JP5346964B2 - Electronic equipment and system management program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device and a system management program.

  In recent years, many electronic devices have built-in processors and operate under program control. Such an electronic device incorporates a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, and reads a controller program stored in the non-volatile memory and executes it by a processor.

  In a nonvolatile memory such as a NAND flash, it is known that a read disturb error occurs when a read from the same address is executed many times. In order to avoid this read disturb error, there is a technology in which when the number of reads reaches a predetermined number, the data in the nonvolatile memory is transferred to the RAM, and thereafter the data is read from the RAM (Random Access Memory). Yes (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  On the other hand, in an electronic device having a normal operation mode and a power saving mode as operation modes, there is a technique of downloading a start program from a ROM (Read Only Memory) when there is a data error in the start program in the program RAM (for example, a patent) Reference 2).

  Furthermore, there is an electronic device having two sleep modes in which the power of an SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM) is turned on or off (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

JP 2001-290791 A JP 2002-185549 A JP 2008-287492 A

  In an electronic device that reads and executes a controller program from a non-volatile memory such as a NAND flash, when the processor in the controller is turned off during sleep, the controller program is read from the non-volatile memory when returning from sleep. Executed.

  For this reason, if the state transition between the sleep state and the normal state frequently occurs, a read disturb error may occur in the controller program.

  When the sleep state is entered, the power supply of the RAM in the controller is also turned off. Therefore, even if the technique of Patent Document 1 is used, a read disturb error is not avoided.

  In addition, when a read disturb error occurs in the controller program, it is conceivable that the controller program is downloaded from the ROM to the nonvolatile memory and repaired by the technique of Patent Document 2 above. Since it is started, it takes time to start the controller program. And due to this startup delay, if a timeout occurs in communication with an external device, or if it is necessary to restart the entire system after repairing the controller program, the received data will be lost. May cause problems.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problem, and even if many state transitions between the sleep state and the normal state occur, the read disturb error that occurs in the controller program is avoided and continued. An object is to obtain an electronic device and a system management program that operate normally.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows.

  The electronic device according to the present invention includes a main controller that shifts the operation state of the electronic device to the sleep state. The sleep state is an operation state in which the main controller is turned off. The main controller has a nonvolatile memory that stores the controller program and a processor that reads and executes the controller program, and when the number of reads of the controller program from the nonvolatile memory reaches a predetermined threshold according to the controller program. Before the operation state of the electronic device is shifted to the sleep state, a repair process for the storage area of the controller program in the nonvolatile memory is executed.

  As a result, a recovery process is performed on the storage area of the controller program before entering the sleep state according to the number of reads of the controller program, so that read disturb errors that occur in the controller program are avoided and the electronic device continues to operate normally. To work.

  In addition to the above electronic device, the electronic device according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, when the main controller shifts to the sleep state before the next activation of the electronic device, the main controller executes a restoration process immediately before the sleep state, and the transition to the sleep state occurs until the next activation of the electronic device. If not, when the electronic device is activated next time, a repair process is performed on the storage area of the controller program in the nonvolatile memory.

  In addition to the above electronic device, the electronic device according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, when a predetermined event is detected in one or a plurality of subsystems that respectively realize one or a plurality of functions of the electronic device and a sleep state, the electronic device changes the operation state of the electronic device to a sleep state. And an auxiliary controller for returning from the state to the normal state. When the main controller shifts the operation state of the electronic device to the sleep state, the main controller causes the auxiliary controller to turn off all the power supplies of the main controller and one or more subsystems.

  In addition to the above electronic device, the electronic device according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, the above-described threshold value is the upper limit value of the number of reads that does not cause a read disturb error in the nonvolatile memory.

  This reliably avoids read disturb errors.

  The system management program according to the present invention is a system management program executed by a main controller in the electronic device that shifts the operation state of the electronic device to a sleep state. The sleep state is an operation state in which the main controller is turned off. Then, when the number of reads of the system management program from the nonvolatile memory storing the system management program reaches a predetermined threshold, the system management program sets the operation state of the electronic device to the sleep state. Before shifting to the above, a repair process for the storage area of the controller program in the nonvolatile memory is executed.

  As a result, a recovery process is performed on the storage area of the controller program before entering the sleep state according to the number of reads of the controller program, so that read disturb errors that occur in the controller program are avoided and the electronic device continues to operate normally. To work.

