JP2001177721A - Image processing device, image processing method and computer-readable recording medium recorded with program to allow computer to execute the method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing device that can process an image in a shorter time without revising the hardware of the image processor and deteriorating the image quality. SOLUTION: The image processing device is provided with an image processor 204 and an image data control section 203 independently of the image processor 204. Then an operating panel 234 enters a program to at least either or them to share image processing with the image processor 204 and the image data control section 203 in accordance with contents of the image processing.

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 for processing image data which is a digital signal created based on an image, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus configured as an MFP having a plurality of image processing functions. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been a composite type image processing apparatus called an MFP having a plurality of image processing functions such as copying, facsimile, printer, and scanner. For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 8-274986 discloses a configuration of such an image processing apparatus. In a composite image processing apparatus, each function is configured as an independent unit, and among these units, for example, reading (scanner) and writing (printer)
Can be operated in parallel.

For this reason, the composite image processing apparatus is provided with an image data control unit which is independent of each unit and collectively manages the transfer of image data to each unit. Further, the composite type image processing apparatus is provided with a memory for buffering a difference in operation time of each unit.

In an image processing apparatus, naturally, it is desirable that the quality (image quality) of an image finally output is high. However, in order to enhance the quality of the output image, it is necessary to perform complicated processing on the image data. Complicated processing on image data takes longer than simpler processing. The prolonged processing time of the image processing apparatus may cause a decrease in operability of the image processing apparatus.

[0005] The processing time in the image processing apparatus is affected by the transfer time for transferring image data from the image processing unit provided in each unit to the speed buffer memory, and the transfer time is determined based on the image data. It is known that the time occupied by the image processing to be formed accounts for the largest proportion. In order to perform complicated image processing for obtaining a high-quality image at a sufficiently high speed, there is a method of increasing the size of the hardware of the image processing apparatus and improving the performance of the image processing apparatus.

[0006]

However, an increase in the size of the hardware results in an increase in the size and cost of the image processing apparatus, which is not desirable from the viewpoint of the usability of the image processing apparatus. For this reason, it is desired to use the resources provided in the current image processing apparatus to the maximum extent and process the image data more efficiently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, without changing the hardware of the image processing apparatus, without deteriorating the image quality, and by performing image processing in a shorter time. The present invention relates to a processing device, an image processing method, and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the method.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems To solve the above-mentioned problems,
In order to achieve the above object, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention, comprising: an image processing unit configured to perform processing so that image data that is a digital signal created based on an image can be output as a visualized image; A bus that transmits image data and an image data bus management unit that collectively manages an interface between the image data and the image data bus management unit, wherein the image processing unit and the image data bus management unit Program input means for inputting a program to at least one of the following, and, in accordance with the program input by the program input means, sharing the image processing between the image processing means and the image data bus management means according to the content of the image processing. Image processing sharing means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, by inputting (installing) a program from the outside, the image processing means and the image data bus management means can share the image processing. For this reason, the image processing originally performed by the image processing unit can be distributed to the image data bus management unit as needed, and the resources of the image processing apparatus can be effectively used.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to the second aspect, the image data bus management unit-side image processing unit that performs image processing in the image data bus management unit includes an image processing unit that performs image processing by the image processing unit. Is characterized in that it is capable of executing image processing of a different system.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, different image processing can be executed by the image data bus management means and the image processing means which execute image processing in the image data bus management means. Therefore, the image processing can be shared (distributed) to a configuration that can execute any suitable image processing according to the type and nature of the image processing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus, the image processing sharing unit causes the image data bus management unit to share image processing that cannot be executed due to lack of resources in the image processing unit. And

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the resources of the image processing means are insufficient to execute the image processing, the image data bus management means executes the image processing by using the resources of the image processing. be able to. Therefore, image processing can be executed by effectively utilizing resources provided in the image processing apparatus.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus, the image processing sharing unit minimizes an amount of image data transmitted and received between the image processing unit and the image data bus management unit. The image processing means and the image data bus management means share image processing on the condition that

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the time required for image data transfer between the image processing means and the image data bus management means is reduced, and the overall processing time in the image processing apparatus is reduced. can do.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing method for processing image data, which is a digital signal created based on an image, so that the image data can be output as a visualized image. An image processing method for performing image processing in an image processing apparatus having a bus that transmits image data and an image data bus management unit that collectively manages an interface of the image data, the image processing method comprising: An image processing sharing step of sharing the image processing between the image processing means and the image data bus management means according to the content of the processing is provided.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the image processing means and the image data bus management means can share the image processing according to the contents of the image processing. For this reason, the image processing originally performed by the image processing means is distributed to the image data bus management means as needed,
Resources of the image processing apparatus can be effectively used.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing method, the image processing sharing step causes the image data bus management unit to share image processing that cannot be executed by the image processing unit due to lack of resources. And

According to the present invention, when the resources of the image processing means are insufficient for executing the image processing, the image data bus management means executes the image processing using the resources of the image processing. can do. Therefore, image processing can be executed by effectively utilizing resources provided in the image processing apparatus.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image processing method, the image processing sharing step minimizes an amount of image data transmitted and received between the image processing means and the image data bus management means. The image processing means and the image data bus management means share image processing on the condition that

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the time required for transmitting and receiving image data between the image processing means and the image data bus managing means is reduced, and the overall processing time in the image processing apparatus is reduced. can do.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, so that the program is machine-readable. Accordingly, the operations of claims 5 to 7 can be realized by a computer.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the method will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Will be described in detail.

First, the principle of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram functionally showing the configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus has a configuration including the following five units.

