JP4741390B2 - Image processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus capable of easily recovering a system operation abnormality.

  Some image processing apparatuses such as MFPs (Multi Function Printers) incorporate a mechanism for remote update of system programs. Rescue that performs recovery in case the system rewrite fails during this remote update. Some systems have a system mounted on a recording medium such as a Flash ROM (Flash Read Only Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or an SD (Secure Digital) card.

  This rescue system has a flag inside the system, turns on the flag when the system is rewritten, and turns it off when the system ends normally. If rewriting does not end normally due to the cause of power interruption at the time of rewriting, this flag will remain ON at the next start-up, so if the system rewriting fails, start from the rescue system in a different area from the normal system, and again It can be updated.

On the other hand, this type of image processing apparatus uses a programmable sequencer that enables power supply control or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) with built-in SubCPU to control the transition to and recovery from the power saving state, A technique for returning from a power saving state via a network I / F (Interface) by monitoring a network has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). Further, in such a technique, in order to enhance the power saving effect, the power of the Main CPU is turned off separately from the Main CPU so that the job can be restored by a job from the network even when the power of the Main CPU is turned off. In some cases, an ASIC that operates is proposed (Patent Document 3).
JP 2002-268471 A JP 2003-89254 A JP 2005-94679 A

  By the way, when the system of the Main CPU fails, such as when the system is in a critical state, an appropriate error display and an instruction for enabling the device again are displayed on the operation panel, and a warning sound is displayed. There are many things that give out. Most of the instructions at this time are to turn on the main power again or prompt the user to rewrite the system. That is, unless the user takes some action, the system is not restored and remains in an unusable state.

  The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus capable of easily recovering from an abnormal system operation without user intervention. is there.

To solve the above problems, in the present invention,請 Motomeko to 1 as described, the system program stored in the storage medium and the main CPU for system startup, the operation state of the main CPU And a sub-CPU that automatically restores the main CPU system when the main CPU system cannot be started due to some problem . The main CPU has an error rate exceeding a threshold value. In this case, the sub CPU detects that the main CPU system cannot be started from the absence of a response from the main CPU, formats the storage medium, and sets up the backup system. The gist of the present invention is an image processing apparatus for copying to a storage medium .

According to another aspect of the present invention, the main CPU for starting the system is monitored from a system program stored in a storage medium, and the operating state of the main CPU is monitored, and the system of the main CPU is started due to some problem A sub CPU that automatically restores the system of the main CPU when it becomes impossible, the sub CPU checks the operation of the main CPU, and if the error rate exceeds a threshold, the memory The medium can be formatted and an image processing apparatus can be configured to copy the backup system to the storage medium.

In addition, as described in claim 3, in the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 and 2, the main CPU determines a rate of an error that has occurred during operation by using an NVRAM. Can be saved to.

Further, as described in claim 4, in the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the storage medium may be an SD card.

In addition, as described in claims 5 to 8, the image processing apparatus can be configured as an operation abnormality recovery method.

  With the image processing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to easily recover from abnormal system operation without user intervention.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, an image processing apparatus 1 includes an engine 2 that performs printing on paper and the like, and a motherboard 3 that includes main circuit portions, and can be connected to a network 24.

  The motherboard 3 includes slots 4 and 5 such as expansion boards, a Main CPU 6 that performs main processing, an ASIC 7 that performs image processing and the like, a memory 8, an HDD 9, a logic unit 10, ROMs 11 and 12, NVRAM (Non Volatile RAM ( Random Access Memory)) 13 and slots 14 to 16 such as expansion boards.

  The motherboard 3 includes an ASIC 18 including a SubCPU 17 that performs power control for energy saving and recovery of an operation abnormality, an operation unit 19 that is operated by a user, an SD card 20 that stores a system program for the Main CPU 6, a Flash ROM 21, An NVRAM 22 and a USB interface 23 are provided.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a memory map of the SD card 20 and the ASIC 18. By changing the partition size from the state at the time of shipment shown in (a), the state shown in (b) is obtained. Further, the ASIC visible space of the SD card 20 shown in (b) corresponds to the SD card space of the ASIC 18 shown in (c). FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a memory map of the Flash ROM 21 for the SubCPU 17.

  The operation of the above embodiment will be described below.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing in the case of normal remote update.

  In FIG. 4, when the process is started (step S1) and the remote update is started (step S2), the update data is received (step S3).

  Next, a rescue flag is set on the NVRAM 22 (step S4), and system data for the Main CPU 6 is updated (step S5).

  Then, the remote update is finished (step S6), the rescue flag on the NVRAM 22 is cleared (step S7), and the process is finished (step S8).

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing example when the backup system is updated together with the normal remote update.

  In FIG. 5, when the process is started (step S11) and the remote update is started (step S12), the update data is received (step S13).

