JP2001285612A - Image processing apparatus, image processing method, image processing system, and medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly apply output processing attended with image rotation processing to a stored image. SOLUTION: The image processing unit of this invention, which stores received image data and applies output processing to the data, rotates the image data in advance for a period when the unit is e.g. in a processing waiting state before actually applying the output processing to the stored image data so that no rotation processing is required at the actual output processing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile or a printer, and more particularly to an image output technique.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image processing apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer equipped with a finisher or a sorter, generally, in order to perform processing quickly, a read image is output in the same direction during normal output. Therefore, when post-processing such as stapling is performed, the direction of an image may be rotated and output according to the stapling position or the like.

In this type of image processing apparatus, the read image is temporarily stored in a hard disk or the like in order to wait for a job or the like, and the stored image is read and output at the time of executing the job.

[0004]

However, since the image rotation processing requires a certain amount of time, the output processing with the image rotation processing is performed in comparison with the output without the image rotation processing. It took a long time.

[0005] In particular, when the output accompanied by the image rotation processing is performed over a large number of pages, the output processing time becomes extremely long.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to enable quick output processing involving image rotation processing on stored images.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an image processing apparatus for performing an output process after accumulating input image data, in which an output process for the stored image data is actually performed. Prior to this, a rotation processing means for rotating the image data in advance is provided.

The present invention also provides an image processing method for performing an output process after accumulating input image data.
Prior to actually performing output processing on the stored image data, the image data is rotated in advance.

Further, according to the present invention, in an image processing system for performing output processing after accumulating input image data, the image data is rotated in advance prior to actually performing output processing on the stored image data. It is configured to keep.

Further, according to the present invention, in a computer-readable medium applicable to an image processing apparatus which performs output processing after storing input image data, prior to actually performing output processing on the stored image data. Thus, the image data is rotated in advance.

[0011]

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

[Hardware Configuration] (Overall Configuration) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall hardware configuration of an image processing apparatus (multifunction peripheral) to which the present invention is applied.
In FIG. 1, a controller unit 2000 is connected to a scanner 2070 serving as an image input device and a printer 2095 serving as an image output device.
This is a controller for inputting and outputting image information and device information by connecting to a (local area network) 2011 or a public line (WAN) 2051.

The CPU 2001 functions as a controller for controlling the entire multifunction peripheral. RAM 2002 is a CP
It is also used as a work memory for operating the U2001 and an image memory for temporarily storing image data.
The ROM 2003 is used as a boot ROM, and stores a boot program of the MFP. HDD200
A hard disk drive 4 stores control software, image data, and the like.

An operation unit I / F 2006 includes an operation unit (UI:
The user interface 2012 is connected to the operation unit 2012 and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 2012 to the operation unit 2012. Further, it has a role of transmitting information input from the operation unit 2012 to the CPU 2001. The network I / F 2010 manages an interface function with the LAN 101. Modem 2050 performs modulation and demodulation processing for transmitting and receiving data via public line 2051. The above devices are the system bus 200
7.

An image bus I / F unit 2005 is a bus bridge that connects an image bus 2008 for transferring image data at high speed and a system bus 2007 and converts a data structure. The image bus 2008 is connected to a PCI (Periph
eral Component Intercone
ct) bus or IEEE (Institute of
Electronic and Electroni
cs Engineers) 1394.

The following devices are arranged on the image bus 2008. Raster image processor (RIP) 2
060 expands the code data into bitmap image data. The device 1 / F unit 2020 connects the scanner unit 2070 or printer 2095, which is an image input / output device, to the controller unit 2000, and performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data.

A scanner image processing unit 2080 corrects image data read by the scanner 2070,
Perform processing and editing processing. Printer image processing unit 2090
Performs processing such as correction and resolution conversion according to the characteristics of the printer 2095 on image data to be printed out by the printer 2095. The image rotation unit 203
0 indicates that the image data is rotated, and the compression / decompression unit 2040 is used.
Compresses / decompresses image data transmitted / received via the LAN 2011.

The configuration as described above is configured so that the device portion connected to the system bus 2007 and the device portion connected to the image bus 2008 can be separated in consideration of the expandability of the image processing portion. It is an application of a general computer configuration.

In the above configuration, the image bus I / F unit 2
By making 005 general-purpose, it is provided with expandability so that various image processing functions can be arbitrarily combined. In particular, for the codec portion, various standards may be proposed in the future.
08 side.

(Image Input / Output Unit) FIG. 2 is an external view of the multifunction peripheral. The image input / output unit will be described with reference to FIG.

A scanner 2070, which is an image input unit, illuminates an image on a document and uses a CCD line sensor (not shown).
Is converted into an electric signal by scanning, and output as raster image data 2071 (see FIG. 1). Documents are set on a tray 2073 of a document feeder 2072. When the user instructs reading from the operation unit 2012, the controller CPU 2001 gives a reading signal to the scanner 2070, and the feeder 2072 sends the original to the
The document is fed to the reading position one sheet at a time,
It is read by a D line sensor or the like.

A printer 2095, which is an image output unit, forms an image on paper based on raster image data 2096 (see FIG. 1). The printer engine 2110 includes a photosensitive drum and a photosensitive drum. There are an electrophotographic method using a belt, an ink jet method in which an image is printed directly on paper by discharging ink from an array of minute nozzles, and any method may be used. The start of the printing operation is started by an instruction from the controller CPU 2001. The printer unit 2095 includes a plurality of paper cassettes 2101, 2102, 2103, and 2104 so that different paper sizes or different paper orientations can be selected.
Is built-in. Further, the paper discharge tray 2111 is for accumulating print-processed paper.

A finisher 2098 can be attached to the printer 2095 as an accessory. The printer 2095 receives a sheet printed by the printer unit 2095, and performs sheet processing such as stapling and punching (hereinafter, also referred to as post-processing). Is performed, and the paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 2099.

(Operation Unit) The configuration of the operation unit 2012 is shown in FIG. The LCD display unit 2013 of the operation unit 2012
A touch panel sheet is affixed on D to constitute an LCD touch panel. The touch panel sheet displays an operation screen of the system. When a key displayed in the operation screen is pressed, the position information is transmitted to the controller CPU 2001.

A start key 2014 is used to start a reading operation of a document image. Start key 2
At the center of 014, there are two colors of LED 2018, green and red, which indicate whether or not the start key 2014 can be used.

A stop key 2015 functions to stop the operation during operation. An ID key 2016 is used to input a user ID of a user. Reset key 2017
Is used to initialize the contents of the settings made in the operation unit 2012.

(Scanner Image Processing Unit) The configuration of the scanner image processing unit 2080 is shown in FIG.

