JP4001531B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus that allocates a memory area.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an image forming apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as “multifunction machine”) in which functions of apparatuses such as a printer, a copy machine, a facsimile machine, and a scanner are housed in a single housing is generally known. This multifunction device is provided with a display unit, a printing unit, an imaging unit, and the like in one casing, and is provided with three types of software respectively corresponding to a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine. It operates as a copy, scanner or facsimile machine.
[0003]
Such a conventional multi-function machine has a configuration in which software (including a general-purpose OS) corresponding to a printer, a copy, a scanner, and a facsimile machine is separately provided.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Such a conventional multi-function machine is provided with separate software corresponding to each function unit such as a printer, a copy machine, and a facsimile machine. Since the area in memory required for executing each software is allocated separately for each software, the size of each area becomes excessive according to the size of each software, and it is allocated or released in memory There is a problem that the area size to be used becomes excessive, and the memory use efficiency is poor.
[0005]
In addition, since the multifunction peripheral performs image forming processing such as a printer, a copy, a facsimile, and a scanner, the number and size of image data generated in the process of performing the image forming processing is a general PC (Personal Computer) or the like. It will be enormous compared to. For this reason, it is necessary to secure a sufficient capacity of the image memory for temporarily storing the image data generated in the image forming process in advance, and when the image memory is changed during the execution of the image forming process. It is not preferable to use it for the purpose.
[0006]
Furthermore, the process execution memory may be consumed during the operation of the multi-function peripheral, which may hinder the process execution. In such a case, it may be possible to use a part of the image memory for process execution. However, since the size of each software is excessive in the conventional multi-function peripheral, even if there is space in the image memory, If an image memory is used, the image data cannot be stored temporarily, which hinders important image forming processing in the multifunction peripheral.
[0007]
For this reason, even when there is a space in the entire memory, it is often impossible to execute both process execution and image data storage without hindrance, and there is also a problem in that the memory use efficiency is poor.
[0008]
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-16380 describes a system that manages memory by describing settings for using a memory area in a system setting file in advance. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-129558 discloses a printer that adjusts the amount of memory used by selectively executing a program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) using a ROM or a RAM.
[0009]
By the way, the conventional multi-function machine has a configuration in which software (including a general-purpose OS) corresponding to a printer, a copy, a scanner, and a facsimile machine is provided separately, and it takes a lot of time to develop each software.
[0010]
For this reason, the applicant has hardware resources used in image forming processing such as a display unit, a printing unit, and an imaging unit, and has an application that performs processing specific to each user service such as a printer, copy, or facsimile. When a user service is provided by interposing between these applications and hardware resources, hardware resource management, execution control, and image formation processing that are commonly required by at least two of the applications are provided. Invented an image forming apparatus (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-82806) having a platform composed of various control services for improving software development efficiency.
[0011]
In such a multi-function peripheral, a plurality of applications and control service software are operated as separate processes. Therefore, the area size in the memory required for each process to operate is smaller than that of a conventional multi-function machine equipped with software in units of functions such as a printer, a copy, and a facsimile. Preferably it can be used for memory management.
[0012]
The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to obtain an image forming apparatus capable of improving the use efficiency of a memory.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1Image processing hardware including at least one of a printer unit and a scanner unit, one or more image processing applications for performing image processing using the image processing hardware, an operating system, and operating on the operating system, An image forming apparatus having a program that is accessed and commonly used by the one or more image processing applications,On rewritable memory,The operating system executes the processUsed as a kernel areaScheduledThe physical area,The image processing application and program execute a processUsed as a virtual memory areaScheduledThe physical area,For temporarily storing image data generated by the image processingUsed as image memory areaScheduledA memory securing means for securing a physical area;The image processing application andEmbedded in read-only memory when a program startup request is madeThe image processing application andThere was a request to start the programImage processing application orTransfer means for transferring a program to a physical area used as the virtual memory area or image memory area, and the transfer means transferred by the transfer meansImage processing application orAnd an activation means for activating the program.
[0014]
In the first aspect of the present invention, the area securing means reserves an image memory area having a predetermined capacity and a virtual memory area in which each program is stored in the rewritable memory. The predetermined capacity of the image memory area may be set to a sufficient size in anticipation of the capacity required for storing image data in accordance with the functions installed in the image forming apparatus.
[0015]
Then, when there is a program activation request during the execution of the image forming apparatus, the activation requested program is transferred to the virtual memory area or the image memory area, and the transferred program is activated by the activation unit, The program requested to be activated can be transferred to the virtual memory area or the image memory area and executed.
[0016]
In other words, the program stored in the read-only memory can be executed not only in the virtual memory area of the rewritable memory but also in the image memory area. Even if it is impossible to transfer the program, the program can be transferred to the image memory area instead of the virtual memory area. Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to increase the utilization efficiency of the rewritable memory without causing any trouble in the image forming process.
