JP2001147790A - Device and method for processing information and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To execute printing, even if printing conditions included in printing data are different from the printing conditions which are set in a printer. SOLUTION: At printing of the video data of a recording and reproducing device 102 by a printer 103, a PC 101 compares set values included in the printing data with the set values set in a printer 104 for the size of respective pages, the number of used colors and resolution, etc., and when a discrepant one is present, re-edits the printing data so as to be printable in the printer 103 and makes them printed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method connected by using a data communication bus capable of communicating by mixing control signals and data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a peripheral device such as a printer is connected to a personal computer (PC) by SCSI or the like which is a general-purpose digital interface for a typical small computer, and data communication is performed therebetween.

[0003] A recording / reproducing device such as a digital camera or a digital video camera is also an input means to a personal computer and is one of peripheral devices. In recent years, the technology in the field of capturing images such as still images and moving images captured by a digital camera or a video camera to a PC and storing the images on a hard disk or editing the images on the PC and then color printing with a printer has been advanced. is increasing. When outputting image data captured by a PC to a printer or a hard disk, data communication is performed via a digital IF such as SCSI. In such a case, a digital IF having a high transfer data rate and versatility is required to transmit information having a large data amount such as image data.

FIG. 3 shows a conventional digital camera,
FIG. 2 shows a block diagram when a PC and a printer are connected.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 31 denotes a digital camera, 32 denotes a personal computer (PC), and 33 denotes a printer. Further, 34 is a memory which is a recording unit of the digital camera, 35 is a decoding circuit of image data, 36 is an image processing unit, 37 is a D / A converter, 38 is an EVF which is a display unit, and 39 is a digital I / O of the digital camera. / O section, 40 is a digital I / O section with a PC digital camera, 41 is an operation section such as a keyboard and a mouse, 42
Is a decoding circuit for image data, 43 is a display, 44 is a hard disk device, 45 is a memory such as a RAM, 46 is an MPU of an arithmetic processing unit, 47 is a PCI bus, 48 is a digital I / F SCSI interface (board), 49 is PC and SCS
A SCSI interface of a printer connected by an I cable, 50 is a memory, 51 is a printer head, 52 is a printer controller of a printer control unit, and 53 is a driver.

Here, an image captured by the digital camera 31 is taken into the PC 32, and the
3 will be described. Digital camera 31
When the image data stored in the memory 34 is read out, the read-out image data is decoded by a decoding circuit 35, subjected to image processing for display by an image processing circuit 36, and The signal is displayed on the EVF 38 via the A converter 37. On the other hand, the image data is transmitted from the digital I / O unit 39 via a cable to the digital I / O unit 40 of the PC 32 for external output.

In the PC 32, the image data input from the digital I / O section 40 is stored in the hard disk 44 when the PCI bus 47 is used as a bus for mutual transmission.
Also, when displaying, after being decoded by the decoding circuit 42,
Stored as a display image in the memory 45, the display
It is displayed after being converted into an analog signal in 43. PC32
Operation input at the time of editing, etc., is performed from the operation unit 41, and processing of the entire PC 32 is performed by the MPU 46.

When printing out an image, a PC
The image data is transmitted on a SCSI cable from a SCSI interface board 48 in the printer 32 and received by a SCSI interface 49 on the printer 33 side. Printer 3
In 3, the image data received by the memory 50 is formed as a print image. The printer head 51 and the driver 53 operate under the control of the printer controller 52 to print the print image data read from the memory 50.

The above is the procedure of the conventional image data taken in by the PC and further printed. As described above, conventionally, a peripheral device such as a video camera or a printer as a recording / reproducing device is connected to a PC serving as a host, and image data captured by the recording / reproducing device is printed via the PC. In the case of such a system in which a PC and a peripheral device are directly connected, the type and number of peripheral devices connected to the PC, the connection method, and the like are limited, and inconveniences in many aspects have been pointed out.

Therefore, instead of directly connecting a PC and a peripheral device via respective ports, a local area network (LA) in which the PC is connected to an information resource such as a database or a peripheral device such as a printer via a network.
N) Systems are also used. The procedure for printing from a PC in such a network system is generally as follows. (1) List available printers on the LAN. (2) Select a printer from the list display. (3) Send the print job to the selected printer.

In this manner, a drive command is output from one of the PCs (clients) connected to the network to the designated printer via the network line, and the print information is transmitted to the designated printer or other printing device. Necessary printing can be performed.

[0012] However, not all printers and the like provided on the network have the same function. For example, there are many differences in functions such as resolution, gradation, description language, usable paper size and character font, color printing, double-sided printing, and the like. For this reason, when using printers on a network, the function of each printer is known in advance, and the printer is selected from the client side according to the function. The designation of the printer can be performed, for example, by setting a designation key for each printer in the client and operating the key from the client side.

The print data such as a document or an image includes a document edited on a plurality of paper sizes or irregular paper sizes, and image data captured by a scanner or a digital camera. I have. The data included in the print data includes text created in a multi-format, spreadsheets used for spreadsheets, and indefinite image data created by paint or the like. When printing these, select the paper size that can be printed by the printer to be used, and follow the print control code and character code, color information, resolution and gradation, form information, page layout information, macro instructions, etc. included in the print data. , Image data such as a character pattern and a form pattern corresponding to a PC are generated by a print control processing unit (hereinafter, referred to as a printer driver) corresponding to a printer to be used.

If the generated image data is out of the printing range of the selected paper size, the protruding portion is not subjected to data conversion or the like, and the range within the printing range is first printed by the printer. Let it. The part that does not fit within the print range of the selected paper size is
The process is performed again as another page data. As described above, if the generated image does not fit in the print area, the image to be originally stored in one page is printed over a plurality of pages.

Some documents created using application software or the like store print information such as a plurality of paper sizes and print directions. If the information about the paper, such as the paper size and orientation, included in the print information is different from the paper size and printing direction of the recording paper attached to the printer,
Printing was performed after the print range was specified again according to the paper size to be printed.

Further, in printing a document in which a plurality of paper sizes are set, if the specified size paper is not loaded in the printer, the printing is interrupted until the specified size paper is fed. .

Some printer drivers prepare specific pages such as a header page and a trailer page specific to a printing apparatus such as a printer. When printing with such a printer, if an instruction is given to print the specific page in addition to the document, the paper size of the specific page exceeds the paper size selected for the document. Sometimes. In such a case, the printing of the specific page is suppressed, or printing is performed by mounting a recording sheet suitable for the size immediately before printing the specific page, and when printing a document, Printing was performed by reloading the recording paper that had the correct size and orientation.

If there is no printer near the PC used by the user for printing, the size of the paper attached to the printer used is not known.
Go to the printer installation location to check the size,
Alternatively, after printing is performed, the paper is changed to the original paper size and printing direction, and then printing is performed again.

[0019]

As described above, when there are a plurality of data transfer destinations from a certain device, such as when a plurality of devices are connected via a network or the like, the functions of the devices such as a printing device connected to the network. There is a first problem that one or a plurality of optimum devices cannot be efficiently selected unless the user knows the settings in advance.

For example, due to the difference in the data compression schemes that can be used by the mutually connected devices, compressed data that cannot be expanded is erroneously transferred, or uncompressed data is transferred even though the data can be expanded at the transfer destination. And the data transfer cannot be performed efficiently.

For example, as described above, in order to select a printer to be used from a plurality of connected printers from a PC connected to the network, it is necessary to previously know the function of the printer connected to the network. Need to be kept. As described above, unless the functions of the devices connected to the network are known in advance, the connected devices cannot be used properly.

For example, in a system in which a PC and a printer are connected via a network, one printer is selected even if a plurality of printers can be used according to the printing method required on the PC side. Depending on the print data, there may be more than one optimal printer. However, in this case, even if a plurality of printers can be used, one printer is limitedly selected, and there is no flexibility. Thus, even when a plurality of devices can be used, one must be selected from the devices, and there is no flexibility.

In addition to the first problem, in a system in which a host device such as a PC and a printing device such as a printer are connected by a network or a digital IF, the setting of the function of the printing device and the size of paper are involved. Since the information cannot be obtained by the host device, the settings included in the print data output from the host device and the settings of the printing device do not match, and a printed material different from the originally intended print result may be output. However, there is a second problem that there is a disadvantage that an operator intervention is required during printing.

For example, when printing a document created using application software or the like on a recording paper mounted on a printing device such as a printer, a page that exceeds the printing range of the paper size of the recording paper is required. However, printing is performed over a plurality of pages despite the fact that it is originally one page.

For example, when the paper size of the print data is different from the paper size of the recording paper attached to a printing device such as a printer, forcibly printing is performed on the recording paper attached to the printing device. Since the size of the image formed from the print data does not change, the margins of the paper will increase when printing on paper that is larger than the image size, and conversely, when printing on smaller paper, it will extend out of the paper. Printing is performed.

Further, for example, in order to print the print data in a print range of the paper size, the user needs an application beforehand.
Before printing with application software, etc., check whether the print data fits within the print range of the paper size by using a print preview or the like. For example, the print data must be edited again for each page so as to be within the print range of the selected paper size, or the print range must be changed by changing the margins of the page layout and the like, and printing must be performed. It was not easy to use.

For example, when the print information such as the paper size and print direction included in the created print data is different from the paper size and print direction of the recording paper mounted on the printing apparatus, , According to the print data. It is not easy to use, for example, printing must be performed after resetting the paper size, printing direction, printing range, and the like of the printing apparatus.

For example, when printing a document including pages to be printed on a plurality of paper sizes, printing is interrupted until paper of a specified size is fed to the printing apparatus.

If the user does not know the paper size attached to the printing device due to, for example, the printing device being set apart from the user, the user goes to the printing device and checks the paper size. Or
After confirming and changing the recording paper and the printing direction after executing printing, it is difficult to use, for example, printing must be performed again.

Further, for example, even in a printing apparatus such as a printer of the same maker, the feeding method is different due to its structure. If the surface to be printed is not performed by a method suitable for the output device, a printing error may occur due to a wrong printing direction.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. Even if the user does not know in advance the functions and settings of devices such as a printing device connected to a network,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus and a method capable of selecting one or a plurality of optimum devices and efficiently selecting a network device.

Even when the settings contained in the print data do not match the settings of the printing apparatus, the intended print result can be obtained by re-editing the image data to be printed or changing the printing order. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus and method capable of preventing the output of different printed materials and reducing the necessity of an operator during printing to a minimum.

[0033]

To achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention has the following configuration.

An information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of external devices, for editing an image input from the outside, and transferring the edited image to a predetermined one of the plurality of connected external devices. Identification means for identifying a device function; selection means for selecting a transfer destination of the image from the plurality of external devices based on the functions of the plurality of external devices identified by the identification means and image information of the image; Editing means for editing the image based on the function of the external device at the transfer destination selected by the selecting means; and changing means for changing the order in which the images are transferred.

Preferably, the identification means transmits a request signal for function information of each external device to the plurality of external devices, and transmits the plurality of external devices based on the function information transferred in response to the transmitted request signal. Identify the function of the external device.

Preferably, the function information includes paper size information, and the selecting means selects a transfer destination of the image based on a printable paper size of the external device and a paper size constituting the image. .

[0037] Preferably, the function information includes paper size information, and the selecting means determines the order of the images based on a paper size currently mounted on the external device and printable and a paper size constituting the image. change.

Preferably, the function information includes color information, and the selection means selects a transfer destination of the image based on a color output function of the external device and a color characteristic of the image.

Preferably, the function information includes resolution information, and the selection means selects a transfer destination of the image based on resolution information of the external device and resolution of the image.

