JP2006195818A - Image processing apparatus and its method, and image processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus and its method capable of efficiently managing using an external storage device document data described in a structured description language even if the data are large in size, and an image processing system. <P>SOLUTION: When the image processing apparatus transfers the XML document data to a memory card in S1001, the portion of bitmap images associated with the document data but not transferable to an external media in S1006 is transferred to the external media in S1009 after a message indicating that the portion is stored in the image processing apparatus is written in S1008. In this way, when the document data are read from the external media, the bitmap images can be read from the image processing apparatus as necessary without the need to transfer all the bitmap images associated with the document data to the memory card. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method, and an image processing system, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus and method and document processing system for handling document data described in a structured description language.

  In recent years, companies have introduced a document management system to efficiently manage various documents. Therefore, a document management system using a markup description language (structured description language) that has been used for documents handled by computers has been proposed.

  Examples of such markup description languages include SGML (Standard General Markup Language) and HTML (Hyper-Text Markup Language). Various data formats using XML (eXtensible Markup Language) have been proposed.

  XML is a readable data format described by text data. For example, “<” and “>” tags such as “<Tag>” and “</ Tag>” are used to express data items. Since various data can be expressed by enclosing another data in a nested structure with this tag, using XML allows efficient management even for documents containing multiple image data. it can. For example, each image information constituting the document can be expressed by <image> </ image> tags.

In addition, with the development of mobile media and networks, documents can be stored in portable media such as memory cards and can be carried. Document management is a problem with physical distance. Things that don't do are becoming necessary. For this purpose, for example, a technique is known in which information is read from a memory card and copied, and a copied document is written to the memory card (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A 63-105544

  In general, a still color image generated by an image forming apparatus has a large data size, so when trying to transfer it to an external recording medium such as an IC memory card, MO, DVD, or CD-ROM, the external recording medium There was a problem that it could not be transferred depending on the capacity of the.

  This problem also applies to document data described in a structured description language. For example, in document data described in XML, even if the image information included in the document data is described in text data, the entity is bitmap data that exists as a separate file. Therefore, when transferring an XML document to an external device, it is necessary to transfer the corresponding bitmap data at the same time. Therefore, depending on the size of the bitmap data, the transfer may not be possible.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and can efficiently manage document data described in a structured description language using an external storage device even if the data size is large. An object is to provide an image processing apparatus and method, and an image processing system.

  As a means for achieving the above object, an image processing apparatus of the present invention comprises the following arrangement.

  That is, an image processing apparatus that constitutes an image processing system by being connected to another apparatus via a network, in which external storage loading means to which an external storage medium can be attached and detached, and document data are described in a structured description language. A structured data generating means for generating structured data indicating that the storage position of the image data associated with the document data is in the image processing apparatus; and an external storage medium attached to the external storage loading means. On the other hand, it comprises structured data transfer means for transferring the structured data.

  Further, image data transfer means for transferring image data associated with the structured data to an external storage medium attached to the external storage loading means, and transfer of the structured data by the image data transfer means. Structured data update means for updating the storage position of the image data to be indicated in the external storage medium, and the structured data transfer means is transferred by the image data transfer means In addition, the structured data updated by the structured data updating means is transferred to the external storage medium.

  And a transfer data amount setting unit for setting a transfer data amount limit value for the external storage medium, wherein the image data transfer unit is configured to transfer the data amount to the external storage medium within the limit value. The image data is transferred, and the structured data transfer means transfers the structured data updated by the structured data update means when the amount of data transferred to the external storage medium exceeds the limit value. And

  According to the present invention, when document data is described in a structured description language, it is described that the storage position of the image data associated with the document data is in the image processing apparatus on the network, and the structured data Are transferred to the external storage device. Thus, when document data is read from the external storage device, image data that has not been transferred to the external storage device can be read via the network, and the document can be managed more efficiently.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment>
System Configuration FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of an image processing system to which this embodiment is applied. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 100 and 101 denote networks such as a local area network (LAN), which are connected to the Internet 102 which is a public network via a server (not shown). Reference numerals 103, 104, and 105 denote digital multi-function peripherals that are connected to the LANs 100 and 101 or the Internet 102, respectively, and have copy, print, and scanner functions. Each of the digital multifunction peripherals 103, 104, and 105 has an interface to which the memory card 106 can be attached and detached. Reference numerals 107, 108, 109, 110 denote computers such as personal computers (PCs).

