JP2016127491A - Information processor and control method thereof, program, and image reading system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that when a plurality of scanners are connected to an information processor, and a large amount of originals are read at a high speed, reading the originals in order causes the reduction of a throughput, and that when the scanners are moved at the same time, and the originals are read with every predetermined number, image data cannot be read in an arrangement order of the originals.SOLUTION: An information processor connected to a plurality of image reading devices includes control means for performing control to start reading by a first image reading device between the plurality of image reading devices, and to start reading by the other image reading device between the plurality of image reading devices on the basis of a reading state by the first image reading device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a control method thereof, a program, and an image reading system.

  When reading a large amount of originals in an image reading system, connect a plurality of image reading apparatuses and information processing apparatuses, set a large number of originals separately, and operate a plurality of image reading apparatuses in sequence to obtain a large amount of originals. Has been proposed (see Patent Document 1, etc.).

JP-A-9-163039

  However, in the method of reading all of the plurality of documents set in the first reading unit and then reading the document set in the next image reading device, only one image reading device is operating at the same time. Therefore, there is a problem that the throughput of the system does not increase. Further, in the method of reading a specified number of originals set on the first reading apparatus and then reading the originals with the next reading apparatus, it is necessary to sort the originals whose arrangement order is important. Absent.

  An object of the present invention is to increase the speed of image reading using a plurality of image reading apparatuses without performing complicated preprocessing.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration. That is, an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of image reading apparatuses, wherein reading by a first image reading apparatus among the plurality of image reading apparatuses is started, and reading by the first image reading apparatus is performed. Control means for controlling the start of reading by another image reading device of the plurality of image reading devices based on the state.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to speed up image reading performed using a plurality of image reading apparatuses without performing complicated preprocessing.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a sheet feed scanner according to the present embodiment. The block diagram which shows schematic structure of the electric circuit of a sheet feed scanner. The block diagram which shows schematic structure of the electric circuit of PC concerning this embodiment. The figure which shows the structural example of the application and scanner driver on PC. The figure which shows the case where two scanners are simultaneously connected to PC. The figure which shows the structure of a some scanner driver in PC. The user interface figure which a scanner driver displays. 5 is a flowchart of scanning of a scanner driver according to the present embodiment. 5 is a flowchart of scanning of a scanner driver according to the present embodiment. The figure showing the acquisition state of the scan image of an application and a scanner driver.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. One embodiment described below will help to understand various concepts, such as superordinate concepts, intermediate concepts, and subordinate concepts of the present invention. Further, the technical scope of the present invention is determined by the scope of claims, and is not limited by the following embodiments.

  Hereinafter, an image reading system including a plurality of image reading apparatuses and an information processing apparatus in which these image reading apparatuses can be connected in parallel or in series will be described. The image reading system according to the present invention includes at least two image reading apparatuses. Further, the connection form of the image reading apparatus to the information processing apparatus may be such that each image reading apparatus is connected to the information processing apparatus independently and in parallel, or all image reading apparatuses may be connected in series. Or the parallel connection form and the serial connection form may be mixed.

[Device configuration]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a sheet feed scanner according to the present embodiment. In this embodiment, a description will be given using a sheet feed scanner that sequentially scans stacked documents. The sheet feed type scanner is also called a sheet through type scanner. Hereinafter, it is simply referred to as “scanner”. In the present embodiment, an example using two scanners is shown, and the description is made assuming that these configurations are the same. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Hereinafter, the scanner 1 will be described as an example.

  When scanning is started, the scanner 1 uses the document detection sensor 9 to determine whether or not the document D exists. If the document D exists, the line image sensor 5 reads the white facing member 7, and the scanner 1 generates correction data for shading correction. The generated correction data is stored in the memory for each pixel. The pickup roller 2 and the feeding roller 3 take in a bundle of documents D into the scanner 1. The separation roller 4 separates the fetched bundle into individual documents.

  The first roller pair 8a conveys the separated document D in the sub-scanning direction (document conveying direction). The line image sensor 5 reads an image formed on the upper surface of the document D along the main scanning direction (a direction orthogonal to the document transport direction). The scanner 1 performs shading correction on the image read using the correction data read from the memory. After the image is read, the document D is discharged out of the apparatus by the second roller pair 8b.

  In the present embodiment, the scanner 1 having the sheet conveyance path substantially horizontal is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be a U-turn path type scanner in which a sheet feeding unit and a sheet discharging unit are arranged vertically and discharged from the sheet feeding unit to a sheet discharging unit through a U-shaped curved conveyance path.

  FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of an electric circuit of the scanner 1. The A / D converter 21 converts the output signal of the line image sensor 5 into digital data (image data) after performing analog processing such as amplification and black level clamping. The image processing unit 22 executes control of the line image sensor 5, the A / D conversion unit 21, and the like, and various image processing (shading correction, etc.) on the image data output from the A / D conversion unit 21.

  The memory 23 stores image data. The I / F 24 is an interface for communicating with an external host device (PC or other scanner device). The I / F 24 is connected to an external host device such as a PC via a signal cable 25. Note that the I / F 24 may be a wireless interface such as a wireless LAN, a wireless USB, or Bluetooth (registered trademark). The I / F 24 may be a wired interface such as a USB interface or a wired LAN interface. In the present embodiment, the I / F 24 will be described on the assumption that it is a USB interface.

  The CPU 26 is a control unit that controls the scanner 1. The image processing unit 22 and the CPU 26 are connected via a bus 27. The CPU 26 accesses the memory 23 via the image processing unit 22. The drive unit 29 is a motor for driving the pickup roller 2, the feed roller 3, the separation roller 4, and the roller pairs 8a and 8b. The motor driver 28 is a control circuit that controls the drive unit 29 based on an instruction from the CPU 26.

  FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of an electric circuit of the PC 40 according to the embodiment. The CPU 46 is a control unit that comprehensively controls each unit of the computer based on the computer program. The CPU 46 controls the scanner 1 according to the application program and the scanner driver 49.

  The ROM 41 is a non-volatile storage unit that stores a control program such as firmware. The RAM 42 is a volatile storage unit that functions as a work area. A hard disk drive (HDD) 43 is a large-capacity storage unit. The display device 45 is a display unit for displaying various information to the user. The operation unit 47 is an input unit such as a pointing device or a keyboard. The communication IF 44 is a communication unit such as a USB. The CPU 46 communicates with the scanner 1 via the communication IF 44.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an application on the PC 40 and a scanner driver. Here, a configuration concept in which the scanner 1 is independently connected to the PC 40 is shown. The application 48 and the scanner driver 49 are installed in the PC. The application 48 is a program capable of inputting / outputting information to / from the scanner driver 49, and specifically includes an image editing program, an album program, a text editing program, and the like. The application is not limited to these, and any application that receives image data from the scanner driver 49 may be used.

  The application 48 controls the scanner 1 via the scanner driver 49 and executes image processing on the image data received from the scanner driver 49. Therefore, the application 48 and the CPU 46 function as image processing means that receives image data from the scanner driver 49 and executes image processing.

  Communication is performed between the application 48 and the scanner driver 49 and between the scanner driver 49 and the scanners 1 and 10 according to a predetermined protocol. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the application 48 and the scanner driver 49 communicate with each other using a protocol determined by the TWAIN standard. The protocol determined by the TWAIN standard is a driver interface for communicating with the scanner driver 49, and is also an example of an application interface for communicating with an application program.

  In the following description, it is assumed that the scanner driver 49 and the scanner 1 communicate with each other using a protocol determined by the USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard. As described above, the protocol determined by the USB standard is an interface for communicating with the image reading apparatus. In addition, it is not limited to these communication standards and protocols, Other protocols may be employ | adopted. Note that control commands and image data are transmitted and received between the scanner and the driver via these protocols.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram when the scanner 1 and the scanner 10 are simultaneously connected to the PC 40. In this specification, for convenience, the scanners 1 and 10 are referred to as first and second image reading apparatuses, respectively.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration concept when a plurality of scanners are connected to the PC 40. Here, the scanner driver 49 functions as a control unit for controlling the first and second image reading apparatuses. That is, the application 48 can read image data from a plurality of image reading devices in the same procedure as when acquiring image data from one scanner. Note that switching between the scanner 1 and the scanner 10 is automatically executed according to the setting of the scanner driver 49 activated from the application 48.

  FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of a setting dialog 100 for a plurality of scanners displayed by the scanner driver 49. The setting dialog 100 includes radio buttons for enabling / disabling a plurality of scans according to the present embodiment. If the radio button 101 is set to be valid, a list 102 for displaying connected scanners, an item 103 for setting the maximum number of buffers, and an item 104 for specifying loop scan can be selected. The list 102 displays the name of the scanner connected to the PC 40 and a serial number unique to the apparatus. The loop scan is a mode for returning to the first unit and continuing the scan when the scan is completed, and details thereof will be described later together with the flow. In the list 102, the scan order can be specified, and can be changed by dragging and moving the selected (highlighted) scanner and switching the upper and lower order. After setting, the setting is reflected by pressing the OK button 106. When canceling the setting, a cancel button 105 is pressed. Note that the screen for performing various settings is not limited to the above configuration.

[Processing flow]
8A and 8B are flowcharts showing the scanning process when the scanner driver 49 receives a scan instruction from the application 48. FIG. The scanner driver 49 operates when the CPU 46 of the PC 40 reads out from the HDD 43 and is executed.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 9A, it is assumed that 100 originals are set in each of the scanner 1 and the scanner 10, the maximum number of buffers is 40, a scan instruction is received from the application 48, and scanning is started. explain. In the setting dialog 100, it is assumed that the scan order is set so that the first scanner (scanner 1) comes first and the second scanner (scanner 10) comes after.

  In step S <b> 701, the scanner driver 49 initializes the buffering number to “0” and the number of scans to “0”. The buffering number indicates the number of images held on the scanner driver 49 side without being transmitted to the application 48 among the images read by the scanner. In this embodiment, while the image read by the first scanner is transmitted to the application 48, the image read by the second scanner is buffered and transmitted to the application 48 at a predetermined timing. To do. The number of scans indicates the total number of images read by a plurality of scanners (two in this case). These values are assumed to be held in a storage unit such as the RAM 42.

  In S702, the scanner driver 49 causes the first scanner to start scanning. In S703, the scanner driver 49 causes the second scanner to start scanning.

  In S704, the scanner driver 49 determines whether there is a document in the first scanner. If there is no document (NO in S704), the process proceeds to S721 in FIG. 8B. If there is a document (YES in S704), the process proceeds to S705.

  In S705, the scanner driver 49 reads the image with the first scanner, and then increments the value of the number of scans by one. In S <b> 706, the scanner driver 49 transfers the image read in the first scan to the application 48.

  In S707, the scanner driver 49 determines whether or not the current buffering number is less than the maximum number of buffers set in the setting dialog of FIG. The maximum number of buffers here is 40 as described above. If the number is equal to or greater than the set maximum number of buffers (NO in S707), the process proceeds to S704, and if it is less (YES in S707), the process proceeds to S708.

  In S708, the scanner driver 49 determines whether there is a document in the second scanner. If there is no document (YES in S708), the process proceeds to S704, and if there is a document (NO in S708), the process proceeds to S709.

  In S709, the scanner driver 49 reads the image with the second scanner, and then increments the value of the number of scans by one. In S710, the scanner driver 49 buffers the read image. In step S711, the scanner driver 49 increments the image buffering number by 1, and the process advances to step S704.

  When the loop of S704 to S711 is performed 40 times (for the maximum number of buffers), 40 originals are respectively scanned from the first scanner 1 and the second scanner 10, and the state shown in FIG. 9B is obtained. In other words, the first 40 pages of the original bundle set in the first scanner are output (transferred) as image data to the application 48 every time they are read, and the first 40 pages of the original bundle set in the second scanner are scanned. Buffered by the driver 49. In addition, 60 originals remain on the original platen of each scanner.

  Thereafter, when the loop of S704 to S711 is repeated 60 times, the document table of the first scanner becomes empty. On the other hand, since the second scanner has the maximum buffering number (NO in S707), reading is not performed from this point, and the second scanner enters a standby state. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9C, 60 documents remain on the document table. At this time, the image buffered in the scanner driver 49 remains the first 40 pages of the original bundle set in the second scanner. In this state, it is determined in S704 that the first scanner is out of paper (YES in S704), and the process proceeds to S721 in FIG. 8B. That is, the reading on the first scanner side is completed.

  In S721, the scanner driver 49 determines whether or not the current buffering number is greater than zero. If greater than 0 (YES in S721), the process proceeds to S722, and if 0 (NO in S721), the process proceeds to S724.

  In S722, the scanner driver 49 transfers the buffered image to the application 48. In S723, the scanner driver 49 decrements the value of the buffering number by 1, and proceeds to S721.

  In S724, the scanner driver 49 determines whether there is a document in the second scanner. If there is a document (NO in S724), the process proceeds to S725. If there is no document (YES in S724), the process proceeds to S727.

