JP7700441B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, image forming apparatuses equipped with a solid state drive (SSD) as a storage device for storing data such as image data are known.
SSDs have a lifespan determined by their write endurance, and when this lifespan is reached, the SSD can still be read but cannot be written to. In this case, the end of the lifespan is only detected when a write occurs to the SSD.

In relation to this, Patent Document 1 describes an invention in which, in a data storage control device in which multiple types of memory with different guaranteed rewrite counts coexist, when the number of rewrites of a first non-volatile memory exceeds a predetermined number, a second non-volatile memory is used.
Furthermore, Patent Document 2 describes an invention in which the type of data to be backed up in an external device is switched depending on whether the failure in the non-volatile memory is a read error or a write error.

JP 2011-44207 A JP 2016-21105 A

However, in the technology described in Patent Document 1, the predetermined number, which is the threshold for the number of writes, varies from one nonvolatile memory to another, and therefore setting the threshold to a constant value makes it difficult to accommodate this variation.
Furthermore, with the technology described in Patent Document 2, a failure in the non-volatile memory is only discovered when a write or read error occurs, so if an error occurs in the middle of a job, there is a problem that this can lead to a decrease in the performance of the device, such as data loss or the need to reload the job to compensate for the lost data.

The objective of the present invention is to provide an image forming device that can efficiently prevent errors from occurring while writing data to a memory unit that has a limited number of rewrites.

In order to solve the above problems, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
A storage unit that has a limited number of times that it can be rewritten;
a determination unit that determines whether an area remains in the storage unit to which provisional data and real data can be written before a write operation to the storage unit;
a first writing unit that writes the provisional data to the storage unit when the determining unit determines that an area to which the provisional data and the real data can be written remains in the storage unit;
a second writing unit that writes the real data to the storage unit when the writing of the provisional data by the first writing unit is successful;
Equipped with
the first writing unit, before writing the provisional data , performs data evacuation to transfer data stored in the write access destinations in the storage unit so that the write access destinations in the storage unit, the number of which corresponds to a write data size of the provisional data and the actual data, are emptied of data, determines whether the data evacuation is successful, and, when it is determined that the data evacuation is successful, writes the provisional data to the write access destinations that are emptied of data;
The image forming apparatus further includes a control unit that, when it is determined by the first writing unit that the data saving has failed, stores the original data in a second storage unit and transitions to a restricted mode in which an image forming process is executed.

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus comprising:
The data size of the provisional data is smaller than the data size of the main data.

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus comprising:
The first writing unit writes the provisional data in the smallest unit of write access in the storage unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects,
The first writing unit writes the provisional data when the jobs received by the image forming device include jobs in which the image data size varies for each job, when the jobs received by the image forming device include jobs that include header information that changes depending on the number of pages, or immediately before a copy operation in the image forming device .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects,
When the judgment unit determines that there is no area remaining in the memory unit where the temporary data and the main data can be written, the control unit stores the main data in a second memory unit and transitions to a restricted mode in which image formation processing is executed.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect,
In the restricted mode, when a first condition is applied, the control unit stores the data in a memory serving as a second storage unit, and when a second condition is applied, stores the data in an external storage serving as the second storage unit.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects,
The first writing unit calculates the data size required to write the main data, and if the calculated data size spans multiple access destinations within the memory unit, writes the provisional data to the multiple access destinations.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the seventh aspect of the image forming apparatus,
When the data size required to write the present data is a fixed size, the first writing unit applies the fixed size to the calculation of the data size required to write the present data, and when the data size is variable, applies a worst size to the calculation.

The invention described in the control unit 9 is the image forming apparatus described in any one of claims 1 to 8 ,
The first writing unit writes the provisional data when a ratio of a current number of rewrites to a maximum number of rewrites of the storage unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

The present invention makes it possible to efficiently prevent errors from occurring while writing data to a storage unit that has a limited number of rewrites.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; 5 is a flowchart showing a writing inspection process executed by the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

(Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus)
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view for explaining an outline of the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

The image forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment is an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) that forms color images by electrophotography.
1, the image forming device 1 includes a housing 1a, an operation display unit 30 (see FIG. 2) provided outside the housing 1a, a scanner 40 provided on the upper part of the housing 1a, and a paper discharge unit 70 exposed to the outside of the housing 1a below the scanner 40. The image forming device 1 executes a predetermined process in response to an input operation received by the operation display unit 30. The scanner 40 also executes a process of reading an image formed on a sheet of paper (a recording medium).

The housing 1a is also provided with a paper feed section 80 including an openable/closable paper feed tray 81 and an openable/closable manual feed tray 82.
Inside the housing 1a, an image forming section 20 that forms an image on a sheet is provided.