[0017]
  Moreover, the invention concerning Claim 2 is the said.Image processing applications andThe activation request was made based on a transfer destination predetermined for each program.The image processing application orIt further comprises transfer destination determination means for determining a program transfer destination as either a virtual memory area or a physical area used as an image memory area.
[0018]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when a program activation request is made, the program is transferred to a virtual memory area or an image memory area and executed based on a predetermined transfer destination for each program. Can do.
[0019]
  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the activation request is made based on a usage state of the rewritable memory.The image processing application orIt further comprises transfer destination determination means for determining a program transfer destination as either a virtual memory area or a physical area used as an image memory area.
[0020]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, when a program activation request is made, the program can be transferred to the virtual memory area or the image memory area and executed based on the usage status of the rewritable memory.
[0021]
Here, the usage status of the rewritable memory includes various conditions such as the free capacity of the virtual memory area, the ratio between the virtual memory area and the image memory area, the capacity of the rewritable memory, and is particularly limited in the present invention. It is not a thing.
[0022]
That is, according to the present invention, the program stored on the read-only memory can be executed not only in the virtual memory area of the rewritable memory but also in the image memory area, based on the use situation of such rewritable memory. Even if it is impossible to transfer the requested program to the virtual memory area due to the capacity limit of the virtual memory area, etc., it is possible to transfer the program to the image memory area instead of the virtual memory area and start the process. Generation is possible.
[0024]
  BookAccording to the invention, since the user service is provided by a plurality of processes activated by a large number of relatively small programs, the area secured and released on the rewrite memory by the generation and disappearance of each process The size is also relatively small, and even when a process is generated in the image memory area, it has an effect on the image forming process compared to a conventional image forming apparatus configured with a large size program of functional units such as print and copy. The impact is small.
[0025]
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to increase the utilization efficiency of the rewritable memory without hindering the image forming process.
[0026]
  Claims4The invention according toThe transfer destination determination means uses the transfer destination as the image memory area when the free space of the physical area used as the virtual memory area is smaller than the size of the image processing application or program requested to be started. The physical area to be used is determined.
[0027]
  This claim4According to this invention, even when the process cannot be generated due to the capacity limitation of the virtual memory area, the process can be generated in the image memory area, and the memory utilization efficiency can be improved.
[0028]
  Claims5The invention according toWhen the transfer destination determining unit determines that the transfer destination is a physical area to be used as the image memory area, the transfer destination determining unit further includes a notification unit that notifies the user to that effect.
[0029]
  This claim5According to this invention, it is possible to notify the user of the image forming apparatus in advance that the image memory area is consumed, and this is convenient for the user.
[0030]
  Claims6The invention according toThe transfer means decompresses the image processing application or program in the compressed format when the image processing application or program requested to start is stored in the read-only memory in the compressed format. It is characterized by doing.
[0031]
  This claim6According to the invention, even if the program cannot be incorporated in the normal format due to the capacity limitation of the read-only memory, if the compressed format program is incorporated in the read-only memory, it is expanded at the time of transfer, so the capacity of the read-only memory is limited. Even in some cases, a multi-functional user service can be provided by a large number of programs.
[0032]
  Claims7The invention according toThe transfer means transfers the image processing application or program to the virtual memory area or a physical area used as the image memory area based on a predetermined priority for each image processing application and program. Features.
[0033]
  This claim7According to this invention, even when priority is given to the execution of the program, the program can be transferred to the virtual memory area or the image memory area according to the priority.
[0034]
  Claims8The invention according toThe activation unit activates the image processing application or program transferred to either the virtual memory area or the physical area used as the image memory area based on the priority.
[0035]
  This claim8According to the invention, even when priority is given to execution of the program, the program can be started according to the priority, and a state where the program cannot be started can be avoided.
[0036]
  Claims9The invention according toThe program has a higher priority than the image processing application, and the transfer unit preferentially transfers the program having a higher priority to the transfer destination.
[0037]
  This claim9According to the invention, the control service can be started before starting the user service that operates on the control service layer, and the process generation of the user service is generated because the control service process is not generated. The obstacle that becomes impossible can be prevented in advance.
[0038]
  Claims10The invention according toThe transfer means includes the image processing application or program having the activation request when another program related to the image processing application or program having the activation request already exists in the rewritable memory. Is transferred to the transfer destination.
[0039]
  This claim10According to this invention, it is possible to prevent a failure at the time of starting the control service or the user service due to the related program not being started yet, and it is possible to execute the program according to the starting order.
[0040]
  Claims11The invention according toThe transfer means transfers the image processing application stored on the read-only memory to the transfer destination when the program already exists on the rewritable memory.
[0041]
  This claim11According to the present invention, the control service can be started before the user service operating on the control service layer is started, and the process generation of the control service due to the fact that the control service process is not generated is not possible. It is possible to prevent an obstacle that becomes possible.
