JPH11327806A - Disk controller and picture processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily restore data destroyed in a magnetic storage device without reducing electronic sorting output capability. SOLUTION: A magnetic storage device 4 has a high processing speed area having a processing speed higher than a data processing speed required by a picture output device 3 and a low processing speed area whose processing speed is low. A storage area for electronic sorting and a storage area for additional picture data are set in the high processing speed area. Backup data of additional picture data is stored in the low processing speed area. When additional picture data stored in the high processing speed area is destroyed in such a constitution, backup data stored in the low processing speed area is transferred to a buffer memory 5 through a video data switch device 2, is transferred to a magnetic storage device 4 from the buffer memory 5 through the video data switch device 2 and is stored in the high processing speed area.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disk control device for controlling a disk device for storing data, and an image processing device for processing image data stored in the disk device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, magnetic storage devices have been used as large-capacity external storage devices such as facsimile machines and digital copiers as the capacity and speed of magnetic storage devices can be increased. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-15281
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 4 (1999) -2004, there is a digital copying machine that performs sorting using a large-capacity magnetic storage device. Since a magnetic storage device has a lower data processing speed than a semiconductor memory, it outputs a certain amount of data in a certain time, such as a copier or a printer, as disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, that is, a data processing speed higher than a certain When a magnetic storage device is used in a system requiring the above, it is necessary to use a magnetic storage device having a processing speed higher than the required processing speed.

Meanwhile, a cylindrical magnetic storage device represented by a hard disk has an area with a high processing speed (outer peripheral side) and an area with a low processing speed (inner peripheral side). JP-A-9-231010 and JP-A-6-3
Japanese Patent No. 25490 discloses that in a system that requires a processing speed higher than a predetermined value as described above, when a magnetic storage device is used, an available area on a hard disk, that is, an area having a processing speed higher than a predetermined value is used. A system for selective use is disclosed. In these apparatuses, an area having a low processing speed was not used.

On the other hand, there have been developed apparatuses such as copying machines for combining and outputting an additional image such as a company logo on a read original. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-239264 discloses a copying machine that reads additional image data such as a company logo and document characteristics from a floppy disk, and combines the read additional image data with image data read by a scanner to output the combined image data. It has been disclosed.

Further, an electronic sort function as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-152814,
A copying machine having a composite image forming function as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 9264 has been proposed. In such a copying machine, if a storage area for electronic sorting and an additional image data storage area are set in the above-described magnetic storage apparatus, it is necessary to provide a device such as a floppy disk device for reading the additional image data. Therefore, the configuration can be simplified.

[0006]

In a copying machine having the above-described electronic sort function and composite image forming function, a storage area for electronic sort and an additional image data storage area are set in a magnetic storage device. It is conceivable to keep it.
With this configuration, it is not necessary to provide a device such as a floppy disk device for reading the additional image data, and the configuration can be simplified. However, when the additional image data is stored in the magnetic storage device as described above and the additional image data is destroyed for some reason, it is necessary to read the document of the additional image and store it again in the magnetic storage device. Therefore, it is difficult to restore the additional image data when there is no document of the additional image at hand.

[0007] In preparation for the case where the data stored in the magnetic storage device is destroyed as described above, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-119926 has been proposed.
The publication discloses a method of storing the same data in several places in the same magnetic storage device, but it is not possible to store additional image data randomly and in several places in the magnetic storage device. This will reduce the storage capacity of other data. In a system such as a copying machine that requires a data transfer rate higher than a predetermined rate, the usable area of the magnetic storage device may be limited, and the reduction of the data storage capacity becomes a problem. In such a copying machine, the number of documents that can be electronically sorted is reduced.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and effectively utilizes an area having a data transfer rate equal to or higher than a predetermined rate in a disk device, and has an area having a data transfer rate equal to or higher than a predetermined rate. It is an object of the present invention to provide a disk control device and an image processing device that can easily restore the destroyed data even when the data stored in the disk drive is destroyed.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a disk control apparatus according to the present invention comprises a first storage area capable of transferring data at a predetermined speed or more, And a second storage area capable of transferring data, wherein the apparatus transfers input data to the first storage area and stores backup data of the data in the second storage area.
And a transfer unit for transferring the data to the storage area.

