Image forming apparatus and system

Abstract

Based on the WAF (Write Amplification Factor) value, the efficiency of writing data to non-volatile memory is improved, extending the lifespan of the non-volatile memory. [Solution] The image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a non-volatile memory (flash memory) for storing data, a memory controller for controlling the writing of data to the non-volatile memory, a storage device (SSD) including a storage unit that holds size information of the first data written to the non-volatile memory by the memory controller, and a main controller that outputs the second data to be written to the non-volatile memory to the memory controller. The main controller suspends the writing of the second data to the non-volatile memory if the size of the second data to be written to the non-volatile memory is less than or equal to a preset minimum size, and writes the two or more suspended second data to the non-volatile memory as a single second data if the combined size exceeds the minimum size.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a system.

Background Art

[0002] There is known an image forming apparatus equipped with a flash memory for storing various programs, image data, etc. In this type of image forming apparatus, the actual write data size to the flash memory is obtained and integrated using a management table in which the size of the data instructed to be written and the WAF (Write Amplification Factor) value are stored, and a method for estimating the life of the flash memory is known.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] However, for example, when estimating the life of the flash memory by multiplying the data size and the WAF value for each data instructed to be written and accumulating the multiplied values, there is a problem that the life of the flash memory is determined earlier than actual.

[0004] The WAF value is calculated by dividing the size of the data actually written to the flash memory by the size of the data instructed to be written, and becomes "1" or more. A large WAF value indicates that the write efficiency to the flash memory is poor, and that wasteful data is being written to the flash memory. Therefore, in order to extend the life of the flash memory, it is preferable to perform efficient writing with a small WAF value. However, no method has been proposed for suppressing the WAF value and extending the life of the flash memory.

[0005] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to extend the life of a non-volatile memory by improving the write efficiency of data to the non-volatile memory based on the WAF value.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, one embodiment of the present invention provides an image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit for forming an image; a non-volatile memory for storing data; a memory controller for controlling the writing of data to the non-volatile memory; a storage device including a storage unit that holds size information of first data written to the non-volatile memory by the memory controller; and a main controller that outputs second data to be written to the non-volatile memory to the memory controller. The main controller is characterized in that, if the size of the second data to be written to the non-volatile memory is less than or equal to a preset minimum size, it suspends the writing of the second data to the non-volatile memory, and if the size of two or more suspended second data becomes larger than the minimum size, it writes them to the non-volatile memory as a single second data. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] By improving the efficiency of writing data to non-volatile memory based on the WAF value, the lifespan of non-volatile memory can be extended. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a system having an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of a WAF management table. [Figure 3] Figure 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the system's operation. [Figure 4] This is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a system having an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the data writing control unit. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of how the host write size is increased by the data writing control unit performing the operation shown in Figure 5. [Figure 7]Figure 1 or Figure 4 is a front view showing an example of the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 8] Figures 1 and 4 are block diagrams showing examples of the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations may be omitted.

[0010] (Overall configuration of the first embodiment) Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a system having an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The system 500 shown in Figure 1 includes an image forming apparatus 100, a network 200, and a server 300. The image forming apparatus 100 includes a main controller 110, an SSD (Solid State Drive) 120, RAM (Random Access Memory) 130, ROM (Read Only Memory) 140, a network interface (I / F) 150, a printer engine 160, and an operation panel 170. For example, the image forming apparatus 100 is a digital multifunction printer (MFP) having multiple functions such as copying, printing, scanning, and facsimile.

[0011] The image forming apparatus 100 can switch between operating modes that implement copy, print, scanner, and facsimile functions, respectively, based on user operations such as application switching keys on the operation panel 170. When the copy function is selected, the image forming apparatus 100 enters copy mode to perform image copying operations, and when the print function is selected, it enters print mode to perform image printing operations. When the scanner function is selected, the image forming apparatus 100 enters scanner mode to perform image scanning operations, and when the facsimile function is selected, it enters facsimile mode to perform facsimile transmission and reception operations.

