JP5458838B2 - Image forming apparatus, image forming apparatus failure recovery method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that performs a plurality of functions including a printer, a copy, a facsimile, and a scanner, a failure recovery method for the image forming apparatus, and a program.

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 devices such as a display unit, a printing unit, and an imaging unit in a single housing, and application software that realizes functions corresponding to printers, copiers, facsimiles, and scanner devices using these units, respectively. (Also referred to as “application program”, hereinafter abbreviated as “program”) is stored, and the image forming apparatus is operated as a printer, copy, facsimile, or scanner by switching execution of each program.
In such a multifunction device, if a program cannot be started due to a failure in hardware resources such as a memory or hard disk drive (HDD), all functions of the program that affect the failure of the hardware resource are provided. There was a problem that had to be stopped.
Therefore, there has conventionally been an image forming apparatus (see, for example, Patent Document 1) that provides a service within a range in which a failed hardware resource is not used.

However, in the conventional image forming apparatus as described above, it is possible to recover from the failure by initializing the hardware resource in which the failure has occurred (eg, formatting the HDD). Or, there is a problem that only a limited service can be used until the service person removes the cause of the failure (eg, replacement of the hardware resource in which the failure has occurred).
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to be able to start by initializing hardware resources on which a program depends when the program cannot be started.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention determines main program start determination means for determining whether or not a main program providing essential functions can be started (also referred to as “determination”), and other than the main program. Other program activation determining means for determining whether or not the program can be activated, dependent medium initialization means for initializing a storage medium on which the other programs depend, and activation method determination for determining whether normal activation or recovery activation And a start program selecting means for selecting a program to be started from the other programs , the main program start determining means is determined to be startable, and the other program start determining means is determined to be unstartable. Dependent media initialization for other programs that are determined to be unbootable. Run the stage, it is determined that the restoration started by the activation method determining means, and the case where it is determined to be activated by the main program starting judging means, the other program to the program selected by the starting program selection means activated An image forming apparatus is provided that executes a determination unit and executes the dependent medium initialization unit for a program whose determination result is determined to be unstartable .

In addition, there is provided a recovery activation state notifying unit for notifying that the recovery activation state is in effect, and an activation state changing unit for changing from the recovery activation state to the normal activation state. When the recovery activation state notifying unit is executed and an execution request for the activation state changing unit is input, the activation state changing unit may be executed.

Also provided is a non-started program information holding means for registering and holding information of a program not selected by the boot program selecting means, and a program whose information is not held by the boot unselected program information holding means at the next start-up It is better to start only.
Furthermore, when it is determined that the activation is determined by the activation method determination means, the information held by the activation unselected program information holding means may be erased.
In addition, after the initialization is performed by the dependent medium initialization unit, the other program activation determination unit is executed again, and the non-startable program information holding unit for registering and holding the information of the program determined to be still unbootable It is preferable that the non-startable program whose information is held by the non-startable program information holding means is not started at the next start-up.
Furthermore, when it is determined that the activation is determined by the activation method determination means, the information held by the non-startable program information holding means may be erased.

Also, a main program start determination step for determining whether or not a main program providing an essential function can be started, and another program start determination step for determining whether or not other programs other than the main program can be started. A dependent medium initialization step for initializing a storage medium on which the other program depends, a startup method determination step for determining whether normal startup or recovery startup, and a program to be started are selected from the other programs When it is determined that the program can be activated by the activation program selection step and the main program activation determination step, and when it is determined that the activation is impossible by the other program activation determination step, for other programs that are determined to be impossible to activate a step of executing the dependence medium initialization process, the recovery caused by the activation method determination step And when the main program start determination step determines that the program can be started, the other program start determination step is executed for the program selected by the start program selection step, and the determination result is not startable. A failure recovery method for an image forming apparatus is provided that includes the step of executing the dependent medium initialization step for the program determined to be .

In addition, a main program start determination procedure for determining whether or not a main program providing essential functions to the computer can be started, and other programs for determining whether other programs other than the main program can be started. A boot determination procedure, a dependency medium initialization procedure for initializing a storage medium on which the other programs depend, a boot method determination procedure for determining whether normal boot or recovery boot, and a program to be booted from the other programs If it is determined that the program can be started by the startup program selection procedure and the main program startup determination procedure, and if it is determined that startup is not possible by the other program startup determination procedure, the other program that is determined to be unbootable and instructions for executing the dependent media initialization procedure for, the start method determination hand If it is determined that the program has been restored and is determined to be able to be activated by the main program activation determination procedure, the other program activation determination procedure is executed for the program selected by the activation program selection procedure, and the determination result is Provided is a program for executing a procedure for executing the above-described dependent medium initialization procedure for a program determined to be unstartable .

The image forming apparatus and the failure recovery method for the image forming apparatus according to the present invention can be activated by initializing hardware resources on which the program depends when the program cannot be activated.
In addition, the program according to the present invention can realize a function for enabling a computer to be activated by initializing hardware resources on which the program depends when the program cannot be activated.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a multifunction machine that is an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is a block diagram of the software group performed on the controller 1 of FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing when power is turned on in the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the table data which shows the dependence relationship between another application and HDD. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the table data which shows whether initialization of HDD was performed for every other application.

