analysis unit 30 and an unused time zone calculation unit 31 that calculates a predetermined unused time zone in which the image forming apparatus 100C is not likely to be used as compared with the CPU 11B of FIG. It is characterized by having.

  Compared with the data save processing unit 24A in FIG. 8, the data save processing unit 24B in FIG. 11 saves (moves) the data stored in the eMMC 16 to the HDD 15 when the image forming apparatus 100C is in the unused time zone. Is different. The command input determination unit 29 determines whether a command such as printing has been input via the operation unit 4, and sends a signal indicating that the command has been executed to the usage history recording unit 28 after the command has been executed. Output. The usage history recording unit 28 stores the time when the power source of the image forming apparatus 100C is turned on, the user, and the operation time in the HDD 15 as log information. The usage history recording unit 28 stores the operation mode such as printing and fax, the date and time when the command was executed, and the name of the user who executed the command in the HDD 15 as log information. The usage history analysis unit 30 calculates usage frequency data for each day of the week and time based on the log information stored in the HDD 15 and stores the usage frequency data in the HDD 15. The unused time zone calculation unit 31 calculates an unused time zone based on the usage frequency data and stores it in the HDD 15.

  An operation of the image forming apparatus 100C according to the embodiment configured as described above will be described below.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a data saving process executed by the CPU 11C of FIG. In FIG. 12, when the power of the image forming apparatus 100C is turned on (YES in step S31), the use history recording unit 28 stores the time when the power of the image forming apparatus 100C is turned on as log information in the HDD 15 (step S32). ). Next, in step S <b> 33, the command input determination unit 29 determines whether a command is input via the operation unit 4. If it is determined that the command has been input (YES in step S34), the usage history recording unit 28 uses the operation mode such as printing or fax, the date and time when the command was executed, and the name of the user who executed the command as log information. The data is stored in the HDD 15 (step S35).

  In step S <b> 36, the usage history analysis unit 30 calculates data on usage frequency for each day of the week and time (usage frequency data) based on the log information stored in the HDD 15 and stores the data in the HDD 15. In step S <b> 37, the unused time zone calculation unit 31 calculates an unused time zone based on the usage frequency data, and stores the result in the HDD 15. If the current time is in the unused time zone (YES in step S38), the data save processing unit 24B saves the data stored in the eMMC 16 to the HDD 15, and this process ends.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the second embodiment can be obtained. Further, compared with the second embodiment, the unused time of the image forming apparatus can be calculated with higher accuracy, so that the image data stored in the nonvolatile high-speed and large-capacity memory can be saved to the HDD more efficiently. It becomes possible to do.

Embodiment 5. FIG.
In Embodiments 2 to 4 described above, the image data stored in the nonvolatile high-speed and large-capacity memory is saved in the HDD. In contrast, the present embodiment is characterized in that the image data is saved (moved) to the server 300 on the cloud.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an image forming apparatus 100D according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention and its peripheral components. Compared with the image forming apparatus 100 in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 </ b> D in FIG. 13 includes a main controller 1 </ b> D instead of the main controller 1. Compared with the main controller 1 in FIG. 1, the main controller 1 </ b> D in FIG. 13 includes a CPU 11 </ b> D instead of the CPU 11.

  FIG. 14 is a block diagram for explaining elements configured by the CPU 11D (software) of FIG. Compared with the CPU 11C of FIG. 11, the CPU 11D of FIG. 14 includes an access device determination unit 22A instead of the access device determination unit 22. Further, the CPU 11D is characterized in that, compared with the CPU 11C, a data save processing unit 24C is provided instead of the data save processing unit 24B, and an HDD remaining capacity management unit 32 and a display control unit 33 are further provided.

  The access device determination unit 22A in FIG. 14 is different from the access device determination unit 22 in FIG. 2 in determining whether access to the server 300 on the cloud is possible. 14 is different from the data saving processing unit 24 in FIG. 5 in that the data stored in the eMMC 16 is saved (moved) to the HDD 15 when the remaining capacity of the HDD 15 is sufficient. To do. Furthermore, the data save processing unit 24C in FIG. 14 uses the data stored in the eMMC 16 when the server 300 on the cloud is accessible when compared to the data save processing unit 24 in FIG. The difference is that they are evacuated (moved).

  The HDD remaining capacity management unit 32 determines whether or not the remaining capacity of the HDD 15 is more than a predetermined threshold value. The access device determination unit 22A determines whether access to the server 300 on the cloud is possible, and outputs the determination result to the display control unit 33. The display control unit 33 controls to display on the display unit 40 that the HDD 15 has insufficient free space when the remaining capacity of the HDD 15 is insufficient and access to the server 300 on the cloud is impossible. .