[0012] Furthermore, the operating mode of the image forming apparatus 100 switches between a normal mode, an energy-saving mode (power-saving mode), etc., depending on the state of the internal circuitry, which is switched by operation of the control panel 170 or control within the image forming apparatus 100. For example, the normal mode has an operating mode and a standby mode. For example, the operating mode includes a copy mode or print mode for printing images or text data, etc., onto paper media, etc. The print mode includes the operation of printing received data onto paper media, etc., in facsimile mode. The operating mode also includes a scanner mode for scanning documents, etc., or a transmission / reception operation in facsimile mode.

[0013] For example, the main controller 110 has a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The main controller 110 may be configured as a SoC (System on Chip) including a processor. The main controller 110 realizes the function of the WAF (Write Amplification Factor) calculation unit 111 by executing a control program (not shown) stored in the RAM 130. The WAF calculation unit 111 may be realized by a circuit mounted on the main controller 110.

[0014] The SSD 120 includes a NAND-type flash memory 121, a memory controller 122 that controls access to the flash memory 121, such as writing data to it, and a storage area 123 where SMART information is stored. The SSD 120 is an example of a storage device, and the flash memory 121 is an example of a non-volatile memory. The storage area 123 is an example of a storage unit. The SMART information includes information indicating the state of the SSD 120 as diagnosed by a self-diagnostic function unit (not shown) installed in the SSD. For example, the SMART information includes size information for each piece of data written to the flash memory 121 by the memory controller 122.

[0015] The WAF calculation unit 111 calculates a WAF value, which is the ratio S1 / S2 of the size of the write data S1 that the memory controller 122 writes to the flash memory 121 and the size of the write data S2 that it receives from the main controller 110. The main controller 110 transmits the WAF value for each application 131 (131a, ..., 131b) calculated by the WAF calculation unit 111, along with other information related to the WAF value, to the server 300 via the network interface 150 and the network 200.

[0016] The memory controller 122 controls the writing of data received from the main controller 110 to the flash memory 121. For example, data is written to the flash memory 121 in sector units. Therefore, if the size of the data received from the main controller 110 is smaller than the sector size, or if the size of the data received from the main controller 110 is larger than the sector size and not divisible by the sector size, the efficiency of writing data to the flash memory 121 will be low.

[0017] In the following, the writing of data from the main controller 110 to the memory controller 122 is referred to as host writing, and the size of the data written to the memory controller 122 is referred to as the host write size. The data that the main controller 110 writes to the memory controller 122 is an example of the second type of data. The writing of data from the memory controller 122 to the flash memory 121 is referred to as NAND writing, and the size of the data written to the flash memory 121 is referred to as the NAND write size. The data that the memory controller 122 writes to the flash memory 121 is an example of the first type of data.

[0018] The RAM 130 stores a plurality of applications 131 (131a, ..., 131b) and the like that implement the functions of the image forming apparatus 100. The ROM 140 stores firmware and the like that is executed by the main controller 110 when the image forming apparatus 100 is activated. The network interface 150 is connected to the network 200. The network interface 150 transmits various information received from the main controller 110 to the server 300 via the network 200, and transmits various information received from the server 300 to the main controller 110.

[0019] The printer engine 160 includes a photoreceptor drum, a charger, a developer, and the like, and functions as an image forming unit that forms an image. The operation panel 170 receives various inputs according to user operations and displays various information. The operation panel 170 is an example of a display unit.

[0020] The server 300 is installed, for example, by a vendor that designs and manufactures the image forming apparatus 100, and acquires information on various image forming apparatuses connected via the network 200. The server 300 is an example of an information processing apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus 100. The information on various image forming apparatuses acquired by the server 300 is used for improving the functions of the image forming apparatus. For example, designers of the image forming apparatus 100 can improve the firmware and the application 131 based on the information on various image forming apparatuses acquired by the server 300. The server 300 has a WAF management table 400 that receives and holds the WAF value transmitted from the image forming apparatus and information related to the WAF value.

