JP2604811B2 - Image transmission device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image transmitting apparatus which is effective when applied to, for example, newsprint.

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 2, a conventional apparatus of this type includes an image information generating means 1 'for outputting image information (paper information) and a communication control means 3 for transmitting the image information to a communication line L. 'And a plurality of receiving stations 20, 20,
.., An image is transmitted by designating an arbitrary receiving station (see, for example, JP-A-62-178064).

Here, the image transmitting apparatus serving as the transmitting station 10 calls the receiving station designated for each screen (paper), and transmits image information after confirming the completion of reception preparation from the calling receiving station.

After receiving the call, the receiving station 20 prepares for reception, such as loading the photosensitive material 22 for image recording into the image recording device 21, and then sends a confirmation of completion of reception preparation to the transmitting station to receive the image information. Enter the crowd.

However, according to such a configuration, in a case where image information is continuously transmitted while frequently changing a transmission destination, a long time is spent besides a net transmission time of image information. Become,
There is a problem that the use of communication lines is not always efficient.

 The above problem occurs for the following reasons.

That is, in the above-described apparatus, every time the transmission destination is changed, the receiving station newly designated by the change must wait for completion of preparation for reception such as loading of the photosensitive material.

Here, in order to shorten the time for waiting for the completion of the reception preparation, it is conceivable to always load the photosensitive material into the recording device on the receiving station side.

However, the transmission of image information is not always constant. For example, in the transmission of newspaper paper, a peak time zone in which transmission is concentrated and a depopulated time zone opposite thereto appear several times in one day. Therefore, if the photosensitive material is always loaded,
In a sparsely populated time zone where the image information reception interval is long and empty, the photosensitive material is kept loaded for a long time. On the other hand, a photosensitive material used for recording on a newsprint or the like has a curl when a loaded state wound around a drum or the like continues for a long time. This bending habit causes a trouble such as a paper jam. That is, a photosensitive material that has been loaded for a long time is useless. Therefore, the loaded photosensitive material must always be kept fresh. This causes another problem that the photosensitive material is wasted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and reduces the total transmission time of image information performed by frequently changing a transmission destination without wasting photosensitive material, thereby improving the communication line utilization efficiency. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image transmitting device capable of improving the image quality.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention transmits image information including control information to a communication line connected to a plurality of receiving stations, and schedules the next transmission during transmission of the image information. The receiving station is instructed to prepare for receiving image information.

According to the present invention, the transmission of the image information is immediately performed without having to wait a long time for the receiving station which is the next scheduled transmission destination to prepare for reception after the transmission of the image information being currently transmitted is completed. To reduce the total transmission time of image information, which is frequently performed by changing the transmission destination, without wasting photosensitive material so as to increase the efficiency of communication line utilization. Becomes possible.

Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an image transmitting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The image transmitting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is configured as a transmitting station 10 for transmitting newspaper paper, wherein 1 is an image information generating means, 2 is an image memory, 3 is a communication control means, and 4 is a receiving station control means. Numeral 5 is a receiving station monitoring means, 61 is a transmission schedule table, 62 is a receiving station status table, 7 is an input terminal device, and L is a digital communication line.

In FIG. 1, an image information generating means 1 is an image processor for synthesizing an image on a newspaper page or a scanner for reading an image on a newspaper page, and outputs image information on a newspaper page together with a page ID. The page information output from the image information generating means 1 is temporarily stored in the image memory 2 and then transmitted.

The image memory 2 is configured using a large-capacity storage device such as a magnetic disk storage device, and stores and accumulates image information of a plurality of cases together with a page ID.

The communication control means 3 transmits image information including control information to a communication line L commonly connected to the plurality of receiving stations 20, 20,. The communication control means 3 has a kind of multiplex communication function, and can transmit control information to a receiving station different from the transmission destination of the image information during transmission of the image information.

The receiving station control means 4 instructs the receiving station 20 to be transmitted next time to prepare for receiving image information, and in particular, to operate the image recording device 21 to load the photosensitive material 22 for recording the received image. The transmission of this command is performed from the communication control means 3 via the communication line L. Even when the command is issued during the transmission of the image information, the communication control unit 3 multiplexes and transmits the command to the image information being transmitted. The receiving station to be transmitted next time is selected with reference to the image memory 2, the transmission schedule table 61 and the receiving station status table 62.

The receiving station monitoring means 5 monitors the state of the receiving station of the scheduled transmission destination stored and registered in the transmission schedule table 61, particularly, the state of whether or not image information can be received. This monitoring of the state of the receiving station is performed via the communication control means 3 and the communication line L.

The transmission schedule table 61 and the receiving station status table 62 are semiconductor
It is composed of RAM6. The transmission schedule table 61 stores identification information of image information, so-called paper ID, and a scheduled transmission destination for each paper ID. The paper ID and the scheduled transmission destination are arbitrarily input from the input terminal device 7, and are stored and registered. The receiving station status table 62 stores the status of the receiving station monitored by the receiving station monitoring means 5 for each receiving station.