The image bus I / F controller 2081 includes:
It has a function of connecting to the image bus 2008 and controlling the bus access sequence, and a function of generating a control signal and a timing signal for each device in the scanner image processing unit 2080. Filter processing section 2082 is a spatial filter and performs a convolution operation. The editing unit 2083 recognizes, for example, a closed area surrounded by the marker pen from the input image data, and performs image processing such as shading, shading, and negative / positive inversion on the image data in the closed area.

When changing the resolution of the read image, the scaling unit 2084 performs enlargement / reduction processing by performing interpolation in the main scanning direction of the raster image.
Zooming in the sub-scanning direction is performed by changing the scanning speed of the CCD line sensor. Table 208
Reference numeral 5 denotes a conversion table for converting read image data (luminance data) into density data.

The binarizing unit 2086 binarizes the multi-valued grayscale image data by a known halftone processing technique (error diffusion processing or screen processing). The JPEG compression unit 2087 converts the multi-valued image data output from the table 2085 into a known JPEG (Joint Photog
This is a part that performs real-time compression by means of a "ratic expert group" compression process. JPEG compression section 2087 outputs JPEG encoded code data. The image data or code data that has been subjected to the binarization processing or the JPEG compression processing is transferred to the image bus 2008 via the image bus controller 2081 again.

(Printer Image Processing Unit) The configuration of the printer image processing unit 2090 is shown in FIG.

The image bus 1 / F controller 2091 comprises:
It has a function of connecting to the image bus 2008 and controlling the bus access sequence, and a function of generating a control signal and a timing signal for each device in the printer image processing unit 2090. The resolution conversion unit 2092 uses the LAN 10
1 or the resolution of the image data transmitted from the public line 109 is converted to the resolution of the printer 2095.

The smoothing processing unit 2093 performs a process of smoothing jaggies (roughness of an image appearing at a black-and-white boundary such as an oblique line) of the image data after the resolution conversion.

(Image Compressor) FIG. 6 shows the structure of the image compressor 2040. Image bus I / F controller 2041
Is connected to the image bus 2008 to control the bus access sequence, timing control for transmitting / receiving data to / from the input buffer 2042 and output buffer 2045, and control such as mode setting for the image compression unit 2043. It has the function of performing

The image compression processing is performed according to the following processing procedure. That is, first, via the image bus 2008, C
PU 2001 to image bus I / F controller 2041
Is set for image compression control. With this setting, the image bus I / F controller 2041 allows the image compression unit 20
43, settings necessary for image compression, for example, MMR (m
modified modified READ) compression,
JBIG (Joint Bi-level Image)
(Experts Group) Make settings for expansion and the like. After the necessary settings are made, the CPU 2001 again permits the image bus I / F controller 2041 to transfer image data. According to this permission, the image bus I /
The F controller 2041 starts transfer of image data from the RAM 2002 or each device on the image bus 2008. The received image data is transferred to the input buffer 204.
2 and is transferred at a constant speed in response to an image data request from the image compression unit 2043.

At this time, the input buffer 2042 includes an image bus I / F controller 2041 and an image compression unit 2043.
It is determined whether or not image data can be transferred between the two. If reading of the image data from the image bus 2008 and writing of the image to the image compression unit 2043 are impossible, the data is not transferred. Such control is performed (hereinafter, such control is called handshake).

The image compression section 2043 temporarily stores the received image data in the RAM 2044. This storage processing requires several lines of data depending on the type of image compression processing to be performed when performing image compression, and prepares several lines of image data to perform the first one-line compression. This is done before the image compression can be performed. The image data subjected to the image compression is immediately sent to the output buffer 2045.

The output buffer 2045 is provided with an image bus I / F.
A handshake is performed with the controller 2041 and the image compression unit 2043, and the image data is transferred to the image bus I / F controller 2041. The image bus I / F controller 2041 receives the transferred compression (or decompression).
The transferred image data is transferred to the RAM 2002 or each device on the image bus 2008. In this series of processing, the processing of the required number of pages is completed, and the CPU
Until there is no processing request from 2001 or due to an error during compression or decompression, the image compression unit 20
The process is repeated until a stop request is issued from 43.

(Image Rotation Unit) The configuration of the image rotation unit 2030 is shown in FIG. Image bus I / F controller 2031
Has a function of connecting to the image bus 2008 and controlling a bus sequence thereof, a function of setting a mode or the like in the image rotation unit 2032, and a function of controlling a timing for transferring image data to the image rotation unit 2032. .

The image rotation processing is performed according to the following processing procedure. That is, first, via the image bus 2008, C
Image bus I / F controller 2031 from PU 2001
Is set for image rotation control. With this setting, the image bus I / F controller 2041 sets the image rotation unit 20
For 32, settings required for image rotation, for example, image size, rotation direction, angle, etc. are made. After the necessary settings are made, the CPU 2001 again permits the image bus I / F controller 2041 to transfer image data.
According to this permission, the image bus I / F controller 2031
Starts transfer of image data from the RAM 2002 or each device on the image bus 2008. In this embodiment, the size of the image to be rotated is 32 × 32 bits.
Further, when image data is transferred onto the image bus 2008, image transfer is performed in units of 32 bits (the image to be handled is assumed to be binary).

As described above, in order to obtain a rotated image of 32 × 32 bits, it is necessary to perform the above-described data transfer in units of 32 bits 32 times, and it is necessary to transfer image data from discontinuous addresses ( See FIG. 8). The image data transferred by the discontinuous addressing is written to the RAM 2033 so that the image data is rotated to a desired angle when read by a normal reading method. For example, 9
If it is 0 degree counterclockwise rotation, 32b transmitted first
The image data of it is written in the Y direction as shown in FIG. Then, the image is read in the X direction as usual, so that the image is rotated.

Image rotation of 32 × 32 bits (RAM 20
33), the image rotation unit 2032
Reads the image data from the RAM 2033 by the above-described reading method, and reads the image data from the image bus I / F controller 203.
1 to transfer the image. The image bus I / F controller 2031 receiving the rotated image data transfers the data to the RAM 2002 or each device on the image bus 2008 by continuous addressing. In such a series of processing, the processing of the required number of pages is completed, and the CP
This processing is repeated until there is no more processing request from U2001.

(Device I / F Unit) Device I / F Unit 2
020 is shown in FIG.

The image bus I / F controller 2021 is
It has a function of connecting to the image bus 2008 and controlling the bus access sequence, and a function of generating a control signal and a timing signal for each device in the device I / F unit 2020. Further, it has a function of generating control signals to the external scanner 2070 and the printer 2095.
The scan buffer 2022 temporarily stores image data sent from the scanner 2070, and stores the image data in the image bus 2008.
The image data is output in synchronization with.