[0021] For example, when the main controller 110 performs a copy operation, a print operation, or a scan operation, the main controller 110 writes data (temporary data) used in each operation to the flash memory 121 by outputting it to the memory controller 122. Further, the main controller 110 writes a log indicating the operation history of the image forming apparatus 100 to the flash memory 121 by outputting it to the memory controller 122.

[0022] When the main controller 110 writes data to the SSD 120, it causes the WAF calculation unit 111 to calculate a WAF value based on the host write size and the NAND write size obtained from the SMART information acquired from the SSD 120. The main controller 110 then stores the WAF value calculated by the WAF calculation unit 111 and the information related to the WAF value in the WAF management table 400.

[0023] (WAF management table) Figure 2 shows an example of the WAF management table 400 in Figure 1. The WAF management table 400 has a storage area that stores partition identification information, identification information for multiple types of applications, write date and time, host write size, NAND write size, and WAF value. When application data is written to a partition allocated to SSD 120, the partition area stores the partition number.

[0024] Figure 2 shows an example where five applications (App1-App5) are assigned to the WAF management table 400, but the number of applications assigned to the WAF management table 400 is not limited to five. Also, in Figure 2, one area is assigned to each of the applications App2-App5, but multiple areas may be assigned.

[0025] The application App can be executed by the main controller 110 to implement various functions of the image forming apparatus 100. In Figure 2, application App1 has the function of acquiring log A, which shows the operation history of the image forming apparatus 100, and the WAF management table 400 stores the date and time of writing log data and the size of the log data each time log A is acquired. Application App2 has the function of managing the address book, such as email addresses used by users of the image forming apparatus 100, and the WAF management table 400 stores the date and time of writing address book data and the size of the log data.

[0026] Application App3 stores the date and time of writing and the size of the copy data (temporary data) when a copy operation is performed by the image forming apparatus 100. Application App4 stores the date and time of writing and the size of the print data (temporary data) when a print operation is performed by the image forming apparatus 100. Application App5 stores the date and time of writing and the size of the scan data (temporary data) when a scan operation is performed by the image forming apparatus 100.

[0027] The main controller 110 calculates the WAF value each time an application writes data to the SSD 120. The main controller 110 sends the calculated WAF value to the server 300 along with the application name, host write size, and NAND write size obtained from SMART information.

[0028] Server 300 stores the WAF values ​​received from the main controller 110 in the WAF management table 400, along with the application App name, host write size, and NAND write size. If Server 300 receives a partition name from the main controller 110, it also stores the received partition name in the WAF management table 400.

[0029] Furthermore, if the WAF value stored in the WAF management table 400 is greater than a pre-set threshold, the server 300 calculates an appropriate host write size for each application App to bring the WAF value below the threshold. The server 300 then displays the calculated appropriate value on a display device connected to the server 300.

[0030] For example, the threshold is set to the WAF value obtained by the SSD120 vendor using "JESD218A," "JESD219," etc., which are defined by JEDEC, the standards organization that develops the SSD120 standard. Alternatively, the threshold is set to the average value of the WAF values ​​calculated by the main controller 110.

[0031] (System operation flow) Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of system 500 in Figure 1. The operation shown in Figure 3 starts when system 500 is powered up, and thereafter is performed on an application-by-application basis each time the main controller 110 writes data to the SSD 120.

[0032] First, in step S101, the main controller 110 waits until data is written to the SSD 120, and after writing the data to the SSD 120, it performs step S102.

[0033] In step S102, the main controller 110 refers to the SMART information from the SSD 120 and obtains the NAND write size of the data written in step S101. Next, in step S103, the main controller 110 calculates the WAF value using the NAND write size obtained in step S102 and the host write size of the data written in step S101.

[0034] Next, in step S104, the main controller 110 sends the WAF value calculated in step S103, along with various parameters such as the write date and time and write size to be stored in the WAF management table 400, to the server 300, and terminates the processing corresponding to the data written to the SSD 120.

[0035] Meanwhile, in step S201, the server 300 waits until it receives the WAF value and various parameters from the main controller 110. Once it receives the WAF value and various parameters, it performs step S202.

