Xerox Corporation

Ernest L Legg

Anthony M Federico

Ronald A Ippolito

Kitty Sathi

Colleen R Enzien

Christopher Comparetta

Randall J Stegbauer

Irene M Allen

Stephen P Wilczek

Daniel Fleysher

Thomas M Frey

Patricia A Prokop

Steven Jay Harrington

Ronald E Rider

Douglas T Rabjohns

Robert M VanDuyn

Jeff C Carter

Paul A Rulli

Keith A May

Gregory C Sosinski

Peter M Krist

Tuan A Nguyen

Charles P Holt

Thomas B Zell

Robert J Slomcenski

Robert W Hurtz

James J Petery

Ronald T Sosinski

Jehoiada W Bernard

David A Catapano

Lillian-Liu Hsu

Donald S Post

Jeffrey A Smith

Philip J Batchelor

Hari K Prasad

Kenneth R Kaisen

Gene A McDaniel, Jr

Christopher Compareta

Richard E Bryant

Lawrence R Bonk

A method of printing a job in either a first mode or a second mode, to produce a set of prints from a set of print-related information transmitted to a print file, is provided. In the first mode, which occurs when the set of print-related information is less than a preselected quantity, a portion of the print file is filled with the set of print-related information and the set of print-related information is read with a marker for producing the set of prints. In the second mode, which occurs when the set of print-related information is greater than the preselected quantity, the steps of filling a portion of the print file with a subset of the set of print-related information and reading the subset with the marker are repeated until the set of print-related information is read completely.

Method of printing a print job with a print file

An electronic image processing apparatus comprising an electronic scanner and an electronic printer for forming an image, a controller for directing the operation of the image processing means, the controller including a mass memory device for storing data to be printed, random access memory, a printer control, and a Resource Manager for ensuring access to the random access memory for conveying data from the mass memory device to the printer via the random access memory, the Resource Manager including a mass memory device scheduler to provide printer access to the random access memory, the mass memory device scheduler having a reservation queue to reserve mass memory device access at predetermined times, delay means to determine that access to the mass memory device is invalid within a given time, and means to convey disk request operations to said reservation queue in order to provide guaranteed random access mernory at predetermined times.

Scheduling multiple disk requests and writing data buffers to disk

A decomposing apparatus is provided for use in a printing machine of the type adapted to receive a first set of information written in a printer page description language and a second set of information written in a printer page description language. The decomposing apparatus preferably includes: an arrangement for parsing the first set of information into a first set of image related components during a first time interval and the second set of information into a second set of image related components during a second time interval; and, an arrangement for performing image related operations on selected components of the first set of image related components, the image related operations being performed on the first set of image related components during the second interval so that the image related operations can be performed on the first set of image related components substantially concurrently with the second set of information being parsed.

Apparatus and method for multi-stage/multi-process decomposing

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a method for scheduling transfers in a printing machine of the type having a scheduler communicating with both a first disk and a second disk, the first and second disks having a combined bandwidth. The method for scheduling comprises the following steps: First, a first transfer to be performed on a first location of the first disk during a first time interval and a second transfer to be performed on a second location of the first disk during a second time interval are both scheduled, with the scheduler, so that a first time gap interval exists between the first time interval and the second time interval. Second, a third transfer to be performed on a first location of the second disk during a third time interval and a fourth transfer to be performed on a second location of the second disk during a fourth time interval are both scheduled, with the scheduler, so that a second time gap interval exists between the third time interval and the fourth time interval. Finally, a fifth transfer to be performed during a fifth interval is scheduled, with the scheduler, so that the fifth interval occurs during either the first time gap interval or the second time gap interval in a manner that maximizes the combined bandwidth of the first and second disks.

Dispatching and scheduling memory operations in an electronic printing

A layered document services architecture facilitating operation and interconnection of electronic printing systems with both resident and non-resident work inputs.

Document services architecture

An electronic printing system with plural hard disks for storing system files in which file management information is held in a Volume Allocation Table in internal system RAM memory with file management updates queued in NVM, with the contents of the Volume Allocation Table transferred to external disk memory when the queue of file management updates in NVM reaches a predetermined size.

