JP2003018385A - Image storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image storage device that can easily operate for selecting an image even without a display device such as a CRT display or a liquid crystal display. SOLUTION: The image storage device generates a list of thumbnail picture data matching the entered desirable retrieval condition, and makes an image recording means print out listed thumbnail image data 12a on the basis of the thumbnail picture data list. The image storage device provides an image designation mark 12d to a desired thumbnail picture among the listed thumbnail pictures 12a that are printed out, makes an original read means read the thumbnail picture so as to discriminate the presence of the image designation mark and makes the image recording means print out the image data corresponding to the image designation mark.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic document filing system for storing, managing and outputting electronic image data of a desired image, a printer function, a facsimile function, a printer function, and storing and managing image data. The present invention relates to an image storage device such as a digital multi-function peripheral having integrated output functions. More specifically, it relates to an improvement in selecting and determining desired image data from a plurality of accumulated image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a so-called image storage device that electronically stores images such as documents and photographs and allows them to be viewed and printed out as many times as desired is used in various fields such as government offices, local governments and companies. Many are used. It is no exaggeration to say that the advent of this device has dramatically improved the image search time, management, and operation compared with the conventional method of organizing and storing documents etc. in "paper" on a bookshelf etc. .

This device stores images in a database.
Various image storage devices have been proposed in order to facilitate the search by systematically classifying them according to their types and for further improving convenience. As an image search means in such an apparatus, an image such as a thumbnail image in which a display device such as a CRT display or a liquid crystal display connected to the image storage device has a list of image names, registration dates, or front pages is displayed. Generally, a means for displaying data information and selectively selecting and inputting so as to interact with the image data information and searching for a desired image.

By the way, a copying machine for copying images, a facsimile for exchanging images such as documents with a distant place using a telephone line, and a digital for high-quality printing based on image data transmitted from a computer. An image storage device in which digital devices such as printers, which have been individually present, are integrated has recently appeared. This device can be connected to a plurality of computers via a LAN, can be a shared printer device of each computer, can be an electronic document system that digitizes and stores, manages, and outputs important documents, or It has become a very convenient and suitable device for the office environment in these days where digitalization is advancing, such as a normal copying machine and a facsimile machine.

As an apparatus in which the copy function, the facsimile function, the printer function via the LAN, and the electronic document management function are integrated as described above, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
There is an image input / output device disclosed in JP-A 1-164439. This device adds a document ID that can be specified to the image data when recording the image data and records the image data, and at the same time, a cover document with an ID mark is printed out. The form of the cover document is not only normal with ID mark on the front page (probably), but also cover document with ID mark corresponding to the list thumbnail images that show the contents of the document. , A cover document for fax with a large ID mark can be selected. Then, by causing the image reading means to read the one or more printed cover sheets with ID marks, one document image data or a plurality of document image data is selected and based on the image data. The image is printed out, and it seems to be an excellent device that does not require a display device such as a CRT display or a liquid crystal display.

[0006]

According to this apparatus, when it is desired to print a desired manuscript from the stored image data, by reading the cover manuscript made of "paper" with the ID mark, The apparatus recognizes this ID mark and prints out the original over the entire page. Therefore, when the accumulated image data becomes enormous, the number of cover sheets made of “paper” with the ID mark increases accordingly, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of document retrieval.

[0007] In addition, this apparatus has a "period input source designation"
A mode document copy means is disclosed, and when the range of the period in which the copy source document image data is considered to be specified is specified, the information of the desired document corresponding to the touch panel is displayed, and when the document is determined, the required image is displayed as a "removable image". It is supposed that the image data will be copied and output to the "or" server, but even in this case, when there are a plurality of image data matching the search conditions, they are gradually displayed by a low-resolution display means such as a touch panel. Therefore, it is difficult to say that the search operation for selecting and determining an image is a good one.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image storage device which can be easily operated to select an image without a display device such as a CRT display or a liquid crystal display.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 adds an original reading means for reading an original and outputting image data, and search information corresponding to the image data to the image data. Image storage means for storing the image data in the recording medium, condition input means for accepting a search condition when searching the image data stored in the recording medium, and desired image data among the image data matching the search condition. In the image storage device, comprising: an image recording unit that selectively determines and prints out an image based on the determined image data, a list thumbnail of image data that matches the desired search condition input to the condition input unit. Image creating means for creating image data and causing the image recording means to print out a list thumbnail image based on the list thumbnail image data; An image designation mark is added to a desired thumbnail image from the list thumbnail images printed out by the forming unit, and the document reading unit is caused to read the list thumbnail image to which the image designation mark is added. An image storage device, comprising: a determination unit that determines the presence or absence of a designated mark and prints out a desired image on the image recording unit based on image data corresponding to the image designated mark.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, when the image data composed of a plurality of images matches the search condition, the image creating means makes one image representative of the images. An image storage device is characterized in that thumbnail image data is created for the data.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the image recording means provides a reference position display mark for specifying the directionality of the list thumbnail image when the list thumbnail image is printed out. An image storage, characterized in that the designation determination means determines the presence or absence of the image designation mark by specifying the directionality of the list thumbnail image based on the reference position display mark while printing the image by adding it to the margin portion. On the device.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the reference position display mark has identification information for specifying a list thumbnail image printed out.
In the image storage device, the designation determining means also identifies the list thumbnail image based on the identification information.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the list thumbnail image is formed by providing a blank portion to which the image designation mark is attached, above each thumbnail image. The image storage device is characterized in that

