JP2006191272A - Image processing apparatus and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of normally terminating copy or transfer processing of a document even when the document is stored according to remote control from an information terminal on a network on the way of the copy or transfer processing of the document. <P>SOLUTION: The image processing apparatus is configured to include: a document storage section 14 including a plurality of boxes and recording the documents to each box for their storage; a copy transfer section 16 for copying or transferring the documents stored in the document storage section 14 from a first box to a second box; an operation panel 12 capable of selecting one or more documents being copy or transfer objects from a list of the documents stored in the first box; and a document management section 15 for reserving document management information for all the documents selected on the operation panel 12 prior to execution of the copy or transfer of the documents by the copy transfer section 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method such as a digital copying machine and a digital multi function printer (Multi Function Printer).

  In an image processing apparatus such as a digital copying machine, image data for one page or a plurality of pages is stored as one document in a storage device such as a hard disk, and then the document data is stored from the storage device in accordance with an instruction from the user. Some have a function of reading and printing (copy server function). In this type of image processing apparatus, documents stored in a storage device are managed for each box. This box is opened inside the storage device by dividing the storage area reserved for document storage. Documents stored in the storage device are stored and managed in a box specified by the user. The

  A document number is assigned to the document stored in the box as document management information. As a management form of such stored data, for example, in Patent Document 1 below, image data input to be stored in an image storage device is managed as an image number for each management unit, while a storage medium is managed in physical cluster units. In addition, as an image data management method for an image storage apparatus that manages the image number and physical cluster as a file management table, a method for storing the file management table in a storage area secured for each image data storage request is described. .

  By the way, when a plurality of boxes are opened in a storage device such as a hard disk and a document is stored and managed in each box, the maximum number of documents that can be stored in the storage device can be stored in one box for document management. There is a limit to the maximum number of documents that can be stored. Therefore, when a document is stored in a box designated by the user, prior to that, whether the document storage number of the document storage destination box has reached the maximum document storage number, and further, the document storage number of the storage device is It is checked whether or not the maximum document storage number has been reached, and the document is saved only when the maximum document storage number has not been reached.

JP 2002-215442 A

  However, the number of documents stored in a box and the number of documents stored in a storage device may increase other than when documents are stored (accumulated). Specifically, when a document is copied or moved from one box to another inside the storage device, the number of stored documents in the box and the number of stored documents in the storage device also increase. Therefore, when copying or moving a document for multiple documents, the number of stored documents in the box reaches the maximum number of stored documents during the process, or the number of stored documents in the storage device reaches the maximum number of stored documents. Sometimes. In such a case, the process of copying or moving the document is canceled as an error on the way.

  Accordingly, when there is almost no margin (vacant) in the number of stored documents and the number of stored documents when starting copying or moving documents, for example, a user operating the image processing apparatus copies or moves documents for many documents. When the user leaves the place and returns to the image processing apparatus in anticipation of the end of the process, the process may have an error against the user's expectation.

  In addition, since the storage of the document by the copy server function is performed at an arbitrary timing, even if there is a sufficient margin in the number of stored documents and the number of stored documents when starting copying or moving the document, the copying or moving of the document In parallel with processing, when documents are saved by remote operation from an information terminal on the network, the number of saved documents in the box reaches the maximum number of saved documents, or the number of stored documents in the storage device is the largest. In some cases, the number of stored documents reaches an error, and an error occurs in the process of copying or moving the document.

  An image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of boxes, a document storage unit that stores and stores a document in each box, and a document stored in the document storage unit from a first box to a second box. Duplicate moving means for copying or moving to a box, document selecting means for selecting one or more documents to be copied or moved from the list of documents stored in the first box, and copying of documents by the copy moving means Or, prior to the execution of the movement, the document management means for securing the document management information for all the documents selected by the document selection means.

  In the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, the document management unit secures document management information for all the documents selected by the document selection unit prior to the copying or movement of the document by the copy movement unit. It is possible to prevent an error in the middle of processing due to a lack of document management information from the start to the end of copying or moving a document for all the documents that have been processed.

  According to the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the document management information for all the documents selected by the document selection unit is secured by the document management unit prior to the duplication or movement of the document by the copy movement unit. Even when the document is stored in accordance with the remote operation from the information terminal on the network during the process of copying or moving the document, the process of copying or moving the document can be normally terminated.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image processing system to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, an image processing apparatus 1 is constituted by, for example, a digital copying machine or a digital multifunction machine having a network communication function. The image processing apparatus 1 is connected to a common network 5 together with three information terminals 2, 3, and 4. Each information terminal 2, 3 and 4 is constituted by an information processing apparatus (for example, a personal computer) having a network communication function. The network 5 is configured by, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), the Internet, or the like. The image processing apparatus 1 and each of the information terminals 2, 3, 4 are connected via a network 5 so as to be able to communicate bidirectionally (mutually).