The image forming section 20 forms an image on a sheet fed from a paper feed tray 81 or a manual feed tray 82 , and discharges the sheet to a paper discharge section 70 .
The image forming unit 20 includes an image carrier 21, which is a drum-shaped photoreceptor that carries an electrostatic latent image on its surface, a cleaning unit 22 that removes residual toner on the surface of the image carrier 21, a charging roller 23 that uniformly charges the surface of the image carrier 21, an exposure unit 24 that exposes the charged surface of the image carrier 21 to form an electrostatic latent image, a developing unit 25 that develops the electrostatic latent image using a developer containing toner to form a toner image on the surface of the image carrier 21, a transfer unit 26 that primarily transfers the formed toner image to an intermediate transfer belt 261 in a transfer area and then secondarily transfers the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt 261 to a sheet, a fixing unit 27 that fixes the toner image to the sheet, and a transport unit 28 having a plurality of transport rollers that transports the sheet along a transport path from the paper feed tray 81 or the manual feed tray 82 to the paper discharge unit 70. Of the above, the image carrier 21, the cleaning unit 22, the charging roller 23, the exposure unit 24, and the developing unit 25 constitute an image forming unit.

Four imaging units are provided corresponding to the four colors of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan) and K (black), and are arranged in the order of Y, M, C and K along the lower horizontal surface of the intermediate transfer belt 261. In each imaging unit, a cleaning section 22, a charging roller 23, an exposure section 24 and a development section 25 are arranged in this order along the outer circumferential surface of the image carrier 21.

The image carrier 21 rotates around a predetermined rotation axis. A photosensitive layer is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 21.

The cleaning unit 22 has a flat cleaning blade made of an elastic material, and by bringing the cleaning blade into contact with the surface of the image carrier 21, it removes foreign matter such as toner that has adhered to the surface of the image carrier 21 and remains on the intermediate transfer belt 261 without being transferred thereto.

The charging roller 23 is a cylindrical member that contacts the surface of the image carrier 21 and rotates about a predetermined rotation axis in accordance with the rotation of the image carrier 21. The charging roller 23 uniformly charges the surface of the image carrier 21 by applying a charging drive voltage from a power supply unit (not shown).

The exposure unit 24 is equipped with an LD (Laser Diode) as a light-emitting element, and irradiates the surface of the image carrier 21, which has been charged by the charging roller 23, with laser light to expose the surface and form an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier 21.

The developing unit 25 includes a developing sleeve (developing roller) arranged to face the surface of the image carrier 21. The developing unit 25 supplies developer containing toner supplied from a toner bottle (not shown) to the surface of the developing sleeve, which is set to a predetermined developing bias potential, causing the toner in the developer to adhere from the surface of the developing sleeve to the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the image carrier 21, forming a toner image on the surface of the image carrier 21.

The transfer unit 26 includes two belt transport rollers 262, four primary transfer rollers 263 arranged opposite each image carrier 21, an intermediate transfer belt 261 suspended around the belt transport rollers 262 and the primary transfer roller 263, a belt cleaning unit 264 that removes toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 261, and a secondary transfer roller 265 that is biased against one of the belt transport rollers 262 and rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the belt transport roller 262.
In the transfer unit 26, the intermediate transfer belt 261 moves in a circular motion while a bias voltage of the opposite polarity to the toner is applied to the primary transfer roller 263, so that the toner is transferred from the surface of the rotating image carrier 21 to the intermediate transfer belt 261. After the toners of the colors Y, M, C, and K are transferred and superimposed, the color toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 261 to the paper by passing the paper between the secondary transfer roller 265 to which a predetermined bias voltage is applied and the intermediate transfer belt 261. The toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 261 without being transferred to the paper is removed by a cleaning blade of the belt cleaning unit 264.

The fixing unit 27 heats and presses the paper onto which the toner image has been transferred, fixing the toner image to the paper. The fixing unit 27 has a pair of rollers consisting of a heating roller and a pressure roller that hold the paper. The paper onto which the toner image has been fixed is transported by the transport unit 28 and sent to the paper discharge unit 70.