[0042]
  Claims12The invention according toThe image processing application further includes a program activation application that operates as the transfer means, the transfer destination determination means, and the activation means.
[0043]
  This claim12According to the invention, it is possible to receive an activation request for the control service or the user service using an application interface between the control service and the user service, and transfer destination determination means and activation means separately from the control service and the user service. Compared to the case of providing the software, the software development effort can be reduced.
[0044]
  Claims13The invention according toThe program includes a system control service process for controlling a system and managing resources, and the system control service process operates as the transfer unit, the transfer destination determination unit, and the start unit.
[0045]
  This claim13According to this invention, the labor of software development can be reduced as compared with the case where processes of transfer means, transfer destination determination means and activation means are provided separately.
[0046]
  Claims14The invention according toThe process of the system control service includes a normal mode thread accessed from the one or more image processing applications or other programs, and a program that operates as the transfer unit, the transfer destination determination unit, and the start unit And a start mode thread.
[0047]
  This claim14According to the invention, it is possible to execute each thread in parallel within the process of the same system control service, and to realize the start of the control service or the user service requested to be started without stopping the user service. it can.
[0048]
  Claims15The invention according toThe activation request for the image processing application or program is an activation request for each image processing application or program that is performed after the image forming apparatus is activated.
[0049]
  This claim15According to the invention, when a program activation request is made after the image forming apparatus is activated, the program requested to be activated can be transferred to the virtual memory area or the image memory area and executed.
[0050]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Exemplary embodiments of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention are explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “multifunction machine”) according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction peripheral 100 includes a monochrome line printer (B & W LP) 101, a color line printer (Color LP) 102, hardware resources 103 such as a scanner and a facsimile, and the platform 120 and applications. And a software group 110 composed of 130, and a multifunction machine starting unit 140.
[0051]
The platform 120 interprets a processing request from an application and generates a hardware resource acquisition request, and manages one or a plurality of hardware resources and arbitrates the acquisition request from the control service. Resource manager) 123 and a general-purpose OS 121.
[0052]
The control service is formed of a plurality of service modules, and includes an SCS (system control service) 122, an ECS (engine control service) 124, an MCS (memory control service) 125, an OCS (operation panel control service) 126, and an FCS. (Fax Control Service) 127 and NCS (Network Control Service) 128.
[0053]
The platform 120 has an application program interface (API) that can receive a processing request from the application 130 by a predefined function.
[0054]
The general-purpose OS 121 is a general-purpose operating system such as UNIX (registered trademark), and executes the software of the platform 120 and the application 130 in parallel as processes.
[0055]
The process of the SRM 123 performs system control and resource management together with the SCS 122. The SRM123 process uses hardware resources such as engines such as the scanner unit and printer unit, memory, HDD files, and host I / O (centro I / F, network I / F, IEEE 1394 I / F, RS232C I / F, etc.). Arbitration is performed according to the request from the upper layer to be used, and execution control is performed.
[0056]
Specifically, the SRM 123 determines whether the requested hardware resource is available (whether it is not used by another request), and if it is available, the requested hardware resource is used. Tell the upper layer that it is possible. In addition, the SRM 123 performs use scheduling of hardware resources in response to a request from an upper layer, and directly executes request contents (for example, paper conveyance and image forming operation, memory allocation, file generation, etc. by a printer engine). .
[0057]
The process of the SCS 122 activates a normal mode thread and a program activation mode thread in the process, and executes each thread in parallel. The normal mode thread performs application management, operation unit control, system screen display, LED display, resource management, interrupt application control, and the like. Also, the program start mode thread receives a start request message for an application or control service, and copies and starts the application or control service program requested to start from the flash ROM 204 to the SDRAM 203 in accordance with the usage status of the SDRAM 203 described later. To do.
[0058]
The program start mode thread of the SCS 122 constitutes transfer means, transfer destination determination means, start means, and notification means in the present invention. Details of the operation of the program start mode thread of the SCS 122 will be described later.
[0059]
The process of the ECS 124 controls the engine of the hardware resource 103 including a monochrome line printer (B & W LP) 101, a color line printer (Color LP) 102, a scanner, a facsimile, and the like.
[0060]
The MCS 125 process acquires and releases an image memory, uses a hard disk device (HDD), compresses and decompresses image data, and the like.
[0061]
The process of the OCS 126 controls an operation panel (operation panel) serving as information transmission means between the operator and the main body control.
[0062]
The FCS 127 process includes facsimile transmission / reception using PSTN / ISDN network from each application layer of the system controller, registration / quotation of various facsimile data managed by BKM (backup SRAM), facsimile reading, facsimile reception printing, and fusion transmission / reception. Provides an API to do.
[0063]
The NCS 128 is a process for providing a service that can be commonly used for applications that require network I / O. Data received from the network side according to each protocol is distributed to each application, and data from the application is networked. Intermediary when sending to the side.