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the list thumbnail image is formed such that the respective thumbnail images are formed adjacent to each other, and the image designation mark is located above the desired thumbnail image. In addition to the check mark having an arbitrary shape described above, the designation determination means determines the presence or absence of the image designation mark by comparing and determining the thumbnail image before the check is given and the thumbnail image after the check is given. Image storage device.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to sixth aspects, the designation determining means detects an image designation mark having a predetermined density added to the list thumbnail image, and after the check is given. An image storage device characterized by judging a thumbnail image.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to sixth aspects, an interactive setting means for setting the density of the image designation mark to be added to the list thumbnail image is provided and the interactive setting means is used. The image designation mark is given to the thumbnail image with a density substantially equivalent to the set predetermined density, and the designation determination means detects the predetermined density of the image designation mark added to the list thumbnail image, and after the check is given. The image storage device is characterized by determining the thumbnail image of.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to eighth aspects, the first interactive activation means for activating the condition input means and the second interactive activation means for activating the designation determining means. The image storage device is characterized in that

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the image storage device according to any one of the first to ninth aspects is configured to be connectable to a LAN, and includes a copy function unit, a facsimile function unit, and a printer function unit. The image storage device is characterized by being provided.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the tenth aspect, the image data is automatically copied to the recording medium together with the search information corresponding to the image data by copying the desired image using the copy function unit. The image storage device is characterized in that the image is stored in the image storage device.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the tenth aspect, when a desired image is transmitted or an image is received by using the facsimile function section, the image data together with search information corresponding to the image data is recorded on the recording medium. The image storage device is characterized in that it is automatically stored in.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the tenth aspect, when image data is received from another device connected via the LAN, the image data is recorded together with search information corresponding to the image data. An image storage device characterized by being automatically stored in a medium.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the accompanying drawings,
An embodiment of the present invention will be described. (Embodiment 1) As shown in FIG. 1, an image storage device according to Embodiment 1 includes a document reading unit 11 and an image recording unit 12.
The image storage unit 13, the facsimile communication unit 14, the printer controller unit 15, the image memory unit 16, and the operation display unit 17 are connected to each other via the system control unit 18.

The document reading unit 11 is composed of a scanner having a well-known structure, scans the document image and the list thumbnail image of the present invention, the fax transmission image, the normal copy image, etc. to digitize the image, and this is digitized. Image data is output.

The image recording section 12 is composed of a printer having a well-known structure, and is a list thumbnail image in the present invention, an image determined to be searched, or a personal computer a.
4 and a5, image data transmitted by fax, image data received by fax, image data by a normal copy function, and the like, and an image is printed out based on each image data.

The image storage unit 13 needs to store image data output from the document reading unit 11, image data received by fax, image data transmitted from the personal computers a4 and a5, and the like as required. It is a recording medium such as a hard disk that stores image data. The facsimile communication unit 14 has a built-in NCU for sending a dial signal to call a communication partner and connecting to the public communication network a1, and transmits image data of an external facsimile apparatus a2 connected via the public communication network a1. It is a well-known one configured to perform transmission / reception and the like.

The printer controller unit 15 is an interface for connecting to the local area network a3, receives printer commands transmitted from the personal computers a4 and a5 connected via the LAN I / F unit LANa3, and outputs the printer commands. The image data is generated according to the above. The image memory unit 16 includes a DRAM and the like, and includes image data output from the document reading unit 11 and a personal computer a4,
It is a recording medium for temporarily recording image data from a5 and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the operation display section 17 displays the function selection keys 17a, 17b and 17c for switching the copy function, the facsimile transmission function and the image search function, the number of copies and the facsimile transmission destination telephone number. A numeric keypad 17d for inputting, an enter key 17e for inputting completion of setting of the number of characters, a start key 17f for instructing the start of copying, facsimile transmission, etc., operation guidance and various types of information by overlapping the liquid crystal panel and the touch sensor. It is composed of a touch panel display 17g or the like which displays a setting status, character information and the like and also serves as an operation key.

The system control unit 18 is a ROM in which a predetermined program is stored, a CPU for controlling each unit according to the predetermined program, and R for reading and writing required data.
It is composed of AM and the like. This system control unit 18
The image data used in the copy function, the facsimile function, and the printer function are accumulated in the image storage unit 13, and search information for searching the image data later, for example, used function, date and time information, the number of images and images. Size etc.
In the copy / printer function, the number of copies / prints, discrimination of transmission / reception in the facsimile function, request source IP address in the printer function (Internet Protocol
Address) and the like are stored in the image storage unit 13 in association with the image data.

Here, the number of images is the number of documents stacked in an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) unit (not shown) of the document reading unit 11 in the copy function and the facsimile transmission function, and the number of document replacements by the ADF unit is The system control unit 18 is notified of the number of documents. Further, the facsimile reception function corresponds to the number of received originals, and the printer function corresponds to the number of printed pages.

The image data stored here can be reused when it becomes necessary later. As a result, for example, it is possible to add the number of copies even if there is no original document and to send the copy to an additional destination. Further, in the printer function, it is possible to add the number of prints without operating the personal computers a4 and a5.

The image storage apparatus according to the first embodiment configured as described above has a copy function of recording image data of a document read by the document reading unit 11 on recording paper by the image recording unit 12, and reading by the document reading unit 11. The image data of the original document is transmitted through the facsimile communication unit 14, and the image data received by the facsimile communication unit 14 is transmitted to the image recording unit 12.
It has a facsimile function of recording on a recording paper by the printer, a printer function of recording the image data generated by the printer controller unit 15 on the recording paper by the image recording unit 12, and the like, and is a suitable image storage device having excellent convenience. ing.

