Facsimile and static presentation processing – Facsimile – Specific signal processing circuitry
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-06
2002-06-25
Wallerson, Mark (Department: 2622)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Facsimile
Specific signal processing circuitry
C358S001170
Reexamination Certificate
active
06411404
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory management device which operates to divide a memory into storage blocks so that the stored content is allowed to be erased only in blocks and a facsimile apparatus which is arranged to use the memory management device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dynamic RAMs (DRAM) and static RAMs (SRAM) are representatively used as memories. The DRAM needs to periodically rewrite data even if it is powered on, while the SRAM operates to hold data only if it is powered on. Both of these memories fail to hold their data without their powers. These memories are required to have a spare battery for backing them up when the power is interrupted. On the other hand, the ROMs are capable of holding data if the power is off, while the ROM often has difficulty in rewriting data. The EPROMs are capable of rewriting data again and again only if ultraviolet rays are applied thereto. Regrettably, however, the EPROM is required to rewrite all the content stored therein. The EEPROM allows a program stored therein to be electrically erased. The program can be erased also in bits. Further, a kind of ROM called as a flash memory has been currently used. The flash memory has a capability of erasing the stored data in blocks, that is, block by block.
As mentioned above, nowadays, many kinds of memories have been commercially made available. Those memories have their merits and demerits. It is now desirous to provide such a memory as keeping the same ease of use as the DRAM or the SRAM and needing no power back-up. The DRAM or the SRAM is capable of easily changing a value of 1 or 0 at the current bit into a value of 0 or 1. On the other hand, the ROM keeps a value of 1 at any bit when it is in the initial state. If some data is written in the ROM, the values of 1 at the bits corresponding to the written data are changed to the values of 0. To return the 0's to the 1's, the ROM is required to do an erasing operation. Hence, unlike the DRAM, the ROM cannot easily change from the 0's to the 1's. For erasing the stored data, the EPROM enables to only erase all the data. The flash memory enables to erase the data only in blocks. Further, like the DRAM, the EEPROM has a capability of erasing the data in bits, that is, bit by bit. The EEPROM, however, is so expensive that it is not made available for general-purpose goods.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is designed to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a memory management device which achieves more efficient use of a memory whose data is erased only in each storage block and a facsimile apparatus which is arranged to use the memory management device.
In carrying out the object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, a memory management device provides a memory which enables to merely reverse the initial value at each bit and control means which operates to control the memory as considering the bit-by-bit reversed state from the initial state on the memory as a starting state.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a memory management device provides a memory which operates to divide its storage area into blocks and erase the data only in a block-by-block manner, control means which sectionalizes the blocks according to the erasing condition of the information to be stored and store the information in the block having the corresponding erasing condition, and erasing means for erasing the stored content of the block only if the erasing conditions of all the stored informations about each block are met.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a facsimile apparatus for temporarily storing the sending information or the received information in a memory and performing a series of operations containing sending or recording, provides the memory which operates to divide a storage area into blocks and erase the data only in blocks and storing means which operates to store the received information or the sending information in the sectionalized blocks if the information is to be stored in this memory.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a facsimile apparatus for temporarily storing sending information and received information in a memory and then performing a series of operations containing sending or recording, provides the memory which operates to divide a storage area into blocks and erase the data only in blocks and control means which operates to read the data from the head of a group of empty blocks concatenated in a predetermined sequence if data is to be stored in one of the blocks of the memory.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a facsimile apparatus for temporarily storing sending information or received information in a memory and then performing a series of operations containing sending or recording, provides the memory which operates to divide a storage area into blocks and erase the data only in blocks, storing means which operates to sectionalize the blocks for the sending information and the received information, and erasing means which operates to erase the sending information of one block when all the sending informations of the block are sent out or erase the received information of another block when a series of operations containing recording are done for all the received informations of the block.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a facsimile apparatus for temporarily storing sending information or received information in a memory and then performing a series of operations containing sending or recording, provides the memory which operates to divide its storage area into blocks and erase the data only in blocks, erasing means which operates to erase the stored content of the memory in blocks, and control means which operates to couple the block whose content is erased by the erasing means to the tail of a group of empty blocks concatenated in a predetermined sequence.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a facsimile apparatus for temporarily storing sending information or received information in a memory and then performing a series of operations containing sending or recording, provides the memory which operates to divide its storage area into blocks and erase the data only in blocks, erasing means which operates to erase the content stored in the memory in a block-by-block manner, and control means which operates to count the empty blocks if a sending or receiving operation is requested while the content of the block is being erased, perform the requested operation if it is equal to or more than the regulated number or keep to erase the data stored in the blocks until the number of actual empty blocks reach the regulated number, and then perform the requested operation.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, a facsimile apparatus for temporarily storing sending information or received information in a memory and then performing a series of operations containing sending or recording, provides the memory which operates to divide its storage area into blocks and erase the data only in blocks, erasure indicating means for indicating erasure of a block content, display means which operates to change the management data of an indicated block to the content of the block according to the erasing indication and display the erasing information of the block, and erasing means which operates to erase the content of the block whose management data is changed after the erasing information is displayed in the display means.
In the first aspect of the present invention, in the case of handling the memory, the memory is just allowed to be reversed from the initial state. Hence, the state reversed from the initial state in a bit-by-bit manner is used as a flag representing the starting state of the memory. This means that the initial state represents the waiting state.
In the second aspect of the present invention, the used memory operat
Anzai Kazumi
Matsuo Hideo
Miyazaki Hitoshi
Matsushita Graphic Communication Systems Inc.
Stevens Davis Miller & Mosher LLP
Wallerson Mark
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