JP2001243032A - Information processor and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To execute printing even when a print condition included in print data is different from a print condition set in a printer. SOLUTION: At the time of allowing a printer 103 to print the video data of a recording and reproducing device 102, a PC 101 compares the size of each page of the video data with the size of a sheet placed on the printer 103, and when those sizes are largely different from each other, the PC 101 edits print data, and changes the order of transfer so that plural print data can be printed on one sheet placed on the printer 103.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a peripheral device such as a printer is connected to a personal computer (PC) by SCSI or the like which is a general-purpose digital interface for a typical small computer, and data communication is performed therebetween.

[0003] A recording / reproducing device such as a digital camera or a digital video camera is also an input means to a personal computer and is one of peripheral devices. In recent years, the technology in the field of capturing images such as still images and moving images captured by a digital camera or video camera to a PC and storing them on a hard disk, or editing the images on the PC and then color printing with a printer has been advanced, and the number of users has increased. ing. When outputting image data captured by a PC to a printer or hard disk, a digital I / O such as SCSI
Data communication is performed via F. Here, in order to transmit information having a large data amount such as image data, a digital IF having a high transfer data rate and versatility is required.

FIG. 24 shows a block diagram when a digital camera, a PC and a printer are connected as a conventional example.

In FIG. 24, reference numeral 31 denotes a digital camera,
32 is a personal computer (PC), and 33 is a printer. Reference numeral 34 denotes a memory as a recording unit of the digital camera;
Is an image data decoding circuit, 36 is an image processing unit, 37 is a D / A converter, 38 is an EVF as a display unit, 39 is a digital I / O unit of a digital camera, and 40 is a digital I / O unit of a PC digital camera. / O unit, 41 is an operation unit such as a keyboard and a mouse, 42 is an image data decoding circuit,
43 is a display, 44 is a hard disk drive, 45
Is a memory such as a RAM, 46 is an MPU of an arithmetic processing unit, 47
Is a PCI bus, 48 is a SCSI interface (board) of a digital I / F, 49 is a SCSI interface of a printer connected to a PC by a SCSI cable, 50 is a memory, 51 is a printer head, 52 is a printer controller of a printer control unit, 53 Is a driver.

Here, an image captured by the digital camera 31 is taken into the PC 32, and the
3 will be described. Digital camera 3
When the image data stored in the first memory 34 is read, the read image data is decoded by the decoding circuit 35, subjected to image processing for display by the image processing circuit 36, and It is displayed on the EVF 38 via the / A converter 37. On the other hand, for external output, the image data reaches the digital I / O unit 40 of the PC 32 via the cable from the digital I / O unit 39.

In the PC 32, the image data input from the digital I / O unit 40 is stored in the hard disk 44 when the PCI bus 47 is used as a bus for mutual transmission. In the case of displaying, after being decoded by the decoding circuit 42, it is stored in the memory 45 as a display image,
It is displayed after being converted into an analog signal on the display 43. The operation input at the time of editing on the PC 32 is performed by the operation unit 41.
The entire processing of the PC 32 is performed by the MPU 46.

When printing out an image, a PC
The image data is transmitted from the SCSI interface board 48 in the SCSI interface 32 via a SCSI cable and transmitted to the printer 3.
It is received by the SCSI interface 49 on the third side. In the printer 33, the image data received by the memory 50 is formed as a print image. Printer controller 5
The printer head 51 and the driver 53 operate under the control of 2 to print the print image data read from the memory 50.

The above is the procedure of the conventional image data taken in by the PC and further printed. As described above, conventionally, a peripheral device such as a video camera or a printer as a recording / reproducing device is connected to a PC serving as a host, and image data captured by the recording / reproducing device is printed via the PC. In the case of such a system in which a PC and a peripheral device are directly connected, the type and number of peripheral devices connected to the PC, the connection method, and the like are limited, and inconveniences in many aspects have been pointed out.

Therefore, instead of directly connecting a PC and a peripheral device via respective ports, a local area network (LA) in which the PC is connected to an information resource such as a database or a peripheral device such as a printer via a network.
N) Systems are also used. The procedure for printing from a PC in such a network system is generally as follows.

(1) A list of available printers on the LAN is displayed.

(2) Select a printer from the list display.

(3) Send a print job to the selected printer.

In this manner, a drive command is output from a PC (client) connected to the network to a designated printer via a network line, and print information is transmitted to a designated printing device such as a printer. Necessary printing can be performed.

[0015]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, not all printers and the like provided on a network have the same function. For example, differences in resolution, gradation, description language, usable paper size and character font, color printing, double-sided printing, etc.
It often has different functions. For this reason, when using printers on a network, it is necessary to know in advance the functions of each printer. Then, a printer is selected from the client side according to the function, and the printer is specified by, for example, setting a specification key for each printer at the client, and performing a key operation from the client side. Conversely, without knowing the function of each printer, one or more optimal devices could not be efficiently selected.

For example, due to the difference in the data compression method that can be used by each of the connected devices, compressed data that cannot be decompressed is erroneously transferred, or uncompressed data can be decompressed even though it can be decompressed at the transfer destination. Sometimes they were transferred.

For example, in a system in which a PC and a printer are connected via a network, one printer is selected even if a plurality of printers can be used according to the printing method required on the PC side. Depending on the print data, there may be more than one optimal printer. However, in this case, even if a plurality of printers can be used, one printer is limitedly selected, and there is no flexibility. Thus, even when a plurality of devices can be used, one must be selected from the devices, and there is no flexibility.

In a system in which a host device such as a PC and a printing device such as a printer are connected by a network or a digital IF, the host device cannot obtain information on the functions of the printing device and settings such as paper size. However, the settings included in the print data output from the host device and the settings of the printing device do not match, and a printout different from the originally intended print result is output, and operator intervention is required during printing. There was something.

For example, image data such as a document or an image includes a document edited in a plurality of paper sizes or irregular paper sizes, and video data captured by a scanner, a digital camera, or the like. I have. The data included in the print data includes text created in a multi-format, spreadsheets used for spreadsheets, and indefinite image data created by paint or the like. When printing these, select the paper size that can be printed by the printer to be used, and follow the print control code and character code, color information, resolution and gradation, form information, page layout information, macro instructions, etc. included in the print data. , Image data such as a character pattern and a form pattern corresponding to a PC are generated by a print control processing unit (hereinafter, referred to as a printer driver) corresponding to a printer to be used.

When the generated image data is out of the printing range of the selected paper size, the data conversion or the like is not performed on the protruding portion. That is, first, the printer prints a range that falls within the print range, and the portion that does not fall within the print range of the selected paper size is processed again as data of another page. As described above, an image that should be originally contained in one page may be printed over a plurality of pages.

For example, when the paper size of the print data is different from the paper size of the recording paper attached to a printing device such as a printer, forcibly printing is performed on the recording paper attached to the printing device. Since the size of the image formed from the print data does not change, the margins of the paper will increase when printing on paper that is larger than the image size, and conversely, when printing on smaller paper, it will extend out of the paper. Printing was performed.

In order to print the print data in the print range of the paper size, before the user prints with an application program or the like, it is determined whether the print data fits in the print range of the paper size by a print preview or the like. If the print data exceeds the print range, the input data such as a keyboard or a mouse may be used to re-edit the print data for each page so that the print data is within the print range of the selected paper size, or The usability was not good, for example, the user had to change the print area by changing the margins of the page layout and then printing.

Some documents created using an application program or the like store print information such as a plurality of paper sizes and print directions.
If the paper information such as the paper size and direction included in the print information is different from the paper size and print direction of the recording paper loaded in the printer, the print range and the like are again adjusted according to the paper size to be printed. Has been specified and printing has been performed.

Further, there is a case where a document generated by a plurality of pages is edited in a predetermined page unit, and is reduced to one recording sheet attached to a printing device such as a printer and then printed. In this case, after setting a predetermined number of pages and a sheet size on the PC side in advance, image data is generated via a printer driver, and the size, orientation, and the like of the image are confirmed by a print preview or the like. For image data having different print directions and sizes, the order of images is changed, the number of pages is changed, editing is performed for each page so as to fit in the print range designation area, and the page layout is changed. After changing the print range designation area by changing a margin or the like, printing must be performed, which is inconvenient.

For example, when the print information such as the paper size and print direction included in the created print data is different from the paper size and print direction of the recording paper mounted on the printing apparatus, , According to the print data. It is not easy to use, for example, printing must be performed after resetting the paper size, printing direction, printing range, and the like of the printing apparatus.

If the user does not know the paper size attached to the printing device due to, for example, the printing device being installed away from the user, the user goes to the printing device and checks the paper size. Or
After the printing operation, the user has to check and change the recording paper and the printing direction, and then print again.

For example, even in a printing apparatus such as a printer of the same maker, since the feeding method is different due to its structure, the recording sheet feeding section (sheet feeding cassette, tray), the direction of setting in the sheet feeding section, the printing direction, and the like. If the surface to be printed is not performed by a method suitable for the output device, a printing error may occur due to a wrong printing direction.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. Even if a user does not know in advance the functions and settings of devices such as a printing device connected to a network, the present invention can be used.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus and method capable of selecting one or a plurality of optimum devices and efficiently selecting a network device.

Further, according to the present invention, even when the settings included in the print data and the settings of the printing apparatus do not match, the original image data to be printed can be re-edited or the printing order can be changed, thereby improving the printing order. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus and method capable of preventing output of a printed material different from an intended print result and reducing the necessity of intervention by an operator during printing to a minimum.

[0030]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a plurality of external devices are connected, edit an image, and transfer the edited image to a predetermined one of the plurality of external devices. An information processing device that identifies functions of the plurality of connected external devices, a function of the plurality of external devices identified by the identification unit, and image information of the image. Selecting means for selecting a transfer destination of the image from the plurality of external devices, editing means for editing the image based on characteristics of the external device of the transfer destination selected by the selecting means, and an image constituting the image And changing means for changing the transfer order based on the information.

The identification means transmits a function information request signal to the plurality of external devices, and identifies the functions of the plurality of external devices based on the function information transferred in response to the transmitted request signal. It is characterized by the following.

The function information includes paper size information, and the selecting means selects the transfer destination of the image based on a printable paper size of the external device and an image size of the image. I do.

The function information includes color information, and the selection means selects a transfer destination of the image based on a color output function of the external device and a color characteristic of the image.

The function information includes resolution information, and the selecting means selects a transfer destination of the image based on resolution information of the external device and resolution of the image.

The function information includes decoder information, and the selecting means selects a transfer destination of the image based on the decoder information of the external device and a compression method of the image.

[0036] The function information includes paper size information, and the editing means determines one of the paper sizes printable by the external device based on the printable paper size of the external device and the image size of the image. In order to print a plurality of copies of the image on a sheet, image data of the image is edited.

The function information includes paper size information, and the changing means changes the order in which the images are transferred based on the image sizes of the plurality of images.

An information processing method which is connected to a plurality of external devices, edits an image, and transfers the edited image to a predetermined one of the plurality of external devices, wherein the identification step identifies functions of the plurality of external devices. A selection step of selecting a transfer destination of the image from the plurality of external devices based on the functions of the plurality of external devices identified by the identification step and image information of the image; and a transfer selected in the selection step The image processing apparatus further comprises an editing step of editing the image based on the external device, and a changing step of changing the transfer order based on image information constituting the image.

In the identification step, a request signal for function information of each external device is transmitted to the plurality of external devices, and functions of the plurality of external devices are transmitted based on the function information transferred in response to the transmitted request signal. Is characterized.

The function information includes paper size information, and the selecting step selects a transfer destination of the image based on a printable paper size of the external device and a paper size constituting the image. .

The function information includes color information, and the selecting step selects the transfer destination of the image based on a color output function of the external device and a color characteristic of the image.

The function information includes resolution information, and the selecting step selects the transfer destination of the image based on the resolution information of the external device and the resolution of the image.

The function information includes decoder information, and the selecting step selects a transfer destination of the image based on decoder information of the external device and a compression method of the image.

The function information includes paper size information. Based on the printable paper size of the external device and the image size of the image, the image is printed on one paper size printable by the external device. The image data of the image is edited so that a plurality of copies are collectively printed.

[0045] The function information includes paper size information, and the changing step changes an order of transferring the images based on image sizes constituting a plurality of the images.