According to this disk control device, when data is input from the outside, the transfer means stores the data in the first storage area and transfers the backup data to the second storage area. You. For example,
When a disk device controlled by the disk control device is used in a system that requires a data transfer rate equal to or higher than a predetermined rate, in this system, data stored in the first storage area of the disk device is normally used. used. If the data stored in the first storage area is destroyed for any reason, the data can be restored to the first storage area based on the backup data stored in the second storage area.

In the disk control device having the above-mentioned configuration, the disk control device may further include a restoring means for restoring data in the first storage area based on the backup data stored in the second storage area. Is also good. With this configuration, even if the data stored in the first storage area is destroyed for some reason, the restoration unit can store the first storage area based on the backup data stored in the second storage area. Can be automatically restored.

Further, in the disk control device having the above configuration, the first storage area includes a first data storage area for temporarily storing first data, and a second data storage area for storing second data. And the transfer means comprises:
When the data amount of the first data exceeds the capacity of the first data storage area, the excess portion may be transferred to the second data storage area.

According to this disk control device, the first data to be temporarily stored is stored in the first data storage area,
The second storage data is stored in the second data storage area, that is, the data to be temporarily stored and the area to store the other data are separately stored. When the capacity of the first data exceeds the capacity of the first data storage area, the excess is overwritten on the second data storage area. When the first data becomes unnecessary, the writing unit can restore the second data in the second data storage area based on the backup data stored in the second storage area. Therefore,
Although the first storage area has an area for storing the second data in addition to the first data, the maximum capacity capable of storing the first data may be set as the capacity of the first storage area. it can. That is, when using a disk device having the same storage capacity, an area for storing the second data can be provided without reducing the capacity capable of storing the first data.

Further, in the disk control device having the above-mentioned configuration, the disk device is a cylindrical hard disk, the first storage area is an outer peripheral area of the hard disk, and the second storage area is It may be an area on the inner circumference side of the hard disk.

Due to the structure of the hard disk, the data transfer rate on the inner peripheral side is low and the data transfer rate on the outer peripheral side is high. Therefore, when used at a data transfer rate higher than a predetermined rate, the area on the inner peripheral side cannot be used in some cases. However, in the present invention, by storing the backup data in this area, the hard disk can be used more efficiently.

The image processing apparatus according to the present invention is capable of transferring data at a predetermined speed or higher, and has a first image data storage area for temporarily storing first image data; And a second image data storage area for storing second image data, and data of less than the predetermined rate can be transferred,
A disk device having a third storage area for storing backup data of the second image data; extracting the first and second image data from the storage device; A synthesizing circuit for generating, and a transfer unit for transferring, when the data capacity of the input first image data exceeds the first image data storage area, the excess portion to the second image data storage area. After the transfer of the first image data to the second image data storage area by the transfer means, based on the backup data stored in the third storage area, the second image data storage area And restoring means for restoring the second image data.

According to this image processing apparatus, since the first image data storage area for temporarily storing the first image data is provided, the input image data is temporarily stored and then output. Electronic sort output is possible. In addition, since the image processing apparatus includes a combining circuit having combined image data by combining the second image data and the first image data, it is possible to output a combined image. When electronic sort output is performed, when first image data exceeding the capacity of the first image data storage area, that is, data for electronic sort is input, the excess is overwritten on the second image data storage area. I do. Then, after outputting the first image data,
The restoration unit can restore the second image data based on the backup data stored in the third storage area. As a result, a subsequent synthesized image can be output.
Therefore, according to this image processing apparatus, it is possible to output a composite image without increasing the storage capacity of the disk device, and to reduce the maximum data storage capacity for electronic sorting.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. A. First, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a digital copying machine having a disk control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this digital copying machine includes an image input device 1, a video data switching device 2, an image output device 3, a magnetic storage device (disk device) 4, a buffer memory 5, a CPU (central Processing device) 6 and NVM
(Non-volatile memory) 7 and user interface 8
And

The image input device 1 is an image reading device such as a scanner, reads a document to be read, generates read image data, and outputs the read image data to the video data switching device 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, a video data switching device 2 has an input terminal 2 to which data is input from an image input device 1, a magnetic storage device 4, and a buffer memory 5, respectively.
1, 22, and 23. The video data switching device 2 has an output terminal 2 for outputting data to the image output device 3, the magnetic storage device 4, and the buffer memory 5, respectively.
4, 25, 26.