Next, the image selection which is the gist of the present invention will be described. First, by depressing any one of the function selection keys of the operation display section 17, either image data accumulation or image data retrieval is selected. That is, as shown in FIG. 21, the system control unit 18 detects that one of the function selection keys of the operation display unit 17 is pushed down (step S11) and determines whether it is a copy function (copy function selection key 17a). It is determined whether or not is pressed (step S12). Copy function selection key 17
When it is determined that a has been pressed (step S12: YE
In S), the image data is stored simultaneously with the copy processing described later (step S16). When it is determined that the copy function selection key 17a has not been pressed (step S1)
2: NO) determines whether the function is a facsimile transmission function (whether the facsimile function selection key 17b is pressed) (step S13). When it is determined that the facsimile function selection key 17b has been pressed (step S13: YES),
A facsimile transmission process and accumulation of image data, which will be described later, are executed (step S15). When it is determined that the facsimile function selection key 17b is not pressed (step S
13: NO), the image search process is executed (step S14). These will be described in detail below.

[Storage of Image Data] In the case of copying, first, the operator sets an original such as a desired document or photograph on the original reading unit 11, and among the function selecting keys of the operation display unit 17, the copy function selecting key 17a. Select and press down. Then, on the touch panel display 17g,
Various messages such as "Ready to copy" and "Please wait", various information such as reduction / enlargement input display, magnification information, paper size input display, number of copies, and various input displays are displayed.

When a desired input operation is performed on the touch panel display 17g and the ten-key pad 17d and the start key 17f is pressed, the document reading section 11 starts scanning to generate image data. At this time, the copied date and time are acquired by the clock built in the device.
The generated image data is accumulated in the image storage unit 13 with search information such as date and time information and copy conditions added, and at the same time, an image is printed out from the image recording unit 12 based on the image data.

In the case of a facsimile, there are transmission and reception in the case of facsimile, but the case of transmission will be described first. First, the operator sets a desired document such as a document or photograph to be transmitted to the document reading unit 11, selects the facsimile function selection key 17b among the function selection keys of the operation display unit 17, and depresses it. Then, on the touch panel display 17g, various input displays such as destination information, image quality, transmission result, and transmission report, which are recorded in advance, and the current memory usage (transmission once stored in the image memory unit 16) are displayed. Information such as the total image data amount of the document) is displayed.

If the destination telephone number is recorded in the device through the desired operation, the touch panel display 17
If the destination telephone number is input from the numeric keypad 17d and the start key 17e is pressed from g, the document reading unit 11 starts scanning to generate image data.
At this time, the copied date and time are acquired by the clock built in the device. The generated image data is stored in the image storage unit 13 with search information including date and time information and copy conditions added thereto, and at the same time transmitted to the external facsimile apparatus a2 via the facsimile communication unit 14 and the public line a1. It

Next, the case of reception will be described. When the facsimile communication unit 14 detects a transmission signal from a transmission source such as the external facsimile apparatus a2, the reception of image data from the public line is started. At this time, the received image data is stored in the image storage unit 13 together with the sender information, the date / time information, and the search information such as the number of images corresponding to the image data. At the same time, an image is printed out from the image recording unit 12 based on the image data.

In the case of a printer, the printer controller unit 15 receives printer commands transmitted from the personal computers a4 and a5 connected via the local area network a3,
Image data corresponding to the printer command is generated.
The generated image data is accumulated in the image storage unit 13 together with search information such as date / time information and source address information corresponding to the image data. At the same time, the image recording unit 1
An image is printed out from 2 based on the image data.

[Retrieval of Image Data] The retrieval of image data is started by depressing the image retrieval function selection key 17c for extracting the image data thus accumulated. When the image search function selection key 17c is pressed, the system control unit 18 detects this and a screen as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the touch panel display 17g.

FIG. 3 is a screen for setting search conditions and the like for narrowing down the stored image data, and a function selection column 1 for selecting which function the image data was stored for.
It shows a state where the "copy" touch key of 7h is pressed. When the other "facsimile" or "printer" touch keys are pressed, the display of each field other than the function selection field 17h is slightly different because the search conditions are slightly different. In this way, when the "copy" touch key is pressed in the function selection field 17h, in addition to the function selection field 17h as shown in FIG.
i, an image number range designation field 17j, an image size selection field 17k, a copy / print number range designation field 17m, etc. are displayed.

When the operator sets and inputs various search conditions as much as possible (it may be remembered around), the system control unit 18 gradually detects this and refers to the search information accumulated in the image storage unit 13 to set the search conditions. The number of matching image data is counted, and the number of images (16 in FIG. 3 is illustrated) is displayed in the search result display field 17n. As described above, in the present embodiment, it is considered that it is not necessary to set all of these selection fields / designation fields. That is, the system control unit 18 detects the operation of each display portion such as "function selection", "use date / time", "number of images", "image size", and "number of copies / prints", and in response thereto, The related items are included in / removed from the search condition, and it is not always necessary to set them in all the fields. For example, in FIG. 3, the “copy / print number” is not selected (the one in which the character background is stippled is not selected), but the system control unit 18 sets the image storage unit 13 based on the search conditions up to this point by the operator.
Refer to the search information accumulated in.

