Image formation apparatus, method of controlling flash memory, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
AssigneeKonica Minolta, Inc.
InventorKeishi Sakuma
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Abstract
An image formation apparatus includes a flash memory as an image data buffer, and a control section, where data writing to each memory block of the flash memory is controlled by using wear leveling. The control section predicts whether writing of a certain amount of image data such that the amount of image data to be written into the flash memory in a predetermined period exceeds a predetermined value, will occur, and on predicting that the writing of the certain amount of image data will occur, restricting an input of image data and/or a speed of buffering the image data, to reduce the amount of image data to be written into the flash memory in the predetermined period.
Claims20
An image formation apparatus comprising:
- a flash memory to be used as an image data buffer, the flash memory comprising a plurality of memory blocks, where data writing to each of the memory blocks is controlled by using wear leveling;
- and
- a control section that controls the flash memory and performs processes comprising:
- predicting whether or not writing of a certain amount of image data such that the amount of image data to be written into the flash memory in a predetermined period of time exceeds a predetermined value, will occur, and
- on predicting that the writing of the certain amount of image data will occur, restricting at least one of an input of image data and a speed of buffering the image data to the flash memory, to reduce the amount of image data to be written into the flash memory in the predetermined period of time to the predetermined value or less.
A method of controlling a flash memory used as an image data buffer in an image formation apparatus, the flash memory comprising a plurality of memory blocks, where data writing to each of the memory blocks is controlled by using wear leveling, the method comprising:
- predicting whether or not writing of a certain amount of image data such that the amount of image data to be written into the flash memory in a predetermined period of time exceeds a predetermined value, will occur;
- and
- on predicting that the writing of the certain amount of image data will occur, restricting at least one of an input of image data and a speed of buffering the image data to the flash memory, to reduce the amount of image data to be written into the flash memory in the predetermined period of time to the predetermined value or less.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a control program of a flash memory to be executed in an image formation apparatus, the flash memory being used as an image data buffer in the image formation apparatus and comprising a plurality of memory blocks, where data writing to each of the memory blocks is controlled by using wear leveling, the control program, when being executed by a processor of the image formation apparatus, causing the processor to perform processes comprising:
- predicting whether or not writing of a certain amount of image data such that the amount of image data to be written into the flash memory in a predetermined period of time exceeds a predetermined value, will occur;
- and
- on predicting that the writing of the certain amount of image data will occur, restricting at least one of an input of image data and a speed of buffering the image data to the flash memory, to reduce the amount of image data to be written into the flash memory in the predetermined period of time to the predetermined value or less.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.