The scanner 40 has an image reading section 41 provided on the upper part of the housing 1a, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 42 provided above the image reading section 41, and a sensor 43 (not shown).
The image reading unit 41 includes a platen glass 411 constituting a placement surface 41a on which paper is placed, an optical system such as a light source and a reflecting mirror for irradiating light from the placement surface 41a side to the paper on the placement surface 41a, and an imaging element for detecting the light irradiated from the optical system and reflected by the paper, etc. Under the control of the control unit 10, the image reading unit 41 reads an image of the paper placed on the placement surface 41a of the platen glass 411, generates image data in a bitmap format for each color of R (red), G (green), and B (blue), and stores the image data in the storage unit 60 (see FIG. 2).
The ADF 42 transports manually-fed documents (recording media on which an image to be read is formed) one by one and causes the documents to be read by the image reading unit 41. The ADF 42 is moved within a movable range between a state in which the loading surface 41a is covered and a state in which the loading surface 41a is exposed, by a user's operation.
The sensor 43 measures the number of pages of the document set in the ADF 42 and the paper size of the document, and outputs the measurement results to the control unit 10, which will be described later.

The paper discharge unit 70 shown in FIG. 1 is exposed below the scanner 40 and within the confines of the housing 1a to the outside of the housing 1a, and discharges paper on which an image has been formed by the image forming unit 20 in a state that allows the user to remove it.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment.
The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, an image forming unit 20, an operation display unit 30, a scanner 40, a communication unit 50, a storage unit 60, a paper discharge unit 70, a paper feed unit 80, etc., and these units are connected via a bus. In the following, the description of the configuration that has already been described will be omitted.

The control unit 10 includes a CPU 11 (Central Processing Unit) and a RAM 12 (Random Access Memory).
The CPU 11 reads out and executes programs stored in the storage unit 60 to perform various types of arithmetic processing.
The RAM 12 provides a working memory space for the CPU 11 and stores temporary data.

The operation and display unit 30 includes an operation unit 31 and a display unit 32 .
The operation unit 31 includes a touch panel formed to cover the display screen of the display unit 32, and various operation buttons such as numeric buttons and a start button, and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 10 based on a user's operation.
The display unit 32 is configured with an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and displays various screens according to instructions of a display signal input from the control unit 10 .

The communication unit 50 is configured with a network card and the like. The communication unit 50 is connected to a communication network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) and transmits and receives information to and from external devices (external storage as a second storage unit, etc.) on the communication network. The control unit 10 communicates with external devices on the communication network via the communication unit 50.

The storage unit 60 is a non-volatile memory configured with an SSD (Solid State Drive). The storage unit 60 stores image data acquired by the scanner 40, job data including image data input from the outside via the communication unit 50, and various setting data. The storage unit 60 also stores various programs executed by the CPU 11, setting data, and the like.

The control unit 10 having the CPU 11 and the RAM 12 controls each unit of the image forming apparatus 1 in accordance with a program stored in the storage unit 60 .
For example, the control unit 10 operates each part of the image forming unit 20 based on the image data and job data stored in the storage unit 60 to form an image on a sheet of paper. The control unit 10 also operates each part of the scanner 40 based on a user operation to read an image of a document, and stores the obtained image data in the storage unit 60 or transmits it by FAX via the communication unit 50.

Furthermore, before the write operation to the storage unit 60, the control unit 10 writes temporary data to the storage unit 60. Here, the control unit 10 functions as a first writing unit.
The provisional data is predetermined data that is set in advance, and the data size of the provisional data is smaller than the data size required to write the actual data, which will be described later.

Furthermore, the control unit 10 judges, based on the result of writing the provisional data, whether or not an area to which the actual data can be written remains in the storage unit 60. Here, the control unit 10 functions as a judgment unit.
This data is data that is written to the memory unit 60 when the control unit 10 receives a job via the communication unit 50 and the job includes jobs in which the image data size differs for each job, when the job includes jobs that include header information that changes depending on the number of pages, or immediately before a copy operation.

In addition, when the determination unit determines that there is remaining space in the memory unit 60 where the data can be written, the control unit 10 writes the data to the memory unit 60. Here, the control unit 10 functions as a second writing unit.

In addition, when the judgment unit judges that there is no area left in the memory unit 60 to which the data can be written, the control unit 10 stores the data in the RAM 12 or the like as a second memory unit, and transitions to a restricted mode in which the image formation process is executed.

(Operation of Image Forming Apparatus 1)
Next, the operation of the write check process of this embodiment will be described.
3 shows a flowchart of the writing inspection process executed in the image forming apparatus 1. The writing inspection process is executed by the control unit 10 in cooperation with a program stored in the storage unit 60.

Since the failure rate of the SSD constituting the storage unit 60 increases as the usage rate increases, the write check process is performed when the usage rate of the storage unit 60 is equal to or higher than a preset threshold value (for example, 90%).
In addition, since the write inspection process is a check as to whether writing to the memory unit 60 is possible, it is performed when the control unit 10 receives a job via the communication unit 50 and the job includes a job in which the image data size differs for each job, when the job includes a job including header information that changes depending on the number of pages, or when it is confirmed that a write operation of this data to the memory unit 60 will occur, such as immediately before a copy operation.