It is a flowchart figure which shows the other process at the time of power activation in the multifunctional device of this Example. It is a flowchart figure which shows the further another process at the time of power activation in the multifunctional device of this Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the table data which shows whether it is selected as a starting program about another program. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the table data which shows whether it can be started about another program.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
〔Example〕
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a multifunction machine as an embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
In this multi-function device, CPU 3, HDD 4, ROM 5, and RAM 6 are connected via an ASIC 2 on the controller 1 so that data can be exchanged.
The ROM 5 stores a software group shown in FIG. 2. Each software (program) is expanded on the RAM 6 and executed by the CPU 3, and the operation unit 7, the scanner unit 8, and the FAX unit are executed via the ASIC 2. 9. By performing communication control with the engine unit 10, functions corresponding to the printer, copy, facsimile, and scanner devices are realized, and this multifunction machine is operated as a printer, copy, facsimile, or scanner.

  In this multifunction device, the CPU 3 executes the program according to the present invention stored in the ROM 5 using the RAM 6 as a work area, and executes the processing of the failure recovery method for the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. By fulfilling the function of each means, when other programs of the main program that provides essential functions to the multifunction device cannot be executed when the power is turned on, it tries to execute the program that could not be executed. It is possible to perform fault recovery processing including processing for initializing hardware resources on which the program that could not be executed depends and other processing.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the software group 20 executed on the controller 1 of FIG.
On the controller 1, a BIOS program 21 starts an operating system (OS) program 22. On the OS 22, a copy application program (abbreviated as “copy application”) 23, a printer application program (abbreviated as “printer application”). 24), a scanner application program (abbreviated as “scanner application”) 25, and a fax application program (abbreviated as “FAX application”) 26 to interpret processing requests from various programs and acquire hardware resources. And a system resource manager (SRM) program 30 that manages a control service that generates and manages one or a plurality of hardware resources and arbitrates acquisition requests from the control service.

The control service program is formed of a plurality of service module programs, and includes an SCS (system control service) program 36, an engine control service (ECS) program 31, a memory control service (MCS) program 32, and an operation panel control service (OCS). ) Program 33, fax control service (FCS) program 34, and network control service (NCS) program 35.
In this embodiment, the copy applications 23, SRM30, ECS31, MCS32, OCS33, FCS34, NCS35, and SCS36, which are the programs collected in the main application group in the figure, are main programs that provide essential functions in this multi-function peripheral. The setting information is stored in the ROM 5 and can be referred to by the CPU 3. As other programs other than the main program, a printer application 24, a scanner application 25, and a FAX application 26 are set. The setting information is stored in the ROM 5 and can be referred to by the CPU 3.

Next, processing at the time of turning on the power in this multifunction device will be described.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing upon power-on in the multifunction machine of this embodiment.
At the time of power-on of the MFP of this embodiment, in step (indicated by “S” in the figure) 1, the CPU 3 determines whether or not the power is turned on by a specific operation by the processing of the BIOS 21 (“startup method determination”). Equivalent to "processing"). In this determination, if it is determined that the power is turned on by a specific operation, the process proceeds to Step 2, and if it is determined that the power is not turned on by a specific operation, the process proceeds to Step 7.

For example, when both the power button and the copy button for requesting execution of the copy function by the copy application 23 set as one of the main programs of this multifunction device are pressed, the power is turned on by a specific operation. If it is determined that both the power button and the copy button have been pressed to turn on the power, and if it is determined that the power has been turned on by a specific operation, the process proceeds to step 2 and the specific operation is performed. If it is determined that the power is not turned on, the process proceeds to step 7.
In the above specific operation, it is assumed that there is a difference in the pressing timing of the power button and the copy button within a predetermined time.
In step 2, the CPU 3 develops and executes the OS 22 on the RAM 6 by the process of the BIOS 21, and proceeds to step 3 after shifting to the control by the process of the OS 22.
The process of expanding the OS 22 onto the RAM 6 and transferring the control to the OS 22 by the BIOS 21 is referred to as OS 22 startup.

In step 3, the CPU 3 sequentially activates the programs 23 and 30 to 36 shown in FIG. 2 which are set as main programs in the multifunction peripheral by the processing of the OS 22, and the main application (main program) is started. It is determined whether or not all can be activated (corresponding to “main application activation determination process”). In this determination, if all the main applications can be started, the process proceeds to step 4; if all the main applications cannot be started (if any main application cannot be started), the process proceeds to step 8.
In this determination, the CPU 3 requests execution of each of the programs 23, 30 to 36 by the processing of the OS 22, and if there is a response within a predetermined time from each program, the main application (main program) If it is determined that the main application (main program) cannot be started, the process proceeds to step S8.

In step 4, the CPU 3 sequentially determines whether or not the printer application 24, the scanner application 25, and the FAX application 26 shown in FIG. Corresponds to “Other application activation determination process”). If all the other applications can be activated in this determination, the process proceeds to step 5; if all other applications are not activated (if any other application cannot be activated), the process proceeds to step 10.
In the determination of step 4, the order of the applications for determining whether or not to start can be referred to the table showing the dependency relationship between each application and the storage medium as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, it is determined whether or not activation is possible. Printer, 2. 2. scanner, Perform in the order of FAX.

In step 5, the CPU 3 clears each initialization flag in the table data indicating the presence or absence of initialization of hardware resources for each other application by the processing of the SCS 36, and proceeds to step 6.
On the other hand, in step 10, the CPU 3 first determines whether or not the application determined to be unstartable depends on a specific storage medium that is a hardware resource as a recovery process by the processing of the SCS 36.
In this determination, the determination is made by referring to a table stored in advance in the ROM 5 and showing the dependency relationship between each application and the storage medium.

