JP2022143497A - Information processing apparatus and power supply control method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus and a power supply control method which can prevent the increase in frequency of activation of a specific type of storage unit while reducing power consumption.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 100 comprises: an SSD 7 which includes a flash memory 11 and writes data into the flash memory 11 at the time of switching between a first state of being supplied with power and a second state of being not supplied with power; a power supply control unit 32 which performs power supply control including a first step of supplying power to the SSD 7 in response to receiving an access request to the SSD 7 being in the second state and a second step of stopping power supply to the SSD 7 after the passage of a preset waiting time following the end of access processing performed on the SSD 7 in response to the access request; and a setting processing unit 34 which sets the waiting time on the basis of a frequency of execution of the power supply control.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device and a power supply control method.

2. Description of the Related Art An information processing apparatus such as a multi-function device having an SSD (Solid State Drive) is known (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100003). Further, in order to reduce power consumption, there is known an information processing apparatus that stops power supply to the SSD when data reading/writing from/to the SSD is finished. In this information processing device, the SSD is activated each time an access request to the SSD is accepted.

JP 2015-64860 A

By the way, as one type of SSD, there is one that rewrites data in a specific storage area used for storing setting values and the like in a flash memory at startup. In an information processing apparatus having this type of SSD, if power supply to the SSD is stopped each time data is read from or written to the SSD, the SSD is frequently activated in response to an access request to the SSD. As a result, the life of the SSD can be rapidly shortened.

An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device and a power supply control method that can reduce power consumption and suppress an increase in the number of times a specific type of storage unit is activated.

An information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a storage section, a power supply control section, and a setting processing section. The storage unit has a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and writes data to the semiconductor memory when switching between a first state in which power is supplied and a second state in which power is not supplied. The power supply control unit performs a first step of supplying power to the storage unit when an access request to the storage unit is received when the storage unit is in the second state, and the storage unit according to the access request. power supply control including a second step of stopping power supply to the storage unit after a preset standby time has elapsed from the end of access processing to the unit. The setting processing unit sets the standby time based on the frequency of execution of the power supply control.

A power supply control method according to another aspect of the present invention has a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and writes data to the semiconductor memory when switching between a first state of receiving power and a second state of not receiving power. and includes the following power supply control step and setting step. In the power supply control step, when an access request to the storage unit is received while the storage unit is in the second state, a first step of supplying power to the storage unit; Power supply control including a second step of stopping power supply to the storage unit is executed after a preset standby time has elapsed from the end of access processing to the unit. In the setting step, the standby time is set based on the frequency of execution of the power supply control.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce power consumption and suppress an increase in the number of activations in a specific type of storage unit.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of power supply control processing 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. It should be noted that the following embodiment is an example that embodies the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 100]
First, the configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. Here, FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100. As shown in FIG.

The image forming apparatus 100 is a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions such as a scanning function for reading an image of a document, a printing function for forming an image on a sheet based on image data, a facsimile function, and a copying function. Image forming apparatus 100 is an example of an information processing apparatus of the present invention. The present invention may be applied to information processing devices such as scanners, printers, facsimile machines, copiers, personal computers, notebook computers, tablet terminals, and smart phones.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image forming apparatus 100 includes an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 1, an image reading section 2, an image forming section 3, a sheet conveying section 4, an operation display section 5, a communication section 6, an SSD (Solid State Drive) 7 , a power supply unit 8 , and a control unit 9 .

The ADF 1 conveys a document to be read by the scanning function. The ADF 1 includes a document set section, a plurality of transport rollers, a document presser, and a paper discharge section.

The image reading section 2 realizes the scanning function. The image reading unit 2 includes a platen, a light source, a plurality of mirrors, an optical lens, and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device).

The image forming section 3 realizes the printing function. Specifically, the image forming unit 3 forms an image by electrophotography. The image forming section 3 includes a photosensitive drum, a charging device, an optical scanning device (LSU), a developing device, a transfer device, a cleaning device, and a fixing device.

The sheet conveying section 4 conveys a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming section 3 . The sheet conveying unit 4 includes a paper feed cassette and a plurality of conveying rollers.

The operation display unit 5 is a user interface of the image forming apparatus 100 . The operation display unit 5 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display for displaying various information according to control instructions from the control unit 9, and operation keys or a touch panel for inputting various information to the control unit 9 according to user operations. It has an operation part such as

The communication unit 6 is a communication interface capable of performing wired or wireless data communication with an external communication device.