The five units include an image data control unit 100, an image reading unit 101 for reading image data, and an image memory control unit 102 for controlling an image memory for storing images and writing / reading image data. And an image processing unit 103 that performs image processing such as processing and editing on the image data, and an image writing unit 104 that writes the image data on transfer paper or the like.

The above-mentioned units are mainly composed of an image data control unit 100, an image reading unit 101, an image memory control unit 102, and an image processing unit 103.
And the image writing unit 104 are connected to the image data control unit 100, respectively.

(Image Data Control Unit 100) The processing performed by the image data control unit 100 is as follows.

(1) Data compression processing (primary compression) to improve data bus transfer efficiency, (2) transfer processing of primary compressed data to image data, (3) image synthesis processing (images from a plurality of units) It is possible to combine data, including combining on the data bus.),
(4) Image shift processing (shifting of the image in the main scanning and sub-scanning directions), (5) Image area expansion processing (the image area can be enlarged by an arbitrary amount to the periphery), (6) Image scaling processing ( For example, 50% or 200% fixed magnification),
(7) parallel bus interface processing, (8) serial bus interface processing (interface with a process controller 211 described later),
(9) Format conversion processing between parallel data and serial data, (10) interface processing with the image reading unit 101, (11) interface processing with the image processing unit 103, and the like.

However, as will be described in detail later, the image data control unit 100 of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment
In addition to the above processing, at least a part of the same processing as the processing performed by the image processing unit 103 can be executed.

(Image Reading Unit 101) The processing performed by the general image reading unit 101 is as follows.
There are the following.

(1) Reading processing of reflected light of an original by an optical system, (2) CCD (Charge Coupled)
Device: charge-coupled device), (3) digitization by A / D converter, (4)
A shading correction process (a process for correcting illuminance distribution unevenness of a light source); and (5) a scanner γ correction process (a process for correcting a density characteristic of a reading system).

(Image Memory Control Unit 102) The processing performed by the image memory control unit 102 is as follows.

(1) interface control processing with a system controller, (2) parallel bus control processing (interface control processing with a parallel bus),
(3) Network control processing, (4) Serial bus control processing (control processing of a plurality of external serial ports), (5)
Internal bus interface control processing (command control processing with the operation unit), (6) local bus control processing (ROM, RAM for activating the system controller,
Font data access control processing), (7) memory module operation control processing (memory module write / read control processing, etc.), and (8) memory module access control processing (memory from multiple units). Process for mediating access requests),
(9) Data compression / expansion processing (processing to reduce the amount of data for effective use of memory), (10) Image editing processing (data clearing of memory area, rotation processing of image data, image on memory) Synthesis processing).

The image memory control unit 102 according to the present embodiment has an image processing unit for performing at least a part of the processing performed by the image processing unit 103 described below, in addition to the configuration for performing the processing described above. It has a part. Then, the image memory control unit 1
02 and the image processing unit 103 share image processing according to the image data to be processed.

(Image processing unit 103) The processing performed by the image processing unit 103 is as follows.

(1) Shading correction processing (processing for correcting unevenness in illuminance distribution of the light source), (2) scanner γ correction processing (processing for correcting the density characteristics of the reading system), (3)
MTF correction processing, (4) smoothing processing, (5) arbitrary scaling processing in the main scanning direction, (6) density conversion (γ conversion processing: corresponding to density notch), (7) simple multi-value processing, (8) Simple binarization processing, (9) error diffusion processing, (10) dither processing, (1
1) dot arrangement phase control processing (rightward dot, leftward dot), (12) isolated point removal processing, (13) image area separation processing (color determination, attribute determination, adaptive processing), (14) density conversion processing, etc. is there.

(Image Writing Unit 104) The processing performed by the image writing unit 104 includes the following.

(1) edge smoothing processing (jaggy correction processing), (2) correction processing for dot rearrangement, (3) pulse control processing of image signals, (4) format conversion processing of parallel data and serial data, And so on.

(Hardware Configuration of Digital MFP)
Next, a hardware configuration when the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment forms a digital multifunction peripheral will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

In the block diagram of FIG. 2, the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a reading unit 201, a sensor board unit 202, and an image data control unit 2.
03, an image processor 204, a video data control unit 205, and an imaging unit (engine) 206. The image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a process controller 211, a RAM 212, and a ROM 213 via a serial bus 210.

The image processing apparatus according to this embodiment includes an image memory access control unit 221 and a facsimile control unit 224 via a parallel bus 220, and further includes an image memory access control unit 221.
Module 222, a system controller 231, a RAM 232, and a ROM 2
33 and an operation panel 234.

Here, the relationship between each of the above components and each of the units 100 to 104 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. That is, the reading unit 201 and the sensor board
The function of the image reading unit 101 shown in FIG. 1 is realized by the unit 202. Similarly, the function of the image data control unit 100 is realized by the image data control unit 203. Similarly, the image processor 204
Realizes the function of the image processing unit 103.

Similarly, the video data control unit 205
The image writing unit 104 is realized by the image forming unit (engine) 206. Similarly, the image memory access control unit 221 and the memory module 2
The image memory control unit 102 is realized by 22.

In the above configuration, the image data control unit 2
Reference numeral 03 denotes a configuration for performing processing so that image data, which is a digital signal created based on an image, can be output as a visualized image. Further, the image processor 204 is provided independently of the image data control unit 203, and is configured to collectively manage an interface between the image data transmitting bus and the image data.

In this embodiment, for example, the ROM 233
A program (image processing sharing program) that is installed (dynamically) as needed is stored. The image processing sharing program is installed in at least one of the image processor 204 and the image data control unit 203 in accordance with an instruction input from the operation panel 234. In this embodiment, the image processing sharing program is installed in the image processing processor 204.