As shown in FIG. 4, this table shows, for example, the dependency relationship between the printer application 24, the scanner application 25, and the FAX application 26 and the hard disk device (HDD) 4, and is dependent on “0”. There is no relationship, and “1” indicates that there is a dependency relationship. For example, the printer application 24 is “1”, indicating that there is a dependency relationship with the HDD 4.
If it is determined in step 10 that there is a storage medium that has a dependency relationship with the application that has been determined to be unstartable, the process proceeds to step 11, and a storage medium that has a dependency relationship with the application that has been determined to be unstartable exists. If not, go to step 5.

If there is no storage medium that has a dependency relationship with the application that has been determined to be unstartable in step 10, it is determined that the recovery by initialization of the storage medium is impossible, and in step 5, the CPU 3 performs the process of SCS36. Then, each initialization flag in the table data indicating the presence / absence of initialization of hardware resources for each application is cleared, and the process proceeds to step 6. If the storage medium is already initialized, it is determined that the recovery by the initialization of the storage medium is impossible, and the initialization flag is cleared and the process proceeds to step 6.
In step 11, the CPU 3 determines whether or not there is a storage medium that has a dependency relationship with the application that has been determined not to be activated by the processing of the SCS 36, and the storage medium has been initialized.
If it is determined that the initialization has been completed, the process proceeds to step 5. If it is determined that the initialization has not been completed, the process proceeds to step 12.

In step 12, if the dependent storage medium is not initialized by the processing of SCS 36, the CPU 3 initializes the dependent storage medium, sets an initialization flag, and proceeds to step 6.
In step 6, if the initialization flag “1” is set in the table of FIG. 5, the process returns to step 4 and the initialization flag “1” of FIG. The process is executed again for the application that has been executed, and when the all initialization flags are cleared to “0”, this process ends.

For example, taking the printer application 24 as an example, if it is determined in step 4 that the printer application 24 cannot be activated, the printer application 24 depends on the HDD 4 as shown in FIG. In step 11, it is determined whether or not the HDD 4 has been initialized for the printer application 24. If it is determined that the HDD 4 has not been initialized, the HDD 4 is initialized in step 12, and FIG. The HDD initialization flag of the printer application 24 in the table shown is set to “1”.
After that, even if all the activation confirmations of the printer application 24, the scanner application 25, and the FAX application 26 described in the table shown in FIG. 4 are completed, the HDD initialization flag of the printer application 24 in the table shown in FIG. Since it is set to “1”, the flow confirms the activation of the printer application 24 again.

Further, the initialization of the HDD 4 at this time is performed in the logical format of the partition of the HDD 4 used by the printer application 24, and it is not necessary to confirm the activation again for other applications.
Furthermore, if it is determined that both the printer application 24 and the FAX application 26 cannot be activated, the printer application 24 depends on the HDD 4 from the table shown in FIG. The partition of the HDD 4 used by the printer 24 is initialized, and the HDD initialization flag of the printer application 24 in the table shown in FIG.
Thereafter, after the scanner application 25 is confirmed to be activated in step 4, the process proceeds to a determination as to whether or not the FAX application 26 can be activated.

Since the FAX application 26 also depends on the HDD 4 as shown in FIG. 4, the HDD 4 partition used by the FAX application 26 is initialized in step 12 and the HDD of the FAX application 26 in the table shown in FIG. 5 is initialized. Set the flag to “1”.
Up to this point, the start confirmation of all the applications of the printer application 24, the scanner application 25, and the FAX application 26 has been completed, but the HDD initialization flag of the printer application 24 and the FAX application 26 shown in FIG. 5 is “1”. Return to step 4.
In step 4, whether or not activation is possible is sequentially determined again for the applications whose initialization flag in the table shown in FIG. 5 is “1”.
For example, it is assumed that the printer application 24 and the FAX application 26 are performed in this order based on the table shown in FIG.

If it is determined in step 4 that activation is possible, the initialization flag is cleared to “0” in step 5, and if it is determined that activation is impossible, the initialization flag is also “1” in step 11. Therefore, the initialization flag is cleared to “0” in step 5.
As a result, in step 6, the activation confirmation of all the applications is completed, and all the initialization flags are cleared to “0”. Therefore, this process ends.
The tables shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are simplified only for the dependency relationship with the HDD 4 and the initialized flag, but it is also possible to add the dependency relationship with other storage media and the initialized flag.

On the other hand, in step 7, as a normal startup process, the CPU 3 develops and executes the OS 22 on the RAM 6 by the process of the BIOS 21. After the OS 22 operates and shifts to the control by the process of the OS 22, the CPU 3 performs the process of the OS 22. As a result, the main program and other programs of the multi-function peripheral are sequentially activated, and the process is terminated.
In step 8, the CPU 3 displays a message indicating that the MFP cannot be activated on the operation unit 7 by the processing of the OS 22, and proceeds to step 9. The CPU 3 stops the operation of the MFP by the processing of the OS 22. Then, this process ends.
As described above, in the MFP of this embodiment, when a failure occurs in which any of the printer application 24, the scanner application 25, and the FAX application 26 other than the program that realizes the main function cannot be started. When the failure recovery can be performed by initializing the storage medium on which the application that could not be activated depends on, it is possible to avoid the restriction of the services available to the user.

