JP2005080019A - Image processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus with a configuration capable of easily extending functions almost without the need for revising existing applications in the case of extension. <P>SOLUTION: A multiple function peripheral (MFP) is provided with an external API (application program interface) section 40 that has a function of receiving XML data including a processing request related to image processing from an external PC 50, converting the data into a command corresponding to the API of a control layer 20, and giving the command to an application of an application layer 30 or the control layer 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus.

  Conventionally, in a company office or the like, a scan job for reading an image of a set original, a copy job for printing on a paper based on image data obtained by reading the image of the original, a paper based on a print instruction from an external terminal A so-called digital multifunction peripheral (MFP) having a plurality of functions such as a print job to be printed on a printer and a FAX job for transmitting and receiving an image by communication with an external facsimile apparatus has become widespread. ing.

If such an MFP is used, it is not necessary for a user to separately arrange apparatuses such as a copier and a printer, and a plurality of functions can be executed by one unit, so that the cost is low and the usability is improved.
On the other hand, for MFP developers, it is necessary to develop a plurality of software (applications, hereinafter referred to as “applications”) corresponding to various functions such as a scan function. So development takes a lot of time. For this reason, for example, Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which a common part of each application is bundled with a general-purpose OS (operating system) to form a platform, and a part other than the platform is created at the time of application development. Thus, a technology that enables efficient development is disclosed.
JP 2002-84383 A

  If the configuration described in the above publication is used, efficiency is improved in the development stage, but after delivery to the user, a request from the user to execute a function that is not provided in the existing application (so-called customization request) It is not possible to easily deal with it. For example, if you want to perform a scanning operation in a scanning mode other than the function provided by the current scanning application, you need to change the existing application entirely for the user, It is hard work and it is actually difficult. That is, the configuration is extremely poor in function expandability.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides an image processing apparatus that can easily be extended in function, and in that case, requires almost no change to existing applications. Objective.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention is located between a hardware resource having at least one of an image forming unit, a reading unit, and a display unit, an application, and the hardware resource and the application. A first control program, and a second control program located between the first control program and the application, wherein the first control program is defined by a predefined function. A first API (application program interface) for receiving a processing request relating to image processing from the application and the second control program; causing the hardware resource to execute processing based on the received processing request; The second control program has been released to the outside in advance A second API that accepts a processing request related to image processing from the outside by a number, converts the accepted processing request into a command corresponding to the first API, and the application or the The data is passed to one of the first control programs.

The processing request regarding image processing from the outside is expressed in XML, and the second control program receives the processing request regarding image processing from the outside as data in XML format. To do.
Further, the second control program converts a first conversion unit that extracts information indicating the processing request from the received XML format data, and converts the extracted information into a command corresponding to the first API. And a second conversion unit.

  Since the image processing apparatus according to the present invention has the second control program, for example, even after the apparatus is delivered to the user, the application is executed without changing the existing application. A new function that could not be performed can be executed from the outside using the second control program, the function expandability is improved, and the usability for the user is greatly improved.

If the processing request related to image processing from the outside is directed to the application, the processing request is directly passed from the second control program to the application. For example, all the data passes through the first control program. Compared to the configuration delivered, the configuration of the first control program can be simplified and the processing load can be reduced.
In addition, processing requests regarding image processing from the outside are configured to be accepted as XML format data.

Thus, an external user can describe a processing request related to image processing of a job desired to be executed by the image processing apparatus using XML, which is very easy to handle.
Furthermore, the image processing apparatus includes a first conversion unit.
Thus, for example, a well-known SOAP can be used as a communication protocol between the outside and the image processing apparatus, and it is easy and easy to handle by an external user.

Embodiments of an MFP as an image processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
(1) Configuration of MFP FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of the MFP 1.
As shown in the figure, the MFP 1 includes a device (hardware resource) 10 positioned at the lowest layer, a control layer 20 that directly controls the device 10, an application layer 30 positioned above the control layer 20, and an application. The external API unit 40 located on the layer 30 (substantially between the control layer 20 and the application layer 30) is composed of an architecture organized in a hierarchical structure, and the scan job, copy job, print This is a digital multi-function peripheral having a plurality of functions for executing image processing jobs such as jobs and FAX jobs. Further, it is connected to an external device, here a PC (personal computer) 50, via a network (not shown) such as a LAN, and exchanges various data with each other using, for example, TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol). Is possible.