A storage medium which is connected to a plurality of external devices and stores a computer-readable program executed in an information processing device for editing an image and transferring the edited image to a predetermined external device. An identification step for identifying functions of a plurality of external devices to be connected;
A selection step of selecting the transfer destination of the image from the plurality of external devices based on the functions of the plurality of external devices identified by the identification step and the image information of the image, and a transfer destination selected in the selection step A program is stored for realizing an editing step of editing the image based on an external device and a changing step of changing the transfer order based on image information constituting the image.

In the identification step, a request signal for function information of each external device is transmitted to the plurality of image devices, and functions of the plurality of external devices are transmitted based on the function information transferred in response to the transmitted request signal. Is characterized.

The function information includes paper size information, and the selecting step selects a transfer destination of the image based on a printable paper size function of the external device and a paper size constituting the image. I do.

The function information includes paper size information, and the selecting step changes the order of the images based on a paper size currently mounted on the external device and printable and a paper size constituting the image. And

The function information includes color information, and the selecting step selects a transfer destination of the image based on a color output function of the external device and a color characteristic of the image.

The function information includes resolution information, and the selecting step selects the transfer destination of the image based on the resolution information of the external device and the resolution of the image.

[0052] The function information includes decoder information, and the selecting step selects the transfer destination of the image based on the decoder information of the external device and the compression method of the image.

The function information includes paper size information, and the editing step includes determining one of the paper sizes printable by the external device based on the printable paper size of the external device and the image size of the image. In order to print a plurality of copies of the image on a sheet, image data of the image is edited.

The function information includes paper size information, and the changing step changes an order in which the images are transferred based on image sizes constituting a plurality of the images.

[0055]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the relative arrangement of components described in this embodiment, formulas, numerical values, etc., unless otherwise specified,
It is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them.

(First Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a network configuration when implementing the present invention. Here, in the present embodiment, the IEEE 139 is used as a digital I / F for connecting the devices.
Since four serial buses are used, the IEEE 1394 serial bus will be described in advance.

<< Overview of IEEE 1394 Technology >> With the advent of consumer digital VCRs and DVD players, it is necessary to support data transfer in real time and with a large amount of information in order to communicate video data and audio data. Has become. In order to transfer such video data and audio data in real time, and take them to a personal computer (PC) or transfer them to other digital devices, an interface capable of high-speed data transfer with necessary transfer functions is required. It is becoming. The interface developed from such a point of view is IEEE 1394-19
95 (High-Performance Serial Bus, hereinafter referred to as 1394 serial bus).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a network system configured using a 1394 serial bus. This system consists of devices A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, A-B, A-C, B-D, D-
1 between E, between CF, between CG, and between CH
They are connected by a 394 serial bus twisted pair cable. These devices A to H are, for example, personal computers,
Examples include a digital VTR, DVD, digital camera, hard disk, monitor, tuner, and the like.

The connection method between the devices is such that the daisy chain method and the node branch method can be mixed.
A highly flexible connection is possible. Also, each device has its own unique ID, and by recognizing each other, 1
One network is configured in a range connected by the 394 serial bus. Just by sequentially connecting each digital device with a single 1394 serial bus cable, each device plays the role of relay and constitutes one network as a whole. In addition, the 1394 serial bus has a Plug & Play function,
It has a function of automatically recognizing the device and the connection status when the cable is connected to the device.

In the system shown in FIG. 6, when a certain device is deleted or newly added from the network, the bus is automatically reset to reset the network configuration up to that time. Then, rebuild a new network. With this function, the configuration of the network at that time can be constantly set and recognized.

The data transfer rate is 100/200 /
A device having 400 Mbps and having a higher transfer rate supports a lower transfer rate and is compatible. Data transfer modes include asynchronous data such as control signals (Asynchronous data:
Asynchronous transfer mode for transferring c data) and synchronous data such as real-time video data and audio data (Isochronous data: hereinafter referred to as Iso data)
There is an Isochronous transfer mode for transferring data. The Async data and Iso data are stored in each cycle (normally 12
5 μs), the cycle indicating the cycle start
After the transfer of the start packet (CSP), the transfer of the iso data is mixed and transferred in the cycle while giving priority to the transfer of the iso data.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing components of the 1394 serial bus. The 1394 serial bus has a layer (layer) structure as a whole. As shown in FIG. 7, there is a connector port to which a cable and a connector of the 1394 serial bus are connected, on which a physical layer and a link layer are positioned as hardware.

The hardware section is a substantial interface chip section. The physical layer performs coding and control related to connectors, and the link layer performs packet transfer and cycle time control.

The transaction layer of the firmware section manages data to be transferred (transacted), and issues Read, Write, and Lock commands. The serial bus management (management layer) is a part that manages the connection status and ID of each connected device and manages the configuration of the network. The above-described hardware and firmware are the actual configuration of the 1394 serial bus.

The software application
The layer is different depending on the application software used, and is a part that defines data to be placed on the interface, and defines a printer protocol, an AVC protocol, and the like. The above is the configuration of the 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an address space in the 1394 serial bus. Each device (node) connected to the 1394 serial bus always has 64
Have a bit address. By storing this address in the ROM, it is possible to always recognize the node address of the user and the node of the other party, and to perform communication specifying the other party. The addressing of the 1394 serial bus is
The address is set according to the EEE1212 standard. The first 10 bits are used for specifying the bus number.
The bit is used for specifying the node ID number. And
The remaining 48 bits become the address width given to the device, and can be used as a unique address space. The latter 28 bits of the 48 bits store information such as identification of each device and designation of use conditions as an area of unique data.

The above is the outline of the technology of the 1394 serial bus. Next, a part of the technology that can be said to be a feature of the 1394 serial bus will be described in more detail.

<< Electrical Specifications of 1394 Serial Bus >> FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a 1394 serial bus cable.
In the 1394 serial bus, a power supply line is provided in the connection cable in addition to 6 pins, that is, two sets of twisted pair signal lines. As a result, power can be supplied to a device having no power supply, a device whose voltage has dropped due to a failure, and the like. The voltage of the power supply flowing in the power supply line is 8 to 40.
V and the current are specified as the maximum current DC 1.5A. In a standard called a DV cable, the cable is composed of four pins without a power supply.

<< DS-Link Coding >> FIG.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a DS-Link encoding method of a data transfer format adopted in a 94 serial bus. In 1394 serial bus, DS-Link
(Data / Strobe Link) coding method is adopted.
This DS-Link coding scheme is suitable for high-speed serial data communication, and its configuration requires two signal lines. The main data is sent to one of the twisted pairs,
A strobe signal is sent to the other twisted pair. On the receiving side, the clock is reproduced by taking the exclusive OR of the transmitted data and the strobe. Advantages of using this DS-Link coding method include higher transfer efficiency compared to 8 / 10B conversion,
Since the PLL circuit is not required, the circuit size of the controller LSI can be reduced. Further, since there is no need to send information indicating that the apparatus is in an idle state when there is no data to be transferred, the transceiver circuit of each device is in a sleep state. , The power consumption can be reduced.

<< Bus Reset Sequence >> In the 1394 serial bus, each connected device (node) is given a node ID and recognized as a network configuration. When this network configuration changes,
For example, when a change occurs due to an increase or decrease in the number of nodes due to insertion / removal of a node or power ON / OFF, etc., and it is necessary to recognize a new network configuration, each node that detects the change transmits a bus reset signal on the bus. Then, a mode for recognizing a new network configuration is entered. The method of detecting the change at this time is performed by detecting a change in the bias voltage on the 1394 port substrate.

When a bus reset signal is transmitted from a certain node, the physical layer of each node transmits the bus reset signal to the link layer at the same time as receiving the bus reset signal, and transmits the bus reset signal to another node. I do. After all the nodes finally detect the bus reset signal, the bus reset is activated. The bus reset is started by the above-described cable detection or hardware detection due to a network error or the like, but is also started by directly issuing a command to the physical layer by host control from a protocol or the like. When the bus reset is activated, the data transfer is temporarily suspended, and the data transfer is suspended during the bus reset process. Then, after the bus reset ends, the bus is restarted under the new network configuration. The above is the bus reset sequence.

<< Node ID Determination Sequence >> After the bus reset, each node starts an operation of giving an ID to each node in order to construct a new network configuration. The general sequence from the bus reset to the determination of the node ID at this time will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

FIG. 18 shows a state in which a node ID is determined from the occurrence of a bus reset until data transfer can be performed.
It is a flowchart which shows a series of bus operations. First,
In step S101, it is constantly monitored that a bus reset occurs in the network. If a bus reset occurs due to power ON / OFF of a node or the like, the process proceeds to step S102. In step S102, from the state where the network is reset, a parent-child relationship is declared between the directly connected nodes in order to know the connection status of the new network. Step S10
If it is determined in step 3 that the parent-child relationship has been determined between all the nodes, the process proceeds to step S104, and one route is determined. Until the parent-child relationship is determined between all nodes, the parent-child relationship is declared in step S102, and the route is not determined.

When the route is determined in step S104, a task of setting a node ID for giving an ID to each node is performed in step S105. Node IDs are set in a predetermined node order, and IDs are assigned to all nodes.
Is repeatedly set until is given (step S106). When the IDs are finally set for all the nodes, the new network configuration is recognized at all the nodes. Accordingly, the process proceeds from step S106 to step S107, in which data transfer between nodes can be performed, and data transfer is started.

When the state of step S107 is reached, a mode for monitoring the occurrence of a bus reset is entered again. When the bus reset occurs, the setting operations from step S101 to step S106 are repeated.

The above is the description of the flowchart of FIG. 18. The steps from the bus reset to the route determination in the flowchart of FIG. 18 and the procedure from the route determination to the end of the ID setting will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20. Will be described in more detail. FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating processing from bus reset to route determination in each node. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a procedure from the determination of the route to the end of the ID setting.

First, description will be made with reference to FIG. When a bus reset occurs in step S201, the network configuration is reset once, and the process proceeds to step S2.
Go to 02. In step S201, the occurrence of a bus reset is constantly monitored. Next, step S
In 202, as a first stage of the operation of re-recognizing the reset connection status of the network, a flag indicating a leaf (node) is set for each device.

Next, in step S203, each device checks how many ports its own device is connected to other nodes. In step S204, the number of ports that are undefined (the parent-child relationship has not been determined) is checked in order to start the declaration of the parent-child relationship based on the number of ports. Immediately after the bus reset, the number of ports = the number of undefined ports, but as the parent-child relationship is determined, step S204
The number of undefined ports detected in the step changes.

First, immediately after the bus reset, only the leaves can declare the parent-child relationship first. A leaf can be known by checking the number of ports in step S203. That is, the leaf has one undefined port at the stage when the parent-child relationship is undefined. The leaf is
In step S205, the node connected to itself is declared as "I am a child and the other is a parent", and the operation is terminated.

A node which has a plurality of ports in step S203 and is recognized as a branch has an undefined port number> 1 in step S204 immediately after the bus reset, so the process proceeds to step S206, and a flag of branch is set. Then, in step S207, the process waits to accept "parent" in the parent-child relationship declaration from the leaf. The other node, which is a leaf, declares a parent-child relationship, and proceeds to step S
The branch that has received the request at step 207 is sent to step S20 as appropriate.
Confirm the number of undefined ports of 4. If the number of undefined ports is 1, the “Child” in step S205 is performed on the node connected to the remaining port.
(I am a child). " Even if the number of undefined ports is confirmed in the processing of step S204 for the second time or later, step S is performed again for a branch having two or more ports
At 207, wait to accept a "parent" from a leaf or other branch.

Finally, if any one branch or exceptional leaf (because it did not operate quickly because a child declaration can be made) becomes zero as a result of checking the number of undefined ports in step S204, This is the end of the declaration of the parent-child relationship of the entire network, and the only node for which the number of undefined ports has become zero (all are determined as parent ports) is flagged as a root in step S208, and step S209. Is recognized as a root. Thus, the process from the bus reset shown in FIG. 19 to the declaration of the parent-child relationship between all the nodes in the network is completed.

Next, the flowchart of FIG. 20 will be described.

First, in the sequence up to FIG.
Since the information of the flag of each node such as branch and route is set, classification is performed in step S301 based on this. As a task of assigning an ID to each node, it is possible to first set an ID from the leaf. The IDs are set in ascending order of leaf → branch → route (node number = 0).

In step S302, the number N (N is a natural number) of leaves existing in the network is set.
Then, in step S303, each leaf requests to give an ID to the root. If there are a plurality of such requests, the route performs arbitration in step S304, assigns an ID number to one winning node in step S305, and notifies the losing node of a failure result. The leaf whose ID acquisition has failed in step S306 issues an ID request again and repeats the same operation.

