Image forming apparatus, method and program for controlling image forming apparatus

Abstract

To solve such problems that, in an image formation apparatus, it is hard for a lower hierarchy device in a power supply configuration to reset an upper hierarchy device in the power supply configuration or turn OFF / ON a power supply, therefore the lower hierarchy device cannot notify the upper hierarchy device of resetting when resetting with a watchdog timer WDT and turning on again the device being the control target, consequently there is such possibilities that the entire system is not initialized and the image formation apparatus cannot operate.SOLUTION: A lower hierarchy device in a power supply configuration sets a flag in a non-volatile storage area at the WDT start, determines that the WDT is reset when there is the flag at the startup, and notifies an upper hierarchy device in the power supply configuration of the WDT resetting. Consequently, the upper hierarchy device enables the entire system to be initialized and an image formation apparatus to be operated.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control method and a program for initializing an image forming apparatus made up of a plurality of component parts. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, image forming devices have become more sophisticated and scalable, not only providing copying, scanning, and printing functions, but also server functions for storing data. For this reason, when an undefined state occurs due to a failure of a device part used for copying, functions such as a Watch Dog Timer (WDT) are used to properly shut down the system and restart it. In such cases, image forming devices are equipped with functions such as automatically checking the device, isolating the device causing the problem and operating in a degraded state, and continuing to operate the server function. Patent Document 1 shows a method in which, when a WDT interrupt input is received from the chip itself or an external chip, the CPU receives the input, writes to external memory that a WDT reset has occurred, and then has a switching means for switching the WDT reset output to an output outside the chip itself. However, the method in Patent Document 1 can only handle interrupts when the CPU is in an operational state, so it cannot respond when the system hangs up. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-164536 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] There are various cases where the WDT interrupt is generated. Examples of these cases and their corresponding actions are as follows: 1) In an image forming device equipped with a suspend and resume function to save power, when a malfunction occurs in the CPU or peripheral device on the controller board installed in the image forming device during the resume process of the image forming device and the image forming device cannot be restored. (Response) Reset using the WDT interrupt and perform recovery procedures such as board check and retry. 2) In an image forming device equipped with a scanner, the motor or optical system of the scanner fails, preventing it from moving to the specified position and causing a knocking noise. (Response) When it detects that the motor could not move to the specified position due to a failure in optical detection, it uses a WDT interrupt to reset the motor and force it to stop. 3) In an image forming device equipped with a facsimile machine, when the facsimile machine breaks down and the transmission and reception units stop responding during communication over a telephone line. In this case, the WDT interrupt is used to reset the telephone line in order to forcibly disconnect it. As described above, there are various types of devices that may fail, but the WDT interrupt process makes it possible to properly shut down the affected device.

[0005] By the way, when a certain device malfunctions, the targets of reset by the WDT interrupt are generally the devices that are within the range of power control targets of the malfunctioning device. This is to guarantee the start-up order of the power planes controlled by the malfunctioning device when the power is turned on again by the reset. If the malfunctioning device resets devices outside the range of power control targets, the power-on order will be reversed, and the devices may be damaged by reverse current or other reasons. In addition, it may be difficult for the controller to constantly monitor the status of devices outside the range subject to power supply control in the same way as the devices within the range subject to power supply control of the malfunctioning device.

