JP3196180B2 - Image processing system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing system, particularly an image processing system having an image reading means, an image recording means, a facsimile communication means and a LAN interface means. The present invention relates to an image processing system that executes processing in parallel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional image processing system is disclosed in
As disclosed in JP-A-243666, an image memory used for image reading means and image recording means,
The communication image memories used for the X communication means and the LAN interface means are separately provided, and data is exchanged between the image memories and the communication image memories.

In a conventional image processing system, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-243666, when a communication image memory is accumulated to a predetermined amount, both operations of a reading unit and an image recording unit are stopped. Then, the image memory used by the reading means and the image recording means is released, and the transfer destination image memory of the data in the communication image memory is secured.

However, in such a conventional technique, it is necessary to separately have an image memory used for the image reading means and the image recording means and a communication image memory used for the facsimile communication means and the LAN interface means as described above. When the communication image memory is accumulated up to a predetermined amount,
The operation of both the reading means and the image recording means must be stopped, which is not only inefficient, but also requires re-operation to resume the copying operation, which is inconvenient.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, even if the image memory for communication is accumulated to a predetermined amount in the image processing system, the operation of the reading means and the image recording means is not stopped, and the image memory can be efficiently used. It is intended to be used for

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a plurality of image input means, a plurality of image output means, and an image input from the plurality of image input means. When the shared memory cannot be allocated to the shared memory to be stored and the image input from one input means of the plurality of image input means, the image by the input means that could not allocate the shared memory. When the input is suspended and the shared memory is released by the image output by at least one output unit of the plurality of image output units and the shared memory can be allocated, the reserved input unit An image processing system comprising control means for performing control to perform image input processing.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in an image processing system provided with an image reading means, an image recording means, a facsimile communication means and a LAN interface means, a plurality of processes are executed in parallel without interrupting other processes. I have. That is, in the image processing apparatus including the LAN according to the present invention, reading →
Printing, reading → fax transmission, fax reception → printing, reading → LAN, LAN → printing, LAN → LAN, LAN → F
AX transmission and FAX reception → Eight kinds of operations of LAN become possible. Here, only one of the transmission and the reception of the FAX operates exclusively, and the multiplex operation of the LAN is possible at the same time.

Accordingly, the operating rate of the above four means and the efficiency of use of the image memory are improved.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention. The present invention relates to an operation display unit 1, a parallel control unit 2, a LAN communication unit 3, a FAX communication unit 4, a shared image memory 5, a queue 6, a scanner unit 7, a printer unit 8, a telephone line 9, and an LA.
It comprises an N cable 10.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the parallel control unit 2 of the present invention for processing one event. 1 and 2
The operation of the parallel control unit 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. When a reading start request is notified from the operation display unit 1, the state of the scanner unit 7 is checked, and if the reading is possible, the scanner unit 7 and the operation display unit 1 are notified of the reading start, and the reading is not possible. In such a case, a read start request is queued.

When the FAX communication unit 4 is notified of the FAX reception start request, the FAX communication unit 4 is notified of the start of FAX reception. When the reception start request is notified from the LAN communication unit 3, the start of the LAN reception is notified to the LAN communication unit 3. When securing the memory for processing the input data, the scanner unit 7, the FAX communication unit 4, or the LAN communication unit 3 notifies the parallel control unit 2 of the memory allocation request and waits for a response from the parallel control unit 2. The parallel control unit 2 receives the memory allocation request, notifies the requester if the memory is allocated, and temporarily queues the memory allocation request if the memory is not allocated.

Printer section 8, FAX communication section 4, or LA
When the N communication unit 3 finishes outputting data, the parallel control unit 2
To the memory release request. The parallel control unit 2 receives the memory release request, releases the memory, and if there is a memory allocation request in the queue 6, retrieves the memory allocation request in order of priority and repeats until the memory cannot be allocated.

When the operation display unit 1, the LAN communication unit 3, the FAX communication unit 4, the scanner unit 7 or the printer unit 8 notifies that the processing has been stopped, the related hold event is deleted from the queue 6 and the operation display unit 1 is deleted. In the case of the processing requested by the user, the result is notified to the operation display unit 1, and in the case of the processing requested by the LAN communication unit 3, the result is notified to the LAN communication unit 3. When the processing completion is notified from the operation display unit 1, the LAN communication unit 3, the FAX communication unit 4, the scanner unit 7, or the printer unit 8, in the case of the processing requested from the operation display unit 1, the result is displayed on the operation display unit 1. In the case of the process requested by the LAN communication unit 3, the result is notified to the LAN communication unit 3.

[0014]

According to the present invention, in an image processing system provided with an image reading means, an image recording means, a facsimile communication means and a LAN interface means, a plurality of processes are executed in parallel without stopping other processes. Operability is improved. Further, the operation rate of the above four means and the use efficiency of the image memory are improved, and therefore the processing speed of the image processing system is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a parallel control unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the scanner unit of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the printer unit of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Operation display part 2 Parallel control part 3 LAN communication part 4 FAX communication part 5 Shared image memory 6 Queue 7 Scanner part 8 Printer part 9 Telephone line 10 LAN cable

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/00-1/00 108 H04N 1/21 B41J 5/00-5/52 B41J 21/00-21 / 18 B41J 29/00-29/70

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of image input means, a plurality of image output means, a shared memory for sharing and storing images input from the plurality of image input means, and one input of the plurality of image input means If the shared memory cannot be allocated to the image input from the means, the image input by the input means that could not allocate the shared memory is suspended, and at least one output of the plurality of image output means is output. Control means for controlling to execute the image input processing by the input means which has been held when the shared memory is released by the image output by the means and the shared memory can be allocated. Characteristic image processing system.