The image processing processor 204 in which the image processing sharing program is installed has an image processing unit provided in the image processing processor 204 and an image processing unit provided in the image data control unit 203 according to the content of the image processing according to the image processing sharing program. Division.

Hereinafter, the configuration shown in FIG. 2 will be described. The operation panel 234 inputs a process to be performed by the image processing apparatus. For example, the type of process (copying, facsimile transmission, image reading, printing, etc.), the number of processes, and the like are input. Further, in the image processing apparatus of the present embodiment, at this time, the operator can operate the operation panel 234 to read out the image processing sharing program from the ROM 233 and install it in the image processing processor 204.

At this time, if a button such as "high-speed processing mode" is provided as an operation switch for instructing the installation of the image processing sharing program provided on the operation panel 234, the operator particularly has knowledge of the image processing sharing. Even if not, the image processing processor 204 and the image data control unit 203 can share the image processing.

The light-receiving element,
For example, a CCD mounted on the sensor board unit 202 reads an image and converts information related to the image into an electric signal. The information converted into an electric signal in the CCD is converted into a digital signal as image data and then output (transmitted) from the sensor board unit 202.

The image data output (transmitted) from the sensor board unit 202 is transmitted to an image data control unit 203.
Is input (received). Functional device (processing unit)
The transmission of image data between the data buses is controlled entirely by the image data control unit 203.

The image data control section 203 transfers data between the sensor board unit 202, the parallel bus 220, and the image processing processor 204 and controls the process controller 21 for the image data.
1 and a system controller 231 that controls the entire image processing apparatus. RAM2
Reference numeral 12 is used as a work area of the process controller 211, and the ROM 213 stores a boot program and the like of the process controller 211.

The image data output (transmitted) from the sensor board unit 202 is transmitted to an image data control unit 203.
(Transmit) to the image processor 204 via
Is done. The signal deterioration due to the quantization into the optical system and the digital signal (referred to as the signal deterioration of the scanner system) is corrected and output (transmitted) to the image data control unit 203 again.

When the image processing sharing program is installed, the image processing processor 204 shares part of the image processing to the image data control unit 203 according to the image processing sharing program. Then, for this purpose, a part of the image data to be subjected to the image processing is transferred to the image data control unit 203. The transferred image data is subjected to image processing in the image data control unit 203 and output to the video data control unit 205 or output to the image processing processor 204 again. Note that such a configuration and operation will be described later in detail.

The image memory access control unit 221 comprises:
It controls writing / reading of image data to / from the memory module 222. In addition, the parallel bus 220
Controls the operation of each component connected to. Also, RAM
232 is used as a work area of the system controller 231, and the ROM 233 stores a boot program and the like of the system controller 231. The contents of the facsimile control unit 224 will be described later.

The jobs to be executed using the read image data include a job stored in the memory module 222 for reuse and a job not stored in the memory module 222. Each case will be described. As an example of storing the data in the memory module 222, when a plurality of sheets are copied for one document, the reading unit 201 is operated only once and the reading unit 20 is operated.
1 stores the image data read in step 1 in the memory module 222, and reads out the stored image data a plurality of times.

As an example in which the memory module 222 is not used, when only one document is copied, the read image data may be reproduced as it is. Therefore, the memory module 222 by the image memory access control unit 221 is used. You do not need to access to.

First, when the memory module 222 is not used, the data transferred from the image processor 204 to the image data controller 203 is returned from the image data controller 203 to the image processor 204 again. The image processor 204 performs image quality processing for converting luminance data by the CCD in the sensor board unit 202 into area gradation.

The image data after the image quality processing is transferred from the image processing processor 204 to the video data control unit 205. The post-processing relating to the dot arrangement and the pulse control for reproducing the dots are performed on the signal changed to the area gradation, and then the reproduced image is formed on the transfer paper in the image forming unit 206.

Next, a description will be given of the flow of image data in the case where additional processing such as rotation in the image direction and synthesis of images are performed when reading out the image stored in the memory module 222. Image processing processor 204
Are transferred from the image data control unit 203 to the image memory / access control unit 221 via the parallel bus 220.

Here, the system controller 23
1, control of access to image data and the memory module 222, expansion of print data of the external PC (personal computer) 223, and compression / expansion of image data for effective use of the memory module 222. .

The image data sent to the image memory access control unit 221 is stored in the memory module 222 after data compression, and the stored image data is read as needed. The read image data is decompressed, restored to the original image data, and returned from the image memory access control unit 221 to the image data control unit 203 via the parallel bus 220.

After the image data is transferred from the image data control unit 203 to the image processor 204, image quality processing and video / video processing are performed.
The data control unit 205 performs pulse control, and the image forming unit 206 forms a reproduced image on transfer paper.

In the flow of image data, the function of the digital multi-function peripheral is realized by the bus control by the parallel bus 220 and the image data control unit 203. At the time of facsimile transmission, image processing is performed on the image data read by the image processor 204, and the image data
3 and to the facsimile control unit 224 via the parallel bus 220. Further, facsimile control unit 224 performs data conversion to a communication network, and transmits the data to public line (PN) 225 as facsimile data.

On the other hand, the received facsimile data is
Line data from the public line (PN) 225 is converted into image data by the facsimile control unit 224 and transferred to the image processor 204 via the parallel bus 220 and the image data control unit 203. In this case, no special image quality processing is performed, the dot rearrangement and the pulse control are performed in the video data control unit 205, and the reproduced image is formed on the transfer paper in the image forming unit 206.