[0006] For this reason, in conventional highly functional image forming apparatuses, it has been more efficient for the controller to have a large controller function and to centrally control the power supply for the entire apparatus. An image forming apparatus equipped with a conventional highly functional controller will be described below. · Conventional example (high-performance controller) (power supply configuration) FIG. 7 shows a configuration of the prior art in which the controller 103, which is highly functional and accounts for a large proportion of the overall control, is provided with power supply control. When the power switch 110 of the image forming apparatus 101 is pressed, a power control unit of the controller 103 detects this and supplies power to the CPU 340 of the controller 103. The CPU 340 controls the power switch P410 to supply power to the printer device 104 and the CPU 320 of the printer device 104. Similarly, the CPU 340 controls the power switch Q411 to supply power to the scanner device 102 and the power switch R412 to supply power to the FAX device 107. The hierarchical structure of the power supply configuration of the conventional power supply configuration of the image forming apparatus 101 is shown as hierarchical structure 1 (420) and hierarchical structure 2 (421), with hierarchical structure 1 (420) including hierarchical structure 2 (421). In hierarchical structure 2 (421), the printer device 104, scanner device 102, and FAX device 107 can each be reset or controlled individually. Also, in hierarchical structure 1 (420), the controller 103 can reset or control the power supply of devices in hierarchical structure 2 (421) included in hierarchical structure 1 (420). (WDT control processing) FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the startup process of the WDT control in the conventional power supply configuration (FIG. 7).

[0007] This flowchart starts when a device monitored by the CPU 340 malfunctions. First, in S501, the CPU 340 sets the activation time, which is the set time for counting down the WDT. Next, in S502, the WDT is started. The details of S502 will be described later. In the next step S503, the CPU 340 checks whether a WDT stop event due to the absence of a problem in the device that caused the WDT to be started has been received from the module that controls that device. If a stop event has not been received (No in S503), the process proceeds to S504, and if a stop event has been received (Yes in S503), the process proceeds to S506. In S504, the process waits in this step for a predetermined time that is shorter than the activation time of the WDT. In S505, the WDT activation time is reset to extend the WDT countdown time, and the process returns to S503 to continue monitoring for a WDT stop event. On the other hand, in S506, which is reached when a stop event is received in S503, the WDT is stopped and this process ends without being reset by the WDT. (Reset process) On the other hand, if the system stalls while monitoring for a WDT stop event, the WDT times out and a reset process is executed. The controller 103 executes the reset process for devices in tier 1 (420) including tier 2 (421). Furthermore, when the CPU 340 of the controller 103 receives a termination notification by pressing the power switch 110, for example, it performs a termination process. First, using the power control unit of the controller 103, it performs reset and power-off processes for the controller 103 on hierarchical level 1 (420) and the printer device 104, scanner device 102, and FAX device 107 on hierarchical level 2 (421), and ends the termination process for the image forming device 101. As described above, the image forming device equipped with a high-performance controller is able to perform the WDT reset process. However, for example, in the case of an image forming device in which functions are carefully selected with a focus on the printer function, the printer device takes up a large proportion of the system and there are few signal lines between the controller and the printer device, so it is more efficient for the controller in the printer device to control the power supply. In such a configuration, devices outside the range of the power supply control target of the controller in the printer device cannot detect a malfunction or a reset of a device that is the power supply control target of the controller in the printer device, and therefore cannot operate as an image forming device. In order to solve the above problems, the present invention aims to reset a malfunctioning device with a WDT interrupt, and when the power to the controlled device is restored, notify devices other than those subject to power control about the WDT interrupt, thereby properly initializing the entire system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention is a system including a first control unit configured to control the power supply of a plurality of devices and to control a watchdog timer; 1 and a second control unit that controls the power supply of the device other than the predetermined device, 1 The control unit has a setting means for enabling a flag in a non-volatile memory means when the watchdog timer is started, and a notification means for notifying the second control unit if the flag in the non-volatile memory means is enabled when the first control unit is started. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, when a malfunctioning device is reset by a WDT interrupt, and the power of the device that is the subject of control is then turned on again as a result of the reset, the WDT interrupt is also notified to devices other than those that are subject to power control, and the entire system can be properly initialized. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] Overall view of image forming apparatus [Diagram 2] Controller Block Diagram [Diagram 3] Power supply configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment [Figure 4] Flowchart of WDT control of image forming apparatus according to the embodiment [Diagram 5] WDT reset processing flowchart [Figure 6] Flowchart of startup process of controller of embodiment [Figure 7] Power supply configuration diagram of a conventional image forming apparatus [Figure 8] Flowchart of WDT control of a conventional image forming apparatus DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] System Configuration 1 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of an image forming system according to the present embodiment, which is an example of a multifunction peripheral (MFP) having a print function, a scanner function, a data communication function, and the like. 1, an image forming apparatus 101 is configured to be able to receive a job from a computer 109 via a LAN 108. Although there is only one computer in FIG. 1, the number of connected computers may be two or more. 1. Image forming equipment · Overall Configuration The image forming apparatus 101 includes a scanner device 102, a controller 103, a printer device 104, an operation unit 105, a hard disk 106, and a FAX device 107, and is also connected to a finisher device 150. The scanner device 102 optically reads an image from an original and converts it into a digital image. The printer device 104 outputs digital images onto a paper device called paper. An operation unit 105 includes a touch panel and hard keys for receiving settings for the apparatus from the user and displaying the processing status. The hard disk 106 stores digital images, control programs, etc. The hard disk 106 may be an SSD, eMMC, or the like, and is a non-volatile storage device. A FAX device 107 transmits and receives digital images via a telephone line or the like. In addition, the controller 103 is connected to the scanner device 102 , the printer device 104 , the operation unit 105 , the hard disk 106 , and the FAX device 107 , and controls each module in an integrated manner while executing jobs on the image forming apparatus 101 . The image forming apparatus 101 is also capable of inputting and outputting digital images from a computer 109 via a LAN 108, issuing jobs, issuing device instructions, and the like. · Scanner Device The scanner device 102 is composed of an original feeding unit 121 capable of automatically and sequentially replacing a stack of originals, and a scanner unit 122 capable of optically scanning an original and converting it into a digital image. The converted image data is sent to a controller 103. · Printer device The printer device 104 comprises a paper feed unit 142 capable of feeding paper one by one from a stack of paper, a marking unit 141 for printing image data on the fed paper, and a paper discharge unit 143 for discharging the paper after printing.

