JP2007094965A - Print processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print processing system, in which a new order with high priority can be surely stored even if the residual capacity of an order data storage part is reduced. <P>SOLUTION: The system includes a spooler 6a storing order data including image data for forming photographic prints in order units; a priority setting part 5e capable of setting priority of print processing for each order; an order registration part 5a for registering/storing order data related to a new order with a set priority in the order data storage part; a print processing control part 5b for instructing print processing to the order data stored in the spooler 6a; a residual capacity determination part 5d for determining a residual capacity level of the order data storage part upon registration of the new order with high priority; and a compression processing part 18a for selecting, when a low residual capacity level is determined, an order with low priority stored in the order data storage part and performing data compression processing thereto. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention has an order data storage unit that stores order data including image data for creating a photo print in units of orders, and even when the storage capacity of the order data storage unit is small, orders with high priority are ordered data. The present invention relates to a print processing system that can be stored in a storage unit.

  In a print processing system for creating a photographic print, image data is acquired from an appropriate image forming medium, and temporarily stored in an order data storage unit in units of orders. Here, one order refers to image data contained in one negative film and image data stored in one recording medium. In the past, there have been many cases where a frame image formed on a developed negative film as an image forming medium is read by a film scanner, and a photographic print is created based on the read image data.

  However, in recent years, digital cameras have become quite popular, and there are increasing cases of receiving photo print requests based on images taken by digital cameras. In such print processing orders, in addition to the case of acquiring image data from a digital camera recording medium brought by a customer to a photo shop, there are many cases of acquiring image data related to the order through a network such as the Internet. ing. In recent digital cameras, the number of effective pixels has increased, and the data size of image data per sheet has increased. Furthermore, in order to avoid the deterioration of image quality due to JPEG compression, the number of cases in which image data is stored as raw files or uncompressed TIFF files is increasing, and the size of order data is also increasing.

  In this way, a large number of print processes must be temporarily performed by ordering various types of photo prints at the same photo shop, and the size of the image data to be processed is large. As a result, there is a situation where the storage capacity of the order data storage unit (usually composed of a hard disk) is temporarily insufficient. When the storage capacity is insufficient, it is not possible to save a new order, so it is sometimes necessary to wait until the storage capacity is free. Accordingly, when the customer has designated a high-priority express finish as a new order, there is a problem that the designated delivery date cannot be observed because the order data cannot be stored.

  As a prior art that solves the problem in the case where the remaining capacity of a storage unit that stores data is reduced, an imaging device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. This image pickup apparatus is provided with a function for detecting that the recorded capacity for the memory card in use has reached a full state, and changes the recorded image quality of the recorded image data when the full state is detected. Examples of the recording image quality include high image quality, standard image quality, and low image quality.

  In addition, the information storage device (digital camera or the like) disclosed in Patent Document 2 below can increase the number of storable sheets without deleting image data stored in a hard disk or a memory card. When saving new image data, if the remaining capacity is small, the stored image data is compressed.

JP 2003-319321 A JP 2002-237141 A

  However, when the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are applied to a print processing system like the present invention, the following problems arise. Since a photographic print created by the print processing system requires a predetermined level of image quality, it is important to store image data at a low image quality in order to secure a storage capacity as disclosed in Patent Document 1. Since it becomes a fall, it is not preferable. In addition, when image data is compressed as in Patent Document 2, a processing time for performing the compression processing is required. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the efficiency of the printing process from being reduced by requiring such processing time. If you compress the image data, you can surely increase the storage capacity, but the image data handled by the print processing system is not a single unit but an order unit (the image data may be several tens). In order to save a new order, a storage capacity in a unit is required.

  In order to solve the above problems, a print processing system according to the present invention provides a print processing system that can reliably store a new order with high priority even when the remaining capacity of the order data storage unit is reduced. is there.

In order to solve the above problems, a print processing system according to the present invention provides:
An order data storage unit for storing order data including image data for creating a photo print in units of orders;
A priority setting unit that can set the priority of print processing for each order;
An order registration unit for registering / storing order data related to a new order in the order data storage unit with the set priority;
A print processing control unit for instructing print processing for order data stored in the order data storage unit;
A remaining capacity determination unit that determines the remaining capacity level of the order data storage unit when attempting to register a new high priority order;
A low-priority order selection unit that selects a low-priority order stored in the order data storage unit when it is determined that the remaining capacity level is low;
And a compression processing unit for performing data compression processing of the selected order data.