Then, the operator selects the search result display field 1
Check whether the number of images displayed on 7n is confirmed and change the settings of various search conditions, or press the start key 17f to output a list image of the searched image data. When the start key 17f is pressed, the system control unit 18 detects this and the image data matching the search condition is stored in the image storage unit 13.
Sequentially read out to create thumbnail image data,
Write in a predetermined area of the image memory 16. As a result, image data for obtaining the list thumbnail image 12a in the form of a substantially checkerboard pattern in which the blank portion 12b is provided on the upper portion of each of the 16 × 4 × 4 thumbnail images illustrated in FIG. To create. Also, the list thumbnail image 12a
The mark data for obtaining the reference position display mark 12c that specifies the directionality of is added to the margin portion (near the upper left edge portion in FIG. 4) of the list thumbnail image 12a data. The system control unit 18 associates the layout information of the list thumbnail images, that is, the relationship between the image data that is the source of the thumbnail images and the arrangement position of each thumbnail image, and stores them in the image storage unit 13 (layout). Including number information). Note that the size and layout of the thumbnail image data are automatically selected by the system control unit 18 according to the number of searched image data.
Lay out.

Next, the system control unit 18 controls the image recording unit 12 to list the thumbnail images 12 based on the list thumbnail image data created on the image memory 16.
A is printed out on the recording paper. In addition, the system control unit 18
When the print output of the list thumbnail image 12a is finished, causes the touch panel display 17g to display a message prompting the user to operate the start key 17f, as shown in FIG.

The operator confirms the output list thumbnail images 12a, finds a desired image, and puts an image designation mark 12d (arbitrary shape) in a blank portion 12b above the image (thumbnail image). The number of image designations is not limited. After the image designation mark 12d is written, the list thumbnail image 12a is set in the document reading unit 11 and the start key 17f is pressed. When the system control unit 18 detects the operation of the start key, the document reading unit 1
1 is instructed to read the original and scanning is started. The output image data is gradually stored in the image memory unit 16.

Next, the system control section 18 accesses the image memory section 16 to search for the vicinity of the four corners on the image data to detect the position of the above-mentioned reference position display mark 12c, whereby the list image is displayed. Recognize the original setting direction of.
Next, the system control unit 18 displays the reference position display mark 1
Blank area 1 based on the position of 2c and the layout selected earlier
The position of 2b is calculated, and the inside of the blank portion 12b is sequentially searched to determine the presence or absence of the image designation mark 12c. Further, thereby, the system control unit 18 specifies the selected image data by collating the position where each thumbnail image is written with the position where the image designation mark 12c was present.

When the identification of the image data is completed, a message as shown in FIG. 7, an output number display section 17p, and a facsimile destination display section 17r are displayed on the touch panel display 17g. In this example, these 2
The system control unit 18 controls so that only one of them can be set. The operator selects whether to simply print out or send by facsimile, sets various output conditions such as the number of printed sheets or a telephone number using the ten keys 17d, and presses the start key 17f. When the start key 17f is pressed, the system control unit 18 detects this, reads the specified image data from the image storage unit 13, and refers to the output condition to output an image by the image recording unit 12 or perform facsimile communication. Facsimile transmission is performed via the unit 14.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the image data that has been searched and narrowed down is converted into a thumbnail image of a list and recorded on a recording sheet, so that a required image can be confirmed without a display device. it can. Further, since the designation can be made only by adding the image designation mark 12d to the list thumbnail image 12a, the accumulated image data can be reused by an extremely simple operation.

By the way, the image storage device of the present invention is likely to be shared by a plurality of users, and if one user occupies it for a long period of time, a use wait occurs, and a company or the like waits. The work efficiency of each department may decrease. Therefore, image data search ~ list thumbnail image output operation,
The reading of the list thumbnail image to the image reusing operation (print output) are considered separately so that the occupied time per person can be shortened.

That is, when the output of all list thumbnail images is completed, a message as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the operation display section 17 and the operator continues the operation as described in the first embodiment. In order to get out of the image search function, a function other than the image search function, that is, the copy function selection key 17a or the facsimile function selection key 17b may be operated. This allows other operators to use the device normally.

In this way, when the image data search-list thumbnail image output operation is completed and another operator is replaced, the operator who obtains the list thumbnail image checks the output list thumbnail image, An image designation mark 12d is written for a required image and written in the blank portion 12b. Then, when the apparatus is empty, the image search function selection key 17c may be operated to restart the work.

As described above, in the first embodiment described above, when the list image data is created, the blank portion 12b where the image designation mark 12c is marked is arranged adjacent to the upper portion of the thumbnail image. As a result, the area to be searched can be limited to the blank portion 12b, so that the presence or absence of the selection mark can be easily determined, and the load on the system control unit 18 can be reduced.

On the other hand, however, since the blank portion 12b is provided, the size of the thumbnail image is reduced accordingly, and the efficiency of the operator for confirming the list thumbnail images output is deteriorated. Therefore, a mode of the list thumbnail image data according to the layout not including the blank portion 12b as illustrated in FIG. 8 is also conceivable. Therefore, this aspect will be described.

(Second Embodiment) The electrical configuration of the second embodiment is the same as the configuration described in the first embodiment except for the control operation in the system control unit 18, and therefore the description thereof is omitted and a part of the operation procedure is omitted. Since only the difference is present, the description of the common operation procedure is omitted. Note that the system control unit is different in the image processing and control process based on the control program described in the first embodiment, but will be described with the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment for the sake of convenience, and other common configurations will also be described in the embodiments. The same reference numeral as 1 will be used for the description. In the second embodiment, the thumbnail image data and the image designation mark 22a are identified by utilizing the density of the image indicated by the image data. That is, in this case, the darkness of the image designation mark 22a written by the operator is set to an intermediate darkness by limiting the writing tool (for example, a marker pen) to be used.