The serial / parallel / parallel / serial converter 2023 arranges or decomposes the image data stored in the scan buffer 2022 in order, and
008 is converted to a transferable data width. The parallel-serial / serial / parallel conversion 2024 is connected to the image bus 20.
The image data transferred from step 08 is decomposed or arranged in order and converted into a data width that can be stored in the print buffer 2025.

The print buffer 2025 is connected to the image bus 2
008 is temporarily stored, and the image data is output in synchronization with the operation of the printer 2095.

The image scanning is performed according to the following processing procedure. That is, first, the image data transferred from the scanner 2070 is stored in the scan buffer 2022 in synchronization with the transfer timing signal. When the image bus 2008 is a PCI bus, when image data is stored in the scan buffer 2022 in 32 bits or more, the image data is stored in a 32 bit sequence on a first-in first-out basis.
The data is sent to a parallel-to-serial converter 2023, converted to 32-bit image data, and sent to an image bus interface controller 202.
1 on the image bus 2008. When the image bus 2008 is IEEE1394, the image data in the scan buffer 2022 is sent from the scan buffer 2022 to the serial-parallel / parallel-serial converter 2023 on a first-in first-out basis to convert the image data into serial image data. The data is transmitted on the image bus 2008 through the F controller 2021.

Image printing is performed according to the following processing procedure. That is, when the image bus 2008 is a PCI bus, first, 32-bit image data sent from the image bus is received by the image bus I / F controller, and is sent to the parallel-serial / serial / parallel converter 2024. The image data is decomposed into image data of the number of input data bits and stored in the print buffer 2025. When the image bus 2008 is IEEE1394,
The serial image data sent from the image bus 2008 is received by the image bus I / F controller, sent to the parallel-serial / serial / parallel converter 2024, converted into image data of the number of input data bits of the printer 2095, and stored in the print buffer 2025. I do. Then, in synchronization with the timing signal sent from the printer 2095, the image data in the print buffer 2025 is sent to the printer 2095 on a first-in first-out basis.

[Overall Configuration of Software] (Overall System) FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of an overall network system to which an image processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied is connected.
Shown in An image processing apparatus (multifunction peripheral) 1001 to which the present invention is applied has the scanner 2070 and the printer 2095 as described above, and sends an image read from the scanner 2070 to the LAN 2011 or sends an image received from the LAN 2011 to the printer. 2095 allows printing out. Further, an image read from the scanner 2070 is transmitted to the PSTN or ISDN 1030 by a facsimile transmission / reception unit (not shown),
Images received from the DN can be printed out by the printer.

Reference numeral 1002 denotes a database server.
2 read by the image processing apparatus 1001 according to the present invention.
The value image and the multi-value image are managed as a database. 1
Reference numeral 003 denotes a database client of the database server 1002, which can browse / search image data stored in the database 1002. An e-mail server 1004 can receive an image read by the image processing apparatus 1001 according to the present invention as an e-mail attachment. 1005
Is an e-mail client that receives and browses e-mail received by the e-mail server 1004,
It is possible to send an e-mail.

Reference numeral 1006 denotes an HTML document transmitted from the LAN 201.
The HTML document provided by the WWW server 1006 can be printed out by the image processing apparatus 1001 according to the present invention.
A router 1007 connects the LAN 2011 with the Internet / intranet 1012. The Internet / intranet 1012 includes the above-described database server 1002, WWW server 1006, e-mail server 1004, and image processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention.
1, that is, the database server 102
1. WWW server 1022, e-mail server 102
3. The image processing device 1024 is connected.

On the other hand, the image processing apparatus 1001 according to the present invention
Is faxed via PSTN or ISDN 1030.
It can transmit and receive with the device 1031. Also, LAN
A printer 1040 is also connected to the 2011, and the printer 1040 is configured to be able to print out an image read by the image processing apparatus 1001 according to the present invention.

(Overall Configuration of Software) FIG. 12 is an overall configuration diagram of software of an image processing apparatus (multifunction peripheral) 1001 to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 12, reference numeral 1501 denotes a UI, that is, a user interface. When an operator performs various operations and settings of the multifunction peripheral 1001,
This is a module that mediates with the device itself. Book UI15
The module 01 transfers input information to various modules to be described later, requests processing, sets data, and the like, according to the operation of the operator.

Reference numeral 1502 denotes an address-book, that is, a database module for managing data transmission destinations, communication destinations, and the like. Regarding the contents of the Address-Book, data is added, deleted, and acquired by an operation from the UI 1501, and is used as data transmission / communication destination information to each module described later by an operation of an operator. .

Reference numeral 1503 denotes a Web-Server module, which is used for notifying management information of the MFP in response to a request from a Web client (not shown). This management information corresponds to Control-API1 described later.
518, and is read via HTTP 1512,
TCP / IP1516, Network-Driver
The Web client is notified via 1517.

1504 is Universal-Sen
d, that is, a module that manages data distribution,
The data specified by the operator by the UI 1501 is
Similarly, it is distributed to the designated output destination. Also,
If the operator instructs to generate distribution data using the scanner function of the device, the
The device is operated via the 1-API 1518 to generate data.

P550 of 1505 is Universalsa.
This module is executed when a printer is designated as an output destination in the l-Send 1504. Em of 1506
The email is a module that is executed when an E-mail address is designated as a communication destination in the Universal-Send 1504. The DB of 1507 is “Universal”.
This module is executed when a database is specified as an output destination in the rsal-Send 1504. 150
The DP 8 is a module that is executed when a multifunction peripheral similar to the present apparatus is designated as an output destination in the Universal-Send 1504.

1509 is Remote-Copy-Sc
an MFP that uses the scanner function of this multifunction peripheral, performs output processing to another multifunction peripheral connected via a network or the like, and performs processing equivalent to the Copy function realized by the multifunction peripheral alone. . 1510 is Renote
A Copy-Print module, which uses the printer function of the multifunction peripheral and uses a multifunction peripheral connected via a network or the like as an input destination;
This module performs processing equivalent to the py function. 151
Reference numeral 1 denotes a Web-Pull-Print, that is, a module for reading and printing information of various homepages on the Internet or an intranet.

Reference numeral 1512 denotes an HTTP module which is used when the multifunction peripheral communicates by HTTP, and which is described later by a TCP / IP 1516 module by using the Web-Server 1503 and the Web-server.
The communication function is provided to the Pull-Print 1511 module. Reference numeral 1513 denotes an lpr module, which provides a communication function to the printer module 1505 in the above-mentioned Universal 1-Send 1504 by a TCP / IP 1516 module described later.

Reference numeral 1514 denotes an SMTP module.
The communication function is provided to the E-mail module 1506 in the versal-Send 1504. 1
515 is an SLM, that is, Salutation-Ma
This is a module for the TCP / IP15, which will be described later.
The above-mentioned Universal-Se by 16 modules
database module 1517 in nd1504, D
P module 1518 and Remote-Copy-
Scan1509 module, Remote-Copy
-To provide a communication function to the Print1510 module.