  The operation and effect of the print processing system having such a configuration will be described. In the order data storage unit, order data is stored in units of orders. Here, the order data includes at least image data. Also, the priority of print processing can be set for each order. The priority is related to the finished delivery date, such as “express finish” or “normal finish”. When a new order is registered in the order data storage unit, it is registered and stored together with priority data. The print processing control unit instructs the print processing on the order data stored in the order data storage unit. In other words, since image data to be printed is stored in the order data storage unit and then print processing is performed, if data cannot be stored in the order data storage unit, the print process cannot be performed. It has become.

  Here, when trying to register a new order with high priority, the remaining capacity of the order data storage unit is determined, and if the remaining capacity level is low, the low priority order stored in the order data storage unit is Select and perform compression processing. One or a plurality of orders are selected, and it is preferable to determine the order according to the data amount of a new order to be registered. Such compression processing is performed in units of orders, and the amount of stored order data can be effectively reduced and new orders with high priority can be registered. Further, since the compression processing is performed for the low priority order, it is considered that the processing time for performing the compression processing and the decompression processing has little influence on the customer delivery time. As a result, it is possible to provide a print processing system that can reliably store a new order with high priority even when the remaining capacity of the order data storage unit is reduced.

  A preferred embodiment of a photographic processing system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the entire system.

<Overall system configuration>
In FIG. 1, a photo processing apparatus 100 has a function of creating a photo print based on acquired digital image data. Examples of the image data include image data of a frame image of a developed negative film obtained from a film scanner provided in the photographic processing apparatus 100, image data transmitted via a network, and the like.

  The reception terminal 20 is installed in a store and can receive image data stored in a recording medium of a digital camera or other recording media. Examples of recording media include Compact Flash (registered trademark), SmartMedia (registered trademark), Memory Stick (registered trademark), CD-R, and DVD-R. The reception terminal 20 is mainly operated by a customer, and can insert a recording medium brought by the customer himself, select image data to be printed, set the number of prints, print size, and the like. it can. Of course, the store clerk may operate the reception terminal 20.

  The recording device 40 has a function of writing the image data acquired by the photo processing device 100 to a recording medium such as a CD-R or a DVD-R. The network reception terminal 50 (configured by a personal computer) has a function of receiving image data relating to a print order via the Internet. The photo processing device 100, the reception terminal 20, the recording device 40, and the network reception terminal 50 are connected by a network (for example, a LAN). Further, the number of installed photo processing apparatuses 100, reception terminals 20, recording apparatuses 40, and net reception terminals 50 is not limited to one, and a plurality of apparatuses can be installed as necessary.

  A server 60 installed on the Internet provides a function of accepting an online print order. When placing a print order, image data relating to print processing is uploaded from a personal computer 70 connected to the Internet, and the image data is stored in the server 60. Printing processing can be performed by downloading the image data from the server 60 from the network reception terminal 50. As a system that accepts print processing online, a known system can be used.

<Functional block configuration of photo processing system>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functions of the photographic processing apparatus 100 that forms the center of the photographic processing system. The film scanner 1 acquires digital image data by scanning a frame image formed on a developed negative film (photographic film). The image acquisition unit 2 acquires image data transmitted mainly via a network. A communication control unit 3 is provided for performing communication via a network. The image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 2 is image data stored in the recording medium of the digital camera or image data stored in the Internet server 60. It should be noted that the photo processing apparatus 100 itself may be configured to be able to attach a recording medium, and to be able to acquire image data directly from the recording medium.

<Configuration of image determination unit>
The image determination unit 4 provides a function for the operator to make a determination on the acquired image data, and this function is mainly provided by software. This is to determine whether or not a photographic print having an appropriate image quality is created before creating a photographic print based on the image data, and this operation is referred to as pre-judgement. The image determination unit 4 is provided with a correction data setting unit 4a, a print data setting unit 4b, and a thumbnail image setting unit 4c as main functions, which will be described with reference to FIG. The pre-judge is not necessarily performed, and the pre-judge can be omitted and the printing process can be performed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a monitor screen for performing pre-judgement. On the screen, frame images to be printed are displayed every six frames. The frame image to be prejudged is surrounded by the image selection frame 30. The frame number of the frame image is displayed in the frame number display field 31. The print size of the photo print is displayed in the print size display field 32. The number of prints can be set in the print number setting column 33. Color and density correction data can be input to the color correction data setting field 34 and the density correction data setting field 35. The correction data setting unit 4a provides a function of inputting correction data for correcting the color and density as described above, and the input of the correction data is set as necessary. Examples of other correction data settings include special correction settings such as red-eye correction and backlight correction.

