Information processing device

Abstract

The present invention provides an information processing device. The information processing device comprises: a first control unit that controls the operation of the entire device; and a second control unit that outputs an image stored in a specific area of ​​a storage medium to a display device when a predetermined time has passed since startup. The second control unit writes a second image generated by itself into the specific area, and when receiving a first image from the first control unit after the writing, overwrites the second image written in the specific area with the first image.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus. Background Art

[0002] In an image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions, there is sometimes provided a control unit (hereinafter referred to as a "system control unit") that controls the operation of the entire system and a control unit (hereinafter referred to as an "equipment control unit") that controls the operation of the equipment. In the case of adopting this configuration, the equipment control unit displays an image generated by the system control unit on an operation panel.

[0003] In the current system control unit, there is a requirement for the ability to process complex images at high speed. However, with the high functionality of the system control unit, the time required for starting up the system control unit is prolonged. In addition to this, after the system control unit is started up, it is also necessary to initialize an interface used for transmitting an image generated by the system control unit to the equipment control unit. Therefore, the time before the image is displayed on the operation panel is prolonged.

[0004] As a prior art document, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2016-129945 can be cited.

[0005] When an abnormality occurs during startup, an image may not be displayed on the operation panel. Factors for the operation panel not displaying an image are considered, for example, an abnormality related to the startup of the system control unit, an abnormality related to the supply of power, and an abnormality related to the connection of a cable. However, only through a contact from a user such as "the image is not displayed", the factors cannot be distinguished. As a result, there is a case where the initial startup is delayed and the downtime until recovery is prolonged. Summary of the Invention

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to enable an image for assisting in distinguishing an abnormality factor to be displayed on a display device without using a unit that switches an input path of an image displayed on the display device even when an abnormality occurs during startup of a first control unit that controls the operation of the entire device and no image is transmitted from the first control unit side to a second control unit.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an information processing apparatus having: a first control unit that controls the operation of the entire device; and a second control unit that, when a predetermined time has elapsed since startup, outputs an image stored in a specific area of a storage medium to a display device, the second control unit writes a second image generated by itself into the specific area, and when the first image is received from the first control unit after the writing, overwrites the second image written into the specific area with the first image.

[0008] According to the second aspect of the present disclosure, the second control unit monitors the reception of a signal indicating the progress of startup in the first control unit, and determines the second image to be written to the specific area.

[0009] According to the third aspect of the present disclosure, whenever the signal indicating the progress of startup received by the second control unit from the first control unit is updated, the second control unit updates the second image in the specific area.

[0010] According to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, in the case where the update of the signal indicating the progress of startup of the first control unit is interrupted, after a predetermined time has elapsed since startup, the second control unit outputs the second image written to the specific area to the display device.

[0011] According to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure, the second control unit writes the second image corresponding to the content of the following signal to the specific area, and the content of this signal is the content of the signal indicating the progress of startup in the first control unit.

[0012] According to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure, whenever the content of the signal is updated, the second control unit updates the second image in the specific area.

[0013] According to the seventh aspect of the present disclosure, the second control unit writes the second image corresponding to the content of the last received signal only once to the specific area.

[0014] According to the eighth aspect of the present disclosure, the second image includes information that determines the content of a malfunction generated in the first control unit.

[0015] According to the ninth aspect of the present disclosure, the content of an operation required for the user to eliminate a malfunction is included in the second image.

[0016] According to the tenth aspect of the present disclosure, the second control unit updates the second image according to the length of time elapsed since startup.

[0017] According to the eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, the second control unit writes an image corresponding to the length of time elapsed since startup as the second image to the specific area.

[0018] According to the twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, when the second control unit receives a notification of a malfunction during startup from the first control unit, the second control unit stops the update of the second image.

[0019] (Effect)

[0020] According to the first aspect, even when an abnormality occurs during the startup of the first control unit that controls the overall operation of the device and no image is sent from the first control unit to the second control unit, it is possible to display on the display device an image for assisting in distinguishing the cause of the abnormality without using a unit for switching the input path of the image displayed on the display device.

[0021] According to the second aspect, it is possible to write a second image corresponding to the progress of the startup of the first control unit.

[0022] According to the third aspect, it is possible to update the second image according to the progress of the startup of the first control unit.

[0023] According to the fourth aspect, it is possible to display on the display device a second image corresponding to the situation where an abnormality occurs.

[0024] According to the fifth aspect, it is possible to write a second image corresponding to the progress of the startup of the first control unit.

[0025] According to the sixth aspect, it is possible to update the second image according to the progress of the startup of the first control unit.

[0026] According to the seventh aspect, the number of times of writing for a specific area is only required to be once.

[0027] According to the eighth aspect, it becomes easy to determine the cause of the malfunction of the first control unit.

