JPH10232913A - Device and method for processing image and medium storing program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the oppression on the storage capacity of a storage device by processing images corresponding to a selected template and automatically eliminating the corresponding template corresponding to the attribute information of the respective templates. SOLUTION: The present date and time are obtained from a calendar timer 15 and template time limit information inside an HDD 4 is read and compared with the previously obtained template time limit information. As the result of comparison, when it is older than the obtained date and time, template information provided with the same serial number as the serial number provided in the obtained template time limit information is retrieved from the template information inside the HDD 4, and when the pertinent template information is found inside the HDD 4, the found template information is eliminated. Also, when image time limit information is older than the obtained date and time, image information provided with the same serial, number as the serial number provided in the image time limit information is retrieved and the found image information is eliminated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method, and a medium storing a program, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus and method for handling image files and performing image processing, and a medium storing a program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image processing apparatus, for example, image information input by an input device is stored in an image storage device, and an operator selects template information stored in advance, and stores image information in the image storage device. Has been processed based on the selected template information, and the processed image information is output to an output device.

The above-described template information is changed in content by an operation of an operator, and is stored as another template information. Alternatively, the template information or the image information from another storage unit is additionally copied to the image processing apparatus by the operation of the operator.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional image processing apparatus, there is only a method of deleting unnecessary template information or image information by an instruction of an operator.
There was a problem that the storage capacity of the storage device was pressed.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and method which solve the above problems and a medium storing a program.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a template storage means for storing a plurality of templates having predetermined conditions for processing images, and a template storage means for storing the template in the template storage means. An image processing apparatus comprising: means for selecting a desired template from the selected templates; and means for processing the image in accordance with the selected template. This feature is characterized in that the template to be deleted is automatically deleted.

[0007] The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in claim 1, the attribute information is term information.

[0008] Further, the invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in claim 2, there is further provided a means for extending the time limit.

Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the attribute information is information relating to the last selected date and time, and the attribute information is related to the last selected date and time and the current date and time. Is automatically deleted.

Further, the invention of claim 5 is characterized in that, in claim 1, the attribute is the number of uses, and the template is automatically deleted when the number of uses reaches a predetermined number.

Further, the invention of claim 6 provides the invention according to claims 1 to 5
Wherein the attribute information is stored in the template storage means together with a corresponding template.

Further, the invention according to claim 7 further comprises an image information storage means for storing the image, wherein the image information is automatically deleted according to the attribute information of the image information. It is characterized by.

Further, according to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus for selecting a desired template from a plurality of templates having predetermined conditions for processing an image, and processing the image in accordance with the selected template. The method is characterized in that, in accordance with the attribute information of each of the templates, a corresponding template is automatically deleted from a storage unit in which the template is stored.

Further, the invention according to claim 9 is a medium storing a program for processing an image by a computer, wherein a desired template is selected from a plurality of templates in which conditions for processing the image are predetermined. And processing the image according to the selected template, and automatically deleting the corresponding template from the storage unit in which the template is stored according to the attribute information of each template. .

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image processing apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a CPU 2 for controlling the entire operation of the apparatus 1 includes, via a bus 12, a floppy disk drive (FDD) 3, which is an external storage device for storing various information, image information, and template information. 6, a hard disk drive (HDD) 4 serving as a main storage device for storing template expiration information and image expiration information, a RAM 5 for writing and reading various data during image processing and expiration information search processing, and FIG. The program is connected to a ROM 6 that stores a program for a time limit information search processing operation (started by input of an interrupt signal from a calendar timer 15 described later) and the program in FIG. Similarly, the CPU 2 via the bus 12
A keyboard 7 for inputting various data and instructions from an operator, and a video RAM for storing image display data
(VRAM) 8, and a CRT 9 for displaying images and displaying an operation panel is connected to the VRAM 8. Further, the CPU 2 is mutually connected to a printer interface (printer I / F) 10 via a bus 12, and the printer I / F 10 is connected to a printer 11 for performing image print output. Similarly, the CPU 2
A scanner interface (scanner I / F) 13 is interconnected via a bus 12 and a scanner I / F 13
Is connected to a scanner 14 for inputting an image.
Further, the CPU 2 is connected via a bus 12 to a calendar timer 15 which holds the current date and time and generates an interrupt signal to the CPU 2 at regular time intervals.