  In this system, documents created on the PCs 107, 108, 109, 110 are printed from the digital multifunction peripherals 103, 104, 105, stored in a storage means such as a hard disk (HD) (not shown) in the digital multifunction peripherals 103, 104, 105, and the digital multifunction peripherals. Images scanned by 103, 104, and 105 can be received by the PCs 107, 108, 109, and 110.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing in detail the internal configuration of the digital multi-function peripheral 103. The other digital multifunction peripherals 104 and 105 have the same configuration as that of the digital multifunction peripheral 103.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 208 denotes an operation unit, which includes, for example, an LCD touch panel or the like having an operation unit such as an operation button together with a display unit for displaying an operation menu, status display, and message of the digital multi-function peripheral 103. Reference numeral 209 denotes a large-scale storage means such as a hard disk (HD), which is connected to the main bus 213 via the ATA interface unit 214, and is processed by the digital multifunction machine 103 and structured document data such as XML Remember.

  Reference numeral 210 denotes a CPU that centrally controls each unit of the digital multifunction peripheral 103. Reference numeral 211 denotes a read only memory (ROM), which stores a control program for the digital multi-function peripheral 103. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 212 functions as a work area for the CPU 210. Reference numeral 213 denotes a main bus. Data input / output and control for each block are all performed via the main bus 213.

  A scanner unit 201 optically reads a paper document placed on a document table (not shown) and converts it into electronic image data such as a bitmap. A printer unit 202 prints out the input image data such as a bitmap onto a printing sheet using, for example, an electrophotographic method.

  Reference numeral 203 denotes an image processing unit which performs scaling processing for reducing / enlarging the input image data by data interpolation / decimation, for example, edge enhancement processing by secondary differentiation in a 5 × 5 window, table search, etc. Combined with γ conversion processing to change from luminance data to density data, binarization processing to convert multi-value data into binary data by error diffusion method, and a series of image processing such as rotation processing, etc. After that, processed image data is output.

  A compression / decompression unit 204 converts input image data such as a bitmap into, for example, JPEG format compression data, or decompresses input JPEG format compression image data into bitmap image data. A network interface control unit 205 is connected to a network such as a LAN and the Internet, and performs data transmission / reception control.

  An XML generation unit 206, which is a feature of the present embodiment, converts input image data such as a bitmap into a structured document such as XML (Extensible Markup Language) and outputs the structured document. Reference numeral 207 denotes a memory card interface unit, which allows the memory card 106 to be attached and detached, and controls data reading from and writing to the memory card 106 inserted therein.

Structured Document Generation Processing Hereinafter, the structured document generation processing in the XML generation unit 206 described above will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing structured document generation processing in the XML generation unit 206. FIG. 4 is image data input to the XML generation unit 206 (this image data may be input from the scanner unit 201 or a host computer. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of XML data output from the XML generation unit 206. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of XML data output from the XML generation unit 206.

  For example, when the image data 401 composed of characters, photos, and tables shown in FIG. 4 is input to the XML generation unit 206, in a region separation unit (not shown) in the XML generation unit 206, a character region and a graphic region, Image areas such as photographs and tables are recognized and separated into rectangular areas for each area (S301). Then, each of the separated image areas is cut out as one image data (S302).

  Here, in FIG. 4, 401 is input original bitmap format image data, and 402 shows a state in which the image data 401 is separated. These image data 401 and 402 are managed in the digital multi-function peripheral 103 under the name img20021219_001.bmp, for example. In the image data 402, 403, 405, and 406 are cut out as character areas, 404 as photo areas, and 407 as table areas. The character area 403 is img20021219_001_001.bmp, the photo area 404 is img20021219_001_002.bmp, and characters The area 405 is managed as bitmap format image data named img20021219_001_003.bmp, the character area 406 is managed as img20021219_001_004.bmp, and the table area 407 is managed as bitmap format image data.

  When each image area is cut out in step S302 as described above, the position information of each image area is acquired and managed as coordinate information 408, 409, 410, 411, 412 in the page (S303). Then, a structured document such as XML is created and output based on the image data and position information of each image area (S304).

  Here, FIG. 5 shows an example of an XML document created based on the image data 401 output in step S304. In the figure, the range surrounded by the tags <img> and </ imag> is detailed data indicating each image region. For example, the range surrounded by the tags <xCoordinates> and </ xCoordinates> is the X coordinate in the page of the image area, and the range surrounded by the tags <yCoordinates> and </ yCoordinates> Y coordinate in the page of the image area. In addition, the range enclosed by the <imgURL> and </ imgURL> tags shown in lines 501 to 505 is the feature of the image data (bitmap data) that is the substance of each image area, which is a feature of the present embodiment. This is a URL indicating a link destination, that is, a storage location, and includes IP address information on the network of the digital multi-function peripheral 103.

  As described above, the image data 401 input to the digital multi-function peripheral 103 is converted into image data 403 to 407 and XML data of each area by the XML generation unit 206 and output.