  According to the present invention, even if many state transitions between the sleep state and the normal state occur in the electronic device, a read disturb error that occurs in the controller program is avoided, and the electronic device continues to operate normally. be able to.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus which is an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main controller in FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation at the time of starting the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when shifting to the sleep state. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when returning from the deep sleep state.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus which is an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 1 is an apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine, and is an electronic device that is connected to a host device 2 such as a personal computer, receives data from the host device 2, and processes the data appropriately. is there.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a main controller 11, one or a plurality of subsystems 12-1 to 12 -N, an energy saving controller 13, and a main power switch 14.

  The main controller 11 is a device that causes the subsystems 12-1 to 12 -N to execute various processes, and the subsystem 12-i (i = 1,..., N) is the image forming apparatus 1. It is a device that realizes each of the functions (printer function, scanner function, facsimile communication function, user interface function of the operation panel, etc.). The energy saving controller 13 receives signals or data from an external device such as the host device 2 via a network, a telephone line, etc., and also operates the main controller 11 and one or more subsystems 12-1 to 12-N. Is a device that switches between the two according to a command from the main controller 11.

  The main controller 11, the one or more subsystems 12-1 to 12 -N, and the energy saving controller 13 are implemented by independent hardware (for example, a circuit board), and the power is turned on / off for each hardware. It is possible.

  The operation state of the image forming apparatus 1 (that is, the operation state of the main controller 11 and the subsystems 12-1 to 12-N) is any one of a normal operation state, a light sleep state, and a deep sleep state. In the normal operation state, the main controller 11, one or a plurality of subsystems 12-1 to 12-N, and the energy saving controller 13 are operating. In the light sleep state, the main controller 11 and the energy saving controller 13 are operating, and a part or all of the subsystems 12-1 to 12-N are in a power-off state. In the deep sleep state, the energy saving controller 13 is operating, and the main controller 11 and the subsystems 12-1 to 12-N are in a power-off state.

  The transition from the normal operation state to the light sleep state or the deep sleep state, and the transition from the light sleep state to the normal operation state are determined by the main controller 11, and the transition from the deep sleep state to the normal operation state is determined by the energy saving controller 13. Determined by. The deep sleep state has a greater energy saving effect because it consumes less power than the light sleep state. However, in the deep sleep state, it takes more time to shift to the normal operation state than in the light sleep state. For this reason, when data is received from the outside, processing of the data is delayed. Accordingly, when a FAX board is attached to the image forming apparatus 1 or a USB memory or other USB device, a network cable, or the like is connected to the image forming apparatus 1 according to a user's request, the light is not changed from the normal state to the deep sleep state. It is possible to set to shift to the sleep state.

  The main power switch 14 is a switch for turning on / off the supply of power to the internal devices of the image forming apparatus 1 such as the main controller 11, the subsystems 12-1 to 12 -N, and the energy saving controller 13. When the main power switch 14 is switched from OFF to ON, the image forming apparatus 1 is activated. When the main power switch 14 is switched from ON to OFF, the image forming apparatus 1 is shut down.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the main controller 11 in FIG. In FIG. 2, the main controller 11 includes a ROM 21, a nonvolatile memory 22, a RAM 23, and an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 24.

  The ROM 21 is a non-rewritable nonvolatile memory. In this embodiment, the ROM 21 stores a boot program 31. The boot program 31 is a program that is executed by the MPU 24 when the main controller 11 is activated (that is, when the main controller 11 is powered on) and activates the controller program 32.

  The non-volatile memory 22 is a rewritable non-volatile memory, such as a NAND flash that may cause read disturb. In this embodiment, the non-volatile memory 22 stores a controller program 32, a repair program 33, and a counter 34.

  The controller program 32 is a program for executing control of the subsystems 12-1 to 12 -N and internal processing of the main controller 11.

  Further, when the controller program 32 reads the controller program 32 from the nonvolatile memory 22, that is, when the number of reads reaches a predetermined threshold, the controller program 32 is nonvolatile before the operation state of the image forming apparatus 1 is shifted to the deep sleep state. This is a program for executing a repair process for the storage area of the controller program 32 in the memory 22 (that is, the repair program 33). In this embodiment, this threshold value is the upper limit value of the number of reads at which no read disturb error occurs in the nonvolatile memory 22.