[0036] In step S202, the server 300 updates the WAF management table 400 by storing the received WAF value and various parameters in the WAF management table 400. Next, in step S203, the server 300 determines whether the WAF value received in step S201 is greater than the threshold. If the WAF value is greater than the threshold, the server 300 determines that the host write size is smaller than the standard and performs step S204. If the WAF value is less than or equal to the threshold, the server 300 determines that the host write size is appropriate and terminates the update process of the WAF management table 400 shown in Figure 3.

[0037] In step S204, the server 300 calculates an appropriate host write size that reduces the WAF value below a threshold, based on the information held in the WAF management table 400. The server 300 stores the size information indicating the calculated appropriate host write size in a storage area accessible from outside the server 300.

[0038] Next, in step S205, the server 300 presents the calculated host write size as an appropriate value to the designer of the image forming apparatus 100, and terminates the update process of the WAF management table 400 shown in Figure 3.

[0039] For example, the calculated appropriate host write size is stored in the storage area of ​​the server 300, which can be accessed by the designer of the image forming apparatus 100. The appropriate host write size stored in the storage area may be displayed on a display device connected to the server 300 as an appropriate data size to be written to the flash memory 121, or it may be displayed on a display device connected to the server 300 via the network 200, which is visible to the designer.

[0040] The designers of the image forming apparatus 100 can improve the firmware and application 131 so that the host write size calculated by the server 300 is equal to or greater than an appropriate value. This improves the efficiency of writing data to the flash memory 121 and extends the lifespan of the flash memory 121.

[0041] In the first embodiment described above, the server 300 calculates a host write size that reduces the WAF value below a threshold based on the information held in the WAF management table 400, and displays the calculated host write size as an appropriate value on a display device that can be viewed by the designer of the image forming apparatus 100. This allows the designer of the image forming apparatus 100 to improve the firmware and application 131 so that the host write size calculated by the server 300 is equal to or greater than the appropriate value. As a result, the efficiency of writing data to the flash memory 121 can be improved, and the lifespan of the flash memory 121 can be extended.

[0042] By displaying the appropriate host light size calculated by the server 300 on the display device, designers of the image forming apparatus 100 can visually recognize the appropriate host light size and improve the firmware and application 131.

[0043] The main controller 110 calculates a WAF value for each application App performed by the image forming apparatus 100 and stores the calculated WAF value in the WAF management table 400 for each application App. This improves the efficiency of writing data to the flash memory 121 for each application App, thereby extending the lifespan of the flash memory 121.

[0044] By setting the WAF value obtained by the SSD120 vendor using the access method defined by the standards organization that develops the SSD120 standard as the threshold, the threshold can be set to match the characteristics of the SSD120 installed in the image forming apparatus 100. Furthermore, by using the average value of the WAF value calculated by the main controller 110, the threshold can be set under conditions close to actual usage conditions.

[0045] (Overall configuration of the second embodiment) Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a system having an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The same reference numerals are used for elements similar to those in Figure 1, and detailed descriptions are omitted.

[0046] The system 500 shown in Figure 4 has the same configuration as the system 500 shown in Figure 1, except that the image forming apparatus 100 has a main controller 110A instead of the main controller 110 in Figure 1. The main controller 110A adds the functions of the data writing control unit 112 to the main controller 110 of Figure 1. The functions of the data writing control unit 112 are realized by the main controller 110A executing a control program (not shown) stored in the RAM 130.

[0047] The data writing control unit 112 can adjust the size of the data to be written to the memory controller 122 (i.e., the host write size) so that the WAF value becomes smaller than a predetermined value. Examples of host write size adjustment by the data writing control unit 112 are explained in Figures 5 and 6.

[0048] The data writing control unit 112 may be implemented by a circuit mounted on the main controller 110. Furthermore, the WAF management table 400 may be assigned to the RAM 130 of the image forming apparatus 100 instead of being assigned to the server 300. Additionally, a mutually synchronized WAF management table 400 may be assigned to both the server 300 and the RAM 130.

