JPS61142587A - Collection system of picture information storage retrieving device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To retrieve required picture information from one picture information storage retrieving device automatically out of picture information decentralizedly stored in plural picture information storage retrieving devices by connecting respective picture information storage retrieving devices with a centralized control device through a circuit. CONSTITUTION:Respective picture information storage retrieving devices 1a-1c are connected with the centralized control device 3 through the communication circuit 2. A CPU11 executes on-line retrieval in accordance with enquiry retrieval data supplied from a communication control device 29. When required picture information is detected as the result of the on-line retrieval, a picture existence signal and the picture information are transmitted to the enquiring picture information storage retrieving device through the device 29 and the circuit 2, and in case of absence, a picture absence signal is transmitted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an image information storage and retrieval device collection system comprising a plurality of image information storage and retrieval devices that store or retrieve image information, for example.

[Technical Background of the Invention j Recently, image information such as documents, which are generated in large quantities, is read by optical two-dimensional scanning, and the read image information is sequentially stored in a storage medium such as an optical disk, or the image information is individually stored. The search data is stored in a storage medium such as a magnetic disk, and by inputting this search data, image information stored in the optical disk is searched and read out, and it is made visible on an output device such as a CRT display device or a recording device. Image information storage and retrieval devices that output image information have been developed and put into practical use. However, when image storage and retrieval occur in multiple locations, each location requires an individual image information storage and retrieval device, and the processing is distributed to each location.

[Problems with Background Art] However, with the above-mentioned devices, when searching for a desired image, each device must be searched individually, which is very time-consuming. In this case, it is desirable to be able to search for images from other devices by searching from one device, and to share image resources.

[Object of the Invention] This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to retrieve desired image information from among the image information distributed and stored in a plurality of image information storage and retrieval devices. An object of the present invention is to provide an image information storage and retrieval device collection system that allows searching from one image information storage and retrieval device without human intervention.

[Summary of the Invention] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image information storage and retrieval device collection system comprising a plurality of image information storage and retrieval devices that store or retrieve image information. The central management device in which the search data of each image information storage and retrieval device is stored is connected via a line, and when searching for image information, if the desired image information does not exist in the searched image information storage and retrieval device, the above line is used. In this system, an inquiry is made to the central management device about image information storage and retrieval devices in which desired image information is stored, and image information is retrieved from the image information storage and retrieval devices that correspond to this inquiry.

[Embodiment of the Invention] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an image information storage and retrieval device aggregation system according to the present invention. Ib, 1C are image information storage and retrieval devices, 3 is a central management device, and each image information storage and retrieval device 1a, Ib, 1c, and central management device 3 are connected by a communication line 2.

The image information storage and retrieval devices 1a, 1b, and 1C are constructed as shown in FIG. 2, respectively. That is, 11
is a main control device including a CPU 12 that performs various controls, a main memory 13, a buffer memory such as a page buffer 14 having a storage capacity corresponding to at least one unit of image information (manuscript - page), and a page buffer 14 for compressing image information (redundant). It consists of a compression/decompression circuit 15 that performs redundancy (reducing redundancy) and decompression (returning reduced redundancy), a pattern generator 16 that stores pattern information such as characters or symbols, and a display interface 17. There is. The CPU 11 performs an online search according to the inquiry search data supplied from the communication control device 29 mentioned above, and when the desired image information is found in this online search, it sends an image presence signal and the image information. , if there is no corresponding image, a signal indicating that there is no corresponding image is sent via the communication control device 29 and the communication line 2 to the image information storage and retrieval device that made the inquiry. In addition, when the image information is searched manually using keys from the keyboard 23, if there is no corresponding image, in other words, when the optical disc 19
If the inquiry search data consisting of the image search request signal and the search code is not stored in the communication control device @29
and is transmitted to other image information storage and retrieval devices via the communication line 2. Reference numeral 20 denotes a reading device, such as a two-dimensional scanning device, which obtains an electrical signal corresponding to image information on the document 21 by two-dimensionally scanning the document 21 with a laser beam.