[0028] According to the ninth aspect, it is possible to notify the user of the operation required to eliminate the malfunction.

[0029] According to the tenth aspect, it is possible to output different messages according to the elapsed time since startup.

[0030] According to the eleventh aspect, it is possible to complete writing the image corresponding to the elapsed time since startup in a short time.

[0031] According to the twelfth aspect, it is possible to match the content of the image displayed on the display device with the content of the malfunction. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus used in Embodiment 1.

[0033] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the system control unit and the device control unit.

[0034] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the devices and functions related to the startup operation of the image forming apparatus.

[0035] Figure 4 It is a diagram showing an outline of the writing operation of writing the display screen 1 and the display screen 2 into the page memory RAM.

[0036] Figure 5 It is a diagram showing an example of the writing operation in the case of being stopped midway due to the occurrence of an abnormality in the startup operation of the system control unit.

[0037] Figure 6 It is a diagram explaining parts related to six steps constituting the startup operation of the system control unit.

[0038] Figure 7 It is a chart explaining the content of the abnormality in each step and the state of the system control unit.

[0039] Figure 8 It is a diagram explaining the case where the startup operation in Embodiment 1 proceeds normally.

[0040] Figure 9 It is a diagram explaining the case where an abnormality occurs in the startup operation and the startup operation stops.

[0041] Figure 10 It is a chart showing the relationship between the step where an abnormality occurs and the display message.

[0042] Figure 11 It is a diagram showing a specific example of the display message etc. displayed on the operation panel. Figure 11 (A) of it is a display example in the case where an abnormality occurs in step #1, Figure 11 and (B) of it is a display example in the case where the power is turned on but the completion of step #1 is not notified.

[0043] Figure 12 It is a diagram showing other specific examples of the display message etc. displayed on the operation panel. Figure 12 (A) of it is a display example in the case where an abnormality occurs in step #2, Figure 12 and (B) of it is a display example in the case where an abnormality occurs in step #5.

[0044] Figure 13 It is a diagram explaining the case where the startup operation in Embodiment 2 proceeds normally.

[0045] Figure 14 It is a diagram explaining the case where the startup operation in Embodiment 3 proceeds normally.

[0046] Figure 15 It is a diagram explaining the case where the startup operation in Embodiment 4 proceeds normally.

[0047] Figure 16This is a diagram illustrating the startup operation in Embodiment 5. Detailed Embodiment

[0048] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0049] <Embodiment 1>

[0050] <Overall Structure>

[0051] In this embodiment, as an example of an information processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium such as paper will be described. The image forming apparatus in this embodiment has, in addition to the function of printing an image on paper, a function of reading the image of an original document.

[0052] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware structure of the image forming apparatus 1 used in Embodiment 1.

[0053] Figure 1 The illustrated image forming apparatus 1 includes: a system control unit 2 that controls the operation of the entire system; a device control unit 3 that controls the operation of the devices; an operation panel 4 that provides information to the user and accepts the user's operations; a print engine 5 that is a device for performing printing; a scanner 6 that reads the image of an original document; a power supply 7 that supplies power to each part of the apparatus; a main power switch 8 that turns on or off the supply of power from an AC (= Alternating Current) power supply 9 to the power supply 7; a sub-power switch 10 that turns on or off the supply of power to the device parts and the control unit that consume a large amount of power; and a power saving button 11 that is operated when suppressing power consumption during standby.

[0054] The operation panel 4 is composed of, for example, a touch panel, various switches, and buttons. The touch panel is composed of a display panel that displays an interface screen and a touch sensor that detects the user's operations. The display panel is an example of a display device.

[0055] The print engine 5 is a device corresponding to an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method, etc. The print engine 5 corresponding to the electrophotographic method is composed of a photoreceptor, an electrode for charging the photoreceptor, a light source for exposure, a developer, a transfer roller, a fixing roller, etc. On the other hand, the print engine 5 corresponding to the inkjet method is composed of a head, and small-diameter holes for ejecting ink droplets are arranged on the head. In addition, in the inkjet method, there are a method of moving the head in the main scanning direction and a method of moving the paper in the sub-scanning direction. The method of moving the paper in the sub-scanning direction is performed in a state where a head longer than the width of the paper in the main scanning direction is fixed. The print engine 5 is an example of a device for printing an image on paper.

[0056] The scanner 6 also corresponds to a mode in which the optical system is relatively moved with respect to the original document while reading the image, and also corresponds to a mode in which the original document is relatively moved with respect to the optical system while reading the image in a state where the optical system is fixed. In the case of the present embodiment, a device for automatically conveying the original document to the image reading position is installed in the scanner 6. This device is called an ADF (= Auto Document Feeder) or the like.