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The image processing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 11, an operation panel 12, a document input unit 13, a document storage unit 14, a document management unit 15, a copy movement unit 16, an image processing unit 17, and a printing unit 18. It is the composition provided with.

  The control unit 11 controls the overall processing operation of the image processing apparatus. The control unit 11 includes, for example, a ROM (Read-Only Memory) that stores a control program, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that reads the control program stored in the ROM into the RAM, and executes it. It is comprised by.

  The operation panel 12 serves as a so-called user interface through which a user using the image processing apparatus 1 inputs various information and displays various information for the user. The operation panel 12 includes, for example, an input unit that uses various buttons, switches, keys, and the like, and a display unit that includes a liquid crystal display.

  The document input unit 13 inputs a document. More specifically, the document input unit 13 inputs image data for one page or a plurality of pages as one document. As a document input by the document input unit 13, a document including image data obtained by reading an image of an original with an image reading device such as an image scanner, or a document including image data created by a terminal device such as a personal computer. Etc. are considered.

  The document storage unit 14 stores the document input by the document input unit 13 and is configured by, for example, a hard disk. A plurality of boxes can be opened in the document storage unit 14 by dividing a storage region for document storage. In addition, an arbitrary box name can be registered in each box by a box registration process. Each box is used for storing a document when the document is stored in the document storage unit 14. That is, when a user who wants to store a document in the document storage unit 14 by a panel operation of the image processing apparatus 1 or a remote operation from the information terminals 2, 3, 4 requests a storage of a document by specifying a desired box, In response to this request, the image processing apparatus 1 stores the document in the image storage unit 14 in the form of storing the document in a user-specified box.

  The document management unit 15 manages documents stored in the document storage unit 14. The document management unit 15 manages a document for each box (box unit) provided in the document storage unit 14. The document management unit 15 uses the document number as management information for document management (hereinafter referred to as “document management information”). One document number is assigned to each document stored in each box. Therefore, even if the same document is stored in two boxes (the first box and the second box), different documents are stored in the document stored in the first box and the document stored in the second box. Since a number is assigned, two document numbers are required in total.

  In the document management unit 15, the number of documents stored in one box (hereinafter referred to as “document storage number”) exceeds the preset maximum document storage number or is stored in the document storage unit 14. The number of stored documents and the number of stored documents are managed (restricted) so that the number of documents (hereinafter referred to as “document storage number”) does not exceed a preset maximum document storage number. The maximum document storage number refers to the maximum number of documents that can be stored in one box. The maximum document storage number is commonly applied to all boxes provided in the document storage unit 14. The maximum document storage number is the maximum number of documents that can be stored in the document storage unit 14. These maximum document storage number and maximum document storage number are set as limit values (upper limit values) for managing documents stored in the document storage unit 14 by the document management unit 15.

  The copy transfer unit 16 copies or moves the document stored in the document storage unit 14 from the first box to the second box. In this case, the first box and the second box are different from each other. Also, the first box is a document copy source or move source box, and the second box is a document copy destination or move destination box. Document duplication by the duplication moving unit 16 is performed by duplicating the document from the first box to the second box. Further, the movement of the document by the copy moving unit 16 is performed by copying the document from the first box to the second box and then deleting the original document from the first box. For this reason, the difference between copying and moving a document is only a difference in whether the original document of the copied document is left or deleted. Therefore, whichever processing is performed, both the number of stored documents in the second box and the number of stored documents in the document storage unit 14 increase during the processing.

  The image processing unit 17 performs predetermined image processing (for example, color conversion, color correction, tone correction, etc.) on the image data of the document input from the document input unit 13 or the document read from the document storage unit 14. Enlargement / reduction, image rotation, screen generation, etc.). The printing unit 18 prints out the document input from the document input unit 13 and the document read out from the document storage unit 14 on paper.

  Next, a processing procedure (image processing method) applied when a document is copied or moved by the image processing apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The processing shown in FIG. 3 is executed by the control unit 11. First, a list of boxes is displayed on the display unit of the operation panel 12 (step S1).

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a box list. In the illustrated box list display screen, a total of 16 boxes from box A to box P are displayed. The box list display screen is composed of a plurality of pages, and a predetermined number (16 in this example) of boxes is assigned to each page.