Reference numeral 22 denotes an optical disk device that sequentially stores image information and the like read by the two-dimensional scanning device 20 and supplied via the main controller 11 on the optical disk 19.

On the other hand, 23 is a keyboard for inputting a unique search code corresponding to image information and various operation commands. Reference numeral 24 denotes an output device such as a cathode ray tube display device fl (hereinafter referred to as a CRT display device) serving as a display section, and image information read by the two-dimensional scanning device 20 and supplied via the main controller 11 or an optical disk device. ! 22 and supplied via the main controller 11.
1 and the display interface 17 constitute a significant image information display device. Reference numeral 25 denotes a recording device that stores image information read by the two-dimensional scanning device 20 and supplied via the main controller 11, or image information read from the optical disk device 22 and supplied via the main controller [11]. is output as a heart covey 26.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a magnetic disk device which transfers search data consisting of a search code entered through the keyboard 23, the size of image information corresponding to the search code, and a storage address on the optical disk 19 where the image information is stored to a magnetic disk 28.
The image information is stored for each piece of image information.

Further, 29 is a communication control device, which is connected to the communication control devices of other image information storage and retrieval devices via the communication line 2, and transmits an image search request signal and a search code as inquiry search data. The received query search data is sent to the main/sub i [l device 1
1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the magnetic disk 28 is composed of a system area 28a and a search data area 28b. In the system area 28a, as shown in FIG.
Storage area a where the track address in 9 is stored
, a storage area b where the sector address of the optical disc 19 where the next image information is stored is stored, and a storage area C where the address in the search data area 28b where the search data for the next image information is stored is stored.
It is composed of.

In the search data area 28b, as shown in FIG.
The search data includes a search code (artist's name) consisting of a plurality of search keys, an image storage start track address on the optical disc 19 for image information corresponding to this search code,
The image storage start sector address and the number of image storage sectors (image length) are respectively the artist name field d, track address field e1, and sector address field f1.
It is stored in the image length field Q.

The central management device 3 stores search data of each image information storage and retrieval device, and as shown in FIG. There is. That is, the control device w31 performs various controls. The magnetic disk device f132 is connected to the image information storage and retrieval devices 1a, 1b, 1
The search code supplied from c via the communication line 2 and the name of the image information storage/retrieval device (DF name) that sent the search code are stored in the magnetic disk 33 for each piece of image information. The communication control device 34 is connected to the communication control device of each image information storage and retrieval device via the communication line 2,
It receives the transmitted inquiry search data, supplies the received inquiry search data to the control device 31, and stores the name of the image information storage and search device (DF name) supplied from the control device 31 where the inquiry was made. It is transmitted to the image information storage and retrieval device via the communication line 2.

As shown in FIG. 7, the magnetic disk 33 is composed of a system area 33a and a search data area 33b. As shown in FIG. 8, the system area 33a stores an address in the search data area 33b where the next search data is stored.

In the search data area 33b, as shown in FIG.
As search data, a search code (painter name) consisting of a plurality of search keys and the name of an image information storage/retrieval device (DF name) in which image information corresponding to this search code is stored are stored.

Next, the operation of such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 10 to 17. First, registration (storage) of image information will be explained. For example, the user selects and sets the registration mode using the keyboard 23 and enters a search code for image information to be registered. This results in
CPIJ12 checks the validity of the input data based on the number of digits, character type, etc. according to the predefined search code format, and also checks the already registered search codes to ensure that there is no double registration. As a result of these checks, if the search code is correct, it is stored in the main memory 13. and,
The original 21 is set on the two-dimensional scanning device 20, and the CPU 12
operates the optical disk device 22 and the two-dimensional scanning device @20. Then, the two-dimensional scanning device 20 two-dimensionally scans the set image information such as sentence a and photoelectrically converts it. This photoelectrically converted line information is stored in the page buffer 14.
are stored sequentially. When one page of image information is stored in the page buffer 14, the image information is stored in the display interface 17 and displayed on the CRT display device [24]. By the way, if the image displayed on the CRT display surface 24 is satisfactory, a memory key (not shown) is pressed. Then, the CPU 12 performs band compression on one unit of image information stored in the page buffer 114 using the well-known MH (Modifier-Hoffman) conversion for each line of information in the compression/expansion circuit 15, and converts the compressed line information into The data is supplied to the optical disk device 22.