[0057] In addition, although data stored in a volatile memory (not shown) is deleted when a predetermined time has elapsed since the main power switch 8 is turned off, for the sub-power switch 10 and the power saving button 11, even if they are turned off, the data stored in the volatile memory is not deleted.

[0058] In Figure 1 this case, the image forming apparatus 1 is connected to a notebook computer as an external device 20. However, the external device 20 may also be a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a smart phone, or the like. The connection between the image forming apparatus 1 and the external device 20 uses Ethernet (registered trademark), USB (= Universal Serial Bus), and Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0059] <Structure of the control unit>

[0060] Figure 2 FIG. is an example showing the hardware structure of the system control unit 2 and the device control unit 3. In addition, the system control unit 2 is an example of the first control unit, and the device control unit 3 is an example of the second control unit.

[0061] The system control unit 2 includes: a system control circuit 21 that executes programs; a boot program ROM (= Read Only Memory) 22 that stores a boot program; a main program ROM 23 that stores firmware; a system memory RAM (= Random Access Memory) 24 that is used as a work area; a power saving control circuit 25 that performs power saving control; a power supply control circuit 26 that detects a signal requesting recovery and controls the supply of power; and a power supply circuit 27 that supplies power to the system control circuit 21 and the boot program ROM 22.

[0062] The system control circuit 21 has the function of a CPU that executes the boot program and the firmware. The system control circuit 21 uses an ASSP (= Application Specific Standard Produce) designed for the control purpose of the system.

[0063] The power-saving control circuit 25 uses an ASIC (= Application Specific Integrated Circuit) designed for power-saving control purposes. The power-saving control circuit 25 is connected to the system control circuit 21 via a serial interface. In the case of this embodiment, the serial interface uses PCI-E (= Peripheral Component Interconnect Express).

[0064] The power control circuit 26 inputs the signal output according to the physical position of the sub-power switch 10 as the resume request signal 1, and outputs the power control signal corresponding to the state of the input signal to the power supply circuit 27.

[0065] In addition, the power control circuit 26 inputs the signal output according to the physical position of the power-saving button 11 as the resume request signal 2, and outputs the power control signal corresponding to the state of the input signal to the power supply circuit 27.

[0066] In addition, the resume request signal 2 is also output from the power-saving control circuit 25. The power-saving control circuit 25 outputs the resume request signal 2 when it detects an access from the external device 20 in the power-saving mode or the sleep mode. In addition, the sleep mode is a state with lower power consumption than the power-saving mode.

[0067] The power supply circuit 27 supplies power to the system control circuit 21 and the boot ROM 22 according to the power control signal.

[0068] On the other hand, the device control unit 3 includes: a device control circuit 31 that executes a recovery program; a recovery program ROM 32 that stores the recovery program; a page memory RAM 33 that is used as a work area; and a power supply circuit 34 that supplies power to the device control circuit 31, the recovery program ROM 32, and the page memory RAM 33.

[0069] The device control circuit 31 has the function of a CPU that executes a recovery program. The device control circuit 31 uses an ASIC designed for device control purposes.

[0070] In addition, the device control circuit 31 is connected to the system control circuit 21 via PCI-E and signal lines. Communication based on PCI-E requires initialization, while communication based on signal lines does not require initialization. Therefore, during the period before the initialization of PCI-E is completed, the communication between the system control circuit 21 and the device control circuit 31 is executed via the signal lines. The signal line is composed of, for example, one metal wire. The signal line is used for communication of two states or digital signals corresponding to "1" or "0".

[0071] A specific area of the page memory RAM 33 is ensured for storing the user interface image (hereinafter also referred to as "UI image") displayed on the operation panel 4.

[0072] When the system control unit 2 has been normally started, the device control circuit 31 writes the UI image received from the system control unit 2 into the specific area of the above-mentioned page memory RAM 33, and outputs the UI image read from the specific area to the operation panel 4. In addition, the UI image at the start-up operation is output to the operation panel 4 after a preset time has elapsed since the start of the start-up operation or after the counting of the clock number. Therefore, even when the UI image received from the system control circuit 21 is stored in the page memory RAM 33, no image is displayed on the operation panel 4 until a preset time has elapsed. That is, even after the sub-power switch 10 is operated to the ON state, the operation panel 4 remains black until a preset time has elapsed.

[0073] In addition, the device control circuit 31 in the present embodiment is provided with a function for displaying an image indicating the cause of the abnormality on the operation panel 4 when the start-up operation of the system control unit 2 stops halfway due to some reason. Specifically, a function is provided for changing the image stored in the specific area of the page memory RAM 33 in an overwriting manner each time information indicating the progress of the start-up operation of the system control unit 2 is received. All the overwritten images are generated by the device control circuit 31.

