JP2006094152A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor capable of synthesizing a plurality of image files whose entire data size exceeds the memory capacity of a transfer buffer into a single image file, in the image processor for reading the plurality of image files stored in an external storage unit and temporarily storing the read image files into the transfer buffer to synthesize the image files into a single file. <P>SOLUTION: The image processor 1 reads divided image data 21 storable into a buffer 17, and a header 22 including the attribute information of the plurality of divided image data 21 for each file into the buffer 17 via a LAN 16, from a PC 15 storing a plurality of document data 23 consisting of the divided image data 21 and the header 22. The image processor 1 duplicates the read divided image data 21, and successively transfers the data 21 to the PC 15. The image processor 1 generates a composite header 24 including the attribute information of all duplicated divided data 25 which are duplicated in the buffer 17. When the PC 15 runs out of data to be composited, the image processor 1 transfers the composite header 24 to the PC 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and more specifically, reads out a plurality of image files stored in an external storage device communicably connected via a network and combines them into a single image file in the external storage device. The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus to be transferred.

  An image processing apparatus provided in a multi-function peripheral (MFP) having a plurality of functions such as copying and facsimile transmission / reception uses, for example, an image in a TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) format from image data of a read original. Some files are created and stored in an image memory in the device. An image file such as a TIFF format stored in the image memory of the image processing apparatus includes image data and a header including attribute information of the image data, and a plurality of pieces of image data obtained by reading a plurality of originals are stored in one image file. Can be collected as an image file. Therefore, an image file of such a format is very useful when storing and managing image data of a document read by the image processing apparatus.

  By the way, since the memory capacity of the image memory of the image processing apparatus is limited, it is not possible to save all the generated image files. In addition, the image memory has a high bit unit price, and it is expensive to increase the memory capacity of the image memory. Therefore, an SMB (Serber Message Block) protocol or the like for the generated image file to an external storage device having a large-capacity storage such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) with a low cost per bit via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network). By transferring using the communication protocol, it is possible to efficiently store and manage a large number of image files.

In general, when data is transferred between an image processing apparatus and an external storage device via a network, a data transfer buffer is provided in the image processing apparatus, and the data to be transferred is temporarily stored in the transfer buffer and then externally stored. The data is transferred to the storage device (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the image processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, when image processing such as filter processing is performed on an arbitrary image area of image data stored in an external storage device, the memory capacity of the transfer buffer is used to transfer the data in the image area. Is read in units of a predetermined smaller block, and image processing is performed, and the data in units of blocks subjected to the image processing is stored in a transfer buffer, and when a predetermined number of blocks of data are stored in the transfer buffer, an external storage device To be transferred to. According to this image processing apparatus, since all the data in the image area is processed and transferred in block units, image data having a data size exceeding the memory capacity of the transfer buffer can be processed and transferred.
JP 2002-328881 A

  However, when a plurality of image files stored in the external storage device as described above are combined into one image file and the combined image file is transferred to the external storage device, the header of the combined image file is generated. In addition, it is necessary to read all of the plurality of image files to be combined and temporarily store them in the transfer buffer. Therefore, unlike the image processing apparatus of Patent Document 1, an image file having a data size exceeding the memory capacity of the transfer buffer cannot be processed and transferred to the external storage device, and the data size of the image file that can be combined is There is a problem that the memory capacity of the transfer buffer is limited.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and reads out a plurality of image files stored in an external storage device connected via a network, temporarily stores them in a transfer buffer, and converts them into one image file. An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus capable of combining a plurality of image files whose total data size exceeds the memory capacity of a transfer buffer into one image file.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image processing apparatus according to claim 1 is a document comprising divided image data having a data size that can be stored in a transfer buffer, and a header including attribute information of the plurality of divided image data. Reading means for reading out the divided image data and the header from the external storage device in which a plurality of data are stored to the transfer buffer via the network in units of files, and copying the divided image data read by the reading means Split image data copy / transfer means for sequentially transferring to the external storage device, and composite header generation for generating in the transfer buffer a composite header including attribute information of all copy split data copied by the split image data copy / transfer means And a synthesis for transferring the synthesis header to the external storage device when there is no more data to be synthesized in the external storage device It is characterized by comprising a header transfer means.

  The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, in the image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the composite header generation unit updates the attribute information included in the composite header every time the header is read by the reading unit. It is characterized by generating a header.

  According to the image processing apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of document data headers and divided image data stored in the external storage device are read for each file, and the read divided image data is duplicated to produce duplicate divided image data. Is transferred to the external storage device, a composite header including the attribute information of the duplicate divided image data is generated, and the generated composite header is transferred to the external storage device, so that the total data size exceeds the memory capacity of the transfer buffer. Image files can be combined into one image file.

