JP2009193379A - Image processing apparatus and starting method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus capable of increasing a speed in starting and a method for starting the image processing apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: At the end of operation, a present operation program including data used for the operation is extracted from a RAM and a boot image is prepared by a preparation means 11. The prepared boot image is written in an outer peripheral area 151 which can be accessed at a high speed in a hard disk 15 by a writing means 11. By using the written boot image, start of succeeding operation is performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus such as an image forming apparatus and a method for starting the apparatus.

  For example, an MFP (Multi Function Peripherals), which is a multifunction digital image forming apparatus having a copy function, a printer function, a FAX function, and the like, is required to increase the speed at startup as one of the apparatus performances.

  Conventionally, the image processing apparatus is activated as follows. That is, the CPU reads the boot program, initializes the hardware, expands the boot program compressed in the ROM into the RAM, and the CPU performs the boot process according to the boot program.

  However, as the number of functions of the image processing apparatus increases, the activation program tends to increase. If the compression rate is increased in order to reduce the ROM capacity, the activation process takes time, which is against the demand for higher speed.

Patent Document 1 specifies application software that is used infrequently, erases the application software that is used infrequently, and effectively secures a storage area that can be used for multi-function processing, thereby efficiently processing the application software. An image processing apparatus that can do this has been proposed.
JP 2001-92779 A

  However, although the image processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 secures a storage area by erasing application software that is not frequently used, no consideration has been given to speeding up the start-up process. It did not provide a solution to the problem of taking time.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a technical background, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus and a starting method of the apparatus that can increase the speed at the time of starting.

The above problem is solved by the following means.
(1) A RAM in which an operation program is stored, a boot image creation means for creating a boot image by taking out a current operation program including data used for the operation from the RAM at the end of the operation, and creating the boot image Writing means for writing the boot image created by the means to the outer peripheral area of the hard disk that can be accessed at high speed, and starting means for starting the next operation using the boot image written to the outer peripheral area of the hard disk And an image processing apparatus.
(2) The image processing apparatus according to item 1, wherein the boot image created by the boot image creating means and written in the outer peripheral area of the hard disk by the writing means is an uncompressed image.
(3) The image processing apparatus according to item 1 or 2, wherein the boot image writing area in the hard disk is used as a swap area after startup by the boot image.
(4) The image processing device according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein the boot image includes a program and / or a parameter that is frequently downloaded from a connected network device.
(5) The image processing apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein the boot image includes a program and / or a parameter that requires time to download from a connected network device.
(6) The image processing apparatus according to item 3, wherein the boot image writing area is used as a swap area when the capacity of the boot image writing area is a predetermined value or more.
(7) The image processing according to any one of the preceding items 1 to 6, wherein the use frequency of data used for the operation at the end of the operation is determined based on the history audit log data, and the frequently used data is written in the boot image. apparatus.
(8) The image processing apparatus according to item 7, wherein the use frequency of the application used for the operation at the end of the operation is determined based on the history audit log data, and the low-use application is written in the inner peripheral area of the hard disk.
(9) At the end of the operation, a step of creating a boot image by taking out the current operation program including data used for the operation from the RAM, and the created boot image in the outer peripheral area of the hard disk that can be accessed at high speed An image processing apparatus activation method comprising: a step of writing; and a step of starting the next operation using a boot image written in an outer peripheral area of the hard disk.

  According to the invention described in (1) above, at the end of the operation, a current operation program including data used for the operation is extracted from the RAM to create a boot image, and the created boot image is stored in the hard disk. Since the data is written in the outer peripheral area accessible at high speed, even if the boot image has a large size, it is possible to write in the outer peripheral area of the hard disk without the need to increase the compression rate as in the case of the ROM. At the next start-up, the boot image written in the hard disk can be used to quickly start up to the state at the end of the previous time.

  According to the invention described in item (2) above, since the boot image is an uncompressed image, the startup speed can be further increased.

  According to the invention described in item (3) above, the boot image writing area in the hard disk can be used as a swap area after booting with the boot image, so that the image processing performance can be improved.

  According to the invention described in item (4) above, since the boot image includes programs and / or parameters that are frequently downloaded from the connected network device, the programs and / or parameters are downloaded from the network device after startup. There is no need for downloading, and it is possible to eliminate the inconvenience that the time required to reach the target operation becomes longer depending on the traffic situation of the network and the situation of the server.

  According to the invention described in item (5) above, the boot image includes a program and / or parameters that require time to download from the connected network device. There is no need to download, and the inconvenience that the time until the target operation is reached can be solved.