The leaf from which the ID has been obtained is determined in step S30.
In step 7, the ID information of the node is transferred to all nodes by broadcasting. When the broadcast of the one-node ID information ends, the number N of remaining leaves is reduced by one in step S308. Here, step S309
In the case where the number N of the remaining leaves is 1 or more, the operation of the ID request from step S303 is repeated. When all the leaves broadcast the ID information, N = 0 in step S309.
And step S310 for setting the ID of the branch.
Move on to

The setting of the branch ID is performed in the same manner as in the leaf setting. First, in step S310, the number M (M is a natural number) of branches existing in the network is set. Thereafter, in step S311, each branch requests the root to give an ID. On the other hand, the root performs arbitration in step S312, and gives the arbitration in order from the winning branch, starting from the youngest number after the number given to the leaf. Step S3
At 13, the route informs the requesting branch of the ID information or failure result. In step S314, the branch for which the ID acquisition has failed fails issues an ID request again and repeats the same operation.

Step S from the branch from which the ID was obtained
The process proceeds to 315, where the ID information of the node is transferred to all nodes by broadcasting. When the broadcast of the one-node ID information ends, in step S316, the number M of the remaining branches is reduced by one. Here, in step S317, when the number M of the remaining branches is 1 or more, the operation of the ID request from step S311 is repeated until all the branches finally broadcast the ID information. When all the branches have acquired the node ID, in step S317, M = 0.
, And the branch ID acquisition mode ends.

When the process ends up to this point, since only the root node has not finally acquired ID information, step S
In step 318, the lowest number that has not been given is set as its own ID number.
Broadcast D information.

As described above, the procedure from the determination of the parent-child relationship to the setting of the IDs of all the nodes is completed as shown in FIG.

Next, as an example, a network construction operation at the time of bus reset in the actual network shown in FIG. 11 will be described.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a network construction operation at the time of bus reset. In FIG.
Nodes A and C are directly connected below the node B (root), nodes D are directly connected below the node C, and nodes E are further below the node D.
And a node F are directly connected. A procedure for determining such a hierarchical structure, a root node, and a node ID will be described below.

After the bus reset, a parent-child relationship is declared between the directly connected ports of each node in order to recognize the connection status of each node. The parent and child can be said to be such that the parent is higher in the hierarchical structure and the child is lower.

In FIG. 11, the node A first declares the parent-child relationship after the bus reset. Basically, a node (called a leaf) having a connection to only one port of the node can declare a parent-child relationship. this is,
You can first know that you have only one port connection, so that it recognizes that it is the edge of the network, and the parent-child relationship is determined from the node that operates earlier in that. . Thus, the port on the side that has declared the parent-child relationship (node A between AB) is set as a child, and the port on the other side (node B) is set as a parent. Thus, between node AB, child-parent, node E
-D is determined as a child-parent, and between nodes FD is determined as a child-parent.

[0095] Further up in the hierarchy, among nodes having a plurality of connection ports (referred to as branches), the parent-child relationship is declared further higher in order from the node that received the declaration of the parent-child relationship from another node. To go. In FIG. 11, first, the parent-child relationship between the node D and the node D-F is determined, and then the parent-child relationship is declared for the node C. As a result, the node D is determined as the child-parent between the nodes D and C. ing.

The node C receiving the parent-child relationship declaration from the node D becomes the node B connected to another port.
Declare a parent-child relationship. As a result, a child-parent is determined between the nodes C and B.

In this way, a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. 11 is formed, and finally, the node B that has become the parent in all the connected ports is determined as the root node. There is only one route in one network configuration.

In FIG. 11, node B is determined to be the root node. This is because node B, which has received a parent-child relationship declaration from node A, makes a parent-child relationship declaration for other nodes at an early timing. If so, the root node may have moved to another node. That is, any node may become a root node depending on the transmission timing, and the root node is not always constant even in the same network configuration.

When the root node is determined, the process enters a mode for determining each node ID. Here, all nodes notify their determined node IDs to all other nodes (broadcast function). The self ID information is
It includes its own node number, information on the connected position, the number of ports it has, the number of connected ports, information on the parent-child relationship of each port, and the like.

As a procedure for assigning node ID numbers, first, nodes can be started from nodes (leaves) connected to only one port, and node numbers = 0, 1, 2,... The node that has acquired the node ID broadcasts information including the node number to each node. As a result, it is recognized that the ID number is “assigned”.

When all the leaves have acquired their own node IDs, the next step is to move to a branch and the node ID number following the leaf is assigned to each node. Similarly to the leaf, the node ID information is broadcast sequentially from the branch to which the node ID number is assigned, and finally, the root node broadcasts its own ID information. That is, the root always has the largest node ID number.

As described above, the assignment of the node IDs of the entire hierarchical structure is completed, the network configuration is reconstructed, and the bus initialization is completed.

<< Arbitration >> In the 1394 serial bus, arbitration (arbitration) of the right to use the bus is always performed prior to data transfer. Since the 1394 serial bus is a logical bus-type network in which each device connected individually relays the transferred signal to transmit the same signal to all devices in the network, packet collision occurs. Arbitration is necessary to prevent This allows only one node to transfer at a given time.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining arbitration in the 1394 serial bus. In particular, FIG. 12A shows a flow of a bus use request, and FIG. 12B shows a flow of a bus use permission.

When the arbitration starts, one or a plurality of nodes each issue a bus use request to the parent node. Nodes C and F in FIG. 12A are nodes that have issued a bus use request. The parent node (node A in FIG. 12) that has received the request further issues (relays) a request for the right to use the bus toward the parent node. This request is finally delivered to the arbitration route.

The root node (node B) receiving the bus use request determines which node uses the bus.
This arbitration work can be performed only by the root node.
The node that wins the arbitration is given permission to use the bus. FIG. 12B shows that the use permission is given to the node C and the use request of the node F is rejected. DP for nodes that lose arbitration
Send a (data prefix) packet to indicate that the request has been rejected. The bus use request of the node whose request is rejected is kept waiting until the next arbitration.

As described above, the node that has won the arbitration and obtained the bus use permission can start transferring data thereafter. Here, a series of arbitration flows will be described with reference to a flowchart in FIG. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the arbitration processing procedure.

In order for a node to be able to start data transfer,
The bus must be idle. In order to recognize that the data transfer that has been performed earlier is completed and that the bus is currently idle, a predetermined idle time gap length (eg, sub-action. Each node determines that its own transfer can be started by passing the gap.

In step S401, it is determined whether a predetermined gap length corresponding to the data to be transferred, such as Async data and Iso data, has been obtained. Unless the predetermined gap length is obtained, the request for the right to use the bus required to start the transfer cannot be made, so the process waits until the predetermined gap length is obtained. When a predetermined gap length is obtained in step S401, it is determined in step S402 whether or not there is data to be transferred.

In step S403, a request for the right to use the bus is issued to the root to secure a bus for data transfer. At this time, the transmission of the signal indicating the request for the right to use the bus is finally delivered to the route while relaying each device in the network, as shown in FIG. On the other hand, if there is no data to be transferred in step S402, the process stands by.

Next, in step S404, the root node receives the bus use request issued in step S403. Then, in step S405, the route checks the number of nodes that have issued use requests. Step S4
If the number of nodes that issued the use request in 05 is 1 (the number of nodes that issued the use right request is 1), the immediately subsequent bus use permission is given to that node. On the other hand, step S
In 405, if the number of nodes is greater than 1 (the number of nodes that have issued use requests is plural), the root performs arbitration work in step S406 to determine one node to which use is permitted. This arbitration work is fair, and the same node does not always obtain permission each time, and the right is equally given (fair arbitration).

Next, in step S407, a selection is made to divide the route into one node whose route has been arbitrated and the use of which has been permitted, and another node which has lost, among the plurality of nodes which issued the use request in step S406. Here, for one node that has been arbitrated and whose use has been granted, or for a node that has obtained use permission without arbitration with the number of use request nodes = 1 in step S405, the route is granted to that node as step S408. Send a signal. The node that has received the permission signal starts transferring data (packets) to be transferred immediately after receiving the permission signal. In step S409, a DP (data prefix) packet indicating an arbitration failure is sent from the root to the node that has lost the arbitration in step S406 and is not permitted to use the bus. The process returns to step S401 to issue a bus use request for performing the process, and waits until a predetermined gap length is obtained.

The above is the flow of arbitration using the 1394 serial bus.

<< Asynchronous Transfer >> The asynchronous transfer is an asynchronous transfer.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a temporal transition state in asynchronous transfer. The first sub-action gap in FIG. 13 indicates the idle state of the bus. When the idle time reaches a fixed value, the node desiring transfer determines that the bus can be used, issues a bus use request, and executes arbitration for bus acquisition.

When the bus use permission is obtained by arbitration, data transfer is executed in packet format.
After the data transfer, the node that has received the data returns an ack (reception confirmation return code) of the reception result for the transferred data after a short gap called ack gap, and responds, or returns a response packet. Sending completes the transfer. The ack is composed of 4 bits of information and 4 bits of a checksum, and includes information such as success, busy status, and pending status, and is immediately returned to the source node.

Next, the packet format of the asynchronous transfer will be described. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a packet format of asynchronous transfer.

A packet has a header part in addition to a data part and data CRC for error correction. Figure 1 in the header
4, the destination node ID and the source node I
D, the transfer data length, various codes, etc. are written and the transfer is performed. Asynchronous transfer is one-to-one communication from a self-node to a partner node. The packet transferred from the transfer source node is distributed to each node in the network, but the address other than its own address is ignored, so that only one destination node reads the packet. The above is the description of the asynchronous transfer.

<< Isochronous (Synchronous)
Transfer >> Isochronous transfer is synchronous transfer. 1394
This isochronous transfer, which can be said to be the greatest feature of the serial bus, is a transfer mode suitable for transferring data that requires real-time transfer, such as multimedia data such as video data and audio data. Also,
In contrast to asynchronous transfer (asynchronous transfer), which is a one-to-one transfer, in the isochronous transfer, data is uniformly transferred from one transfer source node to all other nodes by a broadcast function.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a temporal transition state in the isochronous transfer. The isochronous transfer is executed at regular intervals on the bus. This time interval is called an isochronous cycle. The isochronous cycle time is 125 μs. The cycle start packet indicates the start time of each cycle, and plays a role of adjusting the time of each node. It is a node called a cycle master that transmits a cycle start packet, and after a data transfer in the previous cycle is completed, a predetermined idle period (subaction
After passing through the gap, a cycle start packet notifying the start of this cycle is transmitted. The time interval at which this cycle start packet is transmitted is 125 μs.

FIG. 15 shows channel A, channel B,
As indicated by the channel C, a plurality of types of packets can be separately transferred by being given channel IDs in one cycle. This allows real-time transfer between a plurality of nodes at the same time, and the receiving node fetches only the data of the channel ID desired by itself. The channel ID does not represent the address of the transmission destination, but merely gives a logical number for the data. Therefore, the transmission of a certain packet is 1
From one source node to all other nodes,
It will be transferred by broadcast.

Prior to packet transmission in isochronous transfer, arbitration is performed as in asynchronous transfer. However, since the communication is not one-to-one communication unlike the asynchronous transfer, there is no ack (reception confirmation reply code) in the isochronous transfer.

The iso gap (isochronous gap) shown in FIG. 15 indicates an idle period necessary for recognizing that the bus is empty before performing the isochronous transfer. After the predetermined idle period has elapsed, a node that wishes to perform isochronous transfer determines that the bus is free, and can perform arbitration before transfer.

Next, the packet format of the isochronous transfer will be described. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a packet format for isochronous transfer.

Each of the various packets divided into the respective channels has a header portion in addition to the data portion and the data CRC for error correction. In the header part, as shown in FIG. , Other various codes and a header CRC for error correction are written,
The transfer is performed. The above is the description of the isochronous transfer.

<< Bus Cycle >> In actual transfer on the 1394 serial bus, isochronous transfer and asynchronous transfer can coexist. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a state of a temporal transition of a transfer state on a bus in which isochronous transfer and asynchronous transfer are mixed.

The isochronous transfer is executed prior to the asynchronous transfer. The reason is that after the cycle start packet, the isochronous transfer can be started with a gap length (isochronous gap) shorter than the gap length (subaction gap) of the idle period required to start the asynchronous transfer. is there. Therefore, the isochronous transfer is executed with priority over the asynchronous transfer.