The image data supplied to the input terminal 21 and the image data supplied to the input terminal 22 are independently supplied to the two input terminals of the selector 28,
7, and supplied to the other input terminal of the selector 28. The selector 28 selects and outputs the image data supplied to any one of the three input terminals. Here, the image data supplied to the input terminal 22 is supplied to the buffer memory via the output terminal 26.
The image data read from the buffer memory is supplied to one input terminal of the selector 30 via the input terminal 23. The image data supplied to the input terminal 21 is supplied to the other input terminal of the selector 30. Any image data is selected by the selector 30, and the selected image data is output to the magnetic storage device 4 via the output terminal 25.

Returning to FIG. 1, the image output device 3 is, for example, an image forming device having a photosensitive drum or the like, and based on image data input from the output terminal 24 of the video data switching device 2, paper or OHP. Output image to sheet.

The magnetic storage device 4 is connected to the video data switching device 2 via an input terminal 22 and an output terminal 25 (see FIG. 2), and can store data input from the video data switching device 2. The storage device is capable of outputting stored data to the video data switching device 2.

The buffer memory 5 is connected through an input terminal 23 and an output terminal 26 (see FIG. 2) of the video data switching device 2 so that data input from the video data switching device 22 can be stored. It is possible to output the stored data to the video data switching device 2. Here, the buffer memory 5 has a capacity larger than the amount of data that can be read or written from the magnetic storage device 4 at one time, whereby the buffer memory 5 is transferred from the magnetic storage device 4 via the video data switching device 2. It is possible to write input data. Further, data transferred from the buffer memory 5 to the magnetic storage device 4 can be written to the magnetic storage device 4.

The CPU 6 is connected to the image input device 1, the video data switching device 2, the image output device 3, the magnetic storage device 4, the buffer memory 5, the NVM 7, and the user interface 8 via the bus 10. It controls each component. NVM7 is CPU6
Is a rewritable nonvolatile memory, and stores a basic program and the like for controlling the image processing apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 3, the user interface 8 has a display panel 111 and operation keys 112 such as numeric keys and a start key. By pressing the operation key 112, the user can instruct the start of a copying operation, and can specify the number of copies to be copied in the electronic sorting described later.

B. Operation B-1. Prerequisites Next, the operation of the digital copying machine having the disk control device according to the present embodiment will be described. Prior to that, the prerequisites of the present embodiment will be described. Note that this precondition is one example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

In this embodiment, the image output device 3
Is A per minute at a resolution of 600 dpi (dot per inch).
It is possible to output about 30 sheets of four sizes. In the image output device 3 having such a capability, a data input of 14 M pixels / second is usually required, and assuming that one pixel has two values (= 1 bit), a data input of 1.75 M bytes / second is required. . The image input device 1
It is necessary to output image data in synchronization with the image output device 3 described above, and has a data output capability of 1.75 Mbytes / sec.

As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment,
The magnetic storage device 4 is a disk device having four zones (in order from the outer periphery, zone 1, zone 2, zone 3, and zone 4). In such a cylindrical disk device, the zone on the outer peripheral side has a higher sustained data transfer rate. In other words, the sustained data transfer rate of each zone is different, and in this disk device, zone 1 is 2.7 Mbytes / sec and zone 2 is 2.3 Mbytes / sec.
Seconds, zone 3 is 1.9 Mbytes / sec, zone 4 is 1.5
Assume a sustained data transfer rate of Mbytes / sec. Here, the sustained data transfer rate indicates the actual data transfer rate in a large sequential file, and the total data transfer amount is calculated from the start to the end of the data transfer including the time when a track and a cylinder are straddled. It is a number divided by time.