[0074] In addition, the overwritten image needs to match the content of the abnormality generated in the system control unit 2. There are multiple methods for matching the content of the abnormality, but in the present embodiment, the following method is adopted: the reception of the signal indicating the progress of the start-up operation received from the system control unit 2 is monitored, and a new image is automatically overwritten each time the reception of the signal is detected.

[0075] In this case, the image stored in the specific area of the page memory RAM 33 at the moment when the start-up operation has stopped is displayed on the operation panel 4 after a preset time has elapsed.

[0076] In addition, when the system control unit 2 has been normally started, the image overwritten according to the progress of the start-up operation is overwritten by the UI image received from the system control unit 2. As a result, after a preset time has elapsed since the start of the start-up operation, the UI image received from the system control unit 2 is displayed on the operation panel 4 as described above.

[0077] The power supply circuit 34 supplies power to the device control circuit 31, the recovery program ROM 32, and the page memory RAM 33 according to the power control signal supplied from the power control circuit 26. In addition, the power supply circuit 27 is connected to the system control circuit 21 through a serial interface.

[0078] <Devices and functions related to the startup operation>

[0079] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating the devices and functions related to the startup operation of the image forming apparatus 1. In a state where the main power switch 8 (see Figure 1 ) is turned on, when the sub power switch 10 (see Figure 1 ) is operated to the on state or when the apparatus is restored from the power saving mode to the normal mode by operating the power saving button 11 or the like, the startup operation is executed.

[0080] When the startup operation of the system control unit 2 is normally completed, a UI image generated by the image generation function 201 of the system control unit 2 is displayed on the operation panel 4. The image generation function 201 is a part of the main program. In the present embodiment, the UI image generated by the system control unit 2 is referred to as the display screen 1. The display screen 1 is an example of the first image.

[0081] On the other hand, when the startup operation of the system control unit 2 stops halfway, an image generated by the image generation function 301 of the device control unit 3 is displayed on the operation panel 4. The image generation function 301 is a part of the recovery program. In the present embodiment, the image generated by the device control unit 3 is referred to as the display screen 2. The display screen 2 is an example of the second image.

[0082] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an outline of the writing operation for writing the display screen 1 and the display screen 2 to the page memory RAM 33.

[0083] In Figure 4 , the start time of the startup operation is set to 0 seconds, and the time when the image read from a specific area of the page memory RAM 33 is displayed on the operation panel 4 (see Figure 1 ) is set to X seconds.

[0084] In addition, in Figure 4 , the startup operation of the system control unit 2 (see Figure 1 ) is divided into six steps, and the images prepared assuming that an abnormality has occurred in each step are shown as #1 image, #2 image, #3 image, #4 image, #5 image, and #6 image. The #1 image, #2 image, #3 image, #4 image, #5 image, and #6 image are all examples of the display screen 2.

[0085] As shown in Figure 4As shown, immediately after the start operation begins, no images are stored in the page memory RAM 33.

[0086] Then, as time passes, the #1 image, #2 image, #3 image, #4 image, #5 image, and #6 image are sequentially overwritten in a specific area of the page memory RAM 33.

[0087] When the system control unit 2 has started up normally, the display screen 1 generated by the system control unit 2 is finally overwritten in a specific area of the page memory RAM 33.

[0088] Therefore, in Figure 4 's example, the display screen 1 is shown after X seconds have elapsed.

[0089] Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of the writing operation in the case where it stops midway due to the occurrence of an abnormality in the start operation of the system control unit 2. In Figure 5 the corresponding parts to Figure 4 are labeled with corresponding reference numerals and shown.

[0090] Figure 5 's example shows an example of the operation in the case where an abnormality occurs in step 2. Therefore, the writing of the display screen 2 to a specific area of the page memory RAM 33 is completed by overwriting the #2 screen corresponding to step 2. As a result, the #2 image is shown after X seconds have elapsed.

[0091] Figure 6 is a diagram explaining the parts related to the six steps that make up the start operation of the system control unit 2.

[0092] The first step #1 involves the operation of the power control circuit 26.

[0093] The second step #2 involves the boot operation of the system control circuit 21.

[0094] The third step #3 involves the writing operation of writing the memory program to the system memory RAM 24.

[0095] The fourth step #4 involves the execution of the main program.

[0096] The fifth step #5 involves the execution of the high-speed recovery program.

[0097] The sixth step #6 involves the communication operation between the system control unit 2 and the device control unit 3.

[0098] Figure 7 is a chart explaining the content of the abnormality of each step and the state of the system control unit.

[0099] The abnormality in Step #1 is an abnormality in power-on in the system control unit 2. When this abnormality occurs, the power supply is not connected to the power control circuit 26, nor to the device control unit 3. Therefore, the UI image cannot be displayed.