  According to the invention described in item (6), when the swap area provided on the hard disk is narrowed by the boot image writing area, the boot image writing area can be used as the swap area.

  According to the invention described in the preceding item (7), it is possible to quickly start to a state where data such as frequently used applications can be used.

  According to the invention described in item (8), an application with low usage frequency is written in the inner peripheral area of the hard disk.

  According to the invention described in the preceding item (9), at the next start-up, the boot image written in the hard disk can be used to quickly start to the state at the end of the previous time.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The image processing apparatus 1 includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a scanner unit 14, a hard disk (HDD) 15, a printer unit 16, an operation panel 17, a network controller (N1C) 18, and the like.

  The CPU 11 performs overall control of the entire image forming apparatus 1. In particular, in this embodiment, when the operation of the image processing apparatus 1 ends, the current operation program including data used for the operation is extracted from the RAM and functions as a boot image creation means for creating a boot image. Functions as a writing means for writing the boot image written in the outer peripheral area of the hard disk 15 that can be accessed at high speed, and further functions as a starting means for starting up the next operation using the boot image written in the hard disk. .

  The ROM 12 is a memory for storing an operation program of the CPU 11 and the like. The RAM 13 is a memory that provides a work area when the CPU 11 executes an operation program.

  The scanner unit 14 reads an image of a document placed on a document table (not shown) and converts it into image data.

  The hard disk (HDD) 15 stores image data of a document read by the scanner unit 14, a history audit log, and the like. In this embodiment, the current operation including data used for the operation at the end of the operation. The aforementioned boot image created based on the program is stored. This point will be described later.

  The printer unit 16 prints image data of a document read by the scanner unit 14, print data from a user terminal, and the like according to an instructed mode.

  The operation panel 17 is used for various input operations or for displaying a screen, a message, and the like, and includes a key input unit such as a numeric keypad and a start key, and a display unit including a liquid crystal. .

  The network controller 18 controls communication with other network devices connected via a network.

  FIG. 2A is a graph showing the relationship between the area on the disk of the hard disk 15 and the transfer speed, and FIG. 2B is a plan view of the hard disk 15.

  2A, the left end portion of the graph corresponds to the outer edge portion of the hard disk 15, and the right side of the graph corresponds to the inner peripheral portion of the hard disk 15. As can be understood from FIG. 2A, the hard disk 15 has a high transfer rate on the outer peripheral side, and the transfer rate becomes slower toward the inner peripheral side. That is, the outer peripheral area 151 of the hard disk 15 indicated by a circle in FIG. 2A and indicated by a hatched line in FIG. 2B is the area with the highest transfer speed and accessible at high speed.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the boot image created at the end of the operation of the image processing apparatus 1 is written in this outer peripheral area. Of course, the hard disk 15 has a larger capacity than the ROM 12, and the outer peripheral area has a larger capacity. Therefore, even if the boot image size is large, it is not necessary to compress and write, and the hard disk 15 is written without compression.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an end preparation process at the end of image processing. Note that the processes shown in the flowcharts of FIG. 3 and subsequent figures are executed by the CPU 11 operating according to a program stored in the ROM 12 or the like.

  In step S01, the image processing data in the RAM 13 is terminated, and the application is terminated in step S02.

  Next, in step S03, it is determined whether or not the usage frequency of the application is high based on the history audit log data. If there is a certain usage frequency or more (YES in step S03), the process proceeds to step S05. If the usage frequency is low (NO in step S03), the application is written in the inner peripheral area of the hard disk 15 where the transfer rate is low in step S04, and then the process proceeds to step S05.

  In step S05, the current operation program including data such as the application used in the operation (when the frequency of use is high), parameters, settings, and the like is extracted from the RAM 13, and a boot image (start-up program image) is created. In particular, when the boot image includes a program and / or parameter that is frequently downloaded from the connected network device or a program and / or parameter that requires a long time to download from the connected network device. It is not necessary to download the program and / or parameters from the network device after the start-up, and it is possible to eliminate the inconvenience that it takes a long time to reach the target operation depending on the network traffic status and server status.

  Next, in step S06, the outer peripheral area of the hard disk 15 is accessed, and in step S07, the presence or absence of a boot image in the area is confirmed. If the boot image does not exist (no in step S07), the boot image is overwritten (erased), and the process proceeds to step S09. If a boot image exists (Yes in step S07), whether or not overwriting of the boot image is permitted is confirmed in step S08. Whether or not to overwrite is set in advance by an administrator or the like.

  If overwriting of the boot image is prohibited (prohibited in step S08), the process ends without writing the created boot image. If overwriting of the boot image is permitted (permitted in step S08), the process proceeds to step S09.