Preferably, the function information includes decoder information, and the selecting means selects a transfer destination of the image based on decoder information of the external device and a compression method of the image.

Preferably, the function information includes at least one of three pieces of information of paper size information, color information, and resolution information, and the selecting means integrates each information included in the function information with a weight. The destination of the image is selected based on the result.

[0042]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a network configuration when implementing the present invention. Here, in the present embodiment, since the IEEE 1394 serial bus is used as the digital I / F for connecting the devices, the IEEE 1394 serial bus will be described in advance.

<< Overview of IEEE 1394 Technology >> With the advent of home digital VTRs and DVDs, it is necessary to support real-time and high-information-amount data transfer of video data and audio data. In order to transfer such video and audio data in real time, and to transfer it to a personal computer (PC) or other digital devices, an interface capable of high-speed data transfer with the necessary transfer functions is required. The interface developed from such a viewpoint is IEEE1394-1995 (High Performance Serial Interface).
al Bus) (hereinafter 1394 serial bus).

FIG. 7 shows an example of a network system configured using a 1394 serial bus. This system is equipped with devices A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, between AB, between AC,
, DE, CF, CG, and CH are connected by a twisted pair cable of a 1394 serial bus. The devices A to H are, for example, PCs, digital VTRs, DVDs, digital cameras, hard disks, monitors, and the like.

The connection method between the devices is such that the daisy chain method and the node branch method can be mixed.
A highly flexible connection is possible.

Each device has its own unique ID, and by recognizing each other, forms a single network in a range connected by a 1394 serial bus. By simply connecting each digital device sequentially with a single 1394 serial bus cable, each device plays a role of relay and constitutes one network as a whole. It also has a function of automatically recognizing the device and the connection status when a cable is connected to the device by the Plug & Play function, which is a feature of the 1394 serial bus.

In the system shown in FIG. 7, when a device is deleted from the network or newly added, the bus is automatically reset to reset the network configuration up to that time. From
Rebuild a new network. With this function, the configuration of the network at that time can be constantly set and recognized.

The data transfer rate is 100/200/400 Mb
It has ps, and devices with higher transfer speeds support lower transfer speeds and are compatible.

The data transfer mode includes asynchronous data such as control signals (Asynchronous data: hereinafter referred to as As).
Asynchronous transfer mode for transferring synchronous data (Inc data), transferring synchronous data (Isochronous data: hereinafter Iso data) such as real-time video data and audio data
There is an Isochronous transfer mode. This Async data and Iso
In each cycle (usually one cycle of 125 μS), data is transferred together with a cycle start packet (CSP) indicating the start of a cycle, followed by transfer of iso data in a cycle with priority given to transfer of iso data.

Next, FIG. 8 shows the components of the 1394 serial bus.

The 1394 serial bus has a layer (hierarchical) structure as a whole. As shown in FIG. 8, the most hardware is a 1394 serial bus cable, which has a connector port to which a connector of the cable is connected, and a physical layer and a link layer as hardware on the connector port.

The hardware part is a substantial part of an interface chip. The physical layer performs coding and control related to connectors, and the link layer performs packet transfer and cycle time control.

The transaction layer of the firmware section manages data to be transferred (transacted) and issues commands such as Read and Write. The serial bus management is a part that manages the connection status and ID of each connected device and manages the configuration of the network.

The hardware and the firmware are the actual configuration of the 1394 serial bus.

The software application
The layer differs depending on the software used, and is a part that defines how data is placed on the interface.
It is specified by a protocol such as a protocol.
The above is the configuration of the 1394 serial bus.

Next, FIG. 9 shows a diagram of the address space in the 1394 serial bus.

Each device (node) connected to the 1394 serial bus must have a 64-bit address unique to each node. And by storing this address in ROM, you can always recognize yourself and the other party's node address,
You can also communicate with the other party.

Addressing of the 1394 serial bus is performed by the IE
The address is set according to the EE1212 standard. The first 10 bits are used for specifying the bus number, and the next 6 bits are used for the node ID.
Used to specify a number. The remaining 48 bits become the address width given to the device, and can be used as a unique address space. The last 28 bits store information such as identification of each device and designation of use conditions as an area of unique data. The above is the outline of the technology of the 1394 serial bus.

Next, the technology that can be said to be a feature of the 1394 serial bus will be described in more detail.

<< Electrical Specifications of 1394 Serial Bus >>
1 shows a sectional view of a 1394 serial bus cable.

In the 1394 serial bus, the connection cable
A power supply line is provided in addition to the two twisted pair signal lines. As a result, power can be supplied to a device having no power supply, a device whose voltage has dropped due to a failure, and the like.

The voltage of the power supply flowing through the power supply line is 8 to 40 V,
The current is specified as a maximum current of DC 1.5A. << DS-Link Encoding >> FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the DS-Link encoding method of the data transfer format employed in the 1394 serial bus.

In the 1394 serial bus, DS-Link (Data /
Strobe Link) coding method is adopted. This DS-L
The ink coding scheme is suitable for high-speed serial data communication, and its configuration requires two signal lines. The main data is sent to one of the twisted pairs, and the strobe signal is sent to the other twisted pair.

On the receiving side, the clock can be reproduced by taking the exclusive OR of the transmitted data and the strobe.

Advantages of using the DS-Link encoding method include higher transfer efficiency than other serial data transfer methods, and the elimination of a PLL circuit.
Power consumption because the transceiver circuit of each device can be put into a sleep state because there is no need to send information indicating that the device is in an idle state when there is no data to be transferred. Can be reduced.

<< Sequence of Bus Reset >> In the 1394 serial bus, each connected device (node) is given a node ID and recognized as a network configuration.

When there is a change in the network configuration, for example, a change occurs due to an increase or decrease in the number of nodes due to insertion / removal of a node or turning on / off of a power supply, and a new network configuration needs to be recognized, the change is made. Each of the detected nodes transmits a bus reset signal on the bus to enter a mode for recognizing a new network configuration. The method of detecting the change at this time is performed by detecting a change in the bias voltage on the 1394 port board.

A bus reset signal is transmitted from a certain node, and the physical layer of each node transmits the bus reset signal to the link layer at the same time as receiving the bus reset signal, and transmits the bus reset signal to another node. . After all the nodes finally detect the bus reset signal, the bus reset is activated.

The bus reset is also activated by the above-described activation by the cable insertion / removal, the hardware detection due to the network abnormality or the like, and also by directly issuing an instruction to the physical layer by the host control from the protocol.

When the bus reset is activated, the data transfer is temporarily suspended, the data transfer during this period is waited, and after the end, the data transfer is resumed under a new network configuration.

The bus reset sequence has been described above.

<Node ID Determination Sequence> After the bus reset, each node starts an operation of giving an ID to each node in order to construct a new network configuration. The general sequence from the bus reset to the determination of the node ID at this time will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

The flowchart of FIG. 19 shows a series of bus operations from the occurrence of a bus reset until the node ID is determined and data transfer can be performed.

First, as step S101, the occurrence of a bus reset in the network is constantly monitored, and if a bus reset occurs due to power ON / OFF of a node, the process proceeds to step S102.

In step S102, from the state where the network is reset, a parent-child relationship is declared between the directly connected nodes in order to know the connection status of the new network. When the parent-child relationship is determined between all the nodes as step S103, step S104
One route is decided as. Until the parent-child relationship is determined between all nodes, the parent-child relationship is declared in step S102, and the route is not determined.

When the route is determined in step S104,
Next, in step S105, a node ID setting operation for giving an ID to each node is performed. In a given node order,
The node ID is set, and the setting operation is repeatedly performed until the IDs are given to all the nodes. When the IDs are finally set to all the nodes in step S106, the new network configuration is recognized by all the nodes. Thus, as a step S107, data transfer between nodes can be performed, and data transfer is started.

When the state of step S107 is reached, a mode for monitoring the occurrence of a bus reset again is entered. If a bus reset occurs, steps S101 to S1 are performed.
The setting work up to 06 is repeated.

The above is the description of the flowchart of FIG. 19. The flowchart from FIG. 19 shows the part from the bus reset to the route determination and the procedure from the route determination to the end of the ID setting in a more detailed flowchart. Are shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, respectively.

First, the flowchart of FIG. 20 will be described.

When a bus reset occurs in step S201, the network configuration is reset once. The occurrence of a bus reset is constantly monitored in step S201.

Next, as step S202, as a first step in re-recognizing the reset network connection status, a flag indicating a leaf (node) is set for each device. Further, in step S203, each device checks how many ports of its own are connected to other nodes.

According to the result of the number of ports in step S204, the number of undefined (parent-child relationship is not determined) ports is checked in order to start the declaration of the parent-child relationship.
Immediately after the bus reset, the number of ports is equal to the number of undefined ports. However, as the parent-child relationship is determined, the number of undefined ports detected in step S204 changes.

First, immediately after a bus reset, only a leaf can declare a parent-child relationship first. The fact that the port is a leaf can be known by checking the number of ports in step S203. At step S205, the leaf declares "I am a child and the other is a parent" to the node connected thereto, and ends the operation.

The node which has a plurality of ports and is recognized as a branch in step S203 immediately after the bus reset has the number of undefined ports> 1 in step S204. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S206, and a flag of a branch is first set. In step S207, the process waits for reception of “parent” in the parent-child relationship declaration from the leaf.

The leaf declares a parent-child relationship, and the branch that has received the declaration in step S207 appropriately checks the number of undefined ports in step S204. It becomes possible to declare "I am a child" in step S205 to the connected node. After the second time, even if the number of undefined ports is confirmed in step S204, for a branch having two or more ports, the process waits again in step S207 to accept a "parent" from a leaf or another branch.

Finally, if any one of the branches, or exceptionally, leaves (because they did not operate quickly enough to make a child declaration) become zero as a result of the number of undefined ports in step S204, The only node for which the declaration of the parent-child relationship of the entire network has been completed and the number of undefined ports has become zero (all are determined as parent ports) is flagged as a root as step S208,
In step S209, the route is recognized.

Thus, the process from the bus reset shown in FIG. 20 to the declaration of the parent-child relationship between all the nodes in the network is completed.

Next, the flowchart of FIG. 21 will be described.

First, flag information of each node such as leaf, branch, and root has been set in the sequence up to FIG. 20. Based on this, information is classified in step S301.

As a task of assigning an ID to each node, the ID can be set first from the leaf. The IDs are set in ascending order of leaf → branch → route (node number = 0).

In step S302, the number N (N is a natural number) of leaves existing in the network is set. Thereafter, in step S303, each leaf requests the root to give an ID. If there are a plurality of such requests, the route performs arbitration (operation of arbitrating one) in step S304, and step S305.
The ID number is given to one of the winning nodes, and a failure result is notified to the losing node. I as step S306
The leaf for which acquisition of D has failed fails issues an ID request again, and repeats the same operation. At step S307, the ID information of the node is broadcast and transferred to all nodes from the leaf whose ID has been acquired. When the broadcast of the one node ID information ends, the number of remaining leaves is reduced by one in step S308. Here, as step S309, when the number of remaining leaves is one or more, the operation from the ID request of step S303 is repeatedly performed.
Eventually, when all the leaves broadcast the ID information, step S309 becomes N = 0, and the process proceeds to the branch ID setting.

The setting of the branch ID is performed in the same manner as in the case of the leaf.