In a situation where a plurality of jobs, for example, a copy function, a facsimile transmission / reception function, and a printer output function operate in parallel, the system controller assigns the right to use the reading unit 201, the imaging unit 206, and the parallel bus 220 to the job. 231 and the process controller 211.

The process controller 211 controls the flow of image data, and the system controller 231
Controls the entire system, and each resource as hardware or software (for performing a certain process,
Manage the startup of hardware and software to be secured. In addition, function selection of the digital multi-function peripheral is selected and input on the operation panel (operation unit) 234, and a copy function,
Set processing contents such as facsimile function.

The system controller 231 and the process controller 211 communicate with each other via the parallel bus 220, the image data control unit 203, and the serial bus 210. Specifically, communication between the system controller 231 and the process controller 211 is performed by performing data format conversion for the data interface between the parallel bus 220 and the serial bus 210 in the image data control unit 203.

Next, the contents of each of the components will be described. This description will be made in the following order. Hardware configuration of single printer Configuration of image memory access control unit 221 Configuration of facsimile control unit 224 Configuration of video data control unit 205 Configuration of image processing processor 204 Configuration of image data control unit 203

(Hardware Configuration of Single Printer)
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating another example of the hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the block diagram of the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 2, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 3 shows the hardware system configuration.
2 differs from the digital multifunction peripheral shown in FIG. 2 in that the reading unit 201 is not provided. Since it is not necessary to read an image, neither the sensor board unit 202 nor the image processor 204 is mounted. Further, since the image data is directly connected from the parallel bus 220 to the video data control unit 205, the image data control unit 203 can be omitted.

Image data (code data) to be printed out from the PC 223 is input from the image memory access control unit 221. Under the control of the system controller 231, the image memory access control unit 221 expands the code data into image data. The expansion destination memory uses the memory module 222.

Next, image data is read from the memory module 222 and transferred to the video data control unit 205 via the parallel bus 220. The video data control unit 205 performs dot rearrangement and pulse control, and the image forming unit 206 forms a reproduced image on transfer paper.

The development of image data by the system controller 231 and the output of image data by the process controller 211 are performed. System controller 231 and process controller 211
The format conversion between the parallel data and the serial data between them may be performed in the video data control unit 205.

(Image memory access control unit 221)
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an outline of the processing of the image memory access control unit 221 of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. Image memory access control unit 2
Reference numeral 21 denotes a configuration constituting a part of the image memory control unit 102.

In the block diagram of FIG. 4, an image memory access control unit 221 manages an interface of image data with the parallel bus 220, and accesses image data to the memory module 222, that is, stores (writes). / Readout control, and mainly controls the expansion of code data input from the external PC 223 into image data.

For this purpose, the image memory access control unit 221 has a parallel data interface (hereinafter, referred to as a parallel data interface).
I / F) 401 and the system controller I
/ F 402, a memory access control unit 403, a line buffer 404, a video control unit 405, a data compression unit 406, a data decompression unit 407, and a data conversion unit 408.

Here, the parallel data I / F 401 is
The interface of the image data with the parallel bus 220 is managed. Also, the memory access control unit 403
Controls access of image data to the memory module 222, that is, storage (writing) / reading.

The input code data is stored in the local area in the line buffer 404. The code data stored in the line buffer 404 is transmitted to the system controller I / F 40
2 entered through the system controller 231
The video control unit 405 develops the image data based on the development processing command from the CPU.

The expanded image data or the image data input from the parallel bus 220 via the parallel data I / F 401 is stored in the memory module 222. In this case, the image data to be stored is selected by the data conversion unit 408, the data compression is performed by the data compression unit 406 to increase the memory use efficiency, and the address of the memory module 222 is changed by the memory access control unit 403. The image data is stored (written) in the memory module 222 while being managed.

The reading of the image data stored (stored) in the memory module 222 is performed by controlling the read destination address in the memory access control unit 403.
The read image data is expanded by the data expansion unit 407. The decompressed image data is transferred to the parallel bus 220
When the data is transferred to the host, the data is transferred via the parallel data I / F 401.

(Facsimile control unit 224) Next, the functional configuration of the facsimile control unit 224 will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the facsimile control unit 224 of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

In the block diagram of FIG. 5, the facsimile control unit 224 comprises a facsimile transmission / reception section 500 and an external I / F 501. Here, the facsimile transmission / reception unit 500 converts the image data into a communication format and transmits it to an external line, and converts external data into image data to convert the data into an external I / F 501 and a parallel bus 22.
0, the recording is output in the image forming unit.

Facsimile (FAX) transmitting / receiving section 500
Has a configuration including a facsimile (FAX) image processing unit 502, an image memory 503, a memory control unit 504, a facsimile control unit 505, an image compression / decompression unit 507, a modem 506, and a network control device 508.

Of these, regarding facsimile image processing,
The binary smoothing process on the received image is performed in an edge smoothing processing unit 601 in the video data control unit 205 shown in FIG. The image memory 50
As for the third buffer, part of the function of the output buffer function is transferred to the image memory access control unit 221 and the memory module 222.

In the facsimile transmission / reception section 500 configured as described above, when starting transmission of image data, the facsimile control section 505 instructs the memory control section 504 to sequentially read the stored image data from the image memory 503. Let out. The read image data is restored to the original signal by the facsimile image processing unit 502, is subjected to density conversion processing and scaling processing, and is applied to the facsimile control unit 505.

The image data added to the facsimile control unit 505 is code-compressed by the image compression / decompression unit 507 and modulated by the modem 506.
08 to the destination. Then, the image information whose transmission has been completed is deleted from the image memory 503.