As shown in FIG. 5, a logical block address (hereinafter referred to as LBA) is assigned to each zone of the magnetic storage device 4. In the present embodiment, zone 1 is 00000000 to 0FFFFFFF (hexadecimal), and zone 2 is 100000 to 1FFFFFFF.
(Hexadecimal), zone 3 is 20000000-2FFF
FFFF (hexadecimal), zone 4 from 30000000
An LBA of 3FFFFFFFF (hexadecimal) is assigned. Note that X in the drawing indicates an arbitrary hexadecimal number.

B-2. Electronic Sorting Next, the operation of the digital copier including the disk control device according to the present embodiment will be described. This digital copying machine has an electronic sorting function and a combined image output function of combining a document such as a company logo and outputting an image. First, the operation of the electronic sorting in this digital copying machine will be described.

First, when the electronic sort operation is started and the first copy is output, the video data switching device 2 controls the CPU 6 to control the data input source to the image input device 1 and the data input source to output the first copy as shown in FIG. The output destination is connected to the image output device 3 and the magnetic storage device 4. In this state, the image input device 1 reads the original to generate read image data, and as described above, the image data is 1.75 Mbytes / byte.
The read image data is output to the video data switching device 2 at a transmission speed of seconds. The read image data output to the video data switching device 2 by the image input device 1 is input from the video data switching device 2 to the image output device 3. The image output device 3 sequentially forms an image on a sheet based on the input read image data.

At the same time, the read image data output from the image input device 1 to the video data switching device 2 is output from the video data switching device 2 to the magnetic storage device 4.
In the magnetic storage device 4, the input read image data is written for each document read by the image input device 1 from the LBA00000000 in the zone on the outer peripheral side, that is, the zone 1 having the highest sustained data transfer rate. At this time,
As shown in FIG. 7, the display panel 111 of the user interface 8 indicates that “electronic sort is being read”,
“Page XX” and “remaining memory capacity = a%” are displayed.

Here, when an original of A4 size and 600 dpi is read, the data amount of one original is about 4.5 Mbytes, and each page of the original is stored in the magnetic storage device 4 as shown in FIG. Is written to each zone. As described above, the data transmission speed of the image input device 1 and the data transmission speed output to the image output device 3 are 1.7.
5 Mbytes / sec, and the sustained data transfer rate of the zone 4 in the magnetic storage device 4 is 1.5 Mbytes / sec. Therefore, the read image data of the document read by the image input device 1 can be stored and the data can be output to the image output device 3 in zones 1 to 3 (first storage area).
And zone 4 (second storage area) cannot be used. Therefore, when reading an A4 size document of 600 dpi, the number of documents that can be stored in the magnetic storage device 4 is 170. The remaining memory capacity a (%) displayed on the display panel 111 is calculated by: a = used memory capacity / storage capacity of zones 1 to 3 * 100, and storage capacity of zones 1 to 3 Is 2FF
FFFFF (hexadecimal), that is, 805306368 bytes.

After the output of the first copy is completed as described above,
That is, the read image data of all the originals is stored in the magnetic storage device 4.
9, the video data switching device 2 is connected under the control of the CPU 6 such that the data input source is the magnetic storage device 4 and the data output destination is the image output device 3, as shown in FIG. You. Then, the read image data written in the magnetic storage device 4 is output to the image output device 3 via the video data switching device 2, whereby an image is sequentially formed on a sheet. After the third copy, the same operation as the second copy is performed, and the same operation is repeated until the number of copies specified by the user.

B-3. Output of Composite Image Next, the operation of the digital copying machine when outputting a composite image will be described. Here, “combined image output” refers to combining an additional image, such as a company logo, with an image of the read document when the document is read and copied onto a sheet.

B-3-1. Storage of Additional Image Data When outputting a composite image, it is necessary to store additional image data to be composited, in the above case, additional image data such as a company logo in the magnetic storage device 4. When storing the additional image data in the magnetic storage device 4, FIG.
As shown in (1), under the control of the CPU 6, the video data switching device 2 is connected so that the data input source is the image input device 1 and the data output destination is the magnetic storage device 4.