First, as step S310, the number M of branches existing in the network (M is a natural number) is set. Thereafter, in step S311, each branch requests the root to give an ID. On the other hand, the root performs arbitration in step S312, and gives the branch in order from the winning branch to the next youngest number given to the leaf. In step S313, the root notifies the branch that issued the request of ID information or a failure result. In step S314, the branch whose ID acquisition has failed fails issues an ID request again, and repeats the same operation. In step S315, the ID information of the node is transferred to all nodes by broadcasting from the branch from which the ID has been obtained. When the broadcasting of the one node ID information ends, the number of remaining branches is reduced by one in step S316. Here, as step S317, when the number of the remaining branches is one or more, the operation from the ID request in step S311 is repeated, and the operation is repeated until all the branches finally broadcast the ID information.
When all the branches have acquired the node ID, M = 0 in step S317, and the branch ID acquisition mode ends.

When the process is completed so far, since only the root node has not acquired the ID information in the end, step S
The lowest number not given as 318
A D number is set, and the route ID information is broadcast in step S319.

As described above, as shown in FIG. 21, the procedure from the determination of the parent-child relationship to the setting of the IDs of all the nodes is completed.

Next, the operation in the actual network shown in FIG. 12 will be described as an example with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 12, a node A and a node C are directly connected below the (root) node B, and a node D is directly connected below the node C.
Further, below the node D, there is a hierarchical structure in which the nodes E and F are directly connected. The procedure for determining the hierarchical structure, the root node, and the node ID will be described below.

After the bus reset, a parent-child relationship is declared between the directly connected ports of each node in order to recognize the connection status of each node. The parent and child can be said to be such that the parent is higher in the hierarchical structure and the child is lower.

In FIG. 12, it is the node A that first declared the parent-child relationship after the bus reset. Basically, a node that has a connection to only one port of a node (called a leaf) can declare a parent-child relationship. This allows the user to first know that there is only one port connection, thereby recognizing that it is at the edge of the network and determining the parent-child relationship from the node that operates earlier in that. Thus, the port on the side that has declared the parent-child relationship (node A between AB) is set as a child, and the port on the other side (node B) is set as a parent.
Thus, a child-parent is determined between the nodes A and B, a child-parent is determined between the nodes ED, and a child-parent is determined between the nodes FD.

Further, one more level up, and among nodes having a plurality of connection ports (referred to as branches), a parent-child relationship is declared further higher in order from a node that has received a parent-child relationship declaration from another node. To go. In FIG. 12, first, after the parent-child relationship between the node D and the node D-F is determined, a parent-child relationship is declared for the node C. As a result, the node D is determined as the child-parent between the nodes D and C. ing.

The node C, which has received the declaration of the parent-child relationship from the node D, has declared the parent-child relationship to the node B connected to another port. As a result, a child-parent is determined between the nodes C and B.

In this way, a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. 12 is formed, and the node B which has become the parent in all finally connected ports is determined as the root node. There is only one route in one network configuration.

In FIG. 12, node B is determined to be the root node. This is because node B, which has received a parent-child relationship declaration from node A, makes a parent-child relationship declaration to other nodes at an early timing. If so, the root node may have moved to another node. That is, any node may become a root node depending on the transmission timing, and the root node is not always constant even in the same network configuration.

Once the root node has been determined,
Enter the ID determination mode. Here, all nodes notify their determined node IDs to all other nodes (broadcast function).

The self ID information includes its own node number, information on the connected position, the number of ports it has, the number of connected ports, and information on the parent-child relationship of each port. As a procedure for assigning node ID numbers, it is possible to start from the node (leaf) that has connection to only one port, and node numbers = 0, 1,
2, and so on.

The node having the node ID broadcasts information including the node number to each node.
As a result, it is recognized that the ID number is “assigned”.

When all the leaves have acquired their own node IDs, the next step is to move to the branch and follow the leaf node ID
A number is assigned to each node. Like the leaf, the node IDs are sequentially assigned from the branch to which the node ID number is assigned.
Broadcast information, and finally the root node
Broadcast ID information. That is, the root always has the largest node ID number.

As described above, the nodes of the entire hierarchical structure
The ID assignment is completed, the network configuration is reconstructed, and the bus initialization is completed.

<< Arbitration >> In the 1394 serial bus, arbitration (arbitration) of the right to use the bus is always performed prior to data transfer. Since the 1394 serial bus is a logical bus-type network in which each device connected individually relays the transferred signal and transmits the same signal to all devices in the network, packet collision occurs. Arbitration is necessary to prevent This allows only one node to transfer at a given time.

As a diagram for explaining arbitration, FIG. 13 (a) shows a bus use request diagram, and FIG. 13 (b) shows a bus use permission diagram, which will be described below.

When arbitration starts, one or more nodes issue a bus use request to the parent node. Node C and node F in Fig. 13 (a)
Is the node issuing the request for the right to use the bus. The parent node (node A in FIG. 13) that has received this further issues (relays) a request for the right to use the bus toward the parent node.
This request is finally delivered to the arbitration route.

The root node that has received the bus use request determines which node uses the bus. This arbitration work can be performed only by the root node, and the node that has won the arbitration is given permission to use the bus. FIG.
In (b), use permission is given to the node C, and use of the node F is rejected. A DP (data prefix) packet is sent to the node that lost the arbitration,
Notify that they were rejected. The rejected node use request waits until the next arbitration.

As described above, the node that has won the arbitration and obtained the bus use permission can start transferring data thereafter.

Here, a series of arbitration flows will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. In order for a node to be able to start data transfer, the bus must be idle. In order to recognize that the data transfer that has been performed earlier is completed and that the bus is currently idle, a predetermined idle time gap length (eg, sub-action. gap)
Each node determines that its own transfer can be started.

In step S401, Async data, Iso
It is determined whether or not a predetermined gap length corresponding to data to be transferred, such as data, is obtained. Unless the predetermined gap length is obtained, the request for the right to use the bus required to start the transfer cannot be made, so the process waits until the predetermined gap length is obtained. When a predetermined gap length is obtained in step S401,
In step S402, it is determined whether or not there is data to be transferred. If there is, in step S403, a request for a bus use right is issued to the route so as to secure a bus for transfer. At this time, the transmission of the signal indicating the request for the right to use the bus is finally delivered to the route while relaying each device in the network, as shown in FIG. Step S
If there is no data to be transferred in 402, the process stands by.

Next, as step S404, step S4
When the route receives one or more bus use requests of 03, the route checks the number of nodes that have issued use requests in step S405. The selection value in step S405 is the number of nodes = 1
If (the node that has issued the use right request is one), the immediately subsequent bus use permission is given to that node. If the selection value in step S405 is the number of nodes> 1 (the number of nodes requesting use is plural), the route is set to step S406.
Arbitration work to determine one node to which use permission is given. This arbitration work is fair, and the same node does not always obtain permission each time, and the right is equally given.

In step S407, a selection is made of one of the nodes that have issued a use request in step S406 and that is divided into one node whose route has been arbitrated and whose use has been granted, and another node that has lost. Here, for one node that has been arbitrated and has obtained use permission, or a node that has obtained use permission without arbitration based on the selection value of step S405 and the number of use request nodes = 1, the route is set to that node as step S408. A permission signal is sent to it. The node that has received the permission signal starts transferring data (packets) to be transferred immediately after receiving the permission signal. In addition, as a step S409, a node that has lost the arbitration in step S406 and is not permitted to use the bus receives a DP (data pre
fix) The packet is transmitted, and the node receiving the packet returns to step S401 to issue a bus use request for re-transferring, and waits until a predetermined gap length is obtained. 23 is an illustration of FIG.

<< Asynchronous Transfer >> The asynchronous transfer is an asynchronous transfer. FIG. 14 shows a temporal transition state in the asynchronous transfer. The first sub-action gap in FIG. 14 indicates the idle state of the bus. When the idle time reaches a certain value, the node desiring transfer determines that the bus can be used and executes arbitration for acquiring the bus.

When the bus use permission is obtained by arbitration, data transfer is executed in packet format.
After the data transfer, the receiving node acknowledges the ack (reception confirmation return code) of the reception result for the transferred data.
After a short gap of ap, the transfer is completed by returning and responding or sending a response packet. The ack is composed of 4 bits of information and 4 bits of a checksum, and includes information such as success, busy status, and pending status, and is immediately returned to the source node.

Next, FIG. 15 shows an example of a packet format for asynchronous transfer. The packet has a header part in addition to the data part and the data CRC for error correction, and the header part has a destination node ID, as shown in FIG.
The source node ID, transfer data length, various codes, etc. are written and the transfer is performed.

Asynchronous transfer is one-to-one communication from a self-node to a partner node. The packet transferred from the transfer source node is distributed to each node in the network, but the address other than its own address is ignored, so that only one destination node reads the packet.

The above is the description of the asynchronous transfer.

<< Isochronous (Synchronous) Transfer >> Isochronous transfer is synchronous transfer. This isochronous transfer, which can be said to be the biggest feature of the 1394 serial bus, is especially
This transfer mode is suitable for transferring data that requires real-time transfer, such as multimedia data such as VIDEO video data and audio data. In contrast to asynchronous transfer (asynchronous transfer), which is a one-to-one transfer, this isochronous transfer is performed by a broadcast function.
The data is uniformly transferred from one source node to all other nodes.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a temporal transition state in isochronous transfer.

The isochronous transfer is executed at fixed time intervals on the bus. This time interval is called an isochronous cycle. The isochronous cycle time is 125 μS. A cycle start packet indicates the start time of each cycle, and plays a role of adjusting the time of each node. The node that transmits the cycle start packet is a node called a cycle master. After a transfer in the previous cycle is completed, a predetermined idle period (subaction gap) is passed, and then the start of this cycle is announced. Send a cycle start packet. The time interval at which this cycle start packet is transmitted is 125 μS.

As shown by channel A, channel B, and channel C in FIG. 16, a plurality of types of packets can be distinguished and transferred by being given channel IDs in one cycle. This allows real-time transfer between a plurality of nodes at the same time, and the receiving node fetches only the data of the channel ID desired by itself. This channel ID does not represent the address of the transmission destination, but merely gives a logical number for the data. Therefore, the transmission of a certain packet is transmitted in a broadcast manner from one source node to all other nodes.

Prior to the packet transmission in the isochronous transfer, arbitration is performed as in the asynchronous transfer. However, since it is not one-to-one communication as in the asynchronous transfer, there is no ack (reception confirmation reply code) in the isochronous transfer.

The iso gap (isochronous gap) shown in FIG. 16 indicates an idle period necessary for recognizing that the bus is empty before performing the isochronous transfer. After the predetermined idle period has elapsed, a node that wishes to perform isochronous transfer determines that the bus is free, and can perform arbitration before transfer.

Next, an example of a packet format for isochronous transfer will be described with reference to FIG.

Each packet divided into each channel has a header part in addition to the data part and the data CRC for error correction, and the header part has the transfer data length and the channel as shown in FIG. NO, other various codes, a header CRC for error correction, and the like are written and transferred.

The above is the description of the isochronous transfer.

<< Bus Cycle >> In actual transfer on the 1394 serial bus, isochronous transfer and asynchronous transfer can coexist. FIG. 18 shows a temporal transition of the transfer state on the bus in which the isochronous transfer and the asynchronous transfer are mixed at that time.

The isochronous transfer is executed prior to the asynchronous transfer. The reason is that after the cycle start packet, the isochronous transfer can be started with a gap length (isochronous gap) shorter than the gap length (subaction gap) of the idle period required to start the asynchronous transfer. . Therefore, the isochronous transfer is executed with priority over the asynchronous transfer.

In the general bus cycle shown in FIG. 18, a cycle start packet is transferred from the cycle master to each node at the start of cycle #m. As a result, each node adjusts the time, and after waiting for a predetermined idle period (isochronous gap), the node that should perform isochronous transfer performs arbitration and starts packet transfer. In FIG. 18, the channel e, the channel s, and the channel k are sequentially isochronously transferred. After the operations from the arbitration to the packet transfer are repeated for the given channel, when all the isochronous transfers in the cycle #m are completed, the asynchronous transfer can be performed.