[0049] (Operation flow of the data writing control unit) Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the data writing control unit 112 in Figure 4. The operation shown in Figure 5 is performed when the system 500 starts up, before step S101 in Figure 3 is performed, and then for each application App before the main controller 110A writes data to the SSD 120. Figure 5 shows the operation corresponding to application App1 which generates log A in Figure 2. In the operations of other applications App2-App5, "data for log A" and "log data size" in the flowchart are replaced with "data" and "data size," respectively.

[0050] First, in step S11, the data writing control unit 112 refers to the WAF management table 400 held in the server 300 and calculates the host write size corresponding to the smallest WAF value as the minimum size WAFsize_min for each application App that contains a WAF value greater than or equal to a predetermined value (for example, 2.6 or greater). For example, the data writing control unit 112 calculates the minimum size WAFsize_min for each application App whose WAF value is greater than or equal to a predetermined value by dividing the NAND write size corresponding to the smallest WAF value by the smallest WAF value.

[0051] Before step S11 is performed, the main controller 110A repeatedly writes data for each application App to the SSD 120, calculates the WAF value based on the write results, and updates the WAF management table 400 with the calculated WAF value. Therefore, by referring to the WAF management table 400, the main controller 110A can identify applications App whose WAF value is greater than or equal to a predetermined value and obtain the minimum size WAFsize_min.

[0052] Furthermore, the main controller 110A may display a message on the operation panel 170 instructing the user of the image forming apparatus 100 to reduce the frequency of use of applications App containing a WAF value above a predetermined value in the WAF management table 400. For example, if the main controller 110A finds that any of the log A entries in the WAF management table 400 for application App1 have a WAF value of 2.6 or higher, it may display a message on the operation panel 170 instructing the user to reduce the frequency of log A acquisition by application App1. Alternatively, the main controller 110A may display a message on the operation panel 170 instructing the user to stop acquiring log A entries by application App1. This increases the host write size of log A and lowers the WAF value, thereby improving the efficiency of writing data to the flash memory 121.

[0053] Next, in step S12, the data writing control unit 112 waits until log A is generated, and if log A is generated, it performs step S13.

[0054] In step S13, the data writing control unit 112 determines whether the data size (host write size) of log A generated in step S12 is greater than the minimum size WAFsize_min calculated in step S11. If the size of log A is greater than the minimum size WAFsize_min, the data writing control unit 112 performs step S101 in Figure 3. If the size of log A is less than or equal to the minimum size WAFsize_min, it performs step S14.

[0055] In step S14, the data write control unit 112 temporarily stores the log A data generated in step S12 in the RAM 130. That is, if the data size of log A is less than or equal to the minimum size WAFsize_min, the data write control unit 112 suspends writing the log A data to the SSD 120.

[0056] Next, in step S15, the data writing control unit 112 determines whether the total size of the log A data stored in the RAM 130 exceeds the minimum size WAFsize_min. If the data size of the log A data stored in the RAM 130 exceeds the minimum size WAFsize_min, the data writing control unit 112 performs step S16. If the data size of the log A data stored in the RAM 130 is less than or equal to the minimum size WAFsize_min, the data writing control unit 112 returns to the operation in step S12.

[0057] In step S16, the data writing control unit 112 retrieves the data of multiple log A stored in the RAM 130 as a single data, and then performs step S101 in Figure 3. That is, if the sum of the data sizes of log A stored in the RAM 130 becomes larger than the minimum size WAFsize_min, the data writing control unit 112 combines the data of two or more log A that have been held back from writing into a single log A data for writing to the SD 120.

[0058] (Update the WAF management table) Figure 6 shows an example of increasing the host write size by the data writing control unit 112 performing the operation shown in Figure 5. The WAF management table 400 before improvement shown in Figure 6 shows the state before step S11 in Figure 5 is performed, and is the same as, for example, Figure 2. The improved WAF management table 400 shown in Figure 6 shows the state after the operation in Figure 5 is performed. Figure 6 shows an example in which the host write size of log A generated by application App1 is improved, but the host write size of data generated by other applications App can be improved in the same way.

[0059] For example, the data writing control unit 112 obtains the minimum size WAFsize_min=2.5MB corresponding to the smallest WAF value=2.1 in application App1 by referring to the WAF management table 400 before improvement and performing step S11 in Figure 5.