Then, the additional image data generated by the image input device 1 is output to the magnetic storage device 4 via the video data switching device 2, and the additional image data is stored in the magnetic storage device 4. Also in this case, since the sustained data transfer rate is required to be 1.75 Mbytes / second or more, the additional image data is stored in any of the zones 1 to 3. The additional image data need not be stored immediately before the formation of the composite image. Further, a plurality of types of additional image data may be stored in 14.
In this case, the user only has to select additional image data via the user interface 8 when outputting the composite image. Further, additional image data may be input from another image processing device and stored in the magnetic storage device 4.

B-3-2. Synthesized Image Output After the additional image data is stored in the magnetic storage device 4 and the user instructs to output a synthesized image via the user interface 8, the CPU outputs the synthesized image as shown in FIG.
Under the control of 6, the video data switching device 2 is connected to the image input device 1 and the magnetic storage device 4 as data input sources and to the image output device 3 as data output destinations. In this state, the read image data generated by reading the original from the image input device 1 and the additional image data stored in the magnetic storage device 4 are output to the video data switching device 2 in synchronization with each other, and the video data switching is performed. Synthesis circuit 2 of device 2
7 to generate composite image data. Then, the composite image data is output to the image output device 3,
The image output device 3 outputs an image to a sheet based on the composite image data.

B-4. Setting of Storage Capacity for Electronic Sorting and Storage Capacity for Additional Image Data As described above, this digital copying machine is provided with the functions of electronic sorting and composite image output, and the read image data for electronic sorting (first Data, first image data)
And additional image data (second data,
The second image data) is stored in one magnetic storage device 4. Thus, one magnetic storage device 4
The storage area for electronic sorting (first data storage area, first data storage area)
Image data storage area) and storage areas for additional image data (second data storage area, second image data storage area)
Is provided, there is no need to provide another external storage device such as a floppy disk, and the configuration can be simplified.

In the disk control device according to the present embodiment,
The user can set the capacity of the magnetic storage device 4 to store the read image data for electronic sorting and the additional image data for outputting the composite image via the user interface 8. For example, when the storage capacity of the read image data of the electronic sort is set to 70% and the additional image data for outputting the composite image is set to 30%, the setting contents are N
Stored in the VM 7. As shown in FIG. 12, the display panel 111 displays the capacity for electronic sorting and the capacity for additional combination set as shown. in this case,
2200 out of the zones 1 to 3 of the magnetic storage device 4
0000 (hexadecimal) bytes are an area for read image data for electronic sorting, and E0000 (hexadecimal) bytes are an area for additional image data for composite image output. As described above, since the user can set the capacity of the storage area for additional image data and the storage area for electronic sorting via the user interface 8, the storage area for additional image data is inadvertently increased. In addition, the capacity of the storage area for electronic sorting does not decrease. Therefore, the electronic sort output capability, that is, the number of sheets that can be electronically sorted and output, does not decrease unnecessarily.

After setting the storage capacity of the read image data for electronic sorting and the additional image data for composite image output in the magnetic storage device 4 in this manner, the storage capacity of the electronic sort or the storage of the additional image data is set. The display panel 111 displays the remaining memory capacity with respect to the storage capacity for electronic sorting in the magnetic storage device 4, and when additional image data is stored, displays the remaining memory capacity with respect to the storage capacity for composite image output in the magnetic storage device 4. It is supposed to be.

B-5. Backup and Recovery of Additional Image Data By the way, as described above, in the magnetic storage device 4.
Zone 4 having a sustained data transfer rate of less than 75 Mbytes / sec, that is, a data processing speed less than that required by image output device 3, was not used. In the disk control device according to the present embodiment,
The backup data of the additional image data described above is stored in the zone 4 of the magnetic storage device 4.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the case where backup and recovery of additional image data are performed in the digital copying machine. As shown in the figure, in step S131, the additional image data generated by the image input device 1 outputs the data to any one of the zones 1 to 3 in the magnetic storage device 4, that is, the image output device 3. It is stored in a possible area. In step S132, the CPU 6 sets the continuous data transfer rate of less than 1.75 Mbytes / sec requested from the zone 4 in the magnetic storage device 4, that is, the image output device 3 at an appropriate timing when the electronic sorting and the composite image output are not performed. The backup data is stored in the zone having the backup data.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 14, in the video data switching device 2, the data input source is the image input device 1 and the buffer memory 5, and the data output destination is the buffer memory 5 and the magnetic storage device 4. Connected. With this connection, the additional image data stored in any one of the zones 1 to 3 is transferred to the buffer memory 5 via the video data switching device 2. Then, the additional image data transferred to the buffer memory 5 is transferred again to the magnetic storage device 4 via the video data switching device 2. At this time, the re-transferred additional image data is stored in the zone 4 of the magnetic storage device 4. In this way, the additional image data stored in any one of the zones 1 to 3 in the magnetic storage device 4 is backed up in the zone 4 in the magnetic storage device 4.