On the other hand, the system control unit 18 creates the list thumbnail image data according to the predetermined layout as illustrated in FIG. 8, and when outputting the list thumbnail image to the image recording unit 12, the binary dither is used. The system control unit 18 controls to select processing such as processing that has a microscopically high contrast. Further, the system control unit 18 calculates the position of the thumbnail image based on the position of the reference position display mark 12c and the layout selected above, and sequentially searches the area to determine the presence or absence of the image designation mark 22a. That is, the thumbnail image itself and the selection mark can be identified by searching whether or not pixels of intermediate density are continuously present.

Further, when the image designation mark density setting section 27a as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the touch panel display 17g and the size of the intermediate density used for the judgment by the system control section 18 is changed in accordance with the setting, the operator Since the degree of freedom of the writing utensil used by is increased, the operability can be further improved.

When the document reading section 11 has a color separation function, the operator designates an image designation mark 22a.
May be a specific color by limiting the writing instrument to be used, for example, a yellow marker pen. In this case, when determining the presence or absence of the selection mark, the system control unit 18
Since the determination can be made based on the color information, the accuracy can be further improved.

Further, an image designation mark color setting unit is provided in place of the image designation mark density setting unit 27a shown in FIG. 9, and the system control unit 18 changes the color used for the determination according to the setting. May be. Further in this case,
Even if the device is capable of color output, it is preferable to perform monochrome output when outputting the list thumbnail images. As a result, the color of the list thumbnail image and the color of the selection mark are not mixed, so that the accuracy can be further improved. Further, there is also a resource saving effect of suppressing consumption of ink, toner or the like in the image recording unit 12 by outputting in black and white (monochrome).

(Embodiment 3) The electrical configuration of the third embodiment is the same as the configuration described in the first embodiment except for the control operation in the system control unit 18, and therefore the description thereof is omitted and the image which is the gist of the present invention is described. The data search will be described in detail.
Although the system control unit is different in image processing and control process based on the control program described in the first embodiment,
For the sake of convenience, the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment will be used for description, and other common configurations will also be described in the first embodiment.
The description will be given with the same reference numerals. In the image data search of the image storage device in the third embodiment, as described in the first embodiment, the image search function selection for utilizing the respective functions or automatically extracting the stored image data when being transmitted. It starts by pressing down the key 17c (see FIG. 2).

When the image search function selection key 17c is pressed down, the system control section 18 detects this and, as shown in FIG. 18, displays the "image search" touch key 37a and the "image output" touch key 37b on the touch panel display. 1
When 7 g is displayed and any touch key is input, the process proceeds to the image search process as shown in FIG.
The operation will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[Search for Image Data] When the "image search" touch key 37a shown in FIG. 18 is pressed, the system control unit 1
8 detects this (step S31: YES), and FIG.
A screen such as that shown in Fig. 7 is displayed on the touch panel display 17g, and the process proceeds to the search condition input process (step S3
2). FIG. 10 is a screen for setting search conditions and the like for narrowing down the stored image data, and a function selection column 37c for selecting which function the image data was stored for.
The "copy" touch key is pressed.
Other "facsimile transmission" and "facsimile reception",
When you press each touch key such as "Printer", the function selection field 37
The display of each column other than c is slightly different because the search conditions are slightly different. In this way, when the "copy" touch key is pressed in the function selection field 37c, as shown in FIG. 3, in addition to the function selection field 37c, a range designation field 37d for the date and time of use, a range designation field 37e for the number of images, An image size selection field 37i, a copy / print number range specification field 37j, a transmission / reception destination specification field 37k, an IP address specification field 37m, etc. are displayed.

When the operator sets and inputs various search conditions as much as possible (it may be remembered around), the system control unit 18 gradually detects this and refers to the search information accumulated in the image storage unit 13 to set the search conditions. The number of matching image data is counted, and the number of images (18 in FIG. 10) is displayed in the search result display field 37n. In addition,
In the third embodiment as well as the first and second embodiments, it is considered that it is not necessary to set all of these selection fields / designation fields. That is, when the operation of each display portion of "function selection", "use date / time", "number of images", "image size", "copy / print number", "transmission / reception destination", and "IP address" is detected, system control is performed. The unit 18 incorporates / removes related items into / from the search condition in accordance with this, and does not necessarily have to set all the fields.

For example, when the copy function is selected as in the present embodiment, the display of the transmission / reception destination designation column 37k and the IP address designation column 37m is blacked out, and the display that does not disturb the operator is controlled by the system control. Part 18
Is performed (in FIG. 10, the state where these two columns are blacked out is shown as an example and is not actually displayed). In addition, "Copies / Prints" is not selected (the one with a stippled character background is not selected)
However, the system control unit 18 refers to the search information accumulated in the image storage unit 13 based on the search conditions up to this point by the operator.

Then, the operator uses the search result display column 37.
Check the number of images displayed in n, change the setting of various search conditions, press the start key 17f to output the list image of the searched image data, or the image search function to exit the image search function. Other function selection keys 17
Consider pressing a or 17b. When the start key 17f is pressed, the system control unit 18 detects this, and the system control unit 18 proceeds to list thumbnail image creation / image output processing (step S33).

When the process proceeds to the list thumbnail image creation / image output process, first, the image data matching the search condition is sequentially read from the image storage unit 13, thumbnail image data is created, and written in a predetermined area of the image memory 16. As a result, the list thumbnail image 32a in the shape of a grid is provided with the blank portion 12b provided on the top of each of the 16 × 4 × 4 thumbnail images illustrated in FIG.
And image data for obtaining the list thumbnail image 32b in which the remaining two illustrated in FIG. 12 are arranged.