At the time of reception, the received image is temporarily stored in the image memory 503, and if the received image can be recorded and output at that time, it is recorded and output when the reception of one image is completed. When a call is made during the copying operation and reception starts, the image memory 503 is stored in the image memory 503 until the usage rate reaches a predetermined value, for example, 80%, and the usage rate of the image memory 503 is reduced to 80%. If it has reached, the writing operation being executed at that time is forcibly interrupted, and the received image is read from the image memory 503 and recorded and output.

At this time, the received image read from the image memory 503 is deleted from the image memory 503, and the writing operation which has been interrupted when the usage rate of the image memory 503 decreases to a predetermined value, for example, 10%, is resumed. When all the writing operations are completed, the remaining received images are recorded and output. Further, after the write operation is interrupted, various parameters for the write operation at the time of the interruption are internally saved so that the write operation can be resumed, and the parameters are internally restored when the write operation is restarted.

(Configuration of Video Data Control Unit 205)
Next, an outline of the processing in the video data control unit 205 which forms a part of the image writing unit 104 will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of processing of the video data control unit 205 of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

In the block diagram of FIG. 6, the video data control unit 205 performs additional processing on the input image data in accordance with the characteristics of the image forming unit 206. That is, the edge smoothing processing unit 601 performs the dot rearrangement processing by the edge smoothing processing, the pulse control unit 602 performs the pulse control of the image signal for dot formation, and forms the image data on which the above processing has been performed. Output to the unit 206.

The video data control unit 205 has a format conversion function for parallel data and serial data separately from the image data conversion.
05 alone can support communication between the system controller 231 and the process controller 211. That is, a parallel data I / F 603 for transmitting and receiving parallel data, a serial data I / F 604 for transmitting and receiving serial data, and a parallel data I / F 60
3 and a data converter 605 for mutually converting data received by the serial data I / F 604, thereby converting the formats of both data.

(Configuration of Image Processor 204)
Next, an outline of processing in the image processing processor 204 configuring the image processing unit 103 will be described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of a process of the image processor 204 of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

In the block diagram of FIG. 7, the image processing processor 204 includes a first input I / F 701, a scanner image processing unit 702, a first output I / F 703, and a second output I / F 703.
An input I / F 704, an image quality processing unit 705, and a second output I / F
/ F 706 and a command control unit 707.

In the above configuration, the read image data is sent to the first processor of the image processor 204 via the sensor board unit 202 and the image data controller 203.
The data is transmitted from the input I / F 701 to the scanner image processing unit 702.

The scanner image processing section 702 has the purpose of correcting the deterioration of the read image data. Specifically, the scanner image processing section 702 has shading correction, scanner γ correction, MTF
Make corrections, etc. Although not a correction process, a scaling process for enlargement / reduction can also be performed. When the correction processing of the read image data is completed, the image data is transferred to the image data control unit 203 via the first output I / F 703.

When outputting to transfer paper, image data from the image data control unit 203 is received from the second input I / F 704, and the image quality processing unit 705 performs area gradation processing. The image data after the image quality processing is output to the video data control unit 205 or the image data control unit 203 via the second output I / F 706.

The area gradation processing in the image quality processing unit 705 includes density conversion processing, dither processing, error diffusion processing and the like, and the main processing is area approximation of gradation information. Once,
If the image data processed by the scanner image processing unit 702 is stored in the memory module 222, various reproduced images can be confirmed by changing the image quality processing by the image quality processing unit 705.

For example, by changing (changing) the density of the reproduced image or changing the number of lines of the dither matrix, the atmosphere of the reproduced image can be easily changed. At this time, it is not necessary to read the image again from the reading unit 201 every time the processing is changed, and by reading the stored image data from the memory module 222, the same image data can be read.
Different processes can be quickly performed many times.

Next, the configuration relating to the input / output of the image processor 204 will be described. FIG. 8 shows an image processor 204 of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration related to input / output of the device. In the block diagram of FIG. 8, the image processor 204
Multiple data input / output ports 8
01, and data input and output can be set arbitrarily.

Further, a bus switch / local memory (local memory group) 802 is provided internally so as to be connected to the input / output port 801, and a memory control unit 803 controls a memory area to be used and a data bus route. . The input data and the data for output are allocated to the local memory group 802 as a buffer memory, stored in each of them, and connected to an external I / F.
Control.

The processor array unit 804 performs various processes on the image data stored in the local memory group 802, and stores the output result (processed image data) in the local memory group 802 again.
Parameters indicating the processing procedure in the processor array unit 804 or used for the processing are exchanged between the program RAM 805 and the data RAM 806.

Program RAM 805, Data RAM 8
06 is transferred from the process controller 211 to the host buffer 807 through the serial I / F 808.
Downloaded to Note that the serial I / F 808
Is the same as the serial I / F 1008 in FIG. 10 described later. Also, process controller 2
11 reads the contents of the data RAM 806 and monitors the progress of the processing.

When the contents of the processing are changed or the processing form required by the system is changed, the contents of the program RAM 805 and the data RAM 806 to be referred to by the processor array unit 804 are updated.

In the present embodiment, the image processor 204 described above is provided as a SIMD (Single
le Instruction Multiple D
(ata stream) type processor. The SIMD executes a single instruction on a plurality of data in parallel, and is composed of a plurality of PEs (processor elements).

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the SIMD type processor. As shown, each PE included in the SIMD type processor has a register (Reg) 901 for storing data and a multiplexer (MUX) for accessing registers of other PEs.
902, barrel shifter (Shift Expand)
903, a logical operation unit (ALU) 904, an accumulator (A) 905 for storing a logical result, and a temporary register (F) 906 for temporarily saving the contents of the accumulator 905.

