JP2006344022A - Equipment and program starting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To speed up starting speed of a program which is recorded in a recording medium access speed of which is relatively low. <P>SOLUTION: The equipment is one for realizing a specified function by starting a program stored in a first recording medium and has: a position information recording means for recording position information dependent on the first recording medium of the program in a second recording medium provided with the equipment; and a program read means for reading the program from the first recording medium on the basis of the position information recorded in the second recording medium in starting the program. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a device and a program activation method, and more particularly to a device that realizes a predetermined function by activating a program recorded on a recording medium having a relatively low access speed and a program activation method in the device.

With the recent increase in functionality of digital copiers, the program size used in digital copiers has increased, and large-capacity ROM has been mounted. However, the cost of ROM is higher than that of RAM, and the cost per bit is higher than that of hard disks, SD memory cards, and the like. Therefore, the cost of the digital copying machine is reduced by starting the program from a memory card such as an SD memory card instead of the ROM (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-6-105039 JP-A-6-348504 JP 2002-82810 A

  However, the memory card has a drawback that the reading speed is lower than that of the ROM. Therefore, there is a problem that the program recorded on the memory card requires more startup time than the program recorded on the ROM. In general, since the program recorded on the memory card is started when the copying machine is started, an increase in the starting time of each program leads to an increase in the starting time as the copying machine.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a device and a program activation method capable of increasing the activation speed of a program recorded on a recording medium having a relatively low access speed.

Therefore, in order to solve the above problem, the present invention is a device that realizes a predetermined function by starting a program stored in a first recording medium,
Position information recording means for recording position information dependent on the first recording medium of the program on a second recording medium included in the device;
Program reading means for reading the program from the first recording medium based on the position information recorded on the second recording medium when the program is activated.

  Moreover, in order to solve the said subject, this invention is good also as the program starting method in the said apparatus.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the apparatus and program starting method which can raise the starting speed of the program recorded on the recording medium with comparatively low access speed can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment of the present invention, an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, or a multifunction peripheral will be described as a specific example of the device.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a boot flash memory (FROM) 12, a memory controller 14, a RAM 15, an operation panel controller 16, and a printer, which are mutually connected by a bus B. The engine 19, the scanner 20, the network interface 21, and the like, the input device 17, the display device 18, and the like are included.

  The CPU 11 performs processing control in the image forming apparatus 10. The boot FROM 12 is a flash memory that stores a boot program that is executed first when the image forming apparatus 10 is powered on. The memory controller 14 controls the memory card 13 attached to the image forming apparatus 10. The memory card 13 is a recording medium in which programs for realizing various functions in the image forming apparatus 10 are stored. In addition to a memory card such as an SD memory card, an HD (hard disk) may be used.

  The RAM 15 is a RAM that realizes a memory area for executing programs, storing images, or editing images. The input device 17 is a device for inputting an instruction from a user such as a key. The display device 18 is a device such as a liquid crystal display that displays various types of information. The operation panel controller 16 controls an operation panel including the input device 17 and the display device 18. The printer engine 19 outputs an image to be printed or copied. The scanner 20 is a scanner for reading an image. The network interface 21 is used as an interface for connecting the image forming apparatus 10 to a network.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of information stored in the boot FROM in the embodiment of the present invention.

  The boot FROM 12 is mapped to the activation start address of the CPU 11, and the boot program 141 is stored at the activation address. The boot FROM 12 also stores respective files in which a start flag 142, device configuration information 143, read history 144, serial number 145, and the like are recorded. The meaning and use of these various types of information will be described later.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of information stored in the memory card according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The memory card 13 (such as an HD or SD memory card) is configured by a general file system such as FAT (File Allocation Table). Various control programs (system program 131, display control program 132, copy control program 133, scanner control program 134, FAX control program 135, printer control program 136, network control program 137, etc.) are stored on this file system. Since the storage location of each file is managed by logical information by the file system, the storage location is arbitrary.

  Hereinafter, a processing procedure of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure when the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment is started. Note that the processing in FIG. 4 and the like is realized by the CPU 11 executing various programs.

When the activation instruction of the image forming apparatus 10 is given by the user, the boot program 141 stored in the boot FROM 12 indicates whether the value of the activation flag 142 in the boot FROM 12 is “normal” or “high speed”. Is checked to determine whether or not the reading history 144 can be used (S101).
That is, the activation flag 142 is flag information for identifying the activation mode, and the value can be “normal” or “high speed”. “Normal” refers to a mode in which processing for shortening the startup time of the image forming apparatus 10 is not executed. “High speed” refers to a mode in which the startup time of the image forming apparatus 10 is shortened by using the reading history 144. The initial value of the activation flag 142 is “normal”.