  Next, a rescue flag is set on the NVRAM 22 (step S14), and the system data for the Main CPU 6 is updated (step S15).

  Then, the update of the system data for the Main CPU 6 is terminated (step S16), and the rescue flag on the NVRAM 22 is cleared (step S17).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the version is stable from an error rate or version name, which will be described later (step S18). If the version is not stable, the process ends (step S23).

  If the version is stable, the backup flag for the SubCPU 17 is set on the NVRAM 22 (step S19), and the backup system data in the flash ROM 21 for the SubCPU 17 is updated (step S20).

  When the update is completed (step S21), the sub CPU 17 backup flag on the NVRAM 22 is cleared (step S22), and the process is terminated (step S23).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of processing when the activation time and the error rate are stored after activation.

  In FIG. 6, when processing is started (step S31), normal OS (Operating System) activation (step S32), normal program activation unit activation (step S33), and MFP / printer program activation (step S34) are sequentially performed. Do.

  Next, the measurement of the operation time is started (step S35), the occurrence of an error is monitored (step S36), and if an error occurs, the error rate (ratio of the number of errors to the operation time) is stored in the NVRAM 22 (step S37). ).

  Then, the measurement of the operation time is ended, the measured operation time is stored in the NVRAM 22 (step S38), and the process is ended (step S39).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a processing example when the main CPU 6 checks the state of the SD card 20 and starts up from the backup OS.

  In FIG. 7, when the process is started (step S41), the boot program of the Main CPU 6 is activated (step S42), and then it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the state of the SD card 20 (step S43).

  If there is no abnormality, the normal OS is started (step S44), the normal program start unit is started (step S45), and the MFP / printer program is started (step S46) in sequence, and the process is ended (step S47).

  If there is an abnormality, the backup OS is activated (step S48), the backup OS program activation unit is activated (step S49), and the MFP / printer program is activated (step S50), and the process is terminated (step S51). ).

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of processing when the Sub CPU 17 rewrites and restores the SD card 20 while the Main CPU 6 and the Sub CPU 17 handshake at startup.

  In FIG. 8, when the main CPU 6 starts processing (step S61), it starts a boot program (step S62), and then determines whether there is an abnormality in the state of the SD card 20 (step S63).

  If there is no abnormality, the normal OS is started (step S64), the normal program start unit is started (step S65), and the MFP / printer program is started (step S66), and the process is ended (step S67). If there is an abnormality, the process ends abnormally (step S68).

  On the other hand, when the sub CPU 17 starts processing (step S71), the boot program is activated (step S72), and the program for the Sub CPU 17 is activated (step S73).

  Next, a handshake is performed with the Main CPU 6 to determine whether or not there is a response from the Main CPU 6 (step S74). If there is no response, the SD card 20 is determined to be abnormal and the abnormal SD card 20 is formatted. (Step S75).

  Next, the backup system stored in the Flash ROM 21 on the SubCPU 17 side is copied to the SD card 20 (step S76), restarted (step S77), and the process is terminated (step S78).

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of processing when the Sub CPU 17 rewrites and restores the SD card 20 while the Main CPU 6 and the Sub CPU 17 handshake during operation.

  In FIG. 9, when the process is started (step S81), the normal OS is started (step S82), the normal program start unit is started (step S83), and the MFP / printer program is started (step S84).

  Next, the SubCPU 17 checks the system operation of the Main CPU 6 (step S85), and determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the state of the SD card 20 (step S86).

  If there is an abnormality, the abnormal SD card 20 is formatted (step S87), the backup system stored in the flash ROM 21 on the Sub CPU 17 side is copied to the SD card 20 (step S88), and the system is restarted (step S89). ), The process is terminated (step S90).

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing example when the Sub CPU 17 rewrites the SD card 20 and recovers while the Main CPU 6 and the Sub CPU 17 handshake at the time of activation.

  In FIG. 10, when the process is started (step S91), the Main CPU 6 starts a boot program (step S92), and then determines whether or not the error rate exceeds a threshold (step S93).

  If the threshold is not exceeded, the normal OS is started (step S94), the normal program start unit is started (step S95), and the MFP / printer program is started (step S96) in sequence, and the process is ended (step S97). ). When the threshold value is exceeded, the activation is stopped (step S98).

  On the other hand, when the processing is started (Step S101), the SubCPU 17 starts a boot program (Step S102) and starts a program for the SubCPU 17 (Step S103).

  Next, a handshake is performed with the Main CPU 6 to determine whether or not there is a response from the Main CPU 6 (step S104). If there is no response, the SD card 20 is abnormal and the abnormal SD card 20 is formatted. (Step S105).

  Next, the backup system stored in the Flash ROM 21 on the SubCPU 17 side is copied to the SD card 20 (step S106), restarted (step S107), and the process is terminated (step S108).

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of processing when the SubCPU 17 rewrites and restores the SD card 20 when the error rate exceeds a threshold after activation.

