Buffer Overflow Prevention in Image Forming Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Typical image forming apparatuses face buffer overflow issues due to insufficient system memory capacity when processing large input data, leading to data corruption or loss, especially during continuous printing operations.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus includes multiple buffers, an auxiliary storage unit, data receiving, transmitting, asynchronous writing, prefetching, and deletion units, which asynchronously store and manage data to prevent overflow by using auxiliary storage and efficient data management techniques, such as parallel thread operations and link list structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the system uses a single buffer for data processing, then the device complexity is low, but the buffer overflow risk increases when system memory capacity is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single buffer into multiple buffers (first buffer, second buffer, third buffer) to segment data storage. This segmentation allows the system to distribute data across multiple memory regions, preventing overflow in any single buffer while maintaining overall data processing capability. The control unit manages these segmented buffers to ensure continuous operation even when one buffer is full.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by prefetching data into the second buffer before the first buffer becomes full. The control unit anticipates buffer overflow conditions and proactively loads data into the second buffer in advance, ensuring smooth data transition and preventing interruption of the printing process. This preliminary data preparation eliminates the need for abrupt data handling during overflow conditions.
2Loss of information
If the system waits for buffer overflow before taking action, then the response time is short, but data loss occurs due to insufficient memory capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit performs preliminary data loading into the second buffer before the first buffer reaches its capacity limit. This anticipatory action ensures that data is always ready for processing and prevents both data loss from overflow and processing delays from buffer exhaustion. The system continuously maintains multiple buffers with data, eliminating waiting time for data availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent ensures continuous useful action by maintaining multiple buffers that continuously receive and hold data. The control unit manages data flow between buffers and to the printing engine without interruption, ensuring that data processing continues smoothly. The third buffer provides additional capacity to maintain this continuous flow, preventing both data loss and processing pauses.
3Productivity
If the system uses multiple buffers with asynchronous writing, then the data processing speed increases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments data processing into multiple independent buffer operations managed by the control unit. Each buffer operates semi-independently with its own data reception and processing timeline, allowing parallel operations that increase overall data processing speed. The segmentation enables asynchronous writing where data can be written to different buffers simultaneously without blocking other operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit acts as an intermediary that coordinates between multiple buffers and the printing engine. It manages data flow between the first, second, and third buffers, handling asynchronous operations and ensuring proper data sequencing. This intermediary role simplifies the overall system architecture by centralizing buffer management logic while enabling high-speed parallel data processing.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of buffers, an auxiliary storage unit, a data receiving unit, a data transmitting unit, an asynchronous data write unit, a data prefetch unit, a data deletion unit, and an image forming unit. The data receiving unit inputs data into one of the plurality of buffers. The data transmitting unit outputs the stored data. The asynchronous data write unit stores the stored data into the auxiliary storage unit. The data prefetch unit prefetches, if no data to be output exists in another one of the plurality of buffers, the data stored in the auxiliary storage unit to the another one of the plurality of buffers. The data deletion unit deletes the data, transmitting of which has been completed. The image forming unit performs image formation for the data as page data.