[0064]
The application 130 performs processing unique to each user service related to image forming processing such as a printer, a copy, a scanner, or a facsimile.
[0065]
The application 130 includes a printer application 111 that is a printer application having a page description language (PDL), PCL, and postscript (PS), a copy application 112 that is a copy application, and a fax application 113 that is a facsimile application. A scanner application 114 as a scanner application, a network file application 115 as a network file application, and a process inspection application 116 as a process inspection application.
[0066]
The multifunction machine activation unit 140 is first executed when the multifunction machine 100 is powered on, and secures an image memory area, a virtual memory area, and a kernel area, which will be described later, in the SDRAM 203, and activates the general-purpose OS 121, the platform 120, and the application 130. The multi-function peripheral activation unit 140 constitutes an area securing unit in the present invention.
[0067]
FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, this multi-function machine includes a controller board 200 in which a CPU 202, SDRAM 203, SRAM 208, flash memory 204, HDD 205, network interface controller 209, and the like are connected to the ASIC 201, an operation panel 210, and a fax control unit (FCU). 220, a USB device 230, an IEEE1394 device 240, and an engine unit 250.
[0068]
The operation panel 210 is directly connected to the ASIC 201. The FCU 220, USB device 230, IEEE1394 device 240, and engine unit 250 are connected to the ASIC 201 via the PCI bus. For example, the FCU 220 is connected to a telephone network. The USB device 230 and the IEEE 1394 device 240 are connected to other terminals.
[0069]
A flash memory (hereinafter referred to as “ROM”) 204 constitutes a read-only memory according to the present invention, and stores each control service, SRM 123, and each application program constituting the platform 120 and the application 130 described above. ing. Part or all of the control service or application is stored in a compressed format. The ROM 204 also stores a setting file to be described later.
[0070]
The SRAM 208 is a non-volatile memory using a battery. The network interface controller 209 communicates with other devices connected to the network using a MAC address or the like.
[0071]
An SDRAM (hereinafter referred to as “RAM”) 203 constitutes a rewritable memory according to the present invention. The RAM 203 stores a kernel area used by the general-purpose OS 121 and the like, an image memory area for storing image data, and virtual applications used by various applications and control services when the MFP 100 is started up. A memory area is secured.
[0072]
FIG. 3A is an explanatory diagram of a memory map of the RAM 203 in the multifunction machine 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram showing a memory map of the virtual memory area.
[0073]
The image memory area is secured with a size sufficient for storing image data predicted from the number of installed applications by the multifunction device activation unit 140 when the multifunction device 100 is activated. The image memory area is managed by the MCS 125.
[0074]
The virtual memory area is secured from the area of the RAM 203 excluding the image memory area. The program start mode thread of the SCS 122 copies each application and each control service program stored in the ROM 204 to this virtual memory area. The virtual memory area is secured in the RAM 203 by the multifunction device activation unit 140 when the multifunction device 100 is activated. However, the area actually occupied by the program is secured when each program is copied at the time of execution (loading).
[0075]
Thus, by accessing the program copied to the RAM 203, the RAM 203 is regarded as a ROM, so that the execution processing speed of the program is improved.
[0076]
Next, transfer of a program stored in the ROM 204 to the RAM 203 and start processing of the program by the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment configured as described above will be described.
[0077]
In the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment, the transfer process and the activation process are executed in parallel with the normal mode thread by the program activation mode thread of the SCS 122 process. For this reason, even when there is a program activation request for an application or control service, the transfer process and the program activation process can be executed without stopping the processes performed when providing user services such as system control and resource management by the SCS 122. It becomes possible.
[0078]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a program transfer process and a startup process executed by the program startup mode thread of the SCS 122 process.
[0079]
First, during the operation of the multifunction peripheral 100, a startup request message for a program that has not yet been loaded into the RAM 203 is transmitted to the process of the SCS 122. Here, the activation request message is obtained by, for example, starting a program corresponding to the selected function by acquiring a key event with the OCS 126 when the user selects a function such as copy, printer, or fax on the operation panel 210. Generated as a request.
[0080]
The generated activation request message is transmitted to the SCS 122 process by interprocess communication called message transmission. For example, when the user selects the fax function, a startup request message for the fax application 113 and the FCS 127 program is transmitted to the SCS 122 process. In addition, the activation request message includes a message transmitted from the other MFP connected to the network to the SCS 122 via the NCS 128. When the program activation mode thread of the SCS 122 receives a program activation request message for an application or control service (step S401), it reads a setting file stored in the ROM 204 (step S402).
[0081]
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a setting file used in the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the setting file describes the program names of the application and control service stored in the ROM 204, and the priority corresponding to each program name. This priority indicates the starting order of programs. For example, FIG. 5 shows that the ECS program (ecs_prg) with priority 1 must be started before the copy application program (copy_app) with priority 2.