After the backup of the additional image data in this way, the output of the composite image is started in step S133, and if a read error occurs in the magnetic storage device 4 in step S134, the CPU 6 causes the image input device 1 in step S135. Then, the image output device 3 is stopped. Thereafter, under the control of the CPU 6, the backup data stored in the zone 4 of the magnetic storage device 4 is transferred to the buffer memory 5 via the video data switching device 2 in step S136. Then, the transferred backup data is re-transferred from the buffer memory 5 to the magnetic storage device 4 via the video data switching device 2. At this time, the re-transferred backup data is in zones 1 to 3 in the magnetic storage device 4, that is, 1.75M required by the image output device 3.
It is stored as additional image data in any part of the zone having a sustained data transfer rate of bytes / second or more.
That is, the CPU 6 is a writing unit that restores the additional image data to any one of the zones 1 to 3 based on the backup data stored in the zone 4. And
Returning to step S133, the composite image output operation is started again. If a read error of the magnetic storage device 4 does not occur in step S134, a normal composite image output operation is performed.

In the disk control device according to the present embodiment, not only the recovery when an error in reading the additional image data in the magnetic storage device 4 occurs as described above,
According to the processing procedure shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, the recovery operation is performed also at the time of electronic sorting. In this case, as a precondition, it is necessary that the storage capacity for electronic sorting and the storage capacity for additional image data in the magnetic storage device 4 be set by the user.

As shown in FIG. 15, in step S151, a document is read by the image input device 1 and the image output device 3
, And the read image data is stored in the magnetic storage device 4. Then, step S15
If the capacity of the image data read by the image input device 1 exceeds the set storage capacity for electronic sorting in step 2,
In step 153, the NVM 7 is made to store that the area for storing additional image data in the magnetic storage device 4 is to be overwritten, and in step S154, the area for storing additional image data in the magnetic storage device 4 is overwritten with the read image data.

Thereafter, in step S155, the image output of the first copy by the image output device 3 and the storage of all read image data in the magnetic storage device 4 are completed. And FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the read image data stored in the magnetic storage device 4 in step S156 is sequentially output to the image output device 3, and the image output device 3 outputs an image.

In step S157, it is checked whether or not the image output for the number of copies set by the user has been performed. If the number of copies has not been reached, the process proceeds to step S156.
Return to On the other hand, if the image output for the set number of copies has been performed, in step S158, the fact that the read image data for electronic sorting has been overwritten in the area for storing the additional image data in the magnetic storage device 4 is stored in the NVM 7. The backup data stored in the zone 4 of the magnetic storage device 4 is transferred to the buffer memory 5 in step S159 and re-transferred to the magnetic storage device 4 again. Thereby, the additional image data is stored in the area for storing the additional image data in the magnetic storage device 4. When the additional image data is stored again in this manner, the storage in which the area for storing additional image data has been overwritten in step S160 is cleared.

As described above, according to the disk control device of this embodiment, the backup data of the additional image data can be output in synchronization with the zone 4 in the magnetic storage device 4, that is, the image output device 3. It is stored in an area that cannot be used. On the other hand, the storage area for electronic sorting and the storage area for additional image data need to be output in synchronization with the image output device 3, and therefore are provided in the portions of the magnetic storage device 4 up to zones 1 to 3. I have.
Therefore, backup data can be stored without reducing the storage capacity for electronic sorting and the storage capacity for additional image data. That is, if the additional image data stored in the magnetic storage device 4 is destroyed for some reason without reducing the number of documents that can be stored at the time of electronic sorting (170 sheets of A4 size in this embodiment). Also, the additional image data can be automatically restored.