[0060] Then, the data writing control unit 112 performs steps S12 to S15 in Figure 5 to adjust the host write size of log A of application App1 so that it is equal to or greater than the minimum size WAFsize_min. Note that, in order to facilitate comparison between the pre- and post-improvement versions, the write dates and times in the WAF management table 400 are set to be the same for both versions, but in reality, the write date and time of log A after the improvement will be later than the write date and time of log A before the improvement.

[0061] As a result, the WAF value corresponding to application App1 can be reduced to 2.1 or less, as shown in the improved WAF management table 400. In other words, the efficiency of writing data to the flash memory 121 can be improved for each application App, and the lifespan of the flash memory 121 can be extended.

[0062] In the second embodiment described above, if the host write size is less than or equal to a preset minimum size WAFsize_min, the main controller 110A temporarily stores the data in the RAM 130 until the host write size becomes larger than the minimum size WAFsize_min, thereby suspending writing to the SSD 120. Then, when the host write size of two or more data stored in the RAM 130 becomes larger than the minimum size WAFsize_min, the main controller 110A writes them to the SSD 120 as a single data. This allows data to be written to the SSD 120 with a larger WAF value. As a result, the efficiency of writing data to the flash memory 121 can be improved, and the lifespan of the flash memory 121 can be extended.

[0063] The main controller 110 sets the host write size of the data corresponding to the smallest WAF value among the WAF values ​​held in the WAF management table 400 to the minimum size WAFsize_min. This allows the minimum size WAFsize_min to be appropriately set based on the host write size of the data actually written to the SSD 120.

[0064] By setting a minimum size WAFsize_min for each application App, the efficiency of writing data to the flash memory 121 can be improved for each application App, thereby extending the lifespan of the flash memory 121.

[0065] The main controller 110 displays a message on the operation panel 170 instructing users of the image forming apparatus 100 to reduce the frequency of use of applications App that have a WAF value above a predetermined value in the WAF management table 400. This increases the host write size of log A, lowers the WAF value, and improves the efficiency of writing data to the flash memory 121.

[0066] (Overall configuration of the image forming apparatus) Figure 7 is a front view showing an example of the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 shown in Figure 1 or Figure 4. The image forming apparatus 100 includes an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) 181 and an image reading unit 182, and an image forming unit 180 including an image forming unit 183 provided inside the main body of the apparatus. Note that in Figure 1, for the sake of clarity, the image forming unit 180 is shown with its interior visible through the glass.

[0067] The image forming unit 180 includes a manual feed roller 1, a tandem-type image forming device 3, a paper feeding unit 4, and a plurality of paper feeding cassettes 4a. The image forming unit 180 also includes a registration roller 5, an optical writing device 6, a fixing device 7, an inversion mechanism 8, a secondary transfer belt 9, an intermediate transfer belt 10, a transfer unit 11, a paper output tray 12, and an image processing unit 14. The image processing unit 14 may be located in a place other than the image forming unit 183 within the image forming apparatus 100. The image processing unit 14 may also be implemented as an image processing program executed by the main controller 110 in Figure 1 or the main controller 110A in Figure 4.

[0068] The ADF 181 automatically transports the document placed on the loading platform to the image reading position. The image reading unit 182 is, for example, a scanner with an image sensor, and reads the image of the document transported to the reading position by the ADF 181. The image processing unit 14 processes the image data of the document read by the image reading unit 182. The image forming unit 180 has the function of printing an image onto recording paper using an electrophotographic method based on the image data of the document read by the image reading unit 182 and processed by the image processing unit 14.

[0069] The manual feed roller 1 has the function of feeding recording paper set by the user into the image creation unit 183. The paper feed unit 4 has the function of feeding recording paper from one of the multiple paper feed cassettes 4a in which the recording paper is set. The registration roller 5 transports the recording paper fed from the manual feed roller 1 or the paper feed unit 4 to the secondary transfer belt 9.

