Information processing apparatus and information processing method

Abstract

To sufficiently move data from a volatile memory to a nonvolatile memory when a power supply is interrupted.SOLUTION: A printer 1 is provided with: a voltage detection unit 40 that detects voltage drop in which voltage of a main power source PWm, which is supplied power, drops to a detection reference value Th1; a power cutoff unit 42 that cuts off supply of the main power source PWm to at least a printing unit 14 which is a driving-system load, when the voltage drop is detected; and a transfer unit 44 that transfers data of a RAM 32 which is a volatile storage unit, to a ROM 34 which is a nonvolatile storage unit, when the voltage drop is detected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, and is suitable for application to, for example, an image forming apparatus having a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an information processing apparatus has been proposed that moves and stores data and the like from a volatile memory to a non-volatile memory when a power failure or momentary power interruption occurs (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, when the capacity of data or the like is large, there are cases where data cannot be sufficiently transferred from the volatile memory to the non-volatile memory when the power is cut off.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and intends to propose an information processing apparatus and an information processing method capable of sufficiently transferring data from a volatile memory to a non-volatile memory when the power is cut off.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve such problems, in the information processing apparatus of the present invention, a voltage detection unit that detects a voltage drop when the voltage of the supplied power drops to a predetermined detection threshold, and when a voltage drop is detected, a power cut-off unit that cuts off the supply of power to at least the drive system load, and when a voltage drop is detected, a transfer unit that transfers data in the volatile storage unit to the non-volatile storage unit are provided.

[0007] In the information processing method of the present invention, a voltage detection step of detecting a voltage drop in which the voltage of the supplied power has dropped to a predetermined detection threshold value, a power cut-off step of cutting off the supply of power to at least the drive system load when the voltage drop is detected, and a transfer step of transferring the data in the volatile memory unit to the non-volatile memory unit when the voltage drop is detected are provided.

[0008] The present invention can maintain the power supplied to the transfer unit for a long time when the power supply is cut off, and increase the capacity of the data that can be transferred from the volatile memory unit to the non-volatile memory unit.

Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to maintain the power supplied to the transfer unit for a long time when the power supply is cut off, increase the capacity of the data that can be transferred from the volatile memory unit to the non-volatile memory unit, and thus realize an information processing apparatus and an information processing method capable of sufficiently moving data from the volatile memory to the non-volatile memory when the power supply is cut off.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 8

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] [1. First Embodiment] [1-1. Overall Configuration of the Printer] As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 is a color electrophotographic printer that prints a desired color image on a medium having a size such as A3 size or A4 size. The printer 1 has a power supply unit 10, a control unit 12, and a printing unit 14 inside thereof. The power supply unit 10 is a power supply board that obtains electric power of AC100V (alternating current 100 [V]) from an AC cable connected to a commercial power supply, converts it to DC (direct current), and supplies power to the entire printer 1. The control unit 12 is a control board that controls the entire printer 1. The printing unit 14 is a set of units that perform printing on a medium by an electrophotographic process based on the control of the control unit 12.

[0013] [1-2. Internal Configuration of the Printer] As shown in FIG. 2, the power supply unit 10 has a power supply section 20 and a switch 22. The control unit 12 has a main system 26 and a subsystem 24. The power supply section 20 is an AC-DC conversion unit that generates DC24V (direct current 24 [V]) from AC100V, supplies it as a sub-power supply PWs to the subsystem 24 of the control unit 12, and supplies it as a main power supply PWm to the main system 26 of the control unit 12 and the printing unit 14 via the switch 22. The main power supply PWm branches into the main system 26 and the printing unit 14 at a branch point 23 on the downstream side of the switch 22. The switch 22 is a switch capable of disconnecting the power supply from the load, is arranged upstream of the main power supply PWm from the branch point 23, and switches between a connected state and a disconnected state under the control of the sub-control unit 28. That is, based on the control of the sub-control unit 28, when the switch 22 is in the connected state, it causes the main power supply PWm output from the power supply section 20 to be supplied to the main system 26 and the printing unit 14, while when it is in the disconnected state, it does not cause the main power supply PWm to be supplied to the main system 26 and the printing unit 14.