The power supply unit 8 supplies power supplied from an external commercial power source to each unit of the image forming apparatus 100 . Specifically, the power supply unit 8 is an AC-DC converter that converts an AC voltage of 100V supplied from the commercial power source into a DC voltage of a predetermined voltage value.

The control unit 9 controls the image forming apparatus 100 as a whole. As shown in FIG. 2 , the control unit 9 includes a CPU 21 , ROM 22 , RAM 23 and EEPROM (registered trademark) 24 . The CPU 21 is a processor that executes various kinds of arithmetic processing. The ROM 22 is a non-volatile storage device in which information such as control programs for causing the CPU 21 to execute various processes is stored in advance. The RAM 23 is a volatile or non-volatile storage device used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU 21 . The EEPROM 24 is a nonvolatile storage device. In the control unit 9, various control programs pre-stored in the ROM 22 are executed by the CPU 21. FIG. Thereby, the control unit 9 controls the image forming apparatus 100 in an integrated manner.

An SSD (Solid State Drive) 7 is a non-volatile storage device. The SSD 7 is an example of the storage section of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the SSD 7 has a flash memory 11, a device control section 12, and a specific storage section 13. As shown in FIG.

The flash memory 11 is used for storing data. Flash memory 11 is an example of the nonvolatile semiconductor memory of the present invention. For example, the flash memory 11 is a NAND flash memory.

Various data are stored in the flash memory 11 . For example, the flash memory 11 stores system data regarding the system of the image forming apparatus 100 . The system data includes the model name and serial number of the image forming apparatus 100, firmware version information, and information about connected optional devices. The flash memory 11 also stores address data relating to the destination of the image data obtained by the scanning function. The flash memory 11 also stores operation history data relating to the operation history of the image forming apparatus 100 .

The device control section 12 executes processing based on commands transmitted from the control section 9 . The device control unit 12 is configured by an electronic circuit such as an integrated circuit (ASIC). For example, when the device control unit 12 receives a command to write data to the flash memory 11, which is transmitted from the control unit 9, the device control unit 12 executes data write processing based on the command. Further, when the device control unit 12 receives a command to read data from the flash memory 11, which is transmitted from the control unit 9, the device control unit 12 executes data read processing based on the command.

The device control unit 12 also records SMART (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) information of the SSD 7 . The SMART information is information about the SSD7 system. For example, the SMART information includes information such as the free space of the flash memory 11, the number of error occurrences in reading and writing data to the flash memory 11, the total amount of data written to the flash memory 11, and the like. Also, the SMART information includes a count value of the number of times the SSD 7 has been activated. The SMART information may include a count value of the number of times the operation of the SSD 7 is stopped due to power supply stoppage.

The device control section 12 records the SMART information in the specific storage section 13 . The specific storage unit 13 is a register provided within the device control unit 12 . When the device control unit 12 receives a command for instructing transmission of the SMART information transmitted from the control unit 9, the device control unit 12 executes the SMART information transmission processing based on the command. Note that the specific storage unit 13 may be a storage area within the flash memory 11 .

Further, the device control unit 12 writes data to the flash memory 11 when the state of the SSD 7 is switched between the first state of receiving power and the second state of not receiving power. Specifically, when the second state is switched to the first state, that is, when the SSD 7 is activated, the device control unit 12 rewrites the data in the specific storage area used for storing the set values in the flash memory 11 . The device control section 12 may rewrite the data in the specific storage area when switching from the first state to the second state.

Here, an external information processing device communicably connected to the image forming device 100 can access data stored in the SSD 7 . For example, in response to a request from an external information processing device, the control unit 9 causes the display unit of the information processing device to display a web page used for receiving an access request to the SSD 7 . Then, when the access request to the SSD 7 is accepted on the web page, the control unit 9 executes access processing to the SSD 7 according to the access request. Specifically, in the access process, a command is sent to the device controller 12 to instruct the device controller 12 to read/write data from/to the flash memory 11 .

For example, when a reference request for the system data is accepted on the web page, the control unit 9 reads the system data from the SSD 7 and stores the read system data as information processing of the transmission source of the reference request. displayed on the display of the device. Moreover, the control part 9 rewrites the content of the said address data stored in SSD7 based on the said change request, when the change request of the said address data is received in the said web page.

By the way, in order to reduce power consumption, there is known an information processing apparatus that stops power supply to an SSD when data reading/writing to/from the SSD is finished. In this information processing device, the SSD is activated each time the access request to the SSD is accepted.