  Based on the above description of each unit, a data flow when image data is stored and managed in the HD 209 in the present embodiment will be briefly described below.

  In response to an instruction from the CPU 210, the scanner unit 201 reads a document composed of a plurality of documents placed on a document table (not shown), and the read document is stored in the HD 209 as bitmap electronic image data. The CPU 210 reads out the data stored in the HD 209 onto the RAM 212 and transmits it to the image processing unit 203, and stores the data subjected to appropriate image processing in the HD 209 again. Next, the CPU 210 reads out the image-processed data on the RAM 212 and transmits it to the XML generation unit 206, and outputs XML data output from the XML generation unit 206 and a plurality of bitmap-format images associated with the XML data. The data is stored in the HD209.

  Further, the CPU 210 reads the XML data from the HD 209, and simultaneously reads out the data to be compressed from the plurality of image data associated with the XML data, and transmits the data to the compression / decompression unit 204, and the data after JPEG compression. To HD209. At this time, the CPU 210 indicates that the extension of the data indicating the link destination of the image data enclosed by the <imgURL> tag in the XML data is JPEG compressed data from “bmp” indicating that it is bitmap data. Rewrite it as "jpg".

  As described above, when the series of image data compression and XML data rewriting is completed, the CPU 210 stores the XML data in the HD 209.

Media I / F Unit The memory card interface unit 207 in the digital multi-function peripheral 103 will be briefly described below.

  The memory card interface unit 207 is an interface unit for connecting an external device for connecting the IC memory card 106 and the like, and includes a card slot (not shown) in which the IC memory card 106 is detachably mounted. It is possible to read the contents stored in the IC memory card 106 attached to the. The memory card interface unit 207 can also write data stored in the RAM 212 in the digital multifunction peripheral 103 to the IC memory card 106 or the like, or write data read from the IC memory card 106 to the RAM 212. It is.

  The memory card interface unit 207 further has a function of detecting whether or not the memory card 106 is normal. The memory card interface 207 has a built-in DMA controller (hereinafter referred to as DMAC), and transfers data in the memory card 106 directly to the RAM 212 according to an instruction from the CPU 210. Conversely, data in the RAM 212 is transferred to the IC memory card 106. It is possible to transfer. Further, the memory card interface 207 directly receives a read or write command from the CPU 210 according to an instruction from the CPU 210, executes a read or write operation corresponding to the command to the IC memory card 106, and sends the result to the CPU 210. It is also possible to notify.

  The storage medium that can be connected to the digital multifunction peripheral 103 according to the present embodiment is not limited to the IC memory card 106, and other removable media such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk and an optical disk (MO, DVD) are used. It is possible.

Processing for Reading Data from Media Next, processing for reading data stored in the IC memory card 106 in the digital multi-function peripheral 103 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the CPU 210 when data stored in the IC memory card 106 is read. First, in step S601, it is determined whether or not the IC memory card 106 is attached to the memory card interface unit 207, that is, whether or not the IC memory card 106 is present. When the IC memory card 106 is attached, the memory card interface 207 can physically confirm the attachment of the memory card 106 and output an interrupt signal to the CPU 210.

  In step S601, the CPU 210 stands by until an interrupt signal is received from the memory card interface 207. When the interrupt is received, the processing of the next step S602 is started. In step S602, the CPU 210 reads out a predetermined storage area portion in the IC memory card 106 from the IC memory card 106, and tries to determine whether or not data reading can be normally executed. If the read operation from the IC memory card 106 does not end normally, in step S603, the operation unit 208 is displayed indicating that the read / write operation with respect to the IC memory card 106 cannot be performed. Exit.

  On the other hand, if the data read from the CPU 210 to the IC memory card 106 is normally performed, it is determined that the IC memory card 106 is correctly installed, and the process proceeds to step S604. File name of image data stored in the IC memory card 106 and position information in the IC memory card 106 stored in a predetermined storage area (layer information of data in the card, hierarchy of the IC memory card 106 (Used when putting information on the UI).

  In step S605, the file name of the image data read from the IC memory card 106 and the position information in the IC memory card 106 are displayed on the operation unit 208 by the CPU 210. Therefore, the user can check the contents stored in the IC memory card 106 and select image data to be read from the IC memory card 106. The CPU 210 can also read data from the IC memory card 106 in accordance with an instruction from the program while another image processing program is being executed.

  When the position and file name of the image data in the IC memory card 106 are selected by the user, in step S606, the CPU 210 resumes the data reading operation from the IC memory card 106, and the predetermined data in the IC memory card 106 is restored. Address information of the file to be read stored in the IC memory card 106 stored in the storage area (information for checking where the physical address of the file is specifically located on the medium, actually reading Information to be notified to the hardware when working). In the present embodiment, a desired file can be read from the IC memory card 106 based on the address information read in this way.