Each register 901 is connected to an address bus and a data bus (lead line and word line), and stores an instruction code for defining a process and data to be processed. The contents of the register 901 are stored in the logical operation unit 9
04, and the result of the arithmetic processing is stored in the accumulator 90.
5 is stored. The result is temporarily saved in the temporary register 906 in order to retrieve the result outside the PE.
By extracting the contents of the temporary register 906, a processing result for the target data is obtained.

The instruction code is given to each PE with the same contents, and the data to be processed is given in a different state for each PE.
The contents of the register 901 of the E
, The calculation result is processed in parallel and output to each accumulator 905.

For example, if the contents of one line of image data are arranged in the PE for each pixel and arithmetic processing is performed using the same instruction code, the processing result for one line can be processed in a shorter time than in the case of sequentially processing one pixel at a time. can get. In particular, the spatial filter processing and the shading correction processing can be performed in common for all PEs, with the instruction code for each PE being the operation expression itself.

(Configuration of Image Data Control Unit 203) Next, an outline of processing in the image data control unit 203 constituting the image data control unit 100 will be described.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of processing of the image data control unit 203 of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

In the block diagram of FIG. 10, an image data input / output control unit 1001 inputs (receives) image data from the sensor board unit 202 and outputs (transmits) image data to the image processor 204. I do. That is, the image data input / output control unit 1001 is a component for connecting the image reading unit 101 and the image processing unit 103 (image processing processor 204), and converts the image data read by the image reading unit 101 into the image processing unit 103. It can be said that it is a dedicated input / output unit only for transmitting to the user.

The image data input control unit 1002
The image data corrected by the scanner image by the image processor 204 is input (received). The input image data is subjected to data compression processing in the data compression unit 1003 in order to increase the transfer efficiency in the parallel bus 220. Thereafter, the data is passed through the data conversion unit 1004 and the parallel bus 22 via the parallel data I / F 1005.
Sent to 0.

The image data input from the parallel bus 220 via the parallel data I / F 1005 is compressed for bus transfer.
4 to a data decompression unit 1006, where data decompression processing is performed. The decompressed image data is transferred to the image processor 204 in the image data output control unit 1007.

The image data control section 203 has a function of converting between parallel data and serial data. The system controller 231 transfers data to the parallel bus 220, and the process controller 211 transfers data to the serial bus 210. The image data control unit 203 performs data conversion for communication between the two controllers.

A serial data I / F is a first serial data I / F 1008 for exchanging data with a process controller via a serial bus 210.
And a second serial data I / F 1009 used for exchanging data with the image processing processor 204.
The image data control unit 203 includes the image processor 20
4 has an independent data bus between
The interface with the image processor 204 can be facilitated.

The command control unit 1010 controls the operation of each component and each interface in the image data control unit 203 according to the input command.

Further, the image data control section 203 of the present embodiment is provided with an image processing section 1011. The image processing unit 1011 originally performs shading correction processing, scanner γ correction processing, and MTF correction processing that are performed by the scanner image processing unit 702 illustrated in FIG. 7 and smoothing processing that is performed by the image quality processing unit 705 And an image processing unit capable of executing density conversion, simple multi-value processing, simple binary processing, error diffusion processing, and dither processing.

The image processing unit 1011 that executes image processing in the image data control unit 203 has a configuration that can execute image processing of a method different from the image processing by the image processing processor 204. That is, in the present embodiment, the image processing processor 204 is configured as a SIMD-type processor, while the image processing unit 1011 is configured as a non-SIMD-type processor that sequentially performs image processing on each pixel.

Next, the sharing of the image processing performed between the image processor 204 and the image data control unit 203 will be described. FIG. 11, FIG. 12, and FIG.
It is a schematic diagram for explaining this image processing allotment. FIG.
In 1 to 13, the scanner image processing unit 702 and the image quality processing unit 705 of the image processing processor 204 are collectively referred to as an image processing unit 2040 for convenience. Further, the non-SIMD image processing unit 1 is compared with the SIMD image processing unit 2040.
011 is a simple image processing unit 1011.

As shown in FIG. 11, in the present embodiment, the image processor 204
The image data control unit 203 is provided with a simple image processing unit 1011 that is smaller than the image processing unit 2040. Then, the image processing unit 2040 is connected to the operation panel 23.
The control is performed according to the image processing sharing program installed according to the instruction from the control unit 4. Then, the image processing unit 2040 controls the simple image processing unit 1011 according to the image processing sharing program, and causes the simple image processing unit 1011 to execute a part of the image processing.

As described above, the image data processed by the scanner image processing unit 702 of the image processor 204 is output to the image data control unit 203 once. The image quality processing unit 705 inputs image data from the image data control unit 203 and processes the image data. Further, some image data processed by the image quality processing unit 705 is output to the video data control unit 205 via the image data control unit 203. That is, the image processor 204 and the image data control unit 203
Image processing is performed while mutually exchanging image data d.

In the present embodiment, the setting of the image processing sharing program includes the image processor 204,
The condition is that the data amount of the image data d exchanged between the image data control units 203 is minimized. That is, for example, when there is image processing in which the data amount of the input image data significantly increases after the processing, this image processing is performed on the image data control unit 203 side. The time required to exchange image data with the control unit 203 can be reduced, and the time required for the entire image processing can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, the image processing unit 20
40 is a relatively large SIMD type configuration, and the simple image processing unit 1011 is a smaller non-SIMD type configuration.
This allows image processing to be performed by the image processor 20.
4 and the image data control unit 203, it is possible to suppress an increase in the size of the image processing unit of the entire image processing apparatus.

Further, since the image processing unit 2040 and the simple image processing unit 1011 have different configurations, the image processing is distributed to the image processing unit 2040 and the simple image processing unit 1011 according to the nature of the image processing. Efficiency can also be improved.