[0013] · Operation section The operation unit 105 is composed of an LCD touch panel, a power saving button, a copy button, a cancel button, a reset button, a numeric keypad, a user mode key, etc., and provides a user I / F for operating the image input / output system. These keys may be hardware keys or software keys displayed on the LCD, and the presence of hardware keys is not essential. · Finisher device The finisher device 150 performs processes such as paper discharge, sorting, stapling, punching, and cutting on the paper devices output from the paper discharge unit 143 of the printer device 104 of the image forming apparatus 101 . In addition, the image forming apparatus 101 has a switch for controlling the power supply, and when the power switch is turned off, it waits for the software and hardware to finish their shutdown processing and stops supplying power to all parts except those required to detect that the power switch is turned on.

[0014] 2. Functions of image forming devices An example of a job function that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 101 will be described below. · Copy function The image forming apparatus 101 has a copying function of recording an image read by a scanner device 102 onto a hard disk 106 and simultaneously printing the image using a printer device 104 . · Image transmission function The image forming apparatus 101 has an image transmission function for transmitting an image read by a scanner device 102 to a computer 109 via a LAN 108 . · Image saving function The image forming apparatus 101 has an image storage function for recording an image read from a scanner device 102 onto a hard disk 106, and transmitting or printing the image as necessary. · Image printing function The image forming apparatus 101 has an image printing function for analyzing, for example, a page description language transmitted from a computer 109 and printing the image with a printer device 104 .

