JP2019142092A - Image formation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image formation apparatus which can suppress the reduction of the service life of a non-volatile memory used as a temporary storage destination of print data in an electronic sort function.SOLUTION: A calculation processing unit 162 calculates the execution time of a plurality of copies of print jobs when print data acquired by an acquisition processing unit 161 is print data for the plurality of copies of print jobs. A selection processing unit 163 selects an input/output method from a buffered I/O of accessing a flash memory 15 through a cache storage unit and a direct I/O of accessing the flash memory 15 not through the cache storage unit on the basis of the execution time calculated by the calculation processing unit 162. A storage processing unit 164 temporarily stores the print data for the plurality of copies of print jobs in the flash memory 15 by the input/output method selected by the selection processing unit 163.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having an electronic sort function.

  Depending on the size of data to be written to the storage device, input is made from buffered I / O that accesses the storage device via the cache storage unit and direct I / O that accesses the storage device without going through the cache storage unit. An information processing apparatus that selects an output method is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-258027 A

  By the way, there is an image forming apparatus having an electronic sort function capable of temporarily storing print data relating to a multiple-copy print job in storage and executing the multiple-copy print job based on the print data. In the image forming apparatus having the electronic sort function, when a non-volatile memory whose life is shortened by rewriting data such as a flash memory is used as the storage, the life is shortened only by temporarily storing the print data. End up.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing the shortening of the lifetime of a nonvolatile memory used as a temporary storage destination of print data in the electronic sort function.

  An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition processing unit, a calculation processing unit, a selection processing unit, a storage processing unit, and a print processing unit. The acquisition processing unit acquires print data. The calculation processing unit calculates an execution time of the multiple-copy print job when the print data acquired by the acquisition processing unit is print data related to the multiple-copy print job. The selection processing unit includes a first input / output method for accessing the nonvolatile memory via the cache storage unit based on the execution time calculated by the calculation processing unit, and the nonvolatile memory without using the cache storage unit. The input / output method is selected from the second input / output methods for accessing the. The storage processing unit temporarily stores the print data related to the multiple-copy print job in the nonvolatile memory by the input / output method selected by the selection processing unit. The print processing unit executes the multiple-copy print job based on the print data temporarily stored in the nonvolatile memory by the storage processing unit.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing the shortening of the lifetime of a nonvolatile memory used as a temporary storage destination of print data in the electronic sort function.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a temporary storage process executed by the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings for understanding of the present invention. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus]
As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an operation display unit 10, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 11, an image reading unit 12, an image forming unit 13, a communication I / F 14, and a flash. A memory 15 and a control unit 16 are provided. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 1 is a multifunction machine having a print function, a copy function, a scan function, a fax function, and the like. The present invention is not limited to a multi-function machine, and can be applied to any image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, and a facsimile machine.

  The operation display unit 10 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display that displays information, and an operation unit such as a touch panel and operation buttons that accept user operations.

  The ADF 11 is an automatic document conveyance device that includes a document setting unit, a conveyance roller, a document pressing unit, and a paper discharge unit, and conveys a document to be read by the image reading unit 12.

  The image reading unit 12 includes a document table, a light source, a mirror, an optical lens, and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), and can read an image of the document and output it as image data.

  The image forming unit 13 can execute print processing based on image data by an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method, and forms an image on a sheet based on the image data. For example, when the image forming unit 13 is an electrophotographic image forming unit, the image forming unit 13 includes a photosensitive drum, a charger, an exposure device, a developing device, a transfer device, and a fixing device.

  The communication I / F 14 executes communication processing according to a predetermined communication protocol with an information processing apparatus such as an external facsimile apparatus or a personal computer via a communication network such as a telephone line, the Internet, or a LAN. It is a communication interface that can.

  The flash memory 15 is a nonvolatile storage unit. The flash memory 15 stores various control programs executed by the control unit 16 and various data. The flash memory 15 is an example of the “nonvolatile memory” in the present invention. The flash memory 15 has a feature that the lifetime is shortened by rewriting data.

  By the way, there is an image forming apparatus having an electronic sort function capable of temporarily storing print data relating to a multiple-copy print job in storage and executing the multiple-copy print job based on the print data. In the image forming apparatus having the electronic sort function, when a non-volatile memory whose life is shortened by rewriting data, such as the flash memory 15, is used as the storage, the life is shortened only by temporarily storing the print data. End up. On the other hand, according to the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the shortening of the lifetime of the nonvolatile memory that is the temporary storage destination of the print data in the electronic sort function.

  The control unit 16 includes control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic processes. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which information such as a control program for causing the CPU to execute various processes is stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or nonvolatile storage unit used as a temporary storage memory (working area) for various processes executed by the CPU.