Here, when the SSD provided in the above information processing apparatus is the SSD 7, activation of the SSD 7 in response to the access request to the SSD 7 and writing of data to the specific storage area associated with the activation occur frequently. As a result, the lifetime of SSD7 can be shortened rapidly.

On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, as described below, it is possible to reduce the power consumption and suppress the increase in the number of activations in a specific type of storage unit such as the SSD7. It is possible.

Specifically, the ROM 22 of the control unit 9 stores in advance a power supply control program for causing the CPU 21 of the control unit 9 to execute a power supply control process (see the flowchart of FIG. 3), which will be described later. The power supply control program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD, DVD, or flash memory, and may be read from the recording medium and installed in a storage unit such as the EEPROM 24 .

The control unit 9 includes a switching processing unit 31, a power supply control unit 32, an acquisition processing unit 33, and a setting processing unit 34, as shown in FIG. Specifically, the control unit 9 uses the CPU 21 to execute the power supply control program stored in the ROM 22 . Thereby, the control unit 9 functions as a switching processing unit 31 , a power supply control unit 32 , an acquisition processing unit 33 , and a setting processing unit 34 .

The switching processing unit 31 switches the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 100 between the normal mode and the power saving mode.

Here, the power saving mode is the operation mode that consumes less power than the normal mode. Specifically, in the power saving mode, power supply to some of the components of the image forming apparatus 100 is stopped. The SSD 7 is included in the targets for which power supply is stopped in the power saving mode. That is, the power supply to the SSD 7 is stopped when the operation mode is switched from the normal mode to the power saving mode.

Specifically, when the operation mode is the normal mode, the switching processing unit 31 switches the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode when a predetermined transition condition is satisfied.

For example, the transition conditions include a first transition condition and a second transition condition. The switching processing unit 31 switches the operation mode to the power saving mode when either the first transition condition or the second transition condition is satisfied. The first transition condition is that a no-operation state in which no operation input is made to the image forming apparatus 100 continues beyond a predetermined time. The second shift condition is that an input operation of an instruction to shift to the power saving mode is performed on the operation display unit 5 . Note that the transition conditions may include conditions different from the conditions described above.

Further, when the operation mode is the power saving mode, the switching processing unit 31 switches the operation mode from the power saving mode to the normal mode when a predetermined recovery condition is satisfied.

For example, the return conditions include a first return condition and a second return condition. The switching processing unit 31 switches the operation mode to the normal mode when either the first return condition or the second return condition is satisfied. The first return condition is to receive an image forming job transmitted from an external information processing device. The second return condition is that the operation display section 5 is operated. Note that the return conditions may include conditions different from the conditions described above.

When switching the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode, the switching processing unit 31 inputs a control signal to the power supply unit 8 to stop power supply to some of the components of the image forming apparatus 100 . Further, when switching the operation mode from the power saving mode to the normal mode, the switching processing unit 31 inputs a control signal to the power supply unit 8 to resume power supply to some of the components of the image forming apparatus 100 . Let

When the SSD 7 is in the second state and the access request to the SSD 7 is accepted, the power supply control unit 32 performs a first step of supplying power to the SSD 7 and the access processing to the SSD 7 in response to the access request. power supply control including a second step of stopping power supply to the SSD 7 after a preset waiting time has elapsed from the end of .

Specifically, the power supply control unit 32 can execute the power supply control when the operation mode is the power saving mode.

In the first step, the power supply control unit 32 inputs a control signal to the power supply unit 8 to cause the power supply unit 8 to start supplying power to the SSD 7 . Further, in the second step, the power supply control unit 32 inputs a control signal to the power supply unit 8 to cause the power supply unit 8 to stop supplying power to the SSD 7 .

Note that the power supply control unit 32 may be capable of executing the power supply control regardless of the operation mode. In this case, the controller 9 does not have to include the switching processor 31 .

The acquisition processing unit 33 acquires the count value of the number of times the SSD 7 is activated (an example of the count value of the number of transitions of the present invention) from the specific storage unit 13 of the SSD 7 each time a predetermined acquisition timing arrives.

Specifically, the acquisition timing is timing at which a predetermined specific time has elapsed since the previous count value was acquired. In addition, the specific time may be a time determined arbitrarily.

Further, the acquisition processing unit 33 acquires the count value of the number of times the SSD 7 has been activated when the operation mode shifts from the normal mode to the power saving mode.