[0015] 3. Overall configuration of the controller Next, a block diagram of the controller 103 and peripheral devices will be described with reference to FIG. The controller 103 includes a main board 200 and a sub-board 220 . · Mainboard The main board 200 is a so-called general-purpose CPU system, and is equipped with a CPU 340 that controls the entire board. It also has a boot ROM 202 that contains a boot program, a memory 341 that the CPU 340 uses as a work memory, a bus controller 204 that has a bridge function with an external bus, and a non-volatile memory 205 that is not erased even when the power is turned off. The CPU 340 also controls a watchdog timer (WDT) 230 that resets the controller 103 . The system further includes a disk controller 206 for controlling the storage device, and a flash disk 207 such as an SSD or eMMC, which is a relatively small-capacity storage device composed of semiconductor devices. It also includes a USB controller 208 capable of controlling USB. It also includes a network controller 211 for managing network connections, and a real-time clock (RTC) 212. The main board 200 is externally connected to a USB memory 209, an operation unit 105, a hard disk 106, and the like. · Sub-boardThe sub-board 220 is composed of a relatively small general-purpose CPU system and image processing hardware. It is equipped with a CPU 221 that controls the entire board, memory 223 that the CPU uses as work memory, a bus controller 224 with a bridge function with an external bus, and non-volatile memory 225 that does not lose data even when the power is turned off. It also has an image processor 227 that performs real-time digital image processing, and multiple device controllers 226. The scanner device 102 and printer device 104, which are connected to the outside of the controller 103, transmit and receive digital image data via a device controller 226. Paper discharged from the printer device 104 is processed by a finisher device 105. The FAX device 107 is directly controlled by the CPU 221. Note that this is a simplified block diagram. For example, CPU340, CPU221, etc. include a large amount of CPU peripheral hardware such as a chipset, a bus bridge, and a clock generator, but this is simplified because it is not necessary for the granularity of the explanation, and this block configuration does not limit the present invention. · Controller Operation The operation of the controller 103 will be described using an example of image copying using a paper device. When a user issues an instruction to copy an image from the operation unit 105, the CPU 340 sends an image reading command to the scanner device 102 via the CPU 221. The scanner device 102 optically scans a paper document, converts it into digital image data, and inputs it to the image processor 227 via the device controller 226. The image processor performs DMA transfer to the memory 223 via the CPU 221 and temporarily stores the digital image data. When the CPU 340 confirms that a certain amount or all of the digital image data has been stored in the memory 223 , it issues an image output instruction to the printer device 104 via the CPU 221 . The CPU 221 informs the image processor 227 of the address of the image data in the memory 223. The image data in the memory 223 is transmitted to the printer device 104 via the image processor 227 and the device controller 226 in accordance with a synchronous signal from the printer device 104. The printer device 104 prints the digital image data onto a paper device. When printing multiple copies, the CPU 340 stores the image data in the memory 223 in the hard disk 106. From the second copy onwards, it is possible to send image data from the hard disk 106 or memory 223 to the printer device 104 without receiving image data from the scanner device 102.

[0016] 4.Power configuration Fig. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the power supply configuration of the image forming apparatus 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig. 1. The controller 103 of the image forming apparatus 101 according to the embodiment has carefully selected functions, and the printer device 104 has a large control ratio in the entire system, and the printer device 104 has its own power supply control. · Power Supply Configuration The power supply 301 and the power supply configuration for each device in the image forming apparatus 101 in FIG. 3 will be described below. When the power switch 110 of the image forming apparatus 101 is pressed, the power control unit of the printer device 104 detects this and supplies power to the CPU 320 of the printer device 104. The CPU 320 of the printer device 104 controls the power switch A (460) to supply power to the controller 103 and the CPU 340 of the controller 103. At this time, it is also possible to individually control the power supply of the marking unit 141, paper feed unit 142, and paper discharge unit 143 of the printer device 104, but this is omitted as it is outside the scope of this discussion. Similarly, the CPU 340 of the controller 103 controls the power switch B 461 to supply power to the scanner device 102 and the power switch C 462 to supply power to the FAX device 107 . The hierarchical structure of the power supply configuration of the embodiment of the image forming apparatus 101 is shown by hierarchical levels A470, B471, and C472, with hierarchical level A470 including hierarchical level B471, and hierarchical level B471 including hierarchical level C472. In hierarchical level C472, the scanner device 102 and FAX device 107 can each be reset or power-controlled individually. Also, in hierarchical level B471, the controller 103 can reset or power-control the devices in hierarchical level C472 included in hierarchical level B471. Furthermore, in hierarchical level A470, the printer device 104 can reset or power-control the devices in hierarchical levels B471 and C472 included in hierarchical level A470. · Reset In the above-mentioned configuration, when the controller 103 is reset by the WDT, various registers controlled by the controller 103 are returned to their initial values. Then, the power switch B 461 that controls the scanner device 102 is turned OFF / ON, and the power switch C 462 that controls the FAX device 107 is turned OFF / ON. The section in which the power is slowly turned off by turning the power switch OFF / ON can be guaranteed by H / W (hardware) or S / W (software), but this is omitted as it is outside the scope of this discussion.

