Electronic equipment having controllable access times for detachable cartridges

• US 5,572,706 A
• Filed: 07/01/1994
• Issued: 11/05/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/1984
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Kozo
• Primary Examiner(s): Pan, Daniel H.
• Application Number:
  US08/269,623
• Time in Patent Office: 858 Days
• Field of Search: 395/800, 395/550, 395/500, 395/325, 395/250, 395/775, 395/275, 395/750, 395/103, 395/110, 395/181, 395/442, 395/421.09, 395/733, 395/200.1, 395/494, 364/DIG. 1, 364/DIG. 2, 365/194, 365/189.04, 365/72, 365/201, 365/230.05, 365/236, 365/244, 365/230.06, 324/325, 368/82, 371/37.3, 347/16
• US Class Current: 711/167
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/26 Address formation of the next micro-instruction G06F9/28 takes precedence; Microprogram storage or retrieval arrangements

Abstract

An electronic equipment has a central processing unit (CPU), a first memory accessable by the CPU, a first setting circuit for holding a signal representative of a rated access time of the first memory and a removable auxiliary memory which includes a second memory accessable by the CPU and a second setting circuit for holding a signal representative of a rated access time of the second memory.

Claims

1. An electronic equipment comprising:

a CPU having a wait terminal;

count means for counting a wait time of said CPU in accordance with a settable count value and for outputting a wait signal to the wait terminal;

mounting means for detachably mounting one of plural kinds of cartridges, each kind of said cartridges containing a semiconductor memory with a different respective access time and storing time data representing the respective access time of the contained semiconductor memory;

means for fetching the time data representing the access time of the contained semiconductor memory from a mounted cartridge;

setting means for setting in said count means a count value;

an internal memory; and

storing means for storing data representing an access time of said internal memory of said equipment,

wherein said setting means comprises means for selecting one of the data representing the access time of said internal memory stored in said storing means and the time data fetched from the mounted cartridge by said fetch means, said setting means setting the count value corresponding to the selected data in said count means.

2. An equipment according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor memory stores character font data, and said CPU performs image processing.

3. An equipment according to claim 2, wherein said equipment comprises a printer control apparatus for processing print data.

4. An equipment comprising:

a CPU having a wait terminal;

count means for counting a wait time of said CPU in accordance with a settable count value and for outputting a wait signal to the wait terminal;

mounting means for detachably mounting one of plural kinds of cartridges, each kind of said cartridges containing a semiconductor memory with a different respective access time and storing time data representing the respective access time of the contained semiconductor memory;

means for fetching the time data representing the access time of the contained semiconductor memory from a mounted cartridge; and

setting means for setting in said count means a count value determined by reference to the time data fetched from the mounted cartridge by said fetch means,

wherein said setting means comprises means for comparing data representing an access time of an internal memory of said equipment with the time data fetched from the mounted cartridge to determine which data represents a greater access time, and for setting the count value to correspond to the data representing the greater access time in said count means.