[0014] The main system 26 is a system that operates when the main power supply PWm is supplied, and it has a main control unit 30. As described above, the main power supply is controlled to be turned on / off by the switch 22. The main control unit 30 is composed of a main CPU (Central Processing Unit) and its peripheral circuits, and is a function realized by the main CPU executing a program stored in the ROM (Read Only Memory) 34 within the subsystem 24. This main control unit 30 is connected to the bus 36 and accesses the RAM (Random Access Memory) 32 and ROM 34 within the subsystem 24, and the printing unit 14. Also, when the main control unit 30 receives print data from a PC (Personal Computer) not shown in the figure, it expands this print data in the RAM 32 and performs processing. During the execution of this processing, the main control unit 30 stores, as intermediate data, data being printed on the current medium by the printing unit 14 during the printing process, data indicating the processing status such as how many pages have been printed, and print billing information, etc. in the RAM 32. The amount of data stored in the RAM 32 at this time is, for example, at most 1 [MB]. After the completion of this processing, the main control unit 30 controls the printing unit 14 to perform printing (i.e., the printing process) on the medium.

[0015] The subsystem 24 is a system that operates when the sub power supply PWs is supplied, and it has a sub control unit 28, the RAM 32, and the ROM 34. The sub control unit 28 is composed of a sub CPU and its peripheral circuits, and is a function realized by the sub CPU executing a program stored in the ROM 34. This sub control unit 28 is connected to the bus 36 and accesses the RAM 32 and the ROM 34. Also, when a power outage occurs, the sub control unit 28 copies the intermediate data from the RAM 32 to the ROM 34 and stores it for backup. The speed at which the sub control unit 28 writes data to the ROM 34 is, for example, 10 [MB / s].

[0016] As shown in Fig. 3, the power supply unit 20 has a DC 24V output circuit 38 and a capacitor C with a capacitance of 1000 [μF]. The subsystem 24 has a constant current load Ia, and its consumption current is approximately 100 [mA]. Since this subsystem 24 is a control system load composed of a control circuit with suppressed performance and functions, the consumption current is small.

[0017] The main system 26 has a constant current load Ib, and its consumption current is approximately 300 [mA]. Since this main system 26 is a control system load composed of a high-performance and high-function control circuit, the consumption current is relatively large, and at least more than the subsystem 24.

[0018] The printing unit 14 has a constant current load Ic, and its consumption current is approximately 600 [mA]. Since this printing unit 14 is a drive system load having mechanical components such as a motor, the consumption current is very large. Hereinafter, the constant current loads Ia, Ib, and Ic are collectively referred to as the constant current load I.

[0019] Actually, the loads of the subsystem 24, the main system 26, and the printing unit 14 also include resistance components that are not constant currents. However, since the resistance value of this resistance component that is not a constant current is kept relatively large and the flowing current is small, it is assumed that the influence of the constant current load is dominant, and the influence by the resistance component is not calculated here.

[0020] When the switch 22 is in the connected state, the constant current load applied to the power supply unit 20 is the constant current load Ia (100 [mA]) + the constant current load Ib (300 [mA]) + the constant current load Ic (600 [mA]), for a total of 1000 [mA]. On the other hand, when the switch 22 is in the disconnected state, the constant current load applied to the power supply unit 20 decreases to 100 [mA] of the constant current load Ia.

[0021] [1-3. Retraction process] Next, with respect to the specific processing procedure of the evacuation process by the sub-control unit 28 of the printer 1 and the potential changes of the main power supply PWm and the sub-power supply PWs at the time of a power outage, the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 and the time charts shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 will be used for explanation.

[0022] [1-3-1. Potential Changes at the Time of Power Outage due to the Evacuation Process according to the Present Embodiment] When the power of the printer 1 is turned on, the sub-control unit 28 executes the evacuation process procedure RT1 (FIG. 4) and moves to step SP1. In step SP1, the sub-control unit 28 determines whether the voltage of the main power supply PWm has dropped to 20 [V], which is the detection threshold Th1. If a negative result is obtained here, the sub-control unit 28 returns to step SP1 and repeats the determination of whether the voltage of the main power supply PWm has dropped to the detection threshold Th1.