  Next, in step S607, the CPU 210 sets the address value of the address information read out as described above in the register of the DMAC in the memory card interface 207. In general, when performing data transfer in the DMAC, the data transfer source address, the data transfer destination address, and the data transfer length are set in the registers, and then the DMAC transfer is performed by manipulating the DMAC start register. it can. Therefore, the CPU 210 sets the address of the area where the data is actually stored in the RAM 212 as the data transfer destination address, and further sets the file size included in the read address information as described above as the data transfer length, Set to each register of DMAC.

  Next, in step S608, the CPU 210 starts data transfer from the IC memory card 106 to the RAM 212 by operating the activation register of the DMAC. The activated DMAC starts data transfer, and when all data is transferred from the IC memory card 106 to the RAM 212, an interrupt signal is notified to the CPU 210 to notify the end of the data transfer. When the CPU 210 receives an interrupt signal for notifying the end of data transfer from the DMAC in step S609, the CPU 210 ends all the operations for reading data from the IC memory card 106.

Processing for Writing Data to Media Next, processing when data stored in the RAM 212 is stored in the IC memory card 106 in the digital multi-function peripheral 103 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. .

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the CPU 210 when data is written to the IC memory card 106. First, in steps S701 to S703, as in steps S601 to S603 of FIG. 6 described above, it is determined whether or not the IC memory card 106 is inserted and whether or not the IC memory card 106 is normal. A message indicating that the read / write operation with respect to the IC memory card 106 cannot be executed is displayed, and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S702 that the IC memory card 106 is correctly attached, the process proceeds to step S704, and data to be written to the IC memory card 106 is selected. The selection of the write data is based on the method in which the user selects image data stored in the RAM 212 using the operation unit 208, or image data specified in a program such as image processing operating in parallel. A transfer method is conceivable.

  When the data to be transferred to the IC memory card 106 is determined, the CPU 210 detects a free recording area of the IC memory card 106 in step S705. Specifically, the address information of each file stored in the IC memory card 106 can be read, and the address of the free area can be calculated based on the total storage capacity of the IC memory card 106.

  When the head address of the free area of the IC memory card 106 is calculated, in step S706, the CPU 210 then uses the address value of the RAM 212 in which the image data to be transferred is stored as the DMAC transfer source register in the memory card interface 207. Set to. Then, the start address of the empty area of the IC memory card 106 as the transfer destination is set in the DMAC transfer destination register, and the size of the image data stored in the RAM 212 is set in the DMAC transfer length register.

  Next, in step S707, the CPU 210 starts data transfer from the RAM 212 to the IC memory card 106 by operating the activation register of the DMAC. The activated DMAC starts data transfer, and when all data is transferred from the RAM 212 to the IC memory card 106, an interrupt signal is notified to the CPU 210 to notify the end of data transfer.

  When the CPU 210 receives an interrupt signal notifying the end of data transfer from the DMAC in step S708, the file name and storage location information of the image data stored in the IC memory card 106 in step S709 are stored in the IC memory card 106. Write to a predetermined area managing file information and the like. Furthermore, in step S710, the address information of the stored image data is written in a predetermined area that manages the address information in the IC memory card 106, thereby completing all the writing processes for the IC memory card 106.

Drawing Data Creation Processing Hereinafter, processing for creating drawing data based on XML data in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing drawing data creation processing for printing by the printer unit 202 based on the XML data stored in the RAM 212. First, in step S801, the XML data is analyzed, and if it is not the document end tag (</ document>), the tags in the page tag (<page> to </ page>) are sequentially analyzed in step S802, and the associated images are analyzed. Data expansion / image processing (S803) and bitmap expansion processing (S804) to the page memory area in the RAM 212 are performed.

  When the page end tag (</ page>) is detected in step S802, the document end tag is determined again in step S801. When the document end tag is recognized, the page end tag is expanded in the page memory area of the RAM 212 in step S805. The bitmap data is transferred in the order in which the printer unit 202 forms an image, and printing is performed.

Processing for writing XML data to media Hereinafter, with respect to the operation when writing the XML data shown in FIG. 5 and the bitmap data associated with each area described in the XML data to the IC memory card 106, This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 9 and FIG. Here, a case will be described as an example where XML data and related bitmap data of the document shown in FIG. 4 are stored in the HD 209 and this document data is written to the IC memory card 106.