  In FIG. 11, when processing is started (step S111), normal OS activation (step S112), normal program activation unit activation (step S113), and MFP / printer program activation (step S114) are sequentially performed.

  Next, the SubCPU 17 checks the system operation of the Main CPU 6 (step S115), and determines whether or not the error rate exceeds the threshold (step S116).

  If the error rate exceeds the threshold, the abnormal SD card 20 is formatted (step S117), the backup system stored in the flash ROM 21 on the SubCPU 17 side is copied to the SD card 20 (step S118), and the system is restarted. (Step S119), and the process is terminated (step S120).

  As described above, according to the present invention, the state of the Main CPU 6 is monitored by the Sub CPU 17, and when the Main CPU 6 system cannot be started due to some problem, the Sub CPU 17 can automatically restore the Main CPU 6 system. it can. Such an operation is possible even in a normal rescue system. However, if the SubCPU 17 is used, if the Main CPU 6 system malfunctions during normal operation, or if it is rewritten to a new system, side effects may occur. Even when a problem occurs, it is possible to perform recovery without going through the user by automatically performing system update work and restart of the abnormal part.

  The present invention has been described above by the preferred embodiments of the present invention. While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, various modifications and changes may be made to the embodiments without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims. Obviously you can. In other words, the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the details of the specific examples and the accompanying drawings.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the image processing apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the memory map of SD card and ASIC. It is a figure which shows the example of the memory map of FlushROM for SubCPU. It is a flowchart which shows the process example in the case of normal remote update. It is a flowchart which shows the process example in the case of updating a backup system with normal remote update. It is a flowchart which shows the process example in the case of preserve | saving a starting time and an error rate after starting. It is a figure which shows the process example in case MainCPU checks the state of SD card and starts from backup OS. It is a flowchart which shows the process example in case SubCPU rewrites and restores an SD card, while MainCPU and SubCPU handshake at the time of starting. It is a flowchart which shows the process example in case SubCPU rewrites and restores an SD card, while MainCPU and SubCPU handshake at the time of operation | movement. It is a flowchart which shows the process example in case SubCPU rewrites and restores an SD card, while MainCPU and SubCPU handshake at the time of starting. It is a flowchart which shows the process example in case SubCPU rewrites and restores an SD card, when the ratio of an error exceeds a threshold value after starting.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing apparatus 2 Engine 3 Motherboard 4, 5 slots 6 MainCPU
7 ASIC
8 Memory 9 HDD
10 Logic unit 11, 12 ROM
13 NVRAM
14-16 slots 17 SubCPU
18 ASIC
19 Operation unit 20 SD card 21 Flush ROM
22 NVRAM
23 USB interface 24 Network

Claims (8)

A main CPU that starts the system from a system program stored in a storage medium;
A sub-CPU that monitors the operating state of the main CPU and automatically restores the main CPU system when the main CPU system cannot be started due to some problem ;
The main CPU starts and stops when the error rate exceeds a threshold,
The sub CPU detects that the main CPU system has become unbootable from the absence of a response from the main CPU, and formats the storage medium and copies the backup system to the storage medium. A featured image processing apparatus. A main CPU that starts the system from a system program stored in a storage medium;
A sub-CPU that monitors the operating state of the main CPU and automatically restores the main CPU system when the main CPU system cannot be started due to some problem;
The sub CPU checks the operation of the main CPU, and when the error rate exceeds a threshold, the sub CPU formats the storage medium and copies the backup system to the storage medium. In the image processing device according to any one of claims 1 and 2 ,
The main CPU stores an error rate generated during operation in an NVRAM. In the image processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
An image processing apparatus, wherein the storage medium is an SD card. Start the main CPU system from the system program stored in the storage medium,
A method of monitoring the operating state of the main CPU by a sub CPU and automatically recovering the main CPU system when the main CPU system cannot be started due to some problem ,
The main CPU starts and stops when the error rate exceeds a threshold,
The sub CPU detects that the main CPU system has become unbootable from the absence of a response from the main CPU, and formats the storage medium and copies the backup system to the storage medium. An abnormal operation recovery method for an image processing apparatus. Start the main CPU system from the system program stored in the storage medium,
A method of monitoring the operating state of the main CPU by a sub CPU and automatically recovering the main CPU system when the main CPU system cannot be started due to some problem,
The sub CPU checks the operation of the main CPU, and when the error rate exceeds a threshold value, the sub CPU formats the storage medium and copies the backup system to the storage medium. Abnormal recovery method. In the operation abnormality recovery method of the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 5 and 6 ,
The main CPU stores an error rate generated during operation in the NVRAM, and restores the abnormal operation of the image processing apparatus. The operation error recovery method for an image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7 ,
An operation abnormality recovery method for an image processing apparatus, wherein the storage medium is an SD card.

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