Next, the user can initialize the hardware resource that caused the failure by performing a specific operation, but the user does not know what hardware caused the failure, so all programs It is necessary to check the hardware resources that caused the failure.
Therefore, there is a problem that a wasteful delay occurs for a user who wants to recover only a specific program.
Also, for example, if a specific operation is mistakenly performed and recovery is started, the startup time may be longer than normal startup due to the selection of the startup program, or the storage medium may be erroneously initialized. is there.
Then, the process at the time of power-on in the multifunction machine of this embodiment including the process for solving the above-described problems will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing another process when the power is turned on in the multifunction machine of this embodiment.
In this process, when the MFP is turned on, in step 21 (indicated by “S” in the figure), the CPU 3 determines whether the power is turned on by a specific operation by the process of the BIOS 21 (“startup method determination”). Equivalent to "processing"). In this determination, if it is determined that the power is turned on by a specific operation, the process proceeds to step 22, and if it is determined that the power is not turned on by a specific operation, the process proceeds to step 29.
If it is determined in the above determination that the power is turned on by a specific operation, the operation unit 7 is displayed in the recovery mode (is in the recovery startup state) and is notified to the user.

For example, when both the power button and the copy button for requesting execution of the copy function by the copy application 23 set as one of the main programs of this multifunction device are pressed, the power is turned on by a specific operation. In this case, it is determined whether both the power button and the copy button have been pressed to turn on the power. If it is determined that the power has been turned on by a specific operation, the process proceeds to step 22, and the specific operation is performed. If it is determined that the power is not turned on, the process proceeds to step 29.
In the above specific operation, it is assumed that there is a difference in the pressing timing of the power button and the copy button within a predetermined time.

In step 22, it is determined whether or not there is an instruction input for normal activation from the operation unit 7. That is, in this determination, it is determined whether or not an execution input for changing from the recovery mode (recovery startup state) to the normal startup state has been made.
If it is determined in step 22 that there is an instruction input for normal activation, the process proceeds to step 29, and if there is no instruction input for normal activation, the process proceeds to step 23.
In step 23, the CPU 3 develops and executes the OS 22 on the RAM 6 by the process of the BIOS 21, and proceeds to step 24 after shifting to the control by the process of the OS 22.
The process of expanding the OS 22 onto the RAM 6 and transferring the control to the OS 22 by the BIOS 21 is referred to as OS 22 startup.

In step 24, the CPU 3 sequentially activates the programs 23 and 30 to 36 shown in FIG. 2 which are set as main programs in the multi-function peripheral by the processing of the OS 22, and the main application (main program) is executed. It is determined whether or not all can be activated (corresponding to “main application activation determination process”). In this determination, if all the main applications can be started, the process proceeds to step 25. If all the main applications cannot be started (if any main application cannot be started), the process proceeds to step 30.
In this determination, the CPU 3 requests execution of each of the programs 23, 30 to 36 by the processing of the OS 22, and if there is a response within a predetermined time from each program, the main application (main program) If it is determined that the main application (main program) cannot be started, the process proceeds to step S30.

In step 25, a selection input of a startup application (a program desired to be started by the user) is received from the operation unit 7 from the other programs of the printer application 24, the scanner application 25, and the FAX application 26 shown in FIG. Proceed to 26.
In this process, although not shown, it is determined whether or not the start application is selected in step 25. If there is a start application selection, the process of step 26 is executed. If there is no start application selection, FIG. The other application activation determination process in step 4 may be executed to determine whether other programs other than the main program can be activated.

At step 26, the CPU 3 performs only the activation application selected and input from the printer application 24, scanner application 25, and FAX application 26 shown in FIG. It is sequentially determined whether or not activation is possible (corresponding to “selected application activation determination processing”). In this determination, if all the selected startup applications can be started, the process proceeds to step 27. If all the selected startup applications are not startable (if any selected application cannot be started), the process proceeds to step 32.
In the determination of step 26, the order of the applications for determining whether or not to start can be referred to a table showing the dependency relationship between each application and the storage medium as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, it is determined whether or not activation is possible. Printer, 2. 2. scanner, Perform in the order of FAX.

In the determination of step 26, the order of the applications for determining whether or not to start is referred to the table showing the dependency relationship between each application and the storage medium as shown in FIG. The applications selected from the registered applications in the table may be executed in the order of selection.
In this processing, a case where all other applications are selected will be described. For example, it is determined whether or not activation is possible. Printer, 2. 2. scanner, Perform in the order of FAX.
It should be noted that the selected and input application is 1. Printer, 2. When registered as FAX, the activation permission determination is performed for the printer, and then for FAX without performing the scanner.

The application information selected and input may be registered and held in a nonvolatile memory, for example, in a table format in the HDD 4 or the ROM 5, and it may be determined whether activation can be performed with reference to the information.
Further, the application information selected and input may be held in the RAM 6 if the RAM 6 is a nonvolatile memory.
In step 27, the CPU 3 clears each initialization flag in the table data indicating the presence / absence of initialization of hardware resources for each other application by the processing of the SCS 36, and proceeds to step 28.
On the other hand, in step 32, the CPU 3 first determines whether or not the application determined to be unstartable depends on a specific storage medium that is a hardware resource as a recovery process by the processing of the SCS 36.
In this determination, the determination is made by referring to a table stored in advance in the ROM 5 and showing the dependency relationship between each application and the storage medium.

As shown in FIG. 4, this table shows, for example, the dependency relationship between the printer application 24, the scanner application 25, and the FAX application 26 and the hard disk device (HDD) 4, and is “0”. There is no dependency relationship, and “1” indicates that there is a dependency relationship. For example, the printer application 24 is “1”, indicating that there is a dependency relationship with the HDD.
If there is a storage medium that has a dependency relationship with the application that is determined to be unbootable in the determination of step 32, the process proceeds to step 33, and there is a storage medium that has a dependency relationship with the application that has been determined to be unstartable. If not, go to step 27.