  The operation of the image forming apparatus 100D according to the embodiment configured as described above will be described below.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a data saving process executed by the CPU 11D of FIG. In step S41 of FIG. 15, the HDD remaining capacity management unit 32 determines whether the remaining capacity of the HDD 15 is sufficient. If it is determined that the remaining capacity of the HDD 15 is sufficient (YES in step S42), the data save processing unit 24 saves the data stored in the eMMC 16 to the HDD 15 (step S43).

  If it is determined that the remaining capacity of the HDD 15 is insufficient (NO in step S42), the access device determination unit 22A determines whether access to the server 300 on the cloud is possible (step S44). If it is determined that access to the server 300 on the cloud is possible (YES in step S45), the data save processing unit 24A saves the data stored in the eMMC 16 to the server 300 on the cloud (step S47). This process ends. If it is determined that access to the server 300 on the cloud is impossible (NO in step S45), the display control unit 33 controls to display on the display unit 40 that the HDD 15 has insufficient free space ( In step S46), this process ends.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the fourth embodiment can be obtained. Furthermore, as compared with the fourth embodiment, since the image data is saved in a server on the cloud, the capacity of the HDD can be reduced and access from an outside place can be facilitated.

Embodiment 6. FIG.
FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an image forming apparatus 100E according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention and its peripheral components. The image forming apparatus 100E in FIG. 16 is characterized by including a main controller 1E instead of the main controller 1 as compared with the image forming apparatus 100 in FIG. The main controller 1E shown in FIG. 16 is characterized by including a CPU 11E instead of the CPU 11 as compared with the main controller 1 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 17 is a block diagram for explaining elements configured by the CPU 11E (software) of FIG. Compared with the CPU 11D of FIG. 14, the CPU 11E of FIG. 17 includes an access device determination unit 22B instead of the access device determination unit 22A. Compared with the CPU 11D, the CPU 11E includes a display control unit 33A instead of the display control unit 33, and includes a required capacity calculation unit 34, an eMMC remaining capacity calculation unit 35, a capacity determination unit 36, and an HDD dynamic address management unit 37. And further comprising.

  The necessary capacity calculation unit 34 calculates the necessary capacity necessary for executing an instruction such as executing three A4 size prints in monochrome after the image forming apparatus 100E is turned on. Here, the command is input via the operation unit 4. The eMMC remaining capacity calculation unit 35 manages the used area of the eMMC 16 and calculates the remaining capacity of the eMMC 16. The capacity determination unit 36 compares the calculated required capacity with the remaining capacity of the eMMC 16 and determines whether or not an instruction input using the remaining capacity of the eMMC 16 can be executed. If the remaining capacity of the eMMC 16 is larger than the calculated required capacity, the HDD dynamic address management unit 37 temporarily allocates the outermost peripheral area of the HDD 15 and writes image data in that area. Here, the HDD dynamic address management unit 37 normally allocates an access area to the HDD 15 statically for each purpose of use, but is temporarily an area other than the purpose of use when there is an insufficient remaining capacity of the eMMC 16. Is dynamically allocated.

  The access device determination unit 22B is different from the access device determination unit 22A of FIG. 14 in that the image data is written to the eMMC 16 when the remaining capacity of the eMMC 16 is larger than the calculated required capacity. Compared with the display control unit 33 in FIG. 14, the display control unit 33 </ b> A controls the display unit 40 to display that the image printing speed is reduced when the remaining capacity of the eMMC 16 is equal to or less than the calculated required capacity. Is different.

  The operation of the image forming apparatus 100E according to the embodiment configured as described above will be described below.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a data saving process executed by the CPU 11E of FIG. In FIG. 18, if the image forming apparatus 100E is powered on (YES in step S51), the command input determination unit 29 determines whether a command is input via the operation unit 4 (step S52). If a command is input (YES in step S53), the required capacity calculation unit 34 calculates the amount of image data necessary to execute the input command (step S54).

  In step S55, the eMMC remaining capacity calculation unit 35 calculates the remaining capacity of the eMMC 16. In step S56, the capacity determination unit 36 compares the calculated required capacity with the remaining capacity of the eMMC 16. If the remaining capacity of eMMC 16 is larger than the calculated required capacity (YES in step S57), access device determination unit 22B writes the image data in eMMC 16 (step S58), and this process ends.