  Therefore, when the image forming apparatus 10 is activated for the first time, it is determined that the value of the activation flag 142 is “normal” (YES in S102), and normal activation is executed.

  In normal startup, first, the current device configuration is checked by acquiring the configuration information of the image forming apparatus 10, specifically, the configuration information of devices (plotter, scanner, FAX, etc.) connected to the image forming apparatus 10. (S103). Subsequently, a program corresponding to the configuration of the image forming apparatus 10, that is, a control program necessary for controlling a device determined to be connected to the image forming apparatus 10 is transmitted via the file system of the memory card 13. Is loaded into the RAM 15 (S104). Here, since the file system is shared, each control program is identified by geographical information that does not depend on the memory card 13, such as a path name on the file system.

  Subsequently, physical position information depending on the memory card 13 of each control program read from the memory card 13, specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, a sector number (sector NO) and a load destination RAM 15. The address information is read and written in the boot FROM 14 as a history 144 (S105).

  Subsequently, the device configuration information acquired in step S103 is written in the boot FROM 143 as device configuration information 143 (S106). As shown in FIG. 4, the device configuration information 143 is configured by information indicating whether or not a device relating to each function such as a plotter, a scanner, a FAX, or a network is installed.

  When the writing of the reading history 144 and the writing of the device configuration information 143 are completed, the value of the activation flag 142 is rewritten to “high speed” (S107). Thereafter, various control programs loaded in the RAM 15 are executed (S108).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S102 that the activation flag 142 is “high speed” (NO in S102), that is, if the above-described series of normal activation processing is executed at least once, it is written in the boot FROM 14. The device configuration information 143 is acquired (S109), and the device configuration indicated by the acquired device configuration information 143 (that is, the device configuration at the previous activation) is compared with the current device configuration (S110).

  If the two match (YES in S110), the various control programs on the memory card 13 read the sector number (transfer source) written in the read history 144 and the address (transfer destination) in the RAM 15 without going through the file system. ), The data is loaded from the memory card 13 to the RAM 15 at a high speed by DMA transfer (S111) and activated (S108). Therefore, in this case, the image forming apparatus 10 is started up at high speed.

  On the other hand, if they do not match in step S110, the device configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 has changed. For example, there is a case where a FAX device is added later as an option. In this case, a program for controlling the newly added device must also be activated. Therefore, the normal activation after step S103 is executed instead of the high-speed activation using the reading history 144. At this time, the reading history 144 and the device configuration information 143 are updated to new information (S105, S106). Therefore, if there is no change in the device configuration, it is possible to perform high-speed startup next time with the reading history 144.

  By the way, when various control programs on the memory card 13 are updated (rewritten), the physical position information and size of each control program on the memory card 13 and the transfer destination to the RAM 15 change. If high-speed activation is performed in this state, a mismatch may occur between the read history 144 and the physical position information of each control program in the actual memory card 13, and each control program may not be normally activated at high speed. There is. A process for preventing the occurrence of such a situation is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure when the control program on the memory card is updated.

  First, the value of the activation flag 142 in the boot FROM 12 is rewritten to “normal” (S121). Subsequently, the control program to be updated is updated on the memory card 13 (S122).

  Thereafter, the image forming apparatus 10 may be rebooted (restarted). By doing so, the activation after the reboot becomes the normal activation, and the registration of the reading history 144 and the device configuration information 143 is performed again. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid an illegal operation of high-speed startup due to the update of the control program.

  As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 10 in the first embodiment, each position of the control program stored in the memory card 13 is stored in the boot FROM 12 having a high reading speed without passing through the file system. The physical position information that can identify the control program is stored. Therefore, based on the position information (read history 144) stored in the boot FROM 12, it is possible to speed up the reading process of the control program stored in the memory card 13 having a relatively low access speed, and hence the starting process. Therefore, it is possible to ensure the high-speed startup process of the image processing apparatus 10 while storing the program that occupies most of the software that causes the image forming apparatus 10 to function in the inexpensive memory card 13, thereby reducing the cost and the startup time. It is possible to achieve both.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described. For example, when the memory card 13 is broken and the memory card 13 is replaced, there is no guarantee that the contents of the memory card 13 are the same as those before replacement. Therefore, there is a possibility that the contents of the read history 144 in the boot FROM 12 do not match the contents of the memory card 13 after replacement. Therefore, in the second embodiment, an example will be described in which the image processing apparatus 10 appropriately executes the startup process even when the memory card 13 is replaced.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure when the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment is started. In FIG. 6, the same parts as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

  In the second embodiment, information (for example, serial number 145) for uniquely identifying each memory card 13 is stored in the boot FROM 12.