  First, the user restricts the size of recorded data when recording data on the IC memory card 106 or the like via the operation unit 208. FIG. 9 shows an example of a setting screen for restricting the size of the recording data displayed on the operation unit 208. The user can limit the amount of data sent from the digital multifunction peripheral 103 to the IC memory card 106 on the setting screen shown in FIG. That is, on the setting screen of FIG. 9, when the user inputs the amount of data to be sent to the IC memory card 106 into the box 901 and presses the enter button 902, the upper limit value of the amount of data is stored in the HD 209 or the like. On the right side of the figure, the name of the external medium (in this case, the IC memory card 106) currently loaded is clearly shown. Of course, the method for setting the upper limit size of the recording data by the user is not limited to the setting screen shown in FIG. 9, and for example, in addition to the external media name displayed on the right side of the setting screen in FIG. It is also effective to display this information so that the user can refer to it when setting the upper limit value.

  Next, processing for actually writing XML data and bitmap data to the IC memory card 106 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 shows a process of writing XML data, which is a feature of the present embodiment, to the IC memory card 106, and the XML data transfer process shown in step S1009 is the flowchart of FIG. This corresponds to the general writing process shown in FIG.

  First, in step S1001, the CPU 210 selects document data to be stored in the IC memory card 106 via the operation unit 208 or the like, and waits until an instruction to start a data transfer operation is given. When the start of the transfer operation is instructed by the user, first, in step S1002, the upper limit value of the amount of data transferred to the IC memory card 106 set as described above is read from the HD 209.

  Here, since the XML document data designated as the transfer target has a plurality of internal areas associated with the bitmap data, in the present embodiment, the XML data is associated before the transfer to the IC memory card 106. Attempts to transfer the specified bitmap data. In step S1003, the image data of the area to be transferred among the areas of the document data to be transferred is determined.

  In step S1004, the cumulative size of the bitmap data transferred to the IC memory card 106 by this processing including the image data of the transfer target area determined in step S1003 is the upper limit value of the set data amount. It is determined whether or not it exceeds. If the cumulative size of the transfer bitmap data does not exceed the upper limit value, the image data (bitmap data) of the transfer target area is read from the HD 209 in step S1005, transferred to the IC memory card 106 as described above, and stored. Let For example, img20021219_001_001.bmp, which is bitmap data of the character area 403, is read from the HD 209 and transferred among the area data constituting the image of FIG.

  On the other hand, if the cumulative size of the transfer bitmap data exceeds the upper limit in step S1004, transfer to the IC memory card 106 is not performed in step S1006, and the bitmap file name of the area to be transferred is temporarily stored. Therefore, it is stored in the RAM 212.

  Next, in step S1007, it is determined whether or not the transfer to the IC memory card 106 has been completed for the image data of all areas in the XML data. If not, the process returns to step S1003 to repeat the above-described operation. . When the transfer of the image data is completed for all the areas, the XML data is edited in step S1008.

  In step S1008, for example, the XML data shown in FIG. 5 is called from the HD 209, and among the areas in the XML data, for the area where the bitmap data is transferred to the IC memory card 106 in step S1005, <imgURL>, </ The storage position information of the image data enclosed by the imgURL> tag is changed to a position inside the IC memory card 106. FIG. 11 shows an example of the XML data after the change. According to FIG. 4, in the line 1101 indicating the character area 403, the line 1102 indicating the photograph area 404, and the line 1103 indicating the character area 405 in FIG. It can be seen that (information) has been changed from the state shown in rows 501, 502, and 503 in FIG. That is, the IP address information on the network of the digital multi-function peripheral 103 has been deleted and changed to URL information indicating storage location information in the IC memory card.

  Further, in the XML data shown in FIG. 5 read from the HD 209, the image data of the area in which only the bitmap file name is temporarily stored in the RAM 212 without being transferred to the IC memory card 106 which is read from the HD 209 in step S1006. As for the storage location information of the image data enclosed by the <imgURL> and </ imgURL> tags, no change is made, that is, the IP address information on the network of the digital multi-function peripheral 103 is added. Leave the URL information in the internal HD209. In the example of FIG. 11, the storage location information in the <imgURL> and </ imgURL> tags in the line 1104 indicating the character area 406 and the line 1105 indicating the table area 407 may be the same as the lines 504 and 505 in FIG. I understand.

  When the rewriting operation of the storage position information is completed for the bitmap image of the entire area in the XML data, the CPU 210 writes the XML data to the IC memory card 106 according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 and stores the document data in step S1009. End the process.

  The image data storage processing in the IC memory card 106 according to the present embodiment described above will be specifically described using the image shown in FIG. 4 as an example.