[0023] Here, it is assumed that a power outage occurs in the building where the printer 1 is installed at the time point T0 (0 [ms]) shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 while the printer 1 is performing printing processing. At this time point T0, a total of 1 [MB] of intermediate data is stored in the RAM 32. From here, the electric charge stored in the capacitor C is consumed by the constant current load I.

[0024] At this time, since the printer 1 is in a normal operating state, the switch 22 is in a connected state. Therefore, the constant current load applied to the power supply unit 20 is the constant current load Ia + the constant current load Ib + the constant current load Ic = 1000 [mA]. In this case, the potential change per unit time ΔV / Δt of the RC parallel circuit during the constant current load is expressed by the following formula. ΔV / Δt=(Ia+Ib+Ic) / C=1[A] / 0.001[F]=1000[V / s]=1[V / ms] Therefore, the output voltage of the power supply unit 20 drops at a rate of 1 [V] per 1 [ms] as shown after the time point T0 on the potential change lines Lpwm1 and Lpws1.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 5, when the sub-control unit 28 detects that the voltage of the main power supply PWm has dropped to 20 [V], which is the detection threshold Th1, 4 [ms] after the time point T0, it obtains an affirmative result in step SP1 and moves to step SP2. In step SP2, since the sub-control unit 28 detects that the voltage of the main power supply PWm has dropped to the detection threshold Th1 and determines that a power outage has occurred, it switches the switch 22 from the connected state to the disconnected state, so as not to supply the main power supply PWm to the main system 26 and the printing unit 14 (that is, to shut down the main power supply PWm), and moves to step SP3. As a result, as shown by the potential change line Lpwm1 in FIG. 5, the voltage of the main power supply PWm becomes 0 [V].

[0026] When the switch 22 is in the disconnected state, as described above, the constant current load applied to the power supply unit 20 is the constant current load Ia = 100 [mA]. In this case, the potential change per unit time ΔV / Δt of the RC parallel circuit under the constant current load is represented by the following formula. ΔV / Δt = Ia / C = 0.1 [A] / 0.001 [F] = 100 [V / s] = 0.1 [V / ms] Therefore, the output voltage of the power supply unit 20 decreases at a rate of 0.1 [V] per 1 [ms], as shown after the time point T1 in the potential change line Lpws1 in FIG. 6.

[0027] In step SP3, since the sub-control unit 28 has detected the occurrence of a power outage, it copies the intermediate data on the RAM 32 to the ROM 34 for backup, moves to step SP4, and ends the backup processing procedure RT1.

[0028] As described above, the writing speed from the sub-control unit 28 to the ROM 34 is 10 [MB / s]. Therefore, it takes 100 [ms] for the sub-control unit 28 to backup 1 [MB] of intermediate data on the RAM 32 to the ROM 34. Therefore, the copy backup is completed at the time point T3, which is 100 [ms] after the time point T1, that is, at 104 [ms].

[0029] Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6, at time T4, 154 [ms] after the power failure occurs (time T0), since the voltage of the sub-power supply PWs has dropped to 5 [V], which is the operating threshold Th2, all circuits become inoperable. At time T4, since all the necessary data has been evacuated from the RAM 32 to the ROM 34, when the printer 1 recovers from the power failure, the main control unit 30 can refer to the data in the ROM 34 and return to the operation before the power failure. Specifically, the main control unit 30 resumes printing from the page where printing was incomplete and appropriately processes the printing billing information.

[0030] [1-3-2. Potential change at the time of power failure due to the evacuation process of the comparative example] On the other hand, as a comparative example, the operation when the sub-control unit 28 does not execute the process of switching the switch 22 from the connected state to the disconnected state at time T1 in step SP2 of the evacuation process procedure RT1 will be described.