The device 10 includes a printer 11 as an image forming unit, a scanner 12 as a reading unit, an operation panel 13 and an I / O 14.
Here, the printer 11 prints an image on paper based on image data by a known electrophotographic method. The scanner 12 is a known device that obtains image data by reading an image of a set original with a photoelectric conversion element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device). The operation panel 13 includes an input key, a display as a display unit, and the like. The operation panel 13 receives key inputs from the operator and displays various messages on the display. The I / O 14 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk, an interface device (for example, NIC: Network Interface Card) with an external device, and the like.

  The control layer 20 includes a kernel 21, a module (IJC: Image Job Controller) 22 for controlling the operation of each device, and an interface module (IO: Input-Output) 23 for executing communication control with an external device. And an IO API, IJC API (hereinafter collectively referred to as “IO / IJC API”) 24, and functions as an OS (Operating System).

  Here, the IO / IJC API 24 is an API (application program interface) for providing the functions 31 to 35 of the application layer 30 with the functions of the IJC 22 and the IO 23 (that is, the function of the control layer 20). A collection of functions to be called when an application uses this function. That is, it has a function of accepting a processing request regarding image processing from each application by using these predefined functions.

The IO / IJC API 24 also functions as an API for providing the function of the control layer 20 to the PC 50 via the external API unit 40. In this case, the external API unit 40 that has received a processing request relating to image processing from the PC 50 is used as a function to call (call) when using the function of the control layer 20.
The external API unit 40 includes an API conversion unit 41, an external API 42, and an XML conversion unit 43. The external API unit 40 converts a processing request related to image processing from the PC 50 into a predetermined format that can be executed by the control layer 20, and controls the control layer as necessary. 20 or a program for passing to each application.

The external API 42 is an API for providing the function of the control layer 20 to the outside, and is a collection of predefined functions that the PC 50 calls when using the function of the control layer 20.
The external API 42 is disclosed in advance to a general external user (for example, a software developer), and the external user uses a function of the control layer 20 based on the published API. Software can be developed.

  More specifically, the external user can use the public API to control what kind of command and parameters (for example, a command indicating a job to be executed, a job start instruction, etc., scan) The job execution conditions such as the read size in the case of a job, the transmission destination, the number of copies in the case of a copy job, etc.) are prepared, and the syntax to describe the command etc. is known. be able to.

  The external user transmits data describing the command or the like based on the syntax (here, data in XML (Extensible Markup Language) format, see FIG. 2) to the MFP 1 as data including a processing request related to image processing. By developing software and transmitting the XML data to the MFP 1 using the software, it is possible to cause a desired device to perform a desired operation.

  The external API 42 is a form in which a predetermined plurality of functions defined in the IO / IJC API 24 are combined into one, for example, an operation of a device is a function A, B, C in the IO / IJC API 24. Is defined by a function D in which the functions A, B, and C are combined (that is, the function D is a function for executing the functions A, B, and C).

  By expressing a certain operation as a single function in this way, for example, when the external user wants the device to execute the certain operation, if the function D is called from the PC 50, the functions A, B , C is called, and it is not necessary to use a plurality of commands, so that it is easy to handle and the software is easily developed. It should be noted that the function is used for one operation represented by one function.

As will be described later, the XML conversion unit 43 extracts a command or the like as information indicating a processing request from the XML data sent from the PC 50.
The API conversion unit 41 converts the command or the like extracted from the XML conversion unit 43 (processing request regarding image processing from the PC 50) into a predetermined data format that can be executed by the control layer 20, and sends it to the control layer 20 or the application. hand over. Here, a well-known SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is used as a communication protocol for XML data between the PC 50 and the external API unit 40.