  As the setting of the number of prints, 1 is set by default for the image data acquired from the film scanner 1, but it can be changed by an operator's input operation. For image data acquired via the network, it is preferable that the operator cannot change the setting because the number of prints to be ordered has already been set by the customer. This print number setting data is included in the print data and is provided by the function of the print data setting unit 4b. In addition to the number of prints, the print data includes the print size, paper surface quality (such as glossy surface and silk), and whether or not the print has a border.

  The frame image shown in FIG. 3 is a thumbnail image, and is obtained by reducing the acquired image data. In the case of image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 2, a thumbnail image can be created based on the acquired original image data. When obtaining negative film image data from the film scanner 1, a thumbnail image can be created based on image data obtained by pre-scanning the negative film.

  Here, the pre-scan and the main scan, which are scanning modes of the negative film, will be described. The pre-scan is a process of reading a developed negative film image with a rough number of pixels, and is performed to display the above-described thumbnail image. When pre-judgement is performed, high-resolution image data is not required, and scanning is performed with a coarse number of pixels in order to shorten the reading processing time.

  The main scan is a process for reading each frame image of the negative film at a high resolution, and is image data used to actually create a photographic print. Read high-resolution frame images to create high-quality photo prints. Also, during the main scan, the frame image for which the number of prints is set to 0 is not read.

<Configuration of order control unit>
The order control unit 5 provides a function of managing image data to be printed in order units. Here, one order refers to an image data group related to a print order for one film or one recording medium, but is not limited to this, and the concept of one order is appropriately determined by an operator. Can be set.

  The order registration unit 5 a has a function of registering and storing the order data for which pre-judge has been completed by the image determination unit 4 in the storage device 6. The storage device 6 is conceptually composed of a part called a spooler 6a (corresponding to an order data storage unit) and another storage unit 6b. All order data to be printed is stored in the spooler 6a. Therefore, the order can be managed by storing the order data in the spooler 6a, and the print processing order and interrupt can be controlled. Both the spooler 6a and the storage unit 6b can be configured by a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk, but the spooler 6a and the storage unit 6b may be configured by separate hard disks in terms of hardware, A storage area of one hard disk may be divided to form an area that functions as the spooler 6a and other areas.

  The order data refers to data for one order. The image data group included in one order, correction data set by the prejudgment, print data such as the number of prints, and data specifying the order (order Identification ID, customer name, address, member ID, etc.). However, since most of the data amount of the order data is determined by the image data, there is no problem even if it is considered that the data amount of the order data is the data amount of the image data. In the case of image data obtained from a negative film, it is preferable to store not only main scan image data but also pre-scan image data as order data.

  The print processing control unit 5b gives a command to print the order data of the order to be printed. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the order management screen, in which a list of orders waiting to be processed and a list of completed orders are displayed. The list of orders waiting for processing basically displays a list of orders in the order in which print processing is performed. The status display column shows the processing status of the order, indicating that the top order is being printed, and that other orders are waiting for print processing. When the print processing is completed, the display shifts to the display column of the completed order, and the status display also changes to completion of the print processing.

  The order data deletion unit 5c deletes the order data for which the printing process has been completed from the spooler 6a. The spooler 6a has a predetermined percentage (for example, 50%) of the storage capacity of the spooler 6a for reordering, and the order data that has been printed is not immediately deleted, but is used to request a reprinted print at a later date. Prepare and store for a predetermined period. Thereby, it is not necessary to repeat acquisition of image data or pre-judge again, and work efficiency is improved. About how long it preserve | saves, it can set suitably. If the storage space for reordering is decreasing, data is deleted from the old order. Thereby, the storage capacity of the spooler 6a can be secured. Note that the storage area for reordering may not be the spooler 6a, but the storage unit 6b or other large-capacity external storage device may be used.

  The remaining capacity determination unit 5d determines whether or not the remaining capacity of the storage capacity of the spooler 6a is equal to or less than a predetermined capacity. When trying to save new order data by the order registering unit 5a, new order registration may not be possible if the remaining capacity is small. In particular, when attempting to register an order to be rushed to finish, if the registration is not possible because the remaining capacity is small, it may be impossible to create a photo print on time. Therefore, a function for determining whether or not a predetermined remaining capacity is secured is provided by constantly monitoring the remaining capacity.

  If there is no remaining capacity when trying to register a new order, a message to that effect is displayed on the monitor to inform the operator that registration is not possible. In this case, measures such as waiting for the storage capacity to be freed or deleting old order data that has been printed are taken. However, if the new order has a high priority such as an express finish, the following processing is performed.