That is, it is known that if a process of pattern-matching a peripheral pixel to a target pixel is performed by a SIMD-type processor, the number of processing steps increases, which is disadvantageous in cost and processing time. On the other hand, a non-SIMD type processor that performs sequential processing for each pixel is inferior in processing speed to a SIMD type processor when performing processing such as shading correction and gamma conversion. It has been found to be advantageous over types of processors.

In this embodiment, pattern matching,
According to the nature of image processing such as shading correction and γ correction, by allocating each image processing to an image processing unit that can perform each image processing more efficiently, it is possible to contribute to the efficiency of image processing in the image processing apparatus. .

Further, in this embodiment, the image processing sharing program is installed only in the image processing processor 204, and the image processing processor 204 controls the image data control unit 203 according to the image processing sharing program. . For this reason, in the present embodiment, control of image processing sharing can be executed relatively easily.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, the image processor 204 and the image data controller 203
, An image processing sharing program may be installed. According to such a configuration, the image processing processor 204 and the image data control unit 203 can simultaneously execute image processing.

In the present invention, an image processing unit 1301 similar to the image processing unit 2040 of the image processing processor 204 may be provided in the image data control unit 203 as shown in FIG.

Further, in the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the image data processor 203 may share image processing that cannot be executed due to lack of resources in the image processor 204. In this case, for example, the system controller 231 determines resources necessary for image processing, and if the resources exceed the resources of the image processing processor 204, automatically causes the image data control unit 203 to share the excess image processing. It may be.

Next, the image processing sharing processing in the image processing apparatus of the present embodiment described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This flowchart is based on the image processor 2 having the configuration shown in FIG.
This explains the processing performed in step S04.

According to the flowchart of FIG. 14, the image processing processor 204 determines whether or not an image processing sharing program has been installed in the command control unit 707 (step S1401). If the result of this determination is that the image processing sharing program has not been installed (No at Step S1401), the image data input from the first input I / F 701 is processed under the control of the command control unit 707 (Step S1409).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1401 that the image processing sharing program has been installed (Yes in step S1401), the image processing to be executed is determined based on the content of the image processing instructed on the operation panel. It is determined whether or not the processing by the image processing processor 204 is not appropriate (step S1).
402). As a result of this determination, if the corresponding processing is included in the image processing to be executed this time (step S140
2 Yes), the corresponding image processing is performed by the image data control unit 203.
Is set as a condition (sharing condition (1)) for determining image processing sharing (step S140).
3).

If it is determined in step S1402 that the image processing to be performed does not include processing that is not appropriate for the image processor 204 (No in step S1402), the image processing is executed before the current image processing is performed. It is determined whether the resources of the processing processor 204 are insufficient (step S1404). If the result of this determination is that the resources of the image processing processor 204 are insufficient (Yes at step S1404), it is determined whether there is image processing that can be shared by the image data control unit 203 (step S1405).

If the result of determination in step S1405 is that there is image processing that can be shared by the image data control unit 203 (Yes in step S1405),
The assignment of the corresponding image processing to the image data control unit 203 is set as a condition (assignment condition (2)) for determining the assignment of the image processing (step S1406).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1404 that the resources of the image processor 204 are not insufficient (No in step S1404), the processing in step S1407 is executed without setting the sharing condition (2). Also, when there is no image processing that can be shared by the image data control unit 203 (step S14).
05 No), the process of step S1407 is executed.

In the processing of step S1407, the image data is transferred between the image processor 204 and the image data control unit 203 together with the sharing condition (1) and the sharing condition (2) so as to minimize the amount of image data. The division of processing is adjusted (step S1407). After such adjustments,
Finally, image processing to be assigned to each of the image processing processor 204 and the image data control unit 203 is determined (step S1408). At this time, the image processor 204 controls the image data control unit 203 to execute the assigned image processing.

Then, the image data input from the first input I / F 701 is processed (step S1409) and transferred to the image data control unit 203 or the video data control unit 205 via the second output I / F 706 (step S1409). Step S1410).

In the image processing method described in the present embodiment, a program prepared in advance is stored in a personal computer.
It is realized by executing on a computer such as a computer and a workstation. This program is
Hardware disk, floppy disk, CD-R
The program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as OM, MO, and DVD, and is executed by being read from the recording medium by the computer. Further, this program can be distributed via the recording medium and as a transmission medium via a network such as the Internet.

As described above, according to the image processing apparatus and the image processing method of the present embodiment, the image processing originally performed by the image processor 204 is distributed to the image data control unit 203 as needed, and Resources of the entire processing apparatus can be effectively used. For this reason,
It is possible to process image data more efficiently by making full use of resources provided in the current image processing apparatus.

Further, the image processing processor 204 and the image data control section 203 can execute the image processing by the configuration suitable for the image processing in accordance with the type and nature of the image processing. Image data can be processed by efficiently using the available resources. Further, when the resources of the image processing processor 204 are insufficient for executing the image processing, the excess image processing is distributed to the image data control unit 203. For this reason, it is possible to execute image processing higher than the processing capability of the image processing processor 204 without changing the hardware of the image processing processor 204.

Further, in this embodiment, when allocating image processing to the image processing processor 204 and the image data control unit 203, consideration is given to minimizing the amount of image data transmitted and received between them. Therefore, the image processor 204 and the image data control unit 2
It is possible to reduce the time required for data transmission and reception during the period 03, and to shorten the processing time of the entire image processing apparatus.