First, the control unit 10 calculates a write data size that is a sum of a data size required to write the provisional data and a data size required to write the main data (step S1).
Writing of provisional data refers to writing of provisional data to the storage unit 60 that is performed before writing of actual data, and is performed in BLOCK units, which are the minimum unit of write access in the storage unit 60 .
When the data size required to write this data is a fixed size such as backup data, a preset fixed size is applied. When the data size required to write this data is a variable size, the worst size for the amount of data per page is determined from the user's usage history. The number of pages and the paper size of the document are calculated by accepting settings from the user via the operation display unit 30, or by using the results of sensing and measuring by the sensor 43 when the document is set on the scanner 40 for a copy operation, etc.

Next, the control unit 10 calculates the number of blocks in the storage unit 60 required for writing data of the write data size calculated in step S1 into the storage unit 60 (step S2).
Next, the control unit 10 judges whether the number of free blocks in the storage unit 60 is greater than the number of blocks required for writing calculated in step S2 (step S3).
If the number of free blocks is greater than the number of blocks required for writing (step S3; YES), the control unit 10 saves data within the number of blocks required for writing in the memory unit 60 and determines whether the data save was successful (step S4).
If the data saving is successful (step S4; YES), the control unit 10 writes the temporary data to the block where the data was saved in step S4, and determines whether the writing of the temporary data was successful (step S5). If the number of blocks required for writing calculated in step S2 is multiple, the control unit 10 writes the temporary data to the multiple blocks.
If the writing of the provisional data is successful (step S5; YES), the control unit 10 holds that the actual data can be written (step S6), and ends the write check process.
After the write check process is completed, the control unit 10 writes the data to the storage unit 60 if it is determined that the data is writable.

Furthermore, if the number of free blocks is less than or equal to the number of blocks required for writing (step S3; NO), if data evacuation has failed (step S4; NO), or if writing of temporary data has failed (step S5; NO), the control unit 10 transitions to the restricted mode (step S7) and terminates the write verification process.
In the restricted mode, the control unit 10 does not write the data to the storage unit 60, but controls the execution of the image forming process to be possible. For example, when performance is required, such as when the data is used as a temporary storage destination for image processing performed in a copy operation or the like as the first condition, the control unit 10 saves the data to be written to the RAM 12 (second storage unit) in the control unit 10. Also, when performance is not required compared to the first condition, such as when data stored in the constant storage unit 60 is replaced as the second condition, the control unit 10 saves the data to an external storage (not shown) as the second storage unit via the communication unit 50.

As described above, the image forming apparatus 1 comprises a memory unit 60 in which the number of times of rewriting is limited, a first writing unit (control unit 10) that writes temporary data to the memory unit 60 before a write operation to the memory unit 60, a judgment unit (control unit 10) that judges whether there is an area remaining in the memory unit 60 to which the actual data can be written based on the result of writing the temporary data, and a second writing unit (control unit 10) that writes the actual data to the memory unit 60 when the judgment unit judges that there is an area remaining in the memory unit 60 to which the actual data can be written.
Therefore, it is possible to efficiently prevent errors from occurring while writing data to the storage unit 60, which has a limited number of times it can be rewritten.

In addition, in the image forming device 1, the data size of the provisional data is smaller than the data size of the actual data, so the reduction in free space in the memory unit 60 caused by writing the provisional data can be minimized.

In addition, in the image forming device 1, the first writing unit (control unit 10) writes temporary data in the smallest unit of write access in the memory unit 60, so that the reduction in free space in the memory unit 60 due to the writing of temporary data can be minimized.

In addition, in the image forming device 1, the first writing unit (control unit 10) writes provisional data when it is confirmed that the actual data will be written to the memory unit 60, thereby preventing errors from occurring during writing to the memory unit 60.

In addition, the image forming device 1 is equipped with a control unit 10 that, when the judgment unit (control unit 10) judges that there is no area left in the memory unit 60 where the data can be written, stores the data in the second memory unit and transitions to a restricted mode in which image formation processing is performed. Therefore, the image forming device 1 can be operated even when writing to the memory unit 60 cannot be performed.

In addition, in the image forming device 1, when the first condition is applied in the restricted mode, the control unit 10 stores the data in the memory (RAM 12) as the second storage unit, and when the second condition is applied, the control unit 10 stores the data in the external storage as the second storage unit. Therefore, even when writing to the storage unit 60 cannot be performed, the image forming device 1 can be operated regardless of performance requirements.