  That is, in this case, the CPU 210 automatically selects image data sequentially in the order of the file names (eg, img20021219_001_001.bmp) of the character area 403, photo area 404, character area 405, character area 406, and table area 407 in the image of FIG. When the bitmap data up to the character area 403, the photo area 404, and the character area 405 is transferred to the IC memory card 106, the upper limit value of the transfer data amount set in advance by the user has been reached. For the bitmap data in the table area 407, only the storage position information in the HD 209 of the digital multi-function peripheral 103 is only described in the XML data.

  The transfer order of each area in the XML data has been described as being automatically determined by the CPU 210. However, the user can use the selection screen in the operation unit 208 as shown in FIG. The priority of writing bitmap data to the card 106 may be arbitrarily selected for each area.

● Reading image data from media In this embodiment, the IC memory card 106 stores XML data and partial area bitmap data as described above, and the IC memory card 106 is also used in other digital copying machines. can do. Hereinafter, a process of inserting the IC memory card 106 in which XML document data is stored into another digital multi-function peripheral or the like and acquiring the document data stored in the memory card 106 in the digital multi-function peripheral will be described.

  For example, in the digital multi-function peripheral 105 shown in FIG. 1, after writing document data to the IC memory card 106, the IC memory card 106 can be inserted into the digital multi-function peripheral 103 to read the document data. For example, the digital multi-function peripheral 103 can read the XML data as shown in FIG. 11 recorded on the IC memory card 106 and perform the printing operation by the printer unit 202 according to the flowchart of FIG.

  At this time, the digital multi-function peripheral 103 reads bitmap data based on the storage location information of the image data surrounded by <imgURL> and </ imgURL> in the XML data shown in FIG. When the storage location information indicates the inside of the IC memory card 106, data is read from the IC memory card 106, but when URL information of another digital copying machine is added as the storage location information, the URL Bitmap data is received via the networks 100 and 101 or the Internet line 102 from another digital multi-function peripheral designated by the information.

Effect of this Embodiment As described above, according to this embodiment, when document data is transferred to the IC memory card 106, the image data in a plurality of regions constituting the document data is stored in another device. Only the storage position information is described in the IC memory card 106 as XML data. As a result, even for an area that could not be stored as bitmap data in the IC memory card 106, the bitmap data can be read out via the network when image data in the area becomes necessary.

  Further, since bitmap data is stored in the IC memory card 106 according to the data size set by the user, the user can arbitrarily adjust the number of area images stored in the IC memory card 106. .

  In this embodiment, the example in which the bitmap data is transferred to the IC memory card 106 as the image data associated with the XML document data has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. Any image data may be transferred as long as it can be used for general purposes such as a compression format.

  In the present embodiment, whether or not bitmap data can be transferred is determined for each area in the page constituting the XML document data. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the page in the XML document data It may be determined in units whether or not to transfer bitmap data associated with the inside. Furthermore, the user can set the number of pages that can be stored in the IC memory card 106 by arbitrarily setting the page transfer order, that is, the priority of writing to the IC memory card 106 for each page using an appropriate selection screen. The user can arbitrarily adjust.

<Second Embodiment>
The second embodiment according to the present invention will be described below. Since the system configuration and the configuration of the digital multi-function peripheral in the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment described above, detailed description will be omitted by referring to the same reference numerals.

  In the first embodiment described above, the XML data transferred to the IC memory card 106 is stored as the associated bitmap data in the IC memory card 106 and stored in another device. An example in which is mixed. In the second embodiment, an example is shown in which the storage destinations of bitmap data described in XML data are not mixed. Since other operations are the same as those in the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted.

Processing for Writing Page Data to Media Hereinafter, the operation for writing document data to the IC memory card 106 in the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Before the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 13 is started, the user sets the upper limit size of the recording data for the IC memory card 106 using the setting screen shown in FIG. 9 as in the first embodiment. deep.

  In the process shown in FIG. 13, steps S1301 and S1302 are the same as steps S1001 and S1002 shown in FIG.

  In the second embodiment, in step S1303, it is determined whether or not the bitmap size when all the XML data to be transferred is expanded exceeds the upper limit value of the set data amount. Note that the bitmap size at the time of XML data development can be obtained from the page size described in the header portion of the XML data.

  If the total bitmap size of the XML data does not exceed the upper limit value, bitmap development processing is performed in the RAM 212 in step S1304, and the bitmap data is transferred to the IC memory card 106 and stored. Note that the bitmap development processing can be executed in the same manner as the processing shown in steps S801 to S804 in FIG. 8 in the first embodiment.

  On the other hand, if the total bitmap size of the XML data exceeds the upper limit value in step S1303, the bitmap development is not performed, and the storage location of the XML data shown in FIG. Only XML data that is described as being in the digital multi-function peripheral 103 is transferred to the IC memory card 106.