[0142]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the image processing originally performed by the image processing means is distributed to the image data bus management means as necessary.
Resources of the image processing apparatus can be effectively used. For this reason, there is an effect that an image processing apparatus capable of processing image data more efficiently by maximally utilizing resources provided in the current image processing apparatus is obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, image processing can be shared (distributed) to a configuration that can execute image processing more suitable for image processing. For this reason, there is an effect that an image processing apparatus capable of effectively processing image data by effectively utilizing resources provided in the current image processing apparatus is obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to execute image processing by effectively utilizing resources provided in the image processing apparatus. For this reason, there is an effect that an image processing apparatus capable of improving the image processing capability of the image processing apparatus can be obtained without increasing the size of the hardware of the image processing apparatus.

Further, according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the overall processing time in the image processing apparatus can be reduced while maintaining the image quality of the image, and an image processing apparatus with higher operability can be obtained. .

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the image processing originally performed by the image processing means is distributed to the image data bus management means according to the content thereof, and the resources of the image processing apparatus are effectively utilized. Can be. For this reason,
There is an effect that an image processing method capable of processing image data more efficiently by maximizing the use of resources provided in the current image processing apparatus is obtained.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the resources of the image processing means are insufficient for executing the image processing, the image data bus management means uses the image processing resources to execute the image processing. Can be performed.
For this reason, there is an effect that an image processing method capable of executing image processing by effectively utilizing resources provided in the image processing apparatus is obtained.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, an image processing method capable of shortening the entire processing time in the image processing apparatus while maintaining the image quality of the image and further improving the operability of the image processing apparatus. Is obtained.

The storage medium according to the invention of claim 8 records a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, so that the program can be read by a machine. Thus, there is an effect that the operations of claims 5 to 7 can be realized by a computer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating another example of the hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of processing of an image memory access control unit of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a facsimile control unit of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a video / video of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment;
It is a block diagram showing an outline of processing of a data control part.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of processing performed by an image processor of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of processing related to input and output of an image processor of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a SIMD type processor by way of example;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of a process of an image data control unit of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating sharing of image processing performed between an image processing processor and an image data control unit of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of sharing of image processing performed between the image processing processor and the image data control unit of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the sharing of image processing performed between the image processing processor and the image data control unit of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a process of image processing sharing by the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Image data control unit 101 Image reading unit 102 Image memory control unit 103 Image processing unit 104 Image writing unit 201 Reading unit 202 Sensor board unit 203 Image data control unit 204 Image processing processor 205 Video data control unit 206 Image formation Unit 210 Serial bus 211 Process controller 220 Parallel bus 221 Image memory access control unit 222 Memory module 224 Facsimile control unit 231 System controller 234 Operation panel 403 Memory access control unit 404 Line buffer 405 Video control unit 406 Data compression unit 407 Data expansion unit 408 Data conversion unit 500 Facsimile transmission / reception unit 501 External I F 502 Facsimile image processing unit 503 Image memory 504 Memory control unit 505 Facsimile control unit 506 Modem 507 Image compression / expansion unit 508 Network control device 601 Edge smoothing processing unit 602 Pulse control unit 605 Data conversion unit 702 Scanner image processing unit 705 Image quality processing unit 707, 1010 Command control unit 801 Input / output port 802 Local memory group 803 Memory control unit 804 Processor array unit 807 Host buffer 1001 Image data input / output control unit 1002 Image data input control unit 1003 Data compression unit 1004 Data conversion unit 1006 Data decompression unit 1011 (simple) image processing unit 1301 image processing unit 2040 image processing unit

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Kawamoto 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Sugitaka Inoki 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Co., Ltd. Ricoh (72) Inventor Rie Ishii 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Hideto Miyazaki 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Ricoh Company ( 72) Inventor Yoshiyuki Hatzuka 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Shinya Miyazaki 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Takusho Fukuda 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Goji Tone 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Fumio Yoshizawa, Inventor 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Ricoh Co., Ltd. (reference) 5B057 CH01 CH11 CH 14 CH16 CH20 5C077 LL17 LL18 LL19 NN04 NN08 NN11 PP02 PP03 PP06 PP15 PP61 PQ08 PQ12 PQ22 RR02 RR05 SS05

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An image processing means for processing image data, which is a digital signal created based on an image, so that it can be output as a visualized image; and a bus provided independently of the image processing means and transmitting the image data. Image data bus management means for collectively managing an interface with image data; program input means for inputting a program to at least one of the image processing means and the image data bus management means; and the program Image processing sharing means for sharing the image processing between the image processing means and the image data bus management means in accordance with the content of the image processing according to a program input by the input means. Processing equipment. 2. An image data bus management means-side image processing unit which executes image processing in said image data bus management means has a configuration capable of executing image processing of a type different from image processing by said image processing means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing sharing unit causes the image data bus management unit to share image processing that cannot be executed due to a lack of resources in the image processing unit. 4. An image processing unit and an image data bus management unit provided that the amount of image data transmitted and received between the image processing unit and the image data bus management unit is minimized. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the image processing is shared with the means. 5. An image processing means for processing image data, which is a digital signal created based on an image, so that it can be output as a visualized image; and a bus provided independently of the image processing means and transmitting the image data. Image data bus management means for collectively managing an interface with image data; and an image processing method for performing image processing in an image processing apparatus comprising: An image processing method including an image processing sharing step of sharing image processing with a bus management unit. 6. The image processing method according to claim 5, wherein the image processing sharing step causes the image data bus management unit to share image processing that cannot be executed due to lack of resources in the image processing unit. 7. The image processing sharing step includes the step of minimizing an amount of image data transmitted and received between the image processing unit and the image data bus management unit. 7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image processing is shared by the means. 8. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 5 is recorded.