[0031] When the power of the printer 1 is turned on, the sub-control unit 28 executes the evacuation process procedure RT1 (FIG. 4) and moves to step SP1. In step SP1, the sub-control unit 28 determines whether the voltage of the main power supply PWm has dropped to 20 [V], which is the detection threshold Th1. If a negative result is obtained here, the sub-control unit 28 returns to step SP1 and repeats the determination of whether the voltage of the main power supply PWm has dropped to the detection threshold Th1.

[0032] Here, assume that a power failure occurs in the building where the printer 1 is installed at time T0 (0 [ms]) shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 while the printer 1 is performing the printing process. At this time T0, a total of 1 [MB] of intermediate data is stored in the RAM 32. From here, the charge stored in the capacitor C is consumed by the constant current load I.

[0033] At this time, since the printer 1 is in a normal operating state, the switch 22 is in a connected state. Therefore, the constant current load applied to the power supply unit 20 is the constant current load Ia + the constant current load Ib + the constant current load Ic = 1000 [mA]. The potential change ΔV / Δt per unit time of the RC parallel circuit in the case of a constant current load is expressed by the following formula. ΔV / Δt=(Ia+Ib+Ic) / C=1[A] / 0.001[F]=1000[V / s]=1[V / ms] Therefore, the output voltage of the power supply unit 20 decreases at a rate of 1 [V] per 1 [ms] as shown after the time point T0 on the potential change lines Lpwm2 and Lpws2.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 5, when the sub-control unit 28 detects that the voltage of the main power supply PWm has dropped to 20 [V], which is the detection threshold Th1, at the time point T1, 4 [ms] after the time point T0, it obtains an affirmative result in step SP1 and keeps the switch 22 in the connected state without executing step SP2, so that the main power supply PWm continues to be supplied to the main system 26 and the printing unit 14, and then proceeds to step SP3. As a result, as shown by the potential change line Lpwm2 in FIG. 5, the voltage of the main power supply PWm does not become 0 [V] and continues to decrease at a rate of 1 [V] per 1 [ms]. Also, the voltage of the sub-power supply PWs does not change so as to decrease at a rate of 0.1 [V] per 1 [ms] as shown by the potential change line Lpws2 in FIG. 6, but continues to decrease at a rate of 1 [V] per 1 [ms].

[0035] In step SP3, since the sub-control unit 28 has detected the occurrence of a power failure, it copies the intermediate data on the RAM 32 to the ROM 34 for backup, then proceeds to step SP4 and ends the backup processing procedure RT1.

[0036] As described above, the writing speed from the sub-control unit 28 to the ROM 34 is 10 [MB / s]. Therefore, it takes 100 [ms] for the sub-control unit 28 to backup 1 [MB] of intermediate data on the RAM 32 to the ROM 34.

[0037] However, as shown in FIG. 6, at time T2, 19 [ms] after the power failure occurs (time T0), the voltage of the sub-power supply PWs has dropped to 5 [V], which is the operating threshold Th2, so all circuits become inoperable. Therefore, in the case of the comparative example, only 0.15 [MB] of the 1 [MB] of data has been backed up in the ROM34. When the printer 1 recovers from the power failure, since all the necessary data in the ROM34 has not been backed up from the RAM32, the main control unit 30 cannot return to the operation before the power failure. For this reason, the main control unit 30 needs to have the printing data resent from the PC.

[0038] [1-4. Functional Configuration of Sub-Control Unit] Here, when the basic functions related to the backup process in the sub-control unit 28 are represented by a functional block diagram, it is as shown in FIG. 7. The voltage detection unit 40 corresponds to the sub-control unit 28 (FIG. 2) and detects a voltage drop in which the voltage of the main power supply PWm, which is the supplied power, has dropped to a predetermined detection threshold Th1. The power cut-off unit 42 corresponds to the sub-control unit 28 and the switch 22 (FIG. 2), and when a voltage drop is detected, cuts off the supply of the main power supply PWm to the printing unit 14, which is a drive system load, and the main system 26, which is a control system load. The transfer unit 44 corresponds to the sub-control unit 28 (FIG. 2), and when a voltage drop is detected, transfers the data in the RAM32, which is a volatile memory unit, to the ROM34, which is a non-volatile memory unit.