Reference numeral 1516 denotes a TCP / IP communication module.
The driver provides a network communication function. Reference numeral 1517 denotes a network driver which controls a portion physically connected to the network.

Reference numeral 1518 denotes a Control-API, which is used for an upstream module such as the Universal-Send 1504 and the like, and a Job-Manager 151 described later.
9 to provide an interface with downstream modules, such as 9, to reduce the dependency between the upstream and downstream modules, and to improve the applicability of each module.

Reference numeral 1519 denotes a Job-Manager, which is a Control-API from the various modules described above.
It interprets the processing instructed via 1518 and gives an instruction to each module described later. Further, this module centrally manages hardware processing executed in the MFP.

Reference numeral 1520 denotes a CODEC (COder-DE).
Coder) -Manager, and Job-Man
It manages and controls various types of compression / decompression of data in the process specified by the aggregator 1519. 1521 is FB
E (First Binary Encoding)-
Encoder, Job-Manager 151
9. The data read by the scan processing executed by the Scan-Manager 1524 is compressed in the FBE format.

Reference numeral 1522 denotes JPEG (Joint Photo).
graphical ExpertGroup) -CO
DEC and Job-Manager 1519, Sca
In scan processing executed by the n-Manager 1524 and print processing executed by the Print-Manager 1526, the J
It performs PEG compression and JPEG expansion processing of print data.

Reference numeral 1523 denotes an MMR (Modified M).
modified Read) -CODEC, Jo
b-Manager 1519, Scan-Manager
Scan processing executed by 1524 and Prin
In print processing executed by the t-Manager 1526, MMR compression of read data and MMR decompression processing of print data are performed.

Reference numeral 1524 denotes a Scan-Manager, which manages and controls the scan process specified by the Job-Manager 1519. Reference numeral 1525 denotes a scanner driver which communicates between the Scan-Manager 1524 and a scanner unit internally connected to the MFP. 1526 is Print-Manage
r, which manages and controls the print processing instructed by Job-Manager 1519.

Reference numeral 1527 denotes an engine I / F (printer driver), which is a Print-Manager 15
And an interface between the printer 26 and the printer 2095. Reference numeral 1523 denotes a parallel port driver.
I / O when Pull-Print 1511 outputs data to an output device (not shown) via a parallel port
F.

(Application) An application incorporated in the image processing apparatus 1001 according to the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 13 shows an application block related to distribution. Although some of the components shown in FIG. 13 correspond to the components shown in FIG. 12, this correspondence does not always correspond to one-to-one. Even if it corresponds to 1, it is indicated by a different symbol.

Referring to FIG. 13, reference numeral 4050 denotes a block indicating an application of the operation unit.
501. Reference numeral 4100 denotes a block indicating the transmission side of the remote copy application. 4150
Is a block indicating the transmitting side of the broadcast distribution. 4200
Is a block indicating a Web Pull Print module. Reference numeral 4250 denotes a block indicating a Web Server module.

Reference numeral 4300 denotes a block indicating the remote copy receiving side (printing side). Reference numeral 4350 denotes a block for receiving and printing the image data transmitted by the broadcast distribution using a general-purpose printer. Reference numeral 4400 denotes a block indicating a remote print receiving side (print side). Reference numeral 4450 denotes a block for receiving and storing the image data transmitted by the broadcast distribution in a known Notes Server. Reference numeral 4500 denotes a block for receiving and storing binary image data transmitted by broadcast distribution. Reference numeral 4550 denotes a block for receiving and storing the image data transmitted by the broadcast distribution using a known Mail Server. Reference numeral 4600 denotes a block for receiving and storing multi-valued image data transmitted by broadcast. Reference numeral 4650 denotes a block indicating a known Web Server including information contents. Reference numeral 4700 denotes a block indicating a known Web Browser that accesses a Web Server or the like.

Hereinafter, the application group will be described in detail with reference to each block.

(User Interface application) The User Interface shown in block 4050
The details of the terface (UI) are as described above, but here, the 405l Address Book will be described.

The Address Book is a non-volatile storage device (ROM 200) in the image processing apparatus 1001.
3 or hard disk 2004)
In this, the characteristics of the devices connected to the network are described. For example, those listed below are included. The official name and alias name of the device, the network address of the device, the network protocol that the device can process, the document format that the device can process,
The compression type that can be processed by the device, the image resolution that can be processed by the device, the paper size and paper source information that can be fed for printer devices, and the folder name that can store documents for server (computer) devices.

Each application described below can determine the characteristics of the distribution destination based on the information described in the above-mentioned Address Book 4051. The Address Book is editable and can be downloaded from a server computer or the like in a network and used, or can be directly referred to.

(Remote Copy Application) The remote copy application sends the resolution information that can be processed by the device specified as the distribution destination to the Address Book.
The binary image read by the scanner 2070 is compressed according to the known MMR method in accordance with the resolution, and the compressed data is compressed into a known TIFF (Tagg).
ed Image File Form)
4103, the data is transmitted to a printer device on the network.

Although not described in detail, the SLM 4103 is a type of a network protocol that includes device control information called a known Salutation Manager (or Smart Link Manager).

(Broadcast Distribution Application) The broadcast distribution application, unlike the remote copy application, can transmit images to a plurality of distribution destinations by one image scanning. Further, the distribution destination is not limited to the printer device, but can be directly communicated to a so-called server computer.

Hereinafter, description will be made in order according to the distribution destination.

The destination device is an LPD (Line Printer) which is a known network printer protocol.
Daemon), if a known LIPS can be processed as a printer control command, Address Book 4
When the discrimination is further made according to 051,
The image is read in accordance with the image resolution determined by the Book 4051, and the image itself is, in the present embodiment, a known FBE (First Binary Encode).
ng) and further compressed using LIPS (LBP Im
age processing system), and transmits it to the partner device using LPR, which is a known network printer protocol.

A device of a distribution destination can communicate with the SLM,
In the case of a server device, Address Book 405
1, the server address and the designation of the folder in the server are determined, and similarly to the remote copy application, the binary image read by the scanner 2070 is compressed by the known MMR method, and the compressed data is converted into the known TMR.
IFF (Tagged Image File Form)
at), and can be stored in a specific folder of a server device on the network through the SLM 4103.

In this embodiment, when the server which is the partner device determines that the known JPEG-compressed multi-valued image can be processed, the multi-valued image is converted into the known JPEG-compressed image in the same manner as the binary image. Using compression, a well-known JFIF (JP
EG File Interchange Format
t), and can be stored in a specific folder of the server device on the network through the SLM 4103.