Effects of the Second Embodiment As described above, according to the second embodiment, when XML document data is transferred to the IC memory card 106, it is impossible to transfer all of the data as bitmap-developed image data. In some cases, no bitmap transfer is performed, and only XML data in which the storage location of bitmap data in each area is described is transferred. As a result, when the IC memory card 106 is used in another device, document data that has already been bitmap-expanded is acquired in a short time, or bitmap data that is not stored based on XML data is obtained via a network. It can be read and acquired.

<Third embodiment>
The third embodiment according to the present invention will be described below. Since the system configuration and the configuration of the digital multi-function peripheral in the third embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment described above, detailed description will be omitted by referring to the same reference numerals.

  In the third embodiment, when the bitmap data or XML data is recorded in the IC memory card 106, the CPU 210 automatically reads the free space of the IC memory card 106, as described above in the first and second embodiments. Is different. That is, in the third embodiment, prior to transferring image data to the IC memory card 106 according to the flowchart of FIG. 10 or FIG. 13, the available capacity of the IC memory card 106 is read according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, in step S1401, it is determined whether or not the IC memory card 106 is correctly connected. If it is determined that the IC memory card 106 is not correctly connected, it is impossible to access the IC memory card 106 to the operation unit 208 in step S1402. A message is displayed and the process is terminated. This process is executed in the same manner as step S602 in FIG. 6 and step S702 in FIG. 7 in the first embodiment described above.

  If it is determined in step S1401 that the access to the IC memory card 106 can be correctly performed, the free space of the IC memory card 106 is acquired in step S1403, and the free space of the acquired IC memory card 106 is acquired. Information is stored in the RAM 212 in step S1404. As a method for acquiring the free space, for example, the free space can be calculated by reading information on the capacity already used in the IC memory card 106 and referring to the total storage capacity of the IC memory card 106. .

  After automatically acquiring the free space information from the IC memory card 106 as described above, the bitmap data and / or XML data is obtained according to the flowchart of FIG. 10 in the first embodiment or the flowchart of FIG. 13 in the second embodiment. Is stored in the IC memory card 106. At this time, in the third embodiment, the CPU 210 automatically sets the upper limit of the recording data size to the IC memory card 106 set by the user in the first and second embodiments described above based on the free space of the IC memory card 106. To decide. That is, the maximum recording size information acquired in step S1002 in FIG. 10 or step S1302 in FIG. 13 is automatically set by the CPU 210 in the third embodiment.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, when the CPU 210 stores image data in the IC memory card 106, the user is not aware of the number of bitmap image data to be stored, the storage data format, or the like. It can be adjusted automatically.

<Other embodiments>
Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, the present invention can take embodiments as, for example, a system, an apparatus, a method, a program, or a storage medium (recording medium). The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a single device or an apparatus composed of a single device.

  In the present invention, a software program (in the embodiment, a program corresponding to the flowchart shown in the figure) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is directly or remotely supplied to the system or apparatus, and the computer of the system or apparatus Is also achieved by reading and executing the supplied program code.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. In other words, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

  In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, or the like.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card , ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R).

  As another program supply method, a client computer browser is used to connect to an Internet homepage, and the computer program of the present invention itself or a compressed file including an automatic installation function is downloaded from the homepage to a recording medium such as a hard disk. Can also be supplied. It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the present invention.

  In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and key information for decryption is downloaded from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer.

  In addition to the functions of the above-described embodiments being realized by the computer executing the read program, the OS running on the computer based on the instructions of the program is a part of the actual processing. Alternatively, the functions of the above-described embodiment can be realized by performing all of them and performing the processing.

  Furthermore, after the program read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board or The CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are also realized by the processing.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the structured document production | generation process in an XML production | generation part. It is a figure which shows an example of the image data input into an XML production | generation part. It is a figure which shows an example of the XML data which an XML production | generation part outputs. It is a flowchart which shows the data reading process from an IC memory card. It is a flowchart which shows the data write-in process to an IC memory card. It is a flowchart which shows the drawing data creation process based on XML data. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting screen for the size restriction | limiting of transfer data. It is a flowchart which shows the write-in process of XML data and bitmap data to an IC memory card. It is a figure which shows the example of XML data changed for transfer in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting screen of the recording order to an IC memory card. 12 is a flowchart showing a process of writing XML data and / or bitmap data to an IC memory card in the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a free space acquisition process of an IC memory card in a third embodiment.

