JP2005327070A - Image processor and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform batch processing of files stored on a plurality of media loaded on a plurality of media drives. <P>SOLUTION: The image processor 1 comprises: a plurality of media drives A-C; a file system 11 accessing a plurality of media loaded on the plurality of media drives A-C; an application 20 providing instructions to the file system 11 and performing the batch processing of the files stored on the plurality of media loaded on the plurality of media drives A-C; and a printer 14 outputting the files batch-processed by the application 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus provided with a plurality of media drives and an image processing apparatus that processes files stored in a medium mounted on the media drive.

  Various devices that perform processing such as printing, FAX transmission, and filing on an image in a removable medium have been proposed. Of these, a device having a plurality of removable media slots is disclosed in Patent Document 1. .

JP 2001-273465 A

  However, in such an image processing apparatus, the processing target is limited to one medium, such that the medium can be inserted only into one media slot even though a plurality of media drives are provided. The configuration is such that media in a plurality of media slots cannot be processed as a batch. Therefore, when a user wants to process a file in each medium using a plurality of media, for example, it is not possible to instruct batch processing such as index print or sort print of a file across a plurality of media. Therefore, there is a problem that the user's usability is not sufficiently satisfied.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems. That is, the present invention provides a plurality of media drives, a file system for accessing a plurality of media mounted on the plurality of media drives, and gives instructions to the file system, and is mounted on the plurality of media drives. An image processing apparatus includes an application that collectively processes files stored in a plurality of media, and an output unit that outputs files collectively processed by the application.

  The present invention also includes a step of accessing a plurality of media loaded in a plurality of media drives, a step of batch processing files stored on the plurality of media, and a batch processed file And a step of performing a predetermined output process on the image processing method.

  In the present invention as described above, when a plurality of media are loaded in a plurality of media drives, the files can be collectively processed for these media, and the files processed in batch can be processed. Thus, a predetermined output process can be executed.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, when a user performs processing using a plurality of media, the plurality of media can be mounted on a corresponding media drive, and the files in the mounted media can be collectively processed. Therefore, the convenience of the user who uses a plurality of media can be greatly improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an image processing apparatus according to this embodiment. That is, the image processing apparatus 1 accesses a plurality of media drives (here, media drives A to C) provided so as to be able to handle various media, and these media drives A to C. The file system 11, an application 20 that gives instructions to the file system 11, processes a file stored in media mounted in the media drives A to C, and a printer 14 that prints out the file processed by the application 20 And.

  In particular, the application 20 according to the present embodiment can collectively process files stored in a plurality of media mounted in a plurality of media drives A to C via the file system 11. That is, when media are loaded in the media drives A to C, files stored in all the media are handled at once, and the user can perform desired processing on these files. ing.

  In addition to the above configuration, in the image processing method 1 of the present embodiment, an image processing unit 12 that performs image processing on a file stored on a medium, a printer control unit 13 that controls the printer 14, and an operation panel 15 that serves as an interface with the user. A system control unit 10 is provided to control each unit. Here, the operation panel 15 has a display for displaying various information, file thumbnails, and the like, a key button for accepting an input operation from the user, and a touch panel. In the present invention, together with the printer 14, the display of the operation panel 15 is regarded as an output unit.

  As applications 20 used in the image processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a copy application 21, an image print application 22, an index print application 23, and a fax application 24 are provided. The copy application 21 performs a copying process in which a document image captured by a scanner unit (not shown) is printed on paper. The image print application 22 performs a process of printing out a file stored on the medium on paper. The index print application 23 performs processing for printing thumbnails of a plurality of files stored on a medium on paper. The fax application 24 performs processing for facsimile transmission of a document image captured by a scanner unit (not shown) or a file stored in a medium via a telephone line. Note that each of the above applications is an example, and an application for performing other processing may be provided.

  Next, the image processing method of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the image processing method of the present embodiment along screen transitions, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of index printing. In the following description, reference numerals not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 refer to FIG. 1 as appropriate. The image processing method according to the present embodiment is characterized in that a plurality of media mounted in a plurality of media drives A to C are accessed, and files stored in these media are collectively processed. .