If there is no storage medium that is dependent on the application determined to be unbootable in the determination in step 32, it is determined that the recovery by the initialization of the storage medium is impossible. In step 27, the CPU 3 By the processing, each initialization flag in the table data indicating the presence / absence of initialization of hardware resources for each other application is cleared (erased), and the process proceeds to step 28. If the storage medium is already initialized, the initialization flag is cleared and the process proceeds to step 28.
In step 33, the CPU 3 determines whether or not there is a storage medium having a dependency relationship with the application determined to be unstartable by the processing of the SCS 36, and the storage medium has been initialized.
If it is determined that the initialization has been completed, the process proceeds to step 27. If it is determined that the initialization has not been completed, the process proceeds to step 34.

In step 34, if the dependent storage medium is not initialized by the processing of the SCS 36, the CPU 3 initializes the dependent storage medium, sets the initialization flag, and proceeds to step 28.
In step 28, if the initialization flag “1” is set in the table of FIG. 5, even if the activation confirmation of all the selected applications is completed, the process returns to step 26, and the initialization flag “1” of FIG. The process is executed again for the set application, and when the all initialization flags are cleared to “0”, this process ends.

For example, taking the case where the selected application is the printer application 24 as an example, if it is determined in step 26 that the printer application 24 cannot be started, the printer application 24 depends on the HDD 4 as shown in FIG. For this reason, it is determined in step 32 that it is dependent on the storage medium, in step 33 it is determined whether or not the HDD 4 has been initialized for the printer application 24. And the HDD initialization flag of the printer application 24 in the table shown in FIG. 5 is set to “1”.
Thereafter, even if all the activation confirmations of the other selected applications are completed, the HDD initialization flag of the printer application 24 in the table shown in FIG. 5 is set to “1”. The flow is to do.

Further, the initialization of the HDD 4 at this time is performed in the logical format of the partition of the HDD 4 used by the printer application 24, and it is not necessary to confirm the activation again for other applications.
Furthermore, if it is determined that both the printer application 24 and the FAX application 26 cannot be activated, the printer application 24 depends on the HDD 4 from the table shown in FIG. The partition of the HDD 4 used by the application 24 is initialized, and the HDD initialization flag of the printer application 24 in the table shown in FIG. 5 is set to “1”.
Thereafter, after the scanner application 25 is confirmed to be activated in step 26, the process proceeds to a determination as to whether or not the FAX application 26 can be activated.

Since the FAX application 26 also depends on the HDD 4 as shown in FIG. 4, the partition of the HDD 4 used by the FAX application 26 is initialized in step 34, and the HDD of the FAX application 26 in the table shown in FIG. Set the initialization flag to “1”.
The confirmation of activation of all of the printer application 24, the scanner application 25, and the FAX application 26 that have been selected for activation has been completed, but the HDD initialization flag of the printer application 24 and the FAX application 26 shown in FIG. Therefore, the process returns to step 26.
In step 26, whether or not to start again is sequentially determined for the applications whose initialization flag in the table shown in FIG.
For example, the printer application 24 and the FAX application 26 are performed in this order based on the table shown in FIG.

If it is determined in step 26 that activation is possible, the initialization flag is cleared to “0” in step 27, and even if it is determined that activation is impossible, the initialization flag is “1” in step 33. Therefore, the initialization flag is cleared to “0” in step 27.
As a result, in step 28, the activation confirmation of all activation selection applications is completed, and all the initialization flags are cleared to “0”.
On the other hand, in step 29, as a normal startup process, the CPU 3 develops and executes the OS 22 on the RAM 6 by the process of the BIOS 21, and after the OS 22 operates and shifts to the control by the process of the OS 22, the CPU 3 executes the process of the OS 22 As a result, all the applications of the main program and other programs of the multi-function peripheral are sequentially activated, and this process is terminated.
In step 30, the CPU 3 displays a message indicating that the MFP cannot be started up on the operation unit 7 by the processing of the OS 22, and proceeds to step 31. The CPU 3 stops the operation of the MFP by the processing of the OS 22. Then, this process ends.

In this way, by determining whether or not only the program that the user wants to start can be started, it is possible to reduce the time required to check whether or not the program determined to be unnecessary by the user in the failure recovery process.
In addition, when the user accidentally starts recovery, there is no need to select a startup program and it can be returned to normal startup, which shortens the time required for startup confirmation and erroneously initializes the storage medium. Can be avoided.

Next, in the above-described processing, there is a possibility that normal startup cannot be performed at the next startup due to a storage medium that is not selected for initialization.
In addition, when an application that has not been initialized is registered, there is a possibility that the application cannot be activated by normal activation even after recovery by replacement of the storage medium.
Furthermore, even if the application has been selected to be activated, there is a possibility that normal activation cannot be performed at the next activation if the application cannot be restored to the activated state by initialization of the storage medium.
Furthermore, when an application that cannot be activated is registered, there is a possibility that it cannot be activated by normal activation even after recovery by replacement of the storage medium.
Then, the process at the time of power-on in the multifunction machine of this embodiment including the process for solving the above-described problems will be described.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing still another process when the power is turned on in the multifunction machine of this embodiment.
In this process, when the MFP is turned on, in step (indicated by “S” in the figure) 41, the CPU 3 determines whether or not the power is turned on by a specific operation by the process of the BIOS 21 (“startup method determination”). Equivalent to "processing"). In this determination, if it is determined that the power is turned on by a specific operation, the process proceeds to step 42, and if it is determined that the power is not turned on by a specific operation, the process proceeds to step 50.
If it is determined in the above determination that the power is turned on by a specific operation, the operation unit 7 is displayed in the recovery mode (is in the recovery startup state) and is notified to the user.