  The repair program 33 is a program for repairing (refreshing) the storage area of the controller program 32. In this embodiment, when the number of reads reaches a predetermined threshold, the main power switch 14 of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned off by the user, and then the main power switch 14 is turned on and the image forming apparatus 1 is started. In addition, a repair process for the storage area of the controller program 32 in the nonvolatile memory 22 (that is, the repair program 33) is executed. Further, when the number of reads reaches a predetermined threshold, if an event of transition to the deep sleep state is detected before the main power switch 14 of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned off by the user, the transition to the deep sleep state is performed. Immediately before the processing, a repair process (that is, a repair program 33) for the storage area of the controller program 32 in the nonvolatile memory 22 is executed.

  The counter 34 is data indicating the number of reads of the controller program 32.

  The RAM 23 is a volatile memory in which a program such as the controller program 32 is loaded and data handled in various processes by the MPU 24 is temporarily stored.

  The MPU 24 is a processor that executes various programs such as a boot program 31, a controller program 32, and a repair program 33.

  The ROM 21, the non-volatile memory 22, the RAM 23, and the MPU 24 are connected to each other by a bus, a controller chip, and the like, and can send and receive data to and from each other.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus will be described.

  Here, an operation at startup, an operation at the time of transition to the sleep state, and an operation at the return from the sleep state will be described.

(1) Operation at startup

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation at the time of startup of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG.

  When the main power switch 14 is off, no power is supplied to the image forming apparatus 1. When the main power switch 14 is turned on by the user (step S1), the supply of power to the image forming apparatus 1 is started, and in the main controller 11, the MPU 24 loads and executes the boot program 31 (step S2). ).

  The MPU 24 reads the counter 34 according to the boot program 31 or another program activated by the boot program 31, and determines whether or not the number of reads of the controller program 32 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S3).

  If the read count of the controller program 32 is not equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, the MPU 24 reads the controller program 32 from the nonvolatile memory 22 according to the boot program 31, loads it into the RAM 23 (step S4), and executes the controller program 32 (step S4). Step S5). At this time, the MPU 24 increases the value of the counter 34 by 1 according to the controller program 32 or the boot program 31.

  On the other hand, if the number of reads of the controller program 32 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the MPU 24 reads the repair program 33, loads it into the RAM 23, and executes it (step S6). Thereby, the area of the controller program 32 is restored. At this time, the MPU 24 resets the value of the counter 34 to zero according to the repair program 33. The time required for the repair varies depending on the size of the controller program 32 and the performance of hardware such as the MPU 32, but is usually a few minutes.

  Then, after the repair is completed, the MPU 24 restarts the main controller 11 from the beginning according to the repair program 33 (step S7). Thereby, the boot program 31 is executed again (step S2), and the controller program 32 is executed (steps S4 and S5).

  As described above, when the number of reads of the controller program 32 reaches the predetermined threshold at the time of starting the image forming apparatus 1, the area of the controller program 32 is repaired.

(2) Operation during transition to sleep state

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 when shifting to the sleep state.

  In the main controller 11, the MPU 24 executes the controller program 32, and detects an event such as a sleep transition button being pressed when a certain period of time has passed without a user operation being detected, a job has not been accepted for a certain period of time (stepping) S11) A sleep mode is determined according to the state of the image forming apparatus 1 (step S12).

  When the determined sleep mode is deep sleep (step S13), the MPU 24 reads the counter 34 according to the controller program 32, and determines whether or not the number of reads of the controller program 32 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S13). S14) If the number of reads is not greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, a command for shifting the operation state to the deep sleep state is transmitted to the energy saving controller 13. When receiving the command, the energy saving controller 13 turns off the main controller 11 and the subsystems 12-1 to 12-N. Thereby, it will be in a deep sleep state (step S15).

  On the other hand, if the determined sleep mode is deep sleep, but the number of reads is equal to or greater than the threshold, the MPU 24 reads the repair program 33, loads it into the RAM 23, and executes it (step S16). Thereby, the area of the controller program 32 is restored. At this time, the MPU 24 resets the value of the counter 34 to zero according to the repair program 33. After the repair is completed, the MPU 24 transmits a command for shifting the operation state to the deep sleep state according to the controller program 32 to the energy saving controller 13. When receiving the command, the energy saving controller 13 turns off the main controller 11 and the subsystems 12-1 to 12-N. Thereby, it will be in a deep sleep state (step S15).

  When the determined sleep mode is light sleep (step S13), the MPU 24 transmits a command for shifting the operation state to the light sleep state to the energy saving controller 13 according to the controller program 32. When receiving the command, the energy saving controller 13 turns off part or all of the power supplies of the subsystems 12-1 to 12 -N. As a result, the light sleep state is set (step S17).

