Memory Management for Multifunction Peripherals
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multifunction peripherals with limited memory resources, the 'multiple applications per process' mechanism can lead to memory overflow, affecting all applications and causing malfunctions or inoperativity when one application exceeds expected memory usage.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with a monitoring unit to track memory usage and a control unit that terminates or starts application programs based on predefined thresholds to manage memory allocation effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multiple application programs are executed as one process to share memory resources, then memory resource utilization is improved, but system reliability deteriorates when one application exceeds memory usage expectations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the shared memory space into separate memory regions, with each application program assigned its own dedicated memory region. This segmentation allows memory resources to be shared while preventing one application from affecting others, thus resolving the contradiction between memory utilization and system reliability.
2Reliability
If memory usage is monitored and applications are terminated when thresholds are exceeded, then system reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The memory management system automatically monitors memory usage and terminates applications when thresholds are exceeded, without requiring manual intervention. This self-service approach improves reliability while minimizing the need for complex external control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors memory usage and provides feedback to the control unit, which automatically takes corrective action when thresholds are exceeded. This feedback mechanism ensures system reliability while keeping the control logic relatively simple and rule-based.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes a monitoring unit configured to monitor memory usage of a process in which multiple application programs are running, and a control unit configured to terminate one or more of the application programs when the memory usage of the process exceeds a first threshold.