When the destination device is a publicly known E-Mail server, the mail address described in Address Book 405l is determined, the binary image read by the scanner 2070 is compressed by the MMR method, and the compressed data is converted to TIFF. And SMTP (Simple M
aile Transfer Protocol) 415
3 to the E-Mail server. Subsequent distribution is performed according to MailServer4550.

The description of the Web Pull Print application and the Web Server application is omitted here.

(Operation Screen) Next, the screen of the operation section 160 will be briefly described.

The functions provided by the image processing apparatus 1001 according to the present invention include Copy, Send, Retrieve,
Tasks, Management, Configur
14 are divided into six large categories, for example, as shown in a copy operation screen 3010 in FIG.
Main tabs 3011 to 3016 corresponding to these functions
Is displayed at the top of the operation screen. These main tabs 30
By pressing 11 to 3016, switching to the operation screen corresponding to each category is performed. If switching to another category is not permitted, the main tab 301
The display colors of 1 to 3016 change and the main tab 3011
It is configured not to react even if 3016 is pressed.

The Copy function is provided by the scanner 2
070 and a printer 2095 to perform a normal document copy, and a remote copy function to copy a document by using a printer connected to the scanner 2070 of the own device via a network. S
The end function is to send a document placed on the scanner 2070 of the own device to an e-mail, a remote printer,
It is a function to transfer a fax, file transfer (FTP), and database, and it is possible to specify a plurality of destinations.

The Retrieve function is a function of acquiring an external document and printing the acquired document on the printer 2095 of its own device. At this time, when acquiring the document, it is possible to use WWW, electronic mail, file transfer, and fax. The Tasks function automatically processes documents sent from outside such as fax and Internet printers, and periodically executes Ret.
A task for performing a live is generated. Mana
The “gement” function manages jobs, address books, bookmarks, documents, account information, and the like.
The configuration function makes settings (network, clock, etc.) relating to the own device.

(DIS: Device lnforma)
Tion Service) controller unit 20
Within 00, the setting value for the job, device (scanner,
Function, status, billing information, etc.
A database that holds data in a data format conforming to the control API, and an I / F with the database are stored in Devi.
ce Information Service (hereinafter, “ce Information Service”)
DLS).

FIG. 15 shows DIS 7101 and Job Man.
ager1519 and each of Scan and Print Ma
This shows the exchange with the namers 1524 and 1526.

Basically, dynamic information such as a job start command is transmitted from the job manager 1519 to each manag.
er 1524, 1526, and refers to the DIS 7101 for static information such as device functions and job contents. Static and dynamic information and events from each of the Managers 1524 and 1526 are transmitted to the Jo via the DIS 7101.
b It is reported to the Manager 1519.

When data is set or obtained from each of the Managers 1524 and 1526 to the database of the DIS 7101, the internal data format of the DIS 7101 is Cont.
control API because it is compliant with Control API.
Data format conforming to API and each Manager 152
4 and 1526 perform a mutual conversion process with a data format that can be understood. For example, each Manager 1524, 152
When setting status data from step 6, device-specific data is interpreted, converted to corresponding data defined by the Control API, and written to the database of the DIS 7101.

Job Manager 1519 to DI
When setting and acquiring data in the database in S7101, the Job Manager 1519 and the DIS7
There is no data conversion between 101. Also, DIS7
In 101, each Manager 1519, 1524, 1
The event data is updated based on various event information notified from 526.

FIG. 16 shows various databases (hereinafter, referred to as DBs) held in the DIS 7101, and each DB will be described.

The round rectangles in FIG. 16 represent individual DBs. 7201 is a SupervisorDB,
This is a DB that stores the status and user information of the entire device, and information that needs to be backed up, such as the user ID and password, is stored in a hard disk 2004 or a non-volatile storage device such as a backup memory.

Reference numeral 7202 denotes a Scan Component.
DB, 7203 is Print ComponentDB
And these ComponentDBs are the existing Cos
It is held corresponding to each component. For example, in the case of a device consisting of only a printer, Print Compo
In the case of a device equipped with a FAX, only a FAX ComponentDB is stored. In each ComponentDB, at the time of initialization, the corresponding Manager sets the function and status of the Component.

Reference numeral 7204 denotes a scan job service.
ceDB, 7205 is PrintJob Service
Like the ComponentDB, these JobServiceDBs are also eDBs. At the time of initialization, the corresponding Managers set the functions that can be used in the device and their support status.

Next, JobDB and DocumentDB will be described. 7206 is Scan JobDB, 7
207 is Prnt JobDB, 7208 is Scan
DocumentDB, 7209 is Print Doc
documentDB.

JobDB and DocumentDB are J
Every time an ob and its accompanying Document are generated, the Job Manager dynamically secures and initializes and sets necessary items. Each Manag
Before starting the processing of Job, JobDB and D
Read the items required for processing from the documentDB,
Start Job. After that, when the Job ends, these Jobs and the Documents attached to the Jobs are terminated.
Is released. Job is one or more Docume
nt, so multiple Docum for a certain Job
entDE may be secured.

Reference numeral 7210 denotes a database for storing event information notified from each manager, and reference numeral 7211 denotes a counter table for recording the number of scans and the number of prints of the apparatus. Events notified from the Manager include Com from the Scan Manager.
state transition, Scan processing operation completion and various errors, and Co. from Print Manager
component transition, Print processing operation completed,
There are a paper jam, a picture paper cassette open, and the like, and an event ID for identifying each event is predetermined.

When an event is issued from the Manager, the DIS 7101 sets the event database 721
Register the event ID issued to 1 and detailed data accompanying the event as necessary. Also, Manage
When the event release is notified from r, the event data designated to be released is deleted from the event database 7211.

When the event polling is performed by the job manager, the DLS 7101 refers to the event database 7210, and returns the event ID currently occurring and, if necessary, detailed data accompanying the event to the job manager. If no event has occurred at the moment, a reply is sent to that effect.

Also, when the Scan processing operation is completed, Print
If the processing operation completion event is notified,
n, Update the counter value of the user who performed the print. This software counter is rewritten each time its value is updated to a non-volatile storage device such as a backed-up memory device or a hard disk 2004 so that the value is not lost due to accidental power-off or the like.

(Scan Operation) FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a software structure relating to the scan operation. JobM
The analyzer 1519 has a function of classifying and storing application-level requests. The DIS 7101 stores parameters required for a scan operation from the application level. The request from the application is R
Stored in AM2002. Scan operation management unit 820
3 is Job Manager 1519 and D1S710
The information necessary for performing a scan is obtained from Step 1. That is, the scan operation management unit 8203 determines that the Job Man
The job number table 8303 shown in FIG. 18 and the table data 8301 of the document number table 8304 shown in FIG. The scan based on the scan parameters 8302 is performed based on the scan conditions requested by the application.