[0017] · Termination process 3 which is the present embodiment, when the CPU 340 of the controller 103 on hierarchy B471 receives a termination notification by pressing the power switch 110, for example, it notifies the CPU 320 of the printer device 104 on hierarchy A470. The CPU 320 of the printer device 104 resets and turns off the power of the printer device 104 on hierarchy A470, the controller 103 on hierarchy B471, and the scanner device 102 and FAX device 107 on hierarchy C472, and ends the shutdown process of the image forming device 101. Also, if the process ends normally, the WDT flag is deleted and the WDT is stopped.

[0018] 5. Watchdog Timer (WDT) Processing In the WDT control process of this embodiment, the CPU 340 of the controller 103 activates a WDT flag in the non-volatile storage area 205 when the WDT starts. If the WDT flag is activated in the non-volatile storage area 205 when the WDT times out and the WDT is reset, the CPU 320 of the printer device 104 is notified of this, which is different from the conventional example. A flowchart of the start-up process of the watchdog timer (WDT) control of this embodiment will now be described with reference to Fig. 4. Note that the same processes as those in the conventional example of Fig. 8 are given the same numbers. This flowchart starts when a device monitored by the CPU 340 malfunctions. First, in S501, the CPU 340 sets the activation time, which is the set time for counting down the WDT. Next, in S502, the WDT is started. Details will be described later with reference to FIG. Next, in S710, the CPU 340 enables the WDT flag in the non-volatile storage area 205. In the next step S503, the CPU 340 checks whether a WDT stop event has been received from the module that controls the device that caused the WDT to be started because there was no problem with that device. If a stop event has not been received (No in S503), the process proceeds to S504, and if a stop event has been received (Yes in S503), the process proceeds to S711. In S504, the process waits in this step for a predetermined time that is shorter than the activation time of the WDT. In S505, the WDT activation time is reset to extend the WDT countdown time, and the process returns to S503 to continue monitoring for a WDT stop event. On the other hand, in S711 (Yes in S503: if a stop event has been received), the WDT flag in the non-volatile storage area 205 is invalidated. In the next step S506, the WDT is stopped and the process ends.

[0019] · Watchdog timer (WDT) reset processing Next, the watchdog timer (WDT) reset process in S502 of the flowchart in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. First, in S601, the watchdog timer (WDT) starts counting down from the set value of the WDT activation time based on the input clock or the like. Next, in S602, the watchdog timer (WDT) judges whether the WDT has been stopped by a notification from a module that controls the device that caused the WDT to be started. If the WDT has been stopped (Yes in S602), the process ends, and if the WDT has not been stopped (No in S602), the process proceeds to S603. In S603, if a value is not written to the register that sets the WDT activation time within a certain period of time, the WDT will count down to 0 and determine that time is up. If the WDT does not determine that time is up (activation time is reset in the register (S505 in Figure 4)) (No in S603), the process returns to S601 and the WDT countdown continues. On the other hand, if the WDT determines that time is up (Yes in S603), the process proceeds to S604. In S604, the WDT generates a WDT signal. By connecting the WDT signal to a reset signal, a reset is applied to each device on the hierarchy B (471). The WDT signal can take a variety of forms, including changing the register value and connecting the corresponding register to a reset to reset the controller, or changing the register value and checking it by polling from the CPU. In addition, the WDT signal can take a variety of forms, including changing the register value and connecting the corresponding register to an interrupt to raise an interrupt to the CPU. However, this is beyond the scope of this article, so we will not go into detail here. A supplementary explanation will be given of the structure of the controller 103 of the image forming apparatus 101 according to the embodiment. If non-volatile memory is not installed as the non-volatile storage area 205 for enabling / disabling the above-mentioned WDT flag, operation is also possible with a flash disk 207 connected beyond the disk controller 206, or an HDD 106 outside the controller 103. However, the farther away from the CPU 340 it is, the more difficult it becomes to check the WDT flag at an early stage of startup. A more detailed discussion is omitted as it is outside the scope of this discussion.