[0100] The abnormality in Step #2 is a poor start of the boot program. When this abnormality occurs, the power supply is connected to the system control unit 2 and the device control unit 3. In addition, the UI image can be displayed.

[0101] The abnormality in Step #3 is a poor connection of the system memory RAM 24. When this abnormality occurs, the main program cannot be loaded into the system memory RAM 24.

[0102] The abnormality in Step #4 is a poor start of the main program. When this abnormality occurs, although the main program is successfully loaded into the system memory RAM 24, the execution of the main program will be abnormal.

[0103] The abnormality in Step #5 is a poor start of the high-speed recovery program. When this abnormality occurs, there is an abnormality in the high-speed recovery program stored before the sub-power switch 10 is turned off, and an abnormality will occur during the execution of the recovery process.

[0104] The abnormality in Step #6 is a poor connection between the system control circuit 21 and the device control circuit 31. When this abnormality occurs, there is a poor connection between the substrates of the system control unit 2 and the device control unit 3, or there is a poor connection of PCI-E, and the display screen 1 generated by the system control unit 2 cannot be transmitted to the device control unit 3.

[0105] <Actions at startup>

[0106] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing the normal progress of the startup operation in Embodiment 1. In addition, S in the diagram represents steps.

[0107] The startup operation starts with the user's operation of turning on the sub-power switch 10, etc. On the condition of normal power supply, the startup operations of the system control unit 2 and the device control unit 3 are started. In addition, the case of abnormal power supply is the abnormality in Step #1.

[0108] When the power supply is normal, the system control circuit 21 of the system control unit 2 loads the boot program from the boot program ROM 22 and starts startup and initialization (Step 21). On the other hand, the device control circuit 31 of the device control unit 3 loads the recovery program from the recovery program ROM 32 and starts startup and initialization (Step 31). In addition, the device control circuit 31 writes the initial screen into the page memory RAM 33 (Step 32).

[0109] Then, each time the system control circuit 21 of the system control unit 2 detects the completion of each step constituting the startup operation, it notifies the device control circuit 31 of the device control unit 3 of the completion of each step (step 22). This notification uses a signal line.

[0110] When the startup operation of the system control unit 2 proceeds normally, the completion of the steps is notified in the order of step 221, step 222,... step 226. In the case of this embodiment, when the completed step is #N, the notification is expressed as "123-00N".

[0111] On the other hand, each time the device control circuit 31 of the device control unit 3 receives the notification of the completion of a step, it overwrites the following image in the page memory RAM 33 (step 33), and this image includes the content of the abnormality corresponding to the case where the startup operation stops in the next step of the received notification and the actions required of the user.

[0112] For example, when receiving the notification of the completion of step #1, the device control circuit 31 overwrites the #2 image corresponding to the abnormality of step #2 in the page memory RAM 33 (step 331).

[0113] When receiving the notification of the completion of the next step #2, the device control circuit 31 overwrites the #3 image corresponding to the abnormality of step #3 in the page memory RAM 33 (step 332).

[0114] When receiving the notification of the completion of step #3, the device control circuit 31 overwrites the #4 image corresponding to the abnormality of step #4 in the page memory RAM 33.

[0115] In addition, when receiving the notification of the completion of step #4, the device control circuit 31 overwrites the #5 image corresponding to the abnormality of step #5 in the page memory RAM 33.

[0116] When receiving the notification of the completion of step #5, the device control circuit 31 overwrites the #6 image corresponding to the abnormality of step #6 in the page memory RAM 33 (step 335).

[0117] In the case of this embodiment, the overwriting performed by the device control circuit 31 is conditional on the receipt of the notification, and no content confirmation or the like is performed.

[0118] In addition, the #1 image corresponding to the abnormality of step #1 is not written into the page memory RAM 33. This is because the abnormality of step #1 is a power abnormality, and the device control unit 3 itself does not operate.

[0119] In addition, an image such as the content of an abnormality in the next step indicating that the completion notice has been received is written into the page memory RAM 33 because, when the start operation stops in the next step, the device control circuit 31 does not receive the completion notice of the step in which the abnormality has occurred.

[0120] In Figure 8 case, since the start operation of the system control unit 2 proceeds normally, when step #6 is completed, the system control circuit 21 of the system control unit 2 generates a display screen 1 and transfers it to the device control unit 3 (step 23).

[0121] On the other hand, the device control circuit 31 of the device control unit 3 that has received the display screen 1 overwrites the received display screen 1 into the page memory RAM 33 (step 34). As a result, only the display screen 1 exists in a specific area of the page memory RAM 33.

[0122] Then, the device control circuit 31 of the device control unit 3 transfers the image in the page memory RAM 33 to the operation panel 4 (step 35). As a result, the display screen 1 generated by the system control unit 2 is displayed on the operation panel 4.