Thereby, the optical disk device 22 stores the supplied image information on the optical disk 19 at a position corresponding to the address read from the storage areas a and b in the system area 28a.

When storage of this image information is completed, the CPU 12 stores storage addresses such as the first track address, the first sector address, and the image length expressed by the number of sectors where the image information is stored in the main memory 13 in correspondence with the search code. Next, the CPU 12 supplies the search data, that is, the search code and storage address stored in the main memory 13, and the storage address of the next image information according to the image length to the magnetic disk device 127. As a result, the magnetic disk i device 27 transfers the supplied search data to the magnetic disk 2.
The image information is stored in the search data area 28b in 8, and the storage address of the attached image information is updated. That is, the search code is stored in the artist name field d, the image storage start track address is stored in the track address field e, the image storage start sector address is stored in the sector address field f, and the image storage sector address is stored in the image length field Q. The number (image length) is stored, and the track address and sector address on the optical disk 19 where the next image information is stored, that is, the contents of storage areas a and b, are updated according to the image length, and the next image information is stored. The address in the search data area 28b where the search data for the image information of is stored, that is, the contents of the storage area C, is updated.

Next, the CPU 12 transmits the registration request signal and the search code to the communication control device 29, the communication line 2, and the communication control device 34.
It is transmitted to the control I device 31 via.

Thereby, the control device 31 reads the address where the next search data is stored from the system area 33a of the magnetic disk 33, and transmits the supplied search code and registration request signal to the search data area 33b according to this address. The name of the image information storage and retrieval device that was used is stored.

Note that each image information storage and retrieval device 11a in the above registration
, 1b, 1C in each area of the magnetic disk 28,
The initial storage state is as shown in FIG. 18, and the initial storage state in each area of the magnetic disk drive 33 in the central management device 3 is as shown in FIG. Furthermore, in each area of the magnetic disk 28 of each of the image information storage and retrieval devices 1a, 1b, and 1c in the above registration, the storage state with respect to the registration process is shown in FIGS. 20 and 2.
The storage status for the registration process in each area of the magnetic disk drive 33 in the central management device 3 is as shown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 23. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 22, the image information storage and retrieval device 1a has a search code rAOOI.
Two image information for “J, rA002” are stored,
The image information storage and retrieval device 1b has a retrieval code rBOO1J.
One image information for the search code rcOO1J is stored in the image information storage and retrieval device 1C, and as shown in FIG. 23, the central management device 3 stores the search code rco.

1J, rAOOlJ, rAOO2J, rBOOIJ
and the name of the image information storage and retrieval device (D
Fl, DF2, DF3) are stored.

On the other hand, a search for image information registered as described above will be explained. First, the search mode is set using the keyboard 23 and a search code is entered. Then, the CPU 12 sequentially compares and collates the search code with the search codes stored on the magnetic disk 28, and sequentially checks whether the search code matches the input search code. For matching search codes, the image storage start track address is read from the track address field e corresponding to the image name field d of the search code, and the image storage start sector address is read from the sector address field f.