In the general bus cycle shown in FIG. 17, a cycle start packet is transferred from the cycle master to each node at the start of cycle #m. As a result, each node adjusts the time, and after waiting for a predetermined idle period (isochronous gap), the node that should perform isochronous transfer performs arbitration and starts packet transfer. In FIG. 17, the channel e, the channel s, and the channel k are sequentially subjected to isochronous transfer.

After the operations from the arbitration to the packet transfer are repeatedly performed for the given channel, when all the isochronous transfers in the cycle #m are completed, the asynchronous transfer can be performed.

When the idle time reaches the subaction gap where the asynchronous transfer is possible, the node desiring to perform the asynchronous transfer determines that the arbitration can be executed. However, the period during which asynchronous transfer can be performed is after the completion of isochronous transfer.
Only when a sub-action gap for starting the asynchronous transfer is obtained before the time (cycle synch) at which the next cycle start packet is to be transferred.

In cycle #m in FIG. 17, two packets (packet 1 and packet 2) of the isochronous transfer for three channels and the asynchronous transfer (including ack) are transferred thereafter. After this asynchronous packet 2, the time (cycle sy) at which cycle m + 1 should be started
nch), the transfer in cycle #m ends here.

However, the time (cycling) to transmit the next cycle start packet during asynchronous or synchronous transfer operation
If e synch) is reached, the cycle start packet of the next cycle is transmitted after waiting for an idle period after the end of the transfer without forcibly interrupting the transfer. That is, when one cycle lasts for 125 μs or more, it is assumed that the next cycle is shortened from that of the reference 125 μs. Thus, the isochronous cycle is 125 μs
Can be exceeded or shortened based on the standard. However, the isochronous transfer is always performed if necessary every cycle to maintain the real-time transfer, and the asynchronous transfer may be transferred to the next and subsequent cycles due to the shortened cycle time. The information including such delay information is managed by the cycle master.

The above is the description of the IEEE 1394 serial bus.

<System Configuration> A description will now be given of a case where each device is connected by a 1394 serial bus cable as shown in FIG. The system shown in FIG. 1 is a personal computer (PC) connected by a 1394 serial bus.
101, recording / reproducing device 102, printer device 103, 1
04, each device can perform data transfer based on the specifications of the 1394 serial bus. Here, the recording / reproducing device 102 is a digital camera or a camera-integrated digital VTR for recording and reproducing moving images or still images. Further, direct printing is possible by directly transferring video data output from the recording / reproducing device 102 to the printer 103. Further, the connection method of the 1394 serial bus is not limited to the connection as shown in FIG. 1, and it is also possible to configure a bus by connecting arbitrary devices. In addition to the devices shown in FIG. Alternatively, a configuration in which a data communication device is connected may be employed. The network shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a group of devices. The connected devices may be any external storage device such as a hard disk, or any device that can be configured with a 1394 serial bus such as a CDR or DVD. Is also good.

The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2 with the bus configuration as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, 101 is a PC, 102 is a recording / reproducing device, and 103 is a printer. First, the recording / reproducing device 102 will be described.

Reference numeral 4 denotes an image pickup system for inputting video data from outside. Reference numeral 5 denotes an A / D converter, which digitizes the input video data and passes it to a video signal processing circuit. Reference numeral 6 denotes a video signal processing circuit for performing video processing. Video signals are input from outside through 4 to 6.

7 is compressed at the time of recording by a predetermined algorithm,
This is a compression / decompression circuit that performs decompression during reproduction.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a recording / reproducing system including a magnetic tape, a solid-state memory, etc., and its recording / reproducing head.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a system controller which controls the operation of the entire recording / reproducing apparatus 102. CPU and ROM,
A RAM for controlling writing / reading of video signals taken from the imaging system in the memories 13 and 15;
1. Transfer to the printer 103, output video to the recording / reproducing system 8, execute operations based on the transfer settings input from the operation unit 10, and store the transfer settings in the memory.

Reference numeral 10 denotes an operation unit for inputting an instruction, for inputting a transfer setting or the like by a user. The input settings are stored in the memory of the system controller 9.

Numeral 11 converts the digitized video data into analog data for display by a D / A converter.

Reference numeral 12 denotes an EVF for displaying the video data analogized by the D / A converter 11.

13 is a frame memory for storing video data to be transferred uncompressed, 14 is a memory control unit for controlling reading of the memory 13 and the like, 15 is a frame memory for storing video data to be compressed and transferred, 16 Is a memory control unit that controls reading of the memory 15 and the like.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a data selector for switching the output between the non-compressed video data stored in the memory 13 and the compressed video data stored in the memory 15. Reference numeral 18 denotes an I / F section of the 1394 serial bus.

Next, the operation proceeds to the printer 103 side. 19 is a 1394 I / F unit in the printer, 20 is a data selector, 21 is a decoding circuit for decoding video data compressed by a predetermined algorithm, 22 is an image processing circuit for a print image, and 23 is a print image. 24, a printer head, 25, a driver for feeding the printer head and paper, etc., 26, a printer controller as a control unit of the printer, 27, a printer operation unit, and 61, a 1394 I / F unit mounted on a PC. , 62 are a PCI bus, 63 is an MPU, 64 is a decoding circuit for decoding video data compressed by a predetermined algorithm, 65 is a display having a built-in D / A converter, 66 is an HDD, and 67 is an HDD. A memory 68 is an operation unit such as a keyboard and a mouse.

Next, the operation of each device will be described step by step with reference to FIG.

<Operation of Equipment> (Recording / Reproducing Apparatus 102) First, at the time of recording by the recording / reproducing apparatus 102, the video signal photographed by the imaging system 4 is digitized by the A / D converter 5, and then the video signal processing circuit At 6, the image processing is performed.

One of the outputs of the video signal processing circuit 6 is converted back into an analog signal by the D / A converter 11 as a video being captured, and is displayed on the EVF 12.

The other outputs are compressed by a compression circuit 7 according to a predetermined algorithm, and are recorded on a recording medium by a recording / reproducing system 8. Here, the predetermined compression processing is a compression method based on DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) and VLC (Variable Length Coding) as a band compression method in a digital VTR for home use, which is typical in a digital camera. Others include the MPEG system.

At the time of reproduction, the recording / reproducing system 8 reproduces a desired video from the recording medium. At this time, the selection of a desired image is selected based on the instruction input input from the operation unit 10,
The reproduction is controlled by the system controller 9. Of the video data reproduced from the recording medium, data transferred in a compressed state is output to the frame memory 15. When expanding playback data to transfer uncompressed data,
The data is expanded by the expansion circuit 7 and output to the memory 13. Also,
When the reproduced video data is displayed on the EVF 12, the video data is expanded by the expansion circuit 7, returned to the analog signal by the D / A converter 11, output to the EVF 12, and displayed.

The writing and reading of the frame memories 13 and 15 are controlled by the memory controllers 14 and 16 controlled by the system controller, and the read video data is stored in the data selector 1.
7 is output. At this time, the outputs of the frame memories 13 and 15 are controlled so that either one is output to the data selector 17 at the same time.

The system controller 9 includes the recording / reproducing device 1
02 controls the operation of each unit in the data selector 1 by outputting control command data to an externally connected device such as the printer 103 or the PC 101.
7 to the 1394 serial bus for command transmission to an external device. Also, the printer 103
And various command data transferred from the PC 101 are input from the data selector 17 to the system controller 9, and each unit of the recording / reproducing device 102 is controlled.

The command data indicating the presence / absence of a decoder or the type of the decoder transferred from the printer 103 or the PC 101 is input to the system controller 9 as a request command, and then transmitted when the video data is transferred from the recording / reproducing apparatus 102. Are used to determine whether to transfer compressed or uncompressed video data. The system controller 9 determines which data is to be transferred based on the information of the decoder included in each device transferred from the printer 103 or the PC 101 by a command, and sends the determination result to the memory control units 14 and 15 as a command. introduce. Then, one suitable video data is read from the frame memory 13 or 15 by the system controller 9 and transferred. When it is determined that the video data compression method in the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 is decodable, the compressed video data stored in the memory 15 is transferred by the system controller 9, and when it is determined that the video data cannot be decoded, 15 is transferred.

The video data and command data input to the data selector 17 are transmitted by the 1394 I / F 18 to the 1394 interface.
The data is transferred on the cable based on the specification of the serial bus, and if it is video data for printing, the printer 103
If it is video data to be taken into the PC, the PC 101 receives it. Command data is also appropriately transferred to the target node. Regarding the transfer method of each data, mainly data such as moving images, still images, and audio are transferred as Iso data by the isochronous transfer method, and the command data is transferred by Asy.
The data is transferred as asynchronous data by the asynchronous transfer method.
However, among data normally transferred by Iso data, if it is more convenient to transfer as Async data depending on the transfer situation and the like, the data may be transmitted by asynchronous transfer.

(Printer 103) Next, the operation of the printer 103 will be described. The data input to the 1394 I / F unit 19 is classified by the data selector 20 for each data type. Data to be printed, such as input video data, is transferred to the decoding circuit 21. In the case of command data, it is transmitted as a control command to the printer controller 26, and the printer controller 26 controls each part of the printer 103 corresponding to the information.

The printer controller 26 controls the printer 1
03 includes the printing function information (printing method, description language, color printing, paper size, resolution, printing speed, double-sided printing, etc.), the type of decoder included in the composite circuit 21 in the printer 103, or the The presence / absence information can be output and transferred to the PC 101 and the recording / reproducing device 102 as command data.

It has been confirmed that the video data transferred from the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 can be processed by the printer 103 in advance. That is, PC10
1. Printing function (printing method, description language, color printing, paper size, resolution, printing speed,
(Double-sided printing), and information such as the presence or absence or type of the decoder, compression / non-compression, etc. are sent. Based on such information, it is selected and transferred based on the judgment that optimal printing control and transfer can be performed. In the decoding circuit 21 provided in the printer, the compressed data can be decompressed by the decompression method of a predetermined algorithm.

When the transferred video data is compressed, it is output to the image processing circuit 22 after being expanded. If the transferred video data is uncompressed, the decoding circuit 21 does not exist, or the decoding circuit 21 that cannot support the compression method of the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 is used.
Will be provided. Therefore, in this case, the configuration is such that the data is directly input to the print image processing circuit 22 through the decoding circuit 21. Also, when print data or the like other than video data is input and the data does not need to be decompressed, the decoding circuit 21 is skipped.

The data for printing input to the image processing circuit 22 is subjected to image processing suitable for printing here, and the data is stored in the memory 2 by the printer controller 26.
3 is formed and stored as a print image. This print image is sent to the printer head 24 and printed.

The driving of the printer head and paper feed are performed by a driver 25, and the operation control of the driver 25 and the printer head 24, and the control of other components are performed by a printer controller 23. Printer operation unit 27
Is for inputting operations such as paper feed, reset, ink check, standby / start / stop of printer operation, and paper size change instruction. The printer controller 26 controls each unit in response to the instruction input. Is done.

Here, the recording paper mounted on the printer 103 may have a configuration in which a plurality of paper trays corresponding to a plurality of paper sizes are provided depending on the printer.

It should be noted that a printer such as a host-based printer that receives image data compressed by the decoding circuit 21 in the printer 103 in a format that can be combined from the PC 101 and prints the data needs to have a ROM in the circuit. In addition, direct printing can be performed without performing special processing corresponding to the description language and the composite program in the printer 103.

The decoding circuit 21 in the printer 103
As an example of the encoding method that can be decoded by the JPEG method, the JPEG method can be considered. Since JPEG decoding is possible by software, the decoding circuit 21 stores the JPP in the ROM in the circuit.
A configuration in which an EG decryption program file is held or a decryption program transferred from another node is executed to execute decryption processing by software may be used. If the image data compressed by the JPEG method is transferred from the recording / reproducing device 102 to the printer and decoded in the printer, the transfer efficiency is better than that of converting the data to uncompressed data before transferring. By using the decoding process in (1), providing a decoder in the printer itself does not hinder the cost and is convenient. The decoding circuit 21 performs JP decoding as hardware decoding.
A configuration in which an EG decode circuit (board) is provided is also possible.

As described above, when video data is transferred from the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 to the printer 103 for printing, it is so-called direct printing, and printing can be performed without using a PC.

In a printer such as a host-based printer that receives and prints image data compressed in advance in the PC 101 by the decoder system provided in the decoding circuit 21 in the printer 103, the printer 1
It is not necessary to have a ROM in the circuit
Direct printing is possible without using the processing in the inside.