The scan operation processing unit 8203 performs the D1S71
The scan parameters 8302 obtained from 01 are passed to the scan sequence control unit 8204 in the order of the document numbers 8305. Upon receiving the scan parameter 8302, the scan sequence control unit 8204 executes the device I / F control unit 8 according to the content of the scan image attribute 8308.
207 is controlled. Thereby, the image bus 20
Scanning is executed by operating the device I / F 2020 connected to the scanner 08 and sending a control command to the scanner 2070 via the cable 2071. The scanned image is stored in the cable 2071, device I / F
2020 is stored in the RAM 2002 via the image bus 2008.

When the scan is completed, the scan sequence control unit 8204 controls the RAM 20 via the image bus 2008.
02 when the image is stored in the scan parameter 8
In order to compress the scan image stored in the RAM 2002 according to the content of the scan image compression format 8309 of 302, a compression request is issued to the CODEC Manager 1520. CODEC that received the compression request
The Manager 1520 includes a compression / decompression unit 2040 connected to the image bus 2008 or an MMRCODE.
Using the software compression module in Cl523,
Compression is performed by specifying the scan image compression format 8309 from the scan sequence control unit 8204, and the compressed image is stored in the RAM 2002 via the bus 2008.

The scan sequence control unit 8204 determines whether
When the ODEC Manager 1520 compresses the scan image into the format specified by the scan image compression format 8309 and stores the compressed image in the RAM 2002, the image file type 8307 of the scan parameter 8302 is used.
The compressed scan image stored in the RAM 2002 is filed. That is, the scan sequence control unit 8204 sends the
Image file type 83 of scan parameter 8302
A request is made to create a file in the file format designated by 07. The file system 8206 stores the image file type 830 from the scan sequence control unit 8204.
According to 7, the compressed image stored in the RAM 2002 is converted into a file and transferred to the hard disk 2004 via the image bus 2008 to convert the scanned compressed image into a file.

When the file system 8206 stores the filed image in the hard disk 2004, the scan sequence control unit 8204
A notification to the effect that a series of scanning processes on one original on 0 has been completed is returned to the scanning operation management unit 8203.

At this point, there is a document on the scanner 2070 that has not been scanned yet, and Job Mana
If there is a scan request from ger1519,
The scan sequence control unit 820 uses the scan parameters 8302 stored in the D1S 7101 again.
4 requests a scanning operation. If there is no unscanned document on the scanner 2070 or Jo
b When there is no scan request from the Manager 1519, it is determined that the scan operation has been completed.
A scan end notification is issued to the Job Manager 1519.

(Print Operation) Next, the print operation will be described in detail.

The device I / F 2020 has a DPR
AM and a printer 2095 via this DPRAM
Setting of parameters, reading of the status of the printer 2095, and transmission and reception of print control commands. Also, the device I / F 2020 waits for the Video controller, and receives the VCLK (V
The image data developed on the image bus 2008 is transmitted to the printer 2095 in accordance with the “image Clock” signal and the HSYNC signal.

The transmission timing is as shown in FIG. That is, the VCLK signal is always output and the HSY signal is output.
The NC signal is given in synchronization with the start of one line of the printer 2095. The Video controller reads data for the set image width (WIDTH) from the RAM 2002 and outputs the data as a Video signal to the printer 2095.
Output to After repeating this for the specified number of lines (LINES), an IMAGE-END interrupt is generated.

As described above, the Control API is transmitted from the application program on the CPU 2001.
When a print job instruction is passed to the
The API uses this as a controller-level job
Pass it to the Ob Manager 1519. Furthermore, this J
The ob Manager 1519 converts the job settings into DI
Stored in S7101 and Print Manager 152
6 is instructed to start a job.

[0116] Print Manager 1526 is
When the job is accepted, information necessary for executing the job is read from the DIS 7101, and the Engine I / F 152
7 and the printer 2095 via the DPRAM. If the image is compressed, CODEC Mana
ger1520 for deployment, and CODEC Mana
ger1520 will accept Printer Ma
expansion method instructed from “namer1529” (JPE
G, MMR, etc.) to develop the image file into a bitmap image. The expanded bitmap image is RA
M2002.

The setting items of the device I / F 2020 are shown in FIG.
FIG. 22 shows setting items, control commands, and status commands of the printer 2095 via the DPRAM.

Next, regarding the printing of the hit map image,
The operation will be specifically described assuming that one page of two-page printing of a binary image of a letter (11 ″ × 8.5 ″) size and the printer 2095 waits for a performance of 600 dpi.

After the image has been developed, Print Manag
The er1526 calculates the number of image bytes of the width of the image (in this case, the width of 8.5).

WIDTH = 8.5 × 600/8630
(Bytes) Next, the number of lines is calculated.

LINES = 11 × 600 = 6600 (L
ines) The calculated value and the SOURCE address of the RAM 2002 in which the given first page image is stored are set to WIDTH, LINES, and SOURCE shown in FIG. At this point, the device I / F 2020 has completed preparation for image output, but has not output image data because the HSYNC signal from the printer 2095 has not been received (the VCLK signal has been received).

Next, Print Manager 1526
Is a predetermined address (Bo) of the DPRAM shown in FIG.
ok No. ) Is written as the number of output copies.
Thereafter, a feed request signal (FEED-REQ) for the output sheet for the first page is issued, and an IMAGE-REQ signal from the printer 2095 is waited. When an IMAGE-REQ signal is received from the printer 2095, the IMAGE-STA is output.
Issue an RT signal. The printer 2095 receives H
The device I / F 2020 that has started outputting the SYNC signal and has been waiting for the input of the HSYNC signal outputs an image.

The printer 2095 outputs an IMAGE-END signal when detecting the rear end of the output sheet, and outputs a SHEET-OUT signal when the output sheet is discharged.
The Print Manager 1526 receives the IMAGE-END signal of the first page, and receives the WID of the second page.
TH, LINES, SOURCE to Engine I / F
Set to 1527, issue the FEED-REQ signal,
Wait for the MAGE-REQ signal. IMAGE on the second page
The operation after the -REQ signal comes is the same as that of the first page.

[Overview of Image Storage / Output Processing] Next, processing for storing an image to be output such as a document image read from the scanner 2070 or an image input from outside the apparatus,
The outline of the output process will be described.

In FIG. 22, 10101, 10102, 101
Numerals 03 and 10104 exemplify original images read and input by the scanner 2070,
Numerals 0201, 10202, 10203, and 10204 show states in which read image data of these originals are stored in the hard disk 2004 as they are without performing rotation processing.