[0020] · Startup process The controller startup process of this embodiment, which continues from FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, will be described with reference to FIG. In an uncontrollable situation such as a system stall, it becomes impossible to extend the WDT activation by resetting the WDT activation time in S503 to S505 in Fig. 4. In this case, the WDT is determined to have timed out in S603 in Fig. 8, and the WDT is reset in S604. Then, the controller 103 is restarted, and the process of Fig. 6 is started. Note that this process is also started when the user presses the power switch 110 to start the process. In S801, the CPU 340 checks whether a WDT execution flag is set in the non-volatile storage area 205 upon reset or startup via the power switch 110. If the WDT execution flag is not set, the CPU 340 continues the startup process as normal (No in S801). If the WDT execution flag is set, the CPU 340 determines that a WDT reset has been applied (Yes in S801), and proceeds to S802 where it disables the WDT flag. In the next step S803, a register for signal notification between the controller 103 and the printer device 104 is controlled, and a signal indicating that the WDT flag has been set is sent to the printer device 104. When the CPU 320 of the printer device 104 receives a notification from the CPU 340 of the controller 103, the CPU 320 controls each device of the hierarchy A 470 to perform initialization processing such as resetting and turning the power OFF / ON. Also, by controlling this initialization processing, the CPU 340 of the controller 103 controls each device of the hierarchy B 471 to perform resetting and turning the power OFF / ON.

[0021] According to the above embodiment, even if the controller 103, which is a power supply control module in the hierarchy B471, is reset by the WDT, the image forming apparatus 101 can notify the printer device 104, which is a power supply control module in the hierarchy A470. As a result, the printer device 104 can control each device in the hierarchy A470 to reset or turn the power OFF / ON.

[0022] (Other Examples) The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0023] 101 Image forming device 103 Controller 104 Printer 230 WDT 303 Power supply control unit 320 Controller (103) CPU 340 CPU of printer device (104)

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus is comprised of a plurality of devices, the image processing apparatus having a first control unit that controls a power supply of a predetermined device and a watchdog timer, and a second control unit that controls the power supply of the first control unit and the devices other than the predetermined device, the first control unit includes a setting unit for enabling a flag in a non-volatile storage unit when the watchdog timer is started; a notification means for notifying the second control unit when the flag in the non-volatile storage means is enabled when the first control unit is started; An image forming apparatus comprising:

2. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit invalidates the flag in the non-volatile storage unit when a stop event of the watchdog timer is received while the watchdog timer is active.

3. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the watchdog timer is activated when the predetermined device malfunctions.

4. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second control unit is disposed within a printer device.

5. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit invalidates a flag in the non-volatile memory unit when the first control unit notifies the second control unit.

6. A method for controlling an image processing apparatus, which is composed of a plurality of devices, and has a first control unit that controls a power supply of a predetermined device and controls a watchdog timer, and a second control unit that controls the power supply of the first control unit and the devices other than the predetermined device, comprising: a setting step of the first control unit setting a flag in a non-volatile storage means when the first control unit starts the watchdog timer; a notification step of notifying the second control unit when a flag is set in the non-volatile storage means when the first control unit is started; 11. A method for controlling an image forming apparatus comprising:

7. 7. A program for causing a computer to execute the method for controlling an image forming apparatus according to claim 6.

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