The acquisition processing unit 33 transmits a command for instructing transmission of the SMART information to the device control unit 12 of the SSD 7 and acquires the SMART information including the count value of the number of times the SSD 7 has been activated.

Here, if the SSD 7 is in the second state when the acquisition timing arrives, the acquisition processing unit 33 activates the SSD 7 to acquire the SMART information. In this case, the acquisition processing unit 33 stops power supply to the SSD 7 after acquiring the SMART information.

The setting processing unit 34 sets the standby time based on the frequency of execution of the power supply control.

Specifically, the setting processing unit 34 sets the standby time based on the difference between two count values that are continuously acquired by the acquisition processing unit 33 . In this case, the execution frequency is the number of times the power supply control is executed during the specific time.

Further, the setting processing unit 34 can extend the standby time when the execution frequency exceeds a predetermined reference value, and can extend the standby time when the execution frequency is less than the reference value. can be abbreviated.

For example, if the execution frequency exceeds the reference value and the current standby time does not exceed a predetermined upper limit time, the setting processing unit 34 determines that the current standby time The time added with the increment is set as the new standby time. Further, when the execution frequency is less than the reference value and the current standby time exceeds a predetermined lower limit time, the setting processing unit 34 adds a predetermined decrease to the current standby time. The subtracted time is set as the new waiting time.

The setting processing unit 34 may extend the standby time when the number of times the execution frequency exceeds the reference value reaches a predetermined number. Further, the setting processing unit 34 may shorten the standby time when the number of times the execution frequency is less than the reference value reaches a predetermined number. Also, the reference value, the initial value of the standby time, the upper limit time, the increase, the lower limit time, and the decrease may be set arbitrarily.

The acquisition timing may be the timing at which the power supply control is executed for the first time after the specific time has passed since the previous count value was acquired. In this case, the setting processing unit 34 may set the standby time based on the difference between the two count values continuously acquired by the acquisition processing unit 33 and the acquisition interval between the two count values.

Moreover, the control part 9 may record the execution frequency of the said electric power feeding control in EEPROM24. In this case, the acquisition processing unit 33 may acquire the count value of the number of times the power supply control is executed, that is, the number of times the SSD 7 is started, from the EEPROM 24 each time the acquisition timing arrives.

[Power supply control process]
The power supply control method of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. Here, steps S11, S12, .

<Step S11>
First, in step S11, the control unit 9 determines whether or not the transition condition is satisfied.

Here, when the control unit 9 determines that the transition condition is satisfied (Yes side of S11), it shifts the process to step S12. If the transition condition is not satisfied (No side of S11), the control unit 9 waits for the transition condition to be satisfied in step S11.

<Step S12>
In step S<b>12 , the control unit 9 acquires the count value of the number of times the SSD 7 has been activated. Here, the processing of step S<b>12 is executed by the acquisition processing section 33 of the control section 9 .

<Step S13>
In step S13, the control unit 9 shifts the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode. Here, the processing of step S<b>13 is executed by the switching processing section 31 of the control section 9 .

<Step S14>
In step S14, the control unit 9 determines whether or not the return condition is satisfied.

Here, when the control unit 9 determines that the return condition is satisfied (Yes side of S14), the process proceeds to step S20. If the return condition is not satisfied (No side of S14), the control unit 9 shifts the process to step S15.

<Step S15>
In step S15, the control unit 9 determines whether or not the access request has been accepted.

Here, when the control unit 9 determines that the access request has been received (Yes in S15), the process proceeds to step S16. If the access request has not been accepted (No side of S15), the control unit 9 shifts the process to step S17.

<Step S16>
In step S16, the control unit 9 executes the power supply control. Here, the process of step S<b>16 is an example of the power supply control step of the present invention, and is executed by the power supply control section 32 of the control section 9 .

<Step S17>
In step S17, the control unit 9 determines whether or not the acquisition timing has arrived.

Here, when the control unit 9 determines that the acquisition timing has arrived (Yes side of S17), the process proceeds to step S18. If the acquisition timing has not arrived (No side of S17), the control unit 9 shifts the process to step S14.

<Step S18>
In step S<b>18 , the control unit 9 acquires the count value of the number of times the SSD 7 has been activated. Here, the processing of step S18 is executed by the acquisition processing section 33 of the control section 9 .