[0082]
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another example of the setting file used in the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the second embodiment. In the setting file of FIG. 6, the program names of the application and control service stored in the ROM 204, the transfer destination corresponding to each program name, the priority corresponding to each program name, and the MUST / WANT corresponding to each program name Is described.
[0083]
The transfer destination in FIG. 6 indicates the transfer destination of the program. For example, in FIG. 6, the ECS program (ecs_prg) of the transfer destination VM is transferred to the virtual memory area of the RAM 203. Further, the FCS program (fcs_prg) of the transfer destination PREMAP is transferred to the image memory area of the RAM 203.
[0084]
Note that the printer application program (print_app) whose transfer destination is VM or PREMAP is first transferred to the virtual memory area of the RAM 203, and transferred to the image memory area of the RAM 203 when it cannot be transferred to the virtual memory area.
[0085]
MUST / WANT in FIG. 6 indicates whether or not it is necessary to transfer the data. MUST indicates that the program must be transferred. WANT indicates that the program is not necessarily transferred.
[0086]
For example, in FIG. 6, the MUST ECS program (ecs_prg) is always transferred to the virtual memory area. Further, the WANT FCS program (fcs_prg) is not necessarily transferred to the image memory area of the RAM 203.
[0087]
The setting file read in step S402 may be any of the setting files shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Hereinafter, an example of the setting file shown in FIG. 5 will be described. In the program start mode thread of the SCS 122, it is checked whether or not a program having a higher priority than the priority of the program requested to start from the read setting file is already loaded in the RAM 203 (step S403).
[0088]
If the program has not been loaded yet, the startup sequence is not correct, and the process is terminated without transferring and starting the program requested to be started. On the other hand, if it is already loaded in the RAM 203, the size of the program stored in the ROM 204 of the control service or application that requested the activation is obtained from the file information or the like (step S404). If the program is stored in the ROM 204 in a compressed format, the decompressed size is acquired from the file information of the compressed program.
[0089]
Next, the free space in the virtual memory area of the RAM 203 is acquired (step S405) and compared with the program size acquired in step S404 (step S406).
[0090]
As a result of the comparison, if the free space in the virtual memory area is equal to or larger than the program size, it is determined whether or not the program on the ROM 204 is in a compressed format (step S407). If it is not in the compression format, the program requested to be activated is simply copied from the ROM 204 to the RAM 203 (step S409). If the program requested to be activated is stored in the ROM 204 in a compressed format, it is decompressed (step S408) and then copied to the virtual memory area (step S409). Then, the program copied to the virtual memory area is activated (step S415).
[0091]
If the result of the comparison in step S406 is that the free space in the virtual memory area is smaller than the program size, a message to the effect that the image memory area is used for program execution is displayed on the operation panel and the user is notified (step S410). ), Waiting for user response. If there is a response from the user that the program is not activated (step S411), the process is terminated without performing the program transfer process and the activation process.
[0092]
If there is a response to start the program from the user (step S411), similarly to steps S407 and S408, decompression processing is performed when the program stored in the ROM 204 is in a compressed format (steps S412 and S413). If it is not in the compressed format, the program on the ROM 204 is copied to the image memory area of the RAM 203 as it is (step S414). Then, the program copied to the image memory area is activated (step S415).
[0093]
Through these processes, the control service or application program requested to be activated is copied from the ROM 204 to the RAM 203 and activated according to the priority of the program and the free space of the virtual memory area, and a process is generated.
[0094]
Next, such program transfer and activation processing will be described with a specific example. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, as an example, an arrangement of the fax application program fax_app and the FCS 127 program fcs_prg on the ROM 204 in the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment.
[0095]
As shown in FIG. 7, fax_app is a compression format, the program size before compression is 800 kBytes, and the program size after compression is 400 kBytes. Further, fcs_prg is not a compressed format, and the program size is 500 kBytes.
[0096]
FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the RAM 203 before execution of the program transfer process and the activation process when the capacity of the RAM 203 is 64 MBytes. FIG. 8B shows the RAM 203 after the program on the ROM 204 shown in FIG. 7 is transferred to the RAM 203 based on the free space of the virtual memory and the priority of the setting file shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of. As shown in FIG. 8A, before execution, the free capacity of the virtual memory area of the RAM 203 is 800 kBytes.
[0097]
Here, let us consider a case where there is a request to activate the fax application 113 and the FCS 127 program by a user operation. In FIG. 8A, it is assumed that another application, another control service, and the SRM 123 are already loaded in the virtual memory area.
[0098]
In this case, first, transfer processing of the program fax_app of the fax application 113 is started. In the setting file of FIG. 5, the priority of fax_app is 4, the priority of fcs_prg is 3, and the priority of fcs_prg is higher than that of fax_app. Further, since fcs_prg has not yet been loaded into the RAM 203 and does not exist, the transfer and activation of fax_app to the RAM 203 are performed after the fcs_prg is transferred and activated.