When the idle time reaches the sub-action gap where asynchronous transfer is possible, the node that wishes to perform asynchronous transfer determines that it can proceed to execution of arbitration. However, the period during which asynchronous transfer can be performed is the time (cycling time) at which the next cycle start packet should be transferred after the end of isochronous transfer.
Only when a sub-action gap for starting asynchronous transfer is obtained before e synch).

In cycle #m in FIG. 18, two packets (packet 1 and packet 2) of isochronous transfer for three channels and then asynchronous transfer (including ack) are transferred. After the asynchronous packet 2, it is time to start the cycle m + 1 (cycle synch), and the transfer in cycle #m ends here.

However, the time (cy) to transmit the next cycle start packet during asynchronous or synchronous transfer operation
If cle synch is reached, the cycle start packet of the next cycle is transmitted after waiting for an idle period after the transfer is completed without forcibly interrupting the transfer. That is, when one cycle lasts for 125 μS or more, it is assumed that the next cycle is shorter than the reference 125 μS. As described above, the isochronous cycle can be exceeded or shortened on the basis of 125 μS.

However, the isochronous transfer is always executed if necessary every cycle to maintain the real-time transfer, and the asynchronous transfer may be transferred to the next and subsequent cycles due to the shortened cycle time.

The cycle information including such delay information is
Controlled by the master.

The above is the description of the IEEE1394 serial bus.

<System Configuration> From here, as shown in FIG.
A description will be given of a case where each device is connected with a 1394 serial bus cable. 1 includes a personal computer (PC) 101 connected via a 1394 serial bus,
It is composed of a recording / reproducing device 102 and printer devices 103 and 104, and each device can perform data transfer based on the specification of the 1394 serial bus. Here, the recording / reproducing device 102 is a digital camera or a camera-integrated digital VTR that records and reproduces a moving image or a still image. Further, direct printing is possible by directly transferring video data output from the recording / reproducing device 102 to the printer 103. Further, the connection method of the 1394 serial bus is not limited to the connection as shown in FIG. 1, but it is also possible to configure the bus by connecting any devices. In addition to the devices shown in FIG. Alternatively, a configuration in which a data communication device is connected may be employed. The network shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a group of devices. The connected devices may be any external storage device such as a hard disk, or any device that can be configured with a 1394 serial bus such as a CDR or DVD. Is also good.

The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2 with the bus configuration as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, 101 is a PC, 102 is a recording / reproducing device, and 103 is a printer. First, the recording / reproducing device 102 will be described.

Reference numeral 4 denotes an image pickup system for inputting video data from outside. Reference numeral 5 denotes an A / D converter, which digitizes the input video data and passes it to a video signal processing circuit. Reference numeral 6 denotes a video signal processing circuit for performing video processing. Video signals are input from outside through 4 to 6.

7 is compression at the time of recording by a predetermined algorithm,
This is a compression / decompression circuit that performs decompression during reproduction.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a recording / reproducing system including a magnetic tape, a solid-state memory, etc., and its recording / reproducing head.

A system controller 9 controls the operation of the entire recording / reproducing apparatus 102. Controlling writing / reading of video signals captured from the imaging system including the CPU, ROM, and RAM in the memories 13 and 15, transfer to the PC 101 and the printer 103, video output to the recording / reproducing system 8, output from the operation unit 10, It performs operations based on the input transfer settings, stores the transfer settings in a memory, and the like.

Reference numeral 10 denotes an operation unit for inputting an instruction, and inputs a transfer setting or the like by a user. The input settings are stored in the memory of the system controller 9.

Numeral 11 converts the digitized video data to analog for display by a D / A converter.

Reference numeral 12 denotes an EVF for displaying the video data analogized by the D / A converter 11.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a frame memory for storing video data to be transferred uncompressed, 14 denotes a memory control unit for controlling readout of the memory 13, 15 denotes a frame memory for storing video data to be transferred in a compressed state, and 16 Is a memory control unit that controls reading of the memory 15 and the like.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a data selector for switching the output between the non-compressed video data stored in the memory 13 and the compressed video data stored in the memory 15. Reference numeral 18 denotes an I / F section of the 1394 serial bus.

Next, the operation proceeds to the printer 103 side. 19 is a 1394 I / F unit in the printer, 20 is a data selector, 21 is a decoding circuit for decoding video data compressed by a predetermined algorithm, 22 is a print image image processing circuit, 23
Is a memory for forming a print image, 24 is a printer head, 25 is a driver for performing a printer head and paper feed, 26 is a printer controller which is a control unit of the printer, 27 is a printer operation unit, and 61 is mounted on a PC. 1394I
/ F section, 62 is a PCI bus, 63 is an MPU, 64 is a decoding circuit for decoding video data compressed by a predetermined algorithm, 65 is a display having a built-in D / A converter, 66 is an HDD And 67, a memory, and 68, an operation unit such as a keyboard and a mouse.

Next, the operation of each device will be described step by step with reference to FIG.

<Operation of Equipment> (Recording / Reproducing Apparatus 102) First, at the time of recording by the recording / reproducing apparatus 102, a video signal photographed by the image pickup system 4 is digitized by the A / D converter 5, and then the video signal processing circuit At 6, the image processing is performed.

One of the outputs of the video signal processing circuit 6 is converted back to an analog signal by the D / A converter 11 as a video being photographed, and is displayed on the EVF 12. Other outputs are compressed by a compression circuit 7 according to a predetermined algorithm, and are output to a recording / reproducing system
Is recorded on the recording medium. Here, the predetermined compression processing is a JPEG method as a typical example in a digital camera, and a D compression as a band compression method in a home digital VTR.
CT (Discrete Cosine Transform) and VLC (Variable Length Coding)
Compression scheme based on MPEG, and an MPEG scheme.

At the time of reproduction, the recording / reproducing system 8 reproduces a desired video from the recording medium. At this time, selection of a desired video is selected based on an instruction input input from the operation unit 10, and is controlled and reproduced by the system controller 9. Of the video data reproduced from the recording medium, data transferred in a compressed state is output to the frame memory 15. When the reproduction data is decompressed for transferring as uncompressed data, it is decompressed by the decompression circuit 7 and output to the memory 13. When displaying the reproduced video data on the EVF 12, the decompression circuit 7
The signal is returned to an analog signal by the D / A converter 11 and then output to the EVF 12 for display.

Frame memory 13 and frame memory
In 15, writing / reading is controlled by memory controllers 14 and 16 controlled by a system controller, and the read video data is output to a data selector 17. At this time, the outputs of the frame memories 13 and 15 are controlled so that one of them is output to the data selector 17 at the same time.

The system controller 9 includes a recording / reproducing device 10
2 controls the operation of each part in the printer 103
Command data for an externally connected device such as the
A command can be transmitted to an external device by being transferred through the serial bus. Various command data transferred from the printer 103 or the PC 101 is input from the data selector 17 to the system controller 9 and is transmitted to the recording / reproducing device 10.
Each part of 2 is controlled.

The command data indicating the presence / absence of a decoder or the type of the decoder transferred from the printer 103 or the PC 101 is input to the system controller 9 as a request command, and then transmitted when the video data is transferred from the recording / reproducing apparatus 102. Are used to determine whether to transfer compressed or uncompressed video data. The system controller 9 determines which data is to be transferred based on the information of the decoder included in each device transferred from the printer 103 or the PC 101 by a command, and sends the determination result to the memory control units 14 and 15 as a command. introduce. And the frame memory 13 by the system controller 9,
Alternatively, one suitable video data is read out from 15 and transferred. When it is determined that the video data compression method in the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 is decodable, the compressed video data stored in the memory 15 is transferred by the system controller 9; The uncompressed video data stored in 15 is transferred.

The video data and command data input to the data selector 17 are transferred on a cable by the 1394 I / F 18 based on the specification of the 1394 serial bus. If so, the PC 101 receives it. Command data is also appropriately transferred to the target node. Regarding the data transfer method, mainly data such as moving images, still images, and audio are transferred as Iso data by the isochronous transfer method, and command data is transferred as Async data by the asynchronous transfer method. However, among the data transferred by the normal Iso data, if it is more convenient to transfer the data as Async data depending on the transfer situation or the like, the data may be transmitted by asynchronous transfer.

(Printer 103) Next, the operation of the printer 103 will be described. The data input to the 1394 I / F unit 19
The data selector 20 classifies each data type. Data to be printed, such as input video data, is transferred to the decoding circuit 21. In the case of command data, the data is transmitted as a control command to the printer controller 26, and the printer controller 26 controls each part of the printer 103 corresponding to the information.

The printer controller 26 has a printer 103
Print function information (printing method, description language, color printing, paper size, resolution, printing speed, double-sided printing, etc.) provided by the printer, the type of decoder included in the composite circuit 21 in the printer 103, or the presence or absence of the decoding circuit 21 Output the information of
The command data can be transferred to the PC 101 and the recording / reproducing device 102 as command data.

It has been confirmed that the video data transferred from the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 can be processed by the printer 103 in advance. That is, information such as printing functions (printing method, description language, color printing, paper size, resolution, printing speed, double-sided printing), presence / absence or type of a decoder, and compression / non-compression are transmitted to the PC 101 and the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 in advance. Based on this information, and based on the judgment that optimal printing control and transfer can be performed,
Since it has been transferred, the decoding circuit 21 provided in the printer
In this case, the compressed data can be decompressed by a decompression method of a predetermined algorithm.

If the transferred video data is compressed, the data is decompressed, and then
Is output to If the transferred video data is uncompressed, the decoding circuit 21 does not exist or
Decoding circuit 2 that cannot support the compression method of the recording / reproducing device 102
It is equipped with 1. For this reason, in this case, the configuration is such that the data is directly input to the print image processing circuit 22 through the decoding circuit 21. Also, when print data or the like that is not video data is input and the data does not need to be expanded, the decoding circuit 21 is skipped.

The printing data input to the image processing circuit 22 is subjected to image processing suitable for printing here.
The print image is formed and stored in the memory 23 by the printer controller 26. This print image is sent to the printer head 24 and printed.

The driving of the printer head and paper feed are performed by the driver 25, and the driver 25 and the printer head 24 are driven.
The operation control and other control of each unit are performed by the printer controller 23. The printer operation unit 27 is for inputting an instruction such as paper feed, reset, ink check, standby / start / stop of printer operation, and an instruction to change the paper size. The printer controller 26 is operated in response to the instruction input. Control of each part.

Here, the recording paper mounted on the printer 103 may have a configuration in which a plurality of paper trays corresponding to a plurality of paper sizes are provided depending on the printer.

It should be noted that a printer such as a host-based printer that receives image data compressed by the decoding circuit 21 in the printer 103 by the decoding circuit 21 from the PC 101 and prints the image data needs to have a ROM in the circuit. Not printer
Direct printing is possible in 103 without performing any special processing corresponding to the description language and the composite program.

As an example of an encoding method that can be decoded by the decoding circuit 21 in the printer 103, the JPEG method can be considered. Since JPEG decoding is possible by software, the decoding circuit 21 holds the JPEG decoding program file in the ROM included in the circuit, or executes the decoding program transferred from another node to execute the decoding program. ,
A configuration in which the decoding process is executed by software may be used. Transferring the image data compressed by the JPEG method from the recording / reproducing device 102 to a printer and decoding the image data in the printer can improve the transfer efficiency as compared with the transfer after converting the data into uncompressed data, and the software. By using the decoding process in (1), providing a decoder in the printer itself does not hinder the cost and is convenient. Further, the decoding circuit 21 may be configured to provide a JPEG decoding circuit (board) for hardware decoding.