  If the remaining capacity of the eMMC 16 is less than or equal to the calculated necessary capacity (NO in step S57), the display control unit 33A controls to display on the display unit 40 that the printing speed is reduced (step S59). In step S60, the HDD dynamic address management unit 37 temporarily allocates the outermost peripheral area of the HDD 15, writes image data in that area (step S60), and the process ends.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the fifth embodiment can be obtained. Compared to the fifth embodiment, even when the remaining capacity of the nonvolatile high-speed and large-capacity memory is insufficient, it is possible to accept a user command without causing downtime of the image forming apparatus. Furthermore, even if the remaining capacity of the nonvolatile high-speed large-capacity memory is insufficient, printing can be performed without reducing the speed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the data save processing units 24, 24A, 24B, and 24C shift the image forming apparatuses 100 to 100E to a standby state after saving the data stored in the eMMC 16 to the HDD 15 or the server 300 on the cloud. You may let them.

Summary of Embodiment The image forming apparatus according to the first aspect is:
An image forming apparatus including a hard disk drive and a nonvolatile memory,
A read / write determination unit that determines whether the access operation to the hard disk drive is a write operation or a read operation;
A data type determination unit that determines whether the access data is image data or non-image data when the access operation is a write operation;
An access device determining unit that stores the image data in a non-volatile memory when the access data is image data, and stores the non-image data in the hard disk drive when the access data is non-image data; It is characterized by.

An image forming apparatus according to a second aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect.
A timer that starts a counter when the image forming apparatus is in a standby state, and counts and outputs the time of the standby state;
It is determined whether or not the time of the standby state is equal to or longer than a predetermined set time, and a data saving processing unit for saving the data stored in the nonvolatile memory to the hard disk drive when the time is equal to or longer than the predetermined set time. It is characterized by that.

An image forming apparatus according to a third aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect,
A sensor that detects the human location and generates a detection signal;
A human detection determination unit that determines whether or not there is a human in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus based on the detection signal;
The data save processing unit saves data stored in the non-volatile memory to the hard disk drive when there is no person in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus.

An image forming apparatus according to a fourth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the second or third aspect.
A controller that shifts the image forming apparatus to an energy saving state;
The control unit shifts the image forming apparatus to an energy saving state after data stored in the nonvolatile memory is saved in the hard disk drive.

An image forming apparatus according to a fifth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the second to fourth aspects.
A usage history recording unit that stores, as log information, a time when the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on and a date when the command is executed;
Based on the stored log information, a usage history analyzer that calculates the usage frequency for each day of the week and time as usage frequency data;
An unused time zone calculation unit that calculates a predetermined unused time zone in which the image forming apparatus is unlikely to be used based on the use frequency data;
The data save processing unit saves data stored in the nonvolatile memory to the hard disk drive when in the unused time zone.

An image forming apparatus according to a sixth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the second to fifth aspects.
A remaining capacity management unit for determining whether or not the remaining capacity of the hard disk drive is not less than a predetermined threshold and is sufficient;
The access device determination unit determines whether the image forming apparatus and the server on the cloud are accessible,
The data evacuation processing unit can access the data stored in the nonvolatile memory on the cloud when the image forming apparatus and the server on the cloud are accessible and the hard disk drive has insufficient capacity. It is characterized in that it is evacuated to a server.

An image forming apparatus according to a seventh aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects.
A required capacity calculator that calculates the required capacity required to execute the instruction;
A remaining capacity calculating unit for calculating the remaining capacity of the nonvolatile memory;
A display unit that compares the required capacity with the remaining capacity and displays that the image printing speed is reduced when the remaining capacity is equal to or less than the required capacity;
The access device determination unit stores the image data in the hard disk drive when the remaining capacity is larger than the required capacity.

An image forming apparatus according to an eighth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the seventh aspect,
When the remaining capacity of the nonvolatile memory is equal to or less than the required capacity, the hard disk drive further includes an address management unit that temporarily allocates the outermost peripheral area and writes the image data in the outermost peripheral area. Features.

  An image forming apparatus according to a ninth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, wherein the non-volatile memory is a non-volatile large-capacity memory, and eMMC ( It is characterized by being an Embedded multi Media Card) or SSD (Solid State Drive).

An image forming method according to a tenth aspect includes
An image forming method for an image forming apparatus including a hard disk drive and a nonvolatile memory,
The above image forming method includes:
Determining whether the access operation to the hard disk drive is a write operation or a read operation;
Determining whether the access data is image data or non-image data when the access operation is a write operation;
Storing the image data in a nonvolatile memory when the access data is image data, and storing the non-image data in the hard disk drive when the access data is non-image data. .