Then, the CPLJ 12 causes the optical disk device 22 to reproduce the track on the optical disk 19 corresponding to that address. Then, the CPL 112 receives image information (compressed information) for each scanning line supplied from the optical disk device 22.
is supplied to the compression/expansion circuit 15, where the band is expanded by inverse MH conversion, and the original image information is sequentially supplied to the page buffer F14. In this way, when all the image information for one reproduced page is stored in the page buffer 14, the CPLJ 12 uses the display interface 17 to transfer the image information to the CRT.
The image information is displayed on a display device 24 or a hard copy 26 of the image information is issued by a recording device 25.

Further, if there is no horizontal branch code on the magnetic disk 28 that matches the input search code, the CPU 12 centrally manages the inquiry search data consisting of the search request signal and the search code via the communication control device 29 and the communication line 2. It is transmitted to the control device 31 in the device 3. As a result, the control device 31
sequentially compares and collates the search code of the inquiry with the search code stored in the search data area 33b of the magnetic disk 33, and sequentially checks whether the search code matches the search code of the inquiry. For the matching search code, the control unit 31 reads the image information storage and retrieval device name (OF name) corresponding to the search code, and transmits this read/deleted DF name to the communication control unit 34, the communication line 2, and the communication control unit 31. It is transmitted to the CPU 12 via the device 29. Further, if there is no matching search code, the control device 31 transmits a corresponding image no signal to the CPU 12 via the communication control device 34, the communication line 2, and the communication control device 29.

In response to such a transmission, if the central control device 3 transmits a corresponding image-less signal via the communication line 2, the CPL
J12 displays on the CRT display device 24 that the image information corresponding to the entered search code is not stored in each image information storage and retrieval device to notify the operator or user. In addition, in response to the transmission of the above inquiry search data, if an image presence signal and its image information (compressed information) are transmitted from another image information storage and retrieval device via the communication line 2, the CPL1
12 stores the image information in the -H page buffer 14. Then, the CPU 12 supplies the image information (compressed information) for each scanning line stored in the page buffer 14 to the compression/expansion circuit 15, performs band expansion by MH inverse conversion, and sequentially supplies the original image information to the page buffer 14. do. In this way, when all the image information for one reproduced page is stored in the page buffer 14, the CPU 12 displays the image information on the CRT display device 24 using the display interface 17, or displays it on the recording device 25. A hard copy 26 of the image information is issued.

Further, when query search data consisting of an image search request signal and a search code is supplied to the CPU 12 from another image information storage and search device via the communication line 2 and the communication control unit [29], the CPU 12 performs an online search. That is, the CPU 12 reads the supplied search data and the magnetic disk 2.
The search code stored in the search code 8 is sequentially compared and checked to see if the search code matches the input search code. For matching search codes, the image storage start track address is read from the track address field e corresponding to the image name field d of the search code, and the image storage start sector address is read from the sector address field f. And CPU1
2 causes the optical disk device 22 to reproduce the track on the optical disk 19 corresponding to the address. Then, C
The PU 12 stores image information (compressed information) for each scanning line supplied from the optical disk device 22 into a page buffer 114.
sequentially supplied to In this way, when all the image information for one reproduced page is stored in the page buffer 14, the CPU 1
2 transmits the image presence signal and its image information (compressed information) via the communication control device 29 and the communication line 2 to the image information storage and retrieval device that made the inquiry. In addition, if there is no search code that matches the search data supplied above, the CPU
12 transmits the no-image signal to the image information storage and retrieval device that made the inquiry via the communication control device 29 and the communication line 2.

For example, when the operator of the image information storage and retrieval device lb inputs rBOOIJ as a search code, since the corresponding image is stored in the search data area 28b of the magnetic disk 28, each field e, f, Based on these values, the CPU 12 reads image information from the optical disc 19 and displays or hard copies it.