  Other boxes not displayed on the box list display screen can be displayed by appropriately pressing the four screen operation buttons 19, 20, 21, and 22 provided in the screen. The screen operation button 19 is a button for returning the box list display screen to the previous page and displaying the other 16 boxes assigned to the page, and the screen operation button 20 is for displaying the box list. This is a button for advancing the screen one page and displaying the other 16 boxes assigned to the page. The screen operation button 21 is a button for returning the display screen of the box list to the first page and displaying the other 16 boxes assigned to the page. The screen operation button 22 is a button for displaying the box list. This is a button for advancing the display screen to the last page and displaying the other 16 boxes assigned to the page.

  The box list display screen is provided with operation buttons 23, 24, 25, and 26 for box selection. Among these buttons, the operation button 23 is a button for moving the position of a box that is a candidate for box selection (hereinafter referred to as “selection candidate box”) upward, and the operation button 24 is for selecting the position of the selection candidate box. It is a button to move down. The operation button 25 is a button for moving the position of the selection candidate box to the left, and the operation button 26 is a button for moving the position of the selection candidate box to the right. Further, a document confirmation button 27 is provided on the box list display screen. The document confirmation button 27 is a button for displaying a list of documents stored in the selection candidate box.

  In this embodiment, the selection candidate box is filled with a halftone dot pattern so that the user can easily identify the selection candidate box and other boxes among the 16 boxes displayed on the box list display screen. It is displayed in the state. When the user presses one of the operation buttons 23, 24, 25, and 26, the position of the selection candidate box is moved one by one in the arrow direction of the operation button. .

  When the user presses the document confirmation button 27 in a state where the list of boxes is displayed in this way, the user selects a box that has been selected as a selection candidate box at that time, and displays a list of documents stored in the selected box. It displays on the display part of the display panel 12 (step S2, S3). For example, in FIG. 4, when the box F is selected by the user, a list of documents stored in the box F is displayed.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a document list. In the illustrated document list display screen, a total of six documents 12345 to 12350 are displayed as document numbers. The document list display screen is composed of a plurality of pages, and a predetermined number (six in this example) of documents is assigned to each page.

  Other documents that are not displayed on the document list display screen can be displayed by appropriately pressing the four screen operation buttons 31, 32, 33, and 34 provided on the screen. The screen operation button 31 is a button for returning the document list display screen to the previous page and displaying the other six documents assigned to the page. The screen operation button 32 is for displaying the document list. It is a button for advancing the screen by one page and displaying other six documents assigned to the page. The screen operation button 33 is a button for returning the display screen of the document list to the first page and displaying the other six documents assigned to the page. The screen operation button 34 is used for displaying the document list. This button is used to advance the display screen to the last page and display the other six documents assigned to the page.

  In addition, operation buttons 35 and 36 for document selection are provided on the document list display screen. Among these buttons, the operation button 35 is a button for moving the position of a document selection candidate (hereinafter referred to as “selection candidate document”) upward, and the operation button 36 is for selecting the position of the selection candidate document. It is a button to move down. The document list display screen further includes a selection button 37, a cancel button 38, a copy button 39, a move button 40, and a return button 41. The selection button 37 is a button for selecting the selection candidate document as a copy or movement processing target, and the cancel button 38 is a button for canceling the document selection by the selection button 37. The copy button 39 is a button for instructing to copy the document selected by the selection button 37, and the move button 40 is a button for instructing the movement of the document selected by the selection button 37. On the other hand, the return button 41 is a button for closing the document list display screen and returning to the box list display screen described above.

  In this embodiment, among the six documents displayed on the document list display screen, the selection candidate document is filled with a halftone dot pattern so that the user can easily identify the selection candidate document and other documents. It is displayed in the state. When the user presses one of the operation buttons 35 and 36, the position of the selection candidate document is moved one by one in the arrow direction of the operation button. The number of documents that can be selected by pressing the selection button 37 is not limited to one, and a plurality of documents can be selected. When actually selecting a plurality of documents, the positions of the selection candidate documents are sequentially aligned with the positions of the respective documents, and the selection button 37 is pressed each time. At this time, registration of the document selected by the selection button 37 is performed so that the user can easily distinguish a document selected by pressing the selection button 37 (hereinafter referred to as “selected document”) and an unselected document. A completed mark indicating that the selection has been made is displayed next to the number. For example, when the selection button 37 is pressed with a document having a registration number 12349 as a selection candidate document as shown in the figure, a selected mark is added next to the registration number 12349 of the document. Further, when canceling the selection of a document, the selection of the selected document is canceled by canceling the selection of the selected document by pressing the cancel button 38 with the position of the selection candidate document aligned with the display position of the selected document. Has become.