  Specifically, the control unit 16 includes an acquisition processing unit 161, a calculation processing unit 162, a selection processing unit 163, a storage processing unit 164, and a print processing unit 165. The control unit 16 functions as each of these processing units by executing various processes according to the control program. Moreover, the control part 16 may be provided with the electronic circuit which implement | achieves a part or some processing function of each of these process parts.

  The acquisition processing unit 161 acquires print data. Specifically, the acquisition processing unit 161 acquires print data received from the print host device via the communication I / F 14.

  When the print data acquired by the acquisition processing unit 161 is print data related to a multiple copies print job, the calculation processing unit 162 calculates an execution time of the multiple copies print job. Specifically, the calculation processing unit 162 determines the number of pages and the number of print copies of the multiple-copy print job, the print speed and the first print time of the image forming apparatus 1 (that is, the first copy from the start of the multiple-copy print job). The execution time of the multiple-copy print job is calculated based on the time until the sheet is output.

For example, the number of print pages of the multiple copy print job is P (page), the number of print copies of the multiple copy print job is C (copy), the print speed of the image forming apparatus 1 is S (ppm), and the image forming apparatus The first print time of 1 is T (seconds), and the execution time of the multiple-copy print job is R (seconds). In this case, the calculation processing unit 162 can calculate the execution time of the multiple-copy print job according to the following mathematical formula.
R = T + (60 ÷ S) × (P × C−1)

  Based on the execution time calculated by the calculation processing unit 162, the selection processing unit 163 accesses the flash memory 15 via the cache storage unit and the flash memory 15 without using the cache storage unit. Select the input / output method from the direct I / O to access The buffered I / O is an example of the “first input / output method” of the present invention, and the direct I / O is an example of the “second input / output method” of the present invention. The cache storage unit is a storage unit for temporarily storing data written to the flash memory 15 or data read from the flash memory 15 as cache data. In the present embodiment, the cache storage unit is a storage area secured on the RAM. In another embodiment, the cache storage unit may be a storage unit different from the RAM.

  Specifically, the selection processing unit 163 selects the buffered I / O when the execution time calculated by the calculation processing unit 162 is shorter than the specific time, and directly selects when the execution time is longer than the specific time. Select I / O. The specific time is, for example, a time from when the print data is written to the cache storage unit to when the print data is written to the flash memory 15 (hereinafter referred to as cache data holding time). The cache data retention time is, for example, 30 seconds.

  The storage processing unit 164 temporarily stores print data related to the multiple-copy print job in the flash memory 15 by the input / output method selected by the selection processing unit 163.

  When data is written to the flash memory 15 by buffered I / O, the data is written to the flash memory 15 by a write back method. That is, the data is first written to the cache storage unit and held as cache data in the cache storage unit. Then, after the cache data retention time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed, the cache data is written to the flash memory 15 at a predetermined timing.

  On the other hand, when data is written to the flash memory 15 by direct I / O, the data is directly written to the flash memory 15 without being written to the cache storage unit.

  The print processing unit 165 executes the multiple-copy print job based on the print data temporarily stored in the flash memory 15 by the storage processing unit 164. When buffered I / O is selected as the input / output method for the print data by the selection processing unit 163, the print data may be stored in the cache storage unit as cache data. In this case, the print processing unit 165 executes the multiple-copy print job based on the cache data of the print data.

  The storage processing unit 164 deletes the print data related to the multiple-copy print job from the flash memory 15 and the cache storage unit when the multiple-copy print job is completed.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the buffered I / O is selected when the execution time calculated by the calculation processing unit 162 is shorter than the cache holding time. In this case, the print job with multiple copies is completed before the print data written in the cache storage unit is written into the flash memory 15. Therefore, the print data written in the cache storage unit is deleted before being written in the flash memory 15. That is, the print data is not written into the flash memory 15. Therefore, shortening of the life of the flash memory 15 can be suppressed.

  In the present embodiment, direct I / O is selected when the execution time calculated by the calculation processing unit 162 is longer than the cache retention time. In this case, when the flash memory 15 is accessed, print data is not written to the cache storage unit and print data is not read from the cache storage unit, thereby reducing overhead when accessing the flash memory 15. Can do.

[Temporary save processing]
Next, an example of the procedure of temporary storage processing executed by the control unit 16 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, steps S1, S2,... Represent processing procedure (step) numbers executed by the control unit 16. The temporary storage process is started, for example, in response to the power supply of the image forming apparatus 1 being turned on, and then ended in response to the power supply of the image forming apparatus 1 being turned off.

<Step S1>
First, in step S <b> 1, the control unit 16 determines whether print data has been received from the print host device via the communication I / F 14. If it is determined that the print data has been received (S1: Yes), the process proceeds to step S2. On the other hand, if it is determined that print data has not been received (S1: No), the process of step S1 is repeated until it is determined that print data has been received.