In FIG. 23, the image is stored in a state of being rotated by 180 degrees. However, this is not the result of rotation as a result of the image rotation processing, and the read image data is stored in the hard disk 2004. in case of,
Even if the rotation processing is not performed intentionally, the hardware configuration means that the data is stored in a state of being naturally rotated from the viewpoint of the user. Also, the image data is
For example, the data can be stored in another nonvolatile memory such as a RAM backed up by a power supply.

As shown in FIG. 23, the image data is stored in the hard disk 2004 in a rotated state. Therefore, if normal output is performed without performing staple processing or the like, the print result is also rotated with respect to the read original. An image is output.

In FIG. 24, 10301, 10302, 103
Numerals 03 and 10304 show the case where the recording paper on which the original image of FIG. 22 is printed is stapled and output. That is, the image data accumulated in a state rotated by 180 degrees as shown in FIG.
As a result of recording on recording paper rotated by 0 degrees, staple processing, and ejection, the paper is output as if it had not been rotated.

In FIG. 25, 10401, 10402, 104
03 and 10404 show the case where the recording paper on which the document image of FIG. 22 is printed is output on both sides by short edge binding. That is, due to the binding position, FIG.
The stored image data of the even-numbered pages 10202 and 10204 are rotated by 180 degrees, recorded on recording paper, and output.
The output result 1020 of the even page shown in FIG.
2 and 10204 are output results 1020 of the odd-numbered pages, respectively.
1, output results for the back side of 10203 are shown.

FIG. 26 shows a management data table of the stored image data of FIG. The page number sequence represents the page number of the image, and the image data sequence points to the image file. The rotation angle column indicates the rotation angle at the time of rotation processing intentionally performed on the image at the time of input, and the rotated flag column indicates whether or not the rotation by the rotation angle of the rotation angle column has already been performed on the image data. This is the flag that represents.

The image data 10201 in FIG. 23 corresponds to the image data FILE01 on the first page in FIG. 26, and the image data 10202 in FIG. 23 corresponds to the image data FILE02 on the second page in FIG. 23 of 10
The image data 203 corresponds to the image data FILE03 on the third page in FIG. 26, and the image data 10204 in FIG. 23 corresponds to the image data FILE04 on the fourth page in FIG.

In addition, since these image data have a rotation angle of 0 degrees and do not need to be rotated, the rotated flag columns are all YES.

FIG. 27 shows a management data table when the stored image data of FIG. 23 is stapled, and the image data 10301 of FIG. 24 corresponds to the image data FILE01 of the first page of FIG. 24 of 10
The image data 302 corresponds to the image data FILE02 on the second page in FIG. 27, the image data 10303 in FIG. 24 corresponds to the image data FILE03 on the third page in FIG. 27, and the image data 10304 in FIG. 27 corresponds to the image data FILE04 of the fourth page.

Since these image data have a rotation angle of 180 degrees and the accumulated image data needs to be rotated in the future, the rotated flag sequence is all NO.

FIG. 28 shows FILE01 and FIL shown in FIG.
9 shows a management data table after performing a designated rotation process on E02, FILE03, and FILE04. In this case, since the image data has already been rotated by the specified rotation angle and the image data has been rewritten, all the rotated flag strings are YES.

FIG. 29 shows management data when the stored image data of FIG. 23 is output on both sides.
The image data 401 corresponds to the image data FILE01 on the first page in FIG. 29, the image data 10402 in FIG. 25 corresponds to the image data FILE02 on the second page in FIG. 29, and the image data 10403 in FIG. This corresponds to the image data FILE03 of the third page of No. 29, and corresponds to 1 of FIG.
The image data 0404 corresponds to the image data FILE04 on the fourth page in FIG.

These image data correspond to the 180-page accumulated image data to be printed on the back side.
Since it is necessary to rotate by degrees, the columns of the rotation angles of the second and fourth pages that need to be rotated have a value of 180, and the rotated flag column is NO. Since the first and third pages do not need to be rotated, the rotation angle column remains 0 and the rotated flag column remains YES.

FIG. 30 shows FILE01 and FIL shown in FIG.
9 shows a management data table after performing a designated rotation process on E02, FILE03, and FILE04. In this case, since the image data has already been rotated by the specified rotation angle and the image data has been rewritten, all the rotated flag strings are YES.

FIG. 31 shows a job management table stored in the hard disk 2004. The column of the stored job indicates the job number, the column of the number of pages indicates the number of output pages for each job, and the rotation check column indicates whether the image data has been rotated with respect to the current output setting.

[Job Selection, etc.] FIG. 32 shows a job selection screen when a job is output or a setting is changed. The job number is displayed together with the number of output pages of the job and the date and time when the job was stored. By selecting a number etc.
As shown by hatching in FIG. 32, the display portion related to the selected job is configured to be displayed in black and white inverted or in a changed color.

The selection of a job can be performed by using scroll boxes 16010 and 16020.
The selected job can be confirmed by a confirm button 16030. Then, when the selected job is confirmed by the confirm button 16030, the screen of FIG. 33 is displayed.

FIG. 33 shows an operation screen for executing the output of the job selected on the selection screen shown in FIG. 32 and the change of the setting. 17080 displays the job number, the number of pages of the job, and the date and time of the accumulation of the selected job.

Reference numeral 17010 denotes a staple check box. By checking the staple check box 17010, a staple mode is set. 17020 is a double-sided check box,
The duplex mode is set by checking the duplex check box 17020. Furthermore, when the double-sided mode is set, the binding position mode at the time of short edge binding can be set with the buttons 17030 and 17040. Note that when the upper binding position mode is set by the button 17030, the 180-degree rotation processing is performed on the accumulated image data of the even-numbered pages as shown in FIG. 25, but the left binding position mode is set by the button 17040. In this case, the rotation process is not performed.

Reference numeral 17050 denotes a button for executing a setting change. When the setting change button 17050 is pressed, the stored image data is rotated according to the mode setting by the check boxes 17010 and 17020 and the buttons 17030 and 17040.

That is, a print button 170 described later
Before pressing 70 to actually execute the print process,
By pressing the setting change button 17050, the stored image data can be rotated in advance before the print processing. Therefore, it is not necessary to execute the rotation process at the time of the actual print process, so that the print process can be performed quickly. The setting change button 1
If the user presses 7050 to execute the rotation processing of the accumulated image data, “completed” is registered in the rotation check column of the corresponding job in the job management table of FIG.

Reference numeral 17060 denotes a button for executing a setting change later. After this, a setting change button 1706
When 0 is pressed, check boxes 17010 and 170
20, the rotation angle with respect to the stored image data is stored in the management data table in accordance with the mode setting by the buttons 17030 and 17040, but the actual rotation processing of the stored image data is not performed at this time, and the setting change button 1
7050 or a print button 17070 described below
Executed when is pressed.