[0123] This Figure 8 shown start operation corresponds to the operation described using Figure 4 described.

[0124] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating the case where an abnormality occurs in the start operation and the start operation stops. In addition, in Figure 9 are marked with the reference numerals corresponding to the corresponding parts of Figure 8 and shown.

[0125] Figure 9 The example shown shows the case where the start operation stops in step #2. In this case, only the completion notice of step #1 is sent to the device control unit 3. Therefore, the #2 image corresponding to the abnormality of step #2 written at the beginning is transferred to the operation panel 4.

[0126] This Figure 9 shown start operation corresponds to the operation described using Figure 5 described.

[0127] <Example of display screen>

[0128] Hereinafter, a specific example of the display screen 2 displayed on the operation panel 4 will be described.

[0129] Figure 10 is a chart showing the relationship between the step where an abnormality occurs and the display message.

[0130] There is no display message corresponding to the abnormality in Step #1. This is because, as described above, since the abnormality in Step #1 is a power-on abnormality, the device control unit 3 itself does not operate.

[0131] The display message corresponding to the abnormality in Step #2 is the display of the initial screen such as a trademark (logo), etc. The display message shows "123-002 ROM malfunction. Please contact the service provider." etc. In this case, the system board is replaced by an employee dispatched from the service provider.

[0132] The display message corresponding to the abnormality in Step #3 shows "123-003 RAM connection malfunction. Please remove the system memory RAM and reinsert it." etc.

[0133] The display message corresponding to the abnormality in Step #4 shows "123-004 Program startup abnormality. Please redownload the main program." etc.

[0134] The display message corresponding to the abnormality in Step #5 shows "123-005 Program recovery abnormality. Please turn on / off the main power switch." etc.

[0135] The display message corresponding to the abnormality in Step #6 shows "123-006 System board - Device board connection abnormality. Please contact the service provider." etc. In this case, an employee dispatched from the service provider removes and reinserts the system board and the device board.

[0136] Figure 11 It is a figure showing a specific example of the display message etc. displayed on the operation panel. Figure 11 (A) of is a display example in the case where an abnormality occurs in Step #1, Figure 11 (B) of is a display example in the case where the power is turned on but the completion of Step #1 is not notified.

[0137] Since the case where an abnormality occurs in Step #1 means that an abnormality has occurred in the power control circuit 26, as shown in (A), nothing is displayed on the operation panel 4. Since the sub-power switch 10 (refer to Figure 2 ) is operated to the on state but still no display screen appears, it can be known that the power is not turned on or there is an abnormality in the connection with the operation panel 4.

[0138] In the case where the completion of Step #1 is not notified, the initial screen written in the page memory RAM 33 is directly displayed on the operation panel 4 by turning on the power. It can be known that when the initial screen is displayed, the power is turned on and the connection between the device control circuit 31 and the operation panel 4 is normal.

[0139] Figure 12This is a diagram showing other specific examples of display messages and the like shown on the operation panel. Figure 12 (A) of Figure 12 is a display example of a situation where an abnormality occurs in step #2. Figure 12 (B) of Figure 12 is a display example of a situation where an abnormality occurs in step #5.

[0140] The situation where an abnormality occurs in step #2 means a malfunction in the startup of the bootstrap program. In this case, although the device control circuit 31 receives the notification of the completion of step #1, it does not receive the notification of the completion of step #2. Therefore, the update of the image stored in the page memory RAM 33 stops when it becomes an image indicating that an abnormality has occurred in step #2. Therefore, the content of the abnormality in step #2 is displayed on the operation panel 4.

[0141] The situation where an abnormality occurs in step #5 means a malfunction in the startup of the high-speed recovery program. In this case, although the notification of the completion of step #4 is received, the notification of the completion of step #5 is not received. Therefore, the update of the image stored in the page memory RAM 33 stops when it becomes an image indicating that an abnormality has occurred in step #5. Therefore, the content of the abnormality in step #5 is displayed on the operation panel 4.

[0142] As described above, in the case of this embodiment, the following method is adopted: triggered by the reception of the notification of the completion of the step, the images indicating the content of the abnormality of each step are mechanically written into the page memory RAM 33 in a predetermined order.

[0143] That is, in this embodiment, only the pre-prepared images are sequentially overwritten into a specific area of the page memory RAM 33 corresponding to the progress of the startup operation in the system control unit 2, and there is no need to perform processing such as switching the input of the images. In addition, when the progress of the startup operation stops midway, the images that have been written into the page memory RAM 33 at that time are displayed on the operation panel 4 after a predetermined time.

[0144] As a result, it is easy for the user who confirms the image displayed on the operation panel 4 to find out which step of the startup operation has an abnormality and what actions are required.