The above configuration can be realized not only by dedicated hardware but also by a general-purpose personal computer or the like.

FIG. 2 shows that the image processing device 1
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example in which is processed based on template information 21 and inserted into an image frame 22 and output by an output device.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data structure of the image information 20, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data structure of the template information 21. The image information 20 and the template information 21 are stored in the HDD 4, for example.

In FIG. 3, the image information 20 includes a serial number 23 of the image information 20, an image size 24, an image color information 25, an image input unit type 26, and an image itself 27.

In FIG. 4, the template information 21 includes:
The serial number 28 of the template information 21, the paper size 29 output by the output device, the paper direction 30, the number 31 of image frames to be inserted in the paper, the size 32 of each image frame to be inserted, Conditions for processing an image, such as a position 33 and an enlargement / reduction ratio 34 as an image processing instruction, are defined.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data structure of the template expiration information 35 and the image expiration information 36 used by the image processing apparatus 1. The template expiration information 35 and the image expiration information 36 are stored in the HDD 4, for example. .

In FIG. 5, template expiration information 35
Is information indicating the expiration date corresponding to the accompanying template information 21, and is composed of the serial number 28 of the template information 21 and the template expiration date 37. Further, the image expiration information 36 is information indicating the expiration date corresponding to the accompanying image information 20, and includes the serial number 23 of the image information 20 and the image expiration date 38.

The expiration information retrieval and deletion processing operation periodically executed by the image processing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described below.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the expiration information retrieval / deletion process is started, the current date and time are obtained from the calendar timer 15 in step S1.
In step S2, template expiration information 35 in HDD 4
Is read, and in step S3, it is compared with the template expiration date information 35 obtained in step S1. Step S33
As a result of the comparison, if the template expiration date information 35 obtained in step S2 is newer than the date and time obtained in step S1, the process proceeds to step S8. As a result of the comparison in step S3, if the template expiration date information 35 obtained in step S2 is older than the date and time obtained in step S1, it is obtained in step S4 from the template information 21 in the HDD 4 in step S4. The template information 21 having the same serial number 28 as the serial number 28 included in the template expiration information 35 is searched for.
If the corresponding template information 21 is found in the HDD 4 in step 4, the found template information 21 is deleted in step S6. Then, in step S7, the template expiration information 35 is deleted, and the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, all template expiration information 3 in HDD 4
The process from step S2 is repeated until 5 is compared with the date and time obtained in step S1. If all the template expiration date information 35 in the HDD 4 has been compared with the date and time obtained in step S1, the process proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, the image expiration information 36 in the HDD 4 is read. In step S10, the date and time obtained in step S1 and the image expiration information 3 obtained in step S9.
Compare with 6. As a result of the comparison in step S10, the image expiration date information 36 obtained in step S9 is stored in step S1.
If it is newer than the date and time obtained in step, the process proceeds to step S15. As a result of the comparison in step S10, if the image expiration date information 36 obtained in step S9 is older than the date and time obtained in step S1, it is obtained in step S11 from the image information 20 in the HDD 4 in step S9. Image expiration information 3
The image information 20 having the same serial number 23 as the serial number 23 included in 6 is searched, and the image information 20 found in step S13 is deleted. Then, in step S14, the image expiration information 36 is deleted, and the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, the processing from step S9 is repeated until all the image expiration information 36 in the HDD 4 is compared with the date and time obtained in step S1. When all the image expiration information 36 in the HDD 4 is compared with the date and time obtained in step S1, the expiration information search and deletion processing ends.

Next, the term information update processing operation in the post-processing of the image output processing executed by the image processing apparatus 1 will be described below.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the image output process is started, step S2
0 waits for the operator to select and input the template information 21, and selects the template information 21 selected in step S <b> 21.
Read. In step S22, the number 31 of image frames is obtained from the template information 21 read in step S21, and in step S23, the operator waits for the selection input of the image information 20 from the operator. In step S24, the process in step S23 is repeated a number of times 31 equal to the number of image frames obtained in step S22. In step S25, image processing is performed from the selected template information 21 and image information 20, and the process proceeds to step S26. Is printed out from the printer 11.