(Host Computer) Next, the PC 101
Will be described.

[0167] From the recording / reproducing apparatus 102, the PC 101
The video data transferred to the 394 I / F unit 61 is
01, the data is transferred to each unit using the PCI bus 62 as a bus for mutual data transmission. Also, various command data and the like in the PC 101 are transferred to each unit using the PCI bus.

In the PC 101, processing is performed by the MPU 63 using the memory 67 in accordance with an instruction input from the operation unit 68 and an OS (operating system) or an application program. When recording the transferred video data, it is recorded on the hard disk 66.

It has been confirmed that the video data transferred from the recording / reproducing device 102 can be processed by the PC 101 in advance, as in the case of the printer 103. That is, the recording / reproducing device 102, the printer 103
Information such as read / write (monochrome or color designation, resolution and gradation, etc.), presence / absence or type of decoder, compression / non-compression, etc., is transmitted, and it is determined that optimal print control and transfer can be performed based on such information. , The compressed data can be decompressed in the decoding circuit 21 provided in the printer 103 by the decompression method of a predetermined algorithm possessed.

When the video data is displayed on the display 65, if it is compressed video data, it is decoded by the decoding circuit 64, and if it is uncompressed video data, it is directly input to the display 65. After the D / A conversion, the image is displayed.

Various decoding circuits 6 provided in PC 101
4 is, for example, one in which a decoder of the MPEG system or the like is inserted into a slot as a board, or one in which the decoder is built into the main body as hardware, or one in which the MPEG system or JP
The EG system, a printer decoder system having a configuration like the host-based printer, and other software decoders are RO.
M and the like, and a command is recorded as information on the type and presence or absence of these decoders.
2 can be forwarded.

[0172] In this way, the transferred video data is taken into the PC 101, where recording and editing, transfer from the PC to other devices, and the like are performed. Further, as for the printer to which the transfer destination is a printer decoder system having a configuration like the above-mentioned host-based printer, a printer which has once been loaded into the PC 101 by the decoding system of the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 is used.
03 to the printer 103
It is also possible to transfer to.

With the configuration as shown in FIG. 2, before the video data is transferred from the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 to the printer 103 or the PC 101, the information of the decoder is transferred from the transfer destination printer 103 or the PC 101 by the command, so that the recording is performed. The playback device 102 can select to transfer the compressed video data when the transfer destination device can decode, and to transfer the uncompressed video data when the decode cannot be performed.

<Operation of Recording / Reproducing Apparatus During Data Transmission> Next, the operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 at this time is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

The recording / reproducing device 102 converts the video data into 13
The mode is set to transfer data to another device connected via a 94 serial bus. First, in step S1, a transfer destination device is specified, and transfer setting based on the instruction is performed. The setting is performed by the user from the operation unit 10, and the set information is stored in the memory of the system controller 9.

Then, the process proceeds to a step S2, wherein the recording / reproducing apparatus 1
From 02, a command notifying that transfer is to be performed is transmitted to the transfer destination device using the 1394 bus. The command includes information for instructing the transfer of information such as the presence / absence and type of a decoder provided in the transfer destination device.

Then, the process proceeds to a step S3. Recording / reproducing device 1
02, command data including decoder information is transmitted from the transfer destination device to the recording / reproducing apparatus 102.
In step S3, the system controller 9 of the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 determines the presence / absence and type of the decoder from the received command from the decoder information. If there is a decoder, and it is determined that the decoder is a decoder capable of expanding the video data of the recording / reproducing device 102, the process proceeds to step S4. If the received command does not include the decoder information, or if it is determined that there is no decoder, the process proceeds to step S6.

Here, of the command data transferred from the transfer destination device to the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 which is the transfer source, the decoder information remains compressed when transferring the video data which has been compressed and recorded thereafter. This data is used to determine whether to transfer or to return to uncompressed before transferring. If the destination device wants to transfer compressed data, or wants to transfer uncompressed data It also has a role as such request data.

The recording / reproducing apparatus 1 of the transfer source is
02 is notified to the transfer destination device such as the PC 101 in advance of the information on the compression method used by the transfer destination device 02, whether the PC 101 can process the video data sent from the recording / reproducing device 102 Can be determined,
When returning the command data for step S2, a configuration may be considered in which a command for direct video data transfer, that is, a request command for a compressed data transfer command or a non-compressed data transfer command, is sent instead of the decoder information in the PC 101. Can be

Next, in step S4, the type of decoder determined from the received decoder information is
It is determined whether or not the decoder can support a compression method of a predetermined algorithm of the video data used in the compression / expansion circuit 7 of FIG. If the decoder is a compatible decoder, the process proceeds to step S5, where decoding is possible in the transfer destination device, so that decoding is set, that is, as processing for transferring compressed video data to the 1394 bus. When the transfer of the video data is executed, the output from the memory 15 is controlled to be transferred. Then, the process proceeds to step S7.

When the type of the decoder determined in step S4 is not compatible with the compression method of the recording / reproducing apparatus 102, or when the decoder information is not received in step S3, that is, in the transfer destination device, If it is determined that there is no decoder, at step S6, no decoder is set, that is, decompression processing of the video data to be transferred in the recording / reproducing device 102 is performed, and then uncompressed video data is transferred to the 1394 bus. In this way, the output from the memory 13 is controlled when the video data is transferred. Then, the process proceeds to step S7.

After setting the output format at the time of video data transfer according to the transfer destination device in this way, the user records the video data to be transferred for printing or PC capture in step S7. The recording / reproducing device 102 selects from the images recorded on the medium and performs the reading operation.

After performing the video selection operation, step S8
Waits for a user to input a desired video transfer command.

When a transfer command is input by the user, it is determined in step S9 whether or not there is a decoder compatible with the transfer destination device based on the settings in steps S5 and S6.

If it is determined that there is a compatible decoder, the data is read from the memory 15 in accordance with the transfer command input in step S8 in order to transfer the compressed video data reproduced from the recording medium in step S10. The system controller 9 and the memory control 16 control to output and transfer the video data. And step SD12
Proceed to.

If it is determined that there is no compatible decoder, in step S11, the uncompressed video data expanded by the expansion circuit 7 is transferred from the memory 13 in accordance with the transfer command in step S8. The system controller 9 and the memory controller 14 control to output and transfer the video data. In this case, the video data is transferred by an isochronous (or asynchronous) transfer method using a 1394 serial bus. Then, the process proceeds to step S12.

In step S12, it is confirmed that the transfer of the desired video data has been completed.

The flow advances to step S13 to wait for the selection of whether or not to transfer another video data. When the transfer of another video data is selected, the process returns to step S7 and repeats from the video selection to select another video. If not, step S
Move to 14.

In step S14, it is determined whether or not to continue the video data transfer mode by changing the transfer destination device. To change the transfer destination to another device and perform the video data transfer, repeat the transfer destination designation in step S1. If it is not necessary to change the transfer destination and continue the mode in step S14, the flow is terminated here. The flow always returns to step S1 with the execution of the specified video data transfer mode, and this flow is repeated.

In the above manner, the video data is transferred from the recording / reproducing device 102 to the transfer destination device. According to this procedure, the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 can transmit data encoded by a method that can be reliably decoded at the data transmission destination.

In this embodiment, the description is made using video data compressed and recorded on a recording medium. However, the present invention is not limited to recorded video, but video data input from an imaging device and recording processing is not performed. It may use compressed video data.

The recording / reproducing apparatus described in the present embodiment is mainly concerned with video data of moving pictures and still pictures, and is intended for a camera-integrated VTR or a digital camera. The device may be a digital device such as a DVD, MD, CD, PC, scanner, or the like, and the data to be handled is not limited to video data, but may be audio data or various file data.

<Printing of Video Data> Next, the video data transferred from the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 to the PC 101 is transmitted to the PC 1
The print processing according to the present invention, in which the print data is reedited in step 01 and the print data is transferred to the printer 103, will be described.

In the system configured as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when a print request of video data transferred from the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 is made by executing a program such as an application program in the PC 101, the PC 10
Reference numeral 1 denotes printing function information (color printing method, description language, paper size, resolution, printing speed, double-sided printing, etc.) in the printer transferred from the printer 103, information on the presence or absence of a decoder or a decoder type, application programs, and the like. , The image information of the video data (color specification, resolution and gradation,
Depending on the size of the image, etc.), a printer having a printing function optimal for the video data to be printed is selected.

Next, the print function information in the printer, which is transferred from the selected printer, is compared with the image information of the video data, the information on the presence / absence of the decoder or the type of the decoder. Here, when it is determined that the video data of the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 can be printed based on the print function information of the printer 103, the video data of the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 can be directly printed on the printer 103. A print request command is issued to the recording / reproducing device 102 for transmission.

Next, the print function information of the selected printer 103 is displayed. In the case of video data created so as to include a plurality of paper sizes, the video data corresponding to the paper size currently mounted on the paper cassette and paper tray of the printer 103 is selected and printed first, and then the printer 103 Status information for instructing the user to change the paper size in order to print video data different from the paper size mounted on the paper cassette and paper tray of the PC 101, for example, “CHANGE” on the display of the PC 101.
E PAPER: A message such as A4 "or an animation is displayed.

At this time, if the print area of the video data exceeds the printable area of the paper size mounted on the printer 103, it is determined whether the print data fits in the printable area of the optimum paper size mounted on the printer 103. The print area corresponding to each paper size and the offset information from the edge of each paper are checked. If the print area does not fit in the printable area of the paper size, the PC 101 is set to fit it in the printable area corresponding to the paper size. The print data obtained by re-editing the print information and the image data is transferred to the printer 103.

In the system configured as described above,
Select PC 101 as the destination device for the video data,
The video data once captured in C101 is 1394
It is also possible to transfer to a plurality of transfer destination printers connected by a serial bus. In this case, the PC 101 receives printer information (color print information, description language, paper size, resolution, print spade, printer status, etc.) from the transfer destination printer using the 1394 serial bus before printing. Thus, an optimum printer or the like can be selected, and the video data can be re-edited in accordance with the print format of the transfer destination printer or the like. If the video data is composed of a plurality of pages, an optimal printer is selected for each page to perform optimal printing. If data having different print information (color information, image size information, resolution, etc.) is mixed in the video data, the data is divided into print information, and
After editing in pages or a plurality of pages, printing is performed by allocating to an optimum printer. If the video data is created in a plurality of image sizes, the video data of those images is edited together so that the images having the same image size are printed on one recording sheet. Then, printing is performed for each paper size of the selected optimal printer.
In the process of editing a plurality of video data together to make one recording paper, if video data of different image size is read, the odd video data is skipped,
After printing of other video data is completed, printing is performed again. Also, after editing the video data to the optimal print format based on the printer information of the selected printer, if the destination printer can decode, transfer the compressed data decoded to the destination decode format, and if it cannot decode, Uncompressed data can be transferred.

In this way, even if there is a mismatch between the printing conditions specified by the print data and the printing conditions set by the printing device, they are reconciled, and printing is performed by the specified printing device. , Operator intervention can be reduced to a minimum.

<Operation at the Time of Printing by Host> Next, the operation at this time is shown as a flowchart in FIGS. 4A to 4C.

In the PC 101, the following processing is performed in a mode for transferring the fetched video data based on print information from a plurality of printers connected via a 1394 serial bus.

At steps S501 to S504, printer information is received from each connected printer and stored.

More specifically, first, in step S501, the user specifies the transfer destination printer 103 and performs transfer settings based on the instruction.

Next, in step S502, the PC 101 informs the transfer destination printer or the like that the transfer is to be performed, and the printer information (color print information, description language, paper size) included in the transfer destination printer or the like. , A resolution, printer status information, the presence / absence and type of decoder, etc.) are transmitted using the 1394 bus.

In response to the command in step S502, predetermined command data including printer information (color print information, description language, paper size, resolution, printer status information, decoder information, etc.) is transmitted from the destination printer or the like to the PC 101. Is forwarded to

When the command data is transferred from the transfer destination printer, the flow advances to step S503, and the PC 101 receives the received printer information (color printing function information, description language,
Paper size, resolution, printer status information, decoder information, etc.) are stored in the memory 67 as printer information as needed for each of the transfer destination printers.

Then, the flow advances to step S504 to determine whether to change the transfer destination printer or the like and to continue the transfer mode of the transfer destination printer information.

If it is determined that the printer information or the like of the transfer destination is changed to transfer the printer information, step S501 is repeated, and if not changed, the flow proceeds to step S505.