In addition, each list thumbnail image 32a,
Reference position display marks 32c and 3c having barcode-like identification information recorded therein for specifying the directionality of 32b and for specifying the respective list thumbnail images 32a and 32b themselves.
Mark data for obtaining 2d is added to the margin portion (near the upper left edge portion in FIGS. 11 and 12) of the list thumbnail images 32a and 32b data. System control unit 18
Is the layout information of the list thumbnail images (including the number of layouts), that is, the relationship between the image data that is the source of the thumbnail images and the arrangement position of each thumbnail image is associated with the identification information. To accumulate. The system control unit 18 automatically selects and lays out the optimum size and layout of the thumbnail image data according to the number of searched image data.

Next, the system control unit 18 controls the image recording unit 12 to list the thumbnail images 3 based on the list thumbnail image data created on the image memory 16.
2a and 32b are printed out on recording paper. When the output of all the list thumbnail images 32a and 32b is completed, the system control unit 18 proceeds to the list thumbnail image reading / image specifying process (step S35).

When the process proceeds to the list thumbnail image reading / image specifying process, a message as shown in FIG. 13 and a "list document reading" touch key 37p are displayed on the touch panel display 17g. The operator confirms the output list thumbnail images 32a and 32b, finds a desired image, and, as shown in FIG. 14, the image designation mark 1 in the blank portion 12b above the image (thumbnail image).
2d (the shape is arbitrary) is attached. The number of image designations is not limited. After the image designation mark 12d is written, the list thumbnail image 32a is set in the document reading unit 11 and the start key 17f is pressed. When the system control unit 18 detects the operation of the start key, the document reading unit 11 is instructed to read the document and scanning is started. The output image data is gradually stored in the image memory unit 16.

Next, the system control unit 18 accesses the image memory unit 16 to search for the four corners on the image data in the vicinity, and finds the position of the reference position display mark 32c in which the above-mentioned identification information is recorded. Detect and list thumbnail image 32a
The original setting direction is determined, and this is decoded to obtain identification information. Next, the system control unit 18 calculates the position of the blank portion 12b based on the position of the reference position display mark 32c, sequentially searches the blank portion 12b, and determines the presence or absence of the image designation mark 12c. Further, thereby, the system control unit 18 specifies the list thumbnail image 32a by the decoded identification information, compares the position where each thumbnail image is written with the position where the image designation mark 12d exists, and is selected. Specify image data.

When the identification of the image data is completed, a message as shown in FIG. 15, an output number display section 37q, a facsimile transmission destination display section 37r, and a "list original reading" touch key 37s for adding a selected image are displayed. And are displayed on the touch panel display 17g. Here, the system control unit 18 uses the “list document reading” touch key 3
When the 7s operation is detected, the above-described operation is performed again to add the specified image data, and again,
A screen as shown in FIG. 15 is displayed.

In this example, the output number display section 37q
And these two for the fax destination display section 37r
The system control unit 18 controls so that only one of them can be set. The operator selects whether to simply print out or send by facsimile, sets various output conditions such as the number of printed sheets or a telephone number using the ten keys 17d, and presses the start key 17f. When the start key 17f is pressed, the system control unit 18 detects it and reads out the specified image data from the image storage unit 13 and refers to the output conditions to output an image by the image recording unit 12 or perform facsimile communication. Facsimile transmission is performed via the unit 14 (step S36).

As described above, in the third embodiment, the reference position display marks 32c and 32d in which the identification information is recorded are added when the list thumbnail image data is created, and the layout information corresponding thereto is stored in the image storage unit 13. Therefore, even if the image data search-list image output operation and list image reading-image reuse operation are performed separately,
By decoding the reference position display marks 32c and 32d added to the list thumbnail image, it is possible to know the relationship between the image data that is the source of the thumbnail image and the arrangement position.

Therefore, as a result of the search, when a plurality of images are hit so that one sheet of recording paper does not fit, even if the plurality of sheets of recording paper are printed out, each list thumbnail image can be specified. Therefore, for example, even if the list image output operation is performed for the time being (the other function selection keys 12a and 12b are pressed in the middle to exit the image search function), the image output key 37b is pressed at a later date to restart the operation (step S34: YES), the image reuse operation can be performed smoothly, and the desired image can be printed out at any time.

(Fourth Embodiment) The fourth embodiment will be described in the third embodiment by exemplifying the second embodiment in which the thumbnail image data and the image designation mark are identified by utilizing the density of the image indicated by the image data. The system control unit has the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and the other common configurations are given the same reference numerals as those in the other embodiments. Will be briefly described.

In other words, in this case, the density of the selection mark written by the operator is limited to the writing tool to be used, for example, a marker pen, so that the density is intermediate. On the other hand, the system control unit 18 creates list thumbnail image data according to a predetermined layout as illustrated in FIG. When outputting the list thumbnail image 42a to the image recording unit 13, the system control unit 18 controls so as to select a process having a microscopically high contrast such as a binary dither process.

When determining the presence or absence of the image designation mark 22a, the system control unit 18 calculates the area position of the thumbnail image based on the positions of the reference position display marks 32c and 32d, and sequentially searches for the area. Image designation mark 22
The presence or absence of a is determined. At this time, since it is sufficient to search whether or not pixels of intermediate density exist continuously, it is possible to reduce an increase in the processing load of the system control unit 18. Note that the other operations and the like are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and will not be described.