In addition, in the image forming device 1, the first writing unit (control unit 10) secures the area required for writing the actual data in the memory unit 60 when writing temporary data, thereby preventing errors from occurring while writing to the memory unit 60.

In addition, in the image forming device 1, the first writing unit (control unit 10) calculates the data size required to write the actual data, and if the calculated data size spans multiple access destinations in the memory unit 60, it writes temporary data to the multiple access destinations, thereby preventing errors from occurring while writing to the memory unit 60.

In addition, in the image forming device 1, if the data size required to write the data is a fixed size, the first writing unit (memory unit 60) applies the fixed size to calculate the data size required to write the data, and if the size is variable, applies the worst size to the calculation, thereby preventing errors from occurring during writing to the memory unit 60.

In addition, in the image forming device 1, the first writing unit (control unit 10) writes temporary data when the usage rate of the memory unit 60 is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold, so that the writing inspection process of the memory unit 60 can be efficiently performed.

Note that the description in the above embodiment shows a preferred example of the image forming device according to the present invention, and is not limited to this.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the control unit 10 receives jobs via the communication unit 50, and performs the write inspection process when the jobs include jobs with different image data sizes, when the jobs include jobs with header information that changes depending on the number of pages, or when it is confirmed that a write operation to the memory unit 60 will occur immediately before a copy operation, but this is not limited to the above. If the image forming apparatus 1 is powered off and it is confirmed that writing to the memory unit 60 will occur the next time the power is turned on, the write inspection process may be performed when the power is turned off.

In the above embodiment, the threshold value for the usage rate of the storage unit 60 for performing the write inspection process is 90%, but this is not limited to this. It may be a value set arbitrarily by the user.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the minimum unit of write access to the memory unit 60 is a block, but this is not limited to this. A memory unit in which the minimum unit of write access is another unit may be used.

In addition, the detailed configuration and operation of the image forming device may be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

1 Image forming apparatus 10 Control unit (first writing unit, second writing unit, determination unit)
11 CPU
12 RAM (second storage unit)
20 Image forming unit 30 Operation display unit 40 Scanner 50 Communication unit 60 Storage unit 70 Paper discharge unit 80 Paper feed unit 81 Paper feed tray 82 Manual feed tray

Claims (9)

A storage unit that has a limited number of times that it can be rewritten;
a determination unit that determines whether an area remains in the storage unit to which provisional data and real data can be written before a write operation to the storage unit;
a first writing unit that writes the provisional data to the storage unit when the determining unit determines that an area to which the provisional data and the real data can be written remains in the storage unit;
a second writing unit that writes the real data to the storage unit when the writing of the provisional data by the first writing unit is successful;
Equipped with
the first writing unit, before writing the provisional data , performs data evacuation to transfer data stored in the write access destinations in the storage unit so that the write access destinations in the storage unit, the number of which corresponds to a write data size of the provisional data and the actual data, are emptied of data, determines whether the data evacuation is successful, and, when it is determined that the data evacuation is successful, writes the provisional data to the write access destinations that are emptied of data;
The image forming apparatus further includes a control unit that, when the first writing unit determines that the data evacuation has failed, stores the data in a second storage unit and transitions to a restricted mode in which an image formation process is executed. The image forming device according to claim 1, wherein the data size of the provisional data is smaller than the data size of the actual data. The image forming device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first writing unit writes the provisional data in the smallest unit of write access in the storage unit. The image forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first writing unit writes the provisional data when the jobs received by the image forming device include jobs with different image data sizes, when the jobs received by the image forming device include jobs with header information that changes depending on the number of pages, or immediately before a copy operation in the image forming device. The image forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit, when it is determined by the determination unit that there is no area remaining in the storage unit to which the provisional data and the main data can be written, stores the main data in a second storage unit and transitions to a restricted mode in which image formation processing is performed. The image forming device according to claim 5, wherein the control unit, in the restricted mode, stores the main data in a memory serving as a second storage unit when a first condition is applied, and stores the main data in an external storage serving as the second storage unit when a second condition is applied. The image forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first writing unit calculates a data size required to write the main data, and if the calculated data size spans multiple access destinations in the storage unit, writes the provisional data to the multiple access destinations. The image forming device according to claim 7, wherein the first writing unit applies the fixed size to the calculation of the data size required to write the data when the data size required to write the data is a fixed size, and applies a worst size to the calculation when the data size is variable. The image forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the first writing unit writes the provisional data when a ratio of the current number of rewrites to the maximum number of rewrites of the storage unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

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