The printer information of all the connected printers and the like is obtained in this way.

Next, in steps S505 to S519, selection of a printer and selection and editing of video data are performed.

First, the PC 101 selects an optimum printer or the like based on printer information fetched from a plurality of printers or the like connected via a 1394 serial bus.

When a printer to print the captured video data is selected, the paper size, color printing function information, and resolution are determined from the printer information received by the PC 101. It is determined that such information must be stored in the printer 103.

If there is a difference between the image information of the video data and the received printer information, decompression processing of the video data received in the PC 101 is performed before the uncompressed video data is converted into printer information (paper size, color printing). Re-editing based on the function, resolution, etc.) and setting the output format according to the destination printer. The processing at this time will be described as follows.

First, at step S505, the printer 1
03, the video data to be transferred is selected. It is selected and read out from those recorded in the memory 67 of the PC 101.

In step S506, the PC 101 determines whether the number of pages to be edited of video data to be collectively edited on one sheet of recording paper of the transfer destination printer is set in the PC 101.

If it is determined that the setting has been made, the process moves to step S509. If it is determined that the number of edited pages has not been set, the process proceeds to step S507.

In step S507, the image information of the video data already captured by the PC 101 and the printer information of the transfer destination stored in the memory 67 (color print information, description language, paper size, resolution, printer status information,
Decoder information, etc.), and the optimum printer information is selected. The selection of the transfer destination printer is as follows.

Each element of the image information of the video data and the printer information of the printer (the paper size of the video data, the paper size currently attached to the printer, the number of colors of the video data, the number of colors of the video data, the number of printable colors of the printer, etc.) ) Are compared with each other, and if they match, a predetermined value (for example, 5 for the paper size, 1 for the number of colors, etc.) corresponding to each element is determined. to add. This is repeated for each item, and the printer having the largest total value is selected. FIG. 23 shows an example of set values for each item. This set value is stored in the memory 67. This set value indicates the weight of each item, and a higher priority item is given a larger value.

There are various combinations of set values other than the combinations shown in FIG. For example, if priority is given to the printing speed, registration is performed in a combination having a large set value for an item that requires a long time for conversion when the image information and the printer information do not match. In order to give priority to the image quality, it is conceivable to register the setting value of an item that most affects the image quality, such as whether the resolution supported by the printer matches the video data, as a large setting value. In addition to the information common to the image information and the printer information, the information existing only in one of them, for example, the status of the printer such as the printing speed is determined in accordance with the height of the function. Value, etc.)
It is also conceivable to select a printer to be transferred by adding setting values corresponding to such functions.

If the sum of the set values set in this way is the same, the selection is made in accordance with the priorities set in advance. The priority of the currently selected printer is the highest priority.

Further, a combination of set values can be selected from a plurality of sets by a user's selection. Settings such as "Print speed priority" and "Image quality priority" are P
The information is input by the user from the setting screen of C101 and stored in the memory 67. If the user has set "Print Speed Priority", select the combination of values set as Print Speed Priority, if the user has set "Image Quality Priority", select the combination of values set as Image Quality Priority I do.
Using the combination of the selected values, the image information of the video data is compared with the printer information of the printer, the set value is added, and the printer is selected.

In step S508, after registering the image size of the video data in the memory 67, the image size of the video data is edited based on the image size of the video data on a single sheet of recording paper attached to the transfer destination printer. The number of edited pages is calculated as to whether the page can be edited and registered in the memory 67.

The calculation of how many pages of video data can be collectively edited on one sheet of recording paper of the printer at the transfer destination is as follows.

From the image size of the video data and the paper size of the recording paper currently attached to the printer, how many pages of video data including the margins are contained in one recording paper is derived. For example, in the case of a regular size photograph, 4 pages for A4 recording paper, 3 pages for B5, A5
Is set in the memory 67 in advance so that two pages can be stored. In the case of an image of another irregular size, it is calculated each time.

[0225] The method of calculating the number of edited pages is not limited to this. For example, if priority is given to image quality, resolution, and margin, registration may be performed with a small value. A combination of values can be selected from a plurality of values by the user's selection. "Image number priority"
Settings such as “image quality priority” are input by the user from the setting screen of the PC 101 and are stored in the memory 67.

Next, the process proceeds to step S509, where the PC 101
It is determined whether or not the image size of the currently selected video data matches the image size of the previously selected video data.

If it is determined that they match, and if there is no conversion request, the flow shifts to step S513. If it is determined that the image sizes do not match, or if there is a conversion request even if they match, the process proceeds to step S510.

Next, the process proceeds to step S510, where the PC 101
It is determined whether or not a request has been made to convert the image size contained in the video data information.

If a conversion request is determined, step S
Move to 511. If there is no size conversion request, step S
Proceed to 512.

In step S511, a conversion process is performed based on the requested image size. That is, if decompression processing is necessary for the captured video data, the decompression processing is performed, and then, based on the paper size of the recording paper attached to the transfer destination printer and the image size of the currently selected video data. Conversion processing such as image processing (enlargement and reduction processing, etc.) is performed. Then, the process proceeds to step S513.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the image sizes do not match, and it is determined that there is no video data conversion request, the information of the video data selected this time (including the number of pages in the case of a plurality of pages) and the video in step S512. After storing the print information of the printer corresponding to the data in the memory 67, the process returns to step S505.

Next, the flow advances to step S513 in FIG. 4B to determine, from the received printer information, color information printable by the printer and the presence or absence of the color information. Also, it determines whether there is a conversion request for the color of the video data. If it is determined that the color information necessary for printing the video data matches the color information of the printer and that it is determined that the conversion of the video data has not been requested, the process proceeds to step S515.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the received printer information does not include color information, if it is determined that the color information does not match the color information of the video data, and if the color information does match, the conversion of the video data is requested. If so, the process proceeds to step S514.

In step S514, if expansion processing of video data is necessary in the PC 101, expansion processing is performed.
Conversion processing is performed based on image processing (graphic image processing based on resolution, gradation, and the like) of the transfer destination printer. If the gradation of the video data is different from the printable gradation of the printer, the gradation conversion is performed, and if the video data is color data, the color image is converted if the printer has only the monochrome printing function. Performs conversion to monochrome. Then, the process proceeds to step S515.

In step S515, it is determined whether or not the resolution information included in the printer information received by the PC 101 matches the resolution of the video data. It is also determined whether resolution conversion is required. If it is determined that the resolution information of the printer matches the resolution of the video data and that no resolution conversion is requested, step S5
Proceed to 17. On the other hand, if the received printer information does not include the resolution information, or if it is determined that the resolutions do not match, or if the resolution conversion is requested even if they match, the process proceeds to step S516.

In the step S516, the PC 101
The original resolution of the video data is converted to the resolution of the transfer destination printer. That is, if image data decompression processing is necessary, after the decompression processing is performed, conversion processing based on the image processing (resolution and gradation processing, etc.) of the transfer destination printer is performed. Then, the process proceeds to step S517.

[0237] In step S517, if decompression processing is necessary for the fetched video data, decompression processing is performed.
Page information for storing multiple pages of video on a single sheet of recording paper based on the paper size of the recording paper attached to the destination printer, the paper size selected in the video data, and the image size of the video data A conversion process is performed to arrange at the position calculated by the above.

Then, the flow advances to step S518 to update page information for storing video data for a plurality of pages on one sheet of recording paper, and then to step S519.

Then, the flow advances to step S519 to determine whether or not editing has been performed by the number of pages calculated for one recording sheet by referring to page information for storing video data for a plurality of pages on one recording sheet. If it is determined that the video data for a plurality of pages has not been edited on one recording paper, the process proceeds to step S522. If the video data for a plurality of pages has been edited on a single recording paper, the process proceeds to step S522. Proceed to S520. In step S520, a process of transmitting data obtained by editing a plurality of pages of video data on one sheet of recording paper attached to the transfer destination printer to the transfer destination printer is performed.

Then, the flow advances to step S521 to determine whether to continue the video data transfer mode.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S521 that the transfer mode of another video data is to be continued, step S5
After returning to step 05 and reading the video data, the process is repeated from the selection of the printer information based on the video data.

In step S522, it is determined whether or not to continue the video data transfer mode. If the processing is to be continued, the process advances to step S523 to perform processing for transmitting data to the transfer destination printer. If the transfer of the video data has been completed in step S523, the process proceeds to step S524.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S522 that the transfer mode of another video data is to be continued, step S5
After returning to step 05 and reading the video data, the process is repeated from selection of printer information based on the video data.

In the step S524, the step S508 is executed.
In S509, it is determined whether the image sizes of the video data do not match and there is no size change request. Further, in step S512, it is determined whether or not there is video data that has not been transferred due to an image size mismatch, based on whether or not the information of the video data (including the number of pages in the case of a plurality of pages) is stored in the memory 67. I do.

If it is determined that there is video data that has not been transferred due to an image size mismatch, the flow advances to step S525 to store the video data information stored in the memory 67 (including the number of pages in the case of a plurality of pages). , The corresponding video data is sequentially read out, and step S506 is performed.
And the process is repeated from the selection of the printer information based on the video data.

On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no video data that has not been transferred due to paper size mismatch, the flow is terminated here. When printing or the like is always instructed, the flow returns to step S501 with execution of the video data transfer mode, and this flow is repeated.

Next, step S520 or step S520
The processing performed in step 523 will be described in detail.

If the PC 101 edits the fetched video data into an optimal print format based on printer information selected from a plurality of printers connected by a 1394 serial bus, and the destination printer can decode the video data, The compressed data decoded in the transfer destination decoding format is transferred, and when decoding is not possible, uncompressed data is transferred.

In step S5201, initialization of the edit page number of the edit data in which the video data for a plurality of pages has been edited so as to fit on one recording sheet is performed.

The flow advances to step S5202 to determine whether the type of the decoder included in the received printer information matches the type of the encoder that compresses the video data. If it is determined that the types match, and there is no uncompressed transfer request of the decoder, the process moves to step S5203.

When the transfer destination has a configuration in which there is no MPU in the printer main body, such as a host-based printer, and when the received printer information does not include decoder information, it is determined that there is no decoder for expanding the video data in the printer. If there is a request for non-compression even if it exists, or if it exists, the process moves to step S5204.

In step S5203, it is set so that the compressed video data is transferred from the memory 67 to the 1394 bus, and the flow advances to step S5205.

In step S5204, after the video data to be transferred is decompressed,
The transfer is set to be performed on four buses, and step S5205 is performed.
Proceed to.

Next, in step S5205, a transfer destination is specified, and in step S5206, a command (transfer command) including predetermined information indicating that video data is to be transferred is transmitted to the printer using the 1394 bus.

In the step S5207, in the step S52
02 and compression of video data performed in S5203 /
The setting for non-compression is determined. If it is set to transfer the image while compressing the process, the process advances to step S5208. If it is set to transfer after expanding the image, the process proceeds to step S5208.
Proceed to 5209.

In step S5208, the output unit is controlled so as to transfer the compressed video data from the memory 67.
Proceed to step S5210.

In step S5209, step S52
The output unit is controlled so as to output and transfer the uncompressed video data read from the memory 67 in response to the transfer command 06. Note that the video data transfer here is a packet transfer in an isochronous (or asynchronous) transfer method using a 1394 serial bus.

Next, in step S5210, the transfer of the desired video data is completed.

The process of transferring the video data to the printer is as described above.

In the present embodiment, the description is made using compressed video data taken into PC 101. However, compressed video data that has been input externally and has not undergone recording processing, or It may be created uncompressed text and image data.

Although the printer described in the present embodiment is mainly conscious of a color jet printer, a low-speed host-based printer, and the like, it has other double-sided printing functions and laser printers capable of high-speed printing. Digital equipment may be used, and data to be handled is not limited to video data, but may be text and image data, audio data, various file data, and the like. In this specification, “video data or the like” refers to these data collectively.

With the above configuration, when printing video data, even if the printing conditions included in the video data do not match the printing conditions of the printer, the printing conditions of the printer can be re-edited by re-editing the video data. It becomes possible to match. Further, it is possible to perform printing efficiently by minimizing operator intervention.

According to the present embodiment, the daisy chain system and the node branching system can be mixed as a connection system between the devices, and a connection with a high degree of freedom can be realized. Also, each device has its own unique ID, and by recognizing each other, one network is configured in a range connected by the 1394 serial bus. Just by sequentially connecting each digital device with a single 1394 serial bus cable, each device plays the role of relay and constitutes one network as a whole. Also, when the cable is connected to the device by the Plug & Play function, which is a feature of the 1394 serial bus, the device can be automatically recognized and the connection status can be recognized.