[0039] [1-5. Effects, etc.] In the above configuration, the printer 1 separates its internal power supply system into a sub-system 24 as a second load supplied with the sub-power supply PWs from the power supply unit 20 without passing through the switch 22, and a main system 26 and a printing unit 14 as a first load supplied with the main power supply PWm from the power supply unit 20 through the switch 22 and capable of shutting down the main power supply PWm as needed.

[0040] In addition, the printer 1 configured a subsystem 24, which is a control system load, with a control circuit having reduced performance and functions to reduce the current consumption. Further, the printer 1 configured a main system 26, which is a control system load, with a high-performance and high-function control circuit to make the current consumption relatively high. Additionally, the printer 1 configured a printing unit 14 with a drive system load such as mechanical parts for printing to make the current consumption higher than that of the subsystem 24 and the main system 26.

[0041] In this way, the printer 1 supplies the sub-power PW_s to the subsystem 24 that only has the function of monitoring the main power PW_m and copying and storing data from the RAM 32 to the ROM 34 when the power is cut off, and supplies the main power PW_m to the main system 26 and the printing unit 14 for other functions.

[0042] When the sub-control unit 28 detects that the voltage of the main power PW_m supplied from the power supply unit 20 to the main system 26 has dropped when a power failure or the like occurs, the sub-control unit 28 switches the switch 22 from the connected state to the disconnected state to cut off the main power PW_m to the main system 26 and the printing unit 14. Therefore, the printer 1 can reduce the load on the power supply unit 20 from 1000 [mA] (the total of the subsystem 24, the main system 26, and the printing unit 14) to 100 [mA] (the subsystem 24).

[0043] Subsequently, the sub-control unit 28 copies and stores the data from the RAM 32 to the ROM 34. At this time, since the power load of the power supply unit 20 is reduced compared to the case where the switch 22 is in the connected state, the printer 1 can maintain the supply of the sub-power PW_s for a relatively long time after detecting the power failure. Therefore, the printer 1 can ensure the power required to copy and store the data from the RAM 32 to the ROM 34 even for large-capacity data. As a result, the printer 1 can refer to the data in the ROM 34 by the main control unit 30 after the power is restored and return to the operation before the power failure.

[0044] According to the above configuration, the printer 1 is provided with a voltage detection unit 40 that detects a voltage drop in which the voltage of the main power supply PWm, which is the supplied power, drops to the detection threshold Th1, a power cutoff unit 42 that cuts off the supply of the main power supply PWm to at least the printing unit 14, which is a drive system load, when the voltage drop is detected, and a transfer unit 44 that transfers the data in the RAM 32, which is a volatile memory unit, to the ROM 34, which is a non-volatile memory unit, when the voltage drop is detected.

[0045] As a result, the printer 1 can maintain the power supplied to the transfer unit 44 for a long time when the power is cut off, and can increase the capacity of the data that can be transferred from the RAM 32 to the ROM 34.

[0046] [2. Second Embodiment] [2-1. Configuration of Printer] As shown in FIG. 8 in which members corresponding to those in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals, the printer 101 according to the second embodiment is different from the printer 1 according to the first embodiment in that it has a sub-control unit 128 in place of the sub-control unit 28 and a switch 122 in place of the switch 22, but is otherwise configured in the same manner.

[0047] The switch 122 is a switch that can disconnect the power supply and the load in the same manner as the switch 22 (FIG. 2), is arranged on the downstream side of the main power supply PWm on the printing unit 14 side from the branch point 23, and switches between a connected state and a disconnected state under the control of the sub-control unit 128. That is, when the switch 122 is in the connected state based on the control of the sub-control unit 128, it causes the main power supply PWm output from the power supply unit 20 to be supplied to the main system 26 and the printing unit 14, while when it is in the disconnected state, although it continues to supply the main power supply PWm to the main system 26, it does not supply it to the printing unit 14.