As described above, when video data is transferred from the recording / reproducing device 102 to the printer 103 and printed,
This is so-called direct printing, and printing can be performed without using a PC.

Further, in a printer such as a host-based printer that receives and prints image data compressed in advance in the PC 101 by the decoder system provided in the decoding circuit 21 in the printer 103, the printer 103 circuit It is not necessary to have a ROM, and direct printing is possible without using the processing in the printer 103.

(Host Computer) Next, normal processing in the PC 101 will be described.

The recording / reproducing device 102 transmits the 1394 I /
The video data transferred to the F unit 61 is
The data is transferred to each unit using the I bus 62 as a bus for mutual data transmission. Also, various command data and the like in the PC 101 are transferred to each unit using the PCI bus.

In the PC 101, an instruction input from the operation unit 68 and
According to the OS (operating system) and application software, the MPU 63
The processing is performed by When recording the transferred video data, it is recorded on the hard disk 66.

The video data transferred from the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 is stored in the PC 1 in advance, as in the case of the printer 103.
It has been confirmed that 01 can be processed. That is, information (read-in monochrome or color designation, resolution and gradation, etc.) read into the recording / reproduction device 102 and the printer 103 in advance,
Information such as the presence or absence or type of the decoder, compression / non-compression, etc. is sent. Based on such information, optimal printing control,
Since the data is selected and transferred based on the determination that the data can be transferred, the data compressed by the decoding circuit 21 provided in the printer 103 can be decompressed by the decompression method of a predetermined algorithm.

When the video data is displayed on the display 65, if it is compressed video data, a decoding circuit is used.
If it is uncompressed video data after being decoded at 64, it is directly input to the display 65, and after D / A conversion, it is displayed as a video.

The various decoding circuits 64 provided in the PC 101 are, for example, those in which a decoder of the MPEG system or the like is inserted into a slot as a board, those which are built into the main body in a hardware manner, those in the MPEG system or JPE.
G system, printer decoder system with a configuration like the above host-based printer, and other software decoders in ROM
The command can be transferred to the recording / reproducing device 102 using the type and presence / absence of these decoders as information.

[0180] In this way, the transferred video data is taken into the PC 101, where recording and editing, transfer from the PC to other devices, and the like are performed. Further, when the transfer destination is a printer decoder system having a configuration such as the host-based printer, the recording / reproducing device 102
It is also possible to re-edit the data fetched by the decoding method of the above to the decoding method of the printer 103 and then transfer it to the printer 103.

With the configuration shown in FIG. 2, before the video data is transferred from the recording / reproducing device 102 to the printer 103 or the PC 101, the transfer destination printer 103 or the PC 101
By transferring command of decoder information from
The recording / reproducing device 102 can select to transfer the compressed video data when the transfer destination device can decode, and to transfer the uncompressed video data when the transfer destination device cannot decode.

<Operation of Recording / Reproducing Apparatus During Data Transmission> Next, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 at this time.

The recording / reproducing device 102 is set to a mode for transferring video data to another device connected via a 1394 serial bus. First, in step S1, a transfer destination device is specified, and transfer setting based on the instruction is performed. The setting is performed by the user from the operation unit 10, and the set information is stored in the memory of the system controller 9.

Next, the process proceeds to step S2, where the recording / reproducing device 10
A command is transmitted from the device 2 to the transfer destination device using the 1394 bus to notify that the transfer is to be performed. The command includes information for instructing the transfer of information such as the presence / absence and type of a decoder provided in the transfer destination device.

Then, the process proceeds to a step S3. Recording and playback device 10
2, the command data including the decoder information is transferred from the transfer destination device to the recording / reproducing device 102. Therefore, in step S3, the recording / reproducing device
The system controller 9 of 102 determines the presence / absence of a decoder and its type from the decoder information among the received commands. There is a decoder, and the decoder
If it is determined that the decoder is capable of expanding the video data of No. 2, the process proceeds to step S4. If the received command does not include the decoder information, or if it is determined that there is no decoder, the process proceeds to step S6.

Here, of the command data transferred from the transfer destination device to the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 as the transfer source, the decoder information remains compressed when transferring the compressed and recorded video data. This data is used to determine whether to transfer or to return to uncompressed and then transferred, and that the destination device wants to transfer compressed data or uncompressed data. It also has a role as such request data.

The recording / reproducing device 10 of the transfer source is
If the information of the compression method used by 2 has been notified in advance to the transfer destination device such as the PC 101, for example, the PC 101, it is determined whether the PC 101 can process the video data sent from the recording / reproducing device 102. Can be determined, so step S
PC101 when returning command data to PC2
It is also conceivable to send a command for direct video data transfer, that is, a request command for a compressed data transfer command or an uncompressed data transfer command, instead of the decoder information in the above.

Next, in step S4, the type of the decoder determined from the received decoder information is
It is determined whether or not the decoder can support the compression method of a predetermined algorithm of the video data used in the second compression / expansion circuit 7. If the decoder is compatible,
Proceeding to step S5, since the decoding is possible in the transfer destination device, the decoding is set, that is, as processing for transferring the compressed video data to the 1394 bus, the video data is transferred from the transfer time memory 15 to the 1394 bus. Is controlled to be transmitted. Then, the process proceeds to step S7.

When the type of decoder determined in step S4 is not compatible with the compression method of the recording / reproducing device 102, or when the decoder information is not received in step S3, that is, in the transfer destination device, If it is determined that there is no decoder, step S
6 is a setting without a decoder, that is, the recording / reproducing device 10
The output from the memory 13 at the time of transfer of the video data is controlled so that the video data to be transferred is expanded in 2 and then the uncompressed video data is transferred onto the 1394 bus. Then, the process proceeds to step S7.

After setting the output format at the time of video data transfer according to the transfer destination device as described above, next, at step S7, the user records the video data to be transferred for printing or PC capture. The recording / reproducing device 102 selects from among the images recorded on the medium, and performs the reading operation.

After performing the video selection operation, step S8
Waits for a user to input a desired video transfer command.

When a transfer command is input by the user, it is determined in step S9 whether or not there is a decoder compatible with the transfer destination device based on the settings in steps S5 and S6.

If it is determined that there is a compatible decoder, the data is read from the memory 15 in accordance with the transfer command input in step S8 in order to transfer the compressed video data reproduced from the recording medium in step S10. The system controller 9 and the memory controller 16 control to output and transfer the video data. Then, the process proceeds to Step SD12.

If it is determined that there is no compatible decoder, in step S11, the uncompressed video data expanded by the expansion circuit 7 is transferred from the memory 13 in accordance with the transfer command in step S8. The system controller 9 and the memory controller 14 output and transfer video data.
Controls. In this case, the video data is transferred by an isochronous (or asynchronous) transfer method using a 1394 serial bus. Then, the process proceeds to step S12.

In step S12, it is confirmed that the transfer of the desired video data has been completed.

The flow advances to step S13 to wait for the selection of whether or not to transfer another video data. When the transfer of another video data is selected, the flow returns to step S7 and repeats from the video selection to select another video. If not, step S14
Move on to

In step S14, the transfer destination device is changed,
It is determined whether to continue the video data transfer mode, and when performing video data transfer by changing the transfer destination to another device, it is necessary to repeat the transfer destination designation in step S1 and change the transfer destination in step S14 to continue the mode. If there is no, this flow is terminated here. The flow always returns to step S1 with the execution of the instructed video data transfer mode, and the flow is repeated.

In the manner described above, the video data is transferred from the recording / reproducing device 102 to the transfer destination device. With this procedure,
The recording / reproducing device 102 can transmit data encoded by a method that can be reliably decoded at the data transmission destination.

In this embodiment, the description is made using video data compressed and recorded on a recording medium. However, the present invention is not limited to recorded video, but also includes video data input from an imaging device and for which recording processing is not performed. Video data may be used.

The recording / reproducing apparatus described in the present embodiment is mainly concerned with video data of moving pictures and still pictures, and is intended for a camera-integrated VTR or a digital camera. Digital devices such as DVDs, MDs, CDs, PCs, and scanners may be used, and data to be handled is not limited to video data but may be audio data or various file data.

<Printing of Video Data> Next, a description will be given of a printing process according to the present invention in which the video data transferred from the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 to the PC 101 is re-edited by the PC 101 and the print data is transferred to the printer 103.

In the system configured as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when a print request for video data transferred from the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 is made by executing a program such as application software in the PC 101, the PC 101 The print function information (color printing method, description language, paper size, resolution, printing speed, double-sided printing, etc.) in the printer transferred from 103, information on the presence / absence of a decoder or the type of decoder, etc. Further, a printer having a printing function optimal for the video data to be printed is selected based on the image information (color designation, resolution and gradation, image size, etc.) of the video data transferred from the recording / reproducing device 102. I do.

Next, the print function information in the printer, which is transferred from the selected printer, is compared with the image information of the video data, and the information such as the presence or absence of the decoder or the decoder type. Here, the video data of the recording / reproducing device 102 is
If it is determined that printing is possible based on the print function information of the recording / reproducing apparatus 102, a print request command is sent to the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 to transmit the video data of the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 to the printer 103 so that so-called direct printing is performed. Issue

Next, the print function information of the selected printer 103 is displayed. In the case of video data created so as to include a plurality of paper sizes, video data corresponding to the paper size currently loaded in the paper cassette and paper tray of the printer 103 is selected and printed first, and then the printer 103 Status information for instructing the user to change the paper size in order to print video data different from the paper size mounted on the paper cassette and paper tray of the PC.
For example, "CHANGEPEPE" is displayed on the display 101.
R: A message such as A4 "or animation is displayed.

At this time, if the print area of the video data exceeds the printable area of the paper size mounted on the printer 103, the print area of the optimal paper size mounted on the printer 103 The print area corresponding to each paper size and the offset information from the edge of each paper are checked to see if they fit, and if they do not fit in the printable area of the paper size, printing is possible with the PC 101 according to the paper size. The print information and the print data obtained by re-editing the image data so as to fit in the area are transferred to the printer 103.

In the system configured as described above,
Select PC 101 as the destination device for the video data, and
The video data once captured in 01 can also be transferred to a plurality of transfer destination printers connected via a 1394 serial bus. In this case, by receiving a command of printer information (color print information, description language, paper size, resolution, print spade, printer status, etc.) from a transfer destination printer or the like using a 1394 serial bus before printing. , The PC 101 can select an optimal transfer destination printer or the like based on information based on video data,
In addition, the video data can be re-edited based on information based on a print format of a transfer destination printer or the like. When the video data is composed of a plurality of pages, the most suitable printing is performed by selecting one or a plurality of printers optimal for the video data in page units. If the video data is composed of a plurality of pages and the video data is composed of a plurality of print information (color information, paper size information, resolution, etc.), one per print information unit is used.
After editing a page or a plurality of pages, the print is distributed to one or more optimum printers.

If the selected printer or the like does not have the designated paper size, a message prompting the user to attach the designated paper size is notified, the corresponding video data is skipped, and the printing is completed again after the printing of the other video data is completed. To print. Also, after editing the video data to the optimal print format based on the printer information of the selected printer, etc.
When the transfer destination printer or the like can decode, the compressed data decoded in the transfer destination decoding format can be transferred, and when decoding cannot be performed, uncompressed data can be transferred.

In this way, even if there is a mismatch between the printing condition specified by the print data and the printing condition set by the printing device, the mismatch is reconciled, and printing is performed by the specified printing device. , Operator intervention can be reduced to a minimum.