<Step S19>
In step S19, the control unit 9 sets the standby time based on the difference between the count value acquired in the last step S18 and the count value acquired immediately before that. Here, the process of step S19 is an example of the setting step of the present invention, and is executed by the setting processing section 34 of the control section 9. FIG.

For example, when the difference between the count value acquired in step S18 immediately before and the count value acquired immediately before exceeds the reference value, the control unit 9 adds the increment to the current standby time. time as the new waiting time.

Further, when the difference between the count value acquired in step S18 immediately before and the count value acquired immediately before that is less than the reference value, the control unit 9 determines that it is continuously less than the reference value. Count up the continuous judgment value indicating the number of times it has been done. Then, when the value of the continuous determination value exceeds a preset threshold value and the current standby time exceeds the lower limit time, the controller 9 adds the decrement to the current standby time. The subtracted time is set as the new waiting time. The continuation determination value may be reset when it is determined that the difference between the count value acquired in step S18 immediately before and the count value acquired immediately before is equal to or greater than the reference value.

<Step S20>
In step S20, the controller 9 sets the standby time to the initial value.

<Step S21>
In step S21, the control unit 9 restores the operation mode from the power saving mode to the normal mode. Here, the processing of step S<b>20 is executed by the switching processing section 31 of the control section 9 .

Thus, in the image forming apparatus 100, the waiting time is set based on the frequency of execution of the power supply control. As a result, when the frequency of execution of the power supply control is high, the standby time is set long in order to suppress an increase in the number of times the SSD 7 is activated, and when the frequency of execution of the power supply control is low, power consumption is reduced. It is possible to set the standby time longer in order to do so. Therefore, it is possible to reduce power consumption and suppress an increase in the number of activations in a specific type of storage unit such as the SSD7.

1 ADF
2 image reading unit 3 image forming unit 4 sheet conveying unit 5 operation display unit 6 communication unit 7 SSD
8 power supply unit 9 control unit 11 flash memory 12 device control unit 13 specific storage unit 31 switching processing unit 32 power supply control unit 33 acquisition processing unit 34 setting processing unit 100 image forming apparatus

Claims (9)

a storage unit that has a nonvolatile semiconductor memory and writes data to the semiconductor memory when switching between a first state in which power is received and a second state in which power is not received;
a first step of supplying power to the storage unit when an access request to the storage unit is received when the storage unit is in the second state; and a process of accessing the storage unit in response to the access request. a power supply control unit that executes power supply control including a second step of stopping power supply to the storage unit after a preset waiting time has elapsed from the time of termination;
a setting processing unit that sets the standby time based on the frequency of execution of the power supply control;
Information processing device. The setting processing unit can extend the standby time when the execution frequency exceeds a predetermined reference value, and can shorten the standby time when the execution frequency is less than the reference value. ,
The information processing device according to claim 1 . A switching processing unit that switches the operation mode of the device between a normal mode and a power saving mode that consumes less power than the normal mode,
the storage unit is configured such that power supply is stopped when the operation mode is switched from the normal mode to the power saving mode;
The power supply control unit is capable of executing the power supply control when the operation mode is the power saving mode.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The storage unit has a specific storage unit that stores a count value of the number of transitions from one of the first state and the second state to the other;
The information processing device is
an acquisition processing unit that acquires the count value from the specific storage unit each time a predetermined acquisition timing arrives;
The setting processing unit sets the waiting time based on the difference between the two count values continuously acquired by the acquisition processing unit.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The acquisition timing includes a timing at which a predetermined specific time has elapsed since the last acquisition of the count value,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 4. The acquisition timing includes the timing at which the power supply control is first executed after a predetermined specific time has elapsed since the previous acquisition of the count value,
The setting processing unit sets the waiting time based on a difference between the two count values continuously acquired by the acquisition processing unit and an acquisition interval between the two count values.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 4. The storage unit includes a solid state drive,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. One or both of an image reading unit that reads an image of a document and an image forming unit that forms an image based on image data,
The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. Executed by an information processing apparatus having a nonvolatile semiconductor memory and including a storage unit that writes data to the semiconductor memory when switching between a first state in which power is received and a second state in which power is not received A power supply control method,
a first step of supplying power to the storage unit when an access request to the storage unit is received when the storage unit is in the second state; and a process of accessing the storage unit in response to the access request. a power supply control step of executing power supply control including a second step of stopping power supply to the storage unit after a preset standby time has elapsed since the end;
a setting step of setting the standby time based on the frequency of execution of the power supply control;
A power supply control method including.

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