  When the user selects the desired document by pressing the selection button 37 in a state where the list of documents is displayed on the display unit of the operation panel 12 as described above, and the user presses the copy button 39 or the move button 40 in this state, A document that has been marked at that time is selected as a processing target, and it is confirmed whether or not duplication has been selected as a process to be applied to the selected document (steps S4 and S5). Here, for example, in FIG. 5, when the document number 12346 and the document number 12347 are selected by the user and a copy of the selected document is selected by the user, a list of copy destination boxes is displayed. Is displayed on the display unit of the operation panel 2 (step S6). The copy destination box list is a box list that can be selected as a copy destination of a document.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of a copy destination box list. The duplication destination box list display screen shown in the figure has substantially the same configuration as the box list display screen shown in FIG. That is, a total of 16 boxes are displayed on the copy destination box list display screen. The display screen of the copy destination box list is provided with the above-described four screen operation buttons 19, 20, 21, and 22 and four operation buttons 23, 24, 25, and 26 for box selection. However, a determination button 28 and a cancel button 29 are provided on the copy destination box list display screen instead of the document confirmation button 27 described above. The determination button 28 is a button for determining (determining) a box as a document copy destination. The cancel button 29 is a button for canceling the user's selection operation related to document duplication. In addition, on the display screen of the copy destination box list, the display form of the original box and other boxes so that the user can easily identify which original box is selected first (box F in the figure). (In the example shown in the figure, the original box is displayed with a broken line, and the other boxes are displayed with a solid line.)

  When the user presses the enter button 28 in a state where the copy destination box list is displayed in this manner, the box that is the selection candidate box at that time is selected as the copy destination box and is first selected as the processing target. The process shifts to a process for copying the copied document to the copy destination box (copy transfer process) (steps S7 and S8). For example, in FIG. 6, when the box K is selected by the user, this box K is selected as a duplication destination box.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 5, when the document number 12346 and the document number 12347 are selected by the user and the movement of the selected document is selected by the user, the destination box list is displayed on the operation panel 2. Is displayed on the display unit (step S9). The destination box list is a list of boxes that can be selected as the destination of the document. The destination box list display screen has the same configuration as the copy destination box list display screen shown in FIG. Then, when the user presses the enter button 28 in a state where the destination box list is displayed, the box that is the selection candidate box at that time is selected as the destination box, and is previously selected as the processing target. The process proceeds to a process for moving the document to the destination box (duplicate movement process) (steps S10 and S8). The copy moving process in step S8 is executed by the copy moving unit 16.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the copy transfer process executed by the copy transfer unit 16. First, the number of documents to be copied or moved is acquired (step S11). The number of documents acquired here is the number of documents selected by the user from the above-described document list (see FIG. 5). Next, the process proceeds to the document management process in the new acquisition mode (step S12). This document management process is executed by the document management unit 15.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of document management processing executed by the document management unit 15. In this document management process, it is first determined whether or not the processing mode related to document management is the new acquisition mode (step S21). When the process moves from step S12 of the copy movement process, the mode is the new acquisition mode, so that the process proceeds to step S22, where it is confirmed whether there is an empty document management information. Since the document management unit 15 manages the document stored in each box of the document storage unit 14 by assigning document numbers one by one, the document management information described here corresponds to the document number. Whether the document management information (document number) is empty is determined whether the document storage number of the document copy destination or transfer destination box has reached the maximum document storage number, and is stored in the document storage unit 14. Check if the document storage count has reached the maximum document storage count. When the document storage number of the box as the document copy destination or transfer destination has not reached the maximum document storage number, and the document storage number stored in the document storage unit 14 has not reached the maximum document storage number It is determined that “there is a vacancy”, and if either of the documents has reached the maximum number (upper limit), it is determined that “there is no vacancy”.

  If there is space in the document management information, a document management information area for newly registering the document number is secured, and then the document number scheduled to be registered is acquired in the document management information area (steps S23 and S24). The document number acquired here is registered in the document management information area as management information of the document when the document to be copied or moved is copied to the copy destination or transfer destination box. As long as the document management information area is not released in step S26 described later, it is secured (reserved) as document management information for copying or moving the document. Thereafter, the number of entries in the document management information is incremented by 1 (step S25), and the process returns to the copy movement process. If there is no empty document management information, the process of steps S23 to S25 is passed, and the process directly returns to the copy transfer process. The number of entries in the document management information is incremented by 1 starting from 0 (zero).