  According to the image processing apparatus of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the image processing apparatus of the first aspect, the attribute information is updated each time the header is read out to generate a composite header. It is possible to efficiently generate a composite header including the attribute information of all duplicate image data by sequentially adding the included attribute information.

  Hereinafter, an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an image processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, the image processing apparatus 1 includes a control unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit) 2, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 3, a reading unit 4, a codec (CODEC: Coder and Decoder) 5, a RAM (Random Access Memory). ) 6, LAN I / F (Local Area Network Interface) 7, image memory 8, communication unit 9, operation unit 10, display unit 11, and recording unit 12, and each unit 2 to 12 can communicate via the bus 13. It is connected to the. The image processing apparatus 1 is communicably connected via a LAN 16 to a PC (external storage device) 15 having an HDD 14 that is a large-capacity storage device.

  The control unit 2 controls each unit constituting the image processing apparatus 1. The ROM 3 stores a control program for controlling each unit of the image processing apparatus 1 by the control unit 2.

  The reading unit 4 is for reading image data of a document. Although not shown, the reading unit 4 includes a flat bed reading unit (FBS: Flat Bed Scanner) for reading image data of a document and an automatic document feeder (ADF). The flat bed reading unit is provided with a transparent document placing plate on which a document is placed and a transparent light-transmitting plate through which a document conveyed by the automatic document feeder passes. Documents placed on the document tray of the automatic document feeder are sequentially transported one by one on the light-transmitting plate, and an image of the document is read by a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) line sensor provided in the flatbed reading unit. Are output as image data. The image data of the original placed on the original placement plate can be read by the CCD line sensor.

  The codec 5 is a function for encoding (encoding) and decoding (decoding) image data by MH (Modified Huffman), MR (Modified READ), MMR (Modified Modified READ), JBIG (Joint Bi-level Image Group), and the like. The image data of the original read by the reading unit 4 is encoded, and the encoded image data is decoded. In addition, image data is encoded or decoded corresponding to a TIFF format or a PDF (Portable Document Format) format which is an image format generally used in a computer.

  The RAM 6 functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like of the control unit 2 and includes a buffer 17. The buffer 17 is a transfer buffer that temporarily stores data to be transferred when data transfer is performed between the image processing apparatus 1 and the PC 15 using a communication protocol such as the SMB protocol.

  The LAN I / F 7 is an interface that connects the LAN 16 and the image processing apparatus 1 in a communicable manner. A PC 15 having an HDD 14 is installed in the LAN 16, and data transferred from the buffer 17 is stored in the HDD 14 of the PC 15. The image memory 8 stores the image data encoded by the codec 6 and the like. Data read from the HDD 14 of the PC 15 can also be stored.

  The communication unit 9 includes a modem 18 and an NCU (Network Control Unit) 19. The modem 18 is, for example, a ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector) recommendation V.C. Modulation and demodulation of transmission / reception data according to the 34 standard or the like. The NCU 19 is a line network control device that controls a telephone line to make or cut a telephone call, and is connected to a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) 20. The communication unit 9 functions when performing facsimile transmission / reception.

  The operation unit 10 includes cursor keys for performing various settings of the image processing apparatus 1, various operation keys for inputting a copy or facsimile transmission instruction, and the like, and is interlocked with the display unit 11. Various input operations by the user are performed in the operation unit 10. The display unit 11 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD), an LED lamp, and the like, and displays various setting screens and operation states of the image processing apparatus 1 with characters, figures, light, and the like. The liquid crystal display device of the display unit 11 may be a touch panel type, and various settings / operations of the image processing apparatus 1 may be performed from the display unit 11 instead of the operation unit 10. The recording unit 12 records the image data of the original read by the reading unit 4 and the image of the image data of the original received by facsimile by the communication unit 9 on a sheet. As a recording method in the recording unit 12, for example, various recording methods such as an electrophotographic method and an ink jet recording method can be used.

  In the image processing apparatus 1 configured as described above, the image data of the document placed on the document tray of the automatic document feeder of the reading unit 4 is read, and the image file in the TIFF format (hereinafter referred to as “TIFF file”). ) Will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 2 when a reading start command is issued in a state where it is set to be transferred to the HDD 14 of the PC 15. The processing operation of each unit of the image processing apparatus 1 is performed according to a control command issued by the control unit 2 based on a control program stored in the ROM 3.

  First, the control unit 2 inputs a reading start command from the operation unit 10 by the user in a state where the image data of the document placed on the document tray of the automatic document feeder is set to be read and transferred to the HDD 14 of the PC 15. When this occurs (S1: YES), as shown in FIG. 3, the image data of the original is read by the reading unit 4, and the read image data of the original is encoded by the codec 5, for example, by the MMR method (S2). Next, the encoded image data is sequentially stored in the buffer 17 (S3).