System using the storage level of file updates in nonvolatile memory to

An electronic image processing apparatus having image processing resources including a controller for directing the operation of the image processing resources, the controller including a disk memory, the method of controlling mass memory device bandwidth access during an access time window including guaranteeing access to the memory for predetermined time periods for a first set of image processing resources during each access time window, a second set of image processing resources having access subordinate to the first set of image processing resources, maintaining a record of mass memory device access for the first set of image processing resources during each access time window, receiving a memory access request from the first set of image processing resources, determining that said resource utilization does not exceed the predetermined time period, and allowing current access to the mass memory device by the image processing resource. The second set of image processing resources achieves access upon determination that none of the first set of resources is requesting access or upon determination that each of the first set of resources has exceeded the predetermined time period.

Disk bandwidth allocations to prioritize disk requests

A realtime control process for an electronic reprographic system in which background and job requests are dynamically partitioned into unique combinations of virtual machines for carrying out each request, with each virtual machine having certain system services to carry out the function provided by the virtual machine.

Control for electronic image processing systems

A state controller for an electronic reprographic system for controlling system operations when processing requests in which the system has a plurality of hardware and software system components providing discrete services for processing requests and maintaining operation of the system, and job programming means including a display screen for inputting requests, including: a state holder for monitoring the current operating state of the system components; plural discrete job processing virtual machines with each of the virtual machines having at least one service associated with it for implementing the virtual machine; each of the services having at least one of the system components for carrying out the service; and a scheduler for managing resources of and setting priorities for the virtual machines to process the requests in an efficient manner, the scheduler being adapted to cause memory from a first one of the virtual machines to be distributed to a second one of the virtual machines when the second one of the virtual machines requests more memory than is normally allocated to it.

System state controller for electronic image processing systems

A method of resetting an arbitrary node or input/output board in response to a control communications fault in said arbitrary node or input/output board during a real time job in an image processing apparatus having image processing means for forming an image, a controller including a plurality of nodes connected to a plurality of input/output boards and software including an application portion and a communication portion, comprising the steps of the arbitrary node or input/output board initiating a self reset independent of any other node or input/output board reset, the remaining nodes or input/output boards refraining from initiating a reset of the node or input/output board, resetting said arbitrary node or input/output board independent of said remaining nodes or input/output boards, and continuing operation of said arbitrary node or input/output board to complete the real time job run.

Minimization of communication failure impacts

The present invention is a multiprocessor machine control having at least one processor for performing input and output operations and communicating with a master processor over a communication channel. Common synchronizing signals are conveyed to both the input/output processor and the master processor independent of the communication channel. This provides the input/output processor with immediate access to timing and synchronizing information for prompt response to general control information from the master processor. The master processor downloads instructions or provides general instructions to the input/output processor. These downloaded instructions are given priority and timely executed without further communication with the master processor. At completion of the operation the master processor is informed that the particular operation has been performed.

Multiprocessor control synchronization and instruction downloading

An Interrupt Manager for servicing interrupts. An interrupt is performed only after an atomic operation (Operating System instruction) is completed. After completion of each operating system instruction, a first command immediately allows any interrupt to be serviced. A second command then immediately closes out any interrupts, allowing for the execution of the next operating system instruction.

Method for providing priority interrupts in an electrophotographic

A control system is provided to automatically alter the control of a machine to respond to a different number of pitches or images that the machine can manage at one time. A flag in memory is monitored and in response to the flag, the machine control is adjusted to manage a different number of pitches during the operation of the machine and to provide clock signals for the timed actuation of events in each of the pitches.

Control system

A Timer Manager for controlling communication between intelligent processors. The Timer Manager is a software on silicon building block to extend the instruction set of the underlying microprocessor and to provide a real time multitask capability. The Timer Manager handles suspension of tasks waiting for a switch or sensor input, a real time clock or machine clock delay, or waiting on a condition time of one of many switch, sensor or clock signals.

Timer manager

The present invention includes a plurality of input/output processors communicating with a master processor. Each of the input/output processors has a filtering mechanism to filter the inputs before transmission to the master over the communication channel precluding the necessity of filtering at the master. More importantly, the shared communications system is not loaded down with every change of an input. Because of this feature, only meaningful changes are put on the communication line, thus substantially reducing its load which makes its effective response time stay high. The inputs when received at the master can be immediately handled to improve the central processor response time. Two types of filtering are provided, in particular, transition and debounce filtering to respond to switch and sensor inputs. Also, there is provided a means to programmably select the type of filter and the time period of filtering.

Growing community of inventors

Fairport, NY, United States of America

Ernest L Legg