  First, as shown in FIG. 2A, a menu screen corresponding to each application is displayed on the display of the operation panel 15, and an instruction from the user is accepted. For example, when the user selects “index print”, the system control unit 10 that has received an instruction from the operation panel 15 activates the index print application 23.

  The index print application 23 displays a media drive selection screen as shown in FIG. 2B on the display of the operation panel 15 via the system control unit 10. Here, in addition to the individual icons of the media drives A to C connected to the apparatus main body, icons that can designate all the media drives are displayed.

  Next, when the user designates all media drive icons, for example, the system control unit 10 passes the instruction to the index print application 23. The index print application 23 sequentially accesses all the media drives A to C via the file system 11 in accordance with this instruction. That is, “media drive A”, “media drive B”, and “media drive C” are sequentially accessed, the file in the loaded media is read, and the thumbnail image is acquired from the original image or generated via the image processing unit 12. Then, the drive name and file name are displayed on the display of the operation panel 15 via the system control unit 10. FIG. 2C shows an example in which thumbnail images of files read from each medium are displayed on the display of the operation panel 15.

  Next, when the user selects the “start” icon from the display shown in FIG. 2C, the index print application 23 lays out the thumbnail image, drive name, and file name of each file via the image processing unit 12. The print format is converted to a printable format, and a print instruction is given to the printer control unit 13 via the system control unit 10. The printer control unit 13 sends the instructed image to the printer 14, where it is printed out on paper. Thereby, an index print as shown in FIG. 3 can be obtained. That is, the user can obtain index prints of a plurality of files stored in a plurality of media loaded in the media drives A to C by batch processing.

  In this index print, an example is shown in which all files stored in a plurality of media mounted in the media drives A to C are index printed. However, only the files selected by the user are index printed. May be.

  That is, the user can arbitrarily select a medium or file to be index printed when the screen display shown in FIG. 2B or 2C is displayed. For example, in the screen display shown in FIG. 2B, not all media drives are specified, but one or a plurality of media drives among the media drives A to C are specified. Can only be accessed.

  Also, in the screen display shown in FIG. 2C, when a thumbnail of a file read from the accessed media drive is displayed, the file to be index printed is designated by a touch panel or a key button. Thus, only the designated file can be the target of index printing.

  Also, image printing other than index printing and fax processing can be collectively processed by file access similar to the above. That is, even when image printing or fax processing is selected, a media drive selection screen as shown in FIG. 2B is displayed, and file access is collectively performed for the media of the selected media drive. Processing is performed to display thumbnails as shown in FIG. After that, image printing or fax processing is executed with the file (one or more can be selected) selected from the thumbnail display as a processing target.

  Through this process, users who use multiple media can access files on all media at once, eliminating the need to insert and remove media many times, making it efficient for all files in a single operation. The process can be executed well.

  Next, another example in the image processing method of the present embodiment will be described. In the above example, if the previous user forgets to remove the media, if the next user inserts media into an available media drive and selects “All media drives”, the previous user's media will be processed. turn into. To avoid this, if a media is already loaded when the user selects “Index Print” on the menu screen, a message is displayed to remove the media, and no media is loaded. The process proceeds to the index print only in the absence, and then the target media is loaded.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating this example along the screen transition. First, as shown in FIG. 4A, a menu screen corresponding to each application is displayed on the display of the operation panel 15, and an instruction from the user is accepted. For example, when the user selects “index print”, the system control unit 10 that has received an instruction from the operation panel 15 activates the index print application 23.

  Next, the index print application 23 accesses all the media drives A to C connected via the file system 11 and verifies whether or not the media is loaded in any of the media drives A to C. . Here, when there is a media drive in which a medium is mounted, a message as shown in FIG. 4B is displayed. For example, when a medium is loaded in the media drive A, a message “Media is loaded in the drive A. Please remove the medium.” Is displayed on the display of the operation panel 15.