  In FIG. 6, when it is normal activation (YES in S102), the serial number (serial No.) of the memory card 13 is read (S201) and written as the serial number 145 in the boot FROM 12 (S202).

If it is not normal startup (NO in S102), the serial number of the memory card 13 is read (S203) and compared with the serial number 145 of the boot FROM 12 (S204). In addition,
Since the serial number of the memory card 13 is usually provided with means for reading out the serial number for each device, it may be read using such means. If no means for reading the serial number is provided, a reserved (unused) area defined in the device of the normal FAT file system may be used. That is, an arbitrary number may be written in advance in this reserved area and used instead of the serial number.

  If the two serial numbers match (YES in S204), it is determined that the previous and current memory cards 13 are the same, and the process proceeds to step S109 to execute processing for high-speed startup as described in FIG. To do.

  If the serial numbers do not match (NO in S204), it is determined that the memory card 13 has been replaced or is different from the previous one, and a new serial number 145 is written in the boot FROM 12 (S202). Execute normal startup processing. Therefore, the reading history 144 of the boot FROM 12 is rewritten with information based on the new memory card 13 (S105).

  As described above, according to the image processing apparatus 10 in the second embodiment, even when the memory card 13 is broken and the memory card 13 is replaced, the memory is based on the serial number stored in the boot FROM 12. The replacement of the card 13 can be detected, and it is possible to prevent an erroneous activation process from being executed based on the read history 144 that is inconsistent with the memory card 13 that is actually being used.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to the specific embodiment which concerns, In the range of the summary of this invention described in the claim, various deformation | transformation * It can be changed.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the information stored in the FROM for boot in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the information stored in the memory card in embodiment of this invention. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure when the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment is started. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process sequence when update generate | occur | produces in the control program on a memory card. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure when the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment is started.

Explanation of symbols

10 Image forming apparatus 11 CPU
12 FROM FROM
13 Memory Card 14 Memory Controller 15 RAM
16 Operation Panel Controller 17 Input Device 18 Display Device 19 Printer Engine 20 Scanner 21 Network Interface 131 System Program 132 Display Control Program 133 Copy Control Program 134 Scanner Control Program 135 Fax Control Program 136 Printer Control Program 137 Network Control Program 141 Boot Program 142 Start Flag 143 Device configuration information 144 Reading history 145 Serial number B Bus

Claims (7)

A device that realizes a predetermined function by starting a program stored in a first recording medium,
Position information recording means for recording position information dependent on the first recording medium of the program on a second recording medium included in the device;
An apparatus comprising: a program reading unit that reads the program from the first recording medium based on the position information recorded on the second recording medium when the program is activated. The position information recording means records the position information of the program corresponding to the configuration of the device among the programs stored in the first recording medium on the second recording medium,
Device configuration information recording means for recording on the second recording medium device configuration information for identifying the configuration of the device when the position information recording unit records the position information;
Device configuration comparing means for comparing the configuration of the device at the time of starting the program and the configuration of the device based on the device configuration information recorded in the second recording medium;
When the comparison by the device configuration comparison unit does not match, the position information recording unit is configured to display the position information recorded on the second recording medium according to the configuration of the device at the time of starting the program. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is updated according to position information. The device configuration information recording means identifies the device configuration information recorded on the second recording medium when the comparison by the device configuration comparison means does not match, and identifies the configuration of the device at the time of starting the program 3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the device is updated according to device configuration information. Flag information recording means for recording predetermined flag information on the second recording medium when the position information recording means records the position information;
The said program reading means judges the availability of the said positional information recorded on said 2nd recording medium according to the value of the said flag information, The Claim 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. machine. 5. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising flag information changing means for changing a value of the predetermined flag information in accordance with a change in a program stored in the first recording medium. Medium identification information recording means for recording identification information of the first recording medium when the position information recording means records the position information on the second recording medium;
Medium identification information comparing means for comparing the identification information of the first recording medium at the time of starting the program and the identification information of the first recording medium recorded on the second recording medium; ,
The position information recording means stores the position information recorded on the second recording medium in the first recording medium at the time of starting the program when the comparison by the medium identification information comparing means does not match. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is updated according to the position information of the program being executed. A program activation method in a device that realizes a predetermined function by activating a program stored in a first recording medium,
A position information recording procedure for recording position information dependent on the first recording medium of the program on a second recording medium included in the device;
A program starting method comprising: a program reading procedure for reading the program from the first recording medium based on the position information recorded on the second recording medium when the program is started.

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