Abstract: A document architecture system for managing documents having business critical data and generating new documents for a user, wherein each of the documents having business critical data are derived across a plurality of heterogeneous program applications and environments, the system including a DocuBroker for mediating between the plurality of heterogeneous program applications and the documents having business critical data; a message broker, coacting with said DocuBroker, for retrieving and transferring business critical data from one of said plurality of heterogeneous program applications and environments to be used by another of said plurality of heterogeneous program applications and environments; a DocuBrowser for selecting selective portions of said business critical data; and a DocuManager for generating new business documents based on predefine business parameters, in response to said DocuBrowser, said DocuManager include means for analyzing selective portions of said business critical data; means for

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

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

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: The present invention is a means to race two or more conditions against each other to trigger a unique control response. In particular, a portion of a machine control is suspended upon the occurrence of conditions such as an input, a time delay, availability of data, or completion of a task. These conditions race against one another. That is, the occurrence of one of the conditions will initiate the response, and all other conditions will then be ignored. The type of response depends upon the particular condition that occurred first.

Abstract: The present invention is monitoring the control, in particular, software crashes in a multiprocessor machine control system to prevent machine malfunctions. Benchmarks or key operations tracked include, for example, monitoring that the number of tasks to be completed by the control is not beyond the capacity of the control to respond. These recorded benchmarks enable one or both of two paths of progressively more complex analysis. In particular, there is a diagnostic path that leads first to the isolation of a particular control element in a multi-element control that contains a fault and then to a more comprehensive recording of the fault history for each individual control element. There is also a path for maintaining machine operation. In this path, a first level of response is to merely reset the various control elements.

Abstract: The present invention is an electronic controller that is partially a virtual machine. The virtual machine portion of the controller comprises an Operating System including two major levels--namely, an Instruction Module level and a Primitive level. Directives corresponding to macros in a physical machine (microprocessor) architecture are the top level of the control. The Directives shield the Operating System structure from changes in the compiler, allow for changes in the Operating System internal structure and abstract out from the compiler unnecessary operating system details. Instruction Modules and Primitives make up the Operating System. Instruction Modules are the middle level and correspond to assembly language instructions in a physical machine. They are the smallest executable, nonpreemptive unit in the virtual machine.

Abstract: An electrostatographic type copying or reproduction machine incorporating a programmable controller to operate the various machine components in an integrated manner to produce copies is disclosed herein. The controller carries a master program varying machine operating parameters from which an operating program for the specific copy run desired is formed and used to operate the machine components to produce the copies programmed. As an aide to maintain copy quality and machine reliability, the programmable controller includes diagnostic programs for operating the machine components in a particular manner. For example, the document handler can be thus conditioned to automatically move a document to a preselected location along the paper path to permit inspection for proper document alignment.

Abstract: An electrostatographic type copying or reproduction machine incorporating a programmable controller to operate the various machine components in an integrated manner to produce copies is disclosed herein. The controller carries a master program varying machine operating parameters from which an operating program for the specific copy run desired is formed and used to operate the machine components to produce the copies programmed. As an aide to maintain copy quality and machine reliability, the programmable controller includes diagnostic programs for operating the machine components in a different manner. The machine includes a plurality of sensors disposed along the paper path through which sheets of paper are transported to various locations in the machine. As each sheet is detected, the time on a counter is stored in the controller memory. One of the diagnostic programs is utilized to selectively access the times as desired.