  When the document management process returns to the copy transfer process in this way, it is confirmed whether or not the document number can be acquired by the document management process (step S13). If the document number can be acquired, it is confirmed whether the acquisition (reservation) of the document number has been completed for all the documents to be processed (step S14). For example, if the number of documents to be processed acquired in step S11 is 10, whether or not acquisition of document numbers has been completed for all 10 documents (whether acquisition of 10 document numbers has been completed). ) If not completed, the process returns to step S12. If completed, the document is copied or moved (step S15). In this step S15, when the user presses the copy button 39 on the document list display screen of FIG. 5 described above, “copy document” is executed for all the documents to be processed, and the user presses the move button 40. When the button is pressed, “move document” is executed for all documents to be processed. In addition, when copying or moving a document, each time a document to be processed is copied to a copy destination or transfer destination box, a document number acquired in advance is assigned to the document copied to the box. Assigned.

  On the other hand, if the document number cannot be acquired, it is determined whether or not there is a document number already acquired (step S16). If there is an acquired document number, the process proceeds to the document management process in the area release mode (step S17). Then, in the document management process, it is determined No in the confirmation of the processing mode in step S21, and the process proceeds to step S26, where the document management information area is released. Thereby, the acquisition (reservation) of the document number is cancelled. Next, after decrementing the number of document management information entries by 1 (step S27), the process returns to the copy migration process again. In this copy movement process, it is confirmed whether or not all document management information areas have been released (whether the number of document management information entries has become 0) (step S18). If there is an unreleased document management information area, the process returns to the document management process in step S17, and if all are released, an error message is displayed on the display unit of the operation panel 12 (step S19). If it is determined in step S16 that there is no acquired document number, the processing in steps S17 and S18 is passed, and the error message is displayed as it is in step S19. The error message only needs to be a content notifying that the process of copying or moving the document cannot be performed and the cause thereof.

  As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, one or more documents to be copied or moved are selected on the operation panel 12 to instruct to copy or move the document (by pressing the copy button 39 or the move button 40). And the document management information for all the documents selected on the operation panel 12 prior to the copying or moving of the document by the copy moving unit 16 when the box to be copied or moved to is selected. (Document number) is secured by the document management unit 15. For this reason, document management information for all the documents selected as a processing target is secured by the document management unit 15, and duplication or movement of the document is performed by the copy movement unit 16, resulting in an error due to lack of document management information. Therefore, the process can be terminated normally.

  In addition, if the document that has been copied or moved before the error occurs is stored as it is, the user can confirm to which document the processing has been completed when the number of documents to be processed is large. Can be troublesome, and it can be cumbersome to select an unprocessed document again, but if you copy or move the document after securing document management information in advance, you can avoid such a situation in advance. be able to.

  Further, in the document management processing by the document management unit 15, when securing of document management information fails in the process of securing document management information for all the documents selected on the operation panel 12 as a process for copying or moving a document. Since all the document management information (document management information area) secured so far is released (when the document management information becomes empty), the released document management information is processed by other processing (for example, a document Can be used promptly.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system to which the present invention is applied. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the specific process sequence applied when copying or moving a document. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a box list. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a document list. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a copy destination box list. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a replication movement process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a document management process.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Operation panel, 13 ... Document input part, 14 ... Document storage part, 15 ... Document management part, 16 ... Duplication moving part

Claims (7)

Document storage means having a plurality of boxes and storing and storing the documents in each box;
Copy movement means for copying or moving a document stored in the document storage means from a first box to a second box;
Document selection means capable of selecting one or more documents to be copied or moved from a list of documents stored in the first box;
An image processing apparatus comprising: document management means for securing document management information for all documents selected by the document selection means prior to the copying or movement of the document by the copy movement means. The copy transfer means determines whether the document management means has secured document management information for all the documents, and determines whether or not to copy or move a document based on the determination result. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document management information is a document number. The document management means, when securing document management information for all documents in the process of securing document management information fails, releases all document management information secured so far. The image processing apparatus according to 1. The copy transfer means performs copy or move of the document when it is determined that the document management means has secured the document management information for all documents, and the document management means stores the document management information for all documents. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the document is not duplicated or moved when it is determined that the document cannot be secured. An image processing method applied when copying or moving a document stored in a document storage unit having a plurality of boxes and storing and storing the document in each box from the first box to the second box There,
A first step of selecting one or more documents to be duplicated or moved from a list of documents stored in the first box;
An image processing method comprising: a second step of securing document management information for all the documents selected in the first step prior to the duplication or movement of the document. A third step of determining whether document management information for all documents has been secured in the second step;
The image processing method according to claim 6, further comprising: a fourth step of copying or moving the document when it is determined that document management information for all the documents has been secured in the third step. .

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