  In step S09, the created boot image is written in the outer peripheral area of the hard disk 15, and the process ends.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart when the image processing apparatus 1 is activated.

  In step S21, a boot program for hardware initialization is started. In step S22, the hardware is initialized according to the boot program.

  Next, in step S23, after accessing the boot image of the hard disk 15, it is determined in step S24 whether the startup can be normally performed. When the boot image is not written or when the boot program cannot be started (abnormal in step S24), in step S25, the boot program stored in the ROM 12 is accessed as in the prior art. In S26, a startup process is performed according to the program.

  On the other hand, when the boot image is written and can be activated by the boot image (normal in step S24), activation processing is performed in accordance with the boot image in step S26. Since the boot image is written in the outer peripheral area 151 of the hard disk 15 that can be accessed at high speed without being compressed, the boot image can be quickly activated to the state at the end of the previous time.

  Next, processing when a part of the storage area of the hard disk 15 is used as a swap area at the time of image processing after startup will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the area of the hard disk 15 on the disk and the transfer speed, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the contents of the processing.

  In the graph of FIG. 5, when the capacity of the circled area where the boot image is written does not exceed a predetermined value, the area other than the area where the boot image is written is set as a work area, that is, a swap. Used as a region. Therefore, in this case, the circled area in FIG. 5 is not used as a swap area.

  If the area where the boot image has been written is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, the remaining work area will be tight, so the area where the boot image has been written will be released as a work area (swap area). Can be expected to improve performance.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 6, in step S31, the number of the start sector in the work area is read, and in step S32, whether the read start sector number is larger than a predetermined value, in other words, a boot image is written. It is determined whether the capacity of the selected area is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. If it is not larger than the predetermined value (NO in step S32), the number of the start sector is set as a read value, and the process proceeds to step S36. On the other hand, if it is larger (YES in step S32), it is confirmed in step S33 whether or not overwriting the area where the boot image is written is permitted.

  If not permitted (prohibited in step S33), the process proceeds to step S34. In this case, the area where the boot image is written cannot be used as a swap area. If permitted (permitted in step S33), in step S35, the number of the start sector is set to zero. That is, after setting the outer peripheral area 151 in which the boot image is written to be used as a work area (swap area), the process proceeds to step S36.

  In step S36, image processing is performed. When the use start sector number is set to zero, the outer peripheral area 151 in which the boot image is written can be used as a work area in the image processing, and the performance of the image processing is improved. Can do.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a graph showing the relationship between the area of the hard disk 15 on the disk and the transfer speed, and (b) is a plan view of the hard disk 15. It is a flowchart which shows the completion | finish preparation process at the time of completion | finish of an image process. It is a flowchart at the time of starting of an image processing apparatus. 3 is a graph showing a relationship between an area on a disk of a hard disk 15 and a transfer speed. It is a flowchart which shows the process in the case of using a part of memory area of a hard disk as a swap area at the time of image processing.

Explanation of symbols

1 Image processing device 11 CPU
12 ROM
13 RAM
14 Scanner unit 15 Hard disk 151 Outer peripheral area 16 Printer unit 17 Operation panel 18 Network controller

Claims (9)

A RAM in which an operation program is stored;
Boot image creation means for taking out a current operation program including data used for operation from the RAM and creating a boot image at the end of the operation;
Writing means for writing the boot image created by the boot image creating means in a peripheral area of the hard disk that can be accessed at high speed;
Using a boot image written in the outer peripheral area of the hard disk, a starting means for starting at the next operation;
An image processing apparatus comprising:   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the boot image created by the boot image creating unit and written in the outer peripheral area of the hard disk by the writing unit is an uncompressed image.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the boot image writing area in the hard disk is used as a swap area after the boot image is activated.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the boot image includes a program and / or a parameter that is frequently downloaded from a connected network device.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the boot image includes a program and / or parameters that require time to download from a connected network device.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the boot image writing area is used as a swap area when a capacity of the boot image writing area is a predetermined value or more.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the use frequency of data used for the operation at the end of the operation is determined based on the history audit log data, and the frequently used data is written in the boot image.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the use frequency of the application used for the operation at the end of the operation is determined based on the history audit log data, and the application with a low use frequency is written in the inner peripheral area of the hard disk. A step of extracting a current operation program including data used for the operation from the RAM at the end of the operation and creating a boot image;
Writing the created boot image in the outer peripheral area of the hard disk that can be accessed at high speed;
Using the boot image written in the outer peripheral area of the hard disk, starting at the next operation,
An image processing apparatus activation method comprising:

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