In the system shown in FIG. 6, when a certain device is deleted from the network or newly added, the bus is automatically reset, and the network configuration is reset. , Rebuild a new network. This function makes it possible to always set and recognize the configuration of the network at that time.

Further, storage means for storing printing function information of a plurality of printing apparatuses such as printers having different printing functions and the like connected by their own IDs is provided. In response to the selection request, one or a plurality of printing apparatuses can be selected.

[0266] Furthermore, the host device creates
Printing information such as documents created with multiple paper sizes, documents created with irregular paper sizes, spreadsheets used for spreadsheets, and video data captured by scanners, digital cameras, etc. Information such as print function, paper size, resolution, description language, number of copies, double-sided print function, etc.) to search for print function information stored in the storage unit, thereby obtaining one or more suitable print conditions. It is possible to quickly select a printing device such as a printer.

With the network configuration as shown in FIG. 1, the PC 101 can
Before transferring to a printing device connected by a 394 serial bus, printer information (color designation, description language, double-sided printing information, paper size, resolution, printing speed, Printer status, decode information, etc.). This makes it possible to quickly select one or a plurality of printing apparatuses suitable for printing conditions using the video data and the like and the printing information. Also, according to the print information,
Video data and the like can be distributed to a printer equipped with an optimum paper size in units of one page or a plurality of pages. Further, it becomes possible to re-edit video data and the like with information based on a print format of a transfer destination printer or the like. Also, in printing, it becomes possible to quickly transfer the reedited video data and the like to one or more printing devices such as printers.

If the video data and the like are created in a plurality of image sizes, the same image of the image data is extracted, edited collectively on one sheet of recording paper, and selected for each of the selected optimal printer paper sizes. To print on. Also,
If video data or the like with different image sizes is read while editing to print multiple video data or the like collectively on one recording paper, the video data can be skipped and the printing order can be changed. It becomes possible.

There is also a request to specify the number of copies in the print format,
When it is determined that the print can be distributed to a plurality of printers based on the printer information of the transfer destination, it is possible to print to a plurality of printers and the like at the same time by controlling the transfer to the plurality of printers and performing the transfer at any time.

After the video data and the like are edited into the optimum print format based on the printer information of the selected printer or the like, if the printer or the like at the transfer destination can decode, the compressed data is encoded according to the decode format at the transfer destination. When data cannot be decoded, uncompressed data can be transferred. That is, when performing predetermined data transfer from the transfer source node to the transfer destination node, the transfer source node selects and transfers predetermined data compression or non-compression by a decoder included in the transfer destination node. Thus, transfer efficiency between nodes can be improved.

When the decoder included in the transfer destination node cannot decompress the predetermined data to be transferred by compression from the transfer source node, the uncompressed data is transferred, so that the data of the wrong compression method is transmitted from the transfer source node. Will not be transferred.

(Second Embodiment) The second embodiment of the present invention is a network system having a configuration as shown in FIG. In this configuration, text and image data stored on the PC 101 can be transferred to a plurality of transfer destination printers connected by a 1394 serial bus via an application or the like. In the present embodiment, the image data of the PC 101 is
The procedure for printing will be described.

Receiving printer information (color print information, description language, double-sided print information, paper size, resolution, print speed, printer status, decode information, etc.) from a transfer destination printer or the like using the 1394 serial bus Thus, the PC 101 can select a more optimal transfer destination printer or the like.

It is also possible to edit text, image data, and the like by using information based on the print format of a transfer destination printer or the like.

After editing to the optimum print format based on the printer information of the printer or the like selected as described above, if the transfer destination printer or the like can decode, the compressed data decoded to the transfer destination decode format is transferred and decoded. When this is not possible, uncompressed data can be transferred, and transfer efficiency can be improved.

The above operation is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

First, the PC 101 sets a mode for transferring the fetched text, image data, and the like to print information from a plurality of printers and the like connected via the 1394 serial bus.

In step S601, the user designates the transfer destination printer 103 as needed, and performs transfer settings based on the instruction.

In step S602, the PC 101 informs the transfer destination printer or the like that the transfer is to be performed, and the printer information (color print information, description language, double-sided printing) included in the transfer destination printer or the like. A command including information on transfer instructions such as information, paper size, resolution, printer status information, presence / absence and type of decoder, etc., is transmitted using the 1394 bus.

In response to an instruction command from the PC 101, printer information (color print information, color print information,
Command data including description language, paper size, resolution, printer status information, decoder information, etc.
01. Therefore, in step S603, the PC
Printer information (color print function information,
The description language, double-sided printing information, paper size, resolution, printer status information, decoder information, etc.) are stored in the memory 67 as printer information for each of the transfer destination printers.

The flow advances to step S604 to determine whether to change the transfer destination printer or the like and continue the transfer mode of the transfer destination printer information. If it is determined that the transfer of the printer information is to be performed by changing the transfer destination printer or the like, the process returns to step S601 and the process is repeated.

The PC 101 is set to a mode for selecting one or a plurality of printers or the like based on print information taken from a plurality of printers or the like connected by a 1394 serial bus. And steps S605 to S
In step 619, it is determined whether the color printing function information, the paper size, the resolution, and the like included in the printer information received by the PC 101 match the image information of the image data. If there is a difference between the image information such as text and image data and the received printer information,
In 01, re-editing / conversion is performed based on printer information (color printing function information, paper size information, resolution information, etc.), and the output format is set according to the transfer destination printer.

[0283] Next, the flow advances to step S605, where the user sets the text and image data to be transferred for printing or the like as P
Select from among those recorded in the memory 67 of C101,
The PC 101 performs the reading operation.

Next, the flow advances to step S606, where the PC 101
Then, it is determined whether the number of edit pages for setting how many pages of text and image data and the like are to be collectively edited on one recording sheet of the printer at the transfer destination is set.

If it is determined that the setting has been made, the process moves to step S609. If it is determined that the number of edited pages has not been set, the process advances to step S607.

Next, the process proceeds to step S607, where the PC 101
The printer information (color print information, description language, double-sided print information, paper size, resolution, printer status information, decoder information, etc.) of the transfer destination stored in the memory 67 received based on information such as text and image data that has already been captured. Etc.) to select the optimal printer information. The selection operation here is the same as in the first embodiment. Here, when printing or the like cannot be performed due to a jam or the like due to the operation status of the printer determined from the printer status information, it is possible to perform control so as not to select the corresponding transfer destination printer or the like.

[0287] In step S608, after the paper size or image size of text and image data is registered in the memory 67, one sheet of recording paper attached to the transfer destination printer is determined based on the paper size or image size of text and image data. The number of pages to be edited is calculated by calculating how many pages of text and image data, etc. can be edited together.
Register in.

The calculation of how many pages of text and image data can be collectively edited on one sheet of recording paper of the transfer destination printer is as follows.

From the image size of the text and image data and the paper size of the recording paper currently attached to the printer, it is calculated how many pages of text and image data, etc., including the margin, fit on one recording paper. For example, when printing normal A4 paper by reducing it to a quarter, (A4: setting value 4, B5: setting value 3, A5: setting value 2) is calculated. This set value is stored in the memory 67.

The calculation of the number of pages to be edited has been described with reference to the above example, but various other methods can be considered. For example, if priority is given to image quality, resolution, and margin, registration may be performed with a small value. A combination of values can be selected from a plurality of values by the user's selection. Settings such as “image number priority” and “image quality priority” are input by the user from the setting screen of the PC 101 and are stored in the memory 67.

Next, the flow advances to step S609, where the PC 101
It is determined whether or not the paper size or image size of the currently selected text and image data matches the paper size or image size of the previously selected text and image data.

If it is determined that they match, and if there is no conversion request, the flow shifts to step S613. If it is determined that the image sizes do not match, or if a conversion request has been made even if they match, the process proceeds to step S610.

Next, the flow advances to step S610, where the PC 101
To determine whether a request for conversion of a paper size or an image size included in information such as text and image data is made.

If a conversion request is determined, step S
Move to 611. If it is determined that the paper size or the image size does not match, the process proceeds to step S612.

If the text and image data in the PC 101 are created in a paper size that cannot be recognized by the transfer destination printer, or if a request for conversion to an optimum paper size is made, the flow advances to step S611 to select the currently selected paper size. The process then proceeds to conversion based on the current paper size or image size. In this case, if the decompression process is necessary for the captured text and image data, the decompression process is performed, and then the paper size of the recording paper attached to the transfer destination printer, and the currently selected text and image data. Conversion processing such as image processing (enlargement and reduction processing) based on the paper size or image size included in information such as data is performed. Then, the process proceeds to step S613.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the paper size or the image size does not match, and it is determined that there is no request for conversion of text and image data, in step S612 the information of the text and image data selected this time (in the case of a plurality of pages, After storing the print information of the printer corresponding to the text and image data in the memory 67, the process returns to step S605.

[0297] Next, the flow advances to step S613 to determine whether or not the color printing information included in the received printer information matches the color printing function of the image information. If it is determined that the color printing function included in the printer information is a function sufficient to execute printing, and there is no request to change text and image data, step S615
Move on to If the received printer information does not include the color print information, if the color function of the printer is not sufficient, or if it is determined that a request to change text and image data has been made, the process proceeds to step S614.

In step S614, the PC 101 performs a conversion process on the text and image data based on the image processing (graphic image processing based on resolution, gradation, etc.) of the transfer destination printer. If the gradation of the image data is different from the printable gradation of the printer, the gradation conversion is performed, and if the image data is color data, the color image is converted if the printer has only the monochrome printing function. Performs conversion to monochrome. And step S61
Go to 5.

Next, the flow advances to step S615, where the PC 101
It is determined from the resolution information included in the received printer information whether or not printing can be performed at the optimum resolution for text and image data. It is also determined whether resolution conversion is required. If it is determined that the resolution information of the printer matches the resolution of the text and the image data and the resolution conversion is not requested, the process proceeds to step S617. On the other hand, when the received printer information does not include the resolution information, or when it is determined that the resolutions do not match, or when the resolution conversion is requested even if they match, the process proceeds to step S616.

In step S616, the text and image data are requested to be converted to the resolution of the transfer destination printer in the PC 101, so that the text and image data and the like are subjected to image processing (resolution and gradation processing, etc.) of the transfer destination printer. A conversion process is performed based on this.

Then, the flow advances to step S617 to expand the fetched text and image data, if necessary, and then expand the size of the recording paper attached to the transfer destination printer, the text and image data. Based on the paper size selected in the data and the image size of the text and image data, the recording paper is arranged at a position calculated based on page information for accommodating a plurality of pages of video on one recording paper, and the recording is performed. The conversion process is performed to fit the paper size of the paper.

Then, the flow advances to step S618 to update page information for storing text and image data for a plurality of pages on one sheet of the recording paper, and then to step S619.
Proceed to.

[0303] Next, the flow advances to step S619 to refer to page information for storing text and image data for a plurality of pages on one sheet of recording paper, and to determine whether editing has been performed for the calculated number of pages on one sheet of recording paper. Is determined. If it is determined that the text and image data for the plurality of pages have not been edited on one sheet of recording paper, step S
Move to 622.

If the text and image data for the plurality of pages have been edited on one sheet of recording paper, step S6
Then, the process proceeds to step S20, where the text and image data for the plurality of pages are edited and transmitted to the transfer destination printer on one sheet of recording paper attached to the transfer destination printer.

Then, the flow advances to step S621 to determine whether to continue the text and image data transfer mode.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the transfer mode of the other text and image data is to be continued, the process returns to step S605 to read out the text and image data, and repeats the process from selection of printer information based on the text and image data.

[0307] In step S622, it is determined whether to continue the text and image data transfer mode.

If the transfer of the text and image data has been completed, the flow shifts to step S623.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the transfer mode of another text and image data is to be continued, the flow returns to step S605 to read out the text and image data, and repeats the process from selection of printer information based on the text and image data.

In step S623, data obtained by editing the text and image data for a plurality of pages on one sheet of recording paper attached to the transfer destination printer is transmitted to the transfer destination printer upon completion of the text and image data. Perform processing.

In step S624, if the transfer of the text and image data has been completed, it is determined in steps S608 and S609 that the paper size or image size of the text and image data do not match and there is no size change request. And information of image data (including the number of pages in the case of a plurality of pages) is stored in the memory 6.
7, it is determined whether or not there is text and image data that have not been transferred due to paper size or image size mismatch.