<Operation at the Time of Printing by Host> Next, the operation at this time is shown in a flowchart in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

The PC 101 converts the captured video data into 139
(4) The following processing is performed in a mode for transferring print information from a plurality of printers connected via a serial bus.

In steps S501 to S504, printer information is received from each connected printer and stored.

At step S501, the user designates the transfer destination printer 103 and makes transfer settings based on the instruction.

Next, in step S502, the PC 101 informs the transfer destination printer or the like that the transfer is to be performed, and the printer information (color print information, description language, paper size) included in the transfer destination printer or the like. , Resolution, printer status information, presence and type of decoder, etc.)
1394 command containing information to prompt
Transmit using the bus.

In response to the command in step S502, printer information (color print information,
Predetermined command data including description language, paper size, resolution, printer status information, decoder information, etc.) is transferred to the PC 101.

When the command data is transferred from the transfer destination printer, the flow advances to step S503, and the PC 101 stores the received printer information (color print function information, description language, paper size, resolution, printer status information, decoder information, etc.) in the memory. In 67, printer information is divided and stored as needed at each transfer destination printer.

Next, the flow advances to step S504 to determine whether to change the transfer destination printer or the like and to continue the transfer mode of the transfer destination printer information.

If it is determined that the transfer of printer information is to be performed by changing the transfer destination printer or the like, step S501 is repeated, and if not, the process proceeds to step S505.

In this way, printer information of all connected printers and the like is obtained.

Next, in steps S505 to S516, selection of a printer and selection and editing of video data are performed.

First, the PC 101 selects one or more optimum printers or the like based on printer information fetched from a plurality of printers or the like connected via the 1394 serial bus.

When a printer on which the captured video data is to be printed is selected, the paper size, color printing function information, and resolution of the printer information received by the PC 101 are determined. It is determined that such information must be stored in the printer 103.

If there is a difference between the image information of the video data and the received printer information, decompression processing of the video data received in the PC 101 is performed before the uncompressed video data is transferred to the printer information (paper size, color printing). function,
Re-editing based on the resolution, etc.), and setting the output format according to the destination printer. The processing at this time will be described as follows.

First, in step S505, the user selects video data to be transferred to the printer 103. Data selected from those recorded in the memory 67 of the PC 101 is read.

Next, in step S506, the image information of the video data already captured by the PC 101 and the printer information of the transfer destination stored in the memory 67 (color print information, description language, paper size, resolution, printer status information, decoder status information) Information, etc.), and one or more optimum printer information is selected. The selection of the transfer destination printer is as follows.

Each element of the image information of the video data and the printer information of the printer (the paper size of the video data, the paper size currently mounted on the printer, the number of colors of the video data, the number of colors of the video data, the number of colors printable by the printer, etc.) ) Are compared with each other, and if they match, a predetermined value (for example, 5 for the paper size, 1 for the number of colors, etc.) corresponding to each element is determined. to add. This is repeated for each item, and the printer having the largest total value is selected. FIG. 24 shows an example of the set value for each item. This set value is stored in the memory 67. This set value indicates the weight of each item, and a higher priority item is given a larger value.

There are various combinations of set values other than the combinations shown in FIG. For example, if priority is given to the printing speed, registration is performed in a combination having a large set value for an item that requires a long time for conversion when the image information and the printer information do not match. In order to give priority to the image quality, it is conceivable to register the setting value of an item that most affects the image quality, such as whether the resolution supported by the printer matches the video data, as a large setting value. In addition to the information common to the image information and the printer information, the information existing only in one of them, for example, the status of the printer such as the printing speed is determined in accordance with the height of the function. It is also conceivable to select a printer to be transferred by setting the value as a value and adding a setting value according to such a function.

Control is performed by adding the values of the set values thus set and selecting the printer having the largest total value. If the sums have the same magnitude, they are selected according to a preset priority. The priority of the currently selected printer is the highest priority.

Further, a combination of set values can be selected from a plurality of sets by a user's selection. Settings such as “print speed priority” and “image quality priority” are input by the user from the setting screen of the PC 101 and are stored in the memory 6.
7 is stored. If the user has set "Print Speed Priority", select the combination of values set as Print Speed Priority, if the user has set "Image Quality Priority", select the combination of values set as Image Quality Priority I do. Using the combination of the selected values, compare the image information of the video data with the printer information of the printer, and add the set value,
Select a printer.

The flow advances to step S507 to determine whether or not the paper size information included in the printer information received by the PC 101 matches the optimum paper size for text, image data, and the like. If it is determined that they match, the process moves to step S511. If the received printer information does not include the paper size information, or if the paper size mismatch is determined, the process proceeds to step S508.

If a request for changing the paper size has been issued in step S508, that is, if the paper size included in the print information has been switched, the flow advances to step S510, and information on video data (in the case of a plurality of pages, (Including the number of pages) and the printing information of the printer corresponding to the video data is stored in the memory 67 and saved, and then a request command for urging the printer of the video data transfer destination to change the paper size is transmitted through the 1394 bus. Beforehand, and step S506
Return to

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S508 that there is no request for changing the paper size, the flow advances to step S509. If the video data in the PC 101 is created with a paper size that cannot be recognized by the destination printer, or if conversion to the optimal paper size is required, the paper size of the recording paper attached to the destination printer Then, the process proceeds to step S509 where data conversion is performed based on. In this case, if decoding processing (decompression processing) is necessary for the captured video data, the decoding processing is performed, and then the video data is transferred to the printer information (enlargement) of the destination so as to fit in the selected paper size. And a conversion process based on the conversion process. Then, the process proceeds to step S511.

In step S511, color information printable by the printer is determined from the received printer information. If the information of the printable color print information is not included, it is determined that printing is not possible. Also, it determines whether or not there is a conversion request for the color of the video data. If it is determined that the color information necessary for printing the video data matches the color information of the printer and that the conversion of the video data is not requested, the process proceeds to step S513.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the received printer information does not include color information, if it is determined that the color information does not match the color information of the video data, and if the color information does match, the conversion of the video data is requested. If so, the process proceeds to step S512.

In step S512, if decoding processing of video data is necessary in the PC 101, decoding processing is performed, and then conversion processing based on image processing (graphic image processing based on resolution, gradation, etc.) of the destination printer is performed. I do.
If the gradation of the video data is different from the printable gradation of the printer, the gradation conversion is performed, and if the video data is color data, the color image is converted if the printer has only the monochrome printing function. Performs conversion to monochrome. Then, the process proceeds to step S513.

[0235] In step S513, it is determined whether or not the resolution information included in the printer information received by the PC 101 matches the resolution of the video data. It is also determined whether resolution conversion is required. If it is determined that the resolution information of the printer matches the resolution of the video data and that the conversion of the resolution is not requested, the process proceeds to step S515. On the other hand, if the received printer information does not include the resolution information, or if it is determined that the resolutions do not match, or if the resolution conversion is requested even if they match, the process proceeds to step S514.

In step S514, since conversion of the video data to the resolution of the transfer destination printer is requested in the PC 101, if expansion processing of the video data is necessary, expansion processing is performed, and then image processing of the transfer destination printer is performed. Conversion processing based on resolution and gradation processing).

Next, the flow advances to step S515 to determine whether or not the type of the decoder included in the received printer information matches the type of the decoder that compresses the video data. If it is determined that the decoder types match, and there is no uncompressed transfer request of the decoder, the process moves to step S516. If the received printer information does not include the decoder information, or if it is determined that the decoder for expanding the video data does not exist in the printer, or if there is a request for non-compression even if they match, the step is performed. Move to S517.

Next, in step S516, if it is determined that the decoder for expanding the video data and the decoder included in the printer information match, and if it is determined that there is no need to transfer the data uncompressed, the data is kept compressed. Set to transfer video data from the memory 67 to the 1394 bus,
Proceed to step S518.

Next, in step S517, if the transfer destination is of a printer decoder type such as a host-based printer in which the MPU is not provided in the printer body, or if the decoder provided in the printer cannot decompress or decompress the video data, If a request to transfer the video data as uncompressed data has been made, the video data to be transferred is decompressed and the
The transfer is set to be performed on the 94 bus, and the process proceeds to step S518.

Next, in step S518, the transfer destination selected in step S506 is specified, and transfer setting is performed based on the instruction. Then, in step S519, a command including predetermined information notifying that the video data is to be transferred is transmitted to the 1394.
A transfer command is issued using the bus.

Next, whether the compression / non-compression of the video data is set in steps S516 and S517, if it is set to transfer the video data while compressing it, the process proceeds to step S521 to transfer the compressed video data from the memory 67. The output unit is controlled, and the process proceeds to step S523.

If it is determined that the image data should be transferred after decompression, the flow advances to step S522 to output the uncompressed video data read from the memory 67 in response to the transfer command in step S524.
Control the output to transfer. In this case, the video data is transferred by an isochronous (or asynchronous) transfer method using a 1394 serial bus. Then, the process proceeds to step S523.

In step S523, the transfer of the desired video data is completed.

Next, the flow advances to step S524 to determine whether to change the transfer destination printer or the like and to continue the video data transfer mode. When the transfer destination is changed to another printer or the like to transfer the video data, the process is repeated from the selection of the printer information of the transfer destination in step S506. When a plurality of transfer destination printers and the like are selected in step S506 in this manner, simultaneous copy printing can be performed by changing the transfer destination.

On the other hand, if it is not necessary to change the transfer destination and continue in step S524, the flow shifts to step S525 to select whether or not to transfer other video data or the like. After returning to S505 and reading the video data, the process is repeated from the selection of the printer information based on the video data.

[0246] Next, proceeding to step S526, when the transfer of the video data is completed, it is determined in step S508 that the paper size attached to the transfer destination printer and the paper size of the video data do not match. It is determined whether or not there is video data that has not been transferred due to paper size mismatch, based on whether or not data information (including the number of pages in the case of a plurality of pages) is saved in the memory 67.

If it is determined that there is video data that has not been transferred due to a paper size mismatch, the flow advances to step S527, and information on the video data saved in the memory 67 (including the number of pages in the case of a plurality of pages). Accordingly, the corresponding video data is sequentially read out, and the control is performed so as to transfer the paper size change instruction request command. Then, the process returns to step S507 to repeat the transfer of the video data that has not been transferred due to the paper size mismatch.

If it is determined that there is no video data that has not been transferred due to paper size mismatch, the processing procedure is terminated. When printing or the like is always instructed, the process returns to step S501 with execution of the video data transfer mode, and this procedure is repeated.

The transfer of the video data to the printer is as described above.

In the present embodiment, the description is made using the compressed video data taken into the PC 101. However, the compressed video data which has been externally input and which has not been subjected to the recording process, or which has been created in the PC 101, It may use uncompressed text and image data.

Although the printer described in the present embodiment is mainly intended for a color jet printer, a low-speed host-based printer, or the like, it has another double-sided printing function and a digital printer such as a laser printer capable of high-speed printing. The device may be a device, and the data to be handled is not limited to video data, but may be text and image data, audio data, various file data, and the like.

With the above arrangement, when printing video data, even if the printing conditions included in the video data do not match the printing conditions of the printer, the printing conditions of the printer can be re-edited by re-editing the video data. It is possible to follow up on printing in accordance with. Further, it is possible to perform printing efficiently by minimizing operator intervention.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the daisy chain system and the node branching system can be used as a connection system between the devices, and a highly flexible connection can be realized. Each network has a unique ID and recognizes each other to form one network in a range connected by a 1394 serial bus. By simply connecting each digital device sequentially with a single 1394 serial bus cable, each device plays a role of relay and constitutes one network as a whole. Plug & Plug, which is also a feature of the 1394 serial bus,
When the cable is connected to the device by the Play function, the device can be automatically recognized and the connection status can be recognized.