[0145] <Embodiment 2>

[0146] Although in the above embodiment, the pre-prepared images are sequentially read out and overwritten into a specific area of the page memory RAM 33 without confirming the content of the completion notification received from the system control unit 2, it is also possible to confirm the content of the notification and determine the image to be written into a specific area of the page memory RAM 33 based on the confirmed content.

[0147] Figure 13 This is a diagram illustrating the normal progress of the startup operation in Embodiment 2. Additionally, in Figure 13 , reference numerals corresponding to the corresponding parts of Figure 8 are marked and shown.

[0148] In Figure 13 , when receiving the notification of the completion of each step, the process of confirming the notification content (step 400) is executed. Then, the image corresponding to the next step after the step whose completion has been confirmed is overwritten into the page memory RAM 33.

[0149] For example, when receiving the notification of the completion of step #1, the device control unit 3 executes step 331A which is a set of these two processes.

[0150] Furthermore, when receiving the notification of the completion of step #2, the device control unit 3 executes step 332A. Additionally, when receiving the notification of the completion of step #3, the device control unit 3 executes step 333A (not shown). Moreover, when receiving the notification of the completion of step #4, the device control unit 3 executes step 334A (not shown). Additionally, when receiving the notification of the completion of step #5, the device control unit 3 executes step 335A.

[0151] In the case of this embodiment, since the progress of the startup operation in the system control unit 2 is confirmed and the image to be written into a specific area of the page memory RAM 33 is determined (step 33A), when an abnormality occurs, the content of the image displayed on the operation panel 4 does not conflict with the actual content of the abnormality.

[0152] <Embodiment 3>

[0153] Although in the above embodiment, when receiving the completion notification from the system control unit 2 each time, the image indicating the content of the abnormality of the next step is overwritten into a specific area of the page memory RAM 33, the writing of the image can also be performed only once at a predetermined time from the start of the startup operation.

[0154] Figure 14 This is a diagram illustrating the normal progress of the startup operation in Embodiment 3. Additionally, in Figure 14 , reference numerals corresponding to the corresponding parts of Figure 8 are marked and shown.

[0155] In Figure 14In the case of [condition], a message corresponding to an abnormality in the following step is overwritten in the page memory RAM 33 (step 36), and this step is the next step after the step corresponding to the last notification among the notifications received at a preset time from the start of the startup operation.

[0156] In addition, it is set that when the startup operation of the system control unit 2 proceeds normally, the overwriting in step 35 is completed before the timing (step 34) when the display screen 1 transferred from the system control unit 2 is overwritten in the page memory RAM 33.

[0157] Furthermore, in the case where a completion notification for step #1 is not received either, an initial screen is written in the page memory RAM 33.

[0158] In the case of this embodiment, when an abnormality occurs during the startup operation of the system control unit 2, the writing of the image to the page memory RAM 33 needs to be performed only once.

[0159] In addition, it is also possible to combine the process of confirming the content of the received notification as in Embodiment 2.

[0160] <Embodiment 4>

[0161] Although in the above embodiment, the completion notifications of each step are received from the system control unit 2, it is also possible to receive a notification of the content of an abnormality and write an image corresponding to the received content of the abnormality to a specific area of the page memory RAM 33.

[0162] Figure 15 It is a diagram showing the case where the startup operation in Embodiment 4 proceeds normally. In addition, in Figure 15 the corresponding parts are labeled with reference numerals corresponding to Figure 8 and shown.

[0163] In Figure 15 the case of [condition], the system control unit 2 determines whether an abnormality has occurred during the startup operation (step 24). If an abnormality occurs during the period until 6 steps are completed, the system control unit 2 obtains an affirmative result in step 24.

[0164] If an affirmative result is obtained in step 24, the system control unit 2 notifies the device control unit 3 of the content of the abnormality that has occurred (step 25). The notification of the content of the abnormality also uses a signal line. In this case, the device control unit 3 writes an image corresponding to the notified content of the abnormality to the page memory RAM 33 (step 37).

[0165] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step 24, the system control unit 2 generates the display screen 1 and transfers it to the device control unit 3 (step 23).

[0166] The subsequent operations are the same as those in Embodiment 1.

[0167] In the case of this embodiment, the content of the notification is consistent with the content of the image written in the page memory RAM 33.

[0168] <Embodiment 5>

[0169] In the case of the above-described Embodiment 4, when an abnormal notification is received, the device control unit 3 writes an image corresponding to the content of the notified abnormality into the page memory RAM 33. However, the following method may also be adopted: mechanically write an image corresponding to the following steps into the page memory RAM 33. If an abnormal notification is received before the time when all steps are completed, stop updating the image. The step is the step being executed at the moment corresponding to the length of time elapsed since startup.