1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E ... main controller,
2 ... Scanner unit,
3. Print unit,
4, 4A ... operation unit,
10, 10A ... ASIC,
11, 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11E ... CPU,
12 ... SDRAM,
13 ... NAND controller,
14 ... NAND flash ROM,
15 ... HDD,
16 ... eMMC,
17 ... Network I / F circuit,
18 ... Energy saving transition control unit,
20: Read / write determination unit,
21 ... Data type determination unit,
22, 22A, 22B ... access device determination unit,
23 ... Timekeeping department,
24, 24A, 24B, 24C... Data save processing unit,
25: Data saving process start time setting unit,
26. Human sensor control unit,
27: Human detection determination unit,
28 ... Usage history recording unit,
29 ... command input determination unit,
30 ... Usage history analysis unit,
31 ... unused time zone calculation unit,
32 ... HDD remaining capacity management unit,
33, 33A ... display control unit,
34 ... Required capacity calculation unit,
35 ... eMMC remaining capacity calculation unit,
36 ... capacity determination unit,
37. HDD dynamic address management unit,
40 ... display section,
41. Human sensor,
100, 100A, 100B, 100C, 100D, 100E ... Image forming apparatus,
200 ... Router,
300: Server.

JP 2013-246838 A

Claims (10)

An image forming apparatus including a hard disk drive and a nonvolatile memory,
A read / write determination unit that determines whether the access operation to the hard disk drive is a write operation or a read operation;
A data type determination unit that determines whether the access data is image data or non-image data when the access operation is a write operation;
An access device determining unit that stores the image data in a non-volatile memory when the access data is image data, and stores the non-image data in the hard disk drive when the access data is non-image data; An image forming apparatus. A timer that starts a counter when the image forming apparatus is in a standby state, and counts and outputs the time of the standby state;
It is determined whether or not the time of the standby state is equal to or longer than a predetermined set time, and a data saving processing unit for saving the data stored in the nonvolatile memory to the hard disk drive when the time is equal to or longer than the predetermined set time. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: A sensor that detects the human location and generates a detection signal;
A human detection determination unit that determines whether or not there is a human in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus based on the detection signal;
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the data saving processing unit saves the data stored in the nonvolatile memory to the hard disk drive when there is no person in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus. . A controller that shifts the image forming apparatus to an energy saving state;
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit shifts the image forming apparatus to an energy saving state after data stored in the nonvolatile memory is saved in the hard disk drive. A usage history recording unit that stores, as log information, a time when the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on and a date when the command is executed;
Based on the stored log information, a usage history analyzer that calculates the usage frequency for each day of the week and time as usage frequency data;
An unused time zone calculation unit that calculates a predetermined unused time zone in which the image forming apparatus is unlikely to be used based on the use frequency data;
5. The data saving processing unit according to claim 2, wherein the data saving processing unit saves data stored in the nonvolatile memory to the hard disk drive when in the unused time zone. The image forming apparatus described. A remaining capacity management unit for determining whether or not the remaining capacity of the hard disk drive is not less than a predetermined threshold and is sufficient;
The access device determination unit determines whether the image forming apparatus and the server on the cloud are accessible,
The data evacuation processing unit can access the data stored in the nonvolatile memory on the cloud when the image forming apparatus and the server on the cloud are accessible and the hard disk drive has insufficient capacity. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is evacuated to a server. A required capacity calculator that calculates the required capacity required to execute the instruction;
A remaining capacity calculating unit for calculating the remaining capacity of the nonvolatile memory;
A display unit that compares the required capacity with the remaining capacity and displays that the image printing speed is reduced when the remaining capacity is equal to or less than the required capacity;
The said access device determination part stores the said image data in the said hard-disk drive when the said remaining capacity is larger than the said required capacity | capacitance, The one of Claims 1-6 characterized by the above-mentioned. Image forming apparatus.   When the remaining capacity of the nonvolatile memory is equal to or less than the required capacity, the hard disk drive further includes an address management unit that temporarily allocates the outermost peripheral area and writes the image data in the outermost peripheral area. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein:   The non-volatile memory is a non-volatile large-capacity memory and is an eMMC (Embedded multi Media Card) or an SSD (Solid State Drive). Image forming apparatus. An image forming method for an image forming apparatus including a hard disk drive and a nonvolatile memory,
The above image forming method includes:
Determining whether the access operation to the hard disk drive is a write operation or a read operation;
Determining whether the access data is image data or non-image data when the access operation is a write operation;
Storing the image data in a nonvolatile memory when the access data is image data, and storing the non-image data in the hard disk drive when the access data is non-image data. Image forming method.

Images