The application layer 30 has access to the IO / IJC API 24 (calls (calls) any of the predefined functions as necessary) and operates a plurality of devices for actually operating the device. Application is included.
For example, the panel application 31 is an application for controlling the display display of the operation panel 13. Specifically, when key input information from the operation panel 13 is received via the control layer 20, a message or the like based on the input information is displayed on the display of the operation panel 13. For example, when information indicating that the copy start key has been pressed is received, a message “Copying” is displayed.

When the print application 32 is activated when a print job is executed, the print application 32 converts print data in PDL (Page Description Language) format from an external device into image data in bitmap format, and performs print processing based on the image data in the printer. 11 is executed.
When the scan application 33 is activated when a scan job is executed, the scanner application 12 causes the scanner 12 to read a document image (perform a scan operation) to obtain image data.

When the copy application 34 is activated when a copy job is executed, the copy application 34 causes the scanner 12 to read an original image and causes the printer 11 to execute print processing based on the obtained image data.
When the FAX application 35 is activated when a FAX job is executed, for example, at the time of FAX transmission, for example, the scanner 12 reads a document image, converts the obtained image data into facsimile data, and transmits the data to a designated destination. At the time of FAX reception, for example, the printer 11 is caused to execute print processing based on image data received from the outside.

Each application has a function of accessing the external API unit 40 and, when receiving a processing request regarding image processing from the external API unit 40, causing the device to execute image processing based on the processing request.
On the other hand, the PC 50 includes a PC main body, a display, a keyboard, a network interface, an SDK (Software Development Kit) 51, and the like (not shown). The SDK 51 is used by an external user for creating the software.

The “external API (XML)” indicated by a broken line at the boundary position between the host PC side and the MFP side indicates that the external API used by the PC 50 is handled by data described in XML. is there.
With the configuration including the external API unit 40 as described above, even functions that cannot be performed by each application of the MFP 1 can be executed from the outside.

  For example, the control layer 20 is provided with a function capable of executing transmission / reception of an e-mail with the outside, but the scanning application 33 attaches the read image data to an e-mail and transmits it to a designated destination. If the Scan to E-mail function is not provided, the external user can execute the scan job if the external API 42 discloses the contents necessary for executing the scan job by Scan to E-mail. Software for performing processing for sending XML data including commands necessary for the transmission to the MFP 1 can be created externally, and the scan job can be executed externally.

Hereinafter, a specific example of executing the scan job will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 shows that XML data created by an external user based on the published API and including a command for executing the scan job is controlled from the PC 50 via the external API unit 40 of the MFP 1 and the control. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a state in which the image is converted before being passed to the layer 20. FIG.

  Here, as the image reading conditions, the number of originals “1”, the original size “A4”, the original setting direction “portrait (vertical length)”, “color original”, the reading resolution “600 (dpi)”, “Jpeg” An example is shown in which a job of “abc@minolta.co.jp” is executed as a transmission destination by e-mail of the “high compression”, file name “testfile”, and read image data. The figure is an example in which only the portions necessary for the explanation are simplified so that the structure of the XML data can be easily understood. In practice, the number of commands and the like necessary for executing one job, There are more types than this, and various information such as a header is added as communication data.

As shown in block 1 of the figure, the PC 50 outputs XML data described with the contents of each item such as the document size of the scan job sandwiched between predetermined tags. Here, “scan” sandwiched between “message ID” tags corresponds to a command, and “destination” or the like sandwiched between “parameter” tags is a parameter corresponding to the command.
This XML data is sent to the XML conversion unit 43 of the external API unit 40 via the IO 23 of the MFP 1 and converted into data shown in the block 2.

Specifically, in the XML conversion unit 43, a portion corresponding to a command or the like and a corresponding parameter are extracted as information indicating a processing request from the input XML data. In this sense, the data shown in block 2 is a data configuration example when the function “scan” disclosed as the external API 42 is called by the PC 50.
The data in block 2 is sent to the API conversion unit 41 and converted into a form (that is, a command corresponding to the IO / IJC API 24) that can be directly executed by the control layer 20 (block 3).