Claims (17)

An image processing apparatus constituting an image processing system by being connected to another apparatus via a network,
An external storage loading means to which an external storage medium can be attached and detached;
Structured data generation means for describing document data in a structured description language and generating structured data indicating that the storage position of the image data associated with the document data is in the image processing apparatus;
Structured data transfer means for transferring the structured data to an external storage medium attached to the external storage loading means;
An image processing apparatus comprising:   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the structured data includes address information of the image processing apparatus on the image processing system as information indicating a storage position of the image data. further,
Image data transfer means for transferring image data associated with the structured data to an external storage medium attached to the external storage loading means;
In the structured data, the structured data update means for updating the storage position of the image data transferred by the image data transfer means to indicate the inside of the external storage medium,
The structured data transfer unit transfers the structured data updated by the structured data update unit to the external storage medium when the transfer by the image data transfer unit is performed. 2. The image processing apparatus according to 2.   4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image data transfer means transfers bitmap data. And a transfer data amount setting means for setting a limit value of the transfer data amount for the external storage medium,
The image data transfer means transfers the image data when the transfer data amount to the external storage medium is within the limit value;
4. The structured data transfer unit transfers the structured data updated by the structured data update unit when the amount of data transferred to the external storage medium exceeds the limit value. Image processing apparatus. Furthermore, it has a transfer order setting means for setting the order when transferring each of the plurality of image data associated with the structured data to the external storage medium,
6. The image data transfer means, when the transfer data amount to the external storage medium is within the limit value, transfers the image data in the order set by the transfer order setting means. Image processing apparatus. A transfer data amount setting means for setting a transfer data amount limit value for the external storage medium;
Bitmap development means for developing the structured data into bitmap data;
Bitmap transfer means for transferring the bitmap data to the external storage medium when the amount of the bitmap data is within the limit value,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the structured data transfer unit transfers the structured data when a data amount of the bitmap data exceeds the limit value.   8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the transfer data amount setting unit sets the limit value based on a user instruction.   8. The image processing according to claim 5, wherein the transfer data amount setting unit sets the limit value based on a free capacity of an external storage medium attached to the external storage loading unit. apparatus.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the structured description language is XML. An image processing method in an image processing apparatus that constitutes an image processing system by being connected to another apparatus via a network and that can be attached and detached from an external storage medium,
A transfer data amount setting step for setting a transfer data amount limit value for an external storage medium mounted in the image processing apparatus;
A structured data generation step for describing the document data in a structured description language and generating structured data indicating that the storage position of the image data associated with the document data is within the image processing apparatus;
An image data transfer step of transferring image data associated with the structured data to the external storage medium while the transfer data amount is within the limit value;
When the amount of data transferred to the external storage medium exceeds the limit value, in the structured data, the storage position of the image data transferred in the image data transfer step is updated so as to indicate the inside of the external storage medium A data update step;
A structured data transfer step of transferring the structured data updated in the structured data update step to the external storage medium;
An image processing method comprising: An image processing method in an image processing apparatus that constitutes an image processing system by being connected to another apparatus via a network and that can be attached and detached from an external storage medium,
A transfer data amount setting step for setting a transfer data amount limit value for an external storage medium mounted in the image processing apparatus;
A structured data generation step for describing the document data in a structured description language and generating structured data indicating that the storage position of the image data associated with the document data is within the image processing apparatus;
A data amount comparison step of comparing the amount of data when the structured data is expanded into bitmap data with the limit value;
In the data amount comparison step, when the amount of bitmap data is equal to or less than the limit value, a bitmap transfer step of expanding the structured data into bitmap data and transferring it to the external storage medium;
A structured data transfer step of transferring the structured data to the external storage medium when the amount of bitmap data exceeds the limit value in the data amount comparison step;
An image processing method comprising:   The structured data generation step generates the structured data so as to include address information of the image processing apparatus on the image processing system as information indicating a storage position of the image data. Item 13. The image processing method according to Item 11 or 12. An image processing system in which first and second image processing devices to which an external storage medium can be attached and detached are connected via a network,
The first image processing apparatus includes:
Structured data generation means for describing document data in a structured description language and generating structured data indicating that a storage position of image data associated with the document data is in the first image processing apparatus;
Structured data output means for writing the structured data to the attached external storage medium,
The second image processing apparatus includes:
Structured data input means for reading the structured data from the external storage medium in which the structured data is written in the first image processing apparatus;
An image processing system comprising: image data receiving means for receiving image data associated with the structured data from the first image processing apparatus via a network according to the storage position information.   A program for operating an information processing apparatus as an image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10 by controlling the information processing apparatus.   A recording medium on which the program according to claim 15 is recorded. A digital multi-function peripheral having input means for inputting an image,
An external storage loading means to which an external storage medium can be attached and detached;
Structured data generating means for extracting image data from the image input from the input means, and generating structured data indicating that the storage position of the extracted image data is in the digital multifunction peripheral;
Structured data transfer means for transferring the structured data to an external storage medium attached to the external storage loading means;
A digital multi-function machine comprising:

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