Further, instead of the screen shown in FIG. 13, together with a message as shown in FIG. 17, an image designation mark density setting section 27a for increasing the degree of freedom of the writing instrument used by the operator exemplified in the second embodiment. Alternatively, the “read list original” touch key 37p may be displayed on the touch panel display 17g.

(Embodiment 5) By the way, although one document (image) is often composed of a plurality of sheets, in the embodiment described above, the display of the number of image data which matches the retrieval condition and the thumbnail are carried out. Since images are created, all pages of each image hit in the search will be displayed. Generally, the ratio of requiring only a specific page is low, and it is often the case that all pages are required in one document. Therefore, if there is a thumbnail image of a representative page (for example, a front page), it is possible to determine whether or not it is necessary. Therefore, in the following, a document having one image or a document composed of a plurality of images is The case of handling as a document (image) will be described. For the sake of convenience, the system control unit will be described with the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and other common configurations will be given the same reference numerals as those in the other embodiments.

FIG. 19 is a screen displayed on the touch panel display 17g in place of FIG. 10, and the system control unit 18 counts the number of documents matching the search condition and displays it in the search result display field 57n. When creating the list thumbnail image data, the system control unit 18
Reads sequentially the first image data of the document that matches the search condition from the image storage unit 13, creates a thumbnail image, writes the thumbnail image in a predetermined area of the image memory unit 16, and
Thumbnail image layout information (including layout number information), that is, the relationship between the image data that is the source of the thumbnail image data and the arrangement position of the thumbnail image data is stored in the image storage unit 13 in association with the identification information. I will let you.

Further, when reading the list thumbnail images, the system control unit 18 reads out the layout information corresponding to the decoded identification information from the image storage unit 13, compares it with the determination results of the image designation marks 12d and 22a, and selects it. The specified document is specified, and the number of selected documents is displayed on the touch panel display 17g as shown in FIG. 20 instead of FIG. Furthermore, when reusing the image data, the system control unit 18 sequentially reads all the image data of the specified document from the image storage unit 13, and according to the set output condition, the image recording unit 1
The image output by 2 or the facsimile transmission by the facsimile communication unit 14 is performed.

The other operations and the like are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and will be omitted. As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, when the number of images is one or a plurality of images can be collectively handled as one document, for example, when confirming the list thumbnail images, the operator can omit a necessary page. Alternatively, it is possible to improve operability, such as eliminating the need to pay too much attention and reducing the labor (number) of writing the image designation marks 12d and 22a. In addition, the ink of the image recording unit 12 capable of reducing the number of individual thumbnail images output as the list thumbnail images,
Alternatively, the resource saving effect of suppressing the consumption of toner, recording paper, etc. occurs.

Although the embodiments of the image storage device according to the present invention have been described above, the 16 or 1 exemplified in each embodiment has been described.
The number of eight (including document) thumbnail images is not limited to this. Further, the number of layouts (4 × 4) is not limited to a fixed number and can be selected, or the system control unit 18 automatically selects an optimum number according to the number of image data searched as described in the embodiment. Any of them may be selected or laid out.

In the third and fourth embodiments, an example in which an image imitating a bar code is recorded as the reference position display marks 32c and 32d in which the identification information is recorded has been described. You may record it. In this case, instead of the system control unit 18 recognizing this number, the number may be input by the operator using the ten keys 17d.

Further, the image recording section 12 of the present embodiment may accommodate recording sheets of different sizes, and the recording sheet sizes for recording the list thumbnail images may be selected or may be automatically selected. In this case, if the recording paper size is added to the layout information described above, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to determine the recording paper size when the list thumbnail image is read.

[0084]

As described above, the present invention has the following advantageous effects. According to the first aspect, since the images in which the image designation information is added to the list thumbnail images are read and printed out, the operation for selecting the images is easy even without a display device such as a CRT display or a liquid crystal display. It is possible to provide various image storage devices.

According to the second aspect, since an image extending over a plurality of pages is treated as one document (image), the operator needs to skip a necessary page when confirming the list thumbnail images.
Alternatively, it is not necessary to pay attention too much, and the operability can be improved by reducing the labor (number) of writing the image designation mark. Further, it is possible to reduce the number of individual thumbnail images output as the list thumbnail images, and it is possible to suppress the consumption of ink, toner, recording paper, etc. of the image recording unit 12.

According to the third aspect, the presence or absence of the image designation mark is determined by specifying the directionality of the list thumbnail image based on the reference position display mark. Therefore, it is easy to perform without using a complicated image processing technique. With the image processing technology, it is possible to provide an image storage device in which an operation for selecting an image is easy.

According to the fourth aspect, since the identification information for specifying the list thumbnail image printed out is provided,
Even if there are a large number of images that match the search conditions and the list thumbnail image reaches a plurality of images, it is possible to sufficiently deal with it.

According to the fifth aspect, since the area where the image designation is searched is limited to the blank portion, the presence or absence of the image designation mark can be easily determined, and the processing load of the apparatus can be reduced.

According to the sixth aspect, the image designation information is recognized without providing the area dedicated to the image designation.
It is possible to increase the size of each list thumbnail image, and it is possible to improve the visibility when selecting an image.

According to the seventh and eighth aspects, the image designation mark having a predetermined density added to the list thumbnail image is detected and the thumbnail image after the check is determined is determined. Therefore, it is used for adding the image designation mark. The degree of freedom of the writing instrument can be increased, and thus the operability can be further improved.