For example, when both the power button and the copy button for requesting execution of the copy function by the copy application 23 set as one of the main programs of this multifunction device are pressed, the power is turned on by a specific operation. If it is determined that both the power button and the copy button have been pressed to turn on the power, and if it is determined that the power has been turned on by a specific operation, the process proceeds to step 42 and the specific operation is performed. If it is determined that the power is not turned on, the process proceeds to step 50.
In the above specific operation, it is assumed that there is a difference in the pressing timing of the power button and the copy button within a predetermined time.

In step 42, in the activation registration information initialization process, the application activation selection information including the activation unselected program information and the application activation availability information including the activation impossible program information are cleared (erased), and the process proceeds to step 43.
In step 43, it is determined whether or not there has been an instruction input from the operation unit 7 for normal activation. That is, in this determination, it is determined whether or not an execution input for changing from the recovery mode (recovery startup state) to the normal startup state has been made.
If it is determined in step 43 that there is an instruction input for normal activation, the process proceeds to step 50, and if there is no instruction input for normal activation, the process proceeds to step 44.
In step 44, the CPU 3 develops and executes the OS 22 on the RAM 6 by the process of the BIOS 21, and proceeds to step 45 after shifting to the control by the process of the OS 22.
The process of expanding the OS 22 onto the RAM 6 and transferring the control to the OS 22 by the BIOS 21 is referred to as OS 22 startup.

In step 45, the CPU 3 sequentially activates each of the programs 23, 30 to 36 shown in FIG. 2, which are set as main programs in the multi-function peripheral, by the processing of the OS 22, and the main application (main program) is executed. It is determined whether or not all can be activated (corresponding to “main application activation determination process”). In this determination, if all the main applications can be started, the process proceeds to step 46, and if all the main applications cannot be started (if any main application cannot be started), the process proceeds to step 53.
In this determination, the CPU 3 requests execution of each of the programs 23, 30 to 36 shown in FIG. 2 by the processing of the OS 22, and if there is a response within a predetermined time from each program, the main application It is determined that the (main program) can be started, and the process proceeds to step 46. If there is no response within a predetermined time from the program that requested execution, it is determined that the main application (main program) cannot be started and step Proceed to 53.

In step 46, the selection input of the activation application (program desired to be activated by the user) is received from the operation unit 7 from the other programs of the printer application 24, the scanner application 25, and the FAX application 26 shown in FIG. The entered activation application information (information of the program selected to be activated) and the information of the activation unselected application that has not been selected and entered (activation unselected program information) are registered and held, and the process proceeds to step 47.
If there is no activation application selection in step 46, the other application activation determination process in step 4 shown in FIG. 3 may be executed to determine whether or not activation is possible for other programs other than the main program.

As for the information on the activated application and the unselected application, a table as shown in FIG. 8 is prepared in a non-volatile memory, for example, HDD 4, ROM 5, RAM 6, and the application that has been selected and input has a flag “1” selected for activation. Applications that have not been held are retained by recording a flag of “0”.
The table shown in FIG. 8 indicates that the printer application 24 and the FAX application 26 are activated and selected.

At step 47, the CPU 3 performs only the activation application selected and input from the printer application 24, scanner application 25, and FAX application 26 shown in FIG. It is sequentially determined whether or not activation is possible (corresponding to “selected application activation determination processing”). In this determination, if all of the selected startup applications can be started, the process proceeds to step 48. If all of the selected startup applications are not startable (if any selected application cannot be started), the process proceeds to step 55.
In the determination of step 47, the order of applications for determining whether or not to start can be referred to a table showing the dependency relationship between each application and the storage medium as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, it is determined whether or not activation is possible. Printer, 2. 2. scanner, Perform in the order of FAX.

In the determination of step 47, the order of the applications for determining whether or not to start is referred to a table showing the dependency relationship between each application and the storage medium as shown in FIG. The applications selected from the registered applications in the table may be executed in the order of selection.
In this processing, a case where all other applications are selected will be described. For example, it is determined whether or not activation is possible. Printer, 2. 2. scanner, Perform in the order of FAX.
It should be noted that the selected and input application is 1. Printer, 2. When registered as FAX, the activation permission determination is performed for the printer, and then for FAX without performing the scanner.

The application information selected and input may be registered and held in a nonvolatile memory, for example, in a table format in the HDD 4 or the ROM 5, and it may be determined whether activation can be performed with reference to the information.
Further, the application information selected and input may be held in the RAM 6 if the RAM 6 is a nonvolatile memory.
In step 48, the CPU 3 performs the process of the SCS 36.
If the initialization flag is set in the table data indicating whether or not other hardware resources are initialized for each application, it is registered that the activation is impossible, each initialization flag is cleared, and the process proceeds to step 49.
On the other hand, in step 55, the CPU 3 first determines whether or not the application determined to be unstartable depends on a specific storage medium that is a hardware resource as a recovery process by the processing of the SCS 36.
In this determination, the determination is made by referring to a table stored in advance in the ROM 5 and showing the dependency relationship between each application and the storage medium.

As shown in FIG. 4, this table shows, for example, the dependency relationship between the printer application 24, the scanner application 25, and the FAX application 26 and the hard disk device (HDD) 4, and is “0”. There is no dependency relationship, and “1” indicates that there is a dependency relationship. For example, “1” for the printer application indicates that there is a dependency relationship with the HDD.
If there is a storage medium that has a dependency relationship with the application that has been determined to be unstartable in the determination of step 55, the process proceeds to step 56, and there is a storage medium that has a dependency relationship with the application that has been determined to be unstartable. If not, go to step 48.