If it is determined that there is text and image data that have not been transferred due to paper size mismatch or image size mismatch, the flow advances to step S625, and the text and image data information stored in the memory 67 (for multiple pages). (Including the number of pages), the corresponding text and image data are sequentially read out, and the process returns to step S606 to repeat the process from selection of printer information based on the text and image data.

On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no untransferred text or image data due to mismatch of the paper size or image size, the flow is terminated here.
When an instruction to print or the like is always given, the flow returns to step S601 with execution of the text and image data transfer mode, and the flow is repeated.

The processing for editing and transferring text and image data to the printer is as described above.

Next, the PC 101 edits the fetched text, image data, and the like into an optimal print format based on printer information selected from a plurality of printers connected via a 1394 serial bus. The transfer processing of step S620 in which the compressed data decoded in the transfer destination decoding format is transferred when the data can be decoded, and the uncompressed data is transferred when the data cannot be decoded.

[0316] In step S6201, edit data obtained by editing the text and image data for the plurality of pages on one sheet of recording paper attached to the transfer destination printer or the like is transmitted to the edit page before transmission to the transfer destination printer. Perform initialization.

The flow advances to step S6202 to determine whether or not the type of the decoder included in the received printer information matches the decoder for expanding text and image data. In addition, even if they match, it is determined whether or not it is requested to transfer text and image data and the like without compression. If the presence of an appropriate decoder has been confirmed and it is not requested to transmit the data uncompressed, step S
It moves to 6203.

If the received printer information does not include the decoder information, or if it is determined that the decoder that expands the text and image data does not exist in the printer, or if they match, there is a request for non-compression. In this case, the process moves to step S6204.

[0319] Here, the transfer destination device transfers the PC as the transfer source.
The decoder information included in the printer information transferred to 101 is data that also serves as a material for determining whether to transfer the compressed text and image data or the like or to transfer the data uncompressed. The former device also has a role as request data as to whether the transfer of compressed data or the transfer of uncompressed data is desired.

Next, in step S6203, it is set so that the decoder is present, that is, after reading out from the memory 67 in the PC 101, compressing text and image data, and then transferring the data to the 1394 bus. move on.

In the case of a printer decoder system such as a host-based printer in which the MPU is not provided in the main body of the printer, the text data and image data read from the memory 67 by the PC 101 are directly transmitted to the decoder system provided in the printer 103. Then, the setting is made so that the data is transferred to the transfer destination printer 103, and the process advances to step S6205.

Next, in step S6204, no decoder is set, that is, uncompressed text and image data are transferred from the PC 101 to the 1394 bus, and the flow advances to step S6205.

Next, in step S6205, step S6
In step 07, the transfer destination selected is specified, and transfer settings are made based on the instruction.

Next, in step S6206, a command including predetermined information notifying that the text and image data and the like are to be transferred is transmitted using the 1394 bus.

Next, in steps S6203 and S6204, compression / non-compression of text and image data is set, but if it is set to be transferred while compressed, the process proceeds to step S6208, where the compressed text and image data is stored from the memory 67. Control the output unit to forward
Proceed to step S6210.

If it is determined that uncompressed text and image data and the like are to be transferred, the flow advances to step S6209 to output and transfer the uncompressed text and image data read from the memory 67 in response to the transfer command in step S6206. To control the output unit. Note that the text and image data are transferred by an isochronous (or asynchronous) transfer method using a 1394 serial bus. Then, the process proceeds to step S6210.

In step S6210, completion of transfer of desired text and image data is confirmed.

In the present embodiment, description is made using text and image data already created in the PC 101. However, the present invention is not limited to text and image data created, but text and image data input from an imaging device. May use compressed video data that has not been recorded.

The printer described in the present invention is mainly conscious of a laser printer equipped with a double-sided printing function and a plurality of paper sizes and capable of high-speed printing. Digital equipment such as a laser printer may be used, and data to be handled is not limited to text and image data, but may be video data, audio data, various file data, and the like.

According to the above procedure, if the image data held by the PC 101 is not the same as the image data recorded by the recording / reproducing apparatus, and the printing conditions of the image data do not match the printing conditions of the printer, the image data is stored. Printing can be performed by re-editing. Also,
It is possible to perform printing efficiently by minimizing operator intervention such as paper exchange.

[0331]

As described above, according to the present invention,
If there are multiple data transfer destinations from a certain device, such as when multiple devices are connected via a network, etc., even if the user does not know in advance the functions and settings of the devices such as printing devices connected to the network, By receiving and storing the printing function information of each printing device, it has become possible to select one or a plurality of optimum printing devices.

[0332] Also, due to the difference in the data compression method that can be used by the devices connected to each other, compressed data that cannot be expanded is erroneously transferred, or uncompressed data is transferred even though it can be expanded at the transfer destination. Can be prevented, and data transfer can be performed efficiently.

In a system in which a host and a printing device are connected via a network, printing can be performed using a plurality of printing devices according to a printing method required on the host side, thereby increasing flexibility.

[0334] Further, it is possible to perform printing even when the setting of the printing conditions such as the functions of the printing apparatus and the paper size do not match the settings of the printing conditions included in the print data. became.

For example, when printing a document created by using an application program or the like on a recording sheet mounted on a printing apparatus, a page that exceeds the printing range of the sheet size of the recording sheet may be used. Can be printed in format.

For example, even when the paper size of the print data differs from the paper size of the recording paper attached to the printing device, printing can be performed in the original format defined by the print data.

Further, for example, printing can be performed so as to be within the print range without confirming whether or not the print data is within the print range of the paper size by using a print preview or the like, thereby reducing the trouble of confirmation and reediting by the operator. be able to.

Also, for example, when printing a document including pages to be printed on a plurality of paper sizes, a printable page may be printed before paper of a specified size is fed to the printing apparatus. Thus, printing can be quickly completed.

For example, even when the printing apparatus is set apart from the user, it is no longer necessary to check the size of the sheet attached to the printing apparatus or to retry printing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a recording / reproducing device, a printer device, and a PC to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation flow in the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an operation in the printer device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4B is a flowchart showing the flow of operation in the printer device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4C is a flowchart showing an operation flow in the printer device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an operation in the printer device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5B is a flowchart showing an operation flow in the printer device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5C is a flowchart showing an operation flow in the printer device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a network configuration connected using a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing components of a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an address map of a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a 1394 serial bus cable.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a DS-Link coding scheme.

FIG. 11 is a view for explaining a topology setting for determining the ID of each node on the 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining arbitration on a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 13 is a basic configuration diagram showing temporal state transition of asynchronous transfer.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of an asynchronous transfer packet.

FIG. 15 is a basic configuration diagram showing a temporal state transition of isochronous transfer.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of an isochronous transfer packet.

FIG. 17 is an example of a bus cycle showing a state of a packet transferred on an actual bus on a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a flow from a bus reset to a determination of a node ID.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a flow of determining a parent-child relationship in a bus reset.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a state after a parent-child relationship is determined in a bus reset.
9 is a flowchart showing a flow up to node ID determination.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining arbitration.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network according to the second embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a combination of image information, printer information, and setting values.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a configuration when a digital camera, a PC, and a printer are connected around a PC in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 8 recording / reproducing system 9 system controller 21 decoding circuit 26 printer controller 63 MPU 64 decoding circuit 101 PC (personal computer) 102 recording / reproducing device 103 printer device

Claims (25)

[Claims] 1. An information processing device connected to a plurality of external devices for editing an image and transferring the edited image to a predetermined one of the plurality of external devices, the function of the plurality of external devices being connected Identification means for identifying, a function of the plurality of external devices identified by the identification means, and selection means for selecting a transfer destination of the image from the plurality of external devices based on image information of the image, Editing means for editing the image based on the characteristics of the external device of the transfer destination selected by the selecting means, and changing means for changing the transfer order based on image information constituting the image, Information processing device. 2. The identification means transmits a function information request signal to the plurality of external devices, and determines the functions of the plurality of external devices based on the function information transferred in response to the transmitted request signal. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is identified. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the function information includes paper size information, and the selection unit selects a transfer destination of the image based on a printable paper size of the external device and an image size of the image. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein 4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said function information includes color information, and said selection means selects a transfer destination of said image based on a color output function of said external device and color characteristics of said image. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said function information includes resolution information, and said selection means selects a transfer destination of said image based on resolution information of said external device and resolution of said image. Information processing device. 6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said function information includes decoder information, and said selecting means selects a transfer destination of said image based on decoder information of said external device and a compression method of said image. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 7. The function information includes paper size information, and the editing unit determines a paper size printable by the external device based on a printable paper size of the external device and an image size forming the image. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image data of the image is edited so that a plurality of copies of the image are printed on one sheet. 8. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said function information includes paper size information, and said changing means changes an order in which said images are transferred based on image sizes constituting a plurality of said images. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 9. An information processing method which is connected to a plurality of external devices, edits an image, and transfers the edited image to a predetermined one of the plurality of external devices, wherein a function of each of the plurality of external devices is identified. An identification step; a selection step of selecting a transfer destination of the image from the plurality of external apparatuses based on functions of the plurality of external devices identified by the identification step and image information of the image; An information processing method, comprising: an editing step of editing the image based on the external device of the transfer destination; and a changing step of changing the transfer order based on image information constituting the image. 10. The identification step transmits a request signal for function information of each external device to the plurality of external devices, and based on the function information transferred in response to the transmitted request signal, the plurality of external devices. The information processing method according to claim 9, wherein the function is identified. 11. The function information includes paper size information,
11. The information processing method according to claim 10, wherein the selecting step selects the transfer destination of the image based on a printable paper size of the external device and a paper size forming the image. 12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said function information includes color information, and said selecting step selects a transfer destination of said image based on a color output function of said external device and color characteristics of said image. An information processing method according to claim 1. 13. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said function information includes resolution information, and said selecting step selects a transfer destination of said image based on resolution information of said external device and resolution of said image. Information processing method. 14. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said function information includes decoder information, and said selecting step selects a transfer destination of said image based on decoder information of said external device and a compression method of said image. The information processing method described. 15. The function information includes paper size information,
Based on a printable paper size of the external device and an image size of the image, an image of the image is printed on a sheet size printable by the external device. 11. The information processing method according to claim 10, wherein the data is edited. 16. The function information includes paper size information,
The information processing method according to claim 10, wherein, in the changing step, the order in which the images are transferred is changed based on image sizes of a plurality of the images. 17. A storage device which is connected to a plurality of external devices and stores a computer-readable program executed in an information processing device which edits an image and transfers the edited image to a predetermined one of the plurality of external devices. A medium, an identification step of identifying functions of a plurality of external devices to be connected; and a transfer destination of the image based on the functions of the plurality of external apparatuses identified by the identification step and image information of the image. A selection step of selecting from a plurality of external devices; an editing step of editing the image based on the transfer destination external device selected in the selection step; and a change of changing an order of transfer based on image information constituting the image. A storage medium storing a process and a program for realizing: 18. The identification step includes transmitting a request signal for function information of each external device to the plurality of image devices, and transmitting the plurality of external devices based on the function information transferred in response to the transmitted request signal. 18. The storage medium according to claim 17, wherein the function is identified. 19. The function information includes paper size information,
19. The storage medium according to claim 18, wherein the selecting step selects a transfer destination of the image based on a printable paper size function of the external device and a paper size forming the image. 20. The function information includes paper size information,
19. The image processing apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the selecting step changes the order of the images based on a paper size currently mounted on the external device and printable and a paper size constituting the image.
A storage medium according to claim 1. 21. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said function information includes color information, and said selecting step selects a transfer destination of said image based on a color output function of said external device and color characteristics of said image. A storage medium according to claim 1. 22. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said function information includes resolution information, and said selecting step selects a transfer destination of said image based on resolution information of said external device and resolution of said image. Storage media. 23. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said function information includes decoder information, and said selecting step selects a transfer destination of said image based on decoder information of said external device and a method of compressing said image. The storage medium according to the above. 24. The function information includes paper size information,
The editing step, based on the printable paper size of the external device and the image size constituting the image, to print the plurality of images collectively on one sheet of paper size printable by the external device, 19. The storage medium according to claim 18, wherein image data of the image is edited. 25. The function information includes paper size information,
19. The storage medium according to claim 18, wherein, in the changing step, an order in which the images are transferred is changed based on image sizes of a plurality of the images.