According to the ninth aspect, the image data retrieval-list image output operation and the list image reading-image reuse operation can be performed separately, so that it is not necessary for one user to occupy for a long time, and work can be performed. It is possible to prevent a decrease in efficiency.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, since the apparatus is provided with the copy function section, the facsimile function section, and the printer function section, and the apparatus can be connected to the LAN, it is possible to provide an image storage apparatus having excellent convenience.

According to the eleventh to thirteenth aspects, since the image data is automatically stored when the copy function, the facsimile function, the printer function, and the respective functions are used, an extra operation procedure can be omitted, which is extremely preferable. An image storage device can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an electrical configuration diagram of an image storage device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the operation display unit of the same.

FIG. 3 is a display example 1 of the touch panel display.
Is.

FIG. 4 is a list thumbnail image before checking the image designation mark.

FIG. 5 is a second display example of the touch panel display.
Is.

FIG. 6 is a list thumbnail image after checking the image designation mark.

FIG. 7 is the same display example 3 of the touch panel display.
Is.

FIG. 8 is a list thumbnail image after checking an image designation mark according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a display example of the touch panel display.

FIG. 10 is a first display example of the touch panel display according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a list thumbnail image No. 1 before checking the image designation mark.

FIG. 12 is a list thumbnail image No. 2 before checking the image designation mark.

FIG. 13 is a second display example of the touch panel display.

FIG. 14 is a list thumbnail image after checking the image designation mark.

FIG. 15 is a third display example of the touch panel display.

FIG. 16 is a list thumbnail image after checking an image designation mark according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a display example of the touch panel display.

FIG. 18 is a fourth display example of the touch panel display according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a first display example of the touch panel display according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a second display example 2 of the touch panel display according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of function selection key processing according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of image search processing according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 original reading unit 12 image recording unit 13 image storage unit 16 image memory unit 17 operation display unit 18 system control unit 17a, 17b, 17c function selection keys 12a, 22a, 32a, 32b, 42a list thumbnail image 12b blank portions 12d, 22a Image designation marks 12c, 32c, 32d Reference position display mark 27a Image designation mark density setting section

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. An original reading unit that reads an original and outputs image data, an image storage unit that adds search information corresponding to the image data to the image data and stores the image data in a recording medium, and an image storage unit that stores the image data in the recording medium. Condition input means for accepting a search condition when searching for the image data, and an image for printing out an image based on the determined image data by selecting and determining desired image data from the image data matching the search condition An image storage device including a recording unit, creating list thumbnail image data of image data that matches the desired search condition input to the condition input unit, and the image recording unit based on the list thumbnail image data. An image creating unit that prints out a list thumbnail image on the screen, and a list thumbnail image printed out by the image creating unit. An image designation mark is added to the desired thumbnail image, and the document reading means is caused to read the list thumbnail image to which the image designation mark is added, thereby determining the presence or absence of the image designation mark, An image storage device, comprising: a specification determination unit that prints out a desired image on the image recording unit based on corresponding image data. 2. When image data composed of a plurality of images matches the search condition, the image creating means creates thumbnail image data for one image data representing the image. The image storage device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The image recording means adds a reference position display mark for specifying the directionality of the list thumbnail image to a margin part of the list thumbnail image when printing the list thumbnail image, and prints the reference position display mark. 3. The image storage device according to claim 1, wherein the determination means determines the presence or absence of the image designation mark by specifying the directionality of the list thumbnail image based on the reference position display mark. 4. The reference position display mark has identification information for specifying a list thumbnail image that is printed out, and the designation determining means also includes a list thumbnail image based on the identification information. The image storage device according to claim 3, wherein the image storage device is specified. 5. The thumbnail image of the list is formed by providing a blank portion to which the image designation mark is added on top of each thumbnail image. The image storage device according to item 1. 6. The list thumbnail images are formed such that the respective thumbnail images are formed adjacent to each other, and the image designation mark is a check mark having an arbitrary shape described above the desired thumbnail image, and the designation determination is performed. 5. The means according to claim 1, wherein the means determines the presence or absence of the image designation mark by comparing and determining the thumbnail image before the check is given and the thumbnail image after the check is given.
The image storage device according to the item. 7. The designation determination means detects an image designation mark having a predetermined density added to the list thumbnail image, and determines the thumbnail image after the check is given. The image storage device according to any one of 1. 8. An interactive setting means for setting the density of the image designation mark added to the list thumbnail image is provided, and the image designation mark is provided with a density substantially equivalent to the predetermined density set by the interactive setting means. Is added to the thumbnail image, and the designation determination means detects the predetermined density of the image designation mark added to the list thumbnail image, and determines the thumbnail image after the check is given. 6. The image storage device according to any one of 6 above. 9. A first interactive activation means for activating the condition input means, and a second interactive activation means for activating the designation determination means are provided.
9. The image storage device according to any one of items 1 to 8. 10. The image storage device according to claim 1, wherein the image storage device is configured to be LAN-connectable, and includes a copy function unit, a facsimile function unit, and a printer function unit. Image storage device. 11. The image data is automatically stored in the recording medium together with search information corresponding to the image data by copying a desired image using the copy function unit. The image storage device according to claim 10. 12. The image data is automatically stored in the recording medium together with search information corresponding to the image data when a desired image is transmitted or received using the facsimile function unit. Claim 1
The image storage device described in 0. 13. When image data is received from another device connected via the LAN, the image data is automatically stored in the recording medium together with search information corresponding to the image data. The image storage device according to claim 10, wherein the image storage device is a storage device.