  Then, the control unit 2 determines whether or not the data size of the image data stored in the buffer 17 has reached a predetermined data size that can be stored in the buffer 17 (hereinafter also referred to as a predetermined size) (S4). When it is determined that the data size of the stored image data has reached the predetermined size (S4: YES), that is, it is determined that the divided image data 21 obtained by dividing the image data of the read original into the predetermined size is stored in the buffer 17. In this case, it is determined whether or not there is a header 22 in the buffer 17 (S5).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the header 22 is composed of a narrowly defined header and IFD in the TIFF file. The narrowly defined header is one that exists at the beginning of the TIFF file, and describes the byte order in the TIFF file, the offset value to the first IFD present in the TIFF file, and the like. The IFD includes entries in which various attribute information related to the divided image data 21 is described. The number of entries included in the IFD, the number of entries, and the offset value to the next IFD are described in order. The The entry has a one-to-one correspondence with the divided image data 21 and has attributes such as the type of the divided image data 21, the number of values included in the divided image data 21, and the value of the divided image data 21 or an offset value to the value. Information is described.

  When the control unit 2 determines in S5 that the buffer 17 does not have the header 22 (S5: NO), the control unit 2 generates the header 22 in the buffer 17 (S6). In this case, the number of entries in the IFD of the header 22 is zero. On the other hand, when it is determined that the buffer 17 has the header 22 (S5: YES), S6 is skipped. If it is determined in S4 that the data size of the image data stored in the buffer 17 is not the predetermined size (S4: NO), whether or not the image data of all read originals is stored in the buffer 17. Is determined (S7). When it is determined that the image data of all the read originals are stored in the buffer 17 (S7: YES), the processes after S5 are performed. On the contrary, if it is determined that the image data of all the read originals are not stored in the buffer 17 (S7: NO), the processes after S3 are performed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 2 transfers the divided image data 21 stored in the buffer 17 as a file to a PC (external storage device) 15 using, for example, the SMB protocol (S8). For example, when reading three documents placed on the document tray of the automatic document feeder, if the predetermined size that can be stored in the buffer 17 is the data size of the image data for three quarters of the document, it is read. Each time the divided image data 21 obtained by dividing the image data of the three originals into the data size of three quarters is stored in the buffer 17, a file name is sequentially assigned and transferred to the HDD 14 of the PC 15. 4 files of the divided image data 21 are stored.

  After transferring the divided image data 21, the control unit 2 updates the attribute information included in the header 22 (S9). Specifically, the number of entries described in the IFD of the header 22 is increased by 1, and an entry corresponding to the transferred divided image data 21 is added to the IFD to update the attribute information. Then, it is determined whether or not all read image data has been stored in the buffer 17 (S10). When it is determined that all the read image data is not stored in the buffer 17 (S10: NO), the processing after S3 is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that all the read image data has been stored in the buffer 17 (S10: YES), the header 22 including the attribute information of all the divided image data 21 is transferred to the PC 15 as a file (S11).

  As a result of the above processing, the image data of the original read by the reading unit 4 is converted into document data 23 that is a collection of files of one header 22 and a plurality of divided image data 21 as shown in FIG. Saved in. The document data 23 is a collection of data for each file, and is not stored as one TIFF file. However, the header 22 includes attribute information of all the divided image data 21 in the document data 23, and the document data 23 is read from the HDD 14 by the image processing apparatus 1 and processed as a TIFF file by performing predetermined processing. Can do.

  As is apparent from the above description, according to the image processing apparatus 1 of the embodiment of the present invention, image data whose total data size exceeds the memory capacity of the buffer 17 is transferred from the buffer 17 to the HDD 14 of the PC 15 as a file. Can be saved. Similarly to the case where the read image data is transferred as a TIFF file to the HDD 14 of the PC 15 and stored, the document data 23 stored in the HDD 14 can be read and recorded on paper, or transmitted by facsimile. it can.

  Next, regarding the processing operation of each unit when a plurality of document data 23 is stored in the HDD 14 of the PC 15 and an instruction for combining the plurality of document data 23 into one composite document data is input in the image processing apparatus 1. This will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. The processing operation of each unit of the image processing apparatus 1 is performed according to a control command issued by the control unit 2 based on a control program stored in the ROM 3.