Next, in step S27, step S2
The template expiration information 35 having the same serial number 28 as the serial number 28 of the template information 21 selected in 1 is searched. If the template expiration information 35 is found in step S28, the template expiration information found in step S29 is searched. The template expiration date 37 of the information 35 is extended. In step S30, step S2
The processing is repeated until the processing from step S27 is performed on all template information 21 selected in step 1.

Next, in step S31, step S2
Serial number 23 of the image information 20 selected in 3
The image expiration information 36 having the same serial number 23 as the image expiration information 36 is searched. If the image expiration information 36 is found in step S32, the image expiration information 36
Is extended. In step S34, the processing is repeated until the processing from step S31 is performed on all the image information 20 selected in step S23,
The term information updating process ends.

In the data structure of the template expiration information 35 and the image expiration information 36, the reference information for deleting the unnecessary template information 21 or the image information 20 is determined based on the date and time. By determining the template information 21 or the number of times the image information 20 has been used, the template information 2
It is also possible to obtain the effect of limiting the number of times one or the image information 20 is used.

Steps S29 and S3
3, the template expiration date 37 and the image expiration date 3
However, any method of changing the contents of the template expiration date 37 and the image expiration date 38, such as an extension method of adding a certain period to the expiration date, may be used in the present invention. Has the same effect.

Further, in the present embodiment, the template information 21, the template expiration information 35, the image information 2
The HDD 4 is used to store the image expiration information 36, but the present invention is not limited to this. Any type of storage device, such as the FDD 3 and the RAM 5, which can be additionally read, may be used. For example, MO disk, PD, and DVD drives.

Further, as a second embodiment, for example, when a template for limiting the number of times of use is provided as a trial version, the number of times the template can be used may be given as an attribute. That is, the same effect can be obtained by automatically deleting the template when the number of uses reaches the predetermined number.

Further, as a third embodiment, information on the date and time of last use may be given as an attribute. That is, a similar effect can be obtained by automatically deleting templates that have not been used for a predetermined period since they were last used.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Unnecessary template information or image information that is not used for a long period of time can be deleted without being operated by the operator, and the storage capacity of the storage device can be prevented from being overwhelmed.

Further, when template information or image information is used in print output or the like, the expiration date is updated to prevent the used template information or image information from being deleted carelessly. Becomes possible.

Furthermore, the number of times template information or image information is used can be limited.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the image processing apparatus in FIG. 1 processes image information 20 based on template information 21 and prints and outputs the image information from a printer.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of image information 20 used by the image processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of template information 21 used by the image processing apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of template expiration information 35 and image expiration information 36 used by the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a period information search and deletion processing operation executed by the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a period information update processing operation in a post-process of an image output process performed by the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 CPU 4 HDD 7 Keyboard 11 Printer 14 Scanner 15 Calendar timer

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A template storage means for storing a plurality of templates having predetermined conditions for processing an image, a means for selecting a desired template from the templates stored in the template storage means, An image processing apparatus comprising: means for processing the image according to a template, wherein the corresponding template is automatically deleted according to attribute information of each of the templates. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information is term information. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a unit that extends the time limit. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information is information on a date and time selected last, and the template is automatically deleted according to information on the date and time selected last and a current date and time. An image processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute is the number of uses, and the template is automatically deleted when the number of uses reaches a predetermined number. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information is stored in the template storage together with a corresponding template. 7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image information storage unit that stores the image, wherein the image information is automatically deleted according to attribute information of the image information. . 8. An image processing method for selecting a desired template from a plurality of templates in which conditions for processing an image are predetermined, and processing the image in accordance with the selected template. An image processing method for automatically deleting a corresponding template from storage means in which the template is stored in accordance with the attribute information of the template. 9. A medium on which a program for processing an image by a computer is recorded, wherein a desired template is selected from a plurality of templates in which conditions for processing the image are predetermined. A medium storing an image processing program, wherein the image processing program automatically deletes a corresponding template from storage means storing the template according to the attribute information of each template. .