  When the print data is received, print processing based on the print data (that is, image formation processing by the image forming unit 13) is started.

<Step S2>
In step S <b> 2, the control unit 16 determines whether or not the print data is print data related to a multiple-copy print job. If it is determined that the print data is related to a print job with a plurality of copies (S2: Yes), the process proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, if it is determined that the print data is not related to the multiple-copy print job (S2: No), the process returns to step S1.

<Step S3>
In step S <b> 3, the control unit 16 calculates an execution time of the multiple-copy print job. Specifically, the control unit 16 calculates the execution time of the multiple-copy print job based on the number of pages and the number of print copies of the multiple-copy print job and the print speed and first print time of the image forming apparatus 1. The processing in step S3 is executed by the calculation processing unit 162 of the control unit 16.

<Step S4>
In step S4, the control unit 16 determines whether or not the execution time calculated in step S3 is shorter than the cache holding time. If it is determined that the execution time is shorter than the cache holding time, the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, if it is determined that the execution time is equal to or longer than the cache retention time, the process proceeds to step S6.

<Step S5>
In step S <b> 5, the control unit 16 selects buffered I / O as the input / output method for the flash memory 15. Then, the process proceeds to step S7. The process of step S5 is executed by the selection processing unit 163 of the control unit 16.

<Step S6>
On the other hand, in step S <b> 6, the control unit 16 selects direct I / O as the input / output method for the flash memory 15. Then, the process proceeds to step S7. The processing in step S6 is executed by the selection processing unit 163 of the control unit 16.

<Step S7>
In step S <b> 7, the control unit 16 temporarily stores the print data in the flash memory 15. However, if buffered I / O is selected in step S5, the print data is first written to the cache storage unit and held as cache data in the cache storage unit. Therefore, the print data is not yet written in the flash memory 15 at the time of execution of step S7. On the other hand, if direct I / O is selected in step S6, the print data is written into the flash memory 15 at the time of execution of step S7. The processing in step S7 is executed by the storage processing unit 164 of the control unit 16.

  The multiple-copy print job is executed based on the print data temporarily stored in the flash memory 15. That is, the print data is read from the flash memory 15 at any time during execution of the multiple copies print job. When cache data of the print data is stored in the cache storage unit, the cache data is read from the cache storage unit as the print data.

<Step S8>
In step S8, the control unit 16 determines whether or not the multiple-copy print job has been completed. If it is determined that the multiple-copy print job has been completed (S8: Yes), the process proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, if it is determined that the multiple copies print job has not been completed (S8: No), the process of step S8 is repeated until it is determined that the multiple copies print job has been completed.

<Step S9>
In step S9, the control unit 16 deletes the print data from the flash memory 15 and the cache storage unit. Then, the process returns to step S1. The processing in step S9 is executed by the storage processing unit 164 of the control unit 16.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when the execution time of the multiple copies print job is shorter than the cache holding time, the buffered I / O is selected, and the execution time of the multiple copies print job is selected. If it is longer than the cache holding time, direct I / O is selected. As a result, writing to the flash memory 15 is avoided for print data related to a multiple-copy print job whose execution time is shorter than the cache holding time. Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress shortening of the life of the flash memory 15 used as a temporary storage destination of print data in the electronic sort function.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 13 Image forming part 14 Communication I / F
15 Flash Memory 16 Control Unit 161 Acquisition Processing Unit 162 Calculation Processing Unit 163 Selection Processing Unit 164 Storage Processing Unit 165 Print Processing Unit

Claims (6)

An acquisition processing unit for acquiring print data;
A calculation processing unit that calculates an execution time of the multiple-copy print job when the print data acquired by the acquisition processing unit is print data related to the multiple-copy print job;
Based on the execution time calculated by the calculation processing unit, a first input / output method for accessing the nonvolatile memory via the cache storage unit and a second input for accessing the nonvolatile memory without going through the cache storage unit A selection processing unit for selecting an input / output method from an output method;
A storage processing unit that temporarily stores, in the nonvolatile memory, print data related to the multiple-copy print job in an input / output method selected by the selection processing unit;
A print processing unit for executing the multiple-copy print job based on the print data temporarily stored in the nonvolatile memory by the storage processing unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The selection processing unit selects the first input / output method when the execution time is shorter than the specific time, and selects the second input / output method when the execution time is longer than the specific time.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The specific time is a time from when the print data is written in the cache storage unit to when the print data is written in the nonvolatile memory.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. The storage processing unit deletes print data related to the multiple-copy print job from the nonvolatile memory and the cache storage unit when the multiple-copy print job is completed.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The calculation processing unit calculates the execution time of the multiple-copy print job based on the number of print pages and the number of print copies of the multiple-copy print job, and the print speed and first print time of the image forming apparatus.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The nonvolatile memory is a flash memory;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

Images