Further, when the operator of the image information storage and retrieval device 1b inputs rcOOIJ as a search code, since the corresponding image is not stored in the search data area 28b of the magnetic disk 28, the CPU 1 of the image information storage and retrieval device 1b
2 transmits inquiry search data consisting of a search request signal and a search code to the control device 131 in the central management device 3 via the communication control device 29 and the communication line 2 . Then, when the search request signal is transmitted, the control device 31 determines whether or not there is a search code that matches the search data area 33b of the magnetic disk 33 based on the search codes that are subsequently supplied. Check whether

In this case, the magnetic disk 33 of the central management device 3 has an rc
Since the search code OOIJ exists, the control device 31
is the DF name (DF3 indicating the image information storage and retrieval device 1C)
) is sent (reply) to the CPU 12 of the image information storage and retrieval device 1b. As a result, the image information storage and retrieval device 1
The CPU 12 of b transmits inquiry search data consisting of an image search request signal and a search code to the image information storage and search device 1C via the communication control device 29 and the communication line 2 using the DF name. As a result, when the image information storage and retrieval device 1C receives an image search request signal, the CPU 12 of the image information storage and retrieval device 1C performs the same operation as a single search based on the search code that is subsequently supplied. in,
It is checked whether there is a search code that matches the search data area 28b of the magnetic disk 28.

In this case, the magnetic disk 2 of the image information storage and retrieval device 1C
Since the search code rcOOIJ exists in 8, the CPU 12 of the image information storage and retrieval device 1c transmits (replies to) the corresponding image to the CPU 12 of the image information storage and retrieval device 1b. The CPU 12 of the image information storage and retrieval device 1b that receives the response of the corresponding image displays or hard copies the supplied image information.

As described above, the image information stored in a distributed manner in multiple image information storage and retrieval devices is managed by a central management device, a search code is queried from this central management device, and the search code is determined based on the response corresponding to this inquiry. This allows desired image information to be automatically retrieved from other image information storage and retrieval devices in which image information is stored without human intervention.

In the above embodiment, when there is no corresponding image in the self-portrait information storage and retrieval device, the central management device automatically searches for the corresponding image, but this is not limited to this. In this case, the operator may be asked to instruct the central management device whether or not to search for the corresponding image.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, desired image information can be retrieved from among image information distributed and stored in a plurality of image information storage and retrieval devices without human intervention. It is possible to provide an image information storage and retrieval device collection system that allows searching from image information storage and retrieval devices.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image information storage and retrieval device aggregation system, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image information storage and retrieval device, and FIG. The figure is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of a magnetic disk in an image information storage and retrieval device, FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a storage example of a system area in an image information storage and retrieval device, and FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of the storage of a system area in an image information storage and retrieval device. FIG. 6 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the central management device; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the magnetic disk in the central management device. 8 is a diagram for explaining a storage example of the system area in the central management device, FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a storage example of the search data area in the central management device, and FIGS. 10 to 17 18, 20, and 22 are flowcharts for explaining the operation, and FIGS. FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining the storage state of each area on the magnetic disk of the central management device. 1a, 1b, 1C... Image information storage and retrieval device, 2...
・Communication line, 3...central control device, 11 main control device,
12...CPU, 19...Optical disk, 28...
Magnetic disk, 28a... system area, 28b...
...Search data area, 29...Communication control device, a,
b, c... memory area, d... artist name field,
e...Track address field, f...Sector address field, Q...Image length field, 31
...Control device, 33...Magnetic disk, 33a...
・System area, 33b...Search data area, 3
4...Communication control device. Applicant's Representative Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 9 Figure 3b Figure 14 Figure 15

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an image information storage and retrieval device collection system consisting of a plurality of image information storage and retrieval devices that store or retrieve image information, there is a centralized management system in which search data of each of the image information storage and retrieval devices and each image information storage and retrieval device is stored. When the image information storage and retrieval device is connected to the device via a line and the desired image information does not exist in the searched image information storage/retrieval device when image information is searched, the desired image information is stored in the central management device via the line. 1. An image information storage and retrieval device aggregation system comprising a search means for making an inquiry about image information storage and retrieval devices and searching for image information from the image information storage and retrieval devices corresponding to the inquiry.