“Do_scan” and “scan_destination” in the data of the block 3 indicate functions for actually executing the scanning operation in the control layer 20, and the parameters in parentheses after that are the arguments of the functions. Here, since the converted command corresponds to the control layer 20, it can also be executed by each of the applications 31 to 35.
The external API unit 40 determines to which application or module of the control layer 20 the data of the block 3 is to be transferred (selects a destination to be transferred). Specifically, a command that can be executed by the application is passed directly to the application (without passing through the control layer 20).

Here, the data is divided into a part for scanning operation (block 4a) and a part for sending e-mail (block 4b), the data of block 4a is sent to the scan application 33, and the data of block 4b is scanned to It is passed to the control layer 20 responsible for E-mail transmission. Note that which command is passed to which application is determined in advance.
The scan application 33 calls a function based on the data of the block 4a to execute a scan operation, and specifically causes the scanner 11 to execute an original image reading operation based on a set reading condition (original A4 size or the like). .

On the other hand, the control layer 20 calls a function based on the data in the block 4b to execute Scan to E-mail transmission. Specifically, the control layer 20 transmits the read image data to a set transmission destination (abc@minolta.co. jp).
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a data flow between the PC 50 and the MFP 1 when the scan job is executed. Here, of the arrows in the figure, the thin line indicates the operation executed when the IO / IJC API 24 is called, and the thick line indicates the operation executed when the external API 42 is called. The double line indicates image data. This also applies to FIGS.

  When the external API unit 40 receives an external API call for starting scanning from the PC 50 via the IO 23 (S1), the external API unit 40 transmits and receives XML data (data indicating a reading condition such as a document size, a transmission destination, and the like) to and from the PC 50 ( S2) Requests connection confirmation to the scan application 33 (S3). When the connection confirmation is made between the scan application 33 and the IO 23 (S4) and the connection confirmation result is notified (S5), the external API unit 40 acquires the notification from the control layer 20 (S6).

  The external API unit 40 notifies the control layer 20 of the scan operation instruction and the destination of the Scan to E-mail transmission (S7), and receives a result of the instruction, for example, permission to start scanning (S8). The PC 50 is notified (S9). When it is accepted that the job can be started (S10), the PC 50 is notified (S11), and the scanning application 33 is notified of the reading conditions such as the document size (S12).

  The scan application 33 starts a scanning operation based on a reading condition such as a document size, and requests the control layer 20 to acquire the read image data (S13), from the control layer 20 (IJC22). When the image data is acquired (S14), processing such as predetermined compression is performed, and the image data is sent to the transmission destination via Scan to E-mail via the IO 23 (S15).

The external API unit 40 accepts information on the job execution status, for example, file conversion for transmission, transmission in progress, etc. (S16), and then accepts the end of the job (S17), and notifies the PC 50 to that effect (S18). The process is terminated.
As described above, by transmitting commands and parameters necessary for the scan job by Scan to E-mail from the PC 50 based on the published API, it becomes possible to execute functions that cannot be executed by the scan application 33 from the outside. . Since the scan application 33 is configured to be activated, the scan application 33 controls the scanner 12 to execute a scan operation when an application activation command is transmitted from the outside. Therefore, it is not necessary for an external user to instruct a series of operations from the start of reading a document image to transmitting the read image data to a set transmission destination using a predetermined command or the like. This makes it possible to easily execute a scan job from the outside.

Furthermore, since the command that can be executed by the application (block 4a in FIG. 2) is directly transferred from the external API unit 40 to the scan application 33, for example, all the data is exchanged via the control layer 20 Compared to the case, it is possible to reduce the processing load of the control layer 20 accordingly.
In the above, an example in which the scan application 33 is activated has been described. However, if contents necessary for a scan job that performs a scan operation without activating the scan application 33 are disclosed as the external API 42, the scan job is externally issued. Can also be executed. Hereinafter, an example in which the scan job is executed will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a data flow when a scan job is executed without starting the scan application 33.
When the external API unit 40 receives an external API call for starting a scan from the PC 50 (when a predetermined command for executing a scan operation without starting the scan application 33 is received) (S21), the PC 50 and XML data ( Data including the document size and the transmission destination shown in block 1 of FIG. 2 is transmitted / received (S22). Here, the transmission destination is PC50.