[0070] The optical writing device 6 converts image data read by the image reading unit 182 and processed by the image processing unit 14 into optical information. The imaging device 3 includes four photoreceptor drums (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to four toner colors: yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), and a charger, developer, transfer unit, cleaning unit, and static eliminator (not shown) provided around each photoreceptor drum.

[0071] Each charger charges the outer surface of the corresponding photoreceptor drum. The optical writing device 6 exposes the charged photoreceptor drums to the image data for each color read by the image reading unit 182, writing an electrostatic latent image onto each photoreceptor drum. Each developer develops the latent image written on the corresponding photoreceptor drum with toner, forming a toner image on the photoreceptor drum corresponding to the image data for each color.

[0072] The toner images formed on each photoreceptor drum are transferred by a primary transfer roller onto an intermediate transfer belt 10, which is driven to rotate clockwise in the orientation shown in Figure 6. The full-color toner images transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 10 move to the transfer unit 11 as the intermediate transfer belt 10 moves, and are transferred to the recording paper located on the secondary transfer belt 9 in the transfer unit 11.

[0073] The recording paper on which the toner image has been transferred is transported to the fuser unit 7 as it moves along the secondary transfer belt 9. The fuser unit 7 fixes the toner image on the recording paper. The recording paper with the fixed toner image is then discharged onto the output tray, completing the color image printing process on the recording paper. In double-sided printing, where the image is printed on both sides of the recording paper, the inversion mechanism 8 inverts the front and back of the recording paper, and the inverted recording paper is then sent onto the secondary transfer belt 9.

[0074] (Hardware configuration of image forming apparatus) Figure 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 shown in Figures 1 and 4. The image forming apparatus 100 includes a CPU 101, a ROM 102, and a RAM 103. It also includes an input interface unit 104, an output interface unit 105, an input / output interface unit 106, and a communication interface unit 107. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 100 includes an input device 104A, an output device 105A, and an input / output device 106A. For example, the CPU 101, ROM 102, RAM 103, input interface unit 104, output interface unit 105, input / output interface unit 106, and communication interface unit 107 are interconnected via a bus.

[0075] The CPU 101, ROM 102, RAM 103, and communication interface unit 107 correspond to the main controller 110 in Figure 1 or the main controller 110A, ROM 140, RAM 130, and network interface 150 in Figure 4, respectively. The input device 104A and output device 105A correspond to the touch panel unit and display (not shown) of the operation panel 170 in Figure 1, respectively. The display of the operation panel 170 is an example of a display unit. The input / output device 106A corresponds to the SSD 120 in Figure 1. Note that the input interface unit 104 and output interface unit 105 may be included in the operation panel 170, and the input / output interface unit 106 may be included in the SSD 120.

[0076] The CPU 101 executes various programs such as the OS (Operating System) and applications. The ROM 140 holds basic programs such as firmware and various parameters that enable the CPU 101 to execute these programs. The RAM 103 stores various programs executed by the main controllers 110 and 110A, as well as data temporarily used by the programs. For example, the various programs may include various applications (App) shown in Figures 2 and 6, and image processing programs that perform image processing on the original document image read by the image reading unit 182 in Figure 7.

[0077] Although the present invention has been described above based on various embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the requirements shown in the above embodiments. These points can be modified as long as they do not impair the spirit of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to their application. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0078] 3. Imaging device 4. Paper feed unit 4a Paper feed cassette 5 Registrola 6. Optical writing device 7. Fixing device 8. Reversal mechanism 9. Secondary transfer belt 10 Intermediate transfer belt 11 Transfer section 12 Paper Output Trays 14 Image Processing Unit 100 Image forming apparatus 101 CPU 102 ROM 103 RAM 104 Input Interface Section 104A Input Device 105 Output Interface Section 105A output device 106 Input / Output Interface Section 106A Input / Output Device 107 Communication Interface Section 110, 110A Main Controller 120 SSD 130 RAM 131 (131a, 131b) Application 140 ROM 150 network interfaces 160 Printer Engines 180 Image forming unit 181 ADF 182 Image reading unit 183 Image-making unit 200 Networks 300 servers 400 WAF Management Table 500 Systems BUS [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0079] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-71855 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-27428