[0099]
Since the program size of fcs_prg is 500 kbytes and smaller than the free capacity of the virtual memory area 800 kbytes, fcs_prg is copied to the virtual memory area and activated. As a result, the free space in the virtual memory area is reduced to 300 kBytes.
[0100]
Next, the fax_app transfer process is started. Since fcs_app has already been loaded into the virtual memory area of the RAM 203, the fax_app can be transferred. However, since the program size before compression of fax_app is 800 kbytes and is larger than the free capacity of the virtual memory area at the present time of 300 kbytes, the transfer destination of fax_app is determined not as a virtual memory area but as an image memory area. Then, as shown in FIG. 8B, the fax_app is expanded and copied to the image memory area, and then activated.
[0101]
As described above, in the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment, when the program activation mode thread of the SCS 122 receives the activation request message for the application or the control service, the application or the control service for which the activation request is stored in the ROM 204 is received. Whether to copy the program to the virtual memory area or the image memory area is determined based on the free space of the virtual memory area.
[0102]
Since the program is copied and activated at the determined transfer destination, the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment uses the image memory area even when the free space of the virtual memory area is not sufficient. The program can be started, and the use efficiency of the RAM 203 can be increased.
[0103]
In particular, as shown in the example of the program size of the fax application 113 and FCS 127, the program size of each control service and each application is at most 1 MByte or less. Therefore, the size of the area secured and released in the process unit in the RAM 203 is reduced, and even when the program is copied to the image memory area, the influence on the image forming process is reduced. For this reason, it is possible to increase the memory utilization efficiency without hindering the user service related to the image forming process.
[0104]
Further, in the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment, since it is determined whether or not the program can be copied to the RAM 203 based on the priority of the program defined in the setting file, the control can be performed with the control service activated. Each application that operates on the service layer can be activated, and it is possible to prevent a failure that the process generation of each application becomes impossible due to an error in the activation order.
[0105]
In the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment, whether or not the program can be copied to the RAM 203 is determined using the setting file in which the priority is set, but each program is included in the program of the SCS 122 without using the setting file. It may be configured to incorporate a description of each priority and determine.
[0106]
In the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment, the setting file is incorporated in the ROM 204. However, the setting file may be arbitrarily rewritten by storing it in the HDD 205 or the like.
[0107]
Furthermore, in the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment, the available capacity of the virtual memory area is used as the usage status of the RAM 203, but other usage statuses such as the total capacity of the RAM 203 and the ratio between the virtual memory area and the image memory area may be used. The transfer destination may be determined on the basis of this.
(Embodiment 2)
In the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment, whether or not the program can be copied to the RAM 203 is determined based on the priority. However, the MFP 100 according to the second embodiment has a startup request. It is checked whether another program related to the program already exists in the RAM 203 to determine whether copying is possible.
[0108]
The configuration, hardware configuration, and memory map of the virtual memory area and the image memory area of the RAM 203 according to the second embodiment are the same as those of the multifunction machine 100 according to the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0109]
Program transfer processing and activation processing by the program activation mode thread of the SCS 122 in the multifunction machine 100 of the second embodiment are performed as follows. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of program transfer processing and startup processing executed by the program startup mode thread of the SCS 122 process.
[0110]
First, in the program start mode thread of the SCS 122, when a program start request message for an application or control service is received (step S801), the setting file stored in the ROM 204 is read (step S802).
[0111]
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a setting file used in the MFP 100 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, in the setting file, program names of applications and control services stored in the ROM 204 and program names of other programs related to each program are described.
[0112]
This related program indicates a program that needs to be already executed when the program is started. For example, in FIG. 10, the fax application program (fax_app) indicates that the FCS program (fcs_prg) and print_sub must be started in a state where both are loaded into the RAM 203 and executed.
[0113]
The program start mode thread of the SCS 122 acquires the program name related to the program requested to start from the read setting file, and checks whether or not the related program is already loaded in the RAM 203 (step S803).
[0114]
If it has not been loaded yet, the startup sequence is not correct, and the program is terminated without transferring and starting the requested program. On the other hand, if it is already loaded in the RAM 203, the size of the control service or application program requested to be activated is acquired from the file information or the like (step S804). If the program is stored in the ROM 204 in a compressed format, the decompressed size is acquired from the file information of the compressed program.
[0115]
The subsequent transfer processing and activation processing (steps S805 to S815) are the same as the processing from steps S405 to S415 of FIG. 4 described in the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.