  In S725, the scanner driver 49 reads an image with the second scanner. In S726, the scanner driver 49 transfers the read image to the application 49, and the process proceeds to S724.

  In S727, the scanner driver 49 determines whether the loop scan is valid. Whether or not it is valid here refers to the value set in the setting dialog 100 of FIG. If it is not valid (NO in S727), the scan is terminated, and if it is valid (YES in S727), the process proceeds to S728.

  In S728, the scanner driver 49 determines whether the number of scanned sheets is zero. If it is 0 (YES in S723), the scanning process is terminated. That is, when scanning is resumed by loop scanning, but no new document is set, scanning ends. If the number of scans is not 0 (NO in S728), the process returns to S701 in FIG. 8A, and the scan process is started again.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the first and second image reading apparatuses can be controlled by a single driver, and the first and second image reading apparatuses can be controlled without providing special processing. Continuous scanning can be performed by operating the image reading apparatus in parallel.

  When the second image reading apparatus is operated in parallel, the image is buffered, and after the entire original of the first image reading apparatus is transferred to the application, the image read by the second image reading apparatus is used as the application. Since the data is transferred, there is no inconsistency in order.

  In addition, since the number of buffering read in parallel can be specified, an appropriate value can be set according to the amount of hardware resources such as the HDD capacity / memory of the PC 40.

  In addition, setting the number of buffering prevents the first and second image reading apparatuses from becoming empty at the same time, so that a time margin is created for the next original set by the operator during loop scanning.

  Further, a scanner can be added according to the processing capability of the PC 40. There is no need to add a PC when adding a scanner. In this case, the argument set in S701 may be controlled according to the number of scanners. From the point of view of the scanner, there is no difference in operation between when it is used alone and when it is used with multiple units, so there is no need to prepare a special scanner. Can be expanded.

<Other embodiments>
In the above embodiment, reading of the first and second image reading devices is started at the same time. However, after a predetermined number of documents are read by the first image reading device, reading by the second image reading device is started. You may control.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, when setting to perform loop scanning, scanning is started from the first image reading apparatus after the document table of the second image reading apparatus is empty. However, the first image reading apparatus detects the original when the original bundle is set again in the empty first image reading apparatus, and does not wait for the original in the second image reading apparatus to be empty. The reading may be resumed at. At this time, when the driver transfers an image read from one image reading device to the application, the image read from the other image reading device is controlled to be buffered. It is obvious that the read image is buffered. That is, the image reading device that is a target for buffering the read image is switched between the plurality of image reading devices.

  The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Scanner, 48 ... Application, 49 ... Scanner driver, 26 ... CPU, 22 ... Image processing apparatus

Claims (12)

An information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of image reading apparatuses,
Reading by the first image reading device among the plurality of image reading devices is started, and another image reading of the plurality of image reading devices is performed based on a reading state by the first image reading device. An information processing apparatus comprising control means for controlling start of reading by the apparatus.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit displays a screen for setting an order of starting reading of the plurality of image reading apparatuses.   The reading by the first image reading device is started, and after the number of images read by the first image reading device reaches a predetermined number, the reading from the other image reading devices is started. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information reading apparatus is controlled.   When the reading by each of the plurality of image reading devices is started, the control means outputs the image read by the first image reading device each time until the reading by the first image reading device is completed. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image read by the other image reading apparatus is buffered.   The control unit buffers a predetermined number of images read by the other image reading device when reading by each of the plurality of image reading devices, and is read by the other image reading device. When the number of images reaches the predetermined number, waiting for reading by the other image reading device, and after reading of the image by the first image reading device is completed, reading by the other image reading device is resumed. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the control unit displays a screen for setting the predetermined number.   The information processing according to claim 1, further comprising: a mode in which reading by the first image reading device is resumed after reading by all of the plurality of image reading devices is completed. apparatus.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is realized by a scanner driver.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of image reading apparatuses are sheet feed type scanners.   An image reading system including the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9 and a plurality of image reading apparatuses. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of image reading apparatuses,
Reading by the first image reading device among the plurality of image reading devices is started, and another image reading of the plurality of image reading devices is performed based on a reading state by the first image reading device. A control method for an information processing apparatus, comprising a control step for controlling start of reading by the apparatus. Computer
Reading by the first image reading device among the plurality of connected image reading devices is started, and another of the plurality of image reading devices is selected based on the reading state by the first image reading device. A program for functioning as control means for controlling the start of reading by an image reading apparatus.

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