If there is no storage medium that has a dependency relationship with the application determined to be unbootable in the determination of step 55, it is determined that the recovery by the initialization of the storage medium is impossible. In step 48, the CPU 3 As a result of the processing, if each initialization flag in the table data indicating the presence or absence of initialization of hardware resources for each other application is set, it is registered that the activation is impossible, the flag is cleared (erased), and the process goes to step 49 move on. If the storage medium has been initialized, recovery by initialization of the storage medium is impossible, registration is made impossible to start, the initialization flag is cleared, and the process proceeds to step 49.
In step 56, the CPU 3 determines whether or not there is a storage medium that is dependent on the application determined to be unstartable by the processing of the SCS 36, and the storage medium has been initialized.
If it is determined that the initialization has been completed, the process proceeds to step 48. If it is determined that the initialization has not been completed, the process proceeds to step 57.

In step 57, if the dependent storage medium is not initialized by the processing of the SCS 36, the CPU 3 initializes the dependent storage medium, sets the initialization flag, and proceeds to step 49.
In step 49, if the initialization flag “1” is set in the table of FIG. 5, even if the activation confirmation of all the selected applications is completed, the process returns to step 47, and the initialization flag “1” of FIG. The process is executed again for the set application, and when the all initialization flags are cleared to “0”, this process ends.

For example, taking the case where the selected application is the printer application 24 as an example, if it is determined in step 47 that the printer application 24 cannot be activated, the printer application 24 depends on the HDD 4 as shown in FIG. Therefore, in step 55, it is determined that it depends on the storage medium. In step 56, it is determined whether the HDD 4 is initialized for the printer application 24. If it is determined that the HDD 4 is not initialized, the HDD 4 is determined in step 57. And the HDD initialization flag of the printer application 24 in the table shown in FIG. 5 is set to “1”.
Thereafter, even if all the activation confirmations of the other selected applications are completed, the HDD initialization flag of the printer application 24 in the table shown in FIG. 5 is set to “1”. The flow is to do.

Further, the initialization of the HDD 4 at this time is performed in the logical format of the partition of the HDD 4 used by the printer application 24, and it is not necessary to confirm the activation again for other applications.
Furthermore, if it is determined that both the printer application 24 and the FAX application 26 cannot be activated, the printer application 24 depends on the HDD 4 from the table shown in FIG. The partition of the HDD 4 used by the application 24 is initialized, and the HDD initialization flag of the printer application 24 in the table shown in FIG. 5 is set to “1”.
Thereafter, after the scanner application 25 is confirmed to be activated in step 47, the process proceeds to a determination as to whether or not the FAX application 26 can be activated.

Since the FAX application 26 also depends on the HDD 4 as shown in FIG. 4, the HDD 4 partition used by the FAX application 26 is initialized in step 57, and the HDD of the FAX application 26 in the table shown in FIG. Set the initialization flag to “1”.
The confirmation of activation of all of the printer application 24, the scanner application 25, and the FAX application 26 that have been selected for activation has been completed, but the HDD initialization flag of the printer application 24 and the FAX application 26 shown in FIG. Therefore, the process returns to step 47.
In step 47, it is sequentially determined again whether or not the application whose initialization flag in the table shown in FIG.
For example, the printer application 24 and the FAX application 26 are performed in this order based on the table shown in FIG.

If it is determined in step 47 that activation is possible, the initialization flag is cleared to “0” in step 48, and even if it is determined that activation is impossible, the initialization flag is “1”. In step 55, it is determined that the activation medium is not used, and the process proceeds to step 48 where the initialization flag is cleared to "0".
As a result, in step 49, the activation confirmation of all activation selection applications is completed, and all the initialization flags are cleared to “0”.
On the other hand, in step 50, referring to the tables of FIGS. 8 and 9, an application not selected for activation (scanner application 25 in the example of FIG. 8) or an application registered as incapable of activation (FAX application in the example of FIG. 9). 26) is determined, and if there is, only the application selected and activated in step 51 is activated (in the example of FIGS. 8 and 9, only the printer application 24 is activated). End the process.

If there is no application that has not been selected for activation in step 50 or an application that has not been registered to be activated, all applications are activated in step 52, and the process ends.
That is, as a normal startup process, the CPU 3 develops and executes the OS 22 on the RAM 6 by the BIOS 21 process, and after the OS 22 operates and shifts to the control by the OS 22 process, the CPU 3 performs the composite process by the OS 22 process. All the applications of the main program of the machine and other programs are sequentially activated, and this process is terminated.
In step 53, the CPU 3 displays a message indicating that the MFP cannot be started up on the operation unit 7 by the processing of the OS 22, and proceeds to step 54. The CPU 3 stops the operation of the MFP by the processing of the OS 22. Then, this process ends.

In the case of the processing shown in FIG. 6, if there is an application that has not been selected for activation in step 25, normal activation may not be possible due to an application that has not been selected for activation at the time of restart.
Therefore, a table as shown in FIG. 8 is held in the multi-function peripheral, and “1” is entered for the application selected for activation in step 25, and “0” is entered for the application not selected for activation.
FIG. 8 shows that the printer application 24 and the FAX application 26 are activated and selected.
Also, even if the application is selected for activation in step 25, if there is an application that cannot be recovered by initialization of the storage medium, it cannot be normally activated at the next activation.