  First, when an instruction to synthesize a plurality of document data 23 stored for each file in the HDD 14 of the PC 15 into one composite document data is input from the operation unit 10 by the user (S21), the control unit 2 receives the PC (external). It is determined whether there is data to be synthesized in the HDD 14 of the storage device 15 (S22). If it is determined that there is data to be combined in the HDD 14 (S22: YES), the data to be combined in units of files is read from the HDD 14 to the buffer 17 (S23). On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no data to be combined in the HDD 14 (S22: NO), the process is terminated.

  After reading the data in units of files, the control unit 2 determines whether the read data is the header 22 (S24). When it is determined that the read data is the header 22 (S24: YES), it is determined whether or not the composite header 24 is present in the buffer 17 (S25). The composite header 24 is composed of a newly generated header and an IFD included in the read header 22. When it is determined that there is no composite header 24 in the buffer 17 (S25: NO), the composite header 24 is generated in the buffer 17 based on the read header 22 (S26). On the other hand, when it is determined that the buffer 17 has the composite header 24 (S25: YES), the attribute information included in the composite header 24 is updated based on the read header 22 (S27). Specifically, the attribute information is updated by adding the IFD in the read header 22 to the IFD of the composite header 24.

  If the controller 2 determines in S24 that the read data is not the header 22 (S24: NO), that is, if the controller 2 determines that the read data is the divided image data 21, the divided image data 21 is displayed. The duplicated divided image data 25 copied from is transferred to the PC 15 as a file (S28). The duplicate divided image data 25 is obtained by copying the read divided image data 21 with a different file name. The read divided image data 21 is transferred to the HDD 14 as it is so as not to be overwritten. Yes. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, when the document data A23 and the document data B23 are combined, if the data read from the buffer 17 is the divided image data (A_1) 21, the divided image data (A_1) is converted into the divided image data (A_1). The duplicate copy divided image data (A_1 ′) 25 is transferred to the PC 15. When the copy divided image data 25 is transferred to the PC 15 for the first time, a new directory is created in the HDD 14 of the PC 15 and the generated composite header 24 and copy divided image data 25 are transferred and written in the directory. It may be.

  Next, the control unit 2 determines whether there is data to be combined in the HDD 14 (S29). When it is determined that there is data to be combined in the HDD 14 (S29: YES), the processing after S23 is performed. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no data to be combined in the HDD 14 (S29: NO), the combined header 24 is transferred as a file to the PC 15 (S30), and a file of one combined header 24 and a plurality of duplicate divided image data. The composite document data that is a collection of 25 files is stored in the HDD 14. Similar to the document data 23, the composite document data can be handled as one TIFF file by being read from the HDD 14 by the image processing apparatus 1 and subjected to predetermined processing.

  As is apparent from the above description, according to the image processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of document data 23 stored in the HDD 14 of the PC 15 is not limited to the memory capacity of the buffer 17. It is possible to synthesize into one synthesized document data.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the header 22 and the composite header 24 include a header in a TIFF file, but may include a header of an image file in a PDF (Portable Document Format) format, for example. In addition, although the header 22 is assumed to include a plurality of entries in one IFD, the one header 22 may include a plurality of IFDs, assuming that one entry is included in one IFD.

  The present invention can be applied to a multi-function machine or the like including an image processing apparatus connected to an external storage device via a network.

It is the block diagram which showed the structural example of the image processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing operations performed in the image processing apparatus when a reading start command is input in a state where the image data of a document is read and transferred to an external storage device as a TIFF file. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a flow of image data of a document read by a reading unit. It is explanatory drawing which shows the data structure of a header and division | segmentation image data. It is explanatory drawing which shows the document data preserve | saved at the external storage device. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing operations performed in the image processing apparatus when a command for combining a plurality of document data stored in an external storage device into one composite document data is input. It is a schematic diagram which shows the data flow in the case of combining a plurality of document data stored in an external storage device into one composite document data.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing apparatus 2 Control part 4 Reading part 6 RAM
14 HDD
15 PC
16 LAN
17 buffer 21 divided image data 22 header 23 document data 24 composite header 25 duplicate divided image data

Claims (2)

  From the external storage device in which a plurality of document data consisting of divided image data having a data size that can be stored in the transfer buffer and a plurality of headers including attribute information of the divided image data are stored, the divided image data and the header Reading means for reading out the file unit to the transfer buffer via the network, divided image data copying / transfer means for copying the divided image data read by the reading means and sequentially transferring them to the external storage device, When there is no more data to be synthesized in the external storage device, with the synthesis header generating means for generating the synthesis header including the attribute information of all the replication divided data copied by the divided image data copying / transfer means, and the external storage device, An image processing apparatus comprising: a composite header transfer unit that transfers the composite header to the external storage device.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the composite header generation unit generates a composite header by updating attribute information included in the composite header every time the header is read by the reading unit.

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