  As described above, when the number of reads of the controller program 32 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, if an event that triggers the transition to the deep sleep state occurs, the repair process is executed before the transition to the deep sleep state. The

(3) An operation when returning from the sleep state will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 when returning from the deep sleep state.

  First, in the light sleep state, when an event that triggers a return from the sleep state is detected by the energy saving controller 13 or the main controller 11, the energy saving controller 13 is connected to the subsystem 12-i whose power is off. Turn on the power. As a result, the operation state returns from the light sleep state to the normal operation state. At this time, the main controller 11 executes the controller program remaining in the RAM 23 without reading the controller program 31 from the nonvolatile memory 22.

  On the other hand, in the case of the deep sleep state, when the event that triggers the return from the sleep state is detected by the energy saving controller 13 (step S21), the energy saving controller 13 is connected to the main controller 11 and the sub that are turned off. The power supplies of the systems 12-1 to 12-N are turned on.

  In the main controller 11, when the supply of power is started, the MPU 24 loads and executes the boot program 31 (step S22).

  Then, the MPU 24 reads the controller program 32 from the nonvolatile memory 22 according to the boot program 31, loads it into the RAM 23 (step S23), and executes the controller program 32 (step S24). At this time, the MPU 24 increases the value of the counter 34 by 1 according to the controller program 32 or the boot program 31.

  Thus, the area of the controller program 32 is not restored when returning from the sleep state.

  As described above, according to the embodiment, the main controller 11 shifts the operation state of the image forming apparatus 1 to the sleep state. The sleep state is an operation state in which the main controller is turned off. The main controller 11 has a nonvolatile memory 22 that stores the controller program 32 and an MPU 24 that reads and executes the controller program 32, and the number of times the controller program 32 is read from the nonvolatile memory 22 according to the controller program 32. When the value reaches the predetermined threshold value, the restoration process for the storage area of the controller program 32 in the nonvolatile memory 22 is executed before the operation state of the image forming apparatus 1 is shifted to the sleep state.

  As a result, a restoration process is performed on the storage area of the controller program 32 before shifting to the sleep state in accordance with the number of reads of the controller program 32, so that a read disturb error occurring in the controller program 32 is avoided, and the image forming apparatus 1 Will continue to operate normally.

  The above-described embodiments are preferred examples of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. is there.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the boot program 31 may be stored in the nonvolatile memory 22. In that case, when the area of the controller program 32 is restored, the area of the boot program 31 is also restored.

  In the above embodiment, the repair program 33 may be stored in the ROM 21.

  The present invention is applicable to, for example, an image forming apparatus.

1 Image forming apparatus (an example of electronic equipment)
11 Main controller 12-1 to 12-N Subsystem 13 Energy-saving controller (an example of auxiliary controller)
22 Non-volatile memory 24 MPU (an example of a processor, an example of a computer)
32 Controller program (an example of a system management program)

Claims (5)

A main controller that shifts the operating state of the electronic device to the sleep state,
The sleep state is the operation state in which the main controller is turned off.
The main controller has a non-volatile memory storing a controller program, and a processor that reads and executes the controller program, and according to the controller program, the number of reads of the controller program from the non-volatile memory is a predetermined threshold value. , Before moving the operating state of the electronic device to the sleep state, executing a repair process for the storage area of the controller program in the nonvolatile memory,
Electronic equipment characterized by   When the main controller shifts to the sleep state before the next activation of the electronic device, the main controller executes the repair process immediately before the sleep state, and shifts to the sleep state until the next activation of the electronic device. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein when the electronic device does not occur, a repair process for the storage area of the controller program in the nonvolatile memory is executed at the next startup of the electronic device. One or more subsystems for realizing one or more functions of the electronic device,
When a predetermined event is detected in the sleep state, the electronic device further includes an auxiliary controller that returns the operation state from the sleep state to the normal state,
The main controller, when transitioning the operating state of the electronic device to the sleep state, causing the auxiliary controller to turn off all power of the main controller and the one or more subsystems;
The electronic device according to claim 1.   4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the threshold value is an upper limit value of the number of reads that does not cause a read disturb error in the nonvolatile memory. 5. In the system management program executed by the main controller in the electronic device that shifts the operation state of the electronic device to the sleep state,
The sleep state is the operation state in which the main controller is turned off.
To the computer in the main controller,
When the number of reads of the system management program from the nonvolatile memory storing the system management program reaches a predetermined threshold, the controller in the nonvolatile memory before the operation state of the electronic device is shifted to the sleep state. To execute a repair process for the storage area of the program,
System management program characterized by

Images