When the print button 17070 is pressed, the stored image data is rotated according to the mode settings by the check boxes 17010 and 17020 and the buttons 17030 and 17040, and the print processing is executed.

[Pre-rotation processing etc.] FIG. 34 shows a control procedure executed when any one of the setting change button 17050, the post-setting change button 17060 and the print button 17070 is pressed on the operation screen of FIG. It is a flowchart.

When a job setting input is received in step S1, a page number variable is set to "1" in step S2. Next, in step S3, it is checked whether or not a page set in the page number variable exists. As a result, if the page does not exist, the control ends.

On the other hand, if there is a page set in the page number variable, a new rotation angle of the page is calculated based on the job mode setting (step S4), and the current rotation angle and the new rotation angle are calculated. Compare (Step S
5). As a result, if they match, it means that there is no need to change the rotation angle in the management data table, perform the rotation process, etc., and proceed to step 9.

On the other hand, if the rotation angles do not match, the rotation angle is changed. That is, the rotation angle of the new page calculated in step S4 is registered in the management data table, and the rotated flag is set to NO (step S4).
6). Next, in step S7, it is determined whether or not the setting (mode) is such that the rotation process is immediately performed. in this case,
In the setting input of step S1, the setting change button 17
If 050 or the print button 17070 is pressed, it is determined that the setting is to immediately execute the rotation processing. If the post-change setting change button 17060 is pressed, it is determined that the setting is not to immediately execute the rotation processing.

If it is determined in step S7 that the setting is such that the rotation process is immediately performed, the image data of the page is rotated by the new rotation angle, and the rotation completed flag is set to YES (step S8). The process proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, if it is determined that the setting is not such that the rotation processing is performed immediately, the process skips step S8 and proceeds to step S9. In step S9, the page number variable is set to “1”.
And the process returns to step S1.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the image can be rotated in advance before the output involving the image rotation is performed. Therefore, when the output involving the image rotation is actually performed, the rotation processing is performed. Need not be executed, and output can be performed quickly.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when the rotation processing of the stored image data is performed in the background, that is, during the period of waiting for the processing of the job.

First, the running job is checked (step S21), and it is determined whether or not there is any running job (step S22). As a result, if there is no job being executed, it is assumed that the apparatus has room for performing the rotation processing in advance, and it is determined whether or not there is a job to be subjected to the rotation processing (step S2
3). As a result, if there is a job to be subjected to the rotation process, the control process of FIG. 34 is executed to perform the rotation process (step S24), and the process returns to step S23.

If it is determined in step S22 that there is a job being executed, and if it is determined in step S23 that there is no job to be rotated, the job being executed or Wait for 10 minutes in consideration of the influence on the job to be executed in the near future (step S25), and return to step S21.

As described above, by performing the image rotation processing that is performed in advance before performing output involving image rotation in the background, that is, during non-execution of a job,
It is possible to improve the overall processing efficiency of the entire apparatus.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and is not limited to, for example, staple processing and short edge bind processing, but is also applicable to other output processing involving image rotation such as punching. It is also possible. Further, the present invention is not limited to image data input from a scanner, and can be applied to image data input from outside the apparatus via a network. Also in this case, whether or not the image data is stored in a naturally rotated state when storing the image data depends on the specifications of the device.

[0159]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An image processing apparatus that performs output processing after accumulating input image data has rotation processing means for rotating the image data in advance before actually performing output processing on the stored image data. In addition, output processing involving image rotation processing on the stored images can be performed quickly, and performance can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall hardware configuration of an image processing apparatus to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the image processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an operation unit of the image processing apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a scanner image processing unit of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer image processing unit of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image compression unit of the image processing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image rotation unit of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for describing addressing at the time of reading (transfer) when performing image rotation processing.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining addressing at the time of writing when performing image rotation processing.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a device I / F unit of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

11 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a network system to which the image processing apparatus in FIG. 1 is connected.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of software of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an application related to distribution in the software of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a copy operation screen.

FIG. 15: DIS, Job Manager, Prit
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining data transfer between a Manager and a Scan Manager.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing various databases held in DIS.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for describing a software structure related to a scan operation.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing parameters in scanning.

FIG. 19 is a timing chart showing transfer timing of data to be printed.

FIG. 20 illustrates a register for print parameters.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating communication commands exchanged between the printer and the Engine board.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a read document image.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a state where the read document image of FIG. 22 is stored in a hard disk.

24 is a diagram illustrating a case where the accumulated image in FIG. 23 is stapled and output.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a case where the stored image of FIG. 23 is output on both sides by short edge binding.

26 is a diagram illustrating a management data table of the stored image of FIG. 23.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a management data table when the accumulated image of FIG. 23 is stapled;

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a management data table after performing a rotation process specified in the management data table of FIG. 27;

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating a management data table when the stored image of FIG. 23 is output on both sides.

30 is a diagram showing a management data table after performing a rotation process specified in the management data table of FIG. 29.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a job management table.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a job selection screen.

FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating an operation screen for performing output mode setting and the like of a job.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing a control procedure executed when a setting change button or the like is pressed on the operation screen of FIG. 33;

FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when the control of FIG. 34 is performed in the background.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1001, 1023 image processing device 1519 job manager 1526 print manager 1527 engine I / F 2000 controller unit 2001 CPU 2002 RAM 2003 ROM 2004 hard disk 2070 scanner 2095 printer 2030 image rotation processing unit 2031 ... Image bus I / F controller 2032 ... Image rotation unit 2033 ... RAM

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. An image processing apparatus for performing an output process after accumulating input image data, wherein a rotation process for rotating the image data in advance before actually performing an output process on the accumulated image data. An image processing apparatus comprising means. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotation processing unit performs the rotation processing during a processing standby state in which no other processing is performed by the image processing apparatus.
An image processing apparatus as described in the above. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotation processing unit performs the rotation processing according to an output mode related to the output processing. 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the output mode is a staple mode. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the output mode is a short edge bind mode. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the output mode is a punching mode. 7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input image data is stored in a nonvolatile memory such as a hard disk device. 8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input image data is image data input from an image reading device mounted on the image processing device. apparatus. 9. The image data input from an image reading device mounted on the image processing device is stored in a naturally rotated state when stored without intentionally performing a rotation process. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein: 10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input image data is image data input from outside the image processing apparatus via a network. . 11. An image processing method for performing output processing after accumulating input image data, wherein the image data is rotated in advance prior to actually performing output processing on the stored image data. Characteristic image processing method. 12. An image processing system for performing an output process after accumulating input image data, wherein a rotation process of rotating the image data in advance before actually performing an output process on the accumulated image data. An image processing system comprising means. 13. A computer-readable medium applicable to an image processing apparatus which performs output processing after accumulating input image data. A medium having contents for rotating image data.