Therefore, the table as shown in FIG. 9 is held in the multi-function peripheral, and “1” is entered for an application that cannot be started even when the activation is confirmed again after the storage medium is initialized in step 34.
Here, all the initial values of the table shown in FIG. 9 are set to “0”.
The flag example in the table shown in FIG. 9 indicates that the FAX application 26 could not be recovered.
In the process shown in FIG. 7, it is determined in step 50 that the application shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 is referred to during normal startup and the application is not selected for startup (scanner application 25 in the example of FIG. 8) or cannot be started. If there is a registered application (FAX application 26 in the example of FIG. 9), only the application that has been selected to be activated in step 51 and that cannot be activated is activated (the printer application 24 in the examples of FIGS. 8 and 9). only).

However, in this case, even when the recovery is completed by exchanging the device (storage medium), the application is not activated by the application activation selection information (FIG. 8) or the application activation availability information (FIG. 9) stored on the table. Will continue.
Therefore, after the device is replaced, it is started once in the recovery mode. In step 42, the application start selection information (FIG. 8) and the application start enable / disable information (FIG. 9) are cleared. In step 43, the transition to normal start is selected. By doing so, it becomes possible to start all applications by normal startup.
At this time, in the processing of step 42, it is assumed that the application activation selection information (FIG. 8) is all “1” and the application activation permission information (FIG. 9) is all “0”.

In this way, a normal startup cannot be prevented by a storage medium that has not been initialized at the time of recovery startup.
In addition, all applications can be activated after recovery by replacement of the storage medium.
Furthermore, if some applications are not activated due to the initialization of the storage medium, normal activation becomes possible upon restart.

  The image forming apparatus, the failure recovery method of the image forming apparatus, and the program according to the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus including a multi-function machine that performs a plurality of functions including a printer, a copy, a facsimile, and a scanner.

1: Controller 2: ASIC 3: CPU 4: HDD 5: ROM 6: RAM 7: Operation unit 8: Scanner unit 9: FAX unit 10: Engine unit 20: Software group 21: BIOS 22: OS 23: Copy application 24: Printer application 25: Scanner application 26: FAX application 30: SRM 31: ECS 32: MCS 33: OCS 34: FCS 35: NCS 36: SCS

JP 2003-84956 A

Claims (8)

Main program start determination means for determining whether or not a main program providing an essential function can be started;
Other program start determination means for determining whether other programs other than the main program can be started,
Dependent medium initialization means for initializing a storage medium on which the other programs depend ;
An activation method determination means for determining whether normal activation or recovery activation;
Starting program selection means for selecting a program to be started from the other programs,
If it is determined that the main program activation determining means can be activated and the other program activation determining means determines that the activation is impossible, the dependent medium initialization means for the other programs determined to be impossible to activate the execution,
When it is determined that the activation is determined by the activation method determination unit and the main program activation determination unit determines that the activation is possible, the other program activation determination unit is executed for the program selected by the activation program selection unit. An image forming apparatus comprising: executing the dependent medium initialization unit for a program for which the determination result is determined to be unstartable. A recovery startup state notifying means for notifying that it is in the recovery startup state, and a startup state changing means for changing from the recovery startup state to the normal startup state;
The recovery activation state notifying unit is executed when the activation method determination unit determines that the recovery activation is started, and when the execution request of the activation state changing unit is input, the activation state changing unit is executed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 . An activation unselected program information holding unit for registering and holding information of a program not selected by the activation program selecting unit is provided;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information by the start unselected program information holding means at the next startup is characterized by starting the program that have not been retained. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein when the activation method determination unit determines that the activation is recovery, the information held by the activation unselected program information holding unit is deleted. After the execution of initialization by the dependent medium initialization unit, the other program activation determination unit is executed again, and a non-startable program information holding unit for registering and holding information of a program determined to be still unbootable is provided,
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 next startup the startup impossible program information holding means non-bootable program information is held by the is characterized in that it does not start. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein when the activation method determining unit determines that the recovery is started, the information held by the non-startable program information holding unit is erased. A main program start determination step for determining whether or not a main program providing essential functions can be started; and another program start determination step for determining whether other programs other than the main program can be started; A dependent medium initializing step for initializing a storage medium on which the other program depends, a starting method determining step for determining whether normal starting or recovery starting, and a starting program for selecting a program to be started from the other programs When it is determined that the program can be started by the selection step and the main program start determination step, and the other program start determination step determines that the start is impossible, the dependence on the other program determined to be unstartable and performing a medium initialization process, and recovery activated by the activation method determination step determines And when the main program start determination step determines that the program can be started, the other program start determination step is executed for the program selected by the start program selection step, and the determination result is determined to be unbootable. A failure recovery method for an image forming apparatus, comprising the step of executing the dependency medium initialization step on the recorded program . Main program start determination procedure for determining whether or not a main program providing essential functions to the computer can be started, and other program start determination for determining whether other programs other than the main program can be started Select a procedure, a dependent medium initialization procedure for initializing a storage medium on which the other program depends, a startup method determination procedure for determining whether normal startup or recovery startup, and a program to be started from the other programs When it is determined that the program can be started by the startup program selection procedure and the main program startup determination procedure, and when it is determined that startup is not possible by the other program startup determination procedure, for other programs that are determined to be unbootable and instructions for performing the dependency medium initialization procedure Te, depending on the activation method determination procedure If it is determined that the program is to be restored and is determined to be able to be activated by the main program activation determination procedure, the other program activation determination procedure is executed for the program selected by the activation program selection procedure, and the determination result is activated. A program for causing a program determined to be impossible to execute a procedure for executing the dependent medium initialization procedure .

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