  In other words, when a user tries to start index printing, if a medium is already loaded, the previous user is likely to forget to remove the medium. Do not proceed to the next process unless the media is removed. As a result, it is possible to surely prevent the previous user from accidentally accessing the media that the user forgot to pull out.

  When the medium is removed after the message indicating that the already loaded medium is to be removed, a menu screen as shown in FIG. 4C is displayed again. Here, when the user selects “index print” again, a screen display as shown in FIG. 4D, that is, a message prompting the user to load media to be processed is displayed.

  On the other hand, if the user selects “index print” on the menu screen shown in FIG. 4A and no media is loaded in the media drives A to C, the previous user will not forget to remove the media. In this case, the menu screen shown in FIG. 4A is shifted to the screen display shown in FIG. 4D to prompt the user to mount the media to be processed.

  When the user inserts media into a predetermined media drive and selects the “OK” button, the index print application 23 is displayed on the display of the operation panel 15 via the system control unit 10 as shown in FIG. Display the drive selection screen. The processing after this selection screen is the same as the screen transition and processing shown in FIGS. 2C to 3 described above.

  In the screen transition shown in FIG. 4, the case where the user selects “index print” is an example. However, it is an application that accesses a medium and processes a file, such as image printing or fax processing. Similarly, it is possible to prevent access to the media that the previous user forgot to remove by verifying the media installation state before processing and displaying a message prompting the user to remove the media if it is installed.

  The media drives A to C described above are examples of those installed in the image processing apparatus 1. However, portable devices such as mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and digital cameras are regarded as media drives. By connecting these devices to the file system 11 of the image processing apparatus 1, they can be handled in the same manner as the other media drives A to C. Further, when these devices are connected to the file system 11 wirelessly, communication may be performed via wireless communication means (not shown) connected to the file system 11.

It is a block diagram explaining the image processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram explaining the image processing method of this embodiment along a screen transition. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of an index print. It is a schematic diagram explaining the other image processing method of this embodiment along a screen transition.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image processing apparatus, 10 ... System control part, 11 ... File system, 12 ... Image processing part, 13 ... Printer control part, 14 ... Printer, 15 ... Operation panel, 20 ... Application, 21 ... Copy application, 22 ... Image Print application, 23 ... Index print application, 24 ... Fax application

Claims (11)

Multiple media drives,
A file system for accessing a plurality of media mounted in the plurality of media drives;
An application that gives instructions to the file system and collectively processes files stored in a plurality of media mounted in the plurality of media drives;
An image processing apparatus comprising: an output unit that outputs files collectively processed by the application. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the application performs batch control of reading out files stored in the plurality of media and displaying thumbnails on the screen by the output unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the application performs batch control of reading files stored in the plurality of media and printing out thumbnails on a sheet with the output unit. 2. The control according to claim 1, wherein the application reads the files stored in the plurality of media at once, and controls to output only the files selected by the user on a sheet with the output unit. Image processing device. Accessing a plurality of media loaded in a plurality of media drives;
Processing the files stored in the plurality of media collectively;
An image processing method comprising: performing a predetermined output process on the batch-processed files. The image processing method according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined output process is a process of displaying thumbnails of files stored in the plurality of media on a screen. The image processing method according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined output process is a process of printing out thumbnails of files stored in the plurality of media on a sheet. The image processing method according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined output process is a process of printing only a file selected by a user among files stored in the plurality of media on a sheet. The image processing method according to claim 5, further comprising: requesting the user of the content of the predetermined output process before accessing a plurality of media loaded in the plurality of media drives. The image processing method according to claim 9, wherein after the user is requested for the content of the predetermined output process, the mounting state of the medium in the media drive is inspected. As a result of inspecting the mounting state of the media, if no media is mounted in the media drive, a request for mounting the media is made to the media drive, and the media is already mounted in the media drive The image processing method according to claim 10, further comprising: requesting that the medium be ejected.

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