[0170] Figure 16 It is a diagram for explaining the startup operation in Embodiment 5. In addition, in Figure 16 , reference numerals corresponding to the corresponding parts of Figure 8 are marked and shown. In addition, in Figure 16 , only the startup operation on the device control unit 3 side is shown. In addition, the startup operation on the system control unit 2 side is the same as Figure 15 .

[0171] As Figure 16 shows, in the case of this embodiment, the device control unit 3 mechanically writes an image corresponding to the content of the following abnormality into the page memory RAM 33. The content of the abnormality is the content of the abnormality corresponding to the length of time elapsed since startup (step 38). That is, the device control unit 3 in this embodiment measures the time from the start of the startup operation.

[0172] In the device control unit 3 in this embodiment, a table is stored, and the relationship between the measured time and each step executed by the system control unit 2 is described in the table. Therefore, only the device control unit 3 can execute the writing of the image corresponding to each step.

[0173] However, if only based on the passage of time, then even if an abnormality occurs in the startup operation of the system control unit 2, the writing to the page memory RAM 33 will not stop.

[0174] Therefore, the device control unit 3 in this embodiment performs the following determination.

[0175] First, the device control unit 3 determines whether the end time of step 6 has passed (step 39).

[0176] In the case where a negative result is obtained in step 39, the device control unit 3 determines whether an abnormality notification has been received from the system control unit 2 (step 40).

[0177] In the case where a negative result is also obtained in step 40, the device control unit 3 returns to the process of step 38 and overwrites the image corresponding to the process of the next step in the page memory RAM 33.

[0178] In addition, in the case where a negative result is obtained in step 39 and a positive result is obtained in step 40, that is, in the case where an abnormality notification is received before the end time of step 6, the device control unit 3 exits the loop of returning to step 38. By exiting the loop of returning to step 38, the update of the image to the page memory RAM 33 along with the passage of time is stopped.

[0179] In addition, when no abnormality notification has been received and the end time of step 6 has passed, the device control unit 3 obtains a positive result in step 39 and exits the loop of returning to step 38.

[0180] The subsequent operations are the same as those in Embodiment 1.

[0181] In addition, although Figure 16 it is determined in step 40 whether an abnormality notification has been received, it is also possible to determine whether a completion notification of each step has been received at a preset time. In the case of making this determination, if a completion notification of each step is received at the preset time, return to step 38, and if a completion notification of each step is not received at the preset time, proceed to step 34.

[0182] <Other Embodiments>

[0183] As described above, embodiments of the present invention have been described, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It can be understood from the claims that embodiments obtained by making various changes or improvements to the above embodiments can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0184] For example, in the above embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 (refer to Figure 1 ) etc. is exemplified as an example of an information processing apparatus. However, as long as it has a device structure with a CPU for controlling the operation of the entire system and a CPU for controlling the operation of the device and is a device that responds to the power saving mode, it can be applied to any device. In addition, the number of steps constituting the startup operation varies depending on the device to which it is applied.

[0185] In addition, in the above-described embodiments, the case where the image forming apparatus 1 or the like has a plurality of functions has been described. However, it may also be a device having a specific function. For example, the information processing apparatus may also be a printing apparatus or a scanner as a single-function device.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus having: a first control unit that controls the operation of the entire apparatus; and a second control unit that, starting from the startup of the first control unit and accompanying the startup operation of the first control unit, writes a plurality of second images generated by itself one by one in a specific area of a storage medium in an overwriting manner, and when receiving a first image from the first control unit after this writing, overwrites the second image written in this specific area with the first image. The plurality of second images respectively show their malfunction situations for each step of the startup operation of the first control unit. When the previous step among each step of the startup operation of the first control unit is completed, the second image corresponding to the step after this previous step is overwritten in the specific area of the storage medium. The first image is an image generated by the first control unit when the startup operation ends normally. The second control unit outputs the image stored in the specific area to a display device when a predetermined time has elapsed since the startup.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, the second control unit monitors the reception of a signal indicating the progress of the startup in the first control unit and determines the second image to be written in the specific area.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, whenever the signal indicating the progress of the startup received by the second control unit from the first control unit is updated, the second control unit updates the second image in the specific area.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, when an interruption occurs in the update of the signal indicating the progress of the startup of the first control unit, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the startup, the second control unit outputs the second image written in the specific area to the display device.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, the second image corresponds to the content of the signal indicating the progress of the startup of the first control unit.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein, whenever the content of the signal is updated, the second control unit updates the second image in the specific area.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, the content of the operation required for the user to eliminate the malfunction situation is included in the second image.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, the second control unit updates the second image according to the elapsed time since the startup.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein, the second control unit writes an image corresponding to the elapsed time since the startup as the second image in the specific area.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein, the second control unit stops the update of the second image at the moment when receiving a notification of a malfunction situation during the startup from the first control unit.

Images