In the system shown in FIG. 7, when a certain device is deleted from the network or newly added, the bus is automatically reset to reset the network configuration up to that time. From
Rebuild a new network. This function makes it possible to always set and recognize the configuration of the network at that time.

Further, storage means for storing printing function information of a plurality of printing apparatuses such as printers each having a unique ID connected to a plurality of printing apparatuses such as printers having different printing functions is provided. It is possible to select one or a plurality of printing devices in response to a printing device selection request from a computer.

Further, the host device creates
Printing information such as documents created with multiple paper sizes, documents created with irregular paper sizes, spreadsheets used for spreadsheets, and video data captured by scanners, digital cameras, etc. Information about the printing function, paper size, resolution, description language, number of copies, double-sided printing function, etc.), by searching the printing function information stored in the storage means, one or more suitable printing conditions It is possible to quickly select a printing device such as a printer.

According to the present invention, as shown in FIG.
By configuring the network as shown in FIG.
Before transferring the video data, text, image data, etc. captured in 1 to a plurality of destination printers connected via the 1394 serial bus, the 1394 serial bus By receiving commands of printer information (color designation, description language, double-sided printing information, paper size, resolution, printing speed, printer status, decoding information, etc.) using the bus, video data, text and image data, etc. and printing information By using the print information, it is possible to quickly select one or a plurality of printing apparatuses such as printers suitable for printing conditions, and to determine the optimal paper size for video data, text, image data, and the like in units of one page or a plurality of pages. It can be distributed to the attached printer and transferred. It is also possible to re-edit the text and image data based on information based on the print format of the transfer destination printer or the like. Further, in printing, the reedited video data, text, image data, and the like can be quickly transferred to one or more printing devices such as printers.

If the optimum paper size is not set for video data, text data, image data, etc. created on a plurality of pages in which a plurality of paper sizes are set,
By controlling to print the video data, text, image data, and the like later, it is possible to improve the printing throughput.

If a request for double-sided printing is issued, the printer checks the double-sided printing information of the destination printer, etc., and determines that double-sided printing can be performed. After editing, the transfer can be performed.

If the number of copies specified in the print format is requested, the printer information of the printer at the transfer destination is checked, and if it is determined that the print can be distributed to a plurality of printers, the data is distributed to the plurality of printers and transferred as needed. With such control, it is possible to simultaneously print on a plurality of printers and the like.

After the video data, text, image data, and the like are edited into the optimum print format based on the printer information of the selected printer or the like, if the transfer destination printer or the like can decode the data, the data is decoded into the transfer destination decode format. When performing predetermined data transfer from a source node to a destination node, the source node can transfer uncompressed data when the source node cannot decode the compressed data. The node can improve the transfer efficiency between the nodes by selecting the predetermined data to be compressed or uncompressed and transferring it.

When the decoder included in the transfer destination node cannot decompress predetermined data to be transferred by compression from the transfer source node, the uncompressed data is transferred, so that the data of the wrong compression method is transmitted from the transfer source node. Will not be transferred.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention is a network system having a configuration as shown in FIG. In this configuration, it is also possible to transfer text, image data, and the like stored on the PC 101 to a plurality of transfer destination printers connected via a 1394 serial bus via an application or the like. In the present embodiment, P
A procedure for printing the image data of C101 by the printer 103 will be described.

By receiving a command of printer information (color print information, description language, double-sided print information, paper size, resolution, print speed, printer status, decode information, etc.) from a transfer destination printer or the like using a 1394 serial bus. The PC 101 can select an optimum transfer destination printer or the like based on information based on text and image data.

It is also possible to edit text, image data, and the like by using information based on the print format of a transfer destination printer or the like.

If a request for designation of duplex printing is made, the duplex printing information of the destination printer or the like is checked, and if it is determined that duplex printing can be performed, the duplex printing format is determined by information based on the printing format of the destination printer or the like. After editing, control is performed to transfer the data to the printer. If there is a request to specify the number of copies, the printer information of the transfer destination printer or the like is checked.
In addition, text and image data created with a large amount of text covering several tens or hundreds of pages are distributed to a plurality of printers, edited based on information based on a print format of a transfer destination printer or the like, and then edited by a plurality of printers. Control to distribute and transfer.

When a plurality of paper sizes are set in double-sided printing designation, printing is performed from the paper size currently mounted on the printer. Since printing can be performed in units, the throughput of the printing time is also increased.

After editing to the optimum print format based on the printer information of the printer or the like selected as described above, if the transfer destination printer or the like can decode, the compressed data decoded to the transfer destination decode format is transferred and decoded. When this is not possible, uncompressed data can be transferred, and transfer efficiency can be improved.

The above operation is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

First, the PC 101 sets the mode of transferring the fetched text and image data and the like to the print information from a plurality of printers connected by the 1394 serial bus.

[0271] In step S601, the user designates the transfer destination printer 103 as needed, and performs transfer settings based on the instruction.

As a result, the PC 101 returns to step S6
As 02, predetermined information informing the transfer destination printer or the like that transfer will be performed and printer information (color print information, description language, double-sided print information, paper size, resolution, printer status information, etc.) provided in the transfer destination printer or the like. , The presence / absence and type of the decoder, etc.) are transmitted using the 1394 bus.

In response to an instruction command from the PC 101, command data including printer information (color print information, description language, paper size, resolution, printer status information, decoder information, etc.) is transmitted from the transfer destination printer to the PC 10.
Transferred to 1. In step S603, the printer information (color printing function information, description language, double-sided printing information, paper size, resolution, printer status information, decoder information, etc.) received by the PC 101 is divided into the memory 67 for each printer at the transfer destination. It is stored as information as needed.

Then, the flow advances to step S604 to determine whether to change the transfer destination printer or the like and to continue the transfer mode of the transfer destination printer information. If it is determined that the printer information is to be transferred by changing the transfer destination printer or the like, the process returns to step S601 and the process is repeated.

The PC 101 is set to a mode for selecting one or a plurality of optimum printers based on print information taken from a plurality of printers connected via a 1394 serial bus. In steps S605 to S616, it is determined whether the color printing function information, the description language, the double-sided printing information, the paper size, the resolution, and the like included in the printer information received by the PC 101 match with the image information of the image data. If there is a difference between the image information such as text and image data and the received printer information, it is re-edited / converted in advance in the PC 101 based on the printer information (color printing function, paper size, resolution, etc.) Set the output format according to.

In step S605, the user selects text and image data to be transferred for printing or the like from those stored in the memory 67 of the PC 101, and
C101 performs the read operation.

Next, the flow advances to step S606, in which the PC 101 transfers the destination printer information (color print information, description language, double-sided print information) stored in the received memory 67 based on the information such as text and image data which have already been captured. ,
The optimum printer information is selected from paper size, resolution, printer status information, decoder information, etc.). The selection operation here is the same as in the first embodiment. It is assumed that the setting values of the items appearing in the second embodiment such as double-sided printing are also stored in the memory 67 in advance. Here, when printing or the like cannot be performed due to a jam or the like due to the operation status of the printer determined from the printer status information, it is possible to perform control so as not to select the corresponding transfer destination printer or the like.

Then, the flow advances to step S607 to determine whether or not the paper size information included in the printer information received by the PC 101 matches the optimum paper size for text and image data. If it is determined that they match, the process moves to step S611. If the received printer information does not include the paper size information, or if it is determined that the paper size does not match, the process proceeds to step S608.

In step S608, if a request to change the paper size has been issued, that is, if the paper size included in the print information has been switched, the flow advances to step S610 to check the video data information (in the case of a plurality of pages, (Including the number of pages) and the printing information of the printer corresponding to the video data is stored in the memory 67 and saved, and then a request command for urging the printer of the video data transfer destination to change the paper size is transmitted through the 1394 bus. And transfer it, and then use step S606.
Return to

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S608 that there is no request for changing the paper size, the flow advances to step S609. If the video data in the PC 101 is created with a paper size that cannot be recognized by the destination printer, or if conversion to the optimal paper size is required, the paper size of the recording paper attached to the destination printer Then, the process proceeds to step S609 for performing data conversion based on. In this case, if decoding processing (decompression processing) is necessary for the captured video data, the decoding processing is performed, and then the video data is transferred to the printer information (enlargement) of the destination so as to fit in the selected paper size. And a conversion process based on the conversion process. Then, the process proceeds to step S611.

The flow advances to step S611 to determine whether or not the color print information included in the received printer information matches the color print function of the image information. If it is determined that the color printing function included in the printer information is a function sufficient to execute printing, and if there is no request to change text and image data, the process proceeds to step S613. If the received printer information does not include the color print information, if the color function of the printer is not sufficient, or if a change request for text and image data is determined, the process proceeds to step S612.

In step S612, conversion processing is performed in the PC 101 on the basis of image processing (graphic image processing based on resolution, gradation, and the like) of the text and image data of the transfer destination printer. If the gradation of the image data is different from the printable gradation of the printer, the gradation conversion is performed, and if the image data is color data, the color image is converted if the printer has only the monochrome printing function. Performs conversion to monochrome. Then, the process proceeds to step S513.

Then, the flow advances to step S513 to determine from the resolution information included in the printer information received by the PC 101 whether or not printing can be performed at the optimum resolution for text and image data. It is also determined whether resolution conversion is required. If it is determined that the resolution information of the printer matches the resolution of the text and image data and that the conversion of the resolution is not required, the process proceeds to step S615.
On the other hand, when the received printer information does not include the resolution information, or when it is determined that the resolutions do not match, or when the resolution conversion is requested even if they match, the process proceeds to step S614.

In step S614, the PC 101 requests conversion of text and image data to the resolution of the transfer destination printer, so that the text and image data and the like are subjected to image processing (resolution and gradation processing, etc.) of the transfer destination printer. A conversion process is performed based on this.

Next, the flow advances to step S615 to determine whether or not double-sided printing is possible based on the double-sided printing information included in the received printer information. In addition to having a double-sided printing function, when there is a double-sided printing request, the process proceeds to step S616, where text and image data are re-edited in the PC 101 based on image processing (double-sided printing editing processing) of the transfer destination printer. Proceed to step S617. If it is determined from the printer information that there is no duplex printing function or that there is no duplex printing request, the process advances to step S617.

[0286] Next, the flow advances to step S617 to determine whether or not the type of the decoder included in the received printer information matches the decoder for expanding text and image data. Even if they match, it is determined whether or not it is requested to transfer the text and image data without compression. If the presence of an appropriate decoder has been confirmed and it is not requested to transmit the data uncompressed, step S
Move to 618. If the received printer information does not include the decoder information, or if it is determined that the decoder for expanding the video data does not exist in the printer, or if there is a request for non-compression even if they match, step S619 Move on to

[0287] Here, the PC of the transfer source is transmitted from the device of the transfer destination.
The decoder information included in the printer information transferred to 101 is data that can be used as a material for determining whether to transfer compressed text and image data or the like or to transfer the data in an uncompressed state. In the case of the preceding device, it also has a role as request data as to whether the transfer of the compressed data or the transfer of the uncompressed data is desired.

Next, in step S618, a setting is made so that a decoder is present, that is, after reading from the memory 67 in the PC 101, compression is performed on text and image data and the like, and then the data is transferred onto the 1394 bus.
Proceed to.

In the case of a printer decoder system, such as a host-based printer, in which the printer body has no MPU in the transfer destination, the text data and image data read from the memory 67 by the PC 101 are used by the decoder system provided in the printer 103. Then, the setting is made to transfer the data to the transfer destination printer 103, and then the process proceeds to step S620.

Next, in step S619, a setting without a decoder, that is, a setting in which uncompressed text and image data and the like are transferred from the PC 101 onto the 1394 bus, is made, and the flow advances to step S620.