  The priority setting unit 5e sets the priority of a new order to be registered. There are three levels of priority, “express finish”, “normal finish”, and “slow finish”. “Express finish” corresponds to high priority, and “normal finish” and “slow finish” correspond to low priority. The priority may not be set in these three stages. For example, it may be two stages of “express finish” and “normal finish”, or may be increased to four or more stages. As a priority setting method, for example, when a new order registration button on the monitor screen is clicked, a priority selection screen pops up, and any of the displayed priorities can be selected. In FIG. 4, in order to display the priority, the symbols A, B, and C are displayed for each order, and indicate “Express finish”, “Normal finish”, and “Slow finish”, respectively.

  The low-priority order selection unit 5f has a function of selecting a low-priority registered order when the remaining capacity is small when attempting to register a new high-priority order. The above-mentioned remaining capacity determination unit 5d determines whether or not a storable capacity is secured when registering a new high priority order. In this determination, it may be determined whether or not the storage capacity of a predetermined level or more is free, or the data amount of the new order is compared with the current remaining capacity to determine whether or not storage is possible. Good. When it is determined that the remaining capacity is small, the low priority order is selected as described above.

  In order to compress / decompress the order data of the selected low priority order, compression / decompression software 18 is provided, and includes a compression processing unit 18a and a decompression processing unit 18b. The compression processing unit 18a compresses all the image data included in the order data of the selected order. Thereby, the amount of data can be reduced and the remaining capacity is increased. By increasing the remaining capacity, a high priority order can be registered even when the remaining capacity is low. Since compression processing is performed in units of orders, the amount of data can be greatly reduced, and high priority orders can be registered reliably. If the remaining capacity is insufficient in the compression processing for one order, a plurality of orders may be selected.

  The reason why the low priority order is selected is that there is a margin for the customer delivery time, and there is almost no need to consider the processing time by the compression process or the decompression process, so that the efficiency of the print process is not lowered. When selecting a low priority order, when there are a plurality of selectable low priority orders, for example, it is preferable to select the order data having the largest data amount. This is because a reduction in the amount of data by compression processing is considered to be most effective. Alternatively, an appropriate rule such as selecting the one with the latest reception number is set. When selecting a low priority order, it is preferable to select an order composed of image data that has not been compressed. This is because, for example, further compression processing of already compressed image data such as JPEG does not have a significant effect on reducing the amount of data. Therefore, it is preferable to select an order including image data stored in a raw file, an uncompressed TIFF file, a BMP file, or the like.

  Further, when performing compression processing, it is preferable to perform lossless compression. As a result, the compression process can be performed without data deterioration, and the quality of the photographic print does not have to be degraded. The compressed order is decompressed by the decompression processing unit 18b immediately before the print process, and then the print process is performed.

  The screen configuration example in FIG. 4 will be further described. The remaining capacity is displayed at the upper right of the screen, which can be used as a guideline when registering a new order or the remaining capacity can be confirmed. In addition, “15” is displayed as the number of orders, which indicates the number of orders waiting for print processing. Further, “20 minutes” is displayed as the waiting time, and the time required to process all the print processing waiting orders is displayed. The operator can see this display to recognize the approximate time that a new order will be processed.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the monitor 7 displays a screen for pre-judgement (see FIG. 3), an order management screen, and the like, and provides a screen necessary for performing print processing and the like. The input operation unit 8 is configured by a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and performs data input and settings necessary for print processing, and various commands.

  The image processing board 9 receives image data and correction data from the spooler 6a, performs image processing on the image data based on the correction data, and generates print image data used to create a photographic print. The image processing board 9 includes a reception memory, a processing circuit unit, and a development memory, and performs image processing designated in the processing circuit unit. Specifically, color / density correction based on the correction data, data expansion / contraction processing according to the set print size, and the like.

  Next, the configuration of the print processing unit will be briefly described with reference to FIG. In the paper magazine 10, paper as a photographic photosensitive material is accommodated in a roll shape. Two paper magazines 10 can be installed. For example, papers having different paper widths can be set in advance. The paper cutter 11 cuts long paper drawn from the paper magazine 10 so as to have a set print size.

  The exposure engine 12 receives print image data transmitted from the development memory of the image processing board 9, and prints and exposes an image on the emulsion surface of the paper based on the print image data. The exposure engine 12 is not limited to a specific type, and for example, a laser engine, a CRT engine, a PLZT engine, or the like can be used.

  The development processing unit 13 performs development processing on the paper on which the image is printed and exposed, and the drying processing unit 14 performs drying processing on the developed paper. Finished photographic prints are discharged from the paper discharge unit 15 to the outside of the apparatus main body, and are collected in units of orders by a predetermined stacking apparatus.