Claims

1. An image forming unit that forms an image, A storage device including a non-volatile memory for storing data, a memory controller for controlling the writing of data to the non-volatile memory, and a storage unit that holds size information of the first data written to the non-volatile memory by the memory controller, The system includes a main controller that outputs second data to be written to the non-volatile memory to the memory controller, The main controller, if the size of the second data to be written to the non-volatile memory is less than or equal to a preset minimum size, suspends writing the second data to the non-volatile memory, and if the size of the two or more suspended second data becomes larger than the minimum size, writes them to the non-volatile memory as a single second data. An image forming apparatus characterized by the following.

2. The aforementioned main controller The memory controller obtains size information of the first data written to the non-volatile memory in response to the second data from the storage unit, calculates the ratio S1 / S2 of the size S1 of the first data to the size S2 of the second data, and stores the calculated ratio S1 / S2 in the management table. Before the minimum size is set, the smallest ratio S1 / S2 among the multiple ratios S1 / S2 held in the management table is calculated, and the size of the second data corresponding to the calculated ratio S1 / S2 is set to the minimum size. After setting the minimum size, writes of the second data, which is smaller than or equal to the minimum size, to the non-volatile memory are withheld. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

3. The aforementioned main controller Multiple types of applications that write data to the aforementioned non-volatile memory can be executed. Each of the above-mentioned multiple types of applications calculates the ratio S1 / S2 each time it writes data to the non-volatile memory, and stores the calculated ratio S1 / S2 in the management table in association with each of the above-mentioned applications. The minimum size is set for each application in which a ratio S1 / S2 greater than or equal to a predetermined value is set in the management table. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, characterized by the following:

4. The image forming apparatus further has a display unit visible to the user of the image forming apparatus, The main controller displays a message on the display unit instructing the user to reduce the frequency of use of the application for which a ratio S1 / S2 greater than or equal to a predetermined value has been set in the management table. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, characterized by the following:

5. A system comprising an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus, The image forming apparatus is An image forming unit that forms an image, A storage device including a non-volatile memory for storing data, a memory controller for controlling the writing of data to the non-volatile memory, and a storage unit for storing size information of the first data written to the non-volatile memory by the memory controller, The system includes a main controller that outputs second data to be written to the non-volatile memory to the memory controller, The main controller obtains size information of the first data written to the non-volatile memory by the memory controller in accordance with the second data from the storage unit, calculates the ratio S1 / S2 of the size S1 of the first data to the size S2 of the second data, and transmits the calculated ratio S1 / S2 to the information processing device. The information processing device, if the received ratio S1 / S2 is greater than a preset threshold, calculates the size of a second data to make the ratio S1 / S2 less than or equal to the threshold, and stores size information indicating the calculated size in a storage area accessible from outside the information processing device. A system characterized by the following:

6. The aforementioned information processing device is The size information held in the storage area is displayed on the display device as an appropriate data size to be written to the non-volatile memory. The system according to claim 5, characterized by the following:

7. The aforementioned main controller Multiple types of applications that write data to the aforementioned non-volatile memory can be executed. Each of the aforementioned applications calculates the ratio S1 / S2 each time it writes data to the non-volatile memory, and transmits the calculated ratio S1 / S2 to the information processing device in association with each of the aforementioned applications. The information processing device has a management table that stores the ratio S1 / S2 received from the main controller for each application, and calculates the size of the second data for each application based on the ratio S1 / S2 stored in the management table so that the ratio S1 / S2 is less than or equal to the threshold. The system according to claim 5 or claim 6, characterized by the above.

8. The management table has an area that stores the date and time of writing the second data to the non-volatile memory, the size of the second data, the size of the first data, and the ratio S1 / S2 for each application. The system according to claim 7, characterized by the following:

9. The threshold value is set to a ratio S1 / S2 obtained by the vendor of the storage device using an access method defined by the standards organization that develops the standards for the storage device, or to an average value of the ratio S1 / S2 obtained by the main controller. The system according to claim 5, characterized by the following:

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