  The external API unit 40 issues a scanning operation instruction to the control layer 20 (S23), and when receiving a result of the instruction, for example, permission to start scanning (S24), notifies the PC 50 (S25). When the control layer 20 accepts that the job can be started (S26), it notifies the PC 50 (S27), and notifies the control layer 20 of the reading conditions such as the document size, the transmission destination, etc. (S28).

The control layer 20 starts the scanning operation based on the reading conditions such as the document size and sends the image data to the external API unit 40 via the IJC 22 (S29).
When the external API unit 40 acquires the image data from the control layer 20 (IJC 22), the external API unit 40 transmits the image data to the PC 50 as the transmission destination via the IO 23 (S30).
When the transmission is completed, the external API unit 40 notifies the PC 50 to that effect (S31) and ends the processing.

As described above, by transmitting commands and parameters necessary for the scan job from the PC 50, functions that cannot be executed by the scan application 33 without starting the scan application 33 can be executed from the outside.
Next, an example in which a print job is executed from the outside without starting the print application 32 will be described with reference to FIG. In this case as well, the contents necessary for executing the print job when the print job is executed without starting the print application 32 are disclosed as the external API 42 in advance.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the external API unit 40 receives an external API call for starting printing from the PC 50 (when receiving a predetermined command for executing a print operation without starting the print application 32) ( S41), image data is acquired from the PC 50 (S42). Then, XML data (for example, data indicating the paper size, the number of prints, etc. as print conditions) is transmitted / received to / from the PC 50 (S43).

The external API unit 40 notifies the IJC 22 of the control layer 20 of a print instruction, print conditions such as paper size as necessary setting information (S44), and transmits image data (S45).
The control layer 20 controls the printer 11 to start printing based on the received printing conditions and image data. In addition, the job execution status, for example, information such as printing or termination is sent to the external API unit 40 (S46).

When the external API unit 40 receives information indicating that printing is in progress from the control layer 20 and then receives information indicating the end of printing (S47), the external API unit 40 notifies the PC 50 that the job has ended (S48) and ends the processing. .
In this way, if a command or the like for causing the printer 11 to execute printing is transmitted from the PC 50, data that cannot be handled by the print application 32 without starting the print application 32, for example, data in a bitmap format, is converted into image data. Can be directly transmitted from the PC 50 to the MFP 1 to execute printing, and data that can be handled on the PC 50 side is not limited by the print application 32, and in this sense, the function expandability is improved.

  In FIG. 2, the data configuration example in the case of the scan job has been described. Similarly, in the case of other print jobs, copy jobs, and the like, the XML format that includes commands, parameters, and the like for executing the job The data is sent from the PC 50 to the MFP 1 as data including a processing request related to image processing, converted into a command corresponding to the control layer 20 by the external API unit 40, and passed to each application and the control layer 20.

  As described above, the MFP 1 according to the present embodiment accepts XML data including a processing request related to image processing from the outside, and converts it into a command corresponding to the API of the control layer 20 (first control program). Since the external API unit 40 (second control program) having a function of converting and passing to the application or the control layer 20 is provided, the existing application is changed even after the MFP 1 is delivered to the user. In addition, new functions that could not be executed by these applications, such as the function to execute a scan job by Scan to E-mail as described above, data that cannot be handled by the print application 32 are transmitted as image data, and the print job is executed. The function to be executed can be executed, the function expandability is improved, and the usability for the user is greatly improved.

  In addition, when each application can access both the control layer 20 and the external API unit 40, and the processing request for image processing from the outside is for the application, the processing request is directly transmitted from the external API unit 40 It is configured to pass to the application (configuration to exchange data without passing through the control layer 20). Therefore, compared to the configuration of passing to the control layer 20 and passing from the control layer 20 to the application, the processing load of the control layer 20 can be reduced and the processing can be further speeded up. In addition, since it is not necessary for the control layer 20 to have a function of mediating data between the outside and the application, the configuration of the control layer 20 can be simplified accordingly.