  The paper sensor 16 detects the paper discharged from the paper discharge unit 15 and detects whether or not all the photo prints of a certain order have been discharged. The sensor control unit 17 controls the driving of the paper sensor 16 and receives and analyzes a signal from the paper sensor 16. By providing such a paper sensor 16, it is possible to determine whether or not the order print processing has been completed. Orders for which print processing has been completed are transferred to a list of completed orders as shown in FIG.

<Order registration procedure>
Next, the procedure for registering a new order will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When registering a new order, priority is set (# 1). Next, it is determined whether or not the remaining capacity of the spooler 6a is small (# 2). If a sufficient capacity is secured to store the order data of the new order, the process proceeds to step # 6, where the order data is stored / registered in the spooler 6a. If the remaining capacity is small, it is determined whether the priority is high or low (# 3). If the order has a low priority, the process waits until the necessary remaining capacity is secured or deletes the order data that has been printed (# 7). As shown in the screen of FIG. 4, a delete button is provided, and the order data can be deleted by selecting one or more completed orders and clicking the delete button. If the storage capacity can be secured, the process proceeds to step # 6 where a new order can be registered. If the storage capacity cannot be secured, the order is further selected and deletion is continued. An all delete button for deleting all completed orders is also provided.

  In step # 3, in the case of a high priority order, one (or a plurality) of low priority orders that are already registered and waiting for print processing are selected (# 4). Then, the image data of the selected order data is compressed and stored again in the spooler 6a (# 5). Thereby, a storage capacity is ensured. When selecting a low-priority order, one or more orders to be compressed are selected so that order data of a new order to be registered can be secured. After compressing the image data, a new high priority order is registered (# 6).

  Changes in the order of print processing when a high priority order is registered will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6A shows the state before registering the high priority order, and FIG. 6B shows the state after registering the high priority order. The order of print processing is determined so that the high priority order is printed immediately after the order currently being printed. For orders having the same priority, print processing is performed in the order of acceptance.

<Print processing procedure>
Next, the print processing procedure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When performing the print processing, it is first determined whether or not the compression processing by the compression processing unit 18a is performed on the image data (# 11). If the compression process is not performed, necessary data can be read from the spooler 6a and the print process can be performed. (# 13). If the image data has been compressed, the image data is decompressed (# 12). Thereafter, the printing process can be similarly performed.

<Another embodiment>
In the present embodiment, only the image data is compressed among the image data and the auxiliary data included in the order data. However, the entire order data including the auxiliary data may be compressed. Good.

  In the present embodiment, an order for performing print processing from a negative film and an order for performing print processing from a recording medium that has received an order at the receiving terminal 20 can be mixed and processed, but this is performed separately. You can also. That is, as the print processing mode in the photo processing apparatus 100, the normal mode and the net mode are switched. In the normal mode, only the print processing from the negative film received by the photo processing apparatus 100 itself is performed. 20 or the network receiving terminal 50 may be configured to perform only the print processing of the order received. In this case, the configuration of the present invention can be applied in each mode. Moreover, you may provide the spooler 6a separately for each mode.

Conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a photo processing system Block diagram showing functions of photo processing device Figure showing the configuration example of the pre-judge screen Diagram showing the configuration example of the order management screen Flow chart showing the procedure for registering a new order The figure which shows the change of the order of print processing when the high priority order is registered Flow chart showing the procedure for performing print processing

Explanation of symbols

4 Image determination unit 5 Order control unit 5a Order registration unit 5b Print processing control unit 5c Order data deletion unit 5d Remaining capacity determination unit 5e Priority setting unit 5f Low priority order selection unit 6 Storage device 6a Spooler 6b Storage unit 18 Compression / compression Decompression software 18a Compression processing unit 18b Decompression processing unit 20 Reception terminal 40 Recording device 50 Net reception terminal 100 Photo processing device

Claims (1)

An order data storage unit for storing order data including image data for creating a photo print in units of orders;
A priority setting unit that can set the priority of print processing for each order;
An order registration unit for registering / storing order data related to a new order in the order data storage unit with the set priority;
A print processing control unit for instructing print processing for order data stored in the order data storage unit;
A remaining capacity determination unit that determines the remaining capacity level of the order data storage unit when attempting to register a new high priority order;
A low-priority order selection unit that selects a low-priority order stored in the order data storage unit when it is determined that the remaining capacity level is low;
A print processing system comprising: a compression processing unit that performs data compression processing of selected order data.

Images