Further, when the storage capacity for electronic sorting and the storage capacity for additional image data are set, when the capacity of the read image data at the time of electronic sorting exceeds the set storage capacity for electronic sorting, the additional capacity is set. The electronic sort output can be performed by overwriting the read image data in the image data storage area. After the completion of the electronic sort output, the additional image data can be restored to the additional image data storage area using the backup data. Therefore, the maximum electronic sort output capability has an area for storing the additional image data in the magnetic storage device 4 while having an area for storing the additional image data in the magnetic storage device 4 for performing the composite image output. No difference from the electronic sort output capability of the image processing device. That is, it is possible to output a composite image by using the additional image data stored in the magnetic storage device 4 while maintaining the electronic sort output capability.

C. Modified Example In the above-described embodiment, the image input device 1 is an image reading device such as a scanner.
Is not limited to an image reading apparatus that generates input image data from a read document, and may generate image data based on information input by a user via an input device such as a computer.

The magnetic storage device 4 is not limited to the above-mentioned cylindrical disk device, but may be any other storage device having two or more zones of different sustained data transfer rates. It is sufficient that the data transfer rate is higher than the data processing speed required of the image output device 3 and the other is lower than the data processing speed required of the image output device 3. In this case, the backup data of the additional image data may be stored in an area having a low data processing speed.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An area having a data transfer rate equal to or higher than a predetermined rate in a disk device is effectively utilized, and even if data stored in an area having a data transfer rate equal to or higher than a predetermined rate is destroyed, the destroyed data can be restored. It can be done easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital copying machine including a disk control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a video data switching device which is a component of the digital copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a user interface which is a component of the digital copying machine.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a magnetic storage device which is a component of the digital copying machine.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of the magnetic storage device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the output of the first copy in the electronic sorting operation.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the digital copying machine.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the output of the first copy in the electronic sorting operation.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the user interface.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a storage capacity of the magnetic storage device in an electronic sort operation.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the digital copying machine at the time of outputting the second copy and subsequent copies in the electronic sorting operation.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the digital copying machine when additional image data for outputting a composite image is stored.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the digital copying machine when outputting a composite image.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user interface when a storage capacity for electronic sorting and a storage capacity for the additional image data are set.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation of the digital copying machine when storing backup data of additional image data and a processing procedure of a recovery operation when the additional image data is destroyed.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining an operation of the digital copying machine when backup data of additional image data is stored in the magnetic storage device.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a recovery operation of additional image data at the time of electronic sorting.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a recovery operation of additional image data at the time of electronic sorting.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image input device, 2 ... Video data switching device, 3 ... Image output device, 4 ... Magnetic storage device (disk device), 5 ...
Buffer memory, 6 CPU, 7 NVM, 8 user interface, 27 synthesis circuit

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Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A disk drive comprising a first storage area capable of transferring data at a speed higher than a predetermined speed and a second storage area capable of transferring data at a speed lower than the predetermined speed. A disk control device, comprising: a transfer unit that transfers input data to the first storage area and transfers backup data of the data to the second storage area. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising restoring means for restoring data in said first storage area based on said backup data stored in said second storage area. Disk control unit. 3. The first storage area has a first data storage area for temporarily storing first data, and a second data storage area for storing second data. 3. The transfer unit according to claim 2, wherein the transfer unit transfers, when the data amount of the first data exceeds the capacity of the first data storage area, the excess portion to the second data storage area. Disk controller. 4. A first image data storage area for temporarily storing first image data, wherein a first image data storage area for temporarily storing first image data, and a data transfer at a speed equal to or higher than the predetermined speed are possible. A second image data storage area for storing second image data, and a third storage area capable of transferring data lower than the predetermined rate and storing backup data of the second image data. A combining device that extracts the first and second image data from the storage device and combines them to generate combined image data; and a data capacity of the input first image data. Transfer means for transferring the excess portion to the second image data storage area when the first image data storage area is exceeded; and storing the first image data in the second image data storage area by the transfer means. Restoring means for restoring the second image data in the second image data storage area based on the backup data stored in the third storage area after the image data is transferred. An image processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.