[0048] [2-2. Functional Configuration of Sub-Control Unit] Here, when the basic functions related to the save process in the sub-control unit 128 are represented by a functional block diagram, it is as shown in FIG. 7. The voltage detection unit 40 corresponds to the sub-control unit 128 (FIG. 8) and detects a voltage drop in which the voltage of the main power supply PWm, which is the supplied power, has dropped to a predetermined detection threshold Th1. The power cut-off unit 142 corresponds to the sub-control unit 128 and the switch 122 (FIG. 8), and when a voltage drop is detected, cuts off the supply of the main power supply PWm to the printing unit 14, which is a drive system load. The transfer unit 44 corresponds to the sub-control unit 128 (FIG. 2), and when a voltage drop is detected, transfers the data in the RAM 32, which is a volatile memory unit, to the ROM 34, which is a non-volatile memory unit.

[0049] Note that when, like the printer 101 of the second embodiment, when a voltage drop is detected, the main power supply PWm to the main system 26 is continuously supplied and only the supply of the main power supply PWm to the printing unit 14 is cut off, in the case of the same conditions as the printer 1 of the first embodiment, before the 1 [MB] of data can be completely saved from the RAM 32 to the ROM 34, the voltage of the sub-power supply PWs drops to the operating threshold Th2. Therefore, depending on conditions such as the capacity of the data to be saved from the RAM 32 to the ROM 34, the speed at which the sub-control unit 128 writes data to the ROM 34, the consumption currents of the constant current loads Ia, Ib, and Ic, the detection threshold Th1, the operating threshold Th2, and the capacitance of the capacitor C, etc., when a voltage drop is detected, it is possible to continuously supply the main power supply PWm to the main system 26 and only cut off the supply of the main power supply PWm to the printing unit 14.

[0050] [2-3. Effects, etc.] In the above configuration, when the sub-control unit 128 detects that the voltage of the main power supply PWm supplied from the power supply unit 20 to the main system 26 has dropped when a power failure or the like occurs, the sub-control unit 128 switches the switch 122 from the connected state to the disconnected state, and cuts off the main power supply PWm to the printing unit 14 without cutting off the main power supply PWm to the main system 26. For this reason, the printer 101 can reduce the load on the power supply unit 20 from 1000 [mA] (the total of the subsystem 24, the main system 26, and the printing unit 14) to 400 [mA] (the subsystem 24 and the main system 26).

[0051] Subsequently, the sub-control unit 128 copies the data from the RAM 32 to the ROM 34 and stores it for backup. At this time, since the power load of the power supply unit 20 is lower than that in the case where the switch 122 is in the connected state, the printer 101 can maintain the supply of the sub-power supply PWs for a relatively long time after detecting a power failure, although it is shorter than when compared with the printer 1. For this reason, the printer 101 can secure the power required to copy and store the data from the RAM 32 to the ROM 34 without losing the data even for large-capacity data. As a result, the printer 101 can refer to the data in the ROM 34 by the main control unit 30 after the power failure recovery and return to the operation before the power failure.

[0052] According to the above configuration, the printer 101 is provided with a voltage detection unit 40 that detects a voltage drop in which the voltage of the main power supply PWm, which is the supplied power, has dropped to the detection threshold Th1, a power cut-off unit 142 that cuts off the supply of the main power supply PWm to the printing unit 14, which is a drive system load, when the voltage drop is detected, and a transfer unit 44 that transfers the data in the RAM 32, which is a volatile storage unit, to the ROM 34, which is a non-volatile storage unit, when the voltage drop is detected.

[0053] As a result, the printer 101 can maintain the power supplied to the transfer unit 44 for a long time when the power is cut off, and can increase the capacity of the data that can be transferred from the RAM 32 to the ROM 34.

[0054] In other respects as well, the printer 101 according to the second embodiment can achieve substantially the same effects as the printer 1 according to the first embodiment.

[0055] 3. Other embodiments In the above-described first and second embodiments, the printer 1 or 101 detects a voltage drop by monitoring whether the voltage of the main power supply PWm has dropped to the detection threshold Th1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the printer 1 or 101 may detect a voltage drop by monitoring whether the voltage of the sub power supply PWs has dropped to the detection threshold Th1.

[0056] In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, the printer 1 or 101 is described as using the RAM 32 as the volatile memory and the ROM 34 as the non-volatile memory. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the printer 1 or 101 may use various other storage media as the volatile memory and various other storage media as the non-volatile memory.