  Further, since the external API unit 40 is configured to be directly accessible to each application without going through the control layer 20, if the external API unit 40 has a management function such as job management of each application, the external API unit 40 The unit 40 can also monitor the status of each application, and the processing load on the control layer 20 can be reduced compared to a configuration in which the control layer 20 executes job management and the like.

Further, by adopting a configuration in which commands and the like can be described using XML, it is very easy for an external software developer to handle. Further, for the developer of the MFP 1, by using XML, the logical structure of data to be accepted as a processing request from the outside can be uniquely defined, and the design freedom is increased.
The present invention is not limited to an image processing apparatus such as an MFP, and may be a program for causing a computer to execute the above-described processing. The program according to the present invention includes, for example, a magnetic disk such as a magnetic tape and a flexible disk, an optical recording medium such as a DVD, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, an MO, and a PD, Smart Media (registered trademark), COMPACTFLASH (registered trademark). ), Etc., can be recorded on various computer-readable recording media, and may be produced, transferred, etc. in the form of the recording medium, or in the form of a program on the Internet. May be transmitted and supplied via various wired and wireless networks, broadcasting, telecommunications lines, satellite communications, and the like.

(Modification)
As described above, the present invention has been described based on the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the following modifications may be considered.
(1) In the above embodiment, the processing request related to image processing is expressed using XML. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) or the like can be used. In this case, the data indicating the processing request related to the image processing sent from the PC 50 to the MFP 1 is data described in the language, so that the external API unit 40 can convert the data into data that can be understood by the control layer 20. Will be configured as follows.

(2) In the above embodiment, the MFP 1 and the PC 50 are connected via a network. However, the connection method is not limited as long as data such as the processing request can be communicated. It can also be.
Further, although an example in which the present invention is applied to a digital copying machine has been described, the present invention can be applied to general image processing apparatuses that execute image processing jobs, such as scanners, printers, and facsimile machines.

  The image processing apparatus according to the present invention can execute an image processing function that cannot be executed by an application included in the image processing apparatus according to an instruction from the outside, and can be used for a copying machine, a scanner, a printer, and the like.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of an MFP 1. FIG. XML data including a command for executing a scan job by Scan to E-mail is converted from the PC 50 to the scan application 33 and the control layer 20 via the external API unit 40 of the MFP 1. It is the schematic diagram illustrated. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a data flow between a PC and an MFP when executing the scan job. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a data flow when a scan job is executed without starting a scan application 33. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a data flow when MFP 1 executes a print job for performing printing based on image data sent from PC 50. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 MFP
11 Printer 12 Scanner 13 Operation Panel 20 Control Layer 21 Kernel 22 IJC
23 IO
24 IO / IJC API
30 Application Layer 32 Print Application 33 Scan Application 40 External API Unit 41 API Conversion Unit 42 External API
43 XML converter 50 PC

Claims (3)

Hardware resources having at least one of an image forming unit, a reading unit, and a display unit;
Application,
A first control program located between the hardware resource and the application;
An architecture comprising the first control program and a second control program located between the applications;
The first control program is:
A first API (application program interface) that receives a processing request related to image processing from the application and the second control program by a predefined function, and performs processing based on the received processing request in the hardware Let the resource execute,
The second control program is:
A second API that accepts a processing request related to image processing from the outside by a function that has been disclosed to the outside in advance is provided. The received processing request is converted into a command corresponding to the first API, and the content of the processing request In response, the image processing apparatus is passed to either the application or the first control program. The processing request related to image processing from the outside is expressed in XML,
The second control program is:
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a processing request relating to the external image processing is received as data in an XML format. The second control program is:
A first conversion unit for extracting information indicating the processing request from the received XML format data;
A second conversion unit that converts the extracted information into a command corresponding to the first API;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

Images