Next, in step S620, the transfer destination selected in step S606 is specified, and transfer setting is performed based on the instruction.

Next, in step S621, a command including predetermined information notifying that the text and image data and the like are to be transferred is transmitted using the 1394 bus.

Next, in steps S618 and S619, compression / non-compression of text and image data is set, but if it is set to be transferred with compression, the process proceeds to step S623 to transfer the compressed video data from the memory 67. The output unit is controlled to perform the process, and the process proceeds to step S625.

If it is determined that uncompressed text and image data are to be transferred, the flow advances to step S624 to output and transfer uncompressed video data read from the memory 67 in response to the transfer command in step S621. Control the unit. Note that the transfer of text and image data and the like is performed by using the 1394 serial bus to transfer packets by an isochronous (or asynchronous) transfer method. Then, the process proceeds to step S625.

In step S625, completion of transfer of desired text and image data is confirmed.

Then, the flow advances to step S626 to determine whether to change the transfer destination printer or the like and to continue the transfer of text and image data. When the transfer destination is changed to another printer or the like to transfer the text and image data, the process is repeated from the selection of the printer information of the transfer destination in step S606. When a plurality of transfer destination printers or the like are selected in step S606 in this manner, simultaneous copy printing can be performed by changing the transfer destination. In addition, text and image data with a large number of pages are allocated and set in units of multiple pages,
It is also possible to distribute the data to a plurality of transfer destination printers. On the other hand, when it is not necessary to change the transfer destination and continue in step S626, the process proceeds to step S627.

In step S627, a selection is made as to whether or not it is desired to transfer other text and image data. If another text, image data, or the like is selected, the process returns to step S606, and after reading the text and image data, the process is repeated from selection of printer information based on video data.

[0298] Next, the flow advances to step S628, and if the transfer of text and image data has been completed, the flow advances to step S60.
In step 8, it is determined that the paper size attached to the transfer destination printer is not optimal for the paper size of text and image data, etc., and in step S610, information such as text and image data (including the number of pages in the case of a plurality of pages) ) Is stored in the memory 67, depending on whether the paper size attached to the transfer destination printer is not optimal for the paper size of the text and image data, etc., so that there is text and image data etc. which are not transferred. Determine whether or not.

If it is determined that there is text or image data that has not been transferred because the paper size attached to the transfer destination printer is not optimal, then step S
Proceeding to 629, the corresponding text and image data and the like are sequentially read out according to the information (including the number of pages in the case of a plurality of pages) such as text and image data stored in the memory 67, and a paper size change instruction request is issued. Control to transfer commands. Then, the process returns to step S607 in which the transfer of text, image data, and the like that is not transferred because the paper size attached to the transfer destination printer is not optimal is repeated.

If it is determined that there is no video data that has not been transferred because the paper size attached to the printer at the transfer destination is not optimal, this flow is terminated. When an instruction to print or the like is always given, the flow returns to step S601 with execution of the video data transfer mode, and the flow is repeated.

In the present embodiment, description is made using text and image data already created in the PC 101.
The data is not limited to the created text and image data, but may be video data input from an imaging device and using compressed video data that has not been subjected to recording processing.

The printer described in the present invention is mainly conscious of a laser printer equipped with a double-sided printing function and a plurality of paper sizes and capable of high-speed printing. Digital equipment such as a laser printer may be used, and data to be handled is not limited to text and image data, but may be video data, audio data, various file data, and the like.

According to the above procedure, if the image data held by the PC 101 is not the same as the image data recorded by the recording / reproducing device and the printing conditions of the image data and the printing conditions of the printer do not match, the image data is Printing can be performed by re-editing. Further, it is possible to perform printing efficiently by minimizing operator intervention such as paper exchange.

[0304]

As described above, according to the present invention,
If there are multiple data transfer destinations from a certain device, such as when multiple devices are connected via a network, etc., even if the user does not know in advance the functions and settings of the devices such as printing devices connected to the network, By receiving and storing the printing function information of each printing device, it has become possible to select one or a plurality of optimum printing devices.

[0305] Also, due to the difference in the data compression method that can be used by the mutually connected devices, compressed data that cannot be expanded is erroneously transferred, or uncompressed data is transferred even though it can be expanded at the transfer destination. Can be prevented, and data transfer can be performed efficiently.

Further, in a system in which a host and a printing apparatus are connected via a network, printing can be performed using a plurality of printing apparatuses according to a printing method required on the host side, thereby increasing flexibility.

Further, even when the setting of the printing condition such as the function of the printing apparatus and the size of the paper does not match the setting of the printing condition included in the print data, it is possible to perform printing. became.

For example, when printing a document created using application software or the like on a recording sheet mounted on a printing apparatus, a page that exceeds the printing range of the sheet size of the recording sheet may be used. Can be printed in format.

Further, for example, even when the paper size of the print data is different from the paper size of the recording paper attached to the printing apparatus, printing can be performed in the original format defined by the print data.

Also, for example, printing can be performed so as to be within the print range without confirming whether or not the print data is within the print range of the paper size by using a print preview or the like, thereby reducing the trouble of confirmation and reediting by the operator. be able to.

Also, for example, when printing a document including a page to be printed on a plurality of paper sizes, a printable page may be printed before paper of a designated size is fed to the printing apparatus. Thus, printing can be quickly completed.

For example, even when the printing apparatus is set apart from the user, it is no longer necessary to check the size of the sheet attached to the printing apparatus and to retry printing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a recording / reproducing device, a printer device, and a PC to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration when a digital camera, a PC, and a printer are connected around a PC in a conventional example.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation in the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A

FIG. 5B is a flowchart showing an operation flow in the printer device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6A

FIG. 6B is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an operation in a printer device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a network configuration connected using a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing components of a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an address map of a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a 1394 serial bus cable.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a DS-Link coding scheme.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a topology setting for determining an ID of each node on the 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining arbitration on a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 14 is a basic configuration diagram showing a temporal state transition of asynchronous transfer.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a format of an asynchronous transfer packet.

FIG. 16 is a basic configuration diagram showing a temporal state transition of isochronous transfer.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the format of a packet for isochronous transfer.

FIG. 18 is an example of a bus cycle showing a state of a packet transferred on an actual bus in a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a flow from a bus reset to a determination of a node ID.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the flow of parent-child relationship determination in a bus reset.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a state after a parent-child relationship is determined in a bus reset
9 is a flowchart showing a flow up to node ID determination.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart for explaining arbitration.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a network according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a combination of image information, printer information, and setting values.

[Brief description of reference numerals]

 8. Recording / playback system 9. System controller 21. Decoding circuit 26. Printer controller 63. MPU 64. Decoding circuit 101. PC (personal computer) 102. Recording / reproducing device 103. Printer device

Claims (24)

[Claims] 1. An information processing device connected to a plurality of external devices, for editing an image input from the outside, and transferring the edited image to a predetermined one of the plurality of connected external devices, wherein the information processing device is connected to the external device. Identification means for identifying the functions of the plurality of external devices; and selection of selecting the transfer destination of the image from the plurality of external devices based on the functions of the plurality of external devices identified by the identification means and the image information of the image. And an editing unit for editing the image based on the external device of the transfer destination selected by the selection unit. 2. The identification unit transmits a request signal for function information of each external device to the plurality of external devices, and based on the function information transferred in response to the transmitted request signal, the plurality of external devices. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus identifies the function of the information processing apparatus. 3. The function information includes paper size information,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the selection unit selects a transfer destination of the image based on a printable paper size of the external device and a paper size forming the image. 4. The function information includes paper size information,
3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the selection unit changes the order of the images based on a size of a printable sheet currently mounted on the external device and a size of a sheet forming the image.
An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the function information includes color information, and the selection unit selects a transfer destination of the image based on a color output function of the external device and a color characteristic of the image. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the function information includes resolution information, and the selection unit selects a transfer destination of the image based on resolution information of the external device and resolution of the image. Information processing device. 7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the function information includes decoder information, and the selecting unit selects a transfer destination of the image based on decoder information of the external device and a compression method of the image. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 8. The function information includes at least one of three pieces of information of paper size information, color information, and resolution information, and the selecting unit determines a total result obtained by weighting each information included in the function information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a destination of the image is selected based on the information. 9. An information processing method in which an information processing device connected to a plurality of external devices edits an image input from outside and transfers the edited image to a predetermined one of the plurality of connected external devices. An identification step of identifying functions of a plurality of external devices to be connected; and a transfer destination of the image based on the functions of the plurality of external apparatuses identified by the identification step and image information of the image. And an editing step of editing the image based on the transfer destination external device selected in the selection step. 10. The identification step transmits a request signal for function information of each external device to the plurality of external devices, and based on the function information transferred in response to the transmitted request signal, identifies the plurality of external devices. The information processing method according to claim 9, wherein the function is identified. 11. The function information includes paper size information, and the selecting step selects a transfer destination of the image based on a printable paper size of the external device and a paper size constituting the image. The information processing method according to claim 10, wherein 12. The function information includes paper size information, and the selecting step changes the order of the images based on a paper size currently mounted on the external device and printable and a paper size constituting the image. 11. The information processing method according to claim 10, wherein: 13. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the function information includes color information, and the selecting step selects a transfer destination of the image based on a color output function of the external device and a color characteristic of the image. An information processing method according to claim 1. 14. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the function information includes resolution information, and the selecting step selects a transfer destination of the image based on resolution information of the external device and resolution of the image. Information processing method. 15. The function information includes decoder information,
11. The information processing method according to claim 10, wherein the selecting step selects a transfer destination of the image based on decoder information of the external device and a compression method of the image. 16. The function information includes at least one of three pieces of information of paper size information, color information, and resolution information, and the selecting unit determines a total result obtained by weighting each information included in the function information. 11. The information processing method according to claim 10, wherein a destination of the image is selected based on the image. 17. A computer-readable storage medium connected to a plurality of external devices, which is executed by an information processing device that edits an image input from the outside and transfers the edited image to a predetermined one of the plurality of connected external devices. A storage medium storing a possible program, comprising: an identification step of identifying functions of a plurality of connected external devices; and a function of the plurality of external apparatuses identified by the identification step and image information of the image. A selection step of selecting the transfer destination of the image from the plurality of external devices, and a program including an editing step of editing the image based on the external device of the transfer destination selected in the selection step is stored. Storage media. 18. The identification step includes transmitting a request signal for function information of each external device to the plurality of external devices, and identifying the plurality of external devices based on the function information transferred in response to the transmitted request signal. The storage medium according to claim 17, wherein the function is identified. 19. The function information includes paper size information, and the selecting step includes selecting a transfer destination of the image based on a printable paper size function of the external device and a paper size constituting the image. 19. The storage medium according to claim 18, wherein: 20. The function information includes paper size information, and the selecting step changes the order of the images based on a paper size currently mounted on the external device and printable and a paper size constituting the image. 19. The storage medium according to claim 18, wherein: 21. The image processing apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the function information includes color information, and the selecting step selects a transfer destination of the image based on a color output function of the external device and a color characteristic of the image. A storage medium according to claim 1. 22. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the function information includes resolution information, and the selecting step selects the transfer destination of the image based on resolution information of the external device and resolution of the image. Storage media. 23. The function information includes decoder information,
19. The storage medium according to claim 18, wherein the selecting step selects a transfer destination of the image based on decoder information of the external device and a compression method of the image. 24. The function information includes at least one of three pieces of information of paper size information, color information, and resolution information, and the selecting unit determines a total result obtained by weighting each information included in the function information. 19. The storage medium according to claim 18, wherein a transfer destination of the image is selected based on the image.