The input terminal device 7 forms a control console (console) of the transmitting station 10 and has a keyboard 71 and a monitor display device 72 as input devices. This input terminal device 7 has a paper ID
And input of destination information.

Each of the receiving stations 20, 20,... Has a receiving function of receiving image information and control information addressed to the own station from the communication line L and one or more image recording devices 21. The photosensitive material 22 is wound and loaded in response to a command from the user.

The operation of the image transmission device configured as described above will be described below.

First, the transmitting station 10 inputs, from the input terminal device 20, the paper ID and the scheduled destination to be transmitted on the day. Input paper
The ID and the scheduled transmission destination are stored and registered in the transmission schedule table 61, and are displayed on the monitor display device 72 in a list format.

When the registration in the transmission schedule table 61 is completed, the monitoring operation by the reception station monitoring means 5 is performed, and whether or not the reception destination of the scheduled transmission destination registered in the transmission schedule table 61 can receive the image information. Is monitored. This monitoring result is sequentially registered in the receiving station status table 62.

The communication control means 3 constantly monitors whether image information to be transmitted is stored in the image memory 2. If the image information has been stored, a scheduled transmission destination is searched from the transmission schedule table 61 by the paper ID of the image information. If the scheduled transmission destination is found, the reception station status table 62
It is checked whether or not the received receiving station of the scheduled transmission destination is in a receivable state.

If the searched receiving station is in a receivable state, the receiving station is designated and the image information stored in the image memory 2 is transmitted. When the image information transmission is completed, the transmission schedule table
The transmission flag is set at the corresponding address in 61, and the transmitted image information and its ID are deleted from the image memory 2.

On the other hand, if the searched receiving station is not in a receivable state, the transmission of the image information to the receiving station is temporarily suspended, and the image information of another page ID is stored in the image memory 2. Search for no. And another paper ID
If the image information has been stored, the same operation as described above is repeated for that image information.

When the image information is transmitted as described above, the receiving station control means 5 stores the image information to be transmitted next to the currently transmitted image information in the image memory 2 in parallel with the transmission of the image information. To search for

If there is image information to be transmitted next, the next scheduled transmission destination is searched from the transmission schedule table 61 by the paper ID of the image information. If the searched destination receiving station is different from the currently transmitting receiving station, the receiving station status table 62 is used to check whether the receiving station is in a receivable state. . If it is determined by this check that the next scheduled transmission destination is in a receivable state, a command to load the photosensitive material 21 into the image recording device 22 is issued to the next transmission destination receiving station. The transmission of this command is performed by the communication control means 3 during the transmission of the image information currently being performed.

The receiving station 20 that has received the above command loads the photosensitive material 22 into the image recording device 21 and prepares to receive image information. When the actual image information is transmitted, the photosensitive material
The operation of receiving the image information and recording the image information on the photosensitive material 22 is immediately started without a waiting time for loading the photosensitive material 22.

Thereafter, the reception control means 5 further searches whether there is image information to be transmitted next and repeats the same operation.

As described above, after the transmission of the currently transmitted image information is completed, the transmission of the image information can be started immediately without waiting for the receiving station that is the next scheduled transmission destination to prepare for reception. . This makes it possible to waste the photosensitive material, shorten the total transmission time of the image information performed by frequently changing the transmission destination, and improve the efficiency of using the communication line.

Advantageous Effects of the Invention As is apparent from the above description, the present invention makes it possible to transmit image information including control information to a communication line connected to a plurality of receiving stations, and to receive a next scheduled transmitting station while transmitting the image information. After the transmission of the image information currently being transmitted is completed, the receiving station, which is the next scheduled transmission destination, does not wait for a long time to prepare for the reception of the image information. Transmission can be started, so that the total transmission time of image information performed by frequently changing the transmission destination is shortened without wasting the photosensitive material, and the utilization efficiency of the communication line is improved. It has the effect of being able to

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image transmission device showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional image transmission device. 1 ... image information generating means, 2 ... image memory, 3 ... communication control means, 4 ... receiving station control means, 5 ... receiving station monitoring means, 61 ... transmission schedule table, 62 ... receiving station status Table 7, input terminal device 10, transmitting station (image transmitting device), receiving station 21, image recording device 22, photosensitive material for image recording.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A communication control means for transmitting image information including control information to a communication line connected to a plurality of receiving stations, and preparation for receiving image information for a receiving station to be transmitted next time during transmission of the image information. And a receiving station control unit for instructing the image transmission. 2. A transmission schedule table storing identification information of image information and a scheduled transmission destination, a reception station monitoring means for monitoring a state of a reception station of the planned transmission destination stored in the transmission schedule table, and the reception station. 2. The image transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a receiving station status table for storing a status of the receiving station monitored by the monitoring unit.