[0057] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention has been described as being applied to the printer 1 or 101, which is a color printer. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to various other information processing devices that have volatile and nonvolatile memories and that save data from the volatile memory to the nonvolatile memory when the voltage of the supplied power source drops, such as an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) having the functions of a copier or facsimile machine, or a cash processing device. In this case, the effect of the present invention is remarkable when the present invention is applied not to an information processing device having only a control system load, but to an information processing device having a drive system load that consumes more current than the control system load, and when the power supply to the drive system load is cut off when a voltage drop occurs.

[0058] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to each of the above-described embodiments and other embodiments. That is, the present invention applies to embodiments in which any combination of a part or all of each of the above-described embodiments and the above-described other embodiments is arbitrarily combined. In addition, the present invention extracts a part of the configuration described in any of the above-described embodiments and other embodiments, and replaces and transfers it with a part of the configuration of any of the above-described embodiments and other embodiments, or adds a part of the extracted configuration to any of the embodiments. The scope of application also extends to the embodiments thus obtained.

[0059] Furthermore, in the first or second embodiment described above, the case where the printer 1 or 101 as an information processing apparatus is configured by the voltage detection unit 40 as a voltage detection unit, the power cut-off unit 42 or 142 as a power cut-off unit, and the transfer unit 44 as a transfer unit has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and an information processing apparatus may be configured by a voltage detection unit, a power cut-off unit, and a transfer unit having various other configurations.

Industrial Applicability

[0060] The present invention can be used, for example, in an image forming apparatus having a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory.

Explanation of Signs

[0061] 1... Printer, 10... Power supply unit, 12... Control unit, 14... Printing unit, 20... Power supply unit, 22, 122... Switches, 23... Branch point, PWs... Sub-power supply, PWm... Main power supply, 24... Sub-system, 26... Main system, 28, 128... Sub-control units, 30... Main control unit, 32... RAM, 34... ROM, 36... Bus, DC24V output circuit... 38, C... Capacitor, Ia, Ib, Ic... Constant current loads, Lpwm1, Lpwm2, Lpws1, Lpws2... Potential change lines, 40... Voltage detection unit, 42, 142... Power cut-off units, 44... Transfer unit.

Claims

1. A voltage detection unit that detects a voltage drop in which the voltage of the supplied power has dropped to a predetermined detection threshold value; A power cutoff unit that cuts off the supply of the power to at least the drive system load when the voltage drop is detected; A transfer unit that transfers the data in the volatile memory unit to the non-volatile memory unit when the voltage drop is detected An information processing apparatus having the above.

2. A first load including the drive system load and a main system that stores data in the volatile memory unit; A second load including a subsystem having the volatile memory unit and the non-volatile memory unit Having, The power cutoff unit, When the voltage drop is detected, while maintaining the supply of the power to the main system and the subsystem, cuts off the supply of the power to the drive system load The information processing apparatus according to Claim 1.

3. A first load including the drive system load and a main system that stores data in the volatile memory unit; A second load including a subsystem having the volatile memory unit and the non-volatile memory unit Having, The power cutoff unit, When the voltage drop is detected, while maintaining the supply of the power to the second load, cuts off the supply of the power to the first load The information processing apparatus according to Claim 1.

4. The current consumption of the drive system load is greater than the current consumption of at least one of the subsystem or the main system The information processing apparatus according to Claim 2 or Claim 3.

5. The subsystem has a sub-control unit including the voltage detection unit, the power cutoff unit, and the transfer unit The information processing apparatus according to Claim 2 or Claim 3.

6. The drive system load includes a printing unit that performs printing on a medium The information processing apparatus according to Claim 1.

7. A voltage detection step of detecting a voltage drop in which the voltage of the supplied power has dropped to a predetermined detection threshold value; A power cutoff step of cutting off the supply of the power to at least the drive system load when the voltage drop is detected; A transfer step of transferring the data in the volatile memory unit to the non-volatile memory unit when the voltage drop is detected An information processing method having the above.

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