[0116]
Next, such program transfer and activation processing will be described with a specific example. FIG. 11A is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the RAM 203 before execution of the program transfer process and the activation process when the capacity of the RAM 203 is 96 MBytes. FIG. 11B shows the RAM 203 after the program on the ROM 204 shown in FIG. 7 is transferred to the RAM 203 based on the free capacity of the virtual memory and the related program of the setting file shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of.
[0117]
As shown in FIG. 11A, before execution, the free capacity of the virtual memory area of the RAM 203 is 1.5 MByte. Here, let us consider a case where there is a request to activate the fax application 113 and the FCS 127 program by a user operation. In FIG. 11A, it is assumed that another application, another control service, and the SRM 123 are already loaded in the virtual memory area.
[0118]
In this case, first, transfer processing of the program fax_app of the fax application 113 is started. Here, the setting file in FIG. 10 indicates that the related programs of fax_app are fcs_prg and print_sub.
[0119]
Since print_sub is in the printer application program print_app, it is loaded into the RAM 203. Note that fcs_prg has not yet been loaded. For this reason, the transfer and activation of fax_app to the RAM 203 are performed after the transfer and activation of fcs_prg.
[0120]
Since the program size of fcs_prg is 500 kbytes and the free capacity of the virtual memory area is smaller than 1.5 Mbytes, fcs_prg is copied to the virtual memory area and activated. As a result, the free capacity of the virtual memory area is reduced to 1 MByte.
[0121]
Next, the fax_app transfer process is started. Since print_app and fcs_app are already loaded and executed in the virtual memory area of the RAM 203, the transfer of fax_app is possible. Since the program size of the fax_app before compression is 800 kBytes and is smaller than the current free capacity of the virtual memory area of 1 MByte, the transfer destination of the fax_app is determined as the virtual memory area. Then, as shown in FIG. 11B, the fax_app is decompressed and copied to the virtual memory area, and then started.
[0122]
As described above, in the MFP 100 according to the second embodiment, the program start mode thread of the SCS 122 already has another program necessary for executing the control service or application program requested to start on the RAM 203. Sometimes, the program requested to be activated is transferred to the RAM 203 and activated. Therefore, the MFP 100 according to the second embodiment can prevent the occurrence of an error when starting the control service or the application due to the necessary program not being started yet. Can be executed.
[0123]
In the MFP 100 according to the second embodiment, whether or not the program can be copied to the RAM 203 is determined using the setting file in which the related program is set, but each program is included in the program of the SCS 122 without using the setting file. It may be configured to determine by incorporating a description of the related program for each.
[0124]
In the MFP 100 according to the second embodiment, the setting file is incorporated in the ROM 204, but the setting file may be arbitrarily rewritten by storing it in the HDD 205 or the like.
[0125]
Furthermore, in the MFP 100 according to the second embodiment, the available capacity of the virtual memory area is used as the usage status of the RAM 203, but other usage statuses such as the total capacity of the RAM 203 and the ratio between the virtual memory area and the image memory area may be used. The transfer destination may be determined on the basis of this.
(Embodiment 3)
In the MFP 100 according to the first and second embodiments, the transfer process of the program requested to be activated to the RAM 203 and the activation process are performed by the program activation mode thread of the SCS 122. The MFP 100 according to the third embodiment performs such transfer processing and activation processing by an application.
[0126]
FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the configuration of the multifunction machine according to the third embodiment. The MFP 100 of the third embodiment is different from the MFP of the first embodiment in that a program start application 117 is provided as shown in FIG. Since the hardware configuration and the memory map of the virtual memory area and the image memory area are the same as those in FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.
[0127]
The program activation application 117 constitutes transfer means, transfer destination determination means, activation means, and notification means in the present invention. The program activation application 117 operates as an application layer process, and receives a message for requesting activation of an application or a control service.
[0128]
The program activation application 117 copies the application requested to be activated and the control service program from the ROM 204 to the RAM 203 according to the free space in the virtual memory area and activates the application. Further, the program activation application 117 determines whether or not the program can be copied based on a setting file in which the priority for each program is set. Note that. The process of transferring the program to the RAM 203 and the activation process by the program activation application 117 are the same as those of the multi-function device 100 of the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.
[0129]
As described above, the MFP according to the third embodiment includes the program activation application 117 that performs the transfer process of the program to the RAM 203 and the activation process, and therefore uses an application interface (API) between the control service and the application. To receive a control service or application activation request. The control service and the application can reduce the software development effort as compared with the case where the processes for performing the transfer process and the activation process are generated separately.
[0130]
In the MFP 100 according to the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, a process for transferring and starting a program to the RAM 203 is provided in the application layer. However, a process for executing a similar function is provided. The control service layer may be provided separately from the SCS 122.
[0131]
In the first to third embodiments described above, an example of transferring each application of a functional unit such as a printer and FAX and a program of each control service from the ROM 204 to the RAM 203 has been described. However, it is limited to the module group constituting the functional unit. Alternatively, the transfer destination may be determined for each module.
[0132]
For example, it is also possible to transfer some modules or module groups constituting the printer application program to the virtual memory area and transfer the remaining modules or module groups to the image memory area.
[0133]
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.
[0134]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize an image forming apparatus capable of increasing the utilization efficiency of a rewritable memory without causing any trouble in image forming processing.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multifunction machine according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the MFP according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a memory map of an SDRAM.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a program transfer process and a startup process executed by a program startup mode thread of an SCS process in the multifunction machine according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a setting file used in the MFP according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another example of a setting file used in the multifunction machine according to the first embodiment.
7 is an explanatory diagram showing, as an example, an arrangement of a fax application program and an FCS program on a ROM in the multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment; FIG.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state of the RAM before and after execution of a program transfer process and a start-up process when the capacity of the RAM is 64 MB in the multi-function peripheral according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a program transfer process and a startup process executed by a program startup mode thread of an SCS process in the MFP according to the second embodiment;
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a setting file used in the multifunction machine according to the second embodiment.
11 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a RAM before and after execution of a program transfer process and a start-up process when the capacity of the RAM is 96 MB in the multifunction machine of the second embodiment. FIG.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multifunction peripheral according to a third embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 MFP
101 Monochrome line printer
102 color line printer
103 Hardware resources
110 Software group
111 Printer app
112 Copy application
113 Fax application
114 Scanner app
115 Net file application
116 Process inspection application
117 Program launch app
120 platform
121 General-purpose OS
122 SCS
123 SRM
124 ECS
125 MCS
126 OCS
127 FCS
128 NCS
130 applications
140 Multi-function machine start-up unit
200 Controller board
201 ASIC
202 CPU
203 SDRAM (RAM)
204 Flash memory (ROM)
205 HDD
208 SRAM
209 Network interface controller
210 Operation Panel
230 USB device
240 IEEE 1394 devices
250 engine part

Claims (15)

Image processing hardware including at least one of a printer unit and a scanner unit, one or more image processing applications for performing image processing using the image processing hardware, an operating system, and operating on the operating system, An image forming apparatus having a program that is accessed and commonly used by the one or more image processing applications,
On the rewritable memory, and a physical area that is to be used as a kernel area where the operating system to perform the process, the image processing application and programs and physical area that is to be used as a virtual memory space to run the process a memory securing section to secure the physical area that is to be used as an image memory area for temporarily storing image data generated by the image processing,
When the image processing application and program are requested to be activated, the image processing application or program requested to be activated among the image processing application and program incorporated in the read-only memory is designated as the virtual memory area or image. Transfer means for transferring to a physical area used as a memory area;
An image forming apparatus comprising: an activation unit that activates the image processing application or program transferred by the transfer unit. Based on a predetermined transfer destination for each of the image processing application and program, the transfer destination of the image processing application or program requested to be started is used as the virtual memory area or the physical memory area. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transfer destination determination unit that determines any of the above. A transfer destination that determines a transfer destination of the image processing application or program that has been requested to start as either a virtual memory area or a physical area that is used as an image memory area based on the usage status of the rewritable memory The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit. The transfer destination determination means uses the transfer destination as the image memory area when the free space of the physical area used as the virtual memory area is smaller than the size of the image processing application or program requested to be started. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the physical area to be used is determined. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising notification means for notifying a user when the transfer destination is determined as a physical area used as the image memory area by the transfer destination determining means. The image forming apparatus described. The transfer means decompresses the image processing application or program in the compressed format when transferring, when the image processing application or program requested to be activated is stored in the read-only memory in the compressed format. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The transfer means transfers the image processing application or program to the virtual memory area or a physical area used as the image memory area based on a predetermined priority for each image processing application and program. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The said starting means starts the said image processing application or program transferred to either the said virtual memory area or the physical area used as an image memory area based on the said priority. Image forming apparatus. The program has a higher priority than the image processing application,
  The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the transfer unit preferentially transfers the program having a high priority to the transfer destination. The transfer means includes the image processing application that has received the activation request. The image processing application or program requested to be activated is transferred to the transfer destination when another program or another program related to the program already exists in the rewritable memory. Item 2. The image forming apparatus according to Item 1. The transfer means transfers the image processing application stored on the read-only memory to the transfer destination when the program already exists on the rewritable memory. The image forming apparatus described. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing application further includes a program activation application that operates as the transfer unit, a transfer destination determination unit, and the activation unit. The program includes a system control service process for controlling a system and managing resources.
  The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the system control service process operates as the transfer unit, the transfer destination determination unit, and the activation unit. The process of the system control service includes a normal mode thread accessed from the one or more image processing applications or other programs, and a program that operates as the transfer unit, the transfer destination determination unit, and the start unit 14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a start mode thread. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the start request for the image processing